THE ALION KING
PARANORMAL DATING AGENCY
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
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Isabella Barca is great at organizing—not so great at keeping her nose out of trouble. When Bella goes to work as Mrs. Wilder’s assistant, the opportunity of a lifetime pops up: travel with Gerri to another planet, a shifter planet, and help Gerri find a lion king his mate.
Alyx Treyvaal isn’t known for being patient. A lion doesn’t ask for help. A lion doesn’t apologize. And he most certainly does not purr. But once he meets Bella, he finds himself doing all of the above…except for purring. He will not purr.
With wolves stirring all kinds of trouble for them and a cousin who would like to shred Bella to ribbons, things are not simple for the couple. Not at all. One thing’s for sure, when his mate is taken and threatened, the entire planet will hear the lion king’s roar.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
New York, NY 10456
http://millytaiden.com
The Alion King
Copyright © 2015 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Willsin Rowe
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
July 2015
—For Robyn
Without you, the end would have still been the beginning. I love you.
ONE
Isabella Barca glanced at the door with trepidation. Her cousin, Tally, had spoken to Mrs. Wilder on her behalf. Since Mrs. Wilder needed an assistant and Bella had just lost her temp job, it seemed like a great fit. Considering Mrs. Wilder’s matchmaking business was growing exponentially, Bella was worried about messing up for the lovely woman, not that Bella ever messed up due to lack of work ethic. It seemed her inability to stop working on something until she felt it was perfect annoyed some of her previous bosses.
The door flung open, and Mrs. Wilder looked her over from top to bottom. “Why are you just standing there?” She frowned and met Bella’s gaze. “You’ve been standing there for the past five minutes, and I have been giving you time to knock, but you didn’t. What’s wrong? Don’t you want the job?”
Bella nodded jerkily. “I do. I’m sorry, Gerri,” she said, having already been chastised once for calling her Mrs. Wilder. “I’m a bit worried about not meeting your expectations.”
Bella didn’t like office work. In fact, she hated it, but she was so good at being organized that it was one of the things she’d learned without much effort. To work in an office, all one needed was a good sense of organization and punctuality. And a boss who was never around to watch her obsessing over perfection.
“Stop stressing. Come inside and let’s talk.” Gerri moved out of the way and motioned for her to come in with her head.
“Thank you.” She slid her hands over her wide hips, wiping the gathering sweat on her pants. As a curvy woman, Bella had always embraced her body. She loved it; whoever didn’t could go fuck themselves. It was that simple.
Gerri’s apartment had been undergoing renovations. She’d opened up into the one next door when the person had moved out not long ago, and now she had a much bigger space for her business.
All right. She could do this. She was great at organizing people. “You said to wear comfortable clothes.”
So she’d worn a pair of super-soft cotton pants and a tank top. It was hot as hell, and she’d be working in a very busy office filled with boxes.
“Thank you for listening to my request,” Gerri said, as they headed through the opening to the giant office she’d created out of the next-door apartment. “You really don’t need to dress up. You’re doing so much hands-on work, especially with organizing the files and setting up all my things in an orderly fashion. I don’t expect you to wear a suit for any of that.”
Stacks of boxes lined the other apartment, as well as chairs, two desks, and various electronic devices—some she hadn’t seen before. They actually looked pretty different than anything she’d ever seen.
“I’m staying over here and check on my mail while you sort through those boxes,” Gerri pointed toward the desk. “Most of it is books. Later, once we’ve opened up some work space, you can create new customer files.”
Bella nodded and glanced at the boxes piled on one of the desks. “Sure. Anything you want me to be careful with?”
Gerri frowned. “No, just find a spot for everything. Make my life easier.”
She grinned. “You got it, Gerri.”
Gerri smiled and turned to her living room.
Bypassing mountains of books, Bella moved to the boxes on the desk. The first was labeled “stuff.” Gerri could be so helpful. She opened it and rummaged through what looked like small antiques that would look great in Gerri’s working area once they had the whole place set up. She closed the box and moved to the next. Like the last one, it was labeled with just “IDT.”
She’d need to start a list of what the heck these labels meant. She opened the box. There was what appeared to be a small tablet inside. She picked it up, brushed the dust off the screen, and stared at it. Unlike most tablets, this one did not have any buttons.
She turned it to and fro, looking for a way to turn the machine on. Nothing.
“Do you want something to drink, Bella?” Gerri asked. The question made her jump and drop the tablet into the box.
“Iced tea if you have it,” she called out, her hands shaking. She so needed to get ahold of herself and cut out the bullshit. Gerri was going to think she’d never had a job in her life.
“Who in their right mind wouldn’t have iced tea when it’s as hot as fried hell outside?”
She giggled at Gerri’s sarcasm and picked up the tablet, set it on the desk, and pulled out other items from the box.
Gerri showed up a few minutes later with a large, sweaty glass of iced tea. “You are already making progress, I see.”
She’d piled up a bunch of items on the desk, thinking to move them to drawers. Next she’d tackle the books, since Gerri had a wall of shelving made for them.
“I’m going to get as much done as I can today.”
Gerri nodded with a grin. “Wonderful. I’m stepping out for a little while. I have to meet my godson for lunch, but you do whatever you need to in here.” She glanced around the boxes. “Stay away from anything marked ‘IDT.’”
She picked up a stack of books and moved them to the table by the shelves. “Okay. I’ll be here.”
“Don’t feel bad if we don’t get enough done today. At least you got started. Things should pick up now that you have.”
She loved that Gerri helped match curvy women with shifters—shifters who loved curves. It looked like things weren’t going to work out with James. She might consider asking Gerri to match her. As it was, she’d gone on four dates with James and had fallen asleep on two and zoned out on the others.
He had to be the most boring man she’d ever dated.
But he was nice. Heck, even James’s voice tended to make her sleepy—not that they were exclusive or anything. She’d made it a point to tell James she wasn’t ready for anything serious and wanted to keep the door open for either of them to date someone else they might feel more strongly about.
At first, James objected, but eventually he gave in and agreed. She was glad, because their last date had been the worst so far. She didn’t see them going on many more.
Gerri had been gone for all of ten minutes when Bella’s attention was drawn back to the tablet on the table. How in the hell did it turn on? She knew better than to touch it. She did. But did she listen to the voice saying stop? No way. She was too interested.
She rubbed it all over, looking for anything to press or pull. Nothing. The glass felt different. Not smooth like most screens. It was bumpy, with a strange feel to it. She pressed at the bumps, wondering how anyone could look at that screen and see clearly.
Suddenly, the screen turned a bright blue. Oh, shit. She scrambled, trying to get the damn thing to shut down, but nothing worked.
“Oh, no, no, no, no,” she groaned. “I’m not usually the person who gets fired on the first day for being nosy.” She rubbed the screen again, but the light only grew brighter. “Turn off, you stupid machine!”
Instead of turning off, words flashed on the screen, and a voice sounded from somewhere.
“Active communication, ready. Proceed?”
Fucking hell. Was the damn thing making calls without her knowledge? Fuck. Gerri was so gonna kick her ass. Tally had warned her. She was one of those people who didn’t beat around the bush. “Be careful with getting into trouble with Gerri. She won’t hold back. She tells it like it is.”
Great. Now she’d be the one having to tell Gerri she’d broken her machine.
“Active communication ready. Proceed?”
“No!” she screeched. “Turn off and stop trying to communicate, you stupid piece of shit. Nobody here wants to talk to you.”
“Incoming communication. Would you like to listen now?”
For crying out loud. She was sure it’d end up being her first and last day on the job. After this, there was going to be no way she could salvage the day. She searched the box she’d found the machine in, hoping to find directions and maybe a way to turn it off.
A loud beeping sounded from the tablet. She couldn’t figure out how to shut it up. The thing got louder and louder. She ran, almost tripping on the carpet, into the other apartment and shoved the tablet under a sofa cushion. It muffled the noise but didn’t stop it. Her heart raced, and her fingers shook.
She’d managed to catch her breath when the door opened and Gerri walked in.
“Ah, fuck!”
TWO
Gerri raised her brows before they sharply drew down. “What’s that noise?”
She clutched at the cushion, willing the tablet to shut up with her mind. “Um, what noise?”
Gerri blinked and glanced down at the seat cushion. “The one coming from my sofa.”
“I...uh...don’t hear anything,” she mumbled.
“Honey, I probably have the best hearing in this entire building. Do you really want to go with that answer?”
She sighed and picked up the cushion. The blaring noise made the apartment vibrate. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with this thing,” she yelled over the noise. “I can’t get it to stop.”
Gerri rushed forward and picked up the tablet, did something to the screen and the thing went silent. “It’s an alarm. It means the call was urgent.”
“So it’s a phone,” she whispered.
“Communication ready. Are you ready to listen?” said the phone.
“Computer, this is Gerri Wilder. Please link,” Gerri replied, moving into the office and placing the tablet on the desk.
The blue light returned, and an image shot out of the tablet, settling into a 3D visual of a man with his arms folded in front of his chest.
“Wow,” Bella gasped. “That guy is huge!”
Gerri snorted. “Senior Officer Karel. How can I help you?”
The man glanced at Bella and then at Gerri. “Gerri. It’s been far too long since our last conversation.”
“Indeed! How is King Alyx?” Gerri asked with a smile.
King? King? Gerri knew royalty? Holy crap!
“Frustrated. He requires your services.”
Gerri gasped. “Mine?” Then she burst into laughter. “I believe the last time I visited, he told me it would be a cold day in hell before he wanted my help finding a queen.”
Karel shrugged. “He has changed his mind. He wants to show the rest of the kingdom he is no longer interested in leading alone. Searching on his own hasn’t gone well.”
Gerri chortled. “I can imagine. What did he do, order women to just show up and try to figure out if one of them was the one?”
Karel sighed. “Yes. We spent weeks with him shaking hands and speaking to them. The lion wanted none.”
“Yes, well, I’m not surprised. Alyx needs more than just a pretty face,” Gerri said, placing her hands on her waist. “He needs someone who won’t be wowed by the fact he’s a king. More importantly, he needs to find whomever his animal chooses.”
Since Tally was mated to two wolf-shifters, none of the conversation happening was strange to Bella, except for the fact that there was a 3D hologram of the guy. Of course, with technology the way it was, she wasn’t surprised by that either.
Tally had two men who loved curves. Bella stopped and thought for a second. A man who loved curves. As a woman who loved her body, Bella had yet to meet a man who went crazy for curves the way Mrs. Wilder promised her clients did.
Bella had enough curves for herself and anyone who needed some. She didn’t mind being a big girl. She loved it. Her body was hers, and that was that. A lot of times, her parents tried to guilt her about it, but she was pretty bold in telling them to mind their own business.
“Will you come?” Karel asked Gerri.
Gerri glanced at Bella. “I’m not sure. I’m training a new assistant. We have a lot of work. It would serve Alyx right for me to just let him figure things out on his own.”
“Unless you want him to come down there and start searching, I suggest you rethink that strategy,” Karel shrugged. He glanced at Bella. “Bring her along. I am sure it will be quite an adventure. There’s a lot to see here.”
“I’ll think about it. I’ll get back to you in a few days, my time.”
“Thank you, Gerri. I hope to see you soon,” Karel said. The image was sucked into the screen, and the tablet shut off.
“Sounds like you have a new client,” Bella said. “I don’t mind going with you if you need to do an offsite visit.”
Gerri laughed and patted her on the arm. “Come with me, Bella. I need to explain something to you.”
Bella followed behind Gerri and took a seat on the same sofa she’d tried hiding the tablet in. She watched Gerri pour a glass of whiskey. Gerri then brought it over and gave it to Bella. “Trust me, you’re going to need this.”
Okay. She grabbed the tumbler and waited.
Gerri sat across from her, removing her shoes and placing her feet on her chair, something Bella hadn’t seen her do before. “Gerri, you’re making me nervous.”
She’d visited Gerri’s home two times, and neither of those times had Gerri seemed so preoccupied. In fact, Gerri was one of the only women she’d ever met who appeared to have her shit together.
“All right, so let’s give you some shifter history,” Gerri started. “What do you know of shifters?”
She thought about it for a moment before replying. “That they’re strong. They live longer and can change back and forth between animal and human. That’s about it.”
Gerri nodded. “That’s pretty good. Okay, so what if I told you shifters came to this planet a long time ago and started mating with the humans and creating a new breed of shifters?”
She lifted her hand for
Gerri to stop. “Hang on a sec. What do you mean ‘came to this planet’? Where the hell did they come from?”
“Another planet. A shifter planet.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “Like an alien planet? Are these alien shifters?”
“If you must call it that, though it would technically be a shifter planet. The world is called Nova Aurora. My ancestors came here. They established a shifter colony and started to blend in with the humans. They mated and created the new breed of shifters you’ve come to know.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The shifters from Aurora are bigger, rougher, tougher, and a lot angrier than the ones on Earth.”
She gripped the sides of her sofa seat in her grasp. “This king you’re going to help mate. What is he?”
“A lion.”
“An alien lion? Like an Alion?” She laughed at her own joke. The shit nerves did to her.
Gerri frowned. “A what?”
“An a-lee-on. Get it? A lion that’s an alien. An Alion.”
Gerri’s lips curved up in a grin. “I supposed. He’s a shifter. They all are.”
She gulped, trying to wrap her mind around what Gerri was telling her. A shifter planet. The concept wasn’t difficult to grasp; it was the fact she’d never heard of it before. “Does our government know?”
Gerri shrugged. “They know something. Not enough. Fortunately for the shifter nation, humans are not as advanced. King Alyx has tried to keep them at bay. Earth doesn’t know how to reach what they call aliens. Aurora, in their minds, would be full of alien life, even though Aurora is older than Earth and we came here to bring humans knowledge. The government only knows of ships showing up here in the past.”
She gasped. “Ships? Spaceships?”
“Yes. But for my trips to Aurora, I don’t use spaceships. Spaceships are archaic.”
She frowned. “Then how do you get there?”
“I open a wormhole.” Gerri scrunched her nose. “Before you ask, I have a machine that bends time and allows me to travel from our galaxy to Nova Aurora. It’s like walking through time and space, just taking a few steps and being on their side.”
The Alion King: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 6) Page 1
