Behind The Alpha Series Book 1 Quinn

QUINN

After leaving my old life behind, I realized. I’ve never actually traveled. This should be an interesting experience.

So I bounced from town to town. I headed west, but I stopped to eat and take in sights. I emptied my savings account and just bummed. Bought clothes, food and the occasional room.

I saw all kinds of sights. All kinds of crazy towns. I saw the world’s largest silver bullet. It wasn’t real, but it was cool. I met all kinds of different people too.

Shifter and humans. It was great. I actually learned a lot on the road.

I played poker, drank and partied. A shifter festival was happening when I rolled into one town. It was some sort of birth of a town celebration.

Some weren’t all that great. A few months later, I walked into a town called Severn Station. I almost got my ass beat for saying hi to a girl, by FIVE GUYS. Good thing I had a healthy dose of human blood in me or I wouldn’t have survived it. The guys in that town were sick. Like on steroids or something. They protected their women like they were a precious commodity. Though, thinking about it now, I don’t recall seeing very many women in the town. A town full of Alpha types and no women? Yeah, I left pretty quick.

I had heard, many times, that my Aunt Ricky lives in a city called Phoenix. It’s just forty minutes from where I was so I started walking.

I got to the mountain pass and walked in between the mountain walls. I climb the small hill to the top of it. When I looked ahead of it, my jaw dropped. My steps increased.

When I go to the entrance of the city, my head rose slowly up the large, white, mostly glass skyscrapers. The sun shone off them and cars honked. People’s voices rose in the air.

“Oh…My…God.” My eyes widen as Phoenix comes in to full view in a massive shining tower of greatness.

I step onto the sidewalk. The place sits in a bowl, a valley, surrounded by mountains. On the walls, are huge mechanical guns.

It should be overwhelming, but my brain is just going a mile a minute. Tingling. Added more electric roads to my neuropathic map. I’ve never seen anything like this.

“So cool.” I breathe as a guy with multiple piercings and tattoos walks by me.

He shoots me a weird look.

“Hi.” I smile and wave.

He scowls and walks on.

I stand and absorb his behavior. “Must be shy.”

A sonic boom blasts above, shaking the buildings and five flying personal crafts fly through them. “Whoa!” My eyes follow them out of the buildings, over the wall and into the desert.

My head drops from the sky to a huge dome. It shines more than the skyscrapers do. It’s large and made of triangle shaped metal frames. I wonder what’s in it?

I turn toward it and start to take everything in.

I see a woman walking a dog with a glowing collar. It barks. ‘I’m hungry’.

“Coco, we will get food when we get home.” The woman says as she adjusts her shopping bags.

He barks two more times. ‘Food now’.

The collar was speaking for it. “That’s awesome.” I grin. I walk toward the dog to inspect the collar and the dog barks and lunges at me. ‘Fuck off’.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She shouts as she pulls on the dogs leash, trying to control him.

I cringe back, my eyes wide and my mouth small. My eyes flick between her and the dog. “Uh…Sorry.” I mumble.

I turn start down the walk again. There’s a bit of a stress level here.

I walk to the top of what looks like a main street. There’s people in business suits, some in leather jackets and colored hair. Some in funky outfits and some in track suits. Some are jacked to shit and some are thin. Everyone is so different.

I see a guy playing a wireless electric guitar and walk over to investigate. We don’t have these type of people in Solomon. He’s playing ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits. I dance a bit and smile at his talent. He smiles back then looks down at his case. I follow his motion. There’s money in there. I watch a man in a business suit drop a bill and walk on. I tick my head and do the same.

I move on, spinning around, looking at the towers.

I see a billboard asking for recruits to the Alliance. I narrow my eyes, turn away and walk on. There’s no way, I’ll be one of their cogs in the machine.

A banner hangs over the street celebrating 4 years of Phoenix City liberation. The occupation. Right, the war with Uncle Grey.

My mind takes in neon signs, vendors and patios that sit on the edge of the walks. I stop at a souvenir shop and pick up a Hail to the King t shirt. There’s a picture of Zander on it with no shirt on. I wonder if he knows.

I pick up a book. ‘Meet Phoenix City's Alpha: Autobiography of Jake Wallace’. I flip fast through the pages.

“Hey, kid!”

I look up to the shopkeeper.

He glares at me. “This isn’t a library. You want to read it, you buy it.”

I smile and tick it up to him before putting back on the copy pile. “Thanks, I already read it. Good book. The ending was a little weak and predictable, other than that, four stars all the way.” I grin.

“Get out of here!” He growls.

“Ok. Ok.” I back away from his stand and get bumped by a few people.

As I try to process the behaviours I’ve come across so far, I study the people. The women are gorgeous, some look happier than ever, some look beat down. The men are awesome. You can feel the strength as they walk. The confidence and power.

As I study, I smell something really good.

“Hot dogs.” I say as I hold my stomach. I walk to a cart and buy one. I take a massive bite and almost pass out. I haven’t had one before. I wasn’t allowed. Now that I’m an adult, I’m eating this damn hotdog.

I walk as I eat and stare at all the sights.

I want to go to the other side so I cross through an alley.

“Hey, spare some change.” A guy about 25, is sitting next to a dumpster.

“Uh…yeah, sure.” I reach into my pocket and hand him my pocket change.

In a split second, he pulls a gun and shoves me against the wall. He shoves the barrel under my chin. “Let’s see what else ya got.”

“What? I…I don’t have anything…” I stare at him wildly.

He reaches into my pocket. “Really.” He pulls out my savings cash. He holds it up in front of me.

“I need that.” I mumble as my eyes bounce fast between the cash and his angry face.

He shoves it in his pocket. “Yeah? So do I.”

“Ok. Look. I realize the socio-economic crisis of society today has burdened the less fortunate with a belief that the only way to survive is to turn to criminal actions, but I assure you, there’s no satisfaction in this. You’re neurons aren’t programmed to accept bad behavior as right, though some argue that criminal behavior is inherently genetic, I don’t think that’s the case here…”

“Shut up!” He scrunches his face at me.

“Ok.” My mouth goes small.

He searches the rest of my pockets then looks at my bag. “What’s in there?”

I shrug. “Clothes.”

“Really. Open it.” He shoves me to my bag.

“Ok. Relax.” I hold my hands up and squat down to my bag. Before I open the bag, I side eye him. “Just a question. Is that silver in that gun?”

“Yeah, why?” He waves the gun at me.

My brows furrow and my eyes glow gold as I call my Lycan canines. “No reason.”

I stand quick, backhand the gun out of his hand and grab his shoulders.

“WHAT THE…”

I sink my teeth into his shoulder with all my power. I plant my feet on the wall behind me and shove. We both fly through the air and he hits the wall across from where we were with a loud scream.

Once I have him pinned, I force my pores to sweat hard.

“Wha…What’s happening?” He stops struggling.

I shake and growl into his flesh as his blood pours out. I get nothing from shifters and he’ll live, but I want to wipe his brain so he can’t hurt anyone else.

“What’s going on?” His voice was quiet and distance as my scent invades his body.

I pull out my teeth and he falls to his ass.

He slowly looks up at me. “Who are you?” He looks at me, curiously, while he instinctively holds his shoulder.

I pull my cash out of his pocket and walk to my bag. I take out a shirt and wipe my mouth off. I turn my head to him. “Someone who did you a favor.”

His face was soft and confused. “Oh Ok.” He mutters.

I pick up my bag and walk on.

“Hey kid!”

I spin around.

He furrows a brow. “Who am I?”

“I don’t know. Have a good day.” I hold my hands out, scrunching my face.

I spin around and walk to the west side of the city.

****

The problem with parties is eventually you run out of the stuff you need to party with.

For me, that’s money.

I’ve had to seriously ration my cash. I’ve never held a job and although, I’ve read about how to get one, actually doing it is another problem.

I have zero experience. In anything. It’s makes my prospects really low here.

Why don’t I go to Ricky? She’ll tell my dad, that’s why and I don’t want to be ratted out just yet. I’m having way too much fun being independent and my parents would ruin that.

So, I’ve kind of just been wandering around. Just learning what city life is like.

One thing I don’t like is the homeless thing. It’s hard to keep walking. I would stay in the one mission they have here, but I don’t trust my Lycan to not cause problems.

For the most part, my shifter controls me, but if the Lycan sends out a feeling my shifter likes, the two of them gang up and the Lycan takes control because he’s stronger.

He has emotional control, but I still only can create a shifter. I’m not sure why? I’ve tried to look up how this works, but being the first documented hybrid in existence, there’s zero on the subject. I’m a genetic anomaly. That being the case, I stay away from large groups in small spaces.

The dome area is quickly becoming my favorite hang out. I get to see how relationships work and how people interact with each other.

I sat in the park for a few days, just listening and watching. Studying the emotions and body language.

I tried to stay in the background, but I caught the attention of someone.

An Enforcer.

She’s a ticket jockey so I wasn’t threatened at all. It was hard to take her seriously when she spoke like she should be in black and white.

I did feel bad after she left. I’m learning to tune into my feelings. The guilt of making her feel bad, filled me and I had to apologize.

I tried to keep my face hidden. I don’t need anyone recognizing me in case my dad is looking for me.

The parts of her I could see were attractive, I’ll give her that, she just comes off as bigger then her actual job description. She has ambition, but I believe she has no idea what she’s doing.

For some reason, I did find that a little cute.

As I passed her to move on, I caught a hint of rain. It made me pause. I haven’t smelled that scent in years. It confused me because it reminded me of Rita. She’s not Rita.

I walked up the street and my stomach rumbled. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a few dollars and some change. Not enough for a hot dog.

I looked up the street and stopped.

Before me was a huge building surrounded by fences with a huge sign at the road. ‘Phoenix City Security Unit’.

I look down and think. I can’t get a job. I can’t get a place to stay.

I watch cars coming in and out. I see a bunch walk around the car stop at the gate house.

I look down the street and another group was coming up. They all look like they work there.

I put a hop in my step and join the back of the group. No one notices me as I follow them through the fence.

I get in the building and stop. My bag drops as my head scans the front lobby. I'm impressed with the huge windows that angle into the building at the roof.

I start to watch the people walk around. They all look so busy.

I’m bumped by a guy with medium length black hair. He looks freaked out. He’s definitely an Alpha.

He runs to the elevators and frantically pushes the button to close the doors.

I wonder what’s so urgent. I was about to follow him, but then I smelled food.

Eat first, break laws second. I grin as I head to a dining area of the building.