Brock: A Bad Boy Romance

by Amy Kyle

  And every single one of them was closed.

  Paul dragged her to the convenience store and picked the lock. Her mouth dropped. It looked so easy for him. How long has he been doing this?

  He pulled her through the door and threw her on the floor. She hit the tile hard and gasped with pain. Growling, he grabbed one of the stacks and knocked it on the floor.

  There was a hole in the wall.

  “This is how you’ve been going in and out?” she muttered. “You tunneled into a store?”

  “It was already here. I just found it. Your Jackson has a serious security breach on his hands. Crawl in.”

  She shuddered. “No thank you.”

  “Crawl the fuck in,” he howled and kicked at her. She rolled over quickly. Seeing her chance, she chucked the pen across the store. He roared in anger and dove after it. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the store.

  “Help,” she screamed. “Someone, help me!”

  Two figured emerged from the street. Jackson and Paul. Natalie raced to them, but she wasn’t fast enough. Paul grabbed her hair and pulled her painfully back against him. She felt the knife bite into her throat. “Not so fast,” he murmured.

  Jackson and Brent froze. “Let her go,” Jackson said hoarsely. “Take whatever it is you came here for and let her go.”

  “Oh, I am here for her,” he muttered. “I need her.”

  “Why?” Jackson and Brent slowly separated, and Paul’s arms tightened around her.

  “Stop,” he hissed. “No one moves.”

  “No,” Natalie moaned as she felt the muscles in Paul’s arm shift. “Please don’t.”

  “I should have done this much earlier, but I needed to know what you were first,” he growled.

  “What do you mean? What am I?”

  “A witch.” She felt his teeth sink into her neck, and she screamed. Jackson and Brent both launched themselves at her, but it was too late. Paul had already shifted and marked her.

  The pain was immense. She screamed and fell to the floor as she felt his saliva seep into her bones. Already, she could see the two men attempting to shift, but Paul was too strong. As her vision blurred, she realized that he had Jackson pinned to the ground. Paul raised the knife, and Natalie reacted.

  Holding out her hand, she pushed as much energy as possible towards them. Paul slammed into the wall. And then darkness took her.

  Chapter Seven

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Micah, calm down. No one can talk to you when you’re like this,” Stacey said crossly.

  “I’m gone for two weeks, and not only has someone tunneled their way into the territory, but another bear has attacked? And there is a goddamn witch in the clinic? Explain yourself. Now.”

  Jackson winced as Micah screamed at him. The alpha had every reason to be angry. Everything had gone to hell since he’d been gone.

  “Can we have some peace and quiet?”

  Heads turned as Dr. Gratsky entered the waiting area. “She needs to sleep.”

  Stacey reached out and put a reassuring hand on her husband’s arm. “Micah, sit down. Maybe give them a chance to explain before you start yelling at them.”

  Micah sat and glared at his two best friends. “Explain. Now.”

  “I found Natalie stealing a jacket from the store. I could sense her fear and panic. She was running from a bear shifter, and she had every reason to believe that her life was in danger. I offered her protection.”

  “Why?” Micah shook his head. “Why would you offer to protect a witch?”

  “I thought she was just an empath. She thought she was just an empath. We didn’t know. It doesn’t matter though. I love her,” Jackson said quietly. “She’s my mate.”

  Micah growled. “When I said you could marry whomever you wanted, I meant human. You can marry a human.”

  “Don’t be a hypocrite,” Stacey snapped. “And let him finish.”

  “Paul thought she had stolen something from him. He was desperate to get it back. It turns out that she did inadvertently take something, but she thought it was just a pen.” He nodded to Brent.

  Brent pulled out his laptop. “It was actually a flash drive, and it outlined a pretty sick plan. Paul wanted to be alpha. He was strong, but their alpha was still stronger. So he began to boost himself the blood of a witch. All the information is here.”

  “We think that he suspected that Natalie was a witch. She, of course, didn’t know, and so she had no issues being with him. Paul wanted to turn her so that he could use her. But she got away before he could carry out his plan.”

  “How does a witch not know that she’s a witch?”

  “I can answer that question,” Gratsky said smiling. “Natalie’s witch gene is recessive. It leaked out every now and then, but it didn’t truly show its potential until it mingled with the saliva of a shifter. It protected itself by becoming a more dominant gene. Had Paul never bitten her, Natalie would have never had any active powers.”

  Micah stared at Jackson. “What are you going to do?”

  “Marry her,” Jackson said instantly.

  The alpha rolled his eyes. He looked at Brent. “Do you trust her?”

  “She protected Jackson. He’d be dead without her. That’s good enough for me.”

  “Where did the tunnel come from?”

  Brent shook his head. “I’m still working on that.”

  The alpha nodded. “Keep it under wraps for now. Doctor? Will the witch be okay?”

  “She’s stable. We’ll know more when she wakes up.”

  “Great. I’m going to unpack. Jackson?”

  Jackson lifted his head uneasily.

  “Good job holding down the fort while I was gone,” Micah said easily.

  Jackson nodded. The alpha and his wife left the clinic, and he looked at Brent. “Thanks for having my back. Both with Paul and just now.”

  His friend nodded. “I need to speak to the alpha of Paul’s pack and let him know what’s going on. While I’d love to take care of him, I’m sure he’ll be better suited to dole out justice.”

  “Is he still unconscious?”

  Brent nodded. “He hit the wall pretty hard. I’m not sure when he’ll wake up, but the silver irons should keep him docile for now.”

  Jackson shuddered. Silver was the one weakness of a shifter. Brent took out his phone and stepped out to make the call. Jackson looked in on Natalie. “What’s going to happen to her?” he asked anxiously.

  The doctor shrugged. “I’m about to draw some blood and run some tests. I’ll let you know then.”

  * * *

  Natalie felt surprisingly energetic when she woke up. Her vision was sharp, and she sprang up in bed. Where the hell was she?

  “Easy.”

  She turned to the familiar voice. “Jackson! You’re okay.” She reached over to hold him, but he kept his distance. “Jackson?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Dr. Gratsky, she’s awake,” he called out. Immediately, an older and portly man came into the room.

  “Natalie! How are you feeling?”

  “Fine,” she said, bewildered. “How long have I been out?”

  “Three days.”

  “Three days!” she gasped. Suddenly, she remembered what happened. Her eyes widened as she grabbed at her shoulder. “Oh god. I’m a shifter. Paul. Paul bit me.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  “You are not a shifter,” the doctor said with a smile. “I ran some tests, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure that you won’t turn.”

  “How is that possible?” she asked in a small voice.

  “Jackson tells me that you’re an empath. What do you know about being an empath?”

  Natalie shrugged. “Not much. My grandmother was much better than I am. I just get a few faint traces of people’s emotions. Usually only when they’re strong.” She swallowed hard. “Although, now that I think about it, I feel some traces from both of you.”

  She turned to Jackson. “Why are you a
fraid?”

  He backed out. “I’m going to give you two some room,” he said quietly.

  “Jackson?” she turned to the doctor. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Natalie, has there been anyone you could talk to about this empathic ability that you have?”

  “No,” she said slowly. “My grandmother has been gone for awhile now, and my mother never had the ability. But she passed away a few years ago. Why?”

  “I just think if you knew more about your heritage, this might not have happened. You see, an empath isn’t just a psychic ability. It’s a type of witch.”

  “A witch?” Natalie recoiled. “I would know if I was a witch.”

  “It appears to be a recessive trait in you. When the shifter bit you, your body had to choose between one ability or another. And the recessive trait became a dominate one. It’s a good thing, too. It saved Jackson’s life.”

  Shifter’s hated witches. That explained why Jackson didn’t want to stick around. He’d never care for her now.

  Once again, she was alone.

  “Do I need to stick around?” she asked in a neutral voice. “Is it okay if I leave?”

  Gratsky frowned. “I’d like to keep an eye on you for a few more days, if that’s okay. I’ve never been able to examine a witch. It’s with your permission, of course.”

  Natalie nodded, but she had no intentions of sticking around. Being near Jackson and not having him would hurt. She already knew that. “I’m going to get you something to eat,” the doctor said kindly. “Any requests?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said honestly. She didn’t plan on being around to eat it.

  He exited the room. When she heard him leave the office, she immediately threw off the sheet on her bed. Stripping the bed gown off, she pulled on the pajamas she was wearing the morning of the attack and slipped out of the building.

  At least this time she wasn’t running for her life. That would, at least, make things easier. She could go back to original plan of going to the city and settling down. If she hid the fact that she was a witch, maybe she would blend in with society a bit better.

  “Always on the run.”

  She froze. Jackson stood under the tree outside the clinic and watched her intently. “I just thought it would be easier,” she muttered. “For everyone.”

  “You though it would be easier if you just ran away again? Is it that easy for you to leave me?”

  She turned away from him. “Look, I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. I really do. You saved my life. But things are different now.”

  “How?”

  She cocked her head. “What do you mean, how? Before I was a human with some psychic abilities. Now I’m a witch. Everyone knows that witches and shifters don’t mix. I know you hate me now.”

  “Hate you?” in the blink of an eye, he’d crossed the small clearing and grabbed her wrist. “Why the hell would you say that?”

  She pulled out of his grasp. “Are you kidding me? You could barely look at me inside. It’s clear that you can’t stand the sight of me. Why are you fighting me on this?”

  He laughed hoarsely and pulled her into his grasp. “I definitely don’t hate you, Natalie. I failed you. I promised that I would keep you safe, and if it weren’t for your witch gene, you’d be a bear shifter. And you’d belong to Paul’s pack. I figured you’d hate me.”

  She collapsed against him. It was nice to feel his warmth again. “You didn’t fail me. Every time I was in danger, you found me. I don’t hate you,” she muttered. “I love you. You did save me.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, Natalie. I have from the moment I felt you enter my building.”

  “Even though I’m a witch now?”

  “You’ve always been a witch. Just because you’re more powerful now doesn’t change how I feel about you. And it doesn’t change anything about you. I don’t care if you’re a witch, vampire, or otter shifter. I love you. I love everything about you,” he whispered into her ear.

  And in that moment, she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life. Jackson loved her. “What do we do now?”

  “You’re going to marry me.” He pulled back and searched her face. “You’re my mate.”

  She punched him lightly in the arm. “Aren’t you supposed to ask, first?”

  He shook his head. “And give you a chance to say no? Absolutely not. You’re mine.”

  “I am yours,” she said with a smile. “But what about your pack?”

  “They’ll love you. And no one is going to be upset with a witch by our side. But I have to warn you. I think something big is about to happen. And I’m not sure I want you in the middle of it.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not leaving your side. If you’re going to be in the middle of it, I’m going to be in the middle of it. That’s what marriage is. That’s what love is.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, and Natalie suddenly didn’t care about her being a witch or him being a shifter. She didn’t care about their past, and she didn’t care about the future. At that moment, he was a man that she loved. She was the woman that he loved. And life couldn’t be more perfect.

  THE END

  Captivated by the savage seal

  Chapter 1

  “Nina, I’ve never seen you look more ravishing or desirable. It’s a good thing that you came out with me to shake things up a little bit. I’ve been worried about you. You seem to have lost something and you seem to be just going through the motions.” Nina looked at her best friend Susan with her long blond hair and voluptuous good looks and she wonders if she ever did attract a man like that. “That dress is going to knock any man out of their boots. I guess it’s true that a little black dress is a girl’s best friend. We all have one and now you can say you have one too.”

  “Susan, you know that this is not me. I’m not this risqué or erotic. If I were to step out of the doors wearing this, I would probably be arrested for indecent exposure.” Nina was looking in the mirror and she noticed that her dirty blond locks were the perfect contrast to the dark dress that she was currently wearing. It had a plunging neckline with ruffles to indicate more than what there was. It was short on the bottom and rose up to almost a scandalous amount. One wrong move in any direction and she would be putting herself out there for everybody to see.

  “That’s precisely the reason why you should get it, Nina. We know that eventually you’ll have use for it. It’s better to have it now, than to never have it at all. I don’t think I’ve seen you out on a date in at least a year. You can’t tell me it’s because of Benjamin. He’s 10 years old now and he has his own friends and before long, he’ll be old enough to stay home on his own. You’ll blink and you’ll find that life passes you by. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”

  “I know that she means well, but she has no idea what I’ve been putting myself through. That trip five years ago is still haunting me. Every morning, I wake up with his face in my mind and the regret of leaving him behind. I never told her the story. Maybe I’m embarrassed by what happened, or maybe I just want to keep it to myself. I know that there’s no chance that I’m going to see him again, especially after I left things cold.” Looking at this dress, Nina begins to see that maybe it’s time to finally shed that memory and get on with the rest of her life.

  It had been over five years, but that navy seal with that killer instinct in his eyes and body to kill for was the only thing that mattered. She found herself measuring the men that she went out with by a certain standard that they couldn’t possibly live up to. It didn’t matter if they were nice, well educated or even had a bad boy quality. She wanted the whole thing, the total package and the only person that had ever given that to her was John Evans. That man knew how to make a girl feel like a natural woman and also show them that they were respected enough that foreplay was mandatory.

  “Earth to Nina. Where did you go? You’re here one minute and then you were in that secret
place that puts a smile on your face. You lit up like the 4th of July and now I know that there’s something underneath all of this. I think it might be a man. You’ve never said as much, but I have seen you looking exactly like you are right now. Your eyes seem to glow with a memory and if that memory is the only thing that is holding you back, then I suggest that you think of something else. I’m starting to see the reason why you are alone, Nina. You want something that you can’t have. You crave it, you wait for it, but you know in the deepest part of yourself that it’s never going to happen. Perhaps, he’s married and you got caught up in an affair of a heart that made you feel like you were doing yourself a disservice.” Susan had always had Nina’s back, but this time, she saw that this was a losing battle. Something was eating at her and preventing her from finding the true happiness that she deserved.

  Nina was the perfect 10 with a body that was sculpted out of the gym every morning for an hour. With her clothes on, her body looked like a man’s wet dream come true. With her clothes off, she became the ultimate fantasy with pendulum breasts that were a natural C Cup. She also had the kind of nipples that a man could chew on for days. She was only 5 foot two, 100 pounds, but she still felt that there was need for improvement. It’s was her piercing green eyes that made most men take a second look.

  “I do have a secret, but I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s painful time in my life and a pleasurable one at the same time. I don’t know how that’s even possible, except for the fact that I had a wonderful weekend with a young man and then after it was over with, I left without saying a word or leaving any signs that I wanted to continue pursuing something between us. I’ve been hiding, hoping that he would find me, but how can he, when he doesn’t even know that I came from this town. He lives a life of mystery and there are times that I know that he’s bad for me, but I don’t care.”

  “I want everything and I think that I should never have to settle for second best. If life means for us to come together at some point, then so be it. Until then, I need to stop living in the past and live for the present. If I don’t, then I’m going to find myself shying away from the perfect man. He’s out there and maybe I’ve already found him and because of my feelings for John, I let him go. That was a sad thought. I did not want to go down that road. I did not want to live like a hermit for the rest of my life. I’d found comfort in television shows, but now I had to go out into the real world.”