Alpha

by Kim Faulks

  “Catch you later, Senator,” I murmured as the city rose in front of me. “Maybe in the next life.”

  The end didn’t come to me in a rush, instead it was a slow sinking feeling—a knowing that this was all pointless without her. Blood seeped over my fingers, stealing my warmth.

  There was only cold now—love or not, this was the point of no return.

  The crack of a gunshot tore through my head. I lifted my head and stared into the rearview. My heart thundered, pushing blood through my veins—for it to leak from my thigh.

  “X!”

  I gripped my leg and screamed with the pain.

  “Jesus…X?”

  I searched for that connection, finding a faint flicker. She was still there, still alive. I wrenched the wheel and fell forward. The horn blared, filling the cabin with the dull sound.

  “Hang on, X.” The glare of headlights melted into one.

  I swallowed, gripped the wheel, and bore down, shoving my fingers into my thigh. I slammed into an unseen wall of agony…tires screamed, horns blared.

  Goosebumps raced. I sucked in air with shuddering breaths. Headlights turned into starbursts of light. My world sharpened into right here and now.

  I gripped the wheel, tapped the brakes, and pulled the front of the Jeep around. Headquarters loomed in the distance, dark and menacing.

  This place took my father, and now it wanted to take again.

  I hated that building before—now I just wanted to fucking destroy it.

  Smoke wafted from under the hood as I mounted the curb and jerked to a stop. Slick fingers slipped as I fumbled for the door.

  The connection I shared with X was getting stronger, thickening, controlling…demanding.

  “I’m coming, X. I’m coming for you.”

  My grip slipped and I fell, hitting the asphalt with a thud. Get up…get the fuck up, Alpha. Get up, Marine!

  Gunny's roar punctured my thoughts. I shoved my body from the ground, gripped hold of the door, and heaved myself to my feet. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  But Gunny wasn’t there. Lights flickered in the foyer of this godforsaken place. I searched the floor, tracing every step by memory until the blur of movement came from my right.

  I turned as two men headed toward me. Two more came to my left, one man…and one woman moved without making a sound.

  Their ashen skin looked sickly under the streetlights…not human, the thought came from nowhere…and not shifter.

  Vampire.

  That word resounded as my stomach weakened. The fire of anger turned to water as these creatures moved. Ramrod spines never bowed as they mounted the curb, coming closer.

  Run, that voice whispered, save yourself and run. Self-preservation was a lonely mistress—she’d kept me to herself for too long.

  Tears blurred my vision. So help me God I wanted to run and if it was anyone else…

  I dropped my hand to my gun and dragged the weapon free. Two clips were all I had left.

  I tried…a snag of laughter tore free. “That’s how I’ll be fucking remembered…I goddamn tried.”

  My hand shook as I dragged my Desert Eagle high. The creature turned his head, as though he were noticing me for the first time and then glanced to the gun in my hand. He never spoke, only found my gaze once more.

  They surrounded me—two at my back and two at my front—and then all four turned to the building.

  My breath froze—pulse pounded…their fangs peeked out as they scented the air. One after another nodded as though in silent conversation. They were here for a reason—and not for me. I lowered the gun, resting my hand against the hood and followed their stares.

  The air seemed to flicker around this place. I blinked and the pulse was gone, but the longer I stared the more I felt it. A current surged, desperation fought as X filled my head.

  Dad’s warning came to life. That’s what Headquarters is. It’s a portal to Hell. I know it. The wolves, they know it.

  And with it, X’s pain came thundering back to reality. They didn't just keep me captive in Hell, Alpha. They did other things as well…

  “She’s in there, isn’t she?” My breath left in a whisper. “They’ve taken X back to Hell.”

  The undead closest turned his head, bottomless dark eyes settled on me as he answered. “Yes.”

  That one word hit me harder than any gunshot ever could. The Vampire dropped his gaze, hunger filled his expression as he stared at my thigh. Something came to life, some unspoken code of honor I wasn’t part of as he licked his lips and murmured. “Stay behind us. We cannot save you if you are dead.”

  I couldn’t speak, only watch them move like an incoming wave to mount the steps and leave me behind like a goddamn buffoon.

  Move. Gunny’s voice filled my head. Move your ass, Alpha. We don't have all damn day.

  I gripped the gun and shoved away from the Jeep, leaving the hiss and ping of the motor behind. They were slipping away now, walking faster than I could. I found my feet, and forced each step. Momentum took me. I drove my boots into the pavement, leaving a trail of blood in my wake.

  I’d find her…I’d find her…X became all I thought about, all I felt…all I fucking knew. I felt the softness of her skin, traced the perfect peak of her breast and was succumbed to her power.

  And it was that power I followed up each step, getting closer and closer. The sharp snap of metal drew my gaze. The Vampire who spoke to me stared at the door in his hand and lifted. Glass and reinforced steel came away from the hinges as though it were nothing at all.

  What kind of strength would that take?

  The undead cast the barrier into the air. It landed on the brush and wobbled, razor sharp edges twisted and torn. The male Vamp lingered, waiting as the others slipped through before speaking. “Stay close to us, Alpha. Hell is not a place where you want to be lost.”

  And then he was gone, following the others, leaving me to stumble and stare. He knew my name…he knew my goddamn name.

  “Hey, wait,” I growled.

  Shards of pain ripped through my thigh. I doubled, clamped a hand over the wound and followed. They never slowed, and he never answered, only made their way across the glistening waxed floor to the stairs.

  The same stairs where Dad had waited. The same stairs that would lead the immortal creatures to the fifth floor and I knew in my heart that was where we were headed.

  The door opened with a hiss and slammed against the wall. I gripped my trousers with one hand, sucked in a breath and heaved myself up the first stair.

  Agony lanced, pulsing deeper, finding that weak part of me. The Vampires left me behind, climbing without a whisper. I gripped the rail and heaved. Sweat dripped to sting my eyes. The next step was all I saw.

  My stomach rolled, dry heaves wracked my body as wave after wave hit. I passed the first floor, and then the second…I wouldn’t make it…

  I can’t…I can’t…

  The image of X reared in my head, torn and bloody, wiping her face as she killed the panther. She saved my father—I dug deep and pushed, climbing again—she protected him as though he were her own.

  She’d taken on a beast three times her size—and won. The stairs seemed to pale in comparison. The third floor slipped past unnoticed, and then the fourth. I heaved and kept on moving. My hands were slick, slipping against the handrail.

  I was too slow…too fucking slow. The stairwell was silent. The Vampires long gone. Tears slipped down my cheek. The door stood open above me. The fifth floor beckoned, whispering its secrets.

  I shot forward, gripped the doorframe, and stumbled through. My undead guardian stood alone at the end of the corridor, and glanced over his shoulder as I neared.

  I sucked in a breath and tried to speak. “Thought you weren’t waiting?”

  A ghost of a smile passed his lips before he turned to the wall. There was no door, no window. I licked parched lips and opened my mouth to speak.

  The Vampire reared backwards, cocked his arm, and punch
ed. But the wall never cracked. The damn thing never moved.

  He never even touched it.

  The air rippled, casting shadows along the corridor until the wave hit me. He gripped nothing and pulled. His muscles strained, tendons along his neck pulled taut. Something tore…something unseen.

  Those secrets opened wide, letting in the vile and the filth. Death beckoned, but this death was not of peace—this was no perfect hereafter. This was cold and dark, and it knew me…it called me…

  I lifted my head and stared into the endless dark. This was a death filled with pain and torture so cruel it drove me to my knees.

  I hit the floor and that was where I stayed, rocking like a child. “No…please. God no. I can’t go in there.”

  I lifted my head to this emotionless creature. “If I go in there, I’ll die.”

  “And if you don’t, then so will your wolf.”

  A chill cut me to the core, stealing everything good left in my world and I looked into the yawning mouth of death.

  They didn't just keep me captive in Hell, Alpha. They did other things as well…

  Jesus, they kept her in there…kept her, hurt her, forced her to do…no wonder she was unbreakable.

  I fought through the fear and shoved up from the ground. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

  “We are not here for the wolf.” Cold, clipped words found my ears as I stood.

  An ache bloomed in the back of my throat as I met his gaze. Somehow, I believed him…I swallowed a bark of laughter. I trusted a Vamp, gave my heart to a wolf.

  I’d lay down my life for these creatures without a second glance. Hell waited for no man—maybe it would wait for me.

  I dug my heel into the floor and pushed forward as the Vamp stepped through the divider between this world and the next. The sting was instant, wrenching a scream from my lips, and for a second I didn’t think I’d ever stop.

  Darkness blurred, closing in around me. I glanced over my shoulder as the membrane sealed closed. I’d never get out of here…I’d never get out of here.

  “Follow the sound of my steps, Alpha. We’ve a long way to go.”

  And that was all I did. Screams echoed in the distance, brutal screams, screams that sounded like someone I used to know…screams that sounded like mine.

  The clipped tones of his steps were my anchor. I pushed forward, following the echo in the dark. Time slipped, leaving me stranded between the seconds, until the beat of my heart mapped the space.

  Dark shapes seemed to gather substance, the outline of houses bordered what felt like a cobblestone street and the farther we walked, the sharper they became.

  The flicker of a flame danced behind a window. “Wait, there’s someone in there.”

  The sound of his steps stilled. I caught his outline as he turned. “Not someone, Alpha, something. This is no place for the living—nor the dead. Hurry now, or you’ll have no wolf to take home.”

  “What does that mean?”

  His steps resounded.

  “Hey, what does that mean?”

  “It means your wolf has chosen not to stay here—alive that is.”

  She’s chosen not to stay here? She’s chosen not to stay here?

  A knowing settled deep into my marrow. Not alive that is.

  I lunged forward, smacking into the back of the Vamp and hit a goddamn wall. “Hurry…Jesus, hurry.”

  She wouldn’t stay here—not for a minute—not for a second.

  Not alive.

  The Vampire gripped my arm and lifted. White fangs glinted in the dark and the sickening scent of fetid blood found me. “We do this quiet. We do this careful. There’s more at stake than your wolf, Alpha.”

  I fisted his shirt and dragged myself face to face. “Nothing is more important to me.”

  “Then let’s not waste time arguing.”

  The retort was sharp, lancing the festering wound. I needed her…just to feel her in my arms…I goddamn needed her and I couldn’t find her on my own. I sucked in a breath. “Your way.”

  The Vampire nodded. “My way.”

  I dropped my hands from his shirt. “Then let’s get moving.”

  He turned, leaving me, only this time I kept up, matching pace for pace, until the houses around us were filled with the flowing light of a fire. A cavern opened up in the distance. Shadows moved around the outside. People…no, not people.

  I picked up pace, barely a step behind the creature in front. He veered left, skirting that open wound in the mountain and slowed. Shapes moved in the distance, turning toward us.

  Wait…no…

  I blinked and stared as the other Vampires neared. “This was the only way we could get in undetected. Getting out will be much easier. Your wolf will know the way.”

  Panic gripped me tight as they turned toward a steel door that sat in the middle of nothing. There was no wall to hold it up, not even a damn brace.

  I shook my head as my guardian stepped up, gripped the handle, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.

  The seal broke, air rushed out, and through the crack of the door the white glare of fluorescent lights followed.

  “Move hard, move fast,” my guardian commanded to the others before he turned his head. “Good luck, Alpha. I hope to meet again one day.”

  They disappeared through the door, slipping away in the blink of an eye. I gripped the door and stepped inside, glancing down a corridor. This place wasn’t dark…it wasn’t cold. But the gnawing ache of terror only grew stronger.

  I pulled the door closed. There was no way I was going back to the darkness and the screams—the only way was forward.

  The white glare revealed cubicles of medical rooms. Equipment lined the walls, and spilled out into the hall.

  “Get the fuck off me!”

  I flinched at the sound of her voice.

  “Goddamn fucking bitch! Do that again and I’ll shoot you between the goddamn eyes. The fucking Vampire might be able to come back from my shot, but I guarantee you fucking won’t.”

  Diamond’s growl followed. My strides lengthened and the agony faded.

  The sound of a scuffle was followed with a grunt. Barred doors lined the hallway along one side—one was open, revealing a small cell inside.

  A goddamn prison…that’s what this place was…a goddamn prison. The image of her curled in the corner of her room floated to the surface—Jesus, no wonder.

  “Come near me again and I’ll fucking kill you.”

  Her warning echoed from the open door ahead. I palmed my weapon and raised the sight as a howl of agony tore through the hall behind me, and the unmistakable sound of Kava’s screams followed.

  My lips curled as I skirted the one door. The big bastard, Diamond towered over her. Blood dripped from his knuckles to splash the floor.

  But it was my mate I searched for. I skimmed darkened eyes, finding bite marks on one side of her neck. Her shirt was torn, the top of her breast exposed and that sight gave birth to the vilest of images.

  I wanted this bastard bleeding. I wanted him dead.

  “Get the fuck away from her.”

  He spun as I entered. Kava’s howls turned piercing. Diamond took one look behind me.

  “I’ll kill you,” he growled and took a step toward me.

  One tiny squeeze was all it took. The weapon bucked. The shot rang out and a silver-tipped fifty caliber round found its mark, spinning the big bastard where he stood and dropping him to his knees. “Not if I kill you first.”

  The piercing wail behind me died, leaving empty silence in its wake.

  “Alpha,” she called and I would’ve given anything to turn to her.

  But there was a job undone—a battle not yet finished.

  And I would not go home alone.

  I squeezed again and the familiar boom rang in my ears. I had no fangs. I had no claws. This was my weapon. It was never about how many I could hurt…only how many I could save.

  The top of his head came away. Blowback found the per
fect white wall behind him. I dropped my hand as his body fell.

  “Alpha,” X called, stepping closer.

  I took one look at the corpse and holstered my weapon before my left knee buckled.

  She was there, wrapping her arms around me, pulling me into her. I gave in, letting the scent of her wash over me as I held her tight. I buried my face into her neck and inhaled deep. “You know what the difference is between me and every other hot blooded mortal?”

  She shook her head—there were no words.

  “When I say I’d walk through Hell for the woman I loved, I actually mean it.”

  Her crack of laughter warmed my neck. She gripped me tight and muttered. “Stupid, snarly male.”

  I held on as we turned. We were almost at the door when she stilled. “Vampires.”

  “I know. It’s funny but they are actually—”

  “No. I mean Vampire. I know where they are, Alpha.” She spun in my arms. Her eyes were wide. “I know where Joslyn’s babies are.”

  The End

  Thank you for reading Alpha. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. There’s just something about Gunny and the team that keeps me coming back for more. I hope you feel the same.

  X came to me in a rush while I was writing Aries and watching a martial arts video on tomahawks. I saw this scrawny girl swinging this weapon and I knew right away she had a lot to say—I’m so bloody glad I listened.

  I’m already deep into the next Dragon book, Virgo. Holy Hell…all I can say is hang on to your hats. In my usual form it’s about to get bloody, brutal and beautiful all with one burned and slightly smoldering bow.

  If you can spare a moment of your time, I’d love for you to write a review. It means so much to hear how much you love these stories and your word of mouth means I can do this gig for as long as I can. So, thank you!

  Until Virgo…

  Kim, xx

  Get ready, this shit’s about to get real.

  Turn the page to find out what’s next…

  Virgo

  Book Six

  The Zodiac Dragon Guardians

  Michael's, the fifth of twelve Guardians. Dragon-born in the sign of Virgo, he carries all the traits of his sign—the good and the bad.