Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
“Oh, really?” Mason chuckled against my neck, grazing his lips and teeth over the sensitive skin. “You got a job for me, Clara?”
“Not me. Daisy.” I gasped. Words were becoming hard and the more he played my body like a finely tuned instrument, the more I found them slipping away. I distanced myself, planting my hands on his cheeks to steady my thoughts.
Mason c*cked his head to the side. “Daisy has a job for me?”
“Yes, and the sooner you let me finish, the sooner you can help me out of this dress.” I winked.
Now I had his full, undivided attention. He sat up straighter, his eyes no longer wandering down to my cleavage. The sudden shift coaxed another string of laughter from my mouth.
“How would you, Mason, feel about becoming the next Beta of this pack?”
Disbelief made his eyes shimmer like amber jewels. They were speckled with fragments of endearing innocence that matched the way his jaw dropped, and voice failed.
“You…Daisy…this can’t be…” He sputtered, working through the pieces one by one until he managed a strangled, “…are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m being serious. She told me about it earlier today. You were the first person they thought of for the job. What do you think?”
“What do I think? I think you’re amazing.” He stared at me as though I were the one to get him the job, when in reality, it was himself.
Nibbling on my lower lip, I decided to get on with it and voice what had been weighing on my mind for weeks now.
“There is something else…something I wanted to ask you.” I exhaled slowly.
“You know you can ask me anything, baby.” Mason replied, confusion overshadowing his joy.
“I…” Here goes nothing. “I want you to mark me.”
Mason blinked several times, his lips opening and closing, though no words came out. A faint spattering of color covered his cheeks, making me wish desperately that my magic had to do with feeling emotions. Goodness, I would’ve killed to know what he was thinking in this moment.
Slowly, a smile unfurled across his face, one that made my heartrate skyrocket. He rummaged through his pocket, fishing out a black velvet box that made my world come to a screeching halt.
“I’d love to mark you, Clara, but only if you’ll marry me.”
*
Breyona & Giovanni Five Years Later Breyona’s P.O.V. I appeared in a plume of inky shadow, emerging from the darkness like I’d been there all along. If there were any humans nearby-which my hearing told me there wasn’t-they’d see nothing more than a lingering shadow dancing along the brick walls of the abandoned store front I lurked outside of.
This wasn’t my ideal hangout spot, but for whatever reason, this was where Freya had chosen to hide a bunch of magical texts and artifacts. I absolutely adored my job of traveling the country via shadows, collecting information that was thought to be lost among the witches.
It was similar to what my parents had done, a realization that never failed to bring tears to my eyes.
Even after all these years, I missed them so much.
I slinked along the back wall, past the rusted dumpsters that hadn’t been used in Goddess knows how long, to the backdoor Ember’s source promised would be unlocked. Sure enough, when I tugged the handle, it swung open with a metallic groan.
The inside of the abandoned store was far worse than the outside led me to believe. Judging from the discarded mildew stained stands and faded posters, this place used to be some kind of cellphone store. That was long before the Blood Witch-may she not rest in peace-turned this place into her own personal hiding spot. 1
Daisy and Clara had been furious when they found out how much information Freya had been h*arding, keeping it for herself to hold over the heads of young witches everywhere. This was exactly why I signed. up for the job.
If there was one thing my parents believed in whole heartedly, it was that knowledge should not be kept hidden. Knowledge was meant to be shared with the world.
I tiptoed inside, keeping my ears peeled. There was little in the way of light, but I expected as much after eying the blown fuse box outside. A quiet scuttle just inside alerted my attention, but as I crept closer, past clusters of soggy boxes and overturned displays, I realized it was a very chunky rat.
“If I were an evil Blood Witch with a superiority complex, hell-bent on destroying the world, where would
I hide a bunch of dusty magical texts?” I asked myself, lowering my voice halfway through. Silence had a way of making the smallest of sounds seem louder, and the last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself if any rogue witches were nearby.
Starting my search, I thought back to last month and how drastically things had changed.
This was my first job since returning from my honeymoon with Giovanni. His parents had this incredible villa in Italy, set in the Tucson country side. It was surrounded by rolling hills and a vineyard as far as the eye could see. There was even an olive grove, whose owner was more than happy to give
Giovanni and I a tour. 1
It was Daisy, and her crazy a*s magic, that made all of this possible. She’d given Giovanni and I a wedding present, something we could’ve never expected.
For those two weeks in Italy, she’d made Giovanni impervious to the sun.
We were able to visit all of the monuments and do all of the wonderful touristy things I had on my list. A
dream vacation after a dream wedding.
I kicked open one of the soggy boxes, wrinkling my nose at the stench that wafted out. Wet, mildew covered paper had a stench that was eerily similar to rotting trees. Moving on, I followed the dull tingle of magic in the air, and began searching one of the overturned displays. Grabbing a shard of broken wood off the floor, I nudged one of the display’s doors open, humming the first song to pop into my head.
The sweet and soft melody that had been frequenting my head the past month was none other than the song played at my wedding. I shared the day with Mason and Clara, a decision I didn’t regret in the slightest. 2
The dual aisles split in two by rows upon rows of our closest family and friends was incredible, lined with fresh roses and orbs of starlight that Daisy herself had conjured. Even Ember and Tessa had a hand to play in the wedding. There were floating sconces with cobalt flame that flickered the breeze. A
breeze which carried the scent of wildflowers from the vines they sprouted on.
Marrying Giovanni and having my breath ripped from my lungs as I spotted him in his tux, while also watching my best-friend marry the love of his life, was by far the best part. Well…almost. It was a tie, actually. The ceremony had been beautiful, but the reception was another thing entirely.
Seeing the look on Mason’s face when Clara stood to give an impromptu speech, only to reveal the secret she, Daisy, Holly, and I had kept for almost two months, was a moment I’d never forget. In fact, I had a picture of said moment tucked away in my wallet.
Mason had scooped Clara into his arms, tears cascading down his cheeks, when his bride revealed she was pregnant with his child.
There weren’t enough words in my vocabulary to express how happy I was for my best-friend, and for the joy he had found in his life after enduring so much. The light in his eyes sent me reeling back five long years ago, to a conversation I overheard between Sean and Mason.
Just one month before Sean’s murder, I’d nearly walked in on the two of them talking. It was their hushed tones that prompted me to stop, while a tingle in my gut told me to stay and listen.
“You like her, she clearly likes you. What’s the problem, man?” Sean had asked.
It took Mason several seconds to respond. “You don’t think it’s wrong of me to want her?”
“How could it be wrong?” Sean replied.
“I had a mate, and I lost her. I-I can’t replace her with Clara.” Mason’s voice cracked, a shard of it ricocheting off the wall and into my chest.
There was a sharp clap, and I assumed Sean had patted Mason on the back. “This is going to sound harsh, but I think you need to hear it. Your mate died, yes. But she also chose to reject you. Spending the rest of your life alone and hurting for a person who couldn’t see your worth is a terrible waste. You deserve happiness, even if it’s not with the one the Moon Goddess paired you with.”
Mason let out a long, shaky sigh, followed by a halfhearted chuckle. “You sound just like Daisy, you know? How come you haven’t moved on from your mate?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?