Текст книги "Alphas burden"

Автор книги: Luna lark

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

25CADEN

“Okay, that should do it. Fire it up,” I tell Ford from the rafters.

He throws the breaker we installed yesterday and Avery’s cottage illuminates with the brand new electric we’ve wired the house with. Satisfaction expands in my chest. This is how it should’ve been for her and her sisters. Lights and hot water whenever they want it, not dependent on finding kindling for the wood stove or fireplace.

I can’t replace the home and its memories I stole from her, only restore this one if she refuses to leave it. If she’s ever ready to, I’ve already made space for her family at the lodge with me and Callie, and saved one of the newly built empty cabins. Whatever she needs, I will give it to her.

I’ve taken out the rusted stove and antique hand pump sink, replacing them with new appliances. The beds have been updated with fresh mattresses and sturdy frames I constructed. I’m building a table and chairs next, then I’ll create another workbench for the greenhouse I finished. There’s only so much space to work with. I’m considering an addition because I’d like to give all the girls their own rooms, and give Avery a bigger space for her work.

My wolf is pleased with the improvement to our mate’s shelter. Providing for her fills him with pride.

I didn’t deserve her three weeks ago. I’m working to be the mate worthy of treasuring her. Wanting her every day hasn’t stopped. Not since I realized what I was stupid enough to try throwing away.

Last week when she touched the bond for the first time, I nearly claimed her right there. I’m dying to kiss her for far longer than the too brief peck I stole. Her mouth needs to be savored for hours on end.

It’s hell sufficing on kissing any inch of skin I can get away with every time my need for her is too great to bear. Whenever I have her in my arms, I remind myself that it’s up to her if she forgives and accepts me or not, no matter how much every fiber of my being craves her.

I jump from the rafters and set my tool bag on the table. “Thanks for helping me finish it. It was overdue. We should’ve made sure all the cabins were up to date a long time ago.”

“Yeah, that’s why this was a top priority project.” Gabe elbows me with a grin.

I toss him a harassed look. Ford slings an arm over his mate’s shoulder.

“You can be honest with us. We get it. There’s not much you wouldn’t do for your mate.”

“This isn’t only because⁠—”

Liam bumps my shoulder with his. “Even I know it is. Just like I know that since this is done, you’re about to go look for Avery to show her.”

“I—” A breath blows out of me. “Yeah, you got me there. She can’t be far off. Report if there’s anything urgent.”

I’m already shedding my clothes to shift so I can track her faster. She left an hour ago to venture into the forest while her sisters spend the weekend with Callie at the lodge. Maybe I can convince her wolf to come out when she’s done foraging. I haven’t met her yet and I’m eager to know that side of her.

“We’ve got everything under control,” Liam promises. “Go.”

When I make no move, he lifts his brow. Ford shakes his head with a snicker, whispering to Gabe. They head out. My wolf eases up, but if my beta doesn’t get his ass in gear this is about to get awkward.

“You can’t be here without me,” I explain when Liam’s at a loss. “This is part of my wolf’s territory. My mate’s home. I don’t want any other males around here alone, even you.”

“Oh. My bad.” He grins. “So everything they say about mate madness tracks? It never bothered you before if I was around the lodge.”

I incline my head wryly. “Try me and find out. My wolf doesn’t care that you’re my best friend and I trust you with my life. Still don’t want you stinking up the place.”

He raises his hands and bows his head with a laugh, marching out the door. I open some windows to air the place out before leaving.

Once I hang my clothes on a chair, I seamlessly become my wolf by the time I’m off the porch. Her heavenly sweet scent is everywhere. He immediately picks out the freshest trail and trots off. She shifted into her fur. He gets excited, anticipating prowling up to his mate to pounce on her.

Avery’s paw prints lead past most of the spots I’ve guarded her while she forages, but there’s no sign of her treading through wild plants or uprooting anything. I slide to a stop on a slab of rock overhanging a small ravine. My ears flick back and forth in search of her, nose lifting to reorient myself. She’s definitely this way.

I pick up my pace, loping stride becoming a clipped run as I barrel through underbrush and leap over thick tree roots. There’s a stretch in the bond when I focus on it, giving me an indication of the distance she’s made it ahead of me. It’s a calm hum that doesn’t convey any distress.

I’m surprised she’s come this far down the mountain. Maybe she’s looking for more of the wildflower she found.

The trail’s not stopping. It continues beyond the end of the hiking paths on to the road through the foothills. My muscles tense, hackles rising. Something’s wrong.

Where the hell did she go? Why would she leave Silver Mountain?

My blood runs cold and I bare my fangs with a snarl. Ashbury. She’s going to the human town by herself without telling me or requesting permission to go.

A roar scrapes my wolf’s throat. We’re both pissed she’d put herself in danger. I push myself hard to get to town, mind racing with the worst possibilities.

My mother went missing from Ashbury. This is why I have a strict rule about not going without me clearing it first and assigning a security group for protection.

Dad wasn’t happy, but he didn’t look hard for her before deciding she wanted out of their arranged mating. He told me once I was older he assumed she found her True Mate.

But I knew better. It never sat right with me.

This town is dangerous. We shouldn’t trust humans. They’ve been known to exploit supernaturals for their own gain, as have the witches Ashbury’s allowed to come and go as they please for years. They’re behind her disappearance.

It’s the only thing that’s made sense to me. Who else would kidnap a shifter but a witch? It would’ve been easy for them to steal another shifter to control if they crossed paths when she went there alone. The same could be true of others who have gone missing, like Shaylene Morgan.

The blame I’ve put on my father’s beta for his betrayal weakens. Shaylene was his True Mate. His challenge could’ve been an act of desperation to find her. I have a better understanding of what it’s like now. How my heart, my mind, my body are no longer my own. I exist because she exists.

Avery’s my mate. I can’t let her go. And I won’t fucking lose her. Not again.

If anything happens to her⁠—

I cut the thought off with a fierce refusal. No. I won’t let anyone important be taken from me again with no way to stop it.

When I find her, she’ll know she’s mine and I’ll always protect her.

I stop to think about shifting back once I reach the outer streets, the foothills giving way to old brick buildings with remnants of aged paint from a bygone era. Ashbury isn’t as large or modern as some of the other human towns and cities in the region. It doesn’t have any of the lifeless, looming glass buildings of some of the ones I’ve passed through on my way to other pack territories.

My wolf keeps his nose to the cement and follows the scent of bright sunshine and honeysuckle blowing in the breeze. She’s in good spirits. It doesn’t take off the edge jangling my nerves.

I bound through the door to a bakery at the top of the high street. Someone screams at my hulking size. There’s a fae female in here, masking her presence to blend in with humans. A vampire, too. My wolf shakes his head and ignores them, tracking his mate out a back door.

I cross a street, then double back, slowing as much as he’ll let me so we don’t jeopardize the peace agreements between the humans and supernaturals by tearing through the town on a feral rampage.

Her scent is all over this place. Some traces are faint, stale with age. Too weak for me to pick up with my own nose when I was here before, but in my fur my senses are sharper.

How fucking long has she been sneaking down here?

I freeze. There. At the end of the block on the opposite side of the main road. She’s heading this way, laden with a bag from the bakery.

Avery’s okay. She’s not harmed. No one’s taken her—yet.

I pant heavily, pacing the shadowed alley between the buildings. My muscles twinge every time she waves to a human on her way down the street. She’s smiling at them. A growl builds in my chest.

Keep walking, mate.

Come.

Her steps falter. She searches the road with a frown. I debate yanking on the bond again when she doesn’t listen to my call and ducks into a bar.

What the fuck?

A car swerves and slams on its brakes when I dart across the road. My snout presses to the tinted window. She’s talking to a woman behind the bar, showing her a small vial. A few men have stopped shooting pool, their attention on her.

One grabs a half-empty beer and ambles over to join the conversation. My tail is high and ram-rod straight. He’s encroaching on my female. When he puts his hand on her back while she offers him a vial, a ferocious snarl tears from me.

My wolf wants in there. Now.

I shift back in a narrow passage beside the bar, about to burst inside and get my female. I freeze halfway to the street. If I crash through the door butt ass naked, the humans will think I’m crazy.

A thrift store has display racks that reach the mouth of the alley. I wrench the first pair of pants I find off the rack. The lime green swishy material doesn’t fit over my thighs and I tear it in my attempt to get the shorts on. Gritting my teeth, I force my wolf down and try again, blood simmering. I manage to find a pair of jeans. They sit low on my hips, but it’s good enough.

The side door opens behind me and Avery’s scent hits me. I whip around, locking eyes with her. She holds my gaze and a terse growl leaves me at the unapologetic, unimpressed set to her mouth.

“Why are you here?”

I’m on her in a second, backing her against the brick wall. Her bakery bag slips to the ground as her hands come up to my chest. I take her wrists and pin them to the wall, bending to run my nose along her jaw.

She releases a strained gasp, then bares her neck for me. I press closer until there’s no space left between us, scenting her. She arches into me with another delicious noise I’d enjoy if I wasn’t so pissed off.

“I’m here because you are,” I push out against her throat in a tense rumble weighted with my wolf. “Tell me what the fuck you’re doing here.”

She squirms. My grip on her wrists flexes and I trap her gaze. She drops it and I take hold of her jaw to make her look at me. Stubborn defiance shines in her eyes, and, fuck, if I don’t love that look on her.

The side door opens again and the pool player comes out.

“You ran off so fast I didn’t get your—oh. Hey now. This guy bothering you?”

I move in front of her to block his view. He needs to back the hell away now. I don’t even want him looking her way. I need to show this human he can’t have her.

“Nope. I’m fine.” Avery smacks me. “He’s my—man…friend. Husband. That’s the word humans use for mates, right?”

The last part is muttered to me. I’m too busy growling at the male with my chest puffed out to answer. She called me hers.

“Caden.” She tugs on my waist, keeping her voice hushed. “Stop growling at him. He’s not a threat.”

My gaze snags hers. I take her face in my hands. Her cheeks are pink, lips parting. Claim, my wolf demands.

I dip my face, mouth stopping just before it reaches hers. Her fingers curl, nails scraping my sides. Lashes fluttering, she leans into me.

The last of my control snaps.

My mouth crushes against hers. Powerful. Possessive.

I kiss her the way I wanted to last week—hell, the way I’ve wanted to for years. Even when I thought I needed to hate her, this mouth has always been mine to claim.

The human says something apologetic. I don’t give a fuck what it is.

The only thing I care about is kissing her until she’s as wrecked as I am.

Until I’ve savored every reaction and committed every one of her sounds to memory.

Until I wipe every other man from her mind except for me because I’m her mate.

26AVERY

Kissing Caden is nothing like I used to fantasize about.

It’s so much more in every way.

The intensity is all-consuming, burning me up with his onslaught of passion and dominance. The rough tinge of his anger only heightens the experience. His tongue sweeps mine as one of his hands sinks into my hair, tilting my head back to expose my throat and devour me. The kiss deepens, stealing my breath and my sanity.

Even after the human leaves, he doesn’t break it.

Liquid heat pours through my veins. I want his mouth everywhere, but if stops kissing me I’m certain I’ll die. I feel as if I haven’t been breathing until I knew the heaven of my mate’s kiss.

He tears his mouth away with a rumble, pinning me beneath his piercing stare. His grip flexes on my jaw. It’s not hard enough to hurt despite the anger rolling off him. I feel echoes of it across the bond, taste it like tiny exploding crackles on my tongue, and smell it singeing the air all around us.

“You are mine.”

My stomach bottoms out at the possessiveness and Alpha power punctuating those words. It washes over me, wreaking havoc on my body. My core clenches with hot need and my nipples harden.

His nose twitches, desire and satisfaction flaring in his hooded gaze. A deep growl rattles from him that makes my pussy ache more. My heart drums harder when he angles his head to trace his nose along my jawline to savor the scent of my arousal.

“None of those men could satisfy you like I will,” he rasps. “Only my knot will give you exactly what your body’s begging me for because it was made for you.”

I shudder with a trembling exhale, rubbing my thighs together. I don’t know why he’s talking about anyone else. He’s the only one I want.

The only one I’ve never been able to stop thinking about even after he broke my heart. The one I wished for. The one I’ll always need.

Caden is my fate.

He nips beneath my ear and brings his lips to it. “But I’m not giving it to you.”

A horrifying whine escapes me. I gulp, trying to catch my breath and clear the haze clouding my mind.

“I think humans have laws against nudity and public mating,” I stammer.

He rumbles again, his frustration confusing when it overlaps my own in a strong burst across the bond. Warily, I probe the connection, focused on figuring him out. It’s a tumultuous mess of magic. Strong-willed discontent. Fear surging up my throat to coat my tongue. A flash of a memory that’s gone too quickly for me to comprehend.

When I sensed his presence inside the bar, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came into the alley to explain myself. I didn’t think he’d catch me if I was quick. I also never thought he’d track me all the way here to witness me breaking his rules.

He’s not happy with me, absolutely. But it’s not rooted in any ire towards me. Relief soothes the uncertain tangle reforming in my stomach now that I’m not being swept away by his kiss.

I mourn the loss when he pushes away from the wall to take my hand, then strides for the main street.

“We’re going.”

He gets two steps before I dig my heels in. He tightens his hold, fiery look boring into me.

“Now,” he bites out.

The Alpha command presses against my will, but I hold my ground against it. My wolf huffs in the face of his pushiness, licking her paws and ignoring his demands. She’ll go when she’s good and ready.

Hints of gold flash in his eyes as they flare with something that stirs a fresh bout of warmth in the pit of my belly. His jaw clenches.

“What?”

“We’re forgetting my shopping bag. You made me drop it when you mauled me to mark your territory.”

He stares me down. I point to the spilled bakery bag. Only two of the pastries the baker loaded it with in exchange for the new samples I brought to pass around fell out.

“Those croissants are Beatrix’s favorite. I promised her I was getting them.”

“We have that at home.”

“Not these ones. Alma’s cooking is great, but these are the best.”

His jaw works. He scratches his bare pec with a rough sigh, studying me for another beat before retrieving it.

“I got extra for you and Callie.”

He grunts, leading me from the alley. He doesn’t drop my hand until we reach the foothills, finally relaxing the rigid line of his shoulders as we leave human territory.

“Shift.” He pops the button on his jeans. “It’ll be faster to run the rest of the way.”

I can’t help my wandering attention as I unhook the shoulder straps of my coverall dress and shimmy out of the leggings underneath. The weight of his leer is a warm, sensual drag over every inch I reveal. He hisses out a husky gust of air at the sight of me bare and holds my gaze while losing his pants. I bite my lip at his size, a frisson of desire thrumming in my core.

His eyes shut with a ragged groan. “Don’t test me more than you already have. Shift.”

I tuck my hair behind my ears and use my undershirt to tie the bag clenched in Caden’s grip to my satchel. My wolf’s gotten better at carrying it without getting it tangled in her limbs. He waits for me to transform first.

The first and last time I shifted in front of him, it was to get away. Things are so different now.

I offer a nervous smile before calling on my fur, then I’m before him as my large roan-colored wolf. She scents him right away and I’m powerless to rein in her excitement. Her tail wags and she rushes him, rising on her hind legs to plop her paws on his chest.

His lips twitch and his fingers sink in her fur to steady her. Tension bleeds from his muscles. She barks and licks his neck. He allows it, lifting his chin to let her do anything she wants. This male smells amazing. He’s hers, she knows it.

Strong and willful. A good hunter and protector. Alpha of the pack. Her mate.

“You’re beautiful,” he rasps. “Magnificent. This is how powerful you’ve always been.”

She melts for him when he rubs her ears affectionately and strokes a large palm down her spine.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he swears under his breath.

He shifts into his huge black wolf and circles her. She stifles the excitement she overflowed with to give off a sense of aloofness.

You did not claim me.

Caden’s wolf huffs, then releases a blustering howl when it doesn’t sway her.

He did want her. She is his. It’s not his fault. He’s been at her side every night since.

He rumbles, nudging her with his snout until finally pouncing on her, nose tucking beneath her jaw. She grumbles and he chuffs, licking her fur. She’s content to lay there, pinned beneath him.

I’m fascinated by the way they’re able to communicate. They’re far less tormented by complicated pasts.

My wolf wriggles free and baits him into chasing her. He stills, head lowering as he prowls for us. A thrill runs through me and her paws dance on the ground in anticipation. He bolts and we’re off, weaving a wide zigzag through the trees.

This is exhilarating. I enjoyed running through the forest with Taryn and Liam, but it’s not the same as running with Caden.

His wolf is magnificent. A powerful beast that’s much faster than he looks for such a muscular build. My wolf has to put real effort into keeping ahead of him.

He catches her with an enthralled purr back where we started. She nips at him and they wrestle, her landing on top. His tongue lolls from the side of his grinning maw as she licks his bared throat as if she was the victor. Until he decides to roll her beneath him once more.

They’re both panting. His excitement is hot against my belly. Warmth cascades in my veins.

People say the original shifters did it this way with their mates. They found them once a female went into heat. The male shifted and chased her down to claim her beneath the moonlight, locked together by his knot. Once the swelling went down enough for them to release, they’d shift back and he’d claim her all over again. Shifters used to believe mated pairs weren’t truly bound until they joined both ways.

Caden makes an inquisitive grunt, nosing at me with teasing nuzzles like he’s flirting. I don’t know if he can read where my thoughts are going better as his wolf.

He gets up, waiting for me to follow him. I go for my bag, but he bumps me aside and paws at the strap to maneuver it over his head. We head off at a trot as we begin up Silver Mountain.

I learned the beauty of this forest when I was desperate. It pales in comparison to exploring it as my wolf with her mate at her side. Every fern, every wildflower, every mossy patch—all of it seems much more amazing with my mate’s comforting presence to keep me company.