How did Zev Maccon find such a Pack to begin with? She didn’t quite remember the old Alpha, but what she knew of him made bile rise in the back of her throat. The fact that he’d basically sold his wife to these Wolves as punishment for falling in love with another man was criminal. Disgusting to say the least.
“Please find Claire. Bring her home.”
Those were the departing words of Matt Larentia, Cat Maccon’s natural father and the Wolf who still waited for his one true love’s return.
He’d been beaten almost to death and Claire’s life threatened should he talk of their affair by Zev himself. He’d only recently told Rafe and Cat the circumstances of her birth.
The Maccon siblings had not known of all of their father’s odious actions until Cat’s real father confessed to everything. His brief, yet passionate affair with Claire had resulted in the illegitimate birth of his daughter. And, thusly, the banishing of the woman he now believed was his fated mate.
Rafe and Cat had had no idea that the Maccon matriarch was not only still alive after all those years, but that she’d been forcibly removed from her children. Their mother had not abandoned them as they’d been led to believe.
Since then, most of the Pack, including Dib and Kurt, and more recently Aleeza, had been searching for Claire Maccon. And now, they were so close to finding her. The lily of the Black Sea.
“And naturally, the Black Sea Pack is claiming to be unaware of any she-Wolf forcibly made to live there in the past thirty years or so?”
“Of course we deny that, Mr. Lowell!” Mihail’s denial snapped Aleeza back to the present.
She was having a hard time focusing with the pungent scent of the incense in the air. Trusting the snakelike little man was out of the question. The more he denied the Pack’s involvement in something so obviously illegal, the more she felt he knew all about Claire Maccon.
Aleeza found it odd that the Black Sea Pack’s normal lawyer was running this meeting. What kind of Werewolf would allow a human to act with so much power in what was essentially Pack business?
Something was wrong in this Pack. She could sense it somehow, whether it was from her burgeoning Wolf or merely her intuition. She felt it down to her bones.
There was a wrongness about the place. A sickness from within. She leaned closer to Dib as she searched the dark room for whatever to as that had her skin crawling.
“I hear you Mihail, and yet all evidence stops here.”
“Nonsense, in fact tomorrow there shall be a tour and you will see how happy our home is-”
“Happy or not, there are hundreds of names on this list and yet I see only a dozen wolves here. Where are the rest?”
“They are working or with their families, Mr. Lowell. This is not an American Pack. We follow the old ways here-”
“What ways are those?”
The argument continued, the meeting room full of Wolves, and yet only the human spoke? That was not standard operating procedure in Pack hierarchy. Something was wrong here.
Where was the Kazbeck Wolf who’d told them about this small Georgian Pack? The one who’d provided evidence that a woman called Shavi Zgvis Shroshani, the Lily of the Black Sea, was being held here. He’d been an intricate part of the discourse that led to the negotiating of this meeting.
“Where is Gregor Davidovich? Of the Kazbeck Pack? He was supposed to meet us here,” Aleeza spoke aloud, realizing her error when all the heads in the room snapped to her.
Shit. Making herself the focus of so much testosterone was probably not a good move. These were not the Wolves she was used to. There was a darkness there. A wildness that scared her.
Dib moved her so that she was slightly behind him, forcing Uri Mihail’s eyes to meet his as the lawyer prepared to answer. She ignored the bared teeth and flexing of muscles by some of those present. Showing fear would only incite them further.
She could almost hear the men’s thoughts. Women do not speak unless spoken to... Grrr. This time she recognized the growl inside of her as her Wolf. It was a rush unlike any other. Rivaled maybe by the way she felt when Dib had his mouth on hers.
“Ah, yes, the Russians have been detained. But do not worry for them, we are willing to cooperate with your inquiries, now…” the small man spoke once more to Dib and Aleeza’s attention wandered. Safe in the knowledge that Dib would protect her.
She had no use for all this posturing, though she realized it was simply the way things were done. As Dib and Uri hashed out a quick schedule, Aleeza turned to the young Ana.
The Alpha was breathing heavily, eyes turned a deep glowing purple. His gray skin paled and she watched in horror as he reached out with lightning quick speed and grabbed his mate’s wrist.
The woman bit her lip as he twisted it painfully. She could not make out his words, but Aleeza watched her eyes widen in fear as the Alpha whispered harshly to her.
Aleeza could barely keep the growl from rising in her throat. All she knew was an innocent woman was being mistreated in front of her and she wasn’t going to just stand there.
The man was supposed to be the leader of the Pack, his duty to protect and offer care and yet he harmed the one who should mean the most to him? It made no sense. Grrr.
Anri Bagrat must have heard her growled objections. He turned mid-snarl and glared at Aleeza from across the room. She met his gaze a brief moment before remembering her place.
He was the Alpha. A bastard for sure, but still a dominant Werewolf and from the look in his eyes, a crazed one as well. Damn.
She was in no shape to take on an Alpha. Her inner Wolf was barely awake. Even in the weakened state he was clearly in, he’d have no problem ripping her to shreds. She knew enough about the inner workings of a Pack to realize she shouldn’t interfere, but she was hardly knowledgeable enough to contain her own feelings. And right then she was fucking mad as hell.
True, Aleeza had yet to come to grips with the fact that she would soon be experiencing her first Change. Something typical Werewolves did in their teens. She had no time to be afraid, she only hoped their little reconnaissance mission would be over before the full moon.
How many days away was it? She’d expected this trip to take a couple of days only. No more than two. But from the way things were going, it was bound to take longer. Shit. Ana’s whimper brought her gaze back to the couple.
The entire room tensed as the scent of blood tickled the air. Aleeza’s eyes met the thin woman’s tear-filled gaze. Blood pooled from the claw mark on her wrist, and Aleeza knew the woman’s mate was responsible for those marks.
Her Wolf surged forward in her mind’s eye, the vision of the beast still unclear, but she felt her emotions. Anger and fury that this male chose to pick on a weaker Wolf. One he was sworn to protect.
Aleeza’s outrage made her blind to her position, she tried to move forward, but Dib stilled her. His face a study in fury. What the heck? Then she took in the threatening position of all the males in the room.
The sick breed of Wolves seemed to zero in on her movements, just before Dib stopped her. Their threat clear. But Dib ignored them, focusing instead on Anri Bagrat. He raised his bright green eyes to the so-called Alpha’s, holding his gaze for a moment longer than was acceptable before he averted it. Then he addressed the man that Aleeza was quickly growing to hate.
“Your mate is injured, Alpha Bagrat, perhaps a healer should be called?”
“Bah. This is no injury, merely a love scratch. Right, Ana?” His snarl was met with a nod from his young wife.
The scent of fear, hers, turned the air sour. Aleeza’s nose wrinkled in response. Loathing for the Wolf filled her entire being. It is unnatural to fear your mate. Whether the words were hers or her Wolf’s she had yet to learn, but she believed them wholeheartedly.
“I hear you Americans mate without marriage, true? How preposterous! My mate here is a prime example of an obedient wife, by God and law! Perhaps it is why your country suffers with so many delinquents and criminals running amok. You are like savages, yes?” Anri Bagrat’s voice was loud and thick. His accent dripping with sarcasm.
Disgust, anger, and a sliver of fear crept up her spine. Aleeza touched Dib’s elbow. His heat and strength supporting her as she struggled with her conflicting emotions.
“We have no problems like that here, my American friends,” he sneered the word.
“Excuse me, Alpha, we were discussing allowing Mr. Lowell to see our Pack membership records,” the lawyer began, but Anri Bagrat continued towards them and waved a hand dismissively.
“Enough of this for now, Uri. I am in no mood.” He was a full head shorter than Dib, which pleased Aleeza that he’d have to look up to her mate, er, her boss.
She had to remember that he was not hers. Not for real anyway. A surge of pain attacked her heart and she almost gasped aloud. Stop. She had to stop the thoughts that were suddenly plaguing her.
Inhale, exhale. Focused on her breathing, she watched as the Alpha crept closer. His movements unnatural and jerky. Not at all like the smooth, graceful gait of the Wolves she knew.
“I shall take a closer look at this female here. This little one who has my guard in a snit. Ah, she is not bad, Ivan, a fine figure for birthing pups, good teeth,” he grabbed Aleeza by her chin. His claw tipped hands biting into her flesh as he pulled on her face.
Dib growled. He did not let go of her waist as Anri turned her head left, then right. His body was hard as steel, thick arm holding her with feigned nonchalance. His thumb twitched slightly, behind her back. It was that slight tell that told her how close he was to losing his shit.
Then, the Alpha took a step closer to her and leaned in to take a sniff. That was it. The move that broke one particularly agitated Wolf’s back.
“No more.” Dib snarled and wrenched Aleeza from the Alpha’s grasping fingers.
The move caused the man to scratch her skin, but she didn’t care, so long as his fingers no longer touched her. The scrape stung, but it was worth having his hands off her.
“That is enough. You will not touch her again.” Dib’s threat was growled, but clear. He pushed her behind him, protecting her with his big body.
Aleeza gasped, arms reaching round to hold him as he faced off with the smallish man. Liam tensed behind her. The young Wolf eyed the men who were suddenly surrounding them.
“You dare!” Anri bellowed.
Liam stepped out from behind them, already attempting to smooth things over. He waved his hands and bowed to the man in submission. She could tell it grated on his nerves, but this was a sensitive mission after all.
“Excuse us, Alpha Bagrat,” he cocked his head in deference to the Alpha. His body seemed to shrink in on itself and his hands raised in surrender as he spoke while trying to appear non-aggressive.
“You see, where we are from it is not permissible for a mated female to be handled by anyone other than her mate. Mr. Lowell here is very territorial of his mate, Alpha Bagrat, he meant no disrespect. You understand, I am sure,” he lowered his head in further submission to the bristling male.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” Aleeza nuzzled Dib’s back.
Her arms squeezed him. Hands on his chest, she stroked him, pressing her body against his back. Yes. Good. Reassure our mate. No. He wasn’t hers. Not for real. She had to keep telling herself that.
He was shaking with barely concealed rage. She supposed any boss would be protective of his employee. Any Pack member, protective of one of their own. But come on, aren’t we beyond that whole professional thing now?
As of an hour ago, the nature of their relationship had been turned completely upside down. That tended to happen when you played tonsil hockey with the guy who signed your checks.
OMG. I’m a slut. No. Well, not a true slut anyway. She’d only gone out with like five people in her whole life. Slept with one. That experience had not been anything to write home about.
She could practically hear her friends, Delia and Clara, giggling like idiots when she told them about it. Losing her virginity to the band leader senior year was as horrible as it sounded. But what did she expect when she dropped her polyester uniform and asked Bobby to be her first?
“You let Bobby Bubba Lips fuck you! Bwahahahahaha!” Delia squealed while Claire fell to the bed in a fit of giggles.
“What was it like? Did he at least eat you out with those huge lips of his first?”
“Come on, guys!” She wailed in embarrassment.
So fact was, the boy played the tuba and she expected him to know how to use those hot lips of his. But alas, she’d grossly overestimated his ability. Like a lot. Cringe.
Well, it had to happen somehow. It was brief, painful, and not worth doing again in her experience. She was far better off with her battery-operated toys than trying to repeat that failed experiment.
She supposed she’d been a little gun shy about sex. As it stood, she hadn’t dated a single person since she started working for the law firm. Okay, since she’d first seen him. Dib with his flaming red hair and bright green eyes made her girly parts wake up and take notice every single day from that point on.
Her little crush on her boss had seriously taken on a life of its own. Wrapping herself around his huge body like this, even if only to save her from being claimed by some Georgian cave-Wolf, was making her hormones do cartwheels.
Or was that her inner Wolf? The beast was practically drooling with happiness. Okay, so both halves of her were delighted by his growly attitude. It should have freaked her out, but honestly, she thought it was sexy as hell.
Almost, like he was kind of, actually jealous. No, he hadn’t declared love eternal or anything, but Wolves were possessive, protective, and a wee bit grumpy when it came to sharing.
Not that she’d ever allow that man, that so-called Alpha, Anri Bagrat, to touch her if she had a choice. She might not be a full Wolf yet, but her inner beast cringed at the thought of any male other than Dib laying a hand on her.
Disrespectful was a mild word for Bagrat’s actions. More like dishonorable and maybe even suicidal if the rumbling from Dib’s chest was anything to go by. He was truly pissed. But they were in this godforsaken place for a reason. To find Claire Maccon for their Alpha. She needed to stop this. Now.
Aleeza continued to nuzzle his back, to allow her hands to soothe him. Dib was the most responsible person, Wolf, she knew. She wouldn’t allow him to risk their assignment, or his position, because of her. Never.
Not that Rafe would necessarily punish him, but then again, Werewolf politics were complicated. At least the Macconwood Pack had a real Alpha to lead them. Not like this sorry excuse for a Werewolf.
The man sneered and grumbled, but Dib did not relent. It thrilled and worried her that Dib had acted that way. Feminism be damned. Seeing him all riled up on her behalf was hot AF. But he was exposing himself, putting himself at risk, for a sham.
“She has no mating mark on her neck! Am I being made a fool here? You dare lie to me?! My own Guard wishes to claim this she-Wolf and, as I see no proof of her being tied to anyone, I will allow him access-” the Alpha raged.
“Over my dead body!” Dib roared.
“Alpha,” Liam interrupted shoving Dib back, “There is no lie! Her mating mark is not for another’s eyes. If you understand my meaning, Alpha Bagrat.”
Raised eyebrows followed Liam’s graceless boast. Aleeza felt heat rising to her cheeks as the insinuation filtered through. And damn the impertinent pup, as if she couldn’t picture Dib marking her in any number of naughty places!
“Ha ha ha! Perhaps my American guests are not as prudish as your reputations suggest? Fine, you have till morning to present a new mating mark where it is visible for all.”
“What?” Aleeza yelped.
“You can’t do that. With all due respect, we are not members of your Pack,” argued Dib.
“You forget yourselves. I am the Alpha here. You are our guests and will adhere to our ways. Now, young lady, if you do not bear the mark of your mate by tomorrow, then I decree that at the culmination of the moon, you will consider Ivan’s claim as one of our honored guests. I expect you to adhere to our customs, Macconwood Wolves.”
“What of the reason we are here, Alpha? Will you give us access to your files?” Aleeza squeaked the question out from behind Dib, ignoring his frown as he turned to look at her.
“As for now, your request for information on our Pack members will be put on hold until this is cleared up. Let us go, you are dismissed.”