Grayslake: Furrever Yours(22)

“Aloysius, you better get the fuck out of my territory and never let me see you here again,” Knox snarled.

“You can’t talk to me like that! I’m an Alpha!” Aloysius’s eyes glowed a frightening gold color.

“You’re an Alpha in my territory, and you’re weaker than me. Do you want a challenge?”

“No, Alpha,” Aloysius muttered, hanging his head. He looked at Heather with resentment and hatred. “It’s just that she knows where my daughter is,” he whined. “My precious little daughter, and I just got carried away because I’m so worried-”

“First of all, you’re a lying sack of shit. The only thing you’re worried about is your daughter’s dowry. Secondly, this woman is mine, and if you even look at her again, if you even think about her, I will end you and your entire line. Do you understand me?” Knox’s hand shot out and grabbed the man’s throat. His face turned red and his eyes bulged and he nodded frantically.

“And thirdly, you just said that you were an Alpha in front her, and she’s human. I will report this both to the Southeast Alpha and the Northeast Alpha, because it affects all of us.”

“But you said she’s with you, and so she must know—”

“You didn’t know that when you said it. Now get the hell out of here, and don’t let me see your face again,” he snarled, and let go of the other wolf’s throat.

Aloysius, gasping and wheezing, face bright red, turned and ran as fast as he could.

Knox scowled at Heather.

“Damn it. Why didn’t you call me, or have someone walk you to the coffee shop?”

“You’re right, you’re right, I was an idiot.” She was trembling from the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

“It was not one of your smarter moves,” Knox agreed, scowling after Aloysius, who was running down the sidewalk in an unsteady, staggering gait.

“I will not do it again,” she said. “I thought I’d be safe walking that short distance. I didn’t see anyone around.” She looked sadly at her spilled cup of coffee. “My magic nectar. Running down the drain.”

“I’ll walk with you to get another one,” he said. “You don’t want to end up being one of those TSTL heroines in the horror movies, do you?”

“Oh, you shut up now,” she grumbled. “I shouldn’t have told you about that.”

“You nearly died for a cup of coffee. I’d say it qualifies as TSTL. I mean, I know they make good coffee there, but it’s not worth dying for.”

“Hah. That’s where you’re wrong. I work the overnight shift in the E.R.,” she scoffed. “If the caffeine level in my blood falls below fifty percent, it’s a health crisis.”

They walked back to the Koffee Klatsch, and this time Knox bought half a dozen coffees and a bag of donuts, so she could hand them out when she got back to the E.R.

“So, from what Margaret told me, she’s supposed to be married to the Northeast Alpha’s son, right?” she said. “Isn’t the Northeast Alpha kind of your boss?”

“No, that would be the Southeast Alpha. Eugene is the Northeast Alpha. He is what is called a Territorial Alpha, which means he rules over all the packs in the Northeast. But he does basically outrank me in werewolf hierarchy.”

“Well, doesn’t that mean that if he decided he was going to take Margaret and give her to his son, you’d have to do what he said no matter what?” she asked.

Knox stopped outside the emergency room door and handed her the bag of donuts and the tray of coffee cups. “I mean…I don’t know what would happen. I’ve never been in this circumstance before.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not telling you where Margaret is until I have an absolute guarantee that she won’t be handed over to them. If you tell me that she won’t be handed to them, I will trust you, but you need to mean it.”

Knox nodded. “I want you to be mine, Heather. I won’t lie to you. Which means that right now, I can’t make any promises.”

* * * * *

Knox sat in his patrol car in the emergency room parking lot, resisting the temptation to crush his cell phone in his bare hand.

“Listen, Knox, I’m sorry, but I’m hearing one thing third-hand from you, and I’m hearing a completely different story from the Northeast Alpha, and also from the girl’s father,” Fenris, the Southeast Alpha said, his voice crackly and far away. He was calling from Florida, and their connection wasn’t great.

“I know for a fact that the girl’s father is a liar. I could smell the lies rolling off of him,” Knox said. “And what I’m hearing from the Northeast Alpha doesn’t entirely add up either. This girl was beaten unconscious when she arrived at the emergency room. And she’s a shifter. Think how hard she must have been beaten to end up in that state.”