Master Alpha

Rhea knocked on the door in front of her and ran a hand through her hair. She was wearing a red tank top with a pair of jeans. The receptionist at the hospital had informed her that Sam was off today. Thankfully, she had committed his address to memory when she asked him for it in school. After telling him what she was, she had asked him for his address to check up on him from time to time; and, if he ever needed help, then she knew where to find him. She was one of the creatures that could harm him, but he trusted her enough to know that she could also protect him from the others of her kind if needed. She knocked again when she did not hear anything, then turned around.

Lincoln stood before her with his large arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a black muscle shirt with a pair of jeans. Rhea knew that Lincoln’s wolf had been extremely possessive and territorial on the drive over, and it had only increased when she led them to Sam’s house directly. Pretty sure that he settled on that shirt to flaunt his physique, she thought. Among humans, he could not fully assert his power, but he knew that his size would reflect it. Lincoln’s behavior would have infuriated Rhea before, but with the knowledge that they were mates, she understood it completely. Before, he was just a wolf who was concerned about her safety; now, he was a wolf that was mated to her, and mated male wolves are much more protective than unmated wolves.

Nathan stood beside Lincoln with his arms crossed over his chest as well. Nathan was wearing a blue t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Rhea had requested for Nathan to come with them to help keep Lincoln’s wolf balanced. Jonathon had immediately denied her request since there had been a lock down implemented for all Decants for their protection, but Victoria convinced him to drop it temporarily for Nathan. Nathan would be among the humans with Rhea and Lincoln, so he would not be in any immediate danger of Lillian. Upon his return, Rhea was going to escort him straight home herself, which she automatically agreed to. Nathan was like a brother to her, and the thought of Lillian killing him terrified her.

Victoria had also used Lincoln’s male wolf as an argument for Nathan’s accompaniment, now that he was a mated wolf experiencing another male around his mate that harbored feelings for his mate. Most Decants and Nantas taught themselves from a young age how to control their beasts, but, since Lincoln possessed both beasts, he was still prone to the occasional slip of command over them. The last thing that any of them wanted was for both of his beasts to take over and destroy a human. Rhea could try to stop him, but she knew that the male wolf in him would go through her if he really wanted to. Nathan was more likely to slow down Lincoln if the situation called for it.

Rhea’s head snapped back to the door as she heard footsteps approach. After a couple of clicks, the door opened. Sam stood before her with his green eyes glazed over with fatigue. His blonde hair was messed across his head, and he was wearing only a pair of black basketball shorts. She noticed his eyes widen in surprise. “Ray of sunshine?”

“Classic,” Nathan snickered.

“You’ll eat your teeth,” Rhea retorted. She smiled and spoke to Sam. “Hey, Sammy boy. Can we come in?”

“You’re not here to kill me, are you? Vampires can’t enter without permission, so I ain’t consenting to that shit.”

“Aw, and he’s sharp,” Nathan teased.

“No,” Rhea said as she ignored Nathan. “We’re not here to kill you. And that rule is just a myth, by the way. I was being polite.”

Sam turned and entered his apartment. He motioned for Rhea to follow him as he yawned. Rhea followed Sam into the living room with Lincoln and Nathan behind her. He motioned to the brown suede couch as he walked into the kitchen, inviting them to sit. He opened the refrigerator and withdrew an energy drink. He cracked it open and took a gulp, then joined them in the living room. Nathan was leaning against the wall, Lincoln standing beside Rhea. Sam’s eyes flickered to each of them before settling back to Rhea.

“Not that I’m complaining, but I didn’t think that you would visit me again so soon,” Sam said.

“I wish that it was a social visit, but I need your help,” Rhea said.

“Considering you showed up with bodyguards, I figured as much.”

“We ain’t hers, she can handle herself fine. We’re yours against him,” Nathan nodded to Lincoln.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Sam, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Rhea spoke as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She saw Sam’s eyes widen as a soft growl came from behind her. “Don’t mind him right now,” she continued. “Mind me. You trust me, right? Then hear me out.”

“Sunshine, I will always trust you. But you bring two people into my home, and one fucking growls at me? Trusting them ain’t gonna be easy.”

Rhea felt Lincoln step closer behind her and she cursed under her breath. Lincoln towered over Sam, which was not helping the situation. “You’re right,” she said. “Let me start with telling you who they are. The snippy one in the back is Nathan, and the growling one is Lincoln.” She inhaled sharply before continuing. “Nathan is a werewolf, and basically my brother. Lincoln is half vampire, half werewolf, and basically my husband.” Sam’s eyes grew even wider. He took another gulp of his energy drink and shook his head.

“That is a lot to dump on someone. Werewolf, half-breed– you’re married?” Sam asked.

“Of course, that’s the important part,” Nathan chirped.

“Nate—”

“Shut your fucking mouth before I do it for you, Nate,” Lincoln growled as he cut Rhea off. She heard Nathan grumble under his breath. Sam took a step back and held his hands up in surrender. Rhea could practically feel the wolf’s triumph in Lincoln at the fear in Sam’s eyes. “Man, she didn’t tell me that she was married.”

“Relax,” Rhea laughed. “In our culture, it’s a little more complex than that. I wasn’t married the day that you and I kissed, it was after.” She had contemplated explaining how finding a mate works but decided against it. Marriage was a much simpler answer to humans. We have enough complex issues to explain to him, she thought.

“Why does he look like he wants to kill me then?” Sam asked.

“Don’t take it personal. He’s territorial over me, he’ll be like this with any male now. A little annoying sometimes.”

“Territorial? He doesn’t own you, Rhea,” Sam spat as he glared at Lincoln. “He could loosen his leash on you a little bit.”

“Shut the fuck up, dude,” Nathan jumped in.

“You’re basically her brother and you’re pkay with a guy keeping her on a leash?”

“I mean it, shut up,” Nathan said casually.

“You deserve better than that, Rhea.”

Lincoln snarled and charged at Sam. He wrapped his hand around Sam’s throat and slammed him into the wall. “Lincoln!” Rhea snapped. His eyes were orange fire and she saw his lips twitch as his canines and his fangs descended.

“I told you to shut up,” Nathan said as he walked over to them.

“Nate!”

“Dammit, Ray, I did!” Nathan shot back. Nathan touched Lincoln’s arm and growled at him softly. “Linc, let the man go. Don’t make me fight you over this.”

“You wouldn’t win,” Lincoln purred darkly. “This man thinks that he knows what’s better for her than I do. I will not be challenged like this over what is mine.”

“Linc,” Rhea said softly. She placed her hand beside Nathan’s on Lincoln’s arm. Lincoln’s eyes instantly shifted to hers at the contact. “Nathan may not win alone, but I will fight you, too. Let him go.”

A deep growl silenced the room as Lincoln lowered Sam back to his feet and released him. Rhea sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair. She wedged herself in between Lincoln and Sam, using her body to pin Sam’s against the wall. She examined Sam’s throat briefly and sighed in relief. Lincoln had not actually applied any pressure to Sam, just held him by his throat. Lincoln automatically wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and squeezed gently. Nathan kept his proximity as his alert eyes studied Lincoln’s movements. “It’s complicated to explain. Imagine the jealousy that you feel amped up on steroids by one hundred until that is all that you feel,” Rhea said softly. “Territorial in my kind is not what it is in yours.”

“Are you okay though?” Sam whispered, his eyes wide with rage and fear.

“I’m fine,” Rhea said. She felt Lincoln’s grip tighten. She knew that Lincoln was furious for someone doubting his care for her, but she understood where Sam was coming from. Humans would see a relationship like this as dangerous because they did not understand it. Rhea placed her hand on Lincoln’s arm softly and she felt his body relax. “I promise, Sam, I’m fine.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll kick your ass,” Sam threatened.

“Try your best, boy,” Lincoln purred. “They’ll find scraps of you scattered around the country.”

“You done baiting the man?” Nathan asked Sam with a cross of annoyance and amusement on his face. “Can you let her speak now?” Sam simply nodded and kept his eyes trained on Rhea.

“I need your help,” Rhea said. “A vampire has become sick. She encountered a pesticide that the humans have created, and it’s so potent that she cannot fight if off.”

“Her feeding isn’t helping?” Sam asked as his demeanor shifted to professional.

“No, and the supplies that you gave me last time were for a transfusion of pure virgin blood to attempt to purify the toxins out.”

“And that didn’t work.”

“No, so I began thinking of her as a human. We may be different races, but we are genetically humans on a basic level. Combat the infection with antibiotics with vampire blood, but we would need a lot more medication than a regular human would use.”

Sam hesitated. “Rhea, medication is not the easiest thing for me to help you with.”

“But amoxicillin is so commonly used and ordered that it may not be as noticeable if some goes missing,” Rhea added quickly. Sam sighed and pulled himself away from her. He walked over to the kitchen and finished his energy drink. He placed the empty can n the counter and rubbed his face with his hands. She felt horrible for putting him in this position; she was essentially asking him to risk his career to help a race that did not even exist in his world. “There’s more,” she continued slowly.

“Of course, there is,” Sam scoffed.

“I need to take all of the medication available and allow to run through my bloodstream so that the child can receive the medication while feeding off me.”

“What?” Sam asked with bewilderment.

“She has not fed in a week. She needs blood and the medication. I think that an adult vampire’s blood mingled with the medication may work, and we don’t know how much blood she will need to satiate herself. I would like you to come back with us to observe her blood and determine the right amount of the medication that I need to ingest to make sure that this works.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Sam said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You want me to make medication go missing, take unexpected time off around that medication’s disappearance, return to your land where there are creatures that want to eat me, and shoot you up with drugs?”

“You will be protected,” Rhea assured him.

“How the hell can you guarantee that?”

“Because you’ll be staying in our house, and my husband is the prince of this land. His parents will enact punishment on those that think of harming you.”

“Even on the prince himself?” Sam snorted.

“Actually, yeah,” Nathan said.

Sam looked at Lincoln. “I don’t know how I feel about living with the prince that wants to kill me.”

“I’m the reason that he won’t,” Rhea said before Lincoln could speak. “Him touching me restrains him, to an extent. It’s the only reason that you’re currently not a puddle.” She heard Lincoln curse under his breath, but she ignored it. He knows that I am right, she thought. “Provided that you don’t do anything stupid,” she added. “But I will protect you.” Sam clenched his jaw and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’ll talk to the hospital,” Sam finally responded. “I’ll tell them that I’m being recruited on your mission in the States, I think that they will approve me taking a full thirty-day supply of amoxicillin for that. Plus, I’ll pay for it. But I’m only giving a week. I can’t be gone longer than that.”

“I hope that it doesn’t take longer than that,” Rhea muttered. She pulled herself out of Lincoln’s grasp and hugged Sam. To her surprise, she did not hear a growl. “Thank you, Sammy,” she said.

“I’ve got you, sunshine,” Sam said as he hugged her back. He released her and smiled lightly. “The least that I can do is help my guardian angel when she needs it.”

Lincoln stepped beside Rhea and extended his hand. Sam instinctively took a step backwards. “Thank you, Sam,” Lincoln said. “Our people will be in your debt.” Sam clenched his jaw as he studied Lincoln. Sam crossed his arms over his chest and Lincoln withdrew his hand. “No disrespect to royalty, but I’m not shaking hands with someone who can throw me around like a ragdoll,” Sam spoke. “I’ll go pack.” Sam turned and walked down the hallway to his bedroom. Rhea sighed and looked at Lincoln. She kissed him briefly. “Good beast.”

“Y’all are going to make me gag,” Nathan said.

“Go gag in the corner.”

“‘Go gag in the corner,’” Nathan mimicked Rhea. “How are you doing, Linc?”

Lincoln groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “It took a shitload of restraint to not snap that asshole’s neck, but he seems like he really wants to help.”

“Lincoln, you have to understand how all of this must look to a human,” Rhea said.

“I know, I know,” Lincoln sighed. “I just couldn’t stand by and listen to him question my feelings toward you like that.”

“Our people before your emotions,” Rhea spoke. “That’s the way that this has to be.”

“Of course, Mistress Luna,” Lincoln nodded. Rhea smiled softly at him. She was thankful that his wolf did not growl when she hugged Sam, but she chose to ignore the lack of reaction. She worried that pointing out the lack of reaction would trigger a different reaction, and they had more pressing matters to deal with.

“I owe you, Sam!” Rhea called down the hallway. Sam poked his head out of his room, baffled. “You are going to be helping me save a lot of people,” she said.

“Don’t be crazy, I would have done it either way. People are sick, I want to help.”

“By leaving your life behind and jeopardizing your career.”

“Rhea, I can always say no if you’d like,” Sam stated as he walked over to her. “You didn’t pressure me into this. You could always turn me in gratitude,” he added with a chuckle.

“Sam, we’ve been over that—”

“Why?” Lincoln interjected suddenly. “Why do you want to be turned?”

“Why not?” Sam shrugged.

“That isn’t an answer,” Lincoln shook his head. “This isn’t some random choice; and, as much as I love her, I don’t think that Rhea has been around you enough for it to be a love-driven decision. What is it?” Rhea looked at Lincoln curiously, and noticed that he was not upset. He was genuinely interested in what Sam’s reason was. I don’t even know the true reason, she realized. When he asked, she immediately disregarded it. Her eyes shifted back to Sam found him looking at her with a pained expression.

“I have no one here,” Sam answered. “No siblings, parents are dead, and being a nurse puts a strain on any type of relationship outside of work. I’ve seen Rhea’s speed, I know she’s strong, and I do care for her, but my request goes beyond that. I’ve always found the legends of werewolves and vampires fascinating. Maybe if I had people in my life, I wouldn’t want to turn, I don’t know. But I’ve wanted to turn for years.”

“You do understand that she drinks blood and I eat hearts, right?” Nathan asked.

“I do, and it doesn’t bother me, even though it should. It’s survival.”

“That can’t be true,” Rhea said slowly. “What if I ate you or someone close to you?”

“Do you?”

“What?”

Sam smiled lightly. “Rhea, not once did you mention feeding off a live host. Hell, for this child, you’re offering yourself for her to feed on. I’m going to assume that your kind is not as bloodthirsty as the legends portray.”

“Morgues and hospitals,” Lincoln said. Rhea whirled around in surprise at Lincoln. His eyes were fixated on Sam as he studied him. “It wouldn’t be the worst idea,” Lincoln spoke to Rhea.

“No, absolutely not,” Rhea protested and forced herself to stand between the two men. “He will remain human here, he’s not becoming one of us.”

“Linc, if he turns and you’re around…” Nathan trailed off. Rhea sighed in relief when Nathan did not finish that thought. The last thing that she needed was for Lincoln to be killed out of revenge.

“He is a nurse, a trusted one,” Lincoln said softly as he gazed at Rhea. “We are asking him to help us and jeopardize what little life here that he has built for himself.”

“Lincoln,” Rhea pleaded. She knew that Lincoln was right. Another nurse would be a great additional to the people, and he would not be missed in the human world. It makes sense, she thought, bitterly. “My love, this is his choice,” Lincoln said softly, then looked at Sam. “We are not turning you, but I will discuss your request with my father. But, know this, boy,” Lincoln added as he took a step forward. “If you try to harm any of my people if we do decide to turn you, I will rip your heart out of your chest and eat it myself in front of you.”