The Alpha Warlocks' Own: An Alpha Warlocks of Kala West Story #3 (A BWWM and BBW Paranormal Ménage Romance)

by Auriella Skye

  “Next time you talk back, I’ll drop you over here,” Pete shouted. “I don’t care how much your mother loves you, you understand?”

  Did she love him, Blaine wondered, or was she sorry she wasn’t able to have only pure blood warlocks for sons? He felt like she loved her new family more than him.

  Blaine tried to find his magic the way his younger brother did, but nothing ever came. Even Pete had power over air, while his mother could control water. His younger brother just found out he was a young air warlock like Pete.

  Him? Blaine didn’t even know if he had an element. Maybe he was broken. His life was already a mess. What was a little more for good measure?

  If his warlock side was damaged, he had small hope he could find his real father to learn how to shift properly, but he didn’t even have a picture to go by.

  He’d asked his mother more than once about the man who had fathered him, and each time she’d get a distant and sad look in her eyes before telling him to mind the present and not the past.

  Pete’s slurring increased as he yelled. “Nothing to say now, Foul Blood? Don’t tell me you’re stupid too!”

  Then Blaine felt nothing but lightness as Pete cried out, “Shit!”

  When he finally hit the water, it surrounded him with coolness, but hidden warmth lurked through it as he sunk deeper down. He thought about fighting up to the surface, but what was the point? What was he breathing for? Why fight when no one above the surface wanted to fight for him?

  Pete let him go for a reason, so maybe that meant he deserved it. The whole community treated him as if he were nothing, anyway. Not fully warlock. Not fully shifter. A half-breed nobody.

  Beauty floated to him right before he closed his eyes. All he could think of was that at least he was allowed a peaceful image before he died. Fourteen years wasn’t a long life, but maybe something better waited for him on the other side.

  He woke up in time for water to cascade all around him. He was completely dry as if he hadn’t been under water at all, but the pretty face he’d seen before was now staring down at him with concern in her eyes.

  The girl had pulled him from the water, and now all he wanted was to know more about her. Who was she? Where did she come from?

  He’d never seen another shifter before, and he wanted to know all he could.

  Already he realized the nonsense he heard Pete say about shifters was prejudice. All the warlock community saw in Blaine was a boy with tainted blood who didn’t deserve to be a part of their community. Yet a strange girl shifter didn’t even know him and had saved his life.

  With the sound of Pete calling him, they had no time. Pete was a shifter hater, and with his magic, even in his drunken state, there was no telling what he’d do to his savior.

  Blaine was glad when Danika finally ran off, but a part of him hated to see her leave him. He barely knew who she was, but he missed her already.

  When he and Pete got home, Pete already had an argument to give his mother.

  “That idiot son of yours has no need to be snooping around grown warlock business,” Pete told her.

  “I told him to bring you home, so you wouldn’t miss dinner,” his mother said pleadingly. “You like it when your food’s hot.”

  “Don’t tell me what I like, woman! Just keep your nosey son out of my affairs.”

  He hated when Pete yelled at his mother like that. Even young Baxter was cowering in the hallway that led to the bedrooms, scared to approach his father.

  Before Blaine knew what he was doing, water flew out of the kitchen sink and swirled around Pete.

  “What the hell? What the fuck’s going on?” Pete asked, anger filling his voice. The water flowed above him, spinning and swirling around his head, until it splashed over him and soaked him where he stood. It dripped down his mismatched beige suit until a puddle gathered at his feet.

  As if on instinct, Pete stared straight at Blaine.

  “You did this!” It wasn’t a question. Even if Pete hadn’t seen the glow surrounding Blaine, he would have found a way to blame him anyway. “Maggot, you’re nothing but an abomination!”

  Pete always blamed Blaine for everything. Anything that went wrong was always Blaine’s fault.

  “Let him be, honey,” his mother said, gripping Pete’s arm. “He’s never done that before. He doesn’t know how to control his magic yet.”

  Pete yanked his arm back, and his mother fell to the floor. That’s when Pete tried to approach him. “You’re in for a good smacking now, Foul Blood!”

  The fallen water rose until it made a barrier in front of Blaine.

  Blaine lifted his arms and watched Pete freeze in place. “Don’t you dare!” Blaine screamed. “Come near me, and I’ll drown you in water just like you tried to do to me! This time, I won’t mess it up!”

  “Drown?” his mother asked as she got up. “What is he talking about, Pete?”

  “Stay out of this, Marta!” Pete yelled.

  Blaine moved backwards towards his bedroom. The entire time he kept his eyes on Pete.

  “Sorry, Baxter,” he told his brother. He wanted to protect his brother, but he knew Pete would never hurt his own flesh and blood. Not like he would hurt Blaine.

  His mother had actually tried to stop Pete this time, but it was no use. Pete was stronger and angrier. No one could keep him at bay.

  When Blaine got to his room, he locked the door.

  Pete beat on the wooden frame, rattling the door. “You can’t stay in there forever, you little bastard. When you come out, we’ll see who has the power then.”

  Eventually, drunkenness won over, and Pete left the door alone.

  In Blaine’s mind, he’d finally won something. He didn’t miss the fear in Pete’s eyes, and he knew that the man probably feared him now that he could use water to protect himself.

  Blaine being locked in his room didn’t matter to him because now he knew what he could do. Danika didn’t just save his life. Somehow she’d released his element. He was a water warlock, not just a half-breed with no one who wanted him and no place to learn about himself.

  Danika had woken him up, shown him he wasn’t broken after all, and he wasn’t going to stop until he found her again.

  Shifter’s Gift Chapter Two

  12 Years Later

  “Dani, hurry with those warm towels,” Olma said.

  Danika rushed over with the towels Olma asked for. The wise midwife to the Kala West Pack had been delivering shifter cubs in their pack for over thirty years, and she reminded everyone of that fact.

  Ever since she was eighteen, Danika had been helping the woman deliver babies. When her brother assigned her to the position six years ago, the last thing she wanted was to help in the birthing. She didn’t realize until later that Olma had requested her. The demanding and wise woman had a sharp tongue and quick wit, and Danika grew to love her like a grandmother.

  Danika grew to love her job when she handed the first baby she helped Olma deliver to the little one’s mother.

  The baby didn’t cry. Instead, it latched onto its mother’s breast and suckled as little eyes took in the new world around it. When Danika moved, the baby’s eyes found her. She couldn’t move as the little one stared at her. Danika realized that motherhood was something she wanted more than anything, if only for her own child to gaze up at her with the same tender innocence

  This time when the newest baby appeared, her experienced hands swaddled the tiny one, and she took the new pack member to its exhausted mother.

  “She’s beautiful,” Danika told the mother. The longing wasn’t as heart-wrenching as the first time, but a tiny ache remained there.

  The mother looked up at her. “Thank you. Thank you both so much.”

  “You loving and caring for that babe is more than enough gratitude,” Olma said.

  A throat cleared and all three women looked over to see Jax in the doorway. The big man made the entrance look like a dwarf’s entryway with his towering presence. �
�Your brother wants to see you, Dani.”

  Danika looked at Olma for permission.

  “Go,” the old midwife said. “I’ll take it from here. Wouldn’t want to keep our alpha waiting for you.”

  “Thanks, Olma,” Danika said. She peered down at the new mother and baby. “Congratulations.”

  The mother smiled back, and Danika moved away before she could think about babies of her own again.

  After cleaning herself up a bit, she followed Jax through the compound.

  Everyone called it that, but it was more like a housing community for Kala West shifters, a quiet place for them to roam in their wolf forms when they desired it.

  Jax led her towards the main house. It was the only two-story house in the camp that was big enough for everyone to gather when they had a pack meeting or important business to discuss. It had an old-home feel to it with a wrap-around porch on the first floor.

  Jax walked with a purpose, and with each step he took, Danika had to take three. The man was the perfect embodiment of a leader, which was only one of the reasons Lance made him his second. Jax and his brother Hendrix were the two men Lance depended on most to protect their pack. One of them was always by his side no matter what.

  Women made sure to give him a good look-over whenever he passed them. Danika even admitted to crushing on him and his brother a bit when she was younger. That was until she met the boy whose life she saved, the young warlock, who she always envisioned growing into a powerful man.

  She’d gone back to the Golden Pearl Fishing Pier looking for Blaine numerous times when she was younger, hoping she’d run into him again. Danika felt an overwhelming need to find him, but she had no idea where to go but the pier.

  Then Lance found out she’d been sneaking off more than the allowed couple of times a week. He was always so protective of her, ever since his parents died and he became alpha, the same parents who had taken her in as one of their own. She understood why Lance watched over her so closely. They were the only family each other had left.

  Scavenger wolf pack attacks had grown. It wasn’t enough they had taken her birth parents. A different rogue group had come into the Kala West Pack and killed many of their people, including Danika’s adopted parents. Their survival afterwards was important, and the pack had to be on alert and careful. Lance, as acting alpha, ordered 24-hour patrols for both in and around the compound. No one would ever get the jump on them. Not as long as he remained the Kala West alpha.

  Danika was grateful for Lance, who had fought back to kill most of their attackers. Without him, she wouldn’t have survived going through it again. Lance was her true brother in every way possible. Blood didn’t matter. Actions and love did, and he had given her both.

  Yet the little pang inside Danika never could forget Blaine. Her warlock. Sure, he wasn’t truly hers, but she loved thinking it anyway, even though the years had passed since they first saw each other.

  Did he even remember her? If she ever saw him again, would she even recognize him?

  She went to the pier every few months or so, but her duties with Olma kept her busy, especially since Olma was one of the few midwives who helped other shifters in Kala West.

  Many shifter groups kept to themselves, but Olma was the only one who saw no barriers among all of them. She was the connecting force for the Kala West shifters and was one of the main reasons they were all at peace with each other. No one was more experienced than Olma at delivering shifter babies, not in the whole state of Florida, and Danika was honored the woman chose her to be her aide.

  Danika thought of all the babies she’d helped deliver as she tried to keep up with Jax’s pace. Then her thoughts shifted to why her brother called for her. He never usually pulled her away from helping Olma, not when he knew a delivery was happening.

  She didn’t have to wonder long, because Lance came out of the main house as they approached it. He wasn’t alone. A tall man with raven-colored hair and dark eyes stood beside him.

  Danika immediately recognized him. Cole was the Tampa Pack alpha, a pack that was strong but slowly dwindling due to their lack of female wolves.

  What’s he doing here? Danika thought to herself.

  “Thanks, Jax,” Lance said. “Give us a moment. I’ll call you when we’re done.”

  Jax simply nodded and left them. Danika shook her head. Jax was a strong beta force like his brother, but he was definitely the quiet one.

  “I’ll be inside,” Lance said, quickly leaving her alone with Cole.

  Why the hell is he running off? Danika thought to herself. He’s the one who wanted to see me.

  “Hello, Danika,” Cole said. “You’re beautiful as ever.”

  “Cole.” Danika smiled, but she could smell something was up. “Still charming it up, huh?”

  “For you? Always.”

  That was all it took for her to remember, for the vow her adopted father made long ago to come tumbling back into existence.

  Her brother was so going to get it.

  “Excuse me, Cole,” Danika said, forcing a bigger smile on her face. “I have to go kill my brother now. Nice seeing you.”

  She didn’t give Cole time to respond as she stormed into the house.

  “Lance!” She went through the front rooms until she found him at the back of the house in the big kitchen making a sub that would have been too big for one individual to eat.

  Lance continued making his meal without looking up.

  “Back so soon?” he asked. “I’d thought you’d at least chat with each other for a bit.” He put a large helping of sliced meat on the foot-long bread along with random condiments.

  “What’s Cole doing here?” Danika avoided her stomach growling. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, hours before the delivery, and it was well past lunch. She shook her head to force herself to focus. She could eat later. For now, she needed answers.

  “He’s just visiting,” Lance said, topping up the sandwich before cutting it in half.

  “Like I believe he came all this way for a simple visit.”

  “Split?” he asked, holding a plate out for her with half of the sub on it.

  He was so not distracting her with food. Shifters had high metabolisms and ate often to keep their energy up, so not eating wasn’t the best thing Danika could do to keep up her strength. It was natural for her mouth to salivate at the tempting offering, but as starving as she was, she was not going to be put off the issue looming in the room.

  “Are you really marrying me off to Cole?”

  He looked at the plate before staring back up at her. “So that’s a ‘no’ to the sub then?”

  “Lance!” Her brother needed a good smack in the snout. This was so not going away, and if he thought she was going willingly into an arranged shifter marriage that she never agreed to, he was in for a rude awakening, courtesy of her fury.

  ***

  The Kala West Healing Clinic was meant to look like a regular healthcare facility, but in reality it was where the magical community of Kala West went when they weren’t able to use simple magic to heal their injuries. Witches and warlocks had the ability to take care of smaller scrapes and bruises, but sometimes the bigger wounds needed the healers who ran the clinic.

  It was meant to be more welcoming than a hospital and had the appearance of a residential facility, but the place always creeped Blaine out. He’d been there more than once, thanks to Pete. There were no antiseptic smells, and the scent of death didn’t fill the halls. Instead, it was the odd sensation of power that crawled over your skin, buried deep underneath it, and stayed with you long after you left.

  Blaine sat across from Baxter, who was unconscious in the bed they had assigned him. The head witch healer had said they’d done everything on their end to fix his brother’s injuries. The rest was up to Baxter. He just needed to wake the hell up on his own.

  Blaine felt guilt wash over him as he stared at his brother’s sleeping frame. Air went in and out of his lungs, which meant he
was alive, but that didn’t help Blaine from feeling like he could have stopped Baxter from his poor decisions that got him there in the first place.

  It was bad enough that people in the warlock community hated Blaine for being part werewolf shifter. Now his brother had to go and do some crazy shit and kidnap the Mistress of Spirit and Carmen Brixton, a daughter of one of the most respected families in Kala West. His family had already received death threats as a result.

  Traitor. Killer. Those were the words everyone was whispering about his brother, and the guy wasn’t even conscious yet. No matter what, he knew his brother wouldn’t kill anyone. Sure, he got involved with the wrong people, but he didn’t deserve to die for it.

  Blaine knew the Master of Fire was bad news, but Baxter was a hard-headed warlock just like his father, Pete. Mason had convinced his brother to join them with the promise of a warlock bond. Fucking idiot had smooth-talked his brother into following him down a dark hole that Blaine wasn’t sure his brother could ever come back from. They wanted Baxter to take Pete’s place, one the bastard forfeited at his death two years ago.

  Blaine sighed. Who was he kidding? If anyone was the bastard in the family it was him, and he had the hard stares and scoffs from people on a daily basis to prove it.

  At least his mother and Baxter had been more accepting of him ever since Pete’s accident. They never said it, but he always felt that everyone blamed him for it. Sometimes he wished he had been that clever.

  Then it hit him. A scent that was more than what the witches and warlocks carried with them. It was a certain primal smell of otherness. One he’d encountered years before for the first time when he met Danika. Wolf.

  A man stood in the doorway of Baxter’s room, and his sudden appearance made Blaine jump.

  “Sorry to disturb you,” he said, “but I like to come in and meet the family when they’re here. I’m Dr. Bancroft.”

  Blaine stood and shook the man’s extended hand over his brother’s bed. He realized the wolf that he smelled was standing across from him. Oddly, the doctor wore sunglasses, even though the room was darkened by the closed blinds.