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902 Words
That, she knew, would be a terrible idea. Nothing brought out the predatory instincts in hunters like seeing the backside of prey darting off in terror into the woods.
All right. Let’s do this. Fake it ’til you make it, Jack!
She tried for a respectful tone while looking the Alpha in the eye. “I’m afraid I don’t know the proper way to address you, so please forgive me if this is rude.”
Beside her, Hawk hissed a low warning. Jack ignored him. She twisted her wrist from his grasp and stepped forward, shoulders back, head held high. In a clear voice that carried over the crowd, she said, “I’m Jacqueline Dolan. It’s a pleasure to meet you . . . Mr. . . . Alpha.”
Because her dead mother had been concerned with manners and appearances and enjoyed showing off her only daughter like a blue-ribbon cow when company came to their house when she was a child, Jack knew how to execute a perfect, proper curtsy. In her dirty jeans and jacket, with her hair tangled and her face most likely smudged with dirt, Jack sank into a swift, elegant curtsy, bowed head and bent knees and all. She straightened, beaming at the Alpha as if he were visiting royalty and she were a peasant girl he’d flung coins to on the side of the road. There was a beat of astonished silence. The tension in the air felt like a wire pulled close to snapping. The only sound was the crackling of the bonfire, and it seemed as if everyone held a collective breath.
Hawk stood behind her, radiating a fury so dangerous it actually had heft.
The Alpha burst into laughter.
He threw back his head—displaying an impressive set of long, white teeth—and gave himself over to gales of belly-clenching guffaws until finally he stood, still chuckling and shaking his head, and stepped away from his throne.
He sauntered down the steps of the dais, looking at her down his nose. He took her hand, bent over it, and brushed his lips over her knuckles. “Encantada. The pleasure is mine,” he purred. “Or at least I hope it will be.”
He straightened, still smiling, still holding her hand while gazing at her with those sharp, sharp eyes, and Jack knew that this man literally held her life in his hands. If he wanted to, he could simply kill her now. No one in the outside world would ever know what had happened. This would be the end of her story, the end of her life, the end of the line.
Her bones would be buried in the jungle. No headstone would mark her grave.
It was all up to him.
Would Hawk even try and stop him?
Her hand still resting in the Alpha’s, she blurted a sincere, “Thank you.”
One of his dark brows quirked. “For what?”
She blinked, realizing her faux pas, but couldn’t take it back now. “For . . .” She cleared her throat. “For . . .”
“For not hurting you,” he guessed when she faltered. His voice was quiet, his stare fixed.
There was no moisture in her mouth. Jack couldn’t speak for a moment, but when she’d recovered her composure, she simply said, “Yes.”
His gaze cut to Hawk, standing silently behind her. “And what would make you think I would do a thing like that, my dear?”
The Earth was turning too rapidly beneath her feet. Her equilibrium had tilted, and it seemed the only thing holding her to the ground was the cool weight of his hand grasping hers.
Jack whispered, “Because if I were in your shoes . . . that’s what I’d want to do. I’d want revenge.”
The Alpha narrowed his eyes, contemplating her expression, mulling the words over. After a moment, he released her hand. A tiny smile crooked one corner of his lips.
“You’re quite direct, aren’t you?” His eyes began a languid survey of her body that heated her cheeks. “Though perhaps it’s just recklessness.”
In a tight voice, Hawk said, “She doesn’t mean any disrespect—”
“If I wanted your opinion I’d give it to you!” the Alpha hissed. “Don’t try my patience, Hawk, so soon after our new visitor has arrived.”
At that moment, Luis Fernando and his cadre of guards arrived, shoving their way through the crowd to get to the front.
They barged toward the dais, hulking and silent, until they stood beside Jack in a row. She kept her eyes focused on Alejandro because Nando and his guards were still unclothed.
No one seemed the least bit concerned with their nudity.
The Alpha took one look at Nando’s bruised and bloody face, and his expression hardened to granite. “Ever the rebel,” he snarled, lip curled in disdain. “How many lashes do you think it will take before you finally learn to respect the rules? Fifty? One hundred? Perhaps two hun—”
“No need to count to one thousand. I get the picture,” Hawk interrupted, sounding bored. The look on his face was anything but bored, however. He glared at the Alpha with unconcealed hatred.
- Writer
