Damn Alpha Chase

“I’m kind of in love with you,” I told the wolf.

He licked my face, and I grinned. “How do we get him back in human form?”

“Come to his house, and we’ll explain it,” Tadhg tugged lightly on my arm. “Just be careful not to go near any of the other guys. Ricco will be possessive.”

I snorted, standing up. Though I tried to take my hand off the wolf’s face, he rose with me, moving so his face remained snuggled up against my palm. His fur was soft, so I didn’t mind. “That’s definitely not going to be a problem. Do you know how many guys I’ve touched in the last five years?”

Silence sounded once more. “You probably shouldn’t,” one of the skyscraper dudes began.

“Zero. I have touched zero guys in the past five years. And I don’t plan on touching anyone today, including my insta-hubby, so let’s move on. To Ricco’s house.” I gestured toward the house.

A snort and a soft chuckle came from the men behind me as Tadhg led me toward Ricco’s place.

“I can’t say this is how I expected today to go,” Tadhg remarked, as we walked.

“Guess we’ve got that in common, then,” I tossed back. “Get explaining.”

“Alright,” Astrid began, before we even reached the back door of the townhouse. “So basically, a werewolf is just a person who shares a body with a wolf. We can’t communicate with our wolves, but they exist on top of us. When we’re in wolf form, the human part of us can’t communicate with the outside world or move in any way. The opposite is true too; when we’re in human form, the wolf can’t communicate with the outside world or move in any way. That is Ricco’s wolf, not the same man you spoke to earlier.” Astrid gestured toward the wolf.

Honestly, that was a relief. I could interact with his wolf, and not need to worry about the hottie he would eventually turn back into. “Cool.”

Astrid continued, “Right. So when a werewolf meets his mate—all werewolves are men, it’s this weird nature thing—the wolf shuts the guy in a box and takes over. It’s called the ‘mate hunt’ and basically, he’s just going to follow you around and snap at anything that gets near you until he’s certain that you aren’t going to reject him. Then, he’ll bite you, and you’ll turn into a werewolf.”

“That’s simplifying it a bit,” Eiry pointed out.

“Eh, it’s her first day. She needs simple.” Astrid waved her off.

“If you want more details, just say so,” Eiry added, as one of the guys reached the sliding glass of the back door. He tugged it open, and gestured all of us inside. I recognized the brown-haired dude as Jason, Tadhg’s boyfriend. Err, mate.

I nodded, telling the women silently to continue.

“When you’re a werewolf, the next stage of the mating process begins. That’s the mate chase, and your wolf will be watching him like a hawk and testing him to determine whether or not he’s a suitable mate. Which he will be, because he’s Ricco.” She tossed a hand toward the wolf. “After that, your wolf will bite him, and then all that’s left is the climax. During that, you’ll be overwhelmed with lust, and fucking like rabbits for a few days until it’s out of your system.”

My eyebrows shot upward. “You had me up until the sex.”

“The sex isn’t required,” one of the guys clarified. I glanced over at him, and dodged his gaze when he tried to make eye contact. Dark hair, a tiny bit of scruff… damn, he was gorgeous too. “The climax lasts around a month if you don’t have sex, you’ll just feel a lot of lust during it. It’ll be painful if you choose not to… find relief together, but you can choose that.”

Well, that wasn’t so bad, I guess.

A small price to pay for a free place to live while I searched for jobs.

“So after the mating thing is over, we can split and call it good?” I checked.

Honestly, I hated that idea. If I was going to get even slightly attached to someone, I didn’t want to walk away. I was tired of being alone, and the instant-husband thing would make up for that, at least slightly.

“Not exactly. Your wolves will constantly run to each other. You can choose to have a friendly mating rather than a sexual one, and if you choose that, you’ll remain companions rather than actual spouses who sleep together,” the same guy from earlier explained.

“Well, then, I’m in.” I flashed the wolf a quick grin. He gave me a wolfish grin back, then licked my arm.

“That’s a kiss,” Astrid added. “When he licks you.”

“Of course it is. He’s just a big ole’ dog, isn’t he?” I crouched in front of him, scratching his head. “How do I draw the hunting part out? To keep him in wolf form longer?”

There was another pause. “Make him believe you don’t want to be a werewolf, I guess,” one of the guys offered.

“I don’t want to be a werewolf,” I informed the wolf, scratching behind his ears.

He licked my face, clearly not buying the words any more than I had.

“How long will he be hunting for?”

“Could be a day, could be a year.” One of the guys shrugged. “No way to know.”

Ah.

“I’ll just have to enjoy it while it lasts, I guess,” I said.

For the first time since we entered the house, I looked around. “Holy shit.”

The place was an utter disaster. It was an open floorplan, so I could see the entire dining area, kitchen, and living room from where we stood just inside the back door. It wasn’t massive, but wasn’t tiny by any definition. After living in a dorm room, it may as well have been a mansion.

But papers littered every inch of the countertops and table. Boxes of cereal and other foods were stacked up against the edges of the kitchen. The couch in the living room was a legitimate clothing mountain.

The floor was covered in more clothes, papers, and who knew what other shit. One corner of the living room had a literal tower of toilet paper, tampons, and other toiletries. The other corner held boxes of what looked like furniture, stacked all the way to the ceiling.

“Shit,” one of the guys muttered.

“Did you know his house looked like this?” Astrid asked, and when I glanced at her, I realized she was looking at all five of the guys with us.

The wolf licked my arm a couple times, and I glanced down at him. He was looking at me with sad puppy-dog eyes, and when he licked my arm again, I realized he was trying to apologize.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I won’t hold you accountable for the dirty human’s actions.”

The wolf licked me again, seeming happier, and I scratched his head again.

“Ricco’s had a lot going on,” one of the guys explained quickly. “His house didn’t used to look like this. I’ve been outside, dragging him around to do shit, but I didn’t realize…” he grimaced, his gaze sweeping the room. “Damn.”

“I don’t even want to see the upstairs,” someone muttered.

“It’s cool. I’ll deal with the mess.” I gestured toward the house.

“We’ll grab some cleaning shit and help,” one of the guys said.

“No.” My words came out much harsher than I intended, and silence met me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I like my personal space. I’d rather clean on my own.”

More silence.

Shit, I’d messed up.

Clearly, this was a tightly-knit group of people. I was instant-mates with one of their buddies, so they probably wanted to do something to help, right?

“You could get my stuff from my dorm,” I offered. “If you want to do something to help. I’ve got to be out soon anyway, and since you said Ricco won’t let me leave…” I shrugged, scrambling to come up with something that would persuade them. “It’s heavy.”

Nods went around the room.

“I can stay and explain things,” Tadhg offered.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I need some time to process all this first.” I gestured between myself and the wolf I was still scratching. “Maybe you can stay and chat for a bit when you drop off my stuff?”

“I’ve been writing things down over the last few weeks, to help myself remember it all,” Eiry offered. “I can email you everything I have.”

Why did it not surprise me that she’d taken notes about werewolves, of all things?

“That would be great,” I nodded.

“A mate manual? It’s perfect,” Astrid declared. “I’ll add my shit to what Eiry has before we send it over.”

Biting back a snort, I nodded again. “Sounds good.”

“Alright, we’ll get out of your hair. Let me just…” one of the guys crossed the kitchen, tugging the fridge open. It wasn’t Fred or Jason, or Zeder, who had been cooking, but that was all I could say about the skyscraper’s identity.

A bunch of glass casserole pans fell out of the fridge, and the guy swore as he tried to catch them all. Somehow, he managed to catch them.

Fred crossed the kitchen too, helping the other guy stack the pans on the counter.

“We’ll need to go through these,” the guy who wasn’t Fred muttered.

“I’ve got it,” I said helpfully.

TBH, I was drooling at the sight of all that free food.

“Shit, the steaks,” Zeder muttered.

He slipped out of the house, and my eyes followed him as he jogged away.

“We’ll grab your dinner, and then head off to get your stuff,” Jason said, flashing me a guilty grin.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help with this?” Astrid checked. “Because this is… well, it’s a lot.”

“I’ve got it.” I waved her off. “Bringing my shit from the dorms is plenty.”

Tadhg didn’t look convinced.

I bit back a sigh. Honestly, the help did sound good, but I just didn’t want to deal with the chatter. I needed time to breathe, and process everything. “Fine,” I amended. “Tomorrow, you can ask again. But for tonight, I’m fine.”

“Alright, alright.” Tadhg tossed a hand toward me. “We’ll leave you alone. Come on, Kerth.” She gave her man a teasing push toward the door.

He grabbed her by the waist, tickling her and laughing while she shrieked and swore at him.

Eiry flashed me an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry. If I’d known this was going to happen…” she trailed off. “Well, I would’ve warned you. I wouldn’t change it. Meeting Fred was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” She held up hers and Fred’s intertwined hands.

“Well, just cross your fingers that this wolf-man is just as good for me.” I held up my hand, fingers crossed.

Yeah, I was awkward.

Whatever.

My other hand gripped the wolf’s fur, and he snuggled up to my side while Eiry and Fred slipped out of the house.

“I’m Anton,” the guy who had caught the casseroles offered, holding out a hand. I gave him an awkward wave, figuring I might as well continue along on my awkward roll.

“Sorry, possessive wolf…” I gestured to the wolf, who hadn’t done a damned possessive thing other than licking my arm.

Yeah, I was totally going to use him as an excuse. Sue me.

“Right. Good thinking.” He flashed me an amused grin.

“I’m Daryl,” the other guy I didn’t know added, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Anton’s off to that side of you, and I’m off to the other one. If you need anything, just knock on one of our doors. Or yell; we’d probably hear you.”

My lips quirked up in a tiny smile, and I dipped my head in a nod. I liked Daryl, automatically. He seemed chill, which was a nice change of pace from Tadhg’s wild energy.

“Good to meet you both.”

“I’ll drop off the dinner in a few. Zeder will be grumpy after burning the food, so I’ll keep him away.” Anton winked at me, then he and Daryl headed out the back door. “Just let us know if you need anything,” he repeated, before he shut the sliding door.

And then, I was alone with the wolf.

My wolf, if Tadhg and Eiry and the skyscraper squad were to be believed.

“Whew,” I said, letting out a massive breath of air as I headed over toward the couch. Collapsing on the cushions—I couldn’t even see what color they were thanks to the mountain of clothes covering them—I kicked my feet out onto the lumpy ottoman and stared at the blank TV for a minute. One of my hands gripped the strap of my purse, which rested between my boobs, and the other still held the fur of the wolf who had jumped up on the couch beside me.

Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath.

Things had just… changed.

Yep.

Definitely changed.

Then again, everything was changing, so I guess it wasn’t all that abnormal to me. I’d been pretty sure werewolves existed after seeing those videos Eiry had obsessed over, so I wasn’t exactly surprised to meet them. But it was still all just…weird. And unexpected.

I liked plans, even though I was shitty with following through with them. This definitely hadn’t been part of a plan… but I was actually glad it had happened.

“This will probably sound crazy,” I told the wolf, “But I’m really glad I met you. My life was about to go to shit. I was going to be living in my car, and that thing’s going to crap out any time now. Job hunting… well, it’s not looking great. I really thought my professor could hook me up, but it fell through, and now I’ve got nothing. Nothing, and no one. Yay.”

The wolf licked my arm.

“Apparently, nothing and no one but you. If I can manage to convince myself to believe Astrid and Eiry. But if you ask me, they kind of seem like they’re on drugs.”

The wolf snorted, and my lips curved upward. “Glad to hear that you agree with me.”

My fingers stroked his fur. “I used to have a dog. Chewbacca. She made everything better. But she passed a few months before I graduated high school, and college dorms don’t allow dogs. Not big ones, at least, unless you’ve got a medical reason. Which I don’t, so here I am.”

Ricco set his head down on my leg, and made a sad sound. Something told me it was an apology, and my eyes stung a bit.

I hadn’t really made any friends in college. Most people talk about their college buddies for years after they graduate, if not their whole lives. But I’d spent all my time lost in my music, working my ass off and loving every minute of it. It hadn’t led to any friendships, or parties, but I didn’t really care about those things anyway. Not usually, at least.

Now that I’d graduated, and had nowhere else to go, and nothing else to do… well, it would’ve been nice to have a few buddies to go places with. A few couches to crash on.

I heard a knock at the back door and quickly stood up, drying tears up with the neck of my shirt. Letting go of Ricco’s fur, I grabbed a tipped-over laundry basket and quickly tossed some clothes in it so it looked like I’d been doing something.

“Leidy?” Anton called out. “I have a plate of food for you. Is it okay if I come in?”

“Sure,” I called back.

He stepped into the kitchen, flashing me a small smile. “We were serious. If you need anything—even a snack, or a meal, or help doing the dishes—just stop by my place or Daryl’s.”

“I will. Thanks.”

He nodded, setting the plate on the counter before leaving again.

I let out another massive breath when he was gone.

“Damn,” I mumbled. “I’m not cut out for this level of socialization.”

The wolf snorted again, licking my arm. I scratched his head, and collapsed back down on the couch.

Ricco snuggled up against me, and my arms wrapped around him. I held him against me, fingers burying in his fur. Despite the mess in the house, it didn’t smell bad or anything. The clothes off to my left actually smelled like laundry detergent, and the ones on my right…

I lifted a shirt to my nose, and inhaled deeply.

Then, I dropped the fabric like it was damned lava.

“Your human definitely wore that,” I squeaked at the wolf.