Free Mated to the Alpha: The Complete Collection by Lauren Landish

different chain of command."
    "Keith used that word before," Mel said, recalling her first morning she awoke in the Lockwood Towers. "What does it mean?"
    "I've told you that Clan politics are complex," Kimberly said, her eyes burning with hatred towards the image on the screen. "Part of it is that in addition to normal inter-werewolf conflicts, our kind has been hunted since the dawn of recorded history by various fanatical groups of humans. One such group is known as the Silver Bringers. Your more conspiracy minded humans called them the Illuminati. It made sense really, since Silver is a very shiny, light reflecting metal."
    "You mean they aren't just fodder for the tin-foil hat wearing nut cases?"
    "Yes and no," Kim continued. "They do exist, just not to take over the world or form one world government or the typical stories. Founded by the Roman Church shortly after the fall of Rome, the Silver Bringers believe that it was our kind who betrayed the Western Roman Empire to barbarism, and have led a holy war against us ever since. Their agents are involved in many areas of government, politics, and power, not for world domination, but to find and eradicate us. One of the types of field agents is called a silberjager , or Silver Hunter. He's a field assassin, and often we find them working in law enforcement and military in order to use the legal firepower granted these groups for their own aims.
    Keith and I have known about Yankowitz's role for a while. We were hesitant to move against him however, knowing that if he died under suspicious circumstances it might alert the rest of the Silver Bringer hierarchy."
    "Is it safe to do so tonight?"
    "It doesn't matter now," Kim said, somberly. "He saw Keith rescue you. He knows we are in the city, as he's probably suspected for years. It's time to take him out of the picture."
    "Okay. Well, next we have Sergeant Mathew 'Teo' Blanco. Italian-American, and proud of it. He's the sergeant in charge of the district SWAT team, and one viscous son of a bitch. Even before I was transferred to the Southside, stories of his team kicking ass and taking few prisoners were department wide. He violates every rule in the book, but because of his connections, the local press cast him as some sort of tough guy hero cop. He's as dirty as they come though."
    "Next, SWAT officers Tyrone Holdings and Roger Maxwell. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, neither of them is all that smart, but they're good guns, and they take orders well from Blanco. They're his attack dogs; if he wants something really nasty done but he doesn't want to do it himself, they are the ones who usually do it. Don't sell these two short though, they're both super tough and quick on the trigger."
    After completing the briefing, Kimberly helped Mel with what she had been looking forward to least, changing her hair. While it wasn't full on plastic surgery, with a new hair color and some stage makeup, they were sure Melanie could at least go out without arousing suspicious looks again. They had planned this for days, even before the hunt, and Melanie had kept putting it off. She closed her eyes the entire time in the bathroom, while Kimberly applied the color. "Are you going to tell me what you bought even?" she asked, as Kim hummed to herself.
    "No," Kimberly replied with a chuckle. "You said you didn't want to know when I asked days ago, and I am not telling you until I am finished. Now keep your eyes closed, you promised."
    After letting the dye set according to directions, Kimberly helped Mel wash her hair in the sink before blow drying it. Finally, Kimberly brushed out her hair, and tapped Melanie on the shoulder nervously. "Go ahead, open your eyes."
    Mel opened, and saw a beautiful stranger staring back at her. Her former blonde locks were gone, and while Melanie had thought that was her best color, she was floored by the job Kimberly had done. Her hair was now a flaming auburn streaked with black, almost a variation of Kimberly and