Page 9 of Feral Alphas

The alpha inside snarls and backs into his cell where the wall opens, releasing a thundering sound from beyond our room. Shocked, I leap off the bed and grab the bars as the roar of thousands of voices hit my ears.

I didn’t imagine the floor vibrating; the whole building hums with a huge crowd somewhere beyond this room.

My knees give way and I sink to the floor, still gripping the bars. I should have put two and two together when they first called the alphas dogs.

I’ve been sold to an illegal fighting ring. I heard about them once on the TV news years ago, but never took much note. Now it’s as real as my own burning skin.

The boss walks back to me. “I’ll take you out there to see it, but not today.” He sniffs the air purposely, and his jaw ticks as he grips the bars, towering over me. “Fuck, you’re filling the air like an oilburner.” With purposeful movements he thrusts his hips forward, grinding his hard on against the bars.

Pain and heat bloom through my body, making me twitch, and moisture slides between my legs. I lock my trembling knees together with a sharp gasp, nausea and lust warring with each other in my aching belly.

The kennel boss’s black eyes widen. “Fuck! I changed my mind, Petrov! She’s slicking for me!”

“Forget it, boss! You said you’ll wait. You’ve got a perfectly sexy beta out there in your seat.”

He swears darkly and thrusts a few more times, intense eyes pinning me in place with an unexplainable alpha control that sets my blood on fire. But no matter how much this heat hurts, not even to save my life would I ask him to help me.

The boss jerks away from the bars, throwing a searing glance over his shoulder. “I look forward to your real heat, darling.”

Through the open hatch, two alphas scream at each other and the crowd roars, just as feral as the fighters.

Chapter four

Colt

“I’m not paid enough for this,” I grumble as I flick through the foot-high stack of reports on my desk, looking for the easiest ones to process first. Small victories and all that. I still haven’t typed up my arrest report from yesterday.

I sigh and pull the blue file toward me; we just caught the guy peddling unregistered haze, so I better do that first before Minstrom gets on my case. As Special Agent in Charge, he takes his role seriously.

Or worse, the self-righteous Liam Andrews might take a crack at me about my pile of reports, since he’s always trying to needle under my skin. Even though he’s younger than me, he’s served in the bureau longer and earned his Senior Special Agent rank.

As I type up the offender’s details, I quiver with muscle memory of the chase. Of course the dealer didn’t listen when I told him not to run because no one wants to do three years in prison for handling illicit omega scents, so I had to take him down by force. Everything was done by the textbook, but I haven’t been able to shed the niggling sensation I’ve missed something. It’s a gut feeling I’ve learned to listen to after years in the Bureau. Another grumble slips between my gritted teeth.

“What’s got you worked up?”

I twitch and spin to find my work partner, Felina, draped over my office partition, dangling a takeout coffee.

“That for me?”

The cheeky beta smirks. “No, I’m just waving it in your face for fun.”

I snatch it and take a sip while she pretends to complain, both of us knowing she bought it for me. Felina walks around the partition and stands behind me, not quite touching. Her muted damp-forest scent and the unthreatening beta presence calms me and my thoughts clear.

“This haze is bothering me.” I pull the evidence bag across the desk and lift it to the light, revealing the home-made bottle. “I just realized it’s not the same make as any we’ve pulled before.” I tap my finger on the plastic-covered glass. “Could there be a new supplier on the market we haven’t tracked?”

She lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Did you take a whiff? Maybe you can trace it or something.”

“Of course I didn’t,” I reply hotly, appalled at the idea of getting high off the oil laced with an omega’s heat scent. The golden liquid sloshes as I tilt the bag. Betas use the refined, commonly named ‘haze’ for sex orgies and sometimes alphas use it to get them through rut if they don’t have an omega to help.

Not all haze is illegal since Omegas can sell their own through registered outlets, but illicit trading still happens, which usually occurs when an omega is held against their will. Which is precisely why I’ll never touch illegal haze. In my job, you see all the horror stories of fragile omegas being taken advantage of by others.

Felina winks at me. “Well, I’ll look the other way if you want to take it home for further investigation. Spice up the night with Luka.”

“I donotneed—” I snap my lips shut and glare at her. She’s always teasing me about my relationship with another alpha and even though it’s all in fun, I really should learn not to bite. I shake my head. “Some days I question how you even made it into the Bureau, Fel. Anyway, I don’t need it.”

Her answer is interrupted by a familiar deep voice that sets my nerves on edge. “What does Colt need now?”

I spin in my chair, throwing a glare at my partner before dragging together my most deadpan face. “Nothing, Liam. All good here.”

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