Trapped With the Alpha (Balfour Shifters Book 1) (26 page)

The minute my fingers pinch down on her clit, she screams out her orgasm. Her pussy contracts around my cock, pulling my own release from deep within me. Throwing my head back, I let forth a roar.

Pulling out of her, I fall on top of her for a minute before sliding off beside her, and I close my eyes. “I hope that helped your attitude,” I say, still panting.

She immediately rolls over and jumps from the bed. “I love having sex with you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still so angry I could kill you.”

Releasing a sigh, I rub at my temples, hoping to relieve some of the tension that is once again building inside my head. “What am I supposed to do, Izzy? How in the hell can I change the past?” I ask, pushing myself up on the bed, tired of repeating the same thing over and over. “You’ve been my mate since the first time I took you. You were my mate even before that.  You’ve always been mine, and nothing will ever change that.  But you have to realize, I didn’t remember you.  I didn’t want to forget you. Someone took you from me.  If I had known, I’d never have strayed.  Izzy, you watched me.  I was a mess.  For eight-hundred years, I was a walking fuck up, slowly getting worse and worse in my desperation to find something I didn’t even consciously know I was missing.”

She walks over to the dresser, pulls out a t-shirt, and pulls it over her head, not even taking time to put a bra on.  The anger has drained from her voice and is now replaced with a sound of utter exhaustion, as she says, “I know that. I really do, Brody.  My heart, though, is telling me something different…” She taps her index finger against her forehead before continuing. “It just keeps reminding me of all the times you were with someone else.  It doesn’t matter that the logical side of myself knows that you would have never done it if you knew about me, about our bond.  The only thing it seems able to focus on is the feeling of deceit.”

Dropping my head, I run my fingers through my hair.  “What can I do, Pixie?  What can I do to make up for shit that happened when I didn’t even remember you were mine?  Please, tell me.  At this point, I will do anything you tell me to do.  I just want to make you happy. That’s what I was born to do.  This, this is not the reason why the fates brought us together.”

She pulls out a pair of panties, followed by jeans.  After pulling them on, she looks over to me.  “I wish I knew.  I really wish I knew.”

“I love you, Izzy.  I love you more than anything in the whole world.  Even when I’m dead, I’ll still love you,” I say, hoping that she will hear my sincerity.  “I want you by my side for eternity.  I want you as my mate, my wife, and the mother of my children, so please, just tell me what I need to do to make that happen.”

“I love you too.” She slides on a pair of tennis shoes before walking to the door.  “I want everything you do, but I need to figure out how to get past this shit in my head before it can happen.”

Her hand goes to the knob as I sit up.  “Where the hell are you going?”

“I need to get out of here.  I don’t know where I’m going,” she replies, not meeting my eyes. 

“You’re not going anywhere,” I shout, jumping off the bed.  “You can’t keep running away from this, from us.  Not to mention, you know you can’t be alone until we figure out who did this to you. To us.”

She turns the knob and steps into the hallway, not listening to a word I’ve said.  Feeling my anger boiling again, I jump to my feet and shout, “Get your ass back here, Isabel.”

Glancing at me over her shoulder, she stops for a second before responding. “I need to get out of here for a little while.” Then, she strides down the hall.

Of course, she keeps walking down the stairs, ignoring my pleas for her to stop.  Not worrying about clothes, I follow her down the hall, attempting to collect my thoughts as we walk through the lodge.  “Fine, Pixie, go and take a breather.  Take some time to sort things out.  You know where I’ll be if you need me.” Admitting defeat, I feel my body begin to curl in on itself. “You can go, but take Caleb with you.”

She turns around and looks at me with bloodshot eyes, her gorgeous face covered with tears.  “When I get back, everything will be better.  I promise, Brody. It will all be better.”

Izzy

“DON’T WORRY
about it, Izzy. He’ll get over whatever he’s so pissed off about. You’ve known my brother for years. He blows up fast, but he gets over it just as fast,” Knox says with a shrug as he leads me into the store. 

Knowing he’s wrong, I merely nod. Not willing to talk about it anymore, I say the first that comes to mind that I know will send him running. “I need to get some new panties.”

Walking to the display, I pretend to be studying a pair of lacey white see-through G-strings. Holding them up so they are just inches from Knox’s face, I ask, “What do you think of these?”

He looks from me to the nearly non-existent underwear with a look of clear discomfort on his face, and says, “Uh, I’m gonna go wait by the door.”

Attempting to stifle my laughter at how desperate he is to get out of my questioning, I don’t bother with a reply, just continue to pilfer through the panties. My mind isn’t on the lace in my hands, though. Instead, it keeps replaying Brody’s words from earlier. Am I really forcing him to pay for something he didn’t do? I know the answer but don’t want to admit it to myself, let alone to him. Yes, I am.

There is only one way to move forward. Reaching into my pocket, I stare at the address Blair gave me. Could forgetting everything really be my answer? Determination fills my body, knowing it’s my only choice. I refuse to live like this for even a moment longer. After eight-hundred years of living my life in what felt like the pits of hell, I deserve my damn happiness, and so does Brody.

Looking over to Knox, I see a woman across the store has grabbed his attention. Knowing this is my only chance, I take advantage of the distraction, and I slink toward the back of the store. Sneaking past the clerk, I hurry into the stock room and look around until I see the back door that must lead to the alley behind the store. Rushing out, I quickly run to the side of the building. My eyes scan the street in the hopes I will spot someone I know. 

Being in Luna Rock, nearly everyone is a member of the pack or somehow connected to it. Hopefully, I will see someone I know, without them being too attached to Brody. I don’t need to run into one of the many soldiers who work alongside Brody. They will know within seconds that Brody wouldn’t let me out alone like this. Luckily, the first person I see is Duncan, The Den’s bartender, standing near his truck. Running over to him, I reach out and grab his arm. 

His eyes shoot to me, and a smile spreads across his face. “Hey, Izzy. What are you doing out by yourself?”

Everyone in town has probably heard of Brody’s dictate by now. Knowing I have to play this smart, I merely shrug. “I was with Knox, but he met a girl. You know how that man is. The second he spots a piece of ass, his attention is elsewhere.”

Crossing my fingers behind my back, I hope like hell he doesn’t know Knox well. If he does, he will know that Knox would never leave me alone for any reason, especially not a quick lay. Judging by the smirk on Duncan’s face, he doesn’t know his friend as well as he assumes. 

“Yeah, the man definitely likes his ladies,” he replies, still wearing the smirk. “He picks one up everywhere he goes.”

Pretending to act amused, I give a slight giggle. “Yes, he does, but now I’m stuck here without a ride,” I say, doing my best to rush this along before Knox comes looking for me. “Do you think you could give me one? If you aren’t busy, that is.”

He shrugs, motioning toward his truck. “Sure, I will.”

He opens my door, helping me to climb inside the jacked up truck, before slamming the door and heading to the driver’s side. As soon as he gets inside, I spot Knox running out of the building. He spins in a circle, trying to spot me, and then abruptly stops, looking in our direction. Slinking down in my seat, I pull the piece of paper out of my pocket and turn to Duncan. 

“I’m not going back to the lodge. Brody wants me to meet him at one of his friend’s houses,” I lie, as if I’ve been doing it all my life. Making sure to avoid eye contact, I Look down at the crumpled piece of paper in my hands as I read out the address. Guilt fills me as I consider what I’m about to do. Everyone is going to worry about me, but I don’t feel as if I have a choice. 

“I know where that is,” he tells me, nodding along before starting the truck and pulling onto the road. “It’s just a few blocks over. It’ll only take a minute to get there.”

Looking into the side-view mirror, I see Knox has turned to look in the other direction. My eyes cut to Duncan, praying he doesn’t look back. Thankfully, he is focused on the road. My eyes go right back to the side-view mirror, and I watch Knox fade away. 

Letting out a relieved breath, I sink into the leather seats and shoot a smile at Duncan. “Thank you so much for giving me a ride.”

He nods then starts telling me a story about what happened last night at The Den. He makes small talk the entire way, but I’m too nervous to say very much at all, and settle for nodding along and agreeing with his statements. All I can think about it how angry Brody will be when he finds out what I’ve done, what I’m doing. There is no way he would trust someone he doesn’t know to do this, not after everything that has happened. I can only hope he forgives me once he understands what I’m hoping to accomplish with this little visit.

When we finally pull up to the cute little craftsman home, my heart starts to bang against my chest. Trying to hide my nervousness, I look at Duncan and plaster a smile on my face. “Thanks for the ride.”

He gives me an odd look, glancing at the house then back to me. “Are you sure Brody is meeting you here?”

Gulping back my fears, I nod my head. “It’s the address he gave me.”

He turns toward the house, tapping the top of the steering wheel as if he’s thinking about something. “This house has been empty since old man Jenkins died. Last time I laid eyes on the place, it was in shambles. I didn’t know anyone even moved into the place. I sure in the hell don’t know how they got it looking like a new place so damn quick.”

Taking in the bright blue paint, perfectly manicured yard, and beautifully arranged garden, my fear ratchets up a level, but I ignore it. Stuffing my trembling hands in my pockets, I look at him and say, “I’m sure it cost them a bundle to get it back in good condition.”

“Okay, as long as you’re sure Brody is going to be meeting you here,” he says after finally turning to look at me. 

Knowing this is my only chance is to get this done, to put this whole mess behind us, I quickly jump out of the truck, tossing a quick thank you over my shoulder as I slam the door behind me. As I’m walking toward the house, I see Duncan with a phone to his ear. There’s no doubt about who he’s calling, so I pick up my pace and scurry toward the house. 

Rushing onto the porch, I step onto the welcome mat and take a deep breath. While knocking on the door, I take a second to send a silent prayer to the heavens above that this woman will be able to help me. My hand has barely reached my side, when the porch door swings open. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen is suddenly standing in front of me, with a huge smile gracing her face.

I notice immediately that she’s tall, standing nearly six-feet tall in her bare feet. She’s slender but voluptuous at the same time, with just the right amount of curves to make her toned body appear soft in all the right places. Her long silky hair is as dark as a raven, and her eyes are nearly as black as her hair. Something about them seem eerily familiar, and a sudden rush of déjà vu hits me. She’s absolutely intoxicating. I’m so transfixed taking in her beauty that I miss her words.

“Excuse me?” I ask, embarrassed that she caught me staring at her. 

She smiles, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe. “Can I help you?”

Something about the way she is looking at me seems odd. It’s as if she’s seen me before, and I know I would not have forgotten meeting this woman before. “Yes, I’m Isabel McKay. I wanted to talk to you about...”

She cuts me off, placing a hand on my arm. “I know why you’re here. You want me to help you erase your memories.”

A cold chill cuts down my spine at her touch, causing me to shiver. “How do you know that?”

“What kind of a witch would I be if I didn’t know what my clients need of me?” she says with an easy smile before stepping inside and beckoning me to follow her. “Come with me, and I’ll make you forget everything.”

“You’re a witch?” The alarm bells inside of me start going off immediately.

“Don’t worry, darling. I won’t hurt you,” she replies with an easy smile.

 Something is telling me that I should run. No, it’s screaming for me to get the hell away from this woman. Just as I’m about to turn away, I remember the look on Brody’s face this afternoon. The pain he felt was so harsh, I could read it in his eyes. My own pain seems to be growing with each passing day, as well. There is no way we can go on the way we are, and nothing is worth losing him.