Scarlet - Alpha Marked, Book I by Celia Kyle Page B

Whitney, her
poor sister who’d gone through life wishing for a Mark only to have
the world play some cosmic joke. “We need to talk about Whitney,
too.” Scarlet took another bite of her steak, suppressing the urge
to groan at the taste. Her mates looked on edge already. “She
doesn’t have a Mark, but she was summoned to the Gathering. It’s
cruel. She worked through the disappointment and jealousy of Gabby
and I having Marks while she didn’t, and then she got that stupid
letter. She can’t mate a single wolf because they mate with other
wolves, but she’s not Marked for an Alpha pair either. And yet,
she’s here. And if those witches are somehow going to pair her with a pair,
those men better be God’s gift to wolves or I’ll shoot them
myself.” She frowned to make sure they knew she was
serious.
    “ Are you certain she
doesn’t have a Mark?” Keller’s voice was low, soothing yet
disbelieving.
    “ She’s been my sister for
thirty years and has spent all of them wishing she had a Mark like
me and Gabby. She never gave up looking, hoping she’d be a late
bloomer, even though they are on our skin from birth. We do
everything together. Except this.” She shuddered. “And I’ve seen
more of Whitney’s parts every year than I care to mention while she
double checks to see if she has one.”
    Keller and Madden shared a look, and
she sensed they were engaged in a mental conversation. She couldn’t
wait to share that with them, complete their mating and be able to
have those intimate, private talks.
    Madden turned back to her. “We don’t
use witches, we use Wardens. They’re wolves, but…not. We’ll talk
with them when they arrive tomorrow. She’ll need to be, uh,
examined—”
    “ By a female wolf.” That
was non-negotiable. She wasn’t about to let her sister be
manhandled by some stranger.
    Keller nodded. “Okay, a female
wolf.”
    She relaxed, letting go of the tension
she’d been carrying. “Good.”
    Madden reached across the table and
covered her hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re
mates, Scarlet. Probably not very good ones so far, but we want to
do everything we can to make you happy. That includes taking care
of your family. They belong to us, just as you do.”
    Some of the tension she’d been
carrying dissipated. She recognized the truth in his words and
relaxed. They could do this. Would do this.
    Keller mirrored his
partner’s position, tugging her fork free and twining their fingers
together. “And we’ll work on merging our lives. Merging, not taking over. Your
happiness is more important than anything. Ever.”
    Oh. Oh, wow. It was more than she’d
hoped for when she thought of mating and this…
    “ Okay.”
    “ Okay?” Hope sparkled in
Madden’s eyes.
    She took a deep breath. “Yeah,
okay.”
    “ Good.”
    “ What about my
cat?”
    Madden rolled his eyes. “We promise
not to eat the spawn of Satan.”
    She snorted but nodded.
“Good.”
    Keller gave her a wicked, wicked
smile. “Now, I vote we finish our conversation in bed.”
    Butterflies took up residence in her
stomach, but she allowed the men to lead her from the table,
dismissing their half-finished meals. In a handful of steps, they
were before the massive bed, and her mates urged her onto the soft
mattress.
    They settled on each side of her, both
wolves staring down at her as if she were the tastiest treat. Heat
unfurled in her belly, slinking along her nerves and warming her.
She squirmed, working to alleviate the sudden ache between her
thighs.
    Madden, the more aggressive of her
mates, leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. When
he pulled away, she followed him, raising and chasing that
mouth.
    A cocky chuckle was his only response.
“Not yet, sweet. We need to get you naked first.”
    A sliver of unease stole into
her.
    “ Hey, none of that.” Keller
nuzzled her. “I don’t know why you’re worried, but you are the most
beautiful.” Kiss.