An Alpha's Trust Read online

  An Alpha’s Trust

  Fated Mate: book 1

  Shannon Duane

  An Alpha’s Trust

  Copyright 2012 © Shannon Duane

  Cover Art Copyright © 2012 Laura Shinn

  Licensing Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with other people, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this ebook without purchasing it and it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  An Alpha’s Trust is a work of fiction.

  Though actual locations may be mentioned, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in the mind and imagination of the author. Similarities of characters or names used within to any person – past, present, or future – are coincidental except where actual historical characters are purposely interwoven.

  To view more of Shannon’s writing, please visit:

  http://shannonduane.yolasite.com.

  https://www.facebook.com/shannon.duane.98?ref=tn_tnmn

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my loving mother, Diana. Thank you first, for not killing me when I was a teenager and second, for being the woman I will always grow and aspire to be. Thanks also to my father who has given me the, sometimes, wonderful gift of insomnia without it I would have never created. I love you both more than you could ever know.

  Shanzo (your favorite)

  Don’t worry, I won’t tell.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Special Note from the Author:

  Sixty percent of all rapes in the United States go unreported leading it to being called the most under-reported violent crime. The most common reason for not reporting a rape is because it is a private or personal matter and fear of their assailant. Most police departments around the world have picked up on this and keep female rape victims assigned to female officers to make them feel more comfortable and to lessen their psychological trauma. Education and prevention are very important. If you feel like you have been sexually assaulted you should immediately go to the closest Emergency Room. Do not wash or change your clothes, try not to pee. Once in the ER the staff will place you in a room and notify the appropriate police officials and they will contact SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner). The police are there for your protection and will instruct you on how to proceed. An exam will be done and evidence collected so the suspect can be prosecuted. Keep yourself safe and protected.

  Education is a big part of prevention. You should take basic self-defense classes as well as be aware of your surroundings. If you are going on a first date make sure you give contact information to a friend or family member and try to stay in a group. Walk in well-lit and well-traveled areas, in pairs if possible. A tip that I always use is carrying mace. I walk alone to my car every night and before I leave the hospital I take out my keys and my mace. I would never hesitate to use it. Please, if you feel like you need more education on the matter I urge you to contact your local police department or go online.

  My personal favorite website for rape prevention and tips is: http://cityofdavis.org/police/investigations/rapeprev.cfm.

  Prologue

  “Oh, hell no, he didn’t!”

  Shana’s best friend Samantha ‘Sam’ became angry on her behalf. Ohh, her friend’s face got red and the vein in her forehead started to bulge.

  “Oh, yes he did. He called me up a couple days ago and told me I gave him an STD.” Shana could feel her anger re-surfacing with every admission. “Me! He knows damn well I was a virgin. It wasn’t too hard to miss my vaginal blood and groans of agony.” She thought dating an older guy with life experience would make for a gentle first time, but boy, was she wrong.

  “Did you kick his ass, Shana, or were you waiting for me to lend a hand?”

  See, that’s why everyone needs a best friend. They always know what to say to make you feel better. Instead of lecturing me on ‘violence not being a resolution’ Sam jumped right in as an accomplice. Gotta love a friend!

  “Nah, but I did break up with him. I told him I was too busy with working on weekends, graduating this year and cheerleading finals. I might have mentioned how he sucked in bed too. Oops.” It wasn’t a lie. Shana stayed very busy, but more important—he was an ass. “He didn’t take it well and told me I’d be sorry because ‘he’s a catch’.” Apparently he’s someone else’s catch, what with the STD and all. “He also said we belong together and he’s not gonna let me go that easily. That I belong to him.” Can you believe it? The nerve of some men. ‘Hey honey, I know I gave you an STD, but I’m sorry. What? You’re breakin’ up with me? Why?’ Uh, duh.

  “I hope he doesn’t get his hopes too high or become one of those stalkers.” Worry became evident in her tone.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. He’ll get over it in a heartbeat. Especially since we know he’s entertaining other...girls. He doesn’t need me. I’m still in high school and he’s taking college courses. I think I just stung his pride a bit by breakin’ up with him.”

  Shana wasn’t ugly, but if she were honest with herself, she wasn’t eye-catching either. Brown eyes, long brown hair that had blond streaks from competitive swimming and the sun. She stood at average height and build. Maybe a bit on the muscular side because of the cheerleading and swimming. Many people didn’t consider it a real sport, but it takes a lot of practice and heavy lifting of the smaller girls on the squad.

  Sam, however, was tall and lean with blue, almond-shaped eyes and long, naturally blond hair. Just what every girl dreams of. Bitch!

  “Want me to pick you up for practice?” Sam’s question jerked Shana out of her silent thoughts.

  “No, I have to leave right after if I want to make it to work tomorrow morning. The drive is killin’ me.” Shana drove an hour out of town for work.

  “Why don’t you just quit and you’d have a lot more time to hang out and practice? We’ll be getting ready for Nationals soon.”

  “Because I need to make money for gas and anything else I may want or need. It’ll be fine. In six months we’ll graduate and be off to college. See you at practice.”

  Shana waved over her shoulder and went home to change.

  * * * * *

  “Hey, Shana,” Sam said. “Isn’t that Ryan in the bleachers? What’s he doing here? I thought you broke it off. Did somethin’ change in the last couple hours?”

  “Hell yeah, I broke it off and I have no idea why he would show up, at cheer practice of all places.” Shana wasn’t worried, just plain ol’ irritated.

  “It’s kinda creepy, him showin’ up and all. Why is he smiling and waving? Is he slow or somethin’? Maybe you didn’t make yourself clear. Want me to go tell him to get lost?”

  Sam’s wicked smile made her giggle.

  “No, I’m a big girl and will handle this after practice. Maybe he just wants his CD’s back. Lord knows I don’t have anything else for him.” Shana planned to make him wait the whole hour ’til practice was over. She was still angry about the Chlamydia scare. “Just ignore him. Maybe he’ll go away.”

  “Whatever you say, girlfriend. Just so we’re clear, I’m available after practice if you want some help with a whoopin’.”

  Once again, gotta love my bloodthirsty friend.

  “No reason to bloody up our uniforms, but thanks all the same for the offer.”

  * * * * *

  After practice, as Shana walked to her car, she heard someone yell.

  “Hey, wait for me. I’ll walk you to your car. I wanna talk a minute.”

&
nbsp; The voice that once made her smile now made her want to vomit. “I guess, Ryan, but there really isn’t much left to say. We’re over.” Mind you, Shana really tried to keep her cool because this guy was really starting to piss her off. Jerk! She felt like they were beating a dead horse, over is over. Sure, he was cute and they would have made pretty prom pictures, but she’d rather not remember her prom as the day she actually got an STD. Some things were just not worth it for a pretty face.

  “I told you I was sorry. What more do you want from me, Shana?”

  She had never seen him this way, almost desperate.

  “As I told you before, Ryan, I don’t want anything from you. I just want to focus on school right now.” They were almost to her car. “I have your CD’s in my car and I’ll give ‘em back, okay?”

  “No, Shana, it is not okay.” He grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise. “We are not over and we will never be. You are mine and you best try really hard to remember that before I lose my temper.” His arms were wrapped tightly around Shana and she could feel him shaking.

  Well, shit! He looked crazed! Shana never saw him without his cool and confident mask. He made her more and more uncomfortable, and scared. She softened her voice in a last ditch effort to bail. “Ryan, I need you to let go so I can go to work. If there is something more I can do for you, we’ll have to talk about it later.”

  “Are you cheatin’ on me?” Venom dripped from every word. “‘Cuz if I find out you’re cheating, I’ll kill him.”

  “It would be extremely hard to cheat on you when we’ve broken up, Ryan.” Now Shana’s anger was getting the best of her. She was preparing for an inevitable fight. “Let me go!” She tried to yank her arm away.

  Ryan suddenly got a burst of speed and strength, spinning Shana as he moved forward. He pushed her against the car and pinned her with his body, his front to her back.

  “We are not through, Shana. I told you once and I’ll tell you again. You are mine! You belong to me. And after today, I will ensure that you never forget it.”

  “Get off me, Ryan. You’re hurting me and talkin’ crazy. Just go home and leave me alone.” Okay, now Shana became scared. She should have asked one of the guys to walk her to her car. Who knew Ryan could go from zero to crazy in such a short time?

  “Are you challenging me, Shana? Because if so, I accept. I’m gonna prove that you’ve made a mistake. No one else will want or care for you like I do. No one will kill for you.”

  As he finished his statement, he reached under her cheer skirt and started to tug her bloomers down.

  “Ryan, I’m serious. Stop right now! We’re in the school parking lot, for crying out loud.”

  Holy shit, how am I gonna get out of this?

  She tried to kick her legs back but missed and ended up tangled in her bloomers with the right ankle in one hole and the left knee in the other.

  “I’ll never stop, Shana. It’s best to learn right now that I’ll always take what I want. I want you and I’ll never stop coming for you.”

  She screamed when his erection pressed against her butt. What did he expect? She was shaking and scared but there was no way she was letting him do this to her without a fight. He grabbed her head and slammed it against the window of her car and she saw stars. The next thing she knew there was a burning pain in her vagina as he entered her. Shana cried as he whispered in her ear that he loved her and couldn’t live without her. She screamed again, so he covered her mouth with his hand and she took pleasure in biting him as hard as she could. Vaguely, Shana remembered hearing him shout “bitch” as he smashed her head into the car again.

  It was over in a matter of minutes. She felt dizzy and nauseous and her legs wouldn’t hold her. She fell to the asphalt next to her car.

  “It’s not over, my love. I’ll be back for you, always. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the cops can help you. We’re in a relationship and I have no idea what happened to your lip.”

  He walked away leaving Shana with a bloody lip and semen running down her leg. Shit, he didn’t use a condom.

  Shana drove home stunned. What should I do? Call the cops? Would they even believe me? Shana was a seventeen-year-old girl and everyone knew that she and Ryan had dated. She made the decision to ignore him, for now. If he showed up again, she'd call the cops. After all, he lived an hour away, by her work. He didn’t have a car, so how did he get to her practice in the first place?

  Decision made, Shana drove home and took the hottest shower possible. Then she went to the sporting goods store and bought her first can of mace which she attached to her keychain. She would be proactive and never let herself be put in that position again.

  Shana’s parents came home from work later that night and she told them that she and Ryan were no longer an item and he wasn’t taking it well. She told them not to answer the phone for the next couple of days in order to let him cool down. Shana tried, but she just couldn’t look into the face of her parents and tell them what happened. She felt ashamed and afraid. She called in sick to work because she was allowing herself a pity-me-day. But only one because earlier in the day she learned a valuable—if not painful—lesson.

  The next morning Shana slept in. When she woke, there were thirty new messages and about the same number of text messages on her cellphone. Uh oh. They started with apologies and nice words. They quickly turned aggressive and vulgar. All of them were from Ryan. She saved the messages, and texts, to replay for the police. She needed proof to provide to the police in order to keep him away.

  Her parents left on a weekend trip they planned for months in advance, leaving her feeling vulnerable. Shana no longer believed that Ryan would just move on. Dammit, I made the wrong decision by not calling the authorities. She swallowed what pride she had left and called the non-emergency police line and told them she wanted an officer to come to her home so she could report a stalker. The police gave her an incident number and said they would send an officer out as soon as possible.

  Feeling better, Shana went to the kitchen to have breakfast and wait for the officer to arrive.

  Standing in the kitchen was none other than Shana’s greatest fear. An angry Ryan clutching his cell phone in a death grip. Damn, I left the kitchen door unlocked again!

  “You haven’t been answering my calls, love.”

  She quickly lied. “I slept in; I just woke up.” She tried to back out of the kitchen. Knowing her mace was in the other room she went for her purse, if she could just get to it.

  “Lies! I heard you whispering in the other room on the phone. Were you talking to your new boyfriend?” he yelled, charging toward her.

  Shana turned to run out of the room as Ryan pushed her from behind. Her momentum propelled her forward and she hit her head on the kitchen counter. Lights out.

  She woke disoriented with Ryan’s weight on top of her, pinning her to the cold tile floor. Ryan was having sex with her while she was unconscious. Sick bastard. She acted like she was still out, waiting for the moment to strike back.

  “I couldn’t live without this tight pussy. I lay awake at night thinking about fucking you. I know you love it.”

  He’s delusional, insane.

  She tried to close her legs and push him off but his rhythm became faster, and more forceful, before he went limp over her. She beat at him as best she could with his heavy sweaty body covering hers.

  Suddenly, there was a sound from outside. A knock on the front door proceeded by an authoritative voice.

  “Shana. Shana Dunn, are you home? It’s officers Decker and Ward. Can we come in?”

  Ryan bolted out the back door as Shana lay on the floor screaming.

  Finally the cops broke down the door and came in, but it was a little too late. She tried to keep yelling but it came out as a whimper. “I’m in here.”

  Two officers arrived, a man and a woman. When they came in and saw her, they pulled out their weapons. Shana said quickly, “He’s gone, ran out the back when you called out.” The ma
le officer bolted out the back door.

  The young-looking woman crouched down next to Shana, placing a warm hand on her shoulder and said, “Hello, Shana?” At Shana’s nod she continued. “I’m Officer Ward, Katie Ward.” She presented her hand to shake, and Shana simply stared. “We’re here now and will help you through this.”

  Why did I feel like this was only the beginning?

  Officer Ward called Shana’s parents and took her to the hospital where she was photographed, questioned and swabbed. It took hours.

  The male officer, who’d arrived with officer Ward at Shana’s house, was a large man named Brett Decker. He stayed at the house to dust for prints and question the neighbors. His eyes were kind, but when he showed up at the hospital to drive Shana home, she respectfully declined. Shana could no longer trust men, especially ones she didn’t know. Officer Ward ‘call me Katie’ drove her home and gave her a police business card, saying to call if she needed anything.

  The next five months passed in a blur. She was frequently anxious and fatigued. Shana graduated and performed at cheerleading Nationals in LA. They placed second. The squad went out to celebrate, but Shana just slept in her hotel room alone, always alone. Ryan was in jail awaiting trial and life became different. She experienced frequent panic attacks, felt sick to her stomach often and couldn’t keep down much food. She lost weight and friends, but couldn’t find it in herself to care. She went to weekly therapy sessions and was referred to another doctor so she could get anxiety medication and hopefully gain weight.

  Shana hadn’t talked to Sam for months, either. She effectively pushed everyone in her life away. Sam tried to visit and support her, but she had a hard time looking Sam in the eyes, knowing her friend would have done the right thing by notifying the police right away. Shana became paranoid that her old friends thought the rape was her fault.

  A couple of days after Shana’s appointment, Dr. Allen called her to come back into the office. She said it wasn’t necessary to bring her parents as it was just a follow up. Shana went into the exam room and laid down, feeling as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, knowing it was simply grief. Dr. Allen pressed on her belly and then brought out a large piece of equipment, squirted a cold gel on Shana’s belly saying she needed to ‘take a quick look.’ Shana thought she must have gas because she could feel bubbles in her tummy, weird.