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  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  ALPHA'S MERCY

  First edition. November 24, 2015.

  Copyright © 2015 Kate Rudolph.

  ISBN: 978-1519968296

  Written by Kate Rudolph.

  Alpha’s Mercy

  By Kate Rudolph

  Copyright 2015

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Thank you for reading this story.

  More from Kate Rudolph

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  Chapter One

  Jess woke with a start. The room was in disarray, and someone moved with the hopeless fury of the pursued. From scent alone she detected her sister, Rebecca, but the older woman moved too fast for Jess's keen eyes to make out.

  "What the hell is going on?" she demanded. She reached over to the bedside table and put her hand on the chain to turn on the light.

  A smaller hand clamped down on her wrist, fingers digging into the skin. "Keep it dark," Rebecca whispered. "I'm being followed."

  "And you came here?" Perhaps Jess should have shown her older sister some sympathy, but after twenty-four years, the well had dried up. "How did you even get in?" Rebecca didn’t have a key, and there were two deadbolts and a chain on the door. Security was a serious issue in a city as dangerous as Falcon Point. Not that a few locks would stop an angry shapeshifter.

  "Don't ask stupid questions," Rebecca snapped, "Now where is it?" She threw open the drawer to Jess's dresser and dug around, tossing several pairs of underwear to the ground. Then she paused and picked up a pair of black lace panties that looked comically large in Rebecca's slim hands, "Really? Someone's optimistic." She tossed them to the ground with the others and slammed the drawer closed.

  Jess was suddenly happy for the dark. It hid her blush of anger and embarrassment. Rebecca had always been thin; she didn't have to worry about whether she could find clothes in her size when shopping. She never had to turn down a really gooey, delicious looking cookie. Their mother had never suggested that Rebecca not have a slice of cake on her own birthday.

  But that was old fury and Jess pushed it aside. "Why are you here?" She demanded. "Who is following you? And what are you looking for? If you don't answer in the next five seconds, I will tie you up myself and hand you over to your enemies."

  It gave Rebecca pause. After all, only one of the sisters had broken a bully's arm on the playground. Rebecca had been too busy egging her on that day while sitting high up on a tree branch. Her sister faced her. "The Wolf is following, or his goons."

  That sent a shiver down Jess's spine. Rafe Blackwood, also known as the Wolf and alpha of the city. He was a man you didn't mess with if you wanted to keep breathing. So of course Rebecca had poked him. "What did you do?"

  Rebecca's mouth dropped open and she pressed a hand against her chin, "So quick to judge, little sister?"

  Jess threw the blankets off of herself and sat up. It was ridiculous to try and stay comfortable under the sheets during all of this. In fact, it was impossible to do any of this without coffee. She left her room and expected Rebecca to follow.

  The apartment was small. Rebecca had her own house, inherited from her father. Jess wouldn't have lived with her sister even if she had been invited to do so. Instead, she occupied a little over 400 square feet on the ground floor of a two-story building. It was loud, crowded, and more expensive than it deserved. But she kept the place clean and the bugs and critters stayed away.

  She was living the dream.

  The coffee pot filled the small apartment with the decadent aroma of caffeine. Jess and Rebecca sat at the small table beside the kitchen. "You wouldn't come here without a reason, so spill."

  After a few minutes of silence, Rebecca helped herself to a cup of coffee and sat back down, clutching the cup between two hands. For a moment, Jess thought her sister might actually be worried, but she ignored that thought. It didn't matter.

  "I pissed off the wrong person," Rebecca's tongue darted out to lick her lips. "I need to lay low for a while."

  "How did you piss off the Wolf?" Jess didn't want to help her. She knew Rebecca would sell her out for the simple joy of it, and she was done dancing to her sister's tune. But if she was in danger, she needed to know.

  "It doesn't matter." Rebecca took a quick sip of the coffee, wincing when it burned her. "Just, lay low for a while. Don't tell them where I went."

  "You're not going to tell me where you went, so I don't see how that's a problem." Jess crossed her arms and leaned back, letting her chair balance on the two back legs.

  Rebecca stood up, leaving her cup on the table. "I'll get out of your hair, then. Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?" She walked away before Jess could answer.

  It was probably for the best. Once she was gone, Jess could go back to sleep and worry about consequences in the morning. She wasn't even surprised when she heard the front door slam and Rebecca left without saying goodbye.

  Good freaking riddance.

  She stood up from the table and reached to take Rebecca's cup to the sink. When she did, she spotted a shiny piece of metal lying on the floor. Jess picked it up and examined it. It was a small flash drive; it must have fallen out of Rebecca’s pocket.

  After dumping out Rebecca's mug and putting it in the dishwasher, Jess stuck the flash drive in the top drawer of her desk. She'd take a look at it in the morning.

  When she got back to her room, everything was even more of a mess than she remembered. She turned on the lights and flung open the closet door, clearing a path to the small safe she kept behind her clothes.

  The door was open and the safe was empty. There had been over two thousand dollars in cash there along with her nice jewelry. And Rebecca had stolen it.

  If she hadn't been worried about what the Wolf would do to her if she gave him a call, she would have turned her sister in right then. Whatever Rebecca had coming to her, she deserved it.

  Chapter Two

  Jess didn't have time to worry about Rebecca when she woke up for the second time that morning. Sometime in the night she must have turned off her alarm clock and instead of an insistent beeping, she was roused by the bright light of the sun streaming across her face.

  She sat bolt upright, cursing and moving in a flurry to throw her sheets off and get out of bed. She was out the door in a sleek black dress and low heels in seven minutes. Her hair almost looked deliberately messy and bright red lipstick covered the fact that she hadn't had time to put on a full face of makeup.

  Heidi was going to kill her.

  Jess wasn't often late, not really. But retail was a cut-throat world and as a sales rep for a mid-range fashion line she lived and died by her clients. Being late wasn't an option.

  She skidded into the office, her purse banging against her waist, with one minute to spare. She was out of breath, trying her damnedest not to pant in front of everyone else. Jess took slow steps to the back office where she could stash her purse all the while taking deep breaths and trying to regain her composure.

  By the time Heidi saw her, she was breathing normally and looking through the spring look book, studying the upcoming designs that she hadn’t yet seen in person.

  “You do realize that we have clients coming in today?” Heidi snapped by way of greeting.

  Jess jumped up from her chair, smoothing her dress and smi
ling. “Darlene Jackson, right?” It wasn’t really a question. Ms. Jackson’s store was one of their smaller accounts and her meeting would only take an hour. Jess could name off exactly what the woman would buy and what she had purchased in the last two years. But she was thankful when Heidi didn’t ask for that information.

  “So why are you wearing a discontinued piece?” Heidi looked her up and down slowly.

  Jess wanted to crumple on the spot. Her cheeks flamed, “I’m sorry, Heidi. We’ve only received sample sizes for the newest line. I put in an order for a dress, but it hasn’t come in yet.” Heidi wasn’t pleasant, but the clothing was the shittiest part of her job. They’d offered free samples as part of the compensation package. What they didn’t say was that samples only came in smalls and mediums.

  The intern, Penelope, stuck her head in the office. “Sorry to interrupt, there’s some guy here to see Jess.”

  “What, do you have a boyfriend calling on you at work now?” Heidi asked. At least she didn’t seem that shocked at the fact that Jess could have a boyfriend. “I’m going to have to mark this stuff down for the district manager.”

  “It’s not my boyfriend,” Jess called after her. But Heidi was already gone.

  Jess took a minute to compose herself. Her dress was two seasons old, but she had cared for it, and it didn’t look like she’d worn it fifty times. It hugged her ample curves, accentuating her breasts and hips while making her waist look smaller than it had any right to look. Jess didn’t have many articles of clothing that she absolutely loved, but she thought she would cry when this dress had to be retired.

  She grabbed her bag and carried the look book out with her. Ms. Jackson sometimes liked to take a walk during their meetings and Jess had learned to be prepared to leave the office on short notice.

  She opened the door and froze before walking through. Whoever was out there didn’t have anything to do with Ms. Jackson, and he certainly wasn’t a boyfriend.

  A werewolf waited for her at the front desk.

  Jess closed the door quietly and stepped behind the office computer. She brought up the security camera feed they kept running in the background. The picture was in grainy black and white and she couldn’t make out the features of whoever hunted her. But from the way he held himself she could tell.

  It was the Wolf.

  Though the picture on the screen wasn’t good, she knew his look. She’d seen him once, at a fashion show her company put on. He’d stood on the edge of the crowd, his arm draped with casual possessiveness around one of the models. His dark hair was styled and slicked back on top of his head, his features were sharp and serious. And every single person in the room unconsciously angled themselves towards him. His presence demanded it.

  Jess had wanted to walk up and just be near him. He was that compelling, but she had learned how to deny her wants at a young age.

  Her heart beat fast in her chest. She couldn’t let him catch her. If what Rebecca had done was bad enough to send the Wolf coming for Jess, Jess had to run. He would torture her, possibly kill her, just to get to her sister. And Rebecca wouldn’t save her. It wasn’t in the fox’s nature.

  There was a second door in the office that lead to the inner stairwell of the building. They were up on the fifth floor and Jess had parked on the third floor of the parking lot. Chances were the Wolf had men stationed in the lobby. But there was a balcony on the fourth floor that was within jumping distance to the garage.

  Well, jumping distance to a shapeshifter.

  She had no other choice. Jess zipped her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. It was a messenger bag and crossed over her chest. She flung it behind her so it wouldn’t break her stride. The heels she wore were not made for running, but they were better than going barefoot.

  If only changing into her other form wouldn’t incite a mass panic. The humans of Falcon Point knew about shapeshifters, but no one wanted to see a dangerous predator in the middle of their office building.

  She took off down the stairs, as fast as her shoes allowed. It was only one flight until she was at the floor below. She walked slowly, nodding to the people milling about in the offices around her. They didn’t know her and they probably didn’t recognize her. But confidence was worth more that familiarity. Her clothes were nice and she acted like she belonged. It would give her enough time to get out.

  Her last obstacle before the balcony was a bay of elevators and the main stairwell. The stairs were open and it was almost possible to see from one floor to the one above or below it. Her office was just outside that main stairwell and if the Wolf was curious he’d be able to see her, maybe even smell her.

  Jess took a deep breath and moved. She didn’t sprint. Sprinting would bring attention. She just walked with purpose and didn’t look up. The Wolf didn’t know what she looked like, but if he saw her face, her fear would give her away.

  She made it to the balcony door and out onto the balcony without being seen. There was no one with her. Jess approached the railing and surveyed the distance. The gap between the building and the garage was at least twenty feet and she would have to jump from the ledge of the balcony.

  It was risky, dangerous, and stupid. And Jess really, really did not want to make the jump. But she climbed up onto the brick rail and balanced herself. She took a deep breath and squatted down low. If she couldn’t run, she had to try to generate as much power as she could from the jump itself.

  She was so focused on the jump that she didn’t hear the door open behind her.

  Large hands gripped her waist and pulled her back off the ledge. “I know I can be a difficult man, but I rarely drive women to suicide before they actually meet me.”

  For a crazy second Jess wanted to struggle free and jump. She didn’t care if she made it so long as she escaped. Instead, she made herself stay still.

  “Hello, Wolf.”

  Chapter Three

  The picture in her file did not tell the real story. Rafe had expected a dumpy, pudgy girl with hair absolutely gelled into submission in a tight ponytail. He certainly hadn’t expected a curvy beauty whose body was as soft in his hands as her thoughts were murderous towards him.

  God, just one look and he wanted her. And he hadn’t even truly seen her face because clearly her State ID photo was lying.

  He hadn’t expected her to run from him. No one ran anymore, they were all too scared of what he’d do when he caught them. And then there was this girl who smelled divine and wasn’t even a part of his pack. In fact, as far as he knew, she wasn’t a part of any pack. The foxes tended to be singular folk and didn’t have the structure that wolves insisted on.

  Though she didn’t smell like a fox.

  “Why did you run?” He asked. He hadn’t let go of her, he liked holding her too much. It was taking all of his considerable self-control not to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer. Attraction like this hadn’t sprung on him so suddenly in - well, ever.

  Rafe wasn’t letting this girl get away. Not if she kept being so fun to play with.

  “What do you want with me?” She asked instead of answering. She surprised him further by planting her hands firmly on top of his and shoving. The sudden move loosened his grip and gave her enough room to get free of him. But she didn’t run. She knew she couldn’t escape.

  Clever, but smart. She was getting better and better.

  And her face was everything he hoped it would be. Round, cheeks red with a blush of exertion and lips bright red from lipstick. Her eyes were dark and large, full of fear and fury. Damn, she was sexy. Her red hair was held back messily as if she’d pulled it back hastily in an effort to make it look styled. He wanted to take the tie out and let her hair hang down over her shoulders. He wanted to run his fingers through it and see it spread out on his pillow.

  Damn, he had it bad already.

  He hoped she wasn’t anything like her sister.

  Whatever grin he wore must have unnerved her because she started talking without an answer t
o his question. “Listen, I don’t know where Rebecca is. She stole money from me and took off. We don’t talk, that was the first time I’d seen her in months. She won’t come back to talk to me. So leave me the fuck alone and let me go.”

  That sealed her fate. He was keeping her. Rafe wasn’t an impulsive man, but he trusted his instincts. And those instincts were screaming at him that this woman would be important. He’d only come to ask her a few questions, the data he’d turned up on Rebecca Patrick told him that Jess probably wouldn’t know anything useful, and this meeting had been merely a matter of course.

  “Do you really expect me to believe that, sweet?” He asked. He didn’t want her terrified, but she needed to understand exactly how dangerous he was.

  She gulped, bringing attention to her beautifully pale throat. Rafe wanted to nibble his way down until he could taste her sweet breasts. But that was all in due time. He had to play this right if he wanted her to stay with him.

  He expected her to cower a little. She was afraid now and he would coax her out of that. Once they were in the castle. In his domain, she would be safe and his. The two most important things.

  But his curvy girl surprised him. She straightened her spine, gathering herself up to her full height. In her heels they were the same height, her eyes met his without deference. “You have no power over me, Rafe Blackwood. You will let me go now. I am not one of your little wolves to boss around.”

  Keeping her? Hell, he was mating her. Rafe had never been so sure of anything in his life. And now that scent on her made sense. Jess Patrick was no fox, she was a wolf, and an alpha in the making.

  “You’re wrong, sweet.” He grabbed hold of her arm once more, holding her loosely. “Maybe those others couldn’t tell what you truly are, but I’m the Wolf. I know my own when I see them. Which means you’ve been living in my city and not following my rules. Do you know the punishment for that?”