Alison Paige - Little Red and the Wolf

“You don’t want to do this, kid. Not now. Not her,” Gray warned.

Rick’s conquering stare faltered, dimmed, but he battled back. “Tell me she’s the one. Tell us you’re ready to be the alpha this pack needs, and I won’t try and take it from you. If she’s not your wolf’s choice, then why would you care if I took a little taste?”

Frustration itched across his shoulders, knotting his muscles. It was a simple thing. Announce that he had a romantic interest in Maizie, that he claimed her as his, and make everyone happy. Hell, his family would be thrilled. Having a mated alpha meant security for the pack.

The alpha mates alone proved the pack was vital and alive. A lone male alpha with no hope of producing strong male heirs told outside males the pack was dying. The viable females, Lynn and Shelly, would be pursued, encouraged to join healthy packs. Or killed. Gray wouldn’t, couldn’t, let that happen.

So why couldn’t he claim Maizie as his? Because there was something about her, something different he’d never felt before, compelling, addictive. He wanted none of it. He’d been married once, had his chance at love. Donna was his wife, alive or dead, he’d made a commitment. His human-half wouldn’t let him turn his back on that, not for the woman whose family had killed her.

“It’s business,” Gray insisted.

Rick looked to Maizie, intent renewed. “Is it true what they say about redheads?” He brushed past her shoulder, leaning in to whisper in her ear but loud enough Gray could hear. “Are you a wild and wicked hellcat in the sack?”

Gray’s hands balled to fists. He told himself Rick was just a kid, young by werewolf standards. He didn’t fully understand the danger, the instinct his actions triggered in Gray. But the battle between intellect and primal demands was faltering. Gray’s nails dug deeper into his palms, a low growl rumbled in his chest.

Maizie held her expression, calm indifference, and slid her eyes to see him askew. She caught his gaze. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Rick feigned a laugh. “Why don’t you ask her? She’s sitting right over there.”

Maizie’s gaze shifted to the three women. Gray knew none of them looked old enough to be Rick’s mother. Lynn politely raised a hand, wiggling her fingers, and Maizie’s eyes stretched, mouth gaping. “That’s not…that’s not possible.”

He’d forgotten how shocking his family appeared to humans. “Ignore them, Maizie. My nephew likes to tease. He’s a little insecure and thinks irritating his uncle will get him what he wants.” Gray speared Rick with a withering glare. “He’s wrong.”

Rick threw back his head, barking a laugh. “You think? At least I’m willing to do what needs to be done to protect this pack. She’s Ester’s granddaughter. She already knows, or she would if she let herself believe. What more do you want? If you won’t bite her and make her the alpha mate, I will. You can’t expect to stay single and lead this pack.”

“Bite me? You bite people?” Maizie’s too-wide eyes swung to Lynn. “You bit that man, didn’t you? I thought…I thought it was one of the wolves. But it was you.”

Gray glanced from Maizie to Lynn and back again. “What’re you talking about? What did you see? What man?”

“Nothing,” Rick answered for her. “She didn’t see anything. You’re both just trying to delay the inevitable.” He reached for Maizie’s arm.

Gray didn’t know what he meant to do. Not that it mattered. His primal reflex took hold like the snap of an overstretched cord. He punched out, connecting solidly with Rick’s chest so fast his own mind couldn’t track it.

Rick sailed backward through the air. His young muscled body slammed against the stone wall of the patio at least eight feet away. His head and shoulders whipped back over the edge then forward, his hands clutching his chest as he slumped to the floor.

Gray stood between them, his shoulders heaving, his hands fisted at his sides fighting to rein in his anger, tamp down the pure male adrenaline humming through every muscle in his body. He’d been dreading this, fighting to avoid it, for a long time. Regret warred inside him.

If it’d been any other woman he could’ve kept his self-control. But not Maizie. Maizie was his, had been since the night he gave her back her life. He hadn’t realized it until that singular moment. Gray had kept her at a distance, tried to ignore her existence, but all the while he’d seen her as his.

A replacement? Payment for what he’d lost? He wasn’t sure. His wolf-half didn’t care. With Maizie thrust into the mix of the growing tensions between him and the young male pack member, Gray’s tightly leashed instinct broke free. The wolf’s need to defend what was his ruled him mind and body.

Lynn jumped between them, shoving Gray hard enough at the shoulders that he staggered back a step. “What was that? Huh? What was that? I asked you to keep him safe, and you practically break his neck.”

She went to her son, pulling the edges of her robe together, kneeling beside him, cradling his head and shoulders to her chest. Rick pushed up the wall with his elbow, his legs still sprawled in front of him. He rubbed the back of his neck, a sideways smirk hiking the corner of his mouth.

“Maybe she is the one. Just make up your mind about it soon or I promise you, I will.” He pushed away from his mother and got to his feet.

The kid thought he’d succeeded in distracting Gray. He had, but only for a minute. He turned to Maizie who stood stunned in silence. Jeezus , she must think she’s stumbled onto the set of Deliverance the way his family behaved . He told himself it didn’t matter what she thought. Never mind that he didn’t believe that for a second.

“What did you see, Maizie?” he asked. “What did you see Lynn do?”

Maizie blinked those pretty green eyes at him as though restarting her brain. “They were in the woods. They were making love. The man’s neck was torn, like he’d been bitten. It was covered in blood, his neck, his chest. I thought he’d been attacked by wolves, and I couldn’t understand how he could make love right there in the woods after such a brutal attack.”

“Who was it?” Gray pushed. “What did the man look like?”

Maizie shook her head as though she was still struggling with all she’d heard and seen. Then her gaze slid toward the house and she pointed a finger. “Him. It was him.”

Gray turned and his heart nearly stopped. “Shawn.”

He tugged Maizie behind him without thinking and took a menacing step. “What the hell’s going on, Lynn?”

The father of Lynn ’s children, Shelly and Rick, the man who’d cheated on his wife, the man he’d forbidden Lynn to turn, stood bolder than he had any right to. Lynn was at her lover’s side in a heartbeat, putting her body between her alpha and her certain ruin.

She held up a hand, as though she could ward off Gray’s outrage. “I turned him. I needed someone, Gray, and you were too busy running around the woods with little Red Riding Hood there to do the job.”

A menacing growl vibrated through Gray’s chest and he edged forward. It was an excuse and they both knew it. The guy was no good for her. He could feel it.

“He left his wife,” Lynn said in a rush.

“Before or after you made it impossible for him to stay with her?” Gray asked, teeth clenched.

“What difference does it make? He’s mine,” she said. “You told me to find a mate. He’s the one. He’s always been the one.”

“He’s a cheat. He’s weak willed. And he smells like betrayal.” Gray looked at his sister-in-law, a woman he’d sworn to protect-his family. “He’s not good enough, Lynn. He’ll hurt you and the pieces he’ll leave behind won’t be big enough to put back together.”