by Alisa Woods
Jesus, she had to pull herself together.
“Is it safe to assume you’re unmated?” His eyes were alive with interest.
Unmated? What the hell? That had to be a wolf thing. “That seems like kind of a personal question.”
He smiled wide and seemed to be fighting back a laugh. “Yes, I suppose it is.”
She couldn’t decide if she wanted to smack that smirk off his face… or possibly kiss it off. What was wrong with her?
“Look, I…” She hesitated, but there couldn’t be any harm in telling him. It had to be obvious already. “I just found out I was a wolf, okay? Not too long ago. So, you know, I’m not up on all the terminology.”
His forehead wrinkled in surprised amusement. “Terminology?”
“Whatever.” Okay, maybe it was a mistake to tell him. She glanced at the door. Could she really just walk out? Or would he stop her again?
His hands went out, and he was doing an admirable job of holding back his laugh. “Sorry. I just… that wasn’t what I expected you to say.” He turned serious. “So... I’m going to assume you’re not mated. Because if you were, well, you’d understand why I was asking.”
She shrugged one shoulder, but his talk of mating was flushing heat to her face… and somehow, improbably, between her legs as well. She’d never met another shifter face-to-face before—were all these crazy mixed-up signals a wolf thing?
As if she needed any more insanity in her life. “Okay, so yeah. I guess I’m unmated. Whatever.” She ducked her head and stared at the floor. She needed to get her bearings, get out of pretty boy's little room, and figure out what her next step was. She’d been in the middle of trying to find a way off the streets when she’d run into the kid situation. She needed to get back on track with that…
Marco edged closer. “Look, I’m the alpha here. I’m responsible for protecting unmated females. So you’re safe with me, and you’re safe while you’re in my domain. But if you’re thinking of leaving… don’t. At least for a little while. You want to lie low? Lie low with us. Besides, you’re going to need protection—those thugs know who you are now. I’m assuming you’ve heard of a guy called the Wolf Hunter?”
Of course, she had. It was all over the news. Nothing quite like discovering you’re a wolf at the same time a maniac starts hunting them. Plus there was some kind of social uprising happening with hate groups bombing shifters.
She just nodded her head.
“Well, those guys that attacked you? I’m pretty sure they’re working for the Wolf Hunter. And I’m really grateful to you for stalling them—if you hadn’t, they probably would have taken Ethan. He would have ended up the same way as the others.”
“There’ve been others?” She frowned. “What happened to them?”
He scowled. “They’re dead. And it wasn’t an easy death, either.”
She grimaced. God, why was the world so fucking crazy? And she’d nearly been captured by those maniacs, as well. Her stomach did a flip, and her head felt light. She hadn’t eaten in how long? Forever it seemed. Forever-long days of wandering, terrified of her own beast, afraid she’d get caught… damn, she was so lost with all this…
“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” Somehow, the reassuring tone of his voice made her believe it. Even though her life was far, far from being all right. “You’re safe here with me and my pack. It’s the least we can do for you. For saving Ethan.” He hesitated, peering at her. “You said you’re new to being a wolf, right?”
She nodded again, still feeling dazed. Should she stay? With a pack of wolves? Did that even make sense? She couldn’t tell up from down right now.
“Maybe I could teach you a little bit about it. You know, how to be a wolf? Your wolf didn’t seem, well, very much in control. No offense.”
Again, that heat rising to her face. Why was she so stirred up around this guy? And what was she doing, even thinking about staying? He may have saved her from a horrible fate with the Wolf Hunter—that didn’t mean she needed to stick around. Or that staying was a good idea.
“Why would you help me?” she asked, frowning.
All his cool confidence seemed to flee like that question made him uncomfortable. He dropped his gaze to the floor and searched it for a moment. Then he nodded a little to himself like he was deciding something. When he looked up, he said with confidence, “We wolves need to stick together.”
She kept the frown. Really? She wasn’t sure she was buying that.
“It’s always been dangerous for shifters,” he continued, “but it’s even worse now. You should lie low here at the shelter until you get on your feet again. Then it’s up to you to decide if this is a place you want to stay.”
A cool rush spread throughout her chest—it felt a lot like relief. She’d been running and running… and now… maybe she could just stop for a while. Catch her breath. Get back on her feet, like this Marco person was saying. Apparently he was the alpha, so presumably he had the authority to back up his promises about protection. She didn’t know much about wolves or packs or shifters, but she knew the alpha was in charge.
And she really was flat out of luck. Maybe being a wolf would, for a change, be something that would help her.
“Yeah. Maybe.” It sounded as hesitant as she felt.
But he smiled broadly in response. Then he strode to the door, pulled it open, and called to someone outside. He waited a moment at the door, and then the kid came in—Ethan, the one she had tried to rescue.
He was pretty darn cute, tow-headed and looking all bashful. His eyes were wide as he looked up at her, and his hands were grasping a bunch of flowers that had to be weeds.
“Ethan, this is Julia,” Marco introduced them with a barely repressed smile.
Ethan stepped forward, holding out the flowers without saying a word.
She couldn’t help but smile. “They’re lovely.” She took them from his hands. “Thank you.”
Ethan stepped back, then shot a look to Marco, who nodded encouragingly. To Julia, Ethan said, “Thank you for saving me. I promise I will always protect you with my life.”
Marco couldn’t hold in the snort. “Okay, all right, Ethan.” He rested his hands on the kid’s shoulders and turned him back toward the door. “Ms. Julia’s going to stick around for a little while—why don’t you go find her something to eat?”
Ethan nodded jerkily and practically ran out the door.
Marco turned back to her with a smirk. “Looks like you have a fan.” The smile dropped off his face, and the heated look swept over her again. Marco cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m sure he’ll be back in a minute. I apologize in advance for the quality of the food. We make do with what we have around here.”
She didn’t know quite what to do with that… but it was a generosity she was in no position to turn down. And with the soft look Marco was giving her, as he held open the door… maybe she’d lucked into just what she needed.
A safe place to hide.
A little food to eat.
Maybe even a way to control this beast that had taken over her body… and her life.
She strode out the door to see what food Ethan was rustling up for her.
Marco strode quickly into his room and closed the door.
His body still hummed from his wrestling fight with Julia, and his wolf was whining about leaving her behind with the rest of the pack in the dining area. But she was busy tucking into the sandwiches Ethan brought like she hadn’t eaten in a week, and Marco needed to get a grip on himself.
His wolf was lusting for her bad.
If he hung around the table with her any longer, the near-constant tightening in his pants was going to give him away. Those beautiful brown eyes. Those full lips. Her cascading brown hair and pale, perfect skin. Not to mention that he’d seen her naked twice now, and he’d wrestled her to the bed—it was more than enough to drive his wolf wild. Which he didn’t really understand. He’d seen plenty of beautiful females, human and wolf, but with th
e rest of them, he didn’t have to keep playing mental games to prevent his cock from tenting out his pants.
He needed to calm the hell down before he spent any more time with her.
His room was the perfect place to get his head straight again. Most of the pack who lived at the shelter slept in the barracks. Rooms with a door were used for storage, with a few locked-door ones that couples could check out for privacy. Marco was one of the few who had a room of his own. And right now he wanted nothing more than to haul Julia back here and shove her up against a wall and make love to her.
He scrubbed both hands over his face. What the hell was wrong with him?
Before he got too far in figuring that out, his door flew open.
There were only two people who would barge into his room without knocking—Stefan and Isabel. And even Stefan knew better.
Isabel flew across the room, slamming the door shut behind her and throwing her arms around him. “God, Marco.” She hugged him tight. “Stefan told me.”
Stefan told her what? Marco hoped it was about the Wolf Hunter’s men—not him drooling over the girl who fought them off. He pulled back—his erection wasn’t quite tamed, and he didn’t want Isabel figuring that out, either.
“I’m fine,” he said hoarsely. “We just—”
But then she kissed him. Her gorgeous body melting against his, her soft arms sliding around his neck, her warm lips on him… and suddenly his erection was raging back. His body couldn’t help reacting. And the way she was grinding against him… she had to feel all of it.
He shouldn’t want her like this, not coming off the heat of lusting after another girl, but she was digging her hands into his shoulders and making small breathy sounds. He walked her back to the door and pressed her body against it. The feel of her against him made him moan.
They had made love before—it wasn’t like this would be the first time—but it was always like this. Him in need of some kind of relief, knowing she wouldn’t mind. Her coming after him, wanting to be his mate. It was lust and stress relief and hormones… it was sex, not lovemaking.
But he should make love to her. Hell, he should claim her right now, like he’d been putting off forever. He had to take a mate, and by all rights, it should be Isabel. She’d been waiting forever for him to decide… he shouldn’t keep stringing her along with this occasional friends-with-benefits business they had going.
He put more enthusiasm into his kiss, crushing her against the door, knowing she liked it hard like that. She answered with a moan and dug her hands into his hair. His hands worked under her clothes and lifted her legs up over his hips to wrap around his back.
Everyone assumed she would be his mate. Everyone in the pack loved her, and she was one of the two people he loved most, who stood by him from the start—Isabel and Stefan were everything to him. They’d rescued her from the asshole alpha who ran the territory before, and that guy had taken her with a forced mating. So when Marco took his place as alpha, he’d made it very clear he wasn’t looking for a mate. Not right away, at least.
He wanted her to know she had a choice.
Only… she chose to stay. And after that, the three of them were thick as thieves. Then… over time, every once in a while… Marco found himself in bed with her. It just happened. Not often, but enough. And always like this—in the heat of the moment, when tensions were high, and they both needed some kind of relief, a release from the stress and the worry.
A quick coupling that left them both breathless but sated.
Marco didn’t get much action otherwise. He wasn’t the kind of alpha to sleep with every unmated female under his protection. But with Isabel, it was different. She wouldn’t gossip. She wouldn’t brag. She was safe. And always willing, always happy to be with him, without expectations, without demanding that he mate with her.
But that wasn’t what he wanted. Not really.
The lust surging through his body and compelling him to run his hands under her clothes was actually for another woman. His body was pressed against Isabel, his hands and mouth wrenching moans out of her, but his mind… his mind was back in the interrogation room, on top of a very naked and feisty Julia.
And that wasn’t right.
Marco pulled back, unlocking Isabel’s legs from around him and holding her at arm’s length. She blinked and frowned in confusion. Her lips were swollen from his kiss—the guilt of that stabbed through him.
She deserved better than this. Isabel was his friend, and he truly loved her, just like he did Stefan. He just wasn’t in love with her. He had no idea how to tell her that.
Marco cleared his throat, releasing her to rub a hand across the back of his neck. “This isn’t a good time, Isa.”
She frowned even more and dropped a pointed glance at his cock. “Seems like a good time.” She wasn’t judging him, just noting how he was acting crazy.
He couldn’t help giving a small laugh. “I’m just… you know how it is after a fight. Sometimes it gets you…” He coughed through the awkwardness. “A little worked up.”
She straightened her clothes, and he couldn’t tell if the frown on her face was disappointment or something else. “Is this about that girl?”
Shit. Stefan had been talking. “No,” he said quickly. When she arched an eyebrow, he added, “Okay, maybe, a little… but not in the way you’re thinking.” Only it was the way she was thinking. Isabel was too smart and savvy not to see through his bullshit. She’d been abused over a span of years by a horrible, horrible man. She had a finely tuned bullshit detector. But the last thing Marco ever wanted to do was hurt her… more guilt stabbed through him. What could he say about his reaction to Julia, when he hadn’t even figured it out himself?
She straightened a little. “I only came in to check on you, but if this isn’t a good time…” She turned toward the door to leave.
He reached for her. “Isabel, wait.”
She turned back, looking uncertain, and a little afraid—not of him, at least he didn’t think so. More like she was afraid he was rejecting her… and then, where would she be in the hierarchy of the pack? But that was something he never wanted her to question.
He took her shoulders gently in his hands. “I’m sorry I’m running hot and cold. This whole thing with Ethan being almost snatched, and this girl who can’t control her wolf, it’s got me all twisted up. I’m just worried, that’s all.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
He peered at her. “I need your help. You know that, right? You and Stefan—you’re my right and left hands. I can’t do anything without you.”
That seemed to make her relax. Which only reinforced his belief that she was worried about her place in the pack. And whether he would take her for a mate—or not.
He dropped his hands from her shoulders and leaned back a little. “I’ve also been feeling the pressure to take a mate.” He looked her straight in the eyes to gauge her response.
They went a little wide, but her lips were pressed tight. They’d never talked openly about it before. Isabel was the only sensible choice—Julia wasn’t even part of his pack, and none of the other half-dozen unmated females were remotely interesting to him. Several of them kept waiting in the wings, hoping he might pick them someday, even though he encouraged them to choose another mate.
Isabel… he never had discussed it. Not even once.
“Whoever I take for a mate,” Marco said, peering into her eyes again, “there’s something I want you to know.”
Her face was inscrutable, holding back, distant. He didn’t like that distance at all.
“No matter what happens,” he said, “you’re always going to be one of my best friends. You and Stefan, both. Do you understand me?”
Her shoulders slumped, and he couldn’t tell if it was relief or disappointment. “This is about the girl, isn’t it?”
“No!” He threw his hands out. God, he just couldn’t talk his way out of this. “This is about telling you how much I care fo
r you, even though I haven’t yet claimed you for a mate.”
Her eyes went round and soft. “I know you care for me, Marco. There hasn’t been a minute in the last three years I’ve doubted that.”
Three years. Christ, had it been that long? Three years she’d been waiting for him… three years he’d been occasionally taking her to bed, but never making it right with her.
The guilt was a hot poker through his chest. He grimaced with the pain of it. How crushed was she going to be when he finally told her no? Was that where this was going? Was he just putting off the inevitable?
She was peering at him, but with curiosity this time. “You’re interested in her, aren’t you?”
Shit. “Okay, yes, I find her interesting,” Marco grumbled. “And she’s going to stick around. She needs help taming her wolf, and she could be an asset to the pack.”
Isabel was frowning, but nodding at the same time. “It sounds like we could use the extra help,” she said, changing the subject. Thank God. “Stefan says you want to set up patrols everywhere in the territory.”
“I can’t stand the thought of us losing anyone else. And with these monsters going after the kids…”
Her frown evaporated. “How is Ethan doing? I haven’t had a chance to check in on him.”
Marco ventured a small smile. “Well, he’s in love with the girl who rescued him,” he said with a smirk. “Can’t really blame him for that.” Then the smile died as he realized what he was saying—that he understood why Ethan was smitten with Julia. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I don’t want the school to resume operation until we’ve got something more secure set up.”
Isabel nodded. “I’ll have some lessons hand delivered to their homes or their bunks in the shelter for the next couple days until we get this sorted out.”
Marco had put her in charge of making sure the pups got what they needed, with the school and everything else, and she was excellent at it. She had a warm empathy that was a natural attractor for the kids, but she was also never afraid to let him know if they needed something. She was always willing to speak her mind. To tell him the truth.
