Free Curves For The Lone Alpha (A Big Girl Meets Bad Wolf Romance) by Molly Prince

out he left me with a trolley so heavy I
could barely push it, while he went to get another. He filled the second
trolley with bottled water, followed by dozens of packets of dried fruit and
nuts. The teller probably assumed we were a couple of survivalists as he rang
up our impressive haul.
    But he wasn’t done yet. After we’d loaded up the truck we
crossed the road to visit another store and fill another trolley. This time it
was clothes. Just simple stuff, underwear and plain t-shirts, in all sorts of
sizes, and a lot of cold weather gear: jackets, gloves and scarves. That’s when
I figured it out. Where we were going and why we were on a shopping spree.
    On the way to the checkout we passed the toy section
and something caught my eye. A cute little toy wolf, sitting proudly, its head
held high. I picked up the soft toy and held it up for his appraisal. He nodded
back at me and even though he was smiling I saw a sadness in his eyes that
moved me so much it hurt. I managed to hold back the tears until we were back
in the truck. I couldn’t help it. There was just so much sadness in him.
    We didn’t speak. I just leaned against him as he gunned the
engine and headed back towards the mountain. Once we hit unpaved roads I
straightened up and took a deep breath before wiping the tears from my eyes. I
looked at James and he smiled back at me.
    My new boyfriend was taking me to meet his family.
     
    - X -

Epilogue: Kent
     
    I was only here to ID the body and didn’t need to stick
around, but curiosity got the better of me and I had nowhere better to go. So I
spent the best part of the morning lying prone in my hide, watching through the
scope and waiting.
    I was just about to pack up and bug out when I heard a
vehicle heading back towards the camp. The prodigal pack leader had returned to
the scene of the crime. Interesting. I’d assume that once the deed was done
James would be long gone. But instincts are a bitch I guess. James is built to
protect and defend the weak and as much as he likes to pretend he’s dead
inside, my big bad pet can’t resist a lost cause.
    I located the truck with my scope as it swung into the camp.
He’d brought the woman with him. Very interesting. She was a wild card. She
definitely wasn’t a player. Nothing came up in her files. But then, on a whim,
I’d run a check on her old man and oh boy! Daddy set all sorts of alarm bells
ringing. Alarm bells that were way above my pay grade.
    Cute though. A real woman. My kind of woman.
    As he got out of the pickup James sniffed the air and looked
in my direction. Damn, he was good. All these state-of-the-art high-tech
gadgets and gizmos and he’d made me in seconds. The rest of this sorry excuse
for a pack hadn’t so much as looked in my direction all morning.
    I watched for a while as he unloaded the back of the pickup.
The adults were suspicious and guarded and accepted his charity without any
open displays of gratitude. The kids ate it up. It was like Christmas.
    I kept my crosshairs over his heart as he moved through the
camp like a big, scruffy messiah. He’d done his job. Travis was dead and all
was right in the world. If he knew what was good for him. He’d stay here and
take over as pack leader, keep his head down and be a good dog.
    I didn’t hate him as much as he thought I did. To be honest
I’d actually grown kind of fond of him. He was an effective assassin and I
admired that. He just asked too many damn questions. I didn’t hate him. But
when the order came, I’d put him down without thinking twice. I wouldn’t have a
choice.
    I stood, stretched and slung the rifle over my shoulder
before heading back down the mountain to the ranger’s station.. There didn’t
seem too much point in hanging around or trying to remain inconspicuous now
that James had my scent.
    Before I left I took one last look at the woman. Yeah,
definitely my type. Shame she had such terrible taste in men. I may not be an
expert on matters of the heart,