Authors: Elisa Elliot
ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (82 page)
“Autumn, we belong together. You are my flesh and blood.” He shook his head with the first regret he had felt in many years. “Let me liberate you.” He bent and quickly scooped Dalton’s wolf body from the floor.
“Put him down.” Autumn demanded.
“You don’t need him!” Daniel growled and effortlessly held Dalton by his furry throat.
“Put him down!” She screamed and enjoyed watching Daniel’s knees buckle and he fall to the ground with splits in his skin. Blood ran from his eyes and he looked at her pleadingly. “Autumn…”
Tonya loped to him and licked his face. Daniel smiled weakly. “Ah, my pet, you do still love me.” It was the last words he spoke as Tonya reared backwards and bit into his neck with three inch fangs.
Autumn gasped as Daniel’s head hung on to his shoulders by meat only, a puff of dust rising in the air. Tonya’s white wolf face looked up at Autumn and she was positive the white wolf grinned.
“Ok, hold still, and everyone say cheese!” Mika prompted as she set the timer on the camera and hurried as fast as the cast on her leg would allow. Brian quickly set her on his lap and everyone smiled for the camera. The centerpiece of the first pack Christmas photo was Serena holding her week old baby in her arms.
Hanale held his hand out to Tonya and helped her from her crouched position on the floor. It was still taking some getting used to. He was a perfect gentleman, and that wasn’t something she was used to at all. She smiled lightly and patted his broad chest.
“Winnie, where are you going? We need to get back home.” Tonya called as Winnie darted past her.
Winnie rolled her eyes and waved her sister off. “You live less than four miles away. My gosh, it’s Christmas Eve! I have to help Autumn with you know what!”
“Oh right.” Tonya said and nodded her head. “We’ll wait then.” She sat down uneasily and looked around the room. That was another thing she still wasn’t used to; this family stuff. Hanale barked a laugh beside her, and she looked up at him like he was crazy. His round face was still smiling when he looked back down at her.
“What? Brian told a funny joke.”
Becky limped to the couch and scratched around her neck brace. She turned her torso and cut Tonya a sharp look with her eyes. “I’ll be so glad to get this damn thing off.”
Winnie waited with raised eyebrows for Autumn to enter her bathroom. She crossed her legs and leaned back on her hands. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not!” Autumn said hotly. “It just might not be ready yet.”
Winnie made a chicken noise. “Look, you peed on the thing before we posed for pictures. It’s more than ready.”
Autumn pushed the bathroom door open and looked down at the pregnancy test. She ran a hand over her stomach and bent to get a better look at the double pink lines. She picked it up and showed it to Winnie, not trusting her voice yet.
Winnie pulled her close and hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy for you!”
“I’m so sorry.” Autumn said and wiped a tear away.
“Don’t be sorry. This place is going to be running over with babies soon, and I’m going to be the best Aunt ever.” She led Autumn to the door of the bedroom and they looked out into the crowded living room and kitchen.
“Look at this.” Winnie said quietly. “We have the greatest family in the world. Who would have thought that we could all come together: werewolves, vampires, humans, and whatever you would call my sister…” She smiled as Autumn giggled. “And a vampire/human/witch/banshee.” Autumn giggled again, and looked up at Winnie. Winnie smiled and continued on. “And we are all, getting along and celebrating life.”
“It’s beautiful.” Autumn agreed.
“What’s beautiful?” Dalton asked.
“This.” Autumn said and handed him the pregnancy test.
Dalton looked at it and swayed on his feet. “Oh my God.” He breathed and sat on the floor.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Chuck asked bending down to him.
“Autumn’s pregnant.”
“Autumn’s pregnant?” Chuck yelled.
The room fell silent right before it erupted into cheers. Winnie winked at Autumn. “See? The best family ever.”
Bretton lit another candle and sighed heavily. There hadn’t been much improvement. He was running out of excuses for the staff. The other vampires were starting to question his story, and he needed them to keep the Bull Mitch running. He hated having his master in such a damp gloomy place. One day soon, he would be restored and life could go on as it once had. It could at least after they have revenged his sufferings.
Bretton cut into his flesh, careful not to lay the razor blade near the dozens of cuts that were already there. He would have to start killing the rats again soon. He was just too weak from blood loss to continually offer his own. Who would take care of his master if he died?
He let the blood drip into Daniel’s mouth and closed his cold lips after only a few drops. Yes, he would need to kill some rats for a while.
Bretton inspected the raw flesh of Daniel’s neck. He had stitched the hard flesh himself and was afraid it wouldn’t heal properly, it would be ugly for sure, but his master would be so grateful to even have his head once he healed, that it wouldn’t matter. Bretton smiled in the semi darkness and dreamed of what reward he would receive. All he needed to do was wait.
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-x-x-x- Chapter 1 –x-x-x-
“Ethan, man, please don’t hit me for saying this, but the pack has talked about it, and it needs to be said.”
Ethan cocked his head, looking at his Beta, Austin, curiously. Standing at six feet and four inches, with biceps that only two very large hands could even come close to wrapping around, nobody had ever had the desire to give him much trouble. And, being the Alpha of one of the larger packs in the Maryland region, Ethan typically received a lot of respect.
He leaned back in his seat at the kitchen table, green eyes scanning the nervous looking wolf in front of him before he finally spoke.
“I’m not quite sure how I feel like my pack colluding without me, and,” he said, speaking a little louder, “to everyone listening on the stairs, we will discuss this later, now scram.”
Ethan waited a moment as he heard the thumping of feet as about five of the bolder wolves in his pack who had been eavesdropping scrambled up the stairs to give them some privacy.
“However, I’ll listen, of course. What is it that you have to say?”
Austin looked at him wearily, running a hand through his bright red hair before he sighed. “Do you promise you won’t hit me?”
“I promise.”
Austin sighed in relief, visibly relaxing.
Ethan smirked. “I can’t, however, ensure that I won’t harm you some other way.”
Austin swallowed, nodding. “Right, well, keep in mind that I’d like to be buried as close as possible to Yankee Stadium and have Life is a Highway play during my funeral.”
Ethan rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. “Come out with it already.”
“Alright,” Austin said, nodding. “Don’t take this the wrong way man, but, we think you need a mate.”
Ethan blinked. He had been prepared for a number of things that could have come out of Austin’s mouth, but him needing a mate had not been one of them.
“Hmm,” Ethan said, drawing the sound out slowly as he carefully considered each word. Finally, he just decided on a simple question. “Why?”
“Okay, okay,” Austin said, scrambling for his phone in his pocket while glancing up at Ethan. “I prepared for this. The pack compiled a list, and I will read it to you now,” he said, clearing his throat. “Okay, are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Ethan deadpanned, growing inpatient.
Austin swallowed nervously, clearing his throat once more before his eyes darted back down to the phone in his hand.
“Well, Patricia says that she wants another woman in the pack so it can finally have an equal number of men and women. Most of the other girls say they want another man to increase the scenery around here, but Amy says she fears that you’re lonely and Amanda thinks that it’d be fun to plan your wedding.”
Ethan cocked a deep eyebrow, and Austin scrolled down the list, trying to find some more compelling reasons.
“Alright, umm, Jeffrey says that he’d rather hear you having sex than masturbating so frequently since you share a wall, and Josh says that he’s tired of being the new guy.”
Ethan’s brows furrowed; honestly, he had thought he’d been much quieter than that, and he wondered if Brian had really continued to haze Josh after three years in the pack.
“Anything else?” Ethan sighed, ready to leave.
“Well,” Austin said, licking his lips, “You’re not getting any younger man, and it’s a bit odd when an Alpha doesn’t have a mate; it appears to the other packs that he’s not grounded or something. And, most importantly, we want you to have someone. Last Valentine’s Day you sat in your room eating Oreos and watching reruns of Friends. I even saw a few tears slip out. Face it, you’re lonely; it’s time for you to play the field and get out there.”
Ethan sighed, nodding and standing up. “Well,” he said, “out of that list I heard maybe three good reasons, and that was making the pack more equal, Josh is tired of being hazed, and our standing with other packs. Tell Jeffrey he can suck it up or buy earplugs, Amanda that if I get married it won’t be big so there will be nothing to plan, and the other girls to go speed dating or something. As for now, I’ve heard everything and will take it into consideration. Thank you for talking to me; I know this is the last thing that you want to be doing right now so I appreciate it. You’re a good Beta, Austin. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go into town and inquire about soundproofing the house.”
And with that, Ethan left, sweeping out of the pack house’s door and shutting it with a dull thud behind him.
Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration before sinking his hands into the pockets of his low-riding, dark-wash jeans. If Ethan was honest with himself, he could admit that he was a pretty handsome guy. He wasn’t arrogant about it, but objectively, he knew he was attractive. The number of women that hit on him at the bar was somewhat a testament to that. The problem was, however, that he had simply never had much luck with women.
Being the Alpha of a rather large pack of adult werewolves was no walk in the park. When he did have time to himself, it was hard trying to navigate the tumultuous terrain of dating. After a few years and a few more disastrous relationships, he had honestly given up on having a love life, at least, for a rather long time.
He could divide the women up into two categories: wanton werewolf women and horrified humans. Most of the eligible women outside of his pack seemed after one thing when it came down to it: power. When pressed it seemed as though they were always initially interested in Ethan, not because he was a good person or even good looking, but because he was an Alpha, and that typically came with perks.
The human women however, were an entirely different story. They didn’t care about his Alpha perks, his power, or his respect, instead, they seemed to care more about how he had a penchant for turning into a rather large wolf whenever he so chose. If a woman he was interested in stayed with him long enough for him to tell them that he was a wolf, they all hit the road pretty soon after he proved it to them.
He groaned, kicking a rock on the road he was walking on and watched as it skated off into the grass. If asked ten years ago where he’d be by now, he would have easily said mated with a pup or two. But now, that domestic dream seemed to be getting further and further from his grasp.
Never had Ethan thought that things would get so desperate that his pack would be urging him to mate. He laughed, remembering Austin’s terrified face from earlier as he closed his eyes and took in the calming scent of the wooded area around him, his nostrils flaring as the breeze brought over the smell of wildflowers. He wished he could just stay in the calming scene of nature around him instead of heading back to his home to face his apprehensive pack.
But nevertheless, he headed home resigned to face the nervous whispers and concerned and fearful looks from the members of his pack.
When he entered his house, he was immediately suspicious. Every member of his pack had congregated in the kitchen, all talking in empathetic, but quiet voices amongst themselves.
“Alright,” Ethan said, interrupting them, “what are you all gossiping about now?”
He smirked as he looked at them all, amused. It was quite the comical sight to see, fifteen grown adults all suddenly looking as though they were little kids who had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
“Listen boss, I just want to make it completely clear that this was not my idea and I was against it from the beginning,” Austin said, hands out in a show of innocence as he stepped forward.
Ethan frowned, eyes scanning the faces before him that all had varying degrees of either giddiness or nervousness on them.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ethan murmured, taking a few steps forward into the room, causing his pack to shift nervously as if they feared that he would suddenly lunge at them all and reprimand them like young pups.
He sighed, putting his hands on the table and leaning against it, appearing haggard as his stern eyes slowly looked at his pack. “Well, as you all know, Austin has told me that you all would like me to find a mate, for a wide variety of reasons. I’m assuming,” he said slowly, “that your current whispering and gossiping is related to the subject. So, out with it. I’m already growing tired of the discussion and I’ve only heard Austin’s halting account of your conversation, so tell me what this is all about and make it quick.”
The room was silent for a moment, everyone looking around in an attempt to find someone willing to speak on the group’s behalf, each person too nervous to do it themselves. Finally, with a huff of annoyance, Josh, Ethan’s Delta, stepped forward.
He shook out his long blond hair, as he was prone to do, and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his board shorts. “Listen, you know my reasons for suggesting you to mate, whether you think it valid or not. And, keep in mind, I am concerned about the pack’s status, but this was not my idea.”
He sighed, looking around the room once more in the hope that someone would come in and speak, giving him the chance to run away, but he had no such luck.
“Amanda and Karen have taken it upon themselves to help you find a mate. And, in the short time that it took you to take a walk or do whatever you were out there doing, they’ve lined up and contacted a series of potential mates for you.”
“Excuse me?” Ethan said, looking at the two women in question sternly.
Amanda came forward, nervously wringing the brunette hair in her long ponytail as her wide, brown eyes blinked up at him innocently through her chic, thin, black framed glasses.
Ethan rolled his eyes, seeing through her innocent act immediately. “Explain yourself.”
Amanda grinned impishly. “We’ve been around long enough to see why some of your relationships fizzle out, and we believe that we can help you find one that lasts and that makes you happy.”
“We think that, in order for it to be a long lasting relationship, you should look to eligible werewolves in the region instead of humans, because the humans are the ones that ultimately end up causing the most trouble.”
Ethan was silent, staring at her pointedly to encourage her to get to her main idea.
Amanda cleared her throat. “Anyways, we’ve compiled a list of eight eligible women in the area and have contacted them in order to arrange a sort of speed dating. The only difference would be that you’re the only guy present. So really, I guess it’s more like a fast-paced version of The Bachelor, only the supernatural version.”
“Absolutely not,” Ethan snarled, eyes darkening. “Listen,” he began, commanding the attention of everyone in the room, “While I appreciate all of your concerns for the pack, for me, and my love life, I have to stress that I am the Alpha and it is ultimately my decision. Which means that I need all of you to butt out of these matters and not step over any more boundaries. There’s a reason that Austin is my Beta, if he thinks that something is a bad idea, you would be wise to heed his advice. Now, I am going to sleep; the speed dating thing is out of the question. I’m going to bed now.”
“Wait!” Karen called out as Ethan began heading towards the stairs, making him turn around and raise an eyebrow at her questioningly.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, all eyes shifting to focus on the door. Ethan sniffed the air, eyes narrowing as he took in the scents of several wolves that he was unfamiliar with.
“I’m sorry Ethan, we were excited,” Karen began, trailing off when Ethan’s eyes widened in realization.
“You didn’t,” Ethan growled.
Amanda bit her lip, hands rising in a show of helplessness. “I’m sorry,” she said, making Ethan groan, “But we sort of scheduled the speed dates for tonight.”
-x-x-x- Chapter 2 –x-x-x-
Ethan growled, a sound that reverberated off of the wooden walls of the house and sent shivers down the spines of his pack.
“Send them away,” he snarled.
“But, it’s impolite,” Amanda said meekly.
Ethan took a threatening step forward, prompting Austin to hastily speak up.
“Listen boss, it doesn’t matter if it’s impolite per se, but it does matter how it’s perceived, you supposedly having arranged this and then sending them all away. It’s not doing anything to ease regional pack tensions.”
Ethan swiveled his head to look Amanda straight in the eye. “You told them that I ordered this?” he demanded.
“Well, we didn’t outright say it, so much as insinuated it,” Karen said faintly.
Ethan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he attempted to gather his thoughts, his frustration growing with each passing moment.
“Open the door and set whatever you had planned up,” Ethan barked, “let everyone know that this ends in an hour.”
Karen scrambled over to get the door, her blonde hair flying behind her as Austin came up to him to pat him reassuringly on the back, giving him a look of pained sympathy.
“I baked cookies,” Amanda said, trying for an optimistic tone as if cookies could fix everything.
Ethan cursed, Amanda’s cookies were fantastic. It would be impossible to stay mad at her if he tasted the gooey chocolate chips and crunchy oats of her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. He’d have to be strong and resist.