Page 7

Alpha Stone

I'm sitting at my desk, going through the pack financials, when I hear a knock.

"Come in."

I scent Beta Miles and an unfamiliar wolf. Must be our new Beta.

"Alpha." Miles is all business. "Beta Pierce has arrived."

He steps aside as Beta Pierce enters. I rise and offer my hand.

"Welcome. May I call you Beta Knight?"

"Of course, Alpha."

"Good to have you on board. Come in and sit down."

Miles starts to leave.

"No, please join us, Beta Miles." I motion to the chairs in front of my desk. They both sit .

"Our first official meeting." I say, "We have a lot to cover."

"First, I’ll be leaving after this brief introduction." I shove the ledgers in my drawer, lock it, and pocket the keys.

"Beta Miles, is the prisoner ready for transport?"

I know this is a sore spot for him, but he’ll have to deal with me calling Marissa that. I’m headed to Stone Mountain City, and she's coming with me to answer for her crimes.

"Yes, Alpha." He says through gritted teeth.

I shoot him a warning look, and his demeanor shifts. He’s not getting away with that BS. What they did to Paisley was inexcusable, and before this is over, he’ll understand that completely.

Rach, our medical assistant, is working with Dr. Roberts to prepare and present a workshop on Cheating Mate Syndrome.

On Friday, after I return, the entire pack will attend.

However, I have instructed her to omit the information about the medication that helps alleviate the symptoms. Cheating mates don't deserve that kind of relief.

Call me a dictator if you want. These wolves need to learn to cherish mate bonds, or our entire species will go extinct .

"Good,” I reply. “And Enforcer North is ready to go?"

"Yes, Alpha," he answers, his tone stoic.

I nod. "Okay. I plan to stop by and visit the injured pack member as I head to Stone Mountain City this morning. The tech conference is tomorrow. If no unforeseen issues arise, I should be back by Tuesday. In the meantime, I want you two to work closely together to run this pack."

"Will do, Alpha." They respond almost in unison.

After the meeting wraps up, I grab my overnight bag and head for the helipad. We have three choppers, so taking one won’t interfere with any potential medical emergencies. Our prisoner is secured in the back with an enforcer. I take the front seat next to North.

Even though the helicopter is too loud for conversation, Marissa keeps trying to get my attention.

She’s still wearing that little red dress she wore to bait Miles, along with her black stilettos.

However, I notice with sick satisfaction that it looks a bit wrinkled and stained this morning.

Miles isn't innocent in all this. He will get his comeuppance if it's the last thing I do.

"Alpha!" Marissa shrieks. North shoots her an angry look, while I turn and glare. She speaks again, but I can’t hear her over the roar of the engine; I can only see her lips move. "Alpha," she mouths. "Please," she begs.

As Alpha, I can mind-link anyone in my pack, but she's been gone for a year, so I don't even try. I just shake my head and turn to look out the windshield.

When we finally reach the hospital, North lands the helicopter and cuts the engine. As I start to deboard, Marissa begins again. "Alpha, please, don't do this to me."

"Marissa!" I barely leash my anger. I don’t like to Alpha-command my wolves to obey me, but I will her if she doesn't stop. You brought this on yourself.

“No! You know what, I want you to see what you and Miles did to his mate. A lovely and kind person.”

“Gentlemen, will you escort the prisoner?"

North nods, smiling in grim satisfaction.

"What do you mean, what we did to her? I’ve never even met the female, let alone touched her," Marissa protests, her brows pinched in confusion. She’s always so self-absorbed. It’s never about anyone else with her.

We enter the hospital as onlookers gawk. Marissa, wrists cuffed behind her back, struggles as she’s half-dragged down the hospital corridor.

Today, she learns .

We reach the med-surg floor, and I greet the nurses. "Good morning. Is Dr. Roberts in?"

One of them lifts her head and stands. "I'm Dr. Roberts. Most call me Dr. Skye." Her smile is warm. "How can I help you?"

"Dr. Skye." I shake her hand. "I'm Alpha Stone from Wind Howl Pack."

Her smile falters, eyes clouding with recognition. “I see. You’re our new Jane Doe’s Alpha,” she murmurs, gaze shifting to my companions, pausing as she takes in the defiant, restrained Marissa.

"Yes. While I want to check on my pack member, I was hoping you had a moment to give us a brief overview of CMS,” I say, tilting my head and grinning.

The malice I feel toward Marissa is unmistakable.

“You see, Ms. Marissa Hunt here has been arrested for mated bond interference and is on her way to the capital to face punishment. " I pause to gesture toward Marissa.

"She enjoys playing games with people's lives. Last night, she enticed her former lover into a motel room during his bachelor party. He disregarded his mate and went willingly."

First, confusion followed by understanding flits across Dr. Skye’s face, as she narrows her eyes at Marissa .

"So, what you're saying is that this female is one of the reasons I had to get up in the middle of the night to come to the hospital? To save a wolf from dying with Cheating Mate Syndrome?"

Marissa gasps. "Dying? What's wrong with you freaks? I never touched Miles’ intended mate."

“I just want Marissa to see firsthand what tampering with a bond does to the innocent third party, the cheater’s true mate. I think it’ll leave a more lasting impression than anything I could say,” I add, ignoring Marissa’s outburst.

Dr. Skye nods, her voice steady as she glares at Marissa.

“I agree. I admire you for holding your pack members accountable and making them face the consequences of their actions. I wish more leaders would follow your example. I actually have a short presentation on CMS prepared for medical staff and trainees. It’s somewhat graphic and contains anonymized patient and cadaver photos, as well as video footage, including surgical procedures. ”

“Perfect,” I say, stepping up. Let Marissa see what real-life suffering looks like.”

"Follow me, Alpha, gentlemen." She just eyes Marissa without acknowledging her .

We enter a conference room. "Have a seat facing the screen."

"Dr. Skye." I pull her to the side. "I don't want her or her lover to know about Amra just yet. It's complicated, but trust me. Leave that part out."

"You're the Alpha."

Over the next twenty minutes, Marissa, the enforcers, and I are shown every sad, destructive aspect of CMS. The photos depict ravaged bodies and highlight the gruesome toll of a betrayed bond.

And because Paisley’s condition was so dire when she arrived, actual footage from her complicated surgery was added at the end of the presentation.

By the end of it, Marissa is in tears. "I had no idea.I'm so sorry," She sobs. At least it seems she really does have a heart, maybe.

"Well, now, let's go meet Jane Doe." Dr. Skye grimaces. "So, you can see precisely what cheating with her mate did to her.

"I don't want to." Marissa struggles to break free from North's grasp. "I'm so s-sorry. Please don't make me."

"I had to deal with it last night, Marissa, while she was dying on the chopper. I didn't know if she would make it," North growls. "At least she's stable now and not bleeding from wounds in her stomach while I gave her bag after bag of blood."

"Marissa," I order, pushing out my Alpha aura. "You will stop struggling and come with us to see your and Miles' handiwork. And you will not tell a soul what you are about to see."

Her struggles immediately cease, but you can tell by her face that her inner wolf is fighting against my dominance.

"You know, for some, this might be a good way to deliver a wake-up call,"Dr. Skye muses.

"But believe it or not, there was a cheating male who brought his pregnant spouse to the ER.

Their pup succumbed to the injuries while the mom nearly did too.

Even after everything he saw his mate go through, and after losing their pup, he went right out the next day and cheated with his mistress again.

His mate was still lying in the hospital bed, deathly sick. "

“I know this for a fact because I was brought in just before her, suffering from CMS. Luckily, my pup survived, and my mate refrained from sex until I was able to get on Amra and take care of the problem.”

I’m shocked by her revelation, but it makes perfect sense.

She’s so passionate about the health of her patients with CMS. She’s the foremost authority on the subject.

It’s rumored she’s publishing a paper and working on a book about Cheating Mate Syndrome and Rejected Mate Syndrome.

RMS symptoms are mostly the same as CMS, and Amra treats both conditions.

She shakes her head. "What you’re doing here is great, Alpha! I never thought to prosecute the outside party for mate bond tampering, but you’re right. This may be just the impetus to change laws. Thank you, Alpha.”

She pauses, voice firm. “Next stop, criminalize the cheater, too.” Yes, people have choices, but if they just dissolve the bond, it begins the healing process for the victim and lessens the impact.

"I’ve been petitioning Stone Mountain’s Elder's Council to recognize CMS as abuse for months. It’s been near impossible.

While wolves are faithful to their mates, their human counterparts are often carnal and prone to cheating.

But infidelity damages people, relationships, mates, and families, and I've had my fill of it.

Still, to each their own. If that's what they want and their mate is agreeable, we can medically intervene to make it a pain-free and safer practice.

Or, you can renounce your mate bonds and live however you wish, or go your separate ways .

Just 10 years ago, CMS was unnamed and unknown, and the victims often died.

Today, it's preventable and even curable. The key is education. Until it’s recognized as abuse, and since I’m the top surgeon treating it, my days are spent healing the victims. Good wolves shouldn't die for this unjust reason. It has to stop."

She leads us into Jane Doe’s room. Paisley's small, pale shape looks so tiny on the bed. I approach and caress her hair; her face is so swollen and bruised, she’s unrecognizable.

Tubes and wires are everywhere: a catheter, an IV, a heart monitor, a blood pressure cuff, probes, needles, and a bank of machines breathing for her while they chirp and beep.

Dr. Skye lifts the hem of Paisley’s gown, revealing her bare abdomen, covered in stitches and welts. "These need to stay exposed to air to prevent infection," she explains. There’s not a single part of her body without a mark, a cut, or some medical device keeping her alive.

“Her wolf healing is slow to respond due to her extensive injuries. We hope it kicks in soon. She's in a coma, but it’s not medically induced. It could be weeks, even months, before she regains consciousness. We just don't know. "

"All that pleasure you had last night, Marissa, did this!" North spits, the words coming from out of nowhere.

My other enforcer stumbles into the bathroom and immediately retches. We hear him losing his breakfast behind the door.

Marissa sobs pitifully

"Marissa," I say calmly. "I want you to understand that your decisions have consequences. Instead of jerking Miles around for ten years, you should’ve settled down, mated, and stopped running away before you lost what you had. You could’ve been chosen mates a long time ago. Then his true mate wouldn’t have been dragged into your games.

She would’ve been paired with someone else and spared this pain.

“Do you see these physical wounds?"

She cries, "Yesss!"

"These aren't so different from the psychological wounds you’ve inflicted on Miles, until he reached the point where he emotionally and physically destroyed someone who didn't deserve it," I hiss.

"He may not have known about CMS, and you may not have either.

But now you do. I hope you move forward with this new knowledge and stop hurting others .

“To respect Miles’ true mate’s wishes, you’re not to speak of her injuries, nor her being in the hospital, to anyone, especially not Miles. Understand?" I ask, my tone infused with my Alpha power.

"Uh-huh," she sniffles.

I hope she’s changed as a person after this.

I turn to Dr. Skye, "Thank you for saving her, Dr. Skye. Let me know if you or she needs anything from me."

"Thank you, Alpha. Here are some pamphlets to take back to your Beta and your pack."

I nod as we leave.