Beauty in Winter Read online

  Beauty in Winter

  Alexa Riley

  Contents

  Beauty in Winter

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Riding Red

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Also by Alexa Riley

  Stalk the Author

  BEAUTY IN WINTER

  by

  Alexa Riley

  Fiona Lamb has lost everything, and her only option is to work for a reclusive billionaire to get back the one thing that's most important to her.

  Reid Gold has been cursed. He's the alpha shifter, but he's unable to change into his wolf and lead his pack. But one scent of his mate and everything changes.

  Warning: This beauty and the beast-inspired story is quick, filthy, and over-the-top alpha. Hold on to your Kindles because Reid's inner beast finally gets to come out and play.

  Copyright © 2017 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  Cover Designer Mayhem Cover Creations

  For fairytales… they are alive and real in your heart.

  And maybe your lady business.

  Chapter 1

  Fiona

  “Miss Lamb, Mr. Blackden is ready for you.”

  I look up at the woman who has been watching me from the corner of her eye since I walked into Blackden Law Firm thirty minutes ago. I don’t blame her. I’m a mess and out of place against the elegant interior of the law firm. I know this, but I just can’t find the will to care. All I want is for this to be finished. I need to take the next step in my life and try to move on, if not for myself then for my grandma.

  I told her I’d be okay and that I wouldn’t let my grief drag me down.

  My grandma was buried yesterday, but final decisions on her estate had to be made. I’m here for one thing, and one thing alone. I pray there’s enough money from the sale of our home and antiques my grandma left me to cover the bill from the hospital. There is only one thing I want from all of this, and that’s the rose ring.

  I want it more than anything. My grandma never took the ring off her finger since my grandpa put it there when he asked her to marry him. When I was little she’d tell me about their love as a bedtime story. Then when she got sick it was my turn to tell her the story as she lay in bed fighting for her life.

  Even then I knew she was only fighting to stay with me. She didn’t want to leave me all alone in the world. I don’t remember my parents. The only family I had ever known were my grandma and grandpa, but in my eyes, they were my parents. They raised me, kept me safe, and made me feel loved. She and my grandpa were the only people I had and we’d lost him five years ago. Then it was just the two of us. But now she’s gone and I’m all alone.

  I swallow the lump in my throat and stand. Reaching down, I grab my oversized bag that I’ve been carrying around since the auction. It’s all I have left. Everything else is gone.

  The woman turns, heading down the long hallway, with her heels clicking on the marble with each step. She leads me to a set of double doors, the dark, carved wood gleaming. She grabs the handle and pulls one open for me. She motions for me to go in and nods as I pass.

  “Thank you,” I mumble as I step through.

  I hear the click of the door closing behind me as a man behind the desk on the other side of the room stands. I can see a small smile pull at his lips, but I can’t find it in me to smile back.

  “Miss Lamb,” he says.

  “Was there enough?” The words fall from my lips before I have a chance to think about it. And I’m not sure I care. That’s the only thing I need to know.

  “Why don’t you have a seat?” He motions to one of the chairs in front of his desk, not answering my question.

  I step forward, getting a better look at him. He doesn’t look like I thought he would. We talked on the phone a few times over the past weeks. His deep voice made me think he’d be a heavy-set man, but he isn’t. He’s thin and tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He gives me a bright smile, this time flashing his teeth. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Against my better judgment I do as he asks, even though I still want my answer more than anything. Something is wrong though. I can feel it.

  I drop my bag next to the chair beside me, drawing Mr. Blackden’s eyes. I swear he smiles even more at the sight, and I want to shout at how unfair this all is. It’s nothing to smile at.

  “We had to sell all of it, Miss Lamb.”

  I close my eyes at his words and try to fight the tears. I nod, then begin to stand. What else is there to say? I don’t want to go over all the odds and ends of how everything was auctioned off. I want out of here. I want to find a cheap hotel for the night and let myself have a good cry.

  Tomorrow I’ll pick myself up and see if I can get my old job back. I had to quit to be at my grandma’s side for the last few months, but I have to find something quick.

  “But I can get it for you.” His deep voice penetrates my fog of sadness.

  I freeze, my eyes snapping to his. He leans back in his chair, seemingly without a care in the world. He doesn’t go on. I feel as if he wants me to beg him, and to be honest, I will. I’m not above anything right now.

  “How?” I ask, and he motions for me to sit back down. I drop down into the seat, but scoot to the edge.

  “The ring was valued at $200,000,” he informs me. I gasp. “It had to be sold to cover the rest of the debts. Your grandmother had taken out a second mortgage on her home, and she also stated in her will to clear up any debt you had as well.”

  I hang my head, my dark brown hair falling forward and shielding my face. I didn’t know she knew. I had run up some credit cards trying to make ends meet for us. I didn’t want her to know about them. I was going to take care of them later. It wasn’t something she needed to worry about.

  “You said — ”

  “That I can get you the ring,” he finishes, sitting up in his chair. He grabs a folder and opens it. A large stack of papers sits inside it, clipped together.

  “I have a job proposal for you. It’s a live-in job. You’d stay on the estate and assist the owner in anything he needs.”

  “I’ll do it.” I stand up, grabbing a pen off the table. He turns the folder toward me, and I flip through the contract quickly to get to the last page. I see a place I need to sign, so I scratch my name on it quickly and toss the pen down.

  When I look back up at Mr. Blackden, I watch as he grabs the papers from me, sliding them back into the folder.

  “You smell fertile. Mr. Gold is going to be very pleased.”

  I glance at the folder he has in his hand and wrinkle my brow in confusion. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but his words and t
he look on his face make me think that maybe I should have read that contract…

  Chapter 2

  Reid

  I pace the length of my office, talking on the phone. It’s my lawyer, Ron Blackden, but he also happens to be my friend.

  “You did what?” I growl, and feel the anger rise up my neck.

  The blood that pumps in my veins is alpha. At least, it’s supposed to be. I’m the first-born son of our former pack alpha, so I was destined to lead us.

  Until I was cursed.

  When shifters come of age, their inner wolf takes over and they learn to shift. Right at the time in my life when that should have happened, my father was killed by a man in the woods, and I went after him to avenge his death. I went to seek revenge before my body was ready, but I could feel the alpha trying to push through. I was young and stupid. The pack council members warned me not to, but I couldn’t be stopped. The pack and I followed him, and when we caught the man who had killed my father, he cast a curse on me.

  I was the only male there who was still in human form. I didn’t know what happened at the time. One moment I was trying to hunt down my father’s killer and the next I was waking up surrounded by the pack.

  At first I thought everything was okay. I didn’t feel any different, but people backed away from me. When I looked in the mirror I saw that my face had taken on some of the traits of a wolf. Our kind don’t look like animals unless they’re fully shifted, so it was unheard of for someone to retain their wolf features while in their human form. My hair had grown out black and shaggy, and a dark beard had formed. My canine teeth had lengthened a little, and my eyes had turned a nearly solid black. I looked menacing and not quite human.

  Everyone thought it would pass when I learned how to shift, but the more time went on, the more I realized I was stuck this way. Forever in between and never able to lead my people. How could I be an alpha and be unable to shift? It was impossible.

  So I locked myself away and shut out the pack. My father was gone, and I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. My mother never took to me after I was born, so when my father died, she left to find another mate.

  Mate. That’s a word I hate thinking. I watched as everyone around me paired off. Years went by and I had to witness the joining of wolves. The sight made me cold and bitter inside, knowing that I’d never be able to have that. The curse prevented me from ever being able to have one. And how could a mate want me like this? Never human, never animal, unable to lead his own pack.

  I’m neither a man nor a wolf, and I’m damned to hell for what I’ve become. I’ve made do with it and lived my life — half a life — but one phone call and all that I’ve locked away has been threatened.

  “I’ve hired someone to come stay with you and help around the house.” Ron’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

  “No. The answer is no.” I grind my teeth, thinking about how he keeps trying to meddle in my life.

  “It’s already done, Reid. There’s no undoing it. She’s signed a contract, and I think this will be good for you.”

  “She? You’re sending a woman?” I nearly shout into the phone.

  “Calm down. She needed a job, and your estate acquired something she’s looking to get back.”

  “Give it back and send her away.”

  He sighs on the phone like I’m being an asshole, which I probably am. “It’s not that simple.” There’s a pause, and then I hear him rustle some papers. “Take her on for a night and see if the arrangement works. If not, then maybe we can redistribute her to another pack family. Either way, it’s my job as financier of your assets to look out for you. What she wants is very valuable, and she is required to compensate you for it in some way.”

  I hear the sound of a small hand knocking on the door. I’m on the other side of the castle, but my hearing is heightened. I look out the window and see it’s dark and snowing. I can’t let a woman stay out in that.

  I grind my teeth again before giving in. “Fine. One night,” I say before ending the call and tossing the cell on my desk.

  Storming down the hallway, I make my way to the front door and open it wide while staying hidden behind it. I’ve gotten good at hiding my face and keeping it in shadows so I don’t scare people.

  I wait a moment, and she speaks.

  “Hello?”

  “Come in,” I say, and step out just a little from behind the door, remaining mostly hidden.

  “I’m Fiona Lamb. Mr. Blackden sent me.” Her voice is soft and melodic.

  I peer around the door, keeping my chin down, and look at her. I’m frozen in place as I see the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

  Her dark honey-brown hair falls in waves down her back, She pulls off a raincoat to reveal she’s wearing a white cotton dress tied with a yellow ribbon that makes her look so innocent and sweet. She looks around, trying to see where I am, shaking out her raincoat.

  As she does, a breeze drifts over to me, and suddenly everything goes dark.

  Chapter 3

  Fiona

  I gasp as the man, half shielded by the door, falls to the floor. I rush over to try to push the door open, but his body is in the way.

  “Here, let me,” a familiar voice says from behind me, making me scream.

  Jumping, I turn to see the lawyer, Mr. Blackden, standing there. I put my hand on my chest in a feeble attempt to calm my heart. The snowstorm that’s swirling around him makes him look ominous.

  “I think he’s hurt.”

  I push away all thoughts of how odd this situation is. I just arrived at a castle in the middle of nowhere. At one point the cab driver thought he was going to have to turn around because the snowstorm was growing fiercer by the second.

  Mr. Blackden steps forward, and I move out of his way as he pushes the door open. I reach into my bag, trying to find my cell phone to call 911. I don’t even know if I have service out here.

  I follow him into the house and notice the room is in darkness. I glance around, looking for a light switch, but when I flip it, the light doesn’t come on. I don’t know if the snowstorm knocked it out or the light just isn’t working. Suddenly Mr. Blackden grabs the phone from my hand smacking it against the wall and making me scream.

  “Oh my God, what is wrong with you?” I yell at him. It was only one of those $50 pre-paid phones, but still. This guy is crazy. The man on the floor makes a sound that sounds like a growl, but Mr. Blackden doesn’t move toward him. Instead he walks over to the front door and shuts it, blocking out the cold storm. I hear the lock click. He leans up against it as if a man isn’t passed out on the floor in front of us.

  Not knowing what to do, I drop to the floor next to the man and try to roll him over, but his body is too big. I’m not strong enough to move him even a little.

  “Don’t just stand there. Help me, you lunatic!” I shout at Mr. Blackden.

  “Oh, I think you’ve got it.” Something in his voice makes me turn to look back at him.

  I scream when I see what looks like a gun in his hand. He doesn’t have it pointed at me though; he holds it lowered by his side.

  A loud growl fills the room, and the man under my hands starts to jerk. Then he does it again, only deeper. But for some reason the noises are not scary. I watch as he pulls himself up to his hands and knees, his head hanging low. The growls grow louder and are anything but human.

  I glance over at Mr. Blackden, but he just stands there, a smile pulling at his lips. “Yes, I think you’ve definitely got it.”

  Then I hear the sounds of clothes being ripped and bones snapping, I scramble back as I watch the impossible happen in front of my eyes—a man turning into something else. Something more.

  All too quickly, right before my eyes, a giant wolf stands, taking the breath from my lungs. I’m not even sure if wolf is the right word for him. He’s bigger than any wolf I’ve ever seen, even on TV. His golden eyes are locked on mine as he takes a step toward me. I should be screaming. Running. Anything.
Instead I stand there, transfixed by those eyes, unable to move. The gold swirls in them are mesmerizing, as if they are pulling me into him.

  “I knew it. The rose ring tale is true,” Mr. Blackden says, and I take my eyes off the giant wolf in the middle of the room. The wolf growls loudly, and when my eyes come back to him he stops. It’s as if he’s agitated that I’m not looking at him.

  “I think I want to leave,” I finally say, my fear picking up as I grasp what is happening. I think I’m in shock. I’m simply unable to wrap my mind around the fact that a man just turned into a wolf right in front of me.

  The wolf moves, blocking the door as if he understood what I said. His golden eyes are trained on me.

  “I don’t think—” Mr. Blackden is cut off when the wolf turns and snaps at him. “I’m not going to let her leave,” he says, but the wolf still doesn’t seem happy. “I thought this might happen.” He shakes his head. “It’s for the best.” I scream as he raises the gun and fires.

  My heart drops as I rush toward the wolf. Something inside me wants to protect him. But the gun makes no sound as the wolf falls to the ground. I scream again, dropping down next to the wolf. Mr. Blackden finally moves away from the door and comes closer to me. The wolf growls again but doesn’t open his eyes or move beside me. Mr. Blackden stops.

  “Calm, my friend. I must make sure she stays,” he says in a calm voice, as if trying to soothe the wolf.

  “Friend? You just shot him!”

  “Yes, well, I didn’t know what he was going to do. He was feral and he needs time to calm down without you so close.” He says it so simply, like his friend didn’t just turn into a wolf.

  “I want — ”