Above an Alpha Ch. 04

"I didn't know what to do! I saw Leah leaving the compound – and I didn't know whether to follow her or tell somebody! I was trying to decide and I... must... have... fainted."

Mark rolled his eyes and looked back at Lucy. "Take me to her."

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It was Bartok who said it first; "He's the one for her." Luis nodded. Moe agreed, but wasn't sure it mattered. Trent was an omega, and though the fact he had issued a challenge despite his standing had brought him up a peg in the eyes of the rogues, it wasn't going to keep him alive in a fight with an alpha.

Moe paced the cell. Getting captured by a pack was pretty bad, but he had almost been resigned to his fate at that point. He'd be killed or rehabilitated. He figured he'd take what he got.

But now the alpha was going to force a mating on Leah?"Maybe he won't be able to," Moe said quietly, really just to himself.

"That's right," Luis said, brightening. "We couldn't. Remember all those times we tried to rape her?" Luis was grinning, but as the memories sunk in all three frowned and shuddered violently.

"It's true; we couldn't touch her," Moe said.

"But an alpha's an alpha," Bartok argued.

Elias was watching the three both concerned and a little annoyed. He knew there was something different about Leah, but he hadn't had the time to investigate. He didn't like that the others knew more about what was going on than he did. "You three need to stop worrying about pussy and start worrying about how we're getting out of here."

Moe rolled his eyes. Elias had been someone he once admired, thought of as a leader, but things had changed. Now Elias just looked like some criminal, some petulant kid angry that life hadn't worked out to his advantage. "You think we're getting out?" Moe asked. "Didn't notice the betas at the door? All the wolves we passed on the way in? The security cameras? These boys have guns, Elias. We wouldn't make it to the stairs."

"I don't belong in a cage, Moe. I don't know about you; maybe you like being someone's pet. Maybe you're hoping the alpha will come down and piss on you next."

"Shut up," Moe said.

"You were right, you know," Elias said. "The alpha up there isn't any better than you or me. He's raping and pillaging just like you and me. Why are we down here? Because he wanted we had. He wanted those women, and he's going to have that girl you three all got a mystic hard on over."

No one had a response; silence fell upon them for a few moments. Moe sat down. Then, Bartok looked up at Elias. "What do you suggest we do?"

Moe looked at Bartok angrily. Moe wouldn't have cared before, but something in him didn't want to return to the rogue hierarchy.

Elias nodded to Trent's cell. "We're going to get out of here. –Just like him. Now get your brains open; I don't need an audience."

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Lucy couldn't believe how thrilling it was to run beside her alpha like this. They were in the woods outside the compound, hot on Leah's trail. The sun was still out, but the air was cooler than usual this time of year – and Lucy was exhilarated!

Mark often led pack hunts through the woods, and Lucy could only glimpse his gleaming, perfect form from the back of the pack. Her breath would catch in her chest at the sight of him, large and commanding. But she didn't know what it was like to be near him, never imagined that she would know what it was like to be near him – not until now.

He was so much bigger than her up close! And his hair was shining, almost changing color in the light. Suddenly she remembered what he looked like human, crouched over her, naked.

She fell over.

He paused almost tripping himself, looking at her, wondering if they should send her to the compound medical center. But that was when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leah.

She was striding down a dirt road, barefoot, gabbing on a phone.

His brain took a second to process that.

And the next thing Leah knew, she and Mark were rolling across the dirt road. By the time they came to a stop, Mark was on top of her – the phone between his jaws. He growled at her.

In return she gave him a still, low look – a very, Do Not Growl At Me Like That Mark Mark Masters, look.

He stopped growling and turned back into his human form, pulling the phone out of his mouth as he did. He held it up. "Who were you talking to?" he demanded.

"CVS!" she replied, gesturing to the phone. "They're probably still on the line if you want to check!"

He put the phone to his ear. "Who is this?"

"Uh," came the voice over the phone, "this is Babsy from your local neighborhood CVS. Is everything alright?" Mark shut off the phone.

"What were you doing?"

"I have high blood pressure! Do you want me to die? I've already been off my medication for over a week! I either need to pick up some more or have it delivered."

"What... how? No. You're super strong – you kicked me, and you're fast. You can't..."

"Have basic health and medical problems? Well I do."

A weird combination of guilt and fear that Mark had never experienced before roiled through his stomach. "I should turn you. I should turn you now. You're not safe."

Leah shook her head. "And what about all the other women? Do you know who has diabetes? Do you know which one's been off her anti-psychotics for three weeks now? I do. I'm just glad I'm in a cell by myself."

"They were all examined," he began.

"For cuts and bruises and rude intrusions, sure. –But some of us are more complicated."

"I'll take care of it," he said. "I promise. ...Where did you get this phone?"

"I stole it from one of your wolves. I don't think he'll want it back though. I haven't been... kind to it. Now, kindly get off of me."

"Yeah... it's begun to occur to me that you don't know who's in charge here. We need to have a talk."

He got off of her then, and held out a hand to help her to her feet. He said, "I know you keep saying you don't have enough time to tell your story, but how about you start, and if I'm still confused by the time we get back to my room, well..."

"You'll let the women go?"

"I'll have some betas interview the women, like you suggested, to see if it's a viable idea to return them."

Leah paused. –Mark was demonstrating a bit of a turn here. It had to be a trap. She smiled at him. "Okay. Then I'll start at the beginning."

"Great," he replied. "I'm all ears."

They began walking back toward the compound. "Well, I guess it all started with the vampires."

"You're a vampire?!" Mark asked incredulously. ...Leah stopped, looked at Mark, looked at the sun, and then looked back at Mark. "Well, the movies all say that vampires aren't like vampires anymore," Mark mumbled, "–They're just hot people now."

"Yeah, no. Vampires burn in sunlight, are repelled by the cross, drink blood, wear capes, and act like bastards. Always have, always will."

"Okay. So what do they have to do with you?"

"Don't interrupt me if you want to know."

"Okay."

"Okay. So it started with the vampires. ...No, that's not right. It started with my dad." She paused. "No, it started with Adria."