Alphas & Allies Read online

  Angelic and hungry.

  Cash’s big hands steadied Antonio’s hips as he lined himself up, allowing Antonio to set the pace. Normally Antonio would scoff at being handled with gloves, but Cash was thick and hard as iron. The salty smell of his lust hung in the air like fog, and Antonio was drunk on how goddamn good it tasted.

  The first push stung like the first swig of moonshine. It burned all the way down until it warmed his insides and made his toes curl.

  Each movement of his hips as he rode the big man under him was intoxicating. Antonio worked him like the man was built just for him, riding the pleasure the thickness inside him was giving him. Cash rolled his hips in time with Antonio, his hands roaming and petting before pinching one of his nipples.

  Antonio hissed and tossed his head back, fucking the mountainous man, who drove him absolutely insane.

  He knew he should hate him. He should despise this bastard for everything he’d done.

  I’m sorry I took your pack away.

  “Fuck,” Antonio whined, pushing his palms onto Cash’s hard chest to drive himself down harder. “Fuck, why does this feel so good? What the fuck is wrong with me?”

  Cash huffed and sat up, pulling Antonio’s legs around him without dismounting him. Big arms trapped him close, and he caught his jaw, kissing him fiercely. Their kisses slowed them down, their heat melting into a smoldering fire that burned so sweet. Cash let them come up for air, pushing his forehead against Antonio’s as they panted. The sweat on their skin slicked their hair, sticking it against their skin and mixing between them.

  “Hold on tight,” Cash whispered against his lips, curling his own up into something wicked and evil.

  Antonio let loose a shout as Cash drove his hips up into him, holding him tight so Antonio felt each thrust like a bolt of white-hot bliss. A big, rough hand wrapped around Antonio’s cock and fisted it tight while the other arm locked him in place. Antonio squeezed his legs around him tight, holding on for dear life as his body flooded with ravenous pleasure.

  Pressure began to boil at the base of his spine, and Antonio arched his back as he dug his nails into Cash’s back. The brutal son of a bitch pistoned them up off the mattress with his thrusts, fucking Antonio in the air before Antonio spiraled down the chasm of orgasmic elation.

  Hot bursts fired from Antonio as Cash milked him, the thick ropes painting the man’s gorgeous chest and nearly hitting his chin. Antonio’s back hit the mattress, and he was pinned by Cash’s large frame, his thrusts powerful and desperate as he chased his own release.

  He’d never felt a lover on top of him, never felt anything other than being in control. Antonio kept his legs locked around him and bit Cash’s shoulder just enough to make the man scream and tumble into ecstasy.

  They were still tangled together for some time afterward. When the air cooled enough to make their slick skin tingle, Cash pulled the blanket around them so they didn’t have to move. Antonio faced him on the pillow; a perfect picture of well-sexed content.

  “How’d you become alpha so young?” Cash asked the blissfully smiling man in his arms.

  Antonio adjusted his pillow slightly and snuggled in closer. “My abuelo. My grandpa. He was alpha before me and passed it to me before he died.”

  “You go by birthright here?”

  Antonio nodded. “My mother and sister were killed in a fire a long time ago. I was what was left of the bloodline. They would have been amazing alphas. I miss them very much.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure they were amazing women.”

  “They were. What…” He paused a moment, pressing his brows together just slightly. “What happened to your town, Cash?”

  Cash knew the question was coming, but it still pinched his heart.

  “I was a bit younger than you when we first met...maybe thirteen or so. I wasn’t alpha then. We didn’t go by birthright back home but by social ranking and strength. Alpha Baxton was strong but young, hot-blooded, and cocky. Sort of an ass, to be honest.

  “One night, we had a raid hit suddenly and without warning. Baxton fell...almost immediately. Silver bullet to the skull before he could even get out the gate.” Cash took a moment to swallow the pain back as memories began to surface. “I hid while everyone was slaughtered. There was no one left.”

  “I’m sorry,” Antonio whispered, his voice void of pity but filled with sorrow. “None of your pack survived?”

  “Some of the youngsters along with myself. They died of their wounds not long after. I left after that.”

  “You never found another pack after that...did you?”

  Cash glanced up into Antonio’s eyes and shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Ain’t we something,” Antonio spoke softly, a slight rasp to his voice. “Being like this after the lives we’ve had.”

  Cash reached out and tucked a black curl behind Antonio’s ear. The man truly was something, though Cash wasn’t sure he knew how to vocalize that thought properly. Their situation wasn’t ideal by any stretch, but he wasn’t terribly sure he gave a shit. Having a handsome, strong alpha in his bed with him was something close to heaven.

  The honey brown of Antonio’s eyes had faded back to their normal deep mahogany, but his lips were still pink and a bit swollen. Cash ran his thumb over them, allowing a smile to slip free as Antonio caught his hand to kiss his palm. Damn if he wasn’t the sweetest kick in the teeth.

  “What now?” Antonio watched him, searching Cash’s face for something.

  “Dunno,” Cash admitted. “I could go for a cigarette myself.”

  “What does it say of me that I’m pretty damn happy about our night together? Does that make me crazy? Stupid?” Antonio mused, curling a finger around a lock of Cash’s hair. Warmth mimicked Antonio’s fingers in the way it wrapped around his chest.

  “I dunno what it means, but I guess that makes two of us.”

  That goddamn dimple was back. “Yeah?”

  “Don’t get mushy on me now.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Antonio bit his lip, the smile still spread wide. How the hell was Cash not supposed to kiss him then? Fighting such an urge was like trying to stop a speeding train. You simply can’t fight such a powerful force.

  Pounding at the front door sent them both sitting up bolt straight.

  “They’re here!” Luis was yelling. “The bandits are heading this way!”

  Cash sprung from the bed, pulled his pants and gunbelt on as fast as he could. Antonio barely got his own pants over his ass before he ripped the door open.

  “How far out are they?” Antonio asked quickly, following his cousin out. Cash ran after them, checking to make sure his guns were still loaded with silver.

  “Logan and Luke said they’re about three miles out. They’d been scouting the area to keep a lookout for any movement. Toni, they said it was about ten strong, all armed to the teeth and riding fast.”

  It was early morning, the sun still well hidden below the horizon. The town was awake from Luis’s warning yells, and those able were taking their post with guns. If the bandits got through the traps and Cash’s team, they’d have to answer to a handful of packmembers with killer aim.

  “Any idea what we’re facing?” Cash asked as they made their way toward the edge of town. The other members of their crew were there: the Centaur, his elegant husband, Alexis, and the twins. Each one of them was battle-ready with their weapons of choice, ready to move at the drop of a hat.

  “Two of the apes from before, but one a lot bigger than both of them too,” one twin said.

  “There was a wolf, I think...but it smelled wrong and had spikes. It was big,” the other spoke up, looking a little spooked.

  “Spikes?” Alexis scowled deeply and glanced Cash’s way.

  “Goddamn Chupacabra,” Cash hissed. “Probably the leader. What else?”

  “A spider lady.”

  “Nafine,” Alexis corrected. “Watch for webs and string. They get you in that, and you
’re fucked.”

  “And a bear.”

  “Of course there’s a bear.” Antonio sighed.

  “Can you stop looking so excited, Gavin?” Nigel scolded at his husband, who, in fact, was grinning like a kid with a new toy. The man was practically dancing with excitement.

  Centaurs.

  “Let’s take position like we discussed,” Antonio ordered. “Let the traps work their magic before we go in to finish them off.”

  After everyone double-checked their weapons and said a quick prayer to the gods, they moved out. The night air was eerie in its silence. A couple insects sang in the darkness, but nothing else cared to add to the chorus. The twins shifted into their coyote forms and slipped off on silent feet to scout the area.

  Over the silver moon-colored landscape, the first signs of their enemies materialized in the distance.

  “Here they come,” Cash whispered, eyes locked on the dark figures galloping atop horses or racing in their shifted forms. They scattered out, spreading wide as they neared the town.

  Antonio moved left, taking Alexis and Nigel with him as Cash and Gavin took right. The Centaur had his ax in hand, adjusting the grip as he swished his long tail. Cash stayed in his human form for now, hand resting on the handle of his revolver.

  Cash set his jaw as he waited, watching the forms near the first set of traps they had set. Hopefully more than one would hit the pitfalls and snares, and they’d be done with this insanity before it got too close to the town.

  They moved quickly and silently through the night, missing each pitfall trap without even coming close.

  Cash cursed as he watched them weaving through the snares and bear traps like they were glowing in the night.

  “How the fuck are they doing that?” Gavin ground out. “It’s like they know…!”

  “They do.” Cash didn’t bother with discarding his pants before he shifted into his wolf form, the fabric pulling and ripping with his sudden increase in size.

  “How?”

  “I don’t know, but we don’t have the luxury of finding out right now. We gotta hit them before they get much further.” Cash glanced to the Centaur. “What’s your family’s battle cry?”

  “Grace and Bravery.”

  “Grace and Bravery, my friend.”

  Gavin grinned and galloped forward with a shout.

  Cash shut his eyes and sang at the moon for luck. Distantly, Antonio did the same.

  Their pack sang back.

  Chapter Nine

  Antonio didn’t know how the hell the bandits knew about the traps, but it didn’t matter now. The moon lit up their enemies clearly, and Antonio charged them for everything he was worth. The best strategy would be to go for the leader and take them out. If Cash was right, the leader was the Chupacabra the twins said they saw. He’d never faced one, but he knew tales of how ruthless and mean they were.

  Nigel in a full run was impressive, and not something he’d seen before. The man moved with a grace and weightlessness that made him seem to bounce off the air. Alexis had mounted her horse and galloped alongside them, poised, ready to take aim and quick-fire her way to victory. Antonio knew firsthand how deadly a shot the woman was, since she had been teaching him her technique for the past three years.

  The buzzing hiss of a bullet whizzed past Antonio’s head before he heard the sound of the gunfire. A pained shout echoed off a man as Nigel’s arrow struck him in the shoulder, sending him tumbling off his horse. Alexis fired three shots in rapid succession, and two more men fell before return fire peppered the landscape.

  Antonio darted around the ignored traps, hunting down the spicy scent of what must be the Chupacabra leader. It smelled close to wolf, but the scent had a heavy taste of copper. For whatever reason, Antonio couldn’t seem to pinpoint exactly where the tricky bastard was.

  Cash’s gray coat flashed in Antonio’s peripheral vision, as did the silver hide of a Hanu nearly three times his size. The shifter was nearly as mighty as a bear, giant and fierce with boulder-size arms and a screaming maw of teeth. Cash snarled and readied himself for the onslaught, bearing teeth and claws.

  When they collided, Antonio nearly screamed at how vicious the impact was. The Hanu seemed to engulf Cash’s big frame. The mighty blows to Cash’s hide from the Hanu’s fists were audible, even from Antonio’s distance. Cash slashed and bit down, trying his damnedest to rip the giant shifter’s fur.

  Antonio moved to help when Gavin gave a frustrated scream. Turning toward the sound, Antonio gasped at seeing the big Centaur hanging in the air in midjump. Gavin’s face was red in strain as he tried to move, his ax held above his head like he was about to swing, but he couldn’t move. Faint, silvery strings glinted in the moonlight all around him, like the silky thread of a spider’s web.

  The sleek, silent body of a spider crept from the darkness, moving with a quick grace Antonio had never seen before. With the upper body of an athletic woman, the Nafine was as strikingly beautiful as she was an absolute embodiment of death. Her fingers danced as she manipulated the thread, her spider lower half creeping toward her prey that was fighting with all his might to break free.

  Alexis yelled in pain as a well-timed gunshot from the circling bandits clipped her shoulder and sent her falling.

  A ferocious roar nearly froze Antonio’s blood into ice as the bear shifter the twins warned them about began bounding after Nigel. The agile Cervitaur was racing the massive foe, firing arrows that seem to do nothing but upset it more.

  There was no sign of the twins, and Antonio wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  Cash yelped in pain somewhere behind him.

  What do I do? Who do I help? Gods, please guide me.

  “You must be the little alpha.”

  Antonio whipped around to lock eyes with the grinning face of the Chupacabra. He looked almost identical to a wolf shifter but rivaled Cash in size. Instead of fur, the shifter sported thick, hairless skin that more resembled scales. Long spines grew from the bumps of his backbone, growing out from the skin and glinted onyx in the moonlight. His wolfish face grinned with razor teeth, and his eyes flashed a pure jade color.

  “Why are you doing this?” Antonio demanded, standing tall and baring his teeth. “Why are you attacking this town?”

  “This town? Not your town? Interesting.”

  “Answer me!”

  “Simple, werewolf. Because I fucking can.” The bandit leader drew back his lips over his teeth and hissed, launching himself full force into Antonio. It felt as if a goddamn train derailed into his ribs, knocking the air from his lungs and replacing it with pain. Luckily, training with Gavin had taught Antonio how to deal with such a feeling, since his Centaur teacher had no qualms with tackling him to the ground.

  Antonio pushed through the agony and was surprised how easily his body fell into muscle memory. His claws went for the weak points Gavin told him about on the neck, jaw, and eyes. The bandit leader’s scaly skin prevented Antonio from piercing or cutting with his claws, but it did help momentarily stun him and leave openings.

  Despite the well-placed jabs, constant slashing, and use of his teeth, Antonio seemed to be doing nothing more than pissing the bigger shifter off.

  The Chupacabra hit like a son of a bitch.

  Antonio’s insides felt as if they were turning into butter from the beatings, but Antonio was keeping his head down enough to avoid being struck in the skull. Everything hurt, and his energy was fading quickly from the pain and exertion of fighting. More than once he had tried to go for his gun still strapped to his side, but the constant onslaught of heavy blows kept it from happening.

  Eventually, after failing to block an elbow to the temple, Antonio hit the dirt and felt his iron ripped from his side.

  The Devil’s Pack leader cackled like a beast from hell, tossing the gun into the night to land with a heavy thump far away.

  “You’re not going out that easily, little wolf,” he growled, curling his fingers into Antonio’s scruff
between his ears and jerking him to his feet. Antonio gasped and began to kick as one strong arm circled his throat and squeezed.

  “Look at your little pack, alpha,” the bastard hissed into his ear. “Watch them die.”

  Antonio gasped and clawed at his arm, watching desperately as his team fought for their lives.

  Nigel, too tired from running, stood his ground panting and notching his bow as the bear shifter stood tall before him. The beast was terrifying, even from a distance, and stood several feet taller than the Cervitaur aiming the bow.

  Antonio was going to have to watch his friend die.

  As the bear shifter raised his massive clawed hand to strike, a rock cracked against the corner of his eye. He chuffed in annoyance and turned, growling deeply at a small coyote shifter shaking his tailed ass in his direction in a mocking gesture.

  Before he could charge over and kill him, another rock struck him from the other side. This identical coyote was mocking the bear’s posture and sticking his tongue out. While the bear was properly distracted by the twins, Nigel bounced off quickly, and a black-and-white wolf took his place.

  Luis shifted to his human form and let out a whistle, drawing the bear’s attention back to him. The bear roared, and Luis aimed his sawed-off shotgun and fired. At such a close range, the silver buckshot didn’t leave much in the way of the bear’s head.

  Gavin was screaming as he fought against the Nafine threads, desperate to know if his husband was all right, and starting to choke from the piercing strings’ hold around his throat. The spider shifter grinned like a mad woman, twisting her strings with her fingers, just to hear him scream more.

  The threads fell away, and the big Centaur crashed to the ground as an arrow skewered the Nafine’s head from temple to temple.

  Antonio grinned and forced some air into his burning lungs.

  “M-my pack...is stronger...th-than yours.”

  “What about the other alpha?” he growled into his ear, the smile still audible in his tone. Cold washed over Antonio with how pleased the evil bastard sounded.