by AJ Merlin
Once I’d eaten and verified that Meg was not, in fact, skipping meals back at our parents’ house, night had fallen and it was time for me to go home to an empty apartment and emergency ice cream.
But now that I stood in front of my door, I found myself a bit reluctant to go in.
For the span of a few breaths, I could only stare at the broken lock on my door, eyebrows knit together as my hand touched the metal doorknob.
Had we been robbed?
Was someone still inside?
Or rather-was this proof that I had been stalked when I’d run Rita’s errands?
My thoughts sharpened, and I swallowed around the sudden lump in my throat. It was really starting to look like I hadn’t been imagining things after all.
Holding my breath, I listened as well as I could. Drawing on my maned wolf senses made everything sharper, and from inside I could hear…
Nothing.
Except the meowing of Miss Murple from somewhere.
It sounded like her normal ‘feed me peasant’ calls,
Still I lingered, wondering if I should call Roman.
Seriously? My brain rebelled against the mere thought.
I’ve relied on myself for my whole life.
A few alphas aren’t going to change that. Even if one was an enforcer trained for situations like these.
With that sentiment, I grabbed the broken knob and pushed the door open, then closed it hard behind me as if I could drown out my trepidation with the sound.
As the noise of the slam faded, I looked around, fingers curled and tipped into claws at my sides.
Whoever was in here was absolutely going to regret breaking in.
As I waited for any sign of movement, Miss Murple took the opportunity to trot down the hallway, her glorious bulk swinging back and forth as she moved.
“Really?” I asked the cat, when she sat down in front of me and offered a rusty mew and a shoe nuzzle.
Again I figured that if she was so at ease, the apartment was probably empty.
Nothing was moved. Everything was the same as it had been, and nothing seemed out of place to my eyes.
Except a scent that tickled my nose and made me think of violence and a not-so-dire wolf.
I couldn’t help it. I let out a relieved sigh and frowned, following the scent through my apartment until I ended up in the darkness of my room.
Directly to where Wilder slept on my bed in his animal shape, taking up the entirety of it with one paw draped off the side.
“Really?” I asked, my voice loud enough to carry and certainly loud enough to wake the beast.
One great yellow eye opened, then closed again. He let out a huff, and his tail thumped once against the mattress.
“You aren’t asleep. And why the hell did you break into my apartment?” I prodded his shoulder, prompting him to move over on the bed.
He did so begrudgingly, having to lay on his stomach so that I could have some room as well.
“Seriously, Wilder. The lock is broken. What if someone else had broken in? What if someone breaks in before it gets fixed?”
He still didn’t answer, though the dire wolf nuzzled under my elbow until I laid my arm over his ruff.
“No matter how cute you are, you are giving me an explanation as to why my lock is broken,” I told him, settling down on the bed beside him.
Finally, Wilder sighed heavily. The bed creaked beside me, and I stared at the unmoving ceiling fan while he shifted back at my side.
“I didn’t break your bloody door, love,” the dire wolf purred in my ear once he was back in human shape and naked at my side.
“The lock is broken, and it wasn’t broken this morning,” I pointed out. “And I know you don’t have a key.”
“True, true,” he agreed, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer to him. His teeth brushed my jaw, and I turned to look at him with one brow raised at his sudden affection. Since when were we this close?“But I didn’t break it. It wasn’t locked at all when I got here.”
Nothing in me believed him. Not when he smirked at me and proceeded to nuzzle at my throat, his motions coming to a halt when he came close to my pulse.
“Did our enforcer get lucky last night?” Wilder purred as I ran my fingers through his hair. “And…” he pressed his face to my neck once more, biting down. “Dear Hades as well?”
“‘Get lucky’ makes it sound like a one time thing,” I pointed out, my stomach doing that little nervous flip as I hoped he wouldn’t mind.
If he does, then it wasn’t meant to be, I told myself firmly, turning to meet Wilder’s eyes.
Frankly, he didn’t look like he cared much either way.
“Good for them. And good for you, love. I would have hated to know I was sharing you with alphas who don’t meet my standards.”
My sudden laugh was loud in the darkness of my room. “Your standards, Wilder? What about my standards?”
“Never gave much thought to them.” He stood up and stretched, his body obscured by shadow but still just as tempting.
“Wow,” I deadpanned, drawing my legs up under me as I sat on the bed. “You’re so kind. May I ask you a question?”
“Oh, I suppose.” He pulled on his jeans, though left them unbuttoned.
“Why did you break into my apartment?”
The dire wolf shifter glanced at me and rolled his eerie yellow eyes. “I did not break in,” he said slowly, enunciating each word. “Breaking in would insinuate the door was locked.”
Sure it wasn’t.
“Okay, why did you come for an unannounced visit?” I asked instead.
“Well for one, I’m taking my sister’s clothes back. Nice of you to have them on the desk and not in this….disaster zone,” he explained, gesturing at my room.
I sighed heavily, but didn’t remark on his choice of insult.
“Secondly, I wanted to see you, love. And I brought you something.”
“A new lock?”
“But if you keep that up, I shall instead put you over my knee until you repeat anything I tell you to.”
I blinked owlishly at him, shocked at the words and how absolutely okay with them I was.
Probably.
I was always down for a fun-punishment.
But with Wilder?
Hades’ ideas about punishment was enough. I wasn’t sure I could handle two sadistic doms in my life.
If Wilder even considered himself one, anyway.
“Now.” He reached down and picked up a black gift bag that he laid on the bed. “Do you want this, or don’t you?”
His words sank in when I saw the bag, and my jaw fell slightly.
Was this a gift like…well.
Like what I was suddenly accustomed to getting?
“Well yes, but…” I swallowed. “What kind of gift?”
“The surprise kind. Oh…” his lips curled in a smile. “Are you asking me if this is just a gift or if it’s something that means a little more for you and me?”
Yeah, that was exactly what I’d been asking.
“Maybe,” I allowed. “But-it’s not a big deal, Wilder. I don’t want to assume-“
“It’s absolutely that kind of gift, love,” the dire wolf shifter informed me, cutting off my words.
“It is?” I reached forward, wondering if he was going to give it to me. “But you’ve…only met me once.”
“Yes, I can count too.”
My surprise turned to a frown and I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do you know you like me that much?”
“The same way I know you want what’s in here very badly,” he said with some amusement, yellow eyes on mine.
“And that is…?”
“Instinct.”
“Really?”
“Really, love. I knew when I met you by your scent and your attitude that I wanted you. Just like I know already that Hades and your enforcer have already given you gifts of their own, haven’t they?” He never looked away, and he held the bag at
his side, unmoving.
“Are you psychic?” I could only ask. “Because I feel like you’ve either been stalking me, or you’re psychic.”
“No, Alek. I’m an alpha who’s very in tune with his instincts. But I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised.” He wandered over to stand in front of me, free hand reaching out to cup my jaw. “Did you really not know by how you reacted to me?”
Hadn’t I?
Hadn’t I known by the way my body reacted to all three of them when we’d met that there was something different about Hades, Roman, and Wilder?
“Oh fuck,” I murmured, gazing up at him. “So…reacting so strongly to all three of you wasn’t just because I hadn’t gotten in bed with an alpha in a long ass time and my heat is thundering in soon?”
That got his attention, and his gaze sharpened. “Don’t you know the old stories? That you know your mates by how you react to them? And what do you mean by your heat is soon? How soon?”
“I don’t know. A few weeks? Probably? And yeah, but no one believes them.”
“Everyone believes them.”
I pulled away from his light touch, a frown touching my lips. “Not in my life,” I said pointedly. “Maybe up on Ahlleron hill, sure. Or when you’re an enforcer with a swagger. Or a dire wolf who sits on a pretty throne of his own.”
“And where in the world do you live that you don’t believe in the stories too, Alek?”
I couldn’t-wouldn’t-answer that.
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. “And I’m much too interested in what’s inside the bag to chase you away with my life story.”
“So it’s an interesting story, then?” He sat down beside me, our thighs brushing.
“That’s…a word for it. But please don’t use your psychic wolf power to read my past like a fortune cookie.” I frowned and scrubbed my clammy hands against my jeans.
“I’m not-“ he closed his eyes and let out a breath. “I won’t read your past like a fortune cookie,” Wilder said quietly.
Maybe there really was some consideration behind those yellow eyes after all.
“Here.” He lifted the bag and sat it on my lap, the black tissue paper crinkling slightly.
Reaching inside, I closed my fingers around a slightly rough object, eyes narrowing in confusion.
Wilder only watched as I pulled it out, and then spread the object out in my hands to get a better look at it.
“A bracelet?” I asked, finding the two metal ends. The bracelet was a multitude of thick pieces of leather woven together, and a few silver beads sat nestled in the braid.
Holy fuck. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’d ever seen in my life.
Warmth curled in my stomach, a feeling of absolute happiness that shocked me to my core.
“My family all have them,” Wilder explained, showing me the bracelet on his own wrist that fit loosely. “It’s been our tradition for many centuries to give them to an omega we wish to court.”
The words hit me hard in my gut and I snuck a glance at Wilder.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his voice strangely careful.
“I love it.”
“Because if you don’t want it-“
“You’ll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands,” I said firmly, then stuck my wrist out to him, the bracelet in my fingers.
Wilder took the unspoken hint, and fastened the leather bracelet around my wrist, turning it slightly until the clasp was at the underside of my wrist.
His fingers stroked along it, then along my wrist until he could reach my palm.
“Thank you,” he said, before I could.
“What?” I stared at him, brows knit together in confusion. “No, I think you have it wrong. I’m the one who needs to thank you. This is an amazing gift.”
“I’m thanking you for accepting it,” he explained, lacing his fingers with mine.
“Well thank you for giving it to me.” It was my turn to run my fingers over the woven leather. “Even if you did break my door.”
He growled and surged forward, tackling me against the bed while I cackled. “I did not break your door,” he said firmly, face nearly pressed to mine as he pinned me to my own bed.
“I believe you,” I lied.
“Sure you do.” Teasingly he nipped at my lower lip, then again hard enough that I yelped. “What are your plans this weekend?”
“None as of yet. Should I pencil you in?”
“Yes. In fact, perhaps you can pencil us all in. I haven’t met your enforcer properly, and it’s been a little while since I spoke to Hades.” He mulled the thought over, then glanced down at me again from where he pressed me to the bed. “We could have a proper meet and greet.”
“Should I call in for a caterer? We can make it very official. I’m sure Hades would appreciate it too.”
“Nah,” Wilder disagreed. “But we should go somewhere for lunch, don’t you agree? I’ll make the reservations. You get them to come.”
“What if they’re busy?” I protested, not wanting to make promises for the two men.
“Then they can become un-busy for their omega,” Wilder shrugged, pushing off the bed and taking the gift bag from where it had gotten crushed between us, the tissue paper crinkling weakly at his rough handling.
Their omega.
I clamped my teeth together, not wanting to say something stupid as warmth suffused me from head to toe.
If I was their omega, then surely I could start referring to them-at least mentally-as my alphas.
Right?
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?” Noah’s voice was cautious, and as he spoke he scratched Miss Murple’s ears obediently.
The cat lounged on his lap, imparting white hair onto his jeans with every breath she took as the feline stared me down.
As if Noah were a particularly unimposing mob boss, and she was his trademark grumpy cat.
“Hmmm,” I sighed, finding I wasn’t sure what to say or if I even wanted to answer.
“I don’t know. I get the courting thing, I guess. Since that’s always been your thing.” When I threw him a narrow glare from brightening copper eyes, he amended his statement. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I just…”
“You have been out three nights in a row with Hayley, you know,” I pointed out crisply, flipping through channels on our tv with absent disinterest.
“It’s not the same.”
“Because you’re not an alpha?”
“Because…” he let out a sigh. “You’re just committing to a lot. It doesn’t feel like you’re just dating them or having fun, Alek.”
“I’m not.”
The words surprised me, and by the look on Noah’s face, they surprised him too.
I cleared my throat and sat up on the sofa. With a roll of my shoulders, I faced Noah fully. “I don’t know how to explain it,” I agreed. “And it does feel fast. But…it also feels right. They feel like…”
Yeah, I really didn’t know how to explain the way I felt safe when I was with any of them. How more than anything I wanted to be around them, and I found my thoughts drifting to them an embarrassing number of times in a day.
“But what if they aren’t right? For you?” Noah’s concerns put an unfortunate voice to some of the thoughts I tried to push away, in moments when cold pessimism snuck in like it always did.
What if I was in over my head?
What if they didn’t feel as strongly for me as I did for them?
“I don’t know,” I shrugged.
“What about their families? Hades is an Ahlleron, Alek.” He was quiet for a moment, and I didn’t need him to finish the rest of that sentiment.
Naturally, he did anyway.
“What happens when they want to know about your family tree?”
Yeah, Alek, my brain jeered. What happens when they want to know where your maned wolf came from? Or want to learn about your family?
In reality, even
if I didn’t tell them, the three alphas would be hard pressed to meet my family and not realize that almost none of us were related by blood.
“Have you told them anything?” he asked, but I could hear in his voice that it wasn’t really a question.
I didn’t open up about stuff like that.
“No,” I said, blinking and finding his eyes again with my own. “It’s none of their business.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Have you told Hayley about your dad?” I retorted angrily, and Noah pulled back, mouth falling open slightly in surprise. “Sorry. It’s not-I know you haven’t either. But that’s my point. It’s none of their-“
“I’ve told her a little bit,” Noah said dryly, causing me to pause and tip my head in surprise.
“You have?”
“Yes, Alek! Because while it may not be her god-given right to know about the intimately painful details of my past, it’s also something I’m not ashamed of.” He paused for a beat, meeting my eyes, and ignored the warning there. “It’s not something you should be ashamed of, either.”
“I am not ashamed-“
“Hey, look.” The raccoon shifter pointed at the tv, and when I didn’t immediately look, he gestured at it again. “Look.”
Figuring he was just trying to distract me before I could get even more pissed, I looked at the tv a second later.
Three men were on screen, being led in handcuffs out of a restaurant and over the shattered remains of the glass windows.
Roman was there, fending off reporters and dragging one of the men towards a black SUV.
“It’s your boyfriend,” Noah said, as if I didn’t notice. “Turn it up.”
I turned it up, but it wasn’t Roman that my gaze was fixed on.
It was the group of alphas.
I knew them. They’d come as a pack to Uptown Grounds quite frequently, and they’d been the customers that I dreaded.
Well, them and their little ringleader.
Who was suspiciously absent from the train of now-arrested alphas.
“On the corner of Market and Forty-First, this group of alphas was arrested just minutes ago,” the female news anchor said, glancing back at them before looking at the camera again. “According to patrons, the men became intoxicated and belligerent with a waitress. When she didn’t respond positively to their advances-“
