The Alphas’ P**n Star Mate

Boyd

POV

"This way," Laura said in a tone that was too upbeat for me to trust. She was holding the arm of her bloody Alpha mate, skipping along like she didn't have a care in the world. He took long, steady strides, not put off by her attitude or the way she was hanging on his with her jerky

movements at all.

I was as tense as I could fucking be. My hands were tied in front of me with infused hemp rope, the fibers burning into my skin. Sirius was barely with me, constrained by the wolfsbane. If that wasn't enough, I have two guards on either side of me and one behind. These three were elite guards. Ones I had trained and worked with long ago. The tension was evident in their faces, and I could feel their concern as they were tying my hands. It made all this feel even more sinister, despite Laura's upbeat mood.

"Oh, Jasper. You're getting blood on my shirt," Laura complained, looking down at her loose-fitted backless halter top. She was the one who was clutched onto his bloody arm, but he still muttered a "sorry" like it really was his fault.

I scoffed at her entitlement. She hasn't changed at all. Hearing me, she looked back and narrowed her eyes.

"Is something funny?"

"Only that you haven't changed one bit," I said, unable to keep my disdain from my voice.

Her eyes were chilly. Alpha Ford let out a warning growl, which I just ignored, looking away. The guards tensed beside me. I shouldn't be making comments like that in my situation, but I was having trouble hiding my disgust.

"You may have meant that in a rude manner, but I'm going to choose to take it positively for your sake. I'm going to take it as I'm as pretty as ever. I still look so young and beautiful. I know." She grinned up at her menacing mate like a wayward toddler smiling at a disgruntled adult. That's what they looked like to me. A brat and a monsterous, overprotective mutt. It makes me wonder how things worked out for them after my friends and I left. I expected their relationship to turn for the worst, but I guess it didn't affect them much at all.

They led me up a flight of concrete stairs that seemed to go up at least a dozen feet. We only went up one flight before exiting into a long hallway with symmetric doors on each side. It was a hotel. An abandoned hotel, with just Redmond Moon Pack warriors standing guard every fifty feet or so. They didn't move anything but their eyes as we passed. I recognized more members, but they didn't react to seeing me. They didn't react at all. I don't remember the warriors, even the elite warriors, being this strict and obedient. They wouldn't meet their Luna or Alpha's eyes at all.

"Jasper, honey. I know we won't be here for long, but I really can't stand the state of these walls. Can't we paint them to be a bit more cheerful?"

The walls were covered in graffiti, like you would expect of an abandoned building. The hotel has clearly been cleaned, void of debris and grime, but I guess graffiti isn't something that can be easily washed away. "If that is what you wish, my Luna."

One of the guards beside me let out the faintest sigh, so low I could barely hear it standing right beside him. Another guard we were passing in the hall rolled their eyes after Alpha Ford and Laura walked past. "I'm thinking coral, or maybe a light pink would brighten the space up. What do you think?"

"Whatever you want," Alpha Ford murmured, his expression cold and hard despite her bubbly demeanor.

Laura chatted about changes she wanted to make to the hotel, and Alpha Ford just grunted along. She threw in complaints about his messy body and the dried blood flaking off everywhere, and he just apologized flatly. It was a bit creepy and super strange watching them interact. We passed the deserted front desk and an open foyer to a wider hall that had signs up for a dining room and conference rooms. I could see outside through the pane windows and new by the landscape we were still in the same terrain as Setting Sun Pack. This hotel must not be too far. The trees and vegetation looked the same and there were no mountains like near Redmond Moon.

"Here we are," Laura giggled, skipping ahead to a set of doors leading outside. A guard on the other side opened it wide, and she skipped through, Alpha Ford following close behind. The doors led out to the pool. There were more guards and warriors standing around the rusted iron gate, but there was someone else outside as well. He was sitting at a table under a faded pavilion with his back to us. His suit was dark charcoal, and he had a cream-colored fedora on. The newspaper opened wide in front of him was in a foreign language. Arabic, maybe? He folded it up and set it down in front of him on the glass table when Laura skipped up beside him.

"We brought him!" Laura sang out cheerfully. "He's here!"

"Well done, my dear," the man matched her enthusiasm with a slightly accented voice. The man turned his head and looked at Alpha Ford. He appraised his bloody, dirty appearance, tilting his head curiously. "I suppose the spell didn't help?"

"No," Alpha Ford muttered gruffly. "I almost had her, but then her mates appeared. Right when I was about to finish the Alphas, something happened to her and I couldn't finish the job."

"Something happened?" The man drummed his fingers on the table, intrigued.

Alpha Ford let out a low rumble in his chest. "You didn't tell me she had magic as well."

The mystery man in the expensive suit smiled gleefully, his eyes dancing with mirth. "How was she? Her magic?"

Alpha Ford looked at him like he had lost his mind before answering. "It hurt like hell."

I had no idea who they were talking about, but Alpha Ford said "Alphas", as in plural. That and the fact that I was taken from Setting Sun Pack made it blatantly obvious what two Alphas could be. Chloe doesn't have magic though. The man threw his head back and laughed. Something about his cackling sounded ominous to me. It made me feel uneasy.

"Does her having magic change our deal? Does that make her more valuable?" Laura's eyes shone with greed.

"She is more valuable than you could ever comprehend, dear Luna, but the only thing that changes is my need to have her." The man looked over towards me. "I must have that woman at all costs."

I felt like shrinking back in his stare. It wasn't unfriendly or menacing like Alpha Ford, but it made me feel like I was being assessed for something dark. He was scrutinizing me like he was planning on devouring me. "This is the man? Your first mate?" He looked to Laura for confirmation.

She giggled, skipping over to me. I jerked away from her touch when she reached out and ran a sharp nail down my cheek. "This is Boyd. Isn't he lovely? I never would have found him again if it wasn't for you, Mr. Smith." My eyes went wide at the man's name. I did a double take, truly taking in the man, studying his face. Could this be..... He can't be that Mr. Smith, could it?

"It's so nice to make your acquaintance, Boyd. We have quite a few things to discuss."