Healing The Alpha Collection Read online

  Healing The Alpha Collection

  By Jessica Ryan

  Copyright © 2014 Jessica Ryan

  All Rights Reserved.

  Published by Jessica Ryan Books

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  CONTENT WARNING: This short story contains adult material with explicit sexual situations and language. All sexually active characters in this work are 19 years of age or older.

  PLEASE NOTE: This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains sexually explicit scenes, graphic language and may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minor.

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  ***All my serials are sold as individual entries and as collections. It would cost you MORE to buy each individual entry than it would to purchase a collection.***

  Healing The Alpha Part 1

  Chapter 1

  Aster gripped the arm rest on his large leather reading chair and stared out the window at the town—his town. He could see nearly all of Bucklin from his home on the hill just outside of town. He always kept a watchful eye on his people. The responsibility of being alpha always weighed heavily.

  Most days he wanted to rip off the three-piece straitjacket of a suit he wore for day-to-day business and run free through the woods, hunting his food and marking his territory. Those days were over, though; his grandfather's generation had seen to that. Now he had responsibilities not unlike those of any small town mayor, while also balancing the need to be a strong alpha leader.

  I've been too weak, he thought as he watched the motorcycles pull up to his front gate. I'm an alpha, not a mayor. I should lead by example, not through the pen on my desk.

  Satan's Angels had finally come back. He had cursed himself every day for letting the one light in his life go. For what? To create some truce that was going to be broken someday anyway? That day ten years ago still gnawed at him constantly. He should have stood and fought for what was right. Leena was his mate and the only wolf he would ever love, so why hadn't he stood up to Abaddon?

  Any other wolf on the planet would have fought to the death to protect his one true mate. The mental bond between Aster and Leena was strong, stronger than any other wolf could have. They were just kids, silly little eighteen-year-old kids, but there was a fiery passion that burned between the two.

  I let it all go, he thought. All so I could save my people.

  If Aster had fought Abaddon, he might have died due to the demon's power. What then? His people were scared, hiding with their tails tucked between their legs. He had to be around to protect them; that was the alpha's burden.

  Now his people were huddled in their homes, hiding as the demons returned to finish what they had started ten years ago. Had Hawk failed in finding Leena? Abaddon had promised them more time to find her and return her, but now he was here ahead of schedule.

  His thoughts drifted to another possibility, one that he wasn't ready to accept. Maybe Leena had been killed and Abaddon knew it. One of their own had betrayed them by kidnapping Leena, possibly.

  She had to have escaped on her own, Aster thought. It's the only explanation, because who would be stupid enough to kidnap her?

  Had Hawk failed in his mission? Was she dead? That was another thought he had considered but didn't want anything to do with. Even though he hadn't seen his love in ten years, he would know if she was gone. The mental bond they had shared was strong and it still existed on some level.

  For the past ten years he had felt emotions that didn't emanate from his own body. They were someone else's emotions, faintly gnawing at the back of his heart. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind they lingered and struck so softly that he would miss them if he wasn't looking for them.

  They were a mix of fear, sadness and regret. Wherever Leena was, she wasn't happy and she hadn't been happy for ten years. And it was all Aster's fault because he hadn't stood up and fought the way a wolf should.

  He had watched them kill Rowan's father, his surrogate father, dead right before his eyes. He had been ready to fight, but Leena had begged him to back down. She hadn't wanted him to die like her father had. Rowan had been ready to go to war with him, but Leena had ended it all by sacrificing herself.

  I should have never let her sacrifice herself, he thought as he stood from his chair and casually began to remove his shirt. The yard in front of his house was filled with the sounds of motorcycles roaring and men yelling as they parked their hogs.

  Pigs, he thought. That's all they are: pigs being led to slaughter.

  He was going to find out what had happened to Leena, find out where his love was. Her emotional pain had tortured him for ten years and it was time to bring his one and only love home. Abaddon had broken the truce; Aster was no longer bound by it. There was no reason to leave her with Satan's Angels—his baby was coming home.

  Aster closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember the first day he had met Leena. The first day he had realized that there was more to this world than what was shown. Quite possibly the most wonderful day of his life.

  * * *

  "Who are you?" the girl asked with a quizzical look.

  "This is Aster," Rowan said, patting his friend on the back. "He's coming over for dinner tonight."

  "Does Mom know about that?" the girl asked, putting her hands on her hips and sneering at her older brother.

  "Who cares?" Rowan asked. "We always have plenty of food. You're so annoying, Leena!"

  Aster watched as Rowan reached over and grabbed one of his sister's long black pigtails and yanked, causing her to cry out in pain. Rowan was his friend, the only friend he had in the world. He was the only kid who would play with him on the playground and the only one who would attempt to help him in class, but Aster found himself wanting to put his hands on his friend and remove him from the situation. He held his tongue and hands in check, but he was incredibly bothered by what he saw.

  To his surprise, Leena could hold her own. As she screamed from her hair being pulled, she brought her hand right up into Rowan's crotch, grabbing him by the balls and squeezing. Immediately Rowan released her and began to slap at her hand, trying to make her let go of his most sensitive area.

  "You're dead, Leena!" he yelled, reaching out and slugging her on the arm. She cried out in pain and let go of him, slinking back and grabbing at her arm.

  "What in god's name is going on in here?" a booming voice asked.

  All three children spun around as a mountainous man burst through the playroom door. He had wild, unkempt hair that hung close to his shoulders. His chest was broad and his shoulders looked like boulders. He wore nothing but an old tank top and some sweatpants, but he appeared to be stronger and more dominating than any man Aster had ever met.

  "She started it," Rowan said sullenly.

  "No, he did," Leena said, poin
ting her finger right in Rowan's face.

  "Get your finger out of my face or I'll shift and bite it off!" Rowan threatened.

  "Nobody's shifting anywhere except onto my lap for a spanking!" the man roared. "Who the hell is that?"

  All eyes in the room were now centered on Aster. He could feel his face growing hot, but he knew if he backed down now he would lose Rowan and his father forever. He needed this; he needed to be accepted by someone.

  "My name is Aster, sir," he said, standing up straight and puffing his chest out.

  "And what are you doing here, Aster?"

  "Well, sir…" He tried not to stumble. He was only eight, but he knew the importance of strength in the eyes of an alpha wolf. He was no dummy; he knew who Rowan's father was: Luke, the head alpha of all of Bucklin. "Rowan invited me for dinner."

  "Don't you have your own house to eat at?" Luke asked.

  "No, sir," Aster said. "Well, I mean I do, but there's never any food there."

  One of Luke's eyebrows rose as he studied the child before him.

  "My mom doesn't do anything except lie in bed now, sir," he said.

  "Why is that?" Luke asked.

  "My father challenged Forrest for pack supremacy and he, umm, well, he lost."

  Luke's hard expression softened and he let out a long sigh. "I thought we were done with the old ways. That goddamn Forrest. Sure, kid, you can eat with us tonight."

  "Come on, Aster!" Rowan said, forgetting his quarrel with his sister as he bounded for the door. "Let's go eat!"

  Aster lingered for a second, looking at Leena, who was still rubbing her arm.

  "What?" she asked, glaring at him.

  "Those were some pretty good moves," he said, trying to give her his best smile.

  "What's it to you?" she asked, glaring at him.

  "I just admired it, that's all. I'm Aster."

  "I caught that. I'm not deaf."

  "You're Leena, right?"

  "Yeah," she said as she rolled her eyes. She let out a long sigh and glanced at the door; she obviously wanted to be anywhere but standing there talking to Aster.

  "Are you Rowan's little sister?"

  "We're Irish twins," Leena said, crossing her arms impatiently and stamping her foot.

  "What's an Irish twin?" Aster asked.

  "It means we were born nine months apart. My mom had Rowan and then she was pregnant with me right after."

  "Oh, that's cool," Aster said, trying to still give her his best smile. She was absolutely breathtaking. He hadn't seen any girls at school who made him feel this way. He wanted her to notice him, to see him and want to talk to him.

  "Are you in my brother's class?" she asked.

  "Yes," Aster said, probably too excitedly. At least she was engaging him in conversation.

  "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

  "No, it's just me and my mom."

  "Good job getting my dad angry. Now he's going to go down and smack Forrest around."

  "Why would he do that?" Aster asked.

  "Because the old ways are outlawed, dummy! You can't go around killing people and challenging for official positions!"

  "Why not?"

  "You just can't, stupid!"

  "I'm not stupid," Aster said, putting his hands in his pockets and kicking a toy on the floor. "I'm not stupid at all."

  "How do you not know this stuff?" Leena asked, throwing her hands in the air and shaking her head. "Thanks for getting my daddy in a fight!"

  "I'm sorry," Aster muttered. "I didn't mean to. I was just being honest with him. Aren't alphas supposed to respect honesty?"

  "I guess," Leena said. "Are you one of those Oakdale dogs?"

  "Dogs?"

  "That's what my daddy calls them. He says they're closer to dog than man."

  "Well, we're wolves," Aster said, trying not to laugh. "I don't think I'm really in a pack. My mom doesn’t participate in any town business and I'm too young. My daddy's gone, though."

  "You should join our pack," Leena said.

  "Really?" Aster said, looking up with hope in his eyes.

  "No," Leena said. "Why would we want a smelly tree dog in our pack?"

  "That's not nice."

  "Too bad," she said. "You just don't have what it takes to be a Dawn member!"

  * * *

  After that Aster had sat at the dinner table and watched Leena, unable to take his eyes off of her. That was the first day he had met Leena and the first day he had been introduced to a normal home situation. Now, all these years later, he was the one with the wild hair and the weight of leadership. He'd spent his entire life trying to emulate Luke and make him proud, because he was the only real father Aster knew.

  What would Luke do in a situation like this? Luke wouldn't run and he wouldn't allow himself to be captured. That left only one thing: fight.

  Aster turned as the door to his study flew open. Commands were shouted as bikers flooded into the room with several recognizable members of the Oakdale pack.

  He stood there as they all surrounded him, forming a semi-circle around him. The only thing to his back was a picture window and a three-story drop to the ground.

  "Come quietly," the biker in the center of the circle said as he stepped forward. He wore a red flannel shirt underneath his biker leathers, an indication that he was in a higher position than many of the other members. "You won't live, but your death doesn't have to be painful. Abaddon will spare you the pain if you give yourself up now."

  All Aster could do was smile. These guys didn't know who they were messing with.

  Chapter 2

  "You don't even have a pack!" Storm said, pointing his finger and laughing at Aster.

  "He couldn't hack it in the Oakdales," Tank said, crossing arms that were way too beefy for an eight-year-old child.

  "His daddy was a loser and so is he!" Maple said, running forward and poking Aster in the chest, knowing he wouldn't hit a girl.

  Aster stood his ground, not budging as the three Oakdale pack pups continued to pick at him. Ever since his father had lost his challenge and his mother had all but vanished from the face of the earth, he had been a constant target for bullying from the Oakdale pups. These three in particular were the worst of his tormenters.

  Storm was a cocky, self-assured child who saw himself as the heir apparent to the Oakdale throne. He was one of Forrest's many bastard children. The alpha still recognized the old ways and thought it was his right to mate with any female in the pack.

  Tank wasn't one of Forrest's bastards, but his father was one of the pack's most trusted enforcers. Of course his pup had naturally taken to the role on the playground, following Storm around like a lost dog. If Storm wanted something, Tank got it. The stout pup was famous for walking into the lunchroom and taking lunch money by force. If he got caught by a teacher he just blew it off because he knew his daddy would intimidate his way out of any trouble.

  Even though he was just a child, Aster had repeatedly wondered how difficult it was to run a school in a wolf-filled town. There were too many pack politics to hamper any kind of decent teaching job.

  Finally there was Maple. She was the daughter of Forrest's number one beta, Timber. She was also Storm's main girl. Of course, like his father, he thought he had a right to any female who happened to cross his path. It didn't work that way in other packs, but that didn't stop Storm from trying. Forrest had almost gone to war with the other alphas over the attitudes of his children. Luckily most Oakdale members didn't see the need for formalized school and chose to home school their children, although their definition of schooling was pretty loose. Still, these three, and a few others, had ended up in school and were a constant source of irritation for Aster.

  They can't hurt you, he thought. They can try, but they can't hurt you. Those are just words.

  The words suddenly changed when Storm picked up a r
ock and threw it at Aster, whacking him good in the temple. Aster tried not to react, but involuntarily his hand shot up to rub the area where the rock had hit.

  "Got him!" Storm yelled. "Direct hit!"

  Aster ignored the sound of their hands slapping together as they high-fived one another and looked down at his hand. It was stained red from the blood that was now pouring out of the side of his head. As he stared at the blood he could feel anger beginning to bubble inside of him. Like a rumbling it started somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind before stampeding forth.

  "Look at him!" Maple cried, laughing while she screeched. "He's shaking! What a puppy!"

  "Let me try," Tank said, bending to pick up a rock.

  "If you throw that rock you're going to be in trouble," Aster said quietly.

  "What did you say, puppy?" Tank asked. "Was that a threat?"

  Aster didn't respond; instead, he puffed his chest out and clenched his fists at his sides.

  "Do it!" Storm yelled, shoving Tank in the shoulder.

  "Screw you, puppy!" Tank yelled before hurling the rock at Aster.

  With lightning reflexes Aster caught the rock in one hand and threw it to the ground beside him.

  "Oh, you want to play catch?" Tank asked, bending to pick up another rock.

  "How about you go to hell?" a voice yelled from behind Aster.

  He turned to see Rowan and Leena walking up beside him, a scowl written across both their faces.

  "Oh, look, it's the pretender's children," Storm said, crossing his arms and looking defiant.

  "Pretender?" Rowan asked. "Your dad's the only pretender in these parts."

  "Your daddy's only head alpha because Storm's daddy hasn't challenged him!" Maple said, leaning forward and shaking her head in a manner that made Aster want to rip it off.

  "We don't do things that way, you ugly cow," Leena said. "We can't help it you backwoods hicks are stuck in the past."

  "Are you sticking up for your boyfriend?" Maple asked.