The Alpha's Protector

Biting off more than you can chew.

Amber stood in her kitchen, the day had been absolutely brutal. She had no idea why the mayor thought he could waltz around town with his silk suits and order people around. That would be Sam's job. He only had to run the day-to-day, make sure everything ran smoothly, and run big decisions past his sister. Nothing was really in his control. Arrogant bastard. She downed her smoothie and wondered how to approach this upcoming sparring session. There was no way she would let anybody else do it. She didn't trust Sam to stick to the rules she put in place once she realized she had an equal on her hands. Well, maybe not equal. The Alpha had always been stronger. Amber was angry with herself. Sam's father had always needed a fight now and again. And just like with Sam no one would give him one. They always said that it was because he was their Alpha, but she heard them talk, none of them liked to lose, it was a wolf's nature to win. Amber shook her head. She should have known to organize something for Sam. She was a bit confused about Sam's way of thinking. Surely she knew what Amber Security members were. But she acted and spoke to them and about them like they were mere humans. Surely she knew Amber was the Amber in Amber Securities. When she'd made the deal with Mark and started recruiting members to join her, he had promised her that if anything ever happened to him, the Alpha to follow would know about and keep the deal. Sam seemed to have no idea what they were. Not that Amber knew after all these years. They were strong, fast, and immortal. They had been called vampires, but that was ridiculous, she knew a few vampires. Had the pleasure of working with them once in a while. They were definitely not vampires. Amber grabbed her keys and sighed. They would just have to discuss that sometime. Maybe she would have some fun first. Let the Alpha think what she wants, it will give her an advantage in their upcoming fight. She locked her door and walked to her car. She thought about what was going to happen. How the fight was going to happen, while she drove to Sam's house.

Sam was like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home, Mya thought. She was sitting on the sofa watching Sam pace up and down in front of her huge lounge window. Every car she heard, Sam would stop and look, then growl and keep pacing when the car passed. She would laugh if she thought she'd get away with it. 

"You know, it's not going to make a difference pacing like that. They're not going to arrive faster." Mya couldn't help but quip. 

"What?" Sam asked. And glared at Mya. "Do you know something? Are they not coming anymore?" Mya couldn't help it. She laughed. 

"Would you relax! If Amber said she would send someone, then she will. Pacing a hole in your living room floor is not going to change that." 

"Fine, fine. Sorry." 

"What?" Mya asked. A mock stunned expression on her face. "Did the Alpha just apologize?" A car made its way up her driveway.

"Shut up." Sam jumped around and looked out her window. "They're here!" She raced to her door, ripped it open, and froze. Mya was still laughing, thinking about her puppy thought earlier when she walked up behind Sam. 

"Amber?" They both said in surprise. 

"Hi." She smiled up at them. "Mya, take an hour, go do something else." 

"Uh, sure." She went inside to get her keys and shrugging at Sam's questioning look, left.

"How did you do that?" Sam asked. "When I try, she just says no." 

"I'm the boss," Amber said and walked up the steps. 

"So, are you really going to be my partner?" Sam asked. 

"Yes. Is that going to be a problem?" 

"No, I just thought you would send one of the problem children." 

"I don't have problem children, as you put it." Amber smiled. "Where are we going to do this?" 

"Uh, gym. I have everything set up in my home gym for us." 

"Okay." 

"You don't talk much do you?" Sam asked as they made their way to the gym.

"I just don't think we have much to talk about. You don't like me. Or my company. I'm just here to provide another service to my Alpha." 

"I never said I didn't like you, or your company. I just don't see the point in having one of you as my bodyguard." Sam opened the gym door and waited for Amber to walk in before her. "And if this is a ploy to get tips on how to beat me, you can just forget about it." 

"I don't need a ploy, Sam." Amber set her water bottle down and turned to Sam. "Where do you want to start?" 

"What style are you most comfortable with?" Sam walked onto the sparring mat she had put in and never used. 

"How about we do a freestyle, for now, get to know each other a bit, and go from there?" Amber suggested and followed Sam onto the mat, she grimaced. "I want to say something first," Amber said and turned to Sam. 

"Okay?" Sam put her hands into her sweatpants pockets. "You don't want to do this anymore?" 

"Do you enjoy putting words into people's mouths?" Amber shook her head. "No, I want to say I'm sorry." 

"For what?" 

"For not doing this sooner. I know how hard it is for the Alpha to find someone to spar with, and how much you would need this. I should have organized this sooner." 

"I haven't exactly been nice to your company or your team. And I am definitely vocal about how I feel, so it's not all your fault." She held out her hand. "Truce?" 

"Truce." Amber agreed. "Okay then, don't hurt me." She quipped and started circling Sam. 

"Oh, I said I wouldn't." 

They circled each other, both wary of the new opponent. Sam feinted a jab and Amber avoided with a sidestep. Amber jabbed and Sam blocked. A sudden leg sweep had Sam flat on her back. She laughed and jumped to her feet. Sam stalked Amber and again feinted a jab before sweeping her leg. Amber went with the move, swung around, and punched Sam on the shoulder. Sam ducked under Ambers swinging right fist and missed the sneaky left that caught her in the stomach. Sam grinned and danced back. Amber let her have her smug smile for a second before charging her, lifting her over her shoulder, and slamming her face-first into the mat. Sam landed with an oath and tried to wriggle around. When Amber felt her start to vibrate she laughed. 

"Uh uh! No shifting, remember!" She started to lift off Sam when Sam shifted and slammed Amber onto her back. 

"I wasn't, just distracting you." Her face was inches from Ambers, she could see the flecks dancing in Amber's eyes. She felt Amber's breath tickling her cheek. Their bodies touching everywhere as she pinned Amber to the mat. Sam jumped up. "Uh, water break?" 

"Sure." Amber hated that her body betrayed just how much she liked having Sam on top of her. The other woman's weight on her, pinning her, woke up dormant feelings she'd thought were dead. "Ready?" 

"Yes." They walked back onto the mat and didn't speak for the rest of the session.

Later that evening Sam sat on her sofa watching the fire dance. Something was not right with these Amber agents. Amber had bested her more than once. Sam hadn't held back, so it was a fair fight. The last move that Amber pulled, was quick and deadly. If Amber hadn't held back, Sam would have had to shift to heal. For the first time, Sam was having second thoughts about the upcoming fight. 

The man sat in his car with a frown on his face. Why would these two be meeting now? He had watched for weeks now and they've never met up. Now, after yesterday's meeting, the blonde was even at the woman's house. He didn't like this. He would watch a bit more, but if this continued he would have to put a stop to it. He didn't need two foes to fight. Too many eyes could hurt him. He watched as after an hour the blonde got in her car and drove away, the other woman stood in the doorway. A smile tugging at her mouth, as she watched. When her eyes scanned his way, he slowly pulled out and drove away. He would have to go see his sister. Maybe she had some ideas on how to fix his new problem. Because he could feel one brewing, it was his gift. To see things, plan for things before they happened.