Winning the Alpha Read Online Free PDF Page A

an uneventful flight and a wait for my ride, I was brought to the locale where some initial meetings and preparations were to take place. I was immediately charmed by the scenery. The mountains that surrounded us as we drove were higher than any I’d ever seen in person. Their grey, rocky slopes were topped with perfectly placed white glaciers and snowy peaks, creating an impression of enormity and majesty which took my breath away.
    The air smelled pristine, and a scent of pine permeated the warm breeze that drifted by. Even in the car with the window sealed I was able to inhale it, knowing that I’d entered a new world, ready for whatever it had to offer me.
    We passed by charming cabins and the odd hiker, always sporting a gigantic pack and looking fit. You never saw overweight mountaineers. And they always had a contented look on their faces which indicated a sort of satisfaction at having hiked up a mountain and down again without being attacked by a bear or gotten kidnapped by a horny yeti.
    All in all, I was in love with the place and wondered if this was where Tristan made his home. I pictured winter months here with proper wood burning fireplaces and stoves, where one would sit and sip hot chocolate after a long day of skiing. I found my eyes glazing over as I pictured Tristan in a wool sweater and jeans, slightly sweaty and smelling of sex. 
    As we drove into town I fe ll even more deeply in love with the place. The main street was lined with inviting shops, and tourists in sensible hiking gear walked up and down the sidewalk. It seemed ironic that they’d be clothed for strenuous hikes and yet wander in and out of fudge shops, sampling the wares before heading back to the hotel for a nap. But it created an environment in which no one appeared complacent; everyone was prepared in case they had to go running off into the woods should there an emergency like a zombie apocalypse. No doubt they all carried flint to start fires, protein bars and hand-cranked phone chargers.
     
    The plan for the day involved being taken to a first studio to prepare, before being brought in individual cars to the house that was to be our residence for the foreseeable future. I’d seen all this before on other shows so none of it surprised me. My real curiosity was to do with all the other girls; I wanted to know what they’d be like, and if I’d manage to get along with any of them. I tried to be nice in my mind and to assume that they weren’t all like the horrible snooty one I’d seen when I went to meet the producers. After all, I’d agreed to participate in this manufactured love fest, so there was a chance that there would be others like me.
    When I arrived at the makeshift studio which looked to me like nothing more than the local high school, the driver helped me get my suitcase out and I wheeled it into the building. I was guided then to a room where a few other girls were scattered in various corners, keeping very much to themselves. The space was large and uninteresting, and I assumed that its normal purpose was that of a gymnasium. Its ceiling was high and the room was poorly lit and cold, a stark contrast from the late summer warmth of the outdoors.
    I was one of the first to arrive; only about six girls were in the room when I entered. They were scattered throughout the space as far away from one another as they could get. I could tell that they were nervous by their body language, and this pleased me. But the thing I noticed immediately was that they were all thin. It was just what I’d feared, but I wasn’t exactly shocked to see it. I chose not to look any of them in the eye but I wasn’t going to stare apologetically at the floor, either: I simply waltzed in and took my place in the center of room, by a long table which was coated in stacks of paper, a coffee maker and cups which demanded to be used.
    I woman I’d noticed in a far corner walked up to me while I poured a cup of coffee. I turned to her and