The feel of her hand on his taut skin comforted him. So soothing. He gazed at his personal submissive.
The sudden sting of the needle hurt like hell. “Blast!” He growled.
“Sorry.”
Slade noted the suppression of a smile on her perky kissable lips. Her manners, defiant. Rude. He meant to stand and force her to bow, but blackness ensued.
Chapter 2
Cricket closed her laptop and glanced at her watch. Two hours had passed since they brought Slade up to his guest quarters. While in her own room following the story about the missing werewolves, she’d kept her ears attuned to any disturbance. Time to do boring rounds. She stood and walked to the adjoining room of Prince Slade’s suite. She pressed her ear to the door. Just normal breathing accompanied with the occasional “doggy” nightmare growls and grumbles.
Warner’s powerful drug had done its job. Too well. No wonder Slade and his shrink didn’t seem to have a close patient to doctor relationship. From what Rylee told her, Dr. Warner requested the prince stay at his private clinic in Maine, but Rylee and Conan, the lycan king had denied it. Probably for security reasons. His isolated Maine territory didn’t have the armed forces to offer the prince protection while he suffered from morphopsychosis. As the only surviving werewolf of the Yukon pack, Slade must continue his line. Dr. Warner would see him later today before leaving at the end of the week. Why was Warner not hanging around to monitor his change until he healed? It’s not like there’s a long line of lycans with psychological issues.
Cricket shook her head. Warner had omegas for the purpose of calming nutty alphas and betas. Surely, Slade would have been better off with Warner and his more understanding staff. Mostly, I’d be better off.
She opened the door, and her lips parted. Slade lay naked on his back. His bulk sprawled over the entire king size bed. Okay, partially naked. When they delivered him, somebody had draped a blanket over his private parts. Darn. Still, her wolfish appetite for hot men went in overdrive. His lean muscular legs gave him the appearance of an Olympic athlete. Actually, one from Mt. Olympus, a Greek god. Geez, he would look hot in a toga or kilt. Or nothing. She licked her lips as her gaze scrolled over his broad shoulders. Light brown chest hair over ripped chest and abs. He smelled of snow-covered mountains and raw alpha testosterone. A soft growl escaped her throat. She collared her naughty she-wolf. No candy sampling. Just make sure, he’s okay.
Cricket continued the inspection of her charge. Though in need of a shave, the temptation to trace his well-defined jawline nearly overpowered her good senses. A frown shadowed his ruggedly handsome face, and his lips parted slightly, displaying sharp fangs. Ready for a brawl. Was he having nightmares? Did guilt and regret for not being home when his pack was attacked permanently scar his heart? Could she really help him? A hint of laugh lines around his eyes professed he was once happy. Despite her resentment toward his privileged life and status, her heart ached for him.
Cricket sighed.
Somewhere out there, one lucky she-wolf bitch would claim him as her mate. Part of her job description was matchmaker. Once Slade overcame his grief and psych issues, Cricket would search for a perfect alpha mate. A female willing to join Rylee’s pack and even consider being part of team Greywolf or just work for the LIA. Although, if his chosen female preferred to move elsewhere, Rylee would lose the chance of having a strong alpha team member.
Cricket licked her lips. What woman wouldn’t willingly join the pack just to wake up to the yummy hunk?
She pouted and closed the door and headed for the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Oh, well. The sooner he healed and found a mate the sooner she could continue with her life. Not only had she been taken off any interesting assignments, but also, not allowed to work at the lab. Their head geneticist Selene had asked her to assist with mapping out the werewolf genome or what they called Luponomics whenever she could. As much as she enjoyed being an agent for the LIA, she really liked putting her molecular bi
ology degree to work. Her expertise on collecting and identifying trace werewolf DNA might help solve the case of the missing werewolves.
Was there a way to be thrown off submissive runt duty? Hmm. Offend the prince somehow, um without losing an ear or worse, a tail? Better yet, what if I attempt to seduce him? Rylee and everyone sensed her arousal when she was around not-so-charming Prince Slade. Had she sensed his desire for her? Nah, merely a symptom of his psychosis which could be problematic. Should she flirt? During his moments of lucidity, he would chase her away, and if she still acted the besotted female, would he request another submissive? Why not use her status to her advantage? A runt in the bed was a big pack no-no. Cricket smiled. Sure would be fun.
An angry roar reverberated throughout the home. Shit. He’s awake. All thoughts of seduction erased on hearing his maddened rage.
Cricket dashed back in the bedroom and noticed the back door open to a half-acre outdoor area surrounded by a tall fence. Great. He shifted. Hope he doesn’t leap over the ten foot fence. She wouldn't put it past him, especially not in his current state of mind.
She hastily undressed, then stepped out and shifted.
Slade in his immense wolf form paced the huge treed enclosure. Good, still here. Designed to protect rather than imprison visiting royal werewolves, the guest area a mile away from LIA headquarters accommodated their human and wolf form.
Slade might be nutty enough to make a jump for it. The guesthouse was isolated and hours away from human home sites, however, a mad alpha running at great speeds could out run the alerted beta guards and cause problems with humans.
Not to mention, Rylee will kill me if I don’t prevent such a disaster.
Cricket whimpered.
The huge wolf honed in on her. He marked his territory on a boulder and then trotted toward her.
She sniffed. His powerful scent, the strongest alpha aroma she'd ever smelled. After, top alphas Lev and Dominic.
Reaching her, she crouched, her rump down, wagging her tail and yipping like a submissive cub. Has my life become so pathetic?
Slade stood still, aloof, staring ahead. “Go on. Lick my chin, Little Wolf.”
Cricket suppressed the urge to nip him. No one calls me little without feeling my sharp teeth. I’m the size of a coyote so how can I blame the giant alpha for name calling when he doesn’t know how offensive it is? The Yukon pack adhered to stricter wolf status more than any other pack. Like the perfect submissive, she kissed his chin with her tongue. “How can I please you, sir?”
“Lay on your back, Little Wolf.”
Ugh. Perhaps, I can convince Rylee to assign Jesper to Slade as his guardian. Before joining the LIA, Jesper had enjoyed his role as his pack’s omega. She rolled on her back and folded her paws across her chest, exposing her belly.