by Michelle Fox
His eyes widened. “Drugged?”
“Axel Sharpe was a stray running some kind of fight club. He suckered people in with roofies, which caused them to make all kinds of bad bets. He even got Cal.” She lowered her voice on that last tidbit, not wanting anyone to overhear. Not only was it disrespectful to talk about her alpha that way, it could cause trouble if people started to think he was weak.
“So that’s why they bashed my head in?” Her dad touched the spot on his head, his expression thoughtful.
“Well, I guess when you didn’t pay up that was Axel’s idea of an incentive.” She shook her head. “I wonder if he had a lot of trouble collecting money. I would think roofies would fog people’s minds so bad they wouldn’t even remember the debt.”
“I certainly don’t remember any of it.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “But I’m glad to see you.”
“Yeah, me, too.” She bumped his shoulder with hers.
“I haven’t seen you in a long while, little pup. I wondered if you’d run away too.”
The morose look on her father’s face made Gretchen’s heart hurt. “I would never leave you, Dad. This is my home. I called you every week while I was gone.”
“It’s not the same.”
She put a hand on his arm, reassuring him of her presence. “I was just going to school. Learning to cook. The plan was to come back. Always.”
He wouldn’t look at her. “So you’re leaving again? Going back to school?”
“No. I’m done with school.” And that job at the Bistro Blue was probably gone by now. At least there were other things cooking…like Talon, and with the way werewolves ate, she would find a gig eventually.
Her father’s face brightened. “You’re coming home?”
She nodded. “Yeah, Dad. I have to go back and clean out my apartment, but after that, I’m home.”
A shadow fell over her and she stiffened as she registered the change in light. Then a familiar scent washed over her and she smiled. Spinning round on her stool, she said, “Talon.”
“Hey, Halbmond. This your dad?” Talon held out his hand.
“Yes and a damn proud dad at that.” Hank shook Talon’s hand and peered at the sheriff with narrowed eyes. “You know, now that we’ve met, I feel like I keep catching your scent on my daughter. Is there something you want to tell me?”
Heat burned Gretchen’s cheeks as she realized everyone in the café was watching them, waiting to see what Talon said.
Talon flushed himself and cleared his throat as his gaze darted over to Gretchen and then back to her dad. “Yes, sir. We…uh…seem to be mates.”
Her dad whirled around to face Gretchen. “Is this true?”
Mute, she nodded. It still didn’t feel real, but she couldn’t truthfully say they weren’t mates either. “That’s what he, uh, seems to umm think.”
Her father clapped his hands together, delight shining in his eyes. “I’m going to be a grandpa.”
“Dad!” she yowled at him, mortified. “Stop. Talon’s a friend. A umm serious friend and I’m moving back home. Can we just leave it at that?” She appreciated the fact Talon moved to stand next to her, scooping her hand up in his.
Her father beamed at her and winked at Talon. “Sure, we can leave it at that.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Talon leaned down and kissed her so long and so hard, people started to whoop and egg him on. For once, Gretchen didn’t mind. She didn’t fight him, instead, she kissed him back for all she was worth. In her mind’s eye, her wolf was howling with triumph, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
Epilogue
Gretchen set the plates on the table and smiled with satisfaction. She’d come to Talon’s house for a long weekend and had promised to cook for him. As unkempt as his bar was, the house he called home was a tidy and neat colonial on a quiet cul-de-sac. He even had nice furniture and an updated kitchen, which if Gretchen had known about, she would’ve agreed to come to his house much sooner. The kitchen at her childhood home couldn’t keep up with modern cooking and had been a source of ongoing frustration in the weeks since she’d returned to Huntsville.
She fussed with the plates, turning them this way and that, wanting the presentation to be perfect. “Hey, baby, dinner is served.”
Talon walked in from the living room where he’d been ordering an ‘on demand’ movie for later. “What is this? It smells delicious.” His eyes closed as he inhaled the aroma of the food.
“Filet mignon with a crust of herbs and balsamic vinegar reduction. On the side, we have mashed sweet potatoes mixed with cinnamon and orange and then there’s steamed asparagus.” She passed out napkins and quickly poured some wine. “This is a nice red from Chile.”
He waited until she sat down to pick up his fork and knife. “Man, if I’d known how good a cook you are, I would’ve never let you walk away.”
She giggled. “Oh, really? You think you could’ve stopped me?”
“I would have tried.” He took the first bite and made an appreciative sound in the back of his throat. “The moon save me, I didn’t think I could love you anymore than I already did, but every bite of the food you feed me just shows me how much more love I have to give.” Panic flashed in his eyes. “Wait, I think that came out wrong.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Relax. That was actually a sweet thing to say.”
“It was?” He cocked his head at her.
“Yes, especially if your girlfriend is a cook. That’s my favorite thing about food; it’s more than calories, it’s a form of love you can eat.”
“I’d like to eat you,” he growled.
She waved his words away with one hand. “You always say that.”
“It’s true.” He cut his steak in half and ate each piece in one big bite.
Gretchen shook her head, resolving to make a big T-bone next time. It wouldn’t be as tender, but it would last longer than the filet. “Well, let’s try to make it to dessert, at least. I’ve been cooking for hours.”
“What did you make?”
“Peach cobbler and homemade ice cream with a brandy caramel sauce.”
He went still. “Peach cobbler’s my favorite.”
“I know. That’s why I made it.”
A slow, wolfish smile spread across his face. “I get two desserts.”
“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Did you make something too?”
“No.”
“So what’s this about two desserts?” She fixed her ‘don’t give me any bullshit’ look on him.
“Peach cobbler and then you.” His voice deepened and her body instantly reacted. Her nipples pebbled in her bra and her core began to burn. “I wonder how you would taste with ice cream,” he continued, fully aware of the effect his words had on her.
“Oh…that...would be interesting,” she breathed.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, although interesting isn’t the word I would use.” He lifted a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes and delicately tasted them with a flick of his tongue, his dark eyes locked on hers as he did so. Swallowing and making a show of licking his lips, he said, “Hot, sexy, smoldering pleasure is the phrase that comes to mind.”
“Yes, that does seem to fit,” she said, looking away and refusing to let him get to her any further. If they didn’t keep their mutual desire in check, they would never finish dinner. She’d been there, done that and the food had been inedible by the time they came back to it. Some things just didn’t reheat well. Perhaps, she mused, I should change the menu a bit next time so leftovers aren’t a disaster.
Seeming to sense her resolve, he said, “How’s Hank?”
“My dad?” She blinked at him, startled by the abrupt change in topics. “He’s good. Thrilled to have me home and pestering me to get married already.”
“Say the word and we’ll do the deed.” He reached over and squeezed her hand.
“Yes, I know,” she said, a faint note of frustration creeping into her voice. “
But I just got back home. My dad and I have been through a lot. Forgive me for not wanting to run into anything at full speed.” It had only been a few weeks since Axel attacked her father. Gretchen hadn’t even settled into a routine yet. Thinking about marriage was too much and it meant more change than she felt her dad was ready for.
“Do you have doubts?”
“Not anymore,” she said, and it was true. She’d come to accept that Talon was a permanent and happy part of her life, mostly reconciling that fact with the bitterness of her mother’s desertion. She still had some lingering issues with her mom’s choices, but she was doing her best to work through them. “But that doesn’t mean rush to the altar does it?”
He shrugged. “Does your wolf pace in your mind and give you pointed looks like mine does?”
“Yes, but she’s all animal without a human thought in her head. I don’t let my wolf rule me, do you?”
“No, I guess not.” He finished his wine and poured a second glass. “I just want you here, baby. In my home, my bed, my life. I want to be inside you in every way.”
“That sounds like heaven,” she said. “I just…”
“What?”
She looked at him, tears hovering in her eyes. “I don’t want to leave my dad. He would be all alone.” That was her sticking point. There was no way to be with Talon without making her dad suffer.
He laced his fingers through hers. “Oh, baby, why didn’t you tell me that sooner? It doesn’t have to be that way.”
Gretchen sniffed, unable to stop her emotions from pouring out. “I don’t see how. Your house is small. My dad’s house is small and too far away from your work. The only way is to leave him behind. If I do that, I’m no better than my mom.” A sob came out on the last word.
Talon brushed a tear off her cheek. “I’ll buy us a house.”
“What?” She frowned at him.
“I’ve got some money set aside. How about a house with an in-law suite? Do you think your dad would like that? Would you want that?”
“Oh, I…well, yes. Yes, that would be great.” She dabbed at her face with her napkin. “Are you serious?”
“Gretchen, baby, you’re my heart. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you or your family. We’re wolves. We take care of our own, right?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed again, trying to regain control of her emotions.
“So, new house it is.” He held up his wine glass and Gretchen mirrored him. They clinked their glasses and drank.
“Thank you, Talon.” She gave him a soft smile. She’d never thought she would mate and then random circumstances had thrown them together. Talon would call it fate, and the definition of the word did seem to fit the way they’d met, but she wasn’t quite ready to concede that fated mates were actually a thing. A real thing, that maybe hadn’t happened for her parents. Closing her eyes for a second, Gretchen thought of her mother. The loss still hurt, even after all this time, but, thanks to Talon, she’d learned not to walk away from a relationship worth having. She wouldn’t make her mother’s mistakes.
Talon cleared his throat. “I have something for you.”
She opened her eyes as Talon moved to kneel next to her chair. A black velvet box rested on his palm. “Talon? What are you doing?”
“I’d like to make it official.” He opened the box, revealing a huge diamond ring. The stone was round and flanked by emeralds that reminded her of the pine trees that filled the hills of Huntsville.
Gretchen gasped and touched the stone with a hesitant finger. “It’s huge.”
“Say that again, later, okay?” He chuckled. “Do you like it?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “It’s beautiful. You didn’t have to do that though.” Many shifters eschewed wedding rings because they were too easy to lose during a shift. Sometimes mates got tattoos around their fingers and skipped the rings altogether.
“You deserve a mountain of diamonds,” he said, solemn.
“But all I want is you, Talon.” She cupped his face in her hand.
“And so you shall have me.” He took her hand and slipped the ring on her third finger.
“And so we shall have each other,” she corrected. “And my dad.”
“Sounds perfect.” He pulled her out of her chair and lifted her into his arms.
“Yeah, it kind of does.” They kissed, fierce and hungry as Talon carried her to his bedroom. Between kisses, he said, “I know you made a lovely dinner, but right now you’re the only thing I’m hungry for.”
“Then come and eat me, you big, bad wolf.” Accepting that her cooking was most likely going to waste, and deciding it was for a good reason, she bit his bottom lip.
He growled and threw her down on the bed. Yanking her jeans off and then just ripping her underwear, he knelt between her legs. “Don’t mind if I do.”
She sighed as his fingers thrust into her and his tongue found the sensitive nub at her core. His five o’clock shadow tickled her thighs as he consumed her.
“Talon,” she said.
“Yes,” he mumbled against her.
She shivered at the sensation of his voice entering her body. “I need you.”
He lifted his head, making his words clearer. “I’m here, baby. Are you ready to scream for me?”
“Yes,” she said with a hiss.
His head returned to the nexus of her thighs. His tongue stroked her in broad, flat strokes that gave way to sharp, fast flicks and then finally he covered her nub with his lips and sucked and flicked with such speed and force, she thought she would explode.
She screamed. His name shrieked up her throat and howled in the air, full of her wolf’s warbling call. Talon’s fingers flexed inside her just as she thought it was over. Instead of coasting back down in the cozy aftermath of the orgasm, he catapulted her into a second wave of pleasure.
Gretchen’s chest burned as she lost the ability to breathe. All she could do was gulp air and hope some of it hit her lungs.
“T-t-talon,” she moaned. “I n-n-need you.” A restless want burned in her, unsatisfied with the pleasure he’d already given her. Her wolf ran frantically in her mind, crazed by Talon’s scent and touch.
He crawled up her body, pausing to stroke each of her nipples into tight buds with his tongue. At her throat he bit her, sucking on the tender skin there until it felt like it might split open. She clutched his head and pressed herself into him.
“I’m yours,” she said, acknowledging the mark he was making.
“Mine, all mine.” His hands fisted in her hair and he stared into her eyes.
“Forever,” she agreed.
He kissed her as he slid into her wet passage. “Hold on, baby.”
“I’m never letting go,” she said. Nuzzling his neck, she returned his bite, smiling when he gasped as her teeth marked his skin. Letting her head fall back on the pillow, she pressed her hand over his bite. “Mine, all mine.”
He pulled her up and adjusted their position until they sat facing each other. They made love staring into each other’s eyes, their bodies cleaved tightly together. When he moved, she moved too and they danced until they were both breathless.
As Gretchen was swept away by pleasure yet again, she gasped. Two wolves sat in her mind’s eye, looking at her with approval.
“I see you,” she said, the words more air than sound. “Your wolf is with mine.”
Talon nodded that he heard her, too far gone to talk. A few more hard thrusts and he cried out her name before collapsing on top of her, crushing her back onto the bed.
She cradled him in her arms until his climax faded, relishing the weight of him against her body. “I love you.” She kissed the crown of his head.
“I love you, too.” He squeezed her tighter yet and she squirmed against him, not to rebel but to welcome the loss of personal space. The closer, the better as far as wolves were concerned. If he could’ve crawled under her skin and fused their bodies into one, she would have welcomed that.
“We’re
mated now,” she said with wonder. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve heard about this, but it’s crazy to actually have it happen.”
“It would appear our wolves like each other.” He rolled off her to settle at her side and tapped his head. “Yours showed up the same time as mine did.”
“So we’re together.” She blinked and caught a glimpse of their wolves nuzzling each other.
He took her hand in his and kissed each of her knuckles in turn. “Yep. If you didn’t know it before, you can’t miss it now, baby.”
She snuggled up against him. “I’m going to cook you so much good food.”
“And have my pups.” He waved a hand. “Lots of little furballs all over the place.”
She laughed recalling she’d told him she never wanted cubs. Oh, how things had changed. She couldn’t wait to carry his child, to feel that life fluttering inside her. Lifting her head, she looked at him. “Is this our happily-ever-after?”
“Oh that’s for fairytales, babe,” he scoffed. “For us, we’re mated-ever-after. That’s how our kind of love story ends.”
~The End~
Thank you for reading! I so hope you enjoyed reading The Alpha’s Justice and that you’ll check out Chloe and Jackson’s story in The Alpha’s Mate. Reviews are always appreciated and they help other readers decide if they would enjoy this story.
Also, The Alpha’s Justice is part of the Bad Boy Alphas series which features six bestselling authors writing about their favorite bad boy shifters. The other books in the series include:
Reach for the Sky by Gwen Knight
Wyatt is always looking to stir up trouble, and Skylar is trouble with a capital T. Not only has his wolf chosen her as his intended mate, but she also comes with her very own stalker. Consumed by his need to protect her, Wyatt doesn't care that she’s determined to keep him at arm’s length. It’s his job to keep her safe, which means getting close to the stubborn she-wolf…just the way he wants it.
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Awaken a Wolf by R.e. Butler
Adam Beaumont hasn’t been the alpha of the Cleveland pack for long before he feels the pressure to take a mate. When he sees a beautiful Wiccan talking to one of his wolves, he knows exactly what to do to make her his. The only problem is that Cinder isn’t receptive to him at all. Everything he tries to do to make her his seems only to push her away, and neither he, nor his wolf, can accept the denial much longer.