Destined For The Alpha: Six Heart-Racing Shifter Romances (Werewolf's Harem Book 7) (9 page)

Finally, she spoke first.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, her voice thick with exhaustion. Ben ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture, trying to bolster her with confidence he didn’t feel.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“That was more than just… it wasn’t just sex,” Aurelia said, raising her head to look at him. Her eyes, twin pools of dazzling sapphire light, were more than Ben could stand just now.

“I know,” he said. He closed his eyes, dropping his head back onto the ground.

“Ben,” Aurelia prompted. When he didn’t respond, her small hand smacked his chest.

“Ben. Look at me, damn it!” she cried. Her distress made him sit up, gathering her in his arms.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said.

“I think we’ve started the mating bond-“ she began, but Ben cut her off.

“No!” he said, gently pushing her off his lap. “We haven’t started anything. It’s not possible.”

“We have to tell Lucas,” she insisted, reaching for his hands.

Ben reached out and grabbed her chin, stilling her movements.

“We’re not telling him anything. There’s nothing to tell,” he said, his words slow and heavy.

“He’s going to know. He’s not stupid. And we shouldn’t hide this from him,” Aurelia said, panic in her eyes.

“I said no!” Ben snapped, releasing her. Standing up, he grabbed his shorts and tugged them on.

“I don’t understand,” Aurelia said, tears gathering in her voice. “This isn’t our fault. Mating isn’t a choice, everyone knows that. Lucas can’t hold it against us. I’ll tell him, if you want. Explain to him.”

Ben’s whole body went rigid. He turned to Aurelia, rage welling in his chest. 

“This is not happening. You’re not telling Lucas anything. I forbid it.”

“What, are you afraid of him?” Aurelia hissed.

“You don’t understand,” Ben said. “I can’t do this. I owe Lucas everything, and I would never take someone that he cares for. Never.”

Aurelia crossed her arms, incensed. 

“So Lucas gives you a job and makes you a bunch of money, and you owe him? You’d break a mating bond over that?” she accused.

Ben picked up her clothes, tossing them to her. He couldn’t stand to look at her body another second, not without reaching for her again. He had to shut this down, right now.

“Aurelia,” he said, his eyes and voice pleading. “You’ve been here just a few days. I’ve known Lucas for half a lifetime, and I’ve owed him everything since the first moment.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible.”

“I’m not a born wolf,” he said, dropping his eyes. Shame, his old friend, filled his gut.

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking confused.

“Lucas made me,” he said.

“Made you… a wolf? Like a werewolf? What the hell are you talking about, Ben?”

“Lucas is ancient. He has the magic of the first wolves. He found me dying in a field. He looked at me, and I at him, and he saw something in me. We’re bonded by magic. His blood runs in my veins.”

Aurelia gaped, staring.

“You’re crazy,” she whispered after a moment.

“Why would I lie? Why would I deny myself-“ he stopped himself mid-sentence.

“I don’t know,” Aurelia said. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but you can go to hell.”

She pulled on her clothes and snatched up the bag she’d brought, then stomped off into the woods.

“You’re going the wrong way!” Ben called, sickened at the loss of her.

“Fuck off!” she retorted, footsteps receding.

Ben sank to his knees, shaking.

No. No, this could not be happening. Ben would make certain of it.

A
urelia stormed into the house
, stopping dead in the kitchen. Ben was in the far corner of the room, his expression livid. Two other figures dominated the space, drawing Aurelia’s attention. 

Walker stood in the living room, arms crossed as he towered over a tiny blonde woman. His dark hair had recently been buzzed, and his sable eyes were bright with anger. Walker’s massive, tightly muscled body seemed tensed to spring, utterly frightening as far as Aurelia was concerned.

The blonde didn’t seem to notice, or she didn’t care. The woman’s back was ramrod straight, and she was staring up at Walker with evident malice. Her lip lifted, showing just a hint of fang. Her fury was made all the more impressive when held up to Walker’s bulk and obvious ire.

“Third floor, first room on the right,” Walker bit out. For a second, Aurelia thought that the woman was going to spit in his face. When the blonde just sneered and stormed off to the stairs, Aurelia nearly sagged with relief.

Walker’s gaze snapped to Aurelia, then to Ben.

“I don’t know what the fuck you two think you’re doing, but you need to figure it out quick. Lucas will be back in the morning,” Walker growled. With that, he turned on his heel and headed out the back door.

Aurelia looked at Ben, but he just shook his head and turned to pick up his laptop. Aurelia watched his retreating form as he headed upstairs, anger roiling in her stomach.

They’d met. They’d laughed, enjoyed one another’s company. Then they’d started to hook up, and suddenly… the connection had been instant, and undeniable. The pleasure of it had been so great, she’d nearly cried.

At least until Ben had pushed her away. 

How was Aurelia supposed to go from finding a soul-deep connection to lying in bed with Lucas, who was wonderful, but not her true mate. The male that she now… missed? Longed to touch? Hungered for?

She’d had no idea that the mating bond could be so deep, so fast. What were they going to do? She’d just arrived here, just accepted Lucas’s offer of safety and money. She didn’t want to jeopardize her life here before it had even started. 

She thought, too, of the look on Ben’s face when he’d told her the story about Lucas ‘making’ him. His sincerity in refusing to betray Lucas was apparent, and the pain of his choice as well. 

What would she do: lie to the man who’d saved her and given her a fresh start, or hurt the male who was now center stage in her heart?

Aurelia sighed and sank down on one of the couches, uncertain what the future would hold.

“
Y
ou’ve got
to be fucking kidding me,” Walker cursed, abruptly disconnecting the call on his smartphone. He dropped the phone onto the hood of his Range Rover, seething. No way was Lucas getting away with this. As the COO of a Fortune 500 tech company, Walker Black didn’t need anything else on his plate right now. Especially not some damsel in distress.

His phone buzzed, indicating that he has a new text. Walker gave his phone the blackest scowl he could manage, which could probably peel the paint off a barn. So few people had his personal number that Walker was certain that the text must be from Lucas. He picked it up with a groan.

You have no choice, read the text. There’s no one else available, and the female is definitely in trouble.

“FUCK!!” Walker shouted, slamming his hands against the hood several times. He released a wordless bellow, his rage rocking the entire SUV.

Out of the corner of his eye, Walker saw a flash of pink. Turning his head, he saw a startled-looking woman in her fifties, a posh peroxide blonde dressed in a pink track suit. She was coming out of the Forum Athletic Club, Atlanta’s swankiest gym, just trying to get into the sleek white Mercedes CLS parked next to Walker’s car. 

She blanched when he made eye contact, car keys shaking in her hand, and for a moment Walker imagined what she was seeing. At over six and a half feet tall, Walker’s frame was densely packed with muscle from head to toe. Twin swirls of black adorned his arms from wrist to shoulder, the traditional Polynesian tribal tattoos putting barbed-wire biceps everywhere to shame. His dark mahogany hair had just been buzzed, and fury brightened his sable eyes to a molten glow. His wolf was very close to the surface right now, and his anger pulled away his usual calm façade. 

Walker doused his emotions, his action immediate and effortless. Giving the woman a grin and a shrug, he gave an exaggerated sigh. His time working for a certain government agency had taught him how to completely detach from his emotions, instantaneously. The Company hadn’t exactly been a joy ride, but some of that training was handier than hell.

“Friggin’ stock market, right?” he asked, affecting a silly, flirtatious tone. The lie came easily, as they always did these days.

The woman’s relief was obvious. She actually winked at him before sliding into her car. Walker rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

Sometimes being good-looking really had its perks. With a broad brow, a chiseled jawline, a strong nose, and pronounced cheek bones, Walker wasn’t getting a lot of complaints in the looks department. Women fawned over his physique, some even exclaiming over the long, dark lashes that made him seem brooding.

Good thing I’m antisocial and a bit of an asshole, he thought. Otherwise I might actually get laid on the regular. 

He scrunched up his face, wondering exactly how long it had been since his last “date” with one of the brainless model-types he preferred to bed. Shit, if he had to think about it, it’d been too long. He should call that… Cam? Candy? Damn, what the hell had that girl’s name been again?

His logic repeated itself. If he couldn’t remember, it was past time to move on. No wonder he was so damned terrible with females.

Picking up his phone, Walker shot off a quick reply to Lucas.

I’ll have to push back the deadline on my acquisition project. We’ll lose millions, he texted.

A few seconds later, his phone buzzed again.

And we care because…? Lucas answered. Then:

Ben has all the details about the female. Get with him ASAP.

Walker shook his head and hopped into his car, heading for his Buckhead apartment. For a billionaire, Lucas sure didn’t respect the almighty dollar. Seeing as Lucas, Ben, and Walker all had more money than they could ever spend in several lifetimes, Walker was inclined to agree just now. Hell, maybe this would turn into a vacation of sorts.

“Call Ben,” he told his car’s computer. His Luna Corp. co-owner picked up on the first ring.

“Jackson,” Ben said. No greeting, no preamble. Just a location.

“Mississippi?” Walker asked, surprised.

“Yep. Head for the Dekalb-Peachtree airport. I’ve got a chopper chartered for you, waiting.”

Impressed, Walker decided to skip the stop at his apartment. He’d just showered and changed into a fresh t-shirt and jeans, and he had a go-bag in his trunk with weapons and other necessities. 

“I need a little more info, Ben. Lucas basically just told me I’m saving some shifter female that you found…” he trailed off, not knowing the details.

“I found her for sale on the Silk Road,” Ben said.

“You’re going to give me more than that.”

“I found several message board posts that mention her, and then tracked the whispers to the sale source. A black market site on the deep web, somewhere you have to access through serious back channels. The story seems to be that a couple of rednecks trapped her in her wolf form, and they were trying to sell her to an animal collector. She must have shifted at some point, because they figured out what she is and now she’s up for sale as something a lot worse than an exotic pet.”

Walker was quiet for a moment, absorbing it all. His wolf stirred, and anger threatened to rise again, but he shut it down. Emotions weren’t going to help anybody right now.

“I need some satellite recon, and I won’t be able to pull it with my current resources,” Walker finally replied.

Ben let out a breath, and Walker frowned. Had the other male really thought he would refuse to help? Nevermind the fact that he’d repeatedly told Lucas that he wouldn’t do a rescue operation for some shifter dumb enough to get herself trapped by humans. Walker might have a big mouth, but he wasn’t entirely without compassion. Usually.

“The site is an old dog-fighting ring. She must have come at them hard a few times, and they realized they needed a serious cage. I’ve pulled some images and heat signature patterns from the property. It looks like we’ve got at least five men in the building where they’re holding the auction. In less than five hours, bidders will start to arrive and there will be at least eight more people. Probably at least fifteen men. Not a lot of weaponry coming and going, from what I can tell,” Ben said. His tone was distracted, as if he were reviewing the images as they spoke.

“How long is the trip out?” 

“Three and a half hours, maybe a little less.”

“Cutting it pretty close. I’ll be in the air in fifteen minutes. Can you have a car waiting? Weapons too, if possible.”

“Not a problem.”

“All right. I’ll hit you when I land,” Walker said. 

True to his word, Walker lifted off in the helicopter in just over ten minutes. He closed his eyes, slipping into a restful state too light to be described as sleep. It allowed him to contemplate his plan and recharge his post-gym brain, the familiar sound of whirring chopper blades relaxing him for the flight.