The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 53: Chapter 53
You are reading The Alpha's Gamble, Chapter 53: Chapter 53. Read more chapters of The Alpha's Gamble.
MADELINE
The soil piled up next to Landon, and I ignored the smug smirk he threw Logan when I jumped in to set the barrel down. As I positioned it and reached for the second one on the ground, my eyes drifted to the phone buzzing like crazy in Landon’s pocket.
It was right there, I just needed to find a way to grab it without him noticing, and without Logan seeing, because there’s no way he wouldn’t rat me out if he caught me. The last few days had made one thing clear: the guys hadn’t taken care of the sex tape. Landon still had it. If they’d deleted it, the dynamic between us would’ve changed. Landon wouldn’t be including me in their schemes, and Noah would’ve let me know it was handled. At least, that’s what I think. It wasn’t entirely impossible that they had deleted it, but my gut told me otherwise. The video was still there, in that folder, on that phone.
And if I’ve learned anything, it’s this: if you want something done right, you better do it yourself.
Other people bring disappointment, and I’ve had enough of that.
Logan’s face was turning red where he stood by the shed, and when I gestured for the third and last barrel, his eyes narrowed into slits, his jaw tightening. Whatever. I ignored the subtle shake of his head and got up to grab it myself. Why was he acting like a child? If someone ever wrote a book about him and Noah, Logan would be the male protagonist, plotting and scheming in the spotlight, terrorizing his victims and laughing as they crawled through the wreckage of their ruined lives.
“Stop pouting. It’s not cute,” I said as I grabbed the last barrel and handed it to Landon, who turned it in the dirt a few times to make sure it was stable. We poured the dirt back in, and I grabbed another shovel to help Landon while Logan stood off to the side, watching with a scowl twisting his features. I wasn’t sure exactly when the dynamic between us shifted. Just a week ago, Logan was all about bringing me into his madness. It was practically a requirement when the guys said they’d help me deal with the tape. But now? Now he didn’t even want me near them.
If his mood kept swinging like this, I swear I’d get whiplash.
“Aren’t you getting your wolf soon, love?” Landon asked, nearly triggering my gag reflex with that slimy ‘love.’
“Tomorrow,” I said, dumping another shovel of dirt into the hole. The barrels were almost covered, only the top rims still visible.
“How about you and I go for a run when she wakes up?” Not in this lifetime. Or any other.
“We’ll talk about it,” I said, forcing a smile that probably came out more like a snarl. The only run I envisioned with Landon involved fire, chains, and me chasing him through hell’s hallway straight into a burning pit where I’d watch his skin melt and hear him scream.
“I’ll have the camera ready,” he laughed. The shovel paused midair. My grip tightened around the wooden handle until I felt the first splinter, saw the crack snake its way down the shaft.
“I’ll have the camera ready.” They hadn’t deleted the video. It was still on his phone, right there in his pocket, waiting to be used however and whenever he pleased. My mind went quiet. No rage. No inner voices shrieking for vengeance. Just… silence. Serene, unshakable silence.
It filled every crevice of my mind, pulsed through my veins, and flowed down into my fingers as I raised the shovel. The shaft broke as I slammed it into the pile of dirt, and then I turned, driven only by instinct, and stabbed the jagged end toward Landon’s neck.
I didn’t even see his face at first. Just his back. The way he stood there, unaware, practically inviting it. I wanted to taste his blood, literally. To drag my fingers across the shaft and lick it off my skin. But before the wood could pierce flesh, a shadow stepped between us. I didn’t see his face. Just the shape of him, his presence cutting through my focus. Landon turned slowly, his eyes doubling in size. But the stake never hit him. There was no blood. No gurgled begging as he struggled for air while staring into my eyes. Instead, a strong hand clamped down on my wrist. My arm was yanked back, and the broken shaft was torn from my grasp and flung across the clearing.
“Madeline!” the voice barked. I didn’t look away from Landon’s wide, terrified eyes.
“Maddie. Hey!” The man shook me once, twice, snapping me out of it. I blinked and finally saw Logan standing in front of me.
“Are you fucking crazy?!” No. Crazy would be letting that bastard live. I was saner than ever.
Logan stared into my face, his expression unreadable, and pushed me back three steps.
“Pat that shit down and get the fuck out of here,” he snapped. Landon scrambled to obey. He patted down the dirt, threw some leaves over the mound, and then bolted, glancing back every few seconds until he disappeared between the trees. I didn’t need to see him shift. I heard it, the snapping bones, the growl, and the rustle of his paws hitting the ground as he took off.
The soil piled up next to Landon, and I ignored the smug smirk he threw Logan when I jumped in to set the barrel down. As I positioned it and reached for the second one on the ground, my eyes drifted to the phone buzzing like crazy in Landon’s pocket.
It was right there, I just needed to find a way to grab it without him noticing, and without Logan seeing, because there’s no way he wouldn’t rat me out if he caught me. The last few days had made one thing clear: the guys hadn’t taken care of the sex tape. Landon still had it. If they’d deleted it, the dynamic between us would’ve changed. Landon wouldn’t be including me in their schemes, and Noah would’ve let me know it was handled. At least, that’s what I think. It wasn’t entirely impossible that they had deleted it, but my gut told me otherwise. The video was still there, in that folder, on that phone.
And if I’ve learned anything, it’s this: if you want something done right, you better do it yourself.
Other people bring disappointment, and I’ve had enough of that.
Logan’s face was turning red where he stood by the shed, and when I gestured for the third and last barrel, his eyes narrowed into slits, his jaw tightening. Whatever. I ignored the subtle shake of his head and got up to grab it myself. Why was he acting like a child? If someone ever wrote a book about him and Noah, Logan would be the male protagonist, plotting and scheming in the spotlight, terrorizing his victims and laughing as they crawled through the wreckage of their ruined lives.
“Stop pouting. It’s not cute,” I said as I grabbed the last barrel and handed it to Landon, who turned it in the dirt a few times to make sure it was stable. We poured the dirt back in, and I grabbed another shovel to help Landon while Logan stood off to the side, watching with a scowl twisting his features. I wasn’t sure exactly when the dynamic between us shifted. Just a week ago, Logan was all about bringing me into his madness. It was practically a requirement when the guys said they’d help me deal with the tape. But now? Now he didn’t even want me near them.
If his mood kept swinging like this, I swear I’d get whiplash.
“Aren’t you getting your wolf soon, love?” Landon asked, nearly triggering my gag reflex with that slimy ‘love.’
“Tomorrow,” I said, dumping another shovel of dirt into the hole. The barrels were almost covered, only the top rims still visible.
“How about you and I go for a run when she wakes up?” Not in this lifetime. Or any other.
“We’ll talk about it,” I said, forcing a smile that probably came out more like a snarl. The only run I envisioned with Landon involved fire, chains, and me chasing him through hell’s hallway straight into a burning pit where I’d watch his skin melt and hear him scream.
“I’ll have the camera ready,” he laughed. The shovel paused midair. My grip tightened around the wooden handle until I felt the first splinter, saw the crack snake its way down the shaft.
“I’ll have the camera ready.” They hadn’t deleted the video. It was still on his phone, right there in his pocket, waiting to be used however and whenever he pleased. My mind went quiet. No rage. No inner voices shrieking for vengeance. Just… silence. Serene, unshakable silence.
It filled every crevice of my mind, pulsed through my veins, and flowed down into my fingers as I raised the shovel. The shaft broke as I slammed it into the pile of dirt, and then I turned, driven only by instinct, and stabbed the jagged end toward Landon’s neck.
I didn’t even see his face at first. Just his back. The way he stood there, unaware, practically inviting it. I wanted to taste his blood, literally. To drag my fingers across the shaft and lick it off my skin. But before the wood could pierce flesh, a shadow stepped between us. I didn’t see his face. Just the shape of him, his presence cutting through my focus. Landon turned slowly, his eyes doubling in size. But the stake never hit him. There was no blood. No gurgled begging as he struggled for air while staring into my eyes. Instead, a strong hand clamped down on my wrist. My arm was yanked back, and the broken shaft was torn from my grasp and flung across the clearing.
“Madeline!” the voice barked. I didn’t look away from Landon’s wide, terrified eyes.
“Maddie. Hey!” The man shook me once, twice, snapping me out of it. I blinked and finally saw Logan standing in front of me.
“Are you fucking crazy?!” No. Crazy would be letting that bastard live. I was saner than ever.
Logan stared into my face, his expression unreadable, and pushed me back three steps.
“Pat that shit down and get the fuck out of here,” he snapped. Landon scrambled to obey. He patted down the dirt, threw some leaves over the mound, and then bolted, glancing back every few seconds until he disappeared between the trees. I didn’t need to see him shift. I heard it, the snapping bones, the growl, and the rustle of his paws hitting the ground as he took off.
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 53. Continue reading Chapter 54 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.