You should be free to make your choices, he told me. Yeah, right. He may believe that in theory, but the minute Carlos finds out I'm carrying his pup, I'll be lucky if he doesn't drag me back to the dungeon cell himself. He won't be able to help himself. Just like he couldn't keep from marking me. Alpha wolves are dominant wolves. Possessive. Controlling. Even domineering.
"He has no claim on me," I mutter, as I toss shirts and changes of panties into my bag. A dress, a pair of boots. My lips tingle at the memory of his kiss, and I wipe the ghost of his touch away. "I was just a convenient piece of ass. I am not his mate." Ignoring my wolf's protest, I stuff another pair of jeans into the suitcase and zip it up. I have no clue what to pack for Europe, but I'm guessing they have places that sell clothes. If I need something, I can buy it. That's if my dad doesn't shut down my credit card to force me home.
Thank the fates I'd gone to the trouble of getting a passport to go to San Carlos.
My phone dings when the Uber arrives. I wave the driver off when he tries to help me throw my suitcase in the trunk and do it myself, then jump in the back of his car, twisting around to scan the area around us. No one is around, but the back of my neck prickles like I'm being watched.
I check in at the airport, buy a bottle of water and tell my racing heart to calm down. There's no way he knows I'm here. But telling myself that doesn't help. I can still feel him, as if he's just touched me and stepped away. I barely slept last night and when I did, my dreams were all of Carlos. My skin is itchy with the need to shift, as if I might be under attack at any moment.
But that's silly. Carlos wouldn't attack me. He said he just wanted to talk. Go on a date, like a normal couple.
What would it be like to date Carlos? The thought of sitting across from him at a candlelit table appeals more than I'd care to admit. If only we'd met under different circumstances. I indulge in a silly fantasy-Carlos is visiting the States, maybe setting up trade for his pack. We meet by chance-pass each other in a hallway, or he comes to my art show. No, he's ahead of me in line at Starbucks. He scents me, recognizes what I am and turns, his dark eyes glimmering with interest.
We flirt. He asks me to dinner. I'm charmed by him, attracted to his good looks, enthralled with his intelligence and accomplishments. He tells me about Monte Lobo.
Ugh. Or not. A happier topic, then. He tells me funny stories from his college days. Woos me into bed with him. My first time is jittery and exciting. He makes it ultra-romantic, pouring fresh wine into glasses. He's gentle and sensitive.
Hmm. Or not. Somehow this fantasy falls totally flat. I guess I prefer the wild roughness of the way he took me in Monte Lobo.
Did you just want to make me chase you?
A new fantasy floats into my mind. We're in the woods, but in human form. I'm running, he's giving chase. He tackles me to the ground, pins my wrists over my head as he shoves into me. I throw my head back, cry out at the mixture of pain and pleasure. He claims what he desires, so impassioned, he's unable to stop himself. I moan and writhe beneath him, resisting, but only because I love feeling his strength, having him hold me down and force me…
I squeeze my thighs to alleviate the pulse of heat starting there. Twitch them together when that doesn't work.
Damn.
I'll feel better once there's an ocean between us. I'll have some space and time to consider my options, decide how to proceed. Maybe when I get home, I'll allow Carlos to court me, as he suggested.
Except then what? Am I going to get serious with the male from a pack that bought me? That considers me a prize for their alpha? How would a relationship look? Would I move to Monte Lobo?
Never!
And I couldn't ask an alpha wolf to abandon his pack for me.
No, the best thing is to keep this pregnancy a secret and never have contact with Carlos again. Maybe when our pup reaches adulthood, I'll tell him or her the truth about how he or she was conceived.
But I have eighteen years to figure that part out.
For now, my decision is made. No more Carlos.
I may be marked, but it doesn't mean I can't find happiness with another wolf. One who will defend me and my pup against Carlos and his pack.
Why does that thought bring on a nasty wave of nausea?
Okay, maybe I won't find another wolf. I'll marry my art, find happiness that way.
Promise me.
I rub my chest as if I can will the ache away. It probably won't always hurt this bad. Will it?
~.~
Carlos
I buy a University of Arizona t-shirt and ball cap and aftershave at the airport sundry shop. I step into the men's room and slather the aftershave over my face, neck and hands to mask my scent. I change out of my button-down, wrinkled from the long night I spent dozing in my rental car outside Sedona's building. I purposely bought the red t-shirt in a size too large, so I won't call attention to my muscled shifter physique. Not that I think women will throw themselves at me, but I'd rather blend in as the average American today. Or average Mexican-American, of which there are plenty in Tucson. If I concentrate, I can even speak without any accent.