Summer Cursed

“There’s someone who wants to speak with you. I told him to wait outside. I think you should see him.”

I took a second to concentrate on the energy around my house. When I recognized him, Ishoved her away from me. “Nope, not gonna happen. Send him home. Now.”

“Please Em, he just wants to talk with you. You did just beat the crap out of a member of his pack.”

When I said Stella was the sweetest thing I’d ever met, I’d meant it. She saw the good in everyone. Even my archenemy. Archenemy is a little much, but man, I hated the bastard.

He hadn’t been living with the pack when he’d become the Autumn Alpha. From what I understood, he hadn’t gotten along with his dad, Bryant. Shifters can, and do, move away from their birthplace, but never an Alpha’s son. There’s training involved in case the son needs to step in. But as far as I could tell, since his return over twenty years ago, Liam had risen to the challenge of Alpha superbly. His pack feared him, but they also respected him. That was a hard combination to come by with Alphas, so he must be doing something right.

“Ember Steele,” he called in his booming voice.

“Liam Fraser,” I returned.

Prickles of his energy moved over my skin as he made his way through my house. Isaac’s chair scraped against the tile as he rose to stand beside me. His energy flowed over me too, but it was nothing compared to the other man’s.

The older the shifter, the stronger their power. Being that we are immortal and stop aging around thirty, it’s hard to decipher ages. I only knew Liam was at least twice my age, but feeling the power coming from him, I got the sense he was even older.

I let my energy join the party. Poor Stella yelped as all three hit her. Out of the corner of my eye—because I would not look away from Liam—I saw her stumble her way to the back door.

She’d had no idea what she’d brought to my doorstep when she invited Liam here. She was too innocent to think he would make a move on me in my own home. I hadn’t been innocent since the day I was born.

“Ah, I see your little fuck buddy is here too,” Liam said with a sneer in Isaac’s direction. “Good.”

I stepped toward him, shaking off Isaac’s grip when he tried to hold me back. “Who the hell do you think you are coming in here like this?”

At six feet two inches, he was about half a foot taller than me, so he had to bend down a little to get in my face. “I am the Autumn Alpha. You attacked one of my men. He said you tried to kill him.”

“Oh, please, give me a break. That piece of shit? If I had wanted to kill him, he’d be dead.”

His eyes narrowed as he unleashed more of his power. It was a scare tactic; he wouldn’t let it go completely. If he did, he’d have to sit before the Council. The Council had enacted new laws after his dad had tried to kill me the day I was born, and then in retaliation, my dad used his Alpha power to kill him… which was the real reason behind the new laws.

Even though I knew he couldn’t use his full power, it took all my strength not to step back when it hit me.

“Chris told me he was running through the woods, and you took him by surprise. He says you beat him within an inch of his life. He says you only stopped because your Alpha showed up.”

I bristled at the words ‘your Alpha.’ “His story is a little off,” I said, motioning to my running shorts. “Let’s remember, this is my property. And Isaac showed up, but only after Chris jumped me from behind and tried to have his way with me. He thought my being in heat was an open invitation. So, I let him know what I thought of his advances in my very own special way.”

Liam’s power faltered for a millisecond, and I smiled up at him as he grasped what I’d told him. “He tried to rape you?”

“He sure did,” I said.

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Isaac asked as he moved to stand beside Liam.

I took a moment to look them over. Isaac’s jeans and t-shirt hugged his body, highlighting his construction-worker physique. And Liam’s ever-present business suit had been tailored in a way that hugged his rock-solid body. That and his neatly groomed beard made him look like a sexy, rugged businessman.

They couldn’t have been more different from each other, but it meant I had two gorgeous Alphas staring me down while I was in heat. It was a risky situation… Or was it? I let that movie play out in my head for a few moments before squeezing my thighs together and shaking my head.

“Uh, sorry. What did you say?” I asked.

Isaac shot me a knowing smirk. I’d expected that, but Liam’s reaction surprised me. He inhaled deeply and clenched his hands into fists. His eyelids fluttered ever-so-slightly before he shielded himself again.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Chris?” Isaac repeated, snapping my attention away from Liam.

“What was the point? I’d taken care of the situation by the time you got there. I didn’t need your help.”

Isaac nodded but didn’t otherwise respond. I’d hurt his pride. Oh well. I was the one who had a pissant try to rape her, then got into a fight with said pissant, had a complaint filed against her, and now had the pissant’s sexy-as-hell—albeit infuriating—Alpha staring her down in her own kitchen. Isaac’s pride be damned.

Speaking of the sexy pain in the ass, Liam’s intense stare was boring a hole in my head. “What the hell do you want?” I asked, meeting his gaze.