Chapter 3

 “It’ll all be alright Lily. I won’t ever let anything happen to you, Moon as my witness. We’ll make him understand,” promised Rand.

Poor Lily was shaking like a leaf. What a pretty name, I just hoped the Alpha didn’t pluck this pretty little redheaded flower.  She-wolfs were usually protected at all costs. So, chances were, even if this was a rival Alpha, he’d try and beat the beta into submission and claim Lily for his own pack, best case scenario anyway. Worst case, he was a raging feral who couldn’t be reasoned with, tore Rand apart and then possibly did the same to Lily out of spite. That was where Old Faithful came in, to get him right with The Moon and to remind the bastard this was my land.

Chris was semi-oblivious to the danger we were facing.  He didn’t know what had the rest of us all so worked up. He tried to peer out the window, but the night was too dark and unforgiving to see much. Thick lines of trees also helped to hide most of the sins of the creatures of the night.

We could hear the heavy footfalls of the wolf encircling my diner. Alphas were usually silent predators, unless they wanted to be heard. This Alpha wasn’t just casing the joint, he was also trying to intimidate the fuck out of us. It was working a bit I hated to admit. But my days of cowering to sadist wolfs on a power trip were over. Never again, and especially not on my territory.

“Friend of yours?” I asked.

Rand gritted his teeth, “My Alpha… and he’s not happy.”

“I can see that,” I said dryly, “what did you do to piss Cujo off?”

“I found my true mate,” he answered.

“And we want to be together just as The Moon intended,” continued Lily.

Another thing I’d learned about wolves since being turned, they hated to be called dogs, mutts, or treating them as such. It was a high insult, second only to mating a wolf already claimed by another. Unfortunately, my reference to the infamous rabid dog seemed lost on Lily and Rand. I wasn’t that much older than them, but I spent my free time reading, and binging horror flicks, when I wasn’t listening to true crime like lullabies to put me to sleep at night. I didn’t get out much.

And there was something they weren’t telling me here. Had Lily been claimed by another, possibly even this Alpha who lurked beneath the moonlight on my packlands? Had she left a mate to be with Rand?  Or was Lily from a rival pack, the enemy?

“Is this a prank? Am I being pranked right now?” asked Chris with an unsure smile.

I looked towards my regular, “Don’t worry. I think there’s a rabid wolf on the loose.  I might need to put him down. Just stay ins-”

My front door slammed opened so hard it rattled off the hinges. Literally, it broke into pieces, wood and glass scattered across the threshold. I cringed, that would be expensive to fix. A large shadow stalked closer, he was huge, nearly filling the whole doorway, full of pure muscle. The asshole must have broken out my front light as well. What a dick.

His eyes practically glowed in the near darkness. He let out a growl that would have made most men cower. Luckily, I was a woman and I didn’t scare so easily. I had been down this road before.

Seething amber eyes locked on Chris, “Get. Out.”

Chris couldn’t get out from under his table fast enough, knocking a chair over in the process. It thudded off the floor, sounding more like a gunshot ricocheting through the now quiet space. The townie spared me a quick look of guilt; his heart seemed about to explode.

“I…I don’t want any trouble…And I can’t be late again,” Chris stammered.

“It’s alright Chris. And don’t worry about the check it’s, on the house. I can handle this,” I reassured him.

I gave him a supportive smile though my jaw was tight enough my teeth nearly cracked. The back door swung shut seconds later as he exited out it rather quickly. And the sound of gravel pelted my diner as his tires kicked it up in a squeal. Now, this was just between the wolves.

My fingers enclosed around my gun, rage filled my veins, and my wolf lurked just beneath my surface. It was rare times like these I wished I didn’t take daily sips of wolfsbane to keep my wolf at bay. The only time I let her come out to play, was each full moon when I literally had no choice. I hadn’t shifted by will in three years now, and I never would again. I had no choice in becoming a wolf, but I would never let myself be fully taken over by the beast, and become an animal.

But right now, suppressing my wolf daily, was inconvenient. Slowly poisoning myself was taking its toll.  While my senses were still sharp, I wasn’t as strong, and my reflexes were slowed. I also healed a hell of a lot slower; I’d learned that the hard way. I was practically human while on wolfsbane, but it was usually the way I liked it.

This Alpha, like the other Lycans that lived in these parts, had no such problems. He could change at will, was fast, strong, healed quickly, and two hundred pounds of muscled, testosterone filled fury. I was fucked and not in the fun way.

But this was my diner, my land, and who the fuck did this Alpha think he was?

I swung Old Faithful in the Alpha’s direction, “Just who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m Alpha Roam of the Stonemountain Pack coming to claim what is rightfully mine,” he ground out.

Damn, even his voice was like sex in a bottle and I wanted some. I was a thirsty girl. It was deep, though not rough like he’d smoked ten packs a day. It was more like a raspy croon. I was a sucker for crooners. But I forced my A.D.D riddled and sex starved brain to refocus. Another character flaw, inappropriate humor, bad timing, and making everything into a joke. I was a terrible minimizer, but this was deadly serious.

“Not here you aren’t asshole! This is my territory. And you have no claims here. You come in here, busting up my door, scaring off my customers, and making demands like you own the place. That shit may work where you come from, but this is my land. So back the fuck off.”

The Alpha growled and lunged closer, came into the light. Fuck me, he was built like a horse, a thoroughbred, and hung like one too if that bulge, his dark jeans did nothing to hide, had anything to say about it.  He might as well not have been wearing a shirt, for the sleeveless one he wore stretched across his broad chest like a it was a second skin. His hair was dirty blonde, slicked back and oiled, stubble peppered his proud jawline. Everything about him screamed dirty, but in all the best ways.

And Moon help me, he had tats! They snaked up his arms, and I wanted to lick them to follow the trail to see all the fun places they led on his body.  His biceps were as big as my thighs and speaking of thighs, my eyes dropped lower to study his. Alpha Roam had thighs just perfect for fucking, for holding a gal up by their power alone as he rammed his thick cock-

“Where is your mate?” he demanded, “I need to speak with the Alpha of this land.”

I laughed. “I don’t need a man. This is my land, I’m the Alpha here. And you aren’t welcomed here. Now get the fuck off my land or I’ll be forced to take extreme measures you won’t like,” I warned.

I pumped my shotgun to show him I meant business. Lily squealed again, this time not in a happy way, and buried her face in Rand’s back. Not that I could blame the poor girl.

“I came for my nephew and I am not leaving without him. Randon, as your Alpha I command you to return with me to our packlands.”

I shot Rand a what the hell look, “Telling me he is your uncle would have been useful information, Randon.”

The beta shrugged, “It’s not important. It doesn’t change anything.”

“I think it does. And Lily?” I questioned, wondering what all the fuss was about.

If Lily had been claimed by the Alpha, or belonged to his pack, it would obviously have been her he was here for. It seemed he had no claim over the she-wolf. So even though I asked the question, I already had my answer. Lily didn’t belong to the Stonemountain pack. And if Alpha Roam was making no moves to claim her, that could only mean one thing, he didn’t want her because she was from a rival pack. He didn’t want to sleep with the enemy so to speak.

The Alpha had found Lily unworthy and rejected her. It was only personal because of her birthright, of being born with enemy wolfblood flowing through her veins. She was a pretty, little catch now caught in this trap in neutral ground, and most big bad wolves would have pounced already.

That gave me pause, most Alphas in his place, finding a young, fertile she-wolf practically alone, off her packlands would claim the girl in a heartbeat. Claim her not only just to turn her into a breeding mare for the pack, but to offend, humiliate, and disrespect his enemies. She was a great prize, a spoil of war, though the thought sickened me down to my bones.

But Alpha Roam seemed different. If he had any interest in the girl, his first actions would have been to subdue his beta by forcing him into submission, then he would have bitten the girl to mark her for his pack. He would take her for a mate himself or relinquish his claim to another beta in his stead, who would then mark the she-wolf with his own bite. But Alpha Roam had tried a more diplomatic approach to the situation and shown indifference to the girl.

I was trying to figure him out. My mind chastised me for defending this Alpha who had stormed my diner and pissed me the fuck off.  The same trap my poor mother had fallen into, a handsome male who made pretty promises and offered to protect her, to take care of her, to warm her bed and take away the lonely ache in her heart. He had said and done all the right things to lure her in. But Stone ShadowFang turned out to be a nightmare wrapped in a dream. And I was not my mother. I had learned from her mistakes and paid a heavy price for them too.

But still damp heat crept between my legs, and I knew the Alpha could smell it. He could smell my arousal, every wolf in this place could. His pupils got larger and the bastard inhaled deeply. Then he had the nerve to smile all predator like in my direction. I put my finger on the trigger of Old Faithful. I wanted to blow that infuriating smile off his damn face. I wanted to hurt him. But I resisted those violent urges for now.

 I really needed to get laid and that was why I was so turned on. It was a basic human and animal instinct. I had no mate, so my wolf was reacting in a natural way. That was all there was to it, nothing more. But my human side was in control and she told my wolf to fuck off and get a hold of her horny self. This wolf with an Alpha complex was so not mating material and not my type. I could tell he was the possessive type and not the one and done sort. Alphas were possessive and controlling by nature, it came with the job description. But I would not be owned by him or any other male, neither human nor wolf. I snarled at him, but it only succeeded in making him look amused.  God, I hated this beautiful prick.

His hungry gaze left mine and returned to his beta, “Randon, this is your final chance to heed your Alpha’s warning, submit to me, and return to Stonemountain.”

His body took on an Alpha stance, muscles tense, but strong and ready to strike. Even his voice had dripped with power, I could fucking feel it and he wasn’t even my Alpha. I could see Randon’s chest start to quiver as he fought his body’s need to obey, to submit. Fuck, he was powerful. I nearly shuddered myself.

Randon then straightened his spine, and his jaw clenched, “I won’t leave Lily behind. She’s my true mate. You’ll have to kill me first, Alpha.”