In Need Of An Alpha (Interracial Paranormal Shifter Romance) by Aaliyah Andrews Page B

never quite saw it as clearly as I saw it then.
    That’s when I realized....Evan must be a shifter. He always seemed to pick up on things better than everyone else. I’d never met a shifter before, but I’d heard about them.
    They usually tried to blend in. They didn’t like to talk about shifting to humans. It was a private matter. They ran in private groups. I always wanted to know more, but I wasn’t privileged enough for that type of fun.
    “You’re a—”
    “Yes, I’m a shifter.”
    “Wow,” I said. It was an underwhelming reply. What I wanted to scream was, “How is it possible for you to get hotter every time I see you?”
    I remembered the first and last office get-together I was invited to. We went to this sports bar down the corner from our office. It was packed, but through the crowd, I could spot Evan. He was unmistakable. His long-sleeved white shirt was loosened, showing more of his chest, just the right amount of hair for my tastes.
    I parted the crowd to get to him, but then I noticed a flock of girls surrounding him. He locked eyes with me, but they pulled him away. Of course, why would I think he was single? No man like Evan is single.
    That night was the first night I spoke to him. Eventually he came over and spoke to me, asked me who I was, and said that he’d seen me around, but before we could get anywhere, the other girls pulled him away by pretending they needed him to take a picture.
    As he fiddled with the options on their phone, the girls gave me their best stink eye. Not long after, I left.
    I hated office politics. I hated office bitches. I would stay out of it. Unfortunately, I ran into the office sexist, and he was my boss.
    “It’s going to be all right,” he said.
    Captured by Evan’s blue eyes cast in a ring of molten gold, I hadn’t noticed the elevator was gone. I darted below his massive arm and pressed the button again.
    “It is?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m skeptical. Convince me.”
    He leaned closer. At any other time, I might’ve wanted him to press his lips on mine and convince me that way, but not now. Now was not the time. I didn’t want to think about being sexy. What I needed was a long shower and maybe then I could start to let him in.
    Right now, I needed to run. Run, before I showed Evan that I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t need to break in front of this man. I didn’t want to be weak, ruin my chances.
    “I need to go.”
    He shook his head.
    “He might be an asshole, but he did get you to wear that.” His eyes darted down to my skirt, glancing over my long legs and my curves. I took a strong whiff of his scent—musky and manly, like a man all day at strenuous work in the woods.
    I wished I could bottle it up as I ran.
    “Please, I’m not in the mood right now to be ogled.”
    Didn’t he know what happened? He had super hearing, right? I didn’t really know how shifters worked.
    “Sorry, compared to what I really wanted to say, that was quite tame.” He wanted to say more, but the elevator doors opened and I took the chance.
    He blocked me with that chest of his.
    My hand almost touched him. If it did, I might’ve never been able to run. I might’ve just broken down and cried against that comforting chest.
    “You’re going to give me problems too?”
    He didn’t like the implication. Evan grunted and pulled his arm away from the wall. He turned to his side and let me pass him by.
    “Wait,” he said, stopping the doors as they attempted to shut.
    That man had some wingspan. He held both doors open, revealing to me more of his packed muscle underneath that suit.
    “I have plans. He won’t be the head alpha for long.”
    “Head alpha?”
    “He won’t be the boss, either. The head alpha is the boss of the company.”
    I kept looking to the elevator buttons. “We shouldn’t talk about this here.”
    “Then talk about it with me after work.”
    Was he asking me out? It sounded like that. He looked at me fiercely. He seemed so dire for me