Ben knew Fiona from the Army. She, Liam and Fiona’s mate Grady were all friends of his. Grady wasn’t there because he was in Montana with their other mate. Fiona was just visiting. And knowing her as he did, he wasn’t too surprised when she asked the question he’d been dreading.
“So, where’s your third?”
“She’s tied up right now,” Chris said. “Couldn’t make it.”
“Tied up literally?” Fiona said, her eyebrow raised.
Ben choked. He wished.
After a short cough, Chris said, “Not quite.” His voice sounded dry.
Fiona smiled. “Shame.”
* * *
Alex’s skin felt hot and oversensitive. She woke slowly from an incredibly erotic dream where Chris and Ben took turns licking her pussy. The dream itself had nearly made her come, but not quite. Not enough. Instead, the insistent urge to come had woken her up.
Her hand drifted down her body. It didn’t take more than a minute of stroking her clit to finish things off. Then she lay there, sweaty, wet between the legs, and still wanting. What the hell.
So unfair. She’d never had dreams like this about Brett. Could she be wrong? Could she be destined for Chris and Ben?
Alex didn’t want to think about it. Instead, she hauled herself out of bed and took a quick shower. After throwing on some clothes, she went downstairs but stopped halfway down when she heard voices. Brett’s, of course. The other one she didn’t recognize.
Chapter 7
If Brett were just hanging out with some of the wolves, Alex could join them. But he’d made it clear he didn’t want her butting in if he was doing business. How could she tell without listening in?
Sitting down on the steps, she concentrated on the voices. Once she didn’t have the sound of her own footsteps and her thoughts crowding everything else out, she could just make out their words.
“But why is he giving her a hard time? We picked her specifically for him.” That was the other voice, the one she didn’t recognize.
“I don’t know. I told her to dress sexier. I don’t know what happened to her last night,” Brett said.
“Sexier’s not good. Byers likes classy women, not slutty women.”
Byers was Chris’ last name. Ah, God, they were talking about her and Chris.
“You’ve gotta get a handle on her,” the unknown voice said. “She’s the key to this whole thing. She needs to distract him enough so he won’t see it coming.”
“I’ll get on her,” Brett said.
“Do more than that. You convinced her she was in love with you. That worked fine to get her away from her family, but now you need her to spread her legs for Byers. Push her away. Just enough so she’ll do anything to get you back again.”
Alex held her breath. Surely Brett would shut this guy up. He’d tell him he loved her, too, and he wasn’t going to do the awful things this man said.
After a pause, Brett said, “That’s good. A little psychological warfare.”
Alex’s mouth fell open. She just barely held back her gasp. If they heard her now, it wouldn’t be good. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave. As her eyes filled with tears, she continued to listen.
“Just do it fast. I want Chris off his game when you challenge him.”
“And then you’ll challenge Jake.”
“And then I’ll own Marysburg.”
They fell silent. Now she really did need to leave, before they did something like coming out into the foyer. She carefully walked back up the steps, trying to avoid a single sound.
Alex made it to her bedroom and crawled back into bed, ready to pretend she was still sleeping. She wanted to hide.
Brett didn’t love her. It had all been a ruse. To—what had the other guy said? They’d chosen her. For Chris.
At the thought, a small warm spot grew in her heart. For Chris, because she was his type.
Because they were trying to do something to him. Challenge him. A chill swept across her skin even though she huddled under the blankets. Brett wanted to hurt Chris. She barely knew Chris but she couldn’t stand the thought of him being hurt.
A knock sounded at her door. “Baby?”
She had more important things to worry about. Like, how would she get out of this house without Brett finding out what she’d learned?
The door opened. Footsteps made their way to her bedside. “Wake up, baby. We need to talk.” His voice sounded sugary sweet.
She hoped he’d mistake the tears that still hadn’t fallen from her eyes for sleep. She’d have to put on a good show. Pulling the comforter the whole way over her head, she moaned.
“Come on, baby.” He shook her.
Maybe she could tell him she was still sick. He knew she’d thrown up the night before.
Brett pulled at the comforter. “Wake up.”
Alex let him pull it back then blinked at him groggily. “I feel like crap.”
“One last fuck, and then you gotta go find Chris. Make him let you join. Today.”
Maybe getting out of here would be easier than she’d thought. Except, no way could she handle having Brett’s hands on her. Even without the mating urge. And with it…not a chance in hell. “I’m really sick, Brett. No sex.”
Brett slid his hand over her hip. “C’mon baby. You can’t be that sick.”
Her stomach turned over at his touch. She fought to keep from retching. His hand moved around to reach between her legs. At that, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She leaned over the edge of the bed, her body wracked in dry heaves.
With a sound of disgust, Brett stepped back. “Fine, fine. No sex. Get yourself together and go find Chris.”
Alex wiped off her mouth. “What am I supposed to do then?”
“Seduce him.”
Putting aside that seducing Chris was already at the very top of her list, what he said made no sense. And she knew that he’d be suspicious if she didn’t put up at least a little bit of a fight. “But I’m your girlfriend. You can’t seriously want me to sleep with him.”
“I want you to do whatever it takes to get into his pack. Today. Strip for him, if that’s what it takes. Just get him into bed, and get him to let you join.”
She blinked her eyes to generate the tears she knew she should be crying. “How can you say that? Don’t you love me?” And with those words, as afraid as she felt, she felt a pang of sadness for what she’d thought they had. No matter what he said now, he’d never loved her.
“Of course I love you, baby.” He crouched down by the bed so their faces were on the same level. “That’s why I need you to do this for me. I can’t provide for you the way I want to unless we get into this pack. This is so I can keep you safe and take good care of you. You believe me, don’t you?”
For a split second, she thought maybe she’d been mistaken. He had always taken care of her. Of course, this was just him taking care of her again. Then she remembered what the other guy in the kitchen had said—that they’d chosen her for Chris. That meant Brett had only approached her because of what she could do for them. It meant he was lying.
But she couldn’t let him know that. She let her face soften, and reached out to cup his cheek. Her skin rebelled at touching his. “Of course I believe you. I just…it feels wrong to sleep with somebody else when I’m your girl.”
He kissed the palm of her hand and she forced herself not to jerk away. “Of course you’re my girl. I just need you to do this for me. Once we’re in the pack, you’ll never have to do anything like this again.”
She sat up, which allowed her to pull her hand back. “I guess I should shower.”
His eyes turned bright. “You sure you don’t feel well enough for a goodbye fuck?”
She barely caught herself from shivering. “Sorry. I’m going to be lucky if I can stay standing up in the shower.”
Brett stood. “Give me a call later when you’re in.” He strode out of the room.
How could he betray her like this? Had he been like t
his all along? Had she been blind? Or had he been so good at pretending that she couldn’t have known?
She took a quick shower, her mind racing with everything she had learned. What she really needed to think about was what to take with her. Because she sure as hell didn’t want to try to come back later to collect her things. She couldn’t take everything or Brett would be suspicious. But she didn’t want to leave behind anything she couldn’t part with.
She continued to think about it while she got ready the rest of the way. Then she gathered a few items in her purse. All of the sentimental things she owned were on her cell—her pictures, her phone numbers, voice mails from her parents from before she left. What she needed to take with her was clothes. And not much would fit in her purse. She finally broke down and shoved as much as she could into a backpack. If Brett saw it, she’d say she figured she’d need some things if she was joining the pack tonight. Worst case, she’d leave it behind. But it was worth a shot.
In the end, he didn’t even come out to say goodbye. She tossed her stuff in her car and drove away, feeling her body deflating with every mile that grew between them. She’d made it.
Now for the harder part—facing her mates.
Alex drove to the bar. She didn’t expect either of them to be there on a Sunday morning, but she had no idea where else to look. If the bar was even open, the bartender might be able to point her in the right direction.
She went inside, not surprised to see the place nearly empty. A couple of men sat in a booth, and the bartender stood at the bar cleaning.
She walked to the bar. “Hi.”
“What can I get you?”
“I—actually, I was wondering if you know Chris? Chris Byers? The—” She almost said, “the Roanoke Alpha” but the bartender smelled human. And humans couldn’t know about them. “He’s here a lot. I just need to get in touch with him.”
The man, an older guy about fifty, stared at her. “Yeah, I know him. And you are?”
“I’m Alex.” She pushed her hair back and pulled at her shirt. God, he made her feel like she’d done something wrong. “He’ll want to talk to me. Maybe you could give me his number?”
The man grabbed his phone and pressed a couple of buttons. “Hey, Chris. I’ve got a girl here, Alex. She’s looking for you.”
Alex leaned forward a little, trying to hear the other side of the conversation, but he stepped away and with the music in the background, she couldn’t make out what Chris was saying.
“You’re sure?” the guy said. After a pause, he said, “Okay.” Then he hung up. He turned to Alex. “Sit down. What do you want to drink?”
“I’m not going to sit here and drink.” She could hear her voice rising. “I want to talk to Chris.”
“He’s on his way. Told me to get you a drink and whatever else you wanted.”
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. On his way. She wasn’t sure whether she felt excited or nervous or some sick combination of the two. She sat down on one of the stools. “Just a soda.” Maybe she’d throw up again, with the way her stomach was jumping. “Ginger ale.”
* * *
She’d come looking for him. As Chris drove to the bar, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so nervous. He’d even gone and brushed his teeth again after Mike had called.
“At least we’re not going to have to track her down.” Ben sat next to him. “Why do you think she came?”
“She didn’t know how to reach either of us. So she took a shot that someone at the bar would know how to reach me.”
“Yeah, but why? Do you think she realizes?”
His heart went out to Ben. Such a strong wolf, turned into a little puppy by a girl. Alex better not be playing them. Chris wasn’t sure Ben could take much more. “She must feel the mating urge as much as we do.”
“Do you…” Ben’s throat worked. “Do you think she slept with him?”
Chris took a corner a little too fast. “Nah. You’ve heard the stories, right? How the mating urge makes the idea of even touching someone else sexually an excruciating experience?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that.” It didn’t sound like he believed it.
“Even if she wanted to sleep with him, I don’t think she could.” Chris hoped all those stories were true. The thought of someone else touching his mate made him want to howl.
As they turned into the parking lot, Chris spotted Alex’s car. “I feel this awful need to park her in.”
Ben smiled, a mischievous light in his eyes. “I feel that need, too. But we shouldn’t. She came to us on her own. We should trust that she’ll stick around long enough to talk this out.”
The logical, rational, human part of Chris’ mind agreed with him, which is why he pulled into the space next to hers. The wolf part of Chris’ mind wished they’d done more to make sure she couldn’t leave them again.
When they opened the door, that delicious scent from the night before washed over them. Chris immediately got hard. Shit, he should have worn baggier pants.
Alex turned toward them, pressing her lips together and holding one arm over her waist. But she didn’t bolt. Always a good sign.
They were still several feet away from her. “Why don’t we get a booth?” Chris said. The bartender, Mike, knew about the wolves, but that didn’t mean Chris wanted him to hear all his business.
Without answering, Alex picked up her soda and followed them. Chris hung back while Alex and Ben scooted into the booth facing each other, then Chris sat down next to Alex, effectively pinning her in. No way would he let her get away without talking this out.
She didn’t say anything, just stared at her drink and traced patterns in the condensation on the side of the glass.
Chris’ stomach wrenched. “Alex?”
“I’m sorry.” She continued to stare at the soda. “I’m really sorry, I just—” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Was she here to say goodbye? What was going on? Chris reached for her, but she pulled away immediately.
“No,” she said. “I need to say this. I just don’t know where to start.”
“Start at the beginning,” Ben said.
“I think maybe I’ll start with what’s easier,” she said. “Brett…I guess I never knew him. I thought—” She glanced at Ben. “Well, that doesn’t matter.” She paused again. “He told us we needed a new home. He told us Roanoke pack was the best pack around, and that once we joined, we’d all be safe. But he said you wouldn’t want a bunch of wolves all joining in a group, so he wanted us to spread out and not join all at once. So we wouldn’t spook you. So you wouldn’t reject us.”
So far, this matched what Chris had figured out.
“That was all he told us. I thought…” She tipped her head to the side, still staring at the glass. “I thought we were doing a good thing. Improving our lives. But it was all a lie.” She took a long breath. “I heard him this morning. Him and some other guy. They said they were going to challenge you and take over the pack. And then the other guy would challenge the Stonewall Alpha and then they’d own Marysburg.”
Bingo. He knew it had to be something like that. He hadn’t guessed about Stonewall, though. He’d have to let Jake know ASAP.
“I’m so sorry, Chris. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t know.” Another tear rolled down her cheek.
Her pain killed him. Chris took a chance and ran his hand down her hair. This time she didn’t pull away. He left his hand resting on her shoulder. Just touching her eased something inside him. And while the ever-present arousal still lurked in the background, most of his feelings had to do with the contentment just being with her brought. “It’s okay. We can fix this.”
She swallowed. “He said they picked me for you.”
Chapter 8
Chris’ stomach jumped again. What?
“Brett romanced me because they wanted me to seduce you, to distract you. And they think I’m your type.”
He took a breath, trying to hold back the flood of confl
icting emotions pounding at him. “You are my type.”
Ben reached across the table and snagged her hand. “You’re my type, too. I wanted you the second I saw you.”
“Brett never wanted me at all,” she said softly.
Chris snorted. “Doubtful.” He cupped her cheek. “You’re gorgeous. He’d have to be gay to not want you. All the same, I’m damn glad you’re done with him.”
“You are done with him, right?” Ben said.
“Yes.” She didn’t meet their eyes. “I’m sorry I ran away.”
“It’s okay.” Chris squeezed her shoulder.
“Just don’t ever do it again. I don’t think I could take it,” Ben said. “He—uh—Brett. He didn’t touch you, did he?”
She choked a laugh. “You mean last night? Yeah, he did. And I threw up.”
Ben’s eyes, which had flashed to gold, went back to brown. “Threw up? All over him?”
“Not quite. But it sure turned him off.”
Chris stroked her hair. A warmth spread through him. “Yeah, well, vomit isn’t much of an aphrodisiac.”
She laughed. “Happened again this morning. Perfect timing, too. I couldn’t figure out how to turn him down.” Pushing her glass a couple of inches, she said, “Ginger ale.”
“You still feel like puking?” Ben’s hand played with hers.
“No. Not at all. But I was a little nervous before you came.”
“Me, too,” Ben said.
“And me,” Chris admitted. He didn’t usually admit to weakness. But these were his mates. If he couldn’t trust them, he couldn’t trust anyone. “But now we’re together. For good. No one’s ever going to come between us again.”
As the other two agreed with him, almost on cue, Dana walked through the door. She headed toward them but stopped short when she saw Chris playing with Alex’s hair. Dana’s mouth fell open.
Shit. He’d forgotten all about Dana. And she hadn’t been one of the wolves out scouting for him, so she hadn’t been at the meeting that morning and his cryptic apologies the night before wouldn’t have told her anything—she didn’t know he’d found his mates. “Dana—”
Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads) Page 102
