Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More

by Michele Bardsley

  “I think you and I need to speak in private,” Marcus remarks as he heads to the television remote control, turns on the TV, and increases the volume. He then heads to the room Letta came out of. “Ladies, please have a seat and we’ll be out in a few minutes,” he tells them.

  I follow Marcus and glance back at Esha right before entering the room behind Marcus. For a woman who just moments ago claimed dominance, she appears panicked. I don’t have time, and really don’t have the vaguest idea how to calm her, so I shut the door behind me. I feel an invisible tug in her direction, but ignore it.

  “Start from the beginning and tell me everything,” Marcus quips before I’ve taken two steps into the room.

  I walk over to the unmade bed and fall back, using my forearm to cover my eyes. I really don’t feel so good. I think I need to feed. I explain everything to Marcus while fighting a strange queasy feeling in my stomach. He paces and doesn’t say a word until I finish. “So there’s a problem with the fact that you can’t produce children?” Marcus asks.

  I fight a pussy moan. “That’s what I gathered, but I’m more worried about the council.” I still don’t open my eyes.

  “They’ll be a problem. They guard the tigers like gold. Taking the women back to America won’t go over well.”

  A laugh escapes me, because I know he’s joking. I move my arm and see that he has stopped pacing. The look in his eyes tells me he meant what he said. No and hell no. “We are not fucking taking four women back with us!” I bellow loud enough for the women to hear me over the volume of the TV.

  Marcus’ voice remains calm, but his smile is back. “Get over it. You’re mated, and life as you know it will never be the same.”

  Suddenly, I throw my hand over my mouth. This hasn’t happened since I became vampire. I rush to the bathroom and regurgitate blood. It might taste good going down, but it’s fuck-all nasty coming up. My head swims and a dull throb starts at the base of my skull. Vampires don’t get headaches. Something is very wrong.

  “Ah, hell,” I hear Marcus mutter.

  Chapter Six

  Esha

  So, V understands that we’re mated. He doesn’t seem to be overjoyed at the idea. He also seems to have no idea that leaving me causes a physical pain. As a vampire, he must be immune or he would not have walked away. This pain is almost worse than transformation. Mother and Grandmother gaze at me with pity, because they know I shouldn’t part from my mate by more than a foot or two for weeks, or possibly months.

  The wolfshifter doesn’t look at me at all, which shows her intelligence. I wonder if V knew what he was doing when he introduced her as his concubine. I could have killed her, which means she doesn’t hold a special place in his heart. If he cared for her, he would have stopped the fight as soon as it started. His nonchalance over her death is the only thing that saved her. I had her throat within my teeth, and I can elongate my fangs easily without shifting to my full beast form. Ripping out her jugular would have been quick and fulfilling.

  Suddenly, the pain of parting from my mate doubles, and I drop to my knees. It’s still too much, so I curl up on the floor. Mother and Grandmother growl low in their throats.

  I’m swimming in misery when Letta speaks. “Would you like a glass of water, Mistress?” She doesn’t touch me, which again shows her intelligence. Many beastkind do not understand the nuances of tigers.

  I inhale sharply in order to answer her. “No,” I practically spit. She backs off.

  Several minutes later, Marcus carries V out of the bedroom. My mate is shaking. Marcus dumps him on the floor beside me and the pain instantly fades.

  V rolls over to his back. “What the hell just happened?” His heavy breathing fills the room.

  I look up and Grandmother is standing above us. “You left your mate, and so you deserve a small dose of pain. She does not. She’s been through enough and has much more to endure.”

  I lay my fingers on V’s arm. “It’s okay. I must explain.” I give Grandmother a look that tells her to back off and then I turn back to my mate. “You do not understand tigers and mate claiming?” I question him.

  “Of course I don’t understand. I’m a fucking vampire.”

  Grandmother walks away, muttering under her breath. I ignore it because he’s still feeling the effects of being apart from me. “We must talk. Is there a room without the scent of your former concubine?”

  “It’s not like I’ve slept with her,” he says with a groan.

  My heart settles. “You haven’t?”

  He rolls to his side so he’s looking straight into my eyes. Blood flushes his pasty white face. “Well, not intercourse, and even the other’s been years.”

  A low growl leaves my throat. V suddenly stands, sways a bit, and then jerks me up and pulls me through another bedroom door, which he slams behind us. He staggers away from me and starts pacing. He’s too far away, and I see the minute he realizes it. His eyes turn amber and he storms back over to me. I lay my hand on his arm because I know this will soothe him. I speak softly, “No more than two feet or you will feel the parting. This is common for tigers. I did not know it would affect a vampire like this.”

  Having obviously recovered his equilibrium, he lifts me and carries me to a grouping of furniture on the other side of the bed. I like the feel of his arms around me. The large sofa and two matching chairs are next to a floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks the city. It’s still dark outside, but I can just make out a faint glow coming from the horizon that announces dawn.

  V sits down with me on his lap. “Explain everything,” he says with a sigh.

  I can tell he’s unhappy, and yet he’s calm. I’m nervous because I know he won’t like what I say. I lift my hand and place it on the pulse of his throat. This settles me, and I take a full breath before explaining tiger mating and what happens to a tiger if parted from her mate.

  It’s the next information that makes me look away from him. I keep my fingers on his pulse, though. “You know that a tiger must find her mate before her twenty-fifth birthday. She must also have a child within the first year of mating. If this doesn’t happen, the tiger dies.”

  His fingers cover mine. “By ‘the tiger’, you mean you?”

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  “Within a year?”

  I turn my hand over and lace my fingers through his. “Three months to a year. It’s different with each female.”

  No, he isn’t happy. “That’s what your grandmother was talking about?”

  I give him a smile because he still doesn’t understand our ways. “Grandmother is now your grandmother and Mother your mother. They take on this role because it is their responsibility to end a human’s life if he cannot make a child before his mate dies. This protects our secrets. They take their responsibility very seriously. If something were to happen to me before the mating chains our souls together, they kill the human mate to keep him from divulging our secrets.”

  The amber fades from his eyes. “Well, it won’t be the first mother who tries to kill me.”

  I think he’s making a joke. “You’re vampire, so the rules of a human mate don’t apply to you. Besides, it’s the vampires here who will kill us for mating.”

  I want to say more, but he kisses me. I wasn’t expecting it; I’ve never been kissed. I close my eyes and relish his lips. My tiger rolls and her fur whispers across my insides. V’s arms tighten and my hands go to his neck, where I can touch his bare skin. One of his hands moves to my hair, and he runs his fingers through the length until he’s holding me firmly. He turns my head and deepens the kiss. His tongue slips between my lips and my heart rate accelerates. His other hand slips beneath the gold drape of my sari and then under the midriff-blouse beneath it. He cups my breast and I freeze. There is a ceremony for the first coupling of a mated pair that takes place after the wedding, which has not yet been performed.

  “What’s wrong?” He senses my distress, as a mate should.

  I’m breathing heavily
against his lips. “A wedding must be performed before we can do this, and then there is a mating ceremony.”

  He tips his head back and exposes the long column of his throat. “Goddess, help me,” he says with a growl.

  The bedroom door flies open and the other vampire, Marcus, enters. “We don’t have time for divine guidance from the Goddess,” he says. Obviously, he overheard part or all of our conversation. “A friend of Letta’s let her know telepathically that the vampire council is coming here. The communication was suddenly cut off, and Letta says she is no longer bound to their house. Whatever the two of you have been doing in here has seriously messed up our ability to monitor the enemy. We’re leaving in five minutes. I’ve made some calls to our military allies in this region and they are picking us up out front. We will be in the U.S. by tomorrow around noon.”

  Chapter Seven

  Rondy the Frustrated

  Marcus and I leave our belongings behind. The women’s clothing is already packed, so we take their bags with us. American vampires and beastkind have very close ties with the U.S. military. The council isn’t aware of this, and we plan to keep it that way by making our escape before the council knows what has happened. A white van picks us up in front of the hotel, exactly five minutes after Marcus entered the bedroom. I don’t even want to think about the favors Marcus called in, or the ones we will owe in the future.

  Vampires can flash quite a distance. The only explanation I have for this is…now you see me, now you don’t. We must know the area where we are flashing to and be very careful that we don’t become part of a brick wall. But we have the women with us, so it isn’t an option. If the council has its shit together, the vampires can flash to our hotel before we leave.

  It’s not so surprising that this doesn’t happen. The council most likely bickered for at least an hour about who would confront us. Then, for the hell of it, a challenge or two was issued. That required another round in the ring. Then there is most likely a ceremony for apprehending vampires who run off with tigers. By my calculation, the vamps are two hours behind us, and we’ll be long gone before they get their act together.

  After we’re in the van, Marcus assures me we’re safe, although an official inquiry will be formally presented and the council will grumble about it for the next century or two.

  An hour later, I’m sitting on a mid-sized private plane, with Esha beside me. She had to use the ladies’ room as soon as we boarded, and I stood outside the small lavatory with my palms flat against the door to combat the nausea that happened as soon as the door shut. Everyone else was seated when Esha came out. The back two seats are empty, with Mother and Grandmother across the aisle. Grandmother doesn’t look happy, and Esha won’t meet her eyes, so I know my mate is embarrassed. This pisses me off, so I purposely give her the inside seat and kiss her lips after we’re seated. I’m drawn to her like no other woman before. I’ve heard all about mating, but I never understood. I don’t want her upset, or scared, or in any kind of danger. The need to kill anyone who would harm her makes me want to clench my teeth just so I can think straight. Kissing is better.

  Grandmother gives a very unladylike grunt when the kiss ends.

  I lift my head and turn to her with a smile. “She’s my mate, and no one will dictate how or when I will touch her, capiche?”

  Mother takes Grandmother’s hand and speaks softly in her ear. They are speaking in their native tongue, so I don’t bother listening. My gaze turns to Esha. “We’ll be home soon, and we will figure out what’s to be done about the whole vampire-no-children thing.” Honestly, being unable to produce children never bothered me. We have plenty of time to find a solution.

  Tears well in Esha’s eyes and spill over. I have never cared for female tears and they usually push me away. Esha’s are different. She didn’t cry when I came to kill her, and she established dominance over Letta, who now, by the way, follows her around like Esha owns her.

  Letta’s head appears over the seat in front of us and her thoughts enter my mind. “Esha is my alpha, and I belong to her, and she to you. She owns me first, though.” Letta’s head disappears, and I realize that Mother, Grandmother, and Esha also hear my thoughts. Without trying, I now have a fucking clan, and we share the bond of telepathy. Treson always teased me that it would happen eventually. He and I can also communicate telepathically, but two does not make a clan.

  Fuck.

  I close down my thoughts and focus on Esha so she is the only one who hears. This will now be part of my life. “I am sorry that you are distressed. Leaving your home must be difficult. I will try to be more aware of your circumstances.”

  With tears still trailing down her face, she smiles at me with trembling lips, and I can’t breathe. Goddess, I want her. She looks me in the eye and silently speaks to me alone. “I cry for the future, not the past.”

  I lean in and kiss the tears from her cheeks. Their salty taste goes straight to my dick. I move down and kiss her lips. I circle my arms around her and offer comfort.

  “He thinks that pisacha is good enough for my granddaughter, and I will not have it,” Grandmother lectures from across the aisle.

  I pull back slightly and give Esha a questioning look. She speaks into my mind. “Grandmother believes you will influence me by seduction, and forgo the traditional wedding where our families are bound together.”

  “What’s involved in a traditional wedding?” I ask. Most vampires and beastkind in the United States do not have marriage ceremonies. Marcus and his mate, Amy, were an exception because Amy wanted to experience being a bride and have a formal wedding. I’ve never thought about it one way or the other.

  “It’s a public ceremony that involves days of celebration, with gifts and offerings, before the vows are spoken,” Esha sighs.

  I lean forward and whisper, knowing Grandmother can hear, “Pisacha it is, then.”

  Esha’s cheeks go red, but she smiles, and I’m glad that it’s settled. From being single to mated in a minute and then add a time constraint before my mate could die, and I’ll be damned if I waste a minute on a ceremony. I’ve never desired a woman as badly as I want Esha, not even Sierra. I swear I can feel Esha’s heart beating to the rhythm of mine. I also need to taste more of her blood. I’m crazy hungry for it. The small taste I had in her room was not nearly enough. The craving for her blood and body are consuming me. Every time she looks at me, my balls fill with blood, with no place to go. I’m frustrated as hell.

  The airplane seats in front of us are far enough apart that I’m able to lift my leg and place my ankle on the opposite thigh to relieve some of the pressure on my erection. Within a few minutes, Esha’s breathing evens out as she rests her head against my shoulder. While she rests, I allow my mind to drift to another problem.

  I have a certain man to take care of. He’s next on my list, and being forced to take time out to go to the council is another reason I was pissed off about going to the meeting. Each day the man lives is another that I can’t relax and enjoy life. Well, at least until I uncover another person who deserves my form of punishment. I have a lot on my plate right now, and the lack of ceremony will not keep me from fucking my mate. It’s funny that in such a short time, I’ve settled into the idea of this mating thing.

  The soft glow of daylight enters the window, and I reach past Esha to pull down the window covering. Vampires lose some of their strength in daylight, and our eyes are sensitive to the sun. It took me months to grow accustomed to sleeping during the day and living my life at night. That’s when I finally began taking night classes. Not because I wanted any type of degree, but because it was something to do with my time. It also made Cecily happy. She bugged me endlessly about staying in school when I was a teenager. It’s actually funny that I love the time I spend in a classroom. I only take one class per semester, and I’m thankful they offer a slightly different curriculum each year. I attend community colleges, but I’m not the only one who takes classes for the hell of it, so I don’t s
eem to stand out. I’ve been to numerous colleges in different states, and leave another behind after about two years. I don’t age, so I need to switch it up.

  Students are a great source of information and help with the other part of my life. I also flash inside police departments and read files sitting on detectives’ desks: open cases on murderers who get away because of lack of evidence or botched evidence, child pornography cases, extreme child abuse cases, and other crimes that carry a death sentence in my mind. There are plenty of cases that I turn from. Some can be handled by the law. I’d hate to take away all their fun. I look for circumstances that go past the acceptable scope of douche-baggery. I also don’t want my vampire family breathing down my neck and calling a halt to what I do. I’m very calculating about the criminals I decide to dispatch.

  I’m currently living in Kansas. Treson and I share a luxury apartment in the city that fits our needs. He usually follows wherever I go. I never kill near where I’m currently living. This is where the ability to flash comes in handy. I store up the information learned from one group of college students and take care of the problem after I move on. Every so often, one of these douchebags needs to be dealt with immediately. It’s amazing how winning a free trip when you’ve never entered a contest entices a person. Freak accidents happen to vacationers all the time. I make sure they do.

  Esha’s head burrows a little more into my shoulder and I lean back, lift the armrest that separates us, and pull her firmly against me. I close my eyes as contentment fills me. Sleep takes me away.

  Chapter Eight

  Esha

  “You don’t get it, woman. You and Mother will not be sleeping in the room with us!” V practically yells at Grandmother.

  My hand is on his arm, and I’m trying to calm him. I give Grandmother an intense stare. “Grandmother,” I begin, “he has chosen pisacha, and that is how it shall be. So, unless you and Mother choose to watch, I beg you to leave him to my seduction.”