Alpha Theo by C.J. Primer

CHAPTER   TWENTY-THREE

Brooke

“Alright, so what are we doing?” I ask, approaching Theo at the complex gate. “Surprises are great and all, but I can’t really dress for the occasion if you don’t tell me what we’re doing.”

It’s silly to even say that since I spent an hour getting ready for this casual hangout with Theo. I put in my contact lenses, curled my hair, and agonized over what to wear for a good twenty minutes. I ultimately settled on a tight pair of black skinny jeans and a white cropped t-shirt. It’s Fallon’s shirt- she must’ve left it in my room at some point and it wound up in my laundry. It’s not something I would typically wear, but when I’m around Theo I feel a little confident, a little sexy. Like I’ve said so many times, nobody looks at me like Theo does.

The outfit has its desired effect. Theo rakes his gaze over my body, his eyes lingering on my exposed midriff.

I settle my hands on my hips, tilting my head. “So? What are we doing?”

His hazel eyes meet mine, sparkling with the coppery flecks of his wolf. The corner of his mouth tips up into a smile. “Okay, don’t freak out…” he reaches for my hand, taking it in his. Sparks simmer between our palms.

“Theo…” I grind out nervously, following as he pulls me around the corner.

My heart stops when I see his motorcycle parked there.

I yank my hand away, crossing my arms over my chest. “Nope. No way. How many times have I told you that I’m not getting on that thing?!”

Theo shoots me a devilish grin, striding over to the bike and grabbing something off of it. He spins around, holding it up.

“C’mon, kid… I got you a jacket.”

My eyes widen, looking from the jacket to Theo.

He got me a jacket?! Swoon.

It’s such a sweet gesture- something I never would’ve expected. Taking me for a ride must really mean something to Theo for him to go through all this trouble to try to convince me. I mean, he got me a leather jacket like his! How adorable is that?!

“I don’t know…” I murmur, shuffling my feet in the dirt.

Oh my gosh, am I actually considering getting on his motorcycle right now?!

Theo grins, holding the jacket out to me. He tilts his head. “Will you at least try it on?”

I blush, tucking my hair behind my ears and stepping toward him. He holds up the jacket and I spin around, sticking my arms into the sleeves one at a time. Then I sweep my arm behind my neck, flipping my long hair out of the jacket before turning around, taking a step back.

“Whaddya think?” I ask, looking down to admire it. It’s a beautiful jacket and it fits like a glove. I glance back up at Theo and the look he’s giving me… I wish I could take a picture, capture it forever.

His lips spread into a smile as his eyes meet mine. “You look great, kid. Fucking perfect.”

My cheeks heat in another blush and I look away shyly, smoothing my long hair over the front of my shoulders.

“So are you gonna let me take you for a ride or what?” He asks, waggling his eyebrows.

Am I? I’m so conflicted. On one hand, I’m terrified to get on that death trap with him. On the other, I want so badly to give in, let go, take a leap…

He reaches out, takes my hand again. I feel those little sparks and I’m a goner.

“Do… do you have a helmet?” I breathe.

Theo’s face lights up. “Yeah!” He drops my hand, turns back to the bike. Spins back around with a black helmet in his hands. “I mean I never wear it, but I figured you’d want one. Here…”

He unclips the strap and holds it up over my head. He helps me into it, my fingertips brushing his as I reach up to secure the helmet down on my head. Then he fastens the strap, pulling it tight under my chin.

“How’s it feel?” he asks, placing his palms on either side and shaking it around a little. “Tight enough?”

“Mhmm,” I hum. I can’t even form words right now- my heart’s beating so fast. Am I really about to do this?

I consider backing out, but then I see Theo’s face again- so happy, so hopeful. I don’t want to let him down.

“Okay,” he murmurs, stepping beside the motorcycle and throwing a leg over. He settles onto it, placing his hands on the handlebars, then he turns to me and gives a little flick of his head. “Climb on.”

I try to steady my breathing, taking a shaky step toward the motorcycle. Then another.

“Just throw a leg over,” Theo says- so casually, like this is a regular occurrence. It probably is- he’s probably had countless women ride behind him on his bike. “You can grab onto my shoulder for balance if ya want.”

I swallow hard. I can do this. It seems scary, but then again, so was the ski-lift. So was opening up to Theo. And those things turned out alright. So, I do as instructed. I grab onto Theo’s shoulder, throw a leg over the seat. Settle onto the motorcycle behind him.

“Uhh… you’re gonna want to scooch a little closer,” Theo says over his shoulder.

I comply, wriggling forward until my front is pressed against his back. My heart’s still racing, and I don’t know if it’s the fear of being on the motorcycle or the contact of our bodies.

“You gotta hang on, too,” he says, matter-of-factly. “Put your arms around me.”

Slowly, I wind my arms around his waist. I’ve never touched his body before, but even through his jacket, it feels exactly how I imagined it would- solid, rock hard. My wolf is going frickin’ crazy right now, rattling around inside my chest.

I flinch as Theo fires up the engine, the roar of his motorcycle drowning out my frantic doubts.

“You ready?” he calls out over his shoulder.

“Please just go slow!” I whine.

Theo lets out a laugh and the next thing I know, we’re in motion. I squeeze my arms tighter, clinging to him as he pulls onto the street, starts to pick up a little speed.

I can not believe I’m doing this. Have I lost my mind?

I feel the rumble of the motorcycle underneath me, the warmth of Theo in front of me, the wind in my hair as he starts to go faster. This… isn’t as bad as I expected. My wolf’s absolutely thrilled, practically purring, and I’m… nervous, but excited. I feel good. I feel free.

I close my eyes, let out a laugh that’s carried away on the breeze. Hold tighter to Theo as he picks up a little more speed, turns off the main road onto another one.

The first few minutes are great. I’m wondering why it took me so long to agree to this- I’m having the time of my life. And then things go sideways. Theo starts driving faster, way faster than I’m comfortable with. I see my life flash before my eyes when he takes a turn, leaning so far into it that I feel like I’m going to spill off of the bike.

“Theo!” I scream, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over me. “Slow down!”

But he doesn’t slow down. He goes faster. I squeeze tighter around his waist, trying to signal to him. “Theo!”

It’s like he doesn’t hear me. He’s racing up the mountain road now and I’m absolutely panicking. “Theo! Stop!” I cry out, digging my fingers into his abdomen. “Theo!”

He still doesn’t stop. He takes a curve way too fast, screeches his tires as he almost dumps us both off of the motorcycle. I’m so paralyzed by fear that I feel like I’m gonna throw up.

“Theo!” I keep screaming out for him, clawing at his abs.

Finally, he slows, pulling the bike onto a dirt turnoff, coasting to a stop. As soon as his feet hit the ground, I yank my arms from around his waist and start pounding on his back with my fists.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I scream, my voice strained.

He laughs- frickin’ laughs! – and turns to look at me over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

I grunt, pushing at his back and setting a leg down, stumbling as I pull my other leg over the motorcycle, hopping backwards as I find my footing.

“Are you kidding me?!” I spit, eyes thrown wide. I reach up to unsnap the helmet strap, fumbling with the buckle under my chin.

Theo kills the engine, setting the kickstand and lazily climbing off of his bike, still chuckling. “Calm down, kid…”

“No!” I yell, still trying to get the damn helmet unbuckled. I’m so furious that I’m seeing red. “Couldn’t you hear me?! I was terrified, I was screaming for you to stop!”

He shakes his head, that patronizing smile still on his lips. “What? I thought you were screaming because you were having fun.”

The buckle unsnaps and I pull the helmet up off of my head. “Fun?!” I hurl it in his direction.

Theo catches the helmet in front of his chest with both hands, then lowers it, dangling it beside him by the strap. He stares back at me, his smile fading from his face, like it’s finally dawning on him how upset I am.

I’m not just upset- I’m absolutely furious. I took a huge risk getting on that motorcycle with him- I trusted him to keep to his word that he’d take it slow, not make me fear for my frickin’ life!

Theo shakes his head, dropping the helmet to the ground and striding toward me. “Listen, kid, I…”

“No!” I interrupt, glaring up at Theo as he stops in front of me. “I’m not going to listen to your excuses. That’s all you do, Theo- make excuses for yourself!”

Suddenly, without warning, Theo lunges forward. He grabs me by the elbows, yanking me into his chest, crushing his lips down over mine. The contact is like an explosion- sparks ignite between our lips, my eyes slam shut and frickin’ fireworks burst behind my eyelids. Before my brain can even register what’s happening, my lips part, my body responding to his kiss on its own accord.

This is nothing like the kiss with Connor. It’s urgent, hungry- but somehow also tender and gentle. Needy. Desperate. Greedy. Possessive. His velvety tongue finds mine, tangling with it as he reaches up to cup my cheek, slides his fingers back into my hair. Heat pools between my legs as he wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me closer, keeps claiming my mouth.

Warmth spreads through my body as it melts into Theo’s, our tongues twining as we devour one another. All of the tension, all of the build-up washes away as we kiss, replaced by an overwhelming sense of release. Everything is reduced to this one moment, this one kiss…

My knees buckle. My heart races. It’s everything a kiss should be- passionate, wild, uninhibited.

It would be perfect, except…

This isn’t right.

Reality crashes in. My wolf’s driving this ship, not me. I shove her back, pushing at Theo’s chest. I stumble backwards, half delirious. Breathless. As soon as our bodies break apart, mine aches at the loss of his contact.

My mind spins.

My anger returns.

“What the fuck?!” I sputter.

Theo’s eyes fly wide, stunned.

It’s probably the first time he’s heard me use the f-word, but it’s the only one I can get out. The only one that adequately conveys my anger and frustration in this moment.

“I’m sorry…” he grumbles, drawing a breath. Then his eyes narrow and he raises his voice. “Actually, you know what? I’m not sorry. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that? And don’t act like it wasn’t incredible because I know I wasn’t the only one who felt that. You wanted me to kiss you…”

“No!” I shout back, cutting him off.

Theo shakes his head, his eyes darkening. “Please. Are you lying to yourself, too, or just to me? You know there’s something here, something between us. You’ve been giving me all the signals over the past week…”

“What signals?!” I demand.

He settles his hands on his hips. “Come on, Brooke. In the showers? You were showing off for me, soaping up your tits and looking straight at my dick.”

My temper flares. “Are you kidding me? I was just taking a shower! Which I never would’ve had to do if you’d actually been responsible and checked the weather forecast…”

“So you didn’t want me to kiss you?” he interrupts, folding his arms across his chest.

“No!” I yell, my voice ragged. “Not now, not like this!”

I’m so angry that my whole body is trembling.

There’s a flash of something in his eyes, like my response cut deep, but I’m so mad that I don’t even let it give me pause.

I raise a hand, pointing a finger at him. “You think you can just take whatever you want, whenever you want it. You think the whole world should bow at your feet just because you’re a frickin’ alpha!” I scream, seething. “Well guess what, Theo?! You’re not an alpha, not yet and maybe not ever!”

My rage keeps spilling out like word vomit. “With the way you’re going, you’ll never run the pack because you can’t even swallow your pride for five minutes to make nice with your dad or support Cory as Beta. What kind of alpha can’t put his own damn pride aside for the sake of his pack?!”

Theo’s face twists into a scowl as he takes a step forward, pointing a finger back at me. “I might not be an alpha yet, but at least I’m honest with myself. I know I’m a fuck up! But you, you act like you’re all sweet an innocent, and you’re…”

“I’m what, Theo?!” I demand, stomping my foot.

“You’re acting like a real fucking bitch right now!” he snaps.

Oh no he didn’t.

I stride forward, pushing at his chest. “I’m a bitch?! Why, because you can’t handle the truth?!” I spit. “Man up, Theo! If you want to be an alpha, then start acting like one! Grow up! Go home, apologize to your dad! Show the pack you support Cory! Stop sleeping around! You’re so hard-headed and reckless that all you’re doing is hurting everyone around you, including yourself…”

“You know what?!” He bites back, his hazel eyes cutting through me. Then he just shakes his head, turning away. “Fuck this,” he mutters. He stalks back toward his motorcycle, scooping his helmet up off of the ground.

I just stand there, watching as he straps the helmet on the back of his bike, climbs on, and fires up the engine.

Wait a second, is he going to leave me out here?!

“Theo!” I scream, running toward him.

He hits the throttle, dirt spraying from underneath the tires as he peels out.

All I can do is stand there, still shaking with anger as I watch him drive away.