Page 131 of The Alpha

“Bondrah?”

Melvale felt the Alpha side of him grin.You were saying?

Melvale rolled his eyes.Okay fine.

Pari leaned toward him. “What’s going on? Who am I talking to?”

Melvale looked at her and seemed to be in control, yet the Alpha was right there with him. “What color are my eyes?”

“Blue,” she said without hesitation.

“I see.” He looked at his hands, ran his tongue over his front top and bottom teeth. No fangs. Hmm. “And now?”

She looked at him. “They’re um, getting brighter.”

“Really? But I don’t feel… oh… yes, I do…” Power surged through him, and he had the urge to take Pari into his arms and carry her off to someplace far from harm. Every muscle tensed; he had to fight to stay in his chair!

“Bondrah?” she said innocently.

It was his undoing. “Ohhhh, nooooo…” He shut his eyes tight. That didn’t work. The Alpha was right beside him. It was the only way to describe it. “Okay, I can handle thisssss.” He cringed as he jumped to his feet, the urge to take her and run so powerful, he couldn’t help but move in her direction.

“Bondrah?”

“You are summoning me,” he said in a gravelly voice. Then in a higher pitch. “Oh, stab me! So that’s what’s happening?”

“What?”

He’d reached her chair and without thinking, pulled it away from the table and lifted her into his arms. “Kahtala Miah.” He bent his head to hers and rested his forehead against it.

“Bondrah,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What are you doing?”

He drew back, looked at her, and his fangs descended. “Keeping you safe.”

Melvale held her tighter and took off at a run.

42

“Kawahnee! He has taken her!”

Kwaku looked at his wife and laughed. “Yes!” He threw his arms out wide. “Isn’t wonderful?” He laughed some more, not caring who heard them far below.

“But he might harm someone thinking he needs to protect her.”

“No, Pretty One. Dis place is like a giant cage. He will take her as far from de humans as he can. He will not risk leaving de park and venturing into de city.” He slipped down to the next branch. “Let us eat.”

“But Kawahnee…”

He laughed some more and kept going, knowing she would follow. “He will go deeper into de woods, noting more.” Kwaku scrambled down the tree, reached the bottom branches and jumped to the ground. He went behind the big tree where he’d stashed the food, opened the cooler and took out a huge deli sandwich. When Zara joined him, he handed her one.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” she said, not hiding her accusatory tone.

“I suspected. Melvale will merge wid his Alpha side, but dere will still be two sides of him.” He grinned. “He is coming along nicely.”

“But what of Pari? She understands nothing of what is happening.”

He chewed and swallowed. “He will explain it.”

“Melvale is having a hard enough time as it is,” she pointed out.

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