Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) (3 page)

Giving Kelly the once-over, Ava saw that the boots completed her ensemble of slick black leggings and flowing white knit top that came just below her waist and covered a hot pink bandeau that served as a bra. Kelly pulled on a jean jacket, reminding Ava that the lake could be cold in the evenings, and checked herself in the mirror. Her reflection brought a seductive smile to her face, as if she was ready for anything.

Ava turned to face her friend, and Kelly whistled. “You look smoking hot, girl.”

With a nod and a shy grin, Ava checked her own appearance in a fitted purple top and tight jeans. Kelly shook her head. “That top hugs your D-cups like family that hasn’t seen each other in years, and those pants kiss every curve like they’re painted on.”

Rolling her eyes at her friend’s description, Ava pulled on a pair of dark brown cowboy boots, and she had opted for her usual light makeup, applying it flawlessly, and she’d brushed her chestnut hair to a brilliant shine as it swept down her back.

Jumping off the bed to stop Ava from over analyzing and messing something up, Kelly grabbed her by the upper arms and swung her friend around.

“Let’s get our groove on.”

Ava eyed Kelly’s outfit as she modeled it. “I think you’ll definitely get laid tonight.”

Kelly put her hands on her hips and winked. “I can sense that you are right about that.” She smiled wickedly.

“You’re too much,” Ava told her as they headed out the door.

Always invigorated by a party, Kelly threw an arm over Ava’s shoulders. “You know you’ll never get enough of me.” As they headed out, she held up her phone and snapped the critical best friend selfie to add to their collection. At the bottom of the stairwell, which held images of Ava’s life and even a couple of shots of the two of them together as very young girls, Kelly let Ava go ahead to call out to her mother, “We’re leaving, Mom. Don’t wait up, okay?”

“Play safe, you hear me?” Sarah called back, leaning around the kitchen wall to see them and pointedly staring at their outfits.

Kelly beamed at her. “We will, Mrs. Bertrand, I promise.” Ava let herself be ushered out the door, ready to get to the party.

******

A
s she watched the two girls leave, Sarah shook her head. It was undeniable; her little girl had blossomed into a full blown woman. The thought formed a lump in her throat as she turned to go back to the living room. She inhaled sharply to still her nerves and assured herself that everything was fine, at least, for the moment.

Sarah was by no means old, but she felt it these days. Since her husband had passed, she’d taken the brunt of the burden on herself to assure that she and Ava would be alright. Ava had insisted on working, but otherwise, Sarah didn’t bother her with the emotional drain it had been on her to lose her true mate. Her strength had been drained, and she’d begun to age far earlier than she should have.

But Ava was in the prime of her youth, matured but still naïve and full of untainted power. On top of that, she was a tough girl who had proven time and again that she could take care of herself. She’d handled the loss of her father like a champ, been here for a mother who wanted to fall apart, and managed to hold a steady job while still earning a scholarship at a prestigious college. And yet, she’d come back to Willow Falls, the same way Sarah had never been able to get away.

The same way the Minors would never truly be able to leave.

Telling herself that Ava could take care of herself and knowing it was true, Sarah reluctantly turned on the television to distract herself. It would never satisfy her to know that Ava was fine on her own. As a mother, Sarah would always want to be the one to protect her daughter.

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G
rowing anxious as Kelly pulled up to Murphy Lake and parked, Ava jumped out of the car and adjusted her clothes before hurrying around the trunk to grab one of the six packs they had brought with them.

As they walked swiftly down the small trail from the parking area toward the party beside the glistening water, Ava could see the yellow amber light dancing through the woods. Murphy Lake had been the premier hang out location for what Ava assumed was time immemorial. The beautiful body of water was surrounded by enough forested area to serve as secluded hiding for intimate couples, and it wasn’t unusual to accidentally run into some hot and heavy action in the dark.

Tonight, the music echoed up from the shoreline as they drew closer, and Ava saw no need for a flashlight as the last quarter moon glowed brightly to lead them down the path until they were close enough for the fire to guide the way. They entered the clearing, the firelight blazing and nearly blinding Ava in the midst of probably fifty or more partygoers, enjoying the revelries.

Kelly handed her a beer from the six pack she carried. “Ready, set, go,” she giggled.

“Ava! Oh my god, you’re back!” The squealing, half-drunk blonde ran up to her, throwing her arms around Ava’s neck and hugging her while trying not to fall over.

“Jen, how are you?” Ava held Jen’s arms so she wouldn’t topple backward into the flames. The girl never had been able to hold her liquor and drank too much too fast. It was no surprise that the night was just starting and she was already past her limit. Ava didn’t mind so much; they were old friends. But Kelly rolled her eyes and shook her head, as if to say,
it never fails.

Teetering a bit, Jen gestured in the direction of a young man a few feet away, who wore an amused and slightly concerned expression. “Ava, Kelly, you have to meet my boyfriend, Jared.” She hiccupped a little, and Jared came to grab her with gentle hands. Ava liked him already.

He greeted them briefly with a smile and turned Jen away. “Okay, how about we get you back to the car. I have some bottled water and I think that would come in handy right about now.”

Kelly shook her head again and pulled a flask from inside her jean jacket, wiggling it in front of Ava. “Want some?"

Ava made a face. “What is it?”

“Fireball, baby!” she yelled.

“Absolutely!” Ava chirped, grabbing the flask. Taking a much bigger swig than she’d intended, Ava started to cough, the liquid burning all the way down. The warmth spread through her chest cavity and down into her belly, then stretched out to her limbs and made her whole body tingle. Unconsciously, she moaned deeply at the sensation. She licked her lips for the remnants of the cinnamon taste and handed the flask back to her friend.

Letting loose, Ava danced to the music beneath the moonlight, close enough to the blazing fire for the light of the flames to dance on her skin in strange patterns. It created an entrancing glow around Ava as she kept her buzz alive with a couple of beers, which aided in Ava’s easy reconnection to people she hadn’t seen since Christmas, hugging them and giving them genuine smiles. And if she began to feel anxious by the number of people around her, she tapped Kelly’s shoulder and took another small swig from the flask to take the edge off.

Her body was loose and incredibly hot from the alcohol buzzing through her veins, and she danced more, harder, her mind free as she swayed in the night air. She barely took notice of the man that closed in on her. She simply continued moving her hips to the rhythm of the music, her arms in the air and her eyes closed. Even the hand sliding down her thigh didn’t quite bring her out of the trance, the whole purpose behind the music.

It was the rank smell of bourbon that assaulted her nostrils and the harsh whisper too close to her ear that caught her attention. “You’re fucking hot.”

Now, that unfamiliar hand touched her bare skin, and she came completely out of her euphoric daze. Her smile faltered, and she opened her eyes, slowing her movements as she looked upon the man who had intruded in her space. The man stared back at her with a lopsided grin full of drunken self-assurance. He obviously expected her to be flattered by his blatant violation of her space and interruption of her buzz.

She backed up and to the side, raising her arm and slapping the man’s hand from her body like a grotesque fly. She hissed, “Get your fucking hands off me.”

The man stumbled back, temporarily put off. But he recovered and disregarded Ava’s disgust. Ava knew men like him; they wouldn’t take no for an answer, believing that their target just needed a little more persuasion. “Come on, baby, don’t be like that,” he slurred, reaching in to grab her again.

Ava backed away, stepping out of his reach.

“She said fuck off,” Kelly echoed beside her, hostile and threatening.

The man’s countenance changed, full of rage. “It’s a free country, bitch.”

Ava wasn’t intimidated, and she knew for a fact Kelly wasn’t either. They’d had each other’s backs for years when a prick got too frisky.

“Is there a problem here?” Ava turned to see Jared walking up, Jen in tow and four other guys behind him.

“This fucker won’t leave Ava alone,” Kelly called to him. Ava didn’t take her eyes off the creep.

Jared stepped up, glaring at him. “I think it’s time for you to leave.” Only then did Ava notice a second man, standing just behind him and looking just as angry.

The creep turned to his friend, took a quick look at Jared and his crew, and Ava had the impression he was contemplating his odds. He had a fighting stance, but as his eyes seemed to calculate, he apparently didn’t like the situation at all. Finally, he turned to Ava and sneered. “You and me,” he leveled in a low tone, pointing at her and back at himself. “We’ll meet again, pretty lady.” With a wink and a salacious grin, he turned, slapping his friend on the back, and they stalked slowly away, the entire group watching them fade into the darkness of the woods.

Kelly let out a long breath beside Ava. “Fuck me! Are you alright?”

Ava nodded, aggravated. “I’m fine. Except for the buzz kill.” She turned to Jared, who still stood a few feet away, staring at the spot where the two guys had disappeared. “Thanks, Jared.”

He snapped, and two of his friends started off in the same direction. “Not a problem. We’re going to follow them and make sure they actually leave.” He kissed Jen and started after his friends. “Stay here,” he called, “I’ll be right back.” He trotted off.

Ava was glad for both Kelly’s and Jared’s intervention; she felt stronger with her best friend by her side, and yet, from the size of the two men, she knew they’d needed the backing of the boys. She and Kelly couldn’t have fought the two creeps off alone, though she would have fought like a hellcat.

“Are we out of beer?” she asked Kelly, trying to shake off the incident.

Kelly nodded toward the parking lot. “There’s more in the car.”

Decisively, Ava told her friend, “I’m grabbing one. You want one?”

Kelly gave her a stunned look. “Are you kidding me? What about those assholes?”

Ava waved it off. “They went the other direction, and Jared will make sure the coast is clear. I’m sure they’re gone already. I’ll be fine.” Of course, her words were more confident than her heart, but that was the whole purpose of getting the beer in the first place. She started up the trail, calling back, “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

She wouldn’t let a couple of jerks ruin her night or frighten her, she decided as she navigated the path alone. She was on full alert, her senses heightened, but she wouldn’t be afraid. She listened to the music echo through the woods and as she reached the car, she turned to see the moonlight still glinting off the lake. She popped the trunk and grabbed the last six pack, deciding to bring the whole thing. After all, she was stone-cold sober now, and she wanted to change that.

Confidently, she headed back down the path, but an image of her encounter replayed unbidden in her head, and she shivered. Why was it that all the losers found her attractive? As she followed the flickering amber flames back to the bonfire, she shook her head, thinking that there was always some deadbeat trying to lure her in.   She’d had some epic failures in attempting relationships, and she rolled her eyes, thinking there had to be better options out there.

The hair on the back of Ava’s neck stood up, and she stopped dead in her tracks. It felt like someone was watching her, maybe following her in the shadows, and she whipped around, scanning the darkness for anything out of place. “Hello?” she called quietly. There was no response, and Ava felt foolish. There she was, letting the night’s turn of events rule her.

Her heart pounded in her chest a little harder, and she felt anxious. Chiding herself, she turned around and took a step in the direction of the party. It was time to pound a beer or two and get back to that place where she felt free and loose.

She collided with something rock hard and bounced back, nearly knocked to the ground as she stumbled backward to try and catch her balance. Her gaze fell on the most incredible bright green eyes she’d ever seen, and suddenly, a pair of arms slid behind her back, catching her just before she hit the ground, and as she found herself held tight against the rock-hard chest that had caused her fall, his eyes locked on hers.

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H
eat flooded every part of Caleb’s body in a way that heightened his senses and raised red flags in his mind. The universe stopped moving for a moment as he held the girl tight against him and everything he’d loved ceased to exist in that moment as her sky blue eyes bored into his. His sense of loyalty to his pack, his obedience of his father, his connection to his family and home, his hatred for his enemies – all gone, in that instant.

Gravity pulled him toward the girl, and he couldn’t get close enough to her as the purpose of his being was forever altered, now revolving around the woman he held with long chestnut hair and eyes like the brightest summer’s day.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Ava stuttered, pushing at him and trying to tear her eyes away from his. He could feel her heart beating furiously against his own chest, and she sounded as though she couldn’t catch her breath. Caleb reluctantly let go, but she wobbled as if lightheaded, and he clasped his arms around her again, more gently this time, and waited until she seemed recovered to let her steady herself.