Page 1 of Alpha’s One-Night Stand (Shifters of Clarion #3)

I n my dreams, I’m always running, never thinking about where I’m headed or what is chasing me.

And every morning I wake up drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Sometimes, my body aches like I’ve fallen from a thousand-story building.

Either way, I have always thought of it as a vision of my death.

I’ll never forget the fear that clutches me tightly like hands around my neck. It looms like a shadow waiting for me to drop my guard, waiting for me to give in to the mind game it plays.

Then there’s the lingering feeling of desperation that I have to get somewhere, and every night, just before I reach the white door at the edge of the woods, I plunge down into that forbidden depth. Everything after that is a blur.

So, tonight, like every other, as my consciousness slowly slips away, I know that it will either be this dream or the others that I can never make sense of or fully remember. I’m plagued by these nightmares.

You’d think that the excitement about tomorrow’s flight would be enough to keep me up, but it’s been a long day, and my exhausted body is giving way to the drowsiness. The second I drift off, the eerie coldness of the thick forest welcomes me.

This time, I am determined to see my pursuer. I linger, taking deep breaths to calm my pounding heart. I can feel the pressure of its arrival coming closer and closer with each second I stand here.

My feet, however, are stubbornly rooted to the ground. I shouldn’t be standing here. I should move forward like I usually do in these dreams. I struggle, mentally begging for the slightest movement. They don’t budge, however. It’s like I’m stuck in cement.

The rustling of the bushes around me has stopped, and it’s pitch dark. My wide, wild eyes dart around in the silence, waiting for the night to claim me.

And then, soft as a hum, it floats up to my ears. A whisper through the trees, then a low and rumbling growl. As I stand there, paralyzed, the growling swirls around me, moving in slow circles as it approaches.

It’s coming for me. My breath catches in my throat as I start to shiver with fear. I shouldn’t have waited. I should have run. At least if I had, I would be out of this nightmare by now.

I close my eyes tight. There’s no light here, but I still close them, feeling secure in my own darkness rather than the shadows that surround me. I count backward. It’s always worked before—it has to work now. Please , I whisper underneath the short gasps of breaths I take between numbers.

A breath on the back of my neck. My hair stands on end, and all the numbers fall away from me. A voice, low and rumbly as its growls, speaks into my ear.

“Yarra . . .”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The buzzing from my nightstand jolts me to consciousness. I sit up, wildly looking around, as sweat drips down my forehead and my hands tremble. The nightmare is still vivid in my mind, and the hard screeching buzz of my alarm isn’t making anything better. That feeling of dread still hangs in the air around me.

I glance over at my alarm. It’s six in the morning. Shit. I hit the snooze button to stop its incessant buzzing. How long has my clock been going off? God, I was supposed to be up at four. I should be at the airport right now. I throw off the covers and hurry to my closet, frantically searching for the outfit I picked out the night before.

Today is a big day. It’s my first day at Moonhelm Academy, and if there is anything I care about more than my Nana, it’s making a good first impression. Nana always said that your appearance is everything, and her sentiments have rubbed off on me.

I find the outfit and lay it on my bed, then race to the bathroom and wash my face with cold water and run a brush through my violet colored hair. Glancing in the mirror, I look okay. My skin is a little sallow, and my sharp blue eyes are rimmed with red. It’s too bad I can’t take the time to put on makeup or anything. I’ve only got a flimsy hour and a half to get to the airport. I’ve got to get moving. I can’t be late on my first day!

I don’t have enough time for a shower, so I take a few minutes to wipe myself down with a washcloth and soap. As the towel scrubs my skin, I think about how this is going to put me one step closer to finding out more about my mother. The thought of her always comes with a wave of sadness. My heart clenches for a second before I push her memory away.

I get dressed and mentally review my packing list, making sure I didn’t forget anything crucial. I’m pretty sure I have everything. God, I wish I could put on makeup. Should I? No, no. I need to get moving. I can’t miss this flight!

As I bolt down the stairs, I’m met with the piercing whistle of a kettle echoing from the kitchen. Nana’s morning tea, of course. I’m glad she’s up to see me off. I rush into the kitchen, where Nana is standing by the stove, pouring the water from the kettle into her cup of tea.

“Good morning, Nana!” I say, rushing up and kissing her on the cheek. Nana gives me a once over with a sweep of her eyes. Her gaze lingers on my suitcase, and she sighs.

“So. You’re still going.”

I look away. Nana warned me against going to Moonhelm, especially since she knows that it’s really just a quest to find my mother. We’ve talked and talked about it, but in the end, she knows that I have to do this.

Doesn’t mean she’s happy about it. I force a smile and say, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Hmph,” she grunts as she takes her cup of tea over to the table. She reaches over to the sugar bowl and drops two cubes into the steaming liquid.

“Nana,” I say to her, sitting down at the table, “I know how you feel about my trip, but I still feel like it’s something I need to do. I have to do it. It’s important to me. You can understand that, right?”

She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. I know she’s against this, though I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe she’s worried I’ll find out something I’m not supposed to know.

She sets the spoon down on the plate under her teacup and sighs. “Well,” she says, “I guess since you got that invitation in the first place. I understand they’re very choosy with their applicants. They must see something special in you. Maybe it’s a sign you’ll find something more than what you’re going there for.”

Her eyes soften as she touches my cheek with one hand. “Just promise me that you’ll be safe. You’re all I have left in this world, you know.”

My heart ached. Nana and I . . . We’re the only family we have since Mom disappeared years ago. I get it now, I guess. I touch her hand, pressing it to my cheek.

“I will,” I tell her. “I promise.”

She smiles at me and nods. I lean over and wrap my arms around her neck, taking in her scent of fresh lemons, memorizing it. “I’ll stay in touch, Nana. I’ll call as often as I can.”

“You’d better,” she says with a laugh. “Do whatever you feel is best, but if you get in trouble . . . if things start to happen that you can’t explain, come home. Drop everything and come back here as fast as you can. Do you understand me?”

I nod, and my stomach tightens a little. What is she so worried about? It’s just a school. I didn’t think she believed all those rumors surrounding Moonhelm. I’ve never believed in any of it, but there are a lot of people that think Moonhelm is some kind of haunted boarding school or something. Never pegged Nana as the superstitious type.

I smile at her and say, “I’ll be fine. And if anything bizarre happens, I’ll come straight home. Promise.”

She nods shortly, her withering eyes sparkling just a little as she gazes on my face. “Good. Now, go on. You’re going to be late.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I kiss her cheek, and then I leave the kitchen, making my way to the cab stop down the road from our house.

As I walk, my phone buzzes in my pocket. There’s a cab sitting right there waiting for me. I wave to get the driver’s attention, and he gets out of the car to help me with my suitcase. I wait until he closes the trunk before I answer the call.

“Hello, Yarra? It’s Cole.”

Ah, Cole. The paranormal investigator I contacted at Silver Crest. He’d agreed to help me with some research into my mother’s disappearance. Interesting. I wasn’t really expecting his call this soon.

“Hi,” I say as I get into the back seat of the cab. “I was just on my way to the airport.”

“Good, good. I just wanted to confirm your flight. You’re landing around nine, right?”

“That’s right. Thank you, again, for reaching out to me about my mother. The police are calling it a cold case now since it’s been so long. Your help . . . well, it’s a godsend.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “We’ve still got work to do. I’ll see you when you land.”

“That you will. And thanks again.”

I hang up as the cab pulls off toward the airport. My mind drifts back to the last time I saw my mother.

We had gone on a walk in the park. The day was chilly like it is now, but the sun was out, so it wasn’t that bad. We walked along the path leading around the playground and into the small patch of woods separating the populated area from the road. I still smell the sweet, minty scent of the pine trees all around us.

I love the woods here. And the playground. And everything. I’ve never been the type of person who was eager to leave her small town. I was content here. Especially with my mother’s hand in mine as we walked along the trail.

That day, she seemed a little on edge, glancing over her shoulder every few minutes as we walked. I finally asked her if she was okay. She just smiled at me and said she was fine. We’d been talking about my time in community college. I had just started my first year at that point, so I was eager to tell her all about my teachers. She didn’t seem to be listening, though. Something was distracting her.

Finally, she stopped on the path and gave a quick look around me. She took me by the shoulders and said only one word. “Moonhelm.”

“What?” I answered with a nervous laugh.

“Just remember it for me. Please? Moonhelm.”

I nodded. I had no idea what Moonhelm was or what it meant then. Not long after that, she disappeared, and all I had left were memories of her. When I learned that Moonhelm was a school . . .

Yeah. I believe it was a clue. Somehow, she knew what was going to happen to her, and she was giving me a clue for how to find her. I wish I’d realized that sooner. I hope I can still find her now that it’s been about ten years since she disappeared.

The ride doesn’t last that long. I’m at the airport in under an hour. The cab driver helps me with my bags, and I’m off. I check in, get my boarding pass, and make my way through security. The airport is crowded with people hurrying to catch their flights. I’m keeping calm, though, taking deep breaths. I’m going to make this flight. I got here just in time. They haven’t even started boarding yet.

I sit down at my gate and wait. My plane is still about thirty minutes from boarding. I look down at my phone and start checking my emails.

“Excuse me?” I look up to see a man in a gray suit standing next to me. “Is the seat taken?”

I shake my head, and he smiles at me before sitting. A sharp scent wafts over me the second he sits. It’s an odd scent. Not exactly cologne . . . or maybe it is? I’ve never smelled anything like it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to invite passengers on board flight 7 to Silver Crest. Your attention please . . .”

All right. We’re boarding. I stand up, glad to put some distance between the odorous man in the gray suit. I happen to glance over my shoulder at him, and he gives me a curt smile, his dark eyes boring through me. I turn around quickly. This dude is giving me the creeps.

Is this one of those strange things that Nana warned me about? No, just another creepy guy staring at my ass in public. A creepy guy with weird cologne.

As I board the plane, I pray he doesn’t decide to sit next to me. That’s the last thing I need. I should have brought my headphones with me.