Enchanting the Alpha (Hex My Heart, #4)
Page 7
He hadn’t meant to speak to her. Or touch her, but when she passed by him, a whisper away, his hand shot out and his fingers fanned through her hair in passing. She probably hadn’t felt it, but he did. With the slightest of touches, the soul-deep connection they shared struck him square in the chest like a well-aimed sledgehammer.
And he damn sure hadn’t meant to let her torment his thoughts again, but here he was, standing in the middle of a coming snowstorm, hard as granite and beyond lusting for her. He shifted himself a little to the left from the bite of his zipper.
Searching for anything to help him calm the beast, he dragged his attention to the thick silver beams of moonlight pouring over the snowed-in town laid out before him. Gauzy white light drowned the roads and left only small spirals of smoke that disappeared into the blackened sky as the only proof of life. Tucked between two rising mountains filled with cone-shaped pines, Sweet Briar Hollow slept.
When his wolf bulked and forced its way to the surface at just the slightest touch of her, he hightailed it out of the Matchstick bar and landed in the only place where he could command control over his wolf.
If he had stayed longer, watched as more drunk fucking pricks hit on her, he would have dragged her back to his cabin, tied her to his bed and fucked her until he either worked her out of his system for good, or until nothing else existed between them. Not their past, the heartache he thought he’d fucking cut out of his chest and definitely no fucking lies. The only thing that would be left would be their bond as mates. He bit out a harsh laugh. Like it meant anything to her. In his world, it was ‘till death do us part. For her, who knew? He was done guessing in the matters of all things Ember.
Regret welled inside him, but it was too late for that shit.
Julian backtracked over the jagged rocks and made his way deeper into the dense forest. Shrouded in the shadows, he flicked open the satchel on his Harley and tossed in his discarded boots before stripping down to nothing.
Maybe a run in the cold would do him good. Clear his head if nothing else. Winter drove all the humans inside and kept the bastards there.
His pack bordered on several hundred acres of land along the ridge of the mountain. Days could pass and not a soul would bother him. He could get lost and he’d welcome the solitude.
Snow covered his feet, and small flurries drifted along the current. He bowed his back and stretched his arms out. Another wave of supercharged magick collided with him.
He angled his head and listened. Heavy footfalls padded by several feet of snow echoed in the distance and at the edge of his hearing, a woman’s voice joined the mix. Faint, even to his ears, but no denying the soft feminine chords.
Not the husky, sensual voice of his woman, but someone who struggled. And who the hell was he kidding. She wasn’t his anymore, but the crux of that problem was still buried beneath a mound of bullshit chin deep. Every time they crossed paths and she raked her light sapphire gaze over him, every emotion he managed to suppress resurfaced with a vengeance. And he didn’t know how much more he could take.
Half of him wanted to follow the sounds and check out the commotion. The half that called to his position as second-in-command to the Sweet Briar Alpha. And if he were half the man he used to be, he would. He’d save the knight-in-shining-armor for some other dumbass that didn’t know any better. Last time he held the position, the fucking world had split open and left him for dead.
Need hummed along his spine. Need to reclaim his mate. Need to mark the woman he loved.
Fuck it all to hell. He needed to run. Everyone could fend for themselves just as he did. He had his duty and he made damn sure the pack law was followed. Everything else didn’t matter. Staying the fuck out of witches’ business was at the top of that list.
Knots bunched in his gut as the moon dipped behind the clouds. His eyes dimmed, then the world faded to gray with sharp accents. Smells from the surrounding forest intensified. Dead leaves buried beneath layers of ice and snow to the deer tucked away from the coming storm pinged on his radar.
Unable to stop the shift, he dropped to his hind legs and let the moon call to his inner beast. Muscle stretched, bones snapped and popped. Human hands morphed into paws, and blunt teeth turned lethal.
Lusting for the feel of the cool beams against his fur and the smallest of reprieves from the haunting shadows of her, he ran. Pine trees flew by, cold air filled his chest, replacing the sweet vanilla scent that plagued relentlessly.
United, his human mind forged with his wolf. Why the hell did she have to come back?
Why now? And why did he want her more than his next breath?
(End of sneak peek)
To continue reading make sure to pick up the third Hex My Heart release, Bewitching the Alpha!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Talina writes steamy military and paranormal romance books with fast-paced plots, strong heroines, and kick-ass alpha heroes.
Born and raised in Mayberry USA, this small town country girl spread her wings at the young age of fourteen and moved to Mexico where she's lived for the past eighteen years. Now, Talina currently resides in sunny Puerto Vallarta with her four children and is married to a U.S. Recon Marine—her very own smokin’ hot hero.
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Enchanting the Alpha
Copyright © 2015 by Talina Perkins
Excerpt from BEWITCHING THE ALPHA
copyright© 2015 Talina Perkins
Edited by Em Petrova
Cover Design by Bookin’ It Designs
eBook ISBN: 9781310479397
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the permission in writing from the Author.
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Enchanting the Alpha
Copyright © 2015 by Talina Perkins