by Gwen Knight
I dragged my gaze back up his body, and gasped when I found him staring at me, his midnight stare twinkling in the sunlight. His focus dropped to my mouth, and a shiver kissed the back of my neck. I knew he was interested in me. Hiding emotions was pointless when we could smell them. And lust was quite noticeable. Heady, with a hint of spice. I drew in the scent, savoring it. It’d been so long since I’d last smelled something so evocative.
Unfortunately for me, the smell wasn’t only coming from him. I could smell it on myself. Which meant, he could too.
He was just so…handsome. And kind. I didn’t know anything about him, but his actions spoke louder than words. He could have lost his head and screamed at me last night when I spilled my food. He could have followed me after dinner and insisted we talk. He could have interrupted me while reading and demanded my attention. Instead, he’d shown me nothing but consideration.
But that didn’t mean I needed to surrender to my hormones.
I cleared my throat and dragged my gaze away from his.
“Listen, I did want to talk to you about last night, if that’s all right?”
I shot him a quick glance. “What about?”
Sympathy chased across his face. “You know what about. What Brittany did…” He shook his head, then closed his eyes and returned to sunbathing. “She shouldn’t have blurted out your situation like that. And I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
He…wanted to check up on me? He didn’t even know me.
What was he doing to me? Other than screwing with my emotions and making me feel things I never wanted to feel again.
“I’m fine,” I said, grateful when my voice came out clear and steady.
“Good. I don’t know much about losing a mate, but I’ve seen it happen, and I know…” He opened his eyes and pinned me with a severe stare. “I wanted you to know that I’m here for you if you need to talk.”
My jaw fell. “Why would you want to talk to me about that? You don’t even know me.”
“That’s true. But sometimes talking to a stranger is easier than talking to a loved one. Your sister wants what’s best for you, but I get the sense you two don’t agree on what that might be.”
Hot, unbidden tears sprang to my eyes. How was it possible that this man I’d spent a whole whopping fifteen minutes with understood more about me than my own sister?
“I thought I’d let you know that if you need someone to talk to, to help you sort out the next step, or even someone to rant to, I don’t mind.”
I knuckled away the tears and shook my head. “I wouldn’t want to burden you with that.”
“It’s no burden, Kendra.”
Gah! The way he said my name. It made me want things, things I shouldn’t want.
“Really—”
“Hey.” Leo sat up and swung his legs toward me, his elbows braced on his knees. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.
I had to swallow twice before I could speak. “Thank you.”
His responding grin knocked the wind right out of my sails. Christ, I wasn’t ready for this. And a part of me was tempted to tell him that—even if just to test his response. Would he nod and bow out? Would he try to convince me otherwise? I wanted to find out, but what if he left?
God, my emotions were all over the place.
The thought of sitting here, crying on his shoulder did not appeal. My days of crying in public were over. And I didn’t know him well enough to completely open up.
“And if all you want is to get a drink with someone other your sister, we can do that, too.”
I gave a watery chuckle and nodded. Whatever game he was playing, it was working. And I desperately wanted to change the topic. “You know, you really should take that shirt off, otherwise you’ll be going home with some funny tan lines.”
His eyes widened. After a quick glance down, he turned a wicked smile my way. “You trying to get me to strip for you?”
I sucked in a surprised breath and waited for my defenses to slam back in place. Instead, I found myself laughing. Truly laughing. The sound startled even me. I hadn’t heard my own laugh in so long, I’d almost forgotten it. And with the laughter came another fresh round of tears.
Groaning, I swiped them away before he could see and leaned back in my chair. My emotions really were all over the damn place—all because of him. He made me feel again, and the result was a bit discombobulating.
“How about, instead of me stripping, we go inside and get some lunch?”
My stomach growled in response, as though it had a mind of its own. Lunch sounded fantastic. So, with a happy smile, I nodded and rose from my seat. He placed our towels down next to my book, assuring me that no one would touch them while we were gone. Somehow, I believed him. His scent was all over the towels, and I had a feeling no one would dare move his things. Perks of being an alpha.
Once everything was settled, I followed him inside with a bounce to my step that I’d very much missed.
9
Leo
Over the course of lunch, I’d come to learn a great deal about Kendra. Her love of books hadn’t surprised me one bit, but what had shocked me was the range of genres she read. From romance to tragedy to rom-coms to thrillers. Seemed the woman was happy so long as she held a book in her hands. Which definitely played into her job as a professional editor. I’d learned much more than that, too. Like her love of movies, baking, and origami. But my favorite, the one that’d had me lifting an intrigued brow, was her love of archery, and her claim that she could hit a bullseye at one hundred meters.
We’d delved a little into her family, and I’d quickly realized she didn’t want to discuss them. There seemed to be some bad blood between her and her mother, issues that I figured stemmed from her mate’s death, from the look on Kendra’s face. And she didn’t wish to discuss her pack. Nor did I wish to push her. She’d either tell me eventually, or she wouldn’t.
“And Brittany?” I finally asked, curious if she’d open up about her sister.
Kendra shrugged while spinning her water glass in her hands. A habit of hers, I’d discovered, when she was nervous. Almost as though she couldn’t sit still when faced with something that made her uncomfortable.
“She seems nice,” I offered.
A faint smile teased her lips. “She can be—when she wants something.”
“Ah, manipulative?”
“No.” Kendra shook her head, her beautiful hair tumbling over her shoulders. “She’s far from manipulative. In fact, most people would call her blunt. But she knows how to work a room. Knows how to make men do what she wants.”
Aha.
“A talent I never possessed,” Kendra said, laughing.
“That’s not a bad thing. Some men don’t like being played.” And I was one of them. Honesty and integrity were important to me.
“Don’t get me wrong, she’s a wonderful person.” Kendra sighed and lifted her gaze from her water. She nibbled on her bottom lip and studied me, as though deciding how much to tell me. I held her stare but kept quiet. It had to be her choice. I wouldn’t coax her into sharing more than she felt comfortable with.
Kendra swallowed, took a sip of her water, then said, “Brittany is the reason I met Daniel—my…mate, for lack of a better term.”
I nodded and watched as she squirmed in her seat. As though she couldn’t quite get comfy.
“Our pack wasn’t always stable. Before Daniel, we had some trouble with our alphas.”
“Trouble?” Consider my interest piqued.
“Our pack…” She glanced over my shoulder and released another little sigh. “Quite a few of our members had problems with drugs. As in, taking them, dealing them, the works. Growing up, my parents kept Brittany and I sheltered from it as best they could. Mostly because the women in our pack were often used for, well, money, and…”
Heat flushed my skin. As an alpha, I took personal offense to these sorts of stories. But I gritted my teeth and allowed her to fi
nish.
“They were used as…well…”
“Prostitutes,” I finished. I’d heard of these situations before.
She forced herself to swallow. “Right. My parents weren’t having that. They told us to think of our pack as a gang. And to keep our distance from anyone we knew who was involved, which back then, was everyone. We managed. Until one day, Brittany caught the eye of our supposed alpha. Joshua was…well, brutal. He knew about me and Brittany, but somehow my father had always kept us away from him. And then one night, Brittany ran into him. Afterward, she couldn’t get rid of him. Everywhere she turned, there he was. He kept trying to lure her into the business. He’d promised her money, a status as the ‘bitch’ at his side, and refused to take no as an answer.”
My hands curled into fists. Every bone in my body wanted to break this Joshua’s neck.
“So, Brittany decided it was time for a change. Most people in that situation would run, hide, but Brittany isn’t the sort to do that. She doesn’t hide from anything. She wasn’t strong enough to kill him, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone out there who couldn’t. Without our knowledge, Brittany started canvasing the state in search of a proper alpha. Someone strong, with morals and principles. She literally interviewed them.” Kendra laughed and shook her head, sadness dimming her gaze. “And she found Daniel. She was upfront with him from the beginning. Told him all about Joshua and the state of the pack. Most would laugh and walk away, right?”
Not any alpha worth a grain of salt.
“But Daniel stepped in, massacred Joshua, and set to work. It took a few years, but he cleaned up the pack, put a stop to the prostitution and drugs, and made us whole again. Made us a family.”
My body relaxed.
“During that time, we met, fell in love, and mated. The point is, Brittany isn’t manipulative in the dishonest sense—more, she thinks outside of the box. She looks at a situation and figures out how to best solve the problem. And right now, in her head, I’ll be happy again if I can find someone new to love. She doesn’t understand grief or mourning because she’s never had to go through it.”
I nodded. I could understand that. Brittany was a problem-solver. And that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Our entire pack owes her. She saved us. Her and Daniel.”
“It sounds like he was a good man,” I said.
“He was.”
“May I ask…?”
She blew out a heavy breath and nodded. “A year ago, a new alpha challenged Daniel for his position. Benjamin wasn’t a member of our pack. Merely some outsider looking for his place. He came, they fought, he won.”
Ah, shit. I’d been hoping for something a tad more peaceful. Challenge fights were difficult situations. The challenger didn’t often confront an old alpha unless they felt they were doing something wrong, or felt they could do a better job. But sometimes, these challenges happened because one person believed they were better and needed to prove it. They never gave much consideration to things like families. My father had been challenged numerous times throughout his career as an alpha, and I knew to expect the same. The key was always being prepared, and understanding that one day, someone stronger might enter the picture. It was a risk as an alpha.
I reached across the table and brushed my fingers across the top of her hand. “I’m sorry for your loss. Truly.”
“The worst part…” Tears swam in her clear blue eyes. “I’d found out I was pregnant a few days before the challenge. I hadn’t told Daniel yet. I wanted to surprise him. And then the news of the challenge came in, and I didn’t want to worry him. So, I never told him. He died without knowing. And I…I miscarried a month later. It was like my whole world just…ended.”
She cleared her throat. “Then the pack accepted Benjamin as the new alpha. Daniel saved us all, and they turned their backs on his memory. He died, and they moved on like nothing happened. That’s why I refuse to move back to Billings. I don’t want to be a part of that pack anymore.”
Christ. I couldn’t imagine everything she’d been through. The loss of a husband and child so close together. Sympathy and pride swelled within me. This woman had been through so much, but here she was, trying to move on. I wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but knew she wouldn’t accept it.
Sniffling, Kendra scrubbed her cheeks and turned to me with a forced grin. “Enough about me. Tell me about you.”
My mouth crooked into a half-smile. “My story is quite uneventful compared to yours.”
“I still want to hear it.”
“Well, my father is the current alpha of The Pride of South Dakota, but once I’m home, I’ll take over permanently. The changeover has been in the works for the past few months now, with me slowly taking on more responsibilities so not to upset the rest of the pride. But it’s time. My father wants to retire—or rather, my mother wants him to retire. And what she wants…she gets.” I thought back to our last conversation regarding me finding a mate.
“Does that bother you?” Kendra asked.
“What? Taking over the pride? No. We’ve been discussing this since I was a kid, and I’m excited that it’s finally happening. I have big plans.”
“So, you came here looking to find a mate?”
Laughter burst past my lips. “As hokey as that sounds, yes. My parents have been nagging me for a while to find someone to share my life with. So much so that my mother is now trying to arrange a connection. And she doesn’t care if I don’t like them. To her, I’ll grow to love them. And then we’ll have children, and her life will be complete.”
Kendra’s eyes practically popped out of her skull. “Wow. That’s…wow.”
“It’s all right,” I said, biting back laughter. “She does it out of love. But I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life mated to a woman named Star.”
“You came here with the hopes of finding someone who fits with you.”
I shrugged. “And to have one last vacation before succumbing to mountains of paperwork and responsibilities.”
“Ah. Goodbye bachelor life, hello life of an alpha.”
I nodded. “I’m not expecting anything spectacular out of this cruise. If I meet someone, great. If I don’t, I’ll deal with my mother when I’m home.” What I didn’t say was that I was pretty sure I’d already met someone. Someone with lustrous hair and sad eyes.
“Mothers, hey?” Kendra asked, a teasing note in her voice.
“Mm, especially mine. But, I love her regardless. Listen, how about we take a walk around the deck. Would that interest you? There’s another pool I wanted to check out. It’s in a greenroom. I’ve heard it’s spectacular.”
Kendra contemplated my question with a pursed mouth. For a second, I thought she might turn my offer down, but instead, a playful grin lit her face and she leaned forward. “Only if you agree we can shift forms.”
I blinked, a little surprised by her suggestion. “Really?”
“I’ve never seen a lion in real life.” She waggled her brows suggestively at me. “Let alone an alpha lion. I want to see the mighty beast roar.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think the security people will approve of this plan.”
“Hey, they said controlled shifting is allowed. And as an alpha, I would expect you to be on your best behavior,” she said, eyes twinkling with humor.
I leaned back and considered her request. I already knew I was going to say yes. Anything that put that smile on her face was worth it. And the second my inner lion caught wind of her suggestion, the damn brute had risen from the darkest dregs of my mind and shook himself out, ready to strut his stuff. If she wanted to see a mighty beast, I would give her one.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I teased.
Beaming, Kendra shot to her feet and rushed toward the exit, with me admiring her backside the entire way. The sound of her tinkling laugh awakened something within me. Not only a desire to spend more time with her, but to learn everything I possibly could. To show he
r there was so much more to life than grief. To breathe a little life back into her. But it ran deeper than that. I wanted her.
Once outside, Kendra spun around and cocked her head, regarding me with a playful frown. You coming, she mouthed. I blinked, then shook off my thoughts and rose. All that mattered right now was showing her a good time. And that meant shifting. I was all for putting on a show for her.
My inner lion paced forward, his massive paws brushing away the cobwebs in my mind. He wanted out, wanted to meet this intriguing little wolf and see what all the fuss was about.
I stalked after her onto the deck and entered one of the small changing areas Meet Your Alpha had set up around the ship. Little enclosures where people could shift in private. I stripped and stuffed my clothes into an empty cubbyhole, then drew a deep breath, crouched, and let go. Shifting came naturally to me, always had. Perks of being an alpha. For me, it was quick and painless. Flesh rippled, bones cracked, and muscles reshapes, but within moments, I rose on four powerful legs and shook out my thick mane.
I waited a few minutes for Kendra to catch up, but the priceless look on her face was so worth it when she finally stepped out of the changing room. Her eyes shot wide and climbed upward over my legs to my head. I towered over her, which I’d expected, but apparently, she hadn’t. I started toward the greenroom, chuffing under my breath when she stumbled in her rush to keep up.
Nearby passengers screeched to a sudden stop, their jaws gaping as though they’d never seen a lion shifter before. And maybe they hadn’t. I could only imagine the amusing sight we made—this tiny wolf tucked up against my side as we trotted toward the pool without a care in the world.
Enjoying the limelight perhaps a touch too much, I stopped and glanced at Kendra with my best toothy grin. She’d wanted to hear my alpha roar, and I suddenly felt the need to fulfill that wish. As though understanding my intentions, her eyes widened, and she shook her head rather unconvincingly considering the tiny grin tugging at her mouth.