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  Mated by the Alpha

  Magically Mated, Book One

  PENELOPE WYLDE

  Copyright Notice

  Copyright © 2019 Penelope Wylde. 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:/www.penelopewylde.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 Em Petrova

  Cover Designer: Bookin’ It Designs

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Her Savage Mountain Man: Chapter 1

  Books by Penelope

  Mailing List

  About Penelope

  For future reference: never sleep with a hexed werewolf. Especially when it is your hex and he's six foot plus of tempting, gorgeous muscle that will land you in trouble.

  You see, in my world, a witch and a shifter are forbidden to mate. No matter how sinfully perfect his mouth—and hands—are on me.

  So, when I hex the local alpha shifter with a love position and push our already combustible lust for one another over the edge… let's just say it spells disaster for yours truly.

  It doesn't matter if the hexing was an accident because the man prowling my way has one thought on his mind. Taking me as his mate and claiming me for something much longer than a one-night stand.

  Magic is a bitch that's about to bite me. And you know what? I just might like it.

  Author's Naughty Note: Mated by the Alpha is a friends-to-lovers tale of magic and mischief. Wicked and delicious is how this one is going down right along with the Halloween candy! We're talking slightly over-the-top, forbidden romance with a touch of insta-love that's extra dirty and sweet. If that's your jam, you're going to love this one! As always this is safe with a HEA & NO CHEATING!

  Chapter One

  “This better work or else we’ll be finding a new place to call home come next month, Luna.”

  Sadie smirked at her cat when all she got back was a smug, meow.

  She gathered a pinch of crushed lavender and sprinkled in the last of the ingredients needed for her love potion. A puff of purple smoke twined high before diving back into the concoction that would—fingers crossed—work this time and play cupid in a sort of way between a witch and her powers.

  “Fourth time’s the charm. I hope.” Sadie tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and let out a deep sigh.

  She’d promised her banished coven sister a spell that would help restore her stripped powers. Though Sadie refused payment, Harlow had insisted. Shoved between the snow outside and a hard place, Sadie didn’t have much choice in the matter. Success would net her a cool two grand—enough to save her tavern, The Cauldron Bubble, and the attached apartment. Added bonus, it would also save her coven sister in the process. Double score!

  Only if she could get the damn thing to work. Getting the spell to take hold was proving to be more difficult than she’d anticipated. All three previous batches had fizzled out along with her patience.

  If she didn’t get this to work soon it was bye-bye to the only security she had and hello cold streets of Sleepy Briar. Panic sent a cold shudder down her spine, and she wiggled her toes nestled inside her favorite warm wool socks. She still had time. Twenty-four hours, to be exact. Her gaze fell to her hands as she splayed her fingers out to call forth her magic, searching for a little calm in her own personal hellish storm.

  Encased in the magic-tinged wave of heat that flooded her body came a rush of power laced with memories of the last time she felt so much energy in her palms. Sweet, delicious, mind-blowing, pure masculine strength in the form of the sinfully sexy alpha pressed up against every aching inch of her body. Okay…make that every horny inch of her body.

  An unbeckoned smile spread across her lips. “Gah, you need to stop thinking about him, Sadie.” It never turned out well. He didn’t want anything to do with her. He made that much clear the last time.

  Sadie flexed her fingers and forced herself to focus on the task at hand.

  But that didn’t work. Had it only been three nights ago that he’d almost taken her? Her core still vibrated with pent-up need for him.

  No, what she needed was to forget him. Forget the way his lips ignited a fire in her belly as he brushed them across her quivering stomach. Forget the way her body had molded into his strong arms. How his gaze, luminous with an unusual red tinge, pulled her into his world. Body and soul.

  But more importantly, forget how he’d left her wet and wanting, spread open for him on her bar top with a growled, “Sorry, pack business.”

  She didn’t buy that lame excuse then and sure the Hades didn’t now.

  Yeah, forgetting one Aidan Montgomery, featured pack alpha and werewolf shifter of her dreams, wasn’t likely. She took a calming breath and counted out her heartbeats to steady her thoughts.

  Sleepy Briar in the winter was like living in Antarctica and served as a damn cold bucket of water to her runaway thoughts when a cold draft whittled through a crack in the window frame at her back. In fact, she was pretty sure the below-freezing temperatures of her small Maine town rivaled anywhere else on the planet come this late in the year and no amount of lusting after Aidan would change that for her.

  Sadie tossed a look at the clock hanging above her couch. Almost time to open the bar. She rolled her shoulders and called forth the five elements that fueled her powers, the call of fire her strongest. Heated energy crackled and popped in the small dining room, fusing the air with enough juice to power up to ten love potions.

  She needed this to work. Maybe the spell just needed a jumpstart. “Worth a shot anyway,” she murmured softly.

  A long, drawn-out growl from the chair where Luna lounged watching the whole fiasco punctuated her thoughts. Pure white fur fluffed into a bushy ball of static. “Not long now and don’t give me that judgy look, missy. We need the money and this,” she wagged a finger at the bubbling cast iron cauldron on her kitchen counter, “…is the only way I know to get the fast cash we need and to keep kitty nip on the shopping list.”

  Her feline familiar blinked once as a human would shrug their shoulders.

  Sassy puss. Whatever.

  She needed to get on with this before one—or all—of her coven sisters dropped in and found her mixing the forbidden concoction. Not that they would turn her into the Silver Circle, but it would definitely put them all in a pickle if ever questioned or placed under a truth spell. Nasty things, truth spells, and very commonly used on witches with rebellious pasts.

  She was well-acquainted with the rules governing her kind and right now she was breaking about five of them, which would get her banned or worse, stripped of her powers by the Elders like they had Harlow. Not cool. But Sadie didn’t see any other choice.

  It wasn’t as if the Circle issued loans on magic or would return her sister’s powers. So here she was taking on both problems with an illegal potion. Great idea even if it is illegal.

  Before
starting, she had flicked the deadbolt in place and stuffed a towel beneath the doors, windows, and every other crack she found in the old apartment to help hide the odor. One of her sisters was bound to stop in for a drink, and her efforts would do little in holding them at bay once they smelled the sweet nectar of rose and lavender. If they did show up before she finished… well, she’d rather not think about how many different ways this could go sideways tonight.

  Sadie dipped the tip of her pinky into the swirling mass of fuchsia liquid laced with variant shades of midnight purple, and popped it into her mouth.

  Much like her favorite Pop Rocks candy, it tingled along her tongue and down her throat as she swallowed the single teardrop worth.

  Mmm. She sucked the single-digit between her lips and sighed.

  Dazzling white heat burst to life, singeing her insides to finally detonate in the depths of her core with a powerful need she’d never felt before. She swayed in place and let her eyes slip shut. Just as quickly the all-consuming sensations calmed, leaving behind a blanket of warmth to settle over her entire body like a lover had left her thoroughly sated.

  Would finding release with Aidan be that wild and untamed?

  Sadie shook her thoughts clear of the sexy alpha.

  It worked!

  “Thank the goddess this actually has a chance!” She pumped a fist in the air and received a swish of a tail from her plump familiar. “Cheer up, Luna. I think we’re almost there. Just a few final touches.”

  Sadie scrolled a finger over the spell she’d penned especially for this task until she came to the last part needed to bind the spell to find true love. What many didn’t know is that this particular love spell also doubled as a reverse spell if combined with just enough dragon’s blood.

  Just what her sister needed. That it caused a side case of possible true love was a happy side effect.

  True love. Ha. Sadie would be happy if she could get one devilish sexy shifter to look her way one more time. No love particularly required, but in some ridiculous corner of her mind, a roguish shifter to call her own did have a nice ring to it.

  If anything, his sapphire eyes and midnight black hair spelled wild lust-filled nights. Her whole body quivered just thinking about the broody male that had spent the better part of the last month holding down the back corner table opposite her bar top.

  Damn the goddesses. She knew to the bottom of her soul they’d had her in mind when they cooked up his wolfish charms and good looks. Her body thrummed every time she felt him track her movements as she tended her customers. His eyes had a way of glowing with an ethereal light every time she glanced his direction. Raw heat is what she saw in their depths, and it made her naughty side crave a little dirty romance.

  She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the why, but when their gazes connected, nothing else mattered. For that split second between serving a drink or some other task at hand, everything dropped away and she only saw him, the force of his gaze was like the smack of her love potion to her senses and her thoughts of total possession. She just didn’t understand it. Maybe she didn’t need to. Maybe it was leftover feelings from the night they almost shared.

  She didn’t fit under the ranks of saints. She’d had wild nights of hot sex before, but Aidan made her feel different. As if what he wanted would be beyond mind-blowing. If only she knew what had sent him hoofing it out of her bar and away from her when they were so close to finally taking their attraction to the next level.

  Did he not feel the same way? If he did, the wolf had a damn good way of hiding it.

  She paused and looked down at her handiwork.

  The potion. It was playing with her emotions and churning up the hottest passions buried in her soul.

  She let out a deep sigh. “Here comes the fun part. Time to nudge destiny a bit.”

  She closed her eyes and dashed thoughts of Aidan to the back of her mind, where they damn well better stay locked away. With her attention refocused on fusing the potion with her binding powers, Sadie interlaced her fingers to form a barrier over the opening of her cauldron and started.

  With this spell I declare

  A single drink to claim a heart so fair

  A perfect match bring forth this night

  With a heart pure in light and a wish for a union so true and right

  For the good of all and with free will I cast this spell to do my will

  As I enchant this potion with my words

  So let it be done and that it harms no one

  So mote it be

  Flashes of purple and magic-laced fire brought her eyes open. A single flame spiraled up from the liquid like a fiery tornado, then absorbed back into the confines of the pot to shimmer with her infused power.

  Done.

  “Now if only by the goddesses’ power it helps Harlow.”

  From the shelf above her refrigerator, Sadie snagged a silver container she normally reserved for the homemade liquor the other locals preferred. Shifters burned through what she had on tap for the humans in her small town, so she cooked up her own brew that kept her doors open.

  Barely.

  Her illegal love hooch would keep her in the black for now, but for how long? She couldn’t sell enough of the regular booze to the locals and stay afloat. This winter had turned nasty early on and not many braved the cold when they could drink happily at home. Her only hope now was her ability to attract more shifters with her special brew of Moon Brew, which wasn’t illegal. Yet. Who knew what the Circle would do at any time to maintain control over covens?

  She measured three servings of the potion into the container and then sealed the bottle. She placed the canister on the table by the front door and turned to the mirror to straighten out her hair from the messy bun she sported, planning her next move… delivery and payment.

  Chapter Two

  Ten minutes later Sadie joined her minimal staff downstairs, ready to kick off another rowdy Saturday with the first of the night’s drinkers already swinging back one form of elixir or another to fight the harsh cold.

  “Hey, Cabe, pour a pitcher for table three and let’s tap another keg.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  Normally humans loved visiting The Cauldron Bubble for a fix of hard liquor and beer like the shifters loved their witch-brewed New England moonshine. The cold was doing a damn good job at keeping half of her tables unoccupied. She sighed and made a mental note to order in a fresh stock of alcohol for the coming holidays and brew up a few more batches of her personal concoction. Maybe she should throw a winter solstice celebration? Invite the whole town.

  Letting that thought simmer in the back of her mind, Sadie left the instructions with her bartender and walked over to a quiet corner out of earshot of everyone.

  She pulled out her phone and punched in the familiar number.

  “Tell me you have it ready, Sadie,” answered a familiar and nervous voice through the earpiece.

  Sadie’s heart swelled for Harlow. Once a part of the royal family within the Silver Circle, she couldn’t even do a simple protection spell as punishment for disobedience. Who the Hades did the Silver Circle of Magic think they were controlling who a witch loved, anyway?

  Sadie traced the soft edges of a napkin, her back to the crowd forming around the bar. “Hey, Harlow. The potion is ready. Do you have the additional ingredients?”

  “I will before the night is up.”

  “Good.” Both knew that if either of them was caught with dragon’s blood in their possession, Harlow’s current situation would look like a vacation. “When would you like to meet for delivery?”

  “Right now, if you can. I don’t want to waste another minute if you know what I mean.”

  Sadie didn’t dare ask what else the woman had on her agenda for the evening that made her sound in a hurry. If she’d lost her powers, she’d be a little anxious too. Honestly, the less she knew, the less any truth spell could pull from her.

  “How about in an hour? My place? Your
s? A la clandestine, I presume?” she added in a low whisper.

  Humans understood how the Silver Circle’s law worked, which helped to explain why the forbidden brew came with a hefty price tag. Her government worked pretty much like human’s, only the elders of the Silver Circle were not as forgiving as their human counterparts. Theirs acted more like an all-inclusive package deal—judge, jury and executioner if you were unlucky enough to be brought to the Circle’s court. Break a law and the Silver Circle punished a witch or warlock how they saw fit. Thank the goddesses lopping off heads went out of style around the time cameras became a thing. Well, for the most part anyway. There were rumblings underground that had her heart going cold just thinking about the dark rumors of how the Elders dealt with truly awful criminals.

  “No. My place is being watched. Trust me. I’ll swing by your place, okay. Your back door in an hour.” Harlow countered, bringing Sadie out of her head and back to the conversation.

  “Or that. Yeah, I guess that works, too.”

  Before she could press end on her phone call, Sadie’s magic shimmered the length of her spine and instinct stiffened her muscles. “See you then, Harlow.”

  Hitting end, she slowly turned on her heel, expecting to find one of her sisters. Instead, chiseled muscles defined by outdoor labor and encased in black cotton came into view. She traced a path with her eyes, first down to see solid thighs covered in the sexiest fucking black jeans she’d ever seen on a man, and up to find a gorgeous set of dark blue eyes staring down at her.

  “Getting into trouble again?” Aidan drawled, his rough baritone doing wicked things to her cool composure.

  That was on the outside. On the inside two emotions warred for control. Fear of what he might have overheard with his heightened hearing. And nerve-searing, thigh-clenching lust.