Scarlet - Alpha Marked, Book I (3 page)

Once again, like when she was a child,
she should have paid more attention.

“
Why don’t we meet in the
hotel’s restaurant for dinner? We can talk and…see how things go
from there.” Keller’s words were soft and soothing while a sexual,
predatory gleam lingered in Madden’s eyes. She imagined him
unleashing his pent-up need. On her.

She shivered, a brush of arousal
traveling down her spine. Okay. Yeah. Dinner. She licked her lips.
“That sounds good. Seven?”

That’d give them enough time to
develop a battle plan. The growing throb in her shoulder told her
in more than words that these two were the ones for her. She’d be
the balance between the seething strength of Madden and the hidden
power of Keller.

And that didn’t scare her nearly as
much as it should have. Like, at all.

*

Madden watched her walk away, watched
the sisters Wickham push and nudge through the throng until they
were hidden from sight.

His wolf was
pissed.

His heart thundered, pounding against
his chest like a thousand horses racing across the plains. He
couldn’t draw air into his lungs, couldn’t breathe.

His beast clawed and scraped and
scratched inside him, snarling because he and Keller had let
Scarlet leave.

The woman awed him. Not only did her
body call to him, her mind proved she’d be a good match for them.
She hadn’t walked into the Gathering blind. No, their mate had come
in armed, prepared to battle with the overbearing
Alphas.

Madden never doubted they were
arrogant. Alphas, as a rule, wanted things done now and their way.
Period.

Their Scarlet would be a good
supporter and adversary at the same time.

“
She’s beautiful.” Keller’s
voice was pitched low, but Madden had no trouble hearing his
partner Alpha.

And he agreed. She had luscious curves
in all of the right places, nothing like the trim unmarked female
wolves who threw themselves at the Ruling Alpha pair. Female wolves
were great for a tumble, but their temperament didn’t provide
proper balance, hence the magic that forced Alphas to find their
mates amongst the human Marked.

And their Marked, with her round hips
and lush breasts, was perfect.

Her long brown hair had seemed to
gleam and glow in the ballroom, catching the light with her every
shift. Her eyes… Her eyes were dark chocolate, the deep hue
tempting him and luring him closer.

And, wolf or no, he was a chocolate
lover at heart.

Keller’s elbow collided with his
stomach, and Madden grunted. “What?”

“
What do you
think?”

He had only one thought, and he and
his wolf were in complete agreement. “Mine.”

“
Ours.”

The wolf growled but quickly
recognized their partner’s claim. The beast knew they couldn’t
rule, couldn’t claim Scarlet, alone. They needed Keller. Keller was
as bloodthirsty as he was, but the other wolf managed to keep him
out of trouble. His presence prevented Madden from spiriting
Scarlet away and locking her up somewhere safe. He could protect
her if she stayed inside. In his room. He suddenly realized why
princesses were locked in towers.

Madden nodded. “Ours.”

The low clearing of a throat forced
him to turn his attention from the point where Scarlet disappeared,
to the man beside them. “Alphas.”

The Captain of the Guard. That’s
right, they’d booted the asshole duo of Quentin and Garron. He
hated both men. Their dominance tended to lean a little closer to
mean than he liked, but each Alpha pair was entitled to join the
Gathering and to search for their mate among the attending
Marked.

Marked. He’d found his,
theirs.

“
Captain.” Madden’s
attention remained riveted on the guard.

“
The Colson Alphas were
secured transportation to their home and given an escort to the
airport.” The guard glanced at his watch. “Their flight leaves in
one hour, twenty-seven minutes.”

“
Excellent.” Keller joined
their conversation, turning away from a pair of Alphas who’d
approached them.

Keller’s gaze fell to him, eyes dark,
brows furrowed and lips pinched in a solid white line. Already his
partner had to be feeling the effects of their mate’s
absence.

Scarlet?
Keller spoke with his partner Alpha
telepathically, a benefit of being part of an Alpha
pair.

Madden rolled his
eyes.
Like I’d ever forget about ensuring
her safety.
“Captain, please locate the
sisters Wickham. I want them to have round the clock protection.
Pull in whomever you need, but I want a guard on their asses at all
times. Like fucking glue.” The Captain raised a single brow but
remained silent. Madden refused to sate the guard’s curiosity. The
packs would learn about Scarlet soon enough. “That’s all I
need.”

The wolf bowed and retreated,
disappearing into the sea of men and women.

His inner-beast clawed at him, furious
he’d let Scarlet’s protection fall to another.

A rough nudge had him turning his
attention to Keller. “Chill. We’re having dinner with her tonight.
Probably more. Then we can both watch over her.”

Madden knew he’d been at Keller’s side
since they were young, but it still creeped him out when the man
read his mind.

“
I know.” Knowing didn’t
keep the wolf calm. He practically vibrated with the need to hunt
and protect her. She was so small and sweet and—

Keller snorted. “Small, maybe. I don’t
think our mate exudes sweetness.”

Fucker had weaseled into his head
again. Madden growled at the other wolf. The beast wouldn’t
tolerate anyone, not even Keller, speaking badly about Scarlet.
“She was protecting hers. She—”

“
Alphas.”

He turned and snarled at the wolf
who’d interrupted them, then drew the sound back. He was on edge,
would be until Scarlet carried their bite and they both came deep
within her body, one in her ass, the other in her pussy.

There was no reason to snap off
Albert’s head. “Sorry.”

Keller strode past him, hand patting
Madden’s chest. There wasn’t a sexual relationship between them,
but time brought easy familiarity and comfort most human men
shunned. “Don’t mind grumpy here. What do you need?”

Madden needed Scarlet, but it didn’t
look like he’d get his way any time soon.

“
The Marked have all
checked in, though we still have a few Alpha pairs yet to arrive. I
have confirmed they’ll be here by morning.”

“
Thank you, Albert.” Keller
gave the man a small nod and the wolf scampered away.

Keller, eyes dancing with mirth,
turned to Madden. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“
Shut it. You know you feel
the same way; you’re simply nicer about it. You want to hunt her,
too.” He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe we should have picked her guards
ourselves. I’ll go find the Captain—”

His partner chuckled. “Come on, we
still have a few duties to complete before we can meet our mate,
and I’m sure the Captain has selected the very best to watch over
the sisters Wickham.”

The wolf growled but felt the truth in
Keller’s words.

He just didn’t like it.

The closer she drew to the restaurant,
the hotter her Mark became. It sent pulses of arousal thrumming
through her veins. With every step her pleasure grew, body heating,
and her doubts about Keller and Madden melted away. The first
response was the gentle tingles, the hum to signify her mates’
closeness. Then she’d become aroused, burning with need until they
completed their bond. It increased until she was desperate for
their bodies.

The only good thing about the process
was that the wolves would feel the same. Their need would mirror
hers, and a burning sensation would pierce them in the identical
place as where she carried her Mark.

They’d all be a bubble of arousal
until they finally broke.

Yum.

The only thing marring her impending
mating was the fact that she still hadn’t hunted up the Ruling
Alphas to sort out Whitney’s situation. Plus, there was some guy
with a gun on his hip following her.

She seriously hoped she wasn’t about
to be involved in another incident like the one in the ballroom.
One confrontation a day was enough for her. Really.

Scarlet tugged on the hem of her
skirt, nudging down the edge. She never should have listened to
Gabby. The darned thing rose with every step. She wobbled a little
on her high heels, the four-inch, strappy stilettos making it
difficult to walk. Ugh.

Plus, what had been up with her
sister? Gabriella had been giving her extra-wide smiles and
battering her with taunting questions.

“
Isn’t it great that your
mates are
so
strong?”

“
I bet they’re as strong as
the Ruling Alphas.”

“
I wonder if…”

And blah, blah, blah. The woman knew
something Scarlet didn’t, and as soon as she was done with the
whole mating thing, she’d beat it out of her sister.

Scarlet continued clicking down the
wide, marble-tiled hallway, passing boutique after boutique of
overpriced souvenirs and gifts. Nearing a store boasting high-end
purses and accessories, she paused, pretending to look over the
offerings. In reality, she took a peek at Mr. Gun Guy in the glass’
reflection.

He didn’t even pretend he wasn’t
watching her. No, he stood eight feet back, hands behind him, and
flat-out stared at her.

Well, she wasn’t about to have him
follow her to dinner. She turned and faced him head on. “Is there a
reason you’re following me?”

“
Yes.” His voice was a low
baritone, but it did nothing for her.

She waited for further explanation but
didn’t get anything. “Okay, why?”

The man’s look remained bland.
“Because the Ruling Alphas ordered your protection.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re back
to why.”

“
It was
ordered.”

Scarlet huffed. “Do you know why and
you’re not telling me, or are you simply a drone doing as he’s
told?”

That earned her a quick twitch of his
lips, and she knew he was trying to suppress a smile. “A little in
between.”

“
Fine. God forbid we
complain about the Ruling Alphas and their high handedness. This is
because my sisters and I got into it in the ballroom with Garron
and Quentin, isn’t it? Keller and Madden tattled to them. It wasn’t
our fault, you know.” Then again, the assholes had been tossed from
the Gathering, so it made sense that the head honchos needed to be
informed. “Well, if you’re gonna follow me around like a puppy,”
she winked to take some of the sting out of her insult, “you might
as well walk next to me.”

Scarlet gestured for the guard to
approach, but the man stood still, his body frozen in
indecision.

“
Come on, I promise not to
tell the big bad Ruling Alphas you actually
talked
to me while you acted as my
guard. Hell, who knows when I’ll actually get to meet them. I’ll
probably forget you by then.” She winced. “Not that you’re
forgettable, I—” She huffed. “Just talk to me.”

“
I don’t think—”

“
Well, I do.”

She stomped toward him and tugged on
his arm, ignoring the sting that accompanied touching a male not
meant for her. Stupid Mark. Now that she’d met her mates, pain
would accompany any contact she had with other men, human or wolf.
At least until she completed her mating with Keller and Madden.
Thankfully she wasn’t alone in the ouchy department. It was the
same way for the guys.

“
Yes, Alpha Mate.” The man
grumbled but relented. Aw, her males had already spread the word
about their connection. That had to be the reason she’d been
upgraded from simply “Marked” to “Alpha Mate” by the guard. How
sweet. Sweet-ish. She sorta wished they hadn’t jumped the gun, but
Alphas were Alphas.

As uncomfortable as the wolf appeared,
she didn’t bother trying to talk to him further. She simply felt
better that he wasn’t following her and making her feel like a
stalked chubby gazelle.

In less than a minute, they strode
into the restaurant side by side, the maître d’ quickly leading
them toward the back. Together, they wove their way through the
room, sliding around various tables, and she noticed most were
occupied by two men and a single woman.

Well, it looked like quite a few were
already performing the Test of Proximity. Although she had a
feeling the test was all for show. Much like the dinner she was
about to enjoy.

Before long, she stood before her two
wolves in the very back of the restaurant, and both men rose upon
her approach. It was Madden’s growl that broke the sweet
moment.

She needed to remember he was the more
aggressive of the two, and apparently he didn’t like other men
close to her.