The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“You didn’t order the murder of her grandmother?” Adrienne was taking notes, but at this, she stopped.

“Of course not. I wanted to get my daughter out of the way. I was going to place them with friends in a pack to the Southwest, out of her reach.”

She looked up from her notes again. “Why not just tell her she was in danger?”

“From what? First off, she wanted nothing to do with me. My name wasn’t on the birth certificate, I wasn’t paying child support, and I sure as hell wasn’t welcome in her life. Second, how could I tell her that her daughter was a werewolf? I figured I’d kidnap them, ship them to a Pack, and after they helped Vicki through her shift, she would make the change too.” I looked down at the table. “The people I hired fucked up and ruined any chance I might have of being with my daughter in the future.”

“They did. The murder attracted the attention of local and Federal law enforcement, who have been poking around this Pack and others. The Council wants this attention to go away before anything else is compromised.”

I told her what I had done to frame Alpha Todd. “He tried to kill my daughter, and it’s probably enough to convict him. If the FBI buys it, the investigation stops with him.”

She nodded. “Brenda hired Todd to kill your daughter. He fucked it up too, attracting even more attention from the human authorities.” I glared at Brenda but said nothing. “What did you want to accomplish by coming here?”

“Vicki Andersen is my daughter. She has the mantle, but she is my brother’s Alpha heir now. I want her to be safe, and if that means that Brenda dies, then I will kill her myself.”

She finished her notes, then looked at both of us. “Brenda, you want the mantle. That is not possible now that Vicki has a Pack and has been claimed by the Miesville Pack Alpha. Taking it now would start a war that the Council cannot allow.”

“I need that mantle, Luna! Do you have any idea how vulnerable I am now?”

“I do.” It took another twenty minutes to work out the details. Brenda would formally recognize Vicki as the heir of the Miesville Pack and foreswear any attempts on her life. In exchange, I would remain at Marengo, but not as Alpha, or as her Mate. I would be the Luna’s Champion, her protector, and defender. I would live in my own house on the territory, in a home I would buy. I would work outside the pack, and I could mate another if I chose. My position would allow me Pack status and visitation with my children under shared custody. If Brenda mated again, I would be released from my duties but could remain in the Pack.

When I stood, it was to shake Brenda’s hand and make a blood vow to follow the agreement we had made here this night. Adrienne cut out palms before we pressed them together, sealing it forever. “These men will remain here to observe. The Council has more work to do to manage this mess you two have made. I am leaving for Miesville now. You will not talk to anyone outside of your Pack until I return. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Luna,” we both said.

I couldn’t believe it. My babies were all safe, and I was here to see it.

I wanted to tell Leo she was safe, but I could not. I watched Mediator Adrienne walk away, wondering how she was able to do it all in one night. Now she was headed for Minnesota.

Leo wouldn’t know what hit him.

Ch. 30

The FBI stopped by our home just before nine on Thursday night. “Senior Agent Thompson,” I said when she was brought to my office. “What brings you here tonight?”

“I need to speak to Olivia, privately,” she said.

Liv had been kept up to date on what was going on through the link, so as soon as her name was mentioned, she was already at my office door. “Whatever you say to me, you can say to Leo,” she said as she came in and closed the door behind her. “He is family.”

“All right,” she said. “There has been a breakthrough in the abduction case that we have not released to the public yet, and we would appreciate your discretion.”

“Of course,” Liv said.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

“I’d never do something to hurt an ongoing investigation,” I added.

“We found a burner phone in Todd Miller’s office along with a substantial amount of cash. The messages were erased, but we recovered them. They detail an offer to kidnap you and your daughter in exchange for money.” I let a breath out. “The County is pursuing the hit and run charge, but the US Attorney in Minnesota will be indicting Todd Miller for two counts of attempted kidnapping and one count of aggravated murder.”

“It was him all along?”

“That is what the evidence shows. I know your mother will be sent off tomorrow, and I wanted you to know that the man responsible is in jail now. You can start living your life again.”

“Thank God, I’ve been wondering how we would manage without Vicki’s school or my work and school,” Liv said.

“Thank you for telling us,” I said. “A lot of our friends and family have been giving up their vacation to help protect us, and now we can let them go home.”

“You have my card if you have any questions. Once the indictment is issued, Mr. Miller will be arraigned in Federal court. Miss Andersen, I will let you know when that occurs. As for you, Mr. Volkov, the US Attorney’s office reviewed your actions. His office determined that you acted in defense of yourself and others, and no charges will be filed. In fact, the FBI plans to recognize your heroism.”

“He saved us both,” Liv said as she got up and walked over. She kissed my forehead and turned back to the agent. She leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “If you wait eight weeks until he can walk normally, he’d appreciate it. You know what whiners men can be when they are laid up. Riding a scooter isn’t manly unless it has knobby tires and a gun rack.”

Senior Agent Thompson barely held back her laughter. “Oh, I’m well aware of what sooks they can be,” she whispered back. “With the threat over, we will not have the law enforcement presence at the memorial that we had planned on, but I’m sure there will be many there to remember her life.”

“Thank you.” She opened the door and walked her to the front door; by the time Liv came back into the room with Larry and Mike, she was driving away. “Your brother’s ruse worked,” she said.

“So far. If Todd fights the charges, and they dig in deep enough, they might find an alibi for him,” Larry said.

“What we need is for Todd to accept a plea deal.”

Mike laughed. “Why would he plead guilty to kidnapping and murder? That’s forty to life in one of those tough pound-you-in-the-ass prisons, not ten years in Stillwater for felony hit and run.”

“It’s all about motivation,” I said. “Do you remember The Godfather Part 2?”

“Of course, it’s a classic,” Mike said.

“Michael tried to whack Frank Pantangele and missed, and the Feds had him. If he testified, Mike would never get out of prison.”

“Yeah, then Michael brought his brother over to remind him of the Code, and he took it back,” Larry said.

“True, and he ended up in prison. Tom Hagen goes to visit him, and has a conversation.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Mike said. “Tom talked about how when a conspiracy against the Emporer was discovered, all of them would be wiped out, including their families. However, the senior ones, if they killed themselves, the Emporer would make sure their families were taken care of.”

“And that’s how we do it. Todd’s a horrible businessman and an opportunistic ass, but he loves his family. He knows the Company is going bankrupt, and his home is mortgaged to the hilt. He has two children in grade school, and his wife will struggle to support them. She ran the office, but she’s got no post-secondary education and she will be stuck in low-wage jobs. Add to it that the Pack is falling apart and her family is blamed for it? She’ll be lucky to end up at the bottom of the ladder in any Pack that will take her.”

“It sucks, but that’s why you don’t go after Alphas outside the challenge circle,” Larry said. “When he tried to kill the four of you, he went too far. No Pack will take them, and the Council won’t help. He’s going to go nuts in prison.”

“He’s dumb and out of options, but he can still do me a service,” I said. “In the Godfather book, Michael was able to come back to the States after killing Solozzo and McClusky when another gangster facing murder charges confessed to the crime. In return, his family was taken care of.”

“You must really like that movie,” Liv said. “It’s SO old.”