The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,14

note to her about this one. The only brain waves active right now should have involved my dream lover.

So open your eyes, weirdo. Maybe you leveled up to a new dream, and he's waiting for you to say hello. With your tongue. I tried hard not to smile, attempting to look like I was sleeping in case someone was really with me.

Who, though? Tell yourself the truth, Elisha. You already know you're dying. Quit squeezing your eyes so tight and open them. You won't know what you're dealing with until you do.

As much as I wanted to see if my dream lover was lying beside me, I didn't want to ruin the fantasy. No matter how many times I'd made a wish and blown dandelion pollen or crossed my fingers when I saw a shooting star, dreams didn't actually come true. At least, not in my world.

The bed moved as whoever was beside me came closer. Something ghosted over my cheekbone… the back of a hand, maybe? Afraid to trust even a gentle touch, I flinched. The breathing came closer. Not only could I hear it better, but its heat fanned over my ear the moment before my sex angel spoke.

"I know you're awake, little wolf. Why don't you open those pretty green eyes and say hello?" My heart thudded in apprehension. This was no dream lover. It was a man… an alpha. And he’s in my bed.

My rising panic came to an abrupt halt as I became aware of a scent. His scent. Oh. Wait. Thinking back to my dream, my lover had carried this scent at the end. The dream held more, but I couldn’t remember right now. It tickled at the edge of my consciousness, refusing to be pulled free.

I simply knew the scent meant nothing but good things. And not because of my dream. If it were merely a fantasy, then why did it make me feel so… safe? My wolf lifted his head in interest, licking a paw as if preparing himself for something. Someone. I sniffed the air, not trying to fake sleep, yet not ready to commit to opening my eyes.

His glorious scent, though… A heady combination of pine mixed with the spicy yet floral fragrance of the night-blooming cereus. My favorite flower. A true desert beauty which bloomed once a year, and then only for a single night.

My papa taught me about it while training me in my gift. His ugly little cactus with its long, limp leaves had surprised me with its secret. I'd seen it bloom a single time. After I turned thirteen, Papa let me stay up with him to watch the cactus come to life under the moonlight. By dawn, flowers had already begun to close. By midday, they were nothing but a memory, leaving shriveled, phallic bulbs in their place.

When I started giggling at the shape of the leftovers, Papa smiled and plucked them for the compost pile. Somehow, it made sense how my sex angel—whoever he was—would smell like my favorite flower and best memory with my papa.

Speaking of my sex angel… I took a deep breath and opened my eyes before slowly turning my head to see if he was as gorgeous as I remembered. When I met his whiskey-brown gaze, my breath came out in a whoosh.

Holy moly. He was even better than I remembered.

As a smile slowly spread across his face, the corners of his eyes crinkled. "Hello again, Elisha. How much of last night do you recall?"

I didn’t know whether it was the crinkles—too human a feature for any angel, of the sex type or not—or the worry I saw in his eyes. Or the heady scent that had my wolf ready to roll over and offer his belly. Or the familiar X scar of our people over his left nipple. Maybe all the above? Whatever it was, I finally accepted this very real man was not simply my dream lover, but an alpha I could trust not to hurt me. At least, my gut was telling me so, and it was never wrong.

Words fell out of my mouth before I could censor them. "You're really real and not a dream lover or a sex angel. You're an actual alpha, and… you saved me." Blinking rapidly now, my brain made more connections, and my elusive lost memory clicked into place.

My voice was breathy, probably because I was completely awestruck. "You're my mate. My new alpha. Not only because you claimed me, but