Page 82 of The Alpha

He heard the hint of panic in her voice and sighed. He’d have to give her time to get used to him, trust him. He hadn’t won her yet and might have a lot of work ahead of him.

“The library,” he said as Q slowed down. He, too, must have picked up on her trepidation.

“A library? You want to show me books?” Pari said.

“There’s a lot more than books in the library. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine.” He studied his surroundings and saw more guards up ahead. The guards behind him must have sent word to the ones ahead through a heart connection.

His eyes narrowed, and he sensed the Alpha rising.Oh no, you don’t!Melvale squeezed his eyes shut and willed that side of him to back down. He wanted to introduce Pari to Grandma Waller, Doc, Irene, Wilfred, and the others. Maida might even be there. He knew Pari would like her.

“So,” she said, her voice cracking. “This is a palace?”

“It is, Kitten. A big one.”

“But you’re not royalty, right?”

“No.” He bent down again, this time to look at her. “Would you like to meet the king and queen?”

She sucked in a breath. “Jeepers, no!”

He straightened. “As you wish.” Okay, that wasn’t one of his best ideas. She was having a hard enough time taking everything in as it was. Best leave King Jaireth and Queen Shannell out of the equation for now.

Q slowed again as they turned down another corridor that led to a side entrance of the library. Pari looked around, but didn’t ask any questions. He could only imagine what she mightbe thinking. Did she believe him when he told her they were in the year 3698? She did know he wasn’t human, and she knew he wasn’t himself at times. He was going to have to explain that better, or she might get confused whenever she had to deal with the Alpha side of him.

“Here we arsssk!” Q announced and stopped in front of a simple wooden door.

“Wonderful, thank you, Q.” Melvale gently let go of Pari, scooted back, swung a leg over Q’s back and dismounted.

Pari gave him a panicked look. “You expect me to do that?”

“No, I expect you to jump.” He held up his arms. “You can do it.”

She gulped, gripped Q’s fur with both hands, and gulped again.

“Come, Kitten,” he coaxed and crooked his fingers at her for good measure.

She trembled but let go of Q’s fur and slid into his waiting hands. He held her waist and let her down gently. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She looked up at Q’s back. “He’s bigger than an elephant.”

“Hmmm, maybe some, but comparable in size to a bull elephant.” Melvale took her by the hand and led her toward the door. “Remember, there’s more than just books in here. Are you ready?”

She looked at the simple wooden door. “Like what?”

He smiled. “Come and see.” Melvale opened the door, and they stepped into bright sunshine and a flower dotted meadow.

“Oh,” Pari breathed. “Where are we?”

He nodded at Q then closed the door behind him. He would summon Q when they were done visiting the library. “Like I said, the library. The southeastern most section to be precise. The Muiraran library takes up roughly fourteen square miles.”

She stopped, gaped at him, and sank a little at the knees.

“Whoa there, Kitten.” Melvale steadied her.

She continued to stare, her mouth hanging open.

Melvale smiled. “I see you’re going to need a lot of time to adjust. I have just the thing.” He took her hand again and started across the meadow.

“Where are we going?” she asked with a hint of panic.

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