Page 11 of Fall of the Alpha

11

NO DEFENSE

Alek

The urge to jump on the Alpha’s back grew as Alek followed him down the hall. It would be suicide, though. There were soldiers everywhere, both on guard and passing them as they walked. More than one glanced at Alek and Bella with speculation.

He always knew when one of them was an Alpha, not just by their size but by the way their gaze raised his hackles and the way Bella trembled even harder against him when they passed.

It was Bella’s presence that stayed his hand. There truly was a war going on within him, just as the Alpha had said, but while he might be willing to die fighting, he wasn’t willing to get her killed for it. There were far too many soldiers around them for there to be any other outcome.

She swayed next to him, leaning into him as if looking for protection. Alek did his best to put himself between her and the others’ gazes. With her head dropped down, she wasn’t even looking at where they were going, obviously too overwhelmed by everything that was happening to them. It brought out all of his protective instincts… and he could only imagine what instincts had been brought out in her.

He couldn’t rely on anything he ‘knew’ about Omegas because there were obviously huge gaps in his education. The Zones probably thought it was in their best interests not to know everything, but right now, he could curse all of them—especially his father—for his ignorance.

The door opened, and they were led back into the same room, Alek’s hackles immediately going up. If anything, there were more people than there had been last time. Next to him, he could hear Bella’s breathing change to short pants, as if she was starting to panic. Even though it made him more vulnerable, he released her hand so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders, letting her tremble against him.

He knew he couldn’t really protect her, but he would do his best.

“Ah, my new pet and toy, back with us.” The Wolf smiled at them from across the hall, his voice echoing through it and silencing the many conversations happening around them. Beside him stood three newcomers. The male was clearly an Alpha. Even taller than the Wolf and broad-shouldered, he was completely bald, and his dark brown skin made a startling contrast to the small female standing between him and the other brown-skinned female. The taller of the females met Alek’s gaze. Long braids of hair were swept back from her face, and the way she looked at him sent a shudder down his spine. It was like looking at the Wolf or the other Alpha males.

Alpha female.

Impossible. At least according to the Zones.

Yet there she was. Just like the female who had brought him and Bella in.

The smaller female, standing between the two new Alphas, peeked up to look curiously at him and Bella. She had lighter skin than the other two, and the shape of her eyes and the pitch black of her long, straight hair marked her as either a former resident of Zone Three or one of their descendants. When her and Alek’s gazes met, his cock immediately stirred, and her eyes widened in fascination… the same way Bella was now staring at the Wolf.

Omega.

Sigma.

The words floated through his mind. His reaction to her was so unexpected, he didn’t know what to do, and he missed some kind of conversation. Suddenly, the Alpha female was making her way down to him and Bella. Alek tensed, though the female kept well back from both of them, circling them at a distance of several feet.

“So… Grigori’s son… and Paldon’s daughter.”

Alek’s head jerked down to look at Bella as she froze beside him. Paldon? As in Zone One’s leader? And how did this female know his father? The mysteries grew.

“Do you want to play with one of them, Cora?” The Wolf asked as this Cora leaned forward, her nostrils flaring as she took in his and Bella’s scent.

Rather than answering him, she tilted her head curiously at Alek while Bella huddled in closer to him, letting out a small moan. Just like the Omega’s gaze had made his cock stir, so did the Alpha female’s, yet it was a different feeling than the one the Omega had produced. The head of his cock, rather than the base, was where he felt the reaction now.

Was it the difference between his reaction to an Alpha or an Omega? He didn’t know, and he wasn’t about to ask.

Then Cora studied Bella closely before turning to look at the others again.

“She’s going to be in heat soon,” she remarked, tilting her head at the Wolf..“She’s nearly there already.”

Alek tensed, pulling Bella more tightly against him. On the dais, the Omega suddenly appeared nervous, looking back and forth between Cora and the other Alpha.

“I know.” The Wolf answered, but Cora wasn’t looking at him. She was still looking at the other Alpha.

“Does she remind you of someone, Trace?”

The question hung in the air, and the entire room went silent with a tension Alek didn’t understand. He stepped back, pulling Bella with him. The expression on the Wolf’s face had frozen, but menace suddenly emanated from every fiber of his being.

Trace must be the big Alpha on the dais with the Wolf, but he didn’t answer.

“Don’t, Cora,” the Wolf growled.

She turned to face him, and Alek could no longer see her expression, but whoever Bella reminded her of, it remained a mystery. Cora shrugged one shoulder.

“We’d love to play with your… toy, was it?” she asked. On the dais, the little Omega relaxed as if she’d been worried that Cora would choose Bella instead. “He can come with us for the afternoon. We’ll return him at dinner.”

“Good. Come here, Pet.” The Wolf’s green eyes gleamed as he stared down at Bella, not looking at Alek as if he’d ceased to exist. Alek’s arm tightened around Bella again, but she was staring back at the Wolf as if enraptured. A subtle purr reverberated through the room, and suddenly, everyone was staring at the Wolf.

Bella took one step forward, then another. Alek moved with her, but Cora turned, putting her hand on his chest. Her dark eyes stared up at him, meeting his, and he froze in place as if her hand was a wall he couldn’t move past. His arm dropped as Bella kept moving, passing them both on her way to the Wolf.

Bella

The hypnotic purr reverberated through her bones, swirling her insides and consuming her thoughts. She felt as though her mind had become cloudy, the vibrations of the purr drowning out everything except her growing need and the Wolf’s green eyes.

Her body had already been on edge, even after everything that had already happened to her… she felt… needy. Achy. Unsatisfied. As if there was a humming undercurrent to everything.

She needed to be touched.

Held.

Filled.

Leaning against Alek had helped, especially with all the overwhelming scents of the Alphas they’d passed in the hall, but only because his singular scent had masked the others, at least as they passed by. The big room had been even worse. So many Alphas. All standing in one place.

The air was thick with their scents. Alek’s couldn’t obscure them completely.

Bella couldn’t focus. Couldn’t think. Could barely pay half attention to the conversation happening around her as the female circled her and Alek.

Cora?

Yes. That was the Alpha female’s name.

But Bella couldn’t keep her attention on the female. Her eyes locked with a jade green gaze that filled with heat as he looked at her. Green flames threatened to consume her.

And he called to her.

Purred to her.

She was aware of Alek’s arm falling from her shoulder as she moved away from him and toward the Wolf. The deep purr vibrated along her bones, sending a hot pulse of need through her body.

The Wolf raised his hand as she approached.

“Come, Pet,” he murmured, his already raspy voice even lower, darker. Bella reached out for him, sliding her hand into his. “Come with me.”

Hypnotized by his green gaze, Bella stepped up onto the dais with him. The Wolf slid his arm over her shoulders. She didn’t even realize he was leading her away, without Alek, until they stepped out into the hall, and the assault on her senses was no longer so intense. Now, the only Alpha on her radar was the Wolf, though he was overpowering enough.

“Come, Pet,” he murmured, drawing her along with him. Not that she needed any more encouragement. Everything inside her was telling her that she needed to go with him.

To touch him.

To be filled by him.

Was she in heat?

She didn’t know. All she knew was that she was utterly enthralled by him… and she had no defense.