Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads)

by Hunter, Adriana

  I motioned them into the house my eyes scanning the world outside for danger. “Come on in and warm up. I’ve got popcorn.”

  At the mention of food, their eyes lit up, and, once inside, they descended on the bowl of popcorn like locusts.

  “You said Jackson sent you?”

  Mara nodded as she shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth. Chewing and talking at the same time, she said, “We was out looking for our parents when he come through. He told us it ain’t safe to be out and your house be closer than Grammy’s.”

  I frowned. “Looking for your parents?”

  Sara looked at me, her expression solemn and popcorn clutched tight in her grubby hand. “They be feral.”

  I tried to act like wolves abandoned their families every day and kept my shock from showing on my face. I knew it happened. Every pack had at least one wolf who got lost in their animal and left the human world, preferring the way of the wild. Usually they came back home, eventually, but, on occasion, a wolf seemed to forget their humanity altogether. From the girls’ condition, I suspected their parents fell into the latter category. “Oh, so you live with your grandmother.”

  “Yeah, she need help now too so it’s good we there,” said the older one, her butchered English making me wince.

  I filed the tidbit about her grandmother away for future reference and smiled brightly at the girls. “Do you want something to drink? Maybe a sandwich?”

  Mouths full of popcorn, they both nodded vigorously.

  I made them generous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side of chips and sliced apples. Setting the plates on the table, I poured out big glasses of cold milk. “Girls, come sit. The food is ready.”

  They ran into the dining room, stuffing food into their mouths before their butts hit their chairs. I let the lack of manners slide as the girls were obviously starving. Their grandmother didn’t seem to be taking care of them like she should.

  Normally, Cal’s wife would’ve paid her a visit and overseen the girls’ welfare. When things with the rogue alpha settled down, I resolved to do the same. For once, I was glad of my new role as alpha’s mate. It meant I could do something about the girls’ obvious need. I didn’t have to look the other way.

  “By the way, my name is Chloe,” I said as I joined them at the table. “It’s nice to meet you Mara and Sara.”

  “Yes’m,” the girls mumbled in unison, eyes riveted on their plates, hands in constant motion as they shoveled in the next bite.

  “If you want more after you finish that, let me know. I’d be happy to make you another sandwich.”

  Mara’s eyes lifted up and met mine, shining with happiness. “Really?” she asked as if she wasn’t sure she’d heard me correctly.

  “Yes really. I want you to grow big and strong which means you need to eat. As much as you want,” I said, emphasizing the last sentence. “I’ve got ice cream, too.”

  Sara went still, the sandwich in her hand suddenly freezing in its trajectory toward her mouth. Her gaze went to the sliding door behind the dining room table and out to the stone patio beyond. “There be somethin’ out there, Miss Chloe.”

  “What?” I stiffened, all my senses on high alert. Squinting, I stared out the glass door trying to spot what had drawn her attention.

  Mara pointed. “There back in the bushes. I seen it too.”

  I inched the door open and sniffed the wind. When I didn’t catch the peppery hot scent of the rogue alpha, I relaxed somewhat, but then a feminine, sour stench hit my nose, one I knew very well.

  Wolves smell different at different times depending on who is involved and how they feel. It has to do with emotion and the hormones that come with them. Hate always smelled sour as bad vinegar to me and the last time I’d caught that particular scent it’d been emanating off Vicki.

  For a second time that night I called out, “Who’s there?” Even though I figured I knew who it was, I thought it best not to show my hand. Besides, if I was wrong, I would look like an idiot and I was in no hurry to add to the list of bumbling mistakes I’d made the last few days.

  There was no answer, but I heard the rustle of leaves or bushes and the crack of twigs snapping underfoot. I pulled out my gun, and stepped onto the patio, shutting the door behind me. The full moon provided some illumination, but not enough to penetrate the night’s shadows.

  In a loud voice I said, “I’m armed and I will shoot to kill if you don’t identify yourself.”

  The only response was more rustling and the sharp snap of wood breaking. A chill went through me. Jackson said I would be safer here, that the rogue would be busy running from them. It had made sense at the time, but now I wasn’t so sure he’d been right.

  A flash of white caught my eye and I trained my gun on it, eyes narrowed, finger tense on the trigger. “Who are you?”

  A figure emerged from the shadows. At first, all I could make out was that it was a person and female. This reassured me, at least initially. Then, as they came closer, I made out the sourpuss features of Vicki. My instincts had run true. The nose always knows.

  She frowned at me as if she’d just tasted something unpleasant.

  “What are you doing out here?” I didn’t put the gun back in my shoulder holster, but I did lower my arm. She was pack, not a rogue alpha, I didn’t have anything to fear, but I couldn’t quite convince myself to tuck my gun away. Probably because, deep down, I kind of did want to shoot her. It would be therapeutic. And wrong, I told myself sternly. My wolf yawned in my mind’s eye. Apparently, my human morals bored her.

  “I went out for a run,” she said flatly.

  “You know it’s not safe to run around right now.” I arched an eyebrow, suspicious of her motives. Wolves ran in the deep Appalachian woods, not on the outskirts of our house. Was she spying on me or looking for Jackson?

  She sneered. “Maybe for omegas like you.”

  “I’m not an omega wolf, Vicki,” I said, my voice calmer than I felt. My trigger finger twitched at my side and I couldn’t keep myself from debating whether I should punch her first, then shoot or shoot her and kick the corpse. My wolf favored starting with bullets. It’s just wishful thinking, I’m not really going to shoot her, I thought at her. She growled in response. If I had to translate, I would swear she was calling me a pussy.

  “Then prove your blood.”

  I rolled my eyes. This again? If I did take a swing at her, I vowed to do my best to break her jaw and shut her up for a while. “That’s an archaic practice.”

  “It’s within my rights to invoke it.”

  “It’s within my rights--” I stopped short of telling her I was going to kick her ass because a strong peppery smell had just smacked me in the face. Remembering Jackson’s admonition to shoot first, I quickly aimed the gun in the direction of the smell and pulled off a shot. The bullet went past Vicki’s side and my ears tracked its movement as it whizzed through the underbrush to bury itself in a tree trunk with a thud.

  Since I aimed in her general direction, Vicki dropped to the ground with a shriek, thinking I was about to shoot her. I was ashamed at how much satisfaction I took from her fear. She definitely deserved some comeuppance, but I didn’t like myself when I enjoyed it this much. I was better than petty games, right? My wolf gave me a look. She knew better. Wolves never missed an opportunity to improve their standing in the pack. This was just business, nothing personal to her. She didn’t care if Vicki lived or died so long as I came out ahead.

  Vicki scrambled to her feet, eyes flashing yellow with anger. Her wolf was agitated and ready to burst through her skin to attack me.

  I held up a hand. “Sorry. I wasn’t aiming for you.”

  “That’s awfully convenient,” she spat as she walked toward me.

  I sniffed. “Can’t you smell it?”

  She lifted her nose to the air and inhaled deeply. “Smell what?”

  Did she have a cold? What was wrong with her? “The rogue alpha’s out there.” I scanned the
perimeter, my eyes narrowed to slits. The peppery scent had faded somewhat and moved to the far side of Jackson’s property. We didn’t have a fence or neighbors. The only demarcation of the property line was the grass stopped and gave way to forest. I hadn’t thought he would give up so easy, but decided to give him some negative reinforcement with one more shot. This time I hit something and not a tree. Something that whined with pain and thrashed in the underbrush. Twigs snapped. Leaves rustled and then an eerie silence fell over the night.

  “Get into the house and lock the doors,” I yelled at Vicki as I sprinted toward the sound. I didn’t check to make sure she did as I asked; there wasn’t time. Whoever or whatever I hit started to move again. More twigs snapped, crisp as dry bones. A cloud drifted over the moon, hiding the world from me.

  I squeezed off one more bullet, relying on my ears to hone in on the target because my eyes couldn’t make out anything but varying shades of dark. The third bullet hit home, too. The woods came alive with the sounds of things moving. I thought I caught the sound of another wolf, a soft yip that seemed to come to the far left of where I’d been shooting, but, if there were more wolves out there, I couldn’t smell them over the rogue’s musk. His acrid musk burned my nose like I’d snorted a fresh jalapeno, effectively blocking all other scents.

  My heart beating faster than a rabbit running scared, I turned a quick circle to check my back. Vicki had heeded my order and gone inside the house. The girls stood on either side of her, and all of them pressed their faces up against the glass.

  A cloud passed over the moon, making the world even darker. I blinked to adjust my vision. My ears strained to catch the smallest sound, but heard nothing. A gust of wind blew, bringing a light flurry of snow with it, and a complete absence of any scent beyond pine and earth.

  The rogue was gone.

  Wanting to be sure, I ran into the house to snag a flashlight. I didn’t say anything, just nodded curtly at everyone as I breezed past them. Outside, I crisscrossed the backyard using the flashlight to shine out into the trees. Other than a freaked out raccoon, I saw nor smelled no one.

  Back inside the house, I put the flashlight away and finally felt safe enough to holster my gun. Then I called the police and informed them the rogue had just been in my backyard.

  Dispatch promised to send one of the town’s two squad cars out my way to check things out. Hopefully that would be enough of a lead to track him down. Hanging up, I noticed that, while I’d been outside risking life and limb, Vicki had helped herself to one of Jackson’s t-shirts. She’d also turned the gas fireplace on high and made herself a cup of tea.

  I found myself wondering how she knew where to find everything. She must’ve sensed it too because she gave me a sly smile.

  “I hope you don’t mind, I helped myself to a few things.” She gestured to her shirt. “I always loved this shirt.” She ducked her head and sniffed the cotton fabric. “It smells like him.”

  I took really long deep breath before I said anything. I wanted to rip her throat out. My wolf snarled in my head, the sound as close as a wolf could get to ‘paws off my man, bitch.’

  She flinched even though I said nothing, although I knew my scent carried the rancid tones of anger, which was a form of speech in of itself. Just to fuck with her, I smiled brightly and said, “No problem. Keep the shirt. Jackson doesn’t need it anymore.”

  “That’s not the only thing he should get rid of,” she said looking me up and down.

  “Exactly,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the open counter that ran between the kitchen and dining room. “It’s like you read my mind.” I gave her a pointed look.

  Vicki just stared at me, momentarily stunned by my response. When she did start to say something, Mara and Sara started screaming excitedly and pointing to the backyard effectively drowning her out. I hid a small smile as I turned to see what had riled up the girls. Vicki had sure had a less-than-ideal night. I was certain she hadn’t planned on facing down a rogue or me when she started skulking around the house. She’d probably hoped to find Jackson home and have her way with him.

  “It’s the first snow,” Mara said with a happy sigh.

  Sure enough, the tiny flecks of snow from a few minutes ago had grown into big fat flakes. The girls raced to the sliding door and pressed their faces against the glass.

  “Do you think there’ll be enough to make a snowman?” asked Sara breathlessly.

  “That’s the million dollar question,” I said with a kind smile. The girls’ eagerness reminded me of my own childhood. At school, we used to see who could scrape together the biggest snowball. While Hunstville did get snow, it tended to melt rather than accumulate. Winters in our area ran on the warm side. Outside of a freak blizzard--the last one being ten years ago--there was rarely enough snow to even make a snowball.

  I looked at the clock and finally realized how late it was. Ignoring Vicki, who glowered in her chair as she sipped her tea, I focused on Mara and Sara, grateful for the distraction. The less I thought about Vicki, the less I wanted to kill her.

  “Hey girls, it looks like you’re staying here for the night. Go wash up and I’ll show you where you can sleep.” Jackson hadn’t bothered with too much furniture, but he had bought a bed for the guest room. A small thing, but I was happy to have it even though I knew, on one level, that the bed was probably there for guests like Kelsey from his home pack. Without the bed, the girls would’ve been crammed together on the couch and they deserved better than that.

  While the girls disappeared into the bathroom, my attention returned to Vicki who’d slunk into the kitchen and returned with a small bottle of whiskey. Pouring some into her tea, she stirred and then sipped it, refusing to meet my gaze.

  I cleared my throat. “What the hell were you doing out there anyway? You want to disappear like Tonya?”

  She snorted. “Honey, I’m too strong to mess with. No big, bad wolf can take me. Tonya was weak just like you.”

  “If I’m so weak, how was it I saved your ass tonight and not the other way around?” I snatched the bottle of whiskey away from her just as she reached to add more to her tea. Screwing on the lid I set it on the kitchen counter, damned if I was going to let her waltz into my house and act like she owned it.

  She shrugged. “Just dumb luck. I didn’t ask for help anyway. I can take care of myself.”

  I pointed toward the front door. “There’s the door then.” I took no pride in kicking her out. I had a responsibility to the pack and the last thing I wanted was for Vicki to get hurt, but I also didn’t want her in my home. Mostly for her own safety. It was becoming more and more tempting to grab her by the throat and shake her into submission.

  She gulped her tea, draining the mug. “I’m going.”

  “If you smell a strong peppery scent, you should run,” I cautioned her even though I doubted she would listen. Her default setting in life was bitch set to high. It had worked for her thus far, but I wondered if the rogue alpha would finally bring her down a peg. If he didn’t, I resolved that I would.

  Vicki waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve been smelling that all night and nothing happened. There’s nothing out there but fear for a wolf like you, Chloe. Leave the night to those of us who can handle it.” Standing up she sauntered toward the door with a flip of her long, dark hair.

  I watched her go, my hands clenched into fists, fingernails cutting into my palms. If the girls hadn’t come into the room, I would’ve launched myself at her, but my sense of responsibility to them kept me in check. I didn’t want them to see a fight, not as young as they were. Soon, though, the time and place would be right and I would bring Vicki to her knees. Things were going to change, not just tonight. My wolf huffed in agreement, although she felt some lingering regret about not shooting the bitch.

  I tucked the girls into bed, told them a quick story and promised them pancakes in the morning. I couldn’t help it, the sadness in their big eyes made me want to mother them. Besides they nee
ded fattening up, they were way too thin. I made a mental note to dig around in the freezer and see if there was any deer sausage to go with the pancakes. The girls could use the calories and fat.

  The house quiet, I poked my head outside and tested the air. The scents remained normal pine, earth and some faint animal musk. Nothing to worry about, as if Vicki had taken all the trouble with her.

  That last thought gave me pause and I stood, frozen in place for a long moment, my mind churning furiously. When Vicki showed up, so had the rogue. She hadn’t seemed concerned about it either, and, while she was a bitch, she wasn’t a dumb one. She didn’t want to die. So why had she been out in the woods despite the danger?

  Dots connected in my head. Dots I didn’t want to see.

  The truth was, she would love to have me out of the picture. She’d probably throw a party if I died, but she couldn’t kill me herself. Not if she wanted to be with Jackson. No, she needed a way to get rid of the competition that kept her nose clean. Where or how she found a rogue alpha, I had no idea, but she’d clearly brought him to my house when she knew I was alone.

  Well, shit.

  Stunned, I sank into the couch and pulled one of the throw pillows over my stomach. But I hadn’t been alone. The girls were here and they spotted Vicki before she could follow through with her plan. For all I knew, Mara and Sara’s presence scared her off. I sure wouldn’t want the blood of innocents on my hands.

  I closed my eyes and communed with my wolf whose energy was restless. Reaching out I tried to sense Jackson, but he was a shadowy figure in the horizon of my mind and not looking my way. I sighed. Whoever found a way for werewolves to carry cell phones while in wolf form would be a millionaire. We were cut off from each other until he came home.

  That left me only one option.

  Pulling out my phone, I dialed the police chief’s cell. Huntsville didn’t have a lot of crime. We usually got along pretty well or solved problems outside human law. The police primarily kept us out of human affairs and gave us an official voice in human law enforcement.

  He answered on the first ring. “Roberts here.”