Beta: Her Alpha

by C. M. Steele

“I know, babe. Come over and get closer. I want to hold you and touch you like I’ve always wanted to.”

  “You wanted to touch me before?” she asks with

  “Every time. Sitting next to you even without an erection, I wanted to have the right to kiss you like this.” I bend down and take a soft little peck. The moment our lips hit, hunger invades my bones, but I fight it.

  Tucking her back into my body, I turn back to the TV and watch Keira Knightly walk into her crazy house, thinking I want a whole house full of little Chloes.

  Chapter 11

  “Hello, I’m Sheriff Erik Smith. You’ve all gone through several screenings before meeting with our chief citizen. I value his opinion one hundred percent. So when he says you’re right for the job, I’ve got no problem with it. However, if any one of you steps out of line, we’re not afraid of letting you go in a heartbeat.” I look at all the new officers a part of my team and wonder who is going to try and challenge me. Hunter doesn’t sense any need for domination from any of the men.

  The woman’s a human and in no way a real threat to me. She’s looks like a no-nonsense officer. I’ve seen plenty of women on the police force in Seattle. Some of them are scarier than the men because they’ve got a complex about being taken seriously. I have a feeling she’s going to have that problem unless Hunter holds a pack meeting and spreads the word.

  Ryan’s not here of course, claiming he needed to visit some family in Tucson. I haven’t seen Ryan for more than five minutes since I got out of the hospital, but then again, someone had to do my job while I was out of it, or so he says. His constant bitterness reminds me of Rocky, and gives Chloe’s concern a lot of weight. She told me of her dream and her suspicions, but I can’t recall much from that day so I don’t remember the scent like I should. It’s familiar, but I can’t narrow it down. Maybe I’ll figure it out once we find Lauren. After the incident with Rocky, she’s been on the run. No new leads have been found.

  “Do any of you have any questions?”

  “Yes. How come you need so many staff members when you only had two before? Has the crime rate grown?” the female officer, Deputy Maria Arroyo, asks while looking pointedly at my scarred and bandaged head.

  “It has, but also it’s hard to manage shifts with only two people. With the new hotel, there’s more out of towners causing trouble. Teens are acting up, and fights are breaking out. As you can see I’ve been injured on duty, leaving only one officer to work all the time.” It seems to satisfy her questions and she gives me a nod of understanding.

  I walk to my desk and pull out a schedule for each employee. “So I’ve gone over your schedules that Letty has been so kind to do for you. Are there any issues with it?”

  I got a bunch of shaking heads, so we move along. By the time the meeting is over, I’ve got a good feeling about the staff—something I never had before working with Ryan.

  Hunter and I go back to his office to have a word. We’re both stressed out, but we to discuss Ryan.

  “What are you going to do about Ryan?” Hunter asks. He may be the Alpha, but Ryan’s my responsibility.

  “I want to fire him, but if he’s the one who shot me, then I’m going to tear him to shreds,” I snarl. If he’s the bastard who tried to end me and Chloe, I’ll make him pay big time.

  “So what do you think of the female officer?” So he felt my anxiety at her question.

  “She’s young and green as can be. She may have a problem if she gets too nosy, but she’s got a strong head on her.” The rookies always try the hardest.

  “We’ll take it one step at a time.” He pats my shoulder, and I give him a nod.

  “Good, so if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to Chloe.” Since I was shot, I need to be around her, trying to keep her safe.

  “They’re in her office.” He’s been silently communicating with Cat in his head again. I watch as the tension is growing in him.

  “Let’s get our women and go home.”

  “Kane is supposed to be meeting us.” I huff in annoyance. Any time away from Chloe is considered wasteful to me. Especially when I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing yet, which is looking for Lauren and anyone helping her. Kane’s an hour behind schedule. I growl with impatience. I could still be balls deep in Chloe if Hunter didn’t call me to meet with him this morning. It’s been two weeks since Chloe and I had our movie night, and I still can’t get my fill of her. We’ve had a lot of sex to make up. I’ve chased her around so much, she’s locking the door on me. It only lasts a moment before she comes out begging for me again. Our mating period must still be in full swing, or maybe I just can’t resist her.

  Hunter breaks into my thoughts about his sister by revealing what’s wrong with Kane. His voice is pained when he explains, “He’s stressing still. He dreams of his mate like I did with Cat. But there’s one big exception…she doesn’t like him in his dreams. Which is a big step in getting together.”

  “Damn does that suck,” I sympathize mildly. I’ve been through worse than these two fuckers. I loved a woman who I thought was unattainable. They know their mate; they just need to find her.

  We scope out the area before Kane gets there, and we know where she’s hiding. Kane pulls up and meets us at the prearranged location.

  “About fucking time. I’ve got important shit I could be doing.”

  “Shit? It’s more like you’ve got a mate to do. Don’t try to bullshit me either. I want to go home to Cat too.”

  A pack to the north learned of our search for her, so when two of their members saw her in the woods, they contacted us. She scurried off and hid, but since she didn’t seem like a danger to them, they just let her be.

  She’s been living out in a small abandoned shack. All three of us surround the shack, when I call out, “Lauren, it’s Sheriff Smith. We have the place surrounded. Come out, and things won’t get ugly.”

  “The Alpha’s out there, too. I know it’s going to get ugly. I swear I only made the call.”

  “Mr. Grey isn’t going to do anything to you, and neither is Kane Holt. Just come out so we can talk to you,” I bargain with her.

  “Please don’t hurt me.” Everything we went over proved that she and Rocky didn’t really have a friendship, so we don’t understand why she would help him or if she knows anything about my shooting. She comes out slowly, and she looks pitiful. Shit, I don’t know who looks worse—Lauren or Kane. They both look haggard and miserable. Suddenly, Hunter’s anger subsides. He sees her looking thinner and weak like a helpless, starving animal.

  “Tell me why you tried to help him destroy my family,” Hunter demands.

  “He didn’t ask me to help destroy your family. He told me that he had a birthday surprise for his cousin. I didn’t want to ruin it, so I did what he asked. He gave me the phone and told me that it would link to the station so he would think it was legitimate. I swear, I didn’t know,” she pleads with a sob.

  “Then why did you run?” I question.

  “Because I heard what happened. I was scared. An attack on the Alpha’s family is a death sentence, so I ran. I swear I didn’t mean anything by it. If I’d known he was going to do something bad, I wouldn’t have done it. He’s the Beta; I didn’t think anything like that would go on.” She’s only fifteen, and we all know she’s just a gullible kid, so we’re going to take it easy on her, but I need to know if she’s involved with Ryan at all.

  “Lauren. We know that you didn’t have any real contact with him, so it’s more likely you were just doing a favor for the Beta, but I have a question for you. Do you know if Ryan had anything to do with it?”

  She doesn’t say a word, but there’s something in her eyes that tells me she knows and is scared shitless. Hunter sees it too, and the Alpha in him makes an appearance. Snarling, he demands, “Answer him now. What do you know about Ryan?”

  “He said he’d kill me.”

  “You need to worry about me. I’m your biggest threat right know. By all rights I c
an rip you to shreds, so answer the fucking question.”

  “Um…he was talking to Rocky that morning. That’s how the number got linked to the station. Ryan’s the one who got me out of town.” Her admission is not as shocking as I expected it to be. Ryan’s had it in for me since jump.

  “What else,” I growl at her.

  “He threatened to kill me and my family if I ever came back or told anyone,” she says nervously, looking around like Ryan’s nearby. Tears are streaming down her face.

  “Is he around here?” Hunter asks, getting the feeling that she’s waiting for him to attack.

  “No, I haven’t seen anyone since he left me here. If any of the pack people come near, I run.” She looks like she been living in the wild.

  “You need to not trust everything everyone says. Now, we’re going to take you back to your parents’ house because they’re so worried about you.” He’s doing the right thing. Ryan’s going to be nervous about his only witness to his plotting with Rocky against the Alpha. He’s going to come back soon to a world of trouble. He couldn’t take me, and I’m sure he can’t take the Alpha.

  “Thank you, so much. Alpha, sir, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen.”

  “Calm down, Lauren. I’ve already looked into the matter. You’re going to be grounded and not allowed to talk to any males for one year. I think that’s more than fair considering.”

  “Yes, sir. It’s plenty more than fair.”

  We take her back to her parents where she’s welcomed with open arms. I can see Hunter doesn’t harbor any ill will toward the girl. We have a plan, and it starts tonight. Once we get back into Hunter’s SUV, we head over to his place where our women are getting ready to watch a movie. Kane follows behind us in his truck since he needs to do something other than think about his mate.

  The men walk into the house, and I can smell Erik’s sweat. I want to climb over the sofa and attack him. I give him a look, and he’s on me in a second. He pulls me from the back of the sofa and into his arms.

  “I missed you,” I pant with need. I’m so hungry for him, I don’t think I’ll make it home.

  “Let’s go. I need to be in you, Chloe,” he whispers in my ear.

  “Damn it, Erik. I can hear you. Did you forget?” Hunter growls with a look of disgust.

  “Stop listening to our conversation,” I admonish my brother for eavesdropping.

  “Seriously, we all can hear it,” Cat says with a smile. It doesn’t bother her at all that we’re always ready to mate. She's not embarrassed or grossed out because she’s on my brother all day long, but I blush because there’s a disadvantage to being shifters; our hearing is superb.

  Shaking off my embarrassment, I reply, “Well, we’ll catch you later. I need to feel my mate in me.”

  Cat just laughs while Hunter growls playfully.

  “I feel out of place,” Kane says. I feel for him. The poor Alpha is going through what Hunter did, and after what Erik and I had to go through to be together, I really understand.

  “You’ll find her soon,” Cat says, patting Kane’s arm.

  “I know where you’re coming from,” Hunter reassures him.

  “Hell, we all do. I fell in love with Chloe, and I thought we weren’t mates. I felt pain every day.”

  “Erik, that’s why you wanted to quit, isn’t it?” Hunter asks.

  “Yeah, it was.” Hunter pats Erik’s shoulder as Erik carries me to the door.

  We’re walking out the door and down the steps when Kane shouts from the living room, “Who the fuck is she?”

  I tap Erik to let me down and Cat says, “I don’t know her name.” Then she shouts for me. “Chloe, get your ass back here.”

  We both rush in because Kane is growling and howling. “What’s going on?”

  “Chloe, what’s her name?”

  “Oh, that’s Evelyn Denney. She’s a new actress.”

  “She’s mine. How do I find her?” His eyes are wide and glowing. The Alpha wolf inside is looking to break out. I’ve seen this movie, and what happens in the next scene is going to piss him off. I hope he doesn’t see it, but it’s too late. Cat tries to pause the movie, but it freezes too late and her breasts are plastered all over Hunter’s big-ass TV.

  I pull my phone out from my back pocket as Erik holds me close. He looks like he’s worried Kane is going to go ape shit on us. His hair is changing and the shift could be coming on in seconds. Before we can stop him, he rips the TV off the damn wall, smashing it to the ground. Hunter goes to him, Alpha to Alpha, and tries to calm him down.

  Hitting up IMDB, I search her name. There isn’t much info on her because she’s pretty new to the scene, but it gives us her hometown—Redwood City, California.

  “Hunter, I’m sorry about the TV. I’ll get you a new one soon, or bill me because I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to find her.”

  “I understand—just glad it was only the TV.”

  “I’m really sorry, but I need you to do me a solid while I’m down there.” He’s making his way to the door.

  “Anything.”

  “Look in on my uncle in Redding.”

  Hunter nods to him and gives him a reminder. “Remember, she needs to fall for you.”

  “Oh, she will.” Kane is out the door before we are.

  “Damn, I hope he gets her,” Hunter whispers.

  “Don’t we all,” Erik mutters.

  The moment I get her in the door, I pin her to the wall, rip her pants and underwear off, unleash my cock from my pants, and thrust into her. “This is going to be quick, babe. I can smell your heat, Chloe.” I breathe roughly.

  “Please, Erik. I need you harder. I’m so hot right now.”

  I feel so wild that I need something more. I want us bound, blended deeper into each other. Pressing my mouth to her neck, I bite down, piercing her flesh and tasting her blood, sending her over. Howling, she squeezes her pussy all around my cock. Licking the wound closed, I move back to her mouth, letting her taste her blood before giving her my neck. The second her teeth puncture my skin, I empty every ounce of come in her. Spent, I lean my head against the door. Chloe lets out a moan and drops her head back on the door.

  “Shower time, babe. I want to get some rest before it’s movie time,” I murmur warmly in her ear.

  Chapter 12

  It’s been two days since we brought Lauren back to Wolfe Creek. There’s been some cameras set up around their house, but I haven’t gotten a glimpse of Ryan. There’s no sign of him when he told me he was coming back, so we go to his apartment, and it’s been completely emptied out. I don’t want to hunt him down, but I will. He’s a threat to my family. I won’t stand for it, and neither will Hunter.

  It’s my turn to patrol, so Gage is at our house watching his sister. She’s starting to really fill out, and I’m scared Ryan will find a way to get to her. She can’t shift until the pup is born, so I need to have extra protection on her. I’m in my usual lookout point, and a new scent hits me. Well, it’s not new, but I’ve only smelled it once. The memory floods my mind. It’s Ryan. He shot me, but he’s wearing something to mask his scent. It’s the same scent he wore when he tried to kill me. I’m seething with rage. Tonight there will be justice. Tonight he will pay for what he’s done.

  I creep around and move into position, but before I can take my shot at him, I step on a leaf. Ryan’s head turns around in a flash and his nose flares. “Nice—I didn’t smell your foul stench.”

  “You’re a fool to have come back. There’s nothing stopping me from tearing you to shreds. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  His lies only infuriate me. “Bullshit. You betrayed the pack, the Alpha, the law, and me.”

  “Hunter’s a bastard. That job should’ve been mine. He thought so little of me that he gave it to the son of his enemy. You should’ve died then. You just don’t know how to die. Now, I’ll take my time watching you suffe
r.” His eyes are glowing with pure raging insanity. I know it’s a final showdown between us.

  Before he can react, I don’t waste any time. I’ve spent too many years on the force to know not to hesitate. I pull my gun and fire off two shots, dropping Ryan to the ground. With my gun still trained on him, I kick his body to check for a reaction. There isn’t any. Before I call it in, I give him one more shot to his heart, making sure the job is done and the threat is over.

  Hunter arrives along with two of my new male deputies and help clean up the scene. I go into the station, and the report is written. Arroyo eyes me suspiciously, but she doesn’t say a word. My staff knew we were staking out Lauren’s residence.

  “Do you have a problem, Arroyo?” I ask her indignantly.

  “No, sir. It’s just strange how Mr. Grey’s involved in police matters. Money moves this town, I guess.” Her attitude is a little off and I don’t know whether she’s going to be a problem or not.

  “Listen, if it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have a job here. He trusts your loyalty to the law. He’s built up the town and gave all of the townspeople a chance at a better life than they had. Wolfe’s Den has brought in so many tourists that the revenue has grown. He’s not crooked.”

  “It’s just that this town is strange. It’s like he’s the Chief in a tribal community. Everyone does as he says, and he has his hand in everything.”

  “Is that a problem?” I’m hoping she doesn’t start digging into Hunter’s life.

  “No, just not like the city, is all.” I believe her. The pack knows to treat her with respect and to make sure no one shifts in front of her, but they do leave her out of it. Alex Crabtree is the only one who’s been her friend from the start. He’s a young shifter not in mating age. They remind me of me and Chloe without the sexual tension.

  “Good. Trust me…you’ve seen corrupt. Ryan was a prime example.”

  When I leave the station, a sense of peace strikes me. I smile and go home to my very pregnant mate.