Page 34 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
I don’t know much about pack dynamics, but I know the alpha doesn’t submit to anyone but his mate or a more powerful alpha. I’m not his mate, which means... What up dog, I’m the alpha.
Grayson
There’s no way.
How in the hell did Demi just make the alpha submit to her? It’s impossible. She’s not that strong. She’s only human.
Colt and I stare at one another for a moment, and he pinches his lips together.
This is a serious development, and she may have taken care of our problem for us. Perhaps she doesn’t have to die.
Richard, the alpha dick, is fuming. The betas lined up behind him shift uncomfortably. A few look ready to challenge him. It’s their right as a wolf of the pack to take him on, especially after he succumbed to Demi so easily.
A strong alpha wouldn’t have looked away.
Dick realizes his people are uneasy, and he gazes over his shoulder, growling at a beta who’s inched closer. Usually people love dick, but it seems like these wolves are not fans. Can’t say I blame them. He’s powerful, I can feel that much, but he has an arrogant swagger and an overabundance of confidence.
The fool wanted to challenge Mateo. No one challenges Mateo. If the wolf elders hadn’t reached out and offered us a pretty penny to deal with Richard, Mateo would have taken him out on his own then gone for the elders as retribution for letting the pup run wild.
As it is, we’re here to get a job done, and Demetria’s made this all the easier.
“Tell me, Dick, how hard is it for you right now?”
Demi chokes on a laugh and shoots a glare at me. She doesn’t like how easily I make her laugh. She still wants to be mad. We were going to sacrifice her, begrudgingly so, but Mateo makes the rules and Colt and I follow without question. He’s our leader, and has been so for hundreds of years. We won’t throw that all away for a woman we’ve hardly known a few days.
No matter how much I’d love to taste and tease her, Mateo’s orders come first.
Richard snarls at me, half-shifting in his loss of control. Yet another point against him.
His wolves aren’t happy.
Alphas are usually very mild tempered, only rising to serious threats, and can often smash ambitious wolves into the ground with only a disappointed look on their face. Richard is a loose cannon.
“Challenge.”
Demi’s breathing hitches, and I smile when she glances at me, her eyes questioning. I tip my head toward the wolves and make a shushing noise. Now’s not the time for her smart mouth.
A beta in the back shifts into his wolf form. The seams of his clothes rip and the material falls away. Richard growls loudly, the force of it a cool brush over my skin.
The wolves who haven’t shifted take a step back and lower their gazes, submitting to the power of their alpha.
The beta continues forward, prowling toward Richard with menacing steps. An ugly sneer has his lips curling back and saliva dripping off those sharp teeth.
Colt and I ease Demi back a few paces, giving the wolves room to tumble. Demi is panting now, another panic attack creeping over her.
Her fingers dig into my arm when the wolves clash together, their jaws snapping and claws swiping at one another. Blood flies across the parking lot, landing with a splat in front of us.
Demi blinks, looking at her shoes which have a tiny splatter of blood, then says, “You’re not going to go crazy with blood lust again, right?”
Again?
I squint at Colt, ignoring the fighting wolves. The beta has pinned Richard on the gravel, but the alpha’s doing his fair share of damage. Large gouges seep blood on both the males.
Colt gives nothing away when he meets my eyes. He’s all about cold, calculated control. What is our little tiger talking about?
“No,” he whispers to her so softly I almost miss it, but my hearing is superior.
“This sounds like a story I need to hear,” I murmur to Demi. “Colt’s full of secrets today.”
