The Alpha 9: Protect. Procreate. Prevail., page 29
Jack ran one hand through his neat brown hair, but the smile remained firmly on his face as the musicians around me thanked Jack once again for the opportunity.
“I could tell you all were nervous before the show, but that wasn’t visible once you had your instruments in hand,” he continued. “It didn’t even feel like there had been any sort of break since the last performance.”
One by one, Jack went around the group and had private conversations with everyone, and while I waited for him to reach me, I briefly checked my phone to read the messages I’d recently received.
There was one from Spencer reassuring me that they still hadn’t caught sight of anyone, or anything, near the venue. I also had one from Gemma saying that two of the Modoc County werecats had taken a quick trip to the store. The hotel came with a selection of grills at the back of the building, so the betas were going to have some burgers and hot dogs ready for when everyone returned.
I trusted Gemma’s judgment, so I knew she wouldn’t have allowed them to leave unless it was safe enough for them to do so. Plus, the idea of a greasy burger made my mouth water, so I didn’t see anything wrong with the idea.
Apart from the sugary snack I’d eaten during the interval, I couldn’t remember the last proper meal I’d had, so I was very much looking forward to enjoying a burger when we got back to the hotel.
“Jesse,” Jack said suddenly as I pocketed my phone. “Once again, that was a wonderful performance.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. “I really enjoyed it. And thank you again for offering me a chance like this.”
“Why, of course,” he replied. “I wish you could have stayed on for the rest of the tour, so I knew I had to see if you were willing to join us once again.”
“I know, it’s just a shame I have to get back for classes starting up again,” I said with a soft sigh.
“Well, I don’t see these tours ending anytime soon.” Jack smirked. “So next year, or whenever it is that you graduate, I’d be more than happy to have you return for good. If that’s something you’d be interested in, of course.”
My heart leapt into my throat at such a huge opportunity.
I would have taken him up on the offer without thinking twice about it, too, but I wasn’t just a regular human like he was. I may be plain old Jesse Rafe while on stage, but that title changed as soon as I finished the final symphony.
“I really appreciate that, Jack.” I smiled. “However, I’d have a baby at home, so it might be harder for me to travel around as easily as I can right now.”
I’d actually have two babies at home, maybe even more than that, but that wasn’t information Jack needed to know about.
“Shit, of course,” he laughed. “How could I forget? Well, I hope you’re able to join us when the child can handle some separation, or any orchestra for that matter. You have pure talent, Jesse, and you could go far with your skill.”
“Thank you, that really means a lot to me,” I replied.
Jack ended the brief conversation by giving me a light tap on the shoulder, and then he said he’d see me again tomorrow before he moved onto the next person in line.
I collected the last of my belongings, and once I knew it was okay for me to leave, I exited the wing and went to find my pack members and Hazel Wise in the auditorium.
There were a few people waiting around for other members of the orchestra, but I was far more interested in the people waiting for me.
I’d barely stepped into the auditorium before my omegas sprinted toward me, and I eagerly gave them all a hug and a sly kiss when I knew it was safe to do so. Nikita was the only one who could get away with those sweet gestures, seeing as the orchestra thought the others were her sisters.
“I missed you,” I whispered just loud enough for my omegas to hear me. “You all look incredible.”
“We missed you, too, Jesse,” Arielle replied.
“And you must be special, because I never wear a dress for anyone,” Azalea chuckled.
The bald eagle shifter had slipped her muscular body into a plain black dress that stopped just above her knees. It came with short sleeves and a studded belt underneath her breasts. The studs matched her black studded stilettos, and her blood-red hair had been tied up into a high ponytail with curled locks of hair that framed her face.
Nikita had gone for a summery, floral dress that flowed all the way down to her feet, and she’d paired it with some brown sandals. Her caramel-colored hair had been curled neatly and pinned back on one side, and a light face of makeup completed the entire look.
Hailey and Blair wore almost identical dresses, which was unusual for the two of them. Hailey loved to wear bright colors and floral designs, but this evening she’d picked a navy-blue dress that hugged every curve she owned. There were two white stripes down either side of the dress, and she had a sweet pearl necklace on, too. Her brown-and-blonde hair had been straightened to sit around her face, and the purple locks of hair at the front had been pinned back with her favorite butterfly clips.
Blair’s black dress also hugged her curves, too. But it came with long sleeves, and instead of the white stripes, hers came with cut-outs that allowed me to see parts of her incredible hips. She wore one of her favorite pairs of black heels, and her black hair had been straightened to within an inch of its life and sat neatly down her back.
Arielle’s dress was a dark, forest green in color, and it had cupped sleeves and stopped just below her knees. It was a very simple and elegant dress, except it had a thick green bow which was tied around her middle and sat neatly over her slim stomach. She wore a pair of cream heels, and her brown hair had been tied back in a loose knot which sat at the nape of her neck. Arielle also had some green eyeshadow around her eyes which matched the color of her dress.
I knew Arielle thought she already had a baby bump forming, which wasn’t quite the case just yet, but I knew she’d chosen a simple dress so that it sat neatly over her stomach instead of sucking her in too tight.
“These might be my favorite dresses you’ve worn yet,” I told them as I looked over their bodies once more. “We’ll have to make sure not to destroy these ones.”
“I’m sure we could buy some more if we had to.” Blair winked.
“That’s true, we could,” I chuckled.
“Now, I think there’s someone here to see you,” Nikita said with a sly grin. “And Blair was right, she looks insane.”
“I never realized she had such an impressive chest,” Arielle giggled. “Her loose blouses cover so much!”
“Hazel Wise is full of surprises.” Hailey smirked.
“These are two facts I already knew about,” I snickered.
“It was nice to finally put a face to the name.” Azalea smiled. “But I now see what you mean about her being a badass babe. Fucking hell.”
“I’m glad you could finally meet her,” I replied.
I wrapped one arm around Nikita’s shoulders as we wandered toward Hazel, and I couldn’t wait until we got back to the hotel so I could hold all of my omegas without having to constantly look over my shoulder.
Hazel was in the middle of having a conversation with Aunt Eva and Benji, and my half-brother motioned toward me as he saw us approaching. Hazel spun around on her toes with one hand on her head to keep her wig in place, and she gave me an emotional smile as she saw me.
Hazel’s dress was much different than the pantsuits and blouses she usually wore, and my omegas were right, her breasts looked unbelievable in it. The dress was the same shade of red as her wig, traveled down to the floor, and had long sleeves and a plunging neckline that showed off her cleavage. There were two slits up the side of the dress which stopped at her hips, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had any underwear on underneath that dress.
She wore a pair of gold stilettos which had a thin strap that wrapped around her ankles, and part of me wished she hadn’t worn that wig, because I could just imagine her mahogany hair lightly curled and falling over her shoulders. Like Azalea said, Hazel definitely looked like a boss in that dress.
She meant business, and I fucking loved it.
“Good evening, Jessica.” I winked.
“Jesse, hi,” she replied. “I… Uh… Well done. That performance was… It was breathtaking.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. “I also want to thank you for coming, even though I had no idea you were here.”
“Yeah, it was a sudden decision,” she giggled. “I really wanted to see you perform in California, but I never had the chance to fly down. However, I was given an extra day off because I’ve been working later hours recently, so I decided to book a ticket while I had the chance. I wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to see you performing in Vegas.”
“And I’m glad you didn’t,” I replied. “When are you flying back? You could come with us on the jet if you wanted to?”
“That’s really sweet, thank you,” she said with a sweet smile. “But I’m not staying long. The big boss has already arrived in the city, so I need to get the first flight back to Oregon before our meeting with him tomorrow afternoon. Then he’ll be flying to the next stop on his tour on Monday, so I really can’t miss this.”
“Where are you staying?” I asked.
“In a hotel about five minutes from here,” Hazel answered. “It was the first affordable place I could find that had some space available, and it’s not far from the airport.”
“Well, I was going to see if you were free this evening.” I shrugged. “We’re all having burgers and hot dogs, so if you want to join us for some food, then I could find someone to drive you back later?”
“Oooh, yes, I want burgers!” Arielle clapped her hands excitedly.
“Are you sure?” Hazel asked. “I don’t want to intrude on a special evening with everyone.”
“Intrude?” Blair snorted.
“We’d love to have you there, Hazel.” Hailey smiled.
“Yeah, we would,” I said. “Plus, it’s not intruding if you’re invited. But if you’d rather go back to the hotel and sleep, then that’s not an issue.”
“I mean, I did come all this way to see you,” Hazel laughed. “So if it’s okay with you, then I’d love to join you. Thank you. I’ll make sure to keep this getup on, though, so I’m not identifiable as any… Well, you know. Anyone in my line of work.”
“Good idea.” I nodded.
“Aah, but you’re all forgetting one thing…” Benji smirked.
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“There won’t be any burgers left if I get there first…” Benji chuckled as he took off running
Everyone around me just laughed, but then we all started to run after him as we realized that Benji was serious, and he really would eat every burger and hot dog available if he could steal a car before we got there.
“Hey, don’t make me run in my heels!” Azalea and Blair cried out in unison.
“Don’t make a pregnant woman run in general,” Arielle huffed.
“Yeah, what she said!” Nikita shouted.
But Benji continued to chuckle as he sprinted through the main doors and over to the parking lot.
However, unfortunately for Benji, he didn’t have any car keys on him, so his head start was completely useless.
Hazel came into the car with me, Spencer, Hailey, and Nikita, and I spotted the look of confusion on the agent’s face as she noticed the casually-dressed betas piling into the vehicles.
“You didn’t think I wouldn’t have anyone patrolling the streets, did you?” I laughed.
“I suppose I just thought you didn’t need any.” Hazel shrugged. “You had betas in the auditorium, so I thought that was all the protection you needed.”
“Oh, Hazel, there’s so much for you to learn,” Hailey giggled.
“It makes a lot of sense now that I think about it,” the agent chuckled. “I guess you’ll need to make sure no one’s lingering around as you leave.”
“Exactly.” I grinned. “Like with the SDD, I always have someone watching, even if you can’t see them.”
“I know that now,” she laughed.
The drive back to the hotel was calming, and it was nice to talk to Hazel without having to use fake names or code words. There wasn’t any new information to discuss, but there hadn’t been any changes since I’d arrived in Nevada, but that did bring up a question I’d been meaning to ask.
“Will the SDD know you’re in Nevada right now?” I asked as I eyed her wig. “Wouldn’t they think it was strange if they somehow recognized you in Las Vegas when I’d recently been spotted here.”
“Fortunately not,” she replied. “There might have been some agents seeing me board a plane in Oregon, but I doubt it. I’ve been a very good girl at work, and I’ve gotten no impression that anyone is suspicious of me. Besides, none of the agents in Nevada know who I am, so I’m pretty safe here with this wig on. If some agent reports what you’re up to here, they’ll have the description of a woman with red hair who dresses as wildly as this. Nothing about this would make anyone suspect I was the same woman.”
“That’s some clever thinking, Hazel,” Spencer said from the driver’s seat.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “But I can’t wait to remove this wig. This thing is so itchy.”
Hazel slipped one finger under the wig cap, and she let out a deep sigh as she scratched at her scalp.
“Is that better?” Nikita asked.
“It’ll do for now,” Hazel chuckled.
Hey, Blair, I think I know of something that feels better than freshly shaved legs, Hailey said with a laugh. Taking your wig off after wearing it for hours.
That’s a good one… But the shaved legs are still better, Blair replied.
The last few minutes of the drive were spent talking about the orchestra, and Hazel Wise still couldn’t get over how good I was. It was a lovely compliment to receive, and it really made me smile knowing that Hazel had enjoyed her impromptu evening.
The scent of burgers and hot dogs was thick in the air as we piled from the cars, and my omegas and Benji raced each other to see who could reach the grills first.
Azalea was the winner, but that didn’t surprise anyone.
I took a few minutes to introduce Hazel to the new betas as Jessica Henderson, and then we all helped ourselves to some food. Gemma and Grace told us how uneventful their evening had been, which was a good thing. They even said there were only two members of the hotel staff working this evening since it was so dead in this random area, so some of the betas were able to shift and patrol the darkened lands surrounding us without being spotted.
The next hour was spent sitting around the grills as we ate as many hot dogs as we could manage. Hazel enjoyed several glasses of wine, and Dex and Clay helped themselves to multiple cans of soda, so they acted like two hyper children as they darted off to try and let off some of that shifter energy.
It was nearing one in the morning by the time we decided to call it a night, and we made a plan for some of my betas to continue patrolling, and then a second group would take over from them at six o’clock.
I thanked Hazel Wise once again for coming, and she said how special it was, and how nice it was to spend some quality time with everyone outside of work.
But then, just as we were tidying away all of the trash, Dex silently cried out.
I can see something in the distance, boss! he hollered.
I squinted into the darkened lands beyond the hotel.
Dex was nothing but a spec in the distance as he stood on the top of a sandy mound. And as I peered over toward him, I spotted Clay waving his arms in the air frantically.
What can you see? I asked with a low growl.
Werecoyotes, Alpha, hundreds of them! he replied. So we either have to leave, or we’ll have to face them head-on!
That was when the unpleasant scent drifted through the air: the pungent stench of mold and mildew.
If we leave, they’ll just keep following us, Benji said. We have to end this tonight.
Dex, how long do you think we have? I asked.
Uh… maybe ten minutes? he replied. I don’t know, but they’re running pretty fucking fast.
Someone call Connor and Angelique now, I ordered. We need to get them here right away.
I’m on it, Alpha, Daniel replied.
Is there enough of us to take them all on? Aunt Eva asked.
There is if we use the rifles, I replied. People go out to the middle of nowhere to shoot shit all the time, so as long as we get our asses out there and keep the fight far out of sight of the hotel, we should be in the clear.
If a few others come with me, we can race inside and get the rifles, and then we can be on that mound before the werecoyotes get here, Spencer suggested.
Do it. I nodded. As quickly as you can. I want everyone else to run toward Dex and Clay, apart from Benji and the omegas. You six stay with me. And don’t forget to inform the new werecats. They wouldn’t have heard this plan.
Of course, Alpha. Benji nodded.
It wasn’t until everyone began to run off that Hazel Wise noticed that something was wrong. She had been oblivious to the entire conversation, but the happy expression on her face instantly vanished, and her almond eyes were full of fear.
She sobered up extremely quickly.
“Jesse?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
Hazel flew all the way here just to watch me perform, but now I had to do whatever I could to make sure she didn’t die a violent, vicious death.
“This isn’t how I planned for the night to end,” I sighed as I tried to control my anger. “I’m so sorry, but I’ll make sure you’re okay.”
“O-Okay?” she stuttered. “What… What do you mean?”
I wanted to promise her that she was safe, but I couldn’t do that.
I couldn’t afford to lose any of my betas, either, so there was no one to drive her back to her hotel, and Hazel had enjoyed too much wine to drive herself.
I had to try my best to keep her safe, that was all I could do.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated as I took a hold of her hand. “Just trust me, alright?”
