She was and it caused Ransom to briefly forget how to inhale. Her smile was all bright eyes and lean slashes in her cheeks. For a moment he was envious that it hadn’t been him who put that look on her face. Then he found himself grateful for the fact that it was there to begin with.
“You were dropped on your head as a child, weren’t you?” Fallon queried, still smoothly cruising the interstate.
Maddox gasped in mock surprise. “How did you know? Most people can’t tell until I start talking to the voices in my head.” He gave a sad sigh. “They never wanna be friends with me after that.”
Her grin only grew. “You’re cute. I think you may just survive this week without me fucking your life up beyond all recognition and repair.”
Ransom’s sibling only smiled. “Your mercy clearly knows no bounds.”
She shrugged. “Some would say.”
***
He was quiet...too quiet. But not the relaxing, tranquil silence that most came to Colorado to experience. No, it was the kind of quiet someone had when they were studying something.
Fallon knew she was that something. And it made her twitchy.
“Is there a reason you’re staring at me Mr. McKenna?” She questioned as silence enveloped her truck once again.
“Ransom.” He said.
Her brows rose. “What?”
“In the last few months you’ve accused me of knowing Satan on a personal level—”
“Which he does by the way.” Maddox cheekily interrupted.
“You’ve threatened to rip my arms off,” Ransom continued, ignoring his brother. “Not to mention I just watched you assault two pedestrians.”
“They were not pedestrians.” Fallon growled. “And it wasn’t assault.”
“I think you’re allowed to call me by my first name.” He pointed out. “And maybe I’m staring at you because I’m wondering if you’ll suddenly assault me too.”
Her lip curled. “Don’t tempt me...Ransom.”
She heard the smile in the big bastard’s voice when he teasingly replied, “See? Makes your threats just that much more intimate.”
Fallon rolled her eyes.
“So, the two men you assaulted—”
“I swear to God...”
“—Any particular reason why you beat the fuck out of them?” He questioned, bypassing her warning snarl.
“Aside from the fact that it obviously gave you joy.” Maddox murmured.
She took a deep breath. “They want the same thing you do.”
Maddox once again sat forward. “To call you Mistress?” He reared backwards. “Well that hand gesture was uncalled for.”
“They want your pack’s land.” Ransom’s softly stated comment made her briefly glance over at him, just to find those eyes on her once again.
“Yes.” Fallon answered simply.
He made a noise.
She blinked. “Did you just chuff at me?”
“At you? No. At your answer? Yes.”
“Any particular reason why?”
His silence made her cast him another glance.
“Why hasn’t your alpha male killed them yet? Because it’s really clear to me that—”
Fallon held up a hand, cutting Ransom off. “What makes you think I have an alpha male?”
“All packs have an alpha male.” He retorted slowly, as though he were speaking to the mentally ill.
“No, most packs have an alpha male. Mine doesn’t.”
He moved a bit until he’d turned fully in his seat to stare at her. “Yours doesn’t?”
The disbelief in his voice made her canines slowly elongate. “No.”
“Why?” Maddox asked.
“Because I don’t need one.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Ransom waved a hand. “Your pack is what? Thirty strong?”
She nodded. “The Glenwood Springs division, yes.”
“And you rule? Just you?”
Fallon looked up into the rearview, meeting Maddox’s wide eyes. “Yes.”
She could feel both brothers watching her. “What?” Fallon snapped.
Instead of answering her, Maddox said, “Ransom?”
“Yes, little brother?”
“Are you as scared as I am right now?”
“Yes, little brother.”
“You think if we make a wild leap from the truck when she slows up a bit we’ll survive?”
“No, little brother.”
“So we’re seriously going to spend time in this clearly gorgeous but obviously dangerously unstable female’s presence...eventually closing our eyes and sleeping...vulnerably?”
“Looks that way, little brother.”
“Heh.”
“You’re fucking kidding me right?” Fallon looked at both siblings, who were now gazing at her with wary awareness.
“Sweetheart, you just told us that you, and only you have managed to get a pack of thirty arctic wolves—the most ornery, unfriendly, psychotic species we know of—to follow you without question and you expect us to not be a little horrified and in awe?” Maddox shook his head, eyes wide.
She sighed. “Like any other alpha I’ve had my fair share of dickheads who challenged me. My pack didn’t follow me without question...at first.”
“Unh-hunh.” Ransom went slowly. “And these dickheads that challenged you, exactly where are they now?”
Her mouth twisted. “Well the first three are all buried up in the mountains. The other five,” She grimaced. “Well we just choose not to talk about it.” She let out a relieved breath when she finally saw the dirt path that would take her to Wilder lodge and deviated from the main road.
“Heh.” Maddox went again. “Ransom?”
“Yes, little brother?”
“If we don’t make it this week...I want you to know...I like you more than the rest of the sleuth.”
“Same here, little brother...same here...”
Fallon tried really hard not to start slapping both of them around. But it was a struggle. Oh was it a struggle...
Chapter 6
Cree Chayton knew a number of things. She knew she’d never be as loyal to another alpha as she was to her best friend. She knew that despite their constant bullshit the males in her pack watched Fallon with an admiration that couldn’t be imitated. She knew that her decision to break apart from the pack she was born into and join the Wilders would be coming back to haunt her soon. And she definitely knew that despite all of Fallon’s protests, she was lonely.
The she-wolf had gotten so used to defending her title, her right to rule, that she’d forgotten that she was a woman...with needs. Cree was well aware of this because she could read her better than anyone else; even Fallon herself. After close to ten years of friendship, this wasn’t a surprise.
So when her fearless leader came ambling through the main doors of Wilder Lodge, two very large and very wary looking bears following after her, she could literally see a change in demeanor. For the first time since Cree and Fallon got cornered by a wild boar, weighing well over 200 pounds, while hunting in Georgia territory on vacation, her alpha looked as though she wanted to run and never look back.
Fallon approached the desk and gripped it with both hands, her knuckles turning white as she spit out between clenched teeth, “Take. Over.”
Cree’s brows rose. “The hell is wrong with you?” She had an idea what was wrong with her friend. It was six foot ten and watching Fallon with a gaze that was distinctly predatory yet warm all at the same time.
Leaning towards her, Fallon’s eyes shifted, going from brown, to amber to gold. “Take. Over.”
She put up her hands. “All right. All right. Tone down the crankiness.”
With an annoyed growl, the she-wolf simply looked over her shoulder and stated, “She’ll help you from here.” Then she nodded at both males and quickly walked past them and out the doors, one of said males following her with his stare the entire time.
The other? He simply leaned against the counte
r and leered at her, thick lashes going half-mast over hazel eyes as he asked, “And what do we have here?”
Smirking, Cree answered with the first thing that came to mind, “The thing your mother warned you about.”
He smiled and she had to stop herself from trying to go over the counter and hump him. God but the man was...really pretty. Not an untouchable, would-spend-more-time-in-the-bathroom-than-you pretty, but a smooth God-how-I’d-like-to-fuck-you-through-the-floor pretty. Cree liked that...she liked it a lot. She liked it just a bit too much when the large bastard replied with, “So you’re the reason why she told me I’d grow hair on my palms and possibly go blind.” When he leaned forward, his eyes glinted, giving away the animal just beneath the surface of all that hard packed muscle.
One huge hand came down on his shoulder and Cree winced for him.
“Are you done?” An annoyed voice barked just behind him and she tilted back her head to look at what had to be his brother and of course, Ransom McKenna.
Mr. Pretty rolled his now damaged shoulder and stood straight. “Angry that you’ve already lost the warmth of your she-wolf, big brother?”
Cree snorted and Ransom’s eyes turned to her. She swallowed her smile and held out a hand. “Cree Chayton. I’ll be helping you get settled.”
He took her hand in a surprisingly gentle hold, clearly aware of the power in his grip. “Ransom McKenna.” His free hand reached out and grabbed the back of his brother’s neck, jostling him around a bit. “And this thing is Maddox...my brother.”
Maddox—she was a little disappointed she couldn’t keep calling him Mr. Pretty, or could she?—twisted out of his brother’s grasp and shoved him. “I am not a thing. I’m a human being. With feelings...and a heart...” He placed on large palm over his chest to demonstrate that and...was that a sniffle? “It diminishes my self-worth when you refer to me like that.”
Cree’s eyes widened.
Ransom’s expression stayed flat. “Your self-worth was diminished the day you made it out of the birthing canal and took your first breath.”
Maddox gasped. “Do you not love me at all?”
“No. Your pain brings me joy.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing.
“You’re so cruel!” Maddox focused those gorgeous irises on her. “Do you see this? Do you see how I’m all alone in the world, no one to comfort me?”
“Except for our parents and a shitload of relatives.” Ransom murmured.
Cree could feel her eyes water a little when he turned on his brother, bellowing, “Quiet evil bastard!”
“I’m not gonna be too many more names aside from my own today...”
Ignoring the male behind him, Maddox put his sad gaze back to her. “You look like a giving person—”
“I’m not.” She tried cutting in.
“—Maybe you can comfort me since there is clearly no affection here.” Maddox waved a hand to his sibling who was now staring off through the doors, probably hoping Fallon would storm past again. “Then I can regain the self-confidence lost through years of abuse...and several maiming.”
Oh he was just so fucking cute. With a smile, Cree motioned for him to get closer and he did. Pressing her mouth to his ear she whispered, “I like the way your face looks. And I’m sure several others do too because it’s pretty. But if you piss me off, I’ll make that a distant sorely missed, memory. Tuck your cock away and swing it at another female desperate for your attention, bear. Or I’ll rip it off and beat you into traction with it. Do I make myself clear?”
He stood straight, blinking. “Well aren’t you adorably homicidal?” His leer returned. “I like it.”
Cree sighed. Something told her that the McKenna brothers being here could go wonderfully for everyone involved...or Fallon could have one of her episodes. Looking at both grizzlies now, clued her in one the fact that it could truly go either way.
***
She needed to run. Far. Far. Away. But it didn't matter how far she went, she could still feel his eyes running over her, still hear that voice, still smell the scent clinging to his skin. Jesus H. what was wrong with her?!
Fallon passed several wolves, bears, and cats as she took off into the surrounding woods, seeking out peace and quiet the only way she knew how. She found herself intrigued with Ransom and it needed to be cut down, smothered, before the fascination grew into something that she couldn’t control.
The way he looked at her...threw her off. Most males either wouldn’t meet her gaze or stared at her with a slight look of abject horror once they found out who she was. Apparently, Fallon had a reputation. One that she hadn’t been too eager to tamp down on. She wasn’t alpha of her pack because she spent time baking cookies and kissing babies. She was alpha because when she needed to be, she was a bitch. A cold, stone-hearted, emotionless bitch. Every move Fallon made was for the good of her pack. If it didn’t result in the ultimate well-being of herself or those she looked out for, it was killed.
What she’d felt when she’d touched Ransom hours ago didn’t seem like it would be for the ultimate well-being of herself or those she looked out for...so it had to die. She’d allow him and Maddox to enjoy their stay at Wilder Lodge, carefully keeping under the radar while they were on her land, and when it was time for them to leave she’d welcome the sight of that grizzly walking away. Because something told her that if she gave him the slightest opportunity, Ransom McKenna would show her exactly what she’d neglected to let herself feel over the last few years. And that couldn’t happen.
***
“Alright, I’m just gonna say it,” Maddox stated, standing in the middle of Ransom’s cabin, eyes focused on the amazing detail put into the structure. “This place is fucking amazing.”
It was. So far Ransom had been shown the biking trails, the Hanging Lake, the golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse with indoor and outdoor pools, the hunting range where the Wilder pack had not only three breeds of deer but also moose and herds of boar, a few restaurants, small shops and what appeared to be a waterpark all on Wilder Land. It was shifter family friendly but lively enough to keep those in need of a simple vacation interested. He could understand why Wilder Lodge was so successful. Fallon ran a tight ship—which meant smooth sailing. Ransom was impressed. And that didn’t happen often.
“It is.” He said, finally agreeing with his brother’s observation. “Seems Ms. Wilder had created quite the paradise.”
Maddox grinned. “Complete with gorgeous females.”
And Ransom knew who the little horny bastard was referring to. Cree was indeed gorgeous. But there was something about the she-wolf that was...off. She didn’t scream sociopath to him but then again sociopaths rarely told people they were sociopaths. He wouldn’t say he thought she had decapitated bodies buried somewhere on the property...but he kind of did. She was entirely too...predatory. And the irony of that thought was not lost on him.
“I would stay away from her if I were you.” He told Maddox, unpacking his bag. His sibling was just next door in his own space which was fucking immaculate. Both of their cabins came complete with a home-like set up. One master bedroom and bath that had a tub and shower stall with two waterfall overheads, a fully equipped kitchen with granite countertops and a sub-zero fridge along with an amazing entertainment system. From the floor to ceiling windows, he could clearly see the mountains. It was, in a word, beautiful.
The moment he stepped foot inside, the restlessness that was inherent to him just evaporated. He was calm, his tension from hours ago melting like snowflakes in July. There was just one problem—Fallon had disappeared and he was sorely tempted to hunt her down. Of course that could lead to him losing his eyes...or his whole face. He wanted to avoid both of those scenarios.
“You fear the wrong woman, big brother.” Maddox replied, smile still in place. “Your she-wolf is the clearly homicidal one here.”
“We need to have a discussion about your take on what homicidal is because Cree threat
ened to beat you half to death with your own dick...that doesn’t scream warm and nurturing to me. As a matter of fact it screams don’t close your eyes while I’m around.”
The other bear snorted and waved a hand. “She said that to scare me off.”
“And it should’ve worked.”
Maddox shrugged. “I’ve experienced worse.”
“Where? In the psychiatric wing at the hospital?” Ransom kicked his bag underneath the giant bed in his room.
“What you’ve failed to discover, my safe-playing sibling, is that crazy sex is the best sex.”
Stopping, he looked at the man who shared his blood, blinking. “I take it you didn’t learn from discovering that your last girlfriend was a klepto.”
Maddox rolled his eyes. “You take a few household items from a few homes without the homeowners knowing about it and all of a sudden people are calling you a klepto.”
“Yes,” Ransom said slowly. “Because that’s exactly what a klepto is.”
“I grow bored with this line of conversation!” His brother threw up his hands. “I want a beer and a woman!”
“We’ve been here two hours. Why can’t you just relax and enjoy the scenery?”
Maddox shook his head and walked toward the cabin door. “I’ll relax better with a soft ass in my lap and big tits as my scenery, thank you.”
“They have meetings once a week for that type of thing!” Ransom called after him.
“I know! That’s where I met the klepto!”
The fucker did have a gift when it came to making people laugh… Ransom included, but his amusement wouldn’t distract him for long. Eventually he’d want to seek out a sexy she-wolf with an adorable snarl and the ability to make his dick hard with nothing more than a look. He knew it probably wouldn’t end well when he did.
Chapter 7
She was avoiding him. Ransom hadn’t seen Fallon in two days and that annoyed him more than it really should have but he really couldn’t help it. The thought of her purposely hiding from him grated on his delicate honey-loving sensibilities. He’d never had a female outright ignore him before. Usually they went out of their way to make sure he crossed path with them...which generally lead to them receiving a restraining order but that wasn’t the point. The point was, he was unhappy and an unhappy Ransom made for an unhappy world dammit!
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