“Like hell you will,” Thor says, grabbing Matt by the shirt and pulling him back down to the couch. Matthew sits with a huff. “Go ahead Fifi, we need to have a man talk.”
Fifi sniffs and takes my hand and pulls me toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” I ask, puzzled why he’s taking me and why the others are letting him. Fifi just grins and walks up the stairs. He scents the air and finds my room, opens the door and throws me inside, walks in, and shuts the door behind him.
I land against the bed and look up at him in trepidation.
“Girl, please,” he says. “I’m saving your butt out there. Not only yours, but Lindon’s. Maybe he can take on one at a time, but if all of them start fighting, it wouldn’t be good for either of you.” He walks over to my dresser and sits on the padded bench, playing with his hair and batting his eyes and pursing his lips at his reflection. “Flawless as always,” he murmurs.
“If you aren’t here for me, why are you here?”
He eyes me disdainfully. “I thought it would be interesting. And as an eligible alpha male I had a right to be here. I mean, a whole bunch of alphas in one house, bound to be something to see.”
“So, boredom?”
He nods, pulling his beautiful hair back in an effortless knot, exposing a flawless neck. His skin is gorgeous and smooth and pale, nearly translucent, and his eyes are luminous. He notices me watching and grins widely. “Well, you may not be much to look at, but you can at least appreciate beauty.”
“Are you gay, then?” I ask.
He laughs and spins around on the bench, crossing his long legs in a lady-like way. “No. It doesn’t matter much to me as long as someone is the right kind of beautiful.” He eyes me meaningfully. “Yeah, not interested, as of now.”
I shrug. “Join the club.”
He looks confused by that and waits for me to explain.
“No one has ever thought I was beautiful, at least in the human world,” I clarify for him.
He eyes me again but doesn’t say anything, and turns back to the mirror. “So, do you like anyone in particular yet?”
“Thor is very alpha, and—”
“They’re all alphas, dear. That’s the point.”
“As I was saying,” I say, taking control of the conversation back. “Thor seems my type, and Lock isn’t bad. The sharing brothers seem like an adventure. Maybe I could give them a spin.” Fifi stands and walks toward the bed, tilting his head in deep consideration.
“What do you mean a spin?”
I put my hands up. “Maybe I could have some fun, you know, before I figure it out.”
He barks out a laugh. “No one told you?” He walks forward, hands in his pockets. His eyes flick over me and he crawls onto the bed. My heart double thumps as he crawls over me, so much bigger, his eyes getting closer to mine every second.
Then he climbs over and sits himself against the headboard and pats the bed for me to sit next to him. When I do, he sets a heavily muscled arm over my shoulders and sighs. “I have some bad news, boo. Once you have sex with one of them, the decision is made. That’s how you get claimed.”
“Ah,” I say. “That makes sense now, thinking over what they told me. I don’t know how I missed that.”
Fifi nods and we sit there in silence. Voices raise from downstairs and my ears perk. More arguments about Lindon.
“Why are they so upset about him joining?”
Fifi sighs and removes his arm so he can fold both in front of him. “In our world, Lindon and his family are practically royalty. Most of the guys here thought this was their big chance to get an alpha female that wasn’t snapped up by a pack like Lindon’s. Seeing him here, they feel like they’ve already lost.”
I can see that, between Lindon’s height and physical beauty and strength and wealth. But they don’t know what I know, that he isn’t competing at all. And he probably only said that thing about reserving the right to compete so that he could protect me.
“You know, in our world, the rules state that a male can’t interfere in an alpha challenge unless he’s also interested in claiming a female…” Fifi says, as if he read my mind. But he stares neutrally ahead. “So one would almost wonder if Lindon only said he may compete to keep anyone from calling him on the fact that he probably shouldn’t even be here.”
“Right,” I say. “What are we going to do, then? I don’t think anyone thought this through right.”
“Probably the tribunal. They’re all about reacting first and thinking about it later, and I’m sure they gave Rowan no time to set it all up.”
Fifi’s ears perk up as he listens to something downstairs. He flashes a fang at me in a one sided smile. “Ah, Lindon just said that anyone caught trying to force you will be ejected from the games, starting from now, and that the tribunal approved those rules. An interesting concept given that alpha males rarely have to force anyone.”
“What do you mean?”
He flashes that fang again. “We can be very…persuasive.” There’s that smell again, lavender sex.
“You’re odd, you know that?” I say to him.
“I know,” he replies. “I think we’ll make good friends because of it. And as for how we’ll do it, I’ll help you. We’ll think of all sorts of devious ways to make them compete for you.”
“What’s in it for you?” I ask.
He puts a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion and simply smiles. “Don’t worry about that.”
“All right,” I say, leaning against him. He gasps lightly, like he wasn’t expecting the contact, but it’s been a while since I’ve had someone to lean on, and after an awkward moment, he puts an arm around me and lets me rest against his side.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, I just sympathize with you…” he says. “You still aren’t beautiful enough for me.”
“I don’t think anyone is,” I murmur, feeling sleepy. It’s so calm and peaceful right now, which makes no sense considering what day it is and what has happened so far. But I find myself closing my eyes. So heavy. So tired.
Chapter 7
A loud knock on the door sounds and I sit up, wary and wide eyed.
Fifi isn’t in the room anymore. No one is. I rub the back of my neck and lean forward, then glance over at the window, seeing that the day is getting later. I must have slept for a couple of hours.
The knock sounds again. “Misty? It’s me, Lindon. Let me in, quick.”
I yawn and get off the bed to stumble toward the door. When I reach it, I wonder how Fifi walked out of here and did the lock without me noticing. I undo the deadbolt and open the door to see Lindon, looking disheveled, standing impatiently with his hands in his pockets.
He doesn’t wait for me to invite him in, just pushes past me and shuts the door behind him. More male voices sound in the background.
“They’re having dinner,” he says.
“Sorry, I fell asleep, I don’t know how…”
He passes me and walks in toward the bed, then flops face down on it, long form spread across the whole bed. His blond hair is mussed, and his scent is faint but delicious as always. My body seems to feel more awake when he’s around. It doesn’t seem to care that we can’t have him.
“Lay off the pheromones,” he grumbles. “I’m not in the mood.”
I scoff. “Well, I’m sorry, I don’t have your ability to control my own scent that way yet. My bad.”
He shakes his head and rolls onto his back, and I notice he’s a little flushed.
I walk over to the bed, sit on the side next to him and put a hand to his forehead. A light flush covers his perfect cheekbones and his golden eyes flare and then flick my way. Then he pulls away from my hand.
“I’m fine,” he grumbles.
“Sure,” I say. “You feel warm though.”
“That’s because it’s damn warm in a house with a bunch of horny males,” he says. “But we got them into rooms and they’ll hopefully be busy with food for a bit. Freaking ex
hausting.”
“Shouldn’t you get something? So you can keep your strength up?”
He shakes his head. “I need to stay clear headed, not full.”
I reach for him again, and brush his hair back, ignoring his attempt to pull away. “Thanks, Lindon. I’m finally understanding what a sacrifice you’re making here,” I say. “And I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” he says quietly.
“And thanks for um…that thing with Asher,” I mumble.
He shrugs. “No problem, that’s my job.”
“Right.”
“Now do you believe I can protect you?” he asks. “Still, that shouldn’t happen again. After all, none of them will want to give up the chance of gaining you as a mate for a few minutes of aggression. That’s my hope, anyway.”
“Do you know any of them?” I ask.
“Here and there. From shifter meetings and stuff. And overhearing stuff from Rafe and Rowan over the years. More like, I know of them. Well, we know Fifi pretty well, his mom is a friend of Rowan’s.”
“He’s weird.”
Lindon chuckles. “That he is. But I’m glad he’s here. You sleeping before? That’s him. His alpha power. He probably saved my life. I was trying to hold the guys off from following you upstairs, and when you fell asleep your scent disappeared long enough for me to tell them the rules and calm them down.”
“They didn’t look like they were planning to jump me,” I say.
“That’s what makes them dangerous predators,” he says.
“Ah. That seems like a little bit severe,” I say. “Predators?”
“Men are wolves,” he says, flashing me a weary grin. “Ah, maybe I should call Fifi up here so I can take a nap. He’s the only one I can trust you with.”
“You could probably trust Matthew, too,” I say. “I don’t feel anything sexual from him.”
Lindon’s eyes snap open. “No. Don’t underestimate any of them, Misty. Not one. And Matthew especially is not to be trusted.”
“Why?”
“He’s with the tribunal. Enough said.”
“Ah.” I fold my arms in my lap. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
“I guess we let them take the lead. See how they want to court you. Most of them are probably a little unfamiliar with human courtship rituals so it might be a little awkward. Either that or you could think of ways for them to please you.”
I blush at that. I can think of quite a few ways to…
“Not like that, you perv,” Lindon scoffs. “No, I don’t know. Whatever you use to determine a good mate.”
“I guess I just need time to talk to them.”
“Talk? That sounds downright torturous with some of them. Thor in particular.”
I laugh. “I don’t know. I’m curious to see what he’s like in private.”
“In private he’d probably have your back to the wall in about five seconds,” Lindon mutters. “Bad idea. I’d talk to them in groups.”
“Great idea,” I say. “I have an idea. I think I’d like to put some questions together for them to answer. If we could split them into groups so it’s a little less confusing.”
“Okay, I can think of something for the others to do. Maybe I’ll put on a movie in the theater.”
“There’s a theater?” I ask. “How come no one showed me this?”
“Shifters aren’t always that up for TV,” he says. “We’d rather be doing something. But a bunch of sexually suppressed alpha males may be grateful for a calmer distraction. We have to get them out of the way somehow.”
“Right,” I say. “Great, I’ll make my list, and you go talk to them and work things out. Fifi would help, I bet.”
Maybe I’m imagining it, but Lindon flushes slightly at that, then shakes his head to snap out of it. “Yes, I bet he would. I’ll ask him. He hands me a box. “Here, something for you.”
I take it. It’s wrapped. “What is it?”
“A present from Rowan.”
I open the paper and see a plain white box, and a small card falls out. “My son will protect you with his life, and my pack will support you if anything goes wrong. Best wishes picking a mate,” it says. It’s signed with Rowan’s name.
I open the box and see a watch inside. It has a thin rubber strap and is a smooth, golden box with a small screen, and a button on the side. Lindon reaches across me, causing me to tense and blush at his proximity.
“Um, just press that, if you’re ever in trouble…” he pushes the button and a loud beep and a buzz sound. He pulls his phone from his pocket. “And I’ll come. Okay? Say one of them slips away while I’m trying to get things started.”
“Ah,” I say, touched by the gesture. “Thank you.” I want to tell him it means a lot that he’s doing this for me, but he’s probably just doing it for his dad, just being a good son. “And Lindon, thanks for being a good friend.”
He blinks at that, then grins. “Of course. I told you we’d make good friends.” He frowns. “If you just listen to me.”
“Um, after seeing what you did to Asher, I’m way more likely to listen.”
“Good,” he says. “See you in a little bit.” He walks to the door, then stops and turns. “Do you want me to send up some dinner with Fifi?”
My stomach growls in response, but I can’t imagine eating right now. “No, I’ll be working on my questions first.”
“Great,” he says. He seems almost hesitant to leave, his hand lingering on the door handle. “You know, I think I liked it better when I had you to myself,” he says cryptically.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he says, leaving and closing the door behind him, leaving me alone in the big, empty room.
This is the life I’m used to.
Now, what should I ask the men downstairs?
* * *
I’m only on the first question with the first group, and mayhem has already broken loose.
It started when I asked them what books they liked to read, and Thor said that reading was for fools, and Matthew said Thor was probably illiterate, and the sharing brothers said some gross book they had on them, and then Thor and Matthew were wrestling on the floor. And then Lock was between them, trying to break them up, and Lindon was face-palming, and the brothers came over to show me a pocket-sized copy of the gross book…
“Alright everyone!” I yell, standing up. “Stop right this instant!”
Everyone stops. The brothers looking like they don’t know what they’ve done wrong, Thor reluctantly gets off of Matthew, who is thoroughly winded, and Lock stands up and brushes sweaty hair off his forehead. He meets my eyes and his are sparkling with mirth, a honey wine color that takes my breath away and seems so much warmer than Thor’s despite them being identical.
Lindon waits with his face in his palm while the men take their seats again. Thor adjusts his tee shirt, not before I catch a glimpse of tanned, rippling abs and cut ken doll lines. Tim and Tom sit back on one of the couches, taking the whole thing up between them. They’re wearing matching pullover sweaters that set off their deep skin tone nicely.
Matthew gets up sulkily and then brushes himself off and gives me a look of pure hatred, like I’m the cause of all of his problems, rather than his big mouth and its ability to upset Thor.
“Okay, has everyone calmed down?” I ask. “Good.”
“Tell us why we should be answering these questions again?” Tom asks. Tom’s long lashes give his gray eyes a sultry, sleepy look, and his dark curls are black as sin. “Because I’m thinking an afternoon nap would be more productive.”
“Didn’t anyone announce that there would be a prize in each group?” Fifi says, popping in and interrupting. He puts two long fingers to his lips and blows a kiss to the room, which everyone dodges. “A kiss from Misty.”
My mouth drops, but Fifi just winks and disappears back to where he came from in a flash of blond ponytail. I turn to the men.
Thor sits up a little straighte
r. Lock leans forward intently. Matthew pouts. The brothers high five and get determined looks on their faces. I glance at Lindon, who throws up his hands.
“Um, would you guys actually want that?” I ask.
Thor’s eyes flash to mine, and he runs a pink tongue slowly between his lips. “You bet, sweetheart.”
That’s it, I’m sure I’m bright red. His gaze sweeps to my chest and I pull my shirt up.
“Do we get to choose the location of the kiss?” he asks suggestively.
“Mouth, you perv,” Lindon mutters. “Only on the mouth.”
“Why would they be interested in just a mouth kiss?” I mutter to Lindon, hoping the others don’t hear.
Lock laughs. “You’d be surprised what an alpha can do with just your mouth.” He winks and I squirm, a little turned on by the thought of Lock’s sculpted lips on mine.
“Next question,” Tom says, one arm over the couch while Tim lazes under it, long legs over Tom’s as if there was nothing odd about that at all. I get the image of two gray wolves flopped together in the forest in my head as I look at them, and it brings a small smile to my face.
“What do you think is your best asset?” I read off my paper, proud of the questions I’ve come up with. They should help me find out at least something about the men I’m dating.
Men I’m dating. That sounds so weird.
Thor stands and lifts his tee shirt, revealing a perfect, impossibly defined six pack. He stands at about 6’4” so it’s a nice long one, one I could run my hands down for about ten seconds. “My abs,” he says with a grin.
An orange hits his head and his angry gaze snaps to Lindon. “What the hell?”
“Lock, control your twin.”
“No, that really is his best quality,” Lock jokes.
“Okay, okay, I can see that, I guess,” I say, fanning my face and then turning to Lock as Thor lowers his shirt and sits down with a satisfied grin. “Lock? Your best quality?”
“Hm,” he says. “How to not come off as braggy…”
“His hair,” Thor blurts out.
Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection Page 43
