Choices: Alpha City, Book 3 (8 page)

J
udd and Maggie
were sitting down at the table to eat when Kayden walked in. “Holy shit.” The words slipped out of Judd’s mouth before he could stop them. Everyone froze as they all stared at Thorn’s brother.

“Okay, everyone! This is Knox, and yes, they are identical twins,” Kayden announced.

The room was silent until Ransom walked in. “This is Ransom Spencer, part of the Seal teams. He’s here to help us out until we get Jamal and Claudia.”

Judd stood up, walked over to Knox and held his hand out. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your brother was a great guy and a good friend.”

“Thank you.” Knox replied, shaking his hand.

Everyone came up to him and introduced themselves to him and Ransom. It was strange how much he and Thorn looked alike. Knox even sat at the table like Thorn, but looks could be deceiving. Knox watched everyone, almost like he was analyzing them, which he was. From what Kayden said, his brother was in a specialized unit in the Seals. He hoped his training would help them out. They sure needed it.

S
tory after story
was told about Thorn. Judd was still laughing at the ones Kayden had told the large crowd who’d gathered for Thorn Russell. Thorn’s last statement was read aloud by Kayden. It was something that all shifters did: they wrote a last letter stating everything they were grateful for. Thorn Russell was a classy guy; he wrote about the dynamics of Alpha City and what made the city so special. Once the funeral was over, the last will and testament would be brought to Kayden’s house for Knox.

His brother and Ransom stood at the back of the clearing. Per Thorn’s wishes, his ashes were gathered and given to his brother. Knox never showed any emotion, which was totally different from Thorn, who always had a smile on his face and a joke to tell.

The man looked ice cold, except when he looked at Rose. His features seemed to soften as he continued to steal glances at her.

After the funeral, they were all going over to the jail to see if Me-Len could get more information out of Morris. He only had one chance, and if he didn’t comply, he’d be executed. No more chances for him.

He continued to scan the crowd and the sky for any sign of Claudia or Jamal. Judd knew something was going to happen, he just didn’t know when or where. Claudia would kick them when they were down—no doubt about that. The bitch was that cold and evil.

M
orris lay
on the ground and thought about chewing his arm off. At least then the damn pain would go away. Then he heard her voice.

‘Morris, wait for it.’

He had no clue what the woman wanted him to wait for, but if she didn’t hurry he’d commence biting into his own arm for the blood he craved.

He tried to get up, only to immediately fall back to the ground. His body was so weak that he couldn’t stand up. At least he was up on his hands and knees. That was a damn improvement. He heard the click of the door and watched as a light moved around the room, then vanished.

Smiling, he crawled to the door and pushed. The door moved; it was unlocked. He didn’t know how she’d done it, but she had. Now he’d wait until someone came to check on him.

He pulled the door until it looked like it was closed, and stood there smiling. He felt a burst of energy as it ran through his blood. Everyone had gone to the funeral, except Pennson and a few guards. Most of the time it was Pennson who checked on him.

He yelled out, and just like magic, Pennson looked through the glass at him. He waved at him to come in. He almost blew it, he was so excited. Inflicting pain was all he could think about, and he would. A lot of pain.

Pennson pulled a stake out of his coat, opened the steel door, and walked in. Morris waited patiently until Pennson had cleared the door, then he flung it open. Morris saw the disbelief in his eyes, and that little hesitation was all he needed. Grabbing Pennson, he slammed him up against the wall and bit into his neck. As he sucked the blood into his mouth, he could feel the power growing inside of him.

The struggle the shifter put up was useless; Morris was more powerful than Pennson was. He wanted more and more, and he drank until he heard Pennson’s heart stop.

Dropping the shifter on the ground, he chuckled, “Now who’s the man.”

Morris started to leave when a guard walked by and started yelling. He grabbed him and bit into his neck.
This was too easy,
he thought. Maybe being a vampire wasn’t so bad. The pain was gone, and the blood tasted so good. Wonderful in fact. He didn’t remember how food tasted, but this was out of this world. He had to have more. More was all he knew.

Morris dropped the guard down beside Pennson’s body. “I’m the man!” he yelled down at the bodies.

“Now you’re dead.”

Morris looked up at Judd and smiled. “Next.”

Before Judd could get to him, Maggie grabbed him and jerked him away, yelling at the Alphas to hold him. Ryder and Brody held him back.

“You think you can kill me? I’m too strong for you. I’m just like you.” Morris taunted her as they circled each other.

This idiot was delusional, swept up in bloodlust. She could see Penn’s dead body laying on the floor. This was going to devastate Judd. It had to end, and she had to be the one to do it.

He fake-lunged, laughing as she jerked back.

Her jaw tightened as she answered, “Hate to burst your bubble, but you’re not going to live much longer. I brought you into this world, and now I’m taking you out.”

Maggie watched as Morris’s face clenched up in rage as he raced toward her, stake in hand. She could hear Judd yelling as Morris’s body slammed into her. What Morris didn’t know was that she had been trained by the best. Flipping him over, Maggie pinned his arms with one hand, grabbed the stake, and put it to his heart. The man was strong, but she was stronger. She glanced at Judd and the other Alphas as they held her mate down. As she waited for the Alphas to answer, Maggie knew that pain was coming, but she’d do anything to keep her loved ones safe. She had failed Pennson, but she wouldn’t allow Morris to hurt anyone else.

“Kill him,” Judd yelled out, and the rest of them nodded. Maggie didn’t give herself time to chicken out. She plunged the stake into Morris’s heart. His piercing scream rang in her ears as she forced the silver stake further into his body. Pushing herself away, she peered up at Judd as the sharp pain shot through her body. Taking one last look as the others ran to the door, Maggie fell over in agony.

J
udd watched
as his mate glanced up at him. He knew something was wrong as her lips trembled. Immediately, he realized how stupid he had been when Maggie dropped to the floor in pain. Rushing to her side, he held her as she screamed out in agony. Feverishly he started checking her body for a wound, and found nothing. Knox and the others all gathered in the door watching.

“What’s wrong with her?” Brody asked as he watched helplessly.

“Your mate is a vampire?” Knox asked, walking over toward them. The screaming and moaning continued as Maggie thrashed around.

“Yes.”

“Did she turn him?” Knox asked quickly.

“Yes, why?” Brody answered.

“Because she’s his Sire. When you kill the ones you make, it immediately puts you in tremendous pain—you can even die from it. She had to know that before she killed him,” Knox explained.

Judd looked back down at his mate. She had to have known that when she made him. Why? “Why would she do that?”

Knox turned around toward the door and stared at Ransom. “Can you help her?”

Ransom nodded and walked further into the room, kneeling down beside them. Judd’s beast wanted out. He grabbed Maggie’s body and pulled her away from the stranger. He didn’t know this shifter.

“Alpha, please listen. Ransom has a powerful gift that can take the pain away from a person or shifter. Any kind of pain.”

Knox and the others winced as Maggie screamed out as the sharp pain hit her again. She begged for it to stop, her body curling up into a fetal position. “Kill me!” Maggie shivered as Judd held her closer.

“Do it.”

“Put her in my arms, Alpha.” Ransom held his arms out to her. Judd’s jaguar snarled, clawing him inside, wanting to get out to protect their mate. He gasped at how desperate his beast was as the stranger held out his arms. He held Maggie closer, not wanting to let her go. Her screams echoed off the wall as Judd placed her in the shifter’s arms.

As soon as Judd released her, Ransom pulled her tightly to his chest. Judd snarled as the shifter held his mate so close. The others moved in closer as Maggie’s screams stopped and Ransom’s eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. Everyone could feel how the energy in the room changed when Ransom’s body started to glow. This was different from any Healer he had ever seen. Even the Healer’s color wasn’t the same. Ransom’s color was a beautiful blue that sparkled like a crystal hitting the lights. Maggie’s arms fell down beside her. Her body relaxed in his arms.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Brody said.

The glow faded and his eyes returned to normal. Clearing his throat, Ransom handed Maggie over to him. “She will sleep for a while. When she wakes up, she’ll be hungry. Make sure she gets real food, and blood. Her body is repairing and has used up a lot of energy from all the pain.”

Judd pushed her hair out of her eyes. She was still pale, with dark circles hollowing her face. “Thank you.” Ransom nodded and got up and went back to the door.

Ryder walked over and leaned down. “Pennson is dead.”

Judd had known the moment it happened. He’d felt it. The lingering thought of what Bast had said played over and over in his mind:
We will all loose someone during this battle.
It was bad enough to watch Thorn die, but his friend and Beta wasn’t supposed to die too. He was numb as he looked down at Pennson’s lifeless body, and the puncture wounds from his attacker on his neck. Death was too simple for Morris. He deserved to burn in Hell for what he had done. Vampires had taken someone dear to him twice now; it had to stop. He felt paralyzed as he picked up his friend’s hand. Death had already started as he held Penn’s cold stiff hand. Grief was becoming a constant companion to them all. Morris was locked in the cell and he knew Penn would have never let Morris out. He had a lot of questions. One was how in hell did Morris get out of that cell?

Judd picked his mate up and stood in front of Knox. Without saying a word, Knox held his arms out and took Maggie into them. Judd knew Penn’s wishes. His remains were to be scattered on pride land, and he’d expressed that he didn’t want a big funeral. The only people he wanted to be there were his pride and friends.

“He was such a good man, and he didn’t deserve this. This has to stop.” Judd’s voice was hoarse with emotion as he picked up his Beta and carried him out.

J
udd sat at his desk
, reading over Pennson’s last statement. He felt like he was drowning in his grief as he explained to his sister what had happened. MJ was very quiet as he told her about the dragon and Claudia. He wondered for a moment if she was still there, but she finally spoke. “I will be there tomorrow, but I only have one question.”

“Anything.”

“Is Morris dead?” MJ asked.

“Yes, my mate killed him.”

“I thought your mate was his Sire?” MJ asked. Judd cold hear the confusion in her voice.

“She was.”

“Is she okay? She must be in so much pain. We need to find a witch’s spell that can help her.”

“That’s a long story. How do you know so much about vampires?” Judd asked curiously.

“I study them, and all the other paranormals. Ever since I could write, I would write down facts about our kind and others. I’m a computer tech, so I have a lot of free time when I get the jobs done ahead of time.”

“MJ, do you keep records too?”

“Yes, Alpha. I’ve stored all the information I’ve collected in a program I created. You wouldn’t believe the information I have on vampires. I actually had a roommate in college who—believe it or not—was a vampire. We’re best friends, but I don’t get to see her a lot. Her clan law forces them to move home once they graduate.”

“MJ, how much do you love your job?”

“It’s okay. I can’t stand the waiting around. I finish my work before lunch, and that gives me the time to do what I really like, which is research.”

“When you get here, I want to talk to you about a job here in Alpha City doing exactly what you love to do. We can discuss it at length later. I’ve sent the plane to pick you up.” Judd knew MJ well enough to know that she was waiting to get off the phone before she broke down. MJ was a very private person and very sweet until it was time to not be sweet. She wanted revenge for her brother’s death; that’s why she’d asked if Morris was dead. She’d never tell them she was coming, she’d just show up, and the intended person would be eliminated. There were lots of layers to MJ Hudson. Everyone thought she was just a sweet young lady, but Judd knew what she could really do. He had been entrusted with her secret when her parents died. Pennson knew he’d take care of her if anything happened to him, and Judd planned to keep his promise.

“I’ll see you soon Alpha.” MJ hung up the phone. He knew how smart MJ was, too. If there were a way to hurt Claudia and Jamal, Mary Jane Hudson would figure it out. Unfortunately, she had a temper, and when she blew you didn’t want to be in her line of fire.