“We’re taking a short break. Disperse quickly, but return in one hour.” Someone’s commands are fading away, slipping fast. “Give her space to breathe. Red, can you hear me?”
I can’t even tell if the voice is male or female. It could be Kermit the Frog for all I know, croaking at me to get my ass off the floor.
“Reaper, take leave with the others and, if you must, finish the business you started earlier this evening.” It’s the Omega. She’s the one taking charge. “Knox, ready a bed in the hospital wing. We’ll have her checked fully in case it’s more than a panic attack.”
“No—” I choke out, trying to sit up. But I can’t muster the energy. I’m sapped. And suddenly wondering if there’s such a thing as post-coital delirium. “Not sick.” Too much sex. I hold that last part back, but the people around me laugh.
“Atta boy, Lukas,” someone says from a distance away. “Glad to hear you’re not a one hit wonder.”
It occurs to me that I said the thought aloud, in front of the Omega and God knows whom else. And now I’m dying from embarrassment, too.
“Lukas, leave with the guards,” the Omega barks. At least I recognize her voice now. “Make sure the pre-shifting males know we will reconvene at one o’clock. Red still needs to make her choice. Get them situated and prepared for what is to come after the ceremony.”
I pinch my eyes closed.
Reaper, Lukas.
Lukas, Reaper.
“You’ll be all right, Red. Everyone has left us alone for now so you can have some space.” A cool hand touches my forehead. “I know the decision is difficult and can take the wind out of you. It happened to me when I chose my husband—Lukas and Reaper’s grandfather. I was on the ground, just the way you are now, gasping for air and struggling to make the right choice.” She strokes her hand down my cheek in a motherly way that has my heart squeezing in my chest. “Your life is such a precious gift to give someone. You must make sure you’re giving it to the right person. It can take a lot out of you.”
The tension that’d gripped my lungs moments before eases, and I take a generous breath.
“There you are, my dear Red.” Her hand cups the back of my neck, and as her fingers tangle in my hair, I open my eyes. She’s looking down at me, her glasses on the tip of her crooked nose, her lips pressing together into a sweet smile. “Do you feel better?”
I nod as the feeling returns to my legs.
“Do you think you can stand?”
“Yeah,” I answer, finding my voice, “but I doubt I’ll ever recover from the embarrassment.”
“Let’s not think about that and focus on getting you to your feet. We try to keep the place clean, but with a castle full of wolves, hair covers the floor quickly. You don’t want to be lying down there anymore than you have to.” Grasping my arm tightly, she helps me to stand and then readjusts the cloak over my shoulders. “You should be examined by our pack doctors in the—”
“No, please,” I beg, reaching for her. “I don’t want to see a doctor. I feel—I want—”
“Ask, and you shall have it.”
I pause, and, holding her weathered hands in mine, I meet her tender eyes. “I want a few more minutes to make my decision. To talk to the men who’ve captured my interest.”
Giving my fingers a solid squeeze, she leans forward and says, “You have until one o’clock. No longer.”
“Thank you.” I fight the urge to wrap her up in a giant hug. But there’s something I want more. “Omega, may I ask you a question?”
She nods slowly as she clasps her hands in front of her.
“It’s no secret that you are the ultimate matchmaker. You know who is perfectly matched and who is not, and I was wondering—”
“Which of my grandsons you should choose as your mate?” she finishes for me.
I swallow hard, nodding as she stares me down over the rim of her glasses. “How’d you know?”
“I have a great sense for things. And you are in a horrible position.” Her voice draws me in until I’m hanging on her every word. “I fear I can’t help you.”
“No clues?” I smile playfully. “Not even one?”
“Under the circumstances, I’m afraid you only have two choices,” she says. “An arranged mating to a complete stranger, or bonding with Lukas.”
My lips twist as confusion sets in. “What about Reaper?”
“My dear Red, you’d be wise to forget you ever met him.”
“It’s far too late for that.”
“I thought so.” The Omega sighs heavily. “Listen closely, my dear. If you choose Lukas, you will bond with him, and Reaper will leave quietly, continuing the search for his parents’ killer in Europe. Reaper won’t like leaving you here with Lukas, but he will get over it in time. On the other hand, if you wish me to select a mate for you from our lineup of pre-shifting males, I will find you the one in the group who suits you best.”
“And Reaper?” I fully realize he doesn’t want to bond with me and put me in danger because his parents’ killer is still on the loose. But why has the Omega ruled him out so completely? “What happens if I choose him?”
She cups my chin in her hands. “You will exile him from the wolf pack and the only family he’s ever known. Lukas is Alpha, my dear, and can decide singlehandedly to remove a member of the pack at any time, with or without my consent. If you choose Reaper, Lukas will feel deceived, as if you two have conspired against him. He’s never taken well to being second best.”
“You think he’ll banish Reaper from the pack over sleeping with me?”
She nods slowly. “And he’d have every right to do it.”
“But Reaper is leaving anyway. What would it matter if he—”
“If he’s never allowed to return?” she interrupts. “If lifelong friends are forbidden to talk to him again? He wouldn’t even be allowed to come back for my funeral. I don’t plan on kicking the bucket any time soon, but when I do, he’ll never be able to say good-bye or get any kind of closure. He’ll truly be on his own, without the roots this pack has given him.”
“I—I don’t know what to say.” Scrubbing my hands through my hair, I stand back from the Omega so I can take in everything she said. “In the back of my mind, I always thought Reaper was a choice. I imagined I could say his name when I stood up here, and we could be together, even if he had to disappear for a while to finish his hunt.”
“From the moment Lukas chose you from the lineup of pre-shifters, that door was closed. After hearing you call another man’s name in front of his pack, how could you ever expect Lukas to let that man stay? You’d humiliate him in front of everyone.”
Guess I never thought of it that way.
“I can’t be bonded with someone I’ve never met.” Merely thinking about it makes me uncomfortable in my own skin. “It feels like picking a name out of a hat. The decision is too important. I can’t do it.”
Reaching out for my cloak, the Omega reties the satin ribbons and pulls my hood over my head. “Then there is only one choice after all. Choose Lukas. Say his name loud and proud, and let Reaper leave Castle Arcana with the ability to return whenever he wants. He may not come back for a year, ten, or fifty. But the option is there for him should he need it.”
“And you think Lukas is right for me?”
She grasps me around the shoulders. “It’s the right choice.”
But that didn’t answer my question. Not really.
“Go to Reaper,” she says, her tone turning back to business. “Tell him you’ve made your choice, and leave it at that. Take a few minutes to say good-bye, and know you’re doing what’s best for him.”
I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that’s beginning to make me sick. “I don’t even know where he is.”
“The Alpha’s office,” she answers quickly. “Third floor. It’s the door between the hall bookshelves. He’s digging through the pack’s files, and he should be alone for the time being. Remember, it’s the only choice. The only
way you’ll ever see him again, actually. It’s for the best.”
As I turn away and head toward the third floor, I’m not so sure.
It might be best for Reaper…even for Lukas…but what about for me?
Chapter Four
Reaper
“There’s got to be something here.” Sifting through business papers, I open a manila folder sitting on the corner of Lukas’s desk and read the top sheet. “Security forces moving from the Cascade Wolf Pack…fifty guards summoned by Lukas Black during January Wolf Moon…tightening security at Omega’s request.”
When I left my role as Alpha to hunt down my parents’ killer seven years ago, I never expected to come back to this—to someone siphoning money from the pack’s accounts. As much as I hated calling off my hunt, I owe it to the Omega to figure out who is trying to overthrow her. She senses a disturbance within the pack, though she can’t pinpoint exactly who or what might be undermining her.
It’s my mission to find out.
After that, I’m gone.
“Everything checks out,” I mumble, searching the stack of paid invoices stashed in the top drawer of Lukas’s desk. He’d be pissed if he caught me in here, but whatever. Pack business should grant me some latitude. “Damn it, you have to know something.”
As Alpha, Lukas should have at least one piece of evidence that leads to a suspect. Hell, it would be a lot easier if he were the corrupt one. I have to admit that was my first suspicion. Lukas has the most to gain from overthrowing the Omega. He’d slide into the role effortlessly, having free rein over the decisions in the pack and the lucrative investments we’ve accumulated.
I dive into the search full force, yanking open drawers and starting up Lukas’s private computer. As long as I’m focused on the task at hand, I won’t think about her.
Ivy.
Her name echoes through my head and reverberates through my body with a low hum. It’s always there in the background, flowing through my veins. I crave to trace my tongue over her luscious curves, sink into her warmth, and watch her lips part as she screams my name.
Ivy.
I’ve only had her once, bent over the bed in her private chamber, but I need more. The primal urge to dive into her wetness and claim her again and again is driving me mad. But I have to keep my distance, and bonding with her is definitely out of the picture. As long as my parents’ murderer is on the loose, I can’t bond with Ivy no matter how tempting she is. I won’t paint a giant target on her back simply for being the Alpha’s mate. My mother died a horrible, painful death because she was bonded to my father.
I won’t do the same to Ivy. She deserves a full life, without the threats my position would bring.
But my dick doesn’t listen to reason.
Diving back into my search for something, anything, that will give me a clue to go on, I shake the computer’s mouse and watch the screen come to life. A few clicks into searching Lukas’s private documents, an Excel file catches my eye.
Its name is simply Arcana Black—the merging of the proper pack name and Lukas’s last. I open it and scan quickly. Numbers and dates and seemingly random functions clutter the screen, and I’m not really sure what I’m looking at. Within seconds, though, the clouds of confusion part.
It’s a register that documents small transfers of money from the main pack account to others. Many others. In the last six months, seemingly insignificant amounts have been transferred to banks in Switzerland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, adding up to large sums.
While the spreadsheet doesn’t exactly scream guilt—I’ll have to check with the Omega to make sure the transfers weren’t previously approved—it doesn’t look good, and the dark, twisted feeling in my gut warns that Lukas is hiding something.
Fishing my phone out of my back pocket, I snap a picture of the spreadsheet, then click the tab on the bottom of the screen to open the next page and do the same. I’m nearly finished when the doorknob turns, alerting me that my cousin is about to burst in.
Shut down the computer. Close the top drawer. Pocket my phone.
The door opens, and a sugary-sweet fragrance assaults my senses. Filling my lungs, the familiar aroma washes through my chest and shoots down my arms.
Not Lukas.
Ivy.
Yanking the door wider, I pull her inside and slam it behind her. She squeals as I pin her against the wall and wedge my knee between her thighs. She’s deliciously warm, her full breasts pressing against my chest and begging for my touch. The office is lit by lamplight, casting an even glow over her alabaster skin. I don’t know how it’s possible, but she’s somehow more beautiful than when I saw her walk across the stage in the Great Hall. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips plump and pink, and her eyes a stunning shade of turquoise. The wolf inside me howls with need, and I struggle to keep that part of me on a tight leash.
“Reaper,” she says, the panic in her eyes simmering down. “You scared me.”
“When you fell during the ceremony, you had me worked up, too.” My voice resonates through the office, rumbling the air between us. “How do you feel?”
“Better now, actually.” Her voice sounds strange. It’s too deep, her words too carefully spoken.
“That’s good.” My erection grinds against her stomach, and her mouth falls open as she feels the strength of my desire. But what’s stirring inside me is more than lust or hunger. It’s a primal need to claim her as my own. “I didn’t think I’d get you alone again tonight.”
I breathe in deeply, committing her scent to memory. And then something else strikes me—the hint of something spicy and pungent, just beneath the surface.
Lukas.
“I can smell him on your skin.” A vile sensation knots in my gut. It’s jealousy and possessiveness, fiercely raw and undeniable. I brush the back of my hand down her cheek as I study the angelic features of her face. She has the body of a temptress beneath the cloak, if only it didn’t cover her curves and—
Wait. My thoughts cut short, and my attention turns to her crimson robe. “It’s ripped. Did he hurt you? If he did, I swear I’ll tear his head off.”
“No, I’m fine. It wasn’t like that.” She brushes her hands up and down my chest muscles in an effort to soothe away the tension building there. It doesn’t work. “The first time, he put me in control of what happened, so nothing—”
“I don’t want to know.”
“You should know,” she presses, locking her gaze on mine. “I don’t want to hide anything from you. Nothing happened against my will or—”
“I said I don’t want to know.” The words come out harsh, a deep growl, but I’m too far gone to sugarcoat anything now. “Forget I asked anything.”
It’s too much.
She sighs as if she understands the war brewing in my gut, but she can’t possibly. I don’t want to share her with anyone. But it’s pack tradition, and the Alpha’s choice cannot be overridden. If I don’t share her with my cousin, I’m exiled from the pack, on my own for the rest of my life. I won’t have her at all and never will again.
Sharing her with Lukas is the soul-deadening lesser of two evils.
“You don’t have to worry about him hurting me, not ever. I never want you to carry those thoughts in the back of your head.” She tries to smile, but it’s too tight. “I can take care of myself.”
“You couldn’t fight me off you in the garden earlier. How are you supposed to protect yourself against Lukas if he attacks you?”
“I didn’t fight you off in the garden because I didn’t want to.” She presses against me, purring as she says, “I desired you—hungered for you. Letting you do that to me was impulsive and reckless and one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, hands down.”
“Actually, it was hands on.” I smirk as the memory of sliding my fingers into her heat flashes through my mind like a hot rod of lightning. Coiling my arms behind her back, I draw her close. “And it kills me to think about Lukas doing the same thing to you. I�
��m just glad it’s over and done and I never have to release you into his arms again.”
Her lips twitch ever-so-slightly, but it catches my attention.
Something I said wasn’t right.
It’s not over between them.
Nausea rises in the back of my throat, followed by the sharp sting of envy. If she chooses Lukas at the ceremony—she’d have the absolute right to do it, since they are both unmated—and he proves to be the one corrupting the pack in an effort to overthrow the Omega, she’ll be sleeping with the enemy. Bonded for life to a lying, cheating criminal.
“Ivy,” I say, taking her narrow shoulders in my hands, “you’re about to stand in front of the Omega again, and this time you have to choose. Do you know what you’re going to do?”
“I’m not sure,” she answers with a shrug and diverts her attention to my pants, my shirt, the desk—anywhere but my eyes. “I can’t think of anything worse than being thrust into an arranged marriage with someone I don’t know.”
“You don’t know the Alpha.”
“I don’t know you, either.”
“But you can trust me.”
“And I can’t trust Lukas?”
The sound of his name on Ivy’s lips forces a growl to erupt from my chest. She’s not mine, but that doesn’t stop the pain or the rage. Ivy is unattached, unspoken for, and undecided.
She could be seriously thinking about choosing him.
“I suppose you can’t trust anyone,” I answer finally. Because even if she were to choose me, I’d break her heart when I declined her offer. She can’t come with me on my hunt through Europe to find my parents’ murderer—it’s far too dangerous. But I can’t in good conscience bond with her and then leave her behind in Castle Arcana to live without me. Who knew how long the hunt would take? A few years? Her whole life?
I can’t do right by her.
“How am I supposed to make the right call?” When she finally lifts her eyes to mine, they’re glossed with tears, and it nearly breaks my heart in two. “I feel like every decision I make is going to be the wrong one for somebody, either you or Lukas or me. I’m so confused.”
Dominating Red Page 5