Free Alphas by Lisi Harrison Page A

others no choice but to follow.
    Shoeless, running along a dirt path in nothing but a silver nightgown and several coats of Burt’s Bees balm, Allie felt more
     like an escaped mental patient than a seductress. She nibbled anxiously on her bottom lip. It tasted like wax, honey, and
     insanity.
    They finally arrived at the beach. The pink sand felt cold, almost mentholated, offering much-needed relief to Allie’s scraped,
     potentially diseased feet.
    “There they are!” Skye air-applauded the distant smoldering fire.
    “Let’s go!” Renee slid off her silver ballet flats and charged forward.
    “Wait!” Skye called, unbuckling her clear gladiators. There were dozens of clasps going up her tanned calves.
    “I told you not to wear those,” Renee huffed impatiently.
    “Why?” Skye fussed with a strap. “Because they draw attention to my toned legs and you’re jealous?”
    “Stop!” Allie heard herself shout. “Why are you fighting? A boy/Is to enjoy/Not cause tension/Or dissension,” she quoted the
     chorus of “Boy-Clott.”
    “She’s right.” Skye kicked off her sandals and dipped her manicured feet in the water. The gentle surf licked them clean.
     “We shouldn’t let boys come between us.”
    “In bed!” Renee giggle-blurted.
    Finally, they all cracked up. Allie had forgotten how good genuine laughter could feel.
    “Listen.” Triple cupped her ear.
    Their laughter ceased.
    “Burn. It! Burn. It! Burn. It!”
    “Come on!” Skye shouted.
    The girls hurried toward the male voices, trepidation and excitement fueling their pounding hearts.
    Stopping short of the flickering orange light, Allie, Renee, Triple, and Skye examined the brothers’ shadowy profiles. Sixteen-year-old
     Melbourne, fifteen-year-old Sydney, fourteen-year-old Darwin and thirteen-year-old twins Taz and Dingo, each in a Crayola-colored
     hoodie, stood around a flickering fire.
    “Burn. It! Burn. It! Burn. It!” they shouted at Darwin. He was hug-rocking a white sweatshirt like it was a newborn teddy
     bear.
    Allie twisted her jet-black glossy hair over one shoulder. Were they interrupting some bizarre boy-cult ritual?
    “Come on, Dar, you can do it,” Taz said gruffly but gently. But Darwin just shook his head and tried to walk away. The other
     brothers turned to grab him, and realized immediately that they had an audience.
    “Hey boys,” Skye trilled.
    The BBBs made the split-second transformation from boys to men. They straightened up and walked over, each one offering a
     variation on the standard-issue
what’s up?
head nod. While her friends hair-tossed and smiled, Allie felt a sudden wave of lightheadedness that had nothing to do with
     her meat-free stomach. If only Fletcher could see her now.…
    Taz stepped forward wearing a smile that deepened into a dimple on his right cheek. “We were just helping out our bro.”
    Melbourne pushed down his hoodie. “His girlfriend dumped him. Skype-and-run. Brutal.”
    Sydney made a sniffling sound. Was he crying about his brother’s breakup?
    Renee pinched her cheeks for a burst of color. “Who do you want, Allie J?” she whispered.
    Fletcher
, she answered in her head.
    “Did you know your pj’s are like a mirror?” Melbourne told his reflection, which just so happened to be over Allie’s boobs.
     “I can totally see myself.”
    “Ignore him. He’s in love with himself.” Dingo extended his right arm.
    “Allie.” She reached for it and shook. “J.”
    “Ouch.” He winced. “Strong grip.”
    “Really?” Allie dove into his grass green eyes and rolled around like a happy puppy. Until she heard a crack.
    “Ahhhhhhh!” Dingo shouted.
    “Ahhhh!” Allie shouted back as his arm fell out of his sleeve and landed with a thud in the sand. Blood sprayed like Evian
     mist. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
    Everyone burst out laughing. Except Allie, who wiped his fake-hand germs on the side of her nightgown, cursing herself for
     forgetting the Purell.
    “I’ve always