Page 2 of Brutal Alpha Beast (Roseville Alphas #2)

The feeling I get on the morning of me and my sister Monroe’s eighteenth birthday is not what I’d imagined it would be, but then again, what did I expect?

Aside from being secret witches and outcasts in our pack, Monroe and I have a very tragic past. One that has been marked by death.

Our mother was a witch who escaped our father, a very cruel, abusive warlock. When she met our stepdad, a shifter from the pack we live in now, she fell in love. He took her in, offered her and Grams’ protection, and promised that she’d never have to see our father again.

He was right about that. Mom died giving birth to us both, and then our stepdad died shortly after that; some in the pack say it was from heartbreak, but how could they know? No one even knew what my mother was, let alone the intricacies of their relationship.

We’ve been raised by the pack and by Grams, who taught us a lot of what we need to know about being a witch.

But just six months before my eighteenth birthday, Grams passed away, and now, I guess I’m still in shock.

So much death, so much heartbreak.

I was excited to be eighteen before she died, and now, Monroe and I don’t know what to do with ourselves.

Grams would usually bake us a cake, practice magic with us, and take us out to swim by the lake. Those activities now feel like a cruel joke.

Monroe and I have each other, but it's like the blind leading the blind. We have no parental figure to lead us anymore.

“I’m going to head out,” I tell her. “To get some air, will you be okay here on your own?”

Ever since that night, Ellis and I were paired up, and we’ve been meeting after school in secret. We have a special spot, one in the woodland area, that’s hidden behind a small shed. It’s so far off the path, right in the corner, and covered by trees that no one even thinks to go there.

We’re supposed to meet there today to celebrate, but it’s a secret. Our pack is very hierarchical, and if anyone found out we were meeting, it would get back to Ellis’ dad, who wouldn’t exactly be overjoyed.

I’m fine with secrets; my life is filled with them.

Although I haven’t told Monroe, given our twin bond, I have a feeling she might know.

“That’s fine,” she says. “I’m going to hang inside today, I don’t feel like facing the pack.”

“We’ll celebrate later,” I tell her. “Just you, me, and some cake.”

She nods, and I wrap my arms around her, giving her a tight squeeze.

As I rush to Ellis and mine’s hidden spot, I feel a familiar mixture of excitement and nerves. I don’t know why I still get like this when I see him.

Yes, I’ve had a crush on him for a while, but we’re friends now. Just friends, nothing more. It’s casual, so I have no reason to feel as jittery and excited as I do. But I can’t help it. Meeting up with Ellis is what has gotten me through some very, very hard times.

As I approach, my heart flutters when I see his face. Since we’ve made friends, Ellis has only gotten taller, stronger, and more handsome. The streaming sunlight complements his mesmerizing burgundy eyes—they look like fire.

Ellis is sitting on a blanket filled with food and drinks.

“Well, my my my,” I joke. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Took you long enough.”

“Oh, you know, just had to get away from all my friends.”

He quickly comes to stand and takes me into a hug. I inhale his warm, woody scent. I stop myself from sighing, from melting between his muscular arms.

“Happy Birthday, idiot,” he says.

We sit side by side, my elbow touching his forearm as we gaze out at the forest.

“Cheers,” he says, as we clink our cans together.

“What excuse did you come up with to get away?” I ask him.

He removes the can from his lips. “I told them I had a hot date.”

I mock gasp. “You did not! And they believed you?”

“You think they wouldn’t?” he challenges.

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “I mean, you’d have to pretend that you managed to find someone out of the pack, someone none of them know.”

He chuckles. “You sound doubtful. How do you know I haven’t done that before?”

A sad, dark wave passes through my body. I sip again, and this time the beer tastes bitter. “I don’t know, I don’t care what you do.”

He pauses and smiles. “You’re jealous.”

I roll my eyes. “No, I’m not.”

Ellis turns and prods my stomach with his fingers. I feel it immediately between my legs. A burning sensation that makes me moist.

“Danielle,” he says, this time with an even lighter tone, “you are jealous.”

He prods me again, nudges me, and it feels ticklish. I fight back, and it’s chaotic, tossing and turning until Ellis hovers above me, pinning me down.

“Stop,” I whisper, “you’re going to make me spill my…”

But then our eyes lock, and the world stills. Everything moves very slowly—aside from my heart, which beats at a million miles per hour.

I let my beer can fall.

Ellis lowers his lips to mine, kissing me gently at first. My breath hitches, I feel everything inside me burn.

I open my eyes to savor the way his face looks, then let them flutter shut again. Our kisses become hungry, desperate, and as he slides his fingers down to the wet space between my folds, I moan against his lips.

Ellis unbuckles his pants, his dick teasingly hard against my opening as he plays with my soft nub.

I love the feel of him. Turned on by how hard he is for me.

Our kisses become so urgent that I feel as though I’m going to come. He trails his mouth down to my breasts, where he licks above the thin fabric of my dress. His mouth is so hot.

“Fuck, Danielle,” he groans. “I’ve wanted to touch you like this for so long.”

His mouth is at my neck.

“I want you,” I say

Without hesitation, he takes his cock and gently presses it inside me. It’s painful at first, and then the pleasure hits me like a tidal wave.

“Yes,” I moan. “More.”

Ellis thrusts and pumps as I ride a wave of orgasms that feel like they’re never going to stop. I wrap my arms around the top of his wide back and stare up at the canopying trees. I’ve also been waiting for this, for so very long.

I lay my head against Ellis’ chest, savoring the way my pussy throbs from the aftermath of him. I can’t stop smiling as I lazily trace my hand down his body.

“Have you really been wanting to do that for so long?” I ask him. I can’t believe it; I never thought my feelings for him would be returned, not like this.

“Of course, Danielle,” he says. “Didn’t you know?”

I shake my head.

“I feel like I can be myself when I’m around you.”

“Me too,” I whisper. Although not fully myself. But now I know he likes me. Maybe it’s finally time for that to change. Now we’re going to be mates, he should know the truth.

“There’s something about me you should know,” I say, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. “There’s a reason I can't shift.”

“Aw, Danielle,” he says. “You shouldn’t worry so much about that, you know. Everyone develops at their own pace.”

“No,” I shake my head, my eyes still closed. “It’s not because I’m yet to do it, it’s because I won’t ever do it.”

“What do you mean?”

I take a steadying breath. “I can’t shift because I’m a witch.”

I sit up, and face him, daring to open my eyes, and I realize he’s smiling. At first, he thinks I’m joking, and then, his face turns cold.

“What?” He says. “You’re not being serious?”

“I am,” I say. “I want you to know the real me.”

He stands up.

“After all this time, now is when you decide to tell me? Especially since you know that the woman who abandoned me, my mother, was a witch too. How could you say this right now, Danielle?”

My stomach sinks. No. No. This is not how this is supposed to go.

“But we’re mates,” I say. “I thought you should know.”

He shakes his head, pulling on his shorts. “We are not mates, Danielle.”

Then he pauses. “Don’t tell anyone else about this, you understand? You could be banished or worse, and there’s nothing I’ll be able to do to help you. Not after you’ve lied .”

I pull on my dress and turn away from him to hide the tears that burn the back of my eyes and my throat. “Don’t worry,” I mutter. “You’ll never have to see me again.”

“Danielle-”

I run. I run as fast as my legs will take me, all the way to my cabin, where Monroe is waiting for me at the door.

Her face is already sour. She could sense that something was wrong.

“Pack your bags,” I tell her, pushing through the cabin.

“Danielle, what happ—”

“You remember when we said that if the time ever comes that we ever need to leave, one of us will say the word, and the other will help pack our bags, no questions asked, and we’ll go?”

She nods. “Yes, but—”

“Well, now is one of those times,” I command, wiping away my stubborn tears. “We’ll leave before sundown. Okay?”

She nods, pulls out the bags from under her bed, and we pack in silence.

Once we’re finished packing, we waste no time; we don’t stop to say goodbye. We go.