NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team

by Chelsea Handcock

  “Speaking of Sebastian, where is he?” Sky questioned.

  The snake man was starting to approach her, and Ryleigh was no longer happy with the distance. Sky felt Ryleigh place the small pocketknife in her hand.

  “You don’t need to concern yourself with Mr. Frost. He will be resting with Mr. Windsor shortly at the bottom of the lake. I made sure he won’t wake up before he can take his final breath,” the man boasted.

  The snake man was so close, Sky could feel his spittle hitting her face. No way in hell Sebastian was lost to her. He had said soon, not already, so there was still a chance they could all come out of this okay. Sky took the knife and shoved it into his neck. When he lurched back, she did something she had never done before, but instinctively knew it was the right thing.

  She poured every bit of herself into the bond she and Bas shared—every ounce of fear, longing, and lust. The bond brightened and strengthened further. Then she poured every bit of hate and disgust she had for the man she had just stabbed through the bond as well. Then she poured her fears and uncertainty, every feeling she had in her body. Sky felt a burning in her chest and on her wrist, but she didn’t look down, and she didn’t stop. She fell to her knees, then fell forward, going down all fours. She gave the bond the last thing she had left—her love.

  Sky felt something happening to her body. It felt like it was breaking apart. But the most important thing she felt was her bond with Bas as it snapped into place. He wasn't lost to her anymore. She felt him stirring and taking in his surroundings. She felt his confusion, anger, and conviction. Bas was coming back to her.

  Chapter 26

  Bas bolted out of the darkness. It felt as though lightning had struck him. His skin was tingling, and his senses were sharp. For one second, he wondered what had happened, and then he felt it, the bond and Sky. She was there, everywhere within in him—in his soul, in his heart, and within his bear. Motherfucker, she had brought them both back. Bas didn’t know how, but he sure as hell didn’t care.

  One of the men from earlier was carrying him over their shoulder. The other man was close by. Bas could smell him on the wind. They were both bear Shifters, but Bas had beaten those odds before. He would take these men down and get back to Sky.

  Bas Shifted, not giving the guy carrying him a chance. He squished him like the bug he was, then ripped out his throat, just to make sure he wasn’t going to be a problem later. The other man saw what was going on and Shifted himself. He was a scrawny brown bear, not a grizzly like Bas, and low-ranking at that. He didn't have a chance in hell against Bas.

  Circling him, Bas waited for the Shifter to make his first move. Bas needed to assess his skills and determine the best way to end this quickly and efficiently. Much to Bas' dismay, this man wasn’t trained. He swatted his paws out at him and charged like the untrained thug he was. Bas let him go for a while, wanting to give at least one of the men a chance to defend themselves. The fight was still going to result in death, but he wanted a clear conscience when that happened.

  This man had helped terrorize Sky and Ryleigh and could have played a part in Cash’s death. No way was he going to make it out of this alive. When the brown bear went up on two legs, Bas attacked, first barreling into him, then slicing his exposed belly with his claws. The man Shifted back like the coward he was. No Shifter killed another unless they were both in the same form.

  Bas Shifted back and asked the dying man, “Why are you doing this? What does Summerfield want with Sky?”

  “You mean the mother of our future generations?” the man had the nerve to laugh. “Oh, our Supreme Elder has plenty of plans for her. First and foremost though, is to fuck her. Take her in every way and train her to accept the rest of us.”

  That enraged Bas. No way were any of these fuckers getting their hands on Sky.

  “Tell me who you are, so I can inform your family of your defection against Shifter code and demise,” Bas demanded.

  “My name is Silas Windsor, and the only family I have left, I just made sure sank to the bottom of that Lake. NAC will never have what we have. You will never prevail into the ages. Your lines will all die out as the fates have decided. The mongrels you’re breeding with will only bring strife and disease to our people. The Association will prevail, moving forward, pure and true.

  “We have more disciples than you will ever know about. We are hiding behind every corner, watching you. When the time is right, your transgressions will be dealt with and eliminated. Even that mutt you’re currently hiding at your base. Do you think she’ll make it to her first birthday?”

  Fuck, this guy was talking about McKenna. Nobody outside of Alpha and a few select members of NAC even knew she existed or what happened to Emma. How could their leaks go so deep? Bas bent down, going to his knees behind the downed man.

  “No, fucker, the one getting eliminated for their transgression is you,” he whispered in Silas’ ear.

  All it took was a quick twist of his hands on the man’s head, and the man was no more. Shifters could heal from almost anything, but a broken neck or severed head, and they never came back. Bas stood up and oriented himself to the area. It was close to the plane crash, so he knew what direction to head. Bas changed back into his bear form, searching the bond that was stronger now because of Sky. He ran as fast as he could. He would be with his mate soon.

  Chapter 27

  Sky felt weird—heavier, sore, odd. She couldn’t put her finger on what had happened or why she felt so different. Her senses were stronger, more vibrant and expressive. Sky could smell scales and the coppery smell of blood coming off the snake man. It was an odd sensation to have, and it overwhelmed her, but she didn't have time to explore her new ability. There were other things, too. Her vision was off—clearer, brighter and more detailed. She could smell and sense Ryleigh emotions—fear, pain, but also her shock at something else. Sky could also feel the tiny baby within Ryleigh's womb. He was special, something more, something she needed to protect.

  To her great relief, she also felt Bas moving closer. His beast was fully enraged, and there were others, other animals connected to Bas and Ryleigh—all bears. They felt warm and comforting to her. She looked up and through eyes not her own, she saw the snake man. Dean was still holding his neck trying to staunch the flow of blood from the injury she had inflicted upon him, but now he was on his knees crying.

  The other man was also on his knees behind her. What the hell was going on with these people? She went to move forward. Looking down, it wasn’t her hand in her vision. It was a paw, a big ass, furry paw. Shocked, she stepped back only to land on her way too heavy backside. Looking back, she saw an enormous, furry butt she had never seen before. Dammit, Bas had lied; she had turned into a bear.

  “Oh, my Queen, you Are truly perfect in every way,” Dean cried. “Come to me. The fates have decided to grant me my wish for a natural born Shifter female. Come to me and let us cement our bond and our future.”

  Yeah, like hell to the no. That wasn’t happening. Snake man was getting irritated. His pale skin was starting to turn red, and his eyes were flashing full-on reptile.

  “Kill the bitch,” Dean, the snake man, screamed. “She is protecting him. Shoot her with one of the darts. Alpha Team is near. We don’t have time to play these games any longer. Noah!” The Snake man was yelling at the top of his lungs, hurting Sky’s ears.

  Sky turned and straddled Ryleigh in her new, huge ass form, making it awkward. The man, Noah, was fumbling with his guns, not sure of which to use first. Sky watched in fascination as a blur of fur descending upon him from out of nowhere. This bear was big, larger than Bas and bigger than her. Turning, she stepped over Ryleigh, blocking her from the man with the gun and the snake man, but there wasn’t a need to.

  Smiling, Sky watched as Bas came running, hitting the man head-on. The snake Shifted and tried its best to coil around the bear and strike, but he was no match for Sebastian’s beast. Bas caught the snake in his mouth and chomped down, severing
its head from its body. The whole fight was pretty anticlimactic. Sky had expected more from the snake man, but in the end, he was no match for her man. Lesson learned, motherfucker.

  Sky was so happy to see Bas, she felt her body Shift, and she started running toward him without a second thought. He changed just as she jumped and grabbed her up in his arms. She began kissing his face, every inch.

  “I knew you would come. You felt me, didn’t you? Our bond isn’t wrong, it's everything right. You felt it.”

  “Shit, Sky, hold up!” Bas said, pushing her back.

  Damn-it, he was going to do it again. After everything, after she gave him everything once again and proved him wrong, Bas was still going to push her away. He was still going to run. She was just about to rip him a new one when he yanked off his shirt. What the hell? Why was he getting naked, it was freaking cold out here?

  “Shit, babe, you need to cover up, you’re naked,” Bas said handing Sky his shirt.

  Sky looked down, and yep, sure enough, she was standing in the middle of the woods in all her naked glory. With not only Bas and Ryleigh to witness it either, nope, she couldn't be that lucky. Four men were standing around, all with eyes on her. Shit, Sky grabbed the shirt and tried to put it on as fast as possible. Bas tried to help her, and it only made it worse. Slapping his hands, she told him to stop. Stepping behind him, Sky made quick work of putting the shirt on without any help. She wanted to stay right there too, no way did she want to face those strangers. Thankfully, it came all the way down to her knees. She still pulled it a little to make sure it wouldn't cover more.

  After a couple of seconds to pull her out of her mortification, Sky then peeked around Bas and waved to the other men saying a lame “Hi” in the process. All of them were smiling or laughing, except for Ryleigh. She was standing there with a look of panic on her face. She kept looking at Sky and then down to the ground. Sky noticed the wet spot on her pants. Holy crap, Ryleigh’s water just broke. Sky ran past Bas even though he was trying to grab her. She wasn’t having any of it. Ryleigh and the baby needed help.

  “Shit, babe, I know you're mad, but I can explain. I promise,” she heard Bas say.

  “What? No.” Sky said, flapping her hand back at him. She didn’t have time to explain. It was stated clearly for all of them to hear. “Ryleigh’s water just broke, and the baby is coming.”

  Jacks turned and looked at his wife with a deer in the headlights look that was almost cute. Cute, that was if it was if the look was plastered on another man face and not the big ass Alpha of the Team. He went over to Ryleigh and pushed her legs together.

  “Hold them there. No way in hell are you having my kid out here in the fucking forest without proper medical supplies. No fucking way!” Then walked away like his words would fix the problem and stop what was happening.

  Ryleigh was right, men were stupid.

  “Sky?” Ryleigh said, looking down at her legs, “that’s not going to work, the baby is coming.”

  “I know, Rye, I felt him,” Sky admitted. “He’s ready and so are you.”

  Jacks stormed back over. “I don’t know who you are, bear girl, but no way, no how, is this happening here. We need Mia and a hospital room with all the bells and whistles. No, not this,” Jacks said, flinging his arms around like none of them knew they were standing in the middle of nowhere.

  “Where the fuck is Cash? Tell him to get his grump ass out here so we head home. The least he can do after putting us through all this by crashing the damn plane is fly us back. Ethan sucks at it, and I don’t want to do that again. My mate and baby deserve the best, and if she can’t fly, that means Cash is doing it,” Jacks ranted.

  Sky looked at Ryleigh and saw tears in her eyes. She felt Ryleigh’s worry and fear too. Bas hadn’t come back with Cash; that didn’t bode well.

  “Shit, Jacks, Cash, he didn’t make it,” Bas choked. “The plane crashed, his chute was sabotaged, and I found it in the lake. There was blood on it and the windshield of the plane. I don’t know what happened, but he wasn’t anywhere. I looked for as long as I could before needing to get back to the girls. Those guys said they shot him. If they did that with one of those darts, no way could he have survived in those waters. I was only in the water for a short time, and it slowed my bear. We need to set up a search party to try to find him.”

  Sky and Ryleigh had been listening to the men, but had also been doing other things. Sky helped Ryleigh out of her pants and placed the parachute fabric which she had untangled from herself under Rye’s body. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. Ryleigh started pushing, and Sky started panicking. She would jump out of a plane ten times more if she didn’t have to watch what was happening to Ryleigh’s furry biscuit.

  “Ah, guys,” Sky said, trying to get their attention. When that didn’t work and they kept ignoring her, she yelled. “Listen, I don’t know what I am doing here! I build motorcycles for a living and these pipes are not the same. Someone with some freakin knowledge needs to get over here because I can see the baby’s head!”

  Jacks ran over and pushed her out of the way. If it weren't for Bas’ quick thinking, she would have been laid out by the move.

  “Okay, Rye, I see the head. You need to push,” Jacks instructed.

  Ryleigh looked at him like he was the dumbest man on the planet. Sky agreed; hadn’t she just said she saw the head? The other guys were watching, but taking off their backpacks and pulling stuff out. A big, somber looking man took out a first aid kit and laid it at Ryleigh’s side. Another one, with a geeky cuteness, laid one of those space blankets over Ryleigh’s bent legs. Sky was watched while sitting in Bas’ arms. First, the head came completely out, then Jacks pulled gently side-to-side. Once the baby’s shoulders were delivered, the rest slid out with a little plop. It was beautiful, awe-inspiring, and gross, all at the same time.

  He placed the baby on Ryleigh's stomach and said, “Look, babe, we made that.”

  Ryleigh smiled back and said lovingly, “We sure did.”

  Ryleigh placed her hand on the baby’s head and looked down at him, rubbing his little head. Cute, but still gross. There was all this white stuff and blood on it. Yuck. Sky got up and stepped away. She didn’t want to be witness to anything else that came out of Ryleigh’s body. She figured they could be good friends one day, but this was beyond friendship territory. She also decided another thing. No way were she and Bas having kids for a very long time.

  Ryleigh was smiling down at her baby, and Sky couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as well. This was a good moment; a new and extraordinary life had come into the world. That baby's existence would benefit Shifters for years to come. She knew it, felt it.

  “Ah, Jacks, come up here. You need to see this,” Ryleigh said almost panicked. When Jacks did as she asked and sat there staring, not saying a word, the rest of the group gathered around Rye’s head to see what was going on.

  Staring back at them was one of the cutest little babies Sky had ever seen. He had chubby cheeks and a little button nose, but what was really remarkable were his eyes. They were a bright purple, which seemed to sparkle and in the center of each eye was an elongated pupil.

  “Guess we don’t have to wonder if he’s going to be a Shifter anymore, do we?” Ryleigh said.

  “Nope, I guess not,” Jacks said. Looking at the baby and then up at the group, he said, “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Quinn Casius Thorp. The first dragon baby of our generation.”

  Chapter 28

  Everyone congratulated the new parents. Sky was even shed a few tears. The couple, Ryleigh and Jacks, seemed so enamored with each other. The love they both shared for the tiny baby they created and brought into this world together showed in their faces, actions, and words. Sky knew this phenomenal little boy would always be well cared for and loved. She also knew she would give her life for his without thought or question.

  After Jacks’ introduction, the men of Alpha who were present hooted and hollered.
But what surprised and brought even more tears to Sky’s eyes was when they all went to one knee, placed their right hand over their hearts, and pledged their loyalty, fidelity, and protection to the newest member of The Alpha Team. They also reaffirmed the same to Jacks and Ryleigh. It was a special moment between this makeshift family, although awe-inspiring, also felt private. She felt like an outsider and almost turned away.

  Instead, she searched her newly strengthened bond with Bas and noticed something spectacular. The once straight line had sprouted branches, which were reaching out to the people around her. They were all different sizes and colors. Her bond with Bas was a bright white and thick. The tendril leading in the direction of the baby was purple and about half the size. Smaller branches were reaching toward Ryleigh and the men. There were even a couple which seemed to be reaching further away. Sky wondered about those because a thicker branch of pink headed in that direction.

  She concentrated on the branch and tried to follow it, reached out to it, and received a burst of what could only be described as the warm fuzzies. Whoever this branched linked to was happy, healthy and well loved. What she was seeing in her mind and feeling in her heart were truly amazing things. She felt Bas’ warmth engulfed her physically, and she smiled. Then he had to open his mouth.

  “Babe, that could be us one day.”

  “Oh, no way, Sebastian Frost. They better make industrial strength birth control or something because no way am I doing that anytime soon. My furry biscuit is just fine the way it is. I know it’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful things to witness, the birth of new life, but hell to the no.” Sky looked over at Ryleigh and felt guilty for what she had just said. It wasn’t right, but damn, that was gross. She tried to make it better by saying,