The Alpha's Reluctant Mate Read Online Free Page A

After putting away the food, I made myself a plate of deli meat and plopped down on the couch with Dizzy.
    Dizzy cocked her head and appeared to listen earnestly as I told her about my disaster-filled day. When I finished my tale of woe, she jumped up, resting her front paws on my left shoulder and licked my face. Smiling, I kissed her nose and gave her a few pieces of the roast beef I’d set aside for her.
    Lunch complete, we snuggled down on the couch with a blanket and watched an old movie on the Hallmark channel; it wasn’t long until we were both fast asleep.
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    * * *
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    Waking and stretching luxuriously, it occurred to me that maybe I should make it a habit to nap in the afternoon. It certainly refreshed me and brightened my outlook on things.
    Of course my mood slanted a little downhill when I stood up and my pants immediately fell down around my ankles.
    Frowning, I pulled them back up, expecting to find that they’d come undone, but to my amazement they now appeared to be at least three sizes too big.
    Gathering the excess waistband in my hand, I tromped to my bedroom. No doubt about it, the time had come to retrieve the smaller sized clothing from the top of my closet.
    I gave up trying to hold my pants up and let them fall at my feet while I pulled down the trunk. Funny, it seemed a lot heavier when I put it up there; I’d almost called the doorman to do it for me. Now it didn’t seem to weigh much at all, which was a good thing because I wouldn’t call that doorman back for anything.
    Setting the trunk on the foot of my bed, I opened it and begin digging through various sizes of pants and tops.
    First I tried the size twenty-two jeans and found them still too big to be worn publicly. I ended up with a loose-fitting pair of size twenty capri pants and a matching top. Hard as it was to believe, I’d lost almost three sizes overnight!
    My momentary elation was quickly doused with thoughts of bacteria and disease. Did I have a tapeworm? Hyperthyroid to the hundredth degree? A pituitary problem? Or could it be some horribly aggressive form of cancer that wasted your body tissue completely in the span of a few days? I’d end up dead with saggy skin!
    But as I studied my form in the mirror I realized that things on my body were lifting and tightening as never before; in fact some of the things that were lifting hadn’t been this high up since I was twelve. I’ve always been a little chubby.
    Then I studied the muscles of my calves where the pants ended and my leg took over. The muscles were well-defined and rock solid. Nothing on me has ever been rock solid; I’d always possessed quite a bit of jiggle with my wiggle.
    This was all so strange and to top it off I had to pluck another wiry black hair from the top of my cleavage. This was way too much for me to be able to effectively process it all.
    So I called Epenie.
    She listened quietly as I explained the events of the last twenty-four hours since being dropped at my door.
    â€œHmmm…” was her only response.
    â€œWell?” I asked impatiently.
    â€œWell, what?”
    â€œWhat do you think is happening? I’m really starting to freak out.”
    â€œDon’t freak out. Stay calm. I’m going to do some research and I’ll get back to you. Umm, Xandie?”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œStay home; don’t go out until we figure out what’s going on, okay? Especially don’t go back to the grocery store,” she cautioned me seriously.
    â€œI think I have enough food to last me a few hours,” was my sarcastic response.
    Epenie was already wrapped up in her research; she was a research assistant for a college professor so a new topic was always enthralling for her and often made her oblivious to all else. “Okay, talk to you later.”
    I sighed as I looked over at Dizabell. “I guess we just have to wait and see, girl.”
    With a shrug I headed for the kitchen;