by Lisa Lace
Maybe a council was a wise move. She would look into one after the Varetec merger. It would do nothing but slow down the process at this point. She had agreed with Alec to do the deal on a one-year probationary time frame, and she was going through with it no matter what.
A buzzing stopped her in her thoughts and caused her to jump. She was overly sensitive and needed more sleep. Too bad that wouldn’t be the case until she found the right medication or finally gave up and went to Alec’s bed. The angry animal pacing inside of her wanted more of the sexy black bear and she was being a feisty bitch about it.
“What?” Sonya asked after pressing the small blinking button. Her voice was harsh and though she tried not to be too brash with their staff, she was on edge.
“There is a gentleman here to see you, Miss Valsek.”
“And his name is?”
Kinsey must have put her hand over the phone by the muffled voices talking. The man definitely wasn’t Alec. It wasn’t a voice Sonya knew. The receptionist cleared her throat and responded to Sonya.
“Mr. Dax Collingsworth.”
“I don’t know him. Tell him to come back another day.”
The male’s voice rose up from the small box, the overly aggressive ass having moved toward it somehow.
“Sonya, this is Dax. I’m the leader of a large group in Europe and I have no doubt that you’ve been waiting to see me. I’m not interested in coming back and I will see you now.” He didn’t sound angry or condescending at all. He simply pressed the weight of his position into his voice and she felt herself wanting to obey. The bears were particular in choosing their Alpha males for this very reason.
Her father rarely used that power, and although Dax couldn’t force her to do anything, her father could. It was her submitting to his power and acknowledging him as her Alpha that gave him that ability over her. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, the desire to break this bastard in half overrunning her ethics.
Almost.
“Yes, you’re right. Come up and let’s talk, Mr. Collingsworth.”
She pressed the button on her phone and stood up, walking around her desk and smoothing the front of her black suit with her hands. She wore a crimson silk top under her jacket and was almost grateful for the choice she made earlier to use dominant colors for the day. She needed everything to scream, “Back the fuck off!” to this male.
A moment later a knock sounded at the door and Dax walked in before she could welcome him to do so. Complete Alpha.
His blonde hair was spiked and attractive against his piercing blue eyes and tanned skin. He looked more like someone from California than Europe. Chances were that he was a transient, traveling wherever he needed to and usurping power as able.
“Aren’t you beautiful?” He closed the door and moved toward her with a stance that pushed power into the room. She stiffened, but only slightly.
“Let’s talk and then you leave. I have too much to do regarding my father’s estate to spend time getting to know someone new. Tell me your plans and I’ll politely tell you to fuck off. Or we can just start there.”
“With us fucking? Oh, I like that a lot.” He moved in a tight circle around her, the sound of him breathing in deep setting her on edge. “I see you’ve been taken recently. That’s good. I hate breaking a virgin in. No fun at all really.”
“I’m off limits and you’re aware of that.” She turned to face him, her eyebrow lifting as she held herself carefully in place. Killing him would be a delight.
“Nothing is off limits for me. I came for your pack and I’ll have it. Who do I need to obtain succession from? You or your father?”
“My father is our Alpha until his last breath. You will have to fight me, but it will not be until he passes.” Her heart began to beat slower as she felt herself sink down into the place she visited when she shifted or killed. If he wasn’t careful, this bastard wouldn’t make it out of the room alive.
Dax licked his lips, his eyes moving over her as if he had already stripped her down and was ravaging her uncontrollably. “Should I kill the old man so we can tango or is he almost dead, baby?”
That was it.
She rushed him, her fist connecting with his face as she growled loudly. She threw a quick series of kicks, one of them to the back of his knee, which caused him to drop to the floor. He growled as she mounted him and drew her nails, stabbing in a quick fashion over and over again. The sound coming from him was shocking and it dragged her out of her aggression, quieting her as his hands clamped down on her thighs. He was covered in blood and his shirt and chest were shredded.
The sound was laughter.
“Oh my God. How long have I been waiting to find you? You fight like a beast and I bet you fuck even better.” He rolled then, pinning her body to the ground and grinding against her.
She growled and reached to swipe at his face. “Get off of me.”
“Never. You will be mine. I will wait until your father dies. It’s you I want to battle for dominance. Every day, Sonya. Every day for the rest of my life, you and I will fight and fuck until you’re exhausted from it all.”
She kneed him in the crotch and he screamed, rolling over as she stood. He was dangerous. Far more dangerous than Alec by the gleam in his eye. He had no soul and was so hungry for power that he would do anything to get it.
How many other women did he hold in his harem?
He moved to his feet and walked toward her aggressively. She stood her ground and growled at him, preparing herself for another fight as her voice deepened.
“Get out. I will kill you the next time you come near me. Mark my words.” She growled and jerked back as he reached for her, but he was too quick. His fingers wrapped around her throat and squeezed hard. She beat against his chest as he pulled her in close and licked at her mouth.
“I’m going to fuck you until you can’t move. I pray you bleed because if you don’t, I’ll make sure to fuck you up in other ways. I’m the Alpha and you’re on your way to becoming my favorite bitch. Don’t go near another male again or I’ll kill him and have you watch. I’m not like other men, Sonya. Don’t fuck with me.”
She spit in his face and he reared back and punched her with his free hand. The hit connected with her left eye and the world dimmed for a minute. She was stupid to let him get so close. He released her and she forced herself to remain standing.
“Get the fuck out. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” She let out a sound of rage.
“You don’t either, but you will soon, kitten.”
Chapter 14
One Day Later
Jared had done a damn good job of discovering the most plausible bears up against Sonya, Dax Collingsworth being the worst. He was a vicious playboy from Australia who had made his way to Europe taking pack after pack. It was almost admirable ��� his laser focus showed that with size and confidence, anything was possible.
Alec walked into Varetec, the building far larger than anything he would be comfortable with. Something about heights threw him off. He spoke briefly to the pretty girl at the front counter and made his way to the top floor, his stomach turning the whole time.
Sonya would have to let him keep his office where it was. No fucking way he was driving downtown every day and working just below the clouds. Maybe she would consider letting the executive office be at his place and the corporate headquarters downtown.
He exited the elevator and made a sharp left turn, pausing at her door to glance over at Victor’s nameplate. He needed to get back to the hospital to see the man. He had more questions than answers and wanted to understand why the older man was so interested in changing his future.
He started to knock as the door opened. Sonya stood before him, her cream-colored dress hugging the perfection of her lithe frame. He growled softly and moved toward her, unable to help himself. She reached out and pressed a hand to his chest.
“No. We talk business today and we can figure things out about us later.”
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“Are you not going mad, Sonya? I can barely think.” He pushed her hand away from him and plowed her backward until she slammed into the wall. Pressing himself against her, he ran his nose up the column of her neck and stopped short.
Another Alpha.
He pulled back as his blood began to boil. “Who’s touched you? Who have you been with?”
She moved out from in front of him and walked to the small table in the center of the room, sitting and pointing to the open chair. “Do you have the papers for Varetec or are you no longer interested?”
He stood still for a minute, his heart racing at the thought of her letting another man touch her. He wasn’t a fool by any means. Someone had definitely been near her. His scent still lingered on her skin. This wasn’t about them and yet he could feel the wave of her desire, the resounding scream of her need threatening to drown him. Her bear was giving a loud mating call and he wouldn’t last long in the room with her. She was his true mate and he would fulfill that need within her whether she liked it or not.
He didn’t have a choice.
He sat down across from her and nodded to her as he took a shallow breath. “You need to lower the lights in here? Why the sunglasses?”
She took the folder from him. “Show me where we need to sign and let’s get this over with.”
Something was wrong. Far more wrong than her wanting to fight against mating with him. Far more than her struggling for control over her crumbling world.
He would finish up the deal and then push her until she broke in front of him. He loved her too much not to get to the core issue. Something had happened and she was ignoring everything he did to figure out what.
“The blue highlights are for you to sign. Slide the paper toward me when you’re done and I’ll sign underneath you. If you want to read each page, feel free.”
“No. I trust you to keep your word where this agreement is concerned.” She leaned over, her hair cascading over her shoulder. He had to force himself not to reach out and touch it. The memory of it wrapped around his fingers caused him to groan softly.
He needed her. Now.
She glanced up, but he couldn’t see her eyes. He couldn’t determine what emotions had her trapped in fear. He could almost taste it and not doing something left him on edge.
Her words were clear. She trusted him with the business, but not with her or the pack.
“Finish signing this thing. I’m not going to be able to hold myself back for much longer and we need to talk.”
She nodded and worked through the papers in front of her, sliding them to him as she finished each. He barely looked down, his complete attention focused on her. She signed the last one and pushed it over to him as he glanced down and quickly wrote his name on it. Something on her neck caused him to put the pen down and reach over, pushing her hair back.
She jerked back from him like she had been burnt.
A bruise.
“What the fuck is that?” He stood up and reached down, pulling her up as she let out a cry. He had never heard a sound like that come from her before. Someone had hurt her. Rage welled up inside of him as he moved her hair again. “Who did this? Is that what I smell on you?”
“Alec, this is my fight. I need to figure out how to fight in a way that helps me win, but don’t step in and take this battle from me.”
“Did he fuck you?”
“No.” She slapped at his chest hard and walked away.
“Sonya. Turn around and take those glasses off.”
“No.” Her voice shook slightly. The sound of it broke his heart. She was strong, a pillar that he didn’t believe anything could break down. “Tell me what’s going on. You might not accept me as your mate yet, but I am a friend, your business partner, and your lover, baby.”
He moved toward her and half expected her to turn and walk out, but she didn’t. She let out a soft cry and he wrapped her in his arms, crushing her against him. Nothing would stop him from protecting her.
“Talk to me,” he whispered, pressing his lips to her ear as he held her tightly. He didn’t think her capable of crying or breaking down. A soft sob left her as she melted against him. Alec took full advantage of it, holding her tight to him and whispering that he would take care of her forever against her hair.
“My father’s not going to make it much longer,” she whispered.
“I know. I’m going to be right beside you, Sonya. Let me in and I can do everything for you. Let me step in front of you and swing at all that’s coming your way. Let me protect you.”
“No. It’s not the way I was raised.” She pulled from him and he let her for a moment. Tugging off the sunglasses, she wiped at her tears before flinching. He took her face in his hands and lifted it, the fading bruise around her eye causing the Alpha male to rise up in him.
“Who did this to you?” The room trembled with the roar of his voice.
“I would say I did. I should have known to be more stealthy in my attack.” She sighed and pulled away, walking to the long row of windows and standing in front of them. He moved in behind her, sliding his hands on her shoulders.
“Sonya. I need to know who touched you. He’s going to die.”
“Yes, you’re right. He is.” She turned and looked up at Alec. She slid her hand around his face and pulled him toward her, kissing him roughly. He pressed her against the glass and made love to her mouth until she broke it.
“I need you,” he whispered. “I can taste how bad you need me. Come home with me and let me take you all afternoon. We’ll figure the rest out tonight together. Come be mine, Sonya. It’s going to happen. Let it be now when you need me.”
She kissed him again as her phone began to ring. He broke the kiss and nipped at her lips. “Get it and tell them to fuck off. You’re coming home with me.”
“Okay.” She moved past him and picked up the phone, her voice changing to business. He was so taken with her that all he could do was watch. How dangerous was it for him to need someone so badly?
She would complete him. He had no doubt.
“Sonya Valsek.”
He wanted to move toward her, to put his hands on her or drop to his knees and kiss his way up to the junction between her thighs. She was in heat and it would kill him if he didn’t do something about it soon. Her voice changed to a softness that doused his arousal in cold water.
“Okay, Mark. I’m coming right now. Please try and bring him back long enough for me to say goodbye.” She hung up the phone, strong and unbendable. She turned to him. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.
“This is it. My dad’s gone into cardiac arrest.”
Chapter 15
Sonya sat quietly in the passenger’s seat of Alec’s Porsche, her thoughts far from the present. She knew the time was coming when she would have to say goodbye, but there was always the hope that she would wake up from this horrible nightmare and everything would be back to normal.
She realized that someone needed to call Parik and her brother. She checked her text messages and saw one from her father’s Beta. He was already there.
“Good, Parik is at the hospital with my Dad.” She glanced over at Alec, wondering what his thoughts might be about everything swirling around them. He nodded and reached over, taking her free hand and moving it to his lips, kissing softly. She loved him. It was almost time to relent and let him have her fully.
Dialing Cade’s number, she steeled herself for her brother’s reaction. He was as close to their father as she was but in a different way. They were best friends and spent time together hunting and going to ball games. Her father never expected Cade to be anyone other than who he was.
Her eyes filled with tears at the thought. She swallowed them down, squeezing Alec’s hand as her brother answered the phone.
“This can’t be good.” His voice was thick with sleep.
“No. You need to get to the hospital. Dad’s gone into cardiac arrest. Mark is going to try and pull him back for us to say ou
r goodbyes.”
“No. I said my goodbyes last night, Sis. I can’t do this anymore. I’m not sleeping or eating. My chest hurts so badly I think we might need to dig another grave beside Dad’s.” He let out a long sigh as pain laced Sonya’s chest. She pulled her hand from Alec’s and rubbed absently above her left breast as she leaned back and closed her eyes.
“I understand. We’re going to get through this.”
“Don’t bring him back again. He doesn’t deserve that. Don’t be selfish.”
“Fuck you,” she whispered as tears started to drip down her face.
“Yeah, I’m good with that. I’ll be the bad guy once again, but you need to come to terms with the fact that Dad’s hurting and he’s tired. Let him go and stop appeasing yourself by playing God with Mark’s abilities.”
She hung up and dropped the phone on the floor below her, bending over and running her fingers through her hair. She forgot that Alec was in the car next to her as she let out a long scream.
“Baby, what’s the matter? Need me to take you to your father and go get your brother? Is he stuck somewhere?”
She leaned back, trapping his hand behind her for a minute as she wiped at her tears and glanced over at him. “He’s pissed that I want Mark to bring Dad back for just a minute. He’s right and it pisses me off.”
“Closure is important, Sonya. Stop letting everyone else tell you what is right and wrong. Your moral compass is the strongest I’ve ever seen. Do what you think is best and fuck everyone else.”
“My moral compass.” She let out a long sound of pain, pressing her palms to her eyes. “Parik told me that all the answers to this shit I’m dealing with are in my father’s safe.”
“What? Have you gotten into it?” Alec’s hand squeezed her thigh and she hated herself for wanting him to move it up more and touch her intimately though the timing was horrible. Too many emotions pumped through her system to make sense of any of them anymore.
