The Alpha Target

Nine

Letting out a shaking breath, Cora rolls the flowers in her fingers. The thorns have been severed from the stem, just like last time, giving her the inclination that it was done purposefully to save her fingers from being prickled. But that notion was crazy, because if the devil is sneaking into her room and anticipating her every step, his intentions are anything but virtuous. He was trying to scare her.

Curling her fist, Cora crushes the flower in the palm of her hand and lets the petals fall from her fingers. She didn’t like that he could just break into her room, her home, decide where she would sit or where she was going. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable, and that was exactly what he was trying to accomplish. She was seething now.

As the lights dim, indicating the bidding was about to start, she heard Joni’s voice through her earpiece. “They’re gone,” she shrieks.

“What?!” Cora hissed sharply.

“They omegas,” Darca confirms. “They’re not here.”

Cora’s heart stopped. “How can they possibly be gone?”

This time she heard Trey’s voice in her ear, explaining that the cages the women had been kept in had been unlocked and the women who resided in them were no longer there. But Cora’s attention was gripped by something else, or someone else. Even without meeting his gaze, Cora would have known exactly who it was from the way her wolf desperately stirred within her, clawing her way to the surface.

The ridiculously tall man, who even beneath his clothing Cora could tell his body was f*****g lethal. His black dress-shirt clung to his body, showing off his broad shoulders, thick arms, and trimmed waist. He could crush her if he wanted to. Something that only aroused her wolf further from his sheer dominance. His hand looked big enough to cover the entirety of her face. Or wrap around her neck. And Cora couldn’t help but wonder: would he do it to cause pain or pleasure?

He could see her watching him, that sinful smirk only deepening. As if hearing her thoughts, he c****d his head slightly. Intently, she watched him as he ever so slightly raised his chin, the dim light revealing his sharp jaw. His gaze pierced her like little, sharp knives grazing her skin before digging inside her. And then his smirk stretched into a wicked grin. Her breathing hitches and her lungs fill with fire. Oh, this is funny to you, asshole?

Before she can react, he turns and walks away, disappearing into the darkness. Slow and purposeful, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Her wolf whimpers, not wanting him to leave. Stupid wolf.

Suddenly finding her feet, Cora hurries after him through the dark abyss that he entered. There was no time to think or question, only find the fucker and happily connect her fist with his jaw. It was going to feel good, she knew it would. She’d lace the anger she had pent up since their first encounter into the single blow and oh, how she would relish in it.

But as Cora followed after him, adrenaline rushing through her veins, she found herself standing alone in the pitch-black room she had seen him enter. Her head turned in multiple directions, scanning the room. Several doors stood before her promising to have the answer. But one in particular seemed to be holding her attention, and always being one to trust her intuition, Cora dashed through the narrow doorway and through the dimly lit hallway. Only, to her utter surprise, to find herself darting out of the warehouse and into the depths of the night as the cool breeze raised goosebumps along her skin.

The sound of an ignition caught her attention and she frantically spun to the home of the sound. Her eyes narrowed into slits as the face hunting her thoughts straddled a deadly looking motorbike. His head slowly turned, his devastating eyes penetrating her. He left her breathless from a single look, a look that promised her destruction. As scary as that should be, it only enticed her further.

Her wolf continued clawing at her, urging her to go to him. But her wolf would be sorely disappointed if she knew the plans Cora had for when she got her hands on him. Then, the bastard merely winked as the engine of his bike roared to life and he took off into the gloaming darkness, leaving her stood there gaping in disbelief. Oh, how she was going to kill him.

And in the time that it took Cora to blink, she found herself hit in the back with such a hard concussive force that sent her flying across the open field, before she roughly tumbled to the ground and collided with the hard surface. The immediate intense buzzing in her head only seemed to grow angrier as the scene in front of her played out in slow motion.

Her eyes squinting, furious flames roared from the far rear end of the warehouse. The infrastructure unapologetically crumbled to the ground, bright orange flames were proudly seizing anything it could get its scolding affect on. The feeling of grit started stinging her skin. The taste of blood and dirt gnawing on her tongue and her lungs burn.

It was tragically silent for a moment, the ringing in her ears escalating. Her muddled mind scrambled to decipher the scene, watching how dozens of wailing guests desperately forced their way through the blazing building as though their life depended on it. It did.

The muffled sound of car alarms slowly registered to Cora, who was now staggering to her feet feeling shaky. Despite her shifter sight, she was still having difficulty seeing and her ears felt like they’d been stuffed with cotton. Explosion. It was all that went through her mind as the world disintegrated around her.

She shuddered, feeling cold despite the scorching heat glowing before her. Her chest pumps with adrenaline and dread forms in the pit of her stomach as she searches for her team, her shaky legs desperately searching for balance as she looks around.

Relief floods through her as she sees the five of them running towards her, unharmed. Trey firmly holds her against him, helping her stand as her shifter heeling kicks in. “Hey, you doing okay?” her friend hushed in her ear, supporting her.

Cora blinked, her hearing quickly restoring itself as her eyes scanned over her friends for any injuries. Reassurances took charge once she was certain not even a hair was out of place, they were all perfectly fine. She nodded, glancing back up at Trey as her feet finally found their grounding. “I’m fine,” she confirmed. “I was just near the blast when the explosion happened.”

Satisfied their leader was just fine, Darca broke the news. “The women were gone before the bomb went off. Whoever set up the explosion took the women with them.” This was a relief to Cora, she didn’t care if the disgusting vermin who were there to buy the women lived, only that the women themselves were unharmed.

Cora groaned, realising what had happened, brushing off the debris from her clothes. “Knox has them,” she informed them with a sigh. She didn’t understand what game he was playing. Had he taken the women and blew up the building to stop them from gaining in on him? Or was there something else going on here. He knew she was with Viper and she was pretty sure he knew he was their target. Taking the women only served as further evidence of his involvement and while Knox was many things, stupid he was not.

“I don’t know what his game is here,” Bishop huffed. “He knows Cora is with Viper, yet rather than killing her he tucked her up in bed. He proves he can get in and out our supposedly impenetrable HQ without getting noticed. Then, he disposes of the evidence from the listening devices, knowing it would only increase our suspicions about him. And finally, he sets off a bomb and kidnaps the girls he’s already kidnapped?”

Bishop scratched his head, the frown lines on his forehead deepening as he tried to place the puzzle pieces together. But just like Cora had already established, the pieces didn’t fit.

Groaning, Joni rested her head against Declan’s shoulder. “The man’s more complicated than a pregnant woman.”

Declan chuckled, wrapping his arm around his friend. “Did anyone spot any familiar faces?”

Cora noted how most shook their head, not recognising any of the guests. Except Darca. Who was now frowning and fidgeting with her fingers, something she did often when she was deep in thought. “Darca?” Cora probed. Her friend’s eyes met hers and Darca pressed her lips into a fine line, clearly unsure on whether to speak up. This only confused Cora, who was now racking her mind to think of who could have gotten Darca so muddled.

After an antagonising minute, Darca sighed and dropped her hands by her side. “I could be wrong, very wrong,” she started. Cora remained silent, her glare fixed on Darca. “I thought I saw Beta Cameron, but it couldn’t be, right?”

Cora stilled, a blank expression written across her face as processed her thoughts for a moment. Cameron was Alpha Kai’s beta and his name was one she hadn’t heard for a very long time. Despite being one of Kai’s close friends, Cameron had always treated Cora indifferently, seeing her as a mere omega who he couldn’t be seen associating with. Even before Kai turned into a grade A asshole, Cameron had been nothing but a d**k to Cora.

Though, as dickish as he was, Cora couldn’t see Cameron as the type of man who would participate in such a thing. Innocent of many things he was not, but he despised omegas too much to be tainted by the likes of one. He cared about his image far too much and attaching himself to an omega would shatter the untouchable persona he’d created for himself. Granted, Cora hadn’t seen him for over three years and she was evidence that much could change within that time, but she doubted this had.

Shaking her head, Cora disagreed. “I just don’t think it’s possible. I know him, he would never let himself be associated with the kinds of women they display at this place. He’s too much of a dick.”

Darca shrugged. “Then let’s catch up with Rocco and see if he’s found anything.”