by Olivia Arran
Chapter Three
Chloe
An elbow jabbed me in the ribs, and I pinned the offending wolf with a glare. The guy backed away, his hands held up in silent apology. Softening my glare to lukewarm pissed off, I bit back a sigh. All around me members of the pack were enjoying themselves... drinking, dancing, shooting pool. The rec room was packed tight with barely any room to move, personal space a thing of the past, though most at least tried to give me a wide berth. They knew better than to piss me off. Why the hell I had bothered coming out tonight I didn’t know. I wasn’t in the mood. But when dad had suggested I take a night off, I knew I didn’t really have a choice. It was just one of the many things that was expected of me.
Turning back to the makeshift bar, I slid an empty bottle across the counter and leaned over to grab myself a new one. We all took turns, members of the pack pulling different duties so everybody got a break. Tonight it was Neil running the bar, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, Chloe. You going to stand there all night, or are you going to get in on the action?”
I turned to the speaker, forcing a grin onto my face. “You really don’t want me to get in on the action, Smith,” I drawled, giving his shoulder a quick shove.
Smith wriggled his eyebrows, giving me a comical leer. “Hey, baby. You can get in on my action anytime you like.”
Laughing, I gave him another shove, this time a little bit harder. He didn’t mean anything by it. He was one of the only guys that I worked with who treated me somewhat normal. To everyone else I was either the alpha’s daughter or someone not worth their time or respect.
Throwing him a wink, I dragged myself out of my funk. “Go on then, you’ve convinced me,” I said, pushing away from the bar and joining the group. Tonight we had a full turnout, each of the lieutenants deciding to cut loose and celebrate the weekend. Though it didn’t really feel like a celebration. Everyone was more than a little subdued after what had happened to Joe. I silently raised my bottle to my old friend who’d been like an uncle to me. Life sucked. This was the pack’s way of dealing with the shit that life decided to throw at us. We chose to celebrate his life, not mourn his death. I swallowed back the grief that threatened to overwhelm me. He’d have done the same.
“So, Chloe, are you up for it?”
Taking a swig of my beer, I leveled Mark with my best superior look. “Just what did you have in mind?”
“Just a little competition. Something to make the night a little more interesting,” he replied, his tone easygoing, but his eyes drilled into me, daring me to refuse.
Unease snaked down my spine, but there was no way I would refuse the challenge, and he knew it. I had to... every challenge the guys threw at me, I had to accept. I was the only female lieutenant in the pack, and at times I felt the weight of having to prove myself again and again crushing me. But it was what I’d wanted. What I’d worked my whole life for and given up so much for.
“Okay, you’re on. What is it this time?” It couldn’t be anything as bad as what he’d had us doing last time—scaling the ravine in the pitch black with no safety equipment. But I’d done it, beating him and coming a close second to Smith, the only guy I didn’t mind losing to.
My tormentor looked me up and down, his lips curling in an evil smirk. Pulling himself up to his full six-foot-one height, he flexed an impressive bicep in my direction.
I took a step closer, leaning into him. “Honey, I'm never going to be up for that kind of challenge. I’m not that desperate to win.” I flicked his bicep, letting my disgust show on my face.
Behind me, Smith erupted with deep laughter, the guys around us joining in after a fraction of a second delay.
Mark’s face flushed a deep red, the veins in his neck bulging as his lips curled back from his teeth in a menacing snarl. “You’d be lucky to ever have the opportunity,” he growled. “You’d be grateful for the scraps that I’d give you.”
“Hey, come on,” Smith protested, stepping forward to put himself between me and Mark. “Easy there. I know we’re all a bit uptight after everything that’s happened with Joe and all, but let’s try and keep things civil.”
I glanced to him. His eyes pleaded with me to back the fuck down. I shrugged. I was quite happy to have this out with Mark—it’d been a long time coming—but he was right, it wasn’t the time or the place. “Just spit it out, Mark. What’s the challenge, so I can beat your ass?”
“The challenge? Is there any chance I can get in on this?” A deep voice murmured from behind me.
I froze, every cell in my body screaming at me in warning. It couldn’t be? He wasn’t—?
I inched around, sucking in a deep breath and almost choking in the process. “Gabriel?”
Fuck! It was him.
The man who’d spoken relaxed against the bar, his knees bent in a slouch, but he still towered over the whole group. He’d filled out a touch since I’d last seen him, his body now rippling with muscles that bunched and strained under his shirt. His hair was shorter now. Five years ago it had brushed his neck, but now the gold strands were shorn in high and tight at the sides in a messy Mohawk style. It suited him, the hairstyle as cocky and attention-grabbing as the man himself, highlighting his high cheekbones and square jaw.
But it was his eyes that captured and held me, the blue as clear and compelling as I remembered.
And they were locked on me.
But they weren’t welcoming or happy. They were furious. And who could blame him, after what I had done to him.
“Who are you?” sneered Mark from behind me.
Gabriel stiffened imperceptibly, his eyes raking over the men one by one, as if assessing their weaknesses. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he rocked back on his heels, his lips curving up in an amicable grin. “The name’s Angel,” he quipped. “You might have guessed I’m new around here.”
One by one the guys looked him up and down, then either dismissed him as not worth the effort, or returned his smile.
Me? I hadn’t managed a single word. I still couldn’t get over my shock that he was actually standing in front of me, as large as life. “Gabriel—”
“It’s Angel.” He bit the words out, not bothering to look my way.
I tried again, “Angel, what you doing here?”
“You were saying something about a challenge?” Angel asked Mark, ignoring me completely.
Mark swung back around, having previously turned his back in dismissal. His eyes narrowed. “A race. To the ridge. No rules, anything goes. Winner picks the prize.” He licked his lips, his eyes caressing me in a way that felt like a violation, then his eyes flicked back to Angel. “Don’t bother,” he said, not bothering to try to hide his look of disgust. “This doesn’t involve you. “
I opened my mouth to accept the challenge.
A hand latched onto my arm, dragging me the few feet to the dance floor. In seconds I found myself clamped against a rock-hard chest, my hips grinding against his in a slow sinful dance.
For a brief second I let myself go and just breathed him in. Pain smashed through me, wrenching my insides until I couldn’t breathe. Digging my fingers into his shirt, I shoved him away.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“What are you doing here?”
We both spoke at once, each eyeing the other warily.
Well, I was wary, because he still looked furious.
I clamped my lips shut, refusing to answer until he explained himself.
As if sensing my resolve, he bit back a grumbly growl, his jaw tight and strained. “I’ve joined the Moonridge pack.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
I glared at him. He was deliberately being obtuse. “Why this pack?”
He let out a dry chuckle, his lips twisting in a grimace. “I didn’t know you were a part of this pack,” he stated. “If I had, don’t worry, I wouldn’t have come here.”
His words hit me square in the chest, knocking the breath
clean out of me. On the odd occasion I’d ever daydreamed about running into him again, I’ve never deceived myself. I’d always known it would be like this, but fuck, it hurt. To see that look in his eyes, the one that told me that not only did he hate me, anything he’d ever felt for me was dead.
I’d done that.
My wolf whined inside of me, her tail tucked between her legs. She hadn’t understood why I’d left our true mate, but she knew he was pissed.
Her submission lit a fire inside of me. I would never submit to a man. Never!
We were standing in the middle of the dance floor not moving, his hands still looped lightly around my waist, the touch of his skin burning against mine. “You need to leave,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“Why?”
“You know why.” I couldn’t meet his eyes, couldn’t chance that he would see the real reason. Better that he believed the lies that I had fed him so long ago. I needed to get him out of here.
“You okay, Chloe?” Smith called over, concern creasing his brow.
Angel flinched, a sneer marring his handsome face. “Chloe? Is that your real name?”
I stayed silent. Nothing I could say would make it any easier.
“So, Chloe,” he weighed my name heavily with sarcasm. “I think I preferred Kate. At least she was honest with me.”
Then he let out a low whistle, the sound mocking. “Things are starting to make sense,” he murmured. Disbelief crept into his eyes, his mouth opening in what looked like shock. “You’re the alpha’s daughter?” His hands dropped from my waist as if burned when he took a step back.
It was as if a chasm had opened between us, the distance between us exactly what I had wanted. So why did I hate it?
I nodded, wondering if it would be enough to get him to back off. I was having trouble reconciling the man in front of me with the man I had met nearly five years ago. That man had been powerful, confident to the point of being a cocky asshole, and he definitely wouldn’t have let anyone stand in his way. Alpha’s daughter or not.
What the hell had happened to him?
The surge of disappointment confused the heck out of me. It was because he’d been a cocky, overconfident asshole that I’d run. I should be happy. This man didn’t look like he’d cause me much trouble.
And anyway, he wasn’t the only one who’d changed. I wasn’t the same woman he’d met before.
His eyes darkened to a swirling gunmetal gray.
A thrill spun through me at the glimpse of his wolf.
“Which one of these motherfuckers is your mate?”
I swallowed back the edge of panic, but it wasn’t his words that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end—it was the power behind the words, as a chink in his façade cracked and I got a peek at the wolf within.
Chapter Four
Chloe
Five years ago…
I twiddled the straw between my fingers, eventually sucking back some of the overly sweet concoction in an attempt to blot out my surroundings in a haze of alcohol.
Sugar coated my tongue with a fuzzy tingling, as if mocking my attempt. I checked my watch, silently pleading the minute hand to defy the law of time and speed up.
“You got somewhere you need to be?” a deep voice drawled from behind me.
The corner of my mouth lifted at the blatant pick-up line. I took another sip, deliberately ignoring the wolf shifter who thought he’d try his luck.
Silence.
Well, that was a disappointment. Not that I was in the market for a hook-up, but for him to give up so easily—
“Try this instead.” A bottle was thrust over my shoulder and waved in front of my face.
Momentarily speechless, I caught the ice-cold bottle before it clonked me in the face. It was a foreign brand, the kind that had Cyrillic writing winding around its long neck.
“Try it. You never know, it might be just what you’ve been waiting for,” the deep voice suggested, dripping with attitude.
I spun around and shoved my nearly empty cocktail glass into his hand while swinging the beer between my fingers. I looked up, past a navy-blue T-shirt that hugged an obviously rock-hard chest, then up some more, eyes skipping over a square jaw, past wide, full lips and a slightly crooked nose. Bright blue eyes stared back at me, narrowed in challenge.
He took a sniff of my abandoned glass, then set in down with barely concealed disgust.
“Thanks for the drink,” I murmured, pushing away from the wall and heading off into the crowd.
A hand grabbed my arm, the pressure insistent but not forceful. “Hey, at least try it.”
“Why? I don’t like beer.”
He took a step forward, his lips brushing against my ear. “You’ve never tried this brand.” He wasn’t even trying to be subtle.
Oh, but he was wrong there. I avoided men like him. Wolf shifters with too much power and not enough sense to keep a lid on it, entitled, arrogant alphas the lot of them. Though at least this guy was making me laugh. And he was hot enough to deserve a second glance.
Okay, that was a lie. My hormones were dancing a jig just standing this close to him, my breasts aching and a slow burn building between my thighs.
Shame he’s an asshole.
I took a swig of the beer, just to shut him up.
He arched an eyebrow.
The liquid was cold and refreshing rolling down my throat, light and malty—it didn’t have the bitter aftertaste I’d always associated with the drink.
“Okay, it’s good,” I eventually admitted.
“Maybe you should be more open to trying new things?”
I heard his invitation loud and clear.
Obvious. Just like it was obvious that if I said no, he’d just move onto the next girl.
As if sensing my hesitation, he nabbed the beer out of my hand and set it down. Taking my hand, he pulled it around his waist and gently tugged me to him.
I could have resisted, could have shoved him away, but it was as if I was transfixed, my body out of control.
His lips hovered above mine, giving me all the time in the world to say no.
I shouldn’t. Nothing good could come of this. But for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t care. I was sick of being in control all the time, of pushing everyone away because I was scared of what might happen. It didn’t mean anything. I didn’t know him, he didn’t know me. I could indulge without fear.
I closed the gap, sealing my lips to his. My kiss was clumsy and inexperienced, a fumbling defiance against a life bound by rules.
It didn’t matter that I’d been the one to set those rules.
Hesitance melted into insistence, then into urgency as I breathed him in, his scent surrounding me and washing away any lingering doubts.
In the dim light of the club, he pressed me back against the wall, his body a hard sheet of muscle pinning me in place as his hands smoothed over my curves, molding and squeezing in almost reverent appreciation.
I moaned against his lips, my tongue tangling with his in a frantic dance, sucking and tasting, my hands threading into his golden hair and tangling at the nape of his neck. I dragged him closer, as if trying to breathe him in.
With a groan, he pulled away, his chest heaving and neck flushed. He was staring at me with wonder in his eyes, a soft smile playing on his lips.
I blinked up at him.
“Gabriel.” At my blank look, he chuckled, a low husky sound. “My name.”
Ah. “Kate.” It was the first one that came to mind, the lie tripping from my tongue.
He smiled, and my heart lurched.
“I don’t live far from here…” he murmured.
“Still too far,” I whispered, tugging him down for another kiss. He was like a drug, something I couldn’t get enough of. I didn’t understand, but I wasn’t going to fight it.
“Agreed,” he groaned, then grabbed my hand and tugged me through the club and up a flight of stairs. We flew along a narrow corrido
r and burst through an official-looking set of doors into what seemed like a control room.
I glanced around at the rows of monitors, taking in the fact that we were alone.
He didn’t offer an explanation, and I didn’t ask.
We slammed against the wall, hands tugging at clothes. His hand thrust up my skirt and my back arched as he tugged my panties aside, his finger sliding through my already wet heat.
I yanked his jeans open.
He growled against my throat, thrusting his finger deep inside me.
My head fell back. I slid a hand around his cock, freeing him. He was thick and hard and ready.
In seconds I was braced against the wall, his fingers digging into my hips as he entered me in one powerful stroke.
A cry echoed around the room, punctuated by a low growl. He pivoted his hips, then slammed back inside, knocking the breath from my lungs.
I hooked my ankles tight and held on as he worked my body into a frenzy, his mouth nipping and teasing every bit of naked skin he could find as his shaft worked in and out, the friction building and building until I was a mass of throbbing nerves, crying out for release.
“Gabriel!” His name left my lips in a scream as I erupted, the room dimming as my head rocked back, slamming into the wall.
His eyes flashed gunmetal gray, his jaw gritted in what almost looked like pain.
Then he struck, his teeth slicing into the base of my neck.
Where the mating mark would go…
The world stopped, everything grinding to a halt as clarity hit me like a ten-ton truck. This man is my true mate!
He licked the wound with his tongue, pressing a gentle kiss as if to take away the sting.
His cock twitched inside of me, a loud groan echoing in my ear as he came.
No! I can’t let this happen!
He would smother me, control me. An alpha like this guy would never stand for his woman being anything more than a mate and mother, I’d seen it happen—knew how it would go.
And he hadn’t even asked—he’d just claimed me. Like it was his right as a man...
Mom had been right. Not that I’d ever doubted her. She was the reason I had my rules, the cautionary tale I kept in mind in case I ever got tempted.
