Her Forbidden Alpha (17 page)
Read Her Forbidden Alpha Online
Authors: Tabitha Conall
Tags: #Paranormal Romance, #Romance, #Love Story, #Shifters, #Werewolf, #Werewolves
“Yes,” Aislinn said.
“If things change, if you’re unhappy, you can always come back,” Gideon said.
“No, she can’t,” the General said. “If she leaves on this plane she’s cut off forever, no longer my daughter.”
Aislinn didn’t even look at her father, instead focusing on Gideon. “He won’t ever treat me badly. But if he does, there’s a whole world out there where I can go.”
Mom sucked in a shaky breath. “Don’t leave. I don’t want to lose my little girl.”
Aislinn moved forward a few steps. Just four people in front of her now. “You don’t have to lose me, Mom. You can come visit me or we can meet someplace neutral. But I will never go back to the compound. And it goes without saying that the General of the Humans Firsters is not welcome at the Holding.”
“As if I’d ever debase myself by going there.”
Three people in front of her.
“You can still change your mind,” Mom said.
“No, I can’t. I love Darius. I’m miserable without him. All this week while you thought I was crying because I’d gone through some ordeal–that wasn’t it. I’ve been crying because I miss him. I don’t want to be without him.”
One more person passed through taking the line down to two. Aislinn held her license and boarding pass in her hand, waiting to give them to the TSA agent. Mom threw her arms around her. “I’m going to miss you. You still have your cell phone?”
Aislinn hugged her back. “Of course.”
“I’ll call you.” Mom kissed Aislinn’s cheek.
As they pulled apart, the General said, “You’re dead to me.” He walked away toward the glass doors leading outside.
She didn’t feel the kind of pain she might have expected at hearing those words. Instead, she felt numb. After everything her father had put her through, what was one more jab? It might be a good thing to be disowned. At least he wouldn’t start a war over her.
Only one person in line in front of her. Gideon stuck out his hand and she shook it. “I’m going to miss you,” he said. “We were good together.”
“Yes, but never good enough,” Aislinn said. “Find someone else. Someone better for you.”
Gideon clenched his jaw but nodded. “Take care of yourself.”
Front of the line. Aislinn stepped up to the TSA agent and handed her her license and boarding pass. Once the agent had inspected them, Aislinn stepped through and put her bag onto the conveyer to go through the x-ray machine. She turned for one last wave then walked into the scanner herself.
As soon as she got through security, she’d call the Holding to make sure they knew she was coming. She supposed she should feel sad about leaving her past behind but all she felt was relief and a growing excitement about seeing Darius.
***
On the other end of her flight, Aislinn left the secured area of the airport and entered baggage claim, looking for a familiar face. When she’d called earlier, Cael had told her how bad off Darius was. She didn’t expect to see him, but hoped that whoever they’d sent to get her would be someone she knew. Cael himself, maybe? She’d even be happy to see Jennalynn, no matter how much the woman disliked her.
But she saw no one–well, no one she knew. With no luggage to pick up, she headed for the door, checking the few people with signs to see if her name was on them.
Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Before she could say anything, another hand came around her body holding a large bouquet of flowers. The first hand squeezed her shoulder just as she felt a body coming closer to her back. A deep voice whispered, “Aislinn.”
A shiver ran through her, a visceral reaction. She spun. “Darius!” Aislinn threw her arms around him. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” She spoke into his shirt.
“Of course I’m here. I couldn’t be anywhere else.” He kissed the top of her head, and then her temple.
“Cael said you weren’t well.”
A low growl came from Darius’ throat. “I felt fine as soon as I heard you were coming back to me.”
She gazed up at him. “I told you I’d find a way.”
His eyes met hers, his fingers stroking her cheek. “Yes, you did. And I didn’t think it was possible. I’ll know to believe you next time.” He leaned and kissed her.
A light flashed and then another. A voice called out her name, and then she felt a press of bodies around them.
Darius seemed to understand what was happening before she did, because he broke the kiss and tucked her into him. “Do you have luggage?”
“Just my carry-on.”
“Good.” He pushed through the throng of reporters for the door. Apparently airport security here hadn’t thought to keep the reporters out. Once the two of them reached the door, Darius turned them around, putting his hand up. “I’ll make a brief comment, and then my bride and I need to go.”
The crowd quieted.
“You’ve already gotten the full story from Aislinn. All I can say is I’m very glad she’s back with me, and I hope our union can help the peace process move forward.” He stepped backward, triggering the automatic door, then turned and pushed Aislinn in front of him as they moved away from the reporters.
She remembered the last time he’d walked her like this, hands on her shoulders, protecting her. She could never have guessed what was coming, but now she couldn’t imagine being anywhere but with Darius. He helped her into a car waiting at the curb then climbed in beside her. The same man who’d driven the SUV when she’d first been kidnapped drove them now. Everything had come full circle.
Darius pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She touched his cheek with her fingertips. “It’s done. My father disowned me. I doubt he’ll come after us at this point.”
Darius rubbed her arm. “Are you all right?”
Aislinn tucked herself against his chest. “As long as I can stay with you, I’ll be fine.”
Darius closed his arms around her, holding her tight. “That’s exactly what I want too.”
Finally where she belonged, Aislinn relaxed in the arms of Darius, her protector, her defender, her one true love. As long as they were together, she knew they could make everything turn out right in the end.
Author's Note
When I came up with the idea for the Colliding Worlds series, I felt so excited! And so far, each book that I've written in the series has been awesome to write. Writing Darius and Aislinn's story was not only fun but damned if I didn't get choked up each and every time I edited it. :)
If you liked this story, it would be a huge help to me if you would please consider leaving a review.
Thank you!
Tabitha Conall
Coming Soon
Coming in September 2014 as part of a
Scottish shifter boxed set
...
Her Scottish Alpha
Tabitha Conall
The Colliding Worlds Series #3
A dragon slayer, an alpha werewolf and a war.
Dragon slayer Keira Harlow is on a job when everything goes wrong. Her twin sister and partner disappears and worse, Keira herself gets nabbed by a werewolf who turns her on in a most disturbing way.
Deep in negotiations with a dragon shifter, Scottish and UK Alpha Lachlan MacPherson doesn't expect his mate to barge into his home uninvited but when she does, there's no way he'll let her go.
While searching for Keira's sister, a bigger problem arises--the English Alpha wants the position of UK Alpha which Lachlan holds by right of birth and he's not above going to war to get it. If that weren't enough, Keira has to find a way to get herself out of the situation with Lachlan. He might think they're mates but she knows it can never be.
This 35,000+ word long book is the third in the Colliding Worlds series. HEA included.
Also from Tabitha Conall
Her Kilted Wolf
Tabitha Conall
The Colliding Worlds Series #1
Two werewolves, a Scottish castle and the power of fate.
Highly ranked in her werewolf pack in spite of being female, American Mattie Sloane travels to Scotland with her Alpha, never suspecting the trip will turn her life upside down.
A rogue by nature, werewolf Colin MacPherson has to shape up fast when he finds his mate in Mattie.
Just one problem—they both love their countries and don’t want to move. How can they be mates an ocean apart?
This 6,000+ word short story is the first in the Colliding Worlds series. HEA included.
Excerpt
Mattie followed the scent out of the room and into the hallway. The scent trail seemed fresh, and yet her mate wasn’t there. Maybe he had already left before she got there?
She continued to follow the scent. When she got to the second turn, she knew she’d never find her way back without help, so she pulled out her cell phone and took video of each of the twists and turns. Hopefully, she’d find her mate at the end of this journey and he could lead her back to the Great Hall, but if not, she’d need the footage.
Darius would wonder where she’d gone, but he’d understand once she explained. Finding your mate was everything.
Who would he be? A wolf, hopefully. But if he was a wolf, why hadn’t he scented her?
Mattie jogged up some stone stairs, still following the delicious smell. With just the scent in her nose, she already felt like melting. She wanted to find her mate and drag him to the nearest bed where they could wallow in each other until their scents were so mixed no one could tell them apart.
What if he wasn’t a wolf? Other species didn’t necessarily know when they’d found their mates. Sometimes they had to be convinced, and it wasn’t always a fun experience.
The scent trail suddenly dead-ended at a tall wooden door, the fifth such door on that hall. Worse, the door was closed. What should she do? Should she knock? She shifted from one foot to the other, trying to decide what to do.
The door in front of her jerked open and a tall, half-naked male stood in front of her, a towel tied around his waist and his wet hair sticking up. “You came.” He grinned, his blue eyes lighting up.
Before she could say anything, he grabbed her around the waist and yanked her against him, covering her mouth with his.
Oh, mama.
Acknowledgments
I had five wonderful beta readers for Her Forbidden Alpha including Donna Hokanson, Cindy T., Sara Gomez, Linda Mahoney and one other. Thanks so much!
About the Author
Tabitha has been in love with love since the first play she wrote at the age of eight. That story involved three princes who fell in love with three princesses. What could be more perfect?
Age has brought not just deeper conflict to her stories but also a lot more flesh. Now she describes not just the princes and princesses falling in love, but also what happens when they close the bedroom door. She's looking forward to sharing more stories with readers very soon.
© 2014 Tabitha Conall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
First Printing, 2014
Little Death Books
www.LittleDeathBooks.com
Cover design © The Killion Group, Inc.
Book design © Little Death Books
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