Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (13 page)

“Then I guess we’re stuck together, aren’t we?”

“So it seems.” He stalked onward, but this time he stayed three paces in front of her.

They continued through the forest, for what must have been miles. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and it was far too beautiful a day to be developing a throbbing headache. Lia fixed her gaze on Kane, her eyes narrowed. He was lucky she was so tired. If she had more energy, she’d convince vines to sprout from the earth and tie him down. Then maybe she could curl up and get some sleep.

“Pick up your feet,” Kane growled. “The whole forest can hear you the way you’re shuffling through the leaves.”

Maybe she would call forth vines of poison ivy.

They walked along the river, which burbled so happily that Lia almost resented it. Her eyelids began to droop. The path ahead was straight enough. She’d close her eyes, just for a moment.

She smacked into Kane, who spun around with a snarl.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

“Why’d you stop going?”

He pointed. “Because of that.”

A great tree trunk had been split lengthwise, and its two halves stretched across the river. They had been set in the earth with their rounded sides down, so that the walkways were flat.

Kane glanced at them. “It’s good.” He turned as if ready to move on.

“What?” Lia strode up to him, furious. “We came all this way, and you’re not even going to test it?”

“It looks fine.”

“How can you be sure?” She paced beside the riverbank. “It could collapse the first time someone steps foot on it. Do you want someone to fall in the river?”

He bristled. “You test it then, if you think it’s so dangerous.”

“Oh, and I suppose if I fall in, you’ll run back to the den and send Della to jump in after me.”

He drew himself up, his expression thunderous. “You want me to test it?”

“No, I’ll do it.” She pushed past him, and walked onto one of the split logs. It groaned and twisted slightly, but she found her footing and made it to the other side. Pausing on the far bank, she seriously contemplated walking on into the forest. No doubt Ronan would be very unhappy about that. Even though she was very unhappy about having to spend the morning with Kane, Lia took a deep breath and stepped onto the other log. It wobbled with every stride, but she made it across.

“See?” Kane said. “Perfectly fine.”

“Yes, you were right. Can we go back now?”

“Back? We have to cross the valley to get to the next bridge.”

Lia put her head in her hands. “There’s another one?”

“Two more, but Ronan and I used one when we retrieved you. That one’s acceptable. This last one isn’t used often, so it might be in disrepair.”

Lia would have liked to stop for water, rest, and a large picnic, but Kane continued into the woods without another word. Once again, it seemed she was expected to keep quiet and keep up.

Her stomach didn’t get the message. It grumbled and complained, and sounded like it wasn’t going to wait a moment longer. Lia tried to ignore its growlings and twistings. If they had to cross the valley twice, food would be a long time in coming. In an attempt to forget her hunger, she focused on her sore feet. It didn’t make for an entertaining walk.

Kane was drawing ahead. He was about ten paces in front now.

“Can you not keep up?” he snapped.

“Sorry. Maybe I could walk faster if I weren’t so hungry.”

He slowed, sniffing the wind. “There is prey near. Would you like to catch it yourself?”

Lia sat, rubbing her feet. “What, with snares or something?”

“Snares?” Kane shook his head. “With your hands, your teeth. Don’t tell me you’ve never caught your meat.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

Kane gritted his teeth. “Have you at least killed your prey?”

“The witches got our meat for us. We didn’t have time to catch or kill our food.”

“Never even killed?” He scoffed. “How would you survive in the wild?”

Lia picked a blade of grass and twirled it in her fingers. “I wouldn’t.”

He stared at her. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“I’d figure something out. There are other things to eat, you know. Roots and berries and fish. You don’t have to chase after everything.”

“You’re part of the pack now,” Kane said levelly. “We kill our meals. You’ll have to learn.”

“I will,” she said. “When I’m part of the pack.”

His expression was inscrutable. “Wait here.” He raced away into the woods.

Lia sighed. She imagined him herding back some poor doe, and shouting at her to leap on its back. Standing, she dusted herself off. Maybe she’d find some mushrooms. They might last her until they returned to the den.

Wandering into the woods, she hunted for any fallen trees. Surely there was something edible around here.

Far off, there was a horrible shriek.

Lia froze. “Kane?”

Seconds later he appeared, crashing through the woods. He carried a writhing rabbit.

“Here.” He held the rabbit out to her. “Slit its throat.”

“With what?”

“Don’t you have a knife or something?”

“No.” She was transfixed by the rabbit’s terror. Its fur stood on end, its eyes rolled. This was horrible. She had just wanted mushrooms. “Let the poor thing go!”

“What?” Kane tightened his grip. “It’s going to die some time, probably gruesomely. That’s a rabbit’s lot. If it dies to nourish us, it will die a noble death.”

“There’s nothing noble about this! Let it go, please!”

The rabbit bucked and twisted, but Kane held. He furrowed his brow. “Are you sure you don’t want me to snap its neck?”

“Yes! Put it down!”

Slowly, Kane set the rabbit down. It bounded off, disappearing into the undergrowth. Lia sat, her hands shaking. The rabbit’s screams still echoed in her ears.

“Sorry,” Kane said. “I thought you’d like fresh meat.” When she didn’t respond, he exhaled sharply. “You’re going to have to kill prey someday, you know. Otherwise you’ll starve. There’s no room for your conscience when you have an empty belly.”

Lia felt something under a pile of leaves. She brushed it aside and found a group of fat white mushrooms. They’d probably taste better cooked, but at the moment she’d take them in any state. She popped one in her mouth, chewing slowly. As soon as she swallowed, she felt a bit better.

“I don’t mind giving animals a quick and clean death,” she said. “That’s not what that was.”

He leaned against a tree. “Are all the witches as noble as you? How did they survive, did they subsist on grass and berries?”

“No, they ate meat.” Lia broke off another mushroom. “But they have spells that will stop a creature’s heart. I don’t know those. I’ve never killed anything bigger than a frog, and I killed them with sticks, not spells.”

“All right,” Kane said. “Next time I’ll kill it far away from you, and present it to you cooked, and you won’t have to worry your pretty little head over where it came from.”

That wasn’t what she had meant, and Kane knew it. But if he wanted to have the last word so badly, she’d let him. She’d gotten a rest and some food, and she could continue on.

Lia stood. “Should we get to the next crossing, then?”

Kane nodded. He began walking, silently, and she followed.

***

He didn’t understand. How was this going so wrong? Kane grimaced, reminding himself for the third time not to look back at the female. She was trailing him still, not far behind. She wasn’t a pup, and she was capable of picking her own way through the woods. So why did he feel the urge to help her over fallen logs, or break them to clear her path? Why, when she rejected the rabbit he had caught for her, had he suddenly been struck with the desire to find her a roasted haunch of venison?

She was driving him mad.

There was a crash behind him. He spun around, but not fast enough. Lia had fallen. Muttering curses, she freed her foot from a coiled vine.

“I’m fine,” she said as she picked herself up. From her narrowed eyes, he could sense what she had left unspoken.
Not like you care.

And he couldn’t. It was too dangerous. That’s why he merely rutted with females, without letting it turn into anything more. He could care for Ronan. Ronan was safe. Ronan would never leave him. But caring for anyone else was the first step toward destruction. He had learned that lesson the hard way.

“Let’s keep going,” Kane said. Though it was getting harder to do, he turned from her. He needed to keep his focus. The last time he had lost it, he had nearly lost Ronan as well. That could never have been forgiven. Ronan was all he had.

They continued toward the crossing. The female was trudging now, like she was being marched to the slaughter. And was she? Would he and Ronan fight over her? Was it possible they would hurt her?

He shook the thought from his mind. They were Alphas. Ronan was his brother. They would be able to control themselves. Besides, the female wasn’t irreplaceable. They could always find another one.

Behind him, there came a sigh. From the sound, Kane could tell the female was looking at the ground, probably on the lookout for more tangled vines. He chanced a quick glance back. She had stepped into a patch of sunlight, and her skin glowed like the moon. She looked like a goddess, sent down to look after the forest creatures. There, in a halo of light, she seemed perfect in every way. Except, of course, for the fact that she hated him.

She stepped out of the sunbeam, and the spell was broken. Kane dragged his eyes away from her, back to the path in front of him. Why didn’t she like him? Yes, he had gotten her on her back and buried himself in her, but it had probably been a moment of weakness. She had glowed for him then, from the inside out. And after? He had taken the gift she had given him and smashed it before her. Yesterday morning, her gaze had been full of fire when she looked at him. She was wary now, he could sense it. Her eyes were cold for him, if she looked at him at all.

It didn’t make sense. She got along so well with Ronan. What did Ronan have that Kane didn’t? They were twins. The female should like them both.

Kane walked on, pine needles crunching under his feet. Why was this so difficult? The female seemed so right for him. Her smell, her curves, the softness of her skin. He wanted to pull her into his arms and claim her with a kiss, or a bite to the throat, but he could sense that she wouldn’t welcome that right now. What did she want from him? The shifters he had taken in the past were always easy to please. They wanted his body, and after several hours they were satisfied. Rutting had always pleased females in the past, but it had ruined something for this one. Why were females so confusing?

Despite the agonizing slowness of walking on two legs, they were making good time. Occasionally the female’s breathing grew heavy and she slowed for a few miles, but Kane simply matched her pace without comment. It must be difficult to be so slow, so weak. If the pack needed to run from enemies, she’d be the first to be picked off. Surely that thought must plague her.

Kane once more repressed the urge to glance back at her. He couldn’t wait for her to be able to shift, to run alongside him in her unleashed form. Although she wouldn’t have to run all the time. He’d very much enjoyed bearing her on his back.

“Is this it?” Lia asked.

Kane blinked. He was standing at the river’s edge, with no recollection of how he’d gotten there.

“Yes, we’re here. The bridge isn’t, though.” Leaning over the bank, he looked into the river. The great tree trunk that formed the bridge had fallen, roots and all. It lay beside a half-submerged boulder, which kept it from being swept down the river.

“We’ll have to fix it,” Kane said.

“We?” Lia asked. “I’d love to help, but I don’t think I can lift half of a tree.”

For a moment, Kane thought about jumping down and bringing up the tree himself. He could do it, though he’d probably strain every muscle in his body. But imagine the female’s face when she saw his feat of strength. She’d see him as a worthy mate then, wouldn’t she?

“Kane?”

“Ronan and I will fix it.” He paced the bank. What was happening to him? He was an Alpha. He should be emotionless, focused. No female had ever left him so unbalanced before. How did she do that, and so easily?

“Are you okay?” Lia asked. “I wasn’t feeling too good earlier when I hadn’t eaten. Do you want to catch some food? I wouldn’t mind, I promise.”

“No.” He gripped his head with one hand. Why did he care about the note of worry in her voice? Why did he notice that she somehow made every word melodious? This was like some terrible form of Delirium. He needed to clear his mind.

“I’m going to show you to the last crossing,” he said, “just so you know where it is. It’ll be faster if you ride.” He bent low.

“Are you sure?” The female bit her lip. Kane had to close his eyes for a moment to dispel the image. It made him feel feverish.

“Yes.” He shuddered. “Quickly, now.”

She looked concerned, but she obeyed. He shifted, and his wolf sprang forward. The world came alive with scents and sounds. Kane ran, stretching his legs, pounding the earth until the wind stung his eyes. He couldn’t let himself smell her. That might be the end of everything. They had to get to the crossing, the crossing.

If he concentrated on keeping up his speed, maybe he could outrun the feeling growing inside him, like some kind of infernal nettle in his heart.

Lia tightened her grip on him, her thighs pressing into his ribs. He could shift midstride, twist so she’d come down on top of him. He could take her again and again, until she could take no more.

Kane bit the inside of his lip with a sharp canine. It stung. He just had to get to the crossing. Then maybe he’d find his senses again.

There it was at last, the bridge beside the willow tree. He slowed, giving the female time to dismount before he shifted to his stunted human form.

He stood upright, and the clamor of the forest dimmed.

“You’ve been here before,” he said, “in case you didn’t notice. Ronan carried you over this crossing when we first brought you here.”

She looked over the bridge. There was a yearning, a hunger in her eyes.