The Loneliest Alpha (The MacKellen Alphas) (12 page)

“No
more what, Hanna?” He crossed his arms, those lips she used to have permission
to kiss lifting into a smirk.

“No
more of this. I’m done.”

“Where
have I heard that before?” he shot back.

“This
time I mean it, Tom.”

He
nodded. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. Now if you don’t mind sending Barbara back
in here, she and I have some work to do.” He moved around his desk and sat
down, burying his face in his laptop.

Hanna
left without another word.

She
held back the tears that so badly wanted to escape. She held them all back until
she got home and closed the door to her empty house behind her. Only then did
she let it all out.

CHAPTER 9

Infuriating,
stupid, stupid man.

What
the hell could be that bad anyway, Alicia fumed as she paced the living room
floor downstairs. He’d left that morning before she had even gotten out of bed.
Not only that, but he’d come back and replaced his bedroom door.

How
did she know all this? For one, the squeal of a drill bolted her awake. When
she ran to the door to throw it open in her sleepy haste, she realized she’d
been locked in. After banging on the door, pissed the hell off at her wakeup
call and at being on lockdown, the drill had stopped.

He’d
called back, “I’ll be done in a minute,” then continued on his merry way.

When
her door finally unlocked she pulled it open so hard and so fast she nearly
tore a muscle in her shoulder. However, he was nowhere in sight because Hanna
stood there with several large boxes next to her. She looked worse for the wear
like she hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in days. Her eyes were red, her complexion
pale and her hair looked like she hadn’t bothered brushing it.

Hanna
pointed to the boxes. “Your supplies came in today. Gavin told me to deliver
them to you, and to unlock the door.”

“Of
course he made sure he was far away from me when you opened the door.”

The
woman gave a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, something like that. He’s gone for the
day so you’re free to roam around and all that. You need me to make breakfast
or can you handle it yourself?”

Alicia
started pulling the boxes into her room, excitement rushing her. She couldn’t
help but smile as she tore into the boxes. Seeing all her fabrics, her threads,
and her sewing machine made her feel like a kid in a candy store with a free
pass to get whatever they wanted.

“No,
I can take care of it. Thanks.”

Nodding,
Hanna turned to leave. Something made Alicia take a step toward her, her
excitement waning. “Hey, are you okay? It looks like something’s bothering you.”

Hanna’s
eyes widened in surprise. Then she smiled though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Two
deaths in the pack, and they were kids. It’s enough to bring anyone down, you
know.”

Alicia
nodded though she didn’t buy it for a second.

After
Hanna left, Alicia got down to business. She really needed a workstation. Heck,
even a good six by three table would work. She couldn’t very well work on the
floor and her only other option was the small top of her dresser. No way.

She
set off around the house searching. When she found a door at the back of the hallway
near the kitchen, she opened it and flipped on the light. A staircase led down
into the basement.

A
shiver coursed over her. She never much liked the dark or basements for that
matter. Taking a deep breath, she started down the stairs. “You’re not five
years old anymore, big girl. Time to grow a pair.”

The
stairs creaked as she made her way down. Halfway down, she could see the entire
basement. A door to the right behind the stairs stood open to reveal a laundry
room.

The
rest of the basement, surprisingly, was open space. There was the furnace and a
large workbench in the corner with tools on it. Some lumber was stacked on the
floor next to it with a tarp covering it.

Alicia
walked the rest of the way and wandered the space, a frown tugging at her
mouth. Something felt so off about the space. There was so much of it and
nothing really here. Normally people’s basements were crammed full of either
storage items or extra living space with a spare bedroom or even a rec room.
Gavin had a basement and it looked like he didn’t even use it.

It
probably wasn’t that strange, she tried to tell herself. But as she circled the
room it hit her all wrong. He lived alone, without kids, and he wasn’t mated.
That could be all there was to it. The guy didn’t have much upstairs so why should
he downstairs.

Shaking
her head, Alicia started back toward the stairs. She paused before she reached
them and her gaze was drawn to that laundry room. Curiosity nagging her, she
listened to it and went into the room, flipping the switch on.

The
side-by-side washer and dryer sat next to each other on the floor. A wooden
shelf hung on the wall above it to hold detergent and dryer sheets.

She
almost turned and left without seeing it. The only reason she caught it was
because a spider web hung in the corner of the room stealing her attention as
if a robber was pointing a gun at her. A spider dangled from the web all black,
fuzzy and terrifying in its small form. An
eek
formed around her lips as
she backed up and into something.

And
that’s when she found the box.

It
was cardboard box that had seen some wear and tear in its life. The top of the
box’s lips were folded in every other way forming a checkerboard pattern. It
wasn’t all that big, just large enough to hold a few hardcopy books or some
DVDs.

Her
heart slowly started to pound in her chest. Something inside her told her this
was important. This box held something Gavin MacKellen preferred to hide in a
shitty box in his laundry room.

She
knelt down, grabbed at the tops and started to pull them open.

Bam!
Bam! Bam!

She
jumped back, her hand flying to her throat as her heart tried to jump right out
of her chest.

“Holy
shit.” Abandoning the box, she sprinted upstairs to the front door where the
knocking continued. She opened it with her heart still banging around like clothes
in a dryer.

A man
stood there. He was thin and had blond hair that sat back on his head in short
waves. His face was lean, cheeks hollow, and he had eyes the color of amber.
Those eyes did a quick up and down of her body that sent a wave of unease
through her.

“Can
I help you?” she asked.

The
man smiled. It was a slow curling smile that reminded her of the Grinch from
Dr. Seuss. “I’m Marcus Graham, a lieutenant in the pack. I heard that Gavin had
a female visitor and I thought I’d come make your acquaintance.”

When
he held out his hand she had no choice but to clasp his and shake. He didn’t
immediately let go so she yanked her hand back, pulling the door close to her in
case she needed to slam the door closed at any second.

“I
didn’t get your name there,” he said, laughing softly.

God,
she did not want to tell this man her name. When he lifted an eyebrow at her
she sighed. “Alicia Clarkson.”

“Hmm,
and I gotta ask since half the pack is dying from the gossip. Just what are you
to Gavin?”

Gulp
. Darn. What was she to him? A
prisoner, a sort of-captive, an intrigued woman who wanted to see how the
quiet, strong alpha kissed? Maybe she was a bit of all three, not that she’d
tell him that.

“A
friend.”

His
smile said he didn’t believe it for a second. “A rather beautiful friend at
that.”

Gag.
A blush stole over her, not at the compliment but from embarrassment and shame.
He made her feel so uncomfortable that in this moment she wished she looked
like a hag so he wouldn’t look at her like that. Like he was picturing doing
things to her that made bile rise in her throat.

“Well,
Gavin’s not here right now and I have to get to work. So if you don’t mind…”
She started to close the door, not caring how rude it might be.

But a
hard palm slapped against it, nearly making her jump out of her skin. Her eyes
flew open as he stopped her from closing the door. For a moment, just a moment
so brief she might have imagined it, she saw rage flash in his eyes. So quickly
it was gone, vanished. He had himself back under control and he smiled that
Grinch smile again.

Her
hand curled around the doorframe, squeezing tight and applying pressure back as
if he might shove it open and stride inside.

“Yeah,
yeah. I know he’s working on the house over at the lake.” He scrubbed a hand
over his mouth. “I’ll be going now. I see I have lots of gossip to spread to
the pack,” he said, his smile slowing dying like a fire being put out until all
that was left was cold. That icy look narrowed on her and he took a step
forward causing her to brace her foot against the door to keep him from opening
it. He leaned it putting more and more pressure until her arm shook to hold the
door and her foot skidded on the floor with a
screech
. His head dipped
low. “You’ll be sure to tell him I stopped by, won’t you?”

Her heart
was racing, chest rising and falling like a pumping piston, every muscle in her
body coiled tight, ready to flee or fight. This man terrified her. Deep down to
her core. Words wouldn’t come to her. All she could do was nod.

Another
one of those smiles of his came and he nodded as if pleased with the results of
this little interaction. Tipping his head to her, he backed away then left in
his truck, spewing dust and gravel in his wake.

Pressing
a hand over her heart to steady it, Alicia closed and locked the door, leaning
her back against it until she calmed down enough to move. It took her longer
than she’d want to admit aloud. When she finally moved, she decided that since
she hadn’t found a table to work with earlier, she’d just have to move her
supplies into the basement.

She pushed
away the dark thoughts that her visitor had brought her. She got back to work,
carrying her boxes down into the basement and shoving all his tools into the
workbench’s drawers. If the tools didn’t fit then she made a pile of them on
the floor. She couldn’t help but grin at the sight. It felt like she was
getting her own personal little payback at him.

Sweat
matted her hair by time she finished lugging the boxes downstairs, from her sewing
machine, and all her beautiful little supplies. She organized the workbench as
close to possible to how she had it at home.

The
sewing machine on the left, fabrics on the bench, and her current work in
progress—the black feathered number—took up the rest of the workbench.

She
picked up the raven-feathered bra and gave it a critical eye. The next step was
human testing. A laugh bubbled out of her. Human testing, she cracked herself
up.

Her
lips pursed as she thought about how to do this. Usually she used her mannequin,
but seeing as they hadn’t shipped that up here that wasn’t an option. That left
herself, which was fine, since she always made her first pieces in her size.
However, first she’d need a mirror down here and definitely some tunes.

With
that mission in mind, Alicia set off to search Gavin’s house.

CHAPTER 10

Gavin
entered his house like a robber sneaking in to do a job. He closed the door as
quietly as possible and stopped, listening. He set the bag of goods he’d bought
for Alicia next to the front door. Where was she and what was she up to?

One
thing he’d learned about her so far was that things were never as he expected
with her.

He
wouldn’t let her surprise him like she did yesterday. She’d come too close to
seeing his face. Way too close. Hell, she’d touch the disgusting flesh, her
soft, feminine hands feeling the distortions and scar tissue.

He’d
misjudged her fearless determination to see his damned face. Curse the fucking
thing. Since he became alpha, his face had become the bane of his existence;
the nightmare that haunted his sleep. Now worse than ever.

He
was acting like a damned coward and he knew it. He didn’t care though, not when
it meant keeping Alicia here for a few more weeks.

She
didn’t seem to mind him either, but he couldn’t be sure if her interest was in
him or the curiosity about his face. Damn, he wished he knew. It was torture
not knowing. If it wasn’t just curiosity, then…hell. She might actually like
him.

If
that didn’t just twist the nerves in his stomach. Gavin scrubbed a hand over his
face. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had made him nervous like
this. Probably because it’d never happened. A woman had never affected him like
this. Ever.

Alicia
was different, something special. Creative, resourceful, and strong. Her alpha,
Josiah, had called and told him he was sending another girl and when Gavin
asked why, he’d said because she had a smart mouth. That had piqued Gavin’s
interest and when he first sat down to speak to Sarah she’d spilled the beans
about how Alicia had stood up for her.