Riding Red

by Riley, Alexa

  When he doesn’t answer me, I start to repeat the question, but suddenly he moves. He takes a slow step forward and then tilts his head up, inhaling deeply. Some of his hair falls away from his face, and I can’t help the gasp that escapes my mouth. His features are jagged and rough, with a hard square jaw and high cheekbones. His appearance—and his teeth—remind me more of an animal than a man.

  Slowly, trying not to startle him, I make a move to get into my car. I’m desperate to get in and lock it, but he’s instantly in front of me. Holy shit, he can move fast for someone so big. I could reach out my arm and touch him if I wanted, but believe me, I don’t want to.

  “Mine,” he growls, inhaling deeply again like he’s trying to breathe me in. Is this, like, a Colorado thing where people just smell each other all the time?

  Making my voice as soft as possible, I say, “Sir, I’m sorry, but—”

  My words are cut off by a deep, resonating sound to my left, which makes me snap my head up. I see Dominic standing there, shoulders hunched forward, arms in front of him, his chin tucked. His stance is strong and he looks like he’s about to attack. His silver eyes seem to be glowing, but it must be a trick of the light. This is absolutely the scariest I’ve ever seen him look, and I lean back against my car to try to get as much distance from the two of them as possible.

  I watch as Dominic’s chest expands as if he’s breathing really heavily. The stranger sidesteps, and he’s suddenly right in front of me, standing between me and Dominic, like he’s blocking me from him. Something inside me starts to panic at the separation, and I’m more scared than before. The urge to get to Dominic claws at me.

  “Mine,” the stranger says through his sharp gritted teeth.

  “She’s already spoken for, Xavier. Back away.” Dominic takes a step toward us, and the stranger—who I guess is named Xavier—takes a step back, getting closer to me.

  I move my body a little so I can see Dominic better, the sight of him melting a little of my fear. Dominic doesn't look scared at all. No, he just looks pissed. If I had to guess, Dominic can take him. Even though Xavier is taller and scarier-looking, he doesn't look healthy. Maybe if he was in top shape, Dominic would have a reason to worry.

  “I smelled it, she’s mine,” Xavier says, taking a step toward Dominic, blocking my view again.

  “No.” The word comes from deep in Dominic’s chest, and I peek around Xavier's body to see what’s happening. “Step away from her or I’ll rip out your throat. It’s my right, and I’ll take it.”

  Jesus, how did this escalate so fast? One second I was taking cookies to old people, and then all of a sudden I’m in the middle of a backyard brawl with people talking about ripping throats out.

  I can see Xavier hesitating, and then he inhales deeply again. What is happening? This is just like that episode of Cops I watched where the guy ate some bath salts and then stole Funyuns from the gas station. It’s crazy!

  “Scent her again, Xavier. She’s mine.”

  Scent me again? Is he fucking nuts? I’m not letting him smell me! He could snap me in two! “Hold up a second,” I say, leaning around Forest Creature Xavier so I can give Dominic a piece of my mind.

  Dominic locks his glowing eyes with mine, and I feel a chill of desire shoot down my spine, somehow pushing my fear out. “Not now, sweets.” he says, his tone completely changing when he addresses me.

  “But I scent mine,” Xavier growls, turning his back to Dominic, his eyes running over me in clear confusion. It’s a mistake he turned, because Dominic is on him and tackles him to the ground instantly.

  They both make growling sounds and gnash their teeth as they wrestle. I don’t know what to do, so I just stand there like an idiot, holding a basket of cock cookies watching two dudes fight it out. I should call the cops, but Dominic is the cops. I don’t even think this little town has a deputy. After a few moments, Dominic has Xavier in a chokehold from behind, his legs wrapped around his waist, caging the guy.

  “This is your warning, Xavier. The next time you scent her like that, I’ll end you. I don’t care what arrangements we have. Do you understand me?”

  Xavier looks at me and then looks away. For a second I thought I saw something sad flash in his eyes, but it’s gone before I can be sure. He’s probably not exactly happy in his situation right now, so I don’t dwell on it.

  He nods his head and relaxes his body, opening his arms and turning his head to the side, exposing his neck. It’s a position an animal would assume were they to be held down on the ground. It’s almost as if it’s a submissive pose, and it strikes me as odd. Dominic then releases him, and they get up off the ground.

  I look the guy up and down and see his clothes are in about the same state as when he first walked out of the woods: torn and dirty. He looks thin too. Not gaunt like he’s at death’s door, but slim and in need of a meal.

  “Would you like some cookies?” It’s comical that I would offer up food to someone who just tried to attack me, but from what Dominic said, he’d take him out if he smelled me again. And from the part of the conversation I did understand, they know one another. This night is just getting weirder and weirder.

  “You should go.” I look over to Dominic, and I don’t know whether he’s talking to me or to Xavier. He looks at me, and it’s then I realize he’s telling me to go. What the hell? This is my home.

  I take a step toward Xavier, and I hear Dominic growl. I don’t know what the hell is happening, but this strange guy needs something besides meth for dinner.

  “Here,” I say, holding out the basket. Xavier hesitates for only a second before taking the basket from me and nodding his thanks. “Sorry, they all look like cocks. But they taste wonderful.”

  He looks up from the ground, and it’s then I see his eyes are glowing as well. The sunset is doing crazy things tonight. I wonder if mine are glowing too. Xavier smiles, just briefly, and then looks away again.

  “It’s not her, but I can smell what’s mine,” Xavier says, making no sense, but none of this is.

  “It’s not her, so stay away from her.” Dominic’s voice sounds like he’s been eating gravel. Can anyone talk normally around here? Why does everyone growl?

  “She’s not mated,” Xavier responds, but it doesn’t sound like he’s challenging him; it’s more of a question.

  “Sunday.” That must be Dominic’s go-to word, because for some reason Sunday is the answer to everything around here.

  I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m annoyed with Dominic. Turning to him, I put my hands on my hips and give him my best sassy stance, but he doesn’t speak. Fine. Be that way.

  “I’m going inside. I’d appreciate it if we kept the fights to a minimum, or at least take them elsewhere.” I walk toward the backdoor of the bakery and pull out my keys, but I turn back in time to catch Xavier before he walks back to the woods. “Hey, anytime you need something to eat, just leave a rock on that picnic table. I’ll leave a basket out for you.” I nod to the table I have set up in case employees need to go outside for a break, or on those rare afternoons when I get to go outside and enjoy a book in the sunshine.

  Dominic just stares at me, not seeming to like my offer, but Xavier bows his head in acknowledgement. Ha! Now I got a local customer! He may not pay, but I’m counting it. After a second, I go inside, locking the door behind me and walk upstairs to my bedroom. Once I’m there, I gently pull back the curtains and look down to see that both men are gone. I step back and flop down on my bed. “What the fuck was that?” I whisper to the empty room.

  4

  Dominic

  I watch Ruby march her sexy ass inside as I try to get myself under control. The thick metal door slams behind her, hiding her perfect round ass from me. Seeing that she’s back safe in her home calms my nerves but not my wolf. He’s still on edge, wanting to break out and at least mark his mate.

  My wolf wants to leave his scent on her so others will know she’s spoken for, but this is the exact reason
I haven’t. My grip on him isn’t tight enough. If I could’ve just left my mark on her from the start, this wouldn’t have happened. Xavier would’ve smelled me all over her because no one mate-marks a female unless she’s going to be theirs on the next full moon. I’m sure Ruby saw the change in my eyes. She probably told herself she didn’t really see it or that it was a trick of the light.

  I knew my wolf started to show the second he scented her fear from two blocks away. It took everything in me to hold my skin and not shift right in the center of Main Street. The sight of the local sheriff turning into a wolf would have sent any lingering tourists running and screaming down the street.

  Taking a few deep breaths, I try to calm myself further. I want nothing more than to use the key I have in my pocket to the bakery. I kept a copy when we closed the sale; no way would my mate be living somewhere I couldn’t easily gain access to. I needed to protect her, something I’ve been doing every night since she moved in, quietly slipping in the backdoor of the bakery and sleeping at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to her room. It calms my wolf—and me—to at least be close to her scent. I’m sure Gwen smells me all over the place in here, but I don’t care; I have to be near her.

  I’m running out of time, and I have no fucking clue what I’m going to do. I need to get close to her and get into her good graces because come Saturday night when the moon hits high in the sky, my wolf will take control.

  But right at this second I have a more pressing issue. Looking out into the woods, I hope Xavier hasn’t gotten far. I let my wolf out a little, picking up his scent, and then I dart into the woods, hot on his trail. I’m not a half-mile in when I finally catch up to him, sitting next to a stream, his head buried in his hands. He doesn’t act like he hears me, but I know he does as I slowly walk up and sit beside him,

  “I thought—” He lets his words hang in the air because they are hard to finish. I know just how hard it is.

  “You thought you found her, I know.”

  He turns his head and glares at me, his wolf always present in his eyes. That’s what happens when you let yourself stay in the wild too long. You become more beast than man. I’m surprised his wolf hasn’t taken him fully already, never letting the man in him break to the surface again.

  “You have yours and you haven’t even marked her,” he snarls at me, clenching his jaw tightly. He’s clearly agitated that I haven’t claimed my own mate. That makes two of us.

  “You know I can’t fully mate her until the full moon,” I respond in a level voice, not wanting to provoke him. It’s not fair to beat down on a broken man, even with all the aggression coursing through my body. My wolf wouldn’t even enjoy it.

  “You haven’t even scented her. I smelled nothing of you on her. What if a human takes her from you?”

  “They won’t. I stay close, and she’ll be mine.” I say the words through gritted teeth, thinking about some human coming and snatching her up. Another wolf wouldn’t. Wolves can only mate with fated mates; they’re the only mate a wolf wants.

  His eyes narrow a little on me. “If she was mine, I would’ve taken her home, scented and marked her, and she wouldn’t be running around giving my cookies out to everyone.” I know he believes that’s true, that he could just stomp off with his mate. Maybe he could if she was a wolf like him. That would make things a whole lot easier. But what if his mate was human? Even if she wasn’t, wolves don’t like being picked up and carted away. Females hold a lot of the power when it comes to mating.

  That’s all I need—Xavier actually scenting his mate and charging into town to steal her. With the way he was acting today, I guess Ruby’s scent must match the scent of his mate pretty closely to have drawn him out of the woods. Xavier never leaves the woods, not since he lost his sister and mother to hunters a few years back.

  I know there’s no telling Xavier he can’t chase down his mate like a dog in heat; it would be lost on him. He’ll do what he wants to do. While I might be stronger than Xavier right now, I couldn’t take him if I really stood between him and his mate. Shifters lose all reason when it comes to mates.

  Before Xavier lost his sister and mother, he could probably take our alpha on a good day if he wanted, but Xavier wasn’t an alpha nor did he want to be one. He had to have a desire to lead, and that often comes with backing down and doing what’s for the good of the pack. That wasn’t Xavier.

  Now it looks like Xavier barely eats at all. As if he heard my thoughts, he reaches down and snatches up one of the cookies, chomping down on it. I go to reach for one, but he growls at me and snaps his teeth.

  “Mine.”

  Raising my hands in the air to show him I’m not going to eat one, I debate my next words, but he beats me to it.

  “My mate. I taste it on my cookies, but it’s not the woman who gave them to me.” He picks up another cookie, eyeing it, clearly confused. I’m just as confused. How could he taste his mate?

  Then it hits me like a fucking ton of bricks. It’s something I don’t even want to wrap my mind around, something that’s going to make the alpha lose his fucking shit.

  He barely lets Xavier stay in the area as it is. The only reason he let him stay was because Xavier swore he’d stay away from humans, something he clearly didn’t do tonight with Ruby. He also okayed it because Xavier makes sure no wild animals get too close to town, and he’s also great at tracking. He might have one of the best noses in the pack because he’s more in touch with his wolf than any of us. That’s probably how he smelled his mate from so far out in the woods.

  “You want your mate, Xavier?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Every male shifter wants their mate from the day they’re born. Some start to go crazy as they get older, some never find them.

  “Don’t annoy me with your stupid questions,” he grunts, picking up another cock cookie. He doesn’t seem to care that he’s eating dick-shaped desserts.

  “What would you do with your mate?”

  “Mate her. If all you want to do is ask stupid questions, you can leave now. I’ll stay away from your mate, but if I were you, I’d bite her real good so everyone knows.”

  My cock jerks at the idea, shooting pleasure up my spine. Getting hard-ons isn’t something I’m used to, and it doesn’t feel like I ever will get used to them.

  “You’re telling me you’re just going to grab your mate and drag her here, out into the woods, and make her live like you do? Through the cold winter without shelter? A woman who probably has a family?” Which I know for a fact she does. “You’d drag her away from that and bring her to what? Some cave you got out here, Xavier? Would you have let some mate have done that to your sister?”

  He freezes at my words, the point I’m trying to make hitting home.

  “You aren’t even taking care of yourself, and you think you’re ready for a mate and pups?”

  I hear him take a deep breath, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far. Kicking a man while he’s down isn’t my style, but it’s the truth, and being blunt with Xavier is always the best way to go.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to make my mate happy.” He stands up, and I follow suit. I can tell he’s still a little lost at the idea; he’s been out here alone for over five years.

  “Xavier, your family’s house is still there, and I’ve been paying you your park ranger fees, just depositing it into your family's account. Get yourself together, and then get your mate.”

  “I will prove myself to be the perfect mate.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  With that, he leaves, walking deeper into the forest.

  Looking down at my watch, I see it’s almost seven. The alpha should be back in town by now, and it looks like we need to have a little talk.

  * * *

  “I knew this was going to fucking happen!” I hear Stone, the alpha, bellow from all the way out in the driveway in front of his home.

  “I can do whatever I want. I’m twenty-one years old for Christ’s sake!” Gwen’s high-pitche
d scream makes my normally active wolf bury its head, her voice hurting our ears.

  They continue to scream at each other as I make my way up the stairs and onto the porch. I land a hard knock on the door, even though I’m sure Stone already knows I’m here.

  He wanted me to report in right when he got back, and I’m already a good fifteen minutes late after having to deal with Xavier. Now hearing Gwen and Stone fighting, I’m not sure I want to tell this over-protective brother that his little sister has a mate, and it’s none other than Xavier. Fur is really going fly then. It’s actually a miracle it took this long for either of them to catch wind of each other’s scent, but with the tight hold Stone has on Gwen, maybe it isn’t so shocking.

  Sure, X and Gwen might have crossed paths a time or two, having grown up in the same town. But the mating bond doesn’t kick in until both mates are over the age of eighteen. Xavier would have been already in the wild for a few years before Gwen came of age.

  When the door swings open, I see Gwen standing there with her hand on her hip. She’s been hanging out with my Ruby too much, because now she’s doing that hip thing, although my eyes don’t go to Gwen’s hips like they do to my Ruby’s. Every time Ruby grabs her hips, all I can think about is batting her hand away and grabbing them with mine. I see her curves there, and I wonder how they feel. When she’s wearing one of her little knitted dresses, hugging all her curves, I think about finally getting to feel her warm skin under my fingers. I’d be using her hips soon to—

  “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come in already?” Gwen asks with a bored look on her face. I don’t blame Stone for how protective he is of her. She might be twenty-one, but she barely looks a day over eighteen.

  The freckles she got as a teenager still line the bridge of her nose, making her look so much younger than she is. I don’t have a sister, but if I did I’m sure I’d be the same way.