Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Michele Bardsley

  Chapter 1

  Swooping into an approach pattern over Treoir Island, Tristan spread his gryphon wings for descent before he ran out of power and crashed.

  He’d flown two double shifts of surveillance flights in the past two days. Exhaustion pushed him to hurry up and get done, but rushing could be hazardous. He’d prefer a nice, smooth landing to slamming into the angry waves dousing boulders below the bluffs. Sunlight faded as the only sign of a day ending. A mist over the Irish Sea hid this realm from the other worlds.

  Visitors were not welcome.

  The goddess Macha ruled this domain that was inhabited by her warrior queen and Treoir castle minions.

  Plus eight unhappy gryphons.

  Including the one now in human form, waiting at Tristan’s private landing spot. Just seeing him there was a bad sign.

  What was up with Bernie?

  That skinny guy could shift whenever he wanted in this place. When he did, he turned into a badass, silver-gray gryphon that rose ten feet in height. On the other hand, Bernie was on the weak side as a human and panicked easily.

  Like now. He was wringing his hands.

  He wouldn’t be here about a rift among the gryphons. They were aggressive beasts by nature. Blood flowed sometimes, but Tristan didn’t care as long as his sister wasn’t in the middle of any squabble. Petrina was not currently on Treoir Island.

  That narrowed the potential disasters to one serious enough to send Bernie here. Macha.

  Shit, if the goddess bitch called a meeting of all the gryphons right now, Petrina would end up screwed four ways.

  Tristan picked up speed and slid into a fast landing. The second his giant lion paws hit solid ground he stomped forward. Gryphons were a majestic mix of eagle head and upper body atop a lion-shaped lower half, complete with a tail.

  Since none of them could speak in this form, Tristan called out telepathically to Bernie. What the hell is going on?

  Bernie lifted his finger to his lips and shook his head.

  He didn’t want to use telepathy?

  That just reinforced Tristan’s bad feeling. Macha might be listening for telepathic chatter.

  No telepathy meant Tristan had to shift back into his human form here, where he had no spare clothes. Unlike the other gryphons, he could majik up a pair of jeans—sometimes—but that would further drain what was left of his power reserve.

  Yep, Bernie showing up now was bad news, especially since the guy wanted Tristan rested enough to take him to Atlanta in three days. That would be Tristan’s last secret teleportation trip for the holidays, thank the miserable gods. Had Macha figured out Tristan’s secret transport service? Doubtful, since Tristan hadn’t been turned into a flying ball of flame.

  Macha was too arrogant to imagine anyone breaking her rules.

  Lack of imagination had been the downfall of others who’d underestimated Tristan.

  The goddess had a lot to learn about his gifts. To be honest, he did, too, but he definitely had a few tricks up his sleeve.

  Or under his feathers, as it were.

  Tristan called up his power to change back into human form, and groaned. With a few hours rest, this wouldn’t take so long, but he’d been flying double shifts for weeks to keep the Treoir guards from getting suspicious about where he’d been spending his time off. Muscle and bone drew tight, changing shape as his giant wings shrank. He twisted and sucked down into a six-foot-two man. Sweat poured off his forehead and ran down his neck by the time he’d finished.

  “Sorry, Tristan.”

  Cool air brushed his naked skin, but Tristan had lived naked most of four years during an imprisonment, so this was minor. “This better be good.”

  Bernie’s bright green eyes filled with anxiety. “It’s not. Wait. No. I mean, this is important, but not good. What I’m, uh, just trying to say–”

  Tristan rolled his shoulders, stretching the tight muscles. He waved his hand in a circular motion. “I’ve got it. Just tell me why you’re here so I can get a damn shower and go to bed.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Bernie wrung his hands again. “Evalle’s coming here in two days.”

  Tristan did pause at that.

  Technically, Evalle lead the gryphons, because the most powerful beast ruled their pack and she’d killed the deadliest gryphon in the pack when he’d attacked her during a battle. The gryphons were all half-blood Beladors also known as Alterants and, for now, they had to stay on Treoir to guard the island and castle. Evalle generally stayed in the human world unless Macha called her in, due to Evalle’s unique position of being the gryphon liaison.

  Some days Tristan hated the Belador part of his DNA.

  But he cared even less for the other half.

  Beladors were descended from ancient warriors who had once been badasses running around killing everything, especially their enemies. In particular, they’d targeted a group following a Hindu god. That shit stopped when Macha struck a deal with the Hindu god, where she’d keep her warriors under control and he’d deal with his.

  The goddess gave Beladors one option. Swear to a code of honor or die. Simple enough, but now they had to fight the Medb coven of warlocks and witches, their greatest enemy, with their hands tied most of the time.

  Medb blood ran through Tristan’s body, too, but he’d just as soon let the Beladors and Medb have at each other. He would ignore both camps altogether if it didn’t mean leaving his foster sister and the other gryphons to face the future alone.

  Rubbing the sore muscles in his neck, Tristan started thinking out loud. “Evalle’s visit shouldn’t be a problem if I just plan to teleport in and out of Treoir before and after her visit.”

  Bernie shook his head. “You don’t understand. She’s coming to stay through New Year’s.”

  “For two weeks? Are you freaking kidding me?”

  “I know, right?” Bernie nodded with relief, as if that explained everything.

  Tristan ground out, “Why is she coming here?”

  “The guards said Macha wants a meeting with all the Alterants, but they heard that Evalle is spending the holidays here as a show of solidarity and support. Word is the Tribunal postponed their vote again on determining if we’re a race until after the first of the year. Evalle wants to do her part and fly some of the security rounds to give all of us extra breaks.”

  Damn the Tribunal, run by deities who held the future of gryphons in their miserable hands.

  Damn Evalle and her iron conscience, too.

  Tristan’s life would have been so much simpler if he’d just been born human, with no clue about all this preternatural crap.

  Any other time, he’d appreciate Evalle’s consideration, but right now her unyielding sense of honor was going to royally screw him, his foster sister Petrina, and Bernie. Tristan had teleported Petrina to Atlanta thirty-six hours ago. Once he brought her back to Treoir and recovered from teleporting, Bernie was to be Tristan’s last trip. He’d hoped to spend some of the next two days in Atlanta while he waited to return Bernie.

  Macha would call the gryphons to the castle the minute Evalle arrived in Treoir.

  Bernie kept fidgeting. “Petrina has to be here.”

  “I know.” Tristan and Bernie had to be on-site too.

  If not, Macha would ... who knew what she’d do? But the fallout would be ugly and ruthless.

  Tristan hated to do this to Bernie, but as their secret gryphon taxi to the human world, he had limitations.

  “This changes things Bernie–”

  Bernie broke in. “Don’t even think about leaving me here. I have to go back to Atlanta.”

  “I can’t physically teleport back and forth that quickly to take you, return Petrina here, then do another round trip to Atlanta and back with you.” Tristan strained to take one person with him each way, since teleporting wasn’t a natural gift, but something he’d gained from a dark source.

  Bernie crossed his thin arms. “Take me when you go to get Petrina and leave me. You did that whe
n you took Petrina and came back with Ixxter.”

  “That was an experiment, and the effort wiped me out.”

  “I understand and I’m sorry to ask that of you, but nothing has ever been this important to me. I’ve pulled double shifts just like everyone else. I want my time back home, just like the rest of them.”

  “I know you have, but–”

  “No!” Bernie had never sounded so serious. “I haven’t seen the woman I love since that dark witch captured me.” His voice turned pitiful. “She’s beautiful and I’m ... I’m not like you, Tristan. You walk through a room and panties fall off.”

  Tristan lifted his eyebrows at that.

  Bernie dug in. “It’s true and you know it. No woman looks at me like they want to jump my bones. I can’t expect to ever find another woman even close to Claire.”

  What woman could be worth Bernie risking his life when he didn’t make it back for Macha’s meeting? Bernie’s eyes took on the dreamy look of a man who had yet to learn the truth. A woman cared about only one thing–how much she could gain from a man.

  Some would sell a guy out for a measly thousand dollars.

  Bernie wouldn’t stop once he got on something, dedicated as a dog with a meaty bone. “Women like Claire don’t come along more than once. Ask Petrina. She’ll tell you.”

  “Petrina? What are you saying, Bernie?” Honestly, the guy talked in circles half the time.

  Bernie found his feet interesting all of a sudden. “I’m just saying that Claire is like Petrina. Special.”

  Tristan wasn’t sure he liked this Claire being compared to Petrina. His sister could be a roaring pain some days, but she was solid and loyal.

  He ignored his cramping muscles that wanted a long, hot shower and explained, “The minute Evalle leaves, I’ll–”

  That brought Bernie’s head up. “No. Please, Tristan. I won’t ask you to come back to the human realm for me, but I have to go there now. If I lose Claire, then surviving all this doesn’t matter to me.”

  Shouting at Bernie that he needed to pull his head out of his ass would probably not help, so Tristan said, “If she truly loves you, she’ll wait for you, right?” Not that he had any experience with love, but that seemed like a good benchmark.

  “That’s just it,” Bernie explained. “Claire planned to stay in Atlanta until Christmas, then she was going home to be with her family in England. We talked about going together. I don’t know where her family is in the UK, or how to find her if she leaves Atlanta. She has no idea I’m still alive. I had two weeks of heaven with her, and was on my way to meet her for dinner to propose. Then the witch showed up. She just wanted a monster to trade for Noirre majik, but she stole my only chance at happiness.”

  “You’re not a monster,” Tristan admonished lightly, although it was an apt description of all of the gryphons. But Bernie had enough self-esteem issues without adding another label.

  “I know,” Bernie mumbled then lifted his head. “Claire didn’t see my green Alterant gaze until the night before I was grabbed. I never showed her my real monster side, but I’d love to show off my gryphon now. She’d keep my secret.”

  Tristan couldn’t help the slither of suspicion that entered his thoughts. Five years ago, he’d lost his head over a woman. She’d seen his own glowing eyes the night before other Beladors captured him. Their warrior queen had sent Tristan to an invisible cage in a South American jungle.

  And here I am, helping to protect that warrior queen.

  Fate, meet irony.

  In Bernie’s shoes, Tristan would have questioned the timing of the witch finding him. “Are you sure you can trust this Claire?”

  Meek little Bernie growled. “Don’t you dare try to convince me that Claire had anything to do with a damn witch. She’s very religious. She even offered to keep me safe until we could find a priest to help drive out the demon in me.”

  “You’re not a demon either, dammit.”

  “I guess,” Bernie mumbled.

  “What do you mean, you guess? I know. I’ve fought demons. Just because we’re Alterants who can shift into gryphons doesn’t mean we’re demonic in any way.”

  Bernie brightened at that. “I bet Claire would be impressed with my gryphon form, but I’d have to find a safe place to–”

  Tristan lifted a finger and pointed it at Bernie. “Shift in the human realm, and you won’t have to worry about Macha toasting you, not if the VIPER coalition gets their hands on you first. Humans can’t know about any of us. Period. A VIPER patrol would pick you up and drop you at a Tribunal, and your pieces would end up scattered across the universe.”

  Bernie started to argue, but Tristan wasn’t done. “And let’s not forget that warlocks from the Medb coven are on the hunt for Alterants. If you’d wanted to face all that, you should have taken Evalle up on her offer to have Macha transport you back to the human world.”

  With the Medb and Beladors being dire enemies, the Medb were demanding half of the Alterants who had evolved into gryphons.

  As though we’re a bunch of livestock to be divided up.

  Evalle had informed the gryphons of a Tribunal decision that forced Macha’s hand. Any gryphon who wanted to leave Treoir would have to be teleported to the human world, courtesy of the goddess.

  Out of the Belador frying pan into a Medb trap.

  Bernie snorted with a shot of anger. “I didn’t say I wanted to commit suicide. Evalle also said the minute Macha teleported any of us, Macha would have to inform the Tribunal of the gryphons who were available, so the Medb could extend an offer to join their coven. Medb warlocks would be all over my ass. I’d end up in their dungeon waiting to be used as a sacrifice, or worse.”

  “Exactly,” Tristan snapped. When Evalle wasn’t around, the responsibility of overseeing the group fell to Tristan. He was tired of playing counselor to this pack of gryphons. They had every right to complain, but he was sick of listening to it. “I haven’t been risking all of our necks, slipping each of you into Atlanta one at a time, just to have you show off to some woman. If you make it back at some point, changing your form there would be suicidal.”

  The gryphons were all adults, and they knew the risks, but Bernie and Petrina might not be in danger right now if Tristan hadn’t figured out that he could teleport between the Treoir realm and the human world.

  And he couldn’t snap his damn fingers and do it.

  Twenty-first century Beladors lived among humans. They were part of VIPER, a force of powerful beings that protected humans. One sure way to get noticed, and not in a good way, would be to shift into gryphon form in the mortal world, where there was always a risk of being seen.

  VIPER would release a hunt-to-kill order.

  Carrying the blood of both camps put Alterant-gryphons in one hell of a tight spot.

  If Tristan got caught leaving Treoir without permission, he didn’t have enough fingers and toes to count all the ways he’d suffer and then die.

  “I’ve flown extra hours for every gryphon here,” Bernie went on. “I’ve never asked for anything except my fair share,” he repeated.

  True. Tristan let out a long sigh.

  Why couldn’t this be Ixxter’s turn to go home? Ixxter was an asshole of the highest order, and Tristan wouldn’t bat an eyelash at telling him no. Bernie went above and beyond for all the gryphons.

  Every one of them had offered Tristan anything for a chance to go home this month for just two days.

  He’d finally agreed, on one condition—everyone had to be in on this secret operation and cover for each other, plus fly double shifts to stretch the time they would not be expected to fly.

  Everyone had agreed and carried their part.

  Bernie had gone above and beyond. Tristan owed him an even bigger debt. Bernie had stepped in to protect Petrina during the recent Medb and Belador battle on this island.

  Bernie deserved more than a damn teleporting trip.

  But would he call in that marker right now?

&nb
sp; No. He’s a better man than I am, because I would in his place if someone I loved waited for me.

  He hoped this woman was not making a chump of nice-guy Bernie.

  For the millionth time, Tristan wished for a normal life, which was all Bernie really wanted, too. That had to be the reason Tristan said, “I’ll take you with me, and I’ll try to bring Petrina back then come for you. I have to return her first. She doesn’t know about this, and you have the option of staying here safe.”

  Bernie’s face went from hangdog to bursting with happiness. “Absolutely. I would never put my own safety ahead of Petrina’s.”

  But you’d put a human woman ahead of your life. Tristan wanted to be happy for Bernie, but he couldn’t trust a woman that easily. The wrong decision might cost Bernie his life.

  The Alterants are adults. I can’t make their decisions. Withholding his teleporting power from Bernie would be as wrong as it felt to take Bernie back with no guarantee Tristan could make that last trip.

  Macha could torch all of the gryphons if she found out, but she wouldn’t do that. She’d make an example of one, maybe two. She also saw them as valuable livestock, or she wouldn’t waste her time on Tribunal meetings or argue so hard to keep them in her pantheon.

  If Tristan believed the entire pack would be punished, he’d never have risked the first trip to the human world.

  Once Tristan had Petrina back here safe, he’d make her swear to stay out of the way if there were repercussions, then Tristan would gut it out to return with Bernie.

  “Thank you, Tristan. You’ll be my best man.”

  Tristan didn’t have the heart to point out that Macha was not going to allow any of them to live any kind of life with a human partner. But all Bernie wanted to do right now was go home and feel like a normal person for two days.

  A troll friend of Tristan’s had set up an apartment just for Petrina so she’d be safe in Atlanta. She stayed alone there, since all she wanted to do was watch her favorite movies, take long baths, and visit the Iron Casket nightclub, where strange was normal since a centaur owned it.