Behind The Alpha Book 5 Deacon

DEACON- PRESENT DAY

“SCENT!”

I stand at the rocks of the mountain wall and watch my tracker team of wolves search rocks and crevices for our volunteer hider. Since we like to take turns, Lana is our next “victim". Though, I always end up burned in the end when it comes to her.

The team searches and I observe their skills and maneuvers.

A black and white wolf jumps from the rocks and trots to me. He huffs a growl and shifts. It’s Ryley, my assistant. He throws his hands out to the side as he walks to me. “She’s not here.” He furrows his brow and places his hands on his hips when he stops.

I scratched my forehead. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Deacon, I’m sure. You taught her to cover her tracks, you find her. We aren’t doing it anymore.” He growls.

“It’s a challenge, Ry. You can’t just give up. What if this was real?” I cross my thick arms.

He steps closer. “We have been at this for hours. We’ve been around the bowl twice. She’s not here.” He points in my face. “I’m all for training, but this is bullshit.”

I hold up a hand. “Okay. I hear you. I’ll find her and have a talk with her.”

He glares at me. “Make it stick or I’m recommending her removal.”

He shifts and runs back to the rocks.

I sigh, shake my head and go find Peter, Lana’s mate. He’s about the only person on the planet who can contain the little hell demon. I swear, sometimes I think, if I knew what I was getting into, I wouldn’t have left Falcon Ridge. Sarah Reynolds is an angel compared to Lana Marin.

I see Peter by the sparring field. He’s observing fighting recruits. “Pete!” He looks my way and walks toward me.

“What’s up?” He says as he gets close.

I rub my nape. “What’s always up?” I scowl.

He crosses his arms and drops his head. “Lana.” He mumbles.

“I’m trying to teach a class here. She can’t just keep disappearing on us. The only thing we’re learning to find is sage bushes.” I swing my arm out to the side as I plead with him to rein in his Luna.

He sighs. “Ok. What were you doing?”

“A simple hide and seek.” I supply.

He sucks in his top lip. “You check the roof?”

“No.” My face falls. “But the roof wasn’t inside the hiding area. She can’t run wherever she wants. Pete, you gotta do something about this. Ry will petition to have her removed from the team and we both know what will happen if she’s removed.”

He scrubs a hand down his face. “A nightmare. I’ll find her and fix it.”

“You better.” I eye him and leave for my section of the outdoor training area.

I’m all for spontaneity and being crazy, but Lana is too much. There’s a difference between being challenged by a fun girl and being driven out of your skull. I hope if I ever land a woman, she’s fun, but not that fun.

As long as she likes a good party and a fast paced life, I’m so happy with that. Until that happens, I’ll stay single. The girl that matches me will have to keep up. I won’t slow down for anyone. I love life too much to move at a snails pace.

I jog past the entrance to the training unit just in time to see Peter and Lana come out. I’m relieved he found her, but it’s becoming a huge problem.

“I’m sorry!” Lana says.

“I told you to stop. You’re going to get kicked off. You want that?!” Peter growls at her.

“No!” She whines.

He turns to her. “Then stop hiding where they can’t find you. That’s not the point of the exercise.” He glares at her.

“Ok, fine.” She blinks.

He points my way. “Get to class.”

She kisses his annoyed face. “Love you.” She smiles and takes off like a shot back to the trackers.

I see him shake his head and walk back to his fighters.

I take a quick minute to think of who Fate would pick for me. I picture a beautiful party girl. Always dressed to the nines in the sexiest outfits. She’d be an animal, but not feral. She’d love me and my pack. She'll plan the get togethers for everyone. She would absolutely love joining in all the pack activities. My Luna would be friends with everyone and greet all newcomers with wide open arms and a huge bright smile. I’d be at her side, just being my goofball self. Whether it be at the races, rush inducing activities or town festivals, my Luna would be all over it. The social life of the party just like me.

A grin creeps over my face as I daydream of my little socialite. I watch her float around another party I planned in a fabulous dress that leaves little to the imagination. Making our friends laugh with her cute jokes. My friends would say how lucky I am and I’d beam with pride. I watch her dance around the room making sure everyone is taken care of. She may even get a little wild later. I bite my lip at the thought of being seduced and taken by a hot sex goddess.

As my dream moved to my bedroom, it’s shattered by Ry yelling.

“Lana! Stop bouncing around and listen!”

I remove the hotness from my brain and look out to the field. Ryley is trying to teach, but Lana’s wolf is spinning circles around them all.

I sigh and walk toward the class.

“LANA!!”

****

After a week of a crazy training, I make plans for the weekend. On break, I sit at my desk and text Alex Donald, my beta. Great guy. Fun and confident like myself. He’s been handling the new members we've been taking in over the last couple of years. Which is great for me. My pack spent years in a slump. No one wanted to stay or come.

A little backstory, sixteen years ago, a 5000 year old cave wolf declared war on his 5000 year old Alpha brother. The cowboy challenged the Alpha for his title, but the Alpha denied him the fight. Long story short, my town Upton, got trashed, along with several others while the two super wolves fought.

It took years to rebuild and keep pack members to stay. Now, finally, we're back on track. People are moving in and we went from 500 to 3000 in the last five years. Not bad, if I do say so myself. I’ve got Alpha game and people recognize that.

I pick up my phone and text Alex just as Peter walks by.

“Hey, Pete. You approve my vacation request?” I ask as I set my phone down.

He stops and leans on my desk. “Yep. You’re good for the week. Darcy can pick up the class with Ry. What are you doing?”

I lean back in my chair. “I have new members that I need to vet and add to the link. I can’t do it in two days plus travel time. It’s a little backlogged. I prefer to force the link, rather than train it.”

Peter nods. “I can see that. Forcing is definitely faster. Especially if there’s threats.”

I nod. “We’re growing so fast, I can’t have unlinked member for that reason. So, I’m spending the week meeting and greeting.” I smile.

“Good for you. I’m glad you guys bounced back.” He grins.

I hold my hands out. “You can’t keep these party animals down.”

Peter runs his hands through his blonde hair. He has this California surfer thing going on, but it’s not one bit surprising since his Luna is an ocean based wolf. The two love the water.

I can’t wait to have that, but I will. The perfect girl is around the corner. I can feel it.

He crosses his cut arms and legs as he leans his hip on the edge of my desk. He motions to me. “Speaking of parties, Brody’s throwing one tonight. You should come. It’ll be like a bon voyage party.”

I chuckle. “Right. Is there going to be girls there?”

He raises his brow. “You mean besides the Lunas?”

“Yes, besides the Lunas. Don’t get me wrong, I love the them. Super great women, but I want to have a little hunt, ya know.” I tick my head to him.

He shrugs. “Well, it’s a Jackson party so I can pretty much guarantee there will be single girls there. Lucy’s always trying to match make. It’s become like a hobby for her. She’s definitely like her brother. ”

I tick my lips down and nod. “I could pop in for a beer or two. Sure.”

“Alright. I’ll tell Brody you’re coming.” He slaps my shoulder and leaves.

I pick up my phone and read Alex’s messages.

ALEX: There’s 10 new members and 35 that need linking. One in particular has been avoiding me. It’s been two weeks and she’s constantly unavailable.

I stitch my brow together.

YOU: What do we know about her? Could she be hiding something?

ALEX: Nothing stands out. Small, insignificant town out east. No real hobbies or vices. Pretty average. Nice looking. Bit boring. Background pulled up nothing out of the ordinary.

I rub my chin.

YOU: K. I’ll deal with it when I get home. In the meantime, keep on the list. If you have to pause acceptance forms, do it. We don’t want to get too far behind.

ALEX: Will do.

I heave a sigh at the thought of someone already not cooperating in my pack. It’s not a big thing, but it’s not something I want to spread. If you want to be with us then there’s no room for distrust and secrets. As Alpha, I won’t stand for that and will have to make that clear to my new, boring pack member.

****

Saturday morning, I’m standing on the tarmac on top of the Phoenix Mountain Security Unit waiting for the helicopter to land.

I adjust my duffle on my shoulder and rub my temples. Last night’s party was ok. There were some fine women there, but none I’d write home about. It was disappointing considering I feel like this year might be the lucky one for me. It has been a long time, but I’m not sweating it like my other friends have. Basically, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I have a thousand other things to occupy me until it does. Does that mean no hookups ever? Shit, no. If I find a girl I want to sleep with, I’ll take her, but last night, nothing peaked my interest. So, I might as well head home and play Alpha for awhile.

The loud thumping of the helicopter blades hit my throbbing brain. I groan as I watch its landing skids touchdown. The black and gold, military helicopter settles on the roof and I step toward it. The pilot slides the side door open and waves me on as he jumps down to the blacktop.

“You going to Falcon Ridge?!” He yells over the noise of the blades as I crouch slightly and approach him.

I hold my ear and yell, “Upton!!”

“Good! Get in. I gotta gas up! We leave in thirty minutes!” He yells back.

“Great!” I give him a thumbs up and throw my duffle on board. I climb in and pick a seat. The pilot slams the door, I buckle in and grab the headset that’s back here. It allows me to talk with pilot if I need to. I pull out my phone and surf while I wait for departure.

It takes a day to drive to my hometown, but only a few hours by helicopter. My town sits right in the middle of the two major units. Phoenix is a tad closer so, when they needed a trainer, I took the job. Either way, as long as I have a place to crash, I’m happy helping the Alliance wherever I end up, but it’s nice to go home for a while. I love my pack. I may be tooting my own horn, but the Upton wolves are the best damn people on the planet.

Upton is almost a poster child for recovery. There’s so many abandoned towns around us. Both human and wolf. They just up and left after Kay-Os. My goal is that Upton can grow so well that it will give others the hope that they can return to their towns and rebuild.

We liked having the towns around us and meeting new people. We’re just that kind of pack. Now it’s pretty much just us out here in the desert. There’s enough of us to not get lonely, but it still feels different.

Until our neighbors return, I focus on us. All of us.

I watch the world fly by as the chopper takes me home. My thoughts drift back to my daydream lady from yesterday. Her hot, athletic body. Long, curly hair I can pull and get tangled in. Her sweet smile and scent. I feel a pressure in my shorts as I continue where I left off. Yeah, she’s a dream girl, but she out there. I know she is. There’s a girl who can handle me. I’m positive this woman exists and we will click so tight, no one will dare tear us apart.

The helicopter drops onto the landing pad outside of town. It’s a little private airport for our military workers. I had it built when I joined the Phoenix council. Who knows when the Head Alpha or the King might want to visit. Need to be prepared for all things.

I jump out and duck my head as I run to the awaiting Jeep. Alex is leaning on the fender as he waits for me.

I smile and put my duffle on my shoulder.

He fixes his light brown hair and smiles that smile that makes him look ten years younger. We’ve been running together since my wolf took his down in pup school. He’s my best friend and most trusted companion.

“Welcome back.” He slams me with a quick bro hug and takes my duffle. He throws it in the back.

“It’s good to be back. Did you get through the list?” I ask as I walk around to the passenger side and get in.

“Most of it. There’s a few that weren’t in town, but we’ll get them.” He puts his seat belt on and starts the jeep. He puts it in gear and heads for the exit gate. As we approach the guard let’s us out. I wave a couple fingers at him and he waves back.

I turn to Alex. “What about our mysterious member?”

He chuckles. “You mean the librarian?”

I scrunch my brow. “Librarian?”

Alex nods as he watches the road. “Yep. You know the old bookstore on Elm?”

“Yeah.”

“She bought it. Drove all the way from the east coast to open it. I don’t know what makes her think we even read, but all the power to her, I guess.” He glances at me as he turns onto Upton’s main road. We drive through the downtown core. Right now it’s not very large, but it’s growing. The Peddlers Bookstore was opened when I was like 15 or so. It suffered damaged in the attack and the owners walked away. They were losing money because the clientele just wasn’t there. It just wasn’t worth it to fix it back up. In a pack full of loud, party animals, there isn’t time for reading. Still, every pack member counts. I need to bring the librarian into the fold quickly. I don’t want anyone unable to communicate with me if they need to.

Alex crosses into the northeast corner of town. It’s a quiet part of town, unless there’s a pack house gathering, of course. I see the red and white house just at the end of a dead end street. It almost looks like a barn house. It has two huge white balconies and giant windows between them. Inside is 50 rooms for guests and staff. I don’t have much in the way of help, but those that do work and live here serve me well.

After showering and grabbing food, I now prepare myself for the librarian that wishes to hide from her Alpha.

I drive down the sleepy, out of the way street and pull up in front of the old bookstore. It’s green with decorative wood around a big display window. The paints chipped badly and the windows are covered in paper.

I walk across the sidewalk to the old, neglected green door and peek into the window around the words the Peddlers Bookstore on the glass.

My jaw falls as I see just a hint of my pack member in an aisle amongst the books.

Uh…Well, damn…