Alpha's Runaway Mate

Chapter1

Adeline

The sun cast a soft light through the window as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Another sleepless night had come and gone, leaving me to search with futility for my motivation. With a deep intake of breath, I forced myself to get up and ready myself for the day. Coffee. I needed coffee. In my zombie like state, I shuffled my way into the kitchen to make myself a cup of liquid magic. The chocolate aroma of my dark Peruvian roast rose to my nostrils eliciting a moan from deep within my chest.

With a sigh, I hit the start button and wandered down the hallway to the bathroom. This was my daily routine. Lay awake in bed for hours, drag myself out of bed, put on the coffee, shower, dress, grab my coffee, and head to the office. The predictability would bore others, but not me. I enjoyed the mundane way my life had turned out. The only wild card was the patients. God only knew what they would complain of when they came into the office.

I pulled into the parking space labeled "Physician Parking Only". I stared vacantly at the tall white building with large glass windows. My life had taken a drastic turn from the path set out for me by my parents. You see, I was a wolf shifter. I grew up in a small pack settled in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia. My father was Beta, my mother the pack doctor. It was decided when I was young, that I would follow in my mother's footsteps. Which left my older twin brothers to fight over the Beta position. The problem with that plan was I hated our pack.

I was a scrawny and lanky kid. The runt of the pack according to my peers. I stopped growing when I was thirteen, remaining stuck at five foot even. Everyone was taller than I was, which was made more evident when I got to high school. The tall, leggy blondes were followed around by all the boys in my class. The only attention I received was from those who bullied me relentlessly for being the "nerdy little runt". My mother had told me things would get better once I got to college, but the hate kept coming. The only reprieve I got was when I moved to start my residency. I was fortunate enough to get into John Hopkins up in Maine, where I could get a fresh start without the constant berating from those in my pack. The humans were nice to me. I was commended for my drive and intelligence instead of being mocked. For once I could breathe.

So, instead of going back home after I finishing school, I made a life for myself as a rogue amongst the humans. I bought a little house out in the country that backed up to the state national park. I could shift into my large midnight black wolf and weave through the forest where I would be safe. At night I was a werewolf, but during the day I was Dr. Adeline McCloud. Internist at Midway Medical.

I grabbed my coffee from the cupholder in my truck and my leather backpack from the floorboard before making my way to the automatic glass doors that led me into the building where I worked.

When I stepped off the elevator, I was greeted by a lengthy line of patients waiting to get through the door. I smiled and offered my good mornings to a few of the familiar faces before walking down the hall to the side door that leads to physician offices. I went straight to my own office door, attempting to hide from Dr. Ackles, the creepy new doctor who was hired three months ago. He had a young face for a man his age, with deep set brown eyes that.

Contrasted with his pale translucent skin, his white speckled sandy blonde hair was cut in a military style. His body was thin and wiry, which made his lab coat look incredibly too big for his narrow frame. I was about to breathe my sigh of relief when a foot stopped me from closing my door. I internally growled and opened my door to see the willowy man looming over me.

"Good morning, Adeline." His monotone voice droned out.

"It's Addy, and good morning, Collin. Is there something I can do for you?" I said with a forced smile. His dark sallow eyes raked my body as a subtle smirk graced the corners of his thin lips. I cringed.

"Simply saying good morning, Adeline. I hope you have a satisfying day." The glint in his eyes and his choice of words caused a sick feeling to spring up in the pit of my stomach.

“You too, Dr. Ackles." I said as I quickly closed my office door. "f*****g wierdo..." I mumbled as I sat down at my desk and logged into the EMR. Looks like I have twenty-three patients on the docket for today, mostly physicals which were easy enough. There was the occasional behavioral health and flu symptoms patient, but overall it looked like it would be an easy day.

My phone rang out alerting me to my first patient. "Mornin’ doc! First one's ready for ya!" Grace chirped. She was a tall, red-headed beauty. She had large breast, a tiny waist and a butt that would make J-Lo jealous, but I was under the impression she didn't know she was attractive and if she did, she didn't let on. She was down to earth with a thick southern drawl.

"Thank you, Grace. I'll be right there." And so it begins.

The morning flew by without incident. My patients tended to be low maintenance, so by 12:15 I was finished for the morning. Lucky enough, we had drug reps who had brought us lunch, Mexican. I wandered into the break room and scanned the tables in search of a quiet place to eat after speaking with the reps.

I found a little two-seater table in an inconspicuous little alcove and quickly made my way over to it. I dropped myself into the chair readying myself to stuff my face with beef tacos when someone sat down across from me. I sighed heavily and looked up to see a cheery faced woman with pink horn-rimmed glasses, wearing a flamboyant multicolored polka dot 1950's style dress with a bright red scarf tied around her box blonde hair.

"Addykins!" Misty squealed. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the taco in my mouth.

"What do you want Misty? You know this is my quiet time." I groan out between mouthfuls of taco. She tsks at me.

"Who's a miss grumpy pants? What's got your knickers in a twist?" She plucked a chip off my plate, dunking it in the salsa before popping it into her mouth. I stifled a growl. I hated people touching my food and she knew it. If only she knew the danger she was in, playing chicken with a wolf shifter.

"I'm not grumpy. I'm tired... and hungry... and I just want to be left alone..." I grumble. A look of sympathy flitted across her face.

"Still not sleeping?" She said.

"No. And it's been three days!" I rubbed my tired eyes.

"I can write you a prescription for Trazodone or Ambien. Addy, you can’t keep going on without sleep." she said, sternly. I knew she was right, but I hated taking medicine at all.

"I don't know, Misty. That stuff always makes me feel groggy the next day." I mumbled.

"Good thing today is Friday. You have all weekend to rest." She wasn't looking at me. She was busy jotting down a prescription for Ambien on her prescription pad before handing me the little piece of paper. "Leave work now. Go to the pharmacy, fill it, and get some sleep." She ordered. It always amused me when Misty got bossy. In the entire practice, she was the only pediatrician. She spent most of her days negotiating with children and their parents. For her to get stern and bossy took quite a bit. I suppose my inability to sleep brought out her bossy side.

"Fine. But who's going to cover my afternoon patients?" She pursed her lips then held up her finger. She jumped up and ran out of the break room. I rolled my eyes and giggled before digging back into my tacos. It wasn't long before, once again, I was no longer alone. This time the company was far less wanted.

"Adeline, I thought I would join you for lunch. Is this seat taken?" Dr. Ackles looked down at me, my mouth filled with food. I tried to chew and swallow quickly so I could inform him that Misty was sitting there. But before I could tell him, he pulled the chair out and plopped himself in the seat. "Splendid!" He sounded completely delighted with himself as he opened his lunch bag and took out a sandwich. The thing about shifters is we have preternatural senses. Before he could even open the bag the smell of fish and mayonnaise assaulted my nostrils, causing my face to scrunch up in disgust. He didn't seem to notice as he opened the bag and took a large bite out of his tuna fish sandwich.

"So, Adeline, are you originally from Montana?" He smiled. Spittle and mayonnaise dribbled down his chin and pickles clung to the crevices of his teeth. I had to fight the urge to gag.

"No. I'm not from here. Will you excuses me? I have to get back to my patients." I pushed my chair back from the table and made a move to get up when his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

"Lunch is not quite over. Surely you have a few minutes to humor me?" His grip was stronger than I expected, and his hands held an unusual chill. I stared unblinking at his hand on my wrist, before slowly bringing my eyes to meet his.

"If you are smart, you'll take your hand off of me right now." My tone was low and lethal. I could feel my wolf trying to push her way out. The cold smile that shown on his face made my stomach drop.

"Well, I guess I'm not very smart." Just as I was about to lose my temper, Misty came barreling into the room. She stood rooted to the spot as her eyes flickered between me and Ackles.

"What's going?" She said slowly. Ackles released my wrist from his bruising grip.

"Nothing, Dr. Pritchett. Adeline and I were just having lunch together. Isn't that right, Adeline?" His eyes spoke the words he refused to say out loud, "Agree or I'll find you in the parking lot".

"Right. I'll see you later Collin." I grabbed Misty's hand and raced quickly from the room. It wasn't that I was afraid of Ackles. It was my temper of which I was afraid. If he continued with his behavior, I couldn't guarantee his safety.

Once in my office, I let out the breath I had been holding. "Addy, what was that about?" Misty said, her voice laced with concern.

"Nothing. Just Ackles being Ackles." Her scrutinizing gaze told me she didn't believe me, but she let it go.

"So, I spoke with Stacy. She's scattering your afternoon patient load amongst the rest of the providers. I told her you had an emergency and was too distraught to come to her. Hurry up before she comes to check on you." I smiled appreciatively at her. I leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Yes, mother." She giggled at me. I grabbed my things and headed out the door. I hated leaving, but Misty was right. I needed to go home and sleep.

I stopped at the pharmacy on my way home, filling the prescription Misty insisted on giving me. Once I finally reached my little cottage and got myself inside, I kicked my shoes off. What do I do now? I guess I could bathe. I went into the bathroom and turned on the water so it would fill the large jacuzzi style tub. I dumped rose oil and vanilla bubble bath into the water. I stripped off my clothes and stared at my naked reflection in the mirror. My body had filled out well as I got older. My black hair flowed in waves midway down my back. My arms and legs were lean and muscular. My large, perky breast sat proudly above my small trim waist. My hips widened into my heart shape ass. The most prominent feature of my body was my eyes. They were a startling vibrant green. Neither of my parents have greens eyes, nor do they have dark hair. My brothers used to tease me, telling me I was adopted. They were both younger replicas of my father. Six feet five-inch-tall boulders with sun-kissed blonde hair and one had blue eyes, the other had brown. They were near mirror images of each other. The only way to tell them apart were the eyes.

I shook my head and stepped over to the tub, lowering myself into the hot suds. The heat from the water soaked away the aches and pains from the day. I began to doze lazily as I enjoyed the comfort of the bath water. I decided drowning wasn’t the way I wanted to go. So I pulled the stopper and got out of the tub. I wrapped myself in a fluffy lavender bath towel and dragged my feet out of the bathroom. It felt like I was on auto pilot as I made my way through my bedroom and fell onto my bed. I snuggled into the covers and grabbed a sleeping pill from the tiny navy-blue bottle on my nightstand. I popped it in my mouth and swallowed it down with a sip of water. "Here goes nothing..."