Red Hot Alphas: 11 Novels of Sexy, Bad Boy, Alpha Males (Red Hot Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Jo Raven

  “Can’t we pull the ward back?” I ask, feeling dumb. Surely, it couldn’t be that easy.

  “I wish I could. But now my magic is not all the same as it was when I was alive. I have no influence on it at all.”

  “How about the people that live in your house? Could they?”

  “I’ve not been able to reach them—you’re the only one who can see me. Probably because we have such a close bond.”

  “What if I ask them myself? I could be an interpreter,” I offer—isn’t that an obvious choice? Why hasn’t he asked already?

  “My magic is essential in weaving that ward,” he says. “I don’t think they’ll be able to do it on their own—not such a potent spell, anyway.”

  “How much time do you have left?”

  He looks to the side, sadness on his face. “Not much.”

  My heart breaks at that statement. I lost my first love before I could even realize I had gotten him back, and now that I had another chance to be near him, he will be gone again—this time, to a terrible dimension of torment and chaos.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  TOGETHER

  We’re not very touchy-feely tonight. Sadness overwhelms the both of us and dampens our passion, in contrast to what you’d expect if you are a reader of romances. In those books, impeding death usually pulls the protagonists together.

  Also, I’m almost ready to puke all over the place because of the foul stench, but he doesn’t seem to notice it at all. It doesn’t make the moment any sweeter.

  The moon is slowly moving through the sky. I’m anxious to go get William’s mother, even if he thinks that won’t help, but I’m also afraid to lose my last moments with him. We’re hugging each other tight, basking in our mutual warmth.

  Around us, the smoke still twirls. I can see quite well in the dark since the moonlight is quite bright. My thoughts are all over the place, and it’s very odd that I even notice that very small, very frightening detail—a pair of red eyes is glowing in the darkness under a tree not far away from us.

  “William,” I say, pointing to the darkness under the tree.

  His grip around me gets tighter as soon as he notices the beast stalking the shadows. He angles himself to put his body between me and the threat, but there isn’t much room to maneuver.

  “What is that?” I ask.

  “It’s … a hellhound. It’s the hellhound that killed me.”

  “A what?”

  The beast’s breathing is very loud, now that I know to listen to it. It growls softly, and something is making a quiet scraping sound in its throat, as if it’s full of dirt and stones.

  William’s grip on my arm is stronger than ever, and he seems like he’s ready to throw me out of the way if the hellhound attacks.

  I look frantically around, kind of hoping that Derrick is around and about to intervene—hadn’t he tried to help us, in the end, by allowing me to see the wards, by pushing William to be honest with me? I kind of imagined he was some kind of benefactor, despite William’s reactions, but tonight it looks like we’re on our own to deal with loss, separation … or even death.

  The beast is staring at us, not eager to attack—it knows that we’re doomed anyway. William cannot move from here, and I won’t be fast enough to escape it. The predator takes its time and circles around us, choosing its angle of attack.

  Suddenly, I realize I have a way to contact the mansion that I didn’t think about—the cellphone Emily gave me this morning! I hadn’t thought about it at all, not being used to having one on me. As I move to face the hellhound, I feel the cellphone on my hip through my trousers pocket.

  I take it out and speed dial Emily’s cellphone. Fortunately, she answers after two rings, worry in her voice. “Constance? What’s happening? Is there a problem?”

  “William’s here. He’s in the cemetery with me.” William’s head snaps around to look at me, surprise in his eyes. “We’re in danger. You need to help us!”

  As soon as I start talking, the hellhound realizes that we’ve found a way to get help and it springs into attack. It runs, zig zagging toward us and throwing itself on the ward. Its fangs tear at it, destroying part of it. Thankfully, William kicks it away, and the hellhound falls on its back, its paws scraping the air to get it back on its feet. Its speed is frightening—so are its jaws, full of razor-shaped fangs that gleam as it growls madly at us.

  Emily has hung up, and I’m suddenly worried that I may be luring her to her death. She doesn’t know what’s waiting for her, and even though I’ve seen that the wards won’t keep us safe for long, she won’t even have that to protect her from the hellhound.

  The hellhound looks at us with pure hatred in its eyes, snarling and throwing itself again and again against the ward. William puts his body between it and me, trying to kick it away, but I’m not sure he can do much more to protect us, trapped as he is.

  As the hellhound jumps against the ward one more time, I kick my foot at it too, connecting the sole of my shoe to its nose. William and I must now stand up as the ward keeps shrinking and shrinking. He tries to shield me and stop me from retaliating as the hellhounds attacks, but he really cannot do much.

  As I send my foot to the hellhound’s snout once more, I realize that I’m not fast enough. It feints and bites hard on my shoe, making me fall. William’s hands grapple to keep me in the ward’s protective circle, but the hellhound has too much of a hold on my leg, and it drags me away quickly; too far for William to reach me.

  I shriek from the pain and the fear. The hellhound’s fangs go through my leg like it’s butter, drawing blood and crunching bones. The pressure is almost too much to bear, and I have to force myself not to faint. I throw my other leg and connect on the side of its head, forcing it to flinch back. I can’t believe how painful it feels when its fangs tear at my skin as it retreats!

  Uh oh. That seems to have pissed it off. It looks at my throat, blood and slime dripping from its muzzle. I hear William shouting to try and distract it, thrashing against the ward, but the hellhound is focused on me and only me. In its eyes, I see a bottomless abyss promising nothing but torment.

  It aims for my throat, all fangs out. Reflexively, I make a barrier with my arms and protect my stomach with my knees. My arms get badly bitten, but I succeed in keeping it at bay. In its eyes, I see murder and blood lust. I grab its neck and push it away from me in a desperate attempt to escape.

  A gunshot booms like thunder, sending off crackling sparks of light, and the hellhound is flung off me. I roll to get away from it, and look to see where the shot came from. On the path that connects the mansion to the cemetery, Emily stands, staring at William, almost hypnotized. She’s not the one who shot the hellhound, though—I recognize the hunters’ leader, Ben, in his hunting cap and moustache as he aims again and shoots the hellhound twice more. Two other hunters cheer at the sound of the shots fired.

  The beast jumps at the hits, its muscles tensing as the bullets go through it, but after that it doesn’t move anymore. It lies there, lifeless, while the hunter moves nearer and check its vitals. He then looks at Emily, nodding once.

  In the distance, I see a lot of people, the help—or I should say, the wizards and witches and demonologists who were hired by the Wayworths and disguised as the help—coming up the path, as one.

  My heart beats happily as I see them gather with Emily around William’s grave. Emily can’t keep her eyes away from her son, awe in her eyes. I quickly limp back to him, ignoring my bloody leg and arms, and insinuating myself into his welcoming arms.

  The people around us are all looking surprised and amazed, but as they come even nearer, Emily claps her hands to make them focus, and they get their business faces back.

  “I don’t know if this is going to work,” he starts, worry—no, panic—on his face. “We may have no more than a few minutes together, Constance. I—“

  “I don’t care. I’ll stay here, at your side, for as long as I can. I love you, and I will never leave you.
We’ll beat this curse together.”

  The mages around us gather and start chanting in a language I don’t understand. I’m not used to magic, but I can definitely feel the power swirling around us, puffing the smoke around us away. I have no idea if the ward will open again, though.

  “Constance,” he sighs. “How have I been so lucky to find you? I’ve known, since the first time I saw you, that you were the love of my life. So daring, so alive, so beautiful. I had to make you mine. I’m so sorry for everything.”

  “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry! I wouldn’t want anyone else. And we will get through this, I know we will.”

  Blood is dripping from my arms, making me queasy. But as I look down, I notice that the ward reacts to it. It hisses as the blood splashes on it, causing it to wobble. William looks at it, and I feel him mentally pushing the ward away, a big vein throbbing on his forehead. How I can tell, I have no idea, but I physically feel the ward shaking away.

  The crowd weaves words with William’s push, and the ward recedes. My hopes soar, and William and I keep gazing lovingly into each others’ eyes. I can hear Emily chanting as well, adding her beautiful voice to the crowd as if all this was as simple as breathing to her. Sandra is next to her, her hand in Emily’s, and she too cannot keep her eyes off William.

  The ward is gaining velocity, gyrating around us in bigger and faster revolutions, and emits a beautiful, light blue hue that colors everything around us. Then as quick as lightning, it snaps back into place—I can almost hear the sound it makes as it clasps back to its original borders.

  William faces his mother. I step back to watch Emily throw herself into his arms and crying with happiness. Two women come to me and check my wounds—they hurt, but they’re not as bad as they could be and I’m grateful.

  Emily’s joy echoes mine, and tears well up into my eyes. After a minute, she lets him go and turns to me.

  “I can never thank you enough for this. You got my William back. Without you, we would never have been able to help him before it was too late.”

  “Don’t mention it,” I grin. She takes me into her arms in a big hug, and I let myself be held, so happy to have found my place in this family. Never mind that I’m bleeding all over her white dressing gown. After a few seconds, Devon joins in on the hug—I hadn’t even noticed him in his grey robe.

  Everyone is around William, patting him on the back, hugging him. He has a nice word and friendly gesture for everyone, but his eyes keep looking for mine as we’re separated. Emily notices and turns to me right away.

  “We’re going to leave you two alone now … I bet you have a lot to say to each other,” she says, and the crowd starts to recede at her words. “William … I’ll see you here tomorrow night. We have so much to talk about.” William nods, bends and gives her a kiss on her forehead, pressing gently her hand.

  She turns to me and says, “Be sure to come back home quickly, we need to tend to those wounds.”

  I say a general thank you, not knowing whom to thank first for giving me the love of my life back. They all walk back to the mansion, hugging each other and chatting excitedly.

  I don’t even have time to realize what happened that William’s arms are around me again, eager to hold me—and I’m eager too, to make sure he really is there, that he is tangible, that he is still mine.

  “I love you, Constance,” he says, looking right into my eyes, his mouth almost touching mine. “Always have, always will.”

  “We still have some hardships in front of us,” I say, thinking about how difficult it’s going to be to get him back and find a way to uncurse him. “But I’m confident that we will beat all odds, as long as we are together and trust each other. You got me believing in magic again, that long lost magic I hadn’t experienced since my childhood. And I know that we are meant to be together, for ever and ever.”

  “There are no guarantees, Constance…” he says, sadness in his tone. “No one has ever come back from those realms. Maybe it can’t be done.”

  “No guarantees, maybe. But you’re here right now, and that’s what counts. And this is a promise. The one I’m making to you right now. I will never let you down, and I’ll always be by your side, no matter what.

  “Together we will beat the odds. And we’ll be together, forever.”

  “Together, forever?” he says. “Perfect.”

  William’s eyes close, as we seal that vow with a kiss that has a taste of eternity.

  ***

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  Table of Contents

  Red Hot Alphas

  MICAH (DAMAGE CONTROL 1)

  by Jo Raven

  SOMEBODY TO LOVE

  (ROCK STARS IN DISGUISE: TRYP)

  by Blair Babylon

  HOT PURSUIT

  by Olivia Rigal

  MEETING MR. STEELE

  By Melanie Marchande

  MIXED UP

  by Sky Corgan

  MIDNIGHT MOONLIGHT

  by V. J. Chambers

  SORORITY SAINT

  by Daizie Draper

  CROSSED

  by Lacey Silks

  GET TO ME

  by Holly Hood

  ELECTRIC BLUE BUTTERFLIES

  by Irma Geddon

  SWEETEST TEMPTATIONS

  by J.C. Valentine

  Disclaimers and Copyright Notices

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  SWEETEST TEMPTATIONS

  by J.C. Valentine

  SWEETEST TEMPTATIONS

  by J.C. Valentine

  SWEETEST TEMPTATIONS © J.C. Valentine 2014

  From USA Today Bestselling Author J.C. Valentine comes a sizzling story about a young entrepreneur, a hot firefighter, and a first date that will change their paths forever.

  Tenacious bakery shop owner Abby is following her dreams. She has everything she could ever want in life—except the fairytale ending. Then she meets Kennedy, a hunky firefighter whose killer smile and easy charm makes her heart pound. But with the kind of danger he faces on the job each day, Abby knows there’s no happily-ever-after in the cards. The harder she tries to hold onto her heart, the faster it seems to slip away, but when a series of mysterious events threaten the future of her business and her life, their happiness may be shorter-lived than she realized.

  Someone is out to get her, and it’s up to Abby and Kennedy to uncover who’s behind the destruction. Can they do it before tragedy strikes?

  Chapter 1

  I heard Demetrius and Meaghan’s voice first, signaling it was time to get up. Groaning, I rolled onto my side, peeled my eyes open, and flinched as morning sunlight blinded me and a hundred—no, a thousand—tiny men drove axes into my skull.

  Once again, I’d given myself a hangover.

  A chocolate hangover.

  It was all Dex’s fault. He’d gone to Hershey Town on vacation over the weekend and, knowing how much I loved my sweets, he’d brought me back a trunkful of decadence.

  That devilish bastard. I would kiss him if I didn’t think I might throw up in his mouth.

  Slapping my hand over the alarm clock, I relished the few moments of silence I had left before my day got crazy.

  My business—my baby, my pride and joy—would be celebrating its grand opening today, and I needed to be there bright and early to get everything ready. This was going to be big. Huge. Epic. I was a business owner. A newb. A…well, I guess you could say
I was a virgin.

  How many times did a person get to claim that title in their lives? At nine o’clock sharp, I was going to pop my own cherry. It had been one hell of a journey to get here, the worst of which involved a bidding war for the building currently housing my new business. That was half the battle. Now, I just had to prove to myself I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

  Dragging my sorry ass out of bed, I shuffled across the room to the highboy that had been a fixture in my bedroom since before I could walk, and pulled out the first articles of clothing my fingers came across—purple cotton briefs and a neon pink demi bra.

  I lifted my shoulders in a tired shrug. Who cared? No one but me was going to see what was happening beneath the apron anyway.

  Slipping into the shower, I cranked the heat up high. A sort of preemptive strike to the sore and stiffening muscles I expected to have by the end of the day. I stayed until the water ran cold, a cool ten minutes later. A whole one minute longer than yesterday. Sharing a water heater with neighbors sucked ass.

  My mood jumping up a notch, I opened the wooden box I kept on the counter where I stored all my hairbrushes, clips, ties, pins, and anything else I needed to feel like a real woman.

  Selecting a brush, I set to work on the mass of auburn tangles that had formed overnight, gritting my teeth on a few stubborn ones. My morning process was this: shower, detangle, style, makeup, dress, and go.