Taking Down the Alpha

30 A Fighter

Once we were out of there, I let out a long drawn out sigh. "He makes me crazy."

"Not surprising."

We went back to the car and grabbed our luggage. He carried most of it even though I was perfectly capable of helping. I led him to the pack house, greeting pack members I hadn't seen in a while. Although my wolf was annoyed, I enjoyed the way some of the other females did a double take when they saw him. See what I've got? All mine, ladies. As long as they didn't try to touch what was mine, there wouldn't be a problem.

I unlocked the door to my small apartment. It was exactly the same as when I left, although my own scent was fading only to be replaced with a slight stuffiness. I dropped my bags in the little bedroom and opened a window to air it out. Turning around, I found Al looking around curiously. I was really glad I'd left it in perfect order.

He'd placed the rest of the bags next to where I'd put them, and then he stalked over to me. In response, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we shared a deep kiss that was worth every second. It made me want to drag him down onto my bed and keep him there.

But no, we had things to do, no matter how much my body screamed for him to satisfy it.

I glanced up at my mate, who had handled the whole situation with my obnoxious alpha more calmly than I had. Surely his hints at that one horrible night had upset him, although I didn't want to remind him of that unfortunate bit of history. "Didn't Alpha Hudson bother you?" I asked as I stepped back from the temptation of his hard form. No, stay on task.

He let me go, although he didn't look pleased, and shrugged. "I just pictured what he would look like with his face in the dirt. I assume the challenge area is outside? I could do a gym floor, too. Although that might get expensive to repair if it's not built for a beating."

I smiled at the thought of Alpha Hudson eating dirt in the training field. It was nice. But that was also beside the point. I frowned. "You really shouldn't have challenged him there." I lifted my suitcase onto my bed, and he followed me, putting his luggage where I indicated.

"I didn't challenge him. He was challenging me."

I turned towards him. "That's not the point. We're supposed to be lying low, remember? But he didn't figure out who you are, I think, since he was too busy trying to stare you down."

"Doesn't matter if he knows specifically who I am. His wolf recognizes I'm a threat." He seemed to like that thought, if his smirk was to be believed. Or maybe he was smiling because he'd somehow manoeuvred his tempting self right back in front of me. Did we really have things to do today? Yes. Unfortunately.

He continued, either oblivious or ignoring how much he made me want to stay with him alone instead of getting things done. "That's why he wouldn't let me into the pack. Did your friend's mate have any trouble?"

I ran my fingers along the side of his head. His hair was getting longer than when I'd first met him. Maybe he only got buzz cuts before fights. "I don't believe so. I'm sure Denise would have informed me if Andrew was not allowed to join."

"See?"

"Well, he might have decided not to, he doesn't seem to like packs very much." I paused. "But that's not the point. Whoever was challenging who in there, we need to stay under the radar for now."

"Why?"

"We need the pack to meet you and like you. My champion isn't a mercenary like I originally planned. As my mate, you're going to be a part of the pack, as long as we win, and the pack is going to understand that. And for this challenge to even go forward, people will need to trust and respect you. So, we take a few weeks for you to charm everyone, and I think you can handle that. Just do whatever you do after fights in the cage, the other fighters seem to get along with you. And if you can get along with people after you've punched each other's faces in, you must have some magic. So do that, then, when I make the challenge, they'll think it's a good idea."