The Alpha's Quest Collection by Jessica Ryan

wolves out here. You rescued me from one, remember? There’s also a kidnapped she-wolf and a lonely old bear. There’s probably also the guys who kidnapped her out here too, based on what you told me.”
    “There’s something else,” he said, turning around and raising his arms to his sides in a crucifix pose.
    Ciara was beginning to get freaked out now. She walked around in front of Hawk and nearly fell over. His eyes were closed and his head was drawn back with a dreamy smile on his face. It was like something wonderful was washing over him and he was enjoying every moment of it.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “You can’t feel it?” he asked. “You can’t feel the presence?”
    “You’re starting to scare me, Hawk,” she said, backing away from him. Was he going to turn on her now, too?
    “I’m fighting it as best I can, Ciara,” he said, his eyes still closed. “But every time I acknowledge it, its hold on me grows stronger. We have to find Beorn. He’ll know what to do.”
    “Then let’s go,” she said, trying to walk away.
    Unfortunately Hawk remained transfixed in his Jesus pose, not opening his eyes.
    “It won’t let us find Beorn,” he said. “It wants us to lose ourselves in the forest completely. It wants our souls, Ciara. You can’t feel that?”
    “Feel what?” she shouted. She was beginning to get upset with Hawk, who was obviously cracking up. How could her spirit guide rescue her if he was losing his mind?
    “The evil presence in the forest,” he answered, opening his eyes. She stared into them, wondering if they had changed color, wondering if she was going to see some kind of change. But the same beautiful eyes with the calm, boyish charm remained. She let out a sigh of relief as she looked into his eyes.
    “What the hell was that?” she demanded.
    “It was washing over me, Ciara,” he said. “Screaming at me. I stood my ground for the first time and let it come to me, but it couldn’t take me. I could feel the black tendrils grabbing for my heart, but they couldn’t take it.”
    “Okay,” she said slowly, looking around at the trees. They were still alone; there was nothing else in the forest to face them. “What are you talking about?”
    “Rowan discovered it first,” he began. “He and Eva felt something in the forest when they were out here. See, when we wolves mate with another being, we form an emotional bond. We can feel the other’s heart and soul.”
    “That’s beautiful,” she interrupted, suddenly wanting to feel that more than anything. “A real-life love connection.”
    “Yes,” he said. “But when a human and a wolf connect, it’s much stronger for the human.”
    “Why?”
    “Because humans aren’t used to the world of the supernatural like we are. Everything they feel is a new emotion, a new sensation if you will. It hits them much harder. It’s like poking your finger with a needle. The first few times it bleeds and hurts, but eventually you build a callous that protects you from the needle. Humans don’t have that callous.”
    “But eventually this Eva girl will get it right?” she asked.
    “I’m not so sure about that,” he answered. “We’ve been exposed to it for a lifetime, humans have not. It’s just not in your nature. It’s why a lot of witches and wizards go mad over time. They’re just not meant to play with the forces they manipulate.”
    “I see.”
    “I’m getting off track, though. Eva felt a strong evil presence in the forest, reaching for her, grabbing for her. I felt it when I entered the forest and the deeper we’ve gone the stronger it has gotten. It’s trying to bring out the worst in me. It wants me to do things I’d never dream of doing.”
    Ciara felt like someone had punched her in the gut. That was why she was so filled with lust and desire for Hawk—the presence was bringing out the absolute worst in her. It wanted her to fail at her quest. It wanted her to give in and do what she’d always