Blue Moon III: Call of the Alpha (19 page)

“Alpha. I’m having some trouble with your brother.”

“We’ve noticed,” Call threw in.

Lion silently thought a few choice Persian phrases in response to Call’s rudeness but kept going. “I showed him my animal style and he didn’t take it well. And since then, it seems I’ve hit a barrier that appears impenetrable.” Lion’s personality wouldn’t allow him to think anything was impossible, though it may look that way.

Alpha scooted to the edge of the couch. “What is your animal?” he inquired, his tone and posture announcing that Lion needed to be forthcoming, but he still hesitated. That wasn’t something they readily divulged. They were anonymous, elusive, but Lion needed to gain their trust.

“Tiger style,” he finally responded.

Alpha stood and walked over to a large set of windows and opened one to let in the cool breeze. He was glad he did, because Lion was already starting to sweat with keeping his frustration in check. He only had three days.

“Did he show you his?” Alpha’s back was to him.

“Yes.”

Alpha turned around, a sly smile on his lips. “Omega’s never been good with competition. He’s always been considered one of the best.”

“He still is. Always will be.” Lion meant every word.

“You understand the snake and tiger are both very large powers. The basis of your abilities is the power of your strength and mind, Lion. Omega’s snake was chosen for him because of his tendency to evade and shift a conflict. Typically an adolescent like that wouldn’t even be recruited into the Order, but Omega was so damn fast and devious, the Elders used that to their advantage.”

“Hold on. What are you talking about animals for? What do you mean your ‘animal style’?” Call asked.

Lion was a little baffled that Alpha’s cherished didn’t know what this meant, but Call wasn’t an assassin and he wasn’t trained like they were in the old world. A world where the terms discipline and honor were the same as mother and father in a young man’s heart.

Alpha answered him, turning to look at Call with all the respect in the world. “The traditional lineage of the Shaolin kung fu animal styles were first developed in the late 18th century. The tiger, the snake, panther, and then the crane, in that order. When were plucked from society, most of us were homeless, rejected, or abandoned for whatever reason. Invisible – well they seemed invisible when they were watching us – recruiters from the Order will find these young men if they display a certain gift and show them that there’s more to the world than the places they’d survived, that there was a bigger fight than finding their next meal. If an individual showed unique qualities and capabilities, he would be paired with a master who could teach him how to be strong and how to fight for what was right. Some of us showed an exceptional quality in one way or another and our master was given discretion to teach his student a Shaolin animal fighting style if he was considered most worthy. It takes years upon years to perfect, or master. It’s not often these particular styles are even taught anymore. If they put that ability and knowledge in the wrong hands, the Order could inadvertently create a power-hungry tyrant. One who could easily kill with a flick of his wrist.”

Call nodded, looking between Alpha and Lion. He pointed at Lion’s broad chest. “If he’s a tiger… which means…?”

“He is huge. His tall, commanding, almost overbearing presence makes the style perfect for him. Means that he’s a manager, a leader… an alpha. Almost impossible to overpower.” Alpha smiled. “Tiger’s the only fighting style that supersedes the snake, in fact, supersedes all the others. However, it doesn’t mean that Lion’s style could beat a snake – just that he has the power to. Few of us are trained to defend against it since it’s taught so rarely. As far as I know, Omega is the only snake in the Order at this time. Of course, there’s no way to know about the generation that’s being groomed now, what they’re being taught and trained to do, but we have to believe the Order is doing what they believe is best.”

There was a long pause before Alpha chuckled. “When Omega first went out on his own, it was a disaster, to say the least. I don’t think he was prepared for just how corrupt the people were that we chased. His first mission was to take out a Turkish human trafficker. Omega had been under the man’s house for two days, waiting out his opportunity to get the piece of scum and his lieutenant alone. Until Omega heard a female screaming for help that second night. Unfortunately a very, very young female. She was being… being….” Alpha frowned as if he could barely stand to think of it. “Well, Omega forgot all about his carefully orchestrated plan and burst through that door, killing any and every man that looked older than a teen. Gods, he was so fast. It was a massacre. That night he killed sixteen men in less than seven minutes. Hell, it only took that long because he let the Turk suffer a bit. The women and children were rescued, but from that point on, the elders knew Omega would need a leader before he could reach his full potential, and of course to keep a close eye on him. Our cardinal rule is to prevent the Order from ever being discovered and implicated.”

“I don’t want to smother him, shelter him. Turn him into something he isn’t and will never be. A submissive man. But I do need him to….”

“You need him to yield.”

“I do.”

Lion nodded his head. Oh, he hoped Alpha had some secret knowledge or insight he could give him. Because if he and Omega weren’t one when it came down to fight, disaster could happen. Lion had a feeling Alpha understood that. 

“I’m trying to get him to understand that our animals are the yin and yang, where he lacks, I’m strong… and vice versa.” Lion was immensely powerful, but with Omega at his side, they’d be unstoppable… like he and Alpha had once been. Omega couldn’t seem to grasp that he could fight alongside him as well as Alpha had. They could do amazing things if they became one mind. He understood it wasn’t easy to trust someone with your life, with your thoughts, your innermost desires when you’re groomed to be cautious and distrusting.

“You’ll have to prove to him that this was decided decades ago. That even though the two of you are destined to continue together after I’m retired, you’ll have to build your own fate and create your own purposes. Be honest with him, be forthcoming. He needs that and will respect it in the end. The snake’s personality doesn’t like to feel duped or excluded. If you show him you can’t be trusted, he’ll never entertain the thought of putting his trust in you again. He doesn’t like to feel inferior. He was my partner, my brother, but I was his leader and he knew it, so he yielded to me. But I never made him feel like I was actually leading him.” Alpha’s dark eyes narrowed. “Do you understand what I’m saying? Believe me, when Omega yields to you… he yields. He’ll obey, he’s loyal to a fault, and you’ll never regret it. It’ll be the ride of your life with him by your side.”

Lion couldn’t stop his wistful smile. Their names would be feared by all the corrupt.

“I understand, Alpha. Thank you for your time.”

“Do you have an animal style?” Call asked Alpha, running the back of his thumb down Alpha’s forearm, like even the thought of it was turning him on. Lion was about to stand and leave but something said wait, he’d want to hear this.

“I do.” Alpha’s voice was lethal, like he was thinking of his animal. It seemed Alpha wasn’t going to expand on his answer at first, until he turned and faced Lion. “My animal is the black tiger.”

“Damn,” Lion said breathlessly, eyes wide, not even paying attention that he’d cursed out loud. It was warranted, the black tiger was and always will be the I Ching of the animals, the oldest and most revered of them all. The rarest. Omega hadn’t been lying when he said Alpha wasn’t able to be beaten. His level of fight and philosophy went far deeper than any of theirs.

“Is that…?”

Lion answered. He knew exactly what Call wanted to know. Was Alpha still the best? “The black tiger is far more advanced than mine. While Alpha isn’t as large, his master was obviously a very wise man to instill in him that style. The fight stances are much wider and his fists are positioned differently. Smaller fists than mine, they strike even faster and harder, if you can fathom it. Not to mention his more extensive kicks, punches, locks, his bone-crushing techniques are all going to be much stronger than mine because he’s able to harness his internal power, where most fighters rely exclusively on their external abilities.”

“Have you used this fighting on me?” Call smirked, looking at Alpha like he could just devour him.

“No, beloved. And I never will.”

“I want to see it.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Call seemed to forget Lion was in the room. “We have secrets now?”

“Absolutely not.” Alpha stood and walked around the back of couch like he was deep in thought. Alpha was a thinker first. Lion had noted that not only was he the honorable one, but he was definitely the mastermind that he’d heard such stories about. Could devise a plan in a matter of minutes.

“I’ll show you my animal style, but not on you.”

“I have a feeling you’ll see his fight style very soon,” Lion spoke up and rose, taking that as his cue to leave.

ἈΙ

aLPHA

“I’m not sure I like this. I don’t even know if I fully understand what’s going on,” Call argued. Alpha hadn’t seen him look so uncomfortable in a while. He’d let Call look up the animal styles on the internet. The information, which was mostly inaccurate and hyped-up impossible moves portrayed in fake, Hollywood kung fu movies, left a bad taste in his cherished one’s mouth.

“I would prefer you get your information from me, John. It’d be far more accurate than what you’ll get on Wikipedia.”

“Babe, some of the fighting demonstrations look incredible, but I’m still not sure I get what these styles have to do with your brother and Lion.” Call shrugged, like what was the big fucking deal. “He wants to get with your brother, whoopty do. Why all the damn covert conversations with him? He seems alright, why don’t you just tell your brother to go for it? You seem to think Lion is on the up and up. If they don’t make that love connection, no harm, no foul. You move on. That’s life.”

“Typically. But not where we’re from. Lion has to be very careful.”

“What?! Why?! Just ask the guy out!” Call yelled. “What is he, scared?”

“If he’s anything like me, he’s probably petrified. This is a pairing that goes way beyond our understandings, and I’m okay with that. The two of them will do great things together if Omega can yield. It won’t be as easy as you’re making it sound. It surely wasn’t easy yielding to you. That takes courage and a type of strength and trust we don’t readily give to just anyone. That’s why we call our partners cherished ones and not boyfriends or fiancés or whatever. You all are so much more than that to us. As assassins, we know and face so much chaos and conflict, that when we’re lucky enough to face love, oh, it’s a celebration of the highest magnitude. And if Omega doesn’t comprehend why he has the urge to yield to Lion, he’ll never do it.”

“Now you’re losing me again.” Call rubbed his creased forehead.

“It wasn’t a term I thought you needed to know, per se, since the word yield would mean nothing to you in this context. It was something I had to come to terms with on my own. I was ‘the alpha.’ I’d only ever had to yield to my master, which means in simple terms that you accept the person as your leader and teacher. When you yield to another, you’re swearing your allegiance to that individual. Promising that you’ll adhere to this person’s philosophies and truly believe that anything they command is for the best. The person you yield to is not technically superior, either. You made it very clear that we are equals. You didn’t need my submission, but you did need my dedication and commitment. That’s also yielding. I left my Order, my brother, and came to build a life with you… I yielded to you, Call. To my cherished. The term has taken on a lot of meanings within our organization over the years. Lion wants this and so much more from Omega. He wants him to be his cherished, but Lion is still an active assassin and he’s not close to being ready to retire, neither is Erik. But Erik thinks taking a cherished means buying a home, starting a family, working a nine-to-five and going to neighbors’ barbeques. Living a layperson’s lifestyle while yielding to another man and letting him control him domestically is a fate worse than death to my brother. I believe that’s the problem Lion’s running into. That’s why I insisted he be honest with his intentions, so Omega can make a fully informed decision. To fight alongside your cherished is extremely dangerous.”

“For the same reasons people say don’t shit where you eat.”

Alpha shook his head. His commander was definitely career military. Some of those American sayings he’d never understand, but they were funny nonetheless. “Um. Sure.”

“Going over there and fighting beside you might be one of the hardest challenges….” Alpha stopped and turned to Call, they stood in their sitting area, face-to-face. He placed his hands on Call’s rough cheeks. “No. Fighting beside you is going to be the hardest challenge I will ever face.”

“I believe I understand.” Call wrapped his tattooed arms around him and held Alpha to him. “I can’t let anything happen to you, either.”