Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
She didn’t like this guy. She didn’t even know his name, but she had a feeling her sister would love him. Dorothy seemed to love any guy who was even a little rebellious. The older man took a couple of steps, and the moment he was close to the one who wouldn’t leave her alone, she saw he completely surrounded him. He was taller, larger, and overall bigger than anyone else.
She couldn’t help but take a step back herself.
“Do you want to think again about what you said to me?” he asked.
Eloise didn’t quite know what was going on and she looked back and forth between them.
“You know, there doesn’t have to be any trouble. I’m just leaving.” Rather than stick around to see what was happening, and possibly get blamed, she left. Stepping out into the warm night air, she headed toward the truck.
“So, I take it all men are off your radar?”
She stopped as she got to her truck and spun around to see the older of the two men less than a foot away from her. He’d not made a sound when leaving the bar, and she couldn’t help but glance behind to see if he’d hurt anyone in his need to get to her.
“No, men are on my radar…”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re not interested in William?” he asked.
“Who’s William?”
The older man smirked. “The little wolf back in the bar with his tail between his legs.”
“I don’t date wolves,” Eloise said.
“You don’t?”
“Nope. Never have, never will.”
He continued to stare at her and she was tempted to climb into her truck and take off. “What?” she found herself asking instead.
“You’re the first woman I’ve seen turn good old Willy down.”
“Well, then I’m sure good old Willy will find it easy to find a replacement.”
“You’re got a lot of fire inside you,” he said.
It was strange, as much as she wanted to leave, she couldn’t help but be curious enough to stay.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s not. It’s nice to see a woman who doesn’t fall for the old charm, or every single pickup line in the book.”
Eloise smiled. It was strange but she liked that he’d complimented her. “You got a name?” she asked.
“You’re interested in my name?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Tell me yours.”
She gasped and then suddenly laughed. “I asked first.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be the guy standing out here, not knowing a lady’s name.”
It was wrong for her to be charmed, but she was. He was the first wolf that had truly made her smile.
“Eloise,” she said. “I’m Eloise Richards.”
She partly expected him not to reciprocate.
“Beau. Beau Alpha.”
“Alpha? That’s your name?”
“Beau Alpha is my name, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Eloise.”
He tipped his head in her direction and then without another word, turned and walked back into the bar.
****
It was refreshing to find a woman who didn’t fall for William’s crap. Beau had seen all the wolves working the women and even the men when the female wolves came out to play. None of them were subtle in using No Wolves Road as a place to enjoy themselves.
Beau liked to have a drink in Wayne’s bar after a long day of working his ranch. Over the years, he’d worked up quite the reputation for being a nasty alpha, and he was quite proud of it. Grumpy, mean, and not interested in joining the bullshit the other packs were up to.
He’d been his own man for a long time, and like his father before him, he’d never been interested in being part of a pack. It was considered strange for wolves not to gravitate toward a pack. There were rumors that some wolves went mad or completely feral. He was happy in his own company, but that didn’t mean others ignored him.
He owned the ranch, and the men and women that helped him run it were all wolves themselves. Some of them were outcasts and not really fit to be part of a pack. They didn’t play nicely with others. He was quite proud of his reputation and it meant a lot of packs didn’t want him around. There was also the fact that he wasn’t very friendly.
His father had taught him everything he knew, which meant how to protect his land and his pack from any potential threat, and he took it very seriously.
His horse, Mildred, stopped next to the fence and he climbed off, sniffing the air. There were no foreign scents and the fences were working. Standing alone in the warm morning air, he couldn’t help but think about his encounter with the blonde, Eloise. He’d seen her around town a few times and been tempted to approach her. She always seemed so busy, like last night. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her slow down.
He also knew he shouldn’t approach her because she was too young for him, and he promised himself he’d never devote himself to a human. In fact, he’d never devote himself to a woman. His father had taught him that women were only after a comfortable life. His own mother had left the ranch before Beau had turned three because life had gotten too hard for her.