Pricolici (6 page)

“So hot,” Stelian growled. He claimed Tucker’s mouth again and used his hold to rock their pelvises together. Tucker was on the brink of coming when Stelian stiffened and ripped their mouths apart, breaking the kiss. Tucker stared up at him in shock.

His eyes were glowing yellow as he stared over Tucker's shoulder. He growled, an ugly snarl that sent a whole new kind of chill down Tucker's spine. He had no idea what he did wrong, but his erection was gone as quickly as that. He dropped his head forward to hide his throat and froze against Stelian’s chest, barely daring to breathe though he was out of breath and his lungs ached with the need for more oxygen.

“You should not be here.” Stelian's voice threatened violence even as his hands stroked Tucker gently.

Tucker gasped. Someone had been watching them?  Embarrassment flooded him and his face prickled as he blushed.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. Grecia is here, but we were unable to reach you to allow her to enter the property,” the interloper said.

His old alpha didn’t have guards around his house, so Tucker hadn’t thought that anyone would see him letting Stelian kiss him like that. He wanted to go inside and hide. He was completely embarrassed, but when Tucker looked up, any thought of moving died. Stelian chest still vibrated with a low growl and his teeth had shifted, sharpening as his jaw shifted. Tucker’s mouth was dry as a desert, and his heart began to speed up. He tried not to let his fear overwhelm him. The last thing they needed was his pheromones to set Stelian off.

“No males are to come within fifty feet of the house or enter the gardens again unless we are under attack. None! Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly, Alpha. I apologize again.” Tucker could see the male from the corner of his eye. He backed away slowly, his head tilted to the side in submission. Was he one of the hunters? Whoever he was, he was part of Stelian’s pack—the first Tucker had seen, other than the band at the club. Tucker turned his head to try and see him more clearly, and Stelian snarled.

“Don’t look at him.” Stelian’s sharp claws gripped the back of Tucker’s head, pulling his face back into his chest. The strong grip held him still, but didn’t hurt him.

“Let Grecia in, but only her.”

“Y-Yes, Alpha.” The gravel on the path crunched beneath the guard’s feet as he hurried away.

Stelian turned his attention to Tucker. His hands tightened on Tucker's back, and his nails dug into the skin a little. “You will stay away from other males. Don't even look at them. If I smell any on you, I will kill them and punish you for letting them touch you.”

Tucker gaped at him. “Are you kidding me? I kissed you—we didn’t get mated! And even if we did, you can't tell me what to do!”

Stelian's eyes flared even brighter. His wolf had to be very close to taking over, and Tucker knew it, but he was rapidly beginning not to care. He’d grown used to being the weakest of his pack, but if he wasn’t a lupe he’d be damned if he put up with Stelian’s alpha bullshit. He wasn't going to roll over and let him take over his life just because Stelian was hot as sin and twice as tempting.

“You will do as I say!”

Tucker's anger began to call forth his wolf and his eyes changed. The garden’s colors began to fade as details became sharper. He glared at the man shaking him. “The hell I will! Let me go, you bastard!” He shoved against the larger lupe's chest, pushing out of Stelian's arms.

Stelian had to let him go or risk his claws tearing into Tucker’s sides.

Tucker stepped back. “I’m not going to bow down to your every whim or let you control my life! If I'm not a lupe then I don't have to listen to you, and by gods, I won't if you’re going to order me around!”

His chest heaved as he glared at Stelian. “You want me to be your mate? You better learn how to treat me with respect. I will not let you walk all over me, alpha or not.”

He knew how dangerous the action was, but he turned and stomped away from Stelian anyway. His wolf whined faintly. The conditioning of his entire life made it hard not to obey Stelian, but that was just habit. He didn’t
have
to submit. If Stelian was telling the truth then his wolf wasn't a twinned part of his soul, just a representation of his magic that he found most comfortable. A magic he should control. It shouldn’t control him, like a lupe's wolf side so often did.

“If you leave, I will find you, Tucker," Stelian swore. "Don't make me order Grecia to subdue you and lock you in my room while I’m gone.”

Tucker froze, his back ramrod straight as he struggled with his temper.

“I mean it, Tucker.  You’re mine, and you’ll stay here.”

No one was going to order him around like that, not anymore. He spun around and glared at Stelian. The alpha looked angry, but Tucker was furious. “Fuck you. Go ahead and leave. I know you have some poor lupe to go hurt. He's probably innocent of whatever you think he’s done that’s pissed you off, but what do you care? You probably get off on hurting people. Well, I'm not going to be one of them. Stay away from me!”

Tucker went inside and rushed up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door. When he looked around, he realized that he'd gone to Stelian's bedroom. Chances were the angry lupe would come in before he left, though. Tucker could see the Stelian’s wallet on the dresser, so he hurried back out.

He growled as he stopped in the middle of the hallway. He had no idea where he was going to go, but he would not stay in that room. He wasn’t stupid. He knew the alpha would track him down if he tried to leave town, but he wasn’t going to let someone run his life for him. He’d use the time Stelian was gone to make a plan. He had to find out more about hultans. Maybe this Grecia would have information.

Stelian had another thing coming if he thought Tucker was going to meekly stay in his room, though. He didn’t care how comfortable the bed was or how good it smelled. He’d sleep on the floor first.

Still agitated, Tucker moved away from the bedroom. He went to the other end of the hall, trying doors as he went. He peeked into a few bedrooms, but the last room on the right was painted a deep green with a double bed. He decided it was perfect for what he needed.

He locked the door and then took his precaution one step further, shoving the small desk under the knob. He was panting from exertion—the desk was made from solid wood—and the remnants of his anger when he slumped onto the bed. He hadn't realized it before, with all the anxiety he felt at facing Stelian and then the lust the lupe brought out in him, but he was really tired. If using his power took this much out of him, it was no wonder why he was always asleep when it happened before.

The comforter was so soft that Tucker curled up on it in the middle of the bed. There was a blanket folded across the foot of the bed, and he pulled that over him.  Hot tears ran down his face to soak into the pillow, but Tucker didn’t try to wipe them away. He didn't care if Stelian thought he’d jump the first male he saw. The alpha’s warning to the guard to keep all males away made it sound as if Stelian thought he was nothing more than a horny little whore. That was fucking offensive.

Tucker snorted. Stelian’s claim that his haitas wouldn’t touch him now that he carried his scent was obviously not true either.

It wasn’t his fault his body had turned into a walking lust factory that sent out pheromones. He’d never tried to take advantage of it. He hated it. The corner of the blanket he used to wipe the tears from his cheeks was velvety soft and he tucked it under his chin, nuzzling it. A yawn sent him snuggling into the blanket as he pulled an extra pillow to his chest. Unwilling to even admit it to himself, Tucker fell asleep listening for the sound of a lupe that never came.

Chapter Six

A knock at his door, and a female voice, woke him up a few hours later.

“Tucker? I have some dinner ready downstairs if you're hungry. Stelian said you didn't have any lunch.”

Tucker blinked and rubbed the grit out of his eyes, looking at the clock on the wall. It was already seven PM. He’d slept longer than he thought he would. His mouth was dry and tasted horrible. Clearing his throat, he answered the female so she'd know he heard her.

He didn’t really want to talk to her, or see her, but his stomach growled.  At the mention of food, he was starving.

“I'll be down in a minute.” He grimaced, clearing his throat again. His voice was rough, still ravaged by the tears he’d shed before he fell asleep.

“Okay. By the way, if you go through the bathroom there’s another door to the suite next to you, if you want to get out without moving the furniture back right now.”
Tucker frowned. Typical. He hadn't even really stopped Stelian, if he wanted to come in. The place was too damn big. Why did one alpha, who apparently lived alone, need this much room?  He crawled out of the bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face before going downstairs.

He grimaced in disgust at the wrinkles in the shirt he wore and the way his hair stood up. A little water tamed his hair, but he was stuck with the shirt and the jogging pants. He considered going to get a new shirt out of Stelian's closet, but he growled at the thought. The spicy scent on his shirt had faded and part of him wanted to get more of the alpha’s scent. He was not his wolf, and he just had to keep reminding himself of that. Tucker shook his head. What he really needed were his own clothes.

The woman was eating alone in the kitchen when he finally got downstairs.

“Fix yourself a plate and sit down,” she suggested before turning back to her own food. Tucker dished a plate of the spaghetti and salad and then picked the spot opposite her. He studied her as they ate in silence.

She looked strong, for a woman. A tight T-shirt showed off muscular arms and shoulders but didn’t hide the upper edges of a mating mark on her neck. She was sexy in a confident, ‘I’m comfortable in my body’ way. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wasn't all done up like most human women. She finished her meal and put her plate in the sink before she sat back down, sipping her water as she kept him company in silence while he finished.

When he put down his fork and glanced up at her and then away, she laughed lightly. “I'm guessing Stelian didn't actually tell you what I'm doing here or where he ran off to, did he?” She grabbed his plate and put it in the sink for him. “He was pretty growly when I got here.”

“No, he didn’t,” Tucker muttered. He fiddled with his napkin and tried to ignore the resentment at being stuck in a giant house with strangers. This was not what he’d planned when he left Shane’s haitas. Worse, he'd assigned him a female babysitter, indicating to his entire haitas that Tucker was weaker than even the females.

Grecia's nostrils flared as she glanced over her shoulder. “Whew, a bit peeved aren't you?”

Tucker grimaced. Lupe noses. He hated everyone smelling what he felt since he wasn't very good at returning the favor. Catching emotions through scents had always been difficult for him and had caused him a few embarrassing moments as he grew up. Maybe that was another thing to chalk up to not really being a lupe instead of being weak, like he'd thought.

That realization eased a little of his tension, but he was still irritated with the fact Stelian left a female to boss him around. Overbearing ass.

Grecia sat back down in her chair. “Well, first thing I'm guessing you're thinking I'm here to keep you on lockdown. I'm not.” She chuckled when Tucker's eyes widened. “Yeah, figured you’d think that way. I've got a thirteen-year-old son at home and I was recently given the “I don't need a babysitter anymore” speech. Of course a hormonal teenage lupe does, but that's not really what’s going on here.”

She leaned back in her chair, studying him. Tucker grimaced. She’d lost all signs of humor. He had a bad feeling about what she was going to say.

“Stelian got a call because our territory has been breached by an old haitas member named Phell. The rumor in the haitas is that he was very good friends with Stelian, one of his betas, before he split off and started his own. He’s got some sort of axe to grind. I wasn’t with the haitas when it happened, about a hundred and fifty years ago, but no one really knows why they became enemies.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Tucker asked.

“I'm getting there.” Grecia shook her head. “Typical male patience—none at all. All right, to make a long story short, Phell has a personal vendetta against Stelian. I don't know how or why he would get on the property, but Stelian believes that if Phell were to learn of you he would try to hurt you.”

Sighing, Tucker rolled his eyes. “So instead of a babysitter you're what, some sort of bodyguard?” When Grecia nodded, he snorted. “What are you going to do? Scream him to death? Look, you’re a strong woman, but male lupes are big. You’d never beat one in hand-to-hand combat. I could probably shift and take you myself.”

To make his point, Tucker stood up and leaned over the table, letting his eyes flash to lupe and the teeth in his mouth begin to grow and change. The next thing he knew, he was looking at the business end of a gun and the steady, calm eyes of the female holding it. He froze, staring into the small black hole, before he eased into his chair, reeling in his shift until his eyes and teeth were back to normal.

“How did I not smell that gun?” He sniffed the air and could only get the faintest whiff of powder and metal in the air now that she held the pistol in plain sight. Even with his senses he should’ve been able to smell it.

She pointed it at the ceiling as soon as Tucker sat back. “Plastic body. There's hardly any metal in the gun beyond the spring, firing pin, and ammunition.” She clicked the safety back on and slipped it into a holster under her shirt that Tucker hadn't noticed before. “And I wear perfume. Not a strong scent, but enough most shifters don’t sniff too close.

“A male may be stronger than me, but I’m faster than most of them. A bullet to the brain or heart will stop anyone in their tracks, no matter how big they are.”

Tucker fell silent. Grecia was obviously a well-trained, competent guard. The females of his old haitas would never have considered fighting or defending themselves. They were relatively modern women. Perhaps they lacked the drive an older lupe would’ve had to develop due to the times they’d lived in.

“Why are you staring at me?” Grecia asked.

Tucker smirked, his bad mood beginning to fade. He shrugged. “I’m trying to picture you in a leather skirt and a metal chest protector.”

Grecia snorted at him this time. “It's impolite to ask a female how old she is, no matter how obliquely you do so.”

Tucker raised an eyebrow at her and smiled cheekily as he got up to get more water. She didn't have to tell him, but with a name like Grecia…”You asked why I was staring. It’s not my fault you didn't like the answer.”

Grecia rolled her eyes, her arms across her chest, but she suddenly declared, "I looked damn hot, and they were called breastplates, not chest protectors." Glaring at him, she left the room, muttering under her breath.

Tucker laughed as he washed their dishes and put them in the drainer to dry. He decided he liked Grecia. First, she didn't try to maul him, but she was mated, so that might also account for it. It couldn't be because of what Stelian said; after all, he’d felt like he needed to warn Tucker away from other males. He sniffed at his shoulder, trying to pick up Stelian's scent. Unable to really catch it inside the house, he shrugged.

Well, he liked her anyway. She was old, far older than him, but not stuffy about it. She could be fun to hang out with, and maybe he could pump her for information on Stelian. He was in the home of the alpha of the Pricolici… which hadn’t really hit him before. The history he could learn!

A plan in mind, Tucker began to wander through the house looking for Grecia. He found her checking windows in the first floor rooms. There was a library off Stelian’s office that had several comfortable chairs and a small loveseat. The walls were lined with books. Many of them looked old, really old.

Oh, he was so in love with that room!

Tucker ran his finger in the air along some of the bindings, not quite touching, taking in the smell of ancient leather and faded plant-based ink mixed with the modern glue and ink of the wall of paperbacks. Light streamed in the window and glinted on some jewelry displayed next to the books.  He was especially fascinated with a long, golden spiral bracelet with two wolves on either end, done in gold. It was protected inside a clear plastic case, but he longed to run his fingers along the elegant curves and examine the extremely detailed wolves on the terminals closer.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” There were a few displays, obviously from other cultures—some wood masks and beaded jewelry with an African feel, as well as some stone carvings and wood boxes that looked oriental. The coins and metal statue of a cow were interesting, and the knives looked as sharp as the day they’d been first crafted, but he came back to the bracelet in the end. The metal looked warm, and the piece fascinated him.

He nodded. “It’s a beautiful room. Stelian really has lived for a very long time, hasn’t he?”

Grecia chuckled. “That’s an understatement. The only lupe living in this country who could possibly challenge him for age and power is Phell. Lately, though, Stelian’s changed. His aura is different.” Grecia shivered and then cocked her head as she looked at him. “Maybe it’s because of you.”

Tucker scoffed. “Me? I’m twenty years old and only shifted a few months ago. I don’t have enough power. There’s no way I could change Stelian.”

Grecia shook her head. “I’ll give you your youth. You really don’t know anything, do you? I can sense what you are. I’m not as old as Stelian, but I know what power feels like—trained or not. You’re not a regular lupe, and you have magic. Very strong magic.”

Without a teacher, Tucker wondered if he’d ever learn how to use the magic she and Stelian both said he had. Plus, Stelian seemed so sure that they were mates, but why him? Why would the most dominant male in their society want him? Tucker felt drawn toward the lupe, but he wondered if the male would still be attracted to him if he didn’t learn to use his power. He’d never expected to be an equal with his mate. His ranking in his haitas had always been the lowest.

He’d never been able to act like the non-dominant lupes, though. He’d been too opinionated and didn’t seem to have that gene that made him eager to please those stronger than him.

He grinned as he remembered telling Stelian off. A lesser lupe wouldn’t have been able to do that. He’d seen the few non-dominants get into arguments in his old haitas, and they’d always backed down when pressed. It was built into them to defer to the dominant lupes, yet Tucker had taken more than a few cuffs and kicks because he made eye contact when he shouldn’t and spoke out of turn.

More and more, Tucker was coming to understand he needed to rethink a lot of what he thought he knew about himself.

Stelian had said he’d known hultans. Even if he didn’t know how the magic worked, maybe he would know more about what they could do. Tucker had managed to actually do the astral projection thing Stelian had just mentioned as possible, even if he didn’t really know how he did it. He had, though, and it was becoming more and more clear that he really was a hultan.

Now if he only had some sort of how-to manual.

Sighing, he fingered a book on the shelf. A manual on coastal birds wouldn’t help him at all. Well, maybe he could figure out how to do other things on his own. Tucker knew he was smart. Growing up in a haitas without any parents hadn’t been easy. He’d learned to be self-sufficient and strong. Of course, curiosity had gotten him into trouble more than once, but Tucker had always been top of his class all through school and in college, before he’d been forced to drop out by the response to his pheromones. A major in history wasn’t exactly practical, but he’d thought about teaching at some level. A fascination with ancient cultures had always filled him.

That fascination had been fed living in a haitas that had members whose lives had spanned over a hundred years, through times he could only read about. Their memories, and the way they spoke of the past, ignited his interest when he was still a child. Now he had another reason to dig into the past and learn as much as he could. It might be the only way to discover the power that seemed to be his birthright.

“Tucker? Tucker!”

Blinking, Tucker looked at Grecia. She’d grabbed him by the shoulder and given him a good shake.

“What?” He looked at her in confusion.

She let him go with a laugh. “You sort of left me for a bit. I thought maybe you were doing some magic stuff or something.”

Tucker shook his head. “No, I don’t know much about magic. I didn’t even know I had any until Stelian told me I did.” He shrugged. “I’ll worry about that later. You know what I’d really like to do right now? Go get my stuff.”

Grecia looked uncertain. “Where’s your stuff? I didn’t think you were from around here, and Stelian wouldn’t want you to leave town.”

“It’s all in my truck outside the club in town with the two wolves sign.” Tucker could tell that Grecia wasn’t sure about leaving the house. “Look, I thought you said you were a guard, not a babysitter. I’m sick of being stuck in Stelian’s clothes. I’m going to go get my truck, with my stuff. I’ll call a cab if I have to.”