ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (193 page)

“We won the war,” I said to him. Kurt was coloring on the floor. Reid shook his head and pulled a face like it hurt to do that.

“No, sweetheart. You won the war.”

They’d given in because of what I’d done. Because any wolf that could draw that much power, Ted had said after, would be alpha. And I wasn’t even a wolf.

He’d stayed until we were all okay, but he wasn’t pack and he didn’t want to be.

In the fight we lost one wolf. Maria was scared to begin with, and she didn’t make it through. I cried for her. My heart ached like a part of me had been ripped off.

As soon as Reid was healthy we all gathered in our power circle. They howled for her. It was a ceremony that tore me up all over again. I didn’t know her well, but I would miss her, and I was in her debt. She gave her life of the pack.

It took Reid a full month to recover. Not just physically, but mentally. Being that close to death left a mark. I knew, I’d felt death, and I had that mark too. But I also know that we’d defeated it.

Reid was leaving for duty again. Life was going back to normal, like nothing had happened. Sometimes life threatening things would try to tear our family apart. But we would fight, all of us. Even me, even though I wasn’t a wolf. And we would beat the odds because we’d done it before.

When Reid walked toward the bus Kurt held my hand. He didn’t cry, he didn’t run after Reid.

“You’re being a big boy,” I said to him. He smiled up at me. He was only five, but his eyes showed the wisdom of an adult.

“You’re here, mommy. We’ll just wait for daddy to get home, and then we’ll be whole again.”

I nodded and fought the urge to cry.

My life would always be chaotic. I was married to an Army Ranger. I was married to a werewolf. I had a werewolf for a son, and things like knitting and baking just didn’t cut it in my life.

But I didn’t want it any other way. I may have been the only human in this little family, but sometimes it felt like I was the more animal than they were. And that was just fine by me.

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BONUS

SHE WOLF MONTANA BRIDE

By Sicily Duval

“Amanda listen-”

“No you listen; there is no way in Hell that I’m doing that. Go. To. Hell.”

“Amanda stop!” Carl growled, brown eyes flashing red as he gave out the command.

Amanda ducked her head, baring her neck in a show of submissiveness. Amanda had come to find that being a she-wolf was typically awesome, despite the initial pain of being bitten when she was seventeen, but it was times such as this when it was almost physically impossible to disobey her Alpha, that she hated it.

She grit her teeth ad tugged irritably on a strand of long brunette hair, her green eyes clenching shut for a moment as she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

“You are one of the most respected Alphas in the region; why on this green earth do we need to make peace with a pack all the way in Montana? Carl, this makes no sense!”

He put both hands on his head, grabbing two handfuls of his red hair as he looked up at the ceiling, wondering why he was the Alpha anyways. Amanda looked at his arms, noticing the biceps bulging beneath his green shirt and worried if, with the force he was exerting, he would rip out large clumps of his hair and leave two hilarious bald spots.

“What are you smiling at?” Carl frowned, eyes roaming over Amanda’s face cautiously.

Amanda’s lips quickly found their way back into a straight, angry line again as her eyes narrowed.

“Nothing; I’m smiling at nothing,” Amanda clarified, shaking her hair back and crossing her arms over her ample bosom.

“No, you were smiling at something,” Carl said, crossing his arms over his chest and removing her only source of amusement.

“Anyways,” Amanda drawled, rolling her eyes, “back to the subject. What gives you the audacity to send me off to Montana to serve as some country hick werewolf’s mail-order bride? What happened to falling in love like all the romantic comedies you say you’d never go see but secretly rent a month after they come out on DVD?”

Carl blushed, the red flush on his face complementing his fiery hair. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grunted. “And it’s not as if I’m shipping you off like you’re a prostitute and I’m a pimp trying to make a few bucks. There is no money exchanging hands in this process.”

“So I’m a free prostitute,” Amanda said, eyes narrowing, “that makes me feel
so
much better.”

“Okay calm down,” Carl said as he held up a hand to calm her, swallowing and taking a step back at the look she gave him. “Okay, okay, not the best choice of words but still. It’s not that big of a deal; you know this happens all the time.”

“Yeah, but not in our pack, and certainly not to me,” Amanda snapped, frowning.

“Well, now it’s in our pack and now it’s you. Our Beta and Delta are both mated, and I could not stand any of them as a romantic life partner. We need to make peace with the Montana pack and a mating is the best way to do it. As the Gamma you’re the highest-ranking pack member not yet mated, and you will mate with their highest-ranking pack member not yet mated.”

“But I can’t stand male Gammas.” Amanda frowned. “They all have major inferiority complexes at not being ranked higher and huge, annoying egos that they put on to compensate for those feelings. There is no way I can do that for the next one-hundred-and-fifty-plus years,” Amanda protested, stomping her foot like a child, “No way.”

“Well, good thing he’s not a gamma then,” Carl muttered, leaning up against the wall and banging his head back against it, looking up at the ceiling.

Amanda blinked, going through the possibilities along with the pros and cons of the increasingly ridiculous of situation. “Well what is he then?” she asked, lips pursed in preparation for an answer she wouldn’t like.

“Well, it seems like the majority of the actually-ranked members are taken, surprise, surprise,” Carl muttered, running his hand down his face. “So, you’re just going to have to find a way to deal with this whole thing, and everyone here is just going to have to pray that you don’t mess this up horribly.”

Amanda snorted at the very idea of her being the one to mess up the already ludicrous situation. “Well, if you didn’t want me to mess it up, you probably shouldn’t have arranged it for me. So, what rank am I dealing with, because honestly, at this point I’m just seeing cons for every one of them. Betas want more power, and Deltas are typically just hanging out in the pack and resenting the little responsibility that they have. And Gammas, male Gammas are just the worst, and so on and so forth. So, honestly, they’re all pretty annoying. But what has the wonderful raffle of life given me in this horrible situation? Lay it on me, boss man,” Amanda said, throwing up her arms and taking a seat on the living room’s teal footrest.

“Well, I don’t think it’ll be too bad. You’re accommodations will be nice, and at the very least, even if you’re not liked by the pack, you’ll certainly be respected.”

Amanda snorted. “Respected huh? That’ll be the day. I barely get respected in this pack. It’s a great day when someone doesn’t eat my donut that’s clearly marked as mine on the counter.”

“Yeah well, jelly donuts are delicious, and you can’t expect to put them out there without tempting everyone in the house. Plus, they’re full of sugary goodness, and it’s important to keep up your blood sugar.”

“It’s you!” Amanda said, eyes widening as she let out a low growl. “You swore it wasn’t you!”

Carl shrugged, holding up a hand. “Yeah, well, I lied, Alpha privileges, but back to my point,” Carl said, earning a glare from Amanda, “Do you want to know the rank or not?”

Amanda sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “Yeah, sure, just tell me.”

“Fine,” Carl said, shrugging to show that he was just as nonchalant as Amanda, “well, prepare yourself not to mess this up, but, you’re going to be mated to an Alpha.”

-x-x-x- Chapter 2 –x-x-x-

Amanda could not believe that she was doing this and that this is what her life had actually come to. She sat quietly in the five-hour-long car ride to Montana, refusing to speak to Carl, who was driving her, casting the car in a stony silence.

In a bit of childish anger, she turned on a radio station that played nonstop pop music, taking pleasure in the clear annoyance it was to Carl as he pursed his lips and tapped his fingers in agitation against the car’s steering wheel.

Amanda had only managed to get about thirty minutes of sleep on the ride, her anxiety and anxiousness keeping her up and causing her to fidget. Finally, they were nearing the house, with about fifteen minutes left to go according to their GPS, and Amanda was anxiously biting her thumbnail, a habit she had had since she was a child, as they got closer and closer.

“Are you going to stop being mad at me?” Carl asked.

Amanda was silent for a moment, fuming at the question. “I’m not sure; you’re forcing me into something that you told our pack you would never make us do. I just hope my mate gives me some freedom, because as soon as we’re mated I’ll no longer have obligations as a ranking wolf under you, and I can come and kill you.”

“Is that a challenge?” Carl demanded, eyes flashing red at the thought of his status as Alpha being challenged.

Amanda shrunk back in her seat slightly at his growl that was a show of dominance, hating that, regardless of which pack she belonged to, he was an Alpha and would always exert some form of power over her.

“No,” she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest and turning to look out of the window.

“What was that?” Carl asked, glancing at her sharply.

“I said no, alright?” Amanda snapped, glaring at him.

Carl smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

Amanda glared, fuming even more as she checked the GPS, not sure if she was relieved or even more put-off that they were even closer to the pack house.

“Look Amanda,” Carl said, sighing deeply as his hands briefly clenched tighter on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry about all of this. But honestly, I would never have let this happen if I thought for one minute it would be bad for you or too much to handle. I know you, and I know what you’re like, including how strong you are. I’ve heard of this guy, and done my research. I’ve also talked to him, extensively. I think if you give him a chance that you’ll really like him. I know you resent being forced into this, but I think it’ll be a good match and he’ll be good for you. I think, if you let yourself, that you’ll be happy.”

Amanda was quiet, looking out the window determined not to look at the pair of puppy-dog eyes Carl was currently giving her.

“Come on,” Carl persisted, “I really think this could be good for you, but I am sorry it happened this way. You’re one of my pack, and you know I love you and want the best for you, as much as you want to deny it, don’t you?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Amanda muttered, feeling like a petulant teenager angry at their parents.

Carl gave a small smile. “It’s true; I really do love you. And, if need be, I’ll drive up here every day to personally check on you and make sure that you’re alright and that things are going well. I’m serious; every single day if I have to.”

Amanda couldn’t help the corners of her mouth lifting up in a faint smile because she knew that he was actually serious about visiting her every day.

“I know you’re mad at me,” Carl continued, “but do you think you could ever forgive me?

Amanda sighed, arms that had previously been crossed over her chest falling into her lap and shoulders sagging as she seemed to deflate, her anger at him leaving, despite her frustration at the situation remaining. “Of course I can forgive; I’m practically hallway there already. This just sucks.”

Carl smirked, laughing a little. “Of course it does, but it’ll all work out, trust me. When have I ever been wrong?”

Amanda opened her mouth, about to list an epic length of times, when Carl held up a hand, citing that it was a rhetorical question.

“The point is, this will work out. Things will be great,” he smiled, “and, by this time next year, I’ll hopefully have found myself a mate and we can go on double dates and stuff.”

“Double dates?” Amanda snorted, highly skeptical of the idea.

“Yeah,” Carl shrugged, “why not? We can go bowling, and your mate can act all macho when he gets a strike and then I can act even more macho when I get a better strike, and then we’ll get in a fight, and you two will evacuate the building before we turn into wolves and steal the security cameras, and break up the fight before we kill each other.”

Amanda blinked. “That’s got to be the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard, and that’s saying something; I’ve been in your pack for ten years.”

Carl grinned. “Just think about it; it will be great.”

“Okay,” Amanda said, closing her eyes and humming, “Yep,” she said, opening her eyes, “I’ve thought about it and the answer is no. Besides, you’re like an old man.”

“I’m fifty, and look like I’m twenty one; I still get carded at bars.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “That happened once. And you look more like you’re thirty; the bartender was trolling for tips.”

Carl laughed, putting his hand on his heart. “Ouch Amanda, I’m hurt, really.”

“Yeah well, at least you’ll have a five hour drive back to get over it,” Samantha smirked, putting her feet up on the dashboard.

“Hey, no, no, no,” Carl tsked, sweeping her legs off the dash and forcing them back onto the floor, “I just detailed this baby; no scuff marks allowed.”

“You’re just a drama queen,” Amanda pouted, eyes looking up and widening as she spotted a large house at the end of a long, gravel driveway that they were approaching. “Is this it? Is this place, this giant mansion that probably belonged to some richy-rich, the pack house? Because if so, you need to talk to your werewolf real-estate agent; you got robbed.”

Carl snorted. “It’s a house that’s apparently been in the Alpha’s family for quite a while. And one of them was like an oil tycoon or something.”

“You didn’t tell me they were rich,” Amanda said, eyes roaming over the house and the grounds surrounding it. “They actually have a sheep pen; what is this place?”

“It’s also a farm; see the big red house in the back?” Carl pointed.

“Yes, but why the sheep?” Amanda said. “That seems a bit, I don’t know, ironic. You know, the little boy that cried wolf? Is it like their own private deli here, they just take a sheep whenever they’re feeling peckish?”

“Hardly, don’t be so dramatic,” Carl said, pulling to a stop just a few feet from the front steps of the house. “They own a shearing business as well; the sheep here all have long, happy lives until they go to jump over that pearly fence in the sky at a ripe old age.”

“Oh, well,” Amanda laughed, sitting back, “how nice.” She jumped, letting out a small squeal as there was a knock on her car window. “God, you scared the crap out of me,” Amanda growled, unbuckling her seat and jerking the car door open, stepping out of the vehicle with a small frown marring her features.

“Sorry, I was just wondering if the two of y'all were planning on staying in there to chit-chat 'til the cows come home or if you were going to come in and say howdy to me and my pack.”

“Howdy?” Amanda said, squinting up in the sunlight in an attempt to get a good look at the person in front of her.