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  Alpha in Hiding

  Lea Barrymire

  It’s tough being the Alpha’s daughter. Emily Prescott spends half her life helping to manage the pack’s business and the other half putting horny he-wolves in their place. When her father sends her on a mission to bring a weak wolf into his shifter side, it seems like just another pain in her ass—until her bitch perks up and takes notice.

  Seth has spent years fighting to keep his wolf at bay, but something about Emily brings out the animal in him. Wild sex with Emily turns into an uncontrollable urge to mate her and make her his. But Emily needs a strong mate—someone who can dominate and defend her. If weak, geeky Seth wants to woo her, he has some changing to do.

  Alpha in Hiding

  Lea Barrymire

  Dedication

  To one of my dearest friends Kay who has become a sister, a daughter, a confidante. Thank you for being supportive in all the things I’ve done, and offering advice and criticism with loving frankness.

  Chapter One

  Disgust curled Emily’s upper lip. Used tissues, partially eaten pizza crusts and a random selection of cereal boxes adorned what she assumed was the coffee table. A precarious pile of dirty glasses and plates sat next to the table like a new domestic version of Jenga. Clothes lay haphazardly on the furniture and floor. The grime coating the window she peered through did nothing to mask the slobbish mess laid out in front of her. What the hell had her father gotten her into?

  She turned from the window and stepped away from the house. Her cell phone was in her hands and she was dialing before she’d taken two steps. Her anger spiked. There was no fucking way she could do this. No matter what her father offered, she couldn’t take on this job for him.

  “Yeah.” Her father’s gravelly voice was powerful even through the cell phone. He was Alpha and with that position came both physical and telepathic powers. She gritted her teeth against the invisible push from him to submit.

  “No.”

  “No what, Emily?”

  “No I’m not doing this. I can’t. Have you seen how he lives? Christ, Dad, he’s got plates in there that could walk themselves to the kitchen.”

  “Em, come on. At least meet him before you call it off.”

  “Why do you care so much about this one guy? He obviously doesn’t want to be involved in the pack. He’s turned your invitations down repeatedly.” She shrugged, then a thought struck her. “Is he dangerous to us or something?”

  Her father sighed. “No, it’s nothing like that. I knew his parents and sort of feel like I need to try to pull him back into pack life. You’re my last-ditch effort. If he won’t let you in then I’ll stop trying.”

  “Fine, but I want more. Not just a pass for this month’s pack run. Maybe a new car or something.”

  “You’re lucky I’m letting you out of the run, Em. Don’t push your luck.” Power surged at her, pressing against her mind. She felt her knees buckling. Damn, her father really could put someone on the ground with just his voice through a phone. She braced herself and pushed back. She wasn’t as strong as he was but she could combat his power enough to stand against an order.

  “Are you kidding me? Have you seen his house? I can smell the mess out here. You owe me.” She forced her voice through clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on her forehead with the effort of fighting her father’s compulsion.

  “I hate it that you aren’t cowed by my power.” He huffed. “Fine. I’ll owe you something but I’m not buying you another car.”

  “Fine.” She closed her phone without saying goodbye and turned to face the house again. It was just a normal, run-of-the-mill ranch-style house. The white-sided dwelling was adorned with black shutters, a carport and a small piece of lawn. At least the male kept the outside in decent repair. The few pieces of grass were cut, the driveway was clean and the trash cans—instead of the yard—held the garbage. After seeing the inside of his home she wouldn’t have been surprised to find piles of tires and rusting car engines strewn across the lawn.

  With a sigh she approached the house again. The things she did for her father. Too bad she hadn’t listened to her hunch yesterday and ignored the call from him. When he’d asked her to dinner she’d known something was up, but again, it was her dad, so how could she refuse a meal invitation?

  Damn it, I should have.

  No one but her was allowed to turn down the Alpha. She rarely did, but yesterday should have been one of those times. When he’d opened the conversation with the bribe she should have listened to her instincts. A way out of the pack run had been the offer. The idea of avoiding another night of beating the shit out of a bunch of the single he-wolves in the pack was too good to pass up, though. She’d agreed to help someone who needed it before finding out what the problem was.

  Well, now she was standing outside a house that contained the man supposedly in need of her assistance. What her father wanted was stupid. This male had ignored the pack’s invitations to participate in events for years. According to her dad, the pup was weak and had characteristics so unlike a shifter that someone needed to figure out what had happened. Was it a genetic defect or something entirely different? Her job was to try to bring the male around. Try to force his shifter nature to come forward by hanging out with him and seeing if that fixed his weaknesses.

  “Fuck,” she huffed under her breath. With a quick rap on the door she sealed the deal. She would try to get this guy out of the house and see what happened if he was around another shifter for a couple of days.

  She listened to the silence on the other side of the door for a moment, then pounded on the wood with a closed fist. Patience wasn’t one of her stronger traits. She tapped her foot, counting time until she could just bust the door down and let herself in. Finally she heard movement on the other side of the door. The sound of someone tumbling out of bed was loud in the early morning silence. She knew he pawed through some clothes and stumbled to the door. A lock and chain were disengaged before the door swung open.

  Bleary brown eyes looked at her from under dark lashes. “Yeah?”

  Emily stared at him and barely kept from baring her teeth. He was unshaven, un-showered and disheveled. She glanced up and down his frame and couldn’t find one redeeming feature. His dark hair was shorn close to his head. Glasses perched on his nose. Glasses, for cripes sake. On a shifter. That was almost unheard of. He’d thrown on a wrinkled concert T-shirt that was way too big for his slender frame. Sweatpants hung low off his hips. She swept her eyes back up and wrinkled her nose at what she saw. The whole package wasn’t impressive at all. Great. That would make her job so much easier…not.

  “Are you done scoping me out and gonna tell me why you’re out here pounding on the door this early?” His voice, at least, was nice. Gravelly from sleep but deep and penetrating.

  She stuck her hand out. “Seth Seymour, right? I’m Emily Prescott. My father sent me to speak to you.”

  He glanced at her hand before stepping back, eyes wide with fear. He didn’t take her hand and she slowly dropped it back to her side. She sighed, rolled her eyes and stepped forward, pushing her presence into the house. For every step forward she took, the male took a step back. She held in the snort of disgust. Weak males made her twitch. Being the daughter of the Alpha made her sought after, but so far she hadn’t found a he-wolf who could actually make her or her bitch submit. Seth was pushing every dominant instinct she had. She wanted to see how far she could dominate him before he was curled on the floor whining and licking her boots.

  The only problem with that idea was the reaction of her wolfy side. Her bitch had woken and was interested in this male—and not in a chew-toy sort of way. Feelings of possessiveness rolled from her animal. Maybe the animal saw him as a child or an injured pack m
ember. In either of those instances, her animal would perk up and feel some sort of protectiveness. A niggling feeling in the back of her head pointed toward something totally different, though. Her wolf wanted her to sniff him and give his throat a lick. Very bad idea, very bad.

  Down, girl, bad wolf!

  “Um. I really don’t want you in here.” He stumbled back against the arm of the couch and had to sit or fall over the furniture. He plopped awkwardly onto the couch arm, eyes darting around, searching for an escape route. With a shaky hand he pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’ve already let your father know I’m not interested in being involved in the pack.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m not really thrilled about being here either, but he’s giving me something worth the trouble.” She looked around the house and grimaced before perching on the edge of a chair. “Look. Here’s the deal. The next pack run is in a week. This is one of those important ones used to push mates together. I don’t want to be involved again this year and you’re my ticket out. So for the next couple of days, you and I are going to hang out.”

  “I’ve got work to do, though. My allergies are driving me nuts. I have things I’m supposed to do this weekend.” His arguments were weak and she could tell he knew it by the look on his face. His voice trailed off. He ran a shaky hand across his short hair.

  “I know that, and trust me, I don’t want to wrap my weekend around dealing with you, but that’s the way it is.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, irritated that she had mirrored his action. “My dad has tasked me with bringing your inner wolf out to play. Now if after the weekend you’re still against the pack, then I can leave and we’re all good. You won’t be approached again by any of us.”

  He shook his head and stared out of the window. “My inner wolf? I don’t want anything to do with that beast. Not that I’ve got any control over it. If I could get rid of it I would.”

  A growl rumbled in her chest. The thought of someone wishing away their animal was sacrilege, worthy of a beating or worse. She squinted her eyes and rubbed at the pain forming in her forehead. This wasn’t going to be easy. She’d hoped to walk into this guy’s life and just push him into something. If he hated his other half there wasn’t much she could do to change that.

  An idea crept into her thoughts. Perhaps taking him out of his element would help. Her father had a couple of cabins stocked and ready for use in the hills. Maybe a little weekend retreat would do some good. She glanced up to find him watching her.

  “Okay, I think I know what we can do. I was planning on just talking with you, but I think we need something a little more drastic. Pack a bag. We’re going camping.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up.”

  He sputtered behind her. “I can’t go away for the weekend. I have stuff to do.”

  She spun and faced him, digging deep for every dominant piece of her mind. She pushed her thoughts into his and grinned when he grimaced. “You will pack a bag and will be here in an hour, waiting for me.”

  “How did you do that? You’re still echoing in my head.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Alpha powers, baby. Being the strongest female and the daughter of the pack Alpha has its high points. Now you do realize I can track you, right? So, if you aren’t here when I come back I’ll just sniff you out. FYI, I like to chase down my prey.” She gave him a little finger wave and sauntered out of the door.

  * * * * *

  Holy shit. Seth sat on the couch arm for a few minutes, playing the conversation through his mind. The Alpha’s daughter had just ordered him to pack so she could take him camping. Not that he didn’t enjoy camping—he actually loved being in the woods. But to be there, with her, concentrating on the animal that lived inside him? That wasn’t the way he’d planned to spend his weekend.

  He snorted and pushed his glasses up. Well, he might as well pack. He didn’t want to take on the infamous Emily Prescott. He didn’t spend much time with other shifters, but even normal humans talked about the woman who routinely beat the shit out of males who had the audacity to look at her funny or get in her personal space.

  If he’d met the tiny female without knowing her background, he wouldn’t have believed the rumors. She barely reached his chin and was built with curves to spare. The T-shirt and jeans she’d worn when she’d flounced into his house had hidden nothing. Ample breasts and curvy hips had made looking away from her almost impossible. Red hair curled and bounced around her angelic face. Emerald-green eyes flashed under strawberry-blonde lashes. Nothing in her looks would ever tell you that she was both strong and tough. When she’d wrinkled her nose at him at the door he couldn’t feel insulted. Not when her nose was dotted with freckles that just begged to be kissed.

  The fact that the creature living under his skin had lifted its head and whined when she’d knocked at the door didn’t sit well with Seth. He tried to keep the animal quiet and docile at all times and only at the full moon, when he couldn’t fight the change, did he give in and let it out. He limited the number of people he was around, limited his exposure to stress or anything that was of interest to the beast. Ever since that fateful night when he was fourteen and his other half had awoken, he’d tried to stop the change. Every month he still was forced to give up his humanity and let the wolf out.

  He moved through his room and threw clothes into a gym bag. When he’d zipped it closed he took a look around the room and tried to see it through someone else’s eyes. Clothes were piled around the room, magazines and newspapers covered his chair and the foot of his bed. A resigned sigh flowed from his lips. He was a slob. With quick strides he walked to the hall closet and gathered a few trash bags. He didn’t look very closely at the reason behind his new need to clean up the mess. Sweeping trash into the bags helped to eliminate some of the stress he was feeling. With a smile on his lips he worked through the living room and the kitchen, tidying as he went.

  * * * * *

  Emily pulled into Seth’s driveway almost exactly sixty minutes after leaving. She couldn’t say that a weekend away would be a bad thing, but to be saddled with a man who didn’t want to be with her, had no desire to enjoy his wolf and didn’t really seem capable of dealing with her personality—well, that just put a damper on the whole camping idea. She sighed and climbed out of her car. They would take her vehicle, another way to keep him at the cabin with her. She would do whatever it took to keep her father away from her and give her a way out of the pack run. If that meant kidnapping Seth, then so be it.

  She could hear the shower running as she approached the door. Well, at least he hadn’t run away. The knob turned when she tested the door, a silent invitation to walk in and wait for him. She noticed the moment she walked into the living room that the garbage was gone. With an eyebrow raised she wandered into the kitchen and found that it had been picked up as well. Maybe she had caught him with the pre-weekend mess. She made her way back into the living room and sat on the couch, tapping her foot while she waited.

  Her inner wolf was still sitting up, paying attention. Interesting. Her wolf wasn’t usually interested in anything other than hunting and fighting. She was acting strangely, though. Sniffing the air and whining. Well, fantastic. The first time her bitch had ever been interested in a male and it had to be him. Great.

  Emily was pulled from her thoughts by a partially naked Seth. He had jeans slung low on his hips but nothing else on. He wandered into the room, oblivious to her sitting there while he rubbed a towel across his hair. She grinned, knowing full well he would freak when he realized she was perched on his couch. She had to admit to herself that he actually looked nice without a shirt. His chest wasn’t overly muscular but it was wide and covered in just a dusting of dark curls. His nipples were taut little nubs. She had a fleeting thought of licking them. Shit. She didn’t need a blast of hormones now.

  She clued him in to her presence with a quick clearing of her throat. A grin spread across her face as he j
umped and spun around. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with someone so clueless in a long time. It was almost fun scaring him.

  “What the hell?” His voice squeaked. “Did you just walk in here?”

  “Sure, the door was unlocked.” She couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled in her chest. He was sort of cute, in a helpless kind of way.

  “Well…don’t you know walking into someone else’s house is rude and potentially dangerous? What if I’d thought you were a burglar and had come out here with a gun?”

  “Seth, first off, you don’t own a gun. I’d smell it in the house. Secondly, you were in the shower and obviously didn’t hear me come in. And third, you couldn’t best me even if you tried. So I was, and am, perfectly safe.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then just shook his head. “Fine. Whatever. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready.”

  She watched him walk back down the hallway and almost slapped herself on the forehead when she found her eyes tracking his delectable ass. Her wolf yipped with glee. Well, shit. Maybe she just needed to scratch an itch this weekend while they were at the cabin. Obviously she’d been ignoring her needs or something. For her bitch to want someone so weak was disturbing.

  Chapter Two

  A few minutes and a little grumbling found them in Emily’s Jeep on their way to her father’s cabin. The silence that filled the space between them was thick with fear, confusion and stubbornness. She could smell the emotions rolling off Seth and she stomped down the giggle that rose in her throat. For a male he really was a sissy. Not in a whiny sort of way, but in that “you haven’t lived” kind of way. He had a handful of tissues clutched in his fist, which came in handy with the sneezing he did every few minutes. Between the snuffling and the constant slide of his glasses, she was ready to banish him to the backseat. She hadn’t met a more human shifter in all her years dealing with her father’s pack. At least he knew when to keep his trap shut and just sit back and be quiet. She didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to listen to him beg or whine about the weekend.