by Kory Shen
Alan could understand the military's perspective. Even if alphas were heroes, they were superweapons waltzing around in shoes. Or high heels. That wasn't the kind of thing you wanted roaming free. "What does that have to do with me?"
"A rogue alpha is a potential Doomsday scenario. Defcon 1, cocked pistol, red alert. The same as a nuclear war."
"Escort said something similar." Alan shook his head. "Even if I was, I'm not some terrorist or bad guy. What the hell." He paused. "Am I an alpha?"
Cover Girl sighed. "I don't know. The easiest way to tell would be to get you tested at the Alpha Institute, but I couldn't just bring you back there…and it doesn't matter if you're good or bad. An alpha sighting in the wild is bad enough. It'd give Fisher and PIERCR a reason to shake up the alpha situation."
"So let me get this straight. Based on what you and Escort told me, being infected with some kind of disease turns you into an alpha. That's why the military and PIERCR go crazy over these rogue alphas. They could start an alpha epidemic. Like AIDS or something."
"More or less."
"Then why not use protection? Even teenagers know about that."
Cover Girl shook her head. "Doesn't work. We've tried, believe me."
Alan narrowed his eyes. "And you still slept with me?" He frowned. "What the fuck were you thinking!" he yelled.
Cover Girl flinched at Alan's outburst. "I…I…"
"So this is all your fault? Because you're a fucking slut?" Alan crossed his arms and looked away. He was furious. What the hell was she thinking? She was supposed to be a hero. People looked up to her as both Cover Girl and Page Glory. He turned back to look at her. Tears streamed down Cover Girl's face.
"I'm sorry. It was stupid. I know. But it's…it's not easy being an alpha. I couldn't stand it." Cover Girl wiped the tears away. "You wouldn't understand."
Alan took a deep breath. "Why did you do this to me? Help me understand."
Cover Girl took a moment to compose herself. "Alphas get their powers from the alphavirus. It's a trigger." She scrunched her face. "This is hard to explain without getting into biology. Let's just say the alphavirus gives you powers directly. Every time we use our powers, though, our bodies kill off some virus. It's why we monitor our body temperatures to check the viral load." Cover Girl jiggled the band on her wrist. "To keep our powers, we need to reinfect ourselves with fresh alphavirus."
"How do you do that?" Alan asked.
"The same way we were infected in the first place. We, you know, exchange body fluids. We alphas have tried everything from blood to purified alphavirus. Blood leads to complications between incompatible blood types. Purified alphavirus is unstable and can't be cultured in the lab. Sex is the most reliable way to pass on an infection. Once you get it, you can toss it back and forth like a bad cold." Cover Girl shrugged. "It's not a bad situation, at least at first."
Alan held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa. I can't understand half of what you're saying. Except that you fuck people to keep your powers?"
Cover Girl rolled her eyes. "Exactly, Einstein. It's more complicated, though. Who you fuck is as important as who you don't fuck."
"Excuse me?"
"I got my powers from Maiden. That means she's the one who infected me."
"That's a story I want to hear."
Cover Girl's brows furrowed in annoyance. "In your dreams."
Alan grinned. That red-haired goddess and Cover Girl? Even if he was mad at Cover Girl, he had to agree, yes, in his dreams.
Cover Girl ignored Alan's fantasizing. "Again, more biology. But basically, only the person that infected you can reinfect you with the alphavirus. Your alphavirus is compatible with her, but it'll cross react with anyone else's alphavirus."
Alan tried to understand what Cover Girl was saying. "So you can only sleep with Maiden?"
"Pretty much. There's one obvious exception."
Alan gave her a puzzled look.
"Sex is a two-way street, you know."
Alan thought harder. "Oh. Me. You can sleep with the person who infected you, or the person you infected." Cover Girl was looking at him. God, she was gorgeous. Alan shook his head. "Is that it? You can't fuck anyone but Maiden and me? That doesn't sound like a bad deal. Plenty of people would kill to be in your situation."
Cover Girl raised an eyebrow. "Think you're hot stuff?" She snorted. "There's more. Like I said, it's two-way. Your alpha prime, that's the one who infected you, can recharge your viral load. But your beta, that's the one you infected, can recharge you a smaller amount."
Alan snapped his finger. "Escort said that Maiden needed her. That's what she meant, isn't it? You and Escort help Maiden keep her powers."
Cover Girl nodded. "Right. But that means we don't have a choice. We have to keep Maiden powered. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Her large blue eyes carried a hint of sadness.
It took a moment for Alan to understand, but the implication was clear. "That's messed up, and it doesn't make sense." Alan shook his head again. "Can't Maiden sleep with her, what did you call it, her alpha prime?"
Cover Girl laughed bitterly. "Maiden? Her name isn't Maiden for no reason. She would rather die before she slept with a man again. Even if she was willing, you don't approach Sire like that. He's…different."
Alan had no idea who this Sire guy was, but he moved on. "You can walk away, though. Just leave. Or get your own betas. Like me."
"You'd join my beta circle?" Cover Girl looked amused. "That's a nice idea, but it wouldn't work. Each generation of infection is progressively weaker. I'm an alpha two. You're an alpha three. Alpha two's can't sustain their powers with a beta circle."
"I'm shooting blanks?"
Cover Girl chuckled. "I don't know, are you?" Then, she grew more serious. "No, you can still infect others in principle, but it's extremely unlikely and the infection will be incredibly weak. It's why Fisher is a joke. All this fuss is over an alpha three at best."
That was reassuring. Maybe his gut feeling about Sally and the gas explosion was wrong. "But you can still walk away."
"I could. No alpha that I know of has walked away voluntarily. Ever. The power…once you start using it, it's not something you can give up. You wouldn't understand."
The two looked at each other for a while.
"Actually, maybe I do." Alan knew all about addictions. He was addicted to sex. He was addicted to women. He didn't like to face that fact often, but deep down, he knew that he took stupid risks because of his addiction. He was as much to blame for his situation as Cover Girl.
He leaned back in his seat and sighed. "God, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I used to think alphas were the cream of the crop. Untouchable. The one thing I couldn't have." He sat back up and looked at Cover Girl. "Did you know my dream was to fuck an alpha?"
She didn't reply.
"In the end, I got what I wanted," Alan said. "I fucked an alpha. And I found out you're as fucked up as me."
"I'm sorry—" Cover Girl began.
Alan gazed into Cover Girl's eyes. "You're just like us, aren't you? Listen, I'm sorry about what I said. Getting mad. Calling you a slut. I should be the last one saying that." He fell back into his seat and let out a deep breath. "This is all a lot to handle."
Cover Girl reached out for his hand. Her hand was strong and warm. What had she been through? What did Maiden do to her?
"We have to get going. I'll get the plane started," Cover Girl said. "Escort's going to think we're screwing around."
"We could."
"Come again?"
"How long's the flight?"
Cover Girl pursed her lips. "Three or four hours."
When life gives you lemons…Alan shrugged as casually as he could. "That's plenty of time for screwing around."
Cover Girl laughed. "Okay, tiger. We'll see about that."
"By the way, where are we going?" Alan asked.
"I'm taking you somewhere PIERCR and the other alphas can't touch you. The Strip."
Alan had heard of The Strip. Depending on who you asked, it was the best or worst place in America. The thin piece of land on the southeast edge of Washington D.C., just across the Anacostia River, had been redeveloped into an East Coast version of Las Vegas, but ten times more seedy. D.C. style. The capital's long-dead red-light district had found its new home.
Rumor was that a crime syndicate controlled The Strip and the surrounding piece of Maryland. And it couldn't have been more than an hour's drive from where they were.
"So why are we taking the plane?" Alan frowned.
Cover Girl shrugged. "To throw trackers like Escort off our trail. We'll fly out to another airport, then double back. They'll find you eventually, but it'll buy us some time."
"What's so special about The Strip? Why can't PIERCR or alphas show up? Hell, they showed up to a school opening ceremony. They don't look like they give a fuck."
"The Strip has the one thing that they both fear."
"What?"
"Not what. Who. Remember, I told you that I'm an alpha two. Maiden's my alpha prime, so she's an alpha one."
"Right." Alan nodded.
"Maiden's prime was Sire. He's the alpha zero. Patient zero. The first alpha on record."
"So he's the strongest one?" Alan asked.
"That's right."
"He'll keep me safe?"
"Nope. He's not there. He'd probably let Maiden kill you anyway."
"Then who's the big bad wolf at The Strip?"
"Someone scarier than Sire. His ex-wife."
CHAPTER 9
Cover Girl left Alan and entered the cockpit to get ready for takeoff. Fifteen minutes later, the plane was airborne. She switched on the autopilot but didn't leave the cockpit right away. Out of habit, she checked her temperature band. It read 98.8 degrees. Double covering Alan back at the school had cost most of her viral load. She'd have to see Maiden to recharge her viral load. That wasn't an encounter she was looking forward to, for more than one reason.
Cover Girl had gone against Maiden's wishes before, but never so blatantly as she had done with Alan. She hadn't just cheated on Maiden. She had slept with a man, the ultimate sin, according to Maiden. To want a man over her was the gravest insult.
Maiden wouldn't cut her off, would she? Cover Girl was too useful. Maiden would never do that, but she would punish her. She didn't want to think about what cruel punishment Maiden would devise this time. A year ago, Maiden had seen a tabloid article claiming that Page Glory was secretly dating a Hollywood actor. Of course, the tabloid article was junk, but Maiden had forced Cover Girl to live inside a coffin for two days with holes cut for air and water. She shuddered at the memory.
Escort would be punished, too. Poor girl. Cover Girl felt bad for dragging Escort into her troubles, but she couldn't stand by idly while they hunted down Alan. Alphas were heroes. They were supposed to do what was right, even if it hurt.
Yeah, right.
Cover Girl set the roundabout course and a navigational alarm to notify her when they were three hundred miles out from The Strip's airport. That gave her about three hours of free time alone with Alan.
She remembered Alan's offer. Had he been serious? She wouldn't mind playing with him some more. It would be the last man she would touch for a long time. Maybe forever.
A tingle fluttered between her legs as she thought back to their first time together. She wanted something hard, warm, and strong to open her and fill her. She spread her legs apart, jutting her crotch forward. Her right hand reached down to stroke her inner thigh.
She was going to be in trouble with Maiden anyway. Why not?
She got out of the pilot's seat.
"Alan?"
* * *
Alan swallowed once to let his ears pop and adjust to the plane's altitude.
Had Cover Girl called his name? He stuck his head into the aisle and nearly bumped into Cover Girl's hourglass figure.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"The autopilot's set. If there's an issue, the alarm will go off." She bit her lip. "We have a couple hours to kill."
"Oh really? What should we do? Talk politics?" Alan grinned.
"Well, politics is a dirty business," Cover Girl said, matching Alan's grin.
Alan had spent hours with Sally earlier in the afternoon, but he didn't care. He'd never get to do this again. Hell, there was a good chance that he'd be dead soon. If this was it, he was going to go out with a bang. Literally. He'd fuck until his cock fell off or he died trying. That had to be better than whatever waited for him when they landed.
Alan sensed a wild desperation in Cover Girl that mirrored his own. She seemed to want him as much as he wanted her. The future was going to fuck them both, so they both chose to fuck in the present. As much as possible.
Three minutes later, Cover Girl was kneeling in the aisle while he sat sideways in his seat, pushing her head into his groin. He rammed the roof of Cover Girl's mouth by accident, making her flinch, but Cover Girl started sucking even harder. Alan let go of Cover Girl so she could come up for air, but she didn't stop. She looked up at him as she slowly pushed her mouth further down his shaft. His head traced the contours of her throat until it met a resistance. The resistance opened up to swallow him, the muscular contractions teasing him further.
"I'm close," Alan said in a strained voice.
Cover Girl maintained eye contact. Then, she vanished. He saw himself clearly, but when he reached down, he still felt Cover Girl's head. He could see himself bent slightly, his fleshy head pressed against the shaft as if being squeezed. Well, it was.
"Oh god. This is crazy," Alan moaned. "Only with an alpha."
As Alan slowly pumped in and out, his skin pulled one way, then the other. This was exactly like what Cover Girl had done the first time they had met. He wanted to watch himself finish.
Cover Girl reappeared.
"I love seeing myself inside you," Alan said.
Cover Girl winked.
She vanished. She reappeared. She vanished again. She reappeared. She flickered back and forth between visible and invisible, turning herself translucent.
Alan could see Cover Girl's mouth wrapped around him, her dark brown hair clenched in his hands, her wide-open eyes staring back at him. He could also see himself nestled deep into her throat in a kind of double vision. He couldn't take it anymore.
A large spurt erupted from the tip of his twitching member. The glob slid further down Cover Girl's throat, then disappeared as it merged with her translucent body.
"Holy fuck!" Alan yelled.
Cover Girl pulled him out of her throat and mouth. She licked her lips, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"One second," Cover Girl said. She ran back to the cockpit, then came out again.
"Something wrong?" Alan asked. Damn, he wanted to try that see-through trick again. Everywhere.
"Just checking the time. We have over two hours."
Alan's smile nearly split his face.
* * *
It was late at night by the time they touched down at The Strip's private airfield. Cover Girl had sent a coded message informing Godmother of the situation. To her relief, Godmother welcomed them.
Cover Girl's plan was to drop off Alan and get the hell out of The Strip. If Sire himself had ordered Cover Girl to remain, she still wouldn't stay. Godmother was past her peak, but no alpha could forget the stories of her time as the Reaper. The alpha killer. She had single-handedly brought the alphas to the brink of extinction.
Cover Girl followed the path to an empty hangar. As the plane rolled to a stop, figures approached. One had jet black hair and stood taller than the others. Cover Girl swallowed involuntarily. That had to be her. Godmother.
"Cover Girl?"
Cover Girl swiveled in her seat. Alan stood at the cockpit's entrance.
"We're here," she said.
"So…what now?" All hints of the reckless sex from before were gone. Creases lined his tired face.
"
You go down to meet your new pals."
"What about you?"
Cover Girl glanced down at the waiting figures. "I'll stay here."
"Oh." Alan stared at the plane's dashboard. "I guess this is it. I won't be seeing you again, will I?"
Cover Girl whispered. "No. Probably not."
"Is that light supposed to be flashing?" Alan asked, pointing to the dashboard.
Cover Girl checked the indicators in alarm. Everything looked normal. "I don't see anything, which—"
She turned back to find Alan bending low to meet her face in the pilot's seat. He kissed her once. It was a simple, chaste kiss.
"Even though you're an alpha, I'm realizing we're more alike than I thought," Alan said. "I wish we could have gotten to know each other better."
Cover Girl kissed Alan back. The open-mouthed tongue-twister lasted for a full minute.
When the kiss ended, Alan left without a word. He descended the plane's steps and headed towards the figures below. Cover Girl briefly activated her invisibility to watch while the group piled into a cluster of cars and departed. A refueling team approached. She went back inside and closed the plane door before dropping her invisibility.
Half an hour later, Cover Girl was airborne and on her way back to the College Park airport. The flight should have taken half an hour at most, but she took another roundabout course to give herself time to prepare mentally for Maiden. If things got really bad, she would hide and come back when Maiden settled down.
How much viral load did she have left? Cover Girl checked her temperature band. It read 99.9 degrees. That couldn't be right. She shook her wrist as if to fix the band and read the numbers again. They were the same.
That was impossible. She had slept with Alan, but he couldn't be more than an alpha three. His alphavirus strain would be too weak to increase her own viral load. She hadn't slept with anyone else recently. Cover Girl's breath caught in her throat. What was Alan? What had she done?