Alpha Battle Read online

  Alpha Battle

  Isle of Paradise

  Author: Marquaylla Lorette

  Editor: Caroline Kirby

  Artwork by: JK Publishing, Inc.

  Published by: JK Publishing, Inc.

  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 book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then, please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales are entirely coincidental.

  © Copyright January 2013 JK Publishing, Inc.

  All cover art and logo © Copyright 2013 by JK Publishing, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

  Dedication

  I would like to dedicate this book to my mother, Coretta, younger cousin, Elijah, and brother, Kevien. Happy Birthday you guys!

  A special thanks to my editor and the rest of JK Publishing.

  Table of Contents

  ~Prologue

  ~Chapter One

  ~Chapter Two

  ~Chapter Three

  ~Chapter Four

  ~Chapter Five

  ~Chapter Six

  ~Chapter Seven

  ~Chapter Eight

  ~Chapter Nine

  ~Chapter Ten

  ~Chapter Eleven

  ~Books by Marquaylla Lorette

  ~Read an excerpt from Bryce Evans new book

  ~Excerpt from Reaching Rissa

  Prologue

  Jadelyn sat on her bed staring at her great, great grandfather Mase’s journal. Something she always did when she doubted her ability of becoming Alpha of their Isle. There was something about reading the accounts of the hardships her grandfather fought through and accomplished to become Alpha, it gave her the courage she needed to win the battle. Jadelyn needed the courage more than ever now since the battle was just four days away and causing her nerves to get the best of her.

  Jadelyn blew out a deep breath as she reached for the journal directly in front of her. She had read the journal so many times that it opened right at her grandfather’s account of what happened when the humans hunted the shifters.

  Before there was the Isle of Paradise, shifters lived in secret among the human race, until one fateful day when humans discovered them. Hundreds of shifters lost their lives before they were able to escape to the Isle of Paradise.

  Jadelyn turned so she was lying on her stomach and crossed her legs as she read the first lines.

  The smell of fresh pines filtered through my senses as I opened the door to my cottage. This was one of the reasons I loved living in the woods. As I was taking deep breaths of the fresh air, I jumped a little as something bumped into the back of my leg. For some reason, I had the urge to look outside even though I knew the layout of the land without having to look. Over a hundred different cottages lay behind and at the sides of my cottage. Trees surrounded us, making it hard to see anything in front of us or beside us.

  I looked down behind my back and noticed it was my pup bumping into the back of my legs as he tried to escape the house. I waited until my mate was at his side before I stepped aside to let him pass.

  I immediately shifted and took a huge sniff of the air as I stepped off the porch, when I heard the sound of leaves being crushed under a shifter’s paws as he or she ran rapidly through the woods right to us. The scent of my Alpha hit my nose. He smelled of his usual pine and rain, but this time mixed with fear. The Alpha burst out of the woods and blew right past me before I could discover what was going on with him. He must have brushed up against me when he ran past, causing a vision to assault my mind. One of my powers was the power to see what someone else saw just from their touch.

  My Alpha, Wyatt, was arguing with the merchant who was providing the supplies to build or expand our cottages and for the new shifter, who joined our pack and bought acres of land in the forest we owned. The merchant was telling Wyatt the price of the supplies was going up for us no matter how much business we brought him. Wyatt became angry and started demanding the merchant lower his prices since he was only increasing the price on the “people who lived in the woods.” Wyatt’s milky white skin started to turn redder the angrier he got. As he started to approach Wyatt, the merchant yelled loud enough for the other merchants and shoppers to walk out of the stores. A few of the merchants approached Wyatt to come to the merchant's aide when Wyatt pushed him away from his face.

  I felt the panic Wyatt felt when he saw the merchants approach him while putting their hands on their guns as the guns rested in their holsters.

  Wyatt shifted as they drew closer to him and roared, startling the merchants and shoppers. The merchants and some of the shoppers pulled out their guns and shot at Wyatt as he turned and ran toward the forest. The merchants, along with some of the shoppers, jumped into their cars with their weapons in an attempt to follow Wyatt.

  I snapped out of the vision and roared, alerting every kind of shifter in the woods to the danger we were about to face, since Wyatt didn’t, for some reason. I could see him gathering his family and running out of the corner of my eye.

  I am a wolf shifter, along with my Alpha and every shifter living in this part of the woods. There are different kinds of shifters living in the front section of the woods, including bear, cat, lion, hyena, and many more. My pack lived at the back of the woods with the other shifter packs spread out over the front of the woods. For many centuries, every kind of shifter lived in the same woods to protect their identities from the humans. The Alpha from each pack promised not only to alert the other packs of danger, but also to help when danger came near.

  I could hear heartbreaking roars after the sound of gunshots rang out. My heart ached as I heard some of the families roaring after their loss. I howled one last time telling them to follow my path as I gathered the rest of the wolf shifters and my pup and mate. I picked up my pup in my mouth, and with my mate by my side, I led the rest of the wolf shifters to safety. I felt the ground vibrating under my paws and knew the rest of the shifters were finally listening to me and following us. My mate left clues behind through her powers so only a shifter could find their way.

  I could still hear shots echoing throughout the woods and more growls. I hoped we could get to the deserted airstrip thirty miles away without losing any more lives. I spotted Wyatt and his family not even fifteen minutes later just a few feet ahead of us. I wanted to kill him for bringing danger our way and then not having the courage to alert us of that danger. He was also responsible for the lives we lost just as much as the humans were.

  I ran past Wyatt without a second glance. I knew we could outrun the humans and get to the airstrip without any more powers, especially since we were running through the woods. My mate had already cast a spell on the airstrip where only shifters would be able to make their way there. The ground began to shake as more and more shifters caught up to us.

  After handing over my pup to my mate, I approached Wyatt to let him know how I felt about his actions. I was a few seconds away from attacking him when my mate pulled me back and brought me back to reality. We had to come up with a plan to get us out of the danger we were in now, instead of ripping apart the Alpha. I paced the ground of the airstrip with the othe
rs, trying to come up with a plan to solve our problems. I was just about to give up when a voice I didn’t recognize popped into my head.

  ‘Remember, you have the power to create a different land, Mase,’ a gruff voice said. I am not really sure how it works exactly, but somehow my power creates a rip in the universe, which creates an isle.

  “Everyone, listen up, I have a solution for our problems. I have the power to create a different land for us to live on. My powers will create an isle for us to live on. The isle will be known as the Isle of Paradise, since shifters and other magical beings will only be able to find their way there. We will not have to hide from the humans any longer. Each pack will have their own side of the Isle, and each family will have their own business.

  “I would like for one person from each family to approach me with the business they would like. Remember, the business will be passed down from generation to generation, so choose wisely,” I said as the shifters cheered.

  The Alpha of my pack tried to step in and take over my plan, but everyone ignored him. Each family approached me with a business their families could run, except one. I asked that family to run the Isle of Paradise Police Department, since their whole family, except for the pups, worked as cops and detectives alongside the humans for many generations.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on creating the Isle of Paradise, with businesses and homes for each of the families with us. Paradise Construction would be building the new homes for the families who would later arrive on the Isle.

  When I opened my eyes, there were two large planes big enough for all of us to fit in one trip. Everyone boarded the planes without looking back. Before the plane took off, my mate used her tracking power to help every magical being or shifter, when they were ready, find their way to the Isle of Paradise.

  Everyone rushed off the plane to see what the Isle looked like as soon as the plane landed. The smell of fresh pines from the thousands of pine trees and salty ocean water blended and the scent assaulted my nose.

  Someone from the crowd shouted out, “I vote for Mase to become the Alpha since he found a solution to the problems Wyatt caused. Not to mention saving us from the humans’ guns beforehand, instead of deserting all of us in order to save his own life.”

  I could hear the rest of the wolf pack cheering in agreement and the other shifters roaring their approval as well.

  “No, you don’t get a say in the vote. You lost that right when you put us in danger and then didn’t even have the guts to alert us of that danger. Instead, you gathered your family and left. More of us would be dead if Mase didn’t have the vision he had and alerted us,” Wyatt’s first Beta said when Wyatt tried to overturn all their votes. The second Beta and Head Enforcer quickly backed the first Beta.

  “But he had all of you running from the humans instead of staying and fighting,” Wyatt said.

  I had had enough of Wyatt. He was always selfish and short tempered. The only reason he was the Alpha was that the title passed down within his family from old generation to new generation.

  “The only reason why I didn’t stay to fight was because we had already lost so many shifters, and I wasn’t putting our mates or pups in anymore danger than they already were in. Everyone has voted. I am the Alpha now. You can either stand by the ruling, go back to the humans, or challenge me for it,” I said.

  At the time, I felt as though I didn’t have what it took to be a good Alpha, but I knew Wyatt didn’t deserve to be Alpha anymore. Therefore, I tried to be the best Alpha I could.

  My mate must have been listening to my thoughts. “Mase, you are wrong. You already have what it takes to be a fantastic Alpha. What you did back there was what an Alpha does, and you did it without thinking twice. All you have to do is believe in yourself, and the rest will follow,” my mate said.

  My mate always knew what to say and when to say it to me. She grounded me in ways no one else could.

  I growled, letting all the shifters know it was time to leave the airstrip and explore the rest of the Isle. We spotted the businesses right away when we walked out of the airport. There were businesses on either side of the street, painted all in different colors. There was a wooded area, which backed up to the businesses and houses, large enough for shifters to run a few miles. This section was for the Shifters.

  There were two other sections to the Isle, one for Witches and Warlocks, and the last section for all other Magical Creatures. Each section had its own woods to roam. Rare purple and gold flowers filled every wooded area on Isle of Paradise. Two large oceans surrounded the Isle creating the scent I was learning to love. Fresh pine mixed with salty ocean water.

  I knew we would love this Isle for many years to come and so would the rest of the residents.

  Jadelyn closed the book and her eyes and mumbled, “I believe in myself, I know I can win the battle,” as she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter One

  Jadelyn sat in the bleachers in the Alpha Training Arena and closed her eyes in frustration as she thought about how her life had changed for the worse over the years. The confidence she had in herself and her bravery had diminished when she learned she was a latent she-wolf and the whole Isle turned its back on her.

  She had already slowly started to give up after her mother had died in a mysterious car accident, and her best friend, Eli, had moved away the day after. The two people she could tell anything in the world vanished out of her life, just in the span of a few days—and it crushed her. Learning she was latent just put the poisonous icing on her already burnt cake.

  Jadelyn still had her father, and they were close, but he didn’t understand her like Eli and her mother had. She blew out a frustrated breath and gripped the handles on her seat tightly as she thought about everything else. It felt as though someone was trying to take everything she had in life from her. They couldn’t let her have just one positive thing in her life. Sometimes she felt as though someone was watching her, but when she would turn around no one was there. One night she heard leaves rustling outside of her window, and the sound of someone’s claws as they dug them into the side of the wall as they tried to climb up. She knew they were trying to climb into her window since her room was the only one on that side of the house. Jadelyn quietly climbed out of bed and alerted the Enforcers to what was going on. By the time the Enforcers made their way outside, the would-be intruder was gone. Two Enforcers now stand guard outside of her window every night. Another time a couple of the Enforcers found bombs underneath the cars during one of their sweeps of the vehicles. Jadelyn thought they were trying to make her remember the way her mother died, since her mother’s car had exploded, but the bombs the Enforcers found were not set to detonate. Her father made sure she had someone with her at all times after those incidents. Jadelyn just wanted to be able to take at least a walk around the block by herself but couldn’t since almost the whole Isle was after her because she was latent. Thinking about it left her so fed up with everything. She almost screamed as it played repeatedly in her head, until she realized she was in the Alpha Training Arena, waiting for her turn to practice for the Alpha Battle.

  Jadelyn is next in line to take the Alpha title when her father steps down, but since she is a latent shifter, the Isle shifters will not accept her as the next Alpha, so the Alpha Battle begins instead.

  The Alpha Training Arena is where shifters who want to train for the upcoming Alpha Battle do so with the existing Alpha himself. Everyone with Alpha blood in them gets a chance to participate in the training and battle.

  During the Alpha Battle, those who wish to become the new Alpha fight against each other: males against males and females against females, then finally the mates fight together. The winner of the battles becomes the new Shifter Alphas of the Isle of Paradise.

  Looking around the Alpha Training Arena, Jadelyn noticed everyone in the training room was sitting next to their mates, well, everyone except for her. It made her really think about her own situation, which she normally t
ried to keep in the back of her mind. She will be turning thirty tomorrow even though she still looked as though she was twenty-five, and yet, she still hadn’t found her mate, which was unheard of on the Isle of Paradise.

  Jadelyn was five foot eight with a curvy body most female shifters would die for. She had long, black, shinny, curly hair, which glistened in the sun and bounced with every step she took. To her, her best features were her caramel skin and piercing hazel eyes. She knew it wasn’t because of her looks that her mate hadn’t shown himself to her since most guys still stopped and stared at her, even though they thought she was a freak.

  Without a doubt in her mind, she knew her mate was hiding from her because of her latency. What she couldn’t figure out was how her mate was hiding his scent from her. Male and female shifters both had a scent they produced that only their mates could detect after they reached a certain age, and they couldn’t turn the scent off. As she thought more about it, she realized there was one way someone could hide their scent from their mate, but it was a bit dangerous to do so. Witches were the only ones who could cast the spell to block the shifter’s mate from being able to scent them. Well, there was one other possible reason she couldn’t find her mate anywhere, and it had to do with the Isle of Paradise.

  Isle of Paradise consisted of shifters, witches and warlocks, and other magical beings only, since humans had no idea the Isle existed, which they wanted to keep it that way. A handful of shifters and their families moved off the Isle to try to lead a normal life among the humans. Maybe her mate moved off the Isle, or maybe he learned of her latency and hid his mating scent from her. Between the two possibilities she came up with of why she couldn’t scent her mate, she would bet her life it was the latter one.