by Delta James
As she came again, James’ canines elongated and sharpened and he sank his teeth into the space between the hollow of her throat and the beginning of her collarbone. He could feel his bite break the skin and tasted the blood from the wound. He only dimly heard her cry of pain as he continued to hold her within his grasp and bit down even more firmly, shaking her gently and marking her as his own.
He released her and began to kiss, nibble, and nuzzle his way back up her neck, kissing her deeply before grasping her even more tightly. When she orgasmed and her pussy spasmed around him, he felt his semen rushing up and spilt more of himself into her than he ever had with any other woman. She clung to him and seemed reluctant to have him leave her. He soothed her.
“Don’t...”
Before she could finish, he shushed her and bent to kiss the savage bite mark tenderly and reverently.
“If I tried to uncouple from you now, I would hurt you even worse than I already have. We will be tied together...”
She placed her hands on either side of his head and brought his mouth down to hers so she could kiss him deeply.
“For hours, according to Catherine.”
He nodded, smiling. “Yes. I can roll us over so you don’t have to bear my weight.”
She shook her head. “No. I rather like feeling you all along and in my body. That was pretty damn amazing, except for that part where you took a chunk out of my throat. I don’t recall agreeing to that... what’s it called? Marking?”
“Yes. And you didn’t agree because I didn’t ask you. As desperately as I needed to breach you with my knot, even more I needed to mark you as mine.”
“I guess I won’t need those makeup appliances Martina made for me,” she giggled.
“I suppose not. I have this insane need to ask you if I hurt you but I know being marked and breached are both painful. And I should apologize but I’m not sure I’ve ever been as compelled to do anything in my life as I was both of those.”
“But the marking thing is done, right?”
He leaned down and gently kissed the angry mark. “Yes, sweetheart.”
“Then we’re good. And I will have to tell my sister she was right. That being knotted thing hurts, but oh, my God, what comes after is so worth it.”
He grinned. “I’m awfully glad to hear that because nothing ever felt more right in my life as driving into you and feeling you bow up into me as your body accepted it.”
They spent the rest of the tie talking about what they wanted from their future together. James was gladdened to realize that Shannon had accepted they were meant to be fated mates and that they had so much in common. They had laughed about how with all they had been through this was the first time they had to really talk and get to know one another.
When the knot finally subsided, James gently disengaged from her, causing her to wince. He kissed her tenderly and left their bed despite her protests to find a washcloth and gently bathe her wound. Once that was done, he crawled back into their bed, lay on his back, and pulled a sleepy Shannon into the crook of his shoulder so that she was nestled against him with her body half on top of his as he wedged his leg between hers. James looked down at her and brushed her hair out of her face. She nuzzled him and was almost instantaneously asleep.
* * *
James woke the next morning to a soft knocking on their door. Ensuring Shannon was modestly covered, he reached for the gun in his nightstand, putting it under the covers and then called for whomever to enter.
He chuckled as the scent of the food from the tray Will had in his hands reached Shannon’s nostrils and her nose twitched as she started to wake.
“Good morning, James. I thought you and your lady might like a bit of...” Will stopped as he saw the vivid, but healing evidence of James’ marking on Shannon’s throat. “Breakfast? Should I get something for that?”
Shannon sat up, pulling the covers up to cover her. “That smells delicious.” She looked at James, who was smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat. “I thought you English were supposed to have terrible food.”
“That would be we English, sweetheart and we do. I’m actually surprised that it smells so good. What is it?”
Will laughed. “Tony saw what they were making and insisted we weren’t eating any of that. He threw together this amazing frittata. We waited until the last moment. People are starting to gather downstairs. Your father wants you down there in about an hour. He seemed surprised at first that you were not already up. Tony and I assured him that you enjoyed the conjugal delights of your mate.”
Shannon rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet he liked that.”
“Hardly,” said James. “What he likes is the idea that I’m up here breeding you like the other prime stock here at the estate.”
Shannon turned and kissed him deeply. “Do not let him tarnish what is between us.”
He felt his body relax and respond to the soft purring coming from her. It seemed his Shannon had learned how to use her own power as an alpha female to soothe. He idly wondered if she realized she was an alpha.
“You are right, my beloved. Forgive me.”
“Forgiven. Now feed me, Will. I fear fucking your alpha has left me famished.”
James growled at her as Will laughed, setting the tray on the end of the bed and leaving them alone.
“That is not how you speak to our omega.”
“Wanna bet?” she teased.
He shook his head. “Don’t get any silly notions of being able to do whatever you want just because you’ve yielded to my sexual prowess.”
“Your sexual prowess? Seriously? What do you call what I did?”
“Yielding to my dominant possession...”
She looked at him, arching her eyebrow as she did so. They both laughed and enjoyed sharing the frittata in bed, feeding one another without the use of any utensils.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After they showered and dressed, James and Shannon left their room and went downstairs and into the great hall. Tony and Will had been waiting for them at the foot of the stairs and followed them in. The men James had felt would back their claim acknowledged him as they spread throughout the room and James led Shannon to a place up close to his father.
A fairly good size crowd had gathered, but James was able to recognize that the few men from the millhouse were among them.
He motioned for Tony to come forward. James saw Tony note the mark on Shannon’s throat and could tell he knew that it had not been faked.
He whispered to him, “I need to be up front and center. I’m leaving you to protect the thing I hold most dear.”
“Your lady is safe with me. I will die before anyone but you ever touches her again.”
James nodded and made his way through the crowd.
“Well, boy,” his father called to him. “I see you managed to leave the warmth of your mate’s thighs to join us. If she were my mate, I’m not sure I would have made the same choice.”
The crowd laughed nervously, glancing between his father, James, and Shannon.
“I would ask that you speak of my mate with the respect due her,” James said levelly.
“Due her? She is due whatever I say she is due. Her place as your mate is to produce your heirs and daughters. Given what I saw of her yesterday, I would say that it shouldn’t be too much of a hardship to breed her until she takes.” Many of his father’s cronies nodded in agreement.
“And your place, old man, is anywhere other than here.”
There was a collective gasp as James’ father looked at him and bellowed, “What the hell? Are you threatening me?”
“No, Father, I’m challenging you for leadership of this pack.”
Several of his father’s older retainers started to growl and move toward him. James saw their men move as well and form a barrier between James and the rest of those gathered at Ravenscar.
“You ungrateful little bastard.”
“Perhaps,” said James. “But the alpha of Ravensc
ar nonetheless. You can leave with your retainers and those who wish to leave with you. If you go in peace and cause my people no more pain and suffering, I will settle a lump sum on you as well as an annual annuity to ensure your continued good behavior.” He turned to look at Shannon. “That was what you suggested, isn’t it, sweetheart?”
“No, my beloved. What I suggested was slitting his throat for being one of those who utilized deMoncada’s barbaric operation for their own ends. But our beta, Tony, felt that patricide was not the best way to begin your rule here. I believe our omega, Will, suggested buying your father off.”
The crowd was split. James could feel there was outrage, but there was also encouragement.
He inclined his head toward her. “I stand corrected.” He turned back to his father. “If you live to see the end of your reign, you will owe it to my beta and my omega. For both my mate and I would have seen you dead and buried.”
His father stood. “You can’t do this.”
“I already have. Will you go in peace, Father?”
“Never.”
“Then I challenge you to trial by combat for leadership of this pack with a weapon of your choosing.”
“Damn you, boy. I’ll gut you and then have your woman held down while I show her how a real alpha fucks a she-wolf and seeds her belly.”
“God knows he’d need the help, James. He’d never be able to manage on his own,” offered Shannon, causing several to gasp in outrage.
James grinned. Shannon’s bored tone and soothing purr let him know that nothing his father had said and done had rattled her one little bit.
“I hate to point out the obvious, Mr. Norris, but James here has challenged you in the way of our kind. You may either accept his offer, accept his challenge or be thrown off the estate without a penny to your name.” Will turned back toward the crowd. “Is there anyone here who has cause to believe James does not have the right to challenge his father’s tyrannical rule?” Hearing none, he turned back to James and his father. “My alpha, the floor is yours.”
He joined Tony and Shannon.
“Father?”
“How could you do this to me? You’re my son. I raised you. I bought your mate for you. Ravenscar would be yours one day.”
“You murdered my mother. You participated in the scheme that led many she-wolves and human females alike to be kidnapped, turned, abused, and forced into pairings not of their choosing. You have squandered our fortunes and dishonored our name. How could I do this to you? How could I not?” James turned toward the crowd. “Those of you who wish to leave either with my father or after he is dead may do so. The women of this pack are under my protection and will choose for themselves. I will not have those who were forced and have no desire to remain in their pairing remain bound to a life in which they cannot be happy.”
“Are you mad, boy? I have overseen the continuation of our pack since before you were born. Those who are bound together were chosen for their ability to breed and produce those who would serve us. The Council will never allow this.”
“The Council’s days of turning a blind eye and ruling without conscience are drawing to a close. There are those in the Coalition that will not allow deMoncada’s crimes to go without payment. There will be a reckoning and I intend for Ravenscar to wield one of the swords of justice to put this travesty right. We will offer safe refuge to any woman needing it... starting with those within our pack.”
James could sense the crowd was turning in his favor... so could his father. James heard his father roar with pure rage. As he was turned away from his father, James did not see the long knife his father drew from under his shirt as he ran to try to sink it deep into his son’s back.
“No,” screamed Shannon, surging forward past Tony.
It was that split second of warning that James would always feel saved him. He was able to turn just enough that the sharp blade cut down through his shirt and skittered across his pecs and down his ribs, drawing blood in its wake but doing very little damage other than that.
Instinctively, James whirled around and caught his father’s arm as it drove the blade down to the place James’ back had once been. James caught his hand and used his own strength and his father’s inertia to disarm his father and shove him down onto the cold stone floor.
James stared down at the man who had sired him but had never been a father. He felt Shannon collide with him, wrapping herself around him. Instinctively his arms went around her, as much to protect her as draw solace from her nearness.
He looked up to see that no one in the pack seemed inclined to challenge him or to call into question his taking control of Ravenscar. Tony moved to the head of the V formation that had formed around him and Shannon. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Will who, as always, had his back.
“I’m fine, beloved,” he whispered to her, kissing her lightly.
“You’re bleeding.”
“But not badly thanks to you.”
“He was going to kill you,” she said, still not believing anyone was so devoid of feeling that he would try to murder his own son.
“He was. I had no choice...”
Shannon silenced him with a kiss. “None. Do not ever question that. He meant to kill you. And he would have made what deMoncada did to me look like child’s play. I live, breathe, and love you because of who you are and what you have done. Our pack will be led back into the light because of what you did. You saved us all.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “I live and our pack survives because my mate recognized the threat and made sure I had time to act.” He turned toward those he would now lead. “Tony, take a few of the men and show my father and those who would follow him to the dungeons below. I will decide their fate later today.”
A young woman stepped forward.
“My name is Gwen. I can show your beta to where your father and his men can be held securely. I am happy to serve... my alpha. The one who led before you hadn’t selected a mate for me. I would ask that you give me your protection and allow me to stay at Ravenscar.”
“Done,” he replied. “Tony, follow Gwen.”
“To the ends of the earth,” Tony replied, only slightly exaggerating his interest as Gwen was a great beauty.
She laughed as did those around her, including James.
“Those of you who want to leave, gather your things and be gone by sunset. Those who remain will be under my protection and form a new kind of pack here. The evil that once permeated this place and my father’s rule has ended.”
The men who had come up from the millhouse helped Tony gather his father and those who would most likely be banished and left the room with Tony and Gwen in the lead. James watched as several men and a few women turned from him and left the great hall. Then, one by one, his people came forward to pledge to him, and his lady, their loyalty. Many also offered them their thanks. At first, he could tell, Shannon was somewhat taken aback by the antiquated formality but quickly warmed to it as she saw the look of gratitude on the faces of their people.
“Do we have a doctor or some kind of medic here?” asked Shannon of the crowd. “I believe our alpha is in need of assistance.”
“I’m fine,” he said, rumbling at her reassuringly.
“You’re bleeding. Bleeding indicates that you are not fine.” Shannon sidled up closer to him and nipped his earlobe. “And I bite when my alpha doesn’t listen to reason.”
Several members of their pack laughed quietly as their new mistress chastised her mate.
“I’ll remember that,” he said with a smile.
“Alpha, I’m MacMurray,” said a nondescript man with kind brown eyes who stepped forward. “I have a small medical facility here at Ravenscar and can easily see to your wound.”
“Is it adequate for your needs?” Shannon asked.
MacMurray smiled at her and looked to her husband, who nodded.
“Seriously? The man has to get your permission to speak to me?”
“
It’s considered proper protocol where the mate to the alpha is concerned,” he said, knowing their pack was about to get a taste of their mistress’ temper.
“Oh, that is so not going to fly,” she said with some heat behind her words. “Listen up, folks. I know the big, bad alpha here has some rather silly notions of what is and isn’t proper. But anybody who wants to speak to me is more than welcome to do so.”
James suppressed his laughter as their people did nothing but look to him.
She arched her eyebrow at them. “Tell them.”
He laughed and kissed her. “My mate is correct. Some of you may know, and others not, but your mistress, my beautiful fated mate,” he lifted her hand to kiss it, “was not shifter-born. In this pack there will be no distinction between those who were and those who were not. I’d like to tell you I have a well thought-out and carefully considered plan as to how to bring our pack into the twenty-first century and undo some of the heinous crimes that came before. But I don’t. My only plan was to rid our pack of my father’s tyrannical rule and to convince my Shannon that we are fated mates.” He turned back to her, his eyes serious but with nothing concealed from her—the strength, the lust, and the love shining through in the same way the sun had parted the clouds and was streaming through the old stained glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of colors all around the room.
“Then, my love,” she said and realized it was true, “you have accomplished both of your goals. Now what?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest notion. Our people will tell you I wasn’t always the most diligent student about how a pack is run. I guess we’ll all just figure it out together. I think the first thing we do is get rid of what I think someone was trying to pass off as breakfast and get some proper food for everyone. I believe our beta, Tony, has set loose among you one who is a trained chef.”
A small wolf who very much resembled what one would expect Hercule Poirot to look like—round with an egg-shaped head and fancy mustache—stepped forward. “I am Franco, my alpha.”
