Evernight Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2014 Tigertalez

ISBN: 978-1-77233-088-5

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Karyn White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

I have so many to thank for their help and support, but I want to
dedicate this book to C.L. Scholey. Connie, you have given me the
most support. Your advice and encouragement inspired me to push
forward and you were there through every challenge.

ALPHY’S CHALLENGE

Kaska Pack, 1

Tigertalez

Copyright © 2014

Chapter One

Gale Brooks screamed as her brother, Paul Brooks, stumbled

and fell, sliding across the forest floor. His lips were swollen, and she
could see a dark red trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his
mouth. His left eye was swelling shut, and she could see by some of
his faulty movements that his depth perception was off kilter as he
struggled to watch for the next blow the ruthless goons tormented him
with. His arms and wrists were swelling and bruising from trying to
block the many hits and kicks his foes instigated. Gale could clearly
see by how he couldn’t put pressure on them that they caused him
great pain. Afraid his arms or wrists were broken, Gale sobbed out
another scream. “Stop!”

But her cries were ignored as the taunts and name-calling

surrounded them.

The lead enforcer’s hands tightened painfully around her arms.

“Fag!” he growled over her shoulder.

“Queer!” another one sneered.
“Poofing fairy!” the third one spat. The others laughed at the

sound of the insult.

Another heavy kick slammed into Paul’s stomach. “Oof.”
His grunts were feeding the violent frenzy from the

surrounding bigots, and Gale could see his breath was labored as he
wheezed out a wet cough. She didn’t know how much more he could
take. She and her younger brother, Paul, were fully human, from their
mother’s first marriage. They couldn’t survive as many injuries as
shifters could. They were far weaker than the shifters who were

attacking him. In the back of her mind, Gale hoped her brother could
just black out like all those people did in the movies. He was injured
enough. He was obviously in enough pain. Why doesn’t his brain just
allow him to escape the pain?

Gale futilely struggled to pull herself away from the enforcer

who held her. She wanted to run to her brother and throw herself over
him to shield him. She felt like she was suffocating from her intense
sobs, which would have dropped her to her knees if she wasn’t being
held up. She also fought her desire to vomit every time she heard the
hollow thuds to his chests and the cracks from what sounded like
breaking bones.

Earlier this morning, their family had been called in to the

alpha of their herd. The alpha had somehow found out Paul was gay
and had ordered his parents to send him away. In the shifter world, to
disobey your alpha was a severe and punishable offense. Gale didn’t
expect him to refuse the alpha. She knew their stepfather Tom had the
rest of the family to think about, and had to do what was best for
them. Tom had asked the alpha for the rest of the day to make some
preparations, to which the alpha had agreed, clearly quite pleased with
thinking he won.

Even though the thought of sending her brother away had

made her sick, Gale had known Paul loved the family as much as she
did and didn’t want to cause them any trouble. As soon as they had
shut the door to their home, however, Tom had ordered everyone to
start packing, but quietly, while he made some phone calls.

Their vehicle had been in a garage that was connected to the

house. They had been able to easily pack the van without being
noticed, so long as they were quiet. Tom had had several calls to
make, so Paul had done the heavy lifting. She knew Paul didn’t mind
really. He wasn’t a twink or slim even. He was athletic and tall even
though he was now sixteen, and he had told her how much he liked
providing for and protecting the family. He wanted to be just like
Tom.

Some of Paul’s stuff had been put in his sister’s car. They had

figured it would save room in the van and look like he was being sent
packing. Gale still lived at home while she attended a local college,
but she also had a job and had bought her own beat-up rust bucket.

They had been doing great with all the prep until they were

ready to leave. Her car had been stuffed to the brim, as well as the

family’s van. When everyone had been ready to go a mere two and a
half hours after the alpha gave his order, she and Paul had headed out
to the car. That was when they had noticed the three enforcers for the
herd. Paul had ordered for her to run back inside before they snatched
him up and dragged him into the forest across the street.

They were shifters, so their strength was stronger than normal

human’s. They’d had no problems running while carrying him as he
tried to fight them off. Instead of running for safety, Gale had
screamed and run after them. They hadn’t stopped until they got far
enough into the woods so any cries for help wouldn’t be heard.

Now more hollow thuds could be heard as they kicked at his

stomach and back. Paul’s grunts of pain continued. How much longer
of this could he take? A shot rang out, causing her ears to ring loudly.
Gale was stunned by it for a moment. One of the enforcers was on the
ground not too far from Paul, holding his leg where a bloom of red
was growing. Her hearing slowly started to come back to the sounds
of yelling, and shouting.

The bruising vise-grip around her upper arms vanished,

allowing her to drop to the ground. Gale didn’t pay any attention to
what was being shouted around her. She frantically and clumsily
crawled over to her brother. She could see he couldn’t move. Gale’s
dirt and pine needle covered hands shook as she held them over her
brother, uncertain where she could touch him without further hurting
him.

Another shot rang out, ringing her ears some more. She looked

around and saw the two enforcers run over to grab their bleeding
friend, and take off into the forest.

Gale looked back down into the pain-filled bloody and

swollen face of her brother. She watched as Paul’s body started to
weaken and relax. Tom’s horrified and definitely concerned face
appeared over them, holding her father’s shotgun. “Paul, stay with
me, kiddo. I’ve got ya!” Gale could visibly see relief flood Paul as he
finished slipping into darkness.

When she followed Tom as he had carried her brother’s

bloody unrecognizable form out of the forest, she had to stop by a tree
and empty her stomach first.

Now Gale was focusing on the dirty rear bumper of her

parents’ van in front of her, futilely fighting hard not to cry while
anxiously steering her car through the city streets to the hospital. The

steering wheel, slicked with the sweat from her palms and tears that
she had already wiped away, slipped in her clenched hands. Hooking
her fingers around the middle of the wheel, she righted the steering
then wiped her hands over her black Levi’s.

Gale’s heart felt like it was in her throat, and all she wanted to

do was wail with grief at the injustice of it all. Those bastards! she
thought. She had never felt this kind of fear before, the kind where
you fear for your life and the lives of those around you.

Gale turned on her blinker, and turned, following her parents

into the parking lot of the local hospital. They pulled through the
emergency room entrance while Gale continued around to the visitors
parking. Pulling into a spot, she surprised herself with actually
parking between the little white lines. As soon as she stopped, she
turned off the engine and tried to take a deep breath, only it came out
as a sob when she exhaled.

She jumped when there was a tapping on her window. Wiping

her tears away and trying to sniff through her clogged nose, she
looked to see who it was. Her mother was there, looking as distressed
as Gale felt. Right, family first, freak later. She nodded to her mom
and grabbed her purse, keys, and cell, and opened the door. Her
mother was working on getting one of the twins out of the car. They
were two two-year-olds. They were more than a handful at the best of
times, and positively beastly at the worst, but she loved them as much
as she did Paul.

Her mother had her youngest brother, Danny, out, so Gale

reached in for her sister, Abby. They closed up and locked both the
car and the van, then rushed inside.

Gale was able to pull herself together enough to entertain the

twins while her parents filled out paperwork and talked to the medical
staff. Other patients sat in the waiting room they were sitting in,
phones chirped on their bases, and the smell of antiseptic surrounded
her. She tried hard to concentrate on her siblings as her parents
answered questions about her brother’s medical history and his attack.

Gale looked up at her mother’s approach.
“Gale, we’re going back to see him, will you please stay out

here with the twins?”

Gale couldn’t trust her voice, so she just nodded her answer

and wiped away the fresh tears that escaped once again down her
face. Turning back to the tots, she saw Abby tilt her head slightly,

looking at her. She ventured closer and placed her hands on the side
of each of Gale’s cheek.

“Okay, sis? Okay?” Abby’s small voice was clear but

concerned. The look of concern that her two-year-old sister had drew
a smile to Gale’s face. But really, what could she tell the child?
Everything wasn’t okay. Instead of answering right away, Gale
wrapped her arms around the tot and hugged her. The action brought
her spirits up enough to calm her.

It felt like forever before Tom returned to fetch her and the

twins, and by then it was dark outside. Abby was the first one to see
Tom and ran to cheerfully greet her daddy. He picked her up and
carried her as Gale picked up Danny and followed Tom.

“They’re moving him into a private room for the night for

observation,” he explained as he led them through the hospital
corridors. “He’s stable for now, but he’s permanently lost his left
eye.”

Gale squeezed Danny closer for comfort. Unable to say

anything, she continued to follow in silence. Once they reached the
room, Tom put Abby down, and Gale did the same with Danny. Tom
addressed the two tots. “Ok, you two, your big brother got hurt so
he’s trying to rest. I want you two to help him. Can you help him?”

Both heads bobbed up and down. Abby’s longer bright brown

curls lightly bounced with the action. “Thank you.” Tom hugged
them. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he looked at them one more
time before showing them in. “We need to be very quiet. Now go find
Mommy.”

After the tots disappeared through the doorway, Tom strode

up and took Gale in a hug. She didn’t resist the act of comfort.
“Thank you, Gale, for helping with them.” Tom pulled back to look
into her watery eyes. He continued to talk as he wiped away her new
flow of tears. “How are you doing?”

Gale sniffed. “I’m okay, I think.”
“Yeah?” Tom took her in his arms again as he spoke low to

her. “Once they release Paul, we’ll leave town. The alpha shouldn’t
bother us if we go far enough. We aren’t that important to him. I hate
to have to ask you this, but your mom and I will need help caring for
Paul.”

“Of course I’ll help. I’ll do everything I can. We’re family.”

Tom kissed the side of her head as he pulled back and keeping

an arm wrapped around her shoulder, led her into the room.

As she entered the room, she took the time to take in

everything she saw. Her brother was unconscious, his right eye
swollen almost shut, and a heavy amount of gauze over the other eye.
His face was bruised, swollen, and made his looks unrecognizable.
I.V. dripped through a clear tube next to a pain pump, and both wrists
were in splints. Her mother held Abby up and helped her lean over the
bed to place a kiss on his head. Gale heard Abby’s loud whisper,
“Better now.” Danny just stood quietly by the bed and observed
everything.

Walking further into the room, Gale pulled a chair closer to

her brother, sat down, and delicately placed one hand under and one
hand over Paul’s hand and silently hoped they could get far enough
away that the alpha would leave them in peace to restart their lives.

Chapter Two

Ralph “Alphy” Kaska felt uncomfortable sitting in a chair in

the hallway outside his old alpha’s office. He hadn’t seen the alpha, or
this town, in several years. Since he’d first moved away when he
turned old enough, he had only returned for major family events. Ever
since he’d graduated from high school he, and the alpha, had known
he was too dominant to be anything other than an alpha himself. It
had been wearisome during his last couple years here, trying not to let
his bear challenge the current alpha. Alphy liked the older shifter. He
ran the sleuth well, and in no way had Alphy wanted to lead when he
was so young. He had wanted to get out and travel, to see the world
and experience things. It was the best way to earn experience to be a
leader.

At the time, he hadn’t had much money. He had been too

young to be an alpha, but he did want to utilize his alpha skills, so
he’d joined the military. He had been so good at it that he had been
given his own unit in the Special Forces. Over the years, and in
different identities, he had served in each branch, and he had been
able to qualify in the Special Forces in each branch. He had been in
the U.S. Navy Seals these past ten years, at least, until a missile strike
that landed on them about a week ago. That had been painful, not the
physical wounds, but the emotional ones. Those men had been his
friends and family. They’d had his back in battle, and he’d had theirs.
You couldn’t get a closer bond than that.

The rescuing unit, first on the scene, was all shifter. They had

recognized this as an opportunity for Alphy to start a new identity. If
he stayed too much longer, his lack of aging would start to get
noticed. He had been healing in a secret shifter shelter and was trying
to figure out where to go when he’d gotten the news that his parents
had been killed by a texting driver, and he had to come home to
Oregon to take custody of his younger siblings, who were still under
age.

He had been an early child for the newly mated couple. His

two younger siblings, Havana, who would be eighteen in a few
weeks, and Reese, who had just turned fourteen, were many years
younger than his fifty-four. Shifters could live for about five hundred
years, so fifty-four was really young.

Just as Alphy leaned his head back against the wall and gave a

heavy sigh, a door opened.Alphy looked up to see the current beta
step into the room. Alphy stood at attention, a habit that was so
ingrained he didn’t even think about doing it.

The beta closed the door and walked to him. The man knew he

was much too alpha to show his neck so offered his hand, and Alphy
took it. “I know you won’t be able to stay long, but it is good to see
you again, Ralph. I’m very sorry about your loss.”

Alphy found it hard to speak over the developing lump that

was forming in his throat, so he nodded his thanks. He was toughened
for sure, but to lose so many friends and family in just a matter of one
week, well, there were limits to any man. He nodded his head again,
fighting back the tears and tremors. “Thank you, sir.”

The beta slightly inclined his head and released his hand.

“Alpha Berry will be out in a moment. He’s finishing up an important
call with a neighboring alpha, and then he’ll be right with you.” With
one last shake of his hand, the beta turned and headed down the hall.
Alphy stood there listening to the fading footsteps of the beta. Being a
shifter granted him enhanced senses, senses that had saved him and
his teammates more times than he could count. However, his ears
were still not quite one hundred percent after the hit. He was still
healing from many wounds. He would have been dead if he was
human, and as it was, he still had more healing to do. He was
constantly focusing on trying to regain his strengths and senses.

The door opened, and a low baritone voice called him from his

thoughts. “Captain Kaska.”

Looking towards the sound of the summons, Alphy could see

the alpha standing in the doorway. He was a tall man, not as tall as
Alphy’s own six foot six inch frame, but his presence wasn’t any less.
He was an older shifter of near four hundred years, but was still built
like a bodybuilder.

Alphy walked over to the man and greeted him with a smile.

“Alpha Berry,” he said, then walked through the offered doorway. He
sat down in a not uncomfortable, dark brown leather chair in front of
a dark mahogany desk. The room wasn’t too large, but comfortable.
His eyes followed the alpha as he made his way around the desk and
sat in the brown suede chair behind it.

“Your brother and sister are at home. I thought it would be

best to get the official paperwork over with without subjecting them

to it. My mate is with them. She thinks it would make them feel like
property. After her longwinded lecture, I assured her I didn’t need
convincing.” He chuckled, and Alphy gave an amused grunt and
smiled. He remembered the alpha’s mate. She wasn’t a quiet one, and
she had kept the alpha busy keeping her out of trouble, but she always
did what she did with a good heart.

“Thank you, I would have to agree with her. Just don’t tell her

that.” They both shared a good chuckle.

Alpha Berry leaned forward on his chair. “When was the last

time you saw or spoke to your brother and sister? You parents said
you frequently kept in touch via satellite feed and emails.”

“Yes. I am very close to my family even though I couldn’t be

here for them. I last saw them in person for my brother’s fourteenth
birthday a few months back. Our parents loved to travel, so they
always traveled to visit me. It worked best since I couldn’t spend as
much time with them if I had been the one to visit them, and I was
always working on one mission or the other so traveling elsewhere in
between times was illogical.”

Alpha Berry took on a slightly more serious look. “I’m sorry

for your losses, Ralph, all of them.” The alpha gave him a knowing
look. He was the one who’d tracked Alphy down to inform him of
what happened, so he knew about the loss of his team.

“Thank you, sir. I want to thank you for taking care of the

funeral expenses. I was informed that the burial is set for tomorrow.”

“You’re welcome. You have enough to worry about. Yes,

tomorrow is correct. I believe it’s at one.” The alpha’s sigh sounded
regretful. “I hope you understand I can’t have you in my territory
longer than necessary. I hate to have to push you during this time, but
my bear doesn’t settle while you are here.”

“I understand and completely agree. My bear doesn’t like it

either.”

Looking slightly relieved, the alpha pick up a folder and pen,

stood up and walked around the desk to him. He placed the folder on
the part of the desk in front of him and opened it up to a small pile of
papers. The click of the pen seemed to fill the entire space right
before the alpha handed it to him. “Do you have a place to go?” The
shifter leader’s concern was genuine, offering Alphy a slight bit of
comfort.

His hand didn’t shake with the turbulent emotions battling

inside him when he reached up and took the offered pen. “Yeah, a
great-aunt lives in Canada. She was my grandfather’s sister. She’s the
only family we have left and is willing to put us up until I can figure
out what do next. She owns enough acreage to get lost in. I think it
would be good for us.”

“Canada? That’s a bit of a move. Have you talked to the teens

about it? They are typical modern teens with their cell phones
practically surgically attached to their hands.”

Tension eased just a bit from Alphy’s gut when the two shared

another moment of amusement before he answered.

“She isn’t too far from a city of Toronto in Ontario, so it

should be enough to appease the tech gods and still allow their bears
to stretch.”

Alphy scribbled his signature on the line that was highlighted

for him. When he was finished, he handed back the pen. The alpha
stood, and handed him a check for the house his parents had owned. It
was a fair amount. Alphy had already finished the papers for taking
his parents’ bank accounts earlier that morning at the bank.

“I’ve arranged for help to pack things up, and they should be

there now. I’ve also arranged for you to be able to use a storage unit if
you want put most of it away until you’re more certain of where
you’re going to settle before hauling it around. I’ll have it sent to you
when you are ready for it.”

Alphy nodded. “That will be appreciated, thank you.”
Alpha Berry put a hand on his shoulder and lightly squeezed.

Alphy knew it was meant as a gesture of comfort, but his bear
growled at the touch. The alpha didn’t hold it for long, and he
withdrew his hand, “If you have any need, you are always welcome to
call. You have an ally with us.”

Alphy felt the lump form in his throat again and the pinpricks

at his eyes. He quickly took back control over himself before he
responded. “Thank you, Alpha Berry. That means a lot to me.”

The alpha led him out and to the front door. After the door

was closed behind him, Alphy took in a few breaths, bringing the
sweet smell of summer flowers into his lungs, before descending from
the porch. The noontime sun bathed over his large muscled form,
warming his skin as he returned to his silver-grey truck. It actually
had been his father’s truck. Both parents had had their own vehicles.

No alpha wanted a bear as strong as he was in their territory,

so finding any place for him to settle was a serious problem. He felt
so incredibly grateful to the fates that he still had one relative and in a
place where he could gather himself to plan what next to do. Life was
hitting him hard at the moment. However, he knew with each storm in
life came a blessing as well. He mused that the blessing from this
should be pretty epic. Perhaps it sounded callous, but hope was really
the only thing right now helping him keep his inner strength.

Pulling up in front of the ranch style home he had grown up

in, Alphy witnessed several people he knew from his years of
growing up carrying things from the house to a large moving truck.
His bear growled at seeing people touching the things that belonged to
him before he could even choose what he wanted done with it.

A sinewy, bright red haired man appeared, exiting through the

doorway with a large box. Alphy suddenly felt a happy beat in his
heart paint a smile across his face, and a sudden snicker huffed out.
Climbing out of the truck and schooling his face, he stomped over the
lawn in the direction of the man.

Alphy barked out the man’s name to get his attention.

“Ryker!”

The thin young man jolted violently, causing him to drop the

box. Alphy was startled just a bit at the box dropping. He would have
thought it was something breakable like dishes, but nothing crashed.
When Ryker whipped around to look at him, the man’s face
transformed from fearful to a bright and joyous expression, further
warming Alphy’s heart.

Alphy barely kept himself from falling when the man barreled

into him, bracing his arms in a tight hug around him. The shock of the
impact was only slightly painful, but with so many years in the
military, he had a pretty high pain tolerance. He easily ignored it and
gave his enthusiastic friend a proper bear hug. It was a good thing his
friend was a vampire. A human would have ended up with broken
bones. Though most myths were wrong about vampires, like the myth
about the sun, other myths, like about their strength, were correct.
Even the small vampires, like his friend, were extremely strong.

Ryker pulled back. “Damn good to see you, man! It’s been

way too long.”

Alphy brought his hand up and threaded his fingers into the

red soft strands on top his head and ruffled his friend’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah,” Alphy drawled, “Now my turn’s done, next

time it’s your turn to visit.”

The man ducked from the hair assault and ran his fingers

through the semi-long bright red locks, trying to put them back in
place. “Still petting me like a pet, I see.”

“Still playing the stereotypical white-until-you-burn vampire, I

see.”

The man gave a mock shocked face and feigned to be

wounded by placing his hand over his heart. “You wound me. I’ll
have you know the chicks dig us sun neglected computer geeks.”

Alphy gave a hearty laugh. “Not that any of them have a

chance with you.”

The man smiled. “Yeah, but they don’t need to know that, and

it’s great fun when I lure them away from all you tanned skinned
beef-cakes.” The man’s green eyes roved his form. “Still the sexiest
friend I have,” he hummed out.

Alphy laughed again and wrapped his friend in his arms.

“Sorry, buddy, I’m still straight. I tried, I mean really tried, to get a
boner for you guys, but the titties get me every time.”

A screech filled the air, and Alphy turned just in time to catch

his sister, then a double hit as his brother joined her. He was grateful
he was so strong. Suddenly Havana leaped back with a panicked look
on her face then yanked Reese back, causing him to stumble
backwards onto the lawn with a grunted “oof”.

Alphy looked at her, confused. “Havana?”
She looked back at him with tears streaming down her face.

Alphy reached up and wiped the dampness away. Her voice was
watery. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Alphy gave her another confused look. He wasn’t used to his

sister being like this. She was always headstrong and nearly fearless.
“For what?”

“I hurt you. You were hurt, and I wasn’t gentle. Did you get

hurt? Where are you hurt? What can I do?”

Alphy’s brows rose high onto his forehead. He pulled her into

an embrace and cupped her head to his shoulder, rocking her a little
bit. “Shh, I’m ok. You didn’t hurt me. I’m just a little sore and my
senses are just a little slow, but I’m ok. You don’t need to do anything
but give me a hug. That’s what I need.” Alphy was alarmed when she
started bawling. As Alphy held her tight while Reese hugged her from

the other side, he looked at his younger brother and saw tears slipping
down his face as well. He felt a thump when Ryker joined the hug.

After a little bit, Alphy noticed other sleuth members, whom

the alpha had provided to help them move, had gathered around them
reminding him they had a lot of packing to do. Their parents had been
alive for a long time and had accumulated a lot of stuff.

Slowly, the group hug peeled away. He may be an alpha and

military man, but he wasn’t ignorant of others’ emotions, especially
the females. He always cared for them, so he hoped he would be
perfect for his mate once he finally met her.

Pulling back and cupping Havana’s face in his hands, Alphy

looked into her watery eyes. He saw a lot of pain in her deep brown
eyes and a lot of other emotions he’d deal with later. One thing at a
time. “I’m ok, and I’m here now. We may have a lot to do, and you
may feel life is so far out of control, but you are not alone, ok? I
promise you that everything will be all right.”

Havana nodded, and Alphy pulled her in for another hug. He

kissed her on the top of her head before pulling away and taking a
look around at everyone surrounding him. They had a lot of help, but
they also had a lot of packing to do, so he drew them all inside and set
to work.

They didn’t finish until after midnight, but they had managed

to get everything packed. The things he wasn’t certain about, like
furniture and plates, he put into storage. The things he knew they
needed, he had put into his truck. His siblings packed what they
wanted to take. They were clothes horses for sure. The biggest
challenge had been the garage. Alphy’s father had loved building
things, be it metal or wood, so he had a garage filled with tools and
parts of all sorts.

Alphy’s mending muscles were burning with pain from being

overworked, but he was used to it and knew how to accept and
manage it, but watching the pain show on the faces of his bone-weary
siblings had him feeling worse than his physical condition. Alphy
scolded himself. He had taken care of his troops better than he took
care of his siblings, and that was unacceptable! He loved them, and
now he was completely responsible for them. He should have paid
more attention to them and sent them to bed hours ago, but he had
been too busy to notice their need. And knowing they weren’t in any

condition to hear where they were going, he decided to wait until
tomorrow.

As his brother and sister headed up to their air mattresses, and

everyone else, except Ryker, had gone home, Alphy took time to
thank his friend. Pulling Ryker into a manly hug, he offered him a
tired smile. “Thanks, man.”

“It was really my pleasure. Watching you shirtless and sweaty

is every straight woman’s and gay man’s dream.” And, as if to
reaffirm his admission, Ryker wiggled his eyebrows at him, pulling a
laugh out of him. “Seriously though, anything you need or want, you
can always call. My coven leader wanted me to offer us as a resource,
should you need it.”

It didn’t surprise Alphy. He had saved the vampire leader’s

daughter once. But he still appreciated the gesture, as not many
shifters had vampire friends.

“Thanks, man, that means a lot to me, and I may take your

coven leader up on that someday. How’s Seamus?” Alphy switched to
the question he’d wanted to ask all day but hadn’t found the right time
until now.

“Sea-salts will be home for good soon, in a few days.” Ryker

smiled at him, revealing his fangs. Seamus was his twin brother, who
had also been in the military as a military doctor. It was painful for
the twins to be apart. Alphy was able to see Seamus once in a while,
so he knew they talked every day.

“Thanks again, man. You have my number. Have your brother

call when he gets a chance.”

“Will do, handsome.”
The next morning started a little bit late, but by the time the

funeral was set to be held, they were ready to go, although Alphy had
yet to tell his siblings where they were going.

The funeral was a brutal affair for both him and his bear. The

people crowded them with their sympathies, or some of them
cornered him with their available daughters.

Hearing the sympathies was like rubbing salt in the wound. He

was already deeply hurting about his loss, and he didn’t need people
bringing it up repeatedly.

But the mothers who pushed their daughters his way were

offensive. He was used to mothers trying to see if he would mate with
their daughters. He was an alpha, he was military, and he was told

often enough how attractive he was. But at a funeral? His own
parents’ funeral of all things! He had had enough. He said his good-
byes, steered his brother and sister to the truck, and headed out.

They had made it to the main highway east, when they finally

questioned him. “So,” Reese’s tired voice sounded over the rumble of
the engine, “where’re we calling home now?”

Using the palm of his hand to rub his eye, Alphy sighed

heavily. Then after returning his grip to the steering wheel, he
answered, “A place up near Bancroft.”

“Bancroft? Where’s that?” Reese asked.
Havana stayed quiet. She hadn’t talked much or eaten much.

Alphy made a mental note to keep an eye on that. He knew people
grieved in different ways, but he didn’t want her to cause herself
harm.

“It’s in Canada.” Alphy braced himself for the freak-out, but it

didn’t come. He glanced over at the two buckled beside him. Havana
was looking out the window. The reflection showed a tired, haunted
and lost look on her face, but Reese was nodding. “Cool. Always
wanted to go there.”

Alphy gave a half smile. “Yeah, well, I don’t know if you

know this, but we have a great-aunt who lives and owns some
property up there. Her name is Reberta, but she said she prefers to be
called Betty. It’s a place to start until we decide what to do next.”

“Huh, I didn’t know that. Mom and Dad never talked about

her, or even called her.”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t have a phone.” He glanced at his

brother and schooled his features not to laugh. Reese had a horrified
look on his face, so Alphy continued. “Mom would send her letters
with updates on the family. She gave me her information before I left
home. I’ve never been there so I don’t know what there is, but I was
able to get an emergency message to her and she responded back. All
I know is she lives on five thousand acres of fields, forests, and
rivers.”

When Reese turned slightly to face Alphy more, his confusion

showed on his face as he asked, “If she’s family, why hasn’t she ever
visited, or why didn’t Mom and Dad ever take us there to visit?”

Alphy shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know how to answer.

Their family didn’t have any squabbles that he knew of. It was as if
she just wanted to be isolated. But that didn’t explain why his parents

didn’t ever visit. It was no use worrying about that now. The only one
who could possibly answer was in Canada awaiting their arrival, and
if all went well, they would be there on the third day. But as things
have been going, and with his training to always be prepared, he had a
couple of back-up plans in place for their journey.

He looked over at his family again. His sister had fallen asleep

against a pillow she had brought. She had it tucked between her and
the door. Reese was leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder,
and, by his breathing, Alphy could tell he had fallen asleep as well.
His inner bear gave a snort of amusement at the scene, then
generously sighed and settled down. They both were grateful for the
silence, so he didn’t disturb them.

Chapter Three

Alphy was used to pain, sure, but not being able to move from

his vehicle in three days, other than to fill it with fuel, was torture. His
siblings added to the pain of it. If he ever had an enemy, surely he
could find a way to use this as a form of torture. He was a physical
man, so not being able to move hurt, and having to deal with
emotionally amped teens in a confined space … well, he nearly gave
an unmanly sob of relief when they found the driveway onto their
great-aunt’s property.

Shades of greens and browns rose up thick around them from

the tall trees and shrubs crowding the forest. His bear sat up and
paced inside his head, antsy to get out and shift, eager to explore. He
had not even gotten out of the vehicle, and already he felt like this
was the right place to be, like this was home. When he pressed his
index finger against the small, cold switch, the window lowered,
buffing his senses with the fresh floral air. He was thankful all his
senses were back to normal.

The truck bounced and rolled over the dips in the dirt-based

road as he followed the directions he had memorized from the short
note his great-aunt had given him. After a little while, the thick forest
of trees opened up to a green field, about ten acres’ worth. A large
three story, which included the basement, deep red bungalow style
house fitted with solar panels, resided in the middle, surrounded by a
huge four-car two story garage, also fitted with solar panels. A large
brown wooden barn, with solar panels, was about two hundred feet
behind and to the right of the home. Not far from it, and reaching
about the same size, was a large grey metal workshop fixed with solar
panels. On the other side of the barn there also seemed to be some sort
of long greenhouse and a long chicken coop with many different
kinds of clucking and pecking chickens spread out around it. Standing
above it all were two Whisper H80 wind turbines, which moderately
spun.

Alphy stopped at the edge of the forest, taking in everything

he saw. What on Earth does she have going on that needs that much
electricity? Alphy let up off the brake and let the truck pull them
forward at an idling speed. He had to admit to himself this was much
nicer than he thought it would be.

The truck’s engine droned as they followed the vehicular dirt

path across the field toward the garage where an old, beat-up Ford
pickup truck sat parked. Huh, why park it outside the garage? What’s
inside the garage? Alphy queried to himself.

In front of the house he watched as a short, stocky mid-

thirties looking woman stepped out onto the wraparound porch. She
wore jean shorts, a pink shirt, and a smudged apron tied around her
waist.

Finally pulling up next to the other vehicle, he put his truck in

park, but the teens were out of the truck before he could turn off the
engine. He chuckled at that. Guess I’m not the only one eager to get
out of the truck.

Alphy felt the tickly ache in his legs, tensing his muscles to

stretch as he stepped from the truck. It felt so good to stretch the aches
out, and he finished with a great big yawn.

Oh that feels good, he hummed to himself. The sun was warm,

the colors bright, and the air was cleaner than he’d smelled in a long
time and was filled with the scent of cooked and baked foods, which
suddenly filled his mouth with saliva. His ears perked at the sounds of
critters flying or scurrying around them. His heart suddenly felt light,
and the tingle of excitement pulled at his growling stomach.

Turning his attention to the sound of a friendly voice greeting

his brother and sister, Alphy slowly made his way to the porch.

“…and I made everyone lunch.” The teens disappeared

through the door with an excited whoop, letting the screen door flap
shut. His great-aunt’s sight fell on him as he neared.

“There you are, Ralph. Come give me a proper hug.”
He leaned down to her taller than average five foot ten, and

took care not to squeeze too tight. Pulling apart, she cupped her hands
on either side of his face, “You have your mother’s eyes but, my-oh-
my, aren’t you the spitting image of your father.” She kept one arm
around him as she walked him inside. “I bet you get tired of all the
girls throwing themselves at you.” She chortled.

Alphy grunted his confirmation and grimaced. Stepping

inside, he let his eyes readjust. The inside was mostly open with warm
browns and creams throughout. The furniture was pretty new and
looked very soft and comfortable. Statues of various animals made
from black rod iron or wood were placed around, and the hardwood
floors were well maintained with wood inlay in the entryway. A large

decorative cast-iron wood stove sat on a multicolored, foot tall, slate
rise. This was nothing like he’d expected. He would have thought she
would have a shack with a leaky tin roof and threadbare furniture.
Instead, as he looked around a vast open space that was warm and
inviting, it appealed to him and his bear on every level.

Home, his bear asserted.
After a hearty and savory lunch, everyone helped do the

dishes, and then Betty offered to show them some of the property.
Alphy hadn’t been able to let his bear out in a little while, other than
to heal in a hospital bed, so he was eager to shake out his fur and
stretch. Shifters weren’t big on modesty because they constantly had
to undress to shift, so it was no big deal for all of them to gather on
the deck and strip. They immediately took to their bear forms and
explored a bit of the surrounding woods together.

Rivers, streams, and creeks veined through the property

feeding the lush trees and shrubs that colored the forest. His siblings
romped and sparred through the foliage while he and Betty sauntered
around nearby. The teens were so tired when they returned that they
had no trouble falling asleep in their own queen sized beds.

Alphy stood on the deck looking out towards the barn and up

into the clear, darkened sky crowded with sparkling stars. His
shoulder was against a wooden column as he contemplated their
future. Because his bear was being stubborn, it had claimed the
territory, but he wasn’t sure if he and his siblings would be welcome
to stay. Betty came out and joined him.

“Couple of good kids, they are.”
Alphy only nodded. He loved his brother and sister but didn’t

know what to say to add to her comment.

“You know you’re welcome to stay here. I’ve got plenty

a’room.”

Alphy looked slightly sideways at her. “Why didn’t you ever

come to visit us, or Mom bring us up here to visit? Mom didn’t tell
me about you until I moved out.”

Betty moved to a soft bench and sat down in it. “It wasn’t like

we were terribly close. I wasn’t even that close to your grandfather,
and he was my brother. This is where I, your grandfather, and five
other siblings were raised.”

Alphy raised his brows. “Seven kids, wow, that’s a big

number. What happened to them?”

“War,” she bluntly answered. “There were so many wars. By

the end of World War Two, your grandfather and I were the last two
survivors. We used to have a pretty good sized sleuth, which your
great-grandfather was alpha of.”

Alphy fully turned to face Betty. He was fascinated by the

story that had been kept from him, of his ancestors. He didn’t
understand why he had never been told, and probably now he never
would understand. Funny how until now he hadn’t really given it
much thought.

“Most of the males went to one war or the other,” she

continued, “and they were all starting to get killed off. Our sleuth was
blessed with true matings. Just about every couple was a true mate
match. When their men died, so did they. Those who didn’t die off
moved away. They’re old shacks are still scattered around the
property in places, though they aren’t anything like this.” She lightly
waved her hand around. “It was an age old time ago. They’re just
rundown shacks now. Your grandfather wasn’t an alpha, nor did he
want to be. I suppose he couldn’t take the memories any more, so he
packed up his mate and your mother, who was about five at the time,
and left. He kept me apprised of what was happening with him. It’s
tragic what happened to them.”

Alphy grunted and nodded. His grandparents had been killed

in a house fire when he was about one. He had never actually known
them, and his mother hadn’t ever wanted to talk about it. He hadn’t
pushed either. He could tell it was an emotional difficulty to think
about. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Now losing his
own parents, he could better appreciate what she’d felt.

Betty went on. “As for your mother, she never really knew

me. I don’t know what my brother told her, or how much, but she
continued to keep in touch, sending pictures of you and those other
two. I sent letters and gifts, but I wasn’t sure how welcome I would
be, and, to tell you the truth, I haven’t been out of these forests for so
long, I don’t think I could handle the culture shock. I can barely keep
up with what’s going on.”

Alphy gave an amused snort. “I told Reese and Havana that

you didn’t have a phone, and the look on Reese’s face was priceless.”

Betty lightly cackled. “I bet it was. The price they wanted for

me to run a line way out here was outrageous. Don’t get me wrong. I
can easily afford it, but it would have marred the beauty of this place

with all those lines, and for what? I didn’t know anyone other than my
brother, so I would only have been harassed by those telemarketers.
Wasn’t worth it. I did allow a cell tower to be put up. Those
companies pay good money for that.”

Alphy started to nod his head in response but stopped when he

suddenly thought of something. “You know, I don’t think I have seen
either of them take a peek at their cells since we got here.”

“Good, too much technology rots your thinkin’.”
Alphy was quiet for a moment. “It feels right being here. Are

you serious about letting us stay here?”

“Yes. I know you’re an alpha. Your mother couldn’t stop

yammerin’ on about you. She even wrote to me about you in the
military. I tell you, that brought back memories, but you did well for
yourself. Every one of your uncles died in a war, serving their
country. It may not have been the same country, but it was no less of a
cause. You’ve done your family proud.” She sounded like she was
getting a little bit choked up about it. She truly was proud of him.

Alphy had never thought about how his serving would affect

his family. Now that he was home with his family, to hear her pride
made him feel proud as well.

“We’ll call the council tomorrow and place your claim on the

territory. I’ve kept paying dues but convinced the council members to
keep the territory off the books. I didn’t want some other alpha
coming and placing a claim, because I couldn’t fight him off. No
doubt they’ll send you a heavy load of paperwork, but every alpha, no
matter what sect, has paperwork. I can help you through it, because
you don’t know the area enough yet to answer some of the questions.
It would feel good to have a sleuth again.” She sighed. “Although,
having an alpha would take some getting used to again. I’m used to
doing everything my way, but that is minor. The pros far outweigh the
cons.”

Alphy was giving it serious thought. His bear none-too-gently

nudged his mind. If he could have been head-smacked by his bear,
he’d be nursing a lump. His bear wanted to stay, and the truth of it
was, he wanted to, too.

“Ok, we stay.”
Betty gave a hoot. She jumped up and slapped him on the back

of his shoulder. “Welcome to Bancroft. So what are ya gonna call the

sleuth? I can list several rivers and creeks, lakes and other spots well
named.”

Alphy shook his head. “It wouldn’t be smart to name it while

I’m this tired.”

“So your first order as alpha is to order us to bed?” Betty

puffed out. They stood up and started to head inside. “Fine, but you
get to do the shopping tomorrow.”

“Hey, I thought I was the alpha. Why don’t you do it?”
“Well, I could go to town, all by myself, while you stay here

with the two high wired over-emotional teens, or I can stay here and
put them to work while you get to go to town and…”

“I’ll go,” he interrupted.
Betty laughed. “Thought you’d see it my way.”
Alphy smiled down at the older woman. “I have a feeling your

issue with not getting your own way is unfounded.”

Laughing again, she slipped away to her room, which was on

the main floor down the hall from the kitchen. Alphy made a sweep
around the house, securing windows and doors. Some habits were just
too hard to break. Then he headed up to his master suite. Betty had
turned one of the guest rooms downstairs into her master suite,
leaving this one open to take.

He woke early the next morning, bright and early, which was

another habit he didn’t think he would be able to break. He took a
quick shower and headed downstairs. The boards on the stairs hardly
squeaked as he descended them. He knew someone was up with the
smell that tantalized his recovered senses and lured him into the large
rustic kitchen. It was no surprise it was Betty he saw. The smell was
too good. With the smells waking his appetite, he guessed she was
making biscuits and gravy, bacon, and a small bowl of yogurt and
fruit he could see that sat in a small serving cup, which was placed by
an empty plate. He walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a
cup of the freshly made black brew.

“I see I’m not the only early riser.” He gave her a slight smile.
“Figured you’d like to get outta here before your brother and

sister wake. They may actually wanna go with you to shop or find
some internet connection.”

Taking a sip of the hot black brew, Alphy grunted and took a

seat at the breakfast bar that spanned around the outside of the kitchen
island. Betty set a now full plate down in front of him. After so many

years of military food, and these last few days, fast food, he didn’t
waste time to let it cool before he scarfed it down. In spite of the
speed, the flavors weren’t unappreciated. He groaned several times as
the rich flavors curled his toes. He would gladly get used to this.

Once he finished, he thanked Betty as he put his plate in the

sink, then grabbed his wallet, cell phone, and keys and headed out.
Betty had given him directions and a list. He was good with
directions, another nod to his years of military training and usage of
that training, so he didn’t have any trouble finding the town.
****

Gale was at her limit. The past three weeks had been hell, and

the trials didn’t cease. Her vehicle had a flat. They were all the way
on the other side of the country but were unable to shake the
persistent alpha whose enforcers always kept catching up and finding
them. Her brother was alive, but he was stillhealing. After three days,
the hospitals couldn’t do any more for him, and the whole family was
in danger from the alpha who was out for their blood. They were
running out of money, and they needed it all for renting rooms, fuel,
medical supplies, and food. What was she going to do? She didn’t
know how to change a tire, and no one seemed to be in the mood to
stop and help.

Gale leaned over her steering wheel and started to cry. Things

were just too much for her. When would they catch a break? She
looked up when she heard gravel crunching in front of her. Wiping
her tears away, she got a look at the man as he stepped out of the
truck, and she nearly swallowed her tongue. He was tall, with an
unmistakable tanned muscular body. His brown hair was crew-cut at
the bottom and around his ears, but got longer as it went further up his
scalp and spiked into a pleasant wide upside-down V kind of
Mohawk. Usually she didn’t like Mohawks, but this guy had a style
that worked. His face was perfectly proportioned with defined facial
features accented with a chin strap beard and no mustache, indulgent
pink lips, a straight nose, and soft brown eyes. She’d never seen a
better looking man in her life. He elicited many different emotions
just as she gazed into his eyes, one of those feelings being refuge. For
the first time in three weeks, she felt safe. She had no idea why. He
was a complete stranger, so what was she thinking?

She saw him stop just in front of her car and lift his head

slightly, like he was smelling something. Could he be a shifter? That

thought got her blood flowing in an entirely different manner. Her
stomach began to knot, and her hands were actually starting to shake
when he knocked on her window. Gale debated opening the door. She
felt so drawn to him, and felt that he would never hurt her, but she
also had the other side of her brain reminding her he was a complete
stranger. The man squatted down to her level, his soft brown eyes
looking at her through the glass. “Miss, I’m not going to hurt you. Is
everything ok?”

His voice strummed happy tingles in her belly, and

goosebumps actually broke out on her arms. She looked at his face,
trying to judge his sincerity. But with his voice and those eyes, she
was a goner. She sat there frozen, struck stupid by all his glory. Then
he smiled, and she discovered her butterflies had rocket launchers.
Her breath caught in her throat, and sweat started to bead across her
upper lip and forehead. Oh no, she was sweating. The hottest man on
record and she was staring at him like some wide-eyed loon and
sweating!

“Can I open the door?” he asked her. She loved hearing that

voice. What else could she do to keep him talking?

I bet I could orgasm by just listening to his voice. She didn’t

realize she was nodding until he stood up and flipped up the door
latch to pop it open. Her mind went blank as she found herself staring
right at his lower stomach and crotch. Holy huckleberries, that’s an
impressive bulge.

Cooler air lightly suctioned past her as he opened the door. He

squatted down again, placing his large hands on his bulky upper
thighs. I didn’t know they came in those sizes. Yes, she had truly lost
it. This had to be some sort of hallucination caused from her little
breakdown.

“I’m Ralph, but everyone calls me Alphy.”
Oh boy, she thought, he sounds even better without the

window hampering his voice. Bad window, bad. Her brain, seemingly
out of nowhere, clicked back on just enough to respond. “Gale,” she
breathed out. She felt the hit to the stomach from those rocket-
launcher butterflies again when he gave her a wide, bright smile. His
teeth were straight and white. How do people actually get to look this
perfect?

“It’s nice to meet you. Now, can you tell me what’s gotten you

so upset so I can fix it or kick its ass?”

Her nerves got the better of her because she started to laugh

almost hysterically, and then she started to cry. She saw his face fill
with alarm.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.
He leaned over and pulled her into an awkward hug. It helped

though, because as soon as his arms reached around her and held her,
she suddenly felt all right. She inhaled, filling her lungs with his rich
spicy scent. He smelled so good that she had to internally argue with
herself to exhale, giving up the erotic fragrance.

She felt the loss when he leaned back on his heels but for only

a brief moment until the abrasive skin from his palms lightly grazed
her dampened cheeks as he cupped her face with his giant hands. His
thumb skimmed over her cheek, and she automatically leaned into the
pleasant feeling. She cleared her throat and snapped out of her happy
place. “Uh,” her cheeks pinked, “my tire went flat.”

“I can fix that for you, but that can’t be the full reason why

you were crying. I can see you’ve been upset.” He had gentled his
voice to near whispering. It soothed her, and she began to calm. Gale
took a moment to remember what it was she needed, other than to be
licked like a lollipop by the muscular Adonis in front of her.

She held her breath for a few moments, then shook her head.

“If you could change my tire, that would be great. I have a spare.”

He tilted his head and rested his arms on his legs. “Let’s take a

look to see what has to be done then go from there.” He stood up and
held his hands out for hers. She threw one leg out onto the ground and
grabbed his hands, eagerly taking them, and tried to leap up but was
promptly stopped and pulled back by her seatbelt.

Damn it! She covered her face in embarrassment. She peeked

through her fingers at hearing a rich sexy laugh. The Adonis in front
of her was laughing. He squatted down and reached a colossal arm
around her and pushed the button on her seat belt, releasing her. Then
he grabbed her hands and gently pulled her out of the car.

All she could do was to mutely stare up at him as he held her

hands against his firm warm chest. His thumbs rubbed over her
fingers causing more tingles. And someone really needs to de-arm
those damn butterflies.

She managed to detach her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome.” His voice had lowered, rippling

through to her core, provoking a shiver that galloped down her spine.
Keeping hold of her left hand, he led her around the front of the car to
the passenger side. His eyes roved over the tires as they drew around
to the passenger rear flat tire. Letting go of her hand, he knelt down
and inspected the tire, then stood up and walk back to the front
passenger and made his way around, inspecting all four tires.

His face was tight in concentration as he walked back around

to her. “I can put your spare on, but all your tires need to be replaced.
They aren’t safe for you to drive on, and I’m surprised the others
aren’t flat as well.”

Heat crept up Gale’s neck and spread into her cheeks. She

looked down at the ground and fidgeted. She felt Alphy’s body-heat
as he drew nearer and placed his hands on her shoulders rubbing her
jaw-line with his thumbs. The act drew her sight back up, and she
couldn’t stop herself from looking up into his face and falling into the
soft brown depths of his eyes.

“Do you need help paying for them?”
The burn in her cheeks increased as she struggled with what to

say. Of course she couldn’t pay, or she wouldn’t have gone this long
without changing them. But admitting that to a stranger, whose
opinion seems to matter a great deal to her, was more than
embarrassing.

He looked down at her with understanding showing on his

face. “Let me pay for it,” he offered.

She started to shake her head and opened her mouth to protest,

but it died on her lips when he leaned down and kissed her. It wasn’t
demanding or perverted in any way. It was just a light brush over
hers, enough to feel his softened heat warm hers, and then he pulled
away. But it was enough to take the strength from her legs, and heat
erupted in her abdomen and shot down to the apex of her sex. Her
knees gave way, but his strong arms held tight around her holding her
securely against his hardened sculpted form. He gave a lopsided grin.

“Let me do this for you, please.”
That has to be the sexiest look I have ever seen. She dumbly

nodded her head. “All right, since you said please.”

Alphy gave a hearty laugh as he opened the passenger door.

He carefully sat her down and brushed his lips lightly over hers again
then started to work on the flat tire. Her eyes were glued to his

muscles in motion as they flexed and moved. It was both erotic and
beautiful. When he was done, he wiped his hands off on his pants and
returned to her. She was turned on so much that she swore she left a
wet spot on the seat.

Alphy inhaled. Then his eyes turned heated, and he growled.

She thought he would kiss her again, but he just led her to the driver’s
side and pulled out his cell. After clicking on it a bit, he said, “Oh
good, there’s a tire place right next to the store I was heading to.
Would you be willing to go there, or is there another place you
prefer?”

She lightly shook her head. “I’m not from around here.”
“Oh, neither am I. I just moved here myself. Hop in and

follow me, and I’ll keep an eye out in my rear-view in case you have
any more problems.” He gave her his number and headed back to his
truck.

Gale sat in her car, fighting to get her heart rate back under

control. Things like this never happened to her. She was never the
pretty one. She had a few more pounds on her than the popular girls.
High school had sucked. She had enjoyed college, until they had had
to escape a madman. And with that thought, she was face planted into
the brick wall of reality. Nothing to kill one’s libido like a lunatic of
an alpha and the worthless thugs he called enforcers. She pulled out
onto the street and followed Alphy’s silver-grey pickup.

Chapter Four

Alphy could hardly contain his elation at finding his mate.

Thanks to his superior eyesight, he had seen a woman leaning over
her steering wheel and had thought she looked like she was crying. It
had tugged hard at him, so he’d pulled over. As he approached, his
heart had stuttered hard in his chest when he first scented her. He was
way younger than average for a shifter to find his mate. But then
again, his parents had been, too.

He’d had a devil of a time not outright laughing at her

expression. He knew he had attractive features, and he was pretty
built, but he’d never cared what anyone thought of him before now.
When she’d looked at him like she was a starving woman and he was
a jelly donut, his dick jerked so hard, he swore it nearly tore a hole
through the front of his pants, and he would bet the pattern of his
zipper was imprinted into his dick. At least he was wearing his
button-up shirt untucked, so it would hide the wet spot he was sure he
had.

He kept a close eye on the review mirror, making sure he

didn’t lose her. He knew she was hiding something from him, and
suspected she was in trouble somehow, but he needed to gain her
trust, so he didn’t push. She’d tell him when she was ready.

At a light, he adjusted himself. In his eyes, his little mate was

a beauty. She had long dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, and a curvy
figure that made him want to grab hold and not let go. Ok, so that
sounded corny. But dang it! He thumped his hard-on, trying to get it
to go down. When the light turned green, he continued down the
streets, watching the rearview mirror more than the road. It wasn’t a
real problem as he was a pretty good driver.

They reached a tire center, which was right next to the

supermarket Betty had sent him to. He kept his senses up, more alert
than ever with his mate near. He had learned that when you achieved
a victory, that was when you were most vulnerable, so he knew to
never let his guard down. His victory was finding his mate. No matter
how much anyone would mean to him, no one would be more
important to him than she was, so now would be the worst time to let
his guard down.

Alphy suppressed his giddy side as he parked his truck and got

out. She pulled in next to him, so he helped her out of the car and

arranged for new tires to be put on for her. He was eager to get to
know her better. With the sun shining, they waited outside talking. He
was keeping his conversation light, trying to draw a laugh from her.
He found he greatly enjoyed her laugh. It was melodious to him, and
her face lit up. He got the feeling it had been a long time since she had
laughed, so he felt pride for being the one to give her that happy glow.

The scent of another shifter invaded his nose, and he stiffened

and looked around. He wasn’t aware other shifters were in the area.
Betty would have told him of any, so that meant these shifters were
here without permission.

A sleek, athletic man with short light brown hair hurried for

them. Alphy growled low, stopping the other shifter.

The shifter turned to Gale and held out his hand. “Gale, honey,

we need to go.” Gale looked for one moment at each of them, then
ducked her head and scurried to the man. He pulled her behind him.

“Who the hell are you?” Alphy bit out. He tried to keep the

edge out of his tone, but he was an alpha, and there was another male
standing between him and his yet to be claimed mate.

The man backed up further but pulled Gale closer to his back

with one arm. Before the man could answer, Gale’s shaky voice
quietly carried to his sensitive ears. “Dad, what’s going on?”

Alphy heard the rising alarm in her voice, and the look of fear

was apparent on her face. He growled again. He’d had her happy, but
now she was scared. The scent of her anxiety filled his nose, causing
his bear to rise to the surface to protect what was theirs. His eyes
started to change as he looked at the man before him. Alphy inhaled,
taking in more of his and Gale’s scents. There was no mistaking that
she was full human and he was full shifter.

“Explain yourself,” Alphy ordered the man.
“We’ll be out of your territory by morning. Please let us go.”
He heard Gale intake her breath. “You’re a … a…”
Alphy looked at her with concern. “You know about us?”
“I taught her. Her mother is my mate.” The man answered for

her.

Alphy’s gaze returned to the man, but he heard Gale speak.

“Dad, this is Ralph … uh—”

“Kaska.” He finished for her.
“Ralph Kaska, but everyone calls him Alphy. Alphy, this is

my stepdad, Tom Elkins.”

“Tom, I’d like to say it’s a pleasure, but you’re standing

between me and my fated mate.”

The man’s eyes grew big then narrowed. He drew closer. “Say

it again, so I can smell you.”

All shifters could scent a lie, usually. Alphy didn’t hesitate. He

wanted the man to move. The sooner he moved, the sooner he could
hold his mate. Her scent of fear was drawing out his bear in a
powerful way. He narrowed his eyes. “Gale is my mate, my destined
mate, and if you don’t move, I may maul you.”

Gale was shaking, and he saw tears streaming down her face.

Damn! It turned his stomach knowing he was the one who’d put those
there.

Alphy nearly fist-pumped the air when he saw the man’s

shoulders relax. Tom nodded and turned to Gale. “It’s all right. Calm
down, honey. He’s telling the truth.” The man wiped some of the tears
away. “He will move heaven and earth for you. Remember what I
taught you about fated mates?”

Gale gave an edgy nod. Alphy’s had to suppress a growl as

Tom kissed the top of her head, but then he encouraged her to go
closer to him. Alphy stepped forward, bringing his hands up and
ringing his fingers behind her neck like he had done before. After
using his thumbs to wipe away more of her tears, he pulled her to his
chest and held her. He scented many emotions from her, so many that
it was starting to give him a headache. “Calm down, Gale. I would
never hurt you.” He kept his voice soothing. “I’ve never known a true
mate to ever harm their other half, and that is what you are to me, my
true mate and other half.”

A throat cleared behind them, and he turned to see the middle

aged man that had been working on her car, covered in black dust, no
doubt from all the tires he dealt with, standing there. “Uh, forgive the
interruption. I just wanted to let you know your car is ready.”

“Thank you. Give me just a second and I’ll be in to settle the

bill,” Alphy said. The man nodded and disappeared into the office
part of the building. Alphy kissed the top of Gale’s head. “I’ll be right
back.” He hated letting her go. It went against everything in him. His
bear growled at him when he did, but he had to pay the bill. He
promised his impatient bear they’d get more time, but he felt just as
impatient as he trotted into the building.

Alphy let out a relieved sigh, and the coil of worry that

knotted in his stomach when he left his mate eased when he stepped
back outside and saw Gale was still waiting for him. He eagerly
trotted halfway then slowed to a fast walk. Reaching her, he pulled
her close again and took in a deep breath of her wild berries and
honey scent, reassuring his bear. But his bear paced impatiently. He
didn’t like that she could disappear on him, and the urge to mate and
claim her pushed through his body.

Alphy felt it was fortunate his human mate already knew

about shifters because he knew that was a big step for humans to
overcome. He hoped it would shorten the time it took to convince her
to complete the bond. He was still in a state of shock that he had
found her so early on in life. “So, Tom, want to tell me why you think
you’re leaving by morning? You know I can’t accept my mate going
anywhere without me, and something tells me she needs you right
now, too.”

Tom was reticent. He looked reluctant, and his eyes darted

around before he looked back to him. "It’s best we don’t talk about it
out here. We’re staying just down the road. It’s an Inn you can see
from the curb there.” Tom pointed in the direction, so Alphy agreed to
follow them to the Inn and get the scoop on whom he needed to kill,
and he was sure he needed to kill someone because no one caused that
much stress and sadness on his mate and lived to tell about it. Alphy
could tell it was something big. He’d been in battles enough to get a
sense about these things.

The trip to the Inn didn’t even take them a full sixty seconds

once he pulled out onto the road. It really was close by.

He got out of his truck and followed them to a room on the

bottom floor on the far end. Tom stopped him. “Prepare yourself for
what you are about to see. An alpha had my stepson attacked. He’s
lucky to even be alive.”

Alphy’s stomach went sick. If he was Tom’s stepson, then he

was probably full human as well. This also meant if he took these
people in, he was going to start a war with this alpha. Well, war was
what he knew, and like Tom had said earlier, he would move heaven
and earth for his mate.

The smell of pain hit Alphy’s face as Tom opened the door.

Alphy closed his eyes to get control over his bear. The scent was so

thick that it nearly made him gag. He had been around this scent all
the time when he was in the military, but it never got easier.

The small room was a nice place, bright and well taken care

of. Gale entered and walked over to the embrace of a slightly older
woman who looked just like his mate and who also had the look of
fear in her eyes. Two cubs, a boy and a girl, trotted around the living
space playing with some toys.

Tom gently closed the door behind them. “Honey, this is

Ralph Kaska. Ralph, this is my mate, Connie.” Alphy murmured a
greeting. Tom continued, “It turns out Gale is his destined mate.”
Tom sounded a bit relieved, but he was still tense.

Connie’s eyes grew big, and the scent of relief made its way to

him. “Oh thank goodness.”

Alphy carefully stepped around the tots as he was led to

another room. The smell of pain was strongest in this room. Tom
walked over to the bedside and leaned over to check the human
sleeping there.

Gale came up behind Alphy. “He sleeps a lot because of the

pain meds.”

He stepped aside so she could get through. She walked over to

the other side and crawled up on the bed and cuddled with the
unconscious male. He growled. He figured this was her brother, but
he still hated seeing his mate with anyone else. He knew that would
probably ebb a bit once he finally mated with her, but that knowledge
didn’t do anything to help calm his bear.

Alphy scrubbed his face with his hands; he needed to focus.

He walked closer to get a better look at the family member. The
young man in the bed couldn’t even be legal age yet, and Alphy could
tell he was close to the same age as his own brother. The young man’s
skin was pallid. His arms were in splints, and gauze was wrapped
around part of his head.

“What happened?” Alphy’s tone had gone cold. Someone was

definitely going to die for this.

“We were part of a herd in British Columbia. The alpha found

out…” Tom paused. Alphy’s eyes knitted. Tom moved between him
and the boy. Alphy suppressed his amusement at seeing the shifter
step between him and yet another one of his stepkids. Tom tentatively
continued. “He found out that Paul is gay.” He paused, no doubt
waiting for Alphy’s reaction.

Alphy sighed. He had gay friends, and he had a pretty good

idea where this was going. First he needed to assure the protective
stepfather. He had to hand it to the guy, though, as any man who gave
his stepchildren this kind of devotion had to be given a good deal of
respect. “You can relax, Tom. I have friends who are gay. I don’t
have any problems with it. So what happened next?”

Tom didn’t seem to ease as much as Alphy would have

expected. “What about your alpha? We’ve had trouble with other
alphas. The lack of shifters here was what drew us to come here. I
didn’t know there were any shifters in the area or we would have
avoided coming here.”

Even though the thought of just how close he had come to

missing out on meeting his mate nearly had his bear clawing his way
out to stake claim to her right then and there, the fact the courageous
yet fearful shifter were avoiding shifters, raised his hackles. “You can
rest easy. I am the alpha.”

Tom seemed to relax a bit, so he nodded and continued. “He

ordered us to get rid of him, to send him away. So we secretly packed
up our van and tried to make it look like he was being sent away, but
the alpha’s enforcers grabbed him just before we were going to leave.
They dragged him into the forest and beat him. I took a shotgun after
them and fired one shot into the leg of one of them. They got the hint
and ran.”

Alphy paid close attention to what he said. If Tom had

actually shot one of the enforcers, in spite of it being justified, it could
cause further complications.

Gale spoke up but kept her eyes on her brother. “The hospital

did what they could, but after a few days, we couldn’t stay there any
longer. Every time we move him, it slows his healing, but every time
we find a place to stop and hide, they find us.”

No doubt the stress was slowing his healing, Alphy thought.

As Alphy thought about what he was learning, his bear was pacing
and growling at her closeness to the boy. Damn, I’m already strongly
possessive of her. He was having a difficult time trying not to growl,
but then he saw more tears escape from her watery eyes as he stood
there looking over the boy and the family who rallied behind him.
Well damn. He felt like a heel now. He internally shook himself back
to the current crisis. “You said you were packing everyone up and
then they took him?”

Tom nodded.
Alphy rubbed his face in thought. “You were willing to go

rogue and make your entire family rogue, for your human stepson?”
The more Alphy thought about it, the more respect he had for this
shifter.

Tom bristled, and Alphy saw him starting to get his defenses

up, so he held up his hands in a manner to convey to him to calm
down. “Relax, Tom, I didn’t say it with malice. I’m merely trying to
get it to sink in just how courageous you are. It goes without question
that I’ll help. What you have endured is sick, but you’ve remained
strong and I believe fate is smiling upon you for it. This alpha is a
dead man.”

Tom looked confused and a little bit disbelieving. “Thank

you.” His shoulders slumped as if a huge burden just lifted from them
as he was finally able to relax.

In the military, Alphy had learned teamwork from the start. It

was what made him stronger. Tom had been caring for his family by
himself under a great deal of stress. The more Alphy thought about it,
the more he respected the man.

Alphy decided to move them to the house, but he needed to

call Betty. He might be the alpha, but he wasn’t sure just yet if she
was willing to back him on this and he could use her help. “Let me
make a call.” He left the room and stepped outside and called his
sister’s cell. As the ring tone buzzed in his ear, he made a mental note
to get another cell phone later, to keep at the house and be used like a
landline would have been.

“Hey, big brother, I’ve got fish bones to pick with you. Why

didn’t you wait for me or wake me? I wanted to scout around town.”

“Don’t like the chores Betty has you doing?” he mused.
“Well, no, but I’m trying not to complain or she’ll have me

doing what Reese’s mouth got him stuck with.”

Alphy chuckled. “Please tell me, I can’t wait to hear this.”
Havana sounded only too pleased to tell him. “Well...”

****

Gale was so confused. She saw Alphy step out of the room

and stared at the doorway, deep in thought. Tom sat down on the bed
next to Paul. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

She hesitated, and it was long enough for Tom to make a

decision. “I’ll go watch the twins and send your mom in here. It looks

like you need to talk to her. If you need me for anything, you know
you can always ask me.” He got up and disappeared into the other
room.

Gale didn’t know what to think. So many things had been

happening, and then today just seemed to be life throwing her …
what? A wrench or a lifeline?

In some ways Gale missed their old life, before they learned

about the real paranormal world that really existed around them. Their
mother had been happily married for several years to their dad. After
he had died, hit by a drunk driver, their mother had met a man, Tom
Elkin, who forever changed their lives. Paul was only twelve at the
time and Gale fifteen, when they were sat down and told about
shifters and mates, and why it had to be kept secret from everyone.

Her mother appeared in the doorway, and she had a huge

smile on her face. “Is it true? Is that shifter really your mate?” Her
mother looked positively giddy, but why?

With a solemn face, Gale nodded confirmation.
Connie lay down on the bed on the other side of Paul and

propped her head on her hand to look directly at Gale. “Don’t you get
it?” Gale shook her head in response. Her mother reached over and
cupped her cheek. “A mate means he won’t ever hurt you, leave you,
cheat on you, and the mating will extend your life.” Her mother
withdrew her hand. “Ever since I mated with Tom, my only sorrow
was that I was going to watch you and your brother age and die, and
most parents worry about their child when they’re in a relationship.
There are diseases. There’s abuse, and there’s betrayal. A shifter can’t
cheat on his mate. He can’t get it up for anyone else ever again.”

Ok, so her mom had a strong argument. And being mated to

the hottest man on the planet was also a bonus. But Gale was
confused and nervous. She didn’t have a lot of experience with men.
She’d actually only slept with two guys.

“Mom,” she whispered, “what if I’m not good enough? I’ve

only been with two guys. I wouldn’t know what to do or how to
please him.”

Her mother wasn’t one to get uncomfortable about this

subject. She’d always believed an open relationship with her kids
would help them but a stricter one would put them at risk. She always
wanted her kids to be able to approach her or Tom about anything.
“Fate wouldn’t do that to you. You tell him you’re not very

experienced. Always communicate with your mate. Many issues
could be resolved more easily or avoided completely if there was
better communication. He won’t know how to help you if you don’t
let him know what you need. Shifters are territorial, and more so of
their mates than anything else. He won’t turn you away or be
disgusted in you for your history, but the fewer the lovers in your
past, the more pleased they are. Don’t be afraid to tell him anything.
He’s the one person you should be able to go to for anything. It’s still
a challenge. You’ll have to compromise and forgive, but love will
come fast and never lessen.”

“Do we date? Do we mate right away? I’m having a problem

figuring out what we do now.”

Her mother gave her a look of sympathy. “Think about how

you feel and what would be best for you. If you aren’t ready, you
need to tell him. He shouldn’t hurt you, Gale. I would bet he would
wait for you.”

Gale wasn’t so sure what was right for her. She was still really

young at nineteen, and she did have goals. Her mom must have read
her doubts. “Gale, what was he like when you first met him? How did
he make you feel?”

“Safe. Safe and happy. For the first time since the attack, I felt

safe and happy.” She gave her mother an apologetic look. “I know
you and Tom are doing your best. I’m not sorry for what he did.”

“I know, baby. I’m not sorry either. I love him more than ever.

If he wouldn’t have accepted you two when we first got together, we
wouldn’t have gotten together. Deep down, I thought maybe he was
just putting up a front, but over the last couple of years, I’ve shed
almost all doubts. I didn’t realize I still had doubts until the alpha
ordered him to get rid of Paul. I couldn’t be more proud of him for
what he did or how he handled it.” Her mother’s eyes welled up.
Connie blinked the tears away and shook herself of her mood, and she
smiled at Gale. “I’m a believer in true mates. Take the time you need,
but don’t be afraid to take a chance.”

Tom appeared in the doorway, so her mother got up and went

to him. They stood in the doorway, holding each other, and the look
of intense love on Tom’s face when he looked at her mother made
Gale long for that with Alphy. She remembered Alphy had held her
like that. She could have what her parents had if she just got over her
fears.

“Alphy wants us to move in with him. He lives with his great-

aunt, younger brother, and sister on some property a little ways from
here. What do you think?”

Connie looked up into her mate’s face. “I trust whatever you

choose.”

Tom looked to Gale. Gale stood up and walked over to them.

“Well, he’s my mate.” She hesitated for just a moment. She was
scared to take this next step; it was a big one. But from what she’d
learned, she knew there wouldn’t be a better man for her. “My place
is with him.”

Tom’s smile looked like it was filled with relief. He used one

arm to bring her in for a hug while still holding her mother. He kissed
her temple and pulled back. “He still needs to do some shopping, and
we need to pack up. He said he was going to come back as soon as he
was done. You can go with him if you like. Your mother and I can
handle the packing.”

Nerves played out in Gale’s stomach, so she had to steady

herself. “I’d like that.”

Her mom leaned over and kissed her. “I’m proud of you. Now

go get to know your mate, and remember what we talked about.”

Gale nodded and headed through the door. Her hotter-than-

hell mate was squatted down playing with one of the twins. He stood
up and gave her a panty-wetting smile. He gently took her hand and
led her out the door.

Chapter Five

Alphy nearly let out a whoop when he heard his mate’s answer

to her stepdad. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he
didn’t mention that he was able to hear the entire conversation
between her and her mom. Shifter hearing was far superior to
humans’. He didn’t have to hide his interest in the conversation, as
Tom was just as interested. The two talked lightly, but they kept part
of their attention aimed towards the room.

There were a few things he paid special attention to. Her

nervousness about the mating was important, and he’d have to
remember that.

They were so close to the store that he really didn’t get a

chance to talk before they were already parked in the parking lot of
the supermarket. After they exited the truck, he made sure to hold her
hand as they walked through the parking lot.

“So, uh, what are we shopping for?” she asked tentatively.
Alphy dug into his pocket and pulled out the list and handed it

to her. “We’ll need to grab everything in a bigger quantity. Is there
anything specific your family needs?”

They walked through the open sliding doors, and Alphy

grabbed a cart while Gale skimmed over the list. “We could see if
they have pull-ups. The twins are potty trained, but they still have
accidents at night. And soup—Paul still has trouble eating anything
too solid.”

He nodded as they started roaming up and down the aisles.

They worked their way over to the bakery department. Alphy took in
a deep breath and hummed as he let it out.

Gale looked sideways at him and smiled. “Got a sweet tooth?”
“Guilty. Most shifters do. How about we get a few dozen

donuts to take back to everyone?”

Gale got timid again, and she looked down and shrugged. He

stopped and pulled her soft figure against him. Crooking a finger, he
used the side of it to gently lift her chin until he was looking into her
bright hazel eyes. “What’s wrong? If you don’t like donuts, we can
get something else.”

She fidgeted a little bit and tried several times to look away,

but he would have none of that. Her cheeks pinked, but he waited
patiently until she finally confided in him.

She gave a defeated sigh. “Donuts are fine.” Her voice was

just above a whisper. He let her chin go and held her closer to him.

“That’s not what I asked, my beautiful mate. I can’t help you

if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“I’m really not that beautiful. You’re the drop-dead gorgeous

one, which is nearly what I did when I first saw you.”

He chuffed with her description upon seeing him, then grew

very serious. He placed his finger under her chin again until her
entrancing eyes were looking into his again. “You are more beautiful
to me than any other woman I have ever met. I don’t ever want to
hear you putting yourself down like that. Would you tell your baby
sister that?”

Gale gave a sharp look of shock and gasped. “Of course not.”
“Even if she was getting a little heavier than other girls her

age?” he asked.

Gale’s brows knitted together. “Never, she’s beautiful no

matter what.”

“Exactly. But if you did tell her that, do you think she would

start to believe it?”

“Yes.”
“Well, it works the same way when you tell yourself things. If

those things are negative, it will drag you down, but if you constantly
encourage yourself, it will lift you up. And how you view yourself or
treat yourself, reflects on others around you. They can grow confident
or insecure by watching how you think of yourself. I love everything
about you. I don’t want you insulting my mate, and I’ve discovered
I’m extremely defensive of her.” He ended the last sentence with an
amused smile.

Gale thought for only a moment, and then a warm and wide

smile spread across her face. He could see the tears start to form in
her eyes. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. He didn’t
want to stop at just a brush like last time, especially with her
confidence being so fragile, so he gladly took the kiss further.

Alphy ran his tongue over the seam of her lips. They parted in

a muffled gasp, and he dipped his tongue in to taste his mate. Her
honey flavor burst over his tongue. He felt his shaft strain the front of
his pants, causing abundant pain, which pulled him out of his lust
enough to end the kiss. His instincts to claim her right here in the
store ran heavy, and he didn’t want to take her in a public place.

He pulled back to see his mate still had her eyes shut. She

swayed just a bit before her eyes fluttered open to reveal a glazed look
in her eyes. He suddenly didn’t feel much like being out in public, and
he agreed with his bear. They wanted her in their den so they could
explore their mate much more thoroughly.

They finished their list and made their way through the check

stand. After loading the truck, they headed back to the Inn. Alphy was
alarmed to see a muscular man banging on the door to their room with
two others standing nearby acting as scouts. He smelled heavy fear
coming from his mate.

“Do you know those men?” he asked her, already guessing the

answer.

She nodded her head shakily. “Thos-se are t-t-the…”
He grabbed her hand. “Ok, I’ll take care of this, but I need you

stay here.” He squeezed her hand, but she didn’t let go right away
when he tried to leave the truck. He looked back to her, and she was
very white. “I know what I’m doing. I need you to trust me. It will be
all right,” he promised. She let go, and he made his way over to the
three men. He could smell their scent. They were definitely elk
shifters.

The closest one stepped forward as he approached. He held up

his hand, and Alphy knew he started talking before he had smelled
him, or he wouldn’t have gotten in his way. “Hey, buddy, nothing
going on here. We’re just apprehending some…”

He didn’t get to finish before Alphy laid him out.
The other two quickly approached. “Hey! Back off. Who the

hell—oof.”

Two down on the ground. Alphy turned his sights on the now

frightened third enforcer. The elk shifter held his hands up and sniffed
the air, and his eyes got bigger. To enter into an alpha’s territory
unannounced, especially if you were of any rank, was a major
offense, one held against the encroaching pack. They could scent his
anger and feel his presence, so they knew now they were in
someone’s territory and that they were not welcome.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We didn’t know there was a pack near

here. We didn’t know we were in your territory. If you just let me
explain—”

Alphy did want to hear what they had to say. The more

information he could get to incriminate the alpha and his enforcers,

the better. Alphy crossed his arms over his chest. “You have sixty
seconds. Talk fast.”

The enforcer looked like he was trying to get moisture back

into his now dry throat. Alphy watched him, but he kept an eye on the
other two as they came around and limped back over to the third
enforcer.

“We’re chasing rogues. They attacked an enforcer and stole

from the alpha of our territory. They were part of our herd. They’re
here, so we’ll just take them and go.”

“No, you won’t. This is my territory, and I say when someone

can come and go. What are you accusing them of stealing?”

“You don’t want to do that, man. Our alpha is pretty pissed, so

it will cause a lot of problems for you if you don’t let us take them
back. You don’t want that. They aren’t worth it.”

One of the men, who was holding his stomach and leaning

against the wall, snorted. “Yeah, one of them’s gay.”

“Shut up, man,” the other injured enforcer bit out through

clenched teeth.

“Is that some kind of veiled threat?” Alphy knew it was, and

he nearly ground his teeth.

The “diplomatic” enforcer continued. “We’ll just take them

out of your territory. I’m sure whatever they told you was a lie. Our
alpha would be grateful, and he’s willing to compensate for any
inconvenience.”

Alphy almost rolled his eyes. “I’m a shifter, you half-witted

dung-beetle. I could smell if they lied, and they aren’t lying. You,
however, are. I can smell it. They only shot your enforcer in self-
defense. I would like to know what your alpha claims they stole.”

The enforcer was clearly losing his patience, and he glared at

Alphy for being called out. Alphy gave a warning growl, letting his
bear show through his eyes and his canines cut through his gums,
showing themselves to the enforcers. The man looked down and tilted
his head. “Money. They stole from the herd accounts.”

Alpha stalked over to the man and lifted him up until he was

standing on his tiptoes. The other two only backed up. “Pay attention
because I’m only telling you this once.” He glanced over at the other
two. “You two may want to help him remember, as I’m sure none of
you alone would have enough brain-power to remember this.” He
looked back into the other shifter’s eyes. “One, I can smell your lie.

Two, I aready spoke to them, and one is my fated mate. Which brings
us to three, if you or your alpha comes near my territory, if you or
your alpha contracts or orders an attack on anyone in my territory, or
if anyone,” he growled, “lays a finger on my mate, or her family,
when I get a hold of them, it will take them a very long time to die! I
will kill their family, slowly. I will kill their pets, their lawyer, and
their third grade school teacher, just for having a role in their
worthless miserable lives. I am not an alpha to fuck with. Am I
clear?” He shouted at the last. Alphy’s rage burned in his chest. He
growled as fiercely as he dared to in public, to slam home his
message.

Letting go of the terrified shifter, he watched as the piece of

shit didn’t quite catch himself and fell with a thump to the ground. All
three enforcers whimpered from the presence he projected. They
stumbled and scurried to their vehicles and sped out of the parking lot.
Alphy took a look around to make sure everything was clear. He
didn’t want to be surprised by a lurking extra or some wandering
human. When he judged it safe, he signaled for Gale to come to him.
She didn’t hesitate. She sprinted across the small lot and into his
arms. She had tears pouring down her face, and as soon as she was in
the safety of his arms, she sobbed. He could smell her panic and pure
distress. He rubbed her back and kept telling her, over and over again,
that she was all right.

Alphy looked up as the door opened. Tom looked out and

around, and he was holding a shotgun. They locked eyes, giving each
other a nod, and Tom dipped back inside, then returned with a groggy
Paul in his arms, followed by Connie, leading the twins behind her.
They loaded them into the van and climbed in.

Alphy didn’t want to let his mate out of his reach, but he

didn’t want her to leave her stuff in the lot either. He didn’t want
those idiots getting anything that belonged to her. Drawing back, he
wiped away her tears. “Are you all right?”

She drew in a shaking breath as she nodded. He kissed her on

her forehead. “Are you good enough to drive? I don’t want to leave
your car here.” She nodded her head again. He walked her to her
vehicle and helped her in, then jumped into his own. He sent a quick
text to his sister before leading his new family out onto the road. He
stayed alert the entire ride home, which made it feel so much longer
than it was.

His aunt, sister, and brother were all on the porch waiting for

them when they arrived. His sister and brother quickly trotted over to
his truck to unload the groceries while his aunt stayed on the porch
and directed Tom as he carried in a moaning Paul. He briefly regarded
his mate as she was helping her mother with the twins, a desire to
create his own cubs with her thrumming through his heart. Scanning
the area for potential threats, he saw too many places they could be
approached. He would need help keeping his family safe, but for now,
he didn’t see, hear, or smell anyone or thing out of the ordinary.
Deeming it safe for now, he grabbed some grocery bags and started
hauling them inside.

He heard his aunt in her room giving Tom orders. Dropping

off his load, he decided to check out what was going on. He spotted
his aunt leaning over Paul, trying to get him to drink down some tea.
“Come on now. I know it isn’t the best tasting stuff, but it will help
you. That’s it. Those lowlife monsters give all us shifters a bad
name.” She fussed over him, tucking him in and checking out his
bandages.

Connie joined them, and Betty looked up at the couple. “I’ll

have him stay in here, and I’ll take the room across that hall. It will be
no trouble putting my stuff in the other room. Take your pick of
rooms, or even better, you can have the apartment in the basement or
the apartment over the garage. That will give you some personal
space, and you can finally unpack and unwind.”

Connie had a mix of emotion flutter across her face. “Unpack?

You want us to move in?”

Betty regarded the human. “If you don’t wish to, then you

don’t have to, but you’re family now and you are positively welcome
here.”

Before Connie could respond, Alphy spoke. “Remember, I

have offered you sanctuary in my territory, and if you wish to petition
to join us, then I will be happy to accept you as part of our pack.”

Tom squeezed his mate closer to him. “Thank you, Alpha, we

would like that.”

Connie nodded. Her face crumpled, and she turned into her

mate’s embrace and sobbed. Tom looked back at Alphy with barely
contained tears of relief himself. “I know it’s only been a few weeks,
but it has felt like an eternity since we were able to feel welcome and
safe. You have my loyalty.”

Nodding his head, Alphy turned and headed out of the room.

He found his mate sitting on a soft dark brown suede couch, talking
with his sister Havana, and watching the tots play and explore in the
living space near the wood stove. His brother, Reese, was down on
the floor playing gently with them.

Gale looked up as he drew near and smiled at him. It was a

tired smile, but it had no less effect to cause his heart to stutter and his
stomach to flip with desire and excitement. This was his family now,
and a sense of purpose and pride filled him. As he approached his
mate, he looked over at his brother, who looked up at him as he
approached.

“We have cubs in the house now,” said Alphy. “No more potty

mouth or the next time you have to clean the chicken coop, you’ll do
it with your toothbrush.”

Their sister started to laugh, and he joined in at his brother’s

expression. Reese huffed indignantly. “Hey, it was a flipping spider!
You can’t be held accountable for what you say when you see a
spider.”

That got everyone laughing, including Alphy’s mate.

He turned to Havana. “Would you mind watching the cubs … all the
cubs?” He gave an exaggerated look toward his brother.

Laughter filled the room as Havana eagerly nodded, ignoring

Reese’s protest, and Alphy led Gale up to his room. He smelt her
nervousness before they even reached his door, so he opened the door
but didn’t go in. He stood in the entryway and held her in his arms.
“I’m not going to force you to do anything you aren’t ready for. I
want you to feel comfortable coming to me about anything. That
being said, I also want to be upfront with you. You’ll be better able to
make your choices that are best for you without guessing what it is I
want or expect. Are you ok with that?”

Gale nodded, and he could sense that her nerves lessened, but

were still there. He continued. “I want to move you into my room,
with me.”

Alphy expected he would have to explain more about how fast

shifters accepted their mates. Most humans had beliefs about how
long one should take to move in together and fall in love, but those
things happened fast with shifter mates. However she surprised him
by nodding her head.

“I trust you.”

Alphy closed his eyes tight, and he let out a relieved breath.

Inside, his bear settled a wee bit but not much. Not until they had their
mark on her would he totally be satisfied.

He opened his eyes and placed his forehead against hers.

“Thank you, Honey-bear.”

Alphy felt the skin on her forehead tug on his as her eyebrows

rose up. “Honey-bear? Does that mean I get to give you a pet name? I
was always kind of fond of ‘poopsy’.”

Alphy growled then chuckled. “You can call me anything you

want, just maybe keep the poopsies to a minimum. I am an alpha and
would hate to have to maul someone because they didn’t take me
seriously.”

Alphy felt like fireworks would explode out his chest with his

intense feelings for his mate. She may be afraid, but she trusted him.
That alone meant the world to him, and he loved her sense of humor.
He figured once this threat passed, she would be trouble, and he
couldn’t wait to be a part of it. His bear approved immensely when
they watched her start to haul her personal effects into their room and
look for places to put them. He may not have had the room long, but
his bear had already claimed the space. The rest of the morning was
spent unloading.

Alphy had only had a brief look at the house when he locked

things up the night before, but he decided he needed to get acquainted
with the whole building and surroundings. He needed to keep his
mate and his pack safe, and he couldn’t do that if he didn’t know his
way around or wasn’t able to notice anything out of place. So while
the others unloaded, he explored.

He started with the basement that Tom and Connie had

decided to move in to. Taking a load down to the basement, he took a
quick looked around. It was a comfortable space that had three
bedrooms and a kitchen with a closet pantry. The living space was
open, much like the main house upstairs and had a wood stove also.
To one side, there was a door that led outside.

Alphy opened the outside door and looked around. The porch

was overhead, shading the area, but it was clean and neat with a
wooden bench against the wall and hooks and brackets to hang
planters on. However, though standing at the bottom of the cement
stairs he could stand up straight, the further up he went, the more he
would have to crouch. Still, the porch was high enough to allow easy

movement, if a little hunched over, underneath. He overheard Connie
and Tom discuss adding shade-friendly plants, more comfortable
seating, and a perhaps a sandbox for the kids. They were really
excited about the space.

Alphy headed up the stairs and crouched under the porch. He

walked out into the sun and around the house to the garage. It was
time to find out what Betty kept in there. He had wondered since he
arrived what she had in there.

He opened the side door and cautiously walked into the

darkened space and let his eyes adjust. What he saw caught him
totally by surprise. In front of him, in the middle of the large space,
was a boxing ring. Around the ring were several different boxing
bags, weights, all kinds of protective gear in adult sizes and kid sizes,
boxing gloves and tape, and sparring gear. Alphy had spent loads of
time in gyms strength training and sparring, and he took in a breath
and enjoyed the familiar scents. He knew this would be a place he
would escape to often, and seeing the kid gear, he felt a twinge of
excitement at the idea of training others, perhaps even his own kids.

“When you open the garage doors, it opens it up further. So

you like it?”

Alphy didn’t jump as he’d smelled Betty was near. “Yeah, the

only place I spent more time than the gym, was in the field of battle.
This isn’t old equipment, yet I don’t smell you’ve been here recently.”

Betty waved a hand. “Nah, wasn’t my thing. It was, however,

my brothers’ favorite thing. They loved boxing and they could get
quite a bit rowdy, so our dad built this and used it to train the boys. It
taught them how to defend themselves, and it got rid of their extra
energy at the same time. It was even used to settle disputes between
the brothers. I actually kept it up-to-date for two reasons.” She walked
over and stood next to him as he was inspecting the corner bags. “I
did it to honor their memories, for one. And as I told you, your mother
couldn’t stop going on about you, and she told me how good a fighter
you were. I figured once I died, you would inherit all this, so I made it
as best I could. I did a lot of things with both of those thoughts in
mind, in honor of my brothers and in preparations for it becoming a
sleuth once again.”

Alphy looked up. “Is that why you have so much electricity

set up?”

“Yep, this was always the central hub, being that it was where

the alpha lived. We always had gatherings, celebrations, events, or
visitors. There was always something going on. I think I also did it for
something to do, something other than feed chickens or weed. I
always hoped it would be the hub of an alpha once again, one day.”

Alphy wandered around looking at the gear. “So you really

don’t mind all the company.” He didn’t really ask, it was just
affirmation, but she answered anyway.

“Of course. I never had the urge to leave or travel, but I enjoy

having people around. Let me ask you something. You offered to
allow them to join our ‘pack’. Why not sleuth? We are bears.”

Alphy nodded and turned to face her. “I know, but ‘sleuth’

indicates bears. ‘Pack’ is more of a broad term. We may be bears, but
Tom is elk, our mates are human, and if all turns out, we may just
have wolf, lion, hawk, anaconda, and even vampire, join us. Pack
seems to fit more to me than sleuth does.”

Betty’s eyes went big when her brows shot to her hairline.

“Anaconda and vampire?” She puffed out a snort and started for the
door. “Ok, pack it is.” She paused at the door and looked back at him
with a serious look on her face. “But I better not find the snake’s
creepy-ass, shed skin lying around, and the vampire better keep his
fangs clean.”

Alphy gave a tilted smile. He enjoyed her sense of humor …

or was she really serious? He continued to explore the garage, then
moved on to the apartment upstairs from it.

The apartment over the garage was a comfortable size. It was

built as one bedroom apartment with loads of light coming in from
several windows. The place was bright, and without the walls
hampering it, it lit up the space.

It had a decent sized kitchen, a large full sized bathroom, and

a walk-in closet. Alphy loved the light. It gave it the sense it was a
larger space than it was. He thought about his friends whom he was
going to invite and really hoped they accepted. This was a perfect
apartment for either his friend who he wanted as his beta, or his friend
who was a hawk.

He continued to roam the space, thinking more about his

friends. Just that morning, on his way to town, he had been thinking
about how Betty had said he was now alpha. He already had in mind
asking some of his friends to join him. One was gay, so no pack

wanted him. He was Alphy’s closest friend and could nearly beat him
when they sparred, so he was planning on asking him to be his beta.
This would be a great space for him.

Another was a hawk shifter whose family had been murdered,

and he was left without a clutch. He was Alphy’s second best friend
and a deadly sniper. He would adore this space, with it being higher
up and an open space.

Leaning against the kitchen island that seconded as a breakfast

bar, he pulled out his cell. Now was a good time to call in the “pack”.

Chapter Six

Enzo’s amused voice resonated through the connection. “Hey,

look at that. An apparition. I’m gifted with communicating with the
dead. How goes the afterlife?”

Alphy grunted but kept his voice serious. “Busy, you need to

join me, and bring the kids.” Referring to their other friends.

His best and closest friend didn’t miss the urgency of the

matter. His voice lowered in response. “We’ll be there in twenty-four
hours or less. Wanna tell me what’s up, or do I get to be surprised?”

“I found my mate.” Alphy waited for his friend’s wisecrack.
“Congratulations! So you want the whole family together for a

reunion or do you need someone to show you where to put it?”

Alphy loved his friend, but he didn’t feel like playing along

this time. “Some super ass-wipe of an alpha tried to have her brother
killed for being gay and claims they stole money from him.”

“Fuck, you just don’t understand the concept of retirement.

You’re supposed to avoid trouble. How’s her brother?”

“Alive, but he lost an eye and his ribs and wrists were

fractured so they’re still healing. Staying on the run is slowing his
healing. My mater and her brother are full human, kids from her
mother’s previous marriage. A shifter mated their mom, and now they
have a pair of cubs. The whole family is being targeted because the
stepfather refused to send his gay stepson away.”

“So he defied his alpha, packed up the kids, and fled?”
“Yeah, but not before his enforcers dragged the gay son away

and tried beating him to death. The stepdad took a shotgun and shot
one of them, so now the alpha has other alphas on his side, believing
they’re rogues and theives.”

He heard his friend whistle his expression. “Damn, a stepdad

that would do all that for a kid that wasn’t his own? Respect. So you
need the family together to fight a great big shifter war? I’ll bring the
heavy guns. So, where do you want us?”

Alphy sighed. “I’m not finished with the big news.”
“More? You really don’t know how to take a break. What

more do you have to tell me? Lay it on me.”

“I told you I was heading to a relative’s after I picked up my

brother and sister?”

“Yeah, how they doing?”

“It’s been a bit rough, but they’ll be all right. We got up here,

and my bear immediately settled. It’s home, Enzo. My bear claimed
the area before I even got out of the truck. My aunt, somehow, kept
the area in hopes to rebuild the sleuth. She told me if I wanted to stay
here, I could, so I’m now an alpha of a territory.” Alphy huffed into
the phone. “We arrived just yesterday. She offered last night and I
accepted, and it’s a good thing since I met my mate no more than
twelve hours later.” Alphy grunted again and mused how fast life
could play out. “Just before I met her, I was thinking about you and
the others. I want you to be my beta. Will you think about that?”

His friend paused a moment, and Alphy knew he was battling

his emotions. Enzo was a wolf, a true pack animal, yet he was forced
to live without a pack because he was gay and his birth pack and
others he had asked to join didn’t want him. Alphy knew what it
meant to him to be offered a pack, but to also be offered a rank was
something Alphy knew Enzo didn’t think he would ever have.

After a few moments, Enzo cleared his throat a couple times

until he was able to speak. “Psh, no need to think about it, I accept.”
Alphy could hear the barely controlled emotion mixed with the
excitement in his friend’s voice. “Hot dog! It will feel so good to be a
part of something again, and beta? Best friend ever.” His friend said
the last sentence like a teenage girl. He always loved to subtly mock a
gay stereotype many took him for when they heard he was gay.

Alphy laughed and spoke a few more minutes as they planned

the next events. He hung up and dialed another number.

“You couldn’t live without me and my dick after all? I’m

flattered, and I accept!” Ryker drawled.

Alphy laughed. What was it with his friends answering first

thing with a quick quip? What ever happened to the good old
fashioned “hello”? Then again, he wouldn’t want his friends to be any
other way but themselves.

“Hey Ryker, good, get your ass up here and bring Seamus. In

fact, make sure Seamus is on the next flight out, if he would, and
bring his med-kit.”

“Well dayum! He’s having flight issues and is stuck in

Chicago. I’ll call him right away and tell him to quickly switch
flights. Then I’ll call you back and you can tell me what’s going on
while I pack.”

While Alphy waited for Ryker to call back, he headed

downstairs and out to the barn. He still hadn’t seen what was in every
building. However, before he reached the barn, his phone rang. He
checked the ID before he connected the call. “Hi, Seamus.”

“What the fuck did you do?”
“I found my mate, and her brother, who’s full human, is really

lucky to still be alive. We need a doctor, Sea.”

“I would say you seriously pissed off fate to have so much

trouble all the time, but congratulations proving that theory wrong in
finding your mate. Where am I changing my flight to?”

Alphy blew out a breath. “Thank you.” He rattled off

directions.

“Got it, new flight leaves in twenty. I’ll reserve a rental car

and be there by supper. Then you can explain to me what the hell all
is going on.”

Alphy called Ryker back, who picked up on the first ring,

“Hey handsome, I have my flight from PDX booked, and I’m packing
right now, so, wanna tell me what’s going on? Are your brother and
sister ok?”

Alphy explained the situation while he paced in the afternoon

sun.

“Man, that alpha is going to get an ugly taste of reality, I am

so glad I’m your friend and not his. How long do you think this will
take?”

Alphy saw Gale coming towards him. Keeping his eyes on her

luscious form he answered Ryker, “Uh, I don’t know, it depends how
stupid he is. But I was hoping to convince you and your brother, while
you’re here, to stay.”

“Hooya baby, I’ll pack my collection. Have someone pick me

up at the airport, and I’ll text you the flight info. Hold on, I’m getting
a text.” After a brief moment of silence, Ryker announced, “Okay,
Sea-salt said he just got word that Kace and Slate are going to be
joining up with him. He’s going to wait there for them and be there by
tonight. Who all else did you invite? Do I know any of them? Are
they as sexy as you?”

“The others would be Enzo, Matteo, and Nix.”
“Oh yeah, sexy heaven. See you soon.” Ryker hung up just as

Gale reached Alphy. He pocketed his cell and took her into his arms.

“How’re you doin’, honey-bear? Are you all moved in?”

“Yeah, everything’s unloaded from both vehicles. Can I ask

who you were talking to?”

“Calling in my buddies. One’s a doctor and will be here in a

few hours.” He kissed the top of her head, but even that caused his
dick to make his pants uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry we’re so much trouble. I can never repay him for

helping.”

Alphy softly grabbed her under her chin. “Hey now, stop it.

You and your family are no trouble. You are family, and family sticks
together, through thick and thin. Fate brought us together, and things
may just very well get worse before they get better, but it will get
better. We just need to stick together.”

He honed in on her lips when she licked them. They both

seemed to have suddenly gotten distracted. Ducking down to taste
her, he sucked in her lower lip. Her flavors permeated his senses, and
caused him to lose control. His senses focused solely on her, pushing
a shivering zing through his body. The taste of her honey flavor burst
on his tongue, and he dove in for a full on meal.

As he slid his hands down her warm body, his fingertips

tingled as he ran them over the texture of her jeans until he reached
the soft bend of her ass cheeks. Curling his fingers lightly, he
squeezed her two globes and pulled her tighter to him against his
hardened shaft, eagerly swallowing her surprised inhale and moans.

Gale grabbed the collar on his button-up shirt and pulled him

down to further deepen their kiss. He could feel the peaks of her
breasts flatten against his chest, summoning a dollop of pre-cum from
his ready staff. His bear growled with pleasure and approval as she
mewled and rubbed against him and the scent of her arousal
surrounded them.

Alphy pulled away, and they were both breathing hard. Her

lips were swollen and red, and her eyes were dilated, her body
humming against his. He needed her. A low possessive growl rose
from his chest. Tightening his hold, he lifted her up, and her legs
automatically wrapped around his waist. Pleasure overtook his senses
as the heat between her legs blanketed his still covered and straining
phallus. Mate! Claim! Now! His bear clawed at his foggy brain, and
damn it, he was too far gone to argue.

Keeping her secured against him, he swiftly walked around

the side of the barn. The motion further rubbed his strained dick

against her moist folds pulling several more squeaks and groans from
his mate. Backing her against the barn, he further leaned into her and
began kissing her plump lips, now in earnest. Using his hips to keep
her up against the wall, he caressed her form as he slid his fingers
under her shirt and lifted it off.

Alphy pulled away briefly as he pulled the red T over her

wavy hair, then reaffirmed his intentions on her fevered lips. They
crashed together, sliding across with a suction that set his body on
fire. He returned one hand to her lush ass cheek while the other
rubbed between them over her breast. He squeezed and slid back
letting his fingers glide over the satin fabric of her bra, to come to a
slight pinch at the hardened nipple.

He was crushed so hard against her that his dick felt her

vaginal muscles tighten as he lightly pinched her nipple through the
fabric. He let his fingers slick over it before he couldn’t stand to be
kept from her flesh any longer and popped her tit out of its cup. He
pulled away, lifted her up and latched onto her nipple.

Gale let out surprised and pleasured sounds that further

spurred the fire in his veins, and his canines were itching at his gums.

He reached behind her, and while laving her nipple around her

areola with his tongue, he attempted to unhook her bra. But he had big
hands and his brain and patience were totally gone, so when he
encountered resistance, he just pulled and ripped the bra strap.

The mounds unveiled as the bra fell away. They were just a

little bigger than his hands, perfect for him to play with, and the
nipples were hardened into perfect nubs to suckle. Growling his
approval, he leaned down to give attention to the other nipple using
both hands to squeeze and massage her soft body.

Gale moaned and further rubbed against his hardness. He

couldn’t handle the pain any longer, so moving one hand from its
prize, and sliding it between their clashing bodies, he unbuttoned his
pants and pulled down the zipper. He had to arch slightly away from
the moist heat of his mate to accomplish this, but once the zipper
came down, he felt the cooler air flow over his exposed cock as it
flipped free.

Gale was panting. “Down … put me down.”
A cold knot tightened in his belly. Did I go too far? He gave

her a questioning look but complied.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, she sank to her knees

wrapping one of her feminine hands around his dick and wasted no
time pulling herself forward, flicking out her tongue to remove the
clear liquid from his slit. His knees nearly gave out on him. He placed
one hand against the wall and threaded his fingers into her dirty
blonde strands with the other.

“Oh baby.” His voice was low and strained with intense

pleasure. “Oh yeah, oh your mouth is golden. Mmm.” He vocalized
his praise to encourage her and let her know how well she was doing.

Her mouth wrapped around his head and backed off with a

pop. He actually whimpered and had to lock his knees.

As she wrapped one of her soft, warm hands around the base

of his shaft, the other came up and rolled his balls. He was about to
explode in faster time then he had ever, since puberty.

“Oh, honey-bear, I’m close,” he warned. Instead of pulling

off, her hand that was around his cock squeezed and lightly pulled as
she wrapped her mouth around the encouraged mushroomed leaking
head, and sucked as far down as she could until she gagged a little.

“Whoa, baby, don’t force yourself.” It was a bugger to speak

when his lungs were having a hard time filling. He was a Seal, for
crying out loud. He could run miles without stopping, without sleep,
and injured, but the very touch of his mate and he was about to
hyperventilate.

She hummed, and he lost his control. Alphy cried out as his

balls pulled tight with a force like he had never felt. Every muscle in
his body stiffened, and his eyes were pinched shut as wave after wave
shot down Gale’s suckling mouth. His lungs started to burn from lack
of oxygen as his diaphragm was frozen along with his muscles, from
the intensity of his release. He took in a deep breath, and when he let
it out, his stomach contracted and his balls unloaded another shot. His
cock started feeling over-sensitized so he pulled gently on her hair
and removed her mouth from his softening cock.

Leaning on his elbow against the wall of the barn, Alphy

rested his forehead in the bend of his elbow as he struggled to catch
his breath in the after-pings of endorphins. As he brought his body
back under control, he looked down at a very pleased-with-herself
mate, with his fingers still threaded in her hair as he was unwilling to
let go of the silken strands.

She looked up at him with a proud smile then licked her

plump, glistening lips. His cock jerked at the sight, and he felt it
attempt to rise again. Knowing how true-mates were supposed to
affect their mates, he knew if he didn’t move, he would be waving a
spit-slicked fully erect cock in her face again. Suddenly, he wanted to
do her in every position all at once. He had to close his eyes and get
his body under control.

Finally able to put movement into his knees without them

giving out, he moved his form onto his jellied legs and helped his
mate up. Then sinking to his knees, he unbuttoned her pants, and
looking up at her, leaned in and pressed his face into her stomach and
proceeded in licking, kissing, and nipping at her quivering flesh.

Gale leaned back against the wall as Alphy unzipped her

pants. He slid his fingers into the waist line and slid her pants down
her hips letting his digits graze her legs lightly as they followed the
denim down. Goosebumps pricked over his skin at the feel of Gale’s
fingers threading through his soft, spiky hair and scraping his scalp.
He smiled against her skin, knowing he was doing it right.

She wore satin white bikini undies that quickly followed the

same path as her pants while he introduced his tongue to her navel.
Once the fabric was out of the way, his lips trekked a moist trail down
to her pubic line.

The fingers in his hair pulled, but he wasn’t going to give up

his prize just yet. He could smell her juices were heavy and scented
thick with desire. He wasn’t a selfish lover, so he was going to give
her a climax and drink the honey of her release. Or maybe he was a
selfish lover because he wanted that honey and would do everything
he could to get it. His cock was hard and leaking again, bobbing
between his legs.

Above him, Gale moaned and gasped. He buried his nose in

her furred slit, and inhaled, savoring the scent of her, his mouth
watering. He hardened the tip of his tongue and pushed it between her
folds, then moved it up and down, around, in and out and around
again. The flavor of her rivaled anything he had ever tasted. His mate
writhed, squirmed, and wiggled overhead. He wanted to take the
strength from her legs, so she needed a safe position. He adjusted her
legs over his shoulders and pushed her farther back so she was
leaning against the wall and sitting on his shoulders, completely

supported so she could enjoy what he was doing, unhindered by the
nuisance of fighting gravity.

He had to use his hands to hold her on his shoulders, so he

tilted her up and wiggled his face against her nether-lips until he felt
her folds caress his face and was able to reach her nub to suck on it.
Her juices coated his tongue when he sucked in her nub and lapped on
it like he did her nipple, suckling and tonguing around it and over it.

His cock jerked and slapped against his stomach leaving spots

of pre-cum from his leaking slit. He pushed his tongue lower and
brought it back up, and shook his face in super quick spurts, moaning
into her folds. Her legs jolted and jerked, her hands painfully fisting
in his hair, but he was unrelenting.

Gale cried out, arched her back and stiffened. He felt her

muscles tense around his lips as her juices flowed, and he drank it
down as fast as he could. His own body tingled its nearness to release
a second time.

His mate went boneless but managed to mumble something

that snapped any self-control he had over his bear. “Mmm, claim me,
Alphy.”

Alphy gave a guttural and possessive growl. His canines

crashed through his gums, and instinct possessed him. He dropped her
down onto his lap. He couldn’t just slam into her like he thought he
would do, as she was so tight, but gravity helped as he eased her
down and slid into her. After he bottomed out, he gripped her ass
cheeks and squeezed, pulling her up his length then easing her down.
He only had to bounce her three times before he shot into her.

Quickly grabbing the back of her neck, he pulled her forward,

sinking his ready canines into the apex of her neck. Her orgasm
slammed through her, causing her muscles to tighten painfully around
his cock as the spasms milked him. He groaned around the flesh he
held in his mouth and swallowed her blood as it coated his tongue.
Careful not to tear her, he removed his canines and licked her mark,
sealing their bond.

Alphy’s bear smugly curled up inside his head. They had

bound their mate to them. Once the mark was sealed, he breathed
butterfly kisses over it. His hands slid up her rump and over the arch
of her back, and he pulled her closer to him. Now he had his mate, he
had a family, and he had a pack. He felt complete now. Now to keep
it safe.

“Wow.” His mate breathed out with a shaky and breathless

voice. “Mom told me about the mating bite, but I thought she was
exaggerating.”

Alphy shook with suppressed laughter, but he really didn’t

have the breath to fully laugh. “Does that mean I can bite you again
later?”

“Again and again and again…” They both laughed together.

He cupped her face with his hands and gave her a sweet, short kiss,
then carefully eased her off him.

He growled as his deflated appendage slipped from its oozing

home. He saw his essence slick her skin and felt a feral possessive
pride burn in his chest. She was his! At the sight of it and the thought
of that, he felt a tingle in his package, threatening to revive. He didn’t
want to take her where anyone could walk up on them. Now he
wanted her in his bed.

He helped her dress and then tucked himself back in. Then he

pulled her against his side, and they made their way around the barn
and headed back towards the house. “If you don’t have any
objections, I am going to take you back to our room and shower with
you. I want to explore every part of your body.”

Gale’s eyes glazed over. She licked her lips, and he could hear

her breathing hitch. “I don’t mind, mate.”

Need jolted through his system with an explosive

possessiveness at hearing her call him mate. Yes! She acknowledged
their mating. He growled and yanked her into a demanding kiss,
further branding her consciousness with who she belonged to. His
cock started to plump again, and he had to pull away or lose control
and take her again out in the open. That wouldn’t do. No one could
see her naked and in the throes of pleasure but him. He held her hand
securely as he led her back to the house and up the stairs.

Chapter Seven

It was well after dark before the sounds of a cell ringing woke

her. Alphy had claimed her again in the shower, and twice more after
they finally reached the bed. He was insatiable, and she was finding
out she was, too.

Gale tried to wiggle from the steel arm that secured her to the

man behind her, but he wouldn’t release her.

“Poopsy, I have to pee!”
With a disagreeable growl, he let her go and reached behind to

answer the phone. She steadied herself on her jellied legs and ducked
into the bathroom while Alphy picked up his cell and put it on
speaker.

While in the bathroom, she listened to the phone call. “You

can navigate a human body but you can’t find a ten-foot-wide road?”
Alphy groused.

“Hey! I don’t berate you for not knowing how to perform a

coronary artery bypass, so don’t judge,” came a defined male voice.

Another voice, with a southern drawl, sounded over the

speaker. “I don’t know, Sea-man. He’d make a pretty good
proctologist.”

Gale walked into the room just at that moment. A snort

escaped her, and she let loose a hysterical laugh before she could slap
her hands over her mouth. Her snorts still sounded through the room
as she tried to muffle her laughter.

The southern drawl the man had intensified. “Is that your mate

I hear? She’s obviously blessed with good taste in humor. Fate’s
matched you well, as she will need it.”

“And a great laugh,” chimed in yet a third low, rumbling

voice.

“That’s enough,” warned Alphy.
“Ah-ha! Found it, ok we’re on the driveway now. How long is

it to the house?” It was the first male voice.

While she listened to the conversation, Gale started to get

dressed.

“A bit. The property is extensive and she isn’t living on the

edge of it, but it shouldn’t take you too long,”

Gale heard the refined male voice swear. “This equipment is

fragile. Please tell me the road gets better, not worse.”

Alphy was standing by the side of the bed buttoning his pants.

He zipped them before he answered. “She didn’t use the road often,
so it isn’t as bad as a dirt road would normally be, so be thankful it
isn’t worse. What equipment are you talking about?”

“Well, Ryker informed me when Kace’s and Slate’s flights

would land, and they weren’t that much longer to wait. So after I
landed, I contacted the local coven in Toronto and asked for their help
obtaining some equipment and supplies. I don’t magically wave my
wand and poof, the patient is cured, so I got all that I could get while I
waited for these two Neanderthals.”

“Just how much equipment are we talking about?” Alphy

carefully asked.

The southern drawl came through the line. “He rented a

fourteen-foot U-Haul truck. And just to add, mine and Slate’s bags
had to be wedged in there.”

Alphy grabbed Gale’s hand and the cell and headed

downstairs, shirtless. She felt her core heat up, watching his skin glide
over his muscles with his movements. She ran into his back when he
stopped suddenly.

“I’ll see you when you get here,” he growled. He hung up the

phone, and then turning, he pinned her against the wall and buried his
nose in her neck. He hummed out a breath that teased her flesh
causing bumps to zing up her spine and down her arms, and her
butterflies were armed again. “Mmm,” he groaned into her neck,
“what you do to me, mate. I can’t concentrate when you smell like
that.” His voice was smooth and almost tortured.

Gale was breathless with belly-flops. “S-smell l-like what?”

she managed to get out.

Alphy nipped her neck causing her to sharply inhale and arch

her back as her sore entrance heated up with need. Her nipples
hardened and pushed through the fabric of her shirt, scraping his
chest. She felt his heated hands grab her ass-cheeks, and pleasure
bloomed in her core as he squeezed. A throat cleared, dragging her
from her lust haze, but she whined when he pulled away.

Her stepdad stood there with one raised brow. Alphy didn’t

look at all sorry, “Hey, you have a mate. You know what it’s like.”

Tom looked slightly uncomfortable but nodded. “I can hear a

vehicle coming.”

“Yeah, that’s a few of my friends. They said they rented a U-

Haul loaded with medical equipment. Where’s Betty?”

“I’m here,” came an approaching voice from the kitchen.
Alphy turned to face the woman. “One of them is a doctor.

He’s brought medical equipment and supplies, so we’ll need a space
he can set it up.”

She opened the door and looked at the approaching vehicle as

the headlights lit the front of the home. She raised her brows. “Huh,
he sure came prepared, didn’t he? Well, it’s probably best to use the
apartment above the garage for now.”

Gale saw Alphy grimace before he led her onto the porch. She

couldn’t see the driver right away, but the two passengers were
coming out of the front of the truck. They looked like they had been
scrunched inside, and sure enough, as they got out, they groaned
when they stretched their legs. They both were tall and full of muscles
that strained their jeans and shirts.

The first one out wore cowboy boots and held a cowboy hat in

his hands. His skin was bronzed, and his hair was a medium length
variant colored from blond to black. It was unusual but seemed
natural and looked good on him.

Alphy, while still holding her hand, approached him and gave

him a one-armed hug, “Slate, good to see you again, man.”

The other passenger came into view. His tribal tattooed skin

was darkly tanned, and he had crew-cut auburn hair. He stood as tall
as Alphy with an athletic build. Alphy gave him the same embrace as
the other. “Kace, thanks for comin’.”

Kace’s southern accent identified him as the flirty

troublemaker. “Wouldn’t miss your party if my life depended on it.
Was gettin’ bored where I was.”

Around the front of the van came a tall swimmer’s built

strawberry blond man who stood shorter than the other three at about
six foot. Alphy gave him a tight one-armed squeeze and pulled back.
“I said med-kit, not the whole damn hospital.” Alphy playfully teased
the doctor.

“I have a reason. I’ll tell you about it later, but it never hurts to

be prepared for anything.”

Gale lightly laughed at the doctor’s casual comment. Alphy

tugged lightly on her hand and brought her forward. “This is my mate,

Gale Brooks. Honey-bear, this is Slate, Kace, and Seamus, but
everyone calls him Sea or Sea-man.”

“Or you can be like his brother, Ryker, and call him Sea-salt,”

added Kace.

Gale nodded her head and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Alphy looked to Seamus. “Her brother is Paul, and he’s in

Betty’s room right now. You can check him out, and the rest of the
stuff will have to be temporarily set up in the apartment over the
garage. Let’s get this thing unloaded and get to bed. We can catch up
tomorrow.”

“Of course you want to get to bed,” drawled Kace, which got

him a growl from Alphy. Kace chuckled and walked to the back of
the truck. She heard the sound of the metal latch being opened and the
roll of the door being lifted up.

Gale looked around and saw everyone, including her mother,

was standing on the porch. They started walking down the steps and
headed to the back of the truck where Alphy led her to at the same
time. He let go of her hand and handed a couple of bags to her, took a
large box himself, and looked to Seamus. Seamus grabbed some
boxes and started sounding off instructions about what he wanted
immediately and what could be placed in the apartment.

Gale’s bags were what he wanted, so she led him into the

house and to the room her brother was in. Her brother was actually
awake and looking freshly bathed. Her mother and stepfather usually
helped with that. His ribs were what hindered him more than his arms,
but he couldn’t do much on his own.

Gale put the bags down on the top of a dresser and walked

over to her brother. “Hey there, Paul, it’s good to see you awake. This
is Dr. Seamus … uh—” She looked at the doctor, as she hadn’t gotten
his last name.

“Hi, Paul, I’m Dr. Seamus Rossi, but you can call me Sea. I’d

like to look you over, if that’s ok.” Seamus looked as if he would
offer Paul a hand but could see both arms in splints.

When Paul nodded, Seamus smiled warmly. “Good.” He

turned and grabbed some bags and told everyone to wait outside the
room, with the exception of the parents. Gale and the others left to
help continue offloading the truck.

There were some big pieces of equipment that took teamwork

from the men to lift and maneuver to the upstairs apartment. She had

to be careful not to watch the extreme working muscles on her mate
or she would undoubtedly get turned on, and if her mate smelled it, he
would lose concentration. She smiled to herself at how much pleasure
it caused to have that kind of power over him.

It was two in the morning by the time everyone was done and

they were able to head to bed. Gale’s body ached, and she didn’t
remember her head hitting her pillow.

When everyone woke, late the next morning, they gathered

around the table eating. The men had been laughing and catching up
when they heard a car pull up. Everyone quieted and headed to the
front door.

A wiry, bright redheaded man jumped out of the passenger

door and raced to Seamus and threw his arms around him. They
embraced.

“Hey, little brother,” the doctor laughed.
“Pff, little? Like by two minutes.” The redhead sounded

indignant.

Another man exited the driver’s side. He was dark Hispanic

skinned with short black hair and had a very short, kind of scruffy
well-trimmed, beard and mustache. He walked over and extended his
hand to Alphy. “Alphy, good to see you again.”

“Good to have you here, thank you for coming.”
Another car drove up and parked on the other side of the first

car. An athleticly built light skinned African-American man stepped
out of the passenger side, and a man as tall as Alphy, with a body-
builder physique, stepped out of the driver’s side.

Alphy embraced the smaller man first as he arrived first, then

turned to the larger man and gave him a full on hug. He turned to
everyone who gathered on the porch. “Guys, this is my mate, Gale.
My great-aunt Betty.” Betty waved her spatula as she was introduced.
“Those are Gale’s parents, Tom and Connie, and my sister and
brother, Havana and Reese.” Alphy turned to his newly arrived
friends. He started with the largest with the body-builder body.
“That’s Enzo.” He pointed to the man who had come with Enzo.
“Phoenix, but we all call him ‘Nix’. That’s Matteo,” he pointed at the
darker skinned Hispanic looking man, then turned to the wiry red-
head, “and Sea’s twin brother, Ryker.”

Betty pointed her spatula at Alphy. “Just you remember what I

told you, Alpha.” She emphasized his title, than turned and walked
back inside.

Alphy grabbed Gale’s hand. “Let’s go inside and eat some

breakfast before we get down to why we are all here.”

Breakfast had been loud moments before, but now it was

nearly more than Gale could bear. She didn’t know anyone and felt
very uncomfortable around them. She was a stranger in the middle of
a large family. It gave her a claustrophobic feeling, and she felt ready
to scream. Gale decided to give herself a reason to separate from the
group, so she gathered some scrambled eggs and orange juice and
took them to her brother.

Knocking lightly on the door, she only waited for a moment

before opening it up. Inside, her brother was sitting up against the
headboard, watching a movie on a laptop. He looked up as she
entered and smiled.

“Hey, big guy, thought you would like something to eat.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Gale put the items on a dresser and helped him sit up further.

He flinched from the discomfort but succeeded. Placing a bed table
over his legs, she transferred the plate and glass over. He insisted on
trying to feed himself, so she just put the fork next to the plate and sat
in a chair next to him.

He dove in and hummed. “So who are you running away

from?”

Gale shrugged one shoulder. “Alphy’s buddies. They’re all big

and loud, and I just felt crowded.”

He slowed his food for a moment and pondered her, then

swallowed and asked, “Mom says he’s your mate. How you taking it?
Is he good to you? Has he even claimed you yet?”

Gale was slouched on the chair, and she looked down at her

hands. “Yeah, he’s the hottest man on the planet, and I can’t seem to
get enough of him.” She rubbed her neck where he’d marked her,
multiple times. “If you ever get a chance to get a mating bite, don’t
pass it up.” She blew out a long breath.

“That good, huh?”
She glanced up at him but was too embarrassed to keep eye

contact. “Yeah, nothing ever like it.”

“So why’re you in here instead of out there with him?”

“I’d like to know the same thing.” A familiar deep voice

behind her startled her. She looked back to see Alphy slowly open the
door wider. He didn’t sound angry or look it even, but Gale suddenly
felt like she’d just gotten caught doing something she shouldn’t.
She’d been stressed so much these past few weeks that she was
getting tired of fighting her tears. She turned back around and leaned
back in her chair. She didn’t know how to answer him and didn’t
want to have to battle her emotions. She kept her eyes on her hands as
she picked at some non-existent lint on the bottom of her shirt.

Darkness shadowed her as he came around the chair and

squatted down in front of her. He put his hands on hers, causing her
tummy to flip. Stupid stomach.

“Look at me, honey-bear.” His voice was gentle, and caring

even.

Gale couldn’t fight it any longer, and her face scrunched up as

she lost her battle with her emotions. She didn’t know why she felt
like she was sad. It wasn’t logical; her emotions just wouldn’t get
under control.

Alphy knelt in front of her and took her into his arms. She

started to calm, but he didn’t let her go. He was making soothing
sounds and stroking her hair. She felt him press a kiss on her temple.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Alphy leaned back and looked her in the face as she wiped

away her tears. “You’ve been through a lot of stress these past few
weeks. Life is a bit out-of-control for you right now, and you are
perfectly normal. Everything will be all right.”

Alphy leaned in and held her in his arms again. She felt so

embarrassed over her breakdown, but in his arms, she began to relax.
She took in a deep breath that filled her lungs with his spicy scent,
then let it out slowly, relaxing further. She’d never really understood
her stepdad’s influence on her mother, but now she was getting the
idea. There was something to this mating thing, and she liked it.

Alphy was rubbing her back when a throat cleared. She looked

over Alphy’s shoulder at her brother, who had finished all the eggs on
his plate, and the entire glass of juice was finished off. She pulled
back and tried to get up, but Alphy wouldn’t let her. He stood up and
scooped her up in his arms. She gave a slight shriek and wrapped her
arms around his neck to try to hold on.

She looked into his face, and he had a pleased with himself

expression. “This is more like it. I think I’ll carry you around more
often. Having you in my arms feels right.”

“Then you can take her into the living room and I’ll assist her

brother.”

Gale was still too alarmed over being carried to be startled by

the sound of Seamus showing up. She felt she was much too heavy to
be picked up, but Alphy carried her like she weighed nothing. She
glanced over to see the doctor move by them to stand next to Paul. He
picked up the food table and placed it on the dresser and started to
help her brother up. She didn’t get to see any more as Alphy did
indeed carry her out into the living room. She gasped and buried her
face in his neck.

Alphy sat down in a thick cushioned leather chair. He rested

her on his lap but didn’t let her go. Instead, he wrapped his arms
around her to secure her in place. Around them sat the entire group.
Her parents were sitting the same way in another chair nearby with
the tots playing in the middle of the floor. After several minutes, Paul
came walking in slowly with assistance from Seamus. The doctor set
Paul on a cushioned suede love seat, tucked a blanket and some
pillows around him, and then sat down next to him.

Ryker clapped his hands together and rubbed them with

excitement. “The first pack meeting is now in session. This is sooo
exciting!”

Gale sat quietly as Alphy began to speak.

Chapter Eight

Alphy understood his little mate was struggling with her

emotions. Now that they weren’t on the run anymore, he knew her
brain was trying to process several weeks of hell. He’d been through
it, he’d seen others go through it, and he meant it when he told her it
was all normal.

His bear relaxed contentedly in his mind, completely happy

with holding her. He looked around at his friends as Paul was being
brought in and situated. He chuffed with amusement at Ryker’s
excitement. Ryker and his brother were so different, it was a wonder
they were actually twins.

“First, let me say again, thank you for coming. All of you

came, most of you without an explanation, and so quickly. That
means a lot to me.” The men stayed pretty quiet, except for Ryker,
who wiggled and bounced in his seat and gave him two thumbs up
and a wide smile. Alphy was surprised the eager vampire didn’t say
anything.

“I’ve been offered, and have accepted, rights to be alpha in

this territory. This is now our home.” He indicated both himself and
his mate. “I’ve officially offered pack membership to Tom and his
family, and they have accepted. Now I’m officially offering the same
to all of you. You’re my family, and despite whatever your answers
are, you will still have an open door here. You will always be
welcome.”

Ryker quickly raised his hand, and Alphy raised his brow.

“Yes, Rye?”

“I’m officially accepting.” Ryker bounced a little bit in his

seat.

“I accept, too.”
Alphy nodded his head to Seamus. He had been hoping he

would join, too.

His heart swelled as each of his friends, whom he considered

family, accepted. They had bonded at different times in their lives,
and even though they had, at one time or other, gone different ways,
they were always staying in touch, supporting each other. Whenever
they could, they would group back up for work or personal reasons.
He didn’t know for sure if everyone was in a position in their life to
accept just yet, so he hadn’t expected an immediate answer, so to hear

every one of them give their acceptance without hesitation even, truly
touched his heart. He really did feel like fate had blessed him.

Ryker raised his hand again. Alphy would have wondered how

old Ryker really was, but knew his friend could get a bit dramatic
when he got really excited about something.

“Yes, Ryker?”
“Oo-oo, so, who gets what rank? And how does the housing

thing work?”

“Well, good questions, let’s start with rank. I have offered beta

to Enzo.”

Enzo nodded. “And I have accepted.” He gave a proud smile,

and around the room the others gave their approving congratulations.

Alphy continued, “I would like to offer Slate and Matteo,

both, enforcer positions. We can have a challenge later to decide who
has the higher rank.”

Both men agreed.
Ryker commented cheerfully, “That would be an epic match

to watch! Can we have that right after the meeting?”

Several others agreed.
“Maybe,” Alphy answered, then added, “I would like to have

Kace, Nix, and Ryker as trackers.”

Everyone was surprised he had offered a tracker position to

Ryker. Even Ryker had a look of shock on his face, and he had gone
still. Some of the others obviously questioned his decision to make
Ryker a tracker. Alphy knew none of them minded that he was a
vampire instead of a shifter. It was because Ryker couldn’t fight a
teddy bear to save his life, even with his vampire strength, that they
questioned Alphy’s decision. Although he could see where they were
concerned, his bear didn’t like being questioned.

He held up a hand and growled loudly. Everyone quieted, but

his mate’s startled jump and the scent of fear that wafted from her
dampened his irritation. He quickly took a moment to reassure her.
“Shh.” He rubbed his hand in a circle on her back. “I would never
hurt you, Gale, you are my mate, and I could never hurt you. No
matter how mad I get at anyone, or even you, I would never, ever,
hurt you.” He whispered into her ear, not so the others couldn’t hear
him, because they all could, with the exception of maybe her mother
and brother, but as more of a calming tactic. It worked. Gale calmed
considerably, and Alphy was able to continue with the meeting.

“I have made my choice,” he stated with authority. “For one

thing, Ryker can be taught some self-defense. Hell, most of us have
served in the military and have even been Special Forces, so it isn’t
like no one is qualified to teach him those skills. Secondly, a tracker
isn’t just about scent trails, especially in today’s world of tech. He is
an exceptional tracker with skills in electronics.”

“A cyber tracker, I like the sound of that!” chirped Ryker. His

eyes were sparkling with the watery emotion Alphy heard in his
voice. He watched as Ryker offered some of the others a look that
was almost challenging, but really came across as a little kid who’d
just won an argument.

Alphy continued. “Thirdly, even though Seamus will hold

rank as our pack doctor, I want another vampire in our inner circle.
You may have noticed I have given out a lot of ranks for a pack that
doesn’t have more than a houseful of people, but I have seen a need
out there, others looking for packs that will accept them for their
differences. Some are mixed matings that aren’t accepted, some are
gay, and some have been abused by an alpha. I want this to be a
refuge for them. I want to show them that I’m not playing favorites to
any specific type of paranormal. Ryker is capable of managing
security systems, tracking systems, new identities, and loads more, so
he is more than capable for a rank.”

He looked over at Ryker, who was actually crying. He saw

him sniff and wipe his eyes dry. “Thank you, Alpha, I’ve never had
anyone think so much of me before.”

Seamus puffed, “I do, all the time, and I’ve told you over and

over again.”

A much more subdued Ryker shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re my

brother. No one else ever seemed to believe I could be anything more.
Not even our parents. They always thought it was some dumb hobby,
only good for booking their vacations.”

Paul raised his hand. Alphy nodded for him to speak. “Uh, this

may not be the best time to ask, but, uh, I’m a little stuck with
something about vampires. There are vampires?”

Gale was nodding and looking at him with the same look of

worry and confusion as Paul had. He heard Connie whisper to Tom,
who tried to answer back. Alphy turned to Tom. “You never told
them?”

Tom gave him a sheepish look. “Uh, no. There wasn’t a coven

close by, and they were already trying so hard to accept their learning
about shifters and all the rules and customs that go with shifters, I
didn’t want to overwhelm them just yet.”

“So you haven’t told them about any other paranormals

either?” Alphy needed to know just what his mate didn’t know. He
was an alpha of a pack, and she would need to know what to watch
for. He could already tell, though, that they didn’t know anything,
because the scent of anxiety from his mate was clogging his senses.

“None.”
Alphy would have smirked at the look Connie gave Tom, but

he was too busy trying to calm his own mate who was holding onto
him tightly, looking with fear at her brother, who was backing away
from Seamus.

“Paul!” Alphy ordered. Paul jumped and looked at him. “They

are no less the caring people today than they were yesterday. Get a
hold of yourself.” He looked at his mate but spoke to all three humans
as he did. “There are other paranormals, but all of them have many
false myths and superstitions attached to them.” He gave Gale a look
that he hoped gave her the message that what she thought of them
mostly wasn’t true. She took some breaths and calmed herself down,
so he turned to check on Paul.

Paul looked at him. “Will he drink my blood?”
Seamus tensed. “I’m sitting right here, you know.”
Alphy answered. “Most vampires are held to strict codes, as

are shifters, for mostly the same reasons. They do need blood to
sustain them, but they need regular food as well, and they don’t have
any troubles going out in the sun. Some actually love the sun.”

Ryker raised his hand, again. “Except me, redheads burn.

That, and I don’t get out much because I’m always exploring the
‘net.”

Alphy didn’t think that helped any, but he smelled amusement

coming from his mate. He looked at her and could tell she was
suppressing a giggle. He looked over at Paul, who seemed to have
relaxed a little as well, and actually gave Ryker a small smile.

“But if you need blood, then how do you get it?” Paul asked

nervously.

Alphy knew questions were a good thing. It meant the fear has

been replaced by curiosity. Knowledge was power, and it was the

light that chased away the darkness of ignorance. He listened to Ryker
happily answer.

“Oh, we have a couple of ways. Usually, in a coven, we have

donors. Those are humans that know what we are, and don’t mind the
benefits of donating to us. It’s extremely pleasurable. They aren’t held
there against their will, and they are well cared for. At worst case, we
get blood from a bank.” Ryker shivered. “Blah, but it’s disgusting,
only used when absolutely necessary.”

“But, you said donor, so they don’t die? Do they turn into

vampires?” Paul was showing he was getting more intrigued.

“Oh no, that’s all myth. You have to be born a vampire to be

one. We don’t need to drain a whole body. We just need a little bit,
and as I said, it is very pleasurable.”

“But how will you get your blood while you’re living here? I

don’t want to offend you, but I’m not keen on anyone drinking my
blood.”

Ryker was never affected by such statements, but his brother,

however, was visibly uncomfortable. Ryker waved his hand as if he
had just brushed something aside. “You will be fine, as only rogue
vampires would ever take without consent.”

Paul visibly relaxed.
Gale asked, “So you and Seamus are vampires?”
Ryker cheerfully answered, “Yup.” He smiled broadly and

dramatically, bringing up both hands and pointing at his fangs from
each side of his face.

“Is anyone else a vampire? Or some other kind of paranormal?

What kinds of paranormal are there?” she asked.

Alphy thought this might be a good time to introduce his mate

a little more to his friends. “Enzo and Kace are wolves, Slate is a lion,
and Phoenix is a falcon.”

Paul interrupted, “Cool!”
Alphy continued. “And Matteo is an anaconda.”
This time Alphy’s brother was the one to interrupt with an

exclamation. “Awesome! Hey bro, you never said you were friends
with a snake. That’s totally awesome. Can I see you shift?”

Alphy shook his head. “As for other paranormals, we’ll

discuss that later.”

“Subject change question.” Ryker turned to Alphy and waited

for him to nod his head before he continued. “Is this the alpha house,

or is that somewhere else? Or are you planning on building an alpha
house?”

Alphy looked over at Betty. He didn’t know the answer to

that, and even though his bear growled and snapped at him with the
idea of moving, he had to remember this was Betty’s home.

She got the hint that he wanted her to answer that. “This has

always been the alpha house, and now that we have an alpha again, I
won’t change it. If you all help me, there’s a place where I would like
to build my own little cabin.”

“With the alpha’s consent, I can help with that, Betty. I’m a

building contractor,” answered Kace.

Alphy didn’t let anyone sense his immense relief as he turned

to Kace. “Thank you, Kace. I was hoping you would put your skills to
use here. We’re going to need more living space with everyone here
for anyone who wants their own private place. Betty,” he turned to
her, “I was hoping you could point out where those other houses are,
so we can possibly rebuild there.”

She nodded her response, and everyone began to talk about

what kind of home they wanted, and who would get their home built
next, after Betty’s.

Seamus got Alphy’s attention. “Alphy, are we keeping the

garage apartment as the medical office for the pack?”

Everyone seemed to quiet down and listen to what Alphy had

to say. “I wanted that apartment for Enzo or Nix, but if you wanted
it…”

“No, no. I was hoping for something a bit more available. The

stairs to that apartment aren’t ideal for taking the injured.”

Kace grumbled, “Not to mention crowded with all that

equipment.”

Seamus ignored the wolf shifter and kept his attentions on

Alphy for his answer.

“I think it would be nice to build something specifically for

your needs then. We can keep it close to the alpha house maybe?”
Alphy tried to think about what was needed.

Kace had gotten a pad and pen and was writing notes down on

everyone’s homes, so he started writing the preferences Sea had for
the doctor’s office. It sounded like it was going to be more like a
mini-hospital.

Kace looked up. “Uh, Alphy, unless you have the funds for all

of this, we’ll need to figure out a budget.”

Betty interrupted, “The pack has plenty of money, so you can

get anything you want.”

Alphy raised a brow at her. She didn’t seem at all concerned.

“Betty?”

She lightly shrugged one shoulder. “I kept the pack account

open and have only used my own money all these years. I’ve got
enough of it from inheritances, loads more than I could ever spend. So
the pack account has been gathering interest all this time. I check it
every year so they know the owners of it are still active. Last I saw,
which was six months ago, it had enough to make the queen envious.”

Everyone around the room was struck into silence. Most

shifters, because they lived for so long, could usually accumulate a
lot, so by the time they were in their mid-two hundreds, they were
comfortable or well off. Alphy was still very young, but he had a
small amount from the few lives he already lived, and adding in his
inheritance from his parents, he could say he was a small millionaire.
He had expected to be the one to have to pay for everything.

“Uh, Betty, how much was it?”
“It just reached ten figures.” She said it matter-of-factly, as if

it were no big deal, but even in the shifter world, that was more
money than most other shifters, or packs even.

Gale spoke up. “I guess Seamus gets his hospital then.”
Ryker’s hand shot up, and he started bouncing in his chair.

Alphy appreciated the distraction from the awkwardness the shocking
news had given them. “Yes, Rye.”

“Then can I get some new equipment? I could use my own

office, too. And I have some great ideas on security systems, so can I
get those, too?”

Alphy liked the idea about a security system. “You know

what, Rye? I’d like you to work with Matteo and Kace, to make a
security room complete with your own office and a panic room.” He
looked Matteo. “I want the best security we can afford.”

Matteo nodded.
“Ok, does anyone need help moving their stuff?”
Alphy wasn’t surprised at how little Kace had. He was from a

big family so didn’t start out with a lot, and he was so family oriented
that he had refused to settle down wherever he moved until he had his

own family, which he clearly considered Alphy to be. Matteo had
never made friends with the packs he was a part of, so all he had was
his bag that he brought. Alphy was shocked to learn Matteo had
already given his current alpha notice of transfer before he flew out. It
was a lot more trust and loyalty than he would have believed he had
earned, and it touched him greatly.

Alphy was saddened to hear how little Ryker really had. He

knew the little vamp loved his family, but he just didn’t fit in with
them. He just had his computers and a box of personal effects and a
bag of clothes, so he had brought everything else well.

Everyone else made a note to contact someone or other, to

have their stuff moved. Alphy reminded himself he would have to do
the same. Alpha Berry had offered to send it.

“All right, final order of business. Ryker, I need you to find

out everything you can on this alpha who is a threat to us.” He went
on to tell everyone details. He let Tom and Paul tell their stories, and
then Alphy added his altercation with the enforcers outside the hotel.
He could tell his new pack was furious about everything done to Paul
and the new threat to Gale. Alphy really couldn’t describe how proud
and happy he was to see this new pack form and come together to
rally behind each other.

Phoenix was sent to scout, and the rest started on their very

long list of things to do.

Alphy was very excited over the new pack. They called it the

Kaska pack. His bear gave a happy groan of approval.

Chapter Nine

Gale could only hold onto Alphy as he carried her up to their

room. She appreciated his patience through her breakdown and panic
attack. Vampires? Wow! That is a big bite to swallow ... er, maybe not
to be used with that expression, ever. She was very glad she had been
in Alphy’s lap with his arms protectively around her when she’d
heard that.

Alphy used his foot to close the door behind them and

proceeded to carry her to their bed. She expected him to toss her
down and ravish her, but instead, he gently laid her on the bed and
followed her down, covering her with his body.

He buried his nose in her neck and took a deep breath. She felt

his sculpted chest push into her twin mounds as his lungs expanded,
and at the same time a solid hardness rubbed in between her thighs.
He groaned as he exhaled, his breath tickling her neck.

Electric zings shot down to her core as he ghosted his lips

across her skin on an imaginary trail up her neck and over her jaw
until he reached her open and panting mouth, and then he sucked and
suckled her bottom lip just a little. Gale ground her hips into his
hardened mass. That seemed to break his control because he tilted his
head and drove his tongue into her mouth.

Gale felt one of his hands roaming up her thigh, over her

stomach, settling around her breast. He gave it a gentle squeeze and
rubbed at her nipple until it hardened. He pulled his mouth off, laying
his forehead against hers, so they breathed each other’s air as they
both panted.

Gliding her fingers over the planes of his muscles, Gale

thrilled at the feel of his strength. He pulled back and sat on his heels,
wedging his knees under her thighs, bringing them up to bracket
around his waist. She watched him strip off his shirt. Then fanning his
fingers wide on her thighs, he piloted them up her body, under her
shirt and exposed her torso. When he leaned over her exposed chest,
hot wet heat seeped through her peaks as he kissed her exposed
breasts through the fabric of her bra while his hands finished
removing her shirt.

Gale ran her fingers through his hair and held on as he

assaulted her body with his lips and tongue. Roving hands slid under
her back and grabbed her bra strap and pulled, ripping it off. He

tossed it aside and inhaled a nipple and part of her breast into his
mouth.

“Hey,” she panted. “You gotta stop killing my bras.” She

spoke between gasps and moans. “They did nothing to you.”

“Mm.” The vibrations from his hum shot through her, but it

was cut short when he popped off her nipple. “Yes, they did,” he
argued. His kissing trajectory was on a course for her other breast.
“They’re in between me and my mate.” He quickly sucked in her
perky nub and popped off. “And nothing,” he licked around the
areola, “gets,” he nipped lightly, “in between,” he sucked in one
nipple while skilled fingers his tweaked her other, “an alpha,” he blew
cold air over the moistened skinand ground his cock against her
entrance, “and his mate.”

Gale tried to remain coherent. “I don’t have that many bras.”

She gasped when his hand cupped her pussy.

“Then order more.” He unsnapped his pants and pushed down

the zipper, releasing his fervent cock, then reached up and unbuttoned
her pants. He leaned back and worked her pants off her legs then
threw them aside. He rubbed his hands in circles on her thighs. “Let’s
add to that shopping list.” He grabbed her undies and ripped them off.
She was too mesmerized by his muscles bunching to register what he
did until he dove down between her legs and sucked in her nub.

Gale gave a startled squeak, arched her back, and

automatically closed her thighs, but Alphy’s shoulders kept them
from boxing his ears. She writhed under the onslaught of sexual
euphoria. Her hands didn’t know where to go, so she grabbed the
comforter and fisted it.

“Hold on to your tits, honey-bear. Squeeze them.” Her

heightened nerves sent zings through her from the buffet of breath
from his words. She quickly obeyed, spreading her hands over each
sensitive breast and squeezed them like he had earlier. Alphy’s eyes
watched, and the growl of approval vibrated against her slickened
pink pussy as he continued his oral ministrations. In her heightened
pleasure, Gale couldn’t stop her shouts, which escaped with every
exhale.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Alphy continued his

mission, but Gale kept her voice down, which brought a growl from
her mate, causing more pleasant tingles that pushed her closer to her
release.

The knock on the door interrupted again. “Alphy,” came a

southern drawl. “I really hate to interrupt. I personally like breathing,
but that alpha who’s after Gale and her family is on the phone.” Gale
whined considerably when Alphy pulled away, but the accented voice
through the door didn’t stop talking. “Perhaps you can just kill him
instead of me? It would solve everyone’s problems.”

Gale, seeing her mate kneeling on the bed and wiping his

mouth, gave a painful groan. “What happened to ‘no one gets between
an alpha and his mate’? Can’t you just let him wait? I’m so close.”

The angry looking Alphy suddenly threw his head back and

laughed. He leaned forward and gave her a slight succulent kiss, then
hopped off the bed. “That is very true, honey-bear. He won’t like this
phone call, but I’d better answer it.” He finished fastening his pants
and leaned forward to plant another kiss on her lips and started
heading out the door. His hand stopped on the handle, and he looked
back. “Don’t touch yourself, love. I’ll be back soon enough, and I
promise to make it up to you.” He winked at her then turned and
walked out the door, making sure to close it behind him.

Gale huffed out an irritated breath. If Alphy didn’t kill that

guy soon, she just might do it for him.
****

Alphy had decades in the military perfecting his control over

his emotions, so he didn’t take his frustrations out on Kace, nor was
he going to let the other alpha hear anything that would indicate he
was at all perturbed. However, he wasn’t going to let the alpha walk
all over him either.

There was a room downstairs that was supposed to be the

alpha’s office, but right now it served as Ryker’s room and office. Nix
and Slate were out patrolling, but Enzo, Kace, and Matteo joined
Alphy as he entered the room. Ryker was sitting down with his cell
held a little ways from his ear, and using the other hand to click his
mouse on something or other. He looked up when Alphy stepped in.

“Oh good, you can talk to him. For some reason he doesn’t

like me.” Ryker gave him a knowing look, and Alphy nearly lost his
composure to outright laugh. He knew Ryker liked to antagonize
bigots a little bit, and no doubt he’d let the alpha know right away that
he was a gay man, or at least over emphasized his tones to let that
speak it for him.

Alphy took the phone. “This is Alpha Ralph of the Kaska

pack.”

“Finally! You certainly took your sweet time.”
Knowing the alpha’s ears would easily pick up even a quiet

sigh, Alphy kept his breath calm and steady. “I came as soon as I was
told. I am not to blame for your impatience, nor am I at your beck and
call. Now who is this, and why have you called?”

The other alpha sputtered in, no doubt, outrage. “I am Alpha

David Falk, and you should speak to me with respect. I’ve called to
tell you I have a complaint sent in to the council about you. It will no
doubt bring you all sorts of trouble and get you removed as alpha.
Now, if you just return the Elkin family to me, I will consider
dropping the complaint.”

Alphy almost couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped. “So with

false accusations, you went and tattled on me like a first grader would
to a teacher? I thought you were an alpha. You’re just a bully who
hides behind the equally cowardly thugs you call enforcers. There is
nothing for me to be afraid of.”

Alphy heard the frustration in the other alpha’s voice. “I am an

alpha, and you are only some backwater hick piss-ant wanna-be.”
David spat into the phone. “I’ll have you removed, and I will have
that family back here.”

“If you want me removed, then come challenge me. That is the

only way you will get them. They asked for sanctuary, and I have
given it to them. The council won’t do shit. They’ll tell you to either
challenge me or get over it.”

“Other alphas won’t stand for it, so you won’t just be fighting

me. You’ll be fighting every alpha.”

“Please go ahead and underestimate me. It’s interesting to me

that you don’t deny the accusations.” Alphy would bet that Rye was
recording this call, not that the council or any other alpha worried
him, but it would make things easier if he could have this guy hang
himself. So he continued, “I will very much enjoy watching what
those who supported you will do when they find out that you were in
the wrong, or if they knew, what they do when they end up going
down when you do. Now, either come here and challenge me, or you
can go fuck yourself.”

Alphy hit end, and the sounds of the sputtering and cursing

alpha cut off. He handed the phone back to Ryker. “Was that
recorded?”

“Psh, of course. I’ve got a brain. So what next?”
“Look into the complaint with the council. I want to know if

they run any differently up here. Let me know what they think they
are going to do about it, if anything. The council is really more based
for when a sleuth or pack or whatever, is suddenly left without an
alpha or if there is a public threat or endangerment from humans. It’s
not really all that worried about some squabble.”

“But you want to make sure it is the same up here as in the

States?” asked Enzo.

Alphy nodded. “I don’t want any surprises. Make sure no one

goes to town alone, and that includes any of us. I want teams, always,
until I deem this threat has passed. Expect that he’ll play dirty.”

“Hey,” Kace said. “Uh, alpha, got a minute?” Kace looked

unusually serious, so Alphy sighed and signaled for him to follow him
out. They walked into the kitchen, and Alphy retrieved a glass and
filled it with water. After he took a mouthful, he leaned back against
the sink and looked at his friend. “All right, shoot.”

Kace had sat down at the breakfast bar. “I have a small

construction team. There’s five of us. I wanted your permission to
offer them a chance to move up here and help me build.”

Alphy grunted. “Yeah, the Sea-man certainly got a bit carried

away.”

Kace snorted. “I had the misfortune of being the first to arrive

at the airport. He had me help load all that equipment and supplies,
and he didn’t help so much as direct.”

“I can hear you, you know.” Seamus emerged from the

hallway that led to Paul’s room. Alphy laughed. Seamus had a food
tray, and he walked over and placed it on a counter. “You are just sore
that you couldn’t hit on that flight attendant.”

“Psh, well yeah! You couldn’t at least wait until I swept her

off her feet and got a little something on the side.”

Alphy laughed again. “Yeah, Sea, it would have only taken

twenty-five seconds, forty-five if he tried to pinch his balls off.”

“Oh har har,” Kace griped. Alphy continued to laugh, and Sea

guffawed.

Then Sea leaned against the counter and sighed. “Seriously

though, I’ve been wanting to start a paranormal medical facility.
Alphy, you had mentioned in the meeting how there was a need out
there for paranormals.” Alphy nodded, and Sea continued. “I’ve seen
it, too, only I’ve focused on the medical side of it. Many paranormals
don’t have access to decent medical care. Some don’t even have a
doctor, and many medicines don’t even work on paranormals because
of our metabolism and unique physiology. I’ve been wanting to start a
lab to create medicines, offices to see patients, hospital beds, surgical
rooms, everything. I’ve been saving up and had a feeling this would
be a good opportunity to start buying a few things and find a place to
set up. Are you opposed to my hospital?”

Alphy shook his head. “No, Seamus, I love the idea, and

you’re right, there is a need. I was just teasing Kace.”

Kace gave an apologetic look. “Sorry, Sea, I wasn’t trying to

offend.”

Sea nodded. “I know you weren’t. I wasn’t trying to sound so

defensive. So, what was it you were talking about?”

Kace perked up. “I was trying to convince Alphy to let me

invite my team and spread the word for paranormal workers.”

Alphy nodded. “And I think it’s a good idea. I want everyone,

with no exceptions, to be investigated. I want to know everyone’s
history. That will help with finding problems that may follow anyone
here that we could prepare for, and I don’t want anyone complaining
about favoritism.”

Kace looked relieved. “Thank you, Alphy.”
“When will you be able to start building?” Alphy asked.
“I’ll have to do measurements and plan out things, but not

long. Betty said the barn has a ton of building supplies. I haven’t
checked it out yet, but from the sounds of it, it’s everything I need to
start several houses.” He turned to Sea. “I want to get special building
supplies for your hospital, and since the houses come first, I’m sorry,
Sea, but it will take longer, depending on how many workers we can
get.”

Seamus shrugged and nodded his understanding.
Alphy leaned backed and smiled. “I’ve been wondering what’s

in that old barn, but every time I get a chance to investigate, I get
interrupted.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, I’ll make that call now while I head

out there to take a look myself. I’ll let you know the details later.”
Kace stood up and headed out of the kitchen, and Seamus walked
back down the hall.

Alphy took the class of water up the stairs with him to his

mate. She was going to need it because he was going to make amends
to her by causing her to repeatedly scream his name.

Chapter Ten

Gale felt utterly happy as she, her mother, and Alphy’s sister,

Havana, headed into town. Alphy made her feel cherished and
desirable. She just knew she was in love with the potent shifter, and
he was very powerful. They had talked a bit after they caught their
breath from hours of lovemaking, or as he called it, her reparation for
being left wanting. I will never complain again if we are interrupted if
that’s how he makes it up to me.

She sat quiet, musing over her good fortune as they bumped

their way down the dirt road. Most of the men had left to return the U-
Haul but hadn’t asked if there was anything they needed, and the
ladies needed some things. It was best to get these in person anyway,
as they were not something to be left to a man. It was quite the sight
to walk in and see the toddlers had stuck an entire pack of pads on the
floor and used them as a racecar track, or was it a train track? The tots
had had cars driving over them but made choo-choo sounds. So, as
her mother’s time had started and Gale’s supply was pretty low, they
had teamed up with Havana, as they’d been ordered by the alpha not
to leave alone, and left the kids with Alphy’s brother, Reese. Gale let
her mother drive her car so she could enjoy the view.

Havana interrupted her thoughts. “What are you thinking

about that’s got you so excited?”

“Huh?” Gale looked at her with a confused expression.
Havana snorted and pointed to her nose. “Bear shifters have

pretty good noses. Well, ok, most shifters do. Anyways, you are
smelling quite pleased with yourself. What did you do, and can I get
in on it?”

Gale blushed. “Uh, no, I was just thinking about Alphy, your

brother.”

“Eww, stop right there. You’re right, I don’t want anything to

do with that. I can just imagine … no … wait, I don’t want to
imagine, dang it! I need mind-bleach now! Sorry I asked. I was
hoping you had some shenanigan scheme. I could use some mischief
entertainment. I swear I’ll end up growing moss on my paws if I don’t
get something for entertainment.”

This was one thing that Gale disagreed entirely with Havana.

“I love it up here. Ryker promised to set up a computer with internet
for me. I’m going to finish my classes online.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna start online courses, too. As much as I want

a more social life, I just don’t have the will to separate from my
brothers just yet. Losing Mom and Dad hit me a bit hard.” The
spirited girl suddenly looked sad and defeated.

Gale felt the need to perk her up. “Then we’ll have to plan a

lot of shenanigans. We don’t want your brothers getting bored.”

Havana looked up and grinned. “We shall be called the

Shenanigan Shelias!”

The girls laughed together. They entered town and pulled up

into the supermarket’s parking lot. Stepping out of the car, Gale
looked around and remembered coming here when she first met
Alphy. Just like that, her heart ached for him, which was silly because
they were just in town and were going back in a little bit. It wasn’t
like she would never see him again.

Havana got out and stood next to her. “Hey girl, what’s got

you down?”

Gale had been around shifters for about four years now. When

will I get used to their keen sense of smell? she thought. “Nothing, I
just miss Alphy, is all. It’s like I suddenly feel like I won’t get to see
him again.”

Havana put her arm around her as they now walked behind

Connie. The three entered the store and browsed around, making
made their way up and down each aisle, talking about different kinds
of foods and brands. They bought more than just pads. They ended up
leaving with a hefty cartload. Gale wasn’t much of a cook, but she
and her mom did like to make some big meals together, and Havana
seemed to like the idea of helping. They planned a really big meal to
celebrate the mating and went hog wild buying everything they would
need or want, even.

They made their way up to the check-out counter and

unloaded the cart. Grocery bags piled in the cart and in hand, they
made their way back out to the car with her mother at the wheel again.

As they pulled out, Gale noticed a dark van pull out behind

them. They traveled for a little bit, but the van continued to follow
them. Gale began to get a bad feeling about it but didn’t say anything.
They drove casually until they reached an empty stretch of road with
a little bit of a shoulder on it. Then the van shot forward and pulled in
front of them, forcing them off the road. They were blocked in at an
angle so they couldn’t drive out.

Two muscular behemoths lumbered out of the side of the van

and approached them. They were tall, and looked like they stuffed
throw-pillows under their skin in their arms, legs and chest. Gale
noticed they had bigger pecs than she did boobs. A chill hit her lower
gut, and it twisted in fear.

The men smiled, only it wasn’t a warm friendly sort of smile.

It was the kind that said they had really bad ideas planned. “Hi ladies,
you’ll need to come with us.”
****

As Alphy heard his friends leaving, he decided to head out and

finally take a look in that barn. He was pretty happy with how things
were going. He had a pack, his mate was claimed and accepting, and
his siblings were starting to heal. He had noticed his mate and his
sister hit it off. To see the two light up the room with bright smiles
and laughter made his bear and his heart feel contented.

In another pleasant surprise, his brother had been working

with Seamus, and it seemed as though Reese had a talent for the
medical field, which Seamus was all too eager to nurture. Yes, Alphy
was very happy.

He had made it clear to the pack, at breakfast where everyone

had gathered together, including Gale’s brother Paul, that no one was
to leave without an escort.

After breakfast, Enzo left to go to bed, since he had been up

all night patrolling. Nix took to the sky to patrol, and Slate, Kace,
Betty, Seamus, Tom, and Matteo decided to head to town to run a few
errands, one of them being to take the U-Haul and two rentals back to
the dealer. Matteo followed in one of the rental cars and Kace in the
other. Betty was going to the bank to add the men on the pack
account, including Tom, whom Alphy wanted to include since he had
so much respect for the man. He was going to be the pack accountant
for right now. Alphy wasn’t in a hurry to be put on the bank account.
He could wait until whenever his next trip to town would be. After
that, the men were going to buy a truck, a van, and a car for the pack.

Reaching the large wooden barn, Alphy opened one of the

large doors and took his first look inside. Outside light lit up the dusty
space and illuminated an impressive amount of building equipment.
Betty really was lonely … and hopeful.

A little bit of regret ate at Alphy’s gut for never taking the

time to get to know her before now. She had obviously longed for

another sleuth and family. She was always cooking such big meals
and doting on the men, and he could swear they weren’t staying
because he asked, but because of her nurturing nature.

He opened the door wide and did the same with the other one,

allowing as much light in as possible. He slowly started walking
around inspecting everything he saw. Betty had piles of lumber, in
shapes and sizes enough to make a Home Depot jealous, lying in neat
piles in along the wide alleyway.

The barn was filled with stalls, and in each stall were piles of

bricks, bags of concrete, piping, electrical equipment like rolls of
wire, breaker boxes, and he could even see several tankless water
heaters.

The barn was really big, probably because it had been the

sleuth stables dating before automobiles. There were about twelve
stalls on each side, but four of them were larger than the others, like
they were birthing stalls or had been used for animals other than
horses. Alphy’s nose could pick up the faint scents of pigs, cows,
sheep, and goats. He also found two tackle rooms, one on each side,
packed full of old saddles and blankets, bridles, brushes, even hitches
for groups of horses to pull whatever. Anything needed for the care of
horses was packed in the large rooms.

The ceiling was a good ten feet high, but he saw wide stairs,

one on each side, in the middle of the barn, leading up. He strode up
the stairs into the massive loft. Or it would have been massiveif it
wasn’t so full of more building supplies. He definitely figured she’d
bought out a Home Depot somewhere. Everything was arranged in
neat rows, so he cruised up and down the rows looking at all the new
and old things. It looked as if she kept some things either from some
of the old buildings that once housed other sleuth members, or she
had found some in thrift stores. He couldn’t see her going to flea
markets, but she did get the paper, so maybe she’d had some things
shipped? Or both? However she’d done it, she had some beautiful
items.

His cell phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he answered

it. Ryker’s concerned voice came through the connection. “Hey, uh,
Alphy, did all the women go with Betty to the bank?”

“No, why?” Alphy’s stomach suddenly developed a sickening

knot that only intensified with alarm as he heard Ryker curse.

“I thought I heard another vehicle leave.” Ryker’s voice

sounded tense. “But I didn’t think anything of it until I thought about
the time frame. It left a little while after the guys left. I went looking
for Gale. She’d wanted me to set up a computer so she could finish
her courses, and I wanted to show her what I set up for her.I followed
a scent outside where the cars were parked. I found Reese, but he said
he was just asked to watch the twins for them. He thought they just
wanted some girl time, so he didn’t pay any attention to them after
that.”

Alphy let out a roar that shook dust from several selves. He

raced down the stairs. “Get the others on the line. I want all of them
out looking for them now!” he boomed into the phone before he
turned it off. He ran back to the house and looked at the vehicles.
Betty’s old truck and his own were still there, as well as the Elkins’
van, but Gale’s car wasn’t.

Another roar escaped him, pushed from his lungs from the fear

that hit his gut. Turning, about to storm inside, he stopped when a
wobbly Enzo staggered out the door. He looked like he just leaped out
of bed onto the front porch, but they were both long term military
men. They were both trained to go from deep sleep to awake, alert,
and fighting in an instant. Alphy glanced at Enzo’s feet and smiled.
Enzo already had his boots on and had grabbed Alphy’s keys and
wallet.

“Ryker!” Alphy yelled as he signaled Enzo to get into his

truck.

Ryker was already in the doorway still talking on the phone.

He looked frantic. “They don’t have them either. They’re looking, and
I’ll hook everyone’s phones up so we can all communicate.”

Alphy was already heading to his truck. He jumped in the

passenger seat, and Enzo started them in motion before he even
closed the door. Enzo wasn’t a gentle driver, but Alphy didn’t buckle
his seatbelt in case they needed to exit quickly. He looked over at
Enzo and noticed he was the same way.

His phone rang again, and Ryker’s voice cracked through the

device as he answered it. “Ok, we are now in a three-way call.” Alphy
pulled his cell away and looked at it, pushing the screen and placing it
on speaker, then holding it up between him and Enzo.

“We’re still stuck at the dealers’,” Slate growled.
“Where do you think we should look?” asked Kace.

“Try the supermarket. Is Tom there?” Alphy tried to think of

what would be the best tactic.

“I’m here. I’ll show them where it is. We can take one of the

vehicles in just a minute. We could probably convince one of the
dealers to let us ‘test drive’ another vehicle.”

“Not a good idea. It might expose them to … our culture.”
Alphy wasn’t sure if they were in a safe place to speak since

he could hear he was on speaker.

A stranger’s voice drifted over the line. “Ok, Mr. Elkin, we

have the paperwork for you for the car, if you would follow me?”

He heard clothes rustle and footsteps retreating. Kace spoke.

“Once he’s back, we’ll head out. We’ll go let Betty know to stay here
and finish looking around for vehicles while we take off on the hunt.”

Alphy didn’t necessarily like that idea now that he thought

about it, since Betty probably knew the area better. “No, have Tom
stay put with Seamus and finish up buying the rigs we need. Have
Betty show you around. She knows where the supermarket is and any
other place that might be good to look.”

Matteo’s Brazilian accent identified him. “I’ll go get her and

inform Seamus. They are in the lot looking at vans.”

Enzo drove furiously over the dirt road, stirring up a dust

cloud behind them and near launching them out of their seats over the
bigger bumps. Alphy kept the phone line connected. They heard when
the men and an irate Betty jumped in the car and headed out. He
inwardly smiled knowing he wasn’t the only one ready to lecture the
women until their ears bled. Alphy just hoped he had a chance. His
gut cramped with a feeling something was bad was going to happen,
and his sixth sense was usually right.

They reached the main road, but Enzo didn’t slow their

approach. Alphy felt minor pain through his right side as the force of
the turn pushed his arm and shoulder against the door and window.
They listened to the sound of wind blowing on the phone, indicating
they had rolled the windows down as the group entered the market lot
and drove around.

“There’s no sight of them, but I smell them. They were just

here.” The group followed the scent down the road. “Alphy, it looks
like the direction of home.”

He cursed. “All right, we haven’t seen them pass yet, so keep

following the scent.”

It wasn’t long when he heard the men in the other car swear,

and Betty was right along with them. He was too alarmed to care what
profanity she spat. He was more panicked at the scene they described.
****

The men opened their doors, one on each side, and ordered

the women out of the car. Gale’s breath caught in her throat, and she
could feel her heart thumping hard with fear. She stiffened when
Havana, who sat in the back, guffawed.

“Not likely. You know, steroids make you stupid and dwarf

your dicks? It’s no wonder you’re all crabby and trying to force
women to go with you.”

The two men’s faces turned red as they tensed with anger from

Havana’s insults. Gale tried reaching into her pocket for her cell
phone. She grabbed it, but one of the men grabbed her arm. Bruising
pain shot up her arm as he yanked her out of the vehicle, and her cell
flew out of her hand and thumped into the dirt. He yanked her closer
to him as the other went for her mom.

Gale screamed and struggled, then felt a disorienting jarring

when Havana barreled into the brute, and the three tumbled to the
ground. Gale clenched her jaw, kicking the man in the leg, and
Havana punched him in the face. Gale could see blood running over
his cheek.

Movement caught her eye, and she looked up. Two of the

enforcers were emerging from the van and converging on the battling
women. Gale glimpsed her mother’s way and saw her attacker was
rolling on the ground in the road, clutching his junk and shielding his
face as Connie was kicking him repeatedly in the head.

The exiting enforcers made a grab for Gale, but another

vehicle she didn’t recognize noisily sped up on them. Its wheels
squealed over the pavement as they slammed on their brakes behind
them filling the air with the smell of burnt rubber.

The van’s wheels spun in the dirt as the driver had stepped on

the gas. The two enforcers, at seeing the other vehicle, had started
running for the van. Only one of the enforcers was able to jump back
inside before it got too far away. Gale watched in a daze as the tires
shrieked over the pavement as the van sped away. Looking around,
Gale saw Slate wrestle Havana’s attacker while Matteo efficiently
attacked the abandoned enforcer into a bloody unconscious state on
the ground. Gale looked at the car as Kace got out and almost casually

walked over to her mom, who was still kicking the bloody piss out of
a now unconscious kidnapper.

Kace looked down at the man and back up at her mom, and in

a heavier southern drawl commented, “You can stop now, Connie, or
at least wait until he wakes up to feel the beating.” Her mother was
breathing hard but must have heard him because she stopped and
started backing away.

Gale didn’t know how to process what just happened. How did

they find them? She was confused at how they’d expected her to be at
the store at that very moment. Were they being watched? Probably.
She felt horribly embarrassed and a bit freaked out that she and her
family had nearly got kidnapped. Could she have prevented it? Maybe
she should have asked Alphy.

Alphy, oh boy, is he gonna be mad. She internally groaned at

the trouble she was now in with her mate, who was also her alpha.
She might not be a shifter, but she was mated to one now and that
made her fall under their laws.

Just as she thought this, another vehicle sped up onto the

party. She immediately recognized Alphy’s truck. Worry settled in the
bottom of her gut with the subtlety of a jackhammer, and then she saw
the look on Alphy’s face as they pulled up. Ok, so a jackhammer
being drilled by an elephant. Oh yeah, big trouble.

Alphy thundered out of the truck and ran straight for Gale. For

some reason that was when her brain crumpled. Panic seized her
chest, and her insides jolted. She threw her hands over her head and
gave a startled cry taking a step back. Her foot tripped over
something, and she fell to the ground. Thick strong arms gently
surrounded her and lifted her up.

Gale wrapped her arms around Alphy’s neck and buried her

face. The adrenaline played havoc on her emotions. She cried softly
into his shoulder as she curled into a ball in her mate’s arms. She
didn’t pay any attention to the commotion that took place around her.
****

Alphy nearly lost control over his bear when they drove near

and saw the commotion. Adrenaline rushed through his body, pushed
hard by his racing heart. His eyes immediately found his mate, a look
of horror and shock replacing the happy glow she’d had when he last
saw her. Alphy usually prided himself on his self-restraint, but at that

moment, he couldn’t think of anything else but getting her safe in his
arms. He’d deal with everything else after that.

He jumped out before the truck came to a complete stop. He

continued the momentum to launch forward across the road to his
mate but stopped cold when she threw her arms over her suddenly
ashen face. The scent of fear slammed into him at the same time she
tripped. The fear was to be expected when something this traumatic
happened, but he could tell this was directed at him.

Alphy took a quick moment to fill his lungs with air, calming

himself before he carefully walked over to her. His bear was pissed at
him for scaring their beloved, and it roared at him in his head and
paced. The scent of blood from the soon-to-be dead hired brutes
wasn’t helping.

He squatted down and wrapped his arms around her sobbing

form. Her weight was nothing to his shifter strength. He lifted her
easily, but he still went slowly and carefully. He buried his nose in her
neck and inhaled her unique aroma. His bear began to settle as he sat
down in the cab of the truck and situated her on his lap. He then
wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back with one hand
while he used the other to lightly press her head into the crook of his
neck.

“Shh, it’s going to be all right. You’re all right now. Your

mom is all right. Havana is all right, and everything is going to be all
right.” He kept speaking words of comfort to her and kissing her
temple until her sobs finally started to subside.

He watched as the men were quickly tied up together, then

picked up and thrown into the back of his truck. The truck shook, and
the sound vibrated through the cab with a loud banging. Gale jumped
violently and shrieked. Alphy was afraid if he growled at his men it
would scare her further, so he gave the men a deadly glare, which
they read loud and clear. Slate and Kace jumped in the back with the
prisoners, and Matteo jogged over to the new vehicle.

Betty jumped into Gale’s car with Connie and Havana. She

steered the car back onto the road and pointed it towards home. Enzo
jumped back into the driver’s seat and made a U-turn. Both vehicles
easily caught up and followed behind Betty.

Chapter Eleven

Gale was completely silent as she held her arms tight around

Alphy on the short trip home. With the cell still open and on speaker
between them, Alphy kept his voice low as he gave orders to Slate
and Kace to take the men out to the barn and watch them. Then he
addressed Ryker, ordering him to bring in Nix to help “interrogate”
their new prisoners and get word to Tom and Seamus to head straight
home once they had the new vehicles.

Enzo didn’t drive home like he had been just moments before.

He drove carefully over the ruts and dips until they finally reached the
front of the house. As soon as they parked, Alphy carried his mate up
the stairs and into their room. After placing her on the bed he wiped
her tears away. “I have some things to take care of. Stay in here until I
return.” Tucking a blanket around her, he leaned over and placed a
tender kiss on the top of her head. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned
and walked out of the room.

Alphy’s insides were threatening to shake in shock. He had

almost lost her today, and his sister. Alphy didn’t know how to deal
with this situation. He knew his sister was probably the instigator
behind convincing them they were following orders, and in a normal
pack or sleuth, that would easily be true. But it wasn’t. This was a
mixed paranormal pack with humans. Humans were by no means
inferior in most respects, but in physical strength, they were. Gale was
his mate, and as an alpha mate she was a bigger target and more
vulnerable because she was human. He needed to send a statement.
He would also bear some of that responsibility, because he should
have been slightly more specific.

The steps only lightly squeaked as he descended the stairs. He

went in search of Ryker, who was predictably in his room. “Ryker,
Alpha David on the phone.”

Ryker quickly dialed the number and handed it to Alphy.

Alphy paced the small space as the phone rang. On the fifth ring, it
went to voicemail. Alphy scoffed at the cowardice of the guy.

“Hello, coward, I hereby challenge you. You have twenty-four

hours to arrange a meet in a neutral place. If you don’t choose a place
by that time, I get to choose by default. If by forty-eight hours you
don’t answer, you’d better be already dead because I’m coming for
you and there isn’t anything the council can do. You attacked my

mate, her mother, and my sister. That isn’t retribution. That’s outright
war. It is eleven forty-five. Twenty-four hours starts now.”

After he pushed end, he handed the phone back to Ryker then

turned around. Enzo stood in the doorway leaning against the frame.

“What do you want done with those idiots in the barn? The

two biggest ones are human.”

Alphy let out a heavy sigh, he wasn’t about to let them go.

“David probably thought using them would prevent anything from
being linked back to him, if it wasn’t for his other lackeys going along
with them. But that does pose an issue. He’s possibly exposed shifters
to them, so we can’t let them go. As for the shifter, that’s the second
attempt. He was given a warning. I’ll take him a little ways from the
clearing and complete my retribution.” Enzo only grunted his
acknowledgement, but Ryker looked a bit uncomfortable. They knew
the retribution was the shifter’s life forfeited. Alphy looked at the pale
vampire. “Ryker, what did you find out about the council?”

Ryker seemed to have perked up with the subject change. “It’s

run pretty much the way it is in the States, only friendlier.” He
wiggled his eyebrows. “I looked into the covens, too. There aren’t as
many up here in Canada as the States, and it looks like the one in
Toronto is the closest. And here’s an interesting tidbit, there’s a
gargoyle clutch staying with them. They are partnered with the coven
since they are a pretty small clutch and none of them are mated.”

“That’s a lot of faith put in to the local coven, so that’s good to

know. Kace wants to spread the word he needs workers. Maybe you
could let them know.”

“Already done.”
Enzo eyed Ryker. “Hey, Rye, got anything that can’t be put

off ‘til later?”

“No, why?”
“You look a little hungry.” He gave the little vamp a heated

look, and Alphy suddenly got blasted with the scent of lust on both
sides.

“On that note, goodnight, Enzo.” Enzo gave a nod as he

passed but didn’t take his eyes off the other man as Alphy slipped past
and disappeared around the corner.

Alphy made his way to the kitchen, where Betty had both

Connie and Havana helping prepare lunch. They had a very large pile

of sandwiches next to a large bowl of grapes and another filled with
chips.

“Hey, Betty, I’m going to be just a little bit. Could you keep

an ear out for Gale for me?”

She didn’t look up right away as she was cutting some

tomatoes, but Alphy could feel the subdued tension in the room.
“Sure, I was going to have these taken out to the barn. How many do I
bring?” Her knife dripped tomato juices as she pointed it at the stack
of sandwiches.

Alphy understood what she really meant. She wanted to know

if she needed to provide something to eat for the prisoners. “Only two
extras will do, and you might want to wait thirty minutes or so.”

She glanced up briefly and lightly tilted her head. “Yes,

alpha.”

Alphy looked at the other two, who looked like he was about

to reach out and strike them. “I’ll dole out your punishments at a later
time. Connie, have Tom meet me out in the barn when he gets back.
Tell him if I’m not there, to wait for me.”

“Yes, alpha.” Her voice was very quiet, and she didn’t look up

at him. He could smell the nerves rolling off both girls.

“Betty, can you give me directions to a shack that needs to be

burned down?”

She nodded, wiped her hands on her apron, and grabbed a

paper pad and pen. She wrote down some directions with landmarks
and explained how to get there. Alphy nodded and thanked her then
headed outside towards the barn.

He couldn’t enjoy the warm sweetened breeze or the beautiful

sounds of happily chirping birds. Even though he could take
someone’s life quickly and even without hesitancy, he still hated it.
He kept thinking of what he saw when they had arrived on the scene.
His bear was a little bloodthirsty, but his gut slightly churned at
knowing a life would be taken without mercy in the next few minutes.
It took the beauty out of an otherwise perfectly beautiful day.

He stepped into the barn and focused on the bloodied group

tied together on the floor with four of his men surrounding them. He
let his cold side be felt as he approached. He knew it showed on his
face and in his walk, as well as in his scent. Even though the two
humans couldn’t smell him, the enforcer did. Even his own enforcers
and trackers backed up a few feet.

He looked down coldly at the shifter, whom he recognized as

the first one he’d met the other day. He looked up at his men. “Nix,
keep close and your eye in the sky.”

Nix, who was only wearing a pair of jeans, nodded, turned on

his heel and exited the barn. Moments later, Alphy’s shifter hearing
picked up the sounds of flapping wings. He turned to his other three.
“One of you needs to stay here while I need two of you to untie the
small one and follow me.”

“No! Please! I’ll do anything, please don’t!” the guilty shifter

begged.

Alphy turned back to him. “You were warned, and now I have

my right to retribution.” He really hated when they begged. It always
pulled at his heart that maybe, just maybe, they were good people but
were being forced to do something bad or that they may just actually
be sorry. Alphy hardened his resolve by reminding himself of the
mumbled response he’d heard when he first met the shifter. The lead
enforcer had said he didn’t want the family in his territory, that they
weren’t worth the trouble, and this one had mumbled “Yeah, one of
them’s gay.”

Alphy’s bear growled. This one wasn’t sorry; he just didn’t

want to die.

He stood guard as Matteo and Slate untied the ropes then re-

secured the two humans. Kace stayed behind with them. Alphy
grabbed a few things near the entrance of the barn, then headed out,
followed by Slate and Matteo carrying the struggling and now
swearing doomed enforcer. He followed the directions and soon
found a really old gold rush style shack. More than half of its roof had
fallen in from rot, and one of the walls was totally gone, revealing the
small insides of dirt, moss, fungus, and rotting wood. Ferns were
growing on the mounds of moss on the roof and in a few of the
corners, too.

He signaled for the enforcers to release the sifter. “What is

your name?” he asked.

“Fuck you! I’m not telling you shit you fag loving prick!” the

guy spat.

Alphy shrugged. The man had just made it easy to live with

his death. “Suit yourself. You took part in the attempted kidnapping
of my mate, her mother, and my sister. You were warned to stay out

of my territory, and you were told they were under my protection. I
am within my rights to take your life in retribution.”

Alphy felt the sun warm his flesh as he stripped from his

clothes. After folding them, he placed them on a nearby log then
instigated his shift. His thick brown fur broke through, covering his
bare naked skin, and his hands and feet grew in size and thick sharp
black claws grew out from their tips. The elk shifter’s eyes grew big,
and he started to struggle. Alphy’s bear was bigger than a normal
Kodiak bear. They usually stood about five feet tall if they were on all
fours but reached about ten feet if they stood on their hind legs. The
males usually ran close to fifteen hundred pounds, but Alphy’s bear
was large and powerful, the very reason the other sleuths and alphas
in general didn’t want him around. He was a whopping eighteen
hundred pounds, and stood over five and a half feet on all fours. He
reared up onto his hind legs and towered over the others at over
eleven feet tall.

Slate stepped away and started to undress, shaking out his

blond and black mane after completing his shift. His lion was pretty
large and powerful but not an alpha. He stood at a small distance
standing guard so the shifter couldn’t run.

“You’re freaks. You’re all different shifters! Shifters should

stay with their own kind!”

The shrill tone only added to his bear’s resolve to end the

shifter, and he bellowed out a roar of distaste of the sound.

Matteo untied the rope and slipped it off the shifter. He

stepped away on the shifter’s other side, keeping guard. As soon as
the ropes fell away, the other shifter tried to shift. Alphy decided to let
him finish before he charged. He always felt it was unjust and
cowardly to attack someone mid-shift. It was comparable to shooting
someone in the back.

The shifter’s face elongated, and long, delicate legs formed.

Antlers poked through his head, but they were small.

When the shifter was done, Alphy’s bear rushed forward and

barreled into the elk. He leaped up onto his hind legs as the shifter
reared up and tried to bash with his hooves, but it was too easy for
Alphy to fall forward and sink his giant maw into the neck of the elk,
right below the jaw. Alphy used his weight to ground the elk, while
his massive paws held down the victim. With huge claws sinking into
the hide, he pulled back, ripping out the elk’s throat.

After the elk went still, Alphy’s bear felt slightly mollified.

Their mate was still in danger with the other two enforcers and the
alpha still running free. Soon, he told his bear, they would finish their
retribution soon.

He used his powerful jaws and bulky form to maneuver the elk

into the crumbling shack. While he and Slate changed forms and
dressed, Matteo set the shack on fire. They stood back and watched it
burn for a little bit, to make sure the fire wouldn’t spread.

Slate turned to Alphy. “Why don’t you two go back? I’ll finish

watching this for a little bit longer before I head back.”

“Thanks, Slate. I’ll have Nix bring you a couple sandwiches.”
Slate placed his hand over his stomach. “Good, I’m starved. I

didn’t get enough breakfast.”

“Then you should have eaten more. There was plenty.”
Slate looked a little sheepish. “Yeah, well, I was going to wait

until we came back or if it took too long, get something in town.”

Alphy and Matteo both snorted. “I’ll send the sandwiches.” He

and Matteo turned and left.

Tom had returned and, as requested, was waiting for Alphy in

the barn. He was helping Kace clean out a stall creating a sort of a
“holding cell”. The two humans on the floor didn’t look angry—they
looked frightened, and they smelled it, too. Alphy shot Kace a
questioning look.

He smiled and shrugged. “Didn’t know if they’d been exposed

or not, but when they got a bit too frisky, I shifted.”

Alphy raised one brow. “Well, if we had any chance at letting

them go before, there isn’t now.”

“Sorry, alpha.” His serious face looked so unusual for Kace.
Alphy just gave a heavy sigh. “Don’t worry about it. It still all

falls on David.” Alphy looked over at a card table filled with food.
Matteo was already chowing down. “You two eaten?” he asked Kace
and Tom.

Kace nodded, but Tom shook his head. He looked like he was

about to get whipped. That didn’t sit well with his bear. The girls
hadn’t committed that big of an infraction to warrant this much fear. It
probably had something to do with their former alpha.

“And them?” Alphy indicated the prisoners.
Kace shook his head. “They’re a little bit too upset at the

moment.”

Alphy snickered. “I bet.” He turned to the two men. Their

faces were covered in dried blood and swollen in places. “Where’s
Seamus? I would have thought he would have cleaned these two up
by now.”

Kace answered with a grin. “He’s ‘gathering supplies’.” Kace

used his fingers to quote the air. “I’m not helping him this time.”

Alphy was chuckling when he squatted down to look eye level

with the men. “You guys bit off more than you can chew. I have no
care for anyone who would harm women, let alone my family. If you
survive this, it would be a great time to make a career change.” There
were so many other things he wanted to tell them, but sometimes less
was more. Alphy figured they had enough to wrap their heads around,
so he stood up and signaled for Tom to follow him.

Tom didn’t hesitate to fall in behind Alphy. Alphy waited until

they were out in the sun and a little bit from the barn. “Relax, Tom.
I’m not that kind of alpha. I would take offense that you would think
so, if I didn’t know about your former alpha and what he put you and
your family through.”

They paused where they were. Alphy didn’t want anyone to

eavesdrop on their conversation. Tom nodded his head. “Thank you,
alpha.”

Alphy rubbed his hand over his face. “This morning was a

little bit my fault. I really should have been more specific. Did you
talk to Connie yet?”

Tom nodded but didn’t say anything more.
“And?” he asked. “Why did she think it would be all right to

leave without any protection?”

“They needed something, and when the rest of us left, they

weren’t asked if they had anything they needed from town.”

Alphy pondered that for a minute. “So this wasn’t because

they just wanted to go to town and look around or just pointlessly
shop? There was actually something they really needed?”

Tom nodded again.
Well damn, Alphy thought. It probably could have been

avoided if they were simply asked if they needed anything while the
others were in town. It was common sense and courtesy to ask, and at
that time, they hadn’t been. “Out of curiosity, what was it they
thought they couldn’t wait until the men got home?”

Tom pinked slightly. “Uh, pads.” Tom looked horribly

uncomfortable, and Alphy was confused.

“Pads? Heating pads? Nose pads? Paper pads?” Suddenly, it

struck him. “Oh, you mean…”

Tom suddenly nodded. “Yeah, that one.”
Alphy felt a bit guilty. Those were important.
Tom rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know the twins had

gotten into hers.”

Alphy’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Well that sounds like

an interesting story. What did the cubs do with them?”

Tom’s lips twitched with an effort of suppressing his humor.

“They used them as roadways and railroad tracks. Connie walked in
on them when they were on the last two. She said they stuck them to
the floor and played like they paved the road, then ran their cars over
them.”

Alphy chuckled. He saw Seamus nearing, pushing a huge load

on course for the barn, and started laughing. Then Alphy sobered up
enough to get back to the point of the matter. “Well,” he told Tom, “it
could very well have been avoided if we would have asked if they
needed anything. But they still need a little bit of discipline. This isn’t
a normal pack or sleuth or herd.”

He saw Tom tense and lose his spirit again. Alphy was quick

to reassure him. “Nothing serious, Tom. I realize I have to prove
myself worthy of your trust after what you endured, but please try.”

Tom nodded. “You know, before the attack, Gale was very

outgoing and friendly and generally happy. She and her brother
worked, and yet maintained healthy grades and still managed to
coordinate their schedules so one of them was always home helping to
take care of the twins and had supper on the table when their mother
and I got home. She’s not your typical teen. She’s been through too
much to be. She watched her brother get beaten, did she tell you
that?”

Alphy shook his head. Gale hadn’t really told him anything

about herself. They really hadn’t had that much time, and they hadn’t
had the time to get this deep.

“One of the enforcers held her back while the other two…”

Tom was staring down at the ground. Alphy placed a reassuring hand
on his shoulder. This seemed to help Tom collect himself. He still
couldn’t look Alphy in the eyes, but he stood stronger. “She just

needs time to heal, something she didn’t get when we were on the
run.”

Alphy rubbed his chin and looked around. “So what chore

could we get them to do that would drive home our point?”

Tom looked thoughtful for a moment. He enjoyed seeing a

smile creep across Tom’s face. Tom nodded his head in the direction
of the barn. “They could take turns being the doctor’s assistant.”

Alphy thought about for a second before he lightly laughed,

and he slapped Tom on the shoulder. “You know, that is a great idea.
Let’s go tell them their fate. Who do you suppose should take the first
shift?”

Alphy and Tom discussed a few details then headed back to

the house. He could tell the elk shifter was relieved that the
punishment wasn’t serious, and he was also probably pleased that
Alphy had listened to his suggestions.

When they entered the house, he let Tom break the news to

Connie and Alphy’s wayward sister, while Alphy headed upstairs to
talk to his mate. Gale was sitting on the bed with her knees up under
her chin and her arms hugging around her legs.

He walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her on the top

of her head. She flinched a little and he could smell how uneasy she
was, but she didn’t move away. He felt that was a good sign. After
talking with Tom, he could more easily see how these last few weeks
had truly affected her. She was having just a bit of a rough time
getting back to her old self. It didn’t help that they were still in
danger, which hindered their recovery of their normal stable lives.
That was why she had these extreme mood swings. He needed to
figure out how to give her feet solid ground so she could stand on her
own again.

“Hey, honey-bear, you feeling better?”
She just shrugged a shoulder in response. Alphy sat down on

the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t resist and
rested her head on his shoulder while he rubbed circles in the arch of
her back.

“I did mention things would undoubtedly get worse before

they get better, remember?” he said.

She kept her head rested against his shoulder, but she still

managed to nod. Alphy kissed her on the head again.

“We just need to stick together.”

He heard her start to sniffle, and he scented guilt and sadness.
“I’m so, so sorry,” she said. “You would have thought after

these last few weeks I would have been more careful. This is my fault.
I should have told them that we should get you, and I’ll take full
blame and whatever punishment you see fit. So what happens now?”

Alphy felt a swell of pride warm his heart. His mate was going

to make a perfect alpha mate. No one was flawless, and even the most
experienced could make rookie mistakes. But she was willing to
accept her role and even take the blame off the others. She may be a
little broken right now, but she was going to grow into a strong and
much loved alpha mate. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and pulled
back so he could look into her face. He wiped her tears away.

“Nothing dire. You girls have already been through enough

today, and some of that blame rests on me. I should have known to be
more specific. I’ve already talked to Tom, so I know why you girls
left, and though it was still wrong, it was understandable. We already
discussed punishment. You, your mom, and my sister are going to be
Dr. Rossi’s assistants for one shift. That’s all, nothing dire.”

Gale snorted. “Oh poopsy, he is always dire. I swear that man

is OCD.”

Alphy laughed at Gale’s quip. He grew serious and leaned in

and rested his forehead against hers and closed her eyes while he took
in her pleasant honey and wild berry scent. “I’m just ecstatic you’re
ok. I can’t even begin to express to you how scared you made me and
my bear today.”

“Your bear is separate from you?”
“No.” Alphy pulled back so he could see her as he spoke. “We

are the same, but some of my baser instincts come from him and I can
feel myself battling those instincts at times. When we shift, we give
ourselves over to that instinct, and it shifts us into our animals. Once
we are in our animal form, we maintain a stronger animal instinct, but
our mind and consciousness are still the same.”

“I know Tom is still very gentle when he shifts, but he isn’t a

predator shifter. Would you hurt me if you were in your bear form?”

“Never.” He answered immediately and confidently. “I said

my instinct is stronger in bear form. You are our mate and other half,
and my bear is as much in love with you as I am. I could never even
want to hurt you, and to do so would be a stronger hurt to myself.”

“You love me?” Her voice went soft and breathy.

Alphy’s eyes softened as he smiled at the woman he loved.

“Yes, with all my heart. It happens fast with a paranormal’s fated
mate.” The smile that lit her face knocked the breath from his lungs. It
spoke to him of how much she cared for him back, and perhaps how
much she needed to hear him say it.

Gale threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He

pulled her close and squeezed back. His cock jumped in his pants.

“I love you, too,” she whispered in his hair.
Alphy’s cock did another jerk, and he pulled back and rested

his lips over hers. He had to taste his mate. Suddenly his bear sat up
and demanded to reaffirm their mark on her. They wanted their scent
on her, in her, pouring from her. With another jerk from his dick, he
felt pre-cum leak from the tip and moisten his pants. He sank further
into the kiss, making it demanding and passionate. He left no doubt to
how he felt and what he wanted.

Alphy reached down and flicked the button through the button

hole in his pants. His fingers pinched the cold metal of the zipper’s
pull tab when a knock on the door interrupted the moment. He let his
bear’s growl of disapproval be heard to the offending intrusion.

“Alpha Ralph, Alpha David is on the phone, and he has an

answer to your challenge.” Ryker’s business-like tone carried through
the closed door.

That was the second time this alpha had interrupted Alphy’s

time with his mate. There was no doubt this guy was a dead man.

“I’m coming.” He stood up and looked at his mate, who had a

peculiar look on her face. She looked positively giddy. He gave her a
quizzical look. “You’re happy he interrupted us?”

She spread her smile wider and eagerly nodded her head. “I’m

looking forward to when you make it up to me, like you did last
time.”

Alphy let out a full barrel laugh. He got control over himself

and leaned in for a small peck. “It’s good you can see the bright side
of it. I’ll make it up to you later, so you should head down and get
something to eat … you’ll need your strength.”

With that parting shot from him, she beat him to the door and

was halfway down the steps before his hand curled around the phone.

He couldn’t hold back his smile or chuckle as he answered the

phone. “This is Alpha Ralph.”

Chapter Twelve

The challenge was to take place in two days with alphas from

other herds and packs as witnesses. Alpha David had chosen to have
the challenge in the Kaska pack’s territory. He seemed confident he
was going to win and wanted to immediately take it over afterward.
The pack worked hard long hours planning and preparing for
everything they could come up with that the corruptalpha might try to
pull. And starting the each day with defensive training for all the pack
members became a requirement.

Enzo stood on his right, and Tom stood beside Seamus,

standing behind him, watching as other alphas gathered around an
arena they had set up. They chose a spot far from the house, not
wanting to invite so many to the pack house. It was a defensible
clearing, so Alphy had it put down as their official Kaska pack spot
for challenges and other such events. He had it on the to-do list to
improve on it.

Sure the alpha was going to try something, they kept Nix in a

great sniping position and set with a communication device. Kace,
Slate, and Matteo were also positioned in key spots to detect anyone
trying to go for the house or sneak behind Alphy’s back. Seamus was
prepared with a med-kit, or rather more like two med duffle bags. No
one could argue with the vamp for wanting to be prepared for
anything. As much as he and the others teased him about it, Alphy
and the rest always loved that about their doctor friend.

Alphy ordered all the women, Reese and Paul, and of course,

the cubs, to stay at the house with Ryker there as guard. Ryker may be
a small computer geek, but he was a vampire. He had strength that
usually others underestimated, and he picked up on things really fast.
At least he could kill a teddy bear now. Of course, that tease was only
enjoyed by everyone else but Ryker. He didn’t like it at all.

Alphy’s brother and sister were not easy pickings either. They

both strong Kodiak bears and loved to wrestle and spar with each
other and were both pretty good in a fight. They had already started
using the boxing arena.

At the suggestion from Ryker, and backed up with support

from Seamus, Alphy had invited the coven from Toronto. He’d gotten
to speak with the coven leader over the phone and had a good feeling
about him. He sounded strong, and fair, just what Alphy needed to

give an added watch over the other packs. And at Enzo’s suggestion,
Alphy had invited someone from the council. It had turned out the
council knew about Alpha David. Apparently he called the council a
great deal, always demanding one thing or other abusing the system to
his advantage. He also complained his dues were too high, always
short changing the council until they had to threaten to visit him. They
were starting to hear rumors and were about to investigate when
Alphy called about the challenge. Because of this, the council was just
fine with coming out and witnessing the event.

It helped ease Alphy just a smidgen to have that much of an

equalizer. So he stood before the large groups, with David on the
opposite side, as they waited for all the groups to finish arriving.

Alphy’s bear paced in his mind. He hated all these other

alphas in his territory. They really had no right to be here, but he felt
he would get a better feel for who was truly on David’s side and who
may actually be decent. So far, none of them struck him as decent.
****

Gale hated not being there with her mate. She felt sick to her

stomach and nervously paced the large living area. Gale’s eyes darted
around the living space. She was amused to watch Reese down on the
floor playing with the twins. He was always playing with them or
helping with her brother, and she felt Reese would probably make a
great father one day. Havana loved to give them a little bit of
attention, but it was more in passing. Right now, she was glued to her
cell.

Gale’s brother, Paul, was sitting comfortably in a chair with

his feet lifted up on an ottoman. He was playing some game or other
on a tablet, but with his depth perception off, he wasn’t doing so well.
Ryker was sitting on the arm of the chair, looking over Paul’s
shoulder “backseat gaming”. He and her brother had been getting
along really well.

Her mom and Betty were both in the kitchen preparing a big

feast. Betty didn’t seem to have any doubts who would win, and
Connie, well, Gale felt her mom was just nervous as she was, what
with Tom out there and not here, and she just wanted something to do.
They were the only ones not in the living space.

Gale turned and paced the other direction. She didn’t feel like

helping in the kitchen, she didn’t have any games or movies she was
interested in, and she didn’t have anything to keep her mind off the

worry. She reached the end of the space, turned, and followed the
same path the other way.

“He’ll be just fine, Gale.” She looked over to see Ryker

looking at her. He continued, “He’s been in all the Special Forces.”
She noted he said that like it was a bunch of magazines instead of the
military. “And haven’t you seen his bear?”

Gale shook her head. She’d been too afraid at first, thinking it

might attack her, but after he told her he couldn’t hurt her even in bear
form, she’d wanted to see his bear, but they had been so busy, they
hadn’t had the chance.

“There’s a big reason,” he emphasized “big”, “no other alpha

wanted him in there territory. It isn’t just because of his alpha
tendencies.”

“But I know the other alpha. He’s tricky, and cheats, and he’s

just evil. He’s not going to play fair,” said Gale.

“Alphy knows how to prepare for anything, and his pack has

his back. They know what they are doing.”

Gale continued to pace. She knew he was right, but she just

couldn’t shake her nerves. Ryker went back to “backseat gaming”.

An explosion of glass and wood shot around them, sending

fragments sliding across the hardwood floors. The twins screamed
and cried. Reese and Havana were fast picking up the tots and
sheltering them, but all Gale could do was stand where she was, in a
near state of shock, covering her ears with her hands. Men thundered
through the door and windows. She felt a breeze as Ryker sped by her
at an inhuman speed.

She heard Ryker hiss, baring his fangs, as he stopped in front

of one intruder and stabbed his elongated fingernails into the man’s
chest right where his heart would have been. Gale shut her eyes and
looked away. She heard more shouting and gurgling, and three
thunderous roars that shocked her enough to look up.

The twins were in Paul’s lap with her mother sheltering them

all. Filling the rest of the living space were three giant Kodiak bears.
Now she knew why the space was so open, as the bears crowded the
large space. Gale dove for the seat with her mother and siblings. She
watched as the three bears and a fast lethal vampire attacked the
intruders.

Ryker’s eyes were entirely red, and his elongated fingernails

were dripping with blood. Gale saw one of the enforcers on the floor,

already dead, his sightless eyes staring open at the ceiling with four
deep slashes torn in his neck, down his chest, feeding the growing
pool of blood he lay in. Smoke filled the area, causing them to cough,
and she tasted the metallic tang of blood in the air. The final enforcer,
the main instigator, came into view, and Gale closed her eyes and
turned away as one bear lunged at his throat. She heard a gurgled
grunt and tried to not picture what just happened to him. Soon, the
chaos quieted, leaving only the sounds of the screaming tots. She
looked up. Nine men lay dead or dying in giant pools of blood on the
floor. Above them stood Ryker, covered in blood and a feral look on
his face, and Betty, Havana, and Reese … naked. Gale gasped,
slammed her eyes shut, and turned her head.

“Enzo? Yes, we were attacked, but I’m sorry to tell you there

aren’t any prisoners.”

Gale heard Ryker speaking into his cell. He said it so matter of

factly that it made her stomach sick. She couldn’t hear what was said
on the other side of the phone.

“Ok, got it. Oh! I’ll hold you to that.”
Gale heard Betty’s voice. “Reese, keep your skin on, just in

case more come. You, too, Havana, better safe than sorry.”

Gale cringed when she heard bones and ligaments popping. It

sounded so painful.

“OK, I’m dressed. Gale, why don’t you help me clean up this

glass?” Gale felt fur rub against her leg and looked up. A huge brown
bear snout sniffed in her face taking in her scent. It poked past her and
did quick little sniffs and puffs against the twins. Gale was frozen in
place. Alphy had said he couldn’t hurt her, but he’d never said
anything about the others.

The tots stopped crying and started to giggle with the wet nose

tickling their sides. They threw themselves at the bear and proceeded
to use the giant bear as a jungle-gym.

“Come on, girls. They won’t hurt you. They are just as

cognizant in their bear forms as they are in the human forms,” said
Betty.

Gale’s mother was the first one to get up, but Gale still didn’t

want to get up until she saw the pain her brother was in. She leaped
up and away from him. She stood there for a second until Betty
shoved a broom in her face, “Snap out of it, girl. We need ya, and we
don’t want those tots getting cut on the glass.”

Gale shook her shock and went to work.

****

Alphy heard the phone call Enzo took. He had expected the

other alpha would try as much, but it still pissed the ever loving hell
out of him.

“That might not be his only attempt, so keep your senses

sharp,” Alphy told them. They nodded, so turning, he stepped into the
arena and made his way to the middle of. “Alpha David.” Everyone
hushed. “You have attacked my family, twice now.”

Alpha David interrupted. “I object! That first day at the hotel

was a complete misunderstanding. We did not know you were here or
we would have respected your territory.”

Alphy continued, “I was not counting that encounter. You sent

your enforcers to kidnap my mate, my sister, and my mate’s mother,”

Again, David interrupted. “Lies! I did no such thing. I had no

knowledge of the goings on of my enforcers.”

Alphy raised a brow. “Who said it was your enforcers? Then

you knew they were still in the area? You knew it was your enforcers
and not rogues or perhaps another from your herd?”

David sputtered, and Alphy heard a few of the other alphas

show distaste in David’s direction. Good. He was losing support.

Alphy, again, continued. “Your three enforcers attacked them,

with the help of two human thugs.” He paused to hear the round of
gasps. The representative from the council was particularly interested.
To risk exposure to humans incurred a severe penalty. “I still hold the
two humans, who will be given over to the council, who as you see,”
he pointed out the eagle shifter elder and his escort, “is here today.”

“The second attempt,” Alphy turned his full attention back to

David, “was just moments ago, no doubt to try to persuade me to lose
to you. Oh don’t worry, the intruders’ bodies, which include two of
your enforcers, are still there to identify them.”

David’s face turned dark red, and several more alphas

distanced themselves from him. Alphy had no illusions that they may
be good alphas, because they weren’t. He believed they were just
saving their own hides. “Is that why you invited these other alphas?
Did they agree to help you? The attackers weren’t all elk, so who else
helped you?”

Ryker didn’t tell him they weren’t all elk. Alphy had only

guessed, but figured he didn’t have anything to lose. Either David

would deny his involvment, or maybe even hang himself with a slip
like “I didn’t send any others”. In any case, it would send a message
to the other alphas, and all in front of the council! Alphy almost
smiled at how well that part played out.

As Alphy expected and prepared for, the other alpha shifted

and charged. Alphy easily dove out of the way. The rack on the alpha
was pretty impressive, but Alphy had a lot of training with dodging
sharp objects. He had to remember to stay clear of the sharp hooves,
too. Those weren’t anything to take lightly. Alphy waited until the
alpha took and missed another pass. Giving into his bear, he quickly
took on his bear form

.

In the matter of a second, goosebumps formed

over Alphy’s enlarging form and fur replaced smooth flesh. The
change was too fast to hear the bones and ligaments over the clod of
the elk’s hooves and the shouting bystanders. He was full size and
ready by the time David had turned and charged. David wasn’t a
bright fellow. He didn’t particularly look before he charged because
when he saw Alphy had changed, he panicked and tried to stop.
However, it was too late, and Alphy did the same thing he had done
the other enforcer, rearing up and coming down to latch his jaws on
the alpha’s neck. He didn’t hesitate to rip it out, knowing the kill was
justified. The shifter world was a brutal place. It had to be to keep
safe from the humans, or from each other.

Alphy bellowed out his victory at the other alphas around him.

He was challenging them to just try to test his limits, but Alphy knew
he didn’t have any. The other alphas must have felt it, too, as they
were quickly headed back to the vehicles and leaving little dust clouds
where their wheels sped with their impatience.

Alphy turned to the councilman and shifted. After putting on

some sweats he had brought earlier, Alphy approached the eagle
shifter, Tyler Ghost. The other man stood and stepped forward. He
extended his hand. “Alpha Ralph, your bear is the most impressive
one I have ever seen. You handled yourself well, and under the
circumstances, that’s equally impressive.” Alphy took the
councilman’s hand and shook it. Tyler had a good strong grip, and
even though he didn’t look older than his early forties, Alphy knew
this shifter was far older than that. “I look forward seeing you rebuild
this sleuth, or pack, as someone had emphasized.”

“Thank you, Councilman Ghost, and thank you for coming.

And you.” Alphy quickly gave a quick nod of recognition to the

coven leader, Raymond Kazmet. “You are both invited to our pack
house for a celebratory dinner.”

Tyler perked up. “Delightful! I am eager to meet the woman I

spoke to, a Miss Betty.”

Alphy smiled. “Yes, my great-aunt. She was the one who kept

the territory all these years, until I came to claim it.”

“Smart woman, that one. We’ll head over there now.” The

councilman led his two bodyguards and assistant over to a vehicle,
and they climbed in.

Alphy turned to the coven leader, Raymond. Raymond held

out his hand to Alphy, who gladly took it. “I would love to stay, but
I’m afraid it won’t be for too long, I have an early meeting tomorrow.
I’m very glad to see it worked out so well for you here. I’ve been
speaking with Ryker. He had high praises for you, and I’m surprised
to see they weren’t exaggerated.”

They walked together over to Raymond’s car. He also had

brought a small escort, but they had brought their own vehicles and
were now standing by them waiting to follow their leader.

“You may like to know I have spoken to the clutch we protect.

There are only three of them, but they are interested in joining you
and helping you build. They do have some questions for you, and they
are waiting on me to report if you are trustworthy enough, which
answer I can assure you, is positive.”

“Thank you, Ray. Let’s head to the house and we can discuss

it further. We are eager to get some buildings started, and our
overzealous doctor—”

Not too far away, they heard Seamus sing out, “I can hear

you.”

Alphy and Ray chuckled, and Alphy continued. “He is eager

to get a paranormal hospital going.”

Ray’s eyes widened. “Really? I would be most interested in

that. I wondered what Seamus was about, when he asked for all that
equipment.”

“Truly. We are still working on drawing up the plans, and as I

said before, we still need some homes built, but we have been
working it out.”

Watching Ray and his entourage drive out of the clearing,

Alphy ordered everyone to head back to the house. They signaled the

others and departed the area, leaving the bloody corpse of the ex-
alpha where it lay.

Chapter Thirteen

Alphy could see the mess from the attack as he and his inner

circle approached the house. On his right stood Raymond surrounded
by his entourage next to his vehicle, speaking to his coven. Not seeing
Tyler, Alphy continued towards the house. Before he could step onto
the porch, Gale appeared through the splintered doorway. Her face lit
up at seeing him, and she ran across the space and launched herself
into his ready arms. Alphy had no problems catching his mate. He’d
been worried sick about her, and even though he was told she was all
right, it still didn’t sit well with his bear. Now that he held her, he felt
a large part of himself reassured that she really was all right.

Keeping his mate locked in his arms, Alphy climbed the steps

and walked into the entryway of the house. He was further shocked at
the scene before him. Councilman Tyler had Betty against the wall,
kissing her like his next breath depended on it.

Alphy stepped aside to allow Tom through. He’d been anxious

to get to his mate, too. Tom seemed to be just as curious as Alphy was
about the tongue-dueling couple, and he slowed just a bit as he passed
them, staring at them until he was past.

Enzo and the others followed through the door. A crooked

smile played over Enzo’s lips. “Huh, didn’t see that one coming.”

Kace drawled, “Aw, man, what about the feast?”
Slate huffed an amused grunt. “She is the feast, for Tyler

anyway.”

“Wow, they’re still going at it.” Ryker’s voice sounded

nearby, but Alphy couldn’t quite see him with his buddies in the way.
“He didn’t even say hello before swallowing her up like that.”

Seamus snickered. “You’d think they’d need to come up for

air by now.”

Gale giggled. “We’ve tried to stop them, or interrupt them, but

it’s like nothing else exists. Isn’t it sweet?”

“Not when you can smell it. Their pheromones are so thick

they’re giving me an uncomfortable headache,” said Ryker.

“Yeah, me, too,” Kace said.
Seamus rolled his eyes. “Not that head, you horn-dog.”
Slate interrupted. “No, I would say dickhead was a more

appropriate name to call him.”

Alphy rolled his eyes. “All right, that’s enough.” Alphy finally

placed his mate on her feet, but keeping a hold of her hand, walked up
to the vigorous couple. “Mister Ghost, Betty.” Alphy projected his
voice, and after he repeated it one more time, the couple slowly
became aware of their surroundings.

They were both breathing pretty hard, but Alphy noted Betty’s

face tint pink as she looked around at the audience. Alphy turned to
the others and barked an order. “Kace, take who you need and fix the
doors and windows. Ryker, I want those accounts frozen like we
discussed.” After everyone dispersed, he faced the councilman who
was watching Betty’s retreating form. “Something I need to know,
Councilman Tyler?”

After Betty was no longer visible, Tyler answered, “She’s my

mate.” His voice was a bit breathy, and Alphy recognized the subtle
shift he made to readjust his dick. Still looking in the direction Betty
had gone, he continued. “I was beginning to think I would never meet
her, and here she is.” Tyler shook himself and turned to face Alphy. “I
apologize. As soon as I scented her, I was completely overcome by
instinct, and once I saw her …” Tyler didn’t finish, and Alphy didn’t
need him to.

“Congratulations,” he said, smiling at the shorter man.
Gale peeked around him. “Yes, congratulations.”
“Thank you, both of you. I guess you’re going to be seeing a

lot more of me. Uh, I hope you don’t have a problem with that.”

Alphy shook his head. “Actually, I’m really happy for you

both. Just don’t expect me to give up my alpha position.”

Tyler shook his head. “In order to do that, I would need to

give up my seat on the council and I would need to challenge you. I
don’t have the will for the first or the strength for the second. That
does remind me, though. You are now the alpha to David’s herd.
You’ll need to take it over as soon as possible.”

Alphy groaned. “I’ve been thinking about that. I think I know

what I’m going to do.”

“I’m curious to what it is. I gather then that you are staying

here permanently?”

“Definitely. This is my home, and my bear refuses to hear of

anything else.”

“Well then, let’s go sit down and talk while your men are

fixing the house and my mate is finishing up the feast.”

Alphy noticed the delight the councilman had at referring to

his “mate”. Right as they were about to make their way into the living
room, coven leader Raymond entered the house. “Alphy, I have news
when you’re ready to hear it.”

Alphy pulled Gale onto his lap and situated her as the others

got comfortable. She didn’t fight him or argue or even suggest going
anywhere else, so he assumed she really needed to be with him right
now and he had to admit to himself that he couldn’t let of her right
now either.

“Raymond, what’s your news?” the councilman asked.
“I’ve spoken to my second, and he has learned there are two

other members of my coven who are interested in learning carpentry.
They have heard you are welcoming the gargoyles and have inquired
if they can also join. They are quite young but respectable.”

Alphy felt Gale tense slightly as he nodded at the news. “I’d

like to look into that. I’m sure Kace wouldn’t mind teaching his trade.
He’s done it before. When are they thinking of coming up here?”

“That will depend entirely on you. They will need more time

to pack, I’m afraid, than the gargoyles, but not much. They are still
living with their parents.”

Gale wiggled slightly and fidgeted, Alphy guessed it was from

learning of another kind of paranormal. “Something on your mind,
honey-bear?”

Gale’s eyes darted around before she leaned in and whispered,

“Gargoyles? Real gargoyles? They’re real?”

Alphy refrained from chuckling at his mate’s eager innocence.

“Yes. And they really do turn to stone during the day.”

The sounds of electrical tools sounded through the room as

they were interrupted by Connie. “Excuse me, alpha.” She waited
from him to signal for her to continue. Alphy gave her a nod. “We
needed to know if we were to make a plate for the two prisoners.”

Tyler interrupted. “Oh, forgive me, I’ve forgotten to mention I

had my assistant organize a team to come and collect them. He’s in
the barn with them, I believe. They shouldn’t take too long. I had a
team nearby in town. You did mention when we briefly talked earlier,
that you wanted to turn them over to the council. Am I right?”

“Yes, thank you.” Turning back to Gale’s mother, Alphy

offered her a smile. “I guess that means no plate for them.”

The group started to discuss the paranormal hospital idea,

drawing in Seamus to ask him more questions. It wasn’t long before
Tyler’s assistant entered and stood by his employer’s side. The
assistant wasn’t a small man. He had a well-defined muscular body.
Alphy didn’t doubt that he doubled as another bodyguard for the
councilman. His black hair was professionally trimmed and styled,
and his face was clean shaven. He stood just a few inches shorter than
Alphy. The man leaned over and whispered something to Tyler.
Alphy watched the interaction. Tyler seemed slightly surprised by
whatever it was he just heard.

Turning back to Alphy, Tyler elaborated on what he just

learned. “Alpha Ralph, my assistant has just informed me the
prisoners have been taken into custody. You are no longer responsible
for them. Also, he has told me of news about the herd. It seems they
don’t have a shifter doctor, so there could most certainly be sick, and
undoubtedly injured.”

Seamus stiffened and looked expectantly at Alphy. “Then I

need to ask that I travel with you to the herd. When are we leaving?”

Alphy raised a brow at Seamus. That didn’t sound like a

request. Seamus’s gaze was stead as he stared the alpha in the eyes.
An ache started to make itself known in the back of Alphy’s skull.
Seamus was one of the few who could give him such a challenging
look without actually challenging his bear. But he just knew the
compulsive perfectionist was going to want to take everything they
had. “I don’t know. I still have some other things to finish up around
here. A week maybe?” Alphy sighed and rubbed his temple.

“You can use my private jet if you’d like. Every council

member has one assigned to them,” Tyler offered with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to need it?” Alphy questioned the generous

offer.

Tyler wiggled his brows. “My assistant has taken the liberty of

calling the council for me for some emergency time off. He guessed
Betty was my mate and informed them already. I’m going to use my
time off to woo her. So the jet will be available. It’s sitting at the
quaint little airstrip this little town hosts.”

Alphy scratched at the short whiskers of his beard. The use of

a private and personal jet was too appealing to pass up. “All right, I
accept. I’ll make my lists of what can be done now and what can wait
and give you an estimate when we can leave later tonight.”

“Excellent,” Tyler said cheerfully. But Alphy didn’t think it

was really in complete reference to him. Tyler was staring at Betty,
who had approached and was waiting to be heard. Betty looked like
she was trying to keep her composure, but Alphy could easily scent
the growing attraction between them. “Yes, Betty?”

“The feast is ready. You need to go wash up.” Betty gave a

pointed look to the dirt and blood he had yet to wash off. It wasn’t a
lot really, and with everything he faced once he got back, it had
totally slipped his mind. “Oh, right.”

The feast was a loud and extremely happy occasion. Alphy

couldn’t remember feeling more happy or complete. Especially with
the mating of Betty and Tyler. From the sounds of things, they were
already going to try for cubs, starting with the claiming, which Tyler
was insisting be tonight. Looking fondly at the cuddling couple,
Alphy hoped the couple could be blessed with young. They were
coming to the near end of their prime, and even though shifters were
fertile much longer than humans because of their slow aging, their
fertility rate was much lower than humans’. So there was no saying
whether they would be successful or not.

Alphy had yet to let go of his mate for longer than to wash

from the challenge. He had to touch or hold her in one way or another
throughout the feast. Right now he was holding her hand as she stood
and talked animatedly about the soon-to-be gargoyle members to her
mom and brother, who were sitting nearby. He smiled benevolently at
her excitement.

Ryker nudged his elbow. Alphy turned to him and after

leaning down to hear what he had to say, Alphy nodded his thanks.
“Let the councilman know we’d like to aim for Wednesday, then.”

“Who all are you going to take?” Ryker whispered back.
Alphy thought about that for a moment. He wanted to take his

enforcer, but which one? He had yet to choose which shifter would be
the lead enforcer. “I want you and Seamus, and Tom and Connie
would like to go, too. Havana, Reese, and Betty have offered to help
with the cubs so they can leave them here. I’d like Kace, and that just
leaves which enforcer to take.”

Ryker’s face lit up. “Oh please tell me we can finally have the

enforcer challenge!” Ryker hopped with apparent glee, and his fangs
were easily seen through his large open-mouthed smile.

Alphy restrained from laughing, but his hearty amusement

warmed his chest and tickled inside his full stomach. “Yeah. We can
have the enforcer challenge tomorrow, at the challenge arena.”

His friend let out a whoop and announced the news excitedly

to everyone around them. Tugging on Gale’s hand, Alphy led her
from the energized room. Stopping by Enzo first, Alphy leaned over
and whispered into his ear. “I don’t care if the house is on fire—no
one disturbs me and my mate.”

Enzo laughed and nodded his head as Alphy picked his mate

up in his arms, ignoring her squeak of surprise, and leaped up the
stairs closing the door with his foot as he entered their room.

Looking into the glowing face of his mate, Alphy returned her

radiant smile as he walked over and gently placed her on the bed. As
soon as her body dipped into the bedding, Alphy crushed his lips to
hers and drank in her soft and sweet lips. Gale’s head pushed low into
the soft pillow as he threw all the passion he felt into the kiss. He lay
over her body and covered her with his bulk. After pulling back to
allow them both to breathe, Alphy looked into Gale’s lust blown hazel
eyes. He smiled down at her. “I love you, Gale, my mate. I’ve never
been happier.”

Gale smiled up at him. “I love you, too, Alphy.” Her hand

smoothed down his cheek at her admission. Alphy’s chest felt like it
would explode with the happiness he felt. How could anyone possibly
contain this emotion without bursting apart?

Alphy leaned down and nipped Gale’s plump lips. He gently

rubbed his whiskers against her cheek, then grazed them over her soft
skin across her jaw and down her neck. Gale angled her hips to rub
against his restricted bulge. Alphy let his body rest on one hand as he
sent the other to wander over her soft curves. The fabric of her clothes
irritated him. They kept his hands from smoothing over her warm
skin. Pulling back and sitting on his heels, Alphy reached a hand back
and grabbed the neck of his shirt, pulling it up over his head and
throwing it onto the floor. Next, he unbuttoned the top of his pants,
but his dick pressed so hard against the front of his zipper, Alphy had
to be careful when he pulled down on the tab.

Gale sat still as she watched him. Her eyes stayed on his hands

as he reached in and pulled out his weeping cock. Alphy slowly
jacked his shaft, pulling long on the end to squeeze out another dollop

of his clear liquid. Gale licked her lips and tried to reach for him with
her hands.

“Uh, uh, uh.” he chided, grabbing her hands and placing them

above her head. “I’m in charge, honey-bear. Keep those hands right
there or I’ll have to punish you.”

Gale’s eyes rose up to look into his. If he would have played

with her a few days ago, the way he was going to play with her now,
she would have been afraid of him. But looking into her eyes right
now, he knew she wasn’t afraid, and better yet, she was turned on.

Hoping off the bed, he slowly chucked his shoes, socks, and

pants. Then climbing back onto the bed, Alphy straddled Gale, his
leaking cockhead bobbing between them.

Alphy ran his hands up Gale’s sides, then rubbed them over

her breasts, pinching her perky peaks. Gale lightly gasped and arched
her back. Her hips moved in circles, and her scent sweetened the air
with her ready juices. She moaned as he continued to rub his hands
over her curves and squeezed every one of them. He loved how soft
she was, how warm she was, and how responsive she was to him and
his touch.

Grabbing the hem of her shirt, Alphy let his claws extend just

enough to rip the fabric, then pulled his hands apart. The sound of the
fabric tearing apart ripped through the room as it gave way to his
strength. Gale’s soft pale flesh was unveiled before him, stirring up
her scent and making his dick bob with the elated spasm. Her white
bra was next. Grabbing the front, between the two mounds, he yanked
on the fabric. It didn’t stand a chance against his strength. The dusky
pink wrinkled skin of her nipples hardened as the cooler air breezed
over them.

“Roll over onto your belly.” Alphy’s voice was low and

rough. As he moved aside, his balls ached painfully and rolled in their
sack as he watched his mate quickly obey. Closing his eyes and
holding the base of his shaft, he quickly got himself back under
control.

Alphy grabbed the strips of torn fabric of her shirt, carefully

around her wrists, then using the straps of the ruined bra, he tied his
mate to the frame of the bed. Leaning back onto his heels, Alphy
looked down at his mate. She wasn’t quite ready yet. Hmm, he
thought.

Alphy hooked his fingers into the waist of her pants, and he

gently tugged. Gale raised her hips slightly, letting the denim glide
down her legs. Alphy tossed them aside. His fingers lightly grazed up
her legs, over the satiny white panties she still had on, along her arch,
eliciting a squeak as she leaned away from the tickling fingers. He
continued up her body until he reached the skin on her neck. He
brushed aside the strands of her dirty blonde hair. Leaning down,
Alphy glided his nose up and over the rim of her ear. He flicked out
his tongue and followed the same path, tasting her salty skin. Next,
Alphy nibbled the delicate area and scraped his beard down the back
of her ear, down her neck and over her shoulder. He saw her skin
prickle with goosebumps. Alphy let his lips glide over her prickled
skin, and he breathed a gentle breeze across her small hairs on the
back of her neck. Alphy rested the length of his dick along the seam
of her silken covered cheeks and casually rutted. The satin felt smooth
and soft against his heated length.

Gale arched her back, raising her butt higher. Pressing his

cock deeper into the crease of her crack, and flexing her butt cheeks,
she was able to caress his cock between them. Alphy gave a guttural
groan and was unable to stop from rutting harder and leaking more
fluids.

“Naughty girl,” he breathed over her ear. “I’m the one who’s

in control.” With his hands on her hips, he pressed down and stopped
her movements.

Gale let out a disappointed growl. Alphy laughed at the sound

she made. Deciding he liked this pair of undies, he leaned back and
carefully removed them. As he did, he let his eyes feast on his mate’s
treasures. Her trimmed honey-pot glistened with her arousal. Alphy’s
bear growled an approval at the sight, urging to taste her.

“Get up on your knees, honey-bear. You can lean on your

elbows.” Helping her situate herself, Alphy made sure her legs were
far enough apart, but still high enough in the air to do what he wanted.

Alphy stuck out his tongue and speared her clit. Keeping the

tip of his tongue hard, he flicked it around the little nub, letting her
unique flavor spread across his taste buds. He breathed in her scent of
desire and rumbled out in pleasure. Her smell could intoxicate him.
Alphy sucked in her nub, and rolled it around his tongue before letting
it go. His giant hands splayed over her backside, holding her butt
cheeks open and keeping her hips still enough not to wiggle away.

Gale’s muffled whimpers and moans sang to his ears that she

liked what he was doing. Flattening his tongue, Alphy decided to
roam. He slid his tongue back, following her crease up to her pink
star. Gale squeaked in surprise. Alphy chuckled as he slid the tip of
his tongue around the hole. Alphy rimmed her twice before taking the
path back down to her vagina, dipping the tip into her den, then slid
out and rimmed her nub.

When Alphy made it back up to her pink star, he made an all-

out feast of it. Pulling back, he let his breath puff over her slicked
folds as he taunted her with what he planned to do to her in the future.
“I’m going to order a butt-plug for you, honey-bear. It’s going to feel
so good as I slam my cock deep in your pussy. It’ll make you come so
hard.” He knew his mate liked the idea because her pussy got wetter
and her arousal intensified. “Oh yeah, baby, you like that, don’t you?”

Alphy sucked in her silky and sensitive flesh and rubbed his

tongue against her. Her hips gyrated and her cries of pleasure
intensified as he buried his full face against her and drank in her sweet
taste. She was getting close, and he wanted her to come. Reaching up,
he placed two fingers inside her little den. Hooking them slightly, he
felt the slightly rougher spot he was aiming for. Rubbing his fingers
across it, Alphy sucked in her nub again and used the thumb of his
other hand, and he pressed against her back door and rubbed it.

Gale went nuts and screamed into her pillow as she came. Her

muscles clamped around his fingers as her whole body tensed with the
euphoric explosion. He could feel her puckered star spasm, too, as her
muscles squeezed and released. Pulling his fingers out, Alphy sucked
them into his mouth and enjoyed the silky fluids that coated them.

“Mmmmmm.” He moaned around the two digits. Pulling them

out, he spoke in a silky voice, “You taste so good, honey-bear. Now
I’m going to ride you and make you come again before I explode
inside of you. When I do, I’m going to claim you again, biting you,
which will make you come a third time.”

Gale was breathing heavily, but she nodded her head. “Good

girl. Now get this ass up higher in the air. That’s it.” Alphy praised
her as he kissed her back. After quickly making sure he wasn’t pulling
too hard on her bonds, he grabbed her hips firmly, and lining his
aching cock up to her tight hole, Alphy didn’t give Gale any more
warning as he sunk himself to the hilt, slamming her soft cheeks
against his hips. Her body rippled from the jarring impact.

Gale lifted her head and shouted, and Alphy felt her body

stiffen. Rubbing her butt cheeks, Alphy gave her a minute to adjust.
When her muscles gentled, Alphy began to plow heavily into her. He
pulled her by the hips, keeping her arms and body taut has he
thumped his hips against roughly against her over and over again.
Sweat beaded his body from the exertion and from holding in his
orgasm. The sound of their bodies slapping together added to the
moans and cries of pleasure they were both making.

Alphy could feel his sweat pouring down his face, and he

could see a sheen of sweat shine over the smooth back of his mate.
Alphy felt the tingles in his spine indicating not only his release, but
the magnitude of it. Adjusting his angle, Alphy, now hunched over his
mate, continued to piston in and out. Gale screamed out her release as
her muscles clamped around his cock. Her spasms were what sent him
over the edge, and Alphy cried out his release. As his balls pulled
tight against his body and his cock pulsed inside her, he wrapped his
mouth over her neck and sank in his descended canines.

Gale stiffened, the muscles of her cavern rolling over another

orgasm. Gale’s blood flooded his mouth. Alphy licked her mating bite
closed and buried his face in her neck. Ever since he found out about
the attack, his bear had wanted to reaffirm their claim on their mate.
With his mate limp beneath him, her steady breathing indicating she
was unconscious, he smiled against her damp skin, success. After
untying her wrists and throwing the scraps away, Alphy pulled the
blanket over them and wrapped his sleeping mate in his arms, then
followed her lead.

Epilogue

Gale sat on the cold hard metal bench that was placed in the

“challenge arena”, the clearing they had set up for the alpha
challenge. This was why they were here today, the much anticipated
enforcer challenge.

Gale could still see the darkened dirt where the dead alpha’s

blood had been spilt. She thought it would creep her out or something,
as the scene she witnessed at the house yesterday had, but it actually
settled something inside of her. She had been extremely relieved
when she saw Alphy return home safe, yesterday, from the alpha
challenge. She’d tackled him when he had gotten home and refused to
let him go the rest of the day, which he didn’t seem to mind. Maybe
he felt the same way about her. He was, at this very moment, sitting
next to her holding her hand. They were waiting for everyone to
arrive and settle before the challenge started.

Gale looked over to her right. The councilman had yet to

leave. It had been quite the shock when he entered the house after the
challenge, and immediately started to swallow Aunty Betty whole,
practically. Tyler was planning on taking Betty for a “honeymoon”
after Alphy and Gale’s return from their trip to her old hometown.

The thought of going back gave her mixed emotions. She

wanted to be able to help her parents pack up the rest of the house and
move it here, but it was also a place of great angst and sorrow. Yes, it
was where she had grown up, but her father had died there. She didn’t
really have many friends, as high school had sucked, and the herd had
tried to have her family killed. Albeit she never really knew any of the
herd, she was human, so she and her brother hadn’t been very
welcome at their events, so the family hadn’t usually attended them. It
turned out to be a good thing that they had kept their distance. It
seemed, to no one’s surprise, that the former alpha had been pretty
abusive and negligent to his herd members. Alphy was also bringing
Ryker, because of his tech skills to do background checks on
everyone and filing what was needed, and Kace was going to join
them along with the lead enforcer, whoever that may be. That was
why they were here today, to see who would win the lead enforcer
slot.

Gale was brought back to the present when Alphy stood. She

looked around and saw everyone was there, and the two enforcers

were standing in the middle of the “challenge arena” clothed in
athletic shorts and nothing else.

“The battle is to the first submission only. The winner of this

challenge will be lead enforcer. You both have chosen to battle in
human form. Good luck to both of you.”

Gale was glad they were fighting in human form. It would

have made her too sick to watch a thirty plus foot anaconda fighting a
five hundred and fifty pound lion. She just didn’t see that fight ending
without bloodshed. She sat forward on her seat as she watched the
men turn to each other, give a slight bow, then go into a defensive
stance.

Matteo’s darkly tanned skin moved over his muscles as he

flexed them into different stances. She’d learned he used to be in the
CIA and had met Alphy on a mutual mission. He was Brazilian and
had no family or relations. He shifted once into his anaconda for
Reese. He was one huge big-ass monster-sized snake. Gale had been
very freaked out about it at first, but felt bad for him at the same time.
How much does it really hurt him when people see him in his shifted
form? Sometimes there was a fine line between fear and freaking
disgust. She figured that was why he was usually closed off and
emotionless. Those were usually signs of people who felt hurt the
most. She had made sure to overcome her emotions and pet his snake.
Gale had wanted him to know he was accepted and cared for.

Slate was an intriguing man also. He wasn’t as quiet or

emotionless as Matteo, but he was still one of the quieter ones in the
bunch. He would always give Gale the sense that he was a serious
brooder or something, but then join in on a joke or ribbing like Kace.
He was always surprising her. Alphy had told her Slate had served in
the military once. That was how they met, and that Slate had saved his
life. He did have parents and two sisters but had a sticky situation
with his father right now. She wasn’t told what, but Gale felt bias. She
would take Slate’s side without question. She had learned enough to
feel that way about him.

The two struck out at each other and grappled. Both had

training, and Gale couldn’t possibly root for one over the other, so she
sat there, on the edge of her seat, with her heart thumping hard in her
chest, as she watched them wrestle, dodge, swing, and even drop kick.
Sweat started to shine on their skin, and it soon became mud when
they had fallen to the ground and rolled a bit.

Around the “challenge arena” she could see and hear others

shouting and yelling encouragement or their gasps of shock for a
particular move. The two stirred up the dust, and soon the small
clearing was slightly hazy with the amount they had disturbed.

Gale heard skin slapping against solid bodies and grunts that

would be thumped out of each of them. She cringed and jerked with
each hit they each took from the other. Several times, one or the other
would be caught in a hold, where she would have thought the
challenge was over, but then be shocked and amazed with how they
maneuvered their way free.

The challenge felt like it dragged on for a long time. The

tension was building, and the volume of shouting rose around her. She
found herself rooting for both of them. Each time one would get hit,
or downed in some way, she would shout an encouragement to them.

Gale was on her feet now. She hopped up and down and

shouted, what seemed like incoherently. Slate flipped Matteo onto his
stomach and followed him down. He had his arms in a painful hold
that made Gale grimace, sure the position would break his arms.
Matteo’s face was filled with pain, and he howled. He looked like he
tried to move but only howled again, and then he yelled his
submission. Gale stood there shocked for a brief second as everyone
around her went a bit crazy laughing, and hugging each other and the
winner, or slapping him on the back. Seamus and Slate helped Matteo
up off the ground. The challenge was over, and the battle had been
dramatic and brutal.

Alphy held up his hands out toward the crowd and lightly

patted the air. Everyone slowly started to calm. The two combatants
came forward and stood in front of Alphy.

“That was a battle to remember. Congratulations to both of

you for such an impressive display of skill. Both of you are my
enforcers, but only one will be lead enforcer. Congratulations, Slate,
for winning the challenge and the rank and title of lead enforcer.”
Alphy placed one hand on his shoulder and the other he used to shake
Slate’s hand. Then he turned to Matteo. “That was a great fight,
Matteo. I am proud of you; you should be proud of yourself as well.”
Matteo nodded his gratitude to his alpha.

Everyone started making their way back to the house. Alphy

kept an arm around her, holding her close on the walk. “So what did
you think of the fight?”

“I think,” she said, “that we have a pretty special pack. It all

started with a pretty special alpha. I’m so very proud of you, and I
love you so very much.”

He leaned down and sealed their lips with a heated kiss. Their

heat built, and suddenly Gale felt her world tilt. She let out a squeak
as Alphy swung her up into his powerful arms. He pulled back,
breaking the kiss. “I love you, too, my honey-bear, with everything in
me.”

The End

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