Page 29 of Unexpected Alpha's Claim

“Double Jack for me. Ice water for the ladies,” Ray told her, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m going to bite your fucking ear off,” I growled, giving him a hard glare. “Three double Jack’s, Sarah. Please.”

“What’s the matter with you, big brother?” Ray wondered, his grin staying on. “I thought you’d be in a better mood. You got some nookie last night.”

“How…?”

“Oh, come on!” He chuckled, banging his palm into my shoulder blade. “It was like it was written on your forehead this morning in a brilliant neon sign. You were all smiles. Somehow, nothing bothered you, not even our rusty power screwdriver. You know, the one you always say you want to throw out the fucking window.”

“Okay,” I admitted reluctantly, looking from him to Sam. “You got me. I did spend the night with a lady. Okay? Let’s leave it at that.”

“It was your doctor, wasn’t it?” Sam posed the question, lowering his voice. “The one I saw you with in our front yard.”

“Hey Sam, when you already know the answer to something, don’t ask,” I said, annoyance sending my voice down an octave.

“Sweet,” Ray commented, a cunning smile spreading across his face. “My big brother is bang--”

“Don’t say it,” I grumbled, cutting him off and tossing a ferocious, sideways glare at him.

“Fine. I won’t,” he said, his smile vaporizing. “Can I just be happy for you?”

“For what?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily as if I was the weight he was forced to bear in his life.

“For taking over your life, man,” he said. “For having the guts to break the one rule that could get you into the worst trouble possible. Here’s to you,” he proposed a toast, raising his glass.

“To Raul,” Sam followed his example.

Heat rushed onto my cheeks, and I couldn’t look either of them in the eye. They were making light of it, but they knew as well as I did how dangerous what I had done was. How dangerous it was for them. Yet they were toasting me for it.

“Thanks, boys,” I said and clinked my glass against theirs. “This means a lot.”

As I gulped down the whiskey, I heard the hinges of the door creaking behind me. Two smells rushed into the bar, sapping away any chance of having some fun with my brothers. I had known those scents forever. The whole town of Dawson knew who they belonged to. Brad Grayson and Kenny Fairfield, my Alpha and his first lieutenant.

“Well, well, well…” Brad spoke in mock cheer. “Look what we have here. It’s the Crawford boys.Allof them.”

“Evening,” I murmured, a shot of adrenaline storming through my veins.

“Hey…” The Alpha sniffed the air, strolling closer to me. “Kenny, can you smell that?”

“Pussy,” Kenny replied with a leering grin on his face. “Human pussy.”

“Right,” Brad smirked as he came to a halt directly behind me. “It looks like Mr. Crawford fucked up. And he fucked up big.”

“Get out,” I groaned, squeezing the glass in my palm. “Get thefuckout.”

“Relax,” he urged, assuming a more serious tone. “I’m not here to fight you. We’ve got bigger fish to fry than your rule-breaking ass. Kenny, do the honors.”

“Gladly.” He nodded, leaning onto the counter. “A fisherman named Eli Johnson over in Sherman Creek was attacked a couple of weeks ago. It happened while he tried to dock his boat. No witnesses. The Sheriff’s office called it an animal attack. On March 6th, the same thing happened to a tourist by the name of Sarah Landsvi in Louisville. Again, the Sheriff’s office called it an animal attack. Those humans had two things in common.” He held up his hand and extended one finger. “One? Two sets of puncture wounds in their neck.” He added a second finger. “Two? They both died of exsanguination.”

“Bloodsuckers,” Brad said, pointing out the obvious. “Goddamn bloodsuckers. You know which town is next?”

“Shandaken,” I said, almost growling as I thought of one of those bastards coming anywhere near Monica.

“That’s right,” he said with a nod. “I don’t give a fuck about those humans over there, but you knowdamnwell who those bloodsuckers will attack first.”

“Us,” Sammy interjected his opinion. “They’ll try to take us out, so they can feed on the humans at their leisure.”

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