Alpha Blood Box Set (BBW Werewolf / Shifter Romance)

by Mac Flynn

  The pair steadied their feet for the jump. Emily and I scrambled to our feet and backed away with our bags, our faces filled with anxiety. Luke was the first to try the leap. He pushed upward off the fence with both feet and kept his hands on the highest links. His legs vaulted over the top and he released his hands. He sailed onto the other side of the fence and dropped to his feet.

  Adam wasn’t as adept at the vault. He swung high, but not high enough to clear all the wire. His legs barely cleared the wire and his hands scraped across the sharp metal. He cried out and hit the ground more gracefully than my landing. Adam held his hands out in front of him and smoke floated up from his palms. The three of us hurried to his side, but Adam quickly hid his hands.

  “They will heal,” he assured us.

  Luke frowned at him. “Not unless the wounds are cleaned of the wolf’s bane,” he told him.

  Adam stood and pushed through us. “We don’t have time to waste on a few scrapes. We still have no idea where Callean may be hiding, and the Prospera region is as large as any other. Without a vehicle it could take us days to travel across the region.”

  “And all the while you’re getting yourself sick with that poison in you,” Emily spoke up. She stalked over to him and yanked one of his hands away from him. The skin was both blistered and burned. “We just need to get you some water. There has to be moving water somewhere nearby.” She lifted her nose and sniffed the air. “There’s fresh water a few miles northwest of here. We’ll get you clean there and move on.”

  Adam yanked his hand from her grasp and glared at her. “I will be fine,” he argued.

  I held up my hand. “I don’t think puffing off smoke from your hand like a cigarette is fine.”

  Luke nodded. “I must agree with the ladies. You need to mend before we travel further, and as we have no idea in which direction Callean is hiding the creek might be the direction we must go.”

  Adam growled, but his shoulders slumped. “I will agree, but let us hurry. Delays will only give Lance a chance to move the formulas.”

  19

  We trudged through the groves of trees and tall grass with our eyes and ears alert for danger. Our noses were useless with so many of Lance’s men in possession of the de-scent pills. The night still hid us from obvious view, and after a half hour we reached the bubbling, gurgling creek that wound its way through the tree roots and tall grass. Adam stooped on the bank and dipped his still-sizzling hands into the clear, cold water. He winced, but his manliness kept him from screaming outright like I would have done. It must have been like dipping a wound into salt water.

  Luke held back away from we three. His eyes scanned the patches of trees and the few large rocks. I walked over and tugged on his arm. “What is it?” I whispered.

  “I’m not sure,” he replied.

  My face drooped. “Which means what? We’re about to be attacked?” I guessed.

  “I’m not sure.”

  I glared at him. “Then what are you sure about?”

  “There are old scents here, but their tracks don’t leave this place,” he revealed.

  I started back and glanced around the area. “So that means that whoever made those tracks haven’t left?”

  “Or disappeared with the de-scent formula,” he suggested.

  I inched closer to him and our backpacks bopped together. “You know, for once I’d like it where we could walk through these regions without having to worry about fighting every Tom, Dick, and Hairy Creature.”

  “We can oblige,” a voice spoke up.

  Out from the rocks stepped a man of about forty who was without smell, but his yellow eyes told me he was of our kind. He wore black, tight-fitting clothing complete with jeans, a turtleneck shirt, and a jacket. A patch of stubble covered his chin. The man strode toward us with the confidence of an assassin. Luke pulled me behind him, and Emily and Adam stood at the edge of the creek. My mate curled his lips and growled at the stranger.

  The stranger stopped and smirked. “I wouldn’t do that.” He held up a finger and the signal brought forth two dozen men dressed in similar attire. Several of them had guns, the barrels of which they pointed at us. “Now you’ll tell me what you’re doing here and why you’ve caused so much trouble for Connor’s men.”

  “How did you know about that, and why do you not have a scent?” Emily questioned him.

  The man’s eyes flickered to her. “Answer my questions and I will see if it’s worth wasting my breath answering yours.”

  I peaked out from behind Luke. “You’re not with Lance?” I guessed.

  The man’s grin fell off his face and he narrowed his eyes. “No. We follow only Callean.”

  “Callean is why we’re here. We wish to see him,” Luke told him.

  “Not until you tell us your names, and why you wish to see him,” the stranger insisted.

  “I am Lord Laughton of the Wildlands region, and this is my mate and our friends. We wish to see Callean because we need his help against Connor,” Luke explained to him.

  The stranger raised an eyebrow. “How did you know to find us here?”

  “Burnbaum of Wolverton informed us Callean had hidden himself in this region,” Luke answered.

  “You are either very good at lying with truths, or you speak the truth,” the stranger mused.

  Luke looked him straight in the eyes. “I swear on the honor of my family and Sanctuary that I am speaking the truth.”

  The stranger looked at Luke for a long, tense moment. Then he visibly relaxed, and at another finger raising his men lowered their guns. “I will believe you, but one false step and you will be as dead as any of Connor’s men who we have found.”

  Emily folded her arms and glanced around at the group. “How are we to know you’re not with Connor? None of you have a scent. Hell, we don’t even know your name,” she pointed out.

  “You can call me Tracker, and as for the scent, we have people along the fence who have stolen something very valuable from the guards,” the stranger replied. He apparently trusted us only so far as to lower the gun barrels. “As for knowing the trouble you caused, we have ways of communicating without the messages being recognized for what they are.”

  “That is one of the reasons why we need Callean’s help,” Luke spoke up. “Connor is making more of the substance and he intends to use that and another formula against our kind to start a war with the humans.”

  Tracker stiffened and put a finger to his lips. His eyes flickered over the woods and his men tensed. My ears picked up on the sound of a bird softly cooing. “We must move. The patrols are searching for you and your scent is leading them here.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out two vials. He tossed one to Luke and the other to Emily. “Each of you drink half the contents and follow us.”

  Emily popped the cork on the vial and took a sniff. She pulled back and glanced at the stranger. “This has no smell.”

  “It’s the drink we stole from Connor’s men. Drink it or stay here. It’s your choice, but Connor’s men should be here in two minutes and I’m betting they won’t want to catch up on old times,” Tracker told us.

  Luke pulled the stopper from our drink and took a swig. I smelled his scent slip off him as though he were in a shower and the water was washing his smell away. It wasn’t pleasant to be beside a male and not know by scent that they were my mate. After a pause he handed the vial to me. “Quickly,” he whispered.

  I swigged the rest of the contents and had the familiar loss of scent as I’d felt at Sanctuary when Alston had given Abby and me that strange gum. Emily and Adam took their drinks, and in less than a minute we were as scentless as those around us. Tracker grabbed our arms, and pulled us in the direction away from the fence and into the arms of his men. They hauled us away from the cooing birds and into the deep grass of the fields of Prospera.

  We were pushed and pulled across several miles of fields until I wondered if the region’s main export was bunch grass. At god-awful-late in the morning
we arrived at a dirt road, and on the road stood a convoy of black Hummer.

  “Pair up and get into a vehicle,” Tracker ordered us. Luke grasped my arm and we were shoved into the nearest Hummer. The windows were tinted so dark we couldn’t see out. Tracker slid into the seat beside us while two of his men took positions at the wheel and in the front passenger seat. The non-driver aimed a pistol at our heads and handed Tracker two pieces of thick, dark cloth. “Put these over your eyes or we leave you behind.”

  Luke grudgingly took the blindfolds and gave one to me. The last thing I saw before I put the cloth over my eyes was the rising sun in the east. I hoped that wasn’t going to be the last thing I ever saw. Tracker tied the blindfolds behind our backs and the Hummer sped down the dirt road to our next exciting vacation destination.

  20

  I don’t know for how long we traveled in that bumpy Hummer, but judging by the soreness in my rear I’d say about half the region. The Hummer stopped and my ears caught the sounds of dozens of men talking, laughing, and barking orders. We were pulled from the vehicle and marched, still blindfolded, through the crowds.

  “Laughton, you still there?” Emily called to us.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Don’t speak until the blindfolds are removed,” Tracker ordered us.

  I heard a door open and felt the change in air as we were shoved over the threshold of a building. The air smelled stagnant and had a hint of male body odor, and the noises outside were blocked almost completely when the door was shut behind us. Someone grabbed my blindfold and tore it off. I blinked against the harsh, artificial light of fluorescent bulbs that hung overhead. The four of us with Tracker stood side-by-side in a large, metal-sided barrack complete with curved roof and tiny square windows. In the far back lay a row of tables piled with papers and maps, and surrounded by chairs. More chairs were scattered about the room, and in the far right corner away from the door was a plain wooden bed with silk sheets and a red pillow.

  Behind us on either side of the door were two of Callean’s bodyguards. Their black sunglass-covered faces looked straight ahead, but I knew their eyes were on us and their hands twitched at our slightest movements. The guards each had a pistol at their side, and I didn’t doubt Callean could afford to give all his men silver bullets.

  Seated on the bed with his legs over the side was Callean. His hair was a tangled mess and there were dark patches under his eyes, but his eyes were otherwise alert and glanced from our little group to Tracker. “Where did you find them?” he asked our guide.

  “Near the border of Manutia. They said they were looking for you,” Tracker explained.

  Callean stood and strode over to us. He stopped in front of Luke. “I know you, Laughton, but how did you know we were in Prospera?”

  “Burnbaum told us,” Luke replied.

  “And why didn’t Burnbaum send a message over the radio to warn us you were coming?” Callean questioned him.

  “The old code isn’t safe anymore and they’ve had to switch to another. They might be sending messages that you can’t detect,” Luke told him.

  Callean turned and paced the floor in front of us. “Why has the code changed?”

  “Lance has Stacy,” Luke revealed.

  Callean stiffened and looked over his shoulder at Luke. “Are you speaking the truth?”

  Emily scoffed. “This Boy Scout doesn’t know how to lie.”

  Callean frowned and glanced at the ground. His face hardened and he shook his head. “She knew the risks, and she would agree that I cannot risk all my men to save only her.”

  “They also have her dad, Baker, and Alistair,” I spoke up.

  Callean glanced at me. “I have no love for her father nor the other two, so what does that mean to me?”

  “We need your help to rescue them and stop Lance,” Luke explained. “Lance is located in a research station in the southern end of Scientia. He intends to move out soon and take the formula for his invisibility drink with him to mass-produce it in the safety of his region.”

  Callean grabbed a chair and slid it toward us so the back faced our line. He straddled the seat and his eyes scrutinized our faces. “Tell me all that you know about Lance’s plan.”

  Luke recounted our failed mission into the research center, our confrontation with Lance and his monologuing, the assassination of Mullen, and our escape and rescue by Burnbaum. He conveniently left out that Emily had recently changed sides, and I could see why by Callean’s impassive expression. At the end of his tale Luke stepped toward Callean. “Now we need your help to stop the convoy Lance intends to send out from the research center. That will be when Lance is at his most vulnerable.”

  Callean leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “You’re a cool customer, Laughton. Lance has spread tales of your murdering Mullen and kidnapping Stevens, and here you are crossing the regions to stop your own brother.”

  “What he says is a lie, but what he intends to do is very much the truth. He wishes to control all the regions with his research and then start a war with the humans for control over more territory,” Luke told him.

  “I believe you, but you haven’t convinced me to join you. Lance is moving with his formula, but my men can steal as much as they want of that,” Callean pointed out.

  Emily rolled her eyes. “Are you really that stupid? If he mass-produces the chemical he’ll overrun your men and the rest of the werewolf regions.”

  “My men are well-trained in gathering information and protecting me, but a full-on assault like what you’re suggesting is not what is in their general repertoire. What forces can you have to support my group?” Callean questioned us.

  Luke stepped forward. “We have Burnbaum’s Green Party and ourselves out your disposal.”

  Callean scoffed. “Is that it? And you expect us to defeat Lance when all his men have this formula?”

  “Don’t you even want to save Stacy and the others?” I spoke up.

  Callean glanced at us one at a time and his lips were tightly pursed together. “They all knew the risks, and I know my responsibility to my men is not to send them on a suicide mission to rescue a few people. I have heard no plan, you have no men, and that means there is no hope this mission could ever succeed,” he argued. He looked to Tracker. “Give them a barrack and some food, and when they’re ready they can leave. We can take you as far as-” The door to the metal shed swung open and we all turned to see that Leonor stood in the doorway.

  She stepped inside and her eyes swept over us. “Where’s Stacy?” she asked us.

  Callean slipped off his chair and stepped toward her. “Leonor, this is no time-”

  “Quiet, you buffoon, and tell me where Stacy is. I saw her friends come in here, but she’s not here. Why?” she snapped.

  My eyes lit up as I saw possibility. “She’s been captured, and Callean won’t help us recuse her,” I spoke up. Callean shot me a glare that would have withered a flower which I fortunately wasn’t.

  Leonor’s eyes widened for a moment before they hardened, and she whipped her head to her son. “And why aren’t you saving her?”

  “I can’t risk my-”

  Leonor waved her hand and brushed aside his comment. “Yes, yes, your men. I’ve heard you say that so many times it’s in my nightmares, but you ever asked what your men want? They’re tired of sitting around here rotting away while Tracker here-” she nodded at the man, “-brings news that everybody and their pup are fighting Lance’s men.”

  “The plan they’ve proposed to save Stacy is nothing short of a suicide mission,” he protested.

  Leonor marched up to him, stood on her tiptoes, and stuck her nose as close to his face as she could manage. She fell a foot short, but that didn’t lessen the terrible look in her eyes. “Maybe it’d be better to die like a proud wolf in the heat of battle than live like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs.” She tapped his temple and he winced. “Eh? You ever think of that? That maybe all this money you’ve
got and all these men aren’t worth a darn if you’re not going to use them to save everyone?”

  I stepped forward and gave him my best puppy-dog look. “We can’t do this without your men. Why not ask them if they want to go with us? It can’t hurt to ask.” I sidestepped and gestured to Twiddle Dee and Dum on either side of the door. “Why not start by asking them?”

  Callean pushed his mother to the side and turned toward his men. “You heard all the risks and rewards. We either stay here and outlast our enemies in cunning, or we go to them and see if we can outlast our enemies in a battle. Which do you prefer?”

  The guards glanced at each other and grins slid across their otherwise stupid faces. They looked back to Callean, and grasped their guns. “We’ll take the fight, sir,” one of them replied.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a wife and kids that I don’t want to have to do the fight for me,” the other added.

  Callean smiled and half-turned to us. “It seems your will to fight is contagious.”

  I leaned toward Luke and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Did he just call us the common cold?”

  “You are certainly trouble, but let us hope you give more trouble to Lance than to your allies,” Callean replied. He turned to Luke. “When did you say this convoy would leave the compound?”

  “We’re not sure, but as soon as possible. They may have already left,” Luke told him.

  “Then we should have left an hour ago.” Callean glanced at Tracker and his guards. “All of you go alert the men. We’re moving out in ten minutes. Take as many of the guns as you can and all the ammo we have available. We’re going to attack Lance and finish this little war of his.”

  The men saluted and hurried out into the bright day. Leonor stepped up to her son and put her hand on his shoulder. He glanced down at her and I noticed she had a wide smile on her face. “I’m proud of you,” she told him. Then her face changed into a frown, she reached up and slapped her hand across his cheek. The force knocked his face away and left a distinct red mark. “But don’t you dare take that long to listen to your mother again!” Leonor stalked from the barrack and disappeared into the crowds that quickly swarmed the front of the building.