Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection

by Bolryder, Terry

  * * *

  Rose

  Shit. I don’t know how he found out. I’ve been using everything that I’ve been told to use to hide my scent. No one has ever picked up on it before, so I don’t know how he did.

  Be careful. He’s still Rowan’s son. Even if he’s not full alpha, he’s likely to be more keen than your average werewolf.

  That’s what my boss said when I was given the assignment. I just didn’t know how right he was going to be at the time.

  “I’m sure I have no clue what you’re talking about, Hawes,” I reply. I’m not sure what to do other than play dumb until I figure out what to do with this situation. I’m pretty sure when my superiors sent me here tonight they weren’t planning on anyone getting shot, or my cover being blown.

  “Funny thing about that. You seem to be undercover, but you sure don’t look like any cops or detectives I’ve seen working these streets.”

  “I’m newly assigned.”

  He continues. “And you don’t seem to be packing any firearm like a typical undercover cop would have, or you would have drawn it by now. And even if you were a cop, they’d be out of their minds to assign you to work alone in a part of town like this, going to underground cage fights at night.”

  “It’s a unique assignment,” I say, trying to keep a nervous stutter out of my voice.

  With a lightning-quick step, Hawes closes the distance between us, stepping in front of me to close off my path. I stop quickly but still bump into his hard chest. He looks down, standing almost a foot higher than me, and stares suspiciously into my eyes. I can feel the warmth of his breath on me at this distance.

  “And most importantly… You. Don’t. Smell. Human.” He enunciates each word for effect.

  I got nothing. Between feeling the warmth of his hot, muscled body next to me, and having a full view of his abs, pecs, and beautiful, inquisitive face, I’m at a loss for words. I need some distance.

  And a cold shower when I get home.

  I step around him, hoping to hide the blush that is certainly creeping up my face right now. The cool night air will probably only make it more obvious.

  He follows eagerly. His step is almost playful next to me.

  “I can’t say I know what you’re talking about,” I say. “You must be losing it. Maybe the tranquilizer affected your reasoning abilities.” My voice breaks a little, making me sound even more unconvincing.

  “Oh, really? If that’s the case, then this shouldn’t bother you.”

  He gently pushes me to the wall a few feet from us, and pins me against it, his body and chest only centimeters away from mine. The brick is cold behind my back and a shiver of anticipation goes through me as I stare up at him. His beautiful face looms over mine, and his hands press on the wall at my sides, closing me in entirely.

  My wolf calls to me, begging to let me touch him. To feel him everywhere. To let him claim me. I’ve never felt it this strong before in my life. I’m an only child of a very powerful father, a powerful alpha, and he kept me very insulated from the rest of werewolf society.

  So I guess I haven’t met a lot of eligible male wolves, especially ones as alpha, as renegade, as hot, as Hawes.

  “Doing anything for you?” Hawes says with a smile, showing that sly canine again.

  I can’t keep a sigh from escaping my lips. It’s taking everything I have to not pull him forward the remaining few inches between us and into a deep kiss. This must be the effect of pheromones, because with each breath of him I can feel my heart beating faster and my knees getting shaky. He smells like spices and pine, sweat, and something else uniquely masculine and entirely him.

  I keep my hands pressed to the cold wall behind me to keep myself from grabbing his pecs and enjoying them in my hands.

  He eyes me and I’m utterly helpless beneath his gaze. It’s as if he can dominate me just by being this close.

  And I want him, so badly it almost hurts.

  “You’re delicious, Rose,” Hawes tells me, nuzzling in closer, bringing those sexy lips dangerously close to the side of my neck, just below my ear.

  Mustering years of training and exercises in self-control, I break out of the sex-fueled haze that Hawes is surrounding me with and gently push him off me. Gosh, that was hard. My wolf wants him bad.

  This guy is trouble.

  “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to find my car,” I tell him, regaining my composure.

  Hawes laughs, his hands on his hips. “Wow. You turned me down. Very impressive, if I must say so myself.”

  I take a deep breath and let it out as I walk away. Definitely time to call it a night.

  Chapter 6

  Hawes

  This girl is something else.

  She definitely responded to me, that much was obvious. I could sense her pheromones reacting to mine, but they’re definitely being disguised by something. Even right next to her it’s muted, like she’s surrounded by a glass bubble that keeps me from scenting her.

  But no doubt about it, she’s a shifter alright. And a wolf. But I’ve never seen her before, know nothing about her or her clan, and she’s not giving me anything to work with at all.

  I don’t want her to just walk out of my life. She’s the first person to intrigue me in some time, and I’m not willing to let that go.

  Rose walks down the alley toward a small fenced parking lot at the end. I follow, walking next to her.

  “So, tell me truthfully Rose. What brings you out here?”

  “I was assigned to keep an eye on you. You and people like you,” she says, keeping her eyes fixed ahead of her. Apparently looking at me is uncomfortable for some reason.

  “People like me?” I ask. Werewolves more likely.

  Since she’s not watching me I have time to stare at her. She’s somewhat short, probably a few inches over five feet. Her skin is paler than I’ve ever seen on a shifter. She has a heart shaped face and delicate features, pigmented lips that quivered when I pressed her up against that wall. Damn. Her hair is a unique color, so blond it’s almost silver, and it’s pulled back in a short ponytail. It bounces as she walks in front of me.

  Most of her physique is obscured by the baggy hoodie, but as she walks I can make out the curves of her body. Generous hips, great breasts. Shapely.

  Oh, the things I would love to do with you in bed, Rose.

  “Stop staring, creeper,” she scolds me, as if she can feel my gaze from behind her.

  “Hey, I wasn’t the one stalking in the first place,” I quip.

  She stops, almost like she’s offended, and then lets out a low laugh. We chuckle together. After a night like tonight, what else is left? The air is a little easier between us as we walk together. We reach the parking lot, and a lone car, probably hers, sits waiting in the corner of the lot thirty feet from us.

  “I guess this is goodbye, Hawes,” she tells me, sounding the most earnest she’s been all night.

  “For now, I assume. When can I schedule a follow up with you? Perhaps dinner?”

  “Hm. I don’t know about that. You’re a little too much trouble for me, I think.” She turns, stops, then looks back at me. “But you take care of yourself, and maybe we will see each other again soon,” she says. I like to think I hear a hint of longing in that soft voice.

  “Hasta la vista it is then, baby,” I reply, giving a haphazard salute. “Oh, and Rose?”

  She turns back to me, one eyebrow cocked.

  “I’ll let you chain me up anytime.” I give her a rakish grin that never fails with the ladies and she blushes and seems to almost consider it.

  Then she shakes her head, takes one last, lingering look at me, and turns and walks away toward her car.

  I sigh. Watching her leave, the cold feels a bit more bitter, the city more dark and lonely around me now.

  I turn to walk back toward where I’m parked, but stop when I hear a loud explosion behind me. I whirl around to see Rose being flung from the direction of her car, which is now a giant
fireball in the corner of the lot where it’s parked.

  I take off, feeling like I’m running in slow motion as I use all of the supernatural speed I possess to get beneath her and cushion her fall. She hits me and pushes me back and we both hit the ground and slide back across the pavement. She still took the brunt of the blast though and is lying unconscious across my lap.

  I gently feel for a pulse, it’s there. Thank heavens. She’s breathing too. There are only a few superficial wounds on her face, minor cuts and burns. She groans and moves her head, so I’m guessing she’s okay as far as her spine goes. I gently move her off my lap onto the ground so I can take a better look.

  I check the rest of her body and don’t see any severe bleeding.

  She got lucky. If she had been five feet closer to the car, the blast would have incinerated her.

  The relief of knowing she’s ok for the moment is overtaken by the realization that this was no accident. Somebody wanted Rose dead.

  And they almost succeeded.

  Suddenly I feel the walls closing in around me, as if we’re being watched from the windows of the buildings overlooking the parking lot. We’re not safe here. Someone activated it. She hadn’t touched anything on the car to set it off.

  I have to get her out of here. The need to keep her safe thrums in my veins like adrenaline, the most important thing to me at this moment.

  So I pick Rose up in my arms, being gentle so as to not potentially aggravate any internal wounds, and bolt for my car at top speed. Down the alley, through a cross street, moving as quickly as I can while being gentle. I’ve never been so grateful for my body and my speed.

  She’s still out by the time I’ve reached the car, so I put her carefully in the passenger’s seat, do the seatbelt, hop in, and peel out of the garage I’m parked in.

  I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow, or who will be looking for me for taking her, but anywhere is safer for her than leaving her here.

  Chapter 7

  Rose

  I awake to the feel of soft sheets and a comfortable bed. And a pounding headache. Morning light streams through a nearby window, forcing me to blink painfully. The window is open, filling the room with a cool breeze.

  I blink a few more times, trying to clear the fog from my mind. I look around again. Where the hell am I?

  I sit up in the bed, aware this is not my home. Was I kidnapped? It doesn’t seem like the kind of place someone takes you when holding you hostage. The furnishings are nice, but simple.

  I look out the open window and see buildings around me. We’re at least on the second floor, maybe higher, so I must be in some kind of condo or apartment. Old, but in good repair. I can tell this is a man’s place from the loose articles of clothing on the floor and pieces of trash on tops of surfaces. I look to a small bedside table with a clock on it and a picture that looks like it’s from someone’s wedding. The clock says nine am.

  Damn, it’s late. For me at least.

  I run my hand through my hair, trying to remember. Last night’s events come rushing back to me. Walking away from Hawes after rescuing him. Going toward my car. A loud sound ringing in my ears. Being thrown into the air. Blackness. Being unable to move or speak.

  Oh no. My car. Well, the agency’s car. More importantly, someone tried to kill me. Damn.

  I hear a loud clank from upstairs, like the sound of weights being racked.

  Someone’s here. I think back, but can’t remember anything after the blast. Hawes must have taken me to his place, knowing I didn’t need a doctor and not knowing what else to do with me.

  So that must be him, clanking around upstairs.

  I look myself over and realize the only thing I have on aside from my bra and underwear is a tee shirt that bears the letters of some university I don’t know. I suddenly feel very vulnerable in this unfamiliar place. Lying on the bed next to me are a pair of pants and a soft-looking tank top. My clothes from last night are nowhere to be seen.

  More muffled thumping from upstairs. I quietly get out of bed and pull on the clothes provided. Then I peek out my door. There’s a small living room connected with a kitchen and a door that’s slightly ajar through which I can see steps leading upstairs. That must be where he went.

  I sneak into the kitchen and look for something sharp. Hawes might be nice, but he’s been on the agency’s watch list for a reason, so I don’t fully trust him yet. In the kitchen I find a large cleaver, and figure this is good enough. I know how to defend myself if things get messy.

  I find the door leading up to the attic slightly ajar, and open it quietly. I start to move up the steps, when a single step creaks loudly.

  The motion in the room upstairs stops for a moment, then resumes.

  I make my way to the top of the stairs and peek around the corner. Hawes is inside, standing in front of a wall length mirror and lifting two humongous dumbbells.

  “You can come in if you want. No need to be skittish,” I hear him say between huffs as he lifts the weights. “Just let me finish this set.”

  I walk in, but stand at the door tentatively, resting my back against the frame.

  “C’mon, don’t be a stranger,” he calls, watching me in the mirror he’s standing in front of.

  His friendliness is somewhat disarming, but he’s right. If he wanted to hurt me, he could have done it last night when I was unconscious. Or before that, when he had my back to the wall and could have done anything he wanted to me and let me push him away.

  I take a seat on a nearby stool, placing the knife on a small neighboring table, feeling stupid for taking it with me in the first place.

  Hawes looks at me, smiles warmly in response to me letting my guard down, and then resumes what he’s doing.

  I’m suddenly aware of the fact that I’m alone in a room with him. And he’s half naked. I recall him pinning me against the wall last night, muscles sheened by sweat. And now he’s right here in front of me, wearing only a loose pair of shorts.

  “Do you have something against wearing a shirt?” I ask, trying to avoid being distracted by his hot, muscled, glistening body.

  Hawes laughs. “Just when I’m around you, Rose,” he says, putting down the weights he was using and moving to a bench to do chest exercises. “Though the other night wasn’t my fault. Why the thugs had to strip me down to chain me up, I don’t know. Unless they enjoyed the sight of my body as much as you seem to.” He grins at me and goes back to his reps, repeatedly benching a bar that probably weighs a good deal more than I do.

  The sight is agonizingly sexy. Watching him work out I can see every delicious muscle accentuated perfectly. His pecs bulge with exertion from the bar, and his body is so tight all over. His chestnut hair is a bit mussed, and glinting with hints of red in and gold in the morning sun beaming through the many windows bringing light in from the outside. His body glistens as the sweat from a fairly intense workout catches the light.

  I take a closer look at the bar to add up the actual weight amount. My eyes widen as I realize it’s almost entirely covered in large, 45-pound weights. I used the facilities at our building before, but I’ve never seen anyone, shifter or human, use this amount of weight before.

  Especially someone as naturally lean and athletic as Hawes. It’s disproportionate to his size, even with shifters being stronger by nature.

  He finishes the set, racks the weight with a huff, and then sits up on the bench, looking at me curiously.

  No, I was not perving on you just now…

  Hawes stands, walks over to me and pulls up a weight bench to sit next to me. He leans back casually, arms behind his head, resting against the wall, showing off his amazing biceps.

  “So, how are you feeling?”

  “Alright, I guess. Things from last night are still a bit hazy though,” I reply.

  “I bet, you took quite a spill last night. I’m just glad you’re ok.”

  “What happened exactly?”

  “I’m not sure myself,” Hawes sa
ys, leaning forward and tenting his fingers in front of him. “One second you were walking to your car, the next it was a scene from a mafia movie, car exploding in slow motion,” he replies seriously.

  “So you brought me here?” I question.

  “It was the closest, safest place I knew of to take you,” he says. “I didn’t exactly have the time, or the info, to figure out where I could take you.”

  “What about my clothes?” I ask, trying not to blush at the implication.

  “I took them off to make sure there were no serious injuries from the blast. Your street clothes are in the dryer. They don’t look have bad for being blown up.” He gives me a grin, but all I can think about is the fact that he saw me without clothes last night.

  I pull my arms around my chest as if to keep him from thinking about it.

  He puts his hands up, “There was no funny business, I promise. I didn’t look at you in any way other than to make sure you were alright.”

  I think I can believe him. Maybe he was arrogant to start, but he did save me and keep me safe, and leave me alone to sleep. I guess I can trust him, at least a little.

  He gives me a grin. “I prefer my women conscious.”

  “Ugh, gross,” I say. And there he goes again.

  He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I can’t tell for sure if he’s joking or if he’s serious. But my mind is now turned to what I should be doing next.

  “I need to get in contact with some…people,” I tell Hawes, standing up and turning to the door. “And I should probably get back to my place. Get in touch with my family. Maybe they wouldn’t even know I was gone last night, but still…”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Hawes says, standing quickly and putting himself between me and the door. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No, I’m completely serious. I have work to do. Superiors to alert,” I tell him, putting my hands on my hips and standing impatiently.

  “Are you crazy? You do realize that someone is trying to kill you. And they’re still out there,” Hawes says, motioning widely out the windows to whatever may be out there. “They could have even followed us. They could be right outside, waiting for you to leave. Or waiting for me to drop you off at your place.”