Alpha's Ultimatum Read online

  “What is it?” My wolf hovered below the surface, waiting for me to catalogue the danger to determine if he was needed.

  “There was an attack,” the answer came as my sister-in-law, Alara, stood there with Selena, my niece, wrapped in her arms. Tears flowed freely, streaming down both of their faces.

  Acting on instinct, I wrapped my arm around Alara’s shoulders and ushered the pair into my home. The she-wolf shook as she tried her best to hold in her anguish in front of her daughter. She collapsed onto the couch, holding the child tightly against her, as I took up the space beside her.

  “What happened, A.K.?” I asked, an intense fear gripping my heart as I awaited her response. My sister-in-law was tough as nails. I’d never seen her cry. Even when she gave birth to Selena, she hadn’t cried. She screamed, cursed up a storm and told my brother more times than I could count that he was never allowed to touch her again--that much I could hear from the waiting room--but she didn’t cry. Her free-flowing tears were like the proverbial harbinger of doom. I knew that whatever happened, it had to be something horrible.

  “It’s Alex. He’s was attacked on watch.”

  Hearing my older brother’s name sent fear coursing through my veins. Her tears turned into sobs that wracked her body as she said his name. Alara leaned into me in her grief and I wrapped my arms around both of them as I tried to hold in my own tears. I wanted to ask if he was okay but I couldn’t get the words out.

  Instead, I closed my eyes and tapped into my wolf spirit. I could see him in my mind, lifting his majestic head back as he unleashed a howl that echoed through my consciousness before the darkness behind my eyelids began to glow. White lines of power formed, glowing with the life energy of my pack mates. It took a focus I was surprised I contained to find the line that led to my brother. As beta, I could use my animal’s spirit to visualize my packs location and life energy. It was a skill only my father and I had--and I’d never been more thankful for the power in my life.

  After a brief search, I found Alex’s lifeline but just barely. He was alive though his energy was incredibly weak. I followed the lines around him to find that my father and the pack healer, along with a few other pack mates, were with him. I focused harder, tuning my wolf’s aura into the healer, and pushed my power through the bond in order to lend her my energy. Healing was extraordinarily taxing. I refused to let my brother die because Ember, our healer, wasn’t powerful enough to heal such severe injuries.

  As I lent my power, I felt another presence within Ember’s life line. The energy wrapped around mine, assisting in enhancing her power. My dad had realized what I was doing and joined me.

  Vaguely, I could hear Alara calling my name but I couldn’t break my concentration. Not until Alex’s most serious injuries were healed at least. I continued to push my power into the bond. My body grew weaker with every passing moment but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I had to save Alex.

  A hand connected with my face, my head snapping to the side as my concentration broke. My eyes shot open as I glared at Alara. My body was slumped against the arm of the couch. Trying to sit up proved futile. I was too weak. I’d surpassed giving up my wolf’s energy and had started pushing my own life force into the healing once my power had run out.

  “What the fu--” My eyes shot to my niece, “heck? I was helping heal him.”

  “Oh I know exactly what you were doing Samuel Hernandez!” Her voice was a passionate hiss as she stared me down. Tears no longer made their way down her face, though the watery pathway the fallen droplets had caused still lined her face, “Alex would never forgive either of us if you died trying to save him.”

  Too weak to do anything but glare, I met her stubborn gaze. I grit my teeth, hoping that I’d given enough to save my brother. I didn’t necessarily disagree with Alara but she wasn’t completely right either. Alex would’ve never forgiven me but he would never blame his mate for my choices. I’d gladly die if it kept my brother in his daughter’s life. We lost our mom when I was six, just a year older than Selena, and Alex ten. I would do any and everything to keep the sweet little pup from having to deal with losing a parent so young.

  It was pointless to argue with Alara when I had my full mental capacity. As weary as I felt, I had no shot at swaying her. Not that it mattered. I was too worn down to tap into the lifelines that connected all of the pack. It required strength and focus that I no longer attained. I was completely spent. Alex’s life was out of my hands now. I just had to hope my father and the healer could do enough to save him.

  “Well you win. I’m tapped out,” letting out a sigh, I let my head fall back to rest against the sofa as I continued, “What do you know? I want to know everything.”

  15

  Liliana

  “Ugh,” I groaned as I forced my eyes open only to slam them shut again. My brain throbbed as I tried to swallow to wet my throat that currently felt like a desert. Eyes burning from sleeping with my contacts in, I struggled to open them once more and take in my surroundings.

  A hotel room? How did I get here?

  My head continued to pound as I tried as hard as I could to remember how the previous night had ended. I’d danced with Ben and then with Tess. I promised to give up on Sam. Then my bestie insisted on doing shots. And then... what?

  The world spun as I sat up. My body teetered the precipice of hung over and still drunk as I buried my face in my hands. Why did I always let Tess talk me into tequila? It never ended well.

  Speaking of my lush of a best friend, where was she? I got out of bed slowly, my stomach revolting against the motion immediately.

  Inhale through the nose. Exhale through the mouth. I repeated the mantra, and the action, a few times before my stomach settled enough for me to fully rise from the bed.

  My head swiveled slowly, taking in my surroundings. The hotel room was super boujee and practically screamed Tessa. A king size bed was the star of the room with a plush cream colored comforter and more pillows than I’d ever seen on a single bed. The entire wall behind the bed was mirrored--and that was where the perusal of the room ended because I looked like hell.

  My mascara had smudged down to my cheeks, my eyebrow makeup had completely vanished from only my left brow, and my lipstick was all over my face. The dress I’d worn the night before was completely crumpled and my hair--oh God--my hair was a total rats’ nest. The parts of my lavender locks that weren’t completely matted together stuck out at odd angles. It was official. I was never drinking tequila again.

  I tore my gaze away from my appearance long enough to search for my phone. It was haphazardly thrown on the floor beside a beautiful wooden rocking chair, painted white with ocean blue accents that complemented the beachy vibe perfectly. My discarded converse laid on the floor in front of the rocker while my bra was slung over the back of it. I was a mess.

  Suppressing a groan, I tossed my bra on the bed before collapsing onto the rocking chair. Blinking my dry eyes rapidly in the hopes of unleashing some sort of moisture to ease the ache, I opened my phone to text Tess.

  “Where are you?”

  “With Adam.”

  “Who?”

  “Plaid shirt.”

  “Oh. Well... when are you coming back to your room?”

  “I’m in my room, Lil...”

  I’m in my room, Lil. Then whose room was I in? Oh God. I didn’t reply to Tessa. I was too panicked and disoriented to bother. I started to speed through putting my converse on and my bra while obsessively trying to remember where I was and how I got there.

  I opened the door to the hotel room, rushing out in the hopes of leaving before the room’s actual occupant showed up. I dashed out into the hall, my hasty retreat coming to a crashing halt--literally.

  I had an odd sense of deja vu as I bounced off a hard surface, only to have said hard surface catch my arms.

  I looked up and met Ben’s eyes, “Oh shit.”

  He laughed heartily as he released me, “You really need to work on watc
hing where you’re walking.”

  “Hey the first time wasn’t my fault. Tessa pushed me.”

  He continued to chuckle as I became painfully aware of how terrible I looked. I tried to smooth my hair down all while my alcohol soaked brain began went into overdrive. Was I in Ben’s room? Did we? Oh shit.

  “I’ll... uhh... Get... out of your way,” I said, hesitantly.

  “Out of my way? What are you talking about?”

  He frowned as he looked down at me before throwing his head back in laughter. A deep vibrato echoed through the hall as he wiped at his eyes as if he were swatting away tears of amusement, “You don’t remember anything after Ruby’s, do you?”

  Every part of me wanted to lie to him--fake it til you make it--but I couldn’t.

  With a groan, I squeezed my eyes shut as I responded, “No. I don’t remember anything past doing shots with Tess.”

  He laughed again, leaning his shoulder against the door jam as he hovered over me, “This isn’t my room. It’s Tessa’s. I just moved into town--no need for a hotel room.”

  “But she said...,” I paused to check my phone one again and growled in anger, “That bitch.”

  There was another message from my soon to be dead, because I was definitely going to murder her, best friend that I hadn’t read in my panic, “Kidding. You’re in my room. I’m downstairs getting coffee with Adam and Ben. He’s coming up to get you now so fix your face and throw your hair in a bun.”

  “I thought she’d been joking when she said she was going to make you think you stayed in my room. That was cold,” Ben said through the mirth he was terrible at suppressing. He tried to save face by changing the subject, “So… drunk Liliana was pretty insistent about us all having brunch together. You ready to eat?”

  I swatted his arm in annoyance and ran my fingers through my hair, “Tess is an ass and it’s not funny. I was legitimately scared. What if I went home with a psycho?”

  He reached out to tuck my hair behind my ear, “No psychos... Unless you count your friend. She’s something alright.

  This time it was my turn to chuckle as I leaned against the door frame, “That she is.”

  Clearly misreading the moment, he cupped my cheek lightly in his large palm, his warm skin heating my own. I could tell from the way he was leaning over me that he was going for a kiss and I panicked. I jumped back out of the door way, putting a solid foot or so in between us.

  “I’m going to clean myself up a bit. I’ll meet you guys downstairs for that brunch in a few,” The words tumbled out of me in a rush. I know I had said I was moving on from Sam and going to give Ben a chance--but once he leaned in for the kiss, my ex’s face sprang into my battered brain. I hadn’t always been this hung up on Sam, though I’d never been over him either. He’d been on my mind more and more, much to my dismay, since he comforted me at the hospital.

  Ben’s hand was still in the air, cupped as if it still held my cheek, “Oh. Uh... okay. I’ll... see you down there... I guess.”

  I cringed internally. I was probably sending him mixed signals--agreeing to go out with him, exchanging numbers, whatever happened at Ruby’s that I still didn’t remember, and ending up in the same hotel. He probably thought I wanted to kiss him but it just seemed wrong to kiss another man while I thought of my ex.

  I’m so pathetic, I thought to myself as I shut the door. As I made my way to the bathroom to wash my face, I had a realization. I needed closure with Sam before I even considered dating again.

  16

  Sam

  “I was sitting outside on the porch reading a book while Selena drew with sidewalk chalk,” Alara started off, her voice shaky.

  I held up a hand to halt her words before pulling my phone out. I put a cartoon on the screen and reached out for my niece. As soon as I pulled her into my lap, the little girl curled up into my chest. I held her tightly, resting my chin on the top of her head.

  “Hey Selena? Want to go watch tv in my room? I have snacks,” I asked.

  She sniffled as she looked up at me, “But I’m not allowed in your room.”

  “Today you are.”

  She nodded, her thick curls bouncing with the motion. With a small smile, I lifted her up and carried her to the kitchen. My body protested in its exhausted state and my arms shook but I pushed through it.

  “Pick out your snacks.”

  “I want those and those... Oh and those too.”

  “Greedy little one,” I said with a smile as I tickled her side, “Fine, you can have all of them.”

  “You spoil her,” Alara said behind me before scooting in front of me to grab the treats her daughter had selected.

  “Like you’re one to talk,” I shot back as Selena crawled over my shoulders and somehow landed on my back demanding a piggy-back ride. Sometimes I wondered if she had a monkey spirit inside rather than a wolf because that kid climbed any and every thing she possibly could--including people.

  Little shouts and giggles echoed through the hall as I ran to my room. I turned my back to the bed and grabbed her tiny wrists, unclasping her arms from around my neck, “Ready for a bumpy landing?”

  “Yeah!” She shouted gleefully before I gently tossed her backwards, causing her to bounce on the bed. Alara entered the room behind us, smiling softly. As she set Selena up with her snacks, I set the television up for her.

  “I’m going to go downstairs and talk to mommy. You watch your show and no crumbs in my bed. If you make a mess, the tickle monster is going to find you.”

  “You are the tickle monster, Tío,” She laughed as she shoved a chip in her mouth.

  “That’s right and if you make a mess, I’ll never stop tickling you even when you say I’m the best.”

  “But those are the magic words!” Her face scrunched up in confusion.

  “The magic words stop working if you make a mess. The tickle monster hates messes.”

  She put her hand to her heart and nodded so solemnly that I had a hard time holding in my laughter, “I’ll be careful. Pinky promise.”

  “Okay, good. Watch your show, Monkey.”

  “I’m a wolf,” she growled as I shut the door and the laugh that I had been restraining burst out of my chest. As worried as I was about Alex and as weak as my body felt, that little girl could make me smile. She was the sweetest soul in the world. I had never wanted kids, didn’t want to bring an innocent into the dangers of the wolf world, but having Selena in my life had changed my opinion. She was this source of such preciousness that she made the world a better place for anyone who came into contact with her. I couldn’t wait to have a kid of my own one day. I just had to convince Liliana to officially be my mate.

  “You’re a good uncle, Sam,” Alara whispered as she gave me a hug.

  “Nah, you just have an awesome kid, A.K. Come on. Let’s go back downstairs.”

  I collapsed on the couch as soon as we made it back to the living room. Physically, I had a pretty impressive endurance. All wolves did. Using magic, on the other hand, slaughtered that stamina. Magic wasn’t meant to be used by wolves, though the spirits within us were capable. As a people, werewolves despised magic and magic users--and the feeling was mutual. Each believed the other to be unnatural but I didn’t mind using magic if it could save someone I loved.

  “Dad’s wolf joined me when I was lending the healer my energy to save Alex. He’ll call when there is news. Now tell me what happened.”

  “Okay,” Alara paused, letting out a sigh. She sat on the other side of the couch and curled her legs up under her. With her hands folded in her lap and head hung in defeat, she began to tell her tale.

  “Like I said, I was outside with Selena. Since our house is on the outskirts, Alex was assigned watch in our quadrant. The attacker... He was an outsider. He came right for me and--fuck--I didn’t even notice him, Sam.”

  Her voice grew louder as her fear began to morph into anger.

  “What do you mean you didn’t notice him?” I asked. Wolves had he
ightened senses. There was no way to sneak up on another wolf without them knowing. It was impossible--even if you were standing down wind, the rustling of grass as a predator crept through would give them away.

  “I mean I didn’t notice him, Sam. No noise, no smell. My wolf didn’t even sense any danger!”

  Frowning, I motioned for her to continue.

  “One minute, I was reading and the next Alex’s wolf was snarling and launching over my head. I turned and that’s when I saw the interloper. He was a huge wolf, almost as big as yours. He threw Alex and went for me. If I had remained where I was...,” she paused, her silence speaking volumes, “but I didn’t. As soon as I realized there was an intruder, I jumped off the stairs and ran for Selena. I-I just left Alex there to fight alone.”

  She broke down into sobs, each heaving breath a knife to my heart. Wrapping an arm around her, I drew her into my chest for a hug. Alara had been like a sister to me my whole life, long before she mated with Alex, and I hated seeing her so upset.

  “You did the right thing. Your daughter couldn’t protect herself. You had to make sure she was safe and Alex made sure to guard you. That’s what family does--you take care of each other.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, squeezing her once more, “He’s going to be alright. He’s too stubborn to die.”

  “That’s not all, Sam.”

  She pulled out of my embrace and sat up tall as her gaze locked with mine.

  “Alex was losing so I ran with Selena. I knew I needed to get help and keep her safe but when I took off... The wolf ignored Alex and went after me.”

  My wolf pawed inside of my chest as I jumped up, begging to get out as a growl ripped from my throat unwillingly, but almost immediately my body swayed from the exertion as my head spun. Alara tugged me back down to the couch, scolding me for my sudden motion when my energy was depleted, before she continued.