All Chapters of Caught Between Two Alpha's : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

–Ethan–I forgot my phone.That's it. That's the whole reason my life fell apart — because I forgot my stupid phone on the bench after practice.The natatorium was empty when I slipped back in, my sneakers squeaking against the wet tiles. The rest of the team had cleared out an hour ago. Even the lights were dimmed, that eerie blue glow bouncing off the pool's surface.I wasn't supposed to be here.I'm never really supposed to be anywhere on this team, honestly. Benchwarmer. Backup. The guy Coach keeps around because the scholarship paperwork was already filed. My best friend Tony calls it "decorative athleticism." Yen says I should quit. My sister Lina just looks at me with those sad eyes every time I come home without a single medal.I spotted my phone near lane four and grabbed it.That's when I heard it.Coming from the locker room. A sound so wrong, so animal, that every hair on my body stood up.Ragged breathing. Strained. Like someone fighting their own body and losing.And ben

Nobody moved. Karl stood at the door. Adrian's fingers were still on my wrist. And I was sitting between two men who could probably flip this entire coffee shop over without breaking a sweat. Normal Tuesday morning. "I said sit down." Adrian's voice didn't rise. Didn't harden. That somehow made it worse. Karl crossed the room anyway. He dropped into the chair beside me — not across, beside — close enough that his arm pressed against mine. Heat poured off him immediately. That same furnace warmth from last night, wrapping around me before I could think to pull back. He looked at Adrian's hand. Adrian slowly withdrew it. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "You brought him here." Karl's voice was low. Controlled. Like he was working very hard to keep it that way. "Without telling me." "I don't answer to you," Adrian said. "He's—" "Sitting right here," I cut in. "And capable of hearing everything you're both saying about him." They both looked at me. Silence. "

It walked like a man.But everything else was wrong.Too tall. Too wide. The way its head moved — slow, side to side, like it was tasting the air rather than seeing through it. Its eyes caught the afternoon light and reflected back nothing. Just flat, empty dark.It was looking straight at me."Don't move." Adrian's voice was barely a breath against my ear. His hand stayed firm at the back of my neck. "Don't make a sound."I couldn't have moved if I tried.Karl stepped in front of me.Just like that. One step — shoulder width, chin up, eyes burning solid gold. He put his entire body between me and that thing without hesitating for even a second.Something about that cracked right through my chest.The Rogue tilted its head.Then it smiled.Wrong teeth. Too many. Too sharp."Lure." Its voice came out layered — like two sounds stacked on top of each other, one human, one very much not. "I've been following your scent for three days." Its flat eyes moved from Karl to Adrian and back. "Yo