Page 42 of Feral Alphas

I dig into the crate he points to, finding long gloves and throat guards. “What happens to them at the Lodgings?” I ask as I strip off my OCB gear.

“Usually, they get a year to see if there’s any progression, but we’ve completely run out of space, and sadly, these men are the worst I’ve ever seen. They’ll get psych and medical inspections, and if either report comes back negative—” He clicks his tongue twice.

My heart sinks as I survey the dozen alphas throwing themselves against the bars in psychotic rage. What he’s saying is most of them will end up euthanized.

Omegas are born one-in-a-thousand, which is why we form packs around them and treasure them. But alphas are a dime a dozen and the state doesn’t have the resources to feed and house so many, especially not when they pose a danger to staff.

It’s a grim reality I’ve seen in my job before when alphas lose control. Could be part of the reason Luka’s been so adamant about controlling his alpha presence. He knows more than a man should about going feral.

I walk the narrow space between the cages, stopping in front of an empty one. The iron creaks as I open the gateway and lean in. Rose’s scent is strongest here and my belly twists as I think of her locked in here with this maddening noise while she started her heat.

Her aroma would send these biological-crazed people wild for sure. For that matter, so would her being in the audience.

Felina comes to see what I’m looking at, dangling her protective gear from one hand. “Oh shit, is that the omega’s scent?”

I nod. “Hey, Brock. They were using an omega to stir them up.”

He grunts. “Yeah, I caught a whiff of that. Super strong.”

My hand tightens around the iron door. “She was in the audience yesterday too when we were making arrests.”

He shakes his head sadly. “Fucking lunatics, taking an omega in heat out there. That’s asking for trouble.” Agreed, which means it was on damn purpose.

As I open my mouth to tell him so, I see an arm snake through the bars beside Felina. I leap forward, but it’s like time slows as I watch the crazed alpha hook her neck and drag her against the bars. I shove my arm beside her trapped head just in time to stop him closing a choke that probably would have snapped her neck.

“Brock!” I yell as I pull back on his arm. The feral’s strength is super-human and I growl at the effort. In a flash Brock’s there beside me, and together we use both muscles and alpha domination to force the fighter to let go.

Felina gasps and stumbles away as the bleached-haired feral slinks backward into the cell, his hard, dark gaze never leaving us like a true predator.

“Shit! You okay, Fel?” I spin around to follow my partner.

She leans on her knees and pants. “Fuck! I shoulda upped that insurance after all.” She coughs, gasping for fresh air.

I pat her on the back and laugh. If she’s well enough to crack jokes, she’ll be fine.

“You have to watch the floorspace where you tread,” Brock says grimly. “Leave an arm’s length around the bars.”

I nod, storing that information away. “Go sit down while you catch your breath, Felina. We’ll handle this.”

Brock writes some notes down on a tablet which has a stylus dangling from an attached string. “Grom Kennels, alpha number one.” He catches my eye. “Ready to work?”

I nod grimly and we go to the first cage, his beta coworker readying a shot of knock-out juice. This will be one hell of a job, made a dozen times worse by Rose’s lingering scent and the knowledge somebody kept her with these men on purpose.

It’s past closing hour by the time we get back to the Bureau, scratched, aching in every muscle, and Felina hoarse as a toad.

“I want you to get a hospital check and write an incident report,” I tell her again, as I scribble some notes down to decipher for the report I must write tomorrow. I glance at the clock and swear as I realize how late it is. I send a quick SMS to Luka to let him know I’ll be home late, so he doesn’t wait for me on his knees on that damn scratchy carpet.

“Yeah, boss, whatever you say,” she snarks, except she sounds like someone with emphysema.

Doesn’t matter, she can be mouthy as she wants because I know exactly how to sort her out. After checking the message to Luka goes through, I pull up my contact for the alpha of Felina’s pack.

Hey Semilo. Fel had a close call at work today and might have injured her throat. I’ve told her to go to the hospital for a checkup, but she’s giving me sass.

Within seconds my phone vibrates with his response.

On it. Thanks for the heads up.

I should apologize too for not taking better care of her, but unfortunately, it’s part of the job description. If nothing else she might get a few days of paid leave.

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