AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His smile transformed into a scowl before he mumbledbitchunder his breath as he scrapped the chair back. I should have felt bad as I watched him walk away, but I didn’t.
An hour ticked by, and I was almost finished with my second drink whenhewalked in. Approximately six feet four inches tall and two-hundred and thirty-five pounds of pure solid muscles, he commanded the room. My wolf sat up and took notice as the entire tavern paused; all eyes shifted toward the stranger. With the grace and gait of a true predator, muscles rippled with every stride as he stalked up to the bar, sliding onto a vacant stool. I could see wavy black hair framing his angled jaw from the side view. A little stubble darkened his chin which accentuated his full moist lips. Black lashes brushed his cheeks with each bat of his eyes. Power rolled off him in waves.
Sex walking on two legs, I thought with a chuckle. Now this wolf could be precisely what I needed.
It didn’t take long for other females to rally around him, vying for his attention. He smiled at a couple of them; one busty she-wolf touched his arm with familiarity and my wolf growled as she glared at her hand. It took all my restraint to keep her from shifting and attacking the she-wolf.Down girl, I thought as I admired his muscular back.
With broad shoulders on display under his tight, black tee-shirt, combined with his alpha power, I knew he could hold his own in any situation. My wolf wholeheartedly agreed.
Raking my gaze appreciatively over his firm backside, this wolf was a specimen to behold. My heart kicked up a beat and desire coiled in my belly. I took a sip of my drink and swallowed.
He must have felt eyes locked on him, which kicked in his natural survival instincts. His shoulders tensed and he turned around slowly. Chocolate eyes locked with my gunmetal gray ones.
My eyes were an oddity that couldn’t be explained. Muted in human form, they blazed bright silver when I shifted into my wolf. Caroline told me to never shift unless I was alone and that my eyes were a product of my dual nature. She taught me to always keep that half of myself hidden, as offspring between two different species was strictly forbidden, or at least it used to be. And to be safe, I suppressed using my other abilities as much as possible, but eventually, I had to find some outlet. (Hence the reason I’m here now.)
I watched as he slowly stood before waltzing over to my table. Each step oozed power and confidence. He knew how sexy he was, and he owned it. My gaze held his, my wolf refused to submit even though he was obviously the alpha here. Pulling out a chair, he angled it so his back was against the wall, and he could see the entire room. “I am Luca Blackthorn, head alpha of the Peak Valley pack. And you are?”
Head alpha, what did that even mean? Was there another alpha here? That didn’t make any sense.
I studied him silently, loving his subtle accent. I couldn’t place where it was from, but it was there. Inhaling, the scent of falling leaves, crisp apples, and cinnamon filled my nose. My mouth watered, and my wolf wanted to sink her teeth into his fleshy shoulder as she uttered the wordmateinside my head. I jolted at the news, knowing I should leave. A mate was something I—we—could never have, and everything screamed for me to run away right now, but instead, my ass stayed rooted in place.
“Ivy,” I supplied.
Ivy, he mouthed silently to himself. “Do you have a last name, Ivy?”
Hearing my name fall from his lips sent an unexpected thrill down to my middle. My core clenched with need, but I kept my composure as my lips tipped upward with playful humor. “I do.” Staring at him, I knew that he could take the edge off and help drain the electrical hum that refused to dissipate. Even though wolves were sexual creatures, me and my wolf were picky about who we chose to scratch that particular itch with. Weakness in our fuck buddy was not tolerated, hence why I rarely had sex unless I took someone inferior. I’d even tried a human once or twice, but that left me severely unsatisfied.
My wolf protested, telling me that Luca would be more than a random one-night stand. I squashed it down. She didn’t understand that we could never have a mate. It was too dangerous to let anyone know about us. One night would have to suffice.
The waitress chose that moment to set a clear amber drink in front of him. Probably whiskey like mine. He nodded thanks and then gave me his full attention. “Well, Ivy, with no last name, I know all the wolves in this pack, and you are trespassing.”
His voice sounded controlled, matter of fact, but his eyes twinkled with interest and nonchalance as I wondered again at his innuendo.This pack?Damn, I wished I knew more about wolf packs and hierarchy.
“I suppose I am.” I drawled while casually swirling my drink. “But in all fairness, I did not realize that I had ventured intoyourterritory.” I knew that this was a shifter bar, but Luca didn’t need to know that. With a flirty smile, I continued. “Perhaps you should put a sign at the beginning of your boundary, saying….” I drew a rectangle with my finger, “’Welcome to Peak Mountain, home of shifters. Please make sure you register with Luca Blackthorn, the reigning alpha’. That way situations like ours never happen again.”
Luca tried hard not to smile, but I noticed his lips twitch. Good to know that the alpha had a sense of humor. Not that it was a requirement. Two hundred and thirty-five pounds of solid muscle combined with strong alpha power was enough. I couldn’t be with a wolf that would submit too quickly. Not tonight and hopefully not ever. Staring into Luca’s rich chocolate eyes that were now twinkling with curiosity, he was exactly what I needed. Let’s hope the dick between his thighs matched the rest of him.
“Yes, that would solve the problem, wouldn’t it?” He took a sip of his drink as I smiled, liking this little game we were playing. Luca then mused, “Too bad it is against the law. Hmm…how would we change that so theseproblemsdo not arise again?”
I pretended to think for a moment. “Take over the council?” I shrugged, waving the waitress over and ordering another drink.
“Take over the council,” he repeated as though he genuinely considered the idea. “You think that you and I, together, are strong enough?” I heard the humor in his question and liked that he was playing along.
Laughing, I leaned back as the waitress set another glass in front of me, and after she left, I shrugged again while saying, “How the fuck would I know?” I only knew about a council because of Caroline. According to her, they had been around since the beginning, right after the first shifters were created by the One. Everything else was just guesswork on my part.
Luca chuckled, his eyes alight with a spark that spoke of interest. This wasn’t my first rodeo, and we had to let this play out naturally. I usually wanted to get it over with, to go home and crawl into my warm, cozy bed and sleep before waking up and starting all over again. But not this time. Not that I had sex very often, and certainly not with someone as sexy as Luca, but his raw power enticed my wolf. His warm chocolate eyes made my heart gallop a little faster. With visions of sinking her teeth into his fleshy shoulder, my wolf wanted to claim the sexy alpha as ours.
We can’t, I reminded her. She growled inside my head before I relented and said,maybe later. Not that I really believed that, but perhaps I hung onto a thread of hope that one day I could have a mate. Someone who would love me unconditionally like my parents should have but hadn’t bothered to stick around.
But there was no room for maybes and what-ifs. I had a lifetime of abandonment which led to major trust issues. So, I shoved the dream of taking a mate into a mental box and concentrated on the here and now.
After the last few weeks of hunting Fang—and failing—I needed, not only a distraction, but an outlet to release the energy that so desperately searched for an escape. Maybe if I knew more about my dual nature, I could control the power. But I didn’t—and I couldn’t—so instead, I muddled through and did what I could to regain some semblance of control.
It still irked me that I hadn’t been able to stop Fang and knew that it was only a matter of time before he killed again. Supernatural blood had an addictive quality, and the skill it took to kill another species compounded his addiction. It also made him stronger, which made him harder to kill.
“So… Ivy with no last name, are you here for long or just passing through?”
His smooth, deep voice sent a jolt to my middle, soaking my panties as I stared at his full luscious lips. It took everything I had to remain unaffected on the outside. “Just passing through,” I said, taking another sip and holding his gaze far longer than a lone wolf should before breaking contact and watching the ice swirl in my glass. I didn’t need him to think that I had thrown down the gauntlet and issued a challenge. I had no desire to lead a pack. I only needed his body for a few hours.
