Marked by the Alpha Read online

  Marked by the Alpha

  By

  Adaline Raine

  Copyright © 2013 by Stormy Night Publications and Adaline Raine

  Copyright © 2013 by Stormy Night Publications and Adaline Raine

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.

  www.StormyNightPublications.com

  Raine, Adaline

  Marked by the Alpha

  Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

  Images by Deposit Photos © wildatart and The Killion Group.

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.

  Chapter One

  “Dani!” Alisha yelled across the store. If it was an everyday sort of thing like a price check Dani knew that her best friend would have simply come and found her, so this must be something more serious.

  Sure enough, at that moment Dani felt an unnatural power surge from the front of the store, and deep down she knew that surge of power could mean only one thing. She wiped her hands on her jeans as she stood up, and pressed her hand to her side where she kept her knife—it was small but sharp, and it was made of pure silver. After taking a moment to calm herself, she stepped cautiously out from the back room and was met with an unusual sight.

  Mason Daniels was standing at the counter. He stood well over six feet tall, but even aside from his formidable stature she would have known him anywhere—his power was just that intense. She stopped in her tracks for a second and gazed at his broad shoulders and heavily muscled body. She knew that it was all natural, although she guessed that most men would need to work out in a gym on a daily basis to look so sexy…

  Sexy? Keep yourself together! Dani nearly growled in her head. She knew very well that Mason Daniels was the alpha male of a large pack, and she had no intention of walking out of here as his mate. Regaining her composure, she strode up to the front desk to find out what Mason wanted.

  He was staring at her as she approached and those damn chocolate brown eyes were locked on hers. Damn him! He was sexy. She threw a glance to Alisha who was trying to look nonchalant behind the counter but Alisha averted her eyes.

  Dani had kept to herself in all matters, but she was the only red-haired female werewolf in her entire state and a dominant female to boot; she had always known that one day some alpha would try to claim her. She didn’t want to belong to a pack of any kind, however, and she certainly did not want to submit to Mason or any other cocky alpha. Dani wanted nothing to do with that!

  Before she knew it, she realized that she had walked up close enough to him that their bodies were almost touching—he had literally pulled her to him with just his eyes. She stepped back quickly.

  Mason didn’t waste time with a greeting. “Have you been threatened?” he asked her in a voice that was nearly a growl.

  “No,” Dani answered quickly, and then glanced angrily at Alisha who had shouted out “Yes!” just as quickly. Of all the times that girl had to open her mouth!

  “It was not that recently,” Dani said firmly, and then shot another look to her friend. If Mason knew the extent of the threats she had received he would pick her up right there and carry her off to the protection of his pack. Some odd part of her tightened at that thought, and Dani flushed. She had been around him for thirty seconds and already she was not thinking clearly.

  Mason raised an eyebrow. “Recent enough that you carry a silver knife at all times?” He looked over to Alisha, who crossed her arms in front of her. Alisha shrugged as she looked intensely at Dani. She nodded towards Mason and mouthed, “Tell him.”

  Dani ignored Alisha and cocked her head to the side as she shook off the flush. “So, what brings you to my little store?” she asked him, trying to sound casual. Her emotions were spinning around in a vortex of arousal and anger and she was fighting to remain focused. He would be able to sense both aspects of the fight-or-fuck response she was displaying, and that knowledge just increased her agitation.

  “I wanted to have dinner with you tonight,” he said simply. His words seemed to brush right against her sex as if he had touched her there. Dani took another step back.

  “I have to close the store.” Dani pulled the excuse from her long list and looked away before she could get lost in his eyes again—his aura of power permeated the room with such intensity that she was damn near drooling.

  “I can close up tonight,” Alisha offered sincerely. Dani had noticed that she was edging further away from the two of them.

  “I appreciate the offer, but unless you would like to do an inventory count…” Dani trailed off as Mason touched her arm and sent waves of heat over her body.

  “I would really like to see you tonight, Dani.” His hand was gripping her arm firmly and his voice held a husky undertone that demanded her attention.

  Dani tried to draw her arm away from him, but then she gasped from a sudden flare-up in her loins. Another spark went through her and Dani got an urge to roll around on top of him. She growled then, low in her throat, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Alisha retreating into the back room.

  Mason dropped his hand but kept his eyes on her. He looked amused and intrigued at the same time. “May I come over for dinner?” he asked again.

  Dani sneered. She was furious at the way her body was reacting. Her uncle had hinted years ago that a dominant female would react immediately to her true mate, but at the time she had not been old enough to understand. She shook off the memories and focused back on Mason, putting a slight scowl on her face.

  Mason grabbed her chin, gently but firmly. “Such a face does not belong on you.”

  Dani balked. “Come over for dinner but don’t touch me,” she stammered quickly. She wanted to pull away from his grasp but, at the same time, she found it deeply arousing.

  “I demand respect from you,” Mason growled under his breath. He had let go of her chin and moved so that she was pressed dangerously close to his chest.

  “Respect has to be earned,” Dani managed to reply, even though she felt like a small child standing there looking up at him. Hell, her voice sounded weak even to her own ears.

  Mason smirked as he moved a piece of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. “You will regret saying those words to me tonight, Dani. I will earn your respect even though I am sure you won’t like my methods.”

  “You really are an arrogant son of a bitch,” Dani snapped, feeling like she was suffocating from the heat. She had never been remotely intimate with another wolf and the sensations flying through her mind were overwhelming.

  Mason’s face darkened as he turned and began to walk towards the front of the store. “I know that you have isolated yourself from other wolves for years, but I will not allow you to speak to me like that.” Mason glanced towards the back of the store. “Apologize to your friend for me. This display was inappropriate.” His stare lingered a moment before he refocused on her.

  Dani let out a long breath and pointed to the door. “I need you to leave, Mason. I don’t want you in my store anymore.”

  “I will deal with your attitude tonight, Dani, and I expect you to be much more considerate of my position afterwards. I’ll be at your place at seven.” With those words he finally walked out of the store and the fire in her blood immediately extinguished.

  His words rattled around in her head and she could not figure out exactly what he meant. He had mentioned that he would earn her respect
and then said that he would ‘deal’ with her. What the hell did that mean?

  “Are you alright?” Alisha called from the back and snapped Dani back to reality.

  Dani turned and walked back to the counter. The trembling in her limbs had ceased and she rolled her neck on her shoulders as Alisha cautiously returned to the front of the store. “I will be. I’m just not sure if I am looking forward to seeing him tonight or not.” She leaned against the counter. “Why did you tell Mason that I was threatened?”

  “If you had told him, I wouldn’t have had to mention the threats at all. I know I’m not a wolf, and I don’t have all of your instincts, but there are hunters that appear to be pretty active around here. I know that you have kept really low on the radar, Dani, but if they keep leaving dead rabbits on our doorstep, they're obviously getting closer to finding your house! Come on, maybe Mason can help you.” Alisha was keeping her pace deliberately slow. She probably thought that Dani’s temper was going to flare again.

  Alisha was tiny and, compared to Dani’s tall frame, she looked downright childlike. Even aside from the size difference, the two of them were a study in contrasts. Her friend was dark-skinned, with rich brown hair and hazel-green eyes, while her own hair was a deep, dark red that complimented her dark brown eyes though her skin tone never tanned much beyond pale.

  Nonetheless, their physical differences had not stopped Dani from becoming close with Alisha and eventually telling her that she was a werewolf. Dani was fiercely protective of her secret, even though there was a good-sized population of wolves in this part of the state, but she knew that she could count on Alisha to keep it to herself.

  “I’m pretty sure he already knows or he wouldn’t have come all the way out here.” Dani did not continue with that thought. Could he be planning to lay claim to her? Was that what he had meant when he said he would deal with her attitude? He would just claim her as his mate and turn her into some pup factory?

  “He is just about the sexiest man I have ever laid eyes on,” Alisha said, and looked towards the door as if she were remembering the large man.

  Dani growled again instinctively—much to her dismay—and Alisha’s eyes went wide in fear. Dani smacked her hands on the counter. “Damn it! I shouldn’t care what you think of Mason Daniels.”

  Alisha walked around the counter very slowly. She wisely stopped before actually reaching out to her. “You do care, Dani. It’s okay to be attracted to a man who you've told me in the past is a true alpha. I know there must be more to him or you would not have invited him to your house.”

  Dani shook her head. “I don’t want anything to do with that man or his pack.” She was reeling. How dare Mason put her so on edge! “And for the record, Mason invited himself,” she added snappishly, then turned and began to straighten up the store. She did not want to take anything else out on her friend.

  “He apparently wants something to do with you,” Alisha said quietly as she moved back behind the counter and began to clean it. “What can it hurt to see what he has to say?”

  Dani rolled her eyes. “You’ve known me for five, six—what is it, seven?—years now? Have you ever in your entire life heard me make that damn growling noise?”

  Alisha shrugged. “Well, once, when that shelf fell on your head and you needed stitches, I heard you growl at the doctor.” She grabbed a dust rag from underneath the cash register and continued to wipe down the counters.

  Dani flushed. “He was a wolf.” She recalled that that particular doctor had known immediately that she was one as well, and he had kept the nosey nurses away when they kept trying to take her vitals. She knew she ran hotter than most and the last thing she had needed at the time was a more accurate thermometer check by an overbearing nurse. She brushed off the memory and refocused on her friend.

  Alisha frowned. “So then why did you just growl at me?”

  Dani sighed. “I don’t know. Mason comes strutting in here and expects me to just bow down and kiss his furry feet! It just burns me!”

  Alisha moved her hand. “Would it really be that bad to have someone else looking out for you?”

  Dani huffed again but looked over at her. “Are you actually worried that I can’t take care of myself?”

  Alisha looked away and Dani remembered that last month her tires had been slashed. It had been the boldest threat so far. “Last month was a fluke! I’m strong and I’m stealthy,” she argued.

  “And the dead rabbits on the doorstep?”

  Dani finally gave in to her friend’s insistence. “Fine, you’re right. Mason looking out for me would not be the worst thing,” she muttered.

  “Go have a nice dinner with Mason. Just let me know that you got home safe. ” Alisha smiled all the way to her eyes. “Make sure you behave.”

  Dani snorted as she studied Alisha’s face. Her words were light but her tone felt off—as if she were deeply worried for Dani’s safety on her way home. “Of course I will. See you in the morning,” Dani said as she grabbed her purse and keys from the storage room and headed out the side door. If she hurried home, she would have just enough time to cook and get dressed before Mason arrived.

  * * *

  Phil, Mason’s second-in-command, was standing in the small wine cellar studying the much larger man. “I have never seen you have a hard time with making a simple decision,” Phil mused as he watched Mason walk up and down the two aisles.

  Mason was looking back and forth on the shelves for the perfect choice of wine. He shrugged as he passed over another bottle.

  “Just grab one,” Phil said, exasperated. “I’m sure that she will have other, more important thoughts on her mind than what you two are drinking.”

  Mason finally settled on a vintage Merlot. “Dani growled and told me to get out of her store,” he said with a frown.

  Phil snorted. “I know what I would have done if she growled at me.”

  Mason shook his head and said, “I went there uninvited.” He started up the basement stairs.

  Phil followed. “All I am saying is that if you two—”

  Mason growled and nearly pushed the smaller man back down the stairs.

  “Whoa! Whoa! Hey, man!” Phil lost his balance and held up his hands. He was sitting at the bottom of the landing. “I was not implying that you are going after Dani just to mate her. For fuck’s sake!”

  Mason took a breath and pulled Phil back up. “She’s not even mine and I was ready to hurt you over her.”

  “No shit?” Phil let Mason pull him to his feet.

  “Damn it, why can’t I get this woman out of my head?” Mason let go of Phil and continued up the stairs.

  “You just know, man. When you find someone that you click with like that? Just go for it. If you feel this strongly, then you need to show her how you feel.”

  Mason frowned. “I’m sorry and, as usual, you are right.”

  “Just have a good night,” Phil said, then clapped Mason on the shoulder and ran off.

  Mason watched Phil leave. It was not often that he needed to apologize to Phil, but there was just something about Dani that made him fiercely protective of her. Mason stopped to check his reflection in a mirror by the front door before grabbing the wine and heading out. He knew that Dani had to feel some sort of attraction. She had gasped at his touch and, at one point, he would not have been surprised if she had leaned over and marked him with her teeth.

  Mason rolled his shoulders. It had taken a lot of control on his part not to scoop her up and force her to be his. That would have ended much worse. He blocked out the negative parts of their conversation and focused on her touch. When she was pressed against him, he had literally wanted her to make a move. Any move. Then, of course, she had opened her mouth!

  He was going to teach that woman one hell of a lesson tonight.

  * * *

  Dani was pacing. She had gone with a very simple steak on the grill, veggies, and her famous mashed potato casserole. She was biting her lip as she brought the food ins
ide. What was she nervous about? Could it be because she couldn't keep from wondering if Mason Daniels would actually try to claim her in her own house? Could he even do that? She had heard of true alpha wolves having the ability to choose any mate—even against the chosen female's will—but was it true? She checked her reflection in the hallway mirror and smoothed her hands over her black skirt again. She did not want to impress him, she told herself, but rather to show him just how capable she was on her own.

  When the doorbell finally rang Dani nearly jumped out of her skin. When was the last time she had had any company over, besides Alisha? It was common for her friend to randomly show up but, of course, she had a key and there was no need for the bell.

  She checked her top again and was happy that she had settled on the gray v-neck instead of the blood red plunge that had been calling to her from the back of her closet.

  She opened the door slowly and stifled a gasp. Mason was dressed in a simple pair of black jeans and a dark teal-colored shirt that fit his arms perfectly. She stared for a moment before she got ahold of herself and greeted him. “Please, come in,” she said, and then moved back to let him step inside.

  He stepped inside and handed her the bottle of wine. “It goes well with steak,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Dani accepted it and smirked in spite of herself. “I am sure that it goes well with almost anything.” She set the dining room table and again pondered how long it had been since she had had company in the room. She kept herself busy pouring the wine and removing the foil from the meat, but after a while she spoke up. “How did you find me?”

  “You gave me directions.” He took the wine glasses and set them on the table.

  Dani sat down and took a sip. It was deep and rich with the smoothest aftertaste she had ever experienced. She nodded approvingly at the wine and then folded her hands in front of her. “I’m talking about my store.”