Alpha Wolf
STARLIGHT BAR
By
Rayne Rachels
ALPHA WOLF
Copyright © 2019 RA Kirschke-Cole writing as Rayne Rachels, and RAKC Books
All rights reserved.
For more information about the author, please visit http://raynerachels.blogspot.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the Author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
OTHER BOOKS BY RAYNE RACHELS
ABOUT THE RAYNE RACHELS
CHAPTER ONE
Kelly Hayes picked up the framed photo and stared at it. A painful longing filled her chest. Her fingertips gently caressed the cool glass the photo was tucked behind.
She wanted to go home, and not to the tiny house where she had existed for the last four years, but home to her family.
She missed her parents. She even missed her pain in the ass, Neanderthal brothers.
Talking to them on the phone wasn’t enough. Hugs. The teasing. Family dinners. She wanted all the things she had been forced to give up when she moved away. She needed those things now more than ever. She hated living alone so far away from home…from her family…from the people she loved.
“Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?”
Kelly looked at her fellow teacher, Linda Andrews and nodded. “I’ve done everything I can. Oakson won. I’m officially unemployed.” And about to be without a place to live. She thought about the eviction notice she found taped to the front door when she got home last night from the schoolboard meeting.
Tired of dealing with the problems Coach Martin Oakson was causing her, she now had the standard thirty days to vacate her rental. Unemployed and now without a place to live, she had no idea what she was going to do, or even where she was going to go, though she really wanted to go home to her family, but Kelly knew Linda wasn’t interested in any of that information. Linda wanted some juicy gossip for the teachers’ lounge. That was the only reason she had stopped by was on the pretense of helping Kelly pack her stuff. The woman spent the whole time asking questions and making comments about everything.
“What about talking to the superintendent or the schoolboard?” Linda picked up the Teacher of the Year plaque. She rolled her eyes. “So much for this award. They should have given it to me, at least I’ll be here next year.” The corners of her lips curled up into a smirk. She dropped the plaque onto the desk.
The loud clatter echoed through the classroom.
Kelly glared at the woman. It was obvious Linda was still ticked about not winning the award last year. “Oakson’s cousin is the schoolboard president.” She honestly didn’t know why she was explaining this to Linda. Everyone knew the schoolboard president was Oakson’s cousin because he bragged about it to everyone. He didn’t care if they were interested or not.
“I take it that’s a no.”
“Definitely a no.” Kelly tucked the photo of her family into the front pocket of the over-sized tote she had packed her personal belongings in just before Linda sauntered into the room. She looked around the room. Tears threatened to spill but she refused to let Linda see them. “That’s it. I’m ready to leave.”
“Aren’t you taking the rest of this stuff?” Linda gestured to the room.
“No.”
“But—”
“There’s no reason for me to take any of it. According to the schoolboard, I’m not an employee of the district, therefore,” she gestured to the room, “this is no longer my problem.” Kelly hated sounding as if she didn’t care. She loved teaching and was going to miss her students, but she didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on those things. She was no longer a teacher for the Westown Independent School District, and she didn’t want anyone accusing her of taking school property even though she had bought almost everything in her classroom with of her personal money and not school funds.
She bit her bottom lip.
Oakson was making good on his threat of making her pay for turning down his advances and for breaking his nose when he got a little too touchy-feely.
She regretted her actions were forcing her to leave her students, but she had absolutely no regrets about breaking Oakson’s nose. Well, maybe one regret. Now she wished she had been able to do more damaged to his face and his family jewels when she had the chance.
Kelly picked up the heavy tote and took a last look at the classroom that had been hers for the last two years.
When one door closes, another one always opens. She thought about the message her mom sent her the text message about two weeks ago. At the time it didn’t make a lot of sense, but now it had her wondering about what the future had planned for her.
“What are you going to do now?” Linda sat down in the chair behind the desk and pushed a stack of papers to the corner.
“I may sleep late. Read a book. I don’t know, but I’m positive the right opportunity will present itself when the time’s right.” Kelly looked at Linda and gave her a half smile. “Have fun reporting back to the other teachers.” Without looking at anything in the room except the door, she walked out of her classroom for the last time. The door made a soft click when it closed.
She wiped away a single tear, and told herself she wasn’t going to let this place or situation have any more of them. She had given too many.
Enough was enough.
She had other things to worry about.
Okay mom. The door has closed and I’m looking for the open door you always talked about, but so far I’m not seeing it. A little help would be nice.
Her footsteps echoed through the empty halls. She stopped at the glass doors at the front of the building. Slowly, she turned around and looked at the familiar walls covered with student work and flyers about upcoming events, like the school dance she was supposed to help chaperone next week.
Tomorrow the halls would be filled with 7th and 8th grade students, but she wouldn’t be there.
“You can’t leave until you hand over your badge. I can’t have you using it to get into the building whenever you feel like it.” Principal Trevino stood in the doorway of the main office with his hand out.
Kelly unclipped the badge from her shirt. She looked at the glass door standing between her and freedom.
Yeah, there was a lot of uncertainty attached to her life after she walked through the door, but it was freedom, and a new start if she took advantage of the opportunity she was being forced to take. She realized the situation was tough, but hidden underneath was a chance to begin a new chapter in her life.
She looked back at the beady eyed, potbellied principal. She knew he was some sort of shifter. Probably a pig or boar if his looks were any indication of what animal h
e had inside him, but that didn’t bother her. What made her mad was that he had sided with Oakson. He had even told her she needed to be nicer to Oakson.
She snorted.
Trevino and Oakson were probably part of the same pack or whatever they called their group.
With a smile, she held out the badge and let it slide out of her hand. It bounced and slide a short distance across the polished tiles.
Principal Trevino’s face turned red. “Pick that up and hand it to me.”
“You want the badge? You pick it up. I no longer work here. That means you are no longer my boss.” She turned and pushed open the door. A cool breeze swept around her, making her wavy blonde hair float behind her.
“Get back here and pick up that badge!” The door closed, effectively muffling Trevino’s screams.
Kelly lifted her head and squared her shoulders as she continued walking toward the parking lot. I found a door and walked through it. Now what? An idea took root as she walked toward her black Mustang and freedom. She smiled as she pushed a button on her key fob. The dark car roared to life.
“That’s a little too much horsepower for someone like you.”
Kelly clinched her teeth. Coach Martin Oakson’s voice grated on her nerves. Losing her job was bad, but never having to see or hear him again was like being kicked while lying on the ground. “Go away!” she said as she opened the passenger door and put her tote bag on the floor.
“Now, why would I want to do that?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the car.
Her car. Her baby! How dare he touch it.
She closed the door and glared at him. “Get off of my car and go crawl back under the rock where you live.”
“I can get your job back for you, but you’re going to have to be a lot nicer to me than you have been.” He stood up his full height and smiled down at her.
“I’ll be nicer to you when Hell freezes over, and the Devil starts teaching Sunday school classes.” She turned started walking around the front of the car, but Oakson grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.
“I told you to be nice to me. Your tone is not nice, and neither is walking away from me.” His eyes turned a freaky red color. He squeezed her arm to emphasize his point.
Kelly winced. She knew he was trying to bully her into submission. She had a feeling bruises were going to be the least of her worries if she didn’t get away from him. “Let. Go. Of. ME!” Her growl would have made her brothers proud of her.
He laughed. “I don’t think so. You’re going to get into the car and I’m going to take you to my place. It’s time for you to learn who your alpha is, sweet heart. You are human, and you are fat. With those two things against you, you should be grateful I’m even interested in you because no one else will ever want you.” He shook her.
She twisted toward him and rammed her knee as hard as she could into his family jewels.
Oakson gasped. He let go of her and grabbed his crotch. “You, stupid bitch!” His face turned several shades of red.
“Don’t ever call me stupid!” growled Kelly. She punched his nose as hard as she could. The crunching sound the bone made as it broke was sickening, but at the same time oddly satisfying. “I may be human, but don’t mess with me!” She shoved him away from her. “And I’m not fat.” She shook her fist. It was already starting to hurt. She would probably have to put an ice pack on her knuckles to help with the swelling, but breaking his nose was worth it.
Three seconds later, she was inside her car with the doors locked. She backed out of the parking space and shifted the car into first gear. Halfway out of the parking lot she put on her seatbelt.
Anger replaced her fear.
She still had bruises from the first time she fought to get away from the jerk. Now, she had a new set forming on her arms and her hand hurt, especially her knuckles.
Why did she keep attracting these dumb ass jerks? First, it was Justin Lars, and because of him and his father, Alpha Lars, she was forced to make the choice of moving away from home or have her family suffer because she refused to be Justin’s plaything. And now, because of Oakson’s unwanted attentions and refusal to take no for an answer, she lost her job and her home.
Maybe she was picky, but she refused to settle for anything less than love, and she wanted a love like what her mom had with Pops.
Human. Shifter. She didn’t care as long as there was a strong love between them.
Kelly turned into the driveway and parked. A large white envelope was attached to the front door of the small cream colored house.
Her shoulders sagged. She knew it wasn’t an eviction notice. She already had the pleasure of finding one of those. Another envelope attached to the door was not going to have anything good in it.
Kelly grabbed the large tote from the passenger side. Locking the car, she walked up the short flight of steps to the small front porch.
She jerked the envelope off the door, ripping it open in the process. A single sheet of white paper landed at her feet. “Good tape.” She pulled the rest of the torn envelope off the door and waded it into a tiny ball. Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and then picked up the letter.
Inside, she closed and locked the door. She dropped the tote in front of it as an added security measure. Even though she knew it wouldn’t do much to stop an intruder, it made her feel a little better. Clutching the letter, she sat down on the sofa and unfolded it.
Miss Hayes,
You have until the fifteenth of this month to vacate the property. After that time any and all possessions still in the house will be removed at triple the owner’s expense.
John Stinton
Kelly crumbled the paper and tossed it across the room. How was she going to move by the fifteen when today was the tenth?
Call home.
It wasn’t like she was giving up or quitting. She had enough money in her savings account to rent another place and pay the bills for three months. Four if she was really careful about how much she spent for groceries and gas, but she didn’t want to stay in Westown. It never felt like home. Also, she strongly doubted she would find a job anywhere in town, and then there was Oakson, who was always going to be a huge problem.
Sooner or later, he would make another move and do something worse than call her names and leave bruises on her. She hadn’t just told him no. Kelly did something much worse. She, a lowly human, broke his nose and embarrassed him not once but twice. Yeah, she was defending herself, but she doubted he saw it that way.
Kelly ran a hand through her hair. The last time she talked to her parents, her mom told her about the new alpha. Both Mom and Pops said the new alpha was making changes that were better for everyone, including the human members of the pack.
She leaned to her side and pulled her phone out of her rear pocket. She scrolled through the names in her contact list until she found her mom’s name, clicked on the message icon, and started typing with her thumbs. Is it a good time to call? I really need to talk to you, she texted.
Now, her least favorite part.
She had to play the waiting game.
By now, her mom would be at the bar she and Pops owned, either helping out front or in the office doing the paperwork that Pops hated dealing with.
Kelly tucked her legs under her. She tossed the phone onto the cushion next to her, leaned back and closed her eyes. The strain of the past few days was finally taking its toll. She was tired both physically and mentally. A hot shower sounded good. It would help ease the tension in her muscles, especially her shoulders. Then she could curl up with a warm, fuzzy blanket and take a much needed nap.
Decision made, Kelly untucked her legs and stood.
She was halfway to her bedroom when her phone rang. Retrieving it from the couch, she answered it on the third ring. “Hi, mom.”
“What’s wrong, baby girl?”
Kelly’s face crumpled and she swallowed several times. “I have to vacate my house by Saturday. I want to come home.”
“What about your job? Aren’t you in the middle of the school year?”
“I don’t have a job anymore. My contract was terminated.”
There was a long pause. “Pops is here. Why was your contract terminated?”
“The official reason is for physically assaulting a fellow teacher. The unofficial reason is I was defending myself, but the principal and the schoolboard sided with my coworker due to some nepotism.”
“Why did you have to defend yourself?” asked Pops.
“One of the coaches thought I should be extremely thankful and really friendly when he deemed me worthy of his unwanted attentions. I broke the jerk’s nose when he refused to take no for an answer. Unfortunately, he is related to the schoolboard president and possibly the principal too. I’m not for sure, but I believe Oakson’s some sort of shifter, possibly a pig shifter. Are there pig shifters? I think he’s also the reason I was given until Saturday to move out of my house.”
“I don’t know about pig shifters, but there are boar shifters. Are you okay?” Concern filled Pops’ voice. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I have some bruises and I’m a little sore, but mostly I’m sad and angry about losing my job. But I’m not upset about breaking the jerk’s nose.” She took a deep breath. “I miss you…all of you. Is it okay for me to come home? I don’t want to cause problems for you or anyone else.”
“Kelly, you can come home anytime you want. Things are different with the new alpha,” said her mother.
“Your mother’s right. Draven has made a lot of changes, including banishing Justin and his followers. It’s time for my little girl to come home to her family. Start packing your stuff. I’ll send Mason and Cooper with a truck. Things are different with Alpha Draven. You will like him.”
“I’m sure I will.” She didn’t tell Pops, but she planned to stay out of the new alpha’s way. The least attention she drew, the better it would be for her and the family. “I love you and mom.”
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