Alpha Beast (The Alpha Shifter Collection)

“Me?”

“This gift scares him and he doesn’t want to lose you.”

“He won’t lose me.”

“Your mother said the exact same thing to your father.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to argue, but just then, she heard the unmistakable sound of a giggle.

Glancing over toward the building, she saw Anna, dancing around the debris as if it wasn’t there.

“You’d have really liked her,” her grandmother said.

“I do like her.”

“Go say hi.”

Getting to her feet, with her cell phone next to her ear, she doubted with every step that she took she was fooling anyone. She crossed the street and got toward the building.

“Hello, pretty lady.”

“Hello, Anna.”

“You know my name.”

She nodded.

“What’s your name?”

She couldn’t be sure if she’d told Anna her name or not. “It’s Jenny.”

“That’s a pretty name. My dad said my name. He loves my name.” She pointed to her chest right next to her heart. “He has it right on his chest. He said I was going to stay with him forever.”

Overwhelming grief swept through her.

Touching the gate, she dropped the cell phone back into her pocket. There was no reason to keep on pretending. Let people watch. This was her niece.

“Did your daddy ever tell you about your family?” she asked.

Anna stopped, putting a finger against her lips and nodding.

“What did he say?”

“I have an uncle who is really short and moody.”

Jenny laughed as she thought about Danny.

“An auntie who has a really special gift. She can talk to herself.” Anna tilted her head and frowned. “Are you my auntie?”

Jenny was about to nod when a voice interrupted.

“She is your auntie.”

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the spirit of her brother, Lewis.

“Daddy!”

Anna ran across the dirt, throwing herself into her dad’s arms. Even as spirits they could touch one another.

Her brother was dead right now. Pain exploded in her chest as she looked at him.

“Lewis?”

He held Anna’s hand as he came toward her. “It’s not what you think. They didn’t kill me.”

“But you’re right in front of me dead. Oh, my God, what happened?”

“You need to get to the hospital. We were in a car accident, Jen. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt. I was thrown from the car. My head hit the pavement.” He turned and she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “I was dead instantly. I waited long enough to see the ambulance take Liam. He’s in bad shape, but you can make it.”

“You came back for her.”

“I saw Grandmother. She told me Anna was waiting for me. I’m not letting anyone hold my girl hostage.”

“I’ve got to go.”

“Go.”

Jenny looked at her brother and his daughter again, wanting to stay and make sure they were happy and safe away from the bad man. But Liam had been in a car crash.

Lewis yelled the name of the hospital where she was supposed to be.

As she pulled out her cell phone, she was already calling her brother Danny, trying to get a lift. Anything that would take her to the hospital faster.

There was no way she could lose her husband, not when she’d just found him.

The curse said she was the one who was supposed to die. She could handle that. What she couldn’t handle was if her husband was the one to go.

A cab arrived first, and she told them where to go, calling Danny to let him know to meet her at the hospital.

She felt sick to her stomach.

In the back of the car, her grandmother appeared, her hand touching hers. It wasn’t enough. She’d spent too much time with the dead. She needed the touch of her husband, not anyone else.

Clasping her hands together, she tried to pray for whoever was listening not to take her husband.

Chapter Nine

A few days later

“I am fine,” Liam said, watching as Jenny plumped up the pillow.

“You’re not fine. You were in a car accident and had surgery.”

“Which I didn’t need because my bones were already starting to knit together.” He reached out for his wife, trying to grab her hand and pull her down.

He was completely fit and healthy. For the last two days, he’d been playing on it because he loved his wife’s attention. Also, while she fussed about him, she didn’t think of the fact at the end of the week, they were going to have to go to Lewis’s funeral. He hadn’t bound Lewis’s hands. The man should have put a seatbelt on.

Liam cupped her hip and stared into her eyes. “You need to stop fussing.”

“I was so scared I was going to lose you.” She stroked his cheek.

“I asked you to stay here. I know you left.”

“I had to go back. I had to go and see Anna, and it’s where I saw…” She stopped talking as tears filled her eyes. “Lewis came. He came for his little girl and he was dead.” She pressed her face against his chest and started to sob.