Startled laughter burst from my lips. “Oh, that’s just great. The guy who kidnapped me because he thinks he can turn into an animal and I’m supposedly fated to be with him is worried that I’ll bruise my head or something during my perfectly reasonable reaction.”
“Kace.”
He stared at me as though I’d know what his random, one-word response meant. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I figured it’d be easier for you to refer to me if you knew my name.” His lips curved up in a sexy grin, and I wanted to kick my own butt for reacting to it. “Kace Lowell.”
My dad had drilled the importance of a firm handshake so deeply into my head that my response was automatic. Stretching out my arm, I replied, “Larissa Nash.”
Kace’s palm slid against mine, and I felt his touch all the way to my core. “Larissa,” he repeated in a low, raspy tone. “A unique name for a beautiful woman.”
I tried to tug my hand from his hold, but he didn’t let go. “Oh, sure. Now you pour on the charm after you already showed me your faults.”
“I can be a fuck of a lot more charming where you’re concerned,” he promised with a sexy smirk. “And being a shifter isn’t a fault. It should go in the plus column because you’ll never have to worry about how I’ll treat you. You are the center of my world. The one person I put above my pack.”
He had me falling for his line, right up until the last bit. “Is your pack part of the whole changing into an animal thing?”
Tightening his hold on my hand, he guided me over to the couch. After getting me settled, he crouched down until we were eye level. “I get that it’s difficult to believe that shifters exist, and I don’t expect you to take my word for it when we only just met.”
He was back to sounding reasonable, and I felt as though I had mental whiplash. “That’s good because I’m not going to believe you can change into an animal without seeing it with my own eyes.”
“Deal.” He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt before tugging it over his head. My gaze was glued to his six-pack abs, so it took a moment to register in my brain that he had kicked off his boots and popped open the snap on his jeans.
I slapped a hand over my eyes, but I was super tempted to peek through my fingers because he was so darn sexy. “What are you doing?”
There was a rustling sound, and then his jeans landed on top of my feet. “Showing you my wolf.”
His answer was so matter-of-fact, as though people claimed they could shift into an animal every day. “Your wolf?”
“He’s bigger than most since I’m the alpha, but you don’t need to be scared of him,” he promised. “My wolf would die to protect you.”
My eyes popped open at his vow, and I stared at my hand until I felt the brush of fur against my legs. I dropped my arm and gasped in shock at the huge wolf sitting in front of me. Its head was several inches above mine, and familiar dark brown eyes stared down his snout at me. “Holy crap! You were serious. You really can change into a wolf.”
He chuffed at me and lowered his head, his rough tongue swiping against my hand.
“Okay. Wow,” I breathed. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”
Remembering what he’d said about not being afraid, I reached out to stroke my hand down his back. “Your fur is so soft.”
With his tongue hanging out, the wolf jumped up next to me on the couch. He rested his head on my lap, and I took it as an invitation to keep petting him. I dug my fingers in his thick fur and murmured, “You’re freaking huge, but I’ve never seen a more gorgeous animal in my life.”
It was impossible to miss the gleam of male satisfaction in his dark eyes. “Duh, I guess I should’ve realized you’d understand what I’m saying. But I refuse to be embarrassed. I’m sure you already know how amazing your wolf is. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It makes sense that a superhot guy wouldn’t turn into just any wolf.”
He shifted on my lap, his tongue stroking against my cheek. I rubbed my hand against the trail of wetness the lick left behind. My vision was partially blocked, and I shrieked when my hand dropped back down to my lap, and I saw that Kace’s naked body was sprawled next to me. “You think I’m hot, huh?”
I jerked my gaze away from his impressive hard on and used all of my willpower to stop myself from looking back down at it. “Like you don’t already know how attractive you are. I’m sure you have women hitting on you all of the time.”
“I don’t think so.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s possible, but I never really noticed because nobody else is you.”
It felt as though butterflies swirled in my belly. My hands twisted together, and I started to look down at them when I remembered he was still naked. My cheeks filled with heat, and I blurted, “Could you put your jeans back on? I have some questions, and it’s really difficult to talk to you while that thing is pointing straight at me.”
I couldn’t tear my gaze away when he fisted his hard on and stroked down the length. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”
I’d never seen a dick up close and personal like this, but I wasn’t about to admit to how badly I wanted to touch it—and maybe take a lick or two. Instead, I forced myself to say, “I wouldn’t have asked if that’s not what I wanted.”
His thumb circled the tip, and I bit back a groan when he bent over to grab his jeans off the floor. I pressed my head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling until he sat next to me and slid his arm around my shoulders. A quick glance confirmed that he hadn’t bothered with his shirt, and a shiver raced down my spine at being this close to his bare chest. “What did you want to ask me?”
A million questions barreled into my brain. “What’s an alpha? And a beta? Can everyone in Timber Ridge shift? Are they all wolves, or are there other animals? Wolves are super cool, but what about stuff like bunnies or honey badgers? What’s the deal with fated mates? Does Allegra know about Zeke? Is he a wolf, too? Is that why she’s all loved up so quickly?”
I finally trailed off when I felt his shoulders shake and a deep chuckle rumbled up his chest. “Keep going if you have more questions.”
“There are plenty more I can come up with, but let’s start there.” Having him so close was wreaking havoc on my ability to concentrate. I pulled out of his embrace, shifted on the couch so my back was against the arm, and bent my knees to sit cross-legged.
Kace turned toward me and leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch. “You know how you asked if there was illegal crap going on in Timber Ridge?” I nodded and flashed him an apologetic smile. “I’m happy to answer any questions you have, but you need to be ready to keep what you learn to yourself. Being a shifter isn’t against the law, and I’d like to keep it that way, which is why we don’t go around advertising the fact we exist.”
4
Larissa
People tended to be judgmental of things they didn’t understand, so I totally got where Kace was coming from. But that didn’t mean I was going to blindly agree to keeping everything he told me a secret from the people I loved. I crossed my arms over my chest and blushed when his gaze dropped to my boobs. My nipples pebbled at the spark of desire in his eyes, and a knowing gleam filled his dark orbs even though he couldn’t see them. “That could be a problem. I tell my best friends everything.”
“You can talk to Allegra,” he conceded with a smile. “Zeke already told her since she’s his fated mate.”
It was a relief to know I wouldn’t have to keep secrets from one of my closest friends, but it only half-solved my problem. “What about Calliope? She, Allegra, and I have been a trio since kindergarten, and it would totally suck for her to feel left out. I spend a lot of time with her since we’re roommates, and we’re already going to have to adjust to the fact that Allegra has apparently decided to move in with Zeke even though they’ve only known each other for one night. Calliope is way more sensitive than Allegra or me, so it’s going to be tougher on her. The last thing I want to do is
make her feel worse because she thinks I’m hiding something.”
He ran his hand through his thick hair. “If it’s that important to you, then we’ll figure it out.”
“Really?” I was surprised he was agreeing so quickly. It made me consider the possibility that he’d truly meant it when he’d said I was going to be the most important person in his life.
“As the alpha, I have the final say when it comes to sharing information about our existence with anyone other than human mates and their families,” he explained as he reached out to lace his fingers through mine. “Allegra already wanted permission to share with both of you, and I promised to consider her request after she got settled into the pack. Finding out you’re my fated mate makes the decision a fuck of a lot easier. If you say Calliope can be trusted, then I believe you.”
“She’s the softest of the three of us, but she’d never do anything to hurt Allegra or me,” I promised, giving his hand a little squeeze. “Calliope hates confrontation, but she took on this soccer mom who wanted me off the team my senior year of high school after I accidentally sprained her daughter’s ankle during practice. She was drawing in her notebook up in the stands, waiting for my dad to pick us up after practice. Usually when she’s in one of her creative moods, the rest of the world kind of fades away. But as soon as my teammate’s mom started to rip into me, Calliope came storming down the steps like an avenging angel. I can’t remember another time when she yelled like she did then. It was so out of character, but she was scary as heck. By the time she was done, my teammate was pulling her mom off the field to get away from Calliope even though she only had one good leg.”
Kace’s thumb brushed across my palm, sending goose bumps up my arm. “She sounds like a great friend. I’m sure we’ll get along great.”
“Oh, crap!” I reached into my coat pocket and pulled my cell phone out. Glancing down at the screen, I groaned, “I was supposed to call Calliope as soon as I found Allegra, and now she’s freaking out. She called three times and sent half a dozen texts.” I stabbed my finger against the screen to pull up her number. She picked up a split second after the ringtone began. “Allegra’s fine. I’m sorry it took so long for me to call back.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she sighed. “I was going to skip class and order a rideshare to go hunt you down. What’s going on in this Timber Ridge place? I was almost afraid to go there since it’s like the Bermuda Triangle for my friends. You both went in but never came back out.”
Kace chuckled, and I realized he could hear everything my friend was saying. I shook my head and pressed a finger against my lips before turning my attention back to my best friend. “Don’t skip class. There’s nothing to worry about. Allegra got distracted because she’s all loved up on her sexy sheriff.”
A deep growl rumbled up Kace’s chest, and he yanked on my hand until I fell forward and sprawled on his lap. I let out a startled yelp, barely holding onto my phone. “Larissa? What happened? Please tell me you didn’t get into a fender bender, too. That would be bad...unless you also get rescued by a hot cop. Then it would be awesome. Especially if he has a partner for me.”
Out of the three of us, Calliope had always been the one who’d dreamed of finding the perfect boyfriend. Plenty of boys had asked her out in high school, but she’d turned them all down because no one lived up to her expectations. If she’d been the one who’d stumbled on a guy who could shift into a wolf and swore they were fated mates, she'd probably jump right in without any questions if she thought he was the one for her. Meanwhile, I still had plenty, but I couldn’t ask them while she was on the phone. “I wasn’t in an accident and didn’t get rescued by a hot cop. But I did kinda sorta meet Zeke’s”—I paused, scrambling to come up with a better term than alpha to describe Kace—“best friend, and we’re hanging out. So I won’t be back until later.”
“Dude. Seriously?” she shrieked. “Ugh, I really wish I didn’t have my drawing and digital imaging class right now. It’s my favorite, and I hate to miss it except for an emergency. Coming to rescue you and Allegra counts. Running off to Timber Ridge in the hopes that I’ll meet a hot guy too, not so much. But I want all the deets when I see you tonight. Or tomorrow morning if things go really well, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t get the chance to respond before she hung up, probably in a rush to get across campus. Kace’s shoulders shook with his laughter as he took the phone out of my hand and set it on the coffee table. “She can meet every unmated male in my pack if it’ll make you happy.”
“I’m sure she’ll take you up on that offer.” I laughed and shook my head. “And you’ll probably come to regret it at some point.”
He wrapped his arms around my back and settled me more comfortably on his lap. “Now that your friend isn’t worried about you, how about I answer the rest of your questions?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed, though I still hadn’t fully wrapped my head around the fact he could change into a wolf.
“As the alpha, I’m the highest-ranking member of our pack and its leader. I have a telepathic link with all of the shifters in my pack,” he explained. “Zeke is my second in command, or my beta. He’s also a wolf, but we have other kinds of shifters in Timber Ridge. Tane, my third, is a tiger.”
I hadn’t been scared when Kace shifted into a wolf, but I couldn’t imagine how I would’ve reacted if I’d found a freaking tiger standing in front of me when I’d opened my eyes. “There are tigers?”
“Bears, lions, and dragons, too.” He flashed me a sexy grin, his dark eyes twinkling with humor. “But no bunnies or honey badgers.”
“Forget bunnies and honey badgers! There are people who can shift into dragons?” I cried, jumping off his lap. “Are they teeny-tiny ones about the size of your wolf? Or actually dragon-sized?”
A low growl rumbled up Kace’s chest as he stood. “There isn’t anything remotely small about my wolf. He’s a fucking beast of an animal.”
“I worded that badly. I’m sorry.” I patted his chest. “Your wolf is freaking awesome.”
“Damn straight he is,” Kace grumbled. “Even if the only dragon I know is about twice his size.”
My eyes widened as I tried to picture someone turning into something two times bigger than Kace’s wolf. “Are they rare?”
He nodded and explained, “There aren’t many dragon shifters, and he can’t just bite someone to make more. We’re born this way, and everyone in Timber Ridge is a shifter except for you, Allegra, and one other fated mate. It helps that we don’t need to hide who we are in town since shifters age more slowly than humans, heal more quickly, and are physically stronger.”
“Wait.” I held up my palm. “You’re talking as though I live here, too.”
He gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist and tugged my hand to his lips. Then he pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “Of course, I am. Your place is with me.”
He acted like my staying was a foregone conclusion. Considering how quickly Zeke was talking about Allegra moving in with him, it was probably the way relationships went for shifters. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole fated mate thing yet. I needed a little bit of time to think about it all. “That’s all fine and dandy except I need to go back to my dorm. Like right now.”
5
Kace
I’d found Larissa less than an hour ago, and she already wanted to leave. This wasn’t how I expected my mating to go, and my wolf was demanding to be let out to mark her as ours before she got away. I ground my teeth together and clenched my jaw. Fur rippled against my skin, and I took a few deep breaths to get myself under control. I got where he was coming from, but I wasn’t about to let him do something she wasn’t ready for. He only backed down when I promised I wouldn't let her out of our sight. “Do you have a class or something?”
“No, I had my last one for the day before I tracked Allegra down. I just”—she paused and twisted her hands together—“need to be in my own space.”
I felt a burst of satisfaction at her reaction to my quick agreement as her plump lips curved down at the edges and she mumbled, “Okay.”
Stalking toward her, I pressed a finger under her chin and tilted her head back until my gaze met hers. “Give me a minute while I grab some stuff so I can spend the night with you.”
“What? No way.” Her blue eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “I live in an all-girls dorm. Any male visitors have to check in at the front desk, and there are rules about how long they can be there. It's the only dorm on campus that's super strict, but Allegra's parents insisted we pick that one because it meant her mom wouldn’t worry quite as much.”
I was relieved to hear no males were allowed in her building—not that I planned on her being there without me—but I wasn’t about to let the rules apply to me. I wasn’t accustomed to taking orders from anyone else since I was the one who gave them in Timber Ridge. And I wasn’t just some guy. I was Larissa’s mate, even if she didn’t fully grasp what that meant yet. “You might not be feeling the pull at the same level as me because you're human, but the early days in a mating are the most intense. Having you near without claiming you is already pushing my wolf to his limits, and leaving you alone on campus will send him over the edge.”
“Oh.” Her plump lips formed a perfect circle, making my dick push against the zipper of my jeans as I pictured them wrapped around me. “Look, I’m no good at this relationship stuff. I don't really know how it works with regular couples, let alone shifters with fated mates. I've never had a boyfriend, and the only happy marriage I saw growing up was between Allegra's parents. My mom walked out right after I was born. She didn’t want kids, and I haven’t had contact with her since she left.”
Her Alpha Page 2