Falling for an Alpha (5 page)

“Geez,
that has to be scary for her.”

“She
wants to find her ideal mate before that happens.”

“And
you’re thinking of me?”

He
usually protested when people tried to play matchmaker, but in all honesty the
wolf in him was convinced that the pretty young woman called Amber was indeed
his mate.

“I
think someone is more than interested,” said Sadie.

“Is
it that obvious?”

“Remember,
I’m a witch. Now all I need is for you to sign here to say you’re officially a
client of Perfect Pairing.”

“I’m
not signing over my soul, am I?”

“I’m
a good witch, always remember that. Now the Board told me to leave Maris be,
but I’m going to find her and I’m going to make her remove that curse from
you.”

He
took a depth breath, suddenly realizing his headache had improved.

“You’d
be my hero.”

“I’m
taking Amber to meet two former clients in Twin Falls tomorrow. I don’t suppose
you’d like to tag along so the two of you can have your first, well, informal
date.”

“Just
tell me what time and I’ll be there,” said Gabriel. He’d been seeing his mate
in person, in the flesh, and he couldn’t wait.

Chapter Five

Amber
had no idea that Sadie had invited someone else along for their trip. Not just
anyone, but the most handsome guy she’d ever seen.
Tall, dark,
and handsome.
She’d finally met her dream man. She wondered if this was
the one Sadie had mentioned.

“Gabriel,
say hello to Amber Maxwell. Amber, this is Gabriel Miller, who’s also coming
along for the ride. I thought it would give the two of you a chance to get to
know one another.”

So
this
was
the man that Sadie had
picked for her. The woman was a genius.

He
put his hand out to her. She slipped hers into his.
Firm
grip.
Her mom always said that was a good sign.
 
He had beautiful eyes that reminded her of
someone she’d recently met, but she couldn’t remember who it was.

“I’m
happy to meet you,” he said.

She
hadn’t realized she was still holding onto his hand until he spoke.

“Same here.”

He
opened the passenger door for her—something else her mother had always said was
a good sign—a man with old-fashioned manners.

“No,
you sit there because you’ve got longer legs and need the room. I can sit in
the back,” said Amber.

And muscular
thighs
.
How could a
woman not miss those?

“You
sure?” he asked.

“Positive.”

He
quickly opened the back door for her and she got in. He slid into the passenger
seat. She looked at his hair and the slight wave at the back. She was almost
tempted to run her fingers through it.

Sadie
got in and started the car.

“You
are both going to love Luc and
Katey
.”

“They
met through Perfect Pairing?” asked Gabriel.

“Of course.
Luc was set up
by his two army buddies, both of whom, I should add, were previous clients, too.
Katey
was training a dog for Luc and didn’t quite
catch on that she was a client, but I knew they were right for one another from
the beginning.”

“How
long have they been married?” asked
Amber.

“Has to be close to two years now.”

“Any
children yet?” asked Amber.

“Oh
yes, the cutest little guy named Alex. I’m his Godmother. In fact, I’m Godmother
to all the offspring of my clients. So I hope you guys remember that.”

Amber
suddenly felt her cheeks burning. Was she referring to them individually or as
a couple?

“So,
Amber, what do you do for a living?” His voice was deep and his question caught
her off guard.

“I
teach first grade.
How about you?”

“Paramedic.
 
Well, it’s sort of temporary because I’m
thinking of going to law school, but nothing’s for sure yet.”

He
glanced at her in the side mirror. She rubbed her cheeks, hoping if he could
see the burn caused by her blushing, she’d wipe away any evidence of it. His
green eyes were gorgeous, the cleft in his chin adorable.
 
She smiled and bit her lip. He was watching
her, not taking his eyes off of her. Almost like that wolf in the window.
Which reminded her…

“Sadie,
do you have a pet wolf?”

Gabriel
coughed.

“No,
my dear, why do you ask?”

“I
thought I saw one standing next to you when I drove away from your office
yesterday.”

“Ah,
that was my dog.”

“What
sort of dog is it?” she asked

“Husky.
I must admit from certain angles he does look like a wolf,” said Sadie.

“He’s
gorgeous. I’ll have to see him sometime,” said Amber.

Gabriel
coughed again.

“Sadie,
do you mind if we stop for a minute. I have to relieve myself. Too much coffee
at breakfast,” said Gabriel.

“Oh
yes, nothing worse than when nature comes calling,” said Sadie.

Amber
smiled. Sadie was quite the character, and the way she phrased things was a
hoot.

Sadie
pulled off to the side of the road, out of the stream of traffic. Gabriel
barely gave her a chance to stop the car before he opened the door and ran out
at full speed into the woods.

“Must
be very urgent,” said Sadie. “You know how men are, very weak bladders.”

Amber
smiled again, not seeing a trace of Gabriel, and thinking he must have gone
deep into the wooded area. Maybe he was afraid she and Sadie would see him and he
didn’t want to embarrass them.

“What
do you think of Gabriel?” asked Sadie, turning around to look at her.

“
Cute,
and he seems really nice.”

“A potential date perhaps?”

She
wasn’t going to play coy.

“I
think so, yes. Well, that’s if he’s interested in me.”

“Oh,
he most definitely is, you should have seen…”

“Seen
what?”

“He’s
taking a long time so maybe I should go check on him. Sometimes the woods can
be dangerous.”

“You
want me to go?”

“No,
no, you stay here and listen to some music while I’m gone.”

Sadie
turned on the radio and then got out and ran into the woods. Amber watched her
disappear between the trees. Just like her own mother, worrying about everyone.
Amber sat back and listened to the music, as Sadie suggested.

****

Damn!
Of all the times to feel like this.
Gabriel walked
deeper into the woods, fearing he was going to shift. He had that woozy feeling
again. Sweat broke out on his forehead. At least he was beginning to sense when
he was about to shift, which was a plus.

 
A tingle went through his body, setting his
nerve endings on high alert. Someone was behind him. He turned to see Sadie
standing there.

“For
one awful minute, I thought you were Amber. I don’t want her to see me change
like this.”

“I
guessed what might be happening to you,” said Sadie.

“Am
I ever going to be able to control this thing?”

“You
already know when it’s going to happen so that’s a step in the right
direction.”

But why now,
when I’m getting to know Amber?

“Amber
tells me she thinks you might be a good match for her.
 
So what do you think?”

Blood
surged through him and his heart beat faster at the thought that maybe someone
out there would accept him as her mate. Gabriel finally gave in and slumped to
the ground. The world was spinning around and he was going to throw up.

“Have
you told her about me? I
mean,
my dilemma?”

“No,
because once I find Maris, she’s going to be forced to reverse her spell, and
no one need ever know about this.”

He
closed his eyes. “But what if…”

“Amber’s
going to like you for both man and wolf. You’re a good man and you have a good
soul. Believe me when I say I can see it. It’s probably why Mavis targeted you.
Sometimes good attracts evil.” Sadie got onto the ground with him. “Remember
what I told you? What to do when you feel like you’re shifting.”

Gabriel
took a deep breath.

“Amber’s
going to wonder where we are. This isn’t a good start.” He set his body down on
the leaves, giving into the inevitable. The wolf was about to break free.

“No,
she won’t. I’ve turned on the radio and added a little spell to the music.
She’ll think we’ve only been gone a couple of minutes.”

Chapter Six

Gabriel
had spent the rest of the journey to Twin Falls telling Amber and Sadie about
his days in the Marines. Every now and then, he’d glance at Amber in the side
mirror and she’d smile, hoping he’d seen it. There had to be some catch,
something had to be wrong with him, because, one, why didn’t he already have a
wife or girlfriend? And two, why did he need the assistance of a dating agency?
She tried to think of logical answers, but came to the conclusion that he was
damn near Mr. Perfect, and she was one lucky lady.

Sadie
pulled into a house in a cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Twin Falls.

“This
is my first time here, so I’m anxious to see their new home,” she said, turning
off the ignition.

The
three of them got out and headed to the door. Sadie rang the bell. Through the
glass panel Amber could see someone approaching, and then a pretty woman with
long, dark hair opened it.

“Sadie,
it’s so great to see you again.” Sadie hugged her and she kissed Sadie on the
cheek.

“Gabriel,
Amber, this is
Katey
.
Katey
, Gabriel and Amber.”
They
shook hands and followed Sadie inside.

“Come
on back to the patio. Luc and Alex and one of our neighbor’s sons are out there
playing
Candyland
.”

When
they got outside, Amber saw a handsome, dark-haired man sitting with a toddler
on his lap, and a boy in a wheelchair beside him. A German shepherd sat beside
him but jumped up and barked directly at Gabriel.

“Willow,
no, quit that!” said
Katey
.

Willow
backed down so Gabriel put his hand out, allowing the dog to lick it.

“Auntie
Sadie,” said the toddler as he slid off his dad’s lap. He was so cute that
Amber couldn’t do anything but smile.

“Luc,
this is Amber and Gabriel.”

Luc
stood up and Amber noticed a scar his forehead.

“I’m
pleased to meet both of you. You want to sit down.”

“Yes,
sit, everyone, and I’ll go get some drinks,” said
Katey
.

Sadie
was the first to sit and Alex climbed on her lap and began playing with her
necklace.

“I
don’t think you’re Alex, you’re too big to be him,” said Sadie.

“It’s
me,” he said, sticking his finger in his chest.

Sadie
put on her glasses and pretended to take another look at him.

“Ah,
now I see it’s you. And who is this very handsome young man sitting over there?”

Sadie
was referring to the little boy in the wheelchair who Amber guessed had cerebral
palsy.

“This
is Conrad,” said Luc.

“I
live down the road, and
Katey’s
going to get me a dog
like Willow.”

Willow
barked and Conrad patted him on the head.
Katey
walked back out with a tray containing a pitcher of what looked like pink
lemonade, five glasses, and two tippy cups. Luc got up and took the tray from
her,
then
he poured everyone a glass of lemonade.

“My
dad was in the army like Luc was, but my dad got killed,” said Conrad.

“I’m
sorry to hear that,” said Gabriel.

“Sadie
tells me you’re an ex-Marine,” said Luc.

“That’s
right, and my brother, too.”

“That’s
great that both of you could serve your country,” said
Katey
.

“Amber,
do you want to take a walk with me and Willow while Sadie and
Katey
catch up on all the gossip? And Gabriel, these two
guys are itching to finish our game here. But watch them because they cheat,”
said Luc.