Rogue Alpha: Wolf Shifter Romance (Wild Lake Wolves Book 1) by Kimber White Page A

of
heat straight down my spine and settled between my legs. Good God. I needed to
quit thinking with my libido where he was concerned. I wanted answers. Now. I
turned on my heel and sat down on one of cane chairs. I gestured to the other
with my chin. “Talk.”
    Mal narrowed his eyes at me and let out a chuff that
sounded pure wolf. He didn’t sit. Instead, he paced. I wanted to stay mad at
him. I found it difficult to concentrate as he walked in front of me shirtless.
    “The pack. They’re like you?” I asked.
    Mal stopped mid-stride and turned toward me. “They’re
were. Yes.”
    “Are they your pack?”
    Mal’s eyes flashed. “No. I don’t have a pack. Not
anymore.”
    I sensed pain in his voice as he said it. It cut
through me, leaving a hollow space. I wanted to go to him and ease it. But, Mal
wasn’t finished.
    “The pack I came from lives up north. The Wild Lake
lands at the tip of the lower peninsula, spreading through the upper peninsula
and into Canada.”
    “Why aren’t they here with you?”
    Mal stood in front of the fireplace, resting his
elbow on the stone mantle. He rubbed his chin between his fingers. “I’ve been
exiled.”
    He said it with a finality that tore at my heart.
Exile. Mal was part wolf. I knew what that had to mean for someone like him. He
was all alone when he should be part of a pack. Again, I wanted to go to him
but knew on instinct he needed space if he was going to get through this.
    “The large red wolf,” he continued. “The one who
called to the others back at your camp. His name is Asher. He’s their Alpha. He
started a war with the Wild Lake packs long ago. Now he’s back trying to finish
it. He wants to take over the lands we have in Michigan. He wants revenge for
things he thinks we took from him. He won’t stop until he’s killed every last
one of us.”
    Asher. The red wolf. Just as recognition slammed
into my brain when I saw Mal as the wolf, I realized I knew Asher too. He’d
been the man I saw arguing with Flood the other day. My head spun as I tried to
sort out what it all meant. I shook my head and looked back at Mal.
    “Then why are you the only one who’s fighting him? I
counted five of them including that big one. How many others are there in Wild
Lake? Whether you’re exiled or not, you just said Asher’s after the other
wolves from Wild Lake. Why aren’t they down here fighting by your side?”
    Mal pressed his fist against the mantle. “I told you.
I’m in exile. Asher is mine to bring down. The rest of his pack . . . they
belong at Wild Lake too. It’s my job to free them from Asher and bring them
back home. If they’ll follow me.”
    “If they’ll . . . uh . . . last I saw, they were
trying to rip my face off. Yours too. What makes you think they want to go?”
    “Asher’s their Alpha. They do what he commands. If
given the chance to decide for themselves, I believe they’ll come with me. It’s
Asher who wants me dead along with anyone who’s close to me.”
    A lump settled in my throat as his words sank in.
    “I’m sorry,” Mal turned toward me, pain filling his
eyes. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. And now you know why you have to go. I’ve
made a mistake where you’re concerned. As long as you’re here, you’re a way for
Asher to get to me. If he finds you, he’ll use you against me. He’ll have no
qualms about hurting you either. Badly. You don’t belong in the middle of this
fight.”
    But, I wasn’t the only one in the middle of it.
Everything had happened so fast. Seemed so incredible at the time. But, Flood,
Cam, they weren’t afraid of the gray wolves. Flood had some kind of
relationship with Asher.
    “What’s Flood’s part in this? He knows Asher’s pack,
doesn’t he? He’s connected to them somehow.”
    Mal clenched his jaw. “Yes. He must be a friend of
the pack. I suspected it the first time I laid eyes on him. I could smell Asher on him. It means they were in the same room together not