Claimed by the Alphas (Shifters of Appalachia Book 1)

by Viola Rivard

  Only his mouth moved when he asked, “Are you ready to go?”

  She stood and stretched her back before tiptoeing over to him. Giving him a quick once-over, she looped her arms around his neck.

  “Almost,” she said. She nodded toward her luggage. “I don’t think I need any of that stuff. You can tell the others to leave it.”

  “Fine.”

  Mila placed her hand on the side of his face, forcing him to meet her gaze. His amber eyes burned with pent-up intensity that made her heart sink. She knew Caim didn’t want her to leave, but when Asch had given her the opportunity to go back to civilization, it had been too good to pass up.

  “We haven’t been apart before,” she said, stroking the nape of his neck. She chose her next words carefully. “Does it … is it strange for you?”

  Sometimes Caim could be remarkably candid with her, but tonight was not one of those nights.

  “Why would it be strange?” he asked, his expression unyielding.

  Mila knew him too well to fall for his tough-guy act, and considered calling his bluff, but decided against it. It was the last time she’d see him for at least a night or two, and she didn’t want to waste it. She leaned her head against his warm chest and lowered her hands to rest on his hips.

  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in his scent before saying, “I’m going to miss you so much.” She rubbed her cheek against him. “Hold me?”

  He acquiesced, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and drawing her further into his warmth. They fit together so perfectly it made her chest ache. Caim had never admitted to being in love with her, but she knew there was something between them, something that wasn’t entirely one-sided.

  Without speaking, Caim picked Mila up and carried her over to the bed. He set her down gently. His face hovered over hers momentarily before he snaked down her body. Mila propped herself up on her elbows and watched as he lifted her shirt, bunching the fabric beneath her breasts. On reflex, she sucked her stomach in. Caim gave her a dry look, and she winced in response.

  “Sorry, habit,” she said sheepishly.

  Facing away from her, he lowered his head and pressed his ear against her stomach. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t immediately find the words to say. She brought a hand up to his hair and tentatively ran her fingers over the dark tresses.

  “Do you hear anything?”

  He tilted his head slightly to look at her. “Not yet. Too early.”

  Mila gave him a thoughtful look. “That’s odd. Asch said he could hear it last night.”

  Caim’s eyes widened almost comically. “What?”

  His face was awash with disappointment, and Mila almost felt bad. She covered her mouth and laughed into her hand.

  “I was just kidding, silly. The baby is probably smaller than a pea. Of course, you can’t hear it.”

  “You lied to me,” he said and scowled at her. Caim moved up, his body caging her as he backed her down onto the bedding. She tried to get control of her facial muscles, but it was impossible to hide her smile.

  Still feeling mischievous, she jabbed a finger against his chest and said, “You don’t scare me anymore, big guy.”

  He grabbed her offending hand by the wrist and regarded it with what she hoped was mock scorn. Her stomach fluttered as he brought her hand to his face and ran it along the hard edge of his jaw. For a moment, his eyes softened.

  “You will come back to me,” he said.

  It was a command, given in his usual, authoritative manner, yet she heard the faint undertone of vulnerability in his voice. She sat up, and he allowed the movement, pulling her into his lap. Their faces were inches apart, and she looked unflinchingly into his amber eyes.

  “Of course I’ll come back. I love you.”

  It was easier to say this time, and she was impressed at the level of conviction, not just in her voice, but also in her heart.

  The corners of his lips twitched and he gave her a predatory look. “If you ever tried to leave me, I would hunt you down.”

  Mila opened her mouth to respond, but he kissed her. His firm lips took control as he eased her back onto the bed. She responded immediately, her hands drawing his face closer as her legs came up to bracket his hips. Already fully aroused, his erection jutted against her belly.

  It excited her to know that, weeks after the mating thrall and after she was already pregnant, Caim still wanted her just as badly. There were things to do—she had to finish packing and Asch was probably already waiting for her—but before she left, she needed Caim.

  3

  By the time Mila saw the first signs of civilization, it was after dawn. A naked birch tree sat on the edge of a small, muddy river, its roots gnarled and decayed. Nailed to its trunk was an upside-down sign that read, in bold letters: NO FISHING.

  Asch stopped to let her climb down from his back. They’d been traveling for the better part of the night and her whole body was stiff. She rubbed her backside as Asch shifted into his human form.

  “Are we going by foot now?” she asked, handing him the lumpy burlap bag he’d given her before they left. She’d shamelessly poked through it during the ride and had found a full set of clothes and shoes, along with a wallet, a questionable amount of cash, and several of what she assumed were fake IDs.

  “The road is nearby. Brae will meet us there,” he said and pulled out his clothes.

  Mila watched him dress, recognizing the rare privilege. As gorgeous as Asch was naked, there was something alluring about the way that the blue jeans hugged his hips. Completed with a navy cotton shirt and a black leather jacket, the outfit made Asch look almost human.

  As he crouched to put on his shoes, Mila combed her fingers through his coppery hair in a vain effort to tame it. When he finished, Asch stood and placed his hands on her hips.

  “You feeling all right?”

  She nodded. “A-Okay. Let’s go find Brae. I’m freezing.”

  Asch had sent Brae ahead of them to procure a vehicle. Mila wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed, and she was skeptical about Brae being on her own around humans. As far as she could tell, Brae hadn’t spent much time among them. Simple things like the concept of a bathroom or personal space eluded her. Mila worried she might run into trouble on her own.

  As Asch had said, they didn’t have to walk far. On the other side of a snowy hill, the trees thinned, revealing a small road comprised of dirt, gravel, and blackened snow. To the east was a small iron bridge that traversed the river, and to the west, the road curved and became obscured by the forest.

  He took her hand and led her toward the bridge. Mila nearly jumped out of her boots when she heard a loud honk. Asch chuckled and pointed toward the tree line on the opposite side of the road. Partially hidden by a drooping fir was a nondescript, white sedan. Mila squinted to see Brae waving through the windshield. Smiling broadly, she waved back.

  Brae opened the driver’s side door and stepped out. She wrinkled her nose at Asch. “Took you long enough.”

  “You weren’t carrying a person,” he countered and held up a hand. Brae tossed him the keys and opened the door to the backseat where she climbed inside. In a low voice, Asch said, “She’s a terrible driver.”

  “I heard that!” Brae called.

  Skipping to the sedan, Mila opened the passenger door and got inside. The interior was understated, beige leather, and the seats were blessedly heated. She buckled up as Asch settled into the driver’s seat. He put the key into the ignition and the car purred to life. Asch grinned boyishly.

  “How long has it been since you’ve driven a car?”

  He shrugged. “Half a year?”

  “A year this spring,” Brae corrected, poking her head between them. She wore jeans and a cream-colored sweater that was a little too light for the weather. To Mila, she added, “Asch visits his family every year.”

  “Has it been that long?” he mused as he pulled out onto the road. He did a U-turn and headed east over the bridge. />
  “How are you feeling, Mila?” Brae asked.

  Mila inwardly groaned, already tired of the question. Asch answered for her. “She’s fine. Now sit back and buckle up.” He turned to Mila. “Want to listen to music?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

  * * *

  Brae fell asleep an hour before they reached the highway. She didn’t snore, but she had a tendency to bark in her sleep, which Mila found amusing. The local radio station mostly played country music, which Asch suspected wasn’t Mila’s favorite genre, but she hummed along just the same. The small smile on her lips tugged at his heart, and he tried to focus on the road rather than on his mate. She was more cheerful than he’d seen her in a while, and it was hard to ignore.

  It was too late to wonder if he was doing the right thing. Mila was pregnant, irrevocably bound to their pack and their lifestyle—a lifestyle that was, at the best of times, precarious.

  Lifestyle. As if they had much of a choice in the matter. From the day he was born, Asch had been segregated to the wilderness; he just hadn’t known it yet. He had tried as hard as the next wolf to blend in and keep what he was a secret, but the beast inside could be only be ignored for so long.

  Asch caught a glimpse of a familiar logo on a blue road sign. Suppressing a grin, he took the next exit. Mila looked over at him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  He glanced her way in time to see her face light up. “I love surprises!” She clamped a hand over her eyes. “Don’t give me any hints!”

  Pride and a youthful eagerness suffused him, and he mentally apologized to Caim. This wouldn’t be a quick detour. Just for a day, he was going to forget about what he was and where he’d have to return to. He owed it to himself, and Mila.

  4

  “What can I get for you, darlin’?”

  Mila was fairly certain that was the most wonderful sentence anyone had ever said to her. She looked between the waitress, her menu, and Asch.

  “I don’t know,” she said helplessly. “I want everything.”

  Breakfast had never really been Mila’s thing as she’d rarely been up early enough to get it anywhere. But after over a month of living in a cave, the IHOP menu looked like it had been sent down by the gods. Everything, from the ricotta cheese pancakes to the country-fried steak, looked phenomenal.

  “Order what you want,” Asch instructed.

  He was sitting next to her in the booth, leaning over to gaze at her. Momentarily sidetracked by the affection in his hazel eyes, she grinned back at him. Her face started to hurt from smiling.

  Mila placed an order for two different meals and three sides, promising to share, but secretly hoping no one would touch a bite of any of her plates. She was brimming with excitement by the time the waitress left the table.

  “How much farther do we have to travel?” she asked Asch. She was intentionally vague, though she doubted the other diners could hear her over the loud chattering of voices in the packed restaurant.

  “Aren’t you tired?” he asked and took a sip of his water.

  “I’m too excited to be tired.”

  That was only partially true. While her mind was going a million miles a minute, her body was starting to drag. It was just past noon, and usually around this time back at the den, she would be going to bed.

  “Why don’t we get a hotel room for the day?” he suggested. “We can shower, watch TV, and sleep on a real bed for a change.”

  Mila’s heart skipped a beat. “Seriously?”

  He gave her a lop-sided grin. “Why not?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brae said from across the table. She’d never quite shaken the tiredness from her eyes since she’d woken and now looked exceptionally drained.

  “It’s fine,” Asch said firmly.

  Brae looked down at her glass of water and absently stirred it with her straw. “The others are waiting for us. They will worry. And I don’t feel comfortable here.”

  Forcing back her disappointment, Mila reached across the table and placed a hand over Brae’s. “What’s wrong?”

  Her expression unusually guarded, Brae replied, “Everything is so loud here. It hurts my head. And it smells terrible. I feel sick to my stomach.”

  “Don’t worry. They’re usually pretty quick here. We’ll eat fast.”

  “No,” Brae said, shaking her head. “It’s not just here. It’s everywhere.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Our hearing and our scent are a lot stronger than yours. It makes it difficult to be around human towns and cities.”

  Mila looked to Asch for confirmation. He pressed his lips together but nodded. “It’s not ideal, but we can stick it out for a day,” he said, directing his comment at Brae. “We’ll rest for a few hours and be back on the road by nightfall.”

  Brae’s shoulders slumped, but she didn’t argue. Mila felt bad for her but also a little selfish. She didn’t want to make her friend miserable, but this was probably the only chance she’d have for a long time to feel normal again. She was going to enjoy herself.

  When the food finally came, Mila could not feign any semblance of table etiquette. She dug into her meal with the finesse of a starved lion, but by the time she’d shoveled the second forkful of scrambled eggs and bacon into her mouth, her stomach revolted against her. She set her fork down and nearly gagged as she forced herself to swallow the half-chewed breakfast medley. Scrambling from the booth, she held a hand up to ward off any questions.

  “Be right back,” she croaked before making a bee line for the restroom.

  The ladies’ room was moderately clean and smelled of bleach and potpourri. Mila dashed for the stall, not bothering to check the toilet before she fell to the floor and lost her greasy serving of food. It came up easier than the past couple of times she’d been sick, but it was no less draining. She put her head on the cool toilet seat and breathed deeply while vowing to thoroughly scrub her face later.

  Her legs were shaky when she stood. She made her way over to the sink with the intention of washing her hands but caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She had paled since leaving Tye, and she wasn’t used to seeing herself without makeup.

  She was pinching her cheeks as the restroom door swung open. A harried-looking young woman carried a blue bassinette with a wailing infant. The sound of crying babies was usually like nails on a chalkboard for Mila, but today, she found herself intensely curious. She pretended to be fixing her hair as the woman ambled up beside her.

  “Excuse me,” she said apologetically.

  She placed the bassinette on the counter and fumbled with the diaper changing station. Mila peeked down and quickly lost all pretense of casualness at the sight of the little wrinkled face.

  “He’s so tiny,” she breathed, her mouth hanging open. The young woman looked back and blinked at Mila.

  “Five weeks on Tuesday,” she said, shuffling back over to the bassinette. “First time we brought him out. Think it’s just a little too noisy for him.”

  Mila watched intently as the woman pulled the baby from the bassinette and noted the way she held its head. Mila didn’t have any siblings and had never felt particularly inclined to hold something as fragile as a tiny human being. Now, her fingers itched to feel the soft weight of one in her arms.

  She must not have done a particularly good job of hiding her desperation, because the woman gave her a wary look.

  On impulse, she said, “I’m pregnant.” She realized it was the first time she’d actually had to tell anyone. It was just one of the strange nuances of living with people who could smell everything.

  The woman’s face softened. She looked to Mila’s stomach. “When are you due?”

  “Uh …” Mila fumbled for an answer. “July? Sorry, it’s still really new.”

  The woman smiled and her tired eyes brightened. “He’s my second. Enjoy it while it lasts. Once they’re born, there’s no putting them back.”

&n
bsp; She laughed, and Mila joined her weakly, unsure if it was a private mom joke she wasn’t capable of understanding yet. She had known she was pregnant for only two days, and she already wished the whole thing would be over and that the universe could just hand her the baby. At least once it was born, Asch, Caim, and the rest of the pack could help her take care of it.

  Realizing she’d been standing there for a little too long, Mila muttered an awkward goodbye and stole one last look at the baby, still longing to hold him.

  5

  T hey drove to the outskirts of the small city and checked into a modest motel. It wasn’t ideal for Asch, but the more upscale locations were downtown alongside busy intersections that would prove aggravating when it came time to sleep.

  Tired from the long trip, he had been looking forward to resting. Unfortunately, as soon as they dropped off Brae, Mila bypassed their room and pointed across the street.

  “Let’s go to the drugstore!”

  He tried to convince her otherwise, but Mila wasn’t like the rest of his pack—she wouldn’t be swayed by his commands. And so, he went with her, holding her hand as they crossed the street.

  They crossed the salted parking lot and a wave of warm air greeted them as the automatic doors slid open. Mila snatched up a basket and raced toward the aisles with way more energy than she had any right to at this hour. Asch followed after her at a more leisurely pace.

  Still walking, Mila turned back and asked, “How much can I spend?”

  “Get what you want, just don’t go crazy,” he said patiently.

  It must have been the right answer, because her face lit up all over again. He could get used to that.

  Tuning out the noises around them, he focused on the sway of her hips as she sauntered down the aisles, tossing bottles and boxes into her basket indiscriminately. She stopped at the end of the hair care aisle and looked back at him with a deep frown. He gave her a questioning look.