The Alpha Vampire's Proposal: An Mpreg Paranormal Romance (Flickering Shadows Book 1) Read online

  The Alpha Vampire’s Proposal

  An Mpreg Paranormal Romance

  Colbie Dunbar

  Copyright © 2019 Colbie Dunbar

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover Designed by Silver Heart Publishing

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Alexander

  2. Declan

  3. Alexander

  4. Declan

  5. Alexander

  6. Declan

  7. Alexander

  8. Declan

  9. Alexander

  10. Declan

  About the Author

  Also by Colbie Dunbar

  One

  Alexander

  Alexander balanced on a sturdy branch, his back leaning against the tree trunk while his long legs stretched out in front of him. He tucked an arm behind his head and the furrowed bark chafed his skin as a gentle breeze had the boughs shifting and sighing.

  The alpha inhaled the pungent scent of pine needles while he brought one hand to his lips and dragged on a cigarette pinched between thumb and forefinger. He exhaled, blowing smoke rings into the cool night air and observed them twirling and drifting into the darkened sky above him.

  The nicotine rush and the buzzing sensation in his lungs was one of the few pleasures remaining from his mortal existence, though with his heightened sense of smell, the acrid aroma was both oppressive and irresistible.

  He missed so many aspects of human life. The thrill of throwing back a drink after a long day in court was lost to him. He still bought a bottle of scotch every week, swirling the liquid in a vintage squat glass and inhaling the fragrance as he puzzled over a strategy for his current trial. He never gave up hope that something inside him would trigger a memory and he could once more savor the burn as he tossed the alcohol down this throat.

  But like the anticipation of tasting food as it was cooking, mingling with non-vampires in public without enduring raised eyebrows and backward glances, relishing the sweat that slid over his body after a run, and the delicious drifting sensation just before sleep claimed him, those mortal experiences were part of his past.

  A pounding of feet over the forest floor accompanied by a familiar odor and a rustling at the base of the tree had him crinkle his nose. He ignored the unwelcome intrusion until a gravelly voice behind him interrupted his thoughts.

  “Those things will kill you.”

  The shrill laugh that followed grated on Alexander and had the nerve endings on his skin tingling—and not in a good way.

  “You’re wasting your time pretending to have a sense of humor.”

  The newcomer sat up straight and lifted his chin as he hissed, “You’ve been summoned.”

  “How nice. I have a fan club.” The alpha took another puff of the cigarette and studied the glowing tip as it flared in the darkness. “But being popular has its downside.”

  “Your brother wants to see you immediately.”

  Alexander clenched his teeth as he spat out the words, “He is my half-brother.” Don’t let him get to you. The alpha peered at the man hovering at his shoulder, who was wearing a white suit and a red bow tie. His disheveled light brown hair was flecked with gray and his lips curled into a permanent sneer.

  His companion made a face as the alpha flicked a speck of dirt from the expensive woolen fabric. “Victor, should you be climbing trees in that getup? I’d hate to see you ruin it.”

  “I always dress to impress. And…” He pointed at Alexander’s jacket, ripped jeans and sneakers. “…it’s better than that scruffy outfit you’re wearing.” He prodded the wrinkled leather jacket. “This is older than me.”

  “Not possible.” The alpha turned away from the omega. “Besides I’d rather be comfortable than a cliché.” He tugged on his companion’s bow tie and the elastic snapped back. “Tut tut. A pre-tied. I expected better.” Fake! Just like him.

  Victor snarled, revealing an impressive overbite. “You’re wasting your time.” He jerked his head toward the open window, where linen curtains billowed in the wind.

  Alexander resumed smoking and ignoring the omega, fixed his attention on the regular breathing coming from behind the drapes.

  “He’ll never accept you.”

  “I’m here to watch over him. Nothing more. Until his time comes.”

  “You’re not fooling anyone—especially not your brother and me.”

  The alpha flicked the cigarette in Victor’s direction. The word ‘brother’ irritated him. “With your superb investigative skills, you could be a detective. Oh, wait, you were—once.”

  Victor’s nostrils flared as the ash smudged the white material on one sleeve, and he reminded Alexander of a horse snorting. The alpha paused, half expecting the omega to paw the branch with a non-existent hoof. “And since when are you and Ambrose a pair? Has he made you the coven’s second in command? Taken you as his mate? Granted you a place on the council?”

  The alpha raised a brow and waited. Heavy, ragged breathing from his companion punctuated the night air. “No? A word of warning, Victor. No matter how many times you let him fuck you, he’ll never claim you. You will not be his mate.”

  “You know nothing of our relationship.”

  The alpha leaned forward and whispered, “There is no relationship. He’s using you.”

  Victor’s clenched fist struck Alexander’s jaw. For a moment, as his knuckles rested on the alpha’s chin, the omega’s eyes widened as if he regretted his rash move.

  Alexander counted the seconds, his breathing even and unhurried, until his companion removed his hand. “Touched a nerve, did I?”

  Victor avoided the alpha’s gaze and sniffed. “At least I do not lust after a human.”

  “You confuse concern for desire.”

  “Oh, please.” The omega ticked off items on his fingers. “You have no beating heart, and no soul, and his wolf ancestors were our natural enemies.”

  “Your soul may have deserted you, but mine is, and always has been, immortal.” The alpha patted his chest. “I lost much of who I was, but not that.”

  “You’re a fool.”

  Those might be the first truthful words he’s spoken. The alpha’s eyes flicked toward the open window as the room’s occupant mumbled and moaned in his sleep. “I was there.” He could not rid himself of the niggling belief that he bore some responsibility for what had happened.

  The omega sat up straight and snorted, “You did it?” For the first time, his eyes sparkled and instead of a permanent scowl, his lips curved into something resembling a smile.

  He’s out for revenge.

  Victor rubbed his hands together. “Now that would be a bedtime story to soothe the little human omega’s aching heart. Not to mention illegal.”

  “You’d love to see me hauled before the council and punished.”

  “Pfft. My only concern is upholding the law.”

  “I’m aware of you making excuses for Ambrose’s nasty habits. You may be the keeper of his secrets, but you forget, I’ve known him since I was born. You can’t fool me.”

  Victor shrugged and fingered his bow tie.

  A gasp from the other side of the window had Alexander fling the cigarette away, and he leaned forward.

  “That omega’s scent is intoxicating.” Victor leaned closer to the window
and inhaled. “You know he is fair game after…”

  The alpha wrapped one hand around Victor’s throat, and the pair fell to the ground, landing nimbly on their feet. Alexander squeezed, and his fingers dug into the omega’s flesh, making pale indentations on his throat.

  While Victor did not need oxygen to survive, the agony of having fingers tightening around his throat was very real. As an alpha, Alexander’s strength was far superior to his companion’s.

  Victor’s eyes bulged, and he batted at the alpha with his stubby fingers while Alexander leaned out of reach and avoided his pathetic punches. The alpha’s unblinking green eyes observed his companion’s arms flailing as air was expelled from his lungs.

  But the alpha wanted to humiliate the man whose unswerving devotion toward Ambrose reminded him of a puppy following his master. He raised his arm so Victor was suspended a foot above the ground, and the omega’s legs dangled like those of a man with a noose round his neck.

  Victor’s gagging turned Alexander’s stomach, and he glanced away. Now what? An image of his half-brother berating him for tormenting the omega had him rethink his little stunt. Though inviting his sibling’s anger was an everyday occurrence the alpha swatted away like a fly, he wasn’t in the mood to listen to one of Ambrose’s lectures. Victor isn’t worth the irritation. And with a sigh, he dropped the sniveling lump onto the grass.

  The omega got to his knees, clutching his throat as he panted and gasped. “You’ll pay for that.”

  “Touch him,” Alexander nodded toward the house, “and I’ll make sure your body burns until gray ash is all that remains.”

  “He is not one of us. There should be a law that forbids us from mating with a human.”

  “Is that what you think I want?”

  “Isn’t it? Why else would you sit outside his bedroom night after night, mooning over him like a lovesick teenager.”

  “Can’t imagine you’d remember what it’s like to be a teen.”

  The omega spat on the grass and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “You have to stop mourning your mortal existence, Alexander. That’s why you’re fascinated with him. He represents something you’ll never have again. But if you accepted your fate, you’d discover this life is much richer than a feeble human one.”

  “Wow! The great Victor sprouting homespun philosophy.”

  “Your irreverent attitude to me, Ambrose and the coven will be your downfall.”

  “I’m so scared. Run along now and tattle to my half-brother about me misbehaving. And say I’ll meet him after dawn.”

  Victor scrambled to his feet, his messy hair flopping over his eyes and his white suit smeared with dirt. He spat at Alexander before bounding off between the pine trees. The alpha took a deep breath, shimmied up the tree and resumed his position.

  While the quarrel with Victor was irrelevant, the omega’s words gnawed at the alpha. He was protective of the human on the other side of the wall, but only because he had witnessed the event that changed the man’s life.

  In the distance, forked lightning streaked across the sky and bathed the spiked treetops in a silver glow. There’s a storm coming.

  His eyes shifted, and he peered into the darkened space. The curtains were slightly ajar, allowing a sliver of moonlight to illuminate the floor, and though his eyesight was far better than mortals, he couldn’t see through solid wood. But Victor was right. The man who lay tossing and turning in the bed had the most enticing aroma he’d ever encountered.

  Why am I here?

  Two

  Declan

  Declan flung himself upward, eyes bulging and fingers fisting the bedclothes as an unseen terror choked him and forced oxygen from his lungs. Sweat trickled over his forehead while his heart hammered against his ribs. With a hand on his heaving chest and the other raking through his untidy dark hair, he gulped in mouthfuls of air, gasping and panting until his lungs expanded and the bad dream faded.

  But when he flipped on the lamp and the room came into focus, his head slumped forward. One nightmare was a fantasy, which he could shrug off, while another was reality and his constant companion. It strangled him while taunting him to give up on himself, but he had to keep going. He couldn’t give in to the darkness.

  A low rumble in the distance had him glance at the open window. The cream linen curtains he and Ian had bickered about swirled and lifted as a breeze tickled them. There’s a storm coming.

  When the pair were choosing curtain fabric, his mate had wanted something which blocked out the light, but Declan insisted linen matched the high vaulted ceiling in their turn-of-the-century home. The omega had won the argument, and he blinked away tears as he recalled Ian giving in and kissing his head.

  He tried to muster the alpha’s aroma but his failed efforts had tears streaking over his cheeks. So much had been taken from him and now he couldn’t conjure up his mate’s scent.

  As his chest shuddered with involuntary sobs, he screamed into the pre-dawn darkness, “Why me?” Grabbing a pillow, he smothered his cries while inhaling the comforting floral scents of laundry detergent and fabric softener.

  His body spasmed as he took one jagged breath after another, gulping air through his open mouth while hot, salty tears spilled from his eyes and dripped over his chin. The savage pain that crushed his chest and mind sliced through him, leaving scars he would carry forever.

  When his heart-wrenching wails subsided, he lay spread-eagled on the bed, his energy evaporating along with his cries.

  It had been weeks since he’d broken down. Though still shrouded by grief, a glimmer of hope snuck through the cloud that surrounded him. While he still held tight to Ian, he nudged and elbowed the tiny pinpricks of light making them larger every day. Though he would always carry his mate with him, he yearned for a time when memories of the alpha made him laugh and there were more good days than bad.

  Leaning over to the bedside table, he pulled a T-shirt from the drawer and buried his nose in it. He’d rescued it from the laundry hamper the day his life took an unexpected detour, and now it lay beside him as he slept. He’s always with me.

  His pulse slowed as he inhaled Ian’s fragrance. It calmed him, but his tear-stained cheeks left damp blotches on the frayed cotton material. A faint smile flickered across his face as he recalled the alpha insisting on wearing the shirt even though it was falling to pieces.

  Declan closed his eyes. His breathing quietened, and his chest rose and fell in rhythmic repetitions. He cuddled Ian’s T-shirt, and his mate’s aroma wrapped itself around him, protecting and comforting him.

  But as sleep beckoned, a violent scratching from outside had him leaping out of bed and grabbing a poker from the fireplace. He held it above his head while tiptoeing toward the window. Wrenching the drapes to one side, his heart jolted and he took a step back as spindly pine needles clawed the glass.

  “Fuck!” The omega exhaled, and the poker slipped from his fingers onto a circular rug. He wiped his forehead with the back of one hand and took a sip of water while making a mental note to get the tree trimmed.

  He strolled toward the bathroom and on his return, he paused and sniffed. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered between the rippling curtains. Along with the smell of ozone that heralded the impending storm, there was another odor. The omega scrunched his nose and took deep breaths as he padded toward the window. What is that? Is something burning?

  He stuck his head outside and a dim, coppery glow from what appeared to be a cigarette lay at the foot of the tree. Cold shivers ran up and down his spine. He blinked and wiped sleep from his eyes. He tried leaning out further but his huge belly got in the way. Someone’s here.

  As his fingers clutched the window sill, he peered through the pre-dawn gloom at the garden, beyond to the road, and past that to the lake glittering in the moonlight. When he glanced back at the grass, the red tip had vanished as though it had been snuffed out. Or was it my imagination?

  The omega locked the window and drew the drapes as the
grandfather clock downstairs chimed the hour. Five o’clock. He glanced at the rumpled bed, but sleep had deserted him, and he shuffled downstairs and made tea.

  Reclining in a rocking chair beside a bay window—his favorite place in the house—he clasped one hand around the mug while the other cradled his bump. The little one inside him responded with a fluttering movement, and Declan hummed a lullaby.

  His lower lip trembled, and he hugged a cushion to his bump as the gravity of bringing up a child alone weighed on him. A kick against his ribcage had him winching. He stroked his burgeoning belly and whispered, “Only another few weeks, my love. Go back to sleep.”

  The roar of a car’s ignition had the omega sit up straight. He heaved himself out of the chair and pressed his face against the glass. Blurred tail lights winked at him through the trees as the car took off.

  The closest neighbor was half a mile away and the house was at the end of the road. It overlooked the small lake that was popular in the summer, though the narrow pebbly beach where most visitors gathered was around the other side.

  Occasionally, high school kids snuck into his and Ian’s boat house to smoke weed and get drunk. He knew most of the usual suspects, but this was a school day, so he doubted it’d be them.

  He poked his head outside the front door and inhaled the fresh scent of pine needles. Words of warning rang in his head, but he ignored them and grabbed a flashlight.

  He and Ian had chosen the old house for its location—both for the view of the lake and its isolation. The pair were in the house more than most couples as they both worked from home. Declan was an accountant and his mate had been a family therapist. A granny flat at the back of the property, with a separate entrance, had been his office.