Free Owned By The Alphas: Part Two by Faleena Hopkins

Chapter 1
    C alt’s grip tightened with a possessive squeeze. His timing felt prophetic; Ali had been thinking of Red’s surprising kiss just then, wondering if he’d gotten away safely or if there was any chance he was still nearby. Brought back to the present moment by the firm pressure on her hand, she glanced up expecting to see inquisitive two-toned eyes searching hers, but he was staring forward, lost in his own thoughts. It made her wonder what was on his mind, and if he was thinking of Tawny…Her stomach twisted at the thought, and hypocritical guilt made her cast her eyes downward as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.
    He led them down stones cut by glaciers thousands of years before that descended into the room she’d tiptoed past. Torchlight illuminated the cavern in a warm yellow hue, but the brightest point came from the fire glowing in a centered fireplace made of three stacks of large rocks matted together by gravel. Lorn sat on those stones cooking chunks of meat on a long, green branch-stick, her tanned breasts hanging gently forward as she bent. The pelt she’d put on for Ali’s comfort lay now in a heap on the floor at her scratched-up feet.
    Behind her on the wall opposite, was stacked firewood from floor to ceiling. Ali eyed it and wondered how they’d cut the wood–with their teeth? She saw no weapons or saws, but then she’d only just begun to scratch the surface of this den, and how they lived was still a complete mystery to her, the ins and outs of daily life unknown in every way. Lorn’s simple explanation had been insufficient, to say the least.
    Scanning the room, she found the entire pack present, some in wolf form and some in human. She noted she was the only one wearing a Pelt or clothing of any kind, and she felt more than a little silly wearing socks, too. She wished she were naked like them. But her human, feminine form wouldn’t have been able to take the cold. These creatures seemed unfazed by the chill in the large unevenly shaped cavern, and Ali felt disappointed in herself that she was already eyeing the fireplace with longing. But she waited as Calt stopped in his tracks, his hand still holding hers as they took in the argument steadily rising in volume.
    All eyes were on the newcomers, save for two pair. Tawny and the Asian beauty whose name Ali still didn’t know, were in a heated debate with Tawny’s back to the room, and the slightly smaller she-wolf squared off like she was about to fight. Her voice was an octave higher than Tawny’s and she had a hint of accent that betrayed a Japanese heritage as she stated with controlled patience, “We go tomorrow night when we have more time.”
    “We go tonight!” Tawny’s body was as tight as an arrow on a bow. “There is no need to wait!”
    Light gray eyes flashed as her arm flew into the air at her side. “Why won’t you listen? The night is already half gone and the journey is long and unknown to us. We do not know when we will find them, and if we arrive just before dawn they may think we have tried to catch them while they are sleeping. It could be perceived as an attack.”
    A brief, arrogant laugh burst from the taller she-wolf. “Let them think it! We go tonight. You will do as I say!”
    “No matter how smart you think you are, Tawny, your recklessness will always discount your intelligence by at least seventy percent!”
    One of Tawny’s legs stepped back into a fight-stance, her perfect ass pushing up on one side. “So specific, Bloo. Where’d you come up with that number? Your I.Q.?”
    Ali winced at the cruelty, and quickly memorized the new name. She looked to Calt as she felt her hand released. His body as tensed as theirs, was far more imposing and Ali glanced from the she-wolves back to him, nervously.
    “Lucin!” he shouted, causing the females to turn in surprise, suddenly aware of his presence. Both faces flushed as they realized he had been listening.
    A sandy-colored snout rose from