The Alpha's Temptation (Werewolves of Boulder Junction Book 4) Page 5

  Hayley looked around the room, looking over the walls of books covering from the floor to the ceiling. She nodded to herself. "There are probably a few books here that could be at least a little helpful, maybe she'll be able to see something that we couldn't?"

  Michael nodded, closing the book he'd been hopelessly researching and stuffing it into his bag. He chuckled, "Good plan, I was probably useless at this research anyway."

  "I wouldn't say that." He looked over at her, she looked almost proud. "You were looking into some relatively high level magical theory. It takes trainees months before they can even decipher a quarter as much as you did." She clapped him on the back. "You did really well, you're smarter than you give yourself credit for. Besides, I highly doubt you'd still be a second to your clan if you were an idiot."

  He snorted, "Thanks, it's nice to know someone appreciates me for something other than my body."

  "Don't worry, I'm appreciating that as well." Hayley let her eyes rove over his figure before she caught herself, blushing furiously as she looked away. "I mean, shut up and pack. We don't have time for this."

  He chuckled deeply, ignoring his own blush at the attention. "Aye aye. No time for that indeed."

  * * *

  Within the hour they were stood in the middle of the coven, one of the younger witches talking to Michael as Hayley fixed the straps on her bag.

  "So, what do you think of us? Do you think our magic is cool or what?" Before he could reply she clicked her fingers, a small flame bursting at the edge. It died down quickly, little more than a flash of light. She pouted, "Aww, I'm supposed to be getting better at that."

  He laughed, rubbing a hand through her hair. "Cheer up, you're what? Fifteen?"

  "Fourteen."

  "Well there you go, you've got tons of time ahead of you!" He turned to Hayley. "How long was it before you got as good as you did?"

  She put her hand on her chin, running through her thoughts. She hummed, "I was probably sixteen or seventeen before I even started getting as good, before that I was completely hopeless." She smiled at the younger witch. "Some things just take time, and by the time you're good with your powers you'll have all that dedication built up with you. That's what makes someone powerful."

  The young woman smiled up at the two of them. "You two are really nice! Especially you!" She pointed at Michael, giggling, "I thought you'd be way furrier than you are now!"

  He raised his eyebrows, a bemused smile on his face. "I don't really get furry unless I want to be, maybe one day I can show you."

  "That sounds cool!" She looked over her shoulder, pouting when she saw one of the elders waving to her. "I've gotta head off now, it was nice meeting you!" She sprinted off before Michael could say anything, leaving him standing there surprised.

  He turned to Hayley, the woman watching him with a surprising amount of warmth. "What? Did I do something?"

  She shook her head, giggling, "No, I just never knew you were so good with kids."

  "She's barely a kid, she's fourteen. I was running through the forest tearing things up when I was that old." He looked over, seeing the girl disappear into one of the buildings. "Who was she anyway?"

  "Her name's Anna, she's a... different student."

  "Different? Different how?"

  "Well, she can barely keep a fire lit in her hand for more than a second, that's very beginner level stuff." She shrugged. "On the other when we were doing an exercise with offensive incantations she incinerated her dummy and everyone else's before we could even breath."

  "Oh right..." He hummed in acknowledgement, "One of those students."

  "Not to mention just how happy she is." She groaned, "God, she even makes me tired sometimes, I have no idea how someone can be just that positive all the time."

  "Almost reminds you of Sky a little huh?"

  "Oh god." She laughed, "If Sky had magic we would never hear the end of it. Or stop seeing the aftermath."

  "It's hard to believe how much everything has changed in such a short time." He gestured around him. "For one I would never have been standing here and keeping all my limbs, and especially not next to you."

  She nodded. "Skylar did bring us all together didn't she? I never thought I'd ever count shifters and hunters as friends of mine but... here we are."

  He reached out, taking her hand in his. He ran his thumb along her knuckles, engraving the shape of each one into his mind. "Just so you know... Regardless of what else we've got going on, or what else we've got to work out, you know, with us... I just want you to know that I'm really glad that I got to meet you. And I'm really, really glad we didn't kill each other."

  She smiled at his sincerity, looking up into his eyes. "That makes two of us. That camping trip... Well, I'm glad that I was with you. Though..." She blushed, though she didn't break her gaze away from his. "I'm sure you've worked out that I didn't regret anything that happened."

  He hummed, mind filled with memories of that morning. "I had an inkling, yeah."

  "Well, anyway..." She let go of his hand, slinging her bag onto her back. "We can't stand here all day, we've got someone to see."

  "That we do." He pointed at the entrance. "Lead the way Hayley."

  * * *

  When Farah walked into the bedroom, she assumed it would be ok. The door was cracked open, if privacy was needed then surely it would be closed and locked. She didn't expect to walk in and come face to face with Skylar's naked form, both their faces glowing red before Farah threw herself back out the door, closing it behind her.

  "Mon Dieu! I am so sorry! I should have knocked!"

  Skylar's voice filtered through the wood of the door, "No it's... It's fine! I should have locked the door. Just... Just give me a minute!"

  Farah sat back and willed her heart rate to slow down, this was not what she had in mind when she decided she wanted to check up on her friend. After a few minutes of fidgeting and tapping her foot, the door opened, Skylar looking much more composed than she felt.

  "Sorry about that." Skylar smiled apologetically, moving aside so her friend could enter. "Come in, please."

  She entered the bedroom, eyes immediately moving to the disturbed sheets of the bed, one of the pillows thrown off to the side.

  Well, that explains why she was undressed at least.

  She took a seat next to the bed, Skylar taking a seat opposite her. When she didn't make any move, Skylar giggled, standing and pulling her into a close embrace. "It is so good to see you Farah, how have you been?" She pulled back, looking at her with a glimmer in her eye. "How are things going with Cayden?"

  Farah rolled her eyes. "Things with Cayden are fine, we are working at our own pace." She looked at Skylar pointedly. "And no, nothing you do is going to speed things up."

  She pouted, though she didn't dispute the fact. "Well what is your pace? Have you kissed?" She gasped, "Have you gone further than that?"

  Farah laughed out loud, "Oh my god you are worse than a little school girl! No, we haven't kissed yet." She shuffled, the conversation not one she was used to having. "This is all very new to me, I don't know how fast I want everything to go. He doesn't want to make me uncomfortable so... he's letting me dictate how things move."

  "That's... very thoughtful of him actually." Skylar smiled. "I'm glad that you two seem happy together, when are you going to see him again?"

  "I was with him today actually, he's down the hall."

  "What?" Skylar looked towards the door. "When did you two get here?"

  "About ten minutes ago, we were on a lunch date when... Well, we decided that there were some things that you and Liam needed to know."

  Sky looked at her confused, leaning closer. "What things? Farah, what's going on?"

  Farah sighed, shuffling closer. "Some men are in town looking for Sarconi, they cornered Cayden and it looked like it was getting pretty heated. Given who he was to you and your father... We figured you should know."

  Her eyes widened, but after a few seconds of sho
ck she nodded. "Thank you for coming and telling us, it means a lot." She reached forward, pulling Farah in. "I'm sorry that your date got screwed up because of this though! I feel so bad!"

  She chuckled, "Don't feel too bad, we're going on another date soon anyway."

  "Oh? Where would this be?"

  She shrugged. "Maybe more coffee, maybe dinner." She coughed, boldness suddenly filling her body. "Maybe I might take things a little further this time."

  Sky's face looked like it was about to split open with how wide her smile was. "How exciting! But only if it's what you want, Cayden can be patient if you're not sure."

  Farah nodded, though her mind was made up. "I killed my entire coven with very little effort, I've seen and done things I shouldn't have any right to even imagine." She chuckled, "I have no idea why the idea of sleeping with a man is so intimidating."

  "Because by now, I think you've realized it's more than that." Skylar ran her hand along her shoulder. "Sex is simple, it's not really a big deal at all. But becoming intimate with someone? That is without a doubt one of the most intimidating feelings in the world, to willingly open a part of your soul so that they can see everything about you, to let them in and leave yourself vulnerable?" She smiled. "I felt that exact way when I first became intimate with Liam, and from the look on your face, I can tell you're starting to feel the same way about Cayden."

  "Wow..." Farah breathed her response, almost in awe of the woman in front of her. "I had no idea you were going to go that deep."

  "Well I've spent the whole morning talking business with people, I had to let it out some time, didn't I?"

  "How is all that going? Are your plans all set or...?"

  Sky nodded, that same grin that won over the contractors emerging again. "It went fantastically! I even managed to talk their timetable down from four months to two!"

  "I... Wow." She rubbed the back of her neck. "How did you do that?"

  "All I had to do was smile and ask, they accepted really quickly. To be honest I was surprised as well!"

  "Probably helps that you're pregnant as well, no one wants to haggle with a pregnant woman." She stretched her hand out, gesturing to her swollen stomach. "Can I?"

  She nodded eagerly, lifting her top slightly so Farah could feel directly. She ran her hand along her stomach, Farah's skin contrasting beautifully with the pregnant stomach underneath. She jolted when she felt the first kick, a smile settling over her as she recognized who it was that made it. "Restless, aren't they?"

  "Oh, you have no idea." Sky giggled, "I'll be surprised if they don't start running as soon as they are born."

  "Have you thought of any names?"

  She shook her head. "We've been too busy to really sit down and talk about it. I kind of like the idea of not thinking of any until we see the baby, we'll find one that just feels... right, I suppose?"

  "I can understand that." Farah nodded, running her hand back and forth. "How are you handling all of it? No... Strangeness happening?"

  She made to shake her head, but stopped. She thought back to how things had been over the last week, the occasional moments where she would feel like she was almost floating, the way she felt when she spoke to the contractors, almost like she could feel raw energy coursing through her veins. Looking back, that may not have been just the thrill of closing a deal.

  "Now that I think about it, there have been some things that I'd call strange. Small things but... things nonetheless."

  Farah held her hand, leaning in and speaking softly, "What sort of things?"

  "When I talk to people sometimes I feel different, like my body is glowing. It happened right after I convinced that man to lower the timetable."

  She inclined her head in thought, that didn't sound like anything supernatural she'd encountered in her life. "Go on, is there anything else?"

  "Well, sometimes randomly, I could be walking around the house or lying down in bed, I'll get this... pulsing feeling."

  "Pulsing?"

  "Yeah, like... It feels like there's electricity shooting across my skin, from my chest out to the tips of my fingers. It feels like if I thought hard enough I'd be able to grab onto it, but I never can."

  Farah stored that away for later, Hayley would definitely want to hear about that. Skylar saw the look of concern on her face, quickly waving it away. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing! Women's bodies react strangely to pregnancy, don't they?"

  Farah chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure they do. It's probably nothing to worry about."

  They both knew that wasn't true. They just couldn't do anything about it right now.

  Chapter 4

  Michael breathed in deeply, the sounds and smells of the forest gently passing over him. It had been too long since he had stepped out of that room, out into nature to enjoy its natural splendor, and finally he was out. Of course, he wasn't alone, and the presence of the other person was a... confusing matter. He liked Hayley, he really did, that much was obvious. The way she talked, how she didn't hold anything back when she was happy, not covering her mouth when she laughed and letting everyone see. The way that she walked through the forest like she belonged but never looking at anything like she was above it.

  He smiled, but at the same time he couldn't help the pit in his stomach that threatened to open up and swallow him whole. She made him happy, and he was grateful for that, but he couldn't help but be terrified about that. The way that they fooled around together, he enjoyed that, he could tell that she did as well, but the thought of there being more to it lurking under the surface, something that was becoming more and more obvious no matter how much they tried to deny it... Well, to say that a witch and a shifter were not exactly expected mates was to do a disservice to understatements.

  She stumbled over a rock, Michael swooping in to prevent her from falling to the ground. Hayley giggled, the melodious sound making his heart beat faster with each second he held her. He backed away, gulping to himself. "Careful now, don't want you embarrassing yourself in front of your witchy friend now do we?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Yes, because that's what I'm worried about right now. Not the possibility that she'll kill us on sight for bothering her, but having dirt on my jeans when we speak." When she noticed the look on his face at the possibility of violence, she was quick to put her hands up. "Hey, come on. I was kidding about the killing us thing!"

  He shook his head, embarrassed. "Sorry it's just... I'm only just getting used to your coven not being our enemies you know? But every now and then I just think... There are more witches out there. And they're not going to consider us friends, they're not going to see anything but another savage shifter who's there to kill them." He sighed, "Just... going to see this woman, it reminds me of that more and more."

  She smiled to herself, putting her hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I'm gonna be right by your side the whole time. You're my..." She blushed. "You're my friend. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, or this alliance that we have. I have your back, and so does the coven, and that goes for every shifter under your care as well." She chuckled, "Besides, this witch might be a smart ass, and crusty as hell, and look like she wants nothing more than to kill you and use your children as an ingredient... Come to think of it she's probably done exactly that to someone... But anyway, I'm sure she's a sweetheart! We've just gotta... not piss her off, you know?"

  He laughed, finally feeling better about going to see the witch and... the other things that were going through his mind. He patted her on the back, his hand lingering a second longer than he meant it to, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. "You know that offer before goes both ways, right? Every witch in your coven, every person that you bring in and take under your wing, they're our family now too."

  "Oh really? I would have thought you shifter's would take a little bit longer to come around to the 'Witch Bitches'?" She smirked, he shook his head.

  "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

  "No, I am not."<
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  "Moving along..." He fixed her with a glare that he couldn't keep heated. "It doesn't matter how we feel about you, we could love you, we could think that you're assholes, it doesn't matter. You're a part of the clan now, and that means you have as much protection as we would give anyone else."

  "I... don't know what to say..." She smiled. "That's quite the promise, especially for people you don't like."

  Michael scoffed, "Come on, you think we all get along? You've met my brother, right? He's a good leader but he doesn't necessarily... endear himself to a few of us. But we know that he's got our back, so we've got his, feelings have nothing to do with it. It's honor."

  Hayley stared at him, momentarily speechless. Before long, her lips curled in a gentle smile, her voice soft as she said, "As much as the circumstances left a lot to desire, and as much as that time was honestly such a cluster fuck... I really am glad that I met all of you, that we're building something like this..." She looked up, her hand brushing along his cheek. "But most of all, I'm glad that I can call you a friend. I... I couldn't see myself doing this with anyone else, and I honestly don't think I'd trust anyone to have my back as much as I trust you."

  They stood there, just staring into each other's eyes, the world passing them by without a care for the breakthrough they were making. The birds chirped, the wind blew, and the two of them looked at each other like they were made of pure gold. There was no awkwardness, no moment where their cheeks began to burn and they looked away as if they were afraid they would burst into flames. Instead they merely fell in step together, an arm securely around her shoulders as they made their way through the trees to the next step in their journey. They came for answers, and they were going to find them.