The Alpha's Contract Marriage

As soon as I put the car in park, I let go of my white-knuckled grip on my fingers. I just sat there for a moment and let my heart rate slow down.I may have learned to drive in this exact Range Rover from the mid-1970s, but that was when it was just a broken-down shell. Between the time I left home and the time he died, my grandfather turned it into a "project" and lovingly over-engineered it until it was a complete monster. In the meantime, I had hardly driven at all during that time.It would be an understatement to say that the long trip down mountain back roads covered in snow and the change to the busy streets of downtown Boston were not fun. I'd spent most of it complaining to myself that I wouldn't have to make this drive at all if my grandfather hadn't spent so much time on the perfect metallic Ardennes green paint job and so little time on pack business. We would have all been better off with a proper succession plan than with a dashboard that was modified to hold so many hi

As I ran along the ridge, snow crunched under my paws and stuck to my fur. In the murky twilight to my right, I saw the skeleton of a ski lift, which was then eaten up by a swirl of fat snowflakes. I only caught a quick glimpse of it long enough to see the number six on its base. The sign's once-cherry-red paint was chipped, peeling, and had faded to a rusty color.When I saw it, old muscle memory kicked in, and I turned a few degrees to the west. As I ran up the hill, my legs burned, but I loved the stinging heat of the effort. I hadn't been able to run around in my wolf form since I went home for a short visit last summer, and I'd been stuck inside too much lately, working too hard on business plans. It felt good to run, to stretch my legs and remind myself that even though things were a mess, I was still alive, which meant I could still make things better.The fact that I knew The Slopes were in such bad shape made the mood-boosting effect of my exercise less strong. Even though it

It took a while for the words to sink in. Then my stomach dropped, and fear and confusion shot through me like a rocket.Oh, goddammit. This was the beginning? I ran my eyes over her again, from head to toe and back again. My mind was racing, and I couldn't get my expectations and reality to match up. I thought she would be an older, power-hungry woman, but she wasn't. In fact, with her loose, comfortable pajamas and messy ponytail, she looked like a college girl from the west coast who was home for winter break. The soft fabric of her top made it easy for me to see her tanned skin and big breasts. Her waist was small, and then her hips were full and curvy, which was very attractive. Her arms and shoulders were thin, but there were ripples of muscle underneath. It was clear that she worked out or enjoyed sports. Her hair was the color of expensive caramel, and even though the top of her head didn't reach my shoulder, her whiskey-colored eyes were on fire. In other situations, I'd b

I felt hot. I felt warmer than I had since I left the beach weeks ago. I got close to the heat... and then woke up quickly. When I quickly looked at the situation, I got red from my head to my toes. I was in bed with Sebastian, tucked up against his side with my cheek on his bare chest. When I turned my head to look at him, his arm wrapped around me and his dark green eyes met mine. "Hi, Alpha. Good morning." He ran his fingers along my side and over my clothes with ease. "Good morning," I mumbled, torn between the desire to stay right where I was and the knowledge that it would be a bad idea to do so. I pushed myself up and tried to get out with a little more coordination than the last time. "I wasn't trying to—" The arm that was around me grabbed me and pulled me back, dropping me awkwardly on Sebastian's big chest. When I realized that he didn't seem to be wearing anything under the sheets that were tangled between us, it made my stomach flip. and that he seemed to be awake in e

Just before six, Sam got there. He was shaking snow out of his hair and carrying a big insulated bag with A Taste of Magic's logo on it when I opened the door. As I let him in, he said, "I brought food," which wasn't necessary. "And alcohol, if she will let you drink." I thought it was funny to see how, as soon as he finished speaking, his eyes darted around to see if we were alone. "She hasn't come." I picked up the bag and pointed to a seat at the table. "Just put your coat on top of that. We don't have enough closet space." Sam took off his coat as I put the bag on the kitchen's tiny square of counter space and started looking through it. Every package that was well-wrapped made my mouth water. All of my favorite foods were there, like steak, sausage, and fish. "Oh, you're great!" "Have you been living here?" Sam went around in a circle, shocked. "There aren't many choices," I told him dryly as I grabbed two short water glasses from the cabinet and poured us both some wine f