The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

Chairman Wolfe spoke next. “If your daughter does not take over Miesville? Vicki is a mantled Alpha; she could take over Stillwater instead. She’s young, and a lot could happen in the next decade.”

He was right; with Leo mating again, if Adrienne got pregnant, his mantle would pass to his child. “It would be good to be around my brother again,” I said. “I agree in principle. What is next?”

“You return to Minnesota and meet Alpha Larry and Luna Donna at Stillwater Pack,” Sanders said. “You would take over as their Beta, learning the Pack and helping to put it on the right path. When they believe you are ready to take over, they will inform the Council.”

“And my children?”

“Their nanny will bring them to you when you are ready,” Wolfe said.

“I’d want to bring the nanny into the Stillwater Pack if she agrees. I need help with them, and my children will need the comfort of a familiar face.”

“I’m sure we can work something out for them,” Wolfe replied.

I thought about what a move to Stillwater would represent. “Is Leo Volkov in agreement with this plan? I don’t know how he feels about me since the kidnapping.”

“Leo has not been in contact with us; he is trying to track down four members of his Pack who left here under unfortunate circumstances,” Sanders said. I raised my eye; there was something more. “They believed Vicki was in danger when Leo’s death announcement came out, and they ran.”

“I’ll talk to him when I can. I don’t want things to be awkward between us.” I looked around the room. “Anything else? If not, I need to book a flight.”

Lawrence reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “You’ll forgive me for using your credit card? The flight leaves at five-thirty in the morning. Your ride will depart at two AM.”

I looked at the clock; it was almost ten. “I better eat and pack, then.” Lawrence and I stood. “Thank you, gentlemen. I am grateful for your wisdom in this situation.”

“Do not make us regret our faith in you, Alpha Volkov,” Chairman Sanders said. “Good luck.”

Brent Lawrence’s POV

Never in my life had I gone from elation to a gut punch so quickly.

Leo called and told me he’d found them. Then he called back to say they were on the way to the hospital. I ran back to my room, packing and calling the desk to check out and get a ride to the airport. The whole way there, I searched in vain for a flight that could get me there tonight. I’d already missed the last flights to Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, and the connections to Corpus Christi were on puddle-jumpers. It was a fourteen-hour drive there, so that wasn’t happening either. I tried my best at the airport, finally settling for a pair of flights that would get into Corpus at nine in the morning.

I tried calling Leo back, but it went straight to voice mail. I called Adrienne instead. “Luna? It’s Brent.”

“Oh, hello, Brent! Isn’t it great news?”

“What do you mean?”

“That Leo found them,” she said. “He called me a while ago. He was supposed to call me back, but he must be busy. He isn’t answering his phone.”

He didn’t call his mate back? He was going to pay for that. “Luna, there’s been an accident. Olivia fainted and hit her head on the pavement outside the aquarium. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.”

I heard the phone drop, then more noise as she picked it up again. “Brent?”

“I’m here. Leo told me to get there as soon as possible, but I can’t get there until nine in the morning. They were at the hospital when I last talked to him.”

There was a pause. “It’s a six-hour drive from Dallas. I’ll be down there as soon as I can,” she said. “Olivia is in good hands, Brent. They’ll keep your family safe.”

“I know that,” I said. “Have a safe drive.” I ended the call, walking towards the departure gate for my 0515 flight. I may as well get some sleep.

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

Alpha Leo Volkov’s POV

I took a shower and went to bed as soon as Vicki was down for the night. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t settle. My mind was going a mile a minute, trying to catch up on what happened over the past few days. My wolf was anxious about Olivia’s injuries and had spent a lot of time keeping Vicki calm. It didn’t help that we were in Corpus Christi, Brent was in Las Vegas, and Adrienne was in Dallas.

Dallas. OH CRAP! I sat upright, suddenly realizing that I’d never called my mate back. The last time we talked, I was waiting for the group to come back to their car. I looked over at the clock; it was just past eleven. Hopefully, she got a hotel room and slept through everything. I pulled out my cellphone and gave her a call. “Hello?”

“Hi, honey. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Of course not. I didn’t want to sleep until I’d talked to you again.”

Hmmm, maybe I’d escape with my fur intact. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier, we’ve had a little excitement here, and I forgot to call you back.”

“I understand you’ve been busy, after all, a PACK MEMBER IS IN THE HOSPITAL AFTER PASSING OUT AND HITTING HER HEAD, AND MY MATE ‘FORGOT’ TO CALL ME BACK.”

Oh. Crap. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“Thank Luna that Brent called me, or I’d be sitting in the parking lot waiting to find out what to do next,” she said. “He called me on the way to the airport.”

“I can get you a flight,” I said.

“I already looked, nothing is rolling tonight. I’m south of Dallas already; I’ll be there early in the morning. I’ll call you when I’m close.”

“All right.”

“What’s the update on Olivia?”

“Observation overnight for the concussion and some stitches. Liv will be fine. Vicki is handling it well, and Anita has been a big help.”

“Good. I have to go. You wouldn’t think there would be traffic at this time of night, but construction zones suck.”This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

“I love you, Adrienne. Drive safe.” Hanging up, I texted an update to Susan at the Pack, telling her I would talk to her tomorrow when we had a plan. I set my alarm for six-thirty since visiting hours started at eight. Closing my eyes, I went to sleep.

“Unky Leo, wake up,” a voice said as someone tapped my shoulder. I opened my eyes, shaking my head to wake up. Vicki was standing by my bed in her Shark Tail pajamas, holding a phone. “Luna wants in.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, she’s coming up now.” I took the phone from her and set it back on the table.

“Let’s welcome her,” I said. I held her hand as we walked to the door and peeked into the hallway. We only waited a minute before the elevator door opened, and she stepped into the hall.

“Luna!” She ran towards her while I made sure the door didn’t close.

Adrienne picked her up and walked her back. “We have to be quiet; it’s four in the morning,” she said.

“Hi, my love,” I said as I kissed her and pulled her into my side. “We missed you.”

“I’m exhausted,” she said. “I need a shower, I’ve been driving all night, and my back hurts.”

“Come on.” I put Vicki back to bed as she showered, then I gave her a massage when she came to bed. She fell asleep halfway through, so I turned the light off and laid next to her. She turned into my side, and we were soon asleep.

My alarm went off, and I quieted it and used the bathroom before coming back in and getting Vicki ready to see her Mom. I left a note for Adrienne, kissing her before we headed down to breakfast. After watching Sharkbait’s breakfast disappearance act, Mike dropped us at the hospital before going to the airport to pick up Brent.

Olivia looked better, and Vicki climbed up in bed with her so her Mom could hold her tight. “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts, but they’ll be releasing me soon,” she said. “There’s one problem.” I lifted a brow. “The doctor doesn’t want me flying, and driving long distances will not help me.”

“I have a solution for that,” I said. “Brent will be here soon, and Adrienne arrived early this morning. Would you let us take Vicki home, and you and Brent can have a honeymoon on the beach?”

“Could we? Does he even want that?”

“I was going to send you to Vegas before you got hurt. I didn’t have a chance to ask,” I said. “Mike and Anita can fly home; they have work and other stuff to do. Adrienne and I can have our own adventure with Vicki while you’re having fun. I think there are a half-dozen aquariums between here and home.”

“You have no idea what you’re in for,” Liv said with amusement. “If Brent agrees, then yes.”

“There are lots of fun things to do on the Islands before the spring break crowd arrives,” I said.

“Unky Leo, what are you talking to Mom about?” Vicki was sitting up on the bed, her hands on her hips.

“You, of course,” I teased.

The doctor came in, giving her the discharge instructions. Since Mike was at the airport and Adrienne was still sleeping, I had to call an Uber to take us back to the hotel. Anita took Liv to the deck overlooking the beach to eat breakfast while I went back to the room so Vicki and I could get in our swimsuits. “Liv is out of the hospital, and we’ll be down at the beach,” I told a sleepy mate. “Sleep as long as you need.” She mumbled something and went to sleep again. I updated the note, just in case.

Vicki was swimming and looking for sharks when Brent arrived. He came straight to his mate, picking her up and setting her on his lap while he made sure she was all right. Vicki saw Brent and went running up the sand to hug him. While they caught up, Liv linked me again. “We’ve talked, and if Vicki is all right with going on an adventure with you, we’ll stay here for a week or so.”

“Why don’t you ask her?”