Claimed By Her Alpha by J.E. Cluney

14

Everly.

* * *

Why did he have to ask me what I liked to read? As soon as he got me started, I had vomited words like I do when I get talking about something I love. And I really did love reading all my gritty werecreature books with all the steamy scenes and animal attraction.

Guess that might’ve been partly why I was reacting to him the way I was.

He hadn’t seemed to mind my word barrage, amazingly, and popped the random question.

It was an easy one for me to answer truthfully. I’d thought about it before, hell, as a teen, my friends and I had asked the same sorts of questions. Friends I no longer had though since moving.

“Honestly, I would love it. Personally, I’d want to be one too, but the lore is all over the place with that one. Some books say you get turned from a bite, others say a blood transfusion, then some are just plain old born only. Imagine how awesome it would be though? Being able to shift and run free, how much stronger you’d be. Would they live longer too? Have a weakness to silver?” I turned to him, spouting my own questions.

He chuckled; a deep, chesty sound that made my stomach flutter as my smile spread. God, I loved hearing that. I hoped I had the chance to hear him fully laugh.

“Isn’t silver the common weakness? And since when do shifters live longer?” he smirked over at me, although there was a glimmer of something in his eyes that drew me in.

“Yeah, everyone knows silver is their weakness, although depending on the book, sometimes it only irritates the skin unless it actually hits blood, in others it burns the skin too. And sometimes they live longer. Maybe only a few more decades, but still,” I couldn’t stop smiling since he was enjoying this too. “Why? What do you think the deal is there?”

“I think the irritating skin thing is more normal, that it reacts to blood more. And I don’t see why they’d live any longer, that just seems like a rip-off of vampires,” he mused.

“Hey, don’t diss the vampires, they’re cool in their own right. Super-strong, super-fast, immortal,” I defended them. I’d always loved my vampires along with all other supernatural things.

His smile faltered at this. “You don’t think the wolf shifters are strong too?”

“Well, it depends. Most books say they’re on par with vampires in strength, but normally not as fast. Then other books say that vampires are stronger, but werewolves’ bites are lethal.”

“What do you think would be the truth if they were real?”

“I would like to think they’re on par. One thing most books have in common, and movies and shows, is that they don’t get along. Dunno why, they’re both awesome in their own right,” I said with a shrug, watching how his posture had changed to more defensive. What was that all about?

He just stared ahead as I gazed over at him curiously.

“So, I take it you’re team Jacob then?” I asked innocently.

“Fuck those sparkly vampires,” he groaned, that smirk returning. “Did you seriously watch those movies?”

“Hey, back off, pal. They were massive when they came out. But yes, that whole sparkly thing was weird. Vampires are meant to burn up, not be damn diamonds. He looked like a goddamn disco ball,” I snorted.

He chuckled and shook his head at this.

“Besides, the CGI on the big wolves was cool. I liked that they were giant like that, although I prefer the whole two-legged one, with a tail. Van Helsing did alright, the one with Hugh Jackman, but the werewolf had no tail which annoyed me,” I added.

He was smiling now as he flicked his gaze over at me.

“So, you call them werewolves?”

“Yes, why? Is there a difference? Why’d you say wolf shifter?” I shot back, wondering why he was referring to them like that.

“‘Werewolf’ is a modern term, normally you think of werewolves as being creatures who can only shift on a full-moon. Wolf shifters can shift at will in my opinion.”

“Well, that makes sense, although I think the terms can be used interchangeably. If someone says wolf shifter, I’d also suspect they could only turn into a wolf, not a werewolf on two legs. Then again, maybe they can turn into both. I think that’s pretty awesome.”

“You really are invested in your paranormal romance stuff, aren’t you?”

My cheeks reddened as I scrunched my nose up at him. “I enjoy it a lot. It’s a nice escape from life.”

“Hey, I’m not saying it isn’t,” he shot back. “You’re just very opinionated on it.”

“Says you, you clearly hate vampires. What books have you read anyway?”

“Not a whole lot, but I enjoy movies and shows sometimes.”

“Oh! Which ones? Have you seen the Underworld movies? How about Trueblood? Van Helsing? American werewolf? Wolfman?” I fired off as many random ones as I could think of, and he just laughed softly.

“You’re very passionate about this subject, aren’t you?” he said as he glanced over at me with an oddly intrigued look in his eye.

“We all have things we love,” I defended myself. I couldn’t help that I loved it. Who wouldn’t?

“Well, good to know how you feel on the subject,” he said, giving me a lopsided smile that made my chest flutter.

“So, have you seen any of them?” I pushed.

“A few seasons of Trueblood, and the Underworld movies,” he admitted.

“You need to finish Trueblood, it’s one of my favorites.”

“It’s mainly vampires.”

“There’s shifters and werewolves too!”

“But it’s mainly about vampires and that psychic chick,” he groaned.

“Ugh, it’s a great show anyway. Alcide and Eric are the fan favorites normally,” I muttered.

“Uh-huh,” he said, having lost interest now. I just sighed as we pulled into the gas station.

“Wait here, I’ll gas up. What drink would you like?” he asked as he pulled up by the pump.

“Hot chocolate,” I beamed at him, and he smirked before climbing out of the car.

I scrolled through Facebookto pass the time, only looking up when he started heading inside. Damn, you could bounce a quarter off that thing. And I knew he was just as sexy all over. I just wanted to see the package he had stopped me from seeing. The wait was killing me.

But he had some kind of emergency first, so I’d stick with just getting to know him for now. Once he took care of it, we could go back to being all over one another.

I smiled inwardly at the thought. Yeah, I could definitely have him diving down between my legs, suckling away like he’d started to on the hood…

I groaned as I leaned my head back. Why had I stupidly stopped him? Sure, I’d wanted him fully, but that could’ve been fun. He clearly knew what he was doing down there. I’d not exactly had the greatest of luck with men over the years in the sex department.

But Dray… hell, he’d made my body respond madly, knowing how to use his hands and mouth like a pro. Jealousy flared up within me at the thought of how many other women had been privy to his expertise.

Hold up.

Why was I getting jealous over him? We weren’t a thing. I was trying to keep this strictly something for fun. I’d just gotten out of a shitty situation, I wasn’t about to dive into another relationship.

Was I?

Hell, my pussy would be grateful for more frequent sex, not to mention my stress levels. Sex was always a good de-stressor for me.

Did I want something more with Dray? Hell, we had some amazing chemistry, and we could talk easily.

I needed to get to know him more, make sure we were compatible. Animal attraction wasn’t everything.

It damn well should be though.

I smiled stupidly as Dray exited the gas station holding two hot drinks, walking like he owned the damn place. He just had an air of authority, something that dominated the room when he wanted it to. I tried not to bristle as I realized the woman inside, behind the register, was watching him leave with a forlorn gaze. That changed though when her eyes met mine, and I couldn’t help the oddly smug smile that spread across my lips as she looked away.

“One hot chocolate for the frisky kitten,” he said as he offered it to me.

“Frisky kitten? Why am I a kitten?” I asked as I took it and happily gulped down a delicious mouthful.

“Because you’ve got fire, and when you need to, those claws come out,” he said with a wink as the engine started up.

“And frisky?” I said, my voice dropping low, a little too sensual.

His shoulders stiffened instantly, something I made him do a lot. Every time I did, I noticed how he got a bit tight in the pants too. My voice alone was enough to get him hard if I used it right, and I was loving toying with him.

Those dark eyes met mine, his lips pulled into a tight smile.

“Do you really need to ask?” he rumbled softly, sending shivers up my arms. His gaze was fiery, but he pulled it away as we pulled away from the station.

“You lack a lot of self-control,” I noted.

“Hey, I believe you were the one who said you wanted to hook up with me. You seemed just as bad earlier,” he retorted.

“Touché.”

“Drink your milk, kitten. There’s always time for fun later,” he promised softly, making that warmth curl in my lower stomach.

I was definitely going to hold him to that.