Taming The Alpha - BBW Paranormal Romance (6 page)

But
Bec was in front of him and Jax’s duties…his damn
duties…as alpha male came first.

“
I
did…I came back because there’s some shit going on that
I need to talk to you about.” Bec walked into the room, pulling
out the chair by the desk and sitting down.

“
But
I suppose you’ve been too busy here…” Bec nodded
toward the bed, rolling his eyes.

“
What
do you need to talk to me about, Bec? Spit it out.” Jax sat on
the rumpled bed, ignoring Bec’s comment. Nikki’s scent
rose up around him and he closed his eyes briefly, aching to go after
her, knowing there was no way he could explain anything.

Bec
leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “There’s
been a murder…three actually.”

“
And
what of it? Murders in Philly aren’t unusual.” Jax tried
to keep his voice neutral, but the hair was standing up on the back
of his neck. Murders, especially around a full moon, were always a
concern.

“
These
are. Brutal, savage. Bodies almost shredded. One newspaper called it
the killer ‘The Philly Wolf’.” Bec scowled, staring
at the floor.

Jax
ran a hand across his face. “Damn it. Okay, we’ll need to
warn the others immediately. Everyone…all of us… need
to be careful, more careful than usual.”

“
Yeah.
I know. I’ve told everyone already…well, I’ve told
my pack.” Bec said the words slowly, as if they were a foreign
language.

“
So
you’re an alpha male now? They let you just choose that for
yourself, did they?”

“
Jax,
they came with me. It’s what they want, and what I want.”

“
I
see…well, we need to make sure the entire clan knows about
this. Immediately.”

Bec
finally smiled and Jax relaxed slightly. “So, what do you
think? Do we have a human serial killer, or a werewolf killer, or
someone trying to make it look like a werewolf?”

“
I
don’t know. I’m going to visit the murder sites tonight,
see if I can scent anything…maybe pick up a trail.” Bec
stood, the smile fading from his face, replaced with a deep look of
concern. Jax looked up at his younger brother.

“
You
might want to be careful though, Jax.”

“
Why
is that?” For the first time, Jax thought Bec actually looked
like an alpha male, not like the self-centered little brother he was
used to.

“
Because
the murders were at a strip club.” Bec gestured toward the bed
with his chin. “The one where your new…friend works.”

*

Nikki
had finally gotten home, after taking a long bus ride and a short
trip in a cab. Her wallet was empty and she realized she hadn’t
gotten paid for her one and only dance the night before. Mack liked
to settle up each night. But after seeing Jax, money had been the
last thing on her mind. And Mack claimed he didn’t always
remember who’d danced when. Everyone knew he watched them like
a hawk, but his convenient forgetfulness always left him with more
money in his pockets than theirs.

She
shook her head. First the lap dance and now a night’s pay. Jax
was costing her money. Something had to give.

It
was still a couple of hours before she was due at the club and the
memory of being with Jax brought up mixed feelings. More than
anything she wanted to curl up in her bed and go over every last
detail, every touch, every kiss, everything he’d done to her,
relive all of it. He’d taken her on a wild ride, getting her
high with his body, his very being. It had been a long time since any
guy had turned her on like he had, touched her, not only physically
but somewhere else, deep inside where all her emotions lived. In the
place no man had ever been, the place she never let anyone see.

They’d
seemed to fit together so well, been in sync from the minute they
both knew what they wanted. But this morning had been off, different,
their edges grating, not meeting. She didn’t know if…she
didn’t know a lot of things. And it was obvious she didn’t
know Jax at all.

Dinner
was of a frozen variety, barely thawed, most of it discarded in the
trash, before she left for the club. She was distracted, wondering if
Jax would be there, if Lori was still pissed at her. Fighting made
her stomach ache, a hold-over from family dinners that always turned
into arguments. And fighting with Lori left her with an empty feeling
in the pit of that upset stomach.

The
alley was blocked off with crime scene tape and she went in through
the front door, wondering if there’d been another robbery. The
club seemed empty but it was still early. Sam was behind the bar as
usual, but he was deep in conversation with Mack and neither looked
up as she walked through the club.

It
wasn’t until she was opening her locker that she realized she’d
left her camisole behind, somewhere in Jax’s room. She sighed,
groaning. She’d lost more clothes since she’d gotten this
job. She wondered idly if she could use that as a tax deduction.

Nikki
was almost dressed, after finally finding all the pieces to her
leopard print outfit, the bikini bottom, halter-top and garter belt.
She was sitting at the mirror, just finishing her make-up when Lori
burst into the room.

“
Oh,
my God, Nikki. Can you believe it? Right here…right outside
the door. I’m surprised Mack’s open, but he such a greedy
bastard.”

Lori
was trying to light a cigarette, but struggling, her hands shaking.
She finally succeeded, drawing in a deep lungful of smoke, dropping
down on the couch.

“
Whoa,
slow down. What are you talking about?” Nikki turned on the
chair, leaning on the back.

“
Have
you been under a rock all day? There was a murder…
three
murders
…right
outside in the alley.” To add emphasis, Lori pointed
dramatically with her cigarette, leaving a trail of ash on the
cushions.

Nikki
felt the blood drain from her face. “In the alley? When? Who?”
Her hands started to shake and she dropped the make-up brush she
held.

“
Last
night. They found Neon in a dumpster, China across the alley, with
her druggy boyfriend.”

Nikki’s
stomach did a sickening roll and she closed her eyes, drawing a deep
breath. Lori seemed oblivious to Nikki’s reaction and went on,
waving her cigarette, her voice rising in pitch as she got into the
meat of her story.

“
Neon
had been killed first, earlier, put in the dumpster. It’s why
she didn’t show up for work. Then, the druggy stalker boyfriend
must have been waiting for China and killed her. And then he…”
Lori scowled, the cigarette suddenly still in her hand.

“
But
that doesn’t make any sense. Who killed the boyfriend? He
didn’t kill himself.” She shook her head, the cigarette
back between her lips.

“
How
did they die?” Nikki’s voice was barely a whisper. She
closed her eyes, willing Lori to say anything other than with a
knife. She could still feel the cold snick of the blade the man had
held to her throat.

“
Neon
was strangled or something. But the other two…” Lori
leaned forward, her eyes unnaturally bright. “They were torn to
shreds. All cut up, not with a knife, but like, with claws. Bitten
too, from what the papers said.”

Nikki
bolted from her chair, making it to the bathroom just in time to lose
her meager dinner into the toilet. Lori came into the bathroom and
crouched beside Nikki, holding her hair away from her face.

“
Didn’t
know this was going to hit you that hard. I didn’t think you
knew China that well. And no one knew Neon.”

Nikki
looked up at Lori, at the cigarette clamped between her lips,
squinting against the spiral of smoke. She shook her head.

“
No,
I didn’t but…it’s…he was there. The
boyfriend, last night. When I left. He…he held a knife to my
throat and then…” Nikki’s voice broke and she sat
back on the tile floor. Lori tore off a paper towel from the roll on
the sink, handing it to Nikki.

“
You
got away? Damn, Nikki, seriously? Did you go to the police?”

“
No.”
She shook her head, wiping her mouth, her breath rough, panting.
“I…Jax…the guy from the club…” She
gestured over her shoulder, in the direction of the muted thumping
music.

“
He
was there, scared the guy off. And he ran away. The guy, I mean.”
She looked up at Lori. “Jax saved my life.”

“
Yeah.
I guess he did. Real hero. Then what?” Lori’s voice was
suddenly cool and she was watching Nikki closely, head tilted to the
side. Nikki knew the look, knew she’d have to bluff her way
through this or hurt Lori’s feelings even more than she already
had.

Nikki
wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You were right, Lori. He’s
no good. Pulled me out of the alley, dragged me to his place
and…well, it wasn’t any good.” She dropped her
eyes, hoping Lori would think the rising flush her cheeks was from
being sick.

“
Yeah.
Okay.” Lori stood, looking down at Nikki. “Told you. Guys
are just…shit sometimes.” She held out her hand.

“
Come
on. You’re up soon. I hear Eden’s music starting. You’re
after that, right?”

Nikki
took the outstretched hand, letting Lori pull her to her feet. “Yeah.
I’ll be out. Need to rinse my mouth.”

Lori
shut the door behind her and Nikki looked at her face in the speckled
mirror over the sink. She looked like hell, her make-up smeared, her
hair sticking in damp straggles around her forehead. She splashed
cold water on her face, further destroying her make-up.

The
music through the wall swelled, a few shouts and cat-calls reaching
Nikki. She sat down at the big mirror, reapplying liner and mascara
and a swipe of lipstick. Despite hearing about the killings, and
having to lie to Lori, she felt a tremor of anticipation running
through her veins. Jax knew she was working. And despite any mixed
feelings she had, any insecurity, she wanted to see him.
Desperately.

*

Jax
was in his room, alone. Bec had left to go back to his pack. It was
hard to imagine his little brother with a pack of his own, or as an
alpha. He’d always just been the pup nipping at his heels,
getting in his way, generally making a nuisance of himself. Even if
Jax loved him, Bec still drove him crazy.

But
he couldn’t dwell on that at the moment. The moon was
approaching full, the minutes ticking by relentlessly. Jax knew, as
did every lycan, the exact second the moon became full. It was
hard-wired into their very cells. And tonight it was just after
eleven o’clock...eleven twelve and seventeen seconds, to be
exact.

The
preparation was the same, pretty basic, nothing complicated. He took
his watch off, before he stripped his t-shirt over his head and
tugged off his jeans, tossing the clothes on the bed. The process of
change was violent and clothes just got in the way, and then got
ruined. He barked out a brief laugh. Bec had been notorious, growing
up, for tearing through clothes, always waiting too long, using the
same excuse that he’d been in the middle of something, and that
became a running joke after they’d found yet another set of
tattered clothes in his room.

Jax
paced restlessly back and forth. Everything felt too small, cramped,
from the four walls that surrounded him, to his very skin. There were
just a few minutes left before the moon turned full and in the last
moments in this human body, he thought of Nikki. Her scent still
permeated his room, clung to the sheets he refused to strip from the
bed. She was inescapable, everywhere. He took a deep breath and then
it started.

Muscles
stretched and grew, bones lengthened and twisted, taking him from an
upright man to a four-legged wolf, with remarkable speed but no
little amount of pain. There was always a brief instant where he was
convinced his body would explode, his skin torn from his bones, in
that final second as a man, before he dropped to the floor as a wolf.

Then
the pain was gone and he was as he should be, a sleek, dominating
wolf. He shook himself, ruffling the fur on his body, feeling the
power in his limbs, the strength that he had in his human form
multiplied, intensified. He loved this feeling, limitless power and
grace in one amazing package.

Inside
the body of the wolf, Jax still retained his consciousness, the
essence of who he was still accessible, but subordinate to the wolf
he had become. Every sense was heightened, even more than when he was
human, his sense of smell the most sensitive. The world was a
kaleidoscope of scents and uppermost in all of them was Nikki.

He
lifted his muzzle, inhaling deeply. Even in this form, her scent was
intoxicating. It was all he could do to not jump on the bed and roll
in the sheets. He shook his head, eyes closed, whining low in his
throat. Now was not the time for this.

Bec
was waiting, he could hear the sound of his nails scratching on the
pavement at the back of the house. Jax padded down the stairs and
through to the back of the house. It occurred to him that the
conveniences of modern living worked well for werewolves. There was a
large dog door built into the back kitchen door. He nosed it open and
found Bec, along with several of Bec’s renegade pack members,
and the rest of Jax’s pack waiting for him.