Free Yielding to the Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) by Emily Stone

 
    CHAPTER ONE
     
    “Is the music supposed to be this loud?” Sharon shouted--or at least she thought she did--at her roommate Katy.
     
    “What? I can’t hear you!” Katy thrust a beer into Sharon’s hand, apparently unconcerned at the deafening volume of the music.
     
    Sharon eyed it apprehensively--she’d already drunk a little back at the dorms, she didn’t want to get too drunk.
     
    “Come on, come and join the party!”Katy insisted
     
    Katy grabbed Sharon’s hand and pulled her away from the corner of the room where she had been loitering without waiting for a response. They threaded their way through the mass of people and Sharon did her best to avoid catching anyone’s eye as they went.
     
    Sharon had been counting down the days until she started college with a mixture of excitement and dread. She could be anyone, reinvent herself as whoever she wanted. That was the theory anyway. Now that it was finally here, she was focused on making it through the first day.
     
    Meeting Katy had been a considerable relief to Sharon. The two of them were taking more or less the same classes and even brought the same movies with them. She was looking forward to her first night away from home and anticipated a quiet night getting to know Katy and talking about their favorite characters, maybe even getting some wine but from where, she didn't know.
     
    But then Katy had gotten all excited about this frat party she’d heard about and, well, Sharon couldn’t exactly have said no could she?
     
    “Hey guys! This is Sharon, my roommate I was telling you about.” Katy introduced Sharon to her friends. They shouted their greetings and told Sharon their names over the music, but she could barely hear what they were saying, let alone make any meaningful conversation.
     
    “She’s a little shy,” Katy added.
     
    Sharon flushed red. Why did she have to say that?
     
    “You just need to get liquored up !” one of the guys shouted, producing a shot from out of nowhere and giving it to her. Suddenly everyone was looking at her and clamoring for her to drink up. Feeling deeply uncomfortable and wishing she could go back to her corner, she did as they were demanding, eliciting a loud and raucous cheer from the group. She gave a little splutter and coughed. It was stronger than she’d expected.
     
    “Thanks, erm…” but the guy who’d given her the drink had already turned his attention away, and was now saying something to Katy, who giggled and touched his arm.
     
    Katy really was beautiful, Sharon reflected sadly, fully appreciating it for the first time. With her long, sleek brown hair, tall, slim figure and--now that she thought about it--rather revealing dress, it was no wonder she was getting so much attention. Not that anyone could call Sharon unattractive at all--at five foot two she was short, but she had quite a figure in general. Her blonde hair was short too, but it framed her heart-shaped face nicely. ‘Cute’ was the word other girls usually used to describe her, though never from the boys, who had always seemed to focus their attentions on the other, not quite so shy girls.
     
    “How awesome is this party?” exclaimed one of the girls next to Sharon.
     
    “Yeah, it’s really… great!” she shouted lamely in reply.
     
    “Have you met Tom yet? He’s one of the brothers here, he’s so hot !” Sharon looked over at where the girl was pointing. ‘Tom’ was currently stood on a table trying to down an entire sixpack of beer in one go, with crowds cheering him on and overspill tricking down his neck. “I was making out with him earlier; I think he wanted me to back to his room with him. Or no, was that Simon? Well anyway…”
     
    Sharon zoned out, barely listening to her new friend listing the guys she hooked up with already. She was getting way out of her comfort zone here. She didn’t know why but listening to people talk about anything related to sex always made her feel vaguely