Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Alaric

Mine.

I blamed my wolf.

There was no other reason I would have kissed Makayla. He was riding me hard after sparring with her.

Fuck.

Bite.

Claim.

Mine.

She moaned, opening her mouth and giving me the opportunity to slip my tongue in and taste her. Damn. She tasted every bit as delicious as she smelled. If her mouth was this good…

Temptation personified.

Goddamn, I want her. I really want her.

Fighting with her had been hot as hell. I’d taken all of my anger out on her, and instead of whimpering and begging, she’d hit me back just as hard, refusing to submit. She was all alpha female, and it was sexy as hell. Which meant her submission would be all the more satisfying in the end.

Shit, I’d never been this damn hard before. If she wasn’t my fated mate, then whatever pheromones she’d used to trick me were absolutely working.

Makayla wrapped her arms around my neck, throwing herself into our kiss, making it clear that if I wanted to take her, she’d be game.

So tempting.

It would definitely alleviate some of the tension suffocating me. Forcing her submission, hearing her beg, fucking her hard until she screamed my name. Yeah, that would relieve a lot of stress.

But I held back. Not because she didn’t deserve to be dominated—the pretty little she-devil needed a damn good spanking for stabbing me and then using my wound against me. A bratty move, yet also admirable. Because I would have done the same thing.

No, I held back because the timing was shit. And my growing feelings of possession and desire were at odds with my usual relationship preferences. I didn’t do possessiveness. I fucked and left. End of discussion.

Oh, but how I wanted to dominate this woman.

Claim her. Make her beg for more. Yes.

I took everything out on her, and she didn’t cower or hesitate, her tongue battling mine with a ferocity that rivaled my own.

Every lick and nip of her teeth felt like fate reminding me that she’d made Makayla for me. That this woman beneath me was my equal in every fucking way imaginable.

No. I refuse to accept that. I don’t want a damn mate.

I ripped my mouth from hers and rolled off of her to flop onto my back beside her. My shoulder shot a responding pang down my arm, but I ignored it.

Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell was that?I demanded of myself. What happened to my self-control?

“Ummm, so... uh,” Makayla struggled to find words, then gave up after a few sputters.

Silence descended upon us, and the tension I’d worked out began to creep back in. The aggression had lessened, but the grief and the weight of my responsibilities still threatened to crush me.

“So, yeah, we’re even now, right? I stab you… you strangle me… all good?”

Surprised, I barked out a laugh that actually held a glimmer of humor. “No, sweetheart. We’ll be even when you get down on your knees and crawl.”

Makayla jackknifed up and twisted her torso to glare down at me. Her wild red hair floated around her like fire with the rising sun illuminating it from above. Her blue eyes sparked with irritation, and it made me want to smile. If only because I knew it would piss her off. Angry and riled up looked damn sexy on her.

“I. Don’t. Crawl.”

The smirk made its way to my lips this time. “We’ll see.”

She growled, which did nothing to help the hard state of my dick. Maybe we just need to fuck and get it over with so I can focus on important shit instead of a naked and panting Makayla. My wolf rumbled in agreement with that plan. He favored any path that ended up with Makayla on her back while I rutted between her thighs.

“So, as I was trying to say earlier, you know, before you almost killed me”—she scowled—“which makes us even, jackass, I overheard something about silver while in Vex’s cage.”

And just like that, the distraction disappeared along with my hard-on. Anger flooded my system once again, and all the secrets I’d sensed in Makayla reawakened my suspicion. “Tell me,” I demanded before rolling up into a sitting position to study her features. “And for the record, I warned you what would happen if I found out you were a threat to my family and pack.”

“I had nothing to do with the silver poisoning, idiot,” she snapped.

“Hmm.” I hadn’t formed a solid opinion on that yet. “Tell me why I should believe you.”

“Don’t burn your best bridge to catching your brother’s murderer, Alaric.”

Not a bad argument. But I suppose it depends on what information she has for me.

I nodded and gestured for her to continue. Mostly because I didn’t trust myself to respond kindly out loud.

“Okay, so I overheard a call between the hybrid and some other guy about silver packages being delivered. The guy on the phone said they—not sure who, just ‘they’—would be dead by morning. I think they meant your, uh…” She trailed off, glancing away, but I followed what she meant to add. Brother. She assumed they meant my brother. “Well, Vex sent Neo off to tell the boss,” she concluded lamely.

“The boss?”

“Yeah, your expression right now? That’s how I felt when I learned he wasn’t the jackhole in charge. I followed him to learn more about the trafficking—”

“Trafficking?”

“Interrupt me one more time, and I’ll stop talking.”

I fought the urge to grin and waved for her to continue again.

“I thought he was the boss because of all the rumors about him and his auctions. But apparently, there’s another boss. Which I could have asked him about had you not killed him.”

“Had I not killed him, he would have morphed into a giant, fire-breathing shifter thing, and as I’d already lived through that once, I wasn’t keen on doing it again.”

She gaped at me. “What?”

Hmm, shock.I’d felt the same way when I’d seen the creature in action at Blood Thirteen, which meant she definitely hadn’t been involved that night.

My suspicion ebbed a little. She seemed to be telling me the truth, and my gut told me I could believe her.

“It was a real shitshow,” I muttered, referring to Blood Thirteen.

Makayla’s expression turned pensive as she absorbed the new information.

It’s probably the fire-breathing-shifter thing tripping her up.

She nodded and shook her head twice. Then finally said, “Well, I’m guessing the silver package is the one delivered to your brother.”

“And Alpha Davies as well,” my father announced in his deep voice as he stepped around one of the gigantic hickory trees I used to climb with Tyler as kids. “Alpha Hendrix and Alpha Warren have also passed.” His blue eyes gleamed with disappointment as he stared down at me. I’d seen that look a hundred times before, but somehow it weighed more heavily on my mind today.

This isn’t the son I raised.

Alphas hold the pack together.

You can’t let them see you like this.

You can’t be weak.

The words rang in my ears despite having heard none of them aloud. I didn’t want to accept their truth, but I couldn’t run away from this life anymore. I had no clue how I would ever live up to Tyler’s memory. How I would earn his place and unite my pack.

Start with solving his murder. My wolf responded positively to that thought. He didn’t understand the words, but he would feel my need for vengeance. I knew he sensed the absence of Tyler’s wolf. And like my brother and me, there was love and respect between them, mixed with the innate need of an alpha to dominate and lead.

“Alpha Davies… is a fourth alpha?” Makayla commented, drawing my father and me from our silent conversation. More like scolding, I thought bitterly.

He bobbed his head once. “Yes. We just received the call. Tyler”—his voice wobbled the tiniest bit, then he straightened his shoulders and the confident alpha returned—“Hendrix, Warren, and now Davies.”

“So someone is definitely targeting alphas, then,” Makayla said.

“Yes, it would seem so,” my father agreed. He cocked his head to the side and studied her, tension building in the awkward silence.

My father’s blue eyes drifted from Makayla to me, and he raised a dark eyebrow. “Are you planning to introduce me to your mate or continue ignoring her and letting her wander into other houses uninvited?”

I bristled at my father’s jab. He’d insinuated that Makayla hadn’t been welcome in Tyler’s home—my former childhood home. But I was his brother, and as my mate, that should have automatically made Makayla part of the small group of friends and family.

In addition, I’d wanted her there. And I hated the truth of it.

I don’t want a mate.

I don’t want to need or be needed.

I don’t want this fucking life that’s being forced upon me.

But despite my desire to reject her, she was my mate, nonetheless, and it infuriated me that my father would make her feel unwelcome. Even if the provocation had really been directed at me.

I sprang to my feet and turned to offer Makayla my good hand—I’m not always an asshole—but she’d already risen to her full height.

Indicating my father with a jerk of my chin, I stated, “Makayla, meet my father, Hawk Calder. Former alpha of the Silver Lake Pack.”

Then I gestured to Makayla. “Dad. This is my, uh, mate.” My jaw clenched a little too hard on the word. There’d been no way of keeping our destined relationship a secret. We’d just have to deal with the whispers and assumptions for the next couple of days. At least it kept other males from sniffing around her. Killing packmates wouldn’t garner me any favors.

My father nodded, his nose rising in a subtle inhale as his eyes roamed over her neck, looking for my mark. When he found no trace of my scent or bite on her, his focus returned to me, and it seemed as if his disappointment had only grown.

“Nice to meet you,” Makayla said, seizing my father’s focus once more. “I wish it were under better circumstances. But I’m only here to help Alaric take down the bad guys. Then I’m off to do what I do.”

My wolf protested at her declaration, growling and pacing in frustration. I agreed with him, but for different reasons. I might not want Makayla as a mate, but nor did I wish to spend my life like a monk.

I cleared my throat. “Makayla isn’t a Bitten wolf. She has other priorities.” Rather than elaborate on that, I opted to focus on what was important. “I found her locked up in a cage in New York City. She might have some useful information about who did this to Tyler.”

Makayla nodded, then told my father what she’d just told me.

He considered her story for a long moment, gave her a single nod, and then refocused on me. “I need a minute, Ric. Alone.”

My jaw ticked, not just at the abrupt—and rude—dismissal, but at the knowledge of what he wanted to discuss. Ascension. It was needed. The pack would fall apart without an alpha at the helm, but I didn’t feel ready to lead them. They weren’t mine to guide. Not anymore. However, there was no avoiding the conversation. Whether I accepted or not, we had to discuss it.

I could almost hear Tyler in my ear saying, Suck it up, bro.

My gaze slid to Makayla for a beat. Adding a mate to the mix, especially one who kept secrets, would only make my job more difficult.

She had a lot more to tell me. Whether or not she would remained to be seen, but I sensed the mystery in her aura. She’d only told me part of her story. And I hadn’t failed to notice her lack of a reason for why she’d been investigating the trafficking.

“Ric?” my father prompted.

“I heard you,” I bit out. “But first, I’m taking Makayla to a house she’s welcome in—mine.”

Without another word or glance at Makayla, I stalked back to the house and around the front to the car. She followed without a word, slipping into the passenger seat and buckling in for the short drive to my two-bedroom cabin. I parked in the driveway, only three blocks away from my brother’s house, and stared up at the home I’d never considered to be mine. I owned it, but I rarely stayed it in.

Makayla’s scent floated around me, a comforting wave of feminine florals that soothed my wolf.

Since when do you like perfume? I demanded, unbuckling my seat belt and stepping out into the spring air. The fresh aroma did nothing to cool my desire for the female exiting the car. Nor did it do anything to dismantle my growing anger over this entire situation.

This mating pull with its mounting attraction was a pain in the ass.

Distracting and unwelcome.

I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, expecting it to be a dusty mess. However, it looked as if it had been kept up, or recently cleaned. The smells in the air reminded me of...home. At another time, that would have calmed and comforted me. But as I took in the scene before me, I had a feeling it had been my packmates who’d prepared my home for my return. On inspection, I even found the refrigerator stocked with food. They’d gone out of their way to care for someone who’d not been there for them, and it darkened my mood.

The front door shut quietly while I stood in the kitchen brooding over being a shitty packmate and potential alpha. I didn’t want to deal with Makayla—my mate—so I spun around and marched into the hallway, where I expected to find her awkwardly waiting. Instead, I found her in the living room studying the pictures on the walls and mantel.

Clearing my throat, I caught her attention and jerked my head to the left. “I’ll show you where everything is.”

I grabbed a towel and an extra toothbrush from a linen closet in the hall, which also appeared to be freshly stocked, and pointed out the bathroom on the way to the guest room. “Your room,” I grunted as I tossed the items onto the bed.

Makayla remained oddly silent, but as I felt no desire to talk, I appreciated the reprieve. Our eyes locked for a moment, only broken by my quick glance at the bed behind her. I hardened, and my wolf brushed his fur under my skin, encouraging me to follow through with the ideas running through my head.

Makayla sucked in a quick breath and crossed her arms over her chest, drawing my gaze to her generous breasts. The position put them on display, and her rigid nipples poked into her T-shirt, making my mouth water.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head as though I could toss away all the lustful thoughts and images. “Fuck this shit,” I muttered as I turned to leave.

“Oh, wait. Coffee?” she asked, her voice soft and coaxing.

I glanced over my shoulder, frowning darkly, but gave her a sharp nod and led her to the kitchen. There had to be a coffee maker somewhere. I opened two cupboards before spying one beside a myriad of other cooking utensils—were all of these new?—and set it on the counter for her.

“Thank you.” Her lips tipped up into a small smile.

“I need to see my father. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Makayla considered me for a minute, making me start to wonder if she planned to bolt as soon as I left. Those cuffs are looking better and better, baby.

“I’ll be here when you get back,” she finally replied, as though she had to think about it.

I didn’t know if I believed her, but I didn’t have the energy to push it. Instead, I simply gave her a curt nod and left to find my father.