The Alpha's Toy (14 page)

Pulling her hands away she saw
her fingers were clear. There was not a drop of blood on her
fingers. Standing up, she stumbled into the bathroom where she
found a chunk of her neck was red and swollen. Zeke’s loss of
control
was
staring at her blankly. Her hands were fine even though she
recalled his paws had come through.

“
Mary?” Zeke asked. Turning
around she saw him leaning against the door frame, staring at
her.

“
What? What the hell happened?
Why have I suddenly become a fucking chew toy?” She glared at him
wondering how she’d survived the night. Pressing a hand to her
stomach she was ready to call him out when another female was
calling out her name.

Frowning, she stared at Zeke then past
his shoulder.

“
My mom and dad are here, and
they’re making breakfast. Mom makes a mean breakfast. I promise you
won’t be disappointed with what she makes,” he said, stepping
closer into the room.

“
What?” she asked, pressing a
hand to her forehead. Mary wasn’t wearing any
clothes
, and
the way she felt at that moment she wasn’t prepared to deal with
his parents.

“
I know you’ve got a lot of
questions,” he said, moving closer.

Mary wanted to move away to not let him
touch her, but she couldn’t stop the yearning that built inside
her. She wished for his arms wrapped around her.

“
I will answer your questions and
give you everything your heart desires. All I ask is that you come
out and spend some time with my parents. It’s not the whole
family
, just
my parents.”

Denying him was out of the
question. “Fine. You’ve got to promise me that we’ll
talk, properly talk,
and not just have sex.”

The sex is so
good.

Ignoring her body she stared at him
waiting for him to refuse.

“
Fine.”

“
Okay, I’ll, erm, put some
clothes on.”

Zeke followed her back to the bedroom
where he handed her some of his clothing. She wore a long t-shirt
with a pair of drawstring shorts. They were too big for her body,
but they covered her enough to give her some dignity.

“
What if they hate me?” she
asked, biting her lip with her nerves.

“
Believe me, baby, they do not
hate you. Mom wants to castrate me for keeping you to
myself.”

“
We’ve barely known each
other that long,” she said.

“
We’ve known each other for over
a week, and for a lot of wolves that’s a lifetime already.” Zeke
ran his hands up and down her arms.

Was he nervous?

“
Come on, they want to meet
you
, and I’m
tired of being hungry.” Zeke took her hand leading her out of the
safety of the bedroom.

“
Wait, stop,” she
said.

“
Dear, is that you? Does
Mary like her bacon crispy?” the woman said.

“
My mother is called Helen, and
you know my father’s name,” Zeke said. “How do you like your
bacon?”

“
Crispy.”

Pushing some stray hairs off her face, she
followed behind into the open kitchen. The apartment was large
enough to fit a whole family.

“
Mom, Dad, I’d like for you all
to meet my woman
, Mary,” Zeke said, holding her in front of him.

She saw his father
first
, and
she smiled at him. Next, she saw the beautiful dark haired woman
that looked a little like Zeke. Most of his looks came from his
father.

“
Hi,” she said.

“
Sweetheart, it’s a pleasure to
finally see you awake,” Helen said, circling the counter. She wore
an apron spattered with grease. “When William told me my boy had
gotten a mate, I couldn’t believe it.”

The men in the room tried to hush
Helen up.

Mate?

“
Shut up, boys. She’s going
to know sooner rather than later.” Helen stood in front of her.
“Now, let me have a proper look at you,” she said, cupping her
cheeks and turning her head this way and that.

Mary went through the motions as the
woman assessed her as if she was a prized cow. “What do you mean
mate?” she asked.

The men tensed while Helen kissed her
cheek. “It’s so good to have another woman in the family. For some
reason the line seems to breed a lot of men.”

Helen eased her down into a chair at
the counter. She noticed four settings with them all facing each
other.

Was anyone going to explain the mate
comment?

“
Mate?” Mary asked
again.

“
Honey, my son has picked a
fine woman in you.” The raised flesh of her neck
prickled.

We’re mated
. It’s about time.

“
I really don’t know what
you mean.”

“
Mary, honey, haven’t you
ever seen the marks of a mated female?” Helen asked.

“
No,” Mary said, glancing
behind her at Zeke.

Zeke was glaring at his mother. If
looks could kill she’d be nervous.

“
Helen, that’s enough,” William
said, speaking up. “We’re going to have breakfast, and then we’re
going to leave them to their business. This is not our pack, and
it’s not our business.”

The hairs on the back of Mary’s neck
stood on end. The Alpha within William was demanding
obedience.

“
I know. I know. You don’t
have to go all Alpha on me.” Helen tapped his cheek as she
passed.

All she wanted to do was get breakfast
over with as fast as she could. Picking up her fork, she tensed
when she felt Zeke sit beside her.

He made no move to speak to her, which
she was thankful for.

During the breakfast Helen spoke of
Zeke growing up, the good old days of being kids. She was given a
rundown of embarrassing facts for all seasons. Throughout it all
Mary relaxed even as she felt aware of Zeke at the same
time.

With breakfast finished she started on the
dishes as Zeke showed his parents out of the door. Sticking her
hands into the soapy water she curved her hand around the blade of
the knife. Zeke walked up behind her. When he was close enough to
touch, she tugged the knife out of the water and brandished it in
front of her. “You’re going to start talking, or else I’m going to
fucking hurt you,” she said.

Her emotions were all over the place.
Even as she brandished her knife at him, she couldn’t help but
think she was overreacting.

He held his hands up in surrender. The
smile on his lips made her even angrier.

“
What did your mother say about
mating? Why did you bite my neck, and how did you explain your lack
of control?” she asked.

“
Let go of the knife,” he said,
reaching for it. Handing him back the knife, heat filled her
cheeks.

“
What the hell is wrong with me?”
She touched her ch
eeks, wondering what the hell she’d done wrong.

“
You’re going through
something.” He stopped, looking down at the floor in front of
him.

“
What? What am I going
through?” she asked, confused.

“
My mother wasn’t wrong.
We’re mated. Last night, I lost control.”

Mary stared at him. The silence in the
room was deafening.

“
There’s a lot of things you do
not know,” Zeke said.

“
Well why don’t you start telling
me about all those things I don’t know.” She was tired of being
kept in the dark about everything. Touching her neck, she felt the
raised skin and wished there was something more she could
do.

“
I’ll tell you. Can we do
the dishes without you trying to kill me?” he asked.

Glaring at him, she finished doing the
dishes as he dried them before putting them away. When she was
finished Mary walked over toward the windows staring out over the
city. She wasn’t due back at work for another three
weeks.

Running fingers through her
hair, she tried to focus on the three weeks
, but she was starting to think her
time wasn’t nearly over.

“
You’re not going to let me
go after the month, are you?” she asked. She saw his reflection in
the window.

“
No, I’m not. I can’t let
you go.”

Nodding, she felt tears sting her eyes.
Mary knew she should be upset about his news, yet part of her was
relieved to hear him not getting rid of her.

“
What do you need to tell
me?” she asked.

“
I was the dog you saw down
the alley,” he said. His arms wrapped around her waist holding onto
her tightly.

“
What?”

“
I’m the one who smelled you,
Mary. I was the large black dog that couldn’t resist you. I’d been
scenting you for some time, and then you were coming out of the
building and I couldn’t stop. I was the one who bit you,” Zeke
said.

Her heart pounded as she
recalled the black dog approaching. At the time she reached out, in
an attempt to touch him. He’d struck, sinking his teeth into her
arm. The pain had been excruciating.
Afterward all she remembered were Roger
and Dani. They’d taken her away from him.

“
I had every intention of finding
you. In fact, I never gave up
trying to find you,” he said, surprising
her.

“
You were looking for me?”
she asked.

“
Yeah. I asked Roger and
Dani if they’d ever seen you before. They always told me no. I
could never smell you. We believe the injections you were given
were an attempt to mask your scent. They fucking succeeded as
well.”

“
Why are you telling me all
this?”

****

The big question he’d been waiting
for. Licking his lips, he folded his arms and stared at her.
“You’re my destined mate, Mary.” He settled for the
truth.

“
What?”

“
Our wolves recognize each
other. You’re the woman I’m destined to spend the rest of my life
with.”

“
How is that
possible?”

Stepping closer, he invaded her personal
space. “You can feel your wolf wanting me, Mary. She knows me. Our
wolves are a perfect match, and if you give me a chance I’ll prove
to you that I’m the man for you.”

She shook her head turning back toward
the windows. “This is all so confusing.”

Reaching out, he gripped her shoulders not
wanting to let her go. What started out as her being his toy had
developed into something far more. On the quest to find his sister
he’d discovered the woman who’d settle his soul and tempt his body.
“Give us a chance.”

“
The first time we met you
had killed the leaders of my pack.”

“
They were using you as a
fucking science experiment. The whole pack was as corrupt as their
leaders,” he said, trying to reason with her.

“
You were going to kill a
teenager. Jessica is too fucking young to die.”

“
I wouldn’t have killed her.” He
admitted the truth to her.

She jerked, looking back at him.
“What?
Max
told me this before. You don’t need to say anything.”

“
Yes, I do need to say something.
I’m not a monster, Mary. I wouldn’t have killed her. I’d have
pushed her aside. She didn’t smell corrupt or anything like the
rest of the pack. She smelled like you, innocent.”

He heard and felt her take a deep
breath. “This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me,”
she said.

“
I love you, Mary.” Zeke figured
he should be the one to put the words out there. She could do with
them what she wanted
, but he wasn’t going to hide from his feelings.

She turned in his arms, staring up at
him. “How do we know this is not because of the wolves? How can you
love me? You don’t even know me.”

Taking her hand he pressed it over his
heart. “Ever since I turned you, Mary, I’ve been looking for you.
Your scent drove me crazy. I’ve never known a woman like you. None
of the other women in the packs have been the one for me.” Pressing
his palm to her chest he felt the rapid beating of her heart. “I
know you’re perfect for me and for the pack.”

“
I’m a half breed. How can
a half breed ever have a place in your pack? You’re an Alpha, Zeke.
You’re not a half breed or a lower member or whatever. I don’t even
understand wolf politics,” she said, arguing her point.

Cupping her face, he leaned down closing
the gap between them. He caressed her lips with his own, stroking
along the plump softness until he plundered her mouth with his
tongue. She met him, caressing him back. Zeke felt his blood boil.
The feelings built inside him to a fever pitch. Mary was his woman.
Her wolf was a perfect match for him.

“
You can’t kiss me to make the
problems go away,” she said, whimpering.

“
I can. I’m the fucking
Alpha
, and I
can do whatever the hell I want.” Running his thumb along her
bottom lip he moaned as her tongue peeked out, licking him. “I need
you to trust me,” he said.