Falling for an Alpha by Vanessa Devereaux

going for a hike tomorrow? I think there’s a clearing over that hill
and a good walking path that takes just an hour to tackle.”
    “Says
the ex-Marine…sure, I’ll give it a try.”
    “I’ll
always carry you back to camp if you get tired.”
    “For
an hour?” asked Amber.
    He
flexed one of his biceps and she playfully squeezed it.
    “I
suppose if I’m going swimming and hiking I should get a good night’s sleep,”
said Amber.
    “Yeah,
I guess I should, too. I’ve already put a sleeping bag in the tent for you. It
should keep you warm, but let me know if you get too cold because I have some
extra blankets in the truck.”
    “Okay,
here goes my first night sleeping rough.”
    “Sweet
dreams, and if you need anything I’m right next door.”
    He
watched her head for the tent, unzip it, and then walk inside and secure it. Gabriel
walked over to the fire they’d lit and made sure it was out before heading to
his own tent. Knowing she was so close and sleeping just yards away from him
did little to quell his libido. He continually wanted to hold and touch her.
He’d never quite felt like this in the early stages of a relationship before.
    Gabriel
unzipped his sleeping bag and took off his shorts and T-shirt. He’d sleep in
his boxers and if it got too cold, he’d put them back on. He took one last
glance outside the tent to make sure everything was okay. Amber’s tent was
backlit by the moon and he could see her standing up, undressing. He tried to
look away but he couldn’t. The silhouette of her breasts made him hard again.
He swallowed, thinking he should get to sleep before he needed to jerk-off.
    Snuggling
down in the sleeping bag, he felt that sort of woozy feeling coming over him.
    Shit,
he was going to shift. Maybe it’s because he was sexually aroused. He willed
himself to stop but he hadn’t quite got the hang of it yet. The tent spun. He
couldn’t shift here just in case Amber saw him or needed him. He hurried out of
the sleeping bag, unzipped the tent, re-zipped it to keep the bugs out, and
then headed over the rocks and out of sight as the wolf inside him sprung
forth.
    ****
    Amber peeked her head out from the top of the sleeping bag.
Someone or something was moving about outside her tent. She’d first detected it
about an hour ago.
    Her
heart beat faster. Would Gabriel hear her if she called to him? But what if
whatever was lurking heard her too and ripped its claws through the tent? What
if Gabriel came running and the beast attacked him?
    Suddenly
feeling hot and panicked, she took another peek, this time hearing heavy
breathing outside the door of the tent. She felt like she had when she was six
and frightened of anything that went bump in the night, too scared to even get
out of bed and run into her parent’s room for safe cover.
    More
noises, more heavy breathing.
    Bear,
it had to be a bear. They’d locked up the food after placing it in critter-proof
containers. Gabriel was adamant about doing it.
    She
bit the top of the sleeping bag. She’d done that as a child. Maybe once the
bear found they had nothing to offer in the way of a midnight snack, he’d look
elsewhere. Why had she assumed it was a male bear?
    Amber
peeked out again.
    Holy shit. The outline of
the beast was now clearly visible through the backlit wall of the tent.
    She’d
been wrong. It wasn’t a bear. It was a wolf. She could see its tail and the distinct
jawline that said lupus. Little Red Riding Hood had been the scariest of all
the fairy tales.
    It
howled. She covered her ears. Maybe it was calling for its buddies. Maybe
they’d come calling and eat both her and Gabriel. No,
that was a myth. Wolves were one of the least aggressive predators toward
humans. Well, that’s what she’d read.
    “ Teacher and ex-Marine savaged by wolves
while they slept.”
      She could see the headline in her mind’s eye.
Trouble was , she wasn’t sleeping. She was wide awake
and experiencing the whole nightmare