Alpha House: A Shapeshifter/BBW Novel: The Complete Seven-Part Collection

by Lib Starling

  “Forge of Vulcan, make or kill, turn this metal to my skill—Power of Fire, do my will!”

  Quickly, she stooped and laid the knife on the floor, its wicked edge pointing toward the wolf. The four markings made the sign of an X, aligned with the four directions. Katrina straightened and locked her eyes with Chase’s own.

  “Burn the threads of this man’s hell, cleaving through my sister’s spell, freeing him from where he dwells, all the Powers, hear my plea!”

  The wind battered the house again, rattling the windows in their panes. The shifters gasped and huddled together, some of them with frank panic in their eyes.

  Katrina ignored their terror. With her hands held up in an imploring gesture, the wind lifting even the heavy locks of her ponytail, she spoke on: “Every covert, subtle trick with this chantment I unpick, cast off the witch’s spell with it—all the Powers, move through me!”

  Her blue eyes looked glazed, distant with a strange sort of ecstasy. Chase felt the rushing sensation of the unseen force redouble. It was pouring onto them both, filling the confines of the salt circle with a wild, throbbing power. He watched the witch’s rapturous, unfocused eyes, and remembered—vividly, so strongly it must have been a true memory—watching her face under the influence of another kind of spell, in another kind of bliss. They had lain in a bed together, Chase and this witch, and had done… No. No, I’m a wolf. But he couldn’t deny what he knew.

  The shock and truth of the memory sent a deep, soul-inverting whump shuddering through Chase’s body. He gasped and choked, but couldn’t tear his eyes from Katrina’s face. And little by little, he remembered more—of her, of her body, and of his body, undeniably human. The thing inside him gave another thumping lunge. It hurt. Some force was yanking him inside out, grabbing him in a hard, four-clawed grip and tearing.

  The wolf howled its pain. The brothers cowering around the walls cried out in terror. But Katrina bent calmly and lifted the knife from the floor.

  She held its point close to Chase’s face while he panted, his legs shaking violently as he waited for the next blow from that terrible, witch-controlled force.

  Katrina made a careful jab with the blade, turned it and sliced in the air. Her eyes were still unfocused, ecstatic, as if she saw far beyond Chase—or into him—and as if the pleasure of the powers she wielded were too great to bear. The knife’s blade flashed before his muzzle. He managed one step backward on his trembling legs.

  “Don’t,” Katrina gasped. “Don’t…leave the circle…”

  Heart pounding, Chase willed himself to stand still while the human witch moved the knife in intricate patterns.

  “There,” Katrina panted. The house shuddered again under the wind’s fist.

  And Chase felt something slice inside of him. It was a clean parting of some tight, ferocious binding. The physical knife in Katrina’s hand described an arc, then a slash, and with each step in the steel’s dance, a cold blade inside Chase made the same delicate cuts with breathtaking precision. Ties he hadn’t known bound him loosed, falling away and leaving a sense of mingled freedom and horror. How long had he been like this, wild and unaware? The knife moved again, and more threads of his unseen prison snapped. He felt the self inside himself—felt his human side emerging, and with it came memory and full awareness.

  Chase shivered in revulsion, aware that it was the magical weave of Scarlett’s spell which Katrina sliced with her enchanted knife. He forced himself to stillness, afraid that if he twitched one hair of his hide, Katrina’s aim would miss, and the magic would slice something vital inside him. God only knew what might happen to him then. The wolf closed his golden eyes, his jaw clenched tight.

  Again, he felt the claw tighten around his soul—felt each of its four talons: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire—and he nearly cried out as Katrina wrenched at him again. Whump. Whump. The sensation sickened him, terrified him, and he knew it was his only salvation.

  “That should be it,” Katrina said. Her face was pale, sweat-beaded. She looked on the verge of exhaustion. “It should be working. I should be able to…pull him out now…but…”

  Try again, the wolf pleaded with his eyes. Once more. Try again.

  Katrina drew a deep, shaking breath, bracing herself. Then he felt the fist of magic seize him even harder, and with a wordless yell and a final effort, Katrina pulled.

  Chase’s stomach knotted and flopped; he nearly puked as the world spun around him, tilting and inverting, tossing his twin spirits like a coin flipped into the air. The force of Katrina’s magic yanked Chase onto his hind feet—and as he yelped in pain and fear, a shower of white stars crashed before his eyes.

  He felt his body strike against a human shape. Slender but strong arms went around him, holding him up. He was shaking and cold, and tears of pain and fear stung his eyes. He gasped, and carefully lifted his hands…human hands…to pull himself upright.

  Chase found himself clutched in Katrina’s arms, staring into her blue eyes—and her eyes were smiling. She sighed, and the convergent rush of magic ebbed to a trickle, then left he circle of salt entirely.

  “It worked,” Katrina whispered. “Thank the Goddess…it worked.”

  The brothers of Alpha House surged toward them, cheering and whooping in joy, but not daring to cross the circle of salt.

  “Chase!” Jack yelled. “You’re back! Yes!”

  “Oh my God,” Darien moaned, covering his eyes with one hand. “I never want to see anything like that again.”

  Alexander slumped against the mantel of the fireplace, forehead resting on his fist, a profound relief evident in every drooping line of his body.

  “Thank you,” Chase said hoarsely, pulling Katrina closer in a rough embrace. “You’re amazing.” She hugged him back, laughing in amazement.

  At that moment, the front door squealed on its hinges. The brothers snapped to alertness, turning toward the sound.

  “Alexander?” a voice called down the hall. It was a female voice, and the sound of it ran Chase through with a hot spike of longing and sorrow. “I’m here for my lesson. I…”

  Roxy trailed off when she stepped into the living room. Chase, newly restored to all that was human in him, couldn’t tear his eyes from her—she seemed the essence of life itself, the point from which the sun rose each morning—something no part of him, wolf or human, could live without. Her beautiful, soft body grew tense as wariness edged into her eyes. And her face fell at once into a mask of perfect, uncaring neutrality.

  Chase was suddenly aware, with a sharp and bitter pain that he was naked and locked in his ex-girlfriend’s arms.

  .4.

  R oxy stared in shocked silence at the image before her: the brothers of Alpha House stilling themselves from some kind of wild celebration—the fox inside her could smell the clear traces of relief and joy emanating from them all—with a distinct air of guilt; Alexander drooping in what looked like defeat; the weird ring of something white—was that salt?—encircling Chase and another girl. And the way Chase clung to her, holding her as if he’d never let go. And he was completely naked.

  She was proud that her face remained a picture of calm. She could feel it. Learning to control her fox totem had also given Roxy remarkable command over her human self. And she felt far too chilled inside for any blushing.

  Chase straightened abruptly from the embrace and faced her—then, conscious of his nudity, stepped behind the woman as if she were a shield.

  “Roxy,” he said, his voice quivering with emotion.

  It had been months since she’d seen Chase—months during which she’d grown closer to Alexander, against all odds. Now Alexander looked up and moved quickly toward Chase. The sight of both of them in the same room—so close to one another, as if they were offering Roxy a sudden and impossible choice—finally brought the color to her cheeks.

  “Head up to your room and get dressed,” Alexander said to Chase.

  Chase nodded blankly, never taking his eyes from Roxy’s face. Afte
r a moment, Alexander gave him a gentle push toward the stairs, and Chase climbed to the second floor without another word.

  Strange—Roxy hadn’t seen him for months, but now his absence from the room tore a gaping hole of loss in her soul. Maybe that hole had been there all along, and she hadn’t noticed—or maybe she had deliberately ignored it.

  The woman inside the salt circle cleared her throat. “Hi,” she said awkwardly. “I’m Katrina.”

  Katrina looked almost haggard with weariness—just what had she and Chase been doing? And in front of all the brothers, too!—but Roxy could see through the woman’s pallor that she was exceptionally pretty, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, a flawless complexion and a wide mouth that looked elfin and enchanting against her otherwise delicate features. Her hair was golden-blonde, bundled in locks that were adorably hippie-ish. And she was, of course, perfectly slender, with the sort of body men everywhere go crazy for.

  Stop it, her fox scolded. Don’t criticize yourself. It won’t do you any good.

  But her totem’s no-nonsense admonishment couldn’t soothe the pain that filled her. She hadn’t expected to find Chase here—hadn’t been prepared for the sight of him. God, he was so beautiful. His rugged face had more stubbly shadow around the jaw than usual, and his broad shoulders looked stronger, the muscles of his chest and arms larger and more defined than she recalled. But still, every inch of his body was known to her, and his presence seemed to leap at her like a mountain lion from the treetops, ambushing her heart. Winter had taken the pale gold out of his skin, but it looked as soft and warm as she remembered, and the memory of pressing her face against his bare chest and breathing in the scent of him flooded her with sorrow.

  She narrowed her eyes at Katrina. Evidently she was what Chase wanted now. All right: fine. Then Roxy didn’t want Chase, either.

  Liar, her totem whispered.

  Shut up, you, Roxy growled back.

  Katrina caught the slitting of Roxy’s sharp green eyes. She brushed her palms against her thighs in a business-like way and turned to Alexander. “Listen, I think maybe I should have a talk with Roxy here. Will you guys excuse us? We’ll go out on the porch.”

  Alexander glanced down at the floor, at the mess of salt and…was that mud smeared on the carpet? Roxy couldn’t be sure.

  Katrina said, “It’s all gone. It’s safe to clean up. I hate to make you guys do the work, but…”

  “No, we’ll do it gladly,” Alexander assured her. “It’s the least we can do, after everything you’ve done for us. But is it safe?”

  “Entirely.” Katrina turned to Roxy, wiping her brow. “Come on. I think you and I need to have a little chat.”

  The skinny, blonde hippie brushed past Roxy and out the front door. Reluctantly, Roxy followed, watching Katrina’s willowy body move as she walked. Roxy felt like a hippo in a tutu by comparison, clomping and coarse, but still she followed, anger and hurt warring inside her, unsure of what she’d say to this woman when they were finally alone.

  Katrina shut the door and clamped her hands under her armpits, her breath frosting in the chilly air. Roxy leaned against a porch pillar, waiting, hoping she looked totally unconcerned.

  “Chase told me he’s having some…well, new girl trouble,” Katrina said. “I take it you’re the trouble?”

  Roxy shrugged. She tried to keep the suspicion and jealousy out of her voice. “Maybe. I suppose I could be. Why do you ask?”

  “I saw the way you two looked at each other. And since he was hugging me at the time, I felt his reaction to seeing you. I mean…” she laughed a little, realizing how that sounded, “his whole body got very tense all of a sudden, like he’d seen something he’d been missing for a very long time.”

  Roxy chewed her lip for a moment. Somewhere in the valley that cradled Blackmeade Village, a raven squawked, and the sound sent a shiver up her spine. Katrina had said “new girl trouble.” So was this flawless blonde “old girl trouble?”

  “Seems like you’re pretty familiar with Chase,” Roxy said.

  “He and I dated the year before last.”

  Dismay swallowed Roxy up like a swamp. She forgot every time Chase had ever told her she was beautiful, and thought only of how she compared to this lithe beauty. I don’t compare at all. How could I ever compete with somebody like her? She’s even more gorgeous than Scarlett.

  “We broke up,” Katrina said quickly—noting, no doubt, the desolation on Roxy’s face. “It wasn’t working out.”

  “Why didn’t it work out?”

  “I…sort of…fell for Alexander. And started dating him instead.”

  Roxy wished furiously that the slats of the porch would open up like a mouth, swallow her whole, and close over her head again, sparing her this double-edged humiliation. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her coat and looked away from Katrina’s lovely face.

  Both of them? She’s the ex-girlfriend of both? There was no way either Chase or Alexander could look at Roxy and see anything worth pursuing, if they’d already had a taste of Katrina.

  Deep inside, Roxy felt her fox totem bristle and growl. The fox seemed to scrabble its paws as if bracing itself for a fight. She remembered her own thoughts that morning when she had finally accepted herself. Maybe what’s so special about foxes is that they don’t give a shit.

  Roxy stood upright and looked Katrina square in the face. “Well, that’s great,” she said. “They’re both good guys, so…high five, I guess.” But she didn’t offer her hand for a high five—not even an ironic one.

  Katrina smiled, tilting her head. “You don’t have anything to worry about, you know.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m not worried. I already brushed them both off—every guy in the whole frat, in fact.”

  Which wasn’t strictly true. During the months of her lessons, she had grown more amenable to the idea of dating Alexander, and had even come to regard him with real affection. It was clear he’d truly changed for the better—an accomplishment which Roxy wasn’t sure any other frat boy on the planet could claim—and if she was going to give any Alpha House brother a second chance, it would be Alexander. And the fierce reaction of her heart at the sight of Chase in another woman’s arms told her everything she needed to know about her true feelings for him. Still, she wasn’t about to admit any of this to Katrina. Foxes didn’t care what anybody thought. That was the façade she’d present from now on—to Katrina, and to everybody else.

  “None of these guys is interested in me, Roxy.” Katrina closed her eyes and pulled the elastic band out of her ponytail. A tumble of heavy braids and golden dreadlocks fell around her face. She shook her head a bit, as if reveling in the feel of the fresh air, or cooling off after an arduous workout. “They’re afraid of me,” she added casually.

  “Afraid of you? Why?”

  Katrina’s bright blue eyes opened, and she stared silently at Roxy for a moment. Finally she said, “Because I’m a witch.”

  No matter how little foxes cared, Roxy couldn’t conceal her flinch. The memory of Scarlett’s attack and her near-public forced shift crowded into Roxy’s head.

  Katrina closed one eye in a slow wink. “Thought so. You’re a shifter, too, aren’t you?”

  Roxy said nothing.

  “Your secret’s safe with me. I’ve been hanging out with the Alpha House boys for long enough to know all about your kind. I’ve never betrayed one of you yet…well, not in that sense,” she added with a quick glance toward the upper story of the house.

  Roxy followed Katrina’s glance. The window to Chase’s room stared back down, blank with its curtains drawn. Chase? She betrayed Chase? How?

  “A female shifter,” the witch went on. “Rare.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You must be pretty popular with the Blackmeade boys.”

  There was no malice in Katrina’s voice, no cloying false friendship like a jealous rival would have used. That’s what surprised Roxy the most. Katrina’s attit
ude was plainly, openly friendly—and that unexpected quality made the moment somehow harder for Roxy to bear. She knew how to deal with mean girls—how to deflect their clumsily veiled insults with a subtle wit that left them wondering whether the fat girl had just burned them or not. This bizarre interview would have been a hundred times easier to bear if Katrina hadn’t been so damn nice.

  Roxy shuffled her feet and dropped her eyes, wishing again for the porch to swallow her up. “I guess. Sometimes. I have my moments.”

  “I don’t want to step on your toes, Roxy,” Katrina said. “These guys are great—I mean, some of them are really sexy—but I’ve got more important things on my mind right now.”

  “We all have more important things to worry about than getting laid, just now.”

  “How much have the boys told you about…activity…from a witch?”

  “You mean Scarlett?” Suddenly eager, Roxy took a step forward. “God, I know all about her. She used to be my roommate.”

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “No. And not too long ago, she tried to shift me against my will. At least, I think it was Scarlett. I can’t imagine who else it would be.”

  Katrina nodded grimly. “That’s what happened to Chase, you know. I practically saw it.” She jerked her thumb toward the Airstream trailer parked at the edge of the yard. “We were making breakfast in there, parked somewhere outside of Salt Lake, and one minute Chase was human…the next…”

  Roxy gasped. Her near-shift was bad enough. She could only imagine the horror of a fully forced transformation.

  “And he couldn’t get back,” Katrina went on. “He came all the way back here for help. I figured out how to pull his human side back to the surface, but it wasn’t easy. And to be honest, I didn’t really know whether it would work.”

  “So that’s what happened—that’s what you were up to inside.”

  “You came in right as I reversed the transformation. His human spirit was buried so deep, I almost couldn’t find it, and the spells Scarlett laid were just awful—a real tangle, and tight as hell. It was hard work to cut it all away.”