Page 4 of Fever

A rush of wind comes just before something hits the man and takes him down. I scream and fall off the bike, backpedaling away from the scene. Cars stop, but people don’t get out. The entire ramp seems to have stilled as the hound closes his jaw over the guy’s hand and rips it right off. Blood spurts all over the hound’s face, and he drops the hand only to lick his muzzle. He releases a blood-curling howl while the man on the ground screams, face twisted.

In the distance, an ambulance siren sounds.

A few feet away, tires screech and the truck speeds off as Shawn flees the scene.

The hound turns to me, pitch-black eyes pinning me. I want to get up, but can’t move. I only stare at the creature that swaggers toward me until it’s inches from my face. He huffs out a breath, then lowers his hackles and sits down to lick his teeth. The hound purrs.

Okay. Okay.

I scramble upright and dust off my hands.

Behind the hound, the ambulance has arrived, and EMTs work on the man. I watch him, listen to his screams, and find myself…dispassionate. That lifeless hand that an EMT picks up and places on ice would’ve dragged me to that pickup truck and driven away. It would’ve beaten me for days, then sent me home to Mom, where I’d live out the final hours of my life. I know this in the same way I don’t know what’s wrong with my bike. With certainty. I know it because I’ve dealt with these men since middle school.

The hound nudges my hand. I don’t jerk it away. Still shaking from fear and adrenaline, I touch the hound’s head. Unlike dog fur, his hackles are hard, but I pat the hound anyway. “Good boy,” I praise him.

He purrs and nudges my body with his flank. He paces around me, sometimes whining, always keeping an eye on our surroundings. A police car shows up, and the officer heads directly for me but doesn’t make it far. The hound snaps his head the officer’s way, then lifts and curls his tail like a scorpion ready to strike.

The officer stops dead in his tracks and says, “I’ll need you to come to the station for a statement.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, and I’ve nothing to say.” I point to the crowd gathered on the street. “You can interview them.”

Another cop car joins him. And another. Most of these men aren’t even in uniforms, and Lord only knows which of them are actually here to protect and serve and which are here to make me disappear. I glance at my bike one last time and mount the hound.

Chapter 2

Sotay

In the sky, I maneuver the pod, following Leah.

Dreikx’s voice rings in my ear. “I presume you have a reason for stealing my pod and disappearing?”

“I’m in the middle of something.”

“Something what?”

“A stakeout.”

“You’re stalking the poor girl.”

After the Omega rejected my advances, I am in full-blown stalker mode. I’ve had time to scout the neighborhood, and I don’t like some of Leah’s acquaintances, namely the Morrison boys, sons of the town’s loudmouth retired cop who spouts racist nonsense at his gatherings. Besides, scoping things out is in my blood. My grandfather was a former detective. My mother, an ex-cop. My dad was a Horde scout. The man who touched Leah is lucky my hound, Deyo, intercepted. I would’ve killed him. And perhaps I will. It depends on my mood, and now I’m trying to be happy as my Omega rides my hound.

While stalking, I’m MIA from the Stronghold, and I’m certain Raven noticed. Though, he’s got Seer now to plot world domination with. Frankly, neither Raven nor Arkin heeded my warning when imposing Silence and dicking with the gate’s natural pulse. Now Dreikx can’t figure out the shift in the gate’s mapping system. If we can’t map and point directly at the target landing, we can’t transport people from Regha to Earth.

“Are you listening to me?” Dreikx asks.

“No.”

“The prince requests your presence at the Stronghold, and I want my pod back.” Dreikx shuts the com off.

They need me, and I’m happy to help with the gate. After I bond Leah. “Love wars with duty,”the king once said to me.“When we accept high Alpha positions, we accept sacrifices for the greater good of our people.”I can recite all the things the king taught me, and I’m ignoring the preaching. He’s always fucking preaching anyway.

Keeping a reasonable distance away from my Omega, I follow Deyo as he delivers Leah back to her house. There’s no way to hide a pod in her neighborhood, and I don’t bother. I park on the sidewalk and exit, a sexy smile on my face. This smile melts pussies. My dad gave it to me, and I’m gonna overuse it with her.

Leah spots me and rolls those big brown eyes, then heads for the garage. I hop the fence that can’t stop a sheep from entering the yard, and pat Deyo’s head. “Good boy. Didn’t even munch on the hand. I’m proud of you.” The garage door is closing. I sprint. Nope, not gonna make it. It closes right before my nose. I cross my arms over my chest and wait. Eventually, all that goes in has to come out. That’s what my dick will do. Go in and out of her for days, slick with pussy juice. Groaning, I adjust my erection.

Sure enough, the garage door starts lifting again, and Leah appears on the other side. She wears jeans and a red turtleneck shirt. All tight and showing off her fine body. Especially her tits. I fucking love her tits. She loves nothing about me, though. In fact, she doesn’t even acknowledge me as she rolls out a bicycle.

“Hey, baby,” I say.

---