Lost Alpha: Collection (bbw werewolf/shifter romance) (21 page)

When he looked at her with that hungry, wild look she knew she was about to get the pounding of her life. She loved it; no man had ever been able to give it to her like her werewolf could. Sometimes she was afraid they would wake up Billy and the girls with their powerful lovemaking. Luckily, Billy and the girls had moved out earlier this week. Billy had finally found work in Florida after kicking his alcoholism.

It’s been a wild few months,
she thought, walking by two women who purred at her.
Are they some sort of were-cat?

They had a nice house down here in Florida, right on the beach. At night Travis would shift and run up and down the beach, letting the wind sweep through his thick, silver hair. Sometimes she would try to run with him, but more often than not he made her eat dust. When he was shifted he was wild and free.

She knew she could never tame the wolf that lived inside him, but that was okay. Travis had become more and more human since they moved, eliminating all the eccentricities that he’d had when they first met. He no longer ate raw meat or pissed on her things to mark his territory. He was attentive to her needs, making sure she was happy and comfortable at all times. Maybe he was feeling paternal, finally wanting to raise a family with her. Soon they would start trying for real, once they were integrated into the shifter society in South Beach.

Paige had discussed it with Travis and he had agreed—it wouldn’t be good to bring new wolves into a world where they weren’t welcome. South Beach had a big shifter community, but Travis hadn’t become a member of it, until tonight.

Last week while he was running he was approached by three wolves. They shifted in front of him and politely requested he do the same. Paige wasn’t present for it, but the way Travis told it they were all very polite. They complimented his alpha coat and his overall size. They weren’t as big as Travis, but he could tell they were all powerful.

They’d explained the shifter club to him and invited him to come down with his mate. They wanted him to meet some of the others and find out if he was worthy of inclusion in the community.

Now here they were, trying to push their way to the back room amongst a sea of shifters.

It wasn’t just Paige who was unfamiliar with shifter life. Travis had spent most of his life in one pack learning from one alpha: Jacob. If Jacob didn’t teach him about something then he didn’t know about it, and that was a disadvantage in this situation.

What was the protocol when meeting shifters from another pack? How were they supposed to act? What were they supposed to do? Travis had no clue either.

Finally they reached the back wall of the club, which was a large chain link fence. The club had obviously been a warehouse at one time, adding to the overall huge atmosphere. All around them shifters danced with the music as bright red lights pumped through the club.

“What’s with all the red?” she asked Travis.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s kind of soothing.”

“It is?” she asked, twisting her face into confusion. Red usually excited humans and got their blood boiling. Obviously it did the opposite for shifters.

There was a large gate in front of them, guarded by two bald men in black suits. Paige shrank behind Travis, because both men intimidated the ever-loving shit out of her. There was no friendliness in their eyes, only hate as they surveyed the crowd. They looked more like two hungry animals looking for their next meal than attentive security guards.

“Travis Bowshot?” one of them asked.

“Actually it’s Travis Strong now,” Travis answered, meeting both men’s gaze. The nostrils of the one on the left flared, saying plainly that he didn’t like someone making eye contact with him.

“The head alpha will see you now,” the one on the right said, swinging the heavy chain link gate open. “Watch your step.”

Together they stepped down into a loading dock type area. It was open to the outside world, except for a canvas roof that covered the top and another chain link fence on each side that prevented entry by anyone off the street. A mixture of red and blue lights shone down on an interesting scene in the middle of the dock. There were at least a dozen people situated around a large oak table. At the head of the table was a large chair, almost like a throne, that housed a bored-looking male wolf—at least that’s what Paige assumed he was.

The man was one of the cleanest-looking shifters she had ever seen. He was a tall man, but not muscular like Travis, with ice blue eyes that looked coldly on everyone sitting around the table. He reminded her more of a mob boss than an alpha wolf with his slicked-back silver hair and perfectly-tailored Armani suit.

Yet there was also something sexy about him, something that took her breath away when she looked at him. There was raw power radiating off this man, a kind she had felt only once before.

Shit,
Paige realized.
He’s not a wolf, he’s a goddamn vampire.

It was obvious to her in that moment as she felt the dominance radiate off of him, the assured cockiness that only the undead displayed. She had only met one vampire, Victor Dance, but she could spot them anywhere after that encounter.

Travis felt it too, gripping her hand and growling under his breath. If anyone hated vampires more than she did, it was her mate.

“Welcome,” another man said, standing up from the table. “We’ve been expecting you, Travis.”

Travis grunted in response. The man’s eyes lingered on Paige for a moment before a kind smile crossed his lips. “I see you’ve brought your mate. She is very lovely.”

He stepped forward, taking Paige’s hand in his own. He was warm, very warm, marking himself as a shifter. He was completely bald, with hard, jagged facial lines that led to a black goatee with a silver streak right down the middle of his chin. He was shorter than Travis, but stockier. She wanted to call him Fridge—something about him reminded her of the old beer fridge Billy kept in the garage.

Travis’ eyes grew wide and his lips pulled back from his teeth as he gave a silent snarl over the man’s unwanted touching. The new wolf ignored Travis and bent low to kiss Paige’s hand.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma’am,” he said politely.

“Thank you,” she said, her face flushing with embarrassment. He was just being formal and polite, but she could feel Travis’ grip tightening on her other hand just the same. “I’m Paige Strong.”

“Paige,” the man said, like he was repeatedly rolling her name over in his head. “I like that name. My name is Asher. I am the head alpha of the Miami packs.”

“Well, then, we’re in the right place,” Paige said, laughing.

Asher looked up at Travis, his polite expression unchanging. He either didn’t feel threatened by Travis or he was a master at hiding his emotions, because the look Travis was giving him would certainly cower a lesser man or wolf.

“Travis,” Asher said, putting his arm around her mate’s neck. “I’m very pleased to have you here. It’s not often we have an alpha move into the neighborhood.”

Travis just grunted and followed him to the table. Paige hesitated for a second; the whole situation made her uncomfortable. Asher seemed nice enough, but the vampire still sat at the head of the table watching them all. She took a deep breath and followed them to the table, hoping Travis didn’t say something that would get them both killed.

Chapter 2

Travis took a seat directly to Asher’s left with the rest of the shifters at the table shuffling down a spot. Nobody moved to let Paige sit down—it was obvious she wasn’t as welcome with the others as she was Asher.

“Would you like my seat?” Travis asked Paige.

“No, I’m okay,” she said, patting him on the shoulder.

A few of the other shifters at the table grunted their displeasure at his offer.

Travis smiled and then stood up. “No, baby, I insist. You’ve been walking a lot and I don’t feel much like sitting.”

Paige smiled nervously and sat down. Travis glared at one particular shifter who was giving him a deadly stare. He was definitely a wolf—Travis could smell it on him. He had tan skin and a bald head accented by bushy, silver eyebrows. It looked like he had once been in shape, but his muscles had been replaced with the kind of flab that follows someone when they get too comfortable.

The stare-down continued for several tense seconds before Asher cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Brothers and sisters,” Asher said. “Please welcome Travis and Paige to the fold. They are shifters from the great state of Oklahoma and they have just moved into our territory.”

Many of the shifters nodded a greeting or waved a hand. Travis expected a formal introduction to each one, but Asher just continued with his speech.

“As you all know, the Miami area is controlled by this council and has been for seventy years. Travis was an alpha where he came from, but his pack was destroyed during a misunderstanding,” Asher said.

Misunderstanding?
Travis thought.
It was murder.

“You all know the rules,” Asher continued. “For a shifter to live in our territory and reproduce, they must be a pack member.”

Shit,
Travis thought, tightening his grip on Paige’s shoulder. She gave him a worried look but he just nodded forward for her to listen. He had expected that this was the reason for the meeting. Jacob had once told him that packs formed a large alliance in bigger cities in order to control the shifters.

“Normally we allow a new pack member a pledge period before we decide if we will accept them or not,” Asher said. “As you all know, this is the custom.”

The other shifters nodded their agreement once more.

“However,” Asher said, standing up and walking to an empty chair at the end of the table. “As you all know, our Sunset Pack leader recently departed when he… how should I say this? When he reached a little too high.”

I don’t like where this is going,
Travis thought.

“Our departed alpha decided he didn’t want to do business with the Giacomo family anymore,” Asher said. “In the end they had to deal with him as they saw fit. Do we seek retribution?”

A few of the shifters grumbled and glanced up at the vampire sitting at the head of the table. Finally he rose and looked down at them.

“I am here to extend an olive branch,” the vampire said. “Things got heated, but that was because your alpha interfered in our business dealings. He wanted a piece of the pie, a piece that was not due to him.”

A few of the shifters nodded in agreement. Travis felt himself getting sick to his stomach. This group was in bed with the vampire and his crime family.

“So we would like the pack to return to the Sunset area,” the vampire said. “Under new leadership, of course.”

Travis felt really sick now. The vampire was looking directly at him.

“We have a great opportunity, brothers,” Asher said. “We can forge a bond with the Giacomos that Sonny would never have formed. We have a new alpha in our midst who doesn’t have a pack and doesn’t have any of the bad blood or history that was there before.”

Everyone was now nodding their heads in agreement.

“An alliance between the Miami packs and the Giacomo family would benefit everyone,” Asher said, drawing his fist up in front of his face. “Travis would lead the pack with help from Bartoli and me until he is up and running.”

“It would be my pleasure to help,” the vampire—who Travis could only assume was Bartoli—said.

“What do you say?” Asher asked, turning to Travis. “You would have a pack again and be free to do what you want here in Miami,” he added, turning his eyes to Paige. “Even reproduce.”

Paige looked back up at Travis, her expression even more worried than before. He could feel his blood boiling. He had to remove his hand from Paige’s shoulder before his grip tightened to the point that he would hurt her. This was unacceptable. He’d known he would have to join their pack, but he hadn’t realized they would try to put him in some kind of puppet leadership position under a goddamn vampire. What was worse was that Asher obviously knew his past history, and how he felt about vampires.

Paige grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him down, whispering furiously in his ear. “Don’t do anything crazy. Ask for more time to think about it.”

When Travis looked up again, they were all staring at him.

“Can I have some time to think about this?” he asked, his voice quivering as he spoke. He could barely hold back his rage as he looked around.

“Of course,” Asher said, smiling. “We will check with you tomorrow night.”

“I only get twenty-four hours?” Travis asked, his voice rising.

“You have to understand, Travis,” Bartoli said with an icy coolness to his voice. “This is a time-sensitive matter. We will pay you a visit tomorrow.”

Travis growled at the vampire, barely able to prevent himself from leaping up on the table and tearing his insides out. Luckily Paige was already on her feet, pulling Travis towards the exit.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” she said, bowing her head. “We look forward to your visit.”

Just as they reached the door Travis heard Bartoli speak again.

“Oh, and Travis,” Bartoli said. “I will be expecting a ‘yes’. We won’t have any more incidents like we did with Victor Dance. I don’t forgive or forget.”

You son of a bitch,
Travis thought as he stopped and tensed up. Paige squeezed his hand, calming him back down. He took a deep breath and followed her out the door.

Chapter 3

The ride home was one of the most silent and tense Paige had ever experienced with Travis. Every time she started to speak she stopped after one look at his face. He was clearly in no mood to have this discussion.

It was obvious that the night’s events were weighing heavily on his mind, and why shouldn’t they? He had a fantastic opportunity to jump right into a new area as alpha of his own pack. The only drawback was that he would be under careful scrutiny by a vampire.

It was just one vampire,
she thought as they continued to drive.
This is a totally different vampire, even if he
is
into organized crime.