Page 195 of Alphas Like Us

She looks left and right for a quick exit; she whips around and sprints. Up the hundreds of stairs.Fleeing.

Goddammit.I bolt after Sulli, and before Akara chases after her, I tell him to give us a second. Farrow and Akara are following us, but at adistance.

“Sullivan!” I shout, pain stabbing my collarbone.Water in my tight grip. I shift the bottle to my left hand since it addsweight.

She slows on the curve of a switchback. Sun growing hotter with the morning light. I breathe through my nose and wipe my temples with mybicep.

“OhmyfuckingGod,” she squats, face in her hands. “What did I say, Moffy? Why’d I fucking saythat?”

I crouch in front of my cousin. “Because that’s what you felt. It’s okay,Sulli.”

“I sounded like a fucking brat,” she mumbles against her palms and groans. “Nothing is going right.” She’s referring to more than thismoment.

On the yacht, she confessed to Ryke, her dad, about passing out twice after drinking. Uncle Ryke is pretty much a pushover when it comes to his two daughters. But not on serious issues, and at the news, he lookedfuckinghorrified.

Now Sulli only wants to drink if it’s at home, not in a public place. I think it’s a good idea. But I also think her dad’s reaction scared her more than actually passingout.

“You just sounded like you were expressing yourself,” I tell mycousin.

She takes a bigger breath and glances down the stairs to where Akara, Jack, and Farrow climb up. “I’m going to be replaying this moment in my head for eternity. Fuck mylife.”

“Don’t stress about it, Sul. Really.” I nod towards the stairs, knowing that there’s only one thing that will take her mind off this. “Raceyou?”

She gives me a wide-eyed look, but I don’t wait for her to say it’s a bad “fucking”idea.

I justgo.

And she runs with a skilled, untiring stride. Soon, she’s passing me, and the three other guys catch up to mypace.

I’m not slowing. Notstopping.

I want something to go right forSulli.

And I push and push and push. Temperature escalating, humid and hot, the harsh drumming in my bones roils my stomach to the umpteenth degree. Around the 400thcobbled step, my body revolts against mypersistence.

Lightheaded, clammy, nauseous—I stop dead in place. My hamstrings spasms, and every muscle feels like it’s cramping at the sametime.

How I’m standing—I don’tknow.

Farrow skids to a halt next to me. He’s slowed down the last ten minutes for me. I hate that he has, but he has and he holds my neck while I try to rub myhamstrings.

I look up at him deeply, and there’s no amusement in his features anymore. I’ve reached the threshold of what Farrow is willing to take. He endures more than anyone else could or would with me. Because I can’t live life feeling restrained orimprisoned.

And he makes me feel so goddamn weightless. But if I don’t respect my body’s limits, he’s going to—and my chest rises because I know this isit.

This is the end of my fight. Of all the physical pain that I’ve withstood in fear of disappointing her andmyself.

“You’re human,” Farrow says toughly, clutching my face with so much love and care. “You’rehuman.Step back, wolfscout.”

Stepback.

Maybe if I had more time. Maybe if I didn’t need surgery. So many maybes could’ve changed this, butmaybethis is what I really needed all along. The hardest things are usually the right things, and pushing my body to extremes is too easy forme.

I hang onto Farrow’s shoulder for support. “Sulli!” Ishout.

She races down the steps. “Moffy, what happened?” Once she stops on the step above mine, I let itout.

“I can’t do it.” My eyes sear. “I can’t do theultra.”