Bitten By the Alpha Read online

  “All what?”

  “Everything being so… closed in.”

  He looked around, trying to see it through her eyes. Compared to the wilds of Cornwall, it must seem almost claustrophobic. “I’m used to it.” Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “When this gets too much, let me know, and I’ll get someone to show you around, take you to the park.”

  He only realised they’d stopped walking when a throat cleared behind them. Turning, he found Gareth and Mike watching them. Mike with an almost smirk; Gareth looking like he’d tasted something bitter. When Cam raised an eyebrow and asked, “Everything all right?” Gareth quickly glanced away, muttering, “The others’ll be waiting.”

  “They can wait a little longer then.” Cam tried to gauge Gareth’s mood, but he seemed to have his emotions locked down so tight, Cam found it hard to get anything from him.

  They carried on walking, and Cam sped the pace up as they neared his floor. His betas’ scents lingered in the hallway; Gareth had been right, they were waiting.

  Alec and Daryl stood on one side of Cam’s door, while Jason and Paul stood on the other. They weren’t exactly eyeing each other up for a fight but nor were they overly friendly either. Tension still hung in the air.

  It might be early days, but Cam needed to find a way of bringing his betas together. That went for his pack as a whole. The divide was glaringly obvious whenever he called the pack together. These things would take time, he knew that, but it seemed like no headway was being made at all.

  First things first, though.

  Ignoring Alec’s raised eyebrows, Cam opened his front door and ushered Rachel inside. He followed her in and led her down the hall into the spacious living room. “Take a seat.”

  She opted for one of the armchairs, like Cam thought she would. In her position, he wouldn’t want to sit next to one of his hulking betas either.

  The others filed in and filled up the rest of the available seats. Gareth leant against the wall next to the fireplace, and Jason perched on the arm of the other chair, which Paul had snagged.

  Cam suppressed a sigh.

  He glanced around the room, making eye contact with all his betas. “For those of you that didn’t accompany me to Cornwall, I’d like to introduce you to Rachel Tregarrak of the Penwith pack.” He nodded in Rachel’s direction. “She’ll be staying with us for a while, as my guest.”

  Rachel snorted, and all eyes in the room focused on her. “Apologies for interrupting, but I’m not useless, you know. Despite what my father may have told you, I don’t want to spend my time here twiddling my thumbs and lazing around.”

  Cam smirked.

  “My pack might live in the middle of the countryside, but we’re not stupid. I do all my father’s accounts, and I used to work in the local pub, before…” She trailed off, her cheeks colouring. “I can pull a pint and manage the books, is all I’m saying.” She glanced at Cam, her hazel eyes imploring. “Please. I need to be busy.”

  She was so much like his late wife had been at that age, it was like watching his memories. The urge to look after her took over. Mia would’ve taken Rachel under her wing, supported her, and helped her achieve whatever goals she set herself. And more probably.

  Cam would do the same.

  “Very well. I’ll see what I can sort out.”

  She grinned at him, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Thank you.” Surprising him, she stood and smoothed down her T-shirt. Cam noticed more than one of his betas cast her an appreciative glance. Ugh, that was all he needed. “I imagine your betas have lots of questions, so I’m going to take myself off to my room to freshen up, if that’s all right?”

  Cam liked her candour. He knew Alec at least was probably bursting with questions, and her offer to leave them to it showed a maturity he hadn’t expected after her earlier behaviour at the farm. “Of course. The spare room is on the left-hand side of the hallway. It has a small en suite, also.”

  She smiled and walked over to retrieve her bags. When Mike went to offer her a hand, she shook her head. “Thank you, but I can manage a few bags.”

  Cam wondered if she still had her beta strength or if Tregarrak had stripped her of it along with her status in the pack. Maybe a question for another time.

  As soon as they heard the door to the spare room close, cutting her off from their conversation, Cam glanced quickly at Jason. “I had planned on doing this tomorrow morning, but changed my mind on our way home.” Facing the rest of his betas he said, “I assume you have questions?”

  They all spoke at once.

  “How long is she here for?”

  “Why did she have to leave her pack?”

  “Where are you going to put her to work?”

  “She looks like Mia.” Alec’s voice was quiet, but Cam heard it loudest of all.

  The rest of the room silenced immediately, and Cam sighed. “Yes, she does bear a startling resemblance.”

  Alec crossed his arms and relaxed back against the sofa cushions. “Does Tregarrak know? Is that why he asked you to take her, hoping he might bag a city alpha for his daughter?”

  He caught Gareth’s flinch out of the corner of his eye. Obviously more than one of his betas had this opinion. “I find it unlikely anyone from the Penwith pack would be aware of the similarities, and I don’t believe Alpha Tregarrak has any other motive other than keeping his pack safe. I’ll say this once, and then the subject will be done with—Mia is the only woman I will ever love.” He rubbed at the spot over his heart, as though he could massage the pain away. “There is no replacing her.”

  He closed his eyes, giving in to the hurt for a second, then gathered himself together. For his pack.

  “Now, one at a time, what do you want to know?”

  Alec and Daryl quizzed him about what Tregarrak and Rachel had disclosed at the farm, and Cam told him as much as he could recall, with Gareth and Mike contributing where necessary. The more Cam thought about it, the more he wanted to know what had happened with the neighbouring pack. Was it curiosity or the need to protect his pack? Either way, he resolved to wait for Rachel to tell him the truth. And if she chose not to, then he’d leave it at that.

  Jason sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Are you going to assign her to a unit? Because we have the nightclubs where she could either tend bar or help Mark with the accounts. I’m sure he’d be happy to show her around.” He shot a quick glance to Alec but, other than that, made no reference to the fact Mark was Alec’s mate.

  Mark was also in Jason’s unit. As his beta, Jason had a certain responsibility for him, and Cam was happy to see he wasn’t cowed by Alec’s glare. As impressive as it was.

  Thankfully Alec kept whatever objections he had to himself. Cam suspected the thought of someone else caring about Mark set Alec’s wolf on edge, but he kept himself in check remarkably well.

  “I haven’t decided where to put her yet. I’m hoping to talk to her about it later—get a better idea of what she’d like to do.”

  “Is she going to have her own place?” There was an edge to Gareth’s tone that made Cam bristle.

  He and Gareth were definitely having a little chat after this meeting. “As soon as I’ve decided which unit to assign her to, I’ll sort out a suitable apartment for her. In the meantime, she’ll be staying with me.” He sought out Gareth’s gaze, but instead of the defiance he’d expected, Gareth looked more resigned than anything.

  “I know the full pack meeting is tomorrow,” Gareth said. “But Nathan will no doubt have told Jared, and Luke already knows. Can I tell the rest of my unit?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.” Cam gestured to the others. “Feel free to tell your unit members, but ask them not to mention it to anyone else. That’s how rumours start, and I’d rather everyone hear it from me. Tomorrow will be our first full meeting since we joined together. I want it to go as smoothly as possible.”

  Not all the members of his pack would be present—they’d never all fit af
ter the merge—but all the unit members would be there as well as at least one member of each family.

  “While you’re all here, there’s a couple of things I’d like to mention. Just so we’re all aware.” He swallowed, sorting out what to say in his head first. “Certain members of this pack—ex-P-pack members to be specific—have been visiting Newell and Colford in prison.” That garnered a few raised eyebrows, and Cam gave it a couple of seconds to sink in.

  Inevitably Alec, Daryl, Mike and Gareth all turned to look at Jason and Paul.

  To their credit, neither Jason or Paul reacted badly. Instead, Jason held his hands up, “Hey, we’re not happy about it either. I heard rumblings about it and told Cam straight away. No good can come of anyone visiting those two.”

  Paul added, “What could Newell hope to gain by it? He’s never been the sentimental type and I can’t imagine he misses his pack for a second. He must have an ulterior motive.”

  Cam nodded. “I agree. But at the moment, I can’t think of anything.” He sighed. Here was where things got tricky. “I don’t want to dictate who people can and can’t see. Newell and Wes were a big part of their pack until very recently, and I understand—to an extent—that it might be hard to let go of that. But on the other hand, I don’t want to give them free rein to plan something that might harm the rest of this pack.” Pausing to run a hand through his hair, Cam tried not to focus on his newest betas. Either Jason or Paul had to be the one to approach the old P-pack members—sending Alec or one of the others would only result in more animosity and division. But Cam wouldn’t order them to investigate this. He needed them to volunteer, to want to do this to protect all their new pack.

  With a sigh, Jason glanced at Paul, then said. “I know some of the ones who’ve been visiting. I’ll try and talk to them about it over the weekend. See if I can find out why they’re going.”

  “If they refuse to tell you, then leave it and report back. I’ll address the matter myself if I have to.”

  He didn’t want to put them in that position. Besides, ultimately it was Cam’s responsibility to ensure all members of his pack were happy, or at least felt like they belonged and were supported. And if they refused to commit to the pack, then he’d deal with that too.

  “That’s not all…” He briefly met Alec’s eye. “Both Newell and Wes have requested I visit them in prison.”

  Stunned silence met his words, broken by Alec’s, “What the fuck?”

  “I got an email this morning from Governor Fleck.”

  Gareth’s laugh was harsh. “You told him no, right? I mean why the fuck would you ever go there?”

  Cam shrugged. “I haven’t replied, yet.” In truth, he didn’t know what to think of it, let alone what the best course of action was. He half expected Gareth to protest further, given his behaviour of late, but he bit his lip and remained quiet. His hands curled into tight fists, though, and Cam swore he detected the sharp tang of blood.

  Ever the realist, Alec asked, “What would you hope to gain by going there?”

  That was the question. “I’m not sure. But all things considered, I don’t think I can afford to rule it out straight away.”

  Paul hadn’t been the most vocal in these meetings, usually leaving any talking to Jason, but he seemed eager to voice his opinion on this. “Newell likes the sound of his own voice, likes to brag. You might get more information out of him than you think. But if I was to guess, he’ll want to gloat over the fact that members of your pack are still coming to see him, and he’ll lie. You can’t trust everything he says, but you might get some grains of truth.”

  “What about Wes, though?” Jason looked confused. “I didn’t think he and Newell were on speaking terms after what happened with the alpha council?”

  With Newell trying to blame Wes for everything, Cam wasn’t surprised. “I don’t know if the requests are connected. The email doesn’t say.”

  Alec frowned. “I don’t like it. I’d rather you didn’t go anywhere near either of them. Whether they’re behind bars or not.”

  “I’m not overly keen on the idea, trust me.” Cam turned to Jason as a thought struck him. “Jason, do you know if the same people are visiting Newell and Wes? Because that would put a whole different light on it.”

  Being confined to such a small space would be torture for a shifter. Cam wouldn’t put it past them to have shelved their animosity and started working together. But what could they accomplish from behind bars?

  “Erm….” Jason bit his lip. “I think so, from what I overheard. But I can try and find out for sure?”

  “Please.” He’d rather not have to wait for his next report from the prison or ask them for information on this. A yawn caught him by surprise, and Cam decided that was enough for now. “We’ll have the full pack meeting tomorrow, but I also want to get together and discuss pack integration. The divide between the two is still obvious and not going away. We need a plan to rectify that without ruffling people’s fur. Have a think about possible ideas, and we’ll meet in a couple of days.”

  “What about Rachel?” Gareth asked, hands still curled into fists, but not as tightly clenched.

  “I’ll talk to her tonight, offer her a few options, and take it from there. Hopefully we can get her sorted over the weekend.” When no one else spoke, Cam added. “I think that’ll do for tonight.”

  His betas stood and started to head for the door.

  “Gareth?” Cam called softly. “Can I have a quick word before you go?”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Gareth halted mid-step at Cam’s words.

  Bollocks.

  He needed to get the fuck out of there, not stay longer.

  All the way back from Cornwall, the topic of conversation in the car had been about Rachel. And Cam. And whether or not she wanted to become the next Mrs Cameron Harley. It had taken all Gareth’s control not to react, not to join in and tell them that no way was she good enough for Cam.

  No one ever would be.

  But he’d kept quiet. And now, in Cam’s flat, the scent of another pack—Rachel’s scent—had his wolf agitated. It didn’t belong there. This was his alphas space; the only scents in here should be pack, their pack, not some stranger who had forced her way in.

  Rationally, he knew he was overreacting—reading far too much into the fact that Rachel was staying with Cam for now instead of her own flat. Cam cared about his pack, always wanting to make sure they were looked after, and for now, that included Rachel. He’d want to make sure she was okay with all this, settled, before leaving her on her own.

  But even knowing all of that, Gareth still hated it.

  He hated feeling like that even more. Jealousy wasn’t something to be proud of.

  And then there was the mention of Newell. With everything Cam had just told them, Gareth was surprised he wasn’t shaking with rage by this point. At least there was that.

  Running a hand through his hair, Gareth sighed. This wasn’t him. He needed to snap out of it, and fast, or there was a very real danger of everything unravelling.

  Turning to face his alpha, Gareth attempted to school his emotions into the calm and easy-going exterior he normally displayed. “Of course.”

  Cam smiled, but his expression betrayed his concern. He indicated for Gareth to sit down and took the seat beside him.

  This close, the comforting scent of pack, alpha, overpowered everything else, and Gareth breathed deep, letting it soothe his wolf and settle his nerves. He met Cam’s gaze, and as always, tried not to lose himself in the deep green of his eyes.

  “Gareth, I—”

  The door to the spare room swung open, and Gareth was hit with a wave of Rachel’s scent. Both he and Cam immediately looked towards it, where Rachel stood: freshly showered and looking radiant. She smiled at Cam, and a wave of possessiveness gripped Gareth so suddenly, he had no chance of stopping the growl that bubbled out—low and menacing.

  Oh fuck.

  His heart set off at a gallop, so lou
d it felt like everyone in the room could hear it. Rachel’s smile faltered as she glanced between Cam and Gareth, and Gareth quickly looked down at his hands, not ready to face Cam.

  “Sorry.” He managed to get out. “I’m still not used to a foreign scent in here, and you startled me.”

  “That’s okay. I understand.” It didn’t sound as if she did. In fact, she sounded as pissed off as Gareth felt. To Cam, she said, “I can go back in my room for a bit if you’ve not finished.”

  Shaking his head, Cam stood. “No, that’s fine. You’ve been cooped up in there for too long already.” He smiled, eyes warm and welcoming, and Gareth hated her a little bit more. “Why don’t you have a look in my kitchen. Help yourself to whatever you can find in there. You must be hungry?”

  She grinned, totally ignoring Gareth now, which was fine by him. “Starving.”

  At least with her out here, Cam would hopefully drop whatever it was he wanted to talk about. Maybe Gareth could escape to the safety of his flat and try and pull himself together. Maybe he’d gather his unit for a mini-briefing. Being surrounded by them should ease his agitation.

  Cam glanced down at him. “Come on, we’ll continue this in my bedroom.”

  Or maybe Cam would insist on torturing him some more.

  Arse.

  Cam’s bedroom was the absolute last place he wanted to go, but he stood anyway and followed Cam as he walked through the living room and back out into the hall. They didn’t speak again until they were inside Cam’s room with the door closed.

  In here Cam’s scent hung thick and heavy in the air, even after a few days away. Gareth tried to take shallow breaths, not wanting to discover if any other scents might be lingering, but his body had other ideas, and he breathed deeply, savouring each inhale.

  Cam walked over to the bed—neatly made with dark blue sheets—and pointed at it. “Why don’t you take a seat.”

  Gareth did as he was told.

  The quilt wafted up a little as he sat down, releasing a faint scent that Gareth recognised all too well. His nostrils flared, gaze immediately flicking to Cam’s, and a jolt of heat went straight to his groin.