A Wolf's Obsession: Part One: (BBW/Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance) (Alpha Lands Serial) (3 page)

"Hi," she said through the glass, and he jumped a little. "Are you closed? Should I come back?"

"No, come in." Jared pulled open the door. "I mean, yes, the studio is closed, but you don't have to make another trip."
And you definitely don't have to leave,
he wanted to add.

After she stepped inside, he locked the door behind them. She gave him a look he couldn't quite name. Annoyance? Fear? Surprise?

"I'm sorry, should I leave it unlocked?" he said, in case he'd spooked her.

"Oh, no, you're fine," she said, still staring at him. "You're Jared Clearlight."

"Yes, I am, unless you have a warrant for my arrest, in which case, I didn't do it, man." When she smiled at him, he felt the warmth of it down to his toes. He felt other things along the way, too.

"You're safe with me," she said. "I'm Rosa Mendez. I moved here recently to teach at Solano. I must have left my copy of your book at home because I can't find it anywhere." She nervously ran her sentences together like she was standing in front of her idol for the first time.

"My book?"

"Yes, your work is incredible. I can't believe I lost it," she said. "You don't know how many times I've been through those images. You capture the spirit of the Wolf Nation in a way no else has."

Her voice went soft in reverence, and he realized this girl was a true fan of his work. Well, he was a fan of the way she used her hands to talk, winked a tiny bit when she smiled, and cocked one delicious hip out as she stood in front of him. His wolf reminded him that it has been too long since he last had sex.

Jared struggled to clear the sensual haze from his brain. Pure-blood females never stayed in the Alpha Lands for long, and this girl was one hundred percent human. Staking his future pack on the whims of a human would be idiotic. He knew better. His father would not support a relationship like this, either. With his head on straight again, Jared went to the back wall to a display of books. He picked out four hardcovers and handed them to her.

"These two are for you," he said in as neutral a voice as he could muster. "Did you know about my second book? The other two are for your classroom."

The way her eyes widened and sparkled almost pulled him back under her spell. Almost. But he was strong enough to resist, and he had things to do. Things that didn't involve running his hand from her neck to her ankle, outlining the crescent shapes of her breast, her hip, her thigh on the way down. He had no time to slip his hand around the back of her neck and pull her face to his for a first kiss that would bring down all the stars in the sky.

Yes, he was perfectly capable of restraining his wolf and focusing on his future—just as soon as this gorgeous creature was out of his sight.

______

Rosa never expected to read hunger in Jared Clearlight's eyes, but it was unmistakable—and she felt the very same pangs. Her heart picked up several extra beats, and she had the worst time trying to tear her eyes from the sculptured chest muscles under his tight, gray t-shirt. She'd always known that, somehow, her future would be with a wolf. She just never imagined that meeting her favorite photographer would affect her like this, that
he
could be the wolf she sought. Of course, she'd been in the shop for less than ten minutes, and already, she was gushing at him like a rabid fangirl. He was sure to write her off as a pure-blood airhead.

"Thank you so much," Rosa said as she took the short stack of books from him. "I know my kids will love these as much as I do. How much do I owe you?"

Jared held up a hand. "They're a gift."

As he walked her the half-dozen steps to the front door, Rosa said, "Thank you again for the books. That was really nice of you."

Jared nodded. "Is that your car?" he said, pointing to the Land Rover.

"Yes."

He followed her to the car and waited while she secured the books on the seat and put her seatbelt on.

"Drive safe," he said, and then he closed the door firmly. He waited until she started the car and turned on the lights before going back inside the studio.

Rosa couldn't stop herself from stealing another minute to admire his physique through the front windows of the studio. As he walked back to the counter, he straightened displays and equipment. His every motion was fluid and graceful despite his towering height. She was disappointed when he reached the counter and slipped behind an enormous computer display.

Rosa tried to remember a time when a guy had shown her such respect and consideration. She couldn't, though, because it had never happened. She was afraid to read too much into it, though. It probably didn't mean anything. He was a polite person. He had manners. So what? He'd most likely forgotten her name the second he locked the studio door again.

She'd finally found her way to the Alpha Lands, to the doorstep of her favorite photographer, and he turned out to have more natural magnetism than she could absorb in a single encounter. She couldn't help wishing that she was leaving with more than a stack of bound, still photographs.

______

Rosa made it through the rest of the school week without breaking any more major rules. By Friday, it felt like she'd been standing at the front of her classroom for ten years. A few minutes after five o'clock, she loaded her bag with books and papers. She'd learned quickly that a teacher doesn't work 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. She hadn't left the school before 5:30 p.m. any day this week, and she had at least ten hours of work to do over the weekend.

In the parking lot, Rosa saw Laren getting into her car. She waved Rosa over.

"A bunch of us are heading over to Diamonds tonight for drinks," Laren said. "You should come."

It felt great to receive an invitation to join the other teachers. Rosa still felt like a spotlight followed her around the halls of the school. She knew they doubted her abilities and experience. How could she know anything about their culture and traditions? How could she teach their kids what they needed to know to make it as adults in the tribal communities?

Rosa typed the bar's address into her phone and promised Laren she'd be there around eight. After the drive home, she ate leftover spaghetti straight from the fridge. After she took a shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and then realized she had nothing to wear.

How did this always happen? True, she didn't have a huge wardrobe to begin with, and she didn't have the most consistent laundry schedule. But she hadn't worn any of her "club" dresses since college. They had to be in the den somewhere. Discouraged, she sank down on the bed and called Cyn.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" her best friend said when she answered her phone.

"Shut up," Rosa said. "I'm a very busy professional now."

"So, what's up in the land of the alpha boys?"

"I've told you a million times that's not what the name means," Rosa said. "It's 'first lands.' Of course, no one talks about the fact that this is the second time the Wolf Nation has owned this land."

"Did you really call to give me a social studies lecture?"

"No, but guess what?"

"Yes?"

"Remember Jared Clearlight, the photographer I told you about?"

"How could I not remember him?" Cyn said. "Half of his work is still hanging in the apartment. You know you forgot to take all this stuff, right?"

Now, Rosa realized why she couldn't find the book. She'd taken it apart to hang on the walls. Every few days, she would turn each picture around to see the other side of the page.

"I met him a few days ago."

"And?"

"He's nice."

Cyn snorted through the phone. "Nice? Wow. What are you trying to hide from me, Rosarita Mendez?"

Rosa's cheeks burned, and she was glad this wasn't a video call. "He's attractive in a five o'clock shadow kind of way."

"Rosa! Spill it. Now."

She wished there was something to spill, other than her one-sided admiration of Jared. She admitted she had an obsessive personality. It's what brought her to the Alpha Lands in the first place. But she couldn't spend ten minutes with a guy and declare him her future alpha.

"Okay, okay, he's hotter than I could imagine," Rosa said to appease her friend. "It's too bad he doesn't take photographs of himself. Other photographers' photos do not do him justice. Happy now?"

"Aaaaaand?"

"Nothing happened. He gave me some books and escorted me to my car. He was very polite."

"Aaaaaand?"

"Say that one more time, and I'm going to drive right back to that apartment and—"

Cyn shrieked. "No, you won't! It's my place now. All mine."

After she ended the call, Rosa stared at her phone. She'd forgotten to ask Cyn what she should wear to the bar. She sighed and tossed her phone on the bed, thinking about Cyn's claim on the apartment. She wished it were that easy to lay claim to a person. Especially a werewolf with soulful eyes and a shadowed jawline.

______

Diamonds turned out to be a dive bar with twice the legal capacity spilling onto a back patio. Rosa looked around inside, hoping to quickly find Laren. What she found was a wolf. She froze in place just inside the door. This was her first wolf sighting since she'd moved to the Alpha Lands.

The wolf wasn't looking at her. He was leaning against a woman's denim-clad thigh. The woman absent-mindedly played with the fur on his scruff as she talked to another woman. Rosa didn't know a phased wolf could be so large. Not even Jared's photos could capture their true size in the flesh. The wolf's fur was pure white from snout to tail. His family had probably migrated from a northern climate. Rosa's brain fed her facts that she'd learned from reading about these magnificent creatures most of her life. Her heart was bursting with the excitement of being this close. She had to restrain herself before she could run to him like a child and bury her face in his thick fur.

Then, he turned and looked straight into Rosa's eyes, and she recognized the soul she'd seen in Jared's photographs. The intensity of the connection made her eyes tear up. She saw more in that wolf's expression than she'd ever seen in any pure-blood human.

He gave her a small toss of his head before turning back to his companion.

Rosa immediately wondered how many other phased wolves she would see here. She scanned the crowd and found that about three-quarters of the people were in human form, which left a good number in wolf form.

Rosa suspected she was the only pure-blood in the place. She didn't have an impressive wolf form to display. She had, however, found her most flattering dress in the back of her closet. The thin black fabric showed quite a bit of cleavage and clung to her figure in all the right places. After seeing more than a few pairs of eyes turn to her as she walked toward the back of the bar, she had a moment of panic.
What if everyone else wore jeans? How desperate would that make me look? Will they judge me because I have no wolf?

Coming here was a giant mistake.

As these thoughts flew through her head, Rosa felt a hand slip around her arm. It was Laren, coming to rescue her from her paralysis. Rosa let out her breath when she saw that her new friend was wearing a dress, too. Hers was long and flowing, though, and reminded Rosa of a casual spring day.

"Should I go home and change?" she said, tugging the high hemline down.

"Why? You look amazing," Laren said. "And the margaritas here are the best in the lands. Guaranteed. You must order one. Or two."

After the bartender handed her a frozen margarita, Rosa put her money on the counter and followed Laren to the back patio. Ten or so teachers that she recognized were gathered around a large table that was covered with beer bottles, mugs, and glasses. Everyone was in human form, most likely because it was much harder to drink alcohol as a wolf.

Some of the teachers hugged Rosa and made a place for her to sit. She looked for May Hightower, but she wasn't there. It seemed that her coworkers were much more hospitable with beer in their stomachs. Maybe she had wrongfully mistaken their general stress as a distaste for her. Here, they talked and laughed and flirted like she was one of them. Within minutes, Rosa couldn't remember why she'd been so nervous.

Raub, the math and science teacher from school—the one who had declared that she was mating material—sat in the chair next to her.

"How are things going?" he said. "Settling in all right?"

He sounded perfectly normal. Would he suddenly change like he did in her classroom? With so much distance between their second and sixth grade classrooms, she had seen only glimpses of him during the school week.

"It's great. My kids are awesome," Rosa said. "During recess on Thursday, they all got together and planned to bring me an apple this morning. The boy who was supposed to bring it forgot, so they all drew me pictures of apples instead."

"I'm lucky if mine bring me the dead worm from the apple," he said, laughing. "Sixth graders are way past thoughtful gifts."

Rosa laughed, too. "I think it was because I fed them cupcakes on the first day."

"Ah, bribery topped with icing," he said. "A teacher's best tool." Rosa noticed how kind his face looked when he laughed. Whatever had happened between them in her classroom must have been a misunderstanding. She relaxed, but a note of caution still hung in her head.

As Raub talked to her, she could feel the preternatural pull of him. That was one of the more surprising things about being with wolves in person. Rosa had always assumed that when wolves were in human form, they were more or less like the average pure-blood. They did look quite human, but the difference was a matter of scale. They were taller and broader, even the women. Their faces were inherently attractive and expressive. Their wolf intensity bled through in physical contact: handshakes, conversations, hugs, and most likely, sex.

Whoa.
She was getting way ahead of herself.
Slow it down, Rosa. Remember what you said about not falling for the first wolf you meet?

She started to ask Raub where he lived, but before she could open her mouth, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the eyes of the biggest wolf she'd seen so far. He looked like he had just rolled up in front of the bar with his motorcycle gang. His tight, black t-shirt revealed tattoo sleeves. His jeans looked custom-made for him, and they ended in a pair of beat-up boots. Unlike Raub, his dark gold hair fell wild around his shoulders. Everything about this man screamed
alpha,
but Rosa knew it took much more than looking like a tough guy to be an alpha.