Odd sounds stirred Alyssa from slumber.
Confused and disoriented, she sat up in bed, rubbed her eyes, and tried to place the noise. What was that sound? Tools. Low male voices. The floor squeaked.
Frowning, Alyssa watched as Drew approached. She remembered falling asleep in his arms. But how long ago was that? Darkness filled her window, telling her the day was over. Had she slept all day? Had Drew been here the whole time?
Dragging the blanket up her body, Drew covered her bare breasts and whispered in her ear, “We’ve got company, babe.”
“What?” She ran a hand through her wild hair. She was still groggy with sleep and didn’t comprehend until a man rose near her door. His back had been to them, but he turned.
His gaze flicked first to her, then up to Drew. “All done here, Boss.”
Drew’s hands felt heavy on her shoulders as they held her steady when she would have slunk back down to the bed. “Thanks, Gregory.”
He glanced at her again. “It’s nice to meet you, you know, officially.” Confusion must have been evident on her face because he continued. “I was there last night.”
Panicked, she looked up at Drew.
“I’m bringing her to meet the pack tomorrow. I trust you’ll be silent until then?”
Gregory cracked a smile. “No worries, man.”
Drew gave the man a nod, and seconds later, he was gone, closing the door behind him.
“He fixed my door?”
“I asked him to. After all, I’m the one who broke it.”
“Yes. Yes, you did.” She frowned. She’d never reprimanded him for breaking into her home. Another thought occurred to her. She’d slept without the safety of a locked door. It wasn’t the sketchiest thing she’d done regarding her safety. Often, she spent nights sleeping in her car. As a woman, it was a scary thing to do, but as one that changed into a wolf, she always figured she was safe. “Introducing me to the pack? I’m assuming they’re the wolves that were there last night?”
“Yep. We have a lot to talk about before that, though. But first…” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers for a close-mouthed kiss that left her lips buzzing, her body primed, and her core wet. “Shower or food?”
Despite her ramped-up libido, her stomach grumbled at the prospect of being fed. “Food. Definitely, food.”
“Sounds good.” He stepped away from the bed and headed toward her little kitchenette. “I brought up your groceries, though there wasn’t much of substance there. Do you want me to order something?”
Pulling the blanket off the bed, she used it to cover herself as she searched for her clothing. “No, we can pick at whatever’s in there.”
When she picked up her shirt, Drew crossed the room and snatched it from her hands. “I’d rather you dine naked.”
She gestured to his jeans. “But you have clothes on.”
“Because Gregory was here. I can lose them if you’d rather.” His grin was wicked, and the scent of his arousal flooded her nostrils, making her body quiver. How was it possible that she still wanted him so badly?
If they both stayed naked, they’d never get to the food, and her stomach protested that thought. She snagged his T-shirt from the floor and pulled it over her head before tossing her arms wide. “How’s this?”
He eyed her with humor. “Fine.” He turned to the kitchen before tossing her shirt over his shoulder, “But no panties.”
Alyssa glanced at the item in question. Was she really going to sit her naked ass down and eat with him? But putting the wet undergarment on wasn’t that appealing, nor was hunting for a fresh pair in her luggage.
Drew pulled out a selection of fruit and vegetables from the fridge, whipped up a few peanut butter sandwiches, and then set it all beside a big tub of pasta salad. There wasn’t much to choose from, but Alyssa would worry about that later once she decided if she was staying in town.
When she crossed the room, Drew directed her to his lap and urged her to sit. Fully aware that she’d honored his request, her face flushed, but she sat regardless. Not waiting for the conversation or for him to eat first, Alyssa reached for her sandwich and wasted no time gobbling down the first half.
Drew ate at a slower rate, his free hand stroking her bare thigh.
She took a long drink of water before popping a strawberry into her mouth.
“So tell me what you know about who you are.” His statement made her choke on the last bite of her sandwich.
“That’ll take all of three seconds.” She shoved her plate away and, without looking at him, said, “I’m a werewolf.”
When no reply came, she lifted her gaze to his. The only time she’d confessed her paranormal ability, it had altered her life. She still feared telling anyone. But this was Drew. He was like her. And this time, she was sure of it.
But the grin on his face bespoke laughter and ratcheted up her nerves. She tried to remove herself from his lap. “You’re laughing at me!”
“No.” His grin didn’t change. She struggled harder, but his grip was immovable. “I’m sorry. I’m not. It’s just we don’t really call ourselves that.”
She paused in her struggles. “You don’t?”
He shook his head. “We shift into wolves. We don’t become some half-human, half-wolf beast that stalks around on two legs.” His hand ran down her tense back. “We call ourselves shifters or wolf shifters.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “I didn’t have anyone to teach me that.”
His eyes narrowed, and all traces of humor fled. “Elaborate. What do you mean you didn’t have anyone? You are a shifter. I know it was you last night. Are you a half-breed? Part human?”
Alyssa shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Who are your parents? Don’t you belong to a pack?” Seeming angry, he took a deep breath before calmly stating, “You better start at the beginning.”
“I grew up in foster care.”
Before she could get started with her story, he cut her off. “Human foster care?”
She nodded.
“How the fuck did you end up there?”
Defensively, she shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
His warm palm stroked down her back once more. “No, I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you; just confused by the situation. Humans don’t raise our kind. They don’t know our kind exists, so it’s problematic.”
“Oh, I know that much.” And she did, first-hand. He gestured for her to continue, and she wondered if he didn’t trust himself to say more. “I’m not sure where I came from, but I grew up being moved from house to house. Most of them were pretty good, some were all right, and others were pretty rough. Then, when I was about thirteen, it all changed. Well, I changed that is.”
“Yes, the first shift happens around puberty,” Drew confirmed.
“And it was more than unsettling for a kid expecting a period but ending up with raw meat cravings and a fur coat.”
“How did you deal with that?”
“I was living in a city, so it wasn’t easy. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me. The first time I shifted, I felt awful, nauseous, and dizzy. I stumbled out of the apartment. I think it was nearing midnight, and everyone else was asleep. Somehow, I made it down the elevator. I’d get extreme hot flashes followed by chills. I didn’t know what the hell was happening to me, and I’m glad I didn’t run into anyone on my way down because I think my eyes had changed already. Everything looked weird. If someone had seen me, they would have thought I was on drugs and gotten the police involved.”
Drew’s hand continued to stroke her, bringing her calm as she remembered one of her life's scariest, deadliest, and most disturbing moments.
“Once I got to the street, it was pretty empty, but everything seemed super loud. My hearing had changed, and I could smell so many more things. I was starving and very itchy; honestly, I don’t know how to describe it. So many things were happening at once. I just felt uncomfortable in my skin, and inside my skull, what started as a headache became sharp and obvious. It was my wolf howling, wanting out.”
“My first shift felt like that, but I knew what was happening. My parents had warned me, and when they saw the signs, they took me to a forest so I could change in the moonlight and hunt. But you were in a city. What happened? You would have had to feed on something. Shifting takes a lot of energy, especially when you’re not accustomed to it.”
She glanced down at her lap and confessed, “Rats. There were lots in the city.” She’d never had someone to guide her through what was happening to her body as he had. It sickened her to think of those first few months, but she’d done what she needed to in order to survive.
As embarrassed as she was by her past, she pushed herself to open up to Drew. “My first change happened behind a dumpster, and I caught one there. My wolf took over and followed scent after scent.” She remembered a hot dog vendor screaming and running away. She’d wanted to give chase as he abandoned his cart and took off down the street, but confusion and an abundance of new sensations kept her distracted. “I ended up on the wrong side of town, and for a teenage girl, that would have been dangerous, but as a wolf? Well, everyone ran off. I wandered into an area under the highway where the homeless people slept. One of them left their dog behind to flee.” Tears blurred her vision, and she rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand. “I almost killed it. It was just tied up there, whining and cowering. I had no control over my wolf. I didn’t understand, didn’t know how to control it.”
Drew’s hand rubbed her back. “It’s not your fault. Someone should have been there to help you.”
“I think part of me knew I needed to get control. Like there was a small part of me still there because I obviously remember it all. Luckily, the police showed up. I think the sirens knocked something loose in me, and I grappled with the animal for control. I remember snarling at them, intent on striking out, but I had gained control of my wolf by the time they opened fire.”
“They fired on you?”
“Animal control couldn’t get there fast enough. People were in danger. I’m so glad I didn’t hurt anyone or that poor dog.”
Calmly, his palm rubbed her back. “That’s not your fault. You should have never found yourself in that situation. Your first change should have been a time of celebration and tradition, not fear and confusion.”
Her shoulders shook. The terror on their faces haunted her. The pitiful noise the dog had made as it cowered against the cardboard box. Alyssa buried her face in Drew’s shoulder and let herself be comforted for the first time in her life. Sure, there had been reassuring pats on the back by teachers and guidance counselors and the occasional hug from a foster mom, but no one had held her when she’d cried, especially not in the months following her first shift.
Unabashedly, she clung to him. This man, who was a stranger less than seventy-two hours ago, had thoroughly owned her body and connected with her on a level she’d only dared to dream about.
When the tears subsided, and she’d settled, Drew asked, “What happened next?”
“I got away. I could outrun them and found places to hide in back alleys. Once I transformed back, I huddled by the dumpster near the apartment. I must have sat there crying for hours, but then I realized it was getting light out, and my clothing was mostly in tatters. I covered up as best I could and hurried into the house before the city really woke up.”
She took a breath. “I convinced my foster parents to let me stay home from school, that I was sick. I slept most of the day, but once I woke up, I researched. I needed to know what had happened to me and if it would happen again.”
“What did you find?”
Sighing, she said, “Not much. At least nothing helpful. A lot of myths and contradictory information. I wasn’t sure if I was going to change again. I know now that I can change at will, and if I go too long without changing, I get very uncomfortable. It’s its own type of release, you know? I need to do it.”
Drew nodded.
“But I also learned that the full moon sort of dictates a change, too. I’m forced through one each time the moon is at its height. Sneaking out once a month went unnoticed the first few times, but after the third month, they thought I had a drug problem."
“Shit.” He cursed quietly between them.
“Do you really want to hear all this?” Maybe she could avoid telling him the most embarrassing part.
His fingers brushed back her hair. “I want to know everything about you. I want to protect you and give you a proper home, the kind you’ve deserved all along. You belong by my side.”
“I’ve never had that before.” Tears welled in her eyes once again. Cupping his cheek, she lowered her lips to his. Despite how new this relationship was, she felt so comfortable with him. What started as a tender kiss quickly turned hungry. His hand settled around her skull, his fist grabbing a handful of her hair to direct her. She opened for him, allowing his tongue access to her mouth.
Groaning, she shifted on his lap. Her fingers brushed the scruff on his jaw, and her bare thighs straddled his legs.
When he tore his mouth away, they were both panting. She’d been moments away from rubbing against him, eager for another orgasm.
“You and your hot little body won’t distract me again.” He tugged on her hair for emphasis, coaxing a naughty little smile from her. She felt free and alive in a way she never had before.
Rolling her hips, she let her bare pussy collide with his hard shaft. “You sure about that?”
He growled, the sound deep and sexy. Alyssa wasn’t sure if it had come from the wolf or the man. She wanted to make love with him again, but as her wolf rustled beneath the surface, she knew she wanted to run with him too, to change into their beasts and let their instincts rule. What would it be like to hunt in a pair? To have someone to enjoy the outdoors with?
Drew brought her back. “Tell me what happened next.”
“The next place they sent me was out in the country. I loved it there. The foster parents were pretty relaxed, and it was much easier to come and go as I pleased. They were happy as long as I was there for dinner and my grades didn’t slip. After my first shift, I’d started failing a few classes in the city.”
“Understandably, with all the stress you were under.”
“Yeah, but they all thought it was drugs. The new foster parents, though, they gave me a chance, even with my history. They didn’t judge me. But there was a boy.”
Drew chuckled. “Isn’t there always? What happened?”
“He befriended me. We lived in the same house. He liked me, I think. He was the first boy to show any interest in me.”
“I doubt that,” Drew interrupted.
Alyssa smirked. “Well, first one I noticed, anyway. He was forward and friendly. I grew to trust him.” She hesitated. “I told him I could shift into a wolf.”
His hold tightened, and his gaze was direct. “You didn’t.”
Nodding, Alyssa explained. “He’d been so nice to me. Told me he understood exactly what I was going through. We’d kissed a few times. I so desperately wanted to have someone be like me. This was a couple of years after my first shift. I didn’t know any better and didn’t want to be alone anymore.”
“How did he react when you told him?”
She gave a weak smile. “He said he could shift, too.”
Drew’s brow furrowed. “Seriously?”
“That’s what he said.” She shrugged. “It was a lie. Surprise, surprise. I guess he thought I read one too many fantasy books or watched Twilight too many times. This is embarrassing, and I was so naïve.” His thumb stroked her cheek. Soft and prompting, his gaze urged her to continue. “I think he just wanted to get me alone in the woods, hoping we’d fool around. I’d told him I had to get naked to shift.”
Her tongue rubbed along the roof of her mouth as she thought about her past.
“I was getting pretty comfortable being naked out in the woods because I stripped down like it was nothing. He probably thought I was easy. He stripped too. When he reached for me, I told him no, that I would not sleep with him until after we’d shifted. I was excited to have someone to shift with. I’d never had sex before, but if he could shift, it seemed like fate.”
“Did you love him?”
“No. I think I was just excited to have someone like me around finally. Anyway, I shifted, and he, um, well, he freaked out. Like screaming, swearing, everything. Then he raced back to the house, totally naked.”
Drew’s lips twitched into a smile. “Serves him right for trying to prey on you.”
Alyssa wasn’t amused. “It was bad. When I got back to the house, it was utter chaos. They kept asking me what I’d done to him or given him. Everyone was back on the ‘she’s a druggie’ wagon. They were sure I’d got him doped up. He wouldn’t let me get near him. They were so worried and took him to the hospital. The next day, child services came to talk to me. They had taken the boy from the hospital to an institute. He was there for at least six weeks, maybe longer. I’m unsure because I didn’t stick around long after they insisted I go to rehab.”
“Really? Rehab?”
She nodded. “I didn’t know what they’d do there. I was sure someone else would discover my secret if I went. What would drugs and sedatives do to someone like me? What if I misspoke during therapy and revealed what I was?”
“Plus, you know, you weren’t on drugs,” Drew said, clearly offended on her behalf.
“Exactly.” This time, she smiled. It was nice to have someone on her side for a change. “So I ran away, and I’ve been on my own ever since.”
“How old were you?”
“Almost sixteen.”
“You’ve been on your own since you were sixteen?”
“Yep.” She elongated the word, popping the P.
“Tell me about that.”
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Not much to tell. I probably had it better than a lot of runaways.”
“How so?”
“I wasn’t going to starve, not when I could hunt. And if I had to sleep in a sketchy place, I could do so knowing that if anyone tried to mess with me, I was a werewolf, er, could shift into a wolf.”
His eyes narrowed. “What types of sketchy places did you sleep in?”
“I’d sleep in forests sometimes, abandoned buildings, that sort of thing. Once I got older and had a car, I’d sleep in there a lot.”
“I don’t like that. At all.”
Alyssa laughed. “No one was going to mess with me. At least, not more than once.”
His hand slipped beneath her hair, cupping her nape, gripping firmly. His tone left no room for debate. “You no longer take risks like that. You belong to me, and I intend to keep you safe. I don’t want to hear about you putting your life in danger ever again.”
A wave of submission held her immobile. His gaze was direct, and for a moment, it was hard to do anything aside from staring into his eyes.
When he released her, she gasped. “What was that?”
“You belong to me now.”
“You’ve said that a few times, and you better believe I’ll be circling back around to it.” She waved her finger in the air. “But what was that? It was like you had some kind of power over me.”
A day ago, she’d feared this man and his ability to end her life. In her blind desire for companionship, had she overlooked the real reason to fear him? Could he take away her freedom? Was her future at risk?
“I’m an alpha.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay.” She’d heard the term before and had a basic understanding of it, but so much of what she’d read had been incorrect. “You’re the first wolf shifter I’ve met. What does that mean?”
“I can be…” He seemed to search for the right word. “Persuasive. I lead a pack of wolf shifters here in Mount Woodridge. My word is law. The pack follows my orders.”
“What does that mean for us? You say I belong to you, that we’re fated to mate. How does your role as alpha come in?”
“You would be beside me. As I lead the pack, you would become my counterpart, our female alpha. I may or may not come to you with decisions I face. You would become my support system. I’d lead the pack, but you’d become its heartbeat. You’ll grow to love the pack like family. You would help me lead the family, so to speak. Though, I have the final say on all pack-related decisions.”
Cautiously, she asked. “What does that mean for my art?”
Drew’s touch softened as he ran his knuckles down her cheek. “I’m not interested in changing you. From what I’ve seen, you’re incredibly talented and more resilient than I’d ever imagined. I want to help you soar in whatever way you want. But the pack has to factor in. I’m responsible for them. If you want to paint, go for it. I’ll be right there beside you, and so will the pack.”
Alyssa was about to ask another question when Drew continued. “And I meant what I said before. I’m modern. My pack is modern. We believe in equality between the sexes. We believe in equal opportunities for all. However, there is a hierarchy, and the alpha is at the top. So, Alyssa,” he said, his thumb sliding over her lower lip. “What is it you want to do?”
“I want to paint. And I want a family and a home.” She didn’t want to move again. She liked Mount Woodridge and suspected it had much to do with Drew. From the moment she’d driven past the welcome sign, she’d felt like she belonged. “But mostly, I just want you.”