Page 16 of Harvest

“That’s enough. You shift back,” Xander growled.

Her answer was to bare her teeth and spring toward him. She hoped she could catch him by surprise, knock him down and sprint past him. But Alex was far quicker than she had imagined him to be. He caught her mid-air by the scruff of her neck and shook her before pinning her to the ground.

“Are you deaf, little wolf? Shift now!” he snarled.

When her struggles to get away proved ineffective, Stephanie shifted back to her human form.

“My hearing is just fine. I don’t like being bellowed at.”

“Fair enough. For the record, I don’t like waking up alone and not knowing where you’ve gone and having to come find you.”

He stood, helping her to stand.

“Well, here I am. You’ve accomplished your goal and you may leave.”

She tried to push past him. His low, menacing growl morphed to a more seductive one when her body responded instinctively to his call.

“Make no mistake, sweetheart, neither of us is going anywhere. I ran into Damian on the way in and brought him up to speed.”

Stephanie whirled around. “You what? What did you tell him?”

“That we are fated mates and that you’re being a naughty she-wolf.”

“What did he say?”

“That I should get you right with it and mark you as mine.”

“What? He can’t make me do that!”

“Want to bet? Marco gave your protection over to Damian. He’s your alpha and I’m your fated mate. He won’t come between us.”

“Kayla sent me a list of pack members. I don’t recall an Alex,” she said, trying to change the subject.

“That’s because I’m only Master Alex at the club. Everywhere else I’m Xander.”

“Xander?” she said, suddenly realizing just how much trouble she was in. Xander was the name of the beta of the pack. “The beta?”

“One and the same, which unfortunately means for you that you’ll be on a shorter leash than the rest of the she-wolves and that I am particularly well versed in discipline spankings. Makeno mistake, that little stunt this morning means you’re owed one.”

“No,” she said, backing away and looking toward the door.

“Don’t,” he warned. “The door is locked, and you’ll never make it.”

“I’ll scream.”

“Go ahead. The walls are well sound-proofed, and no one will hear. Even if they did, no one would interfere.”

“You may be Master Alex at the club, but I will appeal to Marco and go back to Italy.”

“Thus, the reason Damian wants me to mark you before Marco is aware of your feelings. Neither of us is convinced Marco would step in, but make no mistake, you are mine and this pack will fight to keep you. You should know this pack is heavily weighted with ex special forces guys. I wouldn’t give good odds on anyone being able to take us in a fight. Ask yourself if you really want to be the cause of men going to war. Besides once Marco sees your response to my call, it’ll be all over but the shouting. No way he’d stand in the way of our bonding.”

Although she knew he spoke the truth, her only hope of getting away was to bluff. She knew Marco’s reputation and history. Xander was right, there’d be no help for her there.

It was obvious that trying to be reasonable and adopting a defensive stance wasn’t working, she’d go on the offensive. Stephanie stepped into his personal space, raising her face to his and sending her fist into his nose. She could never have anticipated his response, Xander’s mouth descended on hers, his lips pressing hard as he slipped his tongue past her teeth and slid along hers—inviting, seducing, delighting in the way her body seemed to melt into his.

So, this was what it was like to have a fated mate. They hadn’t been parted for more than a few hours, and yet he had missed her desperately. Stephanie was a tasty treat and one he would enjoy for many years to come. God, she was sweet. Her lips had parted easily, and she seemed to have simply molded her body to his. Lust pounded through his system as his tongue surged into her mouth and he tasted her deeply.

If it was any other wolf in their pack, including Damian himself, Xander would have cautioned their alpha to ensure that she could be claimed, with or without her consent. Marco DeMedici was not a wolf to be trifled with. Granted, Stephanie was now a member of their pack, but he doubted DeMedici would simply look the other way. It didn’t matter, if he wanted a fight, he could have one. If it came to it, he would challenge the Italian wolf to single combat.

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