The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

When I was done, he looked up from his notes. “Liv is lucky you’re a stalker,” he said. “Not that there was any criminal activity on her part. Hell, they should give you a medal. Those two might be dead if you hadn’t been there to stop them.”

“Natalie?”

“Suffocated in her bedroom with a pillow,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, or the ‘what-ifs’ from running through my head. If only I’d invited them over to stay with me. If only Liv had called me back. If only I’d watched over Vicki closer. “And Olivia and Vicki?”

“They were taken to the hospital; Vicki was in shock and may have hearing damage from the shooting. Your father-in-law is with them.”

“They can’t go home, it’s a crime scene. Tell Larry to take them to my house. He has a key.”

“I’ll pass that on.” He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text message. “The police want to interview you; before then, I want you to write out your statement, in your own hand. We’ll read before we answer any questions. If I stop you, you shut up and let me talk. Do you understand?”

“I understand. Give me the paper and pen.” I took ten minutes to write it all out; the only thing I didn’t mention was the conversation with the female werewolf in the van. I went from opening the door to her reaching for a gun as I shot her three more times. He looked it over, then knocked on the door and asked for the detective.

“Are you charging my client,” he asked first.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.

“At this time, we have no evidence of a crime on his part,” he answered. “We would like to get his statement.” It took twenty minutes to go through it and answer questions; what I said must have matched up, because after the questions were over, he reached over and shook my hand. “Officially, we do not encourage private citizens to involve themselves in situations like this,” he said. “Off the record, you did a hell of a job keeping those two alive. You’re free to go.”

“My truck and my gun?”

“You’ll have to recover your car from the impound lot tomorrow morning, it was towed away as evidence. The gun is also evidence; I’ll call you when the ballistics checks are done and you can pick it up.”

“Wonderful.” I was processed out, getting my phone, keys, and wallet back. My lawyer walked me to the exit, where Larry was waiting for me. “Where are Liv and Vicki?”

“Your house. Donna is staying with them,” he said. “Come on, they’re worried about you.”

It was almost four in the morning when I got back home, and Liv was still up waiting for me. “LEO,” she said as she ran into my arms. “Thank you,” she said.

“How is Vicki?”

“She has a ruptured eardrum, it will heal in a few weeks,” she said. “She was pretty upset you were taken away.”

“Can I see her?” My wolf had to know.

“Come on.” She took my hand and led me to the guest bedroom. Opening the door, I could hear her heartbeat and her breathing as she slept. I moved over to the bed, sitting down next to her and running my hand over her hair.

She stirred and opened her eyes. “Unky Leo?”

“Hi, Shark Bait.” She sat up and hugged me tight as I held her in my arms. “You were very brave tonight.”

“My Unky saved us,” she said.

“I will always be there to protect you,” I said, and I meant it. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt my Pack members. “Now it’s late, and you need to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, all right?”

She nodded and then yawned. “Pwomise?”

“I promise.” I kissed her forehead and tucked the blanket up, then walked out.

I closed the door as Liv looked at me. “What now?”

“You try and sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning,” I said. “I’m sorry about your grandmother.”

“They killed her,” Liv said as she shuddered. “She wouldn’t hurt anyone, and now she’s gone.”

“I know,” I said as I walked her back to the kitchen. While Donna held her, I went back to my bedroom and found some flannel pajamas of Catherine’s that I hadn’t given away yet. “You should take a shower and go to bed,” I said. “Are you going to sleep with Vicki, or do you want your own room?”

“I’ll be with my daughter,” she said. As she walked out, she turned back to me. “That woman said there was a bounty on Vicki.”

“Yes. Until I can end the threat, you both need to stay here for your own safety. I’ll be bringing in more people to help,” I said.

“Kill the ones responsible like you did those two,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s your own brother.”

“I don’t either,” I said. “Tomorrow.”

Ch. 13

I didn’t sleep well or sleep long, and I wasn’t the only one.

I went down to the basement gym at seven, where my father was using the treadmill. “Hey, Dad. Get any sleep?”

“No, I was making calls and watching the house all night. Donna is on patrol outside, and reinforcements are on their way.”

“Who?” I sat down on the seat of the Concept II rowing machine and started a warmup set, the program set for a 30-minute workout. The rower always kicked my ass.

“Mike and Anita will be here within the hour, and they’re bringing ten men with them. Doug and Jenny were furious when they heard about the attack; killing humans and kidnapping children is not our way. When I told them we were staying to help, they agreed to send people up here to protect us for a few days.”

Doug Winters was a good Alpha, even-keeled and respected by our kind. He’d been in power for a decade now after the retirement of Larry and Donna. “That’s good, it will give me time to build my Pack up.”

“Have you decided how? You can’t take everyone from the Winona Pack.”

I laughed at the idea; Winona was an ally, and I wouldn’t antagonize them. My brother-in-law had stepped up for me enough by letting Mike and Anita go. “There are people here who might come to me if they know I am back. I should get the word out.”

“Can you trust those in your old Pack? And would they trust you?”

“I don’t know.” I started to move faster as the program moved into the next segment. “I gave up on them. I guess I’ll find out.”

“They won’t talk to you,” he told me. “The Alpha put the gag order on them all after your exile.”

“I know, I was there,” I said.

February 10th, 2016

“Goddammit, Leo, wake up,” I heard as I felt a hand smacking my face.

“Leave… me…” I was sore, hungover, and lying on my side in the bathroom.

“Jesus, what a mess.” Todd Miller, my Beta, grabbed me under my armpits and pulled me to my feet. I looked at myself in the mirror; I had a line on my face from the tile floor and dried puke on my shirt. I must have thrown up before passing out; looking around, I could see most of it made it to the toilet. Todd pulled the shirt over my head. “Drop the shorts and get in the shower. Lucy threatened to leave the Pack if she had to clean up after another one of your benders, so I’ll see if I can find someone to clean this up. I have a couple who’ve pissed me off lately.”

I opened the glass shower door and went in, turning the water on and letting it spray my face. I spent a while in there, first to wake up, then to get clean and shave. When I got out, one of the teen boys was cleaning up the floor near the toilet. “Sorry,” I said.

“Beats four days on double patrols, barely.” I kept getting dressed.

“Alpha, are you going to be all right?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? “I don’t think so, Randy. If I hadn’t promised Catherine I wouldn’t kill myself, I’d be gone already. You can’t imagine what it is like.”

He started putting the stuff away. “Why would you take a mate if it can destroy you like that,” he asked.

“It’s not the pain that ruins you,” I said. “It’s the knowledge that you’ll never be able to close that hole in your heart. Once you’ve had the fullness of the bond, everything else is nothing.”

“You could mate another,” he said. “You’re not THAT old, and you need an heir.”

“What I need, I can never have. Learn from me, Randy. Never promise to keep going after your mate is gone. Go to Luna together.” I walked out into the bedroom, where Todd was waiting for me. Dressing quickly, I let him pull me to my office. Dropping into the chair, he took the one on the other side. “What’s going on that made you interrupt my beauty sleep, Todd?”

“The National Alpha Summit is coming up soon, Alpha.”

“Why don’t you go for me? It’s not like I want to be there.”

“You don’t want to do anything lately,” he said with a sneer. Last year, I would have had my hand around his throat for his insolence. Now? I didn’t care. I didn’t care about any of it. “You go there like this, and you’ll be challenged before you can sit down.”

“So? At least then I could go to the Moon and not break my promise to Catherine. There’s nothing dishonorable about losing a challenge.” It was actually one of my better plans; if no one forced it, I’d go looking for a fight.

“Did you stop and consider what happens to the Welch Pack then, Alpha? Your pack is the one who will suffer after they drag your carcass out of the circle. We could have anyone come in.”

Todd didn’t take a shit without a plan; he wanted something. “So, Beta, what do you suggest?”

“I challenge you before the Summit and go there as the victor.”

There it was. “If you want the Pack, I’ll give it to you. I’ll call the Pack to my house, we can have this done by lunch.” He was right; I was not cutting it as Alpha, and they’d be better off with me gone.