N. Walters - Alexandra's Legacy

Over the years, he’d made do running in the city parks. Sometimes, he’d driven just outside the city limits where he’d allowed his wolf to take over and roam the night. The once-a-month trips beyond the city had been enough to keep the beast at bay. Barely. The thought that he wouldn’t have to control that aspect of himself for much longer was one of the only good things to come out of this mess.

He sauntered down the street, ignoring the people who quickly got out of his way. He found what he was looking for a few blocks away. Pulling open the door, he stepped into the small thrift shop. An older woman with graying hair was manning the place. He nodded at her as he scanned the room.

“Can I help you find anything?” Her voice was raspy. Too many years of cigarettes if his nose was correct.

“T-shirts.” He nodded again when she pointed to a rack near the back. He kept one eye on the door as he flipped through the clothing on the rack. Pulling out a chocolate brown shirt in his size, he headed back to the front of the shop. He stopped by another rack long enough to grab a faded denim shirt. Depositing them both on the counter, he waited while she rang up the total. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out enough money to cover it. The whole transaction had taken about two minutes and he was back on the street again, bag in hand.

He resumed his stroll down the sidewalk, not walking too fast or too slow, but melding with the flow of foot traffic around him. His eyes were never still, always scanning. A smile touched his lips when he found exactly what he was looking for.

Stepping into a busy restaurant, James took a deep breath. Coffee. The half of a muffin he’d eaten this morning seemed like it was days ago. He was starving. First things first, though. He kept his head down as he headed toward the restrooms at the back.

Once inside, he took his new clothing out of the bag and laid it on the edge of the sink. He stripped off his ripped shirt and stuffed it deep into the garbage before shaking out his new T-shirt and pulling it on. Then he tugged the denim shirt on over it. He reached around to the small of his back and withdrew the gun he’d secreted there. Checking it, he returned it to its place. The metal was warm and reassuring. He was just grateful that his original shirt had been baggy enough to hide the slight bulge at his back. The denim shirt gave him better coverage.

He stuffed the bag into the garbage and left the restroom. Ambling back out to the dining area, he found a quiet table in the corner. He was barely seated when a waitress hurried up with a pot of coffee in one hand and a menu in the other. He scanned the menu and ordered while she filled his mug. When she left he allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment.

Alex. Where was she? He had no idea where his little girl was. He could only hope that her own skills combined with young Striker would be enough to get them both out of the city safe and alive. His job was to get out of the city undetected and meet them at Wolf Creek. He wanted to get there ahead of them so that he could be beside Alex when she met the rest of the pack.

But first he had to clean up the mess back at the garage and get some transportation. He opened the menu, scanned it and quickly made his choice. He’d have breakfast first. Hopefully by that time their pursuers would have abandoned the area, believing they’d all run.

If there were any of them left waiting. Well, that was too bad for them. He wasn’t feeling real tolerant this morning. They’d have to take their chances. He could feel his entire body start to vibrate and took a deep breath to calm himself, conjuring up what he hoped passed for a smile when the waitress returned to take his order.

Joshua felt like driving his fist through the nearest wall. He still wasn’t quite certain where things had gone wrong. One minute Alex had been soft and warm in his arms, the scent of her release filling his nostrils and making his head spin, the next she’d been angry and, if he wasn’t mistaken, hurt. He normally didn’t care about other people’s feelings. His position as Striker didn’t allow for such things. But everything was different with Alex.

Her shoulders were rigid as she marched ahead of him. She pushed open the door of the restaurant and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He followed close behind. Just because she was upset with him didn’t mean he’d allow her to take chances with her safety. They couldn’t forget for even a second that they were being hunted. They’d gotten lucky the first time around. Next time their pursuers would probably be more skilled.

She didn’t even look back to see if he was following her. His lips twitched in spite of his worry. She certainly was a sight when she was worked up over something. Her silvery gray eyes had practically singed his skin when she’d glared at him back in the restroom. Right now he was admiring the sway of her lush bottom as she strode down the sidewalk. It was a perfect handful.

He shook his head, amazed by her sheer stubbornness. He didn’t have time to see how long she could go without acknowledging his presence. They had to get moving out of the city.

Quickening his pace until he was alongside her, he gave her a sidelong glance. She ignored him totally, even going so far as to look the other way, pretending great interest in the stores on the other side of the street.

“I know you’re angry with me, Alex, but there’s no time for that now.” He scanned the area ahead of them before looking over his shoulder, searching for anyone who seemed to be out of place. His preternatural senses weren’t much help in the crowded city. With so many sounds and smells bombarding him it was hard to distinguish any one in particular. Still, he tried. Alex’s safety might depend on that small advantage.

“You have no idea,” she muttered as she picked up her pace. People got out of her way as her long legs continued to eat up the sidewalk.

He let her go for two blocks and finally got tired of her ignoring him. Wrapping his hand around her upper arm, he tugged her into a narrow alleyway between two buildings. His senses told him that it was empty, if you didn’t count the dumpster at the end with several rats poking around.

She glared at him as she tried to pull her arm from his grasp. His fingers tightened. He wasn’t letting her go until she listened to him.

“Oh, right. If you can’t get your own way, you’ll manhandle me.” She dug in her feet as he practically dragged her halfway down the alleyway. Her coat fell from her hands as she ducked beneath his arm and twisted so he was forced to either release her or risk hurting her.

Growling, he let go of her arm and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “What do you want from me? Whatever I did, I never intended to make you angry or hurt you.” The city still marched on around them, everyone going about their business. Horns blew and the murmur of the crowd was thick in the distance. But here in the alley there was only the two of them.

“That’s what makes it worse.” Crossing her arms across her chest, she rubbed the spot where he’d gripped her. “It obviously didn’t mean anything to you at all.”

Not mean anything to him! Not mean anything to him! Did she have any idea just how hard it was for him to even suggest that she meet the other eligible males of the pack when every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to strip her naked, mount her from behind and mark her as his?

His woman. His mate.

“Maybe I will meet those other males and pick someone else,” she muttered as she turned away from him.

It was the last straw.

Pouncing, he grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her around. Whatever she was about to say died on her lips as she got a good look at his face. He moved forward, backing her up against the concrete wall. Capturing her hands in one of his, he raised them over her head. She started to struggle so he shifted his larger body closer to her, using his full weight to trap her.