Falling for the Alphas: Part One (7 page)

Silence. Nobody moved.
Naomi felt a bead of sweat run down the back of her neck. She
wanted to turn and run. Instinct told her to save herself. This was
a wolf's den. Prey did not enter it and leave. Each of those jaws
could tear her flesh, snap her bones. She had to slam the door and
turn, run screaming for help. Escape this nest of
nightmare.

Instead she raised her
chin. Fought for calm. Steeled herself, and stepped inside. And
Illixy bobbed through the air, and followed her within.

At the sight of the
totem-seed, the werewolves all rose to their feet, and the alpha at
the center growled, the hair around his neck and shoulders growing
thick. Illixy pulsed, gold and silver, casting his light into the
gloom. Naomi drew strength from him, from the knowledge of what he
was. Drew comfort, until she saw that all the werewolves were
approaching.

Yet she had eyes only for
the alpha. He must have been over nine feet tall. Each talon as
long as her finger. His tail heavy and still behind him. Eyes
glowing green, a vivid, unnatural color in the dark. He padded
forward, step by step, and then finally stopped some five yards
from where she stood.

"You bring... a totem-seed." The
English that came from his great jaws was mangled, but intelligible
all the same.

"I do more than that."
Naomi forced her voice to come out bright and loud. This was it.
The moment of truth. "I bring a chance for healing. For The
Vengeance to become stronger and join the Silver Song. Together,
with my totem-seed -"

But Kayden's snarl cut her
short. He dropped to all fours and thrust his face into hers. She
recoiled. "Did Dylan send you?"

"No!" She forced her hands down. "I
came because I wanted to." A quick look at the predatory faces
around her. "Because I hate Stark more than anything, and I want
your two packs to bring him down. Together."

The alpha tilted his head
to one side and sniffed at her. "We will destroy Stark." His voice
had changed. Become more confident. "With your totem-seed blessing
our pack, we cannot fail."

Oh crap
.
Time to roll the
dice
. "Only if I agree. Only if I gift you
and your pack the totem-seed." Was that true? She had no idea.
"Which won't happen the way things are going."

The wolves around her began to pad as
the tension rose a notch. Illixy was hovering over her shoulder.
She was sure it was his presence that was keeping them
back.

Kayden rose on his back
legs again. God he was huge. Considered her. She could see
intelligence in those eyes, a deep cunning. "Why would you refuse
me?"

"Why?" She laughed, amused
by his ego, outraged by his arrogance. "Because you're - you're not
even talking to me in your human body. Because I don't know you.
Because -"

But she stopped. Kayden
took a deep breath, closed his green eyes, and
shifted
. Down into his human form,
sinking, shrinking from his nine plus feet to a little over six.
The gray fur disappeared, the black markings becoming tattoos over
his smooth skin. Within moments he stood before her as a man, and
Naomi had to fight to control her shock. Who would have guessed
Kayden was so stunningly hot?

And completely naked. He
stood before her, hands on his hips, totally confident and at ease
without a shred of clothing on his body. Which was ripped. Not
muscled like Dylan, but cut, his broad shoulders and chiseled chest
tapering down to what had to be an eight-pack, a gorgeous V over
his hips drawing her eyes down to his cock, from which her eyes
skittered away as if scalded. Tattoos covered his body. Glyphs she
couldn't read were inked into his right pectoral, while what looked
like Maoria designs covered his left shoulder down to the elbow.
The word Vengeance was printed in elegant cursive over his abdomen,
and she saw tattoos over the back of his hands and fingers. They
were mesmerizing, beautiful.

Looking up, Naomi met
Kayden's eyes. Still that shocking green above harsh cheekbones.
Were all werewolves so incredibly hot? Kayden could have easily
been an underwear model if he hadn't exuded such a palpable sense
of power, dominance, and ferocity. Even in his human body Naomi
felt scared of him, of the anger that lurked beneath the skin, the
knowledge that this was no man, no human being, but the ultimate
hunter, used to dominating other monsters like himself, used to
having every thought and urge attended to without
question.

Naomi realized she was
holding her breath, and released it. Was that a smile that curved
the corner of his sensual lips? She didn't know where to look. Felt
the tips of her ears down to her chest burn bright red.
Get it together! He's laughing at you!

"There. That's... better."
She coughed, cleared her throat, and tried to stare him frankly in
the eyes. "Though it would help if you put on some pants." Help me
focus, that is.

"Pants?" He looked down at
himself. "Why wrap myself in clothing? I have nothing to hide. I am
not cold." He looked up at her again, and there was a gleam in his
eye that told her he knew exactly what effect his nudity was having
on her.

"Fine." She hesitated. What had she
been saying before he changed?

"Come. Let us talk in
private. You bring the totem-seed. I will make my case why you
should be my mate and mine alone." Without seeing if she agreed, he
turned and walked away. Naomi stared at his rear - it was perfect,
sculpted, rounded. She took a deep breath, realized that all the
other werewolves were still watching her, some with open smirks on
her face, and quickly marched after Kayden.

~~~

Kayden led the human to
the back of the warehouse and into his private den. It was dimly
lit, the late afternoon sunshine filtering through cracks high up
in the ceiling. There was no furniture, no civilized chairs in
which to sit. Instead, one corner was piled high with thick furs,
and it was to this that he, turning at the last to sit down
smoothly, one leg extended, the other knee raised, back to the
wall, eyes glimmering green. He gestured to the furs before her.
"Sit."

The woman stood in the
doorway, hesitating yet again. The smell of her fear had
diminished. He could almost taste her curiosity, her attraction to
him. She was responding to his human body. Finally the woman
stepped forward and sat on the furthest edge of his furs. She
wrapped her arms around her knees and glared at him. "Why are you
out here?" Her voice was accusatory. "Why are you doing
this?"

Kayden was not used to
being questioned. He restrained the urge to growl. "It's simple.
Stark is in the city. So to hunt Stark, we too must be in the
city."

She nodded reluctantly. "But Dylan
said you're not strong enough to fight him alone. That you need to
unite the packs."

He nodded. "In this one thing Dylan is
correct. We need to join the packs."

She hesitated. "But you're
willing to kill Dylan to do so."

He nodded again, and from
deep beneath his own pain and anger he felt the stirring of a
remorse he had though dead lone since. "Yes. I... wish it were not
so. But I will do anything to destroy Stark. We need to be strong.
We need to be united. If Dylan refuses to step down as alpha, then
I have no choice."

A faint hint of anxiety
came from her. She shifted where she sat. Kayden looked at her
breasts, how large and curved they were, larger even then what he
could cup with his hand. Nothing like the small, lean breasts of
his packmates. He felt a sudden urge to see her nipples, their
size. Were they dark or light? Small or large?

Something of his interest
must have communicated itself to her, because she stiffened. "But
if you kill Dylan, you'll weaken your side. You need him. His
strength. And you can't waste time fighting him. You might be
injured too. Leaving you weaker. The only one who gains is
Stark."

Kayden shook his head, and sadness
spread through him. "There can be only one alpha."

"What if there was a way?
Would you even consider it?"

He didn't like these emotions she was
drawing from him. It was safer to be angry. Still, something held
him back. Gave her a moment to speak. He did little more than raise
an eyebrow, and she hurried on.

"What if you could share
the totem? Not merge the packs, keep them separate, but work
together? Two alphas, not of one pack, but within one city? Could
you divide the city in two, after Stark is dead?"

"It's... possible." He
thought, then shook his head. "But for that to work, the totem
would need to belong to both packs."

Again her face blushed furiously.
"Yes. I know." She took a deep breath. "I could mate with both of
you." Her voice shook with fear and surprise and lust.

Kayden narrowed his eyes.
Would it work? Could he share this human with Dylan? Divide the
city? He thought of his old friend, his former packmate. Would
their werewolf natures allow them to share?

~~~

Naomi couldn't breathe.
She felt smothered. Illixy had faded away, leaving her alone.
Kayden was beside her, his body so close she could smell his
masculine musk, the heat radiating off his skin. He was nothing
like Dylan. There was barely any restraint, barely any humanity.
This was a dark force of nature, a power that followed no rules.
She felt as if she were playing with fire, and would at any moment
get torched.

But what devastatingly
handsome flames. His words echoed in her mind. She had to struggle
to put sense to them. He was thinking, considering her words, even
as she marveled at herself. What had she just done? What had she
just offered? To mate with both of them? To belong to both packs? A
part of her was appalled, but a deeper, more primal side was
excited by the idea. Dylan and Kayden, both of them in her life,
moving from one gorgeous alpha to the other. She felt like the part
of her that had been trained by society was telling her no, but a
more powerful, passionate side of her was saying:
yes
.

To mate with both alphas.
To save both packs. To defeat Stark while doing so. Her old life
was dead. She could never unlearn what she now knew. Why not? Why
couldn't she do the right thing
and
have the most amazing time while doing
so?

She watched Kayden. She couldn't
breathe. Waited. Would he at least agree to try?

~~~

Kayden studied her, his
eyes sharp even in this light, and found himself growing curious.
She was completely unlike Ella and his other packmates. She'd not
be able to kill and bring down an enemy if her life depended on it.
He doubted she could run all night, or even for a few hours. Yet he
found himself enjoying the sight of her, regardless. She was soft,
sensual, proud. There was a lack of submissiveness to her that at
once infuriated him and made him curious. Fear, yes;
submissiveness, no. And her curves - he imagined what she would
feel like against his body. Which parts of her might yield, which
parts might push back. Soft as cream, smooth as the light of the
moon. Would she be able to handle his style of mating? He didn't
think so, but this woman had already surprised him once
tonight.

"You would be willing to do this?" His
voice had become deeper. Huskier. "To mate with us
both?"

He could sense her desire. It was
burning brighter. Her smell was becoming richer, her arousal
tantalizing him. He didn't need to ask to know the answer, but he
was enjoying the quaver in her voice.

"Yes." He blinked and
looked from her body to her eyes. The quaver was gone. Her eyes
gleamed and he realized she had made a decision of her own. Had
decided to cease being prey, and begin stepping into the role of
predator.

He scooped her up in his
arms and carried her three short steps into the center of his
pelts, and there he laid her down. Her heart was thundering in her
veins. He could almost hear her pulse. He looked down at her, a
hand to each side of her shoulder. His face inches from her own. "I
will not be gentle."

She stirred beneath him.
He leaned down and took a deep breath, and then growled. He could
smell Dylan. Faint but there, the scent of the other alpha on this
woman. It stirred his blood like nothing had before. Dylan had
touched her, been close to her. Now she was here, she was his. He
pressed his nose into her thick mane of hair and drank deep of her
scent. It was intoxicating and feminine. Brought his lips to her
ear, and traced its edge with his lips till he reached the lobe,
which he took between his teeth. He pressed gently, and felt her
draw breath, shift her legs. Down the length of her neck. The
slight tang of salt from her sweat, kissing and nipping, then over
to the hollow of her throat.

She was breathing raggedly
now, and he felt his own desire begin to mount. It was strange -
she wasn't fighting him, playfully attacking and retreating like
his packmates did. She was supple, pliable, open like a flower,
inviting him to drink deep of her body. He felt a rush of desire,
hunger, to consume her, hold her tight, crush her to his chest.
Again a faint stir of Dylan's scent in the air, and his need
redoubled, his cock growing long and almost painfully
hard.