Return Of The Bad Boy Alpha

Naomi

"What are three young werewolves doing out at this time of night?" The old vampire asks, and we all freeze. Greyson pushes his way forward and stands tall while the vampire laughs and then coughs and laughs some more. "I ain't no threat to you," he snorts. "We just need a room for the night," I say to him from behind Greyson. "We don't want any trouble."

The vampire shrugs, "I ain't caused trouble in five hundred years. I just run this hotel," He rises from his seat and turns to the wall where old-fashioned keys are hung up. "I only have one room with one bed. You three aren't a threesome, are you?" He smirks. "No," Greyson snarls. "I'm gay."

"Too bad," The man laughs and sets a key on the desk, "That will be fifty-four dollars. For another ten, I'll throw in a continental breakfast," He points to a nasty looking little breakfast nook full of old food. "No, thank you," Phoebe sneers.

Greyson pulls out his wallet and hands the man some cash. "I didn't know vampires aged," He mentions.

"We do age, sonny," The vampire chuckles. "Just very, very slowly. I am over a thousand years old," He grins at us. "All set, kids. You are in room twenty, down at the end of the hall. Have a good night." "Thank you," I smile at him, and he nods.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

We move down the hallway to our room. The smell in the hall is that of mildew and unwashed linens. We go into the room, which is slightly less smelly than the hallway. The bed dips in the middle, and there is a stained couch with an old coffee table in front of it. "Sorry, Greyson," I cringe at the couch.

Greyson takes off the cushions and discovers it's just a couch. "I'll manage, Naomi," He sighs.

"We should order pizza," Phoebe suggest while holding a pamphlet in her hand. "Edie and I are starving."

"Is that what you are naming your pup?" Greyson asks.

Phoebe nods, "Brutus just doesn't know it yet."

"Shouldn't he have a say?" Greyson shrugs.

Phoebe shrugs and dials the number from the pamphlet on her phone.

"Have you and Magnus thought of names for your pups?" Greyson turns his attention to me.

"We have, but we haven't come up with a definitive choice yet. Things keep happening, and-" I trail off. "Anyways, are you and Fred thinking about having your own pups or adopting?"

"We are thinking of adopting," Greyson replies. "Though Frederick wants at least one biological pup, it doesn't matter to me."

"You two will be great, dads," I say to him with a smile.

"What kind of pizza do you two want?" Phoebe interrupts us.

"Anything is fine with me," Greyson responds.

"Pepperoni is fine with me," I tell her. "And no olives," I add.

Phoebe huffs, "Can I get two large pizzas?"

I turn on the TV while Phoebe finishes the order. There are only local stations, and they barely come in. "I guess we can't expect thousand-year-old vampires to know anything about new technology," I snort and leave the TV on a sitcom.

We all chat while waiting for the pizza. When it finally comes, I volunteer to get everyone some sodas from the machine down the hall. Greyson hands me some money, and I saunter out of the room. I get to the old machine and discover it only takes quarters. Huffing, I go to the front desk. The vampire is reading a book when I walk up.

"Can I do something for you, missy?" He asks.

I pull out the money, "Can I get some quarters for the machine?"

He nods and presses a button on the register. "So, you three appear to be on a mission."

I nod, "Something like that."

"Does you mate know you are out here?" He eyes my mark.

"No, not really," I respond and pick up the quarters and try to walk away.

"Be careful then, miss. It would be a shame if anything happened to the pups you are carrying," He grins and turns away from him.

I pause and stare at him, "How did you know?"

"Vampires have a keen sense of smell just like you lot," He grunts.

I nod and walk back down the hallway. Phoebe and Greyson are arguing over the TV when I walk in and set the drinks down.

"I want to watch the news," Greyson nearly yells.

"The news is boring," Phoebe sneers, takes the remote from him, and puts it on a Big Bang Theory rerun.

"We have seen this show a million times, Pheebs," Greyson whines.

"Do I have to separate you two?" I put my hands on my hips.

"No," Phoebe folds her arms and grabs her soda and a slice of pizza.

I sit beside her and take a slice of pizza. My stomach is in knots as I stare at the food and nibble at it. A few bites in, and I feel the bile rising in my throat. I run into the small dirty bathroom to retch. "Are you okay?" Phoebe asks from the doorway.

I rinse my mouth with water and nod. "Just a little queasy."

"A little queasy? Naomi, you just threw up pizza," Phoebe huffs.

"Okay, more than a little queasy," I brush past her and sit on the couch. I sip my soda, and it settles my stomach. "I guess I just miss Magnus."

Phoebe leans against me, "I miss him too. Though probably not like how you miss him."

I nudge her, "I just hope we can free him and the others."

"We will," Phoebe sighs.

'We will get out mates back,' Ruby declares in my head, and I pray she is right.

I get up, lie on the hard bed, stare at the ceiling and slowly fall asleep to Greyson and Phoebe arguing. I am woken up the following day by Phoebe. Greyson is curled up on the couch, snoring like a hippo. I slowly rise from the bed and stumble into the bathroom. I take a quick shower and throw the same clothes back on. Greyson and Phoebe quickly got up and dressed. We check out, and the old vampire is still sitting behind the desk. "Long night, huh?" I smirk at him.

"My relief didn't come in," He replies. "Good thing I have this," He points to a medallion around his neck, "It allows me to stay in the sunlight without burning up. You, pups, have a safe journey wherever you are going."

"Thank you," I say and set the key on the counter. I follow Phoebe and Greyson to the car, and we continue our journey.

We drive for hours until we cross the border into California. The book directs us to the middle of Death Valley. "Damn, I think that thing is trying to kill us," Greyson snorts.

"We better stock up on water. It's going to be hot as hell, and I don't know if this Jeep can handle it," Phoebe mentions.

Greyson huffs, "It's a Tahoe, and it can handle the heat, Pheebs."

"Fine," Phoebe folds her arms.

"We should stock up on water anyways," I suggest.

Hours later, we find ourselves at the Death Valley National Park entrance, and the book directs us to the center of the park. "It says here the portal is only open during dawn or dusk," I tell my friends. "Well, that's a relief," Greyson huffs.

We stop at the visitor's center to look at the maps of the park. "I think this is where we are supposed to go," I point to the map.

Greyson studies it, "It's at least three miles from the road, Naomi."

"Then we hike at night," Phoebe shrugs, "And get there at dawn. It makes sense. It won't be so hot."

We leave the visitor's center and get a hotel room to plan the rest of our journey. We are in a room with three beds this time, and I nestle into bed. I rub my hand over my rounding belly. I feel the faint kicks from my pups and try to picture what they will look like while I fall asleep. Hours later, we all get up and prepare to hike into the deepest part of the park toward our destination. The portal to this so-called Veiled City is in a very remote part of the park over a rough trail. Greyson estimated it would take us several hours of hiking, so we packed a lot of water and some granola bars for nourishment.

We eat some sandwiches before departing and venturing into the park. Greyson parks his SUV at a trailhead, and we start hiking. After an hour of hiking, Phoebe and I are huffing and puffing.

"Come on, you two. We have hiked longer than this," Greyson scoffs.

"We are pregnant, you dolt," Phoebe snarls.

"Let's just sit for a moment, Pheebs," I say to her and sit on a rock. We take a few moments to sip on some water before continuing our hike. We get to the end of the trail overlooking several rocky hills. "Where now?" Greyson asks.

I pull the book out of my backpack, which is glowing and hot. As I am about to open it, a gust of wind circles us, and Cedric, the warlock, appears in front of me. He rips the book from my grip.

"I can't let you return this book to Bram Abraxas," He hisses.

"What?" I scream. "We have to get my mate and my brother back."

"There are other ways, Ms. Monroe," Cedric argues. "I told you to wait for me. Bram will not just hand over your mate because you brought the book."

"What are we supposed to do?" I argue.

"Go home, and we will figure it out," Cedric says without emotion.

"NO!" I scream, and the book starts to glow.

Cedric screams and drops it. A burn appears on his hand, "Son of a bitch," He curses and bends down to pick it up, and it moves away from him.

"That book has a mind of its own," Greyson laughs, and the warlock glares at him.

"It's enchanted," Cedric grumbles. He reaches for the book again, and it hovers off the ground and flies into my hands. "Give it to me, Naomi," He holds out his hand.

I shake my head, "No," I start to back away from him and watch as he chants something, and a fireball forms on his left hand. He flicks his wrist, and the fireball flies towards me but stops just short and falls to the ground. "Dammit, the book is protecting you."

I smirk and look at my friends. "Come on, guys," I say to them.

"I don't know, Naomi," Greyson sighs.

I ignore him and keep walking in the direction the book is directing me.

"Well, you can just stand there, Greyson. I am going with Naomi," Phoebe declares.

Greyson huffs and follows us.

"You will not win, Naomi," Cedric shouts at us. "Your pups and mate will die."

I have to ignore the warlock's words and pray that he is wrong. The stars come out in the millions as we continue hiking. I feel tired, and my legs begin to ache, but I don't want to stop again. My heart and wolf are determined to see Magnus again. We finally reach a large rock as the book instructed. As I stare at the book, there is a strange silence all around us. It has gone blank and had ceased glowing.

"What now?" Phoebe asks.

"I don't know," I respond.

'Welcome to the Veiled City, A cold voice whispers in my ear, and the rock shakes, and a portal opens. 'Hurry through, for the portal will only stay open for a minute!'

"We have to go through the portal," I tell my friends, take a deep breath, and walk through the opening. Greyson and Phoebe are on my heels. We all look back as the portal closes and are left in a strange realm.