Alpha Boxed Set

by Treva Harte

  KIDS. COMPLETE WITH a mom and dad. OK, there might be a few stray betas to keep it from being a picture-perfect human household, but she came from a real family, not just a pack bound together for survival. Lowell knew where and who she came from. In her world, a baby brother was dangerous. But Lin had no idea what she was walking into.

  He started the truck, grinding the gears as he took out his frustrations on the clutch. Lin was just too young. She wasn’t ready for ugliness. She wasn’t ready to see what an alpha had to do to keep control of his pack.

  She’d run.

  She’d be gone before he had a chance to do half the things he was imagining. He should stop the truck now and let her go. That would be best.

  Best for her. What about you? He fought the sudden thick longing that rose up in his throat, springing up from both his cock and his heart. The need almost choked him. God. He’d just met her again after years of no communication with his old pack, and here he was damn near dying at the idea of her leaving.

  Danger. Danger.

  She’d find out. Hell, they’d all find out. His pack. They’d sense his weakness and need. Once that happened, they’d be at his throat. He only stayed alpha because they thought he had no emotions in him except hot anger or cool control. That was all he ever let them see.

  “Lin—”

  “Now what? You better not try warning me off again.”

  He wasn’t going to be sensible. Not the way need was gripping his throat…and his cock.

  “No. Just…you may not like what happens next. You may not like me or what I do. I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.” He’d worry about how later.

  She looked at him as if she could actually see all the sudden tension and lust roiling up inside him. See it and handle it. But how could she? How could anyone? Still, Lin nodded, as if understanding and wanting to reassure his inner thoughts. “I believe in your promises, Lowell. So let’s get on with it so we can get naked and fuck.”

  * * * *

  He’d changed in the short time between getting in the truck and heading to his pack. Not the change. Lin couldn’t remember when she’d last seen someone in her pack turn. Contrary to all the stupid movies, it didn’t happen that often. Grey had, the time Rome had run off as a toddler and they found the kid playing near a rattlesnake. The rattler hadn’t had time to know what bit him. Rossi had, a few times when he was younger and Dad or Grey had disciplined him. Lin had her suspicions about what happened sometimes at night, when she’d been firmly sent to her room by Mom and Dad. Dad looked a little too dangerous and Mom looked a little too bright-eyed. Not that either of them could keep secret the fact they had all kinds of sex. Things got too noisy. Finding out they were having weresex wouldn’t be a surprise.

  She was looking forward to seeing Lowell—her Lowell—turn into a beast for her. She was looking forward to finally being able to change herself. Surely after being with Lowell that would happen at last. It was embarrassing that she hadn’t done so yet, to tell the truth.

  But Lowell’s change right now wasn’t the one weres knew and craved, especially during the full moon. This was even scarier. The guy she knew was turning cold. She could almost feel the ice forming and the distance growing. When he stopped the truck, measuring her with flat, emotionless eyes, she had a sudden realization. Do I know this man at all? Wonderful. Lin swallowed. This was not the time for second thoughts. That chance left with the good Lowell several miles back.

  This one looked a bit like Lowell’s evil double. Lin firmed her jaw. She could handle a little evil. She’d signed up for this and she wasn’t backing down now. Not just because Lowell looked different all of a sudden.

  “Welcome home,” he told her at the outside of the door to the house. But it sounded like a threat, not a promise.

  When he threw open the door, she held her breath, feeling Lowell’s tension under the ice and wondering what horrors awaited her inside. She looked inside. It wasn’t what she expected.

  There was nothing there. Nothing but the house.

  She followed Lowell inside.

  The house was enormous. Very modern, very empty. The walls were white and should look bright. Right now, in the dark, they looked flat and drab. Lin wondered if the walls would be overpowering during the day, when the sun beat through the windows and reflected on all that blank whiteness.

  Nothing. There was nothing on the walls. No one inside the walls except Lowell and her. She blinked at the expanse of curtainless windows in the living room and had opened her mouth to comment on her soon-to-be mate’s decorating skills, when she heard a rumble that might be a growl behind her. Danger! She whirled to face the noise, the hair on the back of her neck rising at the sound of a threat.

  Four of them. Different ages, different sizes, different genders. But all of them were staring at her with the same hostile look. Damn. So this was Lowell’s family?

  “Who the fuck is this?”

  The questioner was a woman who looked as unpleasant as her question. Lin bared her teeth, realizing as she did that she couldn’t make as good a threat display as the were pack in front of her. A few were already wavering into the beginnings of their change. Those were some damn sharp, long teeth in front of her.

  “Mine. She’s mine.” Lowell spoke behind her, his growl as frightening as the group in front of her.

  There was only one of him, but by God, he was alpha and he was reminding them all of it. She got wet all over again at his display.

  She saw each one’s nostrils flare. Shit. They could smell her arousal. She refused to imagine she might be wafting off a little fear, but no matter what they could smell, the whole experience was like being paraded around naked.

  “This is Lin Kinkaid. My mate. Your alpha. Lin, this is my pack. Our pack.” Lowell didn’t say it with pride, the way her father would.

  “Hello.” They continued to stand, silent and watchful. Lin narrowed her eyes. Even if they weren’t sure of her, weren’t they going to defer to the alpha’s mate? Hmph. If they were waiting for her to prove herself, they weren’t going to have to wait any longer. “Well? Didn’t you hear Lowell? Do I have to tell you what happens next?”

  “She’s one of us?” The deep rumble came from the biggest man she’d ever seen. The amount of skepticism rolling off him was as big as the rest of his body.

  “She’s your alpha. She damn well is one of us, slick.” Lowell reached out to grab Slick’s shoulder.

  “She’s a Kinkaid. She’ll never be one of my pack.” The woman turned away, growling.

  Shit! What have I walked into?

  Lowell shrugged. “Dru, I’ve put up with you and your hatred for thirteen damn years. It wouldn’t make me cry to see you turned out.”

  Lin tried to swallow and realized her throat was too dry. Expulsion was worse than death. Even the threat of it was almost unimaginable, but Lowell sounded like he meant every syllable.

  “You owe me! You killed my mate to gain control of this pack!” Dru shrieked. “You threw my son out just because he might be a problem to you someday. Rossi was a child!”

  Rossi’s mother. This bitter woman was the mother of Rossi, who had arrived at her daddy’s pack as a surly adolescent. No one had told Lin why Lowell was gone and Rossi was in his place. Everyone in her pack shielded her. Just like everyone in this pack seemed determined to yell the ugliest things they could think of in her face.

  “With you around to egg him on, Rossi was going to get himself killed if he stayed. There was nothing left for him here except trouble. I would have thrown you out, too, except you were pregnant. Too bad I felt sorry for you. But I can rethink that earlier decision.”

  The kid behind Dru gave a whimper of distress. Lin saw the resemblance between the woman and the girl now that Lowell had given Lin the hint. Thirteen years. The girl was maybe thirteen and facing banishment with her mother or life on her own in a hostile pack.

  Dear heaven. Lin wasn’t about to celebrate her arrival by having all the ot
her female members of the pack banished. Instead Lin smacked her hand hard against the wall. The thump made everyone turn to her.

  “Dru. Take your daughter out of here. She’s too young for the initiation rite. You can come back and join us or not, as you wish.” Lin stared down the other woman. She didn’t let herself feel any triumph as the older were’s gaze lowered. Lin didn’t point out what it meant if Dru didn’t choose to rejoin the group. She didn’t need to.

  “Mia, you get!”

  Without any more words, Dru grabbed her daughter and quick-marched her from the room. There, that much was done.

  Lowell glanced over at her and she almost saw a smile from him. Maybe. At least he didn’t seem to have any problems with his mate speaking up. That was good, because Lin knew she wasn’t going to stop now.

  “Well?” She challenged the rest of the weres in the room. Shit, she didn’t even know their names—there was a huge guy standing with his arms crossed and the other one who was…well, smaller only in comparison to the mountain the first one was. The two of them had coffee-colored skin with a liberal dollop of cream mixed in. Strong features. They looked enough alike to be brothers. They might be brothers, for all she knew. Why the hell hadn’t Lowell told her something about their pack on the way to the house?

  “Yes, mistress?” The smaller one spoke up.

  She liked that title said aloud even more than she’d thought she would. Lin nodded at him before she said, “Strip. We might as well all do it at once.”

  She’d never actually participated in an initiation into a pack—she’d been younger than Dru’s daughter when Rossi, the last were, had been introduced to her old pack. But she knew perfectly well what was expected and she certainly wasn’t going to back down or “get” the way little Mia had. She was a big girl. She was serious.

  Not to mention that she was the star of this show. No one was going to say she was waffling in her new allegiances. No one was going to think of her as a tease, either. Not again. She’d damn near heard Lowell’s thoughts about that back at the bar, he signaled it so loudly.

  “Wait.” Lowell put his hand on her shoulder. His hand was warm, much warmer than the glacial tone he’d been using ever since they’d met his pack.

  Not that she was going to let a little warmth confuse the issue. He was challenging her orders in front of everyone. She firmed her chin. “Why?”

  “Because we’re going to do this initiation my way. I’m going to get you ready. Gentlemen, your mistress and I are going to the bedroom. Wait here until you’re called.” And then, without a second’s warning, he swept her up over his shoulder and hauled her away.

  She didn’t even have time to let out as much as a yelp in protest.

  * * * *

  “You don’t have to try to be protective of me, you know.” Lin decided to take the battle to her mate, even though he was focused more on taking his clothes off. And, of course, it was only good manners to follow his example by taking off her own.

  “Yes I do.” Lowell looked up. She sucked in her breath when she saw the gleam in his eyes. All the ice was definitely gone. This was a warm—hell, a hot—man. Scorching hot. “You’re my mate, Lin, and those rabid mongrels out there are my responsibility, and—I want to protect you. I need to.”

  The sudden softness in the last few words made Lin pause before she pulled off her shirt. “Well, all right. Just so long as you understand I’m going to protect you, too.”

  God, his cock was so hard. He was just a bit furred all over. She could almost see the beast rising inside him. And he was hers. All hers. Impatiently, Lin took off her shirt. She heard a rip as she tugged at it.

  “You should let me do that.” Lowell took a step closer.

  “I shouldn’t have let either of us do that. I don’t have any other clothes with me.” Lin glanced over at him. “But you make me forget about everything but getting naked with you.”

  The slow, hungry smile he gave made her stomach clench with need and nerves. What if she messed this up? Great. Now was so not the time for inadequacy issues to appear.

  But—

  “I’ve never done this before.”

  “I know. Your pack raised you right.” The kiss he gave her bare shoulder made her shiver. “I’ll be gentle. Mostly. At least, nothing will happen unless you want it to happen, baby.”

  “Don’t call me baby. And—and Lowell—”

  “Yes?”

  “If I don’t—you know, don’t—”

  “I absolutely promise you’re going to have an orgasm, Lin.”

  Damn, that was a good thing about having an alpha to mate with. They were always so sure. Lin laughed and felt a lot more comfortable saying what needed to be said. “I figured that would happen. I’m about ready to come just looking at you right now. No, I meant—you know—the Other Thing.”

  Lowell raised his head, looking faintly baffled. Seeing as his cock was already nudging her thigh, Lin gave him extra points when he suddenly narrowed his eyes in comprehension. The man could fuck and think.

  “You’ve never changed? You’re a virgin and you’ve never changed?”

  “Well, it happens, you know.” Lin tried to ignore the warmth rising in her face. Great, now she was both a blushing virgin and untried were.

  “And you hate that.” Lowell smiled with such understanding that she forgot to be angry about him seeing her embarrassed. “I have an idea that might help.”

  “I’m willing to try anything.” Lin kissed him, slow and deep, and told herself everything would be fine. “Anything at all, darling.”

  They heard a short yip and low howl outside. Great. The crowd was getting restless. All she needed was performance anxiety on top of everything else.

  But Lowell touched her cheek and rested his face against her hair as if they had forever. As if it was just the two of them.

  “Then let’s get to bed and see if this works.”

  Nerves suddenly left as lust and love and need flooded her. Lin smiled back at her mate.

  Because, you know, it was just the two of them. The only two that mattered.

  WEIRD. THE NEED and sweetness mixed when he saw Lin’s vulnerability had been good. Damn good. But being helpless before her was even better. Lust gripped him hard and twisted.

  “I have my hands behind my head. They stay there, babe. This first time is your show.” Lowell managed to say the words clearly. The palms of his hands cupped his head, his hands weighed down and helpless. His cock throbbed at the illusion of his being bound.

  “I get to do whatever I want?” Lin looked him up and down before she gave him that direct predatory look that had turned him on so much back at the bar. It still did.

  “Whatever.” He wasn’t sure how much longer he could talk.

  She leaned over to lick a bead of sweat from his lip. When she raised her head, he could see her teeth as she smiled. He thought he saw her canines growing.

  “That’s just what I wanted. I’m in charge now.” She growled. Both of them felt his cock bob up higher at the words. “I think maybe it’s just what you wanted, too.”

  Shit. Their first time and already she knew—

  She deliberately raked her fingernails from his stomach down to his thighs and he forgot caution. Forgot everything but what she was doing to him and how he felt when she did. He howled.

  Her pubic hairs tickled his cock as she moved against him. So close. He panted, close to transforming and fighting it. She was wet. She was ready…

  Not yet. Not yet. He had to let her take him this time. Had to stay human enough to let her.

  And just the idea of her commanding him threw him closer to that dark, animal edge than he wanted to be. Stupid. If he wasn’t so ready to explode at her next touch, he’d laugh. The more excited she got by being in charge, the more excited he got about submitting—and the closer he got to shifting. Once he changed, his beast would take over. That beast would demand to be dominant.

  Mustn’t. Do. That.


  He was hers this time. Submissive to her. His cock stretched hungrily, the pulse of his erection beating a harsh rhythm. Her hand circled the head of his cock, as if to test that pulse, and her grip tightened. She was almost too rough, but not quite. Instead, the slightest hint of pain was just right. Just too fucking right.

  “This cock is mine.” Her voice was fierce, ragged. She leaned over and he sucked in a breath just as she sucked him into her hot, wet mouth. Her teeth scraped against the sensitive head and his hips rose up from the bed, following her warmth.

  Want it. Want her. Want. His nails lengthened as he clawed them into the back of his neck.

  “You taste ready for me.” She lifted her head, then rose and bit his shoulder roughly.

  God, if this kept going on, he’d be a mass of scars from just one sexual bout with her. At the moment, the idea made him shiver with even more desire.

  “I am.”

  “Taste me and see if I am, too.” She pushed her cunt into his face and he almost cried over her perfection.

  Instead he stretched his tongue deep inside her, sliding against her walls. Slick and welcoming, tasting of female. Yes. Perfect. He stroked her swollen nub and heard her gasp as if she had been hurt.

  His cock was throbbing, going past that razor-like pleasure into pain. He had to come. But when she moved back, just long enough to slowly wriggle her sheath into place over his cock, he clenched his body, forcing himself not to spend. This was too good. He couldn’t keep from grinding his hips against hers, though, moving his cock from side to side rather than thrusting up deeply, claiming her the way he wanted.

  He could hurt her, but he didn’t want to wound her. He’d rather be hurt himself. God, he was hurting. But this edgy torment was different. Even though the pain she inflicted was driving him insane, it was good pain. The best he’d ever had. Feeling each millimeter of her virgin channel stretch slowly open before his cock only increased the pressure of the pleasure-pain. Wet. She was wet and ready for his entrance.