1302 The Alpha (The 13th Floor) Read Online Free PDF Page A

in his shoulders release.
    “Thanks. I like playing with textures and color. Particularly color.” She finished the last bite of her sandwich and swallowed. “Many wolves are colorblind. Did you know that?”
    “I didn’t know. Interesting.”
    She licked at her lips, still tasting the creamy mayo. At least that said he wasn’t colorblind. Must be because he was bitten rather than born. Stefanie had a hundred questions for him about that, but she needed to talk to him first. She’d tell him enough so he could understand she wasn’t the villain and that he could run from this if he wanted. If he was smart, he would.
    “So, since you’re already involved, I might as well tell you what’s going on.” She sat back on the couch and then shifted forward again with her elbows on her knees. “I didn’t do anything bad. Know that. I just lost the right to lead my pack.”
    “And now they’re chasing you down to kill you?” James moved to the edge of the chair.
    “No. They want to force me to come back and be the new Alpha’s mate. He thinks only another Alpha is good enough for him.” She rolled her eyes. “You, on the other hand, they’ll kill on the spot.”
    “I know pack wolves aren’t friendly to loners. I was taught that at least.” James shook his head. “As for your pack, that’s just wrong. That would be kidnapping, coercion, and a whole lot of other major crimes.”
    “Of which they’re guilty of already.” Stefanie’s jaw tightened. She hadn’t been Wyatt’s only victim, but she was the only one who escaped. “I was raised by my parents, born into the pack. The Nicolet pack up in Wisconsin if you’re curious as to where I got my accent. My father was the Alpha, and I was next in line. Life was good. He passed away of cancer, and my mom followed not long after. Mates can’t live without each other. That left only my little sister, Starr, and me. I took over and life went on.” She swallowed. She and Starr had never been close. They were too different personality-wise, but she was still her sister.
    “Not long after a few new wolves showed up. They claimed their pack had been whittled down and it was only the three of them. Colin, June, and Matt. I didn’t much like Colin and June. Big and dumb as fence posts. Both of them. Yet Matt was smart and nice. Starr fell for him, and he was really good to her.” Stefanie pressed her hands together hard. “She had a hard time losing our folks. Matt made her smile again. Plus, he was a Beta. I needed one. I only had three other males left in my pack, and one was an Omega. Scott. And he was your typical trouble-making teen. Well, a little more than typical.”
    “Typical? I stayed up late playing video games and reading.” James interjected.
    “Yeah, you were such a rebel.” Stefanie huffed. “Scott got into fights, destroyed property, drank, started doing drugs. Except he did it with the hunger of a wolf.” And those things could be curbed with a strong Alpha. If the Alpha had a mind to do so.
    “Half a year went by and it was good. What I didn’t know was that Matt and the others had been sent to infiltrate the pack for their Alpha. For Matt’s brother Wyatt.” Her upper lip curled. “Wyatt came in and immediately started to take over. For Matt and Starr’s sake, I tried to accommodate him, but he was bigger and meaner than Colin and June. One day when I was gone to get supplies in town, Axel and Ben, the other two male wolves, tried to drive him away. He and the others killed them. Scott rolled over for them. Wyatt let him have the drugs that I had forbid him.” She shook her head and shifted on the couch again.
    “When I found out, I told them to leave, but Wyatt challenged me. So we fought and I lost. He almost killed me. Sometimes I wish he did because what he wanted was far worse.” Stefanie wet her lips, holding back the raging emotions. She didn’t go into detail. James would be able to guess what happened. “When I was