The Beta

Chapter 3

Esther dozed with one eye open. All afternoon she sat in her car, parked a few houses from Rob’s, and watched nothing happen. As the place stayed quiet her thoughts drifted to neutral ground.

Or at least, they tried to. Rob left her in a bad way last night. Her vibrator finished the job, but she didn’t get the kind of satisfaction he could have provided. What the hell was going on? A man never drew this kind of attention from her, she didn’t believe in lust at first sight, but Rob proved her wrong. He wasn’t a man though, but a full-blown werewolf, a warrior werewolf.

Fanning herself with her hand, she cracked open the car window. She should have dragged him into the alley when she’d kissed him. They would both be happier, and maybe she would have had a dinner date tonight instead of being crammed in her sedan with the remains of Taco Hell on her passenger seat.

She sat in front of his beautiful brownstone with a lovely granite staircase, hoping to follow Rob to Daedalus’s lair. That’s how she explained this stakeout slash stalker thing to herself for the hundredth time. Focus on the Nosferatu, not the hottie werewolf.

A pretty blonde walked by her car, wavy hair hung past her shoulders, heels clicking on the pavement as she hurried in the evening’s fading light. If Esther had curves like that Rob would never have walked away.

The blonde climbed the steps to Rob’s home.

No fucking way. Esther’s heart took a nosedive as she sat up in her seat, clutching the steering wheel as if it were the edge of a cliff. Double-crossing bastard made a pass at her when he already had a nice piece of ass at home. The door to the house opened, and a gorgeous Asian woman with silky black hair past her waist stepped out. They exchanged a few words before continuing in opposite directions.

Esther checked her GPS. The address was correct. Could she have saved it wrong? She watched the Asian woman climb into a car, imaging Rob caressing her slim body as he’d done to her last night. She had the right place. Rob had a harem, and he’d played her like a finely tuned instrument with his geeky, innocent act. She knew he’d been too good to be true.

Her mind raced over all the painful things she would inflict on him once she caught his mangy werewolf ass. Contract or not, this trip just became personal.

Twisting in his bed, Robert tossed the sheet off. He dragged his fingers through his hair and didn’t need to look to know his cock tented his boxers. All afternoon he’d tried to sleep, but Esther kept intruding on his dreams.

Glaring at the bulge, he palmed it as he recalled the way her soft breast fit in his hand. Stroking his cock, he pictured her arching her back at his touch and releasing a little moan. She’d offered to be tied as he deserted her last night. A drop of dew spilled from his tip. He imagined her strapped to his bed, oiled, and really pissed off. His breaths quickened as he watched her writhe in his mind. He curled onto his side, pumping hard as he pictured climbing between her thighs and thrusting deep inside her wet pussy. In hot jets, he came into his sheets and moaned her name.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. How pathetic, he jacked off to a woman he’d turned down. She didn’t react like he’d expected when he found her with his wallet. Most women would have run screaming. She’d gotten intense and pulled out a gun, then shot at him.

What shocked him the most was the desire in her gaze as she assessed his body with a possessive eye. Her fear scent had faded and the smell of her arousal took over. She couldn’t fake that. He turned her on, and that fact set him on fire. Grinning, Robert rose from his bed and pulled the sheets off, tossing them in the laundry basket.

All things considering, he’d had an excellent night. Maybe next time he’d get to keep the girl. Esther was beautiful on the outside, but her deceitful nature left him cold. How could he trust a woman like that? His gaze passed over his wallet. She hadn’t taken anything from it.

Not like she had enough time to spend what little he carried. Still, she gave it back easy enough. He turned on the shower and stepped into the stinging spray.

The beast wanted a mate, or maybe he should say to mate. Every day, like clockwork, he woke to a hard-on. The other Vasi males in the house had admitted to similar problems, but they had access to release.

Eric had Spice, Tyler was with Katrina, and Sam took anyone willing to keep his bed warm. Robert needed a female in his life, someone to hang out with and give him direction. The pickings in the pack were slim though. Those who interested him were already taken, and getting involved with a human could be tricky. When did he confess to being a werewolf? On the first date?

After rinsing the soap from his body, he towel dried, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, then put his glasses on. Too bad shifters didn’t have an online dating service. Pack politics would make that difficult though. Alphas were territorial about females, they wouldn’t let anyone stroll into their area and take one. Even Eric, who Robert considered pretty sane for an alpha, wouldn’t let that happen.

Racing down the steps, he almost trampled Katrina as she crossed his path at the bottom of the staircase. She was on her way to the front door. “Oops, sorry.” He smiled at her. “Didn’t see you coming.”

She straightened his glasses and returned his smile. “I heard you did a good job with Talon last night. Have a fun evening.” She wore a black dress and heels with her hair loose down her back. Her outfit accentuated her Asian beauty.

“Date with Tyler tonight?”

“Yes, I am meeting him downtown for dinner.” She paused at the door. “Do you want to come?”

He shook his head. “I’ve got plans.” Lying was better than being a third wheel. He’d almost had a dinner date. Retreating to the kitchen before his pack mate asked any questions, Robert tossed a bagel in the toaster while he listened to the front door open and close. The click of heels in the hallway made him glance out the kitchen entrance. “Sugar, you’re home late.”

The petite blonde set her purse on the counter.

Sugar owned the brownstone they all lived in, the original Omegas pack—Eric, Tyler, Sam, Katrina, and himself—paid her rent. They’d been neighbors at first in an apartment complex. Then they started having troubles with the old pack of Chicago, the Ayumu. That was when they hired Daedalus, a badass Nosferatu vampire, to teach them how to fight. He and Sugar had fallen crazy in love. When Eric defeated the old alpha of the Ayumu, the Omegas absorbed them. Then Eric changed their name to Vasi, which meant Vanguards in the old language.

“I missed my bus. Is Daedalus awake yet?” Sugar straightened her skirt.

“I haven’t seen him, but I’ve only been awake a few minutes myself.”

Her smile turned sad as she examined his face. “You look exhausted. Don’t let him work you so hard, Robert.”

The him she referred to was the pack’s Nosferatu vampire warrior and her true love. “He’s only doing what’s best for us. Don’t worry, I can take it.” He slathered the bagel with peanut butter and poured a tall glass of milk.

Once Daedalus was ready they’d go running before hitting the all night gym. Yay.

“He told me you refused to kill Talon.”

Rob nodded while chewing on his meal.

“I’m glad. He wouldn’t agree with me—”

“Damn right, I don’t agree.” Daedalus stormed into the kitchen and blocked the entrance with his six-foot-two frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sugar, we discussed you placing ideas in their heads. I can’t have the boys hesitating on the field of battle.”

She confronted him with her five foot nothing, barely a hundred and ten pound body. “Field of battle? This is Chicago in the twenty-first century.”

If Rob had someone to place a bet with he’d put his money on Sugar winning. The little librarian had grown a backbone in the last year.

“Babe, Dark Ages or not, the pack needs warriors to protect their territory.”

“From what? They’ve chased off all the scum. The Vasi are coming together as one. No more factions. This should be a time of peace and you’re acting like—like—”

“Something bad is about to happen. Don’t talk military strategy with me. If I wanted to take over this city, now would be the time I’d strike. The pack is happy and their guard is down. Not to mention the alpha is out of the city.”

Rob’s appetite vanished. He set his bagel back on the plate and drank the rest of his milk to wash down the bite stuck in his throat. Daedalus was the life of the party.

The vampire glared at him. “Taking Talon out of the picture last night would have sent a strong message to anyone listening.”

Rob swallowed. “He didn’t really do anything that merited his death.”

“He challenged you. You.” Daedalus poked him in the chest with a finger. “The beta of the pack. You’re just as important as an alpha. Eric is the strength, he gathers the fold, but the beta, Robert, is the guiding hand.”

“I know, I know. We’ve had this conversation already. I still don’t see why anyone needs to die.”

“I agree.” Sugar took Robert’s hand.

Fury flashed in Daedalus’s eyes as he stared at their touch.

Rob released his hold on Sugar as if burned.

She didn’t notice any of it, or at least she pretended not to as she continued to confront Daedalus. “I hate it when you kill.”

“Killing is in my nature. Vampires aren’t related to the Easter Bunny, Sugar.”

“And this is what you want me to become? A murderer?”

If Rob could have fit in the cupboard by his feet, he would have crawled into it like he did when he was a kid and his parents fought. Trapped in a corner, they forced him to witness their on-going disagreements. Daedalus didn’t want to watch Sugar grow old and die. Turning her into a vampire would prevent that, but the thought of it terrified Sugar.

Ain’t love grand? And he wanted this?

“Is that how you see me? I don’t always kill to feed.”

She gasped and covered her throat with her hand. “I thought you stopped feeding on others period.”

Like a fish out of water, the Nosferatu gaped. “I—I—”

“Who else have you been using? I haven’t noticed as many bite marks on the boys.” Sugar glanced at Rob’s neck. He hated when it was his turn to feed the vampire, but he’d done it to prevent this kind of fight. “He doesn’t even have an old mark on him.”

“The boys are tired of me feeding from them. I can’t keep forcing them, Sugar. It’s like rape.”

She cringed. “I didn’t know.” The color from her cheeks faded. “Then who?”

Daedalus wouldn’t look at her.

“He’s been using the scum off the street. Rapists, thieves, and drug dealers, the criminals police haven’t caught yet.” Rob couldn’t stand watching them be angry. His whole childhood he’d witnessed his parents tear at each other. Sugar and Daedalus deserved better. They fought the odds trying to be together. “He’s doing the city a service.”

A tear spilled from her eye. “You kill them like that Ayumu asshole who tried to hurt me?”

Not the best example that Robert would have chosen. Sugar hadn’t seen Daedalus shred that beast in the woods the night Eric won the alpha challenge, but she heard it from the parking lot and the event almost drove her away from all of them forever.

The vampire rolled his massive shoulders before leaning forward to face Sugar with his fangs bared. “Yes, I’m a murderer. It’s what I’ve always been.” He pushed past her and grabbed his black leather coat off the hook by the back sliding glass door, then left.

Sugar ran to the door and stared at the night. “He’s gone. Shit, I keep screwing things up, Robert.”

He’d never heard her swear before. “He’ll be back. Let him cool off.”

“How long have you known he’s been feeding off others?” She pressed her forehead against the glass.

“A while.” Feeling two inches tall, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Sugar, you’ve been through this before. You can’t expect him to change. He’s been a vampire for centuries.”

“But it’s okay for everyone to expect me to change for him?” She touched his hand and squeezed. “I know you guys don’t understand why I won’t become a vampire. I’m not stupid, Robert. How would I feed?”

“You can use us or at least me. It’s not the feeding part the wigs me out. It’s the guy-on-guy thing that makes me uncomfortable.”

She chuckled. “Daedalus could barely contain himself when I touched your hand. He’d rip your throat out if I fed on you.”

“Good point. There’s Katrina and Spice. We’ll figure out a way.”

“I’m tired and I don’t… Killing is just wrong.” She turned around and hugged him. “I’m glad you kept him from killing Talon last night. I don’t know what to do.”

He hugged her back. Two more days before Eric and Spice got back. He needed to keep the pack and their household together two more days. “Don’t do anything. Let me talk to Daedalus.” He pushed away to make eye contact with her. “I promise, things will work out. Okay?”

She nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.

His cellphone rang. It sat on the entrance table where he’d dropped it last night. He needed to answer, all pack members knew to call him this week and not to bother Eric.

Sugar gestured for him to go.

The caller ID showed it came from a Vasi member. Crap. He should have stayed in bed.

“Hello?” Listening to his pack mate, he watched Sugar make a cup of tea, then curl up on the couch with a well-worn paperback book. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He closed the connection.

All bad things came in threes. First Sugar and Daedalus’s argument, now Talon was stirring up trouble at a bar on the other side of town. Someone in the pack tried to intervene, but got his ass beat for the effort. Robert would have to deal with Talon again. What would be the third issue?

He shoved his phone and car keys in his pockets. Two more days. At least he didn’t have to work out tonight since Daedalus pulled a Houdini.

“I have to go, Sugar. Are you going to be okay?”

She glanced at him with a brave smile. “Sure.”

His heart wrung for her, so he ran to the basement and barged into Sam’s bedroom.

The short werewolf was pulling a muscle shirt over his overly developed torso. “Don’t you know how to knock? I could have had a guest in here.”

“Doesn’t matter. I need to go take care of a problem.”

“Is this problem named Talon?”

Robert nodded.

“Need some back-up?”

His stomach clenched at the thought of having to face Talon alone. “Probably, but I need you to stay home with Sugar instead.”

Sam came to attention at the mention of their token human female. “What’s wrong with her? Is she sick?”

“Big fight with Daedalus. Just keep her company until I can straighten things out.”

His buddy nodded. “Sure, but keep in touch. Tyler and I are available. You don’t need to take care of everything by yourself.”

“Eric does.”

“Bullshit, he turns to you whenever something needs to be done.” Sam clapped him on the shoulder and left the room taking the stairs two at a time. “Sugar, get your sweater. I need someone to take me to the movies.”

Robert followed the noise upstairs where his two friends discussed recent movie releases and exited out the front door.