by T. S. Ryder
A reluctant Alpha he may have been, but the job he did at the company was sacred to him. He was so young when he first entered the firm, just out of Harvard Business School with his shiny new diploma in Communications and Marketing, brimming with ideas he couldn’t wait to pour into the stale environment that McKenna Enterprises had become. His father had fought him at every step, but Eric hadn’t given in for a second, and slowly but surely he had proved that he knew exactly what he was doing. Three years later, the company was out of the rut, the Financial Times put him on their Top 10 Most Promising Young Managers list and the already obscenely enormous fortune they earned on a yearly basis increased by nearly 20%. He loved his job and loved McKenna Enterprises, and he’d never do anything to jeopardize either.
Which is why this hunger for Bianca Jamison was killing him. He knew he had to fight it, but damn, it was hard. He was hard, even now, even though the only touch they had shared was a handshake.
And it couldn’t have happened at a worse time, either, for him or for the company. That morning, just as he had entered his office, Jason had come to him with the worst news possible.
“There’s $35 million missing from our accounts,” Jason said, as soon as he had sat down, “And Hector’s the one who stole it.”
Eric couldn’t believe it – wouldn’t believe it. McKenna Enterprises was their family legacy and the idea of either himself or one of his brothers doing anything to harm it was inconceivable to him.
But he also knew that Jason would never have made such an accusation if he wasn’t completely sure of it. He may have seemed flaky, but his mind was sharp and his proficiency undeniable. If he said he’d noticed flukes in the financial records and that all fingers pointed to Hector embezzling money for McKenna Enterprises, then it had to be true. And Hector certainly had the skills to do it.
Except Eric had a hard time imagining Hector – who, despite his unattractive personality, was also loyal, noble and honorable to the point of self-harm – doing anything that could be classified as a betrayal.
McKenna Enterprises wasn’t just his family’s legacy. All of the original investors and current shareholders were Pack members, as were roughly a third of the employees and every single member of the Board of Directors. McKenna Enterprises ensured that the Pack prospered, and Hector cared about the wellbeing of the Pack too much to jeopardize it in any way.
No matter how much he hated it, though, Eric knew that it was his duty to investigate the accusation before making any decisions, so he went to Hector with it.
“If I wanted to be Alpha,” his brother had said coldly, once Eric was done, his shoulders coiled tight and his eyes burning with fury, “I would’ve taken Father’s place when he passed away, as was my right.” And he was correct. The Law gave the late Alpha’s first-born son the right to his father’s position, providing that he could assert his undisputed dominance by defeating every other candidate willing to challenge him for the job. But when Richard McKenna passed away and the Pack came to Hector, he had flat-out refused to accept it, forcing the position of Alpha on Eric as the next in line – a position he didn’t even have to defend, because not a single Challenger had appeared, then or ever.
“Why do you think I came to you with this directly?” Eric asked. From the moment he had entered Hector’s office, he had made sure that his body language spoke of peace. “I don’t believe for a second you’d steal from the company,” he explained. “But I also fully believe that Jason found the traces that he did. Which means someone out there is trying to manipulate us into tearing out each other’s throats... and we need to find out who it is. Fast.”
Hector had nodded, agreeing. He was still visibly angry, but no longer with Eric, which the young Alpha thought a blessing. The Pack had no mightier fighter than his older brother, and if he wanted to take Eric to the Pits, he would come out a winner.
After some deliberation, the two had agreed it would be best if they had Jason pull out all the suspicious files and gave them to a neutral party to handle the investigation. “We should outsource it to Athena Consulting,” Hector had suggested, and Eric had agreed. A long-standing associate, their discretion had been proven many times over, and they would be perfect for the task.
That settled, Eric had called Jason and told him what they’d decided and what he needed to prepare. Then he’d set off back for his office with Hector in tow... only to be faced with the siren of a woman who had appeared out of nowhere and completely scrambled his circuits.
Sighing, frustrated, Eric poured himself another drink and, sitting down at his desk, plugged the thumb drive his brother had given him into his computer before he set out to compose an email and send the files to Athena Consulting. Then he resumed his everyday work, secure in the knowledge that the job was delegated into the right hands.
Occasionally, either Janet or Bianca would come in with some news or a paper that needed his signature. He barely noticed Janet’s interruptions, but Bianca’s made it hard for him to keep his mind on the task at hand, to the point that he suggested she didn’t need to remain in the office once five o’clock had come around. But she wouldn’t listen. “With all due respect, Mr. McKenna, it’s my first day on the job,” she told him, polite but firm. “And my job requires that I stay in the office for at least as long as you do.” Admirable work ethic, he thought to himself, but in this case a hindrance and a complication more than anything else.
Chapter Five
It was almost 8:30 pm when Mr. McKenna, Ms. Hutchinson and Bianca finally called it a day, and another quarter of an hour before they were in the elevator, heading down. Somehow, Bianca allowed herself to be convinced by Ms. Hutchinson that she should accept a ride home from her rather than take the bus. When she heard Bianca’s mode of commuting was public transport, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So instead of getting off the elevator once it reached the lobby, Bianca found herself in the garage sub level with Ms. Hutchinson and Mr. McKenna.
Ever since she found out he was her employer, Bianca had been doing her best to focus on her work rather than her insistent fantasies about Eric McKenna throwing her on his desk and ripping the clothes off her body before having his wicked way with her... which was surprisingly hard to do. She felt awful for having such unprofessional thoughts, and almost took him up on his offer to leave early, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This job meant more to her than he could understand, and she had to do everything she could to make sure they gave her the best references possible when her two months were up.
Unfortunately, once they were in the elevator, her daydreams only grew stronger, and she had to fight the urge to steal glances at her new boss. It was a good thing the elevator door was sandblasted rather than the usually polished chrome, or she wouldn’t have succeeded in controlling the urge... although she had a nagging feeling that Mr. McKenna knew very well what kind of thoughts she was harboring in her head.
Seriously, how could he not? The way he looked, the money he had... women must be throwing themselves at him on a daily basis, and Bianca would bet he could recognize when a woman was lusting after him at ten paces.
She closed her eyes and sighed silently. God, he must be cracking up inside at the thought of her entertaining the fantasy that he could ever want to sleep with a fat cow like her!
However, when the elevator reached the garage and the door opened, the sight of the pitch-black space before them quickly expelled every thought and emotion but the sudden sense of fear that engulfed her. She could see nothing but the tiny bit of the garage illuminated by the elevator lights, and there was a faint scent of anise, ginger and cinnamon in the air, which somehow made the entire situation even creepier.
She turned to Ms. Hutchinson and asked, “Is this normal?” but the woman firmly shook her head, her expression stern and worried, and replied, “No. It most certainly is not.”
Mr. McKenna stepped past them into the garage while Ms. Hutchinson held her hand to the elevator door to keep it fro
m closing. A moment later, Bianca heard the crack of broken glass and saw Mr. McKenna walking back to them, holding a piece of broken neon lightbulb. “We need to get out of here,” he told Ms. Hutchinson. “Let’s go back up and...”
He never finished the sentence, because something enormous and dark tackled him from the side, taking him into the dark. Bianca screamed in panic, cowering into the corner of the elevator, but Ms. Hutchinson stepped outside, concerned for her boss, and looked off into the distance, undoubtedly trying to see what had happened. Bianca wished the woman would come to her senses and come inside so they could go back up and call the police or security, but Ms. Hutchinson had other ideas. “Head for the lobby,” she ordered Bianca. “Find the security and tell them Mr. McKenna has been attacked…”
But then a giant hand covered in dark brown fur and ending in vicious-looking claws snatched Ms. Hutchinson’s waist and literally threw her away like a rag doll. There was a thud and a sound like bones breaking... and then she was finally face to face with their attacker.
Bianca stared in terror at a creature that seemed to come straight out of a horror movie, except no CGI would ever come close to looking this realistic. She wanted to scream, to run, but the shock robbed her of both her voice and her ability to move. She just sat plastered against the back wall of the elevator, breathing in loud, choppy gasps, her mind barely able to process what her eyes were seeing.
It was crouched in front of her, gearing up to pounce, and it looked vaguely humanoid, except she’d never seen a person this large. This thing was twice the size of Hector McKenna, and he was by far the biggest person she’d ever met. It was covered in thick, dark brown pelt, and she could see the hairs on its neck and shoulders were standing on end, not unlike a dog gearing up to attack. And that was not the only canine characteristic it had. Like a dog, the creature had not a face, but rather a snout, thick and long and decorated by two rows of huge, vicious-looking teeth showing from beneath curled lips, thick drool dribbling down and a pair of shining, golden eyes staring threateningly at them. Atop its head, a pair of large, triangular ears stood flat against the back of its head, and its hands, just as large and hairy as the rest of it, ended in long, wicked claws.
And it was growling. It was growling so loudly that Bianca felt the walls of the elevator vibrate with the sound.
With a terrifying scrape of claws against concrete, the creature moved to jump, when something just as large and pitch black slammed into it, sweeping it away. They landed a few feet in front of the elevator, and the light barely reached them. Dazed, Bianca moved from where she stood to the elevator door to see better, too astonished by everything she’d just seen to think about insignificant details like self-preservation.
Mesmerized, she watched as what turned out to be another creature, the same as the first but for the color of the fur, and the original attacker snarled at each other and fought with a deadly focus.
The two creatures circled each other, walking on what she could only describe as hind legs, thick and powerful and shaped in angles more canine than human, ending in paw-like, clawed feet. She could see now that they had tails, too, covered in the same fur as the rest of them, but bushier, reaching to somewhere to around what she supposed she could call knees. The one that had attacked them snapped its massive jaw at the black one, but it wasn’t fast enough, and the black creature moved its torso back too quickly for the enormous, serrated teeth to close on its flesh. Then it used the momentum of its attacker against it and swung its powerful arm, the fingers on its hand spread wide and pointing down. On impact, the black one’s claws shredded into the brown one’s face, and some of the blood sprays landed right at her feet, making Bianca scream and cover her mouth with trembling hands.
The snarling grew louder, more violent, and the brown creature pounced on the black, but it was no use. The black creature grabbed its attacker’s shoulders and rolled down on its back, carrying the brown one with him, and then, with one powerful shove of feet against the brown creature’s torso, threw it far, far overhead. But no sooner was the black creature back on its feet than the brown one was attacking it again, tackling it under the torso like a football player – which was when Bianca heard the sound of screeching wheels, and a white sedan with Ms. Hutchinson behind the wheel collided with the brown creature’s body, mowing it down.
It squealed as it fell, dropping the black creature from its arms. The black one landed gracefully on the floor on all fours, facing the car. On impulse, Bianca stepped out of the elevator screaming “No!” terrified that the creature would attack Ms. Hutchinson, but all it did was draw its attention to Bianca.
It turned to her and let out a low rumble that she couldn’t exactly classify as a growl. Before it could do anything, Ms. Hutchinson barked, “Bianca! Get in the car! Now!” Bianca looked at the woman, still too scared to move. “Bianca, he won’t hurt you – but the other one won’t stay down for long. Get in so we can get out of here,” Ms. Hutchinson commanded swiftly. She was clearly not willing to let Bianca adjust, but was at least offering an escape, which was all she wanted right now.
With careful steps, she walked over to the white sedan and circled it from the back to reach the passenger door. All the while her eyes were locked on the black monster, who calmly returned the gaze. Ms. Hutchinson unlocked the door for Bianca, and she slipped inside. She’d just buckled her seatbelt when the back door behind her opened. Bianca screamed again, a noise that turned into an incoherent shriek when she realized that the enormous black creature was climbing into the back seat.
Ms. Hutchinson hit the gas pedal and, with a screech of tires, sped back in reverse before turning the car around and driving it out of the garage as fast as the sedan was capable.
Shaking in the kind of panic she never thought she would feel in her life, Bianca, still screaming, started pulling at her seatbelt, ready to do something, anything, jump out of the speeding car if she had to, just to get away from the creature behind her.
But then the creature started... melting, becoming smaller, its golden eyes dimming, changing color, its fur thinning, turning shorter. Mesmerized, Bianca watched as the fur went from black to gray to tawny to a sandy, golden blonde, turning from pelt to ordinary human skin, the clawed mitts transforming into large, male hands... hands she’d been daydreaming about feeling on her body that entire day.
It didn’t matter that her brain refused to believe everything she’d just experienced and seen; the black monster was gone and Eric McKenna sat in his place, looking exhausted – and gloriously naked.
Bianca stared in complete disbelief. She had no idea what to feel or how to react, but from the ease with which Ms. Hutchinson seemed to be taking it all in her stride, she could guess that this was nothing new, at least not to anyone but her.
Mr. McKenna sighed heavily, rubbing his hands over his face. “Janet,” he said. “Head to the compound. And hand me your cell phone, will ya?” Without missing a beat or taking her eyes off the road, Ms. Hutchinson handed her purse to Bianca. “Side pocket,” was all she said, but Bianca, dazed and confused as she was, didn’t need more. It took some fumbling around, her hands feeling as if they belonged to someone else. Eventually she got the telephone out and cautiously handed it to Mr. McKenna. He looked at her oddly, but took the phone without comment, and began typing what looked to Bianca like a series of long, angry texts.
Chapter Six
It took Janet’s sedan a little over an hour to travel from downtown Manhattan to the front gate of Oak Hills. If you looked it up online, the Internet would call it a ‘luxurious gated community’ located between the Cross River Reservoir and War Pound Ridge Reservation.
The New York Pack simply called it ‘the compound’.
Not all members of the pack lived there, though those with children preferred the safety and freedom of living away from humans until their kids were big enough to learn how to control their preternatural abilities. The enormous grounds contained individually owned houses
as well as a group of communal buildings in the center of the property, located under the small rise atop of which the Big House was built.
As usual, the compound was packed during the three nights of the full moon. Werewolves could shape at will, but the magic of the full moon, wild and strong, had a strong effect on them, and losing control over the urge to give into their animal half was nothing out of the ordinary in that period. Passions ran rampant, and people were just as likely to break out into a brawl as they were to throw their mate over their shoulder and find the nearest safe place to jump each other’s bones until neither one could walk straight anymore.
And into this volatile mix of hormones and emotions, Eric McKenna was about to bring a helpless human and some spectacularly bad news.
Damn it.
Fifteen minutes later, Janet parked the car in front of the Big House, the mansion that had served as the home of the Alpha and his immediate family ever since the compound was built. His Beta, Brian, was waiting for him there, along with the remaining eight members of the Alpha Guard – the strongest, most skilled people, whose duty was to serve and protect the Pack, and the Alpha with his Mate and children, in that order. Eric had made only two changes to the Guard when he took over, by the request of the Lieutenants he had replaced, and the team was a formidable unit, well versed in working both as individuals and as a group.
Right now, they were a welcome sight.
As Eric stepped out of the car, Brian brought him a terrycloth robe, while two of the Lieutenants went to help Janet and Bianca. Janet was holding up well, and Eric wasn’t as worried about her as he was about Bianca, who stiffened when the passenger door opened, too traumatized to move until Janet came around to her side and helped her out. She was pale and shivering, and kept looking over the grounds twitchily. Eric wanted to strangle the bastard who had attacked them for making her feel so scared and uneasy. She didn’t deserve to be thrust into their world like this, but there was no helping it now.