The Billion-were Needs A Mate (The Alpha Billion-weres Book 1)

by Georgette St. Clair

  Queasiness washed through her. Cliff had admitted that he was conniving and manipulative.

  Celia rolled her eyes. “Obviously Cliff isn’t going to bother wasting his time training you when he’s got what he wanted from you.”

  “He told everyone that I’m his intended mate.” Taylor’s voice trembled as she said it, and she hated herself for that.

  Celia raked her with a scornful glare. “That old line. Yes, that’s how he reels them in. And his packmates know better than to tell you the truth, at least until after he’s gotten what he wanted. You think you’re the first slut he’s manipulated into his bed? You’re not even the tenth, or the twentieth. Welcome to the wonderful world of werewolves, sweetheart. The men are all whores – before, during, and after their mating ceremony. You should run while you still can.”

  Taylor stood there, heart pounding in her chest. She was rocked to the very core.

  Now Celia’s gaze turned pitying. “I do feel a little sorry for you. After all, you’ve probably only got a couple of weeks to live, and if you stay here, you’ll spend those weeks watching Cliff waltzing one woman after another into his bed. If you want help sneaking off pack lands, I’ll take you right now. It’ll be your only chance.”

  Leave? Sneak out? Yes, she wanted her freedom, but not like this. Not running away.

  And damn it, if Cliff had lied to her, then she wasn’t going to slink off like she’d done something to be ashamed of. She still wasn’t convinced that he had, because this woman had obviously had some kind of agenda from the start, but if it was true…she’d spit right in his face.

  She took a deep breath and did what she always did when somebody was bullying her. She summoned her inner Chantelle.

  She had been a shy, chubby child when she’d met Chantelle in kindergarten. Chantelle had stuck up for her for years. But one day, Carol had taken the two girls aside and said, “Chantelle isn’t always going to be there to stick up for you. You’ve got to learn to defend yourself too.”

  “But how?” Taylor had asked. “I don’t know how to.”

  “Yes you do, because you’re a very smart girl. You’ve seen Chantelle do it dozens of times. So next time somebody bullies you, first of all, tell yourself you’re worth too much to let anyone push you around, and when someone insults you, they’re the one with the problem. And secondly, just ask yourself what Chantelle would do in that situation.”

  Chantelle wouldn’t let some random bitch make her question her self-worth.

  The fact was, the woman was almost certainly lying. Who knew why?

  But she just didn’t see Cliff as being that conniving or dishonest. Why would he go to such great lengths just to mess with her head? Frankly, if he’d asked her out on a date – before she’d known he was a werewolf – she would have said yes.

  “We’re done here,” she said. “I’m going back to the house to get something to eat. If the only way to learn how to be a werewolf is by having you train me, I guess I’ll be blissfully ignorant.” She started back down the path between the hedges.

  Celia quickly moved to block her. “Bad move,” she said. “And did you know? Some people don’t even survive their training.” Her eyes glowed with malice, and her pupils grew unnaturally large. Fangs shot down from her gums, and her ears turned pointy.

  Taylor felt a jolt of alarm. If Celia went wolf and attacked her, Taylor had no chance.

  Before she could fully shift, Taylor hauled off and punched her in the face, hard. She heard the crunch of bone; she’d broken Celia’s nose. Celia fell back with a shout of rage, and fur began to cover her skin.

  Taylor took a step back, heart hammering in her chest. If she ran back to the house, would she make it in time?

  There was a frantic rustle of leaves, then Cliff burst through the row of hedges, followed by Roger, Dax and Serafina.

  “There she is! Told you so!” Roger said triumphantly. “Told you I’m a super-smeller.”

  “Oh, thank God you’re here!” Celia sobbed, suddenly turning all weepy and helpless. “She went crazy! She tried to kill me!” She tried to fling herself at Cliff, who stepped back in disgust.

  “I did not,” Taylor protested, shaking her hand, which stung from the punch.

  Cliff put his arm around her shoulders. “Of course you didn’t,” he said, and she felt an enormous weight lift from her.

  “Of course you’d take her side!” Celia spat at him. Hmm. A moment ago she’d been acting like Cliff couldn’t wait to get rid of Taylor. “I demand an Elder Assembly!”

  Minutes later, they bustled into the town square and hurried up the steps of the town hall. It looked so ordinary – a squarish red brick building with white shutters and geraniums planted out front.

  It took another half hour before all the Elders arrived, and in the meantime they waited in a big conference room. Cliff sent one of his packmates to get Taylor coffee and a bagel with cream cheese.

  Just as she was stuffing the last bite in her mouth, Oswald walked in…trailed by Jerrold and one of Jerrold’s men, a big, sullen-looking redhead.

  Celia ran over to him, wailing and spouting fresh tears. “She attacked me for no reason! She just punched me in the face, and I wanted to attack her, but I held myself back!” She hurled herself into Oswald’s arms. “Daddy, she’s crazy!”

  Oswald flashed a glower at Cliff, and Taylor’s heart sank.

  Oh, great. The one neutral Elder. The one guy they desperately could not afford to antagonize.

  “She did not attack you for no reason. Why were you even in the garden with her?” Cliff said furiously.

  Celia sniffled and dabbed at her nose with a handkerchief. “She said she wanted someone to show her around the property. She was complaining about how bored she was, that you keep leaving her alone, that you’re rude and thoughtless.”

  Taylor tried to defend herself, but Oswald said angrily, “Silence! Let my daughter speak.”

  “Yes, let her talk.” Jerrold smirked.

  Celia continued, her voice a high-pitched whine. “When I mentioned that I was Shelley’s mother, she went crazy. She yelled at me that she would never let Shelley have Cliff, and she punched me in the face. I think she broke my nose.”

  Shelley’s mother.

  Better and better.

  No wonder she hated Taylor. She must still think that her daughter had a chance with Cliff – if only Taylor were out of the way.

  Taylor saw Celia sneak a glance at Jerrold, who met her gaze and nodded ever so slightly.

  Taylor glanced at Cliff. “I saw it,” he muttered.

  Obviously Jerrold was behind this, trying to stir up trouble. Anything that rattled Cliff and made him look bad would be to Jerrold’s advantage.

  “Daddy, she hurt me. No one is safe around her. Think of the children.” She widened her eyes dramatically and looked at Serafina, Dax and Roger.

  Serafina snorted. “Gee, thanks for caring. Last week you told me we were a bunch of mongrels from a family of freaks, and we should have been drowned at birth.”

  Celia ignored her. She looked up at her father, her eyes huge. He was patting her on the back and totally buying her performance. “You need to demand that this woman is…removed. She can’t go to another pack, given that she’s completely crazy, so there’s really only one option. We should just do it now and get it over with. I’ll do it if you want.”

  Cliff let out a growl and leaped in front of Taylor. He bared his fangs. “Anyone who tries to take her from me can certainly try. You’d want to write your will first.”

  “Not so fast,” snapped Juliette, one of the Elders. “It’s time for Taylor to speak.”

  “Are you calling my daughter a liar?” Oswald drew himself up to his full height and glared at Juliette.

  “If the shoe fits,” she said, at the exact moment Cliff said, “Like mother, like daughter.”

  “How dare you mock Shelley after the way you led her on?” Celia sniveled, but Oswald flushed and looked away. Apparent
ly he knew that his granddaughter had behaved badly – it sounded as if it had been pretty obvious to everyone in the pack.

  Taylor fixed Celia with an indignant glare. “I was just leaving Cliff’s room to get breakfast when she met me in the hall and claimed that she was there to do my werewolf training. She said Cliff was too busy training for the Alpha Trials. We went out into the garden, and she told me that Cliff was leading me on, that he was never going to be my mate, and that she’d help me escape the pack grounds if I wanted to.”

  “Liar!” Celia screamed.

  “And when I said no, she threatened me and went all fang-y. That’s why I hit her.”

  “Lying bitch!” Celia lunged towards her, and Oswald grabbed her and held her back.

  “I’ll call James and we’ll truth-challenge her,” Cliff said.

  “I forbid it,” Oswald said quickly.

  “On what grounds?” Elder Maurice spoke up, his voice laced with scorn. “She isn’t an Alpha contestant. They’re the only ones who have immunity, and only until after the trials are over.”

  Jerrold spoke up quickly. “I extend my protection, and invite her into my pack. If Cliff wishes to extend any kind of challenge to her personally, then he is challenging me, and it will have to wait until after the trials are over.”

  “Use your heads, people,” Juliette said impatiently. “We all know that Cliff publicly forbade both Shelley and her mother from coming anywhere near his house or property.” Celia glared at her with hatred. “Cliff would hardly invite her to his house when his new mate was here, knowing that she’d been trying to hook him up with Shelley for years. Logic therefore tells us she went uninvited, seeking out Shelley’s perceived rival.”

  The Elders gathered together, and conferred, grumbling. Then Phineas stepped forward. “Celia will stay off of your property and will stay away from your mate. If you wish to address the matter further, it will have to wait until after the trials. And now, I’ve got a ten o’clock tee time and I don’t want to be late.” They started to file out of the room.

  Jerrold brushed past Cliff, who grabbed his arm. The redheaded man let out a low growl of warning at Cliff. Jerrold jerked his arm away and smirked. “Something on your mind?”

  Cliff glared at Jerrold. “Stay away from my mate!” he barked at him. “If you want to come after me, have the balls to come after me directly.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Jerrold murmured, and he and his packmate left.

  Cliff gave Serafina a twenty dollar bill. “Go to the ice cream store, and buy hot fudge sundaes for all three of you,” he said. “Thanks for helping me find Taylor.”

  Roger and Dax whooped in glee as they rushed off.

  Taylor spun to look at Cliff. “So, when were you going to tell me that I’ve got about a ninety percent chance of dying?” she said bitterly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cliff hesitated for a moment. “Why would you think that?”

  “Celia told me.” As soon as she said it, she felt foolish. If Celia’s glossed lips were moving, she was lying. But still…Cliff didn’t look quite as reassuring as she would have hoped.

  He shook his head. “That’s a lie. There is some risk in turning, that’s true, but it’s nowhere near that high even if you did it without preparation.”

  So there was a risk that she’d die. She felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. Slowly, she sank down onto a folding chair and looked up at him. He sat down next to her, his knee touching hers.

  She swallowed bile and looked at him, her expression pained. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a risk? You said you would never lie to me.”

  “There’s a difference between lying and not providing information until it’s necessary or useful.”

  This was her life he was talking about. And he hadn’t thought it was necessary to tell her that in two weeks she might die? Filled with anger, she jumped to her feet and walked towards the door.

  He ran after her and grabbed her arm. “Wait,” he barked.

  She yanked her arm away from him. “Quit being so bossy,” she said.

  His hand closed on her arm again. “When it comes to keeping you safe, I will do whatever I have to do, whether you or anyone else likes it or not,” he growled.

  “You should have told me,” she insisted stubbornly.

  “I wanted to give you a little time to settle in here. Finding out that werewolves exist and you’re now one of us is a lot to absorb. I’m trying to make things as stress-free as possible for you here.” Then he gave a rueful laugh. “And I’m doing a hell of a job, aren’t I?”

  She looked up at him, at his beautiful eyes, at the wrinkles of regret creasing his forehead, and softened a little. “It’s not your fault there’s a whackjob trying to take over your pack. And it’s not your fault that someone turned me without my knowledge or permission. But I want to know what I’m facing. I have that right.”

  He nodded. “Yes, you do. Here’s the thing. The risk would be much, much higher if you hadn’t come here. When someone is turned by a werewolf bite and has no idea what’s coming, then the shock alone, the psychological distress caused by the shift, can kill. But you know what’s coming, and you’re going to be prepared for this in every way possible. Anita will be by your side to lend you whatever healing energy you need.”

  “Okay. That makes me feel better. How will you prepare me?”

  “We’re going to go back to my house and start training right now.”

  She shook her head. “Really, you have to prepare for the Alpha Trials. I don’t want to do anything that would put you at risk. You could have James work with me, or Truman, or anyone you trust.”

  “I’m not doing any training at this point. The trials involve some extreme obstacle courses and wild game hunting, and I can assure you, I’m in peak physical condition.” He allowed himself a smug smile. “I believe I proved it to you last night.”

  Taylor had to laugh, despite the seriousness of their conversation, and she felt her dark mood lightening. “Sure, okay, you are the mighty hunter. You prime specimen of manhood, you.”

  He grinned. “Thank you. I try. No, who am I kidding, I succeed. Every time.”

  “Whoo. Should we step outside?” Taylor stifled a snicker. “I’m not sure there’s room in here for me, you, and your ego.” They headed for the door. “But where were you this morning?”

  “I was meeting up with Truman and James to see if they’d found anything out about your turning. Unfortunately, so far, we’ve got nothing.”

  “Well, that’s a bummer.” Taylor tried to keep her tone light.

  “Yep. A bummer indeed.” They headed for his mansion, which was a ten-minute walk from the center of town. “I’m not giving up,” he said.

  When they got back to his house, he led her to a large sitting room area, locked all the doors, and sat down with her on an overstuffed sofa.

  “Swear to me that this isn’t taking time away from anything you need to do to prepare for the trials,” she said to him, settling in comfortably.

  “I, Cliff Bronson, being of somewhat sound mind and better than sound body, do solemnly swear…”

  “Jerk! Take it seriously!” She slapped him playfully. He captured her hand in his, and she felt a red-holt lightning bolt of arousal sizzle through her veins.

  “Just so you know,” he said, his voice gone slightly husky, “whenever you touch me, the only thing I want to do is rip your clothes off and ravish you. So I’m going to move away from you a little bit, so I can concentrate on your very important training and you can stop distracting me, evil temptress. But don’t take it personally.”

  He slid along the couch.

  “Jeez, how could I possibly take that personally?” she said with a smile.

  “Lean back and close your eyes.”

  She obeyed.

  His voice surrounded her like a warm caress. “I want you to imagine turning into a wolf. First, you feel it building in your body, like a sneeze…or an
orgasm. Your fur tickles from the inside out, like reverse pins-and-needles.”

  Taylor shivered as she imagined the sensation.

  “We’ll be out in woods, and you’ll be aware of the sharp scent of pine and the cool hush of the wind.” His voice was quiet and lulling, almost hypnotic. “Let that sensation build, and when you’re ready…release it.”

  She shuddered again.

  “You’ll feel your teeth lengthening into fangs. Your wolf uncurling inside you and pushing to the surface. You’ll feel the dampness of the fallen leaves on the forest floor between your fingers and toes as your palms become paw pads…”

  It was as if the room fell away from her and she was in the middle of a dense forest.

  She could almost feel it, a sense of power filling her, the fur flowing over her skin, fangs thrusting forth from her gums. She knew her wolf would be snowy-white with ice-blue eyes.

  There were a couple of minutes of silence as she mentally played the scene out in her head, and then he said, “Okay, open your eyes now.”

  She shivered and jerked herself back to reality. Cliff was standing up now, unbuttoning his crisp white Oxford shirt.

  “Oh, and I’m the evil temptress?” Taylor said indignantly as he kicked off his Oxfords and shucked his pants and underwear.

  She couldn’t keep her eyes off his body. Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t try. She let her gaze linger on his broad shoulders and muscular chest. The smooth, tan skin between the flat copper coins of his nipples was dusted with curly black hair that tapered into a treasure tail leading down tantalizingly over his flat belly to his heavy, half-hard cock. Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip as she imagined taking the head in her mouth and sucking him like a lollipop. It obviously didn’t take a mind-reader to know what she was thinking about.

  “Calm down there, gorgeous. I’m going to show you how it’s done.”

  “Sex? I’m pretty sure I know.”

  He snorted. “Oh, I’m more than pretty sure. And you are damn amazing at it.”