The Alpha's Mate (8 Sexy, Powerful Shifters and Their Fated Mates) Page 15

  "South of the city will be better for us," Jordan said decisively, pointing out the map topography. "The way the mountains are lined up, the wind blows south over the entire urban area. We wouldn't have to worry about any wolf passing through the city and smelling us."

  "Who passes through this city?" Kyle asked, shrugging. "College kids? Any member of a pack wouldn't be leaving their territory to go to school somewhere else. It makes no sense."

  "Anybody might pass through!" Jordan said, adjusting his eyeglasses on his nose. "Just driving through. What if someone drove through the city?"

  "We're in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere," Kyle said. "Who's going to smell us? Pardon my language, Katherine," he said, blushing as he nodded apologetically in her direction. She scowled.

  "At least we can afford any of the places around here," Jordan said. "We've got enough money to buy half the town if we wanted to. Turns out Bumfuck, Nowhere is a cheap place to live."

  "Are there any good places south of the city?" Damien asked. At his question, both Katherine and Kyle perked up to attention.

  "I found a couple," Kyle said. "And Jordan scouted around the edges to see which ones we can get to from the state park's land."

  "There are a few," Jordan said, scratching at his beard. "Most of them are pretty ramshackle, though. It's the poor part of the area, the houses are old."

  "We're going to tear down the house anyway, right? Build separate cabins?" Katherine said. She hugged close to Damien's side.

  "I'd like a study of my own," Jordan said. "For research."

  "And you'll need a house for your family," Kyle blurted out. He licked his lips and bent his head, avoiding Katherine's gaze. Damien paused for a second, gathering the information he could from the subtle sounds of his pack, and then picked the strands of the conversation back together.

  "Go tomorrow and check out the interesting places together," Damien said to the two men.

  "In human form?" Kyle asked.

  Jordan's voice was soaked in sarcasm. "Yes, in human form. Unless you think it's a good idea to go traipsing into an open house as a wolf?"

  "I meant to get there," Kyle said. "I want to run. My leg is hurting." He tapped his withered foot on the floor..

  "Everybody wants to stretch their legs, Kyle," Katherine said. "You think I wanted to scout in the city all day?"

  "It's just that it's been three days nonstop on the road," Kyle said.

  "Three whole days?" Jordan sniffed condescendingly. "Ah, to be young again and have nothing to complain about."

  "You got to run all day today around the outskirts of the city!" Kyle said. "How is that fair?"

  "I don't suppose respect for your elders was something they taught you in your last pack," Jordan hissed.

  "Enough," Damien said quietly, but the instant he said it silence descended on the table. "Katherine and I will scout around the edges of the state park tomorrow while Jordan and Kyle visit the potential houses. Kyle, you can run with us as far as the highway, and Jordan will pick you up at the rest stop we stayed at last night before you go house hunting. That's what, a mile? Mile and a half?"

  "That would be perfect," Kyle said, the brightness back in his attitude. Argumentative as he was, Kyle could never stay in a bad mood for long.

  "Then it's settled," Jordan said, shoving his chair back from the table. "Can't wait to go house hunting with you tomorrow, honey."

  "You got it, babe," Kyle said, smirking. "I'm going to go hit up the gas station for some donuts. Anybody want to come?"

  He addressed the group, but Damien could smell his lust from across the table.

  "I'll go," Katherine said.

  "We have snacks in our room already, Katherine," Damien said. "Don't you remember?"

  "Oh. Right." The bit of disappointment in Katherine's voice disappeared as she kissed Damien on the cheek. "I'll see you later in bed?"

  "I'll be there shortly." Damien waited until he heard Katherine shut the door to their room just across the hall. Outside the window, Kyle limped across the parking lot towards the gas station.

  "You worried about your competition?" Jordan asked, teasing. "Is that little crippled boy wolf going to take over the pack? Take your girl?"

  "He's head over heels for her, that's for damn sure," Damien said.

  "You're not going to fight him," Jordan said, only a hint of a question in his voice.

  "No, of course not," Damien said. "He's a kid. Weak."

  "You're blind."

  "Doesn't matter that much in a fight," Damien said thoughtfully. "No, I just have to keep them apart. We don't need any fights between members of the pack."

  He felt his way to the hotel end table and pulled out the bottle of scotch from his briefcase.

  "A little premature to celebrate, don't you think?" Jordan asked. "Not that I won't take a drink."

  "I'm alright with celebrating early. This feels like the right town," Damien said. He poured two glasses of scotch, listening for the tinkling pitch that meant the glasses were half-full. He handed one over to Jordan, and they both sat back in their chairs. The full moon was low in the sky outside of the open window. He could feel the pull of it, the same force that moved the waters of the earth.

  "It does, doesn't it?" Jordan said, sipping his drink. "Peaceful town. A good place to settle and start raising a family."

  Damien winced.

  "Don't remind me," he said.

  "What, you don't want to have kids?"

  Damien paused before answering, taking another sip of scotch. The liquid burned the back of his throat, but the fire was welcome. He wanted kids, sure. He wanted a family. But first of all, he wanted a mate who was right for him. And Katherine, for all her youth and beauty, was not right for him.

  "I'll do whatever's best for the pack," Damien said.

  "She's almost ready to mate," Jordan said thoughtfully.

  "She is ready," Damien said. He took another gulp of scotch. "She told me last night."

  Jordan's inhale was audible.

  "So that's why you want this to be the town," he said.

  "I want every town to be the town," Damien said, finishing his scotch and setting the empty glass back on the table. He felt the cool glass under his fingers, the slight moisture of the liquor evaporating from the rim. "We've been saving up and searching for a territory for two years. That's longer than any pack should be on the move. Even if we only have one female."

  "The kid will be jealous," Jordan said.

  "He'll get over it."

  "I'll be jealous."

  "You're always jealous," Damien said, smiling. Jordan had never been interested in any females, of mating age or otherwise. Ever since they were pups together, Damien and Jordan had been best friends, and when they grew older Jordan had admitted that he felt more attracted to Damien than any other wolf in the pack.

  "So the high and mighty Damien will finally take a mate," Jordan said. "I can't decide if I should congratulate you or pity you. Katherine is a handful."

  "I felt something strange today," Damien said. "I thought that it might be the Calling."

  "Makes sense," Jordan said, pouring another glass of scotch. "If she's just now old enough to mate."

  "Not with Katherine."

  "Oh? You found another wolf in town?" Jordan asked. "Who?" Damien could hear the intense curiosity in his voice.

  "I thought I had," Damien said. "I could have sworn that I felt the connection between us. But when I approached her—" He stopped talking, remembering the intensity of the feeling when he had touched her arm. She had felt it too, or had he just imagined it?

  "What?" Jordan asked.

  "She was human," Damien said, forcing out a chuckle. "Not a wolf at all. Didn't scent. Didn't respond when I joked about werewolves. Pure human."

  Jordan laughed.

  "You're going bonkers," he said, clapping Damien on the shoulder. "It's impossible to feel the Calling for a human."

  "Is that your professional opinion?" Damien
asked.

  "What, that you're going bonkers? That's been my opinion for a long time."

  "That it's impossible to have a human as a mate." Damien said the sentence quietly, and Jordan caught the seriousness in his tone.

  "From everything I know about our anatomy and theirs," Jordan said, "there's no way. They don't have the glandular structure to allow it."

  "Maybe I felt something else," Damien said, trying to lighten the mood. As much as they joked, he didn't want Jordan to think that he was actually losing his mind.

  "Hope so," Jordan said. "We don't have a chance in hell of saving the pack if our alpha goes off and falls in love with a human."

  "Like I said, I'll do whatever is best for the pack," Damien said.

  "Katherine's a good girl," Jordan said. He stood up and clasped Damien on the shoulder. "She'll make a strong mate. Even if you're not Called to her."

  "I know."

  "You have a chance to make something good here," Jordan said. "To start a new pack, in a new territory."

  "I know," Damien repeated.

  "I'm going to bed," Jordan said. "Tomorrow's a long day. I'll have to do a medical exam on Katherine, too, to make sure everything's alright with her before you two start trying for kids."

  "That sounds fine," Damien said. His heart sank as he thought about starting a family with Katherine. He was the alpha, and it was expected, and before today he wouldn't have thought twice about settling down with her and having babies. It was for the pack, after all. But now...

  Now he realized what it felt like to fall in love. To feel the Calling.

  And he had to ignore it.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Julia

  Julia woke in the morning to a pounding noise coming from downstairs. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and rolled out of bed, pulling a robe over her bare shoulders. Who would be knocking at the door at eight in the morning? Today was the one day she could sleep in—the library didn't open until ten—and of course it was being ruined by someone.

  By the time she got downstairs, her grandmother was already on the front porch, shushing the intruders. Julia pushed the screen door open slowly. One of the men was thin, with a dark complexion, a curly beard, and glasses. The other one, the blond one, was much younger. Maybe even still a teenager, but with a more muscular build than the older man. They couldn't possibly be related. And yet the way they stood reminded her of a father and son.

  "This is a bed and breakfast," Granny Dee said, scolding the men. "You can't come waltzing in here and make a commotion. You'll wake people up!"

  "We're here to look at the house," the younger man said.

  "It's not for sale," Dee said.

  "Granny Dee—" Julia said.

  "That's not what the sign out front says," the dark-haired man said, pointing behind him with his thumb.

  "Whatever that sign says," Dee spat, "It's my house, and it's not for sale."

  "I just spoke with the bank representative," the dark-haired man said. "He told me that open hours were eight to noon on Saturdays."

  "They must be wrong," Dee said, crossing her arms.

  "Granny Dee," Julia said, pulling her by her arm back towards the screen door. "We'll get in trouble if we don't keep open hours. We agreed."

  "I agreed to nothing," Dee said, but Julia could see her shoulders slumping.

  "It's alright," Julia said. "I'll show them around and get them out of here before anyone wakes up. Okay?"

  In response, Dee simply opened the door and went inside.

  "Granny Dee—"

  "I'll be waiting in my bathroom until they're done," Dee said, waving one hand in the air dismissively. "Don't let them come in, unless the bank says they're allowed to see my wrinkled rear end."

  Julia sighed and turned back to the men.

  "Charming place," the dark-haired man said with a smirk.

  "Follow me," Julia said. She led them through the kitchen and living room, pointing out the fireplace and guest apartments.

  "Is this wall insulated?" the young man asked, rapping his knuckles on the wall of one of the guest rooms. Julia cringed.

  "No," she whispered, hoping that they would get the hint. "None of the walls are. This house was built in 1923, and it's never been updated except for the electrical stuff. Air conditioning costs are horribly expensive. You'd probably have to install central air. And the toilets run to a septic tank." She waved them through to the back porch. At least there they could speak loudly without waking up the guests.

  "How about the beams here?" the blonde man asked, pointing to the porch supports.

  "Yes, any reinforcements?" the older man asked.

  "No, it's all wood and brick," Julia said. "Insurance is more expensive, too, because the foundation is unapproved slab. Is there anything else I can show you?" She wanted them gone. She hoped that her answers had been enough to drive them away. The longer it took the bank to find a buyer, the longer they could stay.

  "That's all we need, really," the older man said. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," Julia said curtly.

  They both followed Julia down the stairs and back out to the front yard, where she didn't bother to offer any goodbyes, simply opening the gate for them.

  "It's really perfect," the young man said.

  "Perfect?" Julia asked, spinning back around. That was the last word she'd use to describe the house.

  "Sure," the blond man said. "It would be easy to tear down, no asbestos in the walls or anything. And the septic would be good to run to multiple cabins when we build them out." He nodded towards the older man. "What do you think, Jordan?"

  "Looks good," the man said, glancing at Julia. Her face was burning hot, and she was pretty sure her normally fair skin was as red as a summer tomato. "We'll need to check out the other places first, though."

  "But it's on such good land—"

  "Just so you know," Julia said, her hands in fists at her side. "This is my grandmother's house, and we don't want to leave. We'll fight the eviction. Squat if we have to. It won't be an easy sale." Her voice trembled as she spoke.

  "You're messing with the wrong people," the younger man snarled. "What kind of threat are you making?"

  "Easy, Kyle," the older man said, putting a hand on his shoulder. The young man relaxed his posture. The old man adjusted his glasses, looking up at the house.

  "It's a beautiful place," he said. "I understand why you'd hate to lose it. But if you're in dire straits..." He held out his hands in a gesture of supplication. "It might be better for you to take a good deal than to fight with every possible buyer. Just so you know."

  Julia's breath hissed between her teeth, but she did not say another word until they had left the front yard and driven away.

  'They're gone?" Granny's Dee voice called from across the living room.

  "They're gone," Julia said, looking back out to where their black luxury sedan was speeding over the hill away from the house. "Here, let me help you with breakfast."

  The morning passed quickly, and soon Julia was back to work and avoiding her boss. It was late in the day when she finally finished shelving all of the new books. Her break was way overdue, and she stretched her arms as she walked back to the break room, eager to sit down and rest her feet for a moment. Just as she rounded the corner, she felt something very strange come over her, a sense that somebody was watching her.

  "Julia?"

  Julia spun around, startled by the voice. It was the man from the day before. Damien. He held his cane in both hands in front of him loosely, leaning slightly onto it. His dark glasses made him look casual, even though she knew that wasn't the reason he wore them.

  "Oh my god, you startled me!" she said, her breath catching in her throat.

  "Sorry," Damien said, his smile betraying his amusement. "It must be terrifying for a blind man to sneak up on you like that."

  Julia laughed.

  "I was off in my own world, I guess," she said. Then a thought struck her.
>
  "How did you know it was me?" she asked.

  "Your shoes," he said, after just a second's hesitation. "The way they click on the floor."

  "Are you serious?" Julia asked, arching one eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you, Sherlock Holmes?" She couldn't help but feel attracted to him, but there was something that didn't add up. The weird hesitation, the way he'd called her name like he knew she was right there—

  "I'm just used to telling people apart by their footsteps," Damien said. "How's your day going?"

  "Long. Busy. Just like normal." Julia said, feeling awkward just standing there, though Damien seemed entirely at ease.

  "Are you heading out right now?"

  "I'm just on my break," she said.

  "How long do they give you?"

  "Fifteen minutes," Julia said.

  "Wonderful," he said. "Let me buy you a cup of coffee. There's a cafe just down the street, if I'm not mistaken."

  "I—uh—" Julia stammered, not sure how to take his offer.

  "Unless you don't want to have coffee with a strange man," Damien said, shrugging in a joking way. "I know I can seem kind of intimidating."

  Julia thought that he was intimidating—at least the idea of having coffee with him. He made her crave something she'd never craved before, and she was scared to death of messing it up. He waited for her answer calmly, and she gulped down her objections. Except for one.

  "It's not that," she said.

  "Then what?"

  "The girl you were with yesterday," Julia said. She coughed. God, she felt stupid. But she had been hit on by too many attractive men who turned out to be married and just looking for a fling. "Is she..."

  "Oh, no," Damien said, looking surprised at her question. "She's my guide."

  "Okay," Julia said. "I just didn't want to step on any toes."