The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

Teri got up and sank down in front of my chair, taking my hands. “Then you have to show the Council that she’s the one who was wronged and get them to reverse their decision. Prove she was justified in killing those Alphas. Force them to remove the bounty on her head. That’s the only way this has a happy ending for you.”

“You’re right. About so many things,” I said. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to spend more time with Erica so I can learn more about my mate.”

Teri linked for a few moments then smiled. “She would like you to pick up her dinner from the Pack kitchen and dine with her tonight. She’d be happy to talk about her best friend.”

“Thank you, Alphas.” I walked out and down the stairs towards the kitchens, a little bounce in my step. Yes, I had to solve the mystery of Tania’s disappearance, but I also had to figure out my mate. I might only get a moment to convince her to give me a chance.

Talia’s POV

We had broken up the long ride into chunks, taking time to relax and see some sights along the way. Tania was coming out of her shell, the open road and the detox bringing back some of the fun-loving little sister I remembered. She still had nightmares, and she still avoided being close to men, but that was to be expected. I’d gotten helmets with Bluetooth, and we were able to talk easily while we rode north.

We crossed the Mississippi from Iowa to Wisconsin at Prairie du Chien, well downriver of LaCrosse, and stopped for dinner. I didn’t want to get close to their Pack territory until it was dark. Our timing was perfect, the sun went down as we traveled north on Highway 35, turning onto a road that went within a mile of their territory border. Marcy was standing next to her sedan, ready to cover my exit if needed. I parked my bike facing the road, just out of sight and ready for a fast getaway if needed, and made sure my Glock was secure on my belt. “You ready for this,” I asked Tania as she stood by the trail in the light of the full moon.

“I get to see them again,” she asked quietly.

“Our grandfather is here, Uncle Clark and Aunt Teri, plus Michelle and Erica are all in this Pack now,” I said as I pulled her into a hug. “They all love you and will take good care of you, they’ll be with you as you heal.”

She was crying as she looked up at me. “I just got you back, I don’t want to lose you again,” she said before she buried her face in my shoulder.

“I know, sis, I know.” I hugged her tight. “I have to kill a few Alphas, and then I’ll bring your son back to you. I can take care of myself.”

“Unlike me,” she said. “I’m weak as a human.”

“You’re Tania Stillwater, you have Alpha blood and you are stronger than you think,” I told her. “I love you, Tania.”

“I love you too. Let’s do this.”

We walked through the woods; she followed behind me, letting me lead her through the dark hills by her hand. I could sense the boundary as we passed it from the scents of Pack wolves on the trees and the trail from the patrols. “We’re on Pack lands now,” I said. “If anyone comes across us, I want you to sit down and ask to speak to Uncle Clark. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be taking off for my bike.”

She stopped, forcing me to turn around. “Why? Why can’t you stay with me?”

“I can’t do that to them. The Alpha Council has an arrest warrant out for me, and if I am caught on their lands, they will be forced to turn me over or be removed as Alphas. I can’t let them catch me, and I can’t stay and talk with them. Erica doesn’t count, she’s technically not supposed to be there either, but that only matters to the Tomah Pack. I’ve been to her cabin once, and that’s where I’ll leave you.”

We started walking again; the wind was from the south, so I couldn’t scent what was coming. We walked up the last rise, and I could see her cabin. The lights inside were on, and I smiled and led Tania forward past the gardens.

I froze when I heard the front door slam open. A big man rushed out onto the porch, Erica behind him. I pushed Erica aside while I drew my Glock. “Don’t move,” I said.

“Hello, Talia,” the big man said as he raised his hands. I kept the pistol centered on his chest, he kept walking towards me. He stepped into the light from the window, and I got a better look at his face.

Randall Meechum. FBI.

As I realized who it was, the wind shifted and blew his scent to me. My wolf rushed forward in my head, wanting to smell him again. “Mate,” she said.

“NO!” I couldn’t do this, not HIM, not NOW. Taking aim, I pulled the trigger then turned and ran for the border.

Erica and Tania screamed, begging me to stop, but I didn’t. I got on my Harley and got the hell out of there.

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

Talia’s POV

New Orleans, Four Years Earlier

Last night I had sold out my kind and cast my future with a vampire.

I had been woken from my nap and dressed for dinner, which was held just after sundown with Jarrod and his coven. Malcolm had sent one of the servants out as I slept with a list of my sizes, and she had returned with bags of clothes for my closet. As I was in the bathroom, Malcolm laid out an ice-blue dress and white heels, along with new lace lingerie and stockings. I felt like I was playing dress-up, a sixteen-year-old girl getting ready for Prom, but this was real. I checked my appearance in the mirror; the bruises and cuts were healing and were barely visible under the makeup I found on the vanity.

The food was excellent, as was the wine, and I quickly settled my nerves as the conversation flowed. Marceline had told me her story on the drive down, and the others were just as fascinating. Jarrod led off with his story.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“I was born in 701 A. D. in northern France; my father was a Knight in the service of his Duke, and I was brought up and trained by him to serve as well. It was a difficult time for France; the Muslim armies had taken Spain and were moving north into France, killing and plundering all who opposed them. It came to a head at the Battle of Tours in 732.”

“You were a knight,” I asked curiously.

“Not in the way you’re thinking of, we didn’t have cavalry then like they did. The Muslim army had stirrups, that let them fight from horseback in a way we couldn’t. Charles Martel united the north of France and gathered twenty thousand men to stop the advance northward. My father and I were both sent to fight, we had horses to ride but we would fight from the ground with our swords. It was bad; few had armor or training, and the invaders had both plus experience and numbers. They outnumbered us three or four to one, but we had the high ground. They attacked over and over, but we pushed them back. The first night, I and a few other riders were sent on a mission.”

He took another drink of wine, a far off look in his eyes. “Twenty of us fell back to where our horses were and rode all night until we came upon the support camp of the Muslim army. We weren’t many, but we raised a lot of hell; we burned food, slaughtered horses, killed the cooks and armorers. The fires were bright enough the invaders panicked, many of them rushing back to defend their supplies and their plunder. In the confusion, their leader was surrounded and killed, and our side ended up winning.”

“That doesn’t explain how you became a vampire.”

He laughed. “Back then, vampires loved the confusion of war. It made feeding on humans easy, and no one noticed another dead man who had bled out. Our group was burning food carts when the fighters returned on horseback. I fled into the woods, but I took two arrows, one to the leg and one in my lower back. I gave them the slip, but the wounds were severe. I made it to a burned-out church, where I dragged myself to the altar and waited to die.”

“I fell asleep, sure I would not wake, but was woken by a pale-skinned man dressed in black. He asked me if I wanted to live, if I would serve him forever if he saved me. I agreed immediately, I had a wife and child to return to. When his fangs descended and he bit into my neck, I was horrified. He drained me, I felt my heart stop, then he ripped open his wrist and forced the blood down my throat. I woke up three days later, completely healed and with a thirst for blood. I needed to go home, and he let me, knowing what would happen.”

“What did happen?”

“I found my family, and my lust for blood caused me to kill them. Pierre knew it would happen, newborn vampires are volatile and prone to bloodlust, and he didn’t want me to have anyone except him. I served Pierre for two centuries, learning how to hunt, how to control minds, and gaining in strength until he died in a battle with another Coven leader. I fled, moving throughout England and France, eventually forming my own coven here in New Orleans after I met and fell in love with Marceline.”

She took his hand on the table, smiling up at him. “Once we were in love, I agreed to change because the other option was to lose him as I aged. Now we have each other, and he’s just as handsome as he was when he rescued me from those men,” she said.

“Vampires have mates?” I was shocked, I’d never been taught that.

“It’s rare, and it isn’t the same as with werewolves where we recognize them by scent,” Jarrod said. “It’s more like human love, made more difficult by the isolation most vampires maintain for safety. Anastasia was a housekeeper and the first of our familiars, she became like family and agreed to the change. Eduardo is our most recent change, and his story is his own to tell.”

He took a drink of wine. “I was an orphan and learned from people I ran with how to steal,” he said. “I was a natural with computers and got a job with a security company that installed systems. I used it to case homes that I could rob later. Ten years ago, my company was installing alarms and cameras at this house.”