Falling for an Alpha by Vanessa Devereaux Page A

the property.
There was even a house that was move-in ready.
    “We’re
anxious to close on the property and get moved in within the next couple of
weeks,” continued Amber.
    Nine days,
eleven hours, three minutes, and forty seconds. He knew exactly
how long they had.
    The
house was beautiful. How happy they would have been living in it and raising kids. If she ever decided not to do this and wanted
to take a lover, another husband even, he was going to let her. It would break
his heart, but love was all about not being selfish.
    “So
what do you think?”   She turned to him.
He nodded, too choked up to speak.
    “I
guess that means we’d like to make an offer. Now, it’s zoned for keeping
wildlife, right?”
    “There
won’t be any problem with that,” said the realtor. “I’ll get all the paperwork
drawn up and we’ll present your offer, and I’ll mention that you’d like a
speedy closing.”
    He
walked back to his car and Amber grabbed Gabriel’s hand.
    “It’s
perfect for us,” she said.
    “Amber,
if at any time this gets too much for you, you’ll walk away. Promise me you
will?”
    She
shook her head. “I took the vow for better or worse.”
    “Yeah,
but the worse is on your end, not mine.”
    She
shook her head. “You have to be my guide-wolf. I think you’re getting the bad
deal.”
    That’s
why he’d fallen in love with her so quickly. Besides being the most beautiful
woman he’d ever set eyes on, she was a good person inside.
    “Come
on, let’s go look at the house again,” she said tugging on his arm.
    ****
    “Sadie,
we’ve told you more than once that the Board is unable to intervene in this matter.”
    Sadie
almost stood up and announced she was quitting the witch business. She’d come
to the Board as a last-ditch effort for them to do something about Mavis, and about
Gabriel’s predicament.
    “We
told you that you had to deal with it. It is your punishment for bringing the human
child to the Other Realm. That’s why it’s called punishment. If it was easy,
you wouldn’t learn your lesson.”
    “I
know but Mavis upped the curse. I’ve stuck to my end of the deal, I’ve found
him true love, but he’s going to be a wolf in a week’s time. That doesn’t sound
like much of a happy ending to me.”
    “I
know this is an awful situation but…”
    Oh, what the
hell. I’m going to stand up and challenge them, let them throw me out . “But my ass! I
quit as a witch, I quit the Department of Love, and I quit Perfect Pairing, too.”
    She
gathered her bag and papers.
    “Now,
just a minute, you cannot simply quit, and don’t you dare try any tricks that
might compromise us in any way.”
    “Too
late for that, you’ve forced me to go rogue, just like Mavis.”
    Sadie
left the room. She’d show them all. And now she could do anything she wanted. She’d
deal with Mavis White, and boy, she’d better look out because Sadie was angry
and pissed as hell.
    ****
    Amber
unloaded the last of the boxes from their truck.
    “Everything
okay?” she asked Gabriel as he sat on the chair and held his chest.
    “It’s
going to happen soon. I sense it. My body’s on edge. I can hear and smell
things tenfold today.”
    She
rushed to him and held his hand.
    “It’s
today, Amber,” he said, fighting back tears, trying to be strong not for
himself but for her. No matter what brave front she put on, Gabriel knew she
was going to fall apart when they were no longer together as man and wife. He
hoped it wouldn’t make her sick, wouldn’t make her do something stupid like not
check her blood sugar levels or take her insulin. He’d left a note for her parents
telling them, no, demanding, that
they take good care of her and insist she stay with them for a bit while she
got used to their new situation. Then she’d come back to the sanctuary and he’d
be waiting. He’d be her service-wolf.
    Amber
held his face between her hands. “No, Sadie told me she’s tracking Mavis and she’s
going to