Alpha Wolf: Black Mesa Wolves #2 (Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance) (3 page)

Sara held Rafe's gaze with all the strength she could
summon. Not an easy feat considering her insides had started quivering with a
sensation she knew well: lust.

This was so ridiculous. All because she had recalled what
being with him had been like before. Her hormones heated up around him, she
couldn't think, and the intoxicating way he smelled—it was enough to drive a
wolf wild. Rafe smelled like the desert canyons, like crushed sage and the
whisper of juniper needles, like the leather jacket neatly piled on the table
beside him, like a big wolf whose very presence made Sara's legs twitch with
impatience to wind themselves around him.

Sara blinked at the fierce sexuality of her thoughts. The
intense moment broke slightly, although Rafe didn't release his gaze.

Ah, hell. What was she going to do with him? He was
attracted to her, too. Wolves in arousal could broadcast it pretty clearly.
Luckily for them, every wolf in the room seemed roused to anger or disbelief at
the moment, which effectively masked the virtual make-out session happening in
the back. Not that Rafe was even touching her. But the scent of his attraction
rippled over her in small waves, dancing along the edges of her own desire.

Sara took a deep breath. Holding the eye contact still, she
let a corner of her mouth quirk up, although she kept the serious focus in the
intensity of her gaze.

“Crazy in here,” she said. Her voice barely pierced above
the register of a murmur, but she knew it reached Rafe's ears just fine.

“Hmm,” he said. His expression seemed quiet, but the hunger
beneath it still reached out to her.

“What do you think about what he just said?” she asked.

Rafe paused a moment before answering. His look became a bit
more inscrutable. Sara could almost feel the mantle of alpha-to-be-ness drop
over him. Rafe took no airs about himself, but he knew perfectly well he would
one day be the alpha. That knowledge, he did take seriously.

“I think he's not being a given a chance to tell us exactly
what he has in mind.” He gestured toward the clamoring wolves.

Almost as if he'd heard his son, Channing Bardou said one
soft word that brought every wolf in the room to abrupt silence.

“Enough.”

Sara finally wrenched her gaze from Rafe's as a lifetime of
training and an ancient, instinctual demand forced her to pay complete
attention to her alpha. But her body still tingled slightly, very aware of the
tall, rangy man beside her.

“You will all hear what will happen.” The Alpha's words,
still deceptively mild, dropped crystal clear into an almost ringing silence.
Not a wolf moved a fraction, not a sound made itself known. Channing nodded his
appreciation of their obedience and went on.

“The rogue leader, Licas Rawlins—also called Luke—is outcast
from his pack. He wants to create and lead his own pack. He and I have
communicated enough that I am certain of his submission to the Black Mesa
Pack's control here. He will start his own pack.”

A pause laden with intent followed those explosive words.
Sara wondered if some of the others in the room had stopped breathing in order
to make sure they took in each word without doubt. She sure had. Her wolf lay
completely still, entirely focused on the Alpha, close to the front of Sara's
mind. Woman and wolf both leaned slightly forward.

“Luke is a self-outcast wolf from Canada. His bloodline is
impeccable, and he was groomed to be an alpha. Unfortunately, his pack's alpha
is sick of mind: old and still clinging to ancient ways, cruel, vindictive, and
harsh to upcoming alphas. He had hand-picked his successor from the others
because of this particular son's ability to lead other wolves, to listen, and
to follow the rules.”

Sara shifted just slightly on her feet, twitching a toe at a
mild cramp. The slightly musky scent of wolves drifted throughout the large
space, and she took comfort in the familiarity of the pack surrounding her as
she listened to the Alpha's groundbreaking words. Mostly, she took comfort in
Rafe's presence beside her, strong and solid and—sort of inclined toward her.
Almost possessively.

She liked it.

“The old alpha followed rules to the letter, but made no
allowances for modern times.” Channing's voice slipped through and around his
wolves like water: gentle, yet implacable. “Because of that, their pack had
fallen into a structure that disrespected the females, disempowered the young
males, and even started to affect birth rates.”

Soft hisses jumped like electric sparks from wolf to wolf.
Cubs were essential to pack survival. Sara faintly sensed hackles rising,
including her own.

The Alpha's voice ebbed and flowed over them, soothing while
informing, commanding while stating. His very slightly old-fashioned phrasing
always comforted Sara. She loved that her pack was led by a wolf who knew quite
a bit about the world. Enough to know when they needed some changes to keep in
step with modern times.

“Luke finally left because he finally could no longer take
the sickness of his pack's overall situation. But since he walked away from a
pack, he is considered rogue no matter what. You all know that means no new
pack can take him in without starting a war.” A corner of the Alpha's mouth
curved his face into a wry yet deadly serious expression.

“Most modern packs wouldn't do that, of course—they wouldn't
start a real war as the social consequences would be too harsh to
contemplate—but the old one in Canada wouldn't hesitate to shed blood.”

Sara swallowed at that. Actual war? This alpha in Canada was
some sort of monster, a throwback to the ancient times when wolves battled
literally to the death. Modern packs would never do that.

Would they?

“After several long conversations with Luke”—Sara felt Rafe
tense just slightly beside her. She wondered if he'd known how much his father
had been in contact with the rogue wolf—“I decided he could come in to start a
new peripheral pack of his own here in Colorado. There is a caveat, of course.
Any females and young wolves who choose to join must do so absolutely, utterly
willingly.”

The silence in the room went beyond deafening to
cymbal-clashing, earth-shaking proportions of quiet. The air itself seemed to
pulse in her ears. Sara and her wolf both strained to understand the full
implications. Had the Alpha really just said the rogue would be starting his
own pack as an offshoot of the Black Mesa Pack? And Black Mesa wolves could
join if they wanted to?

She snapped a quick sidelong look at Rafe. His entire body
seemed intent on the Alpha, although he still also leaned toward her, so
imperceptibly nobody else would notice. But she did. Rafe was an alpha, through
and through. His instinct to protect everyone in the pack would supersede all
other concerns. Always.

Sara's wolf whined with just a bit of impatience. She liked
Rafe's protectiveness. And her impatience seemed directed at—Sara?

Giving herself a sharp mental shake, Sara soothed her wolf
with emotions and images of a pack pile of wolves, sprawled over and under one
another, grooming, playing, and generally taking comfort in one another's
presence and simple being.

Another whine. Sara swore her wolf then did a very human eye
roll.

Interesting.

Rafe could barely feel the ground he stood upon, although every
single sense he had remained on high alert. Alert for what, exactly, he wasn't
sure. The room swirled with emotion, mostly agitation, trepidation, rumblings
of anger, and the simple yet pure shock of the unexpected. Whatever they'd
thought the meeting was about, apparently not a wolf in the room had imagined
their alpha would announce something like this.

“I know some of you may have concerns about this.” His
father's voice penetrated every corner of the room without even half trying. It
was a trait all alphas shared. “There will be a learning curve, yes. A break-in
period. It may be quite difficult at first for the new alpha of the new pack,
as well as for any wolf who chooses to join that pack. I know he's made a poor
impression on some of you.”

The Alpha's gaze landed squarely on Lily and her mate,
Kieran. Rafe saw his sister twitch a little bit under her father's scrutiny.
Her shoulders remained firmly thrown back, however. She was an excellent Pack
Guardian, and all her training informed her attitude at the moment. He knew
Lily had questioned the motives of the rogue when they'd had an unexpected
meeting at the Strater Hotel in town several weeks back. Luke had been
arrogant, demanding, and even brutally assessing of the Black Mesa wolves in a
way that would get anybody's back up. Lily had not been appreciative, nor had
Kieran. Regardless, they would follow Channing Bardou's orders. Always.

“Remember,” the Alpha continued, “how hard it could be to
function as a healthy wolf after so many years in an unhealthy pack.”

“If that's the case,” a voice rang out, “then he's hardly
qualified to lead a healthy pack, now, is he?”

Rafe's eyes tightened for a moment. Caleb always did like to
question authority. His youngest brother had a knack for finding trouble and
then asking it out to play a game of Russian roulette.

The Alpha, however, merely smiled his enigmatic smile.

“I believe he will come around in due time. To be perfectly
clear: I endorse this situation fully.”

Caleb lowered his head in respect. Rafe knew his brother,
though. Somewhat mutinous thoughts would be going on behind that usually
friendly expression. He'd have to have a little chat with Caleb later.

His father's voice still carried that light tone, but now a
somewhat sharper edge laced it. Every wolf in the room picked up on it.

“Any Pack Guardians who wish to leave, however, will have to
fill out complete paperwork and sit before a tribunal of their peers defending
their desire to do so. They will explain in detail how they plan to help, not hinder,
a new pack, adhere to the new alpha's leadership, and be prepared to support
him as their Alpha after the traditional one-year time period required by pack
law to demonstrate full competency in leading. I will be provisional leader
during that time.”

Rafe glanced over at Caleb again. His fiery-tempered brother
had a look on his face that boded nothing well for any rogue who so much as
wrinkled its nose in disrespect toward any Black Mesa wolf.

The Alpha let his gaze meander over the room, from wolf to
wolf. When his eyes met those of his mate's, a real smile pulled up his lips.
Rafe's heart swelled a bit at seeing that, as always. Otsana Bardou made an
excellent mate for the Alpha, was a kind and loving mother to her children even
now they were grown, and remained one of the most staunchly loyal and
hard-working members of the Pack as its medic and all around den mother. Rafe
respected her beyond measure. And her relationship with his father—

Rafe looked sideways at Sara. She was focused on the Alpha.

Sara would make a damn fine mate for the future alpha of a
pack. One day, he wanted her to exchange looks with him the way his parents did
with one another.

His wolf made a reassuring sound in his head. It was only a
matter of convincing the sleek little gray wolf that Rafe had her best
interests at heart. That, as well as the best parts of her body on his mind.
Which meant her entire soft, playful, beautiful little body.

A sudden prickling sensation on his skin warned him. With a
start, Rafe snapped his gaze forward again and realized his alpha was looking
right at him. Although outwardly he merely dropped his eyes for a moment in
apology and submission, inside Rafe winced a bit. He hated being caught out not
paying attention.

Next to him, Sara brushed against his arm as she shifted on
her feet. His wolf, still just beneath the surface, remained attentive to the
Alpha—yet also possessively alert to the beautiful wolf at his side.

Oddly enough, the Alpha smiled before moving his piercing
scrutiny on to other pack members.

Chapter
3

“Earth to Sara. Are you listening to me at all?”

Sara paused mid-step in her pacing and held the phone closer
to her ear. She and her best friend had been talking so long the phone was
getting hot. She thumbed it to speaker and set the phone on the cute little
coffee table in the middle of her small living room. Now she'd just have to
pace more quietly.

“Yes, of course I am,” she said. Perky voice on, very Sara.
“You're worried a new pack of rogues will disrupt
our
pack and cause all
sorts of trouble. See? Totally listening.”

On the other end of the line, Lily laughed. “You were
so
pacing, weren't you? Come on, give. What's up?”

Sara sighed. Lily was very perceptive when it came to their
friendship. She could read Sara better than anyone in the pack. It was a great
quality in a bestie. Maybe not so much when she still wasn't ready to reveal
the new tumult of feelings she had about Rafe. Especially when said bestie was
Rafe's older sister.

“Oh, it's just everything,” she said, still hoping her
slightly breezy, slightly concerned tone would lead Lily down the right path of
thought. “I mean, the whole thing is pretty intense. I do wonder what will
happen to the Pack.” That was the truth. “What if some of the strongest members
do decide to go to the rogue pack? That would be crazy, but it could happen.

“And my new Guardian schedule has taken some getting used
to,” she went on, “so I've been a little distracted.” There, she thought with
satisfaction. That was a nice touch. Also very true. Lily had to buy that.

Instead, Lily whooped, startling Sara enough that she
flinched. “I knew it! This has to do with Rafe. I just
knew
it.”

Sara spluttered through several half-begun sentences and
abruptly halted her pacing by the window. The day outside was ending with a
gorgeous sunset. Beams of light slanted through the tall pine trees in her back
yard, beckoning her out to play. She really should go for a run.