Alpha Mate: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance

by Natalie Kristen

  “I don't need no Protection Potion,” Lucas snapped, grabbing his shirt off the back of a chair and trying to shrug into it. “I'm fine. Werewolves heal fast. Naturally. Without potions.” He struggled to get his arm into a sleeve, wincing at the sudden onslaught of crippling pain. How did wearing a shirt become such a challenge? Was he not healing as he should?

  “Yes, yes, yes,” the witch doctor answered as she grabbed another roll of bandages and approached him fearlessly. “But you were stabbed, not with any ordinary dagger, but with a silver one. Your wound's infected. You're lucky you're not dead. Lie down!”

  When Lucas raised a brow at her commanding tone, the sassy little witch merely wrinkled her nose and tagged on, “Please.”

  When Lucas didn't comply immediately, Jasynta huffed and resumed her imperious tone, “Lucas, I know you're Alpha and all, but I'm the PAC's Emergency Medical Consultant—E.M.C. And E=MC squared. Meaning: Emergency equals Medical Consultant squared,” she spelled out for him, not mincing or slowing down her words. “In an emergency, the medical consultant's power is multiplied by...infinity. The Alpha being gored by a silver dagger qualifies as an emergency. So in this situation, my power has been multiplied infinitely,” she concluded triumphantly. “So I'm telling you to please lie down and let me bandage up your wound, Alpha.”

  Lucas opened his mouth and was about to roar out something to the effect that the PAC was so not going to renew her contract as the PAC's E.M.C. if she dared wrap him up like a mummy when he spotted Jett, Blake and Glenn leaning against the far wall of the room and shaking their heads at him.

  The Chief Trainer, the bear shifter and the Master vampire were eyeing the witch doctor nervously and seemed to be trying to inch away from her. Three towering, glowering males, all over six feet tall and packed with muscle and power, appeared to be in awe of a petite, curvy witch. Jasynta picked up a dark-colored bottle from her box of medical supplies and approached Lucas with a no-nonsense look on her face.

  Lucas frowned, staring at his three silent PAC members lined up like schoolboys against the wall. How did the little witch doctor instil such fear in his most fearsome Council members?

  “Must be witchcraft,” he snorted, shaking his head. “Hocus-pocus, mumbo-jumbo.”

  “I beg your pardon, Alpha,” Jasynta said, cocking her head, one hand on her hip. Jett, Blake and Glenn tensed visibly and he heard one of them gulp.

  “Nothing,” Lucas said quickly, and saw the three large males breathe out a collective sigh of relief. “Please, do what you have to do, my good doctor.”

  “A good doctor is what I am,” Jasynta said, all seriousness. “Take a look at your wound, Alpha. A werewolf really shouldn't mess with silver.”

  Lucas glanced down and saw that black blood had started to seep from the red scar, which rippled and looked like it was threatening to tear wide open. The witch doctor wasn't joking. He wasn't going to heal right without proper treatment.

  Jasynta uncapped the bottle and smiled, but Lucas didn't miss the glint in her eye. He braced himself. This was going to hurt like a bitch.

  “Now, think of your most favorite thing in the whole, wide world,” she said.

  Immediately, the image of Charlotte flashed before Lucas's eyes. He could see her vividly, her green eyes shining in the dark, her mane of strawberry blond hair wild and disheveled, her face full of fight and passion.

  Her lips moved, and he seemed to hear her voice in his head, in his heart.

  Lucas, I'm sorry.

  Lucas let out a howl as the healer poured the violet liquid from the bottle directly onto his wound. The potion stung like hundreds of bees, wasps, scorpions and stingrays attacking him at once. He should know. He had wrestled and sparred with these stinger shifters before.

  When he blinked again, Jasynta had already finished wrapping a fresh set of bandages around his abdomen.

  “Done.” She stepped back, and went to pack her supply box. “Now, don't remove the bandages for at least twenty-four hours,” she rattled off as she clicked her box shut. “The Protection Potion needs time to...”

  “Twenty-four hours,” Lucas repeated, before leaping off the side of the bed. “How long? How long have I been out?” he shouted.

  Jasynta opened her mouth, but Glenn strode forward. “You were out for most of the day,” Glenn answered. “You came in close to dawn. It was so close to daybreak I was nearly singed while dragging you in. Thankfully it's nightfall now.”

  “I've lost a day,” Lucas said tightly. He turned to the witch healer and said, “Thank you, Jasynta. You're a good doctor, and you take good care of the PAC. Appreciate it.”

  She smiled. “It's my job. Looks like my work here is done. I have to get back to the hospital.” Picking up her case, she stopped at the door and gave him a pointed look. “Remember...”

  “I won't remove the bandages,” Lucas said, giving a three-fingered salute. “Alpha's honor.”

  She nodded, and as she opened the door, Lucas noticed her glancing over her shoulder at the brawny bear shifter, who suddenly seemed to find the tiling on the floor particularly fascinating.

  “Blake,” Lucas called out. “Would you please escort Ms Morgan back to the hospital?”

  Blake jerked as if he had just been struck by lightning.

  “I...” The big bear lurched and stumbled, not minding that he had just been nudged forward with excessive force by Jett. Jett winked at Blake and made a howling noise. But the human couldn't howl for nuts. He sounded severely constipated.

  “Jett,” Lucas gritted his teeth. “Would you mind...not howling?”

  “Why?”

  “We're discussing important matters here,” Lucas said, shaking his head slightly as the door closed after the blushing witch and the bumbling bear. “Can you give me a report of...?”

  Jett nodded immediately. He strode forward, his face and tone grave as he reported what had happened to his Alpha, “Once I got your call, I pinpointed Bryn's position and I managed to track her. She was headed towards Eclipse Boulevard, in pursuit of a rogue demon. I shadowed her until she cornered the rogue. She got the demon to release the human but the demon bolted. She went after him, and was chasing the rogue across Middle Park when...she was taken.”

  Lucas narrowed his eyes. “Taken?”

  “Yes. She was misted, just at the junction of Eclipse Boulevard and Twilight Avenue. I gave chase straight away. I followed the mist across the Chinatown area, past Dragon Alley, and then I lost them. I haven't been able to get a bead on her location, or on Charlotte's. Both Charlotte and Bryn are missing.”

  At the mention of Charlotte, Lucas's heart seemed to stop. The last time he had seen her, she was running away from him.

  And now she was missing.

  “You shadowed Charlotte. What happened?” Jett asked.

  What happened?

  What happened was I recognized the human rookie Enforcer as my mate so I shifted into wolf form and interfered with her Finals by fighting the rogue wolf that had dared hurt her! And then I made out with her, and she stabbed me and fled.

  And I lost her.

  That's what happened.

  Lucas took a deep breath. “I lost her.”

  Lucas was aware that Jett and Glenn were staring intently at him. They stood with their arms folded, their expressions grim but knowing.

  “She's your mate, isn't she?” Glenn said at last.

  Lucas looked both men in the eye and nodded. “I need to find her before the full moon. I've lost precious hours, lying here swathed in bandages and potions, when I should be out looking for her. There's no time. I can't scent her.” Lucas turned to Jett suddenly. “Does Bryn have a mate?”

  “No.” There was the slightest hesitation before Jett's throat moved. “Bryn is unmated.”

  Lucas looked from the human to the Master vampire. “Bryn may not have a mate, but she has a Master, has she not?”

  Lucas saw Jett start, before turning to stare open-mouthed at the Master vampire be
side him. “You.” Jett blinked and said slowly, “You turned Bryn.”

  When Jett shot Lucas an accusing glare, Lucas only shrugged. There was some information that was simply the privilege of age. The longer you've been around, the more you knew. Jett had been around for a little more than three decades. Lucas had been around for three centuries and Glenn had been around for even longer.

  “Then you can trace her. She has your blood in her. She will forever be connected to you, and...you to her.” There was an odd mixture of both hope and resentment in Jett's voice.

  Glenn shook his head. “We are connected, but only in that instant just before death. It was an instant just before she died as a human that she took my blood. Thus I can only sense her in the instant just before she is about to die as a vampire. Otherwise, she goes where she goes, does what she does without my knowing. It is like an adult child, I guess. A parent will not know what the child is doing with his or her life, much of the time. But somehow, however far apart they are, the parent can sense when the child is in mortal danger.” Glenn let out a heavy sigh. “A Master vampire will always know when one of his own is near death. That is the Master's curse.”

  “So by the time you sense Bryn, it might be too late,” Lucas said, frowning.

  “No. We won't be too late.” Jett faced the vampire squarely and demanded, “How fast can you travel?”

  “I reckon we're not talking about traveling on foot. I thought not. Well, vampires can turn into mist and travel at the speed of...mist. Which is, to put it in human terms, as fast as you can blink.”

  “The vampires I chased didn't travel at the speed of a blink. I managed to chase them halfway across the city before I lost them,” Jett said, sounding unconvinced.

  “The vampires you chased obviously aren't Master vamps. They need more than one vamp just to mist one female vampire,” Glenn replied dryly. “That's why they travel so slowly.”

  “And how many can you mist?”

  “I can mist as many as I like,” Glenn smirked. “I am not your average vampire. It would take two or three average vamps to mist just one person.”

  “So once you sense Bryn, you can mist Jett and me to where the girls are, in the blink of an eye,” Lucas said, stepping between Jett and Glenn.

  “Yes.”

  Lucas nodded. He had a feeling that Charlotte and Bryn had been taken by the same group of rogue vamps, and they were being held at the same place.

  Two rookie Enforcers, gone missing without a trace at the same time.

  And the only way Charlotte could have escaped him so quickly last night was if she had been misted away by vamps. Otherwise, he would have scented her. He might have been injured, but his injuries would not have been able to keep him from his mate.

  “Glenn, can you mist during the day?” Lucas asked.

  “Yes. Just not in direct sunlight. Otherwise, I'll become smoke instead of mist, and the both of you will be pressure cooked and smoked to sizzling perfection,” Glenn answered, ignoring Jett's murderous glare.

  “And the average vamp? The average vamp isn't quite so powerful, right?” Lucas said, humoring the Master vampire. “And their powers will be further weakened by daylight, so they won't be able to mist during the day.”

  “Yes. That is right.”

  “Let's hope we can get to them during the day. We have to stake those rogues before they can mist the girls away again,” Lucas said grimly. “Jett, recall your Enforcement Unit. I want to meet with the whole Enforcement Unit in an hour's time. I'll be announcing some changes to the rotation of the teams and the patrol routes. There will be more patrols, covering every street of New Moon City, every hour. The rogues are getting bolder, and we have to send the message that the PAC is striking back. We will step up our Enforcement efforts, and clamp down on rogue activity. And we will spare no effort in retrieving and rescuing our Enforcers.” And no one messes with the Alpha's mate!

  “Yes, Alpha!”

  “And Glenn...”

  “I'm on standby, Alpha,” the Master vampire answered firmly.

  Lucas gave a lopsided smile. “Did you just read my mind, vampire?”

  “No. I will never dream of doing that. Whatever is in your head would probably give me nightmares.” Glenn shuddered. “Besides, mind-reading is a skill I have never acquired.”

  Lucas smiled. “Tell me, is it true that vampires can never lie?”

  “Depends on what you mean by lie,” Glenn deadpanned.

  Lucas laughed and clapped the Master vampire on the shoulder on his way out. “You're a good man, Glenn.”

  “No,” Glenn said quietly. “I...was not.”

  Lucas nodded. He knew what Glenn was talking about. They'd lived a long time, time enough to make mistakes and live to regret them. “You're a good vampire.”

  This time Glenn did not refute the Alpha's words, only giving a small bow in silent acknowledgment.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Charlotte cracked her eyes open, and tried to blink the darkness away. She knew she had lost consciousness, because she had fought for so long and so hard to stay conscious. But in the end she had lost the fight. She had sunk into a nightmare, one that was filled with fangs and blood.

  The last thing she saw was that fog. That cold, nauseating fog had wrapped around her and sealed her in like a coffin. She had heard voices and mocking laughter.

  Mist. Vampires!

  Rogue vamps had misted her—to this dank, putrid place.

  With a gasp, she pushed herself up and swore loudly as everything tilted and spun. She just had time to realize she was in a large cage before her stomach heaved violently. She fought the urge to throw up and clutched the sides of her head hard. Keep it down, keep it together. Breathe, take deep, slow breaths, and focus.

  As she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead against the cold bars of the cage, the sound of her own labored breathing mingled with another sound.

  It was a small, wet sound, like someone sucking and lapping at something.

  Her eyes flew open.

  A thin figure huddled at the far corner of the large cage. Matted dark hair obscured most of her face, and the haunted, bloodshot eyes staring out of that gaunt, feral face looked nothing like her partner's bright, black eyes that always sparkled with intelligence and humor.

  “Bryn!” Charlotte scrambled forward.

  “Stay back! Stay away from me!” Bryn screeched, her eyes wide and glowing. Her face was smeared with blood, and her fangs were long and dripping. Against her broken dark red lips, her face was too pale. She looked tortured and ravenous.

  Charlotte stared at Bryn's shivering body, at the blood trickling down her chin, at the shredded sleeves of her jacket, and her shaking, bleeding arms. Her wrists were a bloody mess, mangled and torn to expose the veins. A gurgled whimper escaped as Bryn pressed her ravaged arm to her mouth and sank her fangs deep into her own flesh.

  “No! Stop! Bryn, stop! Stop it! You're...”

  Bryn hissed at Charlotte, warning her away. “Stay. Back!”

  “No, I won't let you...”

  “You won't let me feed?” Bryn laughed hysterically. “Really?”

  Charlotte lowered her hand slowly, watching tears of blood seep from the corner of her partner's eyes. “What happened, Bryn?” she asked softly. “What...did they do to you?”

  “They drained me.”

  When Charlotte gasped, Bryn continued with a brittle laugh, “Yes. Those rogue vampires took turns drinking my blood.” She turned her neck to the side to show off the ugly puncture marks. There were fang marks and bruises all over her neck. Those bastards! “They drank me to within an inch of my life, to weaken me and awaken my hunger. I have to feed...now, or I die. I'm so, so hungry, Charlotte. I don't think I can hold on for much longer. I'm getting too weak.”

  “Bloody monsters!” Charlotte gritted, her anger surging.

  “I'm not a monster!” Bryn wailed.

  “I didn't mean you,” Charlotte said quickly. “Not
you. Never you. I meant them, those rogues! I'll kill them!”

  Bryn made a noise like a sob, and sucked desperately at her own wrist. “More...I need more...” she swallowed.

  “Don't! You'll get weaker. You're drinking your own blood!”

  “I...have to. I need to!”

  “Bryn, just stop! You'll kill yourself!” Charlotte yelled.

  The young vampire looked Charlotte straight in the eye, her gaze strong and clear despite the blood haze. “Yes.”

  “You're not killing yourself, you fool!”

  “I'd rather kill myself, than kill you!”

  Charlotte's breath caught. “Bryn...”

  “I'm losing control, Charlotte,” Bryn said sadly. “I'm afraid I won't be able to hold off much longer. I'm going mad. Mad with hunger, and weakness. You need to get away from me. But you can't. You're locked in a cage with a starving, raving vampire. You have to protect yourself. Where are your stakes?” Bryn asked suddenly.

  Charlotte gulped, shaking her head. “Bryn, you can fight this. We'll fight this together. Bryn! Stop hurting yourself! Don't do this. Look at me!” Charlotte reached forward and tried to ease her friend's wrist away from her fangs. The vampire hissed savagely at her, and a look of feral hunger crossed her glowing eyes. Her blood red eyes locked on Charlotte's shaking hand, then traveled to her wrist. Her tongue darted out and licked a drop of blood from her fangs as she stared at Charlotte's neck in raw hunger.

  Charlotte backed away slowly. “B-Bryn, you...”

  “I'm so hungry. I'm sorry...” she rasped.

  “You're not a rogue vampire, Bryn. You're an Enforcer.” Charlotte forced her voice to remain calm. “You hunt rogues. You protect people.”

  “I can hear your heart speeding up. I can hear your blood rushing through your veins,” Bryn whispered.

  Charlotte backed away slowly until she could feel the bars pressing hard into her back.

  The vampire was sitting on her haunches, leaning forward as if to pounce. Her jacket was in shreds, her Enforcer's weapons strewn around her feet. Her black t-shirt and leather pants hung loosely from her small frame, and her blood red nails seemed to have grown longer. Her red eyes were crazed with blood lust, driving her to the very edge of her sanity and humanity. But still, Bryn held on, clinging to the precipice, refusing to let go and hurtle into the abyss.