8
Aspen
The sun was already peeking through the blinds of the patio when I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. There was a real balcony with doors that opened outside my bedroom. I stretched out my arms, practically hearing the fairy tale birds chirping of this new, lavish life.
Digging through my bag, I pulled out my phone and charger. I’d forgotten to plug it in last night and it took a few seconds for it to turn on.
Uh oh. I slept in.
I raced to the bathroom and plugged in the phone again so I could read the texts I missed.
Papa:Hello.
Papa: Are U there?
Papa: Why’d you make me use the phone if you don’t answer?
*missed call*
Papa: Tried to call.
Papa: Hello. I tried to call you too.
*missed call*
Papa: U there?
I laughed to myself as I brushed my teeth, texting back with one hand.
Aspen: Sorry! My phone died. I’ll call you back this afternoon once I get a chance.
It was already 7:30am. He’d be out on the trapline and didn’t get cell service there anyway. Which scared the heck out of me, but I could only handle one anxious situation at a time.
I pulled my hair into a topknot and took a quick second to appreciate the beautiful tiled bathroom with a glass shower and double vanity that was all mine as I threw on my other pair of leggings and a baggy sweater.
A girl could get used to this place.
Stef’s scent was already fading from the hotel room. She must have left at least an hour ago. After last night, I was glad not to wake up to an ambush so it didn’t bother me that she’d gone.
I’m hungry.My wolf was growling louder than my stomach. If I missed breakfast, I’d never forgive myself.
The scent of food flooded the elevator as the doors slid open to the ground floor. I followed my nose and the sound of commotion to the buffet room down the hall.
And staggered back once I stepped inside.
The potent scent of musky alpha male punched me in the gut. Chills danced along my skin as I inhaled the sweet scent of breakfast meat mixed with all that was man. My wolf started panting, drooling, as I clapped my hands over my mouth.
Tables filled the majority of the room and it seemed most of them were full. Female shifters of every shape and size hung out at the fringe tables with their trays of food barely touched as they cast curious glances to what I was staring at.
Gimme,my wolf growled.
She wasn’t talking about bacon.
The center tables were packed full of beastly men sitting on chairs too small for their backsides. There had to be at least twenty of them–wolf shifter males not just their butts. More Alphas than I’d ever seen in one place. It should have been illegal to have this much testosterone in one room.
Biceps flexed as the Alpha shifters shoveled food up from their trays. Dimpled grins and chiseled chins as far as the eye could see. A deep chested laugh came from the bearded shifter who looked like a lumberjack. The messy haired beast with brooding eyes next to him clapped another guy on the back with a deliciously muscled forearm. Chairs groaned under their weight. The tension was thick.
As thick as the thighs that spread out to make space for their massive...
I touched the corner of my mouth to make sure I wasn’t drooling as the room spun.
Food.I needed food to think clearly.
“We’re working on a merger with…”
I tuned out the nearest Alpha’s voice, the one with the business suit jacket slung over his chair and hands big enough to engulf his fork as I focused on the breakfast options in the buffet line.
Warmth was spreading low in my belly.
Biology. That’s all this was. Just like I taught my students. Natural reactions. Unmated male pheromones combusting with my female biological needs. Alphas were all dicks anyway who demanded submission and did little to earn it. I needed to remember that.
“You know what I really hope,” the deep country accent said behind me as I loaded sausage onto my plate, “I want one of these Lunas to be the real deal. Could you imagine finding your fated mate here?”
Oh come on!
This wasn’t fair. I was not here to find an Alpha or fall in love and I’d just keep reminding myself of that.
I gripped the tongs like a weapon and gathered a whole heaping stack of French toast.
“Leave some for the rest of us, sweetheart.”
I looked over into stunning silver-blue eyes as an Alpha smiled down at me. He was huge with a mischievous smile that promised a good time.
This had to be a dream. I was still asleep.
“He… Here.” I dropped the tongs back to the tray, needing to get the hell out of there. The food would have to be enough. I wasn’t coming back.
“If she wants more, get out of her way.” A deep growl rumbled behind me that made vibrations shoot straight to my core.
I spun on my heel, colliding with a solid wall of muscled chest. The heady scent of pine and sawdust flared my nostrils as I breathed it in. I glanced up, pupils widening as my wolf’s eyes flashed in mine and she purred.
My wolf had never purred in my life.
Dark brown eyes as deep as the earth caught mine in a predator’s gaze. Time slowed and my heart beat faster as I stared into them, seeing an image of myself in the soil-rich depths. The shadow of a stubble shaded his sharp cheek bones. His short black hair was slightly messy like he’d run his fingers through it. That was the only thing soft about him. Tattoos lined his biceps, disappearing under the sleeves of his black t-shirt, and the tips reappeared at the base of his muscular neck. His face was cut from marble and a frown creased his perfect freaking lips.
He was a god. A bronzed statue from some fantasy novel.
And he looked angry.
“Sorry,” I squeaked out, taking a step back and almost tripping over my feet. Strong hands grabbed my elbows to steady me and my soul wanted to leave my body at the touch.
I arched backwards, needing to get away before I did something stupid like moan.
He jerked his hands back as if I’d burned him and his frowned deepened. “Who are you?”
“Leaving.” I wasn’t sure if that answered the question correctly, but it was the best I could do right now. I used my tray as a shield between us and took another step back–straight into the blue-eyed beauty at the French toast station.
“Are you alright?” The Alpha behind me chuckled. I jerked away in a frightened panic, acting like a cornered deer. My breath was coming too fast. The walls were closing in.
The dark beast in front of me snarled with the golden ring of his wolf flashing in his brown eyes.
I had to get the hell out of here.
“Are you staking a claim already, Ranger?” Blue-eyes asked as his hands brushed the top of my shoulders.
Ranger. Tall, dark, and handsome had a name to go with the feral growl that vibrated in his chest as he reached out to smack Blue-eyes’ hands away.
Danger warnings went off in my head.
I worked with inmates daily and knew a red flag when I saw one.
“Excuse me.” I ducked under his massive arm, using the chance to escape as my wolf pouted in disapproval. I wasn’t stupid even if she was. You wouldn’t catch me in the middle of some Alpha pissing match.
“You scared her.” Blue-eyes was still laughing.
I glanced over my shoulder, meeting Ranger’s dark gaze again and a shiver danced down my spine.
He shook his head slightly, anger radiating from him in waves that made my stomach roll in on itself. Ranger grabbed Blue-eyes’ shoulder and the two of them turned away.
What the hell was that?!
Breakfast.My wolf licked her chomps.
Right. I needed to eat.
On shaking legs, I found an empty table and slid down onto the chair. The scent of the woods was still dusted on my skin and I couldn’t breathe through the pheromones in here. But I needed to get some fuel in me and didn’t trust myself not to pass out if I ran back to the hotel room without eating first.
I shoved a piece of bacon into my mouth, keeping my eyes down and focused on the table as I tried to think. Was it just me affected by the Alphas this way? Because I totally wasn’t expecting to react like a bitch in heat without actually being in heat.
I reached for a sausage link and chewed, processing. Maybe it was easier for the other females to be here because they hung out with Alphas on a daily basis. That was it. I just needed some exposure therapy. It wouldn’t be so hard once I got used to all the pheromones floating around.
Thankfully the Luna Trials were female centric. I had some time before I actually had to interact with the Alphas I assumed. So, I could take this slowly and build up a tolerance to the effects. We’d start with breakfast and then other meals.
Everything was easier to handle when food was involved.
I bit into my second piece of sausage. Already, I was feeling calmer. I risked a glance up, seeing a few of the Alphas were still lingering at their tables. No sign of Ranger or Blue-eyes though. I cut into my French toast and forked a giant piece.
“You’re Aspen, right?”
I looked to the side with my cheeks stuffed full of French toast and nodded at one of the prettiest women I’d ever seen. Her curly brown hair fell in waves down her back and her voluptuous curves were artfully dressed into a fitting business skirt suit.
“How fun,” the woman beside her said. Black hair with violet highlights was pinned up on top of her regal head. She had a Grecian nose and big brown eyes lined with charcoal. Her toned and muscular body melded into her skintight black pants and ankle boots.
And… I’m done.
I continued to chew my breakfast.
I didn’t swing that way, but if I did, I would have to admit defeat. It was honestly the moment I realized that I was way out of my league. Not in the awkward girl who didn’t have confidence way. More like I stepped straight onto a runway shoot after crashing through the racks of Goodwill.
Which is basically what I did.
The women were still staring at me as I choked down the mouthful of syrupy bread.
“Did you two want to sit here?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Tall, dark, and sexy took the seat beside me as curvy business chic held up a finger, pulling out her phone.
“What did you do to piss off my brother?” the woman beside me asked, reaching for a piece of sausage on my tray with a questioning arch to her eyebrow. “May I?”
I nodded and put down my fork so I didn’t accidentally stab her. “I didn’t realize I pissed anyone off. Who is your brother?”
Dark Beauty choked on a laugh as she hooked a thumb over her shoulder toward the doors. “Ranger. He stormed out of here without eating. Do you really not know who he is?”
I assumed from her tone that I was supposed to, but other than him easily being the hottest guy I’d ever seen, I had no clue who he was. “Sorry, no. I don’t follow pack politics much.”
Which in hindsight was probably not the smartest thing to admit when coming to this show.
I needed to do some recon, quick.
“It seems like my cousin took a liking to you.” The brunette put away her phone.
Who are these people? I looked around the room as if the answer would magically jump out at me.“Which one is your cousin?”
She blinked like I personally offended her while Dark Beauty started laughing again.
“I like you already. I’m Fallon.” Dark Beauty held out her hand. “You’ve met my brother, Ranger. He’s the scary one in the black shirt. This is Edith. She’s here with her younger sister, Lilith, and their cousin is Chad. He’s the next in line for Alpha of the Tulia Pack and also happens to be hanging out with my brother. They just left though.”
Chad was blue-eyes then and this was big territory we were dealing with here. Like outside of Los Angeles big. I wasn’t sure what the rules were. Was it taboo to ask what pack Ranger was from?
For research purposes only of course.
I remembered my manners and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Aspen which you seem to already know. And I’m not sure what I did to upset your brother.”
“Don’t worry about Ranger.” Edith sat in the chair across from me. “He’s always brooding about something. We’d much rather know more about you.”
Since I’d met these women a whole two seconds ago, I wasn’t sure what they expected me to say. I figured this had something to do with rank or pecking order though.
“I’m from Nuva Pack in rural Nevada near Holton Penitentiary, but I don’t have any standing. If you want more information about our Alpha, I’m sure Stefanie is around here somewhere.”
Yes, I was pawning them off on her.
No, I had no remorse about it.
“We already met her. She’s a real peach.” Fallon leaned back in the chair, studying me.
“You can’t say that.” Edith clapped her hand over her mouth. “Fallon, seriously. That’s her packmate.”
“It’s alright.” I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. “She is a little high maintenance.”
Which was why I assumed they’d get along with her. The clothes they were wearing must have cost more than my papa’s trailer. Stef would love them as friends.
“Besides, we don’t care about your pack.” Edith leaned across the table like we were sharing a secret that any shifter within a twenty-foot radius wouldn’t hear.
“You don’t?” My wolf stretched herself out, preparing for whatever mean-girl routine was about to happen.
“She doesn’t mean it like that.” Fallon sighed. “Edith is obsessed with the polls and wants to know what you did.”
“Polls? What I did?” I was getting whiplash from how fast my head was spinning.
“Have you been on social media yet?” Fallon asked, still studying me with that strange look in her eyes.
“I thought we didn’t have WIFI here.”
“You’re adorable.” Edith giggled, putting her phone on the table. “They’ll turn it off tomorrow when they start filming so we can’t stream the show.”
The color drained from my face as I stared at Edith’s phone screen and she scrolled through the fan pages of Mating Season. There had to be someone else here named Aspen.
Nope.
That was definitely my face on the post.
#TEAMASPEN was already trending and commentors were saying how sweet I was. I’d never been considered sweet before in my life.
“So which reporter did you sleep with?” Edith winked.
I was going to throw up. “I didn’t sleep with anyone.”
Yet.My wolf thought of a certain Alpha and his delicious woodsy scent.
Fallon growled at Edith and turned to smile at me. “It’s totally okay if you did. Might as well have some fun before it’s time to settle down.”
I wasn’t settling anywhere. I was just trying to eat my breakfast. And now my heartbeat was picking up again and my skin was starting to sweat.
“Are you okay?” Fallon asked.
“Excuse me.” I pushed back my chair. The Luna Trials hadn’t even started yet and I was already in way over my head.