What did I just do? I want to keep him. But I can’t. Willa’s mind raced, her heart pounding. Making love to Hunter wasn’t the plan. She should have been far away from Jackson Hole by now. But the Alpha had a way of putting her at ease. He filled her with warmth, his wolf driving her wild.
She’d rarely shifted in front of other wolves. But tonight, she’d deliberately revealed her beast to the Alpha. Immediately sensing his presence, she’d patiently waited. Demonstrating both her strength and her vulnerability, she allowed him onto the bed. When he’d shifted into his magnificent wolf, Willa thought her heart would burst. Lethal and loving, Hunter exemplified Alpha to the extreme. His power nearly matched hers, and her wolf told her he belonged to her.
As his teeth brushed over her shoulder, every cell in her body had gone into alert. Mine. She’d said it and heard his voice. Torn between screaming at him to stop or urging him to do it, she’d lost herself in her climax, feeling only him, ignoring the call to mate.
Alone for so many years, she’d thought it nearly impossible. The stories traced back to the genesis wolf pack. The Goddess generated the species, a small group of humans giving birth to first wolves. Their coveted blood was sought after a wolf was sold to Hell. The Goddess had ended the royal line with the Hellfire in which it was born. As a final member of the last royal generation, Willa would never mate or breed, living a life of solitude and service.
Willa snuggled into Hunter’s embrace, reveling in the warmth of his body. She brought his fingertips to her lips and kissed them. Her wolf howled in celebration. For the first time in her life, she was no longer alone.
The dominant Alpha had shown her trust, mastering her body. Making love to her in a way no man had ever done, Hunter had broken through her barrier. While she hadn’t divulged all her secrets, she’d softened and shared more than she’d thought possible.
Willa shoved doubts and fears to the back of her mind. Tomorrow, she’d return to her senses, she’d go back to the jungle and destroy the formula. But for the next few hours, she’d steal time within Hunter’s arms. My Alpha.
The warmth of the sun on her face woke her long before she heard the voices. Dreams of her Alpha chasing her through fresh fallen snow danced in her mind. Safe within her fantasy, Willa fought opening her eyes. Tightening the sheet into her fist, she curled it against her chest and rolled to her side. Her Alpha’s scent lingered on the fabric and she smiled.
Shouting male voices jolted her from her dream, and she shot upward.
Although tempted to leap from the bed, she stilled, listening intently. Her eyes drifted to the empty space next to her. Hunter had left her without saying a word. Doubt crept into her thoughts, her stomach tightening. Did he just want to fuck me? Did I imagine the call of my wolf for his? Shit.
Reality set in and her lips drew into a tight line, her heart sinking. Why would an Alpha mate with a rogue? He said himself they were trouble. He had no reason to trust her.
She was a liability to him and his pack. Once he found out about her lineage, he’d never want her.
The shouting grew louder, and her heart caught in her chest. Oh Goddess. It can’t be him. While they hadn’t spoken in years, she’d never forget the sound of his voice. Irmão. What is he doing here? Panic raced through her veins as she sprang from the bed and reached for a robe that was draped over its frame. Willa stabbed her arms through the sleeves and quietly padded across the floor. She wrapped her fingers around the door’s brass handle, pushed it open, cringing as its hinges creaked loudly. As she stepped into the hallway, she heard a door slam, the voices becoming distant. With stealthy agility, she ran down the staircase.
She peeked around the corner but saw no one. Catching a flash of the Alpha through a window, she ran to the sliding glass door and peered outside. Two males struggled to break free as Hunters’ men restrained them. Irmão. What is he doing here? Without thought to her own safety, she slid open the door, and bounded outside.
“Tie them up,” the Alpha growled.
“Kiss the ground, asshole.” A large muscled male, who she recognized as Remus, grunted, shoving the bound male to his knees.
“Stop,” Willa cried. She should have been calm. Played it cool. But as her feet carried her to him, her heart raced.
“Willamina?” he asked, blood dripping from his lip.
“Irmão,” she cried. Tears spilled down her face. It had been years since she’d seen him in person.
“What are you doing?” Hunter rushed toward Willa. He reached for her and attempted to lift her onto her feet, but she batted him off, caressing her palm over the cheek of the rogue wolf. “What are you doing? This man killed a wolf tonight.”
“No, no…” she repeated. Willa had known him her entire life. “If he hurt anyone, it would be for good reason.”
Her gaze drifted to the other man who leered at her.
“I see the bitch got her some Alpha dick. Hope you enjoyed it because you’re goin’ back to Hell soon,” he spat at her.
“Fuck you,” Willa screamed. With her heart pounding, she jumped to her feet and swung her fist at him, landing it square on his jaw. Blood sprayed in the air, his head thrashing to the side. As she went to punch him a second time, firm hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her away.
“We need to question him first, Willa,” the Alpha told her.
“No, he’s mine. None of the rest of you will touch him.”
“They don’t know about you, Princess.” A diabolical, bloodstained grin flashed across the rogue’s face.
“I’m going to kill you,” Willa threatened as she attempted to break free. “Let me go this instant. I have every right to kill him.”
“Nah, bitch. None of youse is going to have the pleasure. I’m goin’ to Hell and none of you gonna stop me.”
“You’re going to die,” Willa screamed, lunging toward him. But she was no match for the Alpha as he tightened his grip.
The wolf broke free of the others, shifting before they had a chance to grab him. Hunter immediately released Willa and transformed, his dominant black wolf snatching the enemy by its neck.
Viktor flashed behind her, instantly restraining her from going after the rogue. “No!!!”
Without hesitation, the Alpha clamped his jaw upon the wolf’s neck and violently shook it, tearing away a chunk of its flesh. Blood sprayed into the air as he thrashed its dead body from side to side.
The Alpha spat the corpse from his mouth and circled around to face the pack of men who had gathered. He gave a victorious howl into the crisp morning air, a warning to any rogues that their death would come next.
Willa’s heart pounded in her chest, both grateful he’d killed her attacker but angry he’d deprived her of justice, wanting to kill him herself. The sight of his spectacular strength, the dead wolf at his feet, called to her beast. Alpha. The word resonated through her as if he’d spoken it out loud.
Her focus shifted to the man on his knees. She wrenched away from Viktor and fell to the ground at his side.
“Julian.”
“Willamina. We’ve got to get out of here. What are you doing here with this pack?”
“She’s mine.” The Alpha transformed, towering over them.
The dominant tone of his voice sent shivers through Willa, but she concealed her reaction. “Let him go. I know this wolf. He’s not capable of whatever you are accusing him of doing.”
“I’m plenty capable,” Julian challenged. “I restrained this asshole who just had his throat rearranged. I was on my way to bring him to the Alpha when meat head over here,” he glanced at Remus, “and his goons decided to attack me. What are you doing with this guy, anyway?”
“Julian. Give me a minute.” Willa lifted her gaze to meet Hunter’s hard stare. “Trust me. Hunter. Alpha.” She lowered her eyes. “I swear to you on my life. I know him. He’s a good man. Please release him. I need to talk to him now.” She turned her head and glared at Remus. “Alone.”
“What are you doing here? Oh Goddess…look at your face.” Willa reached for Julian, gently touching the red welt on his lip.
“It’s nothing. I’ll shift and I’ll be fine.” He winced and batted her fingers away.
“But you’re hurt.”
Julian sniffed and went still, his eyes trained on hers. “You’re different.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Willa crossed her arms. She turned toward the window and walked away, her thoughts drawn to Hunter.
Although she’d convinced him to release Julian, he refused to let him leave Jackson Hole. She hadn’t divulged the details of their relationship but simply told Hunter they were close, and that Julian would never hurt her, insisting she needed time to speak with him privately.
“I know that look. You’re in trouble. You can’t hide from me, Irmã.” Julian’s voice broke her contemplation.
Memories flooded back as he spoke their native tongue. “Irmão. It’s been too long, but with good reason.”
“What have you been up to, Willa? You haven’t texted in over a month. What are you doing in the States?”
“It doesn’t matter, Julian. What matters is that you’re here. Those rogues. They could’ve killed you.” Or he could kill the Alpha. His powers had always been lethal. If pushed, he’d lose control.
“They’d never be able to kill me, and you know it. What’s with the Alpha? How well do you know him?” Julian shoved off the bed and leaned on the dresser, inspecting the swelling on his face. “I’m gonna have to shift.”
“I met him a few days ago.”
“Moving quickly, aren’t you?”
“Whatever you thought you saw, you’re mistaken. You need to leave here.” She concealed her expression, concerned he’d suspect the Alpha was her mate.
“Your scent…”
“I’ve been to Hell. The Alpha rescued me and was kind enough to let me stay here a few days. I’ll be on my way soon, as should you.” The lie rolled off her tongue easy enough. Confident with her half-truth of a declaration, deflecting talk of Hunter, she turned to face him. “He doesn’t like rogues. Just tell him what he wants to know and I’m sure he’ll let you go.”
“Whoa, hold up. Willa. Why didn’t you contact me?” Julian strode over to her within seconds and took her hand. “I was up in Idaho when I heard about the explosion. Something about it didn’t sit right with me so I thought I’d check things out. I found that rogue just over the border. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you didn’t contact me.”
“We agreed not to contact each other often. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I didn’t have my phone and…” The air deflated from her lungs and she debated how much to tell him. “You know I haven’t been to the States in years. My work in Guatemala…I’ve been busy. I’m helping humans. Staying well hidden. Or at least I thought so.” Her lips drew into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Something happened. And before you say anything…I’m going to fix it.”
“Who put you in Hell, Willa?” he asked, his voice stone cold.
“I don’t have names. All I know is that they’re rogue. That guy today. He was one of them. But there were at least five, maybe six. They took me by surprise. But I swear before that it’d been safe. Quiet. No one was ever looking for me and if they were, I always knew hours before they ever showed their faces. The villagers often knew about strangers before I did.”
“You let humans protect you?” he asked with a smug air.
“Of course not, but I absolutely used them as a check as to who was in town. Besides, the jungle is a big place and if evil wants to visit, they can always orb in. I live in a pretty remote place. Aside from drug and human traffickers, I haven’t had to kill too many people. Just the bad ones.” Not sorry. “It’s been decades since I’ve detected any kind of real danger. The paranormal kind. Look, I don’t know how the hell these guys got past the villagers. There were no signs.”
“What did you do?”
“What do you mean, what did I do? I fought them of course. But they nabbed me with silver. I couldn’t get free. My wolf, she couldn’t fight them. The next thing I know I’m in Hell. I don’t remember much of it.” Vampires. Demons. Teeth ripping into her flesh, her skin flayed open. She shivered at the nightmarish thoughts, closing her eyes briefly and then reopening them, forcing her rapidly increasing pulse to slow down. “Hell doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Hunter saved me.”
“I’m not talking about that. What did you do? Something must have attracted them. Please tell me you didn’t…”
“I experimented with my blood.” Willa bit her lip, anticipating his wrath.
“Now why would you do that? You know full well that demons would like nothing better than to use you up. The wolves were just looking for a payout.”
“I’d discovered this plant that accelerates the regeneration of cells. I’d been experimenting just to see if I could duplicate the characteristics of my blood without drawing new samples. I used a drop of my blood. I extracted and manipulated it. I’d refined the technique, adding it to a serum I’d developed from the plant.”
Julian plowed his fingers through his hair, promptly scrubbing the scruff of his jaw. “This is not good.”
“There was this child.” She lifted her gaze to meet his; anger flared in his eyes. “Don’t judge me, Julian. There was a little girl. I couldn’t let her die. I attempted every human technique possible. The only other way someone with her injury could have survived is if maybe a vampire had been present…which there wasn’t. I’m sorry but it was the only way. You don’t know what it’s like with the humans.”
“You saved her?” His cold expression softened.
“Yes, it worked, but somehow the rogues found out about me. Or demons. You know how they are.”
“I can’t believe you did this. You’re going to be more exposed now. You’ll have to go into hiding again. Preferably somewhere off this continent.”
“No. I can’t go. Not yet.” Hunter. “I have to destroy the formula. I have to go back to the village. And then maybe I’ll go to New Orleans where I can blend in. I’m not leaving the States until I find every last wolf who did this to me and kill them. I’m going to make a statement to anyone else who thinks they’re coming at me. I’m not running anymore.”
“Fine.” He blew out a resigned breath. “But you’re not going without me.”
Willa gave a sad smile, her heart tightening at his words. Always protective, always her Julian. “You’ll be in danger.”
“We’ll be in danger,” he replied.
“I know I fucked up. But these humans…when you see a child…”
“You’ve always had a big heart.”
“Hell will put a bigger bounty on our heads if we are together.”
“It’s been over a hundred years. Let em’ come at me.”
“The Fae. Some of them won’t like that I walked away.”
“You didn’t walk in and out. No, it sounds like that’ll be on the Alpha’s head if any of them have a problem with it. Besides, now that you’ve been in Hell, they’re not going to just let you go anyway. I don’t know what demons got hold of you, but they’ll want a taste. You’re like retribution for our entire species.”
“We could make a deal with a Fae. They could bargain on my behalf,” she suggested.
“It’s like dealing with the devil. No. You’ll owe them forever. We need an ally. Someone who has the ability to wield dark magick but hasn’t quite gone all bad.”
“How about a vampire?”
“We’d need an ancient, but I don’t know if we should do that. They can be just as dangerous as demons.”
“Hunter rescued someone in Hell. He’s here. He actually was there…outside with us just now.” Viktor. Willa inwardly cringed, immediately regretting her suggestion.
“What did you just say?” His eyes widened at her statement.
“It’s why Hunter went to Hell. He was there for Viktor.” Who drank my blood? Better to leave out that tidbit of information. “He’s friends with him.”
“I don’t like the idea of it. They can be dangerous.” The corners of his lips drew upward into a devious smile. “But I do know a powerful witch who owes me a favor. She can help us give something of value to the demon, something better than you. The only reason Hell wants us is because the Fae is pissed about something our ancestors did a thousand years ago. If we can appease them, we’ll be free to live as we want.”
“I’m not sure I would live any different.” Willa reflected on her solo travels, her kindness toward humans. “This world needs our help.”
“We are all born as we are. Humans must walk their own path. But if we do this…go to this witch, we can at least have a choice again.”
“I’ve got to go to Guatemala first. I need to erase any trace of what I’ve done with my blood. The plant alone, though…the research must continue. I have to make sure it falls into the right hands.”
“Where’s your research?”
“In the jungle.”
“What about these rogues? Do you remember anything else? Something they may have said?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t know. The only person who knew about it in the village was Yoselin and she’s dead. But I know full well that a miraculous recovery would stir people to talk. The only other person who knew about the plant is a colleague of mine in New Orleans, but it wouldn’t make sense that she told anyone. Scientists make plant and animal discoveries all the time where there is potential to cure disease. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s nothing unusual. Nothing that would scream paranormal to a human. It’s not like we talked often. Obviously, I don’t have my phone here, so I haven’t been able to try to contact her. I’ve been in Hell for a month. I could ask Hunter if I can use his computer and log in to my email. Even if she was the one who outed me, it’s likely she’s dead. It’s not like the wolves or demons are going to leave her alone.”
“We’ll worry about her later. I agree. First, we’ve got to get rid of any evidence you still have that you used your blood. So, if it’s written down somewhere…”
“It is. You have to understand. I was doing research. I wasn’t stupid enough to leave the papers in my house though. I have them hidden.” Willa turned to him, knowing he wouldn’t accept the Alpha in her life. “I’ve promised he could go with me.”
“What are you thinking? If you’ve got some idea about you and the Alpha, you know we can’t mate,” Julian stated with no emotion in his voice.
Willa noted the sadness flickering in his eyes. He quickly recovered, the hint of his pain disappearing as if it had never existed. She knew all too well the familiar sense of loss. She’d long ago accepted her fate, but her entire world had shifted last night within the Alpha’s arms.
“Our lives have been fulfilling, yes? Whatever we have done has been our destiny.” She deliberately withheld sharing her suspicions about the Alpha. Mate.
“It’s been too long, Willa. I’ve missed you.”
Julian wrapped his arms around her, and she fell into his embrace. Home. Tears rolled from her eyes, the comfort of family. He’d been everything growing up, and her separation from Julian had broken her heart.
“Goddess, I can’t let you go again even if I wanted to. This has to end. We’ll find a way,” he assured her.
“No more running for us. No more hiding.”
Julian was back in her life under the most unexpected circumstances. Willa reined in her emotions, swallowing a gentle sob. As she clung to him, she never heard the creak of the door.
“What in the hell? Step away from the female or you die,” she heard Hunter growl. Waves of his anger rolled through her as if they were her own. She startled, breaking free of the embrace. She threw herself in front of Julian, shielding him from the feral Alpha.
“He’s not hurting me,” she told Hunter, defiantly glaring at him.
“I don’t care what he’s doing. No male should be touching my…”
Willa’s stomach flipped as his words lingered. No, don’t say it , she inwardly willed. Her pulse raced. This is not happening….not in front of Julian.
“Your what?” Julian asked, his voice equally terse. “You just met her. She’s nothing to you.”
“She’s my responsibility. Whoever you are…”
“A friend,” she lied. “He’s a friend.”
Hunter’s heated stare painted over both of them, his face tensed in anger. “I don’t care what he is. You’re mine and I want him away from you.” He cocked his head, studying Julian. “Lying doesn’t become you, doctor. This wolf is more than a friend. Who he is I don’t know yet, but I don’t care. He’s not staying here. I should have never made the mistake of leaving you alone with him.”
“I told you I know him. That’s reason enough. Besides, you can’t tell me what to do.” Willa released a pensive sigh. “Look, I appreciate you saving me, but you can’t start telling me who I can and can’t see.”
“I don’t have time to play games. Over a dozen vampires were killed and we’ve got significant human casualties. The one wolf who knows where his buddies are is dead by my own hands. And now this. You in his arms. I won’t have it.”
“What is wrong with you? Just because we had sex, that doesn’t give you the right to…” Her voice trailed to silence, inwardly cringing at her choice of words.
“Did you just say you had sex with this asshole?” Julian asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
“I…it was just. Julian, don’t…” Willa stammered.
“You fucking touched her!” Julian lunged for the Alpha.
Willa’s heart pounded as he charged forward, ramming Hunter against a wall. The Alpha shoved him away, flipping him around and strangling an arm around his neck.
“No,” she screamed. “Don’t hurt him. Please.”
“You wanna challenge me? Do you? I’ve already killed one wolf today.” Hunter tightened his hold as the wolf flailed, attempting to break free.
Willa rushed to the Alpha from behind. She gripped his arms, but they wouldn’t budge. “Please. I’m begging you to stop. Don’t do this,” she pleaded. If Julian released his power, he could kill Hunter.
“Who is he to you? Your friend? Your lover?” The Alpha tightened his hold.
“He’s not my…”
“Your what?”
“Julian.” Willa sucked back a sob, releasing her grip. As she shoved away, her reddened eyes locked on Hunter’s. “You can’t kill him.” He could kill you first.
The Alpha refused to release him as Julian continued to struggle. “Why is this wolf so important? If he’s not your lover…”
“He’s my brother,” she confessed.
“What did you just say?” The Alpha loosened his grip, and Julian sucked an audible breath of air.
“My brother,” Willa repeated, her voice shaking. “Irmão.”
Hunter released Julian, shoving him toward the wall. “What is your name, wolf?”
“Louvière” The wolf coughed, regaining his composure. “Julian Louvière.”
“No.” Hunter plowed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “This can’t be. I would’ve known.”
“I’m her brother. Now don’t you fucking touch her again or I’ll be the one killing you. You have no idea what I can…”
“Julian. No.” Willa shot her brother a glare. She couldn’t risk telling Hunter everything. Not yet. Not this way.
“You were in Acadian Wolves? I would have known if you were Jake’s brother.”
“Guess you aren’t as smart as you think you are.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him anyway,” Hunter told Willa, his attention focused back to Julian. “How can you be both her brother and Jake’s? None of this makes any sense. Jake’s never even mentioned Willa.”
“I’m not his blood brother. His parents weren’t part of the pack when I met his Mama and Pa and joined up with their family. We’re brothers no matter how we came together. I eventually had to leave the pack, went rogue. I was only in New Orleans for a few years. Flew under the radar. But Marcel knew.”
“You’re telling me your name’s not really Louvière?”
“I didn’t say that.” Julian lay back onto the mattress and winced. “Jesus Christ, I need to shift. Was it necessary to choke me? You’re a Neanderthal.”
“You came at me, asshole. And for the record, I’m only letting you live because of Willa.”
“Fuck off. You’re the one who hooked up with my sister. I should have killed you. You’ve got no idea who you’re messing with, pal.”
“Louvière isn’t Willa’s last name.”
“What?” Julian groaned.
“Louvière is not her last name.”
“I said it was mine, not hers. It’s the name I adopted when I was taken in by Jake’s parents.”
“It’s true. We’re siblings,” Willa admitted, her body tense. It had been a lifetime since she and Julian had admitted their relationship.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Hunter insisted.
“It’s a long story but we were forced to separate. He went with Jake’s family. And I went…” She hesitated. “It doesn’t matter what our names are. What matters is that we are blood. He’s my brother.”
“Two rogues. Isn’t that rich?” Hunter glared at Julian. “Tell you what. I’m callin’ Jake. And if your story doesn’t sync with his, you’re done. I don’t care how many tears your so-called sister cries. Too many people have died, and you were found with one of the wolves involved.”
“Why would I lie about him being my brother?” Willa’s temper rose. She grew tired of the Alpha’s dominant nature. “And even if I did, there’s no proof he did anything wrong. He brought the wolf to you.”
“No need to defend me, sis. I got this.” Julian shot Hunter a wise smile. “I’m the one who found that rogue, not your wolves.”
“I’m sick of this shit. I can’t do this anymore.” Willa’s lips pursed tight, her arms crossed. “I appreciate you rescuing me, but this is where I draw the line. All three of us have secrets. Hunter, I literally just met you. Just because we…” Her cheeks heated as the memory of them making love flashed in her mind. She shut it down and doused the arousal, refocusing. “It was nothing.”
“You shagged my sister,” Julian spat out. “Fucking Alpha.”
“Shut up,” Hunter and Willa replied in unison.
“It’s irrelevant what happened between us,” she lied. “I have work to do. I have to fix what I did.”
“Irrelevant? Hmm…is that what you call what we did?” Hunter asked, ignoring the rest of her statement. “Yeah okay. Nice.”
“TMI people.” Julian held his palms up and shook his head. “Don’t want to know.”
As the Alpha strode toward her, Willa stood her ground. She tightened the tie on her robe, reminding herself she was naked beneath the fabric. His energy washed over her, and she resisted the urge to reach for him.
“This. Whatever’s going on between us…” Hunter locked his eyes onto hers. “was not irrelevant. You know it and I know it. You can try to go rogue. You can live alone in the middle of the rainforest. But this thing…us…it can’t be undone. It’s far from irrelevant. I suspect the opposite is true.”
“I…I…we shouldn’t discuss this. Not now.” Not in front of Julian. Not ever. If she spoke the words, it might confirm her suspicion about the Alpha.
“I need you to come with me. You can talk with your brother later. Until I check this out with Jake, I don’t want you here with this guy.”
“You can’t separate us.” Willa stepped backward, putting distance between them as her traitorous body tingled in arousal, her wolf craving him.
“You’re wrong, doctor. I’m Alpha. This is my house. My property. My wolves. I may not be able to keep him from trying to escape but under no circumstances am I going to risk your safety by letting you stay here.” He pinned her with a hard stare as her defiant eyes flashed back at him.
“Save that anger for whoever else put you in Hell. Not for me. Now come along, Willa,” he ordered.
Rage boiled in her gut. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her emotions. She shot a look at her brother, who smiled. Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “Is something funny?”
“Ah little sister, something brews between you and the Alpha. This is an unexpected turn of events. If I weren’t so happily flying solo, I’d almost be jealous I’m alone but last time I checked…” Julian paused, his gaze in thought. “No. Single works. Yeah, I’m good.”
“There’s nothing funny about this,” Willa snapped at her brother.
“Go with the Alpha. I’m not going anywhere. Jake will vouch for me.”
“Fine.” Willa took a large step around Hunter, ignoring him as she headed out the door.
“She’s going to be a tough one. Good luck there, Alpha,” Julian laughed.
“I don’t need luck. You should be worrying about yourself.”
Willa quickly exited the guest room, striding through the hallway, toward the staircase.
“You can’t outrun me,” he called after her.
“You don’t have any idea what I can do. I need to borrow your cell phone. Now. I’ll have money wired to a local bank, so I can get us out of here.”
“Us?” he questioned.
“Us.” Willa spun on her heels to face him, her heart pounding. “As in Julian and me. I don’t know what that little display was back there but I’m a grown woman. I’ve survived on my own without you or any other wolves. Especially not an Alpha .” She mimicked quote marks in the air with her fingers. She shook her head and pulled her long hair into a ponytail, twisting at it.
“You can’t just leave,” he told her.
“No. I actually can. You can either let me borrow your phone or I’ll shift and run as wolf to the closest human police station and claim I’ve been abducted. Or have amnesia. Any excuse. I need to go. You should trust me.”
“And why should I do that exactly? Because we had sex? Sorry sweetheart but it’s not my first time at the rodeo. That guy in there. He could be your brother or not. I must have lost the good sense I was born with to think we…”
“Don’t even say it. I know…” Sex? That’s all it was to him? “You probably do this all the time, but I don’t.”
“What’s going on between us. You and I both know what happened back there,” Hunter glanced to his bedroom and back to Willa. “But you’re not going anywhere. And neither is he. You can use my phone to make a few phone calls but it’s not safe for you to leave.”
“Julian and I can go.” Willa sucked a deep breath, attempting to remain calm. “What happened between us. It was regrettable.”
“Regrettable is it now? You go from screaming my name like I’m a God to calling what we did regrettable ? Wow, okay then.”
“There are things about Julian and me you don’t know. What I did with the serum must be addressed as soon as possible. I can’t wait until you straighten things out with the humans and vampires. I’m quite sure the wolves who captured me have moved on.” Because they know I’m going home. “I appreciate you saving me, but I’m not part of your pack. You can’t tell me what to do like you do your other wolves. Whatever happened with us…” Sadness danced in her eyes and she struggled to control her expression.
“Was regrettable,” Hunter gritted out. “Got ya.”
“I’m sorry.” Willa’s mind clouded with at least ten pithy replies yet all she could do was apologize. What the hell was happening? Her senseless attraction to the Alpha hindered her judgement.
“You need a phone? There’s one in my bedroom on the nightstand.” Hunter gestured down the hallway. “I suggest you get dressed, come down and get something to eat. Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned. You promised earlier that you wouldn’t run. We’ll go together. You’re right about one thing. I’m not your Alpha.”
Willa opened her mouth to interrupt but the words never came. Her chest tightened. My Alpha. That’s what she’d called him in bed.
“But right now, you are my responsibility. Look, phone’s over there. I’m headed downstairs to call Jake and meet with my beta and Viktor. I’d like you down there with us.” Hunter strode toward the staircase, stopped at the landing and turned to her. “If you won’t take an order, then do it as a favor. Stay away from Julian until I have a chance to check him out.”
“He is my brother.” Willa suspected he knew she was telling the truth, but his pride kept him from admitting it. “I want you to know that I don’t want to lie. Everyone has secrets, Hunter. We all do. But some secrets are the kind that can get you killed. What happened between us,” she bit her lip, her body tensed with frustration, “it meant something to me. It’s just that I’m not ready to talk about what’s going on. And just so you know, I’ve had good reason to keep my relationship with Julian a secret from others. He’s deadly, no doubt. But he’s no murderer and there’s no way he’d ever help wolves like that guy out there. And for as much as he was acting a twit with all his smirking, he’d never in a million years hurt me.”
“Get dressed. We’ll talk later. But know this, Alpha or no Alpha, you’re not going this alone.”