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“I love you, Erik. Catch me if you can!” I grin. Then blowing my mate a kiss, I take off into the Rosewood Forest, shifting mid-stride into my snow-white bear self. Leaping over fallen trees and seasonal puddles, I inhale the scent of the rain-damp earth and the fresh odor of decay as fallen leaves crush under my heavy, pink-padded paws. No matter what comes, I’mgoing to make the most of the time I have. Duty and sacrifice no doubt await me, but today, I’m celebrating our win and relishing in my newfound freedom.
I did precisely what I set out to do.I kept my promise.I saved my Sisters and liberated the Chaos Queen. All that remains is to vanquish the chokehold of The Five and see Balance restored to the world. That is my quest, and I know it as surely as the sun shines above. But a newly crowned queen can only do so much, and those tasks must wait until tomorrow, because today? My mate is hot on my furry heels, and I will have him as many times as I possibly can before the sun rises again.
The End
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THE ALPHA’S PRIVATE DANCER
Cooper McKenzie
Copyright © 2022
Chapter One
It was the music that drew Toren Waverly to the window. The meeting of the Waverly pack council had broken up just moments before, so he could now devote his entire attention to his private dancer.
Opening the window, he frowned. For the past four nights, she had danced to upbeat music she’d found in her grandmother’s cassette collection—old school country, rock, seventies’ disco, and one night had even been fifties and sixties movie musical numbers. But tonight was slow, sad, dirge-like blues.
Moving onto the balcony outside his office, Toren blinked when the movement-activated security lights in her backyard flashed on. The show was about to begin.
There she was, moving slowly into the yard. Tonight, there were no leaps or spins, no high kicks or runs of happiness. Today was about slow, sensual movements that drew him into her sadness.
Something was wrong. He wasn’t sure what pulled him to this stranger who was not a member of his pack, but she lived in the next-door cabin that was maybe two steps above a shack ready for demolition.
It took another moment before Toren realized the rainthat had been predicted all day had finally begun to fall. And that the woman danced naked. Her full breasts swayed, and her hips called to him, the bright red curls at the apex of her thighs matching the fiery corkscrew curls that bounced around her head and flowed down her back.
As it had since the first time he’d caught her dancing, Toren’s cock surged to life. At the same time, his wolf demanded they go to her and fix whatever might be troubling her tonight.
When she dropped to her knees in the grass, he didn’t think beyond the need to get to her. He needed to finally meet the woman who had begun to invade his dreams as well as his daytime thoughts. His shifter hearing heard sobs over the sound of falling rain. She was crying.
Toren was over the balcony and shifting in midair before his human side realized what was happening. He landed lightly on the grass on four paws and began to run. He raced to the fence, clearing the eight-foot stone privacy fence the pack had built in the ten years since they’d moved into the expansive house.
Once in her yard, Toren didn’t slow until he was a dozen yards from her. The wind shifted and brought her scent to him. He froze before taking a deep breath.
Mate.
The pretty redhead who had moved in just days before was his mate. The woman he was fated to spend the rest of his life protecting, caring for, and loving. And here he was in wolf form, ready to shred whoever had hurt his private dancer. No wonder her dancing affected him so deeply.
She was still sobbing and shivering, though he couldn’t tell if the shaking was from being cold and wet, or something else. Then he heard her muttering about being a fool as she began to cry harder. That was when he saw the bruises—over her ribs, arms, and one on her cheek. Someone had hurthismate.Dropping to his belly, Toren crawled closer, hoping his sudden appearance didn’t frighten her.
****
Until tonight, Katee Jones had been able to use upbeat music and dancing to raise her spirits, but now, she gave in to the sadness that had been plaguing her since moving into her grandmother’s home. Playing the old woman’s favorite blues CD seemed appropriate since her life had painfully imploded just hours earlier. The slow, dark music reflected her mood and also allowed her to dance despite the pain left behind after her visit to Jack’s home earlier in the evening.
Returning home, she had decided to allow herself one night to wallow in the dark turn her life had taken. When the new day dawned, she would pull herself out of the gutter and figure out how to salvage the rest of her life.
When the weight of the negatives in her life grew to feel like giant boulders on her shoulders, Katee dropped to her knees and allowed the tears she’d been holding in for days to flow. She had always been warned that life was hard, but tonight had moved well beyond hard into the what-the-fuck realm.
When her tears finally slowed and she could think again, she found the rain that had sent her to her knees had slowed to a drizzle and the temperature was dropping. She needed to go inside, dry off, and get dressed again. Dancing naked in the rain had always been a fun activity, but tonight, the rain didn’t wash away the negative emotions as it normally did.
Opening her eyes, Katee was surprised to see she was no longer alone in her backyard. The biggest dog she had ever seen was lying in the grass only a few yards away.
Or was it a dog? She’d been told by the postmistress and owner of the grocery store in the nearest village to be aware that wolves and other magical creatures lived in these woods. But she’d already heard the stories. Her grandmother had toldher about the shapeshifters and fairies and gnomes that lived in these woods when she had visited as a child.
If he was a wolf, wouldn’t he just attack and kill her, not lie there her watching her cry?
“Well, hello there,” Katee said, keeping her voice soft and friendly. “Are you lost, buddy? Or are you feeling sad too?”
