Being Alpha

by Aileen Erin

  “Damned straight. Five favors.” That was totally reasonable.

  “Fifty.”

  He had to be joking. “No. Ten.”

  “Fine. Let’s call it fifteen with the potential to renegotiate when the time arises. Are we agreed?”

  I can turn the favors down, but do you think he’d let me?

  I wouldn’t think so, but he did say no blackmail. Dastien was thinking about how this deal was a bust, but he also knew I couldn’t turn him down.

  At least I could say no to whatever he was asking me to do in the future, but he might make my life hell for it. But figurative hell was way better than actual hell.

  I let out a breath. This doesn’t seem that bad, but I’m not loving it either.

  I don’t like the idea of us being tied to him. We don’t know what could happen in the future—where we’ll be in life and if we’ll even want to entertain his requests. This bond between you and him would be forever.

  There was no way Eli was going to offer up any info up that I didn’t specifically ask about. I hoped I wasn’t missing something big. If I could ask Claudia—

  “I’m making the deal with you, not your cousin or your mate. Since you’re already bonded to Dastien, I’ll let him have some say. But I draw the line there.”

  “Is there anything else you want from me?”

  “No. Are we agreed?” He held out his hand.

  Do it, Dastien said.

  You sure?

  No, but I think we have to.

  I agree. But I couldn’t believe I was doing this. “Yes.” I put my hand in his, and a power cracked through my body and I jerked back. My vision was filled with dots and I tried to blink them away.

  “Good. I’ll get the vial from you tonight and then I can make the bond. Sound good?”

  “Sure,” I said as when I could see again.

  Eli rubbed his hands together, and I could almost see his excitement bubbling out of him. “Now, where do you stand with the fey? Have you found ones willing to join in on the fun yet?”

  I shrugged. “Not exactly, but I trust Cosette—”

  “Trusting a fey? Are you sure that’s wise?”

  “Uh… Yes?” Cosette was my friend and I knew she’d come through.

  “Hmm.” He crossed his arms as he stared at me, and I started to wonder what was going through his mind. “Why don’t you send her a message? Remind her that we’re waiting.”

  I looked at Dastien, who gave me one of his gallic shrugs. “I can email her I guess, but she hasn’t been answering them.”

  “Email her again. Mention that I’m here waiting, too. Use my full name. E-l-i-l-a-i-o-s.”

  “Fine.” I pulled out my cell phone and typed a quick message. “Okay. Sent. But sometimes she doesn’t check it for a while and it could be that—”

  The field lit up, and suddenly Cosette was standing between me and Eli, and she hadn’t come alone. Van stood next to her, and there were at least fifteen warriors standing around the field, all dressed like Van. Their long hair braided away from their faces.

  “You!” She spat the word, poking him in the chest.

  Eli grinned. “Hey, sweetheart.”

  I stepped back from them, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was about to happen.

  “Don’t you dare hey, sweetheart me! I’m not your sweetheart. And no! For the last time, I’m not helping you! You nearly got me killed last time!”

  Any ideas as to what the hell is going on? Dastien asked me.

  How should I know? Cosette was still mostly a mystery to me. I got a little insight into her here and there, but she wasn’t one to just open up and spill her history. But I had a ton of questions for her about Eli now.

  “Did you plan this?” Cosette asked. “Is this whole fight with Astaroth one of your little games? One of those let’s-fuck-with-the-mortals games that you love so much?”

  What? It felt as if all the blood were draining from my body. Cosette had to be joking.

  He laughed. “No. But I like that you think this is my plan. Even I wouldn’t do something this terrible, sweetheart.”

  Oh, thank God.

  Cosette flicked her hand and a sword appeared in it. “How can I trust you after what you did to me?”

  For the first time, Eli didn’t look confident. “Come on. You can’t still hold that against me.”

  The sword started glowing with flames and I took a few steps back. “Of course I do,” Cosette said.

  Ten more fey popped into the clearing, and I started to wonder who would win if there was a fight between Eli and the fey.

  I had no idea what the subtext was or how Cosette even knew Eli, but the fact was, we needed both of them to complete the spell. Game or not, I had to get rid of Astaroth. If I let them fight, then we could kiss the spell goodbye.

  “Cosette?” I said. “What’s going on?”

  They were both quiet for a second before Cosette spun to face me. “I didn’t realize Elilaios was the archon you were dealing with. This is going to cause complications.”

  With that she was gone. Along with Van and all the other fey.

  “Fuck!” My heart skipped a beat. “What the hell did you do?” I yelled at Eli.

  He started at the ground before sighing and grabbing my hand.

  I tried to wrench it free.

  “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

  I turned to Dastien, reaching out, but I was too slow.

  The world spun as my surroundings changed.

  One second we’d been in our clearing, the next, I was with Eli in a massive white marble entryway. A chandelier as big as a house hung overhead, sending glittering rainbows all over the white floor. I couldn’t see much else, because we were ringed by fey warriors. Three deep. From the fact that their spears were out and pointing at us, I figured it was safe to assume they were pissed.

  I scowled up at Eli, pulling my hand away from his. How was he planning to get us out of here without getting me killed?

  He raised his eyebrows at me, and I realized he wasn’t planning on getting us out of it.

  That was up to me.

  I reached out to Dastien, but the bond was silent. Not gone, just on mute. I could tell that he was alive, but that was it.

  I hated when that happened. For as often as we said we were doing everything together, I was cut off from him too much. I was going to have to come up with a way to fix that.

  But for now, I had to deal with a bunch of pissed off fey. “I came to talk to Cosette?” My voice squeaked and I winced. This was terrible. I was alpha. I was going to be the head of this new council. I had to get it together. Letting a bunch of fey warriors intimidate me wasn’t on the agenda. “I need to speak to Cosette. Now.” I almost patted myself on the back with how firm my voice sounded.

  Van appeared before me and shook his head as if he were disappointed in me. “This way.”

  The guards parted and I hesitated for a second.

  Where were we going? Where was Cosette? And how mad was she going to be that we were here?

  “Quit thinking so hard.” Eli pushed me and I nearly ate it as I stumbled forward.

  One of the guards laughed and my cheeks heated.

  So much for making a good first impression.

  I followed Van, trusting that he at least knew me well enough to know I wasn’t a threat.

  He knew that, right? I mean, he didn’t know me that well, but he should know at least that.

  “Maybe. But the fey are particular about who they let into their underhills, and we weren’t invited.”

  This deal with Eli was going to be a much bigger pain in my ass than I’d thought. “What happened to the whole not forcing me to do things against my will? You didn’t ask me to come here with you. Fix this,” I muttered under my breath. I was trying to mend alliances among supernaturals, not cause a war.

  “I’m not causing a war. Don’t be so human.”

  I shot him my very best scathing look and kept followi
ng Van.

  We had some time. It was only mid-afternoon. All I had to do was convince Cosette and the fey not to hold our unexpected visit against us and get myself, Eli, her, and three other fey back to Texas in time to do the spell.

  Easy-peasy.

  I started laughing and Eli looked down at me. “You okay?”

  “No. How are you making things worse?”

  He gave me a sly grin. “Not worse, more interesting. It’s all in perspective, Teresa.”

  “Tessa.”

  “See, we’re already becoming great friends, Tessy. Can I call you, Tessy?”

  “No.”

  He laughed, and I knew I was in for it.

  I’d been played by an archon, and now I was in fey territory. I knew about as much about dealing with the fey as I did about archons. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up making another shit deal.

  I was so beyond screwed.

  Twenty-Two

  The fey guards led us down a series of hallways in their Underhill, each intersection more elaborate than the next. The scenes painted on the ceilings were breathing with life. I hadn’t noticed them at first—I was a little concerned with the number of guards surrounding us—but one caught my eye as we were taking a turn. It had wolves running, roaming the intersection of ceiling. The full moon was low and the clouds rolled around the painting, moving as if they were real.

  I spun to walk backwards as the wolves found a deer and descended on it as if I was watching a beautifully drawn animation on TV.

  Eli caught my arm. “Come on.”

  “Did you see that?”

  He grinned at me. “And you haven’t even taken a look at the floor.”

  I stumbled over my own feet, trying to break Eli’s grip on my arm as he half-dragged me behind the parade of guards. “What’s going on with the… Oh. Whoa.” At first glance, I’d thought the floor in the hallway was black marble with little silver flecks, but where I walked, the floor lit up, revealing the night sky. Colorful planets danced around stars. Comets flew and stars supernovaed as I watched. I could’ve walked around and watched the floor forever.

  “Careful,” Eli said, pulling me to the side.

  I glanced up just in time to dodge a statue of a man standing straight. His sword stuck in the ground. His hair was braided away from his face, and the look on his face was so fierce I stumbled again.

  “Do I need to carry you?” Eli asked, and even if he wasn’t laughing at me out loud, I could hear it in his voice.

  “No.” Being carried here, in front of all guards, would show weakness. But I needed to get myself together. I couldn’t keep gawking.

  The ceiling caught my attention again. This time it was a daytime scene of a party.

  “You’re still gawking,” Eli whispered in my ear.

  He was right. I felt a bit like Kiera Knightly in Pride and Prejudice when she toured Mr. Knightly’s home. I couldn’t help it if my jaw was dragging on the floor as I took in all the splendor. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be invited back here.” Especially since I hadn’t exactly been invited this time. “What’s the harm in looking?”

  Eli didn’t say anything, so I went back to my gawking.

  The guards led us to a massive pair of doors. The doors must’ve been well over two stories tall and twice as wide and, if I weren’t mistaken, they were made of solid stone. But that seemed ridiculous. Who made a door out of stone? They’d be way too heavy to open, even for me. A twin set of golden rods were attached to either door, like door handles for a giant.

  Van stood in front of the doors and knocked three times. A second later, the doors started opening. At first, I thought they were opening by themselves, but they were being pushed open from the inside by a group of guards.

  Inside was a massive ballroom. What had to be at least thirty giant chandeliers refracted the glowing yellow light, filling the room with rainbows. The floors were the same magical night sky. The walls were white also, but not marble. I couldn’t tell what they were made of except that they were glowing like a full moon. I wanted to touch them to see what would happen, but I doubted that the guards were about to let me wander off.

  As we walked farther into the room, the guards parted, moving to the sides and behind us, revealing a stage on the other side of the enormous room. Golden stairs curved up the wall on either side of the stage, leading up to where Cosette stood. A few people were seated in front of her and there were a few others standing around, but Cosette was all I saw as she looked over her shoulder.

  She was glowing faintly, her curls were the brightest, making her look like she was standing in a halo of light. But it wasn’t the glowing part that caught my attention, it was the fact that even from at least fifty yards away, I could tell she was pissed.

  I was pretty sure that it was Eli she was mad at, but if I was wrong, I had no problem throwing him under the bus. This was so not my shitshow.

  “That’s not very nice,” Eli said.

  “Neither is dragging me here or reading my mind.”

  “Yes, but both are wildly entertaining.”

  Fantastic. That was just what I wanted to be. Entertaining.

  He leaned closer to me. “Just so you’re aware, I dragged you here to ensure Cosette would show up with the necessary number of fey for the spell. If I’d come alone, they were more likely to put up a fight, and Cosette wasn’t going to get her queen to agree to it without some proof that the shit has hit the fan. Me being here does exactly that.”

  Oh. That made so much more sense.

  “Looks like one of your new werewolf friends has shown up.” A figure behind Cosette rose from her chair, but I couldn’t quite make her out. “Come here.”

  I felt the pull. It was stronger than anything I’d ever felt before—at least ten times stronger than the power that Mr. Dawson had. My wolf rose up and pushed the order back. I was breathing hard as I concentrated on staying where I was.

  Chris was right. He could never come here. If it’d taken that much energy for me to ignore one simple order, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for him.

  The woman who had sent the order came to stand next to Cosette. Her long, pin-straight hair was lighter than Cosette’s, glowing a bright golden color, but they were the same height and held themselves the same way. This had to be Cosette’s mom, the Queen of the Lunar Court.

  “Come. Here.” Costte’s mother pushed a lot more power the command. My body shook with tension as I fought against the urge to take a step closer.

  I ignored the bead of sweat rolling down my forehead. “I’d love to come forward and meet you, but I won’t be compelled by an order.”

  “Interesting. I’ll make it a request then.”

  That was good with me. I started walking toward her, taking even steps. Something told me every move I made was being judged right now. Slipping or tripping was not an option. “I apologize for interrupting your meeting. I know we weren’t invited but—”

  “I’m sure that was Eli’s doing.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” There was some grumbling up on the stage and I wondered if I’d done something wrong.

  Cosette’s mom was wearing an elegant white suit. The pants were loose, but not too loose, and the jacket was perfectly fitted to her body. She didn’t have a shirt under it and the V-neck created by the buttoned up jacket showed just enough skin, but not too much. A simple ring of gold circled her head. The woman was an example of perfection. Sleek and classy and cool. When I grew up, I wanted to be like her, but that wouldn’t happen. I was too at home in my yoga pants and messy bun.

  “It’s nice to meet one of Cosette’s friends. You’ve created quite the stir,” she said as she tucked her hands into her pants pockets.

  I stopped at the bottom of the stage. Cosette and her mother came to stand at the edge, looking down at me. “Not on purpose, but it seems to have followed me around.”

  “And it seems as if the stir will continue to get worse. Cosette is requesting that I let her leave
with three others. I shouldn’t have even allowed her to leave, let alone drag along anyone with her, but she’s making a persuasive case.” The Queen’s gaze slid to Cosette. “Or she was until she popped out of here with all her guards.” She turned to Eli. “Are you coming to stay for a while?”

  He grinned up at her. “I don’t think you’d like that very much, cousin.” He gave Cosette a wink.

  “I’m not your cousin,” the queen said.

  “No. Then what should I call you? Cosette and I are related.”

  Related? I looked to Cosette and she shrugged. I wasn’t sure if she meant that as a confirmation or not, but when I got a second, I was definitely going to ask.

  “Calling her a relation is a stretch at best,” the queen said. “But your point is made.”

  If I hadn’t been watching her so closely, I would’ve missed the way the queen’s fists tightened for a fraction of a second before she relaxed them again.

  “Is it true?” The queen asked.

  I’d been so busy looking from Eli to Cosette to the queen and back again, that I didn’t realize everyone was waiting for me to say something. “Is what true?”

  “That if I don’t allow this, the veil between the worlds will break.”

  Oh. That. “Yes. It’s absolutely true.”

  She squatted down on the stage in front of me, which I didn’t find a very queenly gesture, but what did I know of it. Her gaze was now even with mine and I shivered. “And do you believe that the fey queens caused this?” Cold power backed her words, demanding I answer honestly, but I wasn’t about to cast blame around, even if the argument could be made that the fey queens had been at least partly to blame when they went into hiding.

  But I had a pretty strong feeling that telling a queen that she’d been wrong in her own kingdom in front of her some of her people was going to go totally shitty for me.

  Could the fey scent lies? I wasn’t sure, which meant I had to at least tell a partial truth. After another second of thinking, I settled on something I thought would be safe enough to say. “It certainly didn’t help matters.” I stayed still, chin tilted up just a little, holding her gaze while I waited for her reaction. There was no way I could wipe my sweaty palms off right now, no matter how tense I was.