Page 2 of The Alpha's Runaway Bride

“I figured. I’ll have to go there just to see you. You won’t want to hang out here anymore.”

Angie and Flora talked about plans for her two projects. It was a relief to Angie. She knew people meant well, but she was pretty sure she would scream if one more person gave their condolences. Her parents were very well-known and very well-liked, so it seemed like everyone in the state had been at the house, letting her know how sorry they were and how much Naomi and Clarence would be missed.

For the next couple of days, she focused on her projects. Her lawyers were busy figuring out the laws and what she needed to do for the two non-profit organizations. She had real estate agents looking for the perfect sites for each. Angie stayed busy interviewing people for the different roles at the domestic abuse shelter.

She was surprised when a loud banging interrupted her breakfast. It sounded like the police banging on doors in the movies. Apollo barked loudly and then stared at the door. Her heart racing a million miles an hour, she looked through the peephole. Two men she didn’t recognize were standing on her front porch.

“Can I help you?” she asked, making sure that the chain on her door was engaged. Judging by how the men looked though, it would only take a fraction of a second for them to bust through it.

“Angie Dewitt?” one of them asked.

“Yes.”

“My name is Keith and this is Elijah. We’re from the Silent Paw Wolf Shifter pack.”

She opened the door to let them in.

“Noah, the Alpha, wishes to see you. You need to come with us to the shifter world,” Keith said.

Angie wanted to refuse. She had only been back in the human world a week. There was nothing left for her in the shifter world. Plus, she really didn’t like Keith’s tone or the idea that she was being ordered to do something.

However, she thought about her parents and what they would want her to do. Sighing heavily, she said, “Let me grab my purse and Apollo’s leash.”

“The dog stays here,” Elijah said.

“Then I stay here,” Angie said, staring at him straight in the eye, crossing her arms over her chest, shoulders back, and head up.

The two men looked at each other and then nodded.

Figuring that the alpha merely wanted to give his condolences, she didn’t bother packing anything except for some supplies for Apollo. She would go, tell him thank you for his kind words, and go back to picking up the pieces of her life.

Sean McCullum, owner of Howlers’ Bar and Grill, nodded at her and smiled when she walked in and headed toward the basement, where the portal was hidden. There were other portals hidden around the world, heavily guarded, since the shifter world didn’t want people randomly stumbling into them.

A beautiful clear blue sky with a few fluffy clouds and a thick, green forest greeted her when she stepped through the hazy mist from the human side. She looked around wondrously.

“I’ll never get over how magical it is that you can step from one world into the other,” she said.

Keith grunted. Elijah didn’t even acknowledge she said anything. Apollo looked up at her as though he was asking what was going on. She reached down and scratched him between his ears, as much to comfort herself as it was to comfort Apollo.

“Follow,” Elijah said.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she followed the two men to a large cave that served as the council hall and ceremonial hall for the pack. It was huge – at least the size of the giant office buildings in the human world. Over time, small alcoves in the sides of the cave had been converted to offices. Somehow, they had managed to get electricity to the cave, so it was very modern.

What is the point of using a cave for your base when you just changed it into a regular building?

She banished the thought because she knew that shifters could communicate telepathically and could read her thoughts. Angie wasn’t here to cause a conflict. Her only goal was to hear whatever message the alpha had and then get back home and to her life.

Noah, the alpha of the Silent Paw Pack, was sitting in a large chair on the dais as though he was a king greeting his subjects.

I guess he is, in a way.

Angie bit her bottom lip. He was the sexiest man she had ever seen. He had raven black hair and intense hazel eyes. Right now, they hovered between golden and green. The man obviously took care of his body. His thick arms threatened to rip the white button-down collarless shirt he wore. It fit him like a second skin, accenting his muscular chest. She suddenly wished she was wearing something more formal than her Def Leppard and Journey t-shirt, which she bought at their concert, and jeans.

Her eyes roved over him. This was the second time she had seen him since he had come to her parents’ funeral. They had only spoken a few words, but he seemed very sincere. Right now, he studied her as though he was trying to assess her.

“Hello, Angie. Thank you for coming.”

Like I had a choice, she thought.

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