“Today’s event is a friendly competition where the Alphas are hoping to win a rose of approval from our lovely ladies,” Jay explained. “Each Luna can give out as many roses as they’d like once the Alphas are scored at the finish line.”“Remember, it’s not a race.” I stood on my tiptoes trying to get a good look and mind-linking Trenton as they lined up in the ravine below. I’d have to skirt the other side of the tents to check out the next obstacles in the challenge. It wasn’t like the Luna Trials where we knew what was coming. With the Alpha Games, the show pulled out the shock factors.“There’s a finish line. It’s a race.” Trenton growled through our link.Let him die. “Fine then.” I growled back. “But slow and steady wins it.”“To keep things interesting, the first Alpha to cross the finish line will be awarded a traditional boon like the days of old,” Jay spoke to the cameras with growing excitement. “A favor? A challenge? A lifetime debt? Stay tuned to the end to see who will rec
I tugged on a bit of my wolf’s strength, waking the bored bastard up from his nap, as I shoved against the boulder.John moved at his own pace and I turned my attention inward, focusing on the task at hand. My muscles were already burning from the rope course, but I’d be alright. I’d known pain and exhaustion much deeper than this.I couldn’t yet see the finish line ahead, but knowing what waited for me was enough motivation to keep pushing. The boulder moved another staggered foot as I shoved it forward.Grunting, I pushed again.And again.Sweat dripped down the back of my t-shirt and my legs were shaking as I heaved the boulder another painful inch. Darkness danced on the edge of my vision and I blinked it away.John was somewhere to the left. I vaguely placed him from the sound of his cursing grunts. But there were other males gaining on us, moving their own tortuous boulders up the hill.This was some next level bullshit.I hated this rock.It rolled back on me, threatening to cr
“It’s alright. I’ll grab some chips.” I nudged him forward. “You get something to eat though.”“Aspen! Over here.” Fallon waved as I plucked a bag of chips from the counter. Hopefully Ivan would eat and take a break. I wouldn’t have made him stand out there if I knew he was still on duty and watching me.I made my way over to Fallon’s table, glad when Ivan found a seat, and skirted a camera team speaking to a group of the younger Luna contestants. Trenton’s name came up and I slowed to listen, but the women tensed when they saw me eavesdropping.I nodded and kept walking. Fallon’s group at the plastic round table had doubled in the past few days. Edith and Lilith were sitting there. I smiled at them as I took a seat, glancing nervously at Cindy who sat next to two other women. Sarah and Meghan, if I remembered their names right. Meghan was a tanned blond bombshell from down in Florida and Sarah was her complete opposite. A country classic beauty from Chism Pack outside Nashville.They
“I’m not scared of them.” I sank my teeth into the sandwich, tearing out a chunk of meat.“I can see that,” Fallon laughed. “But let’s have a little more self-preservation until we figure this out.”She was right.It didn’t make things easier to swallow.“Why are you helping me?” I asked.Those were her friends or people sitting at that table I assumed. I was no one to that group. Other than a threat apparently.I’ll take that as a compliment.“Isn’t it obvious?” Fallon arched one of her dark eyebrows, looking so much like her brother in that moment as she motioned to the screen.I didn’t need to look or hear his voice projected through the speakers. I could physically feel his howl of victory echo through the mountain and rile my own beast as she howled in response.I tossed the rest of the sandwich into the trash and glanced at the screen. Ranger stared straight into the camera with a wicked gleam in his eye that seemed directed straight at me.My heart skipped a beat as I rushed ou
It took me a half second to calculate the imaginary hands on a clock face and I barely missed the spear that landed in the dirt by my feet.We switched positions again as I growled. “Use left, right, north, south. Anything but a damn clock.”John’s deep laughter bellowed from his chest as a spear sailed through the air, going wide. Another handful of Alphas gathered at the starting line.It was Chad’s snarling face that caught my attention. He looked like a child throwing a tantrum as he chucked his spear and shifted into his wolf midair.I didn’t have time to laugh for long. “Duck!”John dropped to the ground behind me as the spear flew over our heads. Chad had aimed directly for us instead of a target. The bastard.I was going to enjoy winning.“I’m too old for this shit.” John scrambled to his feet as we started up the incline on the slope. He watched our backs as I focused on finding the footholds over the rocky outcropping.“To your right,” he yelled.I jerked my hand away as a s
“Everything?” The word came out a whisper as my lips parted and my breathing slowed.His fangs extended and he stepped closer, blocking out the sun. “Everything and more.”Don’t tease me with a good time.I forgot to inhale.“Alpha contestants, line up over here.” Molly was clapping, signaling the end of the day’s events and breaking me from the lust-filled haze.What is it with this Alpha? I took a step back, shaking my head as the other Luna contestants came out from the tent.The guys stood in line after pulling on shorts from wardrobe and getting touched up by the makeup team. Ranger didn’t bother to change, leaving the cargo pants hugging his thick thighs, but he shrugged off the tattered remains of his shirt so the whole world could see the art tattooed on his chest.I clamped down on my wolf’s possessive growl, trying to get ahold of myself. It didn’t help that Ranger’s eyes never left my face. My cheeks flushed from the knowledge that he was watching, waiting.The beast of an
“Um…” I bit down on my bottom lip, looking up at Ranger as my fingers fumbled with the button on his cargo pants. This was awkward, but the least I could do was return the favor.Ranger caught my wrists, trapping them easily with one hand, and rested his forehead against mine. “No.”“No?” I jerked back, wondering if I’d misread the situation. The signs were glaringly obvious that he wanted me, but I didn’t have much experience with Alphas other than the assholes I’d grown up with. Was this some sort of Alpha power trip? Did they like to get random girls off as a control thing?Heat flushed my cheeks as I realized how easily I’d cum. He barely touched me and didn’t even take off my pants. I’d ridden him like his hand was a saddle on a bull and orgasmed in two-point-five seconds.That wasn’t even supposed to be possible.I was so screwed. How was anyone else going to compete with that?“Do you always think this much?” Ranger caught me by the chin, forcing me to look at him and not letti
Acting on this was an entirely different matter and it was possible I’d messed up by giving in too fast. I could have teased her longer, drawn out her desire, but there was no harm in giving her a little taste of what I’d do once I had her completely at my mercy.We could do that now, my wolf growled, still pissed I forcefully dragged him away from the resort where Aspen was tucked into bed with Beau guarding the hall.Patience, I snapped back. He wasn’t a rash beast, but he’d been driving me hard to complete the mating mark and seal our bond. It will happen, I reassured him.First it was time to face the music with my pack.*Mattox met me in wolf form outside the boundaries of the resort property. The scent of a female still clung to his dark gray fur and I sniffed discreetly, placing her smell as one of my pack.“When did Ava get here?” I asked as we walked through the forest together.He looked up with a wolfish grin. “She came this morning to drop off some supplies.”“And they he
I reached up and turned the TV off manually, scratching the back of my head as the room quieted and eight pairs of eyes looked my way. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”“Wasn’t he on the show?” The coyote shifter looked at Aspen. “I swear I saw him there.”“You can be on the show and not have a clue what’s going on. Ask me how I know.” Aspen giggled, leaning back so her head rested against Ranger.He affectionately squeezed her shoulder as he pulled out his phone and scrolled. “It’s true. They finally got enough dirt to bring her in. Took them long enough. It’s been almost three months since our settlement against the network.”“Thank the Goddess.” Aspen sighed. “Wait, this doesn’t mean we have to go back to court, does it?”Ranger pocketed his phone. “No. They have her on a technicality and the feds are involved with the interstate gambling. Jesse’s testimony should be all they need. It’s bigger than us now.”We all glanced at the cheetah shifter. Jesse laid back on the leather
My beast thumped his tail as she smiled at me.“Are you ready to go?”I finished off my beer and tossed it into the trashcan, moving around Andrea as she tended the bar. Crossing the hardwood floors, I met the owner of the bar halfway, then scooped her up into my arms. “You missed my show.”I didn’t care if I sounded pathetic; Fallon was the one who insisted I put on a festive performance each Thursday night for the month of December. “We need more fun in this territory,” she’d said. “Make them want to stick around.”Fallon was a tough Luna, but she had a vision. It was something beautiful to watch it come alive. Because that’s what she’d done. Slowly but surely, she’d brought more life into this pack.A public playground sat by the new elementary school. She’d recruited some small businesses and created a boutique shopping center right outside the resort. Shifters were coming back and bringing their families with them. Especially now that Chase and Kimberly Williams were running the
“Well. I didn’t think…” Tim looked around the room as he stuttered. “She just…”“Come on, man.” Bryant laughed as he clapped the old man on the back. “Did you lose a nut or two back there?”“I need you to leave. Now.” John growled.Tim scrambled out the door.Bryant sighed as he followed him. “We’re going to have to burn this table.”“Out.” John’s Alpha strength washed over me, giving my wolf a heady rush as it mixed with my own power.I gave him a seductive smile, practically tasting his pheromones and desire pulsing in the air. “What seems to be the problem, Alpha?”“That was so fucking sexy.” He moved me over so I was standing in front of him, spreading my thighs apart with his knee. I was bare under the makeshift dress I’d made from his flannel shirt.Bare and already aching with need.His hand slid up between my legs and he groaned at what he found waiting there. “How did I get so lucky?”“Ask the Goddess,” I teased, gasping as he pushed me back so I lay flat on the table.He mad
I placed her scent as soon as I’d shifted and entered the lodge through the back door. The widowed Luna of Williams Pack. It was only a matter of time before she showed up. I pulled on one of John’s flannel shirts from the hooks in the mudroom and cinched it at the waist with one of his belts, grabbing my spare thigh-high black boots from the mat in the hall.Reminder to self:Leave more clothes easily accessible here.Especially if we’d be hosting representatives from the neighboring packs at random times.“Fallon.” John smiled at me as he came out of the bathroom. His eyes traveled hungrily up my thighs as I zipped my boots.“Later.” I put my hand in his. “Do we know what Janice Williams wants?”“Probably something about the debt from the show and my bargain with Chase.” A menacing aura pulsed around John that made my beast purr in delight. We hadn’t seen him in his dominant stance yet. He’d been mostly cinnamon roll around me and the pack. But this version of him was definitely get
“Are you going to let your Alpha in on these plans?” I asked as I tossed the towel into the laundry basket.“There will be signs,” she said mysteriously.And like a love-sick pup, my beast wagged his tail, ready to do whatever she asked.“Come on.” Fallon grabbed my hand and dragged me off the bed.“Where are we going?” I hobbled after her, realizing I’d probably be doing this for the rest of my life. Which didn’t sound all that bad.Fallon pulled open the front door as the cool spring breeze entered the warmth of the cottage, blowing a gust of her intoxicating scent around me. The morning sun shone down on her raven-black hair, giving her an ethereal glow. Her fangs descended through her smile.“My wolf needs her apology now.”11FallonBits of green sprouted through patches of muddy snow that crunched under my wolf’s paws as she raced through the quiet forest. The morning sun peeked down past the branches overhead. My beast’s lungs burned deliciously with the exertion. She was fast–
With my hands full of plastic bags, I jumped out of the truck onto the dirt road to the lakeside resort. I had a feeling she’d like it here. Her own little safe haven, especially when it was off-season and the pack stayed inland where the hunting was better and the air was less cold. Come summer, they’d all be out fishing and swimming and soaking up the sun. Fallon could have full range of the lodge then.I tapped into our mental connection, not wanting to disturb her if she was sleeping. Her emotions washed over me. The anger. The loneliness. It squeezed at my heart.My beast whined as I sat down on the front porch, putting the bags beside me.“What’s your favorite type of candy?” I rested my arms on my knees and waited. Back at the show, I’d gone through so many questions and she never answered. But maybe, just maybe…“Dark chocolate with salted caramel.”My beast howled his triumph as I looked into the plastic bag. Hopefully milk chocolate with caramel filling was a close second. O
“But you won’t because, despite your tough exterior, you aren’t a complete asshole.”“I…” I didn’t know what to say to that.“Listen, I know you and Ranger had a shit life. And we’re wolves. We’re used to fighting for what we get. But it’s different when it comes to you and your mate–especially one who is the Alpha. He’s going to protect you. It’s in his nature. You don’t have to fight every battle alone anymore.”“But–”“No buts. It’s biology, girl. Your wolf could only be tamed by the male strong enough to be an equal, but being equal doesn’t mean you do the same type of work all the time. He’s supposed to protect you in his way. You’re supposed to protect him in yours. He’ll take care of you when you’re sick and when you can’t do something. Just like you’ll do the same when he falls short. You don’t have to prove your worth anymore. If you did, then he wouldn’t be your perfect mate.”“What if fate got it wrong and he’s not perfect?” I swallowed down the lump of emotion in my throat
I shook my head. “How did you do it?”“Do what?”“One second everyone was talking shit. The next, they were eating out of the palm of your hand.”“Not everyone,” she huffed.“More than half the pack.” I started to unbutton my shirt, loving the hungry look in her eyes. “It was magic. Princess magic.”“I’m serious.” She licked her bottom lip as I dropped my shirt to the ground. “Don’t call me that.”“If you want me to stop, I’m going to need your passcode.”Her fingers traced the neckline of her shirt. “Passcode? I prefer the light system for safe words. Green to keep going. Yellow means slow down. Red is–”“Damn it, woman.” I groaned as I held my cock through my jeans with one hand and waved her phone with the other. “Your passcode.”Her eyes narrowed. “Give that to me.”“Are you hiding something?” I teased.She better not be.“It’s none of your business if I am.” A dismissive tilt of her chin had my beast growling.“I think everything about you is my business.” I caught her by the ank
“But the dams sure think so.” Aiden nodded.“It’s not your fault though.” Alice patted my hand. “You can’t help being a pampered city girl.”Did she just call us…I guess she did.I burst into laughter, laughing even harder at the horrified expressions on their faces. This was great. More than great.The O’Neil Pack thought I’d left my comfortable position in McCaw, with my own house where I made all my own rules and had more money than I knew what to do with, for a life like this?They were all high as a kite.8JohnIt took a massive amount of liquor for shifters to get and stay drunk, but that didn’t stop the O’Neil Clan from testing the limits. Pitchers of beer and jugs of homemade apple pie moonshine were passed around the picnic tables out front of the lodge. The far tables were laden with potluck casseroles and Shirley’s kitchen creations.Young pups came running through the maze of adults, causing chaos as I searched the crowd, looking for Fallon. My mate. It still had a ribbo