Feral Northern Shifters 2

slower.”
“I’ll do it.”
Doug laughed, no humor in it. “I may be pissed off at your negligence, Bram, but I don’t want you shredded either.”
“I know.” Bram did know, which made this moment harder. He had to dig deep to stay the course, to do what was right. He pulled in a breath and Doug probably thought he was summoning courage. Which he was, but not for the reasons Doug thought. “I don’t think Ethan will want to kill me.”
“You’re fooling yourself.”
“Maybe. But I don’t think so. You said yourself that he was trying to bond with me. That means something, even to a cat.” Bram paused. “Give me the tranq. I’ll do it.”
Doug glanced at the screen. Ethan had jumped off the bed again and, with his claws, pulled off the blanket and sheet. He attacked the mattress, shredding cotton and foam that had made up the futon. “Well, you’re right about one thing. He’s going crazy in there. I thought he’d last another day.”
The alpha went to the mini-fridge, turned the combination lock and opened it to retrieve the tranq.
Bram felt like everything was moving in slow motion.
Doug glanced up at him from the crouch, worried. “You’re freaking out.”
“A little,” Bram admitted. “But I can do this.”
His alpha straightened, tranq in hand, and accepted Bram’s statement. “You’ll be too close range to use a tranq gun. You’re going to have to jab him with a needle. Still think you can do it?”
Bram nodded.
Doug ripped open the plastic, held the syringe. “Sure?”
Again, Bram nodded.
“You seem too nervous.”
“I’m nervous, but I’m also sure.”
Doug handed Bram the syringe and he held it uncertainly. “I press down here, right?” He rested his thumb on the end of the plunger.
Annoyance and frustration entered Doug’s eyes. “Yes. I’d hoped that was obvious.”
Bram dropped his gaze, properly submissive as he regarded Doug’s thigh, which was about where Doug had hit Ethan when he was running from the pack. The upper leg was what he wanted.
He swung his arm forward. The needle sliced through the material of Doug’s jeans and pierced flesh. Bram pushed the plunger fully down.
Then he jumped back out of reach as Doug took a swing at him, empty syringe still stuck in his thigh. Doug ripped it out, disbelief and rage in his face. He stared at Bram, gaping. “You little shit.”
He went after Bram, face white, a fury in him that Bram hadn’t seen in years. Doug wanted to kill him, and Bram sidestepped his second attempted punch.
“What the hell are you thinking, you asswipe?” Doug swayed, just slightly, but enough to realize he might be in trouble. The alpha jerked away from Bram, heading for the door. Heading, Bram realized, for help. He’d hoped Doug would collapse before it came to this, but he had no choice. He tackled his alpha, landing on his back, and Doug couldn’t take the weight. He toppled, grunting as he hit the floor. Bram wasn’t that much smaller than Doug and had no trouble keeping him down. Doug kept struggling even while his rage became diluted by confusion and drugs.
Abruptly the alpha stopped moving. “Bram. Get off me.” A command and even now it was hard to resist when Doug used that tone on him.
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head, though Doug couldn’t see him.
“Off, Bram, immediately . I’ll be willing to talk about this if you get off me. Something squirrelly is going on in that head of yoursh. But I’m will. I’m willing to…make allowanshes.”
“I really am sorry, Doug.” He’d never meant it more in his life.
“Bram.” But the urgency was sluggish. “Bram. C’mon.”
“So sorry.”
In a last-ditch effort, Doug bunched his arms under him and tried to rise, despite Bram’s weight, but all he managed to do was raise his head.
“Think. No. Bram.”
“Go to sleep, Doug. It’s the only thing you can do now.” How odd it felt to say something like that to his alpha.
For perhaps the first time in his life, Doug obeyed Bram.

Chapter Nine
    Staring down at Doug, Bram watched the alpha’s face go slack and felt the body beneath him become loose as the alpha slipped into unconsciousness. No longer wanting to touch him, Bram couldn’t get off Doug fast enough. Despite this recoil, he forced himself to grab hold of the alpha and drag him into the backroom. Doug wouldn’t be hard to find there, once people figured out something was wrong, but until then, he wouldn’t be obvious to someone popping their head