AlphainHiding (2 page)

She could hear the shower running as she approached the
door. Well, at least he hadn’t run away. The knob turned when she tested the
door, a silent invitation to walk in and wait for him. She noticed the moment
she walked into the living room that the garbage was gone. With an eyebrow
raised she wandered into the kitchen and found that it had been picked up as
well. Maybe she had caught him with the pre-weekend mess. She made her way back
into the living room and sat on the couch, tapping her foot while she waited.

Her inner wolf was still sitting up, paying attention.
Interesting. Her wolf wasn’t usually interested in anything other than hunting
and fighting. She was acting strangely, though. Sniffing the air and whining.
Well, fantastic. The first time her bitch had ever been interested in a male
and it had to be
him
. Great.

Emily was pulled from her thoughts by a partially naked
Seth. He had jeans slung low on his hips but nothing else on. He wandered into
the room, oblivious to her sitting there while he rubbed a towel across his
hair. She grinned, knowing full well he would freak when he realized she was
perched on his couch. She had to admit to herself that he actually looked nice
without a shirt. His chest wasn’t overly muscular but it was wide and covered
in just a dusting of dark curls. His nipples were taut little nubs. She had a
fleeting thought of licking them. Shit. She didn’t need a blast of hormones
now.

She clued him in to her presence with a quick clearing of
her throat. A grin spread across her face as he jumped and spun around. She
hadn’t spent a lot of time with someone so clueless in a long time. It was
almost fun scaring him.

“What the hell?” His voice squeaked. “Did you just walk in
here?”

“Sure, the door was unlocked.” She couldn’t help the chuckle
that rumbled in her chest. He was sort of cute, in a helpless kind of way.

“Well…don’t you know walking into someone else’s house is
rude and potentially dangerous? What if I’d thought you were a burglar and had
come out here with a gun?”

“Seth, first off, you don’t own a gun. I’d smell it in the
house. Secondly, you were in the shower and obviously didn’t hear me come in.
And third, you couldn’t best me even if you tried. So I was, and am, perfectly
safe.”

He stared at her for a moment, then just shook his head.
“Fine. Whatever. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready.”

She watched him walk back down the hallway and almost
slapped herself on the forehead when she found her eyes tracking his delectable
ass. Her wolf yipped with glee. Well, shit. Maybe she just needed to scratch an
itch this weekend while they were at the cabin. Obviously she’d been ignoring
her needs or something. For her bitch to want someone so weak was disturbing.

Chapter Two

A few minutes and a little grumbling found them in Emily’s
Jeep on their way to her father’s cabin. The silence that filled the space
between them was thick with fear, confusion and stubbornness. She could smell
the emotions rolling off Seth and she stomped down the giggle that rose in her
throat. For a male he really was a sissy. Not in a whiny sort of way, but in
that “you haven’t lived” kind of way. He had a handful of tissues clutched in
his fist, which came in handy with the sneezing he did every few minutes.
Between the snuffling and the constant slide of his glasses, she was ready to
banish him to the backseat. She hadn’t met a more human shifter in all her
years dealing with her father’s pack. At least he knew when to keep his trap
shut and just sit back and be quiet. She didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to
listen to him beg or whine about the weekend.

Her plan was simple and would hopefully get the results her
father wanted. They would spend the next couple of days running the woods in
their wolf forms, maybe do a little hunting, and by the end of that Seth would
be in touch with his wolfy side. She snorted and caught the quick flicker of
his eyes on her. She was sure he wanted to know what was so funny but he didn’t
ask, so she didn’t explain.

She pondered the anomaly that was Seth. He was obviously a
full-blooded shifter. He’d gone through the first transition when he was
supposed to, like every other prepubescent pup. So what had caused the
recessive, weaker, human genes to manifest? Was he truly a defective specimen
who just hadn’t been culled when he was born? Were his human traits more
prevalent because he didn’t embrace his wolf? Or was it because he didn’t shift
just for the sake of shifting? She could almost smell strength in him, but for
some reason it was being repressed.

She was pulled from her musing by the very loud grumbling of
Seth’s stomach. She glanced sideways and caught the flash of a blush under his
skin. She grinned. He was cute because his reactions were so unlike a
shifter’s. “Hungry?”

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t get time to grab something to eat.”

“There’s a diner about five minutes from here that has good
food—we can stop there.”

Seth answered with a grunt and continued to stare out of the
window. He wasn’t too angry about having to go this weekend, or she would have
sensed it, so either he was usually this quiet or he was just resigned to the
fact that she’d kidnapped him.

They pulled into the parking lot of Sal’s and the smells of
eggs and bacon oozed around the edges of the doors. Emily loved Sal’s. It
helped that Sal was one of her father’s oldest friends and she’d grown up
thinking of him as an uncle. She hopped out of the Jeep and motioned to her
stoical passenger before heading into the restaurant.

One whiff told her that the place was packed with shifters.
Wonderful. She hoped she’d be able to get through the meal without having to put
some asshole in his place. She hated going out in public. Being a strong female
and the daughter of the area Alpha made every guy around her produce copious
amounts of testosterone and increased their stupid quotient. They all thought
they’d be the one to bring her to her belly and take her as their mate. Maybe
her being with Seth would curtail some of the normal reactions, but she doubted
it. With a sigh, she walked to her favorite booth and slid in to the side
against the wall. She had a perfect view of the entire diner from there, and it
placed them close to the back door in case she needed to drag someone out for a
beating.

She watched Seth slide in on the other side and searched his
face for any kind of reaction to being in a place full of other shifters.
Nothing at all changed. Either he didn’t know or didn’t care, but she guessed
it was the former. “Tell me, can’t you smell them or are you just ignoring
them?”

“Can’t I smell what? All I can smell is coffee brewing and
that they have fryers. What am I missing beyond that?” He wrinkled his nose and
pushed his glasses up.

“There are thirteen people in this building, all shifters.
Nine are males, all but one of them are in our pack. The females are all pack
and two of them are wearing way too much perfume. One of the females is
pregnant. Let’s see…four of the males are already exuding lust and weren’t
until we walked in.” She watched his eyes widen with each statement. So his
sense of smell truly was lacking. If she couldn’t smell his wolf on him she would
have sworn he was human. Bad eyesight, horrible sense of smell—what traits
could he have possibly inherited with his shifter side? “I can tell that you’re
surprised and slightly scared about something. It’s rolling off you in waves.”

“You can really tell all of that with a few breaths?”

“Yep. Each emotion carries a scent. Each person carries a
scent individual to them.” She tilted her head and studied him from the point
of view of a shifter for the first time. “If you can’t smell things that
clearly, how have you known if you were around shifters or not?”

“I haven’t known, unless someone said something to give it
away. But honestly, I don’t hang out with people I don’t know. Sometimes my
wolf gets excited around someone and I just assumed they were shifters. I try
to keep it as quiet as I can, so I avoid others as much as I can.”

Emily chewed on the information he’d given her. She couldn’t
imagine going through her life without shifter abilities. Not to know whether
someone she spoke to was angry with her or trying to lie. Not to have a clue
whether the person was a shifter or just a human. She relied on her senses too
much not to have them. Without her senses she would be lost. She studied him
and caught a whiff of unease. She looked away, giving him a chance to get his
emotions back under wraps.

“So, um…I didn’t bring a lot of cash,” he stammered, while
looking anywhere but at her face. He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose
again. The change in subject wasn’t subtle but she let it go.

“Not to worry. My father has an account here and seeing it’s
pack business this weekend we’ll just charge it to him.” She laughed at the
disgruntled look that crossed his face. “Just order what you want, okay? No
need to feel bad about spending my dad’s money.”

“So what does your mom think of all of this pack stuff?”

“My mom died eight years ago in a car accident.” She stopped
him from giving her the normal response with a glare. “Yes, it’s sad, but it
was a long time ago. I miss her but my dad has been great. My extended family
took good care of us when we lost her. I’m at the point now where I can
remember the good times and ward off the sadness of losing her.”

“I’m still sorry. When my parents died I don’t know what I
would’ve done without my aunt and uncle. They were wonderful about everything.”

She felt a connection with him that she didn’t feel with too
many others. He understood the pain of losing a parent yet he had made it
through it. She smiled and reached across the table to squeeze his hand in
thanks. The moment was broken when a familiar scent arrived, preceding Uncle
Sal.

Emily glanced up just in time to smile at Sal. He had aged
some since the last time she’d seen him but he still was a beefy man. At one
time he’d been a pack enforcer and she could still see the strength in his
body. The gray hairs around his temple and the wrinkles at the corners of his
eyes didn’t cover the power and vigor still coursing through his veins. This
male was something to be reckoned with, and most shifters obeyed the
no-fighting rule on his property.

“Well, Emily, what a sight for sore eyes you are, girly.”
Sal’s familiar voice was like a hug. She stood and wrapped her arms around him,
kissing him on the cheek.

“Hi, Sal. How’s business?”

“Good. Your dad said you’d be up this way this weekend.” He
turned and looked questioningly at Seth. “Who’s this?”

“Sal, meet Seth. My project for the weekend. Seth, this is
Sal. He’s my uncle by adoption, and one of my dad’s best friends.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Seth put his hand out and shook
Sal’s huge paw, as a good male should.

Sal turned to Emily and quirked an eyebrow but didn’t ask
anything else. She wasn’t sure how much her father had told his friend, but it
must have been enough to keep Sal from asking questions. “So, what do you two
want for breakfast?”

They ordered almost identical meals, which should have
irritated Emily but did nothing but add another layer of “cute” to her thoughts
about Seth. She hated that word but it was really the only descriptor she could
come up with that covered her protective emotions about the guy. He was like a
child all grown up, who hadn’t lost his childlike qualities. Her wolf scoffed
at her musings. The bitch didn’t think he was cute at all. She wanted to lick
him and nibble on his earlobes.

Bad wolf—down, girl.

Sitting in silence, they both peered out of the large
window, deep in their own thoughts. She really liked that about him. He seemed
to keep himself as buried inside his head as she tended to be. Their
companionable silence was broken by the arrival of their food. That seemed to
trigger the stupidity of a couple of males. Why they thought the arrival of her
food would make their asinine attempts at wooing her any more palatable she
didn’t know.

“Hey, Emily.” She sighed when she looked up and found one of
the town playboys standing, thumbs in pockets, leering at her. Fuck. Her
breakfast was going to get cold.

“Hi, Luke.”

“Whatcha doin’ up this way with the likes of him?” Luke, the
scholar that he was, jerked a nod in Seth’s direction as if she wouldn’t know
who he was talking about. “If you’re lookin’ for a male how come you’re with a
runt instead of me?”

“Luke, turn around and go back to your seat.” She pressed
him with her mind and snickered when his face blanked and he turned robotically
to shuffle back to his seat. She looked at Seth and almost laughed at the look
on his face. Confusion, anger and irritation warred for position. She pointed
to his plate. “Eat fast because he isn’t the only one I’ll have to squash if we
stay much longer.”

She took two mouthfuls before the next dickwad arrived. She
sighed loudly and looked up. Well, at least she’d got to eat a little of her
meal before it cooled. She growled, “What do you want, Lenny?”

“Hiya, Emily.” Lenny was nice, not as obnoxious as some of
the others she had to deal with, but he still didn’t take the hints she put
forth each time he came on to her. He’d make some bitch a good mate, it just
wasn’t going to be her. Dirty-blond hair in need of a cut lay shaggily over his
eyes. Muddy brown eyes peeked at her between the mop of bangs. He was nice
looking in that rugged, working-man kind of way. He didn’t look good enough for
her to overlook the crap he was about to pull, though.

“Lenny, how many times do we have to do this, hmm? Go eat.
You aren’t going to lose face with your buddies if you just go back over there
and eat like a good boy.” She smiled and whispered, “I don’t want to hurt you
today.”

Lenny, being the follower he was, turned to see what his
friends were doing. They were all watching him expectantly, grinning like
adolescent idiots. He turned back and she could see the determination on his
face. Fine. They wanted a show, she would give them one.

She stood from the table, took a step toward Lenny and
growled deep in her throat. She let her eyes partially change, her wolf yipping
for a fight inside her head. Harnessing the Alpha blood racing through her
veins was easy. She unleashed a little of the power and wrapped it around the
irritating male standing in front of her.

The change in Lenny was instantaneous. He couldn’t fight her
power—none of them could. He backed away from her, all six foot three of him,
cowering slightly. Tremors worked their way through his body, making his teeth
rattle. He turned his head and looked at the floor, tilting and baring his
throat submissively. A low whine worked its way from through his lips. If she
pushed much more he’d be a puddle on the floor, belly-up and quivering.

She looked up and slowly met every set of eyes in the place.
She bared slightly elongated canines and growled, “You will all leave me the
fuck alone for the rest of my meal. If any of you approach me, so help me, I’ll
make you piss yourself right here in front of everyone.”

Two steps had her sliding back into the booth. She grumbled
to herself about assholes and their friends. A chuckle brought her from her
thoughts. She had totally forgotten about Seth. He was laughing silently,
shaking hard enough to make the table vibrate. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to
be pissed at him or laugh along with him, so instead she scowled at him and
went back to shoveling her now-cold eggs into her mouth.

“Would you really make one of them piss their pants?” Mirth
still clouded his voice, making it deeper. Amusement sparkled in his eyes. She
almost kept from smiling back—almost.

“Sure. I’ve made Lenny lick my boots before. Actually, most
of the males in here have been belly-up at my feet a few times.” She said it
with pride, although she almost cringed. How would he react to that? She never
cared what anyone thought of her actions, but this one time she looked at how
she treated some of these males and saw how bitchy she could be.

“Nice. Well, at least the threat took care of them, although
I was sort of looking forward to you making one of them piss himself.” He
chuckled. It sounded nice rolling from his chest.

The sound cut off abruptly and he exploded into a sneezing
fit. She sighed. Weak males were the bane of her existence.

“Come on, we’ve got about forty more minutes until we reach
the cabin and I have a full day of fun planned for us.” Scooting from the bench
seat ended the conversation. She threw a wave toward Sal and strode from the
diner, fully aware that every set of lungs breathed a sigh of relief as soon as
she was gone. Some days she wished she was a normal female. It sucked having to
be always on her guard, always the strong one.