The Alpha by Jenika Snow
17
Evelyn
Ifelt like I’d once again been dropped into some alternate universe as Odhran appeared out of nowhere and stalked toward the front door. Cian had me lifted off him and stood a second later, but I didn't miss how he kept his big body directly in front of mine. Always protecting me.
I was a strong and independent woman, but even I knew when I didn’t stand a chance of defending myself. And this was one of those times. Because the men standing just feet from us held a sinister air to them that had my muscles tightening and this weird clench in my belly.
The male who stood in front of the other four was massive, and although all these men had to be around the same size in height—at least six and a half feet tall—and all of them were equally stacked in muscle, there was something… not right about that one.
The man said nothing as he stared at me—much to Cian’s disapproval, if the growling from my mate was anything to go by.
“Donna fooking look at her.” Cian reached behind himself and wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me even closer to the hardness of his back.
The man with the dark hair started laughing low, his lips splitting into a shit-eating grin. “Wolf,” he said in greeting, his voice a husky tenor. “If I wanted to get your female, nothing and no one could stop me.”
The air in the room changed, becoming frigid as Cian and Odhran both leaned their upper bodies forward, taking a very clear fighting stance.
Adryan held his hands up, palms outward in a submissive gesture, yet I could see this man had never been that in his life. Not to mention his grin was sardonic and totally arrogant.
Cian was still tense and kept his hand wrapped around my waist, and I did the same with my palm in the center of his back. He looked behind his shoulder and down at me, and I could see the tightness around his eyes softening. My heart did a little gallop in my chest. And I realized that in barely twenty-four hours I’d gone from fear of the unknown and an unbelievable world, to me understanding that truth was definitely stranger than fiction.
And it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Are you not going to introduce me to your mate?” Adryan asked with that cockiness I was starting to realize was just him.
I expected Cian to lunge and just snap, but I was surprised how he thrust his shoulders back and tipped his chin up. From my vantage point, I could see the expression on his profile looked like one of pure… pride.
“I could,” he said with menace in his voice that was undeniable. “But I donna particularly want ye or any of the other fookers ye brought anywhere near my female.”
My eyebrows lifted to my hairline, and this flare of indignation filtered through me. Although I trusted Cian to protect me, this caveman mentality that he didn’t even want to introduce me to another person of the opposite sex grated on my nerves. But before I could say anything, Adryan was chuckling again.
“Do my boys intimidate you?” Adryan flashed his very white and very straight teeth.
Cian snorted. “Hardly. But apparently ye needed an entire fooking army backing ye up tae come speak with us.”
A thick silence stretched out before Adryan said, “James, Mateo.” Two of the men behind him stepped forward. “Go ahead to the Meadow House. Make sure everything is set up, and I’ll be there shortly.”
The two men nodded silently in agreement, and then they were gone.
“Maybe we should talk privately about this?” Adryan arched a brow and pointedly looked in my direction.
And just like that, my irritation over the whole “me caveman, you my woman” attitude Cian had exhibited faded. He knew and acknowledged that I deserved to be a part of this too.
Adryan shrugged. “Fine by me. I think females should know who’s trying to fuck with them. There isn’t anything worse than an overprotective male who doesn’t see his mate can handle herself.”
Cian made a deep grunt. “We’ll see if that’s still how ye think when ye find yer mate.”
I swore I saw a flick of something conflicted and hard pass over Adryan’s face at those words, but it was gone so fast I wondered if I imagined it.
“Fucking watch it, Cian.”
If someone could be strangled from tension, I imagined in this moment it would have happened.
Adryan exhaled as if annoyed. “I think what we’re dealing with is the Assembly.”
I stepped to the side so I could see better, much to Cian’s disapproval, given his scowl in my direction. But he didn’t say anything or try to stop me. “I heard one of the attackers say that term.” All eyes were on me, and I felt on display as I swallowed my nerves and pulled my shoulders back, trying to act like I wasn’t in a roomful of creatures that I’d once thought were only fairy tales.
Adryan gave a sharp nod, his eyes becoming clearer after I spoke, the low-level rage coming from him, I knew, just the tip of what made him as unhinged as I assumed.
“What—or who—the hell is that?” Odhran was the one to ask.
“Back in the ’50s, an organization became known to us,” Adryan said evenly. “But then they dropped off the face of the earth before we could do anything about it. Not sure if they were tipped off or felt the heat from the supernatural side.” He shrugged again. “I don’t know, but they disappeared and have been quiet until now.”
“And how do ye kno’ the ones who attacked us are this Assembly group?”
“The tattoo,” Adryan growled. “The fuckers brand themselves. We don’t know how long they’ve been around, but presumably since the beginning of the Otherworld, or shortly after.”
Cian grunted beside me in a noncommittal way, but when I looked at him, I could see and hear his jaw working as he took in that information.
“So what else do we kno’ about them?” Cian asked.
“What I found out before they went underground is that they’re an organization run by some of the most powerful and wealthy humans in the world. That’s the only reason they have the means and resources to do what they do. And because they do what they do, it’s safe to say they are super fucked-up.” Adryan went over to the couch and sat, making himself comfortable. The other two men stayed in place, very clearly related by their similarities. One watched Cian and the other Odhran.
“Their soldiers are known as Shepherds.” Adryan snorted and rolled his eyes. “Fucking dumb, but whatever,” he murmured.
“And what?” Cian hedged. “These soldiers abduct Otherworld species and humans for what purpose?”
Adryan grimaced, or what I supposed was as close to one as an arrogant asshole like him could muster. He leaned forward and braced his forearms on his thighs. “I assume they hunted your female down because they wanted to use her to get to you.”
“And what do they want with us?” Odhran asked when Adryan hadn’t answered Cian.
Adryan leaned back and kicked his booted feet up onto the coffee table. “They hunt the Otherworld down so we can be their exhibits.”
I felt my eyes widen and my eyebrows lift once again. I asked Adryan, “Like… like a zoo exhibit?”
“Give the girl a prize for her correct answer.” He winked. “I told you they were fucked-up.” He sighed. “Let’s get real. Your clan of Lycans keep to themselves up in the fucking Highlands,” Adryan said matter-of-factly.
“Canna deny that,” Cian said and glanced down at me, his eyebrows pulled low, his expression one of intensity.
“I think the Otherworld was getting too close back in the ’50s, and that’s why the Assembly disappeared underground. We figured out they drugged and kidnapped our kind and used us like fucking sideshows.”
“That’s horrendous.” I hadn’t meant to say the shocked words out loud.
“Yeah, sounds about right. If you have enough money in the human world, and a hell of a lot of power, influence, and connections, you can get anything you fucking want. And what the Assembly wants is us. The Otherworld.”
“How did ye even find out about them back then?” Odhran took a step toward Adryan, but it was clear he was invested in this. There was some strange expression on his face that could only be called personal. I saw a flicker of an expression cross Adryan’s face and wondered if he’d caught on to Odhran too.
“Had a male escape them and made his way to us. Unfortunately he died shortly after. But he told us enough.” He paused, and I felt like he did it for effect. “If someone has even more money to burn instead of just taking a walk down the halls to gawk at caged creatures they’d only thought were in fiction, they can pay for what is known as Sessions.”
I felt the air in the room grow even thicker.
“For an even more exorbitant amount, they’re able to watch acts of torture, rape, or even participate in it themselves.” Adryan’s face showed nothing, but there was dark rage behind his eyes. “Really corrupt motherfuckers, the kind who would be okay with selling women and children… or worse, if you get my fucking drift.”
He snarled those last words, and I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. Good God. How could anyone do that to anyone?
“I’m not sure who runs that shit show, but it’s absolutely someone of high power in the human world. Judge, billionaire mogul, hell, fucking trust-fund baby with too much time on their hands.”
“Fooking Shepherds,” Odhran growled. “Like they’re tending to a flock.”
The low rumble that came from the other male was so loud I found myself inadvertently moving toward Cian. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and snapped out something angry and loud in Gaelic to Odhran.
Odhran was breathing hard and lifted his hand to rub it over his jaw. He kept saying things in Gaelic, low and rushed things that were clearly meant just for him. But the way Cian’s face paled had me even more worried.
“They don’t give a shit about humans that I know of, unless they’re personally connected to us,” Adryan said, clearly not caring about the breakdown Odhran was going through right now. “Must have put two and two together, seeing you with your mate. Wanted to use her to control you, I presume.” He shrugged. “Smart. We all know a mated Otherworlder would do anything to protect his female.”
Cian cursed, and I looked up at him, knowing my expression conveyed one of worry, fear, and a whole lot of what in the hell is going to happen next?
Adryan clapped his hands together and stood. “I have another property close to this one that currently holds all our tech shit to get down to the bottom of this. I’m more of an eye-for-an-eye, hand-to-hand-combat type of guy, real old-school, if you get my drift, but in this day and age, you can’t get past the whole advancement of technology.”
“Do you think these people are still close, the ones who tried to take us?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Couldn’t say for sure. They are smart and stayed hidden all these decades. I assume they were alerted to Cian and Odhran landing and thought they’d be easy targets. But I’m not sure how’d they know about you two coming in. Seems weird, right?”
“But they don’t bother you?” I questioned.
He grinned. “Darlin’, no one fucking bothers me if they want to keep their head on their neck. But I’m assuming they were going for low-hanging fruit when they went after the Scottish wolves.” Cian growled. “Calm down, man. I didn’t mean ’cause you’re easy pickings in that sense. Meant they probably know how secluded your kind stays, so you wouldn’t be on to them. Ain’t no way those fuckers could sneak up on my ass. I’m too paranoid for my own good, and I know about them.” Again with the grin. “I’ll text you the address where you need to be tomorrow night so we can get this shit settled.”
I swallowed, this massive fear suddenly spiking in me at the idea of Cian going up against these maniacs known as the Assembly and the fucked-up things that could happen.
“Stay in the house. It’s mystically protected, so it can’t be tracked by Otherworld or standard means. You’ll be safe here.” Cian gave a nod but didn’t say anything. “Until tomorrow night,” Adryan said smoothly. “Enjoy your mate, Lycan.” Just as Cian growled and went to attack, Adryan was leaving and smiling as he went.
And we were left in the aftermath of all the shit he’d just dropped on us.
