Gray (The Boundarylands #10) - Callie Rhodes Page 0,4

well and truly screwed.

The hours she'd spent observing the alpha through the telescopic lens of her camera did not do him justice. The creature standing before her right now was so much bigger, so much wider, so much more massive than he'd seemed on the tiny display screen. Vitality radiated from him in equal measure to his fury…all of it focused entirely on her.

But why hadn't he attacked? By now, Olivia would have expected to be wearing her insides on the outside, her blood seeping into the ground. As powerful as he was, the alpha could easily dispatch her with one blow, and, judging from the threatening tone of his growl, he was more than willing.

And yet, she was still breathing.

Suddenly something snapped inside Olivia. She wasn't about to spend her last remaining seconds cowering in silence. To hell with the fact that she had no way to fight back—she needed to know when the hammer was going to fall.

"I—"

That was as far as she got before the alpha cut her off, his voice as hard and sharp as any carbide blade.

"No. That's not how this is going to go."

Olivia didn't have time to respond before the alpha crouched down in front of her, his face inches from hers. Suddenly, avoiding eye contact was impossible, especially when she found herself gazing into unearthly violet irises lit with murderous rage. She flinched and nearly toppled off her stool when the alpha spoke again, so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

"You will not speak—you will not make a single fucking sound—until I ask you a question. Then the only thing you're going to say is the goddamn truth. If you lie, I will know, and I'll squash you like the fucking bug you are. Got it?"

Olivia nodded her agreement. She wasn't about to argue with him, not when she had the chance to stay alive for just a few more minutes.

"Good," the alpha growled. "Then tell me, who do you work for?"

Shit.

Really? That was the question he'd decided to lead with? Not who are you? or what are you doing here? No, the alpha had to choose the one question Olivia couldn't answer.

Her mind raced through a dozen responses, desperate to come up with an answer that wouldn't incite him to even greater anger, but her panicked mind rejected them all.

"Answer me." Though he didn't raise his voice, its tone was deadly.

There was nothing for it. Olivia saw no other option but to tell him the truth and face the consequences.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

It was the wrong answer. The baleful energy pouring off of the alpha intensified, his hands tightening into fists at his side. "I warned you what would happen if you lie."

Olivia opened her mouth to try to convince him that she wasn't lying, but she never had the chance. The alpha's arm shot out, and his huge hand wrapped around her throat.

She waited for him to crush her larynx and cut off her oxygen. But the creature wasn't content with simply killing her—apparently, he wanted her to appreciate his power over her first.

One second, she was sitting on her stool, and the next, she was swooped up in the air to dangle like a fish on a line. She kicked at the air and pawed at his hand around her neck, but it was useless.

Oh God…this was it. This was the end.

Olivia gave up and simply grasped the alpha's arm for support, instinctually trying to stop him from strangling her. But after a second of pure panic, she realized she didn't need to. The alpha was supporting her by the nape, careful not to crush her windpipe.

He held her effortlessly, close enough to look her straight in the eye. She didn't dare look away. Instead, she found herself cataloging his features like she might a rare bird, committing them to memory while she tried not to be swayed by their raw beauty.

His skin was a sun-burnished brown, with tiny lines around his eyes and mouth speaking to years in the sun. She guessed he was several years older than her from the silver glint of his beard's shadow. His hair was going silver around the temples, too, while the rest of it was an inky charcoal and luxuriantly thick, falling over his broad forehead to graze his brow. His nose was narrow, flaring to tapered nostrils, and his chin was broad and pronounced, the combination suggesting a Norse god.

But most arresting were his eyes, a