by Crissy Smith
Dylan didn’t look surprised. “I thought it would be. He is the closest wolf to matching my strength. Cameron did tell me he spoke with Brandon when he started to think about stepping down. Let him know about me.” RJ waited for his brother to continue. “At the time Brandon didn’t want the position. Said he wasn’t born to lead and knew it.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t change his mind,” Ben spoke up for the first time.
Smaller than his two brothers, Ben Cross was the quiet and peaceful one. He’d been born with the ability to calm those around him. It was what made him such a good diplomat for the Pack.
“Yeah, it’s one thing to not want to be Alpha and another to have someone else come in and take over,” Dylan agreed.
“The thing is,” RJ interrupted, “Brandon might not like it, but I don’t get the feeling he’s planning on challenging you. He hasn’t exactly welcomed me, but he doesn’t go out of his way to make up conflict. Other than the argument when I first reached town, he has been somewhat civil.”
All three of them sat in silence, thinking their own thoughts for several minutes, before Dylan spoke again.
“Well, there is nothing we can do until the challenge is issued. Just keep an ear out.”
RJ tilted his head in agreement. They had to wait. Nothing more to do. He might not like it, but it was Dylan’s call. “I’m going to head up to shower.”
Ben picked his book back up and sent him a wave of his hand but Dylan still stared at him. “Is that all?” he asked quietly.
RJ didn’t know how he did it. His older brother was always able to tell when something was going on with one of them. He thought about telling him about Nikki but didn’t want to add to his brother’s worries. And maybe he wanted to keep her a secret just a little bit longer.
He could still smell the citrus from her shampoo, feel the softness of her hand in his, and wanted to enjoy the moment before he had to deal with the tension between the two families.
“For now,” he answered his brother vaguely.
“I’m here if you need me,” Dylan told him before reaching for the remote again.
RJ headed up the stairs to the first room down the hall. He liked being closest to the stairs in case of problems during the night. He had served as an Enforcer in his Pack as well as the Pack in the military, which was actually a shifter unit. There had been a mixture of species but they had been run like a Pack. He still thought of them that way.
But after his latest mission to protect the feline Prince and the battle once he’d been rescued, RJ had needed some time off. Dylan’s call that he needed him home had come right when he was looking for an excuse.
Everyone could tell that Dylan had been born a natural leader, and when their Alpha had heard Cameron King wanted to retire, he had suggested a meet between the two men.
Their Alpha Craig was a good man and had several sons who would be able to lead their Pack into the future. Dylan would never have challenged them if they ran the Pack fairly, and Craig knew it. Craig had been offered a position on the Alpha council and as any good leader would, had suggested some changes before he’d left. One of them had been for Dylan and Cameron to meet, Craig believing that Dylan should get the chance to lead his own Pack.
So Craig had urged Dylan to meet with Cameron and had even talked several others into joining the Pack Dylan would lead. More had come than any of them had thought. Craig had understood and encouraged them all. He wanted his Pack members to flourish but with over two hundred shifters under his command, he knew there were some wolves who couldn’t reach their potential in such a large group.
Moving to the new territory was a great opportunity for them all.
His room was dark and cool as he pushed the door open. He’d brought his furniture from the childhood home they’d lived in all their lives. He missed the old house and was glad he had something to remind him of home. He had a small apartment above his shop in town but he had yet to do more than move in a couch, futon, and odds and ends. It was convenient if he worked late or needed to grab a shower, but he liked being home with his brothers. Plus, until he knew all threat to Dylan had passed, he would stick close.
He tried to picture Nikki there with him in his bedroom. Would she find it too masculine, or would she see the beauty of the stained wood the way he did?
The large four-poster bed dominated most of the north wall. He was a tall man at six–foot-five. He liked to have plenty of room to sprawl out.
But thoughts of having Nikki on every inch of the bed had his cock coming to attention and throbbing.
He could just see her spread out in the middle of the bed. Legs open and inviting, arms stretched above her head, her body arching in need.
He pulled his black T-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots and socks. The desire he had clearly read when he’d locked gazes with her had tempted his control. And just the one touch they’d briefly shared had sent his blood boiling.
He wanted her hands on him as he caressed that sweet skin.
He stood but couldn’t resist dropping his hand low to play with the zipper on his jeans. He wanted more than just her hands, though. Her mouth, with her easy smile, had been made for pleasuring a man.
He groaned as he pictured her on her knees in front of him. Oh yeah, he could almost feel the warm, wet tongue tracing his balls before sucking him in.
He manoeuvred out of his jeans quickly until he stood stark naked, panting with need. He licked his palm then started to stroke himself, each rough tug drawing him closer to completion. It had just been his hand for too long, and now that he’d found a woman who called to both the man and wolf, he was quickly ready to explode.
He concentrated on each detail of Nikki Stratton as he urgently played with himself. Oh, he couldn’t wait to mark her with his mouth, his teeth and his cum. Bend her over the bed and pound into her just as he sank his canines into the back of her neck.
It was the last fantasy that sent him over the edge. His seed shot out as he pumped his cock and almost collapsed at the intensity of his orgasm.
He dropped back on the bed and smiled.
Complications be damned. Nikki Stratton would be his.
Chapter Three
Nikki had enjoyed dinner with her two brothers. Justin had delighted her with stories of both his second-grade class and the pre-teen wolves he taught. Brandon had remained quiet throughout most of the meal.
She bided her time until Brandon was headed back to the station and Justin sat in the passenger seat of her Jeep.
“What’s going on?” she asked her brother as she turned south off the main street to where their small home was. It was obvious that she had been brought home for a reason. Brandon had always been the adult, but the tension in him was new. Something big was going on.
Justin sighed and looked out of the window. “The ceremony in a few days is getting people worked up.”
She darted a look at him but he still faced away. “It’s not like we didn’t know it was going to happen.” Brandon had called and told her Cameron was stepping down. He had explained about the new Alpha coming and how their community would grow.
“Yeah, but knowing and it actually happening are two different things,” Justin told her.
Nikki guessed she could understand that. “Have you met the new Alpha?”
“Once. He seemed like a good enough guy,” Justin admitted. “But he’s not from here.”
“Well, Cameron has already picked the Alpha and it was agreed upon by the council,” she reminded him. “What is there to do?”
“The new Alpha could be challenged right after the ceremony,” Justin informed her quietly.
Her hands jerked and the vehicle swerved. She righted the steering wheel. “Shit, a challenge?”
She’d never seen a challenge but knew enough about them to know that a challenge for the position for Alpha would be major. Some of her friends had told her stories about th
e Pack being taken over. The Alpha who was beaten never lived.
“Who would be stupid enough to challenge the Alpha?” she asked.
When Justin just turned and met her stare she knew. “Oh, good God! He can’t!”
Justin just shrugged. “I don’t think he even wants to. But he’s getting a lot of pressure right now.”
And suddenly she understood. She wasn’t home just to welcome the new Alpha. She might be saying goodbye to her own brother.
Tears pricked her eyes as she peered out of the windshield. The sights that surrounded her were so familiar, but they didn’t soothe her like they normally did. Now they made her feel sick.
They’d lived there since her grandfather had joined the small community and had brought his young mate back home. Her grandmother’s family had been part of the territory for several decades.
The wide open space that expanded for miles and miles was home. But home also meant family. Her family was just Brandon and Justin.
“We can’t let him,” she practically yelled in the small, quiet confines of the vehicle.
“We don’t have a choice. If he decides to do it, we have to support him,” Justin murmured.
She couldn’t believe her ears. Could Justin really believe that any good to come out of the challenge? She pressed her lips together and glared over at him. The pain on his face brought her up short. If he knew, how could he back Brandon?
“Justin?”
He held up a hand stopping her. “Talk to Brandon. He knows how I feel already and he needs to know your thoughts also. But no matter what he decides, we will stand behind him.”
Nikki didn’t say anything, unsure what could actually be said. She turned down the gravel road that led to their cabin. It was only a half mile to the house and the entire time her mind ran though several possibilities. All ended with her losing so much.
She pulled up to the front of the house and heard the barking. The sound brought a smile to her face. Faced with so much new information, it was good to know some things didn’t change.
She opened the driver’s door without waiting on Justin. She braced her feet shoulder-width apart and waited as the barking came closer.
A black streak raced from around her house before she suddenly had a full-blooded sixty-pound black Lab on her.
“Hey, Bear.” She rubbed the dog from his large front paws on her shoulders down his back. She received several wet kisses as welcome.
Justin’s deep laugh came from in front of the house. “Guess he missed you.”
She glanced over and her heart swelled. It was obvious the dog wasn’t the only one. She wanted Justin to wrap his arms around her and tell her it would be okay. Instead, she let him turn away.
“Justin?” she called out before he could make it up the steps.
He turned and raised an eyebrow in question.
“What’s the new Alpha’s name?”
“Dylan Cross.”
She didn’t hear him walk into the house, couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in her ears. She pushed the dog off her and sat down heavily on the bottom step.
“Christ. Cross?” she whispered to the night.
Bear lay at her feet and licked her hand. She had no idea what that meant.
Obviously her brother hadn’t liked the man she’d met at the café. The hostility had been easy enough to read. But was it because he was related to the new Alpha or something more? She normally wouldn’t have thought anything about getting involved with someone her brother didn’t approve of. In fact, that had been how she had picked her high-school boyfriends. But this was something else entirely. Not only was her body practically vibrating at the thought of him, her wolf—who typically stayed mostly silent—was scratching and clawing at her to go find him.
She could almost taste the strength that had come from the stranger. He might not have been Alpha material, but he had been dominant. And if he was related to the Alpha that didn’t speak well for any challenger.
Brandon had always been quick, strong and smart. But she was scared to death it wouldn’t be enough this time.
She buried her hands in Bear’s thick fur. “What in the world are we going to do?” she asked. Of course, the dog didn’t answer.
The wind picked up, forcing her to go back to her Jeep and grab her bag. Bear stayed with her and she was glad for the company. She walked in the front door and the feeling of being home hit her at once. Her eyes blurred from the memories that assaulted her. The living room still had the old worn furniture that had once belonged to her grandparents.
The light was off in the dining room and further back to the kitchen but she knew no changes had been made there either.
The stairs still creaked as she made her way up. She smiled, jumping over the seventh step—the loudest—that had given her away more than once when she’d tried to sneak out as a teen.
She passed Brandon’s and Justin’s rooms on the way to her own. Justin’s light shone under his door, but she wanted a little time alone to think things through before she spoke with him again. There had to be something she could do to help Brandon.
Her room hadn’t changed a bit in her absence, and that was both comforting and sad. Would it really hurt her to come back more than once every couple of years? While she had been travelling and working, her brothers were trying to figure out the future of the Pack.
She really felt terrible that she hadn’t wanted to come back. Brandon and Justin had obviously needed her.
Hoping a hot shower would clear the exhaustion from travel and help her think more clearly, she dumped her bag on the bed and grab her shower case from it. She had the master bedroom with the bath inside, while Brandon and Justin shared the other bath in the hall. She had told one of them to take her room so they could have the private bath, but Brandon had ignored her and Justin had said as soon as she was mated he would.
She’d answered in that case it would still be hers for a while.
She turned the hot water on and began to strip. Stepping inside the stall, she sighed and let the steam and heat relax her. Starting to wash her hair, she thought about the man she had met earlier. RJ was the kind of man that you would notice from down the street—his dark good looks, height and build, and tattooed arms.
She hummed to herself thinking how damn good-looking he was. Just the kind of guy she usually found herself attracted to.
Oh, not normally as attracted as this, but it had been a long while since she had been with another shifter. She craved the dominance male wolves had in them, but in the people she surrounded herself with she rarely found what she longed for.
She filled her hands with body wash and ran her hands down her neck to her chest. Her breasts felt heavy and she wished there was someone in the shower with her. Of course that made her think about RJ again. His large hands would be able to cup her perfectly and his wide smooth lips would feel fantastic against her skin.
She moved her hands lower until she skimmed against her mound. She slipped a finger lower, rubbing her clit hard.
Spreading her legs, she leaned against the wall of the shower. The stall was too small for two people, but she could still imagine RJ on his knees in front of her licking her folds.
Her imagination and own fingers brought her to the fevered edge she craved. “Oh God,” she murmured, sliding two fingers deep inside her pussy. Pumping in and out, she trembled…almost right…there…
A flash of RJ holding her against the wall, his deep voice telling her to come, had her finally falling over the edge.
Spent and warm, she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her body. She had a lot to think about. Maybe she would catch a little nap before Brandon came home.
Chapter Four
Dylan was already gone by the time that RJ made it down the stairs the next morning, but Ben was dressed in his suit drinking a cup of coffee.
“’Bout time,” his younger brother complained. “I’ve got to get to work.”
RJ
frowned as he reached for a clean coffee cup. “So what’s stopping you?”
It wasn’t like he usually got up with his brothers. He liked to work late and had never been an early riser. He enjoyed having his own business so he could set his own hours.
“Because I wanted to talk to you,” Ben told him as he stood and rinsed out his coffee mug. RJ moved to the kitchen table his brother had just left and took a seat, waving his hand so Ben would get on with it.
“One of the women I work with said that the Stratton sister was coming to town,” Ben informed him.
RJ froze. He wasn’t sure where his brother was going with this.
“From what I understand, she keeps Pack status but hasn’t been home in over a year.”
As casually as he could, RJ leant back in his chair. “And?”
“You don’t think it’s funny that the ceremony and maybe challenge are only days away and she is suddenly back here?”
Now that he thought about it, yes, it was a little strange, but he didn’t want to admit it to his brother. “What? You think she’s part of the challenge?”
Ben shook his head. “No, of course not, but it doesn’t mean they’re not up to something.”
RJ thought about it, but really, what could the young woman do? Besides she had flirted with him the night before. Plus she hadn’t even blinked at his name when he had told her he was a Cross. He would almost guarantee she hadn’t a clue about his family.
Almost guarantee. He was pretty good at reading people but he had been distracted by her.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” he promised. He had already planned on it.
Ben’s shoulders relaxed and he felt guilt turn his stomach. He should tell Ben about meeting Nikki Stratton. But instead he watched his brother pick up his briefcase and waved goodbye.
“Where to start?” he asked the empty room. He would treat it like any other investigation as an Enforcer. He picked up his coffee cup, topped it off and made his way to his laptop. He would run some basic searches on Nikki Stratton.
He would know where to go from there once he knew more about the woman. Stepping into his bedroom, he couldn’t help but remember the fantasies he’d had about her. He’d woken hard and needing and had had to jerk off again before he’d gone in search of his morning caffeine.