Stealing the Alpha’s Heart

“So, do I have the job?”

“I still have a few more interviews to do, but we’ll contact you as soon as we come to a decision.”

Rebecca, my sixth interview of the day, nodded and stood. I made sure to walk her to the door, keeping the conversation friendly, but I couldn’t help but feel off.

I tried to tell myself it was just because I hated interviewing and that was what I had been doing since 9 am, but it was something else. The shop was slowly becoming an uncomfortable place for me, the hairs on the back of my neck always raised along with the feeling that someone was staring at me.

But I pushed through, mostly because I had to. Because if I didn’t, who would? It wasn’t like I could ask Lyssa to make the decisions that could potentially affect the livelihood of my business.

Still, I was quite grateful to be done with it when the last interviewee filed out. I nearly collapsed in a chair next to Lyssa as we went through the pros and cons of all of them.

“So, the first one, Charity? She seems nice but a little…”

“She was stupid,” I said flatly, ironically not in the mood to be at all charitable. “I don’t like to judge people, but she couldn’t handle the basic math questionnaire, couldn’t really carry a conversation, and said something about the earth being flat.”

“Okay, well, not her then.”

We went through them one by one, and while many had great points in their favor, it was beginning to feel like a cheesy montage from some slice-of-life movie. I knew it was ridiculous to hope that another Lyssa would fall into my lap, but hey, a little hope had never hurt anybody.

“I just feel like most of these women won’t be a good fit,” I m****d, letting my head sink into my hands.

“Maybe you should take some time to think it over. You’ve had a long day, haven’t you?”

I nodded and Lyssa picked up steam.

“You know what? Let’s close up the shop early, give these a real look over, come up with a scoring system, and figure out who does and doesn’t make the cut for a second interview.”

“That actually sounds like a great idea,” I agreed. “But let’s not do it here. I need to get out of this place.” I didn’t want to tell her that the hackles on the back of my neck were practically on fire, sure that someone was watching us. “Maybe we could go to a fancy restaurant and drink expensive champagne to dull the pain?”

Lyssa laughed, her cheeks turning that faint pink they did when she was really amused. “I’m not actually old enough to drink yet, remember?”

“What, you’re telling me you’ve never had a beer at a house party or something like that?”

“Emma, I was homeless. It wasn’t like I could afford alcohol, and whenever I was at parties, I was too busy trying to figure out a way to sneak as much food onto my person as possible. And don’t restaurants check your ID or something?”

“Pfft, don’t worry about that. Fancy restaurants don’t ask. That’s why you pay so much. Besides, I’m never gonna let you drive after so it doesn’t really matter.”

Lyssa gave me a curious look. “I’m kinda surprised you’re so casual about it.”

“Are you?”

She gave me a look. “Not for nothing, my dear, but you are incredibly protective. And I’m not complaining! I like it. I just kinda expected you to be hardcore no drugs, no alcohol, no motorcycles.”

A snort escaped me at that. “My brother and several other pack members own motorcycles. It’s only a matter of time until you get on the back of one of those.”

“Okay, fair point there.”

“As for the rest of the stuff, I’m not really a fan of pot, as it can really mess with your control over your inner wolf, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a new shifter such as yourself.” Also, the skunky smell gave me the worst migraines. “Then, with alcohol,” I just shrugged. “My opinion is if you’re old enough to serve in the military, you’re old enough to be able to drink. Besides, America has a weirdly late serving age.”

“I guess I’m game then. Do you want me to make reservations?”

“No, I’ll handle it. You just get ready. Pick out something fancy to wear so we don’t get in trouble.”

Lyssa nodded and hurried off while I went about booking a table at a nice restaurant that wasn’t owned by my pack. But still, I definitely dropped my family name to make sure I got a good table before getting dressed myself.

“Hey, should we take some pictures while we’re out and about?” Lyssa said, coming out of the back in a ruched red number that really complimented her growing physique.

I could tell from the start that she was meant to have a very athletic frame, like a volleyball or lacrosse player, but she’d been so starved when she’d arrived at my door that she’d barely had any muscle. Now that she was eating on the regular, her body was finally able to do what it had wanted to all along. I had no doubt that in a year or so, she’d be a formidable fighter. I certainly wouldn’t want to challenge her to an arm wrestling match.

“That’s a great idea. Let me go get dressed, too.”

As for myself, I chose a royal blue jumpsuit with a deep V that went all the way down to my navel. It was a bit more skin than I usually exposed, but it looked so good against my complexion, how was I supposed to resist?

“Ready?” I asked, tossing my car keys into the air and catching them as I walked back into the shop.

“Ready! Let’s go.”

We headed out, but the moment I got to my car, that awful feeling crawled up my spine. I stopped dead in my tracks, looking around me as if I would catch whatever mysterious force that was causing my paranoia.

Was…was I going into heat? It wasn’t something that happened very often, as usually a mate was needed to activate one of those phases. But considering how old I was, it wasn’t entirely unheard of for one to trigger on its own.

If it was, it would certainly explain why I was feeling so tetchy. A wolf in heat would definitely want to hole up in her mate’s den and fight anyone else who tried to trespass there.

“You alright?” Lyssa said, beckoning me back to the present. I swallowed hard, knowing I must have looked like I’d seen a ghost when in reality, I hadn’t seen anything at all. Which was driving me insane.

For the briefest moment, I thought about canceling the dinner, but I really wanted to have some fun time with Lyssa, and her help with all the applicants. The idea of doing it on my own was intimidating, to say the least.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…” I shook my head. “I think I left all the applications back in my office. Walk with me?”

“Of course. I’m not just gonna stand outside your car looking like a dweeb!”

Chuckling, we both headed back in. I’d been so distracted by my outfit that it turned out I had indeed left all the paperwork on my desk. I hurriedly grabbed it up while Lyssa double-checked that the back was locked up.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but we’re closed now. We’re just grabbing some paperwork before leaving.”

Lyssa’s voice drew my attention, so I shoved all the paperwork into my purse and looked out my office door.

“Oh, I’ll be quick, I promise!”

But then the door jingled again, and that awful feeling I had tripled. What was going on?!

I knew without even looking at whoever entered that they had either ill intentions or some sort of terrible curse on them. If they weren’t backlit, I would have memorized their face instantly, but with the harsh afternoon light behind them, I couldn’t so much as figure out if they were the same lady as last time.

If they were, that woman was definitely a witch. I should have never doubted myself! Wolves weren’t really supposed to be that adept at sensing witches, but the ability ran in my family. While Mahlan could often get a vague sense, I was rarely ever off the mark. And to me, whoever was in the doorway now was practically exuding malice.

I tensed, striding forward into the shop.

“Sorry, we are closed. Please escort yourselves out.”

“Oh, sorry, the door was unlocked.”

And that was all that was said before whoever it was showed themselves out. I would have liked to say that I was relieved, but that would have been a lie. My hackles were raised and they wouldn’t go down until I got some sort of assurance.

Maybe I should call Sam. I just didn’t want to worry Lyssa when she’d already gone through so much.

When we were well and truly alone, I made sure to lock all the front doors tightly and that my paperwork was safely in my purse. Sure, the applications were going to get a little crunched, but that was the least of my issues.

“Is everything okay?” Lyssa asked, voice cautious. I felt like she was having to ask that a lot lately.

“Just anxious to get these done,” I fibbed. “Why don’t you call Mahlan and give him an update so he doesn’t come hunting for you?”

“Oh! Good idea!”

She did just that while we walked to the car, and the entire time, I kept my eyes peeled, looking this way and that for anybody with ill will. Thankfully, nothing happened before we got into my car and I peeled out potentially a wee bit faster than I should have.

Sue me.

We also arrived at the restaurant without incident, which was a huge relief, and when we got out of the car, I didn’t feel any eyes on us. At least, any eyes that made me want to burst into my wolf form and bare my teeth at them.

We certainly did get a few appreciative looks as we took photos outside the restaurant. With all the content we were generating, I really hoped my online audience would like it. Sure, they weren’t professional-level photos, but I did take them on a DSLR camera and sent them off to be edited by someone who knew what they were doing.

The minutes ticked down quickly when I was having fun and not worried about some monster waiting in the wings to wreak havoc on my life. Soon, it was just fifteen minutes before our reservation.

Heading to the bar, we ordered two champagnes and I pulled out the applications to talk about them. I figured it was better to address them sooner rather than later, as the later it got in the night, the less likely I would be to want to finish things.

And Lyssa was a great voice of reason, helping me go through them much faster than if I’d been hemming and hawing on my own. Besides, sometimes just hearing myself verbalize my reasoning out loud was enough to make me feel more like I was making the right choice.

We were maybe about a third of the way through when Mahlan, Kaleb, and Theo turned up, my head instantly snapping toward the entrance the moment I smelled my crush’s scent.

Goodness, he was looking extra yummy in an emerald button-up and dark slacks, with a pinstripe vest complementing it. While he never was a schlub, he didn’t really dig dressing up, so I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done that for me.

Okay, maybe a little bit of hope could be hurtful. But hey, maybe I liked a little pain.

Waving them over, I tried to act relatively nonchalant about things. I didn’t want to appear desperate, after all. One, because that was gross. Two, because I respected myself too much. While I would try with all my earnest effort to bag Kaleb, I wasn’t going to grovel at his feet.

“This is a new outfit, right?” Theo asked in that tone he had whenever he was making observations. I was sure it sounded flat to everyone else, but I could hear the tone shift in it. He was saying it in a nice way, not a mean way.

“Oh, you noticed?” I said, standing and doing a little twirl. “Just a little something I ordered for the shop. I have it in black, too.”

“Well, you look good,” Theo said. “Doesn’t she, Kaleb?”

“What? Oh, huh. Yeah, you look amazing, Emma.” Boom, there it was. His eyes made contact with mine and an easy smile spread across his features. “Then again, you always do, don’t you?”

Two compliments, one right after the other? Be still, my heart. I played it off, or at least I thought I did, and sent him a flirty look.

“I suppose I do, don’t I?”

He laughed and goodness, that was almost enough to send me floating across the ground. Who cared about the bad feeling I’d gotten earlier? I was about to live my best life.

And it was all thanks to Theo!

---

I paused as I swept around the dressing rooms, that awful feeling returning to me. And to think, up until that moment, I’d been still enjoying the high of the dinner the night before.

In all reality, nothing that special had happened, but I’d gotten about three sentences in with Kaleb and just Kaleb, which was basically a world record for me.

But now, all the warm fuzzies vanished from my mind and I whirled around, trying yet again to spot where the terrible, malevolent energy was coming from. Yet, just like every other time, there was no one there.

Enough was enough. I grabbed my phone and called up my brother.

“Hey, Emma, something up?”

“Yes,” I said quickly. “I think there’s something hokey going on around here.”

“Hokey?”

“Yeah. Something bad.”

“I’m in a meeting right now, but do you want me to get there immediately?”

“N-no, that’s okay. But please, send Sam if you can.”

“Samson, really?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s not who I expected you to ask for. Why not Kaleb?”

Jeez, did everyone know about my crush? Way to make me feel like an idiot! “It’s not the time for that, Mahlan. Just send him over, please.”

“You know he’s not exactly our biggest fan, right?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m growing on him, being Lyssa’s best friend and all. If you tell him it’s for me, I bet he’ll come.”

“Okay then, I’ll ask him.”

That was the end of it, but then I realized that maybe my earlier reaction was a bit premature. “Actually, uh…you can invite Kaleb, too. He lives right around the corner, right?”

“Yeah, he does.”

“Okay, yeah. Do that.”

“Alright. If whatever you’re sensing gets worse, let me know and I’ll shift. Pretty sure my wolf can make it there quicker than a car.”

“Okay, good to know. I think I’m okay for the moment.”

“Good. Just make sure you’re not fear-shifting. You know that tends to mess you up for a while.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“Alright, I love you, sis.”

“Love you, too, buttface.”

He laughed, and with that, we hung up. But as soon as the phone line went dead, dread began to wash over me.

Come on, Emma. It’s just in your head.

But for some reason, I couldn’t quite convince myself.