Taming the Alpha

by Mandy M. Roth

  “What are you doing here?” I wanted to explain it to him, wanted to explain why I hadn’t told him what was really such a stupid story, but knew that I had to let him say what he’d come to say.

  I didn’t dare let myself hope that it would be anything I really wanted to hear.

  I was wrong.

  “I, uh, had a talk with Cady. Cady, she’s… Josh’s girlfriend,and with Josh.” I cringed, knowing what an awkward talk that must have been. “She, um, explained what the website’s about. What you do. That you don’t actually… you know, have sex with…”

  “Strange, cheating men?” I knew that there was a bite to my tone, but I was so tired. I just wanted this over with, so that I could start the process through that damned darkness again.

  Could start picking up the pieces, knitting them back together into a damaged whole.

  “They’re not all cheaters,” he flashed back before catching himself and laughing, a bit. “Sorry, it’s just… my brother and I have always been a bit overprotective of each other. And he’d never cheat on Cady. But that’s for them to work out. And this…” His voice trailed off, and my heart began to pound erratically, skipping every second beat, I was sure.

  “And this?” I sat up straight, dying to spill out with my apology, but knowing that I had to let him speak first. I owed him that.

  “Well… I guess… I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should have let you explain.” His words stunned me, and I sat frozen in place as he shuffled yet again, edging forward just the tiniest bit. “Your job is kind of cool, actually. Though I do wish you’d told me.”

  “It never came up.” This was the truth, but the way that things had played out, it really should have, and I knew it. “Adam, I’m sorry. I should have told you. But… well… this is exactly what I was afraid of happening. I don’t blame you for thinking what you did. Not after what you overheard. I mean, we really don’t know each other.” I bit my lip at this last comment, knowing that I, at least, didn’t feel like that was a complete truth.

  “Don’t we?” I looked up at the soft words to find that he’d moved across the room and was now kneeling in front of me, close enough to touch but still not.

  He echoed the question that he’d asked me earlier. “Am I the only one who feels… this?”

  The tears spilled over. I lectured myself, my inner voice shouting that this was ridiculous— I’d only known him for two days. But I couldn’t deny that connection between us, the one that had started the second that we’d been in the same room for the first time.

  The connection that was pulsing between us even now.

  “No,” I told him. “No.” I snuffled back the snot that was dripping from my nose, grimacing inwardly— I’d never been a pretty crier, a fact that I apologized for. “I’m sorry, this is so not sexy.”

  “On the contrary.” Finally, finally he reached out, clasped my hands in his. The now familiar spark that lit whenever we touched flared into the tension thick air, igniting a tiny flame of hope deep in my belly.

  “On the contrary,” he repeated, stroking a finger over my knuckles with a touch that made my nipples tighten, despite my tears. His eyes swept up my body and then down, finally coming to rest on my own, which were now crinkling upwards with the smile that I couldn’t hold off of my lips.

  “Earlier, you said something about what you were wearing under these jeans.” He leaned in and I felt his breath fan my face, drying the salty streams that had tracked through my makeup. I closed my eyes to better absorb the sensation that I would never again take for granted.

  “Want to show me?”

  Oh, did I.

  The End

  About the Author

  Lauren Hawkeye/Lauren Jameson never imagined that she’d wind up telling stories for a living... though when she looks back, it’s easy to see that she’s the only one who is surprised. Always “the kid who read all the time”, Lauren made up stories about her favorite characters once she’d finished a book... and once spent an entire year narrating her own life internally. No, really. But where she was just plain odd before publication, now she can at least claim to have an artistic temperament.

  www.laurenhawkeye.com

  Valan Playboys

  by Scarlett Dawn

  Orphan, Lana Claire, drinks too much and parties too hard. When her time spent at a new bar ends with bodies littering the ground, Lana wonders if she may have discovered a path that leads to answers she desperately needs. Never one to walk blind, she treads carefully, and what she finds is more than she ever hoped for. Heat and passion can only burn bright when Valan men are on the hunt for their mate, but Lana never expected to be the spark for two of their hottest playboys. More than ready to sizzle with the alphas of Valan, Lana does what she always does. She dives right in.

  Chapter One

  It was a possibility I shouldn’t have drunk so much.

  Swiftly opening my eyes, I stopped swaying to blink rapidly through the tendrils of smoke hovering like lines of sheet music. My blood warmed with the whiskey I had been steadily downing for the past hour. The jarring pulse of bass streaming overhead thrummed against my senses, beating at my chest where I stood on the dance floor where no movement was occurring past my own. Squinting from the blue and yellow lights swirling in time to the music, my unease only heightened when I realized why it was suddenly still.

  It wasn’t vacant. No mass disappearing.

  Bodies littered the black concrete in a large circle at my feet. The occupants at the bar straight ahead were slumped on their chairs, heads against the straight-line counter. A quick glance to my right showed the same splattering of unconscious bodies coating the round tables on the raised sectioned off area. None moved, out cold.

  Except for the group inside the VIP section to my left.

  They were on their feet.

  Still awake.

  Same with the two bartenders behind the bar and the DJ behind me on his lifted platform. Only their silhouettes could be seen from the dark corners, but all seemed almost bored, still talking amongst each other, like this was ordinary.

  Standing perfectly still, I didn’t breathe.

  This was not ordinary.

  The others still awake glanced my way. Staring. As if I was the odd occurrence. A few heads even tipped slightly—a curious action.

  As the heavy beat overhead abruptly cut off, the entire club suddenly quiet like a death walk, I most definitely wished I hadn’t had that last double of whiskey. I drank. A lot. Could hold my own just fine, but a little less alcohol currently trickling through my veins would have been beneficial. Especially as the onlookers began to creep out of their shadows when the swirling lights stopped and the overhead main lights came on blasting the area in harsh white lighting.

  I knew I shouldn’t have come to this bar. It was new. I didn’t do new most times. Liked to stick with what I knew. Curiosity had thrown me astray a few times in my seventeen years of existence. Apparently, tonight was one of them as I scanned the many eyes on me from remarkably gorgeous faces as they moved closer. Absently stepping over the sleeping lumps of partygoers on the floor, they began to circle me.

  I cleared my throat when they stopped only a few feet away. “I’ll leave. Right now. Pretend like I’ve never heard of this place.” I knew when I was outmatched. There were at least fifty to my one. Odds were, at least one would get a lucky shot in.

  The man in front of me with deep, straight red hair and amazing porcelain skin caught my attention when his chocolate-colored eyes honed on my own aqua blues, his voice quiet as he asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Still not trembling, my blink was gradual. “Dancing.”

  His equally attractive brows scrunched. “Are you from out of town?” He waved an agitated hand in front of his face, blowing the smoke lingering in the air away, turning to the woman with blonde hair on his right, grumbling, “Text Mike. Tell him to turn this shit off. He just keeps it on to annoy me.” When the woman
yawned, pulling out her cell and her thumbs began flying over the screen, his chocolate gaze swung back to me. Waiting.

  Confusion taking root, I muttered, “I’m not from out of town.” I didn’t even need to glance at the bodies covering the dance floor again—an easy decision. “But if you let me walk, you’ll never see me again.” I would not be coming back here.

  A peculiar quietness settled on the group surrounding me, their eyes now even more intent. My creep-o-meter rising even further, unsettling my stomach, I watched as even the woman texting stalled in her action to peer up at me with her stunning eyes.

  The red-haired man’s head cocked slightly, his expression pointedly quiet, just like his tone. “Just because you shouldn’t be here, and were obviously not informed as you should have been, it doesn’t mean I’m going to harm you.” His features were muddled, a teensy bit of confusion fluttering past his eyes. He uncrossed his arms to extend his hand to me, the action slowing when my shoulders stiffened. The foot he had been moving to step forward pulled back into place, only holding his hand between us. “I’m Renner. This is my club.”

  I stared at his hand. The handsome people around me. Back to his hand. It looked like a nice hand. No callouses. Absent sweat. If it meant I was going to walk from here alive, shaking his hand couldn’t hurt. Pacifying him, I placed my hand in his.

  I shouldn’t have.

  As an astonishing flash of fiery heat pressed from his palm into mine, my entire being shook. It wasn’t a harmful touch, definitely feeling gentle, briefly intimate even, but it frightened me enough I jerked my hand back, a shocked yelp exiting past my lips. Heart rate flying tenfold, I instantly grabbed the knives I carried under my jacket at the small of my back, twirling them in my hands until I gripped them comfortably, standing on the balls of my feet. Breathing heavy, eyes wide on my face, I growled, “What was that?” My gaze flew to the horde surrounding me, and then back to the point man, meeting chocolate brown. I really should have skipped that last drink. “And do not tell me that was static electricity.” Air coming in pants, I took an instant step backward when the blonde woman took a step toward me—in the freaking uncomfortable silence of the room.

  Renner grabbed her arm, firmly pulling her back. His brows furrowed deeply, his gaze flicking between the weapons in my hands and my eyes before his gaze met hers, his words soft. “This is my club, Jill. There will be no fighting.” He tossed her a disappointed glance. “Besides, animals backed into a corner bite.” A gentle shake of his head before his gaze tipped back to mine, lowering his hand from her arm; blatant confusion rode his features. He flicked a finger at my weapons. “You know it’s against our laws now to draw weapons on another Valan.” He crossed his arms once more. “What faction are you?”

  I kept my mouth shut. My eyes skimmed to his hidden hands.

  “I’ve never seen her before,” Jill murmured, her narrowed gaze set on my weapons. Her lips curved the barest bit. “And besides, you know I’m not afraid of a little bite.”

  Renner’s brow quirked at my continued silence. “Since you’re not from out of town, and Jill doesn’t know you, you’re not Vampire. That leaves three. Which is it?” He tipped his head forward. “Witch, Mermaid, or Valkyrie?”

  My entire being had turned cold. Locked down solid. “What are you talking about?”

  His blink was gradual. “Your faction.”

  “You’re crazy,” I hissed, mentally done. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” The exit wasn’t too far. It was possible I could make it there without being knocked out.

  The horde remained motionless. Though, there was a quiet trickling through them in the set of their shoulders, the way they stiffened, their attention even more focused on me than before.

  A seeping of fear churned inside my stomach and I swallowed hard, my gaze darting from each person. I decided Renner was the biggest threat with his size and attention honed on me in a dangerous way.

  Eyes steadfast on me, Jill sniffed. “She’s frightened.”

  Instantly, my glare turned squinty in frustrated anger when a loud clap of thunder boomed above the club, the light fixtures trembling above us with it. No one even glanced up. Just continued to stare. I went with it, not peering up either, even though it had been a clear night sky when I had paid my cover charge to get inside this hellhole.

  Renner’s brows merely rose, and he cautiously pulled a cellphone from his pant pocket, pressed a number on it, and then placed it to his ear. His gaze never left mine, even when he spoke into it, his tone still quiet. “Lanson, it’s Renner. I’m at the club and I’ve got a small situation.” His gaze traveled up and down my frame. “It being about five foot, four inches tall, black straight hair past her shoulders, age unknown, blue eyes...” He chuckled quietly, his tenor incredulous. “And she apparently has no fucking clue what faction she is. Would you mind giving Callie a call? She should probably come down here and take care of this.” An extended beat, my eyes narrowing on his before I glanced toward the exit, and his words rushed. “No, I’m not kidding. And hurry. She’s ready to run.”

  He shoved his phone into his pant pocket, and then held his hands up, stepping between the exit and me. “Calm down.” Another bolt of thunder cracked over the roof, and he chuckled quietly. “Really, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” His smile was soft, his gaze glancing over my features. “You might not know what you are, but you do know you felt something when we touched.” When my breath froze inside my chest, he nodded gradually. “If you want the answers, you’ll stay. And no one here will harm you.”

  One of his raised hands gestured to the VIP section. “Why don’t you go sit down? If you’re curious—and quite honestly, if I were you, I sure as hell would be—you’ll wait for Callie to get here.”

  Chapter Two

  I stayed. Damned curiosity was going to kill me one day.

  It might still tonight.

  My spine stiffened when I saw three new individuals enter the club. Peering past all the ‘sleepers’ on the ground, I watched as Renner greeted them at the door. All the others awake stayed on the far side of the bar, eyeing me where I sat in the corner of the VIP section and whispering back and forth to one another. Not entirely able to calm myself, there had been periodic crashes of thunder shaking the roof for the last half hour. I twirled one of my knives on the table, having been watching them watch me, observing them thoroughly, but now, I only had eyes for the three women who instantly peered in my direction when Renner gestured toward me.

  The one in the middle with elbow length golden hair spoke to the other two after a moment, pausing when another crash of thunder shook the roof. Her gaze meticulously scanned each of my facial features, before she left the two by the front door. A scowl wrinkled the corners of her stunning eyes as she stepped over the bodies on the ground. She slowly made her way to me, allowing me the time to take her measure.

  She appeared all of twenty-five years old, uncannily like everyone in this bar—who were conscious—but the way she moved drew my attention. This woman was frightening. Her agile feet barely touched the floor with a talent inert. One I knew well, since I was trained in martial arts throughout my entire childhood. Though, the most formidable weapon in her appearance was the hard set of her jaw and her unwavering scrutiny, both indicating an authority far beyond her youthful appearance.

  Stopping at my table, she didn’t speak until she took a seat across from me. When she placed her hands on the table, my eyes honed on the magnificent diamond ring on her thumb, zoning on it, my breath even catching. Clenching my jaw, I jerked my attention away from the dazzling sparkles and peered directly into her honey gaze that was near the same shade as her gentle, waving locks. Her lips curved the barest bit, and she tapped her thumb—her ring—absently on the table, her question simple. “Like it?”

  My own reply was artless. “Yes.” I didn’t glance at it again.

  Honeyed eyes scanned my features casually. “I’m Callie Clover.” She humm
ed quietly, taking her time with her perusal of my person, not even glancing at the knife I continued to spin on the table. “I was told there was one of mine here who doesn’t have a clue.” A golden brow arched—more than skeptical. “Is that true? Do you not know what you are?”

  My lips thinned. “I was told you would provide answers.” I wasn’t telling her anything. Trust was not my strong suit. I tipped my head toward Renner. “When I shook his hand...I felt something. It wasn’t normal. What was it?”

  She continued tapping her ring. “Give me your name.”

  My brow cocked. “Kiss my ass.”

  Honeyed eyes stared. “I gave you an order.”

  I snorted softly. “And?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “You truly don’t know who I am.” It wasn’t a question. Her lips pinched into a straight line. “Who are your parents?”

  My aqua blues turned frosty. “Dead.”

  “Their names?”

  “Unimportant for this conversation.”

  Her brows slammed together, and she sat back on her chair gradually, her gaze running over my features once more. Ever so slowly, her demeanor turned quiet, curious. “Were they not like you?” She flicked a hand at the ceiling. “Able to control the lightning?”

  My entire being froze, staring at her. I didn’t move or speak for an extended moment. Silently, I debated as another thunderbolt rattled the ceiling. Eventually, I cleared my throat, and then sat back on my own chair, wanting answers. I stated the truth, “No. They weren’t like me.” I shrugged a casual shoulder. “How do you know about the lightning?”

  Her gaze caught on mine. I instantly knew she didn’t like my answer or my question. Her regard altered to a peculiar quietness, a look I remembered well from my own mother, one of protection for a child. Though, this woman before me hid it an instant later with a hooded gaze. She answered calmly, “Because I can do it, too.” She flicked a finger.