Alpha Assignment (GL) Chapter 56 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Deep into the night, the darkest point that should hold the most profound and nonsensical dreams, Quinn’s body woke, prompted by the scent of wolves.

It had been a long time since she’d slept on-guard, expectant of the approach of hostile furry bodies. Her instincts had not left her. Omega survival senses weren’t quite built-in to the same degree, and Remi continued to snore softly into Quinn’s chest. She tucked her mate closer, rising with smooth, steady movements to the window that overlooked the front of the house. A dozen wolves gathered on her drive. Meaty in size and plenty in number - they knew there was an alpha inside. Quinn slid down to a crouch with Remi tight in her arms, her teeth were bared, no longer able to breath through her nose as her fury overtook her.

Remi began to wriggle and whimper, sensing her alpha’s distress over the approach of strangers, Quinn guessed. But now was not the time for restraint, her secondary gender was all she could rely on to protect them. Silent apology was directed at her mate, but the mean alpha hormones were going to be raging for a little while.

She crept them out of the bedroom, her brain flurrying from one suspect to another - who the fuck had sent a small pack of wolves to her front door? And what the fuck did they want? Intimidation or a full fight?

Opening the guest room door without knocking, she hissed inside, “Eveline. Get up. We have wolves on our doorstep.”

After a confused snuffle, Eveline kicked her way free of her covers, petrified. Quinn shushed her and with a hard look, the young woman steadied, although Quinn could hear her heart pounding through the thin skin of her chest. They slid down the stairs on the sides of their thighs, watching for shadows. At the bottom step, Remi woke with a start and got her mouth clamped by Eveline.

“Shh, my mate, we must be quiet,” Quinn whispered. “There are wolves outside.”

Remi’s round eyes widened into billiard balls (Wes enjoyed watching humans poke them with sticks on TV) and began to fill with tears. Quinn kissed her cheeks in quick succession, all the reassurance she could give for now.

They kept low, beneath the window sill level, as they entered the living room where Wes was sprawled over the sofa. Eveline woke him carefully. He also needed his mouth clamped momentarily.

Half-awake and dragged to the floor with everyone else, he mouthed, ‘what the fuck do we do?’

Quinn knew he wasn’t asking them as a collective - she was the alpha, she had to make the decision, she needed to take action.

Tiny clinking sounds turned all of their heads. Something was tapping inside the lock of Quinn’s front door. Taking it as the signal to take off, Eveline scrambled through the arch that divided the living and dining rooms - where the glass doors to the garden were. It wasn’t a terrible idea, a hell of a lot better than sticking around for now. Quinn moved to follow, and realised as the front door opened behind them, that Eveline was not running for the doors but for her box of paperwork stashed under the table.

Quinn stood, she would not face intruders sat down, and pressed Remi behind her who stumbled on half-awake legs, then Wes, since the kid didn’t have the brains (or maybe the cowardice) to also hide behind her. Their fragility hit Quinn like a slap, in the face of danger she felt how truly vulnerable they were.

A mixture of men and wolves filed into the house. The stairs creaked as they spread out through every open space. They halted in the first half of the living room, Quinn’s presence keeping them from sightseeing as they pleased here, at least.

In the centre was a face she unfortunately recognised. Along with a shiny polished pin that Eveline would, too.

He began his speech immediately, “Alpha Quinn, we are representatives of the order of-”

“Graham,” Quinn snarled. “Get the hell out of my house.”

Greasy Graham grinned. He had been hoping for this.

“How I would love to obey the alpha of a criminal gang!” he chuckled. Others huffed their amusement around him, even the wolves. The sound left a sickly residue inside of Quinn.

“There is no gang here, Graham.” Her skin was alight, every hair raising on her body was a sensation that could distract. It knew something was very wrong before she wanted to face the fact in her mind.

The jumpy little prick was beyond excited to correct her. With a mildly trembling finger he loudly counted the four of them. “One alpha, leading a pack of three.”

“Remi is my mate. These two are seeking Sanctuary.”

Now he really laughed. “Sanctuary? They really should lock you up for being mad before they even worry about locking you up for going rogue!”

It felt pointless to say it, Quinn knew exactly what they were there to do regardless. But still, she stated her innocence. “I have not gone rogue, neither has my mate. This land has applied for Sanctuary.”

“Do you think the Assembly is built on the backs of fools, Alpha?”

“I don’t think you want to hear my answer to that.” It certainly wouldn’t do them any favours for getting out of whatever fight was awaiting them.

“You are the fool for thinking you could get away with this as long as you have,” he sneered. “You think we haven’t been watching? Tracking? Collecting page after page of evidence for this very moment?” He was near-enough frothing at the mouth at the thought of the Assembly conquering a rogue pack beneath its boots. “And so bold as to write to us and inform us of your own crimes.” His smile was wild, he pointed it around the room at his comrades. “Your trial awaits.” The last three words were spoken soft as a farewell.

As her body prepared to fight, Quinn’s senses strengthened. She could hear everyone’s heartbeats, their blinks, the contractions of muscles as they moved. They collectively tensed.

Graham chuckled again.

And all at once, the mob lunged. On four legs or two, they attacked in one almost-cohesive unit. Hands and teeth snapped at the four of them, attempting to make their arrests amidst the chaos of all the others trying to do the very same. None had a tenth of an alpha’s strength, but it seemed they were banking on the mass confusion to pick them off one-by-one. Quinn grabbed throats and flung furry bodies until a few slipped the perimeter of her wingspan. Just as a wolf’s teeth crunched closed where Remi’s wrist had been, Quinn yanked her up into her arms like a ragdoll.

Before thought could climb from brain to mouth, Quinn was already roaring, “DON’T TOUCH HER. SHE’S AN ALPHA MATE.”

“I don’t see a mark,” Graham taunted, avoiding advancement like the spineless rat he was. The men flung back were quickly leaping back into the fight.

Hands were grappling for a grip around Quinn’s limbs, fighting to break her hold on her mate. She pulled Remi to her chest. Cries were muffled in the squash. They couldn’t be separated, Quinn wouldn’t let them. A pair of hands twisted in her pyjama top broke off and Wes yelped. She didn’t have time to protect everyone. Her mate was in her arms. With her, her mate had to be safe. Claws and jaws caught Quinn’s clothes and nipped at her skin. She kept moving, kept bashing them away with her elbows, her knees, a headbutt, whatever it took.

Twisting, she threw two men off her back and kicked a wolf in the snout, forcing it back across the room with a whine. Eveline and Wes were being dragged out the front door, one focused on preserving her papers and the other kicking and struggling. They looked to her, their alpha, with fear and pleas for help.

A hulking man snatched at Remi and Quinn snapped. She lurched back and dropped her head down, tucking her chin, and sealing her teeth at the soft skin of Remi’s throat - perfectly aligned to her mate mark point. A weak gasp escaped beneath the squeeze of the bite, and Quinn growled gently back.

Please forgive me, my mate, for taking what should have been a joint decision all for myself.

The Assembly only recognised their own laws, and this was one of the few Quinn understood. Marked, they would be imprisoned together.