The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 129

Alexander

I unfolded a big, heavily detailed map of the southern territories and laid it flat on my desk.

Kayden handed me a red marker while I pulled up an email from my father on my phone. The Alpha King, my reluctant advisee in this matter, had sent me all the information he could gather about the recent vampire sightings. The sightings had occurred in two different rural, sparsely populated villages down near the southern border.

I ran my fingers over the map while studying the names of the villages and the many natural features that surrounded them - mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, creeks, rapids, falls - until I found both locations described in the email, and marked each one with a neat, distinct X.

My Beta and I caught ourselves both reeling back, squinting at the map, and crossing our arms over our chests. We glanced at each other in unison, noted our mirrored postures, and laughed.

"F**k," he mumbled. "It's like riding a bike, huh, Alex? One word of vampires and suddenly it's like no time has passed at all. We're just..." He snapped his fingers. "Right back in the game." "Just like old times." The smile on my face was just as sarcastic as my use of this phrase.

And then we were done with the chit-chat. There was not a lot of space for laughter or smiles of any kind in a room where a vampire hunt was being plotted.

Kayden leaned over the desk, pressed his palms flat on the map, and fixed his eyes on the forested area between the two red Xes.

"They crossed through these woods." He traced an imaginary line through a dark space on the map. "What was the timing between the two sightings?"

"About forty-eight hours. Just after midnight one night. The next, two days later, around the same time."

"Think there are any deep caves in there? That far out from the base of this mountain?"

"Could be. We'll need a more detailed map of that forest."

I drew a straight line between the two Xes to connect them. It bisected the forest exactly in half.

"How many you think they've got out there?" Kayden asked.

I circled the perimeter of the forest with my marker, tracing its edges carefully, and stepped back again to stare at it.

My eyes became so sharply focused, I started to feel like I would never need to blink them again.

I was staring straight ahead at a green space on a piece of paper, but seeing, vividly, a forest. Trees.

Caves. The mouths of which were walled over with stones, which had been piled up from the inside. They looked like tombs.

Felt like tombs, too, when you got inside them.

To call vampires strong is an understatement. Some of the powers they possess-their speed, and ability to fly, to name just a few-make them very difficult to match in direct combat.

When we figured out how to track down their nests and get inside without rousing the vampires, so that we could kill them in their "sleep"... that was when the tide turned. That was when we started winning the war. "Not many," I finally answered. "Three. Two. Maybe even only one, if we're lucky."

Fiona

I counted down the minutes to the end of my workday-not something that I did very often.

But I was feeling... oh, I don't know, more relaxed, more "normal" than I had in a while. I was almost done with the craziness of covering Conrad's leave, and I was in the mood for a break. A break with Alexander in particular.

I studied my planner and crossed out all the finished tasks, getting a little dose of gratification with every super straight line I drew through the completed to-dos. I was in good shape to leave the office on time. I texted Alexander to let him know.

My Alpha and I had a very business-like way of always checking in and confirming our plans together. I appreciated it. Probably not a lot of men were as organized as I liked to be with my time.

Seemed like every time I texted him lately though, it turned into a whole thing.

No matter what topic I started off with, he found a way to take the conversation and turn it dirty.

Not that I minded. I was having fun with it. But I needed to focus till five p.m. if I was getting out of here at that hour, like I'd just promised him I would, so that's exactly what I did.

Leaving at five meant other people in the elevator. I would not dare to risk opening up a risqué photo of the future Alpha King while I was surrounded by strangers. So I waited for the privacy of the car before opening my thread with Alexander. But, to my great disappointment, his response to my last communication was business only, confirming our dinner plans.

The tone of his message seemed kind of distracted, too. He was busy.

I could certainly relate and understand.

I took to texting Nina instead, just saying hi and checking in. She hit me back a few minutes later with a bunch more videos of her dancing in the studio where she practiced. They were all incredible and kept me well entertained on the drive home. Alexander's Beta was just walking out of our bedroom when I walked up.

"Hey, Kayden."

He offered me a warm smile. "Hi, Fiona. How are you doing?" He stepped out into the hall quickly, making way for me to head inside.

Alexander appeared, closing his office door behind him. He strode over and took my bags out of my hands and set them aside. "Hi," I said; he only answered with a little smile. "I'm great, Kayden. Thank you for asking. How are you?" "I'm fine, thanks. You look well."

He retreated, walking backward while we exchanged these pleasantries. Ready to make himself scarce.

"Thank you. It's good to see you."

Kayden waved, spun on his heel, and was gone.

Alexander pushed the bedroom door closed in a hurry once I was inside.

He knelt down in front of me and asked, "How was your day?"

I ran my hands through his thick hair. He placed his on my hips, then pulled them forward and brought them to rest on my stomach.

"Good. How about yours?" I combed my fingers through his hair. He was so warm... every touch was pure relaxation. I soaked it up while he started taking off my shoes.

He looked up at me with the slightest hint of a smile. "Better now." He finished what he was doing and rose to full height, towering over me. His hands went to my neck and stroked it. "You look beautiful." "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."

Then we lingered in a long moment of loaded eye contact and light touches. My hands were on his chest, then running down the length of his brickwork abs.

He gave up on the staring contest first, unable to resist his compulsion for smelling my neck and rubbing his face in my hair. "Do you want to get some dinner," he asked. "Or...?"

"I'm not hungry yet. Why don't you help me work up an appetite first?"

He made an mmm sound and said, "I'd be happy to do that for you, baby."