Alpha on the Ice

Chapter 6

Sloane

The rain stung my face as I stared over the edge of the fire escape.

Three stories.

Three floors between me and the alley below.

Three floors between sanity and whatever nightmare Rhys Kincaid had dragged into my life.

"You've lost your mind," I whispered, my fingers tightening around the rusted railing.

Rhys didn't even blink. Water dripped from his dark hair, running down the sharp line of his jaw.

"Sloane, we don't have time."

"You're asking me to jump off a building!"

"I'm asking you to trust me."

Another siren echoed through the streets, much closer this time.

My stomach twisted.

"What if you drop me?"

His golden eyes locked onto mine.

"I would die before I let that happen."

For a moment, the entire world seemed to stop.

The rain.

The sirens.

The panic clawing at my chest.

Everything faded except the terrifying sincerity in his voice.

Then a deafening crash came from inside my apartment.

The front door.

Someone had broken it down.

Rhys cursed under his breath.

"They're here."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"Rhys—"

"Now."

Before I could argue, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

"What are you—"

"We're jumping."

"Wait—"

The ground disappeared beneath us.

A scream tore from my throat as we plunged into the darkness.

I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting pain, broken bones, death—

But none of it came.

Instead, there was only wind.

And warmth.

Strong arms holding me impossibly close.

My eyes flew open.

We weren't falling.

We were moving.

Fast.

Too fast.

The alley blurred beneath us as Rhys landed effortlessly on the wet pavement, barely slowing before taking off again.

"What the hell—"

"Don't look down."

"That's your advice right now?"

"Pretty much."

He sprinted through the city like gravity didn't apply to him.

Cars flashed past.

Streetlights streaked overhead.

Rain soaked through my clothes as I buried my face against his chest, trying to stop the dizziness.

"Rhys," I gasped.

"Yeah?"

"Are you secretly a superhero?"

He actually laughed.

"No."

"Then what are you?"

For several seconds, he didn't answer.

Finally, his voice came quietly.

"Something worse."

The words sent a chill through me that had nothing to do with the storm.

Behind us, a howl split the night.

I froze.

That wasn't a dog.

It wasn't even close.

Rhys's entire body tensed.

"They found our scent."

"Our scent?"

"Hold on."

He turned sharply into another alley, jumping over dumpsters and fences as though they weren't there.

"Can we please stop pretending this is normal?" I shouted.

"Trust me, this isn't normal for me either."

"Oh, really? Because from where I'm sitting, being hunted by a pack of supernatural murder wolves seems pretty personal."

"I said trust me, not like me."

I would have laughed if I weren't seconds away from passing out.

He finally stopped behind an abandoned warehouse near the harbor.

The building looked ancient, hidden between rows of shipping containers.

Rhys gently set me on my feet.

My knees immediately buckled.

He caught me before I hit the ground.

"Easy."

I shoved his hands away.

"Don't tell me to be easy!" My voice cracked. "My job is gone. My apartment isn't safe. Apparently, werewolves are real, and now you're telling me an entire pack wants me dead."

"They don't all want you dead."

"That is somehow worse!"

Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating his face.

For the first time since he'd burst into my apartment, he looked exhausted.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like he was carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

He sat on an old crate and ran both hands through his wet hair.

"I never wanted you involved in this."

I stared at him.

"Then why didn't you stay away from me?"

His laugh was bitter.

"You think I didn't try?"

The question caught me off guard.

"Every interview I canceled. Every rude comment. Every time I walked away from you..." He shook his head. "That wasn't because I hated you."

"Could've fooled me."

"I was trying to protect you."

"By acting like an ass?"

"Exactly."

Despite everything, a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

He noticed.

And for the first time since we'd met, Rhys smiled back.

It was brief.

Gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

But it changed him.

The cold, intimidating hockey captain disappeared for a second, replaced by someone younger.

Someone lonely.

The realization scared me more than the monsters chasing us.

Because monsters were easy to hate.

Lonely men with broken smiles weren't.

Thunder rolled across the sky.

Rhys stood abruptly.

"We can't stay here long."

"Where are we going?"

"My territory."

I crossed my arms.

"And where exactly is that?"

He hesitated.

"Home."

I blinked.

"You want me to go home with you?"

"Temporarily."

"To the giant wolf mansion where everyone wants to kill me?"

"Not everyone."

"Your sales pitch needs work."

A grin flickered across his face.

"I know."

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Rain drummed against the warehouse roof.

Then my phone buzzed again.

I pulled it out with trembling hands.

Another message from an unknown number.

We're coming for you.

Attached was a picture.

My apartment building.

Taken less than five minutes ago.

Every ounce of color drained from my face.

Rhys saw the screen and went completely still.

The gold returned to his eyes.

"They're closer than I thought."

Fear wrapped itself around my throat.

"What do we do?"

He stepped toward me, his expression hard and determined.

"We survive the night."

"And tomorrow?"

His gaze softened as he reached for my hand.

"Tomorrow, we figure out how to stop a war."

Before I could answer, another howl echoed through the harbor.

Closer this time.

Much closer.

Rhys squeezed my hand.

"They found us."