Alpha King by Sara Fields
Chapter 9
Lawson
I conducted the rest of that meeting with a very tired and satisfied mate in my arms. She slept while I informed my pack of the many times the Venuti had come into our territory, from the times they’d killed when they weren’t supposed to, to the killing and siring of the governor’s daughter, to the story of what they’d done to Ava’s father.
“My mate Ava had an important part of her family taken away from her by the Venuti, but they took it a step further. They turned her family name into one of a villain’s. Her father will always be known as a monster, and that’s something that she deserves to get closure for,” I explained, and I could see the angry grimaces that came from her story. Even Toboe looked down at her with fury for what she’d already gone through, his mouth set in a firm line.
“Together, we’re going to make sure the Venuti pay for what they did to her. I want to see them burn,” I vowed. Toboe grinned wickedly. Beside him, Tara whooped in excitement.
I’d never allowed them to really go after the Venuti, no holds barred. I was ready to let them now. They’d caused my mate pain and they were going to suffer for it.
“I want full scale weapons production. You will work from sunup to sundown and everywhere in between. Take shifts. Pair off and make sure that everything is going as planned. I don’t want delays of any kind. I believe that the Venuti are going to come for us, and I want us ready. I want us to be able to destroy them the moment they step into our territory,” I declared.
It was time for action now. The Venuti were going to step right into a trap, and I was going to look forward to the look on their faces when they realized how fucked they were. I grinned, feeling wickedly excited to know that time was coming. It had been a long time since I’d engaged with any of the other families in a battle like this, and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.
My pack applauded. They screamed and howled with contagious excitement, and I grinned even wider.
“Get ready. We’re going to war,” I roared over the noise of my pack, and they cheered so much louder. They started clapping and some of them even started to pound their feet against the floor.
This was going to be fun.
* * *
Over the next three weeks, my mansion turned into a factory for sunfire bullets and wooden stakes. Ava had blossomed under my watch and that of my pack. Her resistance in sharing her father’s work had fully melted away, and she took an incredible amount of time in teaching us all how to create the bullets her father had invented. The more time I spent with her, the more I realized how intelligent she was. I also came to understand just how big a heart she had.
Any animosity she’d had toward my kind had all but disappeared. She befriended a number of my pack members, including Toboe, a sweet but very shy beta named Sasha, as well as several others. She even laughed and played with some of the children, letting them put tiaras on her head and reading them stories late into the night when they came calling for her.
In no time at all, she felt like a member of my family and that made my heart swell even more for her than it already had.
I watched her interact with my pack and when she went off to work on the production one night, I followed her. From afar, I observed her and grinned, just enjoying the way everyone around her seemed to smile with her in the room.
She gave a few orders for items, and I narrowed my eyes in curiosity. Unable to keep my inquisitiveness at bay, I strode over to her in silence, making her jump when my hands caressed along her hips.
“Lawson!” she squeaked in surprise.
“What are you up to, little mate?” I purred and I was delighted when a beautifully pink blush colored her cheeks. She stammered for a second and I pressed a soft kiss against the side of her neck, making her lose her words for a little bit longer. I decided I liked that very much. When she was finally able to gather herself enough to speak, I allowed it, knowing that there would be many more times where I’d be able to stoke her desire just through words alone.
“I had an idea,” she began. Her eyes sparkled and I decided I liked that very much too.
“Tell me about it,” I urged.
“Wooden bullets aren’t the most stable, but they’re particularly good at weakening a vampire because they tend to splinter once they hit them. If the wood was soaked in garlic and there was a metal pin driven through the center of the bullet, it would make the bullet more effective,” she explained and I couldn’t be prouder of her.
“That sounds like a great idea, Ava,” I said, hugging her close to me. She smiled broadly, but it seemed to wilt not long after. I didn’t say anything yet, deciding to let her speak on her terms.
“I want to fight them, Lawson,” she began.
“I know you do, Ava. Did you think that I would keep you from that fight?” I questioned softly, dragging my fingers along the edges of her brow.
“I thought you might,” she pouted quite prettily. I had to admit that it was sort of cute.
“I wouldn’t take that away from you, pretty mate. In fact, I want you to be at my side in battle,” I told her, and I could immediately feel a sense of relief pass over her.
“You really mean that?” she asked.
“I do.”
“On your first full day in my mansion, little one, I commissioned a special set of battle armor just for you. My pack and I have our own protection, but your human body does not. I ensured that it would be light enough not to hinder your ability to move or fight, but it will protect you from what the vampires might attack us with. It won’t stop a bullet entirely, but it will slow it down enough to ensure that you don’t end up too gravely injured if you’re hit,” I continued.
“Really?” she asked.
“It was never my intention to limit your fire, Ava. It’s one of the things I love so much about you,” I assured her.
Without warning, she twisted around and pressed her lips against mine in a sweet kiss. Her mouth was so soft and inviting, raw temptation in a feisty little package. I wanted so much more of it.
“I love you,” she purred. “I didn’t think I’d ever come to love someone like you, but now that I have you, I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my days with you.”
She made me weak, but at the same time she made me so incredibly strong. I would fight harder for her so that I could protect her and keep her safe. Her wants and desires had become mine and I was going to use every day to show her exactly that.
“I love you forever and for always, my pretty mate,” I answered, and I couldn’t help but kiss her again. She melted in my embrace and almost reluctantly, I pulled back and gently lifted her chin with my finger.
“Go upstairs to our bedroom. Your armor is waiting there. Put it on, I want to see it on you,” I instructed quietly. She shivered and I grazed my thumb over top of the mark on her neck. It had long healed over, leaving a beautiful white scar that told the world she was mine and mine alone. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth, her breathing quickly becoming short and uneven.
“Yes, alpha,” she answered, and the scent of her arousal was suddenly thick in the air. My pack was polite enough not to show that they noticed, but I knew that they did. They knew their alpha could make his mate wet with nothing but a few words and that knowledge made my cock rock hard. She rushed up the stairs and took off in the direction of our bedroom and I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for her to return.
I didn’t expect Toboe to come rushing to my side instead.
“Boss, I think we might have a situation,” he exclaimed, and he stopped long enough to sniff the air. “I regret to inform you that you’ll probably have to deal with your mate at another time because I’m fairly certain we’re going to have several uninvited guests to contend with very shortly…”
I sighed with annoyance, knowing what he meant but that didn’t make my cock any less hard.
“Do those visitors happen to have a pointy set of fangs?” I growled, more than a little irritated at the timing of those that would come to challenge us. I resisted the urge to race upstairs and fuck my pretty mate senseless. With a sigh, I turned toward him and ignored the iron spike between my legs.
“Yes. They entered the quarter just a few minutes ago. There are at least two hundred of them, maybe more, walking the streets in our direction,” he replied.
I glanced out the window, taking note that the sun had just set on the horizon. With no direct sunlight now, they could walk outside with freedom. They had all night to meet us in battle, at least until the sun rose the next morning.
I’d already taken precautions and gathered much of my pack in my mansion. Even with more than a dozen guestrooms, there were people sleeping on the floor, on couches, and a number of cots strewn all throughout the house. The children as well as the sick and elderly were gathered at the center of the house so that we would be able to protect them no matter what. They would be the last to fall prey to the Venuti, but I would fight tooth and nail to keep them from even getting close.
“Make the call. Get everyone up and on the perimeter. I want everyone armed to the teeth. Spare nothing. The Venuti are cocky enough so that they think they can take us, but we were going to show them that they have vastly underestimated us.”
“Got it, boss,” Toboe answered. His sarcasm had gone, and he was serious now. He knew the risks that tonight’s battle was going to bring, and his strength was starting to show. He was my beta, second only to me.
“Oh, and Toboe?”
He paused and turned back toward me.
“Bring me the weapons I had built for both me and Ava. All of them,” I commanded.
“Right away, boss,” he answered.
