Page 1 of Alpha's Choice
PROLOGUE
Emma
“What’s on the agenda for tonight?” Gina pulled her car into my driveway. “And don’t tell me studying. Classes are over.”
“I still have one exam left.” I grabbed my bag and unbuckled my seatbelt. “But no, Mom’s boyfriend is coming over tonight and she wants me to be there.”
“Maybe they’re getting married and plan to tell you.”
“It’s only been a few months.” I shook my head. “Mom doesn’t move that fast with anything.”
“She’s in love. He could have swept her off her feet.” Gina’s voice was dreamy. She was a closet romantic, but I was not. I suppose the difference was understandable, since she witnessed her parents loving each other while my father bailed when Mom found out she was pregnant at sixteen.
Mom hasn’t dated since, as far as I knew, until Greg. Then he was all she talked about. He was a good guy, though he tried too hard to bond with me. He was in his mid-thirties like Mom, and good-looking, tall and muscled. Gina called him a hottie.
I said goodbye to Gina and headed into the house. Mom and Greg were already there, sitting on the couch, speaking in hushed tones, their heads close. They looked up when I dropped my schoolbag on the floor with a thud.
“Sweetie, come join us.” I could feel my mom’s nerves as she sat clasping Greg’s hand in her own. “We need to tell you something.”
I moved over to the armchair and sat. Maybe they were getting married after all.
The silence was awkward as we sat there staring at each other. Mom kept opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“This is harder than I imagined,” Mom admitted, shooting a glance at Greg. “We talked about this but it’s still so hard.”
A wedding wouldn’t be difficult to bring up. It must be something else. Maybe she was pregnant. I froze at the thought. That would be weird. I couldn’t help wondering if I would be jealous of a little brother or sister. One who had what I didn’t, an involved father.
“It’s best just to say it,” Greg said. “There’s no easy way.”
“Are you dying?” Sudden panic welled up inside of me. “Is that why it’s so difficult?”
“Oh, no, sweetie.” Mom was quick to take my hands in hers while shooting Greg a quick glance. “That’s not it at all. I’m messing this up.”
“Would you like me to tell her?” Greg asked, rubbing his hand on her back.
“No, I should do it.” Mom straightened, looking me in the eye. “Sweetie, Greg is a werewolf.”
It took me a minute to process her words, as my brain kept trying to come up with something more logical than werewolf. It seemed an odd slip of the tongue. Unless she meant for Halloween? But that was months away. I blinked but said nothing.
There was no hint of a joke in Greg’s expression as he said, “It must sound crazy to you, but it’s true.”
“Sure.” I drew the word out. “Werewolf. Great talk.”
I sprang up and went to leave the room when Greg changed. One minute he was sitting there all human and the next a wolf stood on all fours, staring at me with Greg’s eyes. My legs gave out, but I managed to stay upright long enough to sit back down.
Mom moved closer to me and took my hand. She said something to me, but I couldn’t hear anything. I kept my wide eyes trained on the wolf, which was massive, larger than any pictures I’d seen of wolves. Its fur was dark brown, like Greg’s hair. It stood on a pile of shredded clothes, the ones Greg had been wearing before the wolf appeared.
It sat and nudged Mom’s leg with its nose. She pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch, holding it in front of the wolf. A moment later, a naked Greg was wrapping the blanket around his waist before sitting back down next to Mom.
Questions were running through my head, but mostly my brain tried to make sense of what I saw. I wanted to believe it was a trick, but that wasn’t my mom. I really just saw Greg turn into a wolf.
The silence was heavy for a few minutes before I spoke. “Okay, so Greg’s a werewolf. What does this mean for you, Mom?”
“I’m his mate.” Mom’s words meant nothing to me.
Greg must have seen my confusion, as he explained further. “The Moon Goddess blesses werewolves to have a fated mate. This person is our other half, the one who completes us. The moment I met your mother, I knew it was her. I’ve waited a long time to find her.”
“I’ll be moving with Greg to join his werewolf pack, and we’d like you to come with us once your school year is complete.”
