Alpha's Claim to Fame

Up and At\'em

Zeke

I haven’t slept properly in weeks. I feel so guilty about it. Knowing I’m somewhere safe while my sister is Goddess knows where. Those first two weeks were the worst. I would get random pains all over my body. They would come and go, never for the same amount of time.

We exhausted all of our leads in Europe. Our allied packs had gone and scoured Asia, and they came up empty too. With nowhere else to look, my sister’s bandmates went home back to America. I told them we’d keep in touch, but that has yet to happen.

Since we didn’t have a home to return to, Uncle Ivan took us in. His pack wasn’t very large, so he had plenty of room to spare. It took a lot of time getting used to seeing all the love and joy everywhere. Coming from an abusive home, we weren’t used to such pleasantries and smiles.

My sixteenth birthday came, and it awakened the wolf spirit in me. It only made me more depressed. Katherine had been able to shift since we were little kids, but we were supposed to be together for mine. For the first run together as Alpha and Beta, as sister and brother.

His name was Aurel, and he was such a sight. A massive pitch-black wolf, with eyes as green as a blade of grass. That first shift was excruciatingly painful, but Xalga helped me through it, and I took my first run with her.

Aurel did his best to ease some of the pain in my heart from Katherine’s disappearance. He didn’t try to divert my attention, but always knew when I needed to take a step back.

Xalga informed me that now that his spirit was fully matured, I was able to find my mate. But that was the least of my concerns. If I found her during this journey, well great. If not, I’ll find her after I get my sister home.

I wonder if she ever found hers, though. If she would even remember or recognize them. Unless she had, and just didn’t say anything. Maybe it was Adam, as I knew she always had a crush on him.

Aside from his music Uncle Ivan had his hands full running this pack. There were a lot of small children around, and his mate was heavily pregnant with his first child. That was a handful on its own, so Xalga and I would usually help wrangle the kids.

But we all helped out where we could, and the pack mothers couldn’t be more grateful. The Beta, Holt, helped teach me how to be a successful Beta for my pack. To understand what it means to walk alongside the Alpha. It only strengthened my resolve to bring Katherine home.

One morning over breakfast Holt had turned on the news. They were showing segments on Katherine’s band. Every day since her disappearance every news channel showcased the band. From music videos to live performances from their tours, to her performance on “The Masked Singer.” The world was crying for Kitty Haize.

Brandon, Ben and Keith stopped by at the end of the sixth week. The house was asleep, save for Ivan and I. The five of us had a small bonfire going in the backyard, passing around bottles of liquor. When I was starting to feel a little buzzed, Ben sprang this gem on us.

“You guys ever hear of a place called Dainer Institution?”

I had. Father used to threaten to send Katherine there when we were younger. A scare tactic to keep her in line. He used to say it’s where all the naughty children went to punish them.

I was the only one who spoke up. “That place is real?”

They looked at me. “You’ve heard of it?”

I took another shot. “Yeah, dad use’ta threaten to send us there.” I coughed and tried clearing my throat. I was starting to slur my words. “I thought that was just a myth.”

Ben shook his head and added more wood to the fire. It crackled and grew, the flames dancing tall above our heads. “It’s just a rumor, mind you, but supposedly it’s some kind of prison. For the supernatural creatures.”

“So what,” Ivan gruffed, “you think she’s there?”

Keith shook his head and took out his phone. After a minute of his typing he said, “Can’t find anything on it. From anywhere.”

Brandon sighed. “Another dead-end.”

“No,” I growled. “It’s a lead. I want to follow through on it. Please.”

They looked at me with sympathy in their eyes. “Then we will,” Ivan said.

He raised his glass for a toast. “To Katherine. Let the Moon Goddess keep her alive and safe.”

Katherine

I was awoken from my sleep by a sudden pain in my head. I squealed as I was yanked upright by a guard dressed to the nines in full riot gear. He dragged me out of bed, snapping something cold and hard on my neck.

“We give you a treat,” he grumbled through his mask, “and you keep her as a plaything instead.”

“No more snacks for you then,” a second guard behind him laughed.

I struggled to free my hair from his grip. “Let me go!”

He pressed something in his vest and a jolt of electricity passed through me. I fell from his hand and convulsed on the floor, trying to scream in pain but nothing came out.

As it subsided and my body stopped twitching, I saw Michael and Nicolas on the floor too, crawling their way over to me with scowls on their faces, collars crackling and smoking. The smell of their burnt flesh made me gag and dry heave.

A set of clothes landed near my head and they left, but not before kicking me in the wound on my side. I curled up, whimpering in pain.

One of the vampires picked me up and lay me back in bed. The clothes left behind were placed on the bunk above me, and they leaned down to examine whatever was on my neck.

By then the rest of the clan came back. Gaize pushed his way to my side while Mason came to apply more of that goo on me. Looking up at everyone I realize it was a collar they snapped on me.

“What color is mine?”

Mason gave me a curious look. “Black, but with a gold band encircling it. That’s the first collar I’ve seen in here different from all the rest.”

I licked my dry lips nervously. “Th-That’s not a good thing, is it?”

Uncertainty shown in his eyes. It was all the answer I needed. But I wonder why mine was the only odd one out. It couldn’t be because I can’t shift. If that was the case it’d be white. I’m not a threat to anyone in here, especially in my injured state now.

Atlas was pacing around in my head. I could feel her unease about the collar. After being silenced for a full year she wanted out, and being trapped inside my head like this was a hindrance on both of us.

June and Marcy brought me some food and water. It was bland and tasteless but I choked it down anyway. It was good to have something in my stomach again.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but Gaize was gone when I woke up. He was gone for a few days, and I missed him like crazy. Mason said he was in control of the vampire faction, and was always trying to beat down the rebellious ones in here. I didn’t like the thought of him getting hurt but what could I do.

I was finally feeling well enough to stretch my legs and asked June if I could shower. She and Dina took me down a few halls in the compound. The vampires rarely used this area, except to have loud, wild s*x as I learned when we walked in on them. I looked on in amusement as June shooed them away in disgust.

The warm water felt amazing, and it was gross how much blood and grime I had caked on my skin. It was a little embarrassing how they had to help wash me, but it didn’t seem to faze them any. They gave me the black sweats the guards left for me, and some much-needed toiletries that I have no idea how they acquired.

I was really out of place now. The vampires were eyeing me like I was a piece of meat, and to say I was uncomfortable was an understatement.

Gaize was waiting for me when I came back. His face lit up when he saw me, taking me all in, a smile stretching across his face. He held out his hand for me.

“You look a lot better,” he said.

I took his hand and sat cross-legged on the bed. “I feel a lot better, too. When can I go explore?”

Gaize frowned. “That’s. . . not really a good idea.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said. “Not with that wound.”

“Dude, she can’t stay cooped up in here forever,” Jonas snorted.

Gaize shot him a look. “She will until she’s healed.”

I groaned. “This isn’t going to be healed for at least four months.”

June came over to examine me. “How do you know that?”

Giving a direct answer would give away what I was. Mason said it might be better for everyone if I kept that to myself for now. Who knows what the warden might do to me, he said. I had to choose my next words carefully.

“It’s. . . not the first time this happened to me.”

She eyed me but nodded.

Gaize sighed and kissed my forehead. “Fine, but I don’t want you going out on your own. You stay with Mason or June at all times.”

Fair compromise, but I still hated the thought of being babysat. The days started blending together in here, but Mason and June did take me out the following week.

This prison was huge. Each race had their own compound on their own floor, except the shifters that cohabited together, they said. The cafeteria and common rooms were on the ground floor. There was also access to the courtyard, and the cool breeze it let in was refreshing.

The clan had brought me to the cafeteria. It was obnoxiously loud and noisy, and I was bombarded with so many different smells all at once. Many people stopped to watch me, the shifter among a family of vampires, as I was led to a vacant table in a corner by the courtyard doors.

I couldn’t help but look around in wide-eyed awe, taking in all the people as they began the whispers about my collar, or why it was that I looked so familiar. I saw Gaize up on the second-floor balcony watching over me.

June brought me a tray of food. It looked inedible, but I ate and watched as they sucked the marrow from what looked like a deer. Off to the side was a group of shifters, staring and talking quietly.

“Those are the wolves,” Mason said. “I don’t see the bears or panthers anywhere, though.”

I looked at him in surprise. “There are shifters other than wolves? I didn’t know that.”

I saw it click in his eyes as I practically gave myself away. “You lived a very sheltered life, didn’t you?”

I bit down a growl. “No, my father just didn’t teach me anything about this kind of stuff. To be honest I didn’t know the Fae existed either until I came here. Which one is the Alpha?”

Mason narrowed his eyes at me. “The dark-skinned gentleman sitting on the table. He usually gives us a hard time whenever we leave the compartment, so we just come out to feed.”

“To avoid unnecessary confrontation,” June finished.

I looked over, and as if on cue the Alpha started walking over. The vampires stiffened beside me as he placed his palms flat on the table and flashed me a toothy grin.

“Well well well, who do we have here?” he purred. “I’ve never seen you around here before.”

June swatted away the hand that was reaching for my face. “Get lost, Kade. You don’t want to upset Gaize. Now do you?”

Kade’s eyes drifted upwards to where Gaize sat on the rail, ready to jump at any moment. Two strange men sat beside him, whispering quietly amongst each other. Kade’s eyes then drifted to my neck. “Oh yeah? Well the little lady here isn’t marked, and anyone can make a claim on an unmarked Omega.”

I stifled the growl in my chest but couldn’t hide the grinding of my teeth. Atlas was furious and was fighting hard for dominance. We were no one’s Omega. We are an Alpha, through and through, and she was determined to put him in his place. Mason caught my eye just as I gave Atlas her control, confusion on his face as I felt my eyes turn to Atlas’ purple color.

Kade didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy ogling me. A sudden calm passed through my body as Atlas picked up my cup of water. “I am no one’s Omega.”

The vampires tensed as they noticed the sudden change in me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gaize and those men land in the cafeteria and start marching over.

“And you are not my Alpha.” Atlas downed the rest of the water.

She growled as my eyes darted upwards to glare at Kade. He looked uncertain for a moment, and in his hesitation my arm shot up and brought his face down against the table.