1 Chapter 1
Espen Urso sniffed the air and snarled. There were intruders in his territory. He’d known the moment they’d come to town, for a clawing, desperate need to slaughter every shifter within a ten-mile radius had bloomed in him, and he didn’t know why.
He didn’t allow other shifters into his territory. He made sure they understood it was his, and that they weren’t welcome, but normally, he didn’t want to kill them. He did now.
What right did they have to walk on his land? The humans in the town didn’t need any trouble from hot-headed alphas with testosterone leaking from their ears. Espen could scent them. There was a frenzy, and since there were several of them, he suspected it would end in a bloodbath.
The wind made it hard to track scents; the rain attacked him like a swarm of bees defending their honey. He hissed, wishing he’d had honey.
Lumbering through town, he held up his arm to shield his face. The wind was so strong it was impossible to breathe when it came right at him.
He should go home, let whatever was happening with the other alphas play out as it would, but he couldn’t.
They were in his territory.
He roared and hunched his shoulders as the rain attacked his ear and the side of his face. Of all the days strangers chose to trespass, did they have to pick the windiest day of the year? Idiots.
Someone was running toward him, and his arm shot out without thought. He curled his fingers around the man’s throat, his claws threatening to come out as he slammed the man against the wall of the house. He hoped Rosalinda Ayala, who lived in the house, wouldn’t hear him. She made a divine tres lechescake. His stomach rumbled as he recalled the sweet taste.
It made him angrier. If it hadn’t been for these idiots, he could be at home in his nice warm farmhouse, and he could be eating.
Being a bear, he towered over most people both in human and in shifted form, even alpha wolves. When shifted, his teeth might not be as impressive as a wolf’s, but he was bigger and stronger, and his claws could do a lot of damage.
Snarling in the wolf’s face, he met his gaze full on. “Give me one reason not to rip your throat out?”
Espen couldn’t think of one. The man was in his territory. He was hungry. The man was keeping him from eating. None of those things worked in the wolf’s favor.
“Omega.”
Espen refrained from rolling his eyes. As far as he was concerned, omegas were a myth. He was forty-three years old and had never met one. Often when a group of alphas ganged up like this to hunt down an alleged omega, it was some poor submissive running for her life. “I don’t care. You’re to leave my territory. Now.”
The wolf snarled, so Espen snarled back. If they were having a competition in who could be the loudest, there was no question who’d win. Only…he didn’t want to frighten Rosalinda. What if she wouldn’t make him the chocolate cake with cinnamon and cayenne frosting again? Before Rosalinda moved here, he’d never had cayenne and chocolate together. If he’d been into women, he’d marry her to ensure he got access to her baked goods.
A door banged against the wall on the other side of the house. With a sigh, Espen pulled the wolf closer to the corner so he could look down the side of the house. Rosalinda was struggling to get the door to close, probably having lost her grip when the wind took hold of it when she’d opened it. He squinted against the rain hitting his eyes.
“Go back inside, Rosa. It’s not a nice weather for a late-night stroll.”
“Espen?” She shielded her eyes. Her long black hair blew into her face as the wind hit her from behind. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing to worry about, dear. I’m taking care of it.” He had to shout to make himself heard. He glanced at the wolf, who frowned at him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, go back inside before the roof tiles come off.”
She nodded and took a step toward the door. “Be careful!”
“I will.” He smiled and nodded, but when the door closed, he snarled in the wolf’s face again. “Get your band of gorillas and leave. Now.”
“But—”
“No buts. You can guard the border outside my territory. When the little she-wolf sneaks out, you can take her.” Poor girl would be forced to spend the rest of her life with one of these cockerels.
Most alphas mellowed once they got mated, unless they deemed their mate-to-be in danger, in which case they were worse than ever. Espen had never included himself in the bunch. He was an alpha, but since most submissives were female, he’d never wanted to mate with any of them. And few of the male submissives he’d met wanted a male alpha.
