Page 4 of Ruthlessly Mated
The hair on the back of my neck is so erect it’s like invisible hackles are raised.
I suddenly know what they are.
Not three handsome men.
Three big, bad wolves.
How the hell did I not know that this port was home to the most incredibly handsome and virile three wolves I’ve ever imagined, let alone encountered.
I’d started to imagine that men like these didn’t actually exist. Everybody knows that werewolves are real. Same way they know vampires are real. There’s a lot of differences between them, but the main similarity is that they’ll both rip your throat out. I’ve run into plenty of vampires. I’ve never met alpha wolves like this before. Not three of them. Not all in one place.
Sometimes, I’ll catch the scent of a lone wolf in the wilds, but they always seem to move on before I get close. I’ve encountered a few pack families, but I’ve given them a wide berth because the last thing I should be anywhere near is a family.
The feeling of having one big alpha’s hand wrapped around my wrist is a little too much. It feels like a hit of Zip coming right through my skin. Is his hand coated in drugs? It could be. I guess it is, in a sense. What I’m getting high on isn’t manufactured, it’s all natural.
Their scent is overwhelming. It’s like being hit with a chemical bomb. Makes my head spin. Makes me feel dizzy. Makes me scared in a way I haven’t felt scared in a while.
I’m used to physical danger. People want to kill me? Fine. People want to steal my cargo? Even better. But wolves want to come forthe soft interior of my fucking soul? I’m not firing a bullet. I’m running.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he says, letting me go. “My friends and I want to talk to you about the cargo that’s coming off the ship with the black flags. Little bat got in our ears and mentioned that it hasn’t had the duty paid on it.”
“I’ve got my port seal,” I say. “I’m legit.”
He chuckles under his breath. “The last thing you are is legit, little girl.”
“If you ever call me a little girl again, I will shoot you, and it will be with a silver bullet,” I tell him. My voice is even and cool, like steel. I mean each and every word.
The alpha’s brows rise at me. He didn’t expect me to say that. He thought I was going to swoon as he diminished me.
“You know you are a very small female,” he says.
“I am a grown woman. I am nineteen years old.”
He snorts at me, as if me saying I am nineteen is an admission of being a baby. I have been an adult for an entire year, and I have spent that year doing as many adult things as possible. If he had any idea of all I had done, he wouldn’t be calling me a little girl.
I remind myself that him thinking of me as small and cute, and not a problem, is probably a good thing. If I want to get away with everything I am trying to get away with, it’s definitely a plus.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mister,” I say, feigning innocence. “Wait. Is that an officer?”
They all look the other way. Even if they think I’m bluffing, the one thing worse than whatever they think I am is an undercover officer. One stray law enforcement official could mean an impending raid or worse. It’s not something they can afford to ignore, and I know it.
The second their eyes slide away from me, I run.
It’s not pretty.
It’s a fucking mess. I instantly trip, get tangled in people’s legs, and start scrabbling for the exit.
The only reason it works is because the bar is so full and I am relatively small and agile. They get hung up on the crush of humanity and whatever else is here, but I can squirm underneath the tables and make for the service entrance.
Damon
“Little shit is fast,” Conroy growls as he lunges after the small female and misses her entirely.
We were going to make an example of the girl who thought she could sneak cargo through this port without paying us our cut. This harbor is under our protection. Nothing comes or goes through here that we don’t know about. The port seals aren’t transferable. The second hers was scanned and showed the ID of a sixty-year-old man, a waitress called us.
Counterfeits have been a problem. We were planning on putting an end to that tonight.
“Shouldn’t have grabbed her,” Tailor says. “Or rather, shouldn’t have let her go once you had her.”
