Obsessions (2 page)

Chapter
2

Living with Zoey helped her to open up, and live her
life to the fullest. Zoey brought London out of her shyness around others, and
London tried to help Zoey build up her confidence and take up for herself.

Freshman year was a blast for them. They didn’t go
to any parties on campus, but they experienced life together by going to the
movies, weekend trips, and concerts in the park. There were bad times, when
Penny and her friends started bullying Zoey. London wanted to choke Penny, but
Zoey begged her not to say anything, insisting that Penny would get tired and
leave her alone if she just ignored her. By the end of the year, Zoey refused
to talk about it anymore, so London tried to follow her friend between classes
to make sure nobody bothered her.

Trying to do her own work and keep up with Zoey
became taxing, but she needed help and she wouldn’t ask for it.

Sophomore year’s classes were harder for them, but they
were both so smart they advanced in their classes, and were asked to help other
students with their work. Both of them met a few other girls who went to
concerts with them but no lifelong friendships. During their junior year, they
went out more and even went to a few parties on campus. It wasn’t until their
senior year that Zoey finally started listening to London’s advice and fighting
back against Penny’s bullying.

Throughout their four years of college, Penny would
find her alone then torment her until she cried. Zoey was really scared of
Penny and her gang of bitches. It seemed Penny thrived on making the girl break
down and cry. She hadn’t hurt Zoey physically yet, but London figured eventually
she would.

* * * *

London walked to the gym to meet Zoey. Tonight they
were going to celebrate at their favorite pizza joint. London had made an A on
her computer-programming test that counted fifty percent of her grade. She was
nervous about it and worried that she wouldn’t make a good grade, but Zoey had
studied with her every night. No matter how small of an achievement it was,
Zoey wanted to do something special. London liked that idea, because before she
met Zoey, she didn’t have much to celebrate.

London was at the top of the stairs when she heard
Penny Sanders voice. She stopped and looked down at the gym floor where Penny and
her gang of bitches had surrounded Zoey.  They seemed to always find her, as if
they had a tracking device hidden on her.  They acted like a bunch of modern
day gang members except these girls were students at Milton College. This was
one of the most prestigious colleges in the country.  How girls like Penny
Sanders got into the school was beyond her, but here she was bullying her best
friend.

London hadn’t got involved before because they hadn’t
gotten physical. She was hoping Zoey would take up for herself, but she watched
as they made her life a living hell. This sweet woman was her best friend. She
was her only friend actually. London growled as Zoey was slung to the ground by
Robyn Marshall. Robyn was the heaviest one of the gang. She had to have at
least sixty pounds on Zoey, and they all laughed as Zoey hit the floor hard. Why
Zoey didn’t at least try to hit one of them was beyond London’s comprehension,
and it was pissing her off so much she couldn’t see straight.

They didn’t have a clue she was watching, as the big
fat cows picked on her friend. There were five of them against Zoey, and it
didn’t seem like fair odds, so London planned on evening out the odds. Marching
their way, she figured she might get her ass whipped, but Penny was going to
know she’d been there.

Penny and her gang moved in closer to her friend as
she tried to get up, like a pack of wolves, surrounding her, waiting to go in
for the kill.

London stomped down the bleachers, slamming her feet
hard against the wood in order to gain their attention. The sound was
deafening, and once she reached the bottom, London jumped down hard onto the
floor continuing to stare at Penny. She knew if she was going to get them out
of this she would need to show Penny that she wasn’t intimidated by her.

Pushing the minions aside, London walked right into
the middle of the circle, and reached down to help Zoey to her feet. Penny
Sanders wasn’t a bad looking girl, but the scowl on her face made her look
nasty and vicious almost like a wild animal. She had long brown hair and brown
eyes, and she had to be at least five feet ten inches tall.  She wasn’t a fat
girl, but she had bulk muscle on her making her bigger. The other girls didn’t
know what to do now that London was there. They looked at Penny waiting for
their leader’s instructions. She must have shocked them when she pushed them
aside so she could get to Zoey.

London continued to stare at Penny. If Penny made a
wrong move she was going to go straight for her, and commence to whipping her
ass. Her hands fisted at her side as their eyes held. The air seemed heavier
and colder when she started taking deep breaths.
Must be my imagination
.

Penny’s eyebrows rose and she glanced down at
London’s clenched hands smiling. Suddenly the gym doors opened and the baseball
team and coaches started filtering in. It had to be her imagination, but
Penny’s eyes looked funny.
It’s probably just her crazy showing through,
London thought.

“I’ll see you around, Runt.” Penny suddenly turned slinging
her hair around like a whip and walked away as the other girls followed suit. She
didn’t know if Penny knew that London was prepared to fight, or that she just
didn’t want to tangle with her. It didn’t matter. London had learned from an
early age that you may be scared of someone, but you never showed it.

Waiting until the door finally closed, she turned
around to find Zoey staring at the floor. She could see how beat down her
friend was. It was written on her face. London reached out and tried to comfort
her.

“Hey. They’re gone now.” Zoey shrugged away from
her, but London could see her tears as they dropped to the floor. She knew she
could help Zoey, but first she needed confidence and that would take time to
build. She needed for Zoey to start today.

Zoey ranted, “I wish I were you. All you do is look
at them and they walk away. I have never done anything to them, but they can’t
seem to leave me alone. They make it their mission to make my life a living
hell.” Zoey pushed the tears off her face.

“We need to change that, Zo,” London said softly,
“I’m going to teach you how to fight. You may be little but you’re fast, and
you can do a lot of damage if you get to them before they know what hit them.”
London prayed that Zoey would stop letting them bully her. It was time to stand
up and fight or Penny and her gang would continue to push her around whenever
they wanted.

Zoey’s expression was aggravated as she spoke.
“There are five of them. How can I beat five of them?”

“Yep, there are five of them, but they always look
to Penny to tell them what to do. You need to get to Penny first.” London could
tell Zoey was listening, but she didn’t believe in herself enough to think she
could actually defend herself.

Zoey’s eyes widened.  “Are you crazy?  Did you
freaking see her? She outweighs me, and she’s nine inches taller than I am. She’s
waiting for me to do something, so she can rip my head off without even
breaking a sweat. That girl comes from a crazy pack.”

London watched her, but Zoey suddenly stopped
talking as if she had told secrets about Penny’s family.  Arching her brow, London
asked, “What do you mean a crazy pack?”

Zoey’s face turned pale and she dropped her head.
She appeared to be mentally chastising herself as she looked around the gym to
see if anyone was listening.

“Actually, you know I was thinking that too, that they
act like a pack of wolves. I’ve been watching them since freshman year and they
act as if Penny is the leader and the bitches are her pack. They wait for her
to tell them what to do. It’s weird, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who
thinks that,” London said, but Zoey just shook her head. Reaching out, she grabbed
London’s hand, and pulled her toward the door.

“Hey, what…where are we going?” London yelled as
Zoey pulled her out the gym door. She noticed that Zoey had some strength in
her hand as she pulled her to the dorm. She stayed quiet knowing that Zoey
would tell her when they finally got back home. London waited patiently as they
entered their dorm room. Immediately, Zoey began pacing back and forth. Struggling
with herself, Zoey looked like she was going to tell her something big the way
she was acting. The anticipation was killing London.  She had never seen Zoey
so worked up before.

“What’s wrong?” London finally asked, but Zoey
didn’t answer. “Zoey what is wrong? Just tell me already?”

A few minutes passed before Zoey explained.  “Look.
What I’m going to tell you is…well let’s just say, you’ll think I’m crazy, and
probably never be my friend again. I’m not supposed to tell anyone. Not even
you, but…I have to tell you. Before Penny does something…I…” Zoey continued to
pace as she tried to explain. Her hands were jumping all over the place.
Running her fingers through her hair, and then placing them on her hips, then
she covered her mouth trying to stop herself from speaking. “I can’t believe
that I’m even thinking of telling you this. I’m breaking all our rules.”

“What rules? Damn it Zoey, you’re not making any
sense. Just tell me already,” London bellowed.

“I’m a werewolf,” Zoey’s voice choked out. “Well I’m
really a shifter.”

Zoey put her hand to her mouth as though trying to
keep from saying another word. Her eyes had narrowed and tears formed in them. She
looked like she was in pain.

Did she just say what I think she
said?
London sat
there staring at her best friend. She didn’t know how to respond. Her
grandmother, Me-Len, told her that she was a witch and that there were werewolves
and vampires in the world, but her grandmother was crazy. Everyone in town
thought she was crazy. They said she was a crazy witch. Now Zoey believed that
she was a werewolf. London couldn’t believe she was even considering this
without busting out laughing.

Zoey frowned as she waited for London to respond.
“Say something, London,” she whispered, her hands shaking.

“Well, if you are a werewolf then why don’t you just
kick their ass? I mean, werewolves are supposed to have more strength than
humans. So, why don’t you pound them into next week? That’s what all the movies
say anyway.”

Zoey cringed and looked toward her bed.

“I’m not as strong as they are. She-Penny-is an
Alpha female and I’m just a plain Jane who is scared of her own shadow.” Tears
fell as Zoey rested her head in her hands. “I can’t even be a good shifter. I
don’t know how to fight. Even my wolf gets mad at me.”

Getting up and walking over to Zoey, London placed
her hands on her shoulders to comfort her. It broke her heart to see her friend
cry. “Hey…hey…you look at me Zoey Malone. You are not a plain Jane. You are the
strongest sweetest person I know. You have strength that nobody knows about,
including you apparently, and I promise when I’m done, you will be the
strongest Alpha there is, whatever an Alpha is. Do you hear me?” Zoey kept her
head in her hands as she nodded.

“Not fucking good enough! I said, do you hear me?”
she yelled at her.  London watched as Zoey shuddered from her yell, but she
still didn’t move and London knew she would have to get rough if she were going
to get her to react. Reaching down, she grabbed Zoey up then slammed her
against the wall. Pictures fell on the ground as Zoey’s body hit the wall hard.

“What…damn it, London, what the fuck is wrong with
you?”

Getting in her face, London snarled her words, “Did
you hear me when I said that I would make you the best fucking Alpha there is? 
I’m not fucking playing with you and if you want my help then the pity party
you’re having has to stop now and that means you stop the crying and get off
your ass, so together we can start training.” Zoey nodded but she still didn’t
look London in the eye.

“Lesson number one,” Zoey looked up at London, “You
always look them in the eye. Always! You never look away first. It bothers them
when they can’t get you to look away first.”

Zoey nodded and stared back at her in stunned
fascination. “Are you sure you’re not a werewolf because you sure act like
one.”

“No. I’m a bitch, but everyone should do that. Now
we’re going back to the gym.”

“Umm…London, it’s past ten now.”

“So what? We can start with lesson number two.”

London didn’t want to start this off with a lie. 
Zoey was making up stuff and that would have to stop, but first she needed to
get her started and then she would address the werewolf shit.

Chapter
3

Ryder Malone sat at the Council table trying to
listen to Frankie Weeber talk about expanding his business. He needed a
construction permit to enlarge his bakery and the Council needed to agree to
it. Anything built or anyone wanting to move to Alpha City had to be agreed on
by the Council, and Ryder was one of them. That’s what made their city full of
shifters so successful. They controlled it well, and the people who lived there
appreciated it.

Requests came in everyday asking to be members of
one of their packs or to simply move their pack to town. It was hard to allow
that when you have Alphas involved. They usually talked them out of it and
explained how they ran Alpha City and suggested that they set up camp somewhere
else.

One of Ryder’s businesses was real estate and finding
land for those packs was what he loved. Starting a new community for packs made
him appreciate his great-great grandfather even more. The struggles he had to
go through to build this city and make it successful was why Ryder continued to
help the others. Plus, it was a great way to stay connected to each other.

Frankie Weeber was one of those people. He brought
his family to Alpha City thirty years ago, and his bakery made the best bread
Ryder had ever had. His bread making skills had made a name for him all over
the country. You could say that Frankie was famous for it and hence the need
for expansion. His company was sending out his baked goods all over the United
States. His donuts gave Krispy Kreme donuts a run for their money, and it
didn’t hurt that he was a member of his pack.

He didn’t mind that Frankie wanted to expand his
business. In fact he was all for it. The expansion would bring in more business
for the pack, and since Ryder owned a Construction Company it would benefit him
as well. Many of the new members of the pack didn’t have a job when they moved
to the city, but with the addition of the bakery and the construction, his pack
members would have new job opportunities. The lead architect on the project was
a member of the Walsh Jaguar Community, and the designer was a member of the
King Bears, so the work was spread out among the community of shifters.

Ryder pulled out a folder while Frankie spoke of the
changes he was going to make. Opening it, Ryder stared down at the picture
inside. He tried not to look at it constantly, but he couldn’t stop himself.
His wolf went wild as he studied her beautiful face. He’d had his sister’s
roommate investigated to make sure that no harm would come to Zoey, but little
did he know the pull he would feel after seeing her picture.

London Grey was the most beautiful woman he’d ever
seen. She had long curly hair and big gray eyes. The picture had been taken as
she got out of her car; she was turning around to check out her surroundings
when the investigator snapped it.  He’d never seen gray eyes on a woman before,
but her eyes reminded him of a tiger. She looked untamed and wild, and he secretly
wanted to be the one who would try to tame the beauty.

Zoey talked about London all the time when she
called him, and he couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Her background came
back clean. He knew she was orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother when
her parents were killed in a car accident.

The investigator showed Ryder the police report
involving her parent’s death. More like murder with all the holes in it. A
witness watched as her parent’s car was pushed off the edge of the cliff by a
dark SUV. The witness pulled over to render aid, but before he could get out of
his car, her parent’s vehicle exploded.

The report added that they were heading to the
school to check London out. The house had been packed up and ready to move when
the accident occurred. When they questioned London, she had no idea they were
moving again.

Ryder didn’t like the term “again.” She used it
because the Grey’s had moved twenty times since London was born. She was
practically home schooled because they moved so much. London was a straight A
student when she was able to attend school. Every report from all the schools
stated that her IQ was at genius level, but she was shy and an introvert when
it came to socializing.

At first, Ryder was worried at the type of woman his
sister was living with but Zoey loved and trusted her. That was all well and
good, but he would always keep a watch on her.

He had the investigator go further in his search and
find out about London’s grandmother. Lenny McGregor’s aka Me-Len’s life was a
little more colorful. It was through Me-Len’s background that he found out
London came from a long line of witches. His advisor, Meryl Pierson, explained
that Me-Len’s family could be traced back to ancient times and Me-Len was one
of the strongest witch’s he had ever heard of. He advised Ryder that London had
been kept away from her heritage, and she probably didn’t even know she was a
witch.

Meryl explained that Lenny’s daughter hid London
away from her mother so she would never have to worry about the supernatural
and the problems that came with them. She married another witch, and London’s
dad felt the same way, so they dedicated their life to raising London as a
normal human.

“Ryder? Are you going to vote?” Nolan Banks asked.
Looking up, Ryder realized that the room was silent and everyone was staring at
him.

He paused trying to remember why they were here
today, before nodding. “Yes. My vote is yes.” Mr. Weeber smiled since the vote
was unanimous. He would get to add on to his bakery, which would put people to
work. Mr. Weeber bowed to the Alphas thanking them then walked out of the room.

“So who’s the hottie?”  Nolan asked as everyone but
the Alpha’s filed out of the room.

He was smiling as he stared over Ryder’s arm at the
picture, but Ryder jerked the folder closed. He didn’t want anyone, including
his best friend, looking at London. He didn’t know why since they would
probably never meet, but he didn’t like the look he was giving her.
What the
hell is wrong with me? She’s nothing to me.

“Nobody.” Ryder shrugged, trying to act like it was
nobody in the folder, but Nolan Banks was a Tiger shifter and he could watch
his prey all day long until he pounced on it. Nothing got past Nolan, including
London’s picture in the folder.

“She doesn’t look like nobody to me. She’s freaking
hot, dude.”

Before Ryder could stop himself, his wolf started to
surface, and he felt his eyes start to glow.

Nolan snorted. “So you still want to tell me that
the hottie is nobody? Your eyes are glowing.” Ryder closed his eyes trying to
stop the possessiveness he was feeling for a complete stranger. He shook his
head, trying to gain control.

Ryder tried to stop but Nolan is like a dog with a
bone. “Stop it, Nolan. She is nobody, really. She is just…”

“Just who?” Nolan asked, with questions in his eyes.

Ryder knew Nolan wasn’t going to drop it. He had to
tell him something to shut him up before the others found out. “It’s just
Zoey’s roommate.”

“Who’s Zoey’s roommate?”

Ryder dropped his head knowing now they would all
want to see her picture as Brody, Judd, and Kayden stalked over to where Ryder
was sitting.

“Ryder keeps looking at her picture. I think he has
the hot’s for her,” Nolan teased.

“I don’t have the hot’s for her,” Ryder sputtered,
as he jerked the folder to his chest. He’d messed up by looking at the picture
during the meeting. Now they would smell blood and demand to know who the girl was.

“Let’s see what the hottie looks like then.” Judd
Walsh walked toward Ryder as he backed away from the group. His friends looked
around at each other smiling. They had never seen Ryder act like this toward
any female.
Hell he couldn’t believe it himself. Why was he acting so protective
of a complete stranger?

“Now I have to see her if you don’t want to share
her with us.” Kayden Lynn pounced on Ryder grabbing his arms and pulling them
around to his back so Brody could grab the folder. Ryder was struggling, but
the papers fell out of the folder as he tried to jerk away. London’s picture
fell to the ground allowing his friends to look down at her face. All the
Alphas leaned forward to see what had Ryder’s attention.

Brody whistled aloud then picked up the paper with
her picture on it. “Hot damn! I can see now why you want her all for yourself.”

Ryder jerked the picture out of his hand, bent down,
and put all the papers back into the folder. “She’s just Zoey’s roommate. I ran
a check on her when the Sanders girl threw Zoey out of her room.” Ryder
straightened up trying to look calm, but he was anything but calm. His wolf
wanted to hunt and London Grey was his prey.

“I told you not to pair her with that bitch. Zoey
needs someone who understands her.” griped Kayden, “That woman is crazy and you
were crazy listening to her brother who was only looking for a way in. He wants
to be part of the Council. Why don’t these fools realize they can’t be part of
it? Unless they’re family, and he isn’t family…thank God. You should never
trust him Ryder especially with someone like Zoey.”

“I know, but Zoey moved in with London and—” Ryder
couldn’t finish before Nolan smelled fresh meat and began to torture him.

“Now we know her name.
London
. I like the
ring of it.” Nolan pronounced her name real slow letting it slip off his
tongue.

“It’s Zoey’s roommate! Tell me you haven’t
investigated her?” Nolan said with a groan.

Ignoring him, Ryder turned around saying over his
shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. I’m hungry.”

With the folder tucked firmly under his arm, Ryder
walked out of the Council room. These were his best friends, but any chance
they got he knew they would bring up the girl in the folder. Ryder needed to
hide the folder away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it and that was a
problem for him. He didn’t want a mate and especially not a human one.