Alphas on the Prowl (20 page)

“Can I show you something?” she whispered. Maybe it was an exercise in futility, but she wanted one last chance. Maybe he
could
understand.

Or
, a cold voice in her head told her,
you could find out once and for all how hopeless this whole thing between you really is.

“Yes,” he said. “Show me anything.”

“Go sit down in the living room. Try to keep an open mind, okay?” Hailey wiped her face clean of tears and waited for Ryan to take a seat in one of the armchairs.

She shut the curtains across the bow window, taking one last glance out at the rain smearing the glass. Her heart thumped, making it hard to breathe.

Focus. She stripped off her clothes, laying them over the back of the sofa, and walked into the middle of the room.

Ryan’s eyes widened, and she thought perhaps he had an inkling of what she intended to do. Taking several deep breaths, she filled her lungs and cleared her head of all extraneous thought. Ryan’s scent filled the room, making it hard for her to focus on anything else, but she closed her eyes to block out the sight of him, and that made it easier.

Drawing deep inside, she called upon her feral self, opening the gate so her wolf could bound free.

The shift scorched across her, forcing her to her hands and knees, bowing her back, buckling her elbows. What would Ryan think of a big gray wolf in his grandmother’s living room? His response determined their future. For better or worse, it rested upon him now.

***

Ryan’s breath caught as a shimmering, silvery blur enveloped Hailey. Next came the green energy bolts. She was changing into something else, yet the primal dread he’d experienced when he’d watched the cat shifter morph on video didn’t flood his system.

My God. She was beautiful. The process filled him with a wistful exultation. Natural, unnatural it didn’t matter. This was Hailey.

The blur faded, revealing a huge wolf easily twice his size. Terror didn’t prickle his spine; instead wonder blossomed inside him. For a moment, he choked up at the majesty of Hailey as a wolf.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, and the wolf turned her head so he met her amber gaze straight on.
Hailey
. He saw Hailey in the wolf’s eyes. “I don’t know if you can understand me.”

The wolf gave one subdued wag of her tail. Of course she could understand him. Shifters could understand human language in either form.

How could he have ever thought he’d fear such a gorgeous creature?

His voice hoarse, he said, “I want you to know I am so sorry I denied your existence five years ago. I was scared we were too different. I don’t know what it’s like to be able to shift into a wolf, and the idea you could terrified me. You could go somewhere I couldn’t, and I thought you’d leave me behind. But love isn’t about doing everything together or being the same. It’s about celebrating each other’s differences and supporting each other. I didn’t know that back then, but I know it now.”

He wanted to touch her fur, but maybe she wouldn’t like it, so he forced himself to stay still.

“I need you to know I love Hailey the wolf as much as I love Hailey the woman. You’re the same soul, only you can express yours in two different forms. That’s something special, not something to fear.”

Hailey cocked her head, ears flattening back. Ryan struggled to recall what he knew of wolf language. Ears flat back meant acceptance, didn’t it? He hoped like hell it did.

“Hailey the wolf, you are welcome here. You don’t have to wait for an invitation, and you don’t have to be afraid I’ll be ashamed or resentful. You can be wolf or woman with me whenever you want because I will not stifle any part of you. You don’t have to shift only at work or in the privacy of your own room. You can roam every inch of this house, and if you want me to walk with you out in the world, I’ll be proud to be by your side. I’ve loved you for five years, and I want you to know that I want us to be forever.”

The wolf continued to stare at him. She wagged her tail slowly, and Ryan gulped back the tears strangling him. Slowly, he opened his arms and the wolf approached him, her ears back, then jumped so her front paws rested on his shoulders. Ryan buried his face in her ruff, marveling at how soft wolf fur was. He wrapped his arms around her and let his tears fall.

***

Hailey closed the gate, and her wolf retreated, leaving her in human form in Ryan’s arms. Where she belonged. She understood that now.

“I love you too,” she whispered, stroking Ryan’s hair. He shuddered within her embrace, and she tightened her arms around him.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t give you a chance five years ago,” he said. He drew back enough so they could look at each other. His eyes gleamed with tears. “I will spend my life making it up to you, I swear.”

“No.” Hailey shook her head. “I forgive you, Ryan. We can’t keep rehashing the past. It’s over. We’re moving on. Let’s concentrate on the now, okay?”

“Whatever you say.” He smiled and the love that poured from him warmed her, wolf-deep.

This man was hers to protect, as she’d known from the first time she’d seen him. Now he knew it too.

THE END

The Wolf Within Series

Twitter - @amyleeburgess

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Tasha Black

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1

J.D. MacGregor had been called to the principal’s office.

Although he was an adult - and a teacher at that - he still got that
now-I’ve-done-it
feeling as he jogged down the oak plank stairs of Tarker’s Hollow High School after being summoned.

“Hey, Mac,” smiled the secretary, as he entered the office. She was clearly eyeing him up.

Mac knew he was good-looking. He had a class full of eye-batting AP History juniors every year that made it hard to forget. But these days, both his libido and his sex appeal were kicked into overdrive.

“Hi, Liddy,” he replied with a grin.

She colored and went back to her computer screen. Which was a good thing. Mac was pretty sure she had grandkids at the high school.

He was about to take a seat on the cool wooden bench when the door to the principal’s office swung open.

“Mac, please come in.” Dr. Jane Tilly smiled politely, leading him through the heavy oak door, and pulling it firmly shut behind him when he had entered.

As she brushed past him, Mac tried not to notice the raw female heat pouring off the principal’s skin under her thin silk blouse.

Jane was one of those women who took such good care of herself that it was hard to tell how old she was. Fussiness in dress was a bit uncommon in wolves, but Mac wasn’t complaining. Frankly, his wolf liked the idea of messing her up, ruining the pretty shirt and mussing the perfect smoothness of her glossy black hair.

This heightened draw to the females in the pack was something he’d been fighting night and day since the alpha had awoken inside him.

But he was a teacher, and Jane his principal, and the two of them had been on friendly terms for more than a decade now. 

“Sit, sit,” she waved him to the chair across from her desk.

Mac sat, and waited for her to sit as well. But instead, she leaned back against the desk.

“I wanted to talk with you about your evaluation. It’s coming up in two weeks, and I’m sure you have concerns,” she said, then fixed him with her brown-eyed gaze, waiting for him to respond.

Was this about the new adjunct position he’d taken at the college? Her licentious gaze told him the positions she had in mind had nothing to do with work.

“I’m being pulled in a lot of directions, Jane.” He smiled gently, without leaning forward in his seat. No need to encourage her. “But I’m a professional. Neither of us have anything to worry about.”

Her hand went to the delicate spot on her throat where her pulse pounded.

It was  a harmless gesture, but it told Mac that the sexual threat level on their interaction had just been bumped up to orange.

His body responded without consulting him.

Instantly, he was rock hard. The air between them crackled.

Mac forced himself to breathe slowly.

Jane’s delicate tongue darted out to moisten her brilliant red lips and he had to clench his fists to stop himself from grabbing her.

“I’m only trying to say that, as the alpha—”

“Temporary alpha,” he corrected her.

“As the
temporary
alpha, you may be under some… strain.” She moved forward to stand between his feet. “I just want you to know that I’m here for you, Mac.”

The hot female scent pouring off her body had his wolf nearly intoxicated.

She leaned in.

At the last possible second, Mac slid out of the chair and moved behind it to buy himself a little space.

Her eyes flashed, and he suddenly felt like a lion tamer without a whip.

But Jane had scented him too, and she kicked the chair out of the way with one pink leather pump.

“I’m fine, Jane, there is no need to trouble yourself,” he murmured, using his words to call to her human side. She was his boss, and they were both professionals. He couldn’t let this happen.

But it was too late. He was literally backed into the corner.

Jane pulled off her gauzy red scarf and popped open the top button on her silk blouse.

Mac tried, unsuccessfully, not to gaze at the tops of her perfectly round breasts, which were offered up to him by one of those fancy lace bras.

His wolf begged to claim her.

Jane’s hands hit the wall on either side of his shoulders and she met his gaze for a moment.

Her eyes shone a deep gold. Her wolf was calling the shots now.

Before he could try to escape, she thrust her face into his neck, inhaling his scent deeply.

Every cell in his body responded. His blood raged, and his cock pressed painfully against his fly. The room was too small. The only thing right was Jane Tilly, but there were too many clothes between them.

He gave in with a growl and latched onto her ass to haul her against him. Through the tweed of her skirt, he could feel the submission of her soft flesh under his hands. It filled him with a ferocious desire.

Just then, both of their cell phones chirped in unison, momentarily breaking the spell.

Mac remembered himself and pulled his hands off Jane’s ass like it was on fire.

She darted in the direction of her desk, and seated herself demurely behind it, her cheeks burning.

“Thank you for stopping down, Mr. MacGregor. That will be all,” she dismissed him as she studied her cell phone determinedly. She hadn’t even swiped to see who had sent the message.

2

Mac burst through the double doors of Tarker’s Hollow High School and into the crisp January air. The breeze did its best to strip away the residual heat that still clung to him. He breathed deeply and pulled his phone from his pocket, grateful for the distraction.

Hello Mac,

I just found this on Pinterest! It’s a MYSTERY dinner party! Doesn’t it look like fun?

See you at the faculty tea.

Best,

Helen

Mac smiled.

Dr. Helen Thayer was a formidable woman. She had chaired the History Department at the local college for about twenty years. She was a notoriously tough grader. She published regularly and impressively.

But her sudden and unlikely obsession with Pinterest brought indulgent smiles to the rest of the faculty. Even Mac, a relative newcomer, and only an adjunct, was shocked the first time she sent him a link to a picture of Halloween cupcakes.

But by now he was used to it. He smiled and slipped the phone back into his pocket. With all of the turmoil in the Tarker’s Hollow pack, and in his own head, it was nice to get a message about something fun.

Things had been rough for the pack since their beloved alpha, Michael Connor, and his wife, Sylvia, had died in a tragic car accident. The intervening weeks had not been long enough to really process the loss. The pack was still trying to figure out how to deal with it.

And to make matters worse, the Connors’ only child refused to come home and choose another alpha for the pack, leaving Mac to fill in as the interim replacement until she came to her senses.

Mac had known Ainsley Connor since she was a teenager in his History class. She was diligent and good-hearted. At first he hadn’t believed that she wouldn’t come home. But when he’d talked to her after the funeral, she had seemed pretty determined.

Mac had the unsettling notion that the Tarker’s Hollow pack was in big trouble.

Being the pack’s beta was something Mac enjoyed immensely. He liked being privy to big decisions, and helping to organize pack business. And he especially liked hanging out with his friend, Michael Connor.

Being the stand-in alpha, on the other hand, was dreadful. Mac missed Michael terribly, of course. And then there was the fact that he was expected to make the big decisions and run the pack business himself.

Mac didn’t much relish telling others what to do, unless they were high school students. And the confrontations with the other wolves were endless. Mac would try to have a thoughtful conversation, but then the alpha in him - an unwelcome and untouchable presence - would rise to the surface and put the offending wolf in his or her place.

It was very effective at getting someone to do what you wanted. But it was pretty crummy on friendships. Mac didn’t remember Michael Connor having any trouble keeping his cool. But of course Michael had practically been born to be alpha.

Amplifying everything, though, was the undercurrent of carnal angst.

Mac was used to fending off schoolgirl crushes. High school girls were easy enough to discourage.

But now that he was acting alpha, it was as though the entire Tarker’s Hollow pack were his third block American History class. Women seemed to pop up around every corner to bat their eyelashes and bite their lower lips at him.

Worse yet, his own libido had kicked into overdrive. It was as if his alpha were trying to get him to fuck his way into a permanent state of leadership.

Problem was, if he mated with the wrong female, it just might happen. The longer they waited for Ainsley Connor to get off her high horse and come home, the more the alpha in him tugged at Mac’s leash. Urging him toward the ever-more-willing females of the pack.

But to MacGregor, the idea of being stuck in his unpleasant alpha mode was unimaginable. Besides which, if the pack hated him… well, everyone knew what happened when the pack hated the alpha. Soon there would be no more alpha. And the Federation might even break up the pack.

So, his normally quiet life had become both exciting and miserable. 

As he slipped the phone back in his pocket, Adelaide Early and Lia Crow rounded the corner, crashing into him.

Time slowed to a crawl as he and the two former students collided.

He smelled the grape Hubba-Bubba in Lia’s mouth.

Adelaide’s smooth blonde hair caressed his arm a second before her breast pressed against his bicep - so warm and firm it left an indelible tattoo of desire behind.

Lia caught herself, wrapping her fingers around his other arm.

For a golden instant he could hear both their heartbeats, feel their young bodies warming at his proximity.

Adelaide’s eyes were all cornflower blue confusion.

But the more experienced Lia formed her mouth into a tiny “o” and gazed at him with lowered lashes, like an old-fashioned movie star.

And just like that, his alpha reacted again.

Blood pounded through his veins in a throbbing rush. His jaw tightened. Every cell of him was ready. He would devour them both, fuck them in every orifice they had and leave them begging for more.

A soft touch on the side of his cheek drew his attention to Adelaide.

She was blushing furiously, but stroking the stubble on his cheek with an expression of need and wonder.

Oh god, no. No, no, no.

With a herculean effort, Mac pushed them gently away.

“Sorry, Mr. MacGregor,” Adelaide said, embarrassed.

“Are you okay? Can we walk you home?” Lia asked in her slow, velvety voice.

“I’m fine. Have a nice day, girls,” Mac muttered, without looking up. He sidestepped them and walked as fast as his protesting body would allow.

For god’s sake, they were home for spring break from college. They were still practically children. Adelaide was the ultimate good girl. And even self-declared tough girl, Lia Crow wasn’t ready for what Mac’s alpha wanted to dole out.