“Nope.” Kieran tugged at her shirt.
She gasped. “What are you doing?”
“We’re getting you cleaned up. That’s going to mean we have to take off your clothes,
sweetheart.” He winked at her. “Why? Did you have something dirty in mind? I’m being
totally innocent here.”
He pulled her shirt over her head. The poor girl was covered in the most disgusting
smelling food he’d ever encountered. If it bothered his half-breed nose, it had to
be making her crazy.
“Kieran.” She covered up her breasts with her arms.
He would have to make her easy again. Re-win her affection. It might take some time.
But his demon side didn’t wish to wait. Between werewolves and demonic inclinations,
he’d be a bit of a mess for a while.
“Don’t be nervous.” He pulled her against him. “I promise I have no intention of hurting
you. Just breathe.”
She’d never had pack, so she didn’t know how important this was to her well-being.
Werewolves needed to be held often. It released the necessary serotonin to make shifting
easier, made it simpler for them to control their rage. No way could her mother have
handled the touch need all by herself.
Alexandra shuddered in his arms and rested her head against his chest. “You seem different.”
“You’re putting it mildly.” He kissed a clean place on her shoulder. “Trust me enough
to get you cleaned up. I promise not to do anything you don’t desire.” Although he
might try to convince her she wanted something. He couldn’t be blamed for trying.
He tugged at her pants, and she took them off. Alexandra had the longest legs of any
woman he’d ever seen naked. Not that there had been many of them, and if his wolf
instincts told him anything, Alexandra would be the only woman he saw nude for the
rest of his life.
But mating was something he’d deal with later. He had to get her clean so she smelled
more like his Alexandra and less the schmeged pledge who was being downright abused
by her potential sorority sisters. And he’d be doing something about her treatment
very shortly, too. His girl didn’t need to know anything about his plans.
He carried her to his bathroom. It wasn’t much of a bathing area, but it was his,
and he only had to share it with one other brother in his fraternity. He locked the
other entrance to give them privacy and turned on the shower.
“I can’t believe you get your own. I have to share with forty other women. There are
five stalls.”
“I did the same thing, only it was guys, my freshman year. We all put in our time.”
He carried her into the shower, not caring if his clothes got soaked. They could dry.
She needed to know he’d stay fully dressed to make his point. She was safe with him.
The rest of the world would not be if they continued to give her a hard time. He’d
slash and burn. And he’d even enjoy it.
Kieran let the hot water warm her while he soaped her body and hair. The stench of
food slowly drained away, replaced by the scent of soap and Alexandra.
She stared up at him, and he knew he’d never forget, for the rest of his life, how
lovely she looked with the water dripping down her face in his small shower. She never
looked lovelier.
Alexandra narrowed her eyes. “Tell me why you’re so different. You’re the same, and
yet there are big differences. Even the way you run your hand through your hair has
altered. You’re using more of your fist.”
“Really?” He hadn’t noticed, but then the battle for survival had ended very differently
than either part had wanted. “I’ll explain. Come on. Let’s get you dry.”
He dried her off, and then took off his own wet clothing, discarding it on the floor.
She stared at the pile. “You’re usually so neat.”
“I’ll get to it eventually. I’m still not a total pig. Here.” He handed her a pair
of his boxers and a t-shirt to put on. She sat down on the bed and stared up at him,
chewing on her lower lip.
He smiled before he spoke. She was too cute for words, and his cock craved to be deep
inside her pussy right then and there. They had to talk. He needed it clear between
them before he convinced her he was exactly what she couldn’t do without.
And then there was Mellee to destroy. One way or another.
“You asked a question earlier, and you got an answer. This body had been taken over
by a demon. What you don’t know is it was not a complete possession. The person who
had lived inside of it for twenty-two years was not at all interested in relinquishing
his spot. You see, he wasn’t a pure human. He was only half. His mother was a werewolf.”
She gasped. “You’re a half-breed?”
“We prefer hybrid, but you’re forgiven for not knowing. Yes, it’s unusual, but we
do exist. I am one. No one here in this fraternity knows anything about it. I’ve never
shifted, but I feel my wolf inside me. It wouldn’t let itself be pushed aside by a
demon. Even a powerful one.”
She pulled his cover over her. He liked her movement. His sheets would smell like
her. “So, you beat the demon?” Her breath hitched.
“Not exactly.”
Her eyes lit up, and her gaze confirmed what he already suspected. Alexandra had liked
the demon. She would have liked the half-were he had been before the possession. And
she would love the new version of him. He would devote himself to seeing she did.
“Then what?”
“We fought. One soul against another. Fire, flames, claws.” He shook his head. It
might have lasted a year for all the pain he endured. But it had only been ten minutes.
“And when it was over, rather than just being either of the people we were before,
instead we were one being. Me. I’m just one person, and I have part of both of them.
I know it must seem very weird to you. I get it, and take all the time you need to
process.” Well, not all the time. At some point, he’d intervene. “But I both am and
am not someone new.”
She grabbed her head. “This is so weird.”
He shrugged. “It’s totally normal to me.”
“My head hurts.”
Kieran walked over to her and stroked her back. “It’ll all work out very soon. Here,
lay down. Rest. I have something to do.”
“You’re leaving.”
“For a few minutes. Mellee and I are going to have words. I’m not interested in making
money off her information anymore, but I am very invested in getting her under control.
She and I are going to…
talk
.”
“Oh,” she groaned, “it’s a helpless cause. I’m dropping out of pledging. The idea
of having pack was ridiculous.”
He knelt down in front of her. “No, it’s not. You’ll have a pack if you want one.
My pack. My mother has a pack of outcasts. They’ll love you.”
She blinked rapidly. “Really?”
“Yes. But before you join, you’re getting into Lambda because you wish to.”
“Mellee’s my cousin. She’s never going to let me in. Or she’ll make it so hellish
it’s not worth it.”
He smiled. She’d given him a present, and he knew just how to use it. “Get some sleep.
I’ve got this.”
***
“Mellee.” He caught her attention when she stepped out of her car. Technically, students
were not supposed to have cars on campus, but girls as politically connected as Mellee
always found a way around the rules. He didn’t resent her ability. He’d always been
the same way. In both his previous incarnations.
“Kieran.” She walked over to him. “How are you?”
“Oh.” He smiled his most unassuming grin. “I’ve never been better, and that is actually
the truth. I’m stronger, smarter, sharper, and more energetic than I’ve ever been
before.”
“Oh…good.” She looked left and right. “It’s really wonderful you’re feeling so well.”
“Here’s the thing, Mellee. You’re not feeling great.”
“Yes, I am.”
He shook his head. “Nope. You’re not. It’s really the only explanation for why you
are making such poor decisions.”
“What—?”
He held up his hand. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m speaking to you. Here’s the deal.
Your father is making political moves in Washington that are gaining a lot of attention
from parties you’d rather not know about. Trust me. And those people are paying a
lot of money to gain information to destroy your family.”
She gasped. Good. He had her attention.
“But they don’t really have to seek very far because I’ll tell them all about you.
All about the fact that you’re a werewolf.” His demon self hadn’t thought it would
work, had believed no one would take the idea of werewolves seriously. His new self
knew better. It wouldn’t be such a well-guarded secret if the werewolves didn’t know
it could all blow up in their faces.
“How do you know?” She actually growled at him, and he laughed at the way her cheeks
puffed out.
“I’ve always known about you Lambda girls.”
“I could kill you. I’ll shift and kill you.”
He shook his head. “Is threatening a shift the best you can do? Full Moon is still
a week away. I can promise you, between this moment and then, I will have made arrangements
for the information to disseminate anywhere I wish it to go should anything happen
to me.”
“What do you want?” Her nostrils flared.
“Leave.”
“Pardon me?”
“Something wrong with your ears? I told you to leave. Go inside, pack up your bags,
and drop out of school. Get back in your car. Drive away and never, ever show your
face here again.”
She paled, and he tried not to grin. She was so easy. “I can’t.”
“Oh, but you can because, remember what I told you, you’re not feeling well.”
***
Alex hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but Kieran’s announcement about whom he had become
and the evening of schmegging had been too much for her. She’d closed her eyes, and
her mind had shut off.
She didn’t even think she dreamed. When she opened her eyes, the early morning rays
of sunlight streamed through the window. She blinked to clear the sleep from her vision.
Kieran lay next to her. He was awake and staring at the ceiling.
“Morning, sunshine.” He didn’t look at her, but amusement laced his voice.
She yawned. “Well, you did tell me to rest.”
“I did. I’m glad you slept. The demon didn’t need much sleep. I’ve only had one night,
but it looks as if I got the
I only need one to two hours
thing from him.”
“Did I snore?”
He rolled over. “Not even a little bit.”
“Where did you go?”
“Let me put it this way. Mellee will no longer be bothering you.”
His words sank in, and she sat upright. “Did you kill her?”
“No, murder would be so boring. Anyone can kill someone. It’s easy. I made her go
away. She will not be bothering you anymore. She’s dropped out of school.”
Was it possible? She turned onto her side to stare right at his profile. “Are you
fucking with me?”
“Nice choice of language. It’s all true. She drove off before sunrise. She won’t be
back.” He stared at her for a second before he reached out to stroke her leg. “You
okay?”
“It’s strange. I mean you made exactly what I dreamed actually happen. No one has
ever done that for me before.” She stared into his dark eyes, so like the Kieran she
had gotten to know, but so different, too. This version of Kieran had kindness in
his eyes, and yet her demon had to be there somewhere—cleverly finding a way to get
Mellee to leave school.
“I want you to have everything. Always.”
“You do?”
He stretched out on the bed, looking like some kind of picture of male perfection
from a fashion magazine. How could he appear so put together this early in the morning?
“Get yourself over to Lambda right away. Everything will be utter chaos until they
get it together. Go be the good little pledge.”
“Right.” She jumped up. First, she would have to cross campus, wearing only his boxer
shorts and a T-shirt, but it was fine.
Only, she didn’t really want to leave. He stared up at her when she didn’t move. “What’s
the matter?”
“Nothing.” Really, there couldn’t be anything wrong. Everything had to be perfect,
exactly what she desired.
“Great. I’ll wash your clothes with my own. Have fun today. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Sure.”
She walked out of his room and then the house in a bit of a daze. By the time she
reached her dorm room, she was going through the motions of everything without really
feeling present in her body. She got dressed, did her hair, and made her way over
to the Lambda House. It was only when she stood on the steps of the House that she
finally paused.
Mellee was gone. Kieran had made it happen, and he was different. And yet….
He’d apparently threatened the woman enough she’d taken off running halfway through
her senior year. He certainly still had some of her demon in him, and she grinned
at the thought. Maybe liking the demon made her a bad person, but she did. She didn’t
want him totally gone.
She pulled out her phone. The ROAR hotline hadn’t let her down yet.
Can I trust him?
It was the same question she had texted before, but it was a different
him
. She needed to know if she should run for the hills.
Yes
.
Well, then. ROAR’s response settled it. Her phone beeped again, and she looked down.
Which is not to say he’s a tame creature. He’s not, but he’s completely upfront with
who he is, and as long as he is what you wish, then, yes, you can trust him
.
She went into the House. Most of the sisterhood and pledges were gathered in the living
room. Alex sat in the back of the room and listened. One of the other senior sisters
spoke about the future. Everyone listened intently, but Alex couldn’t get her head
into it.
What was she doing here?
Mellee was gone, and it was great. Some of the sisters who took over might even make
things easier for her in the long run. The other pledges could be given permission
to speak to her. Life might get better.