The Alpha’s Dangerous Obsession

Anthony The room was full of dragon shifters and humans, mingling uncomfortably. My parents had done exactly as I’d asked, thank goodness. The decorations weren’t over the top, and they’d even hired a DJ. My best friend’s voice cut through my introspection. “Give it up!” I looked around, searching for Skye. I’d been looking for her for half the party. I hadn’t seen her since it started, but I’d been pulled aside several times by members of my clan, congratulating me on my sixteenth birthday. Normally these parties were clan only, but I’d insisted my human friends be invited as well. We lived as humans, in a human town, working jobs with them and going to school with them. It wasn’t fair that I couldn’t have all my friends at my party. When I’d put my foot down, my parents had caved. That gave me hope for the future of my parents’ acceptance of humans. I needed them to be open-minded. Moving around the large rec room, I smiled and talked to clan members. Several wished me luck on my upcoming first shift, though they did it quietly, so they didn’t freak out the human guests. I hoped this party would help with all the humans in Bluewater Coast thinking our clan was some sort of religious cult. Our clan knew about the rumors. That’s what made them stick so close together, ironically. They should’ve mingled more with the townsfolk instead of avoiding them. They’d made their own beds. I was going to be alpha someday, and Dad was always telling me to start thinking like one. So, I’d put my foot down about the party. If I hadn’t been able to invite my best friend, Skye, I would’ve been pretty upset. I lost track of her voice as I moved around the room, so I opened my senses to seek her out. She was always easy for me to find, filtering out everyone else until her annoyed voice reached my ears. “Will you find someone else to bug?” “But I like bugging you.” Jace’s voice bugged me. I rounded the corner to find Skye leaned against a wall with Jace beside her. I had to force myself not to growl at him. He had his arm up by her head and his typical cocky smile plastered on his smug face. “Shove off.” At least I kept my voice out of a growl, but Jace definitely heard the warning. He didn’t mean any harm, but I couldn’t stand him being in Skye’s space. Jace gave me a confused look but laughed. “Whatever, Ant.” He shot Skye a sly look. “See ya later.” She gave him a finger-wave as she shook her head. I was glad she found him annoying. It would’ve all been much worse if she’d found his flirtations charming. I didn’t speak for a few moments as Jace crossed the room. Another member of our clan, Tessa, stopped him. They spoke for a few seconds before both of them looked at me and Skye. When they saw I already had my gaze on them, they looked away very quickly. So Jace had picked up on the threat in my voice. What a gossip he was. He hadn’t waited a full minute before blabbing. “So.” I turned back to Skye and put my clanmates out of my mind. We’d been raised together, having been born around the same time. They’d give me plenty of s**t about this later, I wasn’t going to worry about it right now. “Are you having fun?” She shrugged. “I guess. It’s a little annoying, seeing all the catty girls vying for your attention.” I agreed with that. I didn’t care for the fake girls at our high school, but I’d wanted the party to be open for everyone in town, so of course, they’d come. They followed me around campus, too, every chance they got. “How about we go dance and take your mind off the jealous girls.” Skye turned her big green eyes up and stared at me with a smirk on her face. “I don’t see that they have much to be jealous of, but sure. Let’s dance.” I wanted to take her hand, but we didn’t have that sort of relationship, as much as I wished we had. If those other girls knew how I really felt about Skye, they’d have more than enough to be jealous of. When we got to the middle of the dance floor, I put my hands on her hips and thanked my lucky stars that the music had slowed to something we could sway to, instead of me trying to look cool dancing to a fast song. With every movement of our hips, I snuck a little closer, and my feelings for Skye settled deeper and deeper. I’d had a crush on her for years. Feeling drawn to her was how I ended up befriending her and led to us becoming best friends. As the years passed, it only got stronger. But now, touching her, the romantic song, her body so close to mine, something clicked into place deep inside me. When she turned her head up to look at me, I stepped close, pressed my body to hers, and moved my right hand to the nape of her neck. She had her shiny brown hair up in a complicated twist, leaving her shoulders and neck bare. Only two spaghetti straps held her pink tank top up, something I’d thanked my lucky stars for when she’d walked in. “Anthony,” she whispered. Her plump lips parted slightly, drawing my gaze until all I could see or hear or smell was Skye. Her soft mouth. Her breathy voice. I moved my face closer to hers and inhaled her scent, vanilla and something fruity. Citrus, maybe. She curved her neck, accepting my advance. The sound of her pulse ricocheted in my ears. My heart pounded in my chest and my dragon roared his happiness that we were going to kiss Skye, finally. I hadn’t shifted yet, but I’d always been connected to my dragon. Only our witch’s blessings kept us from shifting as children, which could be traumatic for anyone who might happen upon a toddler shifting into a small, vicious little dragon. As soon as my lips touched hers, a burning sensation began on my arm. I knew what it was but ignored it in favor of continuing the kiss. I didn’t push it with my tongue or anything. I wasn’t sure how many guys Skye had kissed in her life, but I didn’t want to freak her out now, this first time I got to taste her. The burn on my arm intensified and I pulled back, biting back a hiss of pain. Pulling Skye into my arms, I hugged her close and continued to sway, giving me a chance to look at my arm over her shoulder. Sure enough, on my inner right forearm, the faintest outline of the fated mate tattoo had begun to form. I grinned down at the mark, which would be invisible to humans, but the other dragons would be able to see it once it came in darker or if they looked closely. I swayed, absolutely stunned by this new development. Skye shifted in my arms, sliding her hands up my back and resting her head on my shoulder. Her movement pulled me out of my astonishment enough to realize the other dragons in the room had picked up on my change in energy. They were all stiff, looking around as if for a sound only they could hear. If they didn’t chill, all the humans would notice their identical behavior. They were anxious, unsure what this energy was. Shit. It was me, and it was good, but they didn’t know that. I wasn’t alpha yet, so the connection wasn’t the same. If I’d already been alpha, they would’ve known that I was experiencing a happy event. Skye pulled back and looked up at me. “Are you okay?” she asked. Something caught her eye, and she looked around the room. “What’s going on?” I gaped at her silently, without the first damn clue how to answer her. “I’ve got to go,” I whispered. “Sorry.” Panic bloomed in my chest. If I didn’t get my emotions under control, the clan was going to move into defense mode. This was something I’d trained against, but seeing my mate mark had broken through all my defenses. As the alpha heir, I had to control my emotions. It would be even more paramount as alpha, but at least then they would’ve known what was going on without me having to call a meeting or something stupid like that. Darting toward the kitchen, around the corner from where I’d found Skye, and down a long hall, I sighed in relief when I spotted my mom and made a beeline for her. “What’s going on?” she hissed when she saw my face. I opened my mouth to explain, but she grabbed my hand and yanked me toward her. “Oh, honey.” Her voice was overjoyed. “Mitch!” she called. My dad appeared from behind her. He’d probably been bugging the caterers in the kitchen, sneaking extra sweets. And Mom had likely been on her way to catch him doing it. “What’s wrong?” Dad asked. “I sensed the pack getting upset.” “Mitch, look.” Mom tugged on my arm, nearly knocking me off balance. When Dad saw the glow, which had begun to brighten, his face broke into a wide grin. “My boy! Who is it?” He was delighted to see I’d found my fated mate. He wasn’t going to be delighted for long. “It’s Skylar,” I said in a low voice after looking around to make sure we were alone in the hallway. Both of my parents’ faces paled as the implications of the name I’d said sunk in. “A human?” My mother dropped my arm and recoiled. “That can’t be.”