Page 1 of Alpha Wolf’s Arranged Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #1)

“Hey, James!”

I turn quickly towards the voice, responding to the alias as if it were my real name.

It almost feels like it is. I’ve been answering it for over a year.

“Hey, Genevieve,” I say. “What’s up?”

She hurries over to me, crossing the grassy field between the cookout area and picnic tables. All the younger pack members have gathered for a party in the hills to celebrate Gen’s birthday—and just generally get up to no good out of view of the elders.

“Have you seen Scarlett?”

My heart twists in my chest a little, but I don’t let it show. I take a quick sip of beer as I shake my head.

“Not yet, sorry.”

“Okay, cool. I just thought you would know.”

“Why would I?” I ask, feeling a little anxious.

“Oh, come on,” Gen laughs. “We all know you guys are seeing each other.”

“Is it obvious?” I mutter.

“No,” she answers, shaking her head. “It’s just a strong suspicion at this point.”

“That’s good, because we really haven’t—”

“If you say so, tough guy,” she laughs again. “Let’s just say, if it hasn’t happened yet, we all know that it will. You should hear the things she’s been saying about you.”

“Like what?” I exclaim, almost jumping off my feet. “What did she say?”

“And there it is,” Gen laughs. “Your reaction tells me everything I need to know.”

Fuck! I just screwed up like a goddamn rookie!

I try to backpedal. “Well, I have a right to be concerned if someone is saying things about me, no matter who it is.”

“Sure,” Gen giggles. “Just let me know when she gets here because I want to cut the cake, and then Brian’s going to get out his guitar to play for us soon.”

“No problem,” I answer, relieved to see her walking away.

Where is Scarlett?

The party started just before sunset, and night has fully fallen now. The sky is perfect—deep black, lit by tiny stars glittering like crystal. The wind is light and warm, promising good weather right up until dawn.

And most of us will probably still be partying then, too.

I finish my beer and look around anxiously, wondering where Scarlett is. The right thing to do would be to join a group of guys chatting or tossing a ball around, putting as much distance between me and Scarlett as possible.

But I can’t do it. Tonight might be the last night I ever see her.

All the more reason to stay away from her!

I have lived with the Eccles pack—the long-time enemies of my own pack, Rose Hollow—as an undercover agent. Sent here to gather information and discover what kind of threat they may be to us, I never expected to break the number-one rule of infiltration.

Never get involved with your subject.

Instead of joining the crowd like I know I should, I pace the edges of the clearing, searching for Scarlett. I’m leaving tonight—I have absolutely no choice—and even though it goes against every single rule in the book, I have to see her before I leave.

This is stupid. Stupid, crazy, AND reckless.

I don’t fucking care.

When I first came into the pack, my objectives were clear.

I had to infiltrate the elders or members close to them and try to understand the power the Eccles pack had at its disposal.

Over the last few years, they made moves against nearby territories that suggested they were testing out boundaries to attack.

There have been strange stories involving the weapons they used and the uncanny knowledge the warriors seemed to possess.

Throughout history, they’d had a grudge against Rose Hollow and had proven to be a serious threat more than once. There were too many questions that had no answers, and that’s exactly why I had been sent in by my agency.

Wolf’s Shadow is a secret organization that exists to monitor all interactions between the magical community and the human world. The base is in Las Vegas, but there are offices all over the world. We have secret agents in almost every pack, and any agent undercover is called a Shadow.

We protect both the humans and the magical community. The panic and eventual war between both sides would be devastating if we were discovered, and it’s not something any of us wants to see.

There are some human liaisons—a necessary evil.

Most of those are, in fact, half-breeds—creatures not entirely welcome in either world.

Not all agents are military-trained special forces like me, either.

There are doctors, office workers, garbage collectors—you name it, Wolf’s Shadow has a claw in it.

That being said, my mission in Eccles has been seen as the most dangerous undertaken so far.

It’s not uncommon at all to spy on packs to ascertain their strengths and the risks they may pose, but the main reasons we never infiltrated Eccles before are the bizarre disappearances and reports of powerful, extremely deadly weapons.

And I’ve found nothing! I have no answers!

It’s like a great cosmic joke that I’ve gone to this much trouble, lost over a year of my life—and compromised my own heart—and I don’t even have a successful mission to show for it.

I broke into the circle of friends directly related to the elders fairly easily.

Even though I’m thirty-five, I easily passed for ten years younger, and they accepted me without difficulty.

My forged documents proved that I was a distant cousin of Elder Jarvis, right-hand to the alpha, Azarian.

Elder Jarvis and his family didn’t question me.

My “mother” fled the pack many years ago, I told Azarian, and I came here hoping to find out what she had been running from.

However, the pack was not forthcoming when I questioned them about her.

The family simply told me she was unstable, and even though they appreciated my need to connect with my past, they really had no answers for me.

Convenient.

As the months passed, I attempted to use my connections through the children of the elders to get to the main council itself.

Even as the young people let their guard down, the elders never did.

I was even permitted to attend a couple of meetings, but they were boring as hell—discussions about agriculture, new buildings, and makers’ guilds.

There was one connection I made that proved useful. Even though I didn’t get direct information about what I sought, I did learn a lot about pack structure from one person in particular.

Scarlett.

Her uncle, Azarian, is the pack alpha. As I got closer to her, I kept telling myself it was all for the mission. That I needed her for information, and nothing more.

I pause by the entranceway to the park, where the dirt road tracks back towards the parking lot. Looking over to the left, I see my friends laughing and joking around the barbecue, and my chest actually hurts.

They are my friends. That’s not a lie. I care about them, and they care about me, too.

I turn my face away, looking down the driveway again.

I should just go, right now.

Last night, on a secret channel, the oldest member of my squad—Malcolm—contacted me and told me to extract.

He didn’t tell me the details, just that they suspected a leak and they needed to pull me out immediately.

Like a good soldier, I didn’t ask questions, even though, as squad leader, I could have demanded to speak to the higher-ups for clarification.

I trust Malcolm, though. I’ve always appreciated his experience in the field. Even if he didn’t have what it takes to lead, he’s an excellent Shadow.

Sighing, I turn my back on the party and start walking down the driveway. I’m sure my sudden departure from the pack will pass without much notice. If my supposed mother was a flake, it won’t come as a surprise that I am, too.

Only one person will really care.

Chill out, egomaniac. What if she actually doesn’t give a fuck?

That idea makes a nervous sweat break out across my brow. It’s ridiculous, because it would be so much better for Scarlett—and me—if she felt nothing. But the idea still hurts.

As I’m resigning myself to living the rest of my life never seeing her again, I see a flicker of light just ahead of me. I wish desperately for it to be her, while wishing at the exact same time that it isn’t, so I won’t have to face a painful goodbye.

Not that I can even say those words to her… I have to vanish, just like a Shadow should.

I tilt my head, catching the wind, and Scarlett’s sweet scent rushes over me. My heart pounds as my wolf twists inside me, begging to be free.

She smells like spun sugar and raspberry candy… ready to melt on my tongue.

My mouth starts to water, and I swallow hard to get myself back under control.

“James?” Scarlett’s sweet voice wafts through the air. “Is that you?”

I consider slipping into the woods and using my Shadow skills to vanish, just like I know I should, but I can’t do it. I take a deep breath, but it’s more like a sigh of defeat.

“Yes, Scarlett,” I answer. “It’s me.”

I hear her feet crunching across the dried leaves on the path as she speeds up. She appears at the corner of the path, a massive smile brightening her face when she sees me.

When I first got here, she didn’t smile much at all. Now she smiles all the time.

I try to force that thought away and smile back, but I’m so struck by her beauty, I can barely breathe.

She’s such a tiny thing—short and petite, but with an incredible hourglass shape.

She seems delicate and withdrawn until you get to know her.

Then she shows the fiery temper redheads are renowned for.

“James!” she calls again, jogging towards me. She’s wearing a long, wraparound red dress that hugs her tiny waist, drapes over her generous hips, and falls in thick waves against her calves, swishing as she runs.

“Hi,” I answer, trying to sound perfectly chill while sweat beads on my brow and my heart throbs painfully against my chest.

I am anything but chill right now.

“How’s the party?” she asks.

“Good. Gen was looking for you.”

“Anything important?”

“Cake-cutting, I think.”

“Ah, well. That is pretty important.”

We both chuckle at the joke, and I look into her eyes, realizing I have absolutely nothing to say to her.

The words I want to say have escaped my heart and crowded into my throat, and now, I can’t say anything else.

“James, are you okay?” she asks, taking my hand. “You look really serious all of a sudden.”

“Scarlett,” I mutter, so full of emotion, I’m almost ready to spill all my secrets. “I just—I have to tell you—”

“Tell me what?” she asks, grinning. When she smiles, her beautiful green eyes light up, glittering from within like emeralds under white light. Even in the dark, I can see it, and it enchants me every time.

Scarlett squeezes my hand and takes another step forward, close enough that I can feel her body heat. With her head turned up to me, her lips are inches from mine.

I can’t do this!

I’m not strong enough to stop myself!

I lean down and press my lips to hers very softly. Her hand grips mine, but she doesn’t reach out to me, so I keep the kiss gentle, sinking into the amazing feeling of finally touching her.

Then I feel her other hand running up my arm, and suddenly, she’s pulling me closer, kissing me harder. With a groan of absolute submission, I wrap my arms around her waist and yank her body against mine, making her cry out and squirm against me.

“James,” she whispers breathlessly. “I’ve waited so long for this!”

That’s not my name!

“Me too,” I answer, running my hands over her body and exploring her gorgeous, plump curves. “I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”

“I know,” she whispers against my lips, giggling. “Your eyes almost popped right out of your head.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Uh-huh. The whole group has started to get frustrated as hell over the last week, watching us do our little back-and-forth dance, wondering when we’ll finally make it official.”

I almost groan with dismay. I’ve mismanaged this mission so badly—I didn’t even realize I’d been spending so much time with her. Suddenly, her excuses to hang out with me every afternoon take on a new light.

“Oh,” I say, truly surprised.

“Ah-ha! You finally got it. I’ve been practically throwing myself in your lap the last week, wondering when you were going to make a move.”

“Why didn’t you make a move?”

“I was about to—truly. But there’s something about you, James. Something kind of intimidating. Like you have a secret.”

Jesus fucking Christ, no.

“I’m just me,” I answer, laughing a little. “Coming to discover my heritage. I have felt out of place here, though.”

“Now you’ve found it,” she says, squeezing me and wriggling against me so I can feel the heat of her body and smell her arousal. “ This is your place, right here.”

I kiss her again, pain ripping my chest in two. I know I’m a complete asshole for what I’m about to do, but I can’t stop myself. The idea that I’ll never see her again makes me desperate. I press my mouth to hers as if I’m drowning and only she can keep me alive.

When Scarlett pulls back, her cheeks are bright pink from excitement, and her lips are flushed with red from tangling with mine. Chest heaving, she gulps, trying to get herself back under control.

“My place?” she gasps.

I nod, not giving myself time to think. “Your place. Let’s go.”

***

Hours later, I wake before dawn. The sky is at its darkest, and this is the perfect time for Shadows to move and go completely unseen.

Gently, I let go of Scarlett, my chest aching with regret as I slip out of her bed and fold the covers back over her. She murmurs softly, smiling in her sleep, and I step back quickly, knowing that if I pause for too long, I’ll never leave.

And then what? I’ll be discovered, for sure. We’d be in danger here. I couldn’t go back to my pack or the agency. I’d be a rogue Shadow!

I let my eyes linger on her for another few minutes, imprinting her loveliness into my memory so it will never fade. I know I shouldn’t have made love to her when I can’t stay. But my wolf would not be denied, and neither would she.

I hope I have given you enough to satisfy your body and your heart. You’ll love again and forget me. Just a brief fling with a strange drifter, and nothing more.

I leave the house without a sound and shift as I move into the woods, loping into the low hills that surround Eccles. I leave no trace—no pawprints, no sent, no trail. I am a Shadow, stealthy in the night, returning to the darkness from which I came.