Secret Alpha Wolf (Shifter League Book 2)

by Leela Ash

  Secret Alpha Wolf

  Shifter League 2

  Leela Ash

  Copyright ©2020 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  https://www.totallyromancebooks.com/leela-ash

  Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  16.

  17.

  Epilogue

  Dragon Protector Preview

  About the Author

  Other Series from Totally Romance

  1.

  “Ronnie! You don’t have to be so hard on me, it’s training!”

  Veronica Mitchell scoffed at her deputy but inwardly cringed. There she went again, being too over the top. But she couldn’t be perceived as soft. Not again. There was too much at stake.

  “Walk it off, Harley,” Veronica said. She offered a hand to her fallen comrade, who scowled as he got back to his feet.

  “You know we’re on the same team, right?”

  Ronnie sighed. “You wouldn’t be on this team without me, you know.”

  Harley was unimpressed and headed into the sheriff’s office. “We’re not kids anymore, you know.”

  Veronica sighed. Yeah, she knew. She wished, at times, that she could just let her guard down. But it didn’t even happen with Harley. A guy she had grown up with. She felt like she had to earn her place among the guys in Greenrock. She was never going to be vulnerable again. Not after what had happened the first time.

  “Ronnie! Phone!”

  Harley’s voice beckoned her inside. There was no need to dwell. There were more important issues at hand now. And she was able to create her own justice.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this the sheriff?”

  Veronica narrowed her eyes. The voice on the other end of the line gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “Yes. This is Sheriff Veronica Mitchell. What can I do for you?”

  There was a brief period of silence. Ronnie listened carefully, until finally, the voice spoke again.

  “I have information that could help you with the strange things going on in your town.”

  Ronnie furrowed her brow. Yes, there was certainly something off-putting about it. It was low and gravelly. There was something almost otherworldly about it.

  “Oh really? Could I get your name please?”

  What could they possibly know about anything that had been going on lately? The department had been doing everything in its power to prevent word of the strange occurrences from spreading to the people of Greenrock. How would this person know anything about it, unless they were involved somehow?

  She motioned for Harley to record the conversation. A look of concern flitted across his face for a brief moment as he quickly obliged.

  “I’d prefer to remain anonymous.”

  “Okay. Well, what information do you have?”

  “There’s a group of men who are new to town.”

  Veronica pursed her lips. Yes, she was familiar. And she too had noticed the correlation between the strange occurrences and the new group in town.

  “What about these men?”

  If this guy was just trying to get attention, it was going to really get on her nerves. False leads were such a waste of time, and a lot of people in small towns like hers were automatically suspicious of anything new. Especially new people. Why would anyone choose to settle down there of all places?

  It left everyone uneasy, to say the least.

  “All of them are trouble. And you know what happened in the west side?”

  Ronnie’s stomach sank. Yes, she was aware of what had happened in the west side. She was the one who had the misfortune of trying to investigate it. It had been a horrific crime, but a strange one as well. An entire family had been burned alive, with no trace of the fire. Nothing around them had been scorched, there was no faulty wiring. It almost appeared to be a case of spontaneous human combustion, but that was far too off in the realm of the supernatural.

  At first, she had thought that maybe the family had been murdered and then placed back in their home, but it quickly became obvious that they had been going about their daily lives, enjoying a family meal together. A father still had his spoon clasped in his hand. Whatever had happened to them had happened very suddenly and inexplicably. She was sure they had been killed on the spot. And if these strangers had anything to do with it, then she would have no choice but to investigate them.

  Still, it was odd that the caller was mentioning the strange things happening in town. None of the details of the murders were released to the public. As far as Greenrock knew, there had been a fire in the kitchen with no survivors.

  “I’m familiar with the incident,” Ronnie said, doing her best to maintain her poker face over the phone.

  “I’m sure they were responsible. In fact, I know for certain one of the men cannot be trusted.”

  “How’s that? And which man?”

  “He calls himself Achilles. And I found him snooping around my home. When I asked him what he was doing there, he attacked me. I chose not to press charges against him. I know how difficult it can be to get established in this community, but I just have a hunch that he is involved with what happened to the Warners.”

  Ronnie frowned as she took notes. “What makes you believe there is anything unusual going on with these men otherwise?”

  “I saw them congregating in the forest. At night. They could have been doing some sort of satanic ritual for all I know. Either way, it was eerie. I hope you bring them down.”

  The caller hung up, and Ronnie fought back the urge to vomit. There was something about the call that was getting to her. She hadn’t wanted to explore anything in the realm of the paranormal.

  “Well,” Harley said, disconnecting the call. “Looks like we have some work ahead of us.”

  2.

  “Shit! Watch it, Atlas!”

  Achilles dodged out of the way of the bear shifter’s massive fist, then composed himself enough to glance over his shoulder at his comrade.

  “Sorry, you had a bug on you.”

  Achilles rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Apollo told you to keep me on my toes, didn’t he?”

  Atlas shrugged with a wry smile on his face.

  “He said that since you aren’t interested in finding a mate, you should at least be putting all that extra energy of yours to good use.”

  “Excuse me if I think it’s more important to focus on our mission than to find some girl to keep me distracted.”

  “Suit yourself,” Atlas said. “I don’t think it seems so bad though. Having a companion. I figured as a wolf shifter you’d be all about that. Expanding your pack and whatnot.”

  Achilles scoffed. “Already been down that road, buddy. And it’s nothing but trouble.”

  He took a moment to reflect on just how much trouble it had been. The one time he had opened himself up to a woman, he had been so concerned about her that it had put his entire team in jeopardy. If he hadn’t managed to wake up from her spell, he could have been exiled from the pack. Then he would never have been considered heroic enough to tag along on this crazy journey.

  Activating the portals before the e
nemy had the chance was crucial. If he found himself caught up in the same drama of young love as he had been the first time, then it would cost him dearly. Everyone would suffer.

  “Well, just stay on your toes. You’re going to need to be as alert as possible.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Achilles scoffed.

  “I can do that too. There’s a lead. Apollo heard from his council this morning.”

  “What?! Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

  Achilles found himself getting angry. He was used to being the top dog. Quite literally. Sometimes, it really rubbed him the wrong way that Apollo was the one who was spoon-fed all the important information. What if it was something he could use to help solve their problems?

  “Well, I’m telling you now,” Atlas pointed out. “If you hadn’t run off this morning to ‘do your own thing’ after Apollo had asked you to stay put and wait for the delivery, you would have known sooner.”

  Achilles considered this. Fair enough.

  “You know taking orders isn’t really my thing,” he said dismissively. “It’s not like there was anything important coming.”

  “Everything we do is important, Achilles. That delivery is the equipment for our vocations. We have to fit in here or people are going to be even more suspicious than they already are.”

  “It’s not even a real vocation!” Achilles argued.

  “Well, it was important to Apollo.”

  “It still got delivered, didn’t it?”

  Atlas sighed in exasperation. ‘Well, yes, but−”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  Atlas shook his head. “Do you want to hear about the lead or not?”

  “Yes! Give me something I can actually do. Sitting around waiting for a package isn’t something I’m built for. You, however, could hibernate in the same place all winter long, so I think he got the wrong guy for the job. It was just my way of showing him that.”

  “I think he knew exactly what he was doing,” Atlas murmured. “Patience is important.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Achilles mumbled. “A real virtue. Now, tell me what we know.”

  “There is someone in the town, a local. He’s been researching the same things we have been working on figuring out for the past fifty years. His entire life has been dedicated to figuring out who and what the shifters are and tracking the influence of the portals and the significance of our relics.”

  “Is he human?”

  “Yes. And the townsfolk here consider him to be batshit crazy. So, it’s not like they would take any of his claims seriously.”

  “That sounds dangerous to our mission,” Achilles pointed out. “Are we supposed to get rid of him?”

  “No! He’s not a threat because everyone thinks he’s nuts. And he’s never done anything to show malicious intent. He’s just consumed with trying to find the truth.”

  “Well, what do we do with him then?”

  “Nothing,” Atlas said firmly. “We leave him alone. But we have to figure out exactly what he knows. He might have some information that we don’t have. Information that could help us.”

  “How do you figure?” Achilles asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “If he’s a lunatic human who doesn’t even know we exist, what could he possibly have to offer?”

  “Well, the point is, we don’t know. He may know things the council doesn’t. He’s been here in the center of it all, for half a century, obsessing over the serpent mound and following the clues our ancestors left behind. Don’t you think it’s worth a shot?”

  Achilles considered this. Of course, he thought it was worth investigating. He was mostly just irritated by the prospect that Apollo’s all-knowing dragon elders might not have information at their disposal that a human had.

  “How can we be certain he wouldn’t be a threat?”

  “We can’t know for sure, so we’re not actually going to speak with him. We just need to get in his house and take a look around. If it turns out he isn’t someone trustworthy with the information, then we will take it all and leave him with nothing but his suspicions.”

  Achilles sighed. “So, breaking and entering, and potentially, robbing an old man blind.”

  “Essentially.”

  An unstoppable grin spread across Achilles’ face and he shrugged lightly. “I guess I could do that.”

  Atlas shook his head. “No, we’re not ready. Apollo is still figuring out the details.”

  But Achilles ignored Atlas and turned on his heel in the direction of town. “I’m restless. I just want to take a look around. No harm done.”

  Atlas sighed and gave up fighting with Achilles. The bear shifter was finally starting to understand that when Achilles had a goal in mind, there would be no stopping him.

  ***

  Lester Huntington was a slob. The old man’s entire life’s work seemed to be in every corner of his modest abode. There were newspaper clippings from his early career as an archaeologist, when he had first begun to investigate the serpent mound and had discovered that there was something abnormal about it.

  Achilles looked around the cramped living space in disgust. And he had thought living in a small motel room was bad. But the bed and breakfast was actually spacious compared to this.

  Lester had gone into town early that morning. Apparently, the elders had been keeping tabs on him for a while now, waiting for their opportunity to find out what he knew. They had his routine down to a T, which was pretty stalkerish in Achilles’ opinion. But nobody was asking him. He was just there to do the dirty work.

  Achilles wrinkled his nose. And dirty it was. Did the man ever hear of a filing cabinet? And was it really so difficult to do your dishes every once in a while? It looked like the guy lived off take-out and cigarettes. He was obsessed with putting the pieces of this strange puzzle together that he had no business touching. It was pathetic, honestly, and Achilles wasn’t impressed.

  A large leather-bound book suddenly caught his eye. Achilles went to it, a strange feeling of foreboding in his chest. What was this?

  He flipped the book open and found himself stricken by the ancient scrawling of his people. It evoked a sense of overwhelming sadness from somewhere deep within him, and he snapped the book shut. Nope. No time for sadness. He had to shut that shit down. He had a mission to complete.

  Achilles glanced at his watch. He had about half an hour until the old man’s return. He stuffed the book into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. That was going to be worth a read. How in the hell had this guy even gotten it? Had it been left behind at the serpent mound? Or had he come across it some other way?

  What if the old guy was being fed information by the enemy? What if he was being played against the side of good and was helping the dark forces to uncover the secrets of the portals?

  Those suspicions were quickly washed away when Achilles entered a small side room. It had been locked, but he’d had no issue getting inside. Lockpicking was considered quite the skill among his peer group when he had been a teenager. But, of course, he had only used his powers for good.

  In the locked room were crudely made sketches of a few of the horrific alien creatures that had found their way to Earth. Beside those, the old man had outlined the alien weaknesses and was steadily accumulating a chest of weapons in front of each photo that might help him should the enemies approach.

  Three tiny statues −exact duplicates of the statues they had discovered in the Portal Room in the center of the serpent mound – were on the far wall. The old man had painted the wall above them with sweeping red letters. “THEY WILL SAVE US.”

  It was as if the old guy had been trying to reassure himself. Achilles felt a pang of compassion for the man suddenly. How difficult it must be to live your entire life knowing for certain that there is more going on than meets the eye. And still having everyone around you doubt you and talk down to you, and belittle your alarming intelligence because of their own ignorance and fear. It was the same way he had alwa
ys felt when trying to interact with the humans. How frustrating.

  Yet the old man remained steadfast in his search, disregarding other people’s disdain for his information; still working hard to piece together the potential dangers they would face.

  Achilles froze as the sudden sound of footsteps outside alerted him to the presence of a newcomer. He couldn’t be caught in this place. If Apollo found out he’d gone on his own and jeopardized his plans, there would be a world of shit falling on his shoulders. Not only that but he would completely blow their cover. Everyone was already suspicious of the newcomers and they did nothing to try to hide it. He had to get out of here or there really would be some trouble.

  Achilles paused briefly and considered taking more of the old man’s belongings, but nothing stood out just as everything stood out. They would just have to come back some other time to find out what else they might learn from the eccentric human who knew too much.

  For now, though, he had to get out of dodge. And fast.

  3.

  Veronica exhaled, wiping the sweat from her brow. The trek up to Lester’s place could be taxing. But there weren’t a whole lot of people who were interested in the unusual goings on of Greenrock. The primary candidate for that kind of thing was the old eccentric man. In fact, Lester was at the top of her list to investigate as far as the anonymous tip was concerned.

  They had gotten several calls and tips from him in the past, but she thought that, by now, she would be able to discern his voice. She hadn’t suspected him to be on the other end of the line at all. Besides that, speaking with Lester had never quite given her the feeling of unease that the caller that afternoon had given her.

  Ronnie looked up and stopped in her tracks. A tall, handsome man had appeared suddenly in front of her, in Lester’s yard no less. He gazed at her apprehensively, then looked over his shoulder, back toward the house. He fixed his gaze quickly on her again, and she felt her chest tighten as she was hit by the intense energy of his stare. What the hell? Who the hell was this man and why was he here?