Read Alpha Knows Best (Wicked Good Witches Book 2) Online
Authors: Starla Silver
Alpha Knows Best (Wicked Good Witches Book 2) (15 page)
How could she?
It was a childish crush and nothing more.
This is what he’d thought until he’d kissed her hand and let his guard down. Allowing Melinda to engulf his senses. He’d accidentally slipped into her mind. Something that required an intimate connection, which he hadn’t allowed to take place in a hundred years.
In doing so, he witnessed her thoughts. The desires playing out in her mind.
His hands exploring her deepest secrets. Flesh against flesh. Fangs puncturing her delicate neck. Tasting her. Melinda’s reaction to his touch shattering all his defenses.
The sights, the sounds, emblazoned in his mind. Waking carnal cravings that had slept for too long now. Too long to allow them to wake up and take control of him.
And then he’d heard that heart flutter, the one driving him mad for days. And realized with the utmost clarity and certainty that he was the cause of it.
He delighted in the fact he was responsible for that flutter.
Confirmation of her true feelings…
And then he’d left. Left her alone without explanation.
He would not allow it to go any further. Even if it meant giving up his life on The Demon Isle.
Catherine Howard’s final words haunted him. He refused to allow them to fill his thoughts and pretended she’d never said it. He could not do what she asked. Ever.
He’d made a promise to protect the Howard Witches. Long ago.
But he’d made a second promise as well, to never fall in love with another human.
To protect the Howards, he might
have
to leave the Isle.
“I am a vampire. I cannot love Melinda Howard.”
It’s too late
his dead heart echoed.
“Then I will love from afar,” he proclaimed.
##
Before going home, there was one stop Charlie wanted to make. He stood in front of Nina’s house. He wanted to miss her, to mourn her, but he felt nothing but devout gratefulness. He looked at his finger, now adorned by the black ring. He looked up at the full moon, no longer fearing its rise.
Nina.
The Guardian he’d been seeing for three summers.
The Guardian that had given him physical release had now saved his life.
He recalled their first meeting like it was yesterday.
Nina had walked right up to him and kissed him. She hadn’t even introduced herself. He was standing on this same beach, late at night. Worked up. Full moon just days away. Bottle of tequila four shots down… worried about his sister. His brother. Missing his parents. Unsure he was able to do his job well enough to keep them all alive.
They spent the rest of that night on the beach, and many other nights that summer. He chuckled at the memory. She might have been a Guardian watching out for him and not actually on vacation, but they’d had a lot of fun while she did. He would definitely miss her.
Damp stung at his eyes. He did love Nina.
He wasn’t in love with her, she wasn’t the settling down type and he wasn’t ready for that yet either. Although he’d never been able to think like that. Too afraid he might bite a woman and turn her into a werewolf.
He felt obligated to settle down and start a family. It was his job to do so and carry on the Howard line. He peered at the ring… he knew so little about it. Would it really protect him? Keep him from getting hurt, or from hurting anyone else?
Footsteps approached. He turned to see who it was. “Michael, hey.” He was surprised to see his brother.
“Everything okay?” he asked with a bemused smile. “Melinda told me where this place was. I assumed you might come here.”
Charlie nodded. “Alpha’s dead,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I can’t imagine how that must feel.”
“It’s like I’m breathing as a free man for the first time in ten years.”
Michael patted him on the shoulder. “I have tried to imagine you transforming before, but to actually see it, I have to say it was pretty insane.” He paused before asking, “What’s it like?”
Charlie thought for a moment before replying.
“It’s like… giving in to every primal instinct. Giving in to every desire you’ve ever had. Every urge. Without a single fear of the consequence.”
They stood in silence for a moment. The only sound, the crashing of waves against the shore.
“You know, in some ways, Michael, I’ve been hiding myself away, just the same as Melinda did. I was so afraid I might hurt someone, or find something meaningful and have to give it up... I guess I’d let the wolf win a long time ago.” Charlie looked at the ring again. “What Nina gave me today, I only hope I can prove myself worthy to own.” He paused before continuing. “It’s what set me off at the morgue, seeing the ring missing from her finger.”
Michael waited for him to explain.
“Nina told me that a Guardian’s ring can only be taken off voluntarily. Built in safety measure. When I saw it missing, I knew she had for some reason, taken it off. I just couldn’t imagine what that reason could be.”
“I guess she thought it was for a good cause,” Michael comforted, his tone sympathetic. “I’ll leave you alone. Just wanted to make sure you were still alive and kicking. See you at home, Charlie.”
He nodded with a humbled exhale. “I won’t be far behind.”
Michael left, and Charlie walked out onto the deserted beach, the full moon tossing shadows onto the water’s surface. He swallowed hard, his throat tight.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed saving, Nina. Thank you. Thank you.”
##
A block away, a body that looked like Michael Howard began to shift and contort as it walked down an empty moonlit road. When the shifting was completed, Eva Jordan craned her neck, stretching.
“Too fucking easy,” she congratulated herself. A sinful grin spread across her face as she walked away from Charlie Howard. “The ring can only be removed voluntarily. I can definitely work with that…”
##
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To read Book 3,
Bye Bye, Bloodsucker
, visit:
www.starlasilver.com
or Starla’s Amazon Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Starla-Silver/e/B00PREX74U