Alphas of Summer: A collection of shifter romances

by Lia Davis

Yet, the hurt, the anger, and the power she’d gained from Ross had damaged something inside her. Had broken her on a level she hadn’t thought possible. She feared she’d go rogue, mindless and bloodthirsty.

  Then, she’d started going against Darin’s word and began to question his judgment. It was only a matter of time before her wolf pushed her to challenge him for the Alpha position. And in so doing, her brother would force her to kill him.

  A tear rolled down her cheek. Yeah, she was out.

  Darin came up behind her and hugged her. “I hate the thought of not having you here to vent about Pack politics.”

  She laughed. “You love the politics.”

  Stepping out of the embrace and then swinging her pack onto her back, she faced Darin. His white-blond hair cascaded around his shoulders like thick strands of silk. Blue eyes that matched hers watched her, the wolf peeking out. She sighed and went to him. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tightly. “I’ll call and keep you posted.”

  His kissed her forehead and stepped out of the embrace. “Be safe.”

  “I will. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, sister mine.”

  With a heavy heart, she left, leaving behind her childhood home, her Pack, and the only male she would ever trust with her life.

  On her way out of town, she spotted Edwin Bass headed toward the Pack. As their vehicles passed each other, their eyes locked for a moment. His dark gaze narrowed on her, and she swore he snarled. A chill skittered up her spine. The Alpha of Bloodrose Creek was Ross’s uncle, and he hated her with the passion of the devil himself. She mind-linked with her twin and asked, “What the hell is Edwin doing in Whiskey Hollow?’

  “Alpha business. You know, politics.”

  She huffed and fought the urge to turn her car around. “You know he wants me dead.”

  “So he has said. Yet you weren’t the one who killed his nephew, and there is nothing Edwin can do. At least not legally. The council will be on him tenfold if he attempts to go after you. I need to play nice. For now. I’ll call you if I need backup.”

  She white-knuckled the steering wheel. Her wolf pushed at her skin, wanting out to deal with Edwin. So far, the Alpha hadn’t made any public threats and had played by the rules. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had a master plan of some kind.

  But she had bigger issues to deal with at the moment. Darin was Alpha of Whiskey Hollow. He’d protect them. And she’d just officially left the Pack. The dull ache in her chest returned. Even though she hadn’t cut the connection to the Pack, she began to feel a sense of loss and emptiness inside. She was on her own for the first time in her life.

  It took her less than twenty minutes to reach the small one-bedroom cottage she owned in the middle of nowhere on a fifty-acre plot of neutral zone land. She parked her car in front of the cabin and sighed. The peaceful sounds of the forest wrapped around her, both calming and nerve-wracking at the same time. She guessed it would take her three days tops to go mad from the seclusion.

  Emerging from her car, she sniffed the air and stilled. There was another wolf nearby. A male. His soft, woodsy scent called to her, alluring. She growled and followed the scent. Each step closer to the male put her wolf further on edge.

  She knew she should just let it go, but he was on her property. He needed to leave.

  She jogged ahead, not even trying to be stealthy. If she could smell him, then he could smell her. His scent threw her off and fueled her annoyance even more. Spice and mint mixed together in an intoxicating aroma that made her wolf stand at attention, eager to be closer to the male. No. He couldn’t be their mate. A sudden wave of desire hit her, knocking her off balance and pissing her off. She didn’t want a mate. She didn’t want to put her trust in any male besides her brother.

  Her arranged mating with Ross had been lesson enough to teach her that a mate could poison the bond and betray her.

  Been there, done that stupid shit.

  After rounding a large oak, she skidded to a stop. Pale green eyes locked with hers. The muscles in the male’s strong jaw flexed. His brown hair hung in his face. Fuck, he was gorgeous. A black tee stretched tautly across his muscular chest, leaving nothing to the imagination.

  She growled. “What are you doing here?”

  One corner of his sensual mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “It’s a neutral zone.”

  “You have to leave.”

  The other side of his kissable lips lifted, and he stalked toward her. The heat in his stare was almost too much for her. His voice seemed to caress her as he replied. “I don’t think so.”

  Damn. His arousal slammed into her, fueling her own as he continued forward. Straightening her spine, she stood her ground. Besides, her wolf wanted him. How could one male make her body ache all over? Fucking hell. This wasn’t happening. She held out a hand and let out another warning growl. “Don’t come any closer.”

  One dark brow rose, and the wicked half-smile remained. There was a seductive challenge in his green depths. “Or what?”

  Faster than she’d anticipated, he closed the distance between them, snaked an arm around her waist, and meshed their bodies together. Heat infused her body, and her pussy ached. He nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply. The wildfire within her roared to life, and a soft groan escaped her.

  Annoyance fueled the desire this male ignited. Confusion moved in next as she inhaled, catching his scent once again.

  Mine. Her wolf growled and clawed at her, wanting to get at the male. You are crazy if you think I’m allowing us to mate. Not again. She’d never allow another male to control her and destroy everything and everyone she loved. Not like Ross had.

  Flattening her hands on the male’s chest, she shoved. He stumbled back several feet, then stared at her, meeting her gaze. His eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head as if confused. The urge to go to him, to chase away all the confusion seemingly stirring inside him was almost too strong to ignore. Almost.

  However, it was the desire and the ache between her thighs that was her undoing. No male had ever sparked a need so raw, so deep within her core like the one standing in front of her now. And the asshole knew it, too.

  His lips lifted again in a cocky, sensual smile, and he prowled toward her once more. Damn it to hell. She didn’t move. Just watched as the so-sexy-it-should-be-illegal male closed the distance with wild passion burning in his eyes.

  Her own need uncoiled inside her. It’d been far too long since she’d sought out a male. And this one promised the release she longed for.

  Why was she so weak?

  No, she wasn’t weak. Far from it. She needed to expend energy, to tamp down the aggression and the surge of power building inside her. Yes, sex with the hottie wolf was exactly what she needed.

  And that was all it would be. Sex. Nothing else.

  He stopped inches from her. The heat from his body wrapped around her, and his scent teased her senses like a love spell. Enticing, enthralling, and deadly. He was definitely an alpha male, but not an Alpha. The Pack magic that ran in the veins of an Alpha didn’t exist in this male’s scent. Interesting.

  However, he did belong to a Pack. And one she knew. Bloodrose Creek. Edwin’s pack. The realization hit her like an ice bath. The asshat thought to send a male to seduce her into revealing her secrets? Well, tough shit. Edwin, along with everyone else in the free world, could kiss her ass if they thought she’d divulge her deepest and darkest secrets.

  With speed she gained from being an Alpha’s twin, she gripped the male standing inches from her by the throat. “Who are you, and what the fuck do you want?”

  His eyes grew round as if he’d not expected the amount of power she possessed. Yeah. It was always a surprise. The petite yet curvy, blonde alpha female had the strength and magic of ten Alphas.

  A slow, lazy smile formed on the male’s lips before he spoke. “I’m Cooper.”

  Like that explained everything. “Why are you here? I can smell the Bloodrose Creek Pack on you,
so don’t lie to me.”

  One dark brow rose. “Again, this is a neutral zone.” With a quick jerk, he broke her hold on him, then gripped her forearm and twisted it behind her back, pressing their bodies together once more. The wildfire inside her flared to life and grew as he growled out, “I never thought I’d run into an alpha female. And without guards at that.”

  His lips came down on hers in a fierce, possessing kiss. Need burned in her sex, igniting a passion so hot she feared she’d burn from the inside out. When he pushed his tongue into her mouth, all sense of why she should push him away dissolved into a need so raw, she couldn’t leave without a taste of him.

  Everywhere he touched sizzled like cool water on hot coals. She hated her body’s response to him, hated the way she longed for a male’s touch.

  He broke the kiss and skimmed his lips over her jaw to her throat. A groan escaped her when his teeth grazed her skin. Desire clouded her mind, making it hard to focus and remember why she should push him away.

  Suddenly, he froze and then lifted his head. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as the faint scent of other wolves reached her. Even better, Edwin’s enforcers. She’d know the bastards’ scents anywhere. The fog in her brain cleared, and she shoved Cooper away from her. “You brought them here.”

  Cooper stumbled back a few steps before gaining ground and lifted his nose in the air as if scenting the newcomers. “Fuck.” He stared back at her, his green eyes fixed on hers. “This isn’t done between us.”

  Then he took off, disappearing into the woods.

  Oh, yes it is, Cooper. There was a better chance of it snowing in hell before she’d mate again. She just had to make sure to stay clear of him.

  Chapter 2

  Cooper’s home was on a corner lot and backed up to the forest, so he mainly entered and left through the back door so no one on the street would see him come or go.

  Doing that now, he smiled as he sensed his adopted daughter close by. His heart swelled while at the same time worry put him on edge. Edwin had made it clear on more than one occasion that Hope was not to remain in the Pack. He saw her as either a weakness or a threat. Cooper didn’t know which. He didn’t know much of anything when it came his Alpha, mostly because Edwin was losing his mind.

  The enforcers had followed him around since Cooper had taken the four-year-old orphan under his protection. Hope was what he’d named her, and the thought of her brought a smile to his lips. Having children was something he hadn’t really dwelled on. But when he’d first seen the curly blonde with the big, green eyes, he’d instantly wanted to protect her.

  The double click sound from a dog-training clicker echoed from the living room. He’d given the clicker to Hope as a way to call him. She was a deaf mute, and from what he’d been able to uncover, which was very little, he believed she’d been born that way.

  Entering the living room, he held in a laugh at the mess fanned out on the title floor around her. About a dozen or so coloring books lay open, circling her. Every crayon was out of the box.

  Hope glanced at him, and a smile brightened her face then dulled as she scanned her mess. Frantically, she closed the books and gathered them to her. Cooper rushed to her, sat on the floor in front of her and grabbed her hands. When she lifted her big green eyes, his heart melted. With a tender smile, he brought her tiny hands to his mouth for a kiss then released them and signed, “It’s okay. Play.”

  Neither of them had known sign language before they met, but they were learning it together with the help of Cooper’s sister, Celeste.

  Hope smiled again and then darted her gaze over Cooper’s shoulder. He knew his sister was there by her scent. Turning partway, he noted Celeste’s frown, and her crossed arms. She most likely smelled the female from the neutral zone. Damn, why hadn’t he gotten her name?

  Her scent had instantly driven him crazy, and his wolf paced inside, wanting to hunt her down and demand things he had no right to.

  Ignoring his sister’s scowl, he grabbed a coloring book and stretched out on his belly next to Hope. His adopted daughter copied him, grabbed her own book, and began coloring.

  “Who is she?” Celeste spoke in a soft, calm tone so as not to alarm Hope. That was how they handled most of their arguments since Hope had come into their lives. The little girl could pick up on strong emotions and loud noises through her wolf senses. Celeste said that noise has a vibration to it that those who are deaf, especially supernatural creatures, are highly sensitive to. Hope was frightened by everything. So they kept their conversations light in front of her.

  When things got emotional, they took it outside, argued telepathically like most wolves could, or waited until she went to bed.

  “She’s my mate.”

  He heard Celeste blow out a breath of annoyance. “We have enough complications.”

  “You don’t think I know that! I didn’t go scouting for a mate. I was searching for a new place to take Hope.” He and Celeste had been plotting their escape from Bloodrose ever since they’d saved Hope from the enforcers.

  Hope touched his hand, and when he met her stare, she signed, “No fighting.”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “We’re just talking. Everything is okay.”

  The four-year-old didn’t seem convinced but went back to her coloring. She was more mature than others her age, smarter. It was like her soul had lived a thousand lives, carrying the knowledge and experiences to each new one.

  “I don’t know anything about her. I didn’t even get her name before Edwin’s minions found me.” Cooper fisted the crayon in his hand, snapping it in two. How could he have left her to deal with the enforcers alone?

  “So you left her alone?” Celeste’s voice held a hint of fear for the female. Cooper understood it. The Bloodrose enforcers were mean bastards and bordered on rogue status—they were like a bunch of rabid dogs.

  Then he recalled the power he’d felt swirling around his mate. “She’s a female Alpha.”

  “Are you sure? Then she wasn’t alone.”

  Cooper met his sister’s worried stare. “She was, which was odd.” He’d been so far gone from her scent and the need to be deep inside her that he hadn’t given it much thought at the time. “It’s like she’s running from something. But I’m not sure how I know that.”

  “She could be working with Edwin.”

  “No.”

  Celeste huffed and walked to the sofa. “You don’t know her or why she was there. What if she’s looking for Hope?”

  Cooper put the broken crayon down and pushed to his feet. Facing his sister, he scowled at her, challenging her. When he opened his mouth, the front door flew open, crashing into the wall. Hope let out a screech and ran to Celeste. Cooper whirled around, hands fisted at his sides. Two large enforcers entered his home. One pointed at Hope and said, “She’s to come with us. Edwin wants her put down for her weakness.”

  Put down? Over my fucking dead body. Cooper growled low, rage running hotly in his veins. The sorry excuse of an Alpha had gone too far. “She’s a child, and under my protection.”

  “Edwin is your Alpha, and you will obey him.”

  The fuck he would. “Run!” Cooper shouted as he lunged for the enforcers, swinging his fist into the first bastard’s jaw. A crack echoed in the house, and the male, who outweighed him by a hundred pounds of muscle at least, stumbled back, stunned. Yeah, motherfucker. Don’t mess with my family.

  With a rough, primal growl, the enforcer glared back at Cooper. Bring it. Cooper dropped into a crouch, waiting. The enforcer charged at him, but Cooper was ready. He stepped out of the impact path and clotheslined the asshat. The enforcer hit the floor on his back, hard enough that the house shook. Not waiting for the male to get back up, Cooper straddled him, grabbed his head in his hands, and twisted, breaking the enforcer’s neck.

  A scream made his heart drop to his feet. He whirled around in time to see the other enforcer swipe his shifted, clawed hand down Celeste’s back. She arched as she s
creamed and then fell to her knees. Hope clung to her, fear in her green eyes.

  Before the enforcer made it to Hope, Cooper was there. He barreled into the larger male, and they skidded across the floor, crashing into the far wall. The male flipped them to pin Cooper on the floor with a hand wrapped around his neck. Cooper hit him in the side of the head, but the bastard didn’t move. He just squeezed Cooper’s neck, restricting his airflow.

  Cooper clawed at his hand, trying to break the hold. No use. His lungs burned, and his brain seemed as if it were shutting down. A moment later, the male’s grip loosened, and he fell to the floor beside him.

  Rising up on his arm, Cooper gasped for air. He glanced at the enforcer and noted the large kitchen knife sticking out of his back. Lifting his gaze to Celeste, he frowned. Her skin was pale, and she appeared as if she could pass out.

  After another moment, he pushed to his feet and reached for his sister. She glanced from the enforcer to Cooper, one hand cradling Hope’s head and absently stroking her hair, while the girl clung to his sister’s leg. “Celeste, we have to go.”

  She just nodded, picked up Hope, and turned to the back door. Damn it. She was in shock. No matter how much of a hardass she was with him, she was a nurturing wolf. Killing the enforcer went against her nature.

  He closed the distance and gently gripped her elbow, then stepped in front of her. “You did what you had to do. You protected your family.”

  “No one hurts those I love.” She cocked her head and then swayed toward him. Her eyes closed, and he caught her and Hope before they sank to the ground.

  Fuck. Celeste! A lump formed in his throat as he pried Hope from his sister’s arms. After checking the girl for injuries, he signed, “Are you okay?”

  Hope nodded and signed back, “Celeste needs help.”

  “I know.” He blew out a breath and glanced out the window. They needed to move. He signed, “I’m going to pick up Celeste. Stay close to me.”

  Hope nodded, her eyes round with fear. His heart broke while rage had his wolf pacing. The beast wanted out, wanted to kill Edwin. Or at least make his sorry ass pay for what he’d done to every female in the Pack.