Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Michele Bardsley

  Spotting an interloper in her territory, the dragon’s dark blue eyes narrowed in rage, her nostrils flared, and her scaled jaw unhinged wide, to let loose an impressive stream of fire that sent chills down Skadi’s spine and a wall of crimson across the sky. But it wasn’t fear that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was the creature’s majestic beauty.

  She took a step towards the ledge, arm extended, beckoning the beast to approach.

  A disturbing roar answered Skadi’s call. She was clearly annoyed.

  Unfortunately, for the recalcitrant dragon, she wasn’t the only supernaturally charged being in a foul mood that night.

  Skadi cleared her mind of all thought and focused on building a connection to the creature’s mind. The task wasn’t an easy one, like it would have been if she were trying to link to a species she had dominion over, such as a wolf or the living dead.

  She closed her eyes and sent a collection of thoughts outward.

  I am not here to harm you, she-dragon. My only intent is to pass on a message.

  Her roar shook the atmosphere.

  Get the fuck out of my head, sorceress!

  Abruptly, the connection severed.

  Interest made Skadi’s brow rise.

  Oh, my, she’s a powerful one.

  Blues were especially strong in magic and in mind.

  With all of her might, the goddess pushed another stream of words at her.

  I will leave you alone, just as soon as you come speak with me.

  The dragon hovered for a moment, then instantly projected herself through the air in Skadi’s direction. Seconds later, the beast dropped to the earth in human form. The transformation happened several feet above ground and had been instant, flawless in its execution.

  She began to stalk forward, with blazing eyes narrowed in fury. Like most blue dragons, that one had otherworldly eyes in a shade that matched her scales. Long tendrils of grey smoke streamed from flared nostrils. Her features were sharp, giving her angered state a lethal edge. But then, all dragons were deadly.

  The shift had left her naked. Heavy winds picked up the woman’s long red hair, making the ends of it slash around her rounded hips, like licking flames.

  “Why have you invaded my territory?” Her voice rumbled low, menacingly, a promise of retribution.

  Skadi’s eyes caught and held hers.

  “I’ve come to deliver these.”

  As she held out the envelopes, the she-dragon tensed.

  “Calm down. They’re only invitations to the annual Christmas ball,” Skadi said.

  Every supernatural creature that resided within the Colorado territories knew about the annual ball, so it was no big surprise for her to be invited to it. However, blue dragons tended to stay close to their Keep and had never attended a single event.

  The woman’s gaze swept Skadi’s face, as she said, “You could have called.”

  “I did.”

  She laughed. And not in a good way. Her hands were clenched at her sides.

  “I mean, with a phone. Not by ramming your way inside my skull.”

  Skadi gave her the truth.

  “I prefer to handle my business up close and personal. Phones are too easily ignored. But you most certainly can’t ignore me.”

  “You’re not scared of me at all.”

  Skadi’s gaze swept her with skepticism, as she said, “Do you not know who I am?”

  “Should I?”

  Skadi could smell the fire churning within the woman’s lungs. It was a sure sign of aggression. She was readying for an attack.

  “Easy there, she-dragon. The rush from your shift is clouding your better senses.”

  That brought the fangs out.

  “Are you going to tell me who you are?”

  “I am Skadi.”

  The woman’s gaze immediately dropped to the ground.

  “Wh-what? Shit. I didn’t know.”

  After a small inclination of her head, Skadi once more held out the invitations.

  “No harm done.”

  That time, she wasted no time in relieving the goddess of her light burden.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why have you been sent to deliver these to us? I’m sure a goddess has better things to do than run errands.”

  A faint furrow creased her brow.

  “Good question. I guess I have a weak spot for Jack Frost. He’s the one who sent me, and he’s probably the only person in the world who could have convinced me to do it. You will come, then? And make certain your fellow Sentries attend, as well.”

  Her lips firmed, and her gaze darkened, as she said, “I will deliver your message. But what my brethren will or will not do is for them to decide.”

  Without taking her eyes off of Skadi, the woman eased away, turned, and leapt into the air. Wings exploded out around her, and a few seconds later, the magnificent blue dragon disappeared behind the veil.

  Oddly enough, Skadi respected her for not backing down and for not making promises for her brethren in their stead. Loyalty was a hard thing to come by, and it was obvious the dragon was fiercely so.

  She shook her head and said, “Let’s hope the Sentries choose wisely.”

  Then Skadi vanished.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Frost’s Mountain Ice-Cave

  ***

  Skadi stilled for a moment inside the entrance of Jack Frost’s ice cave.

  “Sometimes I wonder why I do so many things for you, Frost, when you don’t even have the decency to be naked in bed, waiting for me, when I’ve finished your tasks. It’s very rude.”

  Jack adjusted his tie, as he watched Skadi sashay across the room, stopping in front of the bar. It was sculpted by his magic, fashioned with ice and snow crystals.

  The goddess was completely naked, which was how she always appeared to him. She was elegant with her movements, slow and seductive.

  He rubbed his tongue over the tip of a fang. That woman made him ravenous. No matter how many times he’d screwed her, he couldn’t get enough of her.

  “Did you prepare Jericha for the changes that await her?”

  Sighing, she turned to face him, with a drink in one hand and the fingers of the other, tracing circles against her hip and thigh.

  “She’s as stubborn as her father, that one. But indeed, as promised, I showed her what she needed to know of you and her destiny. Can we screw now?”

  As always, Skadi’s sexual appeal drew him in. He couldn’t say ‘no’ to her. Hell, he didn’t want to. He stopped manipulating the knot in his tie and, instead, pulled it loose. He’d been getting ready for a Christmas party, one that he tried to attend every year, because it was in his honor, thrown by none other than the father of Christmas himself, Kris Kringle. He’d enlisted the help of Banndar, Red of the Dragon Hoard, to fly him deep within the summits of the Rocky Mountains, where the event was being held.

  The dragon had been easily cajoled. Promises of sweet treats and even sweeter female flesh reeled him in by his barbed tail. He was a renowned lady-killer and wasn’t ashamed of that fact one bit.

  Jack snorted and said, “Skadi, you have the gall to label another stubborn, when a donkey envies your willfulness? And we can fuck if we make it fast. I have an event to attend. Speaking of which… did you deliver the invitations?”

  Skadi reached over and flicked the top button of Jack’s white silk shirt. Her long blonde hair hung down her bare body, flowing over the ample hills of her breasts, to end in curling tips that swayed playfully against a small patch of matching hair at the crevice of her pelvic area.

  A slow smile curved his lips. He knew from experience how soft and smooth it would be down between her thighs, and tasty, too. He let out a low string of curses.

  Thickly lashed green eyes blinked slowly at Jack.

  “It will take as long as I say it does. And of course, I delivered them. I said I would, didn’t I?”

  “You’re going to make me late, naughty minx.”

&
nbsp; “I am a bad, bad girl,” Skadi purred.

  The delicate fragrance of her arousal spurned him further, and his fingers dipped between her legs, as he began to slowly coax moan after moan from between her trembling lips.

  A loud thud sounded, breaking the trance.

  “Let’s go, Frost, before the prettiest women are all snatched up!”

  The dragon’s words carried in a roar, as he walked inside of the cavern, during the tail-end of his shift from creature to human.

  Jack’s gaze darted between Skadi’s peeked nipples and his friend.

  He made a pained sound.

  “Damn it, Banndar!”

  Skadi blinked, and her eyes fogged over with lust that never cleared, as they narrowed.

  “Don’t you even for a second think about leaving me. If you do, I’ll make you pay.”

  Jack had stood before many dangerous foes in his long life, but never could one scare him quite like Skadi. She was a force never to be reckoned with—a tornado that wouldn’t have merely tossed Dorothy’s house around, but would have gnashed it between sharp teeth, until nothing but blood and splinters remained.

  To leave a woman like that hot and bothered was a foolish act indeed. She was one of the most powerful creatures in existence, strong in more than just the physical sense of the word. But she didn’t act as if she could wipe out the entire city of Winter Haven with a snap of her fingers. Instead, she was more a nympho, whose main concern was her vampires and her wolves… and Jack.

  As she stood in front of him, body ripe for the taking, he hoped he’d get out of the cave in one piece.

  Jack nuzzled Skadi’s ear and whispered, “I promise not to be gone too long. We can pick back up where we left off the moment I get back, darling.”

  Her delicately carved features hardened, as she pushed out of his arms.

  “Hell’s inferno,” Skadi hissed. “You are going to leave me.”

  Warning bells rang in Jack’s head.

  Oh, shit.

  An eerie silence filled the ice cave, as Skadi shimmered on a red leather ball gown. In the next instant, a glistening diamond, as big as her fist, and in the shape of a snowflake, appeared around her neck. She always did know how to dress to impress.

  She smoothed her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder and did a little wiggle to adjust her hips inside of the gown. The rest of the flexible leather flowed like a river, to drape around a pair of clear stilettos. A snowflake, matching the pendant around her swanlike neck, was etched atop each one.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  It wasn’t a question, but a certainty.

  The dragon said, “No sweat off my scales. That’s more women for me if Jack brings a date.”

  Skadi’s gazed snapped up, as she said, “If you want your organs to remain intact…” Then it dropped to his groin area. “…you will keep it in your pants, until I say otherwise.”

  Knowing better than to argue with an infuriated goddess, Banndar let out a groan, then skulked out of the cave, without protest.

  Jack shook his head.

  “Was that really necessary? You know how sensitive he is.”

  She raised an indignant brow and said, “Everything I do is necessary. I wouldn’t do it, otherwise. Besides, I’m making him pay for both of your sins. When I’m finished, not a single beautiful piece of ass will be left unsated at the party. And just to prove I’m all heart, you may watch me bed them.”

  He reached over and grabbed Skadi’s hand, saying, “I need to be bad more often.”

  “Don’t push it, Frosty. Or my vengeance will be the last thing you see of this world.”

  The sadistic noose he loved so much tightened around his neck, and it felt good. Gods, was she beautiful—a special rare creature.

  They walked out of the cave and over to Banndar, who had been waiting for them. He lounged on his back, a big beefy leg hanging over the edge of the cliff, which was typical dragon behavior. He casually flipped over onto four legs, his fully scaled arms lifting with both of his wings, as he stretched them out with a loud whirr.

  His huge horned head turned to them, as he said, “Are you two lovebirds ready?”

  Hand-in-hand, Jack and Skadi leapt into the air, landing on Banndar’s back. Skadi smirked, as her thighs brushed over the dragon’s cool red scales.

  “I need to travel by way of dragon more often,” she said.

  Jack watched her move, drinking her sensuality in. Soon he’d be witnessing more than just the teasing buck of her hips. He thought about all the women they would bed together that night, and everything seemed more urgent.

  “Onward to Kringle’s house!” he yelled, while punching the sky.

  The dragon chuckled, a rumbling sound, and then they plummeted over the edge of the cliff and sailed through the chilly night air.

  “Soon,” Frost muttered, as he gazed out into the open skies.

  His chest filled with a warm tingling sensation. He was anxious and excited, all at once, because not only was he going to have the honor of appreciating Skadi’s body that night, but if all went as planned, he was also going to meet his daughter face-to-face for the very first time.

  As if Skadi could read his mind, she reached for him. A whoosh of air pushed the hair back from her face, so he could clearly see the assured confidence bright in her eyes.

  “She’s going to adore you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Dragon Blade Keep

  ***

  Did she just hang up on me? That stubborn woman is maddening!

  Connor had to stop himself from chucking the phone across the room.

  He tore his gaze away and focused on the sound of Lark’s dragon, roaring in the distance. Tossing the phone onto the side table, he stalked across the room, and then stopped, as he neared the balustrade outside. He placed a hand on the railing. Another bloodcurdling roar sounded from the borders, the beast heralding her arrival. He turned and surveyed the clear night sky.

  The she-dragon breached the veil, hurtling through the air. He watched her approach, as her blue wings shimmered and then flashed out. Moments later, her body morphed into human, while she dropped from several feet up, to land next to him on the balcony.

  “We had a visitor,” she said.

  In the few centuries that group of Sentries had been guarding the Dragon Blade, no one had ever visited the Keep. There was no reason for them to. Until recently, they stayed strictly to themselves, avoiding all supernatural beings, and for the most part, human contact. The less who knew about their existence, the better.

  “Who was it?” he asked.

  With an extended arm, Lark handed him the invitations.

  “It was the goddess, Skadi.” That stunned him silent. “She gave me these.”

  Connor’s shoulders tensed, as he took the envelopes and looked down at them.

  “And what are they?”

  Lark frowned and said, “They’re invites to a Christmas ball. We all got one.”

  “You’re shittin’ me, right?”

  “I’m deadly serious.”

  An amused look appeared on his face.

  “This is ridiculous. Don’t you think?”

  “I guess.”

  He stared deep inside of the lethal dragon’s eyes and caught a glimpse of longing at the core. Lark hadn’t found the invitations absurd at all.

  “Do you want to go?” he asked. “Because I’ll take you if that’s what you want.”

  Her jaw ticked just enough to let him know he was right, but she didn’t want to admit it.

  Connor let out a hard breath. They were friends. They trained together, lived together, and fought side-by-side in many battles. And never once did he consider the circumstances with more depth than that, which was a huge oversight on his part, because he’d missed the most important thing of all about his fellow Sentry—she was a female, trapped within a house full of men.

  Connor was second in command of the Dragon Blade Sentries, behind only Kr
ess, and he considered it his responsibility to see to Lark’s welfare. He cared about her and would do anything to help her out.

  Uncomfortable with the situation, Lark moved out of the moonlight and into Connor’s bedroom.

  Her voice swung back toward him, “The goddess did seem sincere in wanting us to attend.”

  Connor smiled and then followed Lark inside, where she’d already procured one of his shirts from the closet and was pulling it over her head. She twisted and gazed over her shoulder at him.

  “Would you really take me? Even though you’re mated?”

  “Of course, Lark. I would be honored to be your escort to the ball.” His answer came with a soft and kind look.

  With an excited expression, she brushed past him, toward the door. She pulled it open and held it.

  “As long as this doesn’t interfere with you trying to woo your mate.” Lark looked at him, mystified. “She seems stubborn, that one.”

  Jericha’s beautiful face flashed across Connors thoughts, as he said, “The best ones always are.”

  Lark gave him a smile and turned to leave. One of the Dragon Blade Sentries grabbed the door, holding it open, as she exited. War entered. Kress brought up the rear.

  “Hey, man. What is this I hear about a party?”

  “My room is getting more action today than a werewolf in heat,” Connor said.

  Kress’s lips curved in a smile, as he replied, “Had me one of those feisty bitches last week.”

  “I tried screwing around with a werewolf once,” War said, wincing. “Ended up with a back full of scratch marks for my efforts.” He shook his head. “Never again, man.”

  Connor studied his brothers, who were dressed to the nines in formal suits. War’s long black hair was pulled back away from a clean-shaven face with an elastic band. Kress’s shoes shined to a gleam.

  “How in the hell do you know about the part…?” War, the sneaky bastard, smiled wide enough to show off his bright white teeth. Connor shook his head, answering his own question. “Never mind. Not even stone walls can stop your damn eavesdropping.”