Bewitching Her Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) by Joanna Wilson

 
    Bewitching Her Alpha
     
    Though the black clouds inched their way across the sky, I thought I had plenty of time to make it home. The wind had started to really whip up, and I was barely a third of the way there. Fat raindrops began to fall and made it a struggle just to keep my small one-person canoe upright.
     
    “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” I chided myself as I tried to regain control of the canoe. I should have stayed in the small cabin on the island.  Now, instead of being warm and dry, I was in a tiny, unstable boat trying desperately to make it to land in the rapidly approaching darkness. I paddled quickly, ignoring the fatigue in my arms as I tried to close the distance between myself and the shore. I was wearing myself out fighting a current that seemed determined to push me further and further away from my desired destination. When the paddle was ripped from my hands it seemed that all was lost, and I grabbed the sides praying that the canoe would not tip.
     
    My prayers were denied a moment later as I was pitched head first into the roiling water. Lighting flashed as I went under. For a second, I thought I caught a glimpse of a figure in the distance. The cold water closed around me, pulling me down though I kicked madly against its clutches. Kicking in desperation, I managed to pop up again for a moment, and sucking in a deep breath I scanned the shoreline. Nothing. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I clung to the canoe as I made way in the direction I believed was shoreline.
     
    I was quickly losing my battle against the churning waves, resting on the overturned canoe and taking a few slow strokes in the direction of land. A long shot at best but I had nothing else to go on and the darkness was now absolute.
     
    Stroke, stroke, float. I did this over and over until I was so tired that I could only float. The waves splashed over my face, and I breathed more water into my lungs than air. I felt the weight in my lungs dragging me down as though the water in them needed to be reunited with the lake. Tired, I almost gave in.
     
    I felt something grab me around the waist and panicked. I did not really want to die, and I was not going to let the spirit of the lake take me. With a reserve of energy I didn’t know I had, I fought wildly against it until I felt a stinging slap on my cheek and a voice in my ear. “Stop fighting me! I’m trying to save your life! Kick your feet if you can and help me!”
     
    Was I already dead? My body gave out as I was being pulled lifelessly through the shallow water. It seemed like a lifetime had passed when I finally felt my feet dig into the soft earth of the muddy shore. My savior pulled me up on the gravelly sand and collapsed beside me. I’d get the strength in a moment to look at him, I just needed a minute to catch my breath…
     
    ************
     
    I awoke with a lovely feeling of warmth and the smell of woodsmoke in the air as I opened my eyes. I slowly took in the room around me as I was shocked to find I was not in Amma’s cabin. There was a man at the stove stirring something in an iron pot. I felt a flicker of something wash through me as I looked at him, something indefinable. His back was to me and I allowed my eyes to linger on the width of his broad shoulders. I watched his movements and was enjoying the sight of the muscles in his back ripple under the tight-fitting t-shirt he wore when he turned and caught me.
     
    “You’re awake.” He said, relief evident in his voice. “How do you feel?”
     
    “Tired,” I paused, “and confused. Who are you?”
     
    “Brandon. I saw your canoe go over. I wasn’t sure I’d find you in the storm.” His eyes bored into me as he said, “I guess I got lucky.”
     
    I moved then, in an effort to sit up, and realized that the blanket was the only thing I was wearing. “Yeah, lucky.” I said, my voice tinged with sarcasm, “Where are my clothes?”
     
    “I’m sorry, I had to take them. You were soaked and