Alpha Beast (The Alpha Shifter Collection)

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“I came to see if you were all right.”

“I don’t need an escort. I don’t need anything.” She spun back to look at the night sky. The spirits didn’t always come to her. She could go days or even weeks before she saw or heard anything. Like tonight. It had been an entire week since she last saw someone. She imagined that was why her father had arranged this dinner.

She’d been normal long enough for him to take her out in public as if she was some kind of … social leper. She probably was.

No one could stand her.

“You may not need anyone or anything, but I wanted to at least say thank you.”

This made her frown and she turned to look back at him. “What?”

“I was the one who had to handle Kenrick’s burial. We weren’t close, but I knew he had a child and a wife he loved dearly. He was one of the few truly mated men I knew of. Something never quite added up with his death. I asked my father to look into it, but Bordaux has been a right-hand man for many years.”

“And now he’s trying to find a way to be more than that. Greed has a way of ruining most men. I’ve seen it happen. I’m sorry about Kenrick. Will you be taking care of his family?” she asked. If not, she would find some way to help them. She’d done it many times over the years. Her grandmother’s training, in life and death, always taught her to help others. To never allow herself to close off from her gift, even though it always came with a curse.

“They will always be taken care of,” he said. “We look after our own.”

“Good to know.”

Liam took several steps down toward her.

She stood, waiting, wondering why he was getting closer when everyone in her life had always tried to get as far away from her as possible.

He stepped right up toward her. The tips of his toes brushing hers.

So many feared this man. His name whispered on the night as if afraid they would somehow bring his presence like magic.

The shit she’d seen. The stuff she knew. It took a great deal to scare her. Liam didn’t scare her. He was as much of a man as he was a wolf.

“You know what our parents have planned,” he said.

“Are you disappointed? Considering your reputation, you’re going to have to align yourself with the Luca weirdo?” she asked.

He surprised her then. “I’d actually consider it a pleasure to be married to you, Jenny.”

Chapter Two

After the first disastrous dinner, Liam wasn’t put off. The Lucas had left and they’d all been close to drawing their claws, but they hadn’t done that. Instead, while Jenny had literally walked off their property, he’d gone and dealt with the crap that had come from it. He'd put every single man in their place, and soon after, he had a deal with Lionel and Sherry, which was why he now stood on their property, waiting for Jenny to come to him.

“You know if you hurt her, I’ll kill you, right? War or no war,” Lewis, the oldest brother, said.

“Got it.” He wasn’t afraid of the Lucas. Never had been. There was a reason they called him the Alpha Beast, and it wasn’t for his humor. One day soon, he would take over from his father, and when that time arrived, he was going to be ready for it.

Being close to Jenny awakened something inside of him. For many years, he’d been in control of his beast, being the one to dictate when he could come out. He didn’t have much control.

He felt his wolf close, wanting to get near the perfection that was Jenny.

Running fingers through his hair, he waited, but he didn’t have to be patient for too long. She appeared at the top of the stairs. Dressed in jeans and a long plaid shirt, she gripped the railing. Then he noticed a red cut across her cheek and frowned.

The moment she was within touching distance, he reached out, but Danny, her other brother, was there to grab his hand. “Don’t.”

“What happened to your face?” he asked.

“Nothing. Why are you here?”

“We’re going to get married, Jenny. I think it’s only fair that we get to know each other first. I’m taking you out to dinner.”

“And you’ll be going,” Lionel said, coming out of his office. He wore a pair of glasses, which he pulled off. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Because I was told someone had called for me. We’re going out?”

“Yes.”

“Jenny,” Lewis said. “You don’t have to go.”

“She does,” Lionel said.

Liam watched the exchange as Lionel took dominance and made his boys do exactly as he wanted them to do. There was no effect on him for the simple fact Lionel wasn’t his Alpha and would never be.