Falling for an Alpha (4 page)

“I
thought it was a joke. That she was a joke.”

“I’m
here to help you, and I’ve been instructed by the Board of Witches to assist
you in any way I can.”

“Board of Witches?”

“Gabriel,”
she grabbed both his hands. “I’m a witch too, but you can’t tell anyone.”

“I
don’t think anyone would believe me even if I did.”

“You’ll
feel strange the first couple of times you change into a
wolf,
and you might not be able to control it, but I’m going to help you with that,
too.”

His
head began pounding. He felt his body almost floating above the ground. Hell,
he felt just like this when he’d been washing his truck last night.

“Gabriel,
can you hear me?” It was Sadie’s voice but she sounded miles away now.

“Hang
on, Gabriel. I think you’re about to shift, so
hold
my
hand and squeeze tight.”

Gabriel’s
eyelids fluttered and he wondered just where the hell he was going again.

Chapter Four

Maybe
this was stupid. Maybe she’d panicked after her doctor’s appointment. Maybe you
were supposed to let your true love find you, and not go through some
matchmaking agency. However, if she truly believed that, then why had she made
the effort to come to the Perfect Pairing office and keep her appointment with
Sadie?
 
It wasn’t as if the woman had
compelled her to do it.

Amber
stepped into the building’s lobby and eyed the elevator. She could take it. She
was feeling tired today due to the lack of sleep worrying about what was ahead
for her. Nope, she’d take the stairs up to Suite 368 and burn some carbs.

Amber
got to the third floor and found the door with “Perfect Pairing” in gold
lettering staring back at her. Was she really going to do this? What if she
hated the guy they matched her with? What if they couldn’t find her the perfect
match?

We can, have no
fear about that.

Amber
had been pretty sure that was Sadie’s voice inside her head and not her own.
Perhaps she should check her blood sugar. Oh come on now, what have I got to
lose?
 
Sadie might have a guy who’s tall,
dark, and handsome just waiting for me?

She
walked across the hall to the office, pushed the door open, and went inside. No
one was around, but the door to what was obviously a side office was ajar and
she could hear two people talking.

“Hello,”
she called out.

Sadie
appeared a few seconds later.

“Amber, so nice to see you again.
Now you sit
yourself down on the couch and I’ll get my forms and questionnaire so we can go
through all the paperwork. Can I get you something to drink? I have tea or some
fresh-squeezed lemonade.”

“Tea
sounds good, no sugar though.”

“You
make yourself comfortable and I’ll be back before you know it.”

Sadie
sang as she walked away and pushed the door to the side office open just a
little more. She didn’t go inside but continued walking to the back of the
office.
 
Amber looked at the photos on
Sadie’s desk—lots of babies, cute ones. Babies were so cute. Hopefully, she’d
have one of those while she still had her sight so she could see what her child
actually looked like.

“Here
you
go,
a nice herbal tea.”

She
took it from Sadie and placed it on the coaster in front of her. Sadie sat on
the chair beside her and thumbed through some papers.

“I’ve
highlighted our policies. Please read it and then sign this for me, as my
accounting department requires all my paperwork
be
in
order.”

Amber
took it from her and skimmed through it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so
she signed her name and dated it. Sadie took it from her and slipped it into a
folder.

“What
do you do for a living?” asked Sadie.

“I
teach first grade.”

“Educating
the next generation, that’s very commendable.
Now to our
questionnaire.
I’ve already filled in your name. My first question
is,
what qualities do you like best in a man?”

Amber
took a sip of tea before answering. “Sense of humor is a must for me.”

Sadie
smiled and wrote that down.
“Anything else?”

“Reliability, and in my case, someone
who will be there when times get tough.
I know that’s asking a lot, but
I’m hoping there might be at least one man out there who doesn’t mind getting
involved with someone with medical issues.”

“Of
course there is, sweetie. Now, physical characteristics, any particular look
you like?”

“Tall, dark, and handsome.
Does that sound
shallow?”

“Oh,
I think we can find someone who fits the bill. In fact, I’m thinking of one
gentleman in particular as we speak.”

“Really?”

“What
are your favorite types of dates?”

“Movies and hiking.
Oh, and I love
camping.”

“My
goodness, this is getting better and better.”

“It
is?”

“I
think I might already have someone in mind.”

Amber
smiled, too. Maybe coming here had been the right thing to do.

****

Gabriel’s
heart missed a beat. He’d felt it, he’d actually damn well felt it. He took
another look at the young woman talking to Sadie. There it was again—missed
heartbeat. Thump. It was back to normal. It happened the first and second time
he’d looked at her.

He
pressed his back against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. He could smell
her, too. Not just the perfume she was wearing, but her own scent. It was
downright sexy, it made his nose twitch, and his cock sit up and take notice.

Gabriel
needed another look just to satisfy his craving. He peeked around the door. She
was pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Thump, thump, thump. No
missed beat this time, just his heart working double-time to send the blood
around his body. He’d read that wolves know straightaway when they find their
mate. Maybe that’s what was happening here because he’d never been the type of
guy who believed in love at first sight. Now he did. The wolf in him had found
its mate.

His
head thumped as well as his heart.

Was he about to
shift?

He
wasn’t sure. Gabriel still couldn’t quite believe that Mavis White had been a
witch and that he’d been foolishly lured into her twisted game.

 
This time he didn’t feel woozy and lightheaded
like the day before, but he was scared nevertheless.
 
He’d focus on the pretty young woman and try
to forget about what was happening inside him.

Her
scent was getting stronger. Or perhaps it was his detection of her getting
stronger. Maybe the wolf was about to spring forth. She crossed her legs,
flashing very curvy thighs. His cock grew harder.

 
He’d never liked skinny women, ones you took
out who were afraid to eat anything but a lettuce leaf. He bet this young woman
was cuddly and soft to hold. She’d keep him warm just like the wolves had done
when he’d been naked and cold that night in the canyon.

With
his nose in the air, he took a deep breath. He felt the urge to join his body
to hers. Wow, that was a weird way of thinking about having sex with her.

Maybe
the wolf within him was now only focused on mating. What would sex be like now that
he was part man, part wolf? Better?
 
Or not so great?
He hoped the latter was true.

She
shifted on the couch. Such pretty hair, the way it cascaded over her pretty shoulders.
Could shoulders be pretty? Maybe not, but hers were.

His
brain was spinning, his mind turning over too many thoughts almost
simultaneously. He could hear them clunking around in his head. When you made a
deal with the devil, or in this case a witch, there certainly was hell to pay. He
might just lose his mind and go crazy.

She
licked her lips. He wanted to taste them. He licked his own. His cock pulsated,
causing him to rub his hand along his crotch, the thick material of his jeans
scraping the palms of his hands, adding to the sudden and scary sensory
overload.

Gabriel
wanted to unzip his fly, slide his hand inside, and go to work on his cock
while he watched her through the crack in the door.
Highly
inappropriate to jerk off here in Sadie’s office.
Shit, what if that’s
what he did from now on, jerked off in places like restaurants, even at work?

Gabriel
slid to the ground, hearing his heart pounding in his ears. He wanted that
young woman so bad and he was going to have her—because a wolf always gets his
mate.

****

Amber
liked Sadie. Despite every bad thing that was happening to her, spending the
last twenty minutes with her had brightened Amber’s day. She’d arranged for
Amber to travel with her to meet Luc and
Katey
. Both
were former clients, and best of all, Luc knew what Amber would be facing
because he’d also lost his vision.
Katey
could probably
help her with obtaining a guide dog.
 
Plus,
Sadie had told her she had a client who might be a perfect match for her. Yeah,
she felt a whole lot better than when she’d first entered the building.

She
got in her car and looked up at the window of Sadie’s office. Sadie stood there
looking down into the parking lot. A dog stood beside her, his paws resting on
the window ledge.

No,
wait a minute, that wasn’t a dog. That was a wolf. She knew a wolf when she saw
one.This
wolf was beautiful with his grey and white
markings, the most beautiful one she’d ever seen. But what was Sadie doing with
a wolf in her office? Amber had to admit Sadie came across as a little
eccentric, so maybe she kept one as a pet.

She
glanced up at the window again. Sadie was gone but the wolf was still there
watching her. Yes, she was sure he was spying on her. Not eyeing her as prey,
but looking at her in a seductive way.

Amber
burst out laughing, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. Had she really
imagined that a wolf was eyeing her seductively? Maybe it was the new
medication she was taking.

****

Sadie
stroked his head. “Okay, Gabriel, nice, deep breaths. Just relax and let the
wolf retreat.”

Would
he ever get the hang of this shifting between man and beast?

“Count
to three—one, two, three,” said Sadie.

The
woman was great. He wasn’t panicking this time but he was still scared out of
his mind. What if he couldn’t change back?

He
went to the ground, shaking, feeling the fur on his back gradually retreat, his
canines grow shorter, and miraculously his paws were becoming hands again. Gabriel,
the man, was back, and damn, he had no clothes on. He put his hands in front of
his private bits and looked up at Sadie.

“You
think you could fetch my clothes for me?” he asked her.

“I
sure can, but don’t be afraid of being buck naked around me. I’ve seen a lot
worse in the Other Realm.”

He
sat up while she went to the other room and then came back with his underwear, T-shirt
and jeans. She set them on the ground and she turned around without being asked.
He dressed quickly, zipping up the jeans as relief washed over him. He had a
thumping head again but at least this time he wasn’t in the middle of the canyon,
and the bottle of aspirin was in his back pocket.

“So
what’s this Other Realm like?” he asked.

Sadie
turned back.
“Similar to the mortal world.”

“There
was me thinking you’d say it was like ‘Never
Never
Land’.”

“It’s
not quite that, but it’s not boring, which reminds me I have a 2:00 p.m.
meeting there to discuss your situation.”

“You
can tell them I’m pissed at the rogue witch. I smell and hear everything
tenfold. And my head feels like someone’s taken a hammer to it.”

“I
know, you poor dear, but I’m going to take care of everything. Now I did see
you eyeing Amber while she was here. Yes, I spotted you through the crack in
the door. Nothing gets by Sadie. And when you were watching her from the
window, your fur stood up.”

Gabriel
coughed. At least she hadn’t spotted something else that had stood up on his
body.

“Amber,
that’s a pretty name,” he said quickly.

“She
is going through a transition, like you.”

“Transition?
Don’t tell me
she also made a deal with Mavis White.”

“She’s
a diabetic and the doctor thinks she’s going to lose her sight.”