ALPHA

Preparing

Tony walks beside me as we head one of the many stores.

"So," he says, hands in his pocket and subtly looking around to make sure no one was looking our way, "what do you need?"

"First off, a new wolfsbane ring," I hold up my hand to show him the fading one on my middle finger.

He grabs my hand to look at the ring closer.

"No wonder Barnes nearly sent you into an early heat," he says letting go of my hand, "that barely had any life left."

"Yeah," I shove my hands into my pockets, "I use them until they completely die. And with my heats becoming more often, they tend to die out faster."

"More often?"

I turn and notice he's stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Kid," he hesitates, "I don think you're gonna be able to reject your alpha."

"What?" I snap.

He stiffens.

"Calm down," he says softly, "don't give your away."

I take a few deep breaths.

"What do you mean I can't reject him?"

"If your heats are getting closer together, it means your body is preparing itself," he explains.

"Preparing for what?"

"To carry an alpha."

I'm at a loss for word.

"A strong alpha," he continues, "like Barnes. His pup is going to be an alpha."

I clench my fists as a growl erupts from me.

"Ghost! You need to calm down!" He quickly grabs my shoulders.

"He isn't going to have a damn pup," I grit through my teeth, "he's no going to touch me, let alone breed me."

"Ghost," his expression becomes panicked, "please calm down."

I'm breathing hard, my heart pounding in anger.

Woodsmoke and gun powder.

Fuck!

I cover my nose with my sleeve, taking in Beta Clint's scent instead of the alpha's. The covering doesn't last long as the scent seeps though the fabric.

I stumble forward, landing in Tony's chest. He wraps his arms around me to keep me up right as my body goes limp.

I press my nose into his shirt trying to inhale his scent, to keep myself grounded.

"Tony," I whimper, "get- get me inside. Get me to a bathroom."

Tony's POV
I quickly pull her into the nearest shop and look for the bathroom.

"Oh lookie here," someone says blocking our path, "the tough little omega being a whiny little bitch."

Two more come to stand beside him.

They're the betas that were chasing her last night.

"Get out of the way," I growl at them.

"Yeah I don't think so," the first one chuckles, "alpha James is looking for her, and she has something of ours."

"You want your wallets back?" Her voice shakes.

"Yeah and you're gonna give them back."

"Fine," she pulls her bag off her shoulder and unzips it. She searches through it for a second.