Alphas on the Prowl (28 page)

Chapter Four

Sarah left the bar at the end of the night and headed for home – or what passed for home these days. Since arriving in Pine Mountain, she had been keeping a room in a lovely boarding house about two miles away from Nowhere, and she would walk to work and back each night, even though she had a perfectly good car parked at the boarding house. Her way of saving money on gas. Some nights she found the walk home a little creepy, especially at first. But then she sucked it up and put on her big girl pants. She was more than just a grown woman after all. She was a strong capable werewolf, and she could take care of herself.

That was the mantra she always chanted to herself over and over again on the walk each night, and even though she knew it was true, she still couldn’t shake the creepy feeling. It would be different if she were back in Lunar Falls. Or in any of the Moon Hunter territories, for that matter. Just somewhere where she knew there were others of her kind, others who would greet her with knowing smiles and treat her like family, even if they belonged to one of the other packs.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and sighed as she walked on, and her mind pushed the creepy feeling away as thoughts of Zach Mason slithered in. She still couldn’t believe that he had shown up in Pine Mountain of all places, and claiming to be her mate. The real bitch of it all was that she knew she couldn’t deny it. She
felt
him. Her body was clearly reacting to his presence, whether Sarah wanted it to or not. And she knew enough about the imprinting to know that there was nothing she, or Zach, could do about it. A male couldn’t control which female he imprinted on any more than a female could control whether or not her body reacted to his attentions. And according to the Moon Hunter ancient texts, that attraction was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of phenomenon. A male would only imprint on one woman, and if she felt him and they completed the bond, they would be mates for life.

That thought was cosmically overwhelming to her. Zach Mason of all people. Not that she didn’t find him attractive. Unfortunately, it was just the opposite. Zach had always been something of a pretty boy, and he knew it. Tall and sexy with a lean, muscular frame. An adorable smile and dimples for days. Bright blue eyes and a shock of blond hair that always looked like he had just rolled out of bed after a night of screwing you senseless. Oh, yeah, he was hot as hell, all right, and every bit as devilish. And if Sarah were being completely honest, she would admit to herself that she’d had a crush on him for years. But what teenaged girl didn’t develop a crush on her older brother’s friends? That was normal, right? Of course, she never breathed a word about it to anyone, and she knew that to Zach she was never anything more than Seth Masters’ geeky little sister.

As she neared the yard of the boarding house she began to feel that now familiar tingle in her skin again — warm and enticing, almost like a sensuous caress — and she knew that he was somewhere close by. It didn’t surprise her though. Well, not much anyway, because she knew that this was the next step. Once the male Moon Hunter imprinted on someone, he would then begin watching over her. That’s what her people called it anyway. Sarah liked to think of it as stalking. Basically he would follow her home, just to make sure that she got there okay. Then he would patrol the grounds to ensure that she was safe and that she had everything she needed. And, of course, to make sure that there were no other males sniffing around what he viewed as his woman. He would do this each night until she finally gave in and completed the bond with him. And if she never did, then he would be one sad, bitter shell of a wolf for the rest of his life.

She entered the yard and veered off to the left, heading for the side door of the boarding house that would open near the stairway that lead straight up to her room. But the tingle in her skin grew to almost uncomfortable levels, and it started to piss her off. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. It was after two in the morning and she didn’t want to wake the human owner of the boarding house, or anyone else for that matter. So she called out to him telepathically.

“Zach Mason! I can’t see you, but I know you can hear me,”
she thought, looking around at the long driveway she had just walked up.
“I’m only going to say this one more time so please, pay attention. Leave. Me. Alone. I don’t care that you’ve imprinted on me, and I have no intention of letting you anywhere near me. So back off!”

There was no response to her telepathic outburst, but she could still feel the annoying tingle all over her skin, not to mention the slight lightheadedness, and she knew that he was still nearby. She rolled her eyes at the darkness and turned in a huff. But before she could get to the door of the house she was grabbed from behind and dragged off to the bushes lining the side of the house.

The hand over her mouth smelled of stale beer, cigarettes and human, and she knew immediately that this was the jerk who had grabbed her by the throat back at the bar earlier in the evening. She heard the sharp
click
of a switchblade at her ear as he held her from behind.

“I told you I wouldn’t let a woman make a fool out of me, bitch!” His voice was harsh, and Sarah could hear the cruelty in it. She had no doubt that he would do her serious damage if she were a human female.

“Oh, you really don’t want to tangle with me, dumb-ass,” she snarled as her brown eyes began to glow. She grabbed the arm restraining her and whipped around to face her attacker, shifting to werewolf form in an instant. And when the man got a look at the monster in front of him he screamed bloody murder. She let go of his arm and he jumped backwards away from her, crashing into a solid wall of muscle. He whirled around to find a second monster glaring at him with glowing blue eyes, and just as he was about to scream again the blow came swiftly, mercifully knocking him out. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Zach watched the man slump to the ground and shifted back to human form as he shook his head. Then he smiled at Sarah and stepped over the man’s body.

“How many times do I have to ask you nicely to leave me alone?” she insisted.

“What? I just came to your rescue.”

“Oh, the hell you did!” She raised her voice but then quickly remembered the sleeping humans in the house. “I was doing just fine on my own, thank you very much. I think I can handle one human male just fine.”

“You couldn’t handle him back at the bar,” Zach said.

“The bar was full of people! What? Did you expect me to wolf out in front of an audience?” she asked, glaring at him. “Now, thanks to you, that jerk is going to go spreading monster werewolf stories around here, and we’ll both have to leave.”

“That jerk is going to chalk it up to having way too much to drink tonight and forget all about it,” Zach said.

Sarah growled and rolled her eyes. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“Most of the time, yes.” He smiled, giving her a very cocky, very sexy grin as he stepped closer to her and reached out to touch her arm.

“Go away, Zach.” She jerked her arm away from him. Then she turned on her heal to walk away.

He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, snaking his other arm around her waist and drawing her closer. Then he very unceremoniously planted a kiss on her lips. It was rough and uninvited, and Sarah could feel his tongue darting against her lips as it begged for entry. She pushed against his chest, fighting to free herself from his clutches, but his grasp was too strong. And the more she fought, the more she felt her heart racing — speeding up to synch with the rhythm of his.

Zach held her fast, refusing to let go until she admitted that she felt him too. She couldn’t hide it from him. He could feel her heart beginning to keep time with his own, and he knew what it meant. The more time they spent together, the more it was becoming evident that they were mates. She was meant to be his. Now, he just had to make her want it too.

Sarah turned her head, breaking their kiss. But she still couldn’t free herself from his embrace.

“Let me go!”

“Tell me that you feel me,” he demanded.

“I don’t!”

“You’re a liar,” he snarled. Then he kissed her again.

She felt her claws emerging as her hand shifted, and she scraped them over his pectoral muscle, ripping his flesh along with the fabric of his shirt.

He groaned with the pain of it and grabbed her wrist, but he didn’t let her go. As the wound healed itself, he jerked her closer to him, and when she gasped, his tongue forged ahead, delving inside and exploring her mouth as he deepened their kiss.

Sarah felt the heat flare in her chest as he devoured her mouth, and as hard as she fought against it, she could feel herself beginning to respond to his advances. She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer, kissing him back with a reckless abandon. She hated herself for what she was doing, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. This felt right somehow. Natural. As though she had kissed him a million times before. As though being in his arms was the one place she was supposed to be.

As she melted against him, she got a sudden flash of home in her mind’s eye, and she realized that it was his scent. Something about him smelled of home — comfortable and nurturing and sweet — and she felt slightly drunk on the aroma. When he pulled away and looked into her eyes, Sarah felt the strongest yearning to be with him. Or maybe she just didn’t want to be alone anymore.

She took Zach by the hand and turned toward the side entrance of the boarding house. Neither of them said a word as she led him up the carpeted staircase to the first door on the right. Then she pulled out her key and fumbled with it as she felt his fingers move her hair to the side right before his fangs grazed the sensitive skin of her neck.

“Ah!”

The loud gasp resonated in her own ears, and for a moment she lost her footing and placed a palm flat on the door of her room for balance.

Zach found the key still in her other hand, and he took it and completed the task of unlocking the door. Once they were through it, he closed the door behind them and quickly turned her around, slamming her back flat against it as he leaned into her. His tongue stroked hers rhythmically as he kissed her like his very life depended on it. The soft moan that came from her gave him the strongest sense of triumph, and when he felt her fingers running through his hair he couldn’t stifle a moan of his own. He leaned his hips into her as he squeezed her breasts. Then, without warning, she yanked his hair tight with both hands.

“Ow!”

Sarah looked into his glowing blue eyes feeling so incredibly aroused. But she also felt angry about it, and she pushed him away. She moved to walk past him when she felt his hand on her wrist and he jerked her back into his arms.

“You want it rough, Sarah? ’Cause I can give it to you rough, baby.”

The devilish glint in his eyes and the dimples in his sexy smile did something to her insides, and Sarah wanted to give in and give this man every part of her. But she was so afraid of what that would mean and how it might play out.

“I am not your baby.” She growled at him as she tried to pull away. “Let go of me. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you here.”

“I don’t believe you.” Zach held her close as she fought against him, and he brought a hand up to caress her face. “Sarah, our hearts are synching the more time we spend in each other’s company. And I will be the first to tell you that I never believed in that shit before now, but it’s happening! You can’t tell me that you don’t feel it too.”

“What I do or don’t feel doesn’t matter, Zach!”

“Like hell it doesn’t,” he growled before he kissed her again, holding her head in place as he stroked her tongue with his own. And suddenly there were no more words and no more protests as Sarah allowed him to lift her tank top over her head. Zach wasted no time stripping her out of the short-shorts, boots, and her pretty lace bra. Then he followed suit with his own clothing before she could change her mind again.

They fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and kisses as his lips and his tongue roamed over every inch of her, and Sarah writhed in pleasure. Every touch of his mouth left a scorching impression on her skin, and she felt as though her body were on fire. When he sucked one pert nipple into his mouth Sarah thought she might explode, and she called out. With no warning, she used her Moon Hunter super strength and speed to overpower him and flip him over, giving him a little nip in the process.

“Ouch!” Zach’s hand flew to the side of his mouth, and he looked up into her glowing cinnamon-colored eyes as she straddled him. “You bit my lip!”

“I thought we were playing rough.”

Her seductive smile stirred the wolf within him, and his eyes lit up like sparkling blue jewels. He sat up and grabbed a handful of her luscious hair, yanking her head back so he could devour her neck.

His love nibbles across her skin made her shiver, and Sarah suddenly wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone else in her life.

“Zach.”

Hearing his name drop from her lips in a soft moan drove him crazy, and he used her own trick against her, flipping them over in the blink of an eye. His partially shifted hand grabbed hold of her lace panties, scraping his claws across her flesh in the process. With one sharp tug the fabric ripped away from her body, exposing destinations he couldn’t wait to explore. He leaned down and lightly bit the inside of her thigh, loving the shudder that ran through her. Then his mouth latched on to her sex, and his tongue began to work in a very intimate erotic French kiss.