Chained To The Alpha: A Paranormal Shifter Romance Standalone by JJ Jones Page B

coming.
    “Look, I could sit here and wonder about what’s been going wrong, even though I already know that you have to be behind it, or I could try to figure out how to solve this problem. I can only do one of these things and the blame game isn’t going to get me home any faster.”
    That was all I needed to hear. I exploded. “My fault! You honestly think that this is my fault? What the hell is wrong with you? I know you did it. You had to have done it. I didn’t do this. What possible reason would I have to do this to you?” I jabbed my finger into his chest. He took a step back, taken by surprise at the rage that I was showing. “I don’t even know who you are, so why would I do this to you? Maybe you should be asking that question.”
    “Hey.” He was ready to fight me. We started to circle each other. “I don’t know you either, and I don’t know if I can trust you.” He reached up and grabbed my hand. “You don’t lay a hand on me. I am alpha of my pack and I deserve respect.”
    “I’m not going to just lie down and submit to whatever you say. I’m not that kind of wolf. I refuse to Omega to you.” I laughed at him and yanked my hand away. “You must be from one of those nutjob packs that thinks it’s okay to abduct potential mates.” I continued to accuse him, but I didn’t touch him again.
    “I am not a nutjob.” He was growling now.
    I didn’t care about that. I growled back, making eye contact and keeping it, refusing to back down. I wondered who was going to back down first. Whoever broke contact first was going to have to follow orders. I was determined to be on top. That was what I needed, to be in charge of this situation. I felt the loss of control, and I didn’t like it, not in the slightest.
    “I think you are.”
    His growls grew louder and mine grew to match it. Our vision-based joust grew more intense. “You have no right to speak to me that way. Who are you anyway?”
    “Fynna.” It was a strange way to introduce myself, but at least he wasn’t sniffing my butt.
    “I already know that.”
    “Someone who’s not going to take your crap.” I didn’t know how else to answer his question. I didn’t break eye contact. I wasn’t going to. “Just back down. I have you beat.”
    “No.” It was all he said, another answer that was going to drive me crazy. He didn’t elaborate, just told me how it was going to be and I didn’t like that at all.
    “What qualifications do you have to lead?” It was turning into an interview.
    “I’m already the alpha of a pack.”
    “You’ve already said that.”
    “It’s experience.” There was a shrug in his voice, but he didn’t make the physical movement. His steel eyes stayed steady and his hair was dark brown, with shimmering highlights. I knew a lot of women that would have killed to get the same volume that he had. “What did you do to deserve to lead?”
    “I didn’t kill you yet.”
    “If you killed me, you would have to drag my body along.”
    He was being completely reasonable with that flaw in my reasoning, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. We were in a battle for dominance, typically reason had very little do with it. I tugged on the cuffs, hoping to force him to lose eye contact by putting him off balance. It didn’t work, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I growled at him and pushed him with my free hand. It was a hard push with two fingers on the shoulders. At the same time, I pulled on his chained arm with my own. I was hoping to push him off balance, and it nearly worked. Still he didn’t break eye contact, his growls getting louder.
    “Stop. We have to work together.” He made the demand in his most commanding voice.
    I generally don’t have much respect for authority figures, so I didn’t want to back down. Still, we weren’t exactly in a place or a situation that would allow us to go through an entire struggle for dominance. “Give up then.”
    “How about this,” He didn’t