Page 29 of Fated to the Alpha

“I always thought you were pretty cute, even if we were just friends at the time.”

“Cute!” he groaned. “Those are the words of death for guys, you know that?”

She poked his ribs. “Oh? And what’s better? I’m not about to call a ten-year-old hot or sexy.”

He blew air out through tight lips. “Hot and sexy are definitely goals after fourteen … maybe thirteen.”

“Would it make your ego feel better to say you were hot in high school at least?”

He gave her a smug look. “It would.”

Kimberly stuck up her nose. “Then I won’t say it.”

He slapped a hand over his chest like his heart had stopped. “Oh! My ego! It’s been bruised! How dare you!”

“You’ll get over it.”

Shane laughed it off and reached for another piece of pizza as the show continued into the present time. Now, the girl was grown and working something like a reporter job, Kimberly guessed. It was something having to do with writing, anyway, and she had been depicted talking with coworkers in a cubicle-like office setting.

“Can I narrate what she’s typing?”

Kimberly’s eyes went wide. “No.”

“I’m going to anyway.” Shane cleared his throat to make it feminine. “Dear, Diary. Last night, I had that same dream of fucking a dragon. It was so weird but so wonderful.”

“I swear to God, I will turn this off and we will watch a Marvel movie or something if you keep making everything about sex! You weren’t this perverted at seventeen.”

Once again, Shane laughed and squeezed her shoulder in a consoling way. “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do it again.”

Several minutes passed and the next meet-cute finally came. The dragon spirit and his reincarnated mate locked eyes on a crowded street. Out-of-focus bodies passed between them and the sounds of the world faded to a ringing silence.

“Internal monologue,” Shane whispered.

“Oh, no.”

“Holy shit, she got uglier.”

Kimberly snorted and played her part. “Why is he staring at me like that? Do I have a bat in the cave?”

“She totally has a bat in the cave.”

“Should I check? Should I ask him for coffee?”

Then, the guy vanished.

Kimberly gasped, feigning shock. “Where did he go?”

Shane wiggled his fingers, tipped in seasoning from the flavored crust. “Magic.”

They shared a laugh and another piece of pizza, Kimberly snitching from his box.

Several scenes passed, showing both characters in their own lives, set on roundabout trajectories to cross paths eventually. They settled into a comfortable silence as they watched, and Kimberly could really feel her connection with her wolf come back to life. The joy and peace of being with Shane came back to her, as if her dad had never challenged Isaac, as if they had never been apart for ten years, as if they really had a chance.

The moment came when the girl was walking home late at night and got mugged. She screamed, the dragon guy swooped in and beat up the bad guy with some ancient staff weapon, but she ran into a dark alley to escape the scene. Once the bad guy was unconscious, the dragon chased after her, materializing through the shadows to block her path.

Kimberly saw her cue coming up and put on a shaky, breathless voice. “Who are you?”

Shane dropped his voice again, and she marveled at just how low his vocal cords could go. It made her want to giggle and blush like she was in school again.