by Lisa Oliver
More Than a Handful
Alpha and Omega series # 12
By Lisa Oliver
More Than A Handful (Alpha and Omega series #12)
Copyright © Lisa Oliver, 2020
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cover Design by Lisa Oliver
Cover pictures purchased from Shutterstock.
First Edition October 2020
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, Lisa Oliver. [email protected]
No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without permission from Lisa Oliver. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.
More Than A Handful is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks are owned by the relevant companies and are used for reference purposes in this book only.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Other Books By Lisa/Lee Oliver
Dedication
You, my lovely readers, are the reason I get out of bed in the morning – I love you all.
To Amanda, Carla, and Pat who polished this prose and complained about ugly crying.
To Phil because you told me this story wasn’t shit.
And to my puppies who, even though only one of them can get under the desk now, manage to stay close and keep me company when I’m lost in the world of my men.
Chapter One
Karl Jacobs heaved a sigh as he closed his front door, leaning on it for a moment, his keen senses appreciating the quiet of home. What a fucking night. I am not going through that shit again. Kicking off his shoes, Karl loosened his tie one handed, dropping it and his keys on the small table he kept by the door for that purpose. Ignoring the stack of mail waiting for his attention, he turned on the lights before walking silently down the hallway, through the living room and into the kitchen, opening his refrigerator door and pulling out the cold beer he knew would be waiting for him.
Flicking the bottle top onto the counter, Karl took a swig as he wandered back through to his living space. His butt had barely hit the cushions when Born to be Wild shrieked from his jacket pocket. Glancing up at the clock which showed 2:33, and yes, that was in the morning, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and accepted the call.
“Do you know what time it is?” Taking another swig from his bottle, Karl leaned his head back on the cushions, closing his eyes.
“It is two thirty-four in the morning.” Allan’s voice sounded far too bright for the late hour. “I received a message from your uncle, who threatened me with castration if I didn’t pass it on immediately. As I’m rather partial to my genitalia…”
“He does have my number,” Karl broke in quickly. The last thing he wanted to think about was his PA’s junk.
“Which is only useful if you answer his calls.” Allan’s little huff let Karl know what he thought about Karl’s lack of phone answering skills. “Your uncle’s message, and I’m quoting this verbatim, is that you behaved atrociously at Miss Carter’s party. Your manners were boorish, you drank far more than is considered acceptable in mixed company, your tie was loosened at the dinner table, oh, and it was the wrong colored tie because you weren’t wearing the pack colors. You had the audacity to answer calls, also during dinner, and at one point excused yourself from the table for twenty-two minutes while still talking on the phone, which was particularly vexing to Miss Carter who was waiting to serve the main course. Lastly, and your uncle was particularly upset about this one, there was no announcement of the anticipated engagement between you and the aforementioned Miss Carter. I didn’t know you were getting engaged. I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
“I’m not.” Karl tilted his bottle again and emptied it. “It’s late. I’m exhausted. Was there anything else?”
“Did you really walk out before the speeches?”
Setting his bottle on the coffee table next to his chair, Karl rubbed the spot between his eyes. “There shouldn’t have been speeches. It was supposed to be a mix and mingle dinner. I drove three hours, after working since 6 a.m. yesterday morning, to attend the dinner because my uncle insisted it was vital to pack relations. His pack, mind, not mine. I was collared by my uncle, before I’d even got in the door. He shoved a ring box in my hand and told me it was time to do the right thing, before introducing me to the lovely Miss Carter. I wouldn’t have even stayed for the dinner, but I was so damn hungry… so yes, to answer your question, I walked out before the damn speeches, dropping the ring box in my uncle’s lap as I left.”
Allan’s whistle was loud in Karl’s ear and he held the phone away from his head slightly. “That was a pretty ballsy thing to do to an alpha, Alpha.”
“Thank you for that timely reminder. I am an alpha, and I’ve been perfectly capable of making my own decisions for more than fifty years. Seeing as you’re so bright and bubbly you can draft up a letter to my uncle in his capacity as the alpha of the Blue Moon pack and advise him that I will no longer be available for any pack or family functions as I am hereby revoking my pack status effective immediately. Something that I should’ve done a long time ago.”
Allan’s silence spoke volumes. When he did speak there was a slight tremor in his voice. “You’re going rogue?”
Flicking a glance at the clock again, Karl could see it was getting on for three and he had a breakfast meeting at seven. “Not rogue, I’d be a lone wolf,” he reminded his PA firmly as he levered himself out of his chair. “A status that is allowed by the paranormal council for shifters who renounce their pack status and prefer to live among humans. A rogue is a shifter who has committed a crime against their home pack. The only crime I’ve committed was not telling my uncle to butt out of my personal life twenty years ago.”
“But what’s going to happen to me? Will I have to choose between leaving the pack or losing my job?”
The question made Karl pause. Allan was a low-ranking wolf, a lot younger than Karl’s seventy-four years. Hell, Ka
rl had left the pack and forged a life of his own before Allan had even been born. His uncle had recommended Allan for the job when he saw through social media that Karl was looking for an efficient PA. The recommendation was solid. Since his first day, Allan had been the model of organization and followed orders like a dream.
“I can’t make that decision for you, Allan, I’m sorry.” Karl started to climb his stairs, feeling as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “In an ideal world, Uncle Bevan will realize he’s pushed me too far for the last time, remove me from the pack without fuss, and business will carry on as normal. But I know you still have family on pack grounds that you see regularly, and my Uncle Bevan is your alpha. If he won’t allow you to work for a lone wolf…” He trailed off. “I don’t want to lose you, but my mind is made up. This is the fifth time Uncle Bevan has pulled a stunt like this in two years.”
“Sixth. You’re forgetting Miss Fiona, the council guard’s daughter. You didn’t even meet her, but the meeting was your uncle’s idea.” Allan’s voice sounded wooden over the phone. “Do you have to send the letter now? I’m sure the alpha is just worried about pack succession. You are the Blue Moon Pack heir apparent and he just wants to see you with a few kids before he retires, and you take over.”
“Or, he could have more kiddies of his own, or better yet, let my cousin Joy take over the pack. She’s old enough and I’m sure she’s got alpha genetics too.”
“You know the pack would never accept a female alpha.” Allan sounded shocked at the suggestion and Karl wondered what rhetoric his uncle spouted at pack runs. It’d been a long time since he’d been on one.
But Allan hadn’t finished. “Don’t you see, that’s why you’re still heir apparent. The alpha’s four daughters will be married off to alphas of their own in other packs when it’s time. You’re still the only one who can lead our pack when your uncle retires.”
Pushing open his bedroom door, Karl walked over to turn on the bedside light, before wandering through and turning on the shower. “And I didn’t have a problem being heir apparent, until the issue of me starting a family of my own was pushed in my face, repeatedly,” he said as he went back into the bedroom. “Look, Allan, you know more than anyone what my life’s like right now. I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to keep the software launch on deadline and budget and if we have one more delay, I swear I’ll be bald. The call I took over dinner, that upset my uncle so much, was the systems manager telling me they’d found another bug. Fortunately, we could work it out on the phone, but that sort of thing isn’t going to stop until after the launch. I don’t have time to breathe, let alone date.”
Allan wasn’t dissuaded. “The alpha has only got your best interests at heart,” he cried, all signs of the happy go lucky PA Karl was used to gone. “Pups ensure the growth and well being of a pack. You can’t have any pups if you’re not bonded to a female wolf.”
Sitting on the bed, Karl tugged off his socks with one hand, still holding onto the phone with the other. “And I’ve already explained to my uncle a dozen times that I’m not bonding with anyone simply to have kids. The pack has got enough of them already. And every time he and I talk, he tells me he understands my position. But then, the moment I let my guard down, he starts pushing these females on me again like I’m a bull at an auction. If any of them had been my fated mate, then the outcome would have been different and I could’ve even had pups by now. But they weren’t, so I’m still single and I intend to stay that way until my mate comes along.”
“The alpha makes decisions to keep the whole pack healthy.” Allan could be stubborn at times, and as far as Karl was concerned, three o’clock in the morning was not the right time.
“And now I’m making my decision as an independent alpha in my own right, to stop allowing Uncle Bevan to interfere in my personal life. The only way I can do that under pack law, and without showing disrespect to my uncle, is to become a lone wolf. Make sure that letter is on my desk for signing in the morning. I should be in about nine thirty as I’ve got that breakfast meeting with Jeffers and Collins at seven. I’ll see you in the office?”
“I’ve never let you down before.” Karl was left listening to the dial tone, and he tossed his phone on the bedside cabinet. Allan’s parting comment was a clear indication that he thought Karl’s distancing from the pack was letting him down in a big way. It’s not like I can stay in the pack just for him… I don’t owe him anything except wages and decent working conditions. Although, Karl knew if his uncle did get angry about him leaving the pack and started throwing his alpha weight around, Bevan could very well order Allan back home, which would be a damn shame.
Why does my uncle keep being a pain in my ass about this one thing? Shucking off the rest of his clothes, Karl went through to the bathroom, stepping into the shower and letting the rain shower head cascade hot water over his scalp.
Being near pack territory, or anywhere near his uncle, always brought back memories Karl would rather forget. The pack house fire that killed his father, who had been the pack alpha. Watching his mother fade and pine away just two weeks after the loss of her true mate. Karl himself was still young at the time – only twenty-two - an active member of the pack he knew he would lead one day.
One day. In his heart of hearts, Karl had lived for that day never happening. It’d been his uncle Bevan who had taken over when the pack was reeling from grief over the death of their beloved alpha and alpha mate. Karl himself wasn’t capable - filled with an anger he didn’t understand over the deaths, which in his head were senseless. His father had pushed his mother out of the house and yelled he was going to check the upstairs room, while smoke was billowing out of the windows. That was the last anyone saw of his father alive.
An angry young alpha was no help for a pack already coping with grief. It was Bevan who took him aside one day not long after the fire, telling him in his calm measured tones that going away was a good idea – a way for Karl to get some distance from the tragedy and to experience life outside the pack.
Ha, which worked only too well. Karl reached for his shampoo. Fifty-two years later and his software company was worth billions. After his recent move to San Diego, complete with ID proving he was his own son, he was considered one of the most eligible bachelors among the social elite. He had a house he loved, a good team of people he worked with, and enough social activity outside of the pack to keep him busy. The only thorn in my side is my uncle pushing to mate me off for pack connections.
Massaging conditioner through his dark hair that he always kept short and well-trimmed, Karl kept his eyes closed, dreaming of the sweet young omega he hoped would be his mate. While many alphas ended up with beta mates, or even human ones, Karl always felt he was destined for an omega. She’d be cuddly and cute, smart and funny, and most importantly, she’d adore him.
Karl’s hand slid down to his hardening cock. The sweet young omega he dreamed of might not have a face yet, but Karl was sure she was out there just waiting for him to find her. In the meantime, he had an exceptionally good imagination. Oh yeah, open those lush lips for me, baby.
Chapter Two
“Hey, TC, me and the others are heading out to Denny’s for an early breakfast. You wanna come?”
Pulling his head out of his locker, Tanner Corban, or TC to his work buddies, shook his head at Toby, his partner on the force. “I’m beat, man. I can still smell the weed and meth in my clothes from that last bust, and I promised my aunt Julie I’d help her move in, ooh,” he checked his watch, “three and a half hours from now. If I don’t get a shower and at least two hours sleep before I see her, you know I’ll get another lecture from her about the perils of my profession.”
“Aww, your aunt Julie just worries about you scarring your handsome face,” Toby teased, reaching up and patting Tanner’s scruff. At five foot ten, Toby was average height for a man, but Tanner towered over him at six foot six.
“Yeah, well,” Tanner pushed his friend’s ha
nd away, “she also makes the best damn bacon and egg muffins in the city, so I’m not turning down a chance of having breakfast with her. You go and eat with the others. I’ll suffer my aunt Julie’s lectures just so I can enjoy her baking.”
“Where’s she moving to, anyway?” Toby opened his own locker and pulled out a shirt. Working in vice meant having at least one spare change of clothes was a necessity. “I thought she turned down the idea of living in a facility.”
“She did initially.” Tanner whipped his shirt off, and dropped it into a plastic bag, pulling his other one off the hanger and putting it on quickly. “But, with that fall she had last month, her doctor said she either needed someone with her full time or…”
“Yeah, I can’t see your aunt putting up with that.” Toby laughed. “I made one little comment one time during her afternoon soapies and she damn near bit my head off.”
Tanner snorted as he tucked his shirt into his pants. The woman he called Aunt was human, but she had more bite than many shifters would have. “The place she’s going to seems decent enough. It’s clean and the staff are friendly. She has her own apartment, so she can have her things around her, and they don’t restrict visitors until after ten o’clock, so she can still host her card nights with her friends. Mrs. Appleby, you remember her? She has the apartment two doors down and it was her that convinced my aunt it was a good idea.”
“Your aunt Julie and Mrs. Appleby in the same complex?” Toby slammed his locker door shut with a laugh. “Vice has never been called out to an assisted living facility before, but I’ll bet we get some calls once those two get together.”
“They’re not that bad,” Tanner chuckled as he stuffed his bag with his dirty laundry into his backpack and shut his locker door too. “I’ll see you here tonight at seven. Maybe things will be a lot quieter and cleaner than they were tonight.”
