Claimed By Her Alpha by J.E. Cluney

5

Dray.

* * *

Everly was so beautiful as she worked, and I had to battle my wolf the entire time. Her scent was so intoxicating, beckoning me like a moth to a flame. My wolf was not happy at being pushed back down, but I was not going to let it power its way through to get what it wanted. Sure, I was used to getting what I wanted, being the Alpha’s son and now the Alpha. I’d had many women over the years, shifters, humans, even wolves, but they were all just playthings while I hoped to meet my true mate.

And now, she was wiggling her fine little ass before me as she moved around behind the bar, taunting me with that sweet behind and slender legs.

But she was human, and I had to get to know her as per human customs. If she’d been a shifter, she would’ve felt the same intense pull and urges, and we’d have ducked away somewhere to complete the bond in body and soul. After that, I’d then get to know everything there was to know about her. But claiming her as mine came first. It was nature, how we’d been created.

Many things I’d learn simply by being bound to her; thanks to the mental link we’d develop once bonded.

But I’d have to woo her first in order to get her to accept me into her bed.

Hell, I’d rather heave her over my shoulder and carry her to my place, but I had a feeling she’d be opposed to that.

I smirked to myself as my wolf growled unhappily within. I hated having to obey human rules. But she was my mate, my lifelong love. I had to make sure she accepted me, and if that meant wooing her first, then I’d do it. Because being rejected? That was something thought impossible, but it had happened a handful of times with half-bloods, and the mere thought of it made my wolf whine painfully. Those who weren’t full-blooded sometimes didn’t feel the call as strongly, and would decide against it.

As for quarter-bloods, things in that regard weren’t widely known.

From what I heard, rejected wolves lived miserable lives, unwilling to claim a mate other than their true mate. Slowly going insane with mate sickness, constantly hounding their fated mate and losing their minds when she took on another partner or even murdering her new partner. There’d been one male a few hours from my Pack who’d had to be put down by order of the Alpha Council for murdering a human who had started courting his fated mate, who had rejected his advances.

I needed to do this right.

And if, by some ill work of God, she rejected me, I’d force myself to take another mate. Those that had forced themselves after rejection had not succumbed to madness, but they apparently never felt completely whole. Something I’d just have to live with in order to serve my Pack.

How would I introduce her to my world though? Such a revelation would surely freak her out. Did she really know nothing? If she hadn’t exposed herself to Ethan, the Pack Alpha of the area, then it was highly likely she was oblivious to the shifter blood lying dormant within her.

Although ever since the damned sparkly vampire movies came out, werewolves and vampires had become something of dreams rather than nightmares.

In a way, that was good. She’d hopefully not be as terrified when I did finally tell her.

Would I tell her before or after claiming her as my mate though? She’d be bound to me as soon as I did, mine for all eternity. So she couldn’t try to run then.

Guilt gnawed at me for even having the thought.

I should tell her first, that way she could make a decision with all the facts.

My wolf snarled at this.

What if she decided to not honor the mating bond I was feeling then? The mere thought made my heart skip a few beats as I fisted my hand on the counter.

No. She wouldn’t. She was mine.

But what if…? How would I keep her from telling others about me? About our kind? If I told her, she’d think I was crazy. If I showed her, she’d know, but that was risky. Although, even if she did tell others, they’d probably write her off as mad, schizophrenic or something.

There were laws in place for all supernatural creatures, set out by the Grand Supernatural Council. If a human found out about us, a chosen witch would step in and handle it by erasing their mind. It wasn’t easy to do, and the witches charged a hefty fee for such a thing. But at least we had that option if it came down to it.

Vampires, on the other hand, could do it quite easily. Just another pesky thing about those bloodsuckers. They were creatures that reeked of death and hated us wolves just as much as we hated them. Witches were considered neutral, willing to assist either side for a price, but never coming between them or causing harm to either race on behalf of the other. Then there were the other shifters. They mingled with all races, even the wretched vampires. They didn’t have the same rivalry that wolf shifters had with them since the beginning of time. Many wolf shifters believed our kind had come before the other shifters. While others theorized that all shifters came from one being, magic curse or spell millennia ago. But wolves had always been considered the dominant being of the shifter world, as we had the most numbers, and were classed as a race of their own.

But it wasn’t like our four species were the only things that lurked in the dark, we just happened to be the most common. There were other things, rarer creatures, that hid amongst the shadows too.

Revealing it all to a human would blow their mind.

I watched as Everly served up drinks to a few of the men from the pool table. The two women that had come to the bar earlier were now hanging off the arms of two of the clearly drunk men.

I’d noticed them looking my way, but I had no interest in them despite their low-cut tops and short skirts.

I knew exactly which woman I wanted.

I just prayed she’d be mine.

“So, Eve, what time do you finish?” one of the guys asked as he leaned on the bar and smirked at her.

Even from across the bar, I could smell the stench of beer on his breath. He didn’t have a woman hanging off him like a leech, so my guess was he was hoping to change that.

My wolf rumbled protectively at this.

“It’s Everly, and I’m on late tonight,” she countered. So, she didn’t like to be called Eve. I took note of that.

“C’mon, there’s only a few people left in here now, relax, come sit with us,” the man suggested as he leaned forward, offering her a lopsided grin. But considering he was clearly drunk, it was not as charming as he’d hoped. Still, the fact he dared try to flirt with her pissed me off.

I bristled as I raised my head, and Ethan arched a brow at me.

“Relax, she can handle it,” Ethan hissed. “Don’t go all Alpha on some human douchebag.”

“Sorry, I’m on duty,” she said with a polite smile as she moved around behind the bar.

My mate definitely knew how to look after herself. As for me, I wanted to go over there and tell him to fuck off, to wring his neck for even looking at her with desire.

“Don’t be like that,” he slurred as he reached across the bar.

I surged to my feet despite Ethan hissing at me frantically.

If he so much as laid a grimy fucking finger on her, he’d lose it. I’d rip it off and shove it down his throat.

“I suggest you return to your game, Adrian, or I’ll call your mother to come get you. Since you clearly have had too many drinks,” Everly said sweetly, causing said man to scowl as the two women snickered with his friends.

Damn. This feisty kitten had claws. I smirked at her wittiness, my wolf delighted with it, and my cock twinged despite my attempts to keep it under control.

I stood still, waiting to see what Adrian would do at the comeback. I could leap over the bar in an instant and reach him before he could do anything, but I would see how this played out first.

My wolf was poised and ready as I stared hard at him, watching every slight movement for a hint of what he was planning to do. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he glowered at her, but there was no indication that he was going to make a move against her.

“Whatever,” Adrian muttered as he turned away like a kicked dog, and Everly just nodded at his friends as she handed them their ordered drinks.

“See, chill out,” Ethan muttered under his breath. “I’ve been coming here since she started working here, she’s got tough skin and wit.”

I sighed as I sat down, still watching her. A strong-willed mate was perfect. But once she was mine, no wolf would dare try anything with her. We were respectful of the mate bond, as it was sacred in our people. Many wolves chose to just mark a mate for themselves rather than seek out their true mate. It was essentially the same thing, but the bond with a true mate was supposedly more powerful than a marked mate. Although, we had to mark our true mates as well in order to complete the bond. And when you were mated, other shifters knew. The mating bond, when completed, made our scents change, only enough to be detected by other wolves and shifters.

“You get that often?” I asked as I sat back down and she migrated over once more.

“A few nights a week. I know most of the locals now. Adrian there is a big mama’s boy, and I’ve had to call her a few times to come get him when he drinks too much,” she said lightly with an eye roll. “I know how to handle them.”

I nodded as Ethan gave me a pointed look. Yeah, fine, she could handle herself, but my wolf was protective. She was mine.

I shook my head at myself. My wolf was positive of it, and yet the human side of me knew she wasn’t mine, not yet anyway.

“So, you guys planning to hang around for the whole night, it’s gotten pretty quiet now?” she mused as she surveyed the room, pushing out her lower lip.

Fuck, that only amped up her sexiness as the thought of her on her knees gazing up at me with that teasing pout made my dick rock hard.

Damn this female, making my cock pop up over and over like a game of whack-a-mole.

Only the group of guys at the pool table and one seated lot of men at a booth remained with us now, and I batted my wolf down as it scrambled to the surface once more.

“Well, I was hoping I could catch you for a drink if you were interested,” I said, loving how her mouth quirked up into a smile. Damn, she was stunning, and I wanted to taste those sweet looking lips, to run my fingers through her hair and feel her naked skin against mine…

I was grateful for the bar between us as my jeans strained badly. Just being in her presence had me going mad, especially since my wolf continued to remind me how much we wanted her and needed her. The wait was killing me.

“Sure, I’ll be closing tonight though,” she said as she cocked her head. “Dunno where we can get a drink after close.”

“How about I order a drink for you at last call, and we can sit out the front?” I suggested after a moment of thought. It wasn’t overly sweet or romantic, but it was more gentlemanly than inviting her back to my place for a drink. Although drinking would not be my plans with her. Well, I’d be lapping her up after I’d made her scream in bliss and finish for me.

She smirked but nodded as she started loading the dishwasher. “Sure, why not.”

“Smooth,” Ethan muttered under his breath, only audible enough that my sensitive hearing would pick him up. “Way to woo a human. Drinks on the curb.”

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, that I didn’t have a better idea. I didn’t know the area. Besides, at least I wasn’t declaring my need to bend her over and ram into her like my wolf wanted. No, I was trying to do this the human way.

“Anywhere I can take her that’s open this late?” I asked him once she’d moved away to gather up the glasses by the pool table.

“Nope,” Ethan said with a wicked smirk. “But I’ll hang with you until close, then I’ll leave you to woo her. Remember, human codes, don’t go pulling any wolf shit on her,” he reminded me sharply as his smirk dropped.

As if he needed to. I was an Alpha as well, it was my duty to enforce the secrecy of our kind in my Pack, to make sure none of us risked being found out. I was not going to do that myself. So, I had to be careful with Everly. She had to know the truth, but I needed to be tactful and mindful.

If she decided to share her new knowledge, things could turn to shit fast.

How was I going to do this?