Marked by the Alpha (2 page)

“Are you
alright
?” Alisha called from the
back
and snapped
Dani
back to reality.

Dani
turned and walked back to the counter. The trembling
in her limbs
had
ceased and she rolled her neck on her shoulders as Alisha
cautiously returned to
the front of the store
. “I will be. I’m just not sure if I am looking forward to
seeing him tonight
or not.” She leaned against the counter. “Why did you tell Mason that I was threatened?”

“If you had told him
,
I wouldn’t have had to mention the threats at all. I know I’m not a wolf
,
and I don’t have all of your instincts
,
but there are hunters that appear to be pretty active around here. I know that you have kept really low on the radar,
Dani
, but if they keep leaving dead rabbits on our
doorstep
,
they
'
re obviously getting closer to finding your house! Come on, maybe Mason can help you
.
” Alisha was keeping her pace deliberately slow. She probably thought that
Dani’s
temper was going to flare again.

Alisha was tiny and
,
compared to
Dani’s
tall
frame
,
she looked downright childlike
. Even aside from the size
difference, the two of them were a study in contrasts.
Her friend was dark-skinned, with rich b
rown hair and hazel-green eyes, while h
er own hair was a deep
,
dark red that complimented her dark brown eyes though her skin tone never tanned much beyond pale.

Nonetheless,
their physical differences had not stopped
Dani
from becoming close with Alisha and eventually telling her that she was a werewolf.
Dani
was fiercely protective of her
secret
,
even though there was
a good-sized population of wolves
in this part of the state, but she knew that she could count on Alisha to keep it to herself.

“I’m pretty sure he already knows or he wouldn’t have come all the way out here.”
Dani
did not continue
with
that thought. Could he
be planning
to lay claim to her? Was that what he
had
meant when he said he would deal with her attitude? He would just claim her as his mate and turn her into some pup factory?

“He is just about the sexiest man I have ever laid eyes on
,
”
Alisha
said, and
looked towards the door as if she were remembering the large man.

Dani
growled again
instinctively
—
much to her
dismay
—
and Alisha’s eyes went wide in fear.
Dani
smacked her hands on the counter. “Damn it! I shouldn’t care what you think of Mason Daniels.”

Alisha walked around the counter very slowly. She wisely stopped before actually reaching out to her. “You do care,
Dani
. It’s okay to be attracted to a man
who
you
've
told me in the past is a true alpha. I know there must be more to him or you would not have invited him to your house.”

Dani
shook her head. “I don’t want anything to do with that man or his pack.” She was reeling. How dare Mason
put
her so on edge! “
And f
or the record
,
Mason invited himself
,
”
she added snappishly, then
turned and began to straighten up the store. She did not want to take anything else out on her friend.

“He apparently wants something to do with you
,
”
Alisha
said quietly as she
moved back behind the counter and began to clean it.
“What can it hurt to see what he has to say?”

Dani
rolled her eyes. “You’ve known me for
f
ive, six
—
what is it, seven
?
—
years now? Have you ever in your entire life heard me make that damn
growling
noise?
”

Alisha shrugged. “Well, once
,
when that shelf fell on your head and you needed stitches, I heard you growl at the doctor.” She grabbed a dust rag from underneath the cash register and continued to wipe down the counters.

Dani
flushed. “He was a wolf.” She recalled that
that particular doctor
had known
immediately that she was one as well
, and h
e had kept the nosey nurses away
when they
kept trying to take her vitals. She knew she ran hotter than most and the last thing she
had
needed at the time was a more accurate thermometer check by an overbearing nurse.
She brushed off the memory and refocused on her friend.

Alisha frowned. “So then why did you just growl at me?”

Dani
sighed. “I don’t know. Mason comes strutting in here and
expects me
to
just
bow down and kiss his furry feet!
It just burns me!”

Alisha moved her hand. “Would it really be that bad to have someone else looking out for you?”

Dani
huffed again but looked over at her. “Are you actually worried that I can’t take care of myself?”

Alisha looked away and
Dani
remembered that last month her tires had been slashed. It
had been
the boldest threat so far.
“Last month was a fluke! I’m strong and I’m stealthy
,” she argued.

“And the dead rabbits on the doorstep?”

Dani
finally gave in to her friend’s insistence.
“Fine, you’re right.
Mason looking out for me would not be the worst thing
,” she muttered.

“Go have a nice dinner with Mason. Just let me know that you got home safe. ” Alisha smiled all the way to her eyes. “Make sure you behave.”

Dani
snorted as she studied Alisha’s face. Her words were light but her tone felt off
—
as if she were deeply worried
for
Dani’s
safety on her way home
.
“Of course I will. See you in the morning
,
”
Dani
said as she
grabbed her purse and keys from the storage room and headed out the side door.
If she hurried home, she would have just
enough time to cook and get dressed before Mason
arrived.

*
*
*

Phil, Mason’s
second-in-command
,
was standing in the small wine cellar studying the much larger man.
“I have never seen you have a hard time with
making
a
simple decision
,
”
Phil mused as he watched Mason walk up and down the two aisles.

Mason was looking
back and forth
on the shelves
for the perfect choice of wine
.
He shrugged as he passed over another bottle
.

“Just grab one
,” Phil said, exasperated. “
I’m sure that she will have other, more important thoughts on her mind
tha
n
what you two are drinking.”

Mason
finally
settled on a vintage Merlot
.
“
Dani
growled and told me to get out of her store
,
”
he said with a frown.

Phil snorted. “I know what I would have done if she growled at me.”

Mason shook his head
and said,
“I went there uninvited.” He started up the basement stairs.

Phil followed.
“
All I am saying is that if you two
—”

Mason growled and nearly pushed the smaller man back down the stairs.

“Whoa! Whoa! Hey, man!” Phil lost his balance and held up his hands. He was sitting at the bottom of the landing. “I was
not
implying that you are going after
Dani
just to mate her.
For fuck
’s
sake!”

Mason took a breath and pulled Phil back up. “She’s not even mine and I was ready to hurt you
over her
.”

“No shit?” Phil let
Mason
pull him to his feet.

“Damn it, why can’t I get this woman out of my head?” Mason let go of Phil and continued up the stairs.

“You just know, man. When you find someone that you click with like that? Just go for it. If you feel this strong
ly,
then you need to show her how you feel.”

Mason frowned. “I’m sorry and
,
as usual
,
you are right.”

“Just
have a good night
,
”
Phil said, then
clapped Mason on the shoulder and ran off.

Mason watched Phil
leave
. It was not often that he needed to apologize to
Phil
,
but there was just something about
Dani
that made him fiercely protective of her.
Mason stopped
to check his reflection in
a
mirror
by the front door
before grabbing the wine and heading out. He knew that
Dani
had to feel some sort of attraction.
S
he had gasped at his touch and
,
at one
point
,
he would not have been surprised if she
had
leaned over and marked him with her teeth.

Mason rolled his shoulders. It had taken a lot of control on his
part
not to scoop her up and force her to be his. That would have ended much worse. He blocked out the negative parts of their conversation and focused on her touch. When she was pressed against him
,
he
had
literally wanted her to make a move. Any move. Then
,
of course
,
she had opened her mouth
!

He was going to teach that
woman
one hell of a lesson tonight.

*
*
*

Dani
was pacing. She had gone with a very simple steak on the grill, veggies, and her famous mashed potato casserole. She was biting her lip as she brought the food inside. What was she nervous
about?
Could it be because she
couldn't keep from
wondering if Mason Daniels would actually try to claim her in her own house? Could he even do that? She had heard of true alpha wolves having the ability to choose any mate
—
even against
the
chosen female's
will
—
but was it true? She checked her reflection in the hallway mirror and smoothed
her hands
over her black skirt again. She did not want to impress him
, she told herself, but rather to
show him just how capable she was on her own.

When the doorbell finally rang
Dani
nearly jumped out of her skin. When was the last time she had
had
any
company
over, besides
Alisha? It was common for her friend to randomly show up but
,
of course
,
she had a key and there was no need for the bell.

She checked her top again and was happy that she
had
settled on the gray
v-neck
instead of the blood red plunge that had been calling to her
from
the back of her closet.