Downpour (Alpha Love - A Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Book 1) (20 page)

Gus looks like he’s about to reply but instead he looks at Sofie with an expression that’s not a world away from being impressed. “No, I don’t have any other ideas. But if you betray us I won’t hesitate to—” He cuts himself off like he knows that what he’s going to say isn’t going to go down well.

“To what? Kill me?” Sofie tries to keep her voice level, she hopes that he can’t hear her fear.

“To do what needs to be done.” He levels a look at her that says she wasn’t wrong with her interpretation of what he meant. He doesn’t wait for a response before turning and stalking out of the house.

Ashton takes a step towards the door to follow him, with a look on his face that would freeze Niagara Falls. But Lindsey steps in front of him, pushing him back. Despite her small frame, she’s surprisingly strong. “Let it go. He’ll come around. This is harder for him than most.”

Ashton seems conflicted, looking between Lindsey and the door behind her. “I can’t let him talk that way to her. If he thinks that I won’t challenge him...”

“Gus is loyal to you. You know that. He knows that you’re the Alpha, the only Alpha. He respects the pack too much to do anything to hurt it.” Lindsey shoots Hector a meaningful look once she seems satisfied that Ashton isn’t going to go on a rampage.

“What do you mean it’s harder for Gus than most? Why?” Sofie tries to see past the anger in the man that she now knows has an alter ego as a gigantic black wolf.

“He believes in the stories, believes them down to the letter. He thinks weres are better than people. Sometimes I’m inclined to agree with him.” Lindsey shrugs and then realizes what she’s just said. “Present company excluded of course.” She looks hastily at Sofie.

“No offense taken, Lindsey.” Sofie holds up her hands.

“Like I said, Ash, Gus’ll come around. Trust me. Now, we’ll get the pack ready for that meeting I know you’re already thinking about.” Lindsey smiles at Ashton winningly and scampers out of the door, Hector in tow.

“I go where she goes.” Hector shrugs as if to say that it’s out of his hands.

Ashton stares after them, waiting a beat before he concentrates his full attention back on Sofie. He looks down at her, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “That was a brave thing that you did. Brave and stupid.”

Sofie tries to figure out why she feels like a kid that’s being scolded. “What did you want me to do? Just pretend that the tension in the room didn’t exist?

“No, I wanted you to let me deal with it. That’s what I do. This is my pack, and I make the rules and enforce the rules. I am the Alpha and that means that Gus doesn’t get to talk to you like that.” Ashton takes a deep breath, as if he’s trying to calm himself down.

“Rein in that temper of yours.” Sofie takes a step towards him, poking him in the chest with her index finger. “I’ve told you before. I can take care of myself. You can’t beat everyone up who doesn’t talk to me the way that you’d like them to. It doesn’t work that way.”

Ashton grabs hold of her finger, bringing her closer to him and kissing her slowly, deliciously. “Why do I get the feeling that this isn’t going to be easy?” He frowns at her.

“Because nothing worthwhile ever is.” Sofie smiles up at him, enjoying that for once she doesn’t feel like she’s the one on the back foot. They kiss again, and Sofie feels her body responding to him like it always does.

“We should get out there, for the pack meeting, and tell them the plan.” Ashton takes her hand, leading her towards the door.

“We?” Sofie plants her feet, not taking another step. “As Gus so astutely pointed out, I’m not pack.”

“You know what we are, and you want to help us. That’s enough for me.” Ashton wipes his thumb over lips, tracing the shape of them.

She tries to stop herself from grinning like an idiot, but she’s pretty sure that she’s not all that successful. But before they go out there, in front of all the pack, she has one more question to ask, a hunch that she needs to play. “Ashton, what’s your last name?”

He smiles at her wolfishly and bows his head, acknowledging the fact that she’s figured it out. “Lupo.” He looks at her expectantly, knowing what’s coming next.

“Lupo, like the first, like
The Origin
story?” Sofie looks over at the book still lying on the table. “What does that mean? That you’re a descendant of his, of the first werewolf?”

Ashton puts his forefinger over her lips, silencing her questions. “Like I said, there’s way more to cover than a few hours of conversation. But we’ll get to it, we’ll come to that part of the story eventually.” He looks to her for agreement that she won’t push the question, not now at least, and Sofie nods at him solemnly, her brain still working at a million miles an hour. “Good,” he nods in satisfaction, “now let’s go and figure out how we’re going to save this pack.” Ashton holds out his hand, and Sofie takes it. They walk out to the waiting wolves together.

The pack meeting isn’t easy. It takes a while for them to overcome the innate suspicion that they have of Sofie. She’s an outsider, not one of them and therefore not to be trusted. But with Lindsey, Hector, and Ashton vouching for her, slowly but surely the rest of the pack starts to come round. Gus is silent throughout the discussions. He glowers at Sofie from the other side of the yard, sitting close enough to form part of the meeting, but far enough away for it to be clear that he’s not happy about it.

They talk through the night, planning how to work the sightings so that they make sure that they’re seen, but not followed or tracked. They are to keep their distance.

“That’s hugely important.” Sofie looks out over the pack assembled in front of her, a collection of 18 men and women, some old, some young. “If they see the wolves as threatening or a potential danger to the town, then that’s a whole other story. It won’t win you any supporters in Beaumont and could potentially make this whole plan backfire.”

The sky is starting to lighten, signaling that morning is just around the corner. Ashton stands, and every eye turns to him. “Anyone not want to be a part of this, now is the time to speak up. We have to be in this together.” His eyes scan the crowd and rest, just for a few moments longer, on Gus. There’s no doubt in Sofie’s mind that what Ashton is saying is for his benefit.

Sofie looks out over the men and women in front of her, watching their reaction to what their pack leader is telling them. There’s an expression of trust and belief in their faces that shows just how much they value Ashton and how much they think of him. There’s something about him that inspires people to put their faith in him, to follow him.

“We’re with you, Ashton. Just like always.” Lindsey speaks up on behalf of the rest of the pack and no one contradicts her. The expression in all of their faces shows that they all feel exactly the same way, at least all of them bar Gus. However, he remains silent, although there’s a dark look on his face that makes Sofie shiver, despite the warm air. She can’t help but think that he’s going to be a problem.

On the drive back to the motel, Sofie broaches her concern with Ashton. “Do you think Gus is going to try something?”

The look on Ashton’s face tells her that she’s just crossed a line that she hadn’t even been aware of. “Gus is pack. He would never do anything to hurt his brothers and sisters. We’re just not made that way.”

Sofie knows in her heart that she should probably back down at this point, but she knows that if she doesn’t say what she’s thinking out loud, then they all might have to suffer the consequences. “He’s not happy about it. You saw his face. He hates the idea of showing yourselves, hates the idea of me having anything to do with all of this.” She looks out of the window, trying not to take his opinion of her personally.

“Is that what this is about? That he doesn’t like you?” Ashton shakes his head in disbelief. “Just because he may not vote for you as homecoming queen doesn’t mean that he would ever betray the pack. It would be like stabbing your own family in the back. Humans do that, wolves don’t.”

“You sound like Gus, like you think you’re better than the rest of us. Is that what you really believe?” Sofie tries not to think about what that means for her, what it means his opinion of her must be. This is about something bigger than just the two of them.

“No, I didn’t say that.” Ashton sounds frustrated, and she hears him take some deep breaths, calming himself. “I just meant that you don’t know Gus like I do. He’s decent and loyal, and he would never let me down. He hasn’t so far, and we’ve been friends for a very long time.”

Sofie takes the not-so-subtle hint that this is a conversation that’s clearly off-limits. They sit in silence for a few moments until she literally can’t contain her curiosity anymore. “Is that how you control it? The breathing?” She looks at Ashton out of the corner of her eye, and she sees the smile creeping across his lips.

“You don’t give up, do you? Does that brain of yours ever get turned off?” He laughs that deep laugh of his that seems like the greatest sound ever.

“Not really. Sort of comes with the territory of being a scientist. I figure we stop thinking when we die so, before that, I’d like to find out as much as I can about everything there is to know.” Sofie waits a beat, letting this sink in before continuing. “So is that a yes?”

Ashton sighs theatrically, raising his eyes to the heavens as he realizes that he’s not getting out of answering her question. “It’s not a yes and it’s not a no. When you get emotional, it’s harder to keep it in check. It’s the way our bodies protect themselves. When we sense danger real or imagined, it’s an automatic response, just like pulling your hand away when you touch something hot. Breathing control is one of the ways we hold back the wolf, but it’s not the only way. It’s a long process; it takes time and practice and patience.” He closes his mouth, signaling that part of the conversation is over.

“Does it ever not work?” Sofie turns in her seat to face Ashton, unable to draw her eyes away from the strength that his body exudes. She can feel the heat coming off of him without even having to touch him. But she figures that’s a question for another day.

“A long time ago.” Ashton’s voice is low, and it seems as if he has to force the words out of his mouth.

“What happened?” The words are out of her mouth before she can tell herself that sometimes she should know when to leave well enough alone.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ashton closes her down and clams up, gripping the steering wheel tight.

Sofie nods in understanding.
Whatever happened when Ashton was overcome by the wolf inside of him, it clearly wasn’t good. I knows that he would never hurt me, but what if there came another time when he couldn’t hold back the wolf? What if that happened around me?
They sit in silence for the remainder of the journey until they’re a block away from the motel.

“Pull over here. I don’t want Luke to see me getting out of your car again.” Sofie gathers herself, knowing that today she’s going to have to face her boss, and she doesn’t know how much longer she can hold him at bay.

“Why? You don’t want him to know that you’re with me?” Ashton’s eyes flash and the anger that he always seems to be battling builds up inside of him again.

“No! You know it isn’t like that!” Sofie looks at him with a wariness that she had hoped she would never feel around him. “But he already has enough reasons to make my life difficult, and I don’t want to give him any more.” Sofie reaches out and rubs her hands along the thick stubble across his cheeks.

“If he touches you...” Ashton lets the threat fall between them, and she’s glad that he doesn’t finish the sentence. No matter how much she dislikes Luke and how many reasons she has to hate him, she would never want to be the reason that something permanent happened to him. She doesn’t think that she could live with herself if she let that happen.

“I know, Ash. I know. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She leans into him and kisses him softly, but Ashton needs more from her than that. He pulls her closer to him, so she’s almost sitting in his lap, and crushes his lips against hers. She knows that he’s staking his claim on her, making it clear that she is his and no one else’s. Her independent streak wants to tell him that she’s her own person, that she doesn’t belong to anyone. But she knows that he needs this, he needs to know that she’s not going anywhere, that Luke can’t take her from him.

“Keep in touch.” Ashton leans his forehead against hers, watching her nod in agreement.

As she jumps out of the truck, she wonders if it’s always going to be this hard to leave him, if she’s always going to feel like she’s left a part of herself behind when she’s not with him.

It’s still early enough for the town to be asleep. She doesn’t see anyone as she makes her way into the motel, trying not to hold her breath and half-expecting to see Luke sitting in the reception waiting for her.

“Umm ma’am! Ms. Braun!” The words make her stop in her tracks. She had thought she was home free and although she doesn’t recognize the voice, she has come to expect that surprises are generally not welcome.

As she turns around slowly, she sees the teenager that mans the reception desk looking at her earnestly. She breathes a sigh of relief and tells herself to get a grip. “Brett, right?”

The smile that spreads across his young face tells her that her razor sharp memory hasn’t failed her. “Yes ma’am.” He looks so pleased that she’s remembered his name that he seems to have forgotten why he called her over.

“Is there something you need to tell me, Brett?” She tries to avoid tapping her foot as she waits for whatever it is he wants to say. The clock behind his head shows that it’s coming up for 7am, which means that Darwin is going to be up and about, like he always is at this time, just like clockwork.

Brett clicks his fingers together like he’s just recalled why they were having this little chat in the first place. “This came for you.” He holds out an envelope addressed to her by hand. She recognizes the writing straight away and has to persuade herself not to rip it open right then and there. “It looked important. Figured I should get it to you straight away.” He looks at her endearingly, like he’s hoping he did the right thing.

“That’s great, thanks Brett. That was very...professional of you.” Sofie flashes him a smile before turning around to sneak back to her bedroom.

“You’re friend, the one with the Harry Potter glasses, he was looking for you last night.” Brett keeps his voice low like he doesn’t want to be overheard, but his stage whisper is so loud she’s surprised that he doesn’t manage to wake up the entire floor.

“Oh?” Sofie wonders what Finn must be thinking about her little disappearing act. She knows that he wouldn’t mention it to Darwin, but he would no doubt have his suspicions and that meant that she would have to lie to him. She couldn’t tell him anything about what she had seen the night before. The pack’s secret wasn’t hers to spill, and she had no intention of betraying their trust. But it was hard to think that she would have to hold something so big back from Finn. He was her best friend and, up until now, she had shared more with him than anyone else since her parents died.

“Yeah, he said you weren’t feeling too good. He knocked on your door a few times, tried to get me to give him a key to your room when you wouldn’t open up.” Brett speaks slowly, taking longer than she had thought possible to tell what seemed like a relatively simple story.

Sofie avoids the urge that she has to tell him to cut to the chase. “And did you give him a key?”

Brett looks at her with wide eyes. “No ma’am.” He shakes his head seriously. “Motel policy, we can only hand over keys to the resident of the room.” Then, as if he’s put some of the pieces of the puzzle together, Brett leans in speaking so softly she can barely hear him. “I told him that you were sick and didn’t want anyone to disturb you.” He smiles at her and winks to show that he’s keeping her secret.

If he has any idea of the real secret that she is keeping, then he may not be so happy to help her cover her tracks
, she thinks. “Thanks, Brett. That was very thoughtful of you.”

“Whatever you need, just ask for Brett.” He smiles, looking so pleased with himself for helping her out that he looks like he might explode.

Sofie throws him a little wave before hurrying back to her room, locking the door behind her. She doesn’t waste any time ripping the letter out of the envelope. It’s not long but she has to read it a few times to take in all the information.

Dear Sofie

I’m sorry that you haven’t heard from me before. I know that I owe you an explanation, but I didn’t want to call or email, not when Shale seem to be monitoring everything that they can.

I don’t know what LC has told you, but I didn’t tell him about the sample you sent me. He knew I had it before I even had time to test it. He asked why it was off the books. He figured we were trying to hide something, and I guess he was right. He gave the sample to one of the new guys and told me to pack my things and leave, that I was no longer working for Shale.

I didn’t need to test what you sent me to see that it was special, different from anything we’ve seen before. I stuck around long enough to overhear the new guy tell LC that the rock suggests huge oil deposits. That was all he wanted to know before he locked it up with the rest of his collection. He’s not interested in science, all he cares about is profit, and I’m done with that.