Fat-Free Alpha (5 page)

“I see. Then this is farewell,”
Reed finally said.

Saying those words took more of him
than he realized. He wasn’t aware of being escorted by Terrence back to the
starting line, back to the entrance of the town. Numerous cars blocked the road
leading to New Haven and Jax must’ve had fifty wolves with him.

Reed didn’t even know all of them
by name. The Starr Mountain Pack only had one rule. The strong survived, and
those who weren’t strong enough were left behind so there was always a quick
turnover of members. Only ruthless and powerful wolves stayed on.

After being in the midst of the
warm metaphysical energy surrounding Carlos’s pack, he felt suddenly nauseated
by the fractured and fragile energy holding the Starr Mountain Pack together.
Tainted pack bonds, Reed remembered thinking.

Derrick Starr mentioned Jax used to
be a great leader, and he was right. He was also right Jax’s time had passed.
If Reed had any guts, he would’ve challenged Jax himself, but he was no Alpha.

“Reed, we were expecting you
sooner,” Jax complained.

He was leaning against the door of
his black Jaguar. The Alpha had a young scantily clad wolf bitch on one arm and
another kneeling between his legs. Reed took in a deep breath and tried
ignoring the fear bubbling close to the surface.

He wouldn’t afford to be weak now,
not in the presence of the entire pack.

A thin, threatening snarl came from
Jax. The Alpha shoved away the bitch between his legs and told the other on his
arm to fuck something else.

“Reed.”
Jax only uttered his name, but it contained such frightening rage. His eyes had
bled to wolf-like amber and his features were contorting. “I can smell the
son-of-a-bitch’s scent on you, Reed. You reek of him. You let Carlos Medina
fuck you like a wolf bitch in heat.”

It wasn’t a question, but a
statement. Reed knew Jax would catch Carlos’s scent on him. He knew perfectly
the consequences of his actions, but if risking his life meant he could warn
Carlos in time and be of some use to him, then it was fine. His life no longer
belonged to him anyway.

Reed was sick of cleaning up Jax’s
messes and sick of his empty existence.

Whatever the other wolves were
doing, they all stopped. All eyes swiveled to their conversation. Metaphysical
bestial aura rolled off Jax in waves. Reed couldn’t help notice how different
his energy was from Carlos. Carlos’s energy tasted savage, lethal, and pure,
but Jax’s power reeked of corruption and cruelty.

“Unfortunately, negotiations with
the New Haven Pack failed.” Reed tried to control his voice, but he had a
feeling Jax could sense the tremor in it.

He’d seen first-hand what Jax did
to those who failed him, and it wasn’t pretty.
 

All the lines on Jax’s face stood
frozen in place by barely controlled rage. He looked monstrous, but he managed
to hold back his wolf from surfacing immediately.

“You disappoint me Reed, but I’ll
admit you have guts, coming back to me to tell me you’ve become Carlos Medina’s
bitch. Did you think I’d be merciful because of your twisted sense of honor?”

Reed didn’t bite. The laughter
didn’t bother him as much any longer. He only smiled.

“I expect nothing but the worse
from you, Jax. I’ll take any punishment or torture you’re about to give me. I’m
ready to die.”

Jax growled. Something he had said
had ticked the Alpha off. For a brief second, Reed thought he saw a fraction of
regret cross Jax’s features, but it was quickly gone. Despite his years of
service, Reed knew Jax couldn’t afford to show weakness.

“Let’s see if you can still keep up
that front of yours when I rip you leisurely to shreds, Reed.”

****

“Jax is going to kill him, Carlos.
You really okay with that?”
Don asked.

“If he wants to die so badly, let
death have him,” Carlos sneered.

“Reed doesn’t strike me as a man
who wants to die, Carlos,” Derrick pointed out. “I didn’t know him well because
I didn’t spend a lot of time in the Starr Mountain Pack, but Reed always seemed
distant to me, like he was looking at something none of us could see. I think
he’s always been looking for you, Carlos.”

Carlos glowered at his newest
enforcer, but for once, Derrick didn’t back off, despite knowing he was
treading on dangerous ground.

“What does he strike you as then?”
Carlos asked.

Derrick’s dark eyes were unusually
sober. “He strikes me as a man who wants to be forgiven, but he knows you’re
not going to give it to him.”

“Reed’s always taken the easy way
out,” Carlos pointed out in disgust.

“I don’t think it’s easy, going
back to a man like a Jax and admitting failure. It’s like slapping the Alpha in
the face and telling him you’ve just fucked his enemy,” Don said unhelpfully.

“We’re done discussing this,”
Carlos growled. “Shouldn’t you assholes be preparing the rest of the pack and
keeping the townsfolk safe?”

Don gripped his shoulder. “Carlos,
your mate came back to find you. He knows he’s done you wrong, and he’s trying
to make up for it. Are you really going to allow him to go to his death?”

Carlos stared at his friend. If it
wasn’t Don, he would have mauled the person right away, but he couldn’t afford
to give in to his rage. He had a pack and a town to protect, and judging from
the reports of the scouts he’d sent out, the Starr Mountain Pack badly
outnumbered them.

They could run like cowards, but
running would leave the mortals of New Haven as collateral damage. No. Carlos
wouldn’t run and neither would his pack. New Haven was his town and the home of
his pack, and he knew every single one of his wolves would stand by his side.

“It’s just an afterthought. Come on
guys,” Don added, leaving him to his thoughts.

The house was quiet, and for once
he didn’t like the silence. Carlos found himself in the garage, pulling out old
boxes he couldn’t bear to throw away. One box contained all of Bonnie’s old
things.
Her clothes, toys, and books.

Another contained a small box of
Reed’s things. Carlos wasn’t sure why he’d thrown everything else his mate left
behind except this box. Perhaps he’d been deluded into thinking Reed would
someday come back for them.

He
did come back, didn’t he?

Feeling unsettled, Carlos’s hand
dug out a broken picture frame from the box. In the photo the three of them
were smiling. Bonnie had her arms wrapped around Reed’s neck while Carlos’s
hand was casually and possessively around Reed’s shoulders.

Carlos recalled Derrick’s words.
“He strikes me as a man who wants to be
forgiven, but he knows you’re not going to give it to him.”

His house still smelled of Reed,
and Carlos was loathed to go to the backyard. Carlos flung his thoughts back to
the Starr Mountain Pack and why Jax Starr had a bone to pick with him.

The Alpha thought Carlos stole some
of his wolves, but Jax’s defected wolves—Derrick and Ricky—only came to New
Haven to find their mates. Each time Jax set his schemes in motion, Carlos only
gained more loyal wolves.

When Jax sent Terrence’s former
mate to New Haven intending to stir up some internal conflict, Terrence found a
mate in Al, one of his Gammas. Recently, when a serial killer entered New Haven
seeking new prey, Pat, one of his grief-stricken wolves who’d lost his mate,
found a new mate in a lone wolf hunting the killer.

There was no evidence, but Carlos
and his wolves suspected Jax somehow subtlety nudged the killer into New Haven
to stir up trouble. Initially, Carlos believed Jax sent Reed to him as part of
his ploys, but he no longer believed it was true. Reed said he came out of his
own accord and Carlos was beginning to believe him.

Carlos remembered Reed’s words and
the solemn expression accompanying his mate’s face.
“I meant what I said, Carlos. After you, I’ve never taken another mate.
I belong to you and will always belong to you. Distance and time doesn’t change
anything.”

All his new wolves did everything
they could to be with their fated mates. They shed blood, nearly lost their
lives battling monsters, and risked all to earn their happy endings.

Why couldn’t Carlos, the New Haven
pack Alpha, do the same? He could imagine the ghost of their adoptive daughter,
frowning up at him, asking him what the hell he was waiting for.

“Fuck.” Carlos dropped the frame
and shed his clothes.

In seconds, he was running out of
his house and into the fading afternoon. A howl tore out of his throat as he
ran. It was a different howl from the one he usually bellowed to admonish his
wolves. The howl rang loud, defiant, and filled with an unmistaken strength
like a siren’s wail.

Growls, yips, and more howls
answered his call as he ran from the residential district and into the town
proper. Carlos didn’t need to crane his head to know a blur of mottled fur fell
in rank behind him.

His pack may contain wolves
abandoned for being weak, wolves plagued by all sorts of health issues and
were
considered faulty by any normal pack, but they were his wolves and they were
all proud to be part of his pack.

Each wolf joining the train he
formed strengthened the metaphysical pack bonds like a new link of chain.

Taking the pack’s advice, the New
Haven streets were empty and most of the businesses were closed. Carlos assured
the town mayor everything would go back to normal by tomorrow, and he intended
to deliver his promise.

Carlos ran past the shop and houses
forming the entrance of New Haven and ran out into the road. His paws skated
smoothly past gravel and in minutes he was past the ‘Welcome to New Haven’
sign.

Numerous cars formed a blockade.
Its occupants didn’t notice their arrival immediately. The wolves of the Starr
Mountain Pack had formed a loose, large circle, probably watching Jax executing
his mate. Angered at the thought, Carlos used the pack bonds to announce his
presence with an ear-shattering growl.

Werewolves in wolf form or in their
human forms along the nearest edge of the circle yelped and backed away,
leaving an opening for them. Carlos was aware of each of his wolves and knew
the chain they forged felt like steel. Meanwhile, Jax’s pack tasted like
brittle iron.

The circle’s center was cleared
except for the Starr Mountain Pack and Jax’s second. Reed was on his knees, his
head bowed in defeat in front of a half-shifted Jax. He was stripped naked, and
Carlos could see the signs of his abuse his body had endured under Jax’s care.

Carlos reined in his rampaging wolf
and discarded his wolf form for his human one.

“Jax Starr, enough games. We’re
going to settle our score right here and right now.”

Reed’s face was one of genuine
shock. He stared up at Carlos like he couldn’t believe he was
really
real.

“Carlos Medina. What an unexpected
surprise.” Jax was still in his wolf-man form, so his voice came out as a
half-growl mixed with barely intelligent human sounds. “We’ll fight after I
deal with internal pack business.”

Carlos calmly crossed his arms.
“Dealing with the betrayal of your second?”

Jax snarled. “Reed Williams is no
second of mine. He’s only an exiled wolf without a pack.”

“He’s not your second and no longer
part of your pack?” Carlos asked again.

“I just said he wasn’t, you fool,”
Jax replied impatiently.

“You can’t kill him then,” Carlos
told him plainly.

“What the fuck are you talking
about?” Jax demanded, finally turning his full attention to Carlos.

“You said so yourself, Jax. Reed is
no longer your second or part of your pack, but he’s still my mate, fractured
as our mate bonds may be.”

“Your mate?”
Jax spat in disbelief, as if he couldn’t comprehend what Carlos was saying in
his rage.
 

Reed
was telling the truth. Jax doesn’t know we used to be mates.

Feeling strengthened, Carlos
patiently continued. “According to universal pack laws, you’re not allowed to
execute Reed. He may be a lone wolf now, but he’s also my mate. You have to
kill me first before you can kill Reed.”

It must’ve been a twist to Jax
Starr’s pride, because Carlos just used the same rules Jax used when he sent
Terrence’s former mate to New Haven.

“You dare quote pack laws to me,
bastard?”

“Alpha, I hate to say this, but
he’s right,” a werewolf said.

“Shut up.” Jax’s eyes narrowed at
him.
“Fine.
This works for me. I’ll kill you and Reed
can watch me horribly torture you.”

“Peachy.”

Carlos expected treachery from Jax.
Because Jax was already half-shifted, he managed to attack Carlos first without
waiting for him to finish shifting. Carlos managed to dodge the large wolf
before the beast could close its jaws on his throat.

He grunted, ignoring the enormous
rake marks on his chest, and continued shifting. By the time Jax went for his
throat again, Carlos was fully shifted. It was time to dance. Ten minutes was
all he needed. Ten minutes was all he had to rid himself of the menace
threatening his pack and claim back his mate.

Chapter Five

Eyes still wide and heart still
thumping, Reed watched Carlos’s golden beast from the sidelines. He’d been
ready for his death, some part of him even longed for it. The last thing he had
expected was Carlos coming to his rescue. Although Jax’s wolf had a few pounds
on Carlos’s beast, the two Alphas were evenly matched in battle.

A large white beast with arctic
blue eyes padded to Reed’s side, followed by a smaller, leaner brown beast.
Bones popped and fur receded back to human skin, revealing Don and his mate,
Ricky.