Protector's Mate (3 page)

One of his strong fingers lifted her chin, forcing her gaze upward. The concern she saw in his dark eyes surprised her. “I think we lost them, okay?”

She nodded mutely. If she spoke, her voice would shake and she couldn’t afford to show any weakness.

He frowned and stroked her cheek with the rough pad of his thumb. “You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

When his voice softened like that, her stomach did annoying little flips. She swallowed hard and fought for control. “I’d like to take a shower, if that’s all right.”

More than anything she wanted to get out from under his watchful gaze. She suspected he could smell her desire and it was embarrassing. If she could get a few minutes to herself, she’d be able to gather her thoughts and contain her searing lust. The last time she’d reacted this badly to a man had been five years ago. Unfortunately, it had been to
Alaric
. But she’d been so young then and she’d never met any shifters outside her pack up until that point. It had been a silly crush. At least that’s what she told herself. So why was she experiencing the same rush of uncontrollable desire again?

His dark eyes narrowed a fraction but he nodded. “Fine. The shower is upstairs. First door on the right. But when you’re finished, we’re going to talk.”

Something about the way he said “talk” sent a shiver of something—fear maybe—rolling over her skin. When she’d run away she’d known there would be repercussions if she’d been caught, but no one had come after her. Maybe that’s what was happening now. Since she hadn’t officially declared her intent to leave her old pack she was still technically governed by whatever Alpha ruled her territory. A heavy knot twisted inside her and pulled tight. She’d run before and she’d do it again if she had to.

Chapter Three

Alaric waited until he heard the sound of running water upstairs before calling his Alpha.

Knox answered on the first ring. “Everything okay with Felicia?”

“Yeah, but she seems to think I plan to hurt or punish her or something.” He dug his fingers into his palm at the thought of someone harming the petite she-wolf.

“Hurt her?” A sharp bark of laughter escaped Knox.

“Listen, that’s not our only problem.” He quickly filled his leader in on the attempted attack after he’d picked Felicia up from the airport.

When he was finished Knox was silent for a moment. “Vamps or shifters?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not a good thing whoever it was.” Especially since the formal treaty between both species hadn’t been signed. Neither side wanted any violent incidents before then. Even if it was a couple of rogue vamps who had tried to attack them, since there wasn’t an official method of punishing rogues, it wouldn’t do shifters as a whole any good if he meted out justice to vampires—even if his actions would be justified. Vamps could use his actions to try to gain leverage for the signing. Knox’s sigh was heavy but he didn’t respond. He didn’t have to because they both knew how fragile the future was at the moment. “I’ll send some of the men to check out the accident. See if they can pick up a scent. What about you? When are you bringing her in?”

Alaric had wanted a few days alone with her before bringing her to the compound and under the protection of her new pack, but his Alpha needed him and he couldn’t shirk his duties. Since he was second in command, staying close to Knox right now was important. “I need a night alone with her, but we’re at the safe house.” Only Knox and Alaric’s brothers knew about the place so unless someone managed to track them down—and considering how many side streets and detours he’d taken them on, he doubted it—he could keep Felicia safe for the night.

“It’s up to you. If you want more time with her, you’ve got it.”

“Thanks.” When he heard the shower upstairs stop, he got off the phone and quickly pulled his clothes from his backpack.

He tugged on a pair of jeans but kept the top button undone. He preferred to walk around naked but it had obviously bothered Felicia. At least she’d
noticed
him. Not that he’d been trying to hide his reaction. He wanted to make it clear he was interested. She’d been ready to get the hell away from him though. It surprised him how deep her small rejection had cut him. Over the past few months they’d become friends—or he’d thought they had.

Thanks to his contacts overseas he knew she hadn’t dated or been intimate with anyone in the past two years. If she’d shown a remote interest in
anyone
while overseas—human or shifter—he’d have been on the first plane to see her. His inner beast wouldn’t have allowed him any other option. Hundreds of years ago he’d tamed and controlled his animal side, but the thought of Felicia with another male made something deep and dark inside him roar with anger and possessiveness.

A lot had changed since she’d been gone. Most of her old pack members had dispersed to various parts of the country, though a few had assimilated into Knox’s pack. Felicia didn’t seem to even care to meet the new pack. She’d come back to Huntsville and hadn’t told a soul—including him—so he could only guess what her plans were. And she seemed intent to keep him at arm’s length. That bothered him more than anything. He knew he should have mentioned his Alpha had taken over her old pack’s territory in their email correspondence. Hell, he’d had plenty of opportunity but something had held him back. He hadn’t wanted to spook her into cutting off all contact with him. He hadn’t been willing to risk it. Not when she’d started opening up to him.

Before he heard her, he scented her descending the stairs. Something sweet, exotic and vanilla tickled his nose as she entered the brightly lit kitchen.

She’d twisted her damp hair into some sort of knot above her neck and her flawless skin glowed from being freshly scrubbed. Those electric blue eyes of hers regarded him carefully. Against her tanned skin they were piercing. His gaze trailed down to where she clutched her towel tighter against her chest and all he could think about was pulling it off her and seeing what he’d missed earlier. The thought of what color her nipples would be had kept him awake at night.

She loudly cleared her throat. “Can I have my clothes?”

Jerking his head to meet her gaze, he nodded at the backpack lying open on the kitchen island. “In the bag.” He had to stop staring like a pervert if he didn’t want to freak her out. Though he was tempted to hand them to her, he didn’t trust himself to get so close to her when she was practically naked. The urge to touch her was overwhelming and his inner wolf was clawing at the surface. He turned toward the stainless steel refrigerator and pulled it open. “Are you hungry?”

“No, I ate on the plane, but a drink would be nice, thank you.” He could hear her moving around behind him.

A gentleman would let her get dressed with some sense of privacy. He was barely civilized, however. As he turned around she was tugging on a slim-fitting pair of pants. Before she pulled them fully up, he got an eyeful of more than he bargained for.

She’d already put her sweater on so he missed seeing her breasts but he got the perfect view of her lower body. Her slim waist flared into surprisingly curvy hips. He barely bit back a growl as he watched the material slide up her legs. She’d been hiding a lot under those baggy cargo pants. And the soft thatch of perfectly trimmed dark hair covering her mound made him inwardly groan. Knowing she wouldn’t be wearing anything underneath her clothes had him breaking out into a sweat. When his gaze finally trailed back up to her face, her cheeks were tinged crimson.

“Do you have no manners?” she snapped, but he didn’t miss the burst of desire that rolled off her.

He fought a smile. “Not generally.”

“Well…where’s my drink?” The haughty way she asked sent a jolt of awareness to his cock.

He knew she was trying to cover her embarrassment. “We’ve got beer, wine, orange juice—”

“Wine is perfect,” she muttered as she took a seat on one of the high-backed chairs at the center island.

“What made you decide to finally come back to Alabama?” He tried to keep his question casual.

She bit her bottom lip and he could tell she was weighing her answer. Finally she shrugged but he didn’t miss the flash of pain in her eyes. “My contract was over so I had to go somewhere. It’s the only home I’ve ever known and I still have a few human friends here from school. Mainly I…didn’t know where else to go.”

Her soft-spoken declaration touched something deep inside him. A place he’d forgotten existed. For the past three hundred years he’d been part of Knox’s pack but even for the two hundred before that, he’d always had his brothers. After their parents had died, the four of them had stuck together until joining with Knox. They were all alpha in nature but none of them were true Alphas and they’d been lucky enough to find a good leader. Bottom line, they’d always belonged somewhere.

He knew enough about Felicia’s history to understand that she didn’t have anyone. Not truly. Lamont’s pack had taken her in when she was a cub because she’d had nowhere to go. Didn’t even know who her parents were. Finally he decided to ask the question that had been weighing on him for years. “Why didn’t you call me two years ago instead of leaving the country?” His pack would have taken her in with no questions asked.

She raised her eyebrows. “Why would I have called
you?
” There was no malice in her voice, only utter confusion.

He placed her glass in front of her and sat. “Did Lamont never tell you…” Realization came in a swift punch to his stomach. Of course that sneaky bastard hadn’t told Felicia that Alaric planned to claim her.

“Tell me what?” She eyed him warily as she took a small sip of her wine.

“Nothing.” Now things made sense. If she had no idea of his intentions, she’d likely never given him a second thought after their first and only in-person meeting. His inner wolf had recognized her on a primal level and he’d wanted to claim her right then. He’d even contemplated asking her to join Knox’s pack until she was older. But the beast in him had known he wouldn’t have been able to wait to go after what he wanted. He hadn’t been willing to doom their relationship before it even started. So he’d let her go. Going against all his primitive, dominant instincts had been the hardest thing he’d ever done.

“So who came after us tonight?” she asked.

He wanted to focus the conversation on her and their future, but she had a right to know, since she’d been caught in the crossfire. “About a month ago Knox mated with a vampire. Since then, we’ve had a few incidents in our territory. Nothing we can’t handle. Usually young vampires or shifters who don’t like mixing of the species or just don’t want the treaty to move forward.” He’d kept her informed on the details of the treaty in their emails, so when she finally returned she’d have an idea of how things were changing in North America.

She relaxed slightly at his answer. Just as quickly she frowned again, her pretty lips pulling into a thin line. “We’ve been emailing for
months,
but you failed to mention that your Alpha has taken over my old pack’s territory. I want to know how you knew I’d be at the airport.”

“I have friends in high places.” Most humans might not know about their existence but a powerful few did. Alaric had been alive long enough that he’d made plenty of friends who owed him favors. And he’d been keeping tabs on Felicia from the moment she’d set foot on foreign soil. Something he wasn’t sure she’d want to hear right now so he held back that bit of information.

Taking him by surprise, she slid off her seat and shoved it back. “Fine, don’t give me a straight answer. I’m tired and cranky and unless you plan to hold me hostage, in the morning I’m leaving so—”

Before she could take another step, he was off his seat and had her pinned against the counter. His palms flattened against the flat surface on either side of her. The animal inside him demanded to take over. To claim her,
mark her
. He could feel his canines extending at the thought. Only the feel of her soft hand on his chest calmed him.

“Alaric?” Her voice was breathless and the pulse in her neck jumped with abandon. Lust, wariness and confusion twined off her in equal measures. The mixture of the sweet and sharp scents were an odd contrast.

“Why do you want to leave?” he asked quietly. He wanted to understand why she seemed to be afraid of him. After months of correspondence and getting to know each other—and his obvious physical reaction to her—how could she not know how much he wanted and cared for her? He thought he’d made himself pretty damn clear until he realized she was returning to Alabama without telling him.

“I…shouldn’t have come back here. I have no reason to stay.” Her blue eyes seemed to glow with intensity as she stared at him.

“Maybe I should give you a reason then.”

She sucked in a deep breath but didn’t look away. When her tongue darted out to moisten her pink lips, his entire body tensed as he imagined that tongue flicking over a certain part of his anatomy. Instinctively he rolled his hips against her. Letting her feel what she did to him.

She flushed a deep crimson when she felt the hard press of his erection but she didn’t attempt to move away. A good sign.

“I want to kiss you.” He wasn’t asking but he also didn’t make a move toward her. He wanted her willing and knew he had to play this right.

The hand she’d pressed against his chest suddenly flexed, her fingers digging into his skin. She wasn’t pushing him away. It was almost as if she was trying to ground herself. Her other hand slid up his body and tentatively rested on his shoulder. When her eyes flared with unmasked hunger he took that as all the invitation he needed.

Covering her mouth with his, he barely restrained himself from growling. The slightly sweet taste of her wine mingled with the pureness of something that was all her. Something that made the most primitive part of him wake up and take notice. As her tongue tentatively danced with his, he had to rein in his animal side.

His inner wolf wanted out, to claim and mark her and take her right on the kitchen counter. But now wasn’t the time. Now he needed to show her that not all wolves were like what she’d experienced in the past.