Greyson - Part 1: An Alpha Billionaire Shifter Romance (The Silver Moon Pack) (2 page)

“Were-PUP?”
He swore she was making his eye start to twitch. “
I’m a shifter
—and I’m not over-muscled, sweetheart. I’m lean, defined, and
deadly
. So you
will
do as I say—and you should thank your fucking lucky stars that I had a big dinner.”

“A shifter? Like what?
Twilight?
Are there a bunch of sparkly vampires hanging out in the woods too?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, even though it had to cost her, given the gash on her arm. “And just so we’re clear—if you think I’m following orders from you, you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

He grit his teeth, even as his cock went hard at her feisty sarcasm. And when she was this close, her scent of honey, cedar, and heather was enough to make him want to lay her back on the sofa and sink his hard cock into her tight body. “Cupcake…you don’t have a choice, because this over-muscled were-pup is the one who’s going to keep you alive when a dozen pissed-off bears come to hunt you down. And if I have to gag you and hog-tie you to a chair to get you to cooperate instead of constantly arguing with me, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” But he was already hauling her to her feet and dragging her into the kitchen so he could rinse her wound clean, ignoring her curses.

“Let the water continue to run over it while I get some bandages. And don’t even think of making a run for it. I will find you, and I won’t be so nice next time.”

Chapter Two

Juno didn’t know what the hell sort of trouble she’d just gotten herself into, but her head was killing her, the gash on her arm was throbbing and burning, her entire body ached, and she was covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. And though she’d never in a million years admit it, she was scared. “Well, if you’re going to kidnap and bully me, you could at least tell me your name.”

He all but growled it at her, his eyes like a shimmering pond of liquid gold. “Name’s Greyson. Greyson Moore.”

“Juno Sorenson.” She let out a weary sigh, her adrenaline rush starting to wear off so she felt every bump, ache, and bruise.

“Let me get some bandages, and then you can start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened. Okay?” His gold eyes locked on hers even as her mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this mess—and coming up empty.

She swore she hadn’t meant to kill that bear, but it was like her past was following her, and her…
curse
…just wouldn’t go away. Not that she could let anyone know about her problem. They’d lock her up for murder—or stick her in some sort of lab to try to figure out a way to harness her power for evil. Because that was exactly what her curse was—
evil
.

She hated lying, but Greyson wanted answers, and telling him the truth about what she was capable of and what happened with that bear would only result in her ending up dead. He might have his own freak going on, but if he found out she could kill with a single touch, there was a good chance he’d shorten her life expectancy for her.

Panic had her thinking of making a run for it, although the thought was quickly quashed, since she knew Greyson was right. There was no doubt in her mind that he could find her, especially if he was some sort of shifter—whatever the hell that meant. Yet, before she could give it anymore thought, Greyson was back with a first-aid kit, forcing her to put any plans of escaping on the back burner.

Even in her current state of mind, having Greyson so close made it impossible for her to ignore the little fact that he was a damn fine specimen of a man—shifter or not. Not that she was interested in men after all she’d been through. And it didn’t matter that Greyson was beyond tall and muscular, or that he had amazing gold eyes and chiseled features. Nor did it matter that he was downright gorgeous, tattooed, and no one had ever had this sort of effect on her.

None of it mattered because she was cursed, and her life was fucked.

“Here…press hard.” He took a clean kitchen towel from a nearby drawer, and pressed it to her arm, her hand covering his for a moment, as she took over. And then he was lifting her up onto his kitchen counter and sitting her down on the edge, making her feel like she was five years old with her legs dangling over the edge, especially when he’d lifted her like she weighed nothing. “Close your eyes.”

“Why?” She couldn’t help but glare at him, wondering what the hell he was up to as her obstinance kicked in and pushed away her panic.

“You’re a damn stubborn woman. You know that, right?” When she perked her eyebrows up at him in defiance, he grabbed her arm in his iron grip, and with his gold eyes locked on hers, he ran his thick, hot tongue along her wound as she
freaked—the hell—out
.

“What the fuck?”
She tried to yank her arm free, but it may as well be wedged in a vise, because there was no way she was shaking herself free of him. And yet, some of the sting and throbbing seemed to have subsided. “That was disgusting.”

He loosened his grip and covered it in a bandage, while giving her a cocky and all too knowing look. “Did it help?”

“Yes.”
She wasn’t going to lie about it, even if he was obnoxious.

“It’ll also help it heal a hell of a lot faster. Now, tell me what happened—and I want you to start from the very beginning, with why the hell you even moved all the way out here to the middle of nowhere.” Greyson leaned against the counter across from her, stretching his long legs out in front of him, still wearing nothing but his jeans. Hell—he didn’t even have shoes on. And with his broad, tattooed shoulders, muscular chest, and rock-hard abs, it was all she could do to concentrate. “My eyes are up here, sweetheart.”

“Well, for fuck’s sake. Put on some clothes then if you don’t want me looking. It’s kind of hard not to, when there’s so much surface area.” She forced herself to focus on the information he wanted, though why she was telling him any of this was beyond her.

She’d known him all of half an hour, and he was some sort of weird paranormal creature that shouldn’t even exist. For all she knew, he could have a pile of dead bodies in the basement. And yet…he seemed like her only option for now, and just because he wanted answers didn’t mean she had to tell him everything.

“I moved up to the cabin because my life sucked and I was desperate for a change.” Among other things, like killing yet another man who’d attacked her. “I’d inherited the place from my great-uncle and since I figured it was better than paying the crazy rent I was dishing out in Cambridge, I figured I might as well give it a try.”

“And how long has it been since you moved up here? I’m assuming it hasn’t been all that long, or you’d have gotten eaten by now.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, which only served to make his massive biceps look even bigger—and that sure as hell didn’t help her concentration.

“Ha ha. Real funny. Three weeks ago—and up until an hour ago, nothing even bothered to take a nibble.” She’d been here just long enough for it to start to feel like she knew the area—which is exactly how she managed to get lost with night falling. “I’d been doing just fine up until today. But…I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way, and was trying to get back home, when that bear came out of nowhere and attacked me.”

“And what happened next?” Greyson was looking serious now, his brow furrowed as he ran a rough hand across his stubbled chin.

“I tried to get away—but I swear, it was like he was toying with me. He’d let me run, and then he’d pounce on me, knocking me over and pinning me to the ground with his weight.” And that was when it happened, just like the other two times before. She let out a ragged breath as tears stung her eyes. “He was on top of me, crushing me, and I swear, I couldn’t breathe. And then…he just dropped dead.”

“Hey…it’s okay, Juno.” Greyson pushed off the counter and closed the distance between them, cupping her cheek and brushing away at the tear that escaped and slipped down her cheek. “You have every right to be shaken up after that sort of attack. I’m just relieved that that fucking bastard didn’t have a chance to really hurt you. Although…it’s odd that he just died, Juno. That sort of thing doesn’t happen.”

“I don’t know anything about bears or shifters, but as far as I can tell, that’s what happened. He was attacking me one minute, and the next he was dead.” It’s not as though she had any real answers for him.

How the hell was she supposed to tell him that the reason she’d moved out into the middle of nowhere was because she was dangerous and couldn’t trust herself to be around other people? Even before tonight, two other people had died because of her, and though they’d attacked her and the world was a better place without them, it didn’t mean their deaths weren’t her fault.

Sure, the cops had told her they’d died of heart failure—but she knew better. She’d seen the horror in their eyes as she protected herself, and though they shouldn’t have tried to hurt her and it served them right, it didn’t change the fact that somehow, as insane as it sounded, she’d killed those men. Two separate occasions—two men had decided to attack, and two men were dead of heart attacks.

It was like she was some sort of magnet for deranged men bent on doing her harm. Their deaths might be a coincidence, since the reality sounded like some sort of weird science fiction thing—and yet another man had just attacked her, and another man had ended up dead. Not that she could tell Greyson the truth.

“I’m sure he just had a heart attack.” It was what they’d find if they did an autopsy. Of that she was sure—and just maybe that’d be enough to keep her safe. “These bears…they won’t blame me for his death, will they?”

“Sweetheart…your scent was all over the place, and then there’s the little fact that shifters rarely suffer from heart attacks.” He let out a ragged breath, his brow furrowed as he gave her a scrutinizing look as if not quite believing she was telling him the whole truth. “Did something else happen? Did you have a weapon of some sort on you?”

“No…nothing. He was just attacking me, and then he was dead. I don’t see how they can blame me for that. And no offense, but if that bastard hadn’t attacked me in the first place, then maybe he’d still be alive. Maybe he was getting such a kick out of terrorizing me that his heart gave out from the sheer sadism of it all.” She didn’t know if Greyson believed her, but telling him the truth didn’t seem like a viable option.

What could she say? That she’d zapped the big bad bear with her superpowers? That she’d warned him to leave her alone…that she couldn’t control the building energy that seemed to feed off her fear and adrenaline? That he didn’t listen to her when she’d begged and pleaded with him, and when he continued to attack her, he’d ended up dead? And then what would Greyson do? Tear her throat out before she could defend herself? Hand her over to the bears? Or would he simply call the cops?

She’d been holding onto this secret for so long, and though she wanted nothing more than to finally tell someone about it, it was far too big a risk, even if she liked Greyson, despite their rocky start. There was something about him that had her lowering her defenses around him. And it left her wondering just how much of a big bad wolf he truly was.

“Juno…what aren’t you telling me?” With his gold eyes locked on hers, she had to look away, her heart racing inside her chest. Could he sense her fear, sense her lying, sense that he was the reason for her racing heart? “You can trust me, you know. I won’t hurt you.”

Yeah…just like those other guys didn’t want to hurt her. They just wanted to make her feel
real good
.

The mere thought of those men, their hands on her, their menacing words, the way they hurt her... And then tonight…she swore she’d never been so scared in all her life, especially when that bear—
that man
—seemed to be toying with her, his assault feeling far more sinister than just an animal attack.

“What I’m trying to tell you is that I have no doubt that fucking bear would have mauled me—and probably done a lot worse if he hadn’t dropped dead.” The way he’d pinned her to the ground beneath him, the way he looked at her with those intelligent and cruel eyes… She had no doubt of what he’d have attempted to do to her had he been in human form—and she had no doubt that he’d have eventually shifted back to a man so he could fully terrorize her. Her entire body started to shake, unable to stop thinking of what he’d have done to her had he not been stopped. “I’m sorry…”

“Hey…” Greyson ran his hand down her cheek, his touch gentle and just a little rough, though she found it surprisingly comforting. “You have nothing to be sorry about, especially when you were the one being attacked.”

Her tears spilled over as she swiped at them while silently cursing herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. “I was just so scared.”

“I know you were, Juno.” Cupping her face in his large hands, he brushed her tears away, his touch hot, as if his body ran several degrees warmer than most. “Come on…it’s getting late. I need to make some phone calls, but you should have a lie-down. The bed is through those doors over there. You have my word that I won’t bother you.”

He stepped back as she hopped off the counter, landing so she was just inches away from him, making it impossible to ignore his muscular body, despite all she’d been through. There was just something about him that called to her—which was exactly why she had to get out of there. The last thing she wanted to do is drag Greyson into her mess of a life.

“Listen…I really appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I can’t stay here. I need to go.”