Scarlet - Alpha Marked, Book I (5 page)

She suddenly remembered their guards,
but a quick glance revealed they still stood before the table,
backs to them, and blocking their view of the restaurant. Okay,
maybe guards came in handy. She’d have to thank the Ruling
Alphas.

But now, she thanked God for her
mates.

Thanked God because Madden’s fingers
traced her inner-thigh, his digits drawing nearer and nearer to her
heated pussy. She reached behind her, mimicked his movements and
gripped his upper leg.

When his palm cupped her cunt, she
grabbed his cock. When he traced her panty-clad slit, she stroked
his dick.

Their actions mirrored. Rubbing,
petting, pumping, and then the silk of her knickers
disappeared.

All the while she watched Keller.
Still, silent Keller.

“
Do you see, Keller?” She
panted and fought for breath.

Madden growled and groaned, yanking
the same sounds from her chest when he delved between her folds.
Blunt fingertips slid through her cream, rubbing her from hole to
clit and back again.

Then…oh, fuck…then he pushed into her,
shoving his fingers into her cunt and stretching her with his
invasion.

“
Mine.” The snarl was rough
against her neck. His digits withdrew and pushed back in, tearing a
choked cry from her throat. “Mine.”

Scarlet continued tormenting Madden’s
cock as he plunged his fingers in and out of her wet
hole.

“
Do you see him fucking
me?” The heel of the larger wolf’s hand pressed hard against her
clit, sending a shard of pleasure through her. “God, Keller, he’s
fucking me, gonna make me come.”

Madden shifted her, his right arm
coming around her body and he squeezed her breast. “Ride me mate,
come for me.” Scarlet rocked her hips in time with his thrusts,
fighting to do as her mate demanded. “She’s so wet and tight,
Keller. Gonna suck our dicks right in. Squeeze so hard.”

She arched into his touch, drawing on
the pleasure of his fingers and hands. He pinched her nipple and
thrust into her pussy, gripped her breast and stroked her G-spot.
It all joined and coalesced, building within her as it grew and
grew.

“
He’s fucking me, Keller.
Do you know how wet I am? I can’t wait for you both to fuck me,
claim me.” Madden slammed in and out of her heat with bruising
speed. “Is this how you’ll fuck me?”

She panted and moaned, fighting for
her release, gobbling up every morsel of pleasure Madden handed
over.

The wet sounds of the wolf’s thrust
and retreat surrounded them, her scorching musk adding to the air.
She knew the other wolves could hear and smell what they were
doing, but she only had eyes for her self-restrained
mate.

Scarlet was so close to coming, racing
toward the edge of release. The pleasure built, growing and
expanding to fill her from top to bottom. It crept into her toes,
taking over her muscles, and she arched. Control was no longer
hers, stolen by Madden’s ministrations until all she could do was
feel.

“
Need… Wanna…” She sobbed,
stared at Keller and saw when the moment of indecision
shattered.

Keller leaned forward and fisted her
hair. His fingers slid through the strands and jerked her head
toward him. He snarled, baring his fangs. She’d broken his hardened
shell. “Come.”

He pressed their mouths together,
shoving his tongue deep into her. They tangled, yet he dominated
their coming together. He forced her to his will and she eagerly
followed, reveling in her triumph.

The bliss that had been gathering
blew, bursting into a million sparkling fireworks. The bright
lights glowed behind her eyelids. She came with a blinding rush,
muscles spasming, tensing and tightening until her chest
stilled.

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think
beyond the two men bracketing her. She was surrounded, encased in
her mates. She trembled within Madden’s embrace, let Keller draw
her into him, and her orgasm kept racing through her
veins.

The infinite bliss racked her, tore
her apart from inside out, and she sobbed against her mate’s
mouth.

Distantly she heard growls and snarls,
the sounds breaking through her pleasure-induced haze. Suddenly her
men were gone. They’d built an impenetrable wall between her and
whoever had invaded their space, their bliss.

She hoped they ripped the intruders
into a billion pieces.

Unsteadily, she pushed to standing,
catching herself on the chair as she rose. On wobbly feet, she
peeked around the bodies. Garron and Quentin were being held back
by a guard, the row of strips on his sleeve indicating that he was
the Captain.

Her mates met the danger with rolling
growls, but the other two wolves didn’t appear
threatened.

No, Garron opened his mouth and yelled
into the tense space. “We call right of challenge! We challenge the
Ruling Alphas!”

Scarlet gasped. No. Not only were her
mates being challenged, but… Her mates were the Ruling Alphas? No.
No, no, no. She was not the right girl for the job. Ever. Never
ever, even.

But it was too late. A low exclamation
of “witnessed” came from the other side of the restaurant. The word
dashed her hopes that her mates, her Ruling Alphas, could get out
of the situation without a fight.

Keller sighed, and she knew what he’d
say before the word left his mouth. Part of her wanted to silence
him, slap her hand over his lips so he couldn’t say a word. But the
challenge had been witnessed, and it had to go on.

“
Accepted.”

“
Only you,” Gabby grumped.
“Only you would come to our first Gathering and, without realizing
it, snag the Ruling Alphas.”

“
You knew? Why didn’t you
tell me so I didn’t make an ass of myself?” Scarlet glared at her
sister.

“
Because it was fun.” Gabby
stuck out her tongue. “And, amazingly enough, if you’d listened to
me at any point before this moment, you would have known about
them, too. Funny how that works.” Gabby glared back at her, and
Scarlet realized that her sister was right. Damn it.
“Anyway.
Then,
you’d be the only one whose Alphas were challenged for
rank
and
mate.”
Gabs huffed. “Have they decided to let you keep the cat or is he
going to be a snack?”

She wanted to laugh. Almost. Burger
would shred them before becoming dinner. He was a fierce little
feline.

But her belly churned, nerves rolling
and rumbling in her stomach as she watched the clock tick toward
eight. Her mates had retreated to their rooms to prepare, requiring
solitude while they got ready for the fight to come. A fight to the
death.

She’d been sad to see them go, stride
off to seclusion, but had understood. Since their mating was
incomplete, the guys wouldn’t be able to focus on the coming fight
with her hanging around. They’d be too concerned with how they
could finagle her into bed. And, being the Ruling Alphas, strongest
of the wolves across the nation, their need to mate was more
pressing than most.

But suddenly, Gabby’s words
interrupted Scarlet’s thoughts.

Scarlet froze for a moment and focused
on her sister. “Wait. Challenge for mate? Can they do
that?”

Gabby rolled her eyes. “Duh. Have you
been listening?”

“
Don’t ‘duh’ me, woman,”
she snapped. Damn it, Scarlet should have paid better attention to
all those rules thrown at her during the flight.

Gabby rolled her eyes. Again. “If the
challengers are unmated, they can fight for simply rank, or rank
and mate if they feel the female belongs to them. Garron and
Quentin claim that you’re actually theirs, and you’re only after
Keller and Madden because of their position.”

Rage, pure, hot, molten rage overtook
Scarlet. “Those assholes.”

“
We could kill them. That
would be fun.” Whitney bounced over, faux smile in place, the
expression not quite meeting her eyes.

“
Bloodthirsty, much?”
Scarlet looked her sister over, noting the fatigue that lined her
face. She reached out and snagged her sister’s hand, tugging her
close. “What’s up with you, babe?”

Whitney leaned her head against her
shoulder and snuggled close. This was how it’d always been between
them. Scarlet was their leader, their protector. Gabby got to be
the loud mouthed, obnoxiously adorable brat, and the two of them
protected emotional Whitney.

“
I went back to the
registration table to talk to them about my lack of Mark, and they
told me to come back in the morning. The Wardens should arrive
tomorrow and they’re who I need to talk to about this stuff. So,
for now, I’m stuck in butt sniffing limbo.”

Scarlet squeezed her waist in a small
hug. “Well, I’ve got an ‘in’ with the Ruling Alphas so the Warden
guys won’t have a choice about helping you. We’ll figure it out.
And, hey, at least the sniffers are hot, right? I mean, if they’re
gonna get up close and personal, we should be happy they’re
attractive.”

A low growl warned her that her mates
had come upon them, but it was Keller who spoke. “Who’s
attractive?”

The growl deepened.

Sighing, she turned around to face
Madden and Keller. Without hesitation, she snapped her fingers in
Madden’s direction, frown firmly in place. “Enough. You know I’m
yours. I know I’m yours. The three of us are a big ball of
yours.”

Keller’s laugh followed her words, and
happiness danced in his eyes. The man didn’t laugh nearly enough.
It sounded hoarse and rarely used.

Whitney’s giggle joined Keller, and
Gabby’s snicker followed them. Poor Madden frowned, deep furrows
between his eyes, and she strode toward him. Before he protested or
pulled away, she wiped away the lines.

“
Calm down. You need to
save your grump for Garron and Quentin.” That got her a snarl, and
she rolled her eyes. Without having to look, she reached out and
tugged Keller close so she could wrap an arm around his
waist.

“
I expect you to both kick
ass.” She shoved the idea that they’d fail aside, blinked away the
threatening tears, and tipped her head back. She flashed him a
forced, cheerful grin. “And fast, please. I’d rather not to have to
wait for you two to heal before we get down and dirty.”

Keller’s expression turned wicked, and
the rough texture of Madden’s five o’clock shadow scraped against
her neck. A shiver of arousal snaked through her, and her mates
breathed deep. She had no doubt they could scent the musk of her
juices.

Ah, the joy of being mated to
wolves.

The man she now recognized as the
Captain of the Ruling Alphas’ guard cleared his throat and stepped
into her line of sight. “Alphas, it’s time.”

Scarlet’s heart stuttered. The next
few minutes would determine their fate. She had faith in her men;
they hadn’t achieved their position through a democracy. They’d
fought tooth and claw to rise above the rest. But that didn’t mean
they couldn’t be injured.

She grabbed Madden’s hand
and squeezed, snaring his attention. “I know you want to gut them.
I know.” His growl confirmed her statement. “But you need to fight
smart, not strong. They’re bullies. Neither of them have any
control. If they did, they wouldn’t have approached us like they
did. You get them angry and let them make a mistake. Just don’t let
them do that to
you,
you hear me?” She squeezed again. “I need you back, safe and
whole, Madden.”

The large wolf took a deep breath and
a look of calm swept across him as he exhaled. “Yes,
mate.”

She turned to Keller, her less
outwardly aggressive mate. “I know you don’t want to kill them, but
this is to the death, Keller. They won’t settle for anything less,
and you need to go into this knowing that four walk in and only two
walk out. They want your position. They want me.”

He snarled, baring his elongated
teeth. “Never.”

Scarlet jerked her head in a quick
nod. “Good. I’d kiss you, but I need you hungry for them, not
me.”

That got her the reaction she’d
expected, both men chuckling as they turned to follow the Captain
toward the center of the ballroom. The packs had to be paying a
pretty penny to allow the desecration of carpet, but Scarlet wasn’t
about to ask questions. Hell, for all she knew, the hotel was pack
owned.

“
Alphas.” The Captain bowed
and brushed past them, on toward the center of the circle the
watchers had formed. A wide space was left empty, bodies lining the
area.

“
We’ve gathered to witness
a challenge between the Ruling Alphas and the Colson Alphas.” A
murmur went through the crowd. “Alphas, step forward.”

Madden turned her toward him, hands
gripping her shoulders, and he kissed her. He plunged his tongue
into her mouth, sweeping into her in a grand stroke and she
submitted to his assault. As quickly as it began, it ended, her
mate placing her apart from him.

“
Win for me.” She was
panting, breathless.