Shifters Gone Alpha (29 page)

Sticky, wet, and sated, the three of us cuddled together on the soft bedding. Catching our breaths. Reconfirming our connection.

“My beautiful loves.” Dante kissed Blaze deeply as his hands slid around my hips, pulling me to lie between them. “I’m so happy we’re all finally home together.”

Home…the word struck me somewhere deep inside, setting off alarm bells. As I closed my eyes to rest between my mates, the memory of that damned chandelier mocked me, making me feel somehow inadequate. That light fixture was some kind of symbol for this entire mansion, which made me feel less than acceptable. The chandelier was far too grand to be in the home of a girl like me.

* * *

“But there has to be something I can do.”

Blaze smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead. Normally, a move I saw as sweet. This time, it seemed condescending.

“You need to rest, sweet girl. You’ve obviously started going into your heat cycle, and I just want you comfortable and happy.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And how exactly would you know I’ve started going into my heat?”

His eyes widened and he blinked twice. “Well, you’ve been a bit…not yourself.”

I raised an eyebrow and waited.

Blaze fidgeted with the ends of his tie, something I’d never seen him do before. “You’ve seemed so tired, and your mood has put both Dante and me on edge.”

“Don’t bring me into this,” Dante said, sweeping me into a hug. “Do whatever you want to do today, my dove. And I see nothing wrong with your mood.”

“Not helping, Dante,” Blaze growled, glowering at the smaller man.

Dante chuckled and pressed his lips to mine, giving me the softest, briefest kiss. “Don’t be too hard on him. He knows not how wrong he is to comment on such things.”

“So basically, you agree with him but don’t want to get in trouble by saying so?” I took a step back, glaring at my idiot mates. They turned to stare at one another, neither saying a word. I huffed a big sigh and shook my head. “Get out. Go to work. Be productive and needed. I’ll be sitting here doing nothing.”

I spun and hurried back to the bedroom before either man could stop me. Damn it, my emotions
were
all over the place. Maybe I was about to go into heat. I’d never had a problem in the past with mood swings, but I was mated now. Things were different.

Everything was different.

I tossed myself on the bed, but the sleep I strived for refused to come. Every time I came close to dropping off, that damned chandelier in the main foyer would swing into my thoughts and startle me awake. The thing seemed to be out for me, which was why I’d hardly left the bedroom in days. That, and my mates had kept me quite occupied while we all enjoyed Blaze’s time off. But the minivacation was over, and the boys were headed back out into the mansion to work. Meanwhile I stayed behind with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and a giant chandelier making me feel smaller by the hour.

Such a ridiculous thing to be afraid of.

After too long lying in bed not sleeping, I threw off the covers and stalked into the bathroom. I needed a break. I needed to release some tension. I needed to explore this ridiculous palace instead of hiding in the back of the private wing like a coward.

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed, polished, and ready to go. Sadly, I was also standing in the foyer staring at that gaudy chandelier.

“Just…walk under it,” I said, suddenly so thankful none of Blaze’s guards stayed in the personal wing. They’d truly think I was off my rocker if they heard me talking to myself, especially about a light fixture.

I took a deep breath, lifted my chin…

And scurried along the wall so as not to walk directly underneath the ridiculous thing.

When I reached the main doors to the mansion, I paused, unsure what to do. Blaze and Dante had guards in place out there. There was a retinal scanner, for Pete’s sake! If I left, would I be able to get back in? Would the guards know who I was or think I was a threat? I’d been in Merriweather Fields for four days, and I had yet to leave the private wing. I had a brief niggle of “maybe you should wait for one of your mates” before I huffed and stomped to the door. Screw it… I’d never been afraid to walk down a hallway before, why start now?

I swung open the door, only to find a huge shifter staring at me, wide-eyed.

“Miss Moira,” he said, seeming nervous. “Is there something I can do for you?”

I faltered, unsure of protocol. “Uh…no, I’m just going for a walk.”

“A walk?” he asked. “Is the president aware of your plans?”

I stood taller, his words making something buried deep under new fears bristle. “Is there some reason I can’t go for a walk?”

“No, ma’am. It’s just—” He looked around as if searching for help. “Ma’am, President Zenne was adamant that you were not going to be leaving the private wing.”

“Well, President Zenne was wrong. I’m going for a walk.”

He cursed as I walked away, though he didn’t follow me. Small victory, I assumed. But the farther away from the private wing I walked, the more I realized how little I had actually won. Guards popped up at every corner, watching me, staring with their almost identical flat eyes. The farther I walked, the worse it got. Finally, I snuck through a set of double doors, slamming them behind me and leaning against them with my eyes closed, just to get a break from the constant pressure of their eyes on me.

When I reopened my eyes, my jaw dropped. Books. From the floor to the soaring ceiling above, lining every wall. All colors and sizes, they created a painting within the dark wood shelves where they rested. Over the tall windows, stacked on tables, piled on the huge desk, books owned this room. I loved it.

“Dove?” Dante’s voice was soft, careful, as he walked through a door on the far side of the room. “What are you doing down here?”

“I—” I paused and licked my lips, still intrigued by all the information housed in the room, “—I wanted to walk around.”

“We could take you for a tour after work, if you like.”

I shook my head, staring at a wall of green leather spines. “I’m fine on my own.”

The leather felt cold under my fingers, rough with age. I trailed a finger along the top edge, reading titles when I could, wondering about the different languages some were written in when I couldn’t.

“You like to read?” Dante asked. I glanced over my shoulder, smiling at him.

“Very much so.”

He moved to the desk, resting a hip on the corner and crossing his legs at the ankles. “This is Blaze’s personal library. Five hundred years of knowledge, all hoarded away by one man.”

“Just Blaze?”

Dante hummed, moving closer. “Yes. It’s his one obsession, the thing most of his income goes to. These books encompass years of his hard work and make up the majority of his wealth.”

I yanked my fingers away from the leather, the unknown value of such a collection making me uneasy even as my eyes skittered across title after title. “It’s incredibly beautiful.”

“So are you.”

I grinned and snuck a peek at him over my shoulder. “You’re biased.”

“Not in the least. Every man in this building would say the same.” He approached slowly, stalking me, very much making me his prey. “The guards are all whispering about you, did you know?”

“I assumed.” My breath caught as he pressed himself against my back, the warmth of his body making me tingle.

“They can smell Blaze and me on you, and they’re curious about our loveplay. A beautiful, sexy shifter joining an established mating. It’s the stuff men dream about.”

I sighed as his hands slid up to cover my breasts. “Not just men.”

He chuckled against my neck as his fingers pinched and teased my nipples. “What do you dream of, my dove? What fantasies do you have that we haven’t learned?” He growled, biting my neck, massaging my heavy breasts, and pressing his erection against my ass. “What thought makes those fingers of yours bury themselves deep inside your sweet pussy?”

I dropped my forehead against the bookcase, breathing hard, wetness spreading between my legs.

“I don’t…” I stumbled over my words, unsure, shaking my head. “I don’t know.”

His fingers paused, and he pulled his head back from my neck. “You don’t know?”

“No.”

He slid his hand down my stomach, lower, cupping my pussy over the fabric of my dress. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“What?” I writhed against his hand, desperate. Needy. Wanting.

He leaned harder against me, pushing me into the bookcase as his fingers began a wicked massage over my swollen clit. “You’re so confident, so sure. You climbed on top of the most powerful shifter who’s ever lived and demanded he claim you the way you wanted to be claimed. I would have expected you to give me a list of your desires in order of priority with full details of places and possibilities, not tell me you don’t know.”

Pressing harder, his fingers brought me higher and higher toward my orgasm, teasing and stroking and working me in just the right way. And God, I loved it. Loved the feel of him rutting against me, loved the way he dominated me, loved how he was so focused on my pleasure.

Oh fuck, I loved
him
. Something I hadn’t said, hadn’t truly thought about. Hadn’t given myself the chance to realize.

“Dante.” My orgasm stole my breath, leaving his name with little more than a rough growl behind it. He continued his torment, rubbing me through my clothes, teasing me through my pleasure. Making it last. Making me nearly weak with the power of it.

“Did you like that, dove?” he growled, still hard, still pressing against my ass.

“Yes.”

“Good.” He pulled back. I waited for him to pull up my skirt, to grab my hips and press inside me, but instead he pulled the fabric down so it fluttered around my knees and turned me to face him.

“I have to go back to work, my dove. You think about those fantasies; I want you to tell me all about them tonight.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

I trailed a single fingertip over the obvious erection behind his suit pants. “What about this?”

He chuckled. “I’ll deal with it. There isn’t time to do all the delicious things I want to with you right now, and I am a man who never does anything half-assed.”

Dante leaned down, kissing the pout off my lips. His dark eyes speared me, saying so much without words.

“Are you going back to the private wing?” he asked, holding me in his arms, rocking me as I clung to him.

I shrugged. “I was thinking of finding the kitchen. I’m hungry.”

“The staff will bring you food.”

And just like that, my happy, afterglow mood fell. Chandeliers and staff who brought me food. Just…no.

I shook my head against his chest. “I like to cook.”

He pulled back, watching me, his face concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” I huffed. “I just want to make my own lunch, if that’s allowed.”

His dark eyebrows rose. “We’re not lording over you, Moira. You have no rules here.”

“But the guards—”

“The guards are here to keep you safe, not contain you. If you want to go for a walk, go. If you want to shift and go for a run, please do. But take a guard with you. You are precious and vital to Blaze and me. We want you safe.”

I sighed, feeling guilty and ridiculous. My mates had waited centuries to find me, their missing third. Of course they were only concerned about my safety. “I know.”

“Go, cook some food if that’s what you want to do.” He pulled back after one final kiss. “You’ll find the kitchens in the basement.”

I stared at him, at his choice of word. Hoping I misheard him. “Kitchens?”

He shrugged, casual, as if having multiple kitchens was somehow normal. “We have a lot of people here to feed.” He gave me a sad smile and pulled free from my hold. “I really must get back to work. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I’m good.” I wrapped my arms around my chest, chilled and altogether uncomfortable. “You go on.

“Moira, are you—”

“Really. I’m fine,” I interrupted, the burn of growing tears making me rush. Wishing he would just leave. “I’ll go find the kitchens. Plural.”

His eyebrows fell, a look of worry and sadness crossing his handsome face. “If you’re sure.”

“Go, you silly man.” I pasted on my brightest smile and waved. “I’m fine.”

He nodded once, whispering, “Have fun, my dove,” before turning away. Dante left out the side door with a blown kiss, one final look back before he left me alone. As soon as the door closed behind him, the smile dropped from my face and I curled my shoulders inward. Sadness and confusion made my heart hurt and my stomach twist. What was I here? Who was I here? Just the mate of the owners? The weak link in their life, locked away in a far-off wing, kept separate from the rest of the shifters who came and went through the mansion? And if so, how would that ever be enough? How could I ever be enough for them if I could barely leave the private wing?