BOX SET: Shifter 4-Pack Vol 2 (Wolf Shifter, Dragon Shifter, Mafia, Billionaire, BBW, Alpha) (Werewolf Weredragon Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by Candace Ayers

  It was all the conformation he needed.

  Haley Dubois, welcome to Alaska. He started typing up a reply, and buzzed his secretary to book a flight.

  Chapter nine

  Haley sat patiently in the lobby. The taxi driver had dropped her off at a huge, salt-aged warehouse overlooking the port. On seeing it, she had felt more than anxious – she had been expecting to be dropped off at someone’s home, but the taxi driver had confirmed this was the destination.

  Walking in through a set of sliding glass doors, she had been transported. Inside, the building was entirely unexpected. Beautiful pine paneling ran the length of the corridor, the light muted and warm thanks to exposed light bulbs hanging from thick black cords and the white-wash, exposed brick ceiling. Whoever had designed the interior had obviously taken cues from the industrial setting, but the overall effect was distinctly Scandinavian and naturally homely.

  At the far end of the corridor Haley saw a reception desk, with a very attractive blond woman standing behind it, chattering merrily on the phone. She gave Haley a large smile as she approached, and gestured to the low fabric seating in front of her.

  Haley sunk gratefully into the sofa, and waited for the woman to finish her conversation.

  “Haley Dubois? You’re here to see Colton Sterling?” She inquired.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Great – he’ll be ready for you in just a few moments – can I get you anything, tea, coffee?”

  “Water would be great,” she smiled at the receptionist. Haley could feel herself getting slightly dizzy. It was probably just the effort of the journey, and the mild anxiety that chewed at her stomach.

  Moments later the receptionist came back with an ice-cold glass filled with water.

  “Trust me – you won’t taste anything better than Alaskan water.” She beamed at Haley and returned to her post.

  Haley sipped it gratefully and smiled at the woman – she was right; this stuff was delicious. It was so fresh and pure she could almost taste the slightly iron tang of minerals. She smiled to herself, exactly what she and her baby needed.

  Haley hadn’t mentioned her pregnancy in the correspondence with Colton. She was still hardly showing, and wore a bias cut dress to further obscure her figure. It was unlikely that she’d be showing over the next three months either – maybe a little, but by then it would be too late for them to send her away. And if she was looking after an elderly person, which she felt was becoming increasingly likely, then what harm would it do?

  “Colton’s ready for you now, shall I show you in?”

  “Please.”

  Haley rose slowly, feeling a little blurry. She gave the receptionist a broad smile to cover her discomfort, and then followed her staccato heel clicks down the polished concrete corridor and through another set of sliding doors.

  The receptionist stopped in front of a glass office in the corner of a large room that was filled to the brim with packing crates.

  An incredibly handsome and friendly-looking man waved at them both from inside. The receptionist ushered Haley through the door and softly closed it behind her.

  Colton offered her a chair.

  “Thank you for coming all this way, Miss Dubois,” he remarked cordially. Seeing her sit down in such a graceful manner and turn her large, slightly weary eyes toward him, there was something very familiar about her that he hadn’t detected from the picture she’d sent.

  “Please, call me Haley,” her tone was equally professional, but warm.

  “I have to say – you look familiar…” Colton looked at her askew, trying to place her face.

  “Well, I’ve certainly never been to Alaska before!” She replied cheerfully.

  Colton looked down at her résumé – reminding himself that she’d studied at the American Ballet Theatre. It clicked.

  “Oh, you’re Haley Dubois – the ballerina, am I correct? My wife and I saw you in New York on our last trip to the lower 48, it was The Tempest – you were incredible.”

  Colton saw her already pale face grow paler. His observation was swiftly followed by absolute amazement that New York’s finest prima ballet star would be replying to his companion advertisement.

  “Yes,” her voice wavered slightly, “I’m glad you enjoyed the show.”

  Something wasn’t quite right. Colton observed her more closely, trying to get a grasp on her scent. He hadn’t noticed when she’d first walked in, but there was something amiss about her – as if she carried some other scent, or multiple scents, mixed in with the familiar notes of human.

  He watched as Haley’s hands fluttered near her abdomen. Oh. She was pregnant. That made a lot more sense.

  “We did,” he continued, trying to pick his words carefully. She had come all this way, but the arrangement couldn’t work if she were pregnant with another man’s child – he was already playing a risky game with the Clan leadership policies, no way would this wash.

  “But Haley, I’m so sorry – I just don’t think that a woman in your condition is going to be up for the job. I will of course pay you for your troubles – coming all the way out here…”

  Haley rose to her feet. Her expression was bleak, but she nodded in understanding.

  “That’s quite alright, I should have said something. Thank you, Mr. Sterling, for your time.”

  She leaned forward to pick up her bag from the chair next to where she’d been sitting. Haley’s vision clouded and black spots danced about the room.

  “Oh!” She gasped, as the carpeted floor came up to greet her.

  Wyatt had entered Colton’s office to fetch the files on the commercial shipping acquisition. He’d seen that Colton was in some sort of meeting, but hadn’t been able to wait.

  Now he stood in the middle of Colton’s office, with an incredibly beautiful woman slumped in his arms.

  He’d gotten there just in time; Colton stood at the far end of the room in complete surprise while Wyatt just managed to grab her before she hit the floor.

  “Colton – what the hell?”

  Colton rushed around from behind his desk, “Shit – is she okay? She’s pregnant – we need to get her to Hannah, now.”

  Wyatt cradled her closer to his chest. She was such a light thing, so small in his arms. Once again he found himself closing in on a woman’s face to check if she was breathing. She was.

  “Let’s get her down to my truck. It will be quicker.”

  Holding the woman gently with one arm, he rummaged in his pocket with the other and threw Colton the keys.

  As they made their way to the parking lot, Wyatt found he couldn’t take his eyes off this tiny woman. He could tell her skin was naturally tan, but right now it was faded into a peaky whiteness with slight bruises under her eyes. Her hair was a dark raven black, currently tied up in a smart looking chignon that exposed her graceful neck.

  “She’s exhausted, Colton – this better not be your doing, who the hell is she anyway?” Wyatt asked as he maneuvered himself and the woman into the back seat of the truck.

  “She’s here on business. I don’t really know her.” Colton evaded the question, not yet willing to divulge his plan – which on reflection was looking more and more absurd. He should have listened to Hannah.

  “Floor it, Colton.”

  It wasn’t a long drive to Hannah’s clinic, but for Wyatt the trip seemed to last a millennium. He found himself feeling unaccountably anxious about this unknown woman’s welfare. The longer he held her, the more he found himself increasingly drawn to her scent; unable to take his eyes of her thick sweeping brows and the heavy lashes that shadowed her face. Her lips were full and perfectly shaped, with a delicate cupids bow on top, offset by a plumper bottom lip. They were an unusual pink – startlingly bright, and at first he thought she was wearing lipstick but he couldn’t detect the usual waxy gloss of make-up.

  “Seriously, Colton,” he growled at his younger brother, “we need to get there.”

  “I’m going as fast as
I can.”

  Wyatt shook his head. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he so tense all of a sudden? He dragged his eyes away from the sleeping beauty held against him, and fixed his stare on the passing landscape. He felt a tug in his lower abdomen. Insistent, growing by the second. Calm down! He tried to steady his breathing.

  “You alright, brother?” Colton peered back at him through the rear-view mirror.

  “Fine.”

  Wyatt felt his skin prickle all over. Colton kept staring at him, his expression concerned and confused.

  “Keep your eyes on the damn road.” Wyatt bit out.

  His bear was itching to get out.

  Wyatt was stunned. He had never before felt himself to be at the mercy of his shifting abilities – he had always been the one, especially compared with his two brothers, that had demonstrated complete and calculating control over his inner animal.

  “Colton -”

  “We’re here – chill the fuck out Wyatt!”

  Colton slammed down on the breaks, and hurried over to help Wyatt and the woman out of the truck. His brother’s face was completely ashen, and Colton wasn’t entirely sure who needed medical help more.

  Hannah rushed out from the clinic, having been alerted by the screeching of truck tires across the parking lot.

  “Colton – what’s going on?”

  “She fainted in my office. She’s pregnant,” he replied.

  “Bring her in – Wyatt?” Hannah tried to catch her brother-in-law’s attention, “Wyatt? Follow me.”

  Hannah shot Colton a confused look; Wyatt seemed so vacant. Colton shrugged; he had no idea what had gotten into his brother. They made their way up to the clinic, Wyatt following behind them in a daze, still clutching the woman.

  “Is that her?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes – he doesn’t know,” Colton spoke in hurried and hushed tones, trying to keep out of Wyatt’s earshot.

  “Colton, honestly!”

  “I know – I know,” he sighed.

  As they entered the waiting room two nurses rushed forward with a gurney to take Haley. Wyatt didn’t seem to want to let her go.

  “Wyatt,” Colton hissed, “put her down!”

  He did so reluctantly, laying her down gently on the bed as if she were made of porcelain. The nurses immediately rushed her off out of sight, with Hannah hot on their heels.

  The two men sat sipping coffee in the waiting room. When Haley left, the dazed spell over Wyatt eased up too, and now he sat glaring at Colton over the rim of his paper cup.

  “Hannah said – ‘is that her’, what did she mean by that, Colton?” Wyatt asked, breaking the silence.

  “You heard that, then?” Colton sighed.

  “I did. I have a really uneasy feeling about this Colton – and when I have an uneasy feeling, you are so often at the root of it, somewhere.”

  Colton could see Wyatt’s jaw twitching. It was never a good sign.

  “Well, I know you said I shouldn’t match-make -”

  Wyatt groaned loudly, and placed his coffee cup on the table, “Go on.”

  “But you know what’s at stake here,” he paused, watching the twitching muscle in Wyatt’s jaw become more prominent.

  “And so – I put an advertisement in a newspaper, not a local one, so the Clan would ever know – asking for a companion. For you. We pay her for three months, which gives you enough time to accept the Alpha position with a doting mate at your side, and then we make up some story about her cheating on you – breaking your heart, whatever…but you’re still Clan Alpha – because we mate for life.”

  Colton actually looked mildly pleased with himself.

  “But it didn’t work, did it?” Wyatt folded his arms and leaned back in the plastic chair, “What actually happened is you brought a pregnant woman to Alaska in the middle of winter, endangering her and her unborn baby, and now here we are. Back to square one, but now with added complications.”

  Colton peered down into his coffee cup.

  “Well – you seemed to like her,” he mumbled.

  Wyatt chose not to reply. He didn’t understand what had happened in the truck. Perhaps some strange alpha male tendency when faced with a woman in distress. He rubbed his temples. Colton had really struck idiot gold this time.

  “Colton – go back to the office. I need you to talk to Harry about the acquisition document; there’s something wrong with what they’ve estimated for content insurance. Sort it out.”

  “I can wait here, Wyatt – this isn’t your responsibility, it’s mine.”

  “She is my responsibility. It’s my situation that’s got her into this mess. I’ll see you later at my place, bring Tucker – we have business to discuss.”

  Colton nodded. He felt for his truck keys as he stood up, and then realized he only had Wyatt’s.

  Wyatt smirked at him, holding out his hand to grab them.

  “Enjoy the walk, brother.”

  Colton muttered an obscenity under his breath and then stalked out.

  Chapter ten

  Haley opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the bright light that assaulted her. She was in a small room, lying on what appeared to be a hospital bed. Peering over her was a very attractive woman in her late twenties, with red hair and beautiful blue eyes that were looking down at her with a mixture of concern and warmth.

  “Where am I?” Haley asked, her throat felt as dry as the desert, and she had an unappealing iron taste on her tongue.

  “You’re in Port Ursa – I’m doctor Hannah Cooper, you fainted. How are you feeling now?”

  Haley took a moment to digest the information.

  “Is the baby okay?”

  “Absolutely fine,” Hannah hurried to reassure her, “it’s you I’m worried about!”

  Haley nodded, perceptibly relaxing on hearing that her little blob was safe.

  “I feel okay…how did I get here?”

  Hannah smiled, “My husband – Colton, he and his brother drove you here. You were having a meeting with him,” she prompted gently.

  “Oh yes,” Haley clenched her eyes shut in embarrassment, “The job interview. Oh damn.”

  “Don’t worry about that now – you need to take it easy. You were seriously dehydrated when they brought you in,” Hannah furrowed her brow, “it’s not good for you or the baby.”

  “I think it was nerves; I should have drunk more water on the flight.” Haley berated herself; she needed to take better care, for blob’s sake.

  “And you need to eat more – and get outdoors more, you live in Manhattan, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, some fresh Alaskan air will do you a world of good,” promised Hannah.

  Haley nodded, privately thinking that she wouldn’t be in Alaska much longer without the job offer, and there was little chance of her getting it now. She’d been so stupid.

  “Wyatt’s going to take you back to his place. He’s my brother-in-law,” Hannah amended, when she saw the confusion in Haley’s eyes, “He’s a very lovely man. You’ll be in safe hands.”

  “I don’t want to put anyone through any trouble,” protested Haley.

  “You won’t be – he’s happy to have you. All part of the job trial period,” Hannah winked at Haley, “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  Haley nodded. She wasn’t sure how comfortable she’d be staying at a stranger’s house, but it was incredibly kind of them to take her in. Maybe once she was there she could start proving that she was perfectly capable – and more than able to be an elderly companion, or whatever it was that Colton needed.

  After fetching her water and generally pampering Haley, Hannah left to go and see another patient.

  Haley sat in the room, wishing that she could be discharged. She was already starting to feel restless, and she didn’t particularly like being confined to a bed – especially not one at a doctor’s office. They had given her a private room, and Haley tried not to think about the cost she was likely to incur for the
treatment.

  Someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was Hannah or a nurse, Haley hollered for them to come in.

  An insanely handsome man – who certainly wasn’t a nurse, walked in. He seemed to take up all the space in the small room, his presence was so vital, his physique so muscular and large that Haley couldn’t stop staring at him.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi,” she hesitated, “who are you?”

  “I’m Wyatt. Colton’s brother,” he clarified.

  “Oh.”

  He gave her a small smile, but he looked awkward and uncomfortable.

  “I’ll take you home once they discharge you.”

  Haley nodded, “Hannah – Doctor Cooper, said as much.”

  “Just wanted to introduce myself.”

  “I really hope I’m not putting you out, I have a room at the hotel already booked for tonight.”

  “I really think it would be better if you stayed with me.” His tone was firm.

  “Why?” Haley asked, still not comfortable with the arrangement.

  He looked lost for a moment, and ran a thumb along his jawline in agitation. Haley got the impression that perhaps he was a man who wasn’t used to having his commands questioned.

  “Doctors orders,” he finally muttered.

  “Exactly!” Hannah exclaimed as she walked through the door, “Haley – honestly, as your Doctor while you’re here in Port Ursa, I absolutely insist that you stay with Wyatt – he can give you the proper care and attention you need.” She beamed up at Wyatt, who cocked an eyebrow in her direction – a clear warning for Doctor Cooper not to push her luck.

  Haley realized that Wyatt was probably doing this against his will – or at the very least having his arm twisted by his sister-in-law. She sighed. This was going to be awkward.

  “Agree to stay with Wyatt, and I’ll discharge you.” Hannah promised.

  Haley didn’t need to be told twice. She’d stay for one night and then get out of Wyatt’s hair. She glanced in his direction and he gave her a small smile that looked more like a grimace.

  “Okay. I’ll stay. Thanks Wyatt.” She muttered.