Trapped between two alph.., p.1
Trapped Between Two Alphas, page 1
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-1-77130-376-7
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
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TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO ALPHAS
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Cynthia Lewis listened to the prognosis with a sinking heart. She was twenty-three years old with no family and from what the doctor just said no future. There were still treatments they could work through, but it required her to stay in the hospital for a prolonged length of time. She’d been in the hospital since she was eighteen. The only time she’d left for any length of time was to visit her parents’ grave stones.
“We need to start a course of treatment, Cynthia. The sooner we get started the better our chances will be,” Dr Martin said. He started talking about tests and experimenting with certain kinds of therapy.
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“No?”
Tears filled her eyes as she looked out of the window. The sun shone down on the hospital grounds. The grass appeared greener and the flowers a more intense colour than they actually were. “I don’t want any more treatment.” She licked her lips feeling her heart throb inside her chest.
“What do you mean? If we don’t do something you could die.” In the years she’d been in the hospital she’d gotten close to Doctor Martin. He was the leading specialist in leukaemia treatment. The success rate had increased over the years, and he was a good doctor. She was pleased with his honesty.
“I’m dying anyway. Do you know I can’t remember a time when I stayed out in the sun? I’ve never even kissed a boy.” She ran her fingers through her hair feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I don’t want to spend another second in this hospital fighting for a life I’ve not even lived.”
Dr Martin removed his glasses and let out a sigh. “Please, Cynthia, let me do this for you.”
“You have a daughter my age. Would you tell her to go through with treatments that would make her worse with no guarantee that they will cure her ,or would you advise her to take whatever time she had left and live?” she asked.
The man in front of her shook his head in denial.
“I know the answer I’d give, Sir. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I’m done being in hospitals. Whatever is left of my life I’m going to go out and live it.” The money she’d received from the sale of her parents’ house was waiting for her in the bank. She’d organised to rent a property on the border of two states.
“I can’t convince you to stay?” he asked again.
“No.”
He let out a sigh. “I’m going to need you to sign forms, and I want to go through some medication with you.”
She shook her head. “I’ll sign the release forms. No medication. No more anything. I want to go with whatever time I’ve got left and live.”
Cynthia knew he disapproved of what she was doing. She didn’t care. This was her life, and she’d live it however the hell she pleased.
****
Kris Hall stared at his opponent and wondered if he would kill him and leave his body for the scavengers and insects to eat away at him.
“What are you going to do, Hall? This is my fucking land, and you’ve got no part of it,” Matt Stewart said, yelling the words at him.
For the past ten years Kris had done nothing but defend his land. The house off to the side was partially on his land and partially on Matt’s land. The difficulty with both men was the fact they were both alphas to werewolf packs. Never in all of werewolf history had two individual packs lived so close to one another. Kris was surprised they hadn’t torn each other apart by now.
“Stay off my land,” Kris said. The growl he’d been trying to contain worked its way free. The noise set off his pack. They were all in human form, but at the growl of their alpha some of the men turned into wolves.
“The woman will be here in a day. We behave amicably,” Matt said.
In the last ten years Matt and Kris had finally agreed on one thing. They’d both rented out the house that bordered both of their properties. The house was far enough away from the local forest life. The woman renting the space out would never find out about the wolves living on either side of her.
“I remember the rules. No human finds out the truth. I can live with it. Can you?” Kris watched his foe tense. They’d been like this since they were children. Their fathers had found peace with one another whereas they found more and more excuses to fight. Neither stood a chance of winning against the other no matter how much they tried. It was like they were destined to constantly be in competition with each other.
“Just give me a reason to cross the line, Hall. I swear I’ll put you down.”
The animosity between the two men had occurred during high-school. Both had a reputation with the ladies, and neither could resist a challenge. The challenge to bed as many girls by the end of the year had been thwarted by one woman or at the time one girl. Kris had fallen in love with her, and in his heart the challenge ended. His life would remain with her. But Matt had fallen for the same girl. Their battles had started then.
Kris’s father had warned him about mating. When he met the right woman he wouldn’t be able to look back. When Matt declared the woman his, Kris simply walked away without looking back. The woman would have no claim to his heart. Looking back at what happened Kris chuckled.
The moment Matt was done with the woman she’d moved onto the next man to bed. They’d both been fooled by her. Either way, there was no trust between them.
“Do whatever you need. We will cross lands and greet each other for the little human. In the forest we remain sworn enemies,” Kris said.
On many of their nightly runs Kris and Matt ended up in some battle or another. There was always a reason to hurt the bastard.
He approached the threshold of the line bordering their lands and shook Matt’s hand. Seconds later Kris pulled away and turned his back on him in order to make his way back to his own house.
Ignoring the questioning looks from his men, he went straight to his home. He needed to do something with his hands before he went over to Matt’s property and did something he’d regret. Pushing all of the killing thoughts from his mind, he made his way up to his bedroom. The rest of his pack went about their daily lives. There was a ranch to run. The profit they earned from the ranch kept them going day to day.
Kris wasn’t there to make a profit. He was there to keep their secret and the werewolf pack going for as long as possible.
Humans were not supposed to know about their existence. His father had warned him their secret should be worth dying for. Humans would never understand, and because of this they killed every human who discovered the truth.
The problem they faced were the humans who knew the truth and spent their lives hunting them. Kris had never known what it was like to be the prey before. They’d scented men hunting in their adjourning forest. All of the packs were on guard.
****
Matt watched his enemy leave. His father had warned about his hate. He couldn’t stop the way he was feeling. The other alpha had made a mockery of him, and he wouldn’t let it happen again. He may have taken the woman all those years ago, but he wasn’t going to live constantly watching his back for the death strike.
“Do you think renting out the property is wise?” Arnold, his second-in-command, asked.
He shrugged. “The house is always vacant. The woman on the phone sounded desperate and made the deposit to stay for a month up front. I keep my word, and I wouldn’t cancel. Besides, it was about time that house got clean, and I don’t see any of you offering to do it.”
Brushing past his pack Matt made his way to his own home. His father had built the house with his bare hands. Thinking about his father always brought a wave of sadness to him. His parents had passed on because of hunters. He recalled finding their bodies entwined together. Up until the bitter end his father had tried to protect the woman he loved.
The same incident happened to Kris’s family, but they’d been away from their property and visiting a family up north when hunters had shot at them. Matt and Kris were both alone in the world.
He sat down at the dinner table staring at the portrait of his family. They’d been strong. Their love for one another should have been something to go down in the history books. His father had killed for his mate. His mother was a strong force to be reckoned with. Matt had never experienced that kind of possession. He’d fucked plenty of women, but none left him wanting to claim then. Not even the woman who started the war between himself and Kris. He’d taken her because she’d been available to him.
Shaking his head he stood up to make his way into the kitchen. The house was buzzing with all the new arrivals. Most of his pack was making their way to him in light of the increased hunting. Several packs up and down the country had declared an emergency. The humans were expanding in their hunting of their kind. They were all in danger. The risk the humans posed was not only to themselves but to the wolves. If any rogue wolves found out they were all in trouble. There was a small town close by where they visited every once in a while but there weren’t many people there. Matt didn’t see the town as a threat or the people. As far as he knew, the town didn’t know about their kind.
The file he’d made for Cynthia Lewis lay on the counter. There was a rental agreement for a car he’d made available along with some insurance papers to make sure she was cared for. He’d liked the sound of her voice over the phone. There was submissiveness about her. He got the sense that she was young and hadn’t done a lot with her life. Dropping the file to the counter he made his way upstairs. The coming weeks were going to be difficult. He and Kris rarely went a week without fighting.
Their packs were family and were used to their uncommon outbursts at each other. All of them refused to get in the way. The only person who ever got in their way had been their parents. They were gone now. It was up to him and Kris to make sure their packs ran smoothly.
Chapter Two
Cynthia paid the driver of the taxi and then climbed out. Before driving off, the driver handed her the single suitcase she’d put in the trunk. She watched the mud create a wave of dust on his departure. The sun was brutal, and she walked up the small steps to the house to get into the shade. Perspiration dripped off her back making her shiver.
She stared through the window but couldn’t make out a single shape. Her pulse picked up with her increased excitement. She was away from the hospital and no longer hooked up to a machine. Dr. Martin had forced her to take his medical card in case of an emergency. She refused to call him.
Death scared her. Death without even living first scared her more. She wanted to experience as much as she could in the short time she had.
Stop thinking about your time. Live your life the way you want to, Cynthia. Your parents did and would want you to do the same.
After her little pep talk she took a seat on the swing on the far side of the porch. She sat down then pulled out a book. It was time to catch up on her reading. While she’d been in the hospital her parents had bought her an e-reader. She’d found so many wonderful authors through the device, and she particularly loved reading erotic romance. Cynthia figured her love of erotic romance was down to the fact she’d never had sex before. She’d not even touched herself.
She’d experienced all the wonderful sensations but never allowed herself to touch or explore them. Being in the hospital meant it was never appropriate to experience certain things.
Shaking her head, she let herself be immersed in her book. Every once in a while she looked up to gaze at her surroundings. None of the scenery could be mistaken for the hospital. She’d done what she’d set out to do.
There was only one other thing she wished to experience. Sex.
She wanted to experience hot, sweaty, no holds barred sex.
Maybe she sounded like a slut, and she didn’t care. All she wanted to know was what it felt like to be underneath a man.
Her nipples puckered at the thought.
Where are you going to find a man in the middle of nowhere?
Cynthia chuckled then went back to reading her book. She’d deal with the next part of life later. First she wanted to get settled in her new home.
She heard some noise, which sounded like running. Glancing up over her book she saw dust gather behind two men in opposite directions. Before she got chance to stand up both men were standing at the bottom of the stairs where she’d just walked up.
Staring between the two men she saw similarities in both of their persons. The man on the right had dark brown hair with brown eyes. When he moved the shade of his hair caught in the sun, making it look more golden than brown. The man was muscular, and so was the man on the left. Only the man on the left had black hair and what appeared to be black eyes.
They were both the most beautiful and powerful men she’d ever seen. They had to be in their mid-thirties or possibly older.
“Hello,” she said, putting her book away and walking to where they both stood. Her hands fisted at her side. What was she supposed to do?
Both men continued to look at her. She started to feel like she was under a microscope. Their gazes roamed all over her body. She glanced down to make sure her clothes were still in place. There was nothing out of place. She probably had messy hair and dry skin but nothing the next woman wouldn’t experience in this kind of heat.
“I’m Cynthia Lewis. I phoned someone about the house up for rent?” She looked between both men.
Her nerves increased with every passing second.
“Do I have something on my face?” she asked, wiping her hand down her cheek.
Was this how men acted around a woman?
She had zero experience with this kind of thing. Their gazes were really starting to unnerve her.
“I’m Matt Stewart,” the man on the left said. He walked up the steps to shake her hand.
“I’m Kris Hall,” the man on the right said.
Kris walked up the small steps and then stood close to her like Matt. Her head came level with their chests. They crowded around her like a protective shield. She looked up when she heard the sound of sniffing.
Frowning she turned between the two men. Their hands rested on either of her shoulders. What the hell was going on?
Clearing her throat she turned away to grab her case. “It’s very nice to meet you both. I thought this house bordered two states,” she said. Talking would help her to clear her mind instead of thinking about the two gorgeous men on her doorstep.
They were probably married, and, knowing her luck, they were married to each other.
“No, the house doesn’t border two states but two properties. His and mine,” Matt said. They pointed between each other.
She smiled. “May I go in, or has there been a problem with the money I sent? I can get in touch with the bank if you’d like, and they’d be more than happy to send the money over or wire it over into your bank account.”
Matt was the only one of the two men talking. Kris kept staring at her like she was something to eat. His scrutinising gaze put her on edge. Didn’t he have anything better to do than sit watching her all day?
“There’s nothing wrong with the money.” Matt pulled a key out of his pocket. “Let us go in and check it out.”
She stood behind him with a small gap between. Cynthia felt Kris stand directly behind her. His body rubbed across her back in a blistering caress.
Closing her eyes, she tried to gain her wits about her once again. The door opened, and Matt gave her the signal to walk inside.
“How old are you?” Kris asked.
Frowning, she turned to the man who’d been quiet.
“Does that matter? I don’t intend to have parties or anything.”
“I don’t care about parties. I want to know how old you are.”
She looked between the two men. “I’m twenty-three.”
Then Kris did something she wasn’t prepared for. He reached out and took some of her hair. She’d grown the length out since her last shot at chemotherapy. Kris leaned down and inhaled.
Pulling away she glared at him. “What’s the matter? Is this some kind of custom I didn’t know about?” she asked.
The last time she’d checked it was unnatural for people to sniff each other like a bunch of dogs.
“Not a custom. He’s just a weird man.” Matt took her hand leading her through to the sitting room. “I’ll give you a quick tour of the house. Do you have anything else coming through like furniture?”
She shook her head. “This is all I possess in the world.”
Nodding his head he took the case from her.
“This place is fully furnished. If you have any troubles let me know, and I’ll make sure one of my men delivers whatever you need.”
