by D. J. Heart
Claimed
An Evan’s Alphas Prequel
By D.J. Heart
2016 Copyright © by D.J. Heart
Cover art by Resplendent Media
Edited by Jersey Devil Editing
Sign up to be notified of new releases from D.J. Heart!
D.J. Heart - New Releases Mailing List
Chapter 1
Chad took a deep breath and let his head loll back against the headrest. He was exhausted. He’d been traveling for the past thirty-six hours, changing planes twice, and spending more time than was healthy standing in lines for security, and he was about ready to drop. Now at the very end of his journey, sitting in the back of a cab with the soundtrack of a Bollywood movie ringing in his ears, he was on his way to his brand-new apartment.
Just keeping his eyes open was a struggle.
He should have slept on the last plane crossing the Atlantic. He’d been tired enough during the whole nine-hour trip, but the tiny seats in economy had been too uncomfortable. It had been impossible to mold his bulky body into the tight seat in a way that would let him rest. He’d thankfully been offered the aisle seat by the beta next to him, but that was a small comfort. It wasn’t often he envied betas and their slimmer and shorter builds, but seated in economy he did.
Six months ago, back when he’d still been on active duty, nine times out of ten he would have been upgraded to business by virtue of his uniform and the fact that he was an alpha. Now he was just another schmuck paying as little as possible to get home. Chad was honestly a little shocked that Tank Security didn’t spring for business class for its employees. Then again, given the number of zeros on his first paycheck, they might just expect him to spring for those luxuries himself.
Watching the city passing by through the tinted window of the back of the cab, Chad marveled at how much his life had changed in the past two months. It was a big change from the Army, that was for sure.
He still couldn’t believe that he worked for Tank Security. His parents were aghast, having sent him any number of news articles detailing the misbehavior of private contractors operating as soldiers, but Chad was confident that his new employer was one of the good guys. He’d been recruited by his old commanding officer, an alpha he respected as an impeccably honorable man, and his first job with the company hadn’t done anything to change his mind.
In the eight weeks working private security for an oil executive at Desert Energy, not once had he seen any behavior that resembled the articles sent to him by his parents.
“We’re almost there, sir.”
Chad opened his eyes to find the cab driver glancing at him in the rearview mirror. He’d almost fallen asleep and he hadn’t even noticed.
Glancing at the meter, he pulled out a hundred dollar bill. He crumpled it up in his hand and put his wallet back in his pocket. He traced the bulge it made in the denim; just to make sure he hadn’t accidentally put it on the seat next to him or let it fall to the floor.
When he was this tired Chad had a tendency of losing things, and the last thing he wanted was to have to hunt down his wallet and cancel all his credit cards while in the middle of a move to a brand-new city.
Looking out the window, Chad took in his new neighborhood. The buildings on either side of the street were utilitarian and slightly run down, but they weren’t covered in graffiti and there were no shots being fired in the street like his mother was so worried about. An elderly couple made their way down the sidewalk, pushing walkers and moving at a glacial place, but other than them the street was deserted.
It was almost a little weird. Chad had expected the city to be bustling, but his neighborhood was practically sleepy.
“This is you,” the cabbie said, parking the car outside a three-story building that looked like it had seen better days. Chad tried to gauge how he was feeling. It didn’t feel like he’d come home at all, and for a moment he wished that he hadn’t decided to move away from his hometown and had just taken the job offered to him by his father.
But that was stupid. If he’d stayed at home he would have been bored to death within a year. This move was for the best.
“Thank you, sir. Keep the change.” Chad handed the man the hundred and opened the door, stepping onto the street as the cabbie thanked him for the generous tip. The sidewalk was cracked, but the road itself looked like it had been recently repaved. Chad grabbed his duffle bag from the trunk and threw it over his shoulder with a muffled grunt of effort.
He made his way into his new building.
Chad’s first impression was favorable. The lobby wasn’t as run down as he’d feared. The tiled floor clean and uncracked, and as he made his way up to his studio on the third floor he was pleasantly surprised. There had been pictures of the place online, sure, but he hadn’t expected them to be accurate.
Taking the steps two at a time, the promise of a bed gave him a final boost of last-minute energy, Chad hoped to God his apartment was as nice as the rest of the building. He was already on the third floor by the time he realized that he was making a hell of a racket, his boots stomping down on every other step with a crashing echo, and he self-consciously started walking softer.
Hoping he hadn’t disturbed anyone, Chad found the door labeled 304 and inserted his key—conveniently picked up at the airport—unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
He was home. Finally. Dropping his bag on the floor right inside the door, Chad looked around. The studio was small, but not claustrophobic. A single room contained a kitchenette in one corner, a queen-sized bed in the other, and a two-seater couch with a utilitarian coffee table taking up the wall under the single window. That was pretty much it. There was a door to the right that Chad guessed led to the bathroom.
Peeling off his coat and stepping out of his boots, he stumbled toward the bed. It wasn’t made, the mattress sporting what he hoped were coffee stains, but he was too tired to care. All he wanted was to sleep for twelve hours. The apartment was warm enough that he’d be fine without sheets, and he could use his coat as a pillow.
Pleased with his plan for the imminent future, Chad dropped down on the bed and scrunched up his coat until it resembled something he could rest his head on. He lay down and closed his eyes.
He fell asleep instantly.
Chapter 2
Peter was bored. He’d spent the morning working out and training with his friend Merchant—getting his blood pumping and making him feel vicious as they grappled on the training mats—but now he was behind his desk with nothing to do.
Slouched back in his chair, his head thrown back, Peter stared up at the ceiling. He had a meeting with a prospective client in two hours, but until then he was about as useful as an omega. He missed being out with his men so much it was like a visceral ache.
Fuck this.
Sitting up, furious with himself for wallowing and wasting time, he pushed down the button on his phone to talk to his assistant right outside the office.
“David, has Merchant handed in his evaluations yet?”
He hadn’t thought to ask Merchant that morning if the evaluations were done, and now he wished he had.
Merchant, aside from being a friend of sorts, was a team leader in the mercenary division of Tank Security. One of his unofficial responsibilities was to evaluate the guys they poached from the military. He had a knack for figuring out which soldiers were suitable for the more ethically dubious jobs Tank Security took on, and for weeding out guys with too much moral fiber.
Peter had no use for alphas that couldn’t get their hands a little dirty.
“Not yet, Mr. Tank. Do you want me to call him and ask for them?”
“No. Did you book a table for my two o
’clock?”
“Yes, sir. You’re at the Gracia, with a private table.”
Peter felt foolish for asking. Of course David had booked the table. The young beta was good at his job, and he probably didn’t appreciate Peter second-guessing him.
Not that Peter particularly cared what he thought.
Pulling up the file on the client he was meeting with, Peter read over the notes the head of his IT division, Dawn, had compiled for him. Dawn was a serious woman and younger than any of the team leaders in the mercenary arm of Peter’s company, but she was the best hire Peter had ever made. She’d single-handedly enabled his move into IT security, and if things continued as they had for the past two years, her division would soon be more profitable than all his mercenary operations put together.
Which was why Peter was now working in the office full time rather than heading up a team of mercenary contractors of his own. He might enjoy mercenary work, but he enjoyed making money more. If the money was in cyber security, that’s where he’d focus his efforts—no matter how boring it was.
Dawn’s notes were concise and easily understood; laying out the reasons Novotech should hire Tank Security to secure their systems. The most compelling argument? How easily she had breached their security and stolen about a billion dollars’ worth of pharmaceutical research.
Peter snorted. Dawn was ballsy, he had to give her that.
Looking at his watch, Peter decided he might as well head out.
“Should I call down for your car, Mr. Tank?” David asked as he walked past his desk. Peter nodded, heading toward the elevator. He hit the button to go down, and as he waited for the elevator to reach his floor he buttoned up his coat and slipped on his gloves.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Peter stepped inside and stared at his reflection in the mirror.
It was always a little jarring to see himself dressed up in a suit. He filled out the tailored pants and jacket beautifully, his muscular body displayed just right, but there was something a little too civilized about it for Peter’s taste.
But this was the role he had chosen to play—a boardroom alpha—and Peter would be damned if he wasn’t the most sharply dressed and intimidating specimen in the room. Allowing himself a tiny smirk, Peter adjusted his tie and brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder.
The Novotech rep wouldn’t know what hit him.
***
Peter made it to the restaurant well before two. He followed the hostess to his seat and ordered a vodka on the rocks. About fifteen minutes later the Novotech rep showed up.
Stefan Stewart. Peter knew that he was a rising star with Novotech, and more dominant than most corporate alphas. Normally Peter would have been offended by the fact that he wasn’t speaking to the CEO, but from what he knew of Novotech’s executive team, Stewart was the best they had.
Peter watched the young alpha walk toward his table. His stride was determined and angry, his back ramrod straight. Peter hoped he wasn’t about to be challenged. He downed the rest of his drink and let his instincts rise to the surface.
Any alpha that saw him now would know exactly what Peter was and what he was capable of.
Peter could win a fight with Stefan Stewart without even breaking a sweat, but tearing apart the company’s most promising young executive wasn’t likely to win him any favor with their CEO or board.
When Stewart caught sight of Peter, he slowed his angry walk and Peter could see him expend effort to calm down. Looking sharp in a perfectly tailored suit and sporting a five hundred dollar haircut, he looked like any other yuppie alpha working his way up the corporate chain.
Peter wondered if maybe once business was wrapped up Stewart might be persuaded to take a detour to the bathroom for a quick turn on his knees. There was nothing Peter liked better than getting another alpha’s mouth on his cock.
Stewart reached the table and Peter rose from his chair.
“Mr. Stewart, thank you for meeting with me.” Peter shook Stefan’s hand, shooting him a grin that he knew made him look wolfish. He squeezed down just hard enough to establish his dominance.
Stefan winced slightly, but he otherwise maintained impressive control. He must have some experience working with alphas more dominant than himself, and Peter couldn’t help but wonder how he’d handle being fucked and knotted.
“How could I not?” Stefan answered, the words brimming with hostility. Peter let the smile slip off his face and said nothing. After a tense second Stefan ducked his head in submission. Once Peter was sure he was properly cowed, he nodded.
“Watch yourself,” he warned, taking his seat. Stefan followed his lead, still bowing his head and acting chastised.
Peter leaned back in his chair and observed the other alpha. He knew he’d overreacted, but he couldn’t help himself. Disrespect from an alpha less dominant than himself was something he couldn’t bring himself to tolerate.
But now he needed to get things back on track.
It would be unsportsmanlike to bully Stewart into signing a deal with him, not to mention illegal. Stewart had to be able to take the deal back to his superiors and defend his recommendation to hire Tank Security with something other than he made me.
“I can understand why you would be angry with Tank Security for breaching your systems, but the truth is that we did you a favor. Even if you don’t hire us, you’re now aware of the problem and can take appropriate action.”
Stewart swallowed and visibly pulled himself together, lifting his head to look Peter in the eye.
“And if we don’t hire you, what happens to all the data you stole?” his tone was respectful, but hard. Peter was impressed by his quick recovery.
“Nothing. Selling it to the highest bidder would be unethical.”
Peter smirked, and Stewart blinked. Before he could say anything that would get him in trouble, Peter continued. “But in all seriousness, we were not the first to gain access to your servers and help ourselves to your data. Your security is five years out of date, and that’s being generous. You need us.”
Stewart narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you’re not the first to gain access to our data?” he demanded.
Peter shrugged. “Just what I said. Our experts detected evidence of three large-scale breaches within the past three years. We know who was behind the last two, and we have a pretty good idea of the one before that. If you were to hire us, we would be happy to discuss retaliatory measures—digital or otherwise—in addition to securing you against future attacks.”
Stewart watched Peter’s face, perhaps searching for some sign that Peter was lying or trying to trick him.
“I’m listening,” he said after a moment. Peter allowed himself a small smile before launching into his pitch, making sure to hit every point Dawn had outlined in her brief. By the end of it, Stewart looked grudgingly impressed.
“I’ll take this to the board, Mr. Tank. I can’t guarantee they’ll hire you, but my recommendation will be that they do.”
Mission accomplished, Peter thought to himself.
“Thank you, Mr. Stewart. I’m sure they’ll come to the right decision.”
“I think they will,” Stewart said. He pushed his chair back like he was going to leave, and Peter debated with himself if he should make an excuse to get him to stay. “I’ll get in touch once I have an answer.”
Peter let him go without protest. The deal was too important to wreck by adding sex to the mix. Maybe once Novotech was a client Peter would make a play for their rising star, but not before.
Chapter 3
Making his way out to the sidewalk, Chad counted his money and wondered if there was an ATM nearby. Beer and shots were a lot more expensive here in the city than he was used to, and he’d almost used up all his cash.
He was down to his last ten dollar bill, and from what he’d learned at the three bars he’d already visited, that wouldn’t get him more than a single pint of beer.
He was an alpha, for fuck�
�s sake. How was he supposed to get drunk at these prices?
Heading into what looked like a lively establishment, Chad removed his hands from his pockets and looked around. The interior of the bar was larger than it appeared on the outside, bending around the store next to it in an L-shape, with high ceilings and soft track lighting. The bar area took up the entire left wall, with four bartenders busy at work mixing drinks and serving beer.
The bar was made up to look like an old hunting lodge, with animal trophies and rifles decorating every wall. Looking around the room Chad was surprised by the number of alphas present.
The bar seemed classier than what he was used to, but turning around now wasn’t an option. He knew that he’d been noticed by every alpha in the room, and if he walked out they might think he was intimidated by them.
