Alpha Betrayed: A Dark Shifter Romance

Juliet

I wake to a beam of afternoon sunlight in my face and instantly want to go back to sleep.

I'm exhausted, but I'm also happy. Whole.

And no longer a virgin.

Really no longer a virgin. I have been thoroughly and expertly deflowered by my fated mate and best friend and the only person I ever want to wake up naked with.

I lift my head, staring down at the beautiful man beside me.

Myman.

Ford is already awake and watching me with a mixture of hope and uncertainty that makes me love him even more.

"How do you feel?" he asks, brushing my hair behind my ear with a gentle sweep of his fingers.

"Mine," I whisper.

His lips quirk. "Yes. Absolutely. Body and soul."

"Forever," I insist.

He nods, his hint of a smile fading. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For being so glad that you're back, bad memories and all," he says, moving his arm out of the way as I shift closer to his side. "I started thinking about it again. After you were asleep." "You don't have to be sorry. I told you. I need the pain."

Ford's brow furrows. "Do you really though?"

"Yes, I do," I say, strong enough now to add without hesitation, "I think you can only love as deeply as you've hurt. Or maybe that's just the way it is for me." I rest my hand on his chest, right over his heart. "I didn't love you the same way when I was fresh and new with no suffering locked inside of me. I didn't understand how precious this was, how irreplicable."

His eyes begin to shine. "It's the same for me."

My lips curve, even as the back of my nose starts to burn. "Then I guess we're just two f****d up weirdos who belong together."

"No doubt in my mind." He reaches for me, and I slide on top of him, straddling his hips and resting my chest against his as he hugs me tight. "I just want to steal you away to a cave in the middle of nowhere and forget about everything but us."Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling so safe with his scent surrounding me. "Same. But we can't." I lift my head, meeting his gaze. "I remember Layla and Natalie and everyone we care about now, too. No one else is going to help them. We have to get Maxim on our side. Whatever it takes."

He nods. "Then let's go call Trevor. It's nearly three-thirty. That's close enough to four."

I inhale, letting the breath out slowly as I savor how perfect his skin feels against mine. "You're probably right, but...I have a small problem."

His brows lift. "What's that?"

"I think I've forgotten what s*x feels like while I was asleep," I say.

Ford's eyes flash. "That's not a little problem. That's a big problem."

"Very big," I agree, rolling my hips against his rapidly growing erection. "Some might say huge."

"Now you're just trying to flatter me," he says, rolling me over so swiftly it makes me giggle. "But we're out of condoms."

"Then I guess you'll just have to pull out," I say.

He grunts. "Nope. I don't trust myself. But I have been wanting to get my mouth on that pretty p***y of yours. I assume you have no objections to me f*****g you with my tongue until you come out of your skin?"

I shiver. "I think I could deal with something like that. I mean, if you really wanted to."

"You're so good to me," he says.

Then, he makes me moan, and for the next twenty minutes there is nothing but him. My Ford.

Mine for real and for whatever comes next.

***

We reach the swanky hotel's business center a few minutes after four and get lucky again with another guest letting us in on their way out. I steal a second apple from the bowl, biting into the thin skin as Ford logs on. Even an apple tastes different than it did earlier today.

Now, this apple isn't just the apple I'm eating at the moment. It's all the apples I've eaten before and all the things apples mean to me-gorgeous fall leaves and fun in the orchards with friends and pack celebrations with loads of cobbler and vanilla ice cream. This apple has magical, lifetime-of-memories layers.

I never thought I'd be grateful for my past, but I am.

But I'm also grateful for the time I spent with Ford in that fresh new body. It taught me that no matter how dark the road was that led me to this place, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm where I belong and I'm who I need to be to love this man the way he deserves to be loved.

I touch a hand to Ford's shoulder, and he turns to look at me, surprise lifting his features.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his a little. "Nothing. It's just going to take some getting used to."

"The fact that I'm not fighting how much I like you anymore?"

"Yep," he says with a grin that makes me laugh.

I shrug and toss my apple core in the trash. "What can I say? I'm old and tired. These days, I only have the energy to fight the things that really need fighting."

He sobers. "Speaking of, are you ready? I'm going to put the call on speaker, but I'm not going to tell Trevor you're listening in. At least, not at first."

"Smart. He'll feel more comfortable if he thinks it's just you. I'll watch the door and run interference if anyone tries to come in."

He takes a bracing breath. "Okay. Here goes nothing." He hits the send button on the call and a second later, a tinny ringing sound fills the air. Our eyes lock, the air electrifying between us.

This is the first school cell phone we've tried that hasn't sent us straight to voicemail.

On the third ring, a hushed voice rasps, "Hello?"

"Hey, Trevor. Can you talk for a second?"

"Ford?" Trevor asks, hope flooding his tone. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Ford says, as I bite my bottom lip and fight the urge to pace. I need to stay quiet, and I don't want to distract Ford.

But I'm so nervous I'm about to come out of my skin as Trevor says, "F**k, man. I'm so glad you're alive. They said you were dead."

"I almost was," Ford says. "Beck attacked me in the water and nearly ripped my throat out. If my friend hadn't helped me..." He lets the rest of the sentence hang in the air, unspoken.

Trevor curses and his voice trembles as he says, "I knew it. I knew he was lying. He said you attacked him, and he had to defend himself, but that didn't make sense. I mean, obviously, I don't know you that well, but you were nice to everyone. Beck was the one who was always plotting shit behind people's backs. I hate that I tried to be a part of his stupid club. I should have trusted my gut and stayed the f**k away from him and all those brotherhood dickheads."

"But if you had, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Ford says. "I can't get through to Layla or Catherine. Or even Alexander or Natalie."

There's a shuffling sound and then Trevor continues in a whisper, "Yeah, they took all the Variant and Variant sympathizers' phones. They're under house arrest in the Variant dorm until the ceremony tomorrow to induct Hammer Zion as the new head of the university."

I curse silently through my teeth as Ford's expression darkens. "And what happens then? Once Hammer is in control?"

"You know him, don't you? You know how f*****g awful he is," Trevor says. "I can hear it in your voice."

"I do," Ford says. "And I think we can get rid of him, but I'll need your help to plan the best way to do it. Can I call you again in a couple days? Will you be my person on the inside to help take back the school?"

"Absolutely," Trevor says. "I hate what's happening. And so do a lot of other people. Even the brotherhood guys. If you can get rid of Hammer and Beck and a few other key players, I don't think it will be that hard to get things back to normal. But there is one thing..." "What's that?" Ford asks as I begin to pace, unable to help myself any longer.

"The ceremony tomorrow night," Trevor says. "Hammer's going to execute President Benoit."

I grind to a stop on the carpet, my stomach bottoming out.

He's going to kill my mother. I'm not a fan of my mother, not by a long shot, but I don't want her dead.

"Hammer says she violated his pack's laws and made a fool out of him and has to pay the price," Trevor continues. "I think Beck's dad tried to change his mind. He told him murdering people is only going to bring heat the brotherhood doesn't need as they're transitioning leadership, but Hammer's crazy. He doesn't care how many laws he breaks or if this goes farther than Lost Moon. It's almost like he wants a war."

"He probably does," Ford says. "What time is the ceremony?"

"Sunset. Around eight-thirty p.m." There's another shuffling sound then, "I have to go. I'm supposed to be on guard duty in ten minutes. But I can talk later if you want. I'm off at midnight, and I want to help."

"Thanks," Ford says. "We'll reach out if we need to. And we'll do our best to get help before it's too late for the president."

"Thanks," Trevor says. "Please try. I don't want anyone to die. I never wanted that. This has all gotten totally out of control."

Ford assures him again that we're all on the same page before ending the call and clearing the browser history. Then he swivels in his chair, turning back to me with a less than optimistic expression. "I guess we're going to have to talk Maxim Thorn into helping us over the phone. There's no time for a trip to New York."

"Guess so," I say, the knot in my stomach tightening. "While he's still grieving his dead sister."

"Hopefully that will make him more inclined to help someone else save their relative's life before it's too late," Ford says, rising from the chair.

"Why?" I ask. "Why does he want to kill her? What laws has she violated?"

"I don't know. Unless maybe Hammer didn't know she was alive, either."

I frown. "But surely, he did. It's not like she was hiding out somewhere under a false identity. Her maiden name's been in the Lost Moon directory for years."

"But you didn't see it," Ford says. "Because you never thought to look. What if Hammer never thought to look, either. You know he's not a big fan of higher education, especially at a school for pack rejects and misfits."

I cross my arms over my chest, willing my churning stomach to calm down. "You're right. Maybe he didn't know she was alive."

"Or just didn't know where she was."

"And if she ran off and left him with a baby without sorting out custody or getting a divorce first, that would violate pack law," I finish with a sigh. "And wound his fragile Alpha pride."

"It would also invalidate his marriage to all the women he married after her," he says. "If Coralie is still alive and they never divorced, then they're still legally married."

"Which means she still has a claim to the Zion throne," I say, a suspicion pricking at the back of my mind. "Do you think that's why she did it? So she could come back and take over someday?"

Ford frowns. "I don't know. I don't know her well enough to say for sure, but she seems pretty entrenched at Lost Moon. She seems like more of an academic than a pack leader."

"But Hammer won't care." I dig a fist into my mid-section, wishing I'd skipped that apple. "He'll want to eliminate the threat to his power as quickly and efficiently as possible. I'm actually surprised he didn't execute us. It would have been cleaner with no risk of pissed off kids coming back to haunt him if they ever broke free of their cages."

"Yeah," Ford says, resting a hand on my back. "I guess he likes us more than he likes your mother."

I roll my eyes. "Lucky us." I lean against him, taking comfort in his clean, Ford smell. "Good thing we didn't check out of the room just yet. Looks like we're going to need a place to sleep tonight."

"And a quiet place to call the Wolf King of New York," Ford says. "Let's go. We can pick up a cell phone and a pizza on the way back."

I pull back, gazing up into his face. "A pizza? How can you think of food right now?"

"We have to eat, and you said you wanted pizza."

"Weird optimistic me with no memories wanted a pizza. Real me wants Tums," I mutter, "And a calzone, which is obviously superior to pizza because of the higher toppings to bread ratio. She would have wanted that, too, if she'd known the difference." He smiles and kisses my forehead. "I love you."

It isn't the first time he's said it, but it's the first time he's said it in such a casual setting, and it hits differently. But in a good way. A really good way. My eyes are misty again as I grumble, "Yeah, me, too. A lot. I'm not sad about sleeping in a bed with you tonight instead of in a cramped bus seat."

We start toward the door, Ford's arm around my shoulders. "Same. And we'll find a way to get through to Maxim."

"And if we can't, I'll reach out to Agatha," I say. "She has friends in high places. She might not be willing to back our fight herself, but I bet I can talk her into connecting us to people who are willing to stick their necks out to save an innocent woman's life. Especially considering she's the president of our most well-respected shifter university."

Out in the hall, Ford hits the button to call the elevator. "Agreed. If I were one of the Alphas in power right now, I'd want to nip this in the bud, before important people are killed. At least that way, you save lives, and they'll have to go to war anyway. They can't let Hammer get away with this or every other deviant Alpha will follow in his footsteps. It'll be anarchy."

"Which is what he wants for some reason. But why?" I muse as we step into the car and hit the button for the ground floor. "There's no way he has enough allies on his side to win a fight against the united packs. It's like a chihuahua poking a gang of grizzly bears. It feels...dumb. And Hammer isn't dumb."

Ford makes a considering sound. "Unless he's so pissed at your mother that he's not thinking straight. Or he thinks Lost Moon will be easy to defend, even against a large force."

"Maybe," I say. "But it still feels like we're missing something."

"We'll get a phone with internet capability, and I'll do some poking around on the dark web tonight," Ford says as we head through the lobby. "If Hammer's been hiring mercenaries, there should be a trail. I don't think he has enough money to hire the amount of people he'd need to hold his own against a united pack force, but maybe he's come into some cash recently."

My lips part, but I'm distracted before I can respond.

There's another shifter in the lobby. I catch an oddly familiar scent a second before Ford does. A beat later, he's pushing me down onto a couch at the edge of the lobby and whispering, "Keep your head down. We'll assume it's an enemy until we know otherwise." But it's not an enemy. It's one hell of a coincidence, a fact proven when the young guy in gray dress slacks and a pink button-down at the concierge's desk turns and spots me across the lobby. His soothingly symmetrical features lift with wonder as he says, "Juliet? Is that really you?"

"Who the f**k is that?" Ford mutters beneath his breath, still poised to shove me to the ground and shield me with his body if necessary.

"It's Chase," I whisper, lifting an awkward hand in his direction. "My old boyfriend."