ROMANCE: Awakened by the Alpha Bear (Werebear Fantasy Billionaire Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Alpha Male Bear Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Short Stories)) (11 page)

Bride
of the Alpha Dragon

Chapter 1

Cadence
Norwick closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stepping onto the
elevator. She pressed the button leading her to the fifth floor and waited,
patiently, for the elevator to stop.

It was
Monday, which was easily her least favorite day of the week, and she did not
look forward to a long day in the office. Her job had caused her life to become
mundane and listless. Instead of traveling and experiencing the world the way
that she had in her youth, she was stuck sitting at a desk, drinking coffee,
and entering numbers into a computer. The lifestyle was beginning to drive her
insane. She craved adventure and romance, but all she got from life in return
was a dead-end job and the company of her Pomeranian, Wallace, and her deeply
troubled younger sister, Courtney.

The
elevator dinged as it reached the fifth floor and she shuffled her feet towards
her desk. The familiar sound of ringing telephones and copy machines filled the
air, and Cadence took a long drink from her Styrofoam cup of coffee. With a
throaty noise, she sat down in her chair and started her computer. She was not
seated for even five minutes before her boss, Elena, was hovering over her desk
with her arms crossed.

“You're
six minutes late,” she noted in a strict tone. “Do you have an explanation for
that? Don't tell me it was because you were doing your hair because we know
that's
a lie.”

Cadence
frowned and felt her voluminous, scarlet hair with her fingertips. She thought
that her hair looked rather nice. However, she was more concerned about the
imminent scolding she was about to receive.

“I just
got held up in traffic,” Cadence murmured, rubbing her temples. “Come on,
Elena. Give me a break. I'm exhausted. I'm here now. I'm about to do my work.
Reggie isn't doing anything. You aren't yelling at him!”

Cadence
gestured to her coworker, a skinny, gaunt-faced, short man named Reggie. Elena
cocked an eyebrow.

“Reggie
wasn't six minutes late. Anyway, I need you to go on a coffee run for me to the
place across the street. I want a pumpkin white chocolate cappuccino with three
extra shots of espresso and get me two of those little straws. I don't like
stirring and drinking out of the same one,” Elena said. “You were late, so you
get to do the coffee run. You can bring it to my office when you get back.”

“I just
got here, though—”

“
Ah,
ah, ah,
” she scolded, as though Cadence were a child.
She then
tapped on her watch and said, “Late!”

Elena
began to walk away and Cadence rolled her eyes. She took another long drink of
coffee and turned her computer off once more and stood up from her chair. As
much as she hated her job, she hated coffee runs much, much more. Elena treated
her like a slave, and she was growing tired of it.

With a
heavy sigh, she walked right back to the elevator from which she came, trying
to ignore the childish sniggers from her coworkers as she walked away in shame.
Her Monday had not gotten off to a good start. It only got worse when the
elevator stopped and someone stepped off of it. It was her ex-boyfriend, Jason,
who, unfortunately, happened to work with her. Usually, they avoided each
other, but on occasion, there was really no way for Cadence to do so. He made a
face and scoffed as she brushed by him. Cadence frowned.

“For
Chrissake Cade, you eatin' more pork rinds?” he spat.

The
elevator doors closed and Cadence sniffled. She had gained a few pounds since
she had dated Jason, but she had never been a thin woman. In fact, she embraced
her curves. She was a healthy woman, but she enjoyed a hamburger whenever she
wanted. Cadence saw no harm in it, but Jason did. He judged her for her weight
and Cadence eventually had enough of it. After telling him that she could not
see him anymore, due to the way that he treated her, Jason quickly became
hostile, and he had not stopped since their breakup nearly six months prior.
Apparently, he held grudges.

“Bastard,”
she muttered under her breath as the elevator doors opened.

Cadence
stepped out onto the ground floor and headed towards the double doors to the
building. A security guard she knew by the name of Carl laughed and shook his
head, pointing at her.

“Coffee
run duty
again
, girl?” he asked, taking a bite of one of the
complimentary jelly-filled doughnuts from the lounge, which were only meant for
office staff, not security guards. “I should call you Cadence-coffee runner.”

“How
incredibly clever of you,” Cadence murmured, her voice dripping with sarcasm,
as she swung open the double doors and walked outside into the cold, rainy city
street.

Naturally,
she had forgotten to bring an umbrella, so she was forced to wait for the New
York traffic to pass by without any sort of shield from the rain. A raindrop
fell down her face, smearing her mascara across her bright, emerald eyes. As
her hair became more and more drenched, it began to stick to her face and
temporarily blind her. After several minutes, the light finally turned red, and
she hurried across the street into the same coffeehouse she had been inside
only fifteen minutes earlier. She swung open the door and walked inside, only
to see that the line was quite long. With a sigh, she stepped in line behind a
handsome, dark-haired man in a business suit, and started impatiently tapping
her foot while waiting to get her order taken.

Suddenly,
the man turned around and looked her up and down. Cadence was not sure whether
to be flattered or uncomfortable, but his steel-colored eyes made him rather
irresistible. Her breathing hitched as she waited for him to say something.

“You
have some, uh, stuff,” he murmured, pointing to a spot on his face.

Cadence
blushed and wiped away her smeared mascara. It felt as though she had only made
it worse, so she hid her face. The man chuckled and held out his hand.

“You
look like a professional that got stuck in a rainstorm is all,” he said with a
chuckle. “Landon Dines, CEO of Dines Inc.”

Cadence's
eyes widened. All of a sudden, she recognized him. She had seen his picture in
an article about him in a business newspaper only a few weeks earlier. From
what she understood, he was one of the richest men in New York City. She wanted
to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

“W-wow.
It's so nice to meet you,” she stammered. “Cadence Norwick. It's my pleasure,
Mr. Dines—”

Landon
laughed and held up his hands, making wild gesticulations that suggested he did
not want her to make a big deal about meeting him.

“No,
no, please call me Landon,” he said, chuckling. He then lowered his voice and said,
“Just don't say it too loudly. I don't need to bring any attention to myself
after that
American Business Quarterly
article.”

Cadence
blushed and nodded, whispering, “Yes, I understand. So, what the hell brings
you into this little crap-hole coffee place? Don't you have someone that makes
you like twelve-dollar cups of coffee picked by monkeys or something
ridiculous?”

Landon
tucked his hands in his pockets and chuckled, shaking his head.

“I like
the coffee here,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. “I'm just like
anyone else. I don't spend my money on putting fish eggs in my expensive
bottles of wine or anything like that. I'm just a regular guy. I wouldn't want
a woman as beautiful as yourself thinking I'm some sort of arrogant jerk.”

Cadence
raised her eyebrows. She was not sure that she heard him correctly.

“Excuse
me, did you just call me beautiful?” she asked, incredulously. She welcomed the
compliment after Jason's rude comment to her by the elevator.

“Was I
being too forward? Sorry about that. Maybe I am a bit of a rich jerk,” he said,
chuckling. “Entitlement or whatever, I guess. Anyway, let me exercise that
entitlement just a little bit more and see if I could possibly get your phone
number?”

Cadence's
face flushed and she stammered, “W-w-well, y-yeah. Sure, yeah, that—that sounds
great.”

Landon
smiled and pulled his touchscreen cell phone out of his pocket. He then handed
it to her and smiled, waiting for her to enter her number. With shaky thumbs,
Cadence entered her information and handed the phone back to him, her face
still a bright shade of pink. She had truly not expected to meet anyone
interesting that rainy Monday morning, but she was happy that her day was
quickly improving. The line started to move and Landon took a few steps forward.

“So,
what company are you associated with, Cadence?” he asked.

“Mavis
and Clark, you know, the law firm,” she said, blushing.

“Excuse
me, sir?” a squeaky male voice asked.

Landon
quickly turned around and saw that it was his turn in line. Chuckling, he went
to the counter and placed his order.

“Just a
small cup of coffee. Black. Thank you,” he said, smiling. He then turned back
around and looked at Cadence. “Sorry about that. You distracted me with those
eyes of yours. They're absolutely magnificent.”

Cadence
laughed nervously and replied, “Well, thank you. That's very kind of you.”

He
cocked an eyebrow and said, “Something tells me you don't realize how
attractive you are. I guess I'll just have to—”

“Sir?”

Landon
turned around again and saw that his coffee was ready. He smiled and paid the
thin adolescent behind the counter. He grabbed his coffee and winked at
Cadence.

“I
think I'll give you a call later, if that's alright?”

“Y-yes,”
Cadence said, her face flushing. “Th-that will be fine.”

“Great.”

With
that, he kissed her on the cheek and left the coffeehouse. Cadence felt her
face become even hotter at his touch, and she ran her fingertips across the
spot that he had planted his lips. She had never had a man be so forward and
kind to her, but she certainly was not opposed to it. Then, her daydream was
interrupted by the lanky teenager behind the counter.

“Ma'am,
please. There are people waiting.”

Cadence
jumped and placed Elena's difficult order. The lanky teenager rolled his eyes
and prepared the cup of coffee. Usually, Cadence would have been annoyed with
his rudeness, but she was on cloud nine. Landon Dines, of all people, had made
her day a hundred times better than she ever could have thought it was going to
be. Her stomach had butterflies. She just could not wait to get the phone call
that he promised her.

Chapter
2

Cadence's
day passed by far too slowly. She tallied twenty-six times that Elena yelled at
her, seven times that Jason gave her a dirty look in passing, and four times
that she heard Elena complaining about her on a personal call. However, none of
those things seemed to matter as soon as she finished work and got in her small
car to drive home and wait for the phone call she had been waiting for all day
long. Nobody was going to ruin the day that Landon Dines flirted with her, not
even her cruddy boss or her incredibly rude ex-boyfriend.

When
she opened the front door to the small house she shared with her sister, she
was greeted by her tri-colored Pomeranian, Wallace. He yipped, excitedly, and
licked her ankles as she closed the door behind her. Cadence chuckled and
picked him up, cradling him like a baby as her sister, Courtney, walked into
the room with a bottle of rum and circles under her eyes.

“How's
work?” Courtney murmured, slowly.

With
each movement of her mouth, her cigarette shifted between her lips, spitting
flecks of ash at Cadence and Wallace. Cadence made a face and took a step
backwards to avoid the flaming little accidents waiting to happen.

“It was
fine. I met a pretty cool guy at the coffeehouse, though. He's a
billionaire
,”
Cadence said, excitedly. “Elena was a bit of a you-know-what, though. She just
kept yelling at me for—”

“Listen,
ya got the rent or what? I gotta pay Nancy tomorrow,” Courtney interrupted,
placing her cigarette in an ashtray on the table and crossing her arms.

Cadence
frowned and Wallace scrambled away from her grip. She then reached into her
purse and pulled out a checkbook. Hesitantly, she grabbed a pen from a small
compartment and began to write out the check. She stopped after writing the
recipient's name and looked up at her sister, shaking her head. Then, she
ripped up the check and threw the remains in the trash. Courtney looked
infuriated.

“What
the hell was that for?” she scowled.

“Rent
isn't due for another two weeks,” Cadence said, giving her sister a dark look
as she dropped her checkbook back in her purse. She shook her head, sat down at
the kitchen table, and added, “How do you think Dad would feel seeing you like
this? I never see you without pills or alcohol or whatever you need to get
through your day. I'm sick of coming home to my dumb, drunk sister just wanting
money for her next binge. I was going to sit down and wait for a phone call
from a really cute guy and try and enjoy my night, and you just had to try and
scam me out of money as soon as I walk in the damn door. Come on, Courtney. Get
it together.”

“Why do
you always accuse me?” Courtney spat. “Rent went up, Cade. She wanted more
money, and you know
I
don't have it.”

“Rent
went up, did it?” Cadence asked, getting up from her chair and narrowing her
eyes. She pointed an accusatory finger at her sister. “Rent went up last month,
Courtney. And the month before that, and the month before that too. I called
Nancy and she said rent didn't go up once. You've been scamming my checks,
Courtney. I know you have.”

Courtney
averted her gaze and murmured, “She's a liar.”

“Or
you're
a liar, Courtney. I've paid our rent for three and a half years, and you still
haven't gotten your shit together! You're getting a job or you're getting out
of the house!” Cadence yelled.

“But
Cade—”

“'But
Cade' nothing! Go sober up and get searching, because you're either going to
get out of my house or contribute something,” Cadence said, firmly. “I can't
pay for you anymore, Courtney. I love you, but you can't be begging me for
money all the time. I have to deal with crappy bosses and seeing Jason every
single day—”

“That
jerk still works there?” Courtney asked, frowning.

Cadence
gave her a dark look. She then let out a heavy sigh and replied, “Yes. We
exchanged words today, well, kinda. That's why I'm looking forward to this
phone call from this guy.”

Courtney
sat down at the kitchen table and asked, “Well, what guy? Is he cute?”

Cadence
laughed and sat down across from her, blushing. She then admitted, “Yeah. He's
pretty cute. Like I said, he's a billionaire too. This guy was in the paper
last week.”

Courtney
cocked an eyebrow and said, “So you're sleeping with a billionaire, and I have
to get a job? Please tell me how
that
makes any sense.”

Cadence
chuckled and awkwardly retorted, “I'm not
sleeping
with him. I just met
the guy today. He hit on me in a café. How cliché is that?”

Courtney
snorted and put out her cigarette in the ashtray. She then crossed her legs and
murmured, “You think he's just some rich jerk, though? I mean, how many rich
guys can actually be all that nice? All they care about is money and looks.
Trust me.”

Cadence
raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you know about rich guys?”

“Before
I moved in with you, you know, my...clientele,” she muttered, averting her
gaze. “Don't make me spell it out for you.”

“I get
it, I get it,” Cadence said, waving off the thought of her sister with her
former clients. “I don't know. He didn't seem like that to me. Maybe I'm naïve,
but he just didn't rub me the wrong way like most people like that do, if you
know what I mean. I just have been out of the dating game since me and Jason
broke up and wouldn't that be the best thing to shove in his face?”

Courtney
laughed and said, “Well, I suppose so, but are you doing it for the right
reasons, then? I mean, I broke up with John because—”

“You
broke up with John because he's facing five to ten, Court,” Cadence
interrupted. “Jason and I broke up because he wanted a skinnier woman. We're
finished
.
I just want to move on and try to be happy, and maybe see him really jealous in
the process.”

Courtney
brushed her blonde hair from her face, cocked an eyebrow, and pulled a pack of
cigarettes from the front pocket of her shirt. She snorted and pulled one out,
put it between her lips, and lit it. A cloud of smoke danced in the air in
front of Cadence's face. Cadence coughed, and then suddenly, her cell phone
began to vibrate. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at her sister,
alarmed.

“My
phone is going off,” she hissed.

“Well,
answer it!” Courtney said, waving her cigarette around.

Cadence
pulled her cell phone out of her blazer pocket and ran her thumb across the
touchscreen. She then held it to her ear and stammered, “H-hello?”

“Hi, is
this uh, Cadence Norwick?” a smooth voice asked.

Cadence's
face instantly flushed, and Courtney smirked at her. Cadence gave her a dirty
look from the corner of her eye before clearing her throat and responding to
Landon.

“Yes,
hello, who is this?” Cadence asked, pretending not to know, so she did not seem
like she was waiting for him.

“Landon
Dines. We met at the Squarewell Coffeehouse on Howard and LaFayette,” the man
replied. “I was wondering if I could take you out sometime this weekend. I
mean, I suppose I never asked if you had a boyfriend or anything—”

“I'd
love to,” Cadence interrupted.

“Well
okay, great,” Landon replied, sounding relieved. “Do you have any plans Friday
night? I don't know how late you work, but I can usually get out of the office
by five, so I could probably pick you up at say, seven?”

“I
mean, that would be great, but would you like to speak a little longer—”
Cadence said. To her dismay, Landon interrupted her.

“I
really wish that I could, but I have a, uh, meeting that I have to be getting
to. I just wanted to call you like I promised that I would. Can I send you a
text message to work out the details?” he asked.

“I-I
suppose so,” Cadence replied, confusedly. “I'll be looking forward to it—”

Cadence
heard a strange, reptilian-like noise on the other end of the line and she
frowned. She held the phone closer to her ear.

“Hello?
Are you okay?” she asked, unsure what the sound was.

Landon
cleared his throat and replied, “Yes, yes! Sorry about that. I just had
something—” Cadence heard the noise again. “—caught in my throat. Have a good
evening, beautiful. So glad we met today.”

“You
too... Listen, are you okay—”

Before
she could finish her sentence, Landon had hung up the phone. Courtney's brow
was furrowed. She took a long drag on her cigarette and then gave Cadence an
expectant look.

“So?”
she urged. “What did he say?”

“Well,
I guess we're going on a date,” Cadence murmured.

“That's
great!” Courtney exclaimed. “You don't seem too enthralled, though. Wish it was
Jason?”

Cadence
scowled and said, “No, no. Nothing like that. He just seemed really weird over
the phone. He seemed like he was in a rush to get off the phone with me or
something.”

Courtney
chuckled, tapped her cigarette on the ashtray, and asked, “Is he married?”

Cadence
frowned and replied, “I don't think so.”

Courtney
cocked an eyebrow and said, “Well, if he needed to get off the phone that
quick, he might be. Take it from a girl that knows what married men act like.”

Cadence's
stomach churned. Landon's behavior was certainly odd, but she never would have
thought that he was a married man. She felt a lump in her throat as she mulled
over the idea. She could never go on a date with a married man. Courtney
clearly knew much more about that sort of thing than she did, so it was
possible that her younger sister was right. She chewed on her lip and looked up
at Courtney.

“Is
that really the only explanation for how he acted?” Cadence asked, reaching
down to scratch Wallace behind the ears. “You don't think there's anything else
that it could have been? He is a billionaire. He could be a busy guy.”

Courtney
sucked on her cigarette and murmured, “Trust me, Cade, none of those rich guys
are nearly as busy as they claim. I know this because they used to be telling
their wives the same thing when they were with me. He might not have a wife,
but he definitely has a secret of some sort. He's hiding something from ya.”

Cadence
took a deep, nervous breath and muttered, “That's what I was afraid of.”