Alpha Beast (The Alpha Shifter Collection)

He waited for this battle of wills to be done.

“I’ll grab my coat unless you think I need to, er, you know, completely change?” she asked.

“You look beautiful.” He intended to take her to an Italian restaurant. As far as he was concerned, no one could fail when it came to pasta. He knew there was far more to Italy than pasta, but it was a damn good start.

“Jenny?” Lewis asked.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. It’ll be nice to go out to dinner, and besides, Dad said I’m marrying him no matter what.”

The proposal was leaving a lot to be desired, and he hated to be responsible for that in any way. He wanted her to like him, and that was news to him. He was used to taking what he wanted, when he wanted it.

She grabbed her coat and offered him a smile. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Her long white hair fell around her in waves. She looked so beautiful, so pure, so innocent. He didn’t know if he should feel guilty for the need rampaging in his blood. His cock had been hard from the first moment he saw her at the top of the stairs.

He was a red-blooded male and a wolf. Sex was something he needed in order to keep control of his beast. If there was no willing female, he often took matters into his own hands. He felt her brothers’ anger. They weren’t happy about letting her go out with him, but he’d protect her.

Liam had no desire to hurt this woman. If anything, he wanted to get to know her. All he cared about was making her his. That was all he wanted more than anything.

He led the way to his car, opening the door. She went to get in as suddenly, the door was slammed shut without any reason for it.

She pressed her lips together.

Liam looked at her as he grabbed the door again. He waited but it didn’t move until Jenny tried to get into the car.

“Someone’s here,” he said.

She took a deep breath and nodded.

“Then talk to them.”

“I’m not allowed to.”

“Why not?”

“It’s my grandmother,” she said.

This surprised him. Her grandmother had died years ago. He remembered reading the headline. It had been a natural death, not one caused by them. The death had struck the Lucas hard.

“She doesn’t want you going out with me?” Liam asked.

Jenny pushed some of her hair off her face.

“Did she cause the cut?”

“What? No? Of course not. Grandma wouldn’t hurt me.”

“No? You could have fooled me. Getting trapped between the doors of a car is incredibly dangerous.” He was pissed now at how annoying a family member who wasn’t even living could be. “Look, Grandma Luca, I get it. You don’t like me. You probably can’t stand any of my family, but I’m going to be marrying your daughter. I want to get to know her. I promise she will have a good time. I will not hurt her. You have my word.”

“She wants to know what good is your word,” Jenny said.

“I have never broken a promise. If your grandma remembers me, she will know that I always keep my promise.”

Jenny looked to the left of his shoulder. “She says if you hurt me, then you are never going to know a peaceful moment.”

“Good. It’s nice to know someone is taking care of you, even if they are dead.”

At the last word, Jenny flinched.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I know … no one else can see her. It’s just hard to accept that she’s … dead. I love her so much.” Tears filled her eyes.

“Is she still here?”

“No, she made her point and she’s happy with you.” She took a deep breath. “You’re not looking at me like I’m a weirdo.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’ve just had a ghost threatening your life.”

He laughed. “It won’t be the last time. I’m sure I’ve got a lot of enemies.”

“Were you able to fix the Bordaux problem?”

“Yes. It has all been handled. Kenrick’s family has been taken care of. Nothing will happen to them.”

“Good. I’m glad.” She smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m waiting for you to freak out or something.”

He held the door open for her. “Why would I do that?”

“You accept me talking to the dead?” she asked.

“I have to admit I didn’t believe the rumors. I figured you liked talking to yourself, but I believe you. There’s no way anyone could have known what you did about Kenrick. I also happened to see the fork fly across the room, and then of course there was the force of the car door.”

She licked her lips and smiled.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re … I mean, my family loves me. I know they do. They’re freaked out more than anything, but it’s nice, you know, you’re not running away screaming, calling me a witch, or wishing death upon me. It’s really, really, nice.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “I like it.”