The Alpha's Temptation (Werewolves of Boulder Junction Book 4)

by Martha Woods

  She smiled. "I thought you liked to handle these things alone?"

  "Fuck this lone wolf shit. I'm not letting my ego be a part of this, not when I've got you and the baby to think about."

  "And what about you?"

  "What about me?"

  She curled her arms around his shoulders. "I'm grateful that you're looking out for us, making sure that we are safe in this... incredibly scary time. But we can't lose you. This baby needs their father, so please, promise that you'll take care of yourself just as much as you take care of us."

  He took her hand, pulling it up to his face and pressing a kiss to the palm. He leaned into her touch, sighing as her palm warmed his cheek. "I love you so much, I just want you to remember that."

  It didn't go unnoticed to her that he never answered her question. Rather than pushing it however, she simply allowed herself to enjoy their connection, knowing that with what was on the horizon moments of calm where the three of them could be together were likely to be fleeting.

  "I know that you're going to do your best to protect us, and I know that you're going to win." She smiled at him. "This man has no idea just who you are, and how strong you are. Just come back to us Liam, that's all I ask."

  Before he could answer, she leaned in, pressing her lips against his. He moaned at the contact, her leg swinging over his hips until she was sat firmly in his lap. Skylar threaded her hands through his hair, pulling his head deeper into their embrace, her tongue making quick swiped over his lips as they moved as one. Liam's hands rested on her hips, squeezing down and rubbing across her achingly soft skin, each touch drawing a pleased giggle from her mouth.

  He stood, lifting her easily into the air and depositing her softly onto the desk, their lips never separating. His hand squeezed her chest, Skylar shrugging off the sheet as his touch roved over areas she was desperate to have explored. With a teasing pinch to her nipple, he leaned in, taking the peak into his mouth. She arched her back at the contact, a high-pitched squeal her first response. She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him in closer as she ground her hips against him. He pulled back, looking longingly into her eyes as his hand traveled downward, frantically trying to work his belt open.

  The phone rang, the shrill tone shattering the gentle atmosphere and echoing in the room. She almost jumped in surprise, an irritated growl vibrating through her body as Liam debated answering the phone or hurling it through the wall. Conceding that it was most likely important, he reluctantly pulled away, picking up the phone and hitting the answer button.

  "What is it?"

  The voice on the other end was clearly taken aback, "This is Brett. Sorry Liam, did I get you at a bad moment?"

  Liam took a deep breath, letting it out as he forced himself to calm down. "Sorry Brett, just working through something at the moment. How can I help you?" He looked up as Skylar smiled and walked out, his eyes tracking her hips as she wiggled them teasingly. It was only after she had left that he realized Brett had started talking again. "Sorry what? I didn't catch that."

  "I said that I've got some information for you, are you sure that you're alright?"

  He shook his head. "I'm fine, trust me. This information, was it hard to get?"

  Brett chuckled, "I didn't piss anyone off yet if that's what you're worried about. No, this just needed a few conversations and a few drinks to be bought, no big risk. I did use up a favor at immigration, but I'd say it's worth it."

  "Good, that's good. What have you got for me?"

  "I'm sending it all through in an email right now, but I'll give you a brief rundown anyway." The sound of shuffling papers and tapping keys were audible through the phone as Brett cleared his throat, "First off, I can confirm that Skylar's mother is in fact Leila Manzano. I know that her father was adamant about that fact, but now we have tangible proof."

  "Ok, it's good to have confirmation at least." He looked over at the door as Skylar stepped back through, now fully dressed. "Skylar just joined me Brett, I'm putting you on speaker phone."

  "Alright. Hello Skylar, I don't believe we've met."

  She giggled, "Hello Brett, it's very nice to meet you."

  Liam continued, "Alright what do you have for us?"

  "I dug through the family tree, and I found some things that I can only describe as strange."

  "What kind of strange?"

  "The kind of strange where the tree just ceases to exist. I've gone back through six generations back into the old country, and then... nothing. It's like the family just sprang into existence one day."

  Skylar pursed her lips. "That... is strange. Could it just be a book keeping issue? That was pretty common back in the day."

  "I thought it might be, but every other family around them was well accounted for. The family itself was pretty well off as well, so it's even stranger that they wouldn't have any distinguishable lineage. Either someone nameless came in and started up again under a different name, or something else happened to the records."

  "is there anything else you can tell us about the family? Anything related to their health or what they were known to be like?"

  "Health wise they've all been pretty long lived, well above the average. If there's any positive to all this then I suppose you got some good genes out of it. I can't trace any health conditions either, though medicine back then was touch and go so I could have missed something."

  "Thank you, is there anything else we need to know?"

  He grunted, "Not that I can think of right now, everything is in the email I sent off anyway, you can easily expand on everything we've talked about. I'm working on finding out more for you both, but if you need to know anything urgently just get in contact with me, I'll try my best to help."

  They nodded to themselves. "Thank you, Brett, be safe out there."

  "You don't work as long as I have and not learn that lesson." The line disconnected, they sat back.

  Liam took his wife's hand. "Do you want to do this together? I did say that I want to help you work through your history, but if you'd rather do it alone..."

  She squeezed down. "No, no it's... I would love for you to help me. To be honest I... I'm not sure I would be able to do it alone. Not with something like this."

  "Then you have my help." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "For as long as you want it, and as much as you need. We're going to figure this out together, alright?"

  She smiled. "That sounds wonderful Liam."

  He opened up his email, downloading each of the files that Brett had attached. The material was thorough, containing everything from medical records to immigration papers. They set to work sorting through it all, deciding it would make the most sense to start with her most recent link to the bloodline.

  "Leila Manzano." Skylar cleared her throat, "She's forty-two years old, that's not really that old at all. It says here that she hasn't been seen in public for a long time now."

  Liam hummed, "She was apparently in a really bad car crash when she was twenty-two, everyone else in the car was killed, and she died on the operating table. Seemed like a miracle that she woke back up after that."

  "Do you think they've kept her away because she's still not well?"

  "Maybe, but the Manzano family has a lot of members that have been injured, the old man himself apparently uses a cane, so they're not worried about looking weak at all. I think there might be something more to this."

  She looked up from the reports. "You think that they're hiding something about her?"

  "I do. I think something screwy is going on with Leila, and I think they're making sure it doesn't come out."

  She nodded. "I'll look through the old reports then, see if I can find anything about this happening to any other people over the years. It should be fairly easy to find."

  "If you want to focus on that, I can stay on her and the modern family. See what I can dig out of the details."

  Skylar smiled, her eyes twinkling. "That sounds good, I think we make a pretty good team."
r />   "Part of being a successful business man, knowing when and who to divide the work with." He smiled gently over at her. "Part of why I think you're going to be successful is that you don't have anything against letting people help you. I'm still getting over needing to do everything myself."

  "It's still made you successful though right?"

  "Yeah, but that was before I met you. Now I've got more to worry about than just myself." He scoffed, though he couldn't keep the smile from his face. "What a cliché."

  "Well, cliché’s aren't always awful I suppose." They laced their hands together, sitting close as they delved deeper into their respective topics. A greater team they had never been a part of.

  * * *

  Michael and Hayley walked along the path to the house, eager to deliver the news of the discoveries they had made to Skylar. The book they had received from the witch was tucked securely away in Hayley's bag, already being treated with the care and security that would be given to a precious family heirloom. Michael himself walked with a newfound confidence, having gained faith that not only would they be able to help Skylar, but that the newfound alliance between his kind and Hayley's would actually be one with strength. For the first time in a while he felt that things were going to be better from here on out, that whatever challenges were to be faced would not be faced alone.

  Hayley was of much the same mind, finally feeling like she understood her own kind better after having spoken to Cassandra. The brief time that she had to study the book only reinforced this feeling, the understanding of just how many different species there were out there in the world was all at the same time humbling and utterly exciting.

  "That wasn't so bad, was it?" She looked over at him, trying to gauge just how well he had taken their meeting. When he looked over smiling, she knew the answer.

  "Surprisingly enough, once I got over how utterly terrifying she can be, I really enjoyed it." He held his hands out in excitement. "I knew that there were a lot of paranormal's out there, but to think that there are that many out there... I hadn't even heard of half of them!"

  "Some of them are so beautiful... And so rare! She must have traveled so much to find them!"

  "Well from the sounds of it, her coven wasn't really interested in having her around. I suppose it was either travel around and learn more about people like us or sit out in the forest and do nothing. God knows I would have chosen traveling as well."

  "It just makes me think you know? She must have seen so many things, how old could she be?"

  He chuckled, "I'll let you field that question, I'm wary enough of asking how old women are, let alone ones who can vaporize me with a thought."

  "Oh haha." She rolled her eyes. "Don't you at least have a guess you can give me?"

  "I dunno, like, my mom's age I guess? She looks younger, but she definitely acts older."

  "How does she act? Like not an idiot?"

  Michael laughed, "You tell me, we're both young and we decided it was a good idea to try and push a volatile outsider witch to help us. I'm amazed that she didn't just kill us both right then and there."

  "Well when you put it that way I think I'll have to agree with you." Hayley smiled. "She's actually kind of a sweetheart, isn't she?"

  "I wouldn't go that far, but she's... nicer than I thought she'd be." He shook his head. "Definitely wouldn't be a good idea to tell her that though, no telling what she'd do to you just on principal."

  "True. Very true." They reached the front door, Hayley's hand coming up to rap against the door. "It's been too long since we've seen these two. I know we've been busy with something important but..."

  "But it still makes you feel crappy?" She nodded, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We're doing something important, don't forget that. I don't like it either, but if I had to go a few months without seeing them then it'd be worth it to make sure that they were safe, don't you think?"

  "Yeah..." She huffed, "Still gonna hug her as tight as I can though."

  Michael smiled, agreeing, "Damn straight, I've missed her too." He slammed his hand against the door harder, both of them starting to feel the chill of the early afternoon by now. "Bro open up! It's freezing out here!"

  The door opened not five seconds later, Liam wearing an expression of pure irritation. "I was on my way to the door, patience costs you nothing."

  "It costs me my warmth, I like my warmth." He leaned against the door frame. "So, are you actually going to let us in or are you going to stand there and watch us freeze to death?" Liam made no effort to move, he didn't shift in any way at all actually. "Uhh... Liam?"

  "I'm thinking about it."

  Scoffing to himself, Michael simply pushed past him, Hayley giggling all the while behind him. Liam closed the door behind them, directing them towards the living room. "Come this way, Skylar and I... We have something that we feel you need to know."

  Hayley stiffened. "Is this a good news thing or a bad news thing?"

  "Some good." He sighed, walking past. "Mostly bad."

  They followed him through the threshold, Skylar already sitting in one of the chairs facing them. As soon as she saw the two of them her face completely lit up, standing up from the chair and by their side in seconds. She wrapped her arms around Hayley, burying her face into her neck. "Oh my god Hayley! It's so good to see you again! It's been too long!"

  Hayley chuckled, wrapping her arms tight around her friend. "I'm sorry we've been gone so long, but we've found out some things that you'll be very happy to hear!" She nuzzled her cheek against the top of Skylar's head. "We missed you so much though!"

  Skylar looked to the side, seeing Michael standing next to Liam, watching the both of them with a small smile. She opened up her arm to him, beckoning him over. He looked away, almost embarrassed, not wanting to interrupt their moment. Liam rolled his eyes, planting his hand in the middle of Michael's back and shoving him forward. He pitched forward, catching himself before he could stumble into them both, awkwardly dusting himself off.

  "Well, I guess since I've been invited..." He leaned in, embracing the both of them. "Hey Sky, how've you been?" He whispered just loud enough for Liam to hear him, "My brother hasn't been a total ass this whole time, has he?"

  "He's been stubborn, but that's the man I married. I wouldn't change anything about him."

  He stepped back, laughing to himself, "That's very sweet. To be honest, there's a lot of things I'd change about him..."

  Liam walked past, tapping him on the back of the head. "You and me aren't married though, are we? Now take a seat, we really need to discuss this whole thing."

  Reluctantly, Hayley and Skylar separated, taking seats across from each other. Skylar sat next to Liam, Hayley next to Michael, and all of a sudden the atmosphere felt heavy with anticipation. For one of the first times that Michael could remember, Liam actually looked uncertain, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of some way to start the conversation. Whatever it was they needed to talk about, clearly it was a very heavy topic.

  Liam looked at Skylar, deciding that he should just get it out. "There are people in town who are after us."

  Michael's eyes widened, his muscles tensing at the news of danger. "Excuse me? What people?"

  "You remember that man I killed a while ago? The one who was after Skylar's father?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, sure. Good riddance, what about him?"

  "He had a father, and the apple it turns out didn't fall far from the tree."

  Michael put his head in his hand, groaning to himself. Hayley leaned in closer, her voice a whisper as though they might be overheard, "How did you learn about this?"

  "One of his boys threatened Cayden, trying to get information on where he could be. He came and told me." He clenched his fist, irritated at himself. "I owe him one now. Anyway, they showed up here this morning."

  "Here?" Michael almost bared his teeth, Hayley clenched her fist tightly, crackling with energy. "They showed up at your house?"

  "Yeah.
" Liam sighed, "And now that he knows his son is dead, it's only a matter of time before things escalate."

  "How'd he find out? I thought you got rid of the body?"

  "I did. He..." He rubbed his eyes in resignation, his tone flat, "I told him."

  "You told him?" Michael snarled, "You told him? Why would you do that?" Running his hand through his hair, he chuckled bitterly, "Why the fuck would you tell him? You were supposed to be the smart one!"

  "I don't know ok? I wanted... I wanted him to get scared, crawl back to whatever shit hole he crawled out of and never bother us again."

  "Well great job! Now you've just pissed him off I'm guessing?"

  Liam shook his head. "Not exactly, he didn't care."

  Hayley stepped in, sensing that a fight was on the horizon between the two. She placed a hand on Michael's arm, making him sit back in his chair. She tilted her head at Liam, voice conveying her confusion, "What do you mean he didn't care?"

  "I mean he didn't care, about any of it! From what I can tell, he hated his son."

  "So... Why is he here then?"

  "Principle. He doesn't care that I killed his son, he cares that I took away some of his property. He's about as angry about his son being murdered as I would be over my pen being stolen."

  Michael sighed, his breathing under control and his anger fading away. "Except you're not going to kill someone over a pen. Jesus Christ Liam, can't we ever just have a normal year? Hell, at this point I'd settle for a normal month." He ran a hand over his face. "Is that the worst of it?"

  "Not exactly." He took Skylar's hand in his. "They know who Skylar is, and who her father is as well. They made the connection and I think they're gunning for her."

  If Michael and Hayley had seemed angry before, they looked positively furious now. Hayley's hand was shaking with the effort it was taking to not destroy something right then and there, while Michael's pupils had almost disappeared in his rage. When he spoke his voice was low, tightly controlled, "They threatened Sky?"