Destined For The Alpha: Six Heart-Racing Shifter Romances (Werewolf's Harem Book 7) (7 page)

Aurelia stood now, looking down at Ben’s still-sleeping form. Her heart wrenched a little, looking at him. He looked so young like this, guileless and vulnerable. Her thoughts wandered to Lucas, a man who never looked anything but combat-ready. Even in sleep, Lucas was a proud, golden lion to Ben’s clever, dark canine.

Shaking her head at herself, Aurelia turned and headed back to her room. She’d only just found Lucas, only just opened her heart to him. Lucas fulfilled her on so many levels, she would be insane to ask for more. And yet, Ben… 

Aurelia shut down that line of thinking. It was too early, and she was too tired to consider this insanity. She’d just been starved for affection and love for so long that anyone with half a brain and six pack abs could win her over in a matter of hours. 

She scolded herself as she entered her room. Shook a mental finger at herself as she climbed into her bed. Groaned aloud at her stupidity as she willed her exhausted self back to sleep.

None of her efforts made a difference, it seemed, because it wasn’t until she admitted it aloud that she was able to relax.

“I really like Ben,” she whispered to herself. “Really, really, really like him.”

Like a magical spell, once the words were released Aurelia drifted right off to sleep.

A
light knock
on her bedroom door startled Aurelia into wakefulness. She sat up, blinking.

“Aurelia?” came Ben’s voice, muffled by the door.

“Just a sec,” Aurelia grumbled, frowning. Glancing at the soft light filtering through her curtained windows, she guessed it was probably late afternoon by now. Staying up all night with Ben had totally thrown her off schedule.

Rolling out of her bed, she grabbed the oversized sleep shirt she’d abandoned earlier and pulled it over her head. No time for panties, much less pants.

Opening the door partway, she squinted out at Ben.

“What’s up?” she asked, grimacing as she pictured how messy she probably looked right now.

Ben’s eyes widened as he took in her skimpy attire, and his nostrils flared just before his eyes dropped straight to her bare thighs. Aurelia blushed; it’d been so long since she’d spent time around other wolves that she’d forgotten how fine their sense of smell could be. Ben could easily tell that she was totally bare.

Ben’s eyes snapped back up to her face, and he cleared his throat. He was being a total gentleman. 

“Ben?” she prompted, trying not to be grumpy with him for disturbing her sleep.

It helped that Ben’s dark curls were a complete mess, showing that he’d probably just rolled out of bed too. Coupled with his huge grin, he was too cute for Aurelia to be mad. 

“I, uh… I have a surprise for you. I thought you might be hungry,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders. His hesitancy melted a small, frigid corner of Aurelia’s heart.

“Starved, actually,” Aurelia admitted, giving him a smile.

“Cool! I didn’t bring it up here, obviously. Like I said, it’s a surprise. You’ll have to come downstairs,” Ben said, his gaze burning into hers. His nostrils flared again, and Aurelia sensed his struggle to keep calm. Single wolves threw off crazy pheromones to one another, and Aurelia’s scent was obviously tormenting Ben right now. She needed to put some clothes on pronto, just to be kind.

“Okay. I’ll be right there,” Aurelia said, giving him a nod before closing her door.

“Wear shoes,” Ben added from behind the door. “Comfortable shoes!”

Pursing her lips, Aurelia opened her closet. Comfortable. Right. She chose a pair of lightweight cotton leggings in mint green, a tight-fitting dark grey racerback tank over a cotton bralette, and her new cross country trainers. Out of respect for Ben, she put on a pair of black boy short panties before she dressed. She grabbed a waist-clip satchel, similar to a fanny pack worn on the hip, and stuffed a couple of emergency items in it.

When she got downstairs, she found Ben standing in front of the kitchen’s big French doors. He was outfitted to hike in grey shorts and a blue t-shirt, complete with trail shoes and a large backpack. 

“Hey!” he said, beaming when he saw her. He sounded faintly surprised, as if she might have changed her mind and simply not ever come downstairs. It made Aurelia wonder about the quality of the females he usually hung around.

“Hey yourself,” she said. “I’m guessing we’re hiking?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” he said, the question plain on his face.

“Absolutely. I love to hike,” Aurelia said, waving a hand. “If anything, I’ve been cooped up too much in the last few months. Before I got here, I didn’t even leave my flat to explore the cities I was living in, much less get to hike.”

“Really?” Ben asked, grabbing two big re-usable squeeze bottles of water from the kitchen counter. Handing one over, he opened the door to usher Aurelia outside.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I don’t know how much Lucas has told you about my situation, but it was getting pretty dire. I was being hunted, and the people looking for me were growing more and more sophisticated in their operation methods. I was basically a hermit by the time I got to India.”

Aurelia noticed that the water bottle had a carabiner clip, and she attached it to the back strap of her hip pouch, letting the bottle dangle.

“I knew that’s where Lucas had you scooped up,” Ben said, leading her out of the back yard and into the tree line.

“Is that what he’s calling it?” Aurelia snorted, shaking her head. “He straight up abducted me. Not that I’m sorry to be here, but at the time it was terrifying.”

Ben frowned, but didn’t reply. Aurelia sensed that he didn’t want to speak against Lucas, which was a good thing as far as she was concerned. Loyalty was a rare trait, especially in their kind. 

They walked through the light part of the forest close to the house, then turned up a well-worn path that Aurelia hadn’t explored before. The path immediately inclined, and they started a light climb as they talked.

“It must have been hard, leaving your pack behind,” Ben said, glancing over at her.

Again, Aurelia shook her head.

“I’m very close with my brother Edgar, but he’s all I’ve got. The pack we grew up in wasn’t very healthy. A lot of drinking, a lot of violence. Normal redneck stuff, I guess.”

“Did you and your brother leave together, then?” Ben asked.

“Yes and no. We both left around the same time, but for different reasons. I’d been pulling a lot of small-time hacks, getting my name out there. I got an invite to a black-hat circle, and it promised a lot of money. What seemed like a lot of money to me then, anyway. The guys I was working with warned me that I’d have to distance myself from my brother, because we were going up against a government agency known for aggressive payback tactics. If they caught you, they’d hurt you any way they could. Anyway, right after I left Edgar left, following a girl he liked to her home pack.”

“Oh yeah?” Ben asked. “Girl crazy, huh?”

“Edgar took one look at that girl and fell for her. They’ve been together ever since. Just had their first pup, actually,” Aurelia said, grinning at the thought of her niece.

“Boy or girl,” Ben asked. Aurelia gave him a sharp glance, surprised at his curiosity. A hint of paranoia floated through her mind, but looking at Ben’s face quickly allayed her fears. He was cheerful, engaged. Genuinely curious about her story.

“Girl. Magdalena. Maggie,” Aurelia said. 

“Cool. I love kids. I would love to have nieces or nephews,” Ben said, longing evident in his voice. Another little piece of ice melted in Aurelia’s heart. If she weren’t careful, she’d end up sodden and mushy inside.

“Do you have brothers or sisters?” Aurelia asked, turning it back to Ben.

“Wait a sec,” he said, putting out a hand to stop her. “Quiet.”

Aurelia waited, listening to the sounds of their breathing. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, or sense any danger. Her wolf was completely at peace.

“There,” Ben said, pointing up into the branches of an adjacent tree. 

A gorgeous crimson Cardinal was perched high up, chirping happily to it’s plainer female counterpart.

“Pretty,” Aurelia said, smiling at Ben’s enthusiasm. 

“So, we’re headed to one of my favorite spots. From here, we have two choices,” Ben said. 

“Let’s hear them,” Aurelia said.

“Easy path, not much steeper than this, probably an hour’s walk straight  up this trail,” he said.

“And the alternative?” Aurelia asked.

Ben pointed straight into the woods. Aurelia followed his line of sight, picking out a steep, rocky incline. She wouldn’t even call it a path, really. A normal person would scoff, and head for the nice, clear-cut trail.

Good thing Aurelia had never been normal. 

“Straight up,” she said, a gleam in her eyes. Ben had winked at her, and then led the way.

It wasn’t until they’d made it quite a ways further up the trail before she realized that he’d neatly deflected her question. He was deft, she’d give him that. Luckily Aurelia was too distracted to call him out, content to watch the tightly toned muscles in Ben’s legs, ass, and back as he forged ahead.

Forty minutes later, they were both breathing heavily as they neared the top of the ridge. There was one last huge step, half a boulder blocking their path. Aurelia watched in awe as Ben scaled it without pause, then turned around and reached out a hand to hoist her up. She hesitated, worried that her weight might pull him back down. She was trim but solid, and Ben was no giant like Walker.

The second she slipped her hand into Ben’s, he lifted her up onto the boulder as if she were weightless. Aurelia felt silly for doubting him. It seemed she was doing that quite a lot, and always feeling foolish afterward.

Aurelia pushed up with her legs, and between her movement and Ben’s strength she ending up pitching forward into his arms. They both tilted back for a moment before Ben steadied her; he held her for several heartbeats, too long to claim as a simple helping hand. Aurelia didn’t stop him, just savored his warmth and sweet male scent.

“Ah,” Ben said, stepping back at last. “We’re just this way.”

Aurelia stepped onto the trail that they’d left earlier, following Ben a few yards across the ridge. There, a small clearing lay on a smooth rock outcrop. The trees fell away just so, giving a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains.

“Oh,” Aurelia breathed, stepping out into the clearing. It was probably only five feet by five, a compact treasure. She stared, her eyes drawn on and on. She saw a few houses or shacks dotting the mountainside here and there, and at the bottom of the valley a lazy river snaked through the trees. Aurelia took a deep breath; the smell of pine, the chill despite the bright sunny day, the feeling of absolute freedom as she stared down at the world… she lifted her arms and grinned, soaking it all in.

After a minute, she heard Ben’s quiet chuckle and turned to face him. He’d unpacked a surprising amount of things from his backpack, Aurelia saw.

“Wanna help me spread this blanket?” he asked, producing a bundle of soft grey flannel.

They laid it out in the clearing, and then Ben shooed her away and started setting everything up. Aurelia picked a spot and sat, sipping from her water bottle as he worked. He produced a pile of neatly wax-wrapped sandwiches, two bars of dark chocolate, a bottle of red wine, a bottle of Evian, and plastic cocktail cups. 

“Impressive,” Aurelia commented, raising her eyebrows.

“I aim to please,” he said, giving her that huge grin again. “Check it: first aid kit, pocket compass, GPS in case we can’t read the compass, maps, even a sweater in case it gets cold.”

He showed her the contents of his backpack like a proud boy scout. No doubt he’d been in the group as a kid.

“I doubt you get cold too often,” Aurelia teased.

“You’re right. The sweater is definitely for you,” Ben said, all seriousness.

She rolled her eyes and laughed, and then they fell on the food like they hadn’t eaten in years. Several sandwiches and a full bottle of wine later, Aurelia giggled as she slid a bite of chocolate into her mouth. They’d kicked off their shoes and pushed the backpack and picnic items away, giving themselves room to spread out on the blanket.

“Mmmm,” she moaned, delighted. 

She lay on her side, staring up at Ben, who remained sitting up. At some point after the second cup of wine, he’d begun to stroke her shoulder and her side, strong fingers tracing from her nape to her hip with occasional stops to brush her mass of hair away from her face and neck.

“You like it?” he asked, looking down at Aurelia. His eyes, normally the clearest sky blue, had darkened as though weathering a storm. His touches were feather-light, but his gaze was intent and hungry. Aurelia licked her lips as she finished the square of chocolate, making eye contact with Ben as she did so.

A little part of her wanted to know how far she could push him before he’d break, before he’d leave his civilized sweetness behind and let his wolf pounce. Her wolf liked the idea very much, but Aurelia didn’t want to torture Ben too much. 

“Ben?” she asked, dropping her gaze finally.

“Yes?”

“I should tell you something,” she said, reaching out to catch his hand. She trailed her fingers over his, relishing the way he felt even in this small way.

“Okay,” he said, his tone growing guarded. 

“Lucas and I…” she began, unsure how to explain.

“Ah,” Ben said, pulling his hand away immediately. “No need to, you know…”

“No!” she said, sitting up. “No, I’m sorry. I’m making this difficult.”

Ben looked back at her, blue eyes flashing with something very close to pain. She hated that, hated that she’d caused that. She reached out, her hand cupping his jaw. He closed his eyes and pushed into her touch, stubble tickling her fingers. Her heart faltered in that moment, something clicking into place.

“I was trying to say that Lucas and I aren’t exclusive. As long as I use protection, I can do anything I want,” she said, wincing at how clinical her words sounded.

Ben’s eyes flew open, his gaze boring into hers, searching. Seeking truth, hope. Aurelia sucked in a breath at the same moment that he did, and they hung like that for an eternity, neither daring to end the moment.