Overview
Alex Morgan has a mission set for himself-get justice for his Alpha Anax and come back the big hero. The only problem there is that he can't seem to track down Joshua Dobson, and he needs to, because Joshua needs to die. This was supposed to be a quick deal, but it's been weeks and Alex is tired and missing his pack, and he can't escape a few new truths he learns about himself.
Before Alex decides to totally throw in the towel, he manages to find the man he's been hunting, and his entire pack. Alex calls for reinforcements then finds he needs more than a few reinforcements of his own-against a man who has been abused most his life. A man who is Alex's destined mate. A man Alex doesn't think he should want, because he's the brother of Joshua Dobson.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780857157201 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Totally Entwined Group |
| Publication date: | 10/10/2011 |
| Series: | Southwestern Shifters , #4 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 137 |
| Sales rank: | 618,720 |
| File size: | 320 KB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Having spent most his life up north in or around Ohio, Alex wasn't prepared for the gruelling heat of the Southwest in July — specifically not here in Whereverthefuck Arizona. He vaguely recalled overhearing some joke about it being a 'dry heat'. Like that made any difference. It was so hot he wouldn't have been surprised to find himself cooked from the inside out, and he was so thirsty he wanted to howl with it.
Still, he had to admit there were some beautiful places in Arizona. So far, he thought this right here might be his favourite. The red rock cliffs were stunning, majestical to him in whichever form he was in. Manzanita and juniper dotted the landscape, and cactus, of course.
The fact that a stream ran through a good stretch of this area meant there was a bit more diversity in plants, and all in all, Alex found it wholly entrancing — except for the fact he suspected Joshua Dobson and his pack were hiding out somewhere relatively close. At least within a hundred mile radius, Alex hoped, because fuck, he was tired in every way possible, and more than a little lonely. It was past time for justice to be rendered, either by Alex or Marcus, should Dobson or any of his pack turn themselves in.
Maybe he'd have been finished already if Dobson's pack had truly disbanded. That was a bit of misinformation given to Alison, Alex's sister and now captain of the guard in Alex's stead, by the now deceased Stewart Combs — former member of Dobson's pack — and it threw a wrench in Alex's plans to hunt down each member. Stewart had been their only link to Joshua Dobson at the time, but the wretched asshole had managed to grab Alex's gun and kill himself before doing anything more than lying to them about Dobson's pack being disbanded.
One or two shifters he could handle, but a pack was more than he could take on alone. He'd known it might come to this but hoped it wouldn't. If members had split off, he could have single-handedly taken each one on — been the hero he wanted to be. But the pack had stayed together, and now that Alex was sure of where they were, he would have to do something he dreaded. He'd have to call for help. It wouldn't be the same as being the one who brought down Dobson and his pack, but maybe he'd still find some redemption.
After all, he'd managed to track them; even if they moved out overnight, which he doubted, they couldn't get ahead of him much. He was so close he could almost taste the victory, and in truth, he longed to finish this so he could return to his pack — or find a new one. Surely he could swallow his pride and do what needed to be done. Marcus would send his guard; he'd want Dobson brought to justice, along with his pack.
So I can't take them out all by myself. Doesn't mean I failed. Yet it felt that way to him, and Alex snorted at his own vanity. This shouldn't be about him in the first place; it should be about defending his Alpha Anax, avenging him even. But he knew there was too much of a desire to prove himself, too much hurt driving him for this to be an altruistic act.
Ever since he'd got the idea into his head, Alex had been able to think of little else. He'd lit out like his tail was on fire, albeit it was also tucked between his legs. Weeks alone had given him plenty of time to think about his actions, his own reasons for being where he was, doing what he was. Alex wasn't proud of what he'd learned about himself, but that wasn't an excuse to let Dobson get away.
He sniffed the air, catching the familiar scents he'd followed for a while now. One in particular seemed imprinted on his mind, in his senses, though Alex couldn't figure out why. Heavily drenched in fear, he couldn't make out anything else about the scent — or he could, but it just didn't make any sense and confused him until he wanted to howl. He just followed to the best of his abilities. Often that odour was also tinged with pain, and it caused a weird burning in Alex's stomach, so he'd tried his best to avoid it. He didn't need the distraction.
After following what faint hints of Dobson's trail he could find over the past several weeks, and losing it and running in what amounted to great big circles all too often, Alex knew he was finally be getting closer to the asshole.
Do what you have to. Better to admit you can't handle this on your own than to end up dead and let Dobson get away. Then you can go home. Alex had always loved being part of a pack, and leaving his had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. Maybe he shouldn't have let shame and yeah, fear, drive him out, but he had.
Although there'd also been a pressing need to prove himself, and he knew now that had been one of the main reasons for this hunt, he hadn't been entirely selfish in his reasons for leaving. The fact was, he had screwed up. He hadn't protected Marcus from Joshua Dobson before, but he'd damn well do it now, or as soon as he got his hands on — or sunk his teeth into — the shifter. He almost hoped it came down to him and Dobson, fighting to the death. Alex's fury boiled hotter than the sun on his fur, and he growled low, his paws curling into the ground.
This was going to end, soon. Tonight he'd head over to Sedona and find somewhere to sleep for the night. He'd discovered it was easy enough to do, sniff out someone lonely or just horny. It felt a bit like whoring himself out, but Alex told himself it wasn't, not really. He left the men well satisfied, and in exchange, he got a couple of hot showers, sleep in a bed, and sometimes a decent meal or two. Tonight he'd need another favour from his soon-to-be lover. He'd need to make a call, one he both dreaded and anticipated in equal measures.
* * *
"He's still following us, Alpha."
Sean Dobson cringed upon hearing the beta's report. Ever since Joshua had found out Marcus Criswell had not only survived being abandoned in the cave in New Mexico, but that he'd resumed his position as Alpha Anax, he had been crueller than usual.
"Unless there's a miracle, he'll find us."
The proclamation made Sean shiver. It wasn't just the news that they were still being hunted that scared him. In truth, Sean wished they'd get caught. What he didn't want, though, was to be his brother's whipping boy again.
One glance at Joshua's scowl and Sean knew he was fucked. Joshua was furious, and he'd look to take that out on someone. Sean was the usual target of his brother's temper. He huddled in the corner, cradling his arm that hadn't fully healed from being broken the last time. It would have been healed completely, should have been, if Joshua didn't stomp or kick it every chance he got. Sean was worried it'd never heal right, shifter abilities or not — but what did it matter, really? They'd all be dead soon, or imprisoned — and rightfully so — by Alpha Anax Criswell. Sean knew which of those two he'd prefer.
"Do you know who the fucker is?" Joshua growled as he clenched his fists. Sean bit back a whimper and tried to curl his body over his arm while keeping an eye on the other two shifters. The beta's lips twisted in a cruel grin as he glanced at Sean.
Marshall was Joshua's most trusted pack member, which was why he was the beta, but he made Sean's skin crawl. He didn't ever want to be left alone with him. There was something in his eyes when he looked at Sean, something hungry and angry and it scared Sean to his core. Marshall seemed to enjoy subtly prodding Joshua, stoking his temper and leaving Sean to suffer the consequences. The smirk on the jerk's face told him Marshall was fixing to do that very same thing now.
"Maybe," Marshall drawled as he shifted his gaze to Joshua. "If you didn't have ... problems ... detecting scents, you would be able to tell us who the fucker is who's determined to track us down."
Joshua's hands clenched as he straightened, thrusting his chest out. "Is there something you want to say Marshall?" Sean bit his bottom lip, waiting for Marshall to point out that all the cocaine Joshua snorted had done irreparable damage to his sense of smell. Normally shifters weren't affected much by human drugs, but apparently, if consumed in great quantities, at least one of them did have an effect. Joshua must have snorted a gram or two of coke in the past few days. It'd made him meaner than usual, and it wasn't just Sean who'd paid for that. There were several female members of the pack who had been forced to part their legs for their alpha.
Joshua had decided he needed to procreate, spread as much of his seed as possible, and it didn't matter to him if the women were willing or not. In fact, Sean was pretty sure his brother preferred them to fight. It hadn't been the first time Joshua had raped members of his pack. Sean often wondered why the women stayed, then he thought of his own situation and felt utterly hopeless for all of Joshua's victims.
The women were likely as terrified as he was, and rightly so. Joshua wouldn't blink over killing any of them if they tried to leave. There'd only been one successful defector, Stewart Combs. Stewart had split from Joshua's pack some time back, for reasons known only to himself. Sean wondered what happened to the man. Stewart had been an ass, never missing an opportunity to make Sean's life even more hellish, but still, he hoped the shifter was alive and maybe even helping the Alpha Anax locate Joshua.
But when Joshua turned to face him, Sean knew it wouldn't matter even if that was the case. As furious as Joshua was, Sean probably wouldn't live long enough to see his brother pay for his sins.
* * *
It was easier, Alex had discovered, to 'borrow' clothes from a clothesline if he was in wolf form. 'Borrow', because he always returned them, stripping and shifting into his wolf and dragging the clothes close to where he'd got them from. Alex knew each address he'd done it from, and once this was over, he'd reimburse the owner of the clothes for their use — probably with cash in the mail. That was the only thing he could think of to settle his conscience even though he always brought the clothing back.
As a wolf, he could drop low to the ground, and his grey fur was less noticeable than bare skin. The hardest part was finding clothes out on a line, as well as ones that would fit him. Alex was desperate now, as the sun began to set. He knew he'd be lucky to find anything, and if he didn't, he wasn't quite sure what he'd do. Break into someone's home while they were gone? The idea gave him the willies. Even reimbursing someone for the clothes wouldn't undo the sense of violation they'd surely feel.
No, he couldn't do that. Better to spend another night in this form if it came down to it. The thing that would really suck would be not being able to call his sister. Alison, now captain of Alpha Anax Criswell's guard, should be alerted to the fact that Alex would be fulfilling his promise very soon.
Alex snuffled as he thought about that. It puzzled him that he'd got this far, been alone this long. He'd been certain the Alpha Anax would have his guards out, hunting for Dobson just like Alex was, yet he'd never seen nor caught scent of anyone following him. When he tried to parse out what that meant, he trembled every time as hope tried to bloom.
Alex ruthlessly stomped it down. He'd be a fool to speculate that maybe Marcus trusted him enough still to give him this chance to prove himself. More likely the Alpha Anax had some brilliant plan in mind. For all he knew, Marcus' guards could have already swooped in for the capture or kill. As angry as the thought made Alex, he couldn't very well blame the Alpha Anax if that was what happened. He was leader of all North American shifters, after all, and Alex had already fucked up colossally, hadn't he?
Enough thinking about it. Time to figure out what I'm doing tonight. He crept around trees, eyeing the sparse dwellings as he padded along. His nose twitched. There was the familiar scent Alex had been hoping for — the almost flowery aroma of laundry soap. He spotted a long line sagging with clothes and crept closer, senses alert for humans or any other predators.
Once he assured himself it was safe, Alex leapt the fence and crawled over to peruse the offerings. Settling on a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt that looked close enough to his size, Alex quickly plucked them from the clothesline. Getting back over the fence was tricky and he nearly ripped the shirt, but he made it back to the safety of the trees.
Shifting into human form only took a matter of seconds, then Alex got dressed. The shorts were baggy and the shirt tight — he couldn't help but snicker when he tried to imagine them fitting properly on one man — but they'd do. His bare feet could be a problem, but he'd found if he could manage to slip inside a club and not cringe too badly over what he might be stepping in, most potential tricks just assumed he'd kicked off his shoes to dance.
Dancing was something Alex had quickly taken to. The bump and grind of male bodies, the scent of sweat and cum and sex redolent in the air — all of it combined to make him rather light-headed. He really hadn't had too much to do with humans before this adventure began, and sex hadn't been anywhere near as common as he'd have wished.
Suddenly finding himself surrounded by it, and willing partners, was like a fantasy brought to life. Alex would miss it when he returned to his pack, or joined another pack. He still wasn't sure how that would pan out. All he did know was, he wasn't meant to be a lone wolf. Not at all.
CHAPTER 2Morning sunlight streamed across Alex's face, but that wasn't what woke him. A warm, wet mouth sucking his dick down to the hilt had his eyes popping open as he gasped. He shoved his hands under the sheet, burying them in silky strands of dark brown hair that felt cool on his skin. "Jesus, Harley!" he groaned, rocking his hips up to get that little bit deeper.
A chuckle vibrated along his length, sending tingles to his balls as they drew up tight. Hands squeezed his quivering thighs as Harley's throat muscles constricted around his cock. "Jesus!" Alex shouted, although it sounded more like a gurgle than anything else.
Pleasure flooded him, heating his blood as it surged through his veins. Harley pulled back and sucked hard on the head, his tongue teasing the bundle of nerves under the rim, and Alex shouted again, nothing but sound and ecstasy as he poured spunk into Harley's mouth.
Harley suckled him until Alex had to pull away, his dick too sensitive to be touched. He tugged on Harley's hair and the cute brunet scrambled up his body, his pretty dick bobbing and smearing pre-cum over Alex's stomach, then his chest as he encourage the man to keep moving.
"Good morning, stud," Harley purred. Alex grinned up at the man, liking the way his brown eyes sparkled. Then he opened wide and sucked as much of Harley's dick down as he could in the position he was in. "Oh my god!" Harley vibrated above him, his fair skin pebbled with goose bumps, his coppery nipples hard little peaks. Alex reached for them, pinching lightly as he'd learned was Harley's preference. The man squealed in a way Alex found oddly charming, then Harley's hips surged forward, filling Alex's mouth and throat with rock hard dick.
"Yes," Harley hissed. "Take it, just like that, stud!" Alex didn't particularly care for the stud part, but Harley was an enthusiastic fuck, and fun to be with even when they weren't fucking.
The problem was, he'd been so enthusiastic last night — and into the early morning hours — that Alex had been lucky to shower and shave. He'd passed out, sure he'd be drained of cum for days, and hadn't made the phone call to his sister. Harley had said he could use his cell, but then he'd pounced on Alex — literally pounced — and shortly thereafter Alex had his dick buried in the man's tight little ass.
Now, as much as he was enjoying listening to Harley babble — except for that stud crap — Alex really needed to speed this along. To that end, he increased the suction and tongue play while reaching between Harley's spread thighs. As soon as he felt that Harley's ass hole was still lubed, Alex shoved two fingers in deep.
Despite liking his nipples babied, Harley liked his ass pummelled to the point Alex had worried about hurting him. Two fingers inserted without any stretching first was nothing for Harley, nothing bad, anyway since the man slammed his ass back, demanding more as he moaned lustily.
Alex obliged, more careful with the third regardless of Harley's begging. As soon as he had the third digit in, he licked over the wide dripping slit of Harley's cock, then stiffened his tongue and delved into it.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Rendered"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Bailey Bradford.
Excerpted by permission of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
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