by Lola Gabriel
Second Chance Alpha
District Shifters
Lola Gabriel
Second Chance Alpha: District Shifters
Text Copyright © 2020 by Lola Gabriel
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2020
Publisher
Secret Woods Books
[email protected]
www.SecretWoodsBooks.com
Contents
Secret Woods Books
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Other Books You Will Love
Thank You
About the Author
Secret Woods Books
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Prologue
Nine Years Earlier
The moment she was crowned prom queen was bittersweet for Chessa. It had been her dream since she had started Montford High School, and while she was deliriously happy that her classmates had voted for her, she was swept up in a wave of sadness as she looked at Noah, her prom king and her boyfriend.
Noah stood on the stage looking slightly embarrassed in his wonky crown, waving at the crowd of seniors. Chessa knew he had only gone along with the whole thing for her benefit, and the knowledge only made what she had to do next harder.
She swallowed her sadness and chose to enjoy the moment. It was the ultimate high school moment, and she knew she wouldn’t get any do-overs with it. She finally got off the stage, accepting congratulatory hugs from her friends. She turned to Noah.
“I need a bit of air. I won’t be a minute,” she said. She made her way through the crowd and out through the fire doors, glad when she looked back over her shoulder and saw that Noah had been intercepted by a couple of the guys and wasn’t following her.
Chessa stood outside in the cool breeze, enjoying the moment of solitude. As she thought about what she was about to do, a solitary tear ran down her face, and she wiped it away before it dripped from her chin. She reminded herself to enjoy the night, to make sure she made good memories to take to college with her.
She forced herself to go back into the gymnasium. The shiny silver and purple decorations made her smile. Watching the people she had shared her high school experience with letting their hair down and having fun made her feel strangely nostalgic, like she’d already left town and was watching a clip of her life. Her friends, her boyfriend, her whole life was here in Fairbanks, and yet she no longer felt like she was a part of it; she hadn’t since she had made her decision to leave and never look back. She felt a stirring of excitement at the thought of the freedom she would have, moving to California for college. How different it would be to bask in the sun all day and enjoy the surfer lifestyle.
“Are you ready to leave?” Noah asked, appearing at Chessa’s side. “Matt can take us on to the party in his car if you are.”
Chessa smiled and nodded her head.
“Yeah. Let’s do it,” she said.
The prom was great, a milestone, but everyone knew the real fun happened at the afterparty, and Kevin Hammond’s parties were legendary. Chessa was excited to complete the rite of passage: go to a raging kegger and wake up the next morning confused and hungover. She slipped her arm through Noah’s and let him lead her to Matt’s waiting car. Matt fired the engine and pulled away, and they headed for Kevin’s place.
Kevin’s parties were always the best for two reasons: firstly, his parents were pretty chill and turned a blind eye to the drinking and the music, as long as things didn’t get too out of hand. Secondly, Kevin lived in the middle of nowhere, so there were no complaints from his neighbors.
“Take a good look, Chessa. In two days’ time, we’ll be off to Boston for college,” Noah said, interrupting Chessa’s thoughts as she gazed out of the window, not really seeing the moving scenery before her.
She turned to Noah and gave him a halfhearted smile that she hoped would convince him she was happy. It seemed to work. He beamed back at her eagerly. In that moment, looking into Noah’s beautiful eyes, seeing the excitement in them, Chessa hated herself for what she knew she had to do. But it was the only way. To do anything else wouldn’t be fair to Noah.
Matt pulled up outside of Kevin’s place, and Chessa forced herself to turn off her melancholy thoughts and focus on the party. There was already plenty of cars on and around Kevin’s drive, and as soon as she opened the car door, Chessa could hear music pumping from the house and the laughter of teenagers let loose.
The three of them made their way into the party. People were milling about in the lounge and dining area, drinks in hand. As yet, no one was dancing, but the night was young, and Chessa knew this would be a very different scene in an hour or two. A girl beckoned Matt, who wandered off to talk to her. Chessa and Noah made their way out to the decks, where Noah poured them both a cup of beer. Chessa took hers gratefully and half downed it in one go.
“Easy there,” Noah laughed.
“Screw that, it’s a party. Go big or go home, right?” Chessa grinned back.
She took a moment to study Noah, to take in his big brown eyes, his messy black hair, and his wide shoulders. Ever since she had been old enough to take an interest in boys, she had been drawn to Noah, and she still felt the same attraction to him now as she had then. Maybe now even more so. She found herself closing the gap between them, leaning in towards him. She felt her body respond to their closeness.
“Let’s go upstairs,” she whispered.
Noah’s eyes widened, and he moved his head back so he could study Chessa’s face.
“You want to do it here?” he asked, surprised.
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah. It feels right, don’t you think? We’ve been together for three years, and I’ve always known you’d be my first. I know we said we’d wait until college, but why wait?”
Noah stoked Chessa’s cheek.
“Only if you’re sure you’re ready for this,” he said.
“I’m ready,” Chessa smiled.
Noah took her by the hand and led her through the throng of people and upstairs. He opened doors at random until he found a guestroom with a double bed in it and led Chessa inside. She downed the rest of her beer, enjoying the warm sensation in her stomach as Noah dragged a chest of drawers along the wall and used it to jam the door closed. He turned to Chessa and grinned. She felt her stomach whirling as she looked at him.
Noah stood facing her for a moment, and then he reached out and put his hands on Chessa’s face, gently holding her cheeks in his palms.
“I love you, Chessa,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” she replied.
He leaned in and kissed her. She felt a tingling sensation in her lips as their kiss deepened, filled with a passionate need. She moved her hands up and down his back, pulling his body closer to hers. He moaned into her mouth as her tongue probed inside of his. He began to walk her towards the bed as her hands furiously stripped him of his jacket and then his shirt. She felt the bed hit the back of her knees, and she moved her lips from Noah’s, turning away from him for a moment.
“I need you to unzip me,” she said.
* * *
Noah’s fingers lightly grazed her skin, working her zipper loose. Chessa pulled the thin straps of her dress over her arms and pushed it down to the floor, where she stepped out of it. She turned to face Noah again.
He looked at her standing before him in her bra and panties, red to match her dress. His eyes lingered on her flat stomach and then on her full breasts before moving to her face. Her hazel eyes stared back at him, filled with lust and something else that Noah couldn’t read.
He was relieved to find himself here with Chessa, about to take her virginity and give her his. Something had changed between them these last few weeks, and he hadn’t been able to put his finger on exactly what it was. He had thought Chessa had fallen out of love with him, but she had reassured him she loved him now and always. This was his proof, the proof he needed that they’d be okay.
Noah pressed his lips to Chessa’s, running his hands over the skin on her sides. He gently pushed her panties down and moved his hand to the front of her body, pushing his fingers between her lips. The warm wetness almost overwhelmed him, and he felt the beast within him roar, coming to life as his lust threatened to take over him. He ignored it, concentrating on the sweet taste of Chessa’s lips, the way her nails ran over the bare skin of his back, and the way her clit felt as it throbbed against his touch.
He kissed down her neck and along her shoulder and back again. He could feel himself getting hard, and he knew he couldn’t hold back for long. He pulled his hand away from Chessa’s clit, already missing the warmth of it. He gently pushed her back onto the bed. She unhooked her bra, throwing it to one side, and then she scooted back onto the bed. Noah quickly stripped his lower half and clambered onto the bed, kneeling between her spread legs.
“Chessa, I’m not sure what’s going to happen here. I don’t know if I can control the bear in me,” he said, suddenly afraid that he would hurt Chessa. Usually, as a bear shifter, Noah was completely in control of himself. He could change at will, but he had heard many stories about shifters who lost control of themselves when they gave themselves over to lust.
Chessa smiled and shook her head. “I’m not afraid of you, Noah. I know you would never hurt me.”
Noah smiled tentatively. She was right. Of course she was right. He would never hurt her. His inner beast would never hurt her. Kill for her, yes, but hurt her? Never.
He moved closer to Chessa. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. He slowly pushed himself inside her. She gasped as he pushed his way in, her face screwing up in pain. Noah stopped moving.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Chessa’s face relaxed, and she nodded. “Yes. Keep going.”
Noah continued, slowly easing his length inside Chessa. He could feel his cock pulsing as it entered her warm depths, and it took everything he had not to let himself lose control. As he slowly moved in and out of Chessa, he felt her relax. She began to move her hips in time with his.
It wasn’t long until Noah’s climax started building. The heat enveloping his cock and Chessa’s passionate kisses were pushing him closer to the edge with every second. Chessa kissed along his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, moaning in pleasure. Her nails dug into Noah’s back, and he began to move faster, thrusting into Chessa until she called out his name in ecstasy. He could feel the nerves in his body standing to attention, the bear in him growling and trying to break free. He held it back, not letting it all the way out, but enjoying the primal lust that flooded his body.
When he came, he came hard, releasing himself inside of Chessa with a moan. His whole body came to life, and he knew that he would always love Chessa. She would be his first and his last. He was certain of it.
When his orgasm faded, he rolled off Chessa and lay on his side facing her. He pulled her into his arms, and they stayed that way for a couple of minutes as they got their breath back.
“Did you enjoy it?” Noah asked finally. Chessa nodded and gave him a sad smile.
“Yes. It was the perfect way to say goodbye,” she said.
Noah felt as though his world had tilted on its head.
“Say goodbye? Chessa, what are you talking about?”
Chessa sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and began to speak. “I love you, Noah. I’ll always love you. But I can’t be selfish about this. I have to love you enough to let you go, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m not going to Boston.”
Noah sat up, his heart aching from her words. He touched her shoulder lightly.
“Chessa, look at me,” he said. Reluctantly, Chessa turned to face him. He felt another stab of pain when he saw the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “I don’t want you to let me go. I love you.”
Chessa reached out and gently stroked Noah’s face.
“I know you do,” she said. “But what happens when you hit twenty-nine and stop aging? It’ll be fine for a few years, and then I’ll start to get old and you won’t. I’ll get ill and you won’t. I’ll be a burden to you, Noah, and I won’t stand by and watch you watch me dying. I… I just can’t do that to you.”
“We’ll face that when it comes,” Noah said. Chessa shook her head before he could go any further.
“We’d just be drawing it out. Getting more attached to each other. Making it harder to let go when the time comes. You might think you’re ready to watch me get old and feeble, but when it comes to it, you’ll resent me. And I’ll hate myself for putting you through that. It’s best that we end this now. Please, Noah. I’ve made my decision. Don’t make it any harder than it has to be.”
“There might be a way. I’ll talk to my pack. My father might know a witch who can make you immortal or something. I know you’re meant to be my mate, Chessa, I know it with every fiber of my being! And if there’s a way to make it happen, I’ll find it.”
“There is no way, Noah. You said it yourself. Out of every hundred people that try to turn, ninety-nine of them die. If I died trying to turn, you’d never be able to live with yourself. And eternity is too long to carry guilt.”
“Eternity is too long to live without you, Chessa.”
“You’ll find someone else. Someone like you. A shifter. And you’ll live happily for eternity.”
Noah wanted to throw himself on the ground at Chessa’s feet and beg her to change her mind, but the firm tone of her voice and the determined set of her mouth told him it would be fruitless. Chessa had made her mind up, and once she did that, there was no going back.
“I don’t know what to say, Chess,” Noah said.
“Then don’t say anything.” She smiled at him. “Just kiss me goodbye.”
Noah kissed her like he had never kissed her before. It was desperate, the kiss of two people in love who knew they must leave each other. Noah would have spent the rest of his life on that bed, kissing his girl, but reality came crashing back in when Chessa gently pulled away from him.
“I’ll always love you, Noah,” she said. “Be happy.”
She got dressed, moved the chest of drawers, and left the room, leaving Noah feeling empty inside. He had never before hated who he was, what he was, but in that moment, he hated it with everything he had. He felt the turn coming on as he let his emotions run away with him, and he forced his beast back inside.
There had been a part of him that had always dreaded this moment; the moment when Chessa faced the reality of the fact that he would stop aging and she wouldn’t. He had hoped it wouldn’t happen for a lon
g time yet, long enough for him to find the secret, whatever allowed some people to turn successfully. For the first time since he had told Chessa what he really was, he regretted the decision.
1
I sit frozen in horror, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to do anything. When I first walked into the church and saw Noah standing at the end of the aisle, I looked down, and I was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. I walked down the aisle, but the wedding march didn’t play. I had no bridesmaids, no one to give me away. I didn’t recognize any of the guests.
And then I reached the end of the aisle, and Noah didn’t so much as look at me. He looked past me like I wasn’t there, his eyes shining. I glanced over my shoulder as the wedding march finally began to play. And that’s when I saw her.
I fell into the nearest seat, and my beautiful wedding dress faded, becoming the black dress of a mourner.
I watch now as a gorgeous blonde-haired woman with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen walks along the aisle. She is wearing my wedding dress. I want to jump up and rip it from her, to tell everyone Noah is mine and she’s stealing him, but I still can’t move. I am trapped, watching this horror unfold before me.
She reaches Noah, and he takes her hand from the hand of a man giving her away; her father, I presume. It strikes me in that moment that neither Noah nor the mystery girl look entirely happy, but I guess that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
