The Alpha's Virgin Possession (8 page)

Nick took a step back. “I don’t care what you think,
but whatever it is, I need to get away from you,
otherwise
I’m going to hurt you.”

He left the room, leaving her standing, staring at the
space he’d been standing in.

What had just happened? Folding her arms, she held
onto herself trying to ground her rioting thoughts. Shit, she’d just accused
him of using her when the truth was she’d been angry and jealous of the women.
When he left the room they’d talked amongst themselves ignoring her.

Why had she lashed out at Nick? He’d not done anything
but make her feel special since knowing him. This morning had been the
highlight of her life. His touch made her burn in ways she didn’t know existed.

Great, Clara, you’ve fucked up big time.

Feeling awful at blaming Nick for everything, she started
walking around the house trying to find him. He was nowhere to be seen. His
office was bare along with the kitchen, sitting room and the garden. The doors
were no longer closed. Her chance to escape was at her fingertips. Stepping
out, she looked up at the sun feeling the heat glowing over her.

“No,” she said, speaking to herself.

She couldn’t leave.

Turning, she walked back into the house and went
toward the gym. She found Nick pummeling the life out of a punching bag that
hung on a hook. He didn’t stop as she entered.

“You could have run,” he said, hitting out.

“I know. I didn’t want to leave.” She answered him
truthfully.

He jerked, turning to look at her. “Why? I’m such an
awful person.”

Staring down at the floor she wished it would open up
and take her away. “I was an idiot.”

Nick started to hit at the punching bag.

“I’m sorry, okay. I don’t know you at all, and I
lashed out. I shouldn’t have done it, but I did.” She ran fingers through her hair,
looking around the room. “You bought me with money, Nick. What do you expect me
to say?”

“I took you away from cruel bastards who were abusing
you.” His eyes shone amber as they stared at her.

“I don’t know you. You’re outlawed.”

She’d seen the silver in his chest showing his
outlawed status. The sight didn’t affect or offend her. Clara recalled women
saying how ugly it made the person who carried the outlawed mark. Nick wasn’t
ugly. Nothing would stop his sexiness, not even silver embedded in his chest.

He lashed out, kicking the punching bag off the hook.
She watched the dent the bag made in the wall. His strength shocked her.

“You want to know about me, fine, I’ll tell you what
you need to know.” He turned to stare at her.

She glanced down to his chest, biting her lip at the
silver. It must have hurt to have his flesh cut apart and the silver poured
into the cut.

“I was an alpha.
A fucking good one.
I ruled my pack and took pride at how they flourished. Every decision I made, I
did so to bring them a good life. I’m not a mean son of a bitch like some of
them.” He picked up the bag, resting it against the opposite wall. She saw him
shake his head at the damage he caused.

“Then one day I invited some of the alpha collective
to my place in kindness and celebration of a mated couple.” He stared at
something over her shoulder, clearly seeing into his own past rather than at
her. “The celebrations were
high,
the alcohol was
flowing, the love building to a combustible level.” He swallowed. “I walked
into the house to hear screaming and scuffling. The smell of fear came from the
basement. Without calling for any of my pack I went to see what the damage
was.”

Tears filled her eyes at the memory he was creating.
She didn’t want to know what happened next but felt compelled to listen.

“I found the mated female dead on the floor. Her body was
badly bruised, and one of the collective alphas was trying to clean up the mess
of his rape and murder.” Tears glistened in his eyes at the bitter memory. “I
helped that girl. She had been part of my pack from a baby. I was there when
she reached full maturity. The full moon was a festive reason to gather and
enjoy.” He stopped to bite his lip. “The alpha took that away from her. He
forced himself on her, and before she could shout out, he killed her.
Suffocated her until he was finished.”

The sight must have been horrific, but to have known
the woman would leave more scars that were worse than any kind on the flesh.

“He was an alpha, and he had hurt one of my females. I
loved her like a daughter, and he ended her life because she refused him. I
didn’t seek justice from the others. I took care of my own justice. I killed
him and gave his head to her mate as a prize.” Nick took a step closer. “That’s
the kind of man I am, Clara. If anyone tries to hurt what’s mine, I will exact
my vengeance. I was tried and then outlawed.”

“What happened to the man, the mate?” she asked.

“He killed himself. If they could outlaw a man for
killing a rapist and murderer, it didn’t leave him much hope. He thanked me in
his final letter for giving him some kind of closure.”

He stormed past her, leaving her alone to dwell in
everything he said. Nick was a good man regardless of the fact he had bought
her.

Chapter Eight

Nick stayed away from Clara after admitting the truth.
For the next week he only saw her for breakfast and dinner. He left for work
early only to return late at night to find his dinner keeping warm in the oven.
The e-reader was in the top part of his desk. He still needed to give it to
her.

His reluctance to be near her was ridiculous. Staring
at his phone on his office desk, Nick wondered if he should call her. At night
he snuck into her bedroom to hold her throughout the night. Come morning, he
left her alone. She never said a word about him staying with her.

She tried to have conversations with him, but he cut
her short, finding peace in another part of the house.

“You know, buying a woman was supposed to mean you’d
stop being so bloody moody,” Dean said, sitting opposite him.

“What?” Nick asked, jerking up to look at the other
man.

“You’re moody. Your employees are afraid to enter your
office in case you have a go at them.” Dean leaned forward taking one of the
sweets, Nick left out.

“What the fuck are you doing in my office?” He wasn’t
in the mood to deal with his friend. The other man’s perky attitude was not welcome.
He needed to think.

“I got a call from your personal assistant, who is
worried about you. She asked for me to come down and see you,” Dean said.

“I should fire the woman.” Mrs. Lambert was amazing.
She put up with all of his quirks and never argued with him even though he
deserved it half the time.

“Trouble in
paradise?”

Glaring at him, Nick turned off his computer and
stood.

“Didn’t the e-reader work?”

Ignoring his friend, Nick tried to think of an excuse
to get rid of him. Even Dean took offence at being used and told him to fuck
off.

“How was your meeting with the alphas?” Nick asked,
getting ready to leave for home.

“Stop dodging my questions. You bought Clara. Why are
you looking moody? I thought the point of her was for you to let off steam.”

Nick didn’t say anything.

“For fuck’s sake, stop cutting everyone off. Talking
actually helps. I know it’s strange for you to even consider shit like that,
but it does fucking work,” Dean said.

“I told her why I was outlawed. I lost my temper with
what she said and told her everything. We’ve not spoken in the last week. To be
honest, I don’t have a clue what to say to her or how to move past what I’ve
said.” He shrugged, feeling lost for the first time in his life. When he was
being sentenced to be outlawed, he hadn’t felt lost. All of his life he’d known
everything there was to know about his pack. Clara made him feel lost at every
turn.

“Shit, what did she say?” Dean asked.

“I haven’t given her chance to say or do anything. I
won’t say anything, and I don’t know what to do in order for us to start
talking.”

Dean was silent for several seconds.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going home. I try to find ways to break the ice,
but I stop before I get the chance to mend our fences.”

He walked toward the door. Dean was one of the few men
he actually trusted.

“Give her the e-reader,” Dean said, catching his
attention again.

“What?”

“You bought her the damn thing. Give it to her over
dinner tonight and start talking. I don’t know. Sit with her while she
downloads books. Don’t give up.”

Nick would certainly think about it. He’d love the
chance to hold her in his arms before she fell to sleep.

“What happened with the alphas?” he asked, interested
to know what was going on in the world he’d left behind.

“They’re talking about the selling of women. They’ve
stumbled onto the websites along with the auctions of female wolves. They’re
not happy and are asking for my help.”

“I take it I was mentioned.”

“Yes, but more as
a topic of interest, Nick.
I believe they
regret outlawing you.”

“Well, they did, and there’s no going back. I’ll see
you soon,” Nick said, ready to leave.

“If they were to offer you back your status and give
you a pack, would you take it?” Dean asked.

“No, I wouldn’t.” Nick didn’t hesitate in answering.
In the early days of becoming an outlaw he’d have taken his pack back at the
first moment. Now, he wouldn’t dream of going back. They could give him back
his pack and easily take it away.

“Why not?”

“I no longer want a pack that’s overruled by a
collective of alphas who think they’re above the law.”

“It was a long time ago, Nick. You’ve got to get over
one man’s actions.” Dean placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He shrugged
the hand off.

“You didn’t see what he did to her. If you did, you
wouldn’t be trying to bring me back into the fold. My life as an alpha ended
that day.” Nick walked out of the office, thankful to leave his past behind.

Clara knew the truth, and it was time for him to man
up. It wasn’t her fault he still felt guilty for putting the female in harm’s
way.

The drive home didn’t last long enough. He entered the
house and heard Clara making something in the kitchen. The scent of her baking
filled the house. He noticed she baked a lot. Nick had taken her spare baking
into the office so none of it went off.

He couldn’t be that moody to share his woman’s baking,
could he?

Either way, he went to his office, putting his case
away then grabbing the e-reader from the desk. It was all set up ready to
receive books.

Give it to her.

She used to meet him the moment he walked into the
house after he shouted at her. After the third day of him yelling at her, she
stopped welcoming him home.

He’d fucked up. Keeping hold of the e-reader, Nick was
determined to fix what he’d broken.

****

Clara kept mixing the potatoes even as she heard Nick
enter the house. She had fucked up and hadn’t gotten the opportunity to
apologize to him. There was only so much shouting she could deal with, so she tried
to stay out of his way. She tried not to feel the hurt of being cut off from
all contact. The last week with Nick had been the same as living with her
parents. He didn’t talk to her, only accepted silence, and she spent most of
her time trying to avoid him. The latest batch of cookies was cooling on the
tray.

The only consolation she found was him taking her
baking into work. At least nothing went off. She found the cookbooks in one of
the cupboards, and her days had been spent marking the pages of the recipes she
wanted to cook. He never complained about what she cooked, nor did he voice
happiness at the food she presented to him.

The chicken and roast potatoes were keeping warm, and
she tasted the mashed potatoes to see for their seasoning. Once they were done,
she walked into the dining room to set their places.

When that was done, she went and served up. Putting
the two plates on the mats, she removed the apron she used to keep her clothes
nice and clean.

She wore a pair of tight jeans and red shirt that
molded to her curves. Licking her lips, she pinched her cheeks hoping to put
some color back into them. Seconds later she knocked on his office door, which
was closed.

“What?” he asked.

Shrinking away from his anger, she called through the
door hoping he heard.

“Dinner is served,” she said, moving away before he
answered. Her place setting was beside him. Moving it three chairs down like
the other times she took a seat and started to eat.