Chapter One
~ Cyan ~
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath as the bar’s doors swung shut behind the inner circle of the James pack, and the rumble in our alpha’s, Bastion James, chest grew.
As far as I was concerned, the alpha had lost his fucking mind as soon as he’d locked eyes on a photo and agreed to mate a woman he’d never met. I understood the arrangement. The Rigton pack had been hurting since the death of their alpha, and they’d approached Bastion to offer an alliance, complete with a bride. I’d expected Bas to laugh and send them packing. Joke was on me. The alpha had accepted with one stipulation, Raina Byrd, sister of the deceased leader of the Rigton pack, would be his. Otherwise, no deal.
Which led us to this bar. Bas had received a call, telling him his intended mate might be ready to make a run for it. Why? I had no idea. Any woman would be damn lucky to have Bas as a mate. The man was hardcore, but in a good way. He was fierce, no matter the skin he wore. It was why I followed him. Why most of our newly formed pack was with him.
We’d all heard the way others sometimes referred to us as the alpha pack, and it was true. The majority of us didn’t have a subservient bone in our bodies, but Bas didn’t want that. He wanted the toughest and smartest wolves he could get, and lineage didn’t matter. Bastard son? No problem. Which was a good thing for me. I’d been stamped with the bastard badge from birth. Bas and his younger sister, Belinda, had, as well. I often considered us the pack of misfits and bastards. Your pack doesn’t want you? Come join us. As long as you follow the rules Bas had put in place, you were good. Fuck up, and I’d be coming for you.
The main thing to understand was no fighting within the pack. You had a problem, you brought it to Bas, and he dealt with that shit immediately. He’s one decisive motherfucker. If you fucked up and he had to come to you, it was almost a given you weren’t walking away when he was done. How do I know that? Because I’m the scary fucker standing beside him ready to mete out justice, as needed.
Some people call me Cyan. Some shorten it to Cy, like the breathy sound women make when I’m near. Some call me A-B, which cracks up both Bas and me now that we know what it means. Alpha-beta. Bas asked if that made him alpha-alpha. We were told he was A-P. I’d tried to convince him it was for alpha-pussy, but the others assured him it was for alpha-prime. Seemed the guys had a good sense of humor.
Anyway, back to the here and now. Smoky bar. Loud music. Potential mate shaking her ass on the dance floor, and one angry alpha male beside me. And the scent of something in the air that has my wolf sitting up ready to howl. I shook my head to clear it. My focus needed to be on Bastion since it was clear where his was.
I heard awed whispers as we moved from the entrance.
Alpha pack. Bastion James. James pack.
We’d garnered a bit of a reputation over the last few years, which was most likely what had led to the elders of the Rigton pack seeking out Bastion. Very few wolves were stupid enough to fuck with the newly formed James pack. Those who did learned the hard way what a bad idea it was. So, it didn’t surprise me that people were giving us wide berth, some even heading for the door. The woman on the dance floor merely kept dancing, though I’d seen her eye Bastion. Even a human would be able to scent the lust in the air between them. Christ, I felt as if I were choking on it.
Bas’ intended gyrated to the side, and another woman appeared. The first thing I noticed was a perfectly rounded ass that begged for a man’s hands. I planned to flex my fingers on those curves later. Caramel-colored curls stopped at her waist, and as I watched, the woman used her hands to pull the locks atop her head then bent her knees and rocked her hips back and forth in an enticing dance that screamed for me to join her. Then the mass of hair tumbled back into place, and her hands disappeared in front of her. It was too easy for me to picture her cupping her breasts, plumping and squeezing them as she offered them to a lover. No, to me. Only me.
The growl rumbled up my chest as it occurred to me how many men watched the little vixen. Thankfully, Bas spoke before I started banging heads together and gouging out eyes.
“Clear the room,” he muttered. “No one touches her.”
I agreed, though we were thinking of different women.
“You heard him,” I told the members of our inner circle who’d come with us. “Everybody out.”
I was about to ask Bas if he wanted me to escort out the woman dancing with Raina, as well, when some idiot with a death wish strutted over to dance with them. I was already moving when Bas’ growl filled the air. I felt the antagonism rolling off the punk dancing. Seemed not everyone in the Rigton pack wanted us here. Didn’t matter. I knew as far as Bas was concerned, the woman was as good as his mate already. Besides, we’d been to plenty of places where we weren’t wanted.
The guy reached out to touch Raina, and I plucked him up by the scruff of his neck like a moldy bag of garbage, chucking him away with no concern. His choice. His consequence. It would also serve as a reminder not to fuck with us. If we really took on this pack, hierarchy needed to be set right now. That began with Bas and his intended mate, Raina. Then there was me, followed by the rest of the inner circle. You wanted to join that circle, you fucking earned a spot within it.
Tension flowed through the room, fueled by lust and anger, and it wasn’t just between Bas and Raina. Things would escalate quickly if I didn’t do something. I stepped in front of the women and gave an order.
“It’s time for you to go home, Miss Byrd.”
She peered at me as if I were stupid—or at least, as if my choice of words were. Fire and challenge lit in her eyes. I reminded myself she would be my alpha’s mate as I struggled for diplomacy.
My gaze kept trying to skip to the woman still dancing beside Raina, and I noted the owner of that sexy ass and lush curls was a lot tinier than I’d realized. She wouldn’t even reach the top of my chest unless I lifted her and let her wrap around me like a vine.
“Funny,” Raina countered, regaining my attention. “I’m pretty sure it’s time to dance.”
“Your father would like you to go home,” I stated, hoping that would set her legs in motion toward the door.
“My father wants me home? Do I look twelve to you?”
That was when the woman I’d been eyeing turned around, and I encountered a set of molten, brown eyes.
“What the hell?” she demanded as she moved in front of Raina. She slammed both her palms against my chest, and I stepped back hastily as lightning seemed to skate from her palms through my chest and down to my eager dick and balls. For the first time in my life, I was afraid I might come in my jeans.
“Step off, asshole,” she finished, glaring at me, but there was something in her gaze that assured me I wasn’t the only one who’d felt that jolt. There was shock there, lust and something that had my wolf ready to howl with frustration. Fear. It had my dick under control quicker than anything else would have. She was the one person who would never have anything to fear from me.
“We’re dancing. Now, if you’ll excuse us.” Raina turned and resumed swaying to the music. She tried to bump into me, and I backed away each time, not wanting any part of her to touch me. My body belonged to the woman beside her, who’d marked me with the touch of her palms as thoroughly as her teeth would mark me later.
Bas appeared beside me, and when Raina backed toward me again, she ran into her mate. I heard them speaking but couldn’t care less what they said.
All I knew was the woman meant for me was acting as if I weren’t in the room, as if she hadn’t felt that surge of electricity between us. I knew better. Thankfully, she wasn’t that good of an actress, but it stung that she was trying.
“What kind of man do you think I am?” Bas’ words echoed my thoughts, and my woman spun back around.
“Don’t answer that,” she commanded Raina.
Bas turned his head and growled at her. Both woman responded before the rumble building in my chest made it past my throat.
“Don’t growl at her,” Raina said, smacking Bas hard in the chest.
“Don’t growl at me, wolf boy,” my woman agreed, but I noticed she didn’t try to touch him. It soothed my wolf just the slightest bit.
“Ivy,” Raina snapped. “Let me deal with this.”
“Ivy.” I purred the name as so many things about the plant filled my mind. “Perfect.”
Ivy’s gaze snapped to mine, her eyes deep, dark pools of chocolate. The woman was like a walking dessert with caramel curls, chocolate eyes, and creamy skin. It made me eager to taste her on my tongue. All of her. Repeatedly.
“Listen, beast boy. Take your pal there, and get the fuck out of our way.”
My lips twitched. I planned to show her just how much of a beast I could be. But only with her.
“Why is her name perfect?” Raina demanded, and I barely contained a laugh.
“Ivy’s a clinging vine, right?” I didn’t wait for agreement. “Which is perfect since she’s going to be wrapped around me for the rest of her life.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widening at my bold proclamation. Even better, her nipples tightened and poked against her shirt in an invitation that had my mouth watering. I could scent her lust, and by the flare of her nostrils, I knew she wasn’t missing mine either. She was mine. By night’s end, I planned to explore every inch of her, and when the light of dawn came, there wouldn’t be a part of her I hadn’t claimed as mine.
“Take her,” Bas said, and I moved.
Ivy gave a sexy squeak as I bent and scooped her up, tossing her over my shoulder as I headed toward the door. I wrapped one arm around her legs and cupped that perfect ass with my other palm. I had no idea where I’d go, but one thing was certain. She was staying with me until death tore me from her side.