Risky Bargains

by J. C. Diem

  “She’s right,” Liam agreed, raking his annoyed gaze over the rookie. “We don’t want to be subjected to the bodily fluids you exchanged with your one-night stand.”

  Grinning smugly, Franko heaved himself to his feet. “Save some food for me,” he said, then sauntered over to the stairs to head up to his bedroom.

  “We’ll have to disinfect his chair now,” Syd complained.

  I snickered and kept eating. My goal was to be finished before he returned. His tryst was yet another sign that he would never be the man for me. If he was at all serious about wanting me to be his mate, he wouldn’t have had sex with a complete stranger, then tried to rub it in my face.

  Scoffing down my meal in record time, I was rinsing my plate when I sensed the alpha at the top of the stairs. His power was pulsing from him in waves that he couldn’t control this close to the full moon. His meal had gone cold by now. He ate alone, staring at the back of my head as I watched TV.

  We were all antsy and restless as we waited for the moon to ascend. It was no longer necessary for Mark to watch over us now that we had both Yas and Crowmon on our team. Still, I was pretty sure the agent would check in on us regularly during the next three nights now that a new werewolf had been introduced to our territory.

  When it was finally time, we filed out through the back door. Heath walked beside me, casting lustful glances at me the entire time. My body cringed away from him without my volition each time he tried to brush against me. The only way I could have been clearer about my rejection was if I wore a sign telling him I wasn’t interested. The alpha was either blind, or he didn’t care that I didn’t want him.

  I broke off from the team and hurried over to the gate to my enclosure. Franko paused, then trotted after the others when Liam and Nick glared at him. It had almost seemed like the alpha hole thought he was going to share my pen for a second. Shuddering at that thought, I put my hand on the scanner to cut the electricity to the gate, then walked through it. Activating the power again, I crossed to the plastic box, stripped naked and stored my clothes inside.

  Pacing up and down as I waited for the moon to finish rising, I wondered where Jax was. I had a flash of memory that he was somewhere in Georgia, then my ability to retain human thought faded as my werewolf rose.

  Surrendering to my inner beast, my scream of pain turned into a mournful howl when I transformed into a werewolf. My mate was still gone and I sensed a strange shifter in his enclosure.

  The new arrival roared in challenge when he found himself in a strange territory with three werewolves, a werecougar and a wereconstrictor. Submit to me, or I’ll kill you all, he shouted into our minds in fury.

  Ugh, you wish, mongrel, the feline said in derision. I won’t submit to a mangy dog.

  Neither will I, the snake hissed.

  This territory already belongs to our parents, my eldest brother told the stranger. We will not submit to you.

  Howling in fury, the creature sent out a blast of alpha power that washed over my brothers and me. He was trying to bend us to his will, but he wasn’t close enough to accomplish it.

  Our parents are the supreme alphas, the younger twin said in anger. Who are you to try to force us to become your pack?

  I am an alpha and I claim this territory as mine, the stranger declared, ignoring everything the others had just told him. I claim you as my mate, he added, directing the thought at me.

  I already have a mate, I told him coldly. I will never submit to you!

  If you have a mate, where is he? His tone was sarcastic and I sensed his rage that I was refusing him.

  The humans took him from me, I replied sorrowfully. I don’t know where he is.

  Scanning my mind, the alpha snorted in derision. I can tell you aren’t fully bonded to him. You will be my mate and this is now my territory!

  I wouldn’t normally say this, but I wish we could team up and eradicate that annoying alpha, the werecougar said to the wereconstrictor.

  If the supreme alphas hadn’t ordered us not to escape from our pens, I’d be on board with your plan, the snake replied.

  You dare believe you can best me, the new arrival bellowed loudly enough for us all to wince. I am an alpha and I am above you all!

  You already told us you’re an alpha, the feline said in a bored tone. I’m already sick of hearing it.

  So am I, the reptile drawled. Now we’re going to have to listen to the mongrel growl and posture for the next three nights. The pair loped and slithered away to hunt, but my brothers and I had lost our appetites. Still mourning for my missing mate, now I had an alpha trying to claim me.

  You will be mine, he vowed as he prowled up and down inside his enclosure, searching for a way to get to me.

  Never, I said scornfully, then turned my back on him and began to hunt. I saw the vampire and zombie squirrel standing on the other side of the fence, watching me. Hating feeling like I was trapped in a zoo for anyone to gawk at, I moved away until they were out of sight.

  I didn’t feel like eating, but I knew I had to keep my strength up. As I searched for prey, I tried to figure out how I was going to find my mate. He was too distant for me to sense him, yet my heart was telling me to find him.

  The alpha raged around in his pen, sending mental threats at the twins for refusing to submit to him, even though they belonged to another pack. As the only female werewolf in the area, he felt it was his right to claim me. I was repulsed by him rather than attracted to him, but he didn’t care. Clearly, my wants and needs didn’t matter to this unwanted stranger.

  Unwanted am I, he repeated in rage, intruding on my thoughts. You will learn to submit to me once I find a way into your enclosure!

  He’s never going to quit beating his chest like an ape, is he, the werecougar said in fake pity.

  Alpha males turn into brainless puppies when they’re around available females, the wereconstrictor said in amusement.

  I’ve already been claimed, I reminded them. I have a mate and he’s the only one I’ll ever allow to touch me.

  The alpha roared in renewed fury at being denied what he wanted. He rampaged around in his pen, smashing his fist into the trees and sending the wildlife into a panic.

  Surely, the humans can’t think it’s a good idea to keep this alpha here with us, the younger twin said incredulously.

  I hope not, his brother said bleakly. I’d rather die than be forced to follow his commands.

  So be it, the alpha bellowed. I’ll kill you all and piss on your corpses!

  Hah, I knew it, the werecat gloated. All werewolves want to do is eat, mate and piss on their rivals. Both females laughed at the enraged alpha. He futilely continued to search for a way to reach me, so he could force himself on me and claim me as his property.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  KEEPING MY DISTANCE from the alpha, I caught a small doe and feasted on her flesh. My hackles rose when the alpha let out a triumphant laugh when I was halfway through devouring my meal. I found a dead section in this lethal fence, he said.

  Dread seeped into me and I rose to my feet and loped towards him. Peering through the electrified barrier, I caught glimpses of the stranger scaling the fence. He deftly leaped over the barbwire and landed on his feet. My pen was electrified, but if he’d found one area that was dead, there could be others.

  He grinned at me almost malevolently when he picked up that thought. You will be mine, he said in satisfaction. I’ll make you pay for refusing me when I use your body.

  The twins howled their fury that the alpha intended to punish me. We’ll kill you, my eldest brother vowed. We’ll tear you apart if you touch our sister!

  We’ll disembowel you and feed your corpse to the pigs, his younger brother snarled. A few groups of wild boars and sows were trapped in our enclosures. They were feisty when they were being hunted.

  You’re both locked in your prison, the stranger gloated as he carefully searched my fence for a way in. Neither of you can do anything, except listen to
me claim your sibling.

  Where are the supreme alphas now, the werecougar said in distress. While we weren’t a conventional pack, she didn’t want to listen to me being claimed against my will.

  They took her true mate away and now this insane alpha is going to harm her, the wereconstrictor said in cold anger.

  Fear began to seep into me and I backed away from the fence. I knew with utter certainty that the alpha would find a way in. He would take me by force and bite me to make me his. Then he would use his alpha power to bend me to his will and order me to bite him in return. I would never be able to be with my true mate if I was bonded to someone else.

  Yes, the alpha crowed when he found another dead section of fence. He quickly scaled the barrier and dropped into my pen. By my right as an alpha, I claim you, he told me smugly as he stalked me through the trees.

  Terrified and angry, I cast about for a way out, but he was blocking the only exit. Even if I did get out of my pen, I would still be trapped in the compound. I had nowhere to go and no one to save me from this terrible fate.

  Howling in desperation, I felt a strange presence inside my mind. It felt like the human part of me, but it reeked of evil. Who are you, I asked. What do you want?

  I am a necromancer, she replied slyly. I can save you, but you have to let me assume control.

  I knew what a necromancer was and that they could raise the dead. I now understood why I had a connection to the two undead creatures who lived in the concrete building in the distance. Faced with the possibility of being forced to mate with the alpha, or allowing evil to take me over, I chose to side with evil.

  The necromancer shunted my mind aside and reached out with her death magic. All of the creatures she’d created responded to her thought. Come to me, she crooned and a herd of skeletal animals rose out of the ground all around me. Keep the alpha at bay, she commanded, then chuckled darkly when the werewolf halted in his tracks.

  What sort of an abomination are you, he asked me in disgust.

  Our sister is a hybrid, like us, my oldest brother replied in satisfaction that I was apparently no longer quite as appealing to the alpha.

  We have vampire and necromancer blood running through our veins, the younger twin added ominously. Just like our parents.

  They’re all freaks, but we’re used to them, the werefeline said in amusement.

  When the supreme alphas learn you tried to turn their daughter into your mate without her permission, they’ll tear you limb from limb, the snake predicted.

  Even faced with such dire consequences, the alpha was too arrogant to see reason. He snarled and began batting the undead animals from his path.

  The necromancer cackled through my mouth as the skeletons pieced themselves back together each time they were destroyed. There were hundreds of them, but she’d underestimated his resolve. Leaping over the zombies rather than trying to force his way through them, the alpha landed directly in front of me.

  As he reached for me, the vampire emerged from the soil with the undead squirrel riding on her shoulder. The bloodsucker grabbed hold of the alpha and spun in a circle to toss him away. He managed to rake her with his claws before she sent him flying into a nearby tree. She took hold of me again, then all three of us vanished into the ground.

  We emerged in a place I knew well. We were back in the forest where I’d grown up. Thank you for your assistance, Emma, my necromancer said to the squirrel. Her nose twitched in response.

  “Ugh, my guts are spilling out,” the vampire said and pressed her hands to her grievous wounds. Her leather suit had huge tears in it and black blood oozed from the injuries.

  I was astonished that I could understand her and figured it was due to the necromancer being in charge.

  She needs blood to heal, the human inside my mind said.

  No kidding, the necromancer replied wryly. I never would have thought of that if you hadn’t pointed it out.

  Enough arguing, a third voice said. I sensed it was a vampire and tried not to shudder at the fresh evil I could feel inside me. We need to find somewhere safe to hole up until the full moon wanes.

  The squirrel showed me a picture of the bear den my mate and I had stayed in previously. Good idea, I said. Now that we were out of danger, I took control again and shoved the other voices deep down inside my mind. Take us to the cave, I requested. The squirrel reached out and I let her wrap her paw around my finger, then we sank into the ground again.

  We emerged next to the cave a second later. I helped the vampire inside, since she’d saved me from the alpha. I could no longer understand her words when she spoke to me, but I knew what she needed. Leaving the pair, I went out to hunt.

  I snatched up a raccoon, then sped back to the cave and tossed it to the vampire. She caught it with one hand and carefully drained some of its blood before releasing it. Her kind couldn’t kill the creatures they fed on, but I sensed she was different. Still, she didn’t savage the animal to death like I’d expected her to. Her eyes met mine and she gestured weakly at her bleeding wounds. They were healing slowly, which meant she needed more sustenance.

  Why am I letting a leech order me around, I grumbled to myself as I went out to search for more food for her. I ate a few of the creatures I caught, but gave most of them to my undead companion first. She spoke to me at times during the three nights we were stuck in the cave, but I just stared at her uncomprehendingly. The squirrel liked to perch on me as I slept during the day. Strangely, I let her rather than swatting her away like an annoying fly. Both of these creatures were mine, thanks to my inner necromancer. They were my responsibility and I felt compelled to keep them safe as if they were my pack.

  It was strange to be away from the territory I now thought of as my home. I missed my brothers, but I also missed the werecat and weresnake, even though they were both annoying. Most of all, I missed my mate. It wasn’t easy not to howl my misery at the moon, but that would be dangerous. Humans would try to hunt me down and kill me if they knew I was here.

  The vampire healed fully, but she remained with me rather than leaving. It was almost nice to have company in my solitude, even if she was the walking dead. By the third night, I was looking forward to shifting back to my human form so I could get a break from my endless sorrow.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I WOKE UP NAKED WITH a pair of arms around me. A strong sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me, but the arms were too thin and light to belong to a man. I opened my eyes even as I sensed the body behind me belonged to Yas. Emma was curled up against my stomach. Looking around, I realized I was in the same cave I’d spent three nights in with Jax a few months ago. “What the hell are we doing here?” I asked in confusion.

  “Huh?” Yas asked as my voice woke her up. Realizing we were lying on the ground and that I was naked, she became alert and sat up. “Where the hell are we?” she asked in even more confusion than I was feeling.

  “This is the cave where I took Jax after he was shot,” I told her as I also sat up. She wasn’t bothered by my nudity, but I shielded myself as best I could.

  Emma woke up and yawned, then looked at me expectantly. I sensed her desire to return home, but shook my head. “I don’t want the alpha hole to see me naked,” I said.

  “Are your clothes still in the plastic box in your pen?” Yas asked.

  “I have no idea.”

  “Let’s go take a look, Em,” the vampire said and stood up. Feeling a breeze on her stomach, she looked down to see her suit had claw marks on it. “Someone tried to gut me!” she said in shock. Black blood coated her outfit and stained the ground where she’d been lying. Straining with her mind, I caught flashes of what she could remember. I’d somehow called her to me in my werewolf form and she’d come to my aid. She’d fought something and had been wounded. Emma had brought us here to escape from whatever had hurt her.

  “It might be too dangerous for you to return to my enclosure,” I warned her uneasily.

  “Emma will take me to safe
ty if that thing is still there,” the vampire said confidently. “We’ll have to be fast, roadkill,” she said, squinting at the dawn light that shone through the mouth of the cave.

  Emma scampered up my bestie’s body to sit on her shoulder, then they sank into the dirt. A few seconds passed, then they returned with my clothing.

  “Did you see the creature that attacked you?” I asked.

  Yas shook her head and handed me my clothes. “Nope, but the alpha hole’s scent was all over your enclosure.”

  “Franko did that to you?” I asked as I hurriedly pulled my clothes on.

  She looked down at the slashes and nodded. “It sure as hell looks like it. They’re too big for you to have done it.”

  “I’d never hurt you,” I said as Emma jumped into my arms so I could give her a hug. “Even my werewolf knows you’re a friend.”

  “That wound would have killed me unless I’d had a lot of blood to drink,” the bloodsucker said as she peered at her now flawless stomach through the slashes. “You must have caught food for me.”

  “I guess that makes me your minion for once,” I joked. She looked at me in surprise, then snickered. It was enough to let some of our stress fade away. “We’d better get back to the base and find out what happened,” I said.

  “You and Emma can go first, so you can open the door for me,” Yas said. There was no shade for her to hide in at either of the entrances to the compound.

  Emma took me home and I placed my hand on the scanner next to the front door as she vanished again. Agent Steel looked over from where he was cooking breakfast when I pushed the door open. “Alex,” he said in greeting and evident relief. “Where’s Yasmine?”

  “I’m here,” my bestie said as she raced inside with Emma cradled in her arms. Her skin was a little red from her brief exposure to the sun, but at least she wasn’t smoking.

  The door to the hallway opened and the rest of the gang entered. Crowmon was with them. His pale green eyes landed on us and he smiled in relief. “There they are, safe and sound,” he said. I figured he’d been searching the compound for us.