Who's Your Alpha? Read Free

thoughtful frown on his face. “Nightmares? You have them a lot?”
    “Ever since I left here. It’s weird. I’ve worked on trying to understand them and think it has something to do with this place.” It was odd talking so easily to him again, sliding back into their old, comfortable pattern. Like the years hadn’t passed.
    “You really don’t know?”
    “Know what?”
    He shook his head. “Not here. Not now.” His voice dropped so she had to strain to hear him, and even then she wasn’t sure she did. “I can’t believe your folks never told you.”
    “What?”
    “Finish your dinner. Then we’ll go for a walk.”
    The rest of their dinner talk ran to inconsequential things, like who was coming back, who married whom, who had kids, divorces. All the mundane subjects you touch on when you meet an old acquaintance from your teen years.
    “Would you like dessert?” David asked as Darla arrived with their check.
    “Not me. I’m stuffed.” She reached for the bill but he was faster.
    “My treat.”
    “I can pay.”
    “I’m sure you can, but I owe you.”
    “Huh? For what?”
    He grinned at her and she melted into a puddle at his feet. Well, almost.
    “Remember graduation night?”
    “Ye-ah.” Sunny did remember—barely. She had a fuzzy recollection of too much beer—if you could call one beer too much—and a long drive through the mountains.
    “You don’t remember.” He laughed as he handed Darla a twenty. “We were so wound up, but nothing around here was open…”
    The memory returned, along with her snort of laughter. “So a whole bunch of us jumped in the back of your truck and you drove to State College to the truck stop. You didn’t have enough money to cover your food and the gas…”
    “…So you treated me. I’m finally getting the chance to return the favor.”
    Sunny led the way outside. The sun had set, but soft globes lit the main street. David was close enough for her to feel the heat coming off him as they strolled the familiar streets. “What happened to the Five and Dime?” she asked as they crossed the square.
    “It closed when Wal-Mart opened out by the highway.”
    “But not the hardware store.”
    “That’s because they supply things you can’t get anywhere else. The stores that were unique continue to thrive, the others…” He shrugged.
    She noted they were strolling away from the center of town, toward the mountain. “So what do you want to talk to me about?” She jumped as his cell phone howled. She quickly hid her hands in her pockets, willing the claws to turn back into fingers and fingernails while David answered his phone. All she heard was “I’ll be right there.”
    “You have to go?”
    “An emergency. I’m sorry. Where are you staying?”
    “The hotel, room 401. Call me later?”
    “If it’s not too late. Come on, I’ll walk you back.”
    “Go. I’m a big girl now, David. I’ll be fine.”
    He sighed and shook his head. “You really have changed. The Sunny I knew didn’t like being out at night.”
    “The Sunny you knew grew up. Go on. Call me tomorrow.” She watched as he took off at a quick jog. By the time he’d disappeared around a corner, she turned away and faced the mountain. Very few streetlights lit this part of town. Ten years ago, she’d never have ventured here alone. But like she’d told David, she’d changed.
    She strolled on, reaching the end of paved streets and houses about thirty minutes later. A narrow path led from the end of the road into the forest. This was the night of the new moon, so no light broke up the deep darkness under the trees. She picked a large hemlock with a double trunk next to a rounded boulder as a memorable spot and stripped out of her clothes. Finally, she removed her contacts. She tucked everything into her oversized handbag and buried it in branches at the base of the tree. Then she shifted.
    Hands and feet turned to paws, hair turned to silver-tipped fur. As her body changed, she