Evernight Publishing ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2014 Vanessa Devereaux
ISBN: 978-1-77233-020-5
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Lisa Petrocelli
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
For my parents.
FALLING FOR AN ALPHA
Perfect Pairing, 7
Vanessa Devereaux
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
Gabriel rubbed his temples. His head pounded as if someone were beating it with a sledgehammer. He’d had his share of headaches but nothing quite like this one. This was worse than any of the thumpers that had accompanied hangovers. And yes, he’d had his fair share of those too, including the memorable one he’d gotten the morning after his brother’s bachelor party. However, the severity of this one made it downright scary.
He tried to stand, but the pain was intolerable. His surroundings seemed to spin by him at ultrafast speed, which in turn made him want to lean over and vomit. He slid back down to the ground.
The ground. This was the first time he’d noticed where he’d been sitting—obviously not indoors. Fallen leaves and twigs surrounded him, and the sound of them crunching beneath his body echoed through his ears.
He shivered, trying to focus on exactly where he was. Deep in the forest by the look of things, and he noticed the sun rising over the mountains to his left. He couldn’t remember a damn thing, let alone how he’d gotten out here in the middle of nowhere.
Gabriel shivered again, rubbing his hands up and down his arms, and suddenly realized he was naked. Holy shit, whatever he’d been doing, however he’d gotten here, he’d obviously lost his clothes along the way. Or maybe he’d taken them off.
Sex, did I have sex last night? If he had, it must have been the worst kind ever because he didn’t recall doing it, or the woman he’d done it with.
He remembered that he’d been washing his truck. He’d driven it to the “serve yourself” car wash down the street, and he had been hosing it down, but after that he couldn’t remember a thing.
The sun inched up in the sky, casting more light on him, and he had to squint. The brightness hurt his eyes. In fact, it felt like someone was sitting on both eyeballs, bobbing up and down on them just for the hell of it. He put his hand up in front of his face, hoping that would help. He shivered and wanted to throw up again.
His clothes had to be around somewhere., not that he could even remember what he’d been wearing. If he’d been washing the truck as he assumed, then probably jeans and an old T-shirt. He stood up but his legs felt like marshmallows and he fell on his butt, making his head throb even more.
Wolves howled, their lingering echo vibrating throughout the canyon. Definitely a hangover, because for some strange reason he understood everything they were saying.
“Nice morning.”
“Sleep well?”
“Time to go hunting.”
His stomach rumbled thinking about what the last one had said. His mouth watered, which was strange, because usually when he’d drunk too much, he was parched the next day. He stood again, this time managing to stay steady on his feet. He always kept his cell phone in the back pocket of his pants. No pants, no cell phone, no calling someone to come get him.
Suddenly feeling dizzy again, he clung to the nearest tree trunk. He wrapped his arms tightly around it and rested his forehead on the bark, hoping that would help.
He shivered again. He had to get out of there. If only he could remember how he got here, getting out of this place would be a lot easier. If he did get to safety, he’d already made a vow not to overindulge in booze ever again.
Maybe it wasn’t his fault. It’s possible someone was playing a joke on him, slipped something into his drink to knock him out, brought him up here, and taken his clothes. They might even be watching him right now to see how he was going to react when he woke up. He glanced around. Somehow, that didn’t seem likely, and he needed to focus on getting home. He was cold and hungry, and hopefully, two aspirin would take care of the headache.
Gabriel made his way through a clearing to his left. Twigs snapped underneath his feet and a branch caught his arm, grazed it, and drew blood. Shit. He wiped it away with his hand.
Maybe he’d run into someone who could help him. They’d have a cell phone or they could drive him back to town. He looked down at himself, suddenly remembering he was naked. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be charged with exposing himself.
What if he’d been sleepwalking? Could you walk this far while still asleep?
He turned into a small clearing where a lone wolf stood just a few yards away from him.Something about it looked vaguely familiar—the eyes, he’d see those eyes before, and the white and grey fur around its muzzle.
The wolf approached him and he stood still. He wasn’t afraid. It got closer, rubbing his body against this leg. He looked down and found the wolf looking up at him. Now he remembered where he’d seen it before. He’d spend last night wrapped up beside this creature. The wolf had kept him company, kept him warm and safe all night.
****
“How about the third row?”
Amber focused on the eye chart hanging on the wall ahead of her.
“C, G…” Was the next letter an F or a B?
“Amber, you having problems with that?” asked the doctor.
She bit her lip. She didn’t want the doctor to know what she already did. Her eyesight was failing.
“B, H…” M or n?
“N, P, S.”
He scribbled something on a pad and then pushed the stool over and sat in front of her.
“All right, Amber, just relax, put your forehead against this bar, and look directly into the light.”
Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything about the blurry vision she’d been experiencing on a daily basis for the last three weeks. She tried not to blink, knowing he was examining her eye in detail.
“Very good. Now lean back and I’ll put some drops into your eyes.”
She’d always hated this part of the eye exam. She blinked continually as he dropped the solution first into her right eye, and then the left. He checked her eyes again and then handed her a tissue to wipe her cheeks where some of the liquid had run down her face.
“Judging by what you’ve told me and the state of your eyes, I’d say you have some advanced diabetic retinopathy.”
Her heart sank. She’d suspected as much.
“Am I going blind?”
“I can’t say for sure at this point, but your sight is deteriorating at a faster pace than I’d hoped to see.”
The thought of not being able to see again made her want to cry. She was suddenly scared, glued to the seat, and didn’t want to move from its safety. It had to be a mistake.
“Did you bring someone along to drive you home? Sometimes the drops can make it hard to see for an hour or so,” said the doctor.
She’d thought about asking her mom but she knew her mother would fuss and panic just like she had when Amber had been first diagnosed with diabetes.
“No, I’m going to have some tea in the café downstairs for a while until they wear off.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll send your notes to Dr. Patterson
and he’ll talk with you some more. Maybe the two of you can look into some laser surgery, depending on how things progress.”
Amber nodded and stood.
“I have some brochures for you, and the names of some support groups.”
Amber took them. She had enough of these pamphlets to wallpaper her kitchen. She slipped them into her purse. The next support group she’d be joining would probably be one for the blind.
“You can schedule your three-month follow-up appointment on the way out. Take care, Amber.”
She nodded, walked over to the receptionist, but opted to make her appointment another day. Right now she wanted to get out of there and the constant reminder of things to come.
The elevator door was open so she walked straight into it. She hadn’t realized that she hadn’t pressed a floor number until a man got on.
“You want the first floor?”
“What? Oh yes, sorry. I was miles away.”
She hugged her purse to her stomach and rode down to the first floor that housed the medical building’s café. It was crowded but she knew she needed to eat soon. She approached the counter and waited in line.
“A tea, and also one of the low sugar blueberry muffins.”
She paid the cashier and waited for her order. She headed for an open table at the back of the café. Someone had left a magazine on the chair. At least that would give her something to read while she ate. She’d always hated eating alone in public.
Alone. That word had a double-edged meaning right now. She was going to be blind and all alone. Her mother had nagged her for years to stop focusing on her career and to settle down and start a family.
At the time, studying for her master’s had been the most important thing to her. Now she realized her mother had been right. If she did find a husband, she might never see his face. If she had kids, she’d never have the pleasure of seeing them emerge from her body. She would never see how cute they were when she fed and held them or know how wonderful it was for a mother to see her child take a first step. And would she even be able to continue in her career as a teacher? Amber had tried to hold it in, but she gave in and burst out crying.
Two people from a nearby table looked over at her. She pretended she had a cold and gave two fake sneezes, suddenly feeling embarrassed by her outburst.
She grabbed the magazine and began paging through it. Maybe it would help to take her mind off of the now-morbid thoughts that were racking her brain, tormenting her about all the things she’d never see, and all the things she should have done.
She spotted an ad for Perfect Pairing Matchmaking Services. Photos of couples who had found love through Perfect Pairing stared back at her. They all looked so happy and content—which is what she could have been had she listened to her mother.
She turned the page and sipped her tea before biting into the muffin. Strangely, the page had turned back to the Perfect Pairing ad. Amber looked around, no open windows or doors, no air conditioning vents anywhere near her. Maybe it was the drops in her eyes wearing off, making her imagine things.
She flipped back to the article about upcoming fall fashions, wondering if she’d begin to dress in non-matching, hideous color-combos once her sight failed. She took another bite of the muffin and the magazine turned back to the Perfect Pairing ad. Maybe it was low blood sugar and she was imagining that the magazine had a mind all its own. Either that, or someone was trying to tell her something about Perfect Pairing.
Perhaps that was what she needed to do. Sign up for a matchmaking service and hopefully find someone special so at least she’d know what he looked like before… Not that she was shallow in any way, but if she didn’t, she’d always wonder what her chosen mate looked like.
Sliding the magazine into her purse, she finished her tea and muffin and headed out to the parking lot. She got in her car and pulled out both the magazine and her phone, but hesitated.
She heard a woman’s voice and she had no idea where it had come from.
“Just do it, or you never will.”
Chapter Two
Sadie knew she only had herself to blame for her current predicament. Things could be worse. She could have been banished from the Other Realm and been stripped of her powers over the incident involving Presley.
She opened her notebook with the name “Gabriel Miller” underlined on its first page. He was the poor, unfortunate man that Mavis White had turned into a wolf-shifter. As punishment for not following protocol, the Board had told her she was to find true love for Gabriel.
That was if she could even find Gabriel. When she did, she intended to introduce herself and break the news gently to him about his new shape-shifting abilities before he changed from man to beast for the first time. She knew where he lived, but as of last evening he’d simply vanished.
Sadie feared the worst. He’d probably shifted already, was confused, and no doubt lost somewhere. She had to find him and soon, before he ended up shot and killed.
Opening her book on wolves, she looked at the pages, and noted that wolves usually traveled with a pack. Hopefully, he’d find one soon. But then what would happen to him when he changed back into a man? Would the wolves see him as a threat? She tapped her fingers on the desk and wondered if he was already able to change back and forth on his own free will. Most newly cursed shifters had to learn the technique for that.
She slammed the book shut, making more noise than she’d intended to. Several people in the library glanced over at her. One man put his finger to his lips and shook his head.
“Sorry,” Sadie mouthed back.
This wasn’t getting her very far. The Board had told her she had to rely on her own intuition and not her witchcraft skills for this assignment, but as Sadie Sutton, “breaker of the rules,” she was going to have to disobey them again. She needed witchcraft to locate Gabriel before the poor man found himself in danger. She was sure the Board would understand just this once.
She stood and headed outside. She had been in that stuffy library longer than she’d thought. The sun had been shining when she went in, but now it was overcast and raining. Sadie placed her bag above her head and made a dash for her car. She put the key in the lock and slid inside just as a crack of thunder fired overhead.
She was close to where some of her favorite clients lived. Gen and Jake in Idaho Falls, and Luc and Katey had recently moved from Boise to Twin Falls. She smiled, remembering the last photo they’d e-mailed her of their son, Alex, who had just turned two. They’d invited her to stop by for a meal and to see their new home, which she was dying to do. And on Friday, she’d call on Lucy and Brad and continue with Presley’s formal training in witchcraft. She had a lot to look forward to, so she didn’t know why she felt so down in the dumps. Gabriel Miller, that was why, and until she got his problem sorted out, she wouldn’t be able to relax.
Still, she knew she wouldn’t find Gabriel sitting in her car like this. She’d go back to her office and put together a little potion that would help her locate the missing man. She grinned, remembering her motto, “What the Board and Department of Love Doesn’t Know, Can’t Hurt Sadie.”
She was about to back out of the parking space when she heard her cell phone rang. Hopefully, it wasn’t the Department or Board checking up on her. She really did hate having to lie. Glancing at the caller identification, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a woman’s name.
“Hello, Perfect Pairing, Sadie Sutton speaking.”
There was silence.
“Hello,” said Sadie.
“Hi, my name’s Amber Maxwell and I’d like to sign up for your matchmaking services.”
“I’m very glad to hear that. If we could set up an appointment to meet, you can tell me all about your dream man, and we can get started on the paperwork.”
Sadie heard crying at the other end of the line.
“Amber, what’s wrong, sweetie?”
“Nothing.”
“Now I know better than that.”
/> Sadie needed to find Gabriel, but she sensed Amber needed to talk as soon as possible.
“Where are you, Amber?”
“I’m sitting in my car outside the Medical Arts Building on Fifth Street.”
Medical Arts Building. Her instinct told her Amber had been given bad news, hence the reason for the tears.
“I’m just ten minutes away. You wait for me by the entrance and I’ll be right there.”
“But I didn’t mean for you to…”
“I’ll be there before you know it.”
Someone needed help and Sadie would need to use a witch’s shortcut. She was more than ten minutes away—more like twenty miles away. She got out of her car, checked to be sure no one was watching, and willed herself to the building on Fifth Street.
A pretty, young woman with straight, dark hair and bangs stood by the door.
“Hello, Amber,” said Sadie.
She turned. She’d been crying. Her face was puffy and her eyes bloodshot.
“Come, my dear, let’s go inside and talk.”
Sadie put her arm around her and walked her into the foyer where she found a couch for them to sit.
Sadie pulled out one of her magic tissues and handed it to Amber. That should make her feel better. Nothing like inhaling the essence of hope and joy.
“Was it very bad news?” she asked.
“I might be losing my sight.”
“Oh, dear.”
“I’ve had Type One diabetes since I was eleven and I guess I’ve known this day might arrive.”
“Do you have family around to help?”
“Yes, my parents live in town, as well as two of my three brothers.”
Sadie patted her hand. “However, I’m guessing you’d like to find someone to love.”
“Is that selfish of me? I mean, asking a man to have a relationship with a woman who’s going to be helpless?”
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