Alpha Me Not (18 page)

“I’m coming to realize that there are more differences between wolf species and half-breeds than there are similarities. My brother-in-law, Mike, is a half-breed, but he’s almost a full wolf in most capacities.”

“What about your sisters? Susie and I went for a run last night. She did two miles in less than five minutes.” Joe sipped his coffee.

“She can outrun most males I know, human or otherwise. But she’d never admit there’s any wolf talent in her.” Gray shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Susie wants none of it. The wolf part. My other sisters, Melanie and Lizzie, both have wolf talents. Melanie hears the last call of a soul. Lizzie can predict the slightest barometric drop if she sets her mind to it.”

The last call of a soul…the notion raised the hairs on Joe’s nape. Crap. That’s all he needed. He poured another cup of coffee, drew up a chair, and sat. “Explain this last call of a soul thing.”

Gray’s wide grin evaporated. “Something’s happened. Tell me.”

Joe recounted Susie’s vision of Petey the day before and what had happened on the trail.

“Susie’s never complained of headaches. And not once has she ever talked about seeing the dead. Melanie, yes, Susie—no way.” Gray stood and walked a tight pace in front of the table.

“It upset her tremendously. She told me more than once that she’s not the type to be creeped out.” Joe rocked his chair back. “I’m guessing she’s in denial. And fighting whatever’s happening to her. Has Melanie always heard this last call?”

“No. She’s an animal lover. A while back there was a spate of black bear killings. Vicious slaughters, actually. That’s when the last call thing began. Our grandmother heard them too.”

“Sounds very close to what happened to Susie. It was Petey’s last communication.” Tate shifted to the right and eased his foot past the table. “Damned cast is beginning to itch. Want to saw it off for me?”

“Okay. Let’s take this to the garage.” Joe lurched to his feet.

“Melanie doesn’t have visions. Not the way you described. She gets flashes and feelings. More of a general impression. What you described is too detailed. A Rubik’s Cube with three sides filled in?” Gray shook his head.

“I haven’t questioned her about the cave thing. She passed out right after that revelation and when she woke seemed kinda shaky, so I left it alone. Then she fell asleep on the way home. It’ll wait till later.”

“I don’t like this one bit. Susie won’t either. I can’t tell you how many times she’s said how glad she is
not
to have any white wolf traits. Maybe it won’t happen again.” Gray pursed his lips. “Shit. Even I know that’s not going to happen. Once it starts, it develops real fast. That’s how it happened with Melanie.”

“I think you’re right on that one. There were a couple of other times on the trail where she was all creeped out. I want to go back and check those areas.” Joe set his coffee cup in the sink.

Tate reached over to grab his crutches. “Do you think she might be blocking Petey’s communication subconsciously?”

“Probably. She’s had a ton thrown at her within the last while. The fire. The vision. The bridge. Seeing Petey at the outcrop. Kieran broke down before we parted, and I know that really affected her.”

“While she won’t admit it, Susie is a complete nitpicker. Loves order. Fuck, she even organizes her organizing. This vision thing will jump-kick her into next week.”

“It sounds to me that your sister’s definitely anal.”

Gray snorted. “Anal doesn’t begin to describe her. Susie has her life planned to the second and refuses to let her schedule slip. That girl wears blinders. She’s always said that while she may not know what she wants, she knows precisely what she doesn’t. Our middle sister Melanie recently married Mike, an alpha. Susie’s motto is alpha me not. In caps.”

Joe groaned. “Tell me about it. No husband, no children, no marriage. She’s been warning me off since we met.”

“When she finds out you’re a fucking alpha, she’s gonna hit the roof. I guarantee that.”

Chapter Eight

Susie opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before everything fell into place.

Joe’s house, Joe’s bed, Joe’s smell.

She and Joe. In a relationship. Was that such an awful thing?

It could only end badly. What was the point of starting something that had no future? She had no intentions of changing her goals. Stick to the plan; that was the best option.

The morning’s events crashed back at her.

Petey.

Those remarkable eyes.

How could she even contemplate her and Joe in the face of all that had happened? Kieran’s silent tears, the agonizing pain in his shuddered sobs, and the bleak despair hunching his shoulders.

What Barb must be feeling.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine how any mother coped with the loss of a child. No one should have to bear such anguish.

She
would
not cry.

Tears helped nothing.

And she never gave in to them. Right. Rack up the weepiness over the last couple of days. Well, a ton of shit had happened, and maybe a couple of sniffles were in order. She swiped at her cheeks and gritted her teeth. Time to get up, get going, and stop wallowing in self-pity.

Gray.

She shot up. He was here. Damn it. How could she have forgotten? Just what she didn’t need—her brother and his alpha posturing. God. She had left Joe and Gray alone together. How long had she been asleep?

A quick glance at the digital clock showed the time: six o’clock. Susie scrambled off the bed, realized she was fully dressed, and dashed to the bathroom. After shrugging off her jacket, she hung it on a peg, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and combed her hair. Checked in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place and then jogged down the hallway.

There was no need to feel guilty. She was an adult and entitled to a sex life. Gawd, how could she face Joe and Gray in the same room?

The doorbell rang before she reached the kitchen. Susie hesitated but turned right and detoured to the living room. She peered through the peephole and frowned at the familiar but distorted face.

She opened the door, smiled, and greeted Bob, the delivery guy. “Evening, Bob. I take it Joe ordered something?”

Bob carried a brown paper bag in each arm. He had the bill between his teeth.

“My bad. You can’t talk. Here, give me the bags.” She opened her arms and accepted the packages. “If you follow me to the kitchen, I can sign for the receipt.”

“No need to sign, miss. It’s already paid for. Have a great dinner. I’ll pop the receipt on the top here.” A toothy grin dimpled Bob’s cheeks. He tucked the bill into the left bag, saluted sharply, and spun around.

He hadn’t even waited for his tip. She’d get him next time.

Susie footed the door shut and headed for the kitchen. The empty kitchen. She dumped the bags on the counter and frowned. Had Gray and Joe gone out?

“Thought I heard you walking about.”

She jumped, and her heart screeched to a halt at the bottom of her throat, beating faster than a frantic drumroll.

Turning around, one hand to her chest, the other white knuckling the counter in a fierce grip, she snapped, “You scared the dickens right out of me, Joe Huroq. Don’t you ever sneak up on me like that again. Cough or clear your throat or something. Where’s Gray? And where were you? The food’s here.”

He ignored her small tirade and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Sorry. I promise to announce my presence from now on. Deal?”

Drawing back, he flashed her a dazzling bad-boy smile. It was damned hard to remain angry with his dark eyes twinkling at her and those cute dimples making him look both boyish and adorable. She pouted and rolled her eyes. “Deal.”

“To answer your questions. I was in the garage sawing a cast off Tate’s leg. Your brother is finishing the job.”

Without any warning, he slanted his mouth over hers. He tasted of coffee, dark and sweet, the rich Cuban kind she’d sampled a couple of weeks before, courtesy of Petra. And Susie couldn’t help it, she sighed into him. He turned her into a mush lust puddle in a heartbeat.

“The color’s back in your cheeks.” He nipped her lobe. “You had me on edge, babe.”

Babe. She liked that. “I’m fine now.”

“You’ve been out for hours.”

She didn’t want to think about that or about Hallelujah Mountain, the creepy bridge, and the pain and abject terror of that blasted rock. “You woke me before dawn, and we tramped uphill a thousand feet. I was exhausted. What else could you expect?”

He raised a brow.

She curled her fingers in an attempt to fight the urge to wallop him. “Wait a minute. Did you just say you were cutting a cast off Tate?”

“Yeah.” His lips curved into a smile.

“Isn’t that, well, dangerous? Medically unsound? And a whole bunch of other no-no’s?” She tossed her hair.

He tucked a lock behind her ear and fingered a whorl.

She flicked his hand away. He had turned her ears into total erogenous zones. Any time he touched her there, finger, teeth, lips…heck it was like he’d drawn a line from ear to clit.

“Tate heals unusually fast. His bone’s mended, and he wanted the cast off.”

She frowned and studied his face. “So you just decided to saw it off? Hang on, didn’t you also say Gray was finishing the job?”

“Uh-huh. Quite a guy, your bro.”

A ghost snaked up her spine. She narrowed her eyes. “Sounds as if you two hit it off.”

“I wouldn’t call it that. But we do understand each other.”

Uh-oh. “Did he ask about your intentions? Because if he did, I’m going to brain him.”

Joe tsked and shook his head. “Nope. He never asked that one. Actually he didn’t ask any questions.”

Gray? Her alpha-to-the-max brother hadn’t asked the guy sleeping with his sister any questions? She wriggled her shoulders, but the movement only knit her bunched muscles further. Her throat went dry. “Did he threaten you?”

He scratched his chin and studied a tile on the ceiling. She dug her nails into her palms and battled the wallop urge once again.

“Threat? Nah. More of a promise. I believe Gray promised to beat me within an inch of my life if I didn’t put a ring on your finger before the end of the week.”

At first his words didn’t register. Heat scaled her throat and face. “He didn’t. I am
so
going to pummel him. How could he embarrass me like that?”

Joe winked at her. “He’s simply being an alpha.”

“Alpha?” Bile coated her tongue. “Exactly what did Gray tell you?”

“He didn’t have to tell me anything, Susie. He recognized my wolf immediately.” He outlined her mouth with a thumb.

The naked truth she’d been denying cascaded around her brain. Her stomach nosedived. She wrenched out of his scalding touch range. “You’re not a wolf.”

“I’m part wolf, part regular guy. Like your older brother, I can’t shift.”

No. No. No.

Alpha.

Me.

Not.

She couldn’t have been so stupid. “No. I can’t have such rotten luck. I did
not
fall for a wolf.”

“Good to know you’ve fallen for me.” He hauled her against his chest. “’Cause you knocked me into a different universe the first time I set eyes on you.”

She shoved at his chest and smacked him one. “Damn it. When were you going to tell me? Did I not spell it out for you enough? No marriage. No kids. No alpha. Gawd, what have I done?”

Right then Gray stalked into the room. He glanced from Joe to Susie. “What any good woman should—found a man, an alpha to take care of her.”

Gray’s smirk had her blood curdling.

“You’re jumping the gun, pup. I haven’t proposed.” Joe folded his arms and leaned back against the counter. “I think I’ll wait for her to do the asking.”

“I’m going for a run.” Susie had to get out of the stifling house, had to clear her mind of Joe, and had to get away from the seductive smell of him.

“Not by yourself, you’re not.” Joe hooked an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s head up to the ravine site and check things out.”

“Ravine? Things? What things?” Gray squinted at Joe.

“Someone going for a sprint?” A man stuck his head through the laundry room doorway. He limped into the kitchen. “Don’t think my leg’s up to a run. Maybe tomorrow. You must be Susie. I’m Tate.”

She squared her shoulders. This was Joe’s friend? The man could’ve sprung out of a fireman’s top ten calendar photo shoot. Talk about alpha. He oozed testosterone. All the wolves she knew had Native American heritage, dark hair, dark eyes. This man could have posed for Thor with his reddish-blond shoulder-length mane, piercing slate eyes, and cheekbones that would have an Olympic snowboarder drooling.

Her insides flip-flopped. “No way. No fricking way. Tell me he’s not a wolf too.”

“But I am.” Tate gave her no warning at all before he swept her off her feet and planted his mouth over hers. His tongue did nothing for her. No heat pooled in her belly. Her toes didn’t curl. And her mind didn’t fracture.

Too surprised to resist at first, she pushed at the steel of his pectorals and tried to tear her lips away. He opened his mouth wider, and his tongue did a little dance with hers. She bit down.

“Ow!” Tate dropped her like a hot potato, and she stumbled before grabbing the back of a chair for balance.

“Not nice.” Tate’s aggrieved-I’m-innocent expression made her chuckle.

Two seconds later Joe sideswiped Tate with a fist and followed the punch with an uppercut to the man’s stomach. “Touch her again and you’ll end up in the dump.”

Tate bent over at the waist, gasping. He swiped at the blood trickling from the side of his mouth, and gingerly straightened. “I had to do it. Worth it too, to see the rise I got. I’m Tate. Joe’s best friend. Full wolf. I can even shift. You up for it?”

“No.” Gray got right up in Tate’s face. “She’s my little sister. Stick your tongue down her throat once more, and I’ll make sure you never shift again.”

“But it’s okay for Joe to tongue her?” Tate’s lopsided grin and the way his metal-gray eyes gleamed made Susie uneasy. What was the blond Adonis up to?