A.L.F.A. Instincts

by Milly Taiden

  “So let’s make this quick, you two.” They heard papers shuffle on the director’s side. “According to workers in Cloustien, Prince Goddard specifically said where he wanted his palace and the warehouse placed. They found fifty-year-old subterranean maps in the palace. Along with an incomplete map of the underground tunnel system.”

  “Hi, Director, it’s Kari. What did they find out about the art in the palace?”

  “You’re going to love this,” he said. “Most of the items were treasures that had been missing or stolen from the time of the Second World War.”

  Kari smiled. “I knew that had to be the case. Everything there was just too over-the-top to be in one place, and a personal home at that.”

  “And the cave entrance where the trafficking ring set up was the room the Nazis kept the stash,” the director added. “The story from some oma who ‘knows’ the history said one of the ancestor kings was digging area mines for precious stones and they came upon the cavern by accident.”

  “If that’s the case,” Kari started, “then that was Alheim who found it. He probably put the building there, eventually becoming the warehouse, to cover it and sneak out the treasure little by little.”

  “Then after that,” Bryon said, “it made the perfect spot to smuggle traffickers in and out. All under everyone’s noses.”

  Tumbel said, “There is a group of international artwork people working on returning pieces to the rightful owners. Those alive, anyway. I bet most of the stuff will be going to museums around Europe.”

  “Director,” Kari said, “did anyone find out about the room with the dried fruits and food?”

  “That was actually the first mystery we solved. The townsfolk gladly provided the answer,” Tumbel replied. “They knew about the trafficking for a while, but wouldn’t do anything against their royalty. So when they could, they rescued women and hid them in the tunnels until it was safe for them to leave. Seems everyone knew about it except the prince.”

  “What’s happening prosecution-wise for those traffickers caught in the warehouse cavern?” Bryon asked.

  “Liechtenstein, the country, is taking over the extradition process. I believe someone told me the monarch of Liechtenstein was a distant cousin or some relation to the ‘missing’ Prince Goddard. I’m sure we’ll hear about many of the trials in the news. You two did a great thing for the world.”

  “Nah,” Kari said, “just doing our jobs.”

  Tumbel found that extraordinarily funny by the laugh coming through the phone’s speaker. It was sort of funny since what she did wasn’t close to her “girlfriend” job description.

  “Have you heard from Sheldon or Elna recently?” Tumbel asked them.

  “Not a word,” Bryon said. “I’m sure they are enjoying their private island beach as much as we are our cabin escape.”

  Tumbel sighed. “I’m sure they are, too. Can’t wait for my turn to find my mate.”

  “Gotta get out of the office sometime, Tumbel. Unless your mate is a pizza delivery person, you aren’t going to meet her there.”

  “Yeah, I hear you. I have to wait for you two clowns to get back before anything can happen. We have a whole new group that needs to be trained. Oh, one more thing since I’ve got you. ALFA will be getting a plaque in the new National Intelligence Building for so many years of service blah, blah, blah.”

  “Really?” Bryon questioned. “But we’re a secret organization.”

  “The group isn’t really that much of a secret around here. All the bigwigs know we exist. The secret is about the agents who work here. On paper, we look like a normal intelligence-gathering agency. The point is you and Kari need to be at the dedication ceremony. Be ready to dress up.”

  “Whatever you say, boss man,” Bryon said. He was ready to get the call over with so he could get back to loving his mate.

  “Well, gotta go,” Director Tumbel said. “Stuff to do before heading home. See you when you’re back. And, Kari, you guys give some thought to you training and joining us. I’d hate to lose Bryon because I didn’t try to sweet-talk his mate.”

  “Yeah, yeah, we got it. See ya later, boss.” Bryon tapped the end call button on the phone.

  “Speaking of things to do,” he said, his eyes filling with desire, “I have a little mate that needs some doing.”

  Kari laughed. “So you’re going to do me?”

  “Damn straight, I am.” He stood and stepped out of the tub. “How else am I going to get started practicing for baby number two?”

  She shook her head, giggling. “Maybe we should let the first one be born?”

  “No way! We have to be ready. And I’m going to love seeing how many ways I can get you to moan and scream. Just you sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.” He lifted her from the bubbly water.

  “I hope it’s better than the first show you gave. That one was hot, but you were a little out of it being drugged and all.” He took a towel from the warming rack and wrapped it around her body, then took a second one and dabbed at her hair.

  “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ve seen a TV commercial for a group of Aussie guys who know a thing or two about entertaining women. I’m taking lessons. My first show is tonight in the other room. I got front-row seats for you.”

  “I love the sound of that.”

  FEARLESS MATING

  CHAPTER 1

  Josh Tumbel, director for the Alpha League of Federal Agents, had finally found his mate. She sat in front of his desk, talking about something. Her luscious lips were moving and her bedroom eyes were fixed on him. And god, how he wished he had her in his bedroom. Naked and begging him to take her. It didn’t seem likely at the moment, though. Not with the frown on her face.

  She introduced herself as Sergeant, or was it Lieutenant? Maybe Major? Candace Obermier. He’d call her Candy. He wondered how many licks it would take to get to her creamy center.

  Her beautiful eyes narrowed and her scrumptious mouth puckered. Ah, fuck. She’d stopped talking. Hopefully, she hadn’t said anything important.

  Her brow raised. “Director Tumbel, did you hear a word I said.”

  “Of course,” he lied. “Every word.”

  “And you have no comment?” she asked with a sniff.

  Fuck. He’d never expected to make an ass of himself in front of his mate. That had been a long-standing fear of his. He’d find the one, then chase her off with his caveman mentality. His mama had taught him well. He knew all the mistakes shifter men made and how to avoid them. But would he? Obviously not.

  “I’m sorry, Major—” he started.

  “Sergeant Major,” she corrected, her gorgeous lips pressing into a tight line.

  Well, shit. He just called her a rank four levels lower. She was not happy with him. The military took their rank and file so seriously.

  “Sergeant Major, I apologize. I was a bit preoccupied . . .” fantasizing about licking you all over, “and missed your last remark.”

  “I said,” she repeated with a soft growl, “I am shutting down your department.”

  That certainly got his attention. How could she possibly shut them down? They were specifically commissioned by the National Intelligence Board to do dangerous assignments that would kill any normal human. Was it possible she didn’t know they were “special”? Looks were deceiving. Should he tell her? No. That was above his pay grade.

  Calmly, patiently, he knitted his fingers together and laid his hands on his desk. “Sergeant Major Obermier,” he breathed out, “my group has been in operation for many, many years. Longer than most other organizations in DC—”

  “I am aware of that, Director Tumbel—”

  “Please, call me Josh.” He flashed her his white smile with perfect teeth. He’d spent his entire teenage years wearing braces and stupid retainers, so the damn things had better be nothing less than flawless.

 
By her frown, he could tell that apparently, looking impeccable didn’t mean shit to her. Which was good in its own way. He didn’t want a mate stuck on superficial, material qualities. But then again, how was he to woo her if she didn’t like things easily bought? If he’d have to rely on his own self and personality, he was screwed.

  “Director Tumbel,” she continued, her voice containing a bite of impatience, “let me explain something to you. This new president and his administration are all about cleaning up the quagmire DC has become. That means cutting some serious budget. Not just a couple million by changing office supply companies but hundreds of millions. It is my job to figure out where the slack is and tighten it up.”

  Slack? His group was thought of as slack? Had she any clue who they were? “Sergeant Major Obermier, do you know what we do here in ALFA?” he asked.

  She opened a file on her lap. “I do.” She paused then continued. “You destroyed a one-of-a-kind viral specimen that now is extinct to the world.”

  He opened his mouth to explain, but she raised a finger, cutting him off.

  “You nearly incited a mafia war in one of the largest tourist destinations in the world that could have killed hundreds if not thousands of innocent civilians,” she said. He could explain that one, too, if her scathing look didn’t say keep your mouth shut. “And last, but not least, one of your agents was captured after almost a year undercover,” she finished. He couldn’t say much to that, except the investigation did end up closing down the biggest human trafficking ring in Europe.

  “Oh, wait,” she added, “one more thing. You called in an unqualified agent to assist in an international cover-up.”

  What the fuck? That was going too far. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then again, maybe he did.

  Her brows raised again. “A field-inexperienced FBI agent was sent overseas for an undercover operation. How many wrongs is that, Tumbel? First off, everyone knows only CIA deals with international issues. Secondly, sending an untrained female—”

  Getting more than a little pissed with his mate, he interjected, “Agent Tomlin was a highly skilled agent—”

  “In doing crossword puzzles.” Obermier’s voice rose, followed by her body. She leaned over his desk. “She was a decoder, for god’s sake. She plays with words all day.”

  He rose from his desk, bending over to meet her across the desktop. “And she’s damn good at it. We would be at war with Russia, right now, if not for her.” He smelled her sweet breath just inches from him. She must have had a piece of candy in her mouth. Fuck, he couldn’t wait to have a piece of Candy in his mouth. His pants were shrinking in the crotch area. Trust the animal in him to see the bickering between them as foreplay.

  He could launch over the desk this instant and take her on the floor if she’d only give him a sign. Fucking hell, there it was. The ambrosial scent of her arousal. His knees weakened. Thank goodness he was leaning on the desk or he would’ve collapsed to the floor. He inhaled deeply, taking in all he could.

  His rebel-roused emotions settled along with the angry thumping of his heart. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He had started to wonder if his wolf was wrong about her being their mate. No doubts now.

  She glanced at the watch on her delicate arm. How had he never realized that wrists could be so sexy? “I’m sorry to have bothered you so late at night, Director Tumbel,” she said.

  “I’m going to the ALFA dedication in thirty minutes.” This is ironic, he thought. “A dedication ceremony honoring my group and all they’ve contributed to America’s safety in the past years. Isn’t that strange?” he asked. “Dedicating a plaque to an organization you want to shut down.”

  One side of her lips curled up. “The ceremony was commissioned by the previous president, not the current one.” She straightened up and crossed her arms. “Will all your men be in attendance tonight?” she asked.

  “Yes.” Finally, he’d have everyone together again. Each of the guys had recently found his mate and had been on paid leave. Now they were all about to take permanent vacations if this woman had her way.

  “Good,” Obermier collected her briefcase. “Tell them tonight at the reception not to come in Monday morning. We’ll have their personal effects in a box outside the door by noon.” She hurried to the office door. “Goodnight, Director Tumbel.”

  And she was gone from his life, just like that. How the hell had he lost control of the situation so quickly?

  CHAPTER 2

  Candy parked her car on the third floor of the garage to the National Intelligence Building where she worked. Shit, she had needed to get out of Tumbel’s office fast. Never in her life had her body reacted to a man the way it had to his. And he was fully dressed and not even clean shaven. But those eyes. That face. Lord have mercy.

  He was fucking gorgeous. Drop-dead-with-a-side-of-beard-and-bedroom-eyes-that-made-her-knees-weak gorgeous. Her body shuddered. She needed to get a hold of herself. He was just a dumb male. Stupid, pain-in-the-ass, piece of shit like all of them. Bitter much? She snorted to herself. She definitely had a reason to feel that way with all she’d been through in her life.

  Looking up as she exited the garage, she saw the helicopter sitting on the rooftop pad of the National Intelligence Building. That meant the NIA director was already there for the ceremony even though it didn’t start for an hour. Maybe he was working late, too. That would be a first. Damn, she needed to shake off this negativity. She wasn’t usually like this.

  It was this damn assignment she’d been given. She was responsible for researching and digging into the workings of each department to find their mistakes, cover ups, and secrets. Then anyone deemed less than perfect, she had to inform they were out of a job. Even if the organization was well run like this ALFA group she just visited. A few issues could shut them down.

  In the alleyway between the parking garage and building, she saw the catering truck for the ceremony being inspected by two of her four men in outside security. Even though this event was quite low on the terrorist-attack priority list, she insisted everything be checked before strangers were let in.

  This habit was a throwback to her time in the field. She’d spent years in Afghanistan and other sandy countries fighting to keep this country’s freedom so those who wanted to complain, protest, and burn the flag could have their opportunity. Land of the free and home of the brave. Got that damn right.

  She never regretted her choice of joining the military at eighteen. Running away and enlisting probably saved her life. Candy just wished her mother had had a choice. In a handful of years, she would be able to retire with full benefits after twenty years of putting up with sexual harassment, bullying, and men’s shit in general. She felt like she was going on sixty instead of thirty-eight.

  She shook her head, wanting this slow building anger and resentment to go away. This was how it was lately. She was losing the last shreds of patience necessary to deal with her line of work. Who pissed in her Cheerios this morning? Speaking of food, that was one good thing about the event tonight. There would be munchies and drinks. No alcoholic beverages, her order, but punch and tea were acceptable. She was not babysitting a bunch of drunks on the job this evening. Her job was to make sure security was staffed and ready to go.

  This was her building. She knew it inside and out. Every door, every hall, every hidden passage. Built in the 1950s along with many other structures in DC after World War II, the building design was simple and a pain in the ass to update with technology. Made mostly of concrete, each floor had to be drilled through to run new wires and pipes. Replacing the old sprinkler system a few years ago nearly brought down the lobby ceiling. That was fun. They had to reinforce the wide expanse with I beams and supports.

  But despite that, the building was solid as a rock. The windows were fitted with electromagnetic shields so inside communications couldn’t be intercepted outside, and the
halls were somewhat of a zigzag maze to cut off any radio transmissions within. She’d miss this place when they moved into their new offices currently under construction.

  She was proud of her contribution to the new NIA building. Because of her efforts in security, the new facility would have its own power plant, phone/Wi-Fi system, and police force to handle situations with classified information. She laughed when she found out the place wouldn’t have an address, but did have its own zip code. How silly was that? It wasn’t like they were hiding where they were. Shit, Google had the building on their maps. When it came to the government, who knew what all they would do.

  After entering the front doors, she used her badge to bypass the metal detectors, also a retrofit, but before her time. As she walked toward the back of the lobby, Candy had to weave around tables and chairs set up for the show. New plants had been brought in to attempt to warm the harsh concrete walls. Nice try, but they’d need a jungle for that to happen.

  She passed the elevators on both sides of the aisle, then the stairwell that led from the roof to the tunnels connecting all of DC underground. Hurrying down a narrow, mostly hidden hallway at the far end of the building, Candy made her way to the security door and punched in the code to access the inside.

  As the door opened, her men came to attention and saluted. She returned the salute. “At ease.” Her eyes skimmed over the multitude of small monitor screens, each showing a different shot of the interior and exterior. “Did I miss anything good while I was out?”

  Her group of guys were great to work with. They had a camaraderie rarely found in military circles. That was only because she allowed that to happen. Candy could chew someone a new asshole, if needed, but she would give her life to protect her men.

  “No, Sergeant Major. Just folks decorating and the regulars coming and going. The caterers pulled up not too long ago,” said Dotson, seated in front of the monitors.