Alpha's

Sweeter Agony

Jerome looked at his team. DW was missing and a grin fleetingly crossed his face. He snapped back into unit leader mode.

He sighed happily knowing his Beta was with the woman he'd been so sure he'd never meet. The rest of the team looked like they had partied hard. If it were only his pack members they would be on the mats in the gym.

"Good morning everyone. I trust you've had at least five hours of sleep each." He spoke as he walked past the three rows of his unit.

Each row had his team equally spaced, their hands behind their backs, feet shoulder width apart looking directly at him. It was an informal meeting so their stance was correct. Their attention was solely on him.

"Yes, sir." They answered as one.

"Good. You all did well yesterday. There is however, more that needs to be done." His gaze swept over the entire group before he focused his attention on one young lady.

"Surveillance, you need to c***k Tony's personal living space. I want every room of that penthouse under our observation." He told her.

She smiled, "You got it Chief!" She looked up at him and nodded sharply.

"Good." Jerome turned to a blond male. His skin was so white it was almost translucent. His veins could be see on his forearm. His eyelashes and beard were platinum blond tight curls.

"Tactical, I want you liaising with everyone on the next move. You are to carry out next phase, no changes."

The blond nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"No hesitancy, Thabang. We are dealing with criminals and their victims. No sympathy until you know which side they are on. That goes for everyone."

Thabang's spine straightened a bit more. "Yes, Sir."

"The rest of you wrap up your reconnaissance reports. Yes, I know they are not done. Everything needs to be submitted before lunch. Dismissed."

"Where's De Wit? The fucker keeps slacking.  I swear shifters are run by their organs. He had one of the nurses on the wall a few minutes ago." One of the human males spoke in disgust.

"You got something against shifters Jack?" Jerome asked almost uninterested.

Jack shrugged, "Not really, they just seem to always want to have their d***s wet or their walls coated."

"Always?" Jerome asked softly.

His pack members eyed Jerome warily. Thabang looked ready to run interference if necessary. The tension in the room rose.

"Okay, fine not always but isn't one of the reasons we're here now is because we're hunting for Pieter's Alpha's mate? The p***y can't be that good to risk our lives and the guy who it matters to the most is probably getting his d**k wet."

"So you're okay with a girl who got kidn*pped at 16 being in the hands of s*x traffickers? What about the unlucky 12 to 18 year olds we rescued yesterday? Did you see the condition of those girls?" Jerome asked softly. Anger rolled off of him in small waves.

"No, of course not! Those girls need to be rescued! I'm talking about a grown ass man who clearly couldn't protect one woman and the only plus point of this is that we're saving these girls."

Jerome nodded. "How old is Diamond?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't know, 28? She's got two master's degrees so she can't be that young."

Jerome nodded. He turned away from Jack. He twisted his neck left and right. He looked at one of his pack members. "How old is Diamond?"

"Um, she's turning 17 today, sir."

Jerome's hands clenched into fists. "And how hold was she when she was kidn*pped?" His voice was soft

"J-just before she turned 16, Sir."

"So, how long has that child been pretending to be an adult to survive?" Jerome asked, even though they all knew the answer.

Jerome nodded as if he was thinking about it. "DW, how long has your Alpha known that that this girl was his mate?"

Pieter walked in, "Since she was 12, Sir."

"Does she know she's his mate?"

"She won't know for another year, Sir. If I may ask, what's going on? Did something happen to G-Diamond?"

"Jack, don't open your mouth. Pieter will rip you into shreds and he's too damn fine a Beta to rot in jail." Jerome warned. "You're dismissed Jack, go see Commander Weiss about a re-assignment."

"What?! Because I called out a weak Alpha who couldn't protect his mate? No man, where the f**k was he when she was kidn*pped?! What the f**k is he doing to save her huh?" Jack threw a chair across the room.

Jack walked up to Pieter, "Besides man, what the f**k do you know about it? You've been here for almost five years. Why didn't your Alpha come here with you instead of being a pedophile with a 12-year old?"

Jack turned to the other team members. "How are you guys okay with this? That Alpha has got to be at least 25 by now. That's disgusting."

"Jack, I issued an order. Leave." Jerome ordered firmly as he sat at a desk with a laptop.

"No, I'm sick of his s**t 'Ro. He's f*****g clueless. He'll get us killed." Pieter grabbed Jack and sat him in a chair. "Don't f*****g move."

Jack snorted and tried standing up. When his body failed to follow what his mind wanted it to do he glared at Pieter. "What the f**k? This makes even less sense. How can you be so powerful as a Beta and your Alpha a wimp?

Pieter snarled, his eyes flickering between his normal eye colour and True Nature. "Don't you dare disrespect my Alpha!" His voice boomed. "He may tolerate your bullshit but you can miss me with that."

Jack laughed derisively. "That piece of s**t should be here. Not making you do his work. It's his f*****g mate. Do you guys realize how lucky you are? You have no doubts when you meet her while we hope that we're getting it right."

Pieter glared at the clueless human. "It's a blessing we are privileged to have. I don't know how my Alpha has been strong for 5 years. I met my mate last night and she's MINE. If she wasn't on shift later I'd still be with her."

"I told you he was getting his d**k wet." Jack smirked at Jerome.

A growl reverberated in the room. It was an Alpha pair harmonic. It was a warning.

Jack looked at Pieter confused. "How the f**k did you do that? That was a harmonic. You can't do that unless your Alpha is here."

Pieter sighed. "You are an i***t. When I joined I told you that I was here with my Alpha, right?" Jack nodded. "He's still here."

"But you said he went home to go be with his mate."

"Yes, two years ago and he's back." Pieter told him.

A collective groan came from the Bluemoon pack members.

"Oh shit...Jack, say you're sorry." One of the girls on the team shot him a look.

"What-"

Jerome stood up. The entire room tensed. Jerome glared at his Beta.

"Jack, you don't want to work under a weak Alpha, right?" Jerome asked with a bitter smile.

"You're not getting rid of me."

"Yes, I am. You've called me a weak, piece of s**t, pedophile." Jerome shrugged. "I really want to kill you. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I had fully claimed her despite her impossibly young age.

"Now I have to frequent a den of iniquity just so that I can see for myself that she's okay. Even then, she has no f*****g clue what I am to her. Meanwhile, I watch her play nice with a man who makes her sleep in his bed. Every time I see her all I smell is his scent all over her." Jerome's hands clenched into fists.

"Meanwhile I have to watch her play nice with men like you who see her as a willing piece of ass. You're right, I am a piece of s**t and I am weak. If I wasn't, she'd be at home in my bed saturated in my scent." Jerome looked up from the floor and at Jack.

"You deserve to be under a more honourable Alpha with more power, with more discipline and who actually gives a damn about what we're doing. Commander Weiss is expecting you. Do well Jack." Jerome waved him towards the door.

Jerome looked at his watch. "Okay, go for lunch. I want progress reports within the hour."

The entire team stood by. Jerome snarled. Everyone jumped.

Pieter signalled for everyone to leave. They hesitantly filed towards the door without a word. A throat cleared and Jerome looked up.

"Um, Sir. I would just like you to know that I don't think you're weak. You're the best unit Chief I've ever worked under. I'd have broken into Tony's penthouse busted out my girl and let everyone sort out the mess. I stand by you until your Luna is by your side." The smallest of the crew came forward, literally cap in hand at his chest.

A chorus of "me too" and "yeah" was heard through the group.

Jerome looked at all of them and nodded. "Alright ya bébés, get ta lunch. The lot of ya will whine if ya miss canteen hours. Your loyalty is with your stomachs." He grinned despite being in True Nature.

A sigh of relief passed through the group. And they walked off to the canteen. Their chatter could be heard down the hall.

"Want to see something cute?" Pieter asked his Alpha.

Jerome's head swung in Pieter's direction. His eyes glittered with residual malice and anger. He didn't feel in the mood for puppies.

"No."

Pieter tsked. "Pity, Gaby's at the mall with her assistant. The selfies she's posting are cute."

Jerome pulled out his phone. He stroked the screen. His heart stopped at the next picture. The caption read, "I want to make bae drool."

Jerome's lower half responded before he could fully take in the bikini she had tried on...even with a small sarong his fingers itched to touch her. He took a shaky breath. He looked at Pieter.

"I'm becoming one of them. DW, all I want to do is possess every inch of her. I know she doesn't need it but f**k, I need-" he stopped. "I want to get laid."

Pieter chuckled. "I think it's time."

Jerome frowned at him. "She's 17... I'm not going to do that to her. I've waited 5 years. There are reasons that our girls don't mate before 18. I would have completed the mating and come back here so this was probably better."

Pieter nodded. "Do you really think Tony is-"

"f*****g what's mine?" Jerome asked with a growl.

Pieter looked sheepish. "He'd be foolish not to. In this world, you either claim what you want or let someone else claim it." Pieter slapped a hand over his mouth.

"What else could it be? His scent is everywhere. I swear the other day... anyway, I think blue is going to be my color for a while. I don't know that she'll be ready for normal s*x anytime soon." Jerome huffed.

"His semen was on her, the other day. You didn't imagine it. It's like he makes her bathe in it."

Jerome shuddered. "She's not going to be normal. What is she saying about Maltsev? Has he touched her? I will f*****g rip his everything off. First my mom and now my mate..."

Pieter looked at his Alpha. He had no idea how the young Alpha was keeping his s**t together. Earlier with Jack the room had taken a chilly atmosphere almost to the point of being able to see the steam rise off the shifter bodies.

They had trained a lot to keep Jerome's power under check and Pieter had been afraid that Jack would ruin that...but the cold fury was an indicator that when Jerome did snap, it was going to be ugly and bloody. Jerome looked at the picture of Gaby in a bikini top and shorts on his phone.

"DW, I want her so much. I just want a taste but I know if I get my feet wet I'll dive in and I'm not giving her up for anything." Jerome moaned with his face on the desk.

Pieter laughed. "She's not going to be able to walk when you finally get the chance. My poor Luna... maybe I should warn her."

He pulled out his phone. His phone rang, it was the tone he had Gaby saved under. He slid his finger across the screen. "Hey Gorgeous...miss me?"

Jerome heard her laughter. His heart skipped a beat. He listened for her response.

"Yes, but I'm in the mood for chocolate. Be a good boy and bring me an 8-pack slab tonight when you come?"

Pieter made a face. "Why does it sound like you want to do bad things to the bar of chocolate?"

"I want to eat it." Gaby huffed.

Pieter turned red and put a finger on the collar of his dark grey t-shirt. He cleared his throat. "That can be arranged. Trust me, easier than you think."

"Make it happen and I'll make sure you have the best bedside care." Gaby hung up.

Pieter look at Jerome who looked perplexed. His handsome face gave nothing away as far as indicating that he was mentally going over what Gaby said. The light grey t-shirt contrasted beautifully with Jerome's dark chocolate complexion.

Pieter looked at the dark blue fitted cargo pants Jerome was wearing and the black trainers on his feet. He grinned. "I think I need a new shirt after last night. Let's go to the mall for the rest of lunch. It'll be quick."

Jerome nodded; he could do with an outing. They had another forty-five minutes left of lunch. He quickly texted third in command to let her know what the plan was. Just in case they were late.

When they got to the mall Pieter went straight into a lingerie shop. Jerome frowned and then remembered that his Beta was mated. He let his eye roam over the store.

His eye fell on a body suit that he could imagine Gaby in. He silently cursed his body's immediate response to that picture. An arm rested on his shoulder.

He reached to remove the arm and found himself with his back against a bare column.

"I think you'd like to see me crawl my way to you in that body suit Alpha." Diamond whispered in his ear while his line of sight still had the body suit visible. Her body was flush against his.

Jerome breathed her in. Her scent was like ambrosia, he could make it out under all the other scents on her. Even fainter but still there was his claim on her. His hands went to her hips.

She looked up at him. Her mouth slightly parted in question. Her heart beat fast with the excitement of having him so close.

Jerome smirked. "No babe, you would look so much better under me askin me to tek it off. Moanin my name, desperate for my touch." His eyes glittered dangerously.

Her breath hitched. His smirk grew. "Gotcha." His hand held hers above her head. His canines gleamed in the artificial light. He looked at her lips and bent down, "just a taste."

"Diamond!" Tony's voice cracked across th

e room.

She looked like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She jumped up and pecked Jerome's lips before lightly running her tongue across his bottom lip. She moaned with her eyes closed.

"Come to the club tonight."

Jerome nodded. Her hands slipped from his grip and she patted the hair at the back of her head down. She smiled and kissed his cheek, "Later Alpha." Her hips swayed hypnotically as she walked away.

Jerome rested his head against the column as he caught his breath. He swore under his breath as his lip licked where her tongue had just been. His hand followed in touching his bottom lip before he slipped it into his pocket.

Pieter smiled in amusement. "You okay Chief?"

Jerome shook his head. His mind felt clouded and his hands shook. "I'm f****d. We're going to the club tonight."

He looked at a fluff on Pieter's shirt and picked at it. "Next time you eat seaweed wear a napkin." The little black fleck fell into Pieter's shirt pocket.

Pieter scowled. "Whatever, you look like you came on your pants."

Jerome sighed. " Are you done?"

"Yeah, I told you it would be quick." Pieter waved a purple bag in front of Jerome's face. Both men strode out of the store.