“You should leave,” Virgil’s voice was strong and Emmie guessed that his voice was showing a strength his mind could not be so sure of.
“I’ll leave when I get what I came here for,” Max walked forward with an arrogance he certainly hadn’t earned from his last fight with Virgil.
A crack came from Emmie’s left. The front door of the house swung open, slamming against the wood behind it. Silas stood in the doorway with a shotgun lifted to his shoulder.
“You should stop right there,” Silas spoke slowly and Emmie watched as Max’s smile grew larger.
“Dad,” Emmie had to warn her father that at any moment a wolf could be attacking him but just as she finished the word Max shifted with a leap into a full-grown wolf. A crack rang out into the night and Emmie began running toward her father.
A shriek came from her other side and she turned her head to see Virgil shift and pounce on Otis. As her head spun back to her father another flash of color moved in front of her and Emmie found herself rolling on the ground, long, sharp teeth snapping at her face.
Emmie put both feet up to the belly of the wolf then pushed with a great effort. It didn’t last long but just long enough for Emmie to see the place where she’d shot him a few days before.
Gathering all her strength Emmie kicked at the back leg of the animal. Her foot made contact and a yelp of pain went up.
She looked up again to see Virgil jump on Levi as Otis lay in an unmoving heap on the grass.
A loud growl issued from the front porch and Emmie turned to see Max as he took notice of his brother’s lifeless body.
Max turned from Otis to Virgil and lunged at him. Just as Max made contact with Virgil, Levi also turned to make it two against one on Virgil. Emmie stood and ran with all her might at the injured wolf. They tumbled over closer to the front porch where Emmie could vaguely see her father’s body laying broken. She looked up as Levi lunged for her.
She saw the movement as if in slow motion, the seconds drawing out, Levi jumped for her and Virgil turned from Max striking out at Levi with such force that the injured wolf flew through the air and thudded unmoving against the house.
Max jumped again but Virgil was ready for him this time. Within a few seconds, it was over. Emmie ran to her father's body trying without success to find a pulse. Her eyes filled over her only parent, now dead.
Emmie turned toward Virgil who had just changed back into himself. His eyes were full of everything she felt.
“He’s gone,” Emmie looked at Virgil pleading for him to contradict her.
Two heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, then without a moment’s thought, Emmie picked up the discarded gun still on the porch, cocked it, and fired. Virgil swung around to see Max sprawled out on the ground just as he’d been before Emmie had taken her perfect shot.
Chapter Seven
The graveyard in Cool Water Gap was not in the center of town with the church. It was out ways but Emmie had always gone there regularly to visit her mother's gravesite.
Now as she stood over her mother’s grave she looked at her father’s grave too.
“I miss you,” She whispered the words to both her parents who now, after all these years, were together again.
Pushing a tear off her cheek she turned back toward the ranch. Virgil stood with his serious eyes and mouth, his body tense and set, waiting for her, watching over her.
He walked her out past the small makeshift gravestones, some good and some rudimentary. Red was just outside the small enclosure and Emmie swung herself up onto his back in one fluid motion.
The sun was shining down on her skin and she lifted her face up to it, closing her eyes for a moment.
When she opened her eyes again she turned them to Virgil.
"I'll race you home," Before she'd finished saying "race" she'd given Red a signal and begun off toward the ranch. Red was strong beneath her, his hooves thundering along the ground. The wind brushed across Emmie's face and she looked back over her shoulder to see the sleek gray wolf easily keeping pace with her.
She shook her head wishing that for once she and Red stood more of a chance to win. When Emmie pulled up to the ranch first she shook her head at Virgil.
“What?” He raised his hands. “You won. You must be happy with that.”
Emmie pushed her lips together and studied him, “No. You let me win. That’s not the same thing.”
Virgil feigned ignorance of his rigged race and Emmie walked past him into the house to set the table for dinner.
They slept with the windows open as the summer came on and their bodies intertwined as the easy summer breeze flowed over them both.
As the sun began to break, Emmie woke. She walked free and naked to the window, standing in awe at the beauty of something that happens every morning. She leaned her head against the windowsill and breathed in the fresh air of a new day.
Emmie turned to watch the man sleeping soundly in her bed. His body was strong and lithe, his face perfect in the grip of a deep and dreamless sleep.
She felt an overwhelming sense of love flood her senses as she watched him. She walked to the edge of the bed and looked down into his face, wishing she could see his gray eyes once again.
“I love you,” Emmie whispered down to the sleeping man.
She crawled back into bed and pulled herself close to his body.
Emmie’s mouth found Virgil’s and they fit together perfectly.
“Good morning,” Virgil smiled a sleepy smile as his hands slid over Emmie’s warm skin.
“It is a good morning,” Emmie smiled back. She rolled herself on top of him, her thighs fitting around him as if they’d been made for just that purpose.
Emmie bent down but before her lips could touch his, Virgil lifted a finger to them.
“What?” Emmie stopped, her eyes locking with his.
“Just wanted to say,” He whispered close to her face, “that I love you too.” Virgil released his finger and lifted his head, no longer willing to hold himself away.
*****
THE END
Paranormal Shifter Romance
Alpha’s Awakening
Description
What if her fated mate was a banished Prince who sworn off love? And what if he didn't belong among the pack?
Gorgeous Olivia has always been restless and needing to break away from the pack life. She sees her chance when she goes away for school but is quickly brought back by the sexy new member when the danger of poachers draws near.
Dominic, a reckless prince too rebellious for the crown, is scorned when his twin brother is chosen over him to succeed their father. Dominic's revenge proves to be too much for the King to handle and Dominic is sent away to a protection pack outside of the kingdom.
The only thing that can make it worse is when the pack Alpha— who happens to be Olivia's father, Atticus, commands Dominic to watch over Olivia until they can ensure their safety. But once the two are alone, the heat between them becomes more intense than the danger outside.
Can sexy Dominic settle down, and leave the mistakes of the past behind him? Can Olivia finally find her place in life with the pack? And can they survive it all among the dangers of the lurking poachers?
Chapter One
Dominic
A log in the fireplace shifted, falling into burning clumps of embers as Dominic put a fresh log on the fire. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to keep warm. How far he’d fallen, he’d thought, from his place in a warm and dazzling castle in the mountains, to a small, damp log cabin in the woods.
A scowl sat on Dominic’s face as he watched the flames lick at the new log, charring it, burning it like it had the others. He still couldn’t believe that his parents had decided to side with his older brother and kick Dominic out of the castle. His twin brother, Ronald, was always getting everything he whined about simply because he was the favorite and recently named the next in line to take the throne and become King once their father’s reign was over. Do
minic was a prince too though, and in his own opinion a better one, and his parents should have been more understanding of what had taken place.
After all, it hadn’t been his fault that Cherise, Ronald’s betrothed woman of the pack, had wanted a tryst with Dominic. He was stronger, bigger, more enticing, than his bland brother, and most girls had chosen Dominic’s brawn over Ronald’s meekness. It had been that way since they were kids.
A dripping sound came from Dominic’s little kitchen, the rain seeping in through the roof and leaking down to leave wet splatters on the floor. He rolled his eyes at his destitute situation. Even the view from his window was bleak with dark mud and wet trees out in the woods instead of the lush greenery and houses that dotted the inside of the kingdom.
But after his “inappropriate transgression,” as his father had labeled it, Dominic had been sent away to live with a pack that was just on the outskirts of the kingdom in the dense woods.
“Your strength will be more useful there, protecting the kingdom, than it is here acting as prince.” That’s what his father had told him the day he had sent him away.
Dominic supposed it was true, that his large stature and ripping muscles were better used protecting the kingdom from the mass killings that had been taking place on packs throughout the country than sitting in some fancy kingdom listening to policies and rules. Out in the woods he was allowed to live in more solitude, acting as a lone wolf.
Of course, the pack that he was sent to had called on him from time to time to help with things, but for the most part, Dominic was spending his time as he pleased. Though he was missing the female attention he used to get from living in the kingdom, out in the woods he wasn’t getting much action.
A knock sounded from the front door and Dominic glanced out the window, surprised to have a visitor. But with the blackness of the night, he couldn’t see anything outside.
“Come in,” he called to the visitor.
The wooden door to the small cabin opened and from out of the rain stepped Atticus, the pack Alpha. Closing the door behind him, he shook the rain from his coat, sending more droplets of water flying in his already damp home.
“Atticus, this is a surprise. Is something wrong?”
It was rare for the older Alpha to make a house call to anyone, unless it was absolutely necessary. Like most Alphas, anyone else in the pack was supposed to go to him when called, but Atticus rarely went to anyone himself.
“There’s been another attack,” he told Dominic without hesitation.
Quickly, Dominic stood from his stool by the fireplace and pulled up another one, gesturing for Atticus to have a seat and warm himself while he filled him in on the details.
“Where?” he asked the older man.
“Not far from here actually. Which means that they’re getting closer to the kingdom.”
Dominic felt his chest puff out. “When they get here, I’ll be ready for the fight,” he assured him. After all, it wasn’t just his brute strength but also his knack for wining a brawl that had made his parents decide that he should be protecting the kingdom instead of living in it.
Well, his ability to protect as well as his affinity for getting himself in trouble was what had gotten him sent to the outskirts of the kingdom.
Atticus nodded at him, he knew that Dominic would be ready when the time came. And it was certain that the time would come.
“It was a horrible attack, wiped out much of the pack.” The man shook his head sadly. “Whoever is doing this— these night time attacks— is taking too many of our lives. No one is safe.”
He may not feel like a prince anymore, but Dominic still took pride in his kingdom, it was still home, and the people that lived in it were part of that home. He was going to do whatever he could to keep them safe.
“I’ll start keeping guard at night,” he told Atticus. “I’ll be ready.”
Atticus nodded at the boy’s offer. “Your fighting skills are legendary, there is no doubt about that. But I need you to do something before it is too late.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“No one from any pack is safe, even if they are no longer living among other shifters. In fact, I fear that there are more dangers for those living alone without the safety of a pack. My daughter is away at college, alone, without any members there. I need to ask you to go and get her and bring her to the safety of us. That’s the only way I can be sure that she is ok.”
“Why can’t someone else go? Someone who knows her?”
“Patrick and Ernest would be the other two that I would trust implicitly to go and get her, but you’re the fastest and I want her back here right away.”
It wasn’t exactly the heroic act Dominic was hoping he was going to be assigned; but Atticus was the Alpha and it was his decision what role Dominic was to play in the pack. A shunned prince was little match for an Alpha, and even less of a match for an Alpha as notorious as Atticus. There was a reason Atticus’ pack lived at the outer edge of the kingdom. They were the silent protectors, the brooders, the fighters, the ones who kept the people of the kingdom safe. Dominic fits right in, but still he knew that he was the strongest of them, though young with a lot to learn, all and had been hoping for a bigger task.
“Where is she?” Dominic asked. Hopefully it was close by so he could go get the girl and come back.
“She’s just through the woods— away at school. On foot it should take you a matter of hours to get her and bring her home.”
Dominic nodded at the command. Shifting and racing through the woods would at least give him a chance to stretch his legs. Of course, he didn’t know why the girl just didn’t shift and come home herself, the danger hadn’t yet reached the inside of the kingdom so she’d be safe alone for the time being. But it didn’t matter, he was happy to have something to do rather than sit in the cabin waiting for trouble to strike.
“I’ll leave in the morning.”
“Good, then I’ll expect her home by dinner time.”
Atticus slowly stood from the stool, the age beginning to show in his movements, and walked toward the door.
His grasp was on the door knob before he turned back to Dominic. “Just one more thing, my daughter…she’s not like other women in the pack—or in most packs for that matter.”
“Why’s that?”
“She has a tendency to be a bit stubborn and resentful at her life in the pack. She was the one who chose to go away from us all and attend school further in the reaches of the kingdom.”
Atticus took out a pink scarf from his pocket and threw it towards Dominic. It floated toward him and he caught the silky material in his hands, getting a strong waft of the scent of Atticus’ daughter. She smelled sweet, like vanilla and roses, and something about how intoxicating the mix was made Dominic momentarily dizzy.
“It’ll be easier to find her if you follow her scent,” Atticus told him.
Suddenly feeling at a loss for words, Dominic just nodded. With a scent like hers, Dominic was sure he’d be able to find her immediately. Atticus stepped out of the cabin and into the night and Dominic threw another log onto the fire to keep the home warm. He laid down on the couch and let himself drift off, the cabin feeling suddenly a bit warmer than it had before.
Chapter Two
Olivia
Olivia’s phone began to buzz on her dorm’s nightstand first thing in the morning. Half asleep, she swatted at it unsuccessfully, attempting to stop the noise and continue her warm slumber. There was a reason she had picked all afternoon and night classes, morning was not her favorite.
Instead of stopping the incessant noise of the phone, she knocked it on the floor where it began to buzz beneath her. Maybe it would stop on its own, she hoped silently, but to no avail. Once the ringing stopped and the call went to voicemail, it promptly began to ring again.
With a grumble she finally cracked open an eye and ran her hand along the floor to scoop up her phone, knowing that there was only one person in the world
that would call her that many times in a row.
“Daddy, hi,” she greeted with a hoarse, sleepy voice.
“Why didn’t you answer? Are you ok?”
Olivia looked at her nightstand and saw the time, surprised even for him at how early it was. Atticus loved to be an early riser, but this seemed strange. Especially since he knew his daughter well enough to know that she was not a morning person.
“I’m fine, I was asleep. Why are you calling so early, is everything ok?”
“Have you been checking in with the news?”
Despite her desire to break away from pack life and hope to live a normal, human life, she had been checking the news updates from their networks while she’d been away at school. At first it had been freeing to avoid it all and live surrounded by people who had no idea that she was the daughter of an Alpha and came from a line of wolf shifters, but once Atticus had started texting her about the other packs who had been harmed, she stopped avoiding it.
It wasn’t as if she went out on the roof of her dorm and announced it to the world, even her suitemate didn’t know the truth about who Olivia really was, but she did start paying attention again. After all, her pack was her family.
“I saw that there was an attack a few weeks ago,” she admitted. Packs had their own way of getting news to each other, private channels and online pages that you’d only find if you knew what you were looking for.
“There’s been another one, just two nights ago,” he told her gravely.
Olivia bit her lip nervously. “Was it bad?” She asked.
Atticus was silent for a moment before he answered her. “Yes, it was very bad. The pack was surprised by the attack, many lives were lost.”
The news made her sick to her stomach. What if that happened to her pack? Not much was known about who was doing this to the wolves, at least, not that she had read.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. Is everything ok there?”
“You’re coming home.” It was a demand, not a question.
The Bear Shifter's Baby Page 31
