Page 22 of Forced By the Alpha

He wasn’t a man of many words, but in spite of that, he was one of my most trusted advisors. Sven had been a member of the pack since my father’s time. He had seen me at my worst, but his loyalty had never faltered. The confidence in his voice stuck with me as he bid me goodbye and went off in search of a drink.

As the party amped up, I kept a watchful eye on Sienna. She hadn’t made a move toward me yet, but I couldn’t help but stay near to her. Even when I wasn’t paying attention, I felt myself being drawn into her presence.

The party was in full swing, and I had just finished talking to a few pack members when I turned around to grab a bite to eat and bumped right into her.

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “Oh, it’s you.”

“I’ve been wondering if you’d ever come talk to me,” I teased.

Heat rose in her face as she blushed at my flirtatious demeanor. I hardly recognized myself as I smiled back at her. There was no hiding the fact that I wanted her, but I desperately wished I could.

“I didn’t know you were having a party today,” she said. “Do you do this often?”

“Whenever the curse is at a low point and everyone can behave themselves. I like to make it a point to give them happy times and things to look forward to,” I explained.

“I saw that there’s some humans here as well,” Sienna said, pointing toward a group of college students taking shots with Sven in the corner.

“They come around when we have parties,” I shrugged. “I think it’s good for their humanity to rub off on the pack. It reminds us that we aren’t just monsters. There’s hope for us.”

“There’s always hope,” Sienna agreed.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, wondering if she had intended the double meaning behind her words. Was she just talking about the pack, or did she mean there was hope for us? There was only one way to find out.

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked, nodding toward the table.

“Sure,” she replied brightly. “I’ll come with you.”

We sauntered over to the table where I had set out a few selections of beverages.

“What’s your poison?” I asked.

“Hemlock,” she replied without pausing.

I paused with my hand on a cup and gave her a wide-eyed stare, not realizing until she laughed that she had been joking.

“Don’t worry, I don’t work with poisons,” she reassured me. “Besides, hemlock doesn’t work on werewolves.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I replied with a chuckle.

Every time I thought I knew her better, she said something surprising. One thing was for certain: life with Sienna would never be boring.

“I’ll take a whiskey coke,” Sienna said.

I began to pour her drink when one of the human men sidled up to us.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said to Sienna. “You sure you can handle that drink?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she assured him, accepting the glass from me.

“Badass,” the man said with a drunken nod of approval. “I like a girl that can handle her liquor.”

“Back off,” I snapped at the man.

Both he and Sienna turned to me in alarm. I hadn’t realized how loudly I had said it, but I didn’t regret my statement. Sienna was drop-dead gorgeous at the worst of times, but that didn’t mean I would stand by while a stranger hit on my mate.

“Take it easy, dude. We were just talking,” the man replied.

“And now you’re done,” I said sternly, shoving him away from Sienna. “Leave. Now.”

---