The Alpha's Quest Collection (3 page)

Hawk stopped and sniffed the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he immediately crouched low to the ground.

He had made it past the sacred clearing and he was pretty deep into the forest on his way to Beorn's house. But a curious smell had caught his attention and set alarms off in his head.

Another wolf,
he thought. He wasn't alone; there was another wolf close by. He didn't recognize the scent at all. Were there wild wolves in this forest still? The five packs had moved out of the forest a long time ago, but that didn't mean all wolves had left. His grandmother had told him about another pack that chose to remain behind, but they lived even deeper in the forest, far from any civilization.

The evil still hung thick in the air, dulling his senses, but he was sure he smelled another wolf. Unless his senses were playing a trick on him. Could the evil do that? Could it create smells where there were none?

Just as he stopped to contemplate that he got a big whiff. There
was
another wolf, and it was very close to him.

Hawk quickly ran up the base of a large tree, disappearing into the leaves just as another wolf walked underneath him. He looked down at him, studying the stranger.

The other wolf had shifted, revealing a large gray male who walked with his nose to the ground.

A sentry,
Hawk thought.
He's patrolling the area.

Hawk studied the other wolf carefully, trying to find out if he recognized his scent or markings from somewhere.

He didn't look like a wild wolf; his coat was too thick and shiny. No, this wolf was definitely domesticated. He was one of the traitors.

You son of a bitch,
Hawk thought, feeling anger well up inside of him.

He loved Bucklin, more than life itself. It was why he saw himself as Bucklin's greatest protector. Sure, Rowan and the Dawnguard were the muscle and brawn that would face down a physical threat, but Hawk was the watcher. Nothing got by him or his pack, except this. Without the Skyvale pack, the Dawnguard would be blind to most threats.

The other wolf let out a low growl, sniffing the air. He smelled Hawk; he knew there was someone there. But he would never find Hawk. The alpha was silent, deadly. The wolf could sniff all he wanted, but Hawk blended into the shadows. Nobody would see him unless he wanted to be seen. He hadn't even left a scent as he climbed the tree. They couldn't track him.

His attention snapped away from the angry sentry as another wolf appeared in the picture: another large gray male.

The new wolf quickly shifted into human form, forcing the original to do the same.

"Is there someone here?" the newcomer asked. He was short and squat, looking like someone had begun to carve a man out of a boulder and stopped halfway through. He had all the muscle a wolf usually did, but he was thicker than most. His round face wore a sour expression that accented his beady eyes and perfectly round nose.

"I smell another wolf," the other said. He was a bit taller than the first, but still not as tall as Hawk or Rowan. He was leaner and more muscular, with wild blonde hair and a long face.

Neither of them was dirty and muddy like a wild wolf would be. They were definitely city wolves—traitors.

"I smell him, too," the squat one said. "The scent disappears, though."

"What the hell?" the lean one said. "How the hell could he just vanish like that?"

The squat one thought about it for a second before realization dawned on his face. "It's a fucking Skyvale!"

Hawk swallowed. They were already onto his pack. That was part of the problem with being the prominent pack that watched over Bucklin; the other alphas knew a bit about his tricks.

"How do you know?" the lean one asked.

"The boss told me they have all kinds of tricks," the squat one said. "They disappear into the shadows and can hide their scent."

"Why is one of them this far into the forest?"

"Don't you know? That human-loving freak Rowan talked to the old bear and he complained about wolves in his territory. It didn't take much for that one to put two and two together."

"Son of a bitch! I told the boss we should have killed the old bear!"

"I agree. We gotta tell the boss and then we gotta deal with that bear."

"Well, let's go," the lean one said, walking towards the squat one.

"Stop, you idiot!"

"What?" the lean one asked, looking confused.

"Whoever was here is probably still watching us. Do you want to lead him right to the boss?"

"No. The boss would kill me."

"Exactly," the squat one said. "You go one way and I'll go the other. We'll lead him on a wild goose chase through this forest."

"Gotcha," the lean one said, turning and shifting as he ran through the forest. The squat one did the same in the opposite direction.

Hawk leaned back against the tree as he thought about going after them.

No,
he finally decided.
I can't confront their pack alone. I need to keep going to Beorn's. I need to warn him that they're coming.

He could tell by their tone that they were after the old bear. It would be tough for them to kill him, but eventually they would overcome him with numbers. Beorn had gotten more and more cranky as he got older, but according to Rowan he was a good friend. Hawk knew he had to protect him; it would be expected by the alpha council.

He waited an appropriate amount of time, until he was sure the other two were gone, before slipping out of the tree. He half expected them to both crash out of the forest and attack him as soon as he hit the ground, but the two idiots had disappeared to find their alpha.

Who is their alpha?
Hawk wondered. He had never seen those two before in his life. He thought he knew every wolf in Bucklin, save for a few who lived on the outskirts of town.

Outskirts of town,
he thought, turning it over in his head. Suddenly it dawned on him, and his jaw dropped and his eyes nearly exploded out of his head.

"The Oakdale pack!" he said out loud. "Son of a bitch, they were from the Oakdale pack."

Surely Forrest hadn't betrayed them. They had to be serving some other master, didn't they? Hawk took a deep breath and sighed. This wasn't how he had expected this to go. He had hoped it was a rogue sect of another pack. They did keep referring to the boss, not the alpha. Maybe Forrest wasn't a part of this. He could only hope at this point.

"I'm glad I drive a truck," Rowan said, shaking his head and laughing.

"What?" Eva asked, looking up from her meal. "I didn't bring that much stuff."

"Sure you didn't," Rowan said, rubbing his lower back. "I don't just throw my back out pulling boxes for nothing."

Eva rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, yeah, sure. You're built like a skyscraper. I doubt you had any trouble moving those boxes."

Rowan just laughed again and looked out the window. After moving Eva they had stopped at a roadside diner to have some lunch before heading back to Bucklin. It was a diner just on the outskirts of Cedarville, not far from Cowboy's Landing, where he had originally met Eva. As he looked out the window he noticed the forest just across the highway. This was the tail end of the sprawling Cedarpoint Forest that stretched from Cedarville all the way to Bucklin and beyond.

"Do you think Hawk has found her yet?" Eva asked.

Rowan found it strangely comforting how easily she could read him and predict what he was thinking. He'd never be able to keep a secret from her the rest of his life; she was too in tune with his emotions.

"I'm not sure," he said. "He probably hasn't even made it to Beorn's yet."

"I thought you said he left yesterday before the funeral."

"He moved to the area to prepare himself," he answered as he took another sip of his coffee. "I don't think he actually entered the forest until today."

"What do you mean, to prepare?" she asked, one eyebrow rising slowly.

"He brought most of his pack, including his beta, with him. They discussed the plan if he doesn't come back and he gave them specific instructions while he's gone."

"That takes a whole day?"

"It can take a while. They probably had some pack ritual to do too so he could pass control to the beta while he was gone. Fact is, he's probably still wandering through the forest."

"Do you think it'll get him?" she asked, pushing her plate of leftover French fries away. It looked like Eva had lost all her appetite.

"Will what get him?"

"You know," she said, crossing her arms and retreating back into the booth like she was trying to hide from something. "Whatever that was we felt."

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. Rowan hadn't felt the evil as strongly as Eva had; it obviously still disturbed her to think about it. "Hawk is strong, very strong, and he has a good head on his shoulders. I think he can handle himself out there."

"That wasn't normal, Rowan," she said, her eyes growing wild, like she was afraid something would come crashing into the diner at any moment. "I could feel it tugging at my heart, trying to force me to do things I didn't want to. It just wasn't right."

"I know," he said, giving her a worried look. "Are you going to be okay?"

Eva shook her head like she was trying to shake off something and smiled. "I think I'll be fine. Just promise me something."

"Anything," he said, reaching across the table. He grabbed both of Eva's in his monstrous paws and looked at her sincerely.

"Don't ever make me go back," she said. "Please."

"You don't have to. We have no reason to go into the forest anymore."

"There's something else," she said, breaking eye contact with Rowan.

"What?" he asked, leaning forward so he was closer to Eva. "You can tell me anything, honey."

"Don't make me go around your sister," she said, still unable to look at him.

Rowan recoiled just a bit. Why would she ask that? He was hoping that Leena had retained some semblance of love for him and he was excited to introduce his mate to her.

"Why?" he asked.

"It's coming from her, Rowan," she said, looking back with tears welling in her eyes. "Whatever is doing that to the forest is coming from her."

"How can you tell that?"

"I heard it while we were in the forest. Whispering and laughing in the distance. It was a female's voice."

"That doesn't mean it was her."

"I had a dream about it last night. I relived us leaving the forest repeatedly, and each time the words became clearer and clearer."

"That's just a dream, though," he protested.

The look Eva shot him was serious enough to stop Rowan dead. It was no normal dream; she really was reliving that day. "Go on."

"Each time I dreamt I could hear a little more, until my final dream," she said. "Rowan, the voice said your name and laughed. It said Abaddon's name and laughed. It said Aster's name and laughed."

"So?" he asked. "If it was Leena, then she was just recounting the men in her life."

"That's not all," she said, looking down at the table. "After all of that, the voice said my name. Rowan, it knows about me. It said my name and then it growled, it honest to God growled."

Rowan leaned back in his seat, turning that thought over in head repeatedly. "She won't come around you, baby. I won't let anything happen to you, even if it is my sister."

"Thank you," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd still be living in that cramped apartment," he said, smiling. "Now you get to move half your crap to my place."

"The place could use a little modernization!" Eva said, giggling.

He could tell what she had just told him was still weighing heavily on her mind, but she appeared to be trying to move on and think about something else. Rowan had to help her take her mind off of these problems. He had to do something for her.

"Do you want to take a walk?" he asked.

"Shouldn't we be getting back to Bucklin?"

"It'll be just a minute," he said, throwing money down on the table and grabbing her by the hand. "I want to show you something."

"You said I didn't have to go into the forest," she said, looking across the street with a worried expression on her face.

"We're not going there." He shook his head. "There's something behind the diner I want to show you. I used to come here a lot in my younger days."

"Okay," she said, jumping out of her seat. "Let's go."

Rowan led Eva out the door by the hand, taking her around behind the diner. The diner was set in front of some trees and then a steep drop off leading down to a small pond below. Rowan held Eva's hand tightly as they navigated the steps that were cut into the side of the hill, leading to the water below.

"I didn't even know this place existed," Eva said, yelping as she almost slipped. Luckily Rowan easily caught her and set her upright, continuing their trek.

"Not many people do," he told her. "The owner comes down here to fish a lot, but he doesn't want anyone else to know about his secret spot."

"Then how do you know about it?"

"I've hunted here before," he said, laughing.

"You hunt?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I used to when I was younger," he replied. "Quite frequently, actually. When you're a young wolf living in the city, you naturally want to rebel. Most of the older wolves in Bucklin are very into living the human life. Obviously the council still puts on a show with their furs for outsiders who are let into the circle and the Oakdale pack hunt a lot, but the majority of wolves just want to go to work and then go to the grocery store with the occasional full moon run sprinkled in. Our youth are just like any other youth, they want to be different. Aster and Leena and I would shift a lot and go hunting. Sometimes we'd end up here, trying to catch fish out of the water."

"Did you eat the meat raw when you caught it?" she asked, her upper lip curling in disgust.

Rowan laughed before looking back at her. "Yes, but only when I was shifted."

"Gross," she said, shaking her head.

"I
am
part wolf." 

"I know," she shot back, patting him on the arm. "I'm not complaining. I think it's sexy."

"Good," he said, stopping at the water's edge. Rowan looked back up the steps. He couldn't see the top of the hill or the diner through the trees—they were completely hidden from sight.

"This is a cozy place," she said, looking back up the way they came. "Very private."

"It is." He pulled her to a tree. "Look at this."

He watched Eva's face as she read the carving on the large oak tree.

"A and L forever," she said quietly. She turned to him, her eyes growing wide. "Aster and Leena."

"Yes," he said, looking down.

"This was supposed to cheer me up? This is sad!"

"I know. It was from a time when they were both much happier."

"You mean when you were all much happier."

"No," he said, shaking his head and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his pocket knife and smiled at Eva. "Even though everything is crumbling around me, I don't feel unhappy at all. You know why?"

"I think so," she said, smiling.

"I'm happy because I have you," he told her. "I've never been happier. I care about my pack and I care about my family, but I know as long as I have you everything will be okay."

"Really?" she asked, a smile wider than two football fields appearing on her face.

"Of course," he said. "I love you, Eva."

"I love you too, Rowan," she replied, diving into his arms and burying her face in his chest. Rowan held her close with one hand and used the other to carve out "R and E forever" before carving a large heart around it.

"We'll always be happy," he promised, kissing her on the forehead. Her skin was so soft and creamy, it felt perfect against his lips every time they touched it. Her skin was always just the right temperature and it always had just the right taste. "Happier than they ever were. Nobody will take you from me, nobody."

"Good," she said, looking up at him. "I've never been happier either."

As Rowan smiled at Eva he realized there was something else at hand. Her greedy hands were working the buckle on his belt, ripping it open with no regard for the old leather that comprised the belt. Her hands were on a mission, and his choice of clothing wasn’t going to stop her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nobody can see us. I'm showing you how much I love you."

"No, you're not," he said defiantly, gently pushing her hands away.

"Why not?" she asked, pouting at him.

"Because I'm going to show you," he said, a sinister smile playing out across his face.

Rowan didn't give her a chance to react; instead, he spun Eva around, pushing her up against the smooth bark of the tree. She pushed against him with her perfect ass, trying to create distance, but he took a hard grip on the tree, forcing her to stay in place.

“It’s hard to breathe,” she sputtered out, smashed between him and the tree.

“Just breathe with me,” he whispered into her ear, smiling as he felt her entire body shudder in response. He pulled her away from the tree a bit, one large hand shooting up in front of Eva to grip her under the chin. His other hand easily worked the button on her pants, pulling them down as he undid them.

With the hand that held her face he turned it to the side, his lips coming down to meet the soft skin of her neck. She moaned as his lips began hungrily devouring her neck, the moment being lost in a bombardment of kisses and nibbles.

She tasted and smelled like the Japanese Cherry Blossom body spray she used. It had gotten to the point that Rowan’s manhood reached full attention when he smelled the scent, even without Eva present. As he drank in his favorite scent he felt the rhythm of her breathing as her back pressed hard against his chest.

His heart was nearly beating out of his chest, his blood pressure rising as he became more and more excited. For a second he wondered if Eva could feel his heart, beating like a bass drum at a rock concert. Did she know the effect she had on his body? Did she know how quickly she made his blood race?

If she didn’t feel his powerful heart, the heart that belonged completely to her, then she felt the other thing that belonged completely to her—the long, hard shaft that was currently grinding against the smooth curve of her bare ass.

Eva moaned in delight each time he pressed it against her, driving him even more wild. She had begun to slowly rotate her hips, each revolution pressing her perfect rear against his throbbing member.

The hand that had pulled her pants down began to explore the moist folds of her sacred spot. His fingers began to explore her swollen folds, trying to find their way into the tightest of spots. Finally his middle finger broke through, plunging into Eva’s pleasure. She reached back, gripping him as his finger began to work back and forth inside of her while the pad of his thumb continually brushed against her swollen nub. He could feel her body shuddering, spasming as he went to work.

Each shudder, each deep breath brought him closer to the edge. His wolf was growling inside of him, demanding to enter his mate and stake his claim. He had spilled his seed into her enough that no wolf would ever mistake her for anyone else’s. For his wolf it was primal; he needed to mark his territory and let the world know who she belonged to. For Rowan it was more than that, it was about pleasuring the woman who gripped his heart so tightly that she knew how much that heart belonged to her.