True Alpha

by Alisa Woods

  “Tomorrow?” This time, she directed her question to Colin.

  “Leave it to a cat to be flip about whether wolves live or die.” Colin’s glare turned up another notch.

  “Hey, that’s totally uncalled for.” Cade’s protest was a little too dramatic. “That’s my buddy in there, helping your shaggy, er…” He glanced at Mia and sobered. “But yeah. If Parker can stitch ‘em, they’ll be fine in the morning.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Mia. "I mean, I know shifters heal fast, but these guys are hurt really bad.”

  Colin placed a hand on her shoulder, then quickly withdrew it, like he hadn’t really meant to touch her. “What the cat is trying to say is that shifter healing needs two vital things. Enough blood—”

  “He means magic,” Cade said, cutting him off.

  Colin growled. “Enough blood, which for shifters, contains properties you might call magic—”

  “It’s magic,” Cade cut him off again.

  “Oh for God’s sake!” Mia had to repress a laugh. She pointed a finger at Cade in mock fury. “Shut it.”

  Cade grinned. “Yes, Ma’am.” Somehow he seemed too pleased with that scolding.

  “As I was saying,” Colin continued, overly irritated for the minor offense. “Shifters need two things: blood and the possibility of healing.”

  Mia frowned. “What do you mean, possibility?”

  “If you were dying of something that has no cure, say a missing head…” He threw a glare to Cade, who returned it with a look of disgust. “… then no shifter could stitch you back together. But if the parts that are damaged are ones that can normally heal themselves—a broken bone, ripped muscles, even a damaged kidney—then the healer stitches the damaged parts together or sets the bone, and the shifter will heal just as rapidly as normal. If parts are missing altogether—”

  “Like a missing heart.” Mia swallowed. She could see how that would be a problem.

  Colin frowned. “Like a missing heart... then the shifter would die. We can’t regenerate parts that are simply gone.”

  “So it depends on whether Lucas was… if he’s missing…” Her throat was suddenly closing up.

  “Mia, he’s going to be fine.” Colin’s frown grew deeper. “I don’t think the bullet took out anything that can’t be stitched.”

  Cade was watching the two of them, quiet, one eyebrow lifted.

  “Is it the same for you?” Mia asked. “Tigers, I mean.”

  Cade crossed his arms. “Yeah, pretty much. All shifters, if I’m not mistaken. Of course, tigers are less likely to get into this kind of trouble in the first place.” He tipped his head to Mia. “Unless we’re helping a friend, of course.”

  “Why is that?” she asked.

  “Because cats are loners by nature,” Colin said with disgust, and Mia could understand why. Belonging was so integral to being wolf. The pack, the mating, the submission… it was a huge part of what being a shifter was all about. For her, at least. But then she was a wolf.

  Cade gave him another look of disgust. “Like running around with a mob mentality is something to be proud of.”

  “At least we know the meaning of loyalty,” Colin said.

  Cade unlocked his folded arms and threw his hands out. “Okay, whatever. As much fun as it is hanging out with your doggie friends, Mia, I think my guys are ready to shove off. As soon as Parker’s done, we’re going to split.”

  He was starting to edge away, so Mia scurried forward to give him a hug. She must have caught him by surprise, because his arms didn’t immediately go around her to hug her back. But when she heard Colin growl behind her, then Cade’s hands found a home, splaying all across her back and squeezing her to him. He was totally trying to aggravate Colin.

  She shoved Cade away, laughing. “You are so doing that on purpose.”

  He smirked. “Every chance I get.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh again, but she backed away.

  Cade waved goodbye. “Call me if you need me, Mia.” He gave a mock salute to Colin that no doubt was intended to provoke him further.

  Colin just rumbled low in his chest. “Be glad you’re not a cat, Mia. They’re not loyal, they sleep with everything and anything, and it’s a lonely life, every cat for himself.”

  She gave him a skeptical look. “Cade came and helped us tonight,” she pointed out.

  Colin narrowed his eyes, still staring after the tiger shifter. “I’m sure there was something in it for him.”

  Mia just shook her head.

  The back door of the van swung open, and Parker jumped out, landing silently on his tennis shoes. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a horror movie—or an ER ward—covered up to his elbows and all down his front in blood.

  Wolf blood. That magical substance Colin said Lucas needed to survive… only it looked like a whole lot of it had emptied out onto Parker’s clothes.

  Mia stepped up cautiously. Parker was stripping down. Jupiter had followed him out of the van with a handful of towelettes for him to clean up with.

  “How does it look?” Mia asked.

  He glanced at her but kept scrubbing the blood from his hands. “They’ll be fine. I had to go pretty deep on Lucas, but he started healing even before I had backed all the way out. Lev didn’t have as much tissue damage, but he bleed out pretty bad. I wasn’t sure if maybe it was too much loss, but by the time I had Mr. Sparks stitched, Lev had started to heal as well, at least on the surface. That’s usually a good indication that tissue knitting is happening at the deeper levels as well. They’ll have more than a few scars to show for it, and I suggest they sleep in and take it easy for a couple days, but they should all recover fully.”

  Mia let out the breath she had been holding during his entire explanation. “Thank you.”

  Parker smiled. It was the first time Mia had seen anything other than a dire-serious look on his face. “No problem. Nice to practice my skills for a change. Pre med doesn’t allow us any real opportunities for that, and I haven’t had much occasion to stitch up my feline friends lately.”

  Then he lapsed into quietness again, like that was more talking than he normally did in an entire day. He gave Jupiter a nod, handed her the soiled towels, and strode off in just his underwear toward the car with Cade and his other friends. He had come, helped, and left without so much as a Hi, nice to meet you. It was odd, but when it mattered, these tiger shifters were there to help with just a phone call. Cade had promised as much in his parting words. In spite of what Colin said about them, Mia couldn’t help being impressed.

  Colin edged up to her. “Come on, Mia. Let’s get you home.”

  She still wasn’t sure where that was, but for tonight, her bed would apparently be in a downtown Seattle hotel. They climbed back in the van, and Mia watched Lucas and Lev sleep all the way back to the city.

  The caravan stopped at Lucas’s apartment, but only long enough for the healed-up wolves to carry the injured ones inside. Mia wanted to stay, or talk to Lucas, or something, but Parker had given sedatives to all three of the wolves he stitched—Lucas, Lev, and their father. Besides, it was late. Llyr was nominally in charge, with his father out of commission, and he ordered everyone to sleep in and not come to work the next morning until noon.

  Mia could hardly believe that it was only Monday. Well, Monday at 2 am, but still.

  She and Jupiter and Colin drove back to the hotel where Mia had been staying with Lucas. Jupiter kept falling asleep on Mia’s shoulder on the way, and Mia was able to stay awake only because she had the nagging sense that she should have stayed at Lucas’s apartment. What if he woke up in the night in pain? He should have someone there to help him, besides his injured brother and father. Of course, Llyr had assigned two wolves to guard them, but that wasn’t what she meant. She wanted to be there to care for him. Although she didn’t really have any right to do that.

  Eventually, she found herself stumbling into the luxury hotel with her roommate and Colin. He took Lucas
’s room, and the two girls stayed in Mia’s room. They were all dead on their feet so it didn’t much matter where she laid down. She was asleep the instant she was horizontal.

  The next morning woke her up with the smell of eggs and bacon.

  She peeked out of her room to verify that Colin had ordered them breakfast, but she was too self-conscious to come out in her rumpled PJs and bed head. Jupiter gushed about the view and the giant luxury bathroom, but all Mia could think was that she would much rather have Lucas in the next room. Even if he was surly and had been up half the night howling. She tried to ignore those thoughts as she showered away the last memories of her time as Mace’s prisoner—it was already fading from her mind, like a horrible nightmare she wanted to shake off. And even if her heart was still worried about Lucas, Colin had also been there to save her. And was looking out for her still. Her wolf yipped in agreement. The least she could do was put on a presentable face and be gracious while he watched over her. And who knew—maybe there could be something between them. Lucas wasn’t ready for a mate, but she was. Or at least a pack to belong to. Like Colin said, finding a mate would give her an extra level of protection, in case Mace decided to come after her again. But it was far more than that… life was too short and precarious to not seize the chance to belong to something. Especially something as wondrous as all of Sparks wolf packs seemed to be.

  She wanted to find her place there.

  For once, Jupiter had to borrow clothes from Mia, given they hadn’t had time to stop by the dorm and pick up any extras. Fortunately, Mia still had the black slacks and brilliant blue silk shirt Jupiter had loaned her before. Mia had never had a chance to wear them before they both were kidnapped, rescued, and squirreled away in a luxury hotel.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to wear these?” Mia asked, indicating the professional outfit she was wearing courtesy of Jupiter’s closet.

  “You’re going to work today, right?” Jupiter was flopped on the oversized bed they shared, hanging her head off the edge and looking at Mia upside down. “You gotta look hot for all those sexy shifter men you work with. Damn, girl, I need to get a job like that.”

  Mia grinned. “Well, there are some downsides.”

  “Like what?” Jupiter flipped over and propped her head in her hands. “Having to watch hot man flesh all day? Or having them all court you like some oil magnate princess?”

  Mia’s grin faded to a scowl. She turned away to check her clothes in the mirror, hoping Jeeter wouldn’t see her face heat up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, come on! The way Cade and Colin were ready to throw down over you last night?” Jupiter clambered off the bed and came to stand behind Mia, looking over her shoulder in the mirror. “I mean, it makes sense… you’re young and gorgeous…”

  “Jeeter!”

  “Don’t interrupt.” Jupiter pulled Mia’s long black hair back over her shoulder. “You’re beautiful, and you know it. Or you should, anyway. By the way, this blouse is perfect for you. See how it sets off your eyes? I’m a serious clothing genius.”

  Mia sighed. “What I need is a relationship genius. Because I’m swimming without a life preserver in this mess, Jeeter.”

  Her roommate’s gushing faded a little. “Yeah, well, I’m no expert in shifter romance. I mean, who knew there were even enough of you people to have such a thing? Seriously, my mind is still freakin’ on that. I’m starting to think my Psychology professor is secretly a baboon—”

  “Jeeter, I mean it.”

  “So do I! Have you seen that guy’s face?” Jupiter pulled an exaggerated expression in the mirror that only a drama major would even contemplate making.

  Mia shoved her out of mirror range. “You are so strange.”

  Jeeter gave her a skeptical look. “Says the girl who howls at night.”

  Blood rushed to Mia’s face. “I do not.”

  “You so did!” Jeeter backed up until her knees bumped the bed, then she flopped down on it again, flinging her arms wide. “Oh Lucas! Take me now!”

  Mia rushed forward, her face on fire. She slapped Mia’s knee slightly then climbed onto the bed with her. “Oh god. Tell me I didn’t say that.”

  Jeeter sat up on her elbows. “Not loud enough for Wolfy McCutie next door to hear, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Mia’s shoulders dropped, in relief but also desperation. “Oh, Jeeter. What am I going to do?”

  Her roommate sat up farther and folded her legs. “I’m not sure I completely understand the question.” Her face was finally serious, although that could simply be an act, too.

  “I think I might be in love with Lucas.”

  Jupiter nodded. “That’s not actually a question, you know.”

  Mia sighed. How could she explain when she wasn’t even sure what all the moving parts of shifter mating were herself? Although she had a pretty good idea now, even better after all the trauma with the Red wolves. “Shifters mate for life. Well… the wolf ones, anyway. Lucas lost his mate, and he’s still pretty devastated about it.”

  Jeeter frowned, and the seriousness was for real this time. “Oh man. That’s awful.”

  “Right? I mean, I don’t know how anyone gets over that.” Mia smoothed out some wrinkles in the super fluffy comforter. “I mean, I know he’s attracted to me, but he’s made it pretty clear he’s not ready for a mate.”

  Jeeter nodded. “But that Colin guy is totally into you.”

  Mia gave her a pained smile. “And he’s super nice.”

  “Not to mention outrageously hot.” Jeeter’s nod was a little more enthusiastic.

  “And he helped save me, and he wants to protect me, and he’s totally looking for a mate, and—”

  “Mia.” Her roommate’s touch on her knee stopped Mia’s rambling. “Do you love him?”

  “Well, no, not yet… I mean, I just met him! But maybe I could. Someday.” Mia heard the weakness in her own voice. And she knew in her heart that her answer would be very different if Jeeter had asked if she loved Lucas. But that option wasn’t really on the table.

  “Well, there’s no rush, is there?” Jeeter asked. “Jesus, Mia, you’re only twenty-one. Why don’t you date him for a while and see?”

  Mia bit her lip. “That makes sense. I know it does. And if I was only human, I would totally do that. Hell, a week ago, I wouldn’t even consider—”

  Mating. It was this amazing and profound experience, and she hadn’t even known about it a week ago. But now that her inner wolf had awoken, the idea of mating spoke to her in a way she couldn’t ignore.

  “Consider what?” Jeeter had that what have you gotten into look again, like she did when she thought Mia was moving in with Lucas.

  Mia took a deep breath and tried to put the tangle of feeling rumbling around inside her chest, inside her wolf, into words. “Wolves mate for life. And my inner wolf is ready for that. Wants it, badly. It’s the human part of me that’s not quite sure. I think with the right man, the right wolf, I would be. But I just don’t know. This is all so new to me.” An ache in her chest made her wish she could just talk to Lucas about it… even just as a friend. He would tell her the truth about how it all worked. He would help her sort it out. And he would make sure she made the right choice.

  Jupiter frowned and didn’t say anything for a moment. She pursed her lips and looked over Mia’s professional outfit. Finally, her face softened. “I’m kind of out of my depth here, girl. But it seems like whether you’re human or wolf shouldn’t really matter for this sort of thing.”

  Mia frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Jupiter shrugged. “Seems like, when it comes to love, you’ve just got to follow your heart.”

  Mia nodded, but her roommate’s words only unsettled her more. How could she follow her heart, when it kept leading her down a dead end?

  “Look,” Jeeter said as she squeezed Mia’s knee, “my personal rule—and this had never steered me wrong, so I highly recommend you hee
d it—is Never Make Massively Difficult Decisions On An Empty Stomach.” She tilted her head to their hotel bedroom door. “Let’s go eat some of that awesome hotel food, Wolfish McHottie has ordered up for us.”

  Mia gave a small laugh. “His name is Colin. Please, please, don’t call him McHottie to his face.”

  Jeeter swept off the bed, unfolding her legs and striding toward the door. “SweetMercy McHotness?”

  “No.” Mia scrambled after her, straightening her skirt on the way.

  “Wolfman McStudmuffin.” Jeeter’s hand was on the door.

  “Jeeter, I’m begging you.”

  “Ah, you’re no fun at all.” She flung open the door and flounced into the main part of their hotel suite, where Colin waited. He looked up from the breakfast table expectantly, his gaze searching for Mia.

  She took a deep breath and tried to keep her steps light as she followed after her roommate.

  Colin’s gaze seldom left Mia during breakfast. He kept up with Jupiter’s wild forays in conversation, but mostly he seemed to be waiting for something… she wasn’t quite sure what, but his eyes never wandered away from her for long.

  Mia and Colin left Jupiter at the hotel with an admonition not to go back to the dorm. Mia didn’t think it would be a problem: Jeeter was camped out with leftover room-service, Wi-Fi, and a rental laptop from the hotel. She barely waved as Mia left.

  Colin kept up the frequent glances in Mia’s direction all along the drive in to SparkTech. He had mentioned something about her clothes being nice, and she supposed her buttoned-up blouse could have been buttoned-up farther, but she had a feeling that wasn’t what the stares were about. At least, not entirely. He wanted to talk to her, and for some reason he was waiting. For what, she didn’t know. But the staring was so obvious Mia was afraid they might crash his gorgeous sports car right into one of the glass skyscrapers of downtown Seattle.

  Somehow they managed to arrive at the Russell building in one piece.