Secrets Of The Alpha 2: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (His Secrets Series) (12 page)

“She’s fine. She’s just sleeping,” Vincent said as her mother stepped aside for him to get in. He walked in, straight to the living room, where he gently lay Fran on the couch. His mother took this chance and flung her arms around him. He looked at her when he pulled away.

“It has been…so long,” he said in a soft voice.

“Too long,” his mother said excitedly. “Penelope!” She said as she threw her arms around Penny. “And you brought Josh. How sweet of you,” she added as she embraced Penny’s husband.

“And who is this?” She asked as she looked at me.

“Um…I’m Winnie. Winnie Campbell,” I said with a smile.

“My son has finally settled down, hasn’t he?” She said as she put her hands on my shoulders. I was not sure she could tell, but I was blushing. She pulled me close and held me to her. “It is so nice to meet you.” I could actually hear the genuineness in her voice.

“It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Muse,” I said.

“Oh please, it’s Moira to you. But just to you. The rest of the world knows me as Joanna,” she said. I looked at Vincent, and he shrugged.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Joanna,” I said in a soft voice. “We are sorry we are here so early,” I started, but she shook her head.

“Nonsense. You are no bother at all,” she said with a smile. “It would be great to have some company for breakfast for a change.” She shot an accusatory look to Vincent who had now walked over to where I was.

“Don’t blame me, mother. It’s not easy to make a seven hour drive,” he said. She looked at him and shrugged.

“If you hadn’t brought me my future daughter-in-law, I would have actually taken offense with that statement,” she said. I looked at Vincent and almost asked what she knew.

“There is also the little matter with your safety,” Vincent said as he looked at his mother.

“I hope you like pancakes, Winnie,” she added as she looked at me, totally ignoring Vincent’s statement.

“I love pancakes,” I said with a smile.

“Good. Why don’t you all freshen up before breakfast?” She said before she walked to the kitchen.

Vincent shook his head and looked at Penny.

“You guys remember your old room, don’t you?” He asked, and Penny smiled.

“I need to sleep,” Josh remarked as he stifled a yawn.

“How is Fran?” Penny asked.

Vincent shrugged.

“Still asleep.”

“Well, she should be waking up soon,” she said as she looked at her watch.

“Penny,” Josh started, and Penny nodded before the two walked down the hallway. Vincent took my hand and led me upstairs.

“I’m sorry my mother is so excited. We don’t see each other as much as I would like to,” he said. I shook my head and turned to look at him when we got to the top of the stairs.

“No reason to apologize. She is quite a charm actually,” I said with a smile.

“Oh, and I can tell she likes you too,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really?” I asked, and he nodded.

“I know her better than any other woman….” He paused and put a finger up. I laughed. “That sounded way better in my head,” he said.

“You are a mama’s boy. I don’t mind it,” I said. He frowned.

“Don’t make me take you over my knee right now,” he said. I shrugged and looked around.

“You don’t want to do anything naughty in your mother’s house,” I whispered even though no one was around. He took my hand and led me to one of the rooms there.

“She set this aside as my room,” he said as he opened the door.

A smile played on my face when I saw the inside. Apart from the bed, everything else looked exactly as you would expect a teenage boy’s room to look like. There were posters of cars and models on the walls and everything.

“She changed the bed at least… it was awesome. You should have seen it. It was shaped like a car, but I guess I can’t fit in that old thing anymore,” he added. I shook my head.

“Well, I don’t mind it,” I said as I walked towards the bed.

I put the duffel bag down and sat on the edge of the bed. I kicked off my shoes and laid back looking up at the ceiling. Vincent sat next to me and laid back on the bed as I had. He took my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine.

“I have to ask,” I started. “The apartment in San Pedro…someone must have noticed the car and everything.” He looked at me and shook my head.

“Not at all. I covered my tracks,” he said. I shrugged.

“How?” I asked.

“I had someone on my payroll, someone I trusted, watching the place for me. He would take the car out for a drive every couple of days so that things didn’t look so suspicious,” he explained.

“I knew this day would come, so I had all my dominoes in line. When he comes back and finds the car missing, he will know what to do.”

I still didn’t understand.

“What do you mean he will know what to do?” I asked.

“The apartment. He is going to clean it out and get rid of all the fingerprints and everything. I am never going back to that place, but I want to be sure that in case of anything, nothing is ever going to lead back to you, Fran, or Penny,” he concluded. I drew little circles at the back of his hand with my thumbs.

“I think in another life you were a mob boss,” I said with a smile, and he smiled back.

“You know, I lost a lot today, but I am really happy that I still have you.” He was now stroking the side of my face using his index finger. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you, too.” I brought my hand up and held his neck.

“Thank goodness we will never have to know,” I said in a whisper.

Chapter 12

After a shower and a change of clothes, we all went down to the kitchen for breakfast. Joanna, as it turned out, was as good a cook as she was kind. We all recounted the events that had led us to get out of Hollywood, and though she was listening intently, I could see the fear of losing her children written all over Joanna’s face. She looked at Fran and sighed.

“You could have died,” she said in a soft voice. “Both of you,” she added as she looked at Vincent.

“Well, ma, some people did die,” Fran said sadly.

“I know…poor old Ophagia was always so loyal. Even to her death,” Joanna said sadly.

“At least her sacrifice wasn’t for nothing,” Josh said as he held his wife’s hand. Penny looked at him and smiled.

“We will always remember those who gave their lives for us,” she said looking at Fran who gave her a small smile.

After breakfast, Vincent announced that he was going to be leaving later that day, much to Joanna’s disappointment.

“You know, I would love to stay, but I’d rather be far away and knowing that you are all safe,” he said, looking around the table.

“I hate this,” Joanna said as she brushed off a tear.

“I know, mother. I do, too,” Vincent said as he walked over to his mother. He leaned over and held her shoulders.

“But you will have Fran here And Penny and Josh also need a place to stay before they figure out their next move.” Joanna brushed off another tear.

“When am I going to see you again?” She asked without turning around. Vincent shook his head.

“I don’t know, and honestly it is better if you don’t know that either,” he said.

I knew how hard all this was on her. I would have felt the same too, if I was in her position. That evening after we’d had dinner, Vincent ran upstairs and came back with the duffel bag. He handed Penny a stack of cash, and she gasped in surprise.

“No, Vincent,” she said when she saw the money. “I won’t accept it. You already paid me for all my service!”

Vincent wouldn’t hear of it.

“Don’t think of it as a payment. Think of it as an appreciation. An early Christmas gift, if you may,” he said, but Penny was adamant.

“Vincent…what I did, I did because I cared about you and…” she started before Vincent took her hands and placed the money in them.

“Take it. If I ever meant anything to you, please just take it,” he said in a soft voice. I noticed a tear rolling down Penny’s cheek.

“I will miss you so much,” she said in a soft voice as she threw her arms around his shoulders. I couldn’t help but notice how small she looked in his arms.

“I’ll miss you too,” he said in a soft voice. He looked at her when he pulled away. “You’ll be safe here… or wherever you and Josh want to go,” he said with a smile.

“I think we’ll stay put for a while,” Josh said as the two men shared a brief hug. “That is, if it is okay with you Joanna,” he added quickly.

“Of course,” Joanna said smiling at them. Vincent then walked to his sister and looked into her eyes.

“You know for the longest time now, you’ve been like my shadow,” he said as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He shook his head. “It’s going to be hard to get used to living without that.” She smiled and used her free hand to pull him close. “I love you, little sister,” he said in a soft voice.

“I love you too,” Fran said.

Her voice was so low, almost like a whisper. I couldn’t help but feel emotional as I stood there watching them embrace. She pulled away from him, and Vincent walked over to Joanna. He took her in his arms and held her tightly as if he was afraid she might disappear if he let her go. When he finally pulled away, Joanna’s eyes were teary. He looked at everyone before he sighed.

“You had all just better get inside the house. This is already hard enough on me as it is,” he said before giving everyone a hug again. No one really wanted to go in, but at Joanna’s insistence, they all had to. Vincent looked at the door for a long time before he turned to look at me.

There was a sad smile on his face as he stepped forward to give me a deep kiss before he turned around and then walked to the SUV. I had already said my goodbyes earlier. I followed him to the SUV, and when I got there, he looked at me. His words said it all, everything I was feeling. It was like I was looking at a mirror of all my emotions. He took my hand and pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my own arms around him and closed my eyes.

“I don’t know how to do this, Winnie,” he said in a low voice. I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Say goodbye to you,” he said softly. I shook my head.

“I don’t…I understand,” I said as I looked at him.

“Then you didn’t come to say goodbye?” He asked as he looked at me.

“Say goodbye? To you?” I was still confused. We were not on the same page, let alone reading from the same book.

“Why the hell would I do that?” I asked, surprised.

“But back there….you didn’t say goodbye to anyone. I thought it was because you already knew what I had to do,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“I already said my goodbyes inside. I didn’t want to steal your moment,” I said. “And what exactly do you have to do?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I have to let you go.”

My eyes grew wide.

“What?”

“If I am going to protect you then this is the only way I can keep you safe. I’ll give you money, something to set you up for a few months maybe a year as you figure out your next move…” I never gave him a chance to finish what he was saying. I honestly didn’t want to hear it, whatever he had to say.

“Where the hell am I going to go? What am I going to do?” I asked angrily.

“You can go anywhere you want to go and hopefully live a normal life,” he said simply as if what he was saying was the easiest thing on earth.

“I can’t do that Vincent…I fucking can’t.” A single tear was now rolling down my cheek.

“You are all I have in this world. You cannot ask me to do this.” He took a step towards me and brushed off the tear from my cheek.

“Baby, the sacrifice that Nathan made….I’m not strong enough to do that. I cannot lose you,” he said.

“You are not losing me,” I said.

“If I keep you close, I am afraid that I will. Nathan’s family died because he couldn’t let them go,” he said.

“You don’t know if his family died for sure,” I pointed out.

“I know how these people work, Winnie. And believe me when I tell you that I know for a fact that they killed Nathan’s family. They were loose ends,” he explained. I was shaking my head as he went on giving me all the reasons why I should have let him go alone.

“You are being ridiculous,” I said.

“You know I’m right,” he said as he took my hand s again. I tried to pull them away, but he was holding me tighter than he had before.

“Baby, being with me will always bring you pain and heartbreaks or even death.” I was still shaking my head. I didn’t think that he could say anything that could make me agree to leave him.

“Winnie, please trust me on this. I may be a man and a wolf, but I can’t always choose which one. And men and wolves cannot live together. They never have, and honestly they never will.”

“I have been living with you all this time,” I said as I looked into his eyes. Another tear was rolling down my cheek. He used a thumb and brushed off the tear.

“So what? You are just going to leave me?” I asked. The anger in my voice was as oud as ever. “Do you really think I am going to let you do that?”

“What?” he asked, surprised.

“Do you really think you can just let me go? Don’t I get a say in it?” I asked as I brushed off another tear. I didn’t know if he could tell, but my heart was literally breaking with every word he spoke.

“Winnie, you know that I love you. More than you will ever know, but I cannot think of any way I can be with you without putting you in danger,” he said as he held my face in his hands.

“All I need right now is to know that you are going to be safe. I need that for my sanity,” he added. I looked into his eyes, and suddenly I had a brilliant idea.

“Bite me,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’m sorry, what?” He asked, surprised.

“Bite me,” I said again without even stammering. The look he was giving me at that moment spoke volumes. I knew that he was thinking I must have been crazy for asking him to do that for me, to me.

“Do you know what you are asking me to do?” He asked as he took a step away, and I nodded. I knew exactly what I was asking him to do.

“What? It worked for Nathan, didn’t it? Why wouldn’t it work for me?” I asked angrily. I did see Nathan Hughes die, so I knew that him turning a living being wouldn’t be so hard.

“But you will become like me…and the urges…” he sighed and shook his head.

“You will not be able to control yourself, and with Ophagia gone, I can’t trust that you won’t go wild on the world,” he said as if I didn’t already know the implications of his bite.

But I didn’t care what he thought at that moment because I had made up my mind. I not only knew the dangers of what I was asking, but I also knew exactly what kind of danger I would be facing. I mean, I had been living with him for the last few months when everything that could go wrong actually did go wrong. And even as an inexperienced human, I had managed to stay alive.

Yes, I knew exactly what I wanted, and I was going to get exactly that.

“If you do not bite me right now, I promise you that I will go wild on the world because nothing and no one is going to keep me from spending the rest of my life with you,” I said sternly as I looked right into his eyes.

I could see that he was battling with his conscience. He wanted to do it because he loved me. I knew that he did; he had told me so a million and one times, but at the same time, he was scared of what this would mean.

“My place is by your side,” I said in a whisper as I held the side of his face. He moved closer to me and slipped an arm around my waist. I could still see the doubt in his eyes.

“Don’t think about it, just do it,” I begged. He shook his head.

“I just cannot not think about it,” he whispered. “Baby, I will ruin your life.”

“I would rather live a life in ruins with you than live a perfect life alone,” I said as my hand slipped to his neck.

He looked at me for a long minute before he brought his head down to meet my lips in a long magnificent kiss. It was the kind of kiss that sent shivers down my spine, the kind of kiss that made my panties wet the minute his tongue touched mine. He was pinning me against the SUV, not caring that we were outside in the open for everyone to see us. I was panting when he pulled away from me. He kissed my chin and then trailed his lips to my neck. I was moaning as he nibbled at the sensitive part of my neck he knew a little too well. I was panting as he kissed my neck and ran his tongue all the way to my shoulder blade. Each moment was making me thank my lucky stars for wearing a halter necked dress. I suddenly heard a soft growl, and without even looking, I knew what was happening. He was transforming. He never went through with the complete transformation. After all, it’s not like I needed his whole body.

I suddenly gasped when the beautiful erotic sensation I had been feeling suddenly turned into sharp, piercing pain as his teeth sunk into my flesh. My grip around his neck tightened as I felt the warm blood slowly trickle down to my dress. My breathing had been reduced to a series of short gasping breaths. I whimpered as he pulled away from me. I felt his tongue gently cleaning the bloody wound before he stepped away slowly transforming back to human form. I opened my eyes to see him looking at me, worried.