The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“I can do my classes online until Thursday morning’s lab, so I plan to stay with her and fly back Wednesday night,” Kai added.

“And when will you be bringing your Mate to your family, and to meet her new Pack,” Steven asked.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Amy held his hand, and they looked at each other before he answered. “We honestly haven’t figured it out yet,” he said. “She rightly wants to finish her schooling. There is nothing like the Zoo School in Oregon, and we don’t know if she can do all or part of it online.”

“I need to talk with my Mom, and Kai has to talk with his parents,” Amy said. “We’ll figure it out in a week or two.”

Carolyn clapped her hands at this. “Excellent. I like her,” she told her mate. “She has enough backbone to stick up for what she wants, and not just roll over and do whatever her mate wants. She’ll be a good addition to our Pack.”

“Your time together will face many challenges in the next five years,” Steven agreed. “There will be multiple moves for his training plus deployments for six months at a time or more. You’ll rely on the relationships you build with our Pack members, as well as the family and friends you have in Minnesota.”

“Especially when you have children,” Carolyn added.

As they talked about pups, I started to understand just how much my best friend’s life had transformed since we arrived on Friday. Us going to school together full-time was not even possible. From their talks, Kai would relocate at least five times in the next two years. After that, they may be at the same base, but he would be gone the majority of the time. She wouldn’t be able to attend college except online and still be with her mate.

I shuddered at the thought of how close I’d come to disaster.

If Amy and I hadn’t walked past that trailer, if I hadn’t seen Timothy and Traci rutting without concern for their potential mates, things would have been very different. I would not have approached Traci to find out their plan; like everyone else, I would have avoided the slut who was stinking up the place with another man’s seed. Timothy would have found me in the line, and if Traci wasn’t there watching, he might even have marked me. This afternoon, I’d be having the same conversation about completing school, and I bet I’d get a different answer. Timothy’s father would insist on me going there immediately and having my things shipped out. Some Alphas didn’t even allow the new female to return home for years. I let out a sigh; my dreams would have vanished like a shark into the depths.

“Don’t you agree, Vicki?”

I looked up, panic on my face as I realized I had NO idea what the question was.

“That she should finish high school in Minnesota,” Leo bailed me out.

“You know, I love spending time with Amy, but it’s none of my business. She and Kai need to work out the boundaries of their new relationship as they learn about each other and grow. I’ll support whatever decision they make,” I said.

“Very diplomatically said,” Steven agreed.

“And she’s right,” Carolyn said. “They have enough on their plates as new mates without everyone telling them what to do. Let’s give them time and space to make the decision that is right for them.” With that, the servers came out, and the speeches began.

I wanted to talk to Amy in private, so I gave her a signal with my eyes. “Excuse me,” I said as I got up.

Leo was about to get up to escort me when Amy jumped up first. “I’ll walk her there,” she said. We quietly exited the room and went down the hall to the bathroom. As soon as I shut the door, she pulled me into a hug. “Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“For supporting us,” she replied as she let me go. “It seems like no matter what I want to do, I’m disappointing someone. It’s tough standing up to a new Alpha and Luna I barely know.”

“You’re my best friend, Amy, and nothing is going to change that. I meant what I said. You’re eighteen and mated; Luna, that sounds like a bad reality television show!” She laughed. “I’ll always be a phone call away.”

We finished our business and went to wash up. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to finally turn my phone on when we leave and see just how bad it is,” I said. “I don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed by the ‘Sharkbabe’ thing.”

“Does it matter,” she asked. “Cheryl Tiegs is eighty-five now, and she’s still making money off posters she made in the seventies. You’re smart, sexy, and confident; use that to kick open some doors and make some money. Shark research is a lot easier when you own the boat,” she teased.

I was grinning about that idea as we walked out the door. I should have been paying more attention.

A flash of movement from behind Amy caught my attention, just in time to see something hit the back of Amy’s head. She pitched forward and started falling towards the carpeted floor as I caught sight of her attacker. She fell hard, but I didn’t reach out to her. I moved into an attack position as he backed away from me, his face hidden by a mask.

“LEO KID…” and I felt the link break at the same time a bag went over my head from behind. My vision went away under the thick burlap. There was a cable or chain at the bottom that must have been silver, and a second attacker started dragging me towards the door with it. I got a sniff of chemicals, so I held my breath. Trying to get it off was foolish, so instead, I started sending elbows into the stomach of my captor while my feet blindly lashed out to kick his shins.

“Punch her,” the man behind me said as we exited the building.

His punch was like a hammer to my gut, knocking the wind out of me. I took a breath before I could stop myself, and I felt the blackness coming. “LEO,” I yelled, and then it was done.

I was floating below the ocean, looking up at the fuzzy bright light. I couldn’t hear anything, and I couldn’t move anything. My vision went in and out of focus. The smell was what I recognized first; stale, musty air.

I fought towards the light, my senses coming online as I woke up. I could feel the sheets and the mattress below me. I blinked my eyes, and they adjusted into focus. Moving my head took a little longer.

I was in a small room with a bare light hanging from the ceiling. The concrete block walls were bare and unpainted, with stains and bugs crawling over them. I could hear a fan running, and found the ductwork in the ceiling where fresh air came in. There was a metal door in the wall closer to my feet.

I tried to roll onto my side, and that is when I noticed the collar. Laying back, I moved a hand up to my neck. The silver collar had a loop in front, connected with a padlock to a chain piled to the left of my head. Following the chains back, I saw an eye-bolt set into the concrete.

I tried to send out over the link to Leo, knowing it wouldn’t work. My kidnappers knew what I was, and they would make sure my wolf stayed down. They had taken all my clothing and left me naked on the bed, probably to ensure I wasn’t wearing any tracking devices. I forced myself up on my elbows and backed up towards the wall until I was sitting up. My muscles were sore, telling me I’d been out for a while. My stomach flipped, and I focused on my breathing until the wave of nausea passed. It was only then that I checked my body for injuries and blood.

They hadn’t raped me, at least not yet. My throat was sore from when my kidnapper dragged me out with the chain. I swallowed and managed to whisper to myself, finding reassurance that there wasn’t permanent damage.

Relieved, I took a closer look around the room. A folding chair and a small metal table sat in the corner near the door. On the other side of the room, a compact refrigerator sat with a box of granola on it.

It took another ten minutes for the drugs to fade to the point I could move all my limbs without having to concentrate on it. I stood to my feet with a hand on the wall, and then I took a few steps to determine how far the chains would allow me to go.

It wasn’t far. I got about halfway to the door. If I reached out with one foot, I couldn’t quite reach the refrigerator or the table. I heard footsteps coming, and decided I better sit down before the door opened. I was sitting with my back to the wall again as the metal door unlocked and opened. Two men came into the room; one I recognized, and one I didn’t. “Beta Todd,” I said to the younger man as he stepped aside, watching the door.

The other man looked to be in his fifties, with grey hair at his temples, a receding hairline, and the start of a beer gut. He kept the scars and bearing of a man who had been a warrior all his life. “Good, you’re awake,” he said as he moved to the table and sat down. “I know these aren’t the usual accommodations for a celebrity like yourself, but we have a lot of privacy out here. There’s nothing but snakes and gators for miles in any direction.”

“I’m sure I’ll be much safer chained up on a dingy mattress with silver around my neck,” I answered defiantly. “Especially with a couple of upstanding Betas from the Killington Pack watching over me.” The older man fixed his son with a glare. “Did you enjoy the beach party, Todd? I’m sorry I had to run off and save someone instead of listening to your lame attempts to get laid, despite that inbred face of yours.”

That last bit of sass just MIGHT have been a bit too much. The older man was out of his seat in a flash. I felt pain explode over the left side of my face as his punch hit me, knocking me off the mattress. I rolled up to my feet, taking a defensive stance at the end of the chain. “Fucking BITCH! You WILL learn your place.”

“Take off the fucking silver, and I’ll show you just how well I know my PLACE, Beta. You and your loser of a boy over there will never be the wolf I am, and you both know it.” He came across the bed, lashing out with his left foot. I blocked it with my right arm and counter-punched into his thigh, only for his right hand to hit my ribs hard. The collar went tight, keeping me from moving away as he started to beat on me. Without my wolf speed and strength, I was nowhere near the fighter he was.