Alpha Mate: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (5 page)

“
And,” he went on slowly. “The
rookies are not turned loose and left on their own. They are
shadowed and assessed by a senior Enforcer or trainer, or PAC member.
Yes, PAC members are entitled to put in their request to observe and
assess new Enforcement officers. But none of you have yet to take up
your entitlement and put in your request.” He smiled at each
of his PAC members in turn. He riffed through some papers in front
of him. “I have put in a request some nights ago. I'm not
sure if the trainers have approved my request. Oh.” He pulled
out a sheet of paper and waved it. “Here it is. It seems that
I am scheduled to shadow a team of rookie Enforcers this evening.
Who are these rookies?” He squinted at the paper.

“
You'll be shadowing and assessing Charlotte Cole
and Bryn Ellis, Alpha,” Jett spoke up. “They will be on
their first patrol tonight.”

“
A human and a vampire,” Lucas muttered,
scanning the information before him. The mugshots showed two fairly
young females in their early twenties. The vampire had sharp,
angular features, dark, straight hair and coal black eyes, while the
human's features were softer, rounder—and sexier. He stared at
her strawberry blond hair, green eyes, round cheeks and plump, pink
lips. She was—

Jett's urgent voice forced his eyes away from that
alluring picture. “Their patrol starts...” Jett glanced
at his watch. “...ten minutes from now.”

Lucas nodded and handed the stack of papers to Ella, who
served as the PAC Secretary.

“
So. Before we conclude the meeting, I'd just
like to propose that we put a health program in place,” Lucas
announced, remembering his mental note. It was true he had a lot on
his mind and his plate, but he always remembered his priorities.
“Paranormals should be taking better care of their health. A
healthy mind and a healthy body would enable them to enjoy their
naturally long lifespans and not drop dead in mid-shift or mid-spell
from cardiac arrest. We need someone to spearhead this campaign, and
start this health movement. I propose Blake Madden for the job.”

“
I second!” Keagan grinned.

The look of shock on Blake's face transformed into a
scowl. He looked like a big, bad bear, with his knuckles popping and
teeth gnashing. And nobody liked to be in a room with a grumpy bear.

“
The meeting is adjourned,” Lucas called
out. A few chairs were toppled as everyone got to their feet and
made a beeline for the door. Only Blake was left stewing in his
seat, glaring daggers at the swiveling chair that Lucas had just
vacated.

Lucas glanced back at the big bear shifter and grinned.
The deep lines forming on Blake's forehead showed that the man was
deep in thought. Good man. He was probably formulating a catchy
slogan, and a jingle, for his health campaign. Lucas knew he could
count on Blake. The bear shifter might be rough and gruff, but he
was solid. Not just on the outside. Blake was a powerful alpha
bear, and he reined in his strength, power and temper at all times.
He was trustworthy, dependable, and for all his growling and
grumbling, possessed a great sense of humor and a sharp wit.

Jett met him at the door and shot off the information at
rapid fire speed. “The rookies will leave the PAC Headquarters
at twenty-one hundred hours. Their patrol covers the whole area
between Sixty-sixth Street and Crescent Avenue.”

“
Thanks.” Lucas clapped him on the shoulder
and made for the lift. “I'll catch them on the ground floor.”

Lucas leaned against a shop window, his arms folded
across his broad chest. He had been trailing the rookie team for
half an hour now. He had caught them just as they were exiting the
PAC Headquarters. Forcing himself to hang back so that he could
follow them undetected, he had watched the two females carry
themselves stiffly at first as they started their patrol with
nervous, tentative steps and whispers before their stance relaxed
just a little as they hit their stride.

He couldn't see their faces. He had been watching their
backs and caught glimpses of their side profiles as they turned to
speak to each other or scan the streets.

From the back, their hair and body shape matched what he
saw in their mugshots. The female vampire, Bryn Ellis, was a slim,
petite female with hair that was a shade of blue so dark it was
almost black. She wore it in a long braid that reached to her tiny
waist. Her skin, like most vamps, was pasty white since she never
saw the sun. She cut a stark, black figure in her long leather
jacket and pants, and black combat boots.

The human female was similarly dressed. The outfit was
the standard uniform of the Enforcers. The long jacket was to hide
the arsenal of weapons on their bodies. Silver daggers, wooden
stakes, guns with silver bullets, lighters, pepper spray, salt, vials
of spells and potions.

But the uniform was anything but stark on her.

Her strawberry blond hair was tightly pulled back with a
simple black rubber band at her nape. Her figure was full and lush,
with those leather pants hugging and caressing her curvy hips and
thighs. From her side profile, he could see that she was very well
endowed. Her long jacket opened in the front to reveal a generous
bosom. She was taller and curvier than her vamp partner, and she
made the Enforcer uniform look seriously sexy. Lucas never realized
the black leather outfit could look so hot on a female.

The duo was presently patrolling Sixty-ninth Street.
Bars and clubs populated the length of Sixty-ninth Street and drunken
brawls often broke out here. A few ladies of the night had been
found mutilated, more dead than alive in the alleys along this smoky
street.

Lucas pushed off the shop window and sniffed the air, as
he watched the two rookie Enforcers stroll into a crowd of
merrymakers. A breeze picked up, blowing the heady scent of drunken
humans and paranormals right into his face.

Lucas inhaled sharply, separating the smell of human
sweat, alcohol and food from the various paranormal scents. He took
another breath—and stiffened. It was every part of his body
that stiffened. He stood erect, tensed and throbbing, unable to
believe what he had just scented.

It was—her.

His mate.

His erection pressed against the fly of his jeans, and
his claws lengthened and dug into his palms. Wolves aged very
slowly, so that a century was like a mere decade to them. His wolf
had lived for three hundred years, but in human form, he was a
virile, strapping thirty-year-old, with wavy brown hair, intelligent
hazel eyes, straight sharp nose and a mouth that was more used to
scowling than smiling. Three hundred years, and no sign of his mate.

And she had to turn up now.

Talk about timing.

He could scent her, her sweet feminine scent calling to
him, drugging him, pulling him, sending his body into a state of
heightened arousal and need. Lucas let out a low growl and shook his
head hard.

No.

It couldn't be—her.

Not that human rookie.

Sure, he had found her mugshot attractive and alluring,
and thought her curvy body was hot. But give any male a picture of a
pretty girl and these randy thoughts would just gallop through their
minds. Men think about sex every seven seconds. More or less.
Wasn't that what some scientific or not-so-scientific studies had
claimed?

So he thought she was sexy.

But from the way his body was reacting, he definitely
thought that she was more than sexy. She was—
his
.

And his body and his wolf was clamoring to claim her
right now, right here.

Down, boy, down!

He wasn't sure if the command was directed at his wolf
or his cock. Both were on high alert, restless and raring to go.
And neither was pleased at being denied. His wolf howled and clawed
at him internally and his cock jerked painfully, torturing him to
make their point.

And that was when she glanced back over her shoulder.
Those brilliant green eyes seemed to stare right at him, piercing his
soul—if he still had one, and his heart.

Charlotte Cole was perfect.

Her emerald eyes were startling in their intensity and
brilliance. Her cheeks were flushed and her full lips were slightly
parted as she squinted at the street behind her. Her pert nose
scrunched up as she bit her plump lower lip and frowned. She scanned
the crowds and the shadows, but Lucas had slid swiftly into an
alleyway the instant she turned her head. She couldn't see him, yet
her eyes seemed to widen a fraction when she stared at the spot where
he had just stood a second ago.

He took in her beautiful face, every curve and nuance of
her body, and inhaled her intoxicating scent.

There was no doubt.

This rookie human Enforcer was his mate.

Lucas's claws dug deeply into his palms, drawing blood.
A tidal wave of fear and wrath surged in him, drowning him in a sea
of red. The roar in his ears made it impossible for him to hear, see
or think clearly.

What the hell was his mate doing, stalking through the
danger infested streets and hunting rogues which could kill her with
just a swipe of their filthy claws?

He had to protect her. Get her away from here. And
lock her up in his mansion, in his bedroom, where she would be safe.

Every protective, possessive instinct reared up and
threatened to override whatever senses and sensibilities he still had
left.

Lucas quickened his long strides, closing in on his
mate. But just as he was about to reach out and touch that sweet
leather-clad shoulder, he saw two rogues emerge from a small pub just
up ahead. A shifter and a demon, each with a drunken, semi-conscious
human on their shoulders. The rogue shifter was dressed in a smartly
tailored suit, but the fur sprouting from the back of his neck gave
him away. The demon was naked, its red skin rippling with muscle and
tattoos. They were greeted with screams, shrieks and some laughter,
as some inebriated humans attempted to approach them.

The two rookies caught sight of the rogues at the same
time, and reacted immediately.

“
Bryn! Two rogues, just up ahead, to your right!”

Lucas's eyelids slid shut briefly at the sound of his
mate's voice. Her voice was beautiful and exquisite. But he shook
himself hard, growling in frustration. Her hold on him was hypnotic
and powerful, and if he wasn't careful, he would lose control
entirely. He wanted her, and his want was like nothing he had ever
felt before. Just one look and she could drive him out of his
goddamn mind. He hadn't even touched her, and his usually
disciplined body was already rioting, his senses exploding and going
supernova on him.

The two female Enforcers began to give chase, weaving
through the revelers and outdoor diners with speed and skill. Bryn
was faster, being a vampire, but Charlotte moved with admirable grace
and speed. She ducked and twisted through the crowd, her body soft
and fluid, flowing between the cracks of the crowd like water.

Lucas's eyes tracked her like a hawk, watching her as
she chased the rogues, her hand moving under her jacket to drag out a
silver dagger.

At the sight of the deadly weapon in her dainty little
hand, he somehow pictured the rogue demon twisting the dagger out of
her grasp and turning that deadly blade on her. Demons were immune
to silver. She could only use the silver blade on the rogue shifter.
As Lucas trailed them, he saw Bryn grab a fistful of salt from her
pocket. The salt glimmered with pure energy, having been enhanced
with the most powerful, potent witches' spells.

The female vampire was going after the demon.
“Charlotte, we have to split up!” Bryn yelled, as the
demon veered off into a side street.

“
The monster is mine!” Charlotte shouted
over her shoulder, her eyes flashing with determination...and
satisfaction.

The shifter was running full tilt ahead, and Charlotte
continued the chase alone, as her vamp partner took off after the
demon.

Lucas opened his mouth, then shut it. He was assessing
these rookies, not supervising them, he reminded himself angrily. He
was not to shout orders at them, no matter what. That was the rule
that he and Jett had laid down for the assessors. A voice that
sounded suspiciously like his own reminded him in his trademark
surly, gruff tone.

You're an invigilator, not an interferer. Your job
is to assess the rookies, not interfere with their Finals. By
interfering, you've just blown their chances of earning their
Enforcer's Badge and graduating as a full-fledged Enforcer.

Lucas started, as his own words came back to admonish
him. He had said those very words to the assessors who had seen it
fit to direct and intervene in the Final test of a rookie team when
the assessor had thought that the rookies lacked the skills and
judgment to handle a situation. But that was just the assessor's
opinion. The assessor should have let the team react to the
unfolding events and assess their reactions objectively. And thanks
to the assessor's interference, the team had failed their Final test.