All Chapters of The Alpha and the Rental Luna: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Against my better judgment, I take his hand. It is warm and soft and as he guides me. I feel a rush of tingles that move along my fingertips into my arm and settle into my heart. His natural scent, like warm nights under the stars, soothes my nerves even as I tremble anxiously. He gives me a small close-lip smile. "Shall we go?"I nod, my throat dry, my heart beating rapidly against the cage of my chest. Following him back to his car I look up to see Hazel watching the street diligently. She waves and I decide to forgive her for being the type of person to push me out the door for a coffee date with a dangerously handsome beast. Sylvester opens the passenger side, and I buckle my seatbelt with shaking hands, still not convinced that this is a good idea. My body reacts strongly to him, a bit too strongly as I cross my legs, an uncomfortable heat building in my core. We drive in silence and I watch the neighborhoods change into densely populated urban spaces and then slowly melt away

[Apple]“Your apartment?” I shake my head, confused. “But then where does Hazel live?”“Here with me of course,” he laughs. “Where else would she live?”I feel like I’m at the butt of some terrible joke. Did Hazel set me up to be embarrassed by her boyfriend? Did she lie to me and tell me this is her place with roommates?“The question is,” he finds his keys and holds them up, “Is why you are here. A strange girl in my apartment. Alone.” He tilts his head to the side. “I mean I guess I could just hold you here until you tell me the truth,” he smirks. The young man reaches around me and shuts the door and for a brief moment, our faces are only a couple of inches apart. The smell of crushed leaves and fresh rain wraps around me like a cloak just before he steps back. With his hands on his hips, he looks me up and down. “Are you really Hazel’s friend, or are you here for another reason?”“I have no idea what you are implying,” I stand straighter, finding a bit of courage. “And I don’t

[Sylvester][EARLIER TODAY]My eyes stalk her as she enters her apartment. The street smells of piss and shit, angry witches, and tired humans. It is a vile pit of a neighborhood near the waterfront in an area ripe for redevelopment. "We need to drag her back to the packhouse," Rufus insists. "This place isn't good enough for our Luna." "She isn't our Luna," I remind him. "Even if she chooses to sign the contract." "She is too our Luna," he snaps back, "Even if you refuse to recognize it. She is ours," he growls. "Mine." Rufus refuses to listen to reason. It doesn't matter how many times I say that she's too young, too weak, and far too human, he is insistent that I am wrong. But I can't have a human mate. No matter how good she smells.I take one last look at her apartment window, her gaze pulling my attention upwards. She is frowning, her brow furrowed.Sighing, I turn towards the harbor and begin my slow march back to the office. She'll come around, I'm certain. The offer I'm

[Sylvester]As she takes his hand and they walk up the stairs together, my stomach sinks and my heart feels like it has stopped. As I move towards the car, my leaden legs resist moving away from the place where I held her in my arms, the smell of our mixed scents calming me, relaxing something deep within. “We need to go get her,” Rufus insists. “She needs us.” “Maybe she doesn’t need us” I push back, “Maybe we are the ones who need her.”My phone rings. It’s the council. I don’t want to answer it, but I know that if I don’t they’ll make trouble for me one way or the other. Their message for me is brief, curt, and on the nose. They have a solution to all my problems. I just need to present myself IMMEDIATELY to receive their justice. Well damn. Calling Rudy, I asked him to pick me up and to bring the file he prepared earlier today. "We need to convince them that Apple is our best option," I explain.Rudy sends a car and the ride is silent as I make my way back to Sterling Inc. I'm

[Apple]The Alpha is looking at me like something sweet to eat and I find it very unnerving. As he approaches, I take an involuntary step backward and his eyes go from smoldering to sad in a blink. "You're hurt," his tone is soft, almost gentle. The deep bass of his voice rumbles through me, soothing my frazzled nerves."Why are you here?" I question him. "I was invited," he says nonchalantly as if the answer should be obvious. "No, I mean in this bathroom." I point towards the door. "It's a women's bathroom."He shrugs. "You are hurt. Besides, it's just you and me. I made sure to lock the door."I gulp. I'm locked in a bathroom, bleeding, with no way to escape.He takes another step forward and my back hits the wall my heart beating rapidly. He could do whatever he wanted to me and nobody would know. I'm so insignificant, he could get rid of the body and it wouldn't matter."You shouldn't be here," I glare at his smug expression and his fancy suit. "Your date is probably wondering