Her Alpha Mismatch

by Emilia Hartley

  Unfortunately, they didn’t go far. She saw the scene unfolding every time she closed her eyes, so similar to the world she’d known as a child. Had Regina stayed with her father, that would have been her life, too. As much as she resented her mother, she knew her life was better away from that community.

  The life she was leading was lonely, but she knew this was better. She had time before her mother got frustrated with Regina’s lack of a wedding ring. At this point, she didn’t know how much time she had left, but she’d gotten this much already. It’d allowed her not only to become herself, but to build a career she loved and buy her own house.

  What else could she want, anyway? It wasn’t like she’d get the kind of love Monica or Lia had found. It just wasn’t meant for her. Foxes married foxes and that was it. Still, Regina had a small amount of time left. Her freedom was still in her own hands until then.

  Traveling with Oscar had revealed him to be far more than she’d ever expected. When Nessa pushed his profile toward her, Regina had balked. He’d been a distant enigma. He was a man no one tangled with. Now, Regina knew there were nuanced layers that made Oscar who he was.

  There was a furious beast inside him. There was a heart of gold that ached for those he’d saved and those he’d lost. Most of all, she saw the potential. Oscar could be a great Alpha if he could cross the chasm he’d let grow between him and his Pack. He would be the kind of man they could trust if only he allowed them to get close to him. Perhaps now that he knew his ex had not been his mate, he could finally heal and open up to the people who depended on him.

  While her hand swirled through the tub jets, she thought of what life would be like with that kind of man. She imagined waking to what they’d done in the hotel alcove. It was easy to envision his soft expression as he brought her breakfast in bed. Her chest tightened into a knot when she thought of letting that go, when she thought of letting Oscar go.

  What could she do when both her hands were tied? One hand was tied by her family, by cultural standards that involved agreements more than matters of the heart. The other she tied herself. It stung to acknowledge it, but Oscar was only partially the man of her dreams. It wasn’t her job to fix him. No one should have to fix their partner. She could only hope that he fixed himself.

  A knock at the door pulled her out of the tub. The man on the other side of the door had been summoned by her own thoughts. She shouldn’t do it. Her heart already threatened to break, but she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around Oscar’s neck.

  She drew him into the room, smothering his words with her kiss. Whatever he’d come for was forgotten in the moment, lost in her mouth as she pressed her tongue past his. They fell onto the bed together, him fully clothed and her only wrapped in a towel.

  Finally, Oscar pulled back. He was breathing hard while his dark eyes searched hers. It was as if he could sense the turmoil inside her and wanted to give her a chance to back away. She knew she couldn’t, wouldn’t. Regina only had so much more freedom before her life was ripped away and handed to someone else.

  “Are you sure about this?” His voice was breathy, hungry. His eyes trailed over her body, widening at the towel that was falling from her body. Almost against his will, his hand drifted along the line of her waist.

  “No, but what else can I do? I could get a call from my mother in the morning saying that she has a husband for me.”

  Oscar’s response was a greedy growl. His light touch turned rough as he jerked her into him. His mouth crashed into hers, hungry and devouring. Regina could lose herself in his touch. She’d never felt more alive, more cherished. This was what she wished she could have for the rest of her life.

  Slowly, she unraveled the thought and came to an end she hadn’t expected. She jerked back, eyes wide as she looked to the man she was tangled with. She didn’t just want affection like this for the rest of her life. The affection was the beginning of so much more.

  Regina wanted Oscar. The thought made her chest throb. Her eyes threatened to burn with tears. Stupid man, she thought, making her fall for him. He was an idiot who didn’t understand what it meant to have a family, to be more than an absent father figure to his own Pack. And yet, she loved him. She loved that he was brave and gentle, that he was stronger than anyone she’d ever met yet so deeply flawed that he wasn’t some Adonis figure walking with his head in the clouds.

  She touched his face, bringing him close for a gentle kiss. This would be the last time they ever came together. She knew she couldn’t keep this up, not if she wanted to protect her heart from whatever was to come. Should she give in and let herself love him, she could fall into despair.

  Oscar looked as though he wanted to fight. He was clearly confused about her pause, but she let her hands drift low on his abdomen until they reached something that pulled the blood from his brain. She laughed into his kiss when he growled. He nipped her lips while she stroked him into a full erection. There wasn’t much work to do considering he was nearly hard just from the kiss.

  It seemed he wanted her as much as she wanted him. It warmed her, sending a blush to her cheeks. When he rolled them over so that he was on top, he paused to take her in.

  “I love that I can see your emotions on your cheeks. I love the little constellations of your freckles.” He traced a line between the brown dots on her collarbone before lowering his head to lay a kiss on her skin.

  Regina’s hands clenched behind him. He kicked out of his pants and she tore at his shirt until they were both naked. His skin was dark against hers. She wanted to lap at the small hollow of his neck to see what he tasted like. She pulled him down to her and nibbled along the line of his neck, pulling a groan from deep within his chest.

  Oscar was already hard against her, as if he’d been ready since the kiss at the door. It warmed her that she could bring him to this. With her hand under his chin, she directed him where she wanted him, capturing his lips before letting her own trail to his ear. The big, scary Alpha of Santa Cruz was gentle putty in her hands.

  The thought sent a jolt of warmth to her core. His hands explored her bare skin while she nibbled at his ear. He took his time, drawing out the moment because they both knew what would happen once it was over.

  Regina held onto him as if it would keep the moment from ending. She dug her nails in and brought a growl to his lips. Desperation made her stomach tight. She could feel her teeth becoming sharp as she struggled with the beast inside her. A fox tooth broke Oscar’s skin. Blood blossomed through her mouth, but Oscar only responded with his fierce hunger.

  He lifted her from the mattress, hoisting her over his lap. As he lowered her, she reached to part her folds. Oscar slid inside her, little by little. He filled her in a way no one ever had, reaching parts of her previously untouched. As if they’d been made for one another. Her head rolled back, each inch further sending small shocks through her core.

  “How the hell did you have sex with a human woman?” Regina’s words were barely more than a whisper, but they sent a ripple of jealousy through her. It made her hold him tighter, made her want to mark him again.

  It was wrong. He wasn’t a fox shifter. There would never be a mate bond between them, never anything more than the moment they fought to hold onto.

  Slowly, once he was hilt deep, Regina began rocking. She moved her hips so that her clit rubbed over him as his cock slid in and out. Each motion was another stone in the pond of pleasure. It became heavy until she could do nothing more than clench her stomach and moan.

  Oscar growled, taking control of her hips and guiding them for her. He was eager, forcing her to ride him faster and faster. All the while, he stared up at her with a hungry smile. She couldn’t see the same kind of pleasure on his face. Instead, it was as if he was holding back, waiting to make sure she would orgasm before he thought of himself.

  The thought was what broke the dam. Her orgasm spilled out and she screamed. Oscar’s hand slid over her mouth, holding back the sound while she drow
ned in her pleasure. It flared up her spine, like fireworks in the night. It crashed back into her limbs and made her toes tingle.

  “Let’s see if we can at least get one more tonight,” Oscar whispered in her ear.

  He lowered them both to the mattress, his arms cradling her. His motions were slow and rhythmic, teasing the aftershocks of her first orgasm. Regina gripped the back of his neck with one hand, gripping the sheets beneath her with the other as if she might succumb to the pleasure inside her.

  Oscar’ kissed his way down her neck, pulling back just enough so he could admire her full breasts. Regina arched her back to give him a better view, inviting him to touch her. She wanted more of him, as much of him as she could get in one night. He answered happily, taking one breast in his hand, thumb and forefinger pinching her nipple.

  It only added to the growing pleasure. The sensation danced along her spine to her core. It was sharp and bright compared to the heavy feeling between her legs. She moaned, wishing she could bite something. As if reading her mind, Oscar bent low and offered his lips. Regina gladly devoured them, biting his lips hard enough to draw blood.

  Oscar groaned into her mouth, the rhythm of his hips becoming faster and harder. He slammed into her, drawing small screams from Regina with each thrust. She writhed beneath him. They came together, so hard she thought they might become one. In her heart, that was what she wanted.

  Regina wanted to hold on to Oscar forever, to never let him go. It was a silly dream, one born of the moment they were sharing, but it was one that made her feel stronger. It made her feel as though she could control her life, if only while their bodies were united. Regina could believe that it would never end, she could tell herself this was what she chose for herself.

  She could believe that no one could take it from her.

  Oscar spasmed above her, his tender gaze holding hers. She dug her nails into his shoulder as she came, too. The orgasm arched her body into his, as if trying for one last attempt to become one.

  With a sigh, she fell back to the bed. She pulled her nails out of his shoulder, thin trails of blood rolling across his skin even as he smiled with satisfaction. Already, the wounds she’d drawn across him in her haze of lust and pleasure were starting to close. Oscar lowered his head, laid a kiss on her collarbone, then rolled away from her.

  It was over. She could grab him and hold him for the night, perhaps giving it another try before the sun rose and took this away from them. She could bury her phone in her bag, pretend the world outside doesn’t exist, and linger just a while longer in the dream she’d built for herself.

  In the end, it wouldn’t last. Even if Oscar could be a mate to a fox shifter, she’d be pulling herself into a Pack that didn’t think they could trust him. It felt close to the kind of hell that waited her on the other end of a phone call from her mother. She didn’t want to marry someone she didn’t love, and she didn’t want to love someone who pulled away from the world.

  No matter what path she walked, her life always ended on the same, dull note.

  Chapter Twelve

  Regina locked away her torturous thoughts and focused on what really mattered. She couldn’t think straight if her mind kept pulling her back to Oscar’s gentle hands as they roved along her skin and the hungry growl he shared with her. Carefully, forcefully, she shoved the thoughts to the back of her mind, never to be opened again.

  There was still something they could do to help the other fox shifter. The girl didn’t have to be stuck in the life Regina lived. There had to be a way to help her. The young fox shifter had run away from her family, proving just how bad things were for her. Regina hadn’t seen any bruises, nor had the girl flinched. She didn’t think the girl’s father was like Regina’s. The man was only following shifter culture.

  She refused to believe there was nothing they could do.

  Oscar reached for her again, hands sliding along her thighs. He stopped, his countenance becoming wary when he saw the thoughtful look on her face. He could prove himself, she thought. Right then and there, he could be the kind of man a Pack needed.

  “Regina, we can’t.” His words answered the unspoken question.

  She growled with frustration. The moment before had been more than she’d ever hoped, yet now it was dashed to bits. While they rode each other, they’d built a glass castle around themselves. It didn’t take much to shatter.

  “Will you not save her from this fate?” Regina’s voice felt hot, as if she were breathing fire born from the indignation burning inside her. The young woman’s face was imprinted in her mind, misery and all. The girl was to get married to some old guy she didn’t even know.

  Regina knew that was why the young woman had run away to the forest. It was how she felt when she saw her mother’s number appear on her phone screen. The urge to run from all of it was overwhelming. This girl was trapped, her autonomy stripped away as if she were nothing more than a bartering chip.

  If she couldn’t save herself, then the least she could do was save the girl. Regina was resigned to her fate. There was no way around it, but the girl could live her own life. All she needed was Oscar’s help. No male fox shifter would back down from a female fox, but they would tuck tail and run from someone who looked like Oscar.

  He was imposing and the reputation he’d built would help them.

  “I can’t break up a family,” he whispered. There was guilt in the lines on his forehead. He pushed up and threw his feet to the floor, putting his back to her.

  She wasn’t going to give up. She touched his shoulder, trying to pull his attention back to her. He leaned into her touch but didn’t look at her. Frustration made her lungs tight. She wanted to scream, to stomp, to throw something.

  “That’s not a family. I don’t know what to call it, but family is where people love each other. It’s where they support one another and foster each other’s dreams.” She could feel her throat closing around the words. Family. The thing she ached for. “You would know if you bothered to help your Pack be a family.”

  She clutched her towel to her chest and stormed to her feet. Her body thrummed with the need to do something, even if her muscles were tired from what they’d just done. She wanted to run back to the suburban house and tell the girl she could leave. No one had to stay in conditions like that.

  “If we help her run away, we could be convicted of kidnapping.” She could tell that Oscar was trying to be rational, trying to throw water on Regina’s fire.

  She could feel it, dousing some of what she felt. Once the flames banked, all she could feel was a heavy weight. It was uselessness. How could she be so useless?

  Oscar stood and came to catch her before she fell to the floor. Tears streamed down her face. She wanted to push against him. To beat her fists against his chest and scream at him until he gave in. She couldn’t deal with it. She wanted to do something.

  The knowledge of what the young woman was living weighed on her and made her feel sick. Oscar held her tight, but the feeling never went away.

  “Why can’t we try?” She whispered the words into his bare skin.

  ***

  He couldn’t claim to know what was going through her mind, to know how she could have felt in that moment. He could, though, see the pain on her face. Regina was desperate to save at least one fox shifter from the fate they all bore.

  The shifter they’d tracked had run away from her fate, only to be pulled back. It was clear, if she was willing to eat out of trash cans and live in the wild, that she did not want to marry this man. Yet, what could Oscar do? He wasn’t willing to risk his whole Pack for the one child.

  No one would think twice about arresting him. If he was stuck in prison, he could do nothing for his Pack. They would be vulnerable without his presence. At least, that was what he believed. He could ask Nikolai to look out for them, should Oscar find himself in trouble, but he couldn’t bear the thought of putting that much work on Nikolai’s shoulders.

  All this time, he told
himself his Pack would be defenseless without him, but would they really suffer without him? They’d held their own, working together like a well-oiled machine. If Oscar left, nothing would change. He’d done nothing for them.

  For years, he’d been nothing more than a figurehead. His breath caught when he realized they’d done more for him than he’d done for them. Jorge had put his name into that matchmaking service, bringing Regina to him. He let his fingers trail down the curve of her back. She didn’t know it, but she meant more than the world to him.

  “I’m going to think about it,” Oscar said, even as his mind was working at the situation. He was unraveling every possible outcome, moving pieces on an imaginary chessboard in his mind.

  Regina shook her head and pulled away from him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out on my own. Work on being a better Alpha to the pack you already have.”

  She retreated, crawling into the bed and curling into herself. He was glad she hadn’t shoved him out the door as soon as they finished, but her words stung. She was right, making them hurt all the more.

  Oscar thought he’d been doing the right thing, but he’d only been half doing it. To be the kind of Alpha he wanted to be, he would need to go the rest of the way.

  He slipped out the door while she drifted into sleep. His mind lingered on her from the door to the first floor. He’d loved a woman before, loved her for her sharp wits and vibrant love of life. When he’d lost her, he’d been helpless. A simple act of fate had torn her from his arms. While he was strong, with the strength of ten men, he could do nothing to stop a car accident that happened across town.

  Now that he knew she’d never been his mate, things changed. The guilt and the fear still gripped him. Regina sparked things inside him that he’d never felt before. Around her, he felt the need to live up to her expectations. He wanted to remake the world in her vision. Hell, he wanted to be a better man because of her.