Resisting The Alpha (Werebear Shifter Romance) (The Crane Curse)

by Rhodes, Liliana

  Resisting The Alpha

  By

  Liliana Rhodes

  Copyright ©2014

  liliana@lilianarhodes.com

  http://www.LilianaRhodes.com

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  ***

  Faith Galloway is an orphan, a witch, a powerful charmer, and still in love with her high school sweetheart. But Abel Barlow isn’t the man she fell in love with, instead he’s the cunning coyote Alpha behind the kidnappings and killings of wolf shifters in Leeds Point.

  While Faith isn’t completely innocent, she realizes someone has to stop Abel and contacts the Kapok Shifter Council where she meets grizzly bear Alpha Erich Krause. Faith awakens the bear within Erich, making him realize she is his true mate. Erich will do anything to help her, even if that means risking his position with the Council.

  As the secrets of Faith’s family are revealed, she discovers her role in an old curse that Abel plans to use not only to control shifters, but to open a gateway between the human and spirit worlds. Will Faith remain true to her love for Abel or will she follow her heart which is leading her to Erich?

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m doing the right thing,” Faith said under her breath. “I have to do this, someone has to stop him.”

  Faith Galloway looked at herself in the full length mirror before tugging at the hem of her black silk blouse with trembling fingers as she tried to get it to lay flat over her hips. When she gave up on that, she pulled her long blonde hair back into a loose ponytail, the best she could do with her hands having a mind of their own.

  Being in her thirties, she didn’t normally pay attention to her usual nervous habits, but tonight was different. With her palms overly moist, she washed them again then clutched at the towel as she tried to stop their shaking. Her heart raced and she tried to slow her breathing down from the short quick breaths she was taking, but her anxiety was easily getting the better of her. Sighing deeply, she gave herself another quick look in the mirror.

  The blouse was new and it complemented the long black skirt she almost always wore. She loved the feel of a flowing skirt against her bare legs and the richness of the silk blouse was something she bought herself as a treat, but clothing was the last thing on her mind right now.

  “I have to do this,” she reminded herself.

  Things had gone from bad to worse in a matter of days. She had to get away, but couldn’t. It wasn’t just their history together, there was much more. Her heart wouldn’t let her leave.

  As she came down the curved staircase, she already knew he was alone. The more he let the coyote take over, the less he wanted anyone around. Except for her. She was the only person he trusted, or so he said.

  Faith stepped onto the marble floors of the entryway, her ballet shoes clicking softly as she walked towards the living room. She didn’t need to see Abel to know exactly where he was sitting or what he was doing.

  Abel sat on an old dark stained oak chair with thick round arm rests and a high back resembling a throne. Deep green cushions made the chair as comfortable as it could be, which wasn’t much. Abel seemed to think differently though as he always chose that chair.

  The large chair was centered along the longest wall of the living room, away from the windows on the other walls. Abel kept it this way so no one could see him from the street. Covering the floor was ivory plush carpeting and on the wall across from him hung a plasma TV he never watched anymore.

  Faith eyed him suspiciously, unsure not only what to expect, but who. His eyes had begun to hallow and his once thick dark blond hair had been reduced to strands. She hated the coyote for doing that to him, but even more for what it turned Abel into. The more control Abel gave his coyote spirit, the less human he became.

  Sprouts of reddish brown fur lined what were his hands. His fingers, once long and tapered were now in a grotesque state between man and dog. Faith had no idea how he got dressed everyday, but as usual he wore a pair of beige slacks with a grey plaid button shirt she recently bought him. With his nose extended into a snout, he sniffed the air as she entered the room before turning towards her.

  “Is something troubling you?” he asked.

  She hated how well he knew her, but after fifteen years together she didn’t expect any less. Loosening her ponytail, she let some of her hair frame her face hoping it looked different enough to him.

  “No I’m fine,” she said, “it was just getting in my way.” Chewing her lip nervously, she noticed his eyes narrow and realized she was giving too much away with her nervous quirks. She needed to keep her cool. “If you don’t mind, I’m going out.”

  “Going out? With who?”

  She thought she heard confusion mixed with hurt in his voice, but his glowing coyote eyes didn’t indicate anything. Stop it, Faith! It’s just what you want to hear, not what you really heard, she thought to herself.

  “I just need to run some errands,” she said hoping he wouldn’t question it.

  “Do them tomorrow. Its late.”

  The sun had already set and the spotlights that lit the landscaping in the front of their house seeped into the large front windows. She pulled the blinds a bit too hard trying to prevent the light from coming in, but it was useless.

  “Its not late. Its not even 8 o’clock. I’ll be back before you go hunting. I just need to pick up some things at the grocery store. Do you need anything?”

  He didn’t need to answer. Abel hadn’t eaten human food in over a year. If she was lucky he’d leave to hunt while she was gone so she wouldn’t have to run into him when she got back. She wasn’t sure what she was looking forward to more, getting away from Abel or just being alone for a little while.

  Faith grabbed her wallet and keys and walked out of the house hoping to make her appointment on time. It was the most dangerous thing she ever did and could get her killed if Abel found out. She didn’t have any choice though.

  ***

  Arriving at Night Shift, Faith parked her Cadillac and walked towards the slanted, run down building with its bright neon sign. Night Shift wasn’t a place she ever frequented, but she had been there before. You couldn’t live in Leeds and not go to the shifter bar at least once in your life.

  At the entrance, a huge man covered the doorway. Faith briefly wondered if he was outside because he was too large to enter, but quickly pushed the thought out of her head. She always found ways to distract herself when she was nervous. Imagining this giant sized shifter stuck in the doorway was exactly the kind of thing she didn’t need to amuse herself with. Even if she couldn’t help thinking that with his enormity it would be funny if his animal spirit was a squirrel.

  “What does this dive need a bouncer for anyway?” she muttered under her breath.

  “What?” the bouncer asked as he stomped forward, placing himself directly between her and the open door. “Didya say something?” He looked her up and down and tilted his head. “Hmm no shifter at all in you. That’s pretty rare these days.”

  Just what she needed–a social giant. Stifling a sigh she forced the nicest smile she could. “I’m here to meet–”

  “Shh,” he said quietly as he looked around. You’re welcome to come here, but no one talks about why.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I thought–”

  “Quiet!” he said. “Don’t give me a reason to not let you in. Go to the bar and give him your name. They’re expecting you.”

  The words hung in the air ominously. It wasn’t how the big man said it though, it was Faith’s own guilt about what she was abo
ut to do. As she nodded, the bouncer moved out of the way giving her a full view of the popular shifter bar.

  Keith Urban blared from the jukebox in the corner and the wood paneled room looked hazy despite no one smoking. Colorful neon beer signs glowed along the far wall where the bar was.

  As she passed the beautiful people she knew were shape shifters, Faith thought back to high school when she first met Abel. He was tall, with thick blond hair and the gentlest grey eyes. It was a shame what that damned coyote did to him.

  Fifteen Years Ago

  Sitting at her desk at the far back corner of the classroom, Faith worked on a sketch of a Victorian house she once saw on a Cape May postcard. Next to her was an empty seat she always dropped her bag onto so she had easy access to another pencil when the one she sketched with got dull.

  In front of the quiet room Ms. Murphy, the spinsterly History teacher with short silver hair wrote events with their corresponding dates on the blackboard. Faith knew all that stuff was going to be on a test, but she couldn’t bring herself to even look at it.

  Softly tapping the pencil’s eraser tip against her notebook, Faith glanced around at the other students. These were her classmates for the past two years, the longest she ever attended any school and the last school she’d go to. She hardly knew any of them and preferred it that way. After years of constant changes in where she lived, Faith found the safest thing to do was to not get to know anyone.

  Things were better when she didn’t have to worry about when she’d lose a friend. Friends had an expiration date when you didn’t have a home to call your own. In a few months she would turn eighteen and finally be rid of the endless wait for her mother and a home. She’d make a home for herself by herself, the first one she ever had.

  A knock at the closed classroom door caught everyone’s attention and silence filled the room except for the glide and tap of the chalk from Ms. Murphy’s writing. No one ever disturbed a class and the students were curious who could be at the door.

  As the door slowly opened, some of the students closer to the door, leaned in their seats to get a better look. Curiosity always got the better of Faith. Even as she looked down at her partially completed sketch, she kept an ear out for the soft thud of footsteps entering the carpeted room.

  “Whoa, hot guy,” Sally, the girl seated in front of Faith said to anyone who listened.

  Faith pulled her eyes away from her drawing expecting to find portly Principal Wilson as the butt of Sally’s joke, but there was no joke. Standing at the front of the class was a new student. He had shaggy pale blond hair and grey eyes, as if whatever color they once were faded.

  The new guy was only average height but sexy as all hell. By the whispers from the other girls in the class, Faith knew she wasn’t alone with her opinion. Confidence oozed from him as if he didn’t care thirty students were staring at him in his sandblasted jeans and faded gold t-shirt that showed off his athletic build. Leaning back on his heels, he grinned towards the rows of desks as everyone kept their eyes on him.

  “Hot Alpha guy,” Sally whispered then purred softly as she inhaled.

  Faith stifled a giggle, happy she wasn’t some stupid shifter then pushed her long blonde hair back over her ear before focusing on her sketch again.

  “Class,” Ms. Murphy said slowly, “I’d like to introduce you to Abel Barlow. He’s a new student, please make him feel welcomed.” She turned towards him and pointed a desk by the window. “You may take that empty desk over there.”

  “If its alright I’d like to take this one right here,” Abel said as he squeezed down the aisle towards the empty desk next to Faith.

  Grabbing her bag from the desk, Faith’s eyes met Abel’s before she quickly looked away and back at her sketch. He dropped into the desk beside hers as Ms. Murphy continued her quest to cover the entire blackboard.

  “Nice house,” Abel said quietly as he leaned towards Faith. “Is that where you live?”

  Faith’s throat went dry and she tried to swallow to clear it. She couldn’t remember the last time someone spoke to her and she quickly looked around to make sure he wasn’t talking to someone else.

  He raised his eyebrows as if saying he was waiting for an answer. “No,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. When his eyebrows didn’t lower, she cleared her throat then spoke clearer. “No, I wish.”

  The bell rang and Faith grabbed her things, cradling her books in her arms and stood to leave. She wished she had more time to just look at him, but the bell had other plans. At least the bell meant he couldn’t keep talking to her. She knew better than to get to know him, plus something deep down told her he’d break her heart.

  “I’m not done talking to you,” he said as he touched her arm.

  Faith felt a jolt from his warm hand that coursed through her body. As she reminded herself that humans had a natural attraction to shifters especially Alpha ones, she pushed the feeling out of her head and forced herself to not look at him.

  “Then take it up with the bell, I have to get to my next class,” she said.

  “At least give me your name.”

  “Faith,” she said and immediately regretted answering.

  “Faith…I need to get to know you better. There’s something special about you, I can feel it,” he said smiling. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  She didn’t want to say no. Abel was the cutest guy she had ever seen and he was talking to her. But she made it a rule to never get close to anyone, and she intended to keep it.

  “I really can’t,” she said before rushing out the door.

  Abel caught up with her and matched her pace. “You don’t understand. I said I wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  She stopped and looked at him, her brows knitted together as she wondered what he wanted. This had to be a joke. No way would someone like him be interested in her. “What is your problem? I don’t care if you won’t take no, I said no. Now go find someone else to bother.”

  Spinning on her heel she began walking away, but was stopped by his hand on her arm again. He didn’t grab her hard, he barely even touched her, but there was something electric and powerful in the soft touch of his fingers against her skin. She stopped and turned back towards him.

  “I didn’t want to move here,” he said quietly as the hallway grew louder from the passing students. “My parents couldn’t give me a reason so I kept convincing myself there had to be one. I had faith in some point or purpose for moving to this swamp you call home.”

  “I don’t have a home,” Faith said then mentally kicked herself for saying it.

  “I came here to meet you, Faith. I kept faith and I met Faith. You might not understand it because you’re human, but I know we’re meant to be together. We’re going to do great things together. Give me a chance, will you? Just trust me. Have faith in me.”

  He grinned and she found it hard to not hate him for using her name in such a ridiculous way. Still, she was confused. Who was this guy and why would he think he was meant to be with her? His grey eyes felt like they were swimming in her thoughts, trying to read them.

  Slowly, barely realizing it she nodded her answer. There was something so familiar and comforting about him. Maybe he knew something she didn’t. Maybe he could see into the future. Or maybe she just wanted to spend more time with the handsome new guy.

  Present Day

  A beautiful, caramel skinned man with a tight black t-shirt knocked on the bar in front of her and brought Faith back from her memories.

  “Miss? Can I help you?” he asked.

  He was muscular in a different way than the rest of the shifters there, telling Faith he was a different animal than the others. With a thicker body, his muscles cut through his skin and rippled with his every move. She could sit there all day and stare at him if it wasn’t considered rude.

  “Sorry, I was just…never mind,” she said not wanting to tell her story to the bartender. She refused to be that cliche. “I’m F
aith Galloway, I’m here to–”

  “Follow me,” he interrupted her then waved to another bartender to take over.

  He pointed to the end of the bar and she weaved her way through the crowd to meet him. In a darkened corner near the bar he opened a door Faith hadn’t seen before and motioned for her to enter before closing the door behind them.

  “Sorry about all the security but I’m sure you understand we can’t just have people showing up here,” he said. “My name is Rafael. You’ll be meeting with my Alpha who is one of the twelve on the Kapok Council.”

  The more he spoke, the more Faith detected a slight accent she couldn’t place. She quietly followed him down a stark hallway, the bright lights making her blink after the darkness of the bar. Over the years she heard a lot about the Council and was surprised it was so easy for her to get a meeting even though she wasn’t a shifter. But once she said Abel’s name they were just as interested in meeting with her as she was in meeting with them.

  At the end of the hall, Rafael knocked on a plain wooden door and waited.

  “Come in,” a gruff voice said from the other side of the door.

  Rafael opened the door and waited for Faith to enter before stepping in behind her. Seated at an old metal desk pushed against the wall, was a man even larger than Rafael. His dark hair was brushed back and his striped button shirt with the sleeves rolled up looked painted on him.

  “Sir, this is Faith Galloway,” Rafael said.

  The man stood up from his chair, towering over her. He was a little taller than Rafael and more muscular but equally as sexy. After being surrounded by coyotes all the time, Faith forgot the immediate sexual attraction humans felt from meeting a powerful shifter, especially an Alpha.

  “Its a pleasure to meet you, Faith,” he said his voice dripping like honey. “I’m Erich Krause. Because of the sensitive nature of this meeting we’ll be discussing this alone.”

  He gave Rafael a stern look and Rafael walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Erich put his hand on her back and moved her towards an overstuffed tan couch. Simply feeling his hand on her back reminded her how long it had been since she felt the touch of a man. She needed to get a hold of herself and not let her natural attraction to him take over, but it was hard to fight with biology.