by Carter, Mina
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
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About the Author
Copyright
Copyright 2014 Mina Carter
Cover Art by Mina Carter
Published by Blue Hedgehog Press: Nov 2014.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Author's note: All characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.
Chapter One
True Love could conquer all.
Vanessa McCauley sighed as the council alphas trooped out of the court maze, a nod from the first confirming that the Master of the City had claimed his woman.
She joined the rest of the court women as they drifted back inside. The main ballroom—the largest room at court—was decorated for the occasion and a light buffet set on tables along the inner walls. She swept the room with an appreciative glance. After running the McCauley house for many years, she knew just how much work had gone into making such a large room presentable after the ball last night.
“So romantic,” one woman exclaimed as Vanessa passed. “As soon as she came out in that red dress, I knew. There’ll be a mating before summer, you mark my words.”
It was romantic. The powerful alpha claiming the woman he loved despite all odds.
“There will!” Another replied as her face softened with smiles. “My great-grandmother wore the red dress. Chased one month, mated the next.”
At that point, both women became aware of Vanessa, and despite her best efforts to turn invisible, their faces closed over. Turning away, they continued their conversation in muted tones, making her sigh. Everyone knew she’d expected to be mated to the Master. Well, not her herself, but her brother had made no secret of the fact he’d intended her to be the Master’s pick for the Midwinter offering.
But she hadn’t been. Instead, Veyr had picked Cyan Trevais instead. Curvy, non-shifting, the girl all the other lycan girls laughed at, Cyan. Vanessa sighed as she grabbed a plate. She didn’t blame him. Cyan was beautiful, she’d always thought that. Small and curvy, she had a figure to die for. One Vanessa could never hope to compete with, not in a million years.
The room around her was abuzz with chatter, but she ignored it in favor of studying the buffet. The sound of sympathetic whispers around her told her that people were talking about her. They always did. Everything she said, every move she made, were all analyzed. Pulled apart. Discussed.
Even what she picked from the buffet. ‘She shouldn’t eat that, she’ll put on weight, then the Master won’t want her.’ She’d heard that refrain so many times over the years she’d long since gone by the urge to scream when she heard it. But, guess what? It hadn’t mattered how slim she was, the Master hadn’t picked her anyway.
Her gaze roved the table. So many delicious treats. Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled to remind her that all she’d had to eat this morning was an egg-white omelet and some salad. All in the never-ending battle to stay as slender as possible to attract a mate.
Her fingers itched, temptation driving them to reach out and grab a slice of chocolate cake. Salad wasn’t enough. She was a wolf, not a damn rabbit. She needed real food. Steak, cake, chocolate…
“You’d better eat up.” Her brother’s caustic tones broke through her near-erotic daydream of how the cake would taste. “It’s obvious a skinny runt like you won’t attract Veyr. He’s into fat chicks. So you need to get chubby.”
She froze, then looked over her shoulder. Jacob was her older brother, but to say there was no love lost between the siblings would be an understatement. Consumed with an overreaching sense of his own importance, she knew he saw her as a pawn to further his ambition rather than loved her as a sister.
He grabbed her arm, fingers bruising as he propelled her along the table, piling her plate high. “Eat. Get fat,” he demanded, his face tight and angry. “Then we can replace that little bitch in his bed with you.”
Her hands shaking, she glanced down at her plate. All the treats she’d salivated over were piled in an unappetizing mess. Her stomach churned and she looked up at him. Was he blind? Anyone with eyes in their head could see that Veyr was head over heels in love.
And not with Vanessa.
“Jacob. He’s chosen, it wasn’t me. It’s over.”
He whipped around, his eyes burning with fury, and grabbed her arm. She yelped in pain, the plate dropping from her fingers to splatter over the floor as he pushed her backward. Her shoulders and the back of her head hit a side door hard, sparks flying over her vision and then they were through it and into the quietness and solitude of a side-corridor.
“You will do as I say,” Jacob snarled, his hand closing around her throat to pin her against the opposite wall. “If you know what’s good for you.”
His face twisted with rage, half-human and half wolf. Fear lanced her heart. Jacob’s rages were legendary in the pack, most avoided angering him. However, most could get away, had places to hide.
Not her. With nowhere to run, she was always first in the firing line. She let emotion leech away from her, calmed the wolf within.
“And you know what’s good for you, don’t you, Vanessa?” He let go of her throat and stroked gentle fingers across her cheek. She turned her head away, sickened by the touch and the darkness in his eyes. There was something wrong with Jacob. Very wrong.
“The ball tonight. I’ll do my best,” she said, sickened by the fact she was prepared to do anything to avoid Jacob’s anger.
What kind of wolf was she, that she couldn’t even stand up for herself?
*
Veyr was not at the ball.
“Shit.”
Vanessa kept her panic to herself and turned in a circle, her movement slow and graceful, hoping to spot Veyr’s unmistakable figure amongst the guests. Although not the tallest wolf, he had an aura about him that was hard to miss. One that oozed power and reeked virility; he set the hearts of all red-blooded women aflutter.
Apart from hers. While she admired Veyr for dragging lycan society out of the dark ages and into the modern world, he wasn’t the one who made her heart pound and her pussy clench.
Her gaze snuck sideward to a tall figure at the edge of the room.
Jace Trenton. The Captain of the Guard, appointed by Veyr himself. The stories said they were both wolves from the pits, the barely-legal fight clubs in the lower city. That they’d fought together, and Jace had
accompanied Veyr to court after the challenge-fight that had killed the previous Master of the City, allowing Veyr to take his place.
She lifted her champagne glass to her lips, using the motion to conceal her appraisal of Jace. She didn’t usually drink, but she needed some kind of prop to keep her hands busy. Tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and eyes, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. What did it matter that the lack of amber ring around his eyes meant that somewhere in his family tree was a non-shifter? She didn’t care. He was a wolf, an alpha just like Veyr.
She emptied her glass without thinking and switched it for another from the tray of a passing waiter. Using the ever-shifting crowd for cover, she watched Jace from across the room. He leant against a wall, the dark silk shirt he wore clung to broad shoulders and a heavily muscled chest. Black dress pants completed the look, the fabric pulled taut across one massive thigh where he had his foot propped against the wall. Long, strong fingers were delicate on a glass as he lifted it to his lips and met her eyes.
Then winked.
Shit. She choked on her drink, ducking behind the portly figure of an older wolf so Jace wouldn’t see her spitting champagne all over herself, and managed to swallow.
“That’s it gal, get it down ‘yer.” The wolf in front of her turned. Older, with graying hair and a handlebar mustache, he grinned in amusement. “You should try some brandy, puts skin on ‘yer bones that stuff does!”
Blinking, she nodded and added a little smile she hoped indicated agreement. She hoped he didn’t actually offer her any brandy. Not a big drinker at the best of times, the champagne was already making her knees feel fuzzy. Thankfully, a sharp, feminine voice some way off in the crowd brought his head up.
“Another time,” he said with regret and gave a small bow. “The ball and chain calls and it’s more than my life’s worth to disobey. Your servant, milady.”
She watched as he bustled off through the packed ballroom and raised her eyes to look at Jace again. He wasn’t there. Breath punching out of her lungs, she bit her lip at the sharp sense of disappointment then beat it back down. He was on duty, and she should look for Veyr.
“So what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” The deep voice just by her ear made her jump, squeak, and whirl around all within a second. Her foot, clad in the lightest of satin slippers, lost traction on the polished dance floor and she fell. She closed her eyes, waiting for the contact with the floor, but it didn’t come. Instead, strong arms closed around her waist and she was hauled up against a hard body.
“Oh my, you really are strong,” she managed, looking up into the darkest pair of brown eyes she’d ever seen.
He blinked, as though her words surprised him, but that could have been the fact her hands were cupped around his upper arms and had decided to take the opportunity to test his muscles. Steely strength met her testing grip and she flushed as her higher brain functions disappeared.
Why did tall, strong men do it for her? It wasn’t as if, as a lycan, she lacked in strength herself. Hell, she could bench press a car if she wanted. But there was something very attractive about being held close. Protected… cherished.
“Well,” he cleared his throat and set her on her feet. She managed not to pout as he let her go. “It’s part of the job description. V was very specific about that… ‘Must be strong, and able to leap small buildings in a single bound.'”
“Do you get to wear your underpants over your pants as well?” She lifted an eyebrow, not sure how to take him. His scent, wild and feral, the mark of an alpha wolf, washed over her, undermining her attempt at polite conversation.
His eyes widened, just a fraction, then he grinned. He was extremely handsome, she decided. Was that even fair, for one man to look so good?
“Why? Are you interested in seeing my underpants?”
She smiled, a little light-headed as the unaccustomed champagne she’d drunk all went to her head at the same time. Veyr wasn’t here, so she might as well make the most of her night without Jacob watching her like a hawk.
“Only if I get to take them off.”
Chapter Two
Holy crap. Vanessa McCauley was coming onto him. In a big way.
So surprised was Jace Trenton at this turn of events he almost dropped her. At the last second, he tightened his grip, bringing her closer, then wished he hadn’t. She fit perfectly, her slender body nestling against his harder, muscular one like she’d been made for his arms. He never wanted to let her go and neither did his wolf, the creature within rumbling its approval of the female. More than approval, the creature had caught the scent of hers, strong and feminine, and wanted to know more. Much more.
So did Jace, heat rolling through his veins to lodge in his groin. His cock surged to life, thick and hard in an instant. And there was no hiding it from her, not with them pressed together from mid-chest to thigh as they were.
“My, my… I guess you’re pleased to see me.” Her melodious voice wrapped around him, but it was the sparkle of mischief in her eyes that drew him in.
He’d watched her from afar for months, but had never spoken to her. He had no reason to, and it wasn’t his place. Although he was the Captain of the Guard, it still didn’t mean he was anywhere near her league, not in a million years. He hadn’t thought she’d known he existed, never mind would actually flirt with him. She was a pack princess, a lady, and no lady would ever be interested in a rough wolf from the pits like him.
“Hmm… you could say that, yeah?” he managed, his voice rough. Gone was his usual slick manner with women. Instead, he was bumbling and unsure. This delicate, beautiful creature couldn’t be looking at him with interest…
“You don’t sound at all sure,” she pouted, reaching out to adjust his collar in a small, caring gesture that melted him down to the bones. He’d never had anyone care for him, not like that. No mother to speak of, he’d grown up an orphan wolf, in one of the city’s foundling homes until he was old enough to make his own way. That way had led him to a hard life in the pits. Fighting. Killing. He’d been sure he’d die down there until his friendship with Veyr and fate had conspired to bring them both to court.
She looked around, her hands still on his shoulders as she rested in the circle of his arms. “Perhaps I should find someone who is sure.”
That did it. His grip tightened, ensuring there was no escape. “Lady, you do that and there will be blood spilt, I promise you that.”
Her lips split in a small smile and once again he was baffled by female behavior. His instinct told him she wasn’t at all interested in finding someone else, she’d just wanted to see his reaction. Well, she’d gotten it. Like most alpha’s he was possessive as all hell.
“Well then, perhaps I should get you out of here before you start a fight…” She trailed off, looking up at him with expectant eyes. The arousal and interest rolling from her in waves over-rode all his mental objections about why this wasn’t such a good idea.
Triumph surged through his veins and he turned her in his arms. Looping one around her waist, he pushed through the crowded ballroom to a small side door half hidden behind a column. He nodded to the guard by the door, who made it his business to look the other way. This was the entrance to Veyr’s private wing, one which, in a departure from protocol, Jace had a suite in. But he and V went way back. They’d saved each other’s lives more than Jace could remember. If it hadn’t been for Jace, V would never have survived his first cage fight, skinny little runt he had been back then.
“Where are we going?” Vanessa’s voice was soft in the darkness beyond the door. Since V had decided not to attend the ball, too busy with his new lady, the lanterns along the corridor hadn’t been lit. Jace didn’t care, most wolves saw well in the darkness and he was no exception.
“Isn’t this the Master’s wing? Won’t he be annoyed—”
Jace turned, cutting off her words by backing her up against the wall. The moonlight reached long fingers through the large pi
cture windows to caress the delicate lines of her face and highlight her blonde hair. His breath caught in his throat, the need within him tightening with a savage jerk. She was gorgeous. Utterly gorgeous. And he’d never thought he’d get to touch such loveliness.
Her soft gasp as he fit his body against hers, pinning her to the wall behind, was the stuff of his fantasies. Reaching up, he tangled his fingers in her hair, scattering pins to the floor.
“You’re beautiful,” he rasped, voice deep with his voice. He knew his eyes were maxed out, but he didn’t care. With the amber ring of pure-blood in hers, it wasn’t like he would scare her.
Her lips parted, as though in answer, but he didn’t give her a chance. Unable to wait any longer to taste her, he bent his head and covered her lips with his.
*
Oh my, he could kiss.
Vanessa whimpered in need as his lips covered hers. Despite his hesitant, almost shy manner before, as though he couldn’t believe what was going on, he kissed like a man who knew what he was doing. Crowding closer, until she felt every line of his hard, muscular body, his kiss was hard and demanding. Sure and firm.
He parted her lips with an assured sweep of his tongue and slid inside. She moaned as his tongue found hers, her hands curling around his upper arms. Or tried to. They were too big, too corded with muscle for her to get her hands anywhere near around them. She didn’t care, as long as he didn’t stop kissing her. She’d been kissed before, but never like this.
Jace kissed as though he were the last man on earth and she were the last woman. His tongue wrapped around hers, teasing and dominant at the same time. Urging her to yield to his strength, while still tempting her to play. She rumbled in the back of her throat, her wolf close to the surface and evaded him. Made him work for it. He growled in warning, but she didn’t care. It was fun to tease him, even if he was an alpha. She wanted to bait the bear, or wolf, just to see how long it would be before he’d snap.
