The Alpha's Quest Collection by Jessica Ryan Page B

obviously lusted after him too. He could smell her arousal, driving his wolf even more mad.
    No, the feeling inside of him right now wasn’t lust, it was something deeper. He was beginning to care for this human. She was under his protection right now; he had promised to get her to safety and he was taking it very seriously. Nobody would harm her while he was in charge, nobody. She was his to protect, she was his .
    Hawk shook his head and tried to snap out of it. He hadn’t considered that this affection he was feeling could lead to love. He didn’t want to love another; he was alpha of the Skyvale pack. He was the supreme example for his pack, above reproach. Yet here he was, strongly considering claiming this female.
    I can’t claim her, he thought. I barely know her.
    Rowan barely knew Eva, another voice said. You know how happy they are.
    Hawk grabbed at his hair and tried to ignore the voices. He had a mission, a mission that could save or doom the entire town.
    “Are you okay?” Ciara asked.
    “I’m fine,” he said. “Why do you ask?”
    “You’ve been moving your lips like you’re talking to yourself since we started moving again.”
    “I hadn’t realized I was doing that. I guess I was just deep in thought.”
    “About what?” she asked.
    He looked over at her and saw that there was genuine interest in her eyes. She wasn’t just humoring him, she wanted to know.
    “Just alpha stuff,” he lied. “Listen, we’ve had a lot of serious conversations since we started walking. Can we just put a lid on that for a while?”
    “Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I thought you’d never say it. It seems every word between us has been about evil, and biker gangs, and kidnappings and wolf etiquette.”
    “I guess it has,” he said, laughing.
    “Want to play twenty questions?”
    “I’m not familiar with that game.”
    “Basically, I ask you a question and you have to answer. Then you get to ask me one. We go back and forth until we get to twenty.”
    “What’s the point of that?”
    She giggled, giving him a knowing look. He had watched plenty of human movies in the dead of night while the rest of the city slept, but none of it had prepared him for the dating world. He was a grown man, but he was acting like a nervous teenager in a John Hughes movie.
    “To get to know each other, silly,” she said, still giggling at him.
    “That sounds wonderful,” he said, nervousness still evident in his voice. “You ask me first.”
    “Okay,” she said, tapping her finger on her lip as she thought. “What’s your last name?”
    “That’s it?” he asked. “That one is easy. It’s Ryder.”
    “Hawk Ryder?” she asked, a cheesy grin playing across her face. It took a few moments but she busted up laughing. “Have you ever ridden a hawk?”
    “Well, no,” he said, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Why was she making fun of his name? “I didn’t choose my name.”
    “I understand,” she said, still chortling as she continued. “Go ahead, ask me something.”
    “Same question,” he said.
    “You can’t do that.”
    “Why not?”
    “That’s not how the game is played. You have to think of your own question.”
    “But I want to know yours now.”
    “It’s Langley, but you still have to think of another question.”
    “Ciara Langley.” The name had a good ring to it, but not as good as Ciara Ryder.
    “Well, ask your question.”
    “Okay, give me a second to think. I’ve got one: do you have any brothers or sisters?”
    “I have an older brother, the asshole.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    Ciara shook her head, not liking where this conversation was going. It was getting serious again, but he had asked the question. “My father was out of the picture when I was growing up. He just up and left us. My mother raised my brother and me to be good little Christian children. My brother could do no wrong in her eyes. He was the perfect little Jesus warrior. I tried, but when