Page 6 of Elusive Alpha
“That sounds nice,” I responded, pushing the screen door open. The back of the inn had a huge porch with rocking chairs and more of the landscaping marking the season. Beyond the steps was a large grassy area. I could see a fire pit and some chairs around it. A hammock hung between two trees in the distance.
We walked down the stairs, and I paused at the bottom. “Which way?”
Instead of answering, the tall alpha took my hand and I gasped at the power of the contact. Skin to skin. Nothing more than our palms and fingers meeting and yet, the new bond pushed through me, stronger than anything I’d ever known. My knees melted and before I knew it, his hands were wrapped around my waist. “Are you okay?” he asked, smiling. This man. He knew what was going on.
“Knees went weak for a second. Must be all the travel.”
He pursed those smooth lips. “Right. Either that or something…magical.”
This man was dangerous. Good dangerous. Sexy dangerous. I was in trouble. The best kind of trouble.
I finally caught my breath. “I’m good now. Thank you.”
He pulled his hands back. “Let’s walk.”
We went into the woods. Not possible without a flashlight for humans but, with our shifter sight, it was no problem.
“May I ask what kind of shifter you are?”
“Of course. You can ask me anything. I keep my life private for the most part but not with you.” Hearing him say that warmed every single inch of me. “I’m a panther shifter.”
“Oh!” I said and almost tripped over a root. I didn’t, thank goodness. “I’ve never met a panther shifter.”
“Now you have. And you’re a bear.”
“I am.” We came to a clearing and the moon seemed to be bigger in this spot. I lifted my head and true to Franklin’s words, the smells of cinnamon, apples, and crisp fall air pushed toward me. While my eyes were closed, Rook laced his fingers through mine once again.
“What a perfect night.”
“You’ve got that right.”
I opened my eyes and saw the alpha staring at me. I shivered, but it had nothing to do with the chill in the air. It wasthe effect he had on me. My bear was roaring at me.Mate. Mate. Mate.
He was right.
Rook was my fated mate. I had no doubt in my mind.
Chapter Seven
Rook
The woods near the inn were a mix of deciduous and trees like pines that did not lose their leaves, so the scents that surrounded us as we walked spoke to my cat and to me. Idris and I strolled along, undisturbed by animals that no doubt sensed the predators who walked among them. We were no danger to them as we were, but it would take only a few seconds and a waste of perfectly good clothing to present them with larger-than-normal versions of apex predators. Yet, my cat wanted to protect the omega as if he was a small, delicate creature instead of a giant bear.
Not that I’d seen the bear yet, but I knew.
“Why do you think the orchard smells like cinnamon apples?” he asked as we were getting close to the tree line. “Is there a variety with that scent?”
“I don’t believe so.” I stepped over a fallen log and guided Idris over so he wouldn’t get hurt. “But I did see a sign when I was arriving that said something about a farm stand. Maybe they make cinnamon apples to sell there.”
“Oh, okay,” he said. “Thanks for clearing that up.”
“I could be wrong. We’ll have to ask Franklin.”
“Or we could pop over there and see?” he suggested. “Might be closed though.”
Leaving the woods, we crossed the road to the orchard and walked along for a few hundred yards until we came to a wooden structure. I hadn’t noticed it when I arrived, but it was much larger than the little shed I expected, but the sign out front said closed. The cinnamon scent grew stronger here, almost overwhelming yet still in a good way.
Idris cupped a hand over his eyes and peered through the window. “Wow, they have everything here.”
