Rocked by her Alpha Read online

  Aaron looked from one to the other in confusion. “Okay, what am I missing?”

  Barrett’s lips curled back in a smile that had nothing to do with humor. “Nothing much, other than the fact I know exactly where to find your ‘mate.’ But first, you and I are going to have a little chat.”

  “Oh yeah?” Goaded by the challenging note in Barrett’s voice, Aaron rose to his feet. So what if the guy could take on an army with nothing more than a paperclip and some duct tape. If he thought Aaron was taking insults against his mate lying down, he had another think coming. “And why would we do that?”

  “Because Melody is my sister.”

  Oh. Fuck.

  All Aaron’s aggression drained out of him in one fell swoop, his stomach dropping through the floor, probably to the basement.

  Sav cursed and then laughed. “I was joking. Really I was.”

  “I’m not,” Barrett growled, his forbidding expression not budging from Aaron’s face. “So, you want to tell me about you and my sister. My baby sister.”

  Sav whistled. “Oh man, you are so dead.”

  Aaron shot him a glance, snarling. “Really not helping, Sav!”

  Before he could say another word, Bonnie had rounded everyone up, hustling them out the room until just Aaron and Barrett were left. The door closed, the click resounding through the sudden silence like a death knell.

  Possibly his.

  “Look, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea she was your sister. The date was arranged by some agency.”

  Barrett didn’t move, but only an idiot would have thought he wasn’t ready to. Tension radiated outward from his tall, heavily muscled frame, the potential for violence filling the air. Aaron’s wolf sensed it, rising up to just beneath the skin and trying to hijack his throat so it could growl a warning.

  Finally, Barrett nodded. “There’s no way you could have known. I don’t talk about family much.

  “But—” he added quickly before relief could wash through Aaron’s veins. “If I find out you have anything to apologize for, I’ll break every bone in your fucking body. Then I’ll do it again after your wolf has healed them, just for kicks and giggles. You reading me?”

  “Loud and clear.” Aaron nodded, message received and understood. The fact the guy was so protective of his little sister was something his wolf highly approved of, even if Barrett was threatening them.

  “Now… please, she’s my mate… where is she? I need to find her.” A sense of urgency filled him. “You know as well as I do those pictures were set up, but she won’t. I need to find her before she sees them.”

  Barrett nodded, checking his watch. “Better get that private jet of yours fired up then. If we leave now, we should be there by morning.”

  The next morning Tash fussed over Melody so much she felt like checking the girl’s ass to make sure she hadn’t grown some tail feathers. She was acting enough of a damn mother hen, that was for sure. The fussing showed she cared, though. Mel blinked back sudden tears. At the moment, that was enough to set her off.

  “Okay, let’s get you settled.” Tash’s voice was bright and chipper as she dragged a stool over from the other side of the tent to Mel’s table. At Mel’s look toward the tent flap, she clucked her tongue against her teeth. “Uh-uh, you heard what the doc said… light duties for the next few days.”

  Mel smiled, swallowing past the lump in her throat, and sat down as ordered, pulling a samples tray over toward her. Light duties it was. She didn’t have the strength to argue, not when it felt like her heart had been ripped clean out of her chest, leaving a ragged hole through her soul.

  Aaron…

  She didn’t get past his name before she shut the thought down. The asshole had cheated on her within hours of leaving the hotel, while she was in the hospital… She snorted with bitter amusement. Obviously his “sister” had turned up quicker than expected.

  But, could it be considered cheating when they’d only spent one night together? A horrible thought struck her. Perhaps whoever the blonde woman was, she was the one in the relationship with Aaron, and Mel was the bit on the side… the one-night stand… the grubby little secret to be hidden.

  Shit. She leaned against the table, the thought humbling. Like most people, she often fell into the trap of thinking the world revolved around her.

  Putting all thoughts of the weekend out of her mind, she tried to focus on the trays in front of her. They were filled with shit, garwulf shit, but it was still shit. Her lips quirked in bitter amusement. Didn’t that just describe her life… shit. Complete and utter shit.

  “I’m just going to head out and check the water level in trench three,” Tash said, grabbing a raincoat off the hooks by the “door” and sliding her arms into it. The jackets were communal, all the largest size so anyone could wear them, and buried the tiny woman. She pushed the sleeves up in a matter of fact motion and fastened the tabs around the wrists. “The pumps should have cleared most of the rainwater from the weekend by now, so hopefully it’ll only take a couple of days to dry out and we can get back in there.”

  “Sure thing, hun,” Mel commented, picking up her tool roll from the side of the tray and unrolling it. She might as well make a start…

  A pregnant pause made her look up to find Tash still hovering in the doorway, a look of concern on her face. Mel smiled.

  “I’ll be fine, promise!” Lifting her hand, she made shooing motions toward the door. “Go check those levels and then come help me check all this shit.”

  “I wish I didn’t know that isn’t a figure of speech,” Tash snorted and turned for the door, disappearing out of it with a wiggle of her fingers.

  Finally alone, Mel sighed and turned her concentration to the tray in front of her. Within minutes, she’d lost herself in the monotony of her work as she separated the fossilized stools from the dirt that encased them. It was mechanical and boring but also therapeutic and lulled her into sort of a trance.

  She paid little attention when the tent flap opened again, assuming it was Tash back from her check on trench three or maybe one of the other dig assistants… or even Lord Claremont come to check on progress.

  At least once a day they heard his ancient van as it coughed and spluttered up the road, which always amused her. For all the money the guy had, enough to buy a top of the line, brand-new vehicle, he tooled about in something she was sure he’d inherited from his grandfather.

  “Bitch.”

  The venomous hiss brought her head up sharply as she realized the new arrival wasn’t anyone from the dig.

  Instead, her gaze latched on to the woman standing just inside the flap of the tent. A slender blonde, any hint of beauty she might have had destroyed by the look of hatred twisting her features.

  “Can I help you?” Mel rose slowly to her feet, in the careful movements people used around dangerous animals or the mentally unhinged. “This is a closed site, I’m afraid. You shouldn’t be in here.”

  The woman didn’t appear to hear her, swaying slightly on her feet as she watched Melody, unblinking as a snake. “Fucking bitch. You stay away from him.”

  “From whom?” Confusion colored Mel’s voice. They were the only two people in the tent. Although she’d never met the woman before in her life, a sense of familiarity pulled at her. She knew her… but from where?

  “Don’t you play innocent with me, you fucking whore!” the blonde spat, advancing on Melody. “You know exactly who I mean.”

  “Seriously, I have no clue who you’re on about. I think you must have me mistaken for someone else.” Abandoning her stool, Mel slid around the table, keeping it between them. Only then did she realize she’d left her cell phone by the sample tray on the other side of the table.

  Shit. She flicked a glance at it and then at the tent flap. Would Tash hear her if she called out for help? Trench three was right the way over the other side of the site, and if the wind was in the wrong direction…

  “No… I don’t,” the woman cut her off as
Mel made a lunge for her phone, knocking it off the table and stomping heavily on it. Mel flinched as the screen shattered. “I know exactly who you are and I’m here to tell you that he’s mine. Aaron is all mine.”

  Mel paused and then laughed. “This is about Aaron Rixx? Oh, believe me, you can keep him!”

  She looked closer at the woman, realizing now where she’d seen her before. The pictures Tash had shown her on the Internet. This was the woman Aaron had been all wrapped around.

  “Oh, I intend to.” The blonde’s lips twisted in a nasty little smile as she pulled something out from inside her jacket. “In fact, I’m going to make sure he never looks at you again… that no man ever looks at you again.”

  Every cell in Mel’s body froze as her gaze latched on to the bottle. She couldn’t see the label properly, but she could read enough. It was acid. Sulfuric for a guess, since she could see the first three letters of the name and a warning label. Now she knew how this woman meant to make good on her threat.

  “Listen,” she said, backing up to get out of range. “Aaron and I? We’re done. It was over before it really began… you don’t need to do this.”

  Mel’s heart stuttered in her chest as she realized she had nowhere to go. Whichever way she went around the table, the acid would reach her, and she was in the one corner of the tent without a flap. Shit.

  “Oh, but I do!” The blonde’s eyes were glazed over, and unfocused. “Because whatever, you’ll always still be out there. He could find you at any moment. No, you have to go. You have to die.”

  The words didn’t penetrate Mel’s consciousness as the other woman swung her arm and the fluid in the bottle arched through the air. Mesmerized, she couldn’t look away, waiting for it to hit her… waiting for the pain as it burned through her skin…

  A snarl filled the tent as a large, furred shape barreled through the tent flap, knocking her aside. She screamed, unable to stop herself, as she crashed into a pile of equipment boxes, landing heavily and scattering them everywhere. But she didn’t have time to look where they all landed, or what had fallen out of them. As she scrambled to her feet, her eyes locked on the drama unfolding in the middle of the tent.

  The table had been knocked out of the way as a huge grey wolf advanced on the woman, its lips curled back into a vicious snarl. The acid had hit the side of its head and neck, the fur gone and the skin underneath burned. She winced, feeling for the creature, but it didn’t seem bothered as it stalked the woman even while she shrieked and back-pedaled…

  …Right into the steely hold of the big man who appeared in the doorway.

  “Barrett!” Mel cried out, her knees almost giving way as she recognized her brother. Relief flooded her. Barrett was here. Everything would be okay.

  “Hey, brat.” His lips quirked in a quick smile as the woman in his hold struggled like a wildcat, twisting and turning as she tried to keep her eyes on the wolf in the middle of the tent.

  Oh shit. The wolf.

  Swallowing her gasp, Mel’s gaze re-fixed on the big animal, who no longer showed any interest in the woman as Barrett hauled her away. Instead, it watched Melody with a level gaze. When it was sure she was watching, it… no, he. She didn’t know how, but she knew it was a he… dropped its back end and sat neatly.

  Chapter 9

  “Hey.”

  Okay, she was going nuts, speaking to a damn wolf. She frowned as her analytical mind kicked in. There were no wolf packs in this area… and she’d seen enough skeletal remains to know this one was bigger than a natural wolf. Way bigger.

  “Now, either you’re a garwulf or a werewolf, so which is it?” she asked, keeping her voice light and level even as fear rolled through her. Either option was just as dangerous, but at least she could reason more with a werewolf. He might listen to everything she had to say and still tear her throat out, but at least she had a chance.

  Besides—she flicked a glance at the tent flap her brother had disappeared out of—Barrett wouldn’t have left her alone with a dangerous werewolf. No way. No how.

  “Okay.” She stuck her hands on her hips as irritation rose. “Either stop hiding in that damn fur or get lost, sunshine. I’ve had a shitty weekend, a shitty night’s sleep, and an even shittier day so I am in no mood for fucking games.”

  The wolf dropped his head, looking penitent as he glanced up at her. The slight movement showed the lack of fur on one side and she gasped, her annoyance forgotten.

  “Shit, you were hurt.” In an instant she was by the creature’s side, first-aid kit snatched from the rack under the table. Grabbing gloves from the kit, she looked at the burns. Her breath hissed between her teeth at the sight. He must be in agony. “We need to get you under some water. There’s a hose outside. Come on.”

  He didn’t move, instead looking at her for a long moment. Finally, he dropped his head and sneezed. As he did, he changed. Bones popped and cracked as his shoulders broadened, changing shape under the fur. His front legs shortened, becoming thicker as they receded, while his back legs lengthened and changed shape. Fur sloughed away to reveal tanned skin and within a few seconds the wolf was gone and a tall, naked, very naked, man was crouched in its place.

  Aaron.

  Melody sucked a breath in, recognizing him before he lifted his head to look at her. The burns down the side of his face were still there but were fading in front of her eyes. He didn’t pay them any mind as he stood, seeming totally at ease with his nakedness.

  “Melody…” He took a half step forward as though to sweep her into his arms but stopped at the last minute, wariness and longing written into his eyes. “Oh fuck, I don’t know where to start.”

  She didn’t move, didn’t even blink as she looked up at him. She’d thought she would die, yet there he’d been, throwing himself in front of the acid.

  She’d wanted to hate him when she’d seen those pictures, really wanted to hate him when his bimbo had threatened to kill her… but… he’d saved her. And risked his own life doing so.

  “How about you start at the beginning?” she whispered, not moving away. She didn’t want to put distance between them, a small kernel of hope blossoming in the center of her chest.

  She saw the same hope flare in his eyes at her words and then he spoke.

  “Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t have done it but my sister, Tempest, she’s… been struggling with who we are, with being a wolf, for a while,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair and pulling it away from his face. Tension drew his features taut, and all Mel wanted to do was hold him tight. She steeled herself, though, to listen to the rest of his explanation. If she wasn’t happy, she would kick him out. No second chances.

  “When I arrived, though, she was back. Turns out she’d been trying to contact one of the local wolf packs.” He paused and shook his head. “Story for another time…

  “Anyway, new hotel, seems the security was shite… Lola,” he nodded toward the tent flap, “was waiting in my room, practically naked. We’ve had problems with her before. She’s wolf-struck… the worst case I’ve ever seen. Barrett and his security guys got her under control but it was a setup. A photographer got a shot through the curtains, which had been left open just enough.”

  He sighed, watching her expression. “It sounds farfetched, but I swear it’s the truth. You can ask your brother and our manager, Bonnie, if you like. She’s investigating the hotel as being part of the setup, thinking about bringing charges against them for putting a guest in danger.”

  Taking her hand, he studied her smaller fingers entwined in his. “Please, kitten, you have to believe me. I wouldn’t have left you and I would never cheat on you.”

  “Never?” she snorted in amusement. “That’s something every guy says. ‘I’ll never cheat’ or ‘I’ll never do it again.’”

  Tears filled her eyes as the adrenaline from the attack drained from her body and all her aches from the accident returned with a vengeance. Annoyed, she dashed at her eye
s with her free hand.

  “It wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t in the bloody hospital when those pictures came out.” She’d barely gotten the words out of her mouth before his eyes flared amber and he growled.

  “You were in the hospital. When? Why?” he demanded, pulling her closer and running his hands down her arms and back as if he was checking her on the spot for injuries.

  “Hey, hey… enough!” she protested, batting his hands away. “I’m okay. Just bumps and bruises. Docs said I was lucky I wasn’t hurt worse when Betty rolled.”

  “What…who rolled?” Now he had his hands on her, it didn’t look like he was giving up the privilege, instead settling her against his tall, muscled body. He watched her intently, his wolf still an amber edge in his blue eyes. The concern there nearly broke her determination to not give in easily.

  “Betty. My car. Another car hit us just outside the hotel I was staying at, completely wrote her off.”

  “What! You were in an accident?!” Instantly she found herself scooped up into strong arms. “We need to get you to a doctor. You could be hurt. Internal bleeding, something like that.”

  “No! Aaron, I’m fine. You can put me down. Please? Honestly, the hospital wouldn’t have discharged me if there was any cause for concern.”

  He paused, his expression not convinced, but he let go of her legs and let her slide slowly down his body. The feel of him against her again sent a lazy shiver of heat through her veins, a reaction she tried to shut down. It wasn’t the time or the place, even if he was as naked as the day he was born.

  “Okay. If you’re sure.”

  “I am.” Her words dried up as she looked up at him. The burns were gone, his skin unmarked. She reached up to touch the skin gently. “Why did you do that? Knock me out of the way, I mean? You could have been really hurt.”

  He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I did it because I love you.”

  She blinked at the bold declaration. “I’m sorry. What did you just say? You…”