Alpha Beast (The Alpha Shifter Collection)

Living in the city had its problems, and one of them was they had to have complete and total control over their wolf. There was no room for any weakness. Even though the humans knew of their existence within their world, civilians didn’t have a fucking clue that wolves walked amongst them.

Liam heard his father greeting their guests. Offering his brothers a glare once more, he moved around them, making his way toward the main hallway. He spotted Lionel Luca with his wife, Sherry. His two sons, Lewis and Danny. Then at the back, looking rather small in comparison to her family, was Jenny.

Her hair stood out first, the white locks seeming even more so in their dark home. She wore a black cocktail dress that clung to her curves.

He’d never seen her up close before. Her body… Fuck, he reacted. No doubt about it. Some of the wolves within their territory were a little on the thin side. He’d always enjoyed a woman with curves, and looking at Jenny, she was all woman.

She stared past his shoulder before returning her attention to him. She only glanced at him before moving on, not even caring to give him her full undivided attention.

He watched her push a stray curl back behind her ear just as his mother came downstairs.

“I hope I’m not late to the party,” Bianca said.

More introductions were given.

“My, what beautiful hair you have,” Bianca said when she got to Jenny. “Where did you get it colored?”

“My daughter inherited her hair from her mother. My late wife, Judy.”

“I am so sorry,” Bianca said.

Liam saw his dad was already pissed. Bianca had already insulted their guests. Liam Sr. grabbed his wife and moved the conversation toward the dining room.

“Well, what do you think?” Ben asked.

“I think you should go and sit down.”

He followed behind Jenny, watching the curves of her ass sway from side to side. Her hands kept clenching and unclenching like she was trying to keep control of something.

At the dinner table, they were sat opposite. Liam watched her, unable to take his gaze away. He’d never been this close to her before.

She put her hands across the cutlery and tilted her head to the side.

So far, he hadn’t seen her talk to herself.

Conversation started with traffic, the weather. All the while, Jenny seemed to ignore everyone and everything around her. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and expelling breath, until finally, she opened those beautiful grays and looked at him.

One.

Two.

Three seconds.

She looked away.

The wolf inside him was curious. He felt his beast close to the surface, which only ever happened when he was angry. More often than not, he could keep tight control on his leash, but today, for some reason, it was taking over.

He couldn’t control himself.

Touch her. Taste her. Claim her.

Liam stayed in his seat.

Silence rang around the table as the waitresses brought in their first course. Again, he watched Jenny.

Her brothers sat on either side of her, but they acted like she wasn’t there. Her father was seated at the end of the table, which was done to show their respect. Liam Sr. took the other head of the table. Their wives on their left-hand sides.

Liam couldn’t take his gaze away from Jenny. It was probably a good thing as he was the only one who noticed when her cutlery started moving all of its own accord. In the next second, it flew across the room and Jenny cleared her throat.

“There was something on it. I’m so sorry,” Jenny said.

“No, it’s perfectly all right. We don’t find dirty cutlery acceptable either,” Liam Sr. said.

Jenny looked toward him, but he knew what he’d seen. She hadn’t touched that cutlery, which meant if the rumors were true, right now, someone was trying to talk to Jenny, and from the looks on her face, she wasn’t enjoying it.

****

“You’ve got to tell them that Bordaux is lying. He’s feeding the coyotes the information!”

Jenny didn’t want to look at the man who only had half a face. At least, he’d had half a face the moment she entered the Wolfs’ house. In the past ten minutes, his face had started to grow back.

It occasionally happened, but as she looked straight ahead, she caught sight of Liam watching her again.

Her father had given her strict instructions: no funny business. No talking to people who didn’t exist, no arguing, nothing. Like she had much of a choice. She thanked the waitress for bringing her another fork and she gripped it tightly, hoping this guy would get the message.

The problem … his message was important and he’d died in a really bad way. Betrayal was a hard one to accept, and as she continued to ignore him, even though he knew who she was, what she could do, his anger sickened her.