The Alpha's Temptation (Werewolves of Boulder Junction Book 4)

by Martha Woods

  The clock ticked loudly as the seconds passed, each strike echoing in the now eerily silent room. Liam growled, the memory of what Sarconi had said making his own self-control waver. "He said that she looks very pregnant, that I should keep an eye on her. God, I wanted to kill him right then and there."

  "So why don't we?" They all looked over at Hayley, who spoke with an almost concerning level of calmness, "Why don't we walk into town right now, find them all and wipe them out? Fix this problem once and for all."

  "No, we need a plan first. We can't just go off on them half-cocked."

  "They threatened your wife! My friend! I won't just sit here and let them think that they have any right to get away with any of that!"

  "We are not animals!" Liam shot to his feet, voice raised as he looked between the two of them, "We're not just going to go hunting for blood at the slightest provocation, to go on the war path without thinking through every single option we have!"

  "And if they attack us? If they hurt Skylar?" Hayley's eyes flashed as she stood as well, easily meeting his gaze. "Is that the time for us to defend ourselves? Are you going to let your family be in danger because you don't want to get your hands dirty right now?"

  "Enough!" Skylar slammed her hand against the table, the shock of which was enough to make everyone jump. None of them noticed the way that the room itself seemed to shift at the moment of impact, her fist leaving a crack through the wood. She cleared her throat, voice calm as she tried to mediate. "I know that we are all angry about what has happened, this is a normal reaction, and I'm not going to stop you feeling this. But I will not have you turning against each other in my house! We need to be united, that is the only way that we will get through this, so you will not act like children who have just lost their toys!"

  The room went silent once more, all of them stopping to absorb what Skylar had just told them. Liam let his gaze go around the room, the pictures of him and his wife adorning the walls, the fireplace where they had curled up together many a night... Even the couch he was sitting on now was infused with memories of them being together. He ran a hand over the soft leather, memories of when they had first bought it shooting through his mind. She had looked just as beautiful on that day as she did now, eyes still alight with wonder as she looked around the world, the simple act of being alive one that filled her with such joy.

  No, he couldn't bear to lose this, he couldn't even bear the thought of it. But that just solidified his need for a plan, he wasn't going to take an unnecessary risk that could put his wife or his child in danger. At the same time though, perhaps Hayley was right as well, what if by waiting he gave them the chance to attack by surprise? What if his inaction was what would harm the people he loved, the people he cared about?

  Hayley breathed out harshly, the entire conversation having exhausted her. "I'm sorry Sky I... I just don't want to see you hurt. I don't want to see any of us hurt. If I can do something to prevent that, shouldn't I do it?"

  "Oh Hayley..." Sky leaned over the table, placing her hand on her friend’s knee. "I know how you feel, believe me. I don't want any of us to be in danger either, but running off without thinking first will only hurt us more. Do you understand?"

  "I do." She turned back to Liam, who looked lost in his own thoughts. "Liam? I'm sorry. You were right, we..."

  "No, we were both right." They all looked at him in surprise. "We need a plan, that much is certain. Just running headlong into danger is an incredibly foolish thing to do, but we can't afford to take our time with this. We need to think this through, but we need to strike soon, before they get the chance to beat us to it."

  "Well would you look at that? My brother compromising on something." Michael chuckled, "It's a miracle." He winced as Liam kicked his knee.

  "We can think more on this later, but I think we should actually get onto the good news. Skylar and I have information on her bloodline."

  "We just started looking over it a few hours ago, but everything is looking promising." Skylar placed some of the print outs on the table. "I'm working on the further back family members, while Liam is focusing on more recent events."

  "Recent events?"

  "My birth mother was involved in a car accident twenty years ago, her friends were all killed, and she was declared clinically dead before she somehow recovered. She hasn't been seen in public since."

  Hayley nodded, feeling the weight of the book shifting in her bag. "Ok, I'm no expert on medical matters or anything like that, but that definitely doesn't sound normal."

  "It's not." Liam shook his head. "They're hiding something."

  "Do you have a medical history, that sort of thing?"

  Sky nodded. "We have everything, medical goes back to the nineteenth century."

  Hayley opened up her bag, pulling the book out and placing it next to the papers. "I think everything's fallen into place at the perfect time."

  "Hayley? What is that?"

  She tapped the cover. "This is an almost encyclopedia of paranormal's. It has abilities, personalities, histories, everything that you would need to figure out exactly what kind of blood you have in your system. And seeing as how you now have access to a full medical history of your family line..."

  "Then it'll be so much easier to find a match." Sky smiled at them both. "This is incredible! Where did you even get this?"

  Michael smiled as she picked up the book, carefully looking through each page like it was made of the finest of glass. "We had a friend help us."

  "I think I'd like to meet this friend one day."

  "I think I would too..." Liam looked over his wife's shoulder, scanning each page meticulously. "This is amazing, they've listed everything that I can think would be useful. Your friend definitely knows their stuff."

  Hayley smiled. "I'll be sure to tell her that. Her personality leaves a bit to be desired but..."

  "Oh I'd say she's in good company there." Liam didn't look up from the book, chuckling to himself, "A few of our group could be described like that."

  "She told us a few other things as well. Some that might be good, some that might be bad." Hayley settled in, crossing her leg over the other. She looked to her side, prompting Michael to put his hand on her arm in silent reassurance. "You being a paranormal isn't the only thing that will determine if the baby is born healthy."

  When they saw the way that both Sky and Liam's eyes widened in sudden fear, Michael jumped in. "Not anymore than with normal children! Every species has their own requirements for their young to survive, just like how hospitals have to tailor to individual children sometimes."

  "What I meant to say was, figuring out whether or not you're a paranormal isn't the only thing we need to do. We're ninety percent sure you are anyway. If your baby needs water, or darkness, or even fire, that's what we need to find out."

  "We have the medical histories, but what if there's overlap?" Skylar shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to take any chances with my child's life."

  They both walked over, holding her close in their arms, Liam awkwardly squeezed between his wife and brother. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. She told us that there are tests that we can do, we should be able to figure out exactly what you are and what your baby is going to be. If we really need to, we can call her in as well."

  "Thank you..." Sky sighed in their embrace, "Sorry, I try to keep myself together but sometimes... Guys I'm really worried about this, what if something goes wrong?"

  Liam kissed her temple. "You are going to be fine, we are going to be fine. You just have to trust us all on that. We are going to try as hard as we can to make sure that this family survives, no matter what it takes, do you understand?"

  "Yes, yes I understand." She looked up at them as they pulled back, sitting back in their respective spots. She giggled wetly, wiping unshed tears from her eyes. "We almost had a full group bonding moment. If only Farah and Cayden were here..."

  "Hm? Where are they?" Michael looked over at Hayley, seeing her knowing smile.
"What? Do you know their plans or something?"

  "Oh Farah's been trying for a week to work up the courage to ask him out to dinner. I guess tonight is finally her night."

  "Oh wow, Farah's growing up. Do you think she's gonna be ok?"

  Skylar laughed, "She's a grown woman, not a child! Besides, it's Farah. She's got this."

  * * *

  "Oh god, I don't have this, I don't have this at all!"

  Farah paced around her room, occasionally glancing into her mirror and almost shrieking to herself. Tonight was the night, was the night that she was finally going to sit down and have an actual, proper, honest to god date with Cayden. Cayden, who had her back when they went witch hunting, Cayden who trusted her enough to let her take care of a threat right in front of him, Cayden, who looked at her like the sun was shining directly out of her eyes, so he wouldn't care what jacket she wore tonight!

  "Goddammit, you are a powerful witch. No woman and no man is ever going to be able to tell you what to do, whatever you want is whatever you are going to get! You have been saying this to yourself for years, and yet here you are freaking out over some boy!"

  She walked over to her closet, tossing out item after item until half of her clothing was spread out across the bed. She closed her eyes, letting her hand fall upon a random article. "This is it, this is what I'll wear." She opened her eyes again, thanking whatever was watching that it was just a simple coat. Throwing it around her shoulders, she looked over at the mirror, forcing her breathing to slow and her mind to calm. She stepped over, sweeping her hair out of her face and inspecting her lipstick. "Alright, you're looking good. When you walk into that restaurant he won't know what hit him. None of them will."

  She stared into her reflection, forcing her expression to not crack. "Merde." She sighed and turned away, gathering up her keys and preparing to leave. "I hope this is worth it, I'm not going to put myself through all of this for nothing. He'd better be impressed."

  * * *

  Cayden shifted in his seat, his tie too tight around his neck, every breath he took making his Adams apple bob against it uncomfortably. He scanned the drink menu once, then twice, by the time he felt even an ounce calmer he'd all but memorized what each year was and how much they cost by bottle.

  If Farah didn't get here soon, he was likely to make that investment.

  When she stepped through the door, eyes scanning through each of the tables on a search for him, he felt like all the breath had been punched out of his lungs. She wasn't dressed in anything overly fancy, something he was grateful for considering he was wearing the only black suit he owned that was only worn for weddings and funerals, but she looked absolutely stunning.

  A simple dark grey coat was draped over her shoulders, covering an equally simple white button up over a pair of black jeans. Her mocha skin almost glowed in the soft candlelight, the flames casting everything but her into the shadow. Farah's lips were a deep red, her mouth shifting into a crimson grin and her eyes almost gleaming in the light as she finally spotted him. She easily wove her way in between tables, her hips sashaying from side to side with a pace so impossibly carefree it almost seemed rehearsed. When she paused by his table and said hello, it took him a second too long to realize she had spoken.

  Oh yes, she was the most beautiful creation he had ever seen in all his years on earth.

  I'm fucked.

  "H-hi." He stood awkwardly, moving to pull out her chair for her. "Sorry you just... caught me off guard is all."

  She laughed silently, her body shaking with her repressed mirth. "I think that might be the nicest compliment you could have given me to be honest."

  He looked away, trying to make sure she didn't see the blush currently adorning his face. She was supposedly the one who had never done this before, so why did he suddenly find himself on the back foot? Cayden shook his head, best not to question these things. Being here, with a woman as incredible as she... He could take being flustered for a few hours.

  She shrugged her coat off, hanging it on the back of her chair as she sat down. Taking up the drinks menu, she flicked through it idly, making sure that she didn't move too fast and lose her cool. Cayden simply watched her. "I thought you'd be more nervous coming here."

  She replied without looking up, or rather, she couldn't look up. "Oh, I'm terrified."

  "Oh, thank god." He laughed, her eyes finally coming up to meet his. "I thought I was the only one."

  "You?" Farah arched an eyebrow, placing the menu down at her side. "Now what would you have to be nervous about?"

  "What, are you kidding me? Did you not look in the mirror before you came here?"

  She ran a hand through her hair, twirling the end through her fingers nervously. "I did... But I think I'd like to hear what you think."

  He swept a hand up and down. "You walk in here looking like something from a photo album and block out everything around you, meanwhile I'm sitting here in my only suit sweating, because I can't believe that this woman is here for me."

  By now she was well and truly blushing. "Oh, come on..."

  "And don't even get me started on the rest of you!" He leaned in, clearly excited but having the sense of their surroundings to keep his voice down, "When you threatened that other witch, do you have any idea just how powerful you looked? I was intimidated, and you were on my side! And then there's the way you act around your friends." He smiled. "When you're in the same room as Sky or Hayley it's a wonder everyone else isn't blinded with how much you guys are smiling."

  Farah held her hand over her mouth, not trusting herself to be able to speak properly. He leaned in and took her hand, pulling it away to reveal a shy smile. "What I'm saying is, you don't have to be nervous here. Me? I'm just some schlub who looks alright in a suit. But you? You're the closest thing I've seen to living art in a long time, in fact do me a favor."

  She watched as he rolled up his sleeve, laying his arm across the table in front of her. "Pinch me, so I know that I'm not dreaming."

  Giggling to herself, she pinched her fingers together on his skin, the force making him yelp slightly. She chuckled even harder, "I'm sorry! That didn't hurt too much did it?"

  "No more than I should have expected." He shook his arm out. "And another thing, you're really strong! I saw the way you held that thug's arm back, color me impressed."

  "Well, if you're done making me want to sink into my chair in embarrassment, the serveur is coming this way." She picked the drink menu up again. "God knows I need a drink after that to calm down."

  The waiter came by to take their order, a glass of red for each of them to calm their nerves. By the time that their food came for them they were much more at ease, the two of them comfortably talking about each other's pasts.

  "So, what was it like being a hunter?"

  Cayden paused, his knife halfway through slicing his steak. "Are you sure you wanna hear about that? Cause I mean... Before I met you guys..."

  "No, no it's fine!" She tapped his arm lightly with her fingers. "I was a very different person once too. It's important to talk about the past, don't you think? Then we can properly celebrate how different we have become."

  "Well, when you put it that way I can hardly refuse can I?"

  Putting down his utensils, he thought over just what his old life was like, what he was like as a person. He hadn't thought about it in a while now, and to be perfectly honest he planned on never thinking of it again. But she was right, the past, no matter how much you may want to forget it, is a part of you. And if he wanted them to work out, he would have to accept that now it was a part of her.

  "Being a hunter was... If I had to come up with a word for it, I'd say it was lonely. Some people work in groups but... with our lifespans it was never worth the pain."

  "You hunted alone? Never sharing your time with anyone else?"

  "Well I mean, if there was a bar and some of the others were in town, you'd meet up there for a few." He grinned at some of the memories. "Have a few drinks,
play a few games, maybe even get into a fight or two. After that though, once you walked out that door you were on your own again."

  "That sounds..." Farah sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

  "No, no hey! You didn't do anything wrong here, I think... I think that maybe I've needed to talk about this for a while. Maybe then I can properly move on you know? Besides, with the fact that the shifter's and the witches aren't really fighting us or each other anymore... That kind of makes us not have anything to do. Maybe now's a chance for the rest of them to get back together, start building up friendship, a family with each other. Like it used to be."

  "It used to be a family business?"

  "Yeah, I inherited it from my father. He... he passed a while ago."

  "I’m sorry to hear that. I know the pain of... of losing people you cared about." She reached over, laying her hand on his arm. "If I may ask... How did it happen?"

  He chuckled, "Considering what we did for a living you could argue it was natural causes. You don't have to feel sorry, he knew what he was getting into, we all did. It's just... the way it goes. I spent a long time angry before I realized that." He stared off into the distance, and it was a few seconds before Farah realized that he wasn't exactly present anymore.

  She tapped his arm, leaning closer and saying, "Cayden?"

  He jolted, surprised by her touch, only just realizing that he hadn't been talking for some time. "Sorry! Sorry sometimes it... Sometimes I get a little bit lost."

  "It's ok." An understanding smile crossed her face as she squeezed her other hand closed. "Sometimes I get a little lost too."

  "Well, enough about my depressing past, I think I've brought the mood down enough. If you don't mind, could we maybe move onto something lighter?"

  "Alright... What did you have in mind?"

  "Well, what do you do for fun? When you're not hunting other witches down and assaulting thugs."

  She rolled her eyes. "Well, I happen to like long walks on the beach, starry nights... Oooo, how about a quiet night in front of the fire?"