Fat-Free Alpha by Angelique Voisen

FAT-FREE ALPHA
     
    Wolves
of New Haven, 5
     
    Angelique Voisen
     
    Copyright
© 2014
     
     
     
    Prologue
     
    For a werewolf, an adult-sized
coffin was easy enough to carry. A child-sized coffin was even lighter, but
Carlos Medina keenly felt its weight when he hefted it along with his mate.
    He held on to one end while Reed
Williams held the other. The march from the church to the funeral car felt
impossibly long. Watching the coffin being lowered to the ground was pure
torture.
    “Bonnie died a quick death. She
didn’t suffer,” Reed said, interrupting the silence.
    The priest had gone long ago, so
had the remnants of their pack. It was only Carlos and his mate now. All he
wanted to do was strangle Reed to death, but some part of him desperately
believed the spirit of their adoptive daughter was still watching over them.
    The least he could do was be an
example, or at least try to.
    “She was human. She didn’t deserve
to die in the first place.” Anger colored his voice, but Carlos didn’t care.
“Not especially in a bar overrun by werewolves in the middle of a turf war.”
    Reed flinched at his words. Carlos
didn’t need to say the next few words out loud because his mate knew them.
    Bonnie
died because of you, Reed. You brought her there because you thought it was the
right decision. You went against my orders.
    “I’m sorry,” Reed repeated.
    His voice was pained and his face
looked haunted. Not very long ago, Carlos wouldn’t hesitate to bring the
slender man in his arms and comfort him. Then again, long ago their wolf mate
bond didn’t feel this miserable or fractured.
    The beast sharing Carlos’s soul was
as unrelenting and unforgiving as he was. Bonnie may have been just a human
twelve-year-old, but she was still their pup. It was Reed’s and his
responsibility as parents to protect her and make sure she didn’t come to harm.
    She experienced enough hurt in her
young life as it was. With two drug addicts for parents, she entered the foster
care system when she was five. It took them years to make her smile again.
    “Sorry won’t fix things. It won’t
bring her back.” Carlos didn’t care how his words drove his mate to the brink
of despair.
    Reed deserved to go to hell. Bonnie
was their binder, the little stick of glue keeping them together. Without her,
Carlos wasn’t sure he could ever forgive his mate again.
    He had forgiven Reed for straying,
for sleeping with other wolves, and betraying his trust a number of times. For
Bonnie, there was none. Every inch of his forgiveness was milked dry.
    “I know that, Carlos. Fuck. What do
you want me to do? I can’t bring her back to life,” Reed said harshly.
    He gripped Carlos’s shoulder, but
he didn’t fight back when Carlos brushed his hand coldly away. Sensing Reed’s
wolf’s pushing against him, Carlos ignored the whining beast just as he ignored
the man he thought he loved.
    “I can’t talk to you civilly right
now, Reed. I’m just going to tear you apart,” Carlos snarled.
    Without another word, Carlos began
to strip. Reed said nothing as he peeled away each piece of clothing from his
hot and sweating body. Carlos’s wolf itched and snarled, wanting to be free of
the constraints of the human skin containing it.
    “If you want to
kill me, Carlos. You’re free to it.”
    Almost fully shifted, Carlos let
out an angry growl and leaped at his mate. Reed didn’t bother shielding himself
as Carlos’s claws began to shred the skin on his arms. He didn’t even reach out
for his other bestial half to defend himself and level the field.
    Reed only closed his eyes in
acceptance.
    The peaceful look on his mate’s
face disturbed Carlos profoundly. The coward badly wanted to die. Reed wanted
to take the easy way out so he could live with himself. Damn his mate. Carlos
growled into Reed’s face, but his sharp teeth and claws remained still.
    Reed’s eyes flew open.
    “Carlos?” Reed whispered.
    Seeing the lingering despair there
and