Alyssa's Wolves (Wolf Masters, Book 4) (11 page)

At the mention of her mother, she swallowed back the lump in her throat. She’d want him to tell her every detail imaginable about her parents, but not right now. Now, she needed answers.

Tyler. That’s right. Now I remember
. “Aren’t you several years older than me?” It was a strange thing to ask him right off, but the question just popped into her head.

He smiled warmly, dimples indenting his cheeks about an inch from the corner of his mouth. He blushed. His skin was that of every other redhead she knew, light with a sprinkling of freckles under his eyes. She wanted to step closer. As different as he was from Michael, she was just as drawn to him. “A few. I’m twenty-four.”

“Did you know about this two years ago before I left?” Alyssa motioned between the two of them. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words on the tip of her tongue.
This mating
.

“No. I found out at the same time you did last week. I guess I never got close enough to you in the last few years to make the connection.”

“Why did you disappear? Where have you been?” Alyssa leaned against the car and fired off another question. She was overwhelmed to the point that her knees threatened to buckle. “Why were you even here in the first place?” Her questions piled up.

Tyler glanced over at Michael, still perched on the porch. He cringed. “I was here to spy on you, frankly. Wells sent me to make sure you were mated to Michael. You don’t come out of the house much.” He chuckled wryly. “I had to wait two days. When I followed you to the rodeo and realized you were my mate, it never occurred to me I would end up sharing a mate with Michael. I only knew you were mine.”

Alyssa flinched. His words didn’t make much sense.

“I’m sorry I fled. That was stupid. I saw how happy you were and didn’t want to upset your life. I thought I could ignore the signs that insisted we belonged together and leave you in peace. No way would I take you back to our pack in Oklahoma. I’ve … never seen you smile like that before. Even when we were little.” His last words were gentle, and he reached up to graze his fingers over her cheek.

Alyssa melted into his touch against her will. She leaned her head in the direction of his palm to increase the contact, even though her brain was screaming at her to stop.

“I left the Oklahoma pack a few days ago and came here as fast as I could. I swear I had no idea you were already mated. If I’d known that…” Tyler danced his fingers along her shoulder and threaded them through her hair. “I don’t have any idea why or how this happened, but I couldn’t leave here, even after talking to Michael, without seeing you. Making sure you were happy with him. Just say the word, and I’ll leave you in peace.”

Butterflies danced in Alyssa’s stomach. Even in the chilly morning air, she was burning hot. Tyler’s touch melted her soul and brought back memories of how Michael had made her feel yesterday. Could this near-stranger elicit the same response from her body? If the wetness gathering between her legs was any indication, the answer was yes.

And the idea made her nervous. And something about the choice of words coming from Tyler’s mouth had her on edge. Something was not right.

“Do you?”

“Do I what?” Her mind was numb. Whatever he’d asked her hadn’t filtered in properly.

“Want me to go. Leave you alone with the man who already claimed you two years ago?”

“What?” Startled as the pieces fell together about this odd conversation, Alyssa straightened her spine and whipped her head around just in time to see Michael now walking briskly in their direction. The smirk on his mouth was incongruent with the furrow in his brow, concern and mirth at the same time.

Alyssa stepped a few feet away, breaking contact from Tyler. She glared at Michael as he approached. “What in the world did you tell him, Michael? You lied?” Anger boiled her blood. Her hands shook. She couldn’t remember ever being this mad before.

“Now hang on a second.” Michael reached for her, but she jerked to the left to avoid his touch. He exhaled on a sigh and let his hands fall to his sides. “I didn’t lie to anyone. I just didn’t exactly correct Tyler’s misconception.”

“So, you lied.” She put her hands on her hips and stared at Michael hard. “After all that ‘talking’ you attempted lamely yesterday, did you not hear a word I said?” Alyssa took a long inhale and tipped her head toward the blue sky before continuing. “Did you listen to me with your big head at all? Or just the little one?”

She was pleased to see her nearly six-foot mate, who outweighed her by more than double, cringe and step back a step. How dare he.

Oh, she was on a roll. “Let’s get one thing straight here.” She let her gaze fall on both men, back and forth, twice, so there’d be no doubt she was addressing them both. “This situation is peculiar at best and beyond my comprehension. I have no idea why fate has seen to it to put both of you in my path. I didn’t ask for this, and I don’t even want it. Hell, if you’d have asked me two weeks ago, I’d have told you I didn’t want even one man in my life, let alone two.

“So, before either of you gets all cocky and decides to play dirty to battle for my attention, you might want to keep in mind that
I
will make the decisions where this strange mating concerns
me
.” She stared at Michael pointedly. “Not you.” She flipped her gaze to Tyler. “And not you.

“If either of you expects to win my affection, it won’t be by cheating, I can tell you that for sure. Now, I’m going to go inside, take off my coat, and talk to Nancy and Richard about arranging a guest room for Tyler. Then I’m going to spend some time with Tyler—alone”—she glared at Michael—“and get to know him a little better. If I feel like it, I will take a few days to let the two of you woo me and plead your cases. I suggest in the meantime you find a way to make nice with each other, or somebody is going to be left out very cold and lonely.”

Alyssa stomped between the two men and left them standing in the driveway without looking back. Her hands shook. Her entire body was on fire, and not just from the proximately of two hot men. She was pissed and aroused at the same time. She was sure her expression was a mixture of pride and fear, with a smirk mixed in for good measure—just like the expression she’d seen on Michael’s face as he’d come down from the porch.

Chapter 8

Less than an hour after his arrival to the set of
The Twilight Zone
, Tyler Evans found himself safely ensconced, well relatively safe, in a nice guest room in the sprawling ranch home of Nancy and Richard Masters.

The parents of the unique band of adult children were gracious and kind and understanding, far more than he could say for their son. Not that he could blame the guy.

Tyler set his meager possessions on the bed and stared out the window for a moment. The quiet
snick
of the door closing to his back accompanied the scent of the gorgeous blonde woman with the eternal deep-blue eyes he was destined to spend his life with, if she’d have him.

He didn’t have to turn around to know she was there, leaning against the door, and he was finally alone with her.

Well, to be honest, “alone” was a relative term since Michael was lurking with distinct impatience in his head. Luckily, Tyler was catching up quick and learning to block his thoughts from the other man.

“If you hurt her, I will hunt you down.”
Michael’s words rang deep, even though Tyler had no idea where the man was at this moment.

Tyler didn’t bother to respond. This time belonged to him and him alone. As the lady wished.

Slowly, Tyler turned from the window to face his mate.

The woman who’d been no more than a gangly teenager when he’d last glimpsed her two years ago was now a grown adult with her head held high. And, instead of greeting him with the anger and fear he’d expected, she smiled at him warmly.

“Shall we sit?” She motioned to a loveseat over by a fireplace on one wall of the room.

Alyssa settled herself on one side of the couch and crossed her legs. Even with her knees squeezed together, Tyler could still smell her essence, and he tried to hide his expression as he realized she was aroused. Thank God he had that effect on her because she was killing him. He didn’t even think he could sit that close to her without taking more than she offered at that moment.

His cock grew to incredible proportions as he stared at her. Her long blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders, a cascade of silk he longed to press his face into.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Tyler took a seat next to her on the loveseat. Their legs brushed and sent sparks flying that weren’t caused by static electricity.

“Do you mind if I ask you about my parents first? I haven’t had any contact with them for two years.” Alyssa bit her lower lip and chewed on it, her head tipped to one side. The confident, dominant shewolf he’d seen outside just a while ago was gone. In her place was this soft, gentle woman who ran away from home at eighteen to escape an unimaginable fate and missed her family terribly.

“They are both well. I’ve not been around much for several years since I’ve been at the university, but I crossed paths with them intentionally this past week. Guess I thought if I got close to them, I’d have a little piece of you with me.” Tyler lowered his gaze to her lap and then back up. He didn’t want to appear weak or childish, but he wanted to be honest. “They seem sad. I’m sure they miss you. But they are so ingrained in the way of life set by Wells… It’s like most of the pack is brainwashed. They don’t know any better.”

Alyssa nodded. “That’s what I’ve realized since I left.”

“Frankly, until you walked out of this house to head for the rodeo that day, I was no better. I had a few experiences with wolves from other packs in college, but it didn’t click with me until I saw the happiness in your eyes that entire packs most certainly don’t operate the way our does.”

Alyssa smiled at him, her dimples so cute he wanted to touch them but refrained.

“I knew on the spot even before I scented you that I wouldn’t rat you out. You’re better off anywhere but there. I came here like a robot at Wells’ bidding with no thought for your feelings. I swear to you that has changed. In fact, I left the pack a few days ago and never intend to return. I figure, whatever happens between you and me, I’m better off than I was there.

“Of course there is little future within the pack for over half the guys my age. Wells doesn’t even pay attention to us unless we’re his chosen few from the inner circle. When your intention is to marry off all the young girls to just a few elders, who needs an extra twenty-four-year-old man hanging around?”

Alyssa gasped. “I hadn’t thought about that aspect of polygamy.”

“What I don’t understand is why I never knew you were my mate before now. We lived in the same pack, ran in the same circles all our lives. Granted, I’ve not been extremely close to you since we were very young, but still, close enough. Why did Michael know two years ago and not me?” His question was rhetorical, but that didn’t make him less confused. He could understand why Alyssa didn’t know. She’d been so young, but Tyler was older than Michael.

“I’m no expert, but maybe the time just wasn’t right. Like, you weren’t supposed to know until now. Michael says…” She trailed off, not finishing her sentence. He wasn’t sorry. They didn’t need to discuss Michael right now. This was their time.

Tyler shook his head. “Could be,” he agreed. “And it’s been a long time since I’ve been close enough to you to scent you. I remember seeing you a few years ago at a pack meeting when I was home over the summer.” He smiled warmly at her. “I remember because your hair was blowing in the breeze, and I stared at you from the front steps of the meeting hall while you fought to get it out of your face. You were watching the children out on the playground while we entered the building. You were probably only about seventeen at the time. Guess I wasn’t close enough…

“Anyway, luckily, I had good grades and went away to college. I even got my masters a few months ago. I am free to do as I please.”

“And what do you plan to do?”

“Well, I had a promising interview in Colorado a few days ago on my way here. I’m confident they may offer me a position.”

“Colorado?” She gulped.

“I had illusions of breezing in here, sweeping you off your feet, and convincing you to move to Denver with me.” He grinned at her, a half smile he hoped expressed his own realization that he’d been a bit too cocky and overconfident.

She smiled back and laid a hand on his arm. Warmth poured into his body as though she were a conductor of heat. “We’ll figure this out. We have no choice. We just need to get to know each other and decide what’s best for all three of us.”

“So let me get this straight. You have not been claimed by Michael. I mean you haven’t…?”

She shook her head. “No. And I’m pissed at him for leading you to believe that was the case.”

“Well, on his behalf, he didn’t actually tell me that. He just didn’t straighten me out when I pieced it together. Mostly he just sat on the porch and stared at me while I questioned him. To be honest, I’m not remotely clear on the mechanics of a threesome.” Tyler flushed as he realized the implications of his word choice. “Well, not the mechanics, but the logistics…”

Not releasing the grip she held on his arm, Alyssa giggled. The vibration stiffened his cock to new heights. The tinkle of her voice was sexier than hell.

“Still… He shouldn’t have done that.” She didn’t cut the man any slack. “He only has a few days’ head start on this bizarre mating trio, so don’t let him get to you.”

“What?” Tyler’s head whipped up from the hand squeezing his biceps. “I thought he knew you were his mate two years ago?”

“Oh, he did. But
I
did not. And he graciously spent the last two years in Spain giving me time to get older. He wouldn’t have been here at all now if the family hadn’t called him to let him know I was pining away for you, the mystery mate who’d fled the rodeo and left me feeling inadequate and somewhat … undesirable.” She grinned. He could see she was teasing, but nevertheless he knew those thoughts had plagued her.