Mated to the Alpha: The Complete Collection by Lauren Landish Page A
Authors: Lauren Landish
Ads: Link
passengers get motion sickness," Kim answered for him. "And I don't want to spend two hours cleaning your breakfast out of the upholstery."
"Hey, that only happened twice," Keith mocked.
"Yeah..... after that nobody but me was willing to fly with you," his sister replied, causing all of them to laugh. "Well, we're almost at the end of the ride anyway. Mel, if you take a look up ahead to your left, you'll see your new home."
Melanie's breath caught in her throat as she saw the grounds before her. Looking like it was carved out of the ancient granite itself, a Gothic style manor castle sprung out of the hillside, complete with four towers at the corners. On the river side of the estate, the grounds dropped off into an almost fifty foot sheer cliff to the river below. The immense grounds surrounded the castle on three sides, with well manicured gardens, pools, what Melanie thought might have been a stable, and all of the trappings of a country manor. On the side opposite the river, there was a long tree-lined driveway, which led to a main gate and the road about a mile in the distance. "My god, it looks like it came out of a Scottish fairy tale" she said, "How did your family do it?"
"The castle has been in the family for five generations, stretching back almost all the way to the founding of the United States," Keith replied. "During the Colonial days, this entire area was granted to my family via Royal Decree. During the Revolution, my great great grandfather was smart enough, or lucky enough, to side with the Colonials, and so the land remained ours. Since then, it's been the home base for Clan Lockwood. We've struggled at times making tax payments, and at one point the estate wasn't exactly in the best of repair, but it's always remained in our hands."
Kimberly swung the Bell helicopter around the manor once, giving Mel a three hundred and sixty degree view, before setting down on the south lawn. Once the rotors stopped, the trio got out, only to be greeted by a statuesque woman, who looked to be about sixty years old. Mel could quickly see the resemblance, and knew she had met her Mate's mother. "How should I greet her?" Mel asked Keith quietly as they approached.
"Be yourself," Keith laughed. She saw his mother laughing too, and realized that she had heard the entire thing through her psychic connection with her son.
"Failing that, you can give an old werewolf a hug," the woman replied coming within normal conversation range. "The time for formal trappings and titles is days away still. For now, please just call me Valeria, or Val if you like."
"It's a pleasure, Valeria. Please, just call me Mel."
The older woman chuckled. "I'll try, but please excuse me if I might slip in some sweethearts and darlings, and of course, the ever popular 'dears' in there. I'm an old lady, and I've never been good with names."
"You're hardly old, mother," Kimberly said, giving her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You barely look a day past your one hundredth."
"One... hundred?" Melanie stuttered. She knew that as a born werewolf, the Waldwycks aged slower than normal humans, but one hundred? She didn't even think she'd be around at one hundred.
"Yes, you will," Keith replied to her unspoken thought. "As we are Mated, you share in my life force. From the point we joined, your aging slowed to about that of a werewolf's. You can look forward to at least another eighty or ninety years of active life, at which point you'll look about sixty."
"Wow. Just think, there are millions of people around the world who would pay an arm and a leg for that."
"Enough with the talk of getting old," Valeria said, chuckling. "It's time I got to meet my daughter in blood."
For the rest of the day, Melanie was pleased to explore the grounds with Valeria, while Keith and Kimberly were taken up with preparations for the Gathering. "I'll be honest with you, I was somewhat glad when I didn't have to do this anymore," Valeria confided in her. "When my
"Hey, that only happened twice," Keith mocked.
"Yeah..... after that nobody but me was willing to fly with you," his sister replied, causing all of them to laugh. "Well, we're almost at the end of the ride anyway. Mel, if you take a look up ahead to your left, you'll see your new home."
Melanie's breath caught in her throat as she saw the grounds before her. Looking like it was carved out of the ancient granite itself, a Gothic style manor castle sprung out of the hillside, complete with four towers at the corners. On the river side of the estate, the grounds dropped off into an almost fifty foot sheer cliff to the river below. The immense grounds surrounded the castle on three sides, with well manicured gardens, pools, what Melanie thought might have been a stable, and all of the trappings of a country manor. On the side opposite the river, there was a long tree-lined driveway, which led to a main gate and the road about a mile in the distance. "My god, it looks like it came out of a Scottish fairy tale" she said, "How did your family do it?"
"The castle has been in the family for five generations, stretching back almost all the way to the founding of the United States," Keith replied. "During the Colonial days, this entire area was granted to my family via Royal Decree. During the Revolution, my great great grandfather was smart enough, or lucky enough, to side with the Colonials, and so the land remained ours. Since then, it's been the home base for Clan Lockwood. We've struggled at times making tax payments, and at one point the estate wasn't exactly in the best of repair, but it's always remained in our hands."
Kimberly swung the Bell helicopter around the manor once, giving Mel a three hundred and sixty degree view, before setting down on the south lawn. Once the rotors stopped, the trio got out, only to be greeted by a statuesque woman, who looked to be about sixty years old. Mel could quickly see the resemblance, and knew she had met her Mate's mother. "How should I greet her?" Mel asked Keith quietly as they approached.
"Be yourself," Keith laughed. She saw his mother laughing too, and realized that she had heard the entire thing through her psychic connection with her son.
"Failing that, you can give an old werewolf a hug," the woman replied coming within normal conversation range. "The time for formal trappings and titles is days away still. For now, please just call me Valeria, or Val if you like."
"It's a pleasure, Valeria. Please, just call me Mel."
The older woman chuckled. "I'll try, but please excuse me if I might slip in some sweethearts and darlings, and of course, the ever popular 'dears' in there. I'm an old lady, and I've never been good with names."
"You're hardly old, mother," Kimberly said, giving her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You barely look a day past your one hundredth."
"One... hundred?" Melanie stuttered. She knew that as a born werewolf, the Waldwycks aged slower than normal humans, but one hundred? She didn't even think she'd be around at one hundred.
"Yes, you will," Keith replied to her unspoken thought. "As we are Mated, you share in my life force. From the point we joined, your aging slowed to about that of a werewolf's. You can look forward to at least another eighty or ninety years of active life, at which point you'll look about sixty."
"Wow. Just think, there are millions of people around the world who would pay an arm and a leg for that."
"Enough with the talk of getting old," Valeria said, chuckling. "It's time I got to meet my daughter in blood."
For the rest of the day, Melanie was pleased to explore the grounds with Valeria, while Keith and Kimberly were taken up with preparations for the Gathering. "I'll be honest with you, I was somewhat glad when I didn't have to do this anymore," Valeria confided in her. "When my
Similar Books
