Not My Alpha (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Six - Faking

Riley was behind me in an instant. We both watched with bated breath as Samuel's eyes peacefully fluttered open. He was still for just a moment before everything came crashing down onto his consciousness. His eyes suddenly widened and his muscles tensed, ready to attack the first thing they saw.

Riley's voice instantly came from behind me. "Samuel, it's alright. It's over."

Samuel's eyes darted up to Riley but before he could respond, he saw me. His frantic gaze softened immediately as he scanned me once over. He propped himself up on one elbow as he did so, bringing his other hand to rub the length of his face. I watched him timidly, very aware of Riley standing directly behind me, his feet digging into my hips.

Samuel continued staring at me, and I stared back. I wasn't sure what to say and it seemed he wasn't, either. His expression held a thousand different emotions, changing to a different one with each passing second. The one that seemed to keep coming back around though, was confusion.

"What exactly happened?" He finally asked. 

I watched the firelight dance across Samuel's furrowed brows. He flicked his gaze to me, scanning my body once again, almost in disbelief. I lowered my eyes after a while, rubbing my arms and shifting under his gaze. Riley's threats were still fresh in my mind, but I had no idea what to do with that knowledge or Samuel as a whole. It was obvious how Samuel felt and what he wanted, but I'd spent so long resisting him I didn't know how to do anything else, even if it was a feigned reaction.

Riley spoke up. "One of 'em shot you damn close to your heart. Twice."

He paused and nodded his head. "And after that?"

"Well, I dragged you here. Everyone else finished them off. Bray is gone now to make sure there's no one left."

I tensed. Riley had failed to mention that was where Payton, or as they called him, Bray, had gone. Were they really planning on killing every last human out here? 

I didn't get the chance to mull it over too long before Samuel noticed my apprehensive state. He reached a hand towards my leg as if to rest it there. However, he got halfway to my body before he froze and retracted his hand, thinking better of his action. He brought his arm back to rest at his side, but his eyes still lingered on my body. 

"What about you?" He finally prodded me.

I hesitated, looking away. I wasn't sure how he'd react when I told him I'd run off again, specifically against his orders. Noticing my pause, Riley spoke up. "She came back with me. We've been waiting for you to wake up. It's been a lovely time, really."

Samuel stilled, his eyes the only thing moving. They kept scanning my face, once again in disbelief. "You didn't run?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and started to answer, but Riley cut me off. "She didn't. Like I said, she came back with me.

It was my turn to be confused. I wanted to turn and ask Riley what he was playing at, but I didn't get the chance. His foot smoothly dug into my hip, applying a small pressure. He didn't voice anything, but I knew what he was trying to say. If I told Samuel the truth, I'd pay the price. 

I looked up to see Samuel staring at me, expectedly. I took a deep breath, modeling my words after Riley. What he said hadn't been a lie, it just wasn't the entire story. He'd caught me running in the woods, but I had come back with him to the safehouse. Samuel didn't need to know it was unwillingly and unconscious. 

"I came back with Riley."

The sentence came out smoother than I expected, surprising even myself. Samuel had been listening carefully to my answer, but as soon as I spoke his face slowly twisted into a wide and lopsided grin.  His expression lit up his entire face and made him into a new person. It was infectious and had I been in any other situation, I would have smiled. too.