by Lia Davis
Surrendering to the Alpha
By
Lia Davis
Surrendering to the Alpha
An Ashwood Falls Novel
By: Lia Davis
Published by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC.
© 2013 Lia Davis
Print ISBN 978-1-62322-057-0
Cover Art by Scott Carpenter
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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the publisher at [email protected].
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’ imagination.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Glossary of terms
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
About the Author
Also from Lia Davis
Surrendering to the Alpha
Ashwood Falls’ leopard Alpha, Keegan Andrews holds onto the pain of his deceased mate as his own personal hell—a reminder that not all things are what they seem. The Pack Scribe, Addyson Lewis is no exception. She’s intrigued him like no other since the day she stumbled into Ashwood territory about twenty-five years ago. When he discovers that just being near her calms the storm inside him, he can’t stay away even if it means exposing her to the evil she tried to escape.
Over a hundred years of psychological torture at the hands of the rogue Onyx Pack has left Addyson with no memories of her life before captivity and with the inability to control her psychometric nature. Anything or anyone she touches sends her into their darkest past and secrets, causing her pain she wouldn’t wish on anyone. Without the ability to control it, she’s forced to deny her leopard the connection she craves from the Pack that welcomed her with love and without judgment. That is, until the day Keegan involuntarily touches her bare skin and she finds the peace she’d craved for far too long.
Warning: Contains one sexy alpha leopard who craves the most decadent of dreams, a hidden treasure contained within a spunky woman, and the ability to create a mating bond that’s the most explosive yet.
Dedication
To the love of my life.
Thanks for believing in me.
Acknowledgements
I want to send a huge thank you to all my readers for making Ashwood Falls what it is today. Also thank you for all the kind words on Facebook and the emails. It is truly a pleasure to write this series.
Thank you, my always wonderful Street Team. You guys rock!
Also sending a shout out to my assistant for all the hard work she does. I am enjoying working with her. And to my editors who are awesome.
A huge thanks to Carrie Ann for being my friend and business partner.
Glossary of terms
Alpha – Leader of the Pack
Marshal (First born no matter the sex) – Leader of the enforcers and sentries. The Marshal will also step in to aid the Alpha in his duties when needed. If there isn’t an heir then a Marshal is appointed by the Alpha
Beta – Second born to the Alpha and/or second in command to the heir/Marshal. Generally takes care of Pack issues.
Enforcers – Enforces Pack laws and secures the safety of the Pack.
Sentries – Generally guards the outer boarders of the Pack property. They can be called in to aid an enforcer in fighting and enforcing the law.
Trackers – Skilled in tracking down rogues and eliminating them
Den mothers/maternal females – Strong and protective, yet not dominate by nature, they watch over the youth in the Pack. Generally works in the nursery and schools and other programs where the children and teens are concerned.
Justice – Pack lawyer with the special psychic ability to read memories through touch in order to place fair judgment on the accused and see the intent of outsiders that come to the den.
Empath – Can connect to the Pack though their emotions and offers comfort when needed and advices the Alphas and Marshals of potential issues between Pack members.
Scribe – Keeps the Pack history through the rare ability to pick up visions through touch. The ability works on objects and people. Many are loners and only like the company of other Scribes.
Rebels – There are two groups: shifters and humans. Shifter rebels had banned together to stop the Onyx and other rogues by force. Human rebels had banned together after discovering the shifter communities and seek to destroy all of them, good or bad.
Council of Elders – Past Alphas and Marshals that form a united ruling body over all Packs to ensure the laws of secrecy from humans are kept and enforced.
Chapter One
Thirty-seven years ago
Keegan opened the door to his home and was met with silence, although it wasn’t unusual to come home from patrol to a quiet house or an empty one. Cate often visited with other Pack members and had her daily routines.
He stepped inside the foyer, taking in the scent of peaches and Cate. She hadn’t been gone long, he guessed. Entering the kitchen, he felt his lips lift in a small smile as he saw the note on the counter.
Hello, Lover. I went for my walk early so we could have the evening to ourselves. Be back soon.
Love you always,
Cate
A wicked thought entered his mind involving Cate naked and panting beneath him.
He moved to the refrigerator, opened it, and assessed its contents with a frowned. There was an empty milk jug, jar of jelly, and several “mystery” items that he wouldn’t open to save his mate’s life. He closed the door and wondered why she hadn’t gone shopping. It wasn’t like her to forget things like that, or at least it wasn’t until six months ago when they lost their third child.
Keegan shook his head, trying to ease the painful tightening in his chest and turned toward the living room.
A knock on the front door brought him up short. He wasn’t expecting anyone. When he crossed the foyer and opened the door, he was surprised to see Brock, one of his sentries, on the other side.
“Brock.” Keegan gave him a short nod and stepped aside so the male could enter.
The sentry came in and offered a wry smile. Keegan opened his telepathy to allow him to hear Brock’s thoughts. All Keegan heard was Brock reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb over and over. Gritting his teeth, Keegan turned to the living room.
“What is bothering you, Brock?”
The male peered at him as if confused for a brief moment, then shrugged and looked away. Yeah, something was definitely up.
“How is Beth?”
Brock looked back at Keegan and smiled. “My mate is good. A little annoyed that Dani
had put her on bed rest until after she delivers the cubs.”
Keegan’s heart warmed at the thought of new life. Beth and Brock were excepting there first…well, first set of cubs. Beth was due to deliver the twins in a few weeks and Danica, the Pack Healer, had put the female on light to no duty. Keegan could just imagine how stir crazy the dominant female was going.
“Brock?” Keegan asked when the male seemed to lose himself in thought, still reciting the damned nursery rhyme in his head.
“Huh? Oh. I was wondering if it would be okay if I take some time off rotation.”
“Sure. Take as much time as you need. I have a few junior soldiers who need the experience.”
Brock relaxed, but only a little. By the way the male rocked on his feet and peered around the room, Keegan knew something else was bothering the sentry.
“Speak your mind, Brock.”
Brock swallowed, but met Keegan’s gaze. “Is Cate home?”
Keegan didn’t stop a low growl from escaping. “She is on her walk.”
“I mean no disrespect. Beth and I love your mate and would never want to…”
“Speak,” Keegan said through gritted teeth.
“Last week when Cate came to visit with Beth…well, my mate said Cate didn’t smell right. Beth said she had a scent on her that was not Pack. I thought that my mate was just having one of those pregnancy side effects or something and paid it no mind.” Brock fell silent.
Keegan counted slowly in his head before saying, “Continue.”
Brock took a deep breath. “I saw Cate the other day, coming in from her walk and wanted to thank her for stopping by to visit with Beth. I smelt it, too.”
Keegan was still counting, still trying to reign in his control and not hit the male standing in front of him for even suggesting what Keegan believed he was. Thoughts of that morning when he used his gift on Cate to ease a nightmare entered his mind. She was dreaming of the Alpha of the rogue Pack Onyx. That couldn’t be it. She was only having a dream, wasn’t she?
Keegan studied Brock, who looked as pale as bleached sand. Keegan didn’t blame the male for being nervous. After all, according to their laws, it was a crime to accuse the Alpha’s mate of betrayal, or anything for that matter.
“What did you smell?”
Brock peered at his feet. “The scent of a rogue.”
Keegan growled, making the male flinch slightly and reached out again to touch Brock’s mind. This time the male let him in to search for the memory. Search for any hint of a lie. What he found made his heart ache and confused the hell out of him.
Brock believed what he said and was also confused by it.
Why would Cate have an encounter with the rogues and not mention it to him or the enforcers or sentries?
Keegan withdrew from the male’s thoughts and turned toward the French doors that led to the backyard. “You are excused. Take all the time you need to be with your mate.”
“Sir, I only told you because I was concerned. If she’d been fighting them on her own…”
Keegan peered at him from over his shoulder. “Thank you, Brock.”
The male nodded and left Keegan alone with his thoughts. Over the past six months, and since they lost their third child after being attacked by a mutant—the half-human, half-animal pawns of the rogue Onyx Pack—Cate had fallen into a deep depression. She forgot things like buying food for the house, and her walks became a little longer each day. Most the time she’d return within an hour. Other times Keegan would have to go search for her only to find her swimming in the creek not far from the outer wards of Ashwood territory.
One thing he didn’t consider until now was the possible reason why she trained with the soldiers. At first he thought it was to keep her mind busy. After all she had trained to be an enforcer as a teen and up until she became an adult and Keegan made his intensions of mating her clear.
Keegan hoped Cate had been using her walks and “alone time” to hunt down the rogues that took their child from them instead of betraying the Pack like her dream suggested. Both scenarios sent a jolt of panic though him that quickly turned to anger.
He’d told her of the dangers of fighting alone. Hell she knew the dangers from her own training and from being the Alpha’s mate.
The front door opened making Keegan whirl around and cast a hard stare at his mate as she entered the living room. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there was a hint of surprise in her grey eyes as she met his gaze.
“Oh, you’re home.” She smiled and moved to the hallway. “I’m going to shower and change then start dinner.”
He was in front of her before she took her next step, drawing a gasp from her. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent and the scent of a rogue. But not just any rogue, no it was Felix, the Onyx Alpha. The same man that order the attack on Ashwood and many other Packs in the southeast region of the United States.
The one male Keegan wanted to bring down and make suffer for destroying his Pack about two hundred years ago. The male that was responsible for the suffering of the members of Ashwood and the loss of his and Cate’s little girl.
“What have you been up to, Cate?”
Fear entered her gaze and she swallowed, hard. Shaking her head, she backed away from him. “Nothing. I…”
Wrong answer.
He growled and stepped forward, his leopard rising to the surface. “Don’t lie to me. I can smell Felix on you.”
Tears sprang in her eyes and overflowed her lips to spill down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she said on a hiccup before she launched forward and grabbed his gun from his holster. Shock froze him in place for a brief moment, but it was all the lead she needed.
Cate flung the back doors open and ran toward the forest. Keegan gave chase. A blanket of fog drifted in heavy and thick in the darkening forest, making it hard to track by sight alone. He scented the air and picked up on her sweet, peachy scent.
His fear fueled the possessive rage building inside. She’d been with Felix.
Keegan couldn’t shake the thought that she might have betrayed him. The thoughts he stole from her mind that morning fueled the panic that settled in his chest. His chest tightened and became hard to breathe through his own fear of what his mate might have planned to do with that gun. Shoving aside the sick feeling deep in his gut, he pushed his legs to run faster to catch her before she did something stupid.
“Cate!”
A twig snapped in the distance to his right, followed by a soft cry, and he turned toward it, desperate to reach her. When he broke through the thick brush, he saw her pushing herself up from the ground. Her watery gaze locked with his, and she raised her shaky hand with the gun in it and pointed it right at him.
He skidded to a stop and held his hands up, palms facing her. “Cate, hon, we can talk about this. Whatever you’ve done, we’ll work it out.”
She shook her head, her long brown curls swaying around her shoulders. “I betrayed you and the Pack. I told Felix our secrets. I didn’t mean to. I mean, I don’t know why I did. I hate him. Oh, God, what have I done?” She broke out into sobs and looked away from him.
Keegan took a step forward. Cate snapped her gaze back to him and thrust the gun toward him in warning. “Stop. Don’t, please. I must die. It’s the law! I can’t let you do it. I love you, and I’m so sorry for being a disappointment to you and the boys.”
She moved the gun to her temple and Keegan screamed, “No,” as she fired. He rushed over, catching her limp body, and fell to his knees with his dead mate pressed into his chest. Tears ran down his face and his chest felt like it was being pried open as he cried, hard. He let out a painful roar as he felt her soul rip from his own, severing their mating bond, leaving him empty and alone inside.
Chapter Two
Present day
Keegan gasped as he sat straight up on the sofa he slept on. His body was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his heart pounded painfully behind his ribs. He scrubbed a hand over his face and peered around the room.
The safe house. He was in the safe house and not back in the woods the day Cate had died.
Fuck. It was just a dream.
No, a nightmare of a memory.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the time, and his eyes lingered on the date. No wonder he dreamed about that awful day. It was the thirty-seventh anniversary of her death.
What he still didn’t understand was why. Why had she believed she had to die? There was always a loophole in the law. All she had to do is trust that they’d work it out.
She had believed death was the only punishment for her. He’d picked up on the thoughts that morning as he watched her sleep. It was the only time he was able to read her thoughts, although he never did it on purpose. He considered it too much of a violation of his mate’s privacy. However, that morning, she’d muttered the word onyx. And after everything the rogue Pack had done to them, he couldn’t stop himself from slipping into her thoughts. He opened his gift to ease the nightmare he believed she was having.
What he found tore his heart out. She talked with the Onyx Alpha as if they were friends, revealing that Keegan and Blaine would be away from the den that afternoon. It was never okay to reveal Pack secrets or any information to another Pack Alpha. To feed information to the one Alpha who wanted to destroy Ashwood and the other Packs in the southeast region of the United States, was an act of treason.