Page 159 of The Alpha

“Melvale.” Kwaku put a hand on his shoulder. “Do not be afraid of what you are becoming. De Alpha’s instinct to do what is necessary to protect is needed.” He drew closer to him. “She needshimas much as she needsyou.”

Melvale spun to him.

“Uh-oh,” Peter said. The man’s eyes were blue. He’d seen enough of this version to know what could happen next. Oh, geez, what did Kwaku call him? Melvin, Marlowe, Melvale? “Hey, I was under orders…”

Melvale’s eyes locked on Peter’s. “You…” the voice was low, gravelly. “You harmed her.”

“Not on purpose,” Peter shot back. “I didn’t want any part of the really bad stuff. He was going to kill her!”

Melvale lunged at the bars, bending them inward.

Kwaku stood by, proud as a peacock, and tossed his hands in the air. “Dere he is.” He glanced at the two guards who had backed to the stone wall, terrified. “Now we are getting somewhere.” He casually stepped to the bars. “I suggest you start talking. Dese bars will not hold him back for long.”

Peter’s breath caught as his throat went dry. All he managed was a squeak of alarm followed by, “Sure.”

“Alpha Melvale,” Kwaku said. “You do not have to touch him to make him tell you what you want to know.”

Melvale looked at him, baring his fangs, and nodded. When he turned back to Peter, he smiled. It was terrifying!

“Wh-what are you going to do?” he stammered.

Melvale closed his mouth and stared at him, his eyes getting bluer.

Peter was suddenly gripped by an unseen source. The same that forced him to unlock the girl’s cell the day the two escaped.

“How did you find Pari Linder and me?”

Peter cringed as he was forced to his knees. “C-camera footage. YouTube.”

“You already told us dis,” Kwaku said. “Where did you come from? When?”

Peter gulped. This wasn’t going to bode well for him. “The Anontist Center. 3056.”

Kwaku sighed in resignation as someone else entered the cell area.

Melvale looked but said nothing.

“Alpha Melvale,” the Muiraran called Zerbe joined them. “I see you’ve met our prisoner.”

“One of my captors,” Melvale corrected. His voice had gone deeper, making Peter cringe.

“You are questioning him?”

“Yes,” Melvale said. “Though it takes little to make him speak.”

Zerbe nodded in agreement. “You will also note he speaks like a mouse.”

“Yes.”

They stood, staring at him, and Peter hoped he didn’t do something embarrassing like soil himself. Again. At least they gave him a fresh pair of pants and boxers to wear. He didn’t want to know where they came from though.

“Tell me,” Melvale said. “How did you get from the Anontist Center in 3056 to New York of 2024?”

Peter began to sweat. “Portals.”

The Time Master and Muirarans looked at one another. “Portals?” Melvale said. “Where?”

Peter stared at them and said nothing. He’d managed to hang on to this last bit of information, but he couldn’t now. He was going to die. “Quite a few places… actually.” He shivered as thealien’s grip on him tightened, and he found it hard to breathe. “Lots in fact,” he choked out.

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