Alphas of Summer: A collection of shifter romances

by Lia Davis

  But it had taken him a long time indeed to feel like he belonged. Current events had reminded him of that old struggle.

  How long would it take these families? These children? Some of them had traveled in groups, others had arrived on their own. How long before they could live in peace like they had done before the New Alliance had blown the rules of secrecy to smithereens and exposed all of their kind to the world?

  Just because the current government was determined to make shifter equality work didn't mean that their futures were set. It wouldn't take all that much to sway public opinion, perhaps just a few unfortunate events involving shifters, capitalized on by the growing anti-shifter movement under Victor Domnall's leadership. Then, the next general election could turn their reality on its head all over again.

  He took a deep breath. It was too late to second-guess their campaign now. No matter how he felt about all this in retrospect, he couldn't take it back.

  Even without his involvement, Henry and his people would have just found someone else to run things in London.

  His phone rang, forcing him to look away from the depressing images on the TV. He grabbed the remote and muted it.

  Speak of the devil, Eric thought as he picked up his phone.

  "Henry. What can I do for you?" he answered.

  "Eric. I have a job for you," Henry said. There were other hushed voices on the other end of the line, but Eric couldn't make out what was being said.

  "What's that?" Eric closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was in too deep. No matter what he thought about the fallout from their campaign, he couldn't back out. All he could do now was help with damage control.

  "I would like for you to join Alpha Squad." The line went quiet, as though everyone else on the other end was waiting for Eric's response with bated breaths.

  Eric opened his eyes again. The news had switched over to a newsreader in a studio.

  Alpha Squad? Him? He wasn't sure how to respond. If that was what Henry wanted, then he ought to agree.

  "The training starts Monday," Henry added.

  "I thought that was just a PR stunt set up by that politician we met together, Oliver Teese."

  "Be that as it may, I think it is vital for us to have one of our own inside the team, don't you think?" Henry said.

  Eric made a face. He hated that Henry was right.

  "True. All right, as you wish. I'll do it."

  Again, a muffled voice said something on the other end of the line, but Eric couldn't identify the exact words.

  "Oh, Gail is wondering if your brother might be interested. We need all the help we can get."

  Eric sighed. Adam had a bit of a reputation as a troublemaker; at twenty-six, he'd never even held down a regular job.

  "Send me the details. I'll talk to him," Eric mumbled.

  "Thanks. Knew I could count on your support." With those last words, the line went dead.

  Eric sat back and switched the sound of the TV back on when he saw a familiar face appear in the studio: Oliver Teese, the politician.

  "So your new position as Secretary for Shifter Affairs is completely unheard of even internationally. How do you intend to put voters' minds at ease about these new developments we've been seeing?" The female reporter turned to Oliver Teese and folded her hands.

  "Well, I've said so from the start and will say so again. Shifters do not pose a threat to the general public. I've had the privilege of meeting with them from the start of all this."

  "Do you mean you were aware of the New Alliance before they made their presence public?" the reporter said.

  The politician smiled mysteriously and waved away her question. His demeanor made the hair on the back of Eric's neck stand upright. A liar by omission. "The important thing to remember is that we have the matter under control. We have a reputation internationally as a tolerant, accepting nation, and that's not about to change. Of course, as part of the European Union, citizens of the other member states have the right of free movement, which isn't something we are looking to limit or take away for shifters looking to move here."

  The reporter turned to face the camera. "Of course, freedom of movement applies to all citizens of the Union." She turned back to face Oliver Teese.

  "That's right. But it's important for everyone to understand that we are not giving preferential treatment either. Anyone who comes here under the freedom of movement directive will be required to conform to the requirements laid out within."

  "Meaning European migrants have to have the means to sustain themselves while they are here?" the reporter asked.

  "Indeed. New residents will be required to show proof of income or sufficient capital if they are to stay here permanently or be actively seeking work."

  "What about the allegations by Victor Domnall and his group that this influx of shifters is going to swing the balance in their favor as they start to outnumber the human population?"

  Oliver Teese let out a chuckle. "I would advise people not to follow that man's sensationalist and outlandish rhetoric. The numbers we are talking about here are tiny in comparison to the human population of this country. There is absolutely no risk of shifters outnumbering humans. Latest data from Dover shows that the shifter migrants coming in have added up to about a thousand at the most over the past three months."

  "Right. So compared with normal immigration rates—" the reporter started.

  "Compared to normal figures, it's practically negligible," Oliver Teese interrupted.

  "Well, there you have it. That's all we have time for now. Thank you for coming in, Mr. Secretary. Now we go back to Rachel Kinley, in the field in Dover."

  Eric picked up the remote and switched off the TV. This whole situation had made the man's career. Hardly anyone had even heard of Oliver Teese before any of this had happened. Eric had only made an appointment for Henry and the team to meet with his office because he was his local Member of Parliament at the time. Not that you could tell as much from looking at him now. He seemed to have received media training during the months leading up to his promotion and was now as smooth and slippery as they came.

  Eric shook his head. Once a politician…

  He picked up his phone and dialed Adam's number. It was noon, still a bit early in the day for his baby brother, but he was keen to get this particular conversation out of the way. Chances were Adam would tell Eric where to shove the suggestion of joining Alpha Squad together, but after getting this over with, at least he could tell Henry that he'd tried.

  That was all anyone could expect.

  Eric was up bright and early on Sunday. Not that it was a must; the drive to Wales, where the training for Alpha Squad was to take place, was not that long. No, something else had awoken him. Nerves? Doubts about whether he was doing the right thing?

  Surprisingly, Adam had agreed to join the taskforce with him. Perhaps it was the promise of a regular paycheck that had attracted him, or perhaps he thought it was glamorous somehow. Either way, he would be arriving sometime during the morning and they'd make the drive up to South Wales together.

  The training would be tough. Eric already knew that and was prepared for it. Was Adam? Only time would tell.

  He checked his bags for the tenth time, then put the coffee maker on for some much-needed caffeine. A knock on the door of his flat interrupted him.

  "Adam." Eric greeted his brother with a quick hug and slap on the back.

  "Hey, bro. You ready?" Adam smiled widely. He looked excited.

  That was sure to change once he figured out there'd be actual hard work involved in completing the training.

  Eric shrugged. "I was just making a coffee. Want some?"

  Adam nodded and placed his large gym bag on the ground beside the door before following Eric into the kitchen.

  They drank the first cup in silence, with Eric eyeing his younger brother suspiciously. What was going on in Adam's head to make him so cheerful this early on a Sunday morning? He'd always been the rebelliou
s sort and terrible at accepting authority. That was why Eric hadn't involved him in any New Alliance stuff before the big reveal.

  "It'll take us about four hours to get there," Eric said as he poured the remaining coffee into a steel flask.

  "Right. Road trip!" Adam cheered.

  Eric scrutinized him. Adam was so young when their family moved to the city, he had never had a taste of the great outdoors. The training grounds where they were headed were used by the SAS, among other branches of the armed forces. As bears, they'd have a natural advantage as far as physical training was concerned, but still.

  Eric shook his head. He'd figure it out soon enough. Adam wouldn't last more than a few days. A week, at the most.

  "Let's go then," Eric said. "The sooner we reach there, the more time we'll have to explore the place before training starts in the morning."

  Adam nodded eagerly and grabbed the flask off the counter on his way out, leaving Eric to shake his head some more. This was going to be interesting.

  Chapter 2

  This assignment was going to be difficult.

  Janine looked at herself in the mirror, making sure none of her curled locks had escaped the grasp of the tight bun she usually sported while on duty. She took a deep breath.

  Difficult was an understatement. This assignment was crap. It was no wonder none of the boys in her unit had wanted it. So it had been handed to her. A promotion, her superiors had said. It really wasn't.

  The so-called shifters she was meant to train were not just highly unqualified, they were potentially dangerous. Much stronger than regular people, which would no doubt make them difficult to control. Who knew how they would react to a woman in charge.

  And then there were the humans. She wasn't quite sure who her team would comprise of, but the few files she'd been given with her orders did not fill her with confidence. She might struggle to control the human part of the squad as much as the shifters.

  But Janine wasn't a quitter. She would give it her all. Failure was not an option.

  A quick glance at the clock above her dresser revealed that it was time to leave. She'd drive straight to the base, which would be her new home for the foreseeable future. Well, hers, and Alpha Squad's—a ridiculously macho name if you asked her. Of course, nobody had asked her.

  All her belongings were already stashed in the trunk of her car. The room looked sparse as a result. A blank slate.

  It would be a while before she'd come back here. She didn't mind; growing up a foster child, bouncing from home to home, had taught her that nothing in life was permanent. Home was where her work took her. Right now, on this quiet Sunday morning in September, it would take her up the M4 into Wales.

  Next? Who knew? One step at a time.

  She picked up her appointment letter on the way out.

  It was about an hour later when Janine pulled into a rest stop. She was only partially motivated by a yearning for caffeine; mostly, it was procrastination that had sparked her decision to take a break.

  Motorway service stations were funny places. They weren't destinations, merely stops on the way to somewhere more exciting. By their very nature they felt impermanent.

  Even though the summer was now over, some mostly elderly holidaymakers were still on the move, with their overloaded cars and unapologetically informal fashion sense. Janine, despite dressing in civilian clothes today, still stood out as too proper and straight-laced.

  "How can I help?" The girl at the hot drinks counter could not have sounded more disinterested if she tried.

  "A regular coffee, milk," Janine said. "No, wait, I'll have a cappuccino."

  Janine was headed to a remote and only occasionally used army base. Who knew how long it would take to see some semblance of civilization. She might as well treat herself now.

  The girl waited for a couple of seconds with a blank look on her face, as though she was expecting Janine to change her mind again, then pressed a few buttons on the till.

  "That'll be 4.25." She tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter as Janine retrieved a £5 note from her wallet and handed it to her.

  With these prices, it was no wonder that nobody ever came to these places unless they had no other choice.

  The girl quickly counted out the change and hurriedly deposited it in Janine's outstretched hand, causing one of the coins to fall onto the ground.

  Janine turned to chase after the stray coin only to find it had come to halt against another customer's shoe. A very large, black boot belonging, in fact, as she figured out upon looking up, to a very tall, incredibly broad, and muscular man, who looked down at her with surprisingly warm brown eyes.

  "You dropped something," he remarked.

  Thanks, yeah, I'd noticed, Janine thought.

  Despite the obviousness of his comment, the bass in his voice still managed to send shivers down her spine.

  Janine averted her gaze as he bent down and picked up the coin, holding it up in her direction.

  "Thanks," she stammered.

  Janine took a deep breath, straightened her back, and forced herself to make eye contact again. "Thank you," she repeated herself, this time in a firmer voice.

  How did she expect to train a bunch of renegade shifters and humans if she couldn't even interact with one random guy at a motorway service station properly? What the hell had gotten into her?

  "You're welcome," the stranger responded, a warm smile on his face.

  She returned his smile briefly.

  "Your coffee," the irritating girl called out from behind the counter, prompting Janine to turn her back to the ridiculously handsome stranger. In a strange way, it was a relief not to be faced with him anymore, even if it was just for a second.

  She nodded curtly at the girl as she took the takeaway cup and a napkin from the tray on the counter, leaving the sachets of sugar behind. She took a sip right away, savoring the taste as well as the sensation of having the soft frothy milk gently touch her lip. She was stalling, obviously, but when she turned around to leave, she found that the man hadn't moved at all and their eyes met again.

  Had he been looking at her the whole time?

  She nodded at him and made it a point to check her watch on her way past, but his gaze never wavered and she could feel his eyes on her even as she walked away. Rather than taking a seat inside the building to leisurely enjoy her coffee, she walked back to her car.

  Ridiculous .

  Her career in the army had meant that she had been around plenty of men at the peak of physical fitness before. None had ever affected her so. In fact, she'd found that most guys who hit the gym as much as this guy must have had nothing much going on upstairs. Something in this man's eyes had suggested otherwise. In an exchange that had lasted only a couple of words, she thought she'd seen some hidden depths that suggested he was different somehow.

  That didn't make any sense, did it?

  Janine placed her coffee in the cup holder underneath the dash and rested her head in her hands. This was all just a stupid diversion. Starting tomorrow, she'd have a difficult job to do, and she couldn't afford the distraction.

  A knock on the window brought her back to reality.

  Sure enough, she looked up to find the same guy smiling down at her.

  She reluctantly opened her window. Bloody hell, now what?

  "You were in such a rush, you forgot this inside." He raised his arm to reveal Janine's handbag hanging from his index finger.

  "Oh my God," Janine blurted out as he handed it to her. "I don't know where my head is at today."

  His smile grew. "Glad to be of service," he said.

  This moment was going from bad to worse. In trying to avoid any more awkwardness, she had managed to further embarrass herself.

  "Well, thanks again," she said.

  The man continued to look down at her for a couple of seconds too long, like he was about to say something else.

  "Hey, bro," another guy interrupted. "I'd been looking for you everywhere. W
anna get some lunch?"

  The two looked eerily similar, roughly the same height and equally built. Their similarities continued in hair color as well as facial features. Clearly they actually were brothers. Funnily, looking at the other one didn't affect her nearly as much, though.

  "I'd best be on my way," she mumbled as she zipped up her handbag and placed it upright in the center of the passenger seat.

  "Me too." The stranger shot her a last warm smile and nodded his goodbye.

  Janine breathed a sigh of relief when he turned around and walked back toward the restaurant. It was only once they'd gone inside that she mustered the will to turn the key.

  That was awkward. It's for the best if I never see that guy again, Janine told herself. Only part of her believed it; her chest felt heavy with disappointment.

  Her job had meant she'd had to forego things other women her age had taken for granted: relationships, the idea of starting a family. She'd always put her work first and today was no different. Usually she never minded, because she felt she was making a difference with her life, but today, that wasn't quite the case. Today, part of her felt like she was heading for disaster with an assignment that was doomed from the start.

  She turned on the stereo and increased the volume as her favorite CD started to play. No matter what the outcome, she still had a job to do, and she'd better not be late for it.

  General Stone would already be on base, waiting to brief her upon her arrival. Before long, she'd find out exactly how doomed her career was.

  With renewed resolve, she took one last sip of coffee before pulling out of the service station. Janine didn't stop again until she reached General Stone's office in the center of the grounds belonging to the Infantry Battle School in Brecon. It was a well-established base that had been in regular use since the start of the Second World War. And General Stone, as its highest-ranking officer, had a reputation that extended well beyond its boundaries.

  She was as ready as ever as she stepped inside and reported for duty.

  "At ease, Major. Have a seat." The general barely looked at her while she sat down in the chair in front of his spotlessly clean desk. He continued to sift through the file in front of him, making her wait for another few minutes, when he finally sat back in his leather chair and folded his hands.