ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance)

by Charlotte Swanpol

  “So what’s your name?” He asked, sitting up and placing his hands behind his head in an almost standoffish position. His eyes were serious as he stared at her, making her feel a little intimated. Distracting herself from his gaze, she looked up at his short hair with golden tips and dark roots. Delilah wondered if he had dyed his hair.

  “Delilah…” She finally whispered, remembering where she was and the question that had been thrown in her direction.

  “Beautiful name…” He mused smiling, before leaning forward, bringing himself even closer to her body. The distance between their faces was suddenly almost non-existent. Delilah’s breath caught in her throat as she tried to remain calm at the sudden intimacy that had formed between them. Her heart pounded in her chest, making her flush even more until her cheeks were almost as red as her scarlet lipstick.

  The man suddenly chuckled, before leaning back. Had he been toying with her? Delilah bit her lip, trying to keep her thoughts in line. He was just strange. She tried to remind herself that she knew nothing about this man, but there was something about him that called out to her inner instincts, that made her want to get even closer, to know all the mysteries hidden behind his icy stare.

  “What’s your name?” She suddenly blurted out, her chocolate brown eyes exploring his. With a grin he looked at her, his hand running over his rough goatee, rubbing it gently. He seemed to be contemplating what he should tell her like he didn’t even know his own name. Delilah scrunched her face in confusion but didn’t say anything.

  “Shane.” He finally said. At the sound, Alpha suddenly howled loudly, as if agreeing.

  Chapter 2

  Shane

  Shane chuckled as he heard the dog’s howl. He thought it was ironic that the dog’s name was Alpha, but didn’t give it further thought. Instead, his mind was focused on the beautiful woman in front of him. She was quite curvy, with a large chest and plump thighs. She had the cutest rosy cheeks and sincere, chocolate brown eyes. Her red lipstick made Shane want to move forward and kiss her, to know the feeling of those sweet looking lips on his. She was flawless.

  He felt a stirring in his heart that called out to him. He couldn’t let this beautiful woman out of his sight or he would never forgive himself. He looked at her for a moment, before looking down at her dog. “Do you want to grab a bite to eat?” He asked suddenly, making Delilah blush in response.

  Shane waited patiently for her answer, wondering if she would accept his invitation or leave him all alone on the bench to contemplate his new lone wolf status. His mind tried to forget about his pack and how they had kicked him out, but the more he tried to ignore the thought, the more it haunted him. He sighed a little when she took her time to respond, thinking she would reject him.

  “I would love to,” she said, shocking him. Alpha barked, getting up, his tail wagging. She laughed and rubbed his back for a moment. “But we will have to find a place that allows dogs,” she explained, not wanting to leave her companion behind. Shane nodded, getting up and offering her his hand.

  She took it slowly and he squeezed it tightly. He suddenly pulled her close, looming above her with his height. He looked down at her, wanting to run his fingers through her long strawberry hair, but refrained, not wanting to scare her away. He opted, for walking by her side as they made their way out of the park. He also offered to hold Alpha’s leash, holding it tight in his grip so the dog could not escape. Delilah walked with him in a sort of daze.

  She felt like she was being swept away by some sort of rogue prince and couldn’t help herself. Shane could sense her excitement and smiled to himself as they walked along the park together, looking like a couple. He beamed with pride as he saw others eye them.

  Soon they were on Main St. He looked around, searching for a restaurant that would serve them. His eyes swept the area intensely, his superior vision aiding him well. At the end of the street, he noticed a restaurant with outdoor tables and a fence surrounding it. Surely they would be able to eat at one of these tables and tie Alpha’s leash to the fence.

  “Come on let’s go to Louie’s. I hear they have really good food. Steak!” He said suddenly, his craving for meat overwhelming him. He hadn’t turned for over a month and the need to follow his instincts was slowly creeping into his human life. He tried to keep them under control but knew that he would have to turn again soon, which would probably mean altercations with his former pack. He gritted his teeth, trying not to think about it.

  “Are you okay?” Delilah asked suddenly, pulling him out of his daze. He looked tense. His jawline was stiff with his anger, but after a deep breath, he forced himself to appear calm. He looked down at her for a moment, smiling warmly, his icy eyes finally gaining a friendlier appearance. He watched as she gently sighed in relief.

  Shane wondered if she would be like the rest. Girls always ran away from him for one reason or another, but this girl felt different. There was something about her that made him hopeful. Could it be, that she was the one? No, it was way too early to know.

  Soon, they were at Louie’s, sitting adjacent to one another. Shane’s fingers played with his utensils as Delilah tried to figure out what she wanted from the menu. “I don’t know what to get…” She fretted, switching between the pasta and the salad sections. Shane noticed her dilemma and chuckled.

  “Get the pasta. It’s really good.” Delilah looked at him, biting her lip in uncertainty. Shane knew what she was thinking. She wanted to impress him by eating a salad on their first date. Girls were silly in the fact that they thought that guys paid attention to what they ate.

  Reaching his hand forward, he placed it on hers gently. He squeezed it ever so slightly. “Don’t worry… I think you are beautiful. Don’t worry about the food. Eat whatever you want.” He soothed her worried mind, making her smile. Shane smiled back.

  In the end, she ordered mac and cheese and he got a rare steak. They enjoyed their meal, chatting about this and that. Shane couldn’t help but like this girl. She had a sweet smile and an even sweeter laugh. She smelled divine. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

  “So… why were you sitting all by yourself on that bench? You looked really sad.” Delilah whispered softly as they waited for their dessert: a hot fudge Sundae that they had decided to share. Shane tilted his head for a moment, trying to figure out what she meant.

  “Oh. That.” He finally said, looking away. He couldn’t possibly tell her that he had been kicked out of his pack for being insolent. Still, she would expect an answer and he thought for a moment about what he should say. “Well let’s just say I had a falling out with some of my friends.”

  Delilah frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, maybe you can patch things up with them?” She offered.

  Shane shook his head. Once you left a pack you were ostracized for life. “I don’t think that’s very likely. I’ll just make some new friends…” He whispered, more to himself than to Delilah.

  Chapter 3

  Delilah

  When they were done, Alpha finally allowed Delilah to take him home. He whimpered looking in Shane’s direction but nonetheless followed his owner home. As they walked back to her car, she couldn’t keep the thought of Shane out of her head. They had exchanged numbers, but she wasn’t sure if she should call him or even text him for that matter.

  She was starting to doubt herself for being attracted to a complete stranger. For all she knew, he could be some crazy guy trying to use her. She tried to clear her mind of him as she opened the passenger door for Alpha who jumped in promptly, sitting down and looking at her, his usual goofy look on his face. “What do you think boy? Should I give this guy a shot?” She asked the dog, rubbing his ears gently.

  He barked at her while wagging his tail as if to tell her yes. She looked at him for a moment, wondering why he had gotten so attached to the stranger. It was not like Alpha to be so friendly with strangers. Usually, he didn’t want anyone near her and yet today he was on his back, letting someone he had never met bef
ore rub his stomach. Maybe there was potential to this Shane guy after all.

  With this thought in her mind, she drove home. Finally, she entered her home, smiling at its coziness. She quickly changed into pajamas and made herself a nice cup of tea, before sitting down on the couch, watching a movie. Alpha curled up on the couch beside her and was soon snoring lightly. She chuckled, resting her hand on his back, loving the feeling of his soft fur against her palm. She rubbed his back absentmindedly. Soon she too was dozing off.

  As she fell into a deep sleep her mind slowly returned to Shane. In her dreams, he was there, reaching out for her. There were howls in the distance and she tried to run to him, but he kept getting further and further away. She tried to call out to him but was rendered mute in her dream state. Suddenly, he disappeared deep into the forest and no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find him.

  In the morning, she woke up, trying to figure out what was going on and why she had dreamt such a confusing dream. Maybe her subconscious was telling her something. She looked out the window. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and she wanted to enjoy her final day off before going back to work on Monday. Grabbing her phone, she shot Shane a text. Do you want to meet up at the park?

  A few minutes later, her phone chimed. Sure. 11?

  Delilah looked at the time. It was ten. She smiled and texted back quickly. Perfect.

  About fifteen minutes later, Delilah was dressed and ready to go. Alpha looked at her curiously, wondering where she was going. “Ready to go?” She asked him in a high-pitched voice that made him tilt his head to the side, his ears twitching. When he saw her grabbing his harness and leash, he went nuts, spinning in circles and barking. “Okay! Okay! I get it, you’re excited.” She chuckled, laughing at her crazy dog.

  Around 10:50 Delilah had reached the park. After putting the harness on Alpha, they started to walk together heading towards the bench where they had first met Shane. For some reason, Delilah was anxious, and her hand wrapped tightly around her dog’s leash as if it would steady her nerves.

  All of a sudden, Alpha began to whimper loudly, tugging on the leash with great force. Delilah tried to hold him back, but he was adamant, pulling her toward the forest. In an instant, the leash slipped from her grip and Alpha, feeling the slack in his lead, shot off into the forest, disappearing in a blur. Delilah’s eyes grew wide in surprise.

  “Alpha!” She called out, desperately hoping he would return, but when she lost sight of him, dread set in. She knew there were wild animals in the woods. She didn’t want Alpha to get hurt so she ran after him, calling out, and searching desperately for him as she stumbled through the foliage.

  She could hear his barking in the distance and tried to run a little faster to shorten the distance between herself and the dog, but it was no use. There was no way she could ever outrun her dog. His barks got more and more distant, making her feel helpless. As she heard howling, she froze in place.

  It was no ordinary howl. She knew Alpha’s howl well but this was much different. This was much louder and deeper. Delilah didn’t even want to know what had caused such a sound, but in the back of her mind, she knew enough to know it was a wolf. She shuddered to think what would happen if Alpha found himself confronted with the beast, or what would happen if the wolves found her.

  Scared now, she looked around, but she saw nothing more than an ocean of trees. Every direction looked the same to her. She no longer knew which way would lead her back to the park or which way would lead to her dog. She was lost.

  Biting her lip, she cursed under her breath, trying to figure out what to do. She walked slowly, trying to mark her surroundings, but it was hard when every tree looked just like the one before. She was a nurse, not a park ranger. She started to get tired as it was hot and oppressive in the dense forest.

  Wiping the sweat from her forehead she stopped, trying to remain calm. If she wanted to get out of this, she needed to keep a cool head. “ALPHA! TREAT!?” She called out, trying to lure him with the treats she didn’t actually have. She waited a moment, but the forest was deathly silent. Nothing sounded around her and she felt desperately alone as even the sun had a hard time breaking through the canopy of leaves above her.

  Chapter 4

  Shane

  Shane entered the park. He was excited to see Delilah once more and was glad that she had texted him. He had feared that he would never see her again after their time together the day before, but he was happy that she seemed to be showing interest in him at least.

  As he entered the park, he heard a bark that he now recognized. Her dog was barking, but it wasn’t a normal bark, it seemed one of hostility like he was aiming it at some unknown threat. Quickly, Shane ran toward the sound, just in time to see Delilah running into the forest. He cursed under his breath, knowing firsthand how dangerous that forest could be, especially for someone like Delilah.

  Quickly, he ran into the forest after her. He tried to keep his eyes glued to her, but with the countless trees and other obstacles blocking his vision, he soon lost her. He stopped and tried to sharpen his senses. They were beginning to dull, due to his lack of shifting and he cursed his lone nature. In an astonishing feat of willpower, he was finally able to pick up her scent. He then ran off again. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge as he heard howling. The pack.

  Shane knew he didn’t have much time. They were close and surely if they were near him, they would be ever closer to Delilah. He would have called out to her, but he didn’t want to give her away, so he kept quiet, trying to track her down as best he could with his diminished perception and intuition.

  Shane slowed down, seeing a fallen oak tree. It was very large, with countless knots and gnarls decorating its trunk. It was rotting, but it was a magnificent sight nevertheless. He hesitated for a moment. If he crossed over the tree, he would be in pack territory, a clear violation of his banishment.

  As he heard Delilah’s voice call out for her dog, however, he knew he had no other choice. Jumping over it with ease, he rolled when he got to the other side before running again. As he entered pack territory some of his senses began to reemerge, the land filled with the aura of running wolves. He grew faster and stronger, running with ease toward the direction of Delilah’s voice.

  Soon, he spotted her strawberry blonde hair and sighed in relief. She looked distraught however and there were tears in her eyes now. He walked up to her slowly, not wanting to scare her. “Delilah…” He whispered. Her head shot up and her eyes went big as she saw Shane. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her body, pulling her close.

  She clung onto him, shaking with the fear of losing her dog. “Shh… it’s alright. I promise. Tell me what happened.” He looked down at her, gently rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. Her chocolate brown eyes were watery and she took a moment to compose herself.

  “I was walking through the park… about to go to the bench… when all of a sudden Alpha went AWOL. I couldn’t hold onto his leash and he ran into the forest. I’m scared… I keep hearing howls…” She whispered, praying that her dog was okay. She hadn’t heard his bark in a very long time and feared the worst.

  Shane thought about this for a moment. The dog did act strangely with him yesterday. Maybe it sensed that he was a werewolf and had pledged allegiance to him by instinct. Shane wondered if the dog had sensed the pack. He probably thought they were the enemy and had attacked. This was not good.

  Delilah was a mess and they had trespassed into werewolf territory. “C’mon.” He finally said, leaning down and turning his back to Delilah. She looked at him strangely for a moment, wondering what he wanted her to do. “Get on my back,” he commanded with a stern voice.

  “No… why?” She whispered, looking confused.

  “You’re tired. I’ll carry you and we will find Alpha.”

  “No… I’m too heavy…” She whispered, looking down, a little ashamed of her figure. Shane looked at her.

  “No, you’re not,
” he said, suddenly grabbing her and carrying her bridal style through the forest. Delilah looked shocked as Shane lifted her with ease. She didn’t expect someone like him to be able to carry her like this. “Light as a feather.” He grinned, looking down at her, before gently kissing the top of her head for a moment. She blushed crimson, trying to figure out what was going on.

  Shane looked forward, making sure not to trip, now that he carried precious cargo in his arms. He tried to focus his hearing, but everything was quiet. He just hoped he could find the dog before the pack got to it. He knew how devastated Delilah would be if the dog got hurt.

  “Are we really going to find him…?” Delilah finally asked, her arms now wrapped around Shane’s neck. “What if the wolves…” Her voice trailed off, as she started to get emotional. Shane looked down at her and sighed.

  “Delilah, I promise you, we will find Alpha and he will be safe and sound. I know these forests better than anyone else. Don’t worry, okay?” He whispered, trying to comfort her as his eyes turned icy, scanning the surroundings.

  Truth be told, he had no idea where the dog could be. Delilah was overwhelming his sense of smell with her sweet fragrance, making it hard to pick up any other scent. The forest was dead silent, rendering his sense of hearing useless. All he could use now was his eyesight that scanned every inch of the forest, but to no avail. This was going to be harder than he thought. But one way or another he would find Alpha.

  Chapter 5

  Delilah

  Delilah was scared, but at the same time, she felt better now that Shane was holding her. She had never been carried bridal style before and it felt nice to finally have a man who could carry her with relative ease. It made her feel good. But at the same time, she was still worried about Alpha. Was he okay? Where were the wolves?