The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“And then she had chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.”

I could sense his amusement over the link. “We need to take Vicki out running again to work off those calories.”

“School starts in the morning, she’ll burn it off with the others.” I was serious about her not returning to public school, and this weekend had solved the problem completely. The wolves of the former Welch Pack homeschooled through fifth grade, and Vicki would slide in with them. Paul and Lois Temple would resume the Pack school, which would move to my basement. Their classroom lessons would be alternated with wolf training that Anita and some of the other ladies would supervise in the woods on my property.

“We’re heading home now. Take care of your mate.”

“Of course, Alpha.” By the time we turned onto Highway 61, Vicki was asleep, and I was drowsy. I updated everyone that Brent and Liv would be back late. “Adrienne, what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “What are you doing?”

“I need to go to the construction office and start cleaning up the mess,” I said. “I need to let all my subcontractors, suppliers and customers know that I’m back in charge before they move on to someone else.”

“You should stay with us,” Anita said. “We’re setting up the Pack school, and we have a lot of work to do with combining Pack funds and duties. I could really use help from you, Larry and Donna to untangle the mess.”

“I’ve not agreed to be your Luna,” Adrienne protested.

“She needs your help, not your signature,” I replied.

“Fine.” Great, she said FINE, which every male knew meant ANYTHING except that she was fine. Oh well. I would use any means, fair or unfair, to win her over. Groveling? Check. Wining and Dining? Double-check. Flowers? Roses set for morning delivery. Cute kiddos? Sharkbait and a half-dozen more in the basement. She’d be back in my bed tonight, this time without her wolf forcing her there.

Vicki would be there too, I was sure. With her mother and Brent out late, she’d want her Alphas. That bond was forming quickly, as the wolves of my mate and heir got closer. I sought to make it impossible for her to leave when her Council job was done. “Adrienne, do you like your Council job?”

“I’m good at It, and the Council needs my help,” she quickly replied.

“I understand that, and I know your reputation. That wasn’t my question, though.”

That kept her quiet, and she watched the town turn into the Cannon Valley as she thought. “I needed the job as much as it needed me,” she finally said. “I had too many memories in my Pack, and my son and his mate needed to make their own way as Alphas. Staying busy helped me to recover from the loss. It gave me a reason to get up in the morning.”

“I wish I had your strength,” I said. “I couldn’t even work, and then when I was alone, I did nothing. I wasted away for years, doing just enough to exist. It’s going to be a shock to my system when I show up at work in the morning.”

“That’s the secret, you wake up and work and hope it gets better,” she said.

“You make it better,” I said. We made it home and went inside; Anita took Vicki upstairs, waking her to take a shower and get dressed in her Finding Nemo pajamas. Adrienne went to her room to get ready for bed. Mike helped me get into my shower, where I could use the bench built into the limestone surround. He helped me into my bed, letting me scoot into the middle. Vicki backed up to me in her sleep, instinctively looking for the warmth and protection of her Alpha.

I set my phone alarm for seven and placed it on the table, turning out the light. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Adrienne walked in. I opened the covers for her and she slid in, her soft flannel pajamas and skin against mine. “I wasn’t going to be able to sleep apart from you, not anymore,” she said quietly.

“I don’t ever want to sleep apart from you. I love you, Adrienne.” I didn’t know what to expect from that; I knew she was still upset, but I was doing all I could. She rolled towards me, reaching for my lips with her own. They touched, setting off tingles, then more as her hand cupped my cheek. She deepened the kiss, her hand moving around behind my head to pull me closer. I didn’t want it to end, but it did.

“Goodnight, Leo.” She settled into my side, and I stroked her back lightly as she dropped off to sleep.

My wolf and I were happy, our mate and our heir next to us and sleeping comfortably. It was too perfect to last, and Monday was coming.

Susan Miller’s POV

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Todd’s lawyer had met with him following his arrest. The US Attorney’s office charged him with two counts of kidnapping, second-degree murder, and four counts of attempted murder from the hit-and-run. Since the arrest had come late in the week, his arraignment would not be until Monday morning, at the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis. He was facing life in prison.

Saturday

I met with my mate’s lawyer the morning; he was a werewolf in the Afton Pack, so we could talk about the unique problems of werewolf incarceration. He’d gotten Todd to sign over power of attorney to me so I could operate the business and banking while he was in prison. That was what gave me the authority to sell Alpha Leo all but five percent of our stake in Volkov Construction.

The picture Jonathan Turner, Esquire, painted about his chances of beating the charges wasn’t encouraging. Todd had admitted the hit and run to him, but vehemently denied anything to do with the kidnapping. “Even with attorney-client privilege, he says he was set up,” Jonathan said. “He has no idea where the phone and the money came from. It’s going to be difficult for me to prove he was framed since the desk is his, and his office is always locked. Then he went after the targets again with a dump truck.”

“Will he be granted bail?”

“It’s unlikely given the seriousness of the charges. If the judge grants it, it will be a high amount, five to ten million dollars. You’ll have to come up with ten percent in cash to cover the bail bond.”

“It wouldn’t matter if it was five hundred thousand. I don’t have any money, we’re almost bankrupt,” I told the lawyer. “The house is mortgaged to the hilt, and our credit cards just got maxed out with your retainer.”

He nodded. “It’s probably best that he remain there for now. Alpha Leo wants his pelt above his fireplace, and the Council can’t be happy with him either. Monday morning, the charges are formally entered. He’ll give the judge his not guilty plea, and a court date will be set for a few months down the road.”

“The construction company will go bankrupt before the trial, and I’ll have nothing,” I said sadly.

“I’m sorry, Susan. The retainer covers the cost of my services, but a trial is going to be much more expensive. He really should consider a plea bargain when it is time, or he’ll never get out.”

“What does jail do to a werewolf?” I’d heard stories, but I’d never had to deal with something like this.

“It slowly kills them. With the cameras and the cramped quarters, you can’t shift. You’re also separated from your Alpha and your Pack. If we don’t intervene, his wolf will slowly die over the next few years. We can’t allow that to happen, as there is a chance it goes feral and shifts among them. At some point, they have to be taken out if they don’t kill themselves first.”

I nodded. “That is why we don’t imprison our guilty. We kill them quickly and quietly.”

“In part. The werewolf society can’t incarcerate a wolf long-term and expect to get a functioning member back. If Todd hadn’t been arrested, he’d be facing Council trial and execution by tomorrow. He attacked a fellow Alpha without proper notice and challenge, and he caused the forced change of a human. Both of those acts carry the death penalty with the Council.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We worry about the arraignment first.”

Sunday afternoon

I felt a lot better after my meetings with the Council and Alpha Leo. The deal he offered was beyond generous for my children and me, but the price would be high for Todd. He would have to plead to something he did not do. For once in his life, he would have to sacrifice for the greater good.

I didn’t know if he would do it. Todd was my mate, but that didn’t blind me to the kind of person he was. He manipulated and schemed to get to where he was, and he was good at it. I parked at Fort Snelling and got on the light rail into Minneapolis, getting out at the Hennepin County Government Center. Moving into the retail buildings nearby, I found a spot on the skyway where I could sit and look at my phone. No one passing by would ever know that I was mentally communicating with my mate and husband, in a jail a few blocks away. “Todd? Can you hear me?”

The answer was immediate. “Susan, FINALLY. Where are you?”

“In the skyway a few blocks away. How are you?”

“Frustrated and pissed off. My lawyer can’t get arraignment until tomorrow, so I’ve been stuck with these lowlifes all weekend. You have to get me out of here.”

“I’m not sure I can, Todd. I talked to your lawyer, and he thinks you will be denied bail.”Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

“That’s bullshit. Get the money ready.”

He was delusional. “WHAT money? Tell me where the hell I’m going to come up with a half-million in cash, maybe more? The company is going bankrupt, and you’ve already borrowed against all the equity in our home. I don’t know how the kids and I are going to live while you are in prison, Todd! The Pack is gone, everyone is leaving, and I’m stuck with the bills. We will be living out of our car before your trial even starts!”

He didn’t say anything for a while. “Ungrateful bastards. They should be raising money to get me out.”

“They’re scared and pissed off at what you did. The Council is here now, and they aren’t happy that our conflicts are spilling out into the human world. They want it fixed quickly and quietly. They’ve already spoken to Alpha Leo.”