Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (25 page)

“I know everything I need to know, pet. Including how to tame you. You’ll be much happier afterward, trust me.” He struck like a snake, grabbing her wrist. “Join me. I’ll make sure you’re bound to a true Alpha.”

“No.” Her heart pounded in her chest.

He stepped forward, looming over her. “I won’t ask a second time.”

“Good. I don’t want to have to reject you again.”

His face reddened with anger, his scars becoming pale white. Lia regretted saying that, when he had her at his mercy.

“Here is your first lesson. Never defy your Alpha.” Staring her down, he tightened his grip on her wrist. Her veins pulsed against his palm, and her hand began to tingle. He squeezed harder, until she thought he was going to snap her bones.

“That’s right. I can break you at any time. Remember that.”

The pain was too much. She cried out.

“Lia?” She recognized Lark’s voice. “Is that you?”

Shade kept his grip on her wrist, his hand like a vise. “Come with me now,” he said, “quietly. And I’ll spare your friend’s life.”

She took a step back, her foot splashing into the pool. “Let me go.”

“Your friend dies, then. You’re mine.”

“Lia?” Lark called again. “Are you all right?”

“It’s Shade!” Lia shouted.

Snarling at her disobedience, Shade turned to face the gray wolf that tore through the trees, barreling toward him. Lark’s lips were pulled back, her teeth bared. She had murder in her eyes. If Lia hadn’t known her, she would be terrified.

Shade didn’t flinch, but he swore when he saw two wolves at Lark’s heels. “This isn’t over, pet,” he murmured to Lia. “You will be mine.”

Releasing her, he ran into the woods, shifting as he went. Lia nursed her wrist, which was now ringed with ash. Bending low, she rinsed it in the water. She tried not to wince, but she could still feel Shade’s fingers clamped around her. She shuddered.

Lark splashed into the water, guarding Lia. Her hackles were up. She scanned the trees, alert for any new dangers. The other wolves shot past, hot on Shade’s tail. One was white with gray markings, the other brown and white. Somehow, Lia knew they were Dove and Cricket.

Lark shifted to human form. She remained crouched, wiry muscles ready to fight or flee at a moment’s notice.

“What happened?” she asked. “Tell me everything.”

Lia told her what she could remember, wishing her voice would stop shaking.

“He said he was here to claim you? When you’ve already been bound to two Alphas? Is he insane?”

Lia didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure what the answer was.

“Cricket! Dove!” Lark called. “To me!”

From the trees, they heard a furious growl.

“To your Alpha female. That’s an order.”

The wolves returned, shifting as they reached the tree line.

“He’s gone!” Cricket said. “I can smell ash, but I can’t see him. How did he disappear so quickly?”

Lia cradled her wrist, a knot forming in her stomach. Part of her was glad they hadn’t caught Shade. She didn’t want any of her friends getting hurt in a fight. But now, of course, he was still out there. Waiting.

“He didn’t outrun us, either.” Dove’s eyes blazed. “He vanished. Ducked behind a tree and disappeared, like a puff of smoke.” Her fingers were tensed like claws, like she was ready to tear out his throat. “He has more tricks than he did last time. I don’t like it.”

“We need to get back to the den,” Lark said. “Now. He might come back, with reinforcements. We need to inform the Alphas.” She turned to Lia. “We need to be as fast as possible. Can you shift?”

“Maybe,” Lia whispered. Her heart was still galloping from her meeting with Shade. All her energy seemed to have been drained. Her strength was gone, and now she just wanted to curl up and sleep. When she woke up, maybe this would pass, like a bad dream.

“Shift, Lia,” Lark said. “Let’s go.”

She didn’t know how she did it, only that when she started running with them, and they shifted, her body wanted to shift too. Lia felt slightly better, being with her pack. They wouldn’t let anything hurt her.

As soon as they broke into the meadow, Lark let out an urgent howl. Wolves poured out of the den, Ronan and Kane in the lead.

“What is it?” Ronan asked.

Lia looked down. She couldn’t meet their gaze, but she felt Kane’s eyes burning into her.

She shifted, but she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t tell them. They would both be upset, and scared for her. It was more than she could bear. She just wanted this to go away.

Lark looked at Lia, her jaw clenched. “It’s Shade.”

“What?” Ronan and Kane shared a look.

“He was at the bathing pools,” Lark reported. “We chased him off. He was heading west, and he’ll most likely turn south.”

“Did he touch you?” Kane asked Lia.

She closed her eyes. Gently, the Alpha took her hand. The ring around her wrist was red now, almost as bright as a binding band.

Kane growled. “I’ll send him down to the Seventh Hell. I might even make an Eighth, just for him.”

“What did he say?” Ronan asked. “What did he want?”

Lia took a breath. She wished her lip would stop trembling. It was over. She was fine. “He wanted to claim me,” she whispered.

And then nothing was fine. Ronan closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. Kane roared, fangs growing, eyes turning rapidly from a human’s to a wolf’s and back again. It looked like he was battling for control with his wolf, and barely winning.

“We can’t let him linger in our territory.” Ronan turned to Kane. “Take the soldiers, and Huck for good measure. Track him down, escort Shade back to his borders if necessary.”

“Fuck that,” Kane growled. “I’m not leaving Lia. Not now.”

The strangest expression stole across Ronan’s face. “All right. I’ll go, then.” He nodded to the wolves who now flanked him. “Ready?”

“Ready, boss.” Flint licked his lips, like he could already taste Shade’s blood. Huck stood beside him, his eyes dark with silent, deadly promises.

“Lark,” Ronan called, “can you show us where you last saw Shade?”

“Gladly.”

“Then let’s go.” Shifting, they set out.

Lia shivered. That was one hunting party she didn’t want to be a part of. The quarry was too dangerous.

Kane picked her up like she was made of glass, carrying her into the den. She pressed her face against him as he took her up the stairs. Kane smelled like home.

Slipping through a crack in the rock, he brought her out into the sunlight again. They were on the heights, the sun-warmed rock dome of the den. Kane set Lia down, letting her cling to him. The valley stretched out below them, the meadow rolling out before it gave way to trees. Wind swept through the grass, making it ripple like water. The sight calmed her.

“I should have been there,” Kane said. “I should have protected you.”

“You’re here now. That’s what matters.” Her knees felt too weak to keep her up, so she slowly collapsed, hoping it looked intentional.

Kane sat beside her, shaking his head. “How’d we get all turned around? I’m supposed to be comforting you.”

Lia smiled. He was already doing that.

She laid her head in his lap, looking out over their territory. Ronan was out there now, chasing after a shadow. There was something about the way Shade had appeared that still disconcerted her. Maybe she hadn’t been paying enough attention, but it felt like he had arrived without even the slightest warning. She didn’t like it.

She hoped Ronan was making him run fast and far, away from the den, and away from her.

Kane ran his fingers through her hair. “You’re not having second thoughts about being our mate, are you? I don’t remember telling you it would be easy, but I don’t know that we stressed how hard it can be. There’s the Bite, Delirium, pack politics, territory battles, wolves who want to overthrow their Alphas. It seems endless. I don’t know… I don’t know if we’re worth it.”

“I made my choice.” Lia gripped his hand. “I chose you.”

“Did you choose?” Kane asked. “Or did fate?”

She rolled over, locking eyes with him. “Say we were fated, but I didn’t like you. Would you make me be your mate?”

“If I’ve learned anything from life, you can’t make someone stay.” Kane took a slow breath. “As much as I… need you, I wouldn’t force you to stay.”

“That just makes me want to stay more.”

He gave her a small smile. “Rest now. I’ll wake you when Ronan returns.”

Lia hadn’t realized she was tired until that very moment. Her eyelids were leaden.

It felt like she had just drifted off when Kane shook her awake.

“He’s back.”

She rubbed her bleary eyes. Below them, Ronan was speaking to a cluster of shifters.

“Let’s see if they caught their quarry.” Kane hurried down the stairs. It didn’t seem to occur to him that Lia couldn’t keep up.

Rising stiffly, she made her own way down. Lia shuffled over the stone steps, hoping Ronan had good news and she could go back to sleep.

As soon as she descended, a hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed her wrist.

Lia had no time to think. Wrenching her wrist free, she balled her hand and punched. Her fist stopped an inch from Sequoia’s face.

“Oh,” Lia said, her heart trying to break through her ribs, “sorry. You startled me.”

“He grabbed you, didn’t he?” Sequoia asked.

Lia didn’t know what to say.

“Shade never changes.” Sequoia gave a humorless laugh. “I’m sorry. You don’t want my brother to take an interest in you.” The pity in her eyes seemed genuine.

“Your brother?” Surely she had misheard.

“I know, I know. No one lets me forget it. But don’t think I have any love for him. Next time you see him, ask him who gave him his identifying feature.” Sequoia raked her nails across her face. “Let me give you some advice. If you’re ever at his mercy, you obey. Some might call it cowardice, but I call it survival. You don’t want to get on his bad side. His punishments are very… inventive.”

Lia’s stomach felt queasy.

“I apologize if this is too much,” Sequoia said. “I only wanted to warn you.”

“Thanks.” Lia wished Sequoia had kept that information to herself. Pushing past her, Lia ran out of the den, throwing up right outside the entrance. She stood there, shaking as the memory of Shade’s grasp overwhelmed her.

“Lia?” Lark whispered.

Even though she was expecting it, Lark’s hand on her shoulder made her jump.

“Don’t feel bad,” Lark said in a low voice. “Shade makes me feel that way, too. There’s some kind of darkness in him. I don’t like sharing a border with his pack, much less running into him.” She offered Lia a skin of water from her belt.

“Thanks.” The water made her feel a bit better, but her wrist still burned with the memory of Shade’s touch. She wanted to wash it away, to scour her skin until it stopped feeling like something foul had latched on, but it would take more water than Lark had to spare. She handed back the skin. “I’m guessing you didn’t catch him?”

Lark shook her head, her displeasure palpable.

Feeling numb, Lia walked over to where the Alphas were deep in conversation.

“He’s maddening,” Ronan was saying. “Not only could we not catch him, we don’t even know which direction he went. His tracks just end, right in the middle of a trail. And it’s not like someone started sweeping them. Not even the dirt was disturbed. There was nothing.”

“There can’t be nothing,” Kane growled. “He’s not a ghost.”

Ronan sighed. “You chase after him next time, if you’re so sure.”

“He’s no ghost. I’ll bring him down. And then I’ll—” Kane looked up and saw Lia. “I’ll teach him that a true Alpha doesn’t have to hide.”

“Is that what you were going to say?” she asked.

“I was going to say that I would rip out his spine and beat him to death with it,” Kane admitted. “It seemed a bit graphic.”

“It’s no less than he deserves,” Ronan said. “Shade’s made it clear that he can’t be trusted. Not even by his own blood.” He turned to Lia. “Shade suggested that his father, Dusk, step down as Alpha so Shade could take over. Dusk, being in the prime of his life, wasn’t too thrilled with that idea. He was thinking of expelling his son from the pack, but before he could, he met an unfortunate end.”

“What happened?” Lia asked.

“The Alpha’s two closest advisors cut off his head in his sleep, and planned to take over the pack the next day. That’s the story, anyway. Shade was there to stop them before they could fully take over, but not in time to save his father. Unfortunately, he killed them before they could be questioned by anyone else. Self-defense, of course, though no one knows why Dusk’s advisors were killed in their bedding furs. I don’t think most people take a quick nap in the middle of their coup.”

Kane snarled. “There’s also the question of why he was so damn cheerful the next day.”

Ronan nodded. “He introduced himself to us as the new Alpha of the Shadow pack. I don’t think he had yet burned his father’s body. I know he hadn’t bothered to wash the blood off his hands. He was sticky with it.”

Lia cringed.

“It’s no crime for the child of an Alpha to want to be an Alpha himself one day,” Ronan said. “But if you don’t inherit, and your parents don’t step down, then you strike out on your own to form your own pack. You take anyone who will go with you and claim your territory. You don’t found your pack with your father’s blood. It’s a terrible crime, but only if you can prove it. Shade’s cunning, if nothing else. His whole family is. Dusk just wasn’t quite cunning enough.”

Lia looked around to see if anyone was listening in. “Did Sequoia tell you,” she asked in a low voice, “that she’s Shade’s sister?”

Ronan nodded. “That’s how we know about Dusk’s demise.”

“But how can we trust her?”

“You can’t think of it like that,” Ronan said. “Once someone is bound to the pack, you can’t hold where they come from against them. They’re just part of the pack now.”

“But Sequoia—”

“But you were almost a witch. Should we not trust you, either?” Ronan reached out to take her hand. “Look, I know you don’t like Sequoia. To be fair, she doesn’t do much to make herself likeable. But you don’t betray your pack. If you do, you’ll find yourself unwelcome in any pack. And wolf shifters can’t live alone. You won’t survive long after turning on your packmates.”