Claimed in Forbidden: A Wolf Shifter Romance (Alphas & Alchemy: Fierce Mates Book 1)

by Keira Blackwood

  I cleaned up for the third time in one day, and climbed up onto the counter with my last peanut butter sandwich. Now that I had a real kitchen, I could stock up on a little food. But not tonight. It had already been a hell of a day.

  Sitting on the counter reminded me of how I’d been in this position, just hours before. But instead of a PB&J in my hands, I’d held Declan. We had kissed. I still couldn’t believe it. What was going on with him? He was a grade-A asshole for sure. He was sexy, but not sexy enough to overlook his terrible attitude. I was pretty sure he hated me, so why the kiss?

  It was the kind of kiss that dreams were made of—really hot dreams. And he was the last person in the world I’d have liked to have shared it with.

  The other O’Malley brothers had worked all around the house, James doing stuff on the porch. Brody and Moira were working in the bathroom, and I’d peeked inside to see the utter destruction.

  “Don’t worry, there’s a method to our madness,” Moira had said, undoubtedly seeing the concern on my face.

  Strangely enough, I trusted her. If she said they had it under control, I believed her.

  Now it was getting dark. Everyone had gone home, and it was finally quiet.

  I sighed and went outside to watch the end of the sunset from my newly fixed porch. The boards didn’t bend or creak. Nothing looked like it was about to fall apart. James, the quiet one, had done a good job. His toolbox was neatly set off to the side, and there was a stack of boards and boxes of what looked like shingles nearby. So he wasn’t done, no problem. I’d just have to adjust my inner timeline for when I could start inviting guests to the B&B.

  Besides, he couldn’t be done—I needed to show him my vision for the front porch, complete with the colors for the trim, and the planters lining the railing.

  I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and watched the sky fill with orange and pink and purple, before my eyes drifted to the work trailer that was parked on my property. Was Declan in there?

  Nope. Not going to check. It didn’t matter.

  There was movement by the tree line. An animal.

  Its eyes met mine, a flash of light caught in its irises. I made out the shape—tall ears, long snout like a dog. It was a wolf. I knew I should run back inside, but I stood staring into its eyes, frozen. Beautiful.

  I wanted to step off the porch and prolong this moment. But that would be idiotic. I knew better than to interact with wild animals, no matter how gorgeous and approachable they looked.

  I also made a mental note to let future guests know that wolves hung out in the woods and they shouldn’t go out alone. I wondered what other kind of animals I’d find in the forests surrounding Forbidden.

  Chapter 6

  Declan

  I’d thought the shitty coffee at James’s house was the worst, but the instant crap that Moira had stocked the trailer with—that was the worst. I chugged it down, though, because shit coffee was better than no coffee.

  Glancing up the old asylum, I wondered whether Daphne was awake or not. That kiss...I’d wanted to take things further, grind against her until we both came on the counter, still wearing our clothes.

  Well, didn’t matter how fucking hot it was, a mistake was a mistake. And falling for a human was a mistake.

  An engine rumbled up the driveway, so I peeked out the tiny window. Finn’s little Datsun pick-up truck rolled up. I didn’t know how he even kept that thing running, it was so old. Same way he tinkered with airplanes, I guessed, so that he could continue to take them out on flights. The thought of strapping myself into a tiny metal box and hurling myself through the air appealed about as much as the thought of cockroaches in my kitchen, but to each his own, I guessed.

  Finn got out of his truck and came straight to the trailer.

  “Door’s open,” I said, knowing he’d hear me.

  He came inside. “Love your salt, by the way.”

  I ignored the comment. “Want some coffee? It’s really good.”

  “Nice try, I can smell that it’s shitty.” But he grabbed a mug from one of the cabinets and poured a cup. “Still, it’s caffeine, right?”

  “Yep.”

  He leaned against the counter. His forehead was wrinkled, and something about his stance told me he was bothered. Finn was the carefree one. He shouldn’t be bothered by anything.

  “Something wrong with the job?” I asked. Daphne’s heart would break if we came across a problem we couldn’t solve. Then again, if we had to abandon the job, it meant I could stop being tempted by her at every turn.

  “Nah.” Finn took another sip of coffee, grimacing in distaste. “Just some weird shit around the place, that’s all.”

  “Like what?”

  “I hate bringing trouble to your doorstep when you’re busy with Mini Martha.”

  “I’m the alpha,” I said with a sigh. “Trouble is my job.”

  “All right, take a look.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and set it in front of me. “Go to the photos.”

  I did as he asked. The last four looked like aerial views of Forbidden. “Did you take these during a flight?”

  “Yeah. Yesterday, after we wrapped up here.”

  I waited for him to elaborate.

  “See any patterns?” he asked.

  Looking again, I saw some darker areas around the asylum. They looked kind of gray.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Dead crops.”

  “That doesn’t sound like weird shit, Finn. It sounds like bad luck for the farmers.”

  “You don’t think it’s weird that they’re all centered around this place? Look.” He got next to me and pointed. “Here’s the asylum, here’s the different fields. They’re in a circle around here. Why?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m thinking there might be something to your fear of slugs,” he said.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  “No, seriously,” he said. “I went to the Watering Hole last night, and people were talking about the crops. Grant Lippy said it looks like slugs or snails got them.”

  “Shit, really?”

  “Yep.”

  I looked at the pictures on his phone again. It had to be several acres of destroyed crops. “That’s a fuck-ton of slugs.”

  Daphne spent most of the morning scrubbing floors and hassling Brody about bathroom fixtures. Occasionally our paths crossed as we went to get tools from different rooms. Her gaze would flick to mine, but I’d look away. I couldn’t do anything about that kiss, other than wish I hadn’t done it. Because now I only wanted more.

  I should’ve felt relieved that she wasn’t in my space, tempting me with her hot little ass every time she bent over to pick something up. Instead, I kind of missed her.

  I’d have to get over it. This was a temporary working relationship, nothing more.

  Even if we had kissed.

  But since she wasn’t here, it would be a good time to check around for more slugs. Finn had planted the idea in my head, and it wasn’t going away. If some kind of slug-related blight was happening and it had something to do with this area, I’d feel responsible if I didn’t identify it.

  Lucky for me, I had some shoe covers. They were made to protect a client’s floors from workers bringing dirt or construction materials into the house, but they’d be great for protecting my boots from slug matter. I slipped them on and headed out the rear door of the kitchen to reach the back yard.

  After shuffling over in my shoe covers, I squatted down to look at the ridge along the outer basement door. Shiny trails of mucus covered the ledge. I stood abruptly and took a step back, bringing a hand to my mouth and trying to stifle my gag reflex. That was fucking disgusting. I bent down and looked at the ground around my feet.

  More shiny snot-looking trails. And as I looked more closely, I saw three—no, four—slugs crawling away.

  I pulled out my phone and texted James. Was it you that Moira sent into the basement to check t
hings out?

  He wrote back, Yeah.

  Me: Anything weird down there?

  Him: Lots of cobwebs and not much else. Structure’s sound.

  Me: How about slugs?

  Him: Didn’t see a one, but I wasn’t looking, either.

  Not super helpful, but if there was some giant slug nest, he would’ve noticed that.

  Well, this was easily settled. I’d been using salt to keep slugs from getting in, but I could use it to keep more of them from leaving the basement, too—if they were really coming from there—so they wouldn’t be able to go after the crops. I still had a quarter of a bag of rock salt and some time on my hands now that Daphne hadn’t been shadowing my every move in the kitchen. I went around the house, grabbed the rock salt, and came back around to the basement. I dumped a thick line of it all around the basement door. With enough salt scattered around, every slug in Forbidden would end up a shriveled husk.

  There. If that didn’t solve the crop blight, then we’d know it didn’t have anything to do with the slugs, and I could rest easy.

  And I’d have to pick up some more salt next time I was at Forbidden Hardware.

  Chapter 7

  Daphne

  I straightened my blanket on my makeshift paper bed and checked the window. It was good and shut, just like the door downstairs. Just like the door to the office I was using as a bedroom. There would be no vultures sleeping with me tonight, and after the day I’d had and the soreness of my muscles, I didn’t know if I’d wake up if one of those ugly bastards landed on my face.

  Being brave, I’d decided not to sleep in my shoes and daytime clothes tonight. I even turned the lights out. If this was going to feel like home, I had to act like it. My feelings would follow my actions, and sooner or later I’d believe the lies I told myself.

  I lay down and wrapped my blanket around me. Moonlight poured in through the window, making the room not too dark, and I was glad. Baby steps. I closed my eyes and pictured my dream bedroom. I was lying in a four-poster bed with a canopy under a thick quilt, on the fluffiest mattress ever imagined—a freaking cloud of a mattress. The dresser across the room had a big mirror behind it and one of those old hair brushes on top that had pretty flowers on it. All the rooms were filled with happy guests who were sleeping soundly after we all shared a family style feast for dinner. We’d do another one for breakfast.

  My muscles relaxed as I let the fantasy lull me into a state of rest. Sleep would soon take hold. I opened my eyes one last time, and…

  Something was happening at the bottom of the door, a little wiggly movement. Jolting awake, I sat up. The little wiggly things were crawling through the crack. I slipped on my shoes and watched slimy slugs invade my bedroom. Five, ten, fifteen. They were headed right for me. I hurried across the room and jumped on the desk. I could sleep on the desk, curled up if I had to, just as soon as those gross little fuckers slithered away.

  Instead of away, or even in the same direction they were headed, they swerved, following me to the desk. More came from under the door, like a train of disgusting aliens with their little antennae and fat, squirmy bodies. Twenty-five, forty? This was crazy. Why would they be after me? It must have been my imagination, or some kind of weird coincidence. Maybe they were just going in the same direction as me for no reason.

  They piled on top of each other, like a wiggly insect ladder up the legs of the desk. This was too much. Hell if I was sleeping in here tonight. I needed out. Now.

  I jumped from the desk and turned the handle. The line of slugs reached out into the hall, and the ones that hadn’t made it to the office turned toward me.

  I ran down the stairs, taking three at a time. There were slugs on the steps, slugs in the hall downstairs. My heart pounded in my chest. I threw open the front door and ran straight ahead, for help, to the trailer where I hoped I’d find Declan.

  I banged on the door and watched the ground for any more of the creepy crawlers. I didn’t see a one. Maybe this place was making me unhinged. I hadn’t imagined the whole thing, had I? I was overtired. Slugs chasing me? It sounded crazy, even though I was the one who’d just lived it.

  The door opened, and I stood gaping at bare-chested Declan. He had muscle on top of muscle, the litheness of a swimmer mixed with abs for days. His arms were thick and strong, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, offering me a clear view of his happy trail. His face was shrouded in shadow, and I was glad, because I figured that meant mine was, too. Maybe he wouldn’t realize I’d been staring at him like he was a lollipop I was dying to lick.

  I shook the fog from my head. This guy was a dick, and not at all the kind of person I wanted to be involved with. I didn’t want anything complicated, I was merely hiding from something worse. We could just sleep, here where it was safe. “Hey. Can I come in?”

  He stepped to the side, letting me pass. I climbed in the trailer, disoriented. He turned on a light. It was a small area, lumber on one side, a tiny living area on the other.

  “What do you need?” Declan’s voice was curt but not unfriendly. Our last encounter hadn’t been on the best of terms, and I was showing up in his space in the middle of the night. I couldn’t fault him for being unhappy to see me.

  I felt foolish. Slugs didn’t follow people. I didn’t want to tell him the truth of why I was here. I looked over his face and debated my words. His brown hair was tousled, his jaw covered in stubble. His green eyes were sharp even though I was sure he’d been asleep when I’d knocked.

  “I was hoping…” I started and stopped. He wouldn’t judge me for irrational fear of slugs. He’d freaked when he’d seen a shriveled dead one. “I saw a slug in the house. In my room. It may have been more than one, and I know it’s silly but it really creeped me out. I was hoping maybe I could sleep here?”

  His eyes went wide and he blinked hard. “Yeah, okay.”

  I looked to the tiny cot, wondering if we were going to have to be squished together. At that thought, a flood of desire washed over me. Those hard muscles, that giant bulge in his pants pressing against me.

  Mind out of the gutter. It’s just sleep. You don’t even like this guy, I reminded myself.

  He grabbed the top blanket from the cot and laid it out on the floor. I sat down on the edge of the blanket, glad for the space.

  “No.” His touch was quick and unexpected as he scooped me up and delivered me onto the cot. “You get the pillow and the mattress. I’m sleeping on the floor.”

  Chivalry? From the same guy who had tried to boss me about working with Caleb?

  “Thanks,” I said, and lay down.

  This night was getting stranger and stranger. Attacking slugs, and now Declan becoming considerate.

  When I closed my eyes, it was like his arms were still around me, cradling me. It was a nice thought, which I knew was crazy.

  I heard the door shut, and the lights clicked off. The bed smelled like hazelnut, with a faint trace of the forest mixed in. It smelled peaceful. The panic I’d felt before began to melt away. I was safe here.

  Declan was silent, other than a couple of thumps as he made himself comfortable on the blanket next to the cot. Even though he was on the floor right next to me, I couldn’t hear him moving or breathing. I should have gone right to sleep, but for whatever reason, I felt like talking. It was probably my overtired brain not thinking clearly.

  “It’s been a hard day,” I said.

  Declan didn’t say anything, and somehow that made it easier to talk to him. Like I was talking to myself. Maybe he was even asleep already.

  “You asked me before why I bought this place,” I said. “I didn’t know it was an asylum. I always wanted to have my own bed and breakfast, so I saved up until I could afford the building, and renovations. I worked for my dad, investment banking, so the money was good. My whole life, I did what they thought I should. So with this place, I wanted to go as far from home as I could, escape my overbearing parents, and do it on my own terms. I thought I was getting a big
, beautiful mansion, and then I got here and…”

  “And you found this old crumbling asylum,” he said, voice gruff.

  “Yeah.” I sighed.

  There was a smile in his voice when he added, “And you found a cranky contractor who told you that you should tear the place down.”

  “That too,” I said, remembering how he’d asked if I was going to do a full demolition or some kind of haunted house attraction.

  He didn’t seem quite as judgmental now, but maybe that was because I couldn’t see his scowling face.

  “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it,” I said, feeling the need to explain. “I won’t give up. I can do hard things. And if you don’t understand, that’s okay. I know what I want and I’m going to do everything it takes. When you want something, you have to go for it—”

  He stole my words and my breath with the sweetest kiss. I hadn’t even heard him move. His lips were soft, so unlike the roughness he’d showed when he’d thrown me on the counter in the kitchen. In the darkness, it felt anonymous, like he was a different person. A kinder, gentler person, who cared about my feelings.

  I wasn’t sure which version was hotter, but after everything I’d been through so far, I was tired of thinking and fighting. I just wanted to feel.

  I kissed him back, running my fingers over his rough jaw, his wide shoulders, and down his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pushed me softly down onto the bed and straddled me. He ran his hands over my arms, and pinned them over my head. Then he pulled back as if he could see me in the darkness.

  “Tell me to stop.” His voice was deeper than I remembered, a feral growl.

  “No,” I said. “I need to feel, to forget all the stupid stuff with the B&B. Help me forget, Declan. Please.”

  His lips claimed mine, this time harder. He kissed my chin and trailed his lips down my neck. His breath was hot and he nipped my collarbone. He let go of my hands and squeezed my breast.