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

by Michele Bardsley

  He was a good friend. Besides Mia, he was her best friend. It wasn’t fair, but his willingness to share a long-term platonic friendship with her was what irritated her the most. She craved so much more with him, but it wasn’t an option. She’d suffered a horrifying, violent attack, and now she hated to be touched, so she hadn’t exactly tried to seduce him, to act on her fantasies. Besides, she was fairly certain he was gay. He never dated. In fact, he never so much as even gave any woman a second glance.

  Still, it wasn’t his fault that she’d been too busy wondering how long he’d taken to realize she’d given him the slip to watch where she was putting her feet. She’d veered off the edge of the trail, stumbled, and somehow ended up with her foot wedged in the roots of a tree.

  Caylee turned her head to look for a stick to use to pry apart the roots. She blinked. “No.” Eyes wide, she stared in disbelief. “Oh, no.”

  She had never, not even in her worst nightmare, imagined anything so gruesome. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. The woman’s throat was ripped out, her mouth gaped in a silent cry for help, and her lifeless eyes, opened wide, mirrored the terrible pain and suffering of a death that refused to come quickly. Screaming was Caylee’s first urge, but she knew that making her presence known was the worst thing she could do.

  She desperately wanted to look away from the carnage, but she couldn’t even blink. She tried to take a breath, but the stench in the air was so bad her throat was swollen shut. How hadn’t she noticed it before?

  Gasping for air, she clutched her chest. It felt tight. It was worse than uncomfortable. It was extremely painful. Her heart raced far too quickly, pushing adrenaline through her bloodstream, causing her entire body to shake. Feeling the sharp pain of Haden’s sudden intrusion in her mind, she winced, but she was too freaked out to recognize his presence or to hear his voice. She needed to get away! She needed to run! She tried to stand up, but since her foot was stuck she fell back onto her butt.

  She tried to pull her foot out, but it was no use. If she ran, her foot wasn’t going with her. Of course, leaving it behind wasn’t feasible. She had to calm down. She needed to think. It was easier said than done, but it was the only way she would have any hope of coming up with a plan.

  Within seconds, she heard Haden’s voice. She felt his presence enveloping her, surrounding her with protection and warmth. But it didn’t really make her feel better. She knew he wasn’t really there with her. In fact, she sensed he wasn’t close at all. She knew he was able to use spells to create illusions, but an illusion of safety wasn’t what she needed.

  Haden planned to use a spell to hide the dead body from her, but he needed to take her focus off it or it wouldn’t work. Listen to me, little love. I want you to close your eyes and take a breath.

  His voice was only a whisper, but it was a powerful command that forced her eyes to close, allowing her to escape the grisly sight. But dreading the thought of inhaling the stench of death, she struggled against the command to breathe and started to choke.

  Her fear pierced his heart so deeply that it was making him insane. He was moving faster than ever before, faster than he ever thought possible, but it wasn’t fast enough.

  The air surrounding you is pure. Just breathe. I’m so very close to you now. But not nearly close enough. Driven by ancient, savage instincts to protect her at any cost, he wouldn’t be close enough until he destroyed the vampire and she was safe in his arms.

  Believing Haden didn’t understand, Caylee continued to panic. The air wasn’t pure. The stench of decayed flesh was so strong she could taste it. Stomach rolling, mouthwatering, she struggled to hold her breath.

  Breathe.

  His voice was a whisper, but it was so powerful there was no fighting his command this time. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with his familiar scent. And just like that, defying the physical distance between them, she felt his strong arms holding her, protecting her.

  That’s it, little love—just keep breathing.

  Knowing he was so close was comforting until she realized his voice was way too calm considering the situation. He couldn’t fool her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew he was mad. She’d ditched him to teach him a lesson in manners. Sneaking out the backdoor, she’d left him sitting in his car in front of her best friend’s clothing boutique. It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Frowning, she bit her lower lip. It didn’t seem like such a great idea now. She didn’t want him to find her. Putting him in his place, challenging his self-proclaimed dictatorship over her every move was a great stress reliever and a distraction from what she really wanted to do to him. But she’d never pushed him this far before.

  She considered trying to hide from him. She was a strong woman. She didn’t need him. She could pull herself together and get out of the mess on her own. If it makes you feel better, feel free to try to hide, but it isn’t happening. She heard his temper hidden just beneath the amusement in his voice. She looked down at her foot and rolled her eyes. He was right. She wasn’t going anywhere. She looked over at the woman’s remains, but there was a barrier hiding it. Still, she knew what was behind the wall of strange black and silver flames. She wouldn’t even try to hide. Regardless of his mood, she didn’t want to be alone any longer.

  * * *

  Lured by Caylee’s mouth-watering scent, Paul was backtracking, returning to where he’d left the body of his last female victim. Cursed for all of eternity, he would never experience the peace of true contentment. His body would always crave more, need more, demand more. He was a vampire, a monstrous creature, a loveless, soulless, living corpse suffering the agony of a perpetual thirst for human blood.

  Recalling his previous killing, knowing he would soon kill again, gave Paul the most perverse joy any being would ever experience. Groaning aloud, he clutched his chest, taking great pleasure in the fact that the blood of his last victim sustained his corrupt heart. Oh yes, nothing was more magnificent than the ecstasy of ripping a screaming woman’s flesh to shreds and consuming every last savory drop of her blood. Lifting his head, he breathed deeply through his nostrils, inhaling the scent of his new quarry. It wouldn’t be long. She was less than a mile away. Soon, he would taste the sweet, exhilarating fear in her blood.

  Hearing Haden and feeling a surge of power, Paul stopped. There was no missing the fact that a demon was on the move. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. Immediately recognizing Haden’s scent, Paul opened his eyes. He’d gone to great lengths to avoid the demon for days. Paul smiled. It didn’t matter. Thanks to his supply of ancient demonic powers and abilities, Paul was confident he was considerably stronger than most vampires and able to hold his own in any fight against any demon. Besides, Haden was moving away from the area, and he was nowhere near the woman. There would likely be no need to fight. He would have more than enough time to drain her blood and leave the area long before the demon was able to interfere.

  Paul was about to attack Caylee, but he hesitated. Lifting his face, he studied the stormy sky. Something was off-kilter. Haden seemed to be moving away quickly. Too quickly. It was as if the demon didn’t know a vampire was in the area. It was a trick. Perhaps it was a trap. Haden was an ancient. There was no way he’d overlooked the fact that a vampire was in the area hunting. Demons never allowed vampires to hunt in peace. Cloaking his presence from Haden, a feat very few of his kind could perform, Paul waited to see what his enemy was really doing.

  About Candice Stauffer

  I live in Zeeland, Michigan, where half the year is winter and the other, much shorter half, is summer. It’s a wonderful place to live as long as you own a four-wheel drive vehicle and happen to get a kick out of measuring the snowfall in feet rather than inches.

  I write paranormal romance because I love to explore and manipulate the limitless possibilities of the genre. To be completely honest, I’m also very fond of taking a totally hot, powerful, immortal hero and using a strong, confident, beautiful heroine to turn
his world upside down and make him fight like hell for a victory that seems impossible to achieve. Some might call it torture. I call it entertainment and character building. Regardless, it’s great fun!

  I have a strong aversion for helpless heroines. Though she’s afraid, a heroine must always be willing to fight like hell—and, yes, even if the fighting is against the hero. I’m not sure why, but I tend to really enjoy it when the heroine fights against the hero. Putting a hero through the wringer builds personality, right?

  I’m often accused of being a little bit naughtier than nice and slightly rough around the edges. Okay, I lied—very rough around the edges. Life has been a challenge. But I’m grateful for every challenge I’ve faced. Through them, I’ve learned to focus on the goal rather than the walls surrounding it. Basically, I figure that as long as I enjoy life and do all I can to encourage and help the people around me enjoy life, it’s all good.

  To find out more about me, please visit my website:

  http://www.candicestaufferparanormalromanceauthor.com

  For the latest news, check out my Facebook page

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/CandiceStauffer-Paranormal-Romance-Author/135025903252623

  Table of Contents

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Bear Winter (The Pack Rules #8)

  Michele Bardsley

  Raging Winter: Max Denton Book 2 (The Gardella Vampire Hunters)

  Colleen Gleason

  Tristan’s Escape: A Belador Novella

  Dianna Love

  Christmas Flame (A Flame Series Book)

  Caris Roane

  Invisible Betrayal: Invisible Recruits Novella

  Mary Buckham

  White Whitchmas

  Dakota Cassidy

  Nether Blue

  Claudy Conn

  Fur Ever Yours

  Melanie James

  Christmas With The Beast

  Rebecca Hamilton & Conner Kressley

  Bite of Frost (A Dragon Blade Novella)

  Gena D. Lutz

  Fang Chronicles: Esha’s Story

  D’Elen McClain

  Her Dragon’s No Angel (A Dragon Guard Novella)

  Julia Lake Mills

  Winter Guardian

  Dawn Montgomery

  Dark Wolf Rising

  Stephanie Rowe

  Covert Cougar Christmas

  Terry Spear

  Lori’s Wolf Pack, Rolf’s Wicked Winter

  A K Michaels

  Ravished by the Alpha: A Christmas Cull (The Cull Book Three)

  Renee George

  Bound by Joy (A Cauld Ane Christmas Novella)

  Tracey Jane Jackson

  Choices

  H.M. McQueen

  Yule’s Fallen Angel

  Sky Purington

  Legendary Lover - Arctic Plunge

  Candice Stauffer