Territory - Prequel Read online

  Her fingers ached from the death-grip they had on the steering wheel. Compounding matters was the fact that she’d actually hoped to catch him slipping and prove to her that the shifter myth was just that. Instead, if anything, he’d only confirmed it. How else would he have known about her break down in the forest? And he scented my lie? Really? Hysterical laughter bubbled to the surface.

  When her tires finally found the pavement at the end of the long dirt road, she pressed the pedal solidly to the floor in hopes of losing the wolf that was tailing her.

  What do I do know? Move? The idea was insane. There was no way in hell her mother would agree to packing up and moving out of state. They had nowhere to go. He’s gotta be just messing with me. She laughed aloud. Of course he is. Why did I go there? To get him to tell his family to leave mine alone? Instead, he’s jumped on their bandwagon. Asshole! She was reaching and she knew it.

  Chapter 14

  “You did what?” Dell boomed.

  Cindy lifted her chin defiantly, “I asked Hannah to keep an eye on her.”

  Dell took a menacing step closer, “And are you aware that Hannah nearly killed her?”

  Cindy’s chin dropped, her fine brows drawing together. “No.”

  Dell slammed a fist down on the table nearest him. He sneered at Cindy, but spoke through the pack ties so that every member of his pack would hear him. Chloe Lott is my potential mate. Any attempts to harm her or her family are to be considered attempts against me. Such attempts are punishable by death. Should any of you try to harm her, I will exact this very punishment myself!

  Cindy’s shoulders slumped. She’d fucked up and she knew it. “Hannah?” she questioned, knowing the shifter would have to be dealt with.

  “She’s your fucking minion,” Dell ground out. “You’ll have to punish her because I’d kill her right now.”

  She nodded once then made to leave the office.

  “Cindy!” Dell barked.

  She turned to eye her Alpha.

  “If one of them tried to hurt Michael, what would you do?”

  Cindy’s jaw clenched, her eyes darkening as she balled her hands into small fists. “Understood.” Then she turned and stalked out of the office.

  Still tense, Dell cleared his thoughts and focused as he felt a mental nudge that signified that one of his pack were trying to communicate.

  I’ve found sign in the woods. It was Pony. Your stalker is Hannah.

  I know! Come home.

  ***

  The day after her encounter with Dell, Chloe had decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and return to work early. Her mother didn’t protest when she’d packed up and headed back to her own apartment. She seemed almost relieved that Chloe was finally convinced that she’d be fine on her own.

  Unfortunately, even the monotony of catching up on her backlog of work did little to ease her frame of mind. By Tuesday she couldn’t stop thinking about Friday. Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking about Friday since the day she’d left Dell. She didn’t know what he intended when she failed to show up, but she absolutely, one hundred percent, had no intention of showing her face anywhere near the Blackbird compound.

  “If you don’t come to me of your own free will my mother’s threat will come to fruition”, she scoffed with little conviction. He’d threatened that she wouldn’t like the consequences if he had to come for her, and her mind had been racing ever since trying to figure out what exactly those consequences could be. Sad part was she didn’t fear him. As much as she should, she only felt completely safe with him. Protected. She knew he wouldn’t harm her, but it was all the mating talk that had her belly in knots. First thing on Monday she’d Googled wolves to read about their mating rituals. She didn’t like what she found. Wolves mated for life.

  Every day at noon she stayed at her desk and ate a cold sandwich from the vending machine, too afraid to venture out of the office. She’d pulled up local private investigators on the Internet and was contemplating hiring a guy to find out all he could on the Blackbirds. Problem was she wasn’t certain she wanted to go sniffing around a large family of schizos that actually thought they were werewolves.

  Shifters, she corrected herself. Apparently there was a difference between the two. Werewolves were supposedly only able to shift during a full moon and could only be killed with silver bullets. Shifters on the other hand were supposedly of Native ancestry and could shift at will. She’d researched quickly, knowing the mortification she’d experience if a co-worker caught her researching such absurdities. I can’t believe they have me buying into this crap.

  “Whatcha working on?”

  Chloe straightened in her chair as she realized she wasn’t working on anything. She’d been gazing out the window, thinking of Dell Blackbird. “Oh,” her hand snaked out and grabbed the nearest file as her eyes quickly scanned the label, “the William’s case. Just taking a breather to collect my thoughts.”

  “Really?” Her friend and co-worker, Marissa, plopped down in the empty chair that sat adjacent to Chloe’s desk. Her short dishwater blonde hair was cut into a sleek sexy style that while Chloe envied, she knew she’d never be able to pull off herself.

  Marissa and Chloe had become instant friends the first day Marissa had been hired. “Maybe you came back too soon.” Marissa’s eyes were consoling. “No one would say anything if you took another week or so.”

  Heat flooded Chloe’s cheeks as she realized she should still be mourning her brother rather than wasting her time and energy thinking about Dell. “I’m fine Marissa, really.”

  Marissa smiled warmly, “Well what do you say we have a drink this weekend? A girl’s night out.”

  The prospect was actually quite appealing. “That sounds surprisingly great.”

  “Good,” Marissa stood slapping a hand on Chloe’s desk as she smiled at her, “Saturday, seven. Meet you at the Kasbah?”

  Chloe nodded as she flipped open the file, “I’ll be there.”

  Marissa walked toward the door, “I’ll call Laura and Amanda. It’ll be fun.”

  “You don’t have to sell me on it Marissa. I could use a drink more than you know.”

  “Oh, you’ll get your drink, and then some.” Marissa winked at Chloe before she left the office closing the door behind her.

  When Friday finally rolled around, Chloe was a bundle of nerves. She couldn’t concentrate on anything for longer than ten seconds and every time her door opened or her phone rang, the unexpected interruption set her nerves on edge. Too anxious to eat lunch, she worked through it to get off an hour early.

  By the end of the day her neck was whining from trepidation and her shoulders ached from being tense the entire day. She drove straight home and locked herself in her apartment, quickly securing all the windows and drawing the blinds. Still too nervous to eat, she sat on her sofa and simply listened. When her upstairs neighbor slammed a door Chloe nearly came out of her skin.

  “This is ridiculous!” She jumped up off the couch and threw her blinds open. “I’m not hiding from him!” Appalled with herself for having raced home to hide away, Chloe snatched up her purse and keys and set out for a rare night alone on the town.

  Fifteen minutes later as she pulled her sleek silver Magnum into the parking lot of her favorite Greek restaurant she snorted mockingly. Dinner alone? Some night on the town.

  Inside the maitre’d led her to a table toward the back of the restaurant.

  Still wearing her work attire, she peeled off her ash colored suit coat to reveal a cream sleeveless blouse that perfectly matched the form fitting pencil skirt and heels she’d selected that morning.

  The maitre’d took her blazer and her drink order and left her with a menu.

  Waiting on her glass of merlot, she reached up and pulled the single pin from her hair that held her waist-length locks in a chignon. When her satiny hair fell
in an ebony cascade, she reached up a hand to massage her scalp. It always felt so good to let her hair down. She sighed in appreciation as her fingers worked their glorious magic, her eyes fluttering closed. She was forcing her shoulders to relax when she instantly stilled.

  “I had anticipated you dining with us at the compound.”

  Her eyes snapped open and locked on Dell’s as he pulled out the chair opposite her. Chloe pulled her hand from her hair and scooted her chair back. “I was just leaving.”

  At that moment the maitre’d arrived with her glass of wine. “The lady’s wine.” He turned to eye Dell, “Something for her gentleman?”

  Dell kept his eyes on her, “Draft beer please.”

  The maitre’d nodded once and disappeared.

  Wearing jeans and a form fitting long sleeve thermal shirt, Chloe tried not to notice how every muscle in Dell’s chiseled torso was accentuated. While his medium skin tone was a near perfect match to Chloe’s, and both had hair black as pitch, the similarities ended there.

  Chloe was all business, sitting rod straight. Long bare legs crossed exuding a sensuality that she couldn’t disguise if she tried. Her slender fingers fidgeted nervously with her napkin while her almond shaped eyes looked anywhere but at him.

  Dell on the other hand was hard as steel. He kept his amber eyes pinned on Chloe, absorbing every gesture and nuance. His large frame was so well-defined that she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d kept up with wrestling after high school. His hair was shorn, tapering at his thick neck but long enough on top to have Chloe’s fingers itching to run through the satiny-looking strands.

  Horrified at actually entertaining such thoughts, she made to stand, but Dell’s hand clamped on her forearm had her staying in her seat. The electricity that raced up her arm sent a shiver instantly coursing through her body. She paled dangerously and dropped back into her seat.

  Dell quickly removed his hand, “Are you alright?”

  Chloe took a few breaths then nodded.

  “Take a sip of your wine.”

  She did as she was told, trying to force the tremble from her limbs as she lifted the glass to her lips. She took a few unsteady sips before replacing her glass and frowning at Dell before demanding, “What did you do to me?”

  He sat back in the chair as the maitre’d returned with his drink.

  “Are we ready to order?”

  “I’m not stayi…”

  Dell cut in, “Yes. Two house specials.”

  The maitre’d shifted his eyes quickly from Chloe to Dell then back. “And would you like to add a soup or salad?”

  Dell kept his eyes on Chloe, “Two salads with house dressing.”

  “Very good, sir.” Then the maitre’d turned, grabbed the menus, and left.

  “I’m not staying,” Chloe argued in a hushed tone.

  “You are.” Dell put his forearms on the table and leaned in, his nostrils flaring.

  “What are you doing,” Chloe snapped.

  “Smelling you,” he responded casually.

  She blanched and dropped her eyes to her blouse in uncertainty.

  “Relax, you smell fine.”

  Her eyes lifted to his, “Then why are you…”

  “Because it pleases me.”

  This time they were interrupted by a stout, dark haired, woman who delivered two small plates and a basket of Tsoureki. Having skipped lunch, the scent of the warm braided Greek bread had Chloe’s belly growling in demand.

  Dell thanked the woman before ripping two sections off the loaf. He placed one on Chloe’s plate and lifted the other to his mouth to tear off a healthy portion between perfect white teeth.

  Chloe watched him in astonishment. “Good night Mr. Blackbird.” She motioned for the maitre’d with every intention of requesting her jacket, but Dell wasn’t having it.

  “If you get up from this table, I’m going to grab you.” He took another bite of bread, “We both know what’ll happen if I touch you.”

  The maitre’d arrived, “Yes ma’am?”

  Chloe tore her angry eyes from Dell to stare up at the maitre’d apologetically, “I’m sorry, can…umm…” she turned to eye the table, “can I get more wine please?”

  The maitre’d eyed her still full glass then stared at her as if she were an imbecile. “Right away ma’am.”

  Dell was grinning broadly between bites of his bread as Chloe lifted the wine glass to her lips and quickly drank, trying to make room for her requested re-fill. She was nearly finished when the unmistakable clamor of several sets of heels had her turning.

  Three stunning blonde beauties strode in. Each wore a vibrant shade, louder then the next and all wore skirts so short that Chloe wondered if they weren’t in some form of thigh flashing competition.

  All three appeared to lock eyes on Dell at the same time, and the woman in front stopped dead in her tracks then turned her head to state none to quietly, “Oh my God! I’d have come sooner if I’d have known Adonis was actually going to be here.”

  The three women erupted into shrill laughter even as Chloe rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Dell. She was surprised to find him eyeing her and not the trio of sirens that were so obviously interested in him.

  When the maitre’d returned, Chloe had succeeded in downing her glass of wine, which had the maitre’d’s brows rising. Quietly, he refilled her wine glass then asked if Dell wanted another drink.

  Mortification seared her cheeks when Dell responded, “No thanks. One of us has to be able to drive.”

  Her flush only intensified when the maitre’d responded, “Excellent choice sir.”

  “Great,” she barked in a whisper when the maitre’d left, “now I look like a lush!”

  Dell simply shrugged one shoulder carelessly, “You shouldn’t worry yourself over how you’re perceived.”

  She bristled as the three women who’d been admiring Dell selected the table directly next to theirs. Chloe pinned Dell with a hard gaze as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to ignore his admirers at the next table. “Easy for you to say. We don’t all have a family compound where we can run and hide from the rest of the world.”

  A challenging glint lit his eyes, “Is that what you think we’re doing? Hiding? Seeking protection from society?”

  Chloe simply pursed her lips in response, lifting her brows mockingly in silent confirmation.

  “Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps it’s for society’s safety and not our own that we reside in the mountains?”

  Uncrossing her arms she eyed the tables around them. Most were vacant, but an elderly coupled occupied a booth in the corner, too far to hear their conversation.

  “Is that true?”

  Dell shrugged again, finishing the last of the bread. “It’s probably best for all parties.”

  Chloe turned slightly to eye the other table, “Perhaps we shouldn’t discuss this here.”

  Dell kept his eyes on her. “They’re too concerned with themselves to bother listening to our conversation.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip a moment. “Is your family dangerous?”

  “Not any more dangerous than yours. But we are different, and people tend to fear that which they don’t understand.”

  “Well can you blame them?” She pulled up her purse and began unzipping it, “You’re people apparently posses the power to incapacitate us with a mere touch.”

  “No, just you.”

  Chloe stilled. “Why just me?” She watched as Dell’s eyes transitioned from a warm amber to nearly black.

  “It affects me as well you know?”

  “No, I don’t know. What affects you?”

  “When mates find one another, it is painful for them to touch one another until there is a claiming.”

  Claiming? She didn’t even want to ask. “It doesn�
�t necessarily hurt when you touch me. It’s more of a draining really. It’s like you take all my energy or something.”

  “Well it’s painful for me.”

  Chloe dropped her eyes back to her purse, “Then stop doing it!”

  Dell laughed then, drawing Chloe’s eyes back up to his. His laugh was so genuine, that Chloe too had to smile at her own chastisement.

  “You should do that more often.”

  “What?” she asked, “Admonish you?”

  He shook his head slightly, “No, smile.”

  The curve left her lips then on a sigh as she stated under her breath, “Would I had more reason to.”

  “I can give you reason to.”

  She stared at him, and for the briefest moment she actually considered what it would be like to be his; to live at the Blackbird compound, to be a member of his family. Long moments went by with her simply staring at him, and he seemed content to simply let her.

  Mom would be so…she’d been about to think how relieved her mother would be if she knew her daughter had finally found a good man, but then she remembered exactly who it was she was dealing with. Relieved! She snorted condescendingly. Mom would die if I betrayed the family in such a manner.

  The dark haired waitress arrived with two plates and Chloe was more than a little relieved to discover that the day’s special was lamb steak with Greek potatoes. While she enjoyed Greek food, some of it was too rich for her simple palate.

  They ate in silence a few moments before Dell asked around a bite of potato, “Do you come here often?”

  She took a sip of wine, “No. I came here on a date last month. I liked it and thought I’d give it a second try.”

  Dell who’d been chewing quite aggressively stopped. “Date?”

  Frowning up at him from dropped lashes, Chloe took a small bit of lamb. “Yes. A date. I do date.”

  Dell began chewing again, “Anything serious?”

  “No, not yet.” Chloe watched his throat convulse as he took a healthy drink from his glass of beer.