Page 11 of Escalating Alpha (Seraphine Thomas #18)

“I never touched her,” Carter said when I stepped out into the hallway Monday morning.

“What?” I asked, not having been ready to deal with him or this topic—lost in my head as to my huge list for the day.

“It’s come to my attention that you don’t—you were too scared to ask. I had no idea you wondered or—I never touched her, Sera. It wasn’t sexual.”

“I can’t get—”

He grabbed my arm when I went to flee and forced me to face him, his expression destroyed. “I never even kissed her besides the cheek. The bond was like a buddy. I know what you saw and I would be pissed—crushed after my head has cleared. I’m horrible for having sided—it’s all confusing and I suck.” He let out a slow breath. “But I never touched her.”

I searched his eyes. “You fed from her.”

“Her wrist ,” he clarified. “And I wasn’t going to, but then she said you wouldn’t want me thirsty and it just made sense. Like of course you wouldn’t and yeah, my friend wouldn’t lead me wrong. That’s what it was. It was like one of the team telling me something that I would trust. The bond forming made me skip steps.”

“That bitch needs to be put in the ground for manipulating you like this,” I grumbled, shock rocking me when I saw her death in his eyes. I let out a slow breath and thought back to my talk with Hagan. “I don’t have the mental load to handle the rest of this conversation right now.”

“I know,” he whispered, letting me go. “I just…” He swallowed loudly and scrubbed his hand over his head. “I couldn’t have you thinking for another day that I touched her or cheated like that.” He sighed when I frowned. “You were crying in your sleep last night. You kept saying ‘don’t go’ and you said my name.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it. I did it a few times but then sighed this time. “I don’t know if it was—I remember dreaming about Stacey and Clayton. Sometimes you and Axel have been in the nightmares and lead little Sera from that place. You guys helped me because you understand what I do.”

“That’s ridiculously cute,” Axel said from behind me as the door to my apartment opened. “I love the idea that I come into your dreams and rescue you from the past—reliving it.”

I gave a half shrug, embarrassed now. “Thanks for telling me. I’m glad you didn’t fuck her.”

“What can I do next to help you with this?” Carter asked as I turned to leave, not stopping me though.

That question might have seemed off the cuff to most, but it was something Phobie had already asked me, so I was ready. I thought it was too much to ask, but she was clear that when we were the ones wronged, it was fair to ask still.

It was up to the other person to decide if we were worth it to make things right after what they’d done wrong. It wasn’t on us.

That was hard to digest at times. It always felt my fault and on me.

“Yeah, show it all to Eva and Jonik or Dain when he gets back. I want someone else to see what happened and determine the scope of it. You were basically under the influence, and I cannot be objective.”

I didn’t wait for his response, but halfway to work I realized that was really how I felt. Carter was basically under the influence when that bitch tried to use him, and that was what pissed me off so much.

“What can I do for you, Niece?” Joshua Andino greeted. He was Zeno’s younger brother and now the wolf councilman on the shifter council.

“How do I propose a law? A new one? Officially. I’ve only made it clear that laws were against US law and to change them before I got pissed. I want this official and legal. I would prefer the council do it, but I will go to Congress about this and make a mess.”

“This is about your Carter,” he surmised. “I can hear the rage in your voice. Tell me where your head is.”

So I did. I sighed when he didn’t say anything. “It’s no different than if he was drunk and someone signed his name to a marriage certificate. He was not in control of his faculties fully and someone took advantage of it. She knew what was going on. He didn’t. Fuck, there should be a law that we have to disclose it. It can be dangerous when it’s someone ancient.”

“Yes, which I would not ever mention again as that’s one of the list of reasons people want them terminated,” he said with a dark chuckle. “Vampires do better living to be ancient than shifters do. Mostly because they become harder to kill with age than we do. We hit a certain level and then it doesn’t grow much unless specific to our strain and female like you.”

“I think I knew that, but honestly it’s hard to remember it all. I appreciate you always reminding me without making me feel stupid or assuming I’m ignorant,” I told him.

He was quiet a moment. “Thank you. I’ve had people recently tell me that—it’s been pointed out that it’s a flaw. I think I needed to hear someone appreciated it.”

I instantly knew what was going on. “Joshua, you’re dealing with insecure people who take offense and will lash out over anything. Haton said that place is like a constant cage match. They’re all way too wound up. I would suggest imposing vacations because they’re all burnt out like I’ve seen for undercover. You cannot take what they say about you personally at face value.”

He let out a slow breath. “She’s right that it is like that. I find myself having underestimated this place, and—wolves really are the biggest problems too often. It’s upsetting. The last several wolf councilmen let too much go and bucked everything. I feel like when I try to clean up, I’m standing in quicksand. And I don’t know how to ask for help.”

“Without everyone feeling superior and this idea was a mistake,” I grumbled. “Yeah, I’m with you there.”

“Asking Mauro for aid was smart. It was a good move and he’s a bright one. He won’t lead you astray. I don’t know Eva’s younger sister, but—you are loved by that family and they won’t let you fail.”

“Thanks. We’re here for you too,” I said, backing off my anger. “Do you agree with me on this?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how to present it,” he admitted.

“I’ll call Apollo and tell him what I want and tell him to work with you. A wolf did it and it was against an Alpha wolf. Make a stand that the wolves are pushing back for better if their leaders will support them and you’re that leader. We’ll make the rest work.”

He thanked me and we hung up.

Emilio met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “You’re banned from biting off more than you can chew. Seriously. That man is centuries old and you’re not here to bail him out.”

“No, back him up because I was one of the people who shoved him into the role because it benefitted me,” I mumbled, sounding petulant to my own ears.

“Fine, but I’m calling Apollo about the idea. You don’t need his salt right now.”

No, no, I did not, and I thanked him for handling it.

A few hours into working and finally feeling like I was actually caught up for once after Brian’s help and my office line rang. I didn’t pay attention to who it was and just answered it.

“Thomas,” I mumbled. “This better be important and not piss me off. I’m on the last box of bullshit, and I really want this off my damn plate and mind.”

“From what I know, those were sitting in an empty office for ten years, so they can wait a bit longer,” Galvin replied, his tone amused. “I’m shocked you got through it all and a bit worried about your delegation abilities that you didn’t farm it out.”

I snapped the pencil in my hand. “I delegated out what I could, but a lot of this stuff needs my clearance to be accessed, and I would break FBI rules to even let an SAiC touch it. Which I brought up several meetings ago because I’m not going to be the only one with an office or two of bullshit. So either a task force needs to be put together to handle this or—”

“Right, right, sorry, I remember. The request is on my desk somewhere and we have to figure it out.”

“Glad it will help whoever is next,” I said sweetly but hurried on so he accepted my snark. “What’s up?”

“I need you to go to St. Louis to clean up a mess. It wasn’t done in malice, and I will write up the division chief and those involved, but the locals are demanding you handle it from here since they know you’ll do it right.”

I almost flipped my desk. I got so angry so fast that I almost flipped my fucking desk. “What happened?”

“Four shifters with suspected drug overdoses—”

“Drugs don’t work on us like that,” I bit out.

“Which is their fuckup and I will reprimand them. I need you to handle this before it’s another embarrassing moment for the FBI that others can use against us. As the head of the non-human office in that area. Right away.”

“Sounds great. Email me the contacts and details and I’ll keep you updated,” I said as fast as I could before I exploded. I think I forced out for him to have a good day or something before I hung up.

Emilio and two of the other ancients were already at my office having felt my upset.

“Get the chopper ready and someone pack us overnight bags just in case. I need Nestor or Freddie to come with us—a non-FBI Beta.”

“Sure, but why?” one of the ancients asked.

“Because St. Louis is a problem,” Emilio grumbled.

I nodded. “So there is one of us who can punch out the wolf Alpha when he goes way over the line with me and it won’t fall back on the FBI and will simply be wolf shit.” I let out a deep growl. “It had to be fucking St. Louis with all of this other shit already. Get on the phone with Brian. I want Topher with him. I’m not risking—someone with a big badge has to be near Topher.

“Tell him to call Gavlin and get the fucking exception that he can bring Topher and security to the training center. If I’m going to be called away with all the unrest after what the former president did—he needs to allow this before I fucking explode. How can no one use their fucking heads? It’s not even out in the press and they’re demanding me? It’s like we work for—”

“It’s a trap,” one of the guys groaned. He shrugged when I gave him a look like he was slow. “Sorry, I closed my eyes for a few minutes and woke when I felt your upset. I’m a heavy sleeper.”

That was amusing enough that I eased down on my anger a bit. “Yes, it’s a trap. The wolves at least. The Alpha wants me to take over like I did Des Moines and keep him in place, but he doesn’t want to admit he needs it.”

“He also wants to do it in as insulting of a way as possible,” Emilio grumbled. “Carter is… Sorry.”

Yeah, right then wasn’t the time to bring up that Carter was going to be anything in reference to me.

I focused on the other ancients. “The Alpha has said several times that he’s willing to become one of my whores—part of my harem for the good of his people and he’ll accept my terms whenever I’m ready and able to handle it.”

The guy who just woke up sighed. “So he has a death wish. Got it. Fuck, why is everything so… He’s using this to his advantage so you can’t tell him to fuck off from a distance.”

“Yes, because he’s started running his mouth that clearly I can’t handle more and blah, blah, blah since I haven’t come running to him and his generous offer.” I groaned. “I really will kill that asshole if I have to see him face to face and he spouts that bile at me. I mean, yeah, he’s not wrong that I’m overloaded, but he doesn’t actually know that.”

Emilio frowned. “Brian’s calling me.”

I nodded for him to answer it.

“Galvin approved the exception because he’s still on the damn phone,” Brian drawled. “Someone seriously teach Sera how to use her office phone.”

I swore under my breath and glanced over. “They need to stop changing the colors of shit when they upgrade whatever.”

“You are a genius but technology impaired, Sera,” Brian chuckled, clearly able to hear me.

“I just don’t care enough, and it’s happened a whole two times, so don’t act like—” I defended.

“Four,” Emilio coughed as he came closer and hovered over the button to hang up the call. “Are you going to say sorry or anything?”

I gave him a look like he was nuts. “I just got done suing his ex-wife for millions of dollars and I’m not fired. If that didn’t get me on his shit list, nothing ever really will. He needs me even if I’m a pain in the ass because I’m good. And I get to be pissed that I have to go deal with this bullshit because people are stupid.” I pushed the correct button this time.

Brian snorted from Emilio’s phone. “He said have fun smacking people in line and give him a list of who to write up.”

Oh good, so he was still talking to Galvin. I flicked off the phone in my office as if Galvin would feel it somehow. I was so tired of cleaning up everyone else’s bullshit and smoothing it all over. “Who is tagging in for me to run this office? We know it won’t be a day even if it should just be a day trip.”

“Good point,” they all said together.

Which was why Brian was coming to take over for me to be in charge of both offices. The training center could do without him for a few days. Perfect. He’d be close enough to Topher if there was a problem then.

At least a legal one or someone with a badge was starting. Eva was the best protection for Topher by far and she would stay glued to him while I was gone.

What I’d asked for was fairly simple, so I was a bit surprised when there were more people attached to the party than I’d planned. I just pointed between them and sighed which amused most of them… But made Ashley seriously worried.

“You get used to this with Sera when she’s not curbing it around you kids—younger wolves,” Freddie explained. “And she watches her upset around you guys now. I’m used to this being her normal state when she deals with bullshit.”

Except his eyes said something else. They made it clear that my anger was a bit much and they were worried. He eased back when I gave a slight nod.

No one was denying that I deserved to have a short fuse or feel the way I did. They were just worried or scared of it. I didn’t blame them either.

“She keeps asking to travel and see how we handle things with other packs, and—she wants to learn if she’s going to be a liaison for the pack,” he explained. “Except I’m an…”

“Overprotective helicopter parent who—” she started to say.

“No, he’s not,” several of us said at the same time, but I continued. “Sometimes your mom can be, but even I understand when Jessica goes over the top after all you’ve been through. They know more and have seen too much.”

Freddie didn’t like me knocking Jessica but didn’t say anything either. Mostly because we both knew I was being fair.

I let out a slow breath. “Someone’s covered what you have on your plate?” I waited until she nodded. “Okay, I’ll allow it, but you listen to everything we say without fail or even if it seems over the top. People don’t keep their heads when there are dead on the scene or involved. I’m going to even assign you an ancient guard so Freddie can focus and not on you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Freddie admitted. “Take it or leave it, Ash.”

“Take it,” she accepted.

Good. I glanced at Reagan next.

“Eva was caught up and told me to get my ass out the door to help you because in no world should the ‘bozo’ ever speak to you after his disrespect. Even in your professional capacity. He used death to push his agenda, and I’m here with facts and to be your shield. Lewis and his team already flew ahead to secure where we’re landing and get set up.”

“I was going to have my FBI team go out with whichever ancient team,” I grumbled.

“Davis was with them and a team,” Corbin informed me as he handed over two files. “Sorry, meant to tell you but damn, you guys move fast. They headed right to the airport with their go bags. That’s everything the director sent and we have. It’s light.”

Yeah, it always was when there was a mess.

Still, I thanked him and we headed out.

The flight over wasn’t long. I probably could have managed it in the jet… Maybe. I was fine for the quick takeoff and landings. When I knew it was training flights and just looping around the airport a bit.

Mostly that we were landing right where I knew we were safe. The problem had been with unsafe takeoffs or my abduction when we were supposed to leave. We had complete control of the airport my planes were at. There was no risk there.

It was where we could be going and the trip back from there that were the problem.

And now that it was so public that I couldn’t fly in a plane, when I did it had to be without issue. I wasn’t there yet, so it wasn’t the time yet to try and push.

Soon though. I was pretty sure it would be soon though.

We had a greeting party when we landed, and they were so all over the place emotionally that I had to swallow down my annoyance.

“Nice of you to finally arrive, Chief Thomas,” someone with a St. Louis PD uniform said.

“You guys screwing up and making a mess for me to clean up doesn’t make it my emergency, Officer,” I said as I brushed by him and went to Terry Davis. “What’s the situation?”

She tried hard to hide her amusement and failed. “Apparently, I don’t have clearance to get anything, and if you were making them wait, I could wait too.”

I adjusted my neck and sighed. “Okay, who was the petty toddler who decided that?” I asked the gathered group. I sighed when everyone started talking at once and some shouting at each other. I nodded for Davis to whistle in a way that hurt my ears. “Well, glad that was unhelpful. Let’s start at the beginning then. Who found what first so I can unravel everything?”

A petite woman with black curly hair stepped forward and handed me her identification. “While we were chasing a suspect, we came across the first victim—”

“It’s not a ‘victim’ when it’s an OD,” the policeman who had spoken first to me snapped.

“And if you were able to determine it was an OD, there wouldn’t be a mess for Chief Thomas to come clean up,” she threw right back. “And you didn’t tell the local FBI that they were shifters. So she asked to start fresh and I will.”

“Thank you, Marshal Blake,” I said as I handed back her ID. “You found the first body and called in St. Louis PD?”

She told me how the clusterfuck really started and spiraled out. Basically, no one in St. Louis PD wanted to risk me coming there, so they ruled it an accidental drug death and went to move along.

Except the US Marshals stumbled across three more bodies in their “investigation.” St. Louis PD getting involved each time and promising they would handle it with the FBI and as they should.

“And why didn’t you inform the FBI?” I asked her, not hiding that I was ready to tear into her for that.

She tapped the files she was holding onto and met my gaze head-on. “I was ordered not to. Also, not to assist you in your investigation. Basically, to tell you to piss off and stay out of our investigation, not take it over, and focus on your OD’d shifters if you like your job.”

All while her eyes were dancing with amusement.

I liked her. In another life we could have been friends for sure, but we were from different worlds. Quite literally almost.

I held out my hand for the files. “I’ll make it clear with my brass what happened and who to chew. Hopefully, you’ve kept excellent records of your orders so I know where to start?”

“Of course,” she said, handing it over and then putting her card on top. “If you have any questions, feel free to call me, Chief Thomas. I have no experience in drug investigations, and I’d like to get back to chasing my fugitive.”

I heard her loud and clear, nodding that I understood what was going on. This was a ploy of the former president to get the federal funding allocated to police supes to another agency… One who had their noses up his ass whereas Galvin was clean. So her orders were stemming from trying to keep that idea alive and she clearly wasn’t on board.

“I appreciate that. Stop by and say hi if you’re ever in Chicago. We’ll show you a good time.”

She nodded but gave me a look that there was no chance in hell before she left. Fine by me. I liked my world and wanted to stay in it since we were on completely different paths.

I met the head of the FBI office there and all I saw was regret and frustration. Okay, so we were talking privately later. I focused on the St. Louis PD guy next. “Let’s see how bad your ass is going to be in the fire. Where are we going to claim our victims and get them transferred into FBI custody?”

“There’s no need for that when it’s just drug—”

“That is not your call ,” I snapped. “You have no jurisdiction over supes. It’s federal. Do you need me to use smaller words? It doesn’t matter if it’s murder, drugs, or someone stubbed their fucking toe. It’s not your call. Unless it’s traffic tickets or keeping basic order—you. Have. No. Jurisdiction.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Clear, Officer?”

“Yeah, very clear the enemy you made today, Thomas.”

I blinked at him. “I’m sorry, did you introduce yourself to me or give any pleasantries or did you basically bitch I wasn’t here faster like you whistled for your dog when I landed? Yeah, I started this. All me.”

I was being a bitch and we all knew it. I was talking to one of their brass. Not at the very top but someone running a division and cushy job.

So what? They wanted to treat me like dirt, then they got the same back.

I waited until we were loaded into the local FBI vehicles the division chief provided before I looked at him that I was ready for an explanation.

I needed it to get started on what came next.

But also, I needed to know how badly I had to spank him.