Alpha Night [Alpha Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Alpha Protectors 2

  Alpha Night

  Since ancient times, billionaire bar owners and shape-shifters Austin Blue and Rex Brandon have pledged to guard those who come to Heat Springs on the run from trouble. But acting as protectors of the needy doesn't come without its share of scars, emotional and physical. Each must face his own demons, anger, and guilt from past failures before he feels worthy enough to ask for the forever love of his mate.

  Out of gas and out of money, Cheryl McQueen needs a place to crash for the night. She never expects to land in the Heat Springs Dance Hall and Bar, but the sweet-loving bad-boys, Austin and Rex, offer her everything she needs and more—plus a part-time job and an invitation she can't refuse. Now she's in danger of losing her heart to both of the sexy men, but can Cheryl let go of her trust issues?

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

  Length: 39,114 words

  ALPHA NIGHT

  Alpha Protectors 2

  Lyzie Carlisle

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  ALPHA NIGHT

  Copyright © 2016 by Lyzie Carlisle

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-026-5

  First E-book Publication: January 2016

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Alpha Night by Lyzie Carlisle from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Lyzie Carlisle’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Lyzie Carlisle’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Huge thanks to everyone at Siren-BookStrand Publishing for the wonderful help in publishing this story. My humble thanks to Siren-BookStrand and especially my editor. You’re amazing.

  Thanks for your help,

  Jeanmarie

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

  ALPHA NIGHT

  Alpha Protectors 2

  LYZIE CARLISLE

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  She’d failed.

  They’d told her to hit the road.

  She’d frozen. Cheryl McQueen had frozen, looked at the audience and forgot what came next. She’d never done before what the bar owners had asked her to do. She had no idea how to go about it. She’d thought she’d be able to finesse it, but she wasn’t. When the audience had become rowdy, she’d known big trouble headed for her like a herd of Texas cattle.

  The audience had ridiculed her. The owners of the bar had taken sides with their patrons and sent her away. They’d told her not to take anything with her. What did they think she’d take? There was nothing at that bar that she could possibly want. They’d refused to pay her the wages she’d earned. That was illegal, wasn’t it?

  She had only enough cash to buy gas and one meal when she left. But she’d gotten out of there fast, determined to find something better. She hoped she’d never have to take a job like that one again, or ever work in another dance hall or bar. She’d find some kind of work to support herself. Even though she hadn’t had the funds to finish her education, she’d learned a few things. Hopefully some of what she’d learned would help her survive.

  She’d been driving almost twenty-four hours. She was hungry, needed to fill up the gas tank, again, and she was running out of possible places to stop and find a job. Her old Toyota sounded like it was going to quit. She looked at the gas gage. She was literally on empty. How long had she been driving on fumes?

  She heard the engine miss. She turned the steering wheel and pulled over to the shoulder of the highway just in time. The car sputtered and rolled to a stop.

  Goodness, where was she? She didn’t want to think about the fact she didn’t know this area, or that she had no transportation now, and couldn’t get away from any crazies if she needed to.

  The lights of the nearest building were probably a quarter of a mile away, if not farther. She was all alone, and it was dark. Those lights up ahead were hopefully no more than a mile away. She could certainly walk that far even if it was pitch black out there.

  She fumbled in the semi-darkness of the front seats and found her purse. The lights of her car dimmed, and she turned them off. Might as well save the battery.

  Groping in the darkness, she pulled the key from the ignition. The flashlight on the keychain would have to give her enough light to see where to walk. To think she’d told her mom she was being over-protective when her mom had insisted she take the little light. She opened her side door and stepped out, automatically locking the door. Turning toward the dista
nt lights, she started walking along the side of the lonely road, using the little flashlight to show her rough spots. She should have worn her other shoes instead of these sandals.

  Everything was dark around her except for the few lights ahead. The buzz of noisy insects came from all directions. She hoped there was nothing larger lurking in the darkness.

  She gasped as something or someone took a deep breath nearby. She prayed it was only a sleeping cow or horse in the fenced pasture along the road.

  She hurried her steps. She’d run if she weren’t afraid she’d trip and fall. There it came again. The crackle of dry grass crunching behind her. Her breath froze in her lungs. She turned slowly to search the darkness.

  Huge, luminous animal eyes reflected the distant lights and stared right at her. With slow movements, she directed her small flashlight at the eyes. It would be best to know what she faced.

  Instead of a fairly harmless livestock animal, her small light revealed a huge head covered in black fur with upright ears. The animal’s jaw opened to reveal long, sharp, canine teeth.

  The animal stood still and watched her. She heard more footsteps crunching the grass near her. More than she could see surrounded her. Suddenly, shadowy forms lunged past her. The snarls and growls deafened her as the animals fought each other.

  A different cry sounded. It rose in pitch from a low growl and became a wild feline scream. A huge black form leaped through the air in front of her face. As she took a quick step back, she heard the thuds of bodies slamming against each other. The scrape and thump of clawed feet digging into the earth surrounded her. Another scream ripped the air, and she realized it sounded like a mountain lion. Hell, she didn’t have a prayer circled by such danger.

  She flashed her small light around again, desperation driving her to see exactly what she faced and search for safety.

  Eyes stared back at her, but only one pair. The huge cat, some kind of panther or jaguar, opened its mouth again, revealing the pointed tips of those long sharp teeth. It roared softly. It was so close, she could feel the big cat’s warm breath waft over her. Dizziness overtook her. Her ears started ringing. She feared she would collapse. She couldn’t stand up, and everything turned black.

  * * * *

  What the hell? Austin had come on the young woman before he’d finished his late-night run. Her scent had drawn him like food to a starving man.

  She’d been surrounded by a pack of wolf shifters he didn’t recognize. They were new to the area of Heat Springs, and obviously needed chasing away. Maybe they belonged to that other bunch that had recently created trouble around town. It hadn’t taken much to warn this pack off, but now he was left with this delicate, long-legged, young blonde who had fainted at his feet. He shifted back to his human form.

  She was beautiful. He could see by the moonlight that her lips were parted. Those sweet lips were full and luscious looking. He held back the desire to taste them and hunkered down beside her to check her pulse. Strong, steady heartbeats pulsed beneath his fingers. Her skin was warm and smooth as satin. Her light fragrance drifted around his head. She smelled wonderful. Could seeing him in his panther form have caused her to faint?

  From what he could see in the meager light, her breasts and thighs would be as silky smooth as the inside of her wrist. He felt a strong need to wrap her in his arms and kiss those full lips. He imagined having sex with her eagerly responding to him. He wanted to see her naked, offering herself to him, and spreading her thighs apart so he could nuzzle and taste her soft flesh. The need to slide his cock deep into her slick heat was almost more than he could control. What the hell had come over him?

  As much as he wanted to bring her back to consciousness, she’d probably faint again to see him naked and bending over her.

  Carefully, he scooped her up in his arms and grabbed her keys with the bright little flashlight as they fell from her fingers. Her car keys jingled in the stillness as they tangled around his fingers, and he grasped them firmly in his fist.

  She hardly weighed anything. Soft waves of light-colored, silken hair that reached halfway between her jaw and her shoulder, caressed his arm beneath her head. He held her close against his chest and torso and started walking back to the dance hall. Even though it was after midnight, he’d best take her in through the back door so no customers saw him naked, if anyone still lingered at the bar.

  It was lucky he found her so close to the dance hall, otherwise she’d come around soon and find herself in the arms of a naked man. He had a feeling she might not like that.

  He opened the back door and carried her to the office behind the bar area. Without stopping, he lowered her into the big sofa against the wall in front of the desk. He placed her keys on the desk. She didn’t look comfortable. He adjusted her body and the position of her head to rest against the back of the sofa so she wouldn’t fall over on one side, and turned toward the hallway to find his clothes in their private bathroom.

  After quickly dressing, he crossed to her in two long strides. She began to regain consciousness, moaning and moving her head. He squatted down before her. “Are you okay?”

  She opened her eyes and blinked, staring at him.

  He smiled at her. “Found you outside by the side of the road. Are you all right? Any aches or pains?”

  She sat up and brushed that glorious mane of hair away from her face. “Oh, my. I think I’m okay. There were animals fighting all around me.” She looked at her arms and then her shapely, tanned legs below her white shorts. “It looks like they left me alone.” A slow smile tilted the corners of her lips upward. “Where am I?”

  Ignoring the fact that her smile made him feel all warm inside, he said, “You’re in the town of Heat Springs, Texas. This is the back office of the bar and dance hall my friend, Rex Brandon, and I own. I’m Austin Blue.”

  She stared at him a moment, her eyes wide. “Glad to meet you.” She blinked and held out her hand to shake his. “I’m Cheryl McQueen. I ran out of gas. Thanks so much for finding me.”

  “No problem, Miss McQueen.”

  “Cheryl, please,” she said. “I don’t usually pass out like that.”

  “When was the last time you had anything to eat?” Austin figured she needed some food.

  “Yesterday.” She sounded reluctant to admit that.

  “Yesterday! Stay right there. I’ll get you something to eat, and a drink. Soda okay?”

  “Sounds great,” she said with more energy, looking a little less like a deer in the headlights.

  “Be back in a sec.” He left the office and headed for the bar where he found Rex. He was cleaning up and putting glasses up on the shelves.

  “I found a young woman while on my run just now.”

  “What happened to her?” Rex’s eyes narrowed in concern.

  “She landed almost in the middle of a fight among those damn shifters who moved into this area a while back. I chased them off, and she’s all right.”

  “Lucky you were nearby and she’s safe.”

  “She needs food, and her car is out of gas. I imagine she needs a place to stay tonight. Our place be okay with you?”

  “Sure. Here, take her this plate of nachos and cheese to start with. I’ll put together something more substantial and bring it. Where is she?”

  “I took her to the office. I’ll stay there with her and see what more I can find out about her circumstances. I wonder why the shape-shifters fought with each other?”

  “Beats me,” Rex said.

  “I thought we’d chased them away. We sure don’t want any more of them around our town. Tonight was a good reason why.”

  “I agree.”

  Austin shook his head in disgust as he thought about the previous fight a while back with an outlaw pack. He took the plate of nachos from Rex and grabbed a cold bottle of soda, and headed back to the office to take care of Cheryl. She looked up at him as he walked through the doorway.

  “I need to find a gas station and put some gas in my car so I
can move it off the highway.” Her eyes were big as saucers.

  “I can take care of that for you, if you don’t mind. I have a couple of friends who own an auto dealership, and they can handle that in no time.”

  “I hate to put you to so much trouble.” She sounded reluctant, as if she’d owe him.

  “No trouble at all. We’re always glad to help out when the need arises.” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

  “Okay. I really appreciate it.” She smiled back.

  “I’ll call them right now.” He handed her the plate of nachos and the soda, took out his cell phone and dialed Renato and Chuck. “Hey, Chuck, I have a friend here whose car ran out of gas on the highway east of town. Yeah, that would be great if you could take care of it. Come by the dance hall, we’ll be here. Thanks. See you in a bit.”

  He looked at Cheryl. Her eyebrows were raised in question. “They’ll fill your gas tank and bring your car back when they’re finished. No problem.”

  “Thank you, that’s great.” She reached a slender hand deep into the pocket of her shorts. When she removed her hand she looked worried. “I don’t know where my car keys are. They’re not in my pocket, and I don’t remember what I did with them.”

  “Here you go.” Austin grabbed the keys from the desk and handed them to her.

  “Oh, thanks. You’ve been so nice to me. Can I do something to help you out in exchange?” She paused a moment. “The last job I had was in a bar.”

  Chapter Two