Broken Alpha

by Paulina Vasquez

  “I'm sorry to hear that. Families can be difficult sometimes, especially when they are overprotective of their females. I wonder if Alpha LaRue will reach out for my help? You have his daughter and I have your sister.” Georgios said.

  “Well Georgios, it seems that you and I are practically family now, surely you will not stand with LaRue.” Dimitri said.

  “And how is your mate? Have you claimed her yet?”

  “I need to talk to my sister, now!” Dimitri emphasized the now.

  “I'm afraid MY MATE is a little tied up at the moment and can't come to the phone.” Georgios said.

  “TIED UP? YOU HAVE ONE FUCKING HOUR TO HAVE HER CALL ME BACK. IF YOU HAVE HARMED HER IN ANYWAY, I WILL KILL YOU!” Dimitri roared and discontented the phone.

  “You suspect Georgios?” My father asked.

  “Yes, other than you and him, no one else outside of my pack knew we would be retreating to an island. His assumption that I would be returning so soon, is very suspicious. As if he knew about the attack.” Dimitri said.

  “Does he actually know where the island is?” My mother asked.

  “No, but he may have a way of finding the location.” Dimitri said.

  “Kalimera Alpha, you wanted to see me.” Rocky said as she and Knox entered the room.

  “Kalimera. Rocky, do you have a cell phone here with you, on the island?” Dimitri asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you contract the phone yourself or is it a pack cell phone?”

  “No, Alpha Georgios provides them to all the top ranked wolves.” She said.

  “He pinged the location of her phone!” My father said.

  “That treacherous bastard!” Dimitri growled.

  “Has Alpha Georgios tried calling you since we left?” My father asked Rocky.

  “Yes, last night. He wanted to check to see how I was doing and asked if Alpha LaRue and Alpha Dimitri were getting along.” she said.

  “And what did you tell him?” Dimitri asked.

  “I told him that it wasn't going well and that Alpha LaRue was not happy.”

  “Excellent. Knox, I need you to destroy her phone. We'll get you a new one when we're on the mainland Rocky.” Dimitri told her.

  “Okay, but what happened?” Rocky asked.

  Dimitri quickly explained what happened on the beach and his suspicion. Rocky confirmed that Alpha Georgios was connected to Eros’ son Hades, whom she had seen meeting with Alpha Georgios the day they returned with Leo's body. I had a bad feeling about Hades.

  The phone rang and everyone stood still for a moment. Niko nodded to Dimitri who gave him a nod back to answer it. Niko clicked the speaker phone and Dimitri said. “Hello.”

  “Hello brother!” Odessa's voice rang out.

  “Is it true?” Dimitri asked.

  “Yes, the Moon Goddess has blessed me with Alpha Georgios as my mate.”

  “Why didn't you call and tell me immediately about your mate?”

  “I’ve just discovered my mate and wanted to spend time getting to know him. Alpha Georgios has been without a Luna for the six years he's had the pack. I've so much to learn and take care of for my new pack. We're planning to visit you soon, please don't worry about me. I think you have bigger things to worry about.”

  “Is everything okay? Is he treating you well?” Dimitri said.

  “Absolutely, as wonderful as Imara and Alec! One can only dream of being this lucky.”

  “I'm happy to hear that.” Dimitri said, but he certainly didn't look happy. “I'll be seeing both of you real soon.”

  “Dimitri, don't forget, I found Dolos and he's mine. Please remember to have someone feed him for me.” Odessa said.

  There was an awkward silence as Niko and Dimitri exchanged glances. “Of course, your cat Dolos is in good hands, we’ll take care of him.” Dimitri said.

  “See, she's doing great Alpha.” Georgios was back on the phone.

  “Take care of my sister Georgios. If you happen to see my in-laws, I'd appreciate a phone call.” Dimitri said and disconnected.

  “What was that all about?” My father asked.

  “Did she say Imara and Alec? I didn't know that Alec had a mate?” I inquired.

  “He doesn't. Alec was the first to find his mate. He met Imara the week after he turned eighteen, she was a year older than him and in love with a human in the city. She rejected Alec and he's never been the same since.”

  “So, Odessa was sending us a secret message!” I said.

  “Are we sure it was a secret message?” My mother asked.

  “Yes! She spoke about Dolos.” Niko said as if that would make sense.

  “When Odessa was a pup, she had a little black cat named Dolos. He was a mischievous, sneaky little thing, so the name suited him. There's an old Greek God named Dolos, who was the master of trickery, deceit, lies and traps.”

  “Is Dolos still alive?” My mother asked.

  “No. He's been dead for a long time now. What she actually said was, I found Dolos, he's mine.” Dimitri emphasized the word mine.

  “Mine, as in her mate! As in, Georgios is Dolos and planning something cunning!” Niko said.

  “My sister is in trouble and she's discovered some deceitful plot. That's why Georgios is acting weird and is probably hoping Alpha LaRue will want me dead or help overpower me.” Dimitri said.

  “With Georgios thinking that we're not on the island and disapprove of you, he may believe that we could be allies.” My father said.

  “Do you believe that Stefanos is working with Hades or Georgios?” My mother asked.

  “Without a doubt! Eros was Stefanos's right hand man. There's no way Hades, as his only son and heir isn't involved. Now that we know of Georgios’ connection to Hades, Stefanos must be pulling the strings.” Dimitri responded.

  “And don't forget his control of the rogues. Those two packs, combined with rogues and silver bullets, may just be the small army he needs to take us out.” Niko said.

  “Our pack struggled financially for a few years. Georgios liked to gamble on the stock market. Then we started getting more purchased slaves, omegas I'd never seen before. Something felt suspicious but no one ever questioned him, he’s on the shifter’s council, so we assumed he had received aid of some kind.” Rocky told us.

  “And the slaves?” My mother practically growled. She's always been sensitive to slave labor and even suffered for a few years at the hands of her stepmother when my Uncle Ranger first became Alpha. Those were the worst four years of her life and she would never knowingly allow anyone to be treated like a slave.

  “They're still there. He keeps them well dressed and clean, to look like hired servants. They have small rooms and bunk beds, down in the basement.” Rocky said.

  My mother let out a snarling growl. “Alpha Dimitri, please send for Kosta, my mate and I will be returning to Georgios pack this evening.” We all stood paralyzed for a moment and looked at my mother. Her aura was dangerously strong, and her amber colored eyes came to life with rage and fire!

  Chapter 34 – Blast

  Dimitri's POV

  “Kosta should be landing with the helicopter in about ten minutes.” I informed Diesel and Lucy. We stood at the northern peak of the island waiting for Kosta. Lucy was insistent about returning to Alpha Georgios pack right away.

  “I'll see if I can speak with Odessa alone first. I'll call Knox when I've spoken to her, so he can update you. We'll let Georgios believe that Knox has returned to Crescent Moon with Rocky, and that we've remained in Greece because Alpha LaRue isn't convinced that Raven wants to be with you. That he's considering taking your head for stealing our only daughter and forcing her to mate with you.” Lucy told me.

  “Mother!” Raven protested at the idea of forced mating.

  “We'll see if Georgios will lead us to Stefanos or if he lets anything slip. If we hit a dead end, I'll light Georgios up and send him straight to hell.” Lucy said.

  “I can position my warriors ju
st outside his pack territory to lead an attack and help if things get sticky for you.” I offered.

  “I don't think his pack will put up much resistance, all they have to do is see your wolf. Greeks are taught wolf history and legends from a young age. Everyone will know you are born from Gods with just one look at you. This puts you at a much higher level than an Alpha. No one will dare defy you.” Rocky said.

  “I wouldn't say no one, some have tried before and failed.” Lucy replied with a smile.

  “Wait until they see her in action.” Diesel grinned.

  “Georgios seemed really interested in our reaction to Alpha Dimitri and Raven. He was acting strange; something was definitely off. If he's dealing with Hades and Stefanos, he's going to have wolfbane and silver like Eros’ yacht.” Lucy said.

  “I'm not sure I like this plan anymore.” I told her. I couldn't possibly let them walk into that trap. Wolfbane and silver is a lethal combination, Georgios would also use it if needed. I can’t let Raven’s parents take that risk.

  “Oh, don't worry about my mate, she can take out a small army by herself. Besides, she's the only wolf on this planet whose immune to silver and wolfbane.” Diesel told me.

  “Really? She's immune?”

  “Golden wolf!” He smiled.

  “Mate will give our pups the strongest genes ever.” Dom told me.

  “Alec has already ordered trackers to locate Hades. Are we going to deal with Georgios first?” Niko asked.

  “We'll return to the pack in case they’re planning to attack our pack first. Georgios is definitely dirty, he had to have tracked our location. I'll wait for the update from Alpha and Luna LaRue, then decide the next course of action from there.” I told Niko.

  The helicopter came into view and got louder as it got closer. Wolf hearing is so sensitive, we could hear noises at greater distances or noises others couldn't. We stood back and watched the helicopter land. When the blades stopped, Kosta stepped out.

  “Alpha Dimitri. Alpha LaRue. Luna.” He extended his hand and shook each of ours. “Our sources tell us that Stefanos left Santorini last night and headed towards the mainland. We believe he's in Athens.” Kosta added.

  “We need to return to Alpha Georgios’ pack, I'll explain everything on the flight back.” Diesel told him.

  “Alpha Dimitri, will you be staying or need a ride back as well?” Kosta asked me.

  “Thank you, but we’re leaving in the next hour with the speed boat. I'll call you in a few hours when we're back at the pack. I have something I want you to look into for me.” I told him.

  “Of course.” Kosta nodded his head and prepared for takeoff.

  Raven finished packing her things and sat on the bed lost in thought. I had hoped we would have had more time on the island alone. Dom also needed some time alone with Rae. Everything was moving so fast and my mate was worried about her parents, my sister and possibly being attacked. I could feel all of her thoughts, she even felt guilty about Leo's death. I sat next to her and held her for a while to help calm her.

  “Can we come back soon?” She asked.

  “Of course, this is one of our homes.” I kissed her.

  We left the luggage out in the foyer; Dumas was going to send it back with staff this evening. Elaina and the staff that came with her would be returning this evening as well. Rocky and Knox

  would be returning to our pack with Elaina; disguised as staff, in case someone was watching the marina.

  We took the golf carts back down to the dock and boarded the boat. Niko sat at the driver’s seat, with Clair at his side. Raven sat beside me, she put her head on my chest and it made Dom happy. We drove back to Athens; the water was a little rough and slowed us down a bit. The sky was cloudy, and rain was in the forecast for this afternoon. I could see the marina approaching and Niko dropped the speed of the boat when we entered the no wake speed zone.

  We slowly cruised to our dock and I scanned the marina. I saw the car that Alec had sent for us in the distance waiting. I picked up the anchor rope, and leaned over to the dock, ready to step out and tie the boat down. The boat gently bumped the dock and Niko turned the engine off. I heard a strange beeping sound coming from beneath the dock and realized what it was. Niko also recognized the faint beeps and quickly tried to shield his mate with his body.

  BOOM! An explosion erupted and the dock was blown to bits. The impact from the blast sent our boat flying upside down and we were thrown into the water with debris falling around us. I swam up, my head broke the surface of the water and a big cloud of smoke surrounded us. The smell of fuel was strong and a moment later, there was another loud BOOM as our boat exploded.

  Raven was by my side and I could see her mouth moving but I couldn't hear anything. There was a ringing in my ears from the sound of the explosion, I was closest to the blast. Niko motioned to the dock and I could see people looking at the fiery mess. Clair was clinging to him and noticed blood in the water. That was a lot of blood, someone was bleeding badly. Raven said something and pointed but I couldn't understand what it was.

  “I can't hear anything. My ears are ringing.” I said or maybe I yelled, I couldn’t tell. I tried to mind link Niko, but it didn't seem to work, the ringing in my head was loud.

  Raven moved us in the water towards shore quickly using her element. We stumbled up onto the shore and I felt a little disoriented. I looked down and found a large piece of metal had pierced my abdomen. My other cuts had already started healing but the metal would need to be removed quickly and would require treatment. Raven grabbed my arm and motioned for us to move. Thank the Goddess she appeared to be unharmed.

  Clair looked pale and shaken but okay, Niko refused to set her down and carried her to our waiting car. Our pack warrior, Gus, had been sent with the car to get us, he started running towards us. I could feel the warmth of blood running from my abdomen down my leg, it was trickling on the ground pretty fast and left a trail behind me.

  Gus's lips moved but I still couldn't hear anything. Raven said something to him, and he nodded his head. We reached the vehicle and I slid in the back. Raven sat next to me and her worried face started swimming in my vision. She put her hand on my face. Goddess she is so beautiful! I hated seeing her so worried it was just a minor scratch, I'll be okay. My vision darkened and my eyes closed, I fought to keep them open, but the darkness sucked me in.

  I opened my eyes and recognized the room, we were back at the pack house. It was dark and I could see Raven was sitting in the arm chair next to the bed. She had a few candles burning and her head buried in a book, it was an ancient book from my library about werewolf healing. I moved my hand and her head shot up.

  “You're awake.” I heard her say with my right ear. The left was still ringing, and I couldn't hear anything with that ear.

  “How did we get here?” I croaked.

  “You can hear me?” She asked.

  “Just with the right ear. The left is still ringing.” The sound of her beautiful voice sent warm sensations through me.

  “We took you to see Kosta's physician, Dr. Homer. He removed the metal and performed emergency surgery to fix your intestines. After your surgery, we brought you back here. You've been asleep since yesterday and it's almost midnight.”

  “Are you okay? How’s Rae doing?” I asked.

  “We’re fine.” She gave me a warm smile.

  “Where's Niko? Have we heard from your parents yet?”

  “Everything is fine, Niko is with Clair, she knocked her head on something and had a concussion. She should be recovered by now. Your healing will take a few days, Dr. Vovos has been checking on you every few hours. She said that your hearing should return as you heal.”

  “Is Knox here? Have we heard from your parents? My sister?” I asked.

  “Please try to take it easy. Knox and Rocky are here, he received a phone call from my mother today, my parents are with Georgios and Odessa. My mother hasn't had the opportunity to speak with Odessa alone yet. She’s still
unmarked but Georgios is keeping her close. Don't worry, if anyone can handle this, it's my mother.” Raven assured me.

  There was a knock on the door. “Come in.” Raven called out and Knox stepped in.

  “Glad to see you're awake.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I just received a call from Dad, Odessa went for a run this evening and was taken. Georgios believes Hades took her, or at least that’s what Georgios is saying. Apparently some of Hades’ warriors were seen near the border of Georgios’ pack territory. My dad thinks something is fishy, that Georgios has hidden Odessa somewhere and is blaming Hades.”