Bewitching The Alpha (Hex My Heart, #3) by Talina Perkins

CHAPTER ONE
    H e was on fire.
    Flames licked up his spine and burned through his veins until all he could think about was Ember. Having her wrapped around him, balls deep and his mouth claiming hers.
    The burn had been on a constant high heat since she’d strutted back into town.
    Seven months of pure fucking over-heated torture.
    Why the hell did she have to come back here?  She could be in a million other small towns with her magick and heart-crushing ways. Why come back to Sweet Briar?
    Tension seeped bone-deep and constricted all his muscles until he could barely move or think without gnashing his teeth. A shuffling sound came from behind him, but he brushed it away as small animals scurrying through the dead underbrush.
    They sensed the predator in him and they were right to be afraid. It had been too long since his last hunt. Weeks since he’d felt the freedom of the woods with no one for company except the moon. He tightened his fists by his sides.
    Tonight wasn’t about the hunt so much as it was about the escape. His wolf would have to wait for the rush and thrill of a good hunt for a bit longer.
    Howls broke through the trees and brought him around to face the thick woods at his back. That’s when he caught the female’s scent. Square in the face like a two-by-four or maybe a semi-truck doing eighty.
    Son-of-a-bitch!
    A wall of fiery magick rammed into him, knocking the air from his lungs. He clutched a hand to his chest and doubled over, but quickly righted himself. Talk about taking a hit...
    He raised his head and inhaled sharply. Ember.
    He’d recognize her signature anytime, anywhere. All witches left a small portion of their essence in their handiwork and this magick smelled of one particular witch. His witch. What was she up to?
    Remnants of love-drenched energy wafted along the cold currents to sting his wolf’s heightened senses. With his bare feet braced on the cliff rocks, he shook his head, but it didn’t dislodge the potent aroma. She wasn’t nearby or even in the same woods with him. No, he could smell another witch’s power mingled with Ember’s.
    But he could be mistaken. Every time he caught the scent of lavender or vanilla his mind clicked over to instinct and his wolf took control—all he could think about was Ember. The one witch he’d crawl over coals for and the one witch he’d vowed to never touch again.
    His heart rate spiked and the blood in his veins heated. Fucking magick. Couldn’t a guy get a break? He lifted his chin and took a deep drag through his nose before he exhaled. Someone was out having a good time tonight. Too bad it wasn’t him because there was enough horny juju in the air to make every shifter within a mile or two sport some major hardware. His wolf didn’t want just another piece of ass though, and neither did he. If he couldn’t have her...
    He clenched his teeth against the surge of adrenaline that shot through him and with it came a drudge of old memories. She’d promised nothing would keep them apart the night he’d claimed her as his mate, then she’d vanished less than twenty-four hours later. That was sixteen months ago without a word. Nothing. He’d scoured the whole fucking town looking for her only to have her family shun him at every turn. No one knew anything, or everyone that knew didn’t want him to know.
    He shoved the past aside, buried the present beneath a wall of truth and let his gaze fall to the jagged rocks at his feet. She might be back in town, but she didn’t want him. Probably never did.
    Earlier tonight he’d stopped in for a couple of shots at the Matchstick, the only dive bar that served anything worth drinking. Ember’s sister concocted a mean supernatural version of moonshine, and all walks of the otherworldly kind loved to get their buzz on with her Moon Lust brew.
    He could lie all he wanted, but the last thing he went there for was the liquor. On most nights like this, his pack pounded back shots and tossed around