The Alpha's Mate: (3 page)

How could he have mistaken that cloying perfume for her natural spicy scent
? 
It was heavenly.  Like cinnamon. 
No wonder his wolf had been going mad since he spotted her.  No wonder he had been rock hard with arousal. 
She was his mate, she belonged to him
.

She marched out of the restaurant holding a pizza box.  He rushed after her ignoring the looks and cries of his pack mates.  She had hopped into her car and was driving away before he could get to her.  He stood on the side of the road staring after her.

His wolf whined. 
Patience.  After all, he now knew where she lived.

Chapter Three

27
th
September

After getting home the night before
Rosalee enjoyed the most delicious pizza she had ever eaten before taking a long luxurious bath.  She had taken care of the ache between her legs and then gone to bed easily falling into a sound sleep, the image of Adam never far from her thoughts.

She was dozing when she heard a tapping.  She opened one eye grumpily pulling
herself out of a very satisfying dream where Adam was doing x-rated things to her. 

Who could that be? 
She didn’t even know anybody in town. 
Except for Adam...

Reluctantly she traipsed downstairs and flung the door open muttering “whaddyawant?”

“Hi” came a small voice.  “I’m Carly, I just came by to say hi.  So... hi!”  Carly babbled nervously whilst Rosalee stared at her.

The woman in front of
Rosalee was small but curvy, couldn’t have been more than five feet three inches tall.  At first glance she looked to be about 13, but on closer look she was more likely 25.  She looked like a gust of wind might knock her over.  But she was pretty with hazel eyes and long light brown hair.

She fidgeted as
Rosalee yawned.  “I’m sorry perhaps I could come back later, perhaps it’s a little early.”

Rosalee
glanced at the grandfather clock, it was 10.30.  She’d slept for thirteen hours.  Her dreams had apparently been just a little too good...  “No, no it’s fine.  I should be up by now anyway.  I’m Rosalee.”

Carly
smiled sweetly.  “I know.”

“Right, news travels fast here” muttered
Rosalee.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.  Why don’t I come in and make you some breakfast?  I wasn’t sure if you’d got much food in so I brought a few things with me.  I just wanted to offer my condolences and make sure you were okay and ask if you wanted any help with anything.”
 

Carly put her hand on
Rosalee’s arm and suddenly all her irritation evaporated and she was left with a happy buzz.  “I don’t mean to be presumptuous or anything...”

“No, I’m just still kind of half asleep.” 
Rosalee’s stomach grumbled. 
Loudly
.  “Breakfast sounds good. Why don’t you come in, the kitchen’s at the back.”

Carly
came in carrying a large wicker basket.  As Carly walked past Rosalee caught sight of herself in the hall mirror, her hair was a mess but otherwise her skin was almost glowing. 
Wow, a bit of sexual release is definitely what the doctor called for!

“You mind if I take a shower?” 
Rosalee called out surprising herself. 
Should she really take a shower with a stranger in the house?

“No, you go ahead I’ll get this ready,”
Carly replied disappearing into the kitchen.

After the quickest shower of her life, after having made sure the bathroom door was locked twice,
Rosalee threw on some tan shorts, a black vest and a long beaded necklace.  She combed her hair and decided to let it dry naturally.

She braced herself as she entered the kitchen only to find the hideous smell was gone.  All the windows were thrown open and the kitchen table was spread with toasted fruit bread, butter, an array of jams, strawberries, cream cheese and a pot of tea.  It all smelled
delicious
.

“How did you make it do that?”

“Hmmm?”  Carly frowned at her.

“The kitchen, how did you make it do these things?  I spent half an hour in here last night and couldn’t even find a coffee pot.”

“Oh, I didn’t find one either, but I found the kettle and made some tea.  You want some?”

Rosalee
sat down at the table.  “Sure, I love tea, ever since I lived in Mexico.  God the kitchen smells great, how’d you get rid of that bleach smell?”

“I just burnt a few candles.  You lived in Mexico?”

Rosalee slathered some butter on a slice of fruit bread.  It was unbelievable.  “Yeah, when I was 18 I wanted to learn Spanish so I moved down there and worked as a waitress in a bar on the beach.  This bread is amazing.”

“Thanks I made it myself.  You know Spanish?”

“No, I lived there six months and realised I suck at languages so I gave up and moved to Florida.  You made this bread?  You can actually make fruit bread at home?”

She giggled.  “Of course.  Wow, I’ve never lived anywhere but here
, I can’t imagine living anywhere outside the pack.” 

Rosalee
raised her eyebrows in surprise.  “You’re a wolf?”

Carly blushed and
sipped her tea slowly.  “I know I’m hardly your typical wolf.”  She said gesturing to her small but rounded frame.  “I’m the Omega of the pack.”

“
Oh, what does that mean?”

Carly
smiled sheepishly.  “Well, I’m physically the weakest of my pack, but I’m connected to all the pack emotionally, I can sense their feelings and help them control them.  I can also soothe people who aren’t pack members.”

“No wonder I was ready to let you into my house.”

Rosalee grinned at her and Carly looked a little guilty.  “It’s kind of hard to turn it off...”

Rosalee
smiled, this girl was so cute she wanted to adopt her.  “Hey I’m not complaining.  So you’re part of the Grey wolf pack hmmmm?  You wouldn’t have come over here at the suggestion of your Alpha would you?”

Another guilty look. 
Rosalee groaned.  “That guy really is a butthole... no offence.”

Carly chuckled.  “None taken.  He’s your typical Alpha, bullish and headstrong... won’t take no for an answer...”

Rosalee gave another groan.  “Oh
goody
.”

Carly
paused and looked at her thoughtfully.  “Have you ever had much to do with shifters?”

“Not really, I’ve seen them in the cities where I’ve lived but I’ve never seen them shift.”

“Hmmm, most shifters who live in cities tend be on their own and act more human than animal.  Things are a little different in small towns.”

“Oh?” 
Rosalee was suddenly very interested to hear just about anything that might pertain to a certain sexy wolf man.

“Out here shifters tend to be... freer and more open about their animals, and not exactly...
erm shy about...”  Carly struggled to find the words.

“About stripping down and letting their beast run wild?”

“Yes.”

Rosalee
nibbled on a strawberry.  “Did you know Iris?”

Carly paused and thought about her answer carefully.  “No, not really.  Iris didn’t like the pack, she hated wolves but I don’t know why.” 
She paused and reached across the table to take Rosalee’s hand.  “I’m sure deep down that she was a nice person
.”  She didn’t think it wise to mention that Iris had been killed because she was threatening Liv, the Beta’s mate’s life.

Rosalee
squeezed her hand.  “Do you know how Iris died?”

Carly b
it her lip.  “Kind of, I don’t really know all the details of what happened, just the broad strokes.  I think someone from the Sheriff’s office is going to come see you to talk about it.”

Rosalee
sighed and looked at the table, where had all the food gone? 
Had she eaten all of it?
  She hoped not, although it was pretty tasty.  “I’m thinking I should start tidying up the house, sorting out what goes to charity, what I want to keep... if anything.”

Carly
brightened.  “What can I do?”

“You sure you don’t mind helping?”

“No not at all, I’m happy to.”

*

The two Deputies stood on the Bennett porch awkwardly.  They’d been dispatched ostensibly by the Sheriff to inform Rosalee of what had happened to her grandmother.  Really the order had come from their Alpha.

Both Jake and Gabe had wondered at the Alpha’s interest in the woman but neither had dared ask, and if the Sheriff knew he was not giving anything away.

Jake fidgeted.  “This is a waste of time, anybody could tell her what happened.  We have better things to do.”

Gabe raised his eyebrows.  “
You want me to tell the Alpha that?”

Jake
grinned.  “Hell no!”

Gabe knocked on the door and waited patiently while Jake grumbled behind him. 
What was taking her so long?

Finally a young woman with long brown hair came to the door.  Gabe flashed her his dazzling smile.  “Hello again
Rosalee.”

She smiled at the young wolf and despite
of himself Jake noticed how attractive she was, although if his Alpha was set on having her there was no way in hell he would admit that to anyone else.  “Hi Gabe how’s it going?”

“Can’t complain.”  The boy was all easy charm and puppy dog eyes. 
It was really annoying.

Rosalee
looked at Jake enquiringly.  Another gorgeous wolf cop.  He looked to be about Adam’s age, although he was much leaner.  His eyes were startlingly cold and his handsome face was distorted by a scowl.

“This is Deputy Jake Foreman,” Gabe gestured back to Jake who was hovering behind him.  “May we come in?”

“Umm, sure, I was just doing a bit of cleaning.”  She absently wiped her hands on her shorts and stepped aside.  Gabe strode past her and went into the living room, Jake followed behind watching Rosalee attentively.

Rosalee
folded her arms and rocked back on her heels.  “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Gabe cleared his throat, “we wanted to talk to you about your grandmother...”

He was interrupted by Carly who bustled into the room carrying a clock missing its hands.  “Rosalee what do you want to do with this?  Oh hi guys.”

Both male wolves nodded at Carly and she shivered a little.  Omegas were at the bottom on the food chain
both in size and strength, and some wolves were more than happy to remind Omegas of that fact.  Carly was given to flinch a little at all her pack mates.

Gabe threw a reassuring smile in Carly’s direction. 
“So, as I was saying, we wanted to talk to you about your grandmother.  How much do you, um, know already?”

Rosalee
sat down on the pea green couch and clasped her hands.  “Nothing really.”

Gabe took a deep breath and as easily as he could explained how her grandmother Iris had been killing other witches to steal their power, how her partner in crime Emerald had done to same to her when Iris had threatened to kill Emerald’s niece Liv.  Then how Emerald had tried to do the same to Liv, after she mated with a wolf, and how the pack had put Emerald down.

Rosalee’s eyes were like saucers.  “Wow!  That’s pretty awful... I’m kind of glad I didn’t know my grandmother...”

Carly settled next to her on the couch. 
“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s just a lot to take in.”

Jake cleared his throat, having been silent throughout the tale.  “You should really think about amping up your security, make sure the locks on your windows and doors are secure, and perhaps spring for an alarm.  No offence to your grandma but I don’t think she ever even locked her door, it’s not a surprise that someone could get in so easily.”  He handed her a card.  “This is for Jase, he’s a coyote shifter, runs a hardware store in town, he’d have everything you need and for a price he could send someone over to fit everything for you.”

Rosalee
nodded her thanks and took the card.

Jake turned to give Carly a withering glare. 
“Carly, don’t you think you ought to leave Ms Bennett alone?  I’m sure she’s had enough of your company for one day.  We’ll escort you out.”

Carly
’s face turned bright red and she became fixated on the floor in front of her.  The annoyance in his voice surprised Rosalee and she glowered at him.  Gabe remained as motionless as a statue.

“I beg your pardon?  My
friend
Carly is here as my guest, but please feel free to escort your own furry butt the hell out of here!”  Rosalee was almost spitting.

The two Deputies stared at her in surprise.  Truth be told she was a little surprised too.  Usually she expected people to fight their own battles, the way she did, but something about the little
Omega made her feel protective.

Jake’s eyes flashed amber with anger.  Gabe squeezed his shoulder and quietly said, “we should go.”

Jake looked hard at him before snorting and stomping out the house.  Gabe and Rosalee followed him.

The two wolves stood on the porch awkwardly. 
Rosalee leaned on the doorframe.  “Thanks for stopping by.”

The blinding smile returned to Gabe’s handsome face.  “It was nice to see yo
u again Rosalee and remember what we said about home security.  You take care now.”  He slapped Jake on the back and set off to the patrol car.