Alpha Defenders-Rescue Read online

  

  Series Name 1

  Alpha Defenders: Rescue

  Valerie Moore, fellow agent working with wolf shifters, Joe Damon and Chris Hawk, in the Citizen Protection Organization, takes her job seriously. She wants to protect people from the dangerous local gang of shape-shifters. She's determined to contribute equally to their threesome team though she's not a shifter. She also enjoys having sex with Joe and Chris, but tries not to become too close to them after losing her boyfriend in college.

  When Joe and Chris rescue Valerie from a dangerous gang of outlaw shape-shifters, they realize she could have been hurt worse than she has said. Joe and Chris make a secret pact to take down the gang that hurt her. After a bad fight with the outlaw gang in which Joe is injured, he worries the three of them shouldn't be as close in case something happened to one or more of them. Valerie realizes Joe and Chris are the most important men in her life, and she sets her course to prove they have a loving future together.

  Genres: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 35,669

  ALPHA DEFENDERS: RESCUE

  Lyzie Carlisle

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Alpha Defenders: Rescue

  Copyright © 2018 by Lyzie Carlisle

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-407-1

  First Publication: September 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  To my editors, thank you for all the help, time, and patience with which you help me make my stories the best they can be.

  Thanks to my editor, Devin, for insightful editing, generous support, and a sense of humor that makes editing a fun time.

  Heartfelt thanks to the generous caregivers and protectors, who are the heroes and heroines that rescue all that are in need, trouble, or danger.

  A special thank you to my daughter for entertaining, inspiring brainstorming sessions and strong encouragement. Hugs!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lyzie started writing stories as soon as she could print when she first went to school. She thanks her parents and grandparents for her love of stories and books. Angels in disguise, heroes and heroines, and shape-shifters, all of whom not only come to the rescue but make a big difference for those who need their help, inspire and fill her fictional stories. Lyzie hopes you enjoy her heroes and the heroines who love them.

  For all titles by Lyzie Carlisle, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lyzie-carlisle

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  ALPHA DEFENDERS:

  RESCUE

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  ALPHA DEFENDERS:

  RESCUE

  LYZIE CARLISLE

  Copyright © 2018

  Prologue

  Feeling uneasy about their search and rescue friends who had been down in the deep cave too long, Joe Damon met the worried looking aqua-colored eyes of his best friend, Chris Hawk, who swiped his fingers through his sandy-colored hair.

  Tall and wiry, with broad shoulders, Chris was deceptively strong from his years of rock climbing as a member of mountain search and rescue teams and, lately, the Citizen Protection Organization, a local association. They’d gladly joined when they’d been contacted by C.P.O. a couple years back.

  Years before, Joe and Chris had met during a mountain search and rescue operation for a lost mountain climber, and they’d become close friends right away. Soon afterward, Joe and Chris had discovered they were both wolf shifters.

  A few of their rock-climbing friends who had elected to skip climbing down into the hot depths of the nearby cave, just as Joe and Chris had, left the hot springs pool and gathered around them. They were all worried about their three long-time climbing buddies who had headed down into the cave inside the red rock hill and hadn’t returned yet.

  “We need to get down there and check on them,” Joe said. “It worries me that we haven’t heard from them by now.”

  “I agree.” Chris gave a short nod. “It’s been too long. The heat down there could have gotten to them.”

  Joe wanted to reach their climbing friends fast. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. Joe and Chris looked at their four close friends at the same time. Joe knew he could count on these guys, who were also rock climbers and mountain search and rescue team members. They needed to hurry. Joe’s uneasy feeling was even stronger now.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Casey Wilder said, combing his fingers through his short blond hair. Casey, tall, slender, and always serious about rock climbing for any reason, worked on rescues most easily with Grayson Lyon, his longtime friend.

  “I say we shift so we can follow their scent and find them quick, right now,” Gray suggested. He never took long over a decision. Joe wondered if he’d been named for those steely gray eyes. A no-nonsense kind of guy, he kept his hair cut short and neat. Not quite as tall as Casey, he was built like an athlete.

  Chris had already headed quickly to their SUV. Now he returned with the basket and backboard, and the backpacks that held more rescue equipment like first aid supplies and blue tape, along with harnesses, pulleys, and ropes. Thank God they always packed those supplies for just such an emergency.

  Joe hurried to join Chris and relieve him of half of the rescue equipment.

  “Let’s go.” Daniel Roper, man of few words, had already stripped from his wet cut-offs and started to shift, his wolf fur almost black just like his human hair color. The dark hair made his blue eyes look piercing and wild.

  Wes Lawson, closest friend of Dan, echoed his words. “I’m ready,” Wes said, stripping down and starting to shift. His tall, well-muscled frame was strong from the strenuous activity of ranch work on his nearby cattle ranch. When he shifted, his pale amber eyes were a threatening contrast against his silver-tipped light-brown fur.

  The guys who had shifted followed the scent of their friends. They bounded down the dusty path carved out of rock over centuries of use. Their wolf sight saw the way even though their friends’ lanterns far below in the depths of the cave gave very little light to the shadows. Joe took quick long strides after them, hating to think about what might have happened.

  Wishing he hadn’t let their friends go alone, suddenly he heard it, a plaintive call of one of the two men in the group of three climbers. Joe turned to look at Chris. Their gazes met
. “Did you hear that?” Joe asked Chris. “He didn’t sound right.”

  “Yeah,” Chris answered. “What about the others?”

  “Nothing,” Joe added.

  “They must all be hurt badly,” Chris replied, sounding deeply worried.

  Knowing the mean, nasty history of the criminal gang of wolf shifters C.P.O. had been trying to arrest and clean out of this area over the last few years, Joe feared what they’d find. They’d fought the feral creatures led by a self-professed medicine man who was also a feral animal.

  All his life it seemed like Joe had been trying to do what was best and not having much success. Right now, Joe wanted to be any place but facing this situation. Also worrying him was the possibility that they would find the outlaw shifter gang and not be able to overcome them in feral combat. They were taking a chance, but they had to reach their friends.

  They’d learned a lot about this gang over the last few years. They also knew how to survive in a fight with the bastards.

  His best friend, Chris, was right when he’d agreed they needed to find them fast. He’d said exactly what worried Joe about the heat overcoming their climbing friends. They headed as a group toward the dangerous heat to rescue their friends. Hurrying down the steep path, the low light below was just bright enough for them to see.

  Hopefully their friends weren’t surrounded. Finally, the plaintive call of their friend sounded closer. Intense heat beat at them. Joe knew they had no idea what they faced. The cave smelled damper. They had to find them and go back to the top quickly. Then they heard the call again, their friend’s voice soft with concern.

  They took another turn and skidded to a stop at the sight near the next turn at the bottom of a cliff. Only one of their three friends moved at all. They all ran down the steep path, and the four guys ahead of them shifted to their human forms as they reached the injured hikers. Gary, the one who had called to them, was curled in an odd position with the other two on either side of him.

  Joe and Chris dropped to their knees beside him and gently checked him for injuries.

  “What happened, Gary?” Joe asked him, his voice soft.

  It didn’t look good to Joe. Gary wasn’t moving his arms or legs and was having problems breathing. He’d obviously landed on the solid rock of the path on his back and hit his head hard. Blood pooled under his head from an injury. Their other friends, Ron and Joyce, weren’t moving at all. It didn’t look like they were breathing either. They’d all fallen so hard that their bodies were at odd angles, obviously because of broken bones, with blood pooled around them.

  Joe felt sick with dread. Why had this happened? He felt responsible. He shouldn’t have let them go down there alone.

  “We’ll work on Ron and Joyce while you guys take care of Gary,” Casey said.

  They moved Ron and Joyce only enough to be able to begin breathing into them, feeling for heartbeats.

  Joe’s feelings of guilt turned to anger and desperation. They must save Gary, who was still alive and breathing.

  “When we attempted this last descent…our gear gave out,” Gary said, his voice rasping. “We fell…first Joyce and then Ron…and me,” he said breathlessly. “It happened all at once. We couldn’t stop our fall. Why would our gear give out?” He moaned deep in his throat as he grasped Joe’s arm.

  “I don’t know why,” Joe said, his voice a whisper with his desperate worry.

  He watched the guys try to get Joyce and Ron to breathe. Neither of them responded. After continuing for a long while to breathe air into their friends, hoping to bring them back, they stopped, realizing that it wasn’t going to happen. Joyce and Ron were already gone.

  Chris met Joe’s eyes and shook his head. “We need to get you out of here, Gary,” Chris said. “The heat is deadly this deep in the cave if you don’t get back to cooler air at the top soon.”

  “I don’t think I can walk,” Gary said. “Something is keeping me from moving much at all.”

  Joe gave Chris and the other guys a look. “We’ll carry you and try not to hurt you.”

  “Take Joyce and Ron first,” Gary whispered, losing his breath.

  “There’s nothing we can do for them, Gary,” Chris said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.” His voice was gentle.

  “Oh, God,” Gary cried, moaning softly. “It’s my fault…I talked them into one more trip…into this damn cave.”

  “Not your fault,” Joe said gently.

  “It was no one’s fault,” Chris said. “It was an accident. We need to carry you out of here. This will probably hurt, buddy.”

  They positioned their friend on the backboard, and after using tape to keep his body from moving on the backboard, they positioned it in the basket they used for mountain rescues.

  “On three, man,” Joe said gently to their injured friend.

  Chris and the other guys helped Joe lift Gary and support his body as carefully as possible as they headed back up the path. The faster they left the depths of this cave, the better for Gary.

  Not wanting to wait for an ambulance when they reached the top, they walked quickly to their vehicle and gently rested the backboard supporting Gary in the back of the SUV. While the other guys pulled on their jeans and shirts, Joe and Chris placed the backpacks into the SUV near the basket holding Gary. A couple of the guys got in the back to steady their friend, and Chris drove, racing to the nearest emergency room. On the way, Joe called the hospital first to let them know they were bringing in their seriously injured friend. Then he called C.P.O headquarters and informed them about the climbing accident. The man who answered the phone said they’d send a team out to the cave immediately to retrieve the bodies of the other people who had fallen, and they’d make a thorough inspection of the area in the cave where the accident happened.

  Joe knew the people at headquarters would do their best.

  They quickly reached the hospital, and the professional caregivers took over and wheeled Gary into a room to hopefully save his life.

  Joe and Chris and their friends sat in the nearby room anxious to hopefully hear good news soon. Time dragged by, and when a doctor came into the room and crossed straight to Joe and Chris, they knew it wasn’t good news.

  “I’m sorry,” the doctor said.

  “We got him here as fast as we could after we found him in the cave hurt and having difficulty breathing,” Joe said, believing he had failed Gary.

  “It was the heat that stressed his system, and his other injuries added to the stress his body was under. You didn’t do him any additional harm by moving him and bringing him here quickly. We’ll need for you to fill out some information about his family and who we should contact.”

  Joe couldn’t believe they’d just lost three friends. After the doctor left the room, Joe turned to Chris and the others. “I think we should go back to the cave and help the people at C.P.O. headquarters go over that area.” They quickly filled out the information required by the hospital.

  “Let’s go,” Chris said.

  Their friends stayed with them, wanting to know what the evidence indicated about what had happened. When they reached the area of the accident in the cave, the team from headquarters had already gone over the entire area. What they’d found chilled Joe and his buddies.

  “Their gear was tampered with as they were in the process of climbing down that cliff,” Rob Wylie, the leader of the group said. Tall and slender, with dark hair cut close and light brown eyes that didn’t miss a thing, he also often handled calls to and from C.P.O. headquarters. “We found that their hardware had been loosened from the rock they’d hammered it into. Any ideas about who would have done that?”

  Joe met Chris’s gaze. “Yeah,” Joe said. “I have an idea.”

  “I do, too,” Chris said. “C.P.O. probably knows him as the local gang leader who’s been hanging around this area for a long time causing trouble.”

  Joe and Chris and their friends vowed to have vengeance on those who had destroyed their rock-climbi
ng buddies.

  “Do you think C.P.O. would be interested in some new agents?” Dan asked, his piercing blue eyes framed by his black hair.

  “I know they would,” Joe assured him.

  Easygoing Rob smiled wryly at the four climbing buddies of Joe and Chris. “Call us or come by headquarters anytime. We’ll sign you up and get you started.”

  Joe appreciated their four friends. He and Chris knew how they worked, and they could use their help bringing down the monsters who had killed their climbing friends.

  Chapter One

  Joe Damon turned the truck off the highway and onto the road that led to the hot springs swimming hole at the base of the red rock hillside. “Looks like some other agents are already here.”

  “They must have gotten the call before we did,” Chris Hawk said.

  Joe heard Valerie Moore, their girlfriend and also a C.P.O. agent, gathering gear together from the back seat. “Do we need all of this or just the bare necessities?” she asked them.

  “Let’s carry our usual firearms and see what the other C.P.O. agents are carrying. If need be we can quickly grab what else we want,” Chris said.

  Joe wished Valerie hadn’t come on this job with them. She’d become an important friend to him and Chris since they’d joined C.P.O. at about the same time a while back. In fact, she meant so much to him and Chris that they’d become a threesome, and Joe and Chris could barely handle it when she was in harm’s way on their missions. But they had to deal with it because they all three felt strongly about their work for C.P.O.

  Joe parked the truck near the other agents’ vehicles. Chris held the door for Valerie, and they walked quickly to join the group of other agents in the shade of the trees near the swimming hole. Joe noticed that Valerie had secured her long, silky blond hair at the base of her lovely neck like she usually did when they were involved in a mission for C.P.O., but even in jeans and a knit shirt, she looked sexy as hell. Joe couldn’t help smiling to himself, knowing she was all business as usual right now.