Claiming the Alpha

by Alicia Montgomery

  “And you prefer to work with the devil you know?” Corvinus finished.

  “Something like that.” Frankie smirked. “So, do you agree?”

  “And you are to protect us?” Corvinus looked Adrianna directly in the eye. “Money is one thing, but my influence protects us. Pardon my directness, but you, who has never even lived in this territory, mean to keep the human authorities from knowing our secret? And what about the new enemies that are rising? According to my nephew, they wield powerful magic.”

  “We’ve defeated them before and will do so again,” Frankie stated. “I—that is, your future Alpha,” she looked at Adrianna, “will fight when the time comes.”

  “Yet you didn’t do anything to stop them,” Corvinus countered. “You are our Alpha, and you were supposed to protect us.”

  Corvinus was much smarter than he seemed, and Adrianna hoped they didn’t underestimate him. “I will protect this territory,” she declared, her hands clenching into fists. “I’ll be moving back here and taking my rightful place as Alpha once my mother steps down.”

  “We’ll be starting our own Lycan security team, just for New Jersey,” Julianna added. “We already have some potential candidates, and I’ll be leading their training.”

  “New Jersey’s Lycans are mostly families and retirees,” Corvinus pointed out.

  “We’ll have the support of the New York team,” Julianna said.

  “The New York team is spread thin,” Darius stated. “You barely have enough people to cover the Alpha, her heir, and the rest of your family.”

  Adrianna shot him a look of surprise, which he pointedly ignored. How the devil could he have known that?

  “And how could you possibly know how to train anyone?” Darius said to Julianna.

  “Excuse me?” Julianna shot to her feet. “I’ve been working on the New York team for six years.”

  Darius merely shrugged. “That does not mean you can train fighters.”

  “My nephew did not mean to insult you, dear girl.” He gave Julianna a placating look. “He’s been my enforcer for half his life, since he was sixteen. And—” He stopped short, his lips pursing together. “Which makes him an excellent candidate.”

  “Candidate for what?” Frankie asked.

  “To be part of your team, of course.” Corvinus declared. “Darius is a perfect fit.”

  “Excuse me?” She couldn’t stop the words from coming out of her mouth even if she tried.

  “It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Corvinus’s eyes gleamed. “He already functions as my own protector on most days, and is one of my top enforcers. You wouldn’t even have to give him any training.” He leaned back in his chair. “And, with these terrible mages out to harm our future Alpha, how could I not offer you my best bodyguard, to keep her safe, while you are still building the team.”

  Oh, no. No way. She would never have a bodyguard ever again. Not after what happened the last time. “You can’t—”

  “We agree,” Frankie stated, cutting off her protests.

  She felt the blood drain from her face. “Mama.”

  “Adrianna.” Her mother put a hand on her arm. “You do need protection. And we could use the help.”

  “I can protect my own sister just fine,” Julianna declared.

  “And who would train your team?” Corvinus asked. “Would your sister be staying by your side as you try to whip your recruits into shape?”

  “He’s right,” Frankie said. “We accept your offer. But, what about our earlier proposal? About you turning legit?”

  “We both know that is not a proposal,” Corvinus snorted then looked at Darius. “I suppose we could save a lot of money on bribes if we become legitimate businessmen, eh?” Darius remained silent as a rock. “All right, Primul, I accept your proposal.”

  “Good.” Frankie gave him a nod. “I will give you thirty days to cease all illegal activities.”

  “But Primul that is not enough—”

  “Thirty days.” Frankie’s eyes glowed with the power of her wolf. “No more.”

  Corvinus stretched his neck, showing his throat. “As you wish, Primul. Is there anything else?”

  “No.” Frankie stood up, and so did Corvinus and Darius. “You may leave.”

  “Thank you for your time, Primul. I shall see you soon. Come,” he said to Darius. “We have a long drive home.”

  The two men bowed their heads, then slowly backed away towards the exit. Adrianna’s gaze followed Darius as he lifted his head, and though their gazes met for a brief moment, his expression remained neutral. His stoicism was starting to irritate the hell out of her.

  “I don’t know if that went better or worse than we thought,” Julianna said wryly when the door slammed behind the two men. “But that was the plan, right? To let him keep his business while stopping all the illegal stuff? Better to make a friend than an enemy.”

  It had indeed seemed like a good plan when they thought of it. They knew that trying to outright put a stop to The Family wouldn’t have worked, and they would have risked making another enemy—one who had the means to fight. Also, this way, they could keep close tabs on Corvinus and The Family.

  “He was right though, he didn’t have a choice.” Frankie tapped a finger on her chin. “I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

  “Why did you agree to have his nephew be my bodyguard?” Adrianna railed. “You know I don’t want anyone following me around.”

  “He’s apparently already protected you before.” Frankie raised a delicate brow. “Anything you care to tell me about that?”

  She knew that look her mother was giving her. It was her patented “I’m-your-mother-and-I-gave-you-life-so-you-better-tell-me-the-truth-right-now” look. But she refused to buckle. “Just because he inadvertently got me out of harm’s way doesn’t mean I want him protecting me now.”

  “What is the matter with you?” Frankie asked, frustration straining her voice. “Why are you being so stubborn about this whole bodyguard thing? You’ve refused any sort of security detail even after two attempts on your life. Is it because of Shane—”

  “Stop!” She put up her hands. Oh, God, she didn’t want to think about it. About what happened in the past. It was long ago, but the guilt and pain still seemed fresh, like a wound that had never scabbed. “Sorry.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been fine all this time. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  Julianna clenched her teeth. “You can’t mean to have that … that oaf come here and keep an eye on Adrianna? How will we know he won’t try to harm her?”

  Her inner wolf protested, as if telling her that Darius would never hurt them. What is up with you? But it merely yipped at her in response.

  “He won’t,” Frankie said. “If he did, he would have already done it.”

  “How could you trust him?” Julianna berated.

  “I don’t. But I trust you.” Frankie put a hand on both her daughters’ shoulders. “I trust you both. Adrianna,” she began. “I’ve seen you duke it out with temperamental chefs and asshole CEOs and you’ve never given up. And you, my dear Julianna,” she smiled softly, “you’re tough and smart. The two of you can handle whatever life throws at you. Your last name may be Anderson, but you’re both my daughters, descended from a long line of female Alphas. And the women in our family don’t back down.”

  Her mother’s confidence shook her to her very core, and as she looked over at Julianna, she saw in her sister’s eyes what she felt: pride and determination.

  “Corvinus’s nephew,” Julianna said. “Do you want us to use him to our advantage?”

  Her mother’s lips curled into a smile. “Yes. Keep him close. Try to find out more about The Family. He may inadvertently give us information his uncle might be keeping close.”

  “Doesn’t seem like a chatty Cathy to me,” Julianna snorted.

  “He’s probably not the type to respond to direct questioning,” Frankie said, then turned to Adrianna. “But see what you can get out of h
im.”

  “Me?” she asked. What was her mother suggesting?

  “You’ll be spending a lot of time together. Give it some thought,” Frankie said cryptically.

  She pondered her mother’s words. As much as she didn’t want a bodyguard, it wasn’t like she actually cared about what happened to Darius. He’s basically cannon fodder. If he was so good at his job, then the mages could get to him first.

  Her wolf did not seem to like that one bit.

  Oh, shut up.

  She slapped her hand on her forehead. Was she going to start talking to her wolf now?

  “Are you all right, Adrianna?” Frankie asked.

  “I’m fine.” She massaged her temple. Darius exuded danger, and every single cell in her brain screamed at her to turn tail. Yet, she couldn’t stop thinking about him and how close they were going to be in the next few days. The thought made her body hum with anticipation.

  Stop it. She couldn’t dare think of him as anything else except a dangerous ally. Stay close, but not too close. They couldn’t trust Anatoli Corvinus and by extension, anyone in The Family. Would their gamble pay off? She sure hoped so, otherwise, it would be the end of the New Jersey clan.

  Chapter Four

  Darius followed Anatoli out of the restaurant silently. The two burly enforcers who usually accompanied his uncle were already waiting by the black SUV parked by the entrance.

  As one of them reached for the door to the passenger side, Anatoli shook his head. “No,” he barked, then turned to him. “You drove here?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll ride with you. Follow us back to the compound,” he told the bodyguards, then gestured for Darius to lead him to his car.

  It was a strange request, but he just shrugged as he complied and walked to where he parked his car at the end of the lot. Anatoli waited impatiently, and he dutifully opened the front passenger side for him, then shut it before walking around to the driver’s side.

  He moved slowly, gathering his thoughts, wondering why his uncle wanted to ride with him. Perhaps he’d get an earful about being late. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the time it would take him to get to the restaurant, but still, he didn’t think he had been delayed too long.

  He’d already been angry and frustrated at having to be at the ridiculous meeting in the first place; he was an enforcer, not a negotiator.

  And then he’d arrived and saw her.

  “Darius!” Anatoli roared from inside the car. “Stop dawdling.”

  He hurried inside, started the engine and then put the car into gear. He could feel Anatoli stewing next to him but didn’t dare say a word. Of course, he himself was trying to gather his thoughts and control the maelstrom of emotions inside him.

  Tonight was the closest he’d gotten to her since the ball. Had he forgotten how smooth her skin was? Or how lovely her face looked? And those mismatched eyes. He could barely drag his gaze away from her.

  His uncle never mentioned that she would be there. If he had, he wasn’t sure what he would have done. But the moment he’d walked into that room, he knew one thing for sure: Anatoli could never know about how much he was drawn to Adrianna.

  “That bitch!” Anatoli suddenly burst out. “How dare she tell me what to do!”

  “She is Alpha,” he pointed out. “You had no choice.” Empty words, but what could he say?

  “I’ll show her …” A growl ripped from his uncle’s throat, a sure sign that his wolf was near the surface.

  “Do you mean to break your word?” His jaw tensed, wondering what Anatoli was planning. “What are you up to?”

  “None of your business.” He sank back into the seat. “I told you, I already have plans in place. And the Alpha and her bitch daughters have opened up even more possibilities.”

  His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard, he might have crushed it in in his hands. “Possibilities?”

  “You.” He turned to him, a smile on his face. “Why do you think I offered you to them? To play nursemaid to that would-be Alpha?” He laughed. “You will be the perfect spy.”

  A tightness in his chest formed. “A spy?”

  “Keep close to her, boy. Listen in on her conversations and then report back to me. Do you understand?” Anatoli’s voice held a graveness that he’d never heard before. “I want to know every single thing that has to do with that little bitch and her mother. Don’t you dare leave anything out.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I mean it, Darius.” He gave him a warning look, then turned his gaze forward.

  “You don’t trust that they will keep their word?” he added. “That they will provide us with the contracts they promised?”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Anatolia scoffed. “All I’m saying is that we will see how this plays out.” Anatoli threaded his fingers together. “It won’t hurt to be prepared, in case the wind blows in the other direction.”

  He knew better than to probe further, lest his uncle become suspicious. Would he betray the Alpha? Punishment for disobeying an Alpha was severe. It could mean being cast out and forced to become a Lone Wolf. Or imprisonment in the ice deserts of Siberia. Or it could even mean death. The fact that Anatoli would risk such things meant he was planning something big.

  He knew now he couldn’t just hide his attraction to Adrianna. Anatoli always had a deep-seated hatred for him. He never said anything, but it was there, bubbling under the surface. When Darius was fourteen years old, he had found an orphaned, injured kitten that wandered into the compound. He kept it in his room, nursing it back to health. When Anatoli found the poor thing, he had Alexandru take it away. “There is no place for such things in The Family, boy,” was all he said. He never did find out what happened to the kitten.

  Since then, he’d learned to never show Anatoli or anyone that he cared for anything, lest they be taken from him. Because who knows what Anatoli would do if he even showed the slightest interest in the future Lupa?

  The only way to keep her safe was to sever anything he felt for her.

  Chapter Five

  “All right, this is the last one!” Adrianna declared as she dropped the box on the floor and then plopped down on the bed of her new home. Well, it wasn’t new, per se, as it had belonged to their family for three generations. But this was the first time she would actually be living in the old Victorian mansion in Barnsville, New Jersey,

  It was the weekend, but also moving day for her. She packed up all her essentials from her apartment at The Enclave and put them in Julianna’s car. Some stuff she would keep there in case she needed to stay in New York, but otherwise, most of her possessions were going with her to New Jersey.

  Julianna walked in and set a suitcase next to the discarded box. “Of course you left me with the heavier stuff.”

  “You’ve got all those muscles from training,” Adrianna teased.

  Julianna smirked at her, then jumped on the bed and lay down beside her sister. “Brings back memories, huh?”

  “Yeah. Remember the time you, me, and Isabelle decided to have sleepover here when I was thirteen?”

  “And Nonna Gianna caught us trying to sneak outside because we were looking for ghosts?” Julianna added.

  “Oh my God, she was so mad at us!” Adrianna nearly choked on her laughter. “She thought someone was trying to break in and came out into the backyard, her frying pan raised above her head.”

  “And … and …” Tears streamed down Julianna’s cheeks. “She was … had her mud mask on and was wearing her nylon stockings and her robe!”

  She howled at the memory of the old woman, standing outside on the back porch, frying pan ready to knock out whoever dared try to harm her family. Julianna was clutching at her stomach as she tried to take deep breaths. When they both finally stopped, they looked at each other and Adrianna knew she wore the same sad look that was on her sister’s face.

  “I miss Nonna,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since she died.”

>   “She had a long, happy life.” Julianna rolled over onto her back and stared up at ceiling. “I remember that day when she passed, and we were all with her. She said the only reason she was sad was that she would never get to see us all married with kids of our own.”

  Nonna Gianna was their great-grandmother’s human cousin and had been a part of the family ever since they could remember. She’d actually run the Muccino’s Italian Restaurant kitchen when Uncle Dante moved to New York. She was also the last of their family to live in the old Victorian house where the New Jersey Alphas had been living for three generations.

  Adrianna sighed. And now she too had to move in here. There really was no backing out. She still had to head into New York every day since the Muccino International Offices were still there, but this was her home now.

  It was inconvenient, but surprisingly, moving into the old house was the most pleasant part of having to take up the role of Alpha. She had always loved this place; she had so many happy childhood memories here, from Christmases to birthdays and summers spent cooking in the kitchen with Nonna Gianna and Uncle Dante. It was in the backyard where she had her first shift with her parents helping and encouraging her as she learned how to control her animal.

  Moving and living here was inevitable, and the meeting two nights ago with Anatoli Corvinus only cemented this decision. Despite the rush of confidence she felt, her stomach churned at the thought of being Alpha.

  And knowing Darius Corvinus would be around only made it worse.

  The fact that he could cause such a physical reaction in her irritated her to no end. It was bad enough that she would have a bodyguard, but did it have to be him? Now that the thought had time to ruminate in her head, she wondered if her mother had gone insane. What was she thinking? That Darius would willingly provide them info on his uncle? Or that he would turn to their side?

  She snorted aloud. Highly unlikely. The man was as unmoving as a mountain.

  Built like one, too. What else about him was big and hard?