After the Moon Rises by Karilyn Bentley

longer to metabolize pain medication than it did her pack.
    A soft brush of air heralded Landa’s arrival into the room.
    “Hey, I—”
    Crash ! Broken pieces of pottery shattered across the floor, soup splatters scattering to the corners of the room. Margie looked at the mess and then turned her gaze to Landa. Pale and trembling, Landa raised shaking hands to flutter over her mouth, her eyes wide as she stared at the male in the bed.
    I’m so sorry, alpha , Landa said telepathically before turning and hauling ass back down the corridor.
    What the hell? Margie choked on the scent of fear that lingered in the room. One glance at the bed showed formerly sleepy eyes opened and narrowed. He yanked the covers back and she got a glimpse of his package. Oh yeah, she had to get some of that.
    Holy shit, Margie, enough of the hormones.
    Shaking her head, trying to clear it of thoughts of hot, slick sex with the werewolf in front of her, she pointed her finger at the alpha.
    “Don’t move.”
    She darted out of the room, slamming the door behind her and pushed the external locking mechanism. A heavy body crashed against the door, the handle rattling, but she was running, shoving through the double doors like they didn’t exist, following the sharp, acrid scent of fear down the corridor. Behind her she heard a howl, a shattering of the air. Good thing she had sense enough to lock Zane in his room until she figured out what was going on.
    Running at full speed, she passed the tiny nursing enclave, the small indention in the wall. Empty now, it held a computer, a chair and a keypad with a big red button on the wall. Margie screeched to a halt, pivoting an about-face as she rushed back to the desk. Her father had the foresight to build these tunnels, but her mother had the foresight to lock them down. Margie slapped a hand over the button and heard the satisfying click of locks. Two breaths later, she heard another howl, this one from the direction of the stairs.
    Margie stalked toward the stairs. Why run? Landa was going nowhere and neither was Zane. She mentally shredded the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy the closer she got to Landa. The frantic pounding of fists against steel echoed down the stairs, joined by a suffocating stench of fear. Something petrified Landa and Margie had an awful suspicion it was Zane. Something about her new guest frightened her newest pack member and it sure as hell wasn’t his rugged good looks.
    Near the top, she saw Landa pounding on the door, her breath coming in small pants.
    “Landa?”
    The little blonde spun, eyes rolling white in their sockets, her hands held in front of her body. “Please, alpha, please don’t make me go with him. Please, I beg of you. I’ll do anything.”
    “Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
    “He’s one of Sid’s enforcers. I can’t go back there, I can’t!” Her voice rose, high-pitched and frantic.
    Sid? Margie tried to remember all the alphas in North America that she had either met or heard about and drew a big blank. Who the hell was Sid? “Is he the one that gave you the scar?”
    Landa’s left hand touched her throat. “Yes. He used magic to lock the band around my neck. Please don’t make me go back.”
    As if that was an option.
    “Do you seriously think that I would turn you over to him?”
    Landa’s lids did a slow open and shut. “You don’t know Sid.”
    “You’re right, I don’t. But I do know that no pack member of mine is going to be torn away without a fight. What kind of a leader would I be if I just rolled over and let him take you?”
    A flicker of surprise crossed Landa’s face before she dropped to her knees. “Alpha, I meant you no disrespect. Sid’s ... well, he’s the most frightening thing I know.”
    Thing, eh? Guess that said a lot about the mysterious Sid. She really wanted to know who the hell this Sid guy was. Stop the presses, it was her lucky day. She had two people here who would tell her.
    Laying a hand