by Amanda Perry
Headlights aimed directly at Remy and her family. The approaching car showed no signs of slowing down and her father must have noticed. He pulled Todd and Remy away from the road, glowering at the car as it skidded to a stop mere inches from where they stood seconds ago.
Remy fully expected to find the Alpha behind the wheel of the car. Instead, her eyes widened at the sight before her. Bruce sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the steering wheel. His large body turned nearly all the way around and his free arm was swatting at a man in the back seat. Remy remembered Chrissy’s uncle, Noah, from the recent fire incident. He sat in the passenger seat, pulling on the massive bear's arm and shouting at him. Even with the windows rolled up Remy could make out the words "insane,” “maniac,” and “revoked license.”
Bruce finally spun back around when one of his brothers opened his door. He spoke to Bruce lowly and Remy couldn’t understand what he said, but it calmed the bear down a bit. Movement in front of her startled her and she took a few steps back. Noah and Elijah stood in front of her, both rambling at full speed.
Remy searched around for help. Her brother stood there laughing hysterically at the two men in front of her and her father just shook his head and walked over to speak with Bruce, demanding to know what happened to their original plan. The men before her continued to shout, hoping to be heard above each other.
“Oh my god, shut the hell up, both of you!” Remy couldn’t handle the two men vying for her attention any longer. She didn’t understand a word they’d said as they shouted to be heard above the other. “One of you better tell me what the holy hell is going on here! Right damn now before my patience runs out.”
“You have patience left?” Todd, of course, had to get his smart-ass remark in. It earned the little turd an elbow in the gut, but he seemed happy with himself despite coughing from the impact.
“Uh oh.” Elijah’s whispered words drew Remy’s attention. She turned in time to watch a huge wolf rushing right for her from out of the wooded tree line. She squealed like a little girl and held her hands in front of her, trying to ward off the attack.
After a full thirty seconds, nothing had happened and Remy felt stupid standing there in a defensive position, so she lowered her hands and searched the area, wondering if she’d finally lost her marbles and imagined the wolf. She wasn’t that lucky, though. The wolf sat crouched about five feet in front of her. She watched in awe as he whimpered and backed away a few more feet. His body shook and the shape slowly morphed from wolf to that of a man. Reid stood before her, his bare chest heaving. His gaze was fixed over her shoulder, glaring at Elijah and Noah. Two thoughts entered Remy’s head in that moment. First, she wasn’t sure why the Alpha was mad at the other two men now instead of her. Second, Remy was dying to ask how a wolf could Shift and still have pants on in human form when she knew she hadn’t seen pants on the wolf.
For once, she kept her mouth shut and stood stone still. In her head, she debated which of her questions she would’ve asked first. While most people wouldn’t need to ponder such things as they waited to die, Remy’s brain refused to allow her to continue to panic and dwell on the inevitable.
All thoughts of peculiar Shifter traits disappeared as Reid stalked up to her and lowered his head so his eyes could meet hers. Warm spread through her frozen limbs as he growled possessively. “Mine.”
She was sure she heard him wrong until he picked her up like she weighed as much as a kitten and tossed her over his shoulder. The air left her lungs in a whoosh and she used her hands on the crazy Alpha’s back to push herself into a somewhat upright position, stalling the blood flow to her head.
“Are you completely mental?” she screeched and kicked her legs. He simply huffed, and wrapped an arm around both her legs, holding her still. Remy’s desperate gaze sought out her father. “Are you seriously going to stand there and do nothing? Shoot him or something!”
Her father blinked at her repeatedly, his eyes wide with shock. She wondered if his surprise was over the way the Alpha decided to manhandle her or something else. She didn’t have to wait long for an explanation. Clive shook himself, cleared his throat and glanced from Bruce to the Alpha, then to Remy. “Honey, we should probably go back with Alpha Reid. He needs… You should… It’s just…”
“I need to explain what happened earlier. I wasn’t attacking you. Please, give me a few minutes to explain. If you still want to leave after, I’ll order my men to let you pass,” Reid implored softly, his hold on Remy tightening.
Between her father's subtle nod and the plea in Reid's tone, Remy found herself relenting. She felt Reid relax under her as he sensed her surrender. He turned his back to Noah and Elijah, who stood standing dumbstruck and slack-jawed. "You fuckers were too slow."
Remy didn’t understand what the Alpha meant, but the daggers the two shot his way proved they understood him perfectly. Still, they followed behind and Remy found herself pleased they planned to tag along.
Even if they both came after her acting like lunatics, she still felt the need to be around them, something she’d been fighting silently since meeting them. If she was honest with herself, it was the reason she cried when Reid yelled at her after the fire as well. She hated that she’d upset him and it disappointed her when he clearly wanted her far away from him.
Reid walked away from the border, not bothering to put Remy down. Instead, he swung her down until she was cradled in his embrace. Taking in the stubborn set of his jaw, Remy didn’t bother to point out her ability to use her own two feet. Remy had a million and one unanswered questions and even more inexplicable feelings raging inside of her. She hoped tonight at least a few of her questions would be answered, settling her emotions somewhat.
Despite the craziness that started to occur the moment she arrived on the compound, Remy felt at home in the charming village. She didn’t want to leave and she hoped Reid’s explanation would be enough to keep her here. As the quartet passed into the tree line, Remy heard Bruce let out a breath. “Thank fuck that’s settled! I need a new damn job. They don’t pay me enough for this shit.”
* * *
THE END
About the Authors
AJ ANDERS
AJ Anders is a new and upcoming author with a lot of different hats. She is an active mom, keeper of a full-time job, and has a passel of friends whose antics always keep her hopping. It's amazing she finds any time to craft her stories for her readers to enjoy. Fiercely loyal and protective of those she cares for, AJ enjoys creating stories where there may be strife and tears, but in the end, it will be a well-earned happily ever after. Outside of writing, AJ enjoys terrifying her friends with her driving skills and relaxing at home with a good book.
* * *
Social Media links (including newsletter signup):
www.AuthorAJAnders.com
twitter.com/@anders_aj
www.facebook.com/AuthorAJAnders
[email protected]
AMANDA PERRY
My name is Amanda Perry, and I have a writing problem. Really, it's true. I've been writing stories for as long as I can remember thanks to my Grandmother who is a scriptwriter. When I married the love of my life things got a little crazy and I took a step back from writing for a while. We had our first baby and I became a stay-at-home mama. Time flew and my baby became my big kid! While my Big started school, I decided to take up writing again. We became pregnant with our angel baby boy a while later. God decided he needed our baby boy more, but a few months later blessed us with our youngest child. My Little has become very active lately and keeps us all on our toes. While my spare time is minimal, I do enjoy dancing with strangers in casinos, googling odd facts, and drinking my weight in Diet Coke. My family means everything to me, and in that, I include a few close friends. Writing is my passion and as long as I'm able, I'll continue to pursue my dream.
* * *
Social Media links (including newsletter signup):
authoramandaperry.wixsite.com/website<
br />
www.facebook.com/AuthorAmandaPerry
www.facebook.com/groups/AmandasPandas
www.instagram.com/author_amanda_perry