Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection

by Bolryder, Terry

  He looks down and those silver eyes darken to stormy gray. He walks up to me and gets in front of me. A giant wolf that comes past my waist. He gives me an expectant look.

  Wait, he couldn’t possibly want…

  “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe he’s going to let you ride him. A human…hell,” Matt says, releasing me and looking disgusted.

  Ride? Ride Lindon? Could he really bear my weight?

  “I don’t know, Lindon, I’m kind of heavy…”

  A low growl sounds from his chest and I sigh and put my hands in his soft fur and pull myself over him, molding myself to his back and wrapping my hands around his neck.

  If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be riding back to a mansion on the back of a giant wolf who is actually the man I’m getting a crush on, I’d have told them to stop telling lies too ridiculous to be believed. Now that lie is my life.

  “Alright, I’m ready,” I murmur, stroking his fur. He growls again, and I can almost sense the disapproval that’s coming for me leaving my room and running away alone out here and having to press the button. But at least he cares.

  He takes off running, and I hold on tight, trying to adjust my body to his smooth but galloping gait. The world around me is a blur, and then I see a red wolf running next to us. It looks over, running the same speed, and I see blue eyes shimmering against the dark red fur. Can that be Matt?

  I shake my head and look forward, leaning low over Lindon. He’s so strong, his wolf form is so large, and right now, despite the speed we’re going, I feel completely safe.

  I always feel safe with Lindon. Whether he’s kissing me silly or explaining the wolf world or getting mad at me for what I’m doing that he considers stupid, it’s nice to just have one person here that I know I can trust.

  One person with no ulterior motives. I hold on tight and close my eyes, enjoying the wind on my back as we make our way back to the mansion.

  Chapter 2

  When we get there, Lindon gently sits and drops me off, and then disappears around the side of the house for a second. I wait, arms folded around myself as Matt goes into the house. Lindon reappears, fully clothed, but sweaty and damp from exertion, wearing a simple tee shirt that’s tight over his chest and arms and a pair of low slung, designer dark jeans ripped at the knees. An interesting look for him.

  He doesn’t say anything, just keeps his lips pressed tight together and bends to swoop me up in his arms.

  I’m shivering as he holds me in a ball against his chest, and despite being a curvy girl, I feel vulnerable and small against him. But I also feel like he’d never allow anything to happen to me. A few weeks ago I was so independent and was fine without any man to take care of me. But that all changed when I came to this new and somewhat threatening world.

  “Lindon?” I ask tentatively, as he shifts me in his arms to get the door open. He carries me through the living room past the eyes of some curious wolves and up the stairs. He doesn’t stop until he gets to his room.

  “Shh…you’re freezing,” he says. The door to his room is slightly ajar and he kicks it and pushes past it. He dumps me unceremoniously on the bed and then locks the door to the bedroom and goes into the bathroom. He comes out and tosses me a towel. “Get out of your wet clothes and put that on.”

  “Lindon,” I say, wanting to tell him about the person I saw at the hot spring, wanting to interrupt him to tell him someone was trying to kill me.

  “We’ll talk when you’re warm,” he says, not meeting my eyes. “Save your strength.”

  “But…”

  “Misty,” he says, shoving a hand through his short hair and looking frustrated. “Just wait a damn second, okay?”

  I close my mouth, feeling slightly hurt by the terseness. I mean, I almost died. I want to talk about it. And why do I feel like he’s avoiding me. “Lindon…”

  But he isn’t listening, I can hear water running into a tub in the bathroom.

  “Lindon, you’ve gotta be kidding if you think I’m going to take a bath with you around.”

  “I won’t look,” he says. “Tell you what, we’ll put bubbles in and then you know I can’t see either way.”

  “I…”

  “Oh come on, Misty. Don’t be shy now. Not after what we’ve done together.”

  I pout. “Kissing? What does that have to do with you seeing me naked?”

  “Nothing, I guess, but I didn’t think you’d be such a prude. I mean, considering you were so happy to kiss someone who you knew wasn’t even in the running for a mate.”

  I wince at that. I mean, maybe I just deep down didn’t really believe that he wasn’t in the running. Somehow I feel like I’m more likely to believe it now.

  It feels like he’s distancing himself from me.

  He shuts the door to the bathroom that connects to his bedroom. When I’m sure no one can see, I slowly start to strip off Tim and Tom’s clothing. I eye the bathroom door resentfully as I change.

  He’s just not acting the way he normally does when he rescues me. It’s almost like he’s pretending nothing happened.

  Maybe he thinks that’s what drove me from the window. Maybe he’s just too angry to face me right now.

  I wrap the towel under my arms and since it’s huge and plush it comes nearly to my waist. I bet it covers a lot less of Lindon. The thought makes me blush.

  “You ready?” I ask. “I’m changed.”

  The door opens in answer. “Great, come in.”

  When I walk in, my mouth falls open at the beautiful decor. Sparkling light granite graces the counters, and white tiles cover the floor, soft and glassy beneath my feet. The fixtures are gleaming chrome and there are little porcelain seashell decorations around the sinks. A beautiful painting of a beach at sunrise hangs over the tub.

  Oh, the tub. So huge. Big enough for three people, with bubbles rising up like an extra foam latte. I’ll probably have to move them somewhat just to be able to breathe. The tub is white and seashell-shaped, and probably has jets.

  “Are you okay?” I ask. “Do you need to bathe too?”

  He laughs, face slightly red. “No, I’m tired, as usual lately, but I wasn’t the one dunked and then running around nearly naked in early fall weather.”

  “Or late summer.”

  “Potato, Potahto,” he replies.

  “Besides, I wasn’t naked. I had clothing from Tim and Tom.”

  He turns away (sitting on a chair that he must have brought in) and faces toward the large shower area. “I saw that. But wet clothes are almost worse. You know, for staying cold. Why were you wearing those anyway?”

  I lower the towel, too aware that he’s close and I’m now naked. I make sure there are no mirrors he could be catching my reflection in, and then drop the towel to the ground. I lift a leg to step into the tub, and when my foot hits the bottom, I slip slightly. I hear a curse shoot out of my mouth as I lose my balance and slide all the way into the tub with a little yelp. My foot slides out from under me and I go fully under the water, looking up with panic at the bubbles above me, pressing on the sides of the deep tub to try and get up.

  Strong arms lift under my armpits, grazing my breasts, and I push them away as my head breaks the surface and I scramble to rest my arms on the side of the tub. “Don’t look!” I shout.

  “I’m not!” Lindon says, turning away. From the back of his neck I can tell he’s blushing furiously. “Geez, don’t go drowning again. You really are short, aren’t you?”

  I glare at his back. “Hmph. Maybe your tub is just giant.”

  He chuckles at that, a deep, reassuring sound. “Right. Well, first order of business, we need to teach you to swim.”

  “How do you know I can’t swim?”

  “You were soaking wet and said Matt had to save you. ”

  “Ah,” I say. “Well, what took you so long?” I tease.

  “I came as fast as I could. Thus we need to teach you to swim,” he says firmly.

  I sink up to my chin i
n the water and move the bubbles around so that he can’t see anything even if he does turn around. But what if he already saw everything already?

  “I didn’t see anything, if that’s what you’re thinking about. I really didn’t,” he says, sounding nervous. “I was just worried that you were okay.”

  “Yeah, you do that a lot,” I say.

  “Do what a lot?”

  “Worry.”

  “True, I do.” His tone is matter of fact.

  “Lindon,” I say hesitantly. “There’s something you should know.”

  He puts a hand up, not facing me, and my stomach sinks for some reason. “No, there’s something you should know. And for what it’s worth, I thought you should have been told sooner. Rowan disagreed, and he’s my pack leader, but I should have fought harder for it.”

  “For what?”

  “For you to be told from the beginning,” he says. I can hear resignation and a little worry in his voice. Whatever he’s about to say, he doesn’t want to say it. And I’m not sure I want to hear it.

  “Told what?” I ask, a sinking feeling in my chest. The suds smell great, kind of Lavenderish, like Fifi, with a hint of mint to keep them from being totally soporific. The steam of the tub feels great and my body has finally stopped shaking. My head is clearer and I no longer feel cold or worried for my life.

  But I do feel scared. Just not for my life. “Told what, Lindon?” I ask slowly, a hint of warning in my voice.

  “Told you there was more to this than you thought. More than just choosing a mate.” He shifts in his chair. “Are you covered? Can I turn around? I’d rather face you for this.”

  “No,” I say. I’ve always kept my emotions to myself, and I’m going to do so now. If he’s going to say something that will hurt me, I don’t him to see my face when he does. I think of the figure standing, watching me drown, and a light goes on in my head.

  “Someone tried to hurt me. Kill me.” My face tightens. “But you already knew that…didn’t you?” I ask, voice small, like I feel.

  “Misty,” he says, resisting the impulse to turn around. “Listen…”

  “No, you listen, don’t you think I had a right to know that? Don’t you think I would have acted differently? I mean, you made it sound like the only danger was men wanting me, but in reality a lot of the guys have been perfect gentlemen.”

  “Well, only because they were threatened,” he says sulkily.

  “No, Lindon. No, you can’t make me think you’re the only good one anymore, because you’ve been lying to me. No, I can’t prove the others aren’t, but I now know you are for sure.”

  “I’m not lying to you now,” he says quietly. “Let me finish.”

  Sure, I’ll let you finish breaking my heart. Why did I let myself get attached? Why did I let myself think overprotectiveness meant something? No wonder Rowan sent him as a bodyguard. He doesn’t get super worried because he cares for me. He gets super worried because he knows someone might be trying to kill me.

  “Here’s the thing. Someone killed your parents. They were never found…”

  “I want to go home,” I mutter, not wanting to hear all of this.

  “You can’t go home. They could find you there with no one to protect you. At least here you’re safe.”

  “Safe with a bunch of men I don’t know who didn’t think this was relevant enough to tell me about?” I spit out, becoming angrier by the second. Anger is good, it masks the hurt.

  “So what’s the real reason for me being here, Lindon?” I continue. “Am I really supposed to choose a mate, or were you guys just hoping that I’d be good bait to draw out my parents’ killer?”

  There’s a short silence, while he considers his words. He’s being that controlled, distant Lindon again. “A little of both,” he says coolly. “I mean, the tribunal felt that all packs should have equal chances to mate with an alpha female with no pack, but at the same time, Rowan knew that would probably draw in the person or persons who tried to get your parents. So that’s why he wanted me here to watch things.”

  I nod, hating what he’s saying, but knowing it makes sense. “So now what? I’m just supposed to sit here and wait while they keep trying? I feel like such a fool.” I slap the water, splashing some up and out of the tub. Oh well, Lindon and his family can deal with a little mildew.

  I’m not sure if I’m angry that my life was in danger and everyone knew it but me, or if I’m just angry that Lindon of all people could keep this secret from me.

  “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. And now we’re on the same page it’ll be easier to protect you.”

  “You shouldn’t have kissed me,” I say. “You were only here to make sure I didn’t get murdered. You should have kept your distance.”

  “I tried,” he says. “I really did. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry?”

  “For what?” I ask, suddenly feeling cold even though the water is still warm. All those little things I thought meant he secretly cared were just because he knew a murderer was on the loose. The way he seemed too stressed, the way he needed to call Hawes and always keep an eye on me. Why did I let my romantic notions let me get carried away thinking it was something more between us?

  For some reason, I’m just really offended. Maybe because he didn’t even have the respect for me to tell me what was going on.

  Just let the dumb female run around feeling like everything’s fine, don’t bother to let her in on what’s happening.

  “I really want to go,” I say, standing. I grab my towel and wrap it around me. “I want to go back to my world.”

  “Wait, Misty…” he turns and reaches for me but I yank my arm out of the way.

  “Get away from me. I thought I could trust you. You should have told me.”

  “I know, but…”

  “You think I’m an idiot? You don’t think I’d act differently if I knew my life could be in danger? And the guys…” I put a hand up over my face and hold the towel up with the other. “You knew that one or more of them could have bad motives, and you didn’t care to share that with me?”

  “I…”

  “You were just going to let me fall for one of them, or even you, and then find out at the end that the whole point of this wasn’t what I thought?”

  “But—”

  “And then what, send me back to the human world, safe now?” I shake my head as tears gather in the corners of my eyes. “You guys are no better than the people in my world. You acted like you had something to offer, like things were finally going to be good. Like someone was finally going to tell me the truth. Then you treated me like an idiot. I’m so done with this.”

  “Wait, Misty, don’t go like this.” He catches my arm this time and I turn my face away so he can’t see tears. It’s hard for me to warm up to people, and it was hard to accept a good situation, because my life up until now has been so not good.

  And then just when life seems good, someone tries to kill me. And worse, the person I’ve been trusting more than anyone is actually the person holding back the biggest lies.

  “What other lies are you telling me?” I ask. “What else are you withholding?”

  Silence.

  “Hawes said something about your pheromones,” I continue.

  “No one knows that for certain,” he retorts.

  “What is it?” I ask. “You tell me or I’ll ask Hawes.”

  “Ask him, then,” Lindon snaps. His voice is cold. “You obviously aren’t going to trust me anymore anyway.”

  That slows me down, and tears threaten my eyes again. I don’t want to lose what I’ve had with Lindon. Whatever it was. Is. He has been a friend. But I can’t get over how stupid and tricked I feel right now.

  “I wasn’t trying to mislead you, Misty. I just…lose control when you’re around. I don’t know what happens.” He really does sound lost. But that doesn’t make it out that he misled me and took advantage of me.

  “Well, I guess you won’t have to worry about it a
nymore,” I say, swallowing against the boulder size lump in my throat. “I get the message loud and clear now.”

  I walk past him, clinging to the towel, and he walks in front of me to block the door.

  “What message? What makes you think you understand this, Misty? I don’t even understand it.”

  “What’s there to understand?” I quip, not meeting his eyes. “You didn’t want to kiss me, but you did. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was going on here. You don’t want a mate. So all that’s left is us working together to catch the murderer. And trying not to kill each other.”

  “I wanted to tell you,” he says, gritting his teeth, looking handsome and frustrated. “It was killing me not to tell you, but Rowan had his reasons. And I thought you trusted me enough not to go running outside the house alone!” His eyes are blazing, and I can tell he’s still angry that I escaped out my window.

  “Well it’s a good thing I did, or I’d still be in the dark about all of this.”

  “It’s a good thing you were nearly killed?” he bellows, switching places with me and backing me against the door. He puts his hands on either side of my head.

  “Stop acting like you care,” I say, turning my head to the side. “I understand everything now.”

  He scrubs a hand through his hair. “I do care, Misty. Maybe it’s not the way you want, but I do…”

  “It’s fine. Now let me go so I can start working to understand some of the other men here. The ones that actually do want me.”

  He sighs. “Remember, one of them is still possibly a murderer.”

  “Maybe, but I still think none of them can hurt me like you did. You should have told me, Lindon. I had a right to know I was putting my life in danger. I almost died!”

  “I would have protected you,” he insists.

  I shake my head. “I believe Matt did that.”

  “Matt could still be a suspect.”

  “Oh right, a suspect. Detective Lindon.” I roll my eyes. “As I said, I get it now. But from here on out you should keep your detective work focused somewhere other than my mouth.”

  “Fine,” he says coldly.

  “You know, if you had told me, I might not have agreed to this at all. I had a life before this,” I say.