The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

“I need to go,” he said, but didn’t turn away.

“Me too,” she murmured. Then she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him like she hadn’t kissed anyone in a long time. His lips met hers with equal passion, and he lifted her off the ground. With her, he could hear the howl of his four-footed brethren far off in the woods. She could feel his heart pumping blood through every corner of his body.

He dropped her and she stumbled backward. “No,” he whispered. “I can’t –” He turned and walked away.

Sadie couldn’t watch him leave, so she turned and got into her truck. She bashed her head against the steering-wheel so hard that she split the skin on her forehead and blood trickled down into her eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to get this close, and she hadn’t realized how close she’d gotten until that moment. She desired Vladimir in a way she couldn’t fathom, and now she’d have to find some way to fix things.

She started up the truck and headed home. When she got there, Mel’s little Mini was sitting next to the house. The girl had been given a key, so she was probably inside. Sure enough, she met Sadie at the door in a sexy little bit of lingerie, but all thoughts of a decadent morning tryst faded away when she saw the walking wounded ascend the stairs.

“What the hell happened?!”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Sadie muttered, pushing her way inside. “Listen, I don’t think I’m really in the mood to play tonight, so if you’d rather –” Sadie felt Mel’s hands on her arms shortly before being unceremoniously spun around fast enough to make her dizzy.

“If you don’t want sex, then I’m fine with that. We’re friends with benefits . . . I know that. But that starts with being friends, and FRIENDS like explanations when someone they care about looks like their puppy just died and walk in with blood on their faces.” Mel had looked annoyed, but her face softened a bit. She couldn’t imagine what could rattle Sadie Hewitt.

“I’m okay,” Sadie said. “I just fucked up tonight is all. I’m tired, I’m cranky and –” She stopped. Mel was a friend, and probably the best friend she’d had in a while. ‘When did that happen?’ she thought.

“And what? Sadie, you can talk to me. I promise, nothing gets repeated outside these walls unless you want it. I know what it’s like to try and make it without anyone to talk to. That was my life until you came along, and it sucks ass.”

Sadie nodded. “You know, I really think I could use someone to talk to,” she whispered. She sat down on the bed while Melissa fetched a washcloth and some hydrogen peroxide. Sadie unloaded everything that happened, uncomfortable at how emotionally exposed she was feeling. She did remember to give the stripper’s card to Mel, and insisted she call the woman. They could help her through some of her issues better than Sadie could. Mel just listened to the Arbiter and wondered how often this happened . . . someone with this much power but no one to turn to that could help with HER problems.

“Vlad’s a good guy,” Melissa said at last. “He’s just trying to do what he thinks is right. You’re not going to guilt him into changing his mind. Just be his friend, and maybe you’ll convince him.”

“If he ever talks to me again. I can’t believe I kissed him,” Sadie said, flopping back on her bed.

“Get some sleep,” Melissa said. “You’ll figure it out in the evening.” She went to grab her purse.

“Wait,” Sadie said abruptly. “I . . . okay, this is going to sound stupid, but even if we don’t have sex, I’d really like you to stay. Even as just a friend.”

Melissa smiled and put her purse down, crawling onto the bed and cuddling up with her friend. “Poor, poor Arbiter. Whatever are we going to do with you?”

———— ——————-

The next night . . .

———— ——————-

Sadie had bounced back a bit by the time she pulled into the parking lot at the precinct. She was sure she could smooth things over with Vlad. He’d been drinking, she’d been drinking, she’d just gotten laid . . . overall, not an unusual set of events to lead to her kissing someone. Mel’s Mini pulled in next to her and the goth chick got out.

“I guess your socializing helped,” she remarked, looking at the lot.

Sadie hadn’t even noticed, but someone had finally filled in the potholes in the lot. And the metal plating over the windows was gone, with shiny new glass behind it. She was willing to bet it was heavily spelled and bullet proof. ‘I guess there’s something to be said for playing the game.’

She walked in, giving her friend a hug before heading to her desk. Vlad wasn’t in his chair, so she stared for a moment in silence as she tried to figure out exactly what she was going to say. A few minutes later, Devlin walked over.

“Officer Koloff called in sick, so we’ll be riding together.” He looked confused, but turned to walk towards the door.

“What’s up?” she asked, standing up. She didn’t believe for a second that Vlad was sick, and Devlin was about to confirm it.

“I dunno. He’s never been sick once since I’ve worked here. He showed up the day after getting shot for Christ’s sake.”

Sadie clenched her fists and rolled her eyes. He wasn’t going to make this easy on her.

Twenty minutes later, they were cruising along Thirteenth Street, which was the official dividing line between Gravestones and West End, and the differences were as clear as night and day. There was even a row of abandoned buildings just on the east side of the street, as if West End was afraid of being infected by proximity. Sadie could see the longing in Devlin’s eyes when he looked across the way into the world of wrought iron gates, Greek fountains, and perfectly manicured lawns.

“I put myself in the registry,” he said at last, not even looking at her.

She sighed and leaned back in her seat, trying to avoid the Cadillac Escalade that had just cut her off. The registry was a list of those wanting to be Turned who didn’t have a sponsor, sort of like the undead lottery. If there was a vamp out there looking to expand his or her brood and couldn’t find anyone to their taste locally, they could check the registry. The competition was high, and Devlin’s chances were slim. He was a beat cop in the part of Midian that most vampires wouldn’t be caught (metaphorically) dead in.

‘Stop trying to live his life for him,’ she thought. ‘You don’t have to like his decision.’ She pulled into a gas station to grab a beverage. “Mind filling ‘er up?” she asked, followed with, “Want a drink?”

“No. No thank you,” he said. He’d half expected her to go off on him again. And she saw that in his eyes.Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

“I know what you want,” she said, trying to smile, “but I’m just as determined to stand by what I think is right as you are to get Turned. But just because I won’t sponsor you doesn’t mean I don’t like you. Yeah, you’re infuriating, but I guess I can be too.”

He gave her the first real grin she’d seen since she met him. “Yeah, I suppose you can be.”

“Hey, takin’ the high road here! A little humility on your part wouldn’t hurt.” She jumped out of the SUV, feeling a little bit better about herself. She ran in and grabbed a huge tankard of her delicious Mountain Dew and a bag of Fritos. She got out and Devlin was leaning back against the car.

“Hey,” she said, “if you’re going to try and go through with the whole Turning thing, do me a favor? I’ve got a friend by the name of Terrence McDermott, and he works for Lord Frost.” The last part she almost had to spit out, but she reminded herself that she was trying to play nice. “Terrence just got his undead walking papers like five years ago. Let me give you his number –”

“You think he’ll be able to talk me out of it?” Devlin replied, growing suspicious.

“Oh put a sock in it. He knows what you’re likely to go through. Most of the older vamps forgot what making the transition from living to undead was like. It’s not as easy as waking up one morning and trying on a new suit. Something I learned a long time ago was always walk into a new situation with your eyes open. Fewer nasty surprises that way.”

“Was it hard for you?” Devlin asked. He wasn’t sure she’d answer, since she never seemed to talk about her past before becoming an Arbiter. He’d heard through the grapevine that she was created by a rogue, but that was it.

Luckily, Sadie was already walking around the vehicle when she heard that question. Her eyes glassed over and she felt . . . ill. She stopped so that she could answer without him seeing her face. “I wasn’t given a choice,” she said, barely loud enough to be heard. “So yeah, it was hard.”

Devlin knew it was time to stop pushing. If he was going to get back on her good side, then he should probably avoid pouring salt on still-open wounds. “I’m sorry.”

She got into the driver’s seat and wiped a tear from her eye. Time didn’t heal all wounds but sometimes just let you become accustomed to the ache. But by the time Devlin topped off the tank and got inside, you’d never know that anything had been wrong. She was smiling again.