The Alpha's Play Toy

Chapter four

His lips parted hers, tongue shoved past to gain possession of her mouth. She whimpered, fingers clutching at his shirt. The sound of tearing fabric filled the room, ignored by both. His tongue found hers, slid against it, back and forth in a primal rhythm.

Hands hard on her waist, he caged her, held her. One slid around and down, large fingers spread to cup the globe of her ass. With a hard yank, pulled against him, and she felt the thick bar of his c**k pressing into her soft belly. Her gasp of need was smothered beneath his lips as he took hers. Claimed them. Branded them with the heat of his own. It wasn’t the same as before. At his apartment, he’d been dominant and assertive. Firm with her as he took what he wanted, there had always been a measure of gentleness. An awareness and reference she hadn’t realized. Until now, when it was gone.

But this… this was something else. His near rough manner, the way he held her as though he owned her, triggered primal instincts she didn’t know she had. She slid her tongue against his, fighting to get closer. All she wanted, all she could think of, was getting closer... Skin to skin. Him pushing her back on the desk, shoving that dress up and getting between her thighs. Her core pulsed, an ache so savage she broke away with a whimper of distress. She needed him. Needed this. Damn what the hell had happened?

“God, Bella…” His voice was ragged, his lips against her temple as she fought for breath. Instinctively, she nestled against him, pressed her mouth against his throat and he jerked, shoving her away from him so fast, she stumbled against the desk. “We can’t.” He backed away, the lines of his body so tight with tension, the air virtually vibrated around him. “Why not?” She took a step forward, not understanding. “Sure as hell wanted to in the city.”

He took a breath, obviously gathering himself, and his expression blanked. This was the alpha she knew instinctively, even though she’d never seen that look before. “Things are different now. This is pack law.” Pack law meant he couldn’t kiss her? Pack law meant that now she was bitten, they were done? She didn’t need to ask the question, seeing it in his expression.

“Well, screw pack law,” she snarled and ran from the room. Of all the screwed-up, shitty situations to find herself in. Still fuming, Bella stormed through the manor like all the hounds of hell marched at her heels. She had no real idea where she was going, and to be honest, she really didn’t care. All she wanted was to get as far from Rex as physically possible.

Her expression was like thunder, so dark and ominous that the staff scattered before her, even though they were full lycan and she, apparently, was not. At the moment, though, she really didn’t care. One more asshole mentioned pack law and she’d tear them a new one, lycan or not. By the time she’d worked her way down to the kitchens, her usual refuge in times of stress, her anger had turned to misery and a hard knot formed in the back of her throat.

Hearing voices ahead, she ducked into a storeroom and pulled the door shut. Leaning against it, she closed her eyes. As a human she hadn’t been good enough for Rex, she’d known that… accepted that. But to find out she wasn’t good enough when she was a werewolf either…

She swallowed. Hard. She wouldn’t cry. Her eyes didn’t seem to have gotten that memo. Tears built and prickled hot needles into the back of them. Breathing deeply, she fought them. Not happening. She was done crying over Rex. “...says she’s not changed yet.” “Really? Like at all?”

Bella opened her eyes at the sound of voices on the other side of the door. Great. Even the staff were talking about her. Not that she should have expected anything else. They were all lycan and therefore part of the pack. Probably a higher level than she was since most were born wolves, and she was a bitten wolf who hadn’t even got enough juice to prove she had an inner wolf.

“Nope. No fur, no hint of amber when she’s stressed. Jake said that only happens with the weakest of wolves. Like well below beta level.” “Oh my word. Well, if her bite came from the alpha and she’s still that weak… Rex isn’t going to take her to mate, is he?” “f**k no, he can’t. An alpha needs a strong mate.”

Bella turned against the door, jamming her foot against the bottom of it when the voices stopped just outside. s**t. If they found her in here, they’d know she’d been listening to their gossip. Panic started to overwhelm her, then she stopped. Frowned. What the f**k did she have to be ashamed of? They were talking about her… so f**k them. Still, she wanted to hear the rest of the conversation so she pressed her ear closer to the door. “Yeah, but the Master of the City mated that lowly woman… the one they all said was nearer to human than lycan.” The other woman snorted in amusement. “He’s the Master of the City. Would you argue with Vlad?”

“Do I look suicidal to you? I like my throat the way it is, thank you very much, not shredded from ear to ear.” “Exactly. Vlad is a different matter. Rex? Not so much, he still has to adhere to pack law.” Bella’s lips curled back from her teeth, and with supreme effort, she kept the snarl in the back of her throat a silent one. Pack law, pack law, everyone was so freaking worried about pack bloody law. Assholes. All of them. “Hey, is this all the linen we have? We’re missing some towels and at least two tablecloths.” “I think we’re due a delivery from the laundry service later.” “Well… it does explain one thing.” “About the tablecloths?” “No… about Rex’s little pet.” “Yeah? What’s that?”

“She’s not exactly svelte-like, is she? My cousin married a bitten woman, immigrated to England where she was from. She was well, rather large when she was bitten, but the weight dropped off her when her wolf took hold. So that would make sense, because doesn’t look like this one lost any.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point. Like any wolf woman would be that… curvy.” She spat the word like it was distasteful and the snarl in the back of Bella’s throat rose to just below audible. Anger burned within her. Rose from the depths of her soul to scorch the inside of her veins as her blood boiled through them. Her nails flexed, biting into the wood as she fought the need to tear the door open and launch herself at the lycan woman, her rage so intense and complete she shook. “Yeah. Good point… Hey, did you hear about the deal tonight with the vamps?” The words stopped Bella’s anger dead in its tracks. The vampires had Jamie.

“Yeah. Not a moment too soon either.” The voices grew quieter as the women walked away up the corridor. Bella cracked the door open a notch to hear better. “Too true. Have you had to take a blood bag down to that one in the basement yet? f*****g thing freaks me out. The sooner it’s gone, the better.”

Bella blinked slowly, absorbing this new information. Rex had a vampire prisoner, and a deal with the vampires going down tonight? Hope filled her heart. He’d sworn he’d help her and he was making deals with vampires, with what sounded like a prisoner exchange. And there was only person she could think of for Rex to exchange a captured vamp for Jamie.