The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

Thirty minutes later, wearing a long-sleeve swim top and bikini bottoms, I was making my way inshore on a wave. I tried to turn too hard and wiped out, staying underwater long enough to rip the fabric on my shoulder and use my nails to scrape off the scabs on the front of my shoulder from my mating scar. I swam back in, holding my shoulder as blood leaked between my fingers. “NICHOLAS,” I yelled.

He ran into the surf and carried me back to our chairs. He held a towel over my shoulder as a lifeguard ran up. “Scraped it on a piece of coral,” I told them.

“It looks worse than it is,” Nicholas said.

Another lifeguard arrived with a medical kit; lifting the towel away, they cleaned the wound with alcohol and taped a gauze pad in place. I refused further treatment, and they filled out an incident report before letting me go.

A small crowd had gathered, and plenty of phones recorded my walk off the beach with the bloody pad on my shoulder. I smiled and reassured people I was fine, even making a crack about how “shark diving is safer for me than surfing.”

We took a shower and changed the dressing before going down to the conference room to join everyone. I introduced Nicholas to my Alphas old and new, and then I found out just how much they had done while we were sleeping.

Ian started the reports. “I have contacted my brother and all the other compounds, and we will meet three days from now at his station northeast of Melbourne. The count is fluid, but I stressed how important it was and how we needed as many wolves from each family to attend as possible.”

“What did you tell them?”

“That Nicholas found his mate in an American woman. They knew what a mate was from Internet fiction and movies, even if none of them have experienced it.” He gestured for the next person.

“I did some research, aided by an archivist I know in the European Council,” Adrienne began. “I wish I had better news, but the priest was right. English troops wiped out the Wicklow Pack in the 1798 rebellion. Philip Corcoran was on the list of the deceased.”

“There were no survivors?”

“Three women escaped and joined other Packs, but none were blood relatives, and none above Omega rank.” I squeezed Nicholas’ hand as Dorothy comforted Ian, while Adrienne continued to read. “We were able to locate Philip’s aunt in the records of the Glenveagh Pack in Northern Ireland. She didn’t have children, however. You are the last of the line. I’m sorry.”Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Do we have any volunteers,” Leo asked.

“There are several interested, but there is a lot to work through before we send them. Two don’t have valid passports, and there are other concerns since we are in school now.”

“That’s our situation as well,” Steven said. “Lots of interest but many obstacles. How long will they be needed?”

I thought about what they would be going through. “A few weeks minimum, but it would be great if a few could stay for three or more months. We don’t need someone with each of the ten groups all the time.”

“Perhaps we could do some of the classes over secure videoconference? That would solve all the problems except the time difference,” Adrienne suggested.

“That would work for things like history, Pack structure, Pack law, and other topics,” I said.

“Wolfy Uni,” Nicholas chimed in. “I’ll go.”

We talked for another twenty minutes before we had to wrap up so we could catch the bus. I looked at the screen where Brent and Liv were participating. “Mom, you should fly into Melbourne, no point in coming here while I’m working,” I said.

“I’m getting it set up this morning,” she said. “Have fun at work. And congratulations to the two of you! I can sense how happy you are, and that’s all I ever wanted for you.”

“Thanks, Mom, Dad.” Leo ended the call as those of us that had to leave stood up. “We’ll be back late,” I said. “Can you old people behave while we’re gone?”

“We can’t behave while you’re here,” Susan teased. “Now go.”

By the time we loaded onto the bus with our bags, Mercedes was waiting and had seen the photos. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine, but my shoulder got chewed up. Bikini tops are out of the question today.”

“We’ll work around it.”

I introduced her to Nicholas, my date here, and we loaded up. “I know your wolf is going to be possessive and not want people to see me touched or posing for others, but you need to keep him under control. Modeling is my job, and nobody is going to take me from you.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised.

We started up at the iconic Surfer’s Paradise beach, shooting in the sand in front of the hotels and the breaking waves coming in. This section of the Gold Coast got crowded, so we hit it in the middle of the day. A good-sized crowd watched as the four of us posed and played around. We changed into brand sundresses, then went to the SkyPoint Observation Deck to take pictures from the 77th floor with the entire coast laid out under us. That was pretty cool, and I’m sure that the shot of the four of us in thong bikinis and high heels, our heads against the windows looking down, would be famous. We also did the climb where you go to a tower on top wearing a climbing harness. It was much more fun, but not as photogenic.

We got back in the bus, eating a light snack as we drove south to Burley Beach for a few shots, then further south to Coolangatta Beach. I had a healthy glow from the sun by the time we got to the surf shop packed with fans. There was a short program showing the four of us in action, including shots from this tour. We had a question and answer session, which was interesting. The twins were getting more interest than before, which was good, as Amy and I would likely retire at the end of our contract. After that, we set up three lines for autographs with the twins sharing one. The surf shop sold a lot of the stuff we signed, and we took a ton of photos with our fans.

Dinner was a ‘cut lunch,’ what I call a sandwich, on the way north. The second event was a lot more fun, with an older crowd. I’d had to calm Nicholas down a few times, especially during the marriage proposals and the ones whose hands started to wander. Fortunately, Fiona was there to stop things like that.

The next day, diving in the Great Barrier Reef, was a bucket list item for me. There was a lot of sea life, and we shot some great video, but there weren’t the number or size of sharks I’d hoped to see. “Overfishing collapsed major species since 2000,” our guide said as Linda filmed. Shark meat is called “flake” generically for things like fish ‘n chips stands. “Shark finning is illegal, but when fins are worth $30 a pound, the meat at 30 cents a pound flooded the market. It took a few decades for the fishery to collapse, as the number of mature adults cratered.”