Free The Alpha's Hunger by Renee Rose

to us. What was that animal at the meeting place?”
    “I don’t know—it came after me, too. It chased me into my car and I drove off without seeing where it went.”
    A silence followed. Then, “Who have you talked to?”
    “No one! Not a soul. I still have the laptop and I want my sister.”
    “Be prepared to meet. We’ll call you with the location.”
    “Wait—when? What time?”
    “Tomorrow night.”
    The line clicked off.
    She looked up at him and exhaled. “Well, it sounds like she’s still alive.”
    Maybe. He wasn’t too sure. The fact that they hadn’t brought her sister out of the car made him think they had no intention of letting either woman walk away.
    She plugged her phone into the car charger. He was grateful she had one that worked on both their phones. “Do you think I should call my parents? I mean… they should know they might never see their daughter again.”
    “No,” he said, lacing his voice with authority. “That would only endanger your sister.”
    He half-expected resistance, but she just nodded. “Ben?”
    He liked that she used his first name, even though it was impertinent. “Yeah?” He braced himself for another heavy question.
    “I’m hungry.”
    His initial relief at this easy-to-solve problem was overshadowed by guilt. He should have known she was starving. What kind of provider was he that he let his mate go hungry?
    But no, she wasn’t his mate, nor could she be. He needed to stop thinking of her that way.
    “Are you okay with fast food?”
    “I’d be okay with dog food at this point,” she muttered.
    He saw a sign for a cluster of fast-food restaurants and he took the exit and went into the drive-thru. With her blouse ripped and covered in blood, he couldn’t very well bring her in anywhere.
    He ordered their food and paid for it, handing her the bag and getting back on the highway.
    She unwrapped her sandwich and took a huge bite. “Do you want me to open something for you?” she asked with her mouth full.
    Despite all the tension between them, he couldn’t help but find her cute. He experienced a flash of longing. This is what it would be like if Ashley was his girlfriend. Talking with their mouths full, laughing, comfortable with each other. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed with anyone. Definitely not since Leon and his father’s death. Not since he’d betrayed his family and left them to die.
     
    * * *
     
    Ashley stuffed herself, eating too fast. She leaned back against the seat, suddenly exhausted. “Where are we going?”
    “First to my sister-in-law’s, then to see a guy who might be able to help.”
    “Like those guys back there?”
    He gave her a dark look. “I made a mistake,” he said. “I shouldn’t have left you with them. I’m sorry.”
    For some reason, his apology hit her with a pang. She hadn’t expected any concessions from him, and it was easier to steel herself against his dark allure when he was being a jerk. Still, she’d known he was sorry. He wouldn’t have attacked that other guy if not. And while the display of violence had been somewhat nauseating, it also left her feeling more than vindicated.
    “Listen, Ashley… I should have warned you before we went in. Never get mouthy or disrespectful with a wolf. It’s taken as a challenge to the power structure, and swift, physical retaliation will always follow to re-establish order.”
    “Is that why you spank me?”
    “Yes.”
    “You enjoy it, don’t you?”
    His eyes slid sideways, the corners of his mouth turning up. “I might enjoy some of it, yeah.”
    She flushed, two parts angry and one part something else. Something slithery and fluttery that moved in her belly. “Heathen,” she muttered, moving her attention out the window.
    “Ashley,” he said, looking serious. “I mean it—don’t offend anyone else. I know Brian asked for it, but this is important. If one of them had left a serious mark on you, I might have killed him. And then