CHAPTER FOUR

 

“I don’t need more interruptions,” Riktor muttered to himself.

“What was that, Rik?” Ace shifted on the couch in Riktor’s office. With casual grace, he tossed macadamia nuts into his mouth.

Riktor gritted his teeth. The numbers on the screen blurred and his blood pressure spiked. “What the fuck do you want? If you’re not here to help, get out.”

Ace held up one hand. “Whoa, calm down. I have news, like I said on the phone. You’ll be very interested in it.” He gave him a cat-that-ate-the-cream smile.

Riktor rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the screen. “If it’s about Everly arriving with some woman, I already know.”

Ace pouted, but his mirth didn’t fade. “Do you know who she is?” Ace purred.

Riktor shrugged. “Some Shaw cousin or something.” A knot tightened in the pit of his stomach. Heat flooded his groin. He could still picture her curves wrapped in red, the bounce of curls that surrounded her face like a halo, her dark, mysterious eyes.

No. I want nothing to do what any Shaw woman, he told himself. His wolf growled in defiance.

Ace chuckled. “Well, well, well, I can smell your musk. Big brother is horny for Mickey Shaw.”

Riktor’s temporary fog of arousal disappeared as shock reverberated through his body. His mind went blank. He refocused on Ace. “What was that? Mickey Shaw?”

No. Mickey Shaw was a man. Or was he? He stared at Ace.

There had been no pictures of the new Shaw alpha. Sparse information and rumors were all Riktor had to go on.

“Yup. Michaela Shaw, aka Mickey. Everly brought her here, and yes, the new Shaw alpha is a woman. The old bastard had only fanned the flames with vague talk about his new alpha, never using any gender nouns to describe his heir. He kept his cards real close.” Ace shook his head. “That’s one hell of a secret to keep from the other packs. No wonder he didn’t send her out to any of the International alpha Conferences. Damn. I wonder if Father knew.”

Riktor absorbed the new information with a sigh. He didn’t have time to truly wrap his head around this revelation.

“Father knew. It explains why he thought handing over our legacy to her would be a good idea. Stick it to us that a Shaw—and a woman to boot—would be taking our inheritance.”

Ace shrugged. “I have no problem with women running businesses or packs. It’s sexy as hell. I just don’t want someone taking something that we worked so hard to make a success.”

“I agree, but Father was old fashioned. He thought women had a place, in the bedroom and kitchen and that’s about it.” Riktor rolled his eyes. “So, how much of a threat is she?”

“Of course she’s a threat! She’s here to scope out our setup, which is why we need to find women willing to marry us ASAP. Or try and buy her off. Whichever comes first.”

Riktor shook his head. “I mean is she here to challenge me to an alpha fight? And I highly doubt she could be bought off so easily.”

“She claims she’s here to avoid a New England winter, and I don’t blame her. A blizzard is moving in as we speak. Other than that—” Ace shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Riktor lifted his head and stared at his brother. “You confronted her without telling me first? What the fuck were you thinking?” Hell, what could Mickey Shaw be thinking of that move? Did she take it as intimidation? A shot across the bow? A loss of control over his beta? The thoughts hit him one after another.

Maybe he should’ve made Banan his beta.

Ace straightened up. “Relax. She didn’t strike me as in fight mode. More like curiosity and explore mode. We still have to keep our guard up. We don’t know if that could change. Too bad Everly is fleeing back to the mainland so we can’t confront him just yet. I could break in to her room when she isn’t around. Or stick security on her to monitor her movements.”

“Let me talk to her first, alpha to alpha.” Beautiful. He didn’t need this new headache right now. “I’m guessing Mickey’s identity was the big message you wanted to tell me when you got in last night?”

“Yup. A buddy of mine spilled the beans after a few beers. Those in the know are really hot after her, and seeing her up close, I don’t blame them. Too bad she’s not my type.”

Ace gave him a look that Riktor couldn’t read. He ignored it. “OK, you’ve delivered this piece of news. I’ll meet you at Black Howl for a beer later. Have you told Banan yet?”

He could only imagine how freaked out his baby brother would be over this news.

Ace shook his head. “I wanted to tell you first. Our Boy Wonder is sleeping off a heavy gaming session. He did a friend of his a favor and tested a new game last night. Poor kid is exhausted.”

Riktor sighed. “He’s got to stop letting his gamer friends use him as a guinea pig.”

“But it’s good money, and yes, they do pay him. Anyway, I’m going to go get BH ready for tonight. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the snacks. Mickey loves these by the way.” Ace put the top on the can of nuts and tossed them toward Riktor.

He caught the empty canister with ease. “Thanks a lot. And let me talk to her from here on out. Don’t do anything without telling me.”

“Of course, my great alpha.” Ace chuckled as he stood and headed for the door.

“We can’t afford a pack war. Also, get some profiles together for prospective wives. I’m not going to let Mickey Shaw get the best of us.” Something tightened in Riktor’s chest at the same time a queasy sensation started in his stomach. His wolf growled.

Riktor ignored the wolf and his stomach. They had to do whatever it took to beat their father at this sick game and head Mickey Shaw off at the start.