Annie Nicholas: The Alpha

She cried out. It sounded weak even to her own ears. Blood pumped from her chest.

Katrina opened her mouth and drool oozed from her canines to mix in with the blood. A steady stream of the clear slime came from her mouth until it coated the wound and the bleeding stopped.

Concentratio n ? She pondered to herself as the darkness closed in. Katrina spoke of it. Maybe werewolf drool contained more contaminant.

“What the hell is going on here?” Spice recognized Tyler’s voice as he hollered. “Katrina, oh my God, what have you done?”

“She’s changing Spice.” Sugar’s tear-filled words answered him.

“Tyler, I know what I am doing.” Katrina must have returned to her human form to speak to him.

They sounded farther away. Spice wanted to shout, to tell them she was still there, but her vocal cords wouldn’t work.

“You must keep Eric away from here. Take him on a wild goose chase if you have to. If she survives this wound and if I mixed in enough of my saliva with her heart’s blood, she should change with the full moon tonight.”

“That’s a lot of if’s Katrina,” he shouted.

“I know.”

Spice cracked open an eyelid and peeked around. A computer desk faced her. She was in Eric’s office on Robert’s thinking couch. Someone had placed a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body.

How did she get here?

The last thing she recalled, they’d been playing Monopoly, she’d been winning, and the dice were in her hands. Daedalus gave Eric a letter.

Clair. The werewolf bitch wanted to steal Eric from her. With a swift kick of her legs, she flung the blanket off and sat up. Her feet landed on a sleeping Sugar who squeaked when stepped on.

“What are you doing on the floor?”

“What are you doing trying to leave?” Her little sister scrambled to her knees and proceeded to open Spice’s shirt. A bandage covered the area over her heart.

She thought back to Katrina and the beast she’d grown into. Their plan. She touched the bloody bandage and expected to wince but no pain jarred her. Pulling on the edges, she gasped as she exposed healed new flesh. “How is that possible? I had a huge hole.”

Sugar cupped her mouth with her hand and shouted, “Katrina, she’s awake.”

“How long have I been out?” She rotated her left shoulder and arm. Nothing hurt, this was a definite perk.

“All day. The sun’s setting, and Daedalus should be awake soon.”

“The sun has set, and Daedalus is already here.” The vampire stormed into the room wearing a pair of black silk boxers. “What have you three brainless twits been doing? I could smell Spice’s blood from my coffin.”

Spice had never seen him undressed before. His skin, so pale it seemed almost translucent, covered hard, sculpted muscles over his chest, arms, and abdomen. Her sister sure had a keen eye for scrumptious male flesh. She met Sugar’s gaze and gave her a mental high five.

Katrina made her way around the vampire, carrying a tray of food, which she set in front of Spice.

The smell made her stomach growl. She could discern the scent of beef and ham from the cheese and bread. Each little particle differed from the other. She passed her nose over the sandwich on the plate and inhaled deeply. Her mouth watered.

“Spice?” Sugar quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you going to eat it or inhale it?”

She grinned. “Thank you, Katrina. I’m starved.”

“That is normal.” Katrina eased onto the couch next to her.

“Normal for what exactly?” Daedalus asked.

The sandwich called her name and she took a huge bite from it. Layers upon layers of meat assaulted her taste buds, and she growled in tune with her stomach as she tore into another bite.

“You might want to feed your sister more often.” Daedalus stepped closer to the couch, his eyes narrowing as he observed her eating.

“Leave her be. We must deal with a greater hunger. Controlling it controls the beast within.” Katrina offered her a drink. “Try not to choke though.”

“Beast?” He gasped. “You made her a werewolf?” He examined her while she gobbled her food. “I must be getting old because I sense she’s almost complete. How is this possible?”

Spice swallowed a half-chewed lump. “What does he mean almost complete?”

“You still need to make your first physical transformation.” The tiny oriental woman swiveled to face the vampire. “I made Spice part of the pack this morning. It was a dangerous risk, but neither of us could figure a different solution.”

“Thank you for not killing me, by the way,” Spice mumbled around another bite of sandwich.

“Amazing, but how?” Daedalus crouched on the balls of his feet and watched her like a spectator at the zoo.

Spice narrowed her eyes at him, and a rumble came from her chest. It stopped short as her sandwich fell onto the plate and she looked down at her body. “What the hell?” Something inside of her shifted as if trying to get comfortable. “Katrina?” She didn’t mind the note of panic in her voice, it was honest. What had she done?

She gave up her humanity for the man she loved.

When did Spice Monroe start making sacrifices?

She sighed. The day Eric spit water on her and set her soul at ease.

“Your beast responded to your emotions. It will take time for you to master these skills. You won’t be allowed to be by yourself for the next few weeks.”

“And you plan to set a novice werewolf against a dominant alpha?” Daedalus gaped at the three of them. “This should have been set in motion weeks ago. Not tonight.”

“Some people were kept in the dark.” Spice shoved the last of her meal in her mouth. He made a good point. She knew how to street fight but this took it to another level. Teeth and claw versus fist and feet, she pondered for moment and concluded maybe she could use it to her advantage. “Daedalus, if you’re not on board with the project, then bail. I don’t need anyone knocking my confidence right now. I’m more than capable of doing that on my own, thank you very much.”

He studied her, then nodded. “I’m on board this crazy train.”

She laughed and Sugar joined her. The skin under her sister’s eyes looked bruised. A twinge of guilt ran through Spice. Did she ever once consider what she was putting her little sister through? She remembered her tears. Sugar had sat on this couch and watched her best friend stab her twin in the heart. After that Spice passed out but her sister stayed by her side and cared for her.

Gathering Sugar into a hug she whispered, “I love you.” She was about to put her sister through hell again by trying to fight for Eric.

“Sister’s stick together.” Sugar patted her shoulder and they parted.

Spice glanced at Katrina. “What do I do now?”

“Is the moon out yet?”

Daedalus moved to the window. “I don’t see it.”

“Usually, we wait for the full moon. It helps draw out the beast.”

“Great, I get to add getting furry once a month as well as getting my—”

“Hey, hey, old-fashion vampire in the room. I don’t need to hear it.” Daedalus left the window and crossed the room to the door. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Sugar rose to follow him. “You need to feed.”

He stopped her. “You’re exhausted. I can wait. Sounds like tonight might provide some sport. I wouldn’t mind you washing my back though.”

They left Spice alone with Katrina. She twisted to face the small woman.

“We should discuss controlling your beast before you transform. Otherwise you will be seduced into allowing it to take over, to give up responsibility of your actions and ultimately part of your humanity. This happened to many of the Ayumu, some no better than beasts even in their human forms. We’ve cleared out those who didn’t wish to change, and taught better control to those who wanted to remain. But once you’ve crossed over that line it is almost impossible to regain those pieces of yourself.”