Being Alpha_Olde Town Pack

by Katie Salidas

  “Well, then, detective, why not go round her up?” Vivian asked. “We can question her together.”

  “I sent Peter already to fetch her. He’s to deliver a message about a secret meeting we’re having to discuss her new position.”

  “Then perhaps you should go freshen up a bit. You look like you slept on the couch.”

  “I did.” Ace gave himself a quick sniff to ensure his deodorant was still working and shrugged.

  “That was my point.” Vivian’s mom look trumped any Alpha he might have in him. No matter what, she was still Mommy. And he didn’t dare defy her. “You make yourself look presentable – now!”

  “Yes, Mother!” Ace groaned as he stood. At least she didn’t call him by his full name. He headed for the door. “Do me a favor and call our council in for this meeting while I’m gone. Let’s make it look legit.”

  30

  Emma MacBride

  “We’re just going around in circles,” Emma sighed with frustration. “Don’t you think it might be more helpful if we bounced our ideas off of Ace?”

  Aiden stood silently, looking thoughtfully as he stared into empty space.

  Their theories, while certainly plausible, just hadn’t been enough to connect the dots. Something else was missing. Something that they had either overlooked, or just hadn’t been informed of. That had been one of the biggest problems. This whole summit was meant to be a grand coming together of the packs for shared information and joint deliberation, and because of all the drama unfolding, it had only served to segregate them and force them to withhold what they knew.

  Emma wondered for a moment if that had not been the grand scheme of Leif and whoever his accomplice was.

  “We’ve been asked to stay put until called,” Aiden said, finally breaking the silence with his response. “Would we be risking our alliance by going against their express wishes? Even if it were for a good reason? Perhaps what is needed is a softer approach than outright disobedience.”

  Emma caught the sly smile and playful nature of his response. “You suck at subtlety, you know.” Even Aiden was trying to set her up with Ace. Was her failed love life that much of a priority for these people?

  Fallon snorted, and as Emma turned to look at her, she caught the strain in her facial muscles. Her lips twitched as if she were fighting a smile that was threatening to crack her mask of neutrality.

  “All right. I’ll call him and ask if we” – Emma motioned to everyone in the room – “can discuss what we have come up with so far.”

  “Over brunch, maybe,” Fallon snickered.

  “Seriously, you guys?” The joke was getting a little old. And the more they pushed, the more Emma wanted to push back. Couldn’t they see they were working against themselves?

  “Oh, c’mon. We’re only having a little fun with you” Fallon answered.

  “Timing!” Emma responded.

  Fallon turned to her mate. “Was it our second or third date when the Acta Santorum raided the compound?”

  Emma all but rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I get it. Live for the moment. I’ll call him. You happy?”

  “Super!” Fallon giggled.

  31

  Aeson Silverman

  Ace ambled down the hallway toward his room. Coffee had helped to give his mind a little boost, but his body was threatening to go on strike if he didn’t attempt to get some real sleep soon.

  As he passed through the main hallway into the grand foyer, movement caught his attention. Early as the morning was, most of the guests and residents should still have been in bed. His security teams, however, would have been on round the clock patrols. And yet, he saw no one. Not at the door to the solarium. Nor was anyone standing posted at the entrance.

  The last thing he needed was another incident. Ace changed course and headed toward the doorway, hoping the guard had just chosen to stand outside and welcome the sun rather than where he should have been.

  Gentle padding of bare feet, barely audible to most, alerted Ace only moments before a sharp sting in his neck sent him spinning around to see who’d struck him.

  Nikita smiled wickedly, holding a syringe in her hands. She wiggled it in her fingers for effect. “Insurance.”

  “What?” Ace snarled back in confusion. The spot on the back of his neck stung as if a wasp had got him. Pain echoed in waves like a heartbeat radiating down into his chest.

  “You do what I say, you get the antidote.” She giggled. “Now, let’s take a little walk.”

  His mind spiraled in panic with images of Regina’s dead body. “Tell me what you just gave me!” His heart ached with each beat, as if something had taken a stranglehold on it, trying to stop its rhythm. Numbness and tingling were beginning in his fingertips. Whatever it was, the drug worked quickly.

  “You’re running out of time. Better cooperate now, before it’s too late.” Nikita walked away from him with an air of confidence in her stride.

  “Emma.” Ace breathed the word. Her room wasn’t far from here. If he could make it to her, she might be able to help him. He took an uncertain step, suddenly lightheaded, as if he’d been drinking all night without the benefit of a party.

  “Don’t count on the good doctor. She’s already been taken care of. You should have put a guard on her room.” Nikita laughed.

  “If you hurt her, I swear...” His tongue tripped over the words, but the rage he felt helped to force them out. His heart struggled to pound harder, but anger intensified his disorientation and Ace fought to stay upright, swaying where he stood like a flagpole in the wind.

  “Are you coming?” Nikita taunted.

  Ace slowly put one foot in front of the other, testing his balance. He’d do enough to get the antidote and then kill the bitch himself.

  His phone buzzed in his pants pocket. The vibration buzzed through his entire body like an electric shock. Ace reached down and pulled it out enough to hit the answer button and let the phone slide back into his pants. “Where...are you taking me, Nikita?” he asked loudly, hoping whoever was on the other end of the line was listening.

  “You’ll see,” Nikita giggled.

  “Slow...down.” He struggled with the words almost as much as walking in a straight line. “Whatever you drugged me with...hard to walk.”

  Nikita didn’t seem to care. She led and he followed, hoping that his message had been heard by someone who could respond quickly.

  32

  Emma MacBride

  The phone had connected, but Ace sounded so far away. Emma listened carefully to the noise in the background. Between the crinkling static distortions, she caught the words.

  Whatever you drugged me with is making it hard to walk.

  Panic stole the breath from her lungs. Regina’s lifeless body flashed before her eyes and morphed into Ace.

  “Something’s wrong,” she whispered, holding her hand over the phone. If he’d been poisoned, he’d need help fast. Fear was the enemy of a rational mind. Ace’s life might be on the line. Cool detachment in the face of bloodshed had been the hallmark of her persona. Now was not the time to let feelings screw it up. She listened carefully, hoping he’d clue her in to where he was and who he was with.

  “What’s going on?” Aiden and Fallon stared eagerly.

  She shook her head, still struggling to hear through the rhythmic brush of sandpaper. “Can’t really hear. It’s like a reverse butt-dial.”

  “Is he okay?” Fallon asked.

  Through the distortion she heard him speak a name.

  And the dots all finally connected. Discrediting Regina. Killing her. Getting rid of the bodyguards. It all pointed to one perfect little person: “He’s with Nikita.”

  “What did you say?” Aiden’s tone turned feral.

  “She’s the missing link. She’s the one who’s been working behind the scenes. And if I’m right, she’s just drugged. Ace.”

  The mood of the entire room darkened despite the light pouring in through the windows. Emma ran the timeline
through her mind. Regina had taken hours before succumbing to the poison. She had been able to soldier through a meeting and dinner with only a hint of symptoms. Emma listened carefully this time, hoping for audible clues to his condition.

  The sandpapery scratching had stopped. She hoped that meant he had stopped walking and had not collapsed. Heavy breathing on the other end of the line was a blessing and curse at the same time. He was, at least for the moment, still alive – but the fact that he sounded as if he were struggling for air meant he’d been given a large dose. Regina had had hours; what did he have? Twenty, maybe thirty minutes?

  “Can you tell me where they are?” Aiden asked impatiently.

  She put her finger to her lips and glared at him to shut up. His interruption had nearly caused her to miss the other person speaking in the distance. A woman – Nikita, presumably – sounded as if she were demanding a code.

  “She’s taking him to Leif,” Emma whispered back.

  Aiden was at the door before she could finish the sentence. “I’m on my way. Alert Brady and get Jay.”

  Emma wanted to say something, to tell Ace that help was on the way, but she couldn’t risk Nikita hearing. They had all the information they needed, and Aiden would take no time getting there. Emma ended the call and looked to Fallon. She opened her mouth, but words would not come. Symptoms, drug interaction, timelines, and equipment flashed through her mind. She assumed she knew the type of poison, but if she was wrong, would treating him make things worse?

  Concern glossed over Fallon’s eyes. She’d been sitting so quietly on the bed, as if waiting for Emma to start the conversation, but the moments continued to pass with neither of them speaking.

  Had they been back home at the compound, Emma would have had the ability to test for glucose and potassium levels, things she strongly suspected would be part of the systemic breakdown of the body from this poison. She could attempt to wing it, but if she was wrong... That was her biggest worry. Wolves were a hearty bunch, but they weren’t immortal.

  “You can help him, can’t you?” Fallon finally broke her silence.

  “Yes.” She put as much confidence as she could into her voice. There was no reason to spread unnecessary doubt. But without knowing exactly what had been used, she could easily exacerbate the problem. “I’m just going to gather supplies. Will you go find Brady and meet me there?”

  “I don’t want to leave you here alone.” Fallon’s concern for her was kind, but the race was on. Ace needed her, and every moment they wasted could be detrimental.

  “Don’t worry about me. We know where the danger is. It’s just a matter of getting the right people and equipment there.” Emma dug into her medical bag, inventorying her supplies to make sure she had the basics on hand: insulin, glucose, IV fluids, atropine, epinephrine. Depending on his body and the reaction to the drugs he’d been given, he might actually need hospital care. Emma prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

  By the time she’d looked up, Fallon had already gone.

  33

  Aeson Silverman

  Never having done drugs recreationally, Ace wondered if this was what it felt like. Annoying, really. Nothing worked the way it was supposed to, as if his body were rebelling against him. And rather than enjoy the floaty separation between his mind and body, he remained firmly tethered by the discomfort of violent bouts of nausea. The last few gulps of coffee he’d drunk earlier threatened to return with just as much heat. He counted it a small blessing he’d had nothing spicy to eat.

  Each light in the hallway looked as if it had a heavenly halo around it distorting his vision so much that he lost track of where they had gone. Only the constant demand of the shrieking woman to give him a code held him firmly to the hell of his reality.

  “Brain’s not doing the thinking so go,” he slurred, as he caught himself against the wall.

  Ace couldn’t be sure, but the woman sounded as if she were mumbling curses under her breath. Maybe she was a witch, and this was a spell of some kind. He twiddled his fingers at her and whispered words in gibberish.

  Too bad he couldn’t do magic.

  Disconnecting further from reality, Ace imagined himself in an alternate world as a great and powerful witch. Covens were like packs. They had rules and law and above all, magic. They could make cool things happen. Were they stealing his vision?

  His heart jumped inside his chest, pounding as if desperate to escape his broken body. His mind too slammed back into the present.

  “Maybe not so much on the drugs.” Ace chuckled at how little sense he was making.

  “Code!” the harpy woman ordered again.

  “1...2...3...” Something struck him hard against the side of his head. “Ouch!” Pain that normally traveled with lightning speed blossomed slowly, spreading outward to his ears and jaw before disappearing off the cliff of his chin. As soon as it had gone, another wave rode out again with the same intensity and pattern, as if caught in a time loop. One after another, each surge was a reminder of the initial strike, taking its time to make sure he felt it and remembered.

  “Quit screwing with me.” Her voice had taken on a demonic quality.

  Not a witch after all. Devil. Demon. He should call for a priest to banish her from this place.

  “This can get so much worse for you and your people.” Time and anger continued to alter her voice.

  “Doubt it.” Ace rubbed the side of his head as another slow wave rode across his face. “That hurt.”

  “Aww, big scary Alpha got beat by little old me. What a crybaby,” she mocked.

  “I need to....” He collapsed onto the ground with a sudden rush of lightheadedness.

  “Give me the damn code!” She struck him hard across the face.

  “Why?” He exhaled the word, trying to catch his breath. Her angry face appeared in front of him. His drug-addled vision distorted her features to match the demon he’d suspected her of being, but rather than take the shape of a devil, she looked reptilian, like some kind of dragon. He’d always wanted a pet dragon. Everyone said they were extinct, but he suspected otherwise.

  Another hard slap across the face brought him back to reality. “If you want to die, so be it. But unless I get that code, you’re not getting the antidote.”

  “Want to have a pity party?” Ace smiled, hoping the dragon would breathe fire for him. “We can both be disappointed together.”

  “You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?” She leaned in closer. He could almost see smoke rising up.

  Dragon. Definitely a dragon. Her eyes burned like fire. Maybe if she got mad enough, she’d sprout wings. That would be awesome.

  “Answer me!”

  “Why?” Talking took more effort than it should have. The extra air he expelled felt as if it would not return to his lungs. He gasped to suck it all back in, but his lungs screamed for more.

  “Because if we don’t get in there, more wolves will die.”

  “Stupid.... threats.”

  “Promises. And if you die before telling me, there are others I can use. It’s only a matter of time and body count before I get what I want.”

  He was dying. Ace understood that beyond the out-of-body high he felt. His insides were shutting down. Even now his heart had stopped banging against his chest. And as he struggled to take in enough air, his lungs too would eventually give up. “My brother will... put you in... a cell.”

  She laughed and held up something in his line of sight, not that he could actually see what it was, but the effect was not lost on him the moment she said, “You mean this guy?”

  Ace closed his eyes. No point in keeping them open when he couldn’t focus.

  “Distorted vision?” she snickered. “Yeah, you don’t have long now. What you’re not seeing is your dead brother. I visited him last night.”

  He threw an arm out, hoping to make contact with her. Rage gave him a momentary burst of strength.

  “You want me? You’re going to need the antidote first. And I�
��m going to need the code.”

  “Cameras.... guards.”

  “Right. Like the guards who were supposed to be watching the door here?”

  Truth was like another blow to the head. The guards who should have been there, weren’t.

  If that were reality, then Jay too was already gone. Anger boiled his blood, but the drugs had stolen the strength from his body.

  “Oh, you’re mad now. I can see that. But the big tough Alpha can’t do a damn thing about it, can he?” she taunted. Her voice began to echo, mirroring the distortion of his vision.

  “Coward,” he replied.

  “I’ve been called worse.”

  “He’s not worth it,” Ace whispered.

  “Keep stalling. You don’t have much longer.”

  “Neither do you.” If death was the only defense he had left, so be it. He’d see his brother soon enough, confident in the knowledge that he had not given her what she wanted.

  “Die then,” she snarled. “I will just have to spend some time with another member of your family.”

  The world began to shift around him. His stomach lurched from the dizzying effect, and he flailed an arm out, reaching for the ground to stop the earth from spinning. “Make sure you give them the good stuff.”

  “You think this is a joke?”

  The joke was on him for feeling like a drunk without the benefit of a party to go with it. “Can you breathe fire?” he answered, laughing.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Dragon lady,” Ace slurred. “Angry fire!” He tried to roar, but with the weakness he was feeling, it probably sounded like a moan.

  The punch line knocked him clear to the floor that time. She descended on him like a banshee, taking out all her frustration in savage strikes and blows, but Ace was too far gone to feel anything.