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18. Tender Warrior
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Hunted by My Alpha 19. Impossible
~ RIG ~Holy shit.I’d only thought I might get her to soften, to start trusting me. But she got close and the smell of her filled me. And her smile. And the pure delight she had watching me hold a fucking cat.I mean, the thing was stinking cute. But still…I had just been making a mental note never to arm Mack with the whole kitten effect, when she started touching me, and then I didn’t even think. I just told her the truth.I never told girls the truth. Not really. I didn’t lie. I just… hid myself.But this time I didn’t hide. I couldn’t.And then she kissed me, and every other thought fled from my head.The sensation of Cara’s lips against mine was incredible. Stunning. Consuming. Every nerve in my body jangled to life, and I sucked in a breath against the sense that every single one of them was trying to escape my skin, to burst out of me, into her touch.A shudder rolled through my entire body. I froze, rocked by the softness of her lips, the rich sweetness of her scent, and the
Hunted by My Alpha 20. What the Actual
~ RIG ~My head buzzed with stunned disbelief as Natalie threw herself into my chest, squeezing my middle.I was suddenly nauseous. Natalie? Here? What the actual—“I can’t believe you’re here! What a coincidence!” she gushed.“What the hell, Natalie?” I muttered, peeling her arms away from my waist, everything in my body recoiling.“It’s so good to see you! It’s been forever.”“That’s not an accident—”As if I hadn’t spoken, Natalie kept her grip on my shirt but peered around me, smiling too-wide. “Who’s your friend? I’m Natalie,” she said brightly. I wanted to snap my teeth. “Rig and I go way back—you must be from the university?” She reached past me to offer Cara a perfectly manicured hand that Cara shook mechanically.“Cara,” she said quietly, but then she looked up at me, a question in her eyes.She’d kissed me. She wanted me. She was mine—I blinked, then pried Natalie’s grip off my shirt and took another step back. “Natalie. What are you doing here?”She couldn’t ignore me sinc
Hunted by My Alpha 21. Nothing to See Here
~ RIG ~It was a good thing I could trust my wolf-senses to keep us safe on the road, because for the first few miles, I wasn’t even aware of driving, I was so consumed with fury.I couldn’t believe Natalie had ambushed me—and with Cara there! I had been so close to shifting when she tried to make trouble with Cara I had scared myself. I couldn’t imagine what that must have done to Cara.Actually, I could. Cara sat in the passenger seat, stiff as a board, stinking of tension that spun in and out of fear. I’d really given her a scare when I reached out for the car—something I’d seen my mother and sister do countless times, because of my father. It made my guts twist even tighter seeing her do it because of me.I needed to explain. Needed to ease her mind. Needed to find our way back to the kissing. But I didn’t know how to start. And so we drove for ten minutes without a word, my hands flexing on the steering wheel as my rage gave way to frustration.In the end, Cara was the one to bre
Hunted by My Alpha 22. Enemy at the Door
~ RIG ~“Yo, Rig. What’s going on? Why weren’t you at the seminar this morning?” Charlie asked from the couch where he and Jack were sprawled playing video games as I walked into the house, very tense, a few minutes later.I wanted to growl, but just shrugged and kept walking towards the kitchen. “Nothing, I just needed to get out.”“You weren’t at lunch either, though,” Jack pointed out.I rubbed my face and walked to the fridge, considering a beer. It was early, but the last glow of sunlight would die in the room soon as the autumn day passed into twilight.“I’m tired. I took a day off.”“Is our fearless leader worried about losing a certain bet?” Mack laughed, appearing from the hallway. “You should be. I’ve been working on Cara. Something’s up with our little pet.”“How the fuck would you know? You didn’t spend the day with her.”“Says who?” Mack grinned.“Says me, who did.”My packmates all leaped on that, shouting over each other, demanding to know what I had done, and when, and
Hunted by My Alpha 23. Back the Truck Up
~ CARA ~“I said… he’s not my boyfriend,” I ground out, hands on my hips.Natalie stood on the other side of the library desk looking just as coiffed and perfect as she had that afternoon, though her hair was swept up now, and there was a gorgeous, cashmere scarf wrapped around her long neck.My stomach was twisted like that scarf, but with a strange mix of frustration and jealousy. I had already been feeling sorry for myself that Rig was so obviously hung up on this girl. I couldn’t believe I’d kissed him—and I couldn’t believe how much I wanted to do it again. This guy was a walking red flag! I didn’t have time or energy to figure it out. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about him.Work had been a welcome distraction. But then it had all come crashing back in when Natalie had shown up twenty minutes earlier and proved impossible to deflect. When I had to help another student, she’d simply waited, then started in again when they left.It was the first time I had prayed for my shift to be
Hunted by My Alpha 24. Not Here - Part 1
~ RIG ~I glared at my ex-girlfriend, furious. I couldn’t believe she was trying this shit. “I don’t need a fucking thing from you.”“Oh, really, Rig? Because from my perspective, that little human’s got her fingers twisted right into your fur and you aren’t even growling about it. Your dad might put up with the man-whoring, but you’re out of your mind if you think he’s going to consider a human for his future pack Luna.”I snorted. “You’re so full of yourself, you don’t have a clue—”“Rig, I followed you today. I saw you with her when you didn’t know anyone was watching.” Her eyes clouded, but she blinked to clear them. “I know you. You watch her the way you used to watch me. She makes you smile. She made you laugh. She got you to pet kittens for fucks sake.”“So?”“So, you have feelings for a human, Rig.”“Bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about her.”Natalie’s perfectly manicured brow arched and she folded her arms. “Oh, really? Then you won’t mind if I tell her about the bet.”Shock r
Hunted by My Alpha 25. Not Here - Part 2
~ CARA ~My hands kept shaking and I couldn’t make them stop. I was on the edge of tears, and I didn’t really understand why. Except that watching Rig with Natalie—even the furious Rig—had made it so very clear how well those two knew each other.Rig with Natalie was the same Rig who slouched around with his friends when there was no one else with them. He wasn’t trying. He wasn’t pretending. Even if he hated her, he knew her. He spoke with her like someone he could be himself with, and never fear losing. Unguarded.It was the way he’d started to talk to me that afternoon at the fairgrounds, before everything went to shit. That was when I’d realized Rig used arrogance and flirting like a shield. A wall he could hide behind.But earlier that day his wall had been down. I’d spent hours with the Rig who had nothing to prove and he was… fun. Sweet. Thoughtful. And funny as hell. Hot as hell, too. Unfortunately.And then I’d kissed him—shocked him. But when he came alive… the hunger in him
Hunted by My Alpha 26. Knock Knock
~ RIG ~Exactly five minutes later, I stood over her as she used trembling hands to pull her staff card up to the reader on the study-room door and open it.My entire body hummed. I stood over her, right behind her. The temptation to put my hand over hers on the door handle, to use my bulk to press her forward and into the room was almost irresistible. But I knew I couldn’t force this. Everything hung on this moment.When I’d shown up behind her in the aisle, she’d looked over her shoulder with wide eyes. Scared eyes. I’d backed off, almost certain she was going to change her mind. But she hadn’t.Now she was standing here… vulnerable.Even her scent was a state of uncertainty—lust mingling with fear. It was a state that I hadn’t hesitated to use to my advantage with other women countless times. A small push with the Allure to soothe her fear and fuel that fire…But now… now I found myself oddly reluctant to push her. I was desperate to know what she’d decide for herself.So when the
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Hunted by My Alpha 249. No Negotiation
~ RIG ~ I let my upper lip curl up and bare my teeth. Let him see that he was dealing with a helluva lot more than a spoiled rich kid. His instincts were dulled by humanity and alcohol, but even his dimwitted senses caught the flash of my teeth. He stiffened. I smiled. “My wife wants to share her wedding with her Mom—we eloped, but we’ve just watched some friends getting married and it’s making her think about what we missed, so we’re going to do it properly. Make another memory. And Cara wants to share that with her mom. So, we’re going to renew our vows in front of everyone we care about. Which, sadly, includes you.” He smiled and I wanted to bite his face off. “You are invited,” I growled. “But you
Hunted by My Alpha 248. Who the @#$% are You?
SOUNDTRACK: “Your Daughter” by Chase McDaniel. ***** ~ RIG (Three weeks later) ~ Getting out of my jeep in the driveway of the house that was the site of Cara’s torture turned my stomach. My Alpha power—still difficult to contain at times, making me itchy and prone to aggression—surged as I took in the cracked cement with weeds and grass growing up, the overgrown flower beds now little jungles of three foot weeds, and the grass that was thin and patchy, and mostly dead. This was the place that her fucking father had made her believe no one could love her. This was the place she’d been hurt. This was the place I wanted to burn to the fucking ground. But for today, at least, that wasn’t the assig
Hunted by My Alpha 247. Fight For You
SOUNDTRACK: “Unbearable” by Nathan Wagner. ***** ~ CHARLIE ~ Watching Mack salivate over Natalie as she walked up the aisle was a very specific kind of torment. Because even though I was supposed to be watching our friends publicly vow themselves, my eyes kept drifting back to Meg who, alongside Cara and Tessa, was standing with Natalie today. She looked… stunning. Natalie, always with the impeccable taste that I didn’t understand, but could fully appreciate, had draped all the girls in floor-length, light-green, figure-hugging-but-not-clinging dresses that revealed flesh without being suggestive. It was fucking torture.
Hunted by My Alpha 246. The Gift
~ MACK ~ When Natalie and Cara finally reached us on the stage, I knew that there was an exchange with the officiant. Cara and Rig said something, but I didn’t hear it. I just took Natalie’s hands and pulled her up to stand in front of me. I was aware of people speaking after that. The officiant—a wolf who’d been among the rebels, whose aunt was human, and had become ordained—spoke for a few minutes about marriage and what it meant, but all I could think about was the deep pools of her eyes, that hollow in her throat that she’d offered me the night before last, and how my entire blood hummed with love and desire and— There was a ripple of laughter. “Oh, what?” I asked. Someone had asked me something. Oh, right. “I do!”
Hunted by My Alpha 245. Finally
SOUNDTRACK: “Don’t Give Up on Me” by Andy Grammar ***** ~ MACK ~ I had been shitting myself. Absolutely, one hundred percent, about-to-claw-my-own-hair-off, crapping my pants. When Cara told me about the human traditions around a wedding, and what she was planning to do with Rig for their vow renewal—which included not seeing or sleeping with each other the day before the ceremony, which sounded crazy—I’d joked with Natalie that we should do that too. I’d thought it would be cute and maybe increase anticipation for when we did come back together after the ceremony. I hadn’t banked on my mate getting cold feet about doing this in front of the packs, and how her nerves would kick my insecurities into gear—and that the whole damn thing would b
Hunted by My Alpha 244. In the Right Place
SOUNDTRACK: “Break Your Fall” by UNSECRET and Marc Scibilia. ***** ~ NATALIE ~ “This is stupid and… and indulgent and it doesn’t matter! I should never have agreed to this. It’s nothing but a dumb, human tradition and… it means nothing. I’m not doing it.” I stood in the bedroom that we’d made into a bridal suite—complete with three-way mirror—and folded my arms. I’d been staring at myself and all I could see were the imperfections. Tessa had done a beautiful job on my make up, but everything else just felt… sticky. My dress was a touch too tight around my breasts. There were too many people here and they were all going to be staring. I could feel Mack out there panting with nerves, but what if he didn’t like the dress? I should have shown it to him! Why had I let Cara talk me into all this traditional nonsense? “Natalie, you get your gorgeous ass out there and marry that man before he sweats through his Armani suit,” Cara growled. “Seriously, don’t make me turn it into an orde
Hunted by My Alpha 243. Done
~ RIG ~I started towards her, but was halted almost immediately as I watched in awe while my mate carved through lines of wolves as if they were butter.Claws, teeth, whirling body—despite her bulk, she moved like liquid, tail lashing and claws like wicked hooks designed to tear through fur and flesh.I shook and trembled because my father’s power was shifting to me and my veins were boiling with it—while the rest of me simmered in the rising rage and terror of the wolves around us.The transfer of Alpha should have been peaceful. There was an established hierarchy waiting, swelling with the newfound power. But my father was a liar and cheat, and he’d encouraged his wolves towards the same.The hierarchy, the elders, his advisors, every pack and family of power rolled towards us, howling in rage and fear.And my wolves, newly risen and brimming with the triumph of victory and the added confidence of success, tore right back to meet them.Mack, Charlie, Jack, and Natalie tore for me,
Hunted by My Alpha 242. When Hell is Broken
SOUNDTRACK: “Legendz” by AG and Devvon Terrell ***** ~ RIG ~ Everything slowed to a crawl, time seemed almost not to move at all as I watched my father go for my mate and I turned, twisting, pushing my body in ways I never had, panic screaming in my head, frantic to reach him before he got her. I couldn’t move fast enough. He was going to land at her feet before I did and his power would carry him right to her throat. She wasn’t equipped for this… It all washed through me in that second—the rage for what he’d done, the fury about his injustices, the anger that he would still cheat, even before the witnesses, and the shocking weight of grief because that was my mate. But then the second wave arrived that left me desperate, panicked, humiliated and hating myself. If she died right now it was my fault. My side screamed in pain as I launched myself after him, but my father seemed to hang in mid-air. I had time to see Cara bare her teeth and crouch. Everything moved so slowly I could
Hunted by My Alpha 241. Death on Four Legs
~ RIG ~My father saw the opening he’d been waiting for, gathered himself on his haunches and launched at me, the light of victory in his eyes.Instinctively, I didn’t even try to meet the attack, just leaped straight into the air in an attempt to deflect, dropping my chin, trying to hide my throat as my father snaked in—and to my horror, he would have taken me, except that was the moment Stephen howled in the link, then sent images to us both:Himself. Head bowed. Shoulders rolled forward. His human form submitted.To me.It was a boom of thunder right over my head. In any context, the submission of an Alpha brought al
