THE ALPHA'S DEFIANT MATE

re all familiar voices, the ones of people I loved. My legs refused to move as I stood frozen in the center of the carnage. The

their names one after the oth

realization dawned on me. They had been brutally murdered beyond

t my ribs. His eyes were golden and bright. It carried a ruthless and predator-like look that scared the li

his voice was smooth as silk, bu

pain shot through me as a set of claws sliced into my back. I gasped and tumbled for

oke

t. My hands trembled as I clutched the thin blanket that had draped down my

single night. The same scene, the same fear that wr

hand through my damp hair, f

just

e no matter how many years had passed. I was now twenty, bu

a sigh, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and pressed my bare feet against the cold wooden floor. My apartment wa

portantly,

two years wandering from town to town, barely staying long enough to settle. At some point, the exhaustion caught up to me. When I stumb

I never thought I wo

ed at the bookstore and always had her nose buried in a novel. The girl who never stayed out late or attended any soci

s. Just the way I wanted

nside me rebelled against it. The urge to run through the woods, to shift and feel the earth beneath my paws as I bas

aught my scent, my cover would be blown without any delay. So I buried that part of m

ightly from the remnants of my nightmare. I needed to get out of my head, so I stood to my feet, walk

face. I wanted the chill to wake me up into reality so I could stay focused. My reflection in the mirror wa

e myself anymore. I was

to sleep, I might as well get some work done. The bookstore was my sanctuary and abode. The scent of p

dim overhead lights. Books were lined on every shelf, stacked

work, unpacking and shelving them. The ro

ew it, dawn crept through the windows, and

my heart le

jingled as my boss, Mrs.

y again," she not

ouldn't sleep, so I decided

ch, dear. You should take some time for yourself. You nee

ke wo

er reason I liked Mrs. Porter. She doesn't pry, and she di

ook and stretched. "I'll go gr