Full Circle (Central Florida Pack Book 1) (6 page)

"I hope this means that Ria's over," Tim said, showing his first sign of enthusiasm toward anything. "No one else's food smells this good."

Drake detected infatuation there. He growled, startling both Tim and himself by the unexpectedly quick response.

"I know she's yours. I'd never poach." Tim slid out of the SUV, white from the loss of blood and the control it took to harness his wolf. "You just have to use your nose. Besides, she's too old for me."

Drake laughed. Tim was right, all he had to do was use his nose. His stomach rumbled again, reminding him that he sat in a truck while others enjoyed his mate's food and company.

He found Ria standing in front of his oven with her back to him. A wave of rightness and possessiveness washed over him as he took in the sight of her cooking in his kitchen. It was something she'd done countless times, yet every time he was amazed that he could feel this way about something so simple.

His mate doing what she always did so well, taking care of his Pack. Something others took for granted came instinctively to her. She turned around and he took in her flushed cheeks, her soft curls pulled up into a ponytail. The ponytail made him want to walk over and loosen it to let her curls cascade over his hands. It had been too long since he'd last touched her. He let his lips curve into a smile and was rewarded by a shy smile in response.

"Hi."

He stood still as her eyes searched his face and her scent turned to confusion, need and a trace of fear. It was always there, ever present after the death of her parents. Drake had been hoping to slowly erode it over time. It hadn't worked out like he thought it would.

Her eyes widened, and Drake new he had to rein himself in, especially since he was in a house full of werewolves with big ears. He made his way over to the oven, grabbing a pair of mitts on the way. He opened the oven door and his eyes confirmed what his nose had told him when he walked in.

"Mac and cheese."

"Yes and
fried chicken
."

They shared a smile as a collective groan went up around the house. And for a minute, her fear disappeared. Drake held his breath, only to watch her fear return full bore. She lowered her eyes and slipped into a full panic.

***

This was nice
.
Too Nice
.

Ria stared at her feet, willing her heart to understand that this was only the first date. In fact, it wasn't really a date to begin with.

She'd woken up to find herself alone but covered by his blanket. The same one he'd presented to her, tied with a bow. She'd almost panicked when she'd realized he was gone, and then she'd spotted his note and panicked, anyway. Written in his hard-to-decipher handwriting, it hadn't been the most reassuring note. She'd had one of those before. She pushed the memory away.

"What was so pressing that Doc called you to his warehouse?"

Ria could feel Drake tense, and she readied herself for the rejection to come. Only, it didn't. She snuck a peak at him as he was now intensely studying the oven door. He shot her a glance, winked, and got to work.

"We had a situation with a lone wolf." He pulled the pan out of the oven. "Tim was attacked in the middle of downtown. Doc had to stitch him up."

"And the lone wolf?"

"We have him contained."

Ria stood back as Drake placed the food onto the hot pads she'd put down on the island. He headed back to get the rest out of the oven. Something told her there was more to this story, but she didn't push. She could feel all the ears in the house pricked forward and quivering for more information.

The good part about living among the Pack: there were no secrets. The bad part about living among the Pack: there were no secrets. He raised an eyebrow as the second oven's timer dinged.

"Think you made enough?" he asked, as he lifted out a few more pans.

"Maybe." She watched him close the oven with a practiced hip bump. "I didn't know whether you'd come alone…"

How to explain the nervous, panicked energy that had filled her when she saw his note? Combined with the hangdog expressions of the sentries who were at the house, it had propelled her into the kitchen to burn it off. Werewolf business really wasn't that much different from human business except that werewolves tended to have fangs and fur involved.

Drake cocked his head to the side in a wolf-like movement as her words trailed off. "Duly noted. Next time, I'll keep you up to date." He grabbed a plate and took the serving spoon she held out as she struggled to wrap her brain around the words
next time
.

Next time. There was no guarantee that there'd be a next time. Just because he'd declared that she was his mate didn't mean she had to accept his claim. Her parents had loved each other but they'd ended up not having forever. Werewolves might be long-lived but even they couldn't survive being decapitated and cut in two. She'd woken up to a note on that night, too.

She stood rooted to the spot as Drake put together dinner for the both of them. Her fingertips tingled and felt numb, and Ria resisted the urge to shake them out. Perhaps she should just head home. Spending the day with Drake, well, she'd given into the longing—but what would happen the next time he had to disappear from the house? What would happen if he didn't come back? Panic, old and new, coalesced into the cold sweat, inducing fear she was experiencing for the first time. It all but knocked her off her feet.

Her father's grieving face was a permanent fixture in her mind. He'd tried after her mother had died in the accident, but he'd never been the same. Ria stared at Drake's back and willed herself to calm down. There was no way he hadn't noticed the fear that had flooded the room, but still, he kept his back turned.

"I'm not so sure that we will be able to get anything from the wolf. He wasn't up to an interrogation. I left him with Doc under heavy surveillance." Drake set their plates aside and Ria tensed as he turned around to face her.

"Until I find out why this is happening, I need the Pack to be careful." He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes boring into hers.

"Why is that?"

"It's unusual for a lone wolf to attack another wolf out in the open, surrounded by humans. It's even more so for them to attack a juvenile."

Panic faded to concern. "Is Tim here or at his parents?"

"He's here." Drake smiled.

"He should be home."

"You know he's not a pup, right?"

"He's still their kid." Ria shook her head. "I would want my child to be home if he was attacked. Juvenile wolf or not."

"He's fine. A little shaken and more than a little happy to be here, where he can sample some of your home-cooked food."

"A little shaken?" Ria knew from experience it could mean anything from an already healed wound or something that required a wolf to change back and forth between states. She eyed her Alpha and wondered whether she'd have a sick wolf to tend to. Those could be dangerous, snapping with their sharp teeth at a lowly human like herself. "Did he need to change?"

"Not until he has something to eat. Then his stitches will need to come out."

"Does he need a nurse?"

"We've only ever allowed you to care for those who weren't truly a danger to you. Tim won't need a nurse and we won't have to worry about an uncontrollable wolf. If he were…"

"You would have left him at Doc's."

Drake took the few steps to reach her. He tipped up her chin and laid the barest of kisses on her lips before he wrapped his arms around her. She wasn't sure what had brought this on, but she gave in to the need and leaned into his chest and let him hold her.

The kitchen door opened. Wolf by wolf, they trickled in, drawn by the scent of food. Ria expected Drake to let her go. Instead, he held her closer. As the Pack flowed in and around them, he held her. Just held her, while the Pack took note.

***

It wasn't until they were settled in on his couch again and she'd gotten halfway through her plate that he spoke.

"Do you have vacation time?"

Poised to take a bite of chicken, Ria put it back down. "I do. Why?"

"I'd like you take time off."

This was new. Drake never asked for anything as the Alpha. It might sound to an outsider as if he had, but this was an order.

"You want me to take time off for what?" She had an inkling of what he wanted, but Ria wasn't about to let him dictate when she took time off from work.

Drake took the plate from her and placed it on his battered coffee table. When he faced her, his eyes had turnedto a bright yellow. The veins on his forearms stood out and his voice, his voice when he spoke was barely human.

"I'm the Alpha. I get busy, and in order for me to be able to court you, one of us has to be available."

She blinked up at him. "You didn't just say that to me."
Submissive, Beta, not even Beta, Omega. She was lowest of the low.

There was only one way she knew of even in the human world to establish some sort of respect, and it was to stand up for herself. The only difference was that in the Pack she just might end up ranked even lower. "You expect me to be available…whenever."

He sat back. The intensity of his gaze had her pinned to the seat. It took all she had to keep eye contact. If she had any sense, she would show him her throat in surrender. Something deep inside her refused to give in. She knew if she gave in now, she would be giving in for the rest of her life.

"Do you remember who I am?"

"I'm pretty sure some spoiled celebrity is wondering who stole their line right now." She pushed herself off the couch and made her way to the door on shaky legs, brushing past him as he gazed down at her in what she was sure was amazement. "I have work tomorrow."

She was surprised that she made it to the front door without him stopping her. Surprised and disappointed.

Paolo emerged from the game room, pool cue in hand. "You are the only person I know that can get Drake into this mood."

Ria didn't slow down as he fell in beside her.

"What mood? Annoyed?"

"Annoyed, frustrated, confused…" He leaned against the door and kept an eye on the hallway while talking. "You can pretend all you want, but you'll end up mated to him." Paolo looked straight at her. "He needs you. This Pack needs you. Don't listen to the idiots that like to treat you like a submissive wolf, Ria. They don't know shit."

Paolo moved away as Drake's bedroom door slammed. Drake was coming after all. She stood silently by the front door, her back turned to the man who would make her his mate.

Drake reached out and opened the door for her and she stepped through, making her way to the truck. The heat of Drake's hand at the base of her spine burned its way into her memory as he guided her to the truck.

Ria's nerves felt stretched to the breaking point. She could almost feel her heart beating out of her chest. She was aware of every move he made as he backed the truck out of the driveway. He said nothing.

His eyes never left the road, his hands strong and steady on the wheel. He'd always been that way. He always knew in which direction to take the Pack. It was hard to believe that he was older than he looked. He'd already been Alpha when she was a child. Very few questioned him, except the old guard, his advisors. It was a measure of his competence that he needed so little input.

"Why me?" she asked.

He snarled in frustration at her question.

"Why not one of the other females of the Pack?"

He glanced in her direction. "Until recently, you've never run from me. You've always given me your honest opinion." He let out a gruff laugh. "What I mean to say is, I've been aware of you for most of your life. As a kid, as a teenager..."

The way he said teenager made her wonder just how aware he'd been, but he spoke before she could ask. "I knew the moment when you first became interested in me."

Her face flamed, so she turned away from him to face the window, as she recalled the moment herself. Drake had been away. James had said Ria had the right touch when it came to making spaces cozy. In her need for acceptance, Ria had decided to prep Pack Central for the Alpha's return, cleaning up the mess his sentries had made, managing to rope them into helping. Drake's room, however, she'd handled herself.

The thing about large houses was, you never knew who was coming and going, if you were human. She'd forgotten the duvet in the dryer and had hurried back, sure she had time to fix it before the Alpha returned. She'd thrown the duvet on his bed and had been giving it one last smoothing pat, when he'd walked out of the bathroom.

Her heart was beating the same rhythm it had on that day. She closed her eyes in an effort to block out the image of him glistening with water, roughly toweling off his hair.

"Why were you the one elected to get my room ready?" Drake asked, as he slowed for a red light.

Her eyes shot open. "That was no mistake. You knew I was there, and you walked out of the shower deliberately."

"I knew you were in the room. Yes."

She waited. He said nothing more. So she braved it and asked. "Did James set me up?"

He chuckled. "James was playing matchmaker. Before you ask why, he knows that I've wanted you for mine."

"If James knows…?"

"Does everyone know? No. You've stayed away from me, and I've kept my distance, too."

"Why? Don't werewolf mates know immediately? Why wait?"

"You wanted me to jump your bones the minute I realized that you were attracted to me?" He shook his head.

Ria realized they weren't on the way to her place. In fact, they'd been driving aimlessly, but it looked like he was now headed back to his house.

"What do you think you're doing? I made it clear I wanted to go back to my house."

"You're mine. I've waited five years to make my move. Longer than that, if you need to know."

"What?"

"I've wanted you since you were seventeen. You walked out of that pool in that bikini, and I was lost."

"I've only had one bikini. My mother threw it out after …"