ROMANCE: PARANORMAL ROMANCE: The Billionaire Shifter´s Secret Baby (Werewolf Alpha Male Pregnancy Interracial Romance) (Paranormal Young Adult Suspense Romance)

by Jasmine Wylder

  “This is the most comfortable I’ve ever felt, being here with you. My story isn’t all that interesting other than the fact that my job and what I am are contradictory.”

  “Oh?” She hoped she didn’t sound over eager.

  “I actually make weapons that can harm and kill my kind for the military. The government is very afraid that there might come a time when our kind attacks or something, and they won’t have the tools to fight us. I agree with that fear, and I don’t like being a monster. It’s not some fairytale or wonderful thing. From what I know about the others out there, they behave as monsters.” His jaw tightened and she watched the man in front of her slip into his own world.

  “Before I started my business,” he continued, “I was in the military. I was part of a special unit, unit twenty-six, we were on the ground looking for a group of insurgents who had done a great deal of damage with explosives, hundreds of civilians died, hundreds more wounded…it was…”

  Zachary took a breath as he thought about the damage he must have seen. Katrina felt an impulse to reach out to him, to hold him, kiss him, but she waited, wanting him to go on with his story.

  “I was out with eleven other guys that night. But we didn’t realize what we were up against that night. A group of blood thirsty werewolves surrounded us, and before we had time to do anything, they attacked. I was the only one left alive.”

  He looked up at Katrina. Her breath drained out of her as she thought about the scene.

  “Your scar?” she asked.

  Zachary nodded. “But the memory, the lives that were lost that night, that is a much bigger scar then this could ever be.”

  “I had no idea.” She trailed her fingers across her own cheek.

  They were silent for a moment. Katrina watched as Zachary fought for composure. Finally he exhaled and looked up.

  “After that I began my business and… just turned into a complete hermit. I was afraid of others finding out or getting hurt by me. I learned to cope and control but knew I couldn’t let anyone find out what I was because of my line of work. I am always afraid my clients and contracts will turn on me if they find out.”

  Katrina’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned forward and reached her hand to his. He stroked her fingers with his own while he went on to describe how gruesome his first few changes were and what it felt to be both a man and an animal.

  She was both fascinated and completely attracted to this man she had been lucky enough to land a job working for.

  They talked for a long time before Zachary picked up the second wine bottle from the table.

  “Enough of my sad story.” He walked toward the door. “It’s time for something a little less gruesome I think.”

  Katrina grabbed her wine glass and followed. Zachary led her up three flights of stairs until they walked out onto the roof.

  “This is much better, don’t you think?” He lifted his arms and circled around as he looked up to the sky.

  “Wow!” Katrina let her head slip back. The view was completely unobstructed. Each star shone to its full brilliance and, though she knew it wasn’t so, it felt like they each shone just for her.

  Zachary sat on a ledge and Katrina joined him. They ate juicy peaches fresh from one of the peach trees in the yard and drank wine. Zachary pointed out constellations that Katrina had never heard of and Katrina made up names for her own constellations, which she pointed to with authority.

  She looked over at him and his eyes and well-sculpted jaw. Her legs had made their way into his lap where he was holding them, and they were tangled up together like one entity. She could feel his body’s warmth up against her, and she felt incredibly comfortable with him like they had been together for ages.

  Katrina reached over with her fingers and ran them through his thick hair, feeling the softness. Zachary looked over at her, and she could see something in his eyes she hadn’t seen yet; the beginnings of a drunken lust. And the more she stroked, the more intoxicated he got. It made her insides feel hot, like the building of a fire.

  Katrina felt daring and exhilarated, and she used it to fuel her courage. She shifted in her spot and slid one leg over to the other side of his lap and pulled herself over so that she was straddling him. A sly grin spread across his face as she began to unbutton his shirt.

  Zachary’s skin was searing as she ran her hand down his bare chest. There were bold roman numerals tattooed onto the skin of his chest. She deciphered the number, twenty-six, the number of his special unit in the military. The one he’d lost so many men with, the one he’d become The Beast with.

  Then she leaned down and began to softly suck a trail down his neck and around his collarbone, all the way to the bold tattoo that shone in the moonlight.

  He grunted under her, and she could feel him growing against her thigh. It made her feel more fevered and desperate to have him. So, she pulled his shirt all the way off before sliding off her own so that she could press her bare body up against his.

  At the feeling, they both gasped and frantically wrapped their arms around each other as their mouths locked in a passionate kiss. Even before their clothes were removed, their tongues were making love to each other, exploring every nook and cranny.

  Zachary suddenly lifted her up, placing her arms around his neck as she locked her legs. His strength was incredible, and it made her wonder what else was superhuman about him as he left her hand on his torso as he slid down his pants, reveling his growing shaft.

  Then, he carried her off of the roof and into the master bedroom. The room was like a dream; decked out like the suite of a hotel room. It was exactly what she would expect out of a mansion like this.

  The bed was soft as he laid her down and removed her skirt and panties, sliding his hands up and down her legs sensually. Her center ached for him, and she was certain he could feel how wet she was; certain she was dripping on the sheets.

  Zachary looked at her with a hunger that seemed more like it belonged to the animal within himself than the man, and Katrina found that she liked it. He spread her legs wide, dipping his head down to devour her. Her body writhed in intense pleasure as his tongue sliced through her flesh and found all the right spots to lick and flick his tongue across.

  He slurped her up never even coming up for air until she thought she was going to lose it. Just as she felt her legs begin to shake, he came up for air with a deep growl and crawled towards her, leaving her wanting and whimpering. It was the ultimate tease, and she both loved and hated him for it.

  His light body slid on top of her dark one, making a special combination that seemed to feel just right, and she could feel him knocking at her entrance, begging to come inside.

  Katrina raised her hips up to meet him, silently begging for him to push his way inside. She wanted to feel a man against her sensitive flesh for the first time in a long time, and she was dying for it to be Zachary.

  She arched her back as she felt his long hard shaft snake its way into her waiting center, pushing through the tight space and filling her up. Her insides felt warm and pleasantly full as she fell back onto the bed, gripping the sheets in her fists. Zachary grunted with the effort as he began to slam into her, making her whole body slide several inches up and down the bed each time.

  “Zachary,” she moaned for him, entangling her fingers in his hair again as her breathing picked up. Everything was so sensitive and his warmth and strength heightened everything even more. It was the best feeling she’d ever had.

  Katrina’s body responded to him so easily, and she wrapped her legs around him again, tight like a vice while he leaned down to suck and flick at her left nipple. Her whole body was in a pleasurable shock, unable to think straight as he writhed over her on the feather soft mattress.

  Too soon, she felt her body begin to shake again and she held onto his neck, digging her nails into his skin. They both called out to each other as they reached their climax in unison before collapsing in exhaustion to the bed still wrapped around one an
other.

  Katrina swore, before she drifted off to sleep, that she could still see the stars from the night sky floating around on the ceiling.

  Chapter Eight

  How Katrina woke up was a stark contrast to how she had fallen asleep. She was startled out of bed by the breaking of glass and the horrible sounds of the house being broken into.

  It sounded like there was a mob outside the mansion. For a moment, she laid there, thinking that maybe she was still half asleep and hearing things, but that was when she heard the howling and sat straight up.

  “Zachary! Wake up!” she cried frantically, shaking his hardened body out of a deep slumber.

  The sun had not risen just yet; it was the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t imagine what could be going on as she slipped on a tee shirt she found in the drawer large enough to cover her body with. There was no time for grooming.

  Zachary got up too and jumped into action with a hard look on his face. He seemed to know what was going on and looked like an animal gone on high alert as he balled up his fists and took a stance. He pulled on some shorts and ran full speed out of the bedroom as Katrina tried to catch up, but once she saw what was happening, she was unsure that she should have followed.

  She watched in both awe and horror as Zachary broke each bone in his body, forcing a quick transition to wolf in order to defend the house, which was in chaos, from the pack of vicious wolves that were entering through the windows and surrounding them.

  Several of them had their teeth bared threateningly, and she instinctively backed up against the wall as they closed in.

  No one attacked, and Zachary was standing his ground.

  Katrina started to believe that they might be talking with the way that their heads were moving and the tone of the growls seemed to change every once in a while.

  It was fascinating to watch when she wasn’t thinking about exactly what kind of danger they were in.

  The growls of the others got lower and lower until Zachary lashed out, roaring as loud as a lion. He seemed angry and threatening. The others looked out at the rising sun and back at them before exiting the way they had come.

  Katrina let out a worried breath she had been holding before going to Zachary’s side as his human self slowly appeared before her, looking pained and worried.

  What had they talked about? He looked frightened, not at all like the strong wolf warrior he had just pretended to be. Something was very wrong.

  She rubbed his back as he got to a sitting position in the floor, and she sat next to him, waiting patiently for whatever explanation he might offer her.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect something like this to happen so soon. I should have been more cautious.” He didn’t look at her when he said it, and she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.

  “Don’t do this to me again. Don’t shut down on me. We’re in this together now, and that’s how I want it. I chose this. I chose you,” she said sternly, looking straight into his eyes until they softened with understanding.

  “Alright, but you should know that you are in a lot of danger. You have no hope to fight these monsters off if they come for you, and I wish I could say I would always be able to defend you, but it’s me against dozens of them.” Zachary paused and grabbed her hand, looking up at her with wide, watery eyes. She had never seen him so upset.

  “I have started falling so hard for you, Katrina, harder than I ever could have imagined. I haven’t felt this way for someone in a long time; I haven’t allowed myself to even hope for someone like you. And now that I have you, I can’t bear to lose you.”

  Katrina got a terrible queasy feeling in her stomach. Something was unsettling about what he was saying. It was like he expected to lose her. What had the others said? She had to know.

  “What did they say to you, Zachary? I need to understand what makes you think they want anything to do with me.” She spoke softly as she rubbed circles over his soft hands.

  “They said that they would come for my mate for revenge. They want to use you against me because they have been watching and know what we’ve done and what I feel for you. They want me to suffer because of what it is I do for a living.” Now, Katrina was not only frightened but terribly confused. Why would they be so concerned about what he did for a living? Unless…

  “The weapons that you make, that you design, Zachary. What are they for?” Katrina held her breath as she waited to have it confirmed what she already thought to be true now that she saw the hatred the others had for him and the hatred he seemed to have for himself.

  “I create weapons to destroy supernatural beasts like myself. How else could the military even begin to fight such creatures or the police for that matter when they get a call that involves one of us?” He was begging silently for her forgiveness, obviously feeling a pang of guilt no matter how much he believed in what he was doing.

  Katrina knew that she would stay by his side in that moment and that she loved him. It didn’t matter how much danger he was in or that a new secret had been uncovered, she just wanted to find a way to stay.

  “It will be alright,” she told him as she cradled him like a child. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Katrina squeezed into her bed next to Zachary with a warm cup of calming tea. They had decided to migrate upstairs to her room where the damage wouldn’t be a reminder of the current turmoil in their lives.

  It was a small room for the two of them, but it was cozy. She couldn’t imagine leaving his side at the moment anyway. She pretended like the threats against her didn’t bother her, but deep down, she was worried.

  “So, the police report is made, and the cops left. I called the insurance to let them know and faxed them a copy of the police report. The staff is downstairs getting things cleaned up. I let them call in a couple of friends. I hope you don’t mind. It is a mess, and I really didn’t want them trying to do that all by themselves.”

  Zachary smiled over at her and placed his hand lovingly on her thigh.

  “I love that you’re so caring and you’re always taking care of me. But right now I think you need to scoot over here and lay your head on me and let me take care of you for a change.” She patted his shoulder, and she leaned down, setting the cup of tea on her nightstand before landing her head against his collarbone. Zachary placed his arm around her, making her feel much more warm and calm than the tea did.

  “This is nice,” she admitted while looking at the wall across from her like something might suddenly show up there; some message or form of entertainment. With everything that was going on, anything was possible. She would probably be waiting for the other shoe to drop for a long time.

  “I think there are some explanations I owe you,” he whispered before kissing her pleasantly on the forehead. “I didn’t tell you everything before because I was still trying to protect you, but I think that instead I might have done you a bit of a disservice. It’s been hard being who I am and being alone, staying uninvolved with others so that they wouldn’t find out what I was or what I was involved in and either run away screaming or get taken away.” Katrina listened quietly and intently, ready to know every detail about his life.

  “I’ve always been a weapons engineer. I’ve told you I was a Marine for some time straight out of high school. I was intelligent with a lot of mental energy and nothing that interested me. So, it was the best way to go. I learned incredible things in the military. When I came home from my first tour I went on to work for them and their outsource companies and began developing ideas for weapons. I also did some repairs and revamping of what was already there. I had a pretty stable life, making my parents proud and all that.”

  Katrina felt him take a long breath and she wondered if he could hear her heart pounding.

  “At that time I was even in a great relationship. Her name was Sarah.” He said the name as if it held a lifetime of baggage for him. “I was actually going to propose to her when I got called on my second tour.”

&n
bsp; “The one where you were attacked?”

  Zachary nodded. “I came back changed, more than just war wounds, I was a monster, half beast. This was right before other people like me came out in the open, so I didn’t understand what was happening to me.”

  Katrina was felt a pan run through her body. Sarah, her name had been Sarah. Did he still love her? Katrina felt a spasm of jealousy flood her body.

  “What happened to… the woman?” she asked, unable to bring herself to say the name. He smiled bitterly before continuing.

  “She was waiting for me when I came home. But I was a changed man. I couldn’t tell her what happened to me, what was continuing to happen to me. A couple weeks later, when the big worldwide announcement came from the werewolves, I understood. I packed my bags that day and disappeared. I left her a note, I said the war had changed me, but she must have already known that. I never saw her again. I just couldn’t tell her the full truth or have myself around her when I was becoming a monster. I settled myself out here. I had served out my time with the military so I became a contractor. I was able to work far from anyone else while still experimenting on myself.”

  He paused letting the silence hang around them for a long minute.

  “Really, I wanted to die. I hurt, and I felt I didn’t deserve to live as such a creature. But then I realized I could use what I was to hurt the others, the sort who first attacked and killed the men I was with that night. I did enough experiments to create some new weapons and then approached the government with my proposal.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, and Katrina gave him a kiss on the cheek. He had been through so much to get to where he was now, and she felt like she really knew and understood him now more than ever. She could see all the layers, and she loved them, no matter how dark or bitter they were.

  “Where are your parents now?” she asked.

  Zachary shook his head. “I haven’t seen them in years. I can’t bear to let them see me like this…a monster.”