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

by Michele Bardsley

  “That works in my favor, then.”

  “Aye, I suppose it does.” She smiled. “Do you have an opinion?”

  “Not at this time. I like that we have a year to settle in, so we can talk about it in a few months. I can live anywhere, Kenna. I’m not bound to Iceland.”

  “So we could live here?”

  “If Edinburgh’s your desire, yes.”

  “Can we live in Iceland for a little while and then decide?”

  “Já, elskan. Of course.”

  She grinned. “I’m excited.”

  “I am as well,” Gunnar said with a nod.

  Kenna sat back in her seat and cocked her head. “It’s strange that with the amount of times I’ve been to Iceland, I didn’t feel you.”

  “I agree, but I do travel, so it’s possible we’ve been like ships passing.”

  “Still kind of irksome,” she lamented. “I could have met you sooner.”

  “I know, sweetheart.” He squeezed her hand again. “Tell me about your family.”

  “There are hundreds of us.”

  He nearly choked on his wine. “Hundreds?”

  “Seven. There are seven.”

  Gunnar laughed. “You had me worried.”

  “My mother passed away a while ago now, so I have full siblings and half siblings. Angus is the oldest and he’s mated to Kade’s sister, Fiona. Nevin, then Gillian, and me. My father married a horrible lady, Phyllis, and she has Annis, Aidan, and Payton.”

  “Why was Phyllis a horrible lady?”

  “Oh, no real reason,” Kenna said. “Just a little plot to overthrow Kade.”

  Kenna’s stepmother had concocted a grand plan to bring down the Cauld Ane king and establish her place in the royal family, however, she’d been unsuccessful.

  “She masterminded the plot?”

  Kenna nodded. “And she was horribly abusive to Payton. You have to understand something about Payton. She’s our favorite. We’ll all admit it, it doesn’t take away from how much we love each other, but ultimately, she’s all of our favorites.”

  “What happened to Phyllis?”

  “She and Annis, who was part of the plot with her mate, were exiled to Pohnpei.”

  “Appropriate.”

  Kenna sighed. “I suppose so.”

  “You don’t agree?”

  “It’s just hard when it’s your own family, you know? What they did was horrible, and I agree they should be punished, it’s just hard to know your sister is being sent to her death.”

  Gunnar gave her a gentle smile. “Yes, I can see that being difficult.”

  Their server returned to take their plates and Gunnar asked for the check.

  “Where are we going after this?” Kenna asked, setting her napkin on the table.

  “I have a few things set up at the hotel, if that’s acceptable.”

  She nodded. “Can we swing by my place first so I can pack a bag, please?”

  “Of course.”

  Gunnar paid the check and then followed Kenna out to the car.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  KENNA UNLOCKED THE front door and led Gunnar inside. “Make yourself at home, love. I won’t be long.”

  Before she could head upstairs to her room, however, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then settled his forehead against hers. “I needed something to tide me over.”

  Kenna giggled, stroking his cheek. “One more?”

  He grinned and obliged. Kenna broke the kiss and rushed up to her room, stalling when she saw a gift bag on her bed. Opening the card, she smiled.

  I hope you have the sense to come home and get your things before you go somewhere magical for your bonding. Take this with you and wow him. Love you, sis. G.

  Peeking inside she found a sexy, white, sheer nightie, complete with matching underwear, and felt a blush cover her cheeks. She grabbed her overnight duffel, threw in a couple changes of clothes and the new nightie, and then headed to the bathroom for makeup and such. She was quite proud of herself, only taking ten minutes to grab everything she needed.

  Arriving downstairs, she found Gunnar texting madly on his phone. He glanced up and smiled before sliding the phone in his pocket. “All set?”

  “Yes.” She nodded towards his pocket. “Are you?”

  He grinned. “That would be telling.”

  “What did you do?”

  He put his finger to his lips. “It’s a surprise.”

  “I love surprises.”

  “Good.” He took her bag from her. “Come.”

  Kenna locked the house up and followed Gunnar to the car. He waited for her to climb inside before following. He took her hand as the driver pulled away from the curb, and Kenna was pleasantly surprised when they pulled up to the Balmoral.

  “I love this place,” she said.

  “It’s my first time here,” Gunnar admitted. “But they’ve been really attentive so far.”

  Kenna grinned. “Well, if they give us any grief, I know a guy.”

  Gunnar laughed. “I bet you do.”

  A bellboy met them as they climbed out of the car and took Kenna’s bag from the driver. “Welcome back, Mr. Baldursson.”

  “Thank you,” Gunnar said, laying his hand on Kenna’s lower back.

  Kenna stayed connected to Gunnar as the bellboy led them to the elevator and up to their suite. Gunnar wrapped an arm around Kenna as they walked down the hall and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from squeaking out loud. The bellboy led them inside and placed the bag in the bedroom. Gunnar tipped him and he went on his way.

  “You have the Scone & Crombie Suite!” Kenna finally squeaked in glee, throwing her arms around his neck. “I love this room.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I did hear that somewhere.”

  “You did?”

  “I have a small confession.” Gunnar chuckled, releasing her. “Grace organized it. She and I had a little chat after you left me to tend to your sister. That was her on the phone confirming everything.”

  “Oh, I love that girl!”

  “She feels the same about you.” He took her hand and led her into the bedroom. The bed had rose petals fashioned in a heart and in the corner a bottle of champagne sat chilling next to two glasses and a plate with some kind of confection.

  “Is that salted caramel?” she asked.

  “Já, elskan. Grace said it’s your favorite.”

  “It is my favorite. As is the Dom Perignon.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed. “Thank you, love. Everything’s perfect.”

  He kissed the top of her head and held her for a few minutes before releasing her. “I’ll leave you to change.”

  She smiled up at him. “Okay.”

  Gunnar left the bedroom and Kenna grabbed her new lingerie and headed into the bathroom. She pushed away her nerves once she studied herself in the mirror. Gillian had picked the absolute perfect outfit for her. It gave her a little more on top and helped to round out her hips a little. She had a lithe, athletic figure that she’d never hated, necessarily, but she sometimes wished she had a little more curve. She took a deep breath and headed back into the bedroom. “I’m ready,” she called.

  Gunnar walked back in and Kenna licked her lips. He wore a loose pair of pajama pants, black, and nothing else. “Kenna,” he whispered. “You are beautiful.”

  She grinned. “You are too.”

  His chest was muscular and sprinkled with freckles that Kenna wanted to play connect the dots with. He held his arms out and she gripped them just below his elbows. He wrapped his hands around her arms as well and smiled. “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hold on tight,” Gunnar directed, and then kissed her gently.

  “Aye, love.” She’d been warned that once the final bonding word was spoken, she’d feel like fainting.

  “Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið.”

  “Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil
vera og allt sem ég get verið,” Kenna said, feeling her knees weaken. Even though she was prepared for it, she still gripped his arms harder.

  “I’ve got you.” Gunnar grinned and continued, “Ég er þinn að eilífu. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta.”

  “Ég er þinn að eilífu. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta.” Kenna took a deep breath as Gunnar wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.

  “Ást mín er alger.”

  “Ást mín er alger.” She smiled. “Together.”

  “Já.”

  In unison, they spoke, “Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger”

  As she finished the last line of their bonding words, Kenna thought them to herself in English and sighed. I give you everything I am, all I want to be and all I can be. I’m yours forever. Our bond will never be broken. My love is absolute.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Gunnar whispered, and lifted her from her feet and carried her to the bed.

  An hour later, Kenna lay across Gunnar’s chest trying to catch her breath. “Wow.”

  Gunnar chuckled. “Yes, exactly. Wow.”

  “I was expecting that to be bad.”

  “Why?” he demanded.

  “I was told the first time is always bad.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “My mother,” she admitted.

  “Well, I’m sad for your mother.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to talk about my mother while I’m lying over your sexy, naked body.”

  Gunnar grinned. “Fair enough.”

  She kissed his chest before settling her chin on her hands. “Do you want to try?”

  He raised an eyebrow. I don’t know, do you?

  “It worked!” I mean, it worked!

  He chuckled. This is going to be fun.

  Aye, love, ‘tis. She raised an eyebrow. “What are your gifts... normally?”

  “The usual ones, suggestion, telekinesis—”

  “Usual ones?” She sat up a little. “I don’t have telekinesis.”

  “You don’t?”

  She shook her head.

  “What do you have?” he asked.

  “Psycometry and suggestion, but my gift of suggestion isn’t as strong as say, Max’s.”

  “Hmm. I wonder why that is?”

  She shrugged. “I have no idea, but I love that I’m going to be able to move things with my mind.”

  Gunnar grinned. “We’ll practice after we shower.”

  “Can we practice in the shower?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Kenna slid off the bed and Gunnar followed. In the end, the tub beckoned and they skipped the shower, opting for making love in the tub. The emotions Kenna was experiencing couldn’t be put into words, so she let them swamp her, grateful she and Gunnar hadn’t waited any longer to be bound. Her love was absolute and she knew he felt the same.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE NEXT MORNING, Kenna led Gunnar out of the hotel, squeezing his hand as she grinned up at him. “I can’t wait for you to meet Angus and Fiona. My brother can be a bit of a bear at times, but Fiona’s lovely. She’s done loads of research about all of us, so I know she’ll want to ply you with questions. We’ve lost so much information in the past years, and we’re finding out much of what we were told was inaccurate at best.”

  Gunnar smiled. “She must visit our home, then. Everything’s archived there. Information as far back as just after the crucifixion of Christ.”

  “Shut up, really?”

  “Já. Kaspar even has some Aramaic texts and records. I don’t know where they came from, but they’re quite remarkable to see.”

  “Wow, that sounds amaz—”

  Before she could finish her thought, a sharp pain shot through her side and she fell to the ground.

  “Kenna!” Gunnar yelled, and dropped beside her as people screamed and ran for cover. “Skít! Cedrik!”

  “I’m on it, highness,” Cedrik bellowed as he rushed past them and into the crowd.

  “Kenna?” Gunnar whispered, checking her body to find the bullet wound.

  “I can’t breathe,” she rasped.

  “I know, baby. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He placed his palm over her chest and leaned over her for privacy as he worked to heal her. Work with me, Kenna.

  It hurts.

  I know, sweetheart, but it won’t hurt for long. Focus.

  What happened?

  You’ve been shot.

  “What?” she squeaked.

  “Shh, Kenna,” Gunnar admonished. “I need you to focus.”

  She closed her eyes and together they moved the bullet from her body and healed the lung it had pierced. As she felt her lung expand again, she gulped in as much air as she could.

  “Slowly, sweetheart, you don’t want to hyperventilate.”

  She nodded and licked her lips.

  “Feel good enough to get up?” he asked.

  “Aye, love,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  Gunnar had used his power of suggestion to keep the crowds away and he pulled her to her feet without anyone questioning her ability to walk after being shot in the chest. Kenna scowled down at her bloody shirt. “Bloody hell. I loved this top.”

  “We can buy you another top, sweetheart.” He slid out of his button-up, leaving him in a tight T-shirt, and handed it to her. “Put this on over it and we’ll head back to the room to change.”

  She nodded and did as he instructed. Before Gunnar could usher her back inside, however, the angry voice of Donnall Mann bellowed, “Where the hell is my wife?”

  Kenna gasped as he moved to strike her, but she shouldn’t have been concerned. Cedrik had him by the throat and up against the wall of the hotel within seconds, Donnall’s once concealed gun now on the ground beside him.

  Gunnar took Donnall from Cedrik and slammed his head against the brick.

  Don’t kill him, Gunnar.

  “Kenna, call the police,” Gunnar said, ignoring her suggestion.

  She nodded and pulled out her cell phone, dialing the officer who’d helped with Claire. “Officer Tarver? Hi, this is Kenna McFadden, ah, I’ve got a bit of a situation down here at the Balmoral. Claire Mann’s husband just attacked me. Aye, he’s detained right now. My ma—husband has him.” She bit her lip and grimaced at her near mis-speak. “Right. Yes, okay. Thank you.” She hung up and slid her phone back in her pocket. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

  “I shot you,” Donnall rasped. “I saw you go down.”

  “I don’t understand how you even found me,” Kenna said.

  “I followed you, you ignorant cow.”

  I can’t believe I was so stupid not to notice.

  You’re not stupid, sweetheart.

  She frowned up at Gunnar.

  “Let Cedrik take you up to the room, sweetheart,” he suggested. “You can change and I’ll take care of him until the police arrive.”

  “I don’t think I should leave you.”

  Gunnar chuckled. “I think it would be best that you are cleaned up and in something a little less bloody before they arrive.”

  “Right, good idea,” she said.

  He smiled gently. “I’ll sort out our story.”

  “I won’t be long.” She rushed back inside and up to their room, Cedrik rushing ahead to shield her if need be. No one bothered her, so she had a clear shot into their suite. After Cedrik checked the room, he left her alone and Kenna shoved her bloody clothes into a plastic bag. Tying the bag and hiding it in her suitcase, she took a quick shower and got dressed. She remembered to grab a new shirt for Gunnar and arrived in the lobby just before the officer and his partner walked inside.

  “Are you injured, Ms. McFadden?” Officer Tarver asked.

  I have the man in the security office. It’s right next
to the concierge desk.

  “No, I’m fine. Just a little shaken.”

  “Where is Mr. Mann?”

  “Back this way.” Kenna led the officers into the private area where Gunnar had Donnall controlled for the moment.

  Kenna slid into Gunnar’s arms as one of the officer’s cuffed Donnall and led him away. Officer Tarver took Kenna and Gunnar’s statements and then left them with a promise to follow up the next day.

  “How about we postpone lunch with your brother and his family, sweetheart?” Gunnar asked as they walked back into their suite.

  Kenna shook her head. “Do you mind if we don’t? I’d really like to see them.”

  He cupped her face and frowned. “Baby, I need to know you’re okay.”

  “I will be.” She bit back tears as the fright finally took hold. “I just need a distraction and they’re a really good distraction.”

  He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “If I think you need to be away from the chaos, elskan, we’re leaving.”

  Kenna couldn’t help but smile as she closed her eyes and burrowed into his chest. “I’m good with that.”

  Gunnar tipped her head back and kissed her gently. “You’re calming.”

  She nodded. “Aye, love. I’m okay.”

  He stroked her cheek and then gave her a nod. “The rule still stands.”

  Kenna chuckled. “I know, love.”

  He released her, buttoned up his clean shirt, and then led her out of the hotel.

  * * *

  One week later...

  Reykjavík, Iceland

  “Gunnar, it’s magnificent,” Kenna breathed out as she walked into his flat.

  They had arrived barely half an hour ago from the private airstrip in Reykjavík, and Kenna was still a little amped from their flight.

  Gunnar’s apartment had floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the Reykjavík Harbor, close to the Harpa Concert Hall. A modern kitchen opened into a great room and there were three bedrooms and three bathrooms, all on one floor.

  “It’s small, but it serves my purposes.”

  Kenna faced him. “If you think this is small, love, I wonder what you consider big.”