The first breath of consciousness I have is beyond comfortable.
So comfortable, in fact, that at first I believe I am floating on a cloud of softness that I never want to escape.
Instead, I’m lying on a bed that’s damn well close enough to it, with sheets wrapped around me so soft and silky, they might as well have been tendrils of the sweetest dreams.
I don’t remember my bed being this nice.
I sit up abruptly, but a pain stabs the upper right half of my head, forcing me back to the pillow.
I’m hungover. I don’t remember much of last night. Only those violet eyes. What did I manage to get myself into?
Groaning, I force my wary lids open, glad the curtains around me are drawn. It’s light enough outside for me to see the room I’m occupying.
I’ve never seen it in my life. Lifting the sheets, I glance under.
I’m not naked, just stripped to my underwear and bra.
“Thank the Moon Goddess.” I mutter, tilting my throbbing head at the ceiling.
I slip out of bed. The air around me is thick and unfamiliar. The room I’m in is decorated so sparsely I’m secondhand offended.
Who would neglect such a large room with this much potential? Then I remember my home, and shake my head at how much of a hypocrite I am.
I pull back curtains, revealing to me the outside world. I nearly faint at the sight of it. Trees. Then some more trees.
And just when you think another mile of trees is just unrealistic, another presents itself.
It’s so strange, so foreign I want to bundle myself up in those luscious sheets and cry.
A complete change of climate has my head spinning, confusion choking in my throat. How did I get here?
I may do some strange things when I drink, but these feet wouldn’t carry me across the entire country in one night.
I have to get out of here. Stumbling back, I rip the top sheet of the bed off, and throw it over my shoulder.
Instantly, it sticks to my skin with the heat, like a piece of paper.
The outside of the room is just as strange as the inside, only confirming I’ve never been here before.
I find my way to a flight of steps leading down. As I attempt to find my way to where someone may be, I peek around corners and into rooms.
All are completely abandoned. Nothing about this place hints to who owns it.
At the bottom of the steps, a solid door remains closed. My hands tremble as I reach for the knob.
A heavy creaking sound fills the corridor as the door opens in front of me.
At first glance into the room, I think I am alone.
Then, to my horror, I see that someone is standing near the cast iron stove.
His bare, smooth back faces me. His muscles are hardened by movement as he lifts the pan off the flame.
He doesn’t hear me slip into the room. Grayson.
Pulling the sheet closer, I pad into the kitchen, slipping onto a stool without him hearing.
Why am I here? Did we… No, I don’t want to think about it.
I watch him curiously, as he hums an unknown tune. The pan sizzles on the stove. I hate to admit that he is handsome.
Although Alphas aren’t to my taste, his body is impeccable. I try to push away the image of running my fingernails down his back.
I cough lightly. With spatula in hand, he turns around.
“Good morning, Lexia.” I nod toward the spatula in his hand, noticing the grease on it.
“What are you cooking?” Why I decided not to acknowledge the obvious elephant in the room, I don’t know.
Maybe it’s because I wanted to keep the conversation light, and not as awkward as it should be.
“Bacon, I hope you’re not vegetarian,” he says, as if it’s an option.
I force a smile onto my face. I watch him fill a glass to the brim with water, and slide it across the bench to me.
Every movement he makes is subtle, yet deliberate.
Thanking him, I put the glass to my lips, tasting the lukewarm water. He pauses and stares down at me with those mercury eyes.
“Did we sleep together last night?” I ask, cutting to the chase.
Grayson flinches at my words, obviously not expecting them.
The only memory I can gather from last night is him, so that’s the only conclusion I can come to. As well as the fact that I woke up in his Pack.
“No, we didn’t sleep together,” he says carefully.
“I don’t have any interest in being with someone while they are knocked unconscious,” Grayson muses.
There is a moment of silence as he puts the bacon onto a plate and hands it to me.
“When I do have you in my bed, you’re going to be very willing. In fact, you’ll be begging,” he says with a laugh.
I nearly choke on the not-quite-chewed bacon in my mouth. The way he sounds so casual and sure of himself irritates me.
“I… I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”
“Are you sure? Because I am, and I know for a fact that your little boyfriend would never compare to me in bed,” he says, bracing his muscular arms.
I avert my gaze and look down at my plate. Here we go with my sex life again.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” He raises an eyebrow as if he doesn’t believe me, and wills me to stop lying to him.
I’m not lying. Adrian is not my boyfriend.
“So, he wasn’t the one who got you drunk off your face last night?”
Suddenly, things flood into my vision like a tsunami, leaving my mind completely overwhelmed with what happened last night. Jasper. Noah. Grayson…
“Someone spiked my drink,” I say, making Grayson narrow his eyes speculatively.
I remember him not believing me when I told him about Jasper, but I also remember Jasper reading my mind.
I declared him to be a Phantom Wolf.
If he is, then maybe that’s why Grayson couldn’t see him. My thoughts are spinning and making me feel nauseous.
“Who?” Grayson demands. I can’t tell him. He won’t believe me.
“I don’t remember. Look, can you at least tell me why you dragged me all the way back to your Pack?” He swallows, suddenly looking slightly guilty.
He quickly masks it. He seems to be good at that.
“I want you to rethink declining my offer.” So, that’s what he wanted.
He tried to persuade me when I was unconscious, thinking that bringing me back to his Pack would seal the deal.
“I told you, I’m not interested,” I mutter, pushing my plate away.
Grayson watches me carefully as I stand, the bench being the only barrier between us.
“Why? This is what you want, isn’t it? To be a leader? What’s better than being an equal to an Alpha?”
His words bite at the emotional wall I’ve put up to protect myself.
I sigh, running a hand irritably through my hair. It’s so tempting. So damn unrealistic, yet plausible enough that I might as well reach out and grab it.
“I can’t abandon the people back in my Pack,” I tell him firmly.
“I’ve sent four capable men to deal with that situation.” My mouth falls open. He what?
“I’m sorry, why didn’t you just hire those four men to do this job?” I question.
He goes silent at this. He places his hand slowly down on the bench between us.
His fingertips brush against the surface as he comes a little closer. Instantly, my pulse quickens.
“Because, there’s something about you that I really like and I need. I’ve seen how you lead, and my Pack needs you, Lexia,” he says.
The way my name glides off his tongue with such exotic smoothness has me stunned.
He doesn’t stop his floating-like steps until he is right in front of me. I can smell the fresh spice coming off him.
“At least see the Pack first. At least get a feel for the people you may lead before you go back,” he murmurs.
I’m not sure what compelled me to do it.
