Heat Rising: A KinKaid Wolf Pack Story (9 page)

“I’m okay.” She nodded. “Thanks for asking.”

She smiled as if everything was fine. Yet, the dark circles beneath her eyes and the tight lines around her mouth revealed she was anything but.

He quickened his pace and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Try again,” he stated, narrowing his gaze on her.

“Kaleb…” She sighed and crossed her arms.

“You haven’t told anyone that your heat’s rising yet, have you?”

“I can’t,” she bit out in a harsh whisper, then did a quick survey of the area. “Keep your voice down.”

“Unless you tell someone soon—like your brother—I’m not going to keep my voice down at all.” He would have to, if Kaleb were to save Rosa from herself. What she was trying to do on her own was insane and could be disastrous, affecting the rest of her life.

“Kaleb Dalton…if you do that…” she growled, revealing the tips of her fangs. “I’ll never forgive you.”

“I’m not trying to be a bastard here. I simply care too much about you, and you know that. Four weeks have already passed, and from what I understand about this subject, the whole process normally takes about six weeks. You’re running out of time,” he rasped.

“I can take care of myself.” She marched forward, weaving to the left and attempting a quick getaway.

Kaleb sidestepped, blocking her. “Of that, I have no doubt, angel. But what exactly is your plan? When it comes to this going into heat, you’re dealing with a whole new territory. It’s a biological force of nature, and no matter how strong the female, it
will
take control. You can’t do this alone.”

Rosa’s bright gaze pinned him, then her chin lifted ever so slightly. Damn, sometimes the female had too much pride. “I appreciate your concern,” she said. “But I’ve got this, okay? I won’t let it go too far without alerting my brother when the time comes.” She glanced down at her nails, then at some distant spot over his shoulder. “I just need a little more time to sort some things out. This has to be my call.” Once more, she faced him, but this time weariness lurked in her blue depths. And it stirred something deep inside him, as if she’d reached out and stroked his soul, seeking mercy. “You can understand that…right?”

And there was no other course of action to take than to give her just that—mercy. Kaleb nodded. “I do.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and brushed past him.

“Angel?”

She glanced back over her shoulder.

“Please…just don’t wait too long and make me have to rip into some male who might lose what few brains cells he has and try to touch you.”

A smile chased away the shadows from her eyes. “You’d do that for me, wouldn’t you?”

“In a heartbeat.” He closed the couple of feet separating them. “I’d never let anyone hurt you,” he stated, his tone deadly serious. Kaleb gently traced the back of his knuckles along the smooth surface of her delicate jawline. Rosa leaned into his caress, her eyelids fluttering closed.

Clasping her fingers over his, she opened her eyes, their gazes colliding. “I promise. I won’t put you in that situation. What I’ve asked of you already, keeping this secret for me… It was more than you should have ever been asked to do. I shouldn’t have placed you in the middle of this.” Rosa shook her head, letting him go and turning away.

“Being there for you is never a hardship, angel.”
Because I love you.
The words screamed for release inside his skull. But a part of him knew his confession was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She had enough emotional stress of her own without having to deal with his as well.

“I don’t ever want to hurt you, Kaleb.” Her voice cracked, tearing him in two. “You don’t deserve that.”

“Rosa…” God, he never could stand to hear the sound of pain in her voice. He reached out, but as if she’d sensed his intentions, Rosa pulled away before Kaleb made contact. He watched as she disappeared inside her family’s dwelling.

“What’s going on?”

Kaleb’s spine stiffened at the sound of his friend’s dark voice. Landry stepped up beside him. Yet, both stared straight ahead at the closed door as if the act of meeting each other’s eyes would prove too much, too…overexposed.

“Nothing,” Kaleb muttered.

“Didn’t look that way to me.”

“Then maybe you should get your vision checked ‘cause you’re wrong.”

A grunt registered from the other shifter before he sauntered forward.

“You planning on making some big reveal to Evin regarding what you told me last night?” Not that it would make a damn bit of difference about the outcome if he spilled his guts or not. But knowing Landry, Kaleb wouldn’t be surprised if the male laid it all out like a martyr with his head on the chopping block.

Landry’s footsteps drew up short, his back to Kaleb. “The alpha deserves to know the whole truth about what he’s dealing with.”

“Shit,” Kaleb spat.

And Landry spun. “What? You have a problem with that?” Landry marched forward, stopping only when his face was up in Kaleb’s. “It’s not like it’s
your
ass on the line here.”

“No. But yours is,” Kaleb growled, refusing to retreat even with over two hundred pounds of pissed off shifter breathing down his neck. “And since you’re my partner and my friend, yeah, I have a big problem when you’re about to do something stupid.”

“How is keeping the alpha informed of every aspect of a potential war between our packs stupid? It’s my damn job,” Landry bit out, pivoted, his palms going to the hilt of the weapons strapped to his waist.

“Because what you’re about to confess changes nothing. If we go to war, we go to war. What went down between you and Arick measures up to a drop in the bucket of tension between the Gregorsons and KinKaids. Your mistake was just that, a one-time mistake. You didn’t know who he was, and you didn’t tell him anything that would put us at risk.” Kaleb closed in, his chest nearly touching Landry’s back. Lowering his voice, Kaleb added, “Despite what you like to believe, you’re not solely responsible for every bad thing that goes down in this pack.”

“Kaleb…” Landry shook his head, lowered it, and sighed. “I’m going to pretend I just didn’t hear you suggest I keep this a secret from the alpha.”

The hard headed son of a—
“What’s changed?” Kaleb maneuvered his body between Landry and the door. “You didn’t tell him about your encounter with Arick after the culling, only that you knew it was the Gregorsons—you recognized a scent. So why now?”

“Because at that point in time, I hadn’t made the connection between the two incidents.” Landry’s nostrils flared, as if he needed the extra oxygen to keep his cool. “I didn’t realize my fuck-up with Arick had probably incited the bastard. He didn’t say it in so many words, not really. But before I walked out, Arick got his message across. He wants me, and there’s going to be hell to pay until the shifter gets everything he’s after.”

“Fuck…” Kaleb ran a palm over his head and closed his eyes. “You forgot to mention that detail.”

“Yeah…well. I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly last night.”

Kaleb lifted his lashes, their gazes colliding. Sparking. An arrow of heat spiraled down Kaleb’s spine, detonating in his cock, launching him backward in time. Landry was on top of him, the hard feel of the other male’s erection rubbing against his own. He wanted him.
Fuck that.
Kaleb had wanted Landry.

But once again, it was Landry who broke the spell. “I need to get inside,” he mumbled, brushing past Kaleb, leaving him dazed, rocked.

A tilt-a-whirl.

His mind spun as if he’d climbed on and couldn’t find his way back off. Between his feelings for Rosa, the need and emotional connection growing for his best friend…
damn
…his brain was on a perpetual carnival ride, being slingshot back and forth from one to the other. His craving for the first burned inside as if every molecule in his veins were starved for oxygen. And his desire for the other was growing into a gnawing hunger, as if his core—his soul was hollow.

“Kaleb.”

The sound of his name yanked him back into the moment. He turned, finding the alpha and his mate, Mason, drawing up behind him. “Good morning, Sir,” he said, squaring his shoulders.

Evin nodded.

“Morning, Kaleb,” Mason added, from beside the alpha, his blond hair cropped in short neat layers, his brown eyes shining as if life couldn’t be better. And Kaleb was sure it had to be pretty damn sweet, considering the rumors of what they’d weathered to be together.

“Is everyone inside?” Evin shrugged his black leather jacket off his shoulders and pulled his arms free. The younger alpha was a nice change from his father’s more rigid formality.
No matter the time of day, Barron KinKaid always presented himself in a dress shirt and slacks.

“I haven’t been here long myself. But I know Landry and Rosa just went in.”

“Okay.” Evin placed a palm to his mate’s lower back. “Let’s all join them inside then and get this started.”

Rosa took a seat near the back of the room, facing the large oval table in what used to be her father’s boardroom. Rubbing her damp palms over her jean clad thighs, she focused on doing her best to slow her racing pulse. While dressing that morning, common sense had argued that by attending the impromptu meeting, there was no way she could avoid running into Kaleb or Landry. But after the vision she’d experienced of hearing Evin call out her name, then later watching through his eyes as he charged across their border as if going to war, Rosa didn’t really have a choice. She had to keep herself informed and prepared for whatever was yet to come. Besides, she couldn’t hide away. If neither Landry nor Kaleb were on her short list for possible mates, she had a decision to make. And fast.

Her stomach roiled.

There was just one small problem with that plan. The thought of mating with a male other than one of the two who’d already claimed pieces of her heart made her nauseous.
Dear Lord
. Her options sucked. Rosa rolled her eyes. But she couldn’t have both. Wasn’t there a saying about not being able to have your cake and eat it too?

In their pack, a shifter only bonded to one mate. Not to mention what her brother’s reaction would be if two males attempted to claim her for their own. Evin would have their throats. He would never stand for his sister to be taken in such a way. The memory of the other night when her waking dream of Kaleb and Landry had swamped her…filled her…came flooding back. Her core pulsed, swelled, until the cluster of nerves at the apex of her pussy ached. Clenching her teeth, Rosa swallowed the moan building in her throat and crossed her legs.

Big mistake.

The pressure on her clit sent a jolt straight through her womb. Her breath hitched, and she froze. Afraid if she moved another inch her orgasm would crest and shatter around her. Her brother’s voice resounded from the hallway.

Breathe.
She just had to breathe. Think of anything else other than—

“Mind if I sit here?” Kaleb eased onto the seat beside her, his hard thigh brushing hers, the wild scent of cedar and mint invading her nostrils.
Oh, God.
She closed her eyes tight.
Not here. Not now, Kaleb.

Wrong move.
She couldn’t escape his presence inside her head. Planting her feet on the floor, the first wave broke, knocking a whimper past her lips.

“Rosa…?” It was Kaleb. “What’s—” The sound of a deep inhale reached her ears. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

She had to get out of there. Her eyelids flew open, and Rosa shoved back her chair, making a weak-kneed dart for the door. The fall of heavy boots behind her telegraphed Kaleb was hot on her heels.

Dear, God… No… He had to leave her alone. Every step sent another quake through her arms and legs, another spasm of her too empty sex.

“Rosa,” he called out, his voice hushed.

Heads turned as she weaved her way past the enforcers in the hallway gathering to enter the boardroom. She didn’t dare make eye contact to assess whether or not they’d caught a whiff of her current situation. Embarrassment didn’t begin to define her state of mind. Mortified was more like it.

“Rosa…wait.”

Hell, no. She just needed a few minutes alone to regroup. Rosa yanked on the door to the bathroom. Thank God, she’d made it there with minimal contact with any other male. But before she could turn the lock, Kaleb tugged the handle out of her hand. She gasped and stumbled back. Decked out from head to toe in his black enforcer uniform, his blue gaze feral, weapons strapped to his waist, and legs braced wide, Kaleb stood in the doorway like a predator who’d tracked his prey. And he’d come for her.

Rosa shuddered. “Go. Away. Kaleb,” she managed to say, her voice hoarse.

He growled and crossed the threshold, closing the door and locking it behind him. “Anything for you, angel.” His gaze locked on hers, turning her already heated sex molten. “But not this one time.”

Kaleb blurred, then her back was against the wall, his hard body against hers.

“Kaleb,” she breathed on a moan. “I…”

“Shh…” he whispered, lowering his head to her lips. “Open for me, angel. Let me in.” With the tips of his fingers, he lifted her chin, his gaze hooded. “Just say yes.”

Then his mouth was on hers, and Rosa wanted to scream from the sheer ecstasy of his kiss. He was delicious. Hot and sweet. Hard in all the right places. Unbidden her hips flexed, seeking more, and her leg rose, wrapping around his.
More, more, more.

So out of control.

“Want you,” Kaleb growled, pulling away, his mouth dropping to her neck. The sharp points of his canines scored her sensitive flesh, raising goosebumps over every inch of her body. “God, you have no idea how much I want you.”

“Kaleb,” she groaned. She wanted him too. So damn much, she was nearly crazed from the desire. Her sex ached from the emptiness, and the need for him to fill her. To feel the burn, her muscles stretching, taking him deep until they became one.

Here.

Now.

Strong hands gripped the sides of her head. He speared his fingers into her hair, forcing her to face him. “Tell me you want me,” he demanded, his breathing had reduced to hard pants, a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead. “Just say it, and let me give you the kind of release you need—deserve,” he growled. “Let me be the one.”

Yes. Christ, yes!
Her soul sang out, wanting him in every way. But her head rebelled, yelling for her to stop.
Remember why you are pushing him away.
This was wrong. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t live with the fallout.

“I-I…can’t.”

Kaleb’s head dropped, bowed.

A knot swelled in Rosa’s throat, and her vision blurred. God, why did this have to hurt so much? Why did she have to hurt Kaleb in order to save him—from her?

“I’m so sorry,” she said, her words croaked. “I’m not ready.”

He nodded right before his palms slapped the wall beside her head. Rosa jumped.

In silence, Kaleb pushed away, turning toward the door, his gait rigid. He twisted the lock, then pulled the door open. At the last second, he glanced over his shoulder, his gaze pained with unspent lust.

“Tell your brother today, Rosa. Before this happens again and some other male finds you, and he can’t or won’t walk away.” His eyelids narrowed, and Kaleb swallowed hard, fisting the wood. “Because I
will
kill him.”

The door closed behind him, and Rosa’s knees failed. She sank to the floor, her heart heavy, hot tears flowing down her cheeks. This shouldn’t be so damn hard. A sob escaped her throat. Kaleb was right. She was going to have to tell the alpha. No matter how much she wanted to deny, rage, and demand she had more time—that precious commodity had run out.

Minutes, maybe an hour later—she had no idea how long she’d zoned out planted on the tile—Rosa swiped the tears from her face and pushed off the floor. Gathering her hair to one side, she pivoted in front of the mirror over the sink. Her stomach clenched at the sight. The brown line, the indicator of her heat’s progression was only an inch from her hairline. Once it crossed over, every male within a few feet of her would detect her scent—a female in full-blown heat and in need of a mate.

Rosa inhaled deeply, smoothing a palm over her abdomen. And since she’d never bonded, her body would soon become fertile, pushing her to procreate. She’d always wanted children, but would they end up a result of a loveless joining? Her bottom lip trembled once again, but this time, Rosa choked back the tears. They didn’t solve a damn thing.

Loud voices and heavy footsteps on the other side of the door drew her attention. After a quick use of the facility and washing up, Rosa made her exit.

She sliced her way through the barrage of enforcers and staff, their faces somber. She worked her way back toward the boardroom,
tension hung thick like a heavy curtain in the hallway. Something was definitely wrong. At the door, she found her brother heading out with Mason.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you,” she said.

Evin swung his head her way. “I was wondering what happened to you. Kaleb mentioned having run into you, but I didn’t see you during the meeting with the senior team.”

At the sound of Kaleb’s name, a fresh set of ripples gripped her abdomen.
Stop it!
She chided herself. “Something came up,” she mumbled in reply. “So, what’s going on? What’s happened?” Rosa surveyed the mass of enforcers around them coming and going, their steps hurried.

“I called the meeting this morning because I received early intel informing me the Gregorsons were making their move. Today.”

Rosa’s heart stuttered at the news. They were coming. “How long before they arrive?”

Her brother’s mouth drew tight, and Mason pulled in close, his palm landing protectively on his mate’s shoulder. “They’re here,” Evin stated.

Reflex coiled Rosa’s fist. “Now?”

The alpha nodded. “Just got word they’ve been cleared by the front gates and are on their way here to retrieve the pack member we’ve been holding.” Evin strode into the corridor, Rosa and Mason following.

She couldn’t remember the last time another pack alpha had visited their grounds. Her father had been an intimidating force during his rule, and no outside shifter had dared to intrude. Now, it was her brother’s turn to make his mark, set an example as to how he would control his land. Anxiety seized her chest with its barbed claws as they entered the wide marbled expanse of the KinKaid family foyer. The hum of the encroaching vehicle’s engines roared inside her ears, driving the pace of her heartbeat—the louder and closer they came, the faster her pulse raced. Closing her eyes, she whispered a silent plea to God.
Please protect my brother.

Then the rumble ceased, and her diaphragm stalled, waiting for the next scene to unfold.

With a sudden rush of volume, the double doors to the KinKaid home burst open. Weapon-laden enforcers stood to either side of the doorway, making way for the Gregorson entourage. Rosa stood back, watching as her brother stepped forward to meet their guests. Evin stopped a few feet short of the tall male in the center of the trio.

“Stefan Gregorson, I presume,” her brother began, but his hand failed to present for a handshake. She didn’t blame him. This wasn’t an invite for tea.

“You presume, correctly,” he replied, his voice gruff. The other alpha was the same height as her brother, but stockier. Possessing dark blue eyes, Stefan wore his dark hair long, braided down his back. But the sides of his head were clean-shaven in a modified Mohawk.

Landry worked his way around the group, and Kaleb, mirroring his friend’s movements, did the same from the opposite side. Stefan lifted a brow and glanced to his right, nodding at the shorter male beside him. “My lead enforcer and brother, Arick.” Then to the shifter on his left. “Carl Tucker, brother of the male you’re holding.”

“How could I forget,” Evin stated, his tone cool.

Rosa tracked Landry and Kaleb as they surveyed the new arrivals. If trouble were on the horizon, it would be those two who would sniff it out first. Landry scanned the males, then his gaze lingered on his Gregorson counterpart, Arick. Both males assessed each other, then Landry quickly glanced to his partner. Kaleb’s expression was hard, stoic. But whether it was the current events or their last encounter putting the chill in his stare was anyone’s guess.

With a lift of his chin, Evin motioned for Landry. “My lead enforcer,” Evin said. “Landry Michaels.” Then her brother held out his hand for Mason to come forward, and when he did Evin ran his palm down the other male’s forearm. “My mate, Mason.”

“I’d heard the rumors you’d taken a male for a mate,” Stefan said. “I see that they’re true.”

Evin titled his head in response. “You have a problem with that?”

“Why would I?” Stefan smiled.

“Good answer.”

“I could care less who you fuck.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

Suddenly, the Gregorson lead enforcer stepped from the group and aimed his gaze in Rosa’s direction. “And who might you be?”

But before he could make it a foot from his brother’s side, Landry was in his path, blocking him. At the same moment, Kaleb with a palm on the hilt of his gun stepped behind Arick, sandwiching him between Evin’s two enforcers.

“Easy,” Arick drawled, palms out to his side. “I was just wanting a closer look at the female.” Unflinching dark blue eyes held Landry’s as if begging the enforcer to make a move.

“She’s my sister,” Evin barked, the words ricocheting off the walls of the open two-story space. “Rosa. Now that all the introductions are out of the way, may I suggest you return to your pack mates, enforcer, and let’s proceed with the point of your visit.”

“Yes,” Stefan interjected. “Let’s get this done. My time is valuable as I’m sure your is as well, KinKaid.”

“Of course.” Arick’s mouth curled, and his gaze flicked to Rosa’s. “No harm intended,” he added. Landry sidestepped, his broad shoulders once more erecting a wall between Rosa and Arick. The alpha’s brother retreated, and Kaleb pivoted, allowing him to rejoin the others.