Mated to the Billionaire Werewolf: BBW Paranormal Bad Boy Billionaire Werewolf Romance (Kingwood Pack Book 3) (2 page)

Alex nodded, hand still wrapped around his coffee mug. Hannah was a quiet little beta, a pretty, petite little thing as both a woman and a wolf and Ethan’s interest in her was no secret. Why he hadn’t made a move on her yet, Alex didn’t know.

There was a darkness in Ethan, carefully hidden, that Alex didn’t remember being there before he’d left to join up, so perhaps that was it. He didn’t plan on saying anything; the man’s sex life and personal demons were his own to sort out.

“I guess in this case, no news is good news,” he commented, although more to himself than Ethan.

The longer the conversion took, the less likely Eva was to succumb to the shifting madness. It was usually when the change hit hard and fast that there was a problem. As though the host body fought the infection, which caused the emerging wolf to become more aggressive. From there it was a destructive cycle downward, the virus trying to overwhelm a body that wouldn’t accept it until the mind broke or the heart gave out. Neither was pretty.

But nearly a week with no sign?

Some wolves could be shy, particularly betas, as though they had to be coaxed from within their human halves, but he’d never heard of one taking so long to appear.

“Is there any chance she might not be infected?”

She’d been on the verge of death when he’d bitten her, so he knew his bite had taken. If it hadn’t, then she wouldn’t still be breathing. Could her body somehow have used the infection to heal, but then eliminated it from her system before she’d fallen prey to it?

Ethan’s brow furrowed.

“It’s possible. Under certain circumstances—”

“What sort of circumstances?”

Alex didn’t want a debate or medical history lesson. He wanted answers. Yesterday.

“Well, if she had something non-human in her family tree somewhere, then that could block the infection.” He rubbed at his jaw, expression thoughtful. “It would have to be something like a Morrigan or a Succubus, maybe even Valkyrie, but definitely something with a feminine bias.”

“Feminine? Why’s that?” Alex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ethan, the man had practically put one of the pack wolves back together after he’d run into a warlock’s silver-laced trap a couple months ago, so he obviously knew what he was doing, but he was curious as to the man’s reasoning.

“Well, we know she and her brother are full siblings, so they share similar genetics.” Ethan’s voice was calm and measured as he explained. “But Davie fell prey to the
vampirus
infection, whereas Eva hasn’t succumbed to the Lycanthrope virus which means whatever non human DNA they have, has to be favoring the female side… hence one of those three. They’re the only races which are predominantly female and in which the bloodline can lie dormant for generations. Don’t worry though, she won’t turn out to be any of them. It just affords the bloodline some protection from infection.”

“Okay…” It all began to make sense now and Alex looked out the window at his little human. Wolf or not, only time would tell…

Chapter Two

Eva couldn’t be a werewolf. No way, no how.

Sure, she’d woken up after her near death experience with abilities she hadn’t had before. Things like seeing smells, vision like a hawk, and hearing so accurate she could pinpoint a mouse farting three rooms away. So far though, there had been no hint of fur (apart from her legs, which were in desperate need of a shave after a week of inattention).

New abilities though, didn’t mean she was a werewolf. She’d read somewhere that people who suffered head trauma sometimes gained completely new skills—like being able to speak a new language, play an instrument, or suddenly became an uber-smart math whiz. Acquired Savant Syndrome or something.

Yeah, that had to be it. The accident that had nearly killed her had obviously left her with some side effects. A frown creased her brow. No one would tell her much about the accident either. All they would say was that she was lucky to be alive, and if she wanted more details then she needed to speak to Alex.

A feat easier said than done since the Lord of the Manor seemed to be mostly absent from his own home. Until now. She’d heard his voice while she’d been dozing in the garden and now that she was back in the house, his scent was everywhere. It was stronger than it had been for days; the immediacy of it telling her he’d recently passed this way.

Tracking him through the house was easy and within a minute she found herself outside the door of his office, hand raised to knock. Her knuckles didn’t make contact with the wood, her hand stilled mid-air. Anger hit hard and fast. What did she plan to do? Knock and wait for permission to enter like a good little girl?

Screw. That.

She’d almost been killed, Alex had bitten her and apparently turned her into a werewolf, a defective one since she didn’t feel much different, and to add insult to injury, he hadn’t even come to see her when she was lying at death’s door.

Asshole needed a lesson in manners.

Her hand hit the painted wood hard, shoving the door inward so hard, it hit the plaster with a crash. The crack of splintering wood said she’d broken either the frame or the door, but she didn’t care, already storming across the room.

Alex sat behind the desk, looking up as she slammed her hands down on the surface in front of him.

“Some pack fucking alpha you are,” she snarled, trying to hide the hurt she felt inside at him abandoning her when she needed him the most. “I thought you were supposed to care for all the wolves in your pack, not leave them high and dry when they’re mortally ill.”

Alex didn’t move, gaze locked with hers. As she watched, amber flared in his eyes, shooting out from the central ring like solar flares until just a thin circle of blue remained at the edges. His nostrils flared, features tight. He was pissed at her accusation, but she didn’t care.

“And just who brought you here?” he asked, his voice tight with control. “Who made sure you got medical attention… The
right
medical attention, not some damn human hospital who haven’t a clue how to deal with a werewolf? Do you know how many people survive a lycan bite?”

He rose, movements controlled. An aura of danger surrounded him, one she’d seen before and been attracted to, but now was ramped up to the max. The veneer of the civilized billionaire businessman cracked more than she’d ever seen, revealing the maelstrom beneath. Alex Kingwood was the poster boy for what a lycan could be; handsome, sophisticated elegance dressed in designer suits with a ruthless streak humans couldn’t help but be attracted to.

But that ruthless streak was wider, more than just a streak or personality attribute. It was part of his very core, part of the very feralness and primal nature that drove him.

The scales fell from her eyes. Alex Kingwood wasn’t a good man with a ruthless streak. He was a ruthless predator who wore the man like a suit. And that made a shiver go down her spine.

“No, how the hell should I know how many can take a bite?” she admitted. And she didn’t have a clue. She knew lycans carefully controlled who they bit, that they had to have permission from the pack alpha.

Her mother, wanting to sink her claws deeper into the Kingwood fortune, had petitioned Charles to turn them. All of them. She hadn’t even thought to ask her children whether they wanted to be lycan or not. All she’d seen was a way to ensure she kept her place and access to the money she liked so much.

Eva would have; she knew that without thinking. Anything to learn more about lycans, and perhaps get closer to Alex. But the request had been denied by his father. Repeatedly. Eventually even Naomi had gotten the message. They weren’t good enough to be lycan. A message which had been driven home hard and fast, and she still felt the sting of today.

If she wasn’t good enough, why had Alex turned her?

“Why?”

Even standing on the other side of the desk, he towered over her. He hadn’t shifted, even a little… But seeing all that anger contained in his human form made her stomach quiver with instinctive fear. Which was ridiculous. She knew Alex, he would never hurt… When she’d been human.

Now she wasn’t and the tension between them had changed.

“Why what? Why don’t some people survive a lycan bite?” He rounded the desk as he spoke, gaze latched onto hers. It wasn’t a walk; it was far more dangerous.

Always before, she’d seen Alex playing human, now she realized it was just that, playing. A mask to conceal the creature within. The beast she poked with a stick.

Shit, she’d never been very good at self-preservation.

Even though her instincts clamored at her to run, she held her ground. Something deep within wouldn’t give ground, wouldn’t let her back even a half step. If she did, then she’d lose somehow. Instead, she held his gaze, a challenge in itself, but she didn’t care.

“The infection overwhelms them. It rips into the body, into each cell, tearing it apart to change to something else.” His voice was mesmerizing, deep and low, the rich tones sliding over her senses like thick chocolate sauce over hot cake. “Taking them, cell by cell, from plain old human to something far more dangerous. Some people can’t take it. Their bodies give out, or worse, fight the infection… which fights back, creating an ever escalating feud on the cellular level until the body gives up. End game.”

“No. That’s not what I meant.”

She tilted her head as he came to a stop in front of her, so close she felt the heat of his body through his shirt and her dress. Layers of fabric separated them, but all she wanted was to tear them away and rub herself against him. Skin to skin.

Heat flared. Crawled through her veins, and shivered along her skin. Unbidden, unwanted, her core ached and her pussy clenched. Liquid heat dampened her panties and his nostrils flared a response.

Her cheeks burned but she held his gaze, daring him to mention it. He’d always been able to make her react, sometimes just with a look, but she’d be damned if she was going to be a slave to her own responses.

His eyebrow quirked, just a little, in curiosity. “What did you mean then?”

“Why did you do what you did? Why did you bite me? What happened? Was this some kind of accident?” Soon as her mouth was open, and she’d started, the questions tumbled out over each other in a hurried jumble.

“What kind of accident would be so bad that you need to bite me? Make me into a werewolf… Whatever the hell kind of werewolf I am. Because, I don’t know about you,” she motioned to herself, “but I’m not seeing a whole lot of furry shit going on here.”

“You were dying. What would you expect I do… Leave you there?” His expression was hard, like a whip. “Give me some credit, Eva. I wouldn’t let you die. Not while you’re in my care.”

He hadn’t answered her question. His expression said he wasn’t going to. Anger flared and a snarl rumbled in the back of her throat. It wasn’t a human sound; that made no sense, but she was too pissed off to care.

“Dammit, Alex.” She slammed her hands into his broad chest and shoved. It was like trying to shove a cliff but he rocked back on his feet, surprise in his eyes. “Just give me a straight fucking answer.”

He grabbed her wrists, yanked her up against him as he turned, pinning her between him and broad desk. The heat simmering through her veins turned volcanic, supercharged, and shot through her veins. Her body went pliant in his grasp, her curves against the hard muscled planes of his larger form. Damn traitorous thing.

“Answer?” His voice was no less a snarl than hers had been. “I’ll give you an answer.”

His lips crashed down on hers. Hard. Demanding. Ruthless.

The dominating manner had always done it for her, sending her up in flames in his arms, but that had been before. This was something else. The same as she realized he wore his human appearance like a mask, she tasted the true depth of his feral masculinity.

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 cock 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, Eva…” 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.