Free Who's Your Alpha? by Vicky Burkholder

Chapter 1
    “You’ve got to come, Sunny. That’s all there is to it.”
    There were times when Sunny Clark hated her best friend, Rommy St. James. Times when all she wanted to do was slam down the phone, turn off her e-mail, lock up her mailbox, and otherwise become unreachable. “Give me one good reason.”
    “I’ll pull the mom card.”
    “Rommy! That’s not fair.” Although Sunny’s mother was off somewhere in the wilds of the South American rain forest, Dr. Emily Clark could still exert her extensive influence over Sunny, and Rommy knew it. If Rommy brought Sunny’s mother into this, Sunny would never have any peace. Sometimes she thought Rommy stayed in touch with her mother more than Sunny did. There was no justice in the world. None. Pushing thoughts of her mother to the background, Sunny came back to what Rommy was saying.
    “You’ve put this off forever . I’ve heard every excuse ever invented, and more than a few new ones. You’re done with college, so no more working to pay for books. You’re done with your master’s, so no more teaching assistantship duties. You’re done with your doctorate, so no more thesis research, and I know for a fact the psycho clinic is closed that week, so you’ll be on vacation.”
    “That’s ‘psych’ not ‘psycho.’ Gee, you’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
    “Oh, and if you check your e-mail, you’ll see your mom and I already made reservations for you at Carson Place, the new hotel. It’s a block off the square.”
    “You already told Mom? Thanks a lot, traitor.” Sunny sighed. “Where are you and Sam staying?”
    “We’re with Sam’s folks this time. I’d have offered to bring you with us, but I didn’t think you’d enjoy their sofa.”
    “Not the orange monster?” Rommy’s in-laws had had the same ratty sofa since the 70s. It was a huge relic that should have been trashed a couple of decades ago.
    “Yep. His mom claims she can’t see the point of getting a new one when it’ll only get ruined.”
    “Ew. No thanks.” Sunny hugged the phone to her shoulder as she checked her PDA, hoping against hope she had something going on during those dates. No luck.
    “And David will be there.”
    At the mention of his name, Sunny’s heart rate sped up, and she was pretty sure if anyone took her blood pressure right now, it would be sky high. “David?”
    “Yes, David. As in David Maxwell. You remember him. Tall, dark, handsome, gorgeous eyes? Into science and music and sports? Oh, and I think I remember he lived next door to you for oh, what, your whole life?”
    How could she forget? Sunny had had a crush on him for as long as she could remember. But he’d been one of the “in” crowd and she, well, wasn’t. Being overweight, nerdy, and a late bloomer didn’t exactly put you high on the popularity scale. It didn’t matter that they’d shared a backyard fence, and cookies and milk when her family was in town. Fortunately, most of her parents’ research trips had been over summer vacations. But it still meant she hadn’t had many chances to bond with the more stationary kids. And traveling over the world didn’t help her popularity. Sunny tamped down her memories. I’m not a bump on the scale of humanity. I am somebody. Keeping that litany in her mind, she turned her attention back to Rommy.
    “When’s the last time you shifted? I mean really shifted, and went out for a run?” Rommy asked.
    Sunny refused to answer. She caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror and stuck her tongue out.
    “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought,” Rommy said. “You ever heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it’?”
    “Of course. Just because I don’t shift anymore doesn’t mean I can’t. I have other priorities.” She studied her hand, turning it back and forth in a ray of sunshine. Hand—paw—hand—paw—hand.
    “Yeah, I know. Tell me something, Dr. Clark, if you had a client who refused to recognize an important part of their past, a