Free fate of the alpha - episode 1 by Tasha Black

the pavement nodded at him in the slight breeze. As usual, there was a musty, leafy smell. The mournful sound of crickets cut through the stillness of dusk. Everything was as it should be in the abandoned neighborhood - just as it was at every sunset.
    Suddenly he sensed a huge discharge of magic.
    Deep in the trees beyond Sycamore Woods, a wolf howled. Julian ran toward the sound as fast as his legs would carry him.
    As he approached the edge of the woods, the howl melted into a human scream with a note of despair so dark it turned his stomach.
    He plunged into the woods. Ainsley was in there somewhere. And she wasn’t ready to protect herself. Though she should be by now.
    As he crashed through the trees he was haunted by the image of the Coke bottle, wobbling on the stump.
    He was moving so quickly that he was almost on top of her before he saw her.
    Ainsley crouched low over a writhing body. So much magic coursed though her system that her eyes crackled blue. In her hand, an enormous blue ball of magic hissed and roiled.
    Julian stopped in his tracks.
    But it was too late. In her defensive state, Ainsley hurled the energy at him.
    Julian tried to bring up a shield, but he was not prepared. He could feel the sizzle of the energy ball as it pushed aside the air between them.
    Ainsley’s face was a mask of fury. She was terrifying but also somehow beautiful. Her nostrils were flared.
    He had a flash of his failed ambush attempt yesterday afternoon. Would she smell him now? Did she know what she was doing?
    Julian braced for impact, but it didn’t come.
    Instead, the ball of energy crashed into the tree next to him, splintering it instantly into a million pieces.
    The blue energy flickered out of Ainsley’s eyes.
    Recognition softened her features.
    “Help!” she called.
    Her voice was high and reedy, utterly unlike her usual throaty purr.
    Julian’s gaze dropped to the body at her feet.
    Erik Jensen. He was unconscious, but sweating and moaning in pain.
    “Please, I’m afraid I’m going to lose him!”
    “Let’s get him to your house.”
    Ainsley began to lift her mate in lieu of answering. Julian moved to help her.
    A growl ripped out of her throat and he cringed reflexively.
    “Sorry,” she mumbled, embarrassed.
    “It’s very natural that you’re protective,” he tried to keep the shock out of his voice.
    Ainsley hoisted Erik’s body like he was a child and draped his form over her shoulder.
    “Let’s go,” she said, seemingly unbothered by the large man’s weight.
    Ainsley was strong. Julian knew she would be, but her wolf qualities always seemed to surprise him. He had met her when she was almost all human.
    They moved quickly and in silence until they got to the edge of the woods. They would have to cross the construction site and Yale Avenue to get to Ainsley’s house on Princeton. The streets were mostly empty, and Ainsley didn’t seem to be concerned with being seen by anyone.
    They rounded the corner onto Princeton and Ainsley sped up again. She took the porch steps in a single leap, as though she weren’t carrying a full-grown man on her shoulder.
    Grace Kwan-Cortez perched on the edge of the wicker sofa waiting for them.
    Julian felt his heart lurch.
    “I came as soon as I got your call,” she said in her soft, clear voice.
    Julian didn’t remember Ainsley getting out her phone.
    He was very glad to see Grace. This time he was determined not to be an ass.
    “Let’s get him inside,” Ainsley said in a flat voice.
    She carried Erik through the cozy living room with its built-in bookshelves. Julian couldn’t help but flash back to the moment they had let him in, in spite of everything, and he’d been allowed to explain himself. It was hard to believe that the angry young man who had been ready to send him packing was limp in Ainsley’s arms right now.
    By the time they helped her lay Erik gently on the dining room table he was so pale he looked almost inhuman.
    “Do you have a