This boring little mountain town is more exciting than I gave it credit for.
Just the kind of excitement I needed.
Chapter Two
Westin
I pull up to Carl’s diner in my pickup truck and look around for any sports cars with out of state license plates. I sigh when I find nothing but one mud-covered truck after another.
Blake and Ethan were here for breakfast yesterday and found two dragon shifters who might be up to some trouble. I came to check it out.
“There were two of them?” I asked after Blake and Ethan told us what they had seen.
Blake nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Two dragon shifters and Aylwin was their brother.”
Carter, Rylan, and I were listening to them very carefully. It was the five of us who disposed of Aylwin when he tried to kill Ethan’s mate, Chloe. His brothers won’t find him anywhere unless they look six feet underground on the side of one of Blackcloud Point’s many mountains.
I came back to see if they were still hanging around the town, but from the looks of the beat-up cars in this parking lot, they don’t seem to be here.
My stomach starts rumbling when I smell the eggs cooking inside. I hop out of the truck and wince when my throat starts to tingle. It’s fresh mountain air all around me, but there’s something blowing around that’s making each breath burn.
I clear my throat and head into Carl’s Diner. It’s a small place, which gets even smaller when the huge shifters in town stuff their giant bodies into it. I don’t think Carl has changed a single thing since his father opened it decades ago. It’s the same lime green metal stools at the counter and the same carved up tables in the faded yellow booths. Names of couples long broken up or long dead are carved into the tables where Carl and his staff serve cheap food at even cheaper prices.
The bell rings as I open the door and step inside. I’m greeted by Debbie’s big smile and by a smell that nearly buckles me. The fiery scent burns its way through my nose and down my throat making my eyes start to water.
“Hi, Westin!” Debbie says as she comes around the counter with her cheeks blushing. “Is it just you or are the rest of the boys coming?”
I try to speak, but I end up coughing instead.
“Are you okay?” she asks with concern.
I shake my head and swallow. “Can I get a glass of water?”
She pours me a cup and I down the entire thing in one gulp. It does nothing for the burning. I guess I’m getting a cold… but shifters don’t get colds… I don’t get it…
“Thanks,” I say as I hand her the empty glass back. “It’s just me today.”
“Sit wherever you’d like,” she says as she hands me a menu.
The place is busy today and there are only a few booths available. I head to one behind a group of four wolf shifters. The biggest one, Lincoln, is Ethan’s neighbor and they’re friendly with each other. I’ve seen the four of them around, although I’m not friends with any of them.
My bear has been extra antsy since I walked into the diner, pacing around and growling inside of me like he’s lost his mind. Now I know what’s gotten into him—he doesn’t like the smell of these four wolf shifters. That must be it.
“Settle down,” I whisper to him as I look over the menu.
My chest is still burning with every breath as Debbie comes over with another glass of water. I down this one too in one long gulp.
“What’s that smell?” I ask her. “It’s like breathing in lit gasoline.”
She shrugs like it’s nothing. “It always stinks in here.”
“Not like this.”
She just shrugs again. “What are you having?”
“I’ll take a Hungry Man Breakfast,” I say as I hand her the menu back. “And a coffee.”
“You got it,” she says as she takes the menu and turns to leave.
“Wait, Debbie,” I say, stopping her. “Those two guys from out of town yesterday… The ones who were here when Blake and Ethan stopped by.”
“Yeah, what about them?”
“Have they been back?”
She shrugs. “I haven’t seen them.”
“Do you know where they’re staying?” I checked the two inns in town and didn’t see them there either.
“I don’t know,” she answers. “The new girl served them.”
“New girl?” I say as I look around.
“Yeah. Kimberly.”
The door to the kitchen opens and she walks out holding four plates. My heart stops in my chest as I watch her walking over with those big hips swaying with every delicious step.
I didn’t know girls like her existed. She’s an angel, she’s a goddess, she’s perfection in one beautiful curvy bundle and I can’t take my eyes off her.
Her sandy-brown hair is pulled tight into a ponytail and then explodes out in waves that bounce with every step. An image of me grabbing it as I guide those luscious full lips up and down my shaft flashes into my head and my cock hardens to the point of pain.
She looks so innocent, so pure… God, my hands are shaking as I watch her.
I don’t know what color her eyes are, but they look like dark caramel and they have my heart pounding.
This delectable girl is having a strong effect on my inner grizzly bear as well. I can feel him huffing out heavy snorts and breaths as he stomps around like his world is on fire. I can sense the carnal desires emanating from him and they make me shiver. Claim her now! She’s ours! Mark her! Make her ours!
My whole body is pulled rigidly tight. I feel like something in me is going to snap if I don’t have her immediately.
She’s my mate, there’s no fucking doubt about that. This beautiful curvy girl belongs in my arms with my cock buried deep in her hot pussy. That’s where I want her. And that’s where she’s going to be once I snap out of this daze she’s got me in.
I come back to earth when Debbie waves her hand in front of my face. “Hello? Hello?” she’s saying. “Are you okay? You look different.”
Everything about this world feels different. Like I’m looking at everything through a new lens. Everything has been turned up, crystallized, put into sharper focus. In a moment, everything has changed. I have a new purpose, a new calling, and it all centers around her.
I can’t answer Debbie. I’m not thinking rationally. I’m not in control of my body. I can’t even say a word as I stare at my mate with my chest aching.
She arrives at the table of four wolf shifters and my body tenses up. I’ve always been such an easygoing friendly guy, but you’d never know that with the way my jaw is clenching and my fierce livid eyes are narrowing on the guys who are looking at what’s mine. I want them all dead for looking at her.
“Who ordered the waffles?” she asks in a voice so sweet that it brings tears to my eyes. One of the guys, Emmett, raises his hand and she leans over to put the plate down in front of him. My raging hard cock lurches in my pants when I see the curve of her ass.
“There you go,” she says as she puts down the waffles. “Zero of the four food groups present on your plate. Wait… is canned whipped cream considered dairy? Mmmm debatable… I’ll let it slide.”
I barely notice that Debbie leaves to put in my order. I don’t even want to eat anymore. My stomach is twisting in knots and the thought of putting food in my mouth and chewing feels like an alien concept to me now.
Possessive feelings start taking over as I watch her put the rest of the plates on the table. I want to take her caveman style over my shoulder and bring her back to my place where only I can admire those tempting curves. They were made for me and I’m a selfish fucker who doesn’t want anyone else to see them.
“I’ll get you guys some more coffee,” she says before she leaves the table.
All four of their heads turn and they stare at her round ass as she walks away. I’m talking heads out of the booth, shamelessly staring.
Rage fills me. I’m staring at her ass too, but there’s a difference. That ass is mine.
My furious bear snarls as he stalks close to the surface, ready to take those eyes for daring to look at what’s ours.
I stand up—my body moving on its own. I don’t have control over it. The rage does.
An edgy, twitchy feeling shudders through me with every step I take toward their table.
The four of them look up at me in surprise as I slam my fists onto their table, grinding my knuckles into the cheap wood like an alpha gorilla confronting rival mates.
My forearms and biceps are flexed as tight as my jaw while I struggle to hold back my murderous intent.
“What the fuck do you want?” Lincoln, the bigger, braver, stupider of them asks with a mouthful of pancakes.
“You looked at what’s mine,” I hiss through clenched teeth as I stare him down. “That girl’s ass is mine. She’s my girl.” The possessive feelings are taking over and my maniac of a bear is egging me on.
Make them pay! She’s ours!
“Your mark is not on her,” Lincoln says. He’s on my left right next to me. Close enough to snap his neck. “She’s fair game.”
I feel a tap on my flexed shoulder just as I’m about to pounce on the guy for daring to say she’s not my girl.
“Excuse me,” the gorgeous voice says. “I need to refill these coffees. The pot is already cold and if you make me wait any longer, I’ll have to get some ice cubes to go along with it.”
The rage dampens when I turn and look into her sweet innocent eyes. My heart flutters in my chest and I forget what got me all worked up as I get lost in her heavenly gaze.
But the anger comes raging back when Lincoln talks to her.
“Is this your boyfriend?” he asks.
My grizzly snarls loud enough for his shifter hearing to hear. All four of them look at me.
Kimberly’s eyes land back on me as well. She does a double-take and then shakes her head. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“Really?” the dog says with a laugh. “Because he thinks you’re his.”
“She is mine,” I snap back at him.
Kimberly’s face drops as she stares at me.
“Well, you’re going to have to take her from me,” Lincoln says as he wraps his big arm around her waist and yanks her closer.
Kimberly smacks him with her free hand and then her face twists up in pain. “Ow! Fuck!” she screams as she shakes out her hand. “What is your head made of? Fucking cement?”
I lunge on him, grabbing his thick wrist as his friends jump on me. Plates and mugs crash everywhere and someone screams from somewhere in the diner as chaos erupts all around me. All I’m focused on is making Lincoln pay for touching my mate. With a grunt, I snap the bones in his forearm.
“Fuck!” he screams as a strong arm wraps around my neck. His friend Parker tries to choke me out as I turn to make sure that my mate is safe. I see her rushing to the back as she shakes her hand and swears over and over again.
Carl comes barreling out wearing a dirty apron and holding a loaded shotgun.
He cocks the barrel with a click-clack and points it at the five of us.
“Everybody out,” he warns. “Or, I’m going to serve you some fresh lead with your eggs.”
We all know that Carl doesn’t fuck around, so the five of us slowly separate.
I’m glaring at the four of them and I can sense their wolves hovering close to the surface. They smell like wet dog.
Lincoln resets his broken forearm with a crunch and a whimper and then glares at me.
“Put the money on the table and get the fuck out,” Carl says. “And hurry it up. I have eggs burning on the grill.”
One of the wolves, Hunter, pulls out some cash and drops it on the table. They give me one last fierce look and then leave the diner.
It’s silent inside with only the sound of my heavy breathing filling the place.
“You too, Westin,” he says as he swings the shotgun in my direction. “Money on the table and get out.”
I throw a fifty onto the table and cross my arms over my chest.
“I’ll pay for breakfast, but I’m not leaving. Not without her.”
“Then you’ll leave in a body bag,” he snaps.
“I’ll die without her,” I whisper. “So, it doesn’t matter.”
He stares me down and I look over his shoulder at Kimberly as she returns from the back. She looks almost afraid as she glances at me and it hits me hard.
I fucked this all up.
I must look like a feral maniac to her.
There’s nothing I can do to make this moment better, so I leave.
And my heart fucking breaks.
Chapter Three
Kimberly
“What the hell got into him?” Debbie asks once all of the hoopla settles down and people start eating their breakfasts again. Carl is in the kitchen, cursing at the burnt eggs. He doesn’t throw them out. He just flips them. Apparently, the black crispy eggs are still fine to serve. “I’ve never seen Westin like that before. He’s normally such a sweetheart.”
Westin. My heart starts thumping away in my chest when I hear his name.
“Why did he break Lincoln’s arm?” she asks.
Because he deserved it. Because he’s my savior. Because there’s something between us.
“I don’t know,” I say instead. “The guy grabbed me by the waist, I slapped his face, and then Westin pounced on him.”
I get tingly all over just from thinking about it. He hated seeing that guy grab me so much that he assaulted him. Normally, I would hate that, but with him… with Westin… fuck… I’ve never been so turned on.
Heat is still swirling through me and my pussy clenches every time I remember seeing the territorial way he was looking at me.
“It’s a good thing they’re all gone,” Debbie says.
“Yeah,” I lie. I wish he was still here. I wish I could talk to him. See him. Touch him.
Something has got its hooks into me and is trying to pull me toward the door. It’s urging me to go out and find him. It’s begging me to submit to his will.
I shake the crazy thoughts out of my head and get back to work. Debbie follows me to the table to clean up the mess. There are two broken mugs and one plate on the floor.
“How’s your hand?” she asks as we begin clearing the barely touched plates.
“It’s throbbing,” I answer. “I forgot rule number one of hitting: hurt the other guy more than you hurt yourself.”
“You clocked him pretty good, but these shifters are made of steel.”
“How many shifters are there in this town?” I ask as I look around, wondering if the scrawny old man with the tomato soup is a shifter? Is he hiding a geriatric grizzly bear inside him?
“A lot,” she says with a nod. “Assume they all are. They get pretty possessive over their mates.”
She doesn’t think twice as she says this, but it staggers me. Is that why he was so protective of me? Is that why I feel such a pull to him when I’ve never felt much attraction to any boy before in my entire life?
Stop, Kimberly. Don’t be ridiculous.
He’s not attracted to me. I’m way too big and he’s all hard carved muscle. He probably just had a beef with those guys and he used me as an excuse to hit them.
But…
No, buts, Kimberly.
I shut down my fairytale thoughts and clean up the mess with my aching hand.
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful and my hand slowly gets better. I keep thinking of Westin and the way he was looking at me. It still gives me shivers.
Finally, it’s four o’clock and Martha comes in to replace me for the dinner shift. I wash up, change into my clothes, grab my shit, and get the fuck out of there as fast as I can. I don’t mind the job too much, but at the end of the day, all I want to do is go home to the small apartment I rent on the edge of town and watch Netflix.
“Bye, Debbie,” I say as I dart out the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
The cool mountain ai
r hits me and I breathe in the smell of spring. There’s still patches of some stubborn snow that didn’t get the memo that it’s time to melt, but other than that, it’s a beautiful spring day.
I feel eyes on me, but it’s not a creepy feeling, it’s a warm comforting presence. A gulp leaves my lips when I see him sitting in his pickup truck watching me.
Westin Wood.
Debbie gave me his last name, as well as every piece of information on him that I could get out of her. He’s a fireman. He’s a grizzly bear shifter. He’s twenty-seven years old. He’s single. He’s perfect.
And he’s staring right at me.
My heart starts racing as he opens the door to his truck and steps out.
He’s massive. His frame is built like a truck with nice broad shoulders and arms so thick that they’re making me lightheaded.
He’s wearing jeans that hug his muscular thighs and a t-shirt that clings to his hard stomach with an open jacket on top. I swallow again as he walks over. My legs have stopped working. My brain has short-circuited.
Every ounce of my body’s computing power is focused on my pounding heart as I watch him approach.
All I can do is stare as he stops in front of me, close enough for me to drag my fingertips down the hard ridges of his abs that I know are hiding under that tight shirt.
“Are you okay?” he asks in a deep voice that sends tremors teasing through my alert body.
There’s a grizzly bear inside of him. Right behind that huge sexy chest…
I catch myself drooling and my cheeks burn hot. He asked me a question and my answer is taking way too long to come out.
Say something, Kimberly! Now!
“I’m A-okay!” I say as I give him a thumbs up and a goofy smile.
Nooooooooooo! Not that!
I want to die.
He moves a little closer and I have a strong urge to leap into his arms and erase all the distance between us. He’s close enough that I can smell his rugged cologne, but it still feels like there’s an ocean between us. I don’t think I could ever get close enough to this guy to be satisfied.
Destined to the Alpha: Alphas in Heat Book Three Page 2