The Falcon Ridge Series Book 1 She's Not For You

MICHAEL

I sit in an alley way with four six packs of beer.

Fucking not over. It will never be over. Not while that assholes still has Anna and is fucking breathing.

I’ve already downed one six pack and I’m working on the second.

I grab a bottle, pop the cap and tip the bottle right back. I chug the whole thing. When the beer is gone, I whip the bottle down the alley.

“SHE'S FUCKING MINE!!” I scream out. My mind racing with all kinds of ways to rip River fucking apart.

With each insane thought, I grab another bottle. I pound back beer after beer with Anna’s gorgeous face in the front of my mind. I break bottle after bottle.

“YOU CAN’T HAVE HER!!!”

“SHE LOVES ME!!”

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!”

I bounce my drunk ass off the wall, leaning my back on it. I push off and turn around. Hitting my forehead on it.

I rock my head.

“She’s mine…She’s mine…” My face heats as my emotions reach almost psychotic levels.

I ball my fist. As I fail to fight the tears, I slug the brick.

My lips are covered in spittle as I grind out my pain.

I punch the wall over and over again.

“You can’t have her.” I growl as tears fall and drool drips.

“I won’t let you.”

I huff out deeper more painful breathes as I hit the wall even harder.

My knuckles burst and bleed. The wall is covered in blood as my anger, humiliation and pain come to a head.

I hit faster and faster.

“AHHHHHH!”

I scream louder and louder as I punch harder. I feel the crunch of my knuckles, but I don’t feel it. River laying beaten and dead at my feet. Anna sitting at my feet worshipping and thanking me for saving her, runs through my thoughts.

I kept grinding out punch after punch until I run out of energy.

I slam my head on the wall and fall to my ass, my broken hand laying on my side. I pull a knee up and grip my hair. I clench as I fight the mental break that I'm having.

I need this fixed. I need Anna to take me back. I need her to understand she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I need something to convince her I love her more than anything.

There’s only one thing that can do that.

I pull out my phone and dial a number.

I hold the phone on my shoulder as I wipe my face.

A pool of blood has developed around my broken hand.

The other line picks up. “Adrian. It’s on. Tell me where to meet you…I’ll be there. Yeah. I’ll have the money and location. You just make it good and leave me out of it. See you soon.”

I hang up and stuff my phone in my pocket.

I lean my head back on the wall. The pour yellow light from the building across the way, pulses in my double vision.

I start to laugh. “He’s so fucking dead.” I rock my head as I look though pain filled slit eyes. I laugh harder and harder into the night.

****

RIVER

I don't think I could ever be happier than what I am right now. I'm back with the love of my life and soon, she'll be mine forever.

As I strut into the pack house Saturday morning, there's a little bounce in my step. I'm on cloud nine and I'm not hiding it.

I walk into the dining hall and my dad picks up on my giddy exterior right away.

"Well, good morning." He says looking up from his food. "You look chipper."

"I am chipper." I grin. I sit down at a chair across from him.

"Ok. I'll bite. What's got you so happy?" He crosses his arms.

I load my plate with food. I give another huge grin. "Anna and I are back together."

He raises his brow. "Oh? What about all that stuff...."

I furrow my brow and wave him off. "We worked it out. I'm just pushing past it. We have bigger things to think about now."

He leans on the table. "What about your responsibilities. "

Again, I smile. "She got her rank. She's Alpha now." I beam.

"That's great!" My dad grins. "Good for her. We should do something to celebrate."

I swallow my food. "She'd like that."

He picks up a piece of steak with his fork. "So, what about you two. What's the plan here?" He pops the steak in his mouth.

I drop my fork. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about that. The moon is a few weeks away still, but I want her to move in. Into the pack house."

He arches a brow. "You sure that wise, son? She may not be your fated. What happens after that?"

I wipe my mouth. I look at my father with the most serious face I can muster. "Nothing. Anna's mine, dad. Forever. Nothings gonna change that. If she's not my fated, I'm choosing her."

My dad clears his throat. "I don't think you understand how powerful the fated bond is, son. If it's someone else, there's no ignoring it."

I shake my head. "It's not someone else, dad. Anna's it for me. I can feel it. Deep in my gut. I really believe that fate has broken some unwritten rule here. Anna's my fated. You'll see."

And it's the truth. I feel it in every fiber of my being. I'm drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Right from day one. The universe has led me to her. We've gone through so much and still came out on top. There's no way she's not my fated. I won't believe it. Nothing that's ever happened has led me to believe she's not.

"So. Can she move in?" I asked my dad who still looked like I was making a mistake.

He nods his head. "If that's what you want, but I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"Yes!" I jump up and run around the table. I hug my dad from behind. "Thanks dad."

He slaps my arm. "No problem. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will." I clap him on the back and head for the door.

"What about breakfast?" He calls to me.

I spin around with an ear-to-ear grin. "Can't. Gotta help my woman pack."

My dad chuckles, shaking his head and I spin around and head out the door. Off to help my Luna move to her proper place by my side.

****

An hour later, I'm at her door. Waiting to tell Anna the good news.

She's opens the door. "Hi." She smiles.

I grab her head and bruise her lips with a big, deep kiss. I have never wanted to kiss someone so bad as I did right at this moment.

I pull her into my body, squeezing her. Kissing her like I mean it.

I pull back letting her breath. "Hi." I mumble on her lips.

She giggles. She pulls out of my arms. "Come in." She smiles.

I walk in and take off my jacket. The weather is starting to get cold again. In a couple of weeks, the ground will be covered in soft, white snow.

"So. Baby girl. We have some work to do." I sit down on the couch.

She comes back with two cups of coffee. "We do?"

I can't contain my happiness. "Yep. My dad gave me the green light to move you into the pack house."

She gives a little smile. "So soon? Don't you think we should talk about this some more?"

"Don't you want to live with me?" Confusion flooded my face.

"Of course, I do. But, babe, are you really sure? There's so much we don't know yet."

I lean back. "I told you, Anna. I don't care. You're my fated. That's all I'll believe. Baby...." I sit on the edge of the couch and grab her hands. "I've never wanted anything more than how much I want you. I need you. I want you with me all the time. I feel it in my gut. This is the right thing to do."

She blows out a breath and nods her head. "Okay."

"Yeah?" I grin.

"Yeah." She says nervously. "Oh God. There's so much to do. I've got to call the movers, get packing, then sell the house....' She gets up pacing back and forth.

I stand and catch her in mid stride. I'm giggling. "I'll handle everything. Relax. We can just pack your clothes for now and take our time for your stuff. For now, just pack what you need." I rub her arms.

She looks in my eyes. "I'm the luckiest Luna on the planet."

My eyes go wide. "You said..."

She nods, grinning. "Yep, I did." She moves in close, wrapping her arms around me. Gazing at me with those big, bright amber eyes. "You're my Alpha. I want to be by your side as your Luna."

I cup her cheek. "I'm the luckiest Alpha on the planet." I kiss her passionately. Not wanting to stop ever kissing these lips again.

****

MICHAEL

This isn't over. I said it. He's going to pay. I'm going to pay too, and I don't care what the price is.

They can have the border unit. They can have the security unit. I'm nothing without Anna. Mark my words, I'll get her back.

I'm her fated whether she likes it or not. I feel it in my soul. I fought my feelings for 5 years, I'm done fighting. I'll prove to her she's my fated and I'll shove it down River's Alpha throat.

If she's not my fated, I'll be the one to mark her. She'll carry my mark. Only mine. If I have to do it by force then so be it. She loves me. I know she does. She's just not being true to herself. She's wrapped up in that assholes fairy-tale life. She needs me not him. Even if she doesn't know it yet.

I'm posted up in the corner of a bar in White Rock. Waiting. Waiting for the contact that will make all my problems go away.

The one that will help me get what I want and give River what he deserves....nothing but pain.

I tip my beer back, when I see him. There's not many in the bar and he kind of sticks out with a red buzz cut, dark eyes. He's big, wearing a leather jacket, black tee, black jeans and large boots.

He grabs a beer and heads my way.

He sits down in the chair across from me. "Adrian." I say quietly.

"Hey, Mikey, what's shaking?" He smirks. His face is all kinds of evil.

Adrian was border until he got some on his team killed during a rogue attack. Turned out he sold them out for cash. He was kicked from border and disappeared. Me and him were thick as thieves before then and remained in contact from time to time. Yeah, I have shitbag friends, but I never said I was perfect. These kind of friends are quite handy when you need a mess cleaned up.

"Nothing." I grumble.

He takes off his jacket and leans on the table. My eyes fly to the dragon tattoo on his forearm. "You got the money?"

I turn and reach into my coat. I pull out a small brown envelope and a photo. I slide both across the table. "Five grand now, the rest when the job is done." I point to a photo of Anna. "She is not to be hurt. You understand?"

He nods, picking both up and putting them into his jacket. "When?"

I tip my beer back. "The ball. I just need a big enough distraction to get her out. That's it. The rest I couldn't give a shit."

"Ok." He rolls his bottle between his palms. "Where is this ball."

I swallow. Knowing I'm taking a huge risk here. The information I'm about to tell him could lead straight to Torrent. They move the ball every year so these kinds of attacks can't happen. Invitations are sent to alliance pack members only. It's not advertised. The only way the Dragons could find out is if one of us tells them. I'm putting Anna in danger, but I'm hoping we'll be far enough away before any of the blood shed starts.

"Caledon concert hall. Night of the blue moon. The event starts at nine. Once your guys enact the distraction and I've got Anna safely out of there, you can do whatever you want."

He arches his brow. "The Alpha?"

I shoot him eyes full of hatred and fire. "Kill 'em." I spit.

He drinks his beer. "I hope this girl of yours is worth it, buddy."

I smile an evil smile. "You have no fucking idea."

"Where will you be?" He laces his finger on the table.

"At the ball." I nod. "When you make your move, contact me. I'll move Anna and text you when we're safe. I have to make my presence known. Anna can't get wind of this. If she sniffs out the Dragons, she'll be all over you and that dick of hers won't let anyone get within fifty feet of her."

"Don't worry about that." He laughs. "The Dragons don't fuck around. We know how things work."

I point my bottle at him. "Don't fuck this up. The place will be crawling with security unit guys."

He laughs again. "Good thing we got those guys on the payroll then."

I choke on beer. "What? What do you mean?"

He smirks. "You think we could possibly walk into Falcon ridge security without someone on the inside? We've got insiders all through that place."

I swallow the lump that's developed in my throat. "How far up?"

"All the way, bud. All the way." He grins as he puts his beer to his lips.

My eyes widen. No wonder Torrent's been so hard to find. The fucking place has been infiltrated. He knows every move we make before we make it. It also explains why we haven't moved on Karver yet. It's been weeks since his escape and nothings been done.

What the fuck have I done?

Adrian stands, stuffing his arms in his jacket. "Don't worry, buddy. You'll get your girl and that Alpha will no longer be your problem. Hey, if you play your cards right, we'll be slapping one of these on you." He taps his forearm where his tattoo is.

I smile and nod. Trying not to look like I didn't just find out the most devastating news in the history of shifters. Information that could actually save hundreds of lives.

He turns and walks away. "Later, Mikey."

I lean back in my chair. Feeling my world crash around me. I don't know how to process this. I don't know what to do. I've really fucked up. The security unit would never believe me. Especially if it's full of moles. I wouldn't know who to trust.

What the fuck do I do?