The Alpha's Ardor (3 page)

“You … you never asked … me my name.” The words were breathy and harsh, but Declan forced them out anyways.

“Why should I care what your name is when you’ve lied to me before? When I’ve given you more chances to tell me the truth than I rightfully should have? Why should I believe you when you might just try to lie to me again?” Sharp fangs made the alpha’s words slightly slurred, but they still came across with the full power of his rank behind them.

“Ask … me.” It was the last card Declan had, and it could either save him for the moment or provoke the alpha into killing him quicker. Either way he was out of options.

“What’s your name, little liar?”

“Declan … Declan Adair.” The alpha froze, and Declan saw the moment his name registered, saw the surprise blow crimson eyes wide. Abruptly Declan was released as the large clawed hand that had been around his throat was pulled back as if Declan’s skin was on fire.

“Prove it!” the alpha barked.

Declan sucked in a deep lungful of air and tried his best to still his shaking. When he finally felt like he could move without coming apart he turned, stomach in knots at the thought of giving the alpha his back, and lifted sweat-soaked black hair from the nape of his neck.

There was a harsh inhale, and Declan felt the heat of the alpha against his back again when the wolf reached out and traced the ink on the back of his neck with a clawed fingertip.

“W-Three-G-D-A?” There was a question in the alpha’s softly spoken words as he read out what was tattooed across the vulnerable skin of Declan’s neck. Declan clinched his eyes closed at the pain it brought him.

“Wolf …” Declan cleared his throat roughly. “Wolf, third generation, Declan Adair. It was my … identification of a sort.”

“Your brother, your twin, he has one too?” The alpha’s voice sounded almost gentle, not filled with anger like Declan was accustomed to after someone find out just who he was, what he and his brother had both been born to do.

“Yes. It was … standard procedure.” Their father, their alpha, had hated his and loved it at the same time. He had always seemed oddly proud of it, of the memories he always told Declan and Lachlan it carried for him. In quiet moments they’d catch him running his fingers across the tattoo softly, like he was touching something else.

They both knew whom it was he was really thinking about, but they also knew better than to mention it.

“Most would say I should kill you right here, right now, for what you and yours have done.” The words were breathed into Declan’s ear.

“You wouldn’t be the first to feel that way, and we both know that I’m not strong enough to fight you. Everyone wants us dead for what they think we did.” Declan knew there was a sort of resigned sadness in his voice, but it was true. It was the reason they didn’t have a pack, the reason they had never been able to stay in one place for long enough for a scent to settle. Declan and Lachlan could make false identities, could lie and hide their real names, but in the end they always got found out. In the end they couldn’t get rid of the tattoos, couldn’t get rid of the proof of their pasts, the proof that always turned everyone against them.

The alpha sighed, and Declan shivered at the feel of his warm breath against skin gone clammy with fear and nerves. Declan had to force himself not to jump when the alpha pulled away and, with hands that were surprisingly gentle, tugged Declan around until they were facing each other again. Russet-colored eyes searched Declan’s face for a long moment before the alpha wrapped thick arms around Declan’s shoulders and pulled him into the firm wall of his chest.

Declan froze, mind racing and breathing gone shallow at the unfamiliar gesture. No one except for Lachlan had hugged him for years. Even their father, their brave and strong alpha, had never been one for touches and affection. He was always too lost in memories, too preoccupied with a ghost to worry about more than keeping them alive.

They stood there for a while until Declan, wrapped in a sort of warmth and security he couldn’t remember ever feeling, finally relaxed. When the alpha finally pulled away, Declan was loose limbed and calm in a way he didn’t want to admit to from such a simple thing. Just then, in a way that caused Declan to go hot and red with embarrassment, his time running caught up with him as his stomach growled loud and long. The alpha chuckled and tapped the tip of a long, blunt nailed finger against the curve of Declan’s jaw.

“Come on, little wolf, let’s go get that side of yours checked out and then see what we can do about getting you fed.” The alpha moved back a few steps and instead of shifting he reached out and wrapped a large hand around Declan’s own and tugged gently.

Declan, confused by the abrupt switch and the invitation, found that he could do little else but follow.

That confusion continued to haunt Declan a few hours later as he sat, side bandaged and with a steaming bowl of stew in front of him, at the counter in the alpha’s kitchen. The alpha whose name he’d learned was Law. Declan was slightly dazed because on top of everything else Law wasn’t just any alpha, he was a Carson. The Carson family had ruled the largest pack in the northern Midwest for generations. The wolves were known as the Flathead Pack due to their alpha seat having always been in that particular county, and they had control over an amazingly vast territory. For as long as anyone could remember a Carson had ruled over the Montana territory. With abundant land and room to spread out, not to mention access to Glacier National Park, the pack had remained large and strong where so many others had dwindled and died out.

The shock that he’d been driven so far north without realizing it had hit Declan hard in the chest. He and Lachlan had heard about the pack, just like everyone else had, despite how out of touch they’d always been with the information rings in the were communities. The size and reputation of the pack was the main reason that they’d always made it a point to give Montana a wide berth. While still dangerous they’d always figured they’d fair better against the smaller packs in the southern states, with the exception of Texas, which was a place that they avoided at all cost.

“An Adair?Alive?And so far north? Law, that’s damn near impossible. If it wasn’t for his tattoo, I’d call you crazy.” Declan could hear the conversation taking place in the hallway outside of the kitchen perfectly. The wolf who was talking to Law was Trace, a powerful looking were with shaggy dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes, the pack’s head beta and Law’s younger brother.

“Trust me, I know how crazy it sounds Trace, but it’s true.

Plus, according to him he’s got a brother. A twin brother at that.”

There was a hint of something in Law’s voice that Declan couldn’t place, but he was distracted by Trace’s low and slightly amused voice.

“Now that’s an image, pretty little thing like him …”

Whatever Trace was about to say was cut off by Law’s low and threatening growl. Trace laughed loud and long and didn’t seem very worried.

“Oh, so that’s how it is, huh? Don’t worry, I won’t poach.”

Trace seemed even more amused than before, and there was the sound of a furniture shifting and bodies moving. Declan recognized the sound of playful scuffling immediately. He and Lachlan did it enough for him to be able to pick the sounds out anywhere.

Declan wasn’t sure what Trace meant, but he didn’t dwell on it for long. Instead his thoughts turned back to Lachlan. He felt the wave of sadness and almost panic rush through him, and he heard the voices in the next room abruptly stop. His brother, his twin, was out there somewhere without him, alone and possibly hurt, and Declan was too far away to help him. Even though he knew Lachlan was smart, knew he was strong and just as capable as he was, the distance between them still hurt. It always did, but this time Declan was tired and wounded and all he wanted was his brother, his pack mate.

“Declan, little wolf, what’s wrong?” Law was there, hand gentle on his shoulder in that way that Declan wasn’t used to. Law had led him all the way back to his house without ever letting go of his hand, had guided him up the stairs and into a bathroom before he’d finally let him go. He’d taken the bag that was still clutched tightly in Declan’s hand away from him, tucked it under his arm and then turned and pulled some towels and another pair of loose sweatpants from a small closet. Law had handed the bundle to Declan, told him to shower and then he’d walked out of the bathroom and closed the door softly behind him.

Declan had bathed mechanically, hadn’t let himself luxuriate in the hot water as much as he wanted to. When he’d finally left the bathroom, Law had been back by his side in seconds. After that Law had led him into the kitchen where he’d wrapped his side and pushed him down at the counter where a large bowl of stew was waiting for him before he’d gone to talk to Trace, who’d been eyeing Declan curiously from the door.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed lightly, just enough to get his attention but not enough to hurt, and Declan forced himself to focus on Law.

“Sorry, it’s nothing.” He’d already told Law more than he’d ever told anyone, had been open in a way that he never was, even if it was under duress. It was something he didn’t need to keep doing.

“Declan.” Law’s voice was sharp. “Don’t lie. You know I don’t like that.”

Declan winced and averted his eyes back down to his bowl, but the sound of his own voice surprised him because he’d honestly not meant to speak.

“I’m worried about Lachlan.”

“Could you call him? Do you two have a way to keep in contact in case something like this happens?” Law asked him softly, brow arching up in surprise when Declan stared at him in confusion.

“You’d let me do that? I mean, it’s allowed?” Declan could feel his understanding of the situation begin to shift around him into something he didn’t recognize. Law stared at him for a second before he spoke, confusion plain on his face.

“Why wouldn’t it be allowed, Declan?” Law’s voice suddenly turned sharp and suspicious. “What did you think I brought you back here for?”

Declan felt himself flush as his shoulders hunched despite his efforts to keep his spine straight and his expression blank. There’d been one or two alphas over the years who’d thought they could get away with things, thought that just because he and Lachlan were alone with no pack they were weak. While they might not have been strong enough to fight an alpha, they were both normally fast enough to outrun them. Declan had just assumed that this time he hadn’t been fast enough. He’d gone along with it because Law hadn’t hurt him yet and because it gave him time to plan, gave him time to try to find a way out despite being weaker than he’d been in years.

“Declan?” Law prompted him to answer but even with the anger that Declan could hear growing in his voice the hand on his shoulder never turned painful.

“You brought me back here, took my bag, made me shower.

You’re an alpha, so I just assumed …”

Law hissed low and angry, more cat than wolf, and the hand on Declan’s shoulder came off instantly. Declan watched as Law began to pace angrily back and forth in front of him. Declan’s eyes were helpless to do anything but take in the way Law’s wide shoulders were still bare, the way the muscles in his back flexed when he reached up to rake both of his hands through already messy hair.

The way the loose pants Law was wearing had dipped down to sit low on the cut of his hips. When Law finally seemed to calm down enough to speak, he turned back towards Declan who was surprised to see that his eyes were once again a bright, vibrant crimson.

“Have you come across a lot of alphas who’ve tried that sort of thing?” Something in Law’s voice warned Declan against lying so he shrugged and told the truth straight out.

“A few. In the beginning it wasn’t a problem but when our father died, well, most of them wanted us dead. But there have been a couple who thought they could …
take
what they wanted just because we have no pack.”

“That’s fucking sick. They don’t deserve to be alpha, don’t deserve to be wolf. We don’t
take
from someone not willing, not like that.We’re better than that.” Law sounded so passionate, so sure, that it brought a small slightly sad smile to Declan’s face.

“Not all of us think like that. There’s some that think the opposite, that because we’re
were
we have the right to take things whenever we want. Plus, with us there’s no danger of a pup being born outside of the pack’s reach. Lachlan and I, we were always just fast enough to keep the thing that was being taken from being either one of us.”

At his words Law clenched his eyes shut tightly and breathed out slowly, and when he opened them again the color was the same, but the rage that had been lurking in their depths was carefully banked down. Law stepped forward back into Declan’s space and with one smooth move he reached up to cup Declan’s jaw in the palm of his hand just like he had in the forest.

“That’s not why you’re here, Declan. I brought you here to rest, to get your side looked after and to get some food in you, not to take anything from you that you aren’t willing to give. I took your bag and put it in a guest room, and I gave you clothes so we could wash yours. You’re not a prisoner.” Law leaned down and rubbed his stubble covered jaw against Declan’s smooth one in a comforting gesture that spoke directly to the wolf in him. Then, breath warm and moist against the shell of Declan’s ear, he whispered quietly. “I promise that you’re safe here, Declan. No one’s going to do anything to hurt you. On my word as alpha.”

Declan breathed out a heavy sigh and almost without thinking about it he copied Law’s gesture and rubbed their jaws together. It was a move of comfort, the sharing of scent and physical affection that most wolves enjoyed regularly. It was something that Declan hadn’t done with anyone but Lachlan in years. After a few more seconds he pulled away before Law could and cleared his throat softly.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t. Don’t thank me for something that simple, little wolf.

Do you want to call him now or wait? There’s a phone on the wall right behind you that you’re free to use.” Law nodded to the cordless phone that was mounted on the bright, cheery yellow wall behind him.