Linda O. Johnston

by Alpha Wolf

  The opposition forces played the roles of tangos—terrorists, in military terms. They had broken through the last bastions protecting unwary civilians from weapons of mass destruction. Only the Alphas could save the world.

  Beside him were the others. Also changed. Also charged up to attack.

  And win.

  At any cost.

  Or so it would be, should this scenario ever become real.

  It was one night shy of the full moon. Perhaps too close for comfort, but problems had arisen that delayed this test. Problems that were resolved. The latest formulation, with its new ingredients in different strengths, had been tested and retested. The artificial moonlight’s portability had been confirmed. Tonight, it all worked well.

  The attackers came ever closer. All they knew was that this exercise would be no-holds-barred. Different. Dangerous.

  This was it. Alpha’s first test. They had to succeed. To win. Or their exposure here would be for nothing.

  His work that he had focused on, a major purpose of his life, would be for nothing.

  He looked toward his comrades. His pack. Bared his teeth. Held back the howl that formed in his gut.

  Together, they charged.

  The phone beside Melanie’s bed shrilled. Her eyes popped open and she glanced at the clock even as she rolled in her black silk pajamas and reached for the receiver. 2:00 a.m.

  Instantly awake, as she had trained herself for a veterinary crisis, she answered. “Dr. Harding here.”

  “Melanie? Patrick Worley. Can you come to the base right away? We’ll meet you there. It’s an emergency.”

  Last time, it had been Nella, throwing up. But Melanie knew of the Alpha group’s exercises that day. And Patrick’s distant, clipped voice also told her this was worse. Much worse.

  Her heart hammering, she said, “Is Drew—?” But Melanie heard the click of the phone before she could finish.

  It wasn’t Drew who was hurt, but Seth Ambers. Melanie found that out nearly as soon as she reached Ft. Lukman. Relief surged through her, followed by guilt at her reaction, but she had no time to dwell on either of them.

  After Patrick’s call, she had dashed to the clinic for her medical bag. She ran through the infirmary, scanning the animals in overnight care—two dogs and a cat. Fortunately, none required her attention. She turned the security system on again. Then she drove fast, breaking speed limits on the tree-shrouded, twisting roads. Roads she had been reminded, now and then, that had been the scene of more than one fatal accident.

  Reaching the base, she was immediately ushered in by one of the guards. She hurried to the K-9 building, where a grim-face Drew, wearing a dirty uniform over an exaggeratedly stiff body, met her and brought her down into the lab.

  A corner had been set up as a makeshift infirmary for the wolflike animal. He lay panting on a cot covered in white sheets stained with blood. Patrick was there, with General Yarrow and Jonas Truro. All were silent. All were clearly devastated about the injured animal.

  And the injured man who was somewhere inside him.

  Melanie worked far into the night, using the base’s resources and her own, as well as her skills and veterinary knowledge, determining the extent of the head trauma, stabilizing him, treating him. She was determined to save not only Seth’s life, but his mind. His animal mind. His human mind? Well, they would have to see, once he was stabilized and healing.

  He seemed to improve. But he did not change back into human form.

  She enlisted a few of the guys to move him to the nearby human infirmary to use its diagnostic equipment, then back again. They all joined her in her vigil for a while, watching hopefully, silently, anxiously. Eventually, they thanked her and left.

  Except Drew.

  “Okay,” she whispered as they sat in the lab watching over the unconscious canine. “Time for you to explain.”

  “The experimental Alpha exercise was a success.” Drew’s voice was edgy, ironic. “The Marines acting the role of tangos were well chosen. They were instructed this was an exercise, not to be surprised by anything, and not to harm the attacking force, just try to stop it with the usual exercise weapons and, if they couldn’t, to come up with ideas that an enemy in their position might use. One apparently panicked when confronted by a pack of dogs as intelligent as they were, who anticipated every defensive move. He lashed out with a rock. Seth was injured. End of story. Unless, of course, you can’t save him.”

  Melanie glanced down. The canine remained unconscious, but who knew what he could hear? “He’ll be fine,” she said. “Concussions hurt, but give him time. I’ll need to leave soon. I have a full day scheduled, and there’s nothing more I can do for now. Keep close watch over him, and call me immediately if there’s any change.”

  Drew nodded. “Sure thing. But…”

  “But?” Melanie prompted.

  “Tonight’s a full moon. We’ll be…preoccupied tonight.” Drew’s tone sounded bleak. “Same goes for our respective observers.”

  “What about the guy assigned to Seth? Won’t he be able to stay and keep an eye on him?”

  “He’s in the hospital,” Drew said ruefully. “Like all our observers, he watched the exercise, and when the guy slammed Seth, he leapt on him and was slammed, too. He’ll be okay—he wasn’t hurt as badly as Seth, since he was clearly a person, but he’s out of commission right now.”

  “Got it,” Melanie said. “So I’ll watch over Seth tonight.” What choice did she have?

  Besides, this would be her first opportunity to watch Alpha Force morph into animal forms under a full moon, when they had no control. Would it look different from times they initiated the change?

  Much to her own surprise—and, to some extent, chagrin—Melanie’s fascination with shapeshifting kept increasing. That could have something to do with her feelings for Drew. Feelings she would be a whole lot better off without.

  Okay, so he was sexy. What woman wouldn’t fall for a man like him—especially after the no-holds-barred sex they’d shared?

  But so what if she thought she loved him? She was too smart to think there was a future for them. And too aware of the fact he was using her. He headed this special forces unit that required a dedicated, closed-mouthed veterinarian’s services. She was a damned good vet who could keep a secret. He used her services. Maybe even seduced her to get her to help.

  She recognized it. Went into it with her eyes more or less open.

  “Okay, then. I’ll count on you to watch Seth, right?”

  “That’s what I said,” she answered irritably. Hadn’t she already agreed? “I’ve other patients waiting at the clinic, but I should be able to get my employees to check on them now and then overnight. That’s not possible with Seth, and he needs the most care right now. So, yes, you can count on me.”

  She didn’t see it coming. She was suddenly engulfed in Drew’s arms so tightly they almost suffocated her. His anxiety was translated into his embrace. “Drew, it’s okay. I—”

  His mouth covered hers, and the kiss took her breath away. No, it reminded her just how alive she was. Lust exploded inside her as his lips tasted hers, his tongue playing sensual havoc with hers. They were somehow standing, pressed tightly together. All of her nerve endings were at attention, especially where her breasts were crushed against him. His erection pushed against her, reminding her of how it had been to lie down beside him, beneath him, and make love so passionate it had awakened her to new needs, new desires. New dreams.

  His hand slid up her back beneath the cotton shirt she’d hastily thrown on before leaving home. His touch was hot and searching, and his fingers roved quickly around to her breasts.

  But her senses were not tuned only to her own body and its needs. She heard a small, pained sound and pulled back.

  The injured dog that was Seth Ambers was whimpering. Was he waking at last?

  “What’s the matter, boy?” Melanie crooned, kneeling beside her patient. Her breathing was still heavy, but she was sudden
ly back in reality.

  “Is he waking up?” Drew sounded out of breath, as well, but he made no move to touch Melanie.

  But Seth settled down again. Melanie checked his vital signs. He seemed no better, but no worse, either. “I don’t think so,” she said. “But I’d better keep an eye on him.” She checked her watch. It was nearly four a.m.

  “Just stay another fifteen minutes in case there’s another reaction from him.” Drew also made no reference to that heated kiss. “Then I’ll have someone accompany you back to your place. Maybe you can nap before your patients start arriving.”

  “You okay, Melanie?” Carla asked as the last patient of the day exited the clinic. “You look pooped.”

  “Didn’t get much sleep last night,” Melanie admitted, though she couldn’t explain the truth. Instead, she made up something close enough, piggybacking on her earlier lie to Carla. “That Ft. Lukman K-9 who’d been in an accident the other day? He was hit by a car, and though he was doing better, he had a setback, so I went there to take care of him. In fact, I need to stay with him again tonight. Can you get Brendan and Astrid to come?”

  Melanie’s cat patient went home that day, but another had been brought in who needed to be boarded for a week. Plus, the two dogs there the night before both needed another overnight for observation. Carla and the two technicians promised to each visit the clinic once in the middle of the night. Carla would come at eleven, Brendan at two, and Astrid at four.

  “That should cover it. I’ll be home by six tomorrow morning.” She hoped. Dawn would break around then, so surely someone else who knew the truth about Alpha would be able to watch over Seth after that.

  Melanie thanked her staff, then hurried through her evening obligations, including one more check on her patients. “Okay, guys,” she told them. “Looking good. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She headed to Ft. Lukman. Dusk was just falling, and she hurried to the lab area. Seth still hadn’t recovered consciousness but was breathing more easily.

  Even if he had improved that evening, he would remain in animal form. Hopefully, the fact that he didn’t have to change would increase the odds of his survival.

  And then it was time. Melanie accompanied members of the unit to a secluded, woodsy area at a corner of the fenced-in base. There, Drew, Patrick, Nella and the other shapeshifters went through their metamorphoses, humans one moment, writhing in pain and transformation the next, and in animal form shortly thereafter.

  Astounding, Melanie thought, not for the first time.

  All loped into the woods to participate in the exercises planned for them this night, in which their change was preordained, not elective.

  Melanie had been informed that, to enhance their cover, all non-Alpha troops stationed at Ft. Lukman were sent to other bases for exercises around the time of full moons, as well as other, irregular times so those exercises weren’t too obviously the result of the lunar cycle. During those times, Alpha was in charge of base security, which meant locking all gates but those they were using.

  Shaking her head in both awe and the residue of her disbelief, Melanie returned to the lab. “Okay, Seth.” She took a seat beside the sleeping wolf-dog. “Maybe in daylight, when everyone else changes, you will, too.”

  No response, but she didn’t expect any. She settled into the chair, pulling a blanket over her. She didn’t need to stay awake, since she had been primed, by her veterinary training, to awaken to the slightest sound that might bode an emergency.

  “I’ll wake up now and then, I’m sure,” she told Seth. “But if you need anything, just holler.”

  It wasn’t Seth Ambers that awakened Melanie around three o’clock in the morning. It was her cell phone.

  Instantly awake, afraid of hearing of another mishap with the shapeshifters, Melanie answered uneasily, “Dr. Harding here.”

  “Melanie, this is Astrid.” She sounded hysterical.

  “What’s wrong?” Melanie demanded.

  “You have to come back to the clinic right now. It—it’s terrible. Those poor animals? Blood everywhere. Please, Dr. Harding, come home.”

  Chapter 19

  T he infirmary was as horrible as Astrid had implied. The animals who were supposed to be safe had obviously been attacked by some other creature, viciously and brutally.

  Melanie had raced back to the veterinary hospital faster than she had driven yesterday to Ft. Lukman. Faster, even, than she drove to her clinic the last time it was violated, by the breakin.

  When she arrived, Astrid sat on a chair in the middle of the bloodbath that was the infirmary, cradling Kewpie, the yellow cat. The two dogs, Jake, a large mixed breed, and Dixie, a Golden Retriever, lay on the floor beside her. All were covered in blood.

  Astrid turned her watery brown eyes toward Melanie. “I can’t believe this.” Blood stained her white “Animals Rock” T-shirt and jeans.

  “They’re all still alive,” Melanie asserted, willing it to be so. The two dogs were watching her, but Kewpie hadn’t moved.

  “Y-yes, but they’re hurt. Every one of them.”

  “Okay, then I’ll need you to be strong and help me treat them. Can you do that?”

  “Yes. Yes, I can.” The young woman seemed to gather her strength, even as she hugged the cat even tighter.

  “I called the police as I drove here,” Melanie said. “They may treat this as a crime scene, so we’ll take the animals to the surgery room. You carry Kewpie. I’ll deal with Jake and Dixie.”

  As Melanie worked to save the three wounded animals, she mentally swore at whatever, or whoever, had done this. They had all been savaged by another animal, one with large teeth.

  Werewolf sized.

  Melanie shaved fur off Dixie’s torn neck. The dog was asleep now, under the anesthetic Melanie had administered. Before, Dixie had been so brave, her fuzzy, bloody tail thumping the floor as she regarded Melanie with adoring, pleading eyes…

  Which broke Melanie’s heart even more. What if she couldn’t save her?

  “Melanie?” demanded a sharp voice.

  “In here, Angus,” she called.

  The police chief appeared in the doorway. The expression on his paunchy face was thunderous. “What the hell happened here this time? I saw Astrid crying in the room with all the cages. I’ve sent for my crime scene folks—again. Is that all animal blood in there?”

  “Yes. Three patients were apparently attacked by another creature. There’s no sign of how it got in despite my security measures, or how it got out, either. But it’s not here now.”

  “I’ll have my guys check it. You okay, Melanie?”

  “Not really, but I’ve got injured patients to treat.”

  Dixie’s wounds were ugly. Deep. But survivable…Melanie prayed.

  “I’ll leave you to it.”

  Hours later Melanie was finally done cleaning and suturing wounds and treating the animals with antibiotics.

  Kewpie, the cat—the smallest and most severely hurt—was touch and go. Dixie and Jake were going to make it.

  Carla had come in, and so had Brendan. With Astrid, they had all worked at Melanie’s side to help the injured pets.

  Carla had called their owners, told them what happened. She had also called the owners of the day’s first patients to reschedule them.

  Angus Ellenbogen’s group had come and gone, blocking off the infirmary with crime scene tape—although he had muttered that something about investigating crimes by animals against other animals weren’t in his job description.

  And now, Melanie and her crew sat in the waiting room, catching their breaths.

  “Thank you all,” Melanie said. “You did a phenomenal job of jumping in. I’m giving you all bonuses.”

  “Not necessary, Doc,” Brendan said. Although in his early twenties, he appeared to have aged overnight, his usually merry blue eyes sunken into his skull.

  “Did Angus or his guys find evidence of what animal did this?” Carla asked. Her usual perkiness had di
sappeared, replaced by a look of exhaustion and fear.

  “Nothing certain,” Melanie said. “And, yes, I know what you’re going to say. It could have been a canine. Even a wolf. But don’t start spouting a werewolf legend again. I don’t want to hear it.” Even though she had been thinking it.

  There was a full moon last night. Those people carrying werewolf genes had been forced to change into animal form.

  Ft. Lukman had been overrun with them.

  But why would any come here, to attack defenseless pets recuperating from other problems, who couldn’t defend themselves?

  But if not one of them, who? Drew had said that at least some of the local werewolf legends were true. There could be other, non-Alpha shapeshifters in the area. But why would they do something like this?

  Or was someone trying to set this up to appear as if Alpha Force operatives were involved?

  Which led back to the first question—why?

  “When’s our next patient scheduled, Carla?” Melanie asked, knowing she sounded as dispirited as she felt.

  “Not till two this afternoon.”

  “Good. It’s ten o’clock. Why don’t you all leave for now?”

  “I’m staying, Doc,” Brendan said forcefully. “Why don’t you leave, get some rest? I’ll keep an eye on the patients.”

  “I’ll do that, Brendan, if you’re sure. Thanks.”

  But as exhausted as Melanie felt, she knew she wouldn’t sleep. She needed to talk to someone who might have answers—at least about the Alpha team members. But Drew and the others who’d have been awake all night were probably sound asleep.

  She decided to go to the Mary Glen Diner—even though it was the place Drew and his group had been drugged. Hopefully, a cup of coffee would be okay. She might even take a chance on something to eat. She hadn’t heard of anyone else being affected by the diner’s food.

  But mostly, she wanted to listen. She had no doubt that rumors would be flying about what happened here last night. Maybe someone would even say something insightful that she could eavesdrop on.

  First, she went home, took a quick shower and changed out of the clothes she’d worn last night—fortunately old enough that if the bloodstains that leeched through her lab jacket did not come out, she wouldn’t think twice about tossing the stuff. She put on a button-down shirt and slacks.