All Chapters of Worthless No More • Alpha's Treasure •: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The morning began crisp and clear, but warmed quickly. Thursdays had always been his favorite days to come to the art park, ever since he was a kid, and he kept up with the same ritual of starting the day with an ice cream cone and throwing a few pennies into the fountain for a wish.He perused a few of the artists’ tents, admiring the ease of which they applied their talents, then paused at the edge of the square under a white flowering dogwood while he finished his cone.That’s when he saw her. Her dark hair was in a loose braid, slung over her left shoulder. Her steps seemed cautious, as if this coming here alone wasn’t something she was used to. At first, she seemed overwhelmed at the bustling activity around the fountain and stayed toward the edge, stopping to admire a few of the sculptures. She stopped at his favorite one, a rust-colored piece made of concentric circles on the same axis, each ring set at a slightly different angle than the one before it. The metal was hammered

They deftly wove their way through the throng of people. Samantha expected it to be more difficult than it was. While the people around her didn’t magically part to let them pass, it was like they shifted just enough, and just in time to not touch her as she walked. Of course, for spatial awareness, she guessed there was a larger man behind her so that may have been the cause.The little bistro sat in the corner of a building, next to a small alleyway. Outside on the sidewalk were four metal tables with chairs around them, filled with people. She walked inside with the man still right behind her. A quick glance showed her a table for two right under the front window. She aimed for that, and took her sunglasses off on the way there, then pulled her chair out slightly and sat down.She looked up at him with a pleased smile on her face, happy they didn’t have to wait or go somewhere else. He smiled back as he sat as well, but she saw a strain in his eyes, which were weirdly focused lookin

The two sitting at the table went through standard introductions. Names. Superficial information. Daniel told her he was here indefinitely for business.Then, the conversation turned to the guy in the park, specifically, why Daniel intervened. She looked like someone who could use a little help. He didn’t want to scare her, but he did want her to take the level of threat the guy posed seriously. The man had already passed by the bistro once while she was hiding behind her menu. Daniel pretended not to notice. Daniel explained that the man seemed to have a calculated interest in her because she was alone and hesitant, and that with the show of confidence and eating lunch with him, the guy would back off before too long. Daniel saw the man had moved to the other side of the street for another pass, t

“I came to warn her. Julie.”“Warn her about what?” Daniel demanded.“I came to warn her about you! That you’re dangerous! A werewolf!” The shifter said in a whispered shout, looking both ways up and down the alley, either looking for help or a witness. Maybe both.“She’s human,” Daniel rumbled. “She wouldn’t believe you. Besides, I’m not near the danger to her that you are.”The shifter gave that odd, barking laugh again. “You’re a danger to everyone around you, Alpha. Just by being what you are. A stain on the world. A curse. Unnatural.” He tried to spit in Daniel’s face, but Daniel dodged it and pressed heavily into him again. But it didn’t stop the hyena’s laughter.Daniel’s jaw tensed. Cursed. That word again. The shifters - maybe not all, but the prejudice was common - saw them as a blight upon the earth, but Daniel believed it was out of preconceived fear and resentment. Since the werewolf curse was a thing of magic, it turned simple humans that the shifters originally had cl

Daniel let the events of the morning wash over him, and let the stress and sweat disappear down the drain just like his shampoo and soap.Instead, he focused on his incredible luck at running into her today. Samantha. He had a name to the face. It made her more real, more concrete. Instead of being plagued by visions of an ethereal beauty with haunted eyes, he now had memories of her voice, emotions, mannerisms, and the feel of her hand in his.He waited for her inconspicuously. Since they’d come from the park, he didn’t know where she’d left her car. When she left the lawyer’s, he didn’t see the confident square of her shoulders indicating someone was taking back the power to reclaim their life. He saw worry and hesitant insecurity, causing him to worry.Which caused him to worry.