All Chapters of The Alpha's Fated Encounter: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

The second course was a bowl of clams with toasted bread in a wine and garlic sauce. At that point, the ship had made the turn to head out into the open Adriatic Sea. Maddy and I watched the scenery glide by and enjoyed another glass of wine. The entree was a lamb chop in rosemary cream sauce with a type of potato dumpling similar to gnocchi. Maddy moaned as she ate. I was less vocal about my enjoyment.Dessert was something called Kremsnite. The server explained that it was a traditional Croatian dish of Chantilly cream, vanilla custard, and puff pastry. It was delicious. They had it timed perfectly. The final course came out right as the boat turned toward the west to start heading back, which gave us all a great view of the sunset.Maddy slid her hand slid across the table and took hold of mine. “Thank you, Nico. This was amazing.”I grinned back at her. “Glad you enjoyed it. I’ll be honest. It was better than I thought it would be.”“I don’t know how it could be better.”Once the

He crouched so he was eye-level with me, a look of anxious worry on his face. “Maddy? Are you totally sure you’re up for this?”“Yep,” I lied. “Nervous, I guess. As you said, I’ll be fine.”He nodded and helped me out of the car, but I could see the wary look in his eyes. I walked over to join the others, Nico following behind. Sebastian was signing some papers while Felipe and Tiago were hauling the gear toward the small boat we’d rented. Nico headed toward the small office at the edge of the dock to get the keys.After giving the clipboard back to the rental guy, Sebastian shook the guy’s hand. The man headed back toward the truck he’d come in. Sebastian glanced at me and pursed his lips. He looked worried. “Maddy, you don’t look good.”“Thanks, you’re pretty hot yourself, big guy.”Ignoring my jibe, he said, “We haven’t even set foot on the boat yet, and you already look seasick. What’s going on?”I shook my head. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. I… I’ve never dived before. I think

I glanced back at the others and saw Nico holding up the okay sign. I nodded and swam toward the opening. I was more careful, wary of what other nasty things might be down in the depths with us. The lights revealed an inclined pathway that led deeper into the cave. I tugged the rope for them to follow me and swam forward.Thankfully, the tunnel was more than wide enough., I’d already had to deal with my fear of snakes. I didn’t need claustrophobia to go along with that. The cave angled up until it was almost vertical. Then it abruptly opened into a massive chamber, free of water. My dive light reflected off wet stone and stalactites. As soon as we surfaced, my wolf started to whine. The magic in the cave was almost palpable.Once I swam to the edge, I climbed up onto the big shelf of rock. Like a whale beaching itself, I rolled out of the water and struggled to my feet. In moments, our gear was all piled on the ground beside the pool. Each of us had brought a dry bag with clothes and

“What the hell happened back there? Did you drink the vial?” I asked.She spun on me and flopped her arms in a dejected and beaten shrug. “At this point? I wish. Look at it again, Nico.”I grabbed my sodden pants from the pile of wet clothes and dug the vial out. The vial was still sealed with the stopper, the scroll inside protected. Once I pulled the cork out, the piece of paper slid easily onto my palm. The inside did not look like it had ever contained blood or any other liquid.“That’s all that was inside the damned thing. You’re gonna freaking love this,” Maddy growled, nodding toward the paper.I unfurled the slip of paper. My jaw almost hit the floor as I read.Sorry for the deception. I’m sure you understand what is at stake right now. If you are reading this, then the worst has come to pass for me and my family. You are the last of us and the only hope we have of stopping the usurpers. We had to have another safeguard in case they discovered how to get past the magical barri

MADDYThe world had gone insane. The entire flight home was buzzing with conversations about the alleged shifter crisis. That was nothing compared to what awaited us when we landed. I was packing up my personal bag when the pilot came on the intercom as we docked at our gate.“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I want to inform you of a possible security issue inside Tampa International. There may or may not have been a feral shifter inside the airport. The TSA, FAA, and DHS have informed us that they do not want passengers to remain on the plane but do want you to proceed with caution as you make your way to baggage claim and exit the airport.”I turned and saw Nico’s eyes widen in surprise and fear. The noise in the airplane doubled as conversations broke out everywhere. The flight attendants tried to calm everyone down, but the chaos was already happening. We all sat still as the entire plane nearly stampeded out onto the boarding bridge. Sebastian, Felipe, and Ti