The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

Randall Meechum’s POV

La Crosse Pack House

Tania was stronger than I expected; the interview continued through lunch, getting her whole story out. Luna Teri was updating her husband with relevant information, but after the Beta took her wolf, things got murky. She could no longer tell who was human or werewolf with her own wolf gone, and the slave traders were expert at hiding their names and locations. The people she encountered only had first names, and she was never outside or exposed to radio or television.

The whole story crushed my soul, it was so similar to other cases my unit had investigated. The slave training and auction ring was a ghost; they had auctions twice a year, and the clientele of these auctions was discreet and deviant. I asked as many questions as I could, looking for details I might use with my team back in Dallas. I called a halt at two in the afternoon, when it was clear Tania was exhausted. Teri took her back to the guest room while Bobby ran outside to take care of business before returning to her room.

I gathered my material and met the Alphas and Betas in his office. “The only werewolves I can verify were part of this right now are Alpha Todd in the Tomah pack, and Alpha Justin and Beta Jack of the Copper Mountain Pack,” I said. “I don’t know how much knowledge Luna Rhoda had of the kidnapping; she might be the ringleader, or she might have thought her mate used a surrogate.”

“She had to feel it over the bond when he was fucking someone other than her,” Luna Teri said.

“I’m surprised he didn’t use artificial insemination, but if he did, we might never know his name,” I said. “Where are we on the Council?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“The Council Chair is coming along with his Lead Enforcer and Chief Counsel. Their plane will be arriving at the airport at five,” Alpha Clark said. “I will go to the airport and bring them back. Teri, we need to make sure the kitchens are ready to host VIP’s and the rooms are ready for them.”

“Already in progress, we’ll be ready,” she said.

The phone rang, it was a private line only used for official Alpha business. He answered it on speakerphone. “Clark Grissom here.”

“Alpha Clark, good, I caught you at your desk. It’s Chairman Lewis Wolfe. We’re going to have to reschedule our meeting, I’m afraid. The Alpha Killer has struck again.”

“Where,” he asked.

“Copper Mountain, Colorado. She’s kidnapped the Luna and Alpha Heir of Alpha Justin’s pack. We were already in the air when I got the call, so we’re diverting to Cedar Rapids to refuel then on to Colorado.” The Council was headquartered in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.

“No. Continue here,” Alpha Clark said. “You need to see me before you go to Colorado.”

“Why?”

“You have to trust me, Mr. Chairman. I’d never ask this of you without reason.”

He didn’t respond, we could hear muffled conversations mixed with engine noise. “All right. The pilot can refuel in La Crosse, we’ll be on the ground for thirty minutes. This better be good, Clark. Alpha Justin is going nuts, as are the other Alphas in the area. Having the Alpha Killer around is bad enough, having her kidnapping kids is a whole new level. We’ve got Enforcers who will be in the air within the hour, and we have to get on-scene to coordinate the manhunt. She’s not going to escape us this time,” he vowed.

“We’ll meet you at the airport,” Alpha Clark said. “Thank you.” When he hung up, there was a sigh of relief. “We have to find Talia before the Council does, or she’s dead.”

He was right. There was no more time to build a case, I needed to find my mate before I didn’t have one. “Erica was given a number to call if she ever needed to leave a message for Talia. I think it’s time I called it.”

Alpha Clark just nodded. “We need to leave for the airport in two hours, and we need the evidence to be convincing enough that he stays here,” he said.

“I can edit the files, but nothing is more convincing than Tania,” I said. “She’s stronger than we thought. If we can get her to meet with them and tell them in person her story, it might be enough.”

“She’s exhausted,” Teri said. “Make your preparations as if she isn’t coming, and I’ll wake them in an hour and ask them if they will come along.”

The meeting broke up, and I walked back to my room to start putting things together on my laptop. I found the number in my notes and made the call. “Hello,” a French-sounding voice answered after a few rings.

“Hi, my name is Randall Meechum, I need to get a message to Talia Stillwater. I was told you might be able to do that for me?”

“I can try,” she said.

“Thank you. Please ask her to call Randall Meechum at 555-867-5309.” She repeated the message, then hung up. I looked out the window. “Please, my reluctant mate, PLEASE talk to me before it is too late.”

***********

Randall Meechum’s POV

La Crosse Pack House

I was busy on my computer, editing the video testimony that Tania had given and downloading them onto jump drives with the other evidence I had gathered. I had one drive for Alpha Todd, and another for Alpha Justin. Both contained enough evidence to justify an arrest warrant in the human world, but in ours? Arresting an Alpha was not something the Council liked to do. It threw the entire Pack into disarray, and often the Council would have to take over. The loss of confidence in leadership often lead to Packs fracturing, even disbanding as members sought stability elsewhere.

The trust between a Pack and its Alphas was not easily forged but breaking it could happen quickly.

I was finishing up work on Justin’s file when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, and I was hoping it wasn’t one of those annoying robocalls. “Randall Meechum,” I said as I picked it up.

“You wanted to talk to me, mate?”

My heart skipped a beat as my wolf surged forward. “Talia?”

“Yes.” I could hear aircraft noises in the background, it was difficult to hear her over the engines. “You know who I am, Randall?”

“I know who your sister thinks you are. I know what your Aunt and Uncle and your Grandfather think. I know what the Council and the other Packs think. I know a lot about you, Talia, but I know nothing about you.”

“I’m sorry, Randall. The Goddess really screwed you over in her choice of a mate for you.”

“I’m not so sure. I need to find out, though. I’m not going to throw away the woman meant for me without trying like hell to work things out.” I thought about what to say, she was the toughest woman I’d ever heard of, and yet she was a scared little bird when it came to love. “I want to see you, Talia. I need to talk to you.”

“You’re FBI, you’re investigating the shootings and you’re working with the Council. How can I trust you?”

It was a good question. “I knew as soon as I arrived on scene in Fort Worth that my mate was there. I searched for you, but you must have just left. I protected you, Talia. Nobody in the FBI knows that you are involved or the real name of your sister. I have them looking for a professional killer, maybe the Cartels or Mob. As for the Council, they don’t know anything yet. My parents asked for the latest information from the Council, but it was a routine inquiry. The La Crosse Alphas know with their leadership, but they are out for blood as much as you are.”

“They can’t get involved,” she said.

“They ARE involved. You can’t expect them to ignore what Alpha Todd did to your family, to their family. That’s why I was here, I was investigating your sister’s disappearance and the accident your parents were involved in. I was already putting together evidence to take to the Council before Tania arrived. Now that she is here, we have all we need to arrest both Alphas.”

“I’m not waiting for them. I made a blood vow, and I will fulfill it.”

“I understand that, Talia, but you don’t have to do this alone. You’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest in Colorado, when if you had talked to me and your Uncle, we could be arresting Justin right now. With Tania’s testimony and a DNA test, it would be irrefutable. What did you do with them?”

“They are both with me. I told Tania I would return her son to her, and I will do that. Luna Rhoda is mine; I will find out what she knows, and she will suffer for what she has done.”

“Work with me, Talia. Let me help you, let me find a way to get the Council’s warrant against you voided and have a life together. I just need a chance.”

“There is no chance for me, and when you truly know me and what I have done you will understand why it is better we reject each other now.” She was choking up, I could tell her mind was saying this, not her heart. “I will bring nothing but pain and death to you.”

“Meet with me,” I said. “Look into my eyes and tell my why we cannot be what we are destined to be. I love you, Talia.”

She didn’t say anything for a bit. “I’m landing at the La Crosse airport in twenty minutes. Meet me there, just you and my Uncle. My sister, too, if she wants to come.”

“Can she bring her mate?”

“Wait, what, her mate? She’s human!”

“That doesn’t matter to my little brother Bobby,” I said. “His wolf recognized and claimed her as his mate, though he hasn’t told her yet. He hasn’t told her anything, because he’s been with her in wolf form since last night. It’s cute, she feels safe with him and she doesn’t shy away from him like she does with other males.”

“He wants her? He must know what they did to her!”

“He knows everything. I took her statement today, she told of everything that had happened over the past four years. He was with her the whole time, head in her lap, her fingers scratching his ears and fur. He’d never hurt her, Talia. She’s starting to heal with him.”

“Wow.” She didn’t say anything for a moment. “You better head to the airport.”

“I guess. Can I… can I talk to you after you deliver your nephew and the Luna?”

“Only if you ride bitch on my Harley,” she said. “Ride with me and we can go somewhere safe to talk.”

“Deal,” I said. “Call me when you land, mate.”

“For now.”

She hung up, and I just stared at the phone for a moment before I started moving. I pulled the jump drives out of my computer and grabbed the hard copy files, then ran out of the guest room. I knocked on the Alpha’s door and was called in. “Alpha Clark, I just talked to Talia. She’s bringing Luna Rhoda and Phillip to the La Crosse airport now, we have to go. Just the two of us, maybe Tania if she wants to be there.”