Terr5tory (3 page)

Ignoring the men, hoping they’d grow some balls and decide to attack, he focused on Eleanor.  One hand still clamped around her throat, he used the other to smooth hair back from her eyes.  “As Alpha, it is my right to claim any of the unmated females.”  He felt the heartbeat pulsing beneath his fingers kick up in tempo as her eyes rounded and her lips parted on a barely audible gasp. 

Leaning down, he made a show of scenting her. 
God she smells good!
  Had a female ever smelled so enticing?  He’d collared her throat to teach the males a lesson, but fuck, she was exquisite.  He was fighting his wolf’s urge to have her, which was extremely difficult considering the
man
already knew she was meant to be his.

“This female is unmated.”  His voice was surprising to his own ears.  It was deeper than normal and carried a huskiness to it that conveyed his sexual interest in the female clamped to him.  Pulling back, he kept his eyes on her.  “I think I’ll claim this…”

He didn’t get to finish.  Two of the males vaulted themselves at Delano, and he barely had time to shove Eleanor out of the way before he was embroiled in battle.  It only took seconds for the remaining three males to join the melee.  He barely caught sight of Eleanor scrambling back before getting to her feet and racing to the house.

Good!
  He’d done with that one act what he’d been trying to do since he’d arrived.  He’d finally gotten the males to act like fucking wolves and simultaneously put Eleanor in her rightful place.  Sure, she’d clearly been an asset to the pack, but in Delano’s eyes no female had any business leading a pack or putting herself in harm’s way to ensure its safety.  The memory of just how the males in the pack had taken advantage of her surged forth, and he used his renewed anger to beat some sense into his new pack.

Chapter 4

An hour or so later, Delano made his way into the main house.  The place was nicer than he had expected.  Nestled on a few hundred acres of forestland, the main house had a stone face that made it feel like it belonged in the rural setting.  A two-story, the house itself was large.  He could see on his way to the front door that there was a large glass-enclosed sun room on the far end of the house.

He waltzed in the front door like he owned the place.  Technically, he did.  He’d just bested every male in the pack and was now the rightful Alpha of the territory.  He’d also had them pair off and fight until only one male remained.  No surprise, the hotshot, Bose, was his new Beta.

The entryway led to a seating area, but he could scent that the pack spent little time in that particular room.  Following his nose, he let it lead him down a stone lined hallway that poured into a decent-sized kitchen.  The floor was tile and the appliances were high-end stainless steel.  Decorated in a manner that made him feel like he was transported to Italy, Delano passed only a cursory glance over the room before his eyes settled on the long table at the far end of the kitchen.

Eleanor was seated at the head of the table and had abruptly ended her conversation with the four other females the second he walked in.  The girl he remembered as Riss was shooting daggers at him, though no one else made eye contact except for Eleanor.

“Everyone out!” He barked.

The females all stood in unison, but his eyes narrowed on Eleanor.  “Not you.  We need to talk.”

Riss balked and turned to eye Eleanor, who smiled reassuringly.  “It’s okay.  Go.”

Delano ground his back teeth.  The only thing worse than an insubordinate pack member, was an insubordinate
female
pack member.  He found he had difficulty punishing females. 

Riss waltzed by and had the nerve to look him in the eye.  He loosed a warning growl and the girl was bright enough to yelp and lower her head.

The sound of Eleanor’s chuckle drew his surprised gaze.  “Laughing at the girl?  That’s surprising considering she’s done nothing but stick up for you since I arrived.”

Eleanor rolled those beautiful golden eyes. 

“Don’t get it twisted.  She wasn’t defending me as much as she was defying you.  Riss hates authority.”  Her eyes raked up and down Delano’s frame, and he felt his chest expand and his arms inch wider apart at the perusal, his wolf wanting to make an exceptional display.  Eleanor grinned knowingly.  “No matter the package it happens to come in.”

Annoyed that she’d caught his display, Delano crossed to the sink and washed his hands before pulling a towel from where it hung on a hook next to the stove.  He dunked it into the stream of running water and rung it out before swiping it over his face and neck.  He’d worked up a sweat beating the shit out of his males.

“All done seeing who has the biggest balls?”

He stilled, then smirked at Eleanor over his shoulder.  “Oh, there was never a question, sweetheart.”  His smirk grew into a full-on smile when she blushed and ducked her head.

“What…what happened out there?”  She asked curiously.

He rinsed the towel again before hanging it by the sink.  “Bose is now Beta.”  He turned to face her, watching as she waved her hand.  “No.  I mean,
what
happened out there?  What happened to you…to
us
?”

Delano scrubbed a hand down his weary features before dropping his hand and pinning her with a hard gaze, as if gauging whether she could handle what he was about to tell her.

“I’ll speak truthfully with you if you speak truthfully with me,” she offered, hoping he’d just tell her what was going on.

“I was stricken.”

“Stricken?  With what?”

“Not with what.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “But by whom.”

Confusion tugged her delicate brows down.

“You caused it.” He stepped closer.  “It means you’re mine, Eleanor.”

All color drained from her face and her mouth fell open as she choked out, “Wh-what?” 
I must have misheard.  PLEASE let me have misheard.

“It is common among male shifters of the northwest to be stricken when being introduced to their mate.  Searing pain drops a male to his knees.  It’s meant to ensure he isn’t confused or just a fucking idiot and passes up his intended.”  He lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his neck.  “It’s a complication I hadn’t anticipated.”

Complication?  Mate! 
Oh God, this was not what Eleanor had expected when she’d felt giddy excitement dancing on the wind earlier.  No, now she was downright nauseated. 
‘It means you’re mine’! 
Who said that so casually? “Delano, I…”

“Look!  It’s merely an indication.  It doesn’t have to go any further than that, and I don’t intend it to.  I don’t want a mate, and I have no intentions of claiming you.”

Relief flared, then was just as quickly extinguished.  Feeling slightly insulted at his immediate dismissal of her, she pursed her lips, intending to dismiss him as easily as he’d done her.  “Just like that.  You lay eyes on me and drop to your knees, and I’m supposed to believe it means something?”

Delano’s brows speared down.  “Believe what you want, lady.  I’m telling you what I know.”

Eleanor broke eye contact.  Probably best to not make enemies of the new Alpha on his first day, regardless of the fact that he apparently thought that, not only she was his, he
didn’t want her.  “What do I need to do?”

“Nothing.”

“Good.”  She stood, wiping sweaty palms on the thighs of her jeans.  When Delano made no move, she looked pointedly from him to the door.

For a moment, his eyes sparked with challenge.  Not wanting to engage him any further, Eleanor dropped her eyes and turned her head.  He’d just come blasting into their home and started the new relationship with lies.  His proclamation that she was his mate couldn’t be true.  Eleanor had a mate, and he had died, so the falsehood stung more than it should have. Especially after she’d vowed to be truthful with him if he’d be truthful with her.  Worse, his declaration and instant denouncement of her was degrading.  Did she
look
like a wolf that could be manipulated?  Whether it was his intent or not, he’d offended her.

As if sensing her thoughts, Delano sighed hard.  “Look, I was trying to let you down easy…”

Eleanor snorted, jerking her head around to pin him with angry eyes.  “Don’t flatter yourself.  I wasn’t looking for a mate.”

She exited the kitchen, leaving Delano standing there feeling like an ass.  It was a hard introduction to the pack, and it couldn’t have gone any worse if he’d intentionally planned it that way.  He turned and studied the kitchen.  Right now he wanted something to eat, something to drink, and a hot shower.  Repairing his relationship with the previous quasi pack Alpha would have to wait.

Chapter 5

(One Week Later)

It had been a difficult adjustment for everyone concerned.  Eleanor had fielded complaints from every single member of the pack, except Parker, who thought the new Alpha was “cool.”

Everyone else was apparently immune to whatever it was young Parker saw.  Riss despised the new Alpha.  Not surprising.  Eleanor’s blood sister was young, and all about defying authority.  May and June had, embarrassingly enough, taken to throwing themselves at Delano.  Both young and viable, they were looking for a mate and the hunky new Alpha was just what they were hoping for.  Shade reacted much like Eleanor. She too just wanted the pack to settle into some semblance of consistent authority.  Admittedly, Keaton was a shitty Alpha.  He’d let Eleanor do the lion’s—or wolf’s in this case—share of the decision making, and the rest of the males let her do most of the work.  They weren’t all to blame, though.  Miston was the pack healer and nerd by birthright.  If his nose wasn’t poked in a book, he was in his lab staring into a microscope.  He was too busy to be bothered with pack hierarchy because, according to him, he was going to single-handedly discover and isolate the gene that produced shifters.  Why?  Eleanor had no idea and honestly didn’t care.  She didn’t have time to care.  She was too busy keeping Bose from picking on Warren, who she was certain had an affinity for males but refused to come out.  Parker was too young to do much, and Anders…well.  Anders was too quiet and unassuming.  With vibrant blue eyes, startlingly black hair, fair skin, and a great build, he was a hell of looker.  Hell, June and May had argued over who’d get him when they came of age, but Anders wasn’t interested.  An extraordinary introvert, the male rarely spoke and kept to himself.  No, each member of the pack was pretty self-serving, which left Eleanor as the one toeing the line.  If there was an upside to it all, it was that the pack couldn’t do without her and they all knew it. 

Now, standing in the laundry room hip-deep in dirty clothes, Eleanor was fuming.  For the males to slack was one thing.  She could usually get them jumping into action with an epic bitch-fest, but since Delano arrived the females hadn’t been performing their duties either.  It was as if they knew Eleanor was no longer in charge and didn’t feel obligated to stick to the regular cleaning schedule.  Delano hadn’t done much since he’d arrived other than take the males out daily for training sessions that found them all coming home bruised and bloody.

Eleanor shook her head.  It was official.  The females thought they were on summer vacation, and something had to be done before none of them had anything clean to wear!

Angry color flooded her cheeks with the knowledge that the females were forcing her to be the bad guy
again!
  God, she hated it!  She hated always having to bitch and bark to get them to do what they knew needed doing.

Suddenly, she felt her chest slowly constricting, and it became hard to draw in a full breath. 
Shit!
  She closed the door of the laundry room with her foot and turned to place her hands on the washing machine, forcing herself to try to take deep breaths.  For the past three years she’d been plagued by anxiety and frequent panic attacks, and try as she might, she couldn’t seem to shake the damn angst that plagued her.

As she tried to concentrate on breathing, the door was shoved open and Riss flounced in before slamming to a halt.  She looked Eleanor over before rolling her eyes.  “Oh, God, Elly!  Not again!”

Eleanor swore that as soon as she caught her breath, she was going to paddle her sister’s ass!

“When are you going to get over this?”  Riss bent and dug through a pile of clothes, pulling out a wrinkled blouse.  “You can’t be getting…
weird
all the time.” 

“What’s wrong with Eleanor?”

She recognized Delano’s voice and righted herself as she spun and shook her head once hard, eyeing Riss in warning.  “Nothing, Del…
Alpha.
  I’m fine.”  She drew in a deep breath, but it sucked in too quickly.

Riss rolled her eyes again.  “She has panic attack thingies.”  She rolled her hand in the air and bent to jerk a jean skirt from beneath another pile.  “It happens all the time.  She’ll get over it.”  Then Riss smirked at Eleanor before turning and skipping from the room with her wrinkled and smelly clothes.

Eleanor glanced up to find Delano studying her.  “It’s fine.” She shook her head.  “I’m fine.”  She sucked in another too-deep breath that still didn’t feel as if it were enough to fully inflate her lungs.  It was as if she could never catch her breath, no matter how deeply she breathed.  Worse, she hated looking weak in front of him. “Happens all the time.”  She winked at Delano with a shaky smile then turned her back on him to grab the washing machine again.  “Be done in a minute.”

One second she was braced against the washing machine, and the next she was hoisted off her feet.  Delano’s large hands gripped her hips and lifted her before turning her and sitting her on the washing machine facing him.  He insinuated his large body between her legs and pulled her ass to the edge of the machine before pressing his thick chest to hers. 

“Just copy my breathing,” he whispered in her ear.  “Breathe with me.”  He drew in a slow, deep breath that pushed their bodies closer together.

Uhhh… Are you fucking kidding me? 
How in the hell was she supposed to calm her breathing when he was nestled between her legs, holding her wrapped in his arms, murmuring in her ear? 
This
was the antithesis of calming her!

She didn’t know whether to try to play along or to shove him away.  She did know there was no way in seven hells she was going to get her breathing under control with him plastered to her front.

He began rubbing her back and soothing her. “Easy, come on.  Just breathe.”

It was then she realized she’d been holding her breath entirely.  When she finally dragged in  much-needed air, she felt her cheeks flame at the scent of her own arousal filling the small space.  Christ, she was all hot for the Alpha—the Alpha who already told her he wasn’t interested in her.  She pushed at Delano’s chest, clearing her throat.  “It’s fine.  I’ll take care of it.  I told you, I prefer to do it on my own.”

“Don’t struggle, you’ll only make it harder.  And you don’t have to do it on your own anymore.  I’m here.”

A familiar scent tickled Eleanor’s nose, and she turned her head to eye Anders where he stood gap-mouthed at the door.  She knew how she and Delano
looked
, she knew how the room
smelled
, but replaying the last few lines of their conversation had her blushing to her roots.  “It’s not what it looks like.”

Anders clicked his mouth shut with a snap, and when Delano jerked his face from the other side of her head to scowl at Anders, he quickly stepped back and sealed the door.

“Great!”  She shoved at his chest again, the feeling of constriction doubling as her anxiety soared.  “Can you just…get
off
me!”

Delano stepped back, shoving a hand into his hair.  “Who gives a shit how it looked?”  His eyes narrowed as he barked, “You need to stop stressing about them!”

“Easy for you to say.” She hopped off the washing machine, slapping at his hands as he reached out to help.  “You’re not the one who’ll get stuck with the laundry, the dishes, the mowing, the chores.”  She shoved past him heading for the door when he caught her hips with both hands.

“Wait!”

She jerked around to face him, anger igniting her eyes into molten gold.  “What?” she hissed.

“That’s why you’re having an anxiety attack?  Chores?”  Amusement lifted his brows.

Eleanor clenched her teeth.  He was making fun of her.  Angry, she wanted to tie into him, but knew better.  She never lashed out at anyone, regardless of how badly she wanted to.  “Laugh it up,” she seethed.  “As Alpha,
you’re
to blame when things turn to shit!”

That wiped the smile from his face.

“We’re one day away from having no clean clothes in the house at all because Riss thinks she’s on vacation,” she continued, determined to make him see just how dire things had become.  “June stopped doing dishes three days ago, but that doesn’t matter because, thanks to May and Bose, we’re out of groceries.  They didn’t feel the need to shop.”  When Delano’s brows speared down, she planted her hands on her hips. 
Good.  He’s finally getting it.
  “Miston forgot to mow and,” she cocked her head.  “You know; I don’t think Parker’s been to school since you arrived.  Has he?”  She felt a smirk tug her lips when Delano actually looked guilty.

“Things are falling apart, Delano.”  She dipped her head, licking her lips before lifting her head with a brittle smile.  “
Alpha Bowden
.  I suggest you tend to your pack.”  She turned to leave, but his words halted her.

“What about…”

“Me?”  She turned back to him, her smile disappearing.  “I’m a writer.  I work long hours, and when I’m not, I help out where I can.  It’s why I was in the laundry room to begin with.  I take a rotation on the chores as well.”  She scowled darkly, holding her arms out.  “
I
am the one who
pays
for all of this.  I pull my weight.”

Delano’s expression darkened and she wondered if she’d pushed him too far.

“I was going to say, what about Bose?”  He stepped closer.  “You didn’t mention him when going over assigned duties.”

Sighing, Eleanor looked away.  “He doesn’t do chores and he doesn’t work.”

“Why?”

Eleanor lifted her eyes.  “Because he’s stronger than the rest of the males, and they can’t make him.”

“What about you?”

She knew what he was asking, and she felt humiliation wash over her.  She had the pack’s respect and trust, but she couldn’t coax Bose into doing anything no matter how diplomatic she’d been.  She held out her arms again.  “Look at me.”

His eyes slid slowly up and down her frame, and she regretted the request when heat pooled between her legs.  She quickly dropped her arms.  “I can’t make Bose do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

Delano stepped closer, and Eleanor sucked in a hard breath at the dark look that swept over his features.  “What about the other way around?”

“W-what?”

He stepped closer still, until his body was pressed hard into hers and she had to tilt her head far back to hold eye contact.

“Does he make
you
do anything you don’t want to?”

“No,” she breathed, then broke eye contact, but Delano’s hand collared her throat and forced her eyes back to his.

“I want the truth,” he commanded, and she felt his Alpha authority wash over her.  It felt different than the first time.  There was less demand, more…
comfort
.  She felt protected, like she could tell him anything.

“No.”  She lifted her chin off his fingers.  “He has never made me do anything.”  She was proud that she could answer him with such conviction, that he could read the truth in her eyes.  It meant a lot that she hadn’t been used in that manner, that no man nor wolf had taken that from her.  There was nothing to hide.

“Has he tried?”

Eleanor felt the blood drain from her face.