by Sara Kimball
She woke up tucked against Lincoln’s chest, dressed in the clothing Lincoln had given her, and tucked under the covers of his bed. She blinked a little, confused. The last thing she remembered was the tub. Sighing, she shrugged it off and cuddled up closer to her skin-covered heater, falling back asleep.
///
Waking alone the next morning, Alex rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. Her body was still a little sore—a testament to how much use she had put it through considering her supernatural healing abilities—but she felt much better overall. Stomach growling, she stretched and crawled out of the overlarge bed. Bright and cheerful sunlight shone through the windows, and for the first time Alex looked at her surroundings. The large bed dominated the space, but the room was plenty big enough for it, two nightstands standing sentinel on either side and a large dresser and chest against the walls. Two doors were near each other on one wall, one leading to the luxurious bathroom with its walk in shower and soaking tub for two, the other leading to a walk in closet. The walls were a soft grayish blue, the carpet a deep tan, and the furniture and bedding a mix and blend of colors and textures that reminded her of the earth and sky.
Alex made the bed and used the restroom before heading to the kitchen. She studied the bedroom door, inspecting the damage to the frame, and the broken pieces that had been pushed to the side. Flashes of Lincoln standing in the doorway, gripping the frame, while she fingered herself came back to her, and she flushed in embarrassment. But then Alex remembered what came after that when she’d walked into the hallway and saw him coming…on her.
We picked a good mate. Her wolf was cheerful and replete, barely even lifting an ear at Alex as she moved onwards. Ducking into the guest room, she grabbed her clothing and slipped into a pair of her yoga pants and a tank top, zipping a hoodie over them and pulling her wild hair back into a messy bun. Stomach growling more loudly, she headed to the fridge, hoping it had been restocked with more food. She also looked around curiously, wondering where Lincoln and his friends had gone off to.
Rubbing one of the bite marks on her neck, Alex’s thoughts turned inward. She would have never imagined being Lincoln’s mate. She was still rather shocked that they were linked in such a way, but happiness was the strongest emotion that she could identify within herself. She didn’t know much about mating, but she did know that by marking her he had indefinitely claimed her as his, and by biting him back she had done the same.
Alex vaguely remembered Lincoln trying to tell her something in the hallway…and realized he might have been trying to ask her if she was okay with him biting her. He certainly wasn’t asking me if it was okay to fuck me. I’m pretty sure I made the answer perfectly clear with my actions.
Overall, mating with Lincoln felt like a good thing to her, and her wolf was happy with the choice. She decided to take the change in stride. In addition, being mates with Lincoln solved several of her problems. Mitch could hardly give her to Dupree to mate with now that she was Lincoln’s mate. And she wouldn’t have to hide anymore from other wolves, because Elizabeth and Lincoln carried enough clout to protect her against Mitch should he wish to fight her mate choice.
Relief, after eight years of being in hiding was a powerful and uplifting emotion, and made digging into the bounty of dishes in the fridge much easier. Alex heaped a plate full and waited impatiently for the microwave to finish warming it through, nibbling on bits of cold food from the tray with her fingers until the countdown was at zero. She sat at the table and gorged herself on meat and more meat, with a little bit of mashed potato, then returned and got more food for herself. It was plainly made, with only salt and pepper to season it, but Alex was pretty sure she could’ve eaten an old leather boot she was so hungry.
Finally full, she sat back in her chair, sighing and rubbing her now bulging stomach. Her eyes drifted closed, and Alex thought she might take a nap. At least until she realized Lincoln still wasn’t back. Wondering where he could have gone, she showered quickly and brushed her hair. When she finished dressing, she felt like a real person again rather than a raging sex machine, and moved back to the main living area. Looking out the windows didn’t reveal anyone, though Lincoln’s SUV was still door-less, sitting in the driveway.
The damage reminded Alex of the danger that the others could have been in, and she resolved to tell Lincoln about everything going on with her brother as soon as she could. But first she had to find him.
The porch and driveway were deserted as well, and Alex moved down the steps to the rear of the house, where she had been chopping wood earlier. There was a giant of a man standing half naked as he put on his clothing, which was folded and resting on the chopping block. Luckily, he already had his pants on, and seeing Alex made him scramble into his shirt quickly. His large frame was reminiscent of one of the men she saw with Lincoln behind the nightclub, and she remembered what Jax had told her about the other wolf with them—Gareth—being even taller and bigger, and mused that he had been right about that. The man was at least six foot seven inches, burly and broad. She wondered how he found clothing that fit. “Sorry for intruding, I’m Alex. Are you Gareth?”
He nodded, and then looked about quickly, as if hoping for rescue. “The others are out, scouting.” His voice sounded rusty from disuse.
“Can I help scout?”
Gareth looked a little shocked at her offer, and shook his head in the negative quickly. “We don’t need you to worry about that. What with you being” he mumbled something unintelligible that sounded like ‘sick’. Alex felt a smile tugging on her lips at the discomfort in his voice as he tried to avoid mentioning she had been in heat. His eyes flickered around the clearing once more, as if he was looking for an escape route.
“Well I’m not sick anymore. And I’m mated, Lincoln made sure to bite me more than once to make sure.” Alex’s wolf rolled around happily, her tail curled up ears perked at the thought of her mate. “Are you hungry? I managed not to eat all the food—though it was close.”
Her teasing tone didn’t make the wariness fade from his face, but Gareth followed Alex inside. She made him a plate of food, heating it for him. He sat at the bar, watching her. It was beginning to grate on her nerves, and Alex tried to calm him down. “I don’t bite, you know.” She paused. “At least, I won’t bite you.”
Gareth nodded solemnly. “It’s not you biting I’m worried about. It’s him.”
Alex looked at Gareth curiously. “What do you mean?”
He studied her, expression still serious. “How much do you know about mates?”
Alex shook her head. “Not a lot. My father—my family never had a chance to tell me anything before I left. What I heard was mostly just rumors or things I picked up as a kid. But people often don’t tell children the truth, so I probably have a lot of things wrong.”
The microwave beeped and Alex put the food in front of him, filling a glass of water. He took a bite and chewed it slowly, and she took a moment to consolidate some of the food, putting the now empty containers in the dishwasher. She noticed then that the dishcloth Lincoln had thrown against the wall was cleaned up and the bloody streaks wiped off the wall. When she was done she turned back to find Gareth still contemplating things as he ate.
He seemed like the kind of man who thought about what he said, like her brother, and was careful. It had driven Alex crazy when she was younger, but having grown up a bit, she appreciated it a little more. So she didn’t mind when it took some time, instead focusing on wiping down the counter.
“Lincoln mentioned that he didn’t get a chance to talk to you about being mates...and what I know isn’t everything.” He looked at her, “I haven’t been mated, but new mates usually know very quickly, within an hour or so of meeting, that they are mates, and don’t wait to mark each other. Others—” he looked at Alex, “either don’t know they are mates or fight it, and they end up taking a different path.”
Alex cocked her head to the side, trying to decipher what Gareth was telling her.
“Like Lincoln and me? How we fought it? But I didn’t know that he was my mate, just that I was attracted to him. And then when I got hit with the dart, it made me think that was the only reason that I wanted him…”
Gareth nodded slowly. “That sounds right for you. But for the man, denying the bond can cause you to go into a rut.” Alex’s eyes opened wide with surprise as he continued. “A wolf in rut is dangerous, ready to kill in a heartbeat at a perceived threat or even an overture towards his selected woman. And even when the rut is over, some of that will still be with him for at least a week after.”
“I was never told any of this. My dad was not very willing to expose me to some things.” Frowning, she wiped her hands on a towel until they were dry. “I had no idea about the protectiveness. Is that why he tried to kill you all with the car door?”
Gareth’s eyes lit with laughter. “A fact that we will torture him with for the rest of his life. Just not this week.” The laughter drained out of his eyes. “Be sure, when he comes back, that you make it very clear to him that he is the wolf you choose, and try to ignore us if you can, okay? It will make it a little easier on everyone.”
“Thank you for clueing me in.”
Gareth nodded and resumed putting forkfuls of food in his mouth. Alex was moving towards the living room to look out the window again when the door opened and Lincoln stepped inside, Jax, Trent and Davin behind him. She saw Gareth’s shoulders stiffen slightly out of the corner of her eye, but focused on Lincoln. It was surprisingly easy to bound up to him and throw herself into his arms, kissing him soundly. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms on his shoulders, Alex could feel his body relax, and he pulled back from her kiss with a happy grin. “Well hello, trouble.”
Alex found it wasn’t hard to ignore the other men, smiling at the ruggedly handsome face that she had spent the last three days with. “I will admit that this mess of trouble is entirely my fault. And after getting shot with a dart, which resulted in me sexing you up endlessly, I think it’s about time I told you what this is about. Or at least, what your grandmother and I think it’s about.”
Lincoln sat in an armchair near the fireplace, swinging her around so she sat across his lap, facing the rest of the room. The twins took the couch, Jax taking the other armchair, and Gareth remained at the kitchen bar, though he did turn to face them all.
“Right.” Alex felt a little lost as to where to start, but prodded her brain along. “So my real name is Alexandra Cannon. Mitch Cannon is my brother.”
Lincoln twitched a little beneath her. “You are Dimitri’s daughter? With Nina?”
Alex blinked at him, but realized that Lincoln was older than her, and would have met her mother at the annual Conclave, where the Alphas met and discussed problems and worked out solutions to avoid bloodshed. “Yes.” She frowned realizing something. “Your grandmother guessed it within minutes. If you knew my mother, how did you not realize too?”
He looked her up and down. “You do look like her, but you aren’t a perfect replica.” She gave him a look that threatened death—or worse, castration—and he amended it, “You are a better version by far.”
Rolling her eyes at his quickly averted insult, she continued. “That still doesn’t explain why she realized and you didn’t.”
Lincoln’s friends laughed a little under their breath and she turned to look at them. “What?” The firm body under her stiffened as her eyesight was turned away from him, but she stroked his chest with her hand and he relaxed.
Jax answered her curiosity about the laughter, saying simply, “He was a little distracted. By you.”
Alex met Lincoln’s eyes and saw the crinkles at the corners, his lips turned up in a devastatingly happy smile. “I was having difficulty pulling my attention away from you, even if I told my grandmother something different. She had gone to all the trouble of finding you and hiring you so that I would have to see you every day, I couldn’t just fall in with her plans without putting up a fight.”
Alex’s jaw dropped open in astonishment. “What? Was that her real plan for me? I wondered…but thought it was something to do with teaching defense lessons, not mate with her grandson.” Another thought struck her. “And how did she even know about me? I saw you behind that night club. And the only other wolves I saw were them.” She lifted her hand to indicate his friends, and her gaze followed soon after, beholding four very guilty looking faces.
Narrowing her eyes, Alex decided she’d take revenge on them later, but for now she’d let it go—after all, Lincoln was her mate, and she was happy about that. But she still didn’t understand how Elizabeth had found her, and asked Lincoln. His reply was simple. “Moira is an excellent investigator. My grandmother utilizes her skills—to the detriment of others. I imagine one of my friends managed to glean enough of your conversation with your boss that Moira was able to find you.”
Harrumphing, she continued her story. “Anyway. When I was seventeen—almost eighteen—my dad died. We had the funeral for him, and my brother Mitch told me he had someone he wanted me to meet with, to mate them. I refused, as I was planning on leaving and heading to another Pack.” She played with the seam on her pants thoughtfully. “Mitch and I don’t get along. We never really have, even when I was a kid. I saw how he calculated everything and didn’t like it.” A glance up revealed some knowing looks and some confused expressions. She decided to clarify. “After my dad’s death my brother had me talking to people on his behalf, trying to manipulate them, and it was…distasteful to me. He does stuff like that all the time, and I knew I couldn’t live that way. So I was planning on leaving. But when I told him, he hit me, knocked me out, and I woke up in my room.” There was a growl from the chest she was cuddled next to, and she patted him gently. “Hush you.
“I didn’t really expect the hit, Mitch and I fought but he never touched me in anger before.” She took a breath. “When I woke up I was in my room, and I heard Mitch talking to Johnny Dupree about me. Apparently my brother had planned to mate me to Dupree as part of an alliance.”
Lincoln’s eyes were bright amber, and a horrendous growl sounded from deep in his chest. The others in the room immediately tilted their heads, showing their throats in a sign of subservience. Alex looked at him and leaned forward, kissing his lips lightly. “None of that now. I belong to you, and everybody in this room knows it.”
Her insouciant response had him blinking, silvery eyes appearing suddenly. And he laughed, saying breathlessly. “Dammit you are gonna be the death of me. And I have a feeling I’m going to love every minute of it.”
Alex snorted, and ignored his effusive comments. “So I was awake enough to hear the conversation, and decided that I didn’t want to be a gift. Especially not a gift to Dupree. So I climbed out the window. Then I hitched a bus to New York City.”
Trent was leaning against the arm of the couch, his light brown hair messy and his blue eyes curious. “You hid among the humans?”
“I worked as a waitress in a little Italian restaurant. That had ties to the mob.” Alex cringed and looked up at Lincoln with a sheepish expression. “I should warn you now that I tend to attract problems.”
Lincoln’s eyes turned amber again, and he gazed at her solemnly. “You are not a problem to me. And no problem you have is something we can’t handle together.”
Flushing, she felt slightly warm, but continued her story, telling the men about working at Lorenzo’s restaurant, up until the fateful night she met Agent Davis and how he had gotten her the job with Tyler. “I wasn’t sure after the car crash, but I think my brother is still after me. And that these attempts are part of his plan to do whatever convoluted thing his brain has cooked up. I don’t know for sure if he is still planning to get me back to hand me over to Dupree, but I think he might be. And so does Mrs. Harcourt.”
They chatted for a few moments, talking about the events of the past week. Then Trent took over, filling Alex in on the dart-wielding assholes. “Gareth and I were scouting when we
heard a dirt bike, and took off after it. Once Lincoln saw us chasing them, he headed back to you. We followed, but they had a head start, and took off in a small tan sedan once they reached the road. There were two on the dirt bike, one in the car from what we could scent.
“When we backtracked their trail to the cabin, we found the tranquilizer gun at the bottom of a tree. It looks like one was a lookout, the other the shooter, then as soon as they were done they had instructions to run.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, absorbing everything. Alex was the first to broach the contemplation. “What now?”
Lincoln rubbed the healing bite mark on her neck with the back of his finger, and Alex shuddered as desire sparked to life in her body. “We spend one more night here, then go back to my grandmother’s. Originally the plan was to hide you, but clearly my grandmother has a spy in the house. So we will go where there are more defenses, with the intention of flushing them out. Now that we are mates, your brother can’t take you away from me even if he wanted to.”
Alex liked the sound of Lincoln’s possessiveness, and felt like purring under his touch. And as much as she might like another night alone with Lincoln, she had to admit there was no point in putting off the inevitable. “We might as well head back now. I’ll go clean up a little, so whoever owns this place won’t have a mess when they come back, and then we can be on our way.” Alex rose, despite her internal desire to stay in his arms, and headed to the bedroom. She was stopped by the confused look on Jax’s face. “What?”
Jax smiled. “You know that Lincoln owns this place, right?”