Stalking

ALLIE

I don’t know what is going on with the alpha.

I’ve been trying to keep as far away from him as I can, but it isn’t working. I’ve been here for less than a month, but I’ve had three frustrating encounters with him already.

He angers me with his prejudice against loners. The way he looks down on us.

But at the same time when he looks into my eyes, I feel like he’s burrowing into my soul. That he can see all of me.

When he touches me, the electricity that passes between us and the passion he ignites inside me leave me breathless with need.

I don’t know what to do. How can I feel like this about someone who hates who and what I am? Who is prepared to hurt other people like me just because we don’t belong to one of his precious packs?

It feels as though I’m betraying my friends by having feelings for him.

Danielle has her own issues with his brother, so I don’t feel I can confide in her. As for my other housemates, I know what their advice would be: avoid him, stay away.

I’m not even sure how I would do that.

I’ve been seeing him around town a lot. He doesn’t approach me, but he is there. Every morning this week when I’ve turned up at my favorite coffee shop, he’s been sitting at a table with his brother.

There is no reason he shouldn’t be there—his brother attends the university, and this is a convenient place for them to meet.

But why do they have to go ~there~ when he owns most of the businesses in Linton, and why come here now when he never has before?

It’s not just in the coffee shop, either.

I’ve bumped into him on campus when he’s supposedly visiting the administrative offices. I’ve passed him in the street while walking home. He’s even stopped by the bar to speak to Archie.

As soon as he arrives, I sense him. Each time I see him, my wolf perks up. She has a strange attraction to him. One that deep down I know I share but I’m doing my best to fight.

There’s no denying that he’s right—there is something between us, the way electricity crackles when we touch, the way I react to his delicious scent.

I don’t know why I have these feelings for him. He’s a ruthless alpha who hates my kind. He’s known to kill and torture wolves like us. He’s made it clear that he wants all of us out of Linton.

Even knowing all that, when he looks at me, I just melt.

It’s worse today. I’m on my way to meet with my biology professor when I see James walking down the corridor toward me.

We are the only two people there, and I panic when I realize we’re alone. I turn back the way I came, determined not to speak to him.

He increases his speed as he walks toward me and calls out, “Wait, we need to talk… Please.”

I slow down. I don’t want to speak to him, but the entreaty in his voice makes me pause.

He reaches out and wraps his fingers around my hand. Tingles spread up my arm.

“You feel it too. You can’t deny there is something between us,” he insists.

“It isn’t important,” I tell him determinedly. “I don’t understand why I suddenly seem to have developed feelings for you, but they can’t be real. Not if they’re toward you.”

“How can you say that? We are wolves. This is the most important thing for us. This is meant to be.”

“What do you mean?”

With horror, I realize what he’s talking about. “We are not mates! We can’t be!”

He recoils, anger clear on his face.

“I wasn’t too happy to realize you were my mate either. I’m an alpha, I expect… I am expected to mate a high-ranking wolf. Someone who can share in the leadership of my pack.

“Instead, I’m given a wolf without rank. A rogue for a mate.”

“Well, if I’m such a disappointment to you as a mate there must be some way to break the bond. That way, you can pick your own perfect mate.”

He growls at me, and his eyes flash black. It’s clear that his wolf is fighting for control.

His voice deepens. “That will not happen, mate.”

I step back, unsure if his wolf is about to attack me. He struggles to control his wolf, and his eyes eventually return to their normal brown color.

“We do not reject our mates,” he says. “They’re a gift from the moon goddess.”

“Even when they’re as incompatible as we are?”

“We don’t know that. We don’t know each other.”

“I know enough,” I snap, and I stalk away from him.

***

Talking to James has made me late for my tutorial with my biology professor.

I’m rushing down the corridors of the medical science building when Karen steps in front of me, forcing me to stop. I just manage to avoid slamming into her.

“What do you think you’re doing,” she snarls at me.

Her eyes gleam, changing color from her normal blue to the black of her wolf. What is she playing at, allowing her wolf to come to the surface in the middle of a building filled with humans?

She’s obviously trying to intimidate me, but I’ve faced down more dangerous wolves than this pampered pack princess before. I avoid trouble where I can, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover.

“I would think it was pretty obvious.” I roll my eyes. “I’m walking down the corridor to my next class. What is it to you?”

“I’m here to give you a friendly warning,” she growls. “Stay away from my pack. My alpha and his brother are not for the likes of you or that other low-life rogue Danielle.”

“What are you talking about? They are nothing to me. I’m here to study, not to bag an alpha wolf. That’s more your thing.”

“Please, I’ve seen the way they watch you and Danielle. I know you see them as your ticket out of your sad little lives. I repeat: they aren’t for you.”

“You’re delusional,” I spit. I’m at the end of my patience with this stupid she-wolf. “Neither of us is after your alpha, and we don’t want to join your pack, but if we do, it’s none of your business.”

I glare at her, and she takes a step back as I go on, “I’m not going to listen to your insults. Now get out of my way.”

I stalk past her, resisting the desire to strike out and cause some serious damage. As much as I would like to, I know I can’t fight her.

To do so would likely give James the excuse he needs to throw me out of Linton.

Fighting Karen just wouldn’t be worth the consequences.