An Alpha Torn (Nights Of Lust Book 1) Read online

  Joséf looked around. More of the wolves had returned, many of them women, he was glad to see. He motioned to Kissa. “As I was fighting the Ancient vampire who had been working with the Syndicate here, Kissa was in contact with my people in San Francisco. The Syndicate’s crime lords have increased their presence in the city. Their reach is stirring various, dangerous, factions now forming in the city.”

  Mikhail frowned. “How does that concern us? We are far from San Francisco.”

  “Ah, but are we?” Joséf scanned the crowd. “At best, you have scattered their forces, taking out a many of them, for which I thank you. I am glad your mates have been retrieved, and I grieve with those of you whose mates were lost.”

  A cool wind blew through the forest, pushing the smoky air around them. He scented, rather than sensed, Sapporo's appearance, but continued.

  “I’ve been called back to help contain what may be a mere, minor skirmish. But consider this. If all the factions start a war, it will become a blood bath in San Francisco, then it will devour first California before spreading the bloodshed to the rest of America. Then it’s just a matter of time before the world falls.”

  Sapporo hadn't actually appeared at the moment Joséf scented her, but waited a few minutes before she walked, or rather appeared to float before the group.

  Joséf nodded in acknowledgement of Sapporo's appearance.

  "Staganov. You're alive.”

  "Indeed, thanks to Kissa, healing me after I took out Ishmael.” Joséf kept an eye on Sapporo. Dressed from head to toe in a thick, black robe that trailed the ground with each movement Sapporo made toward him.

  Slowly, Sapporo lifted the hood off her head, revealing a hard, angular face. Eyes stared at Joséf with intensity but looked hollow. In the glow of the fire, Sapporo's face seemed to take on a slightly more effeminate form.

  "It would appear you're breaking a promise."

  Joséf stood. "No. I'm being called back to America. Something bigger is coming to attack my home and, as you heard, perhaps the rest of the world."

  "But," Sapporo crossed her arms over her chest, "this is your home until our terms have been fulfilled."

  Growing even more annoyed Joséf turned the attack. "Where do you go, when all the action goes down, Ancient? With all your power, you cannot help this pack, so where do you run and hide to?"

  Sapporo simply closed her eyes. When she opened them, they burned with an intensity designed to hide the truth.

  Her facial features softened. Hair appeared, grew out faster and hung long down past Sapporo's hips. The robe hanging off her frame sank a little lower, making Joséf wonder just what gender Sapporo truly was.

  "Enough with the illusions, you fucking coward."

  "This, I'm afraid," her voice softened, "isn't something I can control, nor is it an illusion."

  "You're…"

  Sapporo shook her head.

  Joséf took a breath. "I'm guessing you'd rather be the one to deal with the pack, and make sure they're not defenseless while I return to America. At least we have salvaged guns, and ammunition. I am instituting structure."

  "I never said I'd allow you to return so soon."

  "Changes must be made. As alpha, I will institute them now. I shall lead as you made me.”

  Sapporo waved a hand. "No. You will go back home. The criminal organization will follow."

  Joséf arched a brow. “The Syndicate would never leave just to follow me. You’re either mad, or incredibly stupid. You’ve lived long enough to know better."

  Kissa gave his hand a squeeze. Thankful for the comfort, he ignored it publicly in favor of a show of force.

  It's best not to piss Sapporo off, my love.

  A hush settled over those watching.

  Narrowing his eyes, Joséf clutched Kissa's hand tighter. He could do without being fucked with. "Unless, of course, you know something you are not sharing, vampire."

  Sapporo gave a bored shrug, let out a heavy sigh. "I know many things, Russian.”

  The air shimmered, Joséf's hair stood on the back of his neck. "Enough with the bullshit. Give me an answer; do you know something about the growing tensions in San Francisco that I do not?"

  "Do you wish to remain here and guide your pack?"

  Fuck no. He wanted to turn tail, get the fuck out of this country and never return, never deal with these assholes or this pack again.

  "A man is only as good as his word.” Joséf writhed inside. Sapporo's actions made him appear guilty. Those that hid things from others often clung close to a guilty conscious. Or they knew something useful. "But I have a duty to my loved ones. You forced this pack on me. It was not a challenge I had wanted."

  She nodded her head. "You took out the threat to our pack. This is no longer your battle."

  "So, now you are anxious to get rid of me?"

  "You came on your own volition and under your own rules. A first for this pack indeed," Sapporo's voice raised with each word. "I sense you wish to leave us already."

  "I would rather have stayed home and have the comfort I had before I left, but I was warned repeatedly about a murderous streak inside all new shifters.” Joséf smelled fear on the wind; it smelled like wolf and vampire, musky and earth-laced, but somehow Joséf figured it couldn't come from Sapporo. The vampire had to be truly frightened for her to allow Joséf to have lived this long.

  Then it hit him. Pheromones. A woman in heat was nearby, screwing with his sense of smell. But it wasn't Kissa. He waited, sending out feelers like he used to do as a cop in San Francisco. Nothing lay in the woods. The scent confusion was coming from someone in the pack. With all the announcements Joséf planned to make tonight, sex was the last thing on anyone's mind.

  Sapporo shrugged. "Hence some of our pack members nearly dying at your hand, Mr. Staganov."

  “Through normal challenges for pack domination. Indeed. Now we have two problems."

  Slowly, a brow on the Ancient's face lifted. "What would those be?"

  Joséf narrowed his eyes. "An angry crime organization led by vampires who are determined to bring down the world, and a dangerous new shifter who can't always tell the difference," Joséf stepped forward, clenching a fist before he growled the words out, "between right and wrong."

  Kissa tried to hold Joséf still and calm him, but he wrenched free of her grip. He didn't need tranquility now. It needed to be made clear to not just this pack, but this vampire, that he was tired of having his life fucked with. He made the choices, called the shots. If shit was to be thrust on him, then he'd deal with it using his methods, not anyone else's.

  Sapporo took a step back. Several others from the pack must have sensed Joséf's power rise because they backed off.

  "Are you threatening me, Mr. Staganov?” Sapporo remained calm even as her eyes widened.

  Odd, the stoic expression on Sapporo changed, even if only slightly. He'd never seen the Ancient have any other look than stoicism. "I wouldn't waste my time, Sapporo. I just want answers. And not bullshit ones like you vampires tend to give out. Isabella does that shit and I hate it."

  A strangled female scream echoed throughout the clearing, shaking the trees surrounding them. Joséf stood, shoving Kissa behind him. She moved at his side while Istvan and Dave flanked them both.

  Then, like the calm after a thunderstorm, everything seemed tranquil again. Sapporo regained his composure and former appearance, though his hair remained dark and long.

  Joséf's turn to lift an eyebrow. He cocked his head, ire flooding through him now. More vampire tricks? No, couldn't be. He pulled what little magic he could inside his body and let it settle. "What the fuck was that?"

  Sapporo made an unrecognizable noise and coughed.

  "Well?” Joséf straightened and stood completely upright. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at the vampire, paying closer attention to the scents around him. Still Kissa's surrounded him, her aura kept trying to knock at the walls of his mind and force his compliance but that
would never happen. His stubbornness would prevent that. Besides, this wasn't the best time. He growled in his head at her.

  She squeezed his hand again but didn't look at him.

  "Well? What the fuck was that, vampire?"

  Someone in the crowd coughed.

  "I do not know.”

  Joséf looked at the pack standing around the fire and saw the same expression in each one of their eyes. They tired of this pissing contest, wanted to spend time with their mates, return to normalcy as soon as possible, but nobody could answer the how.

  "Is that the first time any of you have seen Sapporo do that?”

  Heads nodded.

  Tapping his foot, he waited for some other response, something from the energy flowing around the fire he'd been paying attention to. It was off, polluted.

  "Then something is wrong."

  I dare say you're causing quite the bit of trouble for the Ancient, wolf?

  Isabella. Great. "Kissa, will you tell me…"

  Remember, just think the thoughts, put emotion behind them and speak in your mind, my herceg. Kissa's voice echoed in his head.

  Yeah. The only emotions he felt with any multitude of strength usually involved annoyance, anger or disappointment. He drew in a deep breath, let it out and put annoyance at the forefront of his mind and thought. Now is not a good time, Isabella.

  It's always a good time when you make things interesting for the vampires of old. They are not like us in their ways and traditions, and you have riled Sapporo, it seems.

  He focused his energy on her, on his usual annoyance and pushed the words into his mind, sending them out. How can you tell? Surely she couldn't pick up all of this action from eight thousand miles away.

  We are all one family in a sick sort of way. I feel Sapporo, and she is sick.

  Interesting. But how?

  In his mind, he swore he saw Isabella shrug.

  "I sense Isabella, Staganov. I smell her on the wind, her precious scent of lavender and chamomile. She is in your head, no?” Sapporo crossed her arms.

  Joséf nodded. When the hell did she smell of chamomile? "Indeed. My little pet won't go away while I handle business."

  Isabella made an undignified noise in his mind. The chamomile is for your queen…

  Kissa giggled. "This is going to be fun, is it not?"

  If by fun, she meant more bloodshed and danger, then yeah. Sign him up. Not. Joséf swept his hand across his body and glared. He scowled, narrowed his eyes and met Sapporo's gaze. "So what of her in my head, Sapporo?”

  "Nothing. I simply yearn for family every several thousand years or so.” Her stolid expression returned and once again, the vampire appeared bored.

  Every several thousand years? Just how old was she? Joséf fought back a shudder and gripped Kissa's hand.

  She snuggled into the warmth of his body and held him. Then she shivered. Fuck. She was cold. Sapporo appeared pissed, and his lover's lover was mucking around in his head, keeping tabs on him.

  Things aren't as bad as they seem, wolf. Just get the hell out of Hungary and come back here. Your Mistress misses you and waits eagerly to meet Kissa. Things are spiraling out of control in your government. Our home has an influx of newly-created vampires, and crime is running more rampant than before you left.

  Great. So from one fire into the next.

  A brick wall settled around his mind. He peered at Kissa with a questioning look; saw her nod slightly. Once the steel door in the brick wall slammed shut, he felt Isabella's wicked laughter floating away from him.

  "You will remain and fight for this pack?” Sapporo raised an eyebrow.

  He struggled not to punch the vampire in the jaw. Again that sedating wave settled around him, melted into him. He forced out a breath, ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his chin before looking back at the Ancient. He could do the right thing on his terms. "I will as long as it's understood I am in charge. Not you. You are not a wolf. You are not my leader, nor my father, and I am not beholden to you or anyone else since you've broken our agreement."

  "We had no such agreement—"

  "Enough with the bullshit.” Tired of this nonsense, Joséf cleared the distance between them, cocked his fist, brought out a white light of energy, and grabbed Sapporo's collar.

  The older vampire staggered forward, meeting him eye to eye.

  Defiance and anger shone in Sapporo's gaze. "You would dare handle me in this manner?"

  Joséf shook his head. "I would kill you now if that's what it took to establish my dominance. Remember, I do not always know right from wrong, vampire. I've suffered most of my life, and it stops now."

  Sapporo laughed. "Brave words, Russian, but do you think you could actually kill me?"

  "No.” Joséf gritted his teeth.

  Her lip curled up in a sneer. "Then why put on this bravado?”

  Joséf yanked the vampire off his feet with the hand holding his collar. "Because I know I can kill you. Isabella told me a most interesting thing. You’re changing, and it’s causing havoc with your power. You’re sick. Vampires don’t get sick, but you are. I’d wager you’re dying. Aren’t you? And you have no clue as to why.”

  When Sapporo didn’t answer, Joséf continued. “I’ll happily exploit that weakness, just like my life has been exploited.” His voice dropped to a whisper only Sapporo could hear. Growling low, Joséf smelled fear, graveyard rot and flowers. In his rational mind he knew Sapporo would put up a fight, but it wouldn't last long. The beast inside him held doubts but he ignored them. "I killed Richard, and his daughter. I killed Ishmael."

  Raising both his hands up in defeat, Sapporo looked indifferent. "Very well. I shall hand matters over to you."

  Joséf dropped Sapporo. He spun around, making sure to make eye contact with everyone there. "You all are present to witness this. I am your alpha. I am in charge now. The first one of you who thinks I can be challenged because I am not? From here on, shall quickly be put in his place. Understood?”

  The fearful look in the eyes of many made him wonder if they were capable of anything better than pure survival.

  He hoped he made the right choice, because if he turned his back now, he'd let the pack down. Not that he gave a fuck. But that would mean letting Livía down, Isabella, and finally, mostly, Kissa.

  The weight on his heart would be too much to bear.

  "Many of you are weak and your pack can no longer sustain life in this manner. You will all go get jobs, and live amongst the humans, pretending to emulate them. Yes, we will continue to act as wolves and hunt as needed. But you will learn that having a backup in place of nature is a more secure way to live."

  Heads nodded.

  "Will you create a council for democracy as is custom in your country, Staganov?” Sapporo seemed offended by the idea.

  "One council coming up, Cap'n.” Dave charged through the crowd and jumped over the fire.

  Istvan sauntered around the fire and stood beside Joséf. "We are his council, along with Mikhail and the girl."

  Kissa elbowed Istvan in the ribs and growled.

  Joséf pulled her closer to him and glared at her.

  "What?” She crossed her arms.

  "I will deal with you later.” He frowned.

  She gave Joséf a wicked grin and licked her lips. "Oh?"

  Enough, Kissa. I need a show of strength here.

  Fine. She hid her pout.

  Joséf surveyed the rest of the pack, smelled numerous things on the air. Tasted fear from the vampire. Odd, for someone who was supposed to be the most powerful among the Ancients.

  Joséf looked around. "Any further questions?"

  After a moment of silence, Sapporo waved a hand dismissively through the air. "It would appear not.” Then Sapporo vanished into thin air.

  "Wow, I felt that change earlier. Was it Sapporo?” Dave took a seat on a large stump of wood beside the fire and warmed his hands.

  "I don't know what the fuck it was. It was…intense.” Joséf'
s heart raced. He'd just challenged an Ancient with more power than Richard and Amalie combined, and managed to force said vampire to back off.

  Wrapping her arms around his waist, Kissa pulled him to her, nuzzling his chest with her cheek. She felt warm against him. Finally, after making one last look around at the pack he'd been given control of, he looked down at her and let out a sigh of relief.

  His heart slowed and tranquil energy flowed into him like a cool stream, washing away the worry and stress centered in his head.

  He fought momentarily but Kissa's lips pressing into his chest distracted him from the fight. The brick wall he'd felt around his mind earlier dissipated, leaving him with only blackness.

  You cannot block us out forever, szíve.

  Livía's voice flowed over his mind like water over pearls.

  What is the new word?

  Szíve is how you say, like szeretőm. I do not remember the English translation.

  It is what you are, Joséf. Beloved. Kissa, snuggled closer.

  "Do you want to feel Livía's energy, Kissa?” Joséf had no idea where that question came from.

  You want us both to hold you closer to this life, szeretőm. I feel it in you, a desire to live and finally be happy. Even as I wander these halls at night, waiting for your return, I feel your heart from this large distance. I feel the weight of your burden, and it's no longer yours to shoulder alone. You need to let us help.

  That shit wasn't right. I miss you, Livía. I'm confused by so much going on. I…

  Need to separate from your old self, Farkas. I have felt it since before you left. The wolf is clean, of this earth and of this world. Your old human body has become dirty, and it needs to be free.

  Joséf simply nodded. I don't know how. I don't know what to do, Beloved.

  Let the physical being go, break free of its grip and run free, Farkas. The storm cannot conquer you if you do not stay for it to catch you.

  Storm? She had him there.

  The one built of rage, of anger. The one clouding your heart, szíve.

  But Livía, I do not recognize... His heart felt heavy at the moment, unable to cope with things she'd said.

  Your heart is so filled with loving, szíve. Do not push Kissa away, or you'll anger us both. Hurt us both.