Alphas of Summer: A collection of shifter romances

by Lia Davis

  “I’ll think about it.” The corner of one lip turned up in a half-grin. “Enjoy your meal.” She turned and went back to her perch at the counter. Caleb pulled his attention back to his food before savoring every last bite.

  Jess nursed her cold coffee while contemplating her conversation with the very mysterious Caleb Marsh. She debated whether to call him and find out why he’d come to town. The fact she didn’t know drove her nuts; curiosity had never been a cat’s best friend, or so they said. Jess knew every shifter in town and when strangers showed up out of nowhere it definitely put everyone on edge. Especially a jaguar shifter. They were few and far between.

  The shifter dripped sex appeal and an aura of danger, making her want to purr. She’d always been attracted to bad boys; granted, her selection could be described as slim-to-none in Blackford, but she got her fill of man candy from movies, television, and her smutty novels. His smooth olive complexion added to his exotic appearance and black hair hung loosely to his chin. The image of his silky strands spread across her chest, gliding ever so slowly as he moved even lower. She cleared her throat and gave her head a shake to stop the image from going any further. Her main objective was finding out why this mysterious shifter had appeared in Blackford, but his scent made concentrating nearly impossible. She couldn’t keep the naughty images at bay.

  She glanced at her phone, needing to distract herself. Kels was half an hour late. She couldn’t leave the house without being completely styled. Hair, makeup, and clothes. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kels showed up in heels for God’s sake. She’d been her best friend for as long as Jess could remember; it was a running joke around town that where you saw one you saw the other.

  Picking up her cell phone, Jess began to dial. Maybe last night’s partying had slowed her down. Jess had certainly woken up with a hangover. Her finger hovered over “send” as the bell above the door rang and pulled her attention. Kels strolled in dressed to the nines. No surprise there. Perfectly styled auburn hair, makeup that appeared to be professionally done, and black skinny jeans with a tight tank top that showed off her best assets. She’d topped the killer outfit off with the leather jacket Jess secretly coveted. The red pumps she wore set the whole outfit off. Every male in the diner wanted her and every female wished to be her; most also hated Kels for just that reason.

  “Really?” Jess gave her an exaggerated once-over. “This is why you’re thirty minutes late?”

  Kels laughed and sat on the stool beside her. “You never know when you’ll meet Mister Right.”

  “Or Mister Right Now,” Jess joked.

  “Same difference.”

  Their laughter filled the dinner.

  “Anyway, what do you want to eat? I’m starving.” Why did she bother to ask? Kels always got the same thing when they came here.

  “Grilled ham and cheese with side Caesar salad.”

  Jess mouthed Kels’s order in time with her.

  Kels laughed. “What the hell? If you already knew what I wanted to order, then why didn’t you just get it for me?”

  “I would have if someone didn’t keep me waiting while she put her war paint on.” Kels burst with laughter while Jess grabbed her pad of paper, jotted down their order, and handed the slip of paper to her sister. Harper, Jess’s middle sister, was the most timid of them all.

  She nudged Jess. “Hey, what did that guy say?” She glanced across the diner.

  Jess followed the indicated direction and her gaze landed on Caleb.

  “What guy?” Kels asked as she blatantly swung her whole body around on the stool. “Oooooh! Mister Dark-and-brooding over there? He looks like a tasty treat.”

  Jess choked on her coffee and gave Kels a jab with her elbow.

  “What? It’s not like he can hear me.”

  Little did she know Mister Dark-and-brooding could hear every word, and by the way his shoulders were shaking. He got a kick out of their conversation.

  “It’s nothing to worry about Harper; he’s just passing through.”

  Harper’s shoulders relaxed. With a new confidence about her, she walked to the back and grabbed their food.

  Jess’s stomach growled as soon as her sister set the plate in front of her, but just as she began to dig in she sensed Caleb approaching the counter. She glanced up from her plate and saw the kitchen door swing shut as her sisters scattered. It appeared she would be in charge of the till. She got up, rounded the counter, and grabbed his bill. There was no reason to glance at the price list as she rang him up. She’d memorized the menu years ago. “How was everything?”

  “Excellent, the best steak sandwich I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Thank you.” She peeked up and grinned. It never failed to flatter her when her family’s diner received such a great compliment. “Your total is twelve dollars and ninety five cents.”

  He reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Keep the change. And Jess”—he handed her the bill, but kept the paper firmly in his grasp—“don’t forget to give me a call.” Without uttering another syllable he released the cash, turned, and strode out of the diner.

  She stared after him as he got into a black Dodge and pulled away. Her gaze followed his truck until it disappeared around the corner just out of sight. She rounded the counter and sat down at her stool.

  “What was that?” Kels jabbed her sharply in the ribs.

  “It’s nothing.” She cringed.

  “It didn’t look like nothing. He seemed pretty interested.”

  Jess’s stomach flipped. Was he interested in her? Dare she find out?

  Chapter 2

  Caleb pulled into the Sleep EZ motel and his cell phone buzzed. Without even glancing at the caller ID, he answered. “Caleb here.”

  “Hey, it’s Tuck.”

  Caleb grinned at his best friend’s deep voice. “What’s my favorite teddy bear got for me?”

  “I’m going to maul you the next time I see you if you don’t knock that shit off,” Tucker growled.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Caleb’s grin didn’t abate, even though as a very large ex-marine, Tuck could wipe the floor with just about anyone without relying on his grizzly strength.

  “Still nothing concrete, but…” Caleb could tell from his hesitation he wouldn’t like what Tuck said next. “I have a sneaking suspicion we aren’t only dealing with humans this time.”

  Caleb’s gut clenched in dread. The humans had somehow recruited a shifter to work for them. To humans, shifters appeared to be just like them. They commonly used scent-trained dogs while hunting shifters, but if a shifter assisted them they’d find them more quickly and efficiently. “Doesn’t surprise me. It takes them too long to train their dogs to scent out more than one type of shifter, so what better way to track them than to use one of our own who could even tell them what type they’d found. Better for the big game hunters looking for a certain kill.” Caleb scrubbed his hand across his face. “So far, they’ve snagged big cats and bears. So we have big game hunters. These guys are the real deal. We have to stop them and now.”

  “I have a few other leads I can follow.” The furious taps of Tucker’s keyboard reached Caleb’s ears through the phone line. “I’ll call you when I hear more. Do you need anything else?”

  “Actually, I’ve already met a couple of shifters and I think they own the local diner. The name of the diner is Baker’s Dozen and they were leopard. The one I talked to was named Jess. She never gave me her last name, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Caleb tried to think of any other useful information. “I gave her my card. If she calls, I’ll pass anything useful on.”

  “Was she cute?” Tucker asked. “And does she have a sister?” Caleb just laughed and hung up. Tucker could be described as a notorious ladies’ man. Women loved everything about him from his carefree attitude to his gigantic frame. Caleb wouldn’t be described as a small guy at six-two, but when he stood next to Tucker he felt downright miniature.

  He grabbed his duffel b
ag from the passenger seat then got out of the truck. As he walked toward the office he caught a whiff of dog. Not a shifter dog, a regular one. When he glanced over his shoulder his gaze landed on a large black dog huddled by an overturned garbage can. Right as he reached for the office door it burst open. A large man raced out toward the dog.

  “Get out of my goddamn garbage, you mangy mutt.”

  The dog regretfully abandoned its meal and ran. After a moment the man turned and strode back toward Caleb and the office. “Sorry ’bout that. It’s been hanging around for weeks and I’m getting real sick of cleaning up after it.”

  He followed the man into the office. “Why not just call the pound or a rescue to come and pick him up?” Simple enough solution in Caleb’s opinion.

  “Either that or I’ll deal with the damn dog on my own.” The man cracked his knuckles and clenched his hands open and closed, as if preparing for the deed.

  The arrogance of his gestures rolled off of him and set Caleb’s teeth on edge.

  “Anyways, looking to get a room?”

  “Yeah, preferably a room on the first floor.” Caleb would leave the dog problem alone for now. He reached into his back pocket, grabbed his wallet, then handed over his driver’s license and credit card. The man palmed the cards and started to enter his information into the computer. When he finished, he handed Caleb a key and pointed him in the direction of his room.

  As he reached his room, he caught the scent of the stray dog again. If the dog stuck around the motel much longer, he feared the man would take matters into his own hands. He wouldn’t allow it. Once in the room, he dropped his duffel bag on the bed, walked back out to his truck, grabbed a bag of beef jerky he’d bought on his trip, and then edged over to where the dog cowered.

  “Hey, buddy,” Caleb said softly as he slowly crouched down in front of the dog. “You must be hungry.”

  He reached into the bag and offered up a piece of jerky to the shaking dog. Caleb suspected the dog scented the jaguar in him, but the promise of food proved to be too much of a temptation. The dog stretched as far as it could possibly reach to get the treat, gently took the salty snack from his hand, and quickly backed away. Doubting it had even tasted the jerky, Caleb offered some more. The dog approached cautiously, allowing Caleb to observe its condition. One word came to mind—appalling.

  From what he could tell, the dog was a female and extremely underweight. He could count each of her ribs through her dingy black coat. She appeared to be a pit bull but with her poor condition he couldn’t be sure. Whatever muscle remained on the poor dog quivered in either fear or fatigue. With a little TLC, she would be gorgeous.

  A nudge to the jerky bag brought Caleb back to the present. “Okay, okay…” After emptying the rest of the bag onto the ground, Caleb moved to stand. She made sure to keep her eyes on him at all times. He made his way back to the room slowly, glancing over his shoulder periodically. On the third glance the dog stood. Tension was evident in her slight frame. By the fourth the dog started to follow him. He couldn’t abandon her, not when he had the means to care for her. After he entered the room he left his door open for the pup.

  He grabbed his bag from the bed and started to unpack, pretending not to notice her sniffing around the door. After putting his clothes in the dresser, he brought his toiletries bag to the bathroom. By the time he came back she’d entered the room and began to make slow circles on the end of the bed. He stared at her and smiled. After about the tenth round she finally decided she’d found her spot.

  Caleb made his way over to her and sat down on the side of the bed. Curiosity must have gotten the best of her, because within a minute he felt her sniffing his back and neck. She lay back down beside him, seemingly content, and pushed her head under his arm, giving him a very obvious hint. He scratched the top of her head. “You’re a good girl. I’m gonna get you fixed up.”

  The telltale sound of a tail slapping the bed echoed through the room and he couldn’t help but smile. Less than a day in town and he’d already met a leopard and gained a dog. Not how things usually worked out, but he couldn’t complain.

  “What do you mean no?” Kels’s voice came out shrill and childlike.

  “It’s exactly what it means. I’m not in the mood to go shopping.” Her hangover still lingered in the background and clothes shopping with Kels would definitely make it worse. She could be the most indecisive person and liked to blame it on her being a Libra, but Jess accepted the fact it was just her inability to commit to anything. Even thinking about shopping with her made Jess’s head throb.

  “But I don’t want to go by myself.” The pout that accompanied her statement made Jess laugh. She caught Emma peeking her head around the kitchen door with a hopeful expression on her face.

  “Hey, Emma”—Jess waved her sister over—“didn’t you say you needed a dress for your date tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, Jordan finally asked me out and he’s taking me to that fancy Italian place in Westspring.”

  “Mia Bella’s just got some new stock in, and I saw the cutest cocktail dress that has your name written all over it.” Kels’s gaze flickered over Emma. Her eyes squinted as she took in her appearance. The distraction gave Jess the perfect excuse to slip away without having Kels make too much of a commotion.

  “Well, I better get going.” Jess stuffed her cell phone into her back pocket. Her fingers brushed against the business card Caleb had given her. The slim piece of card stock made her think of the mysterious stranger. Jess’s cat began to purr in anticipation of meeting up with him.

  With a wave, Jess headed out of the diner. She needed to stop next door and grab a couple groceries before heading home. Mrs. Olsen stood at the till when Jess strolled in. “Hello, Mrs. Olsen.”

  “Jessica, my dear. Come here.” Mrs. Olsen began to wave Jess over frantically; usually a tasty tidbit of gossip would follow. She worked her way over, then leaned in so the shorter woman could whisper in her ear.

  “You will not believe what walked through the door just minutes before you.” Jess followed Mrs. Olsen’s line of sight and found whom she referred to.

  “Ahh, yes, I met him in the diner today.” Jess wouldn’t give any more information than that because Blackford’s gossips were notorious for twisting everything into a better story. “I think he’s just passing through.”

  “Isn’t he a stud?” Mrs. Olsen finally said, waggling her eyebrows. “If I were your age, honey, I would jump on that in a hot minute.” Jess stifled a laugh and left Mrs. Olsen to her obvious ogling while she got her groceries.

  She grabbed a cart and headed toward the dairy aisle. After she picked up a carton of milk, she turned down the pet food aisle. Her cat, Roscoe, would disown her if she forgot his treats again.

  Caleb crouched down by the dog food, a look of concentration on his face. “Hey, need some help?”

  When he finally tore his gaze away from the shelves, his brows were furrowed in frustration and he ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “I can’t believe how many options there are for dog food.” He shook his head, and turned his attention back to the bag he’d been assessing.

  She pushed her cart off to the side and stepped in beside Caleb. “What kind of dog do you have?”

  “I’m pretty sure she’s a pit bull, but I’m not positive.” He turned back to her and propped his hip on the shelf. “I actually just found her today. She’d been digging through the garbage at the motel. The manager mentioned his annoyance with her and I felt the need to bring her in.”

  Jess grinned. Strays always seemed to hold a soft spot in her heart. It was why she volunteered at the local rescue.

  “She’s really skinny and skittish. I lured her in with beef jerky, but I’m trying to get her something more substantial. I can’t get over how many options there are.”

  “I’d suggest a higher quality food with more protein. It will help her gain muscle.” Jess pointed out the bag she would choose. “Be sure to follow the portion size th
ey suggest. With her being a stray she will devour anything you give her, because she’s unsure when she will eat again.” She handed him a box of dog biscuits. “These can be used sparingly to gain trust. If she’s skittish, give her some time. Don’t rush her.” She reached past him and grabbed Roscoe’s treats.

  “Thanks for the pointers.” He crouched down, picked up the dog food she’d suggested, then put the bag in his cart. “Do you have a dog or just a cat?”

  “Just a cat. Roscoe is a bit of a grump; I don’t think he would appreciate someone taking over his turf.” Roscoe was missing the tip of his right ear, limped from arthritis, and just looked plain mean. But he still acted like a kitten and she loved that about him. He didn’t let life get him down. She envied the quality.

  Caleb smirked.

  “So what are you going to name her?” Jess asked.

  “I have absolutely no idea.” He scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “Any suggestions?”

  “I’m usually in charge of naming the dogs at the shelter but I generally have to meet them first. They each have their own personality. I’ve actually named almost a hundred dogs.”

  “I was wondering”—he cleared his throat—“since you know so much about dogs, would you want to come over and maybe check her out and help me with her a bit.” He started to scratch the back of his neck again. She assumed it must be his nervous tic. A smile spread across her lips.

  “Sure, I’d love to.” A quick examination of the cart revealed he did not have a leash and collar yet. She grabbed the prettiest set she could and handed it to him. “Here, you’ll need these.” Without even flinching he eagerly placed them in his cart. “I have the rest of the day off. I could meet you at your motel and we could take her for a walk if you want.”

  “Perfect.” He took one last glance at his supplies and gave her a questioning look. “Do you think she’ll need anything else?”

  “No, but if you want you could get her a chew toy. She might enjoy one.”