Alpha’s Hunger Box Set: Books 1-3

by Wilder, Carina

  “Ah,” I chuckled. “Well, if it’s the most stupid thing I say this evening, I’ll count my blessings.”

  “Not stupid at all,” he said. “Most people have never heard the word Conspiracy used to describe a bunch of birds, much less a pile of shifters.

  Just then, someone called Tristan over for a chat. He shot me a look, eyebrows raised, as if to ask if I’d be all right on my own. I nodded.

  “So, Ariana,” Rourke said when we were alone, “this all must be a little much for you. I know it can feel overwhelming to find yourself in a group like this. You must have some questions.”

  “It’s all a little like a dream,” I confessed, “but a nice one—so far. I feel like I’ve stepped through the looking-glass, I guess.”

  “You have,” he replied, looking around. “The men and women in this room are legends. There’s Thorrin and Bahal, the cat and bear leaders. And you’ve met Kara, of course.”

  “I have, though I’m not sure I’ve figured her out. I was under the misconception that she was…”

  “Human?” said Rourke. “Well, she is. More or less, anyhow. But she’s more than that, too—I’ve got to admit that even I find her intimidating at times. She’s fierce. Not the sort of woman you’d want to run into in a dark alley if she was in a bad mood.”

  “I’m beginning to see that,” I said. “Is she…is she single?” I was trying to picture Kara with a mate and suddenly realized that it wasn’t easy. Whatever man was her partner would have to be strong to deal with the power that she exuded.

  He nodded. “Yes, she’s still single. She’ll find her mate one day, though. All Valkyries do at some point.”

  “Will it be a human?” I asked. It felt like another stupid question.

  “Actually,” Rourke replied, and I could have sworn that he blushed a little, “her kind normally mates with raven shifters. There’s a bond between those who spend their time in the sky. Or something. Call it tradition if you like. Valkyries and my kind formed a bond centuries ago, and it has yet to be broken.”

  “Interesting,” I said, a thought bubbling up in my mind as I looked over at Kara, who was standing alone now. She looked like a regal guardian on duty, watching over the crowd. Silent and deadly. “Listen,” I said, “would you excuse me? I’d like to go talk to her for a minute.”

  “Of course,” Rourke replied, bowing his head as though in deference. It was an odd gesture. If anything, I felt like I should have been bowing to him. I was just a useless human, and he was more like a deity.

  I smiled awkwardly, bowing my head a bare minimum, and headed over to Kara. Her eyes met mine as I approached, her expression softening immediately to something a little less homicidal. Still, my stomach clenched with nervousness at the thought of actually talking to her. I found her even more daunting than before, now that I knew what she was.

  “Hi,” I said softly when I’d gotten close. “Listen, I just wanted to say…”

  She held up a hand to stop me. “I know,” she replied, “and thank you.” She threw me a withering smile that told me she wasn’t ready to talk about the other night’s incident yet. “It’s hard to be here,” she confessed. “Hard to be anywhere, truth be told. I know the pain will fade, but right now it’s on the surface. Everywhere, surrounding me at all times…” I could hear her fight back her voice’s desire to break under the weight of her pain. “It’s hard to find strength when a sister gets taken from one.”

  “I know,” I said. “I know about losing a sister.” If she’d been a close friend, I would have hugged her. But I didn’t know what the hell Valkyrie protocol was. Did you embrace them? Bow? Genuflect? Lick their shoes?

  Her eyes moved over to Tristan, who was speaking to Bahal, the leader of the bears. “He’s terrified that he’ll lose you the same way, you know,” she said. “It’s why…it’s why he can be cold at times. It’s why he shuts himself down. He’s suffered great losses in his life, and he’s afraid of what would happen to him if something happened to you.”

  I stared at Tristan, wondering what great losses she was talking about. He’d lived such a long life, had so many experiences. I’d only begun to scratch the surface.

  “I guess I didn’t realize he was so…attached to me after such a short time,” I said. The words were starkly honest and came out faster than I’d intended.

  “Oh, he is. I’ve never seen him so protective of anyone. You should know that in Colorado, when he sent you away, it was because he didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know,” I said, looking over at my lover with a smile on my face. “I know that now. At the time I wasn’t so sure of his reasons.” Kara’s words had made my heart want to soar. But as soon as I felt my spirits begin to lift to a place of light, they collided with some dark entity and sank again, heavy inside my chest. “There seem to be so many obstacles for us,” I said. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m enough for him. I’m not sure that I’m what he should be focusing on. It sounds like this war, or whatever you call it, is pretty serious.”

  “No one ever feels truly worthy of the person they love most,” Kara said, her eyes meeting mine again. “Not at first. But over time, you may just learn that the love of a man like Tristan is true and deep. You shouldn’t take it lightly. He doesn’t give his heart easily to anyone.”

  Love.

  She’d actually said it. Could it have been that she actually thought he was falling for me? I didn’t dare to hope for it. My own fall would hurt too much if I was wrong.

  “I don’t know what to say to that,” I replied. “I can’t imagine that I’m anything more to him than a distraction from his stressful life.”

  She shook her head. “He wouldn’t invite a distraction to a meeting of the Council,” she said. “He wouldn’t introduce you to these leaders. If you’re here, it’s for a reason that’s greater than any of us understands. It’s possible that even Tristan doesn’t quite know how things will play out. All he knows is that you’re significant in all of this. You’re important to him. To all of us.”

  “Well, I wish someone understood where I fit in, and could explain it to me,” I said. “This whole thing is making me nervous. A week ago, I was just some nearly-unemployed loser, working at a dead-end job. Now I feel like I’m halfway to Narnia and a whole lot of crazy shit is about to unfold in my lap.”

  Kara laughed. “Well, if you head to Narnia, stay away from the White Witch,” she said. But with those words, her expression went serious. “Stay away from anyone you don’t trust. Learn to listen to your own instincts, and trust your man. Those are the best allies you have.”

  “Thank you. I will.” I took a step towards Tristan, but instead I turned back to Kara and dared to ask her a question. “How did you become a Valkyrie?” I asked. “Is it like becoming a shifter? Not that I really know how that works, either…”

  Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Tristan didn’t tell you about his change?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not much, anyhow. He only told me that it was a man who’d been angry with him.”

  “I’m sure he’ll tell you about it one day. As for me, I’m afraid it’s another long story,” she told me. “I suppose you could say that it was in my blood to become one of the Sisters. I was chosen. There was a ceremony. A rite of passage. I proved myself worthy, and here I am.”

  “I see,” I said. I couldn’t help but picture her performing some crazy feats of strength, like throwing an oak tree at the moon or lifting a boulder over her head and yelling expletives while trying to keep the veins in her neck from exploding.

  When I’d said good-bye to her, I made my way back towards Tristan, who introduced me formally to Bahal. The man reached out and shook my hand, his grip fortunately loose enough not to crush my bones. He really was huge. Even in human form he looked more like a grizzly bear than any man I’d ever met.

  “Nice to meet you officially,” he said. “So, Tristan must value you very much to have brought you to a place that no other h
uman has ever seen.”

  “Whoa—what?” I swallowed hard. “I hadn’t realized I was the first human to grace this place,” I said.

  “You are,” replied Tristan, “unless you count the Valkyrie.”

  “Well, I’m honored to be here. Truly,” I said, addressing Bahal. “I have to admit, I keep feeling like Tristan brought the wrong person here. He seems to have mistaken me for someone special.” I chuckled, but the other two stared back at me with earnest expressions.

  “You are special,” Bahal replied, looking from me to Tristan. “You don’t see it, not yet. But trust me—you will.”

  Chapter 25

  When we’d said our good-byes, Tristan and I headed back the same way we’d come, down the torch-lit corridor to its end, and stepped out into the subway tunnel. By some miracle—orchestrated, no doubt, by him—a train had already stopped and was waiting for us.

  Its doors opened as we approached, and Tristan leapt up, turning to help me to jump on next to him.

  Once again, no one turned to look at us, and seconds after the door had shut again, the train took off as if nothing had occurred.

  “We’ll get off at the next station and take a cab, if you like,” he told me.

  “I’m fine with staying put,” I said. “Fine. What a crazy word that is. Everything’s fine, and yet nothing is. I’m still a little in shock,” I said quietly when we’d taken a seat. “I feel like I’m walking through the weirdest dream.”

  “A good dream, I hope,” said Tristan, reaching for my hand. “Not a nightmare.”

  “A very good dream,” I told him as I squeezed his hand back. “I don’t quite understand it, but back there,” I turned my head to look towards the back of the car, “the Council—they made me feel like I was part of something. I don’t usually feel that way. The closest I’ve come in a long time is my theater company, and it’s not as though I’m good friends with any of them.”

  For the first time it hit me that I was growing attached to more than just Tristan. A sort of surrogate family was growing around me, like branches extending from a welcoming tree. It was invigorating to think that I was beginning to find my place in a world that had always seemed to reject me outright.

  “You are part of something huge,” said Tristan. “But even if you weren’t, you’re part of me. I hope that counts for something.”

  His words warmed me again, and I pressed my head into his shoulder. I hardly dared to believe that I could really be happy. But here I was, getting closer to Tristan all the time. Things were looking up. I was almost ready to believe they might stay this way for a long time.

  Almost.

  “The opening night of your play is tomorrow, isn’t it?” he asked, changing the subject.

  I jerked my head up, brought back to reality by the reminder that I had a life beyond this subway car. “Oh, crap. I’d nearly forgotten all about that.” I let out a laugh to realize how off track my life had become.

  “Well, I hadn’t. I have some special plans for us, after the fact. I’m hoping you’ll free yourself up to come out with me.”

  “Oh?” I asked, “What might those plans entail?”

  “Late dinner,” he said, pressing in close. His breath brushed over my lips like silk, his eyes burning into my flesh in a way that made me wish there was no one on the train but us. It had been too long since I’d felt his lips on my nipples. Far too long.

  “Dinner sounds great. I love eating with you,” I told him. “Not that we’ve successfully managed any meals together.”

  “I don’t care about meals,” he replied. “I love eating you.” His voice had taken on the feral quality that I’d grown to crave.

  My lips curled up in response. To think that when I first met Tristan, I did everything I could to fight back how excited I was by him. Now all I wanted was to tell him he was the most amazing man I’d ever met, and that I hoped nothing would ever come between us.But there would be plenty of time for that later. I didn’t want my affection going to his head, after all.

  Things were perfect just as they were.

  “As for tonight,” he said, “I think you’ll find that your friend Marcus is eager to see you. So unfortunately I feel like I should say good-bye when we get to your place.”

  Disappointment sank in my belly like a stone, but I knew he was right. Marcus would probably be worried, and to be honest, I was worried about him, too. He’d risked his life for me last night and I hadn’t seen him since. I needed to make sure he knew how grateful I was, not to mention checking to see that he was okay.

  “All right,” I said. “You’re not worried about someone showing up at my place and turning into a giant wolf?”

  He shook his head. “I have watchers on your place now to make sure that doesn’t happen. I hope that’s all right.”

  “Right. You mentioned something about that in the meeting. Who are they?”

  “Flyers with keen eyes. The ravens are loyal to me, just as they’re loyal to the Valkyrie. They’re the best we have when it comes to protection. Swift and strong.”

  “Well, if it’s people like Rourke, then I feel perfectly secure,” I told him. “In the meantime, I hope you’re willing to walk me home.”

  “Of course.”

  As promised, when we’d left the train, Tristan walked me all the way to my apartment door, where he stopped and pressed a hand to the wall. The other hand lifted my chin, and he looked down at me with an expression I hadn’t seen on his face before.

  One of pure affection. If I were any less jaded and cynical, I might even have used the word love to describe it.

  “I don’t want to leave you, you know,” he said. “I want to take you home, to slip that beautiful body of yours under my sheets and make love to you.”

  I wanted to ask so why don’t you, but I couldn’t. I knew he had his reasons, as always. Besides which, tomorrow felt like the perfect time for a new beginning. It would be our opening night in every possible way.

  “Tomorrow is still happening though, right?” I said.

  “Tomorrow.” He kissed me on the lips, his tongue tasting mine, setting my head spinning in a way that was enough to sustain me for at least twenty-four hours. “You don’t know how much I’m looking forward to it, Ariana.”

  “Oh, I have some idea.”

  Tristan let out a low chuckle then sniffed the air. “Marcus is inside,” he said. “Go, enjoy your friend’s company. I’ll be at your play tomorrow. Don’t forget to come find me afterwards.”

  “How could I forget?” I asked. It was all I’d be thinking about for the next twenty-four hours.

  Still, something was gnawing at me.

  “Tristan…” I said, my fingers reaching for the front of his shirt and pulling him close.

  “What is it?” he asked, no doubt sensing my worry.

  “I don’t know,” I said. I shook my head and laughed. “It’s nothing. Just got a chill, I guess.”

  “Okay, good,” he said, giving me a final kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And I promise you—you’ll see me soon. All of me. Even the parts I’ve kept hidden under my stupid shirts.”

  “Good,” I echoed, running my fingers over his chest. “I can’t wait.”

  I watched him go, striding smoothly towards the staircase like the perfect animal that he was.

  I didn’t know what the future would hold. All I really knew was that I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

  * * *

  Inside the apartment, Marcus was sitting on the couch. He turned my way and smiled when I walked in.

  “Honey,” I said, “I’m home.”

  “I’m glad to see it.” He rose to his feet, marched over to the fridge and grabbed me a beer, which he twisted open and handed over. “I’m happy to see you in one piece.”

  “How many pieces did you expect?”

  He laughed. “We shouldn’t joke. Craster is a jerkoff, and he would gladly tear you to shreds if it were what his boss wanted.”

  “H
is boss Krane, you mean?” I said.

  “Yes. So, Tristan told you?”

  I nodded, moving towards the couch. “He told me a lot, though I’m realizing with every hour that passes that I don’t know a thousandth of the secrets that guy’s holding to his chest.”

  “You will, if you stay with him.”

  I stared at Marcus. “You’re really okay with this now, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  I shook my head and swigged my beer. “Nope.”

  “Then yeah,” he said, “I’m okay with it.”

  Chapter 26

  On opening night, I headed to the theater an hour early for what the cast called “the long half-hour.” Which really meant that they had an entire hour to prepare for going out on stage. It was our way of making sure that no one was late, that no disasters occurred, and that everyone had enough time backstage to get over any pre-performance jitters.

  When I got there, the play’s director, Doug, greeted me with a big hug.

  He was one of my favorites. Flamboyant, energetic, and as gay as any guy I’d ever met, which had made me adore him from the moment we’d met two years ago.

  “Congratulations again, Ari!” he said.

  “For what?” I asked, confused as I pulled back. “It’s your opening night. I’m just the set designer.”

  “On taking the Venezia over! I’m so excited to see what you do with the place.”

  “Oh, that,” I replied, sweeping a hand through the air dismissively. I still hadn’t adjusted to being seen as the boss around here. “I should be congratulating you, Doug. This production is going to wow the critics.”

  “Oh, God, I hope so. Anyhow, I’m so happy for you,” he said. “For all of us. I know you’ll do a great job. I’ve never met anyone so in love with theater as you are. You’re the only set designer in the world who shows up at such ungodly early hours, paints her own sets and doesn’t mind getting acrylic in all her nooks and crannies.”