Page 36 of Alpha Hunger

“Oh…oh.” She fists her hands.

My com unit buzzes, and I tap it. “Yes?”

“We’re in position.”

“How many Alphas?”

“Five of us.”

“And how many men are there?”

“Three trucks full. They’re unloading now.” He clicks his tongue as he counts the men unloading from their trucks, so I can count his clicks. Twenty-one. What a strange unit number, but humans’ strategy and the way they wage their wars or missions make no sense to me. Why would someone need a unit of over twenty men to raid a home where there is one woman and a young man? The mayor is inefficient and not budgeting correctly, which is probably why she’s indebted to me. Someone has to pay all those men.

“Release the other three Alphas. You will handle this with one other male as backup.” The mayor accused the Horde of weakness, said there aren’t enough of us to patrol the city. I’d like two of my males to face twenty of hers.

Tarkin barks orders in Rahkan and sends the other three males away. They’re watching from the shadows and will not engage. The com unit stays open so I can hear what’s going on at the house. I expect panic from the woman, and when I don’t hear it, I ask, “Is Ms. Forspar there?”

“Grocery shopping.”

I glance at my Omega, and she approaches my desk, wringing her hands. I tap my lap, a universal sign she should sit on my lap and listen in if she’d like. Defiant, she pinches her lips.

I tap my lap again.

Anna pretends she can’t understand my gesture.

“Is she at home?” my Omega asks.

“Come to me and find out.”

Anna sighs and sits on my lap. I bury my nose in her hair and inhale the scent of lavender shampoo. It tickles my nose, and I wiggle it. I’d prefer she didn’t use fragrance. Her scent, although tainted, pleases me. I tap the com unit and project a hologram, then connect the com lines so she can listen in.

Tarkin speaks to the alpha of the men’s unit, telling him, quite politely, in my opinion, they can fuck off back to the mayor. The man has orders and won’t leave. Tarkin was right. There will be conflict. When I sent males to the house, it probably wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, but, besides her poor choices in suits and her offensive remarks against the Horde, there’s something about the mayor that’s bothering me. She stays well informed, and the fact she hasn’t found the Betaren mastermind in over a year since we’ve heard of the drug is quite unbelievable. Melanie is a capable woman. By now, she ought to have found the source.

“What’s going on here?” a woman’s voice asks.

In my arms, Anna freezes. “That’s my aunt.”

Tarkin speaks, but the man unit interrupts him. Arguments start, and I hear footsteps on the floors. The Alphas of Regha are stealthy. Humans think they’re stealthy, but they sound like a herd of horses to our ears.

Shouting and grunts. Surely fighting has erupted. Anna turns in my lap, her eyes wide. For reassurance, I squeeze her thigh.

Gunshots.

The woman screams.

Anna bolts across the office. At the last second, I press my hand on the control panel and lock the doors, drop the blinds. She bangs on the glass. “Tamika, let me out.”

“She can’t hear you.”

Anna spins around. “Let me out.”

“Stay calm.”

“You said you would protect my family.”

“I am doing that.”

“You sent the Horde’s second-in-command inside my aunt’s house.”

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