ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance) (33 page)

Chapter 4

Shane

              Shane entered the park.  He was excited to see Delilah once more and was glad that she had texted him.  He had feared that he would never see her again after their time together the day before, but he was happy that she seemed to be showing interest in him at least.

              As he entered the park, he heard a bark that he now recognized.  Her dog was barking, but it wasn’t a normal bark, it seemed one of hostility like he was aiming it at some unknown threat.  Quickly, Shane ran toward the sound, just in time to see Delilah running into the forest.  He cursed under his breath, knowing firsthand how dangerous that forest could be, especially for someone like Delilah. 

              Quickly, he ran into the forest after her.  He tried to keep his eyes glued to her, but with the countless trees and other obstacles blocking his vision, he soon lost her.  He stopped and tried to sharpen his senses.  They were beginning to dull, due to his lack of shifting and he cursed his lone nature.  In an astonishing feat of willpower, he was finally able to pick up her scent.  He then ran off again.  Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge as he heard howling. The pack. 

              Shane knew he didn’t have much time.  They were close and surely if they were near him, they would be ever closer to Delilah.  He would have called out to her, but he didn’t want to give her away, so he kept quiet, trying to track her down as best he could with his diminished perception and intuition. 

              Shane slowed down, seeing a fallen oak tree.  It was very large, with countless knots and gnarls decorating its trunk.  It was rotting, but it was a magnificent sight nevertheless. He hesitated for a moment.  If he crossed over the tree, he would be in pack territory, a clear violation of his banishment. 

              As he heard Delilah’s voice call out for her dog, however, he knew he had no other choice.  Jumping over it with ease, he rolled when he got to the other side before running again.  As he entered pack territory some of his senses began to reemerge, the land filled with the aura of running wolves.  He grew faster and stronger, running with ease toward the direction of Delilah’s voice. 

              Soon, he spotted her strawberry blonde hair and sighed in relief.  She looked distraught however and there were tears in her eyes now.  He walked up to her slowly, not wanting to scare her.  “Delilah…”  He whispered.  Her head shot up and her eyes went big as she saw Shane.  He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her body, pulling her close. 

              She clung onto him, shaking with the fear of losing her dog.  “Shh… it’s alright.  I promise.  Tell me what happened.”  He looked down at her, gently rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs.  Her chocolate brown eyes were watery and she took a moment to compose herself. 

              “I was walking through the park… about to go to the bench… when all of a sudden Alpha went AWOL.  I couldn’t hold onto his leash and he ran into the forest. I’m scared… I keep hearing howls…”  She whispered, praying that her dog was okay.  She hadn’t heard his bark in a very long time and feared the worst. 

              Shane thought about this for a moment.  The dog did act strangely with him yesterday.  Maybe it sensed that he was a werewolf and had pledged allegiance to him by instinct.  Shane wondered if the dog had sensed the pack.  He probably thought they were the enemy and had attacked.  This was not good. 

              Delilah was a mess and they had trespassed into werewolf territory.  “C’mon.”  He finally said, leaning down and turning his back to Delilah.  She looked at him strangely for a moment, wondering what he wanted her to do.  “Get on my back,” he commanded with a stern voice. 

              “No… why?” She whispered, looking confused. 

              “You’re tired.  I’ll carry you and we will find Alpha.” 

              “No… I’m too heavy…”  She whispered, looking down, a little ashamed of her figure.  Shane looked at her. 

              “No, you’re not,” he said, suddenly grabbing her and carrying her bridal style through the forest.  Delilah looked shocked as Shane lifted her with ease.  She didn’t expect someone like him to be able to carry her like this.  “Light as a feather.”  He grinned, looking down at her, before gently kissing the top of her head for a moment.  She blushed crimson, trying to figure out what was going on. 

              Shane looked forward, making sure not to trip, now that he carried precious cargo in his arms.  He tried to focus his hearing, but everything was quiet.  He just hoped he could find the dog before the pack got to it.  He knew how devastated Delilah would be if the dog got hurt. 

              “Are we really going to find him…?”  Delilah finally asked, her arms now wrapped around Shane’s neck.  “What if the wolves…”  Her voice trailed off, as she started to get emotional.  Shane looked down at her and sighed. 

              “Delilah, I promise you, we will find Alpha and he will be safe and sound.  I know these forests better than anyone else.  Don’t worry, okay?”  He whispered, trying to comfort her as his eyes turned icy, scanning the surroundings. 

              Truth be told, he had no idea where the dog could be.  Delilah was overwhelming his sense of smell with her sweet fragrance, making it hard to pick up any other scent.  The forest was dead silent, rendering his sense of hearing useless.  All he could use now was his eyesight that scanned every inch of the forest, but to no avail.  This was going to be harder than he thought.  But one way or another he would find Alpha.

Chapter 5

Delilah

              Delilah was scared, but at the same time, she felt better now that Shane was holding her.  She had never been carried bridal style before and it felt nice to finally have a man who could carry her with relative ease.  It made her feel good.  But at the same time, she was still worried about Alpha.  Was he okay?  Where were the wolves? 

              She looked up at Shane who seemed to be deep in concentration.  His jaw was stiff and Delilah was tempted to reach out and run a finger over the hard line, but refrained, thinking it inappropriate for the situation they were in. 

              Time seemed to pass ever so slowly as Shane carried her through the forest.  She couldn’t tell how much time it had been since she entered the forest, but it felt like an eternity.  The forest, without proper sunlight, was constantly bathed in a sort of twilight. Delilah tried to look around as well, trying to spot her dog, but still found nothing. 

              All of a sudden, Shane whistled, startling Delilah.  She looked up at him curiously, wondering what he was doing.  Out of nowhere, Alpha showed up, barking as he saw them, his tail wagging furiously.  Delilah’s eyes went big as she got down and hugged her dog around the neck.  She buried her face in his fur, glad that he was by her side once more. 

              She grabbed his lead and vowed she wouldn’t let it escape her grasp anymore.  When Delilah was done reuniting with her best friend, he walked over to Shane and laid down, showing obedience to the werewolf.  Delilah looked at them curiously, wondering how they had formed such a close bond in such a short amount of time. “How did you do that?”  She finally asked. 

              “Do what?”  Shane raised an eyebrow in question, his hands in his pockets, trying to look nonchalant about the whole thing. 

              “Make Alpha come back like that,” she explained, looking at him intensely.  “Can you teach me?”  Shane chuckled at her enthusiasm, about to say something when his head whipped to the right at the sound of a twig snapping nearby.  Alpha growled, but Shane shot him a stern look. 

              “Stay,” he commanded Alpha who whimpered but stood his ground.  Delilah wondered what was going on as all of a sudden the air around them was very tense.  She felt his hand on her hip, as he pushed her behind him protectively. 

              “What’s going on?”  She asked suddenly, trying to keep calm, but instantly feeling that something was wrong. 

              “We have company.”  All of a sudden, a group of men emerged from behind the nearby trees.  Delilah eyed them, wondering who they were.  In any case, they didn’t look at all friendly.  Their faces had savage looks to them and their eyes were filled with wild ferocity.  Delilah clung to Shane, wondering what was about to happen. 

              “Shane…”  She whispered, getting as close as possible, her body pressing against his.  In her fear, she didn’t notice his muscular body or how it was teeming with excited energy. 

              “You don’t belong here, mutt.”  One of the men said, stepping out of the circle.  He was shirtless and his chest was covered in multiple scars, all of them looking like they had been caused by animals.  What was going on here?  She looked at the other men and saw their bodies were no different. 

              “Val,” Shane growled, his body becoming even tenser against Delilah’s.  She held onto him a little tighter, sensing the hostilities between the two men.  How did they know each other?  She remained quiet, however, knowing that her foolish question would only make things worse. 

              “I see you brought me a little treat.  What a good boy.”  The man teased.  Delilah noticed he was talking to Shane as if he was a dog and her face reddened in anger. 

              “Hey!  Don’t talk to him like that!”  She butted in, thinking she was helping.  The man chuckled. 

              “A feisty one.  I like it.”  His eyes stared at her, turning dark with mischief.  Delilah shrank back, trying to escape his gaze. 

              “I swear if you touch her, I will rip you limb from limb like I should have done months ago,” he growled.  Delilah was shocked at his words.  Were these the friends he was talking about yesterday?  Shane looked around for a moment, making eye contact with the dog who got up suddenly, pulling Delilah away from the men. 

              They were about to chase after her, when the leader spoke up, “Leave her be.”  Alpha brought her to a hiding spot, where she stood behind a large tree, watching the two men circle around each other.  All of a sudden they lunged at one another.  Delilah flinched as they did. They wrestled until they plummeted into the ground.  She wondered why the rest of the men were just watching the fight. 

              Shane seemed to be doing well from what she could tell.  He was standing his ground and throwing some attacks in the assailant’s direction, but as she looked around at the men that surrounded him, she knew that they were wildly outnumbered.  She shuddered to think what would happen if they all decided to attack Shane at once. 

              She thought about stepping in and helping him, but realistically she knew it would do no good.  Looking down at Alpha, she tried to think of what else she could do, but she had no other option apart from standing there, behind the tree, watching the fight from a distance. 

              Alpha began to whimper as the fight took a turn for the worse.  Shane was getting pummeled with attacks and Delilah could see blood coming from the corner of his mouth.  She had to do everything in her power to restrain herself from running out and helping him.  She watched with worried eyes, praying everything would be okay in the end.

Chapter 6

Shane

              Shane focused on the fight, pitting against the man he had once recognized as his alpha.  Now, however, as a lone wolf this fight was serious.  If Val wanted to kill him, he had every right to do so.  Why Val didn’t do it before, was something Shane never understood.  As a beta who had tried to take his leadership, he should have been killed off, but instead, Shane had been banished, which might have been a fate worse than death.  A wolf without a pack was no wolf at all.  

              “Give it up Shane, you don’t have what it takes to defeat me.”  Val taunted as they grappled with each other, still in their human form.  “And you might even get hurt.”  He chuckled, throwing him aside until Shane landed against a nearby tree.  He grunted, but got up quickly, wanting to prove himself. 

              However, as he got up, his eyes went huge seeing Delilah squirming against the grasp of two omegas.  “Let her go!”  He yelled, about to rush forward as two more betas held him back.  He growled in anger.  This was foul play. 

              “I just want to thank you once again for the lovely little treat you brought me…”  He whispered, his fingers slowly tracing over her face, making her wince. 

              “A fight.  A fight to the death!”  Shane suddenly blurted out, his eyes intense as he looked at the alpha.  Val smirked, looking at the desperate man.  Would he really do something this foolish for a human girl? 

              “You haven’t shifted in weeks, how do you plan to beat me?” 

              “If I lose, then you may keep her,” he said, looking into the other man’s eyes not letting himself get intimated.  The alpha chuckled and walked up to him.

              “Very well.  A fight to the death.”  Val grinned, feeling confident in his ability to defeat the lesser wolf.  The betas eased their grip on Shane and he shrugged them off harshly, before looking at Delilah, trying to tell her, by his looks alone that everything would be okay.  But he could tell by her worried expression that she was scared.

              “Shane… don’t do this!”  She suddenly pleaded. 

              “It’ll be okay… I promise.”  He said, his jaw tightening as he looked away from the girl and at his opponent.  This would be one of his toughest battles, but there was too much on the line to even consider losing. 

              All of a sudden, Val shifted, turning into a large grey-haired beast.  He snarled as he lunged forward at the lone wolf.  Shane stepped to the side, rolling out of harm’s way, still in his human form.  That was a cheap shot, going at him when he wasn’t yet a wolf.  Well if the alpha wanted to play dirty, two could play that game.               

              Shane shifted quickly, allowing his body to relax, turning into a slightly bigger dark furred wolf, whose markings were incredibly similar to Alpha’s.  Without paying attention to Delilah and her response to his transformation, he focused on the fight.  He lunged forward, trying to go on the offensive, but Val, a seasoned alpha knew his way around a fight and anticipated the lesser wolf’s attacks. 

              Val dodged effortlessly, launching his own attacks time and time again, his sharp teeth ripping deep wounds all over Shane’s body.  His fur was quickly covered in blood and he was weakening, but still he fought with a vengeance that surprised even his former leader.  Shane, in his newfound energy, caused some damage to the alpha, taking a chunk out of his side with a well-aimed bite.  The two wolves were coming to an even playfield now. 

              The battle wore on as the two wolves lunged and attacked each other, until suddenly Val swiped his claws across Shane’s face, narrowly missing his eyes, but tearing up his flesh nonetheless.  There was blood everywhere and Shane felt weakness taking him over.  He knew he wouldn’t last much longer. 

              He had one more shot to win this.  He whimpered, getting down, and laying on his back, exposing himself to the alpha.  Val stopped for a moment, sniffing the wolf, seeing his submission.  Had Shane finally come to his senses and realized that he would never be able to beat him?

              Shane lied in wait, his heart pounding in his chest as blood poured out of his wounds.  He only had one shot and if he messed it up, he would be dead within moments.  Val got even closer, his muzzle close to Shane’s neck, about to nick it in a show of dominance.  Before he could react, however, Shane jumped him, turning the tables and pinning the wolf to the forest floor. 

              Violently, he leaned down and ripped out the alpha’s throat, his muzzle now covered in not only his own blood but the blood of his former alpha as well.  The rest of the pack looked on, horrified, not sure what to do.  Their alpha had just been killed right in front of their eyes.  They no longer had a leader. 

              Shane got up, standing on all fours, growling at them, giving them a warning to leave.  They got the message, quickly disappearing into the forest.  He watched them go and sighed in relief.  Alpha ran up to him and started to lick his wounds gently, trying to help.  He looked at the dog and nuzzled it gently, glad that he had, at least, one follower.  Even though Shane didn’t know it, the dog was certain this werewolf was an alpha, someone who could not live his life under the rule of another, someone born to be a leader. 

              Shane eventually turned back to his human form, still covered in blood and wounds.  Slowly he made his way to Delilah who seemed terrified.  She was frozen in place as he approached her, making him wonder how she would react. 

              To his surprise she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.  “I’m so glad you’re okay!”