I pulled my open jaw up before I could make a fool of myself by drooling on the ground. “I’d say you were crazy.”
“I’m not crazy. My kind, we are naturally good looking.” He pulled out his wallet again. “Here, a picture of my family.” He handed it over and I looked over it, eyes catching especially on three stunning men in the back row, each a beautiful specimen of the finest the male sex has to offer.
I tried to act cool. “So what? You have good-looking kids. Not a surprise. Besides, this ‘looks’ thing, it seems to have skipped over me, so I doubt anyone would be fighting over me. I’m not the type of female men would fight over. Look at me.”
“I am,” he said. “And I assure you, in our world, men would fight. Will fight. So will you come?”
I looked back down at the photo. “So, guys like this?” I pointed at the men in the back row, liking especially a guy with dark hair and blue eyes.
“Well yes. Two of my sons are mated, but the one on the end, Lindon, he’s free.”
“Which one?”
“The blond.”
I found him and my jaw dropped again involuntarily. He was the spitting image of Sylvester, the naughty duke in my book. But more beautiful. Perfect, angelic features, but a hungry look in those light golden eyes. “So, he’d fight for me?”
He took the photo back and looked at it thoughtfully. “Well, Lindon is kind of a special case. I can’t say what he’d do. But he’s available to participate in the challenge if he wants to.”
“What about you?” I couldn’t resist asking, even knowing the age difference was inappropriate.
He gave me a smile that was slightly sad. “I’m afraid I’ve had my one great love. It’s time for the other males to have a chance.” He put the picture away. “Listen, Misty, I can’t tell you everything until you agree to come with me and keep our secrets. But I can tell you we need you. And you’ll be happier than you ever thought you could be.” He gestured back at the shop. “This isn’t your world. You know that, right?”
I thought about it. I guess I never felt like I fully fit in, but lots of people felt that way, didn’t they? I was sure every girl wished she could be whisked off away from this world to be some sort of princess or something. But that just didn’t happen in real life.
“Look, I still think you’ve made some kind of mistake…but if…say I was to go with you, if I change my mind, can I come back?”
“I can’t promise that,” he said. “But after I tell you about who you are, I’m willing to bet you won’t want to.”
I thought about the blond man, Lindon. His beautiful face was stuck in my mind. Whatever that world was, there was someone there who intrigued me more than anyone I had ever met in this world. If I walked away now, I wouldn’t ever know what I could have seen.
And there was something about this man and his arrogance, and his family, that made me think I could trust him. That gave me confidence in him, despite wanting to simultaneously slap him and chew him out for coming into my life and turning everything upside down.
“Alright, take me to meet Lindon.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s your condition? To meet my son?”
“Why? Something wrong with him?”
He put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment. “I guess I’ll let you decide that for yourself.” A grin spread over that handsome face, and I could see some resemblance to the beautiful blond in the photo. “Alright, I’ll take you to meet Lindon. Might be good to have some motivation while you have to take it all in anyway.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Alright, how soon can you be packed? And you’ll need to take work off.”
“For how long?”
He shrugged. “Indefinitely, I guess.”
I couldn’t believe I was even considering it. But I knew if I said no, I’d go back to a life of lonely bookshelf stocking and reading at night about things I’d never get a chance to experience. This man offered me adventure, and something deep inside me was saying yes.
The blond man popped into my mind, and I swear I could see him smile.
“Alright, I’ll go with you, Mister…?”
“Rowan,” he said, pulling my hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss there. “I’m Rowan, and I promise you won’t regret it for a second.”
Well, he was dead wrong.
* * *
That was two weeks ago. If I’d known back then what an overbearing jerk Rowan could be, I like to think I’d never have gone with him.
But Rowan, like any of his spawn, can be extremely charming when he wants something.
I slump over the table in the living room of the huge mountain lodge where I’ve been staying ever since I agreed to go with the aggravating man that day in the bookstore.
And it doesn’t look like I’ll be going home any time soon.
Let me recount the things I’ve learned.
Rowan and his family are werewolves. People that can turn into wolves, and used to do it often. I’m an alpha female, something very rare in their world, especially the fact that both of my parents were alphas. Apparently ordinary females in their world are rare, those with alpha blood are rarer, and those with pure alpha blood are exceedingly rare.
So I’m basically an endangered species within my species. Yay.
Also, my parents left a huge fortune to care for the pack, when I start one, which I’m expected to, as the last of my family line. Also, the person after that fortune is the one who killed my parents while seeking it, and he’s still out there somewhere, probably.
At least so far he’s eluded Rowan’s attempts to kill him.
It’s not that Rowan’s mean to me. He’s already become a father figure in the time I’ve been staying here, which is weird considering how hot I thought he was when I met him. But I’ve realized since I’ve been here that he wasn’t kidding. Men of his kind are, to put it lightly, exceedingly hot. And from the minute I met one my age, I was able to let go of my girl crush on the older man.
Too bad that man turned out to be a douche-canoe.
That man walks in as I sit moping, arms resting on the romance novel that I never seem to get to read anymore.
Lindon.
Even more beautiful than his photo, but cold and unwelcoming. Nothing like the heroes in my books. I should have known.
He’s wearing a light blue sweater in elegant cashmere and chinos that press against his firm, muscled thighs. An animal in luxury clothing. He sees me watching him and flicks his gaze to mine. The gold there captivates me instantly, and I have to fight to look away from the irritating man.
But it’s too late. His scent is filling the room and it’s hard not to react. Apparently we shifters communicate through smells. I can feel a full body blush taking over my body, which is just embarrassingly aware of him. I guess I should be more excited about the prospect of the upcoming alpha challenges, because it means I’ll finally meet some other eligible males and be free of him.
“Rowan’s looking for you,” he says, in that smooth, silky voice of his. He takes a few steps further into the room, then puts his hands in his pockets and looks around. “What do you think of the library?”
“Hmph. Full of books.”
He eyes me with amusement. “As a library should be.” He takes another few steps forward and then stops, just ahead of the table where I’m sitting. “Look, you aren’t going to keep holding a grudge forever, are you? Just over a few little words?”
I tense up, trying to shield myself from the memory that comes up when he mentions it. No good.
Two weeks ago. I was coming in behind Rowan, insisting on carrying my own bags. When the door opened, I saw Lindon, standing there in the doorway like some kind of golden prince, just for me. And if Rowan was right about men like him existing, then shouldn’t he be right about them wanting me?
Yeah…well…
“That’s her?” he had said, raising one perfect eyebrow in disdain. “Not much to look at, is she? Hon
estly, Rowan, have a little better taste next time you try to set me up.”
I don’t know if I’ve ever been as angry as I was then. Even though he apologized when he found out who I was. Even though he seemed much more interested after sniffing me.
I’ve known guys like him my whole life. The ones who made fun of me in high school. The hot guys, the ones I was better off avoiding in real life and knowing only in books.
Speaking of which, if Lindon would just go away, I could go back to reading about Sylvester, the naughty duke…
Lindon clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said. It was thoughtless. I thought you were just another of the random females my dad has been trying to push at me.” He brushes soft hair off his face. It’s this beautiful mix of different light golds, and blond doesn’t really describe it. And that face.
Remember, he’s an asshole, I remind myself.
“But you can’t just keep holding it against me forever. You’re going to need me.”
“Hmph,” I say, standing to go past him. “Maybe I’ll go find Rowan after all. Even his company is preferable to yours.” Plus, Rowan still has more to tell me about the arrangement for finding me a mate, and is still introducing the possible candidates. All hot, all rich.
So there, Lindon.
When I try to go past him, he catches my arm easily in his. His gentle grip is like steel over my chubby upper arm, and I give him a stern glare in response. He doesn’t release me. He pulls me closer, and his pheromones waft over me. Pheromones, that’s what these crazies call the ‘do me’ smells that emit from us. Some more than others.
“You’re going to need me, Misty,” he says, eyes going dark as he takes in my scent. He grins and pointed canines flash at me for a moment. “With that scent, you’re definitely going to need me.”
I yank my arm away, trembling with need for him after standing in his space for only a few seconds. He has an incredible effect on me, but until I meet other males my age, I have no reason to assume that’s something out of the ordinary. “I don’t think I will. I’ll just take a bath.”
He shrugs. “It’s getting worse, as you find who you are. It’s going to keep getting worse.”
“And what happens then?”
He pushes me back gently, walking me until my back hits a bookshelf and I look up at him with wide eyes. “Then?”
“Then,” I murmur, trying not to think about sex with him in the mountains.
“Then, males will want to have sex with you, even more than you want it with me right at this very moment. And males of our kind aren’t very willing to wait for what they want.” He tilts my chin up arrogantly and smiles down at me.
“They’d rape me?” I say in disgust.
He looks up and purses his lips, as if pretending to consider it. Then turns back to me with those flashing, captivating eyes. “Not rape, no. At least they shouldn’t. But they might get…” He comes closer, till his face is so close I can feel his breath, and his scent is getting me higher every moment. “Aggressive,” he says.
“Aggressive?” I ask, hating myself for wishing Lindon was a little more aggressive right now.
“Yes, and if you ask nicely, maybe I’d be willing to protect you.”
I flush at that, angry at his arrogant presumption that I’d need him. “Like hell.”
He shrugs, making formidable pecs and strong shoulders obvious in his thin sweater. “Suit yourself.” Then he pushes off the shelf and away from me. “Anyway, as I said, Rowan wants to talk to you. There are still some things to go over, before we head over to the mansion.”
I let out the breath I was holding, then scramble over to the table to pick up my book. “Lindon,” I say, turning to him with the book clutched in front of my chest, like I can ward him off with it. “I don’t want you at the mansion.”
His usually cool expression darkens, and then he smiles that smooth, irritating half smile again. “Luckily for you, it’s not your decision. He’s waiting for you in the office,” he says. “Don’t dally.”
Dally? Who does he think he is? Sylvester? I throw the book at the ground and then bend to pick it up, wondering at how often I seem to lose my temper these days.
It really does seem like something is awakening inside me, though. Something unlike I’ve ever been. And the thought scares me.
But knowing what I know, Rowan is right. I can’t just go back to my world. And I’m not sure I’d even want to. It’d be so normal, so boring for me now. There’s nothing waiting for me there.
So I drag myself to Rowan’s office, preparing for more info on the wondrous things awaiting me.
Chapter 2
When I get to Rowan’s office (which is something from some catalogue for rustic billionaire hideouts, filled with heavy, ornate furniture and a large, U-shaped desk) I see a box of powdered donuts on the desk and frown, wondering what announcement is going to accompany this overt act of bribery.
“Misty,” Rowan says, smiling that wolfish smile as he stands from the desk and beckons me in. “Look what I had brought in for you.” He pushes them toward me.
“Hmph,” I say, eyeing them with no small amount of temptation but still stinging from what Lindon said about my looks. “Maybe if I’m going into this mate picking thing I should be watching my figure.”
“In that case,” Lindon says, coming in through the heavy door, uninvited and irritating, “You should eat the donuts. Shifters like our women with some meat on their bones.”
I wrinkle my nose at the description, now not wanting the donuts just because he is in favor of them. But I take the box on my lap anyway. I’ll need them as a palliative if Rowan is going to start going into super details about the mate hunt again.
“So,” I say, taking a donut out and brushing it a little so I can bite it without powder flying up. “Tell me again why I have to hole up in a mansion with ten or so wolf men?”
Lindon sighs, Rowan grins, and I stuff the donut in my mouth whole, chewing with a stubborn look on my face that says what I’m doing isn’t for anyone but me.
Lindon takes the chair next to me and leans back in it, folding his arms. “Explain it to me again, too. I’m still not understanding. Why can’t we just put her back where she came from? She doesn’t want to be here.” He doesn’t look at me as he says it, the bastard.
“One, she doesn’t belong there. Two, there are plenty of packs that would be happy to have her. Face it, Lindon, it’s been a long time since an alpha female was discovered with no ties to any current pack, let alone a full blood one.”
“I guess Aspen doesn’t count?”
“As I said, a long time. And Aspen was an exception.”
My ears perk up and I swallow my donut roughly, wishing for some milk. “Who’s Aspen?”
“None of your business,” Lindon mutters.
But Rowan stays patient as always. “You’ll meet her at some point. She’s a full blood alpha too, and mated to my son, Rafe, also a full blood alpha.” He radiates pride as he talks and I suddenly need another donut to deal with the smugness.
“Fine. But what about the mansion?” I ask.
“Well, as I said before, because of the rarity of finding someone like you, the Tribunal, that’s our ruling authority, sort of, has decided that the fairest way to decide things is to have every interested pack send their most eligible alpha or alphas. Those who aren’t mated and are at least half blood.”
“Ah. Wouldn’t the fairest way be for me to just pick? Is there a hot guy catalog I can look at or something?”
Lindon’s frown deepens and I smirk and shove another donut in my mouth.
Rowan shakes his head. “No, but I did put together some printouts with info to get you ready for the mansion.”
“Just where is this mansion?” I ask, dusting my fingers off on my pants.
“You’ll see when you get there,” he says cryptically, sliding a sheaf of papers over to me. “You can read this tonight, if you wan
t.”
“Why does Lindon have to come, again?” I ask resentfully.
“Because you’ll need someone to look out for you, make sure none of the other potential alphas get out of line.”
“Out of line?”
“Um…forceful,” Rowan says, looking uncomfortable at the thought of it. “Well, it’s not like we’re monsters, Misty. But it’s just…let me explain it like this. Sometimes, those of us with alpha blood, we have something called alpha powers. Passed down genetically.”
“Right, what does that have to do with me? I haven’t even turned into a wolf yet.”
“That’s because having never been close to our world or another wolf shifter, that part of you has been very suppressed. That’s why it was hard for me to find you. Your scent, your urges, your abilities, were all tucked away, your body’s way of protecting yourself until you could be with your kind again. Shifters can’t be discovered by humans, for obvious reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’d fear us, hurt us, exploit us.”
“But aren’t we stronger?” I ask.
“Numbers, dear. They have greater numbers,” he replies.
Lindon lets out a little huff of impatience. “Can I go now?”
“No,” Rowan says. “Wait. I’m still explaining things to Misty, and I want you here to back me up.”
“Awkward,” Lindon says.
“So anyway, I’m not positive, as your scent is still changing, but I suspect you have kind of an unusual alpha power. One your mother also had, and which helped her attract a very powerful alpha and my best friend.”
“So she wasn’t pretty like the rest of you?”
“No, of course she was beautiful. It’s just that we don’t measure beauty the same way you do. Attraction for us is a combination of things. Good genetic fit, physical beauty, and of course scent.”
“Scent?”
“Right. Alphas give out the strongest pheromones, especially to other alphas, which helps them find the most suitable mates. But the problem in your case is that your alpha power makes your scent extra strong. Nearly irresistible to eligible males, I’m guessing.”
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