Alpha Son (2 page)

"For you." That time it was matter of fact and not a seduction.

"You think it's that simple?" The heat gathered in her stomach, and Julianna felt the need to strike out at him. Her sight went red-tinged.

"No," he admitted. "I know it's not."

Julianna didn't know how to answer that, so she waited to see what he would say next.

"I want you. I've always wanted you. If you can't be with me after—" He rolled his hand in demonstration of a vague collection of reasons she might have. "—I understand. I won't hound you for it. I think I've squandered my right to pursue you."

He waited for a moment to see if she would form an answer. When she failed to, he nodded and turned away, making his way back to Regina Hall, his shoulders slumped.

Julianna watched him go, her mouth and throat dry. Tears stung at her eyes, and her emotions were in a flat spin.

Tyler was no end of surprises. She'd almost expected to see him cry. Or beg.

Would that I could trust him...

What? I would give him precisely what he wants? Not a chance.

* * * *

Three days later

Julianna reached for the doorknob, then pulled her hand back.
For the third time. Night Mother, when did I become so indecisive?

The answer to that wasn't hard to come by. Anytime she considered the open-ended possibility Tyler had left her with, she became indecisive.

He hadn't said he wanted her as his mate.

Good thing. I am
so
not going there.

He'd just said he wanted her.

I want him too.
She could admit that much without appearing weak. Tyler was a gorgeous male, and she'd weathered thirteen heats since she'd known what he was to her.
Thirteen heats, with him right across campus and unavailable to me.

He's available now.
And she was going into another heat. Julianna shied when she thought about that part.

I shouldn't. This is the answer.
She considered that carefully, working her way through the possibilities.

If they weren't mates, any young she carried were her own, and—despite his status in the pack—Tyler would have no hold over them. If he later had heirs, her own son or sons could challenge for the position of heir, if they chose to. But the same would be true of any children he sired out of mating.

I could have children.
After Tyler alienated her, Julianna had given up on the idea of children. She didn't want another male, and she certainly didn't want Tyler long-term.

But I can have him for this.

That decided, she grasped the doorknob and turned it. Each step she took was easier, and in no time at all, she was across campus and approaching Regina Hall.

Julianna rehearsed the lie that Tyler had invited her on the way. She'd never been an adept liar, and the idea of lying had her palms sweating.

She pasted on a smile and breezed into Regina Hall. The smile faded, and she looked around in disbelief. She'd expected to have to pass a guard or porter on her way to the stairway up to the Alpha levels, but the foyer was deserted.

As were the stairs. Halfway up, Julianna started getting nervous. There had to be guards somewhere. Why weren't they showing themselves? Why weren't they questioning her?

Am I going to crumble and cry...or wet myself when they finally show themselves?

Julianna smiled. Humor had always been her way of dealing with stress. She'd rather laugh than cry.

I did my share of both when Tyler broke my heart.

All too soon, she stood outside the door to his rooms. Julianna took several calming breaths, then knocked on his door.

With every heartbeat she stood there, more of her resolve evaporated. What if he wasn't here? That would explain why his guards didn't stop her. What if he was here with another woman?

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them away. Irritation that he could still make her cry pricked at her, and she turned to leave.

The door opened behind her, and Julianna turned to it, prepared to apologize to Tyler's servant for disturbing him. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Tyler.

He stood in the doorway, dressed only in a loose-fitting pair of knit sleep pants. Tyler moved his mouth as if he meant to say something, but nothing emerged.

He's with someone else. Of course. He's a male. Why wouldn't he be?
Julianna tried for a smile but failed. "I should go."

Her move to turn away short circuited when Tyler wrapped his arms around her and lifted her inside. He closed the door and pressed her to it, crowding her with his larger body.

"No. You really shouldn't. Not when you've come here to see me."

She managed a jerking nod, her body balking her simple commands to respond to him verbally.

"What did you come here for, Julianna?" There was something wistful in his tone. He wasn't taunting her.

The need to sate her rising heat drove her on. Julianna wrapped her hands around his head, sealing her lips to his.

Tyler didn't hesitate. In a matter of heartbeats, they were pressed to the door, his cock hard against her lower abdomen. He groaned into her mouth.

Julianna echoed him at the feeling of Tyler dragging her skirts up her body.

Yes. This is what I want. He's going to be everything I want.

And no more.

Tyler grasped the meat of her ass in his hands, venting another groan. He pulled back abruptly. "No. I want better for you."

She raked her fingernails down his scalp to his back. "Here. Now." She demanded it, the need scorching at her nerves.

The sound of ripping clothing made her shiver. It wasn't her dress he was tearing, so it had to be his sleep pants.

He met her gaze, his expression fevered. "You want this?"

"Now." If he wasn't inside her soon, Julianna wouldn't guarantee her patient acceptance.

Tyler didn't test her resolve. He lifted her to spread her legs around him, then thrust deep inside her.

Julianna felt the shift coming over her, stronger than she'd thought it would be. Her senses sharpened, and her claws sprouted. She dug them into Tyler's back.

Far from fighting it, he moaned. He increased his pace, the door rattling from the onslaught.

She reveled in the mixed sensations. His scent tantalized her. The press of his skin against hers teased her with the solid reality of him. His cock worked its way through the rings of inner muscle, imprinting the memory of his length and girth on her senses.

Pleasure gave way to sparks of bliss. Julianna pitched her head back and howled, her senses whirling. Tyler joined her, jetting heat into her.

He parted her lips, enticing her into dizzying kisses. In a series of overlapping, seemingly random motions, Tyler carried her to what she assumed was his bed.

He broke off the kiss and stared down at her, his expression a potent mix that paralyzed her.

The bird before the snake.

I may not be an alpha, but I'm hardly a helpless bird.

"Don't go."

He's pleading with me. I never thought Tyler would plead for anything.

"Julianna?"

Her heat forced an answer from her. "I'm not done with you yet."

* * * *

Tyler snapped awake, his senses muddled and his back aching. He turned toward the opposite side of the bed with a smile.

Empty.

He sat up, scanning the room.

There.

Julianna was across the room, dressing in the clothing they'd discarded the night before.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to get ready for class." It was rational.

I don't want rational. I want fire. I want the passion we indulged in half the night.
She was in heat. Wouldn't she want that as well?

"I wish you wouldn't," he admitted.

She sighed. "I have tests to take, a lab—"

"Come back later?" Tyler tried not to show his nervousness, but he feared it slipped out.

Julianna stared at him, seemingly considering it. "Yes."

Before he could ask what time or suggest they have dinner together, she was gone, out the door and down the corridor at a run.

He dropped to his back on the bed, thanking the Night Mother for Julianna.

I have my mate. She's in heat. I will have children with her.

Tyler chuckled. Then he laughed...long and hard. Her scent settled in his lungs, causing his cock to rise in response. He groaned.

It's going to be a very long day. I should get a bath.
He threw back the quilts and rose to accomplish the task.

As if taking that as his cue that he could begin his work day, Oalo bustled into the room and started stripping the bed.

Tyler bristled at the move. "Leave the pillows and pillowcases."

"Excuse me, sir?" He looked up from the bed in seeming confusion.

Tyler stared him down, unwilling to explain himself to his servant.

Oalo took a deep breath. He stood still, the linens in his hand. At last, he nodded. "As you wish."

Tyler turned toward the bath again.

"Perhaps I should send your regrets to the coach, since you will be missing practice today," Oalo suggested.

He stopped walking and turned back. "What are you talking about?" And why did Oalo annoy him so much today?

His servant sighed. He dropped the quilts on the bed and turned to face Tyler. "I presume you have seduced your mate."

Tyler didn't bother to correct him. Oalo didn't need to know Julianna came here and demanded what he'd offered. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see what was coming next.

"The female is fertile, and you wouldn't be that sloppy."

He nodded grimly.

"I also deduce that the two of you are not prepared to make this relationship public."

"Not yet," he admitted.

"The coach usually calls shirts and skins—"

"And I'm typically skin."
Damn, he's good.
"Thank you, Oalo." He started to turn away.

"If I may be so bold, Tyler?"

"Yes?"

"A servant has the ability to learn things."

Tyler peeked back at him, confused. "Things like what, Oalo?"

He smiled. "Things to help you in your quest, of course."

Tyler nodded, biting back a laugh. "Thank you, Oalo. That would be wonderful."

* * * *

Two days later

"And where have you been hiding?" Veronique asked.

Vanessa popped into the doorway beside her twin. "We stopped by last night, and you were nowhere to be found."

Julianna didn't look up from her work. "Just busy," she lied.

Veronique dropped into the chair beside her, looking completely unruffled in navy blue. Vanessa took the chair on the other side, wearing matching deep purple. Other than the colors they chose to wear, they were nearly identical girls, both dark-haired and with eyes that fluctuated between green and light brown.

"Ah...hem."

Julianna looked up at Veronique, then straightened with a sigh. "Yes?"

"Details?"

Vanessa leaned closer. "Spill."

"I...went on a date."

It wasn't entirely a lie. Tyler had made a show of providing her favorite foods, her favorite music, and a nightgown in her favorite color the night before. Whatever his means and whatever his reasons, he was treating her like a date.

As long as I get what I want, I don't care what his reasons are.

"Oh. My."

"Night Mother, you're serious?" Veronique overpowered her sister's voice.

Julianna nodded. Against her better judgment, she smiled. Her nightly meetings with Tyler were quickly becoming an addiction.

Of course it is. I'm in heat.

"Is he your mate?" Veronique started the interrogation.

"Does he have to be?" Julianna countered.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "It helps."

"Does it?" Since she'd never told them what Tyler was to her, she could tap dance around this subject all evening long, if she had to.

The twins stared at each other, seemingly—as it often did appear—trading information or conferring without words. Before they could question her further, Julianna started talking.

"There's more than one kind of mates in our world, you know."

They gaped at her.

"You aren't going to wait to find your actual mate?" Veronique asked, seemingly aghast that the notion.

"Why should I?"
I can have what I want without that complication.

Vanessa shook her head violently. "What happens if you...you know, and then your actual mate shows up?"

"Unlikely."
Impossible. There is no future for us. Tyler made that more than clear long ago. He's always wanted me. I won't be an Alpha's possession.

"Julianna?"

She looked up at Vanessa, her heart tripping at the concern in her friend's eyes.

"What will you do if you're wrong?"

Can my heart be broken any more than it already is?
Julianna managed a brittle smile.

I should end this.

No. Just a few more days. A week at the most. I want young. I won't live my whole life without them.

* * * *

Two weeks later

Tyler moaned as Julianna shifted her hips, intensifying the sensation. She arched her back, her hair trailing over his thighs. When she levered her head forward, her fangs were extended.

Tyler shivered at the sight of them.
How many times have I seen them and hoped she intended to use them?

Too many.

As if she heard him, Julianna came down over him, her breath warming his throat. But she didn't bite down.

He bit back a half dozen curses, trying to avoid showing his frustration with a shift.

Her teeth scraped lightly at his throat; she retreated abruptly.

"Do it," Tyler begged. "Please. Please do it."