Alpha Beast (The Alpha Shifter Collection)

Liam sighed. “No. It doesn’t. She always tells me when someone is around. She even tells me what they’re saying. If it’s fun or not.” He didn’t want to talk to his brother. “You got what you came here for. I’m fine and healthy.”

“I’m not going anywhere. If the invitation is still available, I’d like to come to dinner.”

Now that he’d expressed his feelings, all he wanted was for the bastard to fucking leave so he could go and be with his wife.

“Seriously?”

“Look, Liam, I don’t know her. I know of her and what I saw. You know what she was like at the last dinner we were at. The way she threw stuff.”

Liam laughed. “That wasn’t her.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t her, and you know it. She helped us when she didn’t need to.” He glanced down at his desk. “I’ve got a few things to clear away here and then I can take you home with me.”

“I look forward to it.”

He didn’t. Having Ben around would be nice for Jenny’s sake, but he wanted to be back inside his woman. The honeymoon hadn’t been long enough. Work called. His father had told him he wished he could give him more time, but they didn’t have that. They had yet to find out what was going on at the warehouse that burned down and what truly caused the fire, and the only way to do that was to have someone with a keen sense of smell.

Liam paused.

“Oh, no, what did I do now? You look like you’ve just had the greatest idea in the world,” Ben said.

“I have.” He laughed. “Fuck. I think the city has messed up with my senses. The warehouse. The burned one.”

“What about it?”

“We don’t know how to find out what set the fire in the first place,” he said. “They can’t ascertain what it was, but we’ve got a good sense of smell, if you know what I mean.”

“Ah, so you’re thinking of going all wolf down there?” Ben asked. “It’s a built-up area, isn’t it?”

“Yes. We can’t go this evening. I don’t want to leave Jenny alone.” There had been strange things happening in their apartment. Even Jenny didn’t understand them as she couldn’t see anyone there. Someone was there, though, watching them. There were times Liam felt that tickling on the back of his neck, sending him on high alert that something was wrong. He didn’t like it.

“Okay, so how about we go tomorrow?” Ben asked. “I can be your lookout.”

“We need to make sure the area is completely abandoned. No one can know.”

“If we go late at night, there won’t be a single chance of anyone seeing us.”

“You’re right.” Liam got to his feet. “Come on, I’ll take you to go and meet Jenny.”

The drive back toward his apartment was a slow one. He felt the tension in his brother, but rather than be pissed at him, he stayed focused on getting home. He wanted to see his wife. To feel her against him.

He arrived at his apartment building, clicking the door to lock. The more he thought about his wolf, the more he believed he’d messed up. The city life was no place for a wolf. Their world couldn’t be changed, but as soon as he dealt with this problem with the burning building, he intended to find him and Jenny a house, far in the country, near an open forest. Anywhere that granted them freedom together.

The moment he arrived at his apartment, he saw the paleness of his wife’s face. She looked tired. He took her into his arms and his brother cleared his throat.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I promise.” She looked past his shoulder. “Ben, right?”

Liam glared at his brother as she held her hand out. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder to prove that she didn’t have any deadly diseases and that her touch wouldn’t kill anyone. All the while, he frowned at his brother.

“Jenny, you’re looking beautiful, as always.” Ben took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Thank you so much for having me in your home.”

She smiled. “This is really Liam’s home.”

“No, babe, it’s your home as well. What’s mine is yours.”

She rested her head against his shoulder. And whatever was burdening her, it was his as well. All he wanted to do was love and protect this woman.

Fuck. Love. He’d never felt such strong emotions before in his life. They were intense, and he wanted her so badly. All the time. It made much more sense to him the way he felt so consumed with need around her.

Kissing her temple, he closed his eyes. One day soon, he was going to tell her exactly how he felt. Not when his brother was around. She deserved his undivided attention.

“Well, I made pasta. I hope you like it.”