Behind The Alpha Book 4 CASS

(Chapter Song ‘All The Small Things' by Blink-182)

CASS

I bite my cheek as I stare at my supposed friends standing around me.

Luke is snickering behind Jayson who’s trying to avoid my eyes. Wren is swooning and Deacon knows everything so, of course, he’s already had his order of ribs at my expense.

“Go ahead. Get it out of your systems.”

“Love bug…” Luke whines as he bursts into hysterics. Jayson hangs off him as he also can’t breathe.

I cross my arms and eye them in irritation. “It’s an honorable profession.” I grind. This only causes Luke to double over and almost fall on the floor.

He wipes his eyes. “So…So…Do you, like, buzz around or do they give you a little pink cloud.” He hitches as he catches his breath.

“Neither. We Teleport.” I say.

He stops laughing and his brows stitch up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Hey!” He snaps and wags his finger at me. “That’s cool. I can do that…” He turns to the Luna room. “Hey, Lex!! I want to be a love bug!”

“You’re already a giant bug!” His mate yells back.

He scowls. “Love you, too!!” He turns back. “She’s so moody.” He thumbs over his shoulder.

“I heard that!!” Alexi yells.

Luke furrows his brow again and turns back to the Luna room. He tosses his hands out to the side. “Oh, that you heard, but when I want a beer, all of a sudden you’re deaf!!” He growls across the Falcon Ridge council room and leaves the circle.

We snicker and shake our heads.

Jayson straightens up. “Ok. So, cupid is real. These love bugs help him. Valentine is immortal?” he looks at me confused.

“Valentino.” I correct. “I guess being a patron Saint has its perks.” I shrug.

Deacon puts his hand out. “Does this mean that all their matings could have been influenced by cosmic beings of love?”

My lips turn down and I nod. “Possible. I’ll have to ask when I get home.”

Jayson puffs out his chest. “Mine wasn’t.”

“The fact that Sarah hasn't killed you yet says otherwise, Jay.” Wren snorts.

He leans to her. “And maybe Tarzan just wasn’t that into you.” He sneers.

She points in his face. “Lucius loves me. He’s as natural as our village.” She crosses her arms. “Besides, if we hadn’t of been separated, we would’ve been mated a long time ago and I wouldn’t have wasted my time.” She eyes him, smugly.

Jayson narrows his eyes. “Oh, low blow.”

“Come on, guys. Don’t fight.” I motion my hand to them and kind of whine. The pressure in my chest tells me my love doesn’t like fighting.

Deacon changes the subject. “What do we know about these new rogues?”

“I think I have something.”

We turn our attention to River at the council table. We all join the table and sit.

Bastian stands at the front podium. “First. Cass congratulations on your mating to…”

“Ember.” I supply. “Thank you.”

“And to your new cosmic job. That’s quite a leap from Alpha.” He grins.

I shrug. “It’s only a part time gig. When the cosmos needs help. Teaching Embers wolf. That’s a job in a half.”

“There’s room in the pup school.” Wren says.

Mica leans on the table top. “Hart’s been making some nice routines that seem to really work with new wolves. With the new boom of pregnancies, we’re going to need a few more teachers soon.”

“Councilors too. The rash of unplanned births are having a damaging affects on matings. Maybe the cosmos can help with that?” Bastian suggests.

I lean back in my chair. “Rekindle love.” I mull it over. “I like it. I’ll run it by Eros and see what he thinks.”

Bastian looks to River. “What about these Rogues?”

River sits up and clears his throat. “What we have so far…”

Luke comes from the Luna room and grumbles his way to his seat beside River. He slumps into it and leans back with a scowl on his face.

River tries to contain his smile. “You ok?”

“Yeah. I want cool powers, but who cares what I want.” He grinds.

The table tries to contain itself.

“It just means that you don’t need powers to be cool.” I say.

He leans on the table and shoots a hand out me. “All I need is enough to teleport Lex to bed when I need to, ok. That’s it.”

I shake my head. “No, Luke.”

He smacks the table. “That’s it. I’m finding this Valejandro guy myself.” He points to me and leans back in his chair.

“Valentino.” I chuckle.

“Whatever. If you won’t help me, I’ll go find my own bed bug powers.” He scowls.

The entire table chuckles again.

River leans to him. “Stop talking.”

Luke’s face falls. “What?”

Bastian bites his lip. “River, continue before I lose my shit here.” He grins and his eyes tear up as he tries to remain professional.

River opens his laptop. “So, from the information that Deacon supplied us with, the rogues are coming from the north end of the country. They are being commanded and it seems they’re mirroring our structure and tactics. They have most of our procedures down pat too. On satellite, you can see how organized they are. Also, how familiar they’re strategies are as well.”

“Michael.” I mutter.

Rivers face turns serious. “I think so.”

Bastian eyes him. “Michael’s telling these Rogues Alliance secrets.”

“I don’t think he’s doing it on his own. I can see the fight in him, especially when you mention Emily.” I say as I look around the table. “He’s also being controlled.”

“Maybe your kisses will snap him out of it.” Luke motions to me.

I furrow my brow. “I have arrows. I don’t…kiss.”

“Even better!” He grins. “Shoot the asshole.”

“Come on, Luke. He’s a friend.” River rolls his head to him.

Luke points between them. “Your friend, not mine. That guy…always gave me the creeps.”

“Michael is misguided. Oliver is creepy.” River corrects.

“Ok, yeah. Ollie is definitely weird. How come he’s not on the Bad Guy list? He did threaten Cass' life.” Luke folds his arms on the table and questions Bastian.

Bastian straightens his papers. “Fredericks was disciplined after the incident on the field. He’s not a bad guy…just…Morally grey.”

“Morally black…He’ll slit our throats if he ever wants to, Bastian.” Luke warns.

“We all want to slit throats at some point, Luke. Hell, I’ve wanted to cut you on more that one occasion for all the dumb shit you pull." Grey sits back and smirks.

“Shut up, Andrews.” Luke scowls.

I hold up a hand to interrupt. “I don’t think it’ll work. Ember hit Mike with her arrows and they did nothing but piss him off.” I say.

Deacon presses his lips together. “And he’s sending the rogues after me or at least something in my pack. I don’t know what it could possibly be. We aren’t ones to get involved with all this magic crap. After Kay-Os, we just want to be left alone really.”

Grey leans past Lucius. “Sorry, dude.”

“It’s OK. It was a million years ago. We bounced back. We’re finally getting new members now.” Deacon smiles.

I roll my head to him. “Like disappearing sexy librarians.”

“Wait. Sexy librarian?” Luke shoots forward. “You holding out on me, Dea?”

“She’s not a sexy librarian!!” Dea growls in frustration. “She’s sweet, delicate, beautiful…”

“But not sexy?” Luke arches his brow.

“Not when you say it.” Dea growls.

Bastian chuckles. “Deacon. You said you noticed conscious behaviors?”

Deacon nods. “Yep. River’s right. It’s a full on army and not what we ran into, Jay. They’re a military unit, but in rogue form.”

“How are they getting past the mind destroying sickness?” Grey asks. “As far as I know, they can’t understand a thing when they’re that far gone.”

Deacon laces his fingers on the table. “They’re communicating. Mind linking. Some even relinquishing control to their humans voluntarily. It’s really weird considering how messed up they still all look.”

River looks to Bastian. “If that’s the case, we need to be on our toes. If they can organize and communicate, they can infiltrate. We need to up security and make sure we double vet every new pack member that enters the Alliance with us. That includes the towns not involved on the council.”

“Good.” Bastian says, closing a file. “I’ll inform Phoenix and I’ll extend the new information to Axelridge, but after the attack from Eternity, getting Finn on the phone is proving harder than ever.”

“He really hates us, doesn’t he?” I say.

Bastian nods. “Yep. He just short of blaming us for Michael now too.”

“How were we supposed to know he’d be kidnapped and mind wiped?” Luke grits.

“He’s not wiped, but he is manipulated by this Death guy. This angel friend of Nala’s told me there’s something big coming, but he only said it was a war. Maybe Death is building an army and your librarian has something to do with it.” I tell the council then look at Deacon.

“You think Jenny’s connected to this guy the vamps raised?” Deacon arches a brow.

“Stranger things have definitely happened.” I shrug. From Phoenix wolves to nymphs to cosmic beings to angels, this place is crawling with weird shit.

He scrunches his nose. “She’s a girl from small town Maine. How the hell…”

We were all interrupted by the doors to the council room flying open and a very angry looking Alpha bursting in with a paper in hand.

“Oliver? This is council closed door…” Bastian scowls.

Oliver gets to the table and points at him. “Shut up.” He grits. He slams his paper down on the table and pushes it forward to the middle. “You guys are letting me on this council starting right fucking now and I’m not leaving until that paper is signed.” He points to the paper that looked a lot like a council contract.

He leans his hands on the table and eyes us all as we all look at each other with confusion and apprehension.

****

After Oliver showed up, I took off. I didn’t need him finishing what he started before. I told Deacon I’d pick him up later and blinked my ass out of there.

Besides, my love bug has been waiting for me and I’m not about to let her wait a second more.

I thought my world was over. I never once thought it was just beginning. Now, I feel it. The power of fulfilled love in my heart. It’s more than what I have ever dreamed it would be.

Ember gives me so much strength. So much hope for the future. I’m complete now. No longer flooded by my heart. She makes me feel balanced and the gift of the job she gave me made everything that much more special.

Hopeless romantic turned to hopeful romantic, it took two decades, but Ember showed me I didn’t need to fake it to get the love I deserved. All I needed was the right person. I didn’t think it at the time, but having her now made the wait so worth it.

Our hearts are combined with the love we created The fact that we work as a team to share that love with the world, just makes my life so much more amazing. I don’t think it can get any better than that.

Embers my little love bug and I’m her love bomber.

The best damn love bombing couple on the planet.