Page 20 of Unexpected Alpha's Claim

“You need this more than I do,” he said, slipping out of his coat.

“Raul don’t,” I said, shaking my head and stepping towards him. I bit my lip debating. But hell, as long as I was being impulsive, I might as well go for what I wanted a lot more than a daring ride on a motorcycle. I decided to go for it. “I don’t need your coat. I needyou. Raul, I need your arms around me.”

My heart beat harder in my chest as I gauged his reaction. I didn’t see any hint of sorrow in his eyes as a small smile formed on his face and then his hands were reaching for me. As his hands touched me, he gently pulled me closer. I looked into those eyes, anticipating his next move and he didn’t fail me.

His arms curled around my upper body as our mouths joined in a long, passionate kiss. I reached forward and stroked his abdomen over his shirt. I eased up the fabric, in an attempt to untuck the cloth out of his pants. I couldn’t believe it. My conservative self, a woman of numerous principles and beliefs, was trying to undress someone in the wild.

“You’re playing with fire, doc,” he uttered in a hot voice, his lips only an inch away from mine, his breath caressing my skin.

“I don’t care,” I whispered.

14

MONICA

My fingertips contacted the firm flesh of his stomach. I rubbed my hands over the ridges that I had admired on the first night we’d met. He might have been warning me, but he was tempting me at the same time.

This man was too gorgeous to resist. A towering creature, warm and eager to share his thoughts with me, was sending waves of arousal to my core. I would have been crazy to put an end to this. I wanted him. Right then and there, and I didn’t care that we were at the tail end of a public road or that anyone could come upon us at a moment’s notice. It didn’t matter. I needed him. Immediately.

Out of the blue, Raul grunted in annoyance and pushed me back. Spinning around, he focused his gaze on the woods. As I was about to voice my complaint, the reason behind his reaction emerged from the trees. Two, massive wolves were padding in our direction. The one on the left was white, with patches of black across his back. The one on the right was reddish, with a circular patch of gray over his chest. Both of them raised their upper lips, feral snarls ripping through the silence. The reddishwolf lowered his head and growled, saliva dripped off his lower lip.

“Brad and Kenny…” Raul spoke in a voice so deep and growly that it was more wolf than man. “What’s the matter? Neither of you have the guts to face me one-on-one?”

“Raul, please!” I begged, averting my gaze from the beasts. “Don’t fight them. Let’s just go.”

“Stay out of it, Monica,” he demanded in his human voice. “This is between me and them. You wouldn’t understand.”

I gave a huff of despair, his intentions raising every fine hair in my body. That’s the point I realized that even the four of us were not alone. Out of the corner of my eye, there was a red streak. It crashed into Raul’s foes and shot around them, engulfing their figures in a red cloud. Growling, they looked around wildly trying to find whoever had done this to them.

I watched in sheer amazement as their bodies were lifted off the ground. Both of them were snarling, snapping, and barking, their bodies twisting in midair as they tried to find a way to escape. A redhead in a black cloak strutted across the dirt, holding a staff. Its thicker, top end was pointing up at them, the red beam emanating from it. They focused their impotent rage on her but to no avail.

She thrust the stick up into the air and sent them flying away past the treetops. A few moments later, I heard their painful yips echoing out of the forest, and then even that faded into nothingness. Raul had turned around to confront the newcomer.

“Helena!” He blurted, his chest heaving. “What are you doing here? I could have handled them.”

“You…” I gasped and swallowed fast. “You know each other?!”

“One question at a time, my dear healer,” she murmured, her gaze locked on Raul’s. “You could have handled them? How? The way you did the other day? I think not. Dear…” Her gaze darted over to me, and she gave a knowing smile as she answered my question. “Yes, we do. Raul and I had a somewhat constructive chat the other day, although, I must say it didn’t end so well.”

“H-how?” I stuttered, glancing down at her staff. “How did you do that?”

I was just starting to wrap my head around wolf-men, now this? What was that?

“Through the power of magic,” she answered as if it was the most common, run-of-the-mill topic, like discussing the weather. “I’m surprised Raul didn’t tell you anything about me.”

“She’s a witch,” he informed me, his voice was softer and slower. “Believe it or not, she used to date my grandfather.”

“That is a long story,” Helena beat me to speak out. “I’d rather not delve into details right now. We’ve got more pressing matters to discuss.”

“A witch…?” I repeated Raul’s words, staring over at her, disbelief written all over my face.

“Indeed,” Helena confirmed. “I’m extremely disappointed in you, firstborn. First of all, you don’t remember a thing from our last meeting, do you? And you should have smelled your foes. I have been tracking them since they left Dawson.”

“I remembereverythingfrom our last meeting,” he argued, passing me by. “You were in Dawson? How? Weren’t you afraid they’d catch your scent?”

“Afraid?” She smirked, cocking an eyebrow. “Of what? A pack of shifters? Not really. Don’t you worry, Raul. I made sure to cover up my scent. You on the other hand did not when you and your friend here kissed. I overheard your Alpha and his top-ranking wolves talking about it. Their exact words were ‘the prick stank of human. He must be fucking some human. He’s going down for this shit.’ But all this is to be expected. They’re your rules and I cannot believe you’ve been idly sitting by for an entire week. What did you think was going to happen? That they’d listen to reason? That they’d negotiate some sort of deal with you?”

“No,” Raul groaned, dragging his gaze away from her. “Shifters can’t be reasoned with when it comes to upholding such important rules. They can let a minor mistake slip, but this is far from minor. It’s huge.”

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