Owned By The Alphas - The Prequel (6 page)

“
Y
ou can’t run faster
than that?” Tawny laughed, dodging behind a tree just out of Calt’s reach. She took off in the other direction.

He chuckled and slowed his steps to double back. “You are quick.”

He enjoyed these scuffles they had, challenging each other to be quicker and think ahead. The winner’s prize was always a good, rough, fucking. The feral she-wolf had surprisingly become his closest friend among the females in their pack. She was intelligent, quick in thought and action, and very, very unafraid.

She’d blended in more quickly than anyone had expected after she joined them. Shaynah, in a private discussion with Rait and his son, had confided she believed the she-wolf was eager to please so as not lose what she had found.

“Has she told you anything about her life before?” Calt had asked. He had been unsuccessful in gleaning information from Tawny on his own, and he was naturally curious, as were they all.

“No. She insists on putting that behind her,” Shaynah sighed, clearly interested in knowing as well.

Rait had clamped a hand on both wolves’ shoulders and smiled. “Let her bury her past if that makes her happy. At least she is not spitting in my face anymore. That first week was a nightmare.”

They’d chuckled, agreed and let it go. Still, all this time later, no one knew the truth of where she’d come from. And after awhile, they’d forgotten to ask. She was a part of their family, and would always be.

Peeking out from another tree, she winked at him. “Quicker than you, apparently.”

Calt shrugged and headed away. Just as it seemed he was done playing, he raced over and grabbed her before she had a chance to escape. She screamed and fought him, but he was stronger. Faster, too. “I was toying with you. There is no way you are quicker than I am.”

“Well, I’m almost! And almost as strong, too.” Her smile was challenging but the look in her eyes told him she meant it. He flipped her around and investigated her with his hands, pushing his body against hers to hold it hostage. She didn’t complain about the bark scraping her belly, she was too tough for that. So he didn’t think to protect her from it as he grinded against her and opened her legs with his knee. “You want to be quick? Let me show you how quick you can cum on my dick.”

Hotly, she urged him on, “You think you can?”

“You mean like I did yesterday?”

She grinned. “Cocky bastard, that’s what you are.”

With a casual slap on her perky backside, he countered, “I have a right to be.”

“Calt!” Lucin called into the woods. “Calt, where are you?”

Calt sighed, and pushed off the she-wolf. The two of them looked toward the sound, waiting for the young wolf to appear. Tawny dusted off her front and threw a sideways glance to Calt, but he didn’t return it. With his cock standing at attention, he stared into the darkness. Soon the sandy-haired wolf appeared wearing jeans, a plaid shirt, and boots, his light brown eyes widening as he realized what he’d interrupted.

“Oh, sorry!”

“You should be,” Tawny threw at him, but her tone was teasing. Still, Lucin blushed.

“What is it?” Calt walked to meet their pack member, the only one among them actually from Canada. He was stocky and had kind eyes, and he was nearly a pup in Calt’s estimation, with so little aggression as to be absurd, as well as highly unusual for a male. It was as if the werewolf was born of unicorn blood rather than that of wild, primal beasts. Not that unicorns existed…

“We’re going into town tonight. Rait just decided. There’s word a new alpha is in town. That Ivar has taken him in.”

Calt nodded and began to walk in the direction of the den. “Interesting. Why would Ivar want to take in another alpha? Two in one pack?”

“Well, we have two in ours,” Tawny said quickly, but then concluded on her own at his cocked eyebrow. “But you are father and son.”

“Yes. And even in our situation, it is rare. You saw how things are when you were on your own. It’s a brutal world of competition and desire for dominance. Most packs do not stay together long, and those that do change leaders as quickly as it takes a well-planned mutiny to override the existing status. But Ivar is wise, like my father and like I hope to be.”

“You
are
wise, Calt!” Lucin exclaimed. “I’d follow you wherever!”

Calt ruffled the younger wolf’s hair. “If he is taking in an alpha, something is off.”

After a moment when only their footsteps could be heard on the fallen leaves and dirt, Lucin asked, “What? What’s off? Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” Calt muttered, distracted by the problem.

Upon their return to the den, the three found the others waiting, clothed and ready for the trip. Out there in the wilderness in the northern tip of Canada, they ran free and when in human form, were usually naked. It did not bother Tawny or Calt that they were the only ones with their flesh bared to the group, nor did it bother the pack. And so they stayed as they were, to discuss the plan.

Lucin left their sides to stand by Dak and Calus, his youth and smaller size emphasized beside their large shoulders, strong necks and grittier faces. But they were the protectors, and that’s what he wanted to be. Lorn, a pretty Native American with long chestnut hair and beige eyes glanced over to watch Lucin’s movements.

Bloo, an Asian she-wolf some years older than Lorn, slid her muscular arms into a thick coat and shrugged her shoulders into place. Her long black hair was quickly adjusted and her gray eyes fastened on Calt’s face as he went to stand in front of his father.

“What have you heard?” Rait asked.

“That Ivar has taken in an alpha.”

He nodded once, and looked down at the brown jacket he wore, buttoning up as he explained, “It makes me curious. Ivar and I have long been at odds. He does not agree with our rules, and I do not agree with his sticking his nose where it does not belong. But we stay away from each other and all has remained civil.”

“He did not make trouble when we arrived, either,” Shaynah reminded the room.

Borhan took a step forward to be noticed. Like all of them, he wore jeans, and over it he had on a black coat that made his gold eyes shine, and his rust-colored hair clash a little. “He has always kept a watchful eye though, so it is wise to keep one on him.”

Rait glanced from Borhan, his son’s best friend, to his son. “Exactly. So let us take a trip into town. We’ve been here for over a year now. It will be nice to have a change of scenery.”

“And maybe get our hands dirty in a different way,” Borhan smiled.

“Clothes are ready for you,” Lorn said, pointing to where she’d laid out their clothing. Human wardrobe was packed up and kept in their vehicles while they lived in the wild, always close by in case they had visitors. But this year that they’d spent away from the ‘real world’ had been uninterrupted. A gloriously long stay from war and fear of attack.

“I am not looking forward to this,” Tawny muttered, heading to the piles.

Calt shrugged. “I am. I could use a good fight.” He pushed Borhan’s shoulder as he walked by and his friend chuckled, but did not venture to shove him back.

Rait smiled and headed out. “We will be waiting in the trucks.” The others followed him, and no one spoke nor needed to.

Alone again, Calt glanced around the large, damp cavern and caught the pair of jeans Tawny threw at him. She slid on a light pink tank-top and shot him an amused smile. “I get stuck with the girly tank-top. This is what happens when you get to the clothing pile last.”

He walked to her and slid his hand under the soft cotton, palming her breast. “You are hot enough that you cannot get cold.”

She grinned at him. “Smooth.” Without warning, he pushed her against the wall and lifted her legs up by her thighs. “Undo this zipper,” he murmured into her neck.

“My pleasure,” she breathed, awkwardly grabbing his crotch and sliding it open to free him. Trapped by her legs, the jeans stayed up, and with both of them half-dressed, he rammed into her, filling her to the hilt. He moved quickly, unleashing the pent-up lust that had been stayed by Lucin’s call. With every groan he gave, she matched it with her own noises of pleasure. Roughly taking her like this was how they always did it. There was no kissing. Not ever.

They took what they wanted from each other, and when they were done, he pulled out and yanked his jeans over his taut hips, and walked away to put on his boots. She headed for her own jeans and slid them on with a content smile tugging at her. He glanced over as he pulled on a green sweater that made his two-toned eyes shine. “What?”

She dropped the smile and snatched up the jacket left for her, stuffing her feet into sneakers. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

With a fluid motion, he bent and swiped up his coat as he followed her out.

R
olling out of bed
, Max trudged to the bathroom, naked. His hair was screwed up, literally, sticking in all directions, just like Ali’s. She got up on her elbows to watch his butt-cheeks rise and fall with each slow step, his slender form retreating finally out of view. They’d just had sex for the last time, but he didn’t know that yet.

She sighed and plopped back down into bed, looking around their bedroom. He lived partially out of boxes still, even though they’d moved into this apartment together six months ago. She’d thought it was a good idea at the time, but if you want to really get to know someone, live with them. He played video games with people all across the world, sat in the living room for hours on end with a joystick in his hand, interacting online with other gamers. It’s not that she hated it, she just didn’t get it.

“Your skin is so pale because you rarely go outside,” she’d told him with a joking smile one night. He’d laughed, but hadn’t disagreed. How could he? He only went out to attend classes, and he often missed those.

She hadn’t minded at first what a homebody he was since it meant he was always at the ready for sex, and that was the one thing they were really good at doing together. Everything else, not so much. She loved sushi, he hated it. Not only that, but she was always up for trying new things, but he liked hamburger joints and would have been content to go to them every time they splurged on a night out. She wanted to go to festivals and be out where the people were, but he would never go. “Go with your girlfriends.” Well, since she’d spent so much time in her bed, she hadn’t made many. Marci had moved to New York. Tina and she had hung out a few times, but that didn’t last. And the two girls she liked in her political science classes, Jeanette and Louisa, had just discovered cocaine and club life. Coke didn’t sit well with Ali’s constitution. She had the opposite reaction and it made her lie down on the floor unable to move. Not good.

“You going to shower?” Max called from the bathroom.

She thought about it, and returned, “Yeah, but after you.”

He stuck his head out. “Why?”

Biting her lower lip, she rolled on her side.
Because I’m about to break up with you and it’d be wrong to shower with you and then do it.
“I have to shave.”

He vanished. “Ah. Okay, I’ll be right out.”

She heard the water turn on, and considered waiting, but that would be torture. “Max? Could you come here a minute?”

“What is it? I’m about to jump in.”

“I know…you think you could turn off the water and come back in?”

She heard the sound of the old faucets twisting. As he walked toward her, he ran a hand through his messy, sandy-colored hair, concerned. “What’s going on? Are you quitting college or something?”

“What?” Ali sat up and the white blanket fell around her waist. “No, why would you say that?”

With his eyes on her breasts, he shrugged. “I keep expecting you to quit. You don’t like it much.” He sat down on the bed and absently ran a finger over her nipple. He’d done that so many times, she didn’t think anything of it, or try to stop it. He was so familiar to her, and still so not enough.

“Well, I don’t. But I don’t know what else to do.”

He nodded, and switched breasts. “Yeah. Join the club.”

Staring at his smooth jaw line, she swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I want to break up.”

His finger stopped circling and confused eyes met hers. He stared at her and blinked. “What?”

Ali pulled the blanket up around herself and said it again, as simply as she could. “I want to break up.”

Max’s features contorted with anger and he shot up out of the bed. “What the fuck, Ali? You just moved in!”

“Six months ago. I moved in half a year ago. That’s a long time.”

“No, it’s really not.”

“It feels like it is.”

He started to pace, shooting her one incredulous look after the other as he tried to grasp what was happening. “That was a really mean thing to say.”

She watched him, wishing she felt more for him than she did. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you doing this? You’re joking, right? This is a joke?”

“I’m going to move in with Jeanette. She’s hardly home and she said I could stay on her couch until I get a new place.”

He froze. “You would rather live on that dipshit’s couch than here with me?”

She cocked her head. “She’s not a dipshit. She’s getting A’s despite the coke.”

“Oh great! Good to know!” He threw his hands up and paced around some more. “That’s not the point of what I said!”

“What was the point?”

“Why do you want to go?!”

Ali considered telling him the truth but then she realized that all the things that made Max,
Max,
would be heaven to some other girl. If she told him all the quirks that drove her crazy, he would get in his head about them and become insecure. And those same things, some future girlfriend and then wife, would adore. So she simply said, “I’m taking the place of someone else if we stay together. I know that if we keep dating, and then if we were to get married, we’d get divorced. I’m not your girl.”

Stunned, he had little to argue with. “How long have you known?”

“Not long…” she lied. “Max, you’re wonderful. I just know you and I aren’t right together. I’m not happy. That’s enough, you know?”

Shaking his head with disbelief, he sat with a thud onto the bed. Staring off, he muttered, “You’re just running, Ali. You did this with Timothy and you’re doing it with me. He warned me.”

Shocked, Ali cried out, “What did Timothy say?”

“He said you run. He said,
watch out man, she’ll grab your heart and fucking take off the second she has it
.”

Jumping out of bed, Ali walked quickly to the bathroom, shouting over her shoulder, “That’s not true! I knew I shouldn’t have dated friends. You don’t understand how I feel inside. There is something in me that is aching to be free! I want more than this!” She motioned around the half-completed room. “We’re here all the time! There’s a whole world out there! I know I will never make you happy. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”

With tears in his eyes, he yelled back, “Breaking my heart is not doing me a favor!”

She threw him an exasperated look. “I didn’t break your heart. Breaking your heart would be taking away your wifi. This is just a blow to your ego. You’ll get over it.”

With a violent shake of his head, Max stood up and yelled, “You have no idea what I’ll get over and what I won’t! You’re just running.” He grabbed a pair of pants, a shirt, and his flip-flops, and barreled out of the room, mumbling, “Fuck this shit.”

Ali waited to see if he was coming back, but then she heard the front door slam a few moments later. Heading to the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and spotted a fresh hickee on her neck. “Great.” She poked at it and shook her head, walked back into the bedroom and picked up her cellphone.

To Jeanette she texted: Can I move in tonight?

Jeanette: Did you do it?

Ali: Yeah.

Jeanette: Can’t wait to hear the details. Come on over!

Ali threw the phone on the bed and walked to the shower. She got in, closed her eyes and let the water pour on her face.

I’m not running. I’m just not staying. There’s a difference.