Claimed by the Alpha Daddy (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

Blaine raised his brow at her. “I’d never lay a hand on a woman.”

  Estelle’s cheeks reddened and she looked away quickly, but not quickly enough that Blaine was oblivious to the surge of heat that coursed through her body. It perked the bear inside of him right up, demanded he stake his claim on her once again. For real this time. For good. But he couldn’t do that. Not yet. Maybe not ever. She was just too damned young for him. It wasn’t truly what she wanted. And even if it was, he knew they would never work. They were from two different worlds.

  “Well what I did was shut down. I watched her carry on for another few minutes and then leave the house I had built for us to live in. I moved to the cabin and she took off with the neighbor guy; at least she tried to. I beat him close to death. I couldn’t feel anything anymore. And ever since then, the only feeling I’ve really had was anger…”

  “You poor man,” Estelle whispered, coming close to her.

  The words agitated him – there was nothing poor about him – but before he could tell her off about it, Estelle’s arms were around him and he found himself being embraced for the first time since his wife had left him. Nothing had managed to feel good since then, and the only thing that had given him any comfort, his anger, began to melt away.

  Finally, Estelle broke the embrace and they stared at each other, unsure of what to do next. They knew they couldn’t be together. It just wasn’t practical. She was a young woman with everything ahead of her, and he was working overtime to discover the portals before the bear shifter’s ancient calendar pointed toward the equinox. They just weren’t compatible. They just had too much going against them for his claim to go anywhere.

  But the bear wasn’t happy with that, and it took everything he had to keep from reaching out to Estelle and making her his own, right then and there.

  “You deserve so much more…” Estelle said, studying him, her beautiful blue eyes shimmering as she touched Blaine’s cheek. “I can’t imagine what that stupid woman was thinking.”

  “She only ever thought of herself, and it was my mistake to deal with it for that long.”

  Blaine stood abruptly, knowing that if he looked at Estelle for even just one more moment, he wouldn’t be able to tame the bear within. He would make his claim and neither of them would know what had hit them. He just couldn’t be responsible for that. Not right now. Especially not when they were so close to finding the portal on Oak Mountain.

  “I don’t think that’s the only mistake you’ve made,” Estelle said.

  Blaine cringed, the scent of her arousal filling the small cabin of his jet. She wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. How could he refuse that? The bear was awake, aware, and grabbing for control. But he just couldn’t let it happen. Not this time. He had to be stronger than that.

  “Maybe not,” Blaine said, turning a sharp eye on her. “But I know better than to make the same mistake twice.”

  He immediately knew that facing her was a mistake. There was righteous anger on her face; she knew he was being a coward; hiding from his claim. Not only because it just wasn’t realistic, but because he was afraid of being vulnerable to a woman. The way it had ended the last time had been scarring, and he refused to make himself a slave to love. Not even if that meant finally being able to take what had so consumed his thoughts for all this time. He just wasn’t going to do it. And that made her angry. He could tell just from the way she stared him down.

  “Whatever you say, sir,” Estelle said pointedly. She stood from her seat and marched to the back bedroom, where Blaine had told her she could retire if she felt the need.

  Blaine sighed heavily and sank down into an armchair, taking a long swig from the bottle of whisky on the table beside him. He hadn’t had a choice, had he? He just couldn’t bring himself to jeopardize everything he had been working for just so he could gratify himself with the way too young intern. He needed to be in work mode right now, not stupid lovesick mode. And that was all there was to it.

  Whether they liked it or not, the BBT Mining Company had work to do. And without Estelle in the office, safe and sound, and Blaine’s mind focused on the job, they just weren’t going to reach the portal by the equinox, and everything they had been working for would go to shit.

  Blaine would never let himself be ruled by a woman again. Especially not when it counted so much to have his head screwed on straight. And nothing would ever change his mind.

  14.

  “What the hell are you sitting around for? The boss wants you on the field today.”

  Estelle glared up at Ken, who smirked at her.

  “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” he said. “It wasn’t my idea. I don’t get a say in most things.”

  “Where on the field, exactly, did the boss want me?”

  Ken shrugged, his infuriating smile widening.

  “Guess you’ll have to ask around. it’s a big day today. Nobody is supposed to be in the office. Check the memo.”

  Estelle watched Ken leave, her blood boiling, and scanned her email. Sure enough, there was a memo there directly from Blaine, telling her and everyone else doing office work in the building to join him at the peak of the mountain. Apparently, he had big news.

  “He could have told me before I bothered to drive down here,” Estelle grumbled to herself.

  The truth was, she had been furious at Blaine lately. Ever since they had arrived back on Oak Mountain, they had barely even looked at each other, let alone spoke. He made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her, which felt cruel, especially after opening up to her about his past. She knew she should try to be understanding about it, but somehow, she could only feel angry. He wasn’t being fair to her or to himself. He was hiding from the truth; the pure, raw feeling that drew the two of them together. And no matter how he disguised it, she knew that it was all due to his own fear of commitment.

  Estelle continued to grumble to herself as she let herself out of the office and locked it behind her. she should have known something was off when she arrived and nobody was there. But seeing Ken saunter in and sneer at her had nearly driven her over the edge.

  But she had been trying not to make any waves ever since things had gotten tense with Blaine. The last thing she needed was to give him an excuse to fire her from the internship and lose the credit she needed to graduate in her program. There would be nothing worse than that.

  Estelle had no idea where she was supposed to go first, and headed up the mountain on foot. If nobody was in a hurry to tell her where she needed to be, then she would be damned if she decided she was in a hurry to get there. They were just going to have to wait.

  “That’s her, boss.”

  “Really? I never figured Blaine for that kind of guy…”

  “What kind of guy?”

  “Well you remember the first girl he was with, right? Rail thin…”

  “What the hell are you two talking about?” Estelle demanded, too angry not to even feel afraid.

  “So sorry, that was terribly impolite of me,” a tall, gaunt man with neat white hair said. He had on a shimmering blue robe with belled sleeves, and bowed at Estelle graciously. “It’s just that it appears we have an associate in common.”

  “Blaine?” Estelle asked, raising her brow. “What do you want? Who are you?”

  The two men exchanged sly looks, and suddenly Estelle knew exactly who these men were. The dragon shifters that Blaine had been worrying about.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Estelle said, her anger deepening. “This isn’t your land.”

  The two men erupted into unkind laughter, and the tall older man stepped forward.

  “You’ve got spunk,” he said. “I guess that I can see why Blaine likes you. But listen to you talking about things you don’t understand. We’re going to have to talk some sense into you.”

  Estelle opened her mouth to protest, but the man smiled eerily at her and suddenly, her body felt heavy; her limbs completely frozen. The shifters came toward Estelle, their eyes se
rious and soon she was moving forward against her will. A sudden fear surged through her as it suddenly dawned upon her just how much danger she was truly in. And there was no way that anybody would know where she was or who she was with. Maybe she should have gotten off the mountain when she had the chance.

  ***

  “So, what the hell are we doing?” Estelle finally managed to ask. They had been moving through the woods for at least an hour, and although she was being strung along by some form of ancient magic, she was fully aware of everything that was going on. Still, it didn’t make any sense to her.

  “We’re not going to let Blaine get away with keeping these tunnels from us,” Geron said darkly. Estelle sighed.

  “You do get that this is his land, right? And he’s been beyond patient with your bullshit.”

  “This land belongs to none but he who sanctified it,” Geron growled, his eyes flashing menacingly at her.

  Estelle was chilled into silence, and they continued through the foliage until they finally reached the entrance of a tunnel made of rock, deep within the mountain.

  “I don’t want to go in there,” Estelle whispered.

  “Too bad,” Frenja, the other dragon shifter, snapped at her. he pushed her forward and Estelle fell inside. The air was cool and damp, and she struggled to her feet with the help of Geron, who refused to meet her eyes.

  “This task is bigger than your friend Blaine and his supposed claim on this land. We must take the mountain before the equinox. You have to understand. This is a significant task, and if you or anyone else gets in the way, you’re going to die. It’s very simple.”

  Estelle had to bite her tongue to keep her mouth shut, but somehow, she managed to do it as Geron and his lackey continued on their way. The tunnel was lit by torches that were mounted to the walls, and the deeper they went, the more afraid Estelle started to be.

  Finally, they came into an open area, glittering full of quartz, and Geron turned to her, his eyes reflecting the sparkle of the minerals on the walls of the cavern.

  “You’ve seen something like this,” Geron insisted. “I can tell you have. Where is it?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Estelle growled, squeezing her eyes closed. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, his disturbing magic wouldn’t work on her.

  “Don’t lie to me, child,” Geron said, his voice heavy with malice. “I know you know. And you’re going to help us, whether you like it or not.”

  Estelle cried out as a sharp pain jolted through her body, and she collapsed to the ground as the world around her grew dark.

  15.

  “I can’t believe you did it,” Jack said, slapping Blaine on the back.

  But Blaine couldn’t even manage a smile. He knew he should be happy. He had put his mind to figuring out exactly where the source of the gold had been, and had followed the location of gold mines and quartz deposits to locate the sacred portal. And yet, he just wasn’t happy. Something was wrong.

  As if to emphasize the fact, the sky above the shifters gathered around the mine leading to the portal was growing dark, and the wind, warm and cheery just a few moments before, had grown cold and biting. And to make matters worse, Estelle was nowhere to be seen. She wouldn’t just abandon him there. Not when he was going to reveal the fruits of all his labor to the crew; to everyone at BBT. Sure, the humans wouldn’t have to know anything about the portal, but they did at the very least, deserve to see the site of the biggest source of gold located on the mountain.

  “Blaine…”

  The word was faint; far away and weak. Nobody else seemed to hear it, but when he glanced at Jack, there was worry in his eyes, as if he sensed that something was off. Blaine was old enough by now to know better than to ignore his intuition.

  Before he could stop himself, Blaine was shifting into his bear form and running full speed toward the sound of Estelle’s voice. She was afraid, and she needed him.

  But as soon as he reached her scent, he looked around wildly, confused and angry at himself. It was obviously a trap. He had allowed himself to succumb to one of the oldest tricks in the book, and he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for that.

  It was too late to go back now, though, and Geron appeared suddenly, his reptilian eyes growing wide and ferocious as he shifted into his dragon form. The man was huge, but in his fury, Blaine knew that nothing would ever match his drive to protect Estelle.

  A cold rain began to fall from the sky, and Blaine squinted his eyes as he was pelted by the icy water. But he knew that Geron was mostly smoke and mirrors. He might be able to manipulate the world around them, but the reality that Blaine mastered could easily be his downfall. All he had to do was find an opening. Dragons were big and powerful, but they were also victims of their own mentalities. Blaine had known that since he was a child, and h was prepared to take Geron down, no matter what the cost. His people would have the portal, even if he failed. He would risk it all to save the woman he loved. What other choice did he have?

  And so, with a ferocious growl, Blaine charged forward, willing himself to see through the magic exuding from Geron. Without Geron’s mind, the rain pelting his body wouldn’t exist. That meant, it wasn’t really there. All he had to do was focus on what was really there. A dragon shifter. Another man far back, guarding a human. A weak, scared human. His Estelle.

  The awareness of her presence sent a new surge of fury through Blaine, and he sliced his paw at Geron, who was using all his mental energy to keep up the illusion of the rainfall. The blow shocked Geron enough that the rain paused for a moment and Geron turned to face Blaine. He could feel his limbs growing cold, but it was clear that the dragon was trying to divide too much of his focus and spreading himself too thin.

  Blaine took advantage of that and charged. He had been taught the weakness of a dragon shifter long ago, and made a mad dash behind the beast, toward the middle of Geron’s wings, where the scales were notoriously weaker. He climbed with all his might and Geron howled in rage as his claws sank into his flesh. A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and Estelle let out a shriek. It made him lose his concentration just long enough that he, too, was electrocuted briefly, but he forced himself to keep his goal in mind, and sank his teeth into the weak spot in the dragon’s back.

  Soon, his mouth as filled with blood and Geron let out a tremendous howl of pain. Blaine dropped to the ground and raced toward Estelle, who was cowering on the ground. He glared at the man guarding him, and he turned on his heel and ran away as Geron did his best to fly off the mountain, leaving a huge trail of blood behind him.

  “Estelle,” Blaine whispered, shifting back into his human form and running toward her. she was shivering on the ground, unable to catch her breath after the mental hell that Geron had unleashed upon her. “Come on, kid. You’re all right. Let’s get you out of here.”

  ***

  It took a few hours of being comfortable in front of the fire in Blaine’s cabin before Estelle ventured to speak, and when she did, Blaine moved toward her, unable to deny his love for her any longer. They had been through so much together at that point, it was futile to hide it.

  “They wanted the portal,” she whispered. “They didn’t think you’d have the papers…”

  “Well I do,” Blaine said softly, grinning at her. “They came through last night. That’s why I wanted everyone to meet me at the top of the mountain. I wanted to reveal the gold deposit and the deed at the same time. I guess that was kind of stupid of me, huh?”

  Estelle smiled and shook her head.

  “It would have been great, but they had to go and ruin it…”

  “Hey,” Blaine said, sitting down beside her on the couch. “They didn’t ruin anything. The only way they could have is if they hurt you.”

  Estelle looked down at the flannel blanket wrapped around her body, her cheeks almost as red as the flannel she was snuggled up in.

  “You’ve saved my life,” Estelle said with a quiet laugh. “So many
times, now. Aren’t you sick of having to protect me?”

  Blaine turned her toward him, looking seriously into her eyes.

  “The only thing I’m sick of is people out there wanting to hurt you. I’d protect you for all the rest of my days if you’d let me.”

  Estelle was silent, studying him as if for the first time. “You really mean that, don’t you? I can feel it somehow…”

  Blaine smiled, relieved that he wouldn’t have to justify himself to her. there were so many things the girl just seemed to understand. And now that they were together, there was nothing more stopping them. Nothing except themselves.

  Blaine took Estelle’s hands in his, kissing the palms of her hands lightly. She shivered and smiled at him shyly, and he embraced her tightly, grateful more than anything he had ever felt that she was still alive.

  “I’ve wanted you so much, for so long,” Estelle whispered into his ear. “You’re all I ever seem to be able to think about.”

  A hot rush of desire overpowered Blaine, and he studied Estelle intently, the bear inside of him urging him to make his final claim; telling him to make sure that he was claiming her to last. It was something the bear had never done with his first wife; only with Estelle. And this time, he was going to let nothing stand in his way.

  Estelle gasped softly when his hands found the softness of her flesh beneath the blanket, and his lips tugged against hers with a deep and tender passion. They kissed languidly as the bear took charge, finally able to assert itself and make its claim official.

  Estelle seemed eager to take on the role of his mate, and held him close as he climbed on top of her, his body engulfed in the tingling flames of desire. She closed her eyes as her senses were assaulted by his caresses, and soon she gasped as the urgency of his longing became clear; pressed firmly against her middle; half an invitation, and half a question.

  Blaine ran his hand along her thigh, pressing her legs apart and allowing his fingers and groin to explore the heat between her thighs. She was ready for him; just as eager as he was, and the bear inside him let out a deep growl of gratification.