Loveless: A BWWM Wolf Shifter Romance (The Alpha Series Book 2)

by Brooklyn Knight

  Celibacy was not the reason for this response, and because of this, I had no idea what the issue might be.

  But enough of the pointless pondering.

  Sasha had asked me to deal with her sister, and I would do this. I would send the woman back to wherever she came from. If she resisted, I would call security and have her gently escorted off the property.

  Or I might do it myself.

  Either way, this woman was causing a disturbance, and this behavior was unacceptable. The last thing we needed was undue attention at the mansion.

  But that smell...

  I gritted my teeth and I jerked the door open, and just like that, the woman was up close and personal; in warm flesh.

  And it was in that moment I realized: I was not ready.

  My lips parted, and my body, it turned rigid. My cock pulsed.

  The wolf inside of me tilted its head and howled, long and deep. It was so loud, I winced. The feeling of something prickling my skin erupted over my entire body.

  The woman’s fist was raised, as if she was about to slam it into the door again, but suddenly, it curled back, and a small gasp flew from her mouth.

  Ours! my beast growled.

  Five

  Shenique

  ‘Holy Hell’

  Silence.

  But not just any silence. A heavy one; so heavy, it had to have weighed more than a ton. My fist coiled back into a useless ball, and I gawked at the man who had finally answered the door. The rant, and everything else that had accumulated on the tip of my tongue, faded into nothing. Ever since I had boarded my international flight, I had been ranting, talking to strangers in the airport, telling them about my plight. I told them how a man had abducted my sister almost four months ago, and how I was on a mission to save her. A few people eased away from me, or asked for their seating assignments to be revised, but fuck them too! I had purchased a ticket to Tuscany immediately, and had been fully prepared to barge through this door and demand her presence; but I hadn’t been prepared for... him.

  The silence stretched on for many inappropriate minutes, and tension swirled between us like a strange mist.

  He was a large man, his body sculpted with defined lines of muscle, straining against his shirt. His brown hair moved like waves against the light breeze, and his gray eyes regarded me with a strange curiosity, as if he recognized me and was trying to place me.

  Suddenly, his expression pinched and his nose wrinkled. “You are not welcome here.” Despite the crassness of his tone, a shiver of something swept over my entire body and accumulated in my apex.

  I shrugged it away. My fingers slid against the amulet, before I pulled them away and steadied my shaking posture. “And who the hell are you?”

  His neck jerked back. “You are asking who I am? You were the one knocking. I am the one who answered. I should be asking this of you, but of course, I already know who you are.”

  He gave me a curious once over and I straightened my shoulders.

  “Well, lucky for the both of us, I didn’t expect a welcoming committee upon my arrival,” I informed him pushing my chest forward and I glared. “I rarely get them when I show up at places. Where the hell is my sister?”

  His eyes fell to my raised bosom, and heat flashed through my body. When he met my gaze again, the color of his eyes had deepened. Now they resembled steel. “Your sister is inside, but she has requested not to see you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Exactly as I have said.”

  More silence. The same kind.

  “How do you know that?” I demanded.

  “Because she has told me this, quite clearly,” he responded. His words rolled over my body and landed in my core.

  I hissed through my teeth, trying to ignore the warmth accumulating between my clenching thighs and spreading to my crotch. “Bullshit,” I spat, “you’re a liar. There is no way she would want to come to a place like... this...” My words seemed hypocritical as I took in the posh aesthetics for the millionth time. The residence reeked of wealth. It had taken the taxi several minutes to pass through the vineyards, overladen with ripening grapes. Then there had been the acres of open land, complete with grazing horses. And now, I was standing in front of a luxurious mansion, with vines crawling in haphazard trails up multicolored stone.

  “If you are worried about your sister’s safety, you do not need to be. She is in no danger,” he insisted.

  “Judging from the sight of you, that’s debatable.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you look like you snap necks for fun!”

  His jaw jerked. He was getting agitated, but I didn’t care. His gaze roamed over my body. It started at my eyes and dropped to my mouth, where it lingered for longer than necessary. Then, his gray stare dipped to my breasts...

  My breath caught.

  “You should... leave before something happens,” he advised in a low rasp, moistening his lips.

  The edges of my eyes quivered as I observed the motion, the way his tongue slid over this mouth. The amulet holding Loveless was heating up, almost to the point of scorching my skin.

  There was something different about him. There was an aura he was giving off, and it was completely unsettling, and it was activating Loveless.

  Julian had told me stories about vampires, and werewolves, and godless monsters. He said they were lascivious and erotic. He said they projected an aura that was enough to make anything or anyone in their path want to fuck them.

  And goddamn if this man wasn’t sexy as all hell. And the way he smelled... completely fuckable. Maybe this man was a godless monster. There was no question that he was emitting an electric energy that was thick and erotic, and it was causing every nerve in my body to fire off, including the ones in my pussy, which was now weeping with hot moisture.

  My fucking panties were about to be drenched.

  For no reason, I wanted to touch his body, like a skilled lady of the night would. I wanted to run my fingers over those broad shoulders. I wanted to grab his dick and stuff it in my mouth. I wanted to taste him – and I had no idea why.

  Something was inching its way up my spine.

  Not something. Desire; an abundant, inexplicable craving.

  Shit, no wonder Loveless was torching.

  My eyes fluttered behind my lids, but when I heard him inhale, they popped open.

  His tantalizing lips parted, and a low grunt escaped his throat. My nipples pebbled at the sound.

  Whatever this man was working with, it would not transcend Loveless. Already, I could feel the rage and disdain replacing the primal lust trying to inch its way into my soul.

  The sexy man’s voice ripped me out of my disturbing thoughts. His tone was dry, like he needed water. His expression pinched. “You really should leave,” he suggested again, but it wasn’t actually a suggestion. It was more like a command.

  “The hell if I’m going anywhere,” I barked in his face. “I already told you, I’m here to rescue my sister, the woman you and your thuggish crew abducted!”

  “You are mistaken,” he said, tone as smooth as butter. “Your sister is here of her own accord. Believe me when I tell you this.”

  “Let me in right now, or I swear I’ll raise holy hell on this fancy doorstep of yours.”

  “You are already doing this,” he said.

  “Trust me, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Rage began to swirl in my chest, and in one swift move, I slammed my palms against the Italian specimen’s chest.

  He barely flinched, but it was enough of a distraction for me to dart through the open door and dash into a grand foyer. As I had expected, the place was enormous. Quickly, I took stock of the foreign surroundings, just as a furious growl sounded off behind me. I startled and a gasp flew from my mouth. I ignored it, even though the primal sound had my heart clambering inside my throat. My head swiveled to the left and right, as I tried to determine the direction in which I should bolt.

/>   Another guttural roar rattled the luxurious chandelier hanging above my head, and I half expected it to come crashing to the ground. When I spun around, I was horrified to see the man stalking towards me. His eyes were glowing orbs, and now I knew where the growling was coming from – him.

  A scream that curdled my own blood came out of me, and I tumbled onto the marbled floor. I scooted backwards, hands raised and shaking, trying to escape, but he only advanced.

  His lips were curled back, and his teeth gleamed.

  My back slammed against a wall, and I closed my eyes, muttering a final prayer, waiting for the ferocious impact, but nothing happened.

  Shocked, I peeked my quaking eyes open and stared at the man. He stared back; ferocious, foaming, and heated. His body started to shake, as if he had no control over it, and fear zapped me, but suddenly, an intense arousal made the breath catch in the back of my throat.

  The man released a deafening groan and jerked backward, as if he wanted to lunge, but something was holding him back. He bent over, breathing as if he couldn’t catch his breath, and when he lifted his eyes to mine, I gasped.

  They were glowing like lanterns, and I cowered away from him.

  Suddenly, another man marched into the room, holding a bag in his hand, and when I realized it was the man from the photo, my sister’s abductor, I jumped to my feet and lunged at him.

  With one block, he knocked me back to the floor, and I winced in pain.

  The man who had been at the door bristled.

  “Vince, relax,” Remi Moretti ordered, but his eyes were fastened on me, and they were glowing just as brightly as the other man’s.

  “I am completely relaxed,” he countered, and I balked.

  “You call that relaxed?” I shouted. “You’re a goddamn monster. You were about to slaughter me!”

  He leaned close to my face and my entire body stiffened with both fear and lust. “If I was going to do this, it would have happened, trust me,” he warned. “You are disobedient!”

  “Disobedient?” The word was like acid on my tongue.

  “Extremely,” he confirmed, adding a modifier. “I told you to leave, and you refused to do it.”

  “I may be disobedient, but I’m also pissed as hell,” I said. “You don’t tell me what to do, and don’t you ever even think about calling me disobedient again!” I glared at him, and he glared back, unfazed, matching me in an intense stare-down, reminiscent of a grade school pastime.

  Loveless was on fire and my bravado was returning.

  His mouth pressed tight and his eyes glossed over me.

  Remi Moretti’s barking voice interrupted the tremors racing over my body.

  “Enough,” he shouted at the both of us.

  I jumped, and the man, whose name I now knew, took a step back and raked his hands through his thick, brown hair.

  Remi grimaced. “Who is this woman?” he snarled. He was asking Vince, but glaring at me.

  “Who I am is none of your goddamn business,” I snapped. For a split second, I considered telling him the truth – that I was Sasha Wilcox, a hurricane in jeans and a turtleneck, and I had come to save my sister from his abusive clutches. But this shit was not going as planned, and I had a feeling I needed to be strategic about how I played my cards.

  Remi’s eyes thinned.

  Vince’s jaw jerked, and he spoke on my behalf. “This woman is a whore who has come to the mansion, unsolicited,” he said.

  I swung my head in his direction. “Ex-cuse me?”

  Remi Moretti inhaled and his nose wrinkled.

  Vince spoke again, quickly. “I was in the process of removing her from the property when you arrived.”

  “You were removing her, yet she made it past the threshold,” he noted. His eyebrow lifted. “You are unable to control her.”

  “Just as you are unable to control your mate...”

  Say what? Oh hell no!

  Remi Moretti’s jaw tightened, but Vince continued. “This woman is very aggressive and disobedient, but... I will handle her, and she will not return.” He paused. “Go to your mate and leave her to me.”

  Mate? The word rang in my ears, and my eyes narrowed.

  Remi Moretti’s eyes softened a touch, and his hands tightened around the bag in his hand. Reluctantly, he eased back.

  “I have it under control,” Vince assured him again, and then he turned his eyes on me.

  My breath snatched. The walls of my pussy clenched.

  What the hell?

  Remi grunted and ascended a set of stairs. I watched, knowing that he was going to my sister, his mate, but also knowing that there was nothing I could do about it right now.

  I considered screaming out her name. Maybe if she heard me, she’d burst out from wherever she was and make good her escape. But God only knew what that monster might do to her if I caused any more of a racket than I already had. There was no doubt in my mind that, as luxurious as this place was, it was laced with guns and weapons. One irrational move on my end could mean the end of my sister.

  I needed a Plan B. This entire scenario had put me off kilter, including this man named Vince. The Men in Black hadn’t shown me a picture of him, and I had been totally unprepared, but it wouldn’t take long for me to recalibrate.

  Thank God I had Loveless. Now it was obvious, I’d need it more than ever.

  I looked at Vince, who was still glaring at me, and his stony gaze made me shiver with discomfort. With much effort, I ripped my eyes off him. Anger like I’d never experienced heated me to the core. The amulet seemed to press against my throat, almost strangling me, and my body temperature elevated.

  Suddenly, Vince gripped my arm and dragged me to the door. His fingers were like branding irons on my skin, and electricity pinched my nerves.

  I wrenched my arm out of his hold. “I don’t need you to escort me off the property,” I spat at him. “I can walk, just fine.”

  His eyes flashed, but before his energy could paralyze me completely, I turned on my heel and stomped out of the foyer. I marched ahead, off the front steps and past an elaborate water fountain. I pushed my shoulders back, even though it felt like I was wearing a weighted vest.

  Six

  Vince

  ‘Focused’

  We cannot let her leave!

  I grunted, trying to ignore my blabbering animal, but it was not working. ‘It is good that she is leaving,’ I said to it. ‘Her energy is toxic. She should not be here. Remi’s mate is enough.’

  I said it, but something deep inside of me did not believe it. Especially the last part.

  It was not enough.

  Those brief moments in her presence had been an agonizing tease. The mere seconds of inhaling her fragrant aroma had my wolf craving more.

  It was not good for her to be here, but I did not want her to leave.

  Merda, that does not make sense...

  Sasha had said her sister was controlling and aggressive, and I had seen it for myself: every inch of her expressive face, every twist and turn in the unruly curls on her head. If I inhaled, I would still smell her; not just the lingering scent of her perfume, but her raw essence.

  In an instant, my mouth was salivating and my cock was rousing.

  No, it was a good thing she was leaving.

  My wolf started running around in circles like a mad dog.

  Then my eyes narrowed as I thought of something else.

  She said she had come to rescue her sister, and now that I thought about it, this might not be such a bad idea.

  We cannot let her leave!

  Reluctantly, I admitted that my wolf was right. We couldn’t.

  I marched to my bedroom, where I redressed. I had told Remi that his mate’s belligerent sister would not return, or I would make her sorry to have done so. For this reason, I needed to speak with her again.

  But I was a fucking liar.

  There were only two reasons I wanted to track the woman down. The first was so I could find out what she was
up to. She had traveled a long way, just to convince her sister to leave my brother, but she did not know how strong their bond was. Any attempt she would make at separating them would be futile. But she wanted their relationship to end, and the more I thought about it, so did I. If she had a plan, I wanted to know what it could be.

  And the second reason...

  I inhaled, snatching the lingering aroma of her sexy essence.

  I needed another whiff of her.

  Just one.

  And another look. I wanted to see her brown eyes again, the way they thinned into angry, shining slits. I wanted to feel the way her pulsating energy blasted me.

  When Shenique had tried to escape me at the front door, it had taken every ounce of energy I had not to let my wolf break out. I had not needed to shift. All I needed to do was take her by the arm and jerk her into me. In fact, I had secretly been looking forward to such a moment. Standing in her presence and trying not to snatch her had been an excruciating task. Any excuse to touch her, to see how her brown skin felt against my fingertips, was welcome.

  But then she had fled, and my beast had battled me for control.

  Fucking animal.

  Fucking female.

  Now my wolf was hounding me. It was not good enough for him that I was making the decision to chase her. He was insisting that we do this without clothes. That way she would know exactly what we desired, he said.

  I do not desire anything from this woman, I snapped.

  You are lying.

  Yes, I was. I did want more, but I did not know why.

  My teeth clenched and I huffed. I was done speaking with him. Ignoring his howls, I stomped into another pair of jeans and stepped into my Gucci sneakers. I trotted down several flights of stairs, and burst through the front door, then I stood, scanning the property.

  She could not have gotten far, I thought. Even if she had reached the perimeter and summoned a taxi, I would still see it. I would still smell her.

  Smell her...

  I inhaled, and my cock awakened.

  Merda. What is this female doing to me?

  I tried to focus. My eyesight sharpened and I looked ahead, scanning the Tuscan landscape: olive trees, endless rows of grapes in Father’s vineyard, lavender fields with blossoming purple buds in the distance. Seconds turned into minutes, and though I could smell her, I still did not see her.