by Aliya DalRae
“Have you?” The question sounded much harsher than he meant it to, and the tears that sprang to her eyes were exactly what he needed to calm him the hell down.
“I just needed to be sure you were okay,” she said, as she squared her shoulders. “Obviously, you are, so I’ll just be…”
Butch had her in his arms before she could say anything else. He wasn’t using his words properly, but the joy that had erupted inside him, knowing that she had stayed by his side, was overwhelming.
Marcela was slow to react, but when she laid her hands on his arms, it was all the encouragement he needed. He leaned down to kiss her, and when their lips touched any pain the action caused was replaced with pure bliss.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Marcela whispered. “I didn’t even have you, and I thought I’d lost you.”
Butch pressed his forehead against hers, touched their noses together and said, “I think I need to sit down.”
Marcela’s peals of laughter were a healing balm, and Butch allowed her to lead him to the sofa, where someone had apparently repaired the broken leg. Once she had him settled, she sat next to him on his “good” side, and he wasted no time in wrapping his arm around her and pulling her in tight.
“You’ve been busy,” he said, as he looked around the room. Everything was spic-and-span clean, and when his eyes fell on the object on a tall table in the corner, he nearly burst into unmanly tears.
Marcela followed the direction of his gaze and smiled. “You threw away almost everything you had broken, but you saved those antlers. Patrick told me what they meant to you, and when I explained what happened, he arranged to have a new lamp made. He said something about it being his fault and that he owed you.”
Butch nodded and cleared his throat in an attempt to remove the giant lump that had formed there. It was definitely time for a conversational detour.
“So, how did you find me?”
“Oh, well…” It was Marcela’s turn to fidget, and when Butch turned to look at her, he was surprised to see her cheeks blossoming in a nervous blush.
“Marcela?”
“When you left me in the woods like that, I decided I’d be better off on my own. You were a little, well, beastly, if you don’t mind my saying, and I didn’t think I wanted to be around that level of volatility again.”
“Oh.” It was a little word, but the pain it held at the thought of her leaving was more than he was prepared to admit.
“Anyway, I heard the gunshot, and I knew it came from the direction of my father’s home. I don’t know what made me go there. It was almost as though I could hear your thoughts, feel your pain, and I just ran. To you.”
Can you hear my thoughts now, Marcela?
His little wolf pulled away from him, her eyes wide. “How did you do that?” she asked, struggling to pick her jaw up from the floor.
“You know that you are a born wolf, right?”
Marcela shrugged. “I suppose. I mean I figured I got it from my mother. At least that’s what my father said.”
“There is so much you have to learn, but the first and most important thing is about the Pack.”
“Patrick has been giving me some lessons in that area. He and Nadia have been really nice.” Nadia was one of the other wolves who had stood against Devaris. She was also the Pack medic, which explained why Marcela would have had opportunity to speak with her.
“Have they told you about the Pack bond?”
“No.” He had her attention now.
“When a Pack is formed, it’s more than just a bunch of wolves hanging out together. There is an Alpha, and then there are the rest of us. We are all connected, some through blood, some through ritual, and some because a connection is made that can’t be denied. The last can happen with turned wolves, but is more common in wolves born of the Blood. Like you and me.”
Marcela’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Are you saying that I’m part of your Pack now?”
I don’t know. You tell me.
Her smile stretched from ear to ear, and her eyes sparkled with the happiness Butch knew she felt, because he was feeling it, too.
Marcela snuggled into his side again, and he draped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s like a real family, then, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Butch said, because he totally got what she was saying. “It’s exactly like that.”
They sat in silence for a while, and it was a moment before Butch’s eyes landed on the fractured vase that still sat on the mantelpiece above the fireplace across the room. It was a worthless piece of pottery, but to him it meant everything. It was a testament to their broken beginning, and to him at least, it stood as a reminder that change could be a good thing. Even when you had to nudge it through the door.
about the author
Born and raised in a farming community in rural Southwest Ohio, Aliya DalRae grew up a middle child, with an older and younger brother. Surrounded by corn and cows, it was not unusual for Aliya to immerse herself in books, her way of escaping the humdrum small town life to visit fantastic lands full of mystery, myth and legend. And of course, romance.
Aliya’s first love was musical theater, and as a teenager she dreamed of one day performing on Broadway. Those dreams were put on hold when life intervened (as life often does), and she moved on with other pursuits.
After graduation, and a brief time living in England, Aliya returned to her home town, where she worked mainly in administrative positions, but her love for books never waned.
In 1992, Aliya met her immortal beloved, and they have been inseparable ever since. When not weaving romantic tales, she can be found working side by side with her husband in their furniture restoration business, where she weaves caned chairs instead.
Aliya is a paranormal/urban fantasy writer and is the author of the Jessica Sweet Trilogy. Her debut novel, “Sweet Vengeance,” was published in February 2016, and was honored as a Golden Quill Awards Reader’s Choice Finalist in 2017. Her second novel, “Sweet Discovery,” is a Top Three Winner in the 2017 Virtual Fantasy Con Awards, as well as a 2017 SIBA Awards Nominee. Her short story, “Bittersweet,” also received a 2017 SIBA nomination. Recently, Aliya released the Fallen Cross Pack Series, a four-part series of short stories
Visit Aliya at:
http://aliyadalraeauthor.wixsite.com/aliyadalrae
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15019566.Aliya_DalRae
www.facebook.com/AliyaDalRae
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/aliya-dalrae
https://www.twitter.com/AliyaDalRae
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Also by Aliya DalRae
THE JESSICA SWEET TRILOGY
Jessica Sweet is a small-town girl with big time troubles. Her birth parents abandoned her, her adoptive parents are recently dead, and her visions are about to take on a life of their own. Enter Raven, the Vampire Race’s version of the boogeyman, and star of Jessica’s oldest and most frequent vision. And he’s drop dead gorgeous. This three-part series details Jessica and Raven’s rollercoaster relationship as they battle evil Sorcerers, feral Vampires, and their own doubts and flaws.
SWEET VENGEANCE
SWEET DISCOVERY
SWEET DESTINY
THE FALLEN CROSS PACK SERIES
Patrick O’Connell was a family man with a wife he loved and a child they adored. A fateful trip to the corner store robs him of everything he holds dear, including his humanity. This four-part series chronicles Patrick’s change from regular Joe to Werewolf Alpha, following the fated couple’s struggles to regain the life and love so cruelly torn from them.
BITTER BEGINNINGS
BITTER CHALLENGE
BITTER LOSS
BITTER END
BOX SET
SHORT STORIES
BEFORE JESSICA THERE WAS ANNA…
Malcolm Gatta was a normal Feline Shifter with a normal Shifter life. However, the arrival of a new Clowder member has set him on a journey of love and loss that will lead him down a path of darkness…a path from which he would rather not return.
Bittersweet is a prequel to the Jessica Sweet Trilogy, covering the four years prior to Malcolm’s arrival at Jessica’s home. Take a peek into the life of everyone’s favorite Shifter. You’ll never look at King Kat the same.
BITTERSWEET
ANTHOLOGIES
In this collection of fabulous fairy tales, Aliya DalRae brings Once Upon a Time into Fallen Cross with these contributions:
Sweet Distraction
Kythryn’s heart is broken. The man she loves just married her sister, and in response she’s decided a night of heavy drinking is in order. When a tall, dark and mysterious man, a Cat Shifter like herself, no less, walks into the bar wearing high boots and a duster and makes a strange request, she cannot help her curiosity. (Because, you know, cat.) Following him out of the bar may have been a mistake, but it’s one that will change her life forever.
Bitter Beauty
Butch Montgomery is second in command to the Fallen Cross Wolf Pack’s newly appointed Alpha. Though life in the Pack is a bit tumultuous at the moment, things are definitely looking up. When a strange wolf wanders onto the Pack’s hunting land, Butch finds himself torn between an odd desire to bring her into the fold and protecting the solitude he’s only recently reclaimed.
ONCE UPON A FABULOUS TIME