The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“Hungry like a Great White Shark,” I said with a giggle. There was a breakfast place on the main floor, and we got a booth near the window. With the booster seat, I could see out to the water.

“Eat a big breakfast. We’ll have a light lunch at the aquarium, then barbecue for dinner,” Mom said.

“Barbecue?” Anita slid in across from me with Mike next to her.

“Yeah, there’s a place a few blocks from here, they even deliver,” Mom said.

We ordered, and as the waitress walked away, I laughed. “She doesn’t believe that’s all for me,” I said.

“I’d never take bacon from those chompers of yours,” Anita said. “I might lose a hand!”

By the time I was done with the tall stack of blueberry pancakes and bacon, I was full. “I can’t move,” I said.

Mike reached across and poked my belly, which was round and hard like a soccer ball. “I guess we go back upstairs instead of the aquarium,” he teased.

I let out a burp, then said, “excuse me,” while Mom glared at my manners. “Let’s go,” I said. Mom had to take me to the bathroom, but we were on our way and at the aquarium entrance with tickets when it opened up at ten. “YAY,” I screamed when the door opened. Mom had the map and led us to the entrance to the Caribbean Sea exhibit.

“It’s not a tube,” Mom said with a little disappointment. “But this window is HUGE!”

“Sixty-eight feet long, over twenty meters,” Mike said as he read the guide. “This is nice.” Since we were the first in, Vicki took a spot in the middle and watched. The exhibit had several sandbar sharks, shallow-water predators between five and eight feet long. Barracudas, rays, and other fish swam by as I watched. Mom let me watch until I’d seen enough, then we went to the Islands of Steel exhibit. This one looked like an oil rig and had a pair of Sand Tiger sharks. Once I saw enough there, we went through the other displays until I had seen them all.

Mom got me a sandwich as we took a break. “What do you think,” she asked.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Not as good as back home,” she said. “And Atlanta is MUCH better.”

“Yeah, I think this whole aquarium could fit in that one exhibit in Atlanta,” Mom said.

“It’s fun. I like tiger sharks.”

“Do you want to go around again, or do something else?”

“One more time, just the ones with SHARKS,” I said.

“Maybe we could tour the USS Lexington, that’s easy walking distance from here,” Mike said. “Would you like to see some planes and go on the big ship?”

“OK,” I said. It wasn’t sharks, but it sounded fun. We went back through, then we left into the bright sun and walked onto the pier. “THIS IS HUGE,” I said as we got up next to the carrier.

“As long as nine football fields and up to three thousand men lived on it during World War Two,” Mike said. Everything was so BIG, so grey, and so cool. We went everywhere on the big ship. It had airplanes, a cool flight simulator, and other stuff on the big deck. Inside, we saw where people slept and ate, and even where they steered the ship from. My favorite was the theater, where I put on these funny glasses, and everything looked real. Mom said it was called “three-dee.”

My stomach growled as we walked off the ship and down the gangplank to the pier. “Thank you,” I told Mike as we walked back. He had carried me part of the time and helped me get through the hatches.

“I had fun too,” he said.

We walked back to the aquarium where the car was. Everything was closing down, so a lot of people were coming out. I caught a glimpse of a man waiting on a bench by the entrance. “UNKY LEO,” I yelled as I pulled Mom forward.

“Don’t run,” Mom said. She looked where I was going, and didn’t see anyone. Mom got down to my level as Mike and Anita came around us. “Baby… Unky Leo isn’t here.”

“I SAW him, Mommy! By the door!”

“He can’t be here, love. We got news from Atlanta. Alpha Leo had a heart attack. There was nothing they could do. I’m so sorry, baby, but Leo is dead.”

Tears were flowing down Mom’s face as I shook my head, refusing to believe her. “NO! He’s here! I saw him!”

She pulled me into her arms. “I’m so sorry, Vicki.”

“Hello, Sharkbait.” Everyone turned to the man who had just walked up.

Mike took a step back.

Anita covered her mouth.

Mom fainted.

And I ran into Unky Leo’s open arms.

*************

Alpha Leo Volkov’s POV

I picked up on old scents as soon as I arrived at the aquarium, and I thanked Luna they were there.

Paying the admission, I went through the whole place. I found places their scent was stronger, all spots where you had excellent views of the sharks. None were fresh, so I kept going. I got to the exit and still no sign of them. Reversing course, I walked through again. The scents were the same, just fainter.

Walking out to the parking lot, I scented their car and went over to it. I didn’t see their bags, which meant they had a hotel room. The scents outside were old and faint; I would have to wait. I walked back towards the entrance, finding a bench from which I could see the car while all those exiting the aquarium would have to pass by me. I pulled out my phone and made a call. “Adrienne, they are here,” I told her.

“Oh, thank LUNA! Let me talk to them.”

“I don’t know where they are, but they were at the aquarium earlier, and their car is here. I’ll call you when I have them.”

“What do you want me to do? Should I rent a car and come down there? Fly home?”

I didn’t want to fly, not until we were all together. “Don’t do anything yet,” I said. “I’m going to call Brent and Ron next.” I got ahold of Ron first, telling him to head back home. I called Brent last because I didn’t expect him to hang up for a while. “Brent, it’s Leo. They are here in Corpus Christi. I found their car outside the Texas State Aquarium, but they aren’t inside. They must have walked off somewhere.”

He let out a relieved breath. “Any sign of foul play?”

“Nothing. I could tell the group spent time at the places I expected and walked through the rest.”

“Sharks,” Brent said. “Always the sharks.”

“Exactly. The place isn’t as nice as SeaLife, so I can see that she might have gotten bored. Maybe they went shopping or out to eat.” It was a tourist area, they could be doing anything. “I don’t want to miss them, so I’m waiting between the aquarium and the car.”

“I’m kind of disappointed they aren’t coming to Vegas,” he said. “I guess I’ll look for a flight.”

“No,” I said. “You two never had a time just for yourselves, not with all the things that have been going on. Let me talk to Liv first. Adrienne and I can take Vicki on an adventure, and I’ll send your mate to you.”

He didn’t say anything at first, making me think he didn’t like the idea. “I’m sure Vicki would LOVE to show her Unky Leo some aquariums between Texas and Minnesota,” he said. “I bet you could stop at a half dozen.”

I laughed; there was San Antonio, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago… probably more if I did a real search. “I’ll see what they think when they get here.” The wind was blowing off the ocean, and I thought I recognized a scent. “I have to go, Brent. I’ll call you when I have them.”

“Take care of my family, Alpha,” he said.

“You got it.” I hung up and looked around; the scent was gone with the shift of the wind. I looked at the time; the sun was going down, and the aquarium would be closing soon. The flow of people went faster as closing time came, making it more difficult to watch the lot.

“UNKY LEO,” I heard a child’s voice yell from far away, towards the back of the lot.

It was Sharkbait.

I got up, joining the crowd heading for the lot as I looked for my family. Their scents hit me as I got closer. I spotted them a row away from their car; Olivia was hugging Vicki, telling her how sorry she was, as Mike and Anita stood behind her. “NO! He’s here! I saw him!” Vicki was insistent.

“I’m so sorry, Vicki,” Liv said as I walked up.

She must have told her I was dead. “Hello, Sharkbait.” It was at this point that they all looked at me. Vicki ran towards me, and I picked her up as she jumped into my arms.

Olivia took one look at me and fainted.

Before anyone could react, she fell to the side and smacked her head hard on the pavement. “LIV,” I yelled as I set Vicki back down. Anita was already by her side, rolling her carefully on her back. She was unconscious, and there was a gash on her forehead that was bleeding badly. “Here,” I said as I pulled out a clean handkerchief.

“Apply pressure to the wound,” she said. “Mike, run inside. Have them call 911, and see if they have any medics available.” He took off running as a crowd formed around us. “What the HELL, Leo? You’re supposed to be dead!”

“The Council faked my death to get proof Luna Brenda was behind the attacks. You guys took off before we could tell you the truth,” I sent back. “The bleeding isn’t slowing,” I said.

“Keep the pressure on; head wounds tend to bleed. Vicki, I want you to sit here and hold Mommy’s hand.” She was crying, and this would give her something to do as a crowd started to gather around.

“What happened,” a medic said as he set his bag down next to her head.

“She passed out and hit her head on the pavement,” I said.