Forced By the Alpha (Sparkle Hollow Wolves #7)

Chapter 10 - Franco

For the first time since she had joined the pack, Sienna had woken up before me. The sun had fully risen by the time I woke up to find her missing from the cabin. As I had fallen asleep last night, I had been looking forward to a continuation of our kisses. In fact, my dreams had been full of nothing but her. Instead, I was left with a cold and lonely morning.

If I had known she would be gone in the morning, I might have tried to stay up and see where things went with her, I thought.

You and I both know you wouldn’t have been able to, Blizzard replied ruefully.

He was right. The bloodlust, my journey home, and the emotional conversation with Sienna had completely done me in. It had been a miracle I’d managed not to fall asleep in the bathtub.

Still, I was looking forward to finding Sienna and exploring our new connection. I remembered everything about last night, from her promise to help with the pack’s curse to the hot and heavy kiss we shared.

Anxious for a repeat performance, I got ready as quickly as possible and headed out of the cabin.

Sienna’s healing had done wonders for me. While werewolves always healed faster than humans, the extensive damage I had taken from my fight would have taken my body a few days to fully repair itself. With Sienna’s help, it had only taken one night.

I found her in the mess hall, checking on the people she had healed yesterday. After our conversation yesterday, I found myself looking at her in a whole new light. She had always been attractive—there was no denying that—but there was another side to her that I was just now witnessing.

Where before I saw her as a fierce adversary, I now saw her softer side. She was still sarcastic and tenacious, but it was a cover for her compassion and protectiveness of those she cared about. Here she was, held captive by a cursed wolf pack, and she was waking up early to check on their injuries.

“Everyone is looking great,” Sienna said when she spotted me. “Mason’s femur is still a little sore, so I told him I’d make a potion to help with the tenderness. I’m heading into town to get some turmeric and ginger from the grocer. Did you need anything while I’m out?”

“No,” I replied hesitantly.

She wasn’t being unkind or rude, but she was acting like there was nothing deeper between us. All I could think about was our kiss, but she was behaving as though it had never happened. Although, it was possible that she was just focusing on the task at hand. Or she thought I didn’t remember.

She frowned. “You sure?”

“I was actually hoping to talk to you… alone,” I emphasized. “About last night.”

“Later,” she said dismissively.

She began to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist and held her close. “I told you last night that I wanted to keep kissing you,” I whispered. “Did you think I was lying about that?”

“No, but I need to take care of this,” she replied at her normal volume.

I couldn’t get a read on her reaction, but she was clearly not interested in having this talk right now. As bad of a person as I was, the one thing I would never do was use force on an unwilling woman. I released her hand, and she left, heading into town for her supplies.

I sighed. She had to be regretting last night, and that thought felt like a knife going through my chest. What I needed was a distraction from my unrequited lust for my mate.

“Elise,” I said, calling the attention of the wise woman. “What’s the mood of the pack like today?”

“Calm,” she replied. “The bloodlust has abated, thanks to the fight with the Crescent Shield.”

“Excellent. What do you think everyone would think of me throwing a little party this afternoon while everyone’s spirits are up?”

Elise smiled mischievously. “As long as you provide the drinks, I’m sure we could all be enticed to attend.”

I chuckled, knowing her assessment of the pack was correct. It wasn’t that they were a bunch of drunkards, exactly, but with so little to live for, we took our pleasures however we could.

***

By the time the party started, I still hadn’t heard from Sienna. She had been gone for hours, but I tried not to dwell on it. After all, she was allowed to go where she pleased. I trusted her when she said that she wanted to help the pack. If she needed space from me to do that, I was happy to give it to her.

After not hearing from her all day, I assumed she would skip the party, so when I saw her sidle up to Clara wearing a skin-tight black mini-dress, I did a double take.

Her hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail, and the long, red tresses cascaded down between her shoulder blades. She and Clara were chatting, oblivious to my staring, when Sven sidled up beside me.

“You’re a lucky man,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” I snapped.

Sven’s hand retreated from its brotherly position on my shoulder, and I turned immediately to apologize for my outburst.

“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “It’s been a hectic few days, but that’s no excuse. I meant to say that I don’t feel particularly lucky at the moment.”

“Your plan will work, Alpha,” Sven said.

He wasn’t a man of many words, but in spite of that, he was one of my most trusted advisors. Sven had been a member of the pack since my father’s time. He had seen me at my worst, but his loyalty had never faltered. The confidence in his voice stuck with me as he bid me goodbye and went off in search of a drink.

As the party amped up, I kept a watchful eye on Sienna. She hadn’t made a move toward me yet, but I couldn’t help but stay near to her. Even when I wasn’t paying attention, I felt myself being drawn into her presence.

The party was in full swing, and I had just finished talking to a few pack members when I turned around to grab a bite to eat and bumped right into her.

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “Oh, it’s you.”

“I’ve been wondering if you’d ever come talk to me,” I teased.

Heat rose in her face as she blushed at my flirtatious demeanor. I hardly recognized myself as I smiled back at her. There was no hiding the fact that I wanted her, but I desperately wished I could.

“I didn’t know you were having a party today,” she said. “Do you do this often?”

“Whenever the curse is at a low point and everyone can behave themselves. I like to make it a point to give them happy times and things to look forward to,” I explained.

“I saw that there’s some humans here as well,” Sienna said, pointing toward a group of college students taking shots with Sven in the corner.

“They come around when we have parties,” I shrugged. “I think it’s good for their humanity to rub off on the pack. It reminds us that we aren’t just monsters. There’s hope for us.”

“There’s always hope,” Sienna agreed.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, wondering if she had intended the double meaning behind her words. Was she just talking about the pack, or did she mean there was hope for us? There was only one way to find out.

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked, nodding toward the table.

“Sure,” she replied brightly. “I’ll come with you.”

We sauntered over to the table where I had set out a few selections of beverages.

“What’s your poison?” I asked.

“Hemlock,” she replied without pausing.

I paused with my hand on a cup and gave her a wide-eyed stare, not realizing until she laughed that she had been joking.

“Don’t worry, I don’t work with poisons,” she reassured me. “Besides, hemlock doesn’t work on werewolves.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I replied with a chuckle.

Every time I thought I knew her better, she said something surprising. One thing was for certain: life with Sienna would never be boring.

“I’ll take a whiskey coke,” Sienna said.

I began to pour her drink when one of the human men sidled up to us.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said to Sienna. “You sure you can handle that drink?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she assured him, accepting the glass from me.

“Badass,” the man said with a drunken nod of approval. “I like a girl that can handle her liquor.”

“Back off,” I snapped at the man.

Both he and Sienna turned to me in alarm. I hadn’t realized how loudly I had said it, but I didn’t regret my statement. Sienna was drop-dead gorgeous at the worst of times, but that didn’t mean I would stand by while a stranger hit on my mate.

“Take it easy, dude. We were just talking,” the man replied.

“And now you’re done,” I said sternly, shoving him away from Sienna. “Leave. Now.”

I bared my teeth at him, and he scurried back to his friends, mumbling something about “jealous bros.” I chuckled and turned back to Sienna, expecting her to be on the same page as me.

Instead, I saw her walking away toward the trees.

“Hey!” I called, jogging to meet up with her. “Where are you going?”

“Away from you,” Sienna hissed. “What the hell was that about? He didn’t do anything wrong. He was just being friendly, and you decided to be rude to him? You’re setting a pretty poor example for the pack when you get physical with someone completely innocent.”

“No one in the pack would bat an eye at what just happened,” I pointed out.

“Maybe they should,” she suggested. “Who do you think you are?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am. It matters who you are,” I said.

“And who is that? A spoiled princess?” she asked sarcastically.

“No. You are mine.”

There was no humor in my voice as I spoke the word. I hadn’t claimed her since our mating ceremony when I had placed the mark on her neck, nearly healed now. Until now, I hadn’t realized that she’d never used a healing spell on the injury.

But her mark was the least of my concerns when I looked from it to her eyes, and saw the same excitement that had been present the night before.

Something happened when our eyes locked. The tether that had been keeping me in her radius all day vanished into nothing, and the lust I had been concealing all day overcame me. I wanted—needed—to touch her.

I reached out with both hands and grasped her around the waist, drawing her into me. She responded immediately, closing her eyes as I covered her lips with mine in a passionate embrace. My hands trailed over the small of her back, crushing her into me with a deep yearning.

“Franco,” she mumbled against my lips before nibbling my bottom lip gently with her teeth. I moaned at the erotic pleasure of the surprise gesture, returning my own love bite before kissing her again.

The world around me seemed to disappear, reducing itself to the two of us in this moment. She moved her hands down to the hem of my shirt and teased it upwards until she could touch my bare skin. Every inch she explored felt like it was on fire. All I wanted was more.

I reached up to grab her ponytail with one hand and pulled her head backwards, exposing her neck. Her breathing hitched as I placed a gentle kiss on her mark. The contact sent a pulse of electricity through me, heightening my senses even more. Her skin felt like delicate flower petals beneath my lips, and the scent of vanilla and something earthy emanated from her.

Just then, a loud noise broke my concentration. I growled in frustration as I broke off my attention toward Sienna and turned my focus toward the rest of the pack. The sound of glass shattering was unmistakable, and the laughter and voices had increased in volume.

“What is it?” Sienna asked.

“They’re getting too rambunctious for my liking,” I said. “I need to end the party before it gets out of hand. There are humans here. I can’t have them witnessing anything suspicious and forcing us to leave.”

“Need any help?”

I shook my head. “No, I can handle it. But don’t think you’re off the hook. We’re going to continue this another time. You’re mine,” I reminded her.

I saw a shiver course through her before I walked away.