Cade (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 2)

by Selina Coffey

  Luna released Rodney’s hand and calmly walked into the center of the clearing. James nodded his head, and the elderly woman walked out to meet Luna. The elder took Luna’ hand in her cool, leathered one. Luna could feel a tiny burst of magic pulse through her, and then the woman chuckled. “You’re a clever girl.” The old woman said to Luna under her breath. “Rodney will have his hands full with you, and that’s before the twins. They’re a boy and girl by the way, good for you. Don’t you worry for your sister. Jack’s an idiot sometimes, but he didn’t hurt her.” Turning back, the old woman called back to James. “Rodney’s claim is valid, son. This woman is his mate, and bears his young.”

  “No, I will not allow them to take her from me.” Jack said. For once in his life, he was going to ignore his father’s orders.

  “You will have to listen to your father,” Lelani said. “I mated with Gideon. I cannot be your mate now. He will leave with me!” Jack looked at Gideon with rage in his eyes. He was like a brother to him. He trusted him.

  It was clear to Gideon that he cannot stay with the pack now that he betrayed them. Too bad for them, he thought to himself, he had no time for them but Lelani.

  James nodded his head and just like that, Lelani was running across the clearing to her sister followed closely by Gideon. With a sigh of relief, Lelani held her younger sister tightly to her. From behind Luna, Rodney approached them, putting a gentle hand on Luna’ shoulder. “Welcome to the Steel Fang pack, little sister.” Sniffling, Lelani lifted her head to look up at the alpha. “Thank you. For rescuing me, I mean, and making me an auntie? Luna, I knew you’d been looking for a mate before your next cycle, but why didn’t you tell me?” Lelani fixed her sister with an incredulous smile. Luna blushed. “It’s a long story. Come on, I will tell you on the way home.” The two women turned and walked back to the edge of the clearing, where their new family waited to welcome them. Lelani looked at Gideon, giving him the sweetest smile. She was so pleased that her plan had worked out!

  The End

  Vampire Romance Collection

  Part I

  Chosen by the Bikers

  Biker Romance

  About the Book

  Jayne, a suburban big beautiful woman, fast approaching middle age, is betrayed by her husband and needs thinking time. She is at a crossroads in her life. Jumping on a coach to nowhere in particular, she ends up stranded in a small town with a very nervous population.

  A gang of bikers drive into town with revenge on their mind. Jayne, befriending the bikers, makes a decision that will change her life forever.

  Accepted into their fold, Jayne becomes drawn into the gang and their elusive lifestyle. Attracted to their leader, she discovers that falling in love with him comes with consequences she could never have imagined.

  Consequences, which would bring out the true Jayne and lead her into a world driven by lust and desire.

  Chapter One

  I can’t remember what made the noise that startled me. Not that I actually cared. It has been nearly ten hours since I boarded the coach. Any coach. The destination wasn't important. I just had to get away. Twelve hours now, since my life changed forever. The noise was actually a welcome distraction from the sickening thoughts racing around inside my head. I think I actually got sick at some point today; the memories are so intense, the images in my mind so vivid. They will be embedded in my thoughts forever. How could he do that to me? And in my bed as well! With some skinny, plastic little slut with fake breasts.

  I'm not skinny by any stretch of the imagination. I never have been, nor wanted to be. Two hundred pounds, 44D boobs. I am A Big Beautiful Woman. I’m happy with my body.

  "Don't change Jayne." He used to say. "I love you the way you are. Skinny women do nothing for me."

  Like an idiot, I believed him. He must have loved my body once. It hasn't changed since we got married eight years ago. I haven't changed since we got married. He has though! It hurts to even think of his name. Let’s stick with ‘Him’ for the moment.

  I close my eyes again recalling the events of this morning. The Pearson's canceled you see. They had booked to view a lovely little Condo on the company books. A young couple starting their life together. Their heads awash with dreams and plans. The young couples were always my favorite clients. I’d get such satisfaction from helping them get a start in life. I only got the message from Mrs. Pearson about cancelling ten minutes before the appointment.

  "Sorry Jayne, but we aren't gonna be able to make it. Something urgent has come up," read the message left on my cell.

  So I had a free couple of hours before my next appointment. I considered returning to the office, but I had just about endured enough of my assistant’s ramblings about plans for her baby shower. I’m not the maternal type. Nor was he. It was one of the reasons we were attracted to each other in the first place. We both agreed that kids would ruin our lifestyle. So hearing my assistant drone on and on about, birthing balls, breast milk, colic and all the other baby-related stuff was enough to convince me to avoid the office for the rest of the morning.

  I made a right down Pine Avenue and snaked my way through suburbia until I arrived at home on My street, with My perfect house, and My perfect husband. Within ten minutes, my thoughts turned to coffee and a bagel as I approached my house. It took me a moment to work out what was different. Looking back, it was obvious what was out of place. His car was in the drive. He was supposed to have a full day of business meetings, out of town. Perhaps they were canceled too, I thought. I flushed a little, as the thought of him taking me to bed in the middle of the morning crossed my mind. I couldn't recall straight away the last time we’d made love; it must have been a few weeks ago. A pang of excitement ran through my body.

  I pulled into the drive and parked my little Ford behind his blue SUV. After checking my make-up in the mirror, and pausing a moment to plan my morning seduction of him, I got out of my car and walked up to my front door. Music. I could hear loud music. He never played music. He didn't even like it, yet the music was coming from the house. Despite having my key ready in my hand, I tried the door and it opened. I walked into the hall. I called his name. Not surprisingly there was no answer, the music was so loud my initial concern was that the neighbors would complain. I dumped my keys on the hall table and made straight for the source of the music, the MP3 player in the lounge. My MP3 player playing some trendy Hip Hop that neither of us liked.

  I opened the door to the lounge and stopped dead in my tracks. My mind attempting to process the scene before me. His clothes were scattered all around the room; his shirt was on the floor, his tie on the back of the sofa; his trousers and boxers were on the coffee table! The mind recalls the most insignificant details at times; I just can't get the picture of his boxers on the coffee table out of my mind. Still unable to process the scene, my eyes caught sight of something red on the sofa. A towel? A cloth? No, it's… It can't be. It's a dress. On my sofa. On the floor in front of the sofa, strewn on the floor was a white thong, and a bra. I felt weak, speechless. I kept telling myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me. I had to grab hold of the back of the sofa, or I swear I would have fallen right there and then. I felt a pain in the pit of my stomach; my head spun and I felt giddy as I realized that my life as I knew it was disintegrating before my eyes. And that damn music was still blasting out loudly.

  But where was he? No, please God. Not in my bed, I prayed. My legs were heavy and my head was pounding from the incessant noise as I slowly headed toward the staircase. Filled with dread, taking one step at a time, I climbed to the first floor. I was struggling to breathe. I reached the landing, hesitated and stood by my bedroom door. I knew when I opened the door that my life would change forever. The scene I would be faced with, would be etched on my mind for the rest of my life. Everything would change.

  Surprisingly, I had the forethought to consider whether I should open the door slowly or just push it hard. The music was loud, even upstairs, so I couldn't hear any
thing coming from the bedroom. I couldn't be sure that he was even in there. I opted for the big entrance and grabbed the door handle firmly, turning the brass knob to the right; I pushed hard, slamming the door open into the bedroom. Two figures lay on the bed. He was laying down on the sheets, and the little slut was naked and sitting astride him, her back arched, with her hands reaching behind her head. He saw me first. His face dropped, and he pushed her off himself so hard that she struggled not to fall sideways onto the floor. As she struggled for balance, she looked toward the door and saw me standing there. Her face dropped. It seemed to lose all color as she made an attempt to grab the duvet and cover herself up.

  "Jayne. Fuck," was all he could manage.

  I looked towards her, the rage building, "Get out of my house you slut," I roared.

  She ran past me, naked, down the stairs without stopping. No emotion showed upon her face. Nothing. For a moment, I considered grabbing her and demanding an answer to the unasked question, why? She wouldn't have been able to give me what I wanted though. He was searching for a dressing-gown, in an attempt to cover up his guilty naked body.

  "Leave it." I shouted, causing him to stop his search and look directly at me.

  "Jayne, I can explain." Was the best he could muster, looking like a rat caught in headlights.

  "You can explain! You can explain!" I replied, still shouting over the damn music." How the fuck can you explain this? This can't be just explained away you bastard."

  "She meant..." He started to reply.

  "Don't you dare give me the ‘She meant nothing to me’ line, I replied, cutting him off mid-sentence.

  I had to turn the damn music off. I needed to think. I turned and ran down the stairs and into the hall just as she was coming out of the lounge, fixing her slutty dress that just about covered her modesty, and carrying her underwear and bag. I opened the front door, and she made a dash for the exit. As she was half running out the door, I shoved her so hard that she lost balance and fell in a heap on the path. She let out a scream as she fell. I never spoke a word to her. I just closed the door, and went into the lounge to turn the MP3 player off.

  Silence. The silence didn't sit right with me either. I was angry. Well, angry doesn't even come close to how I was feeling.

  I heard him call down from upstairs. "Jayne. We need to talk about this.”

  I needed to get out of there, to get away and think. I couldn't face him. I grabbed my bag and ran out the door.

  "Screw you," I muttered as I ran out, not even sure if he heard me.

  Like an idiot, I forgot to pick up my keys from the hall table. My head was spinning and well; I wasn't functioning properly. I was damn sure I wasn't going to go back into the house to get them. So I walked. I don't remember the route I took, but I ended up at the Coach Station and purchased a ticket for the next bus out of town. I didn't care where the end destination was. I just needed some time alone to think.

  The coach was half empty when we left the station. I really don't remember stopping at all along the way, but we must have done, as there were only five of us left in the coach as I looked around. A loved-up young couple in their mid-twenties, sitting a few seats behind me, a middle-aged guy in a suit who spent most of the trip annoyingly tapping away on his laptop, a sales rep of some sort, I figured. And finally, sitting in the back of the coach was a slim young girl, must have been early twenties, with badly dyed bleach blond hair. I didn't know her, but I hated her.

  "Damn, sorry folks but we seem to have a problem. I'm gonna have to pull off the highway for an unscheduled stop," the coach driver announced, a few moments after the bang that startled me.

  "Where are we?" Asked the sales rep, looking up from his laptop.

  "Haverford. Will be as quick as I can, then I will get you on the way again.”

  I didn't actually mind. I checked my watch. Just before 11 pm. I could use a drink and a proper toilet anyway, I thought. I hated those little cubicles at the back of coaches. I know they have a door and plastic walls, but I still feel like everyone can see me pee. In any event, I'm sure they can hear me.

  I looked out of the window as we passed a poorly lit sign that read, 'Welcome to Haverford'. I still can't see Haverford though. Everything is covered in blackness, but I can tell we are off the main highway as there is no traffic and the road noise has reduced to a dull whine, indicating a poorly maintained back road. But I could just make out a street light ahead in the distance, and what appeared to be a few buildings with lights escaping from behind closed curtains. The coach appeared to be running smoothly as we approached the lights.

  "What's the problem anyway?" Asked Laptop Man.

  "I think it's the radiator. The temperature gauge is rising fast. I’ll be as quick as I can the driver replied, not looking back, but keeping his eyes on the building in front of him.

  We pulled into a gravel area in front of a large wooden building.

  "May as well make use of the facilities folks!" The coach driver announced, and he opened the coach door and headed towards the largest building.

  The sign above the door needed painting. It had seen better days, but I could just make out the words, ‘Haverford Motel & Bar’. I stood slowly, glad of the chance to stretch my legs, and made my way to the front of the coach. Everyone aboard followed, the loved-up couple looking around as if they had no clue what was going on or where we were. I headed toward the door of the motel, gingerly, as the blood began to circulate in my feet once again. I couldn't see anybody around at all. There was no sign of life, apart from my fellow passengers. But it was late at night, in a small town, in the back end of nowhere, so I wasn't overly surprised. I opened the door of the motel and stepped inside.

  Chapter Two

  The reception area of the Haverford Motel resembled the reception area of any low-budget, redneck motels around the world. Furniture from the eighties decorated the space, an old-fashioned computer sat atop the counter with one of those green screens, and a blinking cursor that I saw once at the movies. There were even one of those antique credit card swiping machines that I recalled from my childhood, sitting on the counter. It was clean enough though, if a little dusty. A vending machine with a light on the blink stood in the corner of the room, boasting delicacies consisting of crisps and chocolate. The full rack of keys behind the counter told me there were no guests staying here. All the keys were neatly hanging in rows with none missing. It must be a quiet time of the year, I pondered.

  The reception area, whilst not large, had four doors leading away from it. One leading outside, where the other passengers were now trudging in through. One to the left, with a hand-painted sign saying ‘Guests Only’. I guessed this led to shoddily furnished, cheap, rent-by-the-hour rooms. Laptop Man walked into the reception area and headed straight through a door with 'Restroom' crudely hand-painted in white on the front of it. Lastly, there were double doors wedged open with some logs, that lead to a large bar area with a wooden floor. I caught a glimpse of a girl behind the bar, brown hair, slim, plain looking with a friendly face. Your average country girl. She was deep in conversation with the coach driver. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but their mannerisms were a little strange, verging on nervous. I assumed that this place was some random backwater town, which we arrived at by chance. But they were deep in conversation, chatting as though they had known each other for years. Whilst this seemed a little odd, I didn't think any more about it. Perhaps they were just the friendly types that can start a conversation with any random character they meet.

  I was the last person from the coach to enter the bar area, apart from Laptop Man. My other travel companions were standing at the bar, except Miss Loved Up, who sat at a table by the window, waiting to be brought a drink by Mr. Loved Up. Everyone else was loitering at the bar, queuing to be served. I patiently waited my turn. The coach driver finished his drink and got up from the barstool.

  "So how long are we going to be here?" I asked as he walked past me, heading toward th
e door.

  He stopped, glanced back at the girl pouring a beer, and said, "Couple of hours I figure Miss."

  He called me Miss. I hate that, and I tried to make it obvious when I replied sharply, "So we don't need a room then? We aren't staying the night here?"

  "Nah, Be on our way soon Miss." He obviously couldn't tell how mad I was at him. He left the bar and went outside.

  The other passengers all received their cold beers. Mr. Loved Up dutifully brought a drink for Miss Loved Up and sat down next to her. The young girl with the bleached hair ambled over to the jukebox and was idly checking out the music options. Not Hip Hop, I thought.

  "Cold beer, please," I asked the waitress when she eventually looked up at me, with a false smile on her face.

  "Coming up." She replied turning her back on me and grabbing a beer from the Budweiser fridge behind her.

  I plonked some money on the bar as she poured the contents of the bottle into a tall glass.

  "Any food being served?" I asked, noting that my fellow passengers had looked over too, waiting for her response.

  "Sorry Hun, chef is finished for the night," she replied showing a complete lack of concern.

  I could hear my fellow passenger's sigh. We had been on a coach for nearly ten hours, and we were all starving.

  "There's a vending machine in reception. Want some change Hun?" She offered. Hun, I thought. That's as bad as Miss. Worse in fact!

  "I guess I’d better if that's all there is on offer," I replied as she opened the till and put some coins on the bar.

  I took a long sip from my beer, picked up the change and headed for the delights of the vending machine. Crisps or chocolate, I pondered.