Alpha Mine (The Alpha Council Chronicles)

by Brenda Sparks

  As Andrea and Gage made their way through their home, they walked down the halls, greeting each guard by name. Not taking any chances, Gage had a security force watching his home every night to keep unwanted agents out and the humans they had collected in.

  They descended the circular staircase leading from the second floor to the foyer. Their large home was decorated in a medieval motif—their favorite period in history, the one they enjoyed living in most. At the bottom of the stairs stood a suit of armor holding a coat of arms flag in one hand and a sword lifted above its helmet in the other. As they entered the foyer, a commotion could be heard from the back of the house, drawing the couple.

  “I have another for you,” an average size male called out to them when they entered the kitchen.

  The hunter stood before the couple, holding a flailing human by her arm. “I picked her up in the alley off Henderson.”

  Andrea walked over to the woman and took her chin firmly in her hand, forcing the woman to look at her. “Thank you, Wade. She looks decent enough. “

  “She’s clean, Andrea.”

  His mate shot the man a harsh look as he mispronounced her name. Her ire rolled over Gage. “My name is An-dray-ah. Not An-dree-ah.”

  How dare he! Anger heated Gage’s blood like molten lava at the hunter’s disrespect.

  “My apologies, Miss An-dray-ah.” Wade had the decency to look properly chastened. “I tasted her blood myself to test the cleanliness,” the hunter offered to make amends.

  Andrea gave an approving look. “Good, you never know with ladies of the night. Even though we can’t catch any human diseases, there’s no reason to eat infected food.” This remark caused the woman to thrash harder. Andrea turned her attention back to the woman. “Be still. There is no way you can get away from us.”

  Gage came up behind Andrea. “My love, why don’t you introduce her to her roommates while I reward Wade’s hard work. I’ll join you in a minute so we can play with our new friend.”

  He watched the anticipatory smile light his mate’s face as she took the woman from her kidnapper and marched her down the basement stairs. It was almost enough to quell his anger at the hunter’s mispronunciation of Andrea’s name. Almost.

  “Here you go.” Gage struggled to keep the anger from his face when he handed Wade a handful of bills. “You’ll find your usual fee is there.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The hunter wisely chose not to count the money before he pushed it into the pocket of his jeans.

  As Wade turned to leave, Gage pinned him against the wall by his neck, his feet dangled off the ground. “And Wade, if you ever call my heartmate by the incorrect name again, I will punish you. She gets very angry when someone mispronounces her name. And when she’s angry, I’m angry. Got it?”

  The male nodded as best he could with the limited movement Gage’s hand allowed. He slowly lowered the man to the floor. Releasing his neck, he smoothed the wrinkles from the man’s shirt. “Now I trust you can see yourself out. I have a new plaything waiting below.”

  “Of-of course, sir,” Wade stuttered, rubbing his throat.

  Gage took the stairs to the basement two at a time and greeted the set of burly male guards located on each side of the door. He hungrily licked his lips in anticipation, while one of them unlocked, then swung the door open for him.

  “Thank you, Trace,” he called over his shoulder as he walked through the door.

  “Enjoy your meal,” the guard returned.

  An evil chuckle burst through his lips. “You know I will.”

  Chapter 7

  It had been several weeks since Stephan returned and things were beginning to become somewhat normal, as normal as living with a human could be, he reasoned. He and Katrina had been getting along, and Marcus seemed to be happy that his sire and his human were cordial. The three of them did things together like going to shows and having what Marcus referred to as Wednesday Night Game Night.

  Tonight the three of them sat together on the overstuffed black leather couch in the living room watching TV on the seventy inch plasma that hung on the wall. On either side of the TV, a series of ceiling to floor length windows gave them a beautiful view of the strip. Each window had specially made dark burgundy drapes which, combined with the roll down UV shades, kept out the sun’s rays, making it safe for the vampires to roam around the home during daylight hours. Tonight the blinds were opened wide, which allowed a view of the glittery lights of the city outside that rivaled the images on the TV screen.

  He rather liked the improvements the younger vampire had made to his home, the new appliances, special shades, modern furniture, and TVs. Marcus kept the penthouse modern and up-to-date, and he appreciated it. It was beginning to feel like home, even with the human staying within.

  Marcus turned toward Stephan and Kat, TV remote in hand. A bump of his finger clicked off the TV, and Marcus laid the remote on the coffee table. “What do you want to play tonight you two? Poker? Pictionary?” A gleam lightened Marcus’ brown eyes, and he wagged his brows. “Naked Pictionary? Oh wait, I know, how about Naked Twister?”

  Kat hit Marcus playfully on his chest and giggled while Stephan groaned. The image in his mind of Kat and him twisted together, their bodies naked, was enough to cause his member to harden. In fact, it did, prompting him to readjust himself after he grabbed a nearby throw pillow to cover his lap.

  “Oh, I know,” Kat said between giggles. “How about Charades?”

  Marcus gave her a wide smile. “Yeah, that sounds like fun. The person who guesses correctly is the next to go.”

  “I’ll go first,” Kat volunteered. Stephan breathed a sigh of relief to have some space between him and Kat. He needed to get his body under control, and that was impossible with her sitting so close, touching him. He didn’t want to acknowledge it, but his body wasn’t his own when Kat was near. She elicited responses in him that would take a lesser male to his knees. It took every ounce of his carefully honed self-control to be close to her every night and not take her in his arms to drink from her while they made sweet love.

  Marcus poured himself a drink. “Anybody want one?” he asked, lifting the bottle of brandy.

  “Not right now,” Stephan replied while their roommate shook her head.

  Kat stood in front of the black onyx coffee table, an excited look on her face. She held her hands as if she were praying, and then opened them outward.

  “Book?” Marcus guessed.

  “Right, it’s the name of a book,” Kat said.

  Stephan smiled and crossed his arms over the pillow in his lap. “It’s been a long while since I have played this game, but thought you were supposed to be silent.”

  “Kat and silence are two things that never go together like a bathtub and a hairdryer.” Marcus quipped, and Kat shot him a look.

  “Okay, from now on I won’t talk,” Kat promised as she lifted two fingers in the air.

  “Two words,” stated Stephan.

  Kat nodded while Marcus said, “I’m surprised you know the title of a book, even if it is just two words.”

  She gave him a one finger salute, flipping him off. Stephan laughed a deep bass sound that rumbled through his chest. He rather enjoyed her tenacity.

  “I thought you said it’s two words, not one,” teased Marcus.

  Kat mimed eating, then got down on all fours. Blood rushed through Stephan’s veins as his treacherous mind pictured him behind Kat, pumping into her. The image made his shaft push against the button on the waist of his jeans. Stephan repositioned himself again behind the pillow, swallowing the lump in his throat.

  “I have no idea what you are doing, but I got to tell you, baby, it’s working for me,” Marcus said. Stephan shot him a warning sideways glance, which he missed.

  “Is it Old McDonald’s Farm?” guessed Marcus.

  “That would be three words, Marcus, not two. I thought you could count,” Stephan remarked, shifting on the couch to ease the growing pressure of his pants. “A
nd it’s a book not a song.”

  Kat shook her head, laughing at Stephan’s wisecrack. The sound warmed his heart.

  She stood on her tip toes and stretched her arms over her head, clasping her hands together as if they were bound, which sent Stephan’s mind up to the bedroom with an image of his naked body hovering over Kat while he restrained her arms above her head on the bed. Stephan swallowed a moan and thought he might just be the first person to ever be killed by Charades.

  “Is it diving?” guessed Stephan desperately wanting to end Kat’s turn before he exploded.

  Kat shook her head. She smiled as if an idea popped into her head and grabbed both of her breasts in her hands, pushing them together, sending another rush of heat through Stephan’s body.

  “The Rack!” Marcus shouted suddenly realizing the title of the book. Kat nodded.

  “Thank god,” Stephan muttered too quietly for Kat to hear, but Marcus’ preternatural hearing must have caught it easily for he smiled.

  “My turn.” Marcus bounded up from the couch. “Hey Kat, what was that bit you did in the beginning with the eating and then crawling on the floor?”

  “That was Rack of Lamb,” Kat answered, shrugging her shoulders and returned to the couch. “And then I pretended to be strung out on a rack.”

  Stephan shook his head and smiled. He expected Kat to plop down in Marcus’ spot on the couch, but instead she returned to her previous spot beside him. Their legs touched as she sunk into the butter soft leather, sending the equivalent of electric current racing through his bloodstream. Her honeysuckle smell surrounded him, wrapping around him like a boa constrictor, making it hard to breathe.

  Stephan placed his arm on the back of the couch behind her head, trying to appear relaxed while his entire body tingled with prickly heat. He turned his attention fully on Marcus and away from the impulse to hook his arm around Katrina’s shoulders and pull her to him for a kiss.

  Marcus mimed movie, then held up three fingers sending them off in round two. Marcus touched his eyes.

  “Eyes,” guessed Stephan. Marcus nodded and put his arms straight out from his shoulders.

  “Letter T?” guessed Kat.

  “Yeah, that’s it, Eyes T. I loved that movie,” The jest earned a friendly swat from Kat on his thigh.

  Marcus shook his arms bringing their attention back to him. He opened his arms out to the side.

  “Wide?” guessed Kat correctly.

  Marcus nodded his head and clapped his hands together, one on top of the other.

  “Wide Clapping?” Kat speculated, leaning forward in her excitement.

  “Closed?…Shut?” guessed Stephan.

  Kat jumped up as she and Stephan simultaneously shouted, “Eyes Wide Shut!”

  Stephan could sense Kat’s arousal, the change in her pheromones. Without conscious thought, he gently pushed into her mind to find out what had caused her sudden change. He immediately saw the image of the three of them in bed, and his erection jumped in approval.

  A shadow in her mind, he watched an image from the erotic movie come into Kat’s mind. The image quickly morphed into her with both Marcus and him, all of them naked, acting out the scene.

  When Kat sat down quickly, her heady scent surrounded him. He heard her heart pound in her chest, very much aware of the places his body touched Kat’s as she sat beside him on the couch. The mental image of the three of them would not stop playing in his head.

  When he turned to look at Kat, her tongue peeked out to wet her lips. A groan pushed from his throat at the sensual sight. He could think of several intimate places he would like her tongue to explore.

  “That was a tie, who’s turn is it?” asked Marcus as he made his way back to the couch.

  Stephan shifted uncomfortably on the couch trying to adjust himself to ease his growing discomfort. “Kat can go. I need a break. You two play without me,” he bit out through clenched teeth, his self-control slipping as the beast within wanted to mate. He stood then and quickly walked up the stairs with the pillow still in his hands.

  Kat heard the door to Stephan’s bedroom slam shut. Her eyes darted to Marcus. “I wonder what that was about.”

  He gave her a weak smile. “He’s been so moody since coming back here.” Marcus lifted his glass and downed the rest of the amber liquid from inside.

  “Sometimes, I don’t think he likes me,” Kat said. “I feel like I make him uncomfortable. Maybe I should find my own place.”

  “Don’t be silly. I told you, you will always be welcomed here.”

  “By you. But now that Stephan’s back—”

  Marcus spoke over her, interrupting her sentence “Stephan doesn’t want you to go either.”

  Kat raised one corner of her lips, giving her friend a disbelieving smirk. “How do you know that?”

  “I can read him. I’ve known him a long time. You leaving is not what he wants, trust me.”

  Katrina crossed her arms over her chest. “What does he want?”

  Marcus looked into his empty glass, then his brown eyes met hers. “I need a refill. The night is still young, Kitty Kat. You want to go downstairs to the casino and see if we can lose some money?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Since he’d done so by mentioning one of Katrina’s favorite past times, she decided to go with it and smiled. “You paying?”

  “Yeah. My treat. I’ll go get my stash of cash, and we’ll get out of here.”

  While Kat sat on the couch waiting for Marcus to return, her thoughts drifted to the vampire upstairs. She admitted to herself she liked him. A lot. But did he have any feelings for her?

  As she had sat sandwiched between the two males, their thighs touching, she was all too aware of the two powerful, gorgeous bodies that flanked her. She and Stephan had been flirting for weeks, but neither of them seemed to have the courage to take things to the next level by admitting their attraction. And though she had no idea why, Marcus had barely shown her any affection since Stephan returned. She supposed Marcus kept his distance out of respect for his sire, but all she knew for sure was the pair of them left her feeling unsatisfied and achy.

  Marcus told her Stephan wanted her to stick around, but did he truly want her to stay or was he tolerating her because of Marcus? She decided to make it her mission to find out if the sexy vampire had any feelings for her.

  As she and Marcus exited the penthouse, she committed herself to one mission—find out if Stephan liked her. She just hoped it wouldn’t prove to be mission impossible.

  Chapter 8

  Andrea awoke to the music of another one of her favorite bands, Smashmouth. She stretched her arms over her head and turned to look at the male she loved. Gage lay beside her, propped on his elbow. Love and lust darkened his eyes.

  “Good evening, darling,” she said in a sultry whisper. Gage responded by capturing her lips in a fierce kiss. Their tongues danced back and forth, and the heat from their kiss rushed through Andrea’s blood. Her stomach cinched as her excitement rose, but she pushed her desire aside ruthlessly. She had something she needed to talk about, and if she didn’t pull back now, talking would be the last thing they would end up doing.

  Andrea broke their kiss, pulling her head back to lick her kiss swollen lips. Gage tracked the movement of her pink tongue as it darted across her full lips.

  “Gage, I have a surprise for you.”

  “What is it, my dear?” His voice sounded thick with lust.

  Andrea’s smile reached her eyes. “I’m with child. We’re going to have a baby.”

  “It cannot be. Are you sure?” Gage whispered, disbelief suffocating his voice.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been to the doctor, and he confirmed it. I’m six weeks along.”

  “I-I can’t believe it. This is such a miracle!” he gushed, squeezing her tightly against him. He laid his cheek on top of her head. “After three hundred years, we are blessed with a child! We have waited so long, I had lost all hope.”

  Andrea tho
ught about all the times they’d discussed having a family. How sad they were when each year passed with no baby. Now they were finally going to have a little one to love and cherish. Gage raised his head, his eyes held a joyful twinkle. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “Yes.” Andrea nodded her head and laughed.

  “Of course, it’s too early to know. I can’t believe I am finally going to be a father!” Gage squeezed her tighter still, obviously forgetting his own strength so lost in his happiness.

  “Um Gage, you’re squishing the baby.” His chest muffled Andrea’s voice.

  Gage immediately released her. “I’m sorry. I lost my head.” He ran the back of his hand down her cheek in a soft caress. “I have never been happier in my entire life. Thank you!”

  Andrea leaned up and gave him a small kiss. “I’m happy too, my love.”

  Gage hopped out of bed and began getting dressed. “I know, let’s celebrate. We’ll go to dinner, and I’ll get tickets to your favorite show.” His fingers deftly worked the buttons of his shirt as he spoke. “You know, the one at Reaper’s.”

  “Desire?” Andrea supplied the name of the show, propping herself up on her elbows to ogle her lover as he dressed. Corded muscles played under his pale skin, his blond hair caressed his forehead when he bent to don his trousers. Andrea appreciated the way his clothes hugged his toned body, and she sighed in appreciation.

  “That’s the one. Here, let me help you up.” He scooped his mate into his arms.

  Andrea giggled. “I’m pregnant, not ill. I can get out of bed all by myself.”

  “Make no mistake, my dear, I will be over-protective of you every minute until our baby is born healthy.”

  As she dressed in a little black number with a rhinestone belt, she looked at her profile in the ornately carved full-length mirror which stood in the corner of their bedroom. Soon her belly would no longer be flat, but swollen with their child. She could sense her child’s presence within her, knew it was strong for now.