Reluctant Alpha (19 page)

“
Sara is coming. She will feed you, and I, your mate. She will need to give her own boon when I ask.”

Bradley watched as Aaron opened the vein at his wrist and put it to her mouth. His blood flowed quickly into her mouth, but she wasn’t swallowing. It dripped out the corner of her lips. For long, tense minutes, no one moved or spoke. They all knew, knew that if she didn’t drink, they couldn’t move her. If they couldn’t move her, then there was no medical help for her. She would die.

He moved his fingers to her throat and began to rub it up and down. He tried his best to ignore the way his fingers slid along the long column and the fact that it slid easily because of the blood, her blood. He felt the first swallow, then the next. It wasn’t until she drank a full half dozen mouthfuls that he breathed. He looked up at his friend and when Aaron winked at him, he nearly burst into tears again.

“
She’ll live now. She’ll heal soon. In an hour, you should be able to move her to shelter and safety. I need to go back to the mansion, but I will come at sunset. Sara will be here soon.” Bradley felt the stir of magic and glanced over at the absence of his friend. Aaron had dematerialized to his home.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Airic opened her eyes. This wasn’t a room she was familiar with, neither was the bed. She gingerly slid her legs along the sheets. The pain was there, but not entirely unbearable. Moving her arms, the pain was a little more, but again, nothing like she was used to over the past several days. She turned her head and saw an elderly gentleman sitting in a large, overstuffed chair beside the bed, and he was napping. The short whiskey glass he had in his hand was very close to tipping its amber contents onto his lap. There was a lit cigar in the ashtray on the stand next to him. The ash was fairly long, so she assumed he’d been napping for some time. She must have made a noise because he came awake suddenly and looked right at her.

“
Well, hello there. How you feeling? Aaron said you’d be better quickly. Didn’t believe it, but there you are.”

She moved a little straighter in the big bed and winced. He hopped up so quickly she jerked back and moaned this time. She tried to relax because when she tensed, the muscles protested and it hurt. He reached out and put his hands to her waist when she whimpered at him. She knew deep down that he wasn’t going to hurt her, but she had hurt been hurt so badly. She started crying a little when he sat down on the bed.

“
Here now, now that won’t do. Bradley won’t like this. There now, honey, you’re safe now. You’ll be fine.” He was patting her hand and speaking softly to her.

“
Bradley. Where?” The little bit she had moved had worn her out. She laid back on the pillows and felt the tears fall down her cheeks.

“
He’s gone to get something to eat down in the kitchen. He hasn’t been gone long, but he’ll be back soon. I’m Charlie Wolff, his grandda. You’ve only been here since about nine this morning; it’s now…four-thirty. You need anything?” She watched him rise, then go over to the chair he had been sitting in.

“
I hurt. Everywhere.” She moved again, and realized that she didn’t hurt as badly has she had before. “Not as bad now.” Her throat really hurt. It was a few seconds before she remembered why. He had put that red hot pike to her neck. She shuddered.

“
You should be much better by tomorrow and completely healed in a few days. Grandda, can I have a few minutes with her, please?” She looked to the door as soon she felt him coming up the stairs.
Felt him,
she thought. And she realized that she needed to touch him, have him touch her.

“
You leaving me?” She leaned back against the pillow again and watched him move toward her slowly. When he sat down on the bed next to her, she reached out to touch him and felt a hum run through her.

“
No, no, I’ll never leave you. You look amazing, so beautiful. I love you, baby. I’m so happy you’re all right.” He touched her face, ran his fingers down her cheek and along her neck.

“
Please. Bradley, kiss me.” She leaned forward and touched her mouth to his, gently first then with more possession. She moaned when he pushed her back against the headboard.

“
As much as I want to finish this, to make passionate love to you, we can’t. I can see that this has exhausted you already. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to have sex right now. Well, that’s not really true. I want you fully recovered before we have sex. When we make love, it will with both of us able to enjoy it fully, you understand?”

“
Yes. I understand. I love you. The full moon, tonight?” She was tired, she realized. But he loved her. She could do anything.

“
Yes. It’s tonight and you will stay here and rest. The wolf, our pack, understands what you’ve been through. They’re all so happy that you’re fine and home again. The next meeting will be fine with them for us to…you know.”

“
Have sex in front of seven thousand, is that what you mean?” She closed her eyes for just a second just to rest them and when she opened them again it was full dark outside. A quick look at the clock across the room showed that it was almost nine-thirty. Shit. She moved to the side of the bed and stood up slowly.

“
I hope that you plan to wear more than that. You are going to the pack meeting, aren’t you? I thought so. I brought you something pretty to wear.” She turned to the woman who she would swear had not been there five seconds ago.

“
Who are you, and how do you know what I’m going to do?” She had to sit down again. Okay, she wasn’t all that strong, dizzy as a matter of fact, she thought.

“
I am Melody, Mistress of Light, and Keeper of All Magic and all that jazz. I know everything. Well, most everything. There are the Fates, those wonderful women who make decisions and don’t share them with me, but that’s another issue altogether. I have this outfit for you to wear. And I know someone who will help you get there.” Airic watched her walk across the room and lay the garment bag on the chair. Then she sat on the bed.

“
And I should trust you, why?” She scooted over and leaned back against the headboard. Her body was feeling better, but she knew that what Bradley had told her earlier was true; she would take a few days to heal.

“
It needs to end tonight, Alastriona Airic Bennett, and you are the power to end it.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

“
My name, someone did that before…that woman, Aaron’s wife, she said my whole name like you just did. Then she zapped me. Why, why do I feel they go together? That you two are together?” Airic stood up, walked over to the bag and touched it, then turned to Mel.

“
Very good, Airic, very good indeed. There is power in a name. When you know the person’s real name, you hold a power over them that others do not. When you need to issue…say, a command and you want to add some kick ass power, just say the name with it.”

“
And this outfit, what does it have to do with this ceremony?”

“
Dom has agreed to take you to Bradley, but you’ll need to tell him to. He is very devoted to you, by the way. He will make sure you get there safely. As soon as you are ready, he’ll make sure that you go to the correct place.” Mel walked to the door, turned, then looked at Airic. “Before you go to him, have Dom take you to Bradley’s study.” She shut the door quietly behind her.

Airic picked up the bag and hung it on the back of the bathroom door. She turned on the shower, stripped down, and stepped under the spray. The water felt good sliding down her skin. She picked up the shower poof and poured a generous amount of the creamy soap into it. She started to wash her arm when she noticed a medium-sized bruise on her chest, just over her heart. She really couldn’t see it very well, and after a mental shrug, she washed her other arm and her torso. When she rubbed the soapy poof over her legs, she remembered the mark around her thigh. She remembered the sensual feeling she received when Bradley had touched it, the feeling that had run through her entire body.

The tattoo went all the way around her thigh and was about two inches wide. The detail and colors were fantastic. It was of gray and black wolves chasing each other, one right after the other. Sometimes they were up on hind legs; others were in mid-run. The ground they ran on changed as it encircled her, going from a scene from spring, fading to summer, into fall, and ending in winter.

When she was drying off, she moved closer to the mirror and noticed that the dark spot wasn’t a bruise after all, but another mark. This one was a perfect paw print in a deep, deep blood red, and with an outline of gold that was so thin that unless one was very close to it, no one would see it. It was about two inches wide and three inches tall.

She opened the garment bag and pulled out the dress. It was very beautiful. At the bottom of the bag were a strapless bra and a thong of the same color as the dress, which was the same deep red hue as the mark she’d found on her chest.

The bodice of the dress had buttons down the front and had no straps as it modestly draped over her breasts. It wasn’t tight, but it did fit well enough that she didn’t need anything to hold it up. When she slipped it on, she noticed that her paw print was openly displayed. The waist was tight and belted with a narrow silver chain. The skirt simply dropped from the waist to the top of her thigh and hinted above the tattoo around her leg. It looked as if the dress had been made especially to show off her new marks, but she knew that wasn’t possible as she had just discovered the marks herself. She slipped on the black toeless sandals and moved toward the door as she pulled her hair back away from her face. She didn’t bother with braiding it because she knew that Bradley liked it down. When she opened the door, there just across the hall from her stood Dom.

He dropped to the floor before her and rubbed his neck along her bare leg. She felt the warmth of this action run through her, leaving her feeling his respect and awe at her. It was an odd feeling.

“
My queen. You look very lovely, if I may say so. Mistress Mel said to take you by Alpha’s office. If you’re ready, we’ll go there now.” He waited for her to precede her down the stairs.

“
I don’t know where we’re going, Dom, so you lead. I’m not sure what she wanted me to do or see, do you?” She walked beside him rather than behind. When she looked up at him, she noticed that he had on a deep red sash at his waist, but before she could ask him about it, he was opening the door. She walked inside and before she could find the switches for the lights, he flipped them on and then walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. She walked around for a few minutes before she saw the vase, her vase. Bradley had her original vase, the one with the tress on it.

She walked slowly over to it, not believing that after all this time, she now knew who had purchased the first piece she had ever sold. He was the buyer she couldn’t find. She ran her finger down one of the limbs on the tree.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Bradley looked around the open field. Despite being told that his mate would not be able to appear, thousands had shown up. This was by far the biggest crowd that had ever attended the full moon. He sat on the ceremonial rock and thought about her.

She had looked so much better when he’d left her a couple of hours ago. So much better that he’d wanted to skip this altogether and just stay with her. But his grandda said that his pack would be very upset by that, so here he was.

“
She’ll be fine, you know. You left more than two dozen men with her and another dozen roaming the grounds. No one will get to her, no one would dare.”

He looked over at his grams. He hugged her to him and kissed her. “I know, but I didn’t assign anyone to stay behind but Dom. And I didn’t really have to ask him, he told me he was staying. The others decided to stay with her on their own. I’m not sure how many more would have stayed if I hadn’t insisted that some of them come and represent the pack.”

“
They love her. Her courage is something that they are proud of, her strength. They’re in awe at how much she suffered as his hand. Have they found him yet?”

Bradley looked out over the crowd. “No, not yet, but we will.” He heard the excitement rippling through the crowd. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he stood in front of his grams to protect her. When the crowd parted and he saw Dom carrying Airic, he nearly leapt at her. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to grab her for himself, or shake her for coming out so soon. He settled for growling at Dom.

“
Don’t you dare be mad at him. I made him bring me here, and you know I can too. He likes me enough not to leave me in the house by myself.”

He looked up at the man who was now sitting her down on the rock beside his Grandmother.

“
The queen wasn’t by herself, Alpha. There were perhaps sixty wolves within twenty feet of her at all times.” He bowed away, but only as far as behind the rock she was sitting on.

Bradley looked at her and tried to be mad. But he just couldn’t pull it off. Instead, he leaned down and captured her mouth with his. The kiss wasn’t near long enough, nor deep enough, but they both felt the heat of it. When she growled in her throat at him, he nearly pushed her back on the rock and took her right there. As it was, he was very glad for the loose-fitting lounge pants that he traditionally wore to these events. His cock had surged to awareness of her as soon as he touched her.

He noticed that there wasn’t any noise behind him and turned, still bent over her to look at his people. Turning back to see the expression on Airic’s face, he nearly laughed out loud. She looked like she’d been caught with both hands in the cookie jar before dinner.