Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (35 page)

Shade seemed amused at her helplessness. “Do you want to know the best part?”

“What?” She just wanted him to talk more. She liked the sound of his voice.

He rested his head on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. “Once you’re mated to an Alpha, you’ll only accept other Alphas as mates. You need me.” Shade looked into her eyes. “Tell me you need me.”

Something about his words made her rebel. “You can’t make me want you.”

“Oh, my fiery darling.” Shade held her so tightly she thought he might smother her. She tried to push away, but heat seemed to trickle back into her bones. Finally, she sighed and leaned against him.

“I can’t make you want me, but the wine most certainly can. You’ll want me soon enough—you’ll crave me. Only an Alpha will be able to satisfy you, and I’m the only one for miles.” He stepped back, examining her. “Already, it’s pulling you under. Let yourself go, Lia. Lose yourself to me.”

She only half heard him. She didn’t care what he said, only that he keep talking, that he stay beside her. How had she not noticed before how perfect he was? His strong scent could only belong to an Alpha. She needed to do something to keep him here, to keep him from leaving. He was like oxygen, and she couldn’t imagine life without him.

“The wine’s definitely working now, isn’t it?”

His words were like a far-off hum. Looking at him in wonder, Lia ran a finger over his lips. They were so smooth. She wondered what they tasted like. Raising her head, she silently pleaded for a kiss.

“Naughty girl,” Shade said. “Kisses are for pets who behave. You haven’t done much of that today, now have you?”

Tears formed in her eyes. How could he reject her when she needed him so badly?

“There, now.” He stroked her hair. “It’s only your first day. You’ll be an obedient pet tomorrow, won’t you?”

She nodded. She’d do anything for him, anything he asked, so long as he’d let her taste his lips. She needed to feel them on hers more than anything in the world.

He steered her toward the cot, pushing her firmly into a sitting position. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Remember, I make the rules.”

Shade stepped back. Lia reached out for him. She wanted to feel his warm skin. She couldn’t bear not being able to touch him.

“What’s this?” he asked. “You’re going to be friendly now?”

“Sit with me,” Lia said. “Lie with me. I’m sorry I said no before.”

He crouched before her, hands on her knees. “This is why it’s so important to obey me, pet. I can’t lie with you now, because then what would that teach you? And I won’t punish you, because it’s your first day, but never tell me what to do.”

Lia didn’t want to say anything that would upset him, so she said nothing. Slipping her hands into his, she tried to pull him onto her.

“None of that today, pet. I told you. You haven’t been good enough.”

“Please?” She thought she was going to cry. “I’ll be good from now on. I promise.”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“What do you want from me?” Lia asked. “I’ll do anything.”

A wicked grin formed on his face. She was in agony, and he was loving it.

Shade put a hand around his cock, which she realized was hard. She could smell his excitement, the muskiness of him. Her pulse quickened.

“Maybe I’ll take pity on you,” he said. “On your knees.”

She scooted off the cot and onto the stone, ignoring how hard it was beneath her.

“Do you want this?” he asked, letting his cock swing before her.

Lia nodded, looking up at him. There was a roaring in her ears, an unmet need between her legs. She needed a release. She needed Shade.

“Tell me how much you want me.”

“Please,” she whimpered. “It hurts.” The need had started to sear. It felt like it might burn her away.

“That’s not what I asked for.”

Lia put a hand on his calf. “Don’t go. I want you more than anything.”

“More than Kane and Ronan?”

She nodded.

“More than any other Alpha?”

“Yes!” Anguish scorched through her.

“Hmm.” Shade stroked his chin. “I’m not convinced. We’ll try again tomorrow.” He drew his cock away.

Lia fell over, feeling pain as acute as if he’d stabbed her. She drew her knees to her chest. “But you said—”

“I said maybe. But I won’t take pity on you, not yet. You need to be on your best behavior with me, and I didn’t see that today. Tomorrow you can have another chance to convince me that you’ll be a good pet.”

She rolled over, clutching her stomach. “Please.”

“Why should I?” He stood over her, his erect cock taunting her.

Shade wanted her just as much as she wanted him—he was denying himself as well as her. The knowledge made her shudder with need. Couldn’t she make him see that they needed each other?

She was wet between her legs. It felt like she would die if she couldn’t have him. She had to try one last time. “I’ll do anything.”

“But will you do everything? Will you bind yourself to me, and swear to carry my pups? Will you swear to stay in the den forever if I ask you to?”

Something deep within stopped her from answering, though the effort sent a sharp pain through her stomach.

“We’ll see what your answer is tomorrow. I hope you don’t try to hold out for more than two days. I hear the third is torture.” He stepped toward the door.

“Don’t leave me!”

He stopped, turned. “Of course not. Not without saying goodbye.” Bending down, he cupped her chin and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll take care of you tomorrow. If you please me, pet.”

Then he left. The ache inside her swelled to a keening need. As Lia convulsed on the stone, she couldn’t tell if he’d been merciful or not.

***

She didn’t know how long she huddled on the damp floor, curled into a ball. All her muscles had gone numb, but the pain was nothing close to the screaming throb inside her.

She wished she had never touched that cursed wine. All she could think about was the look in Ronan’s eyes when she’d stabbed him. It had been an illusion, yes, but the betrayal was real.

At least Shade was gone. That made it easier to think.

There was a scuff against stone. Someone was at the bars.

“Ronan?” Her throat felt raw as she rolled over. It wasn’t Ronan, of course. Lia fought the urge not to sob as she looked up at the mage boy. He held a single candle, as if warding off the dark.

“Help me,” she pleaded.

The boy wrapped a hand around one of the bars. “If I do, he’ll just kill both of us.”

“That’s not true.” Lia pinched the web of skin between her thumb and forefinger, trying to ignore the thrumming thought in her mind that she should break out of her cell to seek out Shade. “You have magic. You could defeat Shade, if you wanted to.”

The boy’s face twisted into a grimace. “I tried that, once. My father paid the price.”

“And would your father have wanted you to die, too?” Lia snapped. “Shade will kill you, you know, once he’s done with you.”

The boy hung his head, knuckles white on the bars.

“I’m sorry about your father,” Lia whispered. “I shouldn’t have said any of that.”

The boy shrugged, wiping his eyes. “He’s better off dead out there than alive with me in here.”

Lia wished she had the strength to reach out toward him. For all his brave words, the boy’s voice was laced with pain. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Finn,” he said after a pause, like he’d almost forgotten. “And you’re Lia. I’ve heard him talking about you, my master. I’m—I’m sorry.”

The way his throat caught told her all she needed to know about the things Shade was saying about her. She couldn’t face him again. Hells, he’d almost broken her with one glass of wine. She couldn’t let him make her betray her mates.

“Are you sure you can’t help?” Lia asked. “Make it look like the door is open, and I’ve escaped. Make us disappear long enough to slip out. You’ve been doing it for Shade, haven’t you? Cloaking him when he runs, hiding his trail. Why not do it for us? My pack will protect you, I promise.”

Finn shook his head. “My master’s too smart for that. And his nose is too good. He’d sniff out the fact that you were still in your cell, and he’d sniff us out no matter where we were in his caverns. I tried to trick him once, just to see if I could.” Finn held up an arm with three long slash marks. “That’s what it got me. He told me the air doesn’t move much down here, and he can smell where everyone is, always. He probably knows I’m here now.”

The boy glanced down the hall, as if expecting Shade to jump out from behind a pillar. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t come here to save you. I’m not sure what he’d do to me if he found me talking to you, but I had to do something.”

Her heart caught in her throat. So he would help?

Finn pulled something from his belt. He hesitated, then handed her a knife. Lia recognized it as the one Shade had tossed out of her cell. She took it, fingers numb.

“There’s really only one escape,” Finn said. “If you want, you can… you know. It’ll be better than what he has planned for you. I was going to use it, but you need it more than me. I can get another one.”

Dully, Lia looked at the blade. “Won’t Shade know you gave it to me?”

“He won’t kill me. Not for now. I’m too valuable.”

So this was her help. It was likely all she would get. Finn may have given her the only way out, and she should be grateful. But all she wanted was to be alone. Let the dripping envelop her and surrender to the dark.

Finn stepped away. “I… Good luck,” he said awkwardly.

Lia didn’t trust herself to say anything. If she opened her mouth, she would either scream at him to save her or beg him to bring her Shade.

Finn slipped away, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls. She listened until they were gone.

Lia felt the heat returning, the fire of lust in her belly that only an Alpha could quench. A horrible part of her that the wine had altered wanted Shade, and nothing else. That part of her wanted to howl for him, to call him to her, to fall to her knees and kiss the ground at his feet until he saved her from herself.

She slumped against the bars. The wine was winning. It was only a matter of time.

Unless she did something.

The knife trembled in her hand.

Chapter Three

Ronan dragged Kane up the stairs and all the way to his bed, letting his brother collapse against the stone side. Kane had fought them all the way back, but it seemed his fight had gone out.

“I can boost you up,” Ronan said, “but I’m not going to tuck you in.”

Kane turned to him, anguish in his red-rimmed eyes. “How could you leave her?”

“Because I want to bring all of us back alive, Kane. Not just Lia.”

Kane stared into the distance. “It’s all my fault.”

“I’m the one who left her to Shade,” Ronan said. “Isn’t it mine?”

Kane shook his head. “I made her leave, I always make them leave. It’s always my fault.”

“What are you talking about?” Ronan knelt next to him.

“Lia. Momma. Even… Even Father.” A tear slid down Kane’s face.

Ronan blinked. Had he ever seen his brother cry? He wrapped a hand around Kane’s arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “None of those were your fault. Especially not Dad. Why would you say that?”

“I was at the last battle, Ronan.” Kane’s voice came in ragged gasps. “I was there when Father fell. He had no one left to protect his back. Dusk was sneaking up on him. I thought Father was going to turn, but he didn’t. I could have warned him. I didn’t.” He put his head in his hands as he was wracked with sobs.

“Listen to me, Kane.” Ronan took his shoulders. “We were pups. It wasn’t your job to save Dad, or protect Dad. You weren’t even supposed to be there.”

“But I was there. I could have saved him.”

Pain was etched on Kane’s face. For a fleeting moment, Ronan wondered whether his brother’s heart was as scarred as his back. Gripping Kane’s head, Ronan touched his forehead to his brother’s. He wished he could keep Kane from hurting so deeply. He doubted that he could find sufficient words to ease the ache.

“That’s all in the past,” Ronan said gently. “There’s nothing we can do for Dad. Probably nothing we could have done, either. Let’s focus on what we can change.”

Kane grabbed Ronan’s hand, his grip convulsing. “Do you forgive me?”

Ronan looked into his bloodshot eyes. “There’s nothing to forgive. Unless you count keeping this a secret from me for so long, you bonehead. You’re supposed to be able to tell me anything.”

Kane let out a long sigh. It sounded like he might have been holding it in since their father died.

“Get some sleep,” Ronan said. “We have work to do tomorrow.”

“Are you sure it can’t be tonight?” Kane’s voice sounded so small.

“Tomorrow, Kane. You’re done in. Rest. I’ll have a plan by first light.”

Kane shifted into his wolf form and curled up by the side of the bed. His eyes quickly closed. Ronan hoped for Kane’s sake that his sleep was dreamless.

“Don’t worry,” Ronan said softly. “We’ll bring her home.”

“Promise?”

He thought Kane had already drifted away. Apparently not. “Promise.”

Ronan watched Kane, waiting until his brother’s breaths evened and deepened. He’d have to watch over him, make sure Kane didn’t do anything rash. He smiled ruefully. The job only seemed slightly easier when Kane was unconscious.

He stared at his brother, deep in thought. They would bring Lia home, together. But how?

“Ronan?”

The whisper came from the doorway. He turned to find Della there, beckoning him into the hall.

Ronan followed her to the heights, his thoughts churning. Shade’s mage might be a boy, but as far as Ronan knew, there was only one way to defeat a mage. With magic. The only person he knew with magic was Lia, and she was the one who needed help. Besides, Della had already told him how Lia’s magic was tied to the moon.

He looked at the sky, scowling. At least the new moon, dark and useless, had the courtesy not to show itself until dawn. Ronan cursed at himself under his breath. It was his job to protect Lia until she could protect herself again. But imagine if, somehow, Shade kept her until the full moon? Ronan grinned. The Alpha would get a rather nasty surprise.