Page 1 of The Alpha's Runaway Bride

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Angie

“I can’t believe they’re gone,” Angie said, wiping the tears from her red-rimmed green eyes. “They were just going shopping for our friends’ anniversary gift.”

She absently scratched the head of a black and white border collie dog. Apollo laid his head on her leg.

“I know,” Flora said, rubbing Angie’s back. “I’m so sorry. Who would have guessed that a drunk driver would be on the roads at ten in the morning?”

Angie rubbed her face and said, “The worst part was convincing the powers that be to release their bodies to me. They would have been glad to have me pay for them to send their bodies anywhere in this world, but I couldn’t exactly explain that I needed the body in the shifter world. It was their wish to have the service in the shifter world and for their ashes to be scattered in the forest that they loved so much.”

“How did you manage to get them to the shifter world?” Flora asked.

“My parents were good friends with someone who worked closely with the governor. She is a bear shifter, so she understood the importance of getting Mom and Dad home.”

Angie ran her fingers through her red hair and looked around. “This place is going to be so empty without them. They were the best parents ever and I miss them so much.”

Flora hugged her best friend and said, “I know. I wish there was something that I could say or do to take the pain away.”

“Just being here with me helps,” Angie said.

“I’m surprised your folks lived in the human world for the last twenty years since they loved the shifter world so much.”

“It was because of me, actually. Mama wanted a whole bunch of pups and was devastated when she found out she couldn’t have any. She was humiliated, so she didn’t tell anyone. Mama and Daddy moved to the human world. They liked Angel’s Creek, so they settled here,” Angie said.

“I could see why Clarence and Naomi would feel that way. From what I’ve heard, there is a lot of pressure on couples to have younglings in the shifter world,” Flora said.

“When they got here, they met Erica. She was a waitress at one of the restaurants in town. Her boyfriend ran out on her when she found out she was pregnant and her parents had disowned her. Mama and Daddy helped her out and they became friends. Erica died in childbirth. Mama and Daddy adopted the baby.”

“I knew that you were adopted, but I don’t think that you ever told me the story,” Flora said. “No one here cared that you were adopted. We think of you as a part of our pack.”

“I think about Erica sometimes, but I don’t talk about her. I feel bad that she was abandoned by her family. I’m glad that she knew someone loved her when she died. From what I understand, Mom and Dad were with her when I was born, and Mom held her hand as she passed.”

“They were pretty awesome people,” Flora said. “That’s why I called them Mom and Dad, too.”

“We moved to the shifter world for a short time but only for a couple of years. I think we moved back to Angel’s Creek when I was four because they didn’t want everyone else to know that I wasn’t a shifter. They didn’t care, but others would have looked down on them and me because of it,” Angie explained.

“That’s when we met and became friends,” Flora said.

“They went back a few times, like when my grandmother died, to go on vacation, and visit other members of their Silent Paw Wolf Shifter Pack. I went with them twice, but they were afraid that someone would find out my secret.”

“What are you going to do now? You have this huge manor and a couple billion in the bank?”

Angie grinned and said, “That’s easy. I’m going to spend it.”

“I’ve never known you to go on shopping sprees.” Flora laughed.

“That’s not what I had in mind, exactly. I have that large shelter for domestic violence victims, male and female, and their children. It isn’t just a place for them to stay. If they need clothes, toys, or supplies, they shall have them. If they need a bus or plane ticket to someplace else, then they shall have that, too,” Angie said.

“It’s a great cause. I love it. I’ll help when I can,” Flora said.

“Of course. The other thing I want to do is sponsor no-kill sanctuaries. Have you ever seen videos of The Asher House?”

“The guy who rescues animals that have been dumped, abused, or about to be put down at shelters?”

“Yep. I’ve already been working on creating a place like that here. I know a couple who love animals and will be great at running it,” Angie said. “I have the land bought and paid for, the structures needed for different types of animals, corrals set up, and the whole nine yards. We’ll be ready to take our first fur babies in the next couple of days.”

“You know where I’ll be on my days off,” Flora said. “I’ll be there with my arms full of fur babies.”

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