The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“I think we need to keep all this secret until we are ready,” I said. “No one has even told the people here about wolves yet. The last thing I want is a bunch of Council fools running down here with Alpha-bloods hoping to form new Packs. They deserve a chance to determine their future.”

Luna Carolyn was first to react to that. “With Vicki mated to one of them, she is the obvious choice to be their Alpha.”

“If they even want her as Alpha,” Adrienne said. “What if their old Pack still exists? Or what if they don’t want to join Packs? It’s a mess, and that isn’t even considering the whole mate situation.”

Now they were getting it. “Vicki is still eighteen. Her life was complicated before, and this will just add to it. She needs to figure out what she wants to do with her mate and her life, and we need to be there to help her with it. If she decides to be the Australian Alpha, then we help her get her Pack up and running.”

“We need to talk to Ian’s family,” Steven said. “Is it possible to gather them all together in the next few days?”NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

“We have two more days on the Gold Coast, then a travel day to Melbourne before events and a dive trip there,” Amy said.

“My Uncle has a station a hundred and fifty clicks from Melbourne; it’s one of the places remote enough for us to shift,” Ian said. “I’ll call him now and set up a short-notice family gathering.”

Steven nodded. “Try and get all the adult wolves there that you can. Leo, what help do you need?”

“Trainers and teachers,” I replied. “The population has been so isolated that they don’t know the full capabilities of their wolves, and they know nothing of Pack life. Ideally, we’d have enough that each of the ten family units could have someone travel back home with them after the gathering ends. That way, we get everyone up to speed quickly, before long-term decisions are needed.”

Steven considered this for a moment. “The teachers we use with the children would be best suited. I’ll ask my Pack who would be available for an assignment of a couple weeks or more and get you a list.”

“I’ll do the same,” Adrienne said. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m already here, so I’m going to stay for a while,” I said. “Vicki can’t walk away from her commitments, and she only has a few more stops in Australia. Her tour doesn’t end until almost Christmas.”

“Take Vicki back into your Pack, the girls too,” Steven said. “That keeps the link between them and places Vicki under your authority. If the Aussies want to join a Pack, it’s better to do it with you than Vicki right now. You can stick around and visit each of the groups while she finishes her commitments.”

“It gives her a chance to settle with her mate,” Carolyn agreed. “If Vicki decides she wants to be Alpha, you can turn them over to her and return home.”

It was quiet for a bit as everyone thought it over. “What about Hammer,” Amy asked. “They were going to head back to Miesville so he could make the change.”

“Do it there,” Adrienne said. “You are there as Alpha, and it’s only fair for them to see what all is involved before considering if they want to change their wives.”

“I’ll fly down too,” Olivia said. “Since I’ve been through the Change, I can help. I want to be there for Vicki and meet her mate.”

I looked at my watch. “All right, it’s late down here, and there’s a lot to do. Let’s have another call at eight PM Central, six Pacific. That’s ten in the morning here, so it gives us a chance to sleep and eat first.”

“That sounds good, Alpha Leo. I have to say that life is far more interesting with Vicki around. We’ve started calling her The Love Wolfy.”

I laughed. “And you’ve only had Sharkbait in your Pack for four months.”

I said goodbye and sent everyone back to their rooms.

********

Vicki Lawrence’s POV

*beep* *beep* *beep*

I reached over and silenced the alarm on my phone, searching for it in the unfamiliar room. Looking at it through eyes heavy from sleep, I could see it was six-thirty. I let the phone fall back and tried to sit up, but there was an arm around my waist, pulling me back to a muscled body. “We have to get going,” I said.

“My bag is in Amy’s room,” he responded. “So is yours.”

I sent out to Amy, who was already awake and dressed. She brought our bags stuff down the hall while I used the bathroom and came out in a robe. Nicholas went into the bathroom while I answered her knock. When I opened the door, she made a face at the smell. “I don’t have to ask how YOUR night went,” she said as I let her in.

“A lot like your first night with Kai, I bet,” I teased back.

Amy set the bags on the dresser and then pulled the robe aside to look at my mark. “He did a number on you,” she said as she looked at the scabs. “What are you going to do at the photoshoot?”

“Hide it,” I said. “I’ll say I scraped it on a rock while swimming, so I have to wear a wetsuit or a swim top.”

“Kind of hard to pull off unless you go swimming this morning.” We kicked around a few ideas, settling on the best one. “It will be fine; the twins and I will handle the bikini stuff.” She gave me a quick hug. “I’m so happy for you, Vicki. Nicholas seems like a good guy.”

“He is, and he took good care of me last night,” I said with a sigh.

“I know that look. You don’t have time, so get dressed and get downstairs. We have a lot to do before the bus leaves.”

Amy walked back out, and I walked over to the window to let some fresh air into the room. The resort looked beautiful in the morning sun. I opened my bag to find clothes to wear. Setting them out, I heard the shower going, so I joined him. “How are you feeling this morning,” he asked as I moved under the spray.

“A little sore, but it was worth it,” I said. We had fun getting each other clean, but Amy was right. We had to hustle out and dress to make it downstairs on time. I chose a dress with a closed neck to cover the wound as we held hands all the way down to the hotel restaurant. A few people recognized me, and I had to stop for photos or a quick autograph, so we were a few minutes late arriving.

Everyone was sitting at a big table except for the newlyweds and us. Mercedes had left early for the shooting site, so everyone there was werewolf or mermaid, and they all knew what happened last night. “Congratulations,” Leo said as he embraced me, then shook Nicholas’ hand. “Take care of her.”

“With my life,” he said, and their eyes met. This time, Nicholas’ wolf didn’t back down right away; he was an Alpha Mantle wolf now. We accepted congratulations, then went to the buffet line to strap on the feed bag. “Wow,” my mate said as I left with the plate piled high. “That’s some impressive plate management skills.”

“I’m active, and I like to eat,” I said. “These photoshoots are brutal; they don’t feed us anything, just water to keep us hydrated. I’ve learned to eat a lot before and after, and this buffet looked good.” Of course, after a bunch of werewolves went through it like Patton through Sicily, the staff had to refill everything.

We had just sat down when Susan and Hammer came through the door. We all stood and applauded the couple on their first full day as a married couple. No one had told them I’d found my mate, so Susan looked confused when I hugged her. She looked over at Nicholas, who pulled his shirt aside to show off his claiming bite. “You found your MATE?”

“And mated him. It will make it easy for me to remember your anniversary.” She laughed at this, then congratulated Nicholas before greeting the others.

When they sat down, Leo got our attention. “I’ve set up a conference room for ten, and we have a lot to discuss. Until then, don’t say anything out loud unless you’re in your room.”

“I’ll start making calls right away,” Ian said.

“What is your schedule today, girls?”

I answered first. “Bus leaves the lobby at eleven. We’re visiting a few locations with the photographers. At four is an appearance and signing at a surf shop on the south end, then at seven on Surfer’s Paradis Beach. We should finish around ten.”

Amy picked it up. “We leave at five tomorrow for the airport and a quick hop up to Gladstone. From there, we take a helicopter out to Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef and join a team from the University of Queensland for some research dives. We’ll stay overnight in Brisbane for an appearance the next day, then a travel day to Melbourne.”

Nicholas looked at me. “Am I going with you?”

I panicked, not knowing if there would be room. “Can he,” I asked, looking at Linda. She was in charge of the documentary shoots.

“Can you operate a camera?” He nodded. “Take Carly’s spot on the trip; she can drive up to Brisbane and have a day off. Using a camera topside is simple, so Fiona and I will do the dives with the team.” It made sense; a mate would be more protective than any bodyguard. “Slight change to the travel plans. I’ve changed tickets for me, Vicki, Leo, and Nicholas to leave after the Brisbane appearance, arriving late to Melbourne. There’s going to be a Corcoran family reunion on your Uncle’s land, Nicholas.”

“I’m calling everyone this morning to set it up,” Ian said.

“We need to go, Nicholas is going to teach me how to boogie board,” I said.

“I’ll get some tape of that,” Linda said. “It will go well with the surfing lessons from Hawaii.”