Undeniable (Undeniable series) (3 page)

Gemma

Never before in my life have I seen or been a part of the hunt, which is only done a month before the first game. It was over two hundred years ago when the last hunt was and now it was time again. Our pack master and my personal surrogate father is going to be stepping down and that gives rise to the highest position available. Three male shifters who had proven themselves worthy by the pack master are selected to enter the games. The games for pack master are anything but games. Never in the history of the games had not at least one of the participants died. Even at the risk it is a great privilege to be selected and is not seen as anything to feel sad about, but to see the dead as honored.

Everything is pulled out of the woodworks to
make every game something to never be forgotten. From all the older shifters who were around for the last one was one to be topped. Being that it was in the early nineteen hundreds I really doubt that. We have computers and way cooler stuff now a days.

“Aren’t you excited?” Marcus says nearly shifting with
anticipation.

“Yes, but u
nlike you I can control my shit,” I say and we both laugh.

Looking over to where our pack master is stationed at I see Riley watching me from the corner of his eye as
he is talked to. I hate to admit this, but Riley is the youngest ever to be put into the games and I’m somewhat proud of him. At eighty eight he has accomplished more in his life than most.

The other two
shifters are eating up every word that comes out of the pack masters mouth. Ezra is the oldest and smartest. I heard rumors he paid for his way into the games which seems like it may have happened. He is three hundred and fifty two years old and the limit for the games is three hundred. Thaddeus was one of my personal teachers as a child who taught me strategy. He’s at the more appropriate age for the pack master at two hundred and seven years old. I can see him being the biggest competition for Riley.

I can see a smile form on Riley
’s lips and I know I’ve been staring for far too long in their direction. Turning I do anything but look in that direction again and I can feel Riley’s eyes on me almost at all times. The real fact is that I know that there is a very good chance that he will win and become pack master, but I’m torn about it. “Did you have a good look, my Gemma?” Riley’s voice sends chills running down my spine and my stomach tightens as the butterflies within spread their wings. I don’t reply and just try to pretend that he’s not even there, though I can feel his breath against the back of my neck.

Not being one who can be
ignored he turns me to face him placing a hand to one side of my neck to better expose the other side. He’s always touching. I can’t really even think of a time when he doesn’t touch me. He brings his face closer to mine and he briefly closes his eyes. “I like it when you look at me,” he sighs making me swallow. So softly, he nuzzles my bare neck with his nose making goose bumps cascade across my skin and my breathing increase. The gentleness of this act is so intimate and raw I have to close my eyes.

As wolf shifters we crave
closeness to our own kind and being together with our pack. It’s strange how hard it is to fight the animal inside sometimes. It reminds me why when shifters are banished from the pack that most of them die off. We are social creatures.

Placing my hands on his arms I can feel is lips turn into a s
mile against my neck. He breathes in my scent that has changed slightly with my mood. “Excuse me,” I say escaping from his grasp and out of the room. In the hall I run to get out of this building and out of this form. I need to run in order to get control of myself. My wolf sees Riley as an excellent mate, second best to a true mate, but I don’t really want to see it that way. The human in me wants to choose to live my life how I please, organized and planned out. My wolf on the other hand craves the opposite. Marcus’s words come back to me about how life just isn’t always planned and that I just have to go with it.

Once out of the building I run into the trees taking my
dress off and tearing other parts of the deep blue material. I’m not too worried about it at the moment because I always hide extra clothes in a few places out here.

I let the
shift over take me. Bones crack and brake with no pain until I land onto my four paws seconds later. Everything is better when I’m like this. My vision is clearer, my hearing sharper, and I can just let my wolf take over. Her thoughts are only of running and hunting.

It’s
not long though until I hear another near me. Creeping down into some bushes I sniff the air noting that Riley has followed me out here. He’s not far and has just shifted. Knowing there is nowhere for me to hide I come out and face the direction he will be coming at.

His
wolf runs in my direction, snapping branches and bursting through the bushes. I watch as he comes to a stop in front of me. Everyone’s wolf is a little different from the next, but most of us look alike. Riley’s coat is similar to my own. Its dark brown with different shades of red, but Riley has one white spot on his front left paw. His eyes are glowing amber as he lifts his head higher than my own. I stand still as he comes over sniffing my coat and I sniff his. He moves back to my face licking my snout.

Dropping to a play position
I watch as his eyes dance with excitement as he too goes into the position. I take off running as fast as I can with him only a few steps behind me. He gets close nipping at my heels as I try to pick up my speed.

We run all nig
ht until we are physically exhausted and lay on a soft patch of grass to catch our breath. In this moment everything is peaceful and all the stress has been worked out of my body. I’m not sure how much time we lay there like that, but I’ve stopped breathing so hard and my body becomes super aware of Riley’s presents behind me.

He
moves behind me shifting back into his human form and stands offering his hand down to my wolf form. The offering is different for him and I take it shifting back into my human form. His eyes roam my naked body unabashed as he takes my hand. “You are so beautiful,” he says as if I have taken his breath away. We all have seen each other naked it’s just part of our life, but never has he said that to me. The way he looks at me fills me with a since of empowerment. It makes my wolf excited as I feel my eyes heat, glowing faintly.

Turning away from him I grab my cloth
es that I had hidden and put them back on. “That was… interesting,” I say still putting my clothes on with my back to him.

“Very
, I know at least your wolf enjoys my company. Now I just need to get the woman on board,” he says and I can hear him zipping his pants back on. “I have to admit that you two have worked me out.” He says and I smile in pride.

Fully clothed I turn to him
catching him placing his shirt on. All the muscles in his upper body move so fluidly that it momentarily distracts me.

“Is that so
,” I grin.

“Oh yeah
,” he says coming closer to me. His white teeth almost glow under the half moon. “We should do that again some time.” He bends down picking up the tattered blue dress and hands it over to me. “Shame about the dress. It looked very lovely on you,” he says handing me the dress.

When I took it off I didn’t noticed that I completely ruined one of my only dresses. Looking down at it now I remember why I got this dress and it saddens me.

In the only picture of my mother she was wearing a dress almost identical to the torn one in my hands. Riley watches me, “I could get you another.” The look of concern crosses his features and it’s cute.

“No, its fine b
ut thank you. That was very sweet of you,” I say patting his face.

H
e pulls my hand to his lips and compassionately places a kiss that starts at the tip of one finger and ends at my wrist. “Don’t tell anyone they might think I’m a push over,” he says keeping his lips near my skin. “Only for you.”

“There you are
. I’ve been looking everywhere for you” Marcus says running over to us and it surprises me how I didn’t even hear him coming. “Pack Master wants you in his office Riley.” Marcus places his hands on his side breathing in deeply.

Riley pushes my hair
aside from my neck and lays a soft kiss that sends chills again. “Until next time,” he whispers in my ear then leaves Marcus and I.

“Don’t say anything
,” I say as soon as Riley isn’t in ear shot anymore.

“Do I look like a guy who was about to say something
and by the way you missed the hunt,” he shrugs playing it off.

“Of course you do and it’s not what it looks like. We just went for a run
, I didn’t think I would be gone that long,” I say moving my hair back over my neck.

“W
ho are you trying to convince?” He smiles that knowing smile and I know he’s right. He always seems to come at times like these. I feel as if he catches me with my pants down every time, but the way he acts about it makes me feel as if he approves of it in a strange way.

“What do you think of Riley?” I ask as we walk back to housing.

“He seems alright, can be kind of a dick sometimes, but alright.” He says and I’m glad he doesn’t ask a million question to my one. I nod and head for my room.

After cleaning myself up I lay in bed for hours tossing and turning all night.
Both grey eyes and brown eyes haunt my dreams to the point of exhaustion. I don’t know why I dream of a man I meant once ten years ago. Sometimes I wonder if it was because he mixed his blood with mine, the same thing I never told anyone not even Marcus. I really shouldn’t feel anything for Beau, the very first rule we learn is that we are never to mix with other species and my wolf fully agrees with that. They would rather us mix with humans than anything else, though it is still against our laws. Only if it’s your true mate, but that has never happened proving beyond the point of how unnatural it is.

Giving up on the thought of sleep I grab the file on my desk that has all the information on our next mission. I’ve read it countless of times just like I do with all the others. Re
ading and studying all to be a step ahead. Marcus does scan over it and I make sure to highlight key points on his file so he know at least the most important parts.

We are going after a lead at where the main headquarter are at. Never have we found it and if this really is where it is located it will be the hunters Achilles
heel. This new tip is located in Croydon, England. It’s not the first time we have gone anywhere on a tip, but I’m really hoping it’s the last. Each lead is carefully investigated or we would be running all over the place. The London pack is sending their own shifters to join us. It doesn’t really thrill me to have extras like that, especially those I’ve never worked with before. They always get in my way or want to change my very well thought out plans. I growl at just the thought.

“Hey now
,” pack master says making me jump. What has been up with me today!

“Sorry pack m
aster,” I say turning to him and removing the hair from the side of my neck.

He smiles as he comes over to me. “No need
, I know how you get before a mission,” he grins. “You never change and I really do love that about you,” he muses and I know he has more on his mind. He always starts off on a positive note before he lays whatever shit he has to lay on me. I give him the look showing him I know what’s coming and he laughs. “You know me too well Gemma,” he smiles but just as quickly his face becomes neutral.

He waves
us over to a set of chairs and I wait for it to come. Usually it’s about how I should look at the experience of working with others as an opportunity to expand my mind, but this doesn’t look like one of those. Maybe it’s about training I think.

“Everyone knows that soon there will be a new pack master and it will change a lot of things
.” He starts and I inwardly cringe. “I have had many conversations with each of the men competing for the pack master spot. I told them how important it will be for them to have their personal lives in order so they have a clear mind.”

“What does this have to do with me
,” I say a little annoyed.

“I was getting to that
,” he says a little louder. “Riley is the only one without a mate and I know that he has been pursuing you for quite some time now.” He raises his hands. “Hear me out first. I see you as not only a student, but also as the daughter I never had. The only thing I want for you is for you to be happy and to be taken care of. Riley could and would do all of that for you. I’ve talked to him recently about you and he cares for you very much. So much so that I wouldn’t doubt if you two were true mates,” he smiles and I know that can’t be. I would feel it or something if Riley was my true mate. “We are taught never to show weakness, but yet I can see that you are Riley’s. If anything was to happen to you it would damage him,” he says and I huff.

“I appreciate you talking to me about this
, but I really think you have it all wrong. Riley only wants what he can’t easily attain. If I was to just return half of the attention he gives me he would be over me before the day even ended,” I say feeling as if I’m winning this. Even sitting up a little straighter and crossing my legs.