Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (3 page)

“Well, there’s your problem. I’m not.”

There was no use talking to him. Lia simply followed, trying not to stare at his sculpted shoulders, the defined lines of his calves and thighs. She didn’t have much success.

The werewolf stopped when he reached the clearing, and Lia almost ran into him. Stepping around, she saw another naked man sitting on the ground beside a heavy branch.

“I’ve got her,” the werewolf said.

“Yes, but are we sure we still want her?” The man on the ground—obviously also a werewolf—rubbed his head. “She seems a bit wild.”

“She’s the one. I’m sure of it.”

“At least you’re not holding her by the scruff of her neck. That’s a good sign.” The other werewolf rose cautiously to his feet. He looked remarkably similar to the man next to Lia, just slightly shorter and leaner. He nodded. “I’m Ronan, by the way.”

“Oh, yeah, and I’m Kane.” He held out a hand. “Want to shake? Isn’t that a trick humans do?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lia said. “I’m not a human.”

“You idiot.” Ronan closed the distance between him and his brother. “You didn’t tell her your name?”

“She didn’t ask.”

“Did you ask hers?”

Kane turned. “What’s your name?”

“Lia.”

“Wonderful.” Ronan nudged his brother. “She’s perfect.”

Kane grunted. “She’ll do.”

“It’s just, how can she be the one? She’s not a failed witch.”

“I am, though,” Lia said. “I already told Kane, I failed my coven’s examination tonight.”

Ronan laughed. “You failed? How? You dropped a branch on me from fifteen feet away. If you’re a failed witch, I don’t want to meet a successful one.”

“You really don’t.” Lia shivered, thinking of Magda’s high, cruel laugh, her inventive punishments. “But how do you know about me? Do you use magic? Can you scry?”

“Us?” Ronan shook his head. “Most shifters don’t have magic.”

“How do you shift, then?”

Kane growled. “Shifting isn’t magical. It’s natural. Like breathing, but with lungs that can take in more air, a heart that can pump faster, paws that can drum upon the earth.”

Lia stared as patches of fur bloomed and shrunk on Kane’s body.

Ronan clasped his brother’s shoulder, and the fur disappeared. Kane clenched his fists, breathing heavily.

“We don’t use magic,” Ronan said, “but Della—one of our pack members—dreamed about you. We thought we should check if it was real. It seemed—important.”

“I seemed important?” No one had ever thought that about her. Maybe Lizabeth, long ago.

“No, the dream seemed important,” Kane said.

Ronan elbowed him in the ribs. “Della dreamed about you, Lia. You’re important to us.” He held out a hand. “Will you let us take you back to our den?”

She hesitated. Their den? Would there be more wolves there, like this Della? Would they keep her from making an escape?

“Do you think we could camp here for tonight?” she asked.

Ronan looked at Kane, who shook his head.

“It’s not safe here,” Ronan said. “This isn’t our territory.”

Kane nodded, walking out of the clearing the way he’d first arrived. “You’re coming with us. Now.”

“
Kane
.” Ronan glared.

“She’ll have to learn our ways eventually,” Kane called from the trees. “She might as well start now.”

Ronan set out after his brother, motioning for Lia to follow. She did. It didn’t seem she had much choice. Maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to escape from their den, as long as her magics cooperated.

“Four legs?” Ronan asked. “Or two?”

“Four,” Kane replied. “I want to get back by sunrise. Have her carry our clothes. Or leave them, I don’t really care.”

“How are we going to get her back? She only has two legs, remember?”

“You carry her, Ronan. I’m not a show pony.” He leapt forward, and
changed
. It happened almost faster than Lia could comprehend. His arms and legs stretched, fur covered him, a muzzle sprouted from his face. There was a wolf where Kane had been, and it loped into the dense trees without looking back.

“Do you always shift that fast?” Lia asked.

She turned to Ronan, but in his place was another wolf. It lowered its great white head as if in confirmation.

“You’re still Ronan?” Lia asked.

His tongue lolled out. It almost looked like he was smiling.

“Are you sure?”

The wolf—Ronan—dropped to his belly.

“Am I supposed to ride you?”

Ronan nodded. The hair on the back of Lia’s neck prickled. Having a huge animal respond to her like only a human should was uncanny.

“I could just walk, you know. If that would be easier.”

Ronan huffed impatiently. There was an odd gleam in his eyes, and Lia wondered if he wasn’t reconsidering eating her.

Something crashed into the clearing behind them. Lia froze. A huge wolf was bearing down on her. Surely Ronan would save her. Why was he just lying there? The wolf was about to run her over. Only at the last second did she realize it was Kane.

Grabbing her shirt collar, he tossed her onto Ronan’s back. Lia only had time to grip two handfuls of sleek white fur before Ronan was off, sprinting through the forest just behind his brother.

It was like riding a firecracker. The wind whipped through her hair and made her eyes water. Lia could do little more than keep her head down and try not to fall off.

Beneath her, Ronan’s hard muscles coiled and flexed. She could feel every beat of his paws against the earth. If not for that, she might have guessed that they were flying.

It was very strange, riding an animal that was really a man. Or was it the other way around?

After what must have been countless miles, Lia pulled up her head. The wind still stung her eyes, but she wanted to see where they were taking her. They were running up a mountain. The air was cooler here, but Ronan’s fur kept her warm. Trees passed in a blur, and she kept ducking to avoid low branches. They never hit her, though, and eventually she decided to trust Ronan.

Kane ran in front of them, his tail low, his footsteps too fast to follow. Lia was almost relieved he and Ronan were in their wolf forms. When they had talked to her as men, she’d had to work to keep her eyes on their faces. Her gaze had kept trying to drift to the place where their legs met. As wolves, they seemed a bit more… civilized. Their fur, at least, kept distractions to a minimum.

The wolves slipped into a valley as the sun began to rise. Golden light spilled over trees, meadows, and a winding river. A rock outcropping jutted from the heart of the valley. Two wolves stood on its heights, and one looked their way and howled. Kane and Ronan responded with howls of their own, deep notes rising and falling in a chilling harmony.

More wolves stepped out of the outcropping and into the sunlight. Lia counted seven, eight, then lost track. She swallowed. There were more than she’d expected. Escape might not be as easy as she’d thought.

One of the wolves—small with black fur—barked three times. Lia could tell it was an order, and the other wolves disappeared into what must be their den. The black one looked toward them, then retreated with a satisfied air. Lia twisted her fingers into Ronan’s fur. There must be twenty wolves—well, wolf shifters—down there. That was far too many. They would judge her and find her wanting, just as the witches had.

The witches. A lump formed in her throat. It was dawn after the initiation. Surely everyone besides her had been inducted into the coven. The acolytes—witches, now—would be celebrating with mulled wine, and dancing around the dying bonfire. Soon they would choose boughs from trees and begin the process of shaping them for flight. Lia’s heart wrenched. Riding Ronan would be as close as she’d ever get to flying. She’d always yearned to soar through the clouds, her toes skimming the treetops below. Flying had always been her dream, her reward for surviving the witches all these years.

But she hadn’t survived. She’d failed.

Lia tried not to think about how many times she’d imagined the day she and Lizabeth could race through the air, seeing if her birch could beat Lizabeth’s hemlock. But Lizabeth would be forming her own bough, without her. She’d probably forget all about Lia by the time she could fly, if she hadn’t already.

Sorrow mixed with dread as the shifters emerged from their den again, only this time in human form. To Lia’s relief, they were all clothed. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with everyone’s nakedness just yet. She hoped they wouldn’t make her go naked, too. There was no way Lia would look as good as any of them.

They all stared at her as Kane and Ronan approached, and not everyone looked welcoming. Lia felt her face heat. It was going to happen all over again. How much did Kane and Ronan really want her here, anyway?

Wait. Hadn’t she just been thinking about how she could escape? She didn’t need this group of strange creatures to like her. She just needed to survive until she could get away from them. Lia sat up straighter on Ronan’s back. She didn’t need anyone’s approval.

Still, it was hard to be haughty when the shifters looked the way they did. Clothes couldn’t hide their muscles, most likely earned from running and hunting. Some of the men looked like they could take down a deer in their human form. One of them grinned, winking at Lia. She blinked. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Lia locked eyes with a beautiful woman whose light blonde hair shone slightly pink in the morning light. She was nothing compared to a woman like that. It had been stupid to admire Kane and Ronan’s naked bodies the way she had. With women like this around, there was no way they’d be interested in her. She should have asked what they wanted with her. She sighed. They probably needed a servant or something.

Midstride, Kane shifted back into a human. Even though she knew she could never have him, Lia couldn’t help but admire his backside.

Ronan crouched. Lia slid forward with a yelp. She hadn’t really been paying attention.

He shifted. “Sorry.” Ronan held out a hand, picking her up off the dirt. “I guess I should have warned you.”

Lia brushed the dust from her pants, turning nervously. Maybe he should have warned her that she was about to be surrounded by shifters. From the looks in some of their eyes, wolves might have been preferable.

“You can’t be serious.” A woman’s icy voice cut through the silence. Lia looked up at her. Red hair framed her thin face. She would have been beautiful if her features weren’t twisted with disdain.

Kane snarled. “You don’t get a say.”

Another woman laughed. “Sequoia’s just jealous she wasn’t chosen.”

“I’m not the one who’s lust blinded,” Sequoia snapped. “An Alpha female needs more than a pretty face.”

Lia frowned. “Alpha female?” She turned to Ronan. “What’s that about?”

“We’ll tell you later.”

“Tell me now!”

In the darkened entrance of the den, a woman with gray streaks in her hair raised her chin. She was watching Lia. No, more than that. Appraising her.

Ronan pushed her forward. “We’ll tell you in private.”

Lia dug her heels into the ground, mutinous.

“You don’t get much privacy around here,” said the man who had winked at her. “Take it while you can.”

“Thanks, Flint,” Ronan said from between gritted teeth. “You’re really helping.”

“Anything for you, boss.”

Kane strode forward. “That’s enough. Lia—into the den.”

She brushed off her clothes again, letting him know she’d obey in her own time. And when she walked into the den, it was because she wanted to, not because he had made her.

The older woman grinned as Lia passed. “Looks like you boys might have your hands full with this one.”

“This is your fault, Della,” Kane muttered.

A shiver passed through Lia. So this was Della, the one who had dreamed about her and changed her fate.

“I don’t suppose you’ve been considerate enough to feed her,” Della said.

“We were going to—” Ronan said.

Della frowned. “You’ve probably kept her up half the night.”

“She has to learn—” Kane said.

“She has to eat, and you two have to put on some clothes. At least until she gets more used to us barbarians.”

“Again with the clothes,” Kane said. “You do know they’re ridiculous.”

“I know that you’ve probably lost yours. Again.” Della thrust a bundle into Kane’s arms. “Don’t make me get you another set.” She thrust another bundle at Ronan. “That goes for you, too.”

Without another word of protest, the brothers pulled on their clothes. Lia smiled at Della. Could she have a friend here?

“Don’t smile at me, chickpea. And don’t get too comfortable. You have to be ready for anything around here if you want to survive.” With that, Della left Lia alone with the two shifters.

The den wasn’t actually dark inside, as she’d expected. Small holes in the rock let morning light stream in from the high ceiling, giving it a light and airy feel. The first thing she noticed was the stone dais at the den’s center. Its imposing size seemed to command attention. Carvings ringed its base, though she couldn’t make them out. A long wooden table stood against one wall, benches running down both sides. Ronan gestured for Lia to sit. She did, as she had no alternatives. Kane and Ronan sat as well, one on either side of her. They were so large it was hard to believe the bench didn’t collapse under their weight. Lia tried not to let on how trapped she felt between them.

“So,” Ronan said, “you’ve met the pack.”

“Yes, they’re charming.”

Kane closed his eyes as if in pain. “Well, we’re the Alphas. Most packs don’t succeed without a strong Alpha to hold them together. We’re at an advantage, as there are two of us to fight and protect the pack. Usually a pack’s Alphas are male and female, but we’ve gotten along fine, so far.”

“You both lead it?” Lia asked. “Don’t you ever argue? Or fight?”

“Never,” Kane said.

“Sometimes,” Ronan amended.

“Never,” Kane repeated. “Even if we did, we would never let an outsider see that we were ever divided.”

“Lia’s not an outsider,” Ronan said. “I thought we were going to tell her everything.”

“Not yet. She’s an outsider until we’ve taken her.”