Alphas on the Prowl (27 page)

“See you tomorrow.”

She called out to the cute redhead who had served him the beer and to the guy pouring the drinks. They waved back and she left the building. All he saw was the long, wavy, light brown hair, the firm butt and the shapely legs as she left. But he knew without a doubt that the amazing scent belonged to her, and he knew that he had just imprinted on her.

He sat for a long time after she was gone, shaking his head in disbelief at the situation. He didn’t even believe in imprinting. The idea of there being one perfect mate that was meant to be yours for life. That was romantic bullshit, and it was one of the things Silas had been fighting to squash among their people. And yet, Zach couldn’t deny what had just happened. He wanted to run out of the bar and follow that scent, track that woman down and make her his. That’s what every fiber in his being was screaming at him to do right now, but this couldn’t be happening.

No. This was not happening.

Chapter Two

The next evening, Zach took a breath to gather his wits about him, and then marched toward the door of the bar. He told himself that it was a simple case of needing to find some work, and that getting close to the girl with the amazing scent had absolutely nothing to do with it. When he left Lunar Falls, he’d had a nice little cushion of cash in his checking account, but being forced to leave the only life he had ever known had changed all that. He burned through most of what he’d had in checking during the first couple of months on hotel rooms mostly, and gas for his car, and he knew that he had to be careful with what was left in his savings account. To that end, for the last several months he had been taking the occasional odd job until he found someplace more permanent to land. So he wasn’t deluding himself right now. He really did need the work. The chance to be near the girl was just a fortunate coincidence. He grabbed the door handle and froze. He could already smell her fragrance even out here, and it was so intoxicating it nearly drove him insane.

Like most Moon Hunters around his age, he had heard the stories from the older generation – the tales of how the imprinting worked and how it could drive males to madness, especially if the female they had imprinted on didn’t “feel” him in return. He had thought it was just a bunch of tall tales the old folks liked to tell, and frankly, Zach had always believed that fabled mating-induced frenzy was part of the reason their Elders had long ago deemed the imprinting archaic and bad for their society. Plus, it introduced all sorts of undesirables into their gene pool. Purity had been instituted for a reason, after all. Still, he couldn’t deny what was happening to him now or explain why this female’s scent was affecting him so strangely.

When he’d left the bar last night he couldn’t get her, or her scent, out of his mind, and he had actually had to force himself not to follow the delectable aroma and track her down. He felt like he was going slightly crazy. He was obsessed with a woman he had never really gotten a good look at, and he felt almost compelled to be near her.

He took another breath, opened the door and stepped inside, fully expecting her to be waiting for him on the other side. But when he looked around, all he saw was the guy behind the bar and a couple of people sitting at tables. The place was practically empty, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. He could smell her though.

“Can I help you, pal?”

The man behind the bar gave him a stern look that said “Order a drink or get out,” and Zach gave him a nod as he walked up to the bar.

“What are you drinking?”

“Actually, I was looking for something other than a drink.” Zach met the man’s gaze with a confident air.

The man looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You don’t look like a cop.”

Zach smiled. “No. I’m not a cop. I’m just a guy who’s slightly down on his luck and in need of some work. I was wondering if you might have anything. I’ve never tended bar before, but I’m a quick study.”

The man was silent as he looked him over for a moment, and as he did Zach suddenly caught a whiff of her. He looked up just in time to see her set an open crate down on the floor behind the bar. Then she crouched down next to it and proceeded to remove the bottles one by one as she went about stocking the lower shelves. From this vantage point, Zach could only see her from behind, and his mouth actually watered at the sight. Her long, light brown hair flowed over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back in luscious waves. She was wearing a pair of brown cowboy boots, a plain white tank top and a pair of cut off jean shorts that left little to the imagination. And Zach couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to grab her and bury his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling the sweet seductive scent of her as he bit her neck.

“I got plenty of bartenders, pal. Sorry.” The man’s abrupt words snapped him out of his lust filled trance.

“Oh. Well … I got lots of useful skills. I can push a broom. I can wait tables.”

“No offense, dude, but I know my patrons pretty well. I don’t think you’re what they want to see in a pair of tight shorts, you know?” The man grinned at him.

Zach smirked at him and glanced down at the girl again. She abruptly stood up and disappeared to the back room as he watched her go.

“Yeah.” He met the man’s gaze again and shrugged his shoulders. “Look, man … I can wash dishes. I just really need a job, you know?”

There was a long pause, and Zach could almost see the internal conversation playing out on the man’s face.

“All right, look. It just so happens that I am in need of a little muscle around here. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but The Nowhere has the dubious reputation of being a bit rough. A lot of the guys that come in here are bikers. Some are ex-cons, and some are just bad, shady dudes, you know what I’m saying? I saw you in here last night. You drank one beer and then you left. What I could use around here is a man who can refrain from drinking, keep a level head, and keep the peace. Someone who knows how to diffuse a tense situation and clean house when it’s warranted.”

“You mean you need a bouncer.” Zach gave him a look that told him he understood perfectly.

“Basically. You think you can handle that?”

A slow smile crept over Zach’s face. Before he had been forced out of Lunar Falls, he’d been one of the GrandAlpha’s Enforcers – an elite team of security specially trained in a number of fighting techniques in human, wolf and werewolf forms. Yeah, he could more than handle it. And it made him feel good to know that his Enforcer training would be put to good use.

“It just so happens that I do have some experience in that area,” he said.

“Okay.” The man stuck his hand out. “The name’s Ty.”

“I’m Zach.”

“Zach, why don’t you come back here in three hours. That’s when this place really gets hopping each night. I’ll give you a try, and if it works out we’ll talk about a permanent position for you. How’s that sound?”

“That sounds real good, Ty. Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t thank me yet. This is just a trial tonight,” Ty said.

“You won’t regret it. I promise.” Zach thanked the man again before giving one last glance toward the back, but she was nowhere around, and he still hadn’t seen her face. That didn’t stop him from leaving with a smile.

o0o

Sarah marched through the back room and descended the stairs to the cellar in a rush. At the bottom of the rickety staircase, she stopped abruptly and placed her back flat against the rough cool surface of the wall, panting slightly. The sharp tingle in her skin was like an itch that she couldn’t scratch. Her eyes were burning, and she knew that they were glowing. She shut them tight and brought a hand up to her forehead, wiping away a thin sheen of sweat.

What the hell was going on?

She felt feverish and slightly lightheaded. This couldn’t be happening. It was impossible for this to be happening; there were no male Moon Hunters within five hundred miles of this place. And then she opened her eyes and frowned as she wondered about that. She had never heard her dad or her grandfather, or anyone else for that matter, mention that there were other Moon Hunter packs in different states. Ohio was werewolf territory. That’s what she had always been taught. But if there were no others, then what was going on with her right now? There was no way that her body would be reacting to a human this way. And if that was really what was happening here, then Sarah knew she had a problem — because it meant that some strange and random male had gone and imprinted on her. And to top it off, her body was responding to him. She “felt” him. Which meant the real question was … who the hell was she feeling?

Chapter Three

A few hours later, Sarah was in the thick of it, hustling her butt to keep up with the drink orders as she dodged the grabby hands of the rowdy male patrons. She hadn’t been able to get the strange incident from before out of her mind, and her thoughts of it distracted her while she worked. She had been behind the bar stocking the shelves when the symptoms overtook her, and she wracked her brain trying to remember who all was in the bar at the time. She remembered seeing Old Bill sitting at his usual table, but he was one of the regulars — not to mention old enough to be her great grandfather — so she knew it wasn’t him. Besides, Old Bill was human. And that was the thing that puzzled her most. She had been in this town for months now, and never once had she smelled the first hint of another of her kind anywhere.

She remembered that Ty had been talking to someone when she walked in with the crate of gin, but she hadn’t really gotten a look at him, and try as she might, she couldn’t seem to picture his face. She vaguely remembered seeing a shock of blond hair, but that was it. As she thought about it more, she realized that she hadn’t actually bothered to really look at the guy, so she still had no clue who her body was reacting to.
If
that was even what was going on here at all.

In the ensuing hours since it happened, Sarah had pretty much managed to convince herself that it had just been a fluke — her imagination — and that all of those very real symptoms had been about something completely different. She was coming down with something; that was all.

“Wake up, sweet cheeks!” Ty pinned her with his gaze as he set a tray of four beers on the bar. “I know I’m hard to resist, but there’s no time for daydreaming about me when we’re this packed.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes at him as she picked up the tray and hurried off to deliver them. She got a stone’s throw away from her intended table when the sensations suddenly began anew. She felt slightly lightheaded and feverish, and damn it if her skin hadn’t started to tingle. That was always the tale-tell sign, according to what she had heard from those who had gone through it before her — like her cousin, Jessica, and her sister-in-law, Sophie.

She still couldn’t believe it was really happening. She hadn’t smelled any other Moon Hunters since she left home eight months ago. She looked all around, her eyes darting to and fro as she sniffed the air and tried to get a better read on who this mysterious stranger might be, but the place was jam packed with people, and the scent of the humans and cigarette smoke was almost overwhelming. Turning to her left she caught the faint scent of a Moon Hunter male, and she looked toward the bar to see Ty shaking hands with someone. The man appeared tall and well-built from what she could see from this angle, and she wanted desperately to go investigate.

“That beer ain’t gonna serve itself, darlin’!”

Slap!

The unwelcome hand hit her ass pretty hard, and Sarah whirled around and grabbed the man’s wrist, still balancing the tray of beers in her other hand.

“Ahh!” He screamed in pain and Sarah realized that she would break his wrist if she weren’t careful. But just as she let go, the man jumped from his seat and grabbed her by the throat. The tray of beers hit the floor, shattering magnificently and scattering the crowd around them a bit. Before she knew what was happening, Sarah’s back hit the wall as the man pinned her against it.

“Looks like you’re on,” Ty said.

“Nothing like jumping right in,” Zach replied.

“Ain’t no woman gonna make a fool out of me! You need to be taught a lesson,” the man snarled at Sarah as he held her in place and raised his hand to strike her.

Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed the man’s arm. A second later, his face hit the table with a loud
whack.

“The only one learning a lesson here tonight is you, tough guy,” Zach said as he looked down at him. The man struggled to lift his head and break free, but Zach held him immobile with very little effort. Then he stood the man up, still holding him restrained, and turned him to face Sarah.

The moment Zach looked into her eyes he was stunned. This was the woman who belonged to that amazing scent that had been driving him crazy since last night? The woman he knew without a doubt that he had imprinted on, sight unseen? Here, so far away from home? And as he stared at her, all he could think of was when the hell did Seth Masters’ kid sister get so damn sexy? He frowned and swallowed hard as he forced himself to concentrate on his new job.

“Apologize to the lady, and I’ll let you stay and enjoy your drink.” He was clearly speaking to the man, but his eyes never left hers. “If not, you can leave my bar nicely, or I can toss you out on your ass. The choice is yours.”

“Your bar?” the man questioned. “This is Ty’s bar.”

“And Ty just hired me to keep it friendly and peaceful around here, so yeah …
my
bar. You don’t like it, you can go drink somewhere else.”

Sarah stood frozen as she stared at him. He wasn’t really here, was he?

“I apologize, miss,” the man said, not sounding at all sincere.

Zach let the man go and smiled at him. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? We’ll get this mess cleaned up and get you a new beer.”

The man glared at Zach as he returned to his seat, and the cute red-headed waitress furnished the table with a new round as another began sweeping up the broken glass.

Zach turned to Sarah and smiled, ready to jump into surprised small talk.

Sarah turned and bolted for the back without saying a word.

“Sarah!”

He followed after her, pushing through the crowd and wondering if perhaps she hadn’t recognized him. But that would be crazy – of course she recognized him. He had served on the Enforcer team with her brother, Seth, for many years. In fact, it was funny to think about now, but back then he had never looked at her as anything more than just his friend’s sometimes-annoying kid sister. But that shy awkward teenager he saw in his mind looked nothing like the sexy voluptuous she-wolf trying her best to run away from him right now.

“Sarah, wait!”

He reached out and gently grabbed her by the shoulder. Sarah whipped around to face him, grabbing his wrist like she had done the overbearing man at the table. Her lovely brown eyes were shooting fire and ice at him, and it took him by surprise.

“Don’t touch me,” she warned. “Just move on and leave me alone!”

“Sarah, it’s me. Zach Mason from Lunar Falls.”

“I’m not an idiot. I know exactly who you are, and I want you to stay the hell away from me,” she said, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. She turned to continue her escape.

“Well, I’m afraid the imprinting won’t allow me to do that,” he said, halting her in her tracks.

She whirled around to face him, taking a couple of steps toward him. “Don’t you dare talk to me about the imprinting when you don’t even believe in it!”

He didn’t respond right away. What could he say? She was right. Until it happened to him when he walked into this bar for the first time, he had never believed in the ancient practice before.

“Yeah, that’s right. I know all about your little part in my father’s grand scheme to overthrow my cousin for the GrandAlpha position. And just because we’re not in Lunar Falls right now does not change a thing. You are an outcast, exiled for treason, and I want nothing to do with you.”

“Well, that’s too damn bad, princess, because it seems I have no control over it anymore.” He took a step toward her, closing the gap between them as he looked down into her gorgeous eyes. Just half a step closer and her breasts would lightly graze his chest. He was close enough to feel the heat coming off her body, and if he listened closely in the noisy, bar he could hear her heart racing. A sexy smile suddenly crossed his lips.

“I know that you feel me too. I can hear your heart racing. I can feel it beginning to synch with mine.” He took his index finger and let it trail slowly up her arm. “Is your skin tingling?”

His voice was like honey-coated gravel, and Sarah softly panted as she stared up into his bright blue eyes. Yes, her skin was tingling, but she didn’t want him to know that. She jerked her arm away and took a step back.

“What are you even doing here, Zach?” She asked. Of all the places he could have roamed to after he was exiled, he had to show up here? In the one small little corner of the great big world that she had chosen for herself? Of course, the Moon Hunter mystic in her would say that it was meant to be — that clearly she and Zach had each made their way to this place because they were destined to be together. But why him? What kind of cruel twist of fate was this?

“Like you said, I was exiled. Your cousin bounced me from the pack and ran me out of Ohio,” he replied. “The question is … what are you doing here?”

Sarah stared at him and didn’t even attempt to answer that question. As far as she was concerned, it was none of his business why she was here. And she was just about to tell him so when Ty suddenly interrupted them.

“I know that guy was a jerk, sweet cheeks, but you gotta get your ass back on the floor. I got drinks piling up here!”

“Yeah, I’m coming, Ty,” she answered.

“And you,” Ty said, pointing to Zach. “Nicely done! Welcome aboard.”

Zach smiled and gave the man a nod. “Thanks a lot, man.”

He turned his attention back to Sarah, who glared at him. “I’m working. Don’t bother me again,” she said. Then she turned and stalked off, and Zach watched her go, wondering how he was going to convince her that they belonged together.

Sarah walked away from him, fuming as she tried her best to get back to work. The tingle in her skin caused by his proximity was distracting, and as she went about her night, serving up drinks and chatting and flirting with the customers, she could feel his eyes on her. Every time she looked up from what she was doing, he would be staring at her with this intense gaze. It was unnerving. Not to mention annoying as hell.

And sexy.

Where she and Zach Mason came from, treason against one’s pack was the ultimate crime. Pack hierarchy was to be maintained at all cost, because if it wasn’t, civil war — or even the threat of civil war — could rip the very fabric of their society to shreds. It had happened once before in their history, and her father, Silas Masters, had tried his best to make it happen again last year. His hope was that he and his co-conspirators would be successful, allowing him to take over the GrandAlpha position. But he had miscalculated a few things, like underestimating his nephew, and ended up dead. As was the way in their society, his indiscretions had brought great shame to his mate and their three children. And now they were all forced to live like pariahs, bearing the shame of what their father had done. Sarah couldn’t take all the stares of pity and the ridicule she perceived from virtual strangers, so she packed up and left.

Her mom and her brother both begged her not to go. Even Gabe, the GrandAlpha her father had tried to oust, had come to her saying that she shouldn’t leave. He told her that things were changing for the better in their society and that she and Seth and their mom could ride out the wave of unpleasantness and shame. He said that people would forget, in time, and that her family needed her to stay. But she just couldn’t. Especially not after her younger brother Jason decided to take up their father’s foolish cause and ended up every bit as dead. Double the shame and scrutiny.

Sarah smirked at that thought. She left home because she felt she had to. She wasn’t like Seth; there was no other option for her. Seriously, who was going to want to take her — the daughter of a traitor — as their mate after what her father had done? She looked up and caught Zach staring at her again as another thought occurred to her. Zach Mason had imprinted on her. Zach Mason, of all people. One of her father’s co-conspirators. Someone who supposedly didn’t even believe the imprinting was real. Someone who had been banished from their pack, from their home. An exiled, disgraced, former pack Enforcer. Yeah, taking up with him would do wonders for her profile in the shame department.

Zach decided he liked his new job. It afforded him the opportunity to watch Sarah all night, and when he wasn’t busy busting up a couple more skirmishes between the bar’s patrons, that’s exactly what he did. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was stunning – tall and tanned, with natural curves in all the right places. The fraying denim cut-off short-shorts and her long legs made his manhood ache, and he wanted desperately to feel those legs wrapped tightly around him. It was all he could think about, and the erotic images were driving him crazy.

He had just put a stop to a fight that was about to break out near the back of the bar when he passed by the table where Sarah’s attacker was sitting with his group of buddies and their women, and he overheard something interesting.

“Let’s blow this joint, Creet,” one of the men said, looking at the jerk who had attacked Sarah. “We’ll all go back to my place and have us a real party.”

“You guys go ahead,” the man said as he watched Sarah moving around the bar and rubbed his wrist. “I got plans for later.”

Zach watched the creep eyeing his girl and suddenly had to fight to keep his wolf under control. Okay, so maybe Sarah wasn’t exactly his yet, but the imprinting had already taken hold, bringing all of his protective instincts to the forefront, and there was no way in hell that he was going to let this man get anywhere near what was his.