The Alpha by Jenika Snow

24

Evelyn

The pain woke me, something hard digging into my back, my head aching, this splitting sensation encompassing my entire skull. I groaned softly before I could stop myself and shifted on whatever I was lying on. The sound I made caused vibrations in my head, and the pain became worse. Even though my eyes were already closed, I squeezed them tighter.

I lay there and breathed in and out, pushing through the nausea, trying to sort through my thoughts even though my skull was throbbing and in agony.

Memories of the fight back at the house flooded my mind. Odhran being beaten and bloody before collapsing on the ground, unconscious or worse. Somebody tackling me to the floor before I passed out. They moved through my memory like a broken record, bits and pieces of images and sounds filtering in before they all grouped together and became one.

I allowed myself some time to gather my bearings before I really thought about what was going on now and what I was going to do next.

The first thing I realized once my head cleared a little was that I was obviously in a vehicle. The ride was bumpy, and my back kept banging against what had to be the side of it. And even though I couldn’t see because of the bag over my head, I had to assume I was in the back of a larger vehicle, a van, maybe an SUV, given the fact that I was stretched out on a flat, hard metal surface and not in a seat.

My hands were tied together in front, the rope tight, the nylon digging into my flesh so hard I could feel the skin had become raw. My feet were the same, tied around the ankles, my immobility causing more panic to fill me.

My hearing was muffled because of the cloth over my head, but I started to make out the conversation of two men clearly, presumably in the front seats.

“He was a bitch to take down,” one of the men said, the other one chuckling in response. “Too bad we can’t turn them to work for us. Can you imagine that kind of strength on our side?”

“Don’t let J hear you say that fucking shit,” the other man snapped. “We don’t join forces with them. We take them. That’s what our job is. Who the fuck you think we fight? Them?” The other man’s voice rose. It was clear he was a loyal asshole to this crazy organization. “That’s not what any of this is about, Jack. And if anyone in the top tiers heard that crazy bullshit coming out of your mouth, they’d throw you in a Session with one of them, you hear me?” I could imagine he was glaring at the one named Jack. “They’ll let one of those beasts tear your throat out as they rip your limbs from your body.”

The other man cleared his throat, and I could sense his discomfort as it filled the vehicle. Good. I hoped these bastards felt so much discomfort they were bleeding out of their ears and eyes because of it.

There was a heavy moment of silence, and although I couldn’t see, I could feel someone looking at me. I feigned being unconscious, not moving, keeping my breathing even. I wasn't a good actress, but right now my life depended on it.

“J hit her kind of hard, yeah?” Jack muttered softly. “I didn’t know a woman could have that kind of… gumption. Hell, it's the first time I’ve seen a woman in the field with us.”

The other man didn’t speak for long seconds before finally saying, “She’s as dangerous as any man in the Assembly. She’s… yeah. Just watch yourself with her, okay?”

Jack cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Since when did we start taking humans?”

“When those humans are known mates to these creatures, that’s when we take them.” There was acid in the other man’s voice, as if he was annoyed at having to explain any of this. “Listen,” he said, his voice a little less harsh, as if he lowered it because he was speaking to a petulant child. “I know you’re new with us, Jack. And I know you got this position because your daddy is one of the higher-up soldiers. But I’m gonna give you some advice, yeah.” He didn’t phrase it as a question. He was clearly going to give Jack the advice whether he wanted it or not.

“When you start asking questions, that's when shit goes south. Your job is to help secure the subjects and bring them to the facility. That’s it. We don’t question. We don’t wonder about the what-ifs. We do our job, we keep our mouths shut, we get paid, and we mind our damn business in all things.”

The other man cleared his throat, his discomfort once again clear as it filled the vehicle with this heavy, toxic feeling.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve seen a lot of men just like you ask one too many questions. And then poof.” I heard him snap his fingers. “They’re gone. You feel me?”

A long, pregnant moment of silence filled the air before he answered, “Yeah, I feel you.”

The vehicle stayed silent for a while, and when I felt like I wasn’t still being watched, I tried to silently loosen the ropes binding me. I held my breath off and on, my heart racing as I shifted my hands, working the rope looser and looser until I was able to pull a hand through. I gritted my teeth as the nylon tore at my skin, wet warmth sliding down my wrists from the now-ripped skin.

“We have to meet at drop point A for the transfer.”

“You think he'll come for her?” the one I now knew was the new recruit asked, and I froze in case he glanced at me again.

“Oh… yeah. He sure as fuck will. With these creatures, they live and die for their mates. He’ll come, and be prepared. If you thought the one back at the house fighting us fucking naked like a beast was dangerous, the one coming for his woman will be one vicious motherfucker.”

My breath hitched and heart raced as I heard them talk about Cian. I had to get out of here. I had to stop this before the man I was starting to fall for very hard and very fast came for me and got hurt or, worse, killed.

For the next five or so minutes, the ride was silent, and I was thankful. I kept working at the rope on my ankles, loosening it up even more but having to go slow so I wasn't heard. Once my legs were free, I kept my hands clenched tightly together so it would still look like they were bound if they glanced back at me. I heard something large slam up against the side of the vehicle and froze. But thankfully the two men up front didn’t notice.

Still being as quiet as possible, I lifted my hands and pushed up the bottom of the bag covering my head. I was holding my breath as I saw two large bodies sitting in the front seats. I glanced around the vehicle, and as I suspected, I was in a van. I didn't see much of anything else back here but two black duffel bags across from me.

We went over a bump, and my head slammed against the floor. Closing my eyes and clenching my teeth in pain, I kept my mouth shut and stayed silent. I opened my eyes again, looked at the other end of the van, and held in my gasp as I saw Odhran’s big, prone body lying against the back doors.

He was still naked, blood covering his body, the cuts and scrapes on his form so numerous I felt tears fill my eyes. His hands were bound behind his back, his legs as well. But what kept him secured wasn’t the same rope they used on me. The cuffs were metal, thick and dark. I didn’t have any hope of getting him out of those.

Thankfully he was alive, his chest rising and falling slowly. I was grateful he was also unconscious, because the amount of pain he had to be in from the wounds would be monumental.

I didn’t know how I was going to stop this, but I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly, because the closer we got to wherever the drop-off point was, the harder it was going to be for us.I had to catch them when they were off guard, like they were now, their attention not on me because they didn’t see me as a threat.

A crash.

I had to make it so we couldn’t get to the destination. I knew Cian was no doubt coming after me right now. I couldn’t think about whether Odhran or I would get harmed in the process, didn’t think about pain or injury. I couldn’t, not if I wanted us to make it out alive.

While I kept my gaze locked on the two men in front, I took off the bag and let it drop to the van floor. Then I slowly—God, so slowly and silently—pushed myself up so I could look around for any kind of weapon and stopped as my gaze landed on the duffels. I held my breath as I reached for the strap of one.

But just before I had it, the driver barked, “What the fuck are you doing?”

I froze, my eyes snapping to the front.

“What?” Jack replied as he reached for the radio. “We have a little bit of time before we get there. You gonna say no to the radio? Come on, man.”

The driver snorted and shook his head but said nothing else, and that was the only approval Jack needed to click the radio on. The low sounds of classic rock filtered through the van, and I watched Jack get comfortable in his seat.

I exhaled slowly, thankful the extra noise was now filtering throughout the van to cancel out any sound I made. I tightened my fingers on the handle and pulled one of the duffels my way, my focus trained on the men. When I had the bag in front of me, I breathed out slowly, my head dizzy from holding my breath intermittently the entire time.

I grabbed the zipper and started slowly pulling it down. Once the bag was three-fourths of the way open, I pulled one of the sides open and looked at the contents. I could’ve laughed at what lay inside. Weapons. These men were either stupid as hell, arrogant, or really thought we weren’t a threat.

Well, they were about to realize how wrong they were.

I wasn’t confident enough to use one of the guns, but there were a few knives and what looked like a metal pipe. I pulled the latter out and curled my fingers around the heavy weight in my hand. A soft sound to my left had me snapping my head in Odhran’s direction.

Odhran had his face toward me, his eyes open. His jaw was clenched tightly as he looked from me to the two men sitting in front. I could see the muscles of his arms bunching and straining as he tried to get free, but whatever shackles they used were holding strong. Strong enough to keep a Lycan immobile.

He shook his head at me, and in his eyes I could see the panic. I knew he didn’t want me to do this, knew the outcome probably wasn’t going to be favorable, but if I could stop these assholes from hurting anyone else, even if it was just a few of them, it was worth it.

I mouthed, I have to.

He was still shaking his head, his jaw locked tight. But he wasn’t making any noise that would draw attention. I couldn’t wait to see if he’d be able to escape, if we’d be able to take them down. I couldn’t rely on someone else to handle this when I had the opportunity to do it myself.

So with the baton in my hand, I crawled closer to the two seats. I could hear the one named Jack hum, but he was focused out the passenger window. I didn’t know who to attack first, Jack, who would undoubtedly come after me once I hit the driver, or if I should go straight for Jack, when the driver would come after me as well. Either way this would hurt, but I knew going to the source was going to end this sooner.

I didn’t think anymore, just reacted.

I swung my arm out and brought the baton down on the driver’s head, the metal connecting with his temple, a sickening crack sounding through the entire van. The coppery scent of blood instantly filled my nose as his skin split, the gaping wound so horrendous I felt renewed nausea consume me.

“The fuck?” Jack barked and looked at me with abject horror. He was young. God, he was young, maybe not even as old as I was, but here he was doing heinous crimes.

The driver was mumbling incoherently, the car swerving to the left and right. I was frozen with shock and fear, the same as Jack apparently, as he stared at the driver, then at me, over and over again for what seemed like forever, but all of this could only have been happening for a few seconds.

“You fucking bitch,” Jack finally growled and lunged for me sideways, the position we were both in making it hard for him to grasp me as I fell backward, the baton clanging to the floor.

The van swerved, the driver still conscious, but I could see him trying not to flop forward, the blood from his wound a constant gush from his head.

Everything started blurring together, with Odhran making animalistic sounds behind me, his big body thrashing as he tried to escape. Jack tangled in his seat belt as the van kept swerving to the left and right, and the driver was seconds away from succumbing to the darkness he was fighting.

I could hear a radio crackle in the air, the kind of sound you’d hear from a walkie-talkie.

“Th… fuc… is going… there. Yo… copy?”

It was hard to hear clear words with the static on the other end and how the voice kept breaking up.

The van swerved hard to the left, and my body was flung to the side of the van, my head cracking hard enough on the metal paneling that I groaned and felt the previous wound break back open.

And then everything went upside down as the van rolled, and I couldn’t stop the scream that tore from me as I tried to brace myself as best as I could while my body was tossed around like a rag doll. And then the van stilled.

I lay there, sore and bruised, my head pounding, the scent of blood so thick I gagged on it. I groaned, blinked my eyes open, and stared above me at what should have been the ceiling of the van but was very clearly the floor.

For a long moment I couldn’t even move, my entire body aching, my vision blurry, my head dizzy. I tried to reorient myself, and then with a harsh groan, I pushed up and searched for Odhran. I let out a relieved breath when he rolled onto his side and grunted deeply. And then that’s when I noticed the shackles around his wrist had broken away—whether from his own doing or being thrown up against the vehicle, I didn't know.

I looked over to where the driver and passenger were, my hand slapping over my mouth as soon as I saw the tree branch that went straight into the driver-side window and through his head, the end of the stump a couple inches through the headrest. And then there was the passenger. Jack’s skull was embedded in the front windshield, shards of glass cracked outward like a gothic-style spiderweb, a grotesque spray of blood covering the entire front and down to the dashboard.

The only thing keeping them stationed were the seat belts, gravity causing their limbs to hang down, the drip-drip-drip of the blood sliding off their fingertips and onto the metal roof so loud. So loud.

I couldn’t stop myself from rolling to my side and vomiting at the sight, at the knowledge I was the cause of that.

And although I shouldn’t feel any kind of guilt over their deaths, because they were bad, bad men who would have done horrible things, I couldn’t help but feel a part of my humanity slip away as I listened to their blood leaving their body.

I moved onto my hands and knees and stayed still until my head stopped swimming and my limbs stopped shaking.

“Evelyn,” Odhran said. I lifted my head to look at him just as he grunted and moved into a sitting position, his back against the side of the van now, his hands going down to the shackles on his ankles. “Do ye smell that?” He started tugging at the metal so hard the muscles in his upper chest bulged. The blue glow from his eyes lit up, and a very primal growl left him right as a creaking sound of metal rendering filled the interior of the van.

I lifted my head fully, focused, and inhaled deeply. At first, all I could smell was blood. So much blood. But then it hit me.

Gasoline.

And then I saw the glow of orange and red at the front of the van.

I’d seen enough movies that all I could picture was the car exploding and us stuck inside.

“Oh God. We have to get out of here.” My pain was forgotten, and I scrambled to the rear of the van and started pushing and pulling at the latch of the door, jerking it so hard my shoulders protested.

“Ye’ll hurt yerself more. Let me.” Odhran’s voice was rough but firm as I stepped aside. I wanted to argue that he was hurt even worse, but the way he stared at my head wound and the low sound that left him had the words stopping in my throat. “Cian is coming for ye, and anyone who tries tae stop him will die horribly.”

I felt a shiver move through me, and then he was throwing his body against the doors, his shoulder hitting it over and over again until he made a dent in the metal, and the whine of the door giving way was undeniable.

The doors flew open, and the force had Odhran tipping forward. I reached out for his arm to steady him, but he was so big that the momentum took us both down to the asphalt.

I landed hard on the ground, my palms scraping on the rough surface, but my body was so sore all over that I couldn’t discern that pain from any other one that encompassed my entire form.

“We have tae get away from the van,” he said low, his voice strained. “I donna kno’ when or if it’ll blow, but I sure as fook donna want tae be close enough tae find out.”

But before we could move, I heard shouting and snapped my head up to see another van lying in the ditch just across the road. The passenger- and driver-side doors were flung open, and the woman who’d been at the house, the one who hit me with the butt of her gun, came out, her face a mask of fury.

The driver was another big, beefy guy clad in black. And then the back doors opened, and a few more men filed out. I idly thought it foolish they didn’t have our van cramped with men to watch over us, that they left us in the hands of only two, one being all but a kid himself. But I didn't have a chance to let that thought sink in anymore, because they were coming for us.

My heart thundered as I realized there was no way Odhran and I could fight all of them. There were too many of them, and we—I, at least—were too weak, ill-equipped, and not experienced in fighting at all. We were doomed before we even started.

I heard the clanging of the metal baton fall from the back of the van and roll along the asphalt. I reached over to grab it, knowing what I had to do. I stood on shaky legs and looked over at Odhran.

“Thank you for being here so I don’t have to do this alone,” I whispered.

His jaw clenched as he stared at the black-clad bodies coming toward us.

I thought of Cian, how we’d been robbed of our happily ever after.

I thought about Darragh and how I wished I could see her one last time.

I felt that grief of losing my own happiness, of being loved and loving Cian, of having his babies.

I thought of it all and felt like crying. But I wouldn't. I was stronger than what life threw at me. I’d proved that to myself countless times. And right now wouldn’t be any different.

Because I knew if losing my happiness helped ensure that others didn’t get hurt, it would be worth it.

I just wished I had a little bit more time to love Cian before he was taken from me.