Werewolf Rebel Tamed (Werewolf Romance)

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction intended for adults age 18 and over. Minors should stop here and close the book. All events depicted are fictional.
All sex is between consenting adults. Any resemblance to places and persons, living or dead, is unintentional coincidence.

Every effort has been made to provide a quality reading experience, but editors and technology are fallible. Please report typos or formatting issues to [email protected].

Werewolf Rebel Tamed

Tony Riccio--construction engineer, respected pillar of small town society and my pain-in-the-ass alpha--sighed, leveling a hard gaze at me. Pitching his voice low so as not to broadcast pack business to the entire diner, he said, “The pack won’t tolerate this anymore, Miranda.”

I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head to the side at his choice of words. Miranda, he had said. Not my nickname,
Randa. He must be really mad this time. It had been my idea to stop for breakfast and now I was glad we were in a public place.

He frowned at me and continued his lecture, which had been going on for about a half hour. “You need to stop. I can’t keep saving you from yourself like this.”

I bowed my head to stare into my coffee. Black and bitter, just the way I liked it. “It wasn’t my fault, Tony.”

He snorted. “You’re in heat and you walk into a biker bar expecting what? A tea party?”

I shrugged and nodded to the waitress who came over to top off my coffee. “You need anything else, darlin’?” She gave me a kind smile and Tony the stink eye.

Unhappy at the interruption, Tony growled low in his throat, the sound outside the range of her human ears, but not mine. “We’re fine. Thanks.”

She moved on with a nod and the full weight of Tony’s anger settled back on me. “No more excuses, Miranda. I can’t keep picking you up at the police station like this. Sooner or later you’ll be arrested, not taken into protective custody.” He held up his hand, folding the thumb into his palm. “There are four guys in the hospital this time. You’re inciting violence. Hurting people.”

I grimaced because he had a point. I would grant him that much. I had just wanted to go out and have some fun without all the rules that governed my life. Rules Tony made. But, of
course, he was right--damn him for it--a female wolf at her sexual peak really did have to watch herself. I had thought wolves were dangerous, but now I knew humans could be just as bad.

“Worse, that biker gang at the bar? You put one of theirs in the hospital with a brain bleed and they are smart enough to recognize trouble when they see it. You’re on their shit list. They are looking for you right now. If you don’t stay out of their way, you’re going to drag us into a bloody fight to defend you.”

I blanched at that bit of news. “I had no idea.” Things had moved so fast the night before. One minute I’d been sucking down cold long necks and grinding my way through the men on the dance floor. The next, guys started throwing punches and grabbing at me. I had pushed them away and hidden under a table until the police broke it up.

Tony stabbed the table with his finger. “It ends. Starting now. You are a wolf, and you’re going to act like one.”

The hair on the back of my neck bristled. “You mean, doing what you say when you say it. Like a puppet.”

“No, like the full pack member you are. You put us all in jeopardy with this behavior. God, can you imagine...what if you had been arrested and
changed
in jail?” He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. “You either start behaving or I’ll run you out of town and the Moon Bay pack. The biker gang can have you and we won’t even blink.”

There was a long silence as he let me digest that.

“Did you bring a leash?” I slumped in my chair, my expression sullen. “Or a shock collar?” In truth, I was scared, but growing up on the streets had taught me to never show weakness. So I became a smartass instead.

“Don’t tempt me, Miranda.” He drained the last of his coffee. “No, I have something else in mind. Or, rather,
someone
else.”

I looked at him, confused. “Someone?”

“I never thought being alpha would come down to this, but I’ve matched you with someone. A wolf who actually likes you, but you’re always too busy thumbing your nose at the pack to notice.”

“You mated me?”
Was that even possible? Or allowed?

Tony nodded. “It’s not forever. Just for now. Once we get you through this heat, I’ll listen to your ideas on how to handle it
in the future.” He shook a finger at me. “But hear me when I say the days of you doing whatever you want are over.”

“Who’s the wolf?”
I asked curious.

“Hunter.”

I just blinked. Hunter was Tony’s second-in-command. Built like a tank and quietly brooding, I don’t think he’d ever said more than two words to me.
He liked me?
That was news to me.

Tony stabbed the table with his finger again. “You are to spend your heat with Hunter. When you’re not with him, you are home and you stay home.”

“How am I supposed to take care of Ronnie if I’m under house arrest?” I crossed my arms and glowered at him.

“As if you’re taking care of your sister now. Were you thinking of her when you went into that bar last night?” When I didn’t respond, he snorted and shook his head. “I didn’t think so and that’s why Ronnie will be staying with me.”

I slammed my hands down on the table hard enough that people looked up from their food, wondering what had made the noise. Keeping my voice a low hiss, I said, “You can’t do that.”

“I can and I will. In case you forgot, I’m her legal guardian. She only lived with you because I allowed it.”

I bit my lip, worrying the flesh almost to the point of bleeding. My nostrils flared as anger made my breathing heavy. “I won’t let you have her.” Tony had been a Godsend when I first met him. Finally, someone who knew what we were. I had been so grateful when he took us off the streets, but his help came at a high price--the loss of my freedom and now, apparently, my sister too.
Damn him.

“I won’t let Ronnie near you until you act more responsibly. You don’t like the rules of the pack? Fine. Go be the big, bad lone wolf.” He made a shooing motion with his hand. “But, in case you hadn’t noticed, your sister is thriving with us, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you destroy that for her. She stays with the pack, no matter what.” He spat the words at me in a snarl. His eyes gleamed yellow as his wolf came to the fore, ready to burst through his skin and shake me by the throat until I yielded.

I lowered my gaze and tried to be submissive, not wanting to push him to the point of losing control. Not that he ever had, but I’d seen other wolves change in fits of rage and they were crazed with bloodlust. Tony had a tranquilizer gun he used when that happened.
Who pumps him full of doggie downers when he loses it?

“I’m going to say this one last time, you are to spend your heat with Hunter. When you’re not with him, you are home, no exceptions. Understood?”
He glared at me until I nodded.“Good. This is your last chance. Don’t screw it up.”

***

Hunter’s black Dodge pick-up was already there when Tony pulled into the gravel drive leading up to my trailer. The rundown trailer belonged to Tony and he deducted the rent from my paycheck. Conveniently, I worked for his construction company answering the phones. No aspect of my life was free of my alpha’s influence and control.

Tony didn’t come in with me, just dropped me off with a curt nod of dismissal and backed out as if he couldn’t wait to get away. I watched his white Ford truck disappear down the lane, a sense of isolation washing over me. I used to think living on the streets was hard, but having a place to live was hard too. The hard of joining a pack I didn’t know, of being something I didn’t understand.

The smell of bacon greeted me when I opened the battered door to the trailer. My stomach rumbled even though I’d eaten at the diner. Welcome to the life of a werewolf; the hunger never ends.

I paused inside the doorway, surprised at what I saw. Someone had cleaned while I’d been gone. The faded couch pillows had been fluffed, the floors vacuumed. The evidence of my fast food habit was gone and a peace lily plant--that I would probably kill in the space of a week-- sat in the middle of the packing crate we used as a coffee table. Tony was always after me to be neater, and I had balked in rebellion, refusing to lift a finger unless I had to. The trailer looked so nice though, it made me think maybe I should make more of an effort.

The clink of dishes and the sizzle of bacon fat drew my attention to the narrow alley kitchen. Hunter stood at the stove, his back to me, busily flipping pancakes and tending to the bacon, biceps bulging impressively as he did so. He wore his customary khakis and a tight black shirt that highlighted his sculptured muscles. My heat burned with awareness of his proximity. I took a deep breath and clenched my hands into fists, trying to keep myself in check. Meanwhile, Hunter gave no indication of being aware of my presence, although I knew his wolf ears hadn’t missed my arrival. He was just being nice. Giving me time to adjust.

Wolves don’t miss much with their keen senses. I’d counted at least a dozen different ways of giving people space within the pack. Pretending not to hear was the most common one and something that still did not come naturally to me. Street etiquette is all about punching the other guy before he can hit you.

Since Hunter was being all gentlemanly, I took the time to brush my teeth and hair in the tiny bathroom. In the one bedroom at the back of the trailer, I shed my clothes from the night before, exchanging them for my favorite frayed T-shirt and sweatpants.

Making my way back to the main living area, I found the small
patio dinette set we used as a dining room table laden with food. Hunter waited for me with his arms crossed, an expression of placid patience on his broad face. His tall frame looked out of place in the tiny dinette chair.