Alpha Defender

by Terry Bolryder

  He waited, and she gritted her teeth as she realized she really hadn’t thought about how she would explain this at all. She’d only thought to run and she’d been drawn straight to him. Maybe not only because he owed her. Maybe also because of attraction.

  She gulped. She was Matt Wolford the Third. She was intimidated by no one. Except she wasn’t Matt anymore. She was Lacey now, and instead of being groomed to lead the race, she was on the run from a forced political marriage. Her eyes narrowed at the thought. At the gall that they could do that to her after all she’d done, all she’d sacrificed.

  “You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”

  She just gave him a cold smile. He was right on the money.

  “I don’t hold with violence,” Thor said. She was about to rebut that ridiculous statement when he amended it. “Not unless I’m the one doing it.” One corner of his mouth quirked in a lopsided grin. “Okay, maybe I haven’t changed that much after all. I’m just saying, you’re in my pack territory, and I’m alpha here, and I won’t allow you to commit transgressions against our laws without coming to me.”

  “I’m alpha as well,” she grated out, trying to keep her voice low, which was difficult when she got emotional. She didn’t want to submit to him. She wasn’t ready to be a passive subordinate. She needed the protection of this place, but she didn’t need him to order her around or prevent her from doing what she needed to. “I won’t submit to you.”

  He raised an eyebrow and walked forward, arms folded, until he stood towering over her in front of her couch. “Oh you won’t, hm?” He leaned forward and placed an arm on either side of her, caging her back against the cushions. She could feel his warm breath, the scent of woods and coffee, and something masculine and heady that made it hard to breathe. “And what makes you think not submitting is an option?”

  “I’m an alpha. One of the Tribunal—”

  “But not anymore, are you?” he asked, tilting his head knowingly. “I think they’ve turned on you, so I think using them as a reason why you should out-alpha me is a rather stupid thing to do.”

  She bit her lip and avoided his gaze. “Then you should at least understand that this is a difficult thing for me to adjust to, and that I’m not ready to act in a way so different from what I’ve experienced.”

  He sighed and stepped away, putting one large hand up to his face. “I really don’t need a spoiled brat running around here flouting my authority. If you want to challenge me for alpha status…” He ran his eyes doubtfully over her much smaller frame. “Go ahead and do so. Otherwise, you’ll live by my rules as any of my subordinates in my pack would.”

  She took a deep breath, trying to calm the emotions whirling inside her. She hadn’t expected him to try and dominate her. She’d known he was alpha, and learned later on that his bloodline was actually very pure. But she hadn’t expected to submit to him. It was trading one master for another. And if she knew one thing about people who tried to control you, it was that once they didn’t need you, they’d throw you away. No matter how much they pretended to value you.

  She sat there frowning as he paced to the kitchen. He brought back a cup and knelt in front of her.

  “They really messed you up, didn’t they?” he asked. When she didn’t take the coffee from him he set it on a nearby table and reached to take her chin and force her gaze down to him.

  She was humiliated by the tears she felt glistening in her eyes.

  His expression hardened. “What did they do?”

  She turned away, yanking her chin from his grasp so she could stare out the window at the wide-open spaces. The lush grass, the trees. She wished she could just run out in the woods and hide there. But she’d be found. She’d be unprotected. Not that Thor could do that much more, but he was an alpha, and a male, and he had certain rights while on his territory.

  So she knew it was unreasonable not to agree to his demands. But something within her was just so tired of following the rules of a society that had utterly let her down. That had told her not to be a woman and then relegated her to that role with no notice, wanting to sell her off like an object.

  In her opinion, losing control of a situation was unacceptable. It let people hurt you.

  “Tell me,” he said, trying to turn her back to him. She tried to resist, but his gentle strength was much, much greater than hers. “Tell me and I’ll deal with them.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t. Just let me hide here. I just need to hide until they stop looking.”

  “Will they stop looking?”

  She gave him a flat stare. “Well, they wanted me to disappear, so my guess is that as long as I keep my head down, they may decide I’m not worth the effort. Or they may hunt me until my last breath.”

  “What do they want?” he asked in a low voice, holding her gaze with those hypnotic, honey-colored irises. His lashes were black and long, shading his eyes as he studied her. She resisted the impulse to squirm out from under that gaze.

  Instead, she lifted her chin and tried to remember the regal bearing she’d put on for most of her life. When she’d been special, above others.

  “They want something they can’t have,” she said.

  “Do they want you to mate?” he asked, surprising her with his astuteness. “Seems odd, since there aren’t many alpha females around. But if they had one, why wouldn’t you want to mate?”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that. She tried not to let her puzzlement at how to answer show on her face.

  “Ah, I see,” he said. “You like males?” He nodded, as if deciding for himself that that made sense without caring if she actually confirmed it. “You know, that makes sense. I mean, Fifi is your cousin, and he likes it both ways, and then of course there are your pheromones.”

  “What about my pheromones?” she asked, curious what he meant.

  He waved a hand. “Nothing. It’s just… Never mind.” He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even more deliciously tousled. Damn, he was a fine looking male. If only she had been the type who could have considered…

  But no, it was best to stay hidden. She’d stay the same boy she’d always been. And if Thor thought she was simply gay, all the better. Plus, it wasn’t exactly a lie…

  “Fine,” she said, looking away as if embarrassed. “You’re right, I do like males.” And she did, but not for the reasons he thought. Was a lie of omission still a lie?

  His face tightened in triumph. “I thought so. So what, they wanted to mate you to a female and you didn’t want that, but the Tribunal leader’s son would never be allowed to be with another male, since they can’t reproduce?”

  “I’m sure it would be a hit to his image,” Matt grumbled resentfully. “But yes, they want me to mate with someone I don’t want to mate with, for reasons I can’t abide.”

  “Abide.” Thor grinned. “Fancy.”

  She snarled slightly at being mocked but relaxed when he went back to his couch and slumped into it with a sigh.

  “So what do you need from me then?” he asked. “Protection, if they come sniffing? I don’t really have a right to keep them away, you know. If we were mated, that’d be one thing, but well…” He shrugged.

  Wait, that was true. If they were mated…

  She eyed the huge man in front of her. Would it be so bad? It would be the ultimate ‘eff you’ to her family, and would ensure that they couldn’t take her back.

  But then again, that would just be letting them determine her future in another way. It still wouldn’t be anything like having her own freedom.

  “But no, I need an alpha female. I need to reproduce. Sorry, I can’t. We’ll have to think of something else.”

  “Right,” she said, trying not to be disappointed. After all, mating wasn’t exactly something she’d considered until recently.

  He rested his head against his hands and thought for a moment. “I guess we could put you in a disguise? Dye your hair, something like that, so that if someone asked ar
ound, they wouldn’t find you?”

  She winced, because she already was in disguise.

  He looked at her curiously. “Have you ever tried cross-dressing? I mean, what if we hid you as a female? They’d never find you then.”

  She swallowed, eyes widening. He was a little too close to the truth for her liking.

  He stood, snapping his fingers like he’d had a light bulb moment and was extremely proud of himself. “That’s it. We’ll disguise you as one of the village females. Then you can live up here.”

  She hesitated. If she went along with this, would he really not realize she was a girl? He could be a bit slow about certain things. “I guess I can do that.” She didn’t really have a choice.

  “I don’t know what to do about your smell though,” he said.

  “If I shower, it should be less. I also probably have some perfume from one of my sisters in my bag.” When he gave her an odd look, she explained. “I stole it in my rush to leave.”

  He sunk his fist into his other hand, satisfied. “See? Perfect.” He helped her up and ushered her into the bedroom where she’d changed before. “This is the guest room, you can stay here. There’s a shower through there. Get changed and showered, see if you can get some of that perfume on, and I’ll get breakfast ready. When you’re done, we’ll see if you can pass muster.” He laughed as he kept his hand on the bedroom door. “You know, I always kind of wondered what you’d look like as a girl. Probably hot, like your sisters.”

  She growled at him but he just winked and shut the door.

  She sighed and pulled her shirt over her head. She put it on the bed in front of her and started to unwrap her chest bandages, when the door creaked open. She had only a second to react, and she shrieked and covered her chest with her hands, just as Thor came through the door, a shocked look on his face.

  He averted his eyes, but then thought better of it, and turned back to her, aghast.

  Oh no, he saw.

  “This can’t be happening,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his face.

  “You shouldn’t have come in!” she snapped, pulling her shirt up to cover herself and lifting her chin imperiously. This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t opened a door she shouldn’t have.

  “You shouldn’t be a girl!” he shouted back, flushing in embarrassment and finally turning away with folded arms. “If you had been a man, there wouldn’t have been anything wrong with me opening the door to ask a question.”

  “I deserve privacy as a male, too!” she retorted.

  He snarled. “That’s a matter of opinion. So what the hell are you doing in my house, hiding the fact that you’re an alpha female on the run from the Tribunal? Do you even understand the trouble you’ve gotten me into?” He let out a sigh. “Oh my gosh, you’re his daughter. I have the Tribunal leader’s daughter in my lodge. In one of my bedrooms!” He paced. “Fuck!”

  She let out a slow breath. He had every right to be angry. He had every right to kick her out. She waited for his decision. It was his right to make.

  3

  Thor didn’t know what to do. She was beautiful. More than beautiful, she was gorgeous. And right now she was looking at him with defiant, vulnerable blue eyes the color of water under sunlight.

  Waiting for him to make a decision.

  He’d said he wasn’t afraid of the Tribunal, and that was true. But things got messy in his world when it came to alpha females. There just weren’t many of them, and there was fierce competition for those that existed. And this one was the daughter of the leader of their whole race.

  Dammit. What should he do?

  His head flashed through his memories of her, berating himself for not realizing sooner that she was female. He’d picked her up, touched her, teased her, and tackled her in a football game.

  He pulled at his hair with his hand, enjoying the delicious tension and the way the slight pain seemed to distract and calm him.

  Why did she smell like a male if she was a female? He sniffed the air again. Yes, definitely male, but with an underlying note that made the hairs on his body stand up and take attention. He didn’t understand. He took a couple stumbling steps back and slumped in a chair facing the bed. She still held her bandages around her, and he averted his eyes so she could change.

  He wasn’t a monster.

  Just extremely confused. It all made sense, in a weird way, and yet he’d never considered that the Tribunal leader’s girly-looking daughter could actually be a girl. Alpha females were so valuable, why would the Tribunal leader hide one?

  Matt answered that question once she had her shirt on. “He wanted a son.” She rested on the edge of the bed, head bowed slightly in defeat. It wasn’t the obnoxious, headstrong, bratty Matt he was used to and he honestly preferred that Matt to this one.

  “Is Matt your real name?” Thor asked.

  She looked up at him with those piercing blue eyes. So very clear, like water from a mountain spring. “Yes. Unfortunately. My father wanted a son very badly. He worried that any son-in-laws would challenge him, and never wanted any leader who wasn’t simply a figurehead so that our family could stay in control. His father had sons, and his father before him. We’ve always led the Tribunal. So when my mother nearly died giving birth to me, and the doctor said there would be no more births, it was decided that I would take the place of a son.”

  “So what happened?” Thor asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing. “Why aren’t you still in line to lead the Tribunal? Seems like a sweet gig.”

  Matt gave him a bitter look. “It’s not a sweet gig. I’ve had to hide who I was from the day I was born. I’m not even sure who I am anymore. But no, I’m not in line now. He’s decided that one of my brother-in-laws is suitably docile to be groomed into the position and why have a fake male when you can have a real one? Plus, there was always the issue of how I would reproduce his genetic material if I was impersonating a male.”

  “True,” Thor said. “Did he really think this through?”

  “He covered his bases,” she said. “If his son-in-laws hadn’t thought he had a son, who knows if they would have been such suck-ups? But my sisters seem happy, so I can’t really complain. As alpha females they had their choice of mates, and like my father, they tend to prefer pure blood.”

  “I recall you preferring it as well. What was it you called us? Mongrels?”

  She shook her head. “I have a role. Playing it keeps me safe. And yes, I was told from birth I was superior to everyone around me. It was the only thing I had to comfort me. But give me credit in that, like you, I seem to have grown up somewhat in the past three years.”

  “Fine,” he said.

  “What used to be black and white is now all very gray and dark. I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going. I just knew that you would help me.”

  He frowned. “Wait, so if a brother is taking over, what did they intend to do with you? Hide you?”

  “Marry me off to a foreign dignitary. Keep me out of the public eye so no one knew his little secret. If anyone asked, which I doubt, tell them I abdicated and went to do peace work. I don’t know. Let’s be honest, it’s not like everyone saw me as anything but that spoiled Tribunal brat. I wasn’t the intimidating alpha son he wanted.”

  Thor rubbed his chin. “Your family is all super feminine.”

  She let out a low growl. “Anyone who underestimates us is in for a nasty surprise though. Feminine or not, I’ve been taught to take care of business and I can.” She eyed him disdainfully, sitting up a little taller. “So if you’re getting any ideas now that you know I’m a female, I’d suggest you put them out of your head.”

  He grinned. Now that she mentioned it, he could definitely get some ideas. That long, slim body under his hands. He preferred curves on a female but soft and pretty and delicate looked good too. More importantly, she was an alpha female. And it just happened to be someone that had always intrigued him. And there was no one else here to challenge him for
her. He could claim her and no one could do anything about it.

  It might end in a challenge with the Tribunal, however. But if he had to, he had packs he could call on.

  Either way, she was here now, and totally claimable. He was an incredibly strong alpha. His alpha abilities were nearly unbeatable.

  But Matt didn’t need to know that yet. What if she was a spy? Could he really trust her? Well, he had a hand up in that she hadn’t meant to disclose her secret. If she tried to double-cross him, he always had that on her.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked. “I can’t tell what’s going on behind that dark expression you’re wearing and it makes me nervous.”

  “Well, first I was thinking that if I wanted to claim you, I damn well would and no one would stop me. Except for you, because I’d never force a female. Then I was thinking that it was possible you could be double-crossing me, but because I know your secret, I have more power over you than you could possibly have over me.”

  Her eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

  “I was also thinking that I’ve wanted to claim an alpha female for some time, to build back the pack my parents were building when they were murdered. And here an alpha female is right in front of me, needing protection that I could offer best if I was her mate.”

  “Why you arrogant…” She stood, pulling on her hoodie. “I thought you’d be different, being so distant from them, but I guess an arrogant asshole of a mongrel is just as bad as an arrogant asshole of a—”

  He cut her off with a hand in front of the doorframe, stopping her from leaving. Rage radiated off him as he placed a hand gently on her shoulder and pressed her back toward the bed. He caught her chin in his other hand and forced her to look up at him.

  “I am not a mongrel,” he grated out, leveling his gaze on hers to show her just who was in control. “If you insult my parents again, you’ll be out of here faster than you can say you’re sorry.”

  She frowned but kept that imperious gaze in her crystal blue eyes. Anger flashed there. She was helpless to him but she was angry about it, and damn if it didn’t turn him on that she had any response to him at all.