Rise of the Dark Alpha

~ ZEV ~

He was cracking up. Literally losing his mind. Nick stared at him, his eyes wary, while Sasha's hand tightened on his back.

"You think..." he spluttered, "that I'm... giving you my kid... when he's... seven?"

Nick glared. "I didn't mean giving him to me. I just meant that we can start training—shit!"

Faster than lightning, Zev picked Nick up and plowed him into the dirt, dropping with him, one hand on his neck and using it to pin him to the ground.

Nick made a strange, sputtering noise and clawed at Zev's hand. But Zev had him pinned and his hand clamped down on his throat.

"You think I don't remember my training, Nick?" he muttered through his teeth. "I do. I remember every moment of it. Every kind of weapon you made me to be. I know exactly how strong I am, and exactly how long it will take you to die."

Unable to speak, or even breathe, Nick flailed for a moment, his eyes wide and panicked. Zev nodded.

"Yeah, it all looks a little different from this side, doesn't it?" he murmured, and even he was unnerved by the cold brutality in his own voice. But he didn't stop. "The moment the dog turns on his handler... how does it feel?" He leaned his head down and muttered into Nick's ear. "You're the prey this time. There's over one hundred and twenty pounds of pressure in my grip, Nick. And it's my dominant hand. Maybe one hundred and fifty. Those are your words."

"Zev?!" Sasha's voice was breathless and fearful. "What are you doing?"

Nick's face turned beet red and he clawed at Zev's arm, then beat it with his fist.

"Strangling is a really inefficient way to kill, remember? So much better to bite and take out a major blood vessel. You'll bleed out in under two minutes." Zev bared his teeth. Nick's face was the picture of horror. Zev smiled. "You made me Nick. You trained me. That's how I know you're going to lose consciousness inside two minutes because I'm pretty close to your jugular—you're lucky I missed my aim, otherwise you'd already be out. But I'm pretty sure I'm restricting blood flow, too."

Nick's mouth opened and closed and his fists pounding on Zev's arm got weaker. His legs jiggled and danced as he fought to gain purchase on the ground with his heels. But though he could arch his back, he had no way to loosen Zev's grip on his neck.

Zev's voice went dead. "I'm stronger than the average human, Nick. My arm won't get tired so fast. Not like a human who might have to let go before you're actually dead—"

"Zev, stop!" Sasha pleaded. "Stop! You're going to kill him!"

"That's the plan."

"No, Zev! He knows things we need to know. No one else will tell us! Let him go. Zev! LET HIM GO!"

Those words were barked at him, the full force of her Alpha power thrown at him like a steel weight, right at his chest.

He almost yelped because it stung. But even though his arm shook, even though his head ducked and his body wanted to submit, he didn't obey.

"Zev!"

A blood vessel burst in one of Nick's eyes.

"Zev, you're killing him! And if he dies, our chances of finding our baby might go with him—stop!"

"We'll use the—"

"STOP!" she snarled and shoved at his arm. "Zev, you have to stop! Please! He might be our only chance! Our baby—"

It was the tears in her eyes that did it. Even though he doubted they needed Nick's help to find their son, he knew she'd never forgive him if he didn't let her find out.

With a muttered curse he let go of Nick, who flipped over, coughing and gagging, scrambling away from Zev as quickly as he was able.

Zev, grimacing, sat back on his heels, panting, the adrenalin coursing through his body like electricity. Sasha watched Nick warily, but stayed at Zev's side, gripping his arm in one hand like she was afraid he was going to launch it at Nick, stroking his back with the other.

"Thank you, Zev. Thank you," she said, relieved. "Look at me. Zev, look at me."

He forced himself to turn his head, to take his eyes off his surrogate father and meet hers. Her bright, sad, welling eyes searched his with such a profound sense of grief he had to reach for her.

"Are you back?" she whispered. "Are you here?"

"I—yes. What do you mean?"

She stared at him, her forehead wrinkled, but she just shook her head, then looked at Nick and got to her feet to go stand over him where he'd propped himself up with his back against a tree and was still coughing and wheezing.

"I'm going to give you two minutes to get your breath back," she said, her voice trembling and tight. "And then you're answering my questions, or I'm letting him have you. And no, there's no quid pro quo this time, Nick. It's my questions and your answers."

Nick nodded but didn't even open his eyes, just put his hands to his chest and focused on breathing, his chest and shoulders heaving.

Zev stood up and went to put himself at her back, standing over her, glaring down at the man he'd once loved.

Nick kept clearing his throat, then coughing, but after a minute or two, his chest was no longer heaving. He opened his eyes and immediately found Zev's. There was grief in his gaze. But also fierce determination. He tensed and pressed himself back into the tree. But his gaze didn't waver.

Zev bared his teeth again.

"Okay," Nick said hoarsely, his voice thin and rasping.

Sasha, who stood over him with her arms folded, nodded once. "Where is he?"

"A lab you never saw. It's deep in the forest, hidden. Half the staff don't even know it's there. It's where we do the most secret stuff. Fully secure. Always guarded. It's about a ten minute walk through the forest, behind the building where we ate."

Sasha took a deep breath and he could feel her fighting her own anger and fear. "What... what are they doing to him?"

Nick didn't even hesitate. "Growing him. He's in an incubator that replicates the female womb. But it's enhanced. He'll develop through the equivalent of a human pregnancy in about three months. But if he's Chimera, the tech will tell them that and they'll adjust. He'll get everything his body needs." Nick said that like it was a gift. Zev wanted to bite out his throat.

"How do we get him back?" Sasha asked quickly.

Nick raised a shaking hand to run it over his face. "You can't take him out of the incubator—and everything it provides—until he's reached at least three months. About eight weeks from now."

"How do we get him out?"

Nick managed a flat look at her. "Without me to get you in and out, you don't get him out at all," he croaked. "If I'm there, I can show you how to disconnect him. But for him, that will be like delivery. You might be better to wait until they've taken him out. That would be... ten weeks from now."

Sasha looked over her should at him, and her eyes were so sad.