Owned By The Alphas: Part One (5 page)

Hungrily she took him into her mouth. Her hips began to buck, wanting him to touch her, stroke her, rub her until the torture stopped, but instead he pinned her down. She sucked and nibbled his tip and making him throw his head back under a long, low moan. She stared up at his body while her mouth was around him, staring up at his muscles that were shining in the torchlight, too. 

Just as she closed her eyes, he pulled out and back, and moved to mount her again, leaping in between her legs in one deft jump that was so fast she couldn’t even see it. He smirked at her, kneeling between her thighs, his cock hovering just outside of her swollen cunt. “You want this?” 

She nodded, but said, “No.” 

He smirked and made her wait five more agonizing seconds before he plunged into her. Ali’s torso arched up, her head thrown backward as the orgasm tore her down the middle. She’d never felt this way before, had never felt the burning ache throb throughout every cell like it was doing now. It threw him over the edge. He growled, hips thrusting violently out of control, his abandon drawing out of her another round of sweet contractions. She screamed his name and buried her face in his hair as he collapsed on her, the aftershocks of their release pulsing through them both. She kissed his earlobe…and all too soon she heard soft snores, making her smile.  

She didn’t want to wake him, not wanting him to pull out just yet. She wanted to stay like this for a while. Maybe then, the wonder of it all would sink in.

C
alt awoke
to the urgings of his human as she whispered hoarsely that she needed air. He smiled and rolled off her, relaxed and feeling like he could sleep for days.

“Thank you. I couldn’t breathe. You’re too big,” she said, in an intimate tone, rolling onto her stomach and resting on her elbows to see him better.

“That’s why I am alpha,” he informed her, closing his eyes.

Stroking his hair, she confessed quietly, “No, I think it’s more than that.”

He peered out at her with one eye. “Oh?”

She smiled, watching her red-tipped fingers disappear into his black hair, so shiny and thick. Her soft touch felt good to him. “I think you’re alpha because of what you have in here.” She reached down and touched the place over his heart. “You walk with authority. It’s something else. Believe me.”

“I have authority because I have been given it. It is my birthright.”

Ali sucked on her lips, and shifted so that she lay on her side. “No, that’s not what I mean. But maybe it adds to that, I guess. I mean, you’re a man, you know? Oh, don’t look at me like that. I don’t mean to discount the fact that you’re a werewolf, too, but what I mean is…how can I put this?” She looked toward the ceiling of the cave. He watched her eyes flit around as she searched for the right words. “You’re comfortable in your own skin. You’re not trying to be something, or someone. You just
are
.”

Calt liked the sound of that very much. It made him feel good to have it explained so because he had been feeling like he could not fill his father’s role and do the old wolf credit. He beyond respected the beast, and since the unexpected slaying of that hero, Calt had felt like an imposter, or at the very least a poor replacement.

“Thank you, Ali.” He looked at the creviced ceiling and rested his hands beneath his head.

“He might have simply killed them if they didn’t show respect,” he muttered to himself.

The jolt of his segue had an instant impact on his human, and he looked to the right to see her eyes wide and confused. “What?” she asked. “Who?”

“Why didn’t Lorn start a fire as I asked,” he muttered, looking at the dark fire pit. He rose up off the pelts and walked to the entrance of the cave. “The pack who is threatening our territory, the ones who chased us today. I may have to kill them.”

He did not see Ali rise up on her hands with her hair askew, because he did not look back.

C
alt sauntered
into the cavern where the wolves spent most of their nights. Some of the wolves were in human form, talking amongst themselves, some in wolf form, watching the room or sleeping. Lorn and Lucin nuzzled one another with their snouts as their alpha came in, and Lucin stopped immediately, shifting to stand on two feet and make his presence known. He always hoped he was needed and preferably for manly tasks like hunting and protecting, rather than the caring for and tending to he normally was given charge of. Calt usually asked for help from Calus and Dak if there was any heavy lifting or hunting to be done. And for planning and strategies it was always Borhan and often, Tawny.

The she-wolf strode to her alpha with her nostrils wide, the scent of his coupling with the human heavily on him. He held up his hand to stop her. “Yes, yes–I know you like her. Back off.”

If it hadn’t been for the smile in his eyes and his relaxed posture, she would have defended herself. But that he was teasing her made not only her, but the whole room surprised.

The pack had felt the tension of late. They were tired of it, having had enough of living on the edge of danger or discomfort back when they were in the mountains of Canada, where life was more difficult and werewolves were many. They had moved to California to have an easier, more comfortable life with nicer weather and pleasant evenings; wasn’t that what the golden state was for?

Calt’s smile was a very welcome contrast to how he’d been the last month. Even Borhan, who was nursing a broken leg as well as ego, was happy to see his alpha in better spirits. He called out to his pack master, “Well, well, looks like I should not have been so quick to judge. You look like your old self, friend.”

Calt grinned and crossed to look more closely at the bound-up leg. “How do you feel?”

Borhan snickered. “You know we heal quickly. This will be back to normal in two nights, tops.”

He received a strong swat on the shoulder for his good sportsmanship as Calt left him to address the room. “I have been thinking on the problem of the pack. What would my father have done, I asked myself. He would have called them to a meeting and if they did not show respect, he would have removed the problem with force. Would he not?”

The room cheered and howled their approval. Calt beamed at them, his posture tall and confidant. “I will need two to set it up.”

Dak and Calus stepped forward and shifted into human form. Dak’s red hair and Viking body betrayed his Scottish ancestry, and he spoke little if ever. Calus’s family descended from a line of African wolves, centuries old. His skin was as dark as his alpha’s hair. His charcoal gray beard spoke of experience and years; his body was tattooed with battle scars. These two were clearly cut out for facing danger, and were ready to be of service in this matter. But Calt waved his hand
no
to them.

“I do not want to put them on edge. Let us give them a fighting chance to be reasonable, and in order to do that I feel that we should show them no outward aggression going in. I need females for this task.” He looked to his favorite. “Tawny.” She straightened her spine with pride at having been picked. But if she had not, she would have been surprised. She was the quicker of the females, in mind and body, and was also the boldest. “And Bloo.”

Tawny looked aghast to Bloo as the dusty gray wolf shifted to her human form.

“Really?” Bloo asked in a voice that was much higher than it should have been.

“Yes, Bloo.”

Tawny sputtered, “What? Why on Earth?”

But Calt’s glare stopped her. “Bloo has a way of making people smile, and we want to set a good impression.”

“Then why send Tawny,” Lucin laughed. He quickly shut the hell up as he caught Tawny’s seething glare. “Sorry.”

Calt, still in good humor, announced, “Tawny is smart and strong–she can handle any situation handed her. But she’s also beautiful. As is Bloo. That will set their cocks on edge and distract their minds.”

Borhan glanced around the pack and did what he did best, asked the question no one had thought of. “But you went with Rait when the first meeting was set. Won’t they be expecting you to make an appearance? Would this be a sign of disrespect?”

Calt shook his head, walking to the fire. The way it lit up the side of him was beautiful and he caught Tawny’s admiring gaze eyeing his manhood without shame. It stiffened, and Calt shared a smile with the she-wolf before redirecting his gaze to Borhan. “See, all she has to do is look at it and it rises. If you saw these two, would
you
think it a sign of disrespect?”

The room cheered as Bloo and Tawny swiveled their naked hips and gave the wolves flirtatious sexy-eyes. Borhan had to smile with the rest. “Alright! I can see your point.” Looking down at the pelt he rested on to heal, he added, “I should not challenge you again. You think I would have learned my lesson.”

“And you are supposed to be the smart one!” Calus called out. All laughed.

Calt pushed down the air in front of him with his hands, calming everyone. “Borhan, it will be a sad day when I do not seek your counsel.” He walked to the younger, respected wolf and touched his shoulder, kneeling down to look him in the eye with a seriousness that stilled the others. “I need you, friend. But if you challenge me the way you did earlier, again, I will have to break your other leg.”

Borhan nodded, “Understood.”

Calt smiled and rose up, turning. “I am hungry! What have you brought me?”

The room settled into a normal evening then as Lorn ran out to bring in the meal. Because she was the youngest and rather small, she loved to rip up the meat for the group. It gave her a feeling of strength. Plus feeding those she cared for had a certain satisfaction to it. It fulfilled the nurturing side of her nature to watch them devour food she had prepared for them, like it was she who was giving them nourishment.

Tawny and Bloo went off to the side to discuss their adventure, with Tawny of course taking the lead in the planning of it. Dak and Calus shifted again into their wolves, and went to lie down by the entrance and nap.

Lucin was disappointed at not having been chosen for an important task again, and he looked around for where he might be useful. He spotted Borhan shivering and trying to act as though he were not cold, so Lucin shifted to go and help the wounded wolf. Werewolves by nature are warmer than humans and in weakened states, they are colder, their fast immune systems sending blood and heat only to the place that needs healing. Borhan would never have brought himself closer to the fire; his pride forbade it. So without asking, Lucin wrapped his body around his friend and let his fur warm Borhan, not needing a thank you. The relaxed shoulders of Borham’s human form were enough.

Calt strode to sit by Shaynah who had just moved to be closer to the fire. She was the oldest among them, his father’s only lover in the later years.

“Cold?” he asked, in a voice low enough to be just for her.

She smiled and shook her shock of long white hair, glancing from the flickering red flames to him, with sadness weighing her pale green eyes. “No. I like the way it feels. It is comforting to me.”

“How are you?”

She didn’t answer quickly. “I miss him.”

Calt reached over and took her hand. She was surprised by this. Wolves did not hold hands. She had seen him do this with the human and thought it an odd spectacle, but now that it was her hand encased in kind, warm flesh, she softened to the idea reluctantly.

“I do, too,” he confessed.

They stared at each other a moment. He could see the decision to speak frankly flicker over her face. “The human, Calt. Your father never brought a human being behind our veil of secrecy. Do you think it wise?”

He held her eyes without blinking. “I think it is necessary for my survival. And I am not my father.”

She lowered her eyes and he gave her hand a compassionate squeeze before rising to take his meal. She watched him; he knew this. But she would have to get used to there being a new master, in her own time and pace. If she did not like it, she could leave. He would not stop her.

W
hen Ali watched
Calt leave the room after such a barbaric announcement, she sat staring at the entrance of his den as though he might reappear and tell her he wasn’t really planning on killing anyone. That werewolves existed and were not at all like the ones in the movies–with no self-control who only wanted to murder humans every full moon for what purpose, she never knew–was amazing to her. To find out that these magical creatures were real and lived together in harmony in such a beautiful and mysterious place as this, it opened up Ali’s imagination and heart. She was so used to seeing people living in boxes with rules designated by other people. Not the laws that protected people, those didn’t bother her. But the ‘normal society’ rules really drove her crazy. You have to find a husband. You have to have children. You have to have a ‘normal job’ and have the right car as well as the right gadgets in your home. Buy more things! Even if that means you don’t have money saved for travel. Things Things Things!!!

Ali, for her entire life, saw the world as a playground with all kinds of people, cultures, foods, religions, beliefs, loves, hobbies, traditions, talents, dreams, and so much more, to explore. There was so much to do and see that to live in a box made absolutely no sense to her. It seemed like all society wanted to do was to control her so that it could feel safe. Well, fuck that.

So to kill werewolves, who to her now were magical–it was a crime.

There had to be another way.

She jumped up and covered herself in a pelt to go and talk to him, but as soon as she did, she realized she desperately needed to relieve her bladder. As she muttered to herself, “Okay, first things first. Pee, then convince a werewolf not to kill his own kind.” She shook her head at how that sounded and padded out into the passageway on tiptoed stockinged feet.

Wishing she’d brought a candle with her, she used her hands to guide her back the way Lorn had brought her. There was a faint light in the distance and as she got closer, she heard Calt’s voice. “I do not want to put them on edge. Give them a fighting chance to be reasonable, and in order to do that, I feel that we should show them no outward aggression going in. I need females for this task. Tawny.”

Ali rolled her eyes, the now familiar jealousy at that she-wolf’s name wringing a knot in her stomach. They were having some sort of meeting, and Ali didn’t want to bother them, so she tiptoed more quietly and peeked in as she passed. Tawny and another wolf of Asian descent with long, sleek black hair and slender naked body, were both swiveling their hips to the cheers of the room.

The knot tightened.

Ali padded down the hall toward the decoy cavern, suppressing a growl of her own. Glad to have a moment alone, and looking forward to fresh air, she dashed outside, wondering where the hell she could go.

Tightening the pelt around her naked torso, she breathed in the cold air of Yosemite’s northern point, spotting the dense collection of bushes he’d pointed out when they arrived, fifty feet away. “Perfect!” she whispered, rushing to duck behind them and squat, releasing the pressure with a sigh. From there she could see the mountain’s snow-covered crests above. The snow looked dusty blue in the moonlight. The caves were a little above the halfway point, she gauged. Pulling off several long, fragrant leaves, she cleaned herself up, her astonished gaze fixed on the millions of stars in the sky, the pitch-black night their perfect backdrop. Even the Milky Way was visible, something she’d never seen outside of a photograph. The picture had not done it justice; it was as though someone had thrown shattered glass into the sky and lit it from above.

“Wow!”

“Not a bad view is it, Ali?”

Ali yelped and hastily pushed the pelts back down, simultaneously rising and looking left. She expected to see a familiar face, one she’d seen earlier among the pack. Maybe someone who’d heard her come out and was making sure she was safe. That was her first guess, and it was very wrong.

He’d grown an enormous amount since she’d seen him last, but it was definitely him. She’d know those eyes anywhere, even if they were now blue glass cut inside the face of a grown man with a light brown beard, a nose straight and long, and brown shoulder-length hair that looked as though he had not washed it in a week or more. Her gaze fell quickly, taking in that he was naked, and what that must mean. Eyes flashing up to meet his, she croaked, “Jared!?” The puzzle pieces slammed quickly together in her mind, suddenly making sense why the boy of her childhood had been so different. He hadn’t been human. “Oh my God.”

Jared narrowed his eyes, speaking low so as not to be heard. “What are you doing with these heathens, Ali?”

Her voice faltered. “I don’t understand. Aren’t you a…” she glanced toward the cave. “One of them?” She added dryly, “Or are you just naked for the fun of it?”

He didn’t smile. “I am a werewolf, yes.” He glanced away as a thought passed over his softening eyes. “You are the first human I’ve confessed that to.” The heat from his body was so strong that it warmed her even though they weren’t touching. He was almost as tall as Calt, but not quite. His body was covered with many scars, like he’d battled hundreds of times since their school days.

Her mind raced.
Jared Baltan
was standing in front of her after all these years. He hadn’t just moved away, he’d moved into a life she could now only begin to imagine, but could never have then. While she was studying geometry and drama and not going to prom, then enrolling in college, smoking her first joint, then her fiftieth on the path to many more, learning how to write a check, dating in college and what that felt like, having her heart gutted and stomped on. While she was doing all that normal stuff, where was
he
?

What had
he
been doing?

His eyes were hard as he searched hers. “But I am not one of
them
. I do not kill humans, nor does my pack. I cannot say the same for your friends.”

She blinked, torn between who to be loyal to, and what to say.

“Why would they not kill
you
next, Ali?”

She didn’t like the sound of that, and also, she didn’t believe it. There was a seed of trust growing in her for the pack. Flustered, she glanced behind her and through the leaves and branches as she whispered, “Look, I don’t believe they did what you’re charging them with. They’re really kind of…civilized.” Her voice evaporated as she realized the truth. Turning to him, she asked, “If this isn’t your pack, wait…Was it you?”

His jaw clenched and his lips tightened pale. He glanced back to the cave, too, but he was clearly stalling and did not want to answer her. “Yes. It was me and two others from my pack. I am their
alpha. The only reason the two of you are alive is because I recognized you and didn’t give the order to have you extinguished.”

As goosebumps lit up her body, Ali threw at him in a loud whisper, “I thought you said you don’t murder people!”

“I would murder him. Him I would murder in a heartbeat. And in attacking him, you would have been a casualty.”

“Oh, nice. That’s great,” she grumbled, looking to the side. From the corners of her eyes, she looked at him, wondering what to do. She realized she was talking to the enemy, the one Calt said he might kill, and now here was Jared saying the same about the man…the wolf…who’d just claimed her for his own. She wanted to be with him, but he couldn’t kill Jared! She couldn’t let that happen. She had to stop him.

“I would never have taken your life, Ali,” Jared murmured, the look in his eyes shifting to something she couldn’t understand. “I’m angry, so I’m saying things I don’t mean.”

She covered her face with her hands. “Oh no,” she moaned, imagining the two alphas fighting. It was a gruesome image that tore at her soul.

“And I have not gone by Jared in a decade. My name is
Red
now.”

She thought she saw a flicker of shame cross his face and instinctively she reached up and touched his cheek. His lips parted in surprise. Tracing the line of his jaw as she gazed at it, Ali whispered, “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

With an abrupt jerk of his head, he looked through the leaves toward the cave’s entrance, listening. A frown pierced deeper into his rugged skin and his deep blue eyes glowed hot. “Ali,” he whispered on a rasp, “Why are you here?” Without warning, he grabbed her and smashed his lips against hers. She felt a surge rush through her and she gasped as he released her and stepped back. Shifting into an impressive wolf that looked nearly as big and black as Calt’s, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder and bounded into the darkness. She stared after him, not able to move as she heard her name called behind her.

“Coming!” her voice cracked. She ripped the fragrant leaves off the bush and wiped her mouth to hide Red’s smell, rubbing fiercely until her lips felt raw. “I’m here! Coming!”

She could see his eyes before the rest of him, the moonlight picking up their iridescent quality first, his teeth’s next, as he demanded, “Where did you go?” Ali walked up as though nothing were wrong, and saw fear behind his eyes. He had been worried for her, and the fact thrilled her.

“I had to go to the bathroom. You guys were in a meeting,” She pointed behind her. “I just went behind those bushes over there.” He glanced over and back to her.

“You are not to leave without protection. Do you understand?” His voice was deeper than normal, his glare unwavering.

She barely heard him, her mind still on the kiss. “Of course. Okay. I’m sorry.” Calt glowered at her and sniffed into the night. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. “It’s so cold out here. Did Lorn start that fire?”

Calt’s eyes flickered, the answer obviously a distracting
no
. “If she did not, she will regret it.”

Forced to think of something fast, Ali flirted with him to further his distraction, raising her eyelashes slowly as she’d seen other girls do it. “I’m sure she was just flustered, especially after having met me for the first time. And besides, you’re so intimidating, you’d drive any woman to forget herself.”

He smiled. “You are probably right.” As they headed into the passageway with him guiding her now that torches had been removed, his voice resumed its commanding strength again. “You will not go outside without supervision again. I am alpha. My laws abide.”

Ali smiled at the caveman quality of his words and reached out to place her hand on his naked chest, tracing her red-painted fingertip down it. “Whatever you say, Master.”

His eyes lit up at this and he covered her hand with his, and entwined their fingers. “I mean it, Ali.”

She nodded and let herself be led deeper into the passageway toward the room she’d tiptoed past, as butterflies fluttered in her stomach and fear danced in her veins.

Two alphas. Enemies. And now she wanted them both.