Page 15 of Escalating Alpha (Seraphine Thomas #18)

SAiC Davis was going to handle everything with the ME’s office since a few more things had come up than planned. And by that I meant that I took over the Columbus, Ohio pack too.

No, I wasn’t kidding.

While things got going in Louisville, I went over to handle that with Freddie and the ancients… And found the Alpha Mate beaten almost to death. His kids were in bad shape too. There was a range from old to new and—it was a mess. A fucking mess.

I stabilized her with power and we loaded her onto the chopper along with the kids. There wasn’t even a supe hospital in Columbus—some ordinance or another prohibiting it—so it was their best shot.

I was at a loss then and was a bit surprised at who I called.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” he answered with a sigh.

“Scott, I don’t know what to do this time and not end up at the ethics hearing,” I admitted, sharing a glance with Freddie. “It’s legal, but… Even I would throw a fit that I didn’t just arrest the guy. I think I snapped.”

“You didn’t,” Director Galvin said firmly. “You’re just too upset to think. I know you, Sera. You walk away first. You are too logical—you’ve been through way worse. Now tell me what happened.”

“If you arrested the guy, his pack would have been invaded before he was at the prison, Sera,” Freddie reminded me. “It’s why you couldn’t just take in Engle either. Call in another supe office team—Gere owes you a favor or five, right? Get one of his teams out here to clear this and handle the FBI side.”

“I agree with whoever that is, but—did you take over a pack, Sera?” Galvin asked quietly. “Kill the Alpha and take over?”

“Yeah, two,” I chuckled darkly. “One threatened to kidnap my son and other shit, and the other—I don’t know his mate will survive, Scott. I’ve never seen a shifter in that bad of shape and not already dead.”

“We have. You when you came off that plane,” Freddie whispered, his voice haunted. “But she will probably never have full mobility to walk again. Her leg…” He wiped under his eyes.

Yeah, it had been gut-wrenching to see.

I told Galvin all of it and he sighed. “Sorry.”

“No, I get it and you’re right, he’s right that you can’t just arrest the Alpha by shifter laws. It’s—trust me to handle this.”

I winced. “I invited Summer to film it all and see the process in Indiana for more transparency. The Alpha side. I’m tired of everyone—did you know St. Louis thought I was buying the Alphas as whores? Or that’s what they were telling people. Oh, and one of his Betas killed the guy and took over so I didn’t. Awesome. I just had to be a wolf when I got infected.”

Freddie was less than thrilled that I said that but patted my shoulder anyway, understanding it was the stress.

“Anything else?” Galvin asked after I answered some more questions.

I snorted. “One of the men I sirened—my top Beta and the man I love—the father of Topher—his extended family is in this pack and apparently only cares about the twins now that they can be useful. They want me to put his cousin as the head of the pack and just… Fuck everything .”

“I don’t blame you. I really don’t, but you—I owe you a lot too, Sera. I feel like a new man now that I got my kids back and they’re safe, so let me help.”

“Thanks, boss. Really.”

“You’ve more than earned the extra favors. You are worth being the pain in the ass you are.”

That was nice to hear. I never denied that I was a pain in the ass, just… I thought I was worth it too.

We called the council too, and this time I talked to Councilman Antony who was one of the senior members. He was beyond shocked to hear all about this and said he would handle it with a team.

So nothing—I mean nothing —surprised me when he arrived in person with the council team hours later.

And Galvin did with Division Chief Gere and one of his non-human teams.

“This time you let the big guns handle this and keep you out of the line of fire,” Antony said at a level the humans couldn’t hear.

“I called him to ask for help so I didn’t end up in a congressional ethics hearing,” I told him at just as quiet of a level. I sighed when Galvin raised his eyebrow at me. “One day I’m going to do it in a way you can’t tell.”

“I don’t think you can now that I know you better,” he admitted. He nodded when I repeated what I told Antony. “We’re here to help. I trust what Alpha Sera said, but we’re doing this right and we’ll work her through it.”

“As will I,” he said firmly. “This was a problematic pack we’d asked her repeatedly to interject herself into. This was a legal invasion because she had our approval.”

“Good, that should make things easier,” Gere commented, looking too relieved.

Everyone looked at me when I snorted. “I had every right to take out Engle to take over Chicago originally. I did everything right and it still has fucked me several times. From other Alphas trying to use—IA saying I murdered him for his money—all of it.” I scrubbed my hand over my head. “And this won’t be the last time. We all know it.”

“No, especially because you took over Memphis too,” Reagan mumbled, scrubbing his face. He realized what he’d said when everyone went tense. “With a deal like Des Moines.”

I focused on Antony. “Alpha Virgil asked for it because his pack is—we can talk more later. They’re a bit big for their britches, and they haven’t embraced their new safety and security as they should have but become spoiled little shit. The oldest ones.”

“Children never stop pissing me off,” he grumbled. “As long as Virgil asked for it.”

“Yeah, Dain is probably finishing the contracts.” I snorted, oversharing when they all looked at me to tell them. “They asked how much I was buying into the pack for the price of giving me Virgil for my harem.”

I was glad when all of the supes there couldn’t hide their disgust—especially the council team who were all hawks. They tended to have multiple mates because of birth rates and how few female hawks were born. All bird shifters I was pretty sure.

Weird, but so was most of life.

Dain came rushing over and looked beyond frazzled, demanding to know who was IA and if I had answered any questions officially.

“How are you here?” I asked, waving him off. “I called them.”

He ground his jaw. “Sera, you cannot speak to IA without your attorney. Do you remember last time?”

“Yeah, but Pickens was dirty and… I’m sorry. I had a brain fart and of course you’re right.”

“Thank you,” he sighed.

The guy from DC IA identified himself. He was a bigwig who had given me the award even. I blushed when he praised me for immediately handling the situation so ethically and calling in for review.

Then I told everyone what happened, showing them the dead Alpha and proof. Right as we wrapped up, my phone rang and it was Dr. Sloan.

“You’re on speaker with people who need the update as well.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Alpha,” he replied, understanding it was professional time. “The Alpha Mate will never walk without a limp in either human or animal form. She has too many—I can’t heal her. Maybe with their healers in Greece, but—this is beyond abuse.”

I covered my face and turned away as he told us more. Dain hugged me to him and rubbed my back. The good news was the kids would recover. Physically, but they were all a mess, and he recommended they not go back to Ohio for their mental health. They would never feel safe there, especially not when people in the pack knew it had been going on.

Yeah, I couldn’t have agreed more.

I promised him that I would handle it and do whatever they needed, thanking him before hanging up… And then I walked outside and shifted. I let out a howl in my third form that every supe in Columbus—no, probably all of Ohio heard or felt.

A few more that I felt from my soul, and then I punched the garage too hard and took out the whole side of it. I swore up a storm and then jumped back as it collapsed.

Awesome. Just fucking awesome.

“It was half falling down anyways, Sera,” Freddie called over.

“Plus, she owns it all, right?” someone offered.

“No, it’s not that clear-cut when there’s children or a mate after the Alpha is gone,” Freddie explained. “She got everything of Engle’s since he didn’t have family or immediate family. Normally, it’s anything of that pack’s. So pack lands that are in trust. Any co-op companies—anything like that the Alpha is trustee of.”

“There are certain loopholes and rules if someone tries to invade her versus if she takes over too,” Councilman Antony added. “Honestly, her having an official son adopted makes her less of a target. There is now immediate family to inherit her personal holdings if she dies. It’s why Alphas quickly have children sometimes.”

“That’s not why I adopted Topher,” I snarled.

“Of course you didn’t adopt him for that,” Dain cut in, moving into my view even. “You probably never even heard me say that or others comment it before.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a slow breath. “I don’t know. Maybe? Sometimes the rules are like weird ass D don’t make me add others because you sound that fucking unhinged.” I stood and faced them. “I was ignoring you because you don’t fucking matter and are being ridiculous.”

“What?” the man—Hagan and Reagan’s uncle—growled. “How can you—”

I was in his face in a flash and he got scared and jumped back. “A senior councilman is here and you don’t fucking greet him? A team from the council. The director of the FBI is here—you have no idea the situation, and you waltz up and demand attention like toddlers. Yeah, you be nuts .” I turned to their cousin and studied him.

I didn’t even say anything and simply snorted before heading back to my party.

“That’s it?” the aunt demanded. “Hagan and Reagan will be so disappointed especially after Reagan promised this for his cousin and—”

I grabbed her around the throat and threw her against the house. “Do not ever lie about my consort again or they will be the last words you speak.” I let my power flare until she whimpered and bared her neck to me. “He didn’t even tell me about you fools or your pathetic attempts to reconnect when you wanted something.” I nodded when she couldn’t hide her shock.

“Wait, are you really saying I won’t get to be Alpha?” the cousin demanded. “Who are you to say that?”

“The actual Alpha ,” several people snapped.

“Clearly, this one isn’t of the same caliber or intelligence as the Cooney twins,” Antony said, several people snorting in agreement.

Yeah, that was the understatement of the year.