“And what venture is that?” the woman asked.
“Who are you?” Selena said.
“Oh, forgive my bad manners,” the woman said, sarcastically. Holding out her hand she said, “I’m Eliza Lane. I’m Conner’s aunt.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, but I’m not at liberty to discuss my company’s or Conner’s business with you.”
The woman laughed a snarky laugh. “You obviously don’t understand the hierarchy of a pack, do you?”
“You know what?” Selena asked. “I don’t understand much of what anyone around here says. Everyone always seems to be talking in some kind of wolf metaphor or riddle. It’s bizarre. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to lunch.”
The woman stepped aside and let Selena pass. She found her way back to the break room, but realized that she wasn’t as hungry as she had thought she was. She ate a little, tolerating the stares of the others as she did, and then she told Conner, “I need to go see about my house. Would you mind taking me back to the hotel so that I can see if my car is there?”
“Sure,” he said.
“I’ll go up and get my bag and I’ll be ready.” She could feel him watching her as she left the room, but she got that feeling from all of them, like they were all watching her. She got her bag and then went back down to find Conner. He was no longer in the break room so she went out to the front of the plant to look for him. He was talking with his aunt, and the conversation looks heated. She stopped a ways back and ducked into one of the cubicles, eavesdropping, against her better judgment.
“Conner, dear…it’s time. You and I know that it’s way past time. I expect you to give me some news by the time the sun goes down on the Burly Bear Festival this weekend.”
“I won’t pick someone just because “it’s time,” or because you say so, Aunt Eliza. When I mate, it will be for life, and it will be someone who is Alpha female to my male, someone who will be my partner as much as my mate in my life and in my bed.”
“Just remember, Conner, you will need pack approval to choose an outsider.”
“Who says that I’m thinking about choosing an outsider?” he said.
“Please, I was just in the bathroom with her…I can smell that she’s ready for you. I know that you can smell it as well.”
“She’s here for business reasons only, Auntie. She doesn’t need to know any more about our life here than that.”
Eliza started to say something else but she stopped then and sniffed the air.
“Speaking of…” she said. “She’s likely just heard our entire conversation. You may have some hard questions to answer. I say answer them, and make her what she is meant to be, an omega, or perhaps a beta for Slam.”
Conner had turned in the direction where Selena hid. She stepped out from behind the cubicle. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Eliza again began to open her mouth, but she was stopped by a look from Conner. He turned to Selena. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said, avoiding eye contact with the aunt as she did. When they got to Conner’s Jeep, she said, “Will you please tell me what is going on around here?”
Conner looked at her. “I can’t tell you, Selena. I would have to show you. Once I did, once you become a part of this…Well, you could never go back.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO: Conner - Volume 2
***
Conner
***
Synopsis
Conner is an important man in the little town of Lazy River, Alaska. People seek him out for advice and they offer him respect and, in the cases of the females in town, adoration in return.
Conner is angry that Selena Ortiz has been sent here to take over his company, the company that his father founded and left to him. Conner uses the money he makes from the company to keep the town running and nothing is more important to him than the people around him.
He wants to dislike Selena for what her company is doing to him and his town, but there’s something about her that makes him want to tell her all his secrets. The question is…when he does will she believe him?
***
CHAPTER ONE
Conner didn’t say anything on the way down the mountain. Selena started to ask him again about what the hell was going on in this crazy town with all of these strange people, but his words, “You could never go back,” haunted her on that quiet ride. When they got to her hotel, he pulled up to the lobby entrance and left the Jeep running. Selena couldn’t help herself, she had to try again.
She turned to him instead of getting out. “Are you going to tell me what you mean by…you could never go back?”
“I’d rather not, right now.” He seemed distracted. She wondered if he was thinking about the conversation he’d had with his aunt about “choosing a mate.” This was definitely the strangest collection of people she had ever seen together in one place.
“Thanks, Conner, for showing me around today. I’ll probably have enough information to dive into this by next week if I spend this week getting familiar with the plant and the files.”
He nodded, but didn’t even look like he was paying attention to what she was saying.
She waited what she thought was an appropriate amount of time for him to respond and when he didn’t, she said, “Okay then…” and started to climb out of the tall vehicle.
“Wait, Selena, I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just a little…preoccupied today. That all sounds fine, and I will offer any help you might need. I apologize if I was rude again; I have some things on my mind that have nothing to do with you.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “But thanks for the apology.”
He grinned, and she started to climb out. He stopped her by saying, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the plant won’t be open on Friday.”
Selena couldn’t remember Friday being any sort of holiday. “Why is the plant closed on Friday?”
“For the Burly Bear festival of course.”
“Of course,” she said. “See you later, Conner.”
“See ya.”
She could feel his eyes on her back until she got inside the hotel lobby. She got a chill as soon as she did, like his eyes had been keeping her warm. Shaking off that craziness, she went up to the desk.
“Hi, my name is Selena Ortiz. Did Trent from Lazy River Motors leave something for me?”
“He sure did,” the girl at the desk said in a cute little accent that sounded Russian. She handed Selena a small manila envelope with her name on it. Selena thanked her and opened it up. There was a key fob and a note.
Miss Selena,
This is our finest four-wheel drive vehicle. We figured you would need the four-wheel drive since you’ll be going up to the plant often. I hope it meets with your expectations. If it doesn’t, please feel free to call me and I’ll trade it for whatever you might prefer. Welcome to Lazy River.
Thank you,
Cecil--Lazy River Motors
Selena turned the key fob over and saw that it belonged to a Cadillac. She went out to the main parking lot and clicked the horn button on her fob. A light gray SUV honked and flashed its lights at her. It looked brand new. Selena smiled and went to check it out. It had big tires like Conner’s Jeep, and it, too, was lifted. She was sure that the lifted vehicles must have something to do with the weather here because in New York it was rare to see one. She clicked the locks open and pulled on the driver’s side door handle. The new car smell assaulted her nostrils before she even climbed up inside. The seats were the same color gray as the exterior, and they were super soft leather. Selena was pleasantly surprised.
She took out her purse and called her real estate woman Becca again. “Hi, Becca. This is Selena Ortiz. I finally got my car so I wanted to let you know that I’m ready to see the house as soon as you have some time.”
“Perfect, I have some time now if you’d like to meet me there in say…twenty minutes?”
“Great,” Selena said.
/> Becca gave her directions to the house. Selena put the address into the GPS on her phone. The directions took her just west of town, in the same general direction as the plant. Selena cringed at the swirl of dust coating her brand new car. She had to drive very slowly to prevent the dust from becoming so thick that she couldn’t see.
She didn’t see any houses, or any other roads and Selena started to worry that she had maybe turned the wrong way, but just as Becca had said, after she’d gone three and a half miles, the road opened up into a large gravel driveway and she saw the cutest little wooden cottage that she had ever seen. It had a wraparound porch, and there were two matching rocking chairs sitting to the right of the front door. Selena tried to make herself concentrate on the pros, but it was surrounded by forest and nothing else. She again thought that she just didn’t know if she could do this.
Selena parked the car and got out. The freshness of the air and the fragrance of the trees and the wildflowers was definitely a point in the area’s favor. The light breeze smelled like sweet perfume. As she walked up to the steps that led up to the quaint little porch, she heard another car driving toward her. She turned and watched as a big silver pickup approached. The driver parked next to her car and got out. Becca was a thirty-something woman with really long black hair and really pretty light brown eyes. She had what would be referred to as a voluptuous figure, full on top and bottom with a much slimmer waist.
She smiled and pulled off her sunglasses as she held out her hand to Selena. “Hi, Selena, I’m Becca. It’s so nice to finally meet you face to face.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Selena told her. “I didn’t realize the house was so far out.”
Becca smiled. “Yes, it is a bit off the beaten track, but don’t make a decision based on that until you see the inside, okay?”
“I’m trying,” Selena said, honestly. She waited for Becca to unlock the door and then they both went inside. Becca crossed to the big picture windows on either side of the cabin and opened up the blinds. The light flooded in, and Selena found herself completely enchanted with the little room. It had a huge stone fireplace and was completely furnished with plush, comfy-looking furniture with a western theme. The floors were made of shiny wood, and there were bookshelves built into one entire wall. She followed the agent through that room and into an attached dining area with a wooden table and chairs that looked handmade. From there, they went into the kitchen. Becca opened the blinds here, too, and this time Selena gasped out loud at the view. She was looking out directly at a snow-capped mountain with the blue sky streaked with clouds in the distance. It was like looking at a photograph in a magazine. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in real life. Besides the view, the kitchen had all new appliances and seemed to have anything a person could need to cook any meal they desired. The counters were granite, and the floor was a matching color of aggregate.
“What do you think so far?” Becca asked.
“It’s gorgeous,” Selena admitted. “I just wish it wasn’t so far out here. I’ve never lived anywhere except in the city. I don’t know if I can live out here alone without being afraid.”
“Well, if it helps, the crime rate here is ridiculously low.”
“What about wildlife?” Selena asked.
Becca shrugged a bit. “Yes, there is that. But all you have to do is look out there and see that they have plenty of room to roam, and plenty to eat, untouched by humans. They tend to stay away from our homes and businesses.” She gave Selena a minute to absorb this. “Do you want to see the bedroom and bathroom?”
“Sure.”
Becca led her to a large bedroom. It was so big, in fact, that Selena thought the entire rest of the cabin could have fit inside of it. It held a huge, soft-looking, king-sized bed, an armoire, a dresser and two nightstands. There was also another big stone fireplace. Selena was almost speechless. She had never had such a large bedroom, not even in her big apartment back home.
“Now look at this,” Becca said, pulling open a set of double doors. It was a walk-in closet, as big as most full-sized bathrooms.
“Wow,” Selena said. “This is really something.”
Becca smiled. “I know, it’s my favorite part. Well, that and this…” She walked toward the back of the room and opened a door that led into a bathroom. The bathroom held a large glass-enclosed shower with two showerheads.
Selena had a sudden flash of her and Conner standing naked together in the shower. Where the hell did that come from? She shook it off and continued to survey the bathroom. The bath and shower tile was granite and the same color as that in the kitchen. Sitting beside the huge shower was a large, deep Jacuzzi tub. Becca pulled open the blinds. One whole wall of the bathroom was glass and when she opened the blinds it was like bringing the indoors right inside of there with you. Again, it was breathtaking.
The house and its surroundings seemed to be doing its best to hook her in.
“Can we move this into town?” she asked Becca with a grin.
Becca smiled, too. “It is a beautiful little house. If my husband and I hadn’t just bought ours before this one went on the market, we would have snatched it up. I kind of pushed it when Lloyd wanted a house for the CFO he was sending here. He didn’t tell me anything about you, and I wasn’t aware that you would be coming alone, so I apologize that it’s so deserted, but I just so love this house.”
“I do, too.” Selena just wasn’t sure about living here alone. She was never afraid in her apartment in New York, which, if she thought about it, was silly. The crime rate in New York was astronomical compared to the crime rate here. But if she was being honest, she’d have to say that it was the eventuality of running into a wild animal that really frightened her. “If I don’t want to live here, what would my other options in town be?” she asked the realtor.
“I’m afraid that I don’t have anything else right now. I just rented the last place I had open a few weeks ago, and no one is selling right now. People in Lazy River tend to move in and stay forever.”
Selena considered the thought of staying in the hotel until something else did come up. Meanwhile, she thought about her personal things sitting in storage. Although she had only been here a couple of days, she already missed the freedom of having her own home.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” she said, impulsively. If it turned out to be too awful, she always had the option of moving back to the hotel. Damn Lloyd and Daniel anyway for sending her to the wilderness.
As they made their way back through the house, though, she couldn’t help but glance out at the panoramic views right outside her windows.
Becca told her that she could move in whenever she was ready and gave her the keys. The only thing Selena really needed to do was go pickup her bags from the hotel and buy some groceries and toiletries. She doubted that there was a Target or Costco anywhere close by. She asked Becca and was told that Anchorage was the closest. There were both a drugstore and a market in town, but for bulk items she would have to make the forty-five minute drive.
When she got back into her car, she looked at her watch, pondering what she should do. It was close to three in the afternoon, and it would be getting dark by six and full dark by seven judging from what she’d seen the night before. Selena knew it was silly, but she couldn’t help but think about what Slam and Conner had told her about being in the area of the plant at night and the abundance of wildlife. She didn’t want to come home after dark, at least until she was used to living here.
She checked for a Target and Costco in Anchorage. They had both, and they were relatively close to each other. She had close to four hours and with an hour and a half drive round trip, that would leave her two and a half for shopping. She decided to do it. She suddenly wanted to try out her new bed tonight.
As she backed out, she didn’t see the big white wolf watching her from the trees.
CHAPTER TWO
Selena had driven to Anchorage, gotten everything she needed there, and stopped by
the hotel to get her things and check out in about three and a half hours. She was proud of herself, but didn’t want to waste too much time in congratulations since now she only had about half an hour to get home and unload her things before it got dark.
As she drove back up the hill, she caught sight of the moon. It was probably only one or two days from being full, so it was big and bright. The silver rays illuminated the road in front of her so well that she almost didn’t need her headlights. She drove up in front of the little house and began to unload her things.
She could hear rustling from the trees every so often and had to tell herself not to worry; it was probably just the wind. There was nothing around that she could see, and she doubted that an animal would lay in wait for her. Animals don’t think that way…do they?
Wind or not, the noises compelled her to get her things unloaded much quicker than she would have otherwise. As she was taking her last grocery bag inside, she heard a growling sound coming from behind the large tree to the right of her cabin. She looked over and saw a wolf. It was a light brown color, and it was just staring at her. It was a tall wolf, but not very husky and she wondered if it was hungry.
“Shoo,” she told it. The wolf cocked its head to the side like it was listening to her, but it still didn’t move. Selena was suddenly unnerved by the eye contact. She slipped inside quickly and slammed and locked the door behind her. She did know that wolves couldn’t operate doorknobs, but she wanted to be on the safe side.
The wolf waited for her to go inside, and then he ambled over to the steps. He walked up them and lay himself down directly in front of the door. Curling up, he began his shift for the night.
Alaskan Alpha: 3-Book Bundle (Books 1-3) Page 4