Alphas: Supes and Badboys (8 Books in One)

by Myles, Eden

  He ran.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  As soon as he hit the deep woods, Kevin stripped, hung the Wolfsbane medallion around his neck, and quickly shifted, trusting that his thick fur would protect him from the worse effects of the Wolfsbane. He took off running, breathing in huge gulps of cold mountain air in the hopes of picking up Hannah’s scent.

  It was cooler in the mountains today, with a clingy, low-lying mist. He sniffed, but all he smelled was forest and wolf. Behind him, several of the pack members began to howl as they shifted. It was a hunting song they sang, except that instead of an elk as the object of their hunger, he was hunted. His heart pumped and his mind buzzed with panic. The wolf in him wanted to run as fast as he could, as far away as he could, and take shelter, but he knew that was selfish. The wolf’s selfish desire to save itself. He had to find his sister!

  He cut through the trees, staying away from vales and clearings, using the deep woods as his cover. It would not be wise to be caught out in the open until nightfall—and even then, he had to be especially careful. Wolves were nocturnal creatures, their sight far more keen than humans.

  His sharp hearing picked up on the others racing through the trees behind him. He had a considerable head start, but they, unfortunately, already had his scent. It wouldn’t take them long to catch up. He headed toward the smell of water, the river. Freki said they’d lost Hannah there. Werewolves were far better at tracking prey than even bloodhounds, but even a werewolf couldn’t follow a scent if someone was using water to disguise it, and Hannah, he knew, was far smarter and more resourceful than Freki gave her credit for. His sister had never been what you would call helpless. Born blind, she’d learned how to swim and ride a horse. She could do anything she set her mind to.

  He raced through tunnels of overhanging trees until he heard the rush of water just ahead. A few moments later he broke from the tree line and found himself standing on the edge of the creek that ran into the lake behind Jolene’s cabin, a few miles to the west of here. Nose down, he started following the river, hoping to catch a scent of Hannah or Matthew.

  Freki and her boys bayed in the distance. They sounded closer than they had when Kevin had begun. Panic shivered through his body, but Kevin told himself to calm down, to concentrate on following the river. He couldn’t afford to panic now.

  Moments later, a familiar scent caught his attention. It came from just over the hill and it smelled human. He raced along the riverbank, following the scent to what looked like a pile of torn clothing. He whined in frustration. The whole area smelled like wolf and blood and death, like a kerfuffle had taken place. He almost retched at the sight of the blood in the grass. He could not tell if the remains were male or female; they had been almost completely consumed. All he found were a few broken bones scraped clean of meat. He nosed the horrid remains, the shredded fabric, but could make nothing of them. Hannah and Matthew spent a lot of time together; they basically smelled like each other.

  The horror was too much. Kevin snorted in fear and rage. He cried out into the forest, even knowing it would lure the others to him like a magnet. He howled long and loud, singing a song of rage and revenge. He wanted them to feel his outrage. He wanted them to know what he would do to them for this crime. The pack called back, a laughing howl of victory, taunting him.

  I’ll kill them, he thought. I’ll kill them all!

  Snarling, he almost turned back to face them, even knowing it would cost him his life, but then good sense prevailed and he decided to keep moving. Maybe the remains weren’t Hannah’s. Maybe she was still alive. If she was, he couldn’t afford to lose his lead. She might need him. He raced back to the river, splashing through the shallow creek water periodically to mask his scent, but the pack never seemed very far off.

  Fifteen or twenty minutes later, just as the last light of day was fading, he heard a human cry for the first time. He raced ahead, his eyes picking out a slim figure thrashing in the river and clinging with all her strength to a tree trunk lying lengthwise across the white rapids like an improvised bridge. His heart swelled with hope and he dashed across the bridge.

  “Help me!” he heard Hannah cry even before he saw her fear-stricken face. Kevin’s heart soared at the sight. She was soaking wet, her hair plastered to her face, and she had both arms wrapped around the trunk but was quickly losing purchase as her grip slipped on the slick log. He had no idea how she managed to survive blind in the woods thus far, but he wasn’t surprised in the least by her gumption. “Please help me!”

  He immediately shifted back to human and said, “Hannah! It’s me. Hold on!”

  “Kev…are you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here, sis,” he said and dived into the shocking cold water. The rapids immediately tried to grab him and fling him downriver, back toward the pack, but he fought hard to swim against it. He’d always been a strong swimmer, even doing a stint as a lifeguard in high school, and right now he was more determined than he’d ever been in his life. As soon as he reached Hannah, he dug his sharp fingernails into the trunk and grabbed Hannah around the waist as she began to slip free.

  “I’ve got you. Hang on.”

  Water filled her mouth and she choked, but at least she was safe from being swept downstream. Only then did he realize his predicament: there was no way he could hold onto Hannah and climb to the top of the log at the same time. He was strong, but not that strong.

  If he didn’t figure something out soon, they were both dead.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Give you a hand?” a gruff voice called out to him.

  Thrashing his wet hair out of his eyes, Kevin looked up, surprised to find a huge, naked Fenrir balancing easily on the log. “About time,” he choked out.

  Grinning, Fenrir reached down and grabbed them both, dragging them easily from the rushing water. Hannah was gasping, barely breathing.

  Kevin quickly carried her to the riverbank. “Hannah!” he said as he laid her down.

  “Is she going to be all right?” Fenrir said with concern.

  Kevin turned her head to one side and she choked out river water. After a few moments her eyes blinked open and she managed to find her voice. “Oh god, Kevin!” she cried and threw her arms around his neck. “They killed Matthew!” she sobbed against him. “The werewolves killed Matthew!”

  “I know, sis, I know,” he said as he held Hannah close and let her cry out all her pain against his shoulder. And then to Fenrir: “I take it Roman sent you.”

  Fenrir stood very still, staring off into the distance as he listened for the pack. “He should be here soon. But we need to get both of you out of here.”

  Kevin bit his trembling lip, shook his head. “I’m not running anymore. If Freki wants a fight, I’m going to fucking give it to her.”

  “If you fight Freki, you’ll die,” Fenrir said, stating the obvious.

  “If I run away, I’ll die—and Hannah. And everyone else I give a shit about.” He pinned Fenrir with his wolf eyes until the other man backed down. “No more. It’s time I face her on my own terms.”

  “I guess you really are a Pedigree.”

  “No, I’m just tired.” And then Kevin did the most difficult thing he’d ever done and handed Hannah over to Fenrir for safekeeping.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kevin waited on the riverbank for Freki and the rest of the pack to catch up to him. It didn’t take very long. Within minutes he could hear them baying in victory as they raced through the woods. Normally, werewolves were stealthier than this, but he knew they wanted him to hear them. They wanted him to fear them. But he didn’t. Not anymore.

  Freki stepped out from between the trees first. She was in full wolf form, but she quickly shifted back and stood up, her sleek human body shining like ice in the moonlight. Her blue eyes were cold and remote. “Done running, little wolfling?”

  “I was done a long time ago.”

/>   The pack gathered around her, shifting to their lumbering half-wolf forms one by one. “What about your sister?”

  “She’s safe. She isn’t in these woods anymore.”

  “But you are.” She canted her head to one side. “Why didn’t you go with her?”

  Kevin remained stoic.

  “I see,” Freki said, picking up on his silent cue. “You want Roman.”

  “I’m not leaving without him. Give him to me and I’ll let you all live.”

  A dubious smile curled across Anya’s lips before she burst out laughing. “You’re quite amusing, pup, you know that? I’m older than some mountains, than this forest. Do you honestly think I’d submit so easily to someone like you?”

  “Is that a no?”

  She nodded. “That’s a no.”

  “Then we have a problem.”

  Kevin thought about how brave his words sounded, how strong and brave he was coming on. But in reality, he was scared to death. He had no idea how he would defeat seven angry werewolves, plus their queen. Even as a Pedigree, he was outnumbered. And Freki was more a god than a wolf. Then he thought about Jonah, what Freki had done to him. And to Toby. As the first of Freki’s boys reached him, he let his anger and outrage fill him. He gave himself over to it, and to the wolf.

  He let the wolf off its leash.

  The giant creature grabbed him, but as he did, Kevin shifted into his half-wolf form. He grew heads taller than his opponent. His neck became thick, furry and muscular. His body broadened and his mouth filled with aching-sharp teeth. The werewolf lost his hold on Kevin, but as he slid down Kevin’s chest, he grabbed at the thick, lush fur there, and the medallion.

  The Wolfsbane burned when it came in contact with his enemy’s hand and the werewolf began to scream. Kevin grunted, lashed out, knocking the creature away. He flew back ten feet and hit the trunk of a pine tree, slumping down into unconsciousness. Kevin was surprised by his strength.

  Two more werewolves lunged at him as one, but one swipe of Kevin’s massive, clawed hand knocked them both down with deep, bleeding wounds slashed across their faces and eyes. The wounded creatures whined pitifully and slunk away, tails between their legs.

  The next one was more difficult. He was tall like Kevin, but slender of build, quick and agile. He let out a primal bay before lashing out at Kevin with teeth and claws. He was unusually fast. Kevin dodged, only barely averting the giant creature’s snapping jaws, and received a long gouge in his side for his troubles when the monster raked his savage claws along Kevin’s ribs. Kevin cringed and whined as blood poured from his wound.

  The beast recognized his moment of weakness and lashed out again, but Kevin forced himself to ignore the pain and met his opponent head on, slashing at his opponent’s soft belly, ripping him wide open and driving the other werewolf to the ground, panting. In seconds Kevin was upon him, his clawed hands lashing out and ripping gouges in the creature’s furry chest, his teeth snapping down on the monster’s throat. The creature gargled on its own blood, then fell still.

  Kevin only had seconds to enjoy his victory; suddenly the others were back at him, piling him like a football player trying to get to the end zone. He yelped as they dragged him down, snapping and biting. He tried to fight them off using every technique he knew, but just as soon as he was able to lay a blow, another one sank its teeth into his arm or leg. He felt like the elk he had taken down not so very long ago. The werewolves were powerful on their own, but stronger still when they worked as a pack. There was no escape, no mercy, as they dragged him to earth and dog piled him…

  Only a deep, bass growl saved him and made the others back off. Kevin sprang up in time to see Roman standing in full wolf form atop a deadfall. Some of the werewolves cringed; others barked aggressively. It was obvious they didn’t know what to do, who to follow. Before Freki could issue any commands, and before any of the werewolves could react, Roman dived at his queen, standing only a few feet away. She swung around, ready to face him head-on, but she wasn’t as fast in her human form as Roman was in wolf form, and his jaws lashed across her throat like two sets of sharp knives.

  Freki went down on her knees, growling and spitting blood.

  The rest of the werewolves tried to recoup, but without their queen they became confused, chaotic. Shifting to full wolf form, Kevin jumped at the nearest one, knocking the creature down and savaging its throat until it lay still. Another came at him, but Roman hit him head on. Between the two of them, they started making short work of the bewildered remaining wolves. They were larger and stronger than the others, and working together made them even more formidable. Kevin and Roman lashed out with flashing teeth and claws. They dragged long gouges in soft bellies, slashed eyes, snapped steel-trap-like jaws down on fur and bone, wrenching bleeding chunks of their enemies loose. Some of the werewolves tried to shift to full wolf form. Some even tried to become men in their confusion.

  The sounds of savage battle and screams—animal and human alike—echoed through the dark forest, driving birds from trees and making deer scamper in every direction. Blood painted the old, whorled trunks of trees, painted the grass and underbrush, and soaked into the forest floor. Blood got into the river and was quickly carried downstream.

  Within minutes, the few werewolves still alive started limping away into the forest. They realized there was no way they could out-fight two Pedigrees fighting side-by side.

  Kevin shifted back to human form, covered in bruises, scratches and blood, and licked his lips and bloodstained teeth. “Should we go after them?”

  Roman shifted too, but said, “No. Let them run. They are Orphans now; they have no leader, no future. They will soon go their separate ways. If their injuries don’t kill them, trying to live without a pack will.”

  “Is is over, then?” Kevin asked hopefully.

  But before Roman could answer his question, someone grabbed Kevin and spun him around. It was Freki in werewolf form. She towered over him like a rabid bear, blood bubbling from her mouth and the wound in her throat and painting her white fur scarlet, her foaming jaws wide and snapping. She tried to go for his throat, but Kevin lifted the Wolfsbane around his neck and stuck the medallion in her mouth and down her throat as she lunged.

  Freki screamed and her flesh burned from the inside out and bubbled. Her whole body began to convulse with the poison inside of her, and soon her flesh and matted fur began to slough off her bones. Roman shifted to werewolf form and leaped upon her back, burying his muzzle of teeth in the back of her neck. His weight forced her to the ground. His teeth snapped together and there was an audible crack that echoed through the woods as he broke Freki’s neck.

  Freki, now a shambling, skeletal thing, tried in vain to push herself up. She offered Kevin a look of hurt, insult and surprise, and then collapsed to the ground and shifted back to human form as she died.

  Roman stood over his longtime captor and queen, waiting until the last twitches were gone from her body. Then he looked up at Kevin with dour wolf eyes and nodded. “Now, it’s over.”

  * * *

  Chapter Thirty

  “A man’s gotta be a man,” Ron was muttering into his scotch and soda.

  Kevin took his keys and hung them behind the bar on the pegboard. He picked up the phone to call the man a cab. “Yeah, Ron, you’re right,” he said. It was just another night at the Barracuda, a normal night like so many—pickups, spats, breakups, drunken ramblings about life—but there was something to be said for normalcy, Kevin decided.

  Three weeks had passed since they had killed Freki and had disassembled the pack. And in all that long he hadn’t seen either Roman or Fenrir. The thought made him sad, it made him feel alone, but he was learning that being sad and alone wasn’t the end of the world. He wanted companionship, of course. Craved it. He was a wolf without a pack now. But he now knew that if he was forced to live on his own, he would cope.

  He was no longer the young, desperate pup, willing to cling to any hope. He’d fough
t and killed enemy werewolves. He’d helped kill the queen. He’d set Roman free. He was strong and independent. If he wasn’t an alpha yet, then he was well on his way.

  And he knew that Roman had a lot of cleaning up to do. He’d had to dispose of multiple bodies, get in touch with all kinds of mucky-mucks to ensure loose ends were tidied up and the secret of the werewolf underworld was preserved. That was important. If the humans found out about his kind, there would be a war, and only one side would survive. It would probably not be the werewolves.

  Besides, the time apart had allowed Kevin to comfort Hannah over her loss of Matthew. She’d been an emotional wreck in the beginning and she had needed him desperately. But Hannah, being Hannah, never let anything get her down for long. She wasn’t a hundred percent just yet, he knew, but slowly she was working her way back to her usual optimistic self. She was strong like he was.

  Kevin was glad for the time alone they’d had to talk and sort out their feelings. It had allowed them to bond, and Kevin knew that he would always think of Hannah as part of his own personal “pack” no matter how many werewolves he ran with in the future. Hannah kept him ground, kept him human.

  And yet…after three weeks of not seeing his lovers, Kevin couldn’t help but feel the quietly gnawing void of their absence in his life. He knew it would not kill him, but it still hurt so much to be a lone wolf once more. It seemed so unfair that just as soon as he’d found others of his own kind, he’d also lost them—helped to destroy them, in fact.

  “Couldn’t be helped,” he told himself as he mixed a Vampiro for a young undergrad checking him out. A corrupt pack was no pack at all. He’d rather be alone than be the slave of some sadistic leader.

  Hours later, as he was washing down the bar, he felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned and glanced at the end of the bar where he had first encountered Roman on that now long-ago night and saw him sitting there, prim and beautiful, just as he had the first time they’d met. Kevin sucked in a sharp breath. Abandoning his cleaning, he rushed around the bar to Roman.