The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“They are all good people,” I said. “I have no problem with any of them. If they want to join, have them come over now,” I told my father-in-law.

“Are you sure?”

“They are vulnerable as lone wolves, and I won’t leave them out there to be picked off by Todd or anyone else,” I said. “Call them now.”

He got up from the table and walked into the living room to make the calls. “It’s so nice to see you being yourself again,” Donna said as we continued eating. “I was worried we’d lose you too.”

“You were going to lose me until I found a reason to get up in the morning again.”

“You’re still young enough to find love again,” she told me.

I just shook my head. “Love is a young man’s game,” I said. “I had the best woman in the world for twenty-five years. I’ve finally made my peace with her being gone, and I’m moving on again. I’ll watch over my Pack members as they find their mates and raise their families.”

“And what will you do?”

“I’ll lay there on the porch and keep an eye on the young ones as they play in the yard or the pool. I’ll soak up the sun as the younger ones grow and take over,” I said.

“You’ll be watching your own kids out there too,” Liv said. “You’re too good a man to stay single, now that you’ve stopped hiding in a bottle.”

I shook my head. “Even if I wanted to find one, it’s not going to happen.”This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Donna just laughed. “You forgot, didn’t you.” I looked at her funny. “You’re going to have to go to the Alpha Summit. You’re not mated. Guess who is going to the scratch-and-sniff?” My jaw dropped, and she started laughing at me. “Who knows, maybe there is a she-wolf out there who doesn’t mind a slightly-used Alpha with some tread left on his tires.”

“Oh, Luna.”

“I’d love to see you get another mate. To watch as you catch her scent, the way your wolf just KNOWS she is the one. You look around frantically, needing to find her and have her in your arms. To feel the tingles of a mate when she touches you, and your souls connecting as you come together. Yes, I hope and pray I get to see you happily mated again.”

The Summit was on the weekend after Valentine’s Day every year, giving me about six weeks to recover from my injuries. My shoulder would take two weeks, the ankle a month. By the time I arrived there, I’d have Todd’s pelt on the wall. I looked over at Liv and Brent; Liv was staring at him, he was nuzzling at her neck, and they were having a deep conversation over the bond with each other. Everyone else stopped talking and looked at them, knowing what was happening. Her wolf hadn’t told her, but her human side was starting to put all the clues together. They had a LOT to talk about.

“Leo, we’re going upstairs. I’m still exhausted from the change,” Liv said.

“That’s a good idea. In the morning, we’ll talk you through changing back.” I watched her come up and lick the side of Vicki’s face, then she went up the stairs alongside Brent.

I sent a mental message directly to Brent. “She wants you up there?”

“Her wolf and mine are ready to mate, but she hasn’t accepted me yet. Her wolf wants me there, so yeah, I’m going to stay with her tonight.”

We finished up the dinner, and Vicki clapped when she saw the dessert was chocolate cake and ice cream. I was cleaning up her hands and face when Larry told me the first people were arriving. “Bring them into the living room,” I said. “Can someone watch Vicki for a while?”

“I’ll take her down to the theater to watch a movie,” Donna said. She took her down the stairs just before the first person showed up.

I smiled broadly as Luis Hernandez, and his mate Maria came in the door, their four children among them. Luis had run the drywall and roofing crews for Volkov Construction. “Luis, Maria,” I said as I drove over towards them. “Welcome to my home.”

“Oh, Leo, what did he DO to you,” Maria said as she rushed over to check me out.

“He sent my truck on a ride to the bottom of the ravine,” I said. “A few weeks, and I’ll be back to normal.” I got a big hug from her, and a handshake from Luis. “I recognize Carlos and Juan, they’d be eight and six now, but who are these two?”

“Esmerelda is three, and Ernesta is eighteen months old. Girls, this is Alpha Leo.”

The girls came over and looked up at me; I reached out and touched their faces with my hands. “You make beautiful babies, Maria,” I said. They exposed their necks to me, and I accepted them into my Pack.

The door opened again, and this time Rufus Washington and his mate Kinesha walked in, carrying a baby. Rufus was an apprentice plumber when I left the company behind. “Rufus,” I said with a smile.

“You went to the scooter store already, Leo?” I laughed. “Damn, it’s good to see you again.”

“You too, Rufus. Kinesha, you look radiant! Who is this one?”

“This is our son Ron,” she said as she leaned over. I accepted both of them into the Pack before she handed their five-month-old to me.

“He’s almost perfect,” I said. Kinesha looked at me, a little wide-eyed. “Too much of Rufus’ face, but you know.”

She smacked me as she laughed. Paul and Lois Temple came in next; both were in their sixties and were retired schoolteachers and coaches from the Hastings district.

Brian Knight was next, with his new mate in tow. Brian was in the Marines when I was Alpha, and I’d never met his mate, Carla. He leaned down and embraced me, then introduced his mate, a nursing student at Winona State University. “What are you doing now?”

“I left the Marines after two tours in Afghanistan and got a job working security at the nuclear plant,” he said. “I needed insurance while Carla was going to school, and Todd didn’t have any openings.” I welcomed them all to the Pack, and we chatted while waiting for our fifth pair to arrive.

It wasn’t long before Nick and Jenny showed up. Nick was a veterinarian in Red Wing, and Jenny was his assistant. Having them switch Packs was a big deal because many Packs did not have a doctor. By convention, Pack Doctors were untouchable and could travel between Packs with safety. It was also our custom that any injured werewolf could be transported to another Pack’s land under a truce agreement. “You’ve been busy,” I teased as Jenny came closer. “How far along are you?”