Alpha Temptation: Sanmere Shifters Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  “Where is she?” Callin asked again.

  “It doesn’t matter where she is,” Riley said. “You can’t just take her. I’m sorry, Callin, but I’m a businessman and I’m not in the habit of making exceptions for that. For anyone.”

  Callin was well aware of this.

  “I’m not asking you to make an exception,” Callin said. “Name your price.”

  “She’s already sold,” Riley said.

  “I don’t care. What’s he paying you? I’ll double it,” Callin said.

  “Callin,” Riley said in the sort of tone people used to try to reason with children. “It’s not just about the money. It’s about my reputation. If my buyer gets here and his mate is gone, what do you think that will do for my business?”

  “I couldn’t give a fuck about your business,” Callin said. “And as for your reputation, you sell women for a living. Do you really think your reputation could get any worse than the truth? You have until the count of ten to tell me where she is, or I’m going to tear this place apart.”

  “Calm down,” Riley said, raising his hands in mock surrender. Callin stayed on his guard. He knew Riley could go for him at any moment. “Let me make a call. I’ll explain to my client that something has come up and offer him a discount off a future mate, and…”

  “I don’t think so,” a voice said from behind them. Callin and Riley both turned to face the newcomer. “I have already paid the deposit on the mate you promised me and she will be mine. I can’t believe you were trying to stab me in the back, Riley.”

  “Michael, good to see you,” Riley said, unfazed by the threat. “Now, don’t be so melodramatic. No one was stabbing you in the back. There’s been a mistake. The girl you originally bid on is actually with Callin. Valerie brought her to me for some reason I haven’t fathomed yet and she neglected to mention that part.”

  “That’s not my problem,” the newcomer said.

  “It is now,” Callin said.

  He wasn’t going to wait any longer. It was him against the two of them and he needed the element of surprise to pull this off. As he spoke, he began to turn, and within seconds, he was gone, replaced by a large, red dragon. He roared, unleashing the beast from within him, and fire flew from his nostrils. The newcomer jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding being fried, and within seconds, he, too, turned and Callin found himself facing off with a huge, black bear.

  The bear growled low in his throat and ran at Callin. Callin took in a breath, ready to unleash more flames, but the bear was fast and the space was too small for Callin to move as freely as he would have liked to. The bear managed to raise a paw and he raked his claws down Callin’s chest. Callin roared again as pain exploded through him. The bear kept moving, ducking behind Callin.

  Callin managed to turn part of the way around in the tiny gap as claws raked over his rump. He was ready this time, and partway through his turn, he swiveled only his head and unleashed another blast of fire. The fire flooded over the bear and the bear went down, his fur on fire. An unearthly scream echoed from the bear.

  Callin turned clumsily again, looking for Riley. He spotted him, but Riley was still in his human form. His dragon didn’t care—he wanted to fry Riley for what he had done—but Callin chose to listen to his head. He turned back into human form himself, although he was primed to revert straight back to his dragon if this turned out to be a trick.

  “You’re not man enough to fight me?” Callin demanded, his dragon’s anger still influencing him.

  “I am,” Riley said. “But I’m also man enough to honor the deal instead. Michael is out of action and you did say you were willing to pay double for the girl. I’m a man of honor and I won’t charge you double, just what Michael was going to pay. Are you still open to that deal?”

  Callin thought about it. His dragon instincts wanted him to take Riley down so that this couldn’t happen to anyone else. But Riley was older than him and therefore likely much more powerful than he was. And Callin knew there was a better than average chance he would get himself killed if he got into a fight with Riley. He could make his peace with that if it saved Brianne, but he knew it wouldn’t. Riley would simply sell her to the second-place bidder in his auction. He could choose instead to be the bigger man. To pay the fee and save Brianne. And he could deal with Riley later when he could return with some back-up.

  “I’m open to it,” Callin said.

  “It’s a million dollars,” Riley said. He reached into his pocket and Callin instantly tensed up, thinking Riley was about to pull out some sort of a weapon. Instead, Riley pulled out a small sheet of paper which he held out to Callin. “That’s my account details. Transfer the money into that account and she’s yours.”

  Callin looked at the numbers on the sheet of paper, debating what to do. He glanced up at Riley, who stood watching him encouragingly. Callin knew he had to do this. As wrong as it felt financing a man like Riley, he had to do it. And he believed that once he paid, Brianne would be released as promised. Riley was in this to make money, and he didn’t care who gave it to him. He would honor the deal.

  Callin pulled his cell phone out and called his bank. After a couple of security questions and a bit of back and forth, the transfer was done. Callin ended the call and looked at Riley.

  “It’s done. Check your account,” he said.

  Riley had already pulled his cell phone out as Callin ended his call. He tapped on the screen and smiled up at Callin.

  “So it is,” he said. “Please go on through to the living room and the girl will be brought to you.”

  Callin opened his mouth to protest, but Riley shook his head.

  “That’s the way it works. Take it or leave it,” he said.

  Callin resisted the urge to attack the man. He was so close to getting Brianne back and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the deal because of his own damned impatience. With great effort, Callin moved toward the door Riley had pointed to. He went into the elegant living room, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he paced the floor, trying to keep his dragon under control.

  If he screws me over, or he’s hurt Brianne in any way, I’ll torch this whole fucking house, Callin thought to himself as he paced.

  He heard footsteps approaching and he turned to face the door, ready to turn at a second’s notice. Riley stepped into the room, Brianne a step behind him. Callin felt relief flood him at the sight of her. At a quick glance, she didn’t look like she was hurt. She smiled at him, her expression of horror turning to joy when she saw it was Callin who was waiting for her.

  “You found me,” she said.

  “Of course,” he nodded. “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” she said. “How did you…?”

  “Let’s go,” Callin said, hating that he was cutting her off and acting so cold, but desperate to get her out of that house and back to his place where she would be safe.

  Brianne seemed to understand as she nodded her head and stepped a little cautiously away from Riley. Riley made no move to stop her. He even stepped to the side so that Callin could pass him easily.

  “This isn’t over,” Callin said to him as he passed by.

  “I assume that was meant as a threat which I’m going to ignore, and instead, offer you some advice,” Riley said. “You’re right. This isn’t over. But not between me and you. Between you and Valerie. Do you really think Valerie is going to welcome this girl into the pack with open arms after she was the one who delivered her to me? Just something for you to think about.”

  Callin didn’t want to hear any more. He didn’t even want to think about what Riley had said, although now that he had heard the words, he saw instantly that they were the truth. In that moment, he didn’t care. All he cared about was taking Brianne home and being with her. He would worry about the rest later.

  He took Brianne’s hand in his, marveling at the fact that even now under these circumstances, the feeling of her skin against his sent shivers running through his body. He ignored the feeling
, staying alert, as he led Brianne out of the house and to his car. He opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to get in and then he shut the door and went around to the driver’s side and got in. He fired up the engine and drove away.

  “Who was that man? The one who got burned?” Brianne asked him as he drove.

  “He wasn’t a good guy, Brianne. He was a bear shifter who had come to buy you from Riley. I explained the situation to him, but he insisted he was taking you. I couldn’t let that happen,” Callin said, praying she understood that and didn’t think he was a monster.

  She smiled a little.

  “You saved me,” she said.

  She understood. Callin felt relief flood his body.

  “I told you that you would always be safe with me, Brianne, and I meant it. I only wish I could have stepped in sooner, but it didn’t even occur to me that Valerie would pull a stunt like this.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Because Valerie couldn’t resist bragging about what she had done,” Callin explained. “Look, Brianne, if you want out of this world, I get it. I would hate to lose you, but I will understand. I can take you somewhere safe and you can leave the state, and…”

  “I don’t want to leave the state, Callin. I want to be with you,” Brianne said. “I love you.”

  Callin judged he was far enough away from Riley’s place to pull over safely. He knew he wasn’t being followed. He pulled the car up to the curb and turned to face Brianne, who also turned in her seat and smiled at him with tears shining in her eyes.

  “I love you too, Brianne. More than you will ever know,” he said.

  He closed the gap between them, pulling Brianne into his arms and kissing her. She kissed him back hungrily, her arms wrapping around him. He didn’t want the kiss to end, but he had to pull away, because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from making love to Brianne right there in the car. And the road they were on was pretty busy and not the sort of place they could do that.

  “My place?” Callin said.

  Brianne nodded breathlessly and Callin pulled away again. He drove as quickly as he could without breaking too many laws, and pulled up outside of his apartment building. He was confident Valerie wouldn’t be here and if she was, the way he felt right now, he would tear the bitch limb from limb.

  He led Brianne up to his apartment. He had pictured himself closing the door and then making love to her on the ground the second it closed, but instead, he found that he just wanted to hold her. To hold her and ask her a very important question. He took her hand in his and led her to the couch where they sat down facing each other. Callin’s knee brushed against hers every time one of them moved a little and he could feel his body responding to the touch.

  “Brianne, I love you with all of my heart, and I really want to spend eternity with you. I understand that’s a big ask, but if you can’t do eternity, then please spend the rest of your human life with me. What I mean is, Brianne Ellison, will you be my mate?” Callin said.

  “Yes,” Brianne said without hesitation. “I’ll be your mate.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him, but she pulled away from the kiss when Callin’s hand started to move down her body and between her legs. She smiled at him.

  “I’ll be your mate for eternity,” she said.

  “You mean you’re willing to become a shifter?” Callin said, hardly daring to believe he had heard her correctly.

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “Now?”

  “Now.”

  Callin couldn’t believe how this day had turned out. It had gone from being the worst day of his life when he thought he had lost Brianne for good, to being the best day of his life now that she was here and telling him she wanted eternity with him.

  There was just one more thing he had to do. Something he should have done a long time ago, but had never felt strong enough for. But now, with Brianne by his side, he felt strong enough to do it. He was going to get his pack back.

  14

  Brianne turned back to her human form, marveling at how easy it felt to flit between her human form and her newfound dragon form. When she was a dragon, she was huge yet graceful. Her silver-colored scales had felt a little strange at first, but she had soon gotten used to the feeling of them. She had felt so powerful, so strong, and Callin hadn’t exaggerated when he told her that all of her senses would be heightened. She had been able to see and hear things she had never expected to. Like the ants walking through the grass, their tiny feet pitter-pattering on the soil beneath them. She could smell hundreds of different scents in the air, and she had found that she could easily isolate a single one and identify it with very little effort.

  Callin smiled at her as she looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  She could hardly believe she had been flying. When Callin had asked her if she meant now and she had said yes, he had taken her out to some deserted grassland that he explained his pack owned so no one could develop on or near it. He had turned her once they got to the deserted plain.

  It had been painful—first a scratch and then a bite from Callin—but that pain hadn’t even come close to the pain she had felt when her body turned into a dragon for the first time. Her bones had all broken, her tendons stretching and snapping, and scales bursting through her skin. Her wings bursting through her shoulder blades had been so agonizing, she had thought she would lose consciousness. But Callin had warned her it would be painful, and that it only hurt the first time.

  And the joy she had felt as she flew around in a tight circle above the wasteland had more than made up for the pain, as had the knowledge that she and Callin could now be together forever. Literally forever.

  “It’s indescribable, isn’t it? The freedom. The power. The utter joy,” Callin said.

  Brianne nodded, not even trying to find the words to describe how she had felt in her dragon form. Even now, back in her human form, she could still feel the dragon stirring inside of her, lending her its power and its confidence and making her feel better than she had ever felt in her whole life.

  “So, I’ll stop aging at twenty-nine?” Brianne asked.

  Callin nodded and smiled at her.

  “Yup. So you’d better make the most of being younger than me, because you’ll catch up to me in a few years’ time,” he said.

  Brianne laughed and kissed him. He kissed her back, but she could feel that there was something missing from the kiss, that Callin was distracted. She pulled back from him slightly and frowned.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I was just thinking,” Callin said with a sigh. “About the pack and about how Valerie is never going to accept us. It’s time, Brianne. It’s time for me to challenge her and take the pack back.”

  “Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” Brianne asked.

  Callin nodded his head.

  “Yes,” he said. “There’s a chance she might kill me, or exile me from the district. But I have to try. I thought I would be happy to walk away from the pack, with it just being you and me, and in some ways, that still sounds like the right way forward. But the pack is my family, and I’ve stood by and let them down for far too long. It’s time for me to man up and take back what is mine and free the pack from Valerie’s clutches.”

  Brianne felt adrenaline flood her body. She was scared for Callin, but the dragon inside of her had other ideas. The dragon inside of her was ready to stand by Callin’s side through this and fight.

  “Do you really think she’ll kill you?” Brianne asked.

  “If she wins, yes. Exiling me won’t be enough of a punishment, because Valerie knows that as long as I have you, I’ll be happy wherever I am. But here’s the thing. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am strong enough to fight her. Because now I have something worth fighting for,” Callin said.

  He smiled at Brianne and then he kissed her, and this time, there was nothing missing from the
kiss. When they pulled apart, they were both panting. Callin groaned in frustration.

  “I would give anything to make love to you right now, Brianne, but first, I have to sort this thing out with Valerie,” he said.

  “And when you kick her ass, we’ll come back out here and finish what we started,” Brianne added.

  “And we’ll go flying again. It’ll be dark soon and we can fly right across the city if you want to,” Callin said.

  “I do,” Brianne said quickly. “I can’t wait to get back up there again.”

  Callin led Brianne back to the car and pulled out his cell phone. Brianne watched him as he tapped away on the screen. He put the cell phone down and glanced at her.

  “I’ve texted Lucian. He’s the pack’s beta, but he’s like a father to me and he’s loyal to me. I have told him what happened and asked him to gather the pack because I am about to challenge Valerie for the leadership,” Callin explained to her.

  He put the car into drive and pulled away, heading further out of the city.

  “Where are we going?” Brianne asked.

  “To another spot like this one. Only more secretive. It’s the place we only go to for the most important pack meetings. The ones that we can’t risk a human stumbling into,” Callin said.

  Brianne understood the implication of his words more than she wanted to. What he really meant was it was somewhere the dragons went when they wanted to fight. A place that no one would stumble across and witness a dragon fight in action.

  She closed her eyes, resting her head back on the seat. She tried to squash her fear over this, telling herself Callin was strong enough to beat Valerie. He was strong enough to beat anyone.

  Brianne woke up when a warm hand shook her shoulder gently. Night had fallen as she slept and she was sitting upright. She groaned slightly as she came fully awake and remembered where she was and why she was here.

  “Lucian has just texted me. The pack, including Valerie, have all gathered. It’s time, Brianne,” Callin said. “You can wait here if you want to.”