Alpha Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel (9 page)

BOOK: Alpha Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel
4.77Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Every single one of them.

Kaya trusted her, but that was her mistake. When Ana pressed the elevator button he ducked into the stairwell and hurried to the bottom floor. He didn’t want to risk her seeing him following her. She might want to talk, and he didn’t know if he could hide his disgust any longer.

Her kind was different that way. They could smell anger or fear. Another unfair advantage of their freakish mutations.

Staring out the long, slim window of the exit door, he watched as she stepped from the elevator. She looked deceptively normal, and it brought the rage inside him bubbling to the surface. No one would realize how dangerous she was. But he knew what her kind could do. He’d seen their barbarism firsthand. His father had been killed by one of them. Mauled and ripped apart. The cops had said it was a bear attack, but after the freak shifters had announced their presence to the world he’d known there had been no bear all those years ago. His father had been too badly torn apart. Ripped limb from limb. There weren’t many bears around these parts, and the humans had needed a way to explain the death. No, it had to have been one of those abominations. Now that he knew the truth he’d make as many of them pay as he could while he was alive.

Waiting until she’d passed by the door, he opened it and waited until she reached the end of the hallway. When she turned toward the exit doors, he followed.

His pulse drummed in his ears. Killing her would be a huge blow to her family. When he’d poisoned her pack a couple months ago he’d hoped she’d be one of the first to go, but no such luck. Her sisters and cousins all looked up to her. Her death would have been so much better for him and the world. But the poison he’d created had had a different effect than he’d originally intended. It had definitely worked, but something in it had bonded directly to the testosterone molecules in the male shifters, killing them almost instantly. The pregnant females had simply died because of their weakened immune systems. That was the one thing their species had in common with humans. When pregnant, their females were much weaker and more susceptible to even human viruses. Unfortunately the rest of them had figured out what was going on too soon during his first attempt to exterminate them. Now he’d have to take a different approach. A more hands-on approach. This time he wasn’t going to use a poison he’d made. He’d be using silver. It would be riskier because the purchase could be traced back to him if someone dug hard enough, but at least he knew it would work on the rest of the pack.

Reaching into his pocket, he fisted the syringe full of colloidal silver. Any type of silver was a hundred times worse for shifters than a lethal dose of mercury to humans. He’d killed these animals before and he’d do it again. This time he wasn’t going to stop with Ana. He was going to finish off the entire Cordona pack and wipe their unnatural bloodline from the earth.

As she weaved her way through the parked cars he closed the distance between them. He hadn’t expected to see her today but he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. Hell, he never went anywhere without a syringe of silver for just this reason. He moved silently behind her, never alerting her to his presence. His father had been a hunter and a damned good one. While he didn’t have extrasensory abilities, he could stalk better than her kind.

She was close to her truck now. His heart hammered against his chest but he forced his breathing to stay calm. He needed to keep his anticipation under control or she’d scent him. He was careful to stay downwind of her.

Keeping his movements steady, he picked up his pace. No one was around. He could already see the attack in his mind. One quick jab to her neck and she’d start foaming at the mouth.

An overpowering need to see her writhing on the ground in agony burned through him. Her pretty face would twist in her suffering and those dark eyes would fill with terror. His fist clenched around the cold syringe. He was so close now.

Just a few more yards and he could plunge it into her neck. He tasted the victory, sweet and powerful. Addictive as a drug.

A car door slammed behind him and a woman laughed. “She’ll love the flowers,” she said to her companion.

Automatically he ducked behind a car as their voices drifted away. They hadn’t seen him.
Shit
. That had been close. Too close.

Peering up from behind the four-door sedan, he watched as Ana slid into the front seat of her truck. He gritted his teeth and waited until she’d pulled out of the parking lot, and fought the waves of frustration buffeting him.

This was too public a place anyway. He’d been careful before. He couldn’t let his impatience get him caught now. No, he’d stick to his plan. Soon the Cordona pack would wish they’d never settled in Fontana.

Then they’d all be dead.

Chapter 5

 

C
onnor’s boots crunched across the leaves and other foliage as he stalked across the yard. He couldn’t find Ana anywhere and now he’d discovered her truck wasn’t in the parking garage.

After he’d gotten back from the bank, he’d been putting out fires between his guys and Ana’s packmates. Small, unavoidable spats that were based more on sexual frustration than anything else. The females didn’t seem to realize it, but he could see it clearly. Most of his guys had been lone shifters, roaming the globe for decades or longer until he and his brother had convinced them to settle down. Now that they were on a ranch full of single, beautiful wolves, they wanted to mate in a bad way. Their most primal instincts were kicking in and wanted release.

They weren’t the only ones sexually frustrated. Right now his thoughts were consumed with Ana and, more important, where she was at the moment. It’s not as if he needed a play-by-play of Ana’s daily schedule, but he hadn’t been able to reach her on her cell and she’d just left this morning without telling him where she was going. After the fire last night, he was ready to send out a search party.

“Hey, Connor.” Carmen, Ana’s sister, fell into step with him as he walked toward the main house.

He nodded distractedly. “Carmen.”

“Ana’s not back yet,” she supplied in a cheerful voice.

“Oh?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I tried calling her but her phone’s still off, so she’s probably still at the hospital. Or she already left and just forgot to turn her phone on. Knowing her, that’s probably more likely. She hates those things. I’ve tried to teach her how to text but—”

“Hospital?”
He couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.

Carmen’s cheeks tinged bright pink. Her hand paused on the front door of the house. “Uh, yeah.”

“Why is she at the hospital?” Each word was measured.

“I, uh, I found out that Kaya Dunlauxe was the woman hurt last night, and since they’re friends, I told Ana and she headed right over there.”

His attention was diverted at the sound of a vehicle pulling up the drive. It was Ana. His heart rate tripled at the thought of seeing her. God, he was no better than a randy cub with his first crush.

“She probably just forgot to tell you. Or maybe
I
was supposed to tell you. Yeah, actually, I think I was,” Carmen murmured, guilt lacing each word.

“You’re the worst liar, little she-wolf.” Sighing, he changed the subject. “How’s Erin?”

She shrugged but the concern in her dark eyes was almost palpable. “I think she’s going to be okay. She’s adjusting well, but …”

“But what?”

“I know it’s not my business, but tell Noah to back off.”

Alarm jumped inside him. Noah was one of his newest pack members, but he’d always been so protective of Erin. Hell, the wolf acted like they were already mated. Connor couldn’t imagine him doing anything to hurt her. “What do you mean?”

“I know he means well, but Erin’s still dealing with … what happened to her. She needs her space, and he can’t keep hanging around the house, checking on her like she’s an invalid. If she’s ever going to heal, she’s got to take charge of her life again and that starts with learning to take care of herself.” There was a surprising note of authority in her voice.

Shock reverberated through him as her words sank in. “She told you what happened to her?”

“Yeah. We stayed up last night, talking.” Carmen didn’t expand on the comment. The sadness that rolled off her struck him right in the chest. It was potent, like the harsh winter winds of his homeland.

As far as Connor knew, Erin hadn’t told any of the pack what had happened to her. When they’d found her she’d been naked, beaten, bloody and bruised, behind a Dumpster at a truck stop off Interstate 10. If she’d been human, she’d have been dead from the abuse she’d suffered. And no human would have been able to hurt her like that, so that meant one of their own kind had. Which was why he couldn’t understand why Erin wouldn’t tell him or at least Noah who’d hurt her. That kind of violence was rare, and all it would take for them to punish the transgressors would be for her to either tell him—and he’d mete out his own brand of justice—or call the Council. They might drag their feet sometimes or get too consumed with politics, but they wouldn’t stand for anything like that against a female. They’d send the enforcer—Jayce Kazan—to handle whoever had hurt her. That wolf was seriously skilled and would rip anyone apart who got in his way.

“I’ll talk to Noah. I promise … Did she tell you who hurt her?” Erin might not be willing to tell him, but maybe he could kill the bastard or bastards himself.

Carmen eyed him warily as she nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not telling you who. Sorry—I know you’re my Alpha, but she trusts me and I won’t break that.”

He wanted to demand that Carmen tell him, but couldn’t. If Erin had found a friend and someone she actually confided in, he wouldn’t take that away from her. “Okay.”

“Thanks. And tell Ana that I finished up with the guest house—your house.”

He murmured thanks and strode back across the yard. Leaning against one of the giant oak trees, he waited.

After what felt like an eternity, Ana stepped out of the side door of the parking structure. She wore jeans, boots and a thick turtleneck.
Too much clothing,
his inner wolf shouted. She didn’t notice him until she was a few feet away. Something must be on her mind for her not to scent him.

She faltered for a moment. “Hey.”

That’s when it hit him. He scented someone else on her. A human.
A man.
“Where have you been?” The question came out more harshly than he’d intended.

She shrugged, and immediately he sensed her defenses going up. “The hospital.”

“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?” The last thing he wanted to do was drill her, but it was as if she were being intentionally difficult.

She bristled at his question. “You didn’t tell me where
you
were going to be all day. I didn’t realize I needed to check in.”

“I’m your Alpha.” Not only did he have a right to know, but he also
needed
to know where she was. It was his job to keep his pack safe. Especially her. If an Alpha couldn’t keep his mate safe, he wouldn’t stay Alpha for long.

She muttered something under her breath as they neared the front steps to the guesthouse.

Our new place.
His blood heated at the thought. He might have promised to give her space, but they’d be sharing a bed tonight. He wanted her with him whenever possible. The closeness would prove to be torturous, he was sure. But it would be worth it to have her by his side.

“Have you been inside yet?” she asked.

“No, and don’t change the subject.” He opened the front door.

The soft scent of orange-oil wood cleaner and some sort of fresh detergent lingered in the air. Ana hooked her purse on the coatrack by the door as he shut it. “I found out the human who was hurt last night is my friend, so I went to see her. It’s not a big deal,” she muttered.

“So why do you stink like a man?”

“I
stink
?” Her espresso-colored eyes flared.

“That’s not what I meant.”

To his surprise, she shrugged haughtily and turned on her heel. For a moment all he could focus on was the soft sway of her backside, before a burst of anger surged through him. He trailed after her to find her pulling a beer from the newly stocked refrigerator.

“Want one?” she asked as she casually held one out.

He snatched it from her hand and placed it on the table before advancing on her. He went at her fast, before she could move, crowding her until her back was against the counter. Caging her in with his hands, he flattened his body flush against hers. His canines had started to pulse with the need to extend, and he couldn’t hide his lustful scent even if he wanted to. He rolled his hips once against hers. Even though she could no doubt smell his hunger, he also wanted her to
feel
what she did to him.

The pulse point in her neck beat out of control and her dark eyes widened. A trickle of fear—and desire—rolled off her.

“Whose scent is on you?” he asked quietly.

She swallowed hard. The animal in him craved her submission, but his human side didn’t want to scare her. Still, he smelled someone on her and he’d get an answer.

“Kaya’s son. He hugged me at the hospital. That’s all.” The truth was in her words and her scent.

He leaned closer so that their faces almost touched. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“I don’t like this dominating side to you.” Her words were barely a whisper.

“Sweetheart, I’ve always been dominant. I was born to be Alpha of my own pack. You know that.” Chuckling, he angled his head and sucked her earlobe between his teeth. It would be so easy to lean down a little farther and rake his teeth against her soft skin. Kiss her, mark her.

She gasped at the contact but pressed a firm hand against his chest. He didn’t give her the space she obviously wanted. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she stared at him. “When we first met you were
different
. You were my best friend, and for a while I thought maybe you wanted … more. But then you left.”

Lifting his head, he looked at her and hated the pain he saw there. He’d left exactly like she said, but … “I never wanted
just
friendship from you, Ana. And if I’d stuck around to say good-bye …” He couldn’t finish the sentence. The truth was if he’d waited to say good-bye, he wouldn’t have been able to leave her. He’d had to make that clean break and walk away without looking back. It had been for her own good.

BOOK: Alpha Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel
4.77Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Spinster's Secret by Emily Larkin
Escaping Me by Cat Mason
A Flicker of Light by Roberta Kagan
Redeemers by Enrique Krauze
Dios no es bueno by Christopher Hitchens
SURRENDER IN ROME by Bella Ross
Descent Into Madness by Catherine Woods-Field