The Alpha's Fight

by Michelle Fox

  He paused and looked at her, his eyes clouded with desire and confusion. "What?"

  "We have to talk."

  "Now?" He sounded so disappointed she couldn't help but feel bad, but he would have to get over it.

  "Yes. Now. Something happened." She motioned for him to come sit next to her and waited while he clambered up onto the bed.

  "Is it serious?"

  She nodded.

  "Okay." He sighed, resigned. "Tell me."

  "The healer drugged me and then she tied up my sister." She leaned in and lowered her voice so it wouldn't carry in the stillness of the night. "I'm not sure we're safe here."

  "Where is Adele?" He looked to the door.

  "I don't know." Lia stood and put her pants on, regretting they didn't have the time or freedom to finish what they'd started.

  "Let's go look then." Ryder went to check the door, which opened without protest. "She didn't lock us in."

  "So maybe she's not here." Lia's stomach dropped. "Maybe she took my sister and left." After the last few days, she could believe that would happen.

  "Follow me." He stepped into the hallway and cocking his head, he listened. Lia strained to hear, too, hoping to catch the sound of her sister's voice.

  They tiptoed through the dark cabin. First they checked the other bedroom only to find it empty. In the kitchen, there was only the stock pot of bone broth simmering on the stove. The living room was empty as well.

  "Where are they?" Lia worried her bottom lip.

  Ryder peered out the window in the dining nook off the kitchen. "Her car is still here."

  A loud shriek caused them both to jump. Ryder darted over to Lia, his hands balled into fists as he scanned the cabin for danger.

  "What was that?" She hated how scared and small she felt, but with the dark, the dead bodies in the basement of the club, not to mention the vampires and being still such a mystery to herself, her situation had a lot in common with a horror movie. Thank the moon Ryder was there.

  "I think it came from outside." He strode toward the door and she hastened after him.

  They stepped onto the porch, a loose board squeaking as their weight hit it. The night air rushed in, warm and balmy. Lia sniffed, hoping to catch a trace of her sister, but smelled nothing but water and pine. It would rain later. She could smell it.

  Another shriek sounded, sharper than the last one.

  Something stirred in the pine trees and soared up into the sky like dark blots of ink. Ryder shook his head. "Once again, late."

  "What do you mean, late?" She gave him a quizzical look.

  "Nothing important. I'll tell you about it later." He stepped off the porch. "Come on, I think it's coming from the back of the house."

  They stopped at the edge of the cabin and carefully peeked around the corner. Lia covered her mouth with her hand at what she saw. Her sister had been tied between two pine trees, her arms and legs spread like an offering. The healer had lit a fire in front of Adele which had burned down to embers. She'd been out there for who knew how long. Marie sat in front of the fire, swaying slightly as she raised her hands over her head.

  "Shit," Ryder breathed.

  "What is she doing? We have to save her." Lia looked from Ryder to her sister and back again. Desperate to do something, she prepared to run toward her sister, but Ryder grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back before she could take off.

  "Tell me everything you remember," he said, his voice a gruff growl.

  "Not much. We had tea. I remember being so tired. My sister fell asleep and the healer wrapped her in silver chains." Lia frowned and thought harder, fighting the drugs in her system for the memory. Gah. Why was her memory always the weak point? "I-I-I can't remember anything else." Tears pricked her eyes.

  "All right. You go talk to them. I'm going to circle round the other way and come up behind Marie."

  "What do I say? Hello, what a great night to tie someone to a tree?"

  "That's a start. Just keep her talking and focused on you so I can sneak up on her." He pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Okay? Now go." He gave her a little shove toward the healer and darted off in the opposite direction.

  Lia picked her way through the tall grass around the cabin—the healer didn't appear to bother with mowing the lawn—the muscles in her back tense. Would the healer attack her? Was she really as evil as she appeared? Or was there a good reason to bind her sister in silver chains? Frowning, she stopped just out of arm's reach of Marie and called out to the woman.

  "Hey! What are you doing?"

  Marie didn't move at first, remaining still as a stone save for her soft singing. This gave Lia time to notice the lineup of sharp knives at the healer's side. The fire's light danced on the blades.

  "You're not going to cut her, are you?" Lia took a step closer.

  The healer slowly swiveled her head to look at Lia, her expression placid.

  "Let my sister go." Lia edged to the side, thinking to go in and untie Adele herself. She just wasn't sure she was fast enough. Fending off Marie who had a lot of knives at her disposal while also dealing with the burn of silver didn't seem like a recipe for success.

  "In time, child," the healer said. "This is how it needs to be for now."

  "Why?" Lia glared at the old woman. She had the appearance of a grandmother and Lia had trusted her because of it, but not anymore. And wow, did the woman own a lot of knives. The blades were all as long as her forearm.

  "The vampires still have their fangs in her." Marie turned to Adele. "Tell her. You crave it, don't you?"

  "Fuck off," muttered Adele.

  "Look at your sister," the healer said, unmoved by the malice directed at her. "Show her the truth."

  Adele turned her head and hid her face in her shoulder.

  "I said, show her." Marie's voice rumbled, deep and ominous as bad weather. The hair on the back of Lia's neck stood up as the healer's power filled the air. She edged closer to her sister, wanting to be able to reach her quickly if it became necessary.

  "Now," barked Marie. An unseen force emanated from the healer and shoved into her sister, also striking Lia in a glancing blow. Lia stumbled as it hit and ate up her balance as well as all the oxygen in her lungs. She had to give up ground and step back in order to suck in a breath. She watched the healer as she did so, wary of how much this woman had hidden her true nature from them all.

  Adele lifted her head, cords in her neck showing how hard she fought not to, but the healer's power was stronger than her will. Lia's weight moved to her toes and she half crouched ready to spring to her sister's defense, but when she saw Adele's face, she moved away, not toward her.

  "Holy moon. What happened to you?"

  From the light of the fire, she could see the whites of Adele's eyes had gone red. She had a feral, hungry look to her as well.

  "What's happening? What's wrong with her?"

  "Vampires are an addiction of the soul," the healer said. "Their fangs don't just hook into your flesh. You may have taken her away from them, but she's not free. Not yet. She craves their embrace and blood. If I let her go, she would run to them. You'd never see her again."

  "That's not true," said Adele, but her voice held a wild, slavering note that suggested maybe it was.

  "So we just leave her tied up out here the rest of her life?"

  The healer shook her head and gestured to the knives. "With enough time, I can purify her blood, remove the death from it, but that takes tremendous focus. She would fight me if I didn't tie her up and I can't both heal her and fight her at the same time."

  Lia wanted to believe the healer, but the weapon grade knives continued to give her pause. In the woods behind the healer she caught the bulk of Ryder's shadow as he crouched down and listened in on their conversation. "So that's why you drugged her, but why did you drug me?"

  "I didn't. At least not the way you are thinking. That tea always makes people sleepy. It relaxes the mind so it can heal." Marie nodded to Lia's sister. "As fo
r her, yeah, I drugged her. I'm over a hundred years old. I have arthritis. Fighting a twenty-something shifter isn't good for my health."

  "So what do we do now?" Lia couldn't stop staring at the knives.

  "Well, Ryder can come out of the woods. That would be a start." Marie homed in on his location and motioned him to come forward.

  The bushes rustled as he stopped trying to hide. This was followed by a loud shout. Lia started toward him, concerned. Another shadow popped up and Ryder lunged for it. Someone else had been out there listening to them, too. The two figures grappled in the dark for a moment, dropping to the ground and rolling into what passed for Marie's yard.

  Lia hesitated, unsure if she should try to help or stand back and let Ryder handle it. The healer had climbed to her feet and backed away from all the action. The surprise on her face indicated she hadn't known about whoever the second person was. They'd been able to hide from her, which made Lia worry even more. Who could hide from someone that could pinpoint Ryder in the dark?

  Biting her lip, she weighed her options. If she was smart, she would use the distraction to free her sister, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to anymore. Something was obviously wrong with Adele and she didn't trust her just then. Her glazed eyes had a crazed glint that said she was unpredictable.

  So that left, helping Ryder and making sure the new threat—she had no doubt that this person wasn't a friend—was dealt with. For a second, a heavy weariness pressed on her shoulders. Man was she tired of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. She yearned for a break. For a moment of uninterrupted time to just process everything. Or even a few minutes alone with Ryder to scratch the itch that had been driving her out of her mind since they first met. Just ten minutes. Was that too much to ask?

  With a sigh, she pushed on, targeting the assailant's legs which flailed in the air as Ryder slammed whoever it was to the ground. If she could pin down their feet, that would let Ryder deal with the head. She wasn't nearly as strong as Ryder and had no clue how to fight beyond a few vague memories of wrestling with her sister when they were kids, but she was pretty sure she could handle feet. Even if she had to sit on them, they wouldn't go anywhere unless she allowed it.

  Heck. She might even tie the stranger's shoelaces together. That would work, too.

  Just as she was ready to pounce, the man spoke—his light tenor voice giving away his gender. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. Just let me up and I'll explain everything."

  "You're a vampire." Ryder's growl thundered in the night. He gave the vampire a shake, much like a mother wolf would admonish an unruly pup.

  "A vampire?" Fear and adrenaline surged through Lia and she crouched down, ready to fight. He looked human enough, but how should she know? She'd only met one other vampire she could remember. Tight jeans outlined his legs and a black T-shirt hugged every muscle on his torso. His eyes were brooding and dark, with hair to match and pale white skin stretched over an angular face for contrast.

  "What are you doing here?" demanded Marie, her tone sharp as a razor.

  "I came to see if she was okay." The vampire nodded toward Lia's sister and everyone turned to look at her. "Let me up. Please?"

  Ryder kept a hand on the vampire's neck, but allowed him to stand.

  Adele's gaze locked on the vampire. "Davian." His name fell from her lips in a whisper full of agony.

  "You know him?" Lia gave her sister an incredulous look. Drugs were one thing, but being on a first name basis with the undead pushed her overprotective sister button in a big way. The impulse to lecture Adele about her life choices hit her hard, but she resisted. She had the sense that she'd often lectured her sister in the past. Obviously, that had not worked so well, so she squelched the urge.

  "He bought me," Adele said, her voice faltering. Her eyes still had not left Davian, she watched him like he was the flame to her moth.

  Lia reacted so fast, she didn't have time to weigh her actions. She couldn't think past the red-hot rage filling her. This bloodsucker had bought her sister like groceries. Oh, hell no! She flew across the yard and slapped the vampire's cheek so hard, his head whipped to the side in a blur. Then she slapped the other cheek, slamming his head the opposite direction.

  "Yes, I bought your sister," he said when she paused to think about where she wanted to hit him next. A drop of blood welled at the corner of his mouth and his tongue darted out to sweep it away.

  Lia made a fist and smashed it into his throat, wishing she had one of the healer's knives. "Here's a newsflash, bloodsucker. My family is not for sale."

  Davian made a strained wheezing sound as he doubled over. His voice rasping, he said, "It's a good thing I don't really need to breathe. I think you just crushed my windpipe."

  She moved to hit him again, but he blocked her with his arm. "Let me explain before you make it impossible for me to speak." He held up both hands. "Please."

  Lia gave a curt nod.

  Davian licked more blood off his mouth and said, "I bought her to save her."

  Ryder snorted. "Sure you did."

  The vampire glared over his shoulder at Ryder. "A vampire worth their fangs doesn't need a blood slave. I find it just as abhorrent as you do."

  "So why did you buy her? Why are you here?" Ryder gave the vampire another shake.

  "I had to pretend I was a slaver to get into the ring." He fished inside his pants pocket and pulled out a small wallet. Flipping it open, he showed them a gold badge engraved with the symbol for infinity. "I'm with the vampire council. I've been working to stop the blood ring for months."

  Lia took the wallet from him, angling it so the light from the fire illuminated the badge. There were letters around the figure eight in the center. "Unitum in morte," she read.

  "Latin for united in death," Davian translated, holding out his hand for the wallet back. "Our motto."

  Lia kept the wallet. "Ryder? You know anything about this?"

  Ryder shrugged. "Kind of. I fought a vampire once early in my career. They do have a council just like we do."

  Davian stiffened. "I have no reason to lie."

  "Oh, yeah. You're a saint, right?" Ryder shook his head.

  Lia tossed the wallet back to Davian. "Okay, so let's say you're official, what the hell happened?"

  "Someone was running a blood ring. I was sent to investigate and find out who was behind it." Davian looked away. "I had to buy my own blood slave. That's the only way they would trust me."

  "So you bought my sister and fed off her?"

  "I had no other choice." He licked his lips. "Ask her, she'll tell you."

  Lia turned to her sister. "Is it true?"

  Adele nodded. "They made him feed."

  "Made him feed, or he made you think he had no choice?" asked Marie.

  Adele's eyes widened. "I-I-I don't know." She rattled her chains and gave a low growl of frustration. "Was it all a lie Davian?"

  "No." The vampire gave her a stricken look. "I saved you, remember? You do know that, right?"

  She gave a slow nod. "Yeah. I guess I can't say whether he was forced to feed from me or not, but he did save me."

  "How?" Lia asked.

  "How do you think I got up into the ductwork at the club?" She pointed at Davian with her chin. "He gave me a boost."

  Lia looked to Davian. "And then you left?"

  "There was no time. I had a free pass to leave, but she did not. It was the only way to hide her. If she'd left with me, they would've hunted us both down."

  "Someone executed a lot of shifters," Ryder said.

  The vampire gave a somber nod. "I know."

  "You only saved her sister." Ryder ignored Adele, his voice cold.

  Davian licked his lips again. "The others had been bled too much. There was no saving them. They were thralls, at best, and on their way to becoming revenants, at worst. I couldn't do anything for them."

  "But she was special?" Ryder asked.

  "She was newer than the others. I took as little blood as
possible and only fed because I had to. We were watched. I had to make it look real."

  "It's true," said Adele. "And he was going to come back for me once it was safe." She yanked on her chains again.

  "So you've barely been fanged," murmured the healer. She threw another log onto the fire and reached for a knife. "That's better than I expected. This won't take long. You'll be free by sunrise."

  "Wait! That's not necessary." The vampire shifted his weight from foot-to-foot, his gaze locked on the knife the healer had selected.

  "Oh?" The healer poked at the log with her knife, causing the flames to rise and dance along the blade. Lia stepped closer to the healer, wanting to be close enough to intervene if it became necessary. No one was bleeding her sister again without a very good reason.

  Davian stood up straight and looked right at Adele. "I revoke my claim on your blood. I will not call you again. You are free."

  "That's it?" Ryder sounded skeptical and Lia didn't blame him. Although Adele did go limp in her bonds as if all the life had been sucked out of her.

  Davian gave a stiff nod. "Yes. She's truly free now. You don't have to do," he waved at the healer and her knife "whatever barbaric thing you were planning."

  "No," Adele moaned. "Davian, don't leave me."

  "I can't stay and it's not safe to come with me." He smiled, but it was a gesture of heavy regret, not happiness. "You're better off with your own kind."

  Adele yanked on her chains and growled in frustration. "That's not what you said before. I'm only better with you."

  "That's the blood talking," the healer said.

  "No. It's not." Adele shot a glare at the healer, her eyes still red. "It wasn't just about blood with Davian. He's not like the vampires who bought slaves."

  "I hate to break it to you, but all the bitten talk like this. They all think it's special. Once your blood is free of his influence, you'll feel differently." Marie stood. "Just to be sure, I'm going to treat you anyway. I'm afraid I don't trust your fanged friend here quite as much as you do."

  "No," Adele cried out, her voice so high, a bat answered her call with its own sonic screech.

  "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" Lia asked as she tracked the healer's movements.