New Alpha-New Rules (3 page)

Ryder tapped the
screen and handed it back. “Come sweetheart.” Ryder pulled her to him. “Green
Valley, we’re out.” Ryder wrapped his arm around her and ushered her toward the
door.

“Hey, you aren’t
taking our she-wolf out of here.” Someone said and Ryder turned around to face
them.

“I am taking her
with me and with your Alpha’s permission. Go discuss it with him. I’m sure that
he has several choice words for each of you. I know that I would.” Ryder turned
back around and went outside with his pack following.

Ryder lifted Harper
easily into the front seat and gave her a grin. The rest of the wolves piled
into the back and into two pickup trucks parked beside the SUV she was riding
in. “This is nice.” She said when he’d climbed into the driver’s seat brushing
the seat with her fingertips.

“Thank you.” Ryder
said. He reached past her and pulled her seatbelt across her then snapped it
into the lock. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip.

“You can just drop
me at home. They won’t even know that I’m there. We can sneak in the back way.”
He glanced over at her then turned his eyes back to the road. “You don’t really
expect me to go home with you do you?” Harper started to panic and looked for
the door handle. She could hop out before he turned onto the highway. Sidney
would pass by here in a few moments and pick her up. She would text her.

“Easy girl.” Ryder
reached over and let his finger tips trail down her arm until he found her hand
and gave it a squeeze. She calmed and her heart slowed from its pounding
panicky rhythm. “I have a big house and you aren’t in any danger. I have other
she-wolves and mated pairs at my house. You are safe and you will be taken care
of, I promise.” He squeezed her hand again. “Okay?” She nodded and pulled her
phone out when it chirped. Sidney.

~
Are you okay
with this? I’ll follow him and get you away from him if I need to.

~I think I can
trust him. If I need you, I’ll call
.

~You got it
baby
and damn is he fine! Get the low down on Curtis for me!

Harper giggled.
Ryder looked over at her then adjusted himself in his seat. “Your friend from
the bar?”

“Yes. She wanted
to make sure that I trusted you with my safety. You’d better keep me safe
Ryder. Sidney will kick your ass if you don’t.” He smirked at that. The wolves
in the back chuckled.

“She’ll probably
stab you to death with one of her shoes.” Someone said.

“How do you ladies
stand up in those things without falling over?” A different voice asked in the
back seat asked, he was younger and looked genuinely interested when she turned
around.

“I’m not sure, I’m
still learning myself. Tonight was my first time in years. I’m usually in flip-flops
or sneakers. I’m just glad that I didn’t fall down and embarrass myself, but
Sidney insisted that flip-flops had no place in a bar. I hope that doesn’t
disappoint you Ryder.” She finished quietly.

“Not at all, I
prefer that my women be able to walk and to not break their ankles while they’re
doing it. On the other hand, if you did break them, it would give me an excuse
to carry you around in my arms.” A smile tugged at his lips. She heard someone
snicker in the back and giggled again when Ryder growled. The snickering
stopped suddenly and Harper clamped her mouth closed. It was never smart to
antagonize and Alpha, especially one you’d just met.

They drove into
the darkness getting farther from town and from her house. She grew nervous
again when they turned down a dirt road beside a black and rusty mailbox that
hung over sideways. “I hope you don’t get a lot of mail if that’s yours.” He
gave her hand a squeeze and she calmed.

“Jack, straighten
that up first thing.” Ryder looked up into the rearview mirror.

“Yes sir, I’ll
have it done before breakfast.” He answered quickly. The one interested in her
shoes was Jack.

“I didn’t mean to
cause anyone any work.” Harper nibbled her lip and looked anxiously at Ryder’s
profile.

“It was on the list.
Don’t worry about it. We’ve only been here a few days and the list is long.
We’re fixing the main house first then we will start building individual units.
We sold our pack territory to a developer and we made a nice profit. The offer
came at a good time.” He gave her a longing glance then continued. “They’d just
passed a law that wolves were open game so I thought that it was all an omen.”
Harper nodded. “We came from Montana but I’ve always been intrigued by the east
coast, we voted and here we are.”

Ryder said
stopping the vehicle beside an expansive porch that sat before a huge white farmhouse.
There was a barn farther out in the field behind it but it looked like it was
going to fall over. “The barn isn’t safe so don’t go inside of it.” He said
following her gaze. “I’m not sure if we will get to knock it down or if it will
fall first. It’s a race at this point. I bought this place off the internet.
There are one hundred acres all told, plenty of trees for running and hunting,
and plenty of open ground for building and farming.”

Harper watched him
talk. She found the way his mouth moved fascinating, the warm husky tone of his
voice entrancing and didn’t notice that everyone else had climbed out until she
saw them going up the porch steps. “You’ll sleep in the attic. The single
wolves occupy two bedrooms on the first floor, the mated ones the other two on
the second floor. They are probably asleep by now so I will introduce you in
the morning if they’re up.”

“Where do you
sleep?” Harper’s voice came out as a whisper. He reached over and released her
seatbelt.

“The attic. You’ll
be safe there with me, don’t worry.”

“So I sleep with
you?” She chewed on her thumbnail. Ryder reached over and pulled it from her
mouth.

“The boys are
carrying a mattress up now that you’ll sleep on, I’ll shift and sleep in the
corner.” He winked and she gulped. “I’ll introduce you to my wolf first, he
likes you already though.” She nodded and watched him climb out then opened her
door. He was there to help her down before she could move. “Careful darling.”
He set her down gently in the grass and took her elbow to help her up the
steps. His arm was around her waist in an instant when one of the boards gave.

Lee was flopping
down on the couch with a beer when they came inside. “Lee, porch steps, first
thing.”

“On it boss.” Lee
tipped the can back and swallowed then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He
wasn’t a typical looking wolf, Harper thought. Lee had blonde streaked hair and
bright green eyes. She wondered if he was part human. He had a broad chest but
was short. He could be mistaken for human if you didn’t scent him.

Most wolves looked
more like Ryder. They were big, broad and dark haired. Their eyes varied in
color but usually they were dark eyed as well. The young one looked more like
what she was used to. He was tall, blue eyed and had black hair. They called
him Jack. He was a good-looking kid. She figured him to be late teens or very
early twenties, younger than her.

This house was old
and needed a lot of work. Her house was maintained by Bronson’s family over the
years. She’d moved in when she first mated and had done her best to keep it up
but anything that she couldn’t fix, Ellis usually ended up fixing. Bronson
wasn’t any good at that stuff he’d always claimed. Now she thought he was just
lazy.

“I know it needs
paint, and varnish but a little elbow grease and this will be a great house
again.” Harper looked up at the crown moldings and agreed. She loved to watch
DIY shows and she could see its potential. She thought about calling the crew
from the show that worked on old houses. This would keep them busy for a whole
season.

“The kitchen is
through there, if you get hungry just help yourself,” he pointed. “Bathroom is
the first door on the right down there.” He pointed in the other direction.
“We’re up there.” Ryder nodded at the stairs. “After you.” Harper turned toward
them and started up. She could feel his eyes burning into her backside and she
had a very strong urge to step out of the way and let him pass. “You’re doing
fine sweetness, keep going.” His voice had dropped to a huskier baritone.

“Who’s that Uncle
Ry?” A tiny blonde girl stood at the top of the stairs with a teddy bear and a
pink blanket. She wore footed pajamas and her hair was sticking out everywhere
from sleep. She had chocolate brown eyes with grey streaks, wolf’s eyes; they
were exactly what you would expect if you knew about them.

“This is Harper.
She’s going to spend the night with me. Go back to bed Lucy.” He said from
behind Harper.

“I need a milk and
I can’t sleep ‘cause I’m hot.”

“You’re hot
because you insist on wearing those fleece pajamas. Go find a tee shirt to put
on and don’t wake anyone. Lee can get you a glass of milk. He’s downstairs, go
on, and hurry up. Little girls need their rest.” He smoothed a hand over her
hair as they passed her. She hurried down the stairs. “Another bathroom on your
left and the steps up to the attic to the right.” He said to Harper now.

“Uncle Lee, Ryder
said you can get me a milk and a cookie.” Harper heard her say and she smiled
at Ryder who just shook his head.

“Milk only.” He
called down the stairs. “This way.” He took her elbow and led her around a
corner and through another door that opened to stairs.” She climbed them as
well until she reached the top where another door stood open and turned a
corner onto a landing.

The attic was
huge. It stretched the reach of the top of the house when she looked to her
left and to her right. Fresh insulation was tucked into the space between the
roof braces, but it wasn’t finished. She felt cool air coming from behind her
where there wasn’t insulation yet. Someone had swept insulation scraps, dirt,
and dust into a pile in the corner at the end of the room. A mattress was on
the floor under a window but had fresh sheets and pillows with a handmade quilt
covering the bottom half. It looked just made. “We plan on installing hardwood
floors up here. They’ll be honey oak to pick up the light. See,” he pointed,
“they’ve started down there.  I’m going to hang drywall and make that whole
wall over there into a closet.” Harper nodded. “We’re working out how to get a
bathroom up here.” She walked over and looked out the window. The barn was out
there to the left and just beyond it trees. The moon was bright and shining
down on the collapsing barn roof. “What do you think?” He asked from right
behind her now.

“I think you’re
right about the barn.” She turned and was caged by him again. He seemed to like
doing that to her. Her hip leaned against the window frame and she felt the
draft against her skin. His huge arms were braced against the window frame.

“Let me help you
out of those shoes.” He bent and lifted her foot then slid off one shoe then
repeated it for the other shoe. “You’re just a little bit of a thing huh? I’ll
get you something to sleep in.” Harper swallowed hard. Her heart pounded with
him so near. He could’ve done anything to her right then but he only made her
more comfortable.

He crossed the
room and opened a box against the wall then pulled out a tee shirt. It was
black and plain but long. He handed it to her and helped her out of her jacket.
“Maybe you should just sleep in this.” He said looking at the lacy top that
Sidney put her in earlier. He let his thumbs trail down her bare arms as he
slowly pulled the jacket off.

“Do you need
privacy to change?” His voice soothed over her nerves making her heart jump
about but calming her all at the same time. She made a circle with her finger
so he would turn around. He stalked back to the box and dug through it while
she turned around and pulled off the lace tee shirt and her new lacy push up
bra. She was going to murder Sidney. If she’d worn her usual attire, she
could’ve just flopped across the mattress. The tee shirt he’d given her dropped
to her mid thigh and it smelled like him. A little thrill raced through her.
She liked that scent. It made her feel safe. She reached under the shirt and
unzipped the skirt then tugged it down her hips. When she stepped out of it,
she started to fall sideways but he was there and caught her easily.

“Thanks.” Harper
said.

“Anytime darling.”
She liked how he said that. He stretched darling out like smooth caramel and
left the ‘g’ off. When she turned to look at him, he was only in his jeans.
They hung off his hips seductively and she wondered if he’d undone the button
on purpose to be even sexier than he was dressed.

His torso was cut,
roped with power. Muscles notched in his abdomen promised grace and strength
while making muscles of her own clench greedily low in her belly. His feet were
bare, tan, and perfect. She’d never paid much attention to feet before but his
were nice. He shifted then into a magnificent black wolf. It was big with thick
hair and sniffed her hand then under her shirt’s hem.

“Hey, none of
that.” He nudged her toward the bed and she went. He was big. Standing on all
fours his nose was above her navel. If he stood up on his hind legs, she was
sure that he would look down at her. Harper climbed into the makeshift bed and got
under the sheet then pulled the quilt up to her chin. Ryder went to the corner
and curled up after sniffing the floor. He groaned lightly and put his head
down but he was watching her.

Harper closed her
eyes and tried to sleep. She could feel the cool damp air coming from behind
her and pulled the quilt higher up on her shoulder. It was chilly up here. She
considered shifting and going to curl up with him to keep warm. Harper tossed
but couldn’t get comfortable because she couldn’t get warm enough. She
should’ve insisted on going home. It was very late and she had to go to work
tomorrow. She had a shift at the store and another tomorrow night at the gas
station, so sleep was not optional it was a necessity. She turned over again
and found herself staring into the wolf’s eyes. He was sitting there beside her
bed watching her. He shifted back into his human form.

“Scoot over.”
Harper did as he said while her heart started to quicken. “You’re cold.” She
nodded. He climbed in and pulled the covers up around them. “Come here."
Ryder wrapped his arms around her and held her close. His hand smoothed a trail
from between her shoulders down to her tailbone, soothing her. She fell asleep
almost instantly.