Abusing the Alpha (Seraphine Thomas Book 4)

by Erin R Flynn

  “Oh, someone got drunk,” I drawled, rolling my eyes when she burst out into giggles.

  “Who’s the best at using it, though?” she called over when the guys were seriously gesturing to where theirs were hung to.

  “Who doesn’t say they are when asked that?” Cooper questioned, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, really.”

  “I never think I’m best. What kind of ego do you have?” Harris argued.

  “Michael, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to your skills,” Simone assured him with a deep purr. “You would not have so many find you again to be moon mates with you if you weren’t an excellent lover.”

  “But none want to keep me,” he muttered, and I saw he was half in the bag too.

  “Us not being ready to settle down, as we have immortal lives to do it, does not mean there is anything wrong with your skills,” she promised. It worked because he smiled and went back to the conversation of length and girth.

  “Why does the size matter so much to them?” I asked, more myself than anyone. “Women don’t compare boob size.” Saying that, though, made us all glance at our chests.

  “I think it’s because we have an actual size for bras and those are a pain, so what does it matter,” Simone tried. “I’ve heard women compare nipple size, as men have preferences. I care not on that as long as I’m not super tiny or those scary large nipples that are the whole breast almost.”

  “I cannot believe we got here from a fancy dinner and reserved pool party,” I drawled, flopping back on the concrete, letting my legs fall into the pool.

  “Then let’s change the mood,” Hagan growled, picking me off the ground and throwing me into the pool. I yelped and laughed when I resurfaced, getting into a splashing fight with him that everyone joined in on.

  And somehow that still led to sex. Sure, it was a while later, but not even full dark. Simone was sitting on Harris’s lap in the corner, and somehow I was having sex with the twins at the corner of the pool. I pulled my suit back on when servers came out with trays of dessert and swam over to the tables. The second I got out, Tristan was at my side holding a towel to me.

  “Can I speak with you a moment?” he asked quietly, grabbing my arm gently. He led me over to the corner and gave me a worried look. “Sera, what’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, wrapping the towel around me when he let go.

  “You just had sex with both of them in front of your team. Since when are you doing stuff like that?”

  “It’s complicated and—”

  He grabbed my arms and actually shook me. “You are more than sex, Sera. I don’t know what happened with that councilman, not fully, nor his people. I don’t know what happened with the cheetahs or whatever else has been going on, but you are so much more than sex. Don’t let anyone tell you or treat you otherwise. Don’t let your Betas treat you that way.”

  I flinched, him hitting the nail on the head of what I’d been feeling. “They don’t. They’re just wound up after what’s happened. It’s fine, right? Vegas fun?”

  He gave me a disappointed look that hurt my chest somehow. “Did you have fun?” He shook his head when I opened my mouth to answer. “If you want to have sex all up and down the Strip, go for it. You know I wouldn’t ever judge. But want it, Sera. Don’t just do what you think you should as a siren or wolf. You’re better than that. You’re worth so much more than being pushed into sex like that’s all you are.”

  My eyes burned as he walked away… And my gaze met Dain’s. He’d seen the whole embarrassing display. “Did you need something?”

  “I wanted to make sure he behaved as he should with the amount of alcohol he’s consumed.”

  “Thanks, but you really don’t need to watch me all the time. I’m fine on my own.”

  “I would debate that,” he breathed as I turned to head back to the party. Yeah, fuck him. So easy for others to judge the aftermath if they didn’t go through the trauma. Either I was a bitch and cold, a complete hardass if I didn’t feel it enough, and a whiney bitch if I did.

  How was I even a bitch both times? Did that make any sense?

  No, not to me, either.

  22

  “Chief Thomas?” a woman asked as I reached the desserts. I nodded, and she moved forward hesitantly. “Is it true we can come and report crimes to you? Word got around that we could do that while you’re here.”

  “One fucking night off was all she asked for,” Reagan bitched from behind me, setting something down on the table too hard.

  “Ignore him,” I assured her when she jumped. “Sure, you can tell me anything you want to.” I sniffed the air and frowned. “You’re a wolf, so why not just tell Alpha Stud?”

  She fidgeted and glanced behind me a few times. I moved us along the pool to one of the other day beds and sat down. “Alpha Stud makes it clear that if he helps you, you help him, if you get my drift.”

  Rage blossomed throughout every inch of me. “He forces you to have sex with him to do his fucking job as Alpha?”

  “Forces, no, nothing like that,” she hurried to clarify, waving her hands out in front of her as she sat too. “It’s more favor for favor, wink, wink.” I opened my mouth to argue the difference, but she hurried on. “Like free shifts dancing or whatever. I mean, it’s not sex, though some do, but I can’t. I just can’t. He’s sexist enough, and I just can’t have sex with him.”

  “I get it, believe me. Start with what the problem is.”

  “Right, right.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and let out a heavy breath. “My landlord is scum. I mean, yeah, he’s a douche. He knows I’m a topless dancer and makes me work his private poker game once a month or he says he’s going to call the police on me for being loud or that I might have drugs, whatever, enough to maybe get a shifter in trouble, ya know? So I went to move out, and he got mad.”

  “Because there goes his entertainment,” I muttered, reaching over and taking her hand in mine. “Does he do anything else to you?”

  “They get a bit grabby, but I told him I didn’t care if he called the police because I’m not a hooker and he wasn’t getting sex. If they tried it, I’d call the police myself after I clawed them up. But what he’s doing is a crime, right? I mean, it’s gotta be.”

  “Yeah, it’s a crime. We can help,” I assured her. “What’s your name?”

  “Tasha. I’m a newer wolf. Like a year I think. I got scratched when I was here for a bachelorette party, and the pack has to take responsibility for that. So, yeah, here I am.”

  “Is that how it works?” I whispered in horror, shivering when she nodded.

  “It is what it is.” She shrugged.

  “Tasha, do you like it here in Vegas? I mean, do you like dancing?”

  She snorted. “No, I fucking hate it. It’s so hot all the time. I dance because the pack had that job open, and being a paranormal basically means no job with humans, right? So yeah.”

  “What did you used to do?”

  “Office manager for a dentist. I didn’t do teeth or anything, but yeah, I ran the office and stuff.”

  I sat back and shook my head. “There has to be a better job Stud could offer you. I mean, it’s their fault you got scratched.”

  “Yeah, but no, because my friend, the bride, got drunk and started being stupid with some of the dancers and saying she could do better. She fell on one when she climbed up on stage, and we didn’t stop her in time. I jumped up to get her down, and the dancer started shifting she got so pissed over the whole thing. I got scratched then.”

  “Okay, well, we’ll get to all of that, but let’s start with the landlord problem.” What she’d said at the beginning sank in with the huge info drop. “Who was all talking about reporting crimes to me? Are there more coming?”

  “Yeah, I heard a lot were thinking of coming since you made friends with the fairies and you’re not dirty.” She shrugged. “I heard from the female cheetahs when I saw them at a shop we all get costumes from. One’
s being harassed by a guy in her building saying if she doesn’t put out, he’s going to go to the press that she threatened to scratch him if he didn’t give her money.”

  “Holy fuck,” I whispered, flipping my wet hair over my shoulder. “Okay, call her or them and tell them to give me specifics. I’m leaving some of my people here to wrap up what we’ve been doing, and I can get them on that, but Stud and I are going to have a talk. He’s supposed to be giving the cheetahs protection. And you. And not for a fucking price.”

  “Wait, I don’t want Stud mad at me,” she worried.

  “He won’t be, not unless he wants my foot permanently up his ass,” I assured her and led her back over to the group.

  And ended the fun only part of the night.

  After that, sure, we ate and ate some more, and there were even drinks, but word got around the community what we were doing. Even faster than when I’d been club hopping with Laila. Damn, they really had a network in Vegas.

  The problem with them all coming was Vegas never went to bed. I didn’t think that was the tagline of the city, but it was true. People came as late as four in the morning.

  And that was Stud demanding what was going on.

  “You and I are going to have a chat,” I informed him as I gestured him to follow me.

  “Oh we are, are we?” he challenged with a smirk.

  I got in his face and snarled. “We both know I’m more powerful, but I’m not challenging you as Alpha, Gearmo. I’m actually talking to you as Division Chief of the mother fucking FBI, and we’re going to have a talk. After which I’m going to be extremely generous and give you the chance to fix what you’ve been doing wrong like I did the Chicago Master, but let me be clear, you don’t and we’re talking jail.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve spent over a century staying out of jail for actual crimes, and I’ve cleaned up from all of that, so I’m not only ready to call your bluff but tell you where to fucking shove your—”

  I grabbed him by the front of his shitty suit that probably cost more than I made in a month and slammed him to the concrete near the other pool. “Forcing wolves to sleep with you for help is a fucking crime when they tithe you and your job is Alpha and that means protecting them!”

  “What are you talking about?” he whispered, his eyes wide. I smelled the confusion coming off of him just as I saw it in his eyes.

  “As I said, let’s have a conversation,” I muttered, backing down. He stood, nodding as he brushed off his suit. “And call all your people into whichever of your ballrooms, because we’re going to handle this from the source before most of Vegas wakes up. If you could invite all the other groups, I would be grateful for the cluster fuck I’ve got to handle, but they can be separate so they don’t see the wolves’ dirty secrets.”

  “Fine,” he agreed after a moment, making a few calls to get it all started. “Now what are you talking about? I’ve never forced any chick to have sex with me, Sera. I don’t have to.”

  He’d have to force me. But I didn’t say that. I actually believed him, so it helped me stay calm as we sat down and talked. And after twenty minutes, I realized he was like the Vegas FBI office… Fucking up shit all over the place but not meaning to. That put him under “neglectful” and maybe dense, but nowhere near as bad as the picture I was getting from others.

  So an hour after he’d showed up, we were standing at the front of his large ballroom with most of the pack sitting on chairs someone had pulled out for the meeting. Some were actually working and taking a break for the meeting, about to go to work, or had just gotten off.

  “There have been some severe miscommunications in the pack that have been brought to my attention,” Gearmo started, running his hand over his greasy hair. “First of all, I own several fucking casinos. I used to be a mob boss. I’m a billionaire. I don’t need to force anyone for pussy.”

  “Charming,” I drawled, rolling my eyes as I crossed my arms over my chest. He was such a dog.

  Yes, wolf pun.

  He shot me an unflattering look. He could stuff it. I hadn’t been to bed because of the messes the paranormal leaders in Vegas had made.

  “I’m saying it like that so you know it’s not because of a visiting Alpha whose FBI is here. Nothing I do is to be paid in pussy. I don’t want sex for help. What you should do is help us so we can help you.” He held up a hand when some people went to speak. “Listen to me, as some of you have missed the message or idea of what our pack is or should be.” He glanced at Tasha. “I am sorry you thought otherwise.

  “What is done as pack, as family is if I send a couple of Betas to handle your landlord, which I would do in a second to scare him into fucking behaving as he should, that pulls our Betas from security of the casinos, which provides jobs for the whole pack. I don’t tithe you guys because of that. I’d pay you to pay me, and that’s just stupid. Whatever. What I do ask is if Betas get pulled, you step up.

  “You cover surveillance cameras for a shift to help so they can go handle your thing. That’s what I’ve asked. Or they skip a shift to help and the next time we get someone calling in, you cover for them to help the pack, to help the businesses that feed and protect us all. It’s not nefarious ‘I’ll do you a favor if you give me one, wink, wink.’

  “It’s like the friend you ask to babysit, and while she is, you pick up some groceries for her since you’re heading that way too. That’s what pack is. That’s the system, and it’s on me and the Betas if we didn’t make that clear, and for that I’m sorry.” He looked back to Tasha. “And I’m sorry you were infected. Yes, you had to move here, and that blows. I get that.

  “You are the pack’s responsibility, though, as we infected you. If you went off and infected a shit ton of people because we didn’t take care of you and teach you how to control your wolf, that gets thrown back to us and a lot of shit.” He held up his hand when she opened her mouth. “I know, you haven’t been taught as you should. There has been an onslaught of shit trickling down and too much to handle.

  “I will make it a priority because it has been almost a year, and damn, the months fly by every time I blink. Now, as to your job, that situation has been handled, as someone was a bit less than caring as to where everyone went. I would actually like that job to be yours, as you were an office manager. I want you to be a sort of HR for the pack. Not just jobs but like your situation with the landlord.

  “We needed to know that, and maybe the muscle or the big boss aren’t the best people to go to. Now that we have a contact with law enforcement, you and I can discuss what’s going on and what we might need to kick up to Chief Thomas.” She looked thrilled at the possibilities, and he nodded that it was done then before looking out at his pack. “I cannot help how sexist I am. I’m over a hundred years old.

  “I remember when it was unheard of for dames to work. Yes, I haven’t grown with the times as I should, but pack is everything to me, and I protect my people.” He met Tasha’s eyes again. “And we were protecting you by not allowing you to transfer. It wasn’t to keep another chick in the pack that tend to be dick fests. Other packs can be dangerous, Tasha.”

  “I speak from experience on that,” I interjected. “The Alpha I took over used to ‘induct’ all females into the pack by forcing them to orally and sexually please his entire inner circle.” I nodded when I saw the sea of faces paling. “That was just part of it. So while I might not agree with how Stud runs everything, Vegas is a good pack. You guys have some kinks to work out, and don’t we all?

  “But he was genuinely horrified when I said he was forcing people to have sex for favors. He was horrified at some of the other things I said. For now, I’m leaving some of my people here in Vegas to handle situations like your landlord, Tasha, or other situations brought up. Eventually there will be a team here at the regular FBI office for you to report situations with.

  “I get the pack used to send enforcers to scare the guy, and you did what you had to, so I’m not judgi
ng. Now we have to do better. Going forward, we have to do better with all the eyes on us. I accepted the claim on the Tropicana, and I’m selling it to fund a training facility for our branch of the FBI so all paranormals can be protected by our laws as they should, not just the ones in Chicago.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Stud whispered, his eyes wide. “You’re selling it to the fairy and not keeping the money?”

  “I believe Alena worked it so I get some sort of interest in it, but no, the funds are being used to build the facility. Times are changing, Stud. There isn’t a status quo, and too many are being hurt, here and in other countries. But even Texas is trying to pass a statewide law that any shifter in animal form, as being seen a menace, can be shot on sight. Yeah, that’s a loophole a mile wide.

  “That’s what we could be facing in other states or areas if we don’t do better, show we’re better than people think. And that starts with doing things by the book instead of Betas going to intimidate people. I’m not judging how things went before, but we have to change or none of us could be safe in the future.”

  “Got it, yeah, don’t want Texas mindset here,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Shot on sight. That’s just awesome. Okay, I’ll talk with Alena and see how we can help. Fucking humans.”

  “This can’t all be placed on them,” I growled, hating how any problem seemed to divide us too. “That landlord is a dick and taking advantage, but I’ve seen the other side where shifters put the screws to humans because they can and no one was watching. Both sides have bad apples, and that’s what needs to be handled. There are lots of humans on our side, so don’t change their minds with that sort of attitude.”

  “Yeah, fair enough.” He shrugged when I shot him a nasty look that he was placating me. “We get most humans here looking for the fantasy or to try sex with us like we’re fucking aliens. They tend to act like we are animals in shifted form when we’re at the clubs.”

  “That’s just ignorance, Gearmo. Most don’t mean to be mean, they just don’t get it. Help them get it. Do a performance that shows how cool what we can do is, how we’re sentient and whatnot. Push forward and teach them so they’re not ignorant. I do it all the damn time, and I promise they have those moments when they realize they were being stupid and feel bad. That’s what needs to be done.”