Alpha's Mate (2 page)

Anton moved out of the shadows to follow the women.  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Kolya moved his chair closer, waiting for an explanation.  Kolya was his Beta, his second in command, as well as his best friend.  They grew up together, and were as close as brothers.

“
Govno
, Kolya, why does my timing always have to stink?  Why tonight?  We’ve been staking this place out for a week, but tonight, the one night I am locked into doing something, she walks in the door.”

“She?”

“Violet….My mate.”  The one meant for him alone.  His soul mate.

“You think the skinny little thing, with the long corkscrew hair is your mate?” asked Kolya looking puzzled.

“I don’t think, Nikolai, I know.  If you speak of her with disrespect again, I’ll rip you apart, do you understand?”  Dmitry said glaring.

“Yes, Alpha, I understand.”  Kolya said grinning like a fool.

Dmitry glared at him, but Kolya kept smiling, knowing his Alpha was displeased.  Dmitry felt his lips twitch in amusement at his friend.  Joy broke free, and he was laughing.  He found his mate.  A human female was a bit of a surprise. And she was a strong telepath.  Everyone in the pack assumed the Alpha would choose someone with a wolf spirit.  Since women in the pack were few, this could be a good thing.  He thought to go home without any hope for his pack, and their breeding problems.  But now, there was Violet.

Jarvis Petrov and his two body guards walked into the room.  Dmitry let go of thoughts of the future.  It was time to go to work.  The three men were dressed in expensive black suits.  They reeked of the oily metallic scent from the guns hiding beneath their jackets.  The smell was so strong; it was noticeable in the crowd.  They scanned the room, looking for their contact.  Dmitry flipped the switch on the wire so everything said would be recorded.  Then leaning forward he turned to Kolya.  “Here they are.  The hunt begins.”

Chapter Two

Violet Anderson felt like her whole world tilted, and was out of focus.  The sexiest man alive, danced with her, and then told her to leave.  She could still feel the warmth of his hands on her body, branding her.  It was crazy.  Thinking about him made her hot.  The man was arrogant, and elegant, and infuriating.  She wanted to kick him as much as she wanted to kiss him.  She turned to her two best friends Margaret “Maggie” Brady and Ellen James.

“Let’s go.  I’ve had enough of tall, dark and arrogant.  I don’t want to be around if he decides to come back.”

“I don’t know,” said Ellen, cocking her head.  “You two looked pretty good out there together.”

“Yeah, Violet.  You seemed to be really cozy with him, and boy is he gorgeous or what?  You sure you don’t want to hang around?” asked Maggie

“You could always freeze him in place like you did the lion in Africa.”  Ellen giggled.

“Shhh, someone will hear you.  That’s supposed to be a secret,” said Maggie as she quickly glanced around the room.

“No one would believe it, if they heard it.  Violet is a woman with a gift.” said Ellen

“Come on you two.  You’ve got an early flight, and I’m done celebrating.  Especially with men, who up and disappear on you.”  Or worse tell you to leave.  Should she stay to spite him?  No, it was better to call it a night.  She didn’t want to dance with anyone else in the club.  Maggie and Ellen looked at each other and shrugged.

“You’re hopeless, Violet.”  Ellen complained.

“No she’s not, she’s just choosy.  Though if it was my choice, tall, dark and handsome works for me.  Did he mention any friends?”  asked Maggie.

“Sorry it didn’t come up,” said Violet.

“Oooh, did something else come up?  Do tell…” said Ellen giggling.

As Violet and her two friends got up to go, she looked around.  There were plenty of people on the dance floor.  But Dmitry was nowhere in sight.  What was that about?  She was a little disappointed.  He was gorgeous, over six feet tall with shoulder length black hair and cobalt blue eyes.  His shoulders were broad and she could imagine the six pack abs under his silk shirt.  The black leather pants was icing on the cake.  And for a minute, she felt.... something.  But Violet didn’t normally attract gorgeous men.  She knew she was too skinny and long ago gave up on wearing makeup.  If a man was interested in her, he could see right away what he was getting.  She didn’t have time for a man anyway.  She spent too many days out in the middle of nowhere.  Something told her Dmitry would take up all of her time, if she let him.

As they walked towards the exit, Violet wondered again why she let her two best friends talk her into coming to this club.  She knew they were worried about her and the fact she was still grieving for her parents.  They were killed the previous year in a car accident with a drunk driver.  Her friends were so sincere with wanting to help her.  She gave in to them against her better judgment, thinking what harm could it do?

The mini-vacation in Moscow was supposed to give her a new perspective.  She found it made her more aware of being alone.  Not that being alone was bad.  She often needed to get away from everyone’s thoughts.  Violet was a professional wildlife photographer, and spent many hours out in the wilds alone.  There she could lower her shields without worrying what she might pick up.  But since her parent’s death, she was missing something in her life, tenderness, and belonging.

Tonight supposedly was the big send off.  Maggie and Ellen were flying back to Washington DC tomorrow, while Violet would go farther into the wilds of Siberia to photograph wolves.  Her friends remembered how much she loved to dance when they were in college, and thought the club would cheer her up.

Instead, she felt more confused.  Dancing with Dmitry made her want something she never thought she’d have, a normal life, with a special someone.  She tried to pick up Dmitry’s thoughts while they were dancing, but he remained strangely quiet.  It calmed her.  She didn’t have to worry about picking up something hurtful.  It was the first time in her life she couldn’t read someone while touching them.  Instead a feeling of safety and acceptance came over her.  It was intriguing and a little scary.

The trip back to the hotel was uneventful.  There were still plenty of people on the subway.  Police officers could be seen patrolling on the street.  No one seemed to take much notice of three women walking together.  Violet enjoyed being away from the crowd of people at the club.  It always made her nervous, when so many people surrounded her.  Once at the hotel, they hugged each other before going into their separate rooms.  Finally, Violet plopped down on the bed.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Dmitry.  How his blue eyes looked at her with such desire.  How she wanted to melt into his arms and let him hold her safe forever.  How he smelled of fir trees, and his voice seemed to caress her.

Did she leave the club too early?  What would have happened if she stayed?  Maybe she needed a cold shower or a knock up alongside the head.  The whole evening seemed like a strange twist of fate.  She was leaving in the morning.  What was she thinking?  There was no future with Dmitry.  Violet sighed and got up to finish putting the last of her things into her suitcase.  She needed to get up early in the morning.  Maggie and Ellen were meeting her for breakfast before they left for the airport.

As she undressed and climbed into bed, she pictured the dance with Dmitry.  Her body felt flushed and uncomfortable in her pajamas.  She rolled to her side, pulling her knees up.  She never felt like this before.  What was with the electrical jolt, when they touched for the first time?  Was he the telepath that touched her mind?  How did he keep his thoughts a secret from her?

“I’ll come to you tomorrow,” he said.  Of course not knowing where she was staying might be a problem.  He didn't bother to ask her, or find out her last name.

But there was a little voice warning her he meant what he said.  Should she be excited or upset, if she saw him again?  She reached over and turned off the light next to the bed.  If he did show up tomorrow, what would she say to him?

She was leaving on assignment.  She couldn’t hang around and get to know him.  He was so arrogant, ordering her around, she wasn’t sure why she should want to see him again.  But the man could dance.  He was amazingly graceful.  Violet was surprised to admit she already missed him.  He somehow got to her, and she didn’t know how.  She was very particular about who she allowed close to her.  She needed to be since she could read a man’s mind.  But she wasn’t able to read Dmitry, and sometimes a woman wanted to be held.  Violet missed being held.

For the last year, she felt like she was going through life on automatic pilot.  That was why the lion got the drop on her.  If she didn’t use her telepathy to freeze the animal in place, she would have died.

Sometimes, things seemed too hard to manage all alone.  But when Dmitry held her, she felt alive again, complete.  Everything righted itself.  Though she was a little afraid of her overwhelming response to him, she was grateful to feel the tension.  He was like the lions she photographed on her last assignment, beautiful, but dangerous to get close to.  It was really too bad she’d never see him again.  Would he miss her?  Because she was very much afraid she would be missing him.

Dmitry was missing Violet already.  It was way past midnight, when Dmitry, Anton, and Kolya left their friend Ivan Kuznetsov from the Moscow police department.  Jarvis Petrov and his two body guards were behind bars.  The digital recording of them selling drugs to Dmitry and Kolya, as well as the cocaine, was in Ivan’s hands.  Ivan would get all the credit and hopefully keep their names out of the press.

They convinced Jarvis to leave the club through the back door, so innocents wouldn't be hurt.  Then after the deal was recorded, they over-powered him and his body guards.  Jarvis' body guards pulled their hidden guns out of their jackets, but Kolya and Dmitry disarmed them before they could get a good shot.  Their wolf spirits gave them super strength, enhanced speed, and agility.  Their sense of smell and hearing were also better than humans, and they could see clearly in the dark.  However, a bullet would still hurt.

Jarvis and his men didn't know what hit them.  All Ivan needed to do was handcuff the men and call in back up.  Anton arrived back at the club, in time, to see the culprits loaded into the police van.  All in all, a very satisfying night, except for letting Violet out of his sight.

After all the paperwork was completed, and the congratulations over with, they all needed to release their nervous energy.  Ivan offered to drop them off at their apartment.  But Dmitry thought it would be better to walk.  The night was cool and the two mile walk was similar to a stroll in the park for them.  This was the only time of the night when the crowds were gone.  There was still plenty of smelly trash and loud noises.  But it wasn’t quite as bad on their heightened senses.  They strolled down the street.  Anton would occasionally kick a can along the way.

Dmitry was glad the bust was over.  He needed to court his mate.  Then he wanted to go home to Siberia.  He missed the forests and the beauty of the wild.  He wanted to get out of the noisy city with all its bad smells, and back to his pack, the people who depended on him.  He hated to tell them his trip to Moscow did not supply the answers as to why there were no females being born to the pack.  After hours of research in the archives, there was no evidence of another Lycanthrope pack left in the world. 

“Anton, did you find out where Violet is staying?”  Dmitry asked as the three men walked down the nearly deserted streets towards an apartment building uptown.

“She’s staying at the Hotel National with her two friends.  I found out her name is Violet Anderson, she’s an American and a famous photographer for National Geographic.  She’s going to be taking pictures of wolves in the Stolby National Reserve.  Ivan says she has a special permit to camp in the restricted areas of the reserve to get her pictures.”  Anton said as he kicked a can into an alley.

“You asked Ivan about her?” 

“What good is having a friend in the police department, if he can’t help you out?  Besides, after this last arrest he feels like he owes us.”

“I'd say he does,” said Kolya. “Why are you worried about it?  You've known Ivan since we were boys, running around the human’s village.”