Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (9 page)

Ronan turned to Lia. “Will you wait here for me? I won’t be long.” He looked at Kane. “You’ll look after her, won’t you? Or do you want to hear the details, too?”

“You can fill me in,” Kane said, “but we all know that if anyone’s skulking about it’s one of Shade’s people.”

“You can’t assume that,” Ronan snapped.

“I know, I know, the treaty, kumbaya, we’re such good friends.” Kane waved him off. “Go have your talk. When you discover that it’s one of the Shadow pack, I’ll try not to gloat too much.”

Ronan scowled, but he ran off to the den with Flint.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kane began walking.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lia asked.

“To check the nearest crossing.”

“Hey!” She jogged to catch up with him. “Ronan told you to look after me.”

“Then I guess you’d better keep up.”

She looked back toward the den. “Ronan told me to wait here.”

“And he told me to check the crossings. The sooner we finish, the sooner I can take a nap.” He paused, making sure she was still there. “Are you coming with me, or are you too afraid?”

Wordlessly, she strode past him toward the forest.

“You don’t even know where the crossings are,” he shouted after her.

“I don’t care!”

He had to admit, she was amusing. “Stop,” Kane said. “Get on my back, it’ll be faster.”

The female bit her lip.

“You’ve ridden Ronan. I’d be no different, except for the fact that I’m stronger and faster.”

She crossed her arms. “I don’t want to.”

“Get on my back. That’s an order.”

The female sat on the grass. “Ronan said to wait for him. Maybe it’s better if I do.”

“He said we need to get along. That’d be much easier if you listened to my orders.”

“You can’t order me around.”

Kane advanced on her until he towered over her, forcing her to look up at him. “Of course I can. I’m going to be your Alpha.”

“You aren’t my Alpha yet.”

By now he expected her defiance, her fire. What he did not expect was her eyes to drift to his cock, for her face to redden and her pulse to race. What was this? Did she want him? He looked at the way her jaw was set and tried not to laugh. She did, but she was trying to deny herself. If Ronan hadn’t been lying last night, if he hadn’t already taken the female, then he was a fool. Apparently all one needed to do to excite a human was to walk around naked in front of them. It almost seemed too stupidly simple to be true.

“I’m going to the crossing,” he said, “and you’re coming with me.” He shifted, grabbing her by the shirt collar with his teeth and swinging her onto his back. She gasped like he’d knocked the wind out of her, but clutched his fur. She’d hold. He sprinted into the forest, his breaths fast and shallow. Kane could smell her arousal. She was getting wet, slicking the fur where she rode him. Her thighs gripped him, her calves twitching in spasms. It drove him wild.

He found himself at the crossing, where a log lay over the river. How had they gotten here? Why? There was something he was supposed to do.

The female
. Yes, that was it.

Shifting, he dumped her off his back. She sprawled in the dust, which he found to be a fine position for her. Hunkering low, he studied her. The soft curve of her breasts, the sweep of her legs. She would be a fine treat for him.

“What do you want?” Her voice quavered, but it was laced with desire. Was she toying with him?

“You,” he said.

She stood, backing against an elm.

“I can do what I want with you.” Kane pinned her to the tree. He could feel her pulse beneath her skin. It jumped and raced. She was nervous and excited all at once. It intoxicated him.

He leaned forward, his hard cock pushing against her leg. “You want me, don’t you.”

She didn’t say anything, but he was drowning in the scent of her wetness. Holding her gaze, Kane pressed two fingers to the place where her thighs met. Curling them, he massaged her through her damp clothes. She let out a small noise of pleasure

“Tell me you want me,” he commanded.

“I want you,” she whispered.

Something snapped inside him. He wondered if the Delirium had claimed him early. Flinging her onto his back, he shifted. They needed to run, far away, where Ronan couldn’t find them. His brother might take her for himself. Ronan couldn’t have her. Kane needed her.

She would be his.

***

Lia sat astride Kane, her fingers twisted into his thick fur. She clung to him as he bolted through the forest. Falling off was a real possibility, for it seemed that Kane was more concerned with speed than care. His paws drummed an urgent beat against the ground, and Lia’s heart beat in answer. She needed him, and she needed him soon.

Ever since she’d met Kane, she couldn’t decide if he unnerved her or thrilled her. In reality it was both, intertwined. She’d never met anyone so wild and untamed. When Kane saw something he wanted, he didn’t hesitate. He just went out and grabbed it.

And it turned out he wanted her.

She shivered. How could he want her? He was a gorgeous man, a beautiful wolf. How could she compare? But another part of her didn’t care about the whys or the hows. That part simply wanted Kane, craved him. Craved his heat against her skin, his rough caresses. His domination.

Her breath hitched as he leapt, his muscles moving underneath her. His motion seemed to set a fire in her. It worked its way up her spine, building to an inferno. Her fingers contracted wildly, pulling at his fur. She wanted him to stop, but she also wanted him to run faster, faster. Part of her wanted to burn.

He sped until he was running flat out, branches whipping by her head. She barely noticed. Kane was running roughly on purpose, making her grind against him. She hated and loved him for it. He wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t slow, and the friction was too much for her. Her pants rubbed against her wetness and the beast beneath, and she was sliding back and forth. She saw sparks. Her breath came in short pants, then deep ones. She couldn’t get enough air. There was nothing in the world but her, Kane, and a crashing wave of euphoria.

She cried out as she drowned in it.

When her paroxysms stopped, she lay limp. Kane stood still, breathing heavily. He sat slowly, and she slid off his back. Her thighs twitched as her knees sank into the forest loam. What was going to happen now? She didn’t think she could survive another ride.

Kane stood before her, human now, his chest glistening with sweat. Even now he had that commanding air about him, the expectation that he would be obeyed. She wished he would give her another order.

“Get down,” he said. “On your back.”

Her heart pounded as she lay on the ground. He knew what he wanted. What she needed. She spread her legs for him.

He moaned, which only made her throb harder. Then he was on top of her, his knees beside her hips.

“You don’t need these.” He ripped off her pants, then her shirt. She was bare before him, but somehow she felt no urge to cover herself.

“Yes,” he whispered, running a finger from her breast to her inner thigh. “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

He kissed her neck, hard and insistent. Baring his teeth, he raked them across her flesh.

“Not that,” he said. “Not yet. You’ll be mine soon enough.”

Lia’s brain was clouded, but she saw something through the fog. Another white wolf, watching her. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go, was it?

“What about Ronan?” she asked.

Kane bent low over her ear. “I don’t want to share.”

He put his weight on her, his cock pressing against her flesh. It was so hard, so hot, just like the rest of him. He was pure muscle, and having him on top of her made it hard to think of anything else. He licked her hardening nipple and the sensation swept all thoughts away.

The touch of his fingers on her skin was electric. They were calloused from years of hard use, but they brushed so softly against her. He traced her collarbone, her hips, the swell of her thigh. Lia arched her back, pressing against him. She wanted him to take her. She was his.

Kane ran his hand between her legs, parting her thighs, and she opened for him. His cock was so large, so thick, but she was too eager to be scared. She wanted him to enter her, to fill her, to own her.

His tip was white hot, like a brand. He placed it to her opening, then plunged in. She was so slick, so ready for him that it didn’t hurt at all. He was filling her, stretching her, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She wanted all of him.

Lia wrapped her legs around his ass, pulling him closer. He thrust obediently, burying his cock so deep that she couldn’t breathe. But she needed him more than she needed air. She had been missing him all her life, and they needed to make up for lost time.

Kane pressed his face into her neck, his breath hot on her throat. He had her pinned with the weight of him, like prey finally caught by the hunter. Yet it was really she who had captured him, for she could enthrall him with the angle of her hips, make him thrust harder with a single moan. If she was his, then he was surely hers.

He growled as he pounded into her. His thrusts became wild as he drove into her with pure abandon. Kane was losing control, but so was Lia. Throwing her head back, she let him ravish her. He had lit a fire in her veins and it was rolling through her, scorching as it passed. There was no part of her that would be untouched by his burning lust. He possessed her to the core.

She was overwhelmed by his fire, his tremendous heat. He had set her ablaze, and nothing could quench the flames. She let out a keening cry as she gave into the spasms that rocked through her.

Kane slammed into her, letting out a guttural groan. He put a hand on her throat, the pressure light, but enough to prove that he owned her. He looked into her eyes as he came, driving into her until he had emptied himself. At last he collapsed on top of her, breathing hard, his back glistening with sweat.

“You will be my mate,” he whispered in her ear. “You are mine.”

***

Ronan emerged from the den to find Kane and Lia gone. He swore. This was Kane’s doing, it was always Kane. Couldn’t he keep himself in line for fifteen minutes?

He shifted, catching the scent of Kane’s wolf. Kane had shifted, then. And Lia had ridden him. The thought made his hackles rise.

There were other scents mixed in with the two of them, excitement and something he dared not name. But Kane had taken her. That’s what he had to remember. Kane had taken Lia, and Ronan had to save her.

He ran through the forest, his thoughts racing along. What was Kane doing to Lia? If his brother hurt her, Ronan would never forgive him. Or himself. He forgot all about what Flint had said, invaders and tracks and scents. This was far more important.

In the distance, he heard Lia cry out. He snarled, pushing himself to go faster. Kane was hurting her. Ronan had to protect her. The sounds of the forest faded. He strained for any hint of Lia.

If she would just hold on. He was almost there.

He broke through the trees and found them. Lia looked up at him, startled. Her hair was disheveled, and the smell of sex hung in the air. Kane’s hand was draped over Lia’s hip, claiming her as his own.

That was it. He was going to kill him.

With a howl of rage, Ronan lunged for Kane’s throat.

Part Two

Chapter One

Time moved slowly, as if in a dream. Ronan felt suspended in the air.

Kane pushed the female aside. He didn’t have time to guard his throat.

He was foolish. Vulnerable. Death would come quickly once Ronan’s fangs slashed through.

A scream pierced the red haze in Ronan’s head. Lia. He couldn’t hurt her. She was too close. If he lost himself to rage, he could kill her too.

Ronan twisted away. Shifting, he fell to his knees. The impact jolted him out of his fury.

“Lia.” He reached out to her. “Are you all right?”

She scrambled away from him. “Please don’t hurt me.” Covering her face, she sobbed.

Ronan looked at his hands. They shook. He had been ready to kill his own brother. He had terrified Lia. What kind of monster had he become?

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said. “Never.” Ronan stepped forward, but she flinched away. It felt like something had gnawed out his stomach.

Kane stood, not bothering to cover himself. He was coated in Lia’s scent and slickness. The smell made Ronan nauseous.

“I don’t know what has your tail in a knot.” Kane leaned against a tree. “You said you wanted me and Lia to get along.”

There was something about the casual way he said it that almost made Ronan tilt over the edge of madness. Kane acted like he was impervious to Ronan’s wrath, like this didn’t shake their brotherhood to the core. They were meant to have Lia together, Kane knew that. Trying to claim her before the full moon could ruin everything. He should be groveling at Ronan’s feet, begging for forgiveness. He could have destroyed the pack.

Kane shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Say something, Ronan. This isn’t like you.”

Ronan stalked up to his brother until they stood nose to nose. “You’re not the only Alpha in this pack. I’d advise you not to forget it.”

“You had your chance to rut just as I did,” Kane said. “It’s not my fault you squandered your opportunity.”

Many vivid images of how he could end Kane’s life flashed through Ronan’s mind. In the end, he turned, shifted, and ran into the forest. Maybe a run would dampen his urge to kill. A very long run.

***

“Ronan!” Lia called after him.

“He’ll be back soon enough.” Kane picked up a tattered shirt. “Do you want this?”

“Thanks.” She pulled it over her head. It only hid one of her breasts, but it was better than nothing. “Thanks for saving me, too.”

“I had to, didn’t I,” Kane said. “You could have easily died. You’re incredibly weak, you know.”

“Um… thanks?”

“Don’t mention it.”

She looked into the trees. “Shouldn’t you go after him?”