by Sara Kimball
If she had been unsure before, Alex was certain now that nothing could ever happen between her and Lincoln Harcourt. He was the descendant of a Pack much higher in status than her own, practically a prince because of who his grandmother was. Alex was a bodyguard who only owned cheap clothing—mostly because she had a bad habit of ruining anything that she wore—from spilling drinks or dropping food on herself all the way to ripping them doing krav maga. Even if Lincoln was interested in her, it was probably for a quick fling. Alex didn’t want to be a conquest, used and thrown away with no meaning. Not to mention, she wasn’t sure how it would make Elizabeth feel. Images of the woman accusing her of corrupting her grandson flitted behind Alex’s eyes. She didn’t want to be on the wrong side of Elizabeth Harcourt. Alex was sure that no matter where or how far she ran, if the Queen of Wolves was after her, nowhere would be safe.
All that thinking was immaterial, however. There was no reason for her to even come across the man. She’d be dealing with the lower status Pack members primarily from what Moira told her at lunch. She could just put thoughts of Lincoln to bed—or in the closet…less temptation that way—and forget about it at all other hours of the day.
They were busy unboxing mats and laying them on the floor when Alex spoke again. “I thought Elizabeth had a bunch of sons. I didn’t know about grandchildren.”
Moira straightened up from laying a mat down and shook her head. “She did, but all her children are dead. Lincoln is the only grandchild left as well.”
Alex made a sound of sympathy and laid another mat on the floor. Finally, she put Elizabeth and Lincoln Harcourt out of her mind and turned to practical matters.
“I have a beginners program I was going to teach, some basic maneuvers on how to get away or break holds if people try and grab you. But I could do more advanced training if there are people that are interested.” She arranged the mats in neat lines.
She and Moira talked about her plans for a while, until Moira left, her phone buzzing. “Elizabeth is beckoning, that’s my cue that she needs me. Sorry to bail on the rest of the work, but duty calls. Everything you said sounds great though.” She was almost to the door when she paused, looking at her phone. “Oh, Elizabeth sent me an email. The women are coming tomorrow at nine for their first class. I’ll be there too. See you at dinner.” And she was off with a cheery wave.
Alex finished setting everything up the way she wanted it for the next day and then went to her room, changing into her workout clothes before coming back and running through everything she was going to teach. Afterwards, she moved on to more advanced moves for fun and practice.
Several hours of sweating later, she went back to her room and showered, changing into her usual style of dress: a button up shirt and slacks in preparation for dinner. She crinkled her nose at her small wardrobe, realizing that staying in such a ridiculously classy place meant it was hard not look…less, with her limited selection. She shrugged, as there was nothing to be done about it, and turned away.
The scent of lavender and rosemary, along with the soft fragrance of roses, called to her from the open doors to the balcony, and Alex walked outside, enjoying the view of the grounds in the late afternoon sun. The house was surrounded by rolling hills covered in grape vines, their rows of green leaves parading up to the mountains, where bushes and trees took over, surrounded by waving grasses and wildflowers.
The thought of running on four paws had her wolf excited, tail in the air and wagging furiously, and Alex closed her eyes as the breeze blew on her face. She could feel the pull of her wolf to be free. They worked as a team, the two of them in one body, but for the past eight years Alex’s wolf had ceded to her to human side to keep them safe. The constraints had always felt bearable, but each year another chain, another tether, had been added, tying her wolf down, and they were both beginning to feel the weight. As much as Alex might not like being at the Gold Pack’s main home, she couldn’t help but be impatient for dark so she might take advantage of the opportunity to break free.
A low moan sounded to her left, putting her on alert. She spun to face the noise and walked softly along the balcony until she reached the next set of French doors past her room. Alex realized the doors she was approaching belonged to Lincoln’s room, as this was the room he had stepped out of earlier in the hall. She was about to take a step forwards when she heard another muffled moan, the hair rising on the nape of her neck and her skin tingling. She stalled for a second, wondering if she should give in to her curiosity or go back to her room. Another breathy sound had her core clenching and made the decision for her. Poking her head through the slightly open door, Alex looked around.
///
Lincoln threw his head back as he stroked himself to completion, his milky seed splattering on his stomach. Damn woman, parading around the ballroom in full view of anyone who—well, in full view if you decided to watch her. Stretching and bending and showing off her perky breasts and her round ass. Those tight little stretch pants she was wearing ridiculously revealing. Showing every curve of her from the waist down. He wanted so badly to peel those pants off of her long legs and then wrap them around his waist as he pinned her down and sank into her soft core.
She has me jerking off in the middle of the afternoon like some randy teenager. He wiped himself off, throwing the dirty towel in the hamper before redressing and heading back to his office. Gritting his teeth, he ignored it when he caught Alex’s scent on the breeze and instantly grew aroused again, his erection beginning to tent his pants. He couldn’t stay here all day, even if her scent made him want to, he had work to do.
///
Alex held her breath and made sure she remained completely still as Lincoln disappeared from her view. She had only caught the last minute of the peep show, but seeing his defined body revealed by his unbuttoned shirt, his pants open and his large—holy hell it was big—member in his hand as he came was a sight to behold. She was feeling more than a little hot and bothered by it.
After he left, she headed back to her rooms and walked stiffly to her computer. I have some emails to catch up on, and I need to call Tyler and tell him how it’s going. I could probably catch up on some television too. She intentionally tried to avoid thoughts of the little vibrator in her bag.
Ten minutes of uncomfortably shifting side to side in her chair had Alex digging the vibrator out. Closing all her windows, she ran a cool bath for herself before slipping into the water. Alex didn’t want someone to hear her moaning and walk in on her like she had with Lincoln. And the bath water would make sure to cover the scent of her arousal.
Alex had had several sexual experiences with human males, but overall her sexual history was limited. She had been with a coworker that she had trained with, and her second lover was a man that worked for one of her targets. Both men had been okay in bed, though not great, and Alex hadn’t wanted much more than the fleeting experiences. But something about Lincoln made her want to strip him down with her teeth and explore his body with her own until they were both unable to move. Seeing his hand move smoothly up and down his length, his head thrown back in ecstasy…to not make a sound or move to join him had been torturous.
She turned the vibrator on and closed her eyes, thinking of him, and it wasn’t long before she was gasping, release sweeping through her. She stilled, the cool water enveloping her, but all it took was another thought of Lincoln coming before she was working her body to orgasm once more.
///
Lincoln grabbed a plate of food from the buffet Jayce had prepared and sat to his grandmother’s left, their usual places at the table, his grandmother at the end and him beside her. Several other Pack members—guards and other staff—trailed in and began grabbing plates. Alex was the last one, and the only chair remaining was next to him. He narrowed his eyes at his grandmother, wondering how she had managed that. But he couldn’t come up with anything short of her telling everyone in the house to leave the seat open. Not to mention orchestrating Alex coming do
wn to dinner last. He didn’t think his grandmother was able to do all of that. Relaxing his gaze, he decided to put the seating down to chance.
Alex had smelled good to him when he first saw her across the alley, even covered in vomit. She had smelled better when he saw her again in the hallway earlier in the day, but now she smelled fresh and clean and delicious. The small hairs at the nape of her neck were damp, and she had a slight glow to her skin that made him want to taste her.
Jerking his attention back to his food, he tried not to look suspicious. Just because he was attracted to Alex didn’t make her his mate. He resolved to act only professionally around her at all times and avoid her the rest.
Finishing his meal quickly, he bussed his grandmother on the cheek and left the table, making his way to his car. He had a long night ahead of him, and he needed a distraction.
///
Alex softly slid through the shadows on the lawn, looking around her to make sure she was alone. She had seen the guards as she was coming out of the house, although she rather thought they had allowed her to see them. One of them—a brindle colored wolf—clearly sensed her intention to go run in her wolf form. He shifted back to human and told her about a path that ran to a little pond, a statue of a mermaid showing the head of the trail. He was unselfconscious about his nudity, and she could have sworn he even flexed his chest muscles for her slightly. Blinking, she spotted the statue in the distance and headed to it on swift feet, leaving the wolf behind without a word.
The cool night air soothed away her soft laughter at the wolf’s display, and even her frustration, the cause of which being Lincoln’s behavior toward her a dinner. Knowing that Lincoln was high above her in status—and wouldn’t be interested—didn’t mean she wanted to be completely ignored. The woman part of her felt dejected that a man she found so alluring didn’t even notice her. Which is what he had done. The man hadn’t looked at her once after she had sat down, eating quickly and then leaving with barely a goodbye to the others at the table. Alex had felt rejected, and her pride was aching slightly from the insult of it. Especially when, from gossip she had heard after he had removed himself from the table—and after Elizabeth had excused herself—Lincoln was considered a ladies man, and had spread the legs of every attractive female he came across.
She pushed Lincoln Harcourt out of her mind, determined to enjoy her first run in eight years. I don’t need to be worried about some man and if he wants me or not. From now on, I just need to resolve to stay away from him. I’m only here for seven more days anyway.
She pushed him out of her mind, and seeing no one, stripped and changed into her furry shape, shaking from nose to tail before sniffing the air. Mouth open, panting with happiness, she took off into the darkness. There were some risks to living among another Pack, but Alex’s wolf didn’t worry about things like that, and was just happy that she could romp and play in the relative safety of the Gold Pack’s backyard.
///
Mitch Cannon sat in his office, going over investment reports. He glanced up when the phone rang and realized the hour was quite late. He put the information aside and answered. “Cannon.”
He waited patiently as his spy divulged their information, rubbing the tip of his index finger up and down his thumb as he listened. When he disconnected, the investment information had lost all of his interest. He had another chance, a chance to salvage what damage his sister had wrought by leaving eight years earlier. He looked to the fireplace, where her photo was resting next to his father’s, and tried to imagine her older.
I hope Dupree still finds her attractive.
He sat still, caught up in his internal thoughts while staring at her photo. Eventually deciding on a course of action, he stood and strode quickly out of his study.
1890
The boy watched as his father cursed and ranted and raved in front of him, but stayed quiet and still in his chair, not daring to move or draw attention to himself. Finally, the man turned to him. “What good are you, eh?” He threw something across the room, and the boy shrank at the clattering sound. “You were supposed to keep her here. Now what am I supposed to do? He won’t send us any more money if I don’t have his daughter.”
Another item thrown. “Fucking hell. I ought to drown you right now.”
Finally, the blonde with the soft voice and the gentle touch that played with him came into the room. His father saw her looking at him and scowled. “What do you want?”
She was steady under his gaze, even though the toddler feared it. “I could take care of him, if you paid me. I know you have that little cottage in the next town…I could pretend to be a widow. You won’t have to see him again if you don’t want to.”
Johnny watched as the blonde negotiated for them to be moved, and he felt scared. But his mommy wasn’t here anymore. Maybe the blonde would be his new mommy?
Chapter 7
Moira scratched at Elizabeth’s door, waiting until she was given permission to enter. She walked quickly over to the desk, setting her laptop down in front of her boss. “I have her full name. I got ahold of the employee information that Rypien Services uses for taxes.” Elizabeth had agreed not to pry into Alex’s affairs, but Moira hadn’t. As soon as Moira had left Alex’s side this afternoon all she had been doing was research. “Alex is Alexia Bradenson.”
Elizabeth’s face fell at this. “I could have sworn she was Dimitri Cannon’s daughter. She is the spitting image of Nina even though it’s been a while since the woman passed.”
Moira could feel the smile on her face, and the mischief behind her eyes. “Well, after you told me that, I did a little more digging. Alex, or rather Alexia Bradenson, came to work for Rypien Services six years ago. Before that, no activity under her name or social security number.”
Elizabeth looked at her inquisitively. Rather than make the older woman wait, Moira continued. “I mean there was no activity before then. That social security number didn’t exist before that year.”
“So she bought herself fraudulent identification? How ingenious.”
“That’s the interesting thing. From all the information I could find, this looks real. Alexia Bradenson has a social security number, a birth certificate—matching Alex Cannon’s birthdate—and a driver’s license. Everything you need to establish an identity. And there is only one organization that can generate a genuine social security number.”
“That would mean the government issued her a new identification?”
Moira nodded, a large smile on her face. “Yes, I think so.” Her smile fell. “Only I have no idea how or why that came about. And no idea what she was doing in the two years after she left home and before the government gave her that name.”
Elizabeth pursed her lips and stood. “Well, it’s good work all the same. Thank you, Moira.” She walked to the window and was silent.
Moira knew a lot about the wolf Pack politics thanks to her position with Elizabeth, but she was unfamiliar with much of Alex’s history, as it happened before she began working for Elizabeth and was obscure enough to not be mentioned to her yet. “Alex’s brother, Mitch Cannon, is the Alpha of the Great Plains Pack now, correct? Is there a reason his sister would be alone, by all accounts concealing her identity? Is she avoiding him? Or something else?”
Elizabeth turned back, “Now that is almost exactly the question I asked him myself, when he called and said that if his half-sister ever showed up asking for admittance to our Pack he wanted her returned to him. Apparently she ran away. If rumor is to be believed she flattened the whole Pack’s tires right after her father’s funeral and took off in the only remaining car.” She sat in a fluffy armchair, tapping her fingers on her knee. “Although he never did answer me about why she took off. However, I have several friends—the kind of friends one can rely on to keep you informed of important things. They told me that Cannon had made a deal with Dupree, and somewhere in the negotiations, Cannon agreed to give Alex to Dupree as his mate.”
Moira’s fac
e must have showed her shock, because Elizabeth gave her a knowing look. “Exactly my thought when I found out about it. Dupree is a pest, but a hard to get rid of pest. And I’ll eat my own liver if Mitch doesn’t feel the same way about him. Why he would agree to give his sister to that man…” She shook her head.
Moira was shocked and revolted at the thought. She had seen Johnny Dupree at meetings and had stayed well clear of him, without anyone having to tell her to. The man could make your skin crawl at the mere thought of him. “I can’t believe that anyone would put their sister into that man’s keeping.”
“Well, having seen her, I gather Alex did not agree to being bartered.”
They were silent for some time as Moira digested the new information. “Mitch Cannon always struck me as a rather cold fish, intellectually intimidating and unemotional, but not un-kind, or un-caring.” She mumbled, almost to herself, “I may have to revise my opinion of the man.”
She and Elizabeth sat for a while in silence before a thought occurred to her. “Are you going to tell her brother where she is?”
“No. I think she and Lincoln might be mates. Though I know he, at least, is fighting it. I can imagine she is as well. But they can’t figure it out if we return her to her brother. And I certainly don’t want her handed over to Johnny Dupree. That bastard doesn’t deserve her or any other woman.”
Moira was silent for a moment, contemplating everything, and then she smiled. “There aren’t many wolves that could stand up to you like she did today. Most of the young ones can barely look you in the eye when they meet you the first time…at least until they realize you aren’t the big, bad wolf the stories make you out to be. I was rather in awe.”