Page 2 of Claiming His Virgin Mate

“Joelle needs you here, Maggie,” Kurt said.

“Come home, Miss Flint. Joelle needs you.”

“Okay,” she swallowed hard and hung up the phone.

“Maggie? Are you okay?” Bobby asked, but she was already walking away to gather her things.

Maggie may have had a shitty time with both her parents, but Joelle was sweet and young. She deserved better. Shame filled her at the half-sister remark she’d callously quipped. That was her mother’s word, not hers.

Shit. Her father was dead. Joelle needed her. That was all Maggie needed to hear.

Looked like she was going home after all.

Chapter One

It was dark out, but Alex could see perfectly fine in the silvery light coming from the three-quarter filled moon directly overhead.

“The Sunset Inn. The perfect beach getaway where you’ll leave with only the fondest memories and a killer tan.My ass. Probably leave with bedbugs and the need for a week’s worth of antibiotics,” he growled his displeasure, tossing the cheesy brochure aside.

What the actual fuck was his Neta thinking sending him to some flea ridden roach motel in the Jersey shore? Alex had stayed in actual palaces. He’d dined with kings and queens. Had homes in London, Paris, Rome, the Isle of Sky, and his own personal island in the Caribbean. Not to mention his usual residence, a condo with an unparalleled view of Central Park West.

He wasn’t a snob exactly. But his life was nothing to scoff at. The neon pink stucco nightmare of a hotel with the hideous blue roof seemed to be mocking him from its place on the corner of Ocean Boulevard.

He looked down at the crumbled bit of propaganda on the cracked sidewalk and snarled. Still, he wasn’t a litterbug. Leaning over, he grabbed the bit of paper once more and looked for a trash can.

There was a proper bite in the air that night, and he shivered unconsciously although Shifters rarely felt the cold. The fuck? He shook his head. Must be something else giving his tiger the willies. And no wonder. He stopped and looked at the atrocious sign.

Huge and neon. Of course it was, he snarled again.The Sunset Innlogo had an orange circle surrounding the hotel’s name. He could only imagine some marketing genius drew the thing up to represent the sun. The three wavy lines on either side were its rays, no doubt. It was supposed to be in various shades of orange, red, and yellow, but half of them were out, leaving what appeared to be a pointless arrow sticking out of the circle.

The Sunset Innof Maccon City, New Jersey, was a serious downgrade from the villa on the Italian Riviera where he’d planned on spending the spring. Maybe he shouldn’t have remarked on the Nari’s recent weight gain, after all, he wondered with a shake of his head.

Alex wasn’t an asshole or anything. The comment that she looked healthy was meant to be a compliment to the young, expectant mother. He couldn’t help it if his eyes wandered to her suddenly increased breast size for half a second. Besides, Dean had already punched him for that one.

And he’d apologized profusely. Violet was a lovely, understanding woman. Not at all like the Alpha, or as Tiger’s called their leader,the Netaof the Island Stripe Pride. Dean had not been impressed.

“Fuck,” he muttered and shook his leg after stepping into some dubious sludge on the pavement.

He should’ve changed his shoes, he thought while carefully avoiding the pile of refuse that, upon further investigation, had spilled over the mouth of the trash bin just outside the pool gate.

At least that was properly locked. But alas, he’d have to pocket the brochure for now. It was ten o’clock at night, and the pool sign stated it closed at nine.

Alex wasn’t usually such a candy-ass about his clothing or where he hung his hat, but this felt like a demotion to him. Not that he’d ever heard of a Beta being demoted. Then again, there was that one unfortunate Tiger in the Maverick Pride who’d gone after his Neta’s mate.

That asshole deserved what he got. Alex was nothing like him. He believed in loyalty, and the Island Stripe Pride. He also believed in Dean and Violet Romero, and everything they stood for.

Fine. He was Tiger enough to admit he was being a big fucking baby about this whole thing. What could he say?

He did not like the beach, the water, or the sand in New Jersey. And he didn’t like dingy little seaside motels. The boardwalk was quiet this time of year, but in another month it would be a riot of colors and lights and noises. He couldn’t forget the noises.

Grrr.

Where the hell was everyone? He wondered. Ten wasn’t late, was it? Maybe not for Manhattan, but out here in the boonies, it sure as fuck was.

Once again, he allowed his anger to roll through him, but it deflated when he saw the junker parked in the spot reserved for the owner. He’d been sent there to help, and should have arrived hours ago, but he’d been unavoidably detained.

Well, that wasn’t technically true. After he’d gone to the bank, Alex had waited half an hour for the current owner to show up. WhenM. Flintfailed to arrive, Alex had been more than pissed off.

Impressing his need to wrap things up quickly to the bank manager was easy enough. The sniveling little man allowed him to sign the papers, buying out the past-due mortgage, and thereby, taking possession of thecharminghotel he was currently snarling at. Afterwards, Alex went out for some drinks.

---