Connect with Adriana on her website at http://www.AdrianaHunter.com and subscribe to her official newsletter at http://www.SpicyTales.com for details on upcoming books!
Facebook: http://facebook.com/AuthorAdrianaHunter
Charming The Alpha
by
Liliana Rhodes
Chapter One
"I'm leaving in a few minutes, Mom," Hannah called out.
Dressed in her favorite outfit for luck, dark skinny jeans, worn brown leather boots, and a light blue chenille sweater with navy and white stars, she peered out the small oval window that faced the street of the old cottage she was born in.
The full moon hung large and low in the sky, lighting the road. She was almost ready to leave and her palms felt a little moist as she thought about it, but she was running out of time if she wanted to see Pea. And seeing Pea was all she could think about.
As she finished braiding her long auburn hair, Hannah Crane wrapped an elastic around the end hoping that if her hair was neat, her grandmother wouldn't give her such a hard time about cutting it. Normally she wore it loose and wild to lengthen her round face. Not that her rounded cheeks bothered her, but she thought she looked better with her hair down. Plus Hannah loved feeling her hair sway against the middle of her back. Unfortunately Pea had a hatred for long hair and Hannah desperately needed her focused on this short visit.
"Here, wear this," Eliza Crane, Hannah's mother said as she handed her a navy and red hooded cloak. "I just finished it and it's going to get chilly tonight."
"Its just going to slow me down, Mom," Hannah said as she slipped her arms into the hidden sleeves.
"I don't want you to catch cold. Plus maybe you can tuck your hair in the back so its hidden. I know she's been on you to cut it. She did the same thing to me when I was your age."
"Did you do it? Did you give in to her? I'm twenty-two, I should have crazy long hair. Short hair is better when you're older," she said as she admired her mother's jet black shoulder length hair. "Besides, I couldn't pull off short hair if I tried. Its too much work."
Hannah was pretty sure her mother had been one of those girls she grew up envying. She thought of the women who could do anything to their hair and still look gorgeous, and knew her mother fit in with them perfectly. Eliza's beauty was a regular topic in the town of Leeds Point, NJ and Hannah grew up hearing about it often, but that never bothered her.
The town folk loved pointing out how she looked nothing like her mom. With Eliza's warm smile and delicate features, Hannah understood everyone's infatuation with her mother. Even dressed in an old t-shirt and sweatpants like she wore now, her mother still looked stunning.
The only time her mother's appearance troubled her was when people started guessing about her father. He was a topic that was never mentioned at home. Hannah hardly knew anything about him and what she did know, seemed too unbelievable for her to accept.
"I did give in," Eliza said quietly, "but it didn't make her happy."
"Why not?"
Eliza swallowed hard before answering. "She said it was too late, the damage had been done."
"What did she mean by that?" Hannah asked.
As Eliza turned away, Hannah knew she had pushed too far. Eliza squared her shoulders back, and lifted her chin before she spoke again. "Oh you know Pea, she's always dramatic," Eliza said with a forced nonchalance to her voice Hannah knew meant her mother was stressed by the topic. "I was pregnant with you when I cut my hair. Pea thinks no one will look at us if we have short hair. She's trying to protect us," Eliza said laughing nervously as she looked at her watch then spun it around her wrist.
"Yeah that sounds about right for Pea," Hannah said, letting the subject drop. It was getting late so she didn't have the time to ask more and she knew from experience that Eliza wouldn't say anything else.
"Are you going to tell her about school?" Eliza asked.
Hannah groaned and rolled her eyes. "College is the last thing I want to talk about, but you know how it is, Mom. I'm...I guess I'm feeling lost. And Pea has always been the one to point me in the right direction."
"Then maybe you should've spoken to her before you started cutting classes."
"Please don't start, Mom," Hannah said as she looked out the window. "Just be glad I graduated. I don't have the time to talk about this right now. Unless you want to come with me. You know Pea would be thrilled to see you."
"No, it's alright, honey. You go ahead. I'm not in the right frame of mind to see Pea anyway. Send her my love though."
Hannah nodded at her mother but didn't say anything. She couldn't remember the last time Eliza joined her on a visit to Pea. Now wasn't the time to bring that up though. She could see just the mention of the past made her mother shut down.
Hannah had a lot of questions about her father, but she never drummed up the courage to ask. Hearing her mom say she cut her hair was the closest she'd come to talking about him in years.
"Don't wait up," Hannah said.
After kissing her mother on the cheek, Hannah stepped outside and leaned against the heavy, white-washed wooden door of their cottage. The tiny home had been in their family since the days of the pilgrims. It barely had enough space for the two women, but Hannah loved it.
Their closest neighbor was near enough that she could see their porch light on, but not so close that she felt crowded in. There were only a few small houses on their street and they all had historic markers on them. That didn't make them very special though. Most of the area had small old homes like these.
The full moon made the grassy path curving between the tall pine trees at the end of the street easier to see, but Hannah didn't need it. She followed the trail like she did every full moon, exactly as her mother taught her years ago. She enjoyed these visits with Pea, even if they were short.
Hannah breathed the cool air in deeply, happy for fall to finally arrive in South Jersey. It had been a very humid summer and running through the woods usually made her easy prey for blood thirsty mosquitos. She didn't have to worry about them tonight though, and she never gave any thought to the other creatures in the forest.
Granted, the last thing she wanted was to run into a "damned wolf", as her mother and Pea always referred to them, but that was only because they were rude, dirty, uneducated creatures. At least that's what they always told her.
Hannah wasn't even sure she really believed they existed. Leeds Point had always been a strange little town with its detailed folklore. Sometimes it was hard knowing what was real and what were simply stories. For example, her mother once told her her father was a werewolf. But she also told her there was a tooth fairy and Santa Claus. Hannah didn't know if when Eliza revealed that detail about her dad, if she was just trying to entertain the then ten-year-old Hannah's young, over-imaginative mind or if she was telling the truth.
As an adult Hannah never asked her mom about her father and especially never asked if he really was a werewolf. The truth was she was too embarrassed to ask. She didn't want to admit to believing it for so many years if it was just a joke. And even though over the past ten years, the people in Leeds Point seemed to believe in the existence of werewolves and other shape shifters, Hannah easily convinced herself it was just more of her town's eccentricities.
Hannah loved her town. She couldn't imagine living anywhere that didn't have the deep history and culture of Leeds Point. But she sometimes wondered if her mother and grandmother took advantage of that.
When her mother and grandmother decided it was better for her to stay home, than go away to college, Hannah simply obeyed. It never occurred to her to ask why they were so protective, because they always had been. Staying home cost her a social life but kept them happy. That's all she really cared about anyway, her family was everything to her. But now she was stuck trying to figure out what to do with her life.
As she approached the clearing, she slowed down to gather stones for the circle she needed to create. Thankful for the unusually bright moo
n, she found more stones than she usually did and was grateful for that. There were times when she only had a enough stones for a small circle and she had to stand the entire time. She preferred sitting, especially since it sometimes took Pea a long time to arrive.
Placing the stones in the center of the clearing, directly in the moon's path, Hannah waited for the moon to reach the right height. Spotting a frog from the corner of her eye, she remembered how much Pea hated them and quickly carried it to the base of a tree at the edge of the clearing.
With the moon clearly above, she completed the circle with her seated cross-legged inside. Hannah closed her eyes. Next she breathed in deeply and slowly let her breath out, letting everything on her mind go as she focused on a memory of her grandmother.
She laughed to herself remembering the winking game they played from the time she was a baby, until Pea's deathbed six years ago. Even with the monthly visits Hannah missed her grandmother more than she'd ever admit. The small house she and her mother shared wasn't the same without her around.
"I see you still haven't cut your hair."
Hannah smiled hearing Pea's voice before opening her eyes. Pea wore the same yellow housecoat she always wore since her death. It was one of her favorites during her life so it didn't surprise Hannah at all. Pea's hair was still died black and cut short with curls like Elizabeth Taylor's in the fifties. Hannah knew her grandmother would be pleased if she cut her hair that short as well, but there was no way that was happening.
Might as well get this over with, Hannah thought. It was 3am, the witching hour as superstitious people liked to call it, but it was always a favorite time of night for Hannah and the Crane family. Unfortunately it meant she didn't have a lot of time before the sun began to rise and Pea had to go back.
"Come on, Pea," Hannah groaned. "You know how much I hate short hair. Maybe I'll cut it when I'm older."
"You're stubborn just like her."
"And she's stubborn just like you."
Pea laughed, her full figure jiggling just like Hannah remembered and she suddenly longed to be held by her and feel Pea's warmth and softness as her eyes misted.
"Don't you dare do that, young lady! Don't you dare cry. We're lucky. Most people don't get time like this after their loved one has gone to the other side."
"I know, Pea," Hannah said swallowing hard. "I just...miss you."
"I miss you too, doll. You still need to cut your hair though. Let people see that beautiful face. You have my eyes and I like to think mine glow like emeralds," Pea said as she blinked dramatically, her hands clasped by her cheek.
Laughing, Hannah's tears spilled onto her cheeks anyway. Pea had a way of feigning vanity that always made Hannah laugh. Pushing aside her sadness, she figured she should get to what she wanted to talk to Pea about before their time ran out.
"Pea," Hannah said hesitantly. "I finished college--"
"That's wonderful! I wish I could go to your graduation."
"I know, but please just let me talk. I really need you right now."
"What's wrong? You've worked so hard. I'm sure--"
"Grandmother, please!" she interrupted. "I didn't work hard. I hardly went to class. I just didn't care. Now I'm supposed to get a job and I have no idea what I want to do."
"What do you mean? You used to do so well in school," Pea's voice drifted off as if it was time for her to go. She looked up at the moon still brightly lighting the clearing, then back at Hannah with a confused expression on her face. "They wouldn't come here, they know better than to leave their territory."
Hannah looked around. "They? There's no one here. What are you talking about?"
"Hannah!" Pea said before fading briefly. "Please, stop being so damned stubborn and cut your hair." She appeared solid for a moment. "It's for your own good!"
As Pea faded, looks of concern then anger crossed her features. She glared at a point in the trees as Hannah leapt to her feet, staying within her protective circle.
"Pea! Wait!" Hannah called after her. But it was too late, she was gone.
Turning towards the area Pea stared at as she disappeared, Hannah realized it was where she placed the frog. Geez, I know she hates frogs but they never bothered her this much before. She broke the circle and began walking over to the tree she set the frog by, when she stopped. Something was in the woods. She could feel it.
Squinting, she tried to get a better look figuring it was just a deer, a raccoon, or even a skunk. Slowly, she took a step closer hoping to not scare whatever it was away when large yellow eyes suddenly flashed at her from within the trees.
Frightened, she gasped and stepped back. Accidentally landing onto one of the stones she collected, her ankle quickly twisted before she fell fast to the ground. Unsure what the eyes belonged to, she struggled to get up, thinking she should run. As she ignored the shooting pain in her leg, a large grey wolf slowly emerged from the forest, baring its glistening white teeth and emitting a low growl.
Chapter Two
The moonlight reflected on the wolf's fangs and the silver sheen of his coat. It was enough to paralyze Hannah for a moment. She had never seen such an enormous animal before, let alone one baring its teeth. Unsure if she couldn't move out of fear or amazement, she willed herself to stand despite the pain in her right ankle.
"No, sit. You're hurt."
The sound was gruff, like something between an animal's and a man's growl. Whipping her head around towards the wolf, she saw it was gone. In its place was a part wolf, part man creature in mid-transformation. She watched in amazement as he stood on two legs, his snout shortening into a human nose, his ears shifted along his head as they rounded into a human's ears, and lastly his fur faded to skin.
Left in the wolf's place was a man. A naked man. One so handsome and muscular Hannah couldn't help but stare. He was the hottest man she'd ever seen. As her eyes slowly traveled up his long legs, she shyly glanced over his impressive manhood before continuing over his chiseled torso, broad shoulders, then finally his lightly bearded face.
His eyes were no longer yellow but a dark blue the color of the night sky. His dirty blond hair was wavy, cropped close around his ears, but longer on the top. Lastly she noticed the reflection of the moon against his perfect teeth as he grimaced at her. This was the first werewolf she had ever seen and she realized she had missed out on a lot.
"The forest is a dangerous place for a human," he said.
"I'm pretty sure you're the only danger in these woods," she snapped at him.
The man stood shamelessly, as if his nudity didn't matter. Hannah tried but couldn't keep herself from staring at him, especially there.
"You shouldn't be here. Where's your friend? I followed one scent but heard two voices. Stupid humans," he muttered as he looked around.
"You heard Pea?" Hannah asked surprised.
Her entire life she had been ridiculed for the voices and people she saw that others couldn't. It wasn't until she was older that her mother and Pea taught her how to control it and how to protect herself in case others responded when she summoned. That's why she used the circle. But no one other than her family had ever been able to hear the voices she heard before.
"Pea? Whatever. The older woman. Of course I heard her. I hear lots of things," he grinned and flashed amber wolf eyes at her.
"But she's..." Dead.
Hannah couldn't bring herself to say the word. She hoped this rude asshole of a gorgeous man would magically read her mind and leave her alone. Then she would hobble home once the throbbing in her ankle stopped.
"I don't have time for this. I should leave you here to learn your fate," he said huskily as his gaze briefly softened. "Many wolves wouldn't be as honorable towards a lost beautiful human such as yourself."
"I'm not lost!" Hannah replied, trying to stand again. "I know exactly how to get home." Her face flushed slightly as she realized he called her beautiful, but the pain in her ankle quickly brought her back.
"But you can't get ho
me, can you?" He said softly as he stepped closer. Pulling his eyes from her, he looked at the ground and the stones beside her. "Witch," he muttered. "I should've known. The most arrogant and careless of all humans."
"I'm not careless. I wouldn't have tripped if you didn't sneak up on me."
"You don't know what exists in these woods. If you know what's good for you, you won't return."
He helped her onto her feet as if she weighed nothing. His touch sent a shock through her body that ended with a throbbing between her legs. Hannah didn't know what came over her, but she felt a yearning for him, like hunger but worse. As if she didn't have him she would starve.
He inhaled deeply, still supporting her. His eyes flashed yellow and he let out a low growl. "How? What witchcraft have you done?" He demanded as he breathed her in again.
"I...I just talked to my grandmother," she said confused, her head swimming.
"I'll help you home. This is no place for you."
He stepped back as Hannah struggled to keep her balance. Before her eyes his torso lengthened, fur sprouted from his skin, and his angelic face transformed into that of a wolf. Almost the size of a horse, Hannah realized how enormous he really was now that he was standing beside her. Amazed, she stood beside the wolf not knowing what to do next.
The wolf grunted, then lowered his head as he pushed between her legs, forcing her to slide onto his back. Understanding he planned to carry her home, she wrapped her hands into the thick fur of his wide neck and held on tight.
"The small house at the edge of the woods. By the path," she whispered into his pointed, black and white fuzzy ear.
He sprung forward, leaping into the air, then raced along the grassy path she followed earlier. The cool air rushed past her, her heart beat wildly, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure this wasn't a dream, but she was too afraid to let go of his fur.
Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads) Page 17