The Alpha's Choice

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  He slid the door open, reached inside and snatched his arm back. "Goddamnit! The little bastard bit me! Can I get some help over here?"

  Ryker and another man moved forward and removed a child of no more than eight or nine who growled and fought like his life depended on it. A third man rushed forward to grab the boy and held him, the boy's arms pinned to his sides with feet kicking the air. Another boy, a little older, followed. This one seemed a little more cooperative or perhaps a little smarter. He calmly allowed his captor to walk him away from the van and then bit the man's hand and took off running.

  It would have been comical if he hadn't drawn blood. The boy was fast and almost made the trees before he was caught. This one's vocabulary seemed to be limited to four letter words which he used freely as he was dragged back to the others.

  While the boy was chased down, two girls emerged from the van. Not willing to take the chance that she wouldn't run off, too, Tanner grabbed the elder of the two by her upper arm, not cruelly, but firmly. The girl went ramrod straight and wouldn't move.

  "Stop it!" Kat ran to the girl who was frozen in terror. She slapped at Tanner's arm. "You're frightening her, you big ox. Come on, sweetie," she said to the girl. "They're big and ugly, but they won't hurt you. I wouldn't let them. Come on, Forest. You'll be safe with me. My name is Miss Kat and I'll be your teacher." She put her arm around the girl's shoulders to lead her to the house.

  Forest blinked twice and her eyes focused on Kat. She gave a quick nod and began to move with her. After a few steps and frightened as the girl was, she stopped and turned and reached her hand out toward the van.

  "Meadow," she whispered.

  "They'll bring her. She'll be all right."

  "Damn right she will." Jo, who'd been watching the debacle from a front window, came striding through the door. "Damn fools. More jackass than wolver. You," she pointed at Tanner, "Go tell Charles to get his a-a-… his Alphaness out here. Knock some sense into these idiots."

  She marched to the van where Ryker held the fort and stuck her head inside. Words were exchanged and if Kat hadn't already heard a mouthful from the runaway, Ranger, who now seemed quite content with his inactivity, she might have covered poor Forest's ears.

  As it was, the girl stared at the open van door as if she expected blood and screams to come pouring out of it.

  All that emerged was Jo with the tiny girl called Meadow in tow. The child's thumb was stuck in her mouth like a cork and she looked up at Jo with big blue eyes.

  When they came abreast of Kat and Forest, Kat stooped to child eye level to say hello and was greeted by a snarl of blond hair on the back of Meadow's head.

  "It's all right, Meadow. No one here is going to hurt you," Kat said to the snarl. "Why don't you come to the kitchen with Forest and me? I'll bet Mrs. Martin has some cookies and milk just waiting for a tea party."

  Jo rolled her eyes and mouthed, "Tea party?" She looked down at the child who held her two fingers in an iron grip. "Don't mind her, kid. She means well, but doesn't know sh… shazam about some things. Cookies and milk sound pretty good, though, but not until you wash those hands. What is that? No, wait, don't tell me. I'd rather not know until after I've washed mine."

  Two things happened simultaneously as Jo was speaking. Charles and the architect pulled up just as a tall, bone-thin teenaged boy with his hands tied behind his back broke from the van. The boy ran around to the back of the van and into the front of the blue Tahoe. Fortunately, Charles was rolling to a stop and most of the force came from the boy himself. He hit the grill, bounced off and stumbled into the rear doors of the van before he hit the ground.

  Charles and Ryker reached the boy at the same time.

  "What the hell's going on here?" Charles roared. "Why's this kid tied? Ryker?" and before Ryker could answer, "Marcus!"

  Marcus came running, holding the ice pack Mrs. Martin had given him moments before.

  Ryker patted the kid down to make sure everything was working.

  "Get him out of those things," Charles ordered. "We don't tie up kids. Why Marcus?"

  "This is why." Marcus pulled the ice pack away from his face. "And this." He pulled his shirt collar away from his neck. "You want to see the rest? Or would you like to hear about chasing them all over the fucking mountain for four days."

  He snarled at the boy and stamped his foot as if about to attack. Hands now free, the boy reacted with an attack of his own. He swung with a full roundhouse punch aimed at Marcus' head. Ryker captured him much as the younger boy had been held, wrapping his arms around the boy's chest in a bear hug although River was much too tall to lift off the ground. He did, however, try to stomp on Ryker's booted foot.

  Ryker tightened his grip. "Seems like you're aching to know what it feels like to be crushed by a car. I can help with that."

  "Ryker!" Kat screamed the name. What was wrong with these wolvers? She looked to Charles for support and found none.

  "River, right? The Chief can make it happen, River," Charles said to the teen.

  The place suddenly erupted as the two younger boys exploded into kicks and punches and screams that triggered a new outburst from River.

  "Get your goddamned hands off them," he shouted. "Fuckin' bastards! It was my fault. Leave 'em alone."

  "Charles!" Kat wrapped her arms around Forest and pulled her into her chest, hiding her from all that was happening around them.

  Little Meadow watched it all with the same wide eyes, her thumb plug in place.

  "Enough!" Charles roared. "Enough, Damnit!" His power expanded and rolled over them all in a compression of air and all noise and movement stopped. Everything stopped.

  "You two." He pointed to the younger boys who were now cowering with their heads lowered. The sandy haired one had fallen to his knees. "You use those feet for anything but walking or those fists for anything but stuffing your faces and you're going to feel mine. Are we clear?"

  The dark haired one gave him a look that could kill, but gave him a sharp nod of his head. The sandy haired was shaking so badly, it was hard to tell if he nodded or not.

  Charles turned back to River, still locked in Ryker's embrace. "You're right. I hold you responsible." He raised his voice. "So if the rest of you want him to suffer for your screw-ups, go right ahead. No fur off my tail."

  Kat couldn't believe what she was hearing. These were children. Wild, yes, but children nonetheless. He was threatening them with bodily harm. She and Charles were going to have to talk about this when they had some time alone.

  "All of you go into the kitchen and get yourself something to eat. Now!" he shouted when no one moved. He turned his back on them all and went back to the Tahoe in which the architect had wisely remained.

  Jo looked down at her tiny charge and saw the dark shadow on the ground at her feet. "Well, shit," she muttered.

  "Nope. I'm pretty sure that's pee," Ryker snickered as he marched by with River in tow.

  Poor Meadow had wet herself. It was the only sign of the little girl's fear.

  Chapter 25

  "Get out of my kitchen. Git now, git!" Mrs. Martin shooed them with her apron like a flock of unruly chickens that had pecked their way through her kitchen door. "The day I can't handle a litter of pups is the day I hang up my apron."

  Most of the adults backed away, but Marcus stood his ground. "They'll run," he warned. He folded his arms, prepared to stay. "I've already chased them all over the fucking mountain. I'm not chasing them again.

  "You watch your tongue or the only one running is going to be you," she threatened. "Grown man making a little girl wet herself. You ought to be ashamed, you…"

  "The Alpha did it! Not me," Marcus complained, sounding very much like a kid himself.

  "He wouldn't have had to if you'd done your job proper. Miz Jo, why don't you take your friend into my sitting room and get those wet bottoms off. You can wrap her in that coverlet until this feller here brings her something dry to wear."

  As she led Fore
st to one of the stools that lined one side of the island, Kat wondered if Charles could do anything wrong in the housekeepers eyes.

  "Don't be afraid," she whispered to the young teen who hadn't raised her head since the outdoor altercation and moved like an automaton. "No one here will hurt you."

  The two younger boys didn't need to be told. On seeing the plate piled high with cookies, they scrambled up onto stools. The sandy haired one reached for the plate.

  "Don't you dare," Mrs. Martin warned. "In this house you'll eat off your own plate and none other and not until your face and hands are washed."

  The boy looked at River and withdrew his hand only after the teenaged leader gave a slight shake of his head.

  Mrs. Martin already had a wet towel in her hand. The dark haired boy drew back as she approached, but she was not to be put off. She raised her index finger. "You don't wash, you don't eat. That's the rule. You may have to eat a peck a dirt before you die, but you don't have to eat it all in one sitting." She looked the boy in the eye. "So what's it going to be?"

  After a moment's deliberation and another glance at the plate of cookies, the boy held out his hands. Mrs. Martin attacked them with a vengeance and moved on to his face, giving it the same treatment.

  "What's your name, boy?" she asked when she finished.

  "Ranger."

  "Well, Ranger, you're a pretty handsome fella when you're cleaned up. Miz Kat, will you put a couple of cookies on one of them little plates and pass it over to Ranger here?" She turned the towel around to the clean half and went to work on Dakota. "Let's see what's under all that dirt and muck" she said as she scrubbed away. "Well lookie here, Miz Kat, we got us another fine one."

  Kat had the plate ready for Dakota. "He is a handsome one, isn't he?" she said. Dakota had the cookies stuffed in his face before the plate touched the counter.

  The housekeeper ignored the boys' manners and rinsed the towel. She handed it to Forest who used it and returned it without raising her head. Mrs. Martin said nothing, but stroked the girl's head and continued to do so even when the girl stiffened.

  "You and me got some baking to do," she said to the girl. "These boys are going to need cookies and cakes and good homemade bread. Miz Kat's got enough to do in the schoolroom and that one," she motioned to Jo who was washing Meadow's face at the sink, "Ain't worth squat in the kitchen. You think you can help me out?"

  "I don't know how," Forest whispered.

  "Nobody knows how 'till somebody shows 'em. We'll do just fine, you and me. You'll see," she told the girl and turned her attention to River. "You look like you could do with a might more than cookies. Never saw a feller so skinny and still be standing. You wash up and I'll fill you a plate," she told him.

  River didn't move and Marcus took a step forward.

  "It's all right, River," Kat intervened. She didn't want another contest of wills, not now when the others were just settling down. "We'll worry about cleaning up later. Let's get you fed."

  "Everything all right in here?" Charles stood in the doorway.

  "Everything's fine, Charles," Kat said quickly. She busied herself passing out more cookies and pouring milk. "Just fine. Mrs. Martin was just going to make River a sandwich. She thinks he needs fattening up. I'm sure you have other things to do. You can take Marcus with you." She smiled.

  "That's who I'm here for. Tanner can keep watch." He smiled back.

  "But…"

  "Tanner can keep watch."

  She was distracted by the sound of water running behind her. River was washing his hands. She looked back at Charles and gave him what she thought was a significant look. "Can we talk?"

  "Later, Katarina. I have other, more important, things to take care of now. I'll talk to you later tonight. Late tonight," he said firmly. "If I have the time."

  She could tell by the way he said it that she wasn't to question it. She also knew how it sounded to the others. She was being put in her place.

  * * *

  Lunch was a near disaster, a feeding frenzy of monumental proportions. The children acted as if they'd never had a decent meal before. While they abided by Mrs. Martin's rule of eating from their own plates, once those plates were full, they dove in, cramming their mouths with chunks of meat and cheese and deviled eggs. They ignored the forks and spoons and shoveled it into their mouths with their hands, Dakota going so far as to lick the mashed potato directly from the plate and, like Oliver Twist, they held out their plates for more.

  Kat was repulsed by the display, but held her tongue only because it was their first day and they had been through enough. Tilda was having a hard time holding hers, too, and Kat was sure she restrained herself solely because Kat had touched her hand and shaken her head in a gentle 'no' before the woman could interfere. They had time to teach them table manners. There were other things they needed to learn first.

  Like using the bathroom.

  After their cookies and milk, the first order of business had been baths. Since the younger boys smelled the worst, Kat decided they should go first. She chose Ranger because he seemed the most tractable and Rawley volunteered for the job.

  The kitchen exploded when Rawley tried to take him out. This time, even Forest attacked without hesitation. Rawley was not going to separate one from the others. With Becky's help, Kat and Mrs. Martin managed to pull everyone apart and Rawley volunteered to take the two boys together.

  "Are you sure?" Kat asked. She didn't think he was a willing volunteer to begin with. Becky certainly wasn't.

  Rawley grinned. "Two half pints? I think I can handle it."

  River, who'd watched the whole thing from his place leaning against the sink because he'd refused to sit with the others, whistled and gave a sharp nod.

  "Go," was all he said and the boys went.

  "You could have prevented that," Kat said to him, "You could have told them to go as soon as it was suggested. Why didn't you?"

  River's answer was a curled lip.

  "We're your family now, River," Kat told him gently. She could feel Forest watching from beneath the bangs that were much too long. "You have people you can rely on, people you can trust. The Alpha…"

  "Fuck off."

  Tilda glared at the boy. "You mind your tongue when you talk to Miz Kat. She's here to help you."

  "Shut up, old woman. Save it for the young ones who don't know any better."

  "River!"

  "What?" he asked with the same curl of the lip.

  Charles walked in with a tray of dirty dishes followed by Jo with an armload of empty platters.

  Charles took in the food strewn floor and counter, Forest with her head bent and her hand frozen on the last bit of cheese on her plate, Meadow staring with her thumb stuck in her mouth and River, sullen and confrontational.

  "What happened?"

  "Lunch," Kat told him, a little too brightly. "I'm adding table manners to my lesson plans. Rawley took Dakota and Ranger upstairs for a bath."

  "Tanner! Get in here! You're back on duty."

  "Charles. We're fine."

  "No, we're not," River mumbled under his breath.

  "No, we're not," Charles said aloud. "I don't have time to chase all over creation after these kids. My brother made that mistake and his Mate went into early labor for her trouble."

  "I didn't touch her," River snarled.

  "You didn't have to. She was so worried when you took off, she insisted on joining the search. She was afraid for the little ones. I'm not as kindhearted as my brother. I won't give you the chance to harm what's mine."

  "Elizabeth? Is she all right? Is the baby all right?"

  "Babies. Twins and they and their mother are doing fine, no thanks to him."

  "Thank you God," Kat said for the sake of Elizabeth, the babies and for River. That was a burden no child should have to carry and there was no use explaining it wasn't his fault since Charles had already declared it to be. "He wasn't the only one that ran, Charles. The other children did, too." Kat knew Ri
ver was the leader, but they were forgetting that he was a child, too.

  "He was the one in charge. He takes the responsibility."

  There was no point in arguing here in front of the other children. It would only make things worse. River's fists were clenched and he was ready to fight. Forest's body was quivering in fear and little Meadow had her thumb in her mouth.

  Becky's burst of giggles interrupted the moment when Rawley brought Dakota and Ranger back, leading them not so gently by the scruffs of their necks. The boys were clean and shiny, their hair towel dried and sticking out every which way. In spite of the big man's grip on their necks, they were grinning. Rawley was soaked to the skin from head to foot.

  "They never saw a shower before. They liked it," was all he said in explanation. He looked at River. "You're next."

  "I've seen a shower before," River snarled.

  "Glad to hear it. I wasn't much looking forward to soaping you down. While you shower, I'll clean up the mess those two made." It was said with a smile, but it was clear Rawley wasn't asking. He was telling.

  River slammed his fist into the cabinetry behind him and Kat waited for Charles to explode. He didn't.

  "Looks like you've got this handled," he said to Rawley and then to the women, "Can you handle the others for a few minutes while I speak to Kat?"

  Chapter 26

  "You can't want that, Charles."

  "It's not a matter of want. What I want has nothing to do with what is. Those cubs are wild and I don't know if they can be tamed."

  They were walking along the lane, holding hands, but Kat now realized this wasn't an afternoon stroll for lovers who would find little alone time over the coming days. Charles wanted them to be out of range for sensitive wolver ears.

  "They're children, Charles, children."

  "They're not. They're wolvers. We don't call them cubs or pups as terms of affection. We're mixed breeds, Katarina, and the wolf can be as strong as the human in us. It takes mental strength and discipline to control that and that control has to be learned early, so that when the change comes, they won't succumb to the Call. That's why the packs don't want someone like Buddy. They're afraid of him answering the Call of the Wild. Wild wolvers, Kat, have to be eliminated."