Sold To The Alpha Bear (Alpha Mates Of Salem)

by Maia Starr

  “Oh, I’m alright, Kyle,” Tiffany said, reaching the ground without his help. “I’ve learned to deal with being more careful.”

  Shrugging, Kyle smiled at her. “But anything could happen, Tiffany.”

  “I’m very aware that anything could happen. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have met you and become pregnant with your child, would I?”

  “No, you wouldn’t have,” Kyle mused. “You hungry?”

  “You bet I am!” Tiffany said. “I want a sandwich. Maybe two.”

  Laughing, Kyle gently brought her inside and sat her down. Running over to the fridge, Kyle began pulling out bread and meat and all sorts of condiments. While he worked, Tiffany watched him, smiling. “So I’ve been thinking.”

  “Thinking about what?”

  “About your boy...our cub, I guess. About his name.”

  “Oh,” Kyle said. He blinked as he looked over at her. “Do you have a name already picked out?”

  Tiffany sighed. “There are too many good ones, Kyle! Every time I see or hear a name I like, another comes along.” She rubbed her face. “Look, I need you to pick one because I sure can’t.”

  Laughing, Kyle finished up making the sandwiches and brought a plate over to the table. Sitting down, he shrugged. She stared at the plate. “There are three sandwiches.”

  “Bear shifters get hungry too, you know,” Kyle said, picking one up and biting into it. “How about Alexander?” he said, through the food.

  “What did you say? Don’t talk while you’re eating, Kyle.”

  “I said, let’s name him Alexander.”

  Tiffany smiled at the suggestion. “Well, that’s a great idea, I think. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Kyle shrugged again. “I love you, you know.”

  “I love you too, Kyle.”

  Leaning forward over the table, Kyle pressed his lips to Tiffany’s, his heart beating like crazy. Now he didn’t have any more regrets.

  I hope you enjoyed the first book “Sold To The Alpha Bear” in the Alpha Mates Of Salem Series. If you want to consume more sexy shifters then check out a sneak peak of another shifter series of mine “Wolves Of Silverwood Island” on the next page!

  Wolves Of Silverwood Island (Sneak Peak)

  (A Wolf Shifter Series)

  By Maia Starr

  Chapter One

  Seattle Journalism

  There was something about the rainy season in Seattle that calmed Addison. Whether it was the scent of fresh rainwater that soothed her mind or the cloudy skies that sharpened her senses, Addison always had a reason to be positive on rainy days. It was like the dreary weather left all the joy for Addison to inhale like a rush of adrenaline. On rainy days, she couldn’t go wrong in her endeavors.

  And she wouldn’t go wrong now.

  Strolling down the rain-slick sidewalk of a gloomy Seattle street, Addison inhaled the cold, damp air and shivered. She twirled an umbrella in her hands, keeping most of the rain off her, although it failed to keep the hem of her jacket from dampening and sticking to her shirt. The sensation would normally bother Addison, but right now, there was only one thing on her mind: finding that bookstore.

  As she turned a corner, however, a figure sprinting toward her broke Addison’s focus. She stepped aside to avoid a collision, but her foot slipped on the pavement, and she toppled backward, arms flailing. The sprinter, the man who’d caused her to stumble in the first place, stopped and grabbed her wrist, preventing her fall.

  The guy sighed as Addison fixed her umbrella and raised it above her head again. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I should have looked where I was going—” He stopped short as he stared at Addison, looking her up and down.

  Now that she got a better look at him, Addison saw he was tall, handsome, and maybe a little younger than her. She gave him a friendly smile. “Thanks for catching me.” She raised an eyebrow when he didn’t stop staring at her. “Is something wrong?”

  He smiled. “I just… didn’t expect to run into a woman as beautiful as you. I’m sorry for staring, but I couldn’t help myself.”

  Addison blinked.

  “I know it’s kind of strange to ask out of the blue, especially after I nearly ran you over, but do you want to go grab lunch with me? I’m not one for the whole love-at-first-sight thing, but—”

  Addison turned away, realizing where this was heading. “I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry.”

  “Well, that’s okay, why don’t I just give you my number, and we can go from there?”

  He rummaged in his pocket for his phone, but before he could take it out, Addison stepped away, checking her watch for the time. “Look, I don’t have the time right now, and I really need to go.”

  “But—”

  She left the man standing on the sidewalk, gawking after her.

  Truthfully, staying and getting the man’s number might have been good for her, but Addison didn’t care at the moment. Lindsay’s scrutinizing voice echoed in her head as she jogged away, but she quickly forgot about her best friend’s inevitable future lecturing.

  After another few minutes of walking, Addison stood in front of the bookstore’s entrance, tucked away in a back alley darker than the cloudy sky. She looked up at the sign, mouthing the store name to herself and double-checking the information on her phone. This was the place; she was sure. Addison usually worked with a team of other investigative journalists who checked the accuracy of their information for her. But she was on her own this time, meaning she couldn’t afford to mess up any part of her plan.

  To reassure herself, Addison ran through the plan in her head once more. Walk in, ask for the manager for a gag interview, gather evidence, and be on her way. Tugging at her collar, Addison sucked in a deep breath before nodding to herself and opening the door.

  A jingle echoed through the store as the door closed behind her—a slow, eerie sound that unnerved Addison. The bookstore was deserted. A single light in the front of the store and one over the counter in the back offered enough illumination to make out simple shapes. Massive bookshelves lined the way forward, each one packed to the brim with novels. In fact, the whole store appeared to be bursting at the seams, books stacked in haphazard piles on the ground, on top of the shelves, on the back counter, everywhere.

  Addison closed her umbrella and gently placed it on the edge of the display window, peering at the closest pile. Stepping forward, she traced her fingers through the thick dust coating the cover of the top book so she could read its title.

  Odd for the dust to be so thick on the pile… as if no one had touched it in ages. As she moved through the store, Addison noticed the same layer of dust on almost every pile of books. As she leaned close to one stack, the dust tickled her nose, and she sneezed, jerking backward and rubbing her nose with a frown.

  “Hello, miss.”

  Spinning around, Addison spied a hulk of a man standing just in front of the counter. Towering as tall as the shelves themselves, muscles rippling through his gray t-shirt, the man was an impressive sight. A tattoo of a blue bear spread across his right bicep. Addison almost didn’t believe he was real; no mere man could be that big. He watched her with a friendly smile and easy expression, wiping his hands on a towel and staining the cloth with what looked like red paint. Addison couldn’t conjure up a greeting; she just stared at the man.

  “My store isn’t open yet, I’m afraid,” he said, his voice gruff and powerful.

  Despite the friendly demeanor, something about him seemed off to her, almost dangerous. As he came closer, Addison got the impression that if she pissed him off, he could easily crush her in his bear-like arms. She swallowed nervously.

  He stepped even closer. “If you come back later in the evening, you can look around to your heart’s content.”

  Addison, regaining her composure, fixed a sly smile on her face and nodded to the cloth on the counter. “Are you a painter? Or just sprucing up the store, giving it a fresh coat of paint?”

  The
man’s smile didn’t waver, but his eyes narrowed. “Yeah, just putting on a fresh coat in the back. I haven’t touched the walls in this store since I opened it.”

  “And how long has that been?”

  “I’m sorry, miss, but why are you asking?”

  Addison widened her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Addison, and I’m an investigative journalist for the Seattle Times. I’m interviewing shop owners in the area about some missing persons who were all sighted in this area before disappearing.”

  The man’s smile faded. “So, you’re also a detective?”

  Pretending to giggle, Addison kept her attention on the man’s posture; he crossed his arms and leaned back as if he had something to hide from her. “No, I’m not allowed to do that kind of work… it’s much too dangerous for a simple journalist like me. I’m just doing a story on the families affected by the disappearances. You know, trying to bring their story to the forefront of the news. Every family pointed me to this area, so I decided to get some input from some of the shop owners around here, and maybe grab info for other stories while I’m at it. Like a story about your bookstore…”

  The beginnings of a frown furrowed his thick brows, making Addison’s heart pump a little faster. “I mean,” she continued. “I haven’t seen your shop around until recently, and it doesn’t seem like many people know about your place. Maybe I could write something up for all those bookworms out there looking for a nice, quiet little place to browse?”

  Addison gave him a broad smile and an arched eyebrow to show she was eager to get started.

  The man sighed but didn’t relax the tension in his upper body. “Fine. But I need to get back to painting soon… wouldn’t want the paint to dry while I’m only halfway through.”

  “Don’t worry. This won’t take long.” Addison brought out her phone, opening it up and tapping on her recording app. “You don’t mind if I record this, right? It’s easier than jotting down notes.” The man grunted, which Addison could only assume was a yes, so she hit record and held up her phone. “So, let’s start with who you are.”

  Silence permeated the store, and for a moment, Addison thought the man wouldn’t cooperate with her.

  “Maric… Devoy,” he said finally.

  “That’s a lovely name. And you’re the owner of this store, correct?”

  He nodded.

  “Okay, so you are the owner… when did you start this little establishment of yours?”

  He grunted. “When I moved to Seattle.”

  “And when would that have been?”

  Maric eyed her, but he relented, and even answered her in more than five words. “I came to Seattle around a year ago. Set up shop here because a friend told me it was a good location. There’s not a whole lot to it.”

  “Oh, there’s always more under the surface,” Addison said. “That’s part of a journalist’s job, to drag out that secret and make it into a story, you know.”

  Regret at her statement filled her as Maric’s face scrunched up, clearly unhappy with where she was going with her interview. Her best friend’s voice echoed in her head again, warning her of danger, but she couldn’t just stop halfway through. Nervous, but keeping her cool on the outside, she thrust her phone forward. “So, does your store sell any specific types of books? Genres? Do you sell anything else? The more info you give me, the better I can describe your store in my article.”

  “I need to get back to painting,” Maric said.

  Sensing Maric’s obvious annoyance, Addison stepped closer, trying to appear as unintimidated as possible. “Well then, can you maybe tell me if you’ve heard anything in recent months? Seen anything fishy? Regarding the missing persons. Some people believe they were all kidnapped… do you have anything I can use for my story?”

  Maric shot her a look but turned to stalk away. “Come back another time; I don’t have time for you right now, girl.”

  Girl? Did he really just call her girl? And if Addison wasn’t mistaken, Maric growled at her, a low rumble from this throat. Addison was ready to pry more information out of him, but something drew her attention away: a sparkle she caught from the corner of her eye.

  Under a wall shelf next to the counter, a gold locket hung from a peg. Seeing it hanging there blew her mind, and she had to regain her composure quickly. Closing her recording app, she opened her photos and scrolled until she found a photo of a similar golden locket, a memento the family of one of the missing persons had shown her only days prior. No, it wasn’t a similar locket; it was the same one!

  “What’s wrong?” Maric grumbled, turning back to her.

  “Nothing!” Addison said. “It’s just… that locket is so pretty. I guess I was right to think you sold other goods, too, huh?”

  Maric glared at her but pushed open the door to the back of the store. “If there’s nothing else, you can go.”

  Addison gulped as the hulking man disappeared into the back of his store. She debated trying to follow him but decided not to go too far. Either way, she had just found something way out of her league. Softly stepping up next to the counter to avoid alerting Maric of her snooping, she grasped the locket and slid it off its peg, holding it in the air and glancing between it and the picture on her phone. There was no doubt about it; this locket belonged to one of the missing persons.

  Why did Maric have this locket? Was it possible he was behind the disappearances? Addison heard heavy footfalls and realized too late that it was Maric stomping back to the front of the store.

  Poking his head out, he continued his deadly glare. “Why are you still here? I thought I told you to leave.” He spotted the locket in her hands, and his eyes widened. “What are you doing? You can’t just take whatever you want.”

  He growled at her, and Addison’s sense of danger shot through the roof. As Maric shouldered open the door and stomped toward her, Addison dialed her phone, bringing it up to her ear to hear a calm, collected voice from the Seattle Police Department on the other side.

  Stuffing the locket into her jacket pocket, Addison backed away. “Yes, hello, I think there’s a man who might try to hurt me.” Maric rushed forward, trying to grab hold of Addison, but she leaped out of the way. “Strike that; he is trying to hurt me!”

  Quickly rattling off the name and address of the bookstore, Addison squirmed between bookshelves and clambered over piles of books to make her way to the front door. Just before she could reach it, however, Maric grabbed her arm and jerked her backward, forcing her onto her back on the floor and climbing on top of her. The pressure from his weight already had Addison struggling to breathe before he gripped her neck with both hands and squeezed. Clutching at his wrists, she tried to pry his hands off, but he just laughed.

  “You’re too nosy for your own good…” Maric said. “You just had to mess with that locket. Well, it’s too late now. Ready to join those people I kidnapped?”

  Addison’s vision blurred, her strength draining quicker than she’d hoped. Her fingers stopped scrabbling at Maric’s wrists, and her arms slumped to her sides. Fear overtook her, but there was nothing she could do to free herself.

  At the sight of flashing red and blue lights just outside the store and the sound of a myriad of shouting voices, Maric loosened his hold on Addison. Shots were fired moments later, and the weight on Addison’s chest disappeared. Coughing violently for breath, Addison lifted her head to see Maric standing over her, his face a mask of rage.

  He pointed at her with a meaty finger. “I’ll make sure you pay for this!”

  And then, he took off into the back as officers rushed in and crowded the small store. Addison’s vision went black shortly after.

  “I’m telling you, you really could have gotten hurt this time, Addie!” Lindsay screeched.

  Addison eyed her friend, trying to look as apologetic as she could. “I didn’t expect to find hard evidence that would get him caught, Lin. That’s the truth.”

  Hands on her hips, Lindsay gl
ared at Addison, alternating between tapping her foot on the floor and pacing Addison’s office at the Seattle Times headquarters. “It’s only been one day, Addie, and you’re already back at work, too!” Lindsay said, ignoring Addison’s words. “You’re the definition of a workaholic. You need to rest, take a break, just stop!”

  Addison rose from her chair and grasped both of Lindsay’s shoulders, forcing her friend to look her in the eye. “I’m fine, Lindsay. As I said, I didn’t expect things to go so wrong so quickly.”

  “But you need to if you’re going alone to investigate a shady bookstore for a story!” Lindsay exclaimed. She took a deep breath and sat down, Addison following her lead. “Look, I didn’t mean to charge into your office the moment you got back in, but I was worried about you when I saw the whole thing on the news. Someone’s got to.”

  “But I got him caught, at least.”

  Lindsay gave Addison a sorrowful look. “No, you didn’t. The police didn’t catch him, Addie. He’s still on the loose.”

  Cocking her head at her friend, Addison watched as Lindsay brought out her phone and brought up the breaking news from that morning. Sliding it across Addison’s desk, Lindsay tapped the header. “Apparently, the guy who attacked you injured a few cops as they chased him, and they lost him when he disappeared into the woods.”

  Addison frowned and bit her lip. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Afraid so.”

  Addison sighed. “So, it was a complete failure, huh?”

  “Not completely.” Lindsay smiled at Addison. “Despite almost being strangled to death, you helped the police identify the culprit, and you saved two teenagers the police found bound and gagged in the back of his bookstore.”

  Addison’s whole body inflated at her friend’s words, and she sat up a little straighter. “Wait, really? They took me to the hospital right away, so I didn’t get to see what was in the back…”