Page 75 of Alpha Claimed

She took a breath and nodded.

Ares ushered her forward with Theo and Santiago out front and Zeke and Lachlan behind. The wall of black suits and gigantic men made River feel safer but also blind. Though she could see the occasional person snapping photos of the strange group, she could see nothing else.

After about a block, they came into a brightly lit area.

Theo stopped. "I'll get your food. Santiago, take them to theLa Grande Roue de Montréaland get them seated, and I'll be along shortly."

Theo peeled to the right as Santiago led them forward. With half her shifter wall having walked away, River could finally see where they were headed.

Her stomach flopped. "I'm not getting on that thing."

Ares chuckled. "We will be in a private gondola. It is enclosed in glass and will take us up slowly to the top."

"Yeah, and then it comes back down over and over."

He squeezed her hand. "No, it won't. I bought all the tickets. We have the whole thing to ourselves for the next hour. Trust me, once you see the sunset from the top ofLa Grande

Roue,you will never see it the same way again."

River looked at him dubiously.

Ares leaned in and whispered. "If you get scared, you can sit on my lap."

She narrowed her eyes. "Is that the real reason you brought me here? To get me on your lap?"

He smiled. "I am pretty sure I could have thought of a lot easier way of getting you on my lap."

True.

Her wolf chuffed.

They approached the wheel, and the man bowed and opened the door to a glass-encased gondola. River swallowed hard but had to admit it looked pretty safe inside. There were four leather seats. Little tables. And warm air wafted out.

She hesitated and thought about begging Ares not to make her go, but what kind of Omega would she be if she let a little Ferris wheel scare her? She looked up. Okay, a huge Ferris wheel.

"If you don't like it, we will come back down. All right?"

She swallowed hard and nodded, trying to keep from screaming and running away.

Ares helped her in, then ducked and followed her. The gondola swayed slightly, and River sat in the nearest seat.

Ares chuckled and sat across from her.

She blew out a breath and rubbed her palms on her short dress.

The minute Theo showed up with the bags of food, River grabbed the soda from him and sucked it down.

"Thank you," said Ares.

Theo nodded and closed the door. Outside, he said something to Drew and Lachlan, then nodded to the operator.

River closed her eyes and pressed her palms into the seat armrests. As the wheel moved backward, she groaned.

Ares sat forward and took her hands in his. She squeezed his hands tight.

"Hey."

She couldn't reply.