Page 9 of Escalating Alpha (Seraphine Thomas #18)

The next several days were a level of insanity that none of us thought we could handle. Seriously, I was getting migraines left and right—heartburn like never before and supes didn’t really get heartburn.

When Perez asked me about the job his wife hoped for when I was walking out the door Friday, the look I gave him would have made most people spontaneously combust. I wasn’t going to apologize either because… Timing, man.

For real.

Plus, I was still on my period and the full moon was around the corner. It was not the time to fuck with me.

And yet, everyone under the sun was going to try to. The head of DCFS had already come by the apartment with the chief of police and let me know that there were so many calls that I was abusing Topher that I almost broke down crying. I asked for all of the paper trail and logs because we were probably going to add it to the lawsuit against the First Lady.

They both looked sad that this was the state of things.

But I let them in. I let them see how Topher immediately screamed “Mama” when he saw me and was thrilled I was there. Brian was beyond upset when he came home to find out what was going on. Hagan had already been there hanging out with Topher and had to step outside so he didn’t lose his temper.

They assured me they knew it was all bullshit, but to start going after the false claims they had to do their due diligence too. I felt bad that they were in the middle and thanked them for handling this so well.

I was also used in more ads—good and bad. Some for both sides and a whole string pushing for me to be fired and one saying I should be deported back to Greece.

Huh? Like… Huh? I was a born US citizen. Were people really that stupid?

Apparently.

Still, there were a lot more voices on our side.

Especially when we won our case against Galvin’s ex-wife. The jury awarded an exorbitant amount of money—way more than we’d asked for. It was clear they did it to show she was crazy. We’d never see any of it and that was fine.

It wasn’t about the damn money. This all caused ripples though.

Lots of them.

The good news was because of all of that, Galvin was awarded full custody of his kids and didn’t have to pay child support or spousal support anymore. A judge ruled that if his ex-wife was going all around with the First Lady to spread lies, she wasn’t even home with the kids and so what was Galvin paying for?

Maybe if she had to go get a job like the rest of us, she wouldn’t have time to spread lies.

Like… Dayumn. Seriously.

The bad news was the president went a bit crazy too. He tried to fire Galvin.

Oh, but not only him. Me too. And Brian. And Monroe—any supe that worked for the federal government. He signed an executive order… That no one listened to.

And the head of the CIA after his “disloyal” testimony.

All of it was immediately challenged and thrown out in court. It made him look even more unhinged and crazy. NATO was up in arms about all he was doing and the recording still.

Which was why when Galvin warned us that people were talking about the twenty-fifth amendment, I wasn’t all that shocked. I mean… I was. I didn’t think there was ever a time in our history when we’d done it twice in one year.

Or twice at all? Wow.

I just didn’t get why now? Like what could get worse?

Oh, that was answered Sunday morning when French intelligence announced to the world that they had the evidence that the President of the United States took out a hit on two of his own citizens for his religious fanaticism. I swallowed a groan. That wasn’t true and one day someone would get the truth and we’d all be fucked.

Conspiracies couldn’t stay quiet forever.

Eva simply snorted. “Remember, the Spanish Inquisition was all about finding supes and history still doesn’t report that, Granddaughter. I was alive for it. I’ve been alive for many conspiracies. They absolutely stay buried if done right and I believe this one will too. Too many people this time. Trust me.”

And she was right. Another intelligence agency corroborated what was found and that was it. It was done and done.

A second US president was arrested and kicked out of office by the twenty-fifth amendment. Oh, but his wife was arrested this time too.

The best part? The ultimate best part? They were going to the shifter council prison since it was a crime against me and the son of an Alpha. I was almost panicked then, but Eva gave me a look that I was silly.

“What am I missing?” I muttered, my heart racing too fast.

“That everyone involved wants that man gone, Seraphine. You are too honest and good, but the rest of us will play dirty every single time when our family is involved. Plus, Alena spoke with the council on her plans for Igwe’s money. It’s all for shifters, and they will be grateful when we could have kept it for our family. The vampires are for making someone else take the blame.”

Brian showed up at my door later looking conflicted.

“I know,” I said quietly. “But they would have had no problem with someone killing Topher. I can step aside and let them take out a threat like that against our son.”

He bobbed his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m more upset that I’m okay with this. I think I need to hear if this is—am I like this now because I’m a wolf?”

“No, because you’re a father,” Eva said from the kitchen. “You got your ‘papa bear’ instincts as I hear it called here. That has nothing to do with your wolf. Your wolf will simply help you settle with your conflicted side.”

I was glad when he accepted it. I would have to as well.

“You want to stay?” I asked when he didn’t seem like he wanted to leave. “We’re just going to talk about Tasha Perez and the idea—how to make it work. We can’t—Perez is in limbo and—”

“Everything is a mess,” he sighed. “Thanks. I just can’t take sitting in my apartment right now and staring at the wall while thinking about this. I’ve already worked out. My wolf had a run. I’ve cleaned. Topher’s sleeping. I just need…”

I nodded. I knew the feeling. I was honestly a bit jealous and bitter that he didn’t have stacks and stacks of too much to go through like I did and his promotion was so much less work for him.

Which is how he got stuck reviewing a bunch of bullshit for me and actually thanked me for the distraction. That worked out well and in my favor.

Laila liked the idea of having a human in charge of our non-profits and definitely stepping up on them. We needed to get the message out and do more. We should be having more fundraisers and—all of the stuff we never had enough time for. A face for it all that wasn’t constantly mine or hers because we were also leaders.

She wanted to meet Tasha first and I thought that was more than fair. She promised no court games and asked to visit so we could just have a nice time, see the setup in Chicago better, and make sure the fit could work.

Again, more than fair.

We talked salary and benefits. I wanted to structure the whole thing so she could have a week in Chicago or where we needed her and a week where her husband was at whatever office he was working on renovations and updates for. There was no reason she couldn’t work out of the hotel room or even get cleared for a spare FBI office to make this work.

Or hotels had business lounges and extra perks for travelers. Something , right?

Laila agreed and thought it was a good way to get her some meetings with local supes. People didn’t want to meet with her as the big boss or even me with how much power I had or being in law enforcement. I was tight with members of both councils and my mom ran Greece—queen of the wolves to most.

We were intimidating. Tasha would not be, so while we needed to protect her, she could get us information that we could use to promote this and that about local packs and areas. It was a smart pitch and way to make it work.

We went back and forth on salary. I was shocked that Laila was being cheap, but it turned out she thought the use of our private jets for all of the travel Tasha would be doing was included, plus we were going to give her security.

Then her salary was generous. Very. I was good with that because it was sort of an all-in job and there would always be piles of work to do. It definitely wasn’t a typical forty-hour work week, and she would be getting so much off the ground that it would be migraine-inducing.

By then it was time for the joint full moon event and we headed out. I called Tasha on the way and told her where we were at, being honest about the compensation even and our ideas how to make this work. She was honest that she hoped there was a way it could be worked that she could have more time with her stupid, stupid husband since they didn’t have kids.

Yeah, Perez was going to be in the doghouse for a long time.

I really didn’t blame Tasha, but it also wasn’t Perez’s fault. Galvin needed to grovel. For real. Did he want everyone around him to be miserable because his marriage blew up? That was his burden for picking a psycho.

Fine, I was salty.

We were doing a cookout since the first day of the lunar cycle was on the weekend. Nothing big or like the huge catered parties we’d had. No, we had a ton of grills and smokers in one of the sheds now, so we just brought them out and everyone brought food to share.

Well, not everyone .

I felt the tension when I arrived and it took me two seconds to understand why. I went right to the “Alpha” of the pack from Springfield. Normally, I didn’t look down on packs or leaders, but calling it a pack was a bit much when there were two dozen of them… At most.

When it was wolves at least. Fine, that was the normal pride size for cats, but for us, that was just wolves living somewhere.

But maybe that was me being petty. Fitting since he always was and never directly challenged me but was always pulling stupid shit.

Like never, not ever bringing food for the joint gatherings when we had cookouts but then his people gorging themselves. Like excessively eating on everyone else’s dime.

“Don’t you feel small?” I asked him, studying his face.

“I don’t know what you mean, Alpha,” he said innocently… While rage simmered in his eyes. He didn’t like being called out like this so publicly and how I was leading in.

“You can’t take me or Chicago and your big response is to eat our food?” I asked, not hiding that I was mocking him. “To come drive all the way here and steal food since we’re always clear that everyone brings food to the cookouts and we all eat. You don’t bring food and still eat. So I’ll ask again—don’t you feel small?”

“We forgot,” he bit out.

My hand flew faster than most could ever think to move. I decked him and let out a slow breath as he stared up at me from the ground, shock in his eyes. “Don’t fucking lie to me on my lands, asshole. I put up with a lot, but I won’t ever put up with that. Ever.”

He hurried to stand like it never happened and that annoyed me.

So I did it again and he landed on his ass harder. I gave him an amused look. “I didn’t tell you that you could get up yet, and I’m the Alpha here. You’re a club leader. You do nothing for your wolves and just come here to be petty like you’re in a high school club trying to snag free food. It’s pathetic. You’re pathetic and I’m over it.”

“This is why people don’t allow smaller packs around the large ones,” Simone said as she moved up next to me. “Melicent made all the baby pack leaders step down and they were now extensions of New York. It gives them protection, but mostly you don’t have these sorts of flies buzzing about you annoyingly.”

I wasn’t sure that I knew that. Probably, but maybe it hadn’t registered. I glanced at her. “How does that work? I killed those other ‘Alphas’ of packs that weren’t packs. This is different.” I glanced at the guy. “I think it’s a legit pack with the council.” I looked back to Simone. “That was a whole thing and headache.”

“That’s when you brought them under your umbrella,” she explained. “You killed those other guys because they were monsters. There are other ways to handle this. Basically, you absorb his—”

“Fuck you both,” the guy snarled as he jumped to his feet. “You’re not ousting me as Alpha and taking all of I have over some stupid food as the excuse because you’re a greedy bitch who—”

I hadn’t even seen Hagan move. I was too tired from so much that I was slow to react to the guy even if I knew I shouldn’t let it go on. I was just… Tired.

But then Hagan was there and the guy was unconscious and bleeding.

Badly.

And people took notice because it was Hagan. If Reagan had done it, they would think it was fair, but he was strict and didn’t mess around when it came to me.

But Hagan? He let a lot slide and didn’t like to be all over people. He was more understanding and forgiving.

“We are accepting here and aren’t militant or dictators like too many Alphas,” he said loudly to all the shocked shifters. “The whole purpose of that is to show you that it’s not needed and our pack is this huge and functions better than most because we’re all kind and loving to each other how packs should be . We are a true family here.”

“It’s one of the best parts of our pack and something we’re all grateful for every fucking day,” Nestor Martin, one of our other Betas, added.

Hagan gave a swift nod. “But we’ve been clear from day one that you do not come here and disrespect our Alpha. Not ever. Especially not in public or on her lands.” He turned on the members of that pack and looked pretty scary actually.

Several immediately knelt, the others following suit and baring their necks to us. The one who seemed to be the next strongest or oldest spoke up. “We didn’t like the not bringing food thing, Alpha. I swear it. He ordered us not to and to still come. I’m sorry for being petty and bitchy, but I couldn’t take hearing his whining if I didn’t eat your damn food.”

I sighed. Heavily. “It’s all over that the president ordered a hit on me and my son and I have to deal with this petty shit too. It’s a miracle that I’m not a fucking alcoholic.” I sighed again and looked at Simone. “So I don’t have to kill this dipshit? That’s a nice change.”

She chuckled and focused on the one who spoke. “Sera’s big on everyone getting a vote—which we all know. So which of you wants Sera to absorb your pack and kick this bozo to the curb?” She smirked when they all immediately raised their hands.

One woman raised both hands as if that gave her double votes somehow?

“My work here is done,” Simone said proudly. “I think that deserves a big steak.”

I snorted. “You mean beef. You don’t cook it enough to be a damn steak. You eat a slab of beef, woman.” I glanced at Theon. “If you could handle making sure the guy really leaves and knows he’ll be buried in Illinois if he doesn’t, that would be great. Also, assess the situation there and we can have one of them named as a remote backup Beta in case of emergencies there.”

“Yes, Alpha,” he accepted, looking amused.

Hagan pulled me off to the side, and the anxiety coming off of him made my wolf twitchy. He let out a heavy breath and glanced around before moving us further away from people.

It was the comic relief I needed. “Do you want us to go on the other side of the highway next?”

He chuckled, realizing he was being silly, scrubbing his hand over his head. “I want to say something, and I don’t want to shit on Brian’s therapist or his trying so hard—getting help.”

“Okay, thanks for the preface,” I hedged, not sure what else to say.

“I don’t like the ‘vulnerable moment’ thing. It irks me. I get how it can work for people, and my guy made me understand it is a useful tool, but I was taking it personally. For you.”

“‘Your guy?’” I was stuck on that one.

He nodded. “Eva hooked me up with a wolf from a pack they’re good allies with.” His eyes were full of worry. “Apparently, she’s planning on having some of her partners speak with him and it’s not a suggestion.”

I nodded. “She made it clear she needed to make some changes when she went home. They can’t accept me. They… It’s complicated.”

“It is, but they haven’t pushed your other sister to make friends. People need to make their own decisions. I think it’s that they’re speaking out against Eva and that’s not okay in a partnership. Especially when they’ve been together so long. I get the feeling it’s more. Maybe—my mind goes to when some humans retire and they cause trouble because they’re lost.”

I nodded. “And you like this therapist? He’s good to you?”

He smiled and gave me a soft kiss. “Yeah. He’s the right fit for me, and I even asked him to speak with Eva because I wanted to be honest where I was and all her insights to help me grow.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it before trying again. “I keep feeling like I should apologize because of all of that, but you don’t seem mad.”

“I’m not. Not at you at least, and I should have heard that. Eva’s right and you self-reflect all of the time and strive to do better.” He let out a slow breath and rubbed my arm. “That’s why I don’t like this ‘vulnerable moment’ with you. I realized it was upsetting me.”

“I don’t get that,” I admitted.

“See, even like this,” he sighed, but his eyes were full of love that confused me. “You never yell at us. That tool is for volatile people, Sera. People who are defensive and snap—can’t take accountability. That’s not you. That’s us . You need that tool for us dipshits. I brought it up right away that I didn’t think it was fair to you when you always listen openly with us.”

I felt very seen.

Very, very seen.

“Thanks, Hagan,” I whispered, letting out a shaky breath. “Really.”

He hugged me tightly before kissing my forehead and leaning away. “My therapist helped me understand a few things that I think you should know. One, it’s not about you for this. Brian and others are used to getting snapped at or told to stuff their shit, so they need it to try and come out of their shells. In that way at least.”

That made sense. I nodded and could accept that.

“Two, he said it was probably getting the framework up, so it was useful to you since we’re the defensive and dismissive buttheads.” He nodded when I frowned. “How can Brian brush you off if it’s a tool he’s been using and relied on for however long? He can’t. That’s what my guy helped me to understand. It’s probably training us so you have the tool to reach us.”

“That seems a bit underhanded,” I hedged.

“Yes, but no,” Hagan agreed with a huff. “He framed it more as wearing the shoe on the other foot and working through the steps so both sides can—are cross-trained. That was how he put it.”

That was fair. “Also, he doesn’t know me, and to him I could really be the problem. I mean… I’m not easy.”

“Our lives aren’t easy, but you’re easy on us, Sera.” He snuck another kiss which made me chuckle. “So I don’t like that tool for us. I want another one. I talked to my therapist about it and he said we could invent whatever. I said the only thing—it’s hard for me to feel like I’m adding to your stress and load. It’s why I back off too much and leave things alone.”

“I do the same,” I accepted, fully seeing where he was coming from.

Hagan rubbed my arm again. “So he said to basically check if you have the mental load for a conversation. To tell you that I had something I wanted to discuss, about how long I thought it should take, and ask if you had the mental load for it or when you thought you could. I want your feedback when things are going on. I want us to discuss things, not drop messages and run off.”

I felt the same way, and this was a big step for Hagan who did duck accountability or passed it around. “Okay, so clearly you have one now. How does it work?”

He shrugged. “I do want to talk to you about something. I think it would be a five-minute conversation that shouldn’t be high-stress. Do you have the mental availability today? Maybe on the drive back to the apartments and I could stay there tonight?”

I went to say yes, but my wolf was whining. “We feel like we’re in trouble. She’s anxious.”

“No, not in trouble. It’s a request. Okay, good, so that’s something to add and—yeah, I would hate something bad looming over my head. That’s not helpful.” He gave me another kiss, clearly needing the comfort too. “Nothing bad. I just want to circle back to something.”

I swallowed a sigh. “I’d rather you just tell me now and I can think about it on the run.” I hurried on when he seemed disappointed. “I think this will normally work, but this time now it’s a lead-up and clearly it’s important and we’re already off to the side talking, Hagan.”

“Good point. So text to ask if we can—yeah, makes more sense.”

I got another kiss which made me chuckle and take a step away. “You need to talk to me, but I’m also your emotional support squishy. Just tell me.”

“I want you to wear your ring around me for the near future—if we’re alone and especially if we’re intimate,” he said but then hurried on when he saw whatever was on my face. “I’m going to be working on myself and talking a lot about us. There will be a lot on my brain, Sera. Random shit and maybe even a little bitterness or confusion.

“I don’t want you to deal with that. I will avoid you if I’m worried right now. Plus, you’re overloaded. Fuck, you’re so validly overloaded. Shut off. Eva talking to me about what you guys see and you’ve seen it since a kid—sirens learn to shut it off, and you only have that ring. And you sensed I was annoyed when you wore it. I didn’t understand and—”

“Breathe,” I cut in, but still took a step back from him.

He did but still wanted to finish his thought. “I didn’t understand, and I don’t know that I ever could. I saw the ring as a shield or wall you put between us. It felt—well, it was personal because I’m a dick.” He scrubbed the back of his neck but then seemed to remember something. “Bubble wrap. My guy said for right now it would be helpful for us to have some bubble wrap.”

“I’d like to run and process all of this,” I told him. “But yes, come home and let’s hang tonight, okay?”

“I’m sorry you’re sad,” he whispered and pulled me back to him. “I don’t want my shit to leak onto you when I should have done better self-reflecting. That’s my main goal.”

I nodded but was glad when he let me go. I really was because I did need to think about what he said. I undressed and raced off, snarling when I felt a dire wolf fall into step with me. I didn’t know what Eugene’s problem was, but it was getting on my nerves. We went from him promising I would be his queen to fucking crickets.

Unless we were in wolf form. Then he was all over me.

Why were these men trying to drive me fucking crazy? Seriously.

Then what Hagan said hit me. He was trying to do the exact opposite. He was warning me what he thought was to come and giving me the out—not from our relationship but for what I needed. The time to handle what he needed to without dragging me into it.

It was honestly really fucking sweet.

And I didn’t get a lot of really sweet. I liked it.