Alpha's Faire

XXI

"Make sure to work with the portal mage that the FLA sent over." Raphael reminded Jacob for the sixth time. His eyes flickered to the ceiling of the cargo bay as his voice echoed in the empty chamber. He was too early, but it wasn't like he was doing much else in his hotel room. Brothe was in charge of coordinating the transition to move the patients while he had already arranged the transportation of orchid and wolfsbane from his pack. They gathered a sizable amount for the effort while maintaining the numerous requests from more and more werewolf packs. But it came at a cost. Whitehaven only could maintain this supply for another eight months. At that point, Raphael would have to cut everyone else off. He had to ensure there was enough to support his pack.

That was unless they located the damn black market dealer. The fool had to have stocked more of the orchid somewhere. But that was useless to pursue, he was dead after all.

"Understood Alpha." Jacob indulged him. "Are you going to stay on the compound with Dr. Jess to coordinate the setup?" Raphael's fingers tightened around the phone at the mention of Dr. Lewis.

He hadn't seen her the past few days, he had been too busy. But that didn't stop her image from haunting him in moments of silence.

"Yes." He tried his best not to grunt as he thought back to their last encounter. The last time they crossed, she was just proposed to by Captain Shou. They were already sleeping together, so if she wanted to, she could easily accept. Besides, Shou's position came with perks, money, and power. If she cared about those, she would accept his offer. Raphael's eyes narrowed. Had she accepted to be his mate?

He bit back a growl of frustration. Why the hell should he even care about whether or not she bonded and mated with Captain Shou? She was becoming a damn thorn in his paw. The last few nights were spent with her haunting his dreams. Every fucking time he tried to sleep, there was the elusive Dr. Lewis. Elusive and alluring, he found himself drawn to her. And it wasn't just because she was shrouded in secrets. The increasing fascination he had was disturbing. The idea that she could become Shou's mate grated him greatly.

The odds that she would even accept Shou's offer right now seemed pretty slim. Raphael couldn't imagine that if Shou officially bonded with her that he'd let her out of his sight. No, the two would hole up for several days before even leaving the damn house. It was instinctual to want to consume and delight your mate, and Raphael doubted that the dhampir differed from him in that aspect.

"Alpha Stone, you're early again." Her voice echoed in the cargo bay. Raphael's body tensed at the sound. Her scent seemed even stronger than before, nearly overwhelming him. Raphael's gray eyes found her standing by the doorway. She was dressed casually today but still eye-catching with a red crop top, high-waisted jeans, and black boots that all hung to her every curve. To make things worse, her toned stomach peaked out with the sway of her hips as she walked over to him. "Have you ever been late to anything?"

Goddess. How could a single voice make him freeze in place?

"Is that her?" Jacob called on the line. But Raphael wasn't paying attention. Once more, he found his attention seized by this woman. His eyes narrowed at her as they trailed from her bright sapphire orbs down her the nap of her neck where only a faded blemish remained.

They haven't bonded yet, just like he thought.

"Jacob, just make sure that the orchid is ready by noon to transport."

"Yes, Alpha." With that. he hung up, ready to pull his full attention to Dr. Lewis.

"I apologize for distracting you, Alpha Stone." Dr. Lewis remarked as she leaned against her luggage. "I just find that you've always been early to every encounter we've had."

"Let's just say that I'm not getting a lot of sleep these days." Raphael closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath. He could hear the faint rumble of feet coming towards the cargo bay. "There's a lot to set up after all."

"I understand, but it's just the beginning, I'm afraid." Dr. Lewis mused. The sounds of feet and voices became louder. "Well, we better look alive. It's going to be a long day, Alpha Stone." She sighed. Raphael opened his eyes to see people coming into the cargo bay. Immediately, Dr. Lewis stood up straight and began to wave the incoming personnel over.

"Hey, everyone that is arriving, please come and meet me to discuss their assignment." She addressed them. Raphael watched her handle about twenty people effectively and efficiently. Without even batting an eye, he saw her know automatically where each person would be assigned. It was honestly amazing. She didn't even reference a ledger or sheet. But she still knew where each needed to be and do. Maybe it was the fact that she was Shou's potential mate, but each person listened and obeyed her diligently.

He was enraptured, she seemed to thrive under these conditions and for once he felt almost stagnant, insufficient. While he coordinated the medical supply team, it was only a force of five people that he had to manage and consult. They were all briefed and trained on how to set up the storage area for the orchid and wolfsbane already. Besides, the orchid wouldn't be moved into the compound until the next day. Even if it went through a portal, the orchid was extremely delicate. They had to allow it to rest before sending it through another gate. His team was pretty much ready to go after ten minutes. But Dr. Lewis, however, was managing up to forty people on seven teams with ease.

"And after we get there, you will need to set up this set of UV lights outside of Alpha Stone's apartment. He will need an additional quarantine area at the beginning of the hall and outside of his door directly. We cannot take any chances." He heard her state to a small woman and man. He blinked. He hadn't taken into consideration of additional quarantine areas for him specifically. He figured that the apartment building's lobby zone would have been sufficient, in addition to wearing the hazmat suit outside of the apartment building itself. But she was concerned about contamination occurring within the building as well. It made sense when Raphael thought about it. They couldn't risk him getting infected. It would only be another patient filling a bed that someone else could use.

She would make a good luna. The thought threw him so off that he chose to ignore it. Right now, he was stagnant, almost useless. And that was one thing that Alpha Raphael Stone was not.

Dr. Lewis looked up at him. Her blonde locks framing her face, making her blue eyes stand out even more. Her pink lips softly smiled at the question.

"Thank you Alpha Stone, but there shouldn't be anything. We are on track to leave. The only thing is..." She trailed off to look at her phone. The soft smile turned sour as it fell flat. Raphael's eyes narrowed. It was almost 10. They were already supposed to be transporting via a portal by now. "We are waiting on our portal mage and for Shou to arrive."

Raphael's eyes narrowed as he looked around the room. Shou was still Captain of the Shadow Knights, he probably had to attend to ensure that current operations were running smooth. But the portal mage should have had their schedule cleared to support this operation. Where was the damn portal mage anyway?

"Is there another person we can call?" He asked, pulling out his phone. As an Alpha, he had access to the FLA's list in case of emergencies. His eyes scanned the list. It showed name, availability, and ranking. Most of the higher-ranked names were already on the force and dispatched for the day. So could they even call someone else in?

"What about this mage, Jexanna?" He asked, naming the first available name on the list.

"She's not available." Dr. Lewis immediately replied, almost too fast.

"Why not? It says that she is." Raphael raised a brow at her reaction.

"She's Shou's former apprentice and was allocated for another project." Dr. Lewis elaborated, her eyes staying on him. To anyone else, she looked normal. But Raphael wasn't just anyone. He saw the subtle shift. Her cheeks lost a tinge of their rosy hue. She was nervous. Raphael's eyes narrowed.

"Then why is this listing her as available?"

"It may be a secret assignment." Raphael mulled over her words. Secret project? It may have been plausible, considering the nature of the Knight division. But why Dr. Lewis know what the system didn't? Did Shou tell her about the assignment for his so-called-progeny? Would he even bother to disclose that kind of information in the first place?

One thing was certain, she just slipped.