The Alpha's Page 4

  Regardless of whatever manipulative mumbo jumbo thrown at him, Zanaan remained determined not to wilt and go back with his father.

  “The legend tells of a hybrid child, born between human and vampire, who is the catalyst in an epic war of the supernatural realm,” Djin relayed to his disbelieving audience.

  “And this has what to do with me? Neither Ana nor myself are vampire.” Which part of “leave me alone” didn’t he get?

  “You are connected. It is all connected. The redheaded human with the sick child is known to you. You are sworn to protect her,” Djin said.

  Ana gasped beside him. “Noelle? My friend Noelle’s daughter is ill.”

  Well, hell. If Ana is giving credence to this fallacy, I’m going to have to take it seriously. “If Noelle was the redhead I saw with a vamp in the bar, then we’ve got the makings of a bad dream come true.”

  “We’ve got to help her, Zanaan. If Noelle’s in some sort of trouble, we’ve got to find her.” Ana grabbed him by the lapel of his jacket, her face stained with worry, and Zanaan knew he would have to get involved. He couldn’t stand idly by while she was so upset.

  “It was all meant to be, my son. You were always more sympathetic to this race than I, and this is why. They need you.” Djin rested large hands and the hopes of two worlds on Zanaan’s shoulders. He worried he couldn’t carry the unbearable weight on his new mortal shoulders.

  “What can I do, now that I’m human?” Still getting used to the changes himself, he didn’t see how he could save anyone without the powers of his birthright.

  “You are not one hundred percent human. A part of your Elemental nature still burns inside you. With my influence I can call it to the fore, if you wish.”

  Now that Ana was added into the equation, he couldn’t refuse. He nodded his head in acceptance of his father’s offer, knowing he would do whatever it took to save her and the people she loved.

  Almost immediately, a zinging energy revitalized him from head to toe as power flooded back into his system and made him a force to be reckoned with.

  ***

  “We need to find your friends,” Djin reminded them.

  “I don’t know where else to look for them, except the bar.” Ana wished she would pass out and get it over with. The searing heat, the nightmarish Santa-looking hulk of a demon, and the idea of a friend in danger, would prove enough for most average women. But in among the fear lurked a disturbing sense of excitement that kept her from a dead faint.

  “We’ll try there first anyway. Maybe someone will know how to find them,” Zanaan said, blue arcs of static electricity shooting from his recharged body into the black sky.

  Ana’s stomach somersaulted in anticipation of another whirlwind journey, but time was of the essence, and she deemed a little light-headedness a small price to pay in order to save Noelle. She went to Zanaan, a jolt of electric shocking her when her hands came into contact with his. “Ouch!” Ana jumped back, shaking the sting from her fingertips.

  “Sorry. I guess I’m too hot to handle at the moment,” he said with a grin and a wink. Even in the face of world changing events, the man had the devil in him. Ana liked that cool, collected side to him; it grounded her and stopped her from freaking out.

  “Come with me,” Djin commanded, opening that splendid cloak to encompass their bodies beneath it.

  The heat was suffocating. Claustrophobic at the best of times, Ana found it hard to catch her breath, especially when that damned spinning started again. Noelle owes me big time for this!

  The journey was thankfully short, and when her feet hit solid ground, she fought her way out of Djin’s stifling hold. In through her nose, out through her mouth—she took several cleansing breaths to rid herself of the cloying feeling.

  “Are you ready for this?” Zanaan’s calm voice filtered through to settle her panic.

  Ana peered through the window of The Blood Bar. The girls were all there, accompanied by a gathering of brooding males deep in conversation. Am I ready for this?

  She could never have predicted the outcome of this weekend away. Of course, she had hoped for fun, and if she admitted it, a little bit of flirting with the opposite sex. The actual events—wild hot sex, all matter of supernatural happenings, and a war of the worlds—exceeded all expectations. She didn’t know what the future held for any of them, though one thing was certain, she would be extending her stay for a while longer.

  Biography

  In an all-female household, Jorja grew up surrounded by books and the idea of finding true love. She began writing her own stories at the tender age of fifteen but never actually finished a manuscript until last year when she joined her crit group, UCW. It’s important to her that romances have a sexy hero, a quirky heroine, and have that all-important happy ending.

  You can find her on Twitter and Facebook or here:

  The Alpha’s Vixen

  Cherie Nicholls

  Chapter One

  She loved her friends she really did, but Dora—Dizzy to her friends— really could do without their monthly get-together right now.

  Dizzy looked along the street again for the sign to the new bar someone had found and suggested they try out this time. Seriously how hard could it be to find a bar on a street mostly full of houses?

  A faint beep and the vibration in her bag pulled a weary sigh from Dizzy. She reached in and pulled out her smartphone to read the new email.

  “No! Argh, why am I being tortured by these people?” She hissed in frustration as she reread the message from the manager of another team.

  Dora was an IT manager in a global company. She was busy most days, but recently it had gotten worse and worse with her company merging with another from the States. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of her as the two very different systems were integrated.

  Tapping back a quick reply, she dropped the phone back in to her bag and looked around again.

  “Where is this place?” she asked the evening. A small, flashing red neon light caught her attention from the other side of the street. The Blood Bar. And there was a bouncer at the door. “Oh joy.”

  Dizzy shuddered at the apparent Goth feel that was coupled with the lack of substance. Those vampire films have a lot to answer for! She checked the road and trotted over to the bar. She was already running late, and knowing these girls like she did, she would be in for some stick when she finally got to their table.

  As she reached the line waiting to get in, the hulk holding them at bay gave her a bored stare.

  “I am here with the WLF,” she told him. The man nodded her toward the entrance. Dizzy gave him a half smile as she reached for the door. She started when it was pulled open, and for a second, her eyes locked with deep chocolate-brown ones that caused her heart to literally stop beating before it picked up speed going about ten times faster than normal.

  The man with the gorgeous eyes didn’t stop, he didn’t even seem to see her as he brushed past her. Dizzy watched him step out on to the pavement before she forced herself to turn away.

  The interior of the bar was dark, but she didn’t have any problem spotting her friends. They were pretty much all there, which meant she was last…again. With a deep sigh, Dizzy walked over to join them and prepared herself for the moans and complaints about her lack of “work/life” balance. Sometimes sticking with her computers just seemed safer.

  Dizzy apologized as she sat down. “I know, I know. Sorry I’m late.”

  “Oh, look who has finally turned up.” Noelle rolled her eyes as Dizzy took the offered wine glass.

  “Oy, Dafty, late as usual, I see.” Dizzy glared over at Josie, the woman would not lot her forget she was a “soft Southerner,” but Dizzy loved the banter.

  “Not really. This is my hologram, sweetheart, can’t ya tell?” Dizzy gave her best down south accent.

  “Oh, aye, a digital image of our dear friend Dizzy, who buried herself alive inside a computer,” Josie said just as Dizzy’s phone went off again. Dizzy gro
aned as she reached for her bag. “See what ah mean?”

  Dizzy didn’t look up. She just raised two fingers at her. “I did warn you that I might be late,” Dizzy said, defending herself as she put the phone away. Seriously the only one that never moaned when she turned up late was Tara, and that was only because the woman was married to her job just as much as Dizzy was.

  “You are always late, Diz. All this work can’t be good for you.” Noelle sighed. “You can’t take your health for granted, trust me, I know.”

  Dizzy reached out and squeezed Noelle’s hand. “Okay, I promise, hon. I will take better care of myself.” Dizzy gave her a reassuring smile. It broke Dizzy’s heart to see the sadness in Noelle’s eyes. The woman was strong; she had to be. Her daughter was a darling little girl, but terribly ill. If anyone else had said that to Dizzy, she would have ignored them. Looking around the group, Dizzy had the sneaking suspicion that they all knew that. Crafty women.

  “Ladies.” Dizzy closed her eyes at the male voice. It never failed, no matter where they were it seemed like they were a homing beckon for any horny male within a hundred paces. “What brings you lovelies here?” he asked. Dizzy switched off as someone started talking to him when she felt her bag vibrate again.

  She was busy reading the email and didn’t see the guy turn away suddenly, so suddenly he managed to knock her drink off the table and into her lap.

  “Great!” Dizzy yelled, jumping to her feet. The guy didn’t stop and disappeared back into the crowd as Nico arrived. She tried in vain to wipe the red wine off her trousers. “Hey, hon.” She smiled at Nico. “I will be right back. Some fool just tried to drown me.” Dizzy huffed as she headed off to find the bathrooms.

  It took her a moment to locate them down a short corridor. “I must have an idiot magnet attached to me somewhere.” She sighed as she pushed through the doors.

  ***

  He watched every move she made. He was leaving when she had walked past him into the bar. Xander didn’t know what it was, but her scent had called to him, practically grabbing him by the throat and dragging him back into the bar. If he hadn’t been holding a shifter by the scruff at the time and had other pressing matters to sort out, he’d have trotted right in behind her.

  He had been in the place for less than an hour when he had spotted more supernaturals than he was used to being there. It made his skin itch, his fur trying to break free. He was on his way out to get some fresh air when he saw the rogue he had smelled on his territory more than once. Having checked into Morgan Miller when he had first caught his scent, he felt it was time to make a formal introduction.

  “Are you going to be a problem?” Xander growled at him as he ushered the interloper none to gently the rest of the way out of the door and into a nearby alley.

  He smiled back. “I’m just here enjoying the view and a quiet drink.”

  Xander studied him a few moments. The last several weeks that the man had been around, he had caused no issues, so Xander was willing to let him be. “I know who you are, Mr. Miller,” he said with a cool tone. “We haven’t had any problems yet. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” It wasn’t a suggestion.

  Morgan didn’t appear too happy, but Xander didn’t care. This was his territory, and the rogue was here by his grace and his grace alone.

  “I mean no harm, Xander. Just a quiet drink and I’ll be on my way.” Morgan offered his hand with a small dip of his head, acknowledging Xander’s alpha status.

  Xander looked at the hand for a second before taking it in a firm shake. With a nod, Xander went back inside to Logan, keeping the rogue in view the whole time. He would rather be safe and alive than stupid and dead.

  “Xand, why are we still here?” Logan asked when he got back to the bar. His beta was clearly feeling just as antsy as he was.

  Xander didn’t say a word, he just nodded toward the group of women who seemed to be the epicenter of all the action that night.

  He heard Logan suck a breath in through his teeth. “Who the hell are they?”

  “No idea, but on my last count, we have vamps, shifters, the timeless, and god alone knows what else. Everyone in here, except that little group of ladies over there, is more than human. I wonder why that is?” Xander asked as he looked around the room again.

  He rumbled low as he laid eyes on Henri Guillaume, a vampire he’d had more than a few run-ins with over the years. Xander’s growl deepened when, in the blink of an eye, David Malm appeared next to the leech.

  “That can’t be good,” Logan commented. Xander agreed. David was what Xander’s people called “The Timeless,” more commonly known as a time-traveler.

  “If that man is here, then keep your eyes open for anything strange,” Xander said to his beta as he watched the woman who had captured his senses walk back toward the bathroom. Xander’s gaze narrowed as a man strode away from the ladies’ table. He couldn’t get a bead on that man. He was trying really hard to appear human, but something was off, it was like Xander was looking at him through frosted glass.

  “You mean strange like that?” Logan nodded over to where the ladies now seemed to be midorgasm.

  Xander looked around the bar in shock. “What the hell?” He snarled as Henri started forward and David vanished.

  He didn’t stop to think. He moved, forcing his way to the bathrooms where the woman had just disappeared. Everything in him screamed to get to her, to make sure she was safe, and get her the hell out of there. He didn’t miss a step when Logan reached out as they passed the ladies’ table, caught one around the waist, and pulled her with them.

  Xander had just made it into the hall, the door closing behind him, when the woman he had been coming for walked straight into his chest.

  “Oomph!”

  Xander reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from falling on to the floor.

  “Sorry, didn’t see you there,” she said when she caught her balance. Xander couldn’t help but stare down at her.

  His wolf wanted to break free and claim this woman. Xander de Rista was a thirty-four-year-old man who owned his own company, was successful, independent, owned properties worldwide, and was the alpha of one of North America’s largest packs, and all he wanted to do was drop to his knees and beg her to never leave him.

  Yes, something was very wrong here.

  ***

  Dizzy looked up in to the eyes that had stolen her breath when she’d first arrived. For a second, her heart stopped, until a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

  “Kyla?” She frowned as one of her friends groaned in some stranger’s arms. Dizzy didn’t think, she just reacted. Swinging wide she caught the man who still held her shoulder. “What the hell did you do to my friend?” She tried to stamp on his foot with her heel.

  A part of her brain knew that Josie would laugh at how quickly her crisp English accent had fled to be replaced by that of her less than eloquent North London one. The other part of her brain wanted to know where the hell Josie and the others were and how this big meathead had managed to grab one of her friends.

  “Calm down, we didn’t do anything to her. We saved her,” the man holding Kyla started to explain.

  “Save her? From what, a crazy man trying to kidnap her? Well looks like you are doing a bang-up job there, mate!”

  The man who still held her pulled her close. “We are trying to help.” He spoke directly into her ear. The note of steel in his voice should have scared her, but instead it made her blood heat.

  Kyla broke the tense silence. “I feel sick.”

  “I am here, doll, don’t worry.” This time when Dizzy pulled away, he let her go. “Let’s get you into the bathroom.” She slipped her arms under Kyla’s and helped the woman toward the toilets.

  Dizzy’s own stomach did a flip-flop when she heard the man say, “Watch them. Make sure they don’t leave. I am going to find out what the hell is going on.” She turned to see him stalk back to the bar.

  Chapter Two
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  “Oh, doll, remind me never to leave you lot alone again,” she told Kyla as the bathroom door swung shut behind her.

  “I just need to sit down for a second. God, I feel—” Kyla moaned as she landed unceremoniously on the tiled floor.

  “What?”

  “One minute I thought I was going to…you know, come…then this pain.” Kyla sighed, leaning back against the wall, holding her head.

  “Christ! What happened out there?” Dizzy threw a glaring look over her shoulder at Logan, who stood against the door, effectively trapping them inside.

  He shrugged. “Don’t look at me.”

  “You step any closer, I will do more than look at you, mate,” Dizzy warned. The smirk on his face had her itching to slap him.

  The buzzing of her phone caught her attention. “Josie,” Dizzy breathed, relieved to see the other woman’s number flash up. The relief was short lived however, as their guard dog took the BlackBerry from her hand and threw it across the room, smashing it against the wall.

  “I don’t know what is going on right now, but it’s safer if you and your friend remain off the grid,” he told her.

  Dizzy looked over at the remains of her phone with narrowed eyes. She slowly got to her feet. “What’s your name?” she asked calmly.

  “Logan,” he said, giving her a broad smile, a smile that was wiped off his face as she reached back and popped him straight on the nose. He yelped as Dizzy rushed at the door.

  If I can just get out of here, I can get help, save Kyla, and track down Josie. Who knows what has happened to the others.

  ***

  Xander wanted to know what was going on. Raising his nose, he inhaled deeply. He took in all the scents around him. Aroused humans, shifters, the burning smell he could just catch had to be the elemental he had felt earlier but not seen, and vampire.