Alpha's

Sweet Memories

"AJ! AJ! Catch me!" A young Gabriella stood on the railing that separated the first floor from the foyer in the pack house.

Antonio panicked knowing his sister would jump off and expect to be caught. He raced to the bottom of the stairs and watched her drop off the balustrade like a falling angel. His girlfriend called out his name but he kept his eye on the little girl whose hair floated about her face.

He braced himself and caught her. His heart thumping at just how close he'd been to not catching her especially as his girl swung him around to face her. Gaby laughed with delight.

"You caught me!" She wrapped her arms around his neck.

AJ growled and looked down at her. "Gaby, never put yourself in danger like that again. The next time you do that I might not be there to catch you."

Gabriella's eyes widened. She didn't understand why he was so mad. He always caught her.

When his girlfriend suggested she jump she thought it was crazy but she knew he was always there for her. After all, big brothers were supposed to protect and safeguard little sisters. Even though they had different mothers she knew he loved her.

"I'm sorry AJ. I won't do it again." She whispered. She put her forehead on his neck and held on.

She knew better than to argue with her brother in public. If he wanted to he could compel her to confess why she'd been so reckless. It wasn't quite as strong as the Alpha but he had power over her.

AJ sighed and hugged his sister. She was young and fearless. That scared him, a lot.

He was thrilled that she was still playful despite her genius but she played as hard as she studied and she studied hard. She must have known how dangerous that was. Someone must have put her up to it.

"Who told you to jump little diamond?" He asked her mentally.

"Christina said you'd love to catch me. And she bet me that I was too scared to make the jump." Gaby grumbled obviously upset.

"Why are you mad?" He chuckled.

"I believed her. I'm starting to think she doesn't like me. I tried AJ."

AJ sighed and hugged his sister tighter. She was so small. The fact that she was barely 5 years old didn't help.

He'd felt really weird when his father had suddenly found another mate after his mother's death. Not that his father had been quick about it. His dad found Gaby's mom when AJ was five.

To her credit, Gaby's mom had been an amazing mom and AJ'd had her to himself for five years before they'd dropped the pregnancy bomb on him. It was weird because his father was handsome and women had been falling over themselves to get him since mom had died. It had tempered AJ's view on women as he thought they all just wanted power, money and s*x.

Until Ramona. She'd been so the opposite of the women who went after his dad that she was a welcome change. She helped him with homework and actually knew what he was struggling with and spent hours with him. Even when he'd been reluctant to let yet another woman close to him.

At first, his dad would pout about it until they, Ramona and Dad, started helping him together. They were such a good team that after a while AJ didn't need the help. AJ faked it for a while until Uncle Jacob pointed out that they would still love him even if he didn't need help.

After that he'd started hanging around Jerome Wilder who was a genius but a little devil. Uncle Jacob said that the reason they got along was because they were both born Alphas. AJ often found that he was fought for dominance with other Alphas.

Jerome didn't seem to care about power or being stronger. AJ liked that. They both wanted to work for the Council of Councils which AJ thought was pretty cool for a boy genius that Jerome was.

They got up to a lot of mischief. Once they accidentally tapped into a human trafficking ring and had mentioned Jerome's mom as a possible target. They'd obviously told the authorities and Captain Weiss had been intrigued with the two boys.

That was when he'd met Pieter for the first time and they'd been pretty good friends. Pieter was just like him, born warrior, and closer to his age than Jerome but they were pretty tight as a trio. They'd all gotten in trouble for Luna Esme's k********g.

When the Council of Councils used her k********g to make a few arrests all three boys had been relieved. Their fathers had been less than amused. After that they would meet at warrior training camps whenever school and parents allowed.

AJ had always hoped that his sister would mate with either Pieter or Jerome. It would make life easier because then he'd know if his sister's mate was serious or not. He knew that both Jerome and Pieter took mates seriously.

When their father had died AJ had thrown himself into his work. Ramona had done the same. They both could not bear the Alpha's absence. He knew even then that it was unfair on Gaby but Gaby was definitely his father's daughter and it hurt too much to look at her sometimes.

When AJ'd been unable to take over his pack due to being in the middle of a case Uncle Jacob had taken over temporarily. His heart broke at not being able to serve his pack but his work made it safer for his pack members and other wolves...that was what kept him from losing it. He worked for the Council to ensure his pack was safe from outside predators.

He was grateful that he was able to work without fear of having his family targeted. He'd been undercover too long and knew that if they did not make more arrests he would be labelled as compromised. He could work his way out of that but he missed hugging his little sister and wanted to see her carry her mate's pup.

A big part of him was longing to feel the completeness he observed from his mated friends. That wasn't to say that he couldn't keep his own company, he enjoyed being alone but sometimes he wanted more. He shook his head as the thoughts of life outside the grind.

In the club, Tony smirked, there was no life outside the grind. Everyone knew he was cold and had no feelings unless money was involved. He had learned really quick what was profitable and made himself valuable in the early days. There had been some resentment from other Alpha males in The Circle when he'd been first promoted.

It was almost comical to see men who had never been groomed to take charge the way he had, challenge him. In the Circle, he was known for finding it funny that someone wanted to challenge him. He was thankful for all the training his dad had done with him on how to keep his heart rate steady even if he was anxious.

Of course, Dad had taught it to him for the sake of keeping the pack calm when a threat hit the pack but he definitely found it useful. Especially when he had first seen Diamond among the new chance recruits. Dad would have been proud, of both of them.

Ramona had suggested that he take drama in middle school. Of course, he had been resentful and insisted Gaby have to go through the same and now he was so grateful for the tall graceful red head his father had married. For the first time in his life his spiteful action had probably saved his little sister's life.

Tony, knew people thought he was a creep for making the young girl sleep in his room. He also knew they thought it was strange that he did not let her leave his sight. He was damned if anyone found out exactly who she was to him.

He could feel the barely bridled controlled anger rolling off of Jerome every time Diamond was on his arm. Tony highly suspected that the Moon Goddess had granted him his prayer and had one of his two closest friends mated to his sister. Pieter was also awfully possessive of her but Betas could be of their Alpha female. It was almost hilarious that Jerome only saw him as the enemy but it served to keep their lives in tact and that was his ultimate mission.

It was a sick twist of fate that had Tony running a strip club with his baby sister on his arm like arm candy while his two friends pretended all they wanted was to ogle and touch up a few butts. Tony barked out loud with laughter as he counted the notes on the table in front of him. The two girls who were pushing each other stopped knowing he would make them truly fight it out to the death if he so wished.

Diamond put a hand on his shoulder, affectionately. He looked up at her his eye hardening. He told her to sort out the two girls before he did.

Her head dipped at the obvious rejection of her comfort and she glided across the floor. She pointed at the two girls and one of them grinned. For some reason, this dread locked girl had taken great offence at being directed by Diamond.

"You gonna boss me, wimp?" The Dread locked girl sneered.

Diamond looked at Tony for permission. With an almost imperceptible nod he went back to counting the money before him. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

Diamond smiled kindly. "Two options. One: do as I say-"

"Two!" The brunette with the dreadlocks spat in Diamond's face.

The change in Diamond's face was instant. Her warm face was replaced with a cold glare that spooked almost everyone who saw it. Her hand snapped out and whipped across the air landing on the girl's face with a resounding slap followed by a snap.

The girl stumbled back. She shook her head, straightened her legs and back and grinned. "That was cute. Was that your version of a b***h slap?"

"Don't you have a baby? I think you should think about your ability to support your child if you can't work." Diamond advised coolly as she inspected her nails. She tutted when she found a chip in one of her nails.

The brunette paused briefly, "says the girl who got beat up by her uncle's second in command's daughter. I know who you are. That girl isn't even all that." The bravado slipped back into her voice as she spoke.

"Kill her." Tony ordered. Diamond's shock was momentary before she nodded and walked up to the disrespectful girl. She looked into the eyes of her opponent.

"Such a waste of a beautiful exterior." Diamond tutted. Her hands wrapped around the girl's neck and the girl's neck lolled to the right. Diamond dropped the body to the floor and glided back to Tony.

"Goddamn it, someone clean up the body. Did you really kill her or was that a warning?"

Diamond smiled. The smile was creepy, and Tony admired the kid's spunk. Two bouncers stepped forward to pick up the body. Tony lifted his hand. They stopped mid-step.

"Leave her body there for a minute. Just in case anyone else thinks that Diamond isn't aptly named. Let all the girls come out and see what happens when you cross Diamond. Tell them to hurry the f**k up. I ain't got all day. Tell Bobby to come up to the office, bring me four trash bags Jace." Tony coolly commented before putting his hand on Diamond's waist and leading her to the office.

"Jesus f*****g Christ, now instead of one sociopath we have two." One of the bouncers muttered.

"I told you all that she was his girl. Like meets like in that pairing. They are starting to look alike too." Another bouncer huffed walking past the body on the club floor.

"Oh my God, is that Cassidy? Did Tony finally get tired of her s**t and put a bullet between her eyes?" One of the girls asked as she came from the dressing area. She stopped just in front of the body.

Girls in their street clothes crowded around the body. Some kicked it to see if she was really dead. Others spat on her.

"If you ask me, it's good riddance. She's been talking about f*****g up Diamond and y'all know Tony will go ape s**t on anyone touching his s**t or f*****g it up." A chocolate goddess commented as she made her way back to the dressing area.

One of the bouncers laughed. "You won't believe who did that little job."

A cute blond with an innocent face perked up, "Did Tony do it? He always looks so hot when he is getting dangerous."

"I swear all the innocent looking ones in this luxury s**t hole are bat s**t crazy." One of the Latino bouncers commented. The cute blond pouted. "No, Caramel, Diamond did that with her two hands. One second she was standing there looking serene as f**k and then it was like she slid across the floor and wrapped her hands around the b***h's neck and she was gone, not even a little fight."

A low whistle escaped the mouth of one of the girls. "Well, s**t. Guess we know that the Boss got him a real diamond. He doesn't f**k around when he names his toys." A murmur and collective chuckle went through the group of girls.

"Cops!" A shout rang through the club. The girls scattered and the bouncers nervously looked at the body on the floor.

Two city police officers walked into the club casually. One looked around excitedly and then he stopped his partner who was just behind him with a hand on his wrist. The first officer swore.

Both officers had their sunglasses on. They took off their shades and went from looking casual to business-like. Both of them looked around and saw the bouncers looking relaxed.

"Anyone want to tell us what the hell is going on here?" One of the officers asked.

"Sure officers!" Diamond called across the club as she walked out of the kitchen with a tray with two drinks. She had changed into an emerald green dress and new make up that gave her features a feline, yet appealing look. She glided across the floor despite her high heels and smiled. "Drink?"

Both officers shook their heads. She nodded and placed the tray down. "Well, I had disagreement with Cassandra. She thought she was better and tougher than me. My place is at Tony's side. You understand that I couldn't let that slide. You're welcome to feel her pulse." Diamond took a compact from the tray and placed it below the nose of the body and the glass misted up. Diamond put the mirror in front of the officers so they could see the condensation for themselves.

"You did this Diamond?" The taller and darker haired officer asked.

Diamond looked down bashfully and then looked up, "Yes, Danny." She pouted. "I even chipped my nail," she held out the chipped nail. "Tony says I have to wait until tomorrow to get my nail sorted. He just doesn't understand. I could marr his pretty face if I forget and use the wrong nail. I'm not trying to lose my job."

The officers tutted at her. "Where is Tony?" The shorter, older officer asked lifting his cap and running his hand over his graying hair. Both men were pretty average but the older one was far more lecherous and licked his lips as he looked at Diamond.

"Officers, I can't believe you'd even think of touching what's mine, in my club, before open of business...that could be very dangerous." Tony growled lowly behind the two officers.

The older officer chuckled, "We were just making sure Diamond was okay and not alone while you were away Tone."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "You know I hate liars Ted." The older officer gulped visibly. "Now, why don't you step into the office and tell me why you really are here." Tony looked at the body on the floor. A bouncer moved forward to remove the body. "Leave her there. When she comes to bring her to my office. Officers?" Tony nodded in the direction of his office. The two officers felt the unspoken reinforcement as the bouncers stepped forward creating a path towards the office.

Diamond followed behind the men looking bored. She pulled out a phone from the body wrap of a dress and her nail tapped on the screen. The sounds of a game rang in the otherwise empty room as she trailed the three men.