Younger Daughter

by Brenna Lyons

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Blurb

  Copyright Statement

  Younger Daughter

  About the Author

  Also by this Author

  Award-Winning Books

  Blurb

  Aurora is a wolf princess who has never fit the Alpha female mold. Unlike her older sister Talia, Aurora likes getting her hands, feet, and any other part of her body dirty. She would rather wear Daisy Dukes than designer gowns. She keeps her hair cut short instead of long, the way most alphas do. Moreover, she doesn't like alpha men...alphas who aren't related to her in general. When she meets Nolan, Aurora finds focus...and maybe more, but will her family approve of her taking a mate who isn't an alpha?

  Fireborn Publishing Copyright Statement

  Younger Daughter

  Copyright © 2015 by Brenna Lyons

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-943528-40-0

  First eBook Publication: October 2015

  Cover Artist: Brenna Lyons

  Photo Credit: Dollar Photo Club

  Logo copyright © 2014 by Fireborn Publishing and Allison Cassatta

  Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND PAN-AMERICAN COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS: Payment for this title grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file on any/all personal electronic devices personally owned by the purchaser, now or in the future, and to maintain backup copies of the file for the purchaser's personal use. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or electronic storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

  This book is written in US English.

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  Haverhill, MA 01835

  Younger Daughter

  Werewolf U II

  "I apologize profusely, Lady Aurora."

  She smiled, though his apology confused her. "Whatever for?"

  "That the Alpha level rooms are not available to you."

  "I'm sure my rooms will be sufficient." They would. No school would want to be found lacking when it came to caring for an alpha, especially when she was the daughter of the current ruling mates. "It is hardly your fault my sister and I were born less than three years apart." Talia would graduate that year, and the Alpha level rooms would be Aurora's the following year.

  If only her sister would commit to her mates, they wouldn't be having this issue. They would surely produce young and decide to move to more spacious quarters at the Alpha house across campus. Grandfather Sebastian's home, though he isn't in residence right now.

  Talia was not so obliging. She'd met her mates. She liked them. Talia had even slept with them and made it clear she would commit to them...in her own due time. Since the pair were four years older than Talia was, her older sister wasn't subjected to their constant presence as many Alphas were, so she felt little pressure to complicate her life with a mate and young while she was in school.

  "Still, I humbly apologize that you were given a lesser room."

  She didn't bother to assure him it was acceptable again. As the head porter, he would see this as a personal failure, no matter what she said.

  The room he showed her to was far out in the female wing, a lovely suite of rooms that overlooked the gardens on one side and the forest on the other. It took a moment for Aurora to realize he was waiting in the doorway, red-faced and discomfited.

  Aurora offered him a broad smile. "It's wonderful. Perfect. Right above the sunflowers. They are my favorite, you know."

  His smile was slow coming. "I didn't, but I am glad it is to your liking." He waved the porters in with her belongings. "Marietta said she will arrive from the main house with her belongings in an hour. Is there anything I can do for you until then?"

  "No thank you. I believe I'll take a walk in the gardens until then."

  "As you wish, Lady Aurora. Call if you need anything." With that, he was gone.

  Aurora took a calming breath and made her way downstairs. At the edge of the gardens, she stripped off her shoes to walk barefoot between the rows of flowering plants and bushes.

  She turned her face up to the sunlight, closing her eyes. This was what she enjoyed best. Like her older sister, Aurora had been raised with designer dresses and tours of the world. Unlike her sister, Aurora preferred running barefoot on her parents' wildlife preserve in North America.

  I'm going for a walk in the gardens tonight. She smiled. In my cutoff jean shorts. The ones Marietta hates. The Daisy Dukes.

  * * * *

  Nolan wandered from plant to plant, making a survey of the gardens behind Regina Hall. It was a rare privilege to be the one named to maintain these gardens. Only the highest scoring student, with the best teacher recommendations, was given duty here.

  If he did well, this post would make his career. If he did poorly, he would be replaced faster than he could cry out in despair.

  He was so engrossed in the topic, Nolan nearly tripped over someone laying between the bed of sunflowers and the one of hollyhocks. He jumped back, as she vaulted to her feet with a gasp.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Sorry." Her apology overlapped with his.

  Nolan took a moment to appreciate the view. Whoever she was, she was exceptional. From her tight v-neck sweater to the cutoff denim shorts that barely covered the essentials, from her long bare legs to that enticing scent, the young woman was enough to make any male wolf hard.

  Her dark blonde hair was clipped in short waves around her face, and her eyes were a stunning golden-green.

  As if she was discomfited by his examination, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Not quickly enough to disguise that her nipples are hard. And she's not wearing a bra.

  "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'll finish my survey and leave you alone."

  "I...I should go anyway." She started to back away.

  "I won't tell on you." For some reason, it was important that she know that. She could get in a lot of trouble for using the Regina gardens, if she wasn't a resident of the dorm.

  Her clothing says she's not.

  She stopped and stared at him, seemingly shocked.

  "You like the gardens. Don't you?" Even as he asked it, Nolan questioned what difference that could possibly make.

  "Love them." A stiff smile pulled up at the edges of her lips.

  There was something endearing about her wistful look at the sunflowers. "I will be maintaining these gardens. If you would like to...tag along in the evenings and learn about them, I would be glad to teach you." He didn't question why he would make such an offer. She was enchanting, and anything was worth more time in her presence.

  Anything but scre
wing up my internship. "But you cannot work with the plants without my permission. You see, it's my responsibility to—"

  "I'd like that. Thank you." She smiled widely, offered a wave of her fingers, then loped away. "Tomorrow evening," she shouted back.

  "Seven o'clock."

  Nolan wasn't certain she heard him, until her reply of "See you then." reached him from the far reaches of the gardens.

  He stood there, a sappy smile pasted on his face. She'd agreed to meet with him again.

  Nolan sighed. "Time to finish this survey." Still, he took a moment to look the way she'd disappeared one last time.

  * * * *

  A date. I have a date.

  Sort of.

  He was interested. There was no denying that. If his cock was any indication—it usually is with guys—he was more than simply interested in her. He was intent.

  But he thinks I'm lower ranked than I am. Aurora slowed, biting her lip, considering that problem.

  It's not that much of a problem. Maybe it's better that he doesn't know who I am. After all, she'd never met an alpha outside her own family that she got along well with. Maybe accepting a lower-ranked mate was a good thing.

  My family won't approve of this. That was admittedly a problem, but what could she do about it?

  Who says I have to do anything? Aurora smiled. Which male or males to accept was ultimately the female's choice, though her family might voice opposition. It wasn't like she was in Talia's shoes. She wasn't expected to take the highest ranked twin males around.

  I have a choice, and damned if I'm going to let anyone take it from me.

  Especially not when that choice involved a delicious male like this one. His hair was as dark as her fathers', though his eyes were more dark gray than brown.

  In fact, he looked more like her siblings than she did herself. Aurora looked like her paternal grandfather and—reportedly—like her maternal grandmother. Since Aurora had never met the latter and had no urge to do so, she'd long ago decided to take that on advisement from her family members who had met Florence.

  Good riddance! It was much more pleasant to think about the male she'd met that night.

  He wasn't as tall as her fathers were, little more than half a head taller than she was herself. Though all wolves were muscular, his physique said he worked hard at his trade, which was more than passably appealing to her.

  Aurora had never cared for lazy wolves and tended to do a lot for herself, something that drove Marietta mad on a daily basis.

  She breezed back into her suite of rooms, on top of the world, making plans for seeing him again.

  Him. I don't even know his name yet. And he doesn't know mine. Maybe I should use my nickname. It was a good idea.

  "Oh, Koukla." Marietta sighed. "You're filthy."

  "I'm sure you walked barefoot in the dirt when you were my age. I'm sure you watched the stars, flat on your back on the cool earth." She smiled sweetly and headed for the bath. "Besides, it washes off."

  "Dinner?" her servant offered.

  "Steak? I'll eat when I get out of the tub." Though it was unlikely Marietta would scent the male on her, Aurora wasn't taking any chances.

  "Very well."

  That easily, she escaped scrutiny. It won't be as easy once we scent each other.

  * * * *

  Nolan maneuvered the John Deere Gator down the paved garden path and toward the area he would be working on tonight. Though one part of his mind was focused on the pruning and planting he'd planned for this first evening, another was wandering.

  To her. Haunting memories of her scent had him searching out the same on the breeze.

  Not yet.

  Even so, his cock was half-erect in anticipation of seeing her again.

  He stopped the Gator at the Rhododendron bushes, cast one last look around for her, then dismounted with a sigh. She isn't here.

  Of course, that didn't mean she didn't want to see him. She might have been caught entering the Regina gardens...or leaving them the night before. She might have been roped into first-year duties she hadn't anticipated. She doesn't have my name, so there's no way for her to let me know if she can't make it.

  Whatever the case may be, I can't do anything about it now. I have work to do.

  In moments, Nolan was lost in his work, pruning the bushes, humming to himself as he worked.

  "That doesn't look wilted."

  He tipped his head back and met her gaze, offering a smile. "It's not. It's too densely packed here. It will choke itself off if I don't prune a little."

  "Ah. I see." She folded herself onto the path, where she would have a good view of what he was doing but wouldn't be in the way. "Sorry I'm late. My mother called, and I got caught up in the conversation."

  Nolan went back to his work with a nod. He'd be late for his evening work if his mother called. She didn't, but only because she knew his schedule.

  "How do you know which branches to prune and which to leave?"

  "That comes with experience. It's not so much a number but how they crowd and push each other, whether or not the individual leaves will get enough sunlight... It's something of an art."

  "I think I understand." She was silent for a long moment. "At the risk of being rude, I realized I don't know your name."

  Nolan peeked at her over his shoulder, noting her nervousness. "I don't find that rude at all. I was wondering the same thing about you. My name is Nolan."

  She didn't hesitate. "Koukla."

  "Really? That sounds Greek." He wouldn't have guessed she was of Greek stock.

  "It is. I was born in Greece. Prematurely, no less. It's a nickname, but anyone who knows me uses it, so I use it."

  "Interesting. The name stands out. Nolan is... Well, there are enough of them around that it doesn't, I suppose." He shrugged, then moved along to the next bush. "Would you mind putting the clippings in the cart behind the Gator?"

  Koukla hurried to do so. "It seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?"

  "What does?"

  "Cutting off healthy limbs to make the plant healthier. I understand why it's necessary, but it would be like cutting off a healthy toe to make a wolf healthier."

  He bit back a chuckle. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her. "Wolves don't grow back toes, but plants do grow back branches, if they are allowed to."

  She laughed. "I suppose that's true enough."

  Nolan scanned his gaze up and down her body, marveling at her willingness to do manual labor. Most beautiful females like her avoided it. "What is your major?" Females were underrepresented in his field of study. Encouraging one wouldn't be a bad idea.

  "I'm undeclared, at the moment. I haven't decided what to major in yet."

  "But you enjoy working in the gardens?"

  Koukla sighed. "I think this would be my dream job."

  "Then you should sign up for some of the basic classes while you can, just so you don't fall behind. If you don't like it, you can always decide on another major later."

  She hesitated. "That's a good idea." She met his gaze. "Can I continue to meet you? To learn from you as well?"

  Answering that was easy enough. "Of course." Was there any doubt?

  * * * *

  Two days later

  "So the soil you plant roses in is usually sandy."

  "Precisely. A little more right there, please." Nolan pointed out the area she'd missed.

  Aurora added more sand to the mix and patted it down loosely around the immature plants. He smiled and nodded, and her heart skipped a beat at the unspoken praise.

  So far, she was enjoying her botany classes. It seemed she'd found her calling, and it was all because of Nolan.

  Why did I never consider working with plants before? Because my family and servants have always considered that a servant's job? How ridiculous!

  Moreover, working in botany gave her an excuse to wear her comfortable, old jeans and t-shirts, as a matter of course.

  "You said you have an idea o
f where you might want to work with a degree in botany?" It was a reminder of where their conversation earlier had been left.

  How much should I say? "Some wolves run animal sanctuaries and similar businesses. I imagine a botanist on staff would be exceedingly helpful." It wasn't a lie. I just didn't mention it was my family's business.

  He placed another young plant in the ground. "I imagine it would. I hadn't considered that."

  "What are you going to do with your degree?" He was a fourth-year student. Surely he had plans by now.

  "I want to be a groundskeeper...eventually head groundskeeper for the Alphas' homes."

  Aurora pretended to consider that. In reality, she was biting back more than a few things she could say to him. You're a shoe-in, if I suggest you. Becoming my mate would secure your position. There isn't only one; each estate has its own staff for that.

  All bad choices. Instead, she formulated an answer that wouldn't tip her hand. "That sounds like a lot of work. Interesting work, but difficult. The homes are all over the world, so each one would have different types of plants."

  "That's what makes the job so appealing to me. It's a challenge."

  His excitement was infectious, and she smiled in return.

  "Oh. There you are."

  Aurora stiffened. She knew that voice. Darian, Tyler's den brother.

  Please don't let him say my name. I don't want Nolan to find out this way. She turned to him, pasting on a brittle smile, though she'd never really liked Tyler's choice in friends.

  "Your brother wants to see you."

  Thankfully, he didn't mention Tyler's name. It wasn't a common wolf name, and Nolan was sure to know it.

  Aurora checked her watch, then sighed. "I should go."

  "Don't forget, Koukla," Nolan instructed her. "Roses—"

  "Sandy soil," she finished, as she made her way to her feet. "Thank you, Nolan. See you next time." She hurried down the path, making Darian lope after her. The sooner Aurora got him away from Nolan, the less chance there was of the jerk ruining this for her. She turned the corner, leaving him behind.