Alpha"s Mate
By Jana Leigh
Editor Kerri Good
Published by JLK
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are the product of the author"s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
© Copyright 2010 Jana Leigh. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
Thank you to my family who has been so patient with me. Yes, I will cook dinner now.
Chapter 1
Quin sat on the top of the building he owned looking over the city he had come to feel was home. Denver was far away from, and completely different from, where he grew up, and yet he could not imagine ever leaving. Quin realized this place had finally become home. He watched as the sun set over the Rocky Mountains. Lately, he had become so restless that he escaped to the rooftop to try to find peace within. Nothing would cure his restlessness except for finding his mate, and he did not stand a chance finding his mate, considering he had been too busy with Pack business to actually find a woman.
Hell, for the last few months he and his Beta's had been knee-deep in attacks from the Rogues. He had taken to pleasuring himself whenever the need struck, instead of looking for the perfect woman. As a Werewolf, his sexual drive was a little more intense, than the regular human's sex drive. Sometimes it was a curse, but if he found the right one, it would be amazing.
When he was growing up, and he hit the magical age of fourteen, his hormones kicked into high gear and he could shift for the very first time. Quin had spent many nights in a cold shower trying to ebb the need he had to fuck everything around him. His parents had laughed and said he had almost acted as if he was in his terrible two"s again trying to claim anything and everything as his. It was not so funny when they told the stories to anyone who would listen. Potential mates and friends had given him a lot of grief over the years because of those stories. His best friend still sent cards on his birthday that were designed to poke fun at him; the latest even included instructions on how to masturbate correctly. Quin took it in stride, but damn it, he was the Alpha of his own Pack now. He wanted his mate to be here, leading with him by his side. Was that too much to ask for? Quin wondered, and then once again silently asked the spirits for guidance.
Many years ago, Quin's father and mother told him stories about the Rockies and the folklore that surrounded the majestic mountains. In the mountains, the wolves could run free, without fear of being hunted. They explained the tales from their ancestors who had found peace in the Rocky Mountains, and the promises that they held for each wolf that chose to venture to the United States. When the decision came from his father to expand the Pack, he volunteered to move to Denver and be the Alpha of the Denver Pack, an extension of the Gevaudan Pack. The name Gevaudan was stemmed from their ancestors in southern France, it meant „hybrid beast". They failed to mention that when he settled here he would have to defend his Pack territory every day. It was one of the most desirable places for a wolf to live. Those wolves did not want to join their Pack, lead their own Pack, and caused problems.
His parents were still the Alpha"s in southern France, but they decided they needed someone in the United States to help lead those who had migrated over the years. Many of the European Packs made the change at the same time, so there had been at least 10
Packs that he knew of that had migrated. It was more out of need; the decision had been made when a Rogue Pack had tried to hurt a member of their Pack that had been visiting a few years ago. Without an Alpha on the continent, the other Packs refused to accept any wolf was under the Council"s protection. Quin's parents made the decision quickly to move someone to protect and lead the Pack in Denver.
So overnight, he uprooted himself, his Beta and Enforcers, and moved to a new country.
That was ten years ago and Quin never regretted his decision to move. It had been rough the first couple of years settling themselves in the United States. The wolves here had no desire or willingness to live by the rules the European wolves did. They assumed that they did not have to follow the laws the elders set up. When Quin arrived in Denver, his parents and other European Pack leaders developed a Council to help them set up the laws. It was a constant battle trying to keep them in line, and protect the humans they wanted to hurt. Of course, the humans knew nothing of the threat that was looming over their head.
Many of the younger Pack members did not look at the gift they were given by being a wolf. They instead, looked at the power they had, and used it to their advantage to gain what they could from the humans. They felt like they were entitled. Gods, he was sick of hearing the nasty rhetoric they spewed to one another. Quin was raised to respect people, and the gifts the Gods gave them. The misconceptions of wolves, and the Were, were made more by the Rogues who tried to make people afraid of them and hard to overcome. Humans like to believe there were no terrible beasts that shifters did not exist. They explained many of the attacks on wild dogs. If it were not so sad, it would have been humorous. Instead, they turn a blind eye from the reality around them, and that was fine with the Were Council.
Quin was excited when first approached by his parents to leave their Pack and come to the United States. Along with seven chosen Enforcers, he struck out and finally settled in the Front Range. With the help of his previous Pack's riches, they settled and expanded their power. Lately, his restlessness had become more prominent. He told his Beta, he missed the women of the Pack. When they were in France, he had the pick of the litter. All of his men were waiting to find their mates. When they left the safety of the homeland without any females, they knew it would be a long time before they found their other half. They could not chance a female being hurt before they had become settled. It had only been in the last year that female wolves had began to arrive from Europe, unfortunately none of them had been his mate. For a wolf, meeting their mate was what grounded them. Female wolves were to be cherished and taken care of. He could not wait until he could find his mate and settle down.
Quin stood staring at the setting sun and sighed loudly, wishing he could shift and run through the mountainside. He planned a retreat for next week for him and his Enforcers high in the Rockies. Then they could truly be free to shift. Most of the time they had to be careful not to let a human see them, they needed to remain a secret for the sake of everyone. In the past few months, it had been harder and harder to hide their presence in the city. They had to deal with the Rogues and more often than not, they fought in wolf form.
“Alpha, your father is on the phone. He wants to know if you have made any progress with the Rogue's in the area.” Devon, his Beta called from the door to the roof.
“Yeah, coming.” Quin sighed and went to speak to his father.
In the past few weeks, a group of Rogue wolves decided they wanted to try to take over the area. Quin and his Enforcers had been busy trying to clean up their mess. His Pack was currently around fifty members. All of them living in the three blocks the Pack owned in Denver. They had seven apartment buildings that held all the members. In addition, they owned about 1000 acres in the mountains with a dozen or more cabins, so they could run when they wanted.
Quin prided himself on making sure all of his Pack members were happy and had jobs.
They were one of the most successful Packs in the States and were gaining members
every month. Soon they were going to have to expand, Quin made a note to have his personal assistant start looking at buying another city block. Many of the families that could have joined his Pack were waiting until he found his mate to make the Pack more stable. He wanted more than anything to find a woman, to lead by his side, but so far, he had not found anyone who called to his wolf.
His mother explained to him long ago that his wolf would be the one to recognize his mate. He knew the restlessness was because of not having found her yet. His mother and father assured him that when the time came, he would find the one who was meant for him.
Quin went into his office and answered the phone that was blinking at him. “Hello Father.”
“Son, what progress have you made with the Rogue's?” A gruff voice responded to him.
His father, never a man for long discussions, was always quick and to the point. When he was growing up, his mother was the one who dispensed the hugs. His father, though Quin knew he loved him, was more serious. His father also believed the Alpha of every Pack had a greater responsibility than even to his own family. This is where they differed. When Quin finally found his mate, he was going to make sure she knew how important she was to him. His children would know the love he was shown by his mother.
“We had a skirmish last night in a suburb, but so far we can"t seem to find their lair. I hope that they will show themselves soon. We have heard their Alpha is a wolf named Roark, but so far we have not been able to find him.” Quin said turning in his chair so he could watch the last of the sun setting.
“You may have to send out more patrols. I heard from Roan in Northern Ireland, and his Alpha in the States is having problems too. He has lost three females and one Enforcer in the last week. You need to watch the Pack.” His father warned.
“I know what is at stake here. I will talk to my Beta and the Enforcers. We are planning a retreat next week, but I do not want to leave the Pack unguarded. We may have to postpone until this mess is sorted out. They will understand, even if they are itching to run.” Quin said.
“I agree, do you need any more people? I could send your brother and a few others to help.” His father asked. Quin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was the Alpha of this Pack. He loved his father, but he was still set in the old ways.
“Let me talk it over with the others, I will let you know. I may have to have some more help if they try to take one of our females.” Quin replied.
They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Quin hung up the phone, hoping he would be able to give his father a better report the next time he spoke to him. He did not want his brothers to come here unless they were needed. They were all working on settling their own Packs. All except for his youngest brother Adrian, who was just finishing his training. He hoped to offer the young wolf a place in his Pack. It had been too long since he had seen his family, and he wanted to have that connection again.
He had no clue what the Rogue wolves were trying to do. Taking female wolves was an act of war and soon he would have no choice but to hunt and kill the Rogues if they could not get them under control.
He could hear loud voices in the outer office and sighed again. What else could happen today? It had been a long day, and he wanted to have a nice quiet dinner and go to bed.
Just before he reached the door, it burst open and his Beta fell in the room. Devon was larger than most of his wolves, so he nearly took up the entire space when he sprawled on the floor. Being the Beta of the Pack, Devon was the strongest wolf. Quin never wanted to find out who would win if they fought for Alpha, he suspected it would be a close fight.
“Get your ass out of my way.” He heard a female growl come from just outside the room.
Quin laughed when Devon jumped up and looked at him with red cheeks. “She caught me off guard.”
“Right.” Quin agreed and poked his head out of his office to see who had thrown his Beta through the door. It must have been a large female wolf to do this kind of damage.
He laughed even harder when he saw the small sprite before him. A small blonde woman stood there tapping her foot with impatience. Wow, she was beautiful. Long flowing hair pulled back into a high ponytail and voluptuous curves, the woman stood a good foot below him. It made him feel like he was a giant. Quin grinned and looked at the woman with more interest. He wondered why she was here. He knew every member of his Pack, and she definitely did not belong.
“Listen buster, I have been sitting out here for the last two hours, waiting patiently for the head dog to come and see me. I no longer have the time, or the inclination to sit here any longer. Tell your overly important man when he makes an appointment; he should have the courtesy to show up.” The woman fumed and turned on her heel and stomped to the elevators.
Quin laughed again until the breeze from her turn caught his nose. She smelled like rose petals and fresh mountain air. He wolf immediately responded and began howling, pushing him to follow her. Holy shit! She was his mate, and she was a human!
Devon growled when his Alpha walked by him, like he was in a trance. “Alpha let me handle her. The human doesn"t know her place.”
“Huh?” He said, still moving in the direction the woman had gone.
“She had an appointment with you to talk about renting space in the bottom floor of the building we just bought. I told her we were not ready to make any decisions, but she said she had a lease already with the previous owners and she wanted us to honor the contract. She wants to open a bookstore. I tried to explain that you were busy, but she said she called and made an appointment with Shelly. I explained Shelly was out on emergency leave and had not put her in the book, but she refused to reschedule and said she would wait.” Devon said obviously frustrated. “I will send her a letter stating we will not be honoring the contract. After the last meeting, we decided to make more apartments for the Pack. We have only one more apartment before we run out and there are new people inquiring every week. Then I may teach her what happens when she pulls a wolf"s tail.”
“NO!” Quin yelled and looked at his friend. “I think she is my mate.”
“What? A human?” Devon said incredulously following his friend's gaze and watched the doors to the elevator close. “I will get her.”
“No, I will. Do you have her information?” Quin said intensely. He found his mate and he was not going to waste time waiting for someone to bring her back, least of all his Beta that she had thrown on his ass.
Devon nodded and went to the desk and pulled a sheet of paper from the top. “Her name is Cami Reynolds. She lives only a few blocks down. According to her contract, she has already paid a substantial deposit.” Quin nodded and went back to his office to gather his things. “I will be gone until I can convince her to return with me. Please make sure everyone knows not to disturb me.” Devon grinned and nodded. He was a little jealous of his friend and Alpha finding his mate. He was the first of the seven who came over from France to find their mates.
There had been some concern the last few years that they would never find the one meant for them, leaving a Pack without females had been a hard decision. Many of the Enforcers had to seek out humans who could handle their sexual nature.
Quin ran to the elevator and punched the buttons impatiently. “No interruptions,” he said over his shoulder.
Devon grinned as his friend rushed after his mate. He wondered if he would feel the same way if it were his mate. Devon was a large man; he hoped his female was not as small as Quin"s was, he would be too afraid to touch her.
Quin raced out of the building following the intoxicating scent of his mate. She lived only a few blocks according to the paperwork, but in the other direction than he smelled.
Damn it, he wanted to see her in private. It would have been so much easier if she had gone home. It looked like he was going to have to come up with another plan or wait.
Since patience at this point was not an option, he followed his mate.
***
C
ami fumed as she walked out of the office building. The man was an asshole to say the least. All he had to do was sit and listen to her. She would have explained why this was so important to her. The money she used for the lease had been a gamble for her. She could have found somewhere less expensive and in a shitty location, but she loved the storefront from the moment she saw the „For Lease" sign. The company who first owned the building sold her on it when they explained how much foot traffic this street had.
Then they sold the building out from underneath her, without even letting her know if her lease would be honored or not. The money she would lose would seriously put a dent in the startup cost of her dream.
Cami frowned, and put her head down trying to think of a way she could make the stupid man listen. What she needed was a plan, one that included avoiding bloodshed preferably, but she was not picky. Growing up on the streets when her mother kicked her out after her stepfather decided she had matured enough to draw interest, Cami was used to taking care of herself. She had scrimped and saved for the last few years to make her dream a reality. She had also taken self-defense classes, and was not above using violence, to get her store.
Working three jobs to get her degree in English had been the first step in her goal to own a bookstore. Granted, it took her six years, but she smiled when she thought about the pride that she felt when she had accepted her diploma. The next step had been risky.
She needed a start up fund for a bookstore. For years, she worked and established herself as a teacher and Librarian. She did not make enough money for her to save much, but she saved every cent she could. Cami did not have enough money to make the down payment, so she did what she had to do in order to make more money.
Phone sex was a growing industry, and one where she would not have to actually meet with the low life"s who used the service. She had done extensive research before finding a company who did not expect their employees to make house calls on the side. Cami was not stupid. She worked for several years saving the money she made from the sex service, and she had had almost enough, when she had answered the phone one night and recognized her school Principal"s voice. She had quit that night and showered for three hours, scrubbing the scum she felt attached to her skin. The next morning when her boss smiled at her in a sick knowing smile, she quit on the spot and showered again for another three hours. Her dream was put on hold once again.