2. Rhyson

2

Rhyson

The little bird didn't say a word during the car ride, and her face was completely blank as my men led her up to the hotel room. It was only a fifteen-minute ride from the hotel—Kork's idea, in case I didn't show up to the ball.

Already, my phone was blowing up, but I ignored it. Someone would distract Kork eventually. I wasn't sure why I felt compelled to take the redhead from the ball. Mostly it was an excuse to not go in, but it didn't take long to hear what happened. Larson had claimed his wife, and it wasn't the spurned redhead.

She was lovely. Petite for a wolf, with a small heart-shaped face and red hair mixed with gold. Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, but there was no other indication that she spent much time in the sun. Her skin was creamy and smooth.

Beauty wasn't the reason that I took her. Beauty surrounded me. Women were paraded in front of me in hopes that one might catch my interest or that a mating bond would snap into place. I enjoyed women, but none had affected me quite like her.

And I didn't know why. Maybe it was the fear in her eyes, tugging on my wolf's need to protect. Maybe it was thinking that if she kept running around with a torn dress, the other wolves would tear her apart.

A private elevator brought us up to the penthouse. Her hands were still wrapped around her body, keeping her dress up. Inside me, my wolf growled. We'd both seen the bruises on her back. I assumed they were from Larson's hands. Maybe the little bird liked it rough, but neither I nor my wolf loved seeing it. I didn't like her marked or to know that she'd felt pain, even if she did want it. I didn't want to think of her with Larson either. Also strange. I didn't usually care about women's sexual pasts.

"Do you have a name?" I said finally as we stepped out.

"Maya."

"Maya. Do you know why I brought you here?"

"It's not hard to figure out." Her hands dropped and the top of her dress fell, revealing a gorgeous pair of tits, creamy and round with rosy pink nipples, perfect to fill a man's hands. She stared at me defiantly, and I nearly rumbled in approval.

Instead, I smiled. "Exactly. I don't have a dress to replace that one, so I don't think you can return to the ball, but you don't have to keep wearing that all night."

A puzzled look crossed her face, and I crossed the room to the closet. Kork complained that it was a bad look when my one-night stands stumbled home in the clothes they were wearing the night before, so the hotel was stocked with some clothes. I found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that looked like they would fit her. Tossing them on the bed, I turned my back. "Drink?"

"What?"

"Would you like a drink?" I spoke slowly and succinctly and let my eyes drift to the mirror on the wall. It didn't surprise me when her gaze met mine. She'd yet to change. "The room is fully stocked: liquor, beer, wine, soda."

"Wine. Red." Turning, she grabbed the t-shirt and pulled it over her before letting the dress fall to the floor. I averted my gaze and made us two drinks: bourbon for me and red wine for her. When I turned, she still hadn't put on the jeans. The shirt skimmed the tops of her creamy white thighs, prompting questions in my mind. It was the middle of summer. Most of the wolves around here spent a lot of time in the sun and were golden-bronze.

I looked. I hadn't brought her here to fuck her, just to rescue the injured little bird and let her go, but now that she was walking around half-naked, I had a hard time averting my gaze. There was a strange look in her gaze as it roamed over me. Open interest, but when I caught her eyes, she quickly looked away.

Submissive.

My wolf continued to stir inside me. His interest was difficult to ignore, but then, my own interest was also difficult to ignore. I reminded myself once again that I hadn't brought her here to fuck her, but that didn't stop images from conjuring in my mind. What would she do if I ordered her to spread her legs and give me a peek between those lovely thighs? If I skimmed my hands over her skin to see if she was as smooth as she looked?

I handed her the wine and raised an eyebrow when she drained it and quickly coughed. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two. Can I have another?"

I tipped my own glass back and took hers. "Maybe in a little bit. If you want to put your pants on, I can have one of my men drive you somewhere."

"You really brought me here just so I could change clothes?" she asked suspiciously.

"And give you a chance to grieve and mend your broken heart," I said with a shrug. "Save you from embarrassment. You put on quite a scene. I would expect a wolf to draw blood rather than run in tears. What kind of wolf are you?"

"A princess," she muttered, and then laughed at her own private joke before she cleared her throat. "So you've decided to play hero?"

At that, I snorted. "Believe me, princess, I'm no fucking hero."

"Well, I'm not a wolf with a broken heart," she said with another strange look in her eyes. Something was on her mind, something she couldn't seem to snap out of.

Broken. That's what she was, a wolf who had broken completely. Strange reaction for a scorned woman who professed to not have a broken heart.

"So what are you, then?"

Instead of answering, she stared out the window. "I'm not really familiar with the area. Where do you think I should go?"

I wanted to demand an answer. In part because I was not used to being ignored, but also because she was a mystery, and I didn't like mysteries. Instead, I reminded myself of the task at hand. The sooner I finished meeting with the alphas here, the sooner I could leave. "Home."

Her face clouded over. "I can't do that. Need to breathe and think."

"Breathing and thinking might be easier with jeans on."

Her gaze slid my way. "You don't know much about women, do you? No one thinks easier with jeans on."

"And what are you thinking about?"

"That it's over," she whispered so quietly that I almost didn't hear it. "You really brought me here just so I can clean myself up? No other reason?"

"Is that so difficult to believe?"

"I see the way you're looking at me."

At that, I smiled briefly. "I have good intentions, but I'm not dead. I can appreciate beauty when I see it."

"Why were you outside the hotel?"

"You ask a lot of questions, little bird."

Maya's eyes widened a little. "Little bird?"

"Little, helpless, injured bird." I waited to see if she would defend herself, but she just nodded her head a little, like she agreed. Was she so submissive that she couldn't even speak up for herself?

"I'm just procrastinating, I suppose. Was it a terrible question to ask?"

"No. I was procrastinating as well. Balls aren't exactly my idea of a good time."

Snorting with laughter, she rolled her eyes, and I got the first glimmer of something beneath the breaking shell around her. "I'm sorry, you're an alpha and you don't like the balls? I find that hard to believe."

"Do you?"

"Oh, please. Alphas love nothing more than parading around and showing off their power. You do it around your pack, but there's no real competition. Doing it at a ball? Now there's the real challenge. Taking care of a whole pack isn't. You have to posture who is the most important alpha. The strongest. The one with the most control over their wolf. It's supposed to be about camaraderie, but it's just a giant pissing match to see whose dick is the biggest."

Then, as if she realized who she was talking to, she lowered her eyes and scrunched up her nose. "I apologize. I shouldn't have said that."

"No. You should not have said that, but you are not wrong. Balls are frivolous."

"To you."

I cocked my head. "Excuse me?"

"Balls are frivolous to you, and maybe to the other alphas, but to the women, they are anything but. You alphas set the rules for your packs, and some make even stricter rules for the women. Sometimes, the only way out of a pack is to marry another alpha." Her voice was soft and her eyes got that faraway look.

I understood. Maya wasn't broken over Larson's denial. She was broken over her chance to leave. "What pack are you from?"

"Does it matter? They're all the same."

They were not all the same, but I didn't tell her that.

"I'm not from around here either. I have no suggestions for you if you won't go home."

"It's just as well. Shit's always the same no matter where you go. Thank you for the clothes."

"Full moon tonight. Everyone was going to run in celebration after the ball. Don't you want to join them?" She walked closer to the window and let the moonlight wash over her.

"No. I have control over my wolf. I don't need to let it out on full moons. Do you need to run?"

"I don't need to."

Interesting answer to the question. "Do you want to run?"

"Not with them. I was thinking of a different way of letting off some steam. Are you mated?"

Was she now? "No."

"I don't even know your name or the name of your clan, Alpha…"

"What makes you think I'm an alpha?"

"It's a ballroom of alphas, and you were ordering men around. This room must have cost an arm and a leg. Either you have a generous alpha or you are the alpha. There's power in you, but it feels strange. Not quite like an alpha. Or maybe I just need to get out more."

Emotional but observant. "All you need to know is that I could end your life right here and nobody would do anything about it."

I wanted her to realize who she was poorly trying to flirt with. All she did was shrug. "That doesn't make you unique. The lowest member of a pack could kill me and nobody would bat an eye."

Interesting. "I'm Rhyson. Summerset Pack."

I wasn't sure why I gave her my name and lied about my status. If I'd told her who I really was, she would have dropped to her knees, and I could have twisted all that glorious red hair around my hands and gotten that fuck-me-red lipstick all over my cock. It wasn't like she wouldn't soon learn. Almost every alpha in the region knew my name now.

But when was the last time someone fucked me without a political agenda in mind?

"Never heard of it, but I don't know much about the packs who aren't local." I stared at her and let my power out just a little. There were nearly fifty alphas gathered for Larson's celebration ball. If she'd really thought she was going to be his wife, she would have familiarized herself with the other guests.

She would have known that I would be there.

Fuck, I really was letting myself get distracted by her. How did she not know who I was? I focused on her. She really did not make sense. I could call a wolf out of a shifter with the snap of my fingers, but I could barely sense hers. She knew how to behave around an alpha, but she'd done none of it with me despite thinking I was an alpha. Trained but unwilling?

Maya was certainly not boring. Evasive, but not boring.

"If you had one night of complete freedom, what would you do?"

Interesting question. "There was a time in my life when I had nothing but freedom. My brother and I had no responsibilities. Nobody watching us or telling us what to do or how to act. It was a lifetime ago."

"Sounds nice."

I smiled briefly. "It was. I didn't appreciate it enough. I guess you never know what to appreciate, or when it will all go away. I suppose if I got a night of absolute freedom, I'd do whatever I needed to feel like me again. To feel like I was in control."

"Like fuck a pretty woman who wanted to spread her legs for you?"

I met her gaze head-on. "I have plenty of women willing to fuck me, Maya. Many of them achingly beautiful."

"Ah. So I have nothing to offer you then." She looked truly disappointed.

"You want to fuck someone with your night of freedom?" I asked softly.

"I just want to feel a little bit of pleasure." She sighed and walked to the bed to pick up the pair of jeans.

My chest tightened inexplicably. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I just made that clear. I'm going to go look for a little bit of pleasure. I should probably put on pants for that."

"No."

Pausing, she looked over her shoulder. "Not for nothing, but I do want a choice in my partner for the night. We're right next to the hotel. Earlier events have taught me that I should be fully clothed before I approach someone."

Goddamn it, was she just going to go out and find a stranger to fuck? My wolf practically howled inside of me. What the hell was happening? What did I care if she left and went to find someone else?

Fisting her jeans, she started to walk past me to the bathroom. Shooting my arm out, I stopped her.

"Do you really think walking out there and searching for a stranger to fuck you is the best idea?"

"What do you care?" she whispered.

My cock stirred, and I picked her up and set her on the back of the couch. The jeans fell from her hands. With a growl, I ran my hands down to her naked thighs. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I won't be here to be in your way."

I hadn't planned on taking anyone home tonight. This trip was about business, not pleasure, but those thighs were begging to be marked by my teeth.

I slid my fingers up to her hips and found yet another surprise of the night. "No bra and no panties. Under that dress? Did you come here to drive a wolf insane? You won't find me so soft."

"I'm not looking for soft." She spread her thighs and stared at me. "Hard and fast, right?"