Alpha Unleashed

by Kathy Lyon

  One down. One to go.

  She glared at Vic who was wiping away the foam with hands, not claws. And that gave her hope.

  “You in there Vic? You got it together yet?”

  He didn’t answer. At least not at first. She caught a flash from his eyes as he glared at her, but he didn’t attack. Then he jerked himself around, flopping onto his ass as he grabbed at his shoes.

  “Fucking things,” he muttered before he kicked them off.

  She feared he would leap up and attack then. He had mobility. But instead, he leaned back against the side of coin machine and released a heavy sigh while he stretched out his feet.

  Alyssa blew out a breath. “Vic? You in there?”

  “I’m never wearing shoes again.”

  She liked them. That was twice now that she’d managed to escape him because he was hobbled by his own shoes.

  “You ready to listen?”

  He scraped foam off his arm and chest then gave up the task as useless. “The water’s bad,” he said, his voice deadpan. “I drank a ton at the fountain and then refilled the bottle.”

  “You said you liked it.”

  “The monster likes it,” he said. Then he looked up at her, his brown eyes wide and rimmed with red. “The monster likes it a lot.” Then he turned to look at Ms. Turley. “She probably had it in her tea.”

  Yeah. Ms. Turley enjoyed a pot of her Chinese herbs every morning and another in the afternoon. Especially during allergy season when her migraines were the worst. That’s why the woman bought the popcorn. She’d feel a headache coming on and reach for her tea and popcorn. Between the tea and the THC, she said her pains would dull enough that she could function.

  “She’s okay right now,” Alyssa said. “I’m more worried about you.”

  Vic looked up. “It’s like ants under my skin. Fire ants with pinchers. And yeah, I want to kill someone.” He took a deep breath. “I want to hurt whoever did this to me and to an old pothead like Ms. Turley.” He must have seen Alyssa tense because he shook his head. “I’m under control.”

  “Yeah?” she challenged.

  “Yeah.” Then he looked at Ms. Turley. “What are we going to do with her?”

  Like she knew? But of course, she had the answer downstairs. “Let her finish the tin. That will quiet her enough to get her into one of the cages.”

  He nodded as he slowly stood up. She couldn’t stop herself from tightening her grip on the fire extinguisher. If he went nuts again, it was her only defense. His eyes narrowed when he saw it, but then he sighed.

  “I guess I should go in there with her.”

  God, part of her wanted to say yes. When he went monster, he scared the hell out of her. But she needed him in control. And locking him up wasn’t going to give him the practice Simon said he needed. Which meant he had to make the choice himself.

  “Do you feel like you’re going to lose it again? I mean, you just drank the stuff. Is it getting worse?”

  He went quiet, obviously considering. She watched him close his eyes and his fists. He took a deep breath and then curled his lips in a growl. But he didn’t make any sound. Instead, he opened his hands and his eyes. “It’s close, Alyssa. I don’t want to hurt you. Or anybody.”

  “Then keep it together.” She took a deep breath, reaching for logic. “Look, the first couple times we had to knock you unconscious. But yesterday and now? You ended it yourself.”

  He didn’t answer. He was looking at his hand, his teeth grinding as claws popped out and fur sprouted. And then, a moment later, they faded back. Human hand. Smooth skin. Then he opened his hand and flipped it over to show his very human palm and wrist.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it? I mean, I’m kind of like Wolverine.”

  She nodded, a slightly hysterical chuckle building in her throat. “Well, you kind of look like a black Hugh Jackman. If I squint. Or am really drunk.”

  He snorted. “Please, I’m hotter than that guy any day.”

  “Yeah, right,” she drawled. “Okay Mr. Clooney, help me get Ms. Turley downstairs.”

  The woman had finished the popcorn tin and was now lying back with a soft smile on her doglike face. Definitely not a bear monster here, but either way, she needed to be contained even if it was just to keep her apart until her human face returned. Fortunately, she’d eaten enough popcorn that she’d be high as a kite for hours. Which meant when Vic squatted down and pulled her arm over his shoulder, she did little beyond a soft whine.

  “Come on, Ms. Turley,” Vic said. “I’ve got brownies downstairs for you.”

  “Not the brownies she likes,” Alyssa muttered. “That popcorn was the extra-large tin, you know. It usually lasts her a week.”

  “I might have one or two in my apartment,” Vic said as he grunted under the woman’s weight. “I get the feeling that I’m going to need more control in the future, not less.”

  She looked in her brother’s eyes and saw a growing maturity there. She hated that he was a…a whatever he was now. She didn’t like the risk or the uncertainty. But she couldn’t deny that the change had helped him grow up. He was acting more adult every second.

  “Don’t know why you wanted pot to help you laze around the house doing nothing. You’ve been doing that since you were eight,” Alyssa said.

  “Only because you kept picking at me. Play Barbies with me or I’ll cry. Waah waah.”

  “Bullshit,” she retorted, smiling as they bickered all the way downstairs. It felt normal. She and Vic had sniped at each other from birth. The fact that it was happening now was reassurance that life could get back to normal. She hoped.

  They locked up Ms. Turley with a bottled water and a blanket. Vic brought her a brownie and Alyssa found the woman’s purse and pulled out her phone. Five minutes later, Ms. Turley was streaming a romantic comedy and munching on brownies. She’d probably fall asleep halfway through the movie and be fine by morning.

  Or at least that’s what Alyssa told herself. They went back upstairs while Alyssa considered suggesting Vic eat a brownie. Anything to counteract the effects of the tap water. But the moment they stepped into the laundromat, they both drew up short. Simon stood in the door frowning at the foam that covered a third of the floor. Beside him loitered Joey the accountant, as he unsuccessfully tried to hide his smirk.

  The moment she entered, Simon’s gaze snapped up to hers. She felt her face heat in embarrassment and her belly flutter in lust. Clearly, she’d turned into a teenage girl. Fortunately, any tendency toward girlie giggles were rapidly killed as he scanned her from head to toe in the most clinically detached way possible.

  “You’re all right.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yeah.” She cut a glance at Vic, but he was already grabbing the mop, his face hidden as he spoke.

  “The water is tainted,” Vic said, completely deadpan.

  “I believe I told you that.”

  “Actually,” Alyssa cut in. “I texted that to him, but now we know for sure.” She sighed. “And we’ve got Ms. Turley locked up downstairs. She’s not a threat. In fact, she’s high as a kite and as happy as someone who looks very doglike can be.”

  “Wolf DNA,” Joey said, his tone filled with disgust.

  Simon didn’t appear to hear the sneer as he nodded. “We believe that whatever is in the water activates shifter DNA. If you don’t have enough, you just feel sick.”

  “You get the Detroit Flu.”

  He nodded. “If you have more, then it activates and you become a kind of hybrid.” His gaze was on Vic who stiffened, but didn’t comment.

  She started to move a washing machine over so that Vic could mop up all the foam. “What if you’re already a shifter?”

  Surprisingly, it was Vic who answered, his gaze coming to rest Simon and Joey. “You get amped up, don’t you? I mean, I’m already a…a hybrid, but this is like bad E. I feel like I could go ten rounds against Ali. And I really, really want to.”

  Simon watched her brother, his expression fla
t. And the longer he held Vic’s gaze, the more her brother flushed. Then suddenly her screwup of a sibling straightened into military correct posture, his shoulders back and his head lifted.

  “I was an idiot, sir! I won’t disobey orders again.”

  “See that you don’t. Now clean up this mess.”

  Alyssa thought that her brother would argue, but he nodded sharply. “Yes, sir!” This must have been how he was in the army, and she had to say that the look was good on him. Meanwhile, Simon turned to Joey who was inspecting the empty tin of popcorn.

  “Thanks for the ride, Joey—”

  “Your mate’s a drug dealer and yet you want to shut down our operation. Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical?”

  Alyssa stiffened. She’d already pegged Joey as one of those holier-than-thou pricks who sneered at the poor. He probably had roots in a slum worse than this neighborhood, until a little bit of money and education had pulled his family out of the gutter. But instead of extending a hand to help a neighbor or a cousin, they focused on how much better they were than anyone else. And that set her back up.

  “I run a laundromat, asshole—” she began, but Simon was there before her, rounding on the smaller man and stepping so close into the guy’s personal space that Alyssa feared another brawl.

  And yet when he spoke, he kept his voice coldly matter of fact. “She is not my mate,” he began. “And do not equate cannabis with what Nanook sold. They are not the same.”

  “They’re all—”

  “And do not interrupt.”

  Joey shut his mouth, but it was pulled into a sullen pout.

  “The time for discussion is past.”

  “And when exactly was that?” Joey challenged.

  “You made your case this afternoon. I have considered it and found it lacking.” His tone made it clear that he found Joey lacking as well. A sentiment that Alyssa cheered. “You may go now.”

  Joey took a step back, but he was shaking his head as he moved. “You’re not in Hicksville anymore,” he sneered. “This is a mistake.”

  “Then it is mine to make.” Simon glared down at the smaller man. “I expect a progress report by eight a.m. tomorrow.”

  “Which you won’t be able to read.”

  Simon arched a brow, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t have to. He was acting as a military commander and expected obedience. Problem was, Joey wasn’t a recruit. And he sure as hell hadn’t been taught when to keep his mouth shut.

  “You’re making a mistake,” he repeated as he took a step toward the door. “And she,” he added, gesturing to at her with a dismissive wave, “is a disaster waiting to happen.” Then he curled his lip. “Just hope you’re not around when it all goes boom.”

  And with that, he stepped outside and disappeared.

  “Fucking poser,” Alyssa muttered when he was far enough away not to hear. “Are you sure you need him?”

  “Yes. And he is not wrong. The cannabis is dangerous.”

  “What?” Her voice was sharp and angry. She’d noted that he hadn’t claimed her as his girlfriend. Hell, he’d all but said they were nothing to each other and that had hurt so bad it had temporarily stolen her breath. So she’d buried it under a tide of righteous indignation. “Don’t you dare lecture me on the evils of marijuana, you asshole. Set aside the real medical benefits, I’ve never had a problem with someone who was high. Drunks, on the other hand? They get into bar fights, beat their wives, and drive into minivans of kids.” She made a wild gesture out the window. “Besides, I don’t sell it. I just don’t criminalize those who do.”

  He listened to her tirade with that infuriatingly flat expression. And when she paused to take a breath, he spoke.

  “With the tensions out there, the cannabis dealer is a target.”

  “So are grocery stores. In fact, they’re worse. Do you know how many shootings there were today? Seven. Do you hear me? Seven.”

  His mouth flattened. “Then you are in even greater danger.” He looked out the window at Mrs. Garcia’s house. “Her business will threaten yours.”

  She took a breath to rip into him. Part of her knew that he was right, but she was still smarting from the way he’d dismissed her before. From the fact that he was taking the poser’s side instead of hers. From any lack of softness from him at all when she’d been tied in knots waiting to see him again. But before she could let any of it fly, he held up his hand.

  “This is your choice. You will do with it what you will. I am tired, though. May I rest on your couch?”

  He was tired? She was practically falling over from the work she’d done in the last two days. And good God, what was wrong with her? She’d turned into a screeching adolescent shrew. Except she wasn’t screeching, thank God. She was holding her words and her thoughts inside. And when he stared at her calmly, clearly waiting for an answer, she had the wherewithal to nod once. Then she dug her house keys out of her pocket and tossed them to him.

  It wasn’t until he had left the room for her apartment that she realized Nanook’s apartment was furnished again. She’d gotten the basics in there—all new—and he’d said yesterday that he would stay there. As alpha, that was his home and he needed to stay there until his position was established.

  So why was he here?

  The teenage girl inside her was spouting all sorts of romantic nonsense as an answer, but she was an adult woman. She knew that if she’d been more than a hot screw, then there’d be more of a connection between them. More tenderness or communication or something that wasn’t issuing orders and a polite request to sleep on her couch.

  And yet, she didn’t want to believe she was nothing to him. She couldn’t.

  So she abruptly walked to her desk and wrote up a sign that she taped to the door.

  Closed until further notice.

  Don’t drink the water. It’s tainted.

  It likely wouldn’t help, but at least she’d made an effort. Then she locked the door and turned to her brother.

  “Can you finish in here?”

  Vic nodded, but he sighed as he looked at her. “Don’t push Simon. He doesn’t work like normal people.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that he hates drama. And girlfriend drama is the worst kind.”

  “Didn’t you hear him? I’m not his girlfriend.”

  “I heard.” Vic started pushing the mop again. “But I don’t think you did.”

  She wanted to curse her brother out for that. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t know shit about what was happening between her and Simon. But she held back her words. Because obviously she didn’t know shit, either. And it was past time for her to find out.

  Chapter 18

  Simon fell onto the couch with a sigh. He wanted a beer. Hell, he wanted to get blind stinking drunk, but that was never a good idea for a shifter. And besides, if he wanted to wipe out his brain function, all he had to do was go grizzly. In fact, that’s exactly what he’d done ten months ago, and where had that gotten him? Ten months older and now without the skills needed to survive in Detroit.

  He spent a few minutes with his eyes closed, remembering the bliss of wandering the UP as a bear. For ten months he’d slept, ate, and searched for a mate. No other thoughts on his mind, no other complications in his life.

  He longed for that simplicity again, even though part of him sneered at the sheer uselessness of it. The world didn’t need more bears shagging in the woods. It needed smart men who could control a fracturing group of grizzly-shifters. But hell, it was hard, dangerous work, and he feared he wasn’t up to the task. He wasn’t leaving. Not by any stretch of the imagination, but the task ahead was daunting. And though he felt like he’d found his purpose in life—leading the Griz—that didn’t mean he’d be any good at it.

  He heard Alyssa come in, and he kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He’d felt her reaction when he’d said she wasn’t his mate. He’d known she was hurt and confused by everything that was ha
ppening, and he felt an ache deep inside at that. It was one of the reasons he was waxing nostalgic about being a bear. Grizzlies didn’t worry about other people’s feelings. They didn’t think ahead about how dangerous marrying a shifter would be for a woman. They simply mounted when the female was willing and wandered off when they weren’t.

  “Quit the bullshit,” Alyssa said. “I know you’re awake.”

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  “Look,” she continued, “I’m not going to jump you. I just want to talk.”

  He arched a brow. Jumping would be okay with him.

  “And I know how those words strike horror in men, but I mean it. Things have gone really fast lately, and it’s hard for me to keep up. I just want, you know, clarification on some things.”

  He didn’t respond. She was running this show and so he waited until she found her way to saying whatever was on her mind.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” she asked.

  He sighed. Women could be so damned illogical. “You haven’t asked a question yet.”

  She blew out a breath. “Right.” Her tone conceded his point, but she was clearly frustrated. “Look, are you one of those one-night stand guys? I didn’t think you were, but if you are, then it’s okay. You’ve had me. We both enjoyed it. I just need to know that we’re done. We can move on.”

  His head was lying backward against the couch, but at her words he lifted it off the cushions to stare at her. He looked at her fierce stance with her hands on her hips and her chin lifted. He saw the sweet shape of her breasts and the flare of her hips. Her wonderful nutty scent filled his nostrils and the sound of her tight breaths reminded him of other sounds she made, other times when her legs had been wrapped around his hips as she climbed to orgasm. These were constants whenever he looked at her and even when his eyes were closed, he remembered them. He relived them. He loved them.

  Damn it, how could she not know that?

  But obviously, she didn’t, so he spread his legs, making the bulge in his crotch obvious. And in case she was missing it, he gestured. “Alyssa, I want you. I’ll always want you.”