The Alphas' Bliss (19 page)

Bliss

B
rass escorted me into our favorite Italian restaurant. It was small, could only seat about fifty people at a time, but the food was to die for. The twins decided to stay out in the car to keep an eye on things while we ate and caught up. Brass took a deep breath and let it out slowly, scanning the restaurant with interest.

“What’s wrong?” I asked watching him. His whole body had tensed up.

“Nothing sweetheart. Nothing for you to worry about,” he squeezed my hand before turning to the host and giving his name. She smiled up at him with a slight blush. He tended to have that effect on women with his dark brooding good looks. She beckoned us to follow her to a table in the back of the restaurant near the large glass wall. We had a nice view of the lake. It was my favorite place to sit when we came here.

Once we were settled, Brass ordered my favorite wine and began to scan the other patrons once again. I looked around the restaurant myself but didn’t notice anyone giving us any special attention. There were only about a dozen or so other people in the place. I reached across the table, tapping his large hand to get his attention.

“Brass, tell me what’s wrong. You are tenser than a hooker in church on Sunday during confession.”

He laughed shaking his head at me. “God, you’re something!”

I shrugged. “Tell me,” I insisted.

He looked around the restaurant once again, then focused back on me. “Promise you won’t freak out and demand we leave.”

“Why would I demand we leave? What’s going on?”

He took my hand in his and squeezed it again, holding on to it. “Everyone in here is a wolf,” he said calmly. Too calmly.

“What?” I choked out looking around the restaurant with a more critical eye.

“Breathe deeply and concentrate on the smell around you. Wolves smell different from humans and vamps.”

I did as instructed but all I could smell was the marinara sauce and garlic from the kitchen. I was suddenly terrified. I was surrounded by unknown wolves. Only in my worst nightmares did I envision such a thing happening. I shook my head to clear it. I couldn’t freak out.

“It’s okay Bliss. We are okay. No one is paying us any mind and I’m not picking up on anyone hostile. Maybe Tuesday night is wolf night or something,” he joked but it didn’t help my shaking.

“Let’s just go. Please Brass. I won’t be able to eat knowing I’m surrounded by wolves. Not after the last two days,” I pleaded.

He looked at me for a long minute then nodded his head. “Okay, sister-mine, we’ll go,” he took my hand as we got up from the table. We’d taken two steps when we were stopped by a blockade of five very large, angry looking men. No, not men, wolves.

“Give us the bitch and you can walk out of here,” the one right in front of Brass said.

Brass had tucked me behind him and I had to tiptoe to see over his shoulder. I had a death grip on his shirt.

“You are out of your fucking mind wolf. Why do you want her?” Brass asked calmly. I was glad he remained calm because I was about to freak the fuck out. I felt myself shaking.

“That’s our business, not yours. We won’t tell you again. Give her over or we’ll take you out,” the ring leader said angrily.

“Fuck you,” Brass spat out just before two loud pops rang through the air. He staggered back once, then twice, but didn’t fall over.

“Brass!” I reached for him but he began to throw punches at the men who attacked him. All five jumped him at once.

“Run!” He screamed as he was taken down. I didn’t hesitate. I ran out the front door and immediately noticed the twins were out of the car and fighting more wolves. My hesitation cost me as I was grabbed from behind and dragged toward the alley.

I kicked and screamed but it didn’t deter my captor. When he placed his large hand over my mouth I bit into the meaty palm with my extended fangs. He yelped in surprise and released me. I fell to the ground in a heap. Just as I was coming to my knees a booted foot landed against my back, bringing me back down to the ground. I was then suddenly jerked up by my hair and thrown against the brick wall at the end of the alley.

“Well, well, well. You sure are a little weakling aren’t you Bliss, when Devin isn’t here to protect you,” a coy, cool voice simpered.

When I straightened from my bent over position where I’d been trying to catch my breath, I noticed Stephanie walking toward me. She had partially shifted, her fangs and claws fully extended, her jaw and cheekbones more pronounced. Fur had erupted from her arms and face. I noticed the six-inch heeled boots she had on and absently wondered how the hell she walked in them.

“I’m going to kill you,” I promised her as she stopped right in front of me.

She threw back her head and laughed. I felt a sudden heat ignite in my body that flowed from my head to my toes. The hair on my arms stood up, the gums around my upper and lower fangs itched and my fingertips burned like fire. Stephanie wrapped her hand around my throat and squeezed, lifting me off the ground by a good foot. The bitch was strong.

“You are nothing but a freak. You shouldn’t even exist. Devin will be mine. He was always meant to be mine,” she declared, just before she plunged the knife she held in her right hand, which I hadn’t seen, into my stomach. I howled in pain, not only from the pain of the stabbing but also the pain of shifting. She stabbed me again as I felt the bones in my face pop, claws break through the tender nail beds at the tips of my fingers and my fangs elongate. As she lunged the knife a third time into me, I grabbed her arm and twisted it much further than it was meant to. I heard the satisfying pop just before her scream as the knife fell to the ground. She immediately released my throat and my feet were on solid ground again.  She staggered away from me, eyes wide.

“No, it can’t be. You shouldn’t be able to shift!” she screamed at me backing away. “You are a hybrid. They are weak and useless. You shouldn’t be able to shift!”

“Surprise, surprise bitch.” I advanced on her and was almost upon her when her goon stepped between us. I didn’t even think about my reaction. I just aimed and swung at his throat with my claws. When I pulled my hand away, his throat was gone and in my palm. Maybe later the thought of what I did would horrify me, but at that moment all I could think about was getting to the woman who had tried to kill me.

She gasped at what I’d done to her goon and turned to run. I was on her in a heartbeat. I twisted her body so that I landed on top her. I wanted her to see my face when I killed her. I placed my hands on each side of her head, holding tight.

“Devin is mine. He was never yours and will never be. I’m his mate, I’m the mate Alpha of the Wolves, not you. For your threat against me, I sentence you to death Stephanie Traniner from the Richardson Clan.” I quickly twisted her head, snapping her neck.

I heard the roar just before a huge body slammed into mine and I was thrown from her dead body.

When I opened my eyes, Devin’s Beta Conrad was astride me, fangs bared and going for my throat. I bit first. I lifted my head and tore into his shoulder ripping away flesh and tendon. He howled in pain as he was jerked from my body. I immediately jumped up to assess the next danger, growling a threat to whoever was near.

“Bliss, my lady, it’s me, Bradley,” he said softly with his arms extended. I focused on those silver shining eyes. Friend or Foe? I couldn’t remember. I growled again.

“It’s ok, it’s me. I’m Micha’s warrior. It’s Bradley. We are okay now. The threat is gone. Can you shift back?

“Micha?” I asked. My mate. I remembered that much. I was so confused and I hurt badly. Shift? What did he mean shift back? I shook my head to try to clear it.

“Micha is on his way. He was called into a council meeting so it might take him a minute to get here. Can I come closer?” he asked slowly taking a step toward me.

I growled low, but it ended in a whimper as I staggered. He caught me just before I hit the ground. “I think I’m dying,” I told him feeling a sudden cold come over me. I began to shake uncontrollably.

“You are in shock, not dying my lady. Micha and the doc will be here soon. Just keep talking to me. You kicked some serious ass tonight. Micha and Devin will be so proud of you. You are one hell of a female,” he complimented me as he pulled me closer to his body, sharing his heat.

“They tried to kill me,” I said simply. “She wanted Devin. My mate.”

Bradley smiled down at me. “One hell of a female,” he said again.

“Bliss!” My name was a roar through the night. I turned my head to see Micha in a dead run toward me. The screeching of tires and the slam of a door announced Devin’s arrival.

“Your mates are here my lady.”

Micha

I
carefully took Bliss from Bradley’s arms, cradling her in my own. Devin pushed the hair away from her face cursing at all the blood it revealed. She was covered in blood. I couldn’t tell what was hers and what belonged to someone else. She was in pain, a hell of a lot of pain but from what Devin told me, shifting the first time could leave the wolf in pain.

“Your mate was fearless Sire. She protected herself well,” Bradley praised, looking at us all.

Bliss was still shifted. She was a combination of vampire and werewolf. Her upper and lower fangs were fully extended, her eyes were icy white, her facial bone structure more pronounced. She was beautiful. A perfect specimen between a wolf and vampire. She obviously hadn’t inherited all the wolf traits because she wasn’t covered in fur.

“What happened baby?” Devin asked with loving concern filling his eyes as he took her and our surroundings in.

“Wolves attacked,” Bliss answered, a tear running down her cheek. “Brass was shot, I ran. Stephanie hurt me. I killed her.”

“Son of a bitch!” Devin exclaimed jumping to his feet. He walked over to where Brock was literally sitting on his Beta who was face down in the dirt.

“Hurt you how baby?” I asked looking down at her torn bloodied clothes.

She jerked, moving her shirt out of the way and that’s when I noticed the three stab wounds that were bleeding out.

“Fucking hell. Give me your shirt Bradley, now. She’s bleeding out. Call Warrick and find out where the hell he and Lucy are,” I commanded.

Bradley ripped off his t-shirt and shoved at me while reaching for his cell phone. Devin hurried back over and bent over us again. He helped me hold the shirt against Bliss wounds.

“Did you kill the other wolf and injure Conrad too?” Devin asked angrily which had me lifting my head.

“Hurt me,” Bliss answered just before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out cold.

“Get out of the way, both of you!” Lucy demanded as she came to her knees next to Bliss with her doctor’s bag already open. She pulled the t-shirt away from the wounds and inspected them closely before squeezing some sort of gooey substance on it. The bleeding stopped instantly.

“We need to get her to the clinic so I can operate. This glue is only a temporary fix. We need to move now!”

I lifted Bliss in my arms and headed for the black SUV that had pulled up. I turned to look at Devin who was standing where Bliss had been lying, her blood covering the ground.

“Devin!” I called. “We are going to the clinic so Lucy can operate on Bliss. Come on.”

He shook his head. “Go. I need to take care of things here,” he said simply, with no emotion.

“Dude, what the fuck?” I demanded angrily.

“Micha, we need to go now,” Lucy insisted pulling on my arm. I didn’t give Devin another thought. I climbed into the back of the SUV with my precious bundle and gave the order for Warrick to drive.

We made good time getting back to the estate. We went straight down to the ramp on the side of the house that lead to the clinic. Lucy had called ahead and two nurses were there waiting for us with a stretcher when we pulled into the underground garage. I placed Bliss gently down on the stretcher and allowed the nurses to wheel her away. I was one step behind them the whole way, until Lucy stopped me at the operating room door.

Her small hand against my chest stopped me from entering the room. “I’ll come out and give you an update as soon as I assess the situation Micha. Wait here.”

“The hell I will,” I argued, but Warrick’s strong arms wrapped around me, holding me in place.

“Let her do her job Micha,” he whispered in my ear, holding onto me.

I looked Lucy in the eye. “Save her,” I pleaded.

“I will,” she promised turning and rushing into the room. Warrick backed us up till I was across the hall from the room my mate was in.

The doors to the entrance opened and the twins came in assisting Brass. His chest was covered in blood and his face looked like he’d taken a hell of a beating.

He looked right at me. “Bliss?”

“Surgery,” I responded nodding toward the room across the way. “How are you?” I asked walking toward him, followed by Warrick.

“Been better. Took two bullets to the shoulder and had to fight off five wolves. I think I might need the good doc when she’s done with Bliss.”

Warrick stepped up. “I’m a trained medic. Come on, let me take a look at you.”

While Brass followed Warrick into one of the empty exam rooms, I focused back on the operating room door, waiting for Lucy to come out.

I turned to the twins. “I want a full report later, once I get Devin’s ass back here but for now, tell me what you know about how Bliss fought off two full-fledged werewolves.”

“Three,” Bradley said with a smile. I quirked a brow at him. “She took out the beta too. He was going for her throat after she killed the female. Before I pulled him off of her, she’d gone for his shoulder and ripped it apart. It stopped him from taking her throat out. We were fighting the other wolves so we didn’t see much, but she defended herself. She fucking kicked ass!”

“It was a fucking ambush. They meant to take her out tonight Micha, and Devin’s Beta was in on it,” Brock said rubbing his bruised jaw.

Further comment ceased when the operating room doors opened and Lucy exited. There was blood on her scrubs.

“She’s stable. I’ve stopped the bleeding to two of the wounds. One of the knife wounds went as deep as her womb Micha. I need to go in and try to repair the damage, if I can’t, I may need to remove it. She’ll never be able to carry young.”

“It doesn’t matter, do what you need to keep her alive,” I answered without hesitation. No potential young were as important as she was to me.

“Understood. She’ll need blood when she wakes. It’ll be best if it comes from her mates,” Lucy informed me before heading back into the operating room.

The front doors opened again to reveal a disheveled Devin. His fangs were extended and his eyes shined bright. He had blood on his fists.

“Where’s your Beta?” I asked when he stopped in front of me.

“Sitting in a cell at the Ranch. Five guards are on him.”

“Good,” I said, then hauled back and punched the bastard in the mouth. He immediately followed through with his own punch. We started beating the hell out of each other right there in the hallway while our mate was being operated on. The snarls and growls must have drawn the rest of the warriors from upstairs because the next thing I knew several strong hands were pulling Devin and I apart.

“Calm the fuck down, both of you!” Warrick yelled as the others got us to opposite sides of the hall.

“Our mate could fucking die and you found it more important to deal with your Beta!” I hissed at Devin.

“I had to find out why they attacked her and if more were coming!” Devin explained just as heatedly.

“My warriors could have taken care of that. Your place was here, with Bliss. Not in a pissing contest with your Beta!”

“Fuck you Micha! I was the one who needed to take care of this. I had to ensure none of my packs were coming after her again.

“And are they?” I demanded angrily.

“This was all on Stephanie. The wolves tonight are part of that rogue pack. None of them were mine. Conrad is in a cell because he dared to lay a hand on my mate. He’s going to die for that, but only after I get answers from him about what the fuck Stephanie was up too.”

“She wanted you. I was trying to keep Bliss focused by trying to keep her talking. She told me Stephanie wanted you. That’s why she came after Bliss,” Bradley informed us.

Devin shook his head. “Jesus. I told her years ago that wasn’t going to happen.”

“Guess she didn’t take it to heart,” I sneered. I was furious. I wanted to rip this Stephanie person apart with my bare hands, but my mate had already taken care of it. She’d had to defend herself in a dark alley.

I looked over at Devin, he looked totally destroyed. He leaned against the wall and slid down till his ass was resting on the cold floor. His head was buried in his hands. I couldn’t imagine how he felt, knowing someone from his very own pack tried to kill his mate. I walked across the hall and sat next to him.

I noticed that he was shaking and low growls were emitting from him. I needed to tell him all the information that Lucy had given me but I didn’t want to hurt the guy any more than he was already hurting.

“Just tell me Micha.”
His voice entered my head.

Well fuck. Guess I’d have to learn to block the fucker. He gave a rough laugh.

“She was stabbed three times in the abdomen. One of the cuts was deep, very deep. It lashed her womb. Lucy is trying to fix it. If she can’t she’ll have to remove it,” I informed him gently.

“Meaning no young,” he said softly.

“Right. Does that matter?” I asked seriously.

“Fuck no! She’s all that matters. She’s everything,” he insisted heatedly.

“Good. That’s good. I didn’t want to have to kick your ass again.”

He scoffed but when he looked over at me, I just wanted to hug the guy.

“I’m so damn sorry Micha. If I’d had even a slight hint that Stephanie was capable of something like this, I would have killed her myself.”

I nodded. I believed the guy. Now we just had to wait.