by Renee Rose
I had to tell them. What Clint suspected. What I knew.
“She wasn’t hurt.” I gritted my teeth some more, said the words I wanted to keep private between me and Natalie. “She was on her bed masturbating.”
Boyd grinned. “That must’ve been a sight.”
“He told me he’d kill me if I looked at her,” Clint said, leaning forward and patting Boyd on the shoulder. “All growl.”
Boyd’s brows went up, and he looked my way again.
“Why’s that, Alpha?” Clint prodded.
“Natalie Shefield’s my mate. I knew the second I breathed in her scent.”
Boyd honked the horn, once, then again, then whooped. “Fuck, yeah!”
I slapped my hand on the dash, glared at him. “This isn’t good news, Boyd. I can’t have her.”
He sobered, pulled up in front of the lodge, then turned off the truck. “She’s your mate. You’ve been waiting for her all this time. You can have her.”
I took off my seatbelt. Sighed and looked up at the building where the meeting would begin shortly. “She’s human. I’m pack alpha. Pack members are going to lose their shit if I claim her.”
Boyd looked at me with a serious expression, the first one I’d seen on him in a while. “You’re going to lose your shit if you don’t.”
4
ROB
Boyd and Clint didn’t say anything as we met up with the other guys. Levi, Johnny, Rand and Nash had been the first to arrive. They’d opened the wide doors to let the fresh air in, then we joined them cleaning—sweeping out the month’s worth of dust and setting up chairs. Within a few minutes other vehicles arrived, parking along the narrow dirt road or among the trees on either side. Some—especially those who lived up in the mountains—would arrive in wolf form, shifting and changing into clothes they stored here.
I stood in the doorway and formally greeted the adult pack members, shaking hands and reciting their names much like a human church elder would. The children ran off to play in the woods together, just as I had with Boyd, Colton, Clint and the others when we were young.
After my parents died, I used to dread these meetings. Being thrust into the role of alpha, the one my father had fulfilled in a way I never could, made me think I was less. It had taken me years to realize I was not him and couldn’t lead like him. Even so, some doubted. Sometimes I still did, about myself. Especially lately with the elders pressuring me to mark a female, even one who wasn’t my chosen mate, just to avoid moon madness. Of course, there wasn’t a lot of proof that it worked. I could be mated to a female who I didn’t have the urge to mark and still go mad, or so I’d heard.
And now I’d fucked it up even more, my wolf wanting a human for a mate. No one else had appealed to the wolf. Not one. One scent of Natalie Shefield, and I was fucked.
I wanted what my parents had shared. A connection. A deep bond. Chemistry. Love. I wanted my wolf happy. Hell, I wanted to wake up beside my true mate every morning. Content.
I had a responsibility to the pack to carry on the Wolf line, love or not. I held off, month after month. Year after year. For how much longer? My ranch hands and now Boyd always flanked me, showing they had my back like a king’s guard. They were all brothers to me. We grew up together. Learned to shift and hunt together. Went to school down in the valley together. Two of them knew the truth, the one thing that could strip me from control, could tear our pack apart.
Clint’s parents arrived and greeted me almost reverently. They’d been our guardians when my parents had died. It had been in their will that Tom and Janet take care of us if something happened. Which it had when I’d been only sixteen. For two years, Boyd, Colton and I were under their protection in the eyes of Montana law, but even so, I had been the alpha. Their leader. That had held more power than anything the state could dictate.
Janet carried a casserole dish that smelled delicious for the potluck.
“I sure hope that’s your meat lasagna,” I said, my mouth already salivating for her cooking. She’d had to feed five hungry teenagers… the three of us plus Clint and his younger brother, Rand. Not only did she know what got our butts into chairs around the dinner table every night, she had the calmness of a mother who’d seen it all.
“Of course, it is. Garlic bread, too. I know what you like, Alpha Wolf.” The short, thick-waisted woman beamed up at me as she bustled past to set the dish in the kitchen in the back.
Tom thumped me on the shoulder as we clasped hands. They lived nearby in the mountains and were respected elders of the pack. Besides taking care of us, they’d helped us keep the ranch going on our own and offered gentle encouragement as I stepped into my role at far too young an age.
Karen Clifton, one of the unmated females in the pack, arrived next, wearing short-shorts and a tank top. She’d been shoving her tits under my nose for as long as I could remember. I thought she’d have given it up at some point since I’d never indicated a hint of interest, but as long as I remained unmated, I was fair game in her book, especially since she hadn’t been able to land one of my brothers before they found their mates. She waved a pie under my nose. “Peach. Your favorite.”
It wasn’t my favorite, and I wasn’t nice enough to even pretend. Now that I’d scented Natalie, Karen was even more repugnant. Her own smell, oddly of almonds mixed with the sickly sweet aroma of sugared peaches, was cloying. My wolf practically snarled at her boldness. I hadn’t forgotten how she’d tried to drive Boyd and Audrey apart, either.
I ignored her and reached to shake hands with her father and her younger brother, James, the teen Jett Markle had shot in wolf form earlier this summer. To cover up the incident with the human, Boyd had told Markle he’d shot our dog not a wolf, and Boyd had blackened Markle’s eye for it. It wasn’t the last run-in we had with the annoying neighbor since then, and I expected more. Once an asshole, always an asshole.
And shit, he was pushing for the Shefield property, which meant he’d be paying a visit on Natalie, too. I tensed, not wanting the fucker anywhere near my woman. What if he’d shown up when Clint and I had?
Boyd set his hand on my shoulder for a second. I nodded. He’d sensed my tension but couldn’t ask if I was okay. Everyone here had incredible hearing.
An unfamiliar black pickup parked, and I growled.
“Easy, Alpha,” Nathan Brown said, approaching. The elder, who’d been loitering on the wraparound porch, dropped an unwelcome hand on my shoulder. Unlike Boyd’s reassuring gesture, this was placating. Patronizing.
He was a few inches shorter, with thinning hair that was turning from brown to gray. He had the paunch of a wolf who didn’t run with the pack. “Those are my kin from the Madison Range pack. They were visiting, so I invited them to our meeting. We don’t have anything to hide, do we?”
Another low growl rumbled in my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clint stiffen, but remain in place.
Yeah, I had nothing to fucking hide.
Bringing extended family to pack meetings was done on occasion, so technically Nathan hadn’t done anything wrong, but usually it was with advanced notice out of respect. He hadn’t done it this time. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it, and I didn’t like him.
He was the type who would stab me in the back if he thought he could become alpha. A weasley, slippery type. He’d always been a thorn in this pack’s side. The kind who always caused dissension and trouble. I couldn’t kick him out for being disagreeable, but with Boyd and Colton back, there was no chance in hell he’d ever become alpha. With Audrey pregnant, the line would continue… if the pup could shift.
“A heads up would’ve been appreciated,” I grumbled.
Some of these guys had been testing me since I was sixteen. Every fucking day. Maybe that’s true of any alpha. I wouldn’t know. I’d been barely old enough to even take part in pack meetings before my dad died, and back then, I hadn’t paid much attention. I’d gone from fucking around with my friends in the back row to standing before everyone
.
I kept my eye on Brown’s kin as they approached. They had redneck written all over them, complete with mullets, heavy metal t-shirts and thick necks. Not that half my pack—especially the ones who lived up in these mountains and rarely interacted with humans—weren’t also a little hillbilly. Only good thing about pack politics and having to deal with ignorance and closed-mindedness was that it wasn’t a fucking democracy.
I was alpha, and I’d grown into the role. No one fucked with my pack, even from the inside. Everyone felt my alpha power when I pulled it out. They instinctually responded to my commands.
There were four of them—one shifter in his forties, two in their early thirties and a younger wolf—barely an adult. They had a casual way about them, but I sensed they were on their best behavior.
“Sal Brown,” the oldest says to me, extending his hand. I supposed he looked familiar from pack exchanges and mating games we’d had in the past. He wasn’t their pack’s alpha, but a brother or something.
“Alpha Wolf,” I answer coolly, shaking his hand. My name was irrelevant. My title said it all.
“Yeah, I guessed that much.” He gives a mirthless chuckle. “Oh right, your name is Wolf.” The joke sounded rehearsed, one I’d heard about a million times.
In fact, my grandfather used to say, “I’m Alpha Wolf because I’m alpha wolf.”
I’d often thought my family was foolish to keep the name Wolf when we, as a species, were trying to blend into human society, but it was a source of pride. We were related to the oldest Wolf families across the globe, and the name was always synonymous with alpha. It wasn’t changing now either.
I stared him down, waiting for some explanation about why the fuck he and his crew were at my pack meeting. When it was clear by his hesitation he didn’t want to give me one, I released his gaze and let him step inside. His other three family members also introduced themselves and skulked in.
I’d find out the truth, but sometimes the direct approach wasn’t the way to go.
“Hi, Alpha. Hey, Boyd.” Shelby, one of the few single females came up the steps and smiled. Boyd had taken position at my shoulder when the Brown clan arrived. I’d seek his counsel later on what he thought of them and why they were here.
We didn’t shake Shelby’s hand because both were full with a giant glass carafe filled with her famous watermelon lemonade. She was in her late twenties and the full package—pretty, smart, friendly. I never had any interest, though, and fortunately, she hadn’t seemed to want me, either. In fact, she’d made it plain she believed in fate and hoped to find her true mate someday, much to the irritation of both her parents, who’d been trying to throw us together from the moment she turned eighteen.
My wolf hadn’t shown any interest in her or anyone else. I sighed. Until earlier. Until Natalie Shefield. The human.
“Shelby,” I said, tipping my hat.
I had no idea why Shelby brought my mind careening back to my new neighbor. The vision of Natalie working that dildo and moaning had been ricocheting around in my head all afternoon. The memory of her scent—so sweet and right.
The need to get back to her house—to see her again and find out every detail I could about that bold little redhead—consumed me.
I waited outside until everyone had arrived and then went in and took my position at the head of the circle. Boyd sat on one side of me, with Clint on the other. Rand and Nash took seats by Clint. Johnny and Levi next to Boyd. I was flanked by my inner circle—the ones I’d trust with my life.
I tried to keep the meetings short—for my own sanity, mostly. I didn’t have any business to address this month, so I opened the floor.
There were a few minor issues brought up and handled. I was a man of few words, and I didn’t tolerate a shit ton of talk at my meetings. Things got solved fast.
“All right. Anything else, or can we eat?” I looked around, eager to get to Janet’s lasagna.
“Yeah, I’ve got something.” Nate Brown stood. He looked around the room, addressing the pack instead of me. “I’ve been wondering when someone was going to mention the latest pack news.”
My upper lip curled. A growl started to tickle behind my nose. When I said I’d find out what the guy was up to, I knew the time would come. It seemed to be now. In front of the entire pack.
“What’s that?” I snarled.
“I’m surprised you didn’t mention it tonight. Namely, how your brother broke pack law by mating a human. And now I hear Colton has mated her sister. Is that true?”
Boyd was on his feet in a flash.
“Sit down,” I said in a low growl to him, throwing out my hand. I didn’t take my glare off fucking Nate Brown’s treacherous face, though. I saw now why he brought his kin. For backup. They probably fueled his previously unvoiced arguments.
“My brothers’ mates were approved by their fucking alpha, end of story.” I infused my voice with alpha command, causing the whole room to draw a breath at once. “The entire pack was invited to Boyd and Audrey’s wedding down at the barn by the big house—it wasn’t news. It’s over and done. No reason to discuss.”
A pup in the back of the room started crying in her mother’s arms at the blast of aggression I’d sent out.
“But Colton mated a human, too.”
I nodded. “He did.” I’d already explained myself enough. Those two words were all he was going to get on the topic.
“Alpha, with all respect,” —bullshit— “you have yet to choose a mate. At your age and with your alpha power, you are treacherously close to moon madness. What happens to this pack when you have to be put down? Your brothers aren’t fit to lead with human mates. And our pack’s alpha lineage will die. That’d be a travesty.”
The pack members either sat quietly waiting to hear my answer or were whispering between themselves. This had been brought up before but not in such an in-your-face manner. Why him? Why now? He didn’t seem the type to be worried I was going to die soon. He had an agenda here, a deeper reason than just sowing discontent.
Boyd growled beside me. Before I could answer, Nate’s kin stood up.
“We’ll take you.” He opened his arms to the pack. “I spoke to my brother, our alpha with the Madison Range pack.” Since he’d told me where he was from at the door, he added that for everyone in the room. Which meant this had all been planned. “He’d be happy to absorb the pack when your alpha goes mad. In fact, he’d insist on it.”
What. The actual fuck?
This was a goddamn coup. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but fuck. Just what I needed right about now. Or ever.
I stood. As soon as I did, Boyd, Clint and every one of my ranch hands surged up around me, all of them growling. Now Clint and Boyd could understand the depth of my problem with Natalie.
“Get out,” I snarled, pointing at the door.
Sal Brown raised his brows in mock surprise, like I was being rude for revoking hospitality. “We came in peace. Your pack’s in trouble, and we want to help. As a friendly neighbor.”
“Get. The. Fuck Out. Now. Before I tear you to shreds.”
The baby in the back wailed so loudly, her mother took her out of the lodge house through the kitchen. One by one, other men in my pack stood, folding their arms across their chests. They might wonder about my delay in mating, but they were behind me.
The outsiders stood and made their way to the door.
“You too, Nathan.” I tipped my head for him to follow. “Get the fuck out.”
Nathan hesitated. He’d gone a little pale. The guy’s balls most likely had already shriveled at the sound of my alpha command, and now he was probably worried he was out of my pack for good.
He might just be. The fucker would have to make it right with me, but if he tried right now, I was likely to bloody the guy.
Silence descended. I didn’t speak or move until I heard two vehicles start and drive away. Then I looked around at everyone who remained, silent and watchful.
“Anyone else
here want to say something about my brothers’ choices in mates?”
Or mine?
Something sharp and painful twisted in my gut, thinking of how happy Boyd was with Audrey, his pup in her belly. And Colton, pushed to the brink with his own moon madness, but now mated to the woman who was meant to be his. And me?
My wolf had met its mate. For the first time ever, I knew. Just like Boyd and Colton had. One look, one whiff of Audrey’s and Marina’s scent, and they were fucking goners.
Natalie Shefield, that gorgeous human neighbor of mine. Her scent called to my wolf. Her body called to my dick. Her feisty, brave determination called to my mind.
I’d barely spoken with her. Barely seen enough of her body to satisfy my basest instincts. And yet, she was my mate.
If I’d clung to one shred of hope, I might be able to have her. It just fucking went up in flames. No way would Nathan or anyone in the Madison Range pack think twice about getting rid of me as alpha if I admitted I had a mate who was human.
This pack was a disaster, and it was all because of me.
5
WILLOW
Mother. Fucker.
I’d just stripped out of my clothes to take a shower after my date with Markle, and the asshole was knocking on my door again. Seriously? I didn’t play up the yawning and I’m-so-tired thing at the end of the date enough? I even let the asshole have a kiss before he left me at the door. Denying him that would have hurt my investigation. But even on assignment, I needed to clock out. Sure, I was pretending to be Natalie Shefield, but it was harder pretending to like Jett Markle.
The date had gone fine. I didn’t learn much about him of importance, even though he barely shut up the entire time. He had nine hundred acres and planned to build a stable to stud horses. He’d also just purchased a bull to inseminate his cows. When he’d said that, he’d raised a brow, as if he wondered if I needed to be inseminated. By him.