Alpha Rolf's Haunted Mate

ADELE'S POV

The bar was almost empty by this time. There were just a few patrons left with one drunk guy who would soon be kicked out by Davey sooner than later.

I prepared my account and kept my tips in my purse. It has been a good day so far.

"Who's that slumming at the corner?" Davey asked me. He pointed a beefy finger at the drunk guy.

I shrugged, "Drunk Fella,"

"He's new here," I added.

I knew everyone that came into the bar from the town. This guy with his sandy-coloured hair and deep-rounded face wasn't from around here.

Davey flexed his wrists in preparation to boot him out. Experience taught us that drunk guys always started trouble when left alone so it was safer to kick them out early.

"I'm off," I said, patting his heavy shoulder.

He responded with a smile and a curt nod. Davey was a nice guy with few words. He was more of an action guy always getting things done.

I swung the leather jacket over my shoulders and braced myself for the cold waiting outside. I got out into the street and shivered a little as I took in a deep breath.

The walk to my apartment was long and it allowed me to checkmate a lot of things swimming in my head. My rent was almost due and I had some bills piling up that would bite a big chunk out of my ass very soon.

I got inside and put on the heater first before taking off my bag and shoes. Exhaustion had fused into my bones like hot fluids and I could feel some of them seep out as my shoes came off.

Feeling the relief wash through me, I took off the rest of my clothes along with my bra. I walked around in my panties to the kitchen, mixed some of my herbal tea, and left it to boil in hot water.

I sat on the counter and fingered the golden amulet around my neck. It was the one thing I could never take off even as a child. It was attached to me like a limb. I tried to take it off on several occasions while growing up but the damned thing wouldn't come off. What surprised me the most was how it felt as if the amulet grew with me.

Just before the tea got ready, I poured myself a glass of whiskey. I took the alcohol in one gulp. The drink hit me hard. I winced from the recoil of the drink and cursed hard. It was just what I needed for the cold. The hot tea would help with the exhaustion.

It was time to check the tea. I got up and stretched out my tired bones. Just as I was about to make my way to the kitchen, a strange feeling sent chills through my entire body. I shivered.

I turned to face the back door. I couldn't explain what was happening but I felt a serious pull tugging at me. Something wanted me there. It was a strange feeling but I managed to shut it off for a while.

Just when I thought it was over, it came back in full force. I grabbed a spatula, just in case, it came in handy before I moved cautiously toward the door. I looked out through the glass but there was nothing there but darkness.

I opened the door and walked out with my spatula held tight in my left hand. It was my strong hand so I felt confident that one swing from it would be enough to knock out any attacker that might be hiding in the shadows.

The first thing I saw was a trail of blood that disappeared around the corner. Someone was hurt and whoever it was had lost a lot of blood.

I followed the trail and saw a man resting against the wall. His breath came in labored gasps and he held his side where I could only guess he was hurt judging by the huge concentration of blood there.

He looked like he was in so much pain by the way he winced and bit his lower lip. In his current state, he couldn’t harm me even if he tried but there was something about him that made me scared. He had a very powerful aura and there was a certain darkness about him. I could tell.

I walked over to where he rested and when I was close enough, he noticed me and became alert. His eyes went cold.

“Who are you?” He asked, biting back the pain of his injuries.

I raised a brow at him. “I should be the one asking that question. What the fuck are you doing bleeding all over my backyard?”

His eyes fluttered in confusion and vertigo I was sure he must have been experiencing at that moment. The coldness in his eyes slipped away and for the first time, he looked harmless.

“I’m sorry,” He said in a barely audible voice. “I’m hurt and I need to rest.”

“I can see that, but that doesn’t answer my question, not even in the slightest,” I said, giving him my cold hard stare.

"Does it matter? I'll be dead in some minutes if I don't get help."

I knew how that could end up making things unnecessarily complicated for me. The last thing I needed was to spend my morning answering questions from the police about how a dead body appeared in my backyard.

"How do I know you won't hurt me if I tried to help you?" I watched him closely for any telltale signs of hesitation.

He scoffed. His breathing was erratic from the cold and pain of his injuries.

"I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to." He winced. "Not like this."

A thought passed through my mind. What if he was part of a dangerous mob or worse, a gang member and he had been dumb enough to piss off the enemy gang. Maybe they were gunning for him and would trail him all the way to my backyard to finish the job. They'd have to tighten every loose end and take me out too. I went pale with fear immediately.

"Do they know you're here?" My eyes bulged out. "Answer me, goddammit!"

"Who the what now?" He regarded me in confusion.

It was too natural to have been faked. So he wasn't part of a gang that had been gunned down by another gang. What was his story then?

"How did you get those?" I gestured at his bloody wounds.

"Look, lady I - "

He growled in pain and shut his eyes tight. For a minute I thought he was going to reel over and die there but he didn’t.

I walked closer to him and stretched out to turn his flesh to see if he was burning up. He was faster than I expected and grabbed my wrist before I could touch him.

Our eyes locked at that moment and I felt the amulet around my neck shift and the symbol across it unlocked. It all happened so fast and I pulled my hand away and held my wrist.

My whole body resonated with energy and power coursing through me with so much potency.

“What did you do to me?” I asked as I touched the amulet and felt it was lighter than it had been before.

He stared at me in almost the same confused way I stared at him. He touched his side where his injuries were and a shocked expression crossed his face.

“My injuries,” He muttered. “They're gone, How did you do that?”

I felt light-headed as if I had somehow been drained of the newly found energy I’d just experienced only moments ago.

Just as I opened my mouth to say something, it all went dark for me and I collapsed beside the stranger.