Sweetheart, let me in.
The bite on her shoulder began to throb.
All day, it hadn’t even tingled and she had convinced herself that it was healing and would soon go away, just like Trae. Now, she knew that wasn’t the case.
It was foolish to hide in her apartment like a scared child. She was a grown woman and if she didn’t want to have anything to do with a man—or werewolf—any longer, then she would boldly explain it to him.
With a determined stride, she reached the door and pulled it open.
Trae stood there on her porch, sexy and captivating. His brown hair was wild, untamed. The urge to press her body against his and run her fingers into the soft silk assailed her.
“Hello, beautiful.” Today he was dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, no snug leather, but still attractive.
Finding her voice, she said, “Trae. Most people call before they come by someone’s house.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.
His diverting hazel gaze travelled down the length of her body, taking in her tank top and faded denim skirt. The outfit decently covered her body, but the heat from Trae’s gaze made her feel as if more than her arms and legs were bare.
“Ahem.” She cleared her throat.
His lips tilted and one side lifted in a half-smile as his gaze met hers. “May I come in?”
“It’s late. I was about to go to bed.”
The smile claimed both sides of his mouth this time and his hazel eyes darkened to a forest green.
Damn it, why did I say that?
she thought.
Do you want me to answer that?
“No, I don’t.” She pointed a finger at his head. “Stop doing that. And stop looking at me like you want to eat me up.”
“I have already and would do it again with relish.” His words stroked her senses and turned her insides to mush and her legs to jelly.
“Trae…” she pleaded, her body begging. She groaned. She needed to get herself together and set him straight.
Before she could say anything, he brushed past her and entered her apartment. “We need to talk.”
The nerve.
Left with no other choice but to shut the door, Olivia turned and followed him into the living room. “Look, Trae. Friday night was a blast, but I don’t think a relationship between us would—”
“Sit,” he commanded.
Cocking her head to the side and lifting an eyebrow, she eyed him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
“Please, sit, Olivia.” This time there was less authority in his voice and it sounded more like a request.
Deciding it would be quicker to get him out of her apartment if she let him speak his piece, she took a seat on the couch and watched him as he stood on the other side of her coffee table.
“What is it that you believe is so important that we must talk?”
“There’s a lot that you need to know and understand about me,” Trae began.
“Such as?”
“My name is Trae Wulfene and I am the oldest son of my pack’s Alpha.” Trae started to pace across from her. “Being the son of the Alpha is a hard position, especially as an Alpha male myself.”
“What’s makes someone an Alpha? Is it like royalty? You’ll be a king because your father was king, kind of thing?” She was having difficulty grasping most of what he was trying to tell her. His verbiage, his way of life, was all new to her.
“Yes and no. An Alpha is just like what humans define it as—the leader of the pack. Not only that, but to us weres it is also the dominant male, the fiercest and strongest of all other males.”
“So, what makes this hard for you? Lots of men rule alongside their fathers.”
Stopping for a moment, he looked back at her. “There can only be one leader of a pack. Other Alpha males that are a part of our pack may be given a small jurisdiction, or a division of the company to manage, but they still answer to my father.”
“Is the same true for you?”
“No.” He started moving again. “As the Alpha son of the pack Alpha, everyone knows I will lead the pack after my father.”
“I’m not sure I understand.” She rested against the back of the couch.
“I do work at our company, but think of it this way; I’m in a long internship programme. There’s only one spot available for me, but someone else is in that seat—my father.”
“You don’t have to wait for him to die, do you?” She couldn’t imagine working side by side with a parent and knowing that her progress depended on their demise.
“Occasionally, that happens, but most Alphas retire at some point, when it is determined that the next in line is ready. They remain on in an advisory position.”
“Does your father have any plans to step down?”
Halting his movements, he said, “Yes. He’s currently in the process of turning everything over to me. We have an elder pack in Oklahoma that needs his assistance and experience.”
“You’re not leaving, are you?” Her heart seemed to sink in her chest at the thought, even though she tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. After tonight, Trae would be out of her life anyway.
Giving her a devilish smile, he said, “I’m not going anywhere.”
His words seemed loaded, as if he was talking about more than a move to another state.
“My dad is stepping down at the end of the week, the day after my induction ceremony.”
“Well, congratulations. I wish you much success, Trae.” She started to rise from the couch.
“That’s not all, sweet rabbit.”
He was starting up with the nickname again. Every time he said it, the word was laced with such sensual undertones it made her blood heat up and her panties wet.
Pushing aside her reaction, she plopped back down on the cushion and asked, “What does any of this have to do with me?”
“A were can’t be Alpha without a mate by his side to help him lead the pack and ensure its growth.”
A sense of foreboding filled the pit of her stomach and she began to tremble. “And…w—what…?” She swallowed. “What does this have to do with me?”
“I never expected to find you at The Club, and on the last night I’d planned to be there.” Piercing hazel eyes met hers, then slowly moved down her body and returned. “But there you were. I told you, darling rabbit—you’re my mate.”
Oh, God, he was serious
.
Yes, I am
. His eyes darkened, became more intense.
Licking her lips, she rested a shaky hand on the side of her face. “So, now what? You tell your wolfen family you found me? We date and see what happens…right?”
“Wrong.” Trae assumed a casual stance, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks as if he had all the time in the world to be there. “As my mate, you have to be there. At the induction. Our final bond is part of the ceremony.”
“Our bond?” Why did that seem ominous? Springing up from the couch, she said, “I hope that doesn’t mean I have to have sex with you in front of your furry clan.”
“Pack.” He chuckled, the sound deep and robust. “The last mark is not conducted during the sexual act. Its purpose is to signify to the other pack members we are one, and it triggers the altering of your genetic make-up.”
“Which means…?” She prayed he was not about to say what she thought he was going to say.
“You’ll shift and take your wolf form during the following full moon.”
Shit, he
had
said it.
It was her turn to pace. “Ohmygod, this can’t be happening.” Her movements were erratic. One second she was walking in front of the couch, then she was behind the couch, then before her living room window, then back walking the carpet by the couch. “You’re telling me I’m going to be a wolf, running on four legs and hunting the mountains for my meals?”
“Not quite. We go on several runs a month, but we only hunt for special occasions, like the induction ceremony. I’ll be required to make a kill. However, as you witnessed yesterday at breakfast, we are perfectly capable of eating regular food, at the table, with civilised manners.”
He was right, of course—he and Diego had ordered and eaten mammoth amounts of pancakes and sausages, while she and Kelsey had eaten normal portions.
Could she do this? Become a wolf and leave everything she’d ever known behind? Looking around her apartment, there wasn’t much significance to her life. There were no pictures of family or siblings littering the tables and walls. Her phone never rang, unless it was Kelsey, which wasn’t an issue now, with her best friend out of the country.
All her life, she’d been an outsider. A loner. There had never been any family reunions or Christmases gathered around a fireplace en masse. She’d always yearned to be a part of something, to be a part of a family unit. It was possible for her to finally have a chance at that. Her stomach ached, her chest felt tight and her eyes burned…to have someone care about her, consider her. Running her hand over her head, she allowed herself to imagine her life as more than half an existence. It was such a far-fetched vision she couldn’t. She couldn’t see what she’d never experienced. Something that had only been a fiction she’d seen on television shows and in films.
But, she wanted to believe. With everything in her, she wanted to believe it was possible for
her
.
So many questions began to run through her mind.
Would the change hurt?
Would I be sick afterwards?
Then reality invaded. She couldn’t do this. Her job—she’d worked hard for her position at the magazine.
“I can’t do this!”
“You have no choice.”
* * * *
That wasn’t entirely true. Trae knew he was exaggerating a bit. Since he had only marked Olivia once, she was still free to go. Even with the mate connection, if she never saw him again, the mind link would fade with time. It was only the bond of the second mark that would keep her from ever leaving him—that link was so strong that if either died, the other would soon follow.
She stopped striding along the carpet and gazed at him with her soft, brown eyes. “What do you mean, I have no choice?”
“We’re mated, beautiful rabbit. You’re mine and I will not let you go.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Can’t you just choose someone else?” Her arms waved around beside her. “There’s got to be some available Wulfene pack bitch that’s more than willing to mate with you.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her choice of words. “Even if there were, I cannot risk the vitality of my children.”
The skin between her eyebrows tightened, concern shadowing her gaze. “How would their strength be in jeopardy?”
Seeing the worry on her face at the mention of children struck him in the centre of his chest. It was possible that he had discovered the avenue to convince her to be with him. Children, a family? With all the questions and concerns that had been volleying in her mind, he knew she hadn’t been worried about parents or siblings. Just Kelsey, whom he knew by her thoughts was gone, and her job.
Allowing her to hear the sincerity in his words, he explained, “In my pack, every male and female is raised to understand the significance of finding their one true mate—the strength of the offspring. Often, a pair joins together through love or responsibility when they are not mates. Any children produced by them are healthy. However, they will never excel in strength, agility or wisdom, like the children of mated matches.”
Lowering her head, she stared at her hands as they rubbed involuntarily together while she remained silent.
“As the Alpha, Olivia, I must produce an heir who will be able to take my place when it is time. Say you’ll do this with me,” he implored.
“I like my job at the magazine. I’m finally doing what I love.” Her gaze rose. “I don’t want to leave my job.”
He could hear the apprehension in her voice and the anxiety filling her brown eyes pulled at his heart.
“You won’t have to. Everyone in my pack works with and around humans. Even headquarters is in Asheville, we just choose to live deeper in the Blue Ridge Mountains—more privacy.”
He could feel some of the panic leave her mind. She was beginning to analyse the possibilities. It was time to seize the opportunity, before other doubts began to creep up.
“Say you’ll be with me, my rabbit.” He held a hand out to her. He needed her to come to him willingly. “Join with me. I can’t make you take this next step. As much as I would like to, our laws and nature forbid it.” As much as it was a risk to confess this to her, he had to tell her the truth. “There’s no glamour or subterfuge, just me. Right here.” Taking a deep breath he let out the rest of the words. “If you come to me now, there will be no turning back, Olivia, ever. You must understand this.”
Holding her gaze with his own, he didn’t allow her a chance to break their connection.
Olivia only hesitated for a moment before she rounded the table and moved towards him.
When she finally stood before him and slipped her soft hand into his, he sighed with relief. There were two things his body desired—to bury himself deep inside her and to sink his teeth into her flesh.
“I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into, Trae, but I can’t deny that I want to be with you.”
“Don’t worry, I will guide you every step of the way.” Pulling her against him, he wrapped his arms around her sexy form. The breast-hugging tank-top and her short skirt had been driving him insane since she’d opened the door. It had taken everything in him to keep his mind focused on what he needed to explain to her, instead of pressing her up against the nearest wall and slipping his cock into her wet heat.
“That’s what I’m counting on.” For the first time that night, she smiled at him, making her face radiant, allowing him to see the sensual woman she had been that night at The Club.
His desire amped up, pushing him fast towards erotic madness. He needed to have sex with her, now, before his beast took over, disregarding the fact she was human, and took her hard, unleashing a fierce ardour that could hurt her.
“Kiss me,” he commanded, his voice rough and urgent.
Sliding her hands into his hair, she rose on her toes and pressed her breasts to his chest and her lips to his. Even though his cock was hard, his blood raging and his body vibrating with desire, he restrained himself and allowed Olivia to lead the kiss.