Tamed by the Mistress: BBW/Alpha Male Werewolf Romantic Erotica (Smut-Shorties Book 13)
Read Tamed by the Mistress: BBW/Alpha Male Werewolf Romantic Erotica (Smut-Shorties Book 13) Online
Authors: Mina Carter
Tags: #Paranormal (werewolf) romantic erotica
Tamed by the Mistress
Smut-Shorties Series: Book 13
MINA CARTER
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Copyright 2014 Mina Carter
Cover Art
by Mina Carter
Published
by Blue Hedgehog Press: Feb 2015.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. 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 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Author's note: All sexually active characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older
Chapter One
As soon as Reena set foot into the Griffin pack house, she knew something was wrong. The air stank of deceit and desperation. A scent so strong, she tasted it in the back of her throat.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded, her voice pitched to carry. She didn’t care that she had just arrived or this was not her house. As Mistress of the City and overlord of all lycans, all pack houses were her territory. And right now, all the hairs on the back of her neck told her this one was in trouble.
“My lady…I’m so sorry, we weren’t informed you would be visiting today,” the young woman who’d opened the door said, bowing and refusing to look Reena or her companion in the eye. Her skin was pale, pulse elevated…
Reena frowned, exchanging a glance with Isla, her captain of the guard. The taller woman shrugged, her expression saying clearly
I got nothing
.
“It’s not a problem, I often drop into pack houses unannounced. No blame will be attached to you,” she promised. And it wouldn’t. She might have a reputation as a cast-iron bitch birthed from a hellhound itself, but she’d never lift a hand or claw to an innocent. “If you’d fetch the Alpha for me.”
The girl began to quake, but she didn’t get a chance to answer. Instead, a roar rang through the house, one so loud it made even Reena wince. It was a sound of pain and anger, of torment and fury. A wolf in agony.
Her head snapped around to the girl, and she put a hand under her chin to make her look up. “Who is that?” Reena’s voice was deadly calm, one that plainly said she would not accept a lie for an answer.
The girl’s eyes filled with tears. “I-it’s Master Archer, ma’am. He’s…was human.”
Archer. Reena dropped her hold on the girl’s jaw like she’d been stung. Archer Griffin, who’d shared her bed not three nights past. The Midwinter Offering who disappeared before she awoke.
Human? There had to be some mistake. He’d been alpha through and through at the ball.
Another bellow rang through the mansion, rattling windows. A small glass figurine on the cabinet fell to the left and shattered.
Whatever he was, he was in pain. And if he’d been human…a horrible suspicion formed in her mind.
“Where?” she demanded, her voice harsh. The command hung in the air.
The girl jerked as though she’d been hit. “The basement.”
The small turn of her head was all the information Reena needed. Her wolf snarled within, echoing the sounds of torment that filled the halls, and she set off. Her heels clicked on the stone flooring, Isla’s boots silent in contrast, as the two followed the sounds through the house until they found the basement’s entrance.
The scent hit them as soon as Reena opened the door. Wolf. Male. Virile. In need.
Isla coughed, biting back a choke. “Fuck me. Smells like someone needs to get laid. Bad.”
“Yeah. No kidding.” Reena didn’t delay, heading down the steps toward the deafening bellows. It was easy to find the source of the pain and within minutes she stood in a doorway looking into what could only be described as a containment cell.
Archer was chained to a wall. Naked to the waist, he thrashed and pulled at his bonds, the muscles in his body straining as he tried to break free. In frustration he threw back his head and howled. A sound no human could make.
“Archer, please,” the woman in front of him sobbed. “You have to calm down, you’ll make yourself worse.”
“What the hell is going on?” Reena demanded, striding into the room. All eyes turned to her. As well as Archer and the woman, she recognized an older man.
“Johnathon,” she nodded at the Griffin pack alpha, keeping her shock at his frail appearance off her face. The last time she’d seen Alpha Griffin, he’d been in good health, and although a wolf with more years than most, he had still been formidable. Now he just looked old.
“What’s the matter with him?” She nodded toward Archer. “Is he feral?”
“No…no, he’s not feeling well,” the woman insisted, turning to look at Reena through teary eyes. Her face paled, and she stuttered, looking down. “My lady, I’m sorry…I didn’t realize it was you.”
“No problem.” Reena waved dismissively and switched her attention to the man chained to the wall. Instantly her body responded, remembering their night together. Her wolf whimpered with need. Soothing the animal, she put her own needs to the side to consider the situation in front of her.
Archer had stopped howling. Instead, he watched her steadily. Intently. His eyes were bright amber, a sign his predator was just under the skin. The concrete walls behind him were gashed with deep gouges. She flicked a glance to his hands. Blood dripped from the torn skin at the ends of his fingers.
“How long has he been like this?” she asked, looking at Johnathon. The woman looked up and Reena blinked in surprise. She had Archer’s features, but softer, and more feminine. She was everything prized in lycan society; tall and slender with a delicate beauty. Quite unlike Reena’s shorter, curvier build. Made no difference what her human form looked like, though. As a she-wolf, she was big and just plain mean. “You’re his mother?”
She nodded, her hand wavering as though she couldn’t decide whether to cover her throat or her mouth. Fear rolled from her pores at being faced with the big bad. Reena suppressed her sigh. She’d long ago come to terms with the fact that people were more than ready to believe she really was a monster.
“A couple of days,” Johnathon answered, taking his wife’s hand and pulling her against his side. Not to protect her from Reena, but more for reassurance, if the hand rubbing her shoulder was any indication. “We think he deliberately infected himself to attend the Choosing.”
Reena’s brows snapped together and she ignored Archer trying to get into her field of vision in favor of looking at his…parents? The woman was definitely his mother, but she was sure Johnathon had only one son. One a lot younger than Archer.
“Crap,” she muttered, as the pieces fit into place. Griffin was a very small pack. “How old is your son…” She paused to search her memory, flicking a glance toward Archer when he started to growl. As soon as she looked at him, he stopped and watched her. “Seth. How old is Seth now?”
“Sixteen. Just mastered his part-shift,” Johnathon said proudly. “He’ll be a true alpha.”
Sixteen. An adult in their world. Her gaze shifted to Archer and she took a step forward. Chains rattled as he tried to meet her halfway. A snarl rumbled from his chest, his lips curling back as he yanked on his bonds.
“Looks like you’ve got more than one alpha in the family.” Keeping her eyes on him, she spoke over her shoulder. At the sound of her voice Archer stopped struggling and focused on her again. “He was at the choosing in place of Seth. Told me his pack was Griffin.”
“But…how?” Johnathon’s voice was confused. “He was human.”
“Was.” She kept her voice low and took another step forward.
The sharp intake of breath behind her told her Isla wasn’t happy about the situation. Reena didn’t blame her. As captain of the guard, Isla’s job was to make sure Reena came to no harm. Which was a bit of a shitty position if anyone stopped to consider it. If someone wanted to kill Reena, they’d have to be loaded for wolf, bear, and possibly tyrannosaurus rex to boot.
Reena waved her off, her raised hand indicating she knew what she was doing. She did. Honestly. Well.... Archer was a wolf, that much was evident, but he still wasn’t through the conversion madness which meant he could turn on anyone, even family and those he loved, without warning. She didn’t blame them for locking him up. A wolf was never as strong or as deadly after the conversion madness.
To display a full alpha scent mere hours after infection… She shivered as a thrill chased over her skin. That meant he was going to be an alpha the likes of which came along once in a lifetime. A true bitten alpha. A man to match her.
If
he survived the conversion. Not everyone did.
But there was a way to help…
“Out.” Her order rang in the close confines of the basement. “All of you. Out. Now.”
Isla stepped forward. “My lady…it’s too dangerous.”
“Why?” Archer’s mother broke in, confusion written on her features. “What’s she going to do?”
“Come along, dear.” Johnathon urged her toward the door, but she resisted, looking at Reena. “She’s not going to hurt him, is she?”
Reena turned to look the other woman directly in the eye, her own expression hard and unrelenting. “No, I’m not going to hurt him; I just might save him.”
The others filed out, leaving her alone with the man chained to the wall. Her heart sped, pounding in her throat as she finally allowed herself to study him.
Tall and broad-shouldered, his frame was packed with muscle. Way more than most wolves when they were human, and that difference made her mouth water and her fingers itch to explore again. The night of the ball seemed decades…centuries ago and she ached to touch him. She resisted, barely, and carried on her inspection. His smooth, tanned skin was marked here and there with scars, more evidence he hadn’t been born a wolf. Wolves hardly ever scarred, not without significant or sustained damage.
He stared back as she looked at him, eyes still bright amber. A predator watching his prey. This was the most dangerous part of the conversion process—when man and beast fought for supremacy. And it was more dangerous for men than women. Way more dangerous. On the whole, women were more grounded, less aggressive. They dealt with the violent tendencies of their wolf easier, could counter-balance the feral side with a calming, nurturing one.
Men…they could fall victim to the primal side of both man and beast. If that happened, they were lost. Mad. The only way to deal with them was to put them down. Permanently.
Their gazes locked for a few seconds, then she took a half step forward. He burst into movement, surging forward until the chains jerked him. Arms chained behind him, his body stretched in an arc of hard, muscle-corded masculinity. His breath washed over the skin of her neck, his lips mere inches away. If he wanted, he could close that little distance and bury his teeth into the soft flesh.
She froze. Waiting.
Slowly, he breathed in, inhaling her scent. A low rumble emanated from the broad expanse of his chest. He didn’t seem inclined to rip her throat out. Careful with her movements, she lifted her hand to touch his chest. He stilled, head up as he looked down at her. Even chained to the wall he towered over her, but she didn’t care.
“You’re not going to hurt me, are you, Archer?” she murmured, stepping forward. Even in high heels she had to lift on her toes to reach his mouth, pausing for a moment to search his eyes. “You remember me, remember my scent…remember what we shared.”
Then she kissed him.
Chapter Two
There had been too many people and too much noise, but they’d all gone now, leaving Archer alone with the little female who smelled delicious enough to eat. Good. Their talking, the words nonsensical and sharp, had hurt his ears and the fury—this snarling, rabid thing within him—surged to the fore. A demon beneath his flesh, it urged him to bite and tear, to claw and rend gobbets of flesh from their bodies so he could feast. It wanted to taste the heat of their blood as it slipped down his throat to assuage the thirst within him.