Alpha Unleashed

by Kathy Lyon

  “I got it.” She went back into her office and again, he followed her. “What’s your phone code?”

  Numbers he could remember, so he told her and within a moment, she was scrolling through his messages.

  “Do you want the oldest or the newest?” Then before he could answer, she snorted. “They’re both from a guy named Carl. I’m guessing he’s that alpha you mentioned. He’s left about a dozen—”

  “Call him back.”

  Carl Carman was his alpha, or had been his alpha before he’d killed Nanook and taken over the Griz. Either way, Carl should have been his first phone call after he woke up. And after his fight with Nanook. And maybe first thing this morning. So it was no surprise when the man came on the phone practically vibrating with fury. Alyssa had put him on speaker, so Carl’s voice filled the space with booming threat.

  “What the hell, Simon! What the hell are you doing?”

  “Hello, Carl,” Simon said, his voice deepening at the sound of aggression. He deserved it, he knew, but that didn’t stop his grizzly from growling deep inside him. “I’ve been busy.”

  “Busy? Busy taking over Detroit?”

  “Yes.” And fighting Vic and making love with Alyssa. And a host of other things that flashed through his mind.

  “Don’t you think you should have talked to me first?”

  “There wasn’t time. Nanook was trying to murder a cop. It was the only way to…” Keep Alyssa alive. “To calm things down.”

  “Violent overthrows don’t usually quiet things down.”

  “It has for the moment.” He hoped.

  “Fine. You calling about the Detroit Flu? I’ve been watching the news and that video from the hospital looks awful familiar.”

  Simon frowned. “I haven’t seen—”

  “I have,” Alyssa interrupted. “It was someone changing. Just like Vic.”

  “Who’s that?” Carl abruptly demanded. “Identify yourself!”

  “She’s my assistant,” Simon said, a growl coming through his tone loud and clear. He did not like anyone talking to Alyssa with anything but respect.

  “Assistant? Just how long have you been in Detroit? You’re supposed to check in with me once a month, and it’s been—”

  “Ten months. Yes, I know.”

  “Ten fucking months! What the hell were you doing?”

  Simon thought about lying. The last thing he wanted to admit to anyone was that he’d been a bear all those months. That amount of animal time was unheard of. Anyone who lasted that long stayed furry. The fact that he’d come back was both unusual and grounds for a deeper inspection into his psyche. Humans didn’t live wild without going native…and crazy. In fact, if Alyssa hadn’t shot him, if it hadn’t been a matter of survival, he probably wouldn’t have ever come back to human. Which meant that it would have been Carl’s job to hunt him and kill him.

  “Simon? Don’t you dare—”

  “I was grizzly. The whole time.”

  Carl’s curses echoed long and loud through the phone. “You can’t do that, Simon.”

  “I certainly can’t now. I’m alpha of the Griz.”

  “Yeah, lucky you,” Carl drawled, clearly not sympathetic. “So if you’re alpha now, you’ve got to deal with the Detroit Flu. I saw that video on the news. We had people changing like that. They were kidnapped and injected with some bad shit. Most died, but a few changed. Like what was on that video.”

  Simon’s head snapped up. “They were kidnapped?”

  “Yeah. We’ve got a serum. It’s not a cure, but it slows down the process. Enough for someone to adjust. But you’ve got to stop whoever is injecting people with that shit.”

  Alyssa was shaking her head and at Simon’s nod, she spoke up. “It can’t be an injection. There’s too many people getting sick. It’s been happening all over Detroit.”

  Which is when Simon put it together. “It’s in the water,” he said. “That’s what I smelled.” He looked at Alyssa. “You said there were two outbreaks. That means two times when someone tainted the water.”

  “But you smelled it this morning. You just noticed it this morning,” Alyssa said.

  Simon nodded, his gut twisting with horror. “Yeah. Which means we’re about to get a third outbreak of the Detroit Flu.”

  There was a long pause as everyone considered that possibility. The ramifications were hideous. And then Carl spoke up, his voice weary.

  “Look, I don’t understand this science stuff. I’ll email you everything I’ve got. You’ve got to get it to somebody who can handle it. Do you know any shifter-aware doctors?”

  “I just got here, Carl. And Nanook wasn’t exactly the note-taking type.”

  Alyssa frowned. “Maybe Detective Kennedy would know?”

  “You’ll have to figure it out. With the quarantine, I can’t get there to help.”

  “What?” Simon’s voice was sharp, and he could hear Carl’s sigh through the line.

  “Jesus, turn on the news. The city was put into quarantine a couple hours ago. Nobody in or out. You got national guard blocking everything.” Then he snorted. “You sure picked a great time to go grizzly in Detroit.”

  That was the understatement of the year. The city was going to go insane in short order, and shifters would be the most vulnerable to the chaos. Their animal natures were going to react to the tension and without a way to run off the excess emotions, there was going to be some ugly fights. And that’s if they were lucky.

  He looked at Alyssa. “Did you know about this?”

  She nodded. “I was listening to the news when you got up. I was going to tell you, but we got distracted.” Her cheeks heated at just how they’d gone off course. Fortunately, her words gave a difference explanation. “You were focused on the taint in the water.”

  “It has to be it,” he said, though his doubts kept his voice quiet. “Nanook thought it was the wolves.”

  “Nanook thought everything was the wolves,” Carl grumbled. “Look, I’ll try to figure stuff out on this end. Can you get the info to the cop?”

  Simon nodded. “We’re headed there now.”

  “I’ll check back in a couple hours.”

  “Yeah—”

  “And Simon? Don’t go grizzly again.”

  Simon bristled at the tone. He was in control, damn it, and he didn’t need another bear telling him things he already knew. “You’re not my alpha anymore,” he said, his voice low and threatening. “You can’t give me orders—”

  “It wasn’t an order, you moron, it was a damned plea. If you lose it, I’m the one who will have to shoot your ugly ass, quarantine or not. I got problems enough here and Becca’s pregnant. I sure as hell am not going to miss the birth of my son just because you can’t remember to keep your hair on the inside.”

  Simon frowned, struggling to process all that information at once. Not the fact that Carl would be his hunter, but that Carl had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Or maybe they were married by now. And though it was the most inconsequential thing in the very long list of things he needed to know right then, somehow it hit him broadside. Marriages and births were incredibly important in the shifter community. Especially within his own clan. And Simon had missed all of that.

  “You’re having a son? Congratulations.”

  “Yeah,” Carl’s voice was gruff with clear pride. “Yeah, we found out a month ago. Tonya’s pregnant, too, and Alan’s so deep into father mode that I hardly get to see him anymore.”

  Tonya and Alan? God, what else had he missed?

  “Congratulate them for me.” He looked at the clock on the printer and used the time as an excuse. “We’ve got to get to the police station.”

  “Right.” Carl’s voice was all back to business, but before he signed off, he had one more suggestion to make, though it came out more as an order. “And Simon? Get yourself a girl.”

  “What?”

  “You’re on the edge. We both know it. The right woman grounds people like us. She’ll keep
your head in the right space.”

  Simon’s jaw tightened, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking up at Alyssa. Her gaze was fixed on the phone, very carefully avoiding his. So rather than acknowledge any of the sudden tension that was thickening the air, he chose to deflect. “I don’t need dating advice from you,” he growled.

  “It’s not dating advice!” Carl snapped. “It’s a warning. Find a girl or I’ll have to break quarantine to run you down. I don’t want to do that, but I will. You can’t go feral in a place like Detroit.”

  No, he couldn’t. It would be too dangerous for everyone.

  “Carl—” Simon began, but Alyssa cut him off.

  “He’s got me,” she snapped. “And I’ll keep him human.”

  Simon looked at her, seeing the determined jut to her chin. If anyone could keep him human, it would be her. And he couldn’t deny the wave of raw pleasure that came from her words. She was his, and that thought flushed him with testosterone-filled pride. But it also wasn’t true.

  He was so strong a shifter, it was dangerous for him to have a human relationship. He could get too violent, too animal, or too damned focused. Regular humans could get hurt so easily. He didn’t want to risk Alyssa like that. Though God only knew if he could give her up. He already thought of her as his alpha female.

  But Carl didn’t need to know that. And he wasn’t ready to explain things to Alyssa yet. He needed her too much right then to push her away. But he had to tell her soon. She had to understand what she was risking.

  “Send me that serum information,” Simon said. “And a list of any shifter-friendly lawyers. And judges. And medical anything.” At this point, he’d take a shifter-aware orderly.

  “There aren’t any,” Carl growled. “Because all the sane ones don’t live inside the city.”

  Sadly, he knew that was true. And with that, he thumbed off the connection. “Okay,” he said as he avoided looking Alyssa in the eyes. “Play me all my messages, starting from the top.”

  Chapter 17

  Alyssa gave all the files to Detective Kennedy, but his response wasn’t encouraging. He was a gang cop. He had no legitimate reason to be talking to the CDC and didn’t know anyone in authority who was shifter-aware. Worse, every cop was helping to contain the unrest as people began to feel the effects of the quarantine. The gangs were being especially violent, but so were bankers and soccer moms. And worse, by afternoon the news confirmed that a third wave of outbreaks was sweeping through the area. It was like the entire city was on edge and rather than pulling together, people were throwing knives at each other. Or bullets.

  At least they’d managed to get a good lawyer. That was Kennedy’s recommendation, too, and he turned out to be young, handsome, and sharp as tack. He was there when Alyssa gave her statement and he sat by Simon, too. Apparently, he’d been up all night as members of the Griz gave their statements and bartered their deals for turning state’s evidence. It was a messy business and Alyssa did her best to keep up, but mostly, it was a Law & Order episode with too many people involved for her to keep straight. Plus, she’d never really liked that show because it always ended on a “life sucks” note.

  Simon spent the whole day in that neutral expression place where his mind was a steel trap. Nothing escaped his notice, and no emotions leaked through. Similar to yesterday, he was a Spock-like machine as he answered questions, directed his people whenever possible, and didn’t give her anything more than orders. Not a soft look, not a gentle caress, not even a whispered “thank you.”

  Years ago, she would have been hurt by his attitude. Now she just accepted it. After all, she understood what it was like to focus solely on getting stuff done. No distractions, no interference, and none of those pesky emotions clogging up the flow.

  Great, except she’d just declared her love this morning. She’d said out loud that she was his. And no, she hadn’t expected him to drop onto his knee and swear eternal devotion. They’d been on the phone. But she’d thought he’d give her some sort of reaction if only a kiss. Something to say, I’m yours, too.

  It hadn’t happened. He’d asked for updates on the cleaning crew and had her run through his email out loud with him. And when she was busy driving to the police station, he had her pull up a Sesame Street program on her phone so he could learn his alphabet. Instead of a declaration of love, she heard “C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me.”

  Don Juan, he was not.

  And so they churned through the day. There were a thousand things to do at the Griz headquarters. And when Simon was closeted with Joey the accountant, Alyssa had to deal with a disaster at the laundry. People doing laundry were usually mellow. Especially ones who wandered down the street to get some pot. Not so today. A fistfight broke out over use of a dryer, and now Malik was nursing a broken nose and a bad attitude.

  She’d sent him home, but that meant she had to cover his shift, which made Simon even more frustrated. He had to confess to Joey that he couldn’t read, and that meant one more person in on Simon’s biggest vulnerability. That made them both jumpy, but there was nothing she could do about it. The streets were heating up, grocery stores being the biggest battlegrounds. Everyone wanted food now. And gas. And a way to blow off steam after two more “monster” videos appeared on the Internet.

  It was enough for her to beg Vic to stay in his apartment. Especially once the news hit that a guy with a too full beard was shot on the street because someone thought he was a monster. Scary times for everyone. So why was she obsessing like a teenage girl about whether her boyfriend loved her?

  “Hey, are you sure Simon said the water was bad?”

  Alyssa looked up from repairing a broken washing machine to see her brother coming in the laundromat front door. He was dressed in shorts and a tank and drinking from a refillable sports bottle.

  “Yeah. Said we shouldn’t even shower in it.”

  She looked closer at him. He’d been working out, probably running through the nearby park, and as she watched, he squeezed the last of his drink into his mouth.

  “Really? Tastes fine to me.”

  “Was that tap water?” she cried as she stood to face her brother.

  “Yeah. Refilled at the drinking fountain.” Then he curled a lip at her. “Don’t get pissy. I needed to burn off some energy. I called Simon and since he didn’t need me, I thought I’d go for a run.” He sauntered around the busted washer and headed for the sink. Popping on the tap, he started refilling his bottle.

  “You can’t drink that!” She grabbed for the bottle, but he elbowed her out of the way.

  “It’s fine. Simon’s hyper.”

  “Damn it, Vic, it’s serious!” She reached again for the bottle but he knocked her back. She stumbled backward into a machine, which was bad enough, but he followed her with a hand on her throat.

  “I like it,” he hissed.

  She stared at him, hardly daring to breathe. She was caught with the largest washing machine behind her and the hard length of her brother’s bigger, stronger, and definitely bad-smelling body. It was the BO that came with the monster, and she didn’t need the pinpricks of claws against her throat to see he was changing.

  She had two choices. She could try and fight him, but he’d most likely take out her throat first. Or she could try to talk him down.

  “Vic, what are you doing?” she rasped as calmly as she could. “Think.”

  He wasn’t listening, and he wasn’t thinking. He leaned forward, his breath harsh in her face. “I like the water.” And then, out of spite, he turned the bottle upside down and squirted it in her face.

  She sputtered while he laughed, and that gave her the opportunity. She pulled up her knee as hard as she could while simultaneously knocking aside his arm. The good news was that she nailed him hard.

  He doubled over with wheezing gasps. The bad news was that he changed right there. Full-on monster, tearing his tee and stretching his shorts to breaking. He swiped at her, his jaw snapping loudly and
too close to her face. The only thing that kept her from being disemboweled were his shoes. Too tight for his monster feet and he fell over while trying to walk.

  Which is when it got immeasurably worse.

  Ms. Turley came in. She was munching on a tin of cannabis-laced popcorn, but what she saw was Vic. And she started screaming and pointing.

  “Run!” Alyssa screamed, but it didn’t work. The woman probably couldn’t hear her over her screeching. And then, Ms. Turley shifted as well. Right there in her muumuu, she suddenly sprouted fur and a muzzle. The screams became howls and her fingers became claws that dropped the popcorn in favor of swiping at Vic.

  Vic spun, his nostrils flaring as he scented the new stench. He growled at the woman and she growled back.

  “Stop it!” Alyssa screamed, but it was no use. The two were siting each other and whereas Vic was hobbled by his shoes, Ms. Turley had been in Crocs that were easily kicked aside. “Don’t you dare!” she bellowed at the woman. And when that didn’t work, she tried any of the other screams that had sometimes worked.

  “Take it outside!”

  “I’m calling the cops!”

  “I don’t fucking believe this!”

  Holy shit. She was hysterical, and that wasn’t going to stop her brother and a sweet old lady from attacking each other. Which is when she saw the fire extinguisher on the wall.

  It was her only hope and she grabbed it like the lifeline it was. She popped the pin with fumbling fingers, then aimed and shot. She got Ms. Turley in the face and then she went for Vic. Both of them snarled at her and advanced, but she didn’t stop. It wasn’t exactly a water hose, but it was enough. Before long, the two were hissing and spitting on the slick floor. And while they were gasping for breath, she tried again to reach them.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you, Vic? You had it under control! And Ms. Turley, aren’t you hungry?” She scrambled around as fast as she could to grab the popcorn tin. Then she slid it across the floor straight into the woman’s side.

  Ms. Turley’s nose started twitching and she looked over. A moment later, she was muzzle deep in the tin, eating without the use of her hands.