by Lisa Lace
She distanced herself to keep her disappointment at bay.
“I can’t help it, Cade. Dad isn’t going to make it much longer and I’m not able to take his place. I’m a woman. You have to search your heart to see if there is���” He cut her off.
“No. I’m not taking his place, Sonya. This isn’t my life, nor one I want to pick up off someone else. You lead or let’s just get the hell out of here when Dad’s gone. Someone else will pick up the pack and it will be fine.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Not our problem.” He shrugged and released her, moving back and giving the most apathetic look she had ever seen. How could someone with so much potential waste it due to lack of care or concern? Had everything they built as a family meant nothing to him? Anger burned her and she gave him a tight smile.
“Good to see you again. Take care.” She turned and walked down the hall toward the elevators. She needed to go back to the office for a few hours and Mark would call her as soon as he knew something. If she stayed with her brother much longer, she was going to blow a gasket. The little fucker had no clue. He was twenty-eight years old and still acted like he was ten.
She changed her mind and took the stairs instead, needing to get some of her frustrations out. It was nothing to run quickly down the ten flights of stairs, her heart barely elevated from the action. There wasn’t a weekend that she didn’t shift and run through the mountains near the Canadian border for hours.
The best part was when someone was hunting her. The thrill of turning the tables and taking their lives was fantastic.
“If only I were a male,” she growled under her breath and walked from the building to her Dodge Viper. The car drove like sex and it was a simple reminder that the most powerful things in the world would draw unnecessary attention. She was powerful and seemingly unbreakable. That’s the way she liked to appear, at least.
Something her father said moments ago left her questioning the road ahead. Was someone was proposing a hostile takeover of Varetec? Who? Who would have the balls to come up against her family? It HAD to be a human.
Everyone in the shifter world knew better than to mess with the Brown Bears. Right?
Maybe it was a time of testing because word about her father’s health had reached the human media. He wasn’t just Alpha of the largest Bear Clan in the United States. He was also a giant in the world of advertising.
Whoever this guy was, he was in for one hell of a fight. She wouldn’t stop until she snuffed out his will to break her legacy. Varetec was hers. He was fucking with the wrong family and she was about to bring hell to his door if he didn’t back up.
Now she just had to figure out who the lucky recipient of her wrath was.
Chapter 2
Alec turned from the window as a knock at the door of his office pulled him from his thoughts. He wasn’t in the mood for interruptions, but running a pack as large as his new one called for his attention without reprieve.
“Enter.”
Sandy, a buxom blond and his personal assistant, stuck her head in and smiled. “Jared is here to see you, Sir. You want me to send him in or send him packing?”
Alec moved toward the door and opened it, letting his eyes move over the girl before glancing past her to see the Beta of his pack. “Get in here and make it quick. I’m not in the mood for pointless distractions, so make it good.”
Sandy moved back and Alec watched her go. If she wasn’t so brilliant he would have her sprawled across his desk where she belonged. It was hard to find good help, and mixing business and pleasure had never worked well for him. The memory of the only time he stepped over the line flashed across his vision as he sighed.
Sonya Valsek.
He had been too young when they first met, but this time would be different. Her composure, her strength, and her aggression left him panting with need, but he would never show his cards to her again. The bitch was a viper and deserved everything he had planned for her.
Alec was head of a Black Bear pack that was in desperate need of funding. Nothing would provide that better than a dying industry in need of resurrection. Varetec was a giant in the advertising industry, but news of Victor Valsek’s condition had pulled the company into the lowest quarterly earnings they had ever had.
The timing couldn’t be better.
“Did you see the latest update on Varetec, Sir?” Jared asked, taking a seat after Alec nodded toward it.
His second in command wasn’t someone he knew well enough yet to trust with more than a casual response and the barking of various orders. He had never belonged to a pack himself, so the learning curve on all things related to tradition was steep. Jared would be the one to get him there, but until then, he stayed where everyone else did in Alec’s life ��� on the outskirts.
“Yes. I’m not interested in talking business with you or anyone else. I’ll call you when I’m ready.” Alec slid his hands into his slacks as he moved to stand in front of his desk, his eyes moving along papers below him as if anything were more important than Jared. “Anything else or did you come to waste my time?”
“Actually, I came to talk with you about taking a mate.”
Alec glanced up. The elders of the pack were adamant about their Alpha having a mate and he was no exception. He had tested out a few of the available women from the strongest bloodlines and none of them was close to what he wanted in a woman.
“And? I have a few other things to worry about. Forgive me for not suspending the issues of hunger and poverty we’re suffering from in order for me to find an unworthy woman.” There was no venom in his voice, but the strength of his message was clear.
Jared swallowed hard as Alec narrowed his eyes. “I meant no disrespect, Alec. You know it’s the way of our people.”
“I do. So do what you came to do and leave. I have real issues to deal with outside of a bunch of elderly thinking that I need to mate to keep the pack strong and alive. That will come with time, but please, by all means, if you have a female that I can spend my nights fucking, show her in.” He looked up fully and crossed his arms over his chest as Jared nodded and picked up his phone.
“Send them in. One at a time, please.” The Beta spoke into the phone, his copper-colored hair out of place for the true hue of his fur. It was dyed, no doubt.
The door opened and Alec steeled himself. He wasn’t interested in anyone or anything at the present time. His body grew aroused not at the idea of a subordinate female or a family, but at owning the world and the power from his title.
A pretty woman with olive-colored skin and long black hair walked in the room. The color of her eyes was hidden because she never looked up. Alec let out a soft breath of boredom. Jared moved to put an arm around the girl.
“This is Cilia. She’s the daughter of Drago.” He nodded to Alec before putting his finger under the girl’s chin and lifting her face. She was beautiful, but being shy and timid wasn’t becoming for a black bear, least of all the mate of the Alpha.
“Beautiful. Next.” Alec pulled out the leather chair in front of him and sank down into it as Jared nodded. The other man wasn’t going to put emotion on display and for that quality alone, he would be around for a while. Alec wasn’t the type of man that was interested in pleasing anyone but himself. He didn’t pussyfoot around or mince words. He was straightforward and aggressive.
“Thanks, Cilia.” Jared opened the door for her and moved back as a shorter woman with curly black hair walked in. Her gaze was focused on the ground as well.
“Are they afraid they might trip?” Alec asked, his voice causing the girl to stop in her tracks. She didn’t look up, but simply froze like a deer caught in the headlights. Jared lifted his brow at Alec as if to gain more insight to what he might be thinking.
“Why are they staring at the floor? Look up at me, girl.” Alec tapped the desk in front of him as the girl looked up. Her breasts were small and her hips even smaller. She glanced up, her eyes wide with fear. Nothing a
bout her stirred him. He wouldn’t glance her way twice on the street and most certainly wouldn’t consider taking her to his bed.
Speaking of which, it had been too long. He needed to get laid and soon, but few women had the stamina to keep up with him. Alec glanced at his watch as Jared moved to the door.
“One more,” Jared mumbled and looked over his shoulder.
“You’re wasting your time and mine.” Alec rolled his shoulders as he clasped his hands in front of him.
Nothing was going to move him. A plan to fulfill his darkest fantasies was already in motion. Taking over Varetec was only partially for security and funding. The rest had to do with the wicked bitch who was running it. The thought of her caused his heart to race and his cock to twitch.
He needed to see her, but the time would soon be upon him. Patience was the key to his success. It was only a matter of days. He needed to get Jared out of his office so he could finalize his takeover files. His lawyer would be arriving in a few hours and although Sonya would be devastated by his methods, he would make her understand.
Or not. It didn’t matter. Her company would be his and shortly thereafter, she would be too.
“Alec, this is Kara. She’s…”
Alec stood. “I know who she is. I’ve seen her at the council meetings. Nice to see you, Kara.”
“You too, Alpha.”
“Do you enjoy anal sex? Vigorous and deep, hard and stimulating? Is it something you’d want before breakfast?” His voice was neutral as if talking about the color of the carpet.
“Alec,” Jared started and Alec held up his hand.
“Hold your tongue or I will rip it out of your mouth.” Alec narrowed his eyes as Jared took a step back. He didn’t become Alpha by backing down from anything. The people knew he was vicious and relentless. They were waiting for a man just like him to arrive and he was here now. No simple girl would do.
“Answer me, Kara. Have you taken it in the ass before?”
She kept her gaze on the floor and shook her head no. He could almost see the tick in the side of Jared’s face. They wanted honor and respect, but he was simply about domination.
“Get her out, Jared. I’m not looking for a wife. I’m looking for a mate that can hold her own against me. Don’t bring this subject to me again until you bring all the things I want in a woman.” Alec turned and walked to the long row of windows that looked out on the bay just beyond his office.
They had recently purchased space, the three-story building having been renovated and far away from downtown. Being in the center of the human world was overwhelming enough. There was no need to aggravate the situation by constructing another useless skyscraper in the middle of their oversaturated playground.
The sound of the door closing gave Alec peace until Jared spoke.
“Tell me what you’re looking for in your mate and I’ll find her.”
“There are other things you should be concerned about.” Alec glanced over his shoulder. “We’re going to take over Varetec. I’m signing the papers today.”
“That’s a war waiting to happen, Sir. You know as well as I do that the Brown Bears have been looking for a reason to take us out.”
“Agreed, but the timing is perfect. Their leader hangs on to life by a string and no one will step up to take his place. It’s time to strike and we’re going to do it in a way that leaves them without options. I’m going to take their company and then their pack.”
“That’s unheard of. We’ve never mixed blood with another bear clan.”
“Times are changing.” Alec licked at his teeth as he watched himself in the window before him. “You want to know the type of woman I want beside me?”
“Yes. It’s my job to protect your interests and I’m telling you that you have a small amount of time to produce a mate before you’re given one.”
“She’s bold and aggressive, vicious and loves to fight. She intimidates everyone, even me at times, and she’s feisty in bed. I want a woman who isn’t afraid to look every man in the eye and dare them to step in the arena with her. I want to own her, rule her, and force her to bow before me. I want that. Bring me that and I’ll take a mate.”
“Fuck, Alec. We all want that. That doesn’t exist. Our women know their place and it’s beside their men. They are brought up to be gentle where you’re rough and kind where you’re not.” He huffed and Alec couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll accept nothing else. Simple, really.” Alec rolled his shoulders again before smoothing down the front of his jacket. “I need to finalize my review of this takeover. Speak nothing of it to the council. It’s mine to report and you’d do well to remember that.”
“Of course. I’ll lay off the mate search for a while, but you need to step back and realize that you’re being ridiculous. That woman in your head doesn’t exist.”
“And if she does?” Alec asked, his voice solid and steady.
“Ask her if she has a sister.”
Alec laughed as Jared slipped out of his office. She existed all right, and nothing was going to stop Alec from taking her. The old rules and laws were nothing more than a hindrance, a bothersome demand to stick to what had always been before. Alec was a man willing to forge a new path.
He sat down at his desk and pulled out the file on Varetec, opening it and lifting the picture of their board of directors as his eyes moved to Sonya. Her warm brown eyes caught his attention first, the challenge in them captured beautifully, even in a picture. Her thick brown hair framed her face perfectly. Skin the color of caramel stretched over her high cheekbones and below her arched eyebrows. A smirk played on her full red lips, the look a ‘fuck you’ to whoever was taking the picture.
He groaned as his eyes moved down to the tight fit of her navy blue suit. Her breasts were more than a good handful and her hips were deliciously curved, her ass bigger than most women would be comfortable with, but damn if she wasn’t everything he wanted.
He dropped the picture on his desk and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and imagining her laid out in front of him, wearing only the wicked little smile she got when she knew she had you.
“I’m coming for you,” he whispered into the air, and pressed his hand to the front of his slacks, his erection throbbing at the double entendre of his words.
It would be one hell of a fight to bring her to heel before him, but the journey to get there was all he currently lived for. Taking ownership of the Black Bears was just step one in his plan. Life was about to begin for the first time, and before it spiraled out of control he wanted the right woman beside him.
He stroked himself and groaned again. His aggression was soon going to be used up on her tight little body. She would be his concentrated outlet and knowing her, once she got past being furious, she was going to return that favor.
His pulse raced at the thought.
Chapter 3
Three Days Later
“Is this really happening?” Sonya whispered as she pressed her fingers to her forehead. She tugged firmly at her skin and wished she could crawl in a hole and make it all stop for a moment. She just needed a minute to catch her breath.
Her father had been resuscitated, but he was on a respirator and hadn’t woken up yet. It was looking bleak, but she couldn’t let him go. There was a spark of hope inside of her that didn’t allow for the end. She pushed papers across the desk toward her CPA.
“This is unacceptable. We can’t sustain the company with losses like this. In three months I’ll have to shut the doors, Melvin. Tell me what we’re going to do.” She ran her fingers through her long brunette hair before slamming them on the table. The small portly man in front of her yelped and jumped a few inches out of his seat.
“Miss Valsek, I’m just a record keeper. I don’t make decisions or understand advertising. I keep your books. I don’t know what you should do, but by my calculations, you don’t have three months.”
“How long?” She tapped her fingers on the desk, knowing that it
wasn’t Melvin’s fault. She couldn’t stomach another failure.
“One month, Sonya. I would start looking for investors to step in and help. Your father made a few business decisions that left the company struggling to keep up.”
“When? When did he change the structure of our expenses?” She pointed at the paper. “When did he give these fucking raises? Where was I?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t involved. Ask him, perhaps?”
“He’s in a fucking coma.” She rose to her full height, her six foot one frame lithe and feminine, but intimidating to smaller people.
“Sonya. Please. I had nothing to do with any of this.”
“Tell me the date of these transactions.”
“It was the day after he was diagnosed.” Melvin gathered his things and stood. “I’m leaving unless you need me to recalculate anything. I’ve gone over these numbers for hours on end, and I’m telling you that what your father did is a mystery to me. It’s almost as if he set the company up to fail.”
He stood and rubbed his short black beard. “Did he say anything to you about the company? It was doing so well before he made these adjustments. Did you and he have a fight that would cause him to do this?”
“Get out. Leave before I shift and rip your fucking head off your squatty shoulders.” She growled loudly and Melvin squealed, backing up and almost falling over himself. He yelped again and slammed the door as she felt her eyes change colors. She was moments away from letting herself become the vicious beast her people had come to respect.
The door closed and she let out a long sigh of agony. Why had her father done this? He was her number one supporter and she was his. Every decision he made a few months ago left her without any option going forward. She would have to sell the company or someone would do a hostile takeover.
She sunk down in her chair, her fingers brushing along her black slacks as she applied pressure to her legs. She needed to pull herself back from the edge of exploding. It wouldn’t be good for anyone in her office if she lost herself. She only had slight control over her bear form. It felt good when she could let go and do whatever nature called her to. Growling again, she tried to figure out what her father had been trying to tell her.
