Gabriella - Alpha Marked Book II Read online

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  Published by Summerhouse Publishing. Alpha Marked, Book II: Gabriella. Copyright © 2013 Celia Kyle. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

  Summerhouse Publishing

  http://summerhousepublishing.com

  Celia Kyle

  http://celiakyle.com

  Editors

  Chris Stout

  Gwen Hayes

  Cover Artist

  Celia Kyle

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

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  Chapter One

  Talk about an awesome souvenir. The organizer for the annual werewolf Gathering had purchased the best pens ever. Gabriella found them sitting in a pile on the registration desk, and she’d snared one before the morning’s round of speed sniffing began.

  Click.

  Clickity click.

  It had the perfect balance for her to spin it around her fingers.

  Flip. Flip. Click. Click.

  There was a brief pause and then she reversed the pen’s path.

  Clickity click. Flip. Click.

  Okay, officially? She was engaging in various Tests of Proximity, not speed sniffing. Her sister Scarlet had called it werewolf speed dating.

  So now she had to sit at a table opposite two chairs while Alpha Pairs made their way around the room. Then they’d sit, sniff, and go.

  See? It boiled down to werewolf speed dating.

  Well, they weren’t only sniffing. There was this whole Mark thing going on, too.

  Gabby sighed, hand automatically going to her left bicep. Stupid Mark. She’d been born with the thing. In a swirling triangular shape, the Mark was slightly darker than her overall hue and rose from her skin as if it were a scar. Present since birth, it signified her eventual mating to two—count ’em two—werewolves.

  Which left her lounging around enduring the Test of Proximity with pair after pair while the one wolf who’d caught her eye lurked outside the ballroom. A glance toward the doors revealed that the man still skulked, moving like the predatory animal that prowled just beneath his skin.

  Too bad she couldn’t mate a single wolf. Nope, individual wolves, those that weren’t Alphas and part of an Alpha Pair, mated other wolves and never humans. Only pairs ended up with a human Marked as their mate.

  Except…except her Mark had reacted to the Captain’s presence. It’d heated and throbbed and screamed at her to rush into the wolf’s arms. Supposedly that only happened when a Marked was around the ones meant for her.

  Funny how the guy she reacted to wasn’t part of a pair. He seemed dominant enough. But he was the Captain of her newly mated sister’s guards, which meant he was definitively not paired up and ruling a Pack.

  Geez, her sister now had guards. Gah. Scarlet had not only mated the previous night—their first night at the Gathering—but she’d snared the North American Ruling Alphas: Keller Aaron and Madden Harris. Which left Scarlet out of the morning’s activities and Gabriella all alone.

  Lucky (maybe) bitch.

  Low chimes filled the air and then the shift of bodies relocating replaced the gentle sounds. Oh, look, time for the Alpha Pairs to move on to the next “lucky” (she almost snorted) lady.

  Gabby sighed as she saw her next two potential mates approach.

  They weren’t bad looking, like, at all. It seemed shifters didn’t come in ugly. Nope, they were all tall, muscular and gorgeous. While she, Gabriella Wickham, was short, plump and rather ordinary. Good thing a big part of mating was based on her Mark’s reaction and not the men’s attraction to her.

  She sighed and was thankful her sisters couldn’t read her thoughts. They’d spent her entire life bitching at her about her Debbie Downer attitude when it came to men. They kept trying to convince her that men could love her just the way she was, big butt and all.

  The two newcomers slid into the seats across from her, all predatory smiles and leers. God, were wolves this hard up that they were looking at her with sex on the brain?

  Whatevs.

  Pasting on a purely fake smile, she held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Gabriella Wickham. My friends call me Gabby.”

  Knowing what was coming, she kept her expression frozen in place. The first guy didn’t even bother to introduce himself. Nope, he gently gripped her hand and brought it to his lips. Actually, his nose. The first time it’d happened she’d nearly swooned at the seductive gesture. She’d thought the wolf was going to brush a kiss across her knuckles like some gallant man of old. As if. The guys were really taking a good whiff to see if she belonged to them.

  He turned her hand over and slid his nose along her inner-wrist, sending chilly air rushing over her skin. The seductive light in his eyes instantly dimmed.

  Yeah, she could have told him she didn’t belong to them. The Mark on her bicep wasn’t doing jack shit. No pulse-y ache, no heat, no throbbing of her pussy that said “Ooh, take me now!” None of it.

  But the guy didn’t seem eager to brush her aside. Still silent, he handed her off to his other half, and that man cradled her hand within his, bringing it to his nose to give her the same treatment. The hint of desire in this other man’s gaze immediately lowered to casual appreciation.

  He released her slowly, and she pulled her arm back to her side.

  Wow. Silent.

  “So, you are…” She let her question go unsaid, but still the Alpha Pair remained quiet, their lips pressed together until they formed thin, white lines. Now their bodies vibrated with barely suppressed agitation. So, they wanted to get on their way now that they knew she wasn’t their mate. “Okay then.”

  Gabby slumped back into her chair and resumed her pen spinning.

  Flip. Flip. Click. Click. Clickety. Click.

  The stupid ding hadn’t sounded yet. Damn it. Movement to her right showed a smiling trio rising from their seats, hands clasped and moving away from their table. The two men enfolded the woman in a hug, hands roaming as they embraced her. A glance around the room revealed that all eyes were on the trio, looks of fierce longing on every male’s features.

  Gabby huffed out a breath, suddenly reminded of the wolves’ nature. The Alpha Pairs could lead happily without their Marked, but couldn’t rule indefinitely unless they had a woman to offset their violent tendencies. She would calm and soothe their beasts so that life in a Pack became a lot less bloody.

  That was part of the reason for the rules that every Marked had to abide by. They all had to agree to entertain requests for Tests of Proximity to see if they were meant for an Alpha Pair. Another rule was that, if a Marked hadn’t found her mates by her thirtieth birthday, she was forced to attend the Gathering. Hey, guess who’d turned thirty, like, a week ago? Ding! The Wickham triplets!


  The law regarding the Gathering was one thing they’d all forgotten about along the way. Well, it was actually just she and Scarlet since they were the only two that’d been born with a Mark. But somehow Whitney had gotten an un-declinable invitation. Which was something Gabby and Scarlet still needed to investigate somewhere in between rounds of Gabby’s sniff-me-baby-one-more-time at the Tests of Proximity and Scarlet’s sessions of gimme-gimme-more with her Ruling Alpha mates.

  More action drew her gaze to another table: another trio rising and moving from the room, a woman grinning between two wolves.

  Dude. When was she gonna get that? Sure, she put up a kick ass front about not wanting a ménage mating. But the more she saw Scarlet’s happiness and the shining smiles in the grand ballroom, the more she craved finding her own two guys.

  They’d want her, and her alone, unable to cheat because wolves mated for life, and would (hopefully) be patient when it came to sex since she (apparently) sucked at it. How many men had called her frigid by now? Gabby rolled through the list in her mind. The last was Allen. Charlie before him. Zeke? Or was it Xavier? Gah, they sounded alike.

  The low ding came again, sending the Alpha Pairs into action. As one, the remaining sets rose and moved on to the next table. Her empty chairs suddenly filled with another couple of strangers.

  Without a word or hesitation, she stuck out her arm, wrist bared, and waited for them to take a sniff.

  It was going to be a very long, agonizing day.

  *

  It was going to be a very long, blood-coated day.

  Berke Davis paced outside the hotel’s grand ballroom, taking a moment to peer inside with each pass. She was there, right there, every time he looked inside. And surrounded by Alpha Pairs.

  God damn it.

  Berke had to take comfort in the fact that she was destined to belong to him—him and Jack—whether the other wolf liked it or not.

  He ached to go to her, to march into the room and yank her away from those wolves. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that the luscious Gabriella Wickham belonged to him and him alone. Well, not alone. There was Jack…

  Berke shook his head. One thing at a time. First he needed to get Gabriella away from those unmated wolves. Another Alpha gripped Gabriella’s wrist and brought it to his nose.

  That was it. That wolf would die. Slowly. Painfully. No one touched what belonged to him and—

  “Captain?” A female voice interrupted his thoughts, the single word oozing sex and a promise.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. Sometimes he hated his duty. Hated the fact that, because he was the Ruling Alpha’s Captain of the Guard, he had to play nice with the attending staff and their families. Sliding his features into an expressionless mask, he turned toward the owner of the sexualized purring voice. “Hannah.”

  The female wolf closed the distance between them, seduction in each sway of her hips. Once upon a time, he’d have found her blatant invitation intriguing. Hell, he would have taken her up on it and enjoyed their time together. But now he’d found Gabriella and was determined to claim her. There were still hurdles to overcome, but there was no doubt in his mind that the curvaceous Marked was his.

  A delicate hand stroked his chest, the red-painted nails scraping against the numerous medals that adorned his uniform. “I haven’t seen you lately.” She paused and eased closer. “Berke.” His name rolled off her tongue in an unjustified familiarity.

  He gritted his teeth and bit back his snarl. His wolf growled within his mind, warning him to cease the female’s touch before the beast pushed its way out and did it for him. Grasping her wrist, he removed her hand from his chest and took a step back before releasing her.

  “I’ve been engaged with the Ruling Alphas. You are aware of this.” He did his best to soothe his wolf. They wouldn’t tangle with this one. She wasn’t their Gabriella. “What do you need?”

  Hannah simpered, a tiny flash of hurt filling her eyes as she poked out her lower lip. “I thought you and I could…”

  The rustle of moving bodies drew his attention away from the woman and back to the ballroom. Alpha Pairs and the Marked were all rising from their tables, the din of their voices growing with each passing second. The morning Tests of Proximity were done, and they were breaking for a brief lunch. Based on the Alpha Mate’s schedule… No, she’d told him to call her Scarlet. Right. Well, based on Scarlet’s schedule, his Gabriella would be dining with her sisters at one of the hotel’s restaurants.

  Berke cut Hannah off. “Unfortunately, I’m on duty.” He turned his back on her, gaze scanning the growing crowd in search of his quarry.

  “Maybe we can get together later. You, me, Jack…”

  He rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. As if his best friend and Lieutenant would be up for her once he met Gabriella. Right now Berke just needed to get away from this woman and on his Marked’s tail. “Yeah, maybe.”

  It’d taken some fast talking to get permission to guard Gabriella since he was the Captain and not some normal soldier. At breakfast that morning, he’d first laid eyes on the delicious woman. He’d let his gaze trail over her curves, taking in every inch of her seductive body, and he’d burned. His cock had gone instantly hard while a heat seared his left bicep. He’d rubbed the spot, watching avidly as she did the same.

  Before he could take a step toward the woman, the Ruling Alphas had appeared and taken him away. His wolf roared and snarled its objections but submitted to the much stronger pair. From there it became a battle of wills, the Ruling Alphas adamant in their protection of their mate’s sister while he was just as determined to claim her. Unfortunately, they wanted to keep him from her while he wanted to keep everyone else away.

  Eventually, he’d won. Or rather, the Ruling Alphas had tired of arguing with him and could no longer be from Scarlet’s side. They’d rushed off to be with their mate and he’d rushed…here.

  Spotting his destined within the crowd, Berke went on the move, weaving through Alpha Pairs and Marked alike as he fought to keep her within sight. He knew her destination; he just needed to ensure she arrived safely. Nothing was more important that Gabriella. Nothing.

  The throng grew, thousands of bodies pouring into the massive hallways of the hotel. Their voices echoed off the marble flooring and against the high ceilings.

  His Marked wove and strode amongst the gathering, dancing farther and farther from his position. Using his massive bulk, he pushed past Alpha Pair after Alpha Pair, ignoring the grumbles, snarls, and growls that trailed behind him. Some appeared to take exception, their glowing yellow eyes focusing on him, but a curve of his lip and flash of fang quickly subdued them. No one wanted to tangle with the Ruling Alphas’ Captain of the Guard. He was respected and feared in nearly equal measure, and he readily admitted that he liked the fact that fear won out every once in a while.

  Berke caught up to Gabriella just as she dashed into the upscale restaurant. Two of his guards were stationed at the entrance, and they both nodded at her appearance. They lived only because their gazes didn’t linger on her body.

  Keeping his distance, he slipped into the dim space behind her. If he got too close, she’d sense his presence, for without a doubt, her Mark would respond to him just as it had that morning. But he couldn’t approach her or woo her, until he settled the issue of not being part of an Alpha Pair.

  Details.

  Splitting his attention between Gabriella and the room at large, he spotted his quarry: Lieutenant Jack Wright. The moment his Marked settled at the table with her sisters Scarlet and Whitney, he diverted his course. His Lieutenant was stationed along the wall, body tense and watchful as he surveyed the room.

  Jack focused on Berke and straightened, coming to attention. “Captain.”

  Berke shook his head. “Jack, we need to talk.”

  The wolf’s eyes narrowed, immediately suspicious. “Captain, I’m not sure what we need to discuss.”

  His beast growled, not caring for the m
an’s aggression and tone. Jack was an Alpha through and through, but so was he. “We need to discuss the future.”

  “There’s nothing to say, Captain.” The last word was practically spat at him.

  This argument was an old one. Berke would say they needed to talk about their status as single wolves instead of an Alpha Pair. Jack would get defensive because Berke wouldn’t just “leave it alone.” Eventually, it’d all end in a fight capped off with a few beers. They were men. It was what they did. Misunderstandings equaled anger equaled bloody fights and then beer.

  Sometimes an Alpha just needed to get his fang on. But Jack wasn’t an Alpha. Right.

  “Fine.” Until now he’d kept Jack on the periphery of assigned duties. Berke had been expected to remain at the Ruling Alphas’ sides, which meant the next senior officer needed to corral the rest of the guards. “Go relieve Hawkins by the Sisters Wickham.” He smirked then, imagining what was to come for his oldest friend. “After lunch, you’ll be responsible for Gabriella. I’ll meet you outside of the ballroom around two. She’s got a few more hours of Proximity testing this afternoon.”

  Berke’s wolf wasn’t happy about leaving Gabriella, but Jack needed to face the truth for himself.

  The two of them were Alphas.

  Together they were an Alpha Pair.

  Even better, Gabriella Wickham was their Marked mate.

  *

  Jack Wright glared at his retreating commander’s back, unsure of the wolf’s intentions. Through their partial bond, he could sense smugness in the man, a feeling of joy mixed with cockiness, and that worried him. Still buried beneath that was the too familiar pain of their stilted connection.

  Like a coward, he pushed those emotions aside. Their life was fine just the way it was. There was no reason to upset the status quo with dreams of a different future. His wolf snarled inside him, pacing and clawing at him as it always did, telling him without words how wrong his thoughts were.