Cutthroat City Wolves
Volume 1
Lyra Valentine
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Copyright © 2016 by Lyra Valentine
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cutthroat City Wolves Volume 1 by Lyra Valentine March 2016
Table of Contents
Wolf in the Boardroom
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Scent of Fate
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
After
Promised to Another
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
The Doctor and the Wolf
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About the Author
Wolf in the Boardroom
Cutthroat City Wolves #1
Lyra Valentine
Tiana Faolin added one more betrayal to her already full ledger when the first boy she loved disappeared after their summer together. Now he’s back to make amends for the wrongs committed by his pack, and she’s out to take what she wants from him. Rivals to the Inferno Wolves, the Cutthroat City Wolves are led by new member Cameron Ross. Cameron was raised to obey his parents and put the pack before all else. Now he must take control of his pack and his law firm from his devious family. Cameron reconnects with his old flame Tiana, but will they be able to put aside pack troubles or will they just cause more friction?
Chapter One
Tiana adjusted her top and leaned over the pool table. She grinned inwardly when the pups she played against struggled to keep their eyes off the curve of her breasts spilling over the hem. She stroked the pool cue suggestively while lining up her shot.
She touched a wet tongue to her lips and pushed her chest out further. A sly smile and a jerk of the pool cue later, and her ball sank into the pocket.
“Must be luck!” She giggled and took a swig out of her beer bottle.
The bar-back and bartender were throwing dark looks her way. She’d chosen the right round to cash out. She was ahead, and would easily beat these boys in only a few more shots. The faeries at Clyde’s didn’t like other supes hustling their human customers too much. It gave away too much of the game.
The employees were all faeries. Some worked undercover to keep the sex appeal up and draw the customers in. She could pick those out pretty easily. They walked the crowds in little bubbles of awe and intimidation. Men and women alike wanted to be them and be with them.
Most of the fae worked as servers and bartenders. Faerie-powered winks and smiles kept the customers happy and tipping well. Skin-tight numbers covered just enough skin to mark the place as a bar and not a strip joint.
Clyde’s catered to the all-inclusive crowd, so it wasn’t unusual to see humans mingling with shapeshifters of all kinds. She thought she smelled the cold death of a couple vampires lingering in a corner. The tall and tattooed beauties clustered together were surely Nephilim. She made special note of them; it wasn’t long ago they broke up a fight between her own Inferno Wolves pack and the Cutthroat City Wolves. Clyde’s provided drinks for humans and otherworlders alike.
She had to admit, the pups were cute. Being the beta to the Inferno Wolves tended to be a lonely job. She couldn’t allow a threat to her position by favoring one of her own, and bedding one would be seen as such. She let herself come to Clyde’s when the loneliness became too much to bear. Mortal pups like the ones she hustled at the pool table were ripe for the picking.
Tiana was considering bringing both pups home with her that night when she caught sight of the door opening and letting in a new customer. Her brow furrowed with trying to recall where she’d seen him before.
She’d seen so many faces growing up on the streets, and many of them through the blurs of alcohol and drugs. She’d worked in bars like Clyde’s, and even seedier establishments. Mixing drinks made sense to her. There were rules in the concoctions, and she knew how to bend them. People didn’t follow any rhyme or reason.
He could have been a customer in any one of them, but she didn’t think so.
His hair looked dark, but she couldn’t tell for certain in the dim lights. His nose was strong and straight, and his jawline well defined. His chin didn’t have that stupid dimple that made girls swoon, which gave him bonus points in her book.
The pups missed their shots, and it was her turn again. She twirled a strand of deep red hair in her fingers while pretending to consider her options. She would win the game with her next shot. She took the time to try placing the newcomer, but was interrupted when a well-dressed fae started picking his way through the crowd. She was busted, and she needed to make her exit before they threw her out.
She smiled sweetly while the pups grumbled and handed over their money. She made a show of stuffing the bills down her shirt. Let them slaver over her memory. She’d be thinking of them later, too. She tipped the rest of her beer into her mouth and made her way toward the door.
Chapter Two
Cameron had heard Clyde’s was the place for a werewolf to drink, but he didn’t expect the crowd inside. It was neutral ground for the growing otherworld population. All supernatural creatures welcome, said the members of his new pack. It felt like the right place to get to know his new city better.
The Ross family was light on clean members. His brother was a guest of the Nephilim, and his parents were on a vacation of shame, though Cam believed that was all for a pubic face. He didn’t doubt they approved of their precious eldest son’s actions, even at the threat to innocents.
That left Cameron Ross, younger of the two sons and only credible member of the Ross family, to head the pack. Graduated with top honors like his elder brother Colin, and approved of by the Board and other partners, he was ready to take on the unique responsibilities of a family-run legal office. At least, that’s what the press release stated.
Cameron grabbed a drink at the bar, and let his eyes wander over the crowd. He nearly choked when he caught sight of her. Tiana Faolin, the girl he left his heart with one summer ages ago. She’d grown into the curves she felt so self-co
nscious of in their teen years. The red hair hadn’t changed a bit, and he suspected she was still all fire on the inside.
She bent over the pool table, and he remembered when she’d hustled him out of a couple stolen beers and his pack of cigarettes. They’d shared them later, both coughing on the smoke and insisting they looked cool as hell.
He felt oddly proud to see her still up to her old tricks, even if the young college studs were eyeballing her in the most inappropriate ways. With her back to them, one motioned an ass smack and the other high-fived his friend. They raised his hackles up. They shouldn’t assume she’d give them the time of day. She needed someone stronger than impressionable young pups. She needed a wolf.
He didn’t know if he was that wolf, though. He was brought home only as a last resort. The contracts all stated a Ross must be in charge, and that left him. He thought his parents would have been happy to leave him to his studies and solitude if his brother hadn’t fucked up so marvelously. He was thrust into being a pack leader without any training or competition. He had a long road of proving himself ahead.
Cameron licked his lips as Tiana straightened. She toyed with the pool cue and his breath caught. He wanted her just as badly as his teen self had. Her breasts spilled over her top and he wanted to lick the rosy flesh there. He wanted to tangle his hands in her hair. He shifted in his seat to hide and adjust his growing erection.
She was out the door before he could try getting her attention. Cam hurriedly paid his tab and followed her out. She was torn away from him once. He couldn’t stand if it happened a second time.
Chapter Three
Tiana listened for the footfalls behind her. They were just far enough away that she didn’t think they were for her, at first. She turned between a building to take a shortcut to the train. No one liked the threat of stepping in some restaurant’s muck, and stuck to the main sidewalk. The steps followed after.
She ducked behind a dumpster and let her senses take over. She wouldn’t let the Inferno Wolves be abandoned while Xander and Stella were out of town. They’d entrusted the pack to her care while they honeymooned on some island she didn’t care to remember. She didn’t like Stella, but she served as Xander’s second. She would be a good beta and follow orders.
Though, she had to admit, Stella did a fine enough job helping out when that idiot ex mate of hers tried to cause problems.
Tiana wasn’t one to back down from a fight. She sifted out the odors of the alley, discarding rotten food, cat piss, and a noseful of other hateful scents. She focused on the creature approaching. His steps were nearing her hiding spot, and she caught his scent. It took her back to her teen years, smoking Black and Milds under the boardwalk and listening to the waves crashing on the shore.
The steps came closer, and hesitated. Was the stalker searching for her? Could he tell she was near?
The person stepped closer, and she sprang from her spot. She shoved her hip into him and hoisted his weight to flip him over and to the ground. She kept his arm in her grasp and twisted to keep him subdued. She could twist harder for a break if he was a threat.
“Why are you following me?” She demanded.
It was the man from Clyde’s. She couldn’t place him then, and he still tickled at her memories.
“I needed to see you, Tiana,” he said through ground teeth. “It’s me, Cameron. I know it’s been years, but don’t you remember me?"
“Cameron?” She took a better look at his face. She remembered a gawky boy who laughed frequently and awkwardly. This was a strong man, who by the look in his eyes, had seen more than he cared. The features were the same, but more matured.
Tiana let loose of his arm and took a step back.
They spent a summer together when they were just kids. He was visiting some rich relative living near the boardwalk of Atlantic City, while she was trying to survive on the streets without selling off parts of herself. Equipped with a fake ID, she had become a master at pool sharking and avoiding cashing in on the vague promises to the men she hustled.
They became fast friends, and met up nearly every day to sneak drinks and be general teen delinquents. She found herself warming to him and believing that maybe the world wasn’t filled with bad people. He was the closet thing to a long-term friend she’d ever had. They shared their first kisses while watching the Fourth of July fireworks on the beach.
He was the first wolf she ran with, too. They discovered their shared secret during a full moon when they both played chicken with their shiftings. They wanted to spend every moment with the other, and couldn’t think of reasonable enough excuses to spend the day apart. How they laughed over that when they met again the next day.
Cameron sat up, and brushed at his back. He made a face when his hands hit wetness from an unidentifiable puddle she’d dropped him in. “Can we go to my place? I’d like to change."
There was a lot she’d like to change. She wouldn’t have given him her heart, for one. She wouldn’t have been so desperate to give him her virginity, either.
There came a day when he didn’t show up at their spot under the creaking boards. He left her no address or telephone number to reach him. He simply vanished into thin air. She learned then not to trust anyone freely offering anything. There was always a price to be paid.
Tiana shrugged. He couldn’t hurt her now. She’d moved past the teen angst that made her howl with hurt as a girl. Hell, she could take what was hers tonight and put him completely in the past. She had considered taking those boys from the bar home; what difference was there in going home with Cameron and gaining some closure?
“Train, or do you have a car around here?” She asked.
“Just around the corner, actually.” He watched her carefully as he slowly stood, no doubt trying not to spook her into attacking him.
Tiana had to keep her cool when Cameron directed her to his car. She’d never seen the Porsche model in person, and doubted anyone in the city could afford it. It was sleek like a cat, and jumped to life with no hesitation. She preferred motorcycles herself, but the power under the hood made her want to drool.
He drove them into a lower level parking garage, and into a designated spot. She felt like she was entering enemy territory. The Cutthroat City Wolves, as her own pack called them, were rumored to be headquartered in the office building. The Ross family business operated out of the skyscraper, that was certain. Colin Ross had been taken by the Nephilim months ago after breaking countless werewolf and otherworld laws, and no one knew who had taken his place as head of the pack.
An elevator was located near Cameron's parking spot, and he swiped a card to summon it to them. It opened without a sound, something very different from the clanking of her own building. But then again, the nearest parking to her was across the street.
Tiana pushed away her growing hesitation while they ascended. The elevator opened directly into a swanky high rise. She stepped out and tried not to notice his smirk. A bank of glass overlooked the growing city. Nothing topped this building, she saw.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he told her, and disappeared further into the apartment.
The furniture felt dwarfed by the tall ceilings. She wondered if the unit had previously been two floors, only to be converted into one fit for a giant. She dropped a step into the sunken living room, and trailed a finger down the surprisingly comfy looking sectional situated to look over the city. She wondered how many nights Cameron just sat and stared.
The kitchen brought a splash of color to the otherwise white scene she’d stepped into. Black and stainless steel dominated, and were touched with maroon by the smaller appliances on the countertops. Every gadget and gizmo from late night infomercials seemed to be present, and she caught herself imagining details of Cameron’s life again. He wasn’t bad off when they were teens, but he had certainly come into his own.
Chapter Four
There were benefits to being a Ross, Cameron had to admit. The job came with a fancy condo at the top of t
he office building, and his inner gear head loved the car. He knew he had overindulged when he purchased the thing, but he had denied his family’s wealth for so long. He deserved something for himself.
Seeing Tiana for the first time in years made him yearn for more. He didn’t like what he became at the full moon, and wouldn’t subject anyone else to the life. But Tiana was already part of it, and already knew what he was. He saw a glimmer of hope in her.
He shrugged on a clean shirt and worked his way back to the great room. He found Tiana pressed against the glass and staring out at the lights of the city. The city was in a boom, and new construction could be spied almost everywhere. Business was good, and lawyers were needed to draw up all the contracts between companies, and between new building owners.
“Like the view?” He asked, and flinched when she jumped.
“How do you afford this place?” The words tumbled out of her mouth. By the clamping of her lips, he thought she didn’t mean to say it.
“I don’t feel like I’ve earned it, actually. I was brought into the business recently, and they stuck me here. Want a beer?” He turned and walked the distance to the fridge to give himself something to do besides stare at her.
“Sure. What business is that?” She made her way to the couch and took a seat. She sat stiffly on the edge.
He popped the tops off the bottles and brought it back to her. Taking a seat, they clinked the necks together before he answered. “I’m heading up Ross and Associates, the big lawyer firm in town."
Tiana blinked hard at him. She fidgeted with the bottle in her hands. Alarm bells were sounding in Cameron’s head.
“You’re a Ross?” She asked quietly.
“So you know about us?” he answered just as softly. A sigh escaped his lips. “My folks called me in to take over after Colin’s… disgrace."
Cutthroat City Wolves Volume 1: BBW Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance Page 1