The Alpha

Chapter 6

“Have you told her about your being an Alpha of a werewolf pack yet? Lovers should know these kinds of things.” Daedalus shifted his black Jaguar XJ into second gear while Eric attached his seatbelt. The vehicle fit the vampire’s personality, big, sleek, and fast. Every time Eric rode in it, he realized how little he owned.

No car and no house; his job paid well, but he didn’t have the time to make a home. If Spice stayed maybe some of it could change. He sighed. “You know I slept with Spice?”

“Subtle is not your middle name, Alpha. You still carry her smell.” Daedalus stopped at a red light.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that.” He fiddled with the belt across his chest. Maybe if he started calling Daedalus “Prime,” then he’d get the point on how annoying it was to hear his title repeatedly. “I guess the other Omegas must suspect since they deserted the house. What does Sugar think?” He should stop considering his friends as the only Omegas. They needed to be one pack.

“You haven’t spoken to her about shagging her sister?” The light turned green, and he continued toward the abandoned warehouses.

“No, she knows I carry a torch for her twin. It feels odd confiding in her while Spice might be doing the same.”

Daedalus laughed out loud. “So you’re going to use me instead.”

Eric crossed his arms over his chest, the muscles made it more difficult, he still wasn’t used to them. Twenty-five years as a skin-and-bones weakling was hard to forget. “Why not? I’m worried she might be using me.”

“For what? Sex?” His voice rose with incredulity. “Oh, wait a minute. You want her to fall in love with you?”

“Is that so unbelievable? I know you’re not crazy about her, but she’s a great person. Someone just needs to give her a chance. She’s vulnerable right now, and she might think she loves me but really I’ll turn out to be a crutch.”

Even though Sugar and Spice grew up in the same horrid home, it was Spice who took the brunt of the abuse to protect her little sister. The others didn’t know this, but he and Sugar did. He remembered finding Spice hiding in the apartment building’s shed one afternoon. She had a black eye and split lip. When he barged in she threatened him. Don’t you go running off and telling Sugar, you little dweeb, or I’ll pound your ass. Most would have been insulted, but he’d heard her parents yelling through the thin walls of the building and knew she’d pretended to be her twin. She’s taken that beating and others for Sugar. In an odd way, he thought of her as a hero.

Daedalus took the corner at a sharp angle, making Eric’s seatbelt strain. “You’re a dumbass, worrying about love when we’re on our way to break up a room full of women who are competing to be your pack mate. You need to man-up and take care of your pack. Not moan about a human girl.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? We’ll stop this nonsense tonight. I’m going to it make illegal to challenge without my permission.”

“You can’t do that, Eric. Haven’t you read the copy of the Accords I gave you?” Silence filled the car as Daedalus sped to the on-ramp of the interstate. “Look, challenges are pertinent to werewolf packs. It sets the hierarchy. The strongest female should lead the pack at your side.”

Eric looked out the window at the other cars as they passed them. No one would convince him to take a stranger as his mate. He needed to find a way out this mess. “You’re telling me to back off from Spice.”

“I’m telling you if you fall in love, it will only end with heartbreak. Arranged marriages still exist and they work…mostly. This is almost the same thing. You can agree to have lovers if you insist on keeping the girl.”

He shook his head before facing Daedalus. “It’s too late. She smells like mine. I can’t touch another woman.”

“Damn it, you being a romantic drives me nuts.” Daedalus hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. They came up to their exit and cut across two lanes to catch it.

“Holy crap, you’re going to have a wreck and kill me.”

“It wouldn’t be any worse of a disaster than what you’re doing to your own life.” He made a right turn and screeched into an industrial park, then slammed on his brake and popped the shift stick into neutral. At this time of the night the place was deserted. “You inherited a sick pack, and you need to nurse them back to health.”

Anger boiled in Eric’s gut. He undid his seatbelt so he could face the vampire-turned-asshole. “I didn’t ask for this responsibility.” Then he grabbed Daedalus by the shirt and shoved him against the car door. “I don’t care about these Ayumu mongrels.”

“They’re Omegas now.” Daedalus’s cool, calm voice reached the reasoning part of Eric’s brain. “If she means so much to you, then make her wolf. Take her as your mate.”

The suggestion slapped him across the face. “I’d never turn anyone on purpose.” He let go of his friend and sat back in his seat.

Daedalus straightened his shirt. “Why not? Ask her first, I’m not telling you to do it against her will.”

“I-I…” Eric stared out the windshield at the buildings. “How do you tell someone you’re a werewolf?” Sure, the law considered them legal citizens, just like vampires, but people didn’t accept them. Where was the romance in turning into a hairy monster? He quirked an eyebrow at his companion. Or a bloodsucker. “This isn’t about me, is it? You must have asked Sugar to become a vampire.”

For a moment, Eric didn’t think Daedalus would answer him but it made sense. The vampire sat still, like stone, as only the dead could.

“I did.”

“And?” He couldn’t guess Sugar’s decision. A year ago she’d run from all of them, too freaked out by their differences. Now, they lived happily under one roof. She’d even joined them a few times on full moon celebrations in the forest to watch them change. Maybe Spice could accept him.

“She’s thinking about it. To be honest, I thought she’d turn me down, so I’m happy she’s at least giving the idea a chance.” He shrugged. “If she says ‘no’ I’ll be forced to watch her age and die, and I don’t want to. Is it selfish of me?”

“Is it selfish of me to want to be with the woman I love and not take some stranger as a mate?” He gave a silent prayer of thanks for getting this opportunity to make his point to his thickheaded mentor. Daedalus was a true friend and had a lot of experience for them to fall back on, but he thought and lived like a warrior.

Eric was a lover.

“No, it’s not. Point made, but I’m not the one you truly have to convince. There’s a warehouse full of female werewolves duking it out as we speak. What are you going to do, Alpha?”

“Shit if I know. Let’s go before someone gets seriously hurt.”

Daedalus shifted the car back into motion and drove to the warehouse where Eric had killed Michael, the old Ayumu alpha. Forest surrounded the building as it tried to reclaim this abandoned area. It was ideal for the pack to use.

Eric hated the place. Not just because it held bad memories but it symbolized the way the pack lived their lives. Hidden and abandoned by humanity. Things needed to change and as alpha it became his responsibility.

Ten cars sat in the parking lot by the entrance. A low growl rumbled in his throat. Daedalus heard through the grapevine some of the females were forming challenge rounds tonight, but Eric hoped the rumor to be false. When he took control of the pack, he’d asked them for a year before he picked a mate. His one year anniversary passed a month ago. Since then, the women with ambition to lead next to him had been challenging each other to obtain dominance. The one who wins gets the prize. Him.

They parked next to the cars. “What next, Alpha?”

“If I break this challenge up, they’ll start another one tomorrow. I’m getting tired of these games.”

Daedalus leaned his seat back and placed his hands behind his head. “If you need me, holler. I’ll come running.”

To add to Eric’s stress, over the last few weeks Daedalus had stopped being a physical presence at his side. Time to cut the apron strings, he’d said.

“Sure you will.”

The vampire grinned and flashed his fangs.

Eric opened the car door and climbed out. He stretched since his six-foot frame felt cramped after being folded into the sports car. A faint cry of cheering came from the warehouse. He rolled his eyes. How was he going to deal with this?

He walked to the door and entered the building. Two werewolves fought inside a cacophonous ring of crazed women and snarling beasts. The larger of the fighters smashed her opponent to the ground, then pinned her with a clawed foot. She howled her win.

At least these fights weren’t to the death.

After she gloated, the female beast looked in his direction. From her scent, he recognized her as Clair, the most dominant of the challengers so far. She changed back to her female form, her fur melted to smooth skin and her bones slid into place without a single pop. Her long brown hair fell to her hips but instead of using it to cover her nudity, she flung it over her shoulders. The others turned to stare at him.

Show no fear . I’m bigger and stronger than them. He swallowed. “Time to go home everyone. Fun’s over.” With a gesture of his arms to scatter, he approached the group. A few whimpered and crawled away but most stood their ground. They were competing to be the alpha female after all. “I said it’s time to leave.” He glared at each one.

Four others walked away, which left three facing him. Clair crossed her arms under her bare breasts. “If you won’t choose a mate then the Accords state we’re entitled to fight for it.”

She used the Accords against him. The very thing he’d done to get Michael into the challenge ring. Most paranormal races still followed the general laws set down centuries ago. Vampires, merpeople, selkies, and other Were races, but the werewolf population had forgotten them. Eric suspected on purpose but couldn’t figure out why. He brought the Accords back to the Ayumu— the Omegas, he needed to stop thinking of them as separate.

“I’m very aware of your rights, Clair, but I’ve found a potential mate. These challenges are over until I’ve courted her.”

“You can’t do that now! We gave you a year.” Clair howled and changed back to beast form. It took strength and stamina to transform twice in a short period of time. Eric had no doubt who would win those challenges and didn’t care for Clair one bit.

She and the other two females stalked toward him.

His beast roared and tore from his body. He was going to kick their disobedient, mangy asses.

Clair crouched low to the ground and stalked on all fours while her two companions circled him on either side. The woman on his right started to change into her beast form but couldn’t complete the act. She crumpled to the ground in an exhausted heap.

He sighed at the sight. It was irresponsible of Clair to encourage acts of stupidity from her pack mates. A Were could die if caught in such a state. What kind of leader would she be? His pack would wither and die if she became their heart.

Without further contemplation, Eric pounced on the woman to his left, who remained in her human form. He threw her against the wall. Her head banged against the hard surface, and she fell to her knees. She was lucky he restrained his beast. It wanted her unconscious.

A snarl warned him of Clair’s attack. He spun and caught her neck in his grip mid-leap. Her confident demeanor evaporated into a whine.

“Did you really think the three of you could take me on?” He sent his thought to her mind but could sense her beast had more control over her than it should. Disgusted, he tossed her toward the exit, then changed back to his human form. Naked, he faced her beast, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at her. “Get out.”

If she didn’t fear him, she would have followed suit and changed back as well, but she stayed in her beast form. When she started to crawl away, he turned his back on her.

Big mistake.

The treacherous bitch lashed out and gouged his back with her claws. Not a fatal wound but it hurt him.

If he’d called for Daedalus’s help it would make him look weak. With a growl born of frustration, he spun around to watch Clair run out the exit with her tail between her legs, abandoning her accomplices.

He turned to the woman slumped against the wall who rubbed the back of her head. “This is what you want in a leader?”

She didn’t respond or meet his gaze, merely laid herself prone on the ground.

When Eric stumbled out of the warehouse, naked and injured, the vampire jumped out of the car and offered a shoulder to lean on. “You sure have a way with women. Remind me to never take any of your advice.”

Eric chuckled.

Daedalus pulled a gym bag from the trunk of the car, opened it, and offered Eric his workout clothes.

“They stink.”

“Don’t be a wuss. Dawn’s approaching, hurry and dress.” He got into the driver’s side and started the vehicle.

On the trip back, an overturned vehicle caused a traffic jam on the interstate. Daedalus shouted at the windshield. “Eleven hundred years old and I’m going to fry in the sun because humans can’t drive.”

“Leave the car with me and find a hiding spot until nightfall.” Eric grimaced as he turned in his seat. He could feel the blood trickling down his back from Clair’s claw marks.

Daedalus’s pupils dilated as he stared at him. “You’re bleeding quite a bit.” He ran his tongue over a fang.

“Snap out of it, buddy. The cars are moving again.”

His friend blinked and turned his attention back to the road.

They raced against time to get home and lost as they pulled up to the house.

Daedalus’s exposed head burst into flames as he stepped out of the car and the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon. Shrill shrieks accompanied it.

Eric scooped his friend into his arms, not thinking of burns, and ran for the house. Kicking in the door, he found Sugar inside, the source of those screeches as she watched her lover burn from the living room window.