by Brenna Lyons
Table of Contents
Title Page
Blurb
Copyright Statement
Alpha Son
About the Author
Also by this Author
Award-Winning Books
Blurb
Tyler made a bad decision when he was a first year student. Now that his den brother has been dishonored, Tyler wants to make all the wrongs in his life right, not the least of which is claiming Julianna as his mate.
Fireborn Publishing Copyright Statement
Alpha Son
Copyright © 2015 by Brenna Lyons
eBook ISBN: 978-1-943528-41-7
First eBook Publication: October 2015
Cover Artist: Brenna Lyons
Photo Credit: Dollar Photo Club
Logo copyright © 2014 by Fireborn Publishing and Allison Cassatta
Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.
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This book is written in US English.
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Alpha Son
Werewolf U III
Tyler stood at the corner of Kythera Hall, watching the group of girls laughing together.
Not quite, he admitted to himself. He wasn't watching the group. He was watching her. Julianna.
She dressed in a Bohemian style...ankle-length, flowing dresses made of linen, ramie, hemp, or double gauze. Her coppery-brown hair was long and loose, pulled back at the temples to a ponytail at the back to keep the strands out of her eyes. Still, waves escaped and framed her face.
She was tall for a female, nearly Tyler's height. Were they standing face-to-face, he would be able to look directly into her medium gray eyes.
I want to be that close to her. It's what he came here to do, and unless Julianna sent him away, he would have that wish.
* * * *
"Ladies," a male greeted them.
Julianna focused on the book in her lap. She had no interest in randy males sniffing for something appealing.
A gasp from one of her friends made her stiffen.
No. It can't be. Julianna raised her head slowly, panning her gaze up strong, male legs encased in tailored suit pants. The shirt was undoubtedly a fine twill, and his arms were crossed over his broad chest.
His. No, Tyler's. She didn't question that she was correct. When their gazes met through the fall of his unruly hairstyle, Julianna wasn't surprised.
"Hello, Alpha Tyler." She tried to act unaffected, though his mere presence made her heart pound in excitement.
"Hello, Julianna." He smiled at her, though it wasn't reflected in his eyes.
Her friends shot uncomfortable looks at each other. When Tyler didn't continue speaking, they started mumbling excuses and taking their leave. Far too soon, they were alone together.
"You wanted to see me, Alpha Tyler?" she inquired, still trying to act unaffected.
"Call me Tyler. Please."
Not on your life. Julianna waited to see what he would say next. Can't be worse than anything I've heard before. At least she hoped not.
He sighed and rubbed a hand along his lower lip and jaw. "I was wrong."
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "About?"
Tyler ground his teeth, but he nodded. "You're due a full apology. I know that. So...yes, what I said about you...about lowborn wolves in general... It was wrong. I was willful and arrogant and hurtful. I can't lead if I don't respect all wolves equally."
"I'm...stunned, to tell the truth." She was. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I'm trying to make right the things I've screwed up."
"Good start," she admitted. Grudgingly. She could almost grow to like this Alpha Tyler, though previous encounters with him still stung.
He stood there, seemingly waiting for something she couldn't name.
"Was there something else you wanted?"
"Yes. No. Sort of." He took a calming breath. "Not the right time. Do you mind if I talk to you later? Another time?"
Julianna tried to come to grips with this new, unsettling side of him. She'd never seen an Alpha so tongue tied. "Sure. You can talk to me another time." But why?
Tyler nodded and strolled away, more at ease than she'd ever seen him.
"So what was that all about?" Veronique asked, appearing from the distance as he disappeared the opposite direction.
"I have no idea." But I may find out when he returns to talk to me again.
"What did he say?" Vanessa asked. She was shadowing her twin, as usual.
"He apologized."
"Just like that?" they asked together.
"Just. Like. That."
* * * *
Four days later
Julianna slowed her steps, discomfited, though she couldn't put her finger on why she would be. Warmth at her back startled her. Before she could react, his scent reached her.
"Alpha Tyler."
His breath teased at her cheek. "I told you to call me Tyler, I believe."
She licked her lips, trying to calm her thundering heart. "Did you want something in particular?" I will not call him Tyler.
He inhaled deeply.
Taking in my scent. It aroused her. This isn't smart. This is Alpha Tyler. He's not to be trusted.
Julianna glanced around, relieved to see that no one else was in this section of garden. Then again, it was after nightfall.
"You." There was no hesitation in the reply.
Neither was there in hers. "So that's what the big apology scene was about." Her stomach ached at the truth of it.
I don't know the truth of it. Was he hoping his attraction to her was a fleeting thing, and he wanted to scratch the itch and toss her away? Or was he fully aware of what they were to each other, and he finally gave in and decided to accept his fate?
I'm not sure I'm willing to help him with either.
He turned her toward him, and Julianna braced herself for his anger at being called out. It wasn't forthcoming. He shook his head, his color less than robust. His expression said she'd wounded him. It was almost enough to spur her to comforting him.
Almost.
"No. Not at all. You know I've apologized to more than you. I've... I won't say I've changed, so much as I've stopped letting the other alphas define my actions for me. Please believe m
e, I was never comfortable with acting that way."
"Then why did you?"
"I made a mistake."
She straightened her backpack and prepared to leave. "Yes. You did."
"More than one, but a few major ones. And I never knew how to fix them."
"You don't have to fix it. Consider yourself forgiven." Julianna nearly choked on the words, but she spit them out when she wanted to spit in his face. No. I don't, and that's the worst of it.
"I'm not, and we both know it."
She couldn't argue that. "A wolf never forgets." It was one of her father's favorite sayings.
He sighed. "I should never have chosen Darian as my den brother."
"Then why did you?"
"I don't know." For a moment, he looked lost and forlorn.
"I don't believe that." What caused this certainty was a mystery, but Julianna didn't question it.
Tyler shifted his feet, looking not one milligram the Alpha he was. "I was awkward. I guess a lot of guys are at that age. He was...larger than life."
"That's one word for it," she muttered.
He winced, then nodded. "I know. He's unstable, but at the time, he seemed confident. He seemed like a leader. I wasn't those things, and I wanted to learn to be. I thought Darian could teach me."
"Those things come with time. There are no shortcuts." Now I'm lecturing him? When did my life become so weird?
"It took me a long time to learn that."
Something in his tone said there was more. "But--?"
"By then, I'd alienated everyone but Darian and a few others. Even my sisters considered me a lost cause."
"So why didn't you get rid of Darian then?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to, but—"
"You couldn't figure out how to without looking foolish, so you waited until Darian did something unforgivable."
His throat bobbed. "Yeah. I guess that describes it well enough."
Again, he'd stunned her. It took a moment for Julianna to collect her wits.
"Why did you come here?" At the last moment, she reminded herself not to call him by name.
"For you." That time it was matter of fact and not a seduction.
"You think it's that simple?" The heat gathered in her stomach, and Julianna felt the need to strike out at him. Her sight went red-tinged.
"No," he admitted. "I know it's not."
Julianna didn't know how to answer that, so she waited to see what he would say next.
"I want you. I've always wanted you. If you can't be with me after—" He rolled his hand in demonstration of a vague collection of reasons she might have. "—I understand. I won't hound you for it. I think I've squandered my right to pursue you."
He waited for a moment to see if she would form an answer. When she failed to, he nodded and turned away, making his way back to Regina Hall, his shoulders slumped.
Julianna watched him go, her mouth and throat dry. Tears stung at her eyes, and her emotions were in a flat spin.
Tyler was no end of surprises. She'd almost expected to see him cry. Or beg.
Would that I could trust him...
What? I would give him precisely what he wants? Not a chance.
* * * *
Three days later
Julianna reached for the doorknob, then pulled her hand back. For the third time. Night Mother, when did I become so indecisive?
The answer to that wasn't hard to come by. Anytime she considered the open-ended possibility Tyler had left her with, she became indecisive.
He hadn't said he wanted her as his mate.
Good thing. I am so not going there.
He'd just said he wanted her.
I want him too. She could admit that much without appearing weak. Tyler was a gorgeous male, and she'd weathered thirteen heats since she'd known what he was to her. Thirteen heats, with him right across campus and unavailable to me.
He's available now. And she was going into another heat. Julianna shied when she thought about that part.
I shouldn't. This is the answer. She considered that carefully, working her way through the possibilities.
If they weren't mates, any young she carried were her own, and—despite his status in the pack—Tyler would have no hold over them. If he later had heirs, her own son or sons could challenge for the position of heir, if they chose to. But the same would be true of any children he sired out of mating.
I could have children. After Tyler alienated her, Julianna had given up on the idea of children. She didn't want another male, and she certainly didn't want Tyler long-term.
But I can have him for this.
That decided, she grasped the doorknob and turned it. Each step she took was easier, and in no time at all, she was across campus and approaching Regina Hall.
Julianna rehearsed the lie that Tyler had invited her on the way. She'd never been an adept liar, and the idea of lying had her palms sweating.
She pasted on a smile and breezed into Regina Hall. The smile faded, and she looked around in disbelief. She'd expected to have to pass a guard or porter on her way to the stairway up to the Alpha levels, but the foyer was deserted.
As were the stairs. Halfway up, Julianna started getting nervous. There had to be guards somewhere. Why weren't they showing themselves? Why weren't they questioning her?
Am I going to crumble and cry...or wet myself when they finally show themselves?
Julianna smiled. Humor had always been her way of dealing with stress. She'd rather laugh than cry.
I did my share of both when Tyler broke my heart.
All too soon, she stood outside the door to his rooms. Julianna took several calming breaths, then knocked on his door.
With every heartbeat she stood there, more of her resolve evaporated. What if he wasn't here? That would explain why his guards didn't stop her. What if he was here with another woman?
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them away. Irritation that he could still make her cry pricked at her, and she turned to leave.
The door opened behind her, and Julianna turned to it, prepared to apologize to Tyler's servant for disturbing him. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Tyler.
He stood in the doorway, dressed only in a loose-fitting pair of knit sleep pants. Tyler moved his mouth as if he meant to say something, but nothing emerged.
He's with someone else. Of course. He's a male. Why wouldn't he be? Julianna tried for a smile but failed. "I should go."
Her move to turn away short circuited when Tyler wrapped his arms around her and lifted her inside. He closed the door and pressed her to it, crowding her with his larger body.
"No. You really shouldn't. Not when you've come here to see me."
She managed a jerking nod, her body balking her simple commands to respond to him verbally.
"What did you come here for, Julianna?" There was something wistful in his tone. He wasn't taunting her.
The need to sate her rising heat drove her on. Julianna wrapped her hands around his head, sealing her lips to his.
Tyler didn't hesitate. In a matter of heartbeats, they were pressed to the door, his cock hard against her lower abdomen. He groaned into her mouth.
Julianna echoed him at the feeling of Tyler dragging her skirts up her body.
Yes. This is what I want. He's going to be everything I want.
And no more.
Tyler grasped the meat of her ass in his hands, venting another groan. He pulled back abruptly. "No. I want better for you."
She raked her fingernails down his scalp to his back. "Here. Now." She demanded it, the need scorching at her nerves.
The sound of ripping clothing made her shiver. It wasn't her dress he was tearing, so it had to be his sleep pants.
He met her gaze, his expression fevered. "You want this?"
"Now." If he wasn't inside her soon, Julianna wouldn't guarantee her patient acceptance.
Tyler didn't test her resolve. He lifted her to spread her legs
around him, then thrust deep inside her.
Julianna felt the shift coming over her, stronger than she'd thought it would be. Her senses sharpened, and her claws sprouted. She dug them into Tyler's back.
Far from fighting it, he moaned. He increased his pace, the door rattling from the onslaught.
She reveled in the mixed sensations. His scent tantalized her. The press of his skin against hers teased her with the solid reality of him. His cock worked its way through the rings of inner muscle, imprinting the memory of his length and girth on her senses.
Pleasure gave way to sparks of bliss. Julianna pitched her head back and howled, her senses whirling. Tyler joined her, jetting heat into her.
He parted her lips, enticing her into dizzying kisses. In a series of overlapping, seemingly random motions, Tyler carried her to what she assumed was his bed.
He broke off the kiss and stared down at her, his expression a potent mix that paralyzed her.
The bird before the snake.
I may not be an alpha, but I'm hardly a helpless bird.
"Don't go."
He's pleading with me. I never thought Tyler would plead for anything.
"Julianna?"
Her heat forced an answer from her. "I'm not done with you yet."
* * * *
Tyler snapped awake, his senses muddled and his back aching. He turned toward the opposite side of the bed with a smile.
Empty.
He sat up, scanning the room.
There.
Julianna was across the room, dressing in the clothing they'd discarded the night before.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to get ready for class." It was rational.
I don't want rational. I want fire. I want the passion we indulged in half the night. She was in heat. Wouldn't she want that as well?
"I wish you wouldn't," he admitted.
She sighed. "I have tests to take, a lab—"
"Come back later?" Tyler tried not to show his nervousness, but he feared it slipped out.
