The Alpha's Quest Collection (7 page)

Eva rolled over in bed and looked at the man she had grown to love so passionately over the last week and a half. He wasn’t asleep; instead, he had a content look on his face, like he had been watching her sleep this entire time.

“Well, hello, Mr. Rowan,” she said, giggling.

“Hello, Ms. Eva,” he said, laughing back at her.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Of course I did. I was right next to you the whole time.”

“But you don’t get to sleep in wolf form anymore when you’re with me. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Rowan’s face scrunched as he thought about it for a second. Eva always thought he looked even sexier when he was thinking hard. Finally he smiled and shook his head. “No, babe, not at all. I used to sleep in wolf form because it helped me avoid the nightmares of my past. My human skin felt like a prison, like it was holding me captive. I had to escape it and stretch and be free. I don’t need any of that anymore, now that I have you. The nightmares are gone and I’ve never felt more comfortable in my human skin.”

“Really?” Eva asked. “All because of me?”

“You’re the best thing to ever happen to me,” Rowan said, leaning over and kissing her softly on the forehead. “The best.”

“I feel bad, Rowan,” she said, looking down.

“Why?” he asked, placing his thumb under her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes. “What would you ever have to feel bad about?”

“I just feel bad that we’re here in bed together having fun while Hawk is out there alone in the woods, trying to solve a problem we’re very much involved in.”

“I told you, my part is done in this. I can’t defy my alpha’s orders.”

“I don’t think our part is done, honey. Your sister will be back if Hawk succeeds. I know you and Aster are going to avoid her, but that might not be possible. Plus, can we really trust Abaddon to keep his word?”

“No, we can’t trust him at all. Unfortunately, we have no choice. We can’t beat them in combat, Eva, we just can’t.”

“I know,” she said, looking away again. “Have you ever considered what will happen if Hawk fails, though?”

“Hawk will not fail,” Rowan said, his hand forming into a fist that he began to grind into the mattress. “He can’t.”

“Why can’t he fail? Not everyone succeeds one hundred percent of the time.”

“Hawk won’t fail,” Rowan repeated, still grinding his fist. “He’s our only hope and he knows it. He’s the one who watches over Bucklin. He loves this town more than anybody else. He’s sacrificed so much in his life to be Bucklin’s vigilant father, and he would never let us down. He will attack this mission with a single-minded desire like nothing you’ve ever seen before. He can’t be stopped.”

“I know,” she said, looking back at Rowan. She wanted to believe him so much, but it was hard for her to. She felt the evil in the forest, it was there and it was very real. Could Hawk overcome that by himself? Rowan looked so determined, so sure of himself. “I guess I’m just worrying about nothing, honey.”

“Don’t worry about it, beautiful,” he said, leaning over and kissing her. “By now Hawk is probably at Beorn’s house, eating a hearty breakfast. He will have been in the forest all day yesterday and all night.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said, cuddling up closer to Rowan and smashing her bare breasts against his heavily muscled chest. “Poor guy, all alone in the big forest. Too bad he doesn’t have something like this to keep him company.”

She could feel Rowan’s manhood stiffen as she pressed against him. She loved that it only took a simple touch to completely turn her man on and send him over the edge.

“Every wolf should have something like this,” Rowan said, cupping one of Eva’s heavy breasts in his hand. “Or someone as wonderful as you.”

She yelped and then smiled as his other hand reached around and squeezed one of her round butt cheeks with force. Maybe it would be helpful if every wolf had a human.

* * *

This is a nightmare,
Hawk thought as he stopped for the umpteenth time and stared up at the sun, trying to find his way.

Nightfall should have already come, but the sun still remained high overhead. Every patch of forest looked exactly the same and he couldn’t pick up any scent to lead him out of his endless loop.

It was the evil presence, he knew it was. It was corrupting the forest and corrupting his mind. He was completely and utterly lost. He was the all-powerful watcher of Bucklin, but now he was completely and utterly blind—his worst nightmare.

The incessant chattering and questioning from the human he had dragged along didn’t help matters, either. Were all humans this damn chatty and inquisitive? If so, he didn’t understand how Rowan put up with it, since he had even less tolerance for extraneous bullshit than Hawk did.

He looked back at her as she smiled at him, still following closely behind. She was radiant in the sunlight, not letting the fact that they had been walking for close to fifteen hours get her down.

Does she even know how long we’ve been walking?
he wondered.
She hasn’t even commented that night never fell. Does she know?

Hawk was becoming even more convinced that this human was insane. Who knew what crazy thoughts were flying through her head?

Was she going to brandish a knife and kill him the moment he let his guard down? Humans did love to kill each other for petty reasons. Or was she high on some sort of drug or alcohol? It was impossible for a werewolf to be affected by either due to their high metabolism, but he had heard plenty of stories about the way humans reacted to those things.

“What?” she finally asked as he continued to stare at her.

“Do you notice nothing?” he asked, doing nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice.

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking confused.

“Do you know how long we’ve been walking?” he asked.

“A long time,” she said.

“Try fifteen hours,” he said.

“Fifteen hours?” she asked, her eyes growing wide. “It hasn’t been that long. I’d be dead if we’d been walking that long.”

“It
has
been that long,” he insisted. “And you haven’t noticed something else?”

“No. What?”

“It should be nighttime.”

“You’re right,” she answered, looking up at the sky. “Where’s the moon?”

“Where’s the moon?” he asked, growing very annoyed. “How about why the hell is the sun still up?”

“Oh yeah, that.”

“Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Oh yeah!”

“Whoa there, Mister Hawk,” she said, putting both hands out in a
slow down
motion. “Calm down. There’s no need to be shouting.”

“What is with you?” he asked, grabbing at his hair. His calm and cool demeanor had completely left him now. He was powerless against the evil that was manipulating him and powerless against the human female. “Nothing seems to bother you at all. Does it not bother you that you’re on a quest with a werewolf to find a missing girl who was kidnapped by some bad dudes that could very well be waiting to do us harm?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, rubbing her chin as if she was deep in thought. “That is pretty bad.”

“Are you insane?” he asked bluntly.

“Excuse me?” she asked, finally growing angry. “What did you say to me?”

“Are you a crazy person?” he asked, leaning over close to her face. He took his index finger and pressed it against her forehead, pushing her head back with it. “Are there five people running around up there telling you what to do?”

“Why in the hell would you ask me that?” she asked, slapping his hand away.

“Because you act like a crazy person,” he said.

“Maybe you act like a crazy person to me,” she shot back.

“This isn’t about me,” he said, crossing his arms in front of him. “This is about you and whatever mental issues you have. No human should be this calm and cool in the face of so much danger. No human should want to fuck someone they just met in the middle of a forest after almost being kidnapped. No human should be able to trudge along for fifteen hours straight without questioning why they’ve been walking for so long with nightfall never hitting!”

“Okay,” she said. “I admit it looks bad that I want to jump your bones so badly, but I’m trying to be good. I can’t explain why I feel the way I do, but damn, you’re hot. I mean, look at that cute face and those lean, powerful arms. I just want them wrapped around me while...”

“Focus!” Hawk shouted. Although he had to admit he liked where she was going with that story.

“I don’t know why I feel that way,” she said. “I’m trying to control it. But I’m not scared, because I know everything will be alright.”

“That’s it?” he asked, growing even more flustered. He threw his arms in the air and rolled his eyes. He was getting nowhere with her.

“Yes, that’s it,” she said, putting her hands on her hips as she stomped one foot. “I don’t appreciate you questioning my sanity. Sure, I’m in therapy, but not because I’m insane.”

“You’re in therapy? What in the hell for?”

“Oh, man,” she said, smiling mischievously. “I didn’t mean to let that slip.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“That’s not a compliment. You still haven’t told me what you’re in therapy for.”

“Well, Mr. Hawk, if you’re nice to me, maybe you’ll find out,” she said, pushing past him. “Now, let’s go! That bear isn’t going to find himself!”

Hawk watched her walk away, feeling completely helpless. He wasn’t sure what scared him more: the evil presence or the short, attractive human girl.

Ciara laughed as she waited for the befuddled alpha wolf to catch up with her. She had completely thrown him for a loop with her reaction to his questioning. She could tell she was annoying him with all of her questions, but she wanted as much information as possible.

Of course, if this were real life she probably
would
look like a crazy person unafraid of anything. But Hawk was just a figment of her imagination, as was this entire quest. It hadn’t turned to night because this was her vision quest and it didn’t follow the normal rules of everyday life.

Who cared if her spirit guardian was annoyed with her? All she had to do was follow him and avoid having sex with him to pass the tests laid out in front of her.

However, a devilish thought had been forming in her head for quite some time, one that might lead her to completely jump Hawk’s imaginary bones and take him to town. He was nothing like the guys she normally slept with. He wasn’t an overconfident, cocky, sociopathic frat boy who thought the world revolved around him. He wasn’t a leering predator who would take advantage of the drunk girl and then high-five his buddies about it the next day. As a matter of fact, he was completely lost and nervous around her, a quality she found quite endearing and adorable.

Maybe he’s the nice guy I’ve always rejected,
she thought.
He’s the guy I’m supposed to end up with instead of hopping from douche bag to douche bag.

She’d been throwing these thoughts around for a long time now, wondering if she was supposed to end up with Hawk at the end of the quest. Was her test to not sleep with Hawk or was her test to fall in love with him? Unfortunately, hallucinogenic vision quests didn’t come with instruction manuals.

He definitely didn’t know how to take her carefree attitude; it really seemed to throw him off. Figment of her imagination or not, she probably needed to take things more seriously to complete the quest. At any minute the whole world could melt away around her and she would find herself sitting back at camp, the same girl and the same person.

She didn’t like the prospect of having done all of this for naught, especially if she was going to be the same person she had been before. She didn’t like who she’d become. Maybe she’d been lying to herself the whole time, thinking the problem was with other people coming down on her and not accepting her fun lifestyle for what it was. This quest was starting to show her that she had lived twenty years of life and had absolutely nothing to show for it except a string of one-nighters and a fairly serious police record thanks to her drinking.

I have to take this seriously or I won’t complete it,
she told herself, looking up at Hawk. He was walking with a purpose, but his cool and calm demeanor had given way to a nervous and fidgety one. It was obvious he was completely off his game and didn’t know how to react. He was her spirit guide, he was the one who was going to lead her to salvation—she had to treat him with more respect and reverence.

“Hey, Hawk,” she began, putting a hand on his arm. She immediately felt the muscles in his arm tense at her touch as he looked down at her, a wild look close to fear in his eyes.

“What is it?” he asked, taking deep breaths. He was really messed up from her attitude. She had to make it right or she’d never finish this.

“I’m sorry for acting so weird,” she said. “This...it isn’t me. I’m just freaked out by the whole situation and this is the way I cope.”

It wasn’t entirely true; she wasn’t taking it seriously because she knew none of it was real and she couldn’t be harmed. But she had to say something to let her spirit guide know she was serious again, otherwise he could lead her astray.

His look softened and his breathing became a bit more normalized as he slowed his pace. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“It
is
my fault,” she insisted. “I shouldn’t be acting like this. This is a serious quest we’re on and I need to take it seriously. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” he said, shaking his head. “It really is not your fault. You can’t help it, just like I can’t help some of my feelings right now.”

“I
can
help it,” she said. “I will be better about this.”

“Well, actually, I don’t know if you can,” he said, stopping where he stood and turning towards her. “There’s something I haven’t told you about our trip so far.”

Ciara felt her stomach knot up. Something really wasn’t right here; maybe the cactus juice was beginning to wear off? She definitely felt fear that she hadn’t felt a few minutes ago. The burning lust she had felt earlier was back too, making her pussy throb with uncontrollable urge and desire. Normally she would’ve jumped into bed with a guy like Hawk, no questions asked, but the extreme urges she was feeling towards him just weren’t natural.

As he looked at her she laughed and shook her head. She had thought Doctor Haley was full of shit, but here she was living out a real-life spirit quest thanks to his crazy drugs. The cactus juice was a hell of a drug and if this worked then Doctor Haley was one hell of a doctor.

“Go on,” she said, looking up into Hawk’s piercing eyes. If he had wanted to, he could have stared a hole right through Ciara that would have made her legs give way, bringing her crashing to the ground. There was so much power and determination behind those eyes; it was any woman’s dream to have a man like that.

“This trek through the forest isn’t what it seems,” he began. She could tell he was hesitant to tell her the rest, but why?

“It’s okay, Hawk,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and rubbing gently. “I won’t be mad about what you kept from me. We’re in this together now.”

You can’t escape me anymore than I can escape you, buddy,
she thought.
Of course I don’t want to escape you, you’re my guide.

“The reason it hasn’t turned to night yet is because we’re not alone out here,” he said, letting a large
whoosh
of breath out after he completed his sentence.

“Of course we’re not,” she said, glancing around. “There’s other wolves out here. You rescued me from one, remember? There’s also a kidnapped she-wolf and a lonely old bear. There’s probably also the guys who kidnapped her out here too, based on what you told me.”

“There’s something else,” he said, turning around and raising his arms to his sides in a crucifix pose.

Ciara was beginning to get freaked out now. She walked around in front of Hawk and nearly fell over. His eyes were closed and his head was drawn back with a dreamy smile on his face. It was like something wonderful was washing over him and he was enjoying every moment of it.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“You can’t feel it?” he asked. “You can’t feel the presence?”

“You’re starting to scare me, Hawk,” she said, backing away from him. Was he going to turn on her now, too?

“I’m fighting it as best I can, Ciara,” he said, his eyes still closed. “But every time I acknowledge it, its hold on me grows stronger. We have to find Beorn. He’ll know what to do.”

“Then let’s go,” she said, trying to walk away.

Unfortunately Hawk remained transfixed in his Jesus pose, not opening his eyes.

“It won’t let us find Beorn,” he said. “It wants us to lose ourselves in the forest completely. It wants our souls, Ciara. You can’t feel that?”

“Feel what?” she shouted. She was beginning to get upset with Hawk, who was obviously cracking up. How could her spirit guide rescue her if he was losing his mind?

“The evil presence in the forest,” he answered, opening his eyes. She stared into them, wondering if they had changed color, wondering if she was going to see some kind of change. But the same beautiful eyes with the calm, boyish charm remained. She let out a sigh of relief as she looked into his eyes.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

“It was washing over me, Ciara,” he said. “Screaming at me. I stood my ground for the first time and let it come to me, but it couldn’t take me. I could feel the black tendrils grabbing for my heart, but they couldn’t take it.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, looking around at the trees. They were still alone; there was nothing else in the forest to face them. “What are you talking about?”

“Rowan discovered it first,” he began. “He and Eva felt something in the forest when they were out here. See, when we wolves mate with another being, we form an emotional bond. We can feel the other’s heart and soul.”

“That’s beautiful,” she interrupted, suddenly wanting to feel that more than anything. “A real-life love connection.”

“Yes,” he said. “But when a human and a wolf connect, it’s much stronger for the human.”

“Why?”

“Because humans aren’t used to the world of the supernatural like we are. Everything they feel is a new emotion, a new sensation if you will. It hits them much harder. It’s like poking your finger with a needle. The first few times it bleeds and hurts, but eventually you build a callous that protects you from the needle. Humans don’t have that callous.”

“But eventually this Eva girl will get it right?” she asked.

“I’m not so sure about that,” he answered. “We’ve been exposed to it for a lifetime, humans have not. It’s just not in your nature. It’s why a lot of witches and wizards go mad over time. They’re just not meant to play with the forces they manipulate.”

“I see.”

“I’m getting off track, though. Eva felt a strong evil presence in the forest, reaching for her, grabbing for her. I felt it when I entered the forest and the deeper we’ve gone the stronger it has gotten. It’s trying to bring out the worst in me. It wants me to do things I’d never dream of doing.”

Ciara felt like someone had punched her in the gut. That was why she was so filled with lust and desire for Hawk—the presence was bringing out the absolute worst in her. It wanted her to fail at her quest. It wanted her to give in and do what she’d always done.

“I won’t hurt you, Ciara,” he said, reaching forward and rubbing his hand on her face. “No matter what it tells me to do. I’m sworn to protect those weaker than me and that includes you.”

“Thank you,” she said, feeling very nervous. The presence wanted him to hurt her? This wasn’t good, not good at all. What if he lost strength?

“Let’s go,” he said, pulling her forward. “I have a feeling that after that little battle, it might let us out of the maze we’ve been trapped in.”

“Will it be back?”

“With a vengeance. Right now it’s probably cooking something new up for us, but we’ll be ready. We just have to stick together. Two souls are stronger than one.”

“Okay. Hawk, where did it come from?”

“I don’t know,” he said, giving her a grave look. “It’s demonic in nature. It wants to corrupt everything about the forest. Stay close.”

Ciara didn’t say anything, she just followed. She had a feeling she knew where the presence was coming from and she didn’t like it. It had to be the bad side of herself.