by T. A. Grey
THE LONELIEST ALPHA
The MacKellen Alphas, book 1
One look will change their lives forever
T. A. GREY
WARNING: The content in this book contains explicit sexual content. This book is intended for mature audiences only. It contains sexually explicit scenes that may be offensive. Please keep your file in a safe area on your computer and away from minors.
This book is not transferable. If it is sold, shared, or given away it is infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, and scenarios are solely the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, though references to actual events or locations may be real.
Any trademarks mentioned herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks used are specifically in a descriptive capacity.
Cover design by: Hallie Chandler
Edited by: Lea Ellen Borg/Night Owl Editing Services
The Loneliest Alpha: The MacKellen Alphas 1
Copyright © June 2013 T. A. Grey
www.tagrey.com
All Rights Reserved
ALSO BY T. A. GREY
THE MacKELLEN ALPHAS
The Loneliest Alpha
THE KATEGAN ALPHAS
Breeding Cycle
Dark Awakening
Wicked Surrender
Eternal Temptation
Dark Seduction
Tempting Whispers
THE BELLUM SISTERS SERIES
Chains of Frost
Bonds of Fire
Ties That Bind
The Fallen King
THE UNTOUCHABLES
Take Me
STANDALONE WORKS
Capturing Jeron
Midnight Sex Shop
Ecstasy Overload
Evernight Romance Anthology –
‘The Vampire’s Mate’
DEDICATION
To my husband and family for their unwavering support.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Certain people helped to make this book possible. As if I’m winning an award at the Oscars, I’m going to recite these individuals as quickly as possible (and hope I don’t forget any).
Thank you to my cover designer Hallie who did an incredible job creating beautiful and sexy covers and swag. Thank you to my editor Lea-Ellen for your ever vigilant work in finding mistakes. Thank you to all the reviewers and bloggers who reviewed this book and spread the word about it just because you liked it. Thank you to Book Candy Studios for creating such an amazing book trailer.
And finally I’d like to say a loud and obnoxious HEEEY! to the wild ladies in my Alpha Squad. You rock!! I love you, guys. You help me through bad days, to spread the news about my books, and so much more. I’m honored you want to hang out with me.
CHAPTER 1
The delicate lace cupped the mannequin’s breast in a gentle bundle of black feathers.
Alicia Clarkson stepped back from her work and wiped a sweaty forehead on her sleeve as she eyed her latest design. The slate gray mannequin stood poised with one arm bent on its hip in a feminine gesture while the other still hadn’t been attached.
Alicia knew better than to let the rush of excitement sway her more constructive judgment but she couldn’t help it. She knew it was her greatest work yet. The bra was black with thin silk straps, nothing unusual. What made the bra stand out from anything she’d ever seen or made before was the glorious abundance of raven black feathers. The idea had dawned on her late last night while she’d been embarrassingly intrigued by some show on the history of birds. At one point, the camera had panned over to a chubby little bird with blue and brown feathers perched on a thin tree branch and the idea struck Alicia like lightning.
She hadn’t slept since. She’d rushed to her workroom and had been working at this one design all day. Her fingers hurt from using the needle and thread; her nails had long been chipped and little cuts made her thumb and index fingers swollen. The muscles in her arms throbbed but still she had not stopped working. She couldn’t. She’d been in the grasp of her muse and there was no way she was about to let it go so she could get some lousy sleep.
Black feathers shined with a luminous gleam under the fluorescent overhead light. It was the most captivating piece she’d ever created; she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the way the feathers cupped the mannequin’s breasts with a tender touch. The feathered tips frayed where the swell of the breast would be, fanning out along the skin to create a provocative sight.
She could almost see the completed design. The black silk, no, satin, panties with decorative feathers. Paired with stockings, pure black or maybe netted nylon. A shiver went over her and Alicia raced to her notepad to jot down the idea.
Fishnet stockings, black, with feather trim.
She could almost see the finished concept if she just closed her eyes. It was sexy, mysterious, intriguing.
Biting her lip, she smiled. This could be the one. The design that made her work popular. It was her most original idea yet. It just had to sell.
The sound of a woman’s scream broke the rush of excited pleasure coursing inside her. Alicia ran to her window overlooking the street below. One floor up gave her a great view of her pack’s neighborhood. She lifted the window and stuck her head out.
What she saw sent goosebumps across her arms and a chill down her spine. Two of the pack’s highest lieutenants, Mike and Lawrence, had another packmate in their grip. She squinted to see who it was and nearly growled at what she saw. It was Sarah, a sweet, innocent woman barely out of girlhood. She was always practicing her acting skills, said she wanted to be a famous movie star one day.
Rage exploded inside her and she shouted before she thought twice about it. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let her go!” She didn’t stand there to see them glance up at her. Instead, she raced down her apartment stairs and flew out the front door.
“What’s the meaning of this? Does Josiah know what’s going on here?”
Lawrence leveled her with a cold look. “Yeah, sweet cheeks, he knows. Who do you think sent us to fetch her?”
“Mind your own business, Alicia. This has nothing to do with you,” Mike said.
Alicia scanned the street to see several packmates coming outside at the commotion. Making sure she could be heard she raised her voice and said, “I think forcing Sarah to go with you when she’s clearly scared out of her mind is a cause for concern. Let her go.”
Mike’s jaw flexed. He had a big head with a long forehead and a nose that looked like it’s been crushed dozens of times. He looked exactly how a thug ought to look. “Why don’t you go back inside like a good girl and mind your damned business, tramp?”
Alicia grunted. “Taking her is all of our business.”
The rumble of tires came their way. “Great, Josiah’s here. You can handle this with him yourself,” Lawrence said.
Alpha Josiah’s dark green Jeep came to an abrupt stop with a squeal of bad brakes. He hopped out and instantly Alicia lowered her gaze to show her respect.
“Josiah, they’re trying to take Sarah and she obviously doesn’t want to go wherever they are taking her.”
A minute of silence filled the air.
Alicia chanced a glance at her alpha only to see him watching her carefully before his gaze slid to Sarah.
“Bring them both.”
She jerked. “What? Take me where?” Her sharp question whipped through the air.
Lawrence left Mike to hold
Sarah as he came for her. She didn’t bother trying to outrun a lieutenant since it’d never work, though choosing to stay was hard enough when every instinct told her to flee. A tight fist gripped her arm, pinching.
“Alpha Josiah, what the hell is going on here?” she asked, panic beginning to creep into her voice.
Josiah shook his head as his shoulders pulled back in a commanding sign. “There’s a new alpha in the Oregon pack named Gavin MacKellen. The old one, Joseph Harrington, died after some scrap with his mate, a Kategan.”
“And?” Alicia said, words spoken from between tight lips.
At the sound of her anger, Josiah’s eyes hardened. “Watch your tone with me, tramp. The new alpha’s looking for a mate.”
Shock and something that felt as though she’d eaten something bad filled her stomach with a lead weight.
“As a sign of our trust and happiness with the new leader, we’re sending some of our women.”
“Some of our…” she paused, then tried again. “So you’re, what, sending Sarah to be his whore?”
Josiah took hard steps toward her until he got in her face. Whimpering, Alicia looked as far down as she could, bowing her neck in the process. “I’m sorry, Alpha.” Her words, barely a whisper, sounded as loud as a gunshot in the tense atmosphere.
“Well, she’s not going alone now. You both are. After all, I gotta send the pretty ones. Wouldn’t want to pass up on the chance to send one of our finest would we, Alicia? Not to worry, he says he’ll send back any he doesn’t like. Maybe he won’t like all that beauty you keep wrapped around yourself. Besides, it’s not like you’d mind him, right, tramp?”
She sucked in a breath at his words. She tried to think of a way out of this but knew it was useless. Josiah nodded to Mike and he jerked back into the house where he ordered her to pack.
Only after they forced her to pack her belongings in a meager duffle bag, even after they drove her from Arizona up into Oregon with Sarah at her side, and after they were driven into MacKellen lands, blindfolded, and taken into a house, did her situation finally hit her. It hit her like a lead pipe to the head.
She was hungry, alone, on unfamiliar land with no friends, and blindfolded. She was completely at someone’s mercy.
Someone jerked the blindfold off her eyes and shoved her forward into a darkened room. The door slammed shut behind her. Alicia raced for it and twisted the handle. Locked. Making a fist, she banged and screamed. The door shook and someone had to have heard her cries but no one came. What was going on? Where did they take Sarah?
Her fist hit once more then stilled. Only her harsh, erratic breaths answered her in the quiet room. Turning, she faced her room and took note of it for the first time.
It wasn’t a big room but it was dark without windows or any light. She searched the walls for a light switch and only thanks to her heightened eyesight as a lykaen did she find it. With relief, she flipped it. Nothing happened. Cursing, she flipped back and forth again but no lights turned on.
A horrible thought came to her. Was this some sort of room where they stashed the women to be used in the dark?
Oh god, oh god.
She needed to find a weapon.
A deep mumbling sound came from the other side of the door, or maybe further away at the end of a hall. She couldn’t really tell. They’d kept her blindfolded so she wouldn’t know where they were taking her.
Using her hands to touch everything as she walked in baby-steps, she made her way through the room. She started to make out shapes: a big, upholstered chair in the corner by the door, a chaise sofa on the opposite corner with a rug in between and a few small tables with lamps that, when she turned the switch, refused to turn on. On another wall, she found a bookcase.
The male voices came closer, the words muffled. Her heartbeat kicked up into a fast tempo and she moved faster, fumbling to find a weapon. A book fell off, slamming into the floor like a small explosion and she jumped at the sound, letting out a little scream. Get a hold of yourself, Alicia! Finally, she felt a gap in the shelf where there were no books. Her hand closed around something. She squinted at it. It was some kind of little statue not even a foot tall but it felt solid and heavy in her hands. Maybe even a trophy.
She heard two voices as she raced to hide behind the door. The door handle jiggled and her breath caught. This was it. Someone was coming in here.
She raised the little statue above her head, making sure the door would hide her when it opened, and then she waited.
She did not have to wait long.
The door unlocked with a metal click and swung inward. No light entered which meant they were keeping her from seeing whoever came inside; no hallway light, nothing. A heavy footstep, another, and then the weight settled as someone stopped.
He must be wearing boots or be very fat because he sounded heavy.
A thick shadow stood in the door like a black mass. She couldn’t discern much in the few seconds she saw him but she catalogued what she did see: heavyset shoulders, broad, tall at over six feet, feet braced apart, flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up, hair thick but not long. She could almost make out a spattering of gray though her eyes could be playing tricks on her.
She struck. As hard as she could, she yanked her arms down letting her muscles burn and connected with his head.
Then the consequence of what she just did struck her because he did not topple to the ground as she’d seen people do in movies. Heck, he didn’t even make a sound, not so much as a peep or a grunt.
No, but he did turn around and not slowly, but fast as a fox grabbed the statue out of her hand and tossed it across the room. Before she could react, the big man grabbed her by the arms and pushed her away from the door.
“We’ll have to tie her up,” a new voice said.
Alicia stiffened for two different reasons. For one, another younger-sounding man came into the room, cursing as he bumped into something.
“Yeah,” the big one agreed.
And two, the big man who spoke his one-word reply had a unique voice unlike anything she had ever heard.
The younger man came at her, grabbed her by the arms. Alicia didn’t hesitate to shove him away. The man was young, maybe in his twenties. He had a skinny body and when she pushed he stumbled back a few steps.
The man turned to the bigger, scarier man still shadowing the door. “She won’t let me.”
The air froze at his words. Alicia’s eyes bugged at his ridiculous statement. “Of course I won’t let you, you idiot.”
The man, whose skinny body felt more like that of a boy’s, grabbed her again, this time getting behind her and wrapping her in an impenetrable bear hug.
“Try not to hurt her,” said the man with the voice. What had happened to him to get a voice that sounded like that—like he’d had his windpipes crushed before?
As she fought in his hold, her eyes squinted to find focus on the man in charge, but she could no longer make out his impression. He’d gone.
“You should be doing this,” the boy said, venom lacing his words. Was he mocking the big man?
“Please let me go.” She tried begging; it was worth a shot.
The one holding her didn’t say a word, but his grip did tighten around her with his answer—a resounding no.
Suddenly hard footsteps were coming straight for her as the big man came back into the room. She fought harder, pushing back and shoving her hips, anything, to find purchase.
“Hold her tight,” the man rasped.
“Don’t—” was all she got out before a screech and rip sound shut her up. Was that...? Cold, sticky tape was clamped over her mouth. Yes, yes it was. Duct tape.
Panic reared its ugly head; she bucked, putting her whole body into it and knocked the boy off her. Without hesitating, she ran for the door, but didn’t make it far as her shoe caught the edge of a table and sent it tumbling over with a crash. She lurched through the air arms flailing, feeling nothing but empty air for bottomless moments, then her finge
rs trailed over a hard, flat wall and she flung herself toward it.
A moment later, he caught her. The big man, the man in charge. He did not say a word as he jerked her arms behind her back and began tying them. The material was scratchy and firm and she closed her eyes with the realization that she was now bound by rope and gagged with tape. A hollow, cold sensation settled in her chest and spread out to encase her limbs in a heavy, drugging feeling.
With a jerk on the ropes, he walked her backward. Even close up she couldn’t make out his features. Just a tall, strong looking man. He pushed her back and she fumbled as her knees hit the sofa. She knew what he wanted and this time she gave in and sat.
He moved away from her. The room was so dark that even with her eyes as adjusted as they could be, she only knew he moved because the air around her became less stifling.
Her nostrils flared as she breathed in quick breaths through her nose.
The boy came back and she could no longer feel the bigger man’s presence. Had he left or was he lurking in the shadows? The boy fidgeted with the lamp on the table beside her. She heard a distinct metallic sound and glared at the boy in the darkness. It sounded very much like he was screwing in a light bulb. So that’s what they’d done, but why?
He turned the switch. At once, her eyes blinked fast to adjust to the new light. Then she took in everything about the boy and the room. He was about twenty-one, so younger than she was. He wore a pained grimace, had golden brown eyes, and shaggy blond hair.
“Mmmfff!” At her failed attempt to speak through the tape, he laughed at her.
“I’m Will in case you’re wondering. Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon. I was just supposed to put the bulb back in the socket to give you some light. It ain’t much but it’s better than nothin’.”
Her eyes flared. Why remove the bulbs? To scare her, Sarah, and others like them? What kind of freak was this alpha? Only a deranged, perverted creep would go to such lengths.
