Stolen by the Alpha Wolf: Shifter Romance (Accidental Theft Book 1) by Charlene Hartnady Page A

meat from the
bone. He added the meat to the onions, tossing in some herbs and spices
followed by three cups of water as well. Next, he helped Stephany cut the
remaining vegetables. He noted that she had done a much better job with the
carrots and that she kept glancing at what he was doing so that she could mimic
the action. Even her potato squares were actually half decent. “Put everything
into the pot.” He walked to the sink and washed his hands.
    “All
of it?”
    “That’s
how you make a stew. Throw a whole lot of different stuff into a pot and cook
slowly for an hour or two.”
    “That
long? I thought you were hungry. What will you eat in the meanwhile?”
    Stephany
must’ve caught his look that told her exactly what he’d like to eat, because
she bit on her bottom lip for a fraction of a second.
    His
eyes locked on the movement. “The apples looked really good.” He reached past
her and picked one up, biting into the juicy flesh with a crunch.
    “I
thought wolves only ate meat.”
    He
shrugged. “A myth.” He winked. Stephany rolled her eyes at him.
    “What
are we going to do while we wait?” Her eyes flashed with panic as she realized
how he might take her question and she was right. The image of this sexy
vampire’s head thrown back in utter ecstasy as he feasted on her pussy took
residence in his mind. Once the image arrived, it moved in, kicked back, and
settled in to stay.
    It
was going to be a long ass night.
    Her
expression quickly turned passive. It made him almost doubt the panic from a
second or two ago. “How long have you been the alpha?” She arched a perfect
brow as she sat back down on the sofa. Once again drawing those long, lean
limbs underneath her. She leaned back on the soft rest and he had to work hard
to keep from dropping his eyes as her chest thrust forward.
    “Too
long. The wars have taken their toll on all the species, shifters included.
Many of the elders were lost in battle, my father died too young.”
    “You
were made alpha as a young wolf?”
    He
nodded. “When most my age were out howling at the moon and rutting anything
with fur, I was forced into the alpha position.”
    Her
eyes widened. “Were you opposed? I’ve heard that although being alpha is a
birth right to the wolves, your position can be contested.”
    Ward
tensed. “What else do the vampires know about our kind?” He took a seat on the
sofa opposite hers.
    Her
startling blue eyes narrowed. “Not much. Relax. We can’t possibly know your
well-guarded secrets you keep referring to.”
    He
forced himself to smile. “You are right, just like with any of the species,
alphas can be opposed and leadership contested. Just like with your kings ”—he
growled the word, not liking to compare himself with those dickhead rulers—“alphas
have superior strength and ability. I was young, but I was also filled with
pain and rage. My father had taught me well. I harnessed my emotion and
retained leadership. I made some stupid mistakes, still do.” Trusting those
blasted elves had been beyond stupid, somewhere in the realm of idiotic. “My
mother still lives, and she was and still is a big help to me. I so should’ve
listened to her. Hounds, she’s always right.” Ward’s gaze moved to the dying
fire. He tossed in a few logs and stoked the embers.
    When
he turned back to the female, she was smiling. “It takes a strong male to admit
that he was wrong.”
    He
shrugged. “She was against my taking the human female. Against a few other
things as well, but I won’t get into all that.” His mom was against their
alliance with the elves. Against this whole war with the vampires period. She
believed that there were better ways of dealing with the inter species
disagreements, but on that count she was dead wrong. The only known form of
communication the vampire royalty seemed to understand was violence.
    “The
human would not have agreed to the mating.” Stephany shook her head.
    “Oh
yes, she would