Bridenapped: The Alpha Chronicles

by St. Clair, Georgette

  Kristofer didn’t give her a chance to recover. He slid out of her, rolled her onto her back, and hooked her thigh over his hip. Then he entered her again, thrusting into her still spasming channel with relentless determination. Over and over again he thrust into her limp, willing body and she gasped with surprise as the sensation caught and kindled and she was coming again, almost sobbing with the intensity of the sensation as he rode her through the spasms until she was wrung out and exhausted and trembling with satisfaction.

  He paused, still inside her, gazing tenderly down into her face. She blinked at him, still addled with lust, as he ran his fingers tenderly down the side of her face. He ran his thumb over her lower lip, then leaned down to kiss her tenderly, slowly, taking his time and exploring her mouth with gentle thoroughness as though tasting a sweet and exotic fruit.

  Then he buried his face against her neck and he started to pump into her faster and harder, driving her into the mattress, gasping with each thrust. Caitlin clung to him, digging her fingers into his sweat-damp back, and when he sank his teeth into the soft skin of her throat, sending a bolt of pleasure-pain shooting through her, she moaned her orgasm as he froze and groaned, spilling himself inside her.

  They lay together for a long time, exhausted and sticky with sweat, Kristofer’s softening cock still twitching gently inside her. Her pussy ached pleasantly and the bite mark on her neck was sore. Kristofer lazily soothed it with his tongue and she clutched his thick curls in her hands, holding his head possessively against her and reveling in the warmth of his body and the musky masculine scent of him.

  Chapter 14

  Caitlin stood in front of the bathroom mirror, dabbing makeup on the bite marks on her neck. “It was the pheromones,” she informed Kristofer loftily as he strode out of the shower toweling his hair. “Chemicals took over my mind. I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Really? I suppose pheromones are responsible for you indecently assaulting me yet again, in my own bed, an hour ago, eight hours after moonrise? That’s the story that you’re sticking with?” Kristofer smirked.

  “Yes, it is.” She surveyed her reflection. She’d done a pretty good job; the evidence of their lovemaking was mostly concealed.

  “Well, in that case, pheromones probably want you to have sex with me again.”

  She stifled a giggle. “Kristofer, you are a werewolf and I am not. You can keep going forever, apparently. My poor human body needs to rest and recuperate.” It was true; she felt as if she’d run a marathon. She ached and throbbed all over. But she was grinning as she said it.

  “So all is well between us now?” he asked her, falling back into his formal European phrasing. He had that lazy, confident smile stretching across his face, but behind his words she heard a hint of tension. A hint of fear, even. Her answer meant the world to him, she suddenly realized, with a sharp pang.

  She wished that she could give him the answer that he wanted to hear…but she also didn’t want to lie to him. At least any more than she already had.

  As she hesitated, she saw concern cloud his features.

  “Isn’t it?” he asked.

  She winced. “It’s…Kristofer, we can’t ever really be completely good as long as the land issue is unresolved.”

  “I could sit down and talk to your family. And the offer to hire them still stands,” he said.

  “They’re not going to change their position on that.”

  His face fell, and she felt a dull cloud of gloom descend on her. If she could stay here, she would. She couldn’t deny that fact any longer. She wanted to be with him, to be his bride, to have his children…he’d make an amazing father. She could see it in the look on his face every time a wolf cub ran by. But in a couple of weeks, the full moon would be there, and they’d be married, and the next day she’d have to reject him and go home. She was really starting to wish that Paige had never discovered that particular loophole.

  “I should go,” she said.

  As she headed for the door, he called after her “Caitlin?”

  She hesitated, turning back. “Yes?”

  “Your friendship with Twyla…is it important to you?”

  “That’s an odd question.” She raised an eyebrow. “You somehow disapprove of her?”

  “No, not at all. The point that Taddeus made…about the mixing of the clans. I don’t need to tell you that we’re a very tradition bound species. And there have been some complaints, again, from Taddeus’s crew who are the more tradition bound members of the pack. Sometimes it’s just-”

  “Good God, Kristofer, really?” she interrupted indignantly. She’d really have expected better from him. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go have some coffee and maybe do a little baking with my friend Twyla, before I head over to do the wedding planning.” Exasperated, she headed back to her room.

  A short while later, as she stood outside waiting for Frank to fetch a limousine to take her to Twyla’s house, her phone rang. It was the mayor, and he was furious. The oozing charm was gone from his voice, which had turned harsh and ugly. “You cannot remove my daughter from the wedding planning. It is a public insult, and everyone will want to know why she’s no longer involved. Put her back, or you’ll never see the deed again.”

  “Not my call,” she said coldly. “Kristofer doesn’t want her on the property after she snuck in to his room last night and threw herself at him.”

  “She was invited to his room,” Mayor Klinghoffer said sullenly, but his voice lacked conviction.

  “He invited her, and then he immediately had the guards remove her? Think about how ridiculous that sounds.” She glanced around to make sure nobody was in earshot. “If you don’t give me the deed, I’ll tell everyone that you stole it, and I’ll play the recording of you confessing it. And I’ll tell everyone how his guards were forced to haul her out of his bedroom, naked. There’s video security in the house, by the way.” There wasn’t, but there was no way the mayor would know that.

  There was a moment of dead silence.

  “You’d better play damned nice for the cameras,” the mayor said finally, and she heard a click as he cut off the connection.

  As he did, Frank pulled up in front of her, and she climbed in to the limo. An idea was forming in her head, a way that she might be able to do some good in the limited time that she had left here with the Verhold Pack.

  Lottie and Paige were already there when she arrived. Alberto had kept his word and was being extremely generous with Lottie’s time off. With all the publicity that he’d gotten, he’d raised his prices and was booked a year in advance. He’d been able to hire additional office staff.

  As she and Frank walked in to the small cottage, the scent of freshly baked pie enveloped her. “We’re here!” she called, heading for the kitchen. Paige, Twyla and Lottie were gathered around the small kitchen island.

  “She’s an amazing chef. Look at these little things!” Lottie said excitedly, holding out a pan of miniature apple pies in little ceramic pans. “I can’t believe that you’re not allowed to work as a chef,” she added to Twyla. “It’s ridiculous.”

  “I’d never really thought about it until Caitlin mentioned it,” Twyla said. “I mean, I never even thought about the possibility.”

  Caitlin glanced at Frank. “Can you wait outside? There’s mini pies in it for you.”

  He nodded, and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.

  “Not much of a talker, is he?” Lottie observed.

  “No, but he’s an all right guy. Listen, I have an idea,” Caitlin announced. “If you’re willing to take a risk.”

  “Risk is my middle name,” Twyla said.

  “Really?” Lottie looked up, interested.

  Twyla tittered behind her hand. “No, my middle name is Lee. Although I like the sound of Risk. Maybe if I have a daughter I’ll give her that as a middle name. All right, tell me your idea.”

  As Caitlin spelled it out, Twyla’s eyes grew wider and wider, and Paige and Lotti
e nodded appreciatively.

  Caitlin’s phone chirped in her purse as she was finishing up. Her heart sank when she saw it was her Aunt Maggie’s number. Her family only seemed to call with bad news these days.

  “I’m sorry, Caitlin, but I don’t think it’s a false alarm this time,” Maggie said desperately. “We haven’t been able to find your mother for hours.”

  Chapter 15

  “We’re clear,” Paige called out to Caitlin, who was lying on the floor of her car, hiding under a blanket that Twyla had lent them. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Frank was still waiting in front of the cottage, as far as she knew. She’d climbed out the rear window and scurried over to Paige’s car, and Paige had taken off, with Frank none the wiser.

  “I don’t have a choice! How close are we?” Caitlin yelled back.

  “I’ve got pedal to the metal. We’ll be there in a few.”

  Just to be safe, when they got to Caitlin’s house, Paige pulled into the garage rather than parking out front. She and Caitlin scrambled out, and quickly headed out the back door. Uncle Rich was pacing around just outside the house, frantically scanning the horizon as if her mother might reappear.

  “I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! We were out for a walk, and she just took off running,” Rich lamented. “With my bum knee, I couldn’t keep up.”

  “It’s not your fault. Where have you guys looked so far?” Caitlin asked.

  “We went to the grove, she wasn’t there, everyone’s fanned out through the woods…I’m waiting here in case she comes back.” Caitlin could swear the lines in his forehead had deepened since she’d last been here.

  “Let’s go back to the grove,” she said to Paige, as they hurried towards the tree line. “It’s her favorite place. I think she’ll end up there eventually.”

  They ran through the woods, but Caitlin’s heart sank when they burst through the trees into the clearing. Her mother wasn’t there. “I was sure she’d come back here,” she moaned. “Maybe we should just wait here. I don’t know what to do. All right, you stay here and I’ll start looking-”

  “That shrub is moving,” Paige said, pointing.

  “Mom!” Caitlin yelled out, and her mother pushed through the foliage and then stopped, standing there and staring at nothing, her eyes vacant.

  “Mom, come here!” Caitlin called.

  Her mother turned to her slowly, and stood there and stared. She’s getting worse, Caitlin realized, with a dull feeling of despair. What had happened to the vital, cheerful woman with the green thumb and beautiful garden? What had happened to the woman who read her bedtime stories every night when she was a little girl? There was nothing left of her now.

  “We’ve got to get you out of here before anyone spots you,” Paige said, nudging her.

  Caitlin hurried across the grove and grabbed her mother’s hand. Her mother didn’t even look at her this time, and she didn’t say a word. Paige called Maggie to let her know, and by the time they got back, everyone had returned and was waiting in the living room.

  “Aunt Louise!” Hailey cried out as they walked in. “Why did you run off?” Caitlin’s mother responded with vague hand wringing gestures, but didn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

  Priscilla shook her head, hands on her hips. “This can’t keep happening. I need to see if Troy can come up with some kind of tracking device we could attach to her.” She brightened. “And then we could patent it!”

  Hailey shot her a look of disgust. “You just never stop, do you?”

  “I guess we can’t take her on any more walks,” Uncle Rich said, shaking his head. “We may have to start putting her on some kind of sedative.”

  “I don’t want my sister turned in to some kind of zombie,” Maggie protested.

  “It’s just until Caitlin gets the deed back from the mayor, and we get our land and business back,” Uncle Rich said. “Then we’ll have money for round the clock nurses again.”

  If I get the deed, Caitlin thought, but she didn’t say it out loud.

  A loud, angry banging on the front door of the house made them all start. Before anybody could move, the door flew open and Taddeus stormed in, followed by several other members of the Verhold pack. His loyalists. They were looking at her with the kind of contempt and disgust generally reserved for convicted sex criminals.

  Caitlin’s heart dropped. She was screwed. She was so, so screwed.

  She took a step back, her jaw working, but no words came out. She was desperately trying to come up with an explanation, but what could she possibly say? They wouldn’t care about her reasons, just pack pride.

  “Kristofer should have listened to me when he had the chance,” Taddeus said, his eyes gleaming with fierce triumph. “You have violated our laws and disgraced our Alpha. It doesn’t matter what Kristofer wants, by the laws of our people, you are automatically expelled from the pack.”

  “And,” he added haughtily, “the town is still obligated to pay the bride refusal price.”

  Caitlin exchanged a panicked glance with her aunt and uncle.

  “Wow, so all werewolves are dickheads, then?” Priscilla raked Taddeus with a look of scorn.

  Taddeus’s returned the look. “That’s just the kind of behavior that I’d expect from a member of your family,” he said to Caitlin. “You have brought shame to our pack from the moment Kristofer did you the honor of bridenapping you.”

  “Watch what you say about my family.” Caitlin’s hands balled into fists, and her eyes sparked with rage.

  “Taddeus, what brings you here?” Frank’s voice made everyone jump.

  He strode into the room, and the back door banged shut behind him. “Pardon me,” he added. “Stepped out for a minute to answer a call of nature. Never did like using toilets. Too human.”

  “You agreed to this travesty? You let her leave the pack lands?” Taddeus’s voice rose in outrage.

  “There was a family emergency. Kristofer said it would be acceptable as long as I accompanied her.”

  “Oh, I doubt that very much.” Taddeus’s lips were peeled back, baring teeth which were starting to look alarmingly sharp. He let out a low, rumbling growl, which Frank returned.

  Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed, never dropping eye contact with Taddeus. “Kristofer, we’re at Caitlin’s house. We found her mother safe and sound. Taddeus wanted verification that it was all right that we came out here.”

  He handed the cell phone to Taddeus. Whatever Taddeus heard, it was obvious that he didn’t like it.

  Taddeus handed the phone back to Frank, and his gaze was murderous. “This isn’t over,” he told Frank. “And I won’t forget your part in disgracing our pack.”

  * * *

  “You’re sure that I didn’t get you in trouble?” Caitlin demanded yet again, as they pulled up in front of the Alpha house.

  Kristofer was standing on the front steps waiting for them.

  “I’m sure,” Frank repeated. Caitlin felt uneasiness twisting inside her as they climbed out. The look of hatred on Taddeus’s face had been chilling.

  “Is your mother all right?” Kristofer asked as she hurried up to him.

  “She’s fine. We found her in her favorite grove,” she said, following him back in the house. “She’s just…she’s getting worse. I don’t know how much longer my aunt and uncle will be able to care for her.” She wished they’d see how impossible the situation was getting, and just let Kristofer help, at least until she could get the deed back. She knew her family, though. Stubborn pride was entwined in their DNA.

  They strode through the huge foyer, which was alive with activity as it always was during the day. Maids were dusting and sweeping. Through the window, she could see gardeners trimming the hedges. One of Kristofer’s staff rushed over and held out papers on a clipboard, which Kristofer glanced at, and signed, and man hurried off. An Alpha’s work was never done.

  “Why didn’t you just let me send people out to search for her?” Kri
stofer asked.

  “My mother might not have come out for anybody but me,” she said. “She has absolutely no idea what she’s doing these days. She could wander in front of a truck. She could fall in a lake. If she wanders off, it’s a life or death emergency.”

  He nodded. “I understand family obligations. It just puts me in a difficult position. The tradition of the bride remaining on the grounds until her wedding night is very important to my people.”

  “Taddeus said this wasn’t over. I feel like the main reason he’s angry at you is because you chose me,” Caitlin said unhappily.

  “No, please don’t think that.” He shook his head. “He’s been furious with everyone since the moment he was rejected as Alpha. He’s been looking for reasons to question my place here from the day that I arrived, challenging every attempt to change even the smallest traditions.”

  “He does have some support, though. I thought I saw a couple of the Clan Chieftains with him at my house today.”

  “Of course. Not everyone embraces change. Look how long it took for human women to get the vote. It’s not the majority of the pack, though, or he’d have been named the next Alpha.”

  “That was decent of Frank to cover for me,” Caitlin mused.

  “He’s a good man. And he is fond of you.”

  “Frank is?” she said, startled. “How could you even tell?”

  At that, Kristofer cracked a smile. “He’s a man of few words, but you know what they say. Still waters run deep. And now, I unfortunately have more urgent pack business I must attend to, but just so we’re clear. I am not avoiding you. I will join you at dinner tonight and we can discuss the wedding planning or anything else that you want to discuss.”

  Before she could protest, he drew her to him with one strong, muscular arm and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. “You taste delicious,” he breathed, and then he hurried off, leaving her aching for his warmth and his scent.