Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (11 page)

She heard him before she saw him, the thud of his paws and his ragged breath. Lia stepped out onto the narrow track. He wouldn’t pass her easily.

A white wolf rounded a bend in the track and barreled toward her. Her instincts screamed at her to move aside, but Lia braced herself instead. If he didn’t want to talk to her, he’d have to run into her.

The wolf skidded to a halt, shifting just before he stopped.

“What are you doing?” Ronan shouted. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I know you won’t hurt me. No matter what I said earlier.”

She may as well have kicked him in the stomach. He bowed his head, and his knees almost buckled. She heard him draw in a shuddering breath.

“Have you been running this whole time?” Lia asked.

He looked at her, and she knew the answer.

“You do know that it’s past noon,” she said.

“I know. I just couldn’t stop.”

“Stop now. Please.” Lia went to the log bridge, hoping he’d follow. She sat on the edge, patting the space beside her.

He approached slowly, like one wrong move would send her sprinting away. Ronan sat, his legs shaking. His chest glistened with sweat.

“Do you need water?” Lia asked.

“Later. Now that you’re here, I don’t want to leave you.”

Her heart gave a funny little jolt. How could she have betrayed him?

“Are you sure you want to talk to me?” she asked. “Don’t you… hate me?”

“How could I hate you?” Ronan turned to her. “No one’s ever come after me before.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whenever Kane or one of the pack gets angry or hurt, I always go after them to make sure they’re okay, help them calm down and talk things over. But whenever I went into the woods, I was on my own. Until you.”

Lia reached out to hold his hand. He grabbed hers almost automatically, his calloused palm rough and hot.

“I don’t want you to be alone,” she said. “I’ve tried it, it’s not very fun.”

Ronan stared into the forest. “To be an Alpha is to be alone. I’m different, because I have Kane, but he’s…”

“Not all there emotionally?”

Ronan nodded. “I’m the one who negotiates with other packs. I’m the one who makes the battle plans. I’m the one who decides who fights and who stays back. Kane’s happy to throw himself at the enemy, but I hold lives in my hands. If I don’t negotiate well, we may go to battle. If my plans are flawed, we may lose wolves. If I order a wolf to fight, and he or she dies, my paws are left bloody. Even the smallest choice, if I choose wrong, can be disastrous for the pack.”

Lia gripped his hand. “I don’t think I can help you with those choices. Not yet, and maybe never. But you can talk to me about them. Any time. Though I probably won’t understand most of it.”

“Really?” He sounded so happy. “You’d talk to me about negotiations and strategy?”

“I’ll do my best.” She couldn’t help but smile.

“Do your best? In case you forgot, when we first met you defeated me and Kane with nettles and a tree branch. I’m going to come to you for advice.”

She laughed. “All right. Just don’t count on my magics in battle. They’re barely reliable on a calm day.”

“Your magics?”

“Yeah, I call them little magics. They’re all I can do.”

He rubbed his head. “The bump I still have from that branch might disagree that your magics are little.”

“Oh, well look.” Lia put a palm to the earth until she felt a pulse of dormant life. “Here we go.” She scooped out a handful of dirt, cupping it in her hands.

“Is there something in there?” Ronan asked.

“You’ll see, if my magics don’t fail and make me look like a fool.” Lia closed her eyes, concentrating on the tiny seed deep within.

Sprout.
She focused all her thought on the seed.
Wake up. Spring is here. Split your pod. Come to life.

“Whoa.”

She cracked an eye. A green leaf had poked through the dirt.

Lia sighed. “It was supposed to flower.”

“Flower? Lia, you dug a seed out of the earth and made it sprout. That’s incredible.”

She stared at him. He thought that was impressive? Bellerose would have cackled madly, and Magda would have scoffed at such a weak display.

“Can you plant it here?” Swinging over to the side of the log, Ronan made a hole in the earth with his heel. “I want to see what it grows into.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Taking the dirt from her hands, he set it in the hole. A breeze caught the leaf, and it waved merrily. “I’ll look at it every time I’m running,” Ronan said, “and I’ll think of you.”

Lia’s heart wrenched. Earlier, she had been the reason he had run. “I’m really sorry about this morning,” she said. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” The words tasted like ash, and sounded hollow. There was nothing she could do to fix what had happened.

Ronan was silent for so long that Lia wondered if he’d get up and start running again.

“There is one thing,” he said, just as Lia thought she might throw up.

“What is it?”

“When the full moon comes, and Delirium takes me, let me have you first.”

“Okay,” Lia said.

“No.” Ronan shook his head. “That’s not fair. You don’t understand how this works. You don’t know what you’re agreeing to.”

“I don’t need to know,” she said. “I trust you.”

He squeezed her hand so hard it started to hurt. “Do you think you can do this, Lia? Do you think you can handle me and Kane? I don’t want to force you into anything, fate or no.”

“I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.”

“All right.” Ronan smiled. “That’s all I can ask.” He stood, stretching. “Would you like to go back to the den?”

“If you’ll come with me.”

“I will. Just let me get a drink first.” Ronan leapt from the bank to the river below.

Lia peered over the bank. The drop made her feel a little sick. How could he just jump in like that?

In the river, Ronan lapped at the water. Once his thirst was quenched, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He looked so serene in the river’s hold. Just for a few seconds, it seemed like he didn’t have the weight of the pack on his shoulders.

Then he shook his hair, breaking the spell. “Do you want to come in?” he called to Lia. “If you jump, I’ll catch you.”

“It’s so far down. I’d break a leg.”

“I wouldn’t let you break anything.” He opened his arms wide. “Go on, jump.”

Normally, she wouldn’t have jumped from any height, not even with a witch’s most reliable bough. But Ronan was waiting for her, grinning, and his enthusiasm was infectious.

“I’ll jump, but if I die I’m going to haunt you.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

Backing away from the edge, she took a deep breath. Lia didn’t doubt Ronan’s catching abilities, but her jumping skills left something to be desired. She’d just have to hope that he was very, very good.

After a running start, she leapt. She seemed to hang in the air forever. Squeezing her eyes shut, she braced for impact.

She splashed into the water, buoyed by Ronan’s strong arms. He pulled her up against his chest. She could still smell a bit of sweat on him, and the sweetness of it was heady.

He pulled her close. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was just as bad as I thought it was going to be. This part, though…” She pressed against him. “This part’s pretty nice.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

His face was so close to hers, his eyes dark gold and intense. He gazed into her eyes, and something he saw there made his mouth quirk up at one corner. Lifting her up, he touched his lips to hers.

It felt like she’d been hit by a bolt of lightning. Electricity raced up her spine. Yes, she’d felt heat with Kane that morning, but Ronan could make her melt with a single kiss. She wondered what Ronan would be like when she was on her back, when he was poised on top of her.

He broke off the kiss, staring into the water. Lia’s heart twisted in anguish. She hadn’t been ready to give him up just yet.

“Are you doing that?” he asked.

“Doing what?”

“Do you see the fish?” Ronan angled her so she could look into the river.

Fish spiraled all around them. Sunlight caught their scales, making it look like they were coated in diamonds. She saw bass, bluegill, darters. Giant catfish slowly swam around Ronan’s feet, and a pair of eels wove through his legs. A redbreast sunfish paused near Lia’s elbow, looking up at her as its mouth opened and closed.

“What are they doing?” she asked.

“You tell me. You’re the one who made a seed sprout from a handful of dirt.”

Carefully, Lia reached out toward the water. She laid a finger on the surface, just above the redbreast. The fish scattered, swimming away in all directions.

“I guess we’ve found a new way to go fishing,” Ronan said. “I kiss you in the water and wait for the fish to come.”

“That’s not fair to the fish,” Lia said. “Besides, I don’t think it’d work with just any kiss. It’d have to be something special.”

“Excuse me? Are you saying that all my kisses aren’t extraordinary?” He kissed her again to prove his point.

Lia laughed even as his lips pressed to hers. She had to admit, she hadn’t had an ordinary kiss from him yet.

“We’ll stop there for now. I don’t want to tire out the fish.” He looked down, and sure enough a pair of minnows had swum up to them. At the first sign of movement, they darted away.

Ronan looked at Lia. “How many more surprises do you have in store for me?”

“If you’re talking about my magics, not much. I think you’ve seen pretty much all of it by now, and it’s not that impressive.”

“Maybe not to the witches. I, however, am much wiser than them, because I know that you’re magnificent.”

She ducked her head. “Really?”

“Really, and I’m not just referring to magic.” He stroked her ripped shirt. “You’re allowed to take this off, you know.”

“I know.” The wet, clinging cotton made her feel exposed, and she moved an arm to cover herself. “I didn’t think you’d want to see me like that, though.”

“You mean naked?” He grinned. “Let me give you a valuable piece of advice when it comes to men, Lia. They always want to see you naked.”

“Not me, though.”

“Yes, you. Especially you.”

She could feel her face growing hot. “But you might not like what you see.”

“I may have seen you already. When you were at the bathing pools. And let me tell you, I very much liked what I saw.”

“You saw me?” she whispered.

“Every inch of you. I thought about it all night last night. It made a very lovely scene.”

He had seen her? Part of her wanted to sink beneath the river’s surface and lie with the fish for a while.

“You know,” Ronan said, “you don’t have to keep wearing clothes.” He pulled up her shirt collar, which was tugging low. “Some of the women might be jealous, but that’s not your concern.”

She stared at him, stunned. “You honestly think some of them would be jealous of me?” Lia put a hand over her mouth to keep any crazed laughter from bubbling out. Surely he was joking.

“Some of them, yes. They’re all flatness and bones. Nothing wrong with that, but I’ll take your curves myself.” He put a hand on the swell of flesh at her hip.

“You wouldn’t prefer me to be just a little more like them?”

Ronan shook his head. “I want you just as you are.” He paused. “And you are aware that you aren’t wearing any pants, right?”

She blushed. “I wanted to find you. I didn’t have time to find pants.”

“So you deemed me to be more important than pants. I’m honored.”

“Try not to let it go to your head.”

“I’ll try,” he said. “No promises, though.”

Lia’s stomach grumbled.

“Have you eaten today?” Ronan asked.

“Not that I can remember.”

“Let’s get you back to the den. They’ve probably started preparing food by now, anyway.”

Lia looked up at the steep bank. “I hope you don’t expect me to climb out of here, at least not anytime soon.”

“No. Not when you’re with me.”

He moved almost too fast for her to tell what happened. In one bound he had leapt onto the clay wall of the bank, and after another jolt, they were on the grass again. Ronan set Lia down.

“How did you do that?” she asked.

“I shifted my legs.” He pointed to where the fur was disappearing. “Wolves are better jumpers than men.”

Ronan shook out his hair, spraying her with water. “Sorry,” he said when she held up a shielding hand. “I don’t usually have company by the river. Bad habit, I guess.”

“At least the sprout likes it.” She nodded toward the seed they’d planted, whose leaf now held a droplet of water.

“It’s gotten its meal,” Ronan said. “Time to get you yours.”

They walked back to the den in companionable silence, hand in hand. Some pack members looked up at them as they returned, but no one said anything. Lia was thankful for that.

Ronan guided her to the table. “Sit, I’ll see if anyone can bring us food.” He motioned at one of the women. She nodded and hurried off.

“So,” Ronan said, “we need to talk about sleeping arrangements. I don’t mind you staying in the storage room if you’re happier there, but I don’t deny that I’d prefer you in my bed. Would you try it, for one night? And sleeping, no more.”

“All right,” Lia said. It was the least she could do. Besides, she had gotten chilled last night. She didn’t think that would be happening with Ronan.

“Good.” He smiled as the woman returned, placing plates in front of them. “Thanks, Rain.”

She padded away without a word.

“Do they mind?” Lia asked. “Getting us food, I mean. I can get it for myself, if they’re annoyed.”

“No,” Ronan said. “They serve their Alphas in all ways. Bringing us food is just a small reminder of that.”

“And they don’t resent you? They don’t ever think about revolting?”

Delicately, he ripped off a strip of meat. “We wolves need order. Structure. Leaders. If Kane and I stopped acting like Alphas, someone would challenge us and fill our place. Flint, for one, especially enjoys testing us. Sometimes he passes it off as a joke, or he tells us he’s just keeping us on our toes, but he wouldn’t mind if one day we failed to rise against him.”