Ruling Alphas: Shifter Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  Rocco swallowed hard, and he felt a wave of pleasure start between his legs and undulate through his body. His eyes were back on the girl’s eyes now and for a moment, they looked at each other, drinking in each other’s eyes. Rocco felt his wolf stirring within him, responding to the lust he felt for the girl.

  “Hi. I’m Marin,” the girl said after another few moments had passed by.

  Her voice broke the spell for Rocco, allowing him to move and speak again, although he still had trouble taking his eyes from Marin. He was slightly less concerned about it now that he had noticed that Marin seemed to have been having the exact same problem with him.

  “Hi, Marin. I’m Rocco,” he replied with a smile.

  “I know who you are,” Marin said, laughing softly.

  Rocco cringed inside. Of course she knew who he was. But to not introduce himself to her in response to her introduction would have seemed too rude. The silence stretched out between them then and Rocco knew that he had to say something quickly before the awkwardness consumed him completely and he missed his chance to talk to the girl for a little bit longer.

  “So, you’re the Baileys’ prodigal daughter, then?” Rocco said.

  “I wouldn’t say that as such,” Marin laughed. “I was only traveling for a couple of years.”

  Rocco raised an eyebrow and Marin laughed again.

  “Okay, so I was traveling for almost ten years,” she conceded. “I left when I was eighteen before I lost my nerve and became too afraid to travel the world alone.”

  “How does it feel to be back?” he asked.

  Marin shrugged.

  “Oh, you know. Good in some ways, bad in others,” she said.

  Rocco opened his mouth to ask her if she was planning on traveling again in the immediate future, but he closed it when the door to the living room opened and Mrs. Bailey came in, followed by two sheepish-looking young boys.

  “Good afternoon, boys,” Rocco said, shifting his focus from Marin to the twins.

  It was an effort, but he knew what had to be done and he didn’t want to let his parents down. Not now that they were trusting him with more important pack jobs. He kept his eyes on the twins as they shifted awkwardly on their feet, looking down at the ground.

  “What do you say?” Mrs. Bailey prompted them, nudging the one nearest to her gently with her elbow.

  “Afternoon,” one of them muttered.

  “Hi,” the other one managed, rubbing the back of his head where his mother’s elbow had connected.

  “Sit down,” Rocco said to the boys.

  No one seemed to think it was at all strange that Rocco was taking control and inviting the boys to sit down in their own home. They crossed to the couch and sat down side by side. Mrs. Bailey took the armchair where Marin was perched on the arm. She had her coat on now, but she was making no effort to leave. Rocco hoped it was because she was as taken with him as he was with her, but he suspected it was more likely to be a case of her wanting to know what was going on with her brothers.

  “I have been getting reports that you two have shifted into your wolf form in the presence of a human. Is that true?” Rocco asked.

  He kept his voice firm but not angry. He wanted to get across the seriousness of the situation, but he didn’t want to scare the boys to the point where he would never get them to open up to him. Rocco kept his focus on the boys, flicking his glance from one twin to the other. One of the boys shrugged, his eyes on his shoes. The other one looked up at Rocco and nodded his head.

  “Yeah. We did,” he said, ever so slightly defiant. “But there was a good reason for it.”

  Rocco shook his head slowly.

  “There’s never a good reason for risking the safety of the pack like that,” he said. “Do you have any idea of the potential consequences of your actions? Not just for yourselves but for all of us?”

  “We’re stronger than them,” the more forward of the two boys said. He looked at Rocco fleetingly, but he wouldn’t meet his eye. His defiance faded a little as he seemed to sense that Rocco wasn’t in agreement with him on this at all. His final words seemed to be almost an afterthought. “What can they do to us?”

  “You’re missing the point,” Rocco said. “It’s not about the fact that if we wanted to, we could overpower humans. The point is that we don’t want to do that. We want to live in peace alongside the humans and be free to live our way and have the humans be free to live their way.”

  “So, what are the consequences?” the boy who had remained silent until this point asked in a quiet voice.

  “Well, there are a few options ranging from me giving you two an official warning and you promising me this will never happen again, all the way to you and your parents being exiled from the pack,” Rocco said.

  He had no intention of exiling the Baileys, at least not for a first offence, but it was a suitable punishment in some circumstances and he wanted the boys, particularly the louder one, to really appreciate how serious their actions could be, and not just for themselves, but for their family too.

  As he spoke, Marin gasped. He looked at her. Her hand was pressed to her lips, her face looking pale.

  “No. Please don’t do that. They’re just kids,” she said.

  As much as Rocco hated to see that expression on Marin’s face because of him, he knew he couldn’t back down quite yet, not until the boys had at least apologized and reassured him that this wouldn’t happen again.

  “They’re old enough to know better,” he said.

  “We won’t do it again,” the quieter boy said. “Really, we won’t. Please don’t send us away.”

  Rocco looked from him to the other boy, who looked back at him.

  “Can you make me the same promise as your brother has?” he prompted him.

  The room was silent for a moment, the air thick with tension, and Rocco was starting to think the boy was going to call his bluff.

  “Kyle,” Mrs. Bailey hissed. “Answer him.”

  “I promise,” Kyle said and the tension seemed to melt away.

  “Right. In that case, just this once, I am willing to issue a warning. But be warned—this will be the one and only warning you boys will get. If word gets back to me that either of you have stepped out of line again, then I will be taking further action. Is that clear?” Rocco said.

  Both of the boys nodded their heads and Rocco nodded back at them. He turned his attention to Mrs. Bailey.

  “Might I suggest you and your husband ensure this is a promise the boys keep? And feel free to issue your own punishment as well,” he said.

  Mrs. Bailey nodded her head.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly.

  Rocco nodded again.

  “I shall take my leave now,” he said.

  “I’ll see you out,” Marin said quickly, jumping to her feet. She blushed slightly as Mrs. Bailey looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What? I’m leaving anyway. I only stayed to make sure the boys weren’t in any more trouble.”

  “See you later, then, love,” Mrs. Bailey said, giving Marin a look Rocco couldn’t read. “Goodbye, Rocco.”

  “Goodbye, Mrs. Bailey. Goodbye, boys,” Rocco said. “Remember your promise, okay?”

  The boys nodded in tandem and Rocco headed for the door with Marin on his heels. He could smell the scent of her perfume, a sweet vanilla fragrance that washed over him and made him wonder how Marin’s skin would taste. He wanted to lick her all over and find out. He imagined her to taste sweet like her scent, but with a salty undertaste that was all her. He adjusted the waist band of his jeans before he reached up and opened the front door, hoping that his erection wouldn’t be visible.

  He stepped outside and Marin followed, pulling the door closed behind her. If she could see that Rocco’s cock was hard inside of his jeans, she made no comment on it. Rocco was glad to be saved the embarrassment of her pointing out his erection, but part of him was a bit upset that she didn’t see it and decide to ask him back to her place. He pushed
the thought away before his mind could run away with it any further than it already had gone.

  They walked down the garden path in silence. Rocco tried to think of something to say to break the silence between them, but everything he came up with sounded lame and so he kept his mouth shut, deciding that awkward silence was slightly better in the big scheme of things than awkward conversation. When they reached the gate, Marin pointed to the yellow car that was parked behind his red one.

  “That’s me,” she said.

  Rocco nodded to the red car.

  “And that’s me. Good night, Marin,” he said.

  He walked to the car. He had his hand on the driver’s door handle when Marin spoke up, saying Rocco’s name in a quiet, timid voice. He turned his head to look at her. She had her driver’s side door open, but she hadn’t gotten into the car yet. The breeze moved her hair around her face and she reached up and absently tucked it behind her ears.

  “They’re not really bad kids, you know,” she said, her voice louder now, more even.

  Rocco shrugged.

  “I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm by their actions, but like I said in there, they are old enough to know better. They are old enough to know and respect the rules,” he said.

  “Maybe,” Marin said, no longer looking at Rocco but looking at the ground instead.

  Rocco frowned and moved closer to her.

  “Maybe?” he repeated. “Have I made a mistake about the boys’ age?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “But how are they meant to know better when they aren’t taught better? The way they were talking in there? About us being stronger than humans? Those are my parents’ thoughts on the matter too. The boys pick up on it.”

  “You mean your parents are actively encouraging that kind of behavior from them?” Rocco asked in what he hoped was a soothing, non-accusatory tone.

  “Not encouraging the behavior as such,” Marin said. “But certainly not discouraging it either.”

  Rocco felt himself soften slightly toward the boys. He had to admit that Marin had a point. Even at fifteen, the boys were more inclined to take their parents’ word for something than to abide by the official line if the two differed from each other. They were still at that age where pleasing their parents was pretty high up on their priority list, and Rocco was now really glad that he had only issued a mild punishment. Maybe it would be enough to convince the Baileys that they needed to watch what they were saying around their children a bit more.

  Marin flashed Rocco a self-conscious smile and started to get into her car.

  “Wait,” Rocco said, unsure of what he wanted to say, knowing only that he didn’t want her to go.

  He started toward Marin, but she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve said too much already,” she said.

  She slipped quickly into the driver’s seat, pulled the car door closed, and drove away, leaving Rocco standing alone on the sidewalk. He watched her car as it disappeared down the road, but in his mind’s eye, he wasn’t seeing the car. He was seeing Marin and her beautiful eyes.

  3

  Marin shook her head as she sat waiting for her cab. Every time she had a spare moment, her thoughts went back to Rocco and this time was no exception. Of course Marin had been aware of Rocco before the day he had come to her parents’ place to talk to the twins, but that had been the first time she’d gotten a close-up look at him. And now that she had, she found that she was smitten with him.

  She imagined herself pushing her hands into Rocco’s thick, black hair and losing herself in his deep brown eyes. She imagined running her hands over his toned chest and she imagined what he would taste like, his lips on hers. Her pussy dampened just thinking about Rocco and for the millionth time, Marin told herself she had to stop thinking about him. She had to stop thinking about how tall and strong he was. And she really had to stop thinking about how he had perhaps the cutest ass she had ever seen.

  It didn’t matter that she knew the attraction she had felt when she looked at Rocco hadn’t been one-sided. There was no way they could be together. He was pack royalty and she was just a nobody. And not just any old nobody—no, she was a nobody from a family that seemed to always cause trouble wherever they went. No, Marin thought to herself with a heartfelt sigh, it would never happen between her and Rocco.

  Marin jumped up when a car horn sounded outside of her house. She grabbed her purse, pulled her mask on, and headed out to the waiting cab, locking the door behind her. She got in and gave the cab driver the address. She was going to her friend Maisie’s masked ball. Maisie’s family had thrown a masked ball annually for as long as Marin could remember, but this year, they had let Maisie, their daughter, organize the ball. Marin was excited about the party but nervous for her friend as they sped toward the house.

  The masked ball had always been one of the most talked about social gatherings in their calendar with everyone who was anyone in the pack attending, and Marin hoped for Maisie’s sake that this year was no different. The ruling couple had RSVP’d yes, which had sent Maisie into a state of excited panic. Rocco had, of course, turned down the invitation, but that hadn’t concerned Maisie. He had never attended a single one of the masked balls. At the time, when Maisie had told her about the ruling couple’s acceptance of her invitation and Rocco’s polite “no thank you”, it hadn’t concerned Marin either, but now, as much as she tried to tell herself to stop thinking about Rocco, she wished that he would be there tonight. Not for anything to happen between them—Marin knew that was just a silly fantasy of hers—but he would sure give her something good to look at.

  The cab pulled up outside of Maisie’s place and Marin paid the driver and got out. She could hear the sounds of music, conversation, and laughter coming from inside of Maisie’s place and she smiled to herself, some of the nerves for her friend fading away. Maisie had pulled the party off pretty well, judging by the sounds drifting out of the house.

  Marin moved inside the house, smiling and greeting friends as she made her way through the crowd of guests. The guests had all made an effort, dressed in suits for the men and cocktail dresses for the women, their masks exotic and glittery. Marin weaved her way through the crowd to the kitchen where she poured herself a generous gin and tonic and then she began to move again, finding her friends once more and stopping to chat with them.

  By eleven fifty, Marin was tipsy but not drunk. She was in good spirits, having spent the whole night laughing and joking and dancing. At midnight, the masks would come off and everyone would pretend to be surprised by who was who, even though generally, everyone already knew each other’s identities.

  “Okay,” Maisie said from Marin’s elbow. “I know we all pretend like we don’t know who each other is, but seriously, who is that guy?”

  She nodded and Marin followed her line of sight. A man stood alone, his back pressed against the wall. He was dressed all in black, including his mask, which covered all of his face from the mouth upwards.

  “I mean, it’s my party and I have no idea who he is,” Maisie added.

  “Well, you’ll find out soon enough,” Marin laughed. “He’s probably someone’s plus one.”

  Maisie nodded her head and then she flitted off to refill drinks and mingle with her guests. Marin moved through the guests and went to use the bathroom. She returned, coming down the stairs just before midnight, not wanting to miss the moment of the unmasking. She stepped off the bottom stair and collided with someone who approached the staircase from the side of it.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t see you coming there. I really should be…”

  She had been going to add the words “more careful” but before she could finish her sentence, she looked up and found herself gazing at the mysterious man in black and the words faded away as she caught a whiff of his scent, musky and hot, and her wolf stirred inside of her.

  His mouth moved into a smile, the only part of his face not concealed behind his mask. Before M
arin could do anything but start to smile back, the man in black bent down slightly and touched his lips to hers. She started to pull back, shocked at the kiss, but then she realized that fire was flooding her body. The kiss felt right somehow and instead of pulling away, Marin allowed herself to melt into it.

  Her lips moved with the stranger’s lips, his tongue probing into her mouth. She could feel his chest pressing against her, toned and muscular. His scent came to her stronger now, consuming her completely, and she breathed deeply, sniffing him in. He smelled of musk and spices and she felt her body heat up uncontrollably as he kissed her. Her wolf was going crazy, howling inside of her, and she had to make a conscious effort to keep it down and allow her human side to remain in control.

  As they kissed, Marin became aware of the crowd around her counting down from ten and as they said one, the mystery man pulled his mouth from hers. His lips curled up in a smile again as he reached up and peeled his mask off and Marin’s jaw dropped when she saw the man beneath the mask. Rocco. No wonder Maisie had had no idea who he was.

  She reached up and pulled her own mask off, grinning up at Rocco. He smiled back and then he took her hand in his and without a word, he led her back up the stairs she had just come down. Marin allowed herself to be led upstairs and when Rocco pushed open the door to one of the bedrooms and pulled her inside, she made no move to stop him. She didn’t want to stop him. She no longer cared whether this was a good idea or not. All she cared about was the hungry need inside of her—a hungry need that only Rocco could fill.

  Rocco pushed the door closed again behind Marin and then he pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly against his body. Marin’s body responded instantly to Rocco’s touch, and so much pressure was building up from her center that she felt like she might burst. Her clit pulsed, craving Rocco’s touch, and when he ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass, she moaned quietly. Rocco cut her moan off by clamping his mouth tightly back on to hers.