Sentinel: Reckless Desires (Wolf Shifter Romance) (Alpha Protectors Book 2) Page 4

  And there you had it. When before I had thought I didn’t have a choice, things had suddenly opened up for me. Now it was I who could choose to walk away, unable to forgive her. Or I could try to understand what she had done. I could fight for her.

  Shame I didn’t have a fucking clue what I was going to do.

  We’d reached the clearing at the edge of the ravine, where the small group of humans had been spotted. Crouching down in the dirt, I scooped up a handful, letting it sift through my fingers. It was just your typical standard dirt. Nothing special about it as far as the naked eye could see. The ground looked virtually undisturbed, the only signs of the trespass being pock-holes scattered in zigzags along the edge of the ravine.

  “There’s something in the soil, that’s for sure.” I stated the obvious and stood up, dusting my hands off on my jeans. We weren’t going to find anything here. There was nothing to find. Our best lead would be to find the traitor within the pack, and make whoever it was talk. I weighed the options, considering what the best plan of attack would be. I needed to find this bastard before he decided threatening Chloe was a good idea. “I need you to make me a lieutenant,” I finally stated, meeting the older man’s eyes.

  He nodded once, then turned to lead the way back down into the forest. “It won’t be easy,” he said. “You’re an outsider. People might not accept you. You could find yourself challenged.” He tilted his head, considering me.

  I threw back my shoulders, at the same time letting the power I had stifled within flow out through my body. It felt damn good to stretch and feel like myself again, even if only for a short while. “I can handle a challenge,” I replied, throwing him one of my trademark smirks.

  A slow smile spread over his face, a glimmer of what looked like approval in his eyes. “Yes,” he murmured. “Yes, I believe you can.”

  Chapter Eight

  Chloe

  Grabbing a tray, I loaded it with some salad, adding four large steaks onto a separate plate. Grabbing two cans of soda and a carton of juice, I balanced the meal precariously as I wound my way through the tables and back to my seat.

  Dad had been out all day and away from the main house, so I hadn’t had the chance to see him to find out if he’d spoken with Angel, but he’d promised me that he would. And given that I hadn’t seen Angel all day, there was a good chance that he’d already packed up and left.

  It’s for the best, I told myself for what must be the hundredth time, studiously ignoring the sharp pain that flared inside my chest at the thought of never seeing him again.

  Pulling back a chair, I slid the tray onto the table and collapsed into my seat with an exaggerated sigh.

  “Momma? Is one of those for me?”

  I turned to the side, the familiar rush of love flooding me at the sight of my daughter. Huge, liquid blue eyes blinked at me from a little cherub face, complete with a halo of blond curls. My baby. My reason for living.

  She was staring at me, her eyes zigzagging over the pile of steaks, then back to me. Her stomach let out a large gurgle, demanding to be fed.

  “Sure thing, kid,” I quipped, shoving back the rush of emotion that threatened to smother me. Grabbing a knife and fork, I slid one of the steaks over onto her plate, unable to stop the laughter that burst out of me at the sight of her attacking it with relish. My baby sure liked to eat.

  “Is this seat taken?” The rumble of Angel’s deep voice cut through my laughter. I fell silent, fighting back an inappropriate wave of relief that he hadn’t left.

  “No, it isn’t. You can sit there. Who are you?” my baby chirped up before I could find breath to answer.

  Angel slid into the chair opposite me, his tray piled even higher than mine. His face broke out in a grin, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Maisie. Leaning over, he extended a large hand, completely engulfing hers in a solemn shake. “I’m Angel,” he whispered. “I’m a friend…” his voice trailed off for a second, before he continued, “I’m new here. Who are you?”

  Maisie giggled, her whole body shaking with the laughter. “I’m Maisie. I’m four. But I’m nearly five.”

  I remained silent, unable to tear my eyes away from what I was certain was going to be a car crash of horrific proportions. This could not be happening. What was I going to do? Every muscle in my body ached, my whole being tensed with the fight or flight response. Why was he still here?

  “Angel? That’s a funny name for a boy,” Maisie blurted out, in that way kids do, completely unfiltered and honest.

  Angel leaned forward, his expression conspiratorial. “Well, I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s not my real name. My Mom named me Gabriel,” he ended on a whisper.

  Maisie leaned forward, her small body tense with excitement. “I like Gabriel better,” she whispered. “It suits you. My momma calls me Maisie-Moo.” She broke off, her face creasing into a frown of utter disgust. “But I’m not a cow, I’m a wolf,” she exclaimed.

  Deep laughter erupted from Angel, his shoulders shaking.

  I was still frozen. Had he connected the dots yet? Maisie hadn’t explicitly said, but…

  A couple of other kids from the pack rushed up to our table, clambering around Maisie. She turned to me, a pleading expression on her face. “Can I go play, please?” She wheedled. “I finished everything on my plate. Please?”

  I nodded, unable to get my voice to work. She jumped out of her chair, darting around it to kiss me on the cheek, and then she was off, speeding toward the door with her friends.

  “That’s good of you,” Angel commented, while spearing a tomato with his fork.

  I was concentrating on not hyperventilating. What did he mean?

  “I’d forgotten what pack life is like,” he continued, popping the tomato into his mouth. Pausing, he chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed before continuing, “Helping look after each other’s kids, the whole not-having-to-go-it-on-your-own thing. It’s nice.”

  For some reason he was trying to be nice to me, God only knew why. Wanting to know what his game plan was, I decided to play along. “It is,” I replied. “Living with a pack is… comforting,” I finally concluded, unable to find any other way of expressing it. I didn’t know any different. The Moonridge pack had always been a part of my life.

  We lapsed into silence, both digging into our meals with gusto. But it didn’t stop our eyes from meeting, clashing together over the table, unsaid words hanging in the air.

  I let my knife and fork fall onto my plate with a clatter, and scooping up Maisie’s abandoned meal, I placed everything onto the tray. Pushing back my chair, I started to rise. “Well, that’s me,” I said, immediately feeling foolish.

  He leaned back in his chair, a speculative look in his eyes. “Chloe—” he started to say, but was broken off by the sound of a gavel banging.

  I looked over to the far side of the room. My dad stood there, a pleased expression on his face. He cleared his throat, waiting until he had everyone’s attention.

  “I have an announcement,” he called out, his voice carrying clear across the room. Everyone fell silent, their attention turning to their alpha. “As some of you might know, we have a new member of our pack. Angel, if you’d stand up please.”

  Opposite me, Angel rose from his chair, obviously not bothered by the attention. In fact, I was pretty sure he was enjoying it from the smug look on his face. Soft sighs and low murmurs erupted around the room. Esme was one of them, her eyes drinking him in. Red-hot jealousy flooded me at the thought of another woman trying to get close to him. But who’d blame them? With golden skin, blond hair sun streaked to almost white, and a body to die for, I was pretty sure there wasn’t a woman alive that’d turn him down.

  Well, this one had. My internal snark was meant to make me feel better, but it felt more like a kick to the stomach.

  Angel went to sit back down, but my dad strode toward him and indicated that he stay standing. Once reaching him, my dad turned around and surveyed the room. “Angel here is going to be t
raining as a new lieutenant for the pack.” His voice was drowned out as the room erupted in a roar, everyone talking at once.

  This was a big thing as not many people had what it took to be a lieutenant. Only the strongest and most powerful wolves were up to the task. And my dad thought Angel was? After knowing him, for what, all of five minutes?

  Before I knew it, I’d jumped to my feet, my chair clattering to the floor behind me. “That’s not how it works!”

  My dad turned to me, but it wasn’t my dad looking at me. It was my alpha. Next to him I saw Angel’s eyebrows rise, his lips sliding up in a self-satisfied grin.

  Which just riled me even more. Who the hell did he think he was, waltzing in here with his impressive muscles, flexing them around a bit, wheedling his way into my dad’s good graces, and then sliding straight into a job that taken me five years to get? Blood sweat and tears I had sacrificed for this. Hell, I had sacrificed everything!

  “What qualifications do you have? What training?” I fired the questions off, hoping to rattle him.

  Angel just looked at me, his eyes flashing with amusement. “I think you already know that, sweetheart,” he murmured in a voice low enough to reach my ears only.

  Heat crept into my cheeks, my face stinging with mortification. I’d walked straight into that one.

  Under the weight of my dad’s stare, I sank down into the seat next to mine, the one Maisie had previously abandoned. I consoled myself with the fact that she hadn’t been here to witness this, if she had been I could well imagine the questions she would have bombarded me with. And I hadn’t figured out the answers yet.

  I listened as my dad called for quiet and asked if anyone had any objections. I folded my arms over my chest, trying to stifle another outburst that threatened. Not that he was asking me. He obviously didn’t care if I had any objections. I clamped my jaw shut, biting the inside of my cheek for good measure. Why Angel hadn’t created a scene yet I didn’t know, but now wasn’t the time to push him.

  The tick in his jaw told me that.

  The room was silent, nobody voicing a single complaint.

  This couldn’t be happening! I couldn’t have Angel working with me, I couldn’t take it, I wouldn’t—

  “I object!” Mark’s voice rang out across the room. My eyes flew to him. He’d risen from his seat with a swagger, a sly smile on his face. He was a large man, bigger in breadth than Angel, but Angel had the advantage in height. Though none of that really mattered when you came down to it. When wolf shifters fought it was all about power and strength, the shifter’s strength having a direct correlation to their power.

  Which meant Angel was screwed six ways to Sunday.

  Nobody looked surprised. Shock! I bit back a snigger. Everyone knew why Mark was objecting, even my dad. Mark wanted to be the next beta. He didn’t hide his ambition. In fact, he let everybody and anybody know that if they stood in his way he would crush them. He was a brute. Something I knew firsthand, given that he’d tried to talk me into doing the naked dance with him. Several times.

  I’d told him to fuck off. Several times. Now I just made sure I didn’t find myself alone with him. Ever.

  He hadn’t offered to mate me, to make an honest woman out of me, because he didn’t think I deserved it. To him, and to a lot of the men in the pack, I was damaged goods. I was a single mother, which in the world of wolf shifters meant only one thing—that a man had used me and then decided he didn’t want me.

  The only way for a wolf shifter to get pregnant was through being marked. I’d always been told it was through being mated. But, it turned out, you could be marked and not claimed, and still end up pregnant.

  I should know.

  So, Mark thought I should be grateful for the opportunity to let him fuck me. He even hinted that if I complied with his every wish that he might one day consider allowing me to be his mate.

  And that was when I had punched him. Hard.

  But it didn’t stop him. He said he liked a fighting spirit. Made it more fun.

  I’d thrown up a little in my mouth at the thought of Mark’s fun, then I’d walked away. No way was I catering to that sick bastard’s fantasies.

  For a few days following the incident I could tell that Mark was worried about whether I’d told my dad, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I’d worked too hard to get to where I was in the pack by standing on my own two feet and carving my own way through sheer grit and determination. I wasn’t going to ruin everything by running to daddy and telling tales.

  Anyway, I wasn’t ashamed of Maisie. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. The only good thing that was going to happen to me.

  I held my breath, along with everyone in the room, waiting for Angel to reply. Surely he’d take one look at Mark and back down. There was no way he—

  “I accept.”

  What the fuck?

  Chapter Nine

  Angel

  Complete and utter silence. Then everyone stood, bodies stampeding for the door.

  I turned to follow them outside, but Chloe blocked my path.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed, her hands jammed onto her hips as she tried to stare me down.

  It was almost funny. She wasn’t a small woman. She was above average height, her body voluptuous and deliciously curvy, but compared to me she was tiny.

  “I’m accepting the challenge,” I drawled, enjoying the flare of worry in her eyes. So she did care about what happened to me. I made to move past her, but she flung out an arm as if she could block my path. I quirked an eyebrow at her, leaning into her hand.

  I didn’t miss the quick intake of breath, the way she swayed toward me, her instincts drawing her closer.

  “You can’t—” she started.

  “Exactly why can’t I?”

  “You’ll get hurt.” It was a statement, not a question. She really believed it.

  I bit back the snarl at her lack of faith in me. I had to remind myself that she wasn’t seeing the real me, but it still rankled. Years ago when we had first met, I hadn’t hidden myself. The fact that she didn’t question the change in me stung more than I wanted to admit. “Is this really because you’re worried I’ll get hurt, or because you don’t want to work with me?”

  Her eyes widened a fraction, her throat working as she swallowed hard. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

  My heart sank. Dammit! “Exactly what I thought,” I muttered, stepping around her and heading outside.

  The pack had gathered in the open courtyard, a hum of anticipation and excitement threading through the air. Stepping forward, I tugged my shirt off over my head and tossed it to the ground. Next off were my boots; bare feet would mean a better grip on the dirt floor.

  Then I waited for the alpha to lay out the rules. It would be his decision whether this would be a fight as wolves or men. Either way was fine with me.

  The alpha strode forward, his posturing screaming dominance and power. Mark stood just to the left of him and slightly behind, already stripped down to the waist, his grotesquely oversized muscles bunching as he flexed and twisted his upper torso in a parody of a warm-up.

  I snorted. Jackass.

  “There has been a challenge,” David called out in an official-sounding voice, turning in a slow circle to survey the crowd. “Who called the challenge?”

  Mark stepped forward, confidence oozing off him. “I did,” he growled.

  “And who answers?” The alpha continued, his eyes locking onto me.

  I strode forward to face Mark. “I do.” I flashed the crowd a grin, my eyes searching for Chloe. Picking her out, I dialed up the smile, throwing a wink in for good measure. Around her several women sighed, their hands fluttering as they fanned themselves. Meanwhile, Chloe just glowered, her expression furious.

  What she couldn’t possibly understand was that there was no way I was passing up this opportunity. Not only could I get a measure on Mark’s strength, I might even be able to throw a few qu
estions in between punches.

  The alpha continued to lay out the rules. The fight was to be in human form, claws and teeth allowed, and all I had to do was remain standing for five minutes.

  He was making it easy for me.

  Now all I had to do was try and figure out whether I wanted to crush Mark, or just scrape through. I didn’t bother to hide my smirk. Decisions, decisions…

  We started circling each other, throwing a couple of punches, feinting attacks, both trying to get each other’s measure.

  Doing a quick check to make sure my power block was still in place, I feinted to the right then swung to the left. An easy combination to see coming.

  Mark’s fist connected with my jaw, his knuckles slamming and smashing into bone.

  I staggered back a couple of steps, shaking my head for effect. Well, only partially for effect. The guy had some serious weight behind his fist.

  Not seeing little birdies dancing around my head quite yet, I dodged underneath his next blow, coming up behind him and landing a quick one-two jab into his kidneys.

  Avoiding another blow, I pulled back, giving myself a shake. “Is that all you’ve got?” I taunted.

  “You want some more?” Mark snarled, lurching toward me.

  “You’ve only got five minutes to knock me down. Come on, what are you waiting for? Or are you the kind of man that prefers to cheat and use guns?” I easily blocked his next punch, the tips of his claws raking down my forearm and spilling blood.

  Mark frowned at my comment, confusion clouding his eyes, but he recovered quickly. “Not laughing now, are you?” he sneered. Springing forward, he went into overdrive, his fists raining down on me, claws rending and elbows jabbing.

  I had to make a decision. Should I take the beating and stagger out of the circle, or should I give him a taste of his own medicine? My wolf snarled inside of me, anxious to defend and retaliate. He wasn’t used to being chained and held back—he was snapping at my willpower that bound him tight.