Page 43 of Alpha Scorned

I stiffened. Lucas. Shit. I hadn’t even spared him a thought since Owen had consumed my world. I gave him an apologetic smile and though I wasn't beholden to him in any way, my cheeks flushed. It was rude of me not to even acknowledge him, or try and talk to him about what had happened the other night. “Hi, Lucas.”

He just smiled, his eyes glinting as he eyed Devon and then me. Silence settled between us. I shuffled my feet, trying to find the best way to position Devon and keep him in my arms, whilst not appearing like I needed any help from Lucas. I worried my bottom lip with my teeth, not sure what to say.

Lucas’s eyes flashed with an animalistic light, turning bright blue until his wolf was peering out at me.

Shit!

He stepped a little closer and then inhaled. “You stink like him.”

His voice had a growling quality, and the presence of his wolf so close to the surface immediately put me on edge. Yes, I felt bad for him, but Ididn’towe him anything. We had barely been acquaintances, let alone friends, and definitely not lovers. I tried to reason with him. “Lucas, I’m sorry if you thought there was something between us. I never meant to give you that impression.”

He cocked his head, his face becoming dark. “But you did. Or at least you made it seem like there could be.”

Devon murmured and snuggled deeper into my neck. My arms ached and so did my back. Standing in the street having this conversation was not what I wanted to do. On any other day, I might have been more sympathetic, but I really, really needed to go before I dropped my son. “Like I said, Lucas, that wasn’t what I intended. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go.”

He stepped closer, his vivid eyes focused on mine. I saw the predator lurking just under his skin, and it wasn’t happy. It was all I could do not to step away. Lucas had never intimidated me before, but he was angry, and his wolf was definitely pissed at me. Even with my defiant nature, I wanted to get away from him.

“I do mind. But, yeah, I’ll let you go. So long as you understand that we will be having a conversation about me claiming you, very, very soon.”

I shook my head, my heart rate increasing. He cocked his head and I hated that he could hear it. Owen was right, hewasa potential mate. How had I never noticed?Because he isn’t the one you want,a small voice in my head told me. “No, Lucas, I’m seeing Owen now.”

He grinned and my skin went cold. His wolf pushed forward more, his teeth descending. “He hasn’t claimed you as his, Selina, that means I still can.”

I swallowed hard, my heart thumping against my ribs. His wolf was taking control, ready to take what he saw as his.No, never again…Forced claimings were a part of the abusive culture of shifters I was trying to change. There was no way I'd allow Lucas to see how much those words frightened me, but the thought of being bound to someone else when I hadn’t consented and didn’t want it, turned my insides ice cold. I lifted my chin and put my tough mask on, but not too much. I didn’t want him to see me as a challenge, not with Devon in my arms. It was hard, but I kept my voice steady and calm. “Lucas, I’m never going to mate you.”

He stepped even closer, his wolf peering through his eyes, and ran the back of his fingers down my cheek, hooking his fingertips into the collar of my shirt and pulling the material down. It took everything in me not to flinch. “I didn’t say anything aboutyouclaimingme, sweetheart, but this perfect skin here, it says he isn’t serious about owning you. I am.”

I held his gaze, furious. He’d always been polite and respectful towards me, but this showed he was an alpha male who hadn’t gotten total control of his wolf. He thought he’d found a mate in me, and his wolf wanted me but not enough to offer himself.

My ability to be reasonable had just taken flight. I pierced him with a challenging stare. “If you force me into anything I will kill you in your sleep. Bear that in mind.”

His eyes sparked and a wolfish grin made an appearance.

Shit, challenge accepted.

I cursed myself for not being able to walk away from a confrontation. Lucas glanced at Devon and his wolf’s presence in his eyes flickered. I realised my son was the only thing stopping this huge male from trying to drag me off, or attempting to claim me in the street.Shit.Shit.Shit.Why did it have to be like this? Stepping away from trouble wasn’t really my thing… or was it? I’d run from facing my issues with Owen. Damn, I was still running, or at least hiding in plain sight. My boot heel cracked on some loose gravel as I stepped back, putting a few feet of distance between Lucas and me. He blinked and shook his head, stepping back, too. His eyes faded back to a deep sapphire blue. His large chest rose and fell and he rubbed his face with both hands.

His eyes met mine, regret obvious in their dark depths. “Dammit, Selina. My wolf...Shit, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Forget it,” I said, tightly. I jiggled Devon on to my other shoulder, my arms shaking.

“Walk now, Momma,” came a small voice. I jumped a little, utterly taken by surprise. My son’s bright eyes looked at me and then Lucas. “We okay now, Momma. I walk.”

I put him down. Both Lucas and I stared at Devon as he grabbed my hand and pulled gently in the direction of the clinic. There was no way I could hide my reaction. My mouth dropped open and I stared at my son before looking back at Lucas who looked equally nonplussed.

“Listen, Lucas. Things between Owen and me… Well, they’re complicated, but I’m really not interested in a relationship with anyone else.”

The column of his throat bobbed, and he nodded. “Yeah, I get it. I...er...I’ll stay away. Sorry. About what just happened.” Abruptly, he turned and strode across the street and disappeared around the corner. Jeez. I tried to remember when I’d encouraged him to believe there was something between us. Damn, I didn’t even remember feeling his wolf near the surface when he’d been near me. Not enough for the animal under his skin to want to take control and force us into a mating. I shuddered and plastered a smile on my face. I didn’t think Lucas would do that to me or anyone, not on purpose, but I knew better than most, that sometimes, especially with younger wolves, their animals could take control and do things the man might regret. Every day, I worked with shifters who had been abused by those stronger than themselves. Sometimes an alpha shifter would abuse their compulsion to get others to do as they wished. That kind of assault was a huge problem in our species, but one that I hoped Connor and his brothers would try and deal with.

“C’mon. You safe now.” Devon pulled on my hand again.

Pulling him to a stop, I squatted next to him and pulled him into my arms. “Did you know that was going to happen? Is that why you pretended to be sleepy?”

Devon nodded, his little face serious. “I saw what happen in my dream, Momma. Lucas not want to hurt you, but his wolf is lonely. He make you his if me not there. And Owen tell me to look after my Momma.”

I swallowed and blinked my burning eyes. Gods damn it. My son was amazing. “Okay, honey. Thank you for helping us both. I’m sure Lucas didn’t want to hurt me.”

“He didn’t, Momma. Now he won’t.”

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