by Grey, Aspen
“You tell him you were all right?” Larcon asked, obviously perceptive enough to know I was texting my dad.
“I did,” I smiled as I set my phone down on the table and took another sip of my drink which was about halfway finished.
“Good,” he grinned. “So you don’t have a boyfriend or anything? A mate? Ever had any children?”
“Why? You wanna breed me?” I joked.
Wow, that was uncharacteristic! I glanced at my drink with suspicion.
“Say, how strong is this thing?”
Larcon laughed. “Ah, you ain’t drunk. You just want me. Don’t try and blame the drink!”
I tried to smile back, but the room started to spin. The old corner jukebox’s colors bloomed and twisted like you see in one of those acid trips in the movies. I reached out to brace myself against the table as my vision started to narrow.
“Something’s not right,” I stammered. My head felt like it was being stuffed with cotton. I looked around for Bruna, but she was gone, and when I looked back at Larcon for support, and saw the telling smile on his face, I knew that I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.
“What’s the matter, sweet pea?” he asked as he stood up and loomed over me. “Something wrong?”
Before I passed out, the last thought that went through my mind was, I’m sorry, dad.
Chapter Three
Alexander
Peace. But how long would it last? As I sped through Kurren territory in my cherry red 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB 4-cam, I wanted to spit. I was probably imagining things, but with my windows down and the air blowing through my hair, I was sure I could smell them—their stink, their stench of cruelty and betrayal.
The Kurrens were another pack of shifters that lived on the other side of Mist Peak from my pack. We’d been at war at one point, a war that had taken my family from me and had torn our pack to pieces. I was only six when the truce was negotiated, and now, twenty-two years later, I couldn’t help but feel as though we were on the brink of something terrible happening.
Tyrese, one of our alphas, had spotted an outsider wolf on the peak this morning, dangerously close to the boundary line that separated our territory from the Kurrens’. It was a beta, just a scout probably, who’d turned tail and run when he was spotted, but it was a bad sign. It meant the Kurrens were getting bold.
I’d been at home in my office finalizing some trades when Tyrese had come home and let me know what he’d seen. Rather than gathering the troops, shifting and looking for trouble, I’d hopped in the car and gone for a ride, hoping to run into one of the Kurrens so we could have a talk. But so far, the hills were quiet.
It was a dreary day that matched my mood. Our pack was in turmoil, struggling without a leader. Our last head alpha, Hector, vanished one night without a trace. None of us knew where he went, and he’d apparently used pheromone blockers as none of us, not even Jasper, our best scout with a keen sense of smell, had been able to track him. Now, we were like a ship without a rudder, or a captain, and if things came to a head soon with the Kurrens, we’d need to be focused and band together.
I downshifted the car as I hooked a turn overlooking the canyon that sloped down to the stream below. Still no signs of the Kurrens, but still I couldn’t stand the air. Just being on their side of the peak had my hairs on edge and my fangs extended. I was ready to take my wolf form at a moment’s notice.
My eyes searched the trees as I sped down the road, searching for a wolf silhouette or the form of a naked man who’d just returned to human form. But I saw nothing. In a way I was relieved. Running into one of them would only bring more trouble, and I was on my own. But at the same time, we had to know if something was coming. We had to be prepared.
I came down on the other side of the peak and slowed at the private dirt driveway that I knew led deep into the woods to the Kurrens’ compound. I’d never been there myself, but I knew it housed at least three alphas, a handful of betas, and even worse—several captive omegas.
Larcon’s harem. Everyone in the area knew about it, but during peacetime, there was nothing we could do. I tried not to think about it; all it did was cause my heart to ache. Those memories were simply too painful to bear, so I pushed them aside, slammed the Ferrari into first gear, whipped it around and sped back towards Sleepy Hills.
I was in no mood to go home—not just yet—and with nothing new to report, there was no reason to rush back. Sleepy Hills was a human town, with no shifters living in it, so in a way it was a refuge for me when I needed to collect my thoughts and get away from it all. The human world seemed so much simpler than ours—at least that’s how it seemed to me.
I grimaced at the violet clouds overhead, which were seconds from dumping rain on the quiet little town and gunned it, going through the gears until I was roaring down the main street into town. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I completely forgot about the speed trap set up just after the tracks, and groaned as a police cruiser pulled out behind me with its lights flashing.
“Goddamn it.”
I slowed to a stop and got my registration and insurance from the glove box and looked in my rearview as the officer got out of his car and came over to me. If only he knew who I was, how powerful I was and how weak he was. I could tear him to pieces if I wanted to. That gun on his hip was nothing compared to my incredible strength, but he thought he was the one in charge.
It’s the human’s world, so you play by human rules.
“How you doing, Alex?” Officer Brady asked with a smile and a nod. This wasn’t the first time Brady had pulled me over, nor would it be the last.
“Officer,” I replied simply as I handed him everything he was about to ask for.
“Going a little fast back there,” he remarked. “In a hurry somewhere?”
“Just lost track of my speed I guess.”
“Easy to do in a car like that,” he replied. “Maybe take it to the track next time you want to let loose. This here’s a quiet town. We don’t want any accidents.”
“Of course not.”
“I’ll run this and be right back.”
“Officer,” I said. “With all due respect, you know me. You know I’m registered and insured.”
Officer Brady smiled, knowing full well I was right. But he was a small cop in a small town and had nothing better to do. I also suspected he didn’t particularly like me, as the suit I was wearing probably cost more than his monthly salary. I’d done my best to be courteous to him, but he’d never liked me and I doubted he ever would.
“I’ll be right back, Alex.”
I sighed and leaned back in my seat as he went back to his cruiser and took his sweet time running my insurance and registration. I took the opportunity to call Tyrese. He answered after one ring.
“See anything?” he asked with concern.
“Nada,” I replied. “Nothing but trees.”
“I swear I saw him! A beta, up on the ridge, looking like a scout.”
“I believe you,” I told him. “But I went all the way around to the base of their compound and didn’t see a soul.”
“Hmmm,” Tyrese replied. “I don’t like it. They’re up to something.”
“I agree. Listen, I just got pulled over by Brady on my way into town. I’m gonna grab a drink and then head home and we can discuss what to do.”
“Looking for something sweet to take home?” Tyrese joked, knowing full well there wasn’t a single shifter in Sleepy Hills that wasn’t either a Webber or a Kurren.
“You know me and those human boys,” I joked. “Talk to you later.”
“Later.”
I hung up and sighed again. Tyrese had only been kidding, but he’d touched on a sore spot without knowing it.
I was single, and unlike the rest of the guys in the pack, I wasn’t content being so. I yearned for a mate, someone I could get close to, share my secrets with and spend the rest of my life with. I was wounded, deeply, but had vowed to myself that I would never allow that to
stop me from being able to love. But so far that special feeling had eluded me.
I’d met a few omegas in my life, of course, from some of the surrounding towns or when I took trips to Denver or Boulder, but none of them had stuck. They’d been fun, sexy and delicious, but the spark simply hadn’t been there.
What will it take? I thought as I glanced up at the rearview as Officer Brady came back over and handed me my things.
“Gonna have to give you a ticket, Alex,” he said happily. “You know the drill on how to pay it, and make sure you do so you don’t get a court summons. And watch your speed from now on.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied with just enough sarcasm to let him know I thought he was a dick but not enough to start a confrontation. “Thank you, sir.”
I watched him go but didn’t bother waiting for him to get back into his car before driving off.
“Prick,” I muttered as I came into town. There were really only two spots in Sleepy Hills to relax in the afternoon—either the bar, which everyone called ‘The Bar’ due to its lack of a sign, or the Big Dog Coffee Shop. But I wasn’t feeling like a mocha latte, so I pulled into the parking lot of The Bar and hopped out. I walked up to the door and tugged it open, and as I did, two scents slammed into my nose.
The first one I recognized and it almost made me sick. It belonged to Larcon Kurren, the leader of the Kurren pack. But the second one was so sweet, so incredible and delicious, that it almost made me forget my name.
Peaches…peaches from Heaven that hit my brain like a thousand watts of electricity and almost took my legs out from under me. My mouth hung open.
“No,” I said to myself. “It can’t be.”
Chapter Four
Alexander
“It—it can’t be,” I repeated as I stared into the dimly lit dive bar, the sweet scent of ripe peaches filling my nose.
But it was. As I inhaled more deeply, I understood immediately: it was the scent of my fated-mate!
Holy guacamole!
An overwhelming joy swept through me, only to be met with a terrifying realization; Larcon was in there with him.
As far as sons of bitches went, Larcon was one of the top in the world. If a medal was given out each year for being the world’s biggest cunt, he’d win every time, and that was putting it mildly. Not only was he brash, uncultured and uncouth, and full of himself with that jacked-up truck of his, but he was also an evil bastard who had no qualms about kidnapping omegas and holding them against their will for as long as they amused him and the rest of his alphas. If my fated-mate was in there with him, that meant one thing; he was in danger.
I burst in through the front door and scanned the room. It was completely empty, but my nose pointed me towards a table in the back, sitting in the shadows away from prying eyes. I saw two figures there, one was Larcon, who was standing, and the other, slumped over the table, was a boy, my fated-mate.
I’m too late, I realized. The omega wasn’t moving. Larcon had drugged him, most likely by slipping something in his drink. When he woke up next, he’d be at the Kurren compound, chained up or locked in a room or whatever diabolical shit they did up there, with no means of escape. But I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“LARCON!” I bellowed, seconds away from taking wolf form and tearing him to pieces. Larcon, who was doing something on his phone, looked up and smiled when he saw me.
“Alexander. What a pleasant and unexpected surprise!”
“Get away from him,” I snarled, curling my lip to expose my fangs. “Now.”
“Whoa, buddy. What crawled up your ass and died?”
“I’m not going to say it again. Get away from him.”
“You really don’t want to start with me, Alex,” Larcon replied, shaking his head like he was the toughest alpha in the world. “And you know it. So why don’t you turn around, and take your three-thousand-dollar suit and your little cuck ass back up the peak where you belong?”
That’s it, I thought as I looked at the poor omega lying with his head down on the table.
I stepped forward threateningly and growled. Larcon’s eyes narrowed as he realized that I wasn’t just messing around—I was serious. He cocked his head to the side.
“The fuck you doing, Alex?” he asked. “What do you care about this guy?”
“For the sake of peace between our packs, I’ll say it once more,” I told him. “Step away from the omega and get the fuck out of here. I don’t want to have to kill you.”
“You know what, Alex? I don’t want to fight you either—at least right now. Which is why I’m not going to!”
My senses were on high alert, and I was already shifting when the attack came from behind me. I smelled his stench as I burst out of my suit, shredding it into expensive rags, and dodged out of the way as one of Larcon’s alphas streaked through the air past me and slammed into a table and chairs, smashing them to bits.
I leapt forward and snapped at his hind legs, but he was quick and managed to scramble away before I could get my teeth around him. He spun and gnashed his teeth at me, growling in a defensive posture, the hair on his back standing straight up.
He was a big bastard, with a dark brown coat salted with white flecks. His eyes were angry with loyalty to his pack. I recognized him as Tyson, one of the least classy of the Kurrens—and that was saying something.
It was a standoff, each of us waiting for the other to move. But behind him, I saw Larcon round the table, wrap his arm around the omega—my fated-mate—and lift him over his shoulder and head for the back door.
No!
I let out a ferocious roar and sprang forward.
Tyson was fast, and I knew he would be ready for my attack, so I feinted right to bait out his counterattack, dodged his claw as it came up towards my eye, then snapped forward and clamped my jaws around his neck. I sank my teeth as deep as they would go and drove them home until I tasted blood. His jugular vein snapped beneath my incisors and he cried out with a desperate whimper. Larcon spun around in shock.
“Tyson!” he exclaimed. I guess he thought his alpha would handle me easily, but he’d underestimated me. Then again, I was fueled by a fire that he could not understand—the fire of protectiveness for my fated-mate. “No!”
He released the omega, who still had enough presence of mind to have some strength in his legs and fought to stand before he began to topple over. I instantly shifted back to my human form and dashed over to him, sliding on my knees and catching him before he fell. I cradled him and stared down at the most beautiful face I’d ever seen in my life.
Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
Larcon raced past me and slapped a hand over Tyson’s neck, doing his best to stop the flow of blood from the severed jugular I’d given him.
“I’d hurry if I were you,” I called out over my shoulder as I kicked open the back door. “He might make it if you get him to a doctor in time. Clarice might even stitch him up if you are nice to her!”
“You son of a bitch!” Larcon screamed at me. “You’re gonna pay for this!”
His words were nothing but noise in my ears as I raced quickly out the back and through the parking lot over to my car. Thankfully, it was raining and the humans were inside. It wouldn’t have been good for them to see a naked man carrying a young man over to his car and speeding away.
I managed to get the passenger side door open and slid the beautiful boy inside, then hopped in the driver’s seat and threw the car into gear. I’d have to pass Officer Brady on the way out of town, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered right now besides getting this omega home and making sure he was safe. Who knew who Larcon had been talking to on his phone when I came in—he could have his whole pack on the way into town right now.
I floored it and roared, my voice lost beneath the roar of the engine as it howled, propelling the car to high speed and sending me screaming out of town. I blew past the police cruiser doing at least sixty, but by the time Brady would be able to get his cruiser in gear a
nd head after me, I was already halfway home.
The rain poured from the sky as I hit eighty before I had to slow down on the curve up into the hills, drifted around the corner and floored it again, pushing the classic Ferrari for all it was worth. The tires squealed against the wet pavement as I tore up the base of the mountain towards our compound.
I slowed at our private road and sped down the driveway to the house. The Ferrari’s tires screeched to a halt at the front steps and I was on the other side pulling open the passenger side door before I could blink twice.
Rain pelted down on us as I snatched the poor omega up in my arms and took the steps two at a time up to the house. I was about to shoulder the door down when Jasper pulled it open for me.
“What happened?” he practically shouted.
“Clarice!” I roared. “Is she here?”
“I think so—”
“I’m here!” Clarice’s voice rang out from upstairs and she appeared on the second-floor balcony.
“Help! Larcon drugged him—put something in his drink, I think!”
Clarice rushed down the stairs, her messy hair twisted up in a bun, looking more like a stylish New York magazine editor than a shifter nurse living in the woods in Colorado. But Clarice’s skills as a healer were unmatched. She worked at the hospital for the humans during the day, but tended to any and all shifter injuries when needed—even treating the Kurrens since the peace had begun.
She won’t be treating Tyson, though, I thought as I set the omega down on the couch. She raced over to his side and placed a hand on his neck to feel his pulse.
My own heart was racing as I waited, feeling helpless as she examined him. She pulled back his eyelids and looked into his eyes, then leaned close and sniffed his body up and down. Finally, she placed a hand on his forehead and closed her eyes.
“Well?” I snapped. “Is he going to live?”
Clarice opened her eyes. “He’s going to be fine.”