Obsessions
Authors: Bryce Evans
OBSESSIONS
Alpha City, Book #1
Bryce Evans
Copyright © June 2014 Bryce Evans
Art and Logo Copyright © Bryce Evans
All rights reserved.
Edited
by: Dreamer’s Web Editing
&
Pamela Snyder
Artwork
by: Jess Buffett
Published
by: Bryce Evans
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This
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Table of Contents
A city, run by shifters? In Alpha city, wolves,
bears, tigers, panthers, and jaguars live together in peace, centered and led
by the Council of Alpha’s. Ryder Malone is the Alpha of his werewolf pack. He
carefully balances his responsibilities as the official head of the Council, and
older brother to his sister Zoey, but when she decides to leave for college, he
finds himself drawn to her roommate.
Like an obsession, London Grey is under Ryder’s
skin. To his shock, the young witch orphan, and her best friend decide to move
back to Alpha City with Zoey to create a new business. But someone in Alpha
City doesn’t want them to succeed.
Like a bad itch, mysterious happenings haunt the
newcomers and the town’s Alpha. Can they figure out the mystery before tragedy
happens? Or will Ryder and London’s own chemistry cause them to miss the
obvious?
I would like to dedicate this book to my amazing
husband and beautiful children. I love you all very much.
A special thank you to my sister, who tells me that
she thinks I’m the greatest, and gives me hope to continue with pursuing my
passion.
Several other people I would like to recognize and
say thank you to: Jess Buffett for creating a beautiful cover for me, Bobbi
Kinion and Deb Thomas for all of your hard work and dedication to correcting my
terrible mistakes, and the Rebels you’re the greatest and I appreciate all the
help you have given me.
Most of all, I would like to tell all my friends in
the Bryce Evans Paranormal Society and Bryce Evans Nite Stalkers that I love
you guys. You’re the best!
Take care and keep reading!
Bryce Evans
Milton College
London walked over to stand in the long line for
orientation. It was her first day on campus, and she was excited to start a new
chapter in her life. She was reading a pamphlet when she felt a tap on her
shoulder. Turning around, she looked down as the small, petite girl introduced
herself. The innocent looking girl had a sweet vibe about her, like she didn’t
have a care in the world.
“Hey, I’m Zoey Malone.”
The girl was about five feet four inches tall with
long blond hair and blue eyes, but what really got London’s attention was her
smile. It was honest and heartfelt. She could tell that the girl was so full of
excitement and personality she was about to burst.
“Hi.” London cleared her throat, “I’m London Grey.”
Just a simple hello was the beginning of their
friendship. Everyone seemed to like Zoey Malone. London was shy and kept to
herself, while Zoey was the complete opposite and never shut up. Standing there
in line, she made London laugh about everything they were going to experience
at college. She was full of fun ideas.
However, when London questioned her about having a
boyfriend she said she had little to no experience because of a protective
older brother. They immediately clicked. She couldn’t help but like the girl.
Zoey seemed ready to experience everything college
life had to offer. She joked about having pizza parties in her room. It was as
if she had been in jail for most her life, and she wanted to see everything she
missed out on.
When London finally got to the head of the check in line,
she learned that her roommate pulled out of college at the last minute. A loner
by nature, London relished the fact that she would be without a roommate for the
first semester.
“Next.” London said, moving to the side so Zoey
could get her room information.
“What is your name please?” The young girl asked.
“Zoey Malone.”
“Okay, here you are. Room 215 and your roommate
is…Penny Sanders.” Zoey turned pale as a sheet, while London watched thinking the
girl might pass out.
“Thanks.” Zoey took her information and walked over
to where London was standing.
“What’s wrong? Do you know that girl?” London asked,
concerned.
“Yeah, she moved to my hometown about six months ago
with her pa…I mean family and she is a Class-A bitch, but I’m not going to
think about it. I want to make this a memorable moment and hopefully she will
be gone a lot.” Nothing seemed to make Zoey feel bad about anything for long. She
acted like she erased it from her memory and nothing would ruin this moment. Not
even a roommate named Penny Sanders.
They helped each other bring their
boxes up from their cars and then parted ways as they went to unpack. Agreeing
to meet back up later and check out the campus, London went to her room and started
unpacking. A few minutes later, she realized that she left her pocketbook in
the car, but she found Zoey and another girl blocking the hallway.
“Find another room, Princess, if
you know what’s good for you.” London looked around at Zoey’s stuff lying on
the floor.
“But…but…I—” Zoey tried to argue,
but Penny was almost twice her size and clearly a bully. Other girls began
filling the hallway as the argument grew louder.
“But, but, what?” Penny whined then
backed Zoey into the wall. She hadn’t touched her but she looked like she was
going to. London could see some girls coming out of Zoey’s assigned room. They
were laughing as they watched Penny and Zoey. Living with someone like that was
not an option. London would have lost her temper by now and beat the shit out
of this Penny Sanders. At least she hoped she would.
Doors were opening everywhere, before
Penny backed off, laughing as she walked back into her room and slammed her
door behind her. Why wasn’t Zoey taking up for herself? Apparently, Zoey and
Penny Sanders had more of a history than Zoey let on, and London would have to ask
about it when the time was right. Right now she needed to help Zoey.
Her clothing and bedding were haphazardly
thrown on the floor. The cruelty of it disgusted London. This was college not
high school for goodness sake. Who was this Penny Sanders and why in the hell
would she kick Zoey out of her own dorm room? How could she be so mean to
someone like Zoey? Zoey was the sweetest girl.
London remembered how the girls
back home would treat her. Some of the same feelings came back to her as Zoey
stood looking at her things on the floor. She already hated this Penny Sanders.
Without asking any questions, London picked up
Zoey’s things and carried them down to her room. Zoey quietly followed,
watching from the door as London made the vacant bed with her bedding then hung
her clothes in the closet. She neatly stacked all her knick-knacks on the spare
dresser.
London looked back at Zoey and asked, “How does it
look?” The girl’s smile said everything and that was when London knew for sure
that Zoey was right. They would be best friends forever.
Thick as thieves they were. When Zoey experienced
something so did London. She felt comfortable around Zoey and that said a lot.
There were no best friends in her past, because she never allowed anyone to get
that close to her. After her parents died, a part of her died too, until the
day she met Zoey.
That night, London and Zoey sat on their dorm floor
eating pizza laughing about music they liked and movies they had seen.
“I didn’t see your parents. Did they leave when you
got here?” London could tell Zoey was trying to find out more about her. For
the first time in a very long time, she felt comfortable telling Zoey about her
parents.
London put the pizza down on her plate and wiped her
mouth with a napkin. “My parents are dead.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, London.” She could see the truth
in Zoey’s apology. Compassion was evident in her eyes.
“I was at school when the police came to tell me
that someone ran them off the road. Their car hit an embankment, and…” London
blew out her breath trying not to break down. “It exploded.” Her voice broke,
and a gasp of shock slipped out of Zoey’s mouth.
Tears began to fall from London’s eyes, and she
turned her head trying to hide her pain. She spoke fast wishing it didn’t hurt
so much still. She’d never told anyone what happened to her parents. Kids at
school teased her when she didn’t have a parent at events, but not once had she
spoken up.
Her voice shook as she continued, “Th-they… they
never caught the people who did it.” Zoey crawled over to her and hugged her
tight. When she saw tears on her friends face, London couldn’t hold it any
longer breaking down and sobbing. She had suffered for months without crying or
really grieving.
Rocking London in her arms, Zoey patiently waited
for her to continue. It was clear that London felt free for the first time. The
woman had to be a saint. She had just met her and then her roommate had a real
life break down. Well sort of, but close enough.
Taking a deep breath she recounted the events after
her parent’s funeral and going to live with a grandmother she had never met.
London leaned up so she could talk better. “You
never met your grandmother before your parent’s funeral?” Zoey asked,
confused.
“Nope. Never. The day I met Me-Len was the day
before the funeral. She came be-bopping in the front door with long gray hair
and a bohemian skirt. I had no clue what to think or if I should even go to the
funeral with this woman, much less go live with her. But…” London went still
for a moment, “But she helped me sort out everything with the will, and she got
me packed, and then got a realtor to sell the house. She turned out to be
someone I never knew I needed.”
“Me-Len is an odd name. I mean is she foreign?”
London laughed at Zoey’s question.
“No. She is as American as one can be. When my
mother was little she tried saying momma, but she couldn’t and Me-Len’s middle
name is Lenny so when she heard some people calling her Lenny she started
saying Me-Len and it just stuck. Most people call her Me-Len now. My mother and
Me-Len never got along, so I’m sure when she got older she continued to call
her Me-Len just to piss her off. Well, I should say that’s the story Me-Len
tells. My mother told me that Me-Len wanted her to be something she couldn’t be.
I didn’t ask her any more questions. I was young, and she said she didn’t want
to talk about it, because it was over and in the past and she wanted to live in
the now. But I have a good relationship with her and she is just my Me-Len.
Maybe we can meet her somewhere one day so you can meet her.”
“That would be great and I want you to come home
with me, too.” Zoey smiled, and London could tell she wanted to ask her more
questions.
“What is it, Zoey?”
Zoey blushed. “I was wondering if there was a
witness that saw what happened to your mom and dad. You don’t have to tell me
anymore. I was just wondering.”
“It’s alright. I can’t believe how much better I feel
actually telling someone. A witness saw the accident and pulled over. The woman
who saw it said a dark colored SUV forced them off the road, and when the
vehicle hit the bottom of the bridge, it blew up.
London was a private person, but for some reason she
trusted Zoey. Call it a gut feeling, but she knew Zoey wouldn’t tell anyone
about her personal life. London blew out her breath and grunted, “Nobody was
ever found and charged with their death.”
“How did you finally meet your grandmother?” Zoey
asked lying down on her side while she listened to London’s story.
“My parents will designated me as the beneficiary if
something happened to them, and it said that I would travel to my grandmother’s
to live with her. It was just strange that they would want me to live with
someone I had never met. They hardly ever spoke about her.”
“She sounds great,” Zoey commented.
“Yeah, she is but we didn’t always get along in the
beginning. I was still grieving and I’ve been mad at everyone for a long time. Before
I left to come to college, I made myself a promise that I would open up more
and enjoy life.”
“And you will, London. Together we are going to
enjoy all that life has to offer us. College is just the beginning. Now,
let’s get this cleaned up and go to bed,” Zoey replied. London smiled knowing
that life would never be dull with Zoey and she couldn’t wait for the next
chapter in her life to start.