The Hidden Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 2)

“Amelia…?”

That low, kind voice uttering her name… It sounded weird to her ears. Or, maybe it was the wind. She closed her eyes and tuned everything out. Her heart ached, but her mind was going in circles, unable to wrap around the new information. “How do I feel about it?” she asked herself. She breathed in and out slowly, then opened her eyes and turned to Seth.

“I don’t care.”

At first, he thought he had heard her wrong.

“I don’t care,” she repeated. “It’s not about who you are, it’s about what you do, right? Whether the assassins are your parents or not, it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change what they did, what my life was like, and it won’t change how I feel about them or you. You’re not responsible for any of their actions. I shouldn’t even tell you that. You know it already, I know you do.” She stepped closer to him and took his face between her palms. “Seth, you’re better than them. It’s a good thing your father left you and your mother. He didn’t deserve you.”

Seth lost himself in Amelia’s bright eyes. The darkness didn’t affect his vision, and he saw her in all her beauty. Even with her body covered in endless layers of clothes, she was breathtaking. He took her hands into his and placed a kiss on each of her knuckles.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, then Seth pulled her back towards the cabin. They had been out long enough. He could tell she was freezing, and his body wasn’t enough to protect her from the bleak wind. Blake was waiting for them, her glass empty. So was the bottle, but she still had to go through half of the files. She raised her eyes and watched Seth as he helped Amelia out of her coat, scarf, and boots,

then took her by the fire and rubbed her arms to warm her up. She smiled thinking what a cute couple they made.

“Sorry we were gone for so long,” said Amelia.

“No worries. I did some reading.” Blake rounded the table and walked to where they were standing in front of the fireplace. “Listen… Damon just called me. He said he wants to leave next week and asked if we’d like to join him.”

Seth furrowed his brows. “Why would we do that?”

“Well, he thinks Amelia and I could use a break. I don’t disagree, actually. Canada is beautiful, and we could see this as a vacation. At least, you and Amelia could enjoy it. It would give me a good opportunity to assess the state of his earth and see what his foxes think of the change in leadership. I’m not sure my father’s decision to ban Damon was one of his best. We have to bring his foxes back under our control somehow. Like it or not, they’re still part of Clan Sylfur and their actions affect us.”

“Fair enough,” agreed Amelia.

“I suggest we take Elena and Aaron with us,” said Seth. Damon’s invitation made him oddly uncomfortable. Blake had a point, but he would have liked it better if she had taken more time to think about it.

“Sure. Can’t hurt.”

CHAPTER FOUR

The Tricksters

When Roman insisted it was better for everyone if Damon took his earth and found another place to live, Damon bought a lake and the land around it and built the loveliest cabins on and around its shore. He didn’t have a numerous earth and there was so much space that some of the cabins ended up rather isolated. Eventually, the members of Damon’s earth gathered on one side of the lake, leaving some of the smaller cabins on the other side empty, and started using them for short getaways. That was where Blake, Amelia, Seth, Elena and Aaron were going to spend their one-week vacation, and they were all positively delighted. Elena and Aaron could have one cabin, while Blake and Amelia shared another, and Seth took a smaller one. They were isolated enough so no one would notice when Amelia would slip silently into Seth’s cabin, but close enough to Damon so that Blake could pay him visits any time she wanted.

“Well, this is really nice,” said Amelia while she was looking for clean clothes in her huge suitcase. She had just taken a long bath after they had all had dinner with Blake’s uncle. “This turned out to be an awesome idea.”

Blake watched her as she took off her fluffy bathrobe and slipped into a pair of black panties. The black bra was next, and Blake smiled knowingly. Even though she had just one more month before the baby was due, Amelia’s tummy wasn’t that big. She still rocked the sexy lingerie she was obviously putting on for Seth.

“I’m glad you like it,” said Blake. “Enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts. When your little fellow comes, I doubt we’ll get much of this blissful silence.”

Finally dressed, Amelia turned to her friend. “So, what’s the plan for this evening?”

Blake stretched her long, strong arms, then reached for the hem of her woolen pullover and pulled it up over her head, ruffling her dark, short hair. Amelia winced when she saw the cotton strips around her torso. She couldn’t understand how Blake could live with those things constantly pressing on her breasts. Sometimes, she couldn’t stand bras.

“My plan is to soak in the bathtub for hours, with a good book and a nice glass of wine.”

“Oh.” Amelia puffed out her cheeks. “I brought the chess board, you know.”

“Yeah. I bet you couldn’t wait to get here so you could kick my ass in chess. Go see Seth, what are you waiting for?”

Amelia blushed up to the tips of her ears, earning herself a complete roll of eyes from Blake.

“Don’t worry, I have my book. And it’s way better than your conversation, believe me.” She dropped her clothes to the floor, gave Amelia a playful wink, then disappeared into the small, but cozy bathroom.