Alpha Unleashed (3 page)

She laughed at something he must've said through their bond. “Donovan is going to keep you company while I talk to Shannon. I'll be back in a sec.”

There wasn't any point in trying to stop her.

Donovan took Meredith's spot at the table He wore sweat pants and a T-shirt and his black hair was still messy from his run. His clothes gave of the scents of cedar and grass and dirt, and it almost made me jealous.

Maybe a run would clear my mind. Help me figure out a way around these visions.

“She's checking on Shannon, eh?” Donovan asked, bringing me back to myself.

“Yeah.” I'd already said my piece to his mate. I didn't need to repeat myself.

He jerked his chin toward the table in question. “There's still something off about them.”

My fork dropped to the plate with a clatter, and I glared into his glass-blue eyes. “Oh, come on. We're not doing this.”

Donovan raised his eyebrows. “Not doing what?”

He had to be joking. “I just had this conversation with Meredith. I know how the whole mate thing works. There's not a chance she didn't tell you.”

He gave me a wicked grin, and I knew trouble was coming. “Aye. But what you don't know is that I agree with you.”

“You do?” Mr. Dawson had been all—
everything's fine
. Donovan hadn't said a word. Why now?

“Yes. I do.”

“What do you know?” I leaned toward him, lowering my voice. Pesky Weres and their super-awesome hearing. “Why are their bonds missing? I thought they couldn't leave the pack without putting in a formal bid to Mr. Dawson.”

“That's true enough. I don't know what's going on, but I think you're going to find out. If this absence of pack bond is spreading, then we need to find the cause. Just… Don't say anything to Meredith until we're positive. All right?”

Whoa
. I didn't keep much—if anything—from Dastien. “Do you think that's wise?”

“Keeping my opinions from my mate?” One side of his mouth quirked up. “Not usually. But she made her side clear enough with you, and I'd rather not start an argument that won't get us anywhere.”

Who knew?
Even the great Donovan—one of the all-powerful Seven—was afraid of pissing off his mate. The idea was a little preposterous, but then again—I didn't like upsetting Dastien either. I'd done it. But that didn't mean I liked it. That left me with one last question. “Why can't you keep an eye on them? You're probably way better at this pack bonds stuff than I am.”

He raised an eyebrow. “In case you've forgotten, I'm not of this pack. I'm an alpha, and can use that to overpower and override the pack bonds if necessary, but this needs more finesse. An insider's look.”

“But your mate's in our pack.” When Dastien bit me, I'd become part of the St. Ailbe's pack. I figured it would be the same for Donovan and Meredith and their mate bond, even if they hadn't gone through with their bonding ceremony.

“Doesn't work that way. I'm already the alpha of another pack.”

“So, what about Meredith? Is she still part of this pack?”

“Until she and Michael decide to let her move to mine. She'll keep it for as long as she's here, and I think that's best.” He leaned forward. “I've heard through Michael and Meredith, but I want to know what it is you're feelin' from them. I've not experienced this before, and that's sayin' something to me.” His Irish accent thickened, and I finally knew that someone else was as worried about this as I was.

“I don't know what to say except that I can't feel them. It's like they're there, but they're not.” I sighed. “It makes no sense. Which is why Mr. Dawson blew me off when I brought it up. Shouldn't you be talking to him about this? He's the alpha.”

“What makes you think I haven't already?”

The tension on my shoulders relaxed. It seemed like a good sign that two alphas were really talking about the problem. “And?”

“Nothing. If they've withdrawn from the pack, he's not feeling it.” He leaned in closer, speaking so quietly that even I could barely hear. “But last night, he gave that group of boys from the Canada pack a direct command and they disobeyed. I backed the command and forced their obedience, but I shouldn't have had to.
He's
their alpha. It may be that Rupert Hoel's influence went deeper than those we've caught. There's still a major player out there, and I've a fine idea who it might be.”

Holy shit.
That was bad news. Only someone more alpha than Mr. Dawson could ignore his commands, and they weren't more alpha. At all.

“Who?”

“I think you might know. It's one who got away.”

It hit me then. They'd kicked one of the Seven out of the Council. The one who hated me. Ferdinand. “Do you really think it could be?”

“Aye.”

“But you didn't say anything when I brought it up before.”

“It took me longer to feel what you were getting at. I like to suss things out before actin'. Get fully aware of the situation. If you feel anything else out of the ordinary, let me know. Just be aware that if that lot wants to leave, that's fine by me. They're welcome to go their own way, but they need to make formal bids to Michael and they'll have to tie to the Seven until they find their new packs. It must be done properly, or they'll be considered lone wolves. And if they align with Ferdinand… I'd like those youngsters to avoid that if possible.”

My stomach churned, and suddenly I didn't feel much like finishing my omelet. If the pack was breaking up, then how were we ever going to defeat Luciana? We needed to be united if we wanted to stand the slightest chance of surviving.

Meredith came back with a tray of food. “What are you two talking about?”

As much as I didn't feel like eating, I reached for my fork and shoved a big bite in my mouth. I was crap at lying, and if I even tried, she'd smell it.

Man.

Visions of death. Hiding things from my best friend. Today was a real winner.

You okay?
Dastien's voice came through our bond.

It used to weird me out when he did that, but ever since I came back from the compound, it felt natural. I found it comforting that no matter what, I could rely on him. He was there for me.
Yeah. I think so.

If you're still stressing about your visions, don't. We're going to figure it out. I promise.

I hope we can.
Because if we couldn't rely on the pack, we were going to need every bit of help we could get to stand against what was on the way.

Chapter Three

After I finished eating, I left Donovan and Meredith to their flirting, and went to check on Raphael. Luciana's attack a couple nights ago had left him looking worse for wear. His bite from the reanimated zombie version of Daniel was horrifying for a lot of reasons.

That Luciana could do something like that to her own son…

Anger made my skin itch as the wolf rose, and I tried to remember that Dr. Gonzales was keeping a close watch on him in the infirmary. Still, there was a limit to what she could do. He'd looked pretty rough when I checked on him last night, but I was hoping she could cook up some good drugs to at least keep him stable until my cousin, Claudia, came back from Peru with a cure.

I made my way back through campus to the infirmary. It was never quiet in the mornings. People were always racing to get last-minute food before the melodic warning tone rang, telling us that classes were starting. But today, everyone seemed especially busy.

A group of Cazadores ran at full speed on a lap around the campus, but as they passed, I noticed that they weren't in sync. Usually, the footfalls matched and they looked like they were running as one—as a unified group—but one of these guys was completely off. His footfalls were exactly opposite the others. Another was just a fraction too slow.

The sight was unsettling to say the least. Even after being bitten, I'd been able to run in sync with my pack mates on my first jog around the gym. For the Cazadores, it should be like breathing.

Motion on the quad drew my attention away. Two Weres had shifted and were circling and growling in the middle of the grass, I wasn't positive, but going by the low rumbling sounds and flashing teeth, they weren't play fighting.

It seemed like everywhere I looked, the pack was falling apart. Maybe I was pushing my own suspicions on everyone, but I didn't think so. Not anymore. Especially not after what Donovan had just said.

Another Cazador's voice pulled me from my thoughts. He had a group of freshmen gathered around him.

“You have to be fast,” he said as he paced back and forth in front of the group. His black hair was slicked back, but I couldn't see his face. I only knew he was a Cazador by his uniform—black jeans and a plain, black T-shirt. “If you see their fingers flick or their lips moving, they're cursing you. Act first. Slash your claws across their throat. If you can't get the right angle, biting off hands works well, too.”

I rubbed my arms as goose bumps ran across my skin. It was probably good information for them to have, especially since we had a few bad witches under sedation in the feral cages—but still—the idea of killing witches willy-nilly was upsetting for obvious reasons. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans and picked up my pace.

As soon as I reached the second floor of the building, the smell hit me.

Rotten eggs.

My stomach rolled, and I moved a little quicker. That scent brought back memories. None of them good.

The witches—Tiffany, Beth, Shane, Elsa, and Yvonne—were gathered around Raphael's bed. I briefly wondered where Cosette was hiding herself, but Raphael took all my attention as his breath came in loud rasping wheezes.

“He's worse than before.” I'd thought we had more time for Claudia to find a cure and get back, but now… A shudder of fear ran up my spine.

“He's dying,” Elsa said. She was shorter than me—which was a feat since I was barely over five feet tall—and rail thin. Her pixie cut made her appear even younger than she was. She usually liked to fade into the background, but every once in a while she said something that cut deep.

This time I hoped she was wrong. “Where's—”

Dr. Gonzales pushed past me, answering the question on my mind. “I've got an idea.” She held one of her needles. “I don't know about the dose. He's human, but I think the demon's overpowering the human side. If I'm wrong, this could go very badly, though. I want—”

“Whatever it is, do it,” Shane said. “He's suffering.”

I'd never seen Dr. Gonzales so nervous. Her shirt was wrinkled and a strand of glossy black hair fell free of her usually immaculate ponytail. “No. I want to be absolutely clear. I've been monitoring him all night, but he's working through the drugs faster and faster. I'm taking a big risk here. I'm using enough sedative to put a full alpha down for a long nap. This could go badly.”

“We won't hold it against you,” Yvonne said a little too quickly. The older woman stood at the head of Raphael's bed, gripping one of his hands. Her long, gray hair was pulled into a low bun and her tea-length khaki skirt hung a little askew on her hips. I didn't think she meant Raphael harm, but she hadn't even considered the risks Dr. Gonzales mentioned.
Why?

“What's happened?” I asked.

“He went into cardiac arrest early this morning,” Dr. Gonzales said.

“About the time Claudia's plane took off,” Elsa said.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Had I been wrong to encourage her to go?

“We finally got him more or less stabilized. His heart rate is still high, which means he'll be lucid and hurting again in a few minutes, unless I try something stronger. Whatever has a hold on him isn't giving up easily.”

This shouldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of it.

A hand grasped my arm, and I opened my eyes. Tiffany stood there, staring at me. She was the one coven member I knew the least about. I'd never really talked to her, but if she was here instead of with Luciana, then it was a good indicator that she was a good witch. “It's not your fault. We all told Claudia to go.” She waited for that to sink in, and it did, but I still felt responsible for Raphael. For everything. “What Luciana does isn't in your control. She probably sensed Claudia slipping away, and this is retaliation.”

“I didn't know that was possible.”

“Many things are possible when you've taken a blood oath,” Yvonne said.

Again, Yvonne hadn't said anything bad exactly, but her tone sent shivers down my spine. I pushed my concerns aside, and focused on Raphael. “What's in the needle?”

Dr. Gonzales sent me a look that said she was over my hatred of shots. “I had him hooked to an IV earlier, but his thrashing kept ripping it out. The syringe is filled with a sedative, painkiller, some antibiotics, and holy water.”

She'd saved the best for last. “Holy water?”

She shrugged. “It's a guess, but it could weaken the demon so that the rest of the drugs can do their job.”

Her logic seemed legit, but boy was it odd to think of a doctor shooting a patient up with holy water.

The witches made room for Dr. Gonzales around the bed.

The noise that Raphael made as the mixture went into him was nothing human. We stood frozen as he screamed. His back arched off the bed, and Dr. Gonzales pushed his shoulder down. “Hold him,” she said as she pulled the needle out.

We all moved at once, each grabbing a bit of Raphael to hold him still as he thrashed. He jerked so hard that the bed nearly flipped.

I cringed as he convulsed. This wasn't right. “Does this happen every time you give him a shot?”

“No.” She blinked twice. “It must be the holy water.”

It took a few minutes for the convulsions to stop, but we kept holding him, unsure what was going to happen next.