Free The Alpha's Quest Collection by Jessica Ryan Page B

She didn’t like who she’d become. Maybe she’d been lying to herself the whole time, thinking the problem was with other people coming down on her and not accepting her fun lifestyle for what it was. This quest was starting to show her that she had lived twenty years of life and had absolutely nothing to show for it except a string of one-nighters and a fairly serious police record thanks to her drinking.
    I have to take this seriously or I won’t complete it, she told herself, looking up at Hawk. He was walking with a purpose, but his cool and calm demeanor had given way to a nervous and fidgety one. It was obvious he was completely off his game and didn’t know how to react. He was her spirit guide, he was the one who was going to lead her to salvation—she had to treat him with more respect and reverence.
    “Hey, Hawk,” she began, putting a hand on his arm. She immediately felt the muscles in his arm tense at her touch as he looked down at her, a wild look close to fear in his eyes.
    “What is it?” he asked, taking deep breaths. He was really messed up from her attitude. She had to make it right or she’d never finish this.
    “I’m sorry for acting so weird,” she said. “This...it isn’t me. I’m just freaked out by the whole situation and this is the way I cope.”
    It wasn’t entirely true; she wasn’t taking it seriously because she knew none of it was real and she couldn’t be harmed. But she had to say something to let her spirit guide know she was serious again, otherwise he could lead her astray.
    His look softened and his breathing became a bit more normalized as he slowed his pace. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
    “It is my fault,” she insisted. “I shouldn’t be acting like this. This is a serious quest we’re on and I need to take it seriously. I’m sorry.”
    “No need to apologize,” he said, shaking his head. “It really is not your fault. You can’t help it, just like I can’t help some of my feelings right now.”
    “I can help it,” she said. “I will be better about this.”
    “Well, actually, I don’t know if you can,” he said, stopping where he stood and turning towards her. “There’s something I haven’t told you about our trip so far.”
    Ciara felt her stomach knot up. Something really wasn’t right here; maybe the cactus juice was beginning to wear off? She definitely felt fear that she hadn’t felt a few minutes ago. The burning lust she had felt earlier was back too, making her pussy throb with uncontrollable urge and desire. Normally she would’ve jumped into bed with a guy like Hawk, no questions asked, but the extreme urges she was feeling towards him just weren’t natural.
    As he looked at her she laughed and shook her head. She had thought Doctor Haley was full of shit, but here she was living out a real-life spirit quest thanks to his crazy drugs. The cactus juice was a hell of a drug and if this worked then Doctor Haley was one hell of a doctor.
    “Go on,” she said, looking up into Hawk’s piercing eyes. If he had wanted to, he could have stared a hole right through Ciara that would have made her legs give way, bringing her crashing to the ground. There was so much power and determination behind those eyes; it was any woman’s dream to have a man like that.
    “This trek through the forest isn’t what it seems,” he began. She could tell he was hesitant to tell her the rest, but why?
    “It’s okay, Hawk,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and rubbing gently. “I won’t be mad about what you kept from me. We’re in this together now.”
    You can’t escape me anymore than I can escape you, buddy, she thought. Of course I don’t want to escape you, you’re my guide.
    “The reason it hasn’t turned to night yet is because we’re not alone out here,” he said, letting a large whoosh of breath out after he completed his sentence.
    “Of course we’re not,” she said, glancing around. “There’s other