The Alpha's Read online

  “Good afternoon, your majesty,” David said, and bowed. Josie copied his action, but she still clung to him. She’d barely said a word since they’d arrived.

  Cleopatra stood and stepped down the stairs from her throne. She looked at Josie with wonder. “Who is this curious creature you have brought with you?” She lifted Josie’s head delicately by her chin. Josie shook like a small dog. The queen laughed. “It’s okay, girl. I won’t hurt you.”

  “Her name is Josie McNair, your majesty. She has a fascination with you,” David told her, and Josie shot him a look that could kill. But he knew that Cleopatra loved nothing more than an admirer.

  “I see.” The queen tilted Josie’s head back and forth. “She’s very beautiful. You must care for her to bring her here,” she said to David, who nodded. “Well, now that you are here, you must help with the shifters.” She turned back to her throne.

  David groaned. “What now, your majesty?”

  “They argue and it gives me pains,” she said, and waved her hand as if she smelled something bad.

  “Over?” David pressed.

  “Alpha. They do not agree with one another and are tearing my palace to shreds in the meantime. It’s preposterous!”

  “What about Anubis?” David asked, and Josie’s eyes lit up once more. She shook his arm and mouthed the name at him. He smiled and nodded. There was a lot she didn’t know yet.

  “Cast out.” The queen’s brow furrowed. “Because he is immortal, they believe he must be part vampire.”

  “I see,” David said. Well, that really was a problem. Anubis, an immortal shifter, an original, was far from being a vampire. Two entirely different races. The shifters were growing restless under Cleopatra’s rule. They were her army after all, and from what David had seen, she spent most of her life drugged up on opium or seducing men, most of whom were at a high level in society. She’d already given birth to the supposed heir to the late Gaius Julius Caesar. A son.

  “I will take the girl.” Cleopatra held her hand out to Josie, who looked up at David, terrified.

  He put his hand on the small of her back, the other on her cheek, and kissed her. When he pulled away, he whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. I won’t be long.” Josie took to the stairs and held the queen’s hand.

  Cleopatra laughed. “Oh we’ll have so much fun. Adjo!” She screamed the servant’s name and he came running. “Adjo, we must have a celebration for our guests! Bring me Kahi and the other women. Joh-see and I want to look beautiful for this eve,” she said excitedly and pulled Josie in for a hug.

  Poor baby girl. She has no idea what she’s getting into with Cleo. She won’t harm her, but she is…eccentric. “She’s in your hands, your majesty. I’m trusting you,” David said with an eyebrow raised.

  “She’ll be lavished with my luxuries, David. Think of it as payment.”

  David smiled for Josie, who still looked a little uneasy, but better than before, and took toward the large room in the back where he knew the shifters would be. Last thing he wanted to do while spending time with Josie was work, but alas, there was never rest for a traveler, and his duty had to be done.

  Chapter Five

  Josie still couldn’t believe it, even as Cleopatra changed into an elegant purple gown in front of her very eyes. She was more beautiful than David had let on, but in a more unusual way. Her face was round, and her nose long and crooked, but her eyes sparkled, and her lips were enviously full. Her body was the perfect hourglass figure, and she had an incredible amount of confidence. Without the wig, her dark hair was short and fine, but with the traditional Egyptian makeup, she didn’t need it. She was the most stunning creature Josie had ever seen.

  One of the queen’s maidens braided and pinned Josie’s hair away from her face and threaded some small turquoise beads among the waves. Her eyelids and brows were elongated with thick black kohl. She was still in her thin cotton dress, but the queen had picked out a green gown for her.

  “Are you getting dressed, Joh-see?” she asked. Josie had to laugh at the way she said her name.

  “Yes, your majesty,” Josie said, and took the dress in her hands. It was made of pure silk and had very little give in the material. She dropped her dress to the ground and slid the green one over her head as quickly as possible. Josie might seem confident, but loving herself was something she was never very good at. As she thought, the material hugged her body tightly, and she struggled to smooth it down over her body.

  The queen frowned. “You are a vision.”

  “You are the vision, your majesty,” Josie said, and bowed again.

  Cleopatra tilted her head, then smiled suddenly. “Yes, of course.” She flicked her hand at Kahi, and the handmaiden proceeded to place a wig of tiny braids and gold coins over her head. “You don’t have to keep bowing to me, child.” Kahi sorted the wig until it was straight and placed the gold cobra crown on top.

  Josie gasped as the queen of Egypt stood. In a way, she was different than Josie had expected, but at the same time, she was everything she’d envisioned. She was clever, quick-witted, and a little crazy.

  The queen took Josie’s arm in hers and led her back to the throne room, where they’d left David. The room had been done up with rich red silk hanging from every corner. David stood alongside the throne with at least twenty men, all towering over him. They had to be six and a half feet tall to make David seem small, and they were wearing small loincloths, exposing their ridiculously ripped bodies.

  Shifters. She had no idea what a shifter was, but she imagined they looked like that.

  David’s smile as he saw her walk in on the queen’s arm could have brought her to her knees, but she held herself steady and walked to stand next to him. He took her into his open arms and picked her up as he squeezed the breath from her lungs. She buried her face in the bend of his neck and groaned pleasantly.

  The queen clapped her hands behind them and the scurrying of many feet brought Josie and David’s attention to the empty space before the throne. Men and women, naked with what looked like blood streaked across their cheeks, stood in a formation. Cleopatra said, “Let’s show our guests how it’s done.”

  People drank, smoked all sorts of plants, both narcotic and not, while David and Josie watched from the outside, both with a cup in hand that servants continued to refill. Josie was a little drunk. She’d been handed the Egyptian beer soon after the night began, and it was much stronger and more bitter than she was used to. It went straight to her head. David had an arm wrapped around her waist, and his touch made her nipples poke through the thin silk. She couldn’t get him out of her mind the entire time he had been gone.

  Was this love?

  David growled seductively behind her, and it vibrated through her body and shot straight to her core. Her nipples hardened further, and David pinched them between the fingers of his free hand. “Baby girl, have I got you hot and bothered?” He breathed softly into her ear and sent shivers down her spine.

  “Always.” His hand went down the low neck of her dress and cupped her breast. She turned, and he leaned in to kiss her. Fire burned in her stomach, and her clit tingled as she thought of his touch, how he’d make her feel. “Not here.” She gasped as he pinched.

  “It seems no one else cares,” David said, and Josie opened her eyes. The men and women were now partaking in a frantic orgy. Partners were being shared left and right, but that wasn’t just it. Some of them were biting and drawing blood. Some drank as others bathed in it in a mad fashion.

  “What the—?” Josie asked, her mouth ajar.

  “Vampires,” David said. “The queen’s entertainment.”

  “V—vampires? Are you fucking kidding me?” Josie whispered. They can’t be real too!

  “No, I’m not.” He sat up straight when the queen approached. She had blood smeared on her lips, and her dress was hanging from her shoulder, one breast peeking from the side. She had a young man by his hand. Dark skin, dark hair, and pale eyes. He had a wound on
his neck and sharp fangs under his lips.

  “Drink!” she said to Josie, who shook her head and looked to the ground. “It is custom for my guests to drink.” She pressed the man down until he was on his knees, and the wound seeped blood just beneath Josie’s nose. She swallowed and looked at David.

  “If the queen demands it…” He licked a trickle of blood from the man’s neck. He smiled at Josie, nodding.

  What on earth was she doing? How the hell did she get herself in this position? Her life had been normal up until she’d met David, and now she was being asked—no, ordered!—to drink vampire blood.

  “Will it turn me?”

  David laughed. “No.”

  Josie looked back at the neck and saw the skin start to peel together and heal. The queen slashed her hand across it, and the wound reopened. Hesitantly, Josie bent forward and took a drop of blood on her tongue. She swallowed quickly, and it tasted of metal and sweet almonds. She coughed, and a little sprayed on the pale tile floor beneath her legs. The queen laughed and kissed Josie’s cheek.

  Suddenly Josie felt strange. Her body felt as fluid as water, her head as light as air. A warm rush of pleasure seared through her, and it made her jump. A moan escaped her mouth. David’s hands spun her around to face him. The pupils in his eyes were like pinpricks, and the blue was more obvious than the green. He peeled the dress from Josie, and she no longer cared that they were out in the open. She shrugged it further and ripped his shirt open. She tried to take her time and caress his rock-hard chest, but she failed miserably, as the blood flowed into her system. His hands cupped her breasts, and she could feel the wetness gather between her thighs.

  It felt amazing. More amazing than before. Something in the blood had them both in a fit of lust, much like everyone else. Josie climbed onto David’s lap and pressed her breasts against him as they kissed with desperation. She fumbled between her legs and unbuttoned his trousers. She tore them down, turning around to throw off his shoes, when she felt him bury his face between the folds of her pussy while her ass was in the air. His tongue slipped inside, and she cried out in ecstasy. His fingers dug into her skin and pulled her into him. She sat down on his lap, his cock having found its way inside her. She put her hands on the floor and ground her hips into him, letting the warm blood trickle through her body and guide her.

  David’s body tensed and he wrapped his arm tightly around Josie’s stomach. His knees bent, and Josie pushed herself up, clenching the muscles inside. He shook, his cum spreading through her, and he collapsed to the ground. Josie fell over him, laughing hysterically and sucking air deep into her lungs.

  “Baby girl,” he warned.

  Josie opened her eyes and saw that everyone was staring at them. She pulled her dress from behind her and covered her breasts, gasping for breath. “What…the…” She gulped.

  The queen walked up to them, a worried look in her large eyes and placed a delicate hand on David’s shoulder. “Something’s been seen.”

  “What?” Josie asked, and David sat up under her.

  “The priests have had a vision. A war…” Her voice shook.

  “What war?” David asked, his face hardening.

  “A vampire hybrid has been born in your time.” She nodded at Josie. “A child of someone you are close to. Red hair, blue eyes, her mother—” her eyes flickered before looking down at Josie— “No-hell?”

  “Noelle,” Josie breathed. No. Hope couldn’t be—but her symptoms. It all made sense. My God!

  “Henri.” David pushed Josie from his softening cock so that he could stand. “What happens, your majesty?”

  “The child is sought after. She is the first of her kind, and anyone and everyone will want to capture her. She must be protected.”

  “And what happens if we don’t?” David asked without mockery in his voice.

  “The world will tear apart in a supernatural war,” the queen said. Josie felt like she swallowed a football.

  “Who’s Henri?” Josie asked, but he was silent, his hand brushing through his hair. “David!” she said louder and stood to pull his face to hers.

  “He’s the vampire that’s with your friend.”

  “The guy you were talking to at the bar?” Her voice shook, and she could no longer focus on him.

  “Yes.” He took her head in his hands. “I didn’t know, baby girl.”

  “We have to do something,” Josie said. She pulled the dress over her head, then turned to hug the queen. “Thank you, your majesty.”

  Cleopatra smiled. “I have something for you.” She took the necklace from her neck and placed it around Josie’s. It was gold plated with a pale blue scarab beetle and colorful wings that stretched wide from it. She clicked the shell open, showing a small wooden cat. “Bastet,” the queen said. “She will protect you from wolf and vampire alike, and will allow you nine lives.”

  “Nine lives?”

  “You will resurrect, in the same body, for another life. It will expire after nine full lives, when you will finally grow old.”

  “Why would you give me this?” Josie asked.

  “Because you need it more than I,” she said, and kissed her cheek.

  How wrong she is, but I couldn’t let her change the future. One tiny thing and everything would be different.

  Josie stepped back and pressed her hands to David’s chest. She looked up at him, and he, wrapped his arm around her back, nodding at the queen.

  “Good luck, Timeless,” she said, and they disappeared.

  ***

  David had only thought of his old friend, and it brought them back to The Blood Bar at night. He wasn’t sure of the time or date. Josie still clung to him, and when he looked down, he realized she was crying.

  He cooed and pressed her to his chest. “Baby girl, it’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay! Noelle is in trouble. Her little girl—”

  “We won’t let anything happen to either of them. I promise to dedicate my life to it. Henri is my friend, and I love yo—” He stopped with a long groan. Don’t say it, don’t say it!

  Josie’s face slid up, and she looked at him curiously. “You love me?” she asked.

  He smirked. “I might.”

  “Interesting.” Josie replied and smiled back. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she took a deep breath. Then nodded. “I’m ready.”

  David grabbed her hand and walked into the bar.

  In the middle of the room, a group of people stood in a circle. More than half of them were supes, including some of the women. They were all Josie’s friends and the supes they’d left with. Henri was standing near the bar with Noelle next to him, clutching his arm. He was in deep thought, and David noticed that Noelle looked pale, almost iridescent.

  He turned her! Henri looked at David, only lifting his eyes.

  But before David could speak to his old friend, a tall man with deep caramel-colored skin, a smooth bald head, and a thick black beard bowed before Josie and called out. “The Chosen One!”

  Josie jumped back, snarling an irritated, “What the hell?” at the man.

  If the fluid movement of his thin, muscular body wasn’t a dead giveaway, then the smell that lingered was. Werecat.

  “Well if you turn up late to everything, you Scottish tart, what do you expect?” The girl with Xander smiled, and Josie glared at her.

  “Nice to see you’re alive, Dizz,” Josie mocked.

  “I am, and I met a new friend. Josie, meet Mau. Mau, this is Josie.”

  “Is he ever going to get up?” Josie asked.

  “No idea. He’s your problem now, O Chosen One!”

  David didn’t know what to make of the situation, and before he could figure it out, Henri caught his attention with a single locking of midnight blue eyes. He knew better than to ignore a vampire who looked someone in the eye.

  “Took you long enough,” Henri said.

  “I’m sorry,” David replied. “We have to talk. Privately.”

  Henri nodded and step
ped back after caressing Noelle’s shoulder ever so slightly. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know how else to tell you but straight. Henri, that woman, Noelle, she has a child—”

  “I know.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” David said, impatiently.

  “David. I know.” Henri looked steadily into his eyes.

  He did know. She’d told him. “I took Josie to meet her hero, Cleopatra. Her priests had a vision.” David lowered his head.

  “And what do the ancient priests have to say?” Henri asked.

  “They tell of a war between supernatural beings over a vampire hybrid. Your child.” He daren’t look at his friend. Not yet. He would need time to react without peering eyes. He felt the growl from Henri’s stomach anyway, and the vampire roared. David saw that Henri’s fangs were out, his eyes dilated, and lips curled. He snarled in such rage that David took a step back. For the first time in their friendship, he was nervous. But one worried look from Noelle, and the vampire’s body relaxed.

  “I am yours, ready at your will, my friend. I promise to help you until death with this,” David told him sincerely.

  “Merci.” David knew he meant it, despite the anger that emanated from him.

  Josie started talking to Noelle with the bald man right behind her, bouncing impatiently. The girls giggled, and David couldn’t help but admire the scene before him. A new era was upon them all, and they had no idea.

  Biography

  Arya Grey was born in Scotland, but lived in the state of Arizona, where she met her husband, for ten years. They now reside in a quiet Scottish town with their three cats.

  She has been writing for twelve years, dabbling mostly in poetry but started writing novels when a friend mentioned NaNoWriMo to her. Since that moment you can now find Arya’s nose touching her Mac and her fingers on the keys at every given chance. With an endless imagination, it never leaves for a dull moment.