Ruling Alphas: Shifter Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  Rocco had never been in love, or even close to it, but he was pretty sure that love was what he was feeling now as he lay basking in his post-orgasmic glow beside the woman of his dreams, a contented smile playing over his face.

  5

  Marin stayed lying in place beside Rocco after her orgasm had finally released her. She had just about gotten her breath back, but she was far from getting her composure back. She was starting to wonder if she would ever get her composure back at all or if she would always be this flushed, sweaty mess that was only ever a second or two away from grabbing Rocco and kissing him hard on the mouth. Now that she thought about it, that didn’t actually sound like such a bad fate. Except it couldn’t happen. It didn’t matter that Marin had felt herself connecting with Rocco on more than just a physical level; the two of them as mates could never be and she knew it.

  “So, I guess that’s what they mean by making the same mistake twice,” Marin said, trying to keep her tone of voice light.

  She felt the mattress shift slightly as Rocco rolled onto his side and faced her. She turned her head so she could look at him, but she stayed lying on her back, afraid that if she rolled toward him, they’d end up in each other’s arms again, and if that happened, she knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to not let it go further once more.

  “You call that a mistake?” Rocco said with a raised eyebrow. Marin could hear the incredulous tone of his voice as he went on. “If you were faking it and not really enjoying it, then damn, girl, you need a fucking Oscar.”

  Marin choked out a laugh and shook her head.

  “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “I did enjoy it. God, of course I enjoyed it.”

  “Oh good. Because that would have been a serious bruise to my ego,” Rocco said with a grin.

  Marin flashed him a grin back and then it faded from her face as she reminded herself once more that this had to stop now, no matter how much she didn’t want it to end. It wasn’t even just physical. She loved that Rocco could make her laugh so easily too. She was fast starting to love everything about him.

  “I just meant that I know nothing can happen between us. Nothing permanent, I mean. My family are hardly fitting of someone of your status and I dread to think how your parents would react if they knew you were even doing this with me, let alone anything else,” Marin said.

  Rocco sighed beside her and she felt the mattress dip again as he rolled over onto his back once more. Marin kept watching him as he ran a hand over his face and then he began to answer her.

  “You know, Marin, the first time I saw you that day I came to speak to the twins, I felt something inside of me when I looked at you. And I knew I had to at least try to see you again. I’ll be honest, though; at that point, I felt the same as you, that we could never happen because my parents would never allow it. But then we were together and nothing else mattered but that,” Rocco said.

  “What are you saying?” Marin asked. “You can’t seriously think your parents will be okay with this.”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible,” Rocco said with a one-shouldered shrug that told Marin he didn’t believe it was possible even for a second. “I mean you felt that, right? You know it’s not just a passing attraction between us. I think if I explained that to my parents, maybe they would come around to the idea of us being together.”

  “I think we both know there’s not much chance of that,” Marin said, not wanting to raise her hopes only to have them cruelly dashed once Rocco talked to his parents about them.

  Rocco shrugged again, a more convincing two-shouldered shrug this time.

  “Maybe not. Maybe I am just clutching at straws. But the point is, Marin, the way I feel when I’m with you—I don’t want that feeling to ever end. I feel like you and I are meant to be together. And if my parents can’t see that, then they’ll lose me, not you,” Rocco said. He rolled back onto his side and pushed himself up onto one elbow. He smiled down at Marin and gently ran his fingers over her bare stomach, sending goosebumps rushing over her. “What I mean is, whatever happens, I choose you, Marin. I would rather be with you than be the pack alpha.”

  Marin took a moment to let Rocco’s words settle in. She could hardly believe her ears and she felt her heart swelling as he spoke. She wanted nothing more than to just be with him, but now more than ever, she knew it could never be. The fact that Rocco had put enough thought into this to know that he was willing to walk away from his destiny told Marin that deep down, he didn’t think for a second his parents would ever be okay with this. And Marin knew she couldn’t let Rocco walk away from the pack because of her.

  She had no doubt in her mind that he was genuine and that he would walk away from the pack, from his family, from it all, if it came to it. And for a while, she knew she could make him happy. But she also knew there would come a day when Rocco woke up and fully realized everything he had left behind, everything he had had to sacrifice to be with her. And when that day came, he would start to resent her. The thought of that almost broke Marin’s heart, but she knew it would happen. And she also knew that if she mentioned it to Rocco now, he would tell her it wouldn’t happen that way. And he wouldn’t be lying as such; he would genuinely believe that it would never happen. But it would. Unless Marin was strong enough to stop it.

  She reached down and covered Rocco’s hand with hers, stopping him from tracing circles on her skin. She left her hand there for a moment, wishing things between them could be different, and then she gently took his hand from her stomach, putting it on the mattress between them. She squeezed it once and then she withdrew her own hand before she could change her mind.

  “I can’t ask you to do that…” Marin said.

  “You’re not asking me to do it,” Rocco interrupted her.

  Marin sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

  “No, I’m not,” she said quietly. “But I am asking you not to do that.”

  “But…” Rocco started, but this time, Marin didn’t let him interrupt her for long.

  “There aren’t any buts, Rocco. I like you, I’m not denying that, but I don’t think that’s enough to throw your whole life away for. For me, this was just a bit of fun, and now you’re talking about walking away from everything and it’s way too heavy,” Marin said.

  “It was nothing more than a bit of fun for you? Are you kidding me?” Rocco snapped.

  Marin shook her head, biting her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.

  “No. That’s all it was, Rocco. We agreed on that,” she said. “And this time, we have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Right. Yeah. I guess we did agree that the first time shouldn’t have happened,” Rocco said. Marin felt him moving beside her and then the mattress sprang up when he stood. “And don’t worry. It definitely won’t happen again. I can take a hint.”

  Marin sat in silence while Rocco dressed. She didn’t dare to watch him because she knew if she let herself do that, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from getting up from the bed and going to him. Instead, she sat gazing out of the window, but she was still hyperaware of Rocco’s presence.

  “See you around, then,” he said when he was done dressing.

  Marin could hear the pain in his voice although he tried to disguise it. It was the same pain she felt deep inside of herself. She already regretted hurting Rocco, but she knew it was for the best. It was better for them to go their separate ways now than for them to end up in a situation where he resented her for taking away his future somewhere down the line.

  “Bye,” Marin replied, all she could manage to squeeze out through her too-tight throat.

  Rocco moved to the bedroom door. He paused for a moment and, glancing back at Marin, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but he seemed to change his mind at the last minute and he shook his head quickly and left without a word. Marin waited until she heard her front door open and then slam closed before she moved to the window. She
watched as Rocco got into his car and pulled away from the curb, keeping her eyes on the car as it moved down the road.

  When his car was out of sight, she slipped the skirt down off her hips where it still sat and then she moved back to the bed and slipped beneath the duvet. She curled up into a tight little ball and she finally let herself cry.

  6

  Rocco found himself thinking once more about Marin. She was all he had thought about for days, since she had told him that they couldn’t be together. The more Rocco thought about Marin’s words, the more they hurt him, but at the same time, the more he sensed that they weren’t true.

  He knew deep down that he hadn’t imagined the connection between him and Marin, both their human and their animal sides becoming one with each other. He had felt them becoming one as surely as he had ever felt anything before, and he knew that Marin had felt it too. No matter which way he thought of it, he was certain he and Marin were meant to be mates. She was his one true love; he could feel it deep down in his soul. And he knew she felt it too. He just knew it.

  When he had walked away from her after they had made love at her place, he had seen the pain in her eyes. He had known then that on some level, she didn’t really want him to go, and he had come so close to asking her what was really going on, but in the end, he had bottled it, too afraid of being wrong about the pain he saw in her eyes, too afraid to extinguish the one tiny flicker of hope he had left.

  He still couldn’t understand why she would lie to him about her feelings. It wasn’t like he didn’t feel the same way and she was trying to save herself from admitting she was into him.

  He had made it entirely clear that he was into her, and that he wanted them to make a go of things. So why, then, would she pretend that what they had didn’t exist? Why would she pretend that she couldn’t feel the connection between them? Rocco had no answers to those questions. All he knew was that Marin was meant to be his. And he was almost certain that she felt it too.

  As he tried to work out what she was doing sending him away when it was clearly such a bad idea, he also began to ponder his own next move. He was at his parents’ place again, waiting to get the enchantment, but now he was wondering if it was such a good idea. What if he took the enchantment and completely forgot his feelings for Marin? Didn’t he owe it to both of them to fight for her and at least try things between them and see where they went? Or was it better for them both if he pretended he believed Marin when she said she was over him and just let her get on with her life?

  In the end, Rocco found himself on his feet pacing the floor when his father came into the room. He frowned when he saw Rocco pacing the ground.

  “You look nervous, son,” he said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. The enchantment is nothing like the rumors claim. Seriously, you just take a drink of a potion Simeon, the high warlock, has made.”

  “It’s not that,” Rocco said. He flashed his father a smile. “Although that is reassuring to know.”

  Rocco’s father sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. Rocco sat down beside him.

  “What is it, then?” he asked.

  Rocco thought for a moment. Was it a good idea to be honest with his father about this? He and his father had always been close and he had been able to go to him with anything and he always got good, solid advice from him. This time, though, it felt different. Would his father give him impartial advice when he was so likely to disapprove of Marin as his choice of mate?

  Oh, what the hell, Rocco thought to himself. It’s not like he can do anything to me that I’m not debating on doing to myself by taking the enchantment anyway.

  “I like this girl,” Rocco started. He gave a soft laugh. “I more than like her, Dad. I think she’s the one I’m meant to be with. I’m pretty sure you and Mom won’t approve of her, but despite that, the idea of not being with her makes me feel empty inside.”

  “Who is she?” Rocco’s father asked him. Rocco didn’t respond straight away and his father smiled. “Now that you’ve told me I’ll disapprove of her, I bet she’s nowhere near as bad a choice as I am imagining her to be.”

  Rocco figured that much at least was probably true. He decided to tell his father who she was. What harm could it do? It wasn’t like it would change anything.

  “Marin. Marin Bailey,” Rocco said with a sigh of resignation.

  “What makes you think your mom and I wouldn’t approve of her?” Rocco’s father asked him.

  Rocco sighed. He knew what his father was doing. He wanted to make Rocco focus on the negative things about the possibility of a relationship with Marin and then he figured Rocco would see for himself why Marin wasn’t suitable as a mate for the alpha of the pack. It was a waste of their time; Rocco already knew the answer to that one and it didn’t change a thing.

  “Well, her family are known to be troublemakers,” Rocco said with a shrug.

  “That’s true. They are,” Rocco’s father said. “But Marin isn’t responsible for the actions of anyone except for herself, and any future children she has while they are still minors. And she isn’t trouble. In fact, I think she’s a very nice girl who has her head screwed on tightly.”

  “Wait,” Rocco said, hardly daring to believe he had understood this correctly. Are you saying that you do approve of Marin as a mate? That I could be with her and still take over one day as the pack alpha?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” his father nodded.

  Rocco couldn’t believe that his father was serious, but he knew he would never get his hopes up like that over something so important, and he felt himself breaking into a smile. The smile faded slightly as a new thought came to Rocco.

  “Then I can’t take the enchantment today, can I?” Rocco said.

  His father frowned and shook his head.

  “You must take the enchantment today whether you want to or not, I’m afraid. It’s not optional for you, Rocco. As the heir to the pack and the son of one of the ruling couples of the USA, you have to take the enchantment if you want to fulfill your destiny,” he said.

  “But you said I could do both. That I could be with Marin and still run the pack,” Rocco said.

  “Oh, that’s what you’re worried about,” his father said with a smile. “If you’re right about Marin being the one for you, then you have nothing to worry about from the enchantment. It works by drawing you to your one true mate. That means it will confirm it for you if that is Marin. You’ll be drawn to her.”

  “And what if she’s not my one true mate? I’ll lose my chance with her,” Rocco said.

  “True,” his father agreed. “But think of how amazing you feel when you’re with this girl. And then consider that if she’s not your one true mate, you’ll feel even better with your true mate than you do with Marin.”

  “I don’t think it’s possible for me to feel better than I do when I’m with Marin,” Rocco admitted with a shy smile.

  His father beamed at him and clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Then you have absolutely nothing to fear from the enchantment. It will take you straight to her, and if she has any reservations of her own, they’ll disappear too,” his father said.

  “What makes you think she has reservations?” Rocco asked with a frown.

  “Well, the fact that you thought we wouldn’t approve tells me you and she discussed the possibility of that being the case and she likely thought the same thing. I figured that means there’s a good chance she’s holding back in case you choose her and regret it. This way, you don’t have to choose and it will remove her misgivings,” Rocco’s father explained.

  As soon as his father said the words, Rocco knew that they were true. They explained everything, giving him answers to the questions he had thought he would never be able to answer. The smile began to spread across his face again and he was so happy, he even found himself wanting to laugh.

  “That’s why she told me that what we had was just a bit of fun and that we couldn’t see
each other again. I knew she felt the connection between us, but I couldn’t figure out why she would lie about this. And it was to save me from having to make a choice between her and the pack? Well, if I didn’t know she was meant to be with me before, I sure do now. She’s putting the pack’s wellbeing and my happiness ahead of her own,” Rocco said.

  His father was cut off from answering by the doorbell ringing.

  “That’ll be Simeon,” Rocco’s father said, standing up and crossing the room. “Are you ready to do this, Rocco?”

  Rocco nodded and smiled, and for the first time since he had decided to walk away from all of this for Marin, he knew he really was ready to take the enchantment. It would lead him straight back to Marin, he was sure of it now that he had talked to his father.

  Rocco stood up when his father came back into the room with Simeon in tow. He wiped his hand down the leg of his jeans, aware that his palm was a little bit sweaty from nerves. He told himself he had nothing to be nervous about, but it didn’t really help.

  “Simeon, how are you?” Rocco said, closing the gap between them and shaking Simeon’s hand.

  “I’m good, thanks,” Simeon replied. “And you? Are you nervous?”

  “I was,” Rocco admitted. “But my dad and I talked and now I’m more excited, to be honest.”

  “Fabulous, fabulous,” Simeon said. “Sit down, then, and let’s get started.”

  Rocco walked back to the couch and took the seat he had just vacated. He waited, filled with nervous excitement, as Simeon dug through his bag and came out holding a small glass vial filled with purple liquid. He smiled and offered the vial to Rocco, who took it and uncapped it.

  “Do I just swallow it or do I need to do something else first?” he asked.

  “Just swallow it,” Simeon confirmed, smiling at Rocco’s eagerness.