Alpha's Mate: A Steamy PNR Shifter & Fantasy Romance Collection (Hot Shifters Book 3) Read online

  I think he was a baker or a cake maker or both. He was lifting two layers of the wedding cake over his head as he walked them to the cake display. His six pack must’ve been insane. I could swear I could see the outline of his abs under his shirt. While I was staring and imagining running my tongue down those abs, I got interrupted by a red-headed girl that sat down next to me.

  “Hey,” she greeted. “Keira, right?”

  “Yes, you’re American? Are you cousin Mila?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, shaking my hand. She glanced around the reception. “Pretty exciting, huh? First time to Ireland?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I heard you were instrumental in bringing granddad and his old love together,” I said. “Nice job.”

  A handsome blonde Irish elf walked over and asked her for the wedding gift. She took an envelope out of her purse and handed it to him.

  “This is my cousin, Keira, Killian,” she introduced.

  “Nice ta see ya,” he greeted. “Pardon my rush.”

  Killian headed off, then another handsome Irish elf walked over and handed Mila a bottle of hard cider.

  “Thanks, babe,” she said.

  “Did you want one?” she offered me.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said.

  “Aiden,” she called after him. “Can you bring my cousin one?”

  “Not right now.” The elf shook his head. Then he pointed with his chin at another elf at the bar. “Donovan!” he called.

  Donovan, one of the guys behind the bar, rushed over with a bottle and handed it to Mila. Then he gave her a kiss.

  “Thanks, Sweetie,” she smiled.

  She handed me the bottle.

  “The men in Ireland sure are friendly to you,” I said, feeling surprised at the amount of attention she was getting.

  “Oh, we’re dating,” Mila revealed.

  “What? All three of them?” I leaned in towards her. “Do they know?” I asked in a whisper.

  Mila laughed. “Yeah, it’s been great,” she said. She swung her red hair over her shoulder and started to play with it. She glanced at each of her guys and then looked back at me with a huge grin. She was obviously in love.

  “So, are you extending your stay here again?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

  “Yes, indefinitely,” she said, looking toward the boys again.

  Wow! In love with three men at once! What was that like?

  “I think I should like to come on vacation here more often,” I said. Then mumbled, “Maybe I could find someone to love.”

  “Oh, well, you can visit us at the Odell’s Orchard any time ya want,” she offered, not hearing the second part of my statement. “Just stay away from the other McDonnells.”

  The sprite band started on a slow song. The dance floor cleared and Granddad and his bride, Honora, danced alone. Brody and Ryan worked a spell that sent several glowing lights around the couple. It looked like they were dancing amidst sparklers. It was very cute.

  What is it about toddlers and old people that put them at the same level of cuteness, I wonder? Guess you’re either too young to be mean or too old to be mean anymore?

  While Mila and I watched the wedding couple dance, we were joined by my other new cousin Shanna. She and Mila looked pretty similar. They both had shades of red hair and blue eyes. Both were very beautiful. I was glad I bought my new dress, or I would feel like a slouch compared to them.

  Not that I felt like I was ugly. No, I had my own kind of beauty. My strawberry-blonde hair might not be as striking as their red curls, but it was still pretty. And we all had curves to be proud of. Looking this good, there had to be a guy around here I could find to hook up with.

  I took a sip of my hard cider and thought back to Mila’s last statement.

  “You were a McDonnell, right?” I asked Shanna.

  “Aye, but I don’t know what you heard,” she said warily.

  “I’m fresh off the plane and ignorant of most of the family drama,” I confessed.

  “We McDonnells don’t have a good reputation in these parts,” Shanna admitted. “My cousins are brutes and Honora’s brother, Ailbe is a bit of a prick.”

  “Oh,” I said putting two and two together. “He’s the one who lied to Grandpa Burt.”

  Mila nodded, and Shanna frowned. “That’s one of the many things he’s done,” she explained. “That branch of the McDonnell family is just rotten. They lie and steal. When I first met Ailbe he tried to sell me an illegal hex spell. Then one of them tried to use a hex bottle at my sister’s wedding.”

  Mila nodded with everything Shanna said. “Peter, one of Ailbe and Fiona’s boys used to tease my boyfriend Aiden all through school. But he got what was coming to him,” she added. “It’s just best to avoid them at all costs.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I told them.

  Soon the dace floor opened back up and couples started to pair off again. Ryan collected Shanna and Killian asked Mila to dance. Once again, I was alone. And my cider bottle was empty. Time to find something new.

  Chapter 2

  Keira

  After an extremely strong Irish coffee, I finally perked up enough to notice the inordinate number of attractive elves working the reception. It was nuts. These Irish village boys were hot. Handsome faces, rugged jaw lines, gently pointed ears, and rippling muscles; I guess all that farm work does a body good.

  Just as I grabbed a hard cider from the bar, I felt my phone vibrate in my bag and checked it. It was my ex, Manny. What does he want? Probably sniffing around for a post-relationship booty call, would be my guess. No, thank you, Manny. Not after the way you left things, you pushy d-bag. If I wanted to get someone to be rude and obnoxious to me, I have all of New York City to choose from. I dropped the phone back in my purse and let it go to voicemail. As soon as I was alerted that I had a voice mail, I deleted it. I wasn’t even going to risk listening to it. I didn’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

  I was looking for that hot baker again when I met the gaze of yet another Irish elf standing near the bar. This one was slightly slimmer than the first one, like he had a swimmer’s body and not the bulk of a weightlifter. But he was of similar height and had the same unusual coloring for an elf; dark brown hair and amber colored eyes. I wondered if they were brothers.

  Hmmmm, brothers? That could be fun.

  Guess I was horny as hell. It had been several weeks since my break up. Since then, I had mentally undressed a TSA guard, the co-pilot, some guy in first class; now I was doing it to this elf. The difference was, I could actually hook up with him. I mean, a wedding is like the perfect place and even a so-so sexual encounter at this point would erase Manny from my memory. I was just getting up to go talk to the elf at the bar when another elf bumped into me.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, miss,” he apologized, giving me a slight nod and a sly smile. He looked similar to the other two I was eyeing.

  I felt a slight blush color my cheeks. Maybe it was my natural attraction to Irish guys. Maybe it was just my general horniness from having not been laid in a while, but he was gorgeous too. He wore a Hennessy House polo shirt wrapped around a taught muscular frame. Guess he must work here.

  Three Irish elf brothers? Yes, please.

  “That’s okay,” I said trying to be casual. “You can run into me whenever you want.”

  He laughed. I don’t think he could tell whether I was flirting or a little drunk.

  “I wish I could,” he said, looking me up and down. “Perhaps I can give ye a proper Irish welcome. Would ya like that?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said, intrigued. “I don’t normally like my welcomes too proper. I can get pretty improper sometimes.”

  He laughed again. God, that smile. Even his teeth were perfect. Are they cloning these elves for Abercrombie and Fitch or what?

  “Connor! Need some more drinks over here,” someone called.

  The gorgeous elf in front of me frowned. “I have to go,” he s
aid reluctantly. “Perhaps I’ll see you around?”

  “Yeah,” I said, flipping my hair back over my shoulder. “You should find me.”

  He grinned, nodded and walked away. I had to watch that beautiful boy go.

  “Or I’ll find you,” I muttered under my breath.

  I checked the alcohol content of the hard cider I was drinking. You wouldn’t call me a wuss in that area, but the alcohol content was a little higher than your average beer back home. Quite frankly, I didn’t care. With this much beefcake in play, I wasn’t going back to my room alone. I made eye contact with that hot elf by the bar and walked over to introduce myself.

  “Hey, Keira,” I said introducing myself and extending a hand.

  “Seth,” he said in his lyrical accent.

  He shook my hand and then sort of set it on the bar with his on top.

  “Well, you seem nice,” I smiled.

  “That I am,” he smiled back. “I’m very nice.”

  “That’s good,” I flirted. I rubbed my thumb on the top of his hand. “I need someone to be nice to me right now.”

  “Why’s that, lass?”

  “Let’s just say my ex left me with a bad taste in my mouth,” I half-explained. “You strike me as someone who would leave a good taste…in my mouth.”

  He laughed and blushed a little. I think I had gotten my point across.

  “Ya wanna dance?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said finishing my cider. “Let’s go.”

  Seth was a pretty good dancer. In NYC, I’d probably already be back at his place, but these Irish elves were pretty traditional. Deep down, so was I. I mean, yeah, I wanted to get laid, but I also wanted to know the guy a little. I was usually so busy trying to slow a guy’s roll into my pants, I wasn’t used to some charming stranger just being nice to me. God, Manny must’ve really messed me up.

  At some point, we headed over to grab a piece of cake. Earlier, Granddad and Honora fed each other a piece, and it was very cute. Now everyone was in line waiting for their own slices. Seth and I talked and flirted till it was our turns.

  When we got to the front of the line, the hot baker I saw earlier was handing out the plates. He was watching an old couple eat the cake.

  “Watch the raspberry seeds in the coulis,” he yelled to them. “They’ll get in your dentures.”

  The old couple nodded and waved, indicating that they heard the baker. I giggled and Seth, realizing I was about to talk to the baker, grudgingly introduced us.

  “Keira, this is Tavish Hallister,” he said. “My brother. He baked the cake.”

  The muscular baker grinned at me and shook my hand.

  “Oh, yes, I think I saw you earlier,” I said, a little flustered.

  Damn he was fine. Deep amber eyes too. Tavish handed me a plate with a slice of cake. He picked the fork off of the plate and fed me a piece.

  “Here ya go, lass. Taste that,” he offered.

  The cake was light and fluffy. It mixed with the creamy white frosting and had the slight tang of raspberries. It was the best wedding cake I had ever tasted.

  “Mmm, that’s amazing,” I complimented. “You really made that?”

  “Oh, aye. I was up at the crack of dawn decorating it,” he said getting out his phone and showing me the pictures of the process. “Look at that. Came out perfect.”

  “That’s what Tavish does,” said Seth. “Toils away in a kitchen all day making goodies, getting fatter and fatter.”

  “At least I get some exercise to work it off,” Tavish countered. “You sit in your shop all day like a lump.”

  “I move around plenty in there,” said Seth. He stretched, making a show of his broad shoulders and muscular arms. “Retail is work.”

  “Yeah, if ye had any customers it would be,” joked Tavish.

  “Oh, you run a shop?” I asked Seth while eating my cake.

  “Aye. Ye should come down,” he invited. “Right in the middle of the village square there. I sell all sorts of knick-knacks and such.”

  “Ya mean junk,” teased Tavish.

  “At least my product won’t make ye fat,” countered Seth. “Ya have any idea how much butter he puts in there? Probably five times the calories in that slice than a normal cake.”

  I thought about setting the cake down but decided not to. It was really good, and I was at a wedding. It was time to live a little. I took another forkful and slipped it seductively in my mouth, then licked the fork with a flourish of my tongue.

  Both of the elves’ eyes went wider, watching me eat. Then Tavish smiled at Seth satisfactorily. These brothers were really teasing each other. Guess they must’ve been close.

  “Don’t listen to this guy, Keira,” warned Tavish, pointing at Seth with his thumb. “He lives about his shop. He’s just trying to lure you in, so he gets another notch on his bedpost. Another American tourist girl, right Seth?”

  “Says the baker whose fiancé left him for London,” countered Seth.

  That seemed to annoy Tavish and he slapped Seth’s hand away as he pointed it at him. They got into a brief scuffle with me in between.

  “Hey-hey-hey!” I objected, stopping the fight before it could start. “You guys really need to relax,” I said.

  At that moment, I looked across the room and noticed Connor, the bar tender, watching us from a distance. I had been stupid. All this time I was trying to get a guy interested in me and now I had three guys fighting over me. It was a bit overwhelming. I needed a moment to think and choose.

  “Uh, guys,” I said. “I-I-I need to find a bathroom. Don’t mess each other up, okay?”

  “Sure,” agreed Seth.

  “We’re just kidding,” assured Tavish.

  I headed for the bathroom, but out of the corner of my eye I spotted Tavish give Seth a light slap on the head. Seth returned it and they started up again.

  Rushing into the bathroom, I went inside a stall and shut myself in for some privacy. I think I may have overdid it. I wanted some attention from the guys and now I had too much. The last thing I needed was to start an actual fight at my granddad’s wedding. Oh, God, I can just hear my family scolding me now.

  “Keira. What were you thinking?” my dad would say. “You can’t wind these local boys up.”

  “You’re a guest in these people’s country, Keira,” my mother would say. “Is that how you act? Is that how I taught you?”

  I shook my head to clear the negative thoughts. I came out of the stall and checked my make up in the mirror. It then occurred to me that I knew two people with multiple husbands or boyfriends at this wedding. If they had multiple husbands than could I date multiple brothers? Maybe my cousins would have some insight into how to handle that. Could I date all of the brothers and find a way to keep them from fighting? I would love to try.

  I came out of the bed and breakfast and looked around the courtyard. Tavish and Seth were still standing by the cake, but now there was another elf with them, one I hadn’t seen before. He wore a well-fitting suit and leaned casually on the wall by the table. It had to be another Hallister brother because he looked very similar to the other three; tall, dark hair and amber eyes.

  “Hey, there,” he greeted me, when I walked up to the table. “Lads. Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

  “Keira, this is our brother, Ronan,” said Tavish. “He runs the travel agency here in Luck’s Hollow.”

  “It’s great to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand. “My brothers told they met an exciting American witch, but they didn’t tell me you were so beautiful.”

  “Well, that’s laying it on a bit thick, isn’t it?” commented Seth immediately crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looked annoyed to be sharing my attention.

  “No, that’s sweet,” I said, taking Ronan’s hand, and ignoring Seth’s displeasure. “Thank you, Ronan. How many brothers do you all have?”

  “There are four of us, including Connor over there,” Tavish explained. “Connor is the youngest. He’s workin
g here at Hennessey House while he finishes writing his dissertation.”

  I nodded and took a second to glance at the bar. Connor was watching us all.

  Now that the brothers gathered around me, I could see the differences in their faces and bodies. Tavish was the thickest. He really must work out a lot, because his arm muscles were practically ripping the arms of his button-down shirt. Seth was the tallest and had the air of being the oldest brother. He was still muscular, but it was more lean muscle. Ronan looked like he worked out too, but not as much as Tavish. He was the most stylish of the three. His hair was cut and styled impeccably. Connor the youngest, had his dark hair a little longer and a bit messier. All in all they were gorgeous. It made me want to see if they were different in bed too.

  “Did you attend the wedding?” asked Ronan, bringing me out of my dirty thoughts. I nodded. “Burt and Honora. How did it go?”

  “It was beautiful,” I said. “Your brother’s cake was very popular.”

  “Tavish has always been a good cook,” Ronan complimented.

  “Cooking isn’t everything,” muttered Seth.

  Tavish wacked him on the back of the head and they started bickering again.

  Just as I was about to say something, Grandpa Burt called me into the bed and breakfast to help with the presents.

  “I’ll catch up with you all in a bit,” I told the guys. “Try to keep from tearing each other apart.”

  They promised that they would but when I glanced back, they were still arguing over me. I was annoyed and pleased all at the same time.

  Chapter 3

  Keira

  About an hour later I was back in the courtyard and quite tipsy. I had drunk quite a few hard ciders. Looking around the reception, I noticed that Seth, Ronan, and Tavish were gone. I became suddenly afraid that they were outside the courtyard beating the crap out of each other. Walking out of the tall stone walls, I thought I heard a commotion down the street, so I rushed toward it, swaying a bit as I ran. I guess I had a little too much to drink.