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Authors: Adaline Raine

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BOOK: Marked by the Alpha
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There was a deep growl from the stairway and
Dani
finally sighed in relief. She knew without a
doubt that it was Mason.

She could almost feel
Mason’s power fill her basement and Lou took a few steps backwards.
“You are by far the stupidest bunch of men that I have ever run across
,

she heard Mason say with disdain.

Lou held up a small handgun
, but as
Mason charged Lou turned the gun on himself and fired.
Dani
closed her eyes tight and tried to forget the scene that had just happened.
Stupid coward was so big and brave when he strung her up and drugged her
,
but facing an alpha and knowing he had led his buddies to their deaths
h
e was a coward.

Suddenly she felt Mason’s hands on her face. “I’ve got you
,

he said gently.

She felt him pick her up but could
do
little to help him. “How did you find me?”
she asked, and h
er
voice cracked.

“I came here to track the hunters. I never imagined that they
had
stayed here.” Mason adjusted her in his arms. “Just rest now, I’ll tell you about it later. You’re safe.”

Dani
nodded and let herself drift off. She knew that Mason would keep
her safe
.

 

* * *

 

Dani
opened her eyes with a start. She was lying on a bed in nothing but a sheet.

“I’m sorry about your clothes. I couldn’t tell how hurt you were and I didn’t want to cause you more pain.” Mason was sitting in a chair next to the bed.

“How long have I been asleep?”
Dani
croaked.

He reached towards her. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so that I could get you in the tub. You’ve been asleep since yesterday.”

Dani
said nothing as he lifted her up into his arms. He adjusted the sheet so that she was covered and walked into a very large bathroom
, then
set her down on what seemed to be an out of place love seat and started a bath. “Where am I?”

Mason adjusted the
faucets
and turned back to her. “We’re at my house. Where else would you be?”

Dani
coughed. She still felt horribly lightheaded and her legs and arms ached. “Why would they tie me up in my own basement?”

“Hunters are arrogant bastards that think if they get a tip on someone who is not associated with a pack that they can do whatever they want
,

h
e
scoffed as the water began to fill.

Dani
shivered as she tried to snuggle under the blanket. She was aware of every inch of her body suddenly and even the slightest movement caused pain.

Mason shut off the water and walked over to the chair
, then tenderly
unwound the sheet from around her and helped her into the tub. She gasped as the heat from the water licked at her wounds and she looked up at him.

“Will you stay with me please
,
Mason?”
Dani
felt horribly vulnerable and did not want to be alone.

Mason looked down at her, his expression unreadable for once. “Is that what you truly want?”

Dani
gave a small nod. It hurt too much to do
anything
else. He pulled the tee shirt over his head and slid off his jeans.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”

Dani
, despite the pain, could not stop the fluttering in her chest as she took in the sight of him. Her nakedness was a non-issue but his was making her tingly. She gave another nod.

Mason got into the tub and very gently pulled her to him until she was resting her back against his chest.

“Thank you.”
Dani
linked her arms around his neck as he embraced her. His arms felt massive around her body but she felt safe. “Don’t ever let me go.”

“You are in a state of shock. Say that to me again when you are well and I will believe you.”
Mason nuzzled against the side of her head while running his hands down her back.
“I’m sorry that I left you the other night. I shouldn’t have listened to your words
—I should have just stayed
.”

Dani
shifted in the water so that she could look up at him. “You would have only made it worse.”

Mason traced the outline of the bruise on her neck. “There were reports that other wolves around your town had recently gone missing.
I marked you because I didn’t follow through with my original intention.”

Dani
turned around so that she was no longer looking at his face. Was he hinting that he really had come there to claim her? “What was your original intention?”

“I was going to invite you to become part of my pack.” Mason leaned down and nuzzled her chin.

“Have you, uh
,
changed your mind on that?”
Dani
had gone still. Why had he not mentioned this the other night?

“I guess you could say that.” Mason linked his hand in hers. “Now you will be a part of my pack.
I’m not planning to ask your opinion about it.

His words held no emotion and
Dani
turned around again. “What will you do if I refuse to join?”

“There will be no refusal. The only way to keep you safe is
for you to be part of the pack
.
It
'
s no longer an option,
Dani
.”

There was a deep undertone in his voice
,
but
Dani
pressed on anyways.
“I am not yours, Mason.”
Her words were pointed but she could put little emotion behind them due to her current state.

“I said nothing about claiming you,
Dani
. I am telling you that you will become a part of my pack
,

Mason
informed her
as she squirmed away from him.

Dani
stood up slowly and carefully got out of the tub. She grabbed a towel from the pile and fumed as she dried off. She wanted him to claim her so that she no longer had to think about it. She wanted him to take her because her damn pride kept getting in the way. She heard movement behind her and looked over her shoulder. Mason had pulled the plug on the tub and was now glaring
at her.

“You are the most confusing woman I have ever met in my life!” He strode across the room and stole her towel
, then
wrapped it around his waist and continued to glare. “You tell me that you don’t want me to let you go. You practically beg me to join you in the tub. Your actions the other night damn near challenged me to claim you in every way possible and now you tell me that you refuse?”

Dani
flushed the color of her hair. It was true. She did want to be his in all ways. She did want to be a part of his pack
,
but
h
ow could she possibly trust this man and his pack
so completely when she had only just met them
? “I’m not playing game
s. I’m just confused, and I’m not used to having to answer to anyone,”
s
he said simply
,
and
then
sat back down in the loveseat. She didn’t bother grabbing another towel.

“Then what do you want,
Dani
?” Mason’s power was filling the room and making it hard for her to breath.

Dani
took a quick breath and brushed at her eyes as the tears started again. “I am still tired from the drugs.”

Mason shook his head
,
clearly agitated. He handed her a small duffle bag. “Get dressed and go lie down. I’ll have food sent up to you
,” he told her,
and
then
opened the door and walked out.

 

* * *

 

Dani
shook her head and opened the bag. Some of her things were inside and she carefully began to get dressed. She was a mystery, Mason was right. She did want him to claim her. Truthfully
,
she had been thinking about it since the moment he
had
walked into her store. Why was she so afraid to admit that?

Dani
fluffed her hair out and opened the door. She was happy that whoever had put her clothes
together
had
picked a soft
v-neck
shirt and her black workout pants.
Her arms were still a bit sore from
where the
hunters'
chains had held her
,
but luckily they
had been
iron and not silver or
she
would have been burned on top of the ache. Her legs were not as sore
,
though she could still see the puncture marks from the needles
they had used to keep her drugged
.
Dani
had no idea what they
had
doped her up with. She glanced at the clock in the guest room and estimated that she had only been captured for about two days.
Alisha must have remembered their code and reached out to Mason.
Just as s
he lay down on the bed and propped her head up with pillows
, t
here was a knock at the door.

“I’m up
,

she called out.

The door opened and in walked a man carrying food. He was a wolf, that was for certain, but
Dani
knew little else. He had a medium
build with dark hair and blue
eyes… Were they come
-
fuck
-
me
blue
eyes?
Dani
said nothing as he walked to the bed carrying a tray. Was he Mason’s
second-in-command
? Surely he had more important things to do
th
a
n
bring her food?

“I’m Phil.” He nodded and set the tray down.

“I’m not hungry.”
Dani
stood up and walked to the window.

“Well, you need to eat.” Phil walked over and stood next to her.
“Your friend Alisha is worried about you.”

Dani
felt a surge of anger prickle along her spine and she turned to focus on him. “What do you care?”

Phil frowned
and
crossed his arms. “Why is it so hard to accept that other people could care about you?”

Dani
frowned. “What are you talking about?”
she demanded.
Why had he brought up Alisha and what did that have to do with her not wanting to eat?

“Mason dropped everything to come and find you! Alisha called him and told him that she found your phone in the woods.” Phil shook his head. “You should be glad he marked you
,
because if he hadn’t
you’d
probably
be dead.”

“Mason told me that I’m to be part of his pack now. I don’t think that I want that.”
Dani
let out a snort. “In fact
,
I
'
m sure that I don’t want that. I will not be forced into something that I don’t want.”

“Alisha thinks that you want Mason to claim you. Do you comprehend what that would mean?” Phil had taken another step forward and the two were almost touching now.

Dani
growled. “Do you think that I
'
m stupid?”

Phil took another
step towards her. “Do
n'
t growl at me.” He glared at her and
Dani
saw a great wolf behind those blue eyes. “I am asking you if anyone has ever explained to you what it truly means to be claimed.”

Dani’s
heart was racing. She was not trying to get into a battle but she was truly so overwhelmed with all that had been happening. She shook her head and kept her mouth shut.

“It means that
you would belong to Mason completely, and you would be expected to obey him in everything.
You are
a
dominant female
,
Dani
. It’s not an easy role to accept.
Since you are the only dominant female in this pack, y
ou would
lead the other females,
but you would need to support
Mason’s
decisions.”

BOOK: Marked by the Alpha
2.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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