Racing The Alpha (Dirt Track Dogs #1) (4 page)

Ella shook her head, feeling emotional from the conversation.

“It’s true,” Drake said, “You fit in with us better than you might think.”

She stared at her fisted hand resting on the countertop. Maybe he was right. “My… my daddy said my mother died in that same fire. But I never knew her. I was too young to remember.”

Drake went still, and she glanced up at him. His brow was furrowed, his eyes searching her so intently she wondered if he’d be able to read her mind.

“Your mom lived in the mountains?”

Ella nodded. “Closer to Milton than Cedar Valley. We all did. But then after her death, daddy moved us into town.”

Drake stood suddenly, planting his hands on the counter and staring at the wall behind her head.

“Freeman… Freeman…” he muttered. His gaze snapped to her. “Charles. Your father is Charles Freeman.”

Ella took a step back. “You know my daddy?” He couldn’t. Daddy talked about Drake and the Dirt Track Dogs, but only in the way of a diehard racing fan. He didn’t actually
know
them.

Drake shook his head, the foreboding look on his face freezing her to her spot on the floor and making her stomach cramp in warning.

“No.” His breath rushed out, and he stared at her in that way one does when they think they’ve seen a ghost. “No, but I know someone who does.”

Drake was looking into a dark tunnel and a whole lot of ‘oh shit’ was chugging up the tracks. This was unbelievable. And if he’d had an inkling of doubt before about whether or not Ella belonged in their pack, it was long gone. Flying in the fucking wind above Utah by now. Or hell, maybe it was already in another continent.

Damn. How was he supposed to tell her this? Rip the band-aid off, or lather that fucker with Vaseline first?

“I think you’d better tell me what you mean by that.” Her voice shook, but her face was stoic.

Drake sighed. Fast and hard was always his way. No reason to go and change things up now.

“Your daddy was mated to Blister’s sister. Your mother. That makes Blister your uncle. Weird, I know, but there was a ten year age gap between them.” As if the age discrepancy was the strangest part of this equation. “When everything burned, your cabin was leveled. They found the body of your mother but never yours or Charlie’s. You were both assumed dead. But Blister was the only survivor of your pack so—”

“Stop!”

Drake obeyed, taking in her furious expression. Several of the bar patrons turned their gazes in his direction, and an employee with jet black hair and a pierced… well, everything, glared at him.

“What the hell is this?” Ella hissed. “Are you messing with me so I’ll leave? Is that it?”

Oh, no. No, that was definitely not it. After what Surge told them last night, Ella wasn’t going anywhere. Not that Drake would’ve parted with her anyway. He’d be stuck on her like a tick on a deer for the rest of forever as far as he was concerned. But all these details just falling into place solidified that decision.

Ella belonged here, with him. With the club.

He shook his head, pegging her with his eyes. “No, Ella. I’m telling you the hand-to-heart truth. If you are the daughter of Charles Freeman, then you are also the niece of my friend Blister. It’s a small, small world, baby. Gets smaller everyday.”

She was shaking, her face turning a shade of red that had him worried for her health. Except…

Surge had explained her strange, yet familiar scent. Ella was a shade. A shifter who’d been raised as a human and somehow never changed into their animal form as they should have when they grew from a young. They were rare, so Drake had had his doubts.

But if anyone could recognize the scent it would be Surge, since he was also a shade.
Was
being the operative word. He’d transitioned into a full blown shifter years ago. But not before it drove him a little crazy. He was lucky though. His random outbursts of laughter were nothing compared to the stories of psychotic shades that were passed down to Drake as a young. Back then, he would’ve bet the stories were made up to scare people. Now, he knew better, and he wasn’t letting something like that happen to his mate.

“You okay, El?” Ella’s co-worker with all the metal touched her shoulder and she flinched. “He bothering you? I can get Pete to toss him out.”

Ella shook her head, her eyes wide and crazy.

Shit. She didn’t know it, but the animal part of her was extremely unstable. Maybe the band-aid approach wasn’t the best idea after all.

“Can we go somewhere to talk?” If he could get her out of this place and away from all these people, she could feel safer to express herself. And he’d feel better knowing no one was in harm’s way.

“She’s not going anywhere with you,
dog
,” the woman spat.

Drake stood to his full height, looking down at her. Who was this woman who thought she could answer for his mate?

“I don’t know you but I think your business is over there somewhere.” He gestured dismissively to the back of the bar.

She crossed her arms, clearly not going anywhere.

Drake leaned across the bar to stare into Ella’s eyes. “Let’s go outside. Get some fresh air.”

She narrowed her troubled gaze on him, but then stormed off toward the door.

“You’d better watch it, asshole,” the other woman snapped. “You fuck with her and it’ll be the last time you fuck with anything.”

“Are
you
threatening
me
?”

She leaned across the counter, her voice low. “Yes. And I don’t make empty threats. I’ve spent a lifetime dreaming up ways to dismember the member, if you know what I mean.”

Son of a bitch. This woman was scary. If Drake was human, he’d never want to cross her.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he muttered, following Ella out the back door and into the small alley.

She paced the area, and Drake let the door slam shut behind him. Back and forth she went, becoming more and more agitated. He wanted to do something to help her, to distract her, to take away the pain she must be feeling over her father. But there was so much more he needed to tell her first.

“Say something.” He kept his voice soft, hoping her wolf could feel what he was projecting: he was there for her. No matter what she was thinking or feeling, or what their future held, he would always be there for her because she was his. Even if she went batshit crazy from being a shade. They’d work through it.

Truth was, he never imagined he’d have this chance. Never truly thought he’d have a female of his own to care for. Now that she was here, he hardly knew what to do with himself. Surely he couldn’t go wrong with being available. He’d be anything she needed. Everything she needed. How could that fail?

She stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. “Say something?
Say
something
? What exactly should I say to you? You just told me one of your friends is my long lost uncle, and I have absolutely no way to prove whether you’re right or not because I never actually
knew
my mother. You… you could be lying to me for all I know. And besides that, to go from having no family to having family in the span of thirty seconds is a little bit of an emotional leap for me, so.”

“Your father must’ve talked about her. Or her family. Surely he—”

“No. He wouldn’t talk about my mother. Only when I was older, and only long enough to tell me how she’d died.” She got a faraway look in her eyes. “He must have loved her very much. Dredging up those memories sent him to bed for weeks.”

“He never told you of your ancestors.”

She shook her head. “But then, why would he if they were all dead? What would be the point?”

“The history of who we are is important, Ella.” Especially so, for one like her. Not knowing what was inside her was dangerous. “What did he tell you as a child?”

Shaking her head, she crossed her arms. “Why should I tell you? My memories of my daddy are precious. Why would I share them?”

“Because I want to help you. And because I would never take them for granted.” He pocketed his hands to keep from brushing his fingers across her cheek. He needed the anchor of touch right now. Figured she needed it too even though he suspected it wouldn’t be welcomed. In the moment, the best he could do was be sincere. “I’d recognize it for what it is. A gift.”

She sighed, running one hand through her dark hair. “Whenever I’d ask about her, he’d change the subject. He used to tell me stories.”

“What stories?”

She gave an uncomfortable shrug. “Fairytales. You know, humans that turn into animals, knights fighting dragons, that kind of thing.” Her tone became wistful. “There was this one about a guardian angel who could only be seen as a wolf. Unless you were dreaming. In your dreams, you could see him and he looked like every other person, so you never knew…” Her voice faded and she dragged her hands down her face.

“Never knew what?”

“If he was real, or if there was more out there somewhere,” she muttered.

“More wolves?”

She nodded, chewing on her lip in frustration.

Her dad had told her about shifters. She didn’t realize it, and Drake could only guess at why the old man had pretended her history was only a fable, but it didn’t matter. She knew things. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as he’d thought.

“I know what you’re feeling, that gnawing inside. I’ve been there. And it’s okay to feel it. It’s actually good to feel it. It is
not
good to ignore it.”

“How could you know anything about what I’m feeling right now?”

Her voice was small and uncertain but that hint of bravery had Drake taking a cautious step forward.

“I told you, I lost everything in the fire. My...” —he couldn’t mention his wolf yet— “…the part inside of me that makes me who I am, it just…” he brought his hand in front of him, grabbing a fistful of air and twisting it, “… churned and churned. It couldn’t rest no matter what I tried.”

Her eyes lit with understanding. “How did you make it stop?”

“I let it out.”

Ella frowned. “Let it out?”

Drake nodded, inching closer. “Let go,” he murmured. “Release it. Free yourself.”

She dragged a hand through her hair, pulling at the thick strands. “How? I don’t know how.”

The hopeless look on her face tore at his heart, making his wolf crazy. He needed to help her turn. He needed to bring her animal out. It was the only way to make things better, to help her heal, but he didn’t want to scare her.

Aw, fuck it.

Drake closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. She fell against his chest with a shuddering breath, and something clicked inside him. Like the tumblers of a lock slipping into place. His heart was opening right up.

Was it supposed to be this easy? Was he supposed to care this much for his mate this quickly? Because it was happening, and he didn’t want to slow anything down. He
wanted
to be so invested in her that their needs were one and the same. He wanted the mating bond and every fucking thing that came along with it.

Drake breathed her in, imprinting her scent.

Shit, if he was really going to do this, just shock her into shifting, they needed privacy.

His chest squeezed in trepidation. What if this was a mistake? What if she wasn’t ready?

He sighed. No, she needed this, to be one with her animal.

Gently, he cradled her jaw, tilting her face to meet his. He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip and she gasped at the tender contact. Slowly, giving her every chance to stop him if she wanted, he bent and tugged her lip between his, sucking and licking, before pressing his mouth more firmly to hers.

She tasted warm and decadent. She reminded him of hot fudge and cinnamon.

He wanted so much more.

Sliding his tongue along the seam of her lips, he begged admission. Tasting his mate seemed like the most important thing in that single moment. Showing her, shifter to shade, what they could be if she let go.

She opened a fraction and he took every advantage of the submission, delving inside to explore her mouth. He moaned, pressing her back against the door of the bar. Her short nails dug into the skin at the nape of his neck, and she moved her tongue urgently against his.

Fuck, yes
. He needed her to lose control.

But not here. Not where others could see. He’d take her home first.

Drake pulled back, breathing hard. “When is your shift over?”

Ella shook her head, looking confused. Her eyes were glazed with lust. Fucking hell, she looked perfect in this moment.

“There’s still another hour. Why?” She gripped his shoulders tightly.

Drake bent to run his nose along her jaw. Damn, she smelled divine all lust-ridden.

“We have things to talk about.”

She released a breathy sigh as his teeth grazed her collar bone. “Things?”

“Mm hm. We need to finish this specific conversation.”

“Okay.”

He brought his gaze to hers. “I’ll wait for you. I’ll be in the shop. Come find me.”

Her beautiful eyes cleared and she seemed to realize what they’d done. Even though it was only a kiss, he wouldn’t let her regret a moment of it. It was their first and it was special. And although he wished it hadn’t happened in an alley behind the bar, it was still something he’d treasure always.

“Ella…” He was going to tell her something. He was going to give a piece of himself away. Shit, it made him nervous but if he couldn’t be open with his female, then what kind of wolf was he? Besides he wanted her to know how much that kiss meant to him.

Drake lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered. “That was my very first kiss. Now I want more.”

He didn’t hang around to see her reaction. He headed straight to his car, pointing it in the direction of the club. He’d wait for her like he said. They’d finish this one way or another.