Alpha killer

Chapter 13

"I was. Now I'm nothing."

"I'm sorry about your parents, the Vampires respected them and left them alone. Suspicions were being raised that Vampires had taken your sister, but I can assure you that is not the case. No one would risk war with the werewolves over an underage girl, especially one whose Pack was not an enemy of the Council." For some reason, I knew she was speaking the truth. "The Vampire Council met in St. Paul last night. We had representatives from every Coven present and none of us were involved."

I followed her to her car, which was a Mercedes S-550 luxury sedan. "Hang on," she said as she grabbed a blanket from the back seat and spread it over the leather passenger seat. "No offense, but your wounds are still bleeding. It's distracting, and the leather will stick to them."

"None taken. Thank you for the ride." I got in and settled into the comfortable bucket seat, as she got in and fired up the twin-turbo V-8 engine. We pulled onto I-94 east towards Madison, and she drove like she didn't fear death or State Patrol officers. "We'll get pulled over in a heartbeat around here, the State Troopers are thick between Tomah and the Dells," I said from experience.

"Vampires don't get tickets," she said. "We have the ability to control the minds of humans, so I never get more than a warning." She smiled as she pushed it up over a hundred miles an hour. "You aren't as afraid of me as I expected."

"I accepted my own death not even twelve hours ago, and you would give me a quicker death than the Pack would." It was true. I watched the road signs whip past, we were well outside my Pack territory now. I thought of my friends, of everyone in the Pack that I loved and would be forever separated from. Erica was bound to be discovered and punished for helping me. Tears ran down my eyes as we sped towards Madison. "You really want to hear my story?"

"Talia, my coven is led by Jarrod Covington of the New Orleans pack. It's a two-night drive, even with me driving," she said. "You intrigue me; rarely is a werewolf calm enough to have a conversation with. At my age, I appreciate someone I can learn from."

"How old are you," I asked, immediately regretting it.

"Jarrod turned me when I was twenty-eight, the year was 1740. My father had arranged a marriage to a wealthy man in New Orleans, a man I had no wish of joining. The ship I was sent over on had been captured by pirates and I was taken as a slave. Jarrod was hired by my fiancé to get me back. He killed them all and offered me a chance to go free, but the last thing I wanted was to be married. He returned to New Orleans with me and reported that I had been killed during the attack. I was the first one in our Coven that was turned by him."

"Wow." She had been alive for the entire existence of the United States and more. "My story isn't that exciting."

"Still, we have time." I told her everything, the events, my suspicions, even how my friend had risked herself to help me. We were on I-39 in southern Illinois by the time I finished. "All I want to do is find my sister and get my Pack back," I said.

"But you have to defeat Alpha Todd in the ring to take your Pack back."

"Yes, either I or my mate would have to beat him. Since I'm no longer welcome in any of the Packs, finding my true mate is going to be near impossible. Most Packs will kill me on sight if I step on their lands."

She thought for a while. "I need to talk to Jarrod, but I can promise you this much. Swear to me that you won't attempt to harm me or my Coven, and I will swear to you my Coven will listen to you and let you go free if you do not wish to stay."

I just laughed. "Me hurt you? As if."

"Sunlight, packs and wooden stakes are still weaknesses for my kind, and I need to trust you if we are to travel together," she said.

"I swear I will not attempt to harm you or your coven. You have helped me and I owe you a debt for that." I held my hand out.

"And I swear you will be safe with us until you wish to leave," she said as she took it. Her hand was slightly cold but strong.

"Good. Then we can drive straight through. You can drive, can you not?"

"I can," I said. I'd gotten my license three months ago.

We were near Memphis as sunrise approached when she pulled off the freeway, heading to the back of a strip mall that wasn't open yet. "Come on," she said, popping the trunk and leaving the car running. I walked to the back and was surprised to see the trunk had been modified quite a bit. A mattress covered it, pillows were in there, as well as LED lights and some books. "Vampires don't need to sleep, but we do need to avoid light. My trunk can function as an emergency shelter during the day; once it closes, it won't open again unless there is no UV light present. We can still talk, I'm sure we'll be able to hear each other through the back seat if you don't crank the radio," she said with a smile.

"I'll drive safe," I said.

She crawled in the trunk. "The GPS system has the location of our home loaded, just follow instructions and don't get pulled over. I'll let them know you are coming and when to expect you." She pulled her phone out. "I like you, Talia. You remind me of how I was when I was younger."

I stopped for gas twice and got a drive-through breakfast, so I made it to the beautiful New Orleans mansion by lunch time. The gate opened as I approached, and the garage door was open as a man in a suit waved me in. He closed the door as I turned the Mercedes off, and I was awestruck by the size and contents of the garage. The Mercedes was the least expensive car in the six-stall garage, I figured. I heard a bar slide as I got out, locking the door. The man moved curtains around, making sure the door did not leak sunlight, then turned the overhead lights off to verify. "It is safe, Miss Marceline," he said.

The trunk popped open and he helped her out, still holding her phone. "Good, it was getting a little stuffy in there. Talia Stillwater, this is Malcolm, he is one of the familiars here and in charge of the day staff."

"A pleasure, Madam," he said with a bow. "Your bag?"

I handed it over as Marcy grabbed her bag out of the back seat. "Malcolm, set her up in the guest suite. Talia, follow me, I need to introduce you to my Master." We walked to the back of the garage, where she used her thumbprint to open a door leading to a small vestibule. The heavy metal doors locked, then she punched a code in to the second and it opened for her. "Come on." We went down the stairway which was barely lit with LED lighting, then through a narrow tunnel with doors on each side. It finally opened into a sitting area, a fireplace in the center, and lounge chairs arranged around it. Two men and one woman looked up at me as I entered, all were young and beautiful. The tall male that came towards me was tall, strong and handsome, with straight black hair that was cut at shoulder length. "Welcome to my home, Talia Stillwater. I am Jarrod Covington, Master Vampire and Coven Leader."

"Talia Stillwater, Lone Wolf," I said as I shook his hand. I was glad I'd had fifteen hours of driving to get used to being around a vampire, so I wasn't as nervous as I should have been. "Thank you for your hospitality."

The other two, Eduardo and Anastasia, introduced themselves as Malcolm came down with champagne and a tray of snacks. "Please, eat. You are still healing, she-wolf."

The tray was heavy on meats and cheeses, and Malcolm handed me a tall glass of juice. "Marceline helped me escape, and I am in her debt for that. She said you might have use for me."

Jarrod nodded. "She did, but you are not ready yet to perform the service we would ask of you. If you agree to my proposal, we will shelter you, provide for your needs and train you into the weapon you can become."

"Weapon? Me?"

"Yes. You want to take your Pack, and for that you must become a fierce warrior who can defeat a strong male Alpha. We will help you train until you are that she-wolf. In return, you will help us to eliminate problem wolves our Council wants gone, but without implicating our kind in the act."

"You want me to kill werewolves for you?"

"A few, and no one who does not deserve death. You will know who and why, and if you don't agree they deserve death we will not force you. You solve problems for us in a way that won't blow back on the Covens."

I owed the Alphas nothing, I thought to myself. "I agree to your proposal," I said as I held out my hand.

"Excellent," he said. "Eat some more, then Malcolm will take you to your room. You must be tired, and we will discuss this further at dinner tonight."

He led me to a room, it was large and beautifully furnished with antiques. My clothes were already hanging in the armoire or in the chest of drawers, and my documents were on the desk. Malcolm pulled the draperies closed to darken the space as I caught a glimpse of the gardens and the pool. "I will wake you an hour before dinner," he said as I walked around.

"Half an hour, I'm not a person who takes a lot of time getting ready," I said.

"Very well, Ma'am. If you require of anything, this intercom goes to the kitchen and one of the staff will provide it."

"Thank you." He left, and I pulled my clothes off and walked into the large bathroom. The shower was amazing, and now that my wounds had healed I scrubbed myself well before putting on a long shirt and crawling into bed. I slept like the dead.

Fitting since I was in a vampire coven now.

Erica's POV

I drove my Mini Cooper back to the Pack House garage and parked it before going back to my room which I shared with two other girls. Michelle was waiting on my bed for me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing I will tell you," I said.

"Is she alive?"

"Barely." I took a quick shower and changed to make sure no scents would follow me to dinner, but there was no hiding my scent in the woods. In her room I could claim it was residual from last night if they didn't go in there right away. Michelle followed me to the dining room, which had been decorated in celebration of the new Alpha for the Tomah Pack.

My stomach churned as I watched Alpha Todd come up on the elevated front table with the Alpha Council and the visiting Alphas and Lunas. Chairman Andreas said a few words of congratulations, ending with everyone raising their glass in a toast to his new position. Alpha Todd then addressed us all. "Thank you for joining me and the Tomah Pack as we usher in a new age of peace and prosperity. I would like to acknowledge the help of the Alpha Council in this difficult time, as well as the support of the surrounding Packs. I look forward to continuing the alliances that our Pack has always treasured."

I noticed that the LaCrosse Alphas were not smiling at that, in fact they were glaring at him. That alliance would not be easily repaired after what had happened to Talia, and what he said about searching for Tania. I sent to Michelle privately. "Now that Talia was no longer in the Pack, would anyone bother to look for her sister?"

"Alpha Todd won't. She still has the Alpha bloodline and if mated to an Alpha, could challenge for the Pack again." She shook her head. "Do you see all those sluts trying to get Todd's attention? Word is he's planning to audition Lunas every night, and his calendar is already booked weeks out."