Savage Moon: Wolf Shifter Romance (Wild Lake Wolves Book 4) (6 page)

My heart raced and I tried to do what I always did.
I steadied my breath and tried to slow my pulse.

“He’s too far away,” Alec said, understanding my
concern. “We have time. Not a lot. But enough, I think.”

My eyes snapped open and I reached up, molding my
hand to his jaw. Alec grabbed one of the chains between his hands and started
to pull. God, he was strong enough to tear through steel like it was nothing
more than thin thread. He could do it. He could set me free. The urge to run,
to flee, to steal into the night with Alec coursed through my veins like the hit
off a drug. It seemed so easy, so right.

“Hold still, we can worry about the cuffs later.”
Alec grimaced and started to pull.

Fire shot through me at the promise of freedom. I
could taste it. At the last second, I lifted a gentle hand and put it over
Alec’s.

“Stop,” I said, though my voice sounded choked and
small. Alec didn’t hear me at first.

“Stop! I can’t do it. Not like this.”

Still holding the chain in his powerful grip, Alec
froze.

“He isn’t just keeping me here with these.” I lifted
my wrists and made the chains jangle. “He has my brother. If I try to leave,
Kane’s threatened to kill him.”

Alec dropped the chains and his eyes flared wide
with exasperation. “Olivia, they’re going to come back at some point. I can’t
fight off the whole pack by myself.”

“I know. But I can’t leave until I know where Jaxson
is. Kane’s got him chained up somewhere just like me. He showed me a picture. Jaxson’s
hurt. Badly. If I don’t do what Kane says, never mind the mark, he’s going to
kill him.”

I hesitated. Telling Alec about my brother was a
risk. A big one. But for the third time, he’d tried to help me. I decided to
trust him that much.

“Kane’s done something to him. He’s made it so he
can’t shift.”

Alec reared back. “Your brother’s a wolf?”

I shook my head. “No. He’s a werebear.”

Alec finally dropped the chain and slid backward on
the bed. “Jaxson? Olivia, who are you?”

And here was my last truth. Could I afford to trust
him all the way? I closed my eyes and took a leap of faith. “My father is Caleb
Lord.”

Alec stood and started pacing again. The towel
around his waist dropped a bit and my eyes were drawn to the curve of his hip.
Heat flared inside me and I drew my legs up, resting my knees on my chin. He
turned and covered his mouth with his hand.

“Lord of the bears?”

I let out a sigh. “You know that’s not how it works
with bear shifters, right? It’s just my last name.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I know. You’re Caleb’s
daughter? Jax Lord is your brother. Fuck.” Alec carved both hands through his
hair and rested them on top of his head. He looked toward the ceiling and blew
out a breath as he tried to work out the impact of my revelation. He slammed
his palm against the footboard and sat down again hard enough to bounce me off
the mattress.

“He thinks he can control Caleb if he’s got you and
now your brother.”

I nodded.

“Do you know what for?”

I shrugged. “He doesn’t talk about pack business
around me. He’s very careful about that. But, Kane sure as hell didn’t like it
when you showed up.”

“I’ll bet. I told you, the other Wild Lake packs
have been concerned about him for some time.”

“You saw what he did with Cole. I think he would
have killed him if you hadn’t shown up when you did. And it was just because
Cole got between Kane and me for half a second.”

“Shit,” Alec muttered. “We suspected he’d gone this
way. You understand, none of this is how we do things. This isn’t the Wild Lake
way. We don’t
force
markings on women. Especially ones who aren’t fated
mates. Our Alphas don’t treat pack members like that. There’s a name for it,
you know.”

“
Tyrannus Alpha
. Yes. I’ve heard.”

“It’s like a drug addiction. The more power Kane
takes, the more he’s going to want. If he goes unchecked, he’s going to force
this pack into their wolves 24/7. Most weres can’t survive that. I just don’t
get it. He’s got to know we can’t let this stand.”

“Well, you tell me. I know how bears operate. Not
wolves. Bears do their own thing. There’s no complicated pack law like you
have. They don’t go to war with each other if they can help it. A hell of a lot
more live and let live unless you’re foolish enough to piss one of ‘em off. Kane
hasn’t let me see or talk to my father in the six months since he brought me
out here and did this to me.” I waved my hand toward the back of my neck. “All
I know is that he seems to hate you and the other packs of Wild Lake.”

Alec paced again. “I can’t believe he’d do it.”

“Do what?” I flapped my hands and the chains
rattled. Alec winced as though the sound of it caused him physical pain.

Alec ran a hand over his face and sighed. “Start
World War III.”

Chapter
Seven

“How much influence does Caleb have over the other
bear shifters in Michigan or parts of Wild Lake?” Alec asked.

I bit my lip. Again, Alec was asking for information
that just six months ago, I would have guarded with my life.

He sank down on the bed next to me and put a hand on
my arm. That skin-to-skin contact made it hard for me to think. “Olivia, I know
you have no reason to trust me. But you have to at least be able to see that
Kane is our mutual enemy now. Whatever he’s planning can’t be for the benefit
of the Wild Lake packs. And it’s certainly not for the benefit of the Wild Ridge
bears or your own family. If we work together, maybe we can figure something
out.”

I nodded. Hot tears sprang to my eyes and I raised a
hand to wipe them away. “My father’s no bear king. You know that’s not how
bears live. And he was
so
angry when he found out I was spending time
with Kane. A wolf. He’s warned me my whole life to stay away from wolves. He
thought my dating Kane was a betrayal. He was right. I just didn’t understand
what kind. But, the Michigan bears are loyal to my father. They listen to him.
Seek his counsel.”

Alec nodded. “So, if your father swore some kind of
oath to Kane, would it bind the rest of the bears?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. But not blindly.
What kind of oath are you talking about?”

Alec squeezed his eyes shut and let out a breath.
“I’m just thinking out loud. I still can’t believe Kane would go this far. But,
if he hates the Wild Lake packs as much as you think—and he’s done some other
things lately that seem to point to that—if he’s turned
Tyrannous
, he
might be trying for some kind of coup. He knows the rest of the Wild Lake
Alphas would never willingly submit to him.”

My head buzzed. The air left my lungs, and fear like
acid burned through me. I think I understood. “You think he might force my
father to help him take down the other packs?”

Alec gave me a grim nod. “It fits. God help us, it
fits. I think he’s making a play to take over all of our lands.”

A pack war. A full-on pack war. And if Alec was
right, Kane meant to drag the bears in to fight it for him.

“He won’t. He can’t. My father would never go along
with that.”

Alec reached for me. He ran a thumb along the curve
of my brow and tilted my head toward him. “He probably would if he thinks it’s
the only way to keep you safe. If it were my child. Or someone I . . . loved.”

I shuddered beneath his touch. “We have to stop him.
I have to do more than just get away from him and save my brother. If you’re
right, it won’t just be wolves suffering. My father. His friends. They’d win in
the end. You have to know that there are a hell of a lot more bear shifters in
Michigan than there are wolves. If they all fought for Kane, he might just win.
But not without a lot of casualties on both sides.”

Alec’s eyes went cold for an instant then flashed
with that sapphire light again. He leaned toward me. It could have been my
shock and horror realizing how far Kane might go. It might have been how badly
I needed a friend or someone to trust. It might have just been Alec’s kind and
gentle touch when I’d spent so long away from anyone I loved. But, as I moved
and closed the distance between us, I knew it was none of those things.

I wanted Alec. Badly.

Before either of us could think, I brought my hands
up and slid them around his shoulders. He responded instantly, drawing me to
him with his strong, solid arms around my waist. I reached up as he brought his
lips toward mine and kissed him.

I was struck by lightning. Fire and ice. Desire and
longing. Lust and lightning. His lips against mine were strong, urgent, perfect
as he pulled me down on the bed until he hovered over me. Breathless.
Weightless. Heat sparked in my core and spread to all points of my body. It
settled between my legs, making me quiver and grow wet for him. I ached. His
towel dropped and I felt the solid, hard outline of his cock against my thigh,
and I opened them for him. Too much. Too fast. And all of it right.

“God,” he whispered against my ear as he finally
came up for air. He trailed hot kisses along my throat and I arched my back.
“Olivia.” He said my name over and over. I slid my hands along his shoulders,
tracing the hard outlines of his back. I wanted desperately to guide him into
my slick wetness and make him mine.

This was beyond lust. Beyond reason. My heart beat a
thundering rhythm and a single thought filled my head to match it.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

But, it wasn’t just my heartbeat. It was Alec’s too.
For so long, Kane had filled my senses. His mark made my pulse quicken along
with his when he was close enough. But now, he was so far away everything I
felt inside me was Alec.

I gasped. The power of the pull scared me as much as
it felt right. Alec sensed the change and drew up on his elbows. His lips were
swollen from my kisses and his wolf eyes flared bright. But, he gathered his
towel around his hips and slowly moved away, letting me catch my breath. He
wanted me as badly as I wanted him, but he was the one able to control his lust
this time.

Panting, I rose to a sitting position. I hurt. The
absence of Alec’s touch caused me physical pain. Like I’d just had a limb torn
from my body.

“What was that?” I said, struggling to form words. I
wasn’t a virgin. I’d given in to lust plenty of times. This was different. More
powerful. A hunger that left me trembling and clouded my head.

Alec knit his brow together and slowly rose to his
feet. He towered over me and looked toward the window. I think he meant to say
something else to me. He felt the same pull as I did, but he wouldn’t name it.
Instead, he turned and folded his arms in front of him. “We don’t have a lot of
time. God. I can’t leave you here like this. I don’t want Kane near you ever
again. I don’t care what he does to me. I’ll kill him if he touches you. Do you
understand?”

I nodded. “I know. I don’t know how I know. But, I
know. Alec, I can’t abandon my brother. I have to find a way to help him.
There’s
got
to be a way. Can you rally the rest of the packs? I mean,
now that you know.”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I can only guess.
I need to talk to Caleb.”

I drew my knees up and wrapped my arms around them.
“He’ll never talk to you. You’d be lucky if he didn’t kill you. He never
trusted wolves before this. That’s why he was so angry with me when I started
seeing Kane. If he
has
made a pact with Kane over me, you’re not safe
around him either.”

“I think I can handle one bear, Olivia.”

I gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Maybe. But he’s not
one bear. He’s my father. I don’t want either of you hurt. God, I wish I could
just talk to him for five minutes. If he knows Kane has Jaxson too, he’s got to
be mad with grief. You don’t know my father. They tell me he was different
before my mother died. Calmer. He’s lived like a recluse since she died. He
barely talks to anyone now except my brother and me. And now? There’s no
telling what’s happened to him since Kane brought me here.”

“Well, we have plenty of mutual friends. I can try
and reach out to some of them and get a message to him. Maybe he’ll listen if
it’s not coming from a wolf.”

“That’s not a half bad idea.”

“Okay. We’ll play this your way. For now. But I’m
not leaving this park, Olivia. I mean it. Brother or not, I need to get you out
of here.”

“Until you have help, all that’s going to do is get
you
and
my brother killed. You’re strong, Alec. I know that. Maybe one
on one you could take Kane. But not six against one, and I can handle Kane. For
now. I’ve been doing it since long before you got here. Let me figure out how
to find my brother. I don’t know. Maybe you can follow Kane even. I’m not sure,
but I don’t think he’s let the rest of the pack in on where he is.”

“I am
not
leaving you alone with this pack.”

“I’ve
been
alone with this pack for six
months. Since he marked me, Kane hasn’t touched me. He’s made a big point of
not
touching me. If you want to help me, help me find my brother. Get a message to
my father if you can, but be careful. I have every reason to think he’s mostly
. . . uh . . . feral where wolves are concerned right now.”

Alec nodded. And scowled. But nodded again. A chill
ran through me as a chorus of howls rose outside the window.

“You’d better go,” I pleaded. “If they find you in
here . . .”

Alec took two strides forward and cupped my face in
his hands. Heat zinged through me. He kissed me. Quick and strong. It set my
blood on fire.

“Be careful. And I’ll be close.” He reached over and
grabbed a lemon wedge from the tray Cole had brought me. “And take a bite out
of this for as long as you can stand.”

“What now?”

“Kane’s got his nose filled with blood from their
kill. And I was with the pack for most of the night, so my scent is already all
over the compound. It shouldn’t be a problem, but I just kissed you. This
should throw him off.”

I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed another lemon
wedge and leaned up to kiss him again. “Then I’ll take one more for the road.”

He stood in the open doorway with the starlight over
his shoulder. But, Alec smiled and reached for me. He kissed me slow and deep,
taking my breath away for the third time. Then, he shot me a devastating wink,
dropped his towel, and shifted effortlessly. His beautiful white wolf stepped
forward and nuzzled my leg. I ran a hand over his downy fur and scratched
between his ears. Maybe he was part cat too, because Alec purred for me. Then,
panting, he turned and ran out into the night.