Alpha’s Sun: An MC Werewolf Romance (Bad Boy Alphas Book 12)
Alpha’s Sun: Chapter 12

Titus

The heaviness of my lies to Alpha Green coat my mouth. I keep trying to tell myself it was for Sunny’s own good. To keep Alpha Green from worrying about her, or possibly asking me to get her mind wiped by a vampire.

Bullshit.

I don’t even need my wolf to snarl it at me. I know it myself.

It was total self-preservation.

I didn’t want to get kicked out of the pack over a female again, so I acted like a coward.

But it’s okay, if I can just get out of here, I’ll replace Sunny and we can talk about our future. If she agrees to let me be a part of her life, I can deal with Green then.

Even that doesn’t mollify my wolf or me. I have a current of uneasiness running through me at a mounting level.

To make it even worse, I can’t spot Sunny anywhere. I haven’t seen her for a couple hours now—not since we came inside, and she hasn’t answered my text asking where she is.

Of course, Green’s eye is on me the whole fucking time, so I haven’t been able to shirk my duties and go replace her, either.

At long last, I finish debriefing the pack council.

“Good work, everyone,” Alpha Green congratulates the room. We interviewed a few of the shifters and conferenced in the tech guru Jackson King and his wife Kylie, a shifter with amazing hacking abilities. They’re working on contacting the pack or family of each of the stolen shifters—those who want to go back. If the shifters prefer not to return to their homes, we’ll help them settle. In the meantime, the Phoenix pack will continue to host everyone.

I give a vague nod when Pierce, one of my council buddies, claps me on the shoulder. “Good work, Titus.”

“Yeah, thanks. I gotta get going, though. I’ll see you all later.”

I tried to get out of the meeting early a few times, but every time my Alpha would shoot me another question.

Sunny’s a big girl. She can handle herself. Or so I keep telling my wolf. But nothing feels right about this.

In the main hall, only half the new shifters remain, helping clean up dinner or perusing the tables in the back covered with donated clothes and toiletries. The rest of the new shifters have been picked up by pack members who offered places to stay in their homes.

Allison and Fiona are still here, sitting with the two strange shifters from Tucson. I pause at the end of their table

“Where’s Sunny?”

Allison frowns, exchanging a look with Fiona. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Yeah, she didn’t eat with us. Last I saw her was outside by her VW.”

“Thanks.” I head outside, an inexplicable sense of dread twisting in my gut.

“Sunny?” The low-slung sun slants into my eyes and I shade them, heading around the bus and SUVs, searching for the familiar silver flash. Amid the sea of smells, Sunny’s fruit and herb scent teases me. I stride to the end of the parking lot. Where did she go? Did she pull around to the front of the building for some reason?

My wolf snarls insults at me and I ignore him. Not now. I gotta replace Sunny. I need to get this shit figured out with her. Right away. Either we’re together, or we’re not. But I gotta know.

My wolf howls. Mine. Our mate.

I rub the back of my neck. I really gotta figure this situation out. I care for Sunny but I belong with my pack.

I blow out a breath and stare at the ground, my wolf tugging at my attention. It takes me a moment to understand what I’m seeing: a set of tire tracks curving through the dust.

Fuck. I guess this means we’re not going to be together.

She left me.

Again.

Sunny

Foxfire fills my mug with chamomile tea. Behind her, Tank takes up all the available space in the kitchen, leaning against the cabinets. His big form is so like Titus’, it hurts to look in his direction.

“So you just left?” my daughter asks softly. She’s calm but her colorful aura pulses with alarm. It’s not everyday I surprise her on her doorstep and burst into tears.

“Yes.” I wipe my eyes. “I didn’t want to stay where I wasn’t wanted. Given the choice between me and his pack, who is he going to choose?” I try to scoff. The bite on my shoulder throbs and I rub it with my palm. The pain radiates through my arm. “Do you have any arnica?” I tug on my collar.

Foxfire sucks in a breath, grabs my shirt and stares at the enormous hickey. “What the hell? Did Titus do this?”

“It’s all right, darling.” I push away her hand and cover the mark again. “Just a love bite.” A big one.

“That’s not a love bite. That’s a mating mark.”

I blink at her serious tone. “What?”

“Tank?” my daughter calls. Her man is already standing over me. “Let him see.”

With a sigh, I drop my hand. His gaze zeroes in on the mark.

“It’s nothing,” I insist.

“It’s not nothing. See?” Foxfire tugs away her own shirt and shows me a healed bite. “It’s a wolf thing. They do it when they want to claim you. If Titus did that it means you’re his mate.”

“But… I’m human.”

“Doesn’t matter. His wolf claimed you as his.”

“And then Titus renounced me. He called what we had ‘a fling’ and told his alpha it didn’t mean anything.” The words stab my heart all over again.

“Fuck,” Tank mutters, and stomps off. The act is so Titus, tears fill my eyes.

“It’s okay, Sunny.” Foxfire covers my hand. “I promise, it’ll be okay.”

Titus

She left. She fucking left.

I try to call her all the names I called my ex-wife. Bitch. Traitor. But my wolf doesn’t want to play. He was glad to be rid of my ex wife, who lied to us from the beginning. Sunny didn’t lie. She was true to herself, every day, and let me in knowing I might judge her.

I bring my phone to my ear before I realize it’s buzzing.

Junior the screen reads. I answer. “Tank? Everything all right?”

“Nope. Gotta situation.”

My heart falls to my boots. “Is it Foxfire? Did someone come for her?” Shit, I knew there’d be blowback. Didn’t realize it would be so soon.

“Not Foxfire. She and I are fine. It’s Sunny.”

The world spins. “Sunny? She… she’s there?”

“Yep. Turned up a half an hour ago, crying her eyes out. Apparently she heard you denounce her to Alpha Green.”

The pieces rearrange and snap into place. My mind spins. What did I say to Green? Oh fates, it was bad. Really bad. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Tank, I—”

“You marked her, Dad. I saw the bite.”

I can’t speak.

“Listen, you can’t put pack above your personal happiness. Pack isn’t everything. And Sunny—she’s not Mom. Not every female is like that.”

It hurts, hearing Tank bring up his mother. He never talks about her if he can help it. I’d rather take a bullet than make my son remember the female who abandoned him.

“I know.”

“Sunny isn’t like that. She’s loving and loyal.”

“She left,” I remind him. “Twice.”

“Foxfire left me. These Hines women will do that rather than face rejection.”

“I didn’t reject her.” The lie tastes like ashes in my mouth.

“You did. You brought her into your life, and threw her to the wolves. That’s not how you treat a mate. That’s not how you raised me.”

Ours. My wolf howls. Our mate.

I swallow the pain. “She left of her own accord.”

“Then get her back,” my son snarls. “Lay down your damn pride and protect your mate.”

Yes! My wolf agrees.

“—Sir,” Tank adds.

“You’re a good man, son.”

“I’m what you raised me to be.”

“Proud of you.”

“Dad…” Tank sighs. Whatever he says next is gonna be heavy. “I love you.”

I grip the phone tighter. Try to swallow. “I love you, too.” We don’t say these words aloud. But why not? Life’s too damn short to keep everything bottled up.

Tank and I clear our throats simultaneously. He speaks first. “Sunny’s here. We’ll keep her safe until you come. Just don’t take too long.”

We say our goodbyes and hang up.

Sunny. Fuck. I have to get her back. Now.

I stride back inside to get my keys and my vest.

“Titus?” Alpha Green calls from the corner. The rest of the council ranges around the room, eating leftover sandwiches. “Can you take the pack bus to the hotel down the road and get the rest of our guests settled?”

“No. I’m leaving.”

“What? Is this about the human?” Green’s eyes narrow. “Because she left. Pierce saw her take off as he was walking in.”

I stop at the door. “You knew she left and didn’t tell me?” I snarl at my alpha.

His nostrils flare. “I thought you were getting rid of her.” There’s warning in his voice, but I don’t give a shit.

“You had no right to send her away!” I’m outright yelling now. The rest of the council members’ mouths are hanging open. No one challenges Green this way.

“I didn’t send her away. Anyway, she’s a human. She doesn’t belong among shifters, and she knows that. Better than you it seems. Where are you going?”

I grab my vest off the chair and shrug it on. “To get her back.”

“Titus, you can’t be with her. I forbid it.”

“Fuck that.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think.

“Excuse me? What did you say—”

“I’m going after Sunny. She’s mine.”

“She’s human. You’re pack. She doesn’t belong.”

“She’s my mate.”

“You can’t bring a human in here. Not to my pack.”

“Then I’m out,” I bark.

“What?” Pierce gasps. The room full of shifters quiets. They’re all watching—Allison, Fiona, Declan, Laurie, and the rest. The entire council.

Goosebumps dance on my arm. My wolf holds his breath. He knows what I’m about to say can’t be rescinded.

“I’m out,” I repeat. “Out of the pack.”

Alpha Green is almost purple. He doesn’t take well to people standing up to him. “You leave here, Titus, you don’t come back.”

“Sounds good to me.” I turn on my heel and head for the door. Not smart to turn your back to an angry wolf—and Green is angry like I’ve never seen before—but I don’t give a fuck. None of the council can take me. I’m too big, too strong.

My rage carries me halfway across the parking lot. When I get to my bike, I slow.

Fuck. I left my pack. Fuck! It’s my past all over again. Kicked out because of a woman. But this time is different. Tank was just a little guy, and I had to protect him. Now he’s grown. My choices are my own. They affect no one but me.

And Sunny. My wolf reminds me.

Right. Sunny. Nothing matters except getting her back. For the first time in a long time, I’m seeing clearly.

I throw my leg over my bike and rev it into gear. With the sun sinking over my shoulder, I head to Tucson.

No more running. This ends tonight.