N. Walters: Alexandra's Legacy

He could barely see her now, blocked by the bulk of her father’s body. But the one glimpse he’d had of her had been more than enough to fire his blood. He could almost feel her long, slender body bucking beneath his as he thrust hard and deep. He wanted to fuck her until she was screaming with pleasure, until they were both sweaty and spent. And then he’d do it all over again.

His cock swelled in anticipation, pressing hard against the zipper of his jeans. A fine sheen of sweat formed on his skin, making it itch. His scalp tingled, his muscles tightened. He shook his head to clear away the haze of lust enveloping him. Now was definitely not the time for this. His job was to protect her, not to claim her.

The man in front of him issued another low growl. James LeVeau, or rather James Riley as he called himself now, had disappeared from the Wolf Creek pack of werewolves in North Carolina almost fifty years ago. At the time he’d been the alpha of the pack, the toughest and smartest one of them all. After his beloved wife, Leda, had died in childbirth, he’d simply vanished.

There had been plenty of rumors over the years. The most intriguing one was that he’d had a child with a human, a daughter. Now they all knew the rumor was true and she was a prospective mate for many of the single male wolves.

The past hundred years had not been kind to the werewolves and their numbers were dwindling at an alarming rate. The past three decades had been even worse. Children were far and few between, as were females of mating age.

Personally, Joshua felt that had more to do with all the infighting between packs, but the reality remained that they needed children to expand their population. The fact that she was the daughter of one of the most powerful, most well-respected wolves in the country was a bonus. Whoever she mated with would immediately gain in status and standing.

“I come from Wolf Creek. Ian sent me.”

That gave the older man pause, but he didn’t back down or relax his stance. “Who are you?”

“Striker.” James blinked, but gave no other indication of what he was thinking. Joshua admired the other man’s self-possession.

“Last I heard Miguel was Striker of the Wolf Creek pack.”

“He was my father.” It still hurt for Joshua to think of his father. The large man had seemed invincible to his sons, but death had claimed him all the same.

“Was?” The very stillness of the other man assured Joshua that he was ready to spring and fight at any second.

“It took four rogue wolves and several humans to bring him down.” He wanted to tip back his head and howl with the sorrow that was his constant companion. Instead, Joshua swallowed, refusing to show any of the emotion beating at him. “He was searching for you.”

“You’re young Joshua.” James’ eyes narrowed as they raked over the younger man.

“I was. Now I am Striker of the Wolf Creek pack.” Striker was more than just their name, it was his family’s duty within the pack. The head of the Striker family was in charge of pack security, of protecting the alpha pair and the pack as a whole. That duty had fallen to him and he would not fail, no matter the cost.

“I am sorry to hear about your father. He was the best of us.” Joshua could not mistake the sincerity and the sorrow in James’ voice. “I missed him.”

“Why did you never contact him?” The biting question was past his lips before he could restrain it. Joshua was angry with himself for letting his emotion show. It was a weakness he could not afford.

“It was not safe. I had too much to lose.” James shook his head. “In those days they would not have accepted my child. She was not of pure blood.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Times have changed in the past few decades, have they not? Back then, they might have killed her, now they want to claim her.” His features hardened and the alpha warrior was revealed. “I will do whatever it takes to protect her.”

“Dad?” Her low, lilting voice washed over Joshua like a physical caress, making it hard for him to breathe. “What’s this all about? Who is this guy?” He could hear the uncertainty, the question in her voice as she stepped out from behind her father.

James reached out his hand and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her beneath the shelter of his arm. “This is part of what I needed to speak to you about.” His gaze never left Joshua’s face. “Lock the door and come upstairs. We have to talk.”

Joshua turned away from the pair, purposely leaving his back exposed. Taking his time, he threw all six bolts on the door. When he was done, he faced them and cocked his eyebrow in question. The older man motioned to a doorway at the far end of the garage.

He strode past them, trying not to stare at the woman. He didn’t know her name, but he knew that he wanted her. Something about her reached deep inside him, demanding that he claim her as his own. With his preternatural sense of smell, he caught a faint whiff of her scent and almost moaned. She was close to coming into heat, but not quite there yet. At the moment, it was just the faintest tantalizing perfume that made his head spin and sent lust surging through his bloodstream. Layered over that was the clean scent of woman, her own personal fragrance. It was fresh, like the mountain wildflowers after a summer’s rain.

And he was obviously losing his mind if he was waxing poetic when there was a pissed-off alpha at his back and danger surrounding them all. If he didn’t keep his mind on business, he’d never live long enough to have a chance to claim his woman.

And she was his. She just didn’t know it yet.

Alex could barely breathe as she climbed the stairs with her father. What was going on? Who was this man? And what the hell did he have to do with her father? She hadn’t understood half of what they’d said to each other, only that her father somehow knew this man. He was obviously part of the big secret her father had been planning to reveal to her tonight. Now that the time had come to find out, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Sucking in a deep breath, she kept her eyes on the stranger—Joshua Striker he’d said his name was—as he climbed the stairs in front of them. She was very aware of her father’s heavy arm wrapped protectively around her. He was incredibly tense and there was a feeling of anticipation, of primal excitement, that permeated the air. It was the same electric sensation that was usually a precursor to violence.

Joshua stepped up onto the landing at the top of the stairs.

“Left,” her father told him. Joshua didn’t even break stride, but kept going. When he reached the door, he turned the handle and went inside.

They followed him and her father paused long enough to close and bolt the door. All this secrecy was making her extremely nervous. As if sensing her growing agitation, her father gave her a quick hug before releasing her and heading straight for the large bookcase that dominated one of the four walls in the living room. Pressing a hidden latch on the side, he waited until there was a soft click and then he pulled the bookcase forward. It slid easily, revealing a small cache of weapons in the secret cubby behind it.

“Alex.” He motioned her forward and she hurried to his side, very aware of Joshua watching their every move. The fact that her father wanted her armed scared her straight down to her soul.

“Impressive.” Joshua did look impressed, she thought as she grabbed two knives and shoved one in each of her boots. Satisfied, she reached for the regular handgun she used for target practice, but her father stayed her hand.

“No.” He opened a small metal box on one of the shelves, reached inside and pulled out a 9mm semi-automatic. Popping the magazine, he checked the ammunition before slamming it home. He handed it to her. “Regular bullets are useless. You’ll need this.”