Full Circle (Central Florida Pack Book 1)
Full Circle © 2014 by Chudney Thomas
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Cover art, design and formatting by
Sweet 'N Spicy Designs
Editing by
The Midnight Line Editor
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law
Publisher's Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Full Circle/ Chudney Thomas. -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-0-9895805-0-2
Chudney Thomas
Dedicated to my mother,
Noreen DeFreitas.
He was home.
The whine of the automatic garage door set Ria Marlett's body trembling. Like the coward she was, she hid in the kitchen while everyone else moved to the front door of the sprawling Florida ranch that served as Pack Central and the Alpha's home.
The sound of kids squealing in delight brought Ria's head up in the middle of counting silverware. She imagined he was tossing his nieces and nephews in the air, a huge grin on his face.
She shouldn't be here. If she'd known he'd be home in time to attend February's Pack Circle, she would have made sure that she wasn't. Now, she was stuck, hiding in the hope of avoiding talking to him. Hell, to avoid him even scenting her. Which was a vain hope, since as Alpha of his pack, Drake Neilson had the most acute senses of them all.
Ria eased through the butler's pantry into the adjoining dining room and proceeded to set the table. It wouldn't get done, if she didn't do it. They had all wandered off, distracted by their Alpha's arrival, and most likely would stay away until they decided it was time to eat. Like the kitchen, the dining room was huge. It had to be. The Pack was huge. There were, at any given time, anywhere from sixty to a hundred members. Protecting them was the reason Drake had been away.
As one of the few humans in the Pack, Ria occupied an uncertain status. As the only orphaned member, she was in some ways even lower. Worse, she was attracted to him, the Alpha, Drake Neilson. She cut that thought off. In a pack full of werewolves, emotions had to be hidden deep. Or, personal scent had to be disguised. In fact, if she'd known he was going to be here, she would have doused herself in perfume.
Heavy footfalls sounded down the hallway. Ria kept her eyes and hands busy with the task of setting up the buffet table.
"Ria." Drake's deep voice rolled across her skin, setting her nerves on fire. She could almost hear his smile.
As she worked, she moved. It was instinct, to keep the predator in the room with her at bay. As she moved, his jean-encased thighs came into view. Her gaze was drawn up his long, lean, T-shirt-covered torso.
Ria swallowed. She didn't understand why he insisted she of all people meet his gaze and hold it. Pack etiquette dictated one made brief eye contact and focused somewhere else. Staring could bring out the aggression in a dominant wolf. It was a challenge to hold a wolf's gaze, yet Drake insisted she do it.
Ria knew better than to antagonize him, so she complied. His strong jaw was covered in dark stubble. His full lips stretched into a smile that sent her pulse racing. Green eyes held her captive as she felt her lips stretch into a tight smile. Her hands shook as she put the last of the water goblets on the table. She looked away.
"Welcome back, Drake."
***
Drake felt his wolf's aggression rising, and he hadn't even been home for half an hour.
She
barely looked at him. She hadn't come to greet him. For months, Ria had been keeping him at a distance. He remembered a time when those pretty brown eyes met his without hesitation. When her full lips would curve into a warm smile of welcome. He longed to caress her warm golden skin once more. Now, here she stood on the opposite side of the table, her dark hair tumbling free around her shoulders, poised to flee. He couldn't help it if he growled rather than spoke. "Is it all ready?"
She barely nodded in answer as she methodically finished setting the table. He couldn't get a clear read on her emotions. Uncertainty made his aggression worse.
Drake sucked in a breath. He needed to calm down. With each breath, he gathered more information. Ria's fear was tinged with lust. The scent of an unattached female approaching the dining room interfered with Ria's interesting scent. He stifled his annoyance at being interrupted. Ria slipped away as soon as his attention wavered. He let her go. It was more than obvious she didn't feel comfortable around him. It might have to do with the fact that every time he got close, he wanted to take her down and mark her. Maybe that showed.
Through the course of the night, as he grew frustrated at her absence from the table, from the living room, from everywhere he was, Drake reminded himself she was human. As a human, she didn't have the same instincts he did.
He'd finally spotted his prey on the screened-in patio by the pool when a less than delicate hand connected with his shoulder. "Stop scaring her."
James, his second, stood by his side. Drake had scented his approach, but had chosen not to acknowledge it. He let his gaze shift from where Ria was busy helping feed one of the Pack's many children. He smiled at the sight. Piles of clothing dotted the floor as the older kids gleefully romped in wolf form, as they had been given permission to change after eating their suppers. The hapless babies were the only ones left.
"She doesn't know how you feel," James said. "Tracking her every move is bound to make her feel hunted."
"Why would that make her feel hunted? Did you tell her that I'd be here?"
"I didn't tell her. Hell, I didn't tell anyone you'd be back tonight." James gestured in her direction. "If she knew, she wouldn't have been here."
Drake growled and James complied by voicing his next statement in more submissive but firm tones. "Look. She's human. She's part of the Pack, but not. The others treat her as a submissive. They've treated her that way since she was a teenager. Do you think that she doesn't know that?"
Drake stood to the side and watched as, one after another, mothers handed Ria their infants' bottles and diaper bags, readying themselves for an evening of enjoyment with the Pack. Ria was soon barricaded by a half-circle of infants in portable car seats. Still, more than one of the Pack stopped to request more food, more drink—just more, period. If something was missing, they looked to her to fix it. Ria filled an essential role. He wasn't sure that she knew it.
He frowned as one more person handed over another diaper bag. Perhaps she filled her role within the Pack too well.
He searched the room and located a few of the younger unattached females and barked out a short order.
***
"Here I'll take
that
from you."
Startled, Ria looked up from the baby she was trying to feed as she rocked another one across her lap.
One of the Pack's females was holding out her hands impatiently. "Give me the baby. Trina will feed the other kid."
Ria frowned up at the two females standing side by side. Reluctantly, she handed over the two babies to the females and stood up from her chair. Her stomach rumbled. "Thanks."
She was hungry, but she didn't want to give up the shield the kids provided. If Drake saw her heading for the dining room, alone, then he would most definitely follow. A quick look around the room showed he was in deep discussion with James. Feeling every inch the coward, Ria decided to head for the kitchen, instead. Within two steps, however, her foot connected with a small furry pup who immediately butted her and demanded to be picked up.
She understood her duty to sooth the tiny hurt she'd caused, so she cuddled the little furry body close.
"Better?"
The pup's little tongue flicked out to lick her cheek, and Ria couldn't help but giggle. Soon, the young one tired of being held and wriggled to get down. Ria gladly complied, not wanting to lose her chance to get something in her stomach.
The kitchen was empty of Pack members as well as most of the food, but wonder of wonders, there was enough ham left over to make a sandwich. Ria's stomach rumbled again as she hastily built her sandwich.
The sound of the double dishwashers running almost drowned out the sound of the festivities in the great room. Almost. She took a sip of her Coke, hoping the carbonation and sugar would give her the energy she needed for the long night to come. She wasn't a part of the Pack, not really. She stood on the periphery. The only place she held in the Pack was the one she'd made for herself.
"Why are you eating in the kitchen?"
Drake. His voice rolled across her nerves, simultaneously setting them aflame and irritating them. She'd learned long ago to hide her physical pull toward his masculinity. He was her Alpha, so he'd never look at her that way in return. Any irritation she felt was only a result of her frustration with the situation between them. Besides, no one, especially not a half-human, challenged the Alpha.
***
Drake watched as she literally made herself smaller, never making direct eye contact with him as she huddled over her sandwich. Her black curls partially hid her face from view as she ate. It made him want to snarl and snatch her up from the chair. He had no idea what he'd do after that, so he stayed where he was. Humans were frail. She couldn't take what he was capable of dishing out.
"It was just easier to grab a bite in here." She cleared her plate and began emptying the first dishwasher that had finished running.
Drake didn't know what hit him. One moment, he was standing in the doorway. The next, he'd set her back from the dishwasher and proceeded to unload the damned thing himself.
"I can do that," Ria said. "It's your first night back, and besides, you're the guest of honor."
He felt her timid attempt to move him out of the way. He stiffened at the delicate touch of her hands on his spine, lust shooting through him. Ria noticed and immediately removed her hands from his body.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you." She was backing away now. Her fear wafted through the kitchen, overriding the scents of food and Pack.
A bold female named Sheena appeared in the doorway. "Jeez, what the hell did you do now, Ria? I can scent your fear way out here."
He saw the calculation in Sheena's gaze as she joined them by the dishwasher. Sheena ran her hand down his spine with a confidence that should have been appealing. "Here, Drake, let me do that."
Drake caught the fleeting scent of jealousy and pain from Ria, just before she melted into the other room, disappearing into the Pack.
***
Ria dug deeper into her cavernous purse. Her keys had to be in here somewhere. She thought of the chaos in the great room and dug deeper. Ria needed her keys if she was going to escape Drake.
As she scrabbled around the bottom of her bag, she listened to the familiar whistle of a man who was not only second to the Alpha but also his best friend. She should have known that trying to sneak out was a ridiculous idea. Ria turned around to find James blocking the door. Where Drake was dark James was light. Shaggy blond hair fell into hazel eyes. Eyes that missed nothing.
"Where do you think you're going?"