WOLF SNATCHED
The Dark Ridge Wolves
Book One
Marissa Farrar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Bonus Material: Chapter One of ‘Wolf Torn’
About the Author
Also by the Author
Copyright
Chapter One
“Haven’t you left yet?”
Alyssa jumped at the gruff sound of her alpha’s voice and spun to face him, her cheeks heating. “No, sorry. I was just about to.”
“Well, get a move on. I’m going to die of thirst at this rate.”
Her alpha Gregory stared at her in a way that made her uncomfortable, his gaze slipping down over her body like liquid. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest, and wished she’d worn something more covering than the thin summer dress she’d chosen that morning. She wasn’t a small girl, and her breasts strained against the front of the dress, the straps tested by her curves. Her hips and bottom sent the material flaring out to stop mid-thigh.
She shouldn’t be made to feel this way. Gregory was not only her alpha, he was also at least forty—so twenty plus years older than her own eighteen years. He was already mated to the not-so-lovely Valerie, who was their alpha female. She knew alphas occasionally took mistresses, and she prayed that wasn’t what he had in store for her. Gregory was a bullish man, with a bald head, no neck, and wide, beefy shoulders. He wasn’t the sort of guy she’d be attracted to at all, and the age difference left a sickening dread in her stomach.
Perhaps she was imagining things—he had watched her grow up, and surely didn’t think of her as much more than a little girl himself. But no, the way his gaze lingered on the shelf of her breasts, she was sure he was thinking of her as most definitely all grown up.
“Take the car,” he said, “and the cell phone. I don’t want you messing around in town, and if one of the human men tries to talk to you, just ignore them.”
“I will,” she said. “I don’t speak to anyone in town.”
“Glad to hear it. Your place is with us, the Dark Ridge wolves.”
Then why is it always me you send into town to do chores? She didn’t give voice to her words, but she knew the constant allocation of chores was just an excuse for him to speak to her. Gregory had a niece, Ruby, who was still single and only a couple of years older than she was, but he never asked her to do the runs into town.
“I know, Gregory,” she said instead. “I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else.”
The men in town rarely spoke to her anyway, unless it was because they had to. Humans knew about wolf-shifters, but they had a silent agreement to keep themselves to themselves. The shifters didn’t involve themselves in human business and vice-versa. Occasionally, a rogue wolf lived among the humans, but that was rare. For the most part, wolves kept to their own packs and compounds, and the humans stayed in the towns. It had worked that way for hundreds of years, and, other than the occasional run-in, they lived peacefully.
“Then I’ll see you this afternoon with what I’ve asked for.”
A shout from one of the other shifters called Gregory over, and so he turned and walked away.
Alyssa sighed and headed over to where one of the cars was parked near the meeting house at the center of their compound. The pack didn’t have many cars. Gregory had his own beast of a truck, which he kept meticulously clean and wouldn’t let anyone else drive, but the rest of them shared the few vehicles they had. They tried to live their lives as close to nature as possible, so preferred to be on foot rather than drive vehicles, and things like cell phones and televisions were uncommon. They lived a simple life, and were happy that way.
“Hey, Alyssa, wait up.”
She turned to see her older brother Holton coming toward her at a slow jog. He was ten years older than she was, and beta in the pack. She was fiercely proud of him, and of their other brother, Joel, too, who was twenty-three and opposite to Holton in every way. Where Holton was big and dark, with his long hair and coarse beard, Joel was lean and blonde. She fell somewhere in the middle with her curly brown hair, though she wished she’d inherited some of the leanness Joel had. She felt like all she needed to do was look at a cookie and it landed straight on her hips.
Holton came to a stop in front of her, his thick dark brows drawn together in concern. “Everything all right? I saw Gregory talking to you.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I just have to do a run to the store. He was asking me why I hadn’t left yet.”
“That was all?”
“Yeah, that was all. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. I just wanted to check on my baby-sister, that’s all.”
She punched him on the arm, but her fist met only solid muscle and made no impact at all. “Hey, less of the baby. I’m eighteen now, remember? A grown woman.”
He cast a glance over his shoulder, in the direction Gregory had gone. “Yeah, that’s what worries me.”
Was Holton concerned about the same thing she was—that Gregory was thinking of her in a different way now that she was mature? She wanted to ask him directly, but even the thought embarrassed her, and the idea of saying it out loud, to her big brother, no less, made her cheeks burn with humiliation. Besides, it put her brother in a difficult position. He was Gregory’s beta—his right hand man. She didn’t want to put thoughts like that into Holton’s head. Holton was protective of her, and if he started to think Gregory had ideas about her in that way, it would make his job difficult. Nothing was more important than their pack being cohesive and working together. Friction between pack leaders could cause entire packs to break apart, and then they were left weak and open to being taken over by rival packs. The Dark Ridge wolves had always lived peacefully, and she didn’t want to be the cause of something like that happening.
“I can come with you, if you want?” Holton offered. “I’ve got a couple of things to finish up here, but I’d be happy to join you for a trip into town.”
“I’ll be fine, Holton, honestly. Gregory wants me to get a move on, and I don’t want to keep him waiting any longer.”
“It won’t do him any harm to wait.”
She tried again. “And I want to go on my own. I enjoy the drive.”
He studied her face. “As long as you’re sure.”
“I am, I promise.”
“Okay. Be careful, and don’t go talking to any strange boys.”
She rolled her eyes at him, and he laughed. “I know, I know. You’re all grown up now.”
“That’s right,” she confirmed. “I’ll be back by the afternoon.”
She turned away from her brother and walked to where the car was parked. The keys were in the ignition—no one in the pack would ever dream of stealing the car—and she saw the cell phone sitting in the holder on the dashboard. She removed it from the holder and slipped it into her purse. Her shifter pack only owned two cell phones. They were together most of the time anyway, so what was the point in them having more? Plus the pack couldn’t afford to fund a whole heap of cell phones for members who would rarely need to use them. Gregory was tight like that, so he kept one for h
imself, and the other was for the pack’s use when needed.
Alyssa climbed behind the wheel and pulled the door shut behind her. She started up the vehicle and maneuvered it to take the small dirt track out of the compound. A part of her relaxed as she pulled away from the rest of the Dark Ridge wolves and started the hour or so journey to town. She loved her home, but sometimes it did feel claustrophobic. Had she felt that way before she’d started to get uncomfortable around her alpha? She wasn’t sure, but now that she was driving away she could finally breathe.
She drove with the windows down and the radio on. The day was bright and hot, a beautiful day to be alive. Her irritation at always being the one to run the chores faded. Someone had to do it, so there was no reason it shouldn’t be her. The pack could hunt fresh meat in the forest, but there were always going to be things they needed at the store—they couldn’t pick up toilet paper, or even the booze her alpha loved so much, in the forest. Somehow, probably because she was at the bottom rung of the pack, the job always landed in her lap.
Today, however, she decided she didn’t care. If it meant she got to enjoy this gorgeous day away from Gregory’s watchful eye, she’d do every chore available.
The hour’s drive passed by with her singing along to the radio, lost in thought. Before she knew it, she found herself pulling into the parking lot of the store in town. The pack only used cash—they didn’t get involved with human institutes such as banks—and she only had enough to get the groceries Gregory required for the pack. Things they couldn’t hunt or grow were bought by the alpha and then divided among the pack equally. They got money by selling some of the things they’d grown or made. Some of the women were talented with crafts, and could crochet beautiful blankets which sold for enough to buy them groceries to last the pack a week.
Gregory had given her the right money for the groceries, but she thought there might be enough to get herself one of the treats she liked so much. After all, she was the one who’d gone to all the effort to drive into town and shop.
Heading into the store she figured after having to put up with Gregory getting an eyeful of her chest that morning, a sneaky candy bar was the least she deserved.
Chapter Two
Alyssa paid for the shopping and bent to haul the paper sacks of groceries into her arms.
Clutching the bags against her chest, she left the store and walked back to the car. Her thighs rubbed together beneath the skirt of the summer dress she wore, the material clinging to her backside. She’d thought the dress was too small when she’d put it on that morning, but it was so damn hot at the moment, she hadn’t been able to stand the thought of wearing anything larger. Besides, it was always several degrees hotter in town than it was at home. The shifter compound was on higher ground, and the dappled shade of the forest always kept the place cooler.
She was tempted to find somewhere to park for a little while to avoid going home. Anything to buy some time away from the way Gregory had been looking at her lately.
Sickened, she pushed the thought of Gregory away from her mind. Her brothers wouldn’t let him try to take her as a mistress, would they? Both Holton and Joel had always been protective of her, as she’d expect from them being older, especially since their parents had died, but would they stand up against Gregory if he chose to take her? It might mean they’d lose their places in the pack—if they survived such an encounter—and would have to start afresh.
Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. They could all start somewhere new and see if any of the other packs from around their area had outsider shifters who would like to join.
The thought surprised her. She’d never considered leaving the Dark Ridge wolves before and she certainly shouldn’t be thinking about spending time with other packs. She’d been told all her life how dangerous they were—cold-hearted and ruthless. There was a reason shifter-packs lived in their own territories; when they crossed paths bad things happened. It was better to stick to your own, even if it did mean being mated off to someone who made your blood run cold.
“Stop thinking about it,” she muttered to herself, trying to balance the grocery bags as she fumbled with the keys to the car. She’d treat herself by sitting in the vehicle for ten minutes and eating the candy bar she’d bought before driving back to their shifter compound.
Alyssa placed the key in the lock, but something made her pause. Despite it being the middle of the day, there weren’t many people around. The hairs on the back of her neck slowly rose to attention and her nostrils flared. Due to her shifter genetics, her hearing and sense of smell were sharp—not as sharp as when she was in wolf form, but still good—and something was sending her a warning signal that all was not quite right.
She whipped her head around, trying to spot something, but the parking lot was empty.
Where the hell is everyone?
A waft of something—an aftershave, a hint of sweetness, and something else, musky and dangerous, which sent all her senses alight—drifted over to her. Her heart instantly picked up its pace, and she hurried with the keys, suddenly desperate to get the door open and get the hell out of there.
No longer caring if she spilled the groceries, she wrenched open the door and climbed behind the wheel, her chest heaving. The heat of the day, combined with the sudden rush of adrenaline, had caused the thin material of her dress to cling to her curves, so when she glanced down she could see the rolls of her stomach sitting beneath the shelf of her breasts. Even her thighs spread out enough to cover most of the seat.
Shame swamped the sudden, irrational fear she’d just experienced. She knew the candy bar wasn’t such a good idea, yet she didn’t seem to have the self-control to stop eating them. She enjoyed the pleasure of melted chocolate dripping down her throat, the warm feeling it created inside. There weren’t many things she could take pleasure from in life, but eating was one of them. So what if the result was that she no longer felt comfortable in her own skin? If she was lucky, it might even keep perverts like Gregory away from her.
Right now, she wasn’t hungry anyway. She was torn between wanting to get away from there, and not wanting to go home. She wished she had another option, but at least she had a place she belonged with her pack —even if it was only to do the chores—and that was more than she could say for anywhere else.
Alyssa pushed the stick shift into reverse and backed out of the space, before pulling out of the parking lot. She took the small road out of town, swapping the clusters of houses for the expanse of tree trunks and pine foliage. It was an easy, scenic drive, and she enjoyed just being able to zone out for a while, thinking only about the road rather than the possibility of a future with someone who turned her stomach.
Glancing over at the grocery bags sitting on the passenger seat, she spied the candy bar she’d bought. Perhaps she could manage it after all. She reached over to snag—
The steering wheel suddenly wrenched from her hands and the car went into a spin, throwing her to one side. She didn’t even get a chance to scream as groceries flew past her face, and the side of her head smacked against the driver’s window. White sparks burst in front of her eyes, and everything spun in conjunction with the moving car.
No, she realized, the car has stopped moving. It was just her head that was dizzy.
“Holy shit,” she muttered, reaching out to the steering wheel to pull herself upright and check her injuries. The fact she was still able to both swear and move made her think she wasn’t too badly hurt, though she had no idea what had just happened.
She became aware of the stench of whiskey filling the interior of the car, the fumes making her eyes sting and her nostrils flare. The bottle Gregory had told her to buy must have smashed in the impact. He was going to be mad when he found out—more upset about that than her being in an accident.
Sitting upright made her head swim again, and her vision grayed at the edges. She rubbed her eyes, and then hissed air in over her teeth as pain shot through her temple. A tender spot wa
s beside her eye, and when she placed her fingertips to the area, they came back bloodied. The injury must have happened when she hit her head.
Alyssa opened the driver’s door. Several items of groceries fell from the car and hit the ground—a couple of cans and some dried pasta. Ignoring them, she climbed from her truck and staggered onto the road. What had happened? Had she hit something? She hadn’t been aware of any impact. The stench of whiskey followed her out, blinding all her other senses, and she covered her nose with the back of her hand. She didn’t know how Gregory could bring himself to drink that stuff.
Wincing against her sore body— a bruised shoulder, and stiff neck and back—she looked down to check under the car.
“Ah, shit.”
The back tire had blown out, which must have caused the skid. She glanced back down the road, the way she had come, and noticed a small pile of inch long nails scattered across the asphalt.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” She exhaled in exasperation.
If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought they’d been put there deliberately to cause an accident.
Alyssa headed back to the car to find her purse. Thank goodness she’d been allowed to take the cell phone with her in case of an emergency.
An emergency just like this one.
Alyssa found her purse wedged under the seat, and, with her body screaming in protest, she hauled out the bag. Fumbling inside, her fingers met with the cool metal of the phone and she took it out and checked the screen.
No service.
“Damn it.”
Keeping her eyes glued on the screen, she walked down the road, back in the direction of town. Hopefully, the phone would pick up some reception soon. She held it in the air, thinking the height might help.
“Come on, come on,” she willed the phone.
A single bar popped up.
“Oh, thank God!”
She hit the dial button for the only number programmed in—Gregory’s cell phone.
Wolf Snatched: A Dark BBW Shifter Romance (The Dark Ridge Wolves Book 1) Page 1