The Loneliest Alpha (The MacKellen Alphas)

by T. A. Grey

  He groaned and kissed her harder, hands pulling down her pants. Their hands fought against each other to remove their clothes fast enough. She tugged his sweats down and grabbed his cock. It was hard and hot in her palm and she stroked him with ruthless tugs.

  Cursing, he reached under her shirt and grabbed her tits. Her nipples puckered into points under his touch and he tugged at them as his tongue dove inside her mouth, thrusting.

  What had begun as a lick of wetness soon turned into a surge between her legs. The head of his cock leaked and she squeezed it, working his natural wetness over his shaft.

  Her sex throbbed in time to his touch, his kiss.

  “I love you,” he said.

  He kept saying it as he pulled down her pants, her underwear, wrapped one leg around his waist and pressed his cock head against her opening. Their eyes locked as he entered her. He filled her slowly, in a thrust meant to mark more than her body.

  When he fit inside her all the way, spasms clenched around him. Her clit throbbed and as he withdrew and slammed back inside she struggled not to cry. It all felt too good—being in his arms, feeling him loving her, seeing the love in his eyes. It hurt and amazed her at the same time.

  He moved and her hips rolled into his touch. Their lips met and locked, breaths trembled.

  She became frantic. Her heart felt as though it’d been burned alive and put back in her chest. All the pain and frustration inside her seemed to coil into one point. That point was between her legs and with each thrust he struck it, pushing her closer and closer.

  “Gavin!” she gasped.

  Heat twisted inside her becoming tighter and hotter. It needed a place to go.

  His thrusts became savage, an unconscious gesture of his desperation. They kissed hard, teeth clanging, lips meshing without any rhythm, only pure passion. Her bottom bounced against the wall with each thrust, forming a continuous pattern.

  It was closing in on her. That ultimate pleasure. The little death that would steal all thoughts from her for those few precious moments. He fisted her hair and tugged and that did it. That lick of pain sent a spark of pleasure between her legs. She flew apart on a cry that sounded more pained than pleasured and he groaned with her, hammering into her and using her tight pussy’s spasms to milk him. He pressed deep and erupted inside of her, hot and wet jets.

  The numbness came back or maybe it was never really gone. Because her arms and legs felt heavy, her head difficult to hold up. He helped her to dress for which she was thankful because she didn’t think she could bend over and lift her own pants. She had no energy for that. Any energy she’d had left just went into the physical moment they shared.

  He righted both their clothes, kissing her meanwhile, then tugged her hand. “Let’s go eat breakfast now.”

  She shook her head but he still tried to pull her. He forced her to use her voice. “No,” she croaked.

  He looked back at her, confused.

  “No, I want to go now.”

  Alarm flickered across his face. “Not now. We can spend the day together, eat, talk, be together.”

  Oh god, that hurt like something heavy taking up space in her chest cavity. “No, let’s do this the Band-Aid way. Fast.”

  He looked ready to hit a wall again. “No; at least let me feed you first. This is hard for me too.”

  She just looked at him. “Then don’t do it.” When he didn’t say anything, didn’t shout that he’d changed his mind, her shoulders sagged. “I’ll be outside. Please don’t make me wait long. Don’t bother packing my stuff. I don’t care about it.”

  She left and he let her go. She sat on the stoop of the stairs out front and gazed out at the mountains in the distance. Such a beautiful place. She’d never seen anything like it. And now she couldn’t stand to be here a minute longer.

  * * * * *

  Who would have thought one of the hardest things in his life would be packing his mate’s belongings? Not him.

  Becoming alpha of the pack had been difficult, learning to live with a destroyed face and deal with the stares by his packmates had been real fucking hard. But this? Packing up her sweet smelling clothes was pure torture. Like acid being poured down his throat. He felt raw and cut open from his gut to his jugular.

  Fuck, he didn’t want to do this, but it wasn’t permanent. He’d tried to explain that. Couldn’t she see how much danger she was in? Until he caught Will, she couldn’t stay here. She’d been attacked in his home. His own home.

  If she wasn’t safe in his house then she wasn’t safe in his pack.

  As soon as they caught Will and brought him to justice, he’d retrieve her himself.

  Then why did it feel like he was leaving her forever?

  Dammit all to hell, he wasn’t!

  He taped up the boxes, slung her duffel over his shoulder and placed them at the front door. He saw her through the window, sitting on the stoop looking like all her dreams had been crushed. Fuck. It would be okay. He’d find Will, the boy would face the harshest of punishments for what he’d done to his mate and to the MacKellen family.

  He went down the basement and tossed all her work items into another box. That’s when he spotted the mess in the trashcan. A grimace came over him. He recognized the piece; he’d seen her wearing it and they’d shared their first kiss in it. Now it looked like a bird had been hacked to pieces. This wasn’t an accident. She’d ruined it on purpose. He could see the cut and tear marks.

  “Dammit all to hell.”

  He’d really fucked this up, but it was necessary. He’d already talk to Hart and Jo about it. They agreed it was for the best. After stuffing the feather pieces into the box, he taped it and headed upstairs, his steps as slow as a snails.

  This was bad. He hadn’t hurt like this since…he found Alicia in the bottom of that hole. She didn’t look up at him as he started stacking boxes outside. He dialed up Jo and told him it was time. Jo didn’t have to say a word, he understood. Gavin sat next to her.

  “You know, we don’t have to do this now. Let’s go eat and relax, sweetheart. It’s not like you won’t be coming’ back.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She shrugged, her eyes red from crying. “It means, how long will it take to clear all this up? One month, two, or maybe six? And then you’ll forget about me. You won’t want me like you do now.” She swiped a tear away. “Maybe you don’t want me that much anyway since you’re sending me away.”

  His hand curled into a fist. “Baby, I love you. There is no forgetting about you.”

  She finally faced him, all raw emotion painted on her beautiful face. “Gavin, I don’t want to go. I’m scared.”

  His face fell and he couldn’t keep from pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. “Nothing’s gonna happen to you. Jo’s going to be with you, you’ll be with your old pack. Will doesn’t have the means to get down to Arizona. This isn’t about you anyway. It’s about me and him. I have to take care of this and I won’t’ do it with you in danger.”

  “I’m doing this for you.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I know. When you come back, we’ll do this right. We’ll get mated, set you up a real workshop in the basement, get you everything you need. I promise.”

  She gave him a shaky smile and kissed him. Jo’s truck rumbled up the drive, breaking them apart. After his SUV was totaled, he’d decided to buy a beat-up pickup, saying if it was going to get trashed he’d rather buy trash.

  “Gavin, Alicia,” Jo said with a nod. Understanding the awkwardness in the air, he grabbed the boxes and loaded them into the back of his truck.

  “I guess this is goodbye then.” Her voice caught.

  He squeezed her tight, giving her a long, lingering kiss, breathing her in so he could recall the way she smelled and felt in his arms after she was gone.

  “I’m going to call you. All the time, all right?”

  She nodded, held his gaze for a long moment and then kissed him fierce
ly before running to the truck.

  Jo grimaced. “You need to check in, just give me a ring. I expect to be there late tomorrow night. I’ll take it easy. We’ll stop in a hotel on the way. Don’t worry, we’ll keep separate beds,” he said trying to throw in some humor.

  Gavin couldn’t even smile. “Yeah. You keep her safe.”

  Jo nodded. “With my life.”

  Gavin watched his mate and cousin drive away and felt his heart going with them.

  CHAPTER 27

  Two weeks later

  Gavin faced his pack for the first time since he took alpha position almost four months ago. A bonfire roared behind him, big enough to burn a car into rubble. He’d called this pack meeting for several reasons. The significant reason being that he hadn’t seen his mate in two weeks, she refused his calls, and he wanted this fiasco over with. According to Jo who stayed with Alicia, she refused to talk to him because it hurt too much. Yeah, well he wanted to talk to his fuckin’ woman so much his heart bled. And that hurt a lot too.

  So he was at the end of his rope. They still hadn’t caught Will and he’d finally done the deed and called in the Justicars. Dmetri Demidov, a vampire and Brayden Erickson, a much older vampire were leading the charge to find Will for multiple murder attempts. They had the evidence, now they just had to find him.

  It hurt to call in the Justicars. He’d wanted to permit pack justice, but pack justice for trying to murder the alpha’s mate meant death. It might make him weak, but he couldn’t kill his own brother. Not his baby brother, the one he used to babysit when he could barely walk. Hart had recommended letting the Justicars take care of it and he’d finally agreed. Let them mete out justice. Will would end up spending the rest of his long life in prison with other violent offenders. The thought made him sick to his stomach but once he reminded himself of what he’d done to Alicia, he knew it was a necessary evil.

  Once his cousin, Elliot MacKellen, gave him the all-clear signal that everyone in the pack had gathered, Gavin raised his voice. “Quiet down now.” It was time for the show to begin. He’d carefully planned it for two agonizingly long weeks.

  Excitement was high in the air. He could almost hear what they were thinking. What did the alpha want? What had they learned about the murders? Where did his woman go?

  “I brought you all here today for good reason. There has been too many secrets in our pack since I took charge and I’ve finally realized we can’t allow these secrets to be here anymore. They pollute us.”

  That definitely got everyone’s attention. The pack fell silent, eyes watchful.

  “I’m going to start by tellin’ you all what happened to my face. I know many of you have asked but I evaded. I wasn’t ready to talk about it. Now I am.” He cast a sidelong gaze at Marcus, Harry, and their youngest brother, David. They were all seated at the front row, away from everyone else with a guard on them. Marcus and Harry sat in cuffs, still under arrest for suspicion of murdering Emma and Anthony. They didn’t have any evidence against the youngest Graham brother, but they cuffed him all the same.

  “After the alpha challenge, I got drunk as many of you saw.” The pack laughed, remembering, and Gavin smiled. “However, somethin’ happened after I got home. When I woke up, this had been done to my face. I was covered in blood and salt. In my gut I’ve always know who did it, but I didn’t have any proof.” Marcus smirked. “What I didn’t know, folks, is that my own baby brother played a part in it. It was his knife that Marcus Graham used to cut me up. It was his anger at me for taking over the alpha challenge that made him go on to do vicious things.”

  His sisters watched him with tears in their eyes. His brothers, with bowed heads.

  “Of course, I never thought Will had anything to do with it, but after he kidnapped my mate and held her hostage, he admitted some things to her. He admitted to being there and helping Marcus that night. And…while he isn’t here to hear me say it, let it be known that I forgive him.”

  People gasped, even his own family looked surprised.

  “Fact is, I love him. He’s my brother and I understand his anger. He tried to scare Alicia away from me. First by running her and Jo off the road, then poisoning our food to make us sick, and then…” He faltered as the images came back.

  The horrifying images of her battered body stuck in the bottom of that hole, of the bruises across her body, that eye swollen shut, and the fear in her eyes. The look of terror that wouldn’t go away no matter how much he held her. It broke his fucking heart.

  He cleared his throat. “And then he took her and hurt her, leaving her to die in a rotten hole. But he’ll pay for his crimes. And so will Marcus Graham.” Gavin strode toward Marcus. “See, folks, I’ve asked you out here tonight not only to explain those things to you, but because I’m finally ready to finish somethin’ that started the night we fought through blood and sweat to decide the next alpha. That’s why I challenge Marcus Graham to death rites on the basis of his attack on me and the murders of Emma Linchman and Anthony Clipton.”

  The crowd flew into whispers. Death rites wasn’t something thrown about casually. The two participants fought to the death. One who’s been wronged can issue death rites, though the other party does not have to accept it. To not accept it would make you a coward and shunned as weak in the pack.

  Gavin knew Marcus would accept. His ego wouldn’t let him ignore the challenge. He didn’t just think he was better than Gavin, he knew he was in his twisted mind. As to Gavin’s claim about Emma and Anthony, he still had no evidence, only his gut instinct. And one way or another, Marcus would pay for his crimes tonight.

  Marcus stood proud, a fiendish grin on his face. The crowd quieted to hear what he’d say.

  “I accept.”

  “But—” Gavin drawled and loved the flicker of hesitation in Marcus’ eyes. “Only if you admit to what you’ve done and give these families some peace.”

  Gavin waited, looking confident but knowing his plan could fall apart easily. Marcus could back down now and refuse the challenge. He could dispute Gavin’s claims with a shrug and never say another word about it. Or he could do as Gavin hoped and fess up to his crimes, because Gavin knew Marcus wasn’t someone who was ever ashamed of his deeds. In fact, he relished everything he did, because he believed he was right. His arrogance would be his downfall.

  “Uncuff me,” Marcus said, wearing the smile of a killer.

  Gavin nodded at the guards and they released him. Marcus rolled his wrists around and strode forward her, cocky as ever.

  “Do you accept or not?”

  “Oh, Gavin, I accept. I’ve waited a long time for this. But I won’t admit to anything but what I did to your face.”

  That was to be expected. Gavin walked over to Harry and laid that next part of his plan into place. He whispered into the brother’s ear for only him to hear.

  Marcus stiffened. The one thing that brought the Graham’s together was their family loyalty and Gavin was about to use it against them.

  “What is it? What the hell are you saying to him?” He took a step toward them but the guards tensed and he stopped.

  Harry’s eyes were wide, his teeth bared in a grimace. “No, no, you can’t.”

  Gavin only looked at him, showing Harry everything he needed to see. That yes, he would.

  Harry stood in a rush. “I did it! I killed those kids!”

  The crowd went wild.

  Emma’s father, Todd Linchman, barreled forward on a roar. Guards could have intervened but they didn’t. Linchman’s burly shoulder slammed into Harry, taking them both to the ground. “You murdered my baby girl!” He let loose a series of meaty-fist jabs before the guards pulled him off.

  “Don’t touch my brother!” Marcus said, his voice deep and measured.

  “Maybe I should be challenging the real killer to death rites,” Gavin said.

  His words spoke volumes. Marcus’s cold arrogance vanished in a flash as he realized the trap. If he didn’t admit to what he did then
Gavin would fight Harry for his admission. Everyone knew Gavin would win. Harry was younger, weaker.

  “Harry didn’t kill those kids. I did.”

  “No, don’t do it!” Harry said.

  “Shut up, Harry. I’ll take care of this.” The youngest brother surged forward from the crowd and guards had to hold him back. His screams sounded like agony as he watched what was happening between the last of his family.

  “Is there something you want to say?” Gavin asked.

  Marcus smirked, laughing in that soft way as he gazed out at the pack. “Yes, I killed the girl and her boyfriend. Emma, well she happened to overhear something she wasn’t supposed to hear. Let’s just say it had to do with getting rid of our alpha here.”

  The parents of Emma Linchman howled as they held each other, rocking side to side. “What did you do to her?” her father managed to shout. Tears streamed down his face.

  “Beat her head with a heavy branch then finished her off by drowning her in the lake. We lykaens can live long, and we might be stronger than humans, but we can drown just like any other breathing creature, can’t we?”

  “What about our boy?” a mother said, her red hair sticking to her tear-streaked face. A man wrapped his arm around her, anguish blazing in his yes. The parents of Anthony Clipton.

  “He was with her. He managed to outrun us. We got him the next night though, before he could tell anyone. I took care of him.”

  “You just said ‘we’ got him,” Gavin said. “Who else was with you? Could it have been Harry or maybe your youngest brother, David?”

  Marcus snapped his mouth shut, all cold grins again. He wouldn’t implicate Harry, though he had to be the one helping Marcus with the bodies. David had always been the quiet one they protected. “I accept your challenge, Gavin. Are we gonna do this or what?”

  “Let’s kill him!” someone screamed in the pack.

  “Pack justice for the kids!” another cried out.

  Gavin almost could have breathed a sigh of relief. He’d planned this moment for weeks and had finally done it. Marcus and his brother was exposed. Everyone knew of their crimes.