by Jade Royal
“Interesting,” Jayce said. He stood and looked at Kellan.
“What now?”
“We need to go back to our territory and figure some things out.”
“We can carry Dell back to-” Kellan cut Mira off.
“All of you come with us. The rest of you need to heal and wait for your alpha to come out of his healing sleep. Once he does, you can continue onto your own territory.”
“Thank you alpha,” Mira sighed.
“Kellan,” he smiled at her. “Let’s go.” He and Tristan lifted Dell to carry him to their large cave while the others followed them. Mira smartly walked next to Jayce soaking up his emotions for him and allowing him to stay calm for the journey back.
Bliss was waiting for them at the entrance of the cave. The moment they climbed through the waterfall there she was waiting to greet them. Kellan put Dell on the ground and kissed his mate. He introduced her as the alpha female before letting them into the cave.
“It looks like Maverick is attacking any pack he finds,” Kellan said.
“This time he attacked this pack with Rita at his side. He was able to get away before we found them.”
“So what do we do now?” Bliss asked.
“We have the locations of all his businesses. And tonight we make the move to search each and every one. I don’t plan on stopping the search until we have Rita or something concrete. Even if it takes us all night,” Kellan replied.
“So we should all rest up and prepare,” Bliss said.
“You, Kyra, and Gemma are not coming with us,” Kellan said sternly before walking off. He led the other pack to the living area where they could relax before helping to carry Dell to a vacant room to sleep off the rest of his healing. Even if he’d walked away from Bliss she was talking angrily in his head cursing him about his choice to exclude her. When he went back to the kitchen where he’d left her, she was still there standing with her arms crossed.
“You don’t have the power to tell me what to do you know,” she said. Kellan groaned in frustration.
“Bliss,” he growled.
“Leave me alone before I end up saying something rude. I’m your fucking alpha. I gave an order. That’s it. Ask anyone what the punishment is for disobeying an order.” He grabbed a bottle of beer before stomping away. Bliss rolled her eyes and looked at the she-wolves.
“I don’t understand why I’m the alpha female if I don’t get a say in what goes on,” Bliss shook her head.
“You are the alpha female Bliss, but Kellan is still the alpha too. And if you would have given an order I’m pretty sure he would follow you,” Kyra said.
“Maybe you should be open to compromise a little bit more instead of being quick to pull the alpha card. No one is challenging your role. And you, out of us all should listen to Kellan the most. He is your mate after all,” Gemma added. Bliss sighed and crossed her arms. For a moment she dropped her feelings and focused on her mate. Sure enough he was agitated, and hurt. Bliss suddenly felt like the bitch she’d been treating her mate like.
“Oh no,” she sighed. She ran off without another word to the direction of Kellan. She found him in their bedroom pacing. He was drinking his beer while digging his claws into his palm on his free hand.
“What are you doing?” Bliss asked. She went over to him and unclenched his hand. He began to heal immediately.
“I’m frustrated, and self-pain helps me not inflict pain on anyone else.”
“I’m sorry,” Bliss blurted out.
“You’re right. You are the alpha, and even though I wanna be fighting at your side, I have to be smart about my role here. And I feel like such a bitch for causing you all this damn trouble. When I should be sticking by your side. If you don’t wanna be mated anymore, then I understand how you-”
“Bliss,” he waved her off.
“Wolves don’t break up,” he said. “Not after completing the mating bond. We will always have our differences, but I’m here to protect and love you. And I need you by my side. No king was ever successful without a queen. I’m nothing without you, and our bond makes us more powerful than any other being out there. That’s why we have to stay on the same page. Maverick is collecting women. I can’t willingly bring women out there to fight him. It wouldn’t make sense. So I need you to understand that when I make orders, I don’t do it for my own good. Being dominant is a double edge sword Bliss. It’s hard for me to submit. But if there was any wolf in this world that I would submit to, it’ll be my mate. So if you can’t submit to me Bliss and know that I won’t take advantage of you, then we’re going to be in for a rocky relationship.”
“I don’t want to make it hard on us,” she said.
“And I’ll try. I promise I will.” She went down on her knees as a sign of submission. Kellan leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
“Don’t make me have to give you this talk again,” he warned. “Because we won’t be talking.” He got down on his knees in front of her as well and embraced her in a hug before kissing her deeply.
********
Rita appeared calm as Maverick paced around the kitchen, slamming things and punching the walls. Amber, Maya, and Brandy were sitting around the table eating quietly. Rory and Levi were posted up against the walls. Maverick was pissed off about a couple of things. His plans weren’t going as he imagined. Including Hera still not in heat.
“I can’t believe you’re still not in heat,” Maverick grunted.
“They said the medicine would work.”
“It’s human medicine. It shouldn’t work on us,” Rita said. Maverick looked at her. After what happened earlier he was still trying to figure something out with Rita.
“I smelled him in the woods. Kellan,” he said.
“That’s why I ran away through the water. But I wanna know how he found us.”
“She was probably trying to trap you,” Hera snorted.
“You know that’s not true,” Rita spoke up for herself.
“So is the pack close to here?” Maverick asked her.
“I don’t know where here is Maverick!” she exclaimed. “And truthfully I didn’t tell you where my pack was because I didn’t know where they went.”
“She’s full of it,” Hera snapped.
“Shut up,” Maverick gritted. He looked at Rita.
“You’re going to help me capture your old pack,” he ordered. He was expecting a doubtful or a scared reaction, but Rita simply shrugged.
“Okay,” she said. “But if I go up against Kellan you have to protect me no matter what. If I have your protection, then we have a deal. And I want to be your alpha female,” Rita added looking at Hera. Maverick simply smiled.
“If you can prove to be a promising alpha female then the gig is all yours.”
“You can stay here, or you can come and find out,” Rita smiled turning and walking away.
“Don’t fall for her trap!” Hera screeched. Rita made sure to wink at the girls as she left the kitchen, so they understood she didn’t mean any of what she just said. But for her outcry, Maverick slapped Hera hard sending her to the ground. She fell in a heap before Maverick followed after Rita. So far she was looking like one of the best choices he made. The other three wolves were quiet and seemed content with the fact that this was where they were going to live now. The only person ruining things was Hera. And Maverick was getting real sick of her.
“She’s going to ruin things,” Rita said as they entered his large bedroom. “Hera.”
“Don’t worry about her,” Maverick grunted.
“I’ll fix her up just like I fixed you up.” Rita slid onto the bed nerves beginning to take over. Was she really about to give herself to a wolf that wasn’t her mate? It seemed so wrong, but she knew it was the only way to eventually rescue herself and the three wolves. And if she had to sacrifice herself then so be it.
“I’m not really good at this,” she said pulling down her pants slowly. Maverick watched her as she stripped.
“So you’re going to have to tell me how you like it.” Rita knew that feeding into his ego would gain her more points, so she was going for it.
“First I’m going to taste you again,” he said. “And then I want you on top of me. Showing me, you can be the alpha female.” Rita nodded and fell back onto the bed with her legs splayed open. Like the first time; when his tongue touched her insides, all she felt was the wetness of his mouth slobbering over her. There was no pleasure, and she had to force herself not to be disgusted. But he was moaning and groaning like his life depended on it, and she knew she had to show some sort of excitement. Closing her eyes, she envisioned Jayce’s face. She didn’t think about Jayce being the one licking her right now. She made sure to just conjure up the memory of when he did have his tongue on her. And that’s what made her moan. That’s what powered her to show any kind of emotion to Maverick.
“Oh Maverick,” she moaned. “It feels so good.” But it didn’t. Thinking of Jayce just allowed for her moans to be real.
“That’s how a real wolf does it,” he said. Rita rolled her eyes but continued to moan. He rose up after giving her one last lick. He stood and began undoing his pants. Thankfully his dick wasn’t ugly. Then she would have a hard time pretending to like.
“Before I have you on top I just want a little sample,” he groaned. Pushing her legs back he nudged her opening with his tip. Again, Rita was thanking the heavens that Maverick’s size didn’t compare to Jayce’s whatsoever. She snapped her eyes shut still as he penetrated her body. His moans of pleasure made her cringe. She didn’t want anyone feeling pleasure from her body but Jayce, but there was nothing for her to do now.
“I can’t wait until you’re in heat,” he growled as he began to move faster and faster. “If you feel this good now you’re gonna be fucking amazing in heat.” Rita grabbed hold of his shoulders as he began thrusting harder and she had nothing else to hold onto. And the moment she did hold onto him he began fucking her ferally as if he couldn’t get enough. He clasped his hand around her throat and pummeled her into the mattress. She felt him swelling inside her and was thinking hard about not getting his seed inside her. Even if she was giving herself to him, making him spill his seed inside her was another level that she refused to climb. Seeing no other option, she pushed at him until he rolled over and got herself on top of him.
“I thought you wanted me to ride it,” she growled sexily. He dug his claws into her hips with a creepy smile on his face. She grinded against him which she wasn’t necessarily good at but because his dick was smaller than Jayce’s she was able to fake the funk. Maverick was in over his head with pleasure moaning and groaning as if this was the first time he ever had sex. Leaning forward, she braced her hands against his chest and rode him harder. His dick swelled inside her, and he let out a groan from deep within his gut. Rita quickly moved off of his dick letting it flop outside of her just as he released his seed. She wrapped her hand around his softening shaft and jerked him off so he couldn’t complain about her not letting him come inside her. Breathing heavily, Rita sat on his lap and watched him catch his breath. An enormous amount of guilt began to filter through her body. She knew why she did what she did, but that didn’t ease up the guilt. She felt embarrassed and used.
“Damn Rita,” he groaned slapping her ass.
“You’re just a good a piece of ass like Bliss was. I see threesome’s in our future.” He rose up on his elbows.
“Think you can keep up?” Rita teased him, trying to push her guilt away, so he didn’t sense it.
“Keep up?” he smiled. He carefully picked her up and moved her to the side so he could get up. He went into the bathroom for a warm wash cloth that he brought back to Rita. She couldn’t clean herself fast enough. He wiped himself down, but already Rita saw him getting aroused.
“Come here,” he said lowly taking her by the ankle. Rita allowed him to pick her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He placed her against the far wall next to the large window still holding her up. He found her entrance again and forced his way inside her. Rita wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, so she didn’t have to look at him. With her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, he began grinding within her. Naturally, her body’s response to penetration provided lubrication for his thrusts. He thought it was because she enjoyed it, but really it was just mother nature.
“You’re gonna be my alpha female,” he grunted. Rita sensed the change in his voice. She picked her head up from his neck to see his canines had filled his mouth. Before she could squirm out of reach, he was biting down on her neck. Rita’s system was shocked by the bite. Her wolf inside her stood at attention growling at the unfamiliar bite. She was ready to charge at the intruder, but the silver cuffs kept her from emerging. But he was doing it whether she wanted him to or not. He was marking her.
The door to the bedroom burst open. Hera stood in the doorway holding one of the guns they use to shoot wolfs bane at wolves.
“Maverick!” Rita yelled. But he was too stuck on biting her. Hera aimed the gun at his back and shot twice. Maverick’s teeth pried from her skin, ripping her flesh. She let out a scream of agony as purple smoke rose from Maverick’s wounds. He slipped out of her and fell to the ground.
“I’m supposed to be the alpha female! I’ll kill you and ruin all your plans before I let you throw me to the side like trash. Matter of fact I think I’ll take over from where you left once you and your cronies are all fucking dead!” She aimed the gun towards Rita and squeezed the trigger, but nothing shot out.
“Fuck!” she screamed. Hera dropped the gun and ran out of the room. Maverick coughed on the ground trying to roll over. Again, Rita had to think on her toes.
“That bitch!” Rita screamed. “I’m gonna kill her!” She looked down at Maverick. “No one threatens our empire,” she said.
“Go get that bitch,” he coughed. Rita smiled evilly not because she wanted to attack Hera for Maverick, but because her plan was still working. Maverick was starting to get up and even though he was poisoned he would be able to burn it out of himself quickly. Rita moved fast, making sure to grab the key to the silver cuffs from the pocket of his jeans that were thrown on the floor. She bolted out of the room not even caring where Hera went. Running down the hall, she started to fear that Hera did something to the girls. She ran all the way back to the bedroom where they were being kept. Flying the door open she was happy to see they were unharmed.
“Thank goodness!” Rita breathed. They launched off the bed and gave Rita a group hug.
“Hera went nuts! She shot Rory and Levi with the wolfs bane and then ran to come and get you. Rory and Levi ran off somewhere with the poison in their bodies, and we just ran back to the room,” Brandy said. Rita could tell in their inexperience that they didn’t know what to do. But she was glad they hadn’t taken off.
“Look, there’s not much time,” Rita said. She whipped out the key to the cuffs and immediately took them off. Each of the girls fell as the power of their wolves were released. Rita kept her composure as she got the cuffs off her wrists and her ankles.
“I know you’re weak, but you have to fight through it. Let’s go.” Rita led the way out of the room and to the same door that Maverick had taken her through earlier. She hadn’t seen Rory or Levi, so there was no one to stop them. As they ran past the kitchen, Rita grabbed a knife.
“We gotta go straight to the woods,” Rita said.
“About a half hour of a walk is where I heard my mate. I think my pack is around there somewhere. It’s just to find them.” She punched in the code to the door that she remembered from earlier. As the door opened, Maverick let out a loud howl.
“Shit!” Rita cursed. “He’s burning the wolfs bane out. We gotta-” A burning sensation ripped through Rita as the girls screamed. Turning around, Hera had the gun again, and this time it was reloaded with the poison.
“Run,” Rita gasped as she fell to the ground, looking at the girls. With the
knife in her hand, she cut the ends of one of her locks. She put it in Brandy’s hand.
“GO!” The three wolves took off immediately, running at speeds to let Rita know that their powers were returning to their bodies. Rita knew she could beat Hera in a fight but with poison in her system, there was no way she would have enough strength. Hera strutted towards Rita, her canines dripping with saliva and her eyes the color of her wolf.
“You’ll regret ever fucking with me little wolf,” she spat. Maverick howled again, and this time it was with tenacity. The both of them felt his power throughout the house. Hera smiled evilly and turned the gun on herself and pulled the trigger. She grazed her shoulder with the wolfs bane. It wasn’t enough to impact her completely, but it was enough to inflict pain. She growled and dropped the gun before jumping over Rita and sprinting out of the door.
Maverick thundered through the house running hard until he found Rita on the ground in front of the back door. Purple smoke was filtering through her stomach.
“Hera shot me,” she gasped out.
“She let the girls go free and took the cuffs off me just to make sure my wolf felt the wolfsbane,” Maverick growled in anger and scooped Rita up off the floor. He shut the door with his foot and carried Rita to the kitchen where he took a lighter and burned the wolfs bane out of Rita’s body. She screamed as it left her body before she flopped down.
“Rory and Levi both got shot too,” Rita said.
“I know. I feel it through our bond. I’ll go burn out the poison with them in a minute.”
“What are we going to do?” Rita asked.
“Hera is threatening everything,” Maverick grunted and hit the counter with his fist.
“I don’t know, but that shit pisses me off,” he stated. “I need time to think.” He scooped her up again and carried her all the way up to his large bedroom. He pulled out another set of cuffs and applied it to her wrist.
“Sorry baby girl. I gotta protect all my assets to a tee now.” Rita tried not to cry as the power of her wolf was clamped down again. Maverick kissed her on the forehead before he left the room, closing the door. Rita threw her head back, slamming it against the bedhead. She sucked back her tears. Her plan had worked. She was able to get the girls free. But she was supposed to be with them. Now all she could do was wish the girls made it somewhere safe.
