Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 33

Ava hummed to herself, thinking of how nice it had been to see Seth again and to have things worked out between them. The confusing feelings she’d harboured for him over the past few weeks were finally straight in her mind, allowing her to focus on Arthur without any guilt or ambiguity. Arthur was her future and she was pretty sure she was beginning to love him. Yes, she’d thought she’d loved Seth, but this was totally different. Hugging Seth had been familiar and comfortable, while being with Arthur gave her a sense of security and completeness along with an interesting, tingly excitement that just felt…right.

Stopping at a traffic light, she glanced down at the dashboard and grimaced. That warning light was on again. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she altered her course and headed towards the nearest garage. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late, and the mechanic was still on duty. He took the car back into the service area to check it, while she sat waiting in the front office.

It wasn’t the cleanest place she’d ever been; the smell of old oil and gasoline assaulted her nose. A coffee maker was in one corner on an old Formica counter, while the cash register beside it sported a sign offering a complimentary cup of coffee while you wait. She poured herself some and took a sip, then grimaced at the taste. It was several hours old and as thick as tar. Setting the coffee aside, she perched uncomfortably on the edge of one of the old vinyl chairs. Its plastic surface was cracked and sadly in need of cleaning. A dog-eared magazine was lying on the chair beside her and she flipped through it. Unfortunately, it was several years old and focused mostly on sports cars and motorcycles that were draped with scantily clad, buxom beauties. Dropping the magazine in disgust, she stood and looked out the window.

There wasn’t much to see. The sky had darkened to a dull grey that threatened rain or possibly even snow. Cars zoomed by on the highway that ran in front of the garage, a billboard advertising insulation was to the right, and a parking lot with cars for sale occupied the space to the left. Idly, she studied the cars, her gaze skimming over the shades of brown, blue, and grey until coming to a stop on the lone flash of red. It was a sports car, bright red in colour and strangely familiar.

Drawn like a magnet, she pushed open the outer door, the bell above jingling merrily to signal her exit. Walking over to where the car was parked, she circled it, studying the vehicle from all angles. She’d be the first to admit that she knew nothing about cars, but she’d bet her last dollar this was the one that had sprayed gravel at her two weeks ago. It wasn’t a common make, possibly an import.

Tugging at the door handle, she was surprised when it opened. Didn’t people usually keep their cars locked? Leaning over, she examined the interior. It was clean, with no papers or garbage lying around. She wondered who the owner was and sniffed but didn’t detect any recent scents.

Thoughtfully, she closed the door and made her way back to the customer waiting area. Once inside, she glanced towards the door that led to the service bays. It was ajar, and she could see the mechanic was still working on her car; the noise from the engine obviously had kept him from noticing her brief departure. Casually she strolled over to the counter and leaned against it. Ostensibly pouring herself more coffee, she peered at the labelled binders that were stacked on the other side of the counter.

Keeping one eye on the door, she picked up a binder entitled ‘Auto Sales’ and began to flip through the listings. About half-way through, she came to a snapshot of the red car. There was a write up about its age, engine size, and number of miles. The date on the page indicated that it had been brought in about a week and a half ago and the owner was listed as Ryne Taylor!

She snapped the book shut and pressed it to her chest. Ryne must have been at the house just two weeks ago! He was the one who had peppered her with gravel. But it had only been her second day, she hadn’t even been there forty-eight hours yet. How had he known who she was? And why had he shown such disrespect to her? Was it because he hated Arthur and she was guilty by association? Or perhaps he was a maniac when driving and thought the stunt he’d pulled was funny.

She’d have to tell Arthur what she’d discovered. It might prove to be a lead that helped them locate the rogue wolf. Carefully, she slipped the binder back where it belonged and sat down again to wait for her car, all the while thinking how pleased Arthur would be with her news.

It was almost five o’clock by the time she finally got home. The problem with the car had been a malfunctioning sensor light, rather than an actual fault with the engine or brakes. A new sensor was on order and the mechanic said he’d call when the part came in.

After kicking off her shoes, she padded towards the stairs, thinking longingly of putting on some comfortable sweats and having a cup of tea. She’d just started her ascent when Marla popped out of Arthur’s office.

“Hey, Ava! You’re late getting back. How was your day?” Marla was grinning as if she knew something Ava didn’t.

“Fine, just long and tiring.” She paused at the bottom of the stairs.

Marla’s face fell. “Nothing ‘exciting’ happened?”

“No, not really. Well, I did meet my friend for lunch.” She smiled at the memory.

“That’s right. I remember now. His name was Seth, wasn’t it? Your meeting went well?” She nodded and began to climb the stairs, thinking that Marla almost seemed disappointed.

“You didn’t see anyone else? Just this fellow?”

“Just Seth,” She reiterated wondering why she cared.

The other woman followed her up the stairs. “I thought you might have bumped into Arthur.

He was supposed to pick up a package at the Gallery for me this afternoon.”

“No, I haven’t seen him since early this morning… Oh, wait!” She snapped her fingers as the memory popped into her head. “Arthur told me about that this morning, but he was still in a financial meeting when I left for work. Maybe he forgot, or he had someone else do it. I’m sorry, I was right there. I should have offered to get it for you. Was it important?”

“No, it wasn’t that crucial, I guess.” Marla frowned. “So… Are you going to see this Seth guy again?”

“Well, maybe. He might be coming back this way in a few days, but I don’t know for sure.” “Hmm…” Marla was silent, her brow furrowed, as if deep in thought.

When they reached the top of the stairs, she leaned close and gave a sniff. “Don’t take offence, girl, but you smell funny. Sort of like oil and gas.”

Groaning, she explained how she’d spent the later part of her afternoon. “I think it’s mostly on my coat.”

“Here, give me the coat.” Marla took the garment from her and first sniffed it, then Ava. “Well, the coat smells like a garage, but you…” She paused as if trying to decide whether or not to say something, then a smile appeared on her face. “You, my dear Ava, smell like a male werewolf.” Marla smirked and winked. “So tell me again, just how friendly was this meeting?”

Ava felt herself flushing. “It was nothing like that, Marla. Seth’s an old friend. We grew up together.”

“Uh-huh. That’s your story, but will Arthur believe it? He has some jealousy issues, you know. It’s because of his parents.” Marla leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially. “His father ran around all the time and now Arthur really has this thing about honesty and fidelity.” Marla straightened and looked her square in the eye. “Did you tell him who you were meeting?”

“Well, no.” She bit her l*p. Why hadn’t she told Arthur about seeing Seth? Probably because the only time the two men had met, it hadn’t gone well. “But I’ll just explain to him—”

“Ava, let me give you some advice. I know this is sort of personal but hey, it can’t totally be hidden. I can tell that you’re almost in heat, and the smell of your pheromones will be upping Arthur’s sense of possessiveness. You know how territorial male Lycans get about their mates at a time like this. He’s not going to be overly receptive to hearing about you meeting this Seth guy.”

“Oh, I don’t think—”

“Listen. I’ve known Arthur longer than you have. We were even an item for a while, so you have to trust me on this one. I know how he’ll react and it won’t be pretty. When I realized that I loved Ryne rather than him, Arthur almost went berserk; it was totally out of character for him, but that’s what he did.”

She paled at the idea of Arthur getting really angry at her. For the most part, he was so calm and level-headed, but she’d seen flashes of his temper. Helen had commented on how Arthur had been confused and lost when Marla broke up with him, but there’d been no mention of violence. Then again, maybe Helen didn’t know everything. What would he do? Probably he’d start by growling or yelling, which was pretty frightening. Then he’d do that cold staring thing that made the recipient want to sink into the ground. If he truly thought she’d been with another male, she wasn’t sure what he might be capable of doing. As Marla said, male werewolves were very territorial, but she hadn’t been thinking of that when she’d agreed to meet Seth.

“So, how are we going to keep Arthur from finding out about this guy?” Marla’s question jolted her back from her imagined encounter with an enraged Arthur.

“Umm… I’ll grab a quick shower.”

“No time for that. Arthur will be home any minute, and besides what about your clothes? Even stuffed in the laundry basket he might notice. I suppose you might have time to get them down to the laundry before he gets here, but what if you meet him on the stairs?”

“Then I’ll just…”

“Ava, you are so lucky that I’m here to help you out. Here’s what we’ll do. Do you remember how I gave you some perfume about a week ago? Have you used it yet?”

She shook her head. “No. Why?”

“Okay, well put some on—quite a lot actually. It will help mask that scent. If you use it, Arthur will have no idea that you’ve been near anyone else. And if you see Seth again, use it then too. What Arthur doesn’t know won’t hurt him and it will save you from his temper.’

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea, Marla. If I explain—”

“Ava, do you remember how angry Arthur was over that picture of him I had in the Gallery? Well, that will seem like nothing compared to how this will set him off. You’ve only been around attached males so far, so you really don’t know how possessive he can be.”

She thought back to how Arthur had reacted to Seth talking to her that first morning. Was it possible Marla was right? Perhaps she should simply avoid mentioning the whole incident.

“Well…”

“Good! I don’t want Arthur to be upset with you, not when he seems so happy right now.” Marla grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bedroom. “Now, where’s that perfume?” Before Ava could even speak, Marla spotted it on the dresser and began to douse her with the stuff. When she was done, she stepped back, looking exceedingly pleased. “There! All taken care of and not a moment too soon.” She checked her watch. “Arthur should be here any minute, so I’ll scoot on my way.” With a friendly wave, Marla hurried out of the room, leaving Ava feeling as if she’d been caught up in a windstorm.

She lifted her arm and sniffed her sleeve. She couldn’t scent Seth at all and the perfume itself didn’t actually smell that bad. In fact, it was vaguely familiar though she couldn’t quite place it. It was on the fringes of her mind, if she could only remember… From past experience she knew that the harder she tried to recall something, the more elusive the memory became so she put the matter from her mind and returned to thinking about Seth.

Even if the perfume did work, not telling Arthur about the meeting didn’t sit right with her. Marla could be wrong. Arthur might not be that upset and even if he was, at least it would be all over and done with, rather than hanging over her head while she waited for him to find out through some other obscure source.

Giving a decisive nod, she grabbed a brush and quickly began to fix her hair, only to knock an earring loose. It tumbled to the ground and gave the faintest of tinkles as it rolled across the floor. With an exasperated sigh, she set the brush down, got onto her hands and knees and began crawling along searching for the small bit of jewellery. It wasn’t immediately visible, so she lay flat, stretching her arm underneath the dresser and feeling around, but having no luck.

Darn! Where had the silly thing gone? Still on all fours, she surveyed the floor in frustration. She was sure it had rolled towards the dresser but possibly she’d been wrong. Bending her head closer to the floor, she surveyed the surface in front of her.

Suddenly something nudged her butt and she shrieked. Turning quickly, she lost her balance and fell onto her side landing in an undignified heap. Brushing her hair from her face she looked up to see Arthur standing over her, in his wolf form. His tongue was hanging from his mouth and she knew without a doubt he was laughing.

“That was not funny!” She spoke slowly and distinctly, letting her irritation show. “You scared me half to death.”

He cocked his head to the side showing no remorse, then shoved a cold wet nose against her face.

“Hey! Stop that. What’s with you?” Despite herself she giggled, his whiskers tickling, and reached up to run her hands through his fur and scratch his ears. With her arms still around him, Arthur suddenly shimmered and became human again. His head dropped down and he kissed her thoroughly until they were both gasping for breath.

“You smell…different…tonight.” Arthur looked at her in puzzlement.

She froze, a knot of fear forming in her stomach. Trying to sound casual, she responded.

“Really? How so?”

Arthur sniffed her again. “I don’t know. Your own scent is muted and there’s this floral smell.

It’s sort of familiar, but I can’t place it.”

Okay. This was her chance. Gathering her courage, she began her explanation. “It’s that new perfume Marla gave me. You see, she had this silly idea that—”

A hot mouth suddenly cut her off, teasing her lips and driving all thought from her mind. He slowly pulled away and moved to nibbling at her ear. “Oh yeah. I remember that now. It was nice of her, but I like your own scent better. Don’t wear this stuff too often, okay?”

Nodding, she tried to focus on the topic of Seth, but Arthur was now nuzzling her neck causing shivers of delight to course through her. All right. Maybe this wasn’t the time. But later on tonight, she’d definitely let him know.

She ran her hands across his shoulders and down his back, luxuriating in the feel of his bare skin and solid muscle. A thought occurred to her. “Hey! I think you forgot something when you shifted.”

“Hmm? What?”

“Your clothes, silly. You forgot to think ‘clothes’ when you phased back.” She giggled. Only an inexperienced young Lycan would forget to magick back their clothes when changing forms.

“No I didn’t. I purposely left them off. I have great plans for us.” He began to work on the buttons of her shirt and she grabbed his wrists to stop him.

“Appealing as that might sound, it’s almost dinner time.”

A rumble worked its way up from deep in Arthur’s throat. “They can eat without us. Food is the last thing on my mind right now.” He confirmed the fact by scooping her up and then dropping her on the bed.

As he loomed over her, need flowed through her faster than she’d ever thought possible.

Yep, her heat was definitely coming on. This next week might prove to be extremely…interesting.