Nerd's Badboy Alpha novel Chapter 2

"Who are you?"

"Someone who's not going to beat you up," the voice says with a chuckle. "Come on out."

I know that voice. No, he's not going to beat me up. What he'll do is worse than that. He'll help me.

I tilt my head just far enough back to confirm that yup, the person standing outside is the last person I want pulling me out of a dumpster. Tall as an oak tree with shoulders that challenge most doorways, our BMOC: Alex Royce.

He grabs the rim of the dumpster and peers inside. "Are you all right? Looks like you got nailed with someone's mocha Frappuccino there. At least I hope that's mocha. Here." He reaches in and extends his large hand to me.

I hesitate to take his hand. He's a wolf like me, but that's like saying a Ferrari is like a Peugeot. He is the eldest son of the Alpha of the Silverback pack, and while I wouldn't exactly say they're our direct rivals, our packs have had bloody skirmishes in the past that resulted in losses of life on both sides, most notably my parents.

He is also not the most approachable guy in school. He's undoubtedly the leader of the Apex group and therefore always surrounded by people who would more likely bite your head off than say hello. That's not his fault. He was born oozing with power, born to lead.

And I was not.

He must have seen the hesitation in my eyes because he just thrust his hand out again. "Come on, would you really rather stay inside a dumpster than hang out with me?" One corner of his lips quirks up into a half-smile.

"I really don't."

Especially since something is starting to soak through my underwear. I slap my hand into his, where it is quickly engulfed, and he pulls me up. Before I can respond, he grabs me under the arms and hauls me right out like a sack of potatoes.

"Thanks." I stagger, wobbling on my feet for a moment, but he steadies me by resting his hands on my shoulders and looking into my eyes.

Which are vividly green, by the way. His, I mean. Like a field of grass after it rains. I have never stood this close to him before. He really is, as my friend Stella likes to say, ridiculously good-looking. And he smells like pizza and coffee. Oh, wait, that's probably me.

"Oh, sticky." He steps back away from me and wipes his hands on his uniform trousers. "Stay right here. I have a towel in my truck."

I'm having some kind of nightmare. I'm covered in garbage and the most popular, most handsome boy in school just plucked me out of a dumpster. And now he's getting me a towel from his truck.

A giant fist punches me from the back and I hit the asphalt hard enough that my mouth explodes with blood. I try to lift my head, but the hand on my skull slaps it back down.

"Gotcha."

It's most likely Shinji who's holding me down right now. I really didn't expect when I left my uncle's house this morning that I was going to die today. I should have fed my fish one last time. "Let..." I can't really speak because he's got my face shoved to the asphalt.

"Let her go," Alex Royce says in a voice that had none of the warmth it had earlier. "And get the hell out of here."

Shinji's nails must have shifted to claws by now because they are digging into my scalp. "This is none of your business, wolf. She's our game."

"I'm making it my business, you rude little shit."

The weight is lifted off me and tossed a few feet away to smash into his brothers. "Unf," is all I can manage until Alex pulls me up and gives me the towel he retrieved from his truck for me.

He smirks. "Sure, I do. It's Melanie, right? Get in the truck."

I shrug. "Close enough. Anyway, thanks." I head for the passenger door and open it carefully so I don't ding the door of the next car over. Before I sit down, I fold the towel into fourths and put it on the seat.

"Thanks, pal." He gets into the cab and pulls me in. "Seatbelt."

We drive back to the school and I see on the dashboard that it's almost seven. Supper is right at seven and if I miss it, Uncle Al is bound to notice, but I can't show up looking like this, either: bloody, beat up, and smelling like a dumpster. The right side of my face is already starting to swell.

We pull up to the school parking lot and head right to the gyms. I become conscious of Alex following closely behind me and again wonder why he is doing this. Is it just a part of a big prank? No, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who could be drawn into such childish shenanigans.

"Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Just my gym clothes. In my locker. Thanks again for--"

With his arms folded over his broad chest, he leans against the doorframe of the entrance to the girls' locker room. "Go clean yourself up. I'll wait for you out here, so I can drive you home myself."

I squint at him with suspicion. "To my Uncle's house? Within the Ravencrest compound? You are aware I'm not from your pack?"

He grins, showcasing perfect white human teeth. "I am, my little dumpster diver. Now get going before I change my mind and leave you here."

I swallow hard and rush to obey.