The Reluctant Alpha

by A. K. Michaels

  His stomach clenched at the thought of what “punishment” Chastity had endured. A growl rumbling up from his chest and breaking free, loud enough that Jinx shouted over, “You okay?”

  Cam ignored him, trying to get a grip on his emotions. Emotions that were suddenly out of control. Stracey’s voice breaking in on his thoughts of what he was going to do to Dupont when he got his hands on him.

  “Cameron! What’s going on?”

  “Did she leave a number?” he barked out, his tone sharp and one he’d never used before when talking with Stracey.

  Stracey sounded worried and offended as she spoke, “Yes, she did, I’ll text you it but you need to let me know what’s happening. I may be able to help.”

  “I need you to cancel everything in the diary for the next couple of weeks, maybe longer. I’ll let you know. If there’s anything urgent you deal with it ‘cause I’m going to be busy here. If you can’t deal with it let me know but I’m pretty sure that’s not happening. Stracey, I trust your judgment implicitly and I need to be focused here.”

  Cam could hear her gasp, “You’re going off the grid? What will I tell everyone?”

  “Yes.” Cam’s mind full of the She-Wolf he’d met earlier. Determined to get her to safety at the same time as meting out his own form of “punishment” to her brother. “We have a situation here at my uncle’s Pack and I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to sort it. I’m going to, possibly, need your help and if I do then you have to do as I say. No questions asked.”

  “Of course,” Stracey’s voice now strained, “you know I’ll do whatever I can. I’ll make something up as a cover story for your sudden vanishing act.”

  “Thank you,” Cam’s tone was almost back to normal, “and remind me you need a bonus and a raise when this is over.”

  Stracey chuckled, “Yeah, yeah, what I really need is a nice holiday. Somewhere warm and quiet.”

  “Done,” Cam agreed. “Oh, and Stracey, can you make sure you have a copy of my will? It’s in the safe in my office.”

  “What?” Stracey almost shouted down the line. “Cameron Sinclair, you tell me right now you’re not going to do anything stupid like getting yourself hurt!”

  Cam’s voice lowered, steely determination seething down the line, “I’ll try, but no promises.”

  “Don’t make me come out there, Cameron! I mean it.”

  Cam laughed. “I’ll be careful, I promise. Plus, I have Jinx and Jacob here, as well as some of the guys from Scotland. Now, tell me, Stracey, who can stand up to that?”

  Stracey didn’t sound convinced, “Please, Cam, be careful.”

  As she used his shortened name he knew she was worried, very worried. After all Ms. Hood never called him anything other than Cameron. “I will be, just be ready in case I need you to do anything. Okay?”

  “Always.”

  “I’ve got to go, lots to do on this end. I’ll contact you soon.”

  “Okay, and Cameron, please help that girl. She sounded so scared.”

  Cameron almost snarled, “Don’t worry on that score. I most definitely am going to help her.”

  “Let me know how it goes. You know I’ll worry until you do.”

  His tone far gentler as he replied, “I will. I’d tell you not to worry but I know that would be useless. I’ve got to go. Talk soon.”

  “Goodbye,” she said as he hung up, turning to Jacob and Jinx to find they’d already left.

  Marcus standing, waiting on instructions. “You can go home but make sure the ‘copter is fueled and ready. I may need it.”

  Marcus bobbed his head, turning back to the jet as he threw over his shoulder, “Will do. Be careful, Boss.”

  Cam didn’t bother replying, just raising his hand in farewell before making his way back to Camp to find Jacob. He needed to know why his PI had come and he wanted to know ASAP.

  When he reached the Club house he found it a hive of activity. Everyone, including Fearghas, was there, with Jacob setting up a host of electronics on the large kitchen table. Jinx was helping and Fergie was wheeling around checking everything out with a twinkle in his eye.

  Cam had forgotten just how much his cousin loved his gadgets.

  “Jacob, report please,” Cam’s voice stern as he took everything in.

  Jacob stopped setting up his laptop, “Good, you’re here. Everyone, if you get comfortable I’ll begin.”

  Cam sat at the head of the table as everyone else grabbed a seat. Jacob waited, not speaking until there was complete silence. His eyes found Cam’s and stayed there.

  “Where do you want me to start? Philippe Dupont or Matthieu?”

  Fearghas growled. Cam looked at him. “Something you want to say, Alpha?”

  His uncle inclined his head. “I suppose I should.” Fearghas turned to Jacob and stated, “If there’s anything else to add you can when I’ve finished.”

  Jacob nodded as Fearghas took a deep breath before he went on, “Matthieu isn’t who you think…”

  Fergie snorted, “No shit, Sherlock!”

  Fearghas threw his son a dirty look before continuing, “He’s from the Council. I contacted them a while back and they sent him to try and get to the bottom of things. So far he’s not found any concrete proof against Dupont so the Council has refused to take action.”

  “Fuck!” Fergie cursed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Fearghas looked unrepentant. “I was told to tell nobody, family included.”

  Jacob spoke up before Fergie could make anything more of the information. “Right, I found that out within minutes. He specializes in infiltration and information gathering. Apparently, he’s good at what he does but he can only work within the confines of the Council rules and Matthieu is nothing if not a stickler of rules.”

  “True,” Fearghas harrumphed, “he keeps saying he can’t do this, or that.”

  “Right,” Jacob agreed, “so his hands are tied and he’s not going to be able to help us, not against Dupont.”

  Cam looked over at Jacob. “Go on.”

  “Dupont, aka Alpha of the Wild Ranch Pack is one bad Wolf.” Jacob checked the screen on his laptop. “He is suspected of killing the previous Alpha but nothing could be proven and although fights for status are allowed, out and out murder is not. He’s been buying up land all around his own Pack land and also some smaller packets of land that border Highland Clan land.”

  “What?” Fearghas exclaimed. “How did I not know about this?”

  Jacob sneered, “Because he’s good and is using dummy companies under innocuous names to do it. Also their Pack land is split up with Dupont owning forty-nine percent, with his Beta, Silas Smith owning twenty-five, Pascal Boudreaux owns nineteen and he’s apparently the Pack Enforcer, with Quincy Madden holding the rest and his position is personal guard to Dupont.”

  Cam listened avidly, his brain working fast. “The Beta is gone, we had a run in but I’m sure Dupont doesn’t know. Not yet anyway. Jacob, can you find his signature somewhere?”

  Jacob grinned, “Yes, of course and I like the way you’re thinking!”

  Fearghas looked between them, confusion on his face. “What do you mean?”

  Jacob opened his mouth to answer but Cam got there first. “If we can duplicate his signature, I’m going to have papers drawn up and dated yesterday with him selling me his percentage.”

  “Is that legal?” Fearghas asked.

  Cam thought about his answer, taking his time while every eye was on him. “Fearghas, I think Marie may need you.”

  Fergie smiled and chimed in, “Yup, I heard her calling on you, Dad.”

  Fearghas sighed in response, “I guess I should go and see what she wants.”

  “Good idea,” Cam said quietly, waiting until the Alpha had left before turning back to Jacob. “Okay, anyone else who has a problem with anything they even think I’m going to do, should leave now.”

  Nobody moved, Fergie shaking his head. “I’m in. I don’t give a fuck how we do
it but we need to take him down.”

  “I agree.” Cam grinned. “I’m going to make him pay and first stop is getting control of his land. So, Jacob, contact Ms. Hood and get her to organize a contract dated yesterday and get it ‘signed’ then find me something I can use against the other two. If you can’t find something that’s enough for me to get them to sign over their percentage then make it up and make it good.”

  “Done.” Jacob smiled. “Now, I’ve got a ton of electronic motion sensors here. I want them put all around the camp so we can monitor who’s watching us.”

  Cam spoke up, “They’re using magic to mask their scents but hopefully the sensors will pick them up.”

  “They will,” Jacob agreed. “Plus I’ve brought some ‘surprises’ too. They’re only small charges, enough to scare but not kill. I’ll only detonate from here so nobody from this Pack sets them off but it’ll give those fuckers something to think about.”

  “Shit! That’s great. I can help there, I’m pretty good with electronics and got even better the last few months.” Fergie hit the arms of his wheelchair. “Nothing else for me to do nowadays.”

  “Good, you and I can work together so there’s always one of us monitoring the instruments.” Jacob turned back to Cam. “Who’s the girl?”

  “What girl?” Cam tried to deflect.

  “Don’t mess with me. I need to know everything and I heard your conversation with your right-hand woman.”

  Jinx smirked at Cam and said, “She’s Dupont’s sister and Cam met her earlier. That was about the time he and Silas had a run-in.”

  “Okay, well, she may be able to help.” Jacob looked thoughtful. “If she could let us know what’s going on over there it would really assist us.”

  “No!” Cam almost shouted. “She’s in enough danger as it is. I won’t put her in anymore.”

  Jacob’s hands came up, palms forward. “Okay, Cam. I see the girl is a sore point.”

  “Chastity. Her name’s Chastity and Dupont has already hurt her today.”

  Fergie growled. “What?”

  “She phoned the office and spoke with Stracey. She was scared and said that Dupont had already ‘punished’ her because he could scent Silas on her but they can’t find him.”

  Jinx smirked, “Well, that’s ‘cause he’s burned to a crisp at the bottom of a ravine.”

  “Sounds as if she’s really scared of her brother,” Mac put in, his face showing his distaste at the thought.

  “She’s terrified,” Cam agreed. “She was shaking like a leaf and I swear I could almost taste her fear. So, Jacob, I will not ask her to do anything that puts her in more danger.”

  “Fine,” Jacob acquiesced, “woulda been good to have someone on the inside but we can work with what we’ve got.”

  “I’ve got a number for her and I’ll call her shortly. Jacob, you sort out what you need here. First is getting Silas’ percentage of the land. Then I want as much as I can get.”

  “I’ll phone Ms. Hood now.” Jacob got up, dialing a number on his phone as he went to the back door to make the call.

  “Jinx, you liaise with Jacob. Give him whatever he needs and we’ll set up some shifts to guard the camp.” Cam stood up stating, “I don’t want that fucker trying anything here but if he does come, I want to be the one to confront him. Make sure everyone knows that.”

  “Will do,” Jinx replied, “tell Chastity to stay safe.”

  Cam noticed the cheeky glint in his friend’s eye as he checked his phone, seeing the text from Stracey and memorizing the number. Inputting the numbers his heart sped up and when he heard her voice his breath hitched, just for a moment, before he caught himself.

  “Hi, it’s Cam. Are you okay?”

  He heard a little intake of breath, similar to the one he’d just experienced, before she replied. “Yes, but he knows something is wrong. Silas is never away this long.”

  “Don’t worry, he won’t get any more information from the body. That’s if they find it.” Cam’s heart was beating wildly in his chest and he had no idea why. “Do you want to leave? I can meet you and bring you to safety.”

  “I can’t, not tonight. He’s got me locked up with guards on the door.”

  Her words elicited a snarl, “Locked up? I can come, now, and I’ll get you out.”

  “No!” Chastity’s voice was frantic. “Please don’t do that. You’ll get hurt and then he’ll know I’m involved in something. Please don’t come.”

  Cam took a steadying breath, the urge to go Wolf and go get Chastity gnawing inside him. “What do you want me to do?”

  “If I get out tomorrow, I’ll call you and we can talk ‘bout it then. I just needed you to know that he’s aware something is wrong. I,” her voice faltered, “don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “Trust me,” Cam said forcibly, “when your brother and I meet it won’t be me hurting.”

  “I hope not,” Chastity whispered.

  “While I have you on the phone can I ask you some questions?” He waited until she agreed. “Okay, do you have any information that could be used against Pascall and Quincy? Any weaknesses they have? Anything at all.”

  “Hmm, let me think.” She was quiet for a moment or two. “Pascall likes to gamble. I know Philippe has argued with him about it before because he had to bail him out of a hole. Other than that I’m not sure.”

  “That’s good to know, I can use that.” Cam knew Jacob would uncover any debts the man held. “What ‘bout Quincy? Anything on him?”

  Long moments of silence met him as he waited her out. He could sense she wanted to say something but was having difficulty putting it into words. Finally, she answered, “Quincy is a creep, a really bad creep and there have been rumors of him liking young girls.”

  Chastity took a deep breath, the sound of it causing Cam to inhale too. “Go on,” he said quietly, her reluctance obvious.

  “I know he’s gotten into trouble here for going after the youngsters and got into a fight or two over it. I overheard Philippe telling him he had to stop, well, in the Pack anyways. Now I think he goes elsewhere to get what he wants.”

  Cam fought back the growl threatening to break free at the thought of a full grown Wolf taking advantage of young girls. His disgust at Quincy causing him to think of the ways he was going to hurt him as soon as he got the chance. He kept his voice calm when he replied, “Okay, that’s information we can use too. Oh, and Chastity, he’ll pay for what he’s done to them. Don’t worry ‘bout that.”

  “Good,” Chastity murmured, “he deserves to be punished. Cam, I have to go, I can hear them coming. Please be careful.”

  “You too and if you get out of there, phone me immediately and I’ll come get you.”

  “I’ll try.” Chastity hung up.

  Cam sighed, the loss of her voice in his ear causing a sadness within his chest. “What the hell is going on with me?” he thought as he went back to the table.

  Jacob was grinning like a cat that got the cream. “Here it is.” He shook a sheaf of papers held in his hand. “All I need to do now is copy his signature and you are the proud owner of Silas’ share of the land.”

  Cam sat down. “Good. Now I have some more work for you.” He went on to give Jacob the information that Chastity had given and saw his PI smirk before doing what he did best.

  The rest of the guys were being herded out by Fergie, a black hold all on his lap. “Where they off to?” Cam asked.

  “Going to put the sensors out, Fergie is quite the little whiz with electronics.”

  “That he is,” Cam agreed, picking up the paperwork and going through the contract with a fine tooth comb.

  *****

  Chastity stared at her phone before placing it back inside her bra. The fools had patted her jeans pockets but that was all so they hadn’t found her phone, thank goodness. Her thoughts had been wandering to the tall, dark stranger she’d met earlier. Her heart beating wildly every time she thought of him.

  He’
d said he could help her, take her away from here. But, could he? Was he strong enough to stand against her brother? More importantly, was he devious enough to beat Philippe? She knew how cunning and underhanded he was and she wasn’t sure if this Wolf, Cam, would be able to do what he’d said.

  She hoped so. She wished with all her heart that he could because her brother was downright evil. No other word for it and it saddened her to no end. Philippe hadn’t always been this way. When they were both young he’d always watched out for her, looked after her. Then their parents were killed and he changed.

  No longer did he care about anyone or anything except himself and he’d turned into a monster. A malicious and wicked man who did whatever he needed to do to get what he wanted. Including murder.

  Chastity was well aware of what he’d done and she feared for her own safety. Knowing he’d do whatever he felt was necessary to get what he wanted from her. And what he wanted right now was his Beta.

  She jumped as the lock turned in the door, backing up, and sitting on her bed as he walked in. Philippe’s face scared her, the look in his eyes one she’d seen before. She fought to control her body, stop it from shaking in fear as he stepped in front of her.

  “Tell me,” he sneered down at her, obviously scenting her terror.

  “I don’t know where he is. I really don’t.”

  Chastity didn’t even see it coming, his hand moving so fast as he slapped her hard. Her face stung and her eyes watered as she fell sideways. “Philippe, I’m not lying! I saw him earlier but then he left and I don’t know where he went!”

  “Chastity, my dear sister, you are lying and if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on I’m going to let Pascall and Quincy come in here and have some fun with you.”

  “You wouldn’t!” Chastity’s breath caught in her throat at the thought of those two being let loose on her.

  “I will, now, tell me.” Philippe’s eyes bored into hers and her mind went haywire trying to come up with something, anything, to stop the threat being carried out.

  “Okay! I’ll tell you.” Chastity knew her lie may not be believed but it was all she could do to stop from being violated. “You have to stay calm, Philippe, you’re not going to like what I am going to say.”