Choices: Alpha City, Book 3 Read Free Page A

believing that he would come around, hoping that one day he’d change his mind and feel what she felt. Was she wrong in believing that he would? Everyone said they were mates, but Judd refused to claim her.
    Her cousin Judith, the Healer for the Malone pack, had explained what it meant to be mates. All her life she had been made to feel unwanted. Even her Maker didn’t want her anymore. He’d found another Healer and asked Maggie if she wanted to go off and travel. He never told her to leave, but she could read between the lines, so she chose to leave the only family she’d known for fifteen years. She thought that moving here to Alpha City would change things for her. Knowing she was good at healing, she’d been told by Judith that she would be wanted, and most of all, needed. That was mostly true, but meeting Judd for the first time set her body on fire, leaving her aching for something she could never have: her own family.
    Never before had anyone affected her this way. The moment her hand touched his, she could feel his soul as if it had blown across hers. A small taste of more to come… But the moment he jerked away from her, Maggie knew she’d been dismissed again. She felt unwanted, but she couldn’t let anyone see it. She wanted a family of her own, but now she knew that it wasn’t going to happen.
    It was time now to find a place where she would be welcomed. She need a place to settle down and make a life for herself. She only hoped that Judd would allow her to do that. The looks he was giving her ran hot and then ice cold. He never spoke to her, but she would catch him watching her. He was in a constant internal struggle with himself, and she never wanted to cause him any type of pain. She only wanted to love him and have him love her back.
    Her cousin had told her to just be patient and hold on, but Maggie wasn’t so sure. It didn’t take a genius to see that he didn’t feel the same way about her. It was almost as if she disgusted him in some way. Everyone here seemed to like her, except the one she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
    “His heart is damaged from the vampire who came before you. Locke destroyed everything that was dear to him. Show him the way back.”
    Maggie looked down at the little girl just as Carina’s eyes rolled back in her head and she fell backward. Maggie’s quick reflexes caught her before she could hit the floor. She’d been told that Carina was a Seer and had wisdom beyond her years, but what she’d said didn’t seem right.
    Carina’s eyes fluttered open and stared up into Maggie’s face. Maggie smiled, letting the child know she was okay. “Hello,” she stuttered, worried now about what the little girl had said.
    Carina didn’t say anything else, just continued to look up at her, and then reached up and touched her face. It startled Maggie at first as Carina’s hand inched toward her mouth, until she pushed her lip up and put her finger on one of her fangs.
    “Can you eat real food?” Carina asked.
    Maggie smiled. “Yes I can, and I do. I drink blood too, but Judith gets that for me through a blood bank. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
    “I know,” Carina answered.
    Maggie set the girl upright in her lap. “Do you remember what you said a few minutes ago?”
    Carina nodded. “Yes.”
    “How do you know that?” Maggie asked her.
    Carina shrugged. “I just know. I like him, he gives me candy when no one is looking.” Carina pulled a piece out of her pocket and showed it to her.
    “You have a sweet tooth, like him.”
    Carina nodded.
    Maggie laughed. “I can smell the sugar on him whenever I can get close enough.” Maggie sighed. “He smells like strawberry candy.” Unfortunately every time she got near Judd, he’d find an excuse to leave. She’d catch him looking at her from afar, but he never got close enough to speak.
    “To be honest… ” Maggie had to look away from the child’s transparent gaze. “I…just don’t