Claiming The Alpha (8 page)

“Well, I got an idea. If you want…” Ryan stood, moving around behind the table. He perched on the

edge, so close Nikki could smell unwashed clothes and unwashed hair. She tried hard to suppress a

grimace, only partially successful.

“We can take it out in trade.” He reached out, his fingers tracing along her cheek.

“Trade? How? I don’t want a tattoo.” But she knew what he meant…what he wanted. It was as plain as

the bulge forming at the apex of Ryan’s thighs where he thought this was going. She shook her head.

Ryan winked, distorting his face for a second. “Trade what you got for what I owe you. Do each other a

favor.”

Ryan slid closer on the table, pinning her in the corner behind the table. “Should be no big deal, for

someone like you.” His voice was low and she imagined he thought it sounded seductive. But Nikki’s

muscles tightened and she clenched her jaw so tightly she thought her teeth would crack.

“ ‘Someone like me’? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

His laugh sent a wave of disgust through her, made her skin crawl. “You’re a stripper, Nikki. A cheap

one, at that. You all put out…all the time. You dance for men, for money. What the hell do you think I

mean?”

“I think you got it wrong, Ryan. I don’t know what Lori told you, or what you think I am, but I don’t

put out for money. Never have.”

“You expect me to believe that?” He reached out, grabbing for her breast. She slapped at his hand and

then slapped him hard across the face. He flinched, his head jerking to the side, but his hand was still on her breast, fingers digging into her flesh.

“You bitch.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her up out of the chair. “You don’t know what the

hell you’re messing with.”

Spittle flew from his mouth, his face contorted into a grimace of fury. Nikki twisted in his hands, but

they were like steel, digging in to her shoulders.

“You’re playing with fire. I could tear you limb from limb if I wanted, tear your throat out. Want to

see?”

He opened his mouth and Nikki watched in horror, her heartbeat thudding in her ears, as his teeth

extended into fangs. There was sudden pain where he held her and she looked down at his hands, watched

as his bitten nails suddenly grew into talons. The scream building in her throat was cut off as he grabbed her by the neck, pinning her against the wall, lifting her easily until her feet no longer touched the floor.

“Do you know what I am, Nikki?” His voice was a deep growl, flecks of spit hitting her cheek. “Do

know what I could do to you?”

She struggled weakly against his grip. Then suddenly he let go and she slumped into the chair, breath

rasping from her throat. Ryan stood in front of her, blocking her exit. Scattered mats of fur had appeared on his arms and as she watched, they slowly receded. She dragged her eyes up to his face, expecting to see the face of a wolf, but he stood with his eyes closed, jaw clenched, breathing deeply.

He opened his eyes, looking down at her. “You almost made me give it all away, bitch. And now you

know too much, know what I am.”

She shook her head. “No, I mean…I won’t tell. You’re…it’s not something you can control. It’s okay…

I mean…I won’t tell.” The words spilled out of her and she heard herself talking nonsense, knew she was

rambling. But whatever he was, Ryan was back under control, more or less.

And that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t the full moon; they’d just had one and Jax had changed. He’d told

her werewolves were bound by the cycles of the moon. So what the hell was Ryan, if he could change…

and then stop and change back?

“You’re not surprised by this…you know something, don’t you? Lori already told you, didn’t she?

Bitch.” Ryan smacked the table with his hand. “She promised me, no matter what, she wouldn’t tell. Not

even you.”

“She didn’t tell me anything, I swear. Look, just…let’s call this even. I leave, I don’t say anything, you don’t owe me any money. Deal?”

Nikki’s heart thudded in her chest, her breathing shallow. Ryan watched her, a terrible predatory glint in his usually unfocused eyes. It unnerved her completely, sending a thrill of fear along her spine. She wanted to run, but fear made her stand still, waiting.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he backed away. “Say anything, and you’re dead. Got it?”

Nikki shook her head. She grabbed her purse and slipped past him, bolting out the door and down the

front stairs, tripping and stumbling down the sidewalk into the pouring rain.

*

Jax walked through the room, a hush falling across the pack members. Everyone was in the living

room, including Bec, standing sullenly in the back of the room, arms folded across his chest. Jax caught his eye and Bec looked away. They’d had almost no conversation since the night before.

“Most of you already know the thing has been tracked to an apartment, where it’s apparently been

living, at least for the past few days. It wasn’t there last night…but that doesn’t mean it won’t come back. I think it wants is the girl who lives there, either to kill her or it’s fixated on her as some kind of obsession.

There’s no way of knowing.”

There was a murmur through the pack and then Bec stepped forward. “The girl you’ve been sleeping

with? That girl?”

Jax clenched his jaw, brows drawing together in a frown, meeting Bec’s disapproving gaze. “Yeah, Bec.

Nikki’s apartment. You know that, you were there.” Jax looked around the room at the rest of the pack.

Finn and Angela were the only members not staring open-mouthed at him.

“This wasn’t where or how I wanted to announce this, but I’ve chosen a mate. Some of you have met

her.” The murmurs grew louder, a few members smiling at him from around the room. Finn nodded from

his seat and Angela smiled broadly, giving him a thumbs up. But the mood quickly returned to all business as Jax spoke.

“And Bec, this is my pack and my meeting. If you can’t keep quiet, then you’re free to leave.”

Jax looked at Bec, their eyes locked for what seemed an eternity. But Jax wasn’t about to back down

again. His little brother was out of line and Jax had had enough.

It was Bec who finally looked away, turning his head and dropping his eyes.

“Fine. Then here’s what we’re going to do. Tonight a group of us goes back to the apartment, do a

thorough search for any trace of the thing. And then we track where it’s gone from there. The scent isn’t fresh, but it’s so unmistakable we should be able to find where it’s gone.”

The members grew animated with the promise of a hunt and a clear directive. It’s what they wanted,

what they craved and what he’d been lacking in giving them. Especially now, with this creature out there.

Jax answered questions, keeping an eye on Bec. He remained sullen, standing in the back of the room.

Jax didn’t want to feel sorry for Bec, but it was hard. He was still his younger brother, no matter what, and he still wanted to look out for him, to protect him. But that wasn’t going to do either of them any good. He had another idea.

The pack was starting to filter out of the room, guys going off to do whatever they needed to do to get

ready. They’d head out just after dark, in just under an hour. Jax worked his way through the pack, finding Bec.

“I want you to come with me tonight.”

“Checking up on me again? Keeping me under your watchful eye?” Bec’s voice dripped with scorn.

“Far from it. I want the best with me. You hunt like no other. If we’re going to track this thing and

corner it, I want you with me.”

Bec had sometimes been easy to manipulate, but every so foten he saw through the ruse. Tonight, he

lapped up the praise. It was true, no doubt. Bec was an excellent tracker. But Bec was also right; Jax did want to keep him under close supervision.

“Meet me here in an hour, okay? I’ve got an errand to run. And then we’ll head out.” Jax slapped Bec

on the back and strode out of the room.

Jax wanted to find Nikki, make sure she was back here at the house before they left for the hunt. He’d

make sure the pack kept her safe. There would be mates left behind and Jax had no doubt they were just as capable as the guys in taking care of Nikki.

And with any luck, they’d find their prey and this nightmare would end, once and for all.

*

Nikki wanted to be with Jax, more than anything, but Lori’s apartment was so much closer. And maybe

she could bum cab fare from Lori and get to Jax’s house, if Lori wasn’t still mad at her from the argument the other day.

She ran through the rain, her shoes soaked, slipping on the wet sidewalks, splashing through puddles as

she crossed the street. She bolted up the stairs of Lori’s building, breath rasping in her throat, heart

thudding in her chest. When she finally got the door open she darted inside, locking the door and fumbling the security chain in place.

“What the hell?” Lori came out of the kitchen, hands on her hips. “Someone chasing you?”

Nikki stumbled into the living room and collapsed on the couch. It was a minute or so before she

caught her breath, before she could speak.

“Ryan…he’s…there’s something really wrong with him.”

Lori dropped into the chair by the couch, lighting a cigarette. “Yeah. He’s kind of sleazy.” She blew out a stream of smoke, her eyes on Nikki. “Did he offer to give you a tattoo for free? I hope you turned that shit down.”

Nikki shook her head. “No. Not that. Much more than that. And you know what he is, Lori, he said you

knew.”

Lori sat back, crossing her legs. “Oh.” She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Bastard. Can’t keep a secret, can’t control himself.” She took a long drag from the cigarette.

“So did he hurt you or just scare you?” Lori’s voice was way too calm for this and it set Nikki’s teeth on edge.

“What the hell difference does that make? You sent me to him…this…
creature
of a man. A sick, twisted man at that… wanted me to put out in order to get paid before changing into a beast… right before my

eyes! And you knew, Lori. You knew all about him.”

Lori looked away, tapping her cigarette into the ashtray. “Yeah. I knew some of that…not all.”

“What do you mean, not all? Let’s start with what you didn’t know about Ryan and work our way

backward.”

“I didn’t know he would try to get you to put out rather than pay you. That’s low, even for Ryan.” Lori

was quiet for a minute, brow furrowed. “He’s never been interested in sex, as far as I knew. Always more

interested in getting high. Must have expanded his horizons lately. Or, he’s obsessed with you.” Lori

regarded her for a minute. “I bet it’s you…he did say you were the best dancer at the club, the one he

always remembered. Maybe he thought he had some chemistry with you or something.”

“But you knew about the rest? That he’s a…
lycanthrope
?”

Lori hesitated a moment, eyes locked with Nikki. “How do you even know what that is?” She leaned

forward. The suspicion and mistrust in Lori’s voice, her posture, the look she gave Nikki, cut her right to the bone.

“Did Jax fill you in on the details? Or…shit…” And then Lori’s eyes went wide, her face going pale.

“Did you tell Jax about Ryan? Holy shit, if you did…” Lori’s voice was panicked and Nikki could see

the pulse beating at the base of her throat. She was spooked, either scared of Ryan or of Jax. Nikki

suspected Ryan; she didn’t think Jax was much of a threat to Lori. A pissed off lycanthrope would have to be more dangerous than just some guy Nikki was sleeping with.

Nikki shook her head, frowning. “Huh? No. Other way round.”

“So…your wolf told you about lycanthropes?”

It was Nikki’s turn for wide eyes, for her heart to skip a beat…skip several beats, and her stomach drop.

“How the hell did you know about Jax?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“The wolf scent is all over him. I could smell his scent from a mile away. Powerful…very, very

powerful. I knew from the first time I saw him, back at the club.” Lori shrugged. “I thought he would be all kinds of bad for you, just a wolf in a man’s clothing. Maybe I was wrong. He’s at least better than some of your boyfriends.”

“His scent? You said, way back when, that he smelled divine.”

Lori snorted. “Yeah. Well, I’ll while we’re hashing out secrets and lies, let me share one of my own.”

She leaned forward, stubbing out her cigarette, staring at Nikki through a haze of cigarette smoke. Lori held Nikki’s gaze for a moment and then she smiled.

Nikki recoiled, pulling her legs up beneath her, scooting back into the corner of the couch. Lori had

fangs, sharp canine teeth, top and bottom, extending up from the rest of her teeth. Long and white, and very wolf-like. She held up her hands, her fingernails curved and sharp claws.

“Lori…I…why? How long?” Nikki’s heart resumed beating, very fast, the sound of blood rushing in

her ears so loud she was sure Lori could hear her. And, judging by the evidence in front of her, Nikki was pretty sure Lori could hear her heart pounding away in her chest.

Lori sat back, the nails and teeth slowly receding. “Seems like forever, but sometime after high school,

after you moved out and got your own place.”

“Who did this to you?” Nikki tried to breath, tried to let some of the tension out of her body. But her

mind was racing in a million directions, her thoughts shattered like glass. This was someone she’d known

since they were little. Someone she’d trusted, who knew her. And it turns out, was a complete stranger

herself. Hell, Jax telling her he was a werewolf was nothing to hearing from her best friend that she was a lycanthrope.

“Ryan did it.” Lori shrugged. “He was my dealer, for a long time. And then one day, I almost overdosed.