The Alpha Killer
New Leadership

Talia’s POV

I-70 West of Indianapolis

It seemed like we were attached to our phones the whole way out. The only good part was that with the big backseat, I could lay down with my head in my man’s lap. The bond tingles as he moved his hand over my bare neck and shoulder felt amazing.

I had my Chief Enforcer on speakerphone so we could both talk. “It’s not like we were PLANNING to take over his Pack, Jacque! The coward hid behind his warriors then ran when he saw they couldn’t stop us,” I complained.

“I’ve been getting calls from Alphas all morning, wondering if you are collecting Packs like some kind of Pandora bracelet,” Jacque said with a laugh. “This is what, three now?”

“Technically the Tomah Pack I didn’t take over, he abdicated when he heard I was coming for him.” Even my mate snorted at that.

“Well, they are getting nervous. No one minds if Tania and Bobby take over Tomah, she is a blood heir to it,” he said. “With Copper Mountain, that was a supervised challenge; they are relieved to hear that you are turning it over to Dallas and Vivian, both are mature and trained for the job. They are worried about the Hoosier Pack, especially since you killed so many of them. When you’ve done so much damage, it rarely ends well for an incoming Alpha.”

“Not as many as could have died,” I said. “It will take them weeks to heal and for the first to get their wolves back, the rest? I pray they find their mates.” When we tore through the lines of warriors, we did our best not to kill them, but our hybrid werewolf-vampire bite was going to slowly poison those who survived the wounds. There were fourteen of these, all would die horrible and painful deaths.

We had spoken with the doctors and had decided on a strategy. The vampire venom worked against werewolves, but it wouldn’t kill humans. The only chance they had, as we explained to those who were conscious and their mates, was to take their wolves from them. Large doses of wolfsbane were used to remove them, and I was glad I wasn’t around to hear the suffering. The men would have to heal as humans, complete with scarring and long recovery times compared to wolf healing.

“At least seven will get their wolves back quickly,” Jacque agreed. Those who had true mates would have their mates change them back, the same way Tania received her wolf back. The others would not be able to be turned again until they were found and claimed by their true mates. It was a shitstorm for us. Not only had we killed the senior leadership, we had caused real damage in the Pack. He was right; not many in the Pack were happy we were in charge, but none wanted to be rogue either.

“Send out a message to all the Packs requesting nominations to be the new Alpha Pair of the Hoosier Pack,” Randall said. “Make it happen, I want names in a week,” he said before he hung up.

I looked at him a little confused. “Listen, I don’t want it, you don’t want it and they need leadership.”

“You don’t want to give it to one of your brothers?”

“I’m kind of running out of brothers,” I said. “Dusty is heir to our Pack, Dallas has Copper Mountain and Bobby will likely take Tomah. I’m with you, and Matt and Mark, who are seniors at Texas Tech, aren’t ready and both are unmated.”

“You don’t need a mate to be Alpha,” I said.

“It helps settle the Pack, and most Alphas are more mature than college kids.”

“What about your sisters?”

“Well, Denise is acting Beta female at Copper Mountain, and Bonnie has her own Pack in Maine. Diane and Marjorie just became of age, neither is mated and they are still in high school. Of them, Denise is the closest to being ready, but this isn’t a good fit for her.” I had to agree, it was going to be hostile. “By opening it up to nominations, we take away the hostility they might feel against us and our Pack by taking over so many.”

“What is the process?”

“Nominations, the regional Alphas and the Council Chairman narrow it down to three, then those three will meet with the Pack. The Council makes a recommendation, but a majority of the Pack has to accept the new Alpha so they get the final say.”

“Sounds fair.”

Another call came in, this time for Randall. “Hi Mom,” he said as he put it on speaker.

“Hi baby, how’s my new daughter doing?”

“I’m fine, Mom. We’re on the road and I’m looking forward to not being Alpha soon,” I said.

“Well, don’t worry about the party, I’ve got everything well in hand. It’s going to be a Texas-sized blowout, and our whole family is going to be there! I’m so excited to see them all!”

“Mom, it’s not like the twins don’t go to school a couple hours away, and you just saw Bonnie six weeks ago.”

“Oh hush, boy, this is the first chance we have to get a family portrait with my new daughters, so make sure you dress nicely,” she said. “We’re packing your suit, and I’ve found a nice dress for Talia.” Oh Luna, this could be a disaster. I haven’t worn a dress since that night I was playing poker in Fort Worth! She must have sensed my hesitancy. “Don’t worry, I’m not putting you in something ugly, Talia. Your sisters picked it out for you.”

“That makes me feel better.”

“Mom, what’s happening with Dad?”

“He’s back in New Orleans, he and Erica are staying with her Coven. Both are going to fly up later today with the coven for the ceremony.”

“The light? Are we bringing caskets?”

“Vampire transport vans. Don’t be crude,” she said. “Drive safe, we’ll see you soon baby.”

“Love you, Mom.” We kept working through our emails until dinner, then we took a nap. We’d arrive just before sundown.

Alpha Brent’s POV

Private Jet to New Orleans, earlier that morning

Erica and I slept most of the flight home while the vampires worked. So far, we hadn’t seen evidence that the Vampire trait of not needing sleep would carry over into the hybrids. When I woke up, Erica was still curled up on the window seat, her head resting on Eduardo’s shoulder. She was at peace and comfortable, both things I had not expected when I had seen how torn up her body was after the fight.

“You’re awake,” Jarrod said. “There are a few things we need to talk about.”

“In a minute,” I said. “I’ll need coffee.” I went back to the small bathroom, running some water over my face before coming back out. I saw a clock, it was just past eight in the morning. The jet’s windows were all covered and sealed so light would not reach them. A travel mug of hot coffee was handed to me by a smiling Anastasia. “Why are you so happy,” I asked.

“Because I have a better chance of finding a mate now that I know I can search among werewolves,” she said. “You don’t know what a shock it was for Eddie here to find Erica, and for them to recognize each other before her change. Vampires rarely ever find mates, there are exactly nine mates in North America right now with those two.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Well, we only come out at night and we tend to keep to ourselves unless hunting,” she said. “I wish I could circulate more with the wolves.”

“You’re family, I can help with that. There’s nothing better than bringing mates together.” I checked my phone, I’d gotten a bunch of texts and voice mails while I was sleeping. I called my mate first. “Morning baby,” I said. “Sorry I didn’t call, we got out of the Vampire Council meeting really late and I just wanted to sleep.” I filled her in on what had happened. “How are Randall and Talia doing?”

“Good, they are taking care of Pierce right now,” she said. “They decided they are not going to remain Alphas of the Copper Mountain Pack, they are turning it over to Dallas and Vivian. We’re all heading there today. The handover ceremony will be after moonrise tonight.”

“Everyone?”

“Yep, half of us have already left in the cars, the rest are flying to Denver this afternoon. We even have Bonnie coming out with her Stanley.”

“I guess I need to find a flight, then. I’ll let you know. I love you, Patty.”

“I love you too, my mate.”

She hung up and I looked over at Jarrod. He wasn’t trying to listen in, but with vampire hearing he couldn’t help it. “Jarrod, your coven should come. You are family, it’s Talia’s pack that is getting handed over to Dallas.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Actually, I was going to ask if we could fly there. I could go commercial if you don’t want to go.”

“No, it would be good to go. Let me talk to the Denver coven, they helped us with the abduction of Phillip and Luna Rhoda.”

“Invite them too, I’ll clear it with my son.” I made that phone call; Dallas understood how important this party could be to our species and readily agreed.

We landed and taxied into a hangar, which closed before the door opened. We walked across to the panel van, all of us sitting in the back. The jet was going to be refueled and would be ready to fly again about seven at night. When we got home and went downstairs, where food and blood were set out for us. “What is next,” I asked.

“Well, the Vampire Council is going to be talking with the Covens and that should get us some cooperation. What do you need first?”

I thought about it; Randall and Talia were tied up with Pack and Council business, the FBI wasn’t helping much, and we were heading to Denver. “Randall wanted to go after Joey Venucci, but he’s protected. If he was to get anywhere near him, the FBI would come down on him hard,” I said. “We need to find out where this training facility is.”

Jarrod smiled. “Vampires do a very good job of finding out information, and a blood donor who won’t be missed is always handy,” he said. “Let me make a few phone calls. Chicago is a big city, there are three Covens there.” He and Eduardo went into his office.

“Make it look like a rival Mob family did it,” I said. “He might be under surveillance, so they need to be careful.”

He came out ten minutes later. “Master Ahmad will handle it, he is more than happy to help the Alpha Killer rid the world of these scum.” Missing children and young women brought investigations, which made it harder for supernaturals to avoid detection. We all had something to gain by removing the slavery ring.

“Good.” We spent the rest of the afternoon going through the information we had on the island, that was the next big thing. No werewolf packs or vampire covens were anywhere near the island, and the island was difficult to access by boat. The airstrip was key, but the druglords controlled access.

We didn’t have any ideas by the time we left.

The party was underway when we arrived an hour after dark at the Copper Mountain Pack grounds. I introduced everyone to Dallas and his leaders, and Patty got her group photos before things got too wild. It was great having everyone I loved around as we celebrated the new Alphas and Betas.

It wasn’t without drama, of course. When Talia and Randall showed up and started hugging the family, my youngest boys, identical twins Matt and Mark, darn near tackled them as their wolves pushed forward. “WHERE,” growled Matt as he smelled Randall’s jacket, while Talia had Mark in a headlock and he was sniffing her arm.

“Parking the car,” Randall said as he figured it out. The two ran off, returning thirty minutes later with Gia and Tia, all sporting fresh mating bites.

Then as we were on stage for photographs before the ceremony started, I saw my older sister Denise, the Beta female of the Pack, suddenly freeze and look towards the door. “MATE,” she said as people got out of her way. There was a commotion in the back, and those who didn’t move fast enough were knocked down by the big Enforcer who was rushing the stage. It turned out Jacque Jones had a mate, and it was my sister.

Photographs were delayed forty minutes until the bites had stopped bleeding and torn outfits were changed with new.

Finally, with the moon rising over the mountains, the ceremony began. Talia and Randall, the current Alphas, opened the ceremony by thanking the Pack and guests for coming. “When I became Alpha, it was a result of me taking my revenge. I cannot be the Alpha you need, and that is why tonight I turn over the Copper Mountain Pack to Dusty and Vivian Meechum.” The crowd broke out in applause. “Strong, just and capable, I have every confidence they will return this Pack to greatness.” With that, she took a step back and sank to one knee with Randall dropping down next to her. By submitting to Dallas and Vivian, the Alpha mantle switched along with the bonds.

“Thank you, please rise my brother and sister,” Dallas said before pulling them into a hug. The ceremony ended with congratulations from the guests and dignitaries, then the entire Pack came by to solidify their bond with the new Alphas.

“What are you two going to do,” I asked my daughter Denise as we watched the last few people move through.

“I don’t know, we need to talk,” she said. “What are you going to do, Dad? The rumors are flying that you are going to be the next Chairman. If you need us, we will stay as your Chief Enforcer pair.”

I pulled her tight. “Don’t worry about me, do what you think is right. Jacque will be a fine Beta male if you stay here, and Terry can always return home or stay on in another position.”

The last of the new Pack members was through. The new Alphas stripped and shifted, calling their members to a hunt. “Come on, Pops,” Denise said. “Let’s get some fast food.”

Patty came over and we shifted, nuzzling each other before joining in the run. The mule deer were plentiful, and the party went all night long.

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