by Alanea Alder
"Who are you working with?" Bran demanded, punching the hyena in the face again. The hyena just laughed.
"Take me to Arkadia, put me in jail and I will tell you all I know. The clients, the routes, everything," he said, spitting blood on the ground.
Grinding his canines, together Aleks looked at Bran and then Liam. He knew that they wanted to taste this man's blood, shake his body apart and watch his life slip away as much as he did.
He looked back over to Bran, and the wolf Alpha gave a terse nod. It would be worth the sacrifice to get information. Aleks turned back and was shocked to see Rebecca standing before the prisoner holding the sheet around her. Out of the folds of the sheet, she brought her right arm up pointing a gun to his head.
"Poor, little human. I have already made a deal with the Arkadion," the hyena said and cackled.
"Poor, little hyena. I'm the Alpha Mother and I haven't agreed to shit. It will be a cold day in hell before I let you anywhere close to where my children will be. You will never, ever get them, or any of Arkadia's children" she said flatly and then pulled the trigger.
At such close proximity the back of the hyena's head exploded outward and his body fell. Rebecca continued to shoot his body until all of the bullets were gone. The sound of the gun's clicking filled the night air as the gunshots echoed off of the trees. Everyone stared at the tiny woman in the middle of the circle. Rebecca looked up and saw that two hyenas were being held, one by a wolf and one by a lion.
"Kill them," she said softly.
"Yes, Alpha Mother," the men replied in unison and ripped the heads off the hyenas they had been holding.
Rebecca looked up and Aleks flinched at her cold gaze.
"Aleks, I want to go home now," she said softly. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward, lifted her up careful of her injured back, and carried her to the SUV. It was time to go home.
#
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Aleks, I can walk," Rebecca said for what felt like the one hundredth time as Aleks carried her into the diner. It had been over a month since Aleks brought her home after her kidnapping. She kept catching him look at her as if she would suddenly meltdown. The odd part was she was convinced that her violent side was a turn on for him. Weird.
He sat her down at the counter. Everyone began speaking in subdued voices. Word of what happened with the hyenas had made it around town, and now everyone was walking on eggshells around her. The only ones who treated her normally were Ma, Kate, Ashby, and Nicholas. Rebecca sighed. She had had enough.
"Are you okay, baby?" Aleks asked when he heard her sigh.
"I'm fine! You hear that, everyone, I am fine! Hunky dory, peachy, totally and utterly fine!" she said loudly to everyone in the diner. "I got kidnapped, stripped naked and whipped, which believe me, hurt like a son of a bitch. But I am healing. So please stop acting weird around me. I can't take it anymore!" she yelled.
"Oh sweetie, we're not worried about your physical injuries, we're worried about your mental state. You killed that man execution style. We just want to make sure you're okay," Liam said, coming up behind her and giving her a gentle hug.
"Is that all? All this time y'all have been acting as if I were about to go all postal on your asses because of that?" Rebecca started laughing.
Kate smiled. "I told y'all she was fine. I would have done the same thing and it wouldn't have bothered me one bit. But I wouldn't have shot him. I would have ripped him apart with my canines starting with his groin," Kate said. Bran and the rest of the men winced. Unlike Rebecca slow recovery, Kate's wolf had her up and around much quicker than her human friend.
"I also told you to act normal, but you didn't listen to me," Ma said, handing Rebecca a cup of coffee.
"We expect it out of you and Kate, Ma, but Rebecca is so..." Connor started but then caught the eye of all three women.
"I'm so what, Connor?" Rebecca challenged.
"Itty-bitty," he replied flatly. There was silence.
Rebecca, then Kate started laughing. The atmosphere in the diner changed and brightened.
"I may be itty-bitty, but no one, and I do mean no one, threatens my children or this town. If they do, they die," Rebecca said simply, blowing on her coffee. The men just stared.
"He threatened our children?" Aleks asked, growling and grabbing Rebecca to put her in his lap, which seemed to be a growing habit with him. He wasn't happy unless he had her in his arms at all times.
"Watch my coffee," she said, growling when he jostled her mug.
"There's that tiny growl I love," Ashby said, walking into the diner with Nicholas. "Have they started acting normal yet?" Ashby asked, walking up to kiss her on the cheek.
"Yup, evidently they thought I was unbalanced," Rebecca said, holding her coffee to her chest. She turned to Aleks. "Yes, they said that even if I escaped they were going to figure out a way into town and wait until I was pregnant and then cut me open and take our son," she said, giving a sniffle. "I wish I could shoot him all over again!" Rebecca exclaimed. Aleks just nodded.
"Speaking of which, where on earth did you get that gun?" Liam asked.
"Nic gave it to me," she said, taking another sip of coffee. All eyes swung to Nic, who shrugged.
"I got it from Roman, Gabriel's acting second-in-command. I told him I needed something so that I could help in the fight. I like a nine millimeter."
"I'm sorry I couldn't let him live to get information. I just couldn't chance him escaping," Rebecca said to the group quietly.
"Don't worry, Rebecca. Gabriel said they are still working on the hyena that we captured trying to get away at the mine. He's slowly getting more information," Rian said with an evil grin.
"I know a lot of people are rethinking their views on smaller shifters thanks to you, Ashby. Your size worked to our advantage, and you never stopped trying to save Rebecca. That took a lot of courage," Ma said, smiling at Ashby.
"I would do it again too, except maybe the being naked in the snow. I swear I froze my..." He looked around and cleared his throat. "I was cold," he said, blushing. Everyone laughed.
"Okay, now that everyone is acting normal, there's something I need to do," Kate said, standing. She looked down at Bran, who nodded and smiled. Kate walked over to Rebecca and took her coffee, placing it on the counter before taking her hands.
"Rebecca, I don't remember much from that night at the club, but I do distinctly remember you jumping in front of the hyena who was about to stab me in the heart. You put yourself in harm's way to keep me safe. You have also shown that you can think and plan, even when getting tortured, and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep our children and our town safe. I'd like to offer you my allegiance." She knelt down and tilted her head in a submissive manner. Ma gasped. By showing submission, Rebecca knew that Kate, and through her Bran, was giving her the pack.
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears. She slid off of Aleks's lap and placed both hands on Kate's shoulders.
"You are the sister I never had. I swear to always take care of you and the ones you hold dear," she said before placing her lips on Kate's neck. Both women sighed happily.
"Dude, that was hot!" Emmett exclaimed. Pa reached out and cuffed him upside the head.
Rebecca and Kate looked at each other and laughed. Rebecca went to help Kate stand until both women realized that it wasn't going to work and they started laughing again. Rolling his eyes, Aleks offered Kate a hand up.
"I'm so happy. Everyone is safe and acting normal! Whoo hoo," Rebecca said, dancing around the diner. "Come on, Aleks, it's time for my doctor's appointment," she said, heading to the door.
"But you've already had your stitches out," he said as she jumped up and down trying to ring the diner's bell. She paused and looked at him.
"It's not for stitches. I get the results back from my pregnancy test today," she said matter-of-factly, tilting her head.
Aleks blinked once, then twice before his eyes rolled up in his head. Liam jumped out of the w
ay as Aleks went down and hit the floor. Her eyes went wide before she threw both hands in the air and started dancing around as if she were boxing.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! And round one goes to Rebecca. It's a KO, ladies and gentleman." She danced around until Liam, laughing, picked her up and swung her around like a doll.
Rebecca laughed. She knew being human she'd have to do whatever she could to keep her bear guessing, it was the only way to keep the upper-hand. Looking down at her unconscious mate she knew that she was off to a great start.
EPILOGUE
"We lost the girl." The hyena whined cowering in fear. The gentleman spun from where he was looking out the window and frowned.
"That makes me sad. Had you not gotten greedy and demanded the entire town, the Arkadion would have probably given you his blood," he said in a perfectly cultured voice. The hyena started to shake.
"If you lose control of your bladder on my antique Turkish rug, I really will kill you. As it is, I'll need to air it out to get rid of your stench from groveling on it." He paused, tapping his chin. "Now there's an idea. Payne," he called out.
The dark figure stepped from the shadows.
"Make a note that for future meetings with the hyenas that they stand on plastic. It will keep both of us from ruining the carpet. I had to replace the last one when I tickled his spine," he said grimacing.
The figure nodded.
"Please don't kill me," the hyena begged.
"I almost forgot you were there, old boy. Yes, the girl. We will try for her again later. I have a new target for you." He smiled brightly down at the shaking hyena.
"There are twin infant boys in Arkadia. Their blood is most rare, almost completely gone from this world. I want them. Bring them to me." He nodded to Payne and the man stepped forward.
He reached down and dragged the hyena out the room who began screeching in fear. The gentleman smiled, turned his back on his guest, and resumed looking out the window. He smiled as he watched a hawk swoop down and carry off a squealing rabbit.
"The oldest law in the world, survival of the fittest, predator eats prey," he said to himself.
He went back to his desk and looked down at the files stacked to one side. He fanned them out looking at each name before smiling. "Poor, poor bastards. They have no idea that they're no longer the predator, they're now prey." Chuckling he went back to his window.
Thank you for reading!
I hoped you enjoyed Fate Knows Best!
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Other Books by Alanea Alder
Kindred of Arkadia Series
This series is about a shifter only town coming together as pack, pride, and sloth to defend the ones they love. Each book tells the story of a new couple or triad coming together and the hardships they face not only in their own Fated mating, but also in keeping their town safe against an unknown threat that looms just out of sight.
Book 1- Fate Knows Best
Book 2- Fated to Be Family
Book 3- Fated For Forever
Book 4- Fated Forgiveness
Book 5- Fated Healing
Book 6- Fated Surrender
Book 7- Gifts of Fate
Book 8- Fated Redemption
World of Arkadia- Click Here
Bewitched and Bewildered Series
She's been Bewitched and he's Bewildered...
When the topic of grandchildren comes up during a weekly sewing circle, the matriarchs of the founding families seek out the witch Elder to scry to see if their sons' have mates. They are shocked to discover that many of their sons' mates are out in the world and many are human!
Fearing that their future daughters-in-law will end up dead before being claimed and providing them with grandchildren to spoil, they convince their own mates that something must be done. After gathering all of the warriors together in a fake award ceremony, the witch Elder casts a spell to pull the warrior's mates to them, whether they want it or not.
Each book will revolve around a unit warrior member finding his destined mate, and the challenges and dangers they face in trying to uncover the reason why ferals are working together for the first time in their history to kill off members of the paranormal community.
Book 1- My Commander- Click Here
Book 2- My Protector- Click Here
Book 3- My Healer- Click Here
Book 4- My Savior- Click Here
Book 5- My Brother's Keeper- Click Here
Book 6- My Guardian- Click Here
Book 7- My Champion- Click Here
Book 8- My Defender- Click Here
Book 9- My Angel- Click Here
Book 10- My One and Only- Click Here
Book 11- My Solace- Click Here
World of Bewitched and Bewildered- Click Here
The Vanguard
We Hold the Line.
Book 1- Inception