Alpha Balla': A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance

by Angela Foxxe

  John took that as his cue, walked to the Jacuzzi, and climbed in.

  The water felt great for him. He was able to appreciate the heat without it burning his skin at all. The warmth spread all the way through him, relaxing each and every muscle in his body. He was getting longer and harder, just waiting to slide into the warmth of Heather’s sweet body.

  Heather wrapped her arms around John as he pulled her close to him and planted his mouth on hers. He was kissing her hard, passionately and deeply. Her soft lips and hot breath mingling with his own was gratifying on a level he had previously only dreamed of. How was it possible that her lips contained some kind of magic elixir that could turn him on the way no one else quite could? It had to be love. It had to be the pure, unwavering love that he felt for her. When she touched him, his whole body quivered with lust, love, pain, joy, and peace, and it was all wrapped up into one single emotion that he couldn’t name if he had to. But he knew the feeling and gravitated toward it. It was becoming almost an addiction. He was addicted to the rush he felt when he kissed Heather. She was everything to him now. In fact, he was having a hard time wondering how he would ever live his life without her.

  Was it too soon to feel this way? Was it too early to tell her how he felt? He didn’t know, but he was close to just going for it.

  He lifted Heather up in the water just enough to position himself under her and lowered her body onto his hard staff, piercing through the sweetness of her body. He was fully inside of her now, connected physically, spiritually, and emotionally to the love of his life. That was the best way to describe the way he felt. And he once again had to kick himself and wonder if he should have his head examined to have let something so pure and so perfect go like he did. That had been wrong, and he would spend the rest of his life paying for that mistake to make it right if he had to.

  “Oh God, that feels so good!” Heather exclaimed with a gasp as she inhaled deeply and leaned back, the water glistening off her sweet bosom and exposing her smooth neck to him.

  John buried his face in her neck softly and began to kiss the softness of her skin, moving his tongue up and down her neck slowly. Heather leaned back more to absorb it all, just enjoying every ounce of pleasure that he was able to give to her.

  She moved up and down on his thick, hard flesh. He filled her up to the max, and it felt like she was perfectly sized for him. It was a sweet, tight fit of exquisite pleasure. Every single thrusting motion pushed against the head of his shaft and sent waves of tingling, sweet excitement coursing through his lower regions. He was going to finish soon. He knew it.

  But he would wait until she did. He was going to make her go off like a rocket.

  Heather suddenly pulled back a bit and, keeping him inside of her, moved her body around so they were now in a reverse cowgirl position. The sensation of her body wrapping around him as she moved was intense, and he found himself giggling a bit as the sensation subsided.

  Heather leaned forward slightly and moved downward, allowing him to get deeper into her. He loved it this way. John held onto Heather’s hips and began to speed up his hard, driving thrust into her sweetness. She moaned loudly, yelling, “Harder!”

  He obeyed her commands and continued faster. He was afraid that he was almost about to hurt her, but she commanded him to go harder still. The adrenaline was soaking every cell of his body, giving him the energy to continue. He wanted to fill her up so badly. It was coming. It was going to be huge.

  “Oh, I’m almost there!” John groaned.

  A second later, he released inside of her and plunged his hard member deeply inside of her tight, wetness. He pulled her body as close to him as he could, holding her, comforting her, and showing her his love.

  A second later, she finished right behind him.

  As they waited for their hearts to quit pounding and for their lust to subside somewhat so they could breathe normally, John felt the warmest feeling come over his body and his heart. He knew what he had to do.

  He kissed Heather softly on the lips. Her tongue moved briefly from her mouth and entered his, and he massaged it gently and quickly with his own.

  They pulled apart and looked into each other’s eyes.

  “I love you,” John said.

  Heather looked shocked for a moment, and John waited for the magic words he so wanted to hear.

  Heather smiled at him. “I love you, too.”

  ***

  A half hour later, they were snuggling in the warm Jacuzzi waters, just enjoying the silence and sipping champagne. Apparently, Keith’s family kept the mini bar in the living room pretty well stocked. John was thinking what a nice vacation home this would be to come to regularly, a great place to get away from it all.

  “I have something to tell you,” Heather said.

  “Okay,” John replied. He was slightly apprehensive. Everything was going so well, but when a woman said she had something to tell him or that they needed to talk, it was usually not good news. That had been his experience thus far, and he figured that most men would agreed to that.

  “I know the men who attacked us,” Heather said as she turned her body to look at him.

  “What? What do you mean?” John asked. The men weren’t psychos who wanted to kill him because of the video? Apparently, she really did have a lot to tell him.

  “They are after me because I owe them money,” Heather said.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean? What’s going on? Why do you owe them money?” John asked.

  “When my dad got sick, his medical bills turned out to be enormous, and they just kept piling on and piling on. He had just lost his insurance coverage about six months prior. The farmer’s union had been having a tough time; a lot of the farmers couldn’t afford the dues anymore, and they left the union. So, it eventually ceased to be, and the insurance and benefits were gone.”

  “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry to hear that,” John said.

  “Well, a guy named Lester came into the bar one day, and he overheard me talking with Shelly, who works there, about it. He told me he knew of someone who would loan me the money with no collateral or credit checks. That sounded good to me. But before I knew it, I was in with a crazy loan shark for a lot of money. Now, my time is up, and they want to kill me as a way to send a message to others who won’t pay.”

  “Why haven’t you gone to the police about this?”

  “Because he is great friends with all of the higher-ups on the force. This man, Tony Janks, he’s into a lot of different things. Not only does he do loan sharking, he does pimping, drugs, stolen merchandise, and intimidation for other groups.”

  Heather was crying now. Her body was shaking as she leaned forward and laid her head on John’s chest. He hated to see her in so much pain. It must have been terrifying for her to be in this position. These guys were brutal killers. They had been targeted by true assassins. Somehow, it made what happened to them that much scarier.

  “It’s going to be okay,” John said. “I won’t let them get to you. We’ll find out how to diffuse this situation. How much money are you in for?”

  “Eighty thousand dollars,” Heather said.

  “They believed that you would be good for eighty grand?”

  “No, but they took stock of the house and the farm equipment and expected me to sell it. But the farm is still our major source of income and our major source of food. Without it, Daddy and I couldn’t make it. His health is still not good enough to return to farming full time. He was so successful at it. I remember how things used to be. My dad was a fairly wealthy farmer. And he loved it. He was good at it. He loved the land, and he loved the animals. But now, he just can’t do it. And even though he taught me some things about it, I never expected to run the place myself, and I’m just not as good at it as he is. We can barely afford the hired hands that help us.”

  “It’s okay. I can cover the money,” John said.

  “No, I can’t ask you to do that,” Heather responded.

  �
�It’s okay. I want to help. Besides, if money will make this guy go away and save your life, then I have to do this.”

  “He won’t settle for the eighty grand anymore,” Heather said. “He said it is now one hundred.”

  “Okay. I can handle that, and I won’t accept no for an answer,” John replied.

  Heather buried her face in his chest and cried. He held her close to him, rubbing her shoulders and wishing that he could make those tears stop.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me about this sooner?”

  “Because I was scared that you would judge me, and I was afraid you would want to help without taking no for an answer,” Heather said. She smiled at the end of her statement. John loved to see her smiling again. He couldn’t stand to see her in any pain.

  “It’s okay,” John said. “I’m here now, and I will help you in any way I can. So, tell me. Where can I find Tony Janks? Was he at the house? Or is he the kind of guy who likes to pull the strings from behind the curtain?”

  “He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. I’ve heard stories about some of the things he has personally done on special cases.”

  “Good. I was afraid this was going to be an easy fight.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “So, what’s the story?” John asked into the phone. Keith had promised to get back with him first thing in the morning about what to do to handle the craziness going on about him and the leaked video. It was almost noon, and John hadn’t heard any word from his friend. Now, he was a firm believer that no news was good news, but in this particular situation, it just didn’t feel right. His skin was crawling about what to do. He wanted to make a video and post it online, stating his response to these wild allegations and the absurdity of the video. But he was torn as to whether he should say it was a joke or if he should say that it was something someone had put together and it wasn’t even him in the video. He wasn’t sure what the people would believe or what they needed to hear. That sort of thing was always Keith’s territory. The man just had a way with people. John didn’t have that sort of charisma at all.

  Keith was supposed to be flying in that morning, but he wasn’t sure if that was happening now or not. With this crazy video issue, he was probably going to have to stay somewhat close to the center of the action, which was not Lewisburg, Ohio. John understood that, but he couldn’t quiet his nerves down.

  Keith picked up on the second call attempt. “Hey, Keith. What’s the story, man?”

  “Hey, buddy. I have been as busy as a chicken with its head cut off. I tell you, I’ve been running around here like a madman. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

  “That sucks,” John said, trying to be supportive. Keith did work crazy hard sometimes, and he was trying to be understanding about how difficult all of this had been to contain. “Are you coming out today?”

  “I’m going to do my best. I have to get to town hall soon to make a press statement. I’m working with Mitchell Goldberg, the PR specialist to the stars. You’ve heard of him, right?”

  “Yeah, he sounds familiar,” John said. “Why are you working with him? Is this something beyond even your reach? I’m getting scared now.”

  “Very funny,” Keith said. “But this man is the best at making scandals go away. Anytime a celebrity has a lot of kinky sex and decides to turn on a camera, he makes it all go away. So he is definitely the best guy to help with this.”

  “So, if you’re doing a press statement, then I need to be there,” John said.

  “No! Absolutely not. I don’t think you could even get on an airplane without being mugged. You need to sit tight. After this is over, Mitchell and I will work something out for you to record a proper statement. After that, all we have to do is sit tight and wait it all out.”

  “Okay, you’re the boss. I just feel weird having my hands tied with this. I feel like I should be doing something.”

  “Yeah, I know. Trust me, it is for the best. I will get there as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks, Keith.”

  “No problem. Anything else I can do for you, man?” Keith asked.

  The name of Tony Janks flashed in John’s mind.

  “Yeah. Heather has gotten herself in a bit of a pickle.”

  “Okay…” Keith said. John could hear the question “what does that have to do with us?” hanging in the air.

  “Well, there’s this loan shark named Tony Janks,” John began. He told Keith the whole story about the attack and about how Heather owed this asshole money. Keith listened patiently without interjecting at all. When John finished the story, he waited for several moments, trying to hear the gears churning in Keith’s mind. This was a lot to lay on the man, but he was confident that if anyone knew how to best proceed with this sort of thing, it was going to be Keith. And if he didn’t know, odds were that he definitely knew someone who did.

  “Okay, well, this is an inconvenient time to help out an old friend when you have so much other crap going on,” Keith said.

  “She’s not just a friend, man; I love her.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, I’m serious,” John said.

  Keith broke into laughter. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day when Mr. Football Star John Wild said the L word.”

  “I know. There comes a day for everybody, I guess,” John said.

  “Well, congratulations on that,” Keith replied. “Look, I might know someone who can take care of this problem for you.”

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “I just happen to have a few clients from way back that I kept out of jail who were guilty as sin of some not-so-nice things. I can have them look into it,” Keith said.

  “If they were guilty, then why did you defend them?”

  “Because it was my job, and I take my job seriously. Besides, the law states that you have to convict beyond a reasonable doubt; if there is doubt at all, then they deserve the benefit of it, and they deserve to go free. You can’t punish people for maybes.”

  “Okay, fair enough. Do you think these guys can handle it? I mean the fire power that was sent after us was crazy major. I hate to put anybody in danger.”

  “Oh, trust me. These guys are way beyond all of that. Most of them would make this guy’s skin crawl.”

  “Wow, that sounds pretty sweet. I’d almost like to see that,” John said.

  “Hell, no. I’m not gonna see it either; I’m not even going to know about it. It’s better that way because it gives you plausible deniability.”

  “I see; well, that sounds great. I appreciate it, Keith.”

  “No problem. You just relax, and I’ll be back with you shortly. I just got a text that Mitchell is going to set up a press conference in, like, an hour with him and me to address all of this. You just continue to keep playing low key.”

  “Will do,” John said.

  He hung up the phone and poured himself a cup of coffee. Staring out of the window above the sink into the picturesque, late fall, Ohio foliage, a peaceful, almost serene feeling came over him then. He often wondered how there could be such beauty in the world when there was so much ugly in it, all at the same time.

  “What did he say?” Heather asked, walking into the kitchen. Her hair was wet, and her skin was shiny from the fresh shower. She’d actually gotten up before he had and went for a jog. John wasn’t sure that was so wise, what with there being a group of gangsters who were trying to kill her, but he respected her guts and determination to live her life as normal as possible under the circumstances.

  “Well, he said to continue to sit tight. He is going to put together a press release in about an hour or so; we need to watch that. Hopefully, the people will believe that all of this ‘werewolf’ business is a hoax.”

  John laughed at the irony of it all.

  “That’s good. It’s the topic of the week; it will blow over soon,” Heather said, placing her arm around his waist. She was so comforting.

  “I asked Keith to d
o me another favor,” John said. “He might be able to take care of your Tony Janks problem.”

  Heather’s eyes widened in surprise, and John thought for a moment that she might cry.

  “That’s great, but you didn’t have to do that. The more people who are involved in all of this, the worse it will be. I wish to hell that I hadn’t dragged you into it. I just didn’t think that Tony would really do this. I’d heard rumors about who he is and what he was capable of, but I guess deep down, I always thought it was just rumors and talk. I didn’t think he would try to kill me.”

  “Because you’re a girl?” John teased. “You get special treatment because you’re a chick?” He sat his cup down on the counter and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her sweetly. “Honey, it’s going to be okay. This scumbag is going down if I have to track him down and take all of his men out one by one, Rambo style. Or at least Rambo werewolf style.”

  “Well, I guess the wolf is a handy weapon at times. If you weren’t able to do some of the things you can do, then I might be dead and you might be dead, too.”

  John thought a moment about those words, and he realized that she was absolutely right. He hated the curse and had tried like hell to deny it existed while he secretly prayed that God would show him a cure and he’d be rid of it forever, but it was a huge advantage when he needed it. His skills were a valuable weapon. But were they valuable enough to not try to get rid of the curse? That was the million dollar question. As he held Heather in his arms, he really didn’t know.

  “I know,” John replied. He didn’t have much else to really say on that subject.

  Heather and he looked out the window for a few moments in total silence, just embracing each other. The rhythm of her breathing combined with the dull thump of her sweet heartbeat that he could feel against his own chest was like some sort of private concert that could lull him to sleep at any time.

  “The colors are so beautiful,” Heather said.

  “Yeah, that’s another thing I miss about home,” John replied.