Rose was leaving the post office after sending off a few letters. She’d been making quiet inquiries about packs she could join. Rose used a PO Box to keep her father’s hands off the letters, and they weren’t allowed to have packages delivered to the packhouse. So, picking up packages was an excellent cover for checking her PO Box for letters.
She noticed Jules flirting with a guy by the Jeep. Her attention was completely on him, as was her hand stroking up and down his arm. Well, that was something new for Jules and Rose didn’t recognize the sandy blonde head of a well-muscled man. She couldn’t call him a boy, not built like that. He was clearly a shifter and at least a gamma or enforcer type. Rose could tell just by the way he filled out the leather jacket and the way he stood. She’d have to ask who he was.
“Need help to get those packages to your vehicle?” A deep voice off to her right scared the crap out of her.
With a slight squeak, Rose had to juggle the packages in her hand. Now she realized another man straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall. Like the first, Rose didn’t know who he was. But her eyes didn’t know where to look first. If there was a man who could be described as a tall drink of water, it was him. Dark hair moved in the breeze, and it matched his almost black eyes. He’d spent more time in the sun by the tan he sported. Rose knew she’d be hard-pressed to find any fat on this man. Her brain then registered this was the first time she’d ever considered exploring a man, a shifter, for anything.
“I’ll take those for you while you recover. It’s my job to entertain you while your friend there becomes better acquainted with my friend Ben.” He smiled and even his smile fit his image. That slow, confident ease of movement. He knew exactly what it would do to her. Now he towered over her.
She should have felt threatened, but somehow, she didn’t. He wasn’t pulling off a boy next door vibe well. He was far too much of a predator for that. She did sense him prowling in every shift of muscle. It wasn’t fear she felt, but a thrill.
“Who are you?” Rose needed to have a name for the face.
“You can call me Tyler.”
“You’re new around here?”
“Not really. I’ve been staying with my uncle. He’s the Alpha of the Blue Dalia Pack.” That explained the obvious signs of an Alpha. The families that bred one often bred others.
But she’d never reacted like this to any male, and the fact his full attention was on her as well. She could feel his eyes assessing every inch of her and, for once, a man clearly liked what he saw.
“What brought you here, Tyler?”
“As in town? Or to your side?” Well, flirt much, man?
Rose was tongue-tied for several heartbeats before she said. “Town. What brought you to town?”
“A promise to a loved one.”
“Your mate?”
“Mother actually. I don’t have a mate yet. Though that might have just changed.” Now he stood close to her with her packages on one arm. He could have swept her up with the other at any moment.
“Well, I’m sure you’d like to get back to the lucky woman.”
“Oh, but I’d like to know who that lucky woman is. What’s your name, darling?”
“My… My name? Rose. My name is Rose.” He then graced her with another pleased smile that made Rose feel warm inside. Like she was laying out under the noonday sun, letting it warm her fur.
“That’s my girl.”
“Oh, I don’t think my daddy would like to hear you say things like that.”
“Then I’m glad your daddy isn’t here to hear them. Because those words are just for your ears.” Now his arm wrapped around her back and guided her gently to the Jeep. “Ben, this is Rose. Get the door for me so we can tuck these into their vehicle.”
“Nice to meet you, Rose. Ty this is Jules. They’re here doing a little shopping for the day.”
“Pity we can’t stay and visit with them. But we have a business meeting to attend. We’ll catch up with you later if you’re still in town.”
Ben looked at his watch and surprise crossed his face. “Where did the time go? You’re right, Ty, we do have to leave. Jules, it was a genuine pleasure to meet you, and I hope we can spend some time together real soon.” Ben’s smile lit up his eyes, eyes anyone close by would notice in a heartbeat. Blue fought for dominance in his eyes with green. It was almost startling. No wonder Jules stared at him and touched him. She wanted to make sure he was real.
We could never describe these two men as nondescript, even within shifter society. Most shifter men were strikingly good-looking. But these two seemed over the top and coordinated with each other.
Rose could see the Alpha and the Beta in these two. Some thought they were just titles, but they weren’t. The men bonded, and these two bonded early. No one could dispute the dominant feel they gave off unconsciously. She could swear it weakened her knees. That sense of dominance sent shivers of anticipation up and down her back.
“A pity. We’ll see you at the Watering Hole tonight, then. Stop by tonight. There’s a live band playing, and wings are cheap.”
“If we can, we will.” The two men walked off once the packages were in the Jeep. With friendly smiles and waves.
Once they were out of sight, Jules turned to Rose. “Wow. I think I just might have met my mate. Or my nemesis. Either way, I want a look under the cover, if you get what I mean?”
“Oh, I get it. I need to change my panties. First, he scares me, and then he turns to grace and charm. I wonder what they’re like when they aren’t performing like that. Not that I’m complaining. I was thinking about searching for things on his person.”
“We are in so much trouble. If your father finds out, he’ll kill him.”
“Then he’ll have a war on his hands. Ty is Blue Dalia Pack Alpha’s nephew.”
“Then we have some major trouble on our hands. I don’t think that two-take no as an answer.”
“Who’d say no to them?”
“Exactly. We’ve got trouble in tight blue jeans. This is going to be fun.” She didn’t mean fun in the usual way. She meant complicated and dangerous.
The girls met at the Watering Hole for wings and music for their weekly ritual of dancing to live music, eating spicy wings, loaded potato skins, and drinking beer. That was as rowdy as they got in rebellion into their restrictive lives. They were single and members of local packs. With their meal done, the dancing began. Jules asked Amber Mills, daughter of the Blue Dalia Pack Alpha. “Amber, what’s with your cousin Ty and his friend? Why haven’t we met them before?” Jules thought she kept things light. “You met them? Gods, you shouldn’t have. They’re trouble, especially for you both. Stay away from them. I can’t say more. They plan on messing with the status quo. Both your fathers and you are his target. I don’t want to see either of you hurt. Don’t get involved, please. If you value your lives as they are.” That’s where Amber went wrong. Neither woman was content with their life. Those men were a welcome and enticing distraction. Heather
They arrived home late that evening. Rose knew how to avoid her father in the morning. Sure enough, when she looked out of her window, she saw Anita leaving after a night of whatever she did with Russel. That Rose had no interest in knowing. A quick look at her email and texts. Jules wanted to go swimming. No, not necessarily the word swimming was in quotes. What was Jules up to? They commonly coded messages to each other, because they knew both of their fathers randomly looked at their messages. Even though she was twenty-one this past December. Her father treated her like a disobedient child. Rose felt stuck in that state. She needed to get out from under his claws. One of her requests to join a pack must be accepted soon. Or inquiries about where her mother went when she left her father after she was born. Rose wanted to know why her mother left her here with him. So, swimming it was. Their territory bordered a lake, and they swam there. Rose gat
Rose tore along the shoreline, following Jules’ scent. Where were they? Jules was in danger. These two weren’t what they seemed. If they were, then they still weren’t safe. If her father and Jack were out to get them. Where were they? She could hear Ty pursuing her. He’d shifted into the largest wolf she’d ever encountered, and her father was large. Ty, she was sure, was larger. He followed her and was gaining on her each time she looked back. Gods, what was she going to do? She rode her panic attack mostly and tried to think logically. It wasn’t working. Suddenly, Ty was running beside her. As his wolf, he wasn’t even out of breath, while she ran full out. He made contact with her side. Knocking her off her feet. He was on top of her in no time. His jaws on the back of her neck. Ty could snap her neck like this, but he just held her in place. Growling each time, she squirmed under him. Rose soon realized if he’d wanted her dead, she would be. Her resistance slowed, and he finall
“So, your message said you wanted to show me something?” Jules left Rose at the lake. Ty was with her. She’d be safe while Jules followed Ben’s lead. He smiled and gently took her down the shoreline. “Just a little farther, love. You’ll never want for anything again.” Ben’s deep voice promised so much that it sent shivers of excitement down her spine. “Kiss me again. Gods, your voice just fires me up.” She turned toward him, and he picked her up. He presented her back to the rough back of a tree as she wrapped her thighs about his waist. Gods, she felt so different. So free and powerful. Jules gasp when she realizes she could feel Ben respond to their now intimate embrace. “Be careful, little witch. You might not like where this ends. I’m not playing games.” Ben’s lips were exploring hers, demanding more each time she gave up a little more. She couldn’t help but bury her fingers at the base of his dirty blonde hair. Jules loved the soft feel of his
Ty struggled with so many people near Rose right now. She’d got him going and he just wanted to go down on her something fierce. The mating heat between them was showing and he couldn’t be happier. Rose was his key to getting the Hollow Wood Pack back without a return to the wars. She was the current Alpha’s daughter and Russell didn’t have any sons. That meant he either gave his pack away to another, or he makes his daughter’s mate the next Alpha. It seemed like a nice and ironic outcome to Ty. He got the beauty beside him and the pack. Russell got nothing in the end, because Ty would make sure that Russell learned exactly what it felt like for his father to be burned alive. He knew it made him no better than Russell, but it would end there. Rose would be with him, and their pups would fear for nothing. The wars would truly be over and done with. Being in heat complicated things. Ty knew there were pack injured to look after. Russell’s men chose to rough them up. It was done to
The vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the small packhouse. It wasn’t much, but they weren’t a big outfit yet. The Shadow Pack was selective about who they allowed in, because there wasn’t room for egos or selfish fools. “We’re here. Come on, we’ll show you around. Let you meet the guys.” Everyone piled from the vehicle as Ben announced this. However, it all came to a stop when a guy ran down the front steps to meet them. “Ty, we have a bit of a situation inside that needs your undivided attention.” He came to a stop, looking very flustered. “We’ve tried to keep them out of the way and quiet, but they’ll only talk to you.” “Eric, what are you talking about?” Ty tried to figure out what Eric was talking about in such a vague fashion. It wasn’t easy with how distracted he was by the blanket covered minx beside him. She wasn’t giving him an inch to work with, and he was desperate to get her in private. The blanket he held up around himself wasn’t hid
The small group followed Ty up the few stairs into the packhouse. It was chaos. Clearly, they were moving into the space. Boxes and bags were everywhere, and the furniture needed to be setup properly in the building. Large men were busy dealing with this, while in what Rose believed would be the dining room, a group of people she knew very well grumpily harassed several other men. The men didn’t respond; they stood there as if they were on guard and didn’t answer anyone’s insistent questions. She had to be careful not to get the blanket caught on anything on the way there. “What is going on here?” Ty didn’t waste a moment. His tone went straight to that of an alpha. It told everyone in the room, he would not accept any back talk or disrespect. The fact he wore only a blanket didn’t matter a bit. What Rose liked was that he chose not to focus that tone on an individual. He used it to take command of the room and to cut through the chaos. “Why are you all here? Can you not see
Rose let Tyler guide her through the packhouse. She didn’t remember this place being here before, but it didn’t smell like new construction. What pack used this as their home? Where had they gone? She was pondering this as he guided her up the stairs and into an apartment at the end of the corridor. The place was massive and looked like it was in fairly good condition. The apartment itself was fully furnished and ready to live in. “When the guys realized I was bringing you home, they insisted on having this ready for you.” “The guys? A pack of rogue male wolves thought to have a place for me to sleep ready. Now, I can safely say I’ve heard everything.” Rose raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder with a slight smile. She dared him to continue claiming that story as the truth. “We are far from animals, Rose. You’ll find we’re quite reasonable and civilized. Though if you keep looking at me, like I might not stay civilized.” A lazy feral smile