Alpha’s Moon: A special forces shifter romance (Shifter Ops series Book 1)

Sadie

My belly is full of butterflies on the day of the wedding trip. I only told my friends about my plus-one to the wedding but not my dad or even Scott, who tried very hard to get me to drive with him. I knew if I told Scott, he’d go running to my dad, and I didn’t want to deal with the mountain of judgement that would crash down on my head over associating myself so closely with what my dad would clearly describe as an unsavory character.

The day dawns bright and beautiful. I take a long shower and shave my legs. I can take my time because I’m not rushing off to school. I left the substitute for my class with full lesson plans, so everything should be fine in there. So long as she or he has experience with younger students.

I consider things, and then I shave a little extra. I packed my good underwear. I tell myself the extra silky thongs are so I don’t show panty lines under the bridesmaid dress. Sure they are. My ovaries aren’t fooled.

For the drive, I’m in a sweater and yoga pants and my cute grey faux fur lined boots that double as hiking boots. The resort has private trails, and I’m sure Deke and I will have time to slip away and hike one of them. I get the feeling he likes nature. I remember how nice it was when he took me to the bridge on his bike.

If we have some time alone, will he cash in on the favor again? Ask for a kiss… or something more?

I’m sure we can work something out.

Maybe I should ask him. Just tell him what I want. I’ll make it clear I have no expectations. That I know it’s not a real date. That he’d be doing me another favor. The resort has a spa and outdoor hot tub. I packed a bikini just in case.

And I won’t let Scott spoil our fun. I’m hoping he’ll see Deke with me and leave me alone the rest of the weekend.

“Don’t you want to play?” crackles a creepy voice in the corner. I jump and whirl at the same time, but it’s only the stupid Jackalope toy in the corner. It’s been malfunctioning, going off at odd moments unprompted, so I brought it home from my classroom. Probably shouldn’t have bought it from a sketchy knockoff toy warehouse online.

A roar of an engine outside gives me a shiver. Deke. I toss the Jackalope into my bedroom closet and grab my suitcase.

Deke’s car is a big, black, boxy-style Mercedes with a suped up engine. Loud and growly, like his bike. He’s already out of the driver’s seat and coming around to meet me. He’s wearing his usual biker man outfit—big boots and faded T, black jeans and bad ass smirk. Of course, he’s not dressing up for the weekend.

Oh my God—I was nuts to ask him to be my date. The entire wedding party will think I’ve lost my mind.

Have I? I may have. My sexy little pink thong’s already wet. I fumble with my keys but by some miracle lock the door and race down to meet him.

“Deke.” I’m so short compared to him, I have to dance up on my toes to greet him. I throw my arms around his neck because I’m absurdly glad to see him. Because I want to thank him for doing this favor for me.

He stiffens for just a moment, and I realize I’ve overstepped. It’s not a real date, of course. I shouldn’t act so friendly. But then he wraps a big hand around the back of my neck, tugs me to tiptoe and kisses me right there in front of my townhouse. In broad daylight, in front of my neighbors—and after a second with my lips pressed to his firm ones, I don’t care. His mouth is warm on mine, dominating but not demanding. His breath is a little minty.

He tilts me backwards, so I’m just the tiniest bit off balance. Without thinking, I drop my suitcase and grab on to his giant biceps to hang on. His cock bulges in his pants, twitching against my belly.

I’d happily call the whole weekend off just so we can stand here and smooch. He breaks the kiss but doesn’t back away. Instead he presses his forehead to mine for a moment.

“Sadie,” his deep voice rumbles through me. His eyes are bright green in the sunlight. My ovaries swoon.

He backs up and helps me straighten, picking my suitcase up and supporting me with his free hand at my back.

Oh my.

“Good idea,” I say breathlessly once I’m in the car and Deke’s returned from putting my suitcase in the back. He also held the door for me and buckled me in, which is good because my limbs are jelly after that kiss. My heart is still fluttering. My ovaries are still out cold. “We should practice being boyfriend and girlfriend, just in case people ask.”

“Practice… yeah, definitely.” He puts his G-wagon in gear, and we’re off. In a few minutes, we’re flying down the road to the highway.

“I think it’s a good idea,” I insist, trying to calm the flapping butterfly wings in my belly from the kiss. “People are going to think I’m still with Scott. We’ll have to explain.”

“Will there be a quiz?”

“Maybe.” I frown at that. “They all know Scott. They’re his type of people.”

Deke grunts at that, and I feel even more unhappy. Jenn is a good friend, but what if the rest take Scott’s side? They’ve got that upper class way of being rude and condescending in the politest way possible. Under their polo shirts and shiny smiles is coiled razor wire.

“Sadie,” Deke calls, and I realize I’ve been staring out the window. The glass reflects the worry lines in my forehead. “Relax,” he settles his hand on my knee and squeezes.

And I do, settling into the plush seat. For a rugged military-looking vehicle, the interiors are pretty posh.

“And we can definitely practice, if you want.” His voice sounds lower and rougher than usual. Another squeeze of my knee, and arousal spreads through me.

“Practice does make perfect,” I trill. Who cares if Scott’s friends don’t approve of my life choices? Deke will protect me. Some rebellious part of me I never knew existed sort of revels in the idea of shocking everyone at that wedding this weekend.

And who knows, when we’re in private, I might even shock myself with my behavior.

I shiver and do a surreptitious butt wriggle.

“Cold?” Deke turns on the fancy seat warmers. He ups the cab temperature and makes sure the warm air is blowing my way.

“This is good, thanks,” I say.

“Sure? I got a blanket in the back.” He reaches behind my seat, rummages around then hands me a water bottle. “I also brought snacks.”

“You did?” He’s so freaking thoughtful. “This is perfect, thank you. I take it back. You don’t need to practice.” I smile at him. “You’re already the perfect fake boyfriend. Way better than Scott.”

Deke snorts. “That’s probably not hard. I can’t imagine that guy paying attention to anyone besides himself.” He signals his turn before getting on the highway out of town. “None of my business, babe, but what did you see in him?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question. I think I only dated him because my father wanted it. And I think he only dated me to align with my father.”

“No love lost, then?”

“No. I think I tried to believe I loved him, but… yeah. I don’t think it was love. I just didn’t want to make waves with a break-up. So when he cheated on me, it was a relief.”

“He cheated on you?” Deke says incredulously, like I’m some kind of sex goddess no man would ever stray from.

“Yep. But like I said, I was glad. Good reason to do what I secretly knew I should’ve done two years earlier.”

“You close with your dad?”

“Not at all. The opposite, but when my mom left, he sued for full custody. She let him have it, even though I wanted to go with her.”

“That sucks,” he says softly after I’ve fallen silent.

“It was a long time ago. Okay, let’s get our stories straight,” I say as Deke guns it past the mountain. “How did we meet? What do we say?”

“The truth. I saw you across the plaza, and I wanted you.”

I flush. “You wanted to meet me.”

He suppresses grin and says, “Sure.”

A fire kindles between my legs. I squeeze my inner thighs together and clear my throat. “And I saw you with your biker friends and wanted to meet you too. And for our first date you took me on a bike ride. Then home, but you were a perfect gentleman.”

“Babe,” he looks pained. “Don’t tell them that.”

“You are the perfect gentleman. And you ride a motorcycle and drive the type of car all the rap songs sing about.”

This gets a real grin. “You listen to rap?”

“Not a lot. I used to think Shawty was a rapper that all the other rappers knew. That’s how much I know about rap.”

It’s a long time before Deke stops chuckling at that one. I might have encouraged it by singing the first few lines of In Da Club by 50 cent, and explaining that I thought the song was about his friend Shawty celebrating a birthday.

“So that’s settled,” I say a few hours later, as we turn into the resort entrance. “That’s our story. We just stick to it, and it’ll be fine.” But when we pull up to the lodge, I feel my face stiffening into a frozen smile. There are tons of fancy cars being valeted—Porsches, Land Rovers, even a Maserati. Big money, fast cars, people in expensive clothes drinking too much and pretending they’re important—this is my dad’s world. He’d be rubbing his hands together at all the potential business contacts. He’d see this wedding as a networking event.

Scott definitely will be working the crowd while he’s here. I can almost hear him lecturing me on how to behave, so he can make a good impression. My shoulders rise towards my ears, stiffening in defense at the memory.

Scott wanted a Stepford Wife and made it clear I couldn’t quite fit the part. I was always a little off, too honest, too quirky, too much of myself. He and my dad always tried to iron out the lumps in my personality. They squashed me down, but I could never lie flat.

Like a doormat.

I yank open the door and jump out of the wagon before Deke can come around and let me out.

“Relax,” he takes my hand, his big one enveloping mine. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Of course,” I say, but my calm is as fake as our relationship.

Deke

I’m not sure the last time I felt so light. Sadie makes me laugh. She’s fucking adorable.

The resort is set in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos. I might be able to slip away and go for a run, maybe. Work some of this pent-up lust out of my system. I’d love to run now, but Sadie’s too keyed up, and it’s making all my protective instincts surge out of control. Which is a recipe for disaster.

Lance was right. If Sears even comes near her, I could lose it.

And that kill wouldn’t be one I’d survive. Rafe would have to put me down for good.

I put a protective arm around her as we cross the lobby. She leans into me almost unconsciously. Win. By the time we get to the front desk, she’s smiling again, a genuine smile, not that pinched awful thing that clashed with the anxiety in her scent.

My presence seems to help her tension. Maybe I can try other ways to relax her. If she’ll let me. I need to think of this as a job. I’m here with a mission—be Sadie’s fake date. Protect her from her ex. I’m not here to mate her, despite what my wolf seems to think.

“We’ll need to add an extra room,” she tells the front desk person. “I called about it earlier.”

“I’m sorry miss, we’re at 100 percent occupancy.” The front desk guy eyes me, and I tighten my hold on Sadie’s shoulder.

Sadie shoots me a glance. “But when I called that’s not what you said.”

I keep quiet as Sadie and the resort receptionist try to figure it out. My wolf is fist-pumping the whole time. He doesn’t mind sharing a room, a bed. Hell, he was looking forward to it. But he’s not the one who has to hold back. To try not to claim Sadie the second I get her alone. Sink my teeth in that sweet-scented flesh of hers and permanently mark her as mine.

“Deke, I’m sorry.” Sadie turns to me, chewing her lip. “There’s only one room.“

“Babe. It’ll be fine.” I say and run my thumb over that worried lower lip. Her pupils dilate and arousal flares in her scent. “We’ll work it out,” I promise.

I’ll give you a workout. My dick is stiff in my jeans.

“Besides, isn’t this good? People won’t wonder about the status of our relationship. They’ll believe… we’re together.” I swallow what I was about to say. They’ll know you’re mine. My wolf wants to howl the news until the lodge rafters shake. I’m going to have to work hard to keep him in check. Especially if we’re sleeping in the same room together.

“You’re right. This is good. It’s fine. It’s all fine.”

I make a light circle on her lower back with my palm as she convinces herself. I hate seeing her agitated. She sighs and turns into me, and my arms shoot around her like I was made to hug her. I grit my teeth and hope my dick doesn’t skewer her belly. But when Sadie melts against me it’s all worth it.

“Feel better?” I murmur into her hair.

“Yes. Thank you.” She smiles up at me, and fuck if I don’t want to kiss her here, now, in front of everyone. Trouble is, I wouldn’t stop with a kiss.

“Sadie,” I murmur, and then my muscles stiffen as I get whiff of Douchebag Cologne. Or whatever gag-awful scent Sadie’s ex is wearing. I look over Sadie’s head and sure enough, there’s Scott Sears swaggering in his preppy clothes.

Part of me wants to throw Sadie over my shoulder and race up the stairs to our room. The other part of me wants to throw Scott out of the lodge. He’s wearing hiking boots that look expensive but never worn. Not a speck of mud on them. How long would this douchebag actually survive on a wilderness trek? My wolf wants to chase him down the mountain and find out.

“Incoming,” I whisper into Sadie’s ear. “Hold tight to me.”

Sadie’s brows knit together in confusion, but she clings tighter, with her arm around my middle. I tuck her right to my side, under my arm, and damn if she doesn’t fit perfectly. Then she sees who I’m talking about.

“Oh,” she breathes.

“You got this.” I nuzzle her head.

“Sadie?” Scott spots us by the front desk. His gaze bounces from me to her. Emotions flit over his face in comical progression—surprise, annoyance, anger—and settle on fake happy. “It’s so good to see you here.” He sounds smooth and casual, but he doesn’t look at me, and his scent stays angry.

“Yeah, I took the day off work. Deke drove us down.” She turns further into my body and puts her hand on my chest, giving me a little smile that I can’t help but return. “We had such a great road trip. He made it perfect.”

Scott looks like he got a whiff of roadkill. His fake smile slips a little bit.

“Thanks, babe.” I squeeze her close and dip my head to breathe in her sweet scent. She’s totally sincere. She looks back at Scott, though, and her scent changes. I think she feels a little bad for Scott.

“I hope this won’t be too awkward for us,” Sadie says.

“No, no,” Scott forces out. “I’m actually seeing someone now. She’s a model. She’s going to try to get away to meet me here.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Sadie says. Not a whiff of jealousy in her scent. Just relief.

Scott, however, is lying. He pulls out his phone and waves it. “I, uh, gotta take this,” he says, even though his phone is not ringing. “See you tonight?”

“Yes.” Sadie waves, and I steer her towards the grand staircase. The bellhop already took our bags to our room.

As we ascend, I look back down at Scott. He’s ducked in the corner, hunched and on the phone, probably phoning an escort service to see if he can drum up a weekend date. Heh.

Score one for the fucked up werewolf.