by Jade Royal
“But-” Kellan’s head snapped up when he smelled the scent of sweet blood. He put a hand up and silenced Rita immediately. She sniffed and understood his alertness.
“Go back to my cabin.” He ordered her. She listened immediately, vanishing into the woods. Kellan turned his nose to the dark sky and sniffed the air. The scent of the blood was fresh and intoxicating. His canines dropped from his gums again and began to throb. Kellan didn’t know what bloodlust felt like until that night. The blood was so sweet. he could practically taste it on his tongue.
Kellan moved through the woods swiftly, jumping over branches and trees. He moved quietly even though he was running. Stealth was always one of his strong suits. The pungent smell of the blood became stronger and stronger. Kellan came to an immediate stop as the smell slapped him across the face. but there was more. He snuck through the bushes in front of him. A lone woman was laying on her back, blood caked on her clothing and still flowing out of her body. Kellan froze. For a moment. he couldn’t breathe. The smell of the blood was overwhelming, but Kellan liked it. In fact, his wolf liked it too. and without realizing it, he was growling and salivating at the mouth. but he didn’t want to just eat the human lying dead on the forest floor. It was something else.
Getting on all fours, Kellan crawled over to her body so he could get a good look at her. Leaning over, he gazed at her like he’d never seen a human before. but truthfully, he’d never seen a woman like her. Her mane of light brown hair was splayed all around her face. Kellan used a finger and pushed her hair from her face. The scent of fresh mangos and honey filled his nose. His wolf pushed to the forefront trying to see the woman up close. Kellan kept him back. His head tilted to the side as he thought about how in the hell a woman like her ended up out here. Anger bubbled in his gut as he looked at the black eye and bruises she was sporting. Who’d hurt someone like her? She was covered in dirt and blood, and leaves were tangled in her hair, and Kellan couldn’t smell anything but her sweet blood and fruit.
Looking down her body, he pulled up her shirt. He shook his head realizing she was beyond saving. The stab wounds were too deep, and she was probably dead a little while now.
“Poor thing,” Kellan muttered. He looked back at her almond colored skin. He used his thumb and pressed it against her plump bottom lip. He was startled when he felt a slight breath escape her mouth. He tuned his ears and listened. Her heart was still beating--very faintly, but it was still there. Thoughts began running through his head as he tried to figure out what to do with her. There was no hospital near here.
“Pl-” She was trying to speak, but she had nothing left. Even with his magnified hearing, he still didn’t know what she was saying. He leaned over her so he could hear. Her eye lids were too low for him to look into her eyes.
“Just sleep.” He told her. “The pain will stop.” He didn’t know how else to guide her into death, but if she kept fighting it, it would only hurt her more.
“No.” She huffed out. “No. Die. I. Want-” She coughed. “To. Live.” A single tear ran down the side of her face. He wiped it away with his thumb. Even her tears smelled intoxicating to him and his wolf. Kellan realized she was fighting her death because she didn’t want to die. Anyone her age wouldn’t want to die, but there was only one way Kellan knew how to help her. His canines had never receded, and they only grew larger in his mouth. Saliva began dripping from his mouth. He crawled down her body to her exposed skin from where he had lifted her shirt. Without even a second thought, he brought his head down and snapped his jaw around her hip. He dug his teeth through her skin all the way down into her flesh. He latched on for a few moments.
Her body jerked under him as his saliva blended into her blood. A shrill scream left her mouth as her body finally stopped jerking. Kellan’s eyes glowed ice blue as he bit her harder. His wolf threatened to reach the surface, but if he changed, his bite would be too powerful for her body, and it could kill her. He forced his wolf back and completed the bite. She stopped screaming when he licked her wound. Her body went lax. Kellan didn’t know why he’d just did that. After all, he was just an omega, but that was going to change if this lone woman became a wolf all because of his bite.
Chapter Three
Rita watched as Kellan emerged from the woods carrying a limp female over his shoulders. Even though he was an omega, he always stopped to help someone. No one could say that about their alpha, Maverick, and the only reason most people stuck around was because there were no other packs, and lone wolves never survived. It was amazing that Kellan was even risking his life to be alone just for the sake of not being under the rule of a monster like Maverick. Rita didn’t care if they were lone wolves. She wasn’t going to stay with Maverick.
“What happened to her?” Rita asked rushing towards him. He didn’t speak until they were inside his cabin. He set her on the plush carpet of the living area in front of the fireplace.
“I found her nearly dead,” he answered her. “Do you mind helping to clean her up?” he asked. Rita nodded and immediately moved forward to undress her. The moment she got close to the female, Rita let out a gasp and backed away from her as if touching her skin was like touching a hot flame.
“What’s the matter?” Kellan asked, concerned.
“You don’t smell that?” Rita asked. Kellan felt foolish. All he could smell was the delicious scent of pastry and fruits leaking from her pores as she continued to heal. The more she healed, the stronger the scent became. It blinded him to everything else. He cleared his throat and tried to scent what Rita was talking about. His canines were ready to drop with anger when he smelled the faint scent of Maverick on her. What was Maverick doing with Kellan’s mate? Kellan shook his head, but his wolf had already sensed it.
“Shit.” Kellan snapped, moving away from her. He was nowhere ready to have a damn mate. Even if he was using it as an excuse not to form his own pack. He just didn’t want the responsibility, and now she’d fallen directly in his lap.
“I’ve never seen her before in the pack, but she smells of Maverick. I wonder what the hell is her connection to him.” Kellan jerked his head from his deep thoughts. Rita had thought he was worried over Maverick’s scent, but he wasn’t. He slapped his head and focused.
“Well, he knows her somehow,” Kellan said. “And she was left to die out in the woods. I wouldn’t put it past Maverick to try and kill a woman.”
“Oh, my!” Rita gasped. When Kellan looked, Rita had the woman’s long pants off and was looking between her legs. Kellan’s wolf snapped and snarled at her.
“What are you doing?” He roared. His wolf took over, and before Kellan could stop him, the beast emerged from his skin with a whoosh of power. He shifted in midflight landing between Rita and the woman. Naturally, Rita bowed her head afraid to look into his eyes. It was the respect of being an alpha.
“She-she has bruising in between her thighs.” Rita spoke softly. Kellan’s great big wolf used his nose and closed the female’s legs. In his wolf form, her scent nearly drove him crazy. He didn’t think he liked sweets until then. He nuzzled the female’s neck and licked her tentatively.
“Kellan,” Rita said. Kellan looked at her. He didn’t like the fright in her eyes. He wasn’t that type of man. He forced his wolf back and slowly shifted to his human form. When he was human again, he stood and went to grab something to put around his naked waist.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” h said. “My wolf just needed his presence known I guess.” Rita wasn’t stupid.
“She’s your mate, isn’t she?” Rita asked.
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t even know the damn woman.” Kellan knew he was brushing it off, but he knew the way this kind worked. It didn’t matter if he knew her or not. It wasn’t about that. Wolves mated for life, and when you met your mate, you just knew, and not many wolves ever find their mate.
“You’re gonna be an awful alpha if you keep lying like that.” Kellan cursed once he remembered the bigger pic
ture at hand.
“What?” Rita asked.
“You know I don’t want a pack,” he said to her. “But I bit her.” Rita covered her mouth.
“You turned her? You know that’s against pack rules!”
“I’m not in a pack, Rita! I’m an omega. She was fucking dying and begged me to save her. She said she wanted to live, so what else was I supposed to do? I don’t know if it was my wolf making that decision for me, but if she’s my mate, Rita, I just wasn’t gonna let her die.”
“Well, omega or not, Kellan, you made her, which means she’s gonna need you through her transition. Hell, you’re probably the only wolf she’ll let help her.”
“I know.” Kellan grumbled.
“What’s so bad about being an alpha Kellan? Your parents were the best alpha pair and-”
“And now they’re dead, Rita. I loved being in my pack until they died. When you’re in charge, you’re so vulnerable, and even if you’re smarter than any fucking wolf in the pack, as long as one wolf is stronger than you, then they have a chance to become alpha. N--no matter how dumb and tyrannical they are. All these fucking politics, and in the end, none of it fucking matters.” Rita knew the shame he felt that he wasn’t admitting to her.
“No one cares about what happened, Kellan,” she said. “Well, I mean, we do care, but we don’t blame you for any of it!” Kellan’s wolf eyes lit up the cabin.
“That bastard kills my father, then rapes my mother in front of me, and I could do nothing.” Kellan gritted. “You think anyone would want me as an alpha? I, if I can’t protect my own God damn mother?” Kellan was seething with hurt and pain. The only reason he didn’t kill the bastard was because he would become alpha and Kellan couldn’t take the place his father stood in, not after what Kellan allowed to happen to his mother.
“No one could have protected her!” Rita shouted.
“An alpha protects his own, Rita, and I broke the first unspoken rule, and you expect me to be someone’s protector?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now, Kellan, because I’m not leaving your side, and you bit her!.” Kellan looked back to the woman still sleeping on the ground.
“I’ll find her a pack,” he mumbled. “And you too. I’ll find a place for the both of you.”
“Stubborn wolf,” she mumbled in return. “I’m going to take her out back so I can clean her. I’ll make sure not to look at her goodies either before your wolf bites my damn head off.” Kellan snapped his teeth at her.
“Shut up.” He grunted. Even though his wolf wanted a taste of her, Kellan had to keep back as Rita washed the woman up. He didn’t want to violate her while she was sleeping, but his instincts were hard to control. Rita was strong enough to carry the woman with her strength, so Kellan just turned and left them alone. He seriously needed to think about what the hell he’d just done, and he was hoping like hell the woman who he’d saved wouldn’t be pissed the fuck off at what he’d turned her into.
Chapter Four
Bliss was having the best sleep she’d ever had. Her bones were tingling, and her body was humming as if she wasn’t the same battered woman that she was before--as if she was reborn again. The darkness of her unconsciousness began to recede as she slowly came to. It hit her then that Maverick had stabbed her in the stomach and dumped her out in the woods, leaving her for dead. Bliss jumped up screaming.
“It’s okay!” A soothing voice called out to her. Bliss blinked, her vision blurry. She saw the fuzzy outline of a woman sitting near her.
“Where am I?” she asked. “Why can’t I see?”
“Your vision is adjusting,” the woman said. “May take a couple hours for it to finally clear up.” Rita knew that her vision was blurry because her enhanced vision from her wolf was trying to mend in place. Kellan, however, forbade Rita to say anything about being a shifter to the woman, but the moment she was awake, her smell was potent in Rita’s senses, and she could understand why it captivated Kellan.
“What does that mean?” Bliss asked.
“You’ve been asleep for a long time,” was all Rita said. Bliss felt her face. She was sure to feel the bruises Maverick left her with, but there was nothing. She lifted the silk slip she had on, but her stomach was free of any kind of wounds. Her body was just continuously humming with this feeling that she was a new person. Behind her blurry eyes, the vision of a small animal, almost like a wolf came to her mind. She jumped fearing that she was actually seeing a wolf in the room with her.
“What’s the matter?” the woman in front of her asked.
“I-I just thought I saw a wolf in the room,” Bliss answered quietly. Rita just smiled at her and didn’t answer. Because she was able to see a vision of a wolf, her wolf to be exact, meant that she had turned successfully. The only uphill battle now was surviving the change, and the full moon was two weeks away.
“What’s your name?” Rita asked her. “My name is Rita.”
“I’m…My name is Bliss,” she replied softly. Rita raised her brows.
“Bliss?” Rita hadn’t ever heard a name like that before.
“My mom died in childbirth. Before she passed, she told my father that he wasn’t to cry at her loss, and even though she was dying, she gave birth to a beautiful girl, and it was blissful, so my dad, being as genius as he was, named me Bliss.” Bliss felt the tears leaving her eyes as she thought about the woman she never met and the father who ended up betraying her.
“Don’t cry,” Rita said leaning forward. She wiped the woman’s face. “Your name is beautiful, Bliss.”
“Thanks,” Bliss mumbled. “How did I get here?”
“Kellan found you in the woods. Speaking of, what the heck happened to you?” Bliss didn’t want to talk about it.
“I had wounds. How come I don’t even have a scar?” she asked instead.
“We’re all good healers,” Rita responded. What did that even mean? Bliss was so confused. She held her head as she felt an intense humming inside her. The vision of a wolf pacing came to her again.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” Rita said. Again, Bliss didn’t understand how this strange woman knew that something was going on in her head.
“I need to get out of here,” Bliss said, pulling the sheets from over her legs.
“No, you shouldn’t go anywhere. You need to stay calm and just rest.”
“I don’t think so. Since I’m alive, I need to be halfway across the country, like now.” She didn’t want Maverick or her father learning she was alive and coming after her to finish their job. Even if the circumstances were freaky as hell, she was alive, and that’s all that mattered. She turned her legs out to the edge of the bed ready to get up. The woman in front of her just slid down the bed and allowed her to get up.
Rita figured she wouldn’t listen, so she just watched, and as Rita anticipated, Bliss got up and fell straight on her face. Newly bitten wolves didn’t just lose their vision for a couple hours after they were bitten. Their coordination was off, and all senses were being heightened, but until they were at their full potential, all senses were practically nonexistent, so Bliss couldn’t see, smell, or hear anything from her heightened abilities for a couple days. If she was able to smell, then her wolf would have recognized Rita as a shifter, but she had to admit the woman was resilient. Even though she couldn’t see or walk, she picked herself up and held herself against the oak dresser in Kellan’s cabin.
“What did you do to me? Why can’t I walk?”
“Your muscles need time to adjust, sweetheart. Same reason you can’t see clearly yet.”
“This all doesn’t make any sense! I want-” She stopped shouting and turned her nose up to the ceiling. She took a deep breath and inhaled through her nose. Rita stood up slowly. She was in awe. Bliss shouldn’t have been able to smell anything, and the only thing that Rita smelled was Kellan coming towards the room.
“What is that smell?” Bliss asked dreamily. She’d never smelled anything that intense before. It was
like a sweet honeyed ginger, mixed with the scent of trees and woods and freshly fallen rain. It hardly made any sense, but Bliss’ mouth started to water. She felt her skin heating up as if she was being burned slowly on a rotisserie stick.
“You smell that?” Rita gasped. Bliss just nodded. Her blurry vision went straight to the door as the smell grew nearer.
Kellan walked through the doorway of the room where the woman he’d bitten was being kept. He heard her yelling and figured she was probably panicking about her situation. When he walked into the room, she was holding herself up against the dresser. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes looked straight at him. He knew she couldn’t see him because her eyes were glazed over with a white film, providing proof that her wolf was changing her human body, but she sensed immediately that he was in the room, something she shouldn’t have been able to do, since he didn’t speak or make any noise. Rita was standing with her mouth open.
What happened? Kellan asked, speaking into Rita’s mind. She replied while looking at the woman.
She can smell you. Kellan understood the shock. There was no way she should have been able to smell him. The only thing she should have been able to do was see visions of the new wolf inside her, but even though she couldn’t see, she was looking directly at him.
“You shouldn’t be out of bed.” Kellan finally spoke. “You’re still weak.” Even though he said that, she didn’t attempt to go back to the bed. She just stayed standing there looking at him.
Bliss was frustrated that she couldn’t see the man she heard speaking. His voice radiated through her bones making her mewl in delight.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m the one that found you in the woods,” he responded. Bliss leaned off the dresser, the urge to go to him more than she could bear.
Kellan saw her stumbling to head towards him. He closed the distance between them quickly and caught her before she fell on the ground. He held her around the waist. Her body was curvy in his arms. He tried not to grab her ass, but his wolf was egging him on. Her scent was so vibrant, it was damn near killing him. She seemed to be just as captivated by him because she was rubbing her cheek against his and digging her head into his neck.
