Since Steele and Malachi had other things to attend to, I had the opportunity to keep tabs on her while she got her breath of fresh air. She wanted a walking path. And the only one we knew of that was secluded enough was the one just to the northwest of town. It was the same location with a steep stairway that climbed the side of the mountain locals affectionately called the stairway from hell, but it was more widely known as “The Incline.”
Several walking paths forked off from the main one which eventually led into the stairs from hell. All of them angled toward the peak of the town’s namesake, Mt. Manitou the sister to Pike’s Peak.
After having given her the instructions and temporarily sending her on her way, I headed back inside long enough to grab a couple of blankets. The weather was only going to drop, and I wasn’t sure how much her tolerance would take of the plummeting temperatures. After I gave her a several hundred-foot head start, I headed out, following behind her. She didn’t know I was following her, and that was how I wanted to keep it. Though I did have a plan of letting her know at some point during the outing, and I didn’t want her frozen half to death by the time I let her in on my game.
The sun had already set, and darkness started stretching over the town of Manitou. Even walking through the populated main street there was an undeniable chill in the air. It seemed we were in for another cold front. The passes already had seen several feet of snow. Though most of it had melted off relatively quickly enough, that didn’t mean more wasn’t in store. And judging by the smell of the icy moisture in the air, snow as going to fall soon.
After making sure I had everything I needed, I took off behind Cassidy. As I followed her, I thought of the night before and how I had spent the rest of those short, sweet hours watching her sleep.
She was so perfect. Angelic almost. For certain, she was too good to be true. Because men like me could only dream of being with women like her. She was so far out of my league I had no business messing around with her much less speaking to her. And the fact that I had gotten as close to her as I had was a miracle in and of itself.
Above all else, she stood in a class of her own. One that men like me fantasized about. One that men like me could only wish and dream of getting close to. Because she was a solid ten. The rarest of beautiful women.
I had become the fool I would always make jokes about. And I didn’t mind one bit. I would be the king of fools for her if that was what she asked of me. There wasn’t a thing in this world that I wouldn’t do for her. And most of that she wouldn’t even have to ask.
As we left the town proper, I stuck to the shadows to remain hidden and was careful not to give myself away. The shadows had grown darker and deeper, and I would occasionally lose sight of her. But I kept my nose peeled for any scents that didn’t belong. And so long as I was around, that sorry excuse for a man would never get anywhere close to her ever again.
Him or anyone else for that matter. Not excluding Charlotte. She might have been my alpha, but there were no lengths I wouldn’t go to just to make sure Cassidy was safe. Even if that meant disobeying my alpha to the fullest extent.
And she would then have to catch me to kill me, which would never happen.
So far, so good.
About fifteen minutes into the walk, we were outside of the city limits, and I figured it was a good time to start giving her hints that I was behind her. I bent over and picked up a pebble. A few seconds later, I tossed the pebble toward her, and it dropped to the ground right at her feet.
I strained my ears to listen as she stopped and turned around, grinding gravel underneath the balls of her feet as she moved. She huffed. I chuckled under my breath. The sound of crunching gravel grew louder as she took a couple of steps closer to me. I sucked in a breath and held deathly still.
A soft sigh left her lips and then she muttered, “I’m losing my ever-loving mind.”
Once she started walking again, I stood up and took it slow going behind her. Only for a little while though. I didn’t want her getting too far ahead of me, and I was having fun.
After all, I didn’t want our little game to be over with too soon.
A few minutes later, I picked up a stick. This time, I chucked it off to her right. The sound of it flying through the air caught her attention and she snapped her gaze in the direction of the stick flying. I dropped to the ground next to a bush and peeked around it.
She raked her gaze over the area behind her once more. I ducked into the shadows as her gaze roamed over where I was hiding. “Who’s out there?”
I chuckled under my breath again. The determined edge to her voice was impressive. She knew how to mask her fear. I caught a slight whiff of it, but there wasn’t much. It simply could have been a lingering result from the stick I had thrown and startled her with.
Still. As cruel as it might sound, this was too much fun.
After waiting for a response and not getting one, she turned around and continued with her walk. Though I suspected she was more alert and paying closer attention to her surroundings now.
I shook my head. That woman. She was something else. And I would never be able to get enough of her.
After several more moments, I stood and stepped around the bush. Then she turned around and caught me. I held my hands up and smiled. Though it was slightly sooner than I had hoped for her to see me, it had been my intention for her to find me the whole time.
“Ah ha!” she said and pointed a finger at me. “What happened to giving me some alone time?”
“Can’t protect you from your ex-boyfriend if we leave you defenseless, now, can I?” I asked.
She smirked. “What’s with the trying to scare me, then?”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. You didn’t strike me as the type to scare very easily.”
She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “That’s because I’m not.”
I chuckled and approached her, closing the gap between us now that there was no point in keeping the distance. “I figured.”