Read fate of the alpha - episode 1 for Free Online

habitat. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
    Leopold looked down at his clipboard.
    “Is this ‘The Proposed Site of the Tarker’s Hollow College Inn and Bookstore’ ?”
    Erik nodded.
    Leopold shrugged.
    “Then please sign, here, here and here.” Tapping the clipboard again.
    “Do you have a supervisor I can speak with?”
    Leopold blinked up at him again. Fleetingly, it occurred to Erik that the man himself actually looked sort of owlish. No wonder he wanted to protect them.
    “Sir, maybe you don’t understand. These are endangered birds. We need to take all reports seriously. You can go over my head, but you can’t keep building here.”
    Erik fought his wolf, and even his human temper. The man was just doing his job. If only they hadn’t lost two days of progress to Clive’s hissy fit just last month.
    “How quickly will you be able to wrap this up?” Erik tried his best to sound civil.
    “This seems like an easy case to …evaluate.” Leopold smiled at him politely. “I expect we could have you back to work within six months to a year.”
    Erik ran a hand through his too-long hair.
    His men were watching him closely. It was important to lead by example.
    “I will take your card and a copy of this document. As soon as my attorney has reviewed it I will be glad to sign off and get it back to you.”
    Leopold took the sheet off the board.
    “It doesn’t really matter if you sign it or not. If you start work again you will be in violation of the law. The clock on our evaluation process won’t start ticking until after you sign.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind. You have a good day now, okay?”
    The setting sun silhouetted Leopold Pruitt as he ambled back to his little gray car.
    Erik fought to keep his head from exploding as he figured in his losses and the losses of the men who waited in silence on the red dirt. He had to find a way to keep them working.
    He’d already lost a few good men this year. His crew were all young, male wolves from the Tarker’s Hollow pack. It was no secret that there was a shortage of available female wolves in town.
    He and Ainsley had wondered together what that meant for the future of the pack, and what, if anything, they could do about it. If the remaining young males left to find mates in other packs, the Tarker’s Hollow wolves would be in trouble.
    The Inn job they were on now, and the upcoming highway project, were all that kept his remaining crew from seeking greener pastures.
    “Let’s call it a day, guys. Everyone back on time and ready to work in the morning.”
    There was a collective sigh, and the men scrambled, glad to have an early night and hopeful that it meant they weren’t out of a job.
    Erik knew his night would be a late one. Why would someone think short eared owls had been living on an athletic field?
    He didn’t need to be wolf to notice something about this whole business smelled funny.

                                   

    CHAPTER 5
    G race could not believe her luck as she stepped into the interrogation room.
    “Dale,” she shouted through the open door. “Not today!”
    “Sorry, Gracie,” came the muffled reply from the front desk. “You know it rained on Tuesday.”
    Tarker’s Hollow police station was not large. Once a month, when the parking meters were emptied, the change had to be spread out somewhere to dry before they could deposit it.
    The most likely place was the interrogation room, since it was seldom in used for its intended purpose. So now the table in the middle of the room sparkled like the Potters’ vault at Gringotts. And there was barely time to get it out of here before Sanderson got here.
    “Hello?” came a soft voice from the station door.
    He was early. Perfect.
    She’d hardly been able to concentrate on normal day-to-day life since meeting Julian Magie last night. The electric feeling when they had locked eyes set her pulse racing just thinking about it. And she