Becoming Alpha - Aileen Erin (Alpha ...

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//-->ContentsChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveChapter Twenty-SixChapter Twenty-SevenChapter Twenty-EightChapter Twenty-NineChapter ThirtyChapter Thirty-OneChapter Thirty-TwoChapter Thirty-ThreeChapter Thirty-FourChapter Thirty-FiveChapter Thirty-SixChapter Thirty-SevenChapter Thirty-EightChapter Thirty-NineChapter FortyAcknowledgementsChapter OneThe noise from the party raging downstairs seeped into my quiet space. I palmedmy blue and red bouncy ball as I lay on my bed facing the wall. I threw it in the air afew times to watch the colors blur together before bouncing it off the wall above myheadboard.It was ten o’clock at night on a Thursday, and the party was just getting started. Myparents said that having people over tonight was unavoidable. We were leaving forCedar Ridge, Texas—a town too small to register on most maps—in a few days,and people wanted to say good-bye. Any other seventeen year old would probablybe excited about sneaking a drink or having an excuse to buy a new dress, but notme. I wasn’t much of a party person. Or a people person.With my stuff already packed up and the TVs unhooked, I was beyond bored. Still,there was no way I was going downstairs.I’d disappeared to my room as soon as the caterers arrived. Since then, I’d foundthe end of the internet. Apparently there were only so many .gifs a girl could enjoy.Unless I wanted to pay for crappy re-runs, I was out of things to watch and left withonly a bouncy ball to aid in my entertainment.It’d been a bad idea to pack everything but my essentials so early. Twenty-threesmall boxes were stacked against the side of my room. Most of them were filled withbooks. The only stuff that I’d left unpacked would fit into a small duffel bag and mybackpack.But a bouncy ball was better than nothing, and much better than braving the crowddownstairs. I threw it to the beat of the music and counted down the seconds. Thosewould turn into minutes, and then into hours, and then eventually back into quiet so Icould go to sleep. I was really looking forward to a fresh start. The sooner I could goto sleep, the sooner it’d be tomorrow.Only three more nights until Texas. Until everything would change. I smiled at thethought. This girl could use some change.A knock came from my door. “Bathroom’s downstairs,” I yelled. I held my breath as Ilistened, hoping they heard me.The knob turned. Shit. I should’ve locked it.I hopped off my bed. “Hey—”“Whatcha doin’, Tessa?” My older brother, Axel, swung open the door.I sat back down on the bed. He knew exactly what I was doing. “What do you want?”He leaned against the doorframe. He was well over half a foot taller than me, butthat didn’t mean much to my five feet and almost nothing inches. We had the samewavy dark brown hair—when he let his grow—and the same dark brown eyes,thanks to our Latina mom. “Dad wants you to come downstairs, even if it’s just for aminute. People are asking about you.”I made a face. “I’d rather not. Cover for me?”“What if I said a certain celeb was down there?” He waggled his eyebrows. “The onewho I saw you drooling over last week?”I threw the ball at him and he caught it, laughing. The jerk. Dad’s combo of PR workand law degree made him a hot commodity in Hollywood. He now had an enviablenumber of high profile clients. If I were more into the LA scene, then maybe theguest list would’ve been appealing.I chewed on my lip, unable to deny the draw of my latest actor crush—JamesMacAvoy. Nothing hotter than a guy with a sexy Scottish accent. “He’s reallydownstairs?”Axel nodded.I thought for a second and then sighed. “Still can’t do it. I don’t want to destroy theillusion that my favorite Scotsman is absolute perfection. What if he has a zit? Orspills something on himself? Or worse—what if I accidentally touch him and get avision? The dream will shatter. And that, big brother, is not worth it. Even if I waswilling to risk having a million other random visions, which I’m not.”He rolled his eyes at me and stepped into my room.“Hey!” I jumped off the bed. “Don’t come in here. This is a clean zone.” He knew Iwasn’t referring to the fact that I was a neat-freak, but that everything in the roomwas new. Touched by a minimal amount of people. It was my only defense. A quickbrush of skin-against-skin, or even skin-against-other-person’s-property, wassometimes enough to give me an in-depth view into their mind. As much as thatmight sound like fun, it was usually more icky than cool. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]