The Quarterback Alpha: A Sweet YA Paranormal Romance (The Smoky Hills Academy Book 1)

by Emma Wolfe

“Wow. They’re buff,” Mom said, interrupting my thoughts.

  Realizing that Mom was still at the table, witnessing the mental breakdown of her daughter, I dropped my gaze to the table, pretending that the aged laminate was more interesting than the pack of guys walking by us.

  As they passed, my heartbeat sped up. I could feel Liam’s stare on me as they passed.

  Once they were seated, I felt a little less exposed. I adjusted myself and forced a smile as I glanced up at Mom. She was studying me with an amused expression.

  I tried not to roll my eyes as I gave her my best “drop it” look.

  Mom seemed to understand, and a knowing chuckle escaped her lips. “So, Rose, how long have you lived here?”

  Rose glanced up at Mom. “Since I was four. My parents died, and I came to live with my grandparents.” She waved her hand in the direction of the kitchen.

  Mom’s brows furrowed. “I’m so sorry. That had to be hard.”

  Rose nodded and then shrugged. “Yeah. I was little, so I don’t remember a lot about them.”

  Althea dropped our food by, and Mom and I began eating. I offered Rose some of my fries, and she happily took some.

  “Do you like Smoky Hills?” Mom asked between bites.

  Rose nodded again. “Yeah. It’s good.” She glanced over at me. “Are you starting at the Academy on Monday?”

  My mouth was full, so I just nodded.

  Rose grinned. “Great. I go there too. We can hang out.”

  I smiled. “That would be great.”

  “She’s nervous about starting a new school,” Mom said as she leaned forward.

  I stared at Mom. Was she serious? “Thanks,” I hissed as I could feel my blush creeping across my cheeks.

  Mom shrugged as she returned to her food.

  Rose laughed. “No worries. With me, you’ll be fine.”

  I took a few more bites of my cheeseburger and found my gaze drifting over to Liam and his crew. They were laughing and talking like they owned the place.

  “Do they go to the Academy?” I asked, hoping my voice came across as relaxed. Like I really didn’t care what the answer was.

  Rose nodded as she slipped another fry into her mouth. “Yep. They’re part of Smoky Hills’ notorious football team.”

  Mom’s eyebrows went up appreciatively. “Wow. I’ve heard a lot about you guys. State champs. You guys are unbeatable.”

  Rose rolled her eyes. “Yep. That’s us.”

  Mom studied the group of guys and then returned her attention to her food. “I can see why.” She leaned forward. “Steroids?”

  I stared at her. Was she serious?

  Rose shook her head. “Nope. It’s like, in their DNA or something. It’s generational.”

  Mom chewed thoughtfully. “Wow,” was all she said.

  I took a sip of water just as Liam’s gaze met mine. He smiled again, and just my luck, I lost all brain activity and dumped water down my shirt.

  The cool water seeped into my clothes, and I jumped as I set the glass down and began to swipe at my soaked clothes with a wad of paper napkins.

  This was just the best.

  “Cora,” Mom said as she pulled more napkins from the dispenser and handed them over to me.

  Rose watched as I tried in vain to dab the water. “There’re dryers in the bathroom,” she said.

  I nodded. She slipped out of the booth, so I could scoot out, and I followed her directions to the bathroom in the back. I kept my head down as I walked past Liam and his crew. I couldn’t tell if they were watching me, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  Once I was securely behind the bathroom door, I leaned against it, letting my breath out.

  What was the matter with me?

  I mean, I’d seen attractive guys before. They did exist in Waco. But there was something about the way Liam stared at me, like his gaze could literally pierce my soul, that had me completely discombobulated.

  “Get a grip, Cora. It’s just a guy,” I said to myself as I shoved my shirt under the dryer and tried to get some of it dry.

  Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Thankfully, my shirt now had just the hint of a water stain, and I no longer looked like I’d peed my pants.

  “Just a minute,” I called to whoever was on the other side of the door.

  They didn’t respond, so I quickly finished and pulled open the door. “There, sorry—”

  My brain, body, and mouth froze as I glanced up into the dark, laughing eyes of Liam Bronson.

  3

  Cora

  “No problem,” he said as he raised his arm to lean on the doorframe above me. I swear I saw him lean closer to me and thought I heard him inhale, but I told myself not to be so stupid. Why would Liam lean closer to me? And why the heck would he sniff me?

  I’d officially gone crazy.

  He raised his eyebrows as he studied me. “You okay?” he asked.

  I wanted to respond, but I was finding it hard to form a coherent sentence. There was a lot going on in my body right now. For some reason, I was warm. Like, really warm. I wasn’t sure if it was from his body heat because he was so close to me, or if I was just burning up from embarrassment.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. That was all I could muster. My brain was shot.

  He smiled as he shook his head. “Don’t be.” Then he held out his hand. “Liam.”

  I stared at his perfectly formed fingers and huge hands. Right. Of course. Every part of this guy was perfection. “Cora,” I whispered.

  Great. Now he would think I was just some ditzy girl. Desperate to save my image, I cleared my throat. “Cora,” I said, louder this time, and then shook his hand. Jolts of electricity raced up my arm as he squeezed my fingers.

  He met my gaze, and his ridiculous, knee-weakening smile returned. “It’s nice to meet you, Cora,” he said as he leaned forward. My name rolled off his tongue like he was tasting it. Like he enjoyed saying it.

  What was going on? Why was I thinking stuff like that?

  Worried I’d say something stupid, I just nodded. I broke his gaze as I glanced toward my table. Mom and Rose seemed engrossed in conversation. I wanted to head back to them and stay here with Liam at the same time. It was a strange push and pull that was driving me crazy.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked.

  I glanced back at him to see he’d leaned even closer. “No,” I said as my heart and cheeks betrayed me.

  He hesitated, like he was listening to something, and then his smile widened. “I think you may be lying to me.”

  I cleared my throat again, frustrated that he could read me. I mean, I was a normal, levelheaded girl. Since when did I become this swoony mess of emotions?

  “Well, you have me pinned against the bathroom door and are kind of invading my personal space,” I said, finally finding my voice.

  Liam’s expression didn’t falter. Instead, his smile just got cockier. “I can leave if you want.”

  I stared into his warm, brown eyes. Him leaving was the last thing I wanted. For some reason, I felt safe this close to him, and the thought of him backing away left me feeling as if I would miss his warmth.

  But I’d just met this guy. There was no way I was going to let him know any of that. So I nodded. “That would be nice.”

  He quirked an eyebrow and then pushed off the doorframe. Even though he wasn’t leaning into me now, he still remained close. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. So, instead of standing there looking like an idiot, I gave him a quick smile and stepped away.

  Just as I turned to head back to the table, I heard him call out, “See you on Monday.”

  I hesitated as his words sunk in. The sound of the bathroom door closing told me he’d gone inside, so I took a minute to process what just happened.

  How did he know that I was going to the Academy? Did he hear me say that to Rose?

  I stared at the distance between his table and ours. It seemed too far for him to just happen to overhear it.<
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  And then I felt like an idiot. Of course he would assume I was going to the Academy. It wasn’t like there was another option. He probably just figured that I was his age and, thus, would be going to his school.

  Man, I was a dork sometimes.

  Feeling more confident that I had processed his parting words correctly, I made my way back to the table and slipped into the booth.

  Mom and Rose let me join in on their conversation. They were talking about the wildlife in Smoky Hills. Rose seemed to know quite a bit about it, and Mom was lapping it up.

  When Liam returned from the bathroom, he didn’t glance over at me once. I had to admit, it kind of made me sad. But then again, I had much better control of myself when he wasn’t staring at me with his soulful gaze.

  We wrapped up dinner and made our way to the front. As Mom paid, I told Rose I’d see her on Monday, and we exchanged numbers. Just as Mom and I turned to head toward the front door, my gaze caught Liam staring at me.

  His mouth was downturned, like he wasn’t happy about something.

  I shook off that thought. Why wouldn’t he be happy? And even if he wasn’t, it didn’t have anything to do with me.

  I chalked it up to something one of his friends said and made my way out of the diner and over to Mom’s car.

  We drove ten minutes into town and found Dr. Peterson’s office. We were taking over the vet clinic and the apartment above. Mom parked in the back, and we both got out of the car.

  Apparently, Dr. Peterson was already gone. He’d shipped Mom the keys to the building before we left Waco.

  I stayed behind Mom as she slipped the key into the back door and pushed in open.

  The building was small. There was only a small desk in the front and one exam room. The apartment above was even smaller. It consisted of two tiny bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen with a living room off to the side.

  Mom reached out and rested her arm on my shoulders as she sighed. “Well, it’s tiny.”

  I nodded. Even though it was a quarter of the size of our house in Waco, I could tell that Mom was happy, and I didn’t want to burst her bubble. “It’s great, Mom.”

  She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Thanks, Cora.”

  I glanced over at her. “For what?”

  She shrugged. “For being the best daughter.”

  I smiled. “Well, you’re a great mom. And really, Smoky Hills doesn’t seem so bad.” Just as the words left my lips, Liam’s cocky smile and dark brown eyes settled in my mind. I wrapped my arms around my stomach as Mom declared that she was heading downstairs to get our pillows and blankets and that we would unpack the car tomorrow.

  I nodded as I walked over to the window and stared out at the dark night sky. Liam’s presence seemed to follow me everywhere. It was like I could feel him even though he was miles away.

  As I stood there, staring out at the darkness that surrounded me, I swore I heard the howl of that wolf again. This time, it was lower and more drawn out. I swallowed, thinking about the wolf that had stopped us on the road earlier.

  What a strange, strange town.

  Liam

  “Let’s go,” I said, slamming my hands down on the table at Jordan’s. Grayson was mid-bite on his third cheeseburger.

  His gaze flickered over me. Being my second-in-command gave him this uncanny ability to know what I was thinking.

  “But…” He nodded toward his food.

  I growled, low and deep. I needed to get out of here. The wolf inside of me was begging to be released. There was something about Cora that had every part of me going crazy.

  Grayson nodded. “You got it, boss.” Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a wad of twenties and threw them onto the table. He turned to the others. “You heard the alpha. It’s time to go.”

  They didn’t fight the command. They shoved what they could into their mouths and stood.

  “Leaving so soon?” Althea asked. Her eyes were wide as she took in the state of our table. Empty plates were haphazardly stacked on top of each other. Napkins strewn about. Empty milkshakes scattered the table. “I think I still have a few things left in the kitchen.”

  I shot her a smile despite her obvious frustration. There was a distaste for us that I hadn’t been able to unpack. I think it had something to do with Rose’s parents, but I wasn’t sure.

  In a town this small, it was amazing that we could keep the secrets we did. But that didn’t stop the locals from speculating. So instead of responding to her, I just smiled. I could hear Cora’s car driving further down the road, and the desire to make sure that she got to where she was going safely was rapidly taking over my thoughts.

  “See you next time,” I said over my shoulder as I made my way through the door.

  Once I was outside, my ears perked up. I was listening for Cora’s soft heartbeat. There was something about her. Something that had drawn me in from the moment I saw her on the road.

  A fire ignited inside of my gut. I’d never felt this way before, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to admit to anyone what was happening to me.

  At least, not until I was sure.

  “Everything okay?” Grayson asked as he came up from behind me.

  I backed away, hoping he couldn’t sense the change inside. He would know what it meant just as much as I did. Desperate to keep my secret to myself, I made my way into the woods. The wolf was tearing me up inside. I needed to change. I needed to run. I needed to know that Cora was safe.

  “I’ll be fine. Take the boys back. I’ll meet you after I take care of something.”

  Grayson furrowed his brow. I could tell that he wasn’t happy with the idea of leaving me, but I didn’t want his company. His concern only told me he’d noticed the difference.

  “I’ll be okay.” The heat inside of me began to boil. In seconds, I was going to lose control of the wolf and change. I let out a low growl, letting Grayson know that I was serious, and then jogged off, away from the group.

  I could tell Grayson wasn’t happy, but he was obedient. I felt bad for commanding him to stay—that wasn’t the kind of relationship we’d built up—but I needed him to listen.

  If it got back to the elders that I was interested in a human, things would not go well for me.

  Once I was out of earshot, I released my inner control to the alpha, and in one breath, I was running on four legs, feeling the wind as it rushed through my fur. My speed was ten times what it was when I was in human form. My hearing. My sight. Everything was heightened.

  I ran alongside the town, just a few yards into the woods, searching for one heartbeat. Hers.

  Just as I ran past Old Peterson’s vet office, I stopped. The sweet sound of that beat called out to me like a siren song. I shrunk behind a tree that lined the meticulously cared for grass and glanced around the trunk.

  Up in the apartment, I could see the outline of Cora’s figure. I could hear her soft sighs and the trill of her heartbeat. I knew her sounds. They were familiar. Like I was remembering them even though we’d never met.

  There was something about her—a part of her—my wolf was drawn to. I was meant to find her.

  Feeling like some sappy dork, I growled and headed back into the forest. Thoughts slammed against me as I sprinted away from the woman whose every breath called me toward her.

  What was wrong with me? I didn’t believe in fate. When the elders talked about fate, I scoffed.

  Now, I wasn’t so sure.

  Frustrated, I stopped running and tipped my head toward the sky. I released a low howl, letting my emotions rattle around in my chest and escape through my throat.

  This wasn’t good. This wasn’t what I needed.

  I was in trouble.

  4

  Cora

  I woke up the next morning to the sun streaming in through our uncovered windows. Dr. Peterson had left some odds and ends but took most of the furniture, leaving one lone mattress and a couch. Frustrated, I flipped to my stomach and tried to bury my face u
nder the pillow, hoping to shut out the light.

  But nothing seemed to be working. Sleep had evaded me all night.

  I let out a low, frustrated groan as I threw off the blankets and sat up. I might as well get going. Tomorrow, school started, and there was a lot I still needed to get ready.

  I needed to unpack my clothes, buy bedding, and get some window coverings—all things necessary to live in a new house.

  My stomach rumbled, so I set my feet on the ground and stood. After a quick shower, I dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts. I pulled my hair up into a bun at the top of my head and pulled a few curls loose to frame my face.

  I made my way into the kitchen to find Mom sitting at the table, sipping on a mug of coffee. Her leg was propped up on the chair next to her. She was wearing her glasses, and her blonde hair was pulled up into a loose bun on the top of her head. She had her phone up and was reading something on the screen.

  Her gaze flicked over to me, and her smile widened. “How’d you sleep?” she asked as she set her mug and phone down and straightened, slipping her feet to the ground.

  I shrugged as I padded over to the fridge and pulled it open.

  Empty.

  Right. We had no groceries.

  “Sorry, sweetie. I’ll go get some food later. Just trying to get some liquid courage.” She pointed toward her mug. “Powdered.”

  I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t normally drink coffee, and rehydrated coffee sounded disgusting. “I’m good,” I said as I walked over to my shoes and grabbed them. “I’ll go shopping.” I held my hand out for Mom’s card.

  She nodded and reached over to grab her purse. “Eggs, milk, bread, and anything else that looks yummy,” she said as I took the card from her and slipped it into my pocket. Then I shoved my feet into my sandals and gave her a quick wave.

  One nice thing about living in downtown Smoky Hills, everything we needed was within walking distance.

  I skipped down the stairs and pushed out into the warm morning breeze. I inhaled the sweet smell of flowers and fresh air. There was something crisp about being at this high of an altitude. I felt like everything was fresher. The sun was warm on my skin as I rounded the building and started down the sidewalk.