Alpha Ever After

by Casey Morgan

  Lucas

  Outside of waiting for my favorite holidays to start, this is been the hardest hour I’ve had to wait out in my life. But now, lucky me — it’s finally here. Any moment now, that human girl will come scurrying in here, and show us whatever “great and wonderful idea” it is that she has for the winery. She wants to help with this little event that we have going on, even though I doubt she knows even the first thing about wine tasting parties — other than the fact that she’s been chosen to waitress for it, that is.

  The rest of my brothers — Aiden, Caleb and Gabriel — I’ve succeeded in getting them to come in to the wine tasting area. The place has carved wooden tables and chairs meant for people to spend a little time at and relax as they drink. We push a few together to make a make-shift conference area.

  “I told each of you that we are expecting a guest. That Krystal girl.” I smile, already laughing about just what a ridiculous idea it is that she’s going to present. I’m also sure of how haphazardly it’s going to be put together and what a complete dork and fool she’s going to be up in front of us all. I’m sure it is going to be very amusing. “She’s going to be here any minute with a so-called presentation, just for us. Now, I’ve told you all — no high expectations. I don’t even know why Jayden said yes, but he did.”

  “To humor her, to give that girl a fighting chance, since she thinks she can call with an idea out of the blue,” adds Jayden, coming into the conversation from somewhere up in our private quarters. He looks freshly showered and ready for the show as much as any of us. “Besides, if she’s going to waitress for us, I might as well see what her other talents are.”

  “Sure,” I say, shaking my head and choosing a seat. Of course. He says the girl is cute and easily manipulable. That’s why he had her come waitress for us, but actually letting her help us plan for that wine tasting? Ridiculous! What experience or talents could she possibly have that would be of any use to our business!? At the back of my neck, like a conscience, I swear I can hear Mom and Dad telling me not to be such a jerk — to be nicer to the poor girl but I quickly lose it — they’re not here anyway. And they don’t know what a bummer it is to have damage on a vehicle, when you’re just trying to get business to pick up.

  And anyway, I know exactly how that event is going to go down. It’s going to be a black-tie event. Everyone in fashion does fancy, high-end parties with the waiters all dressed up in tuxedos. The tables will be decked out in silver, polished to perfection. The wine bottles will be on display in classy cases, backlit by even fancier lights. That’s how it’s going to go down. It must. That’s the only way that anyone else is going to want to stock our wines. We want them to see how posh our wines are, so that they will buy them to be posh as well. It will be a fine, high class event. And after a taste, people will not be able to help a drinking our wines and wanting to take a bottle of them home.

  Right then, right as I finish this thought, she enters the room. This Krystal girl. What I was expecting — a human girl dressed in the typical street clothes, but that’s not what I got. I see a woman dressed in a full Renaissance gown with a full corset hiking her huge breasts up for all to see. The gown is made of beautiful velvet reds and golds, whites and browns. This outfit is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The thread and beadwork are to die for. It’s so intricate, I actually see the silhouette of a Phoenix inside the beadwork and the outline of several flowers.

  Next to that beautiful outfit, the curves of her body are the next thing to make me absolutely brain-dead. They are the most beautiful, tight and perfect curves I’ve ever seen. With hips and breasts for days, emphasized in every possible way by her corset. I’m instantly hard. I’m aching in my slacks for her, and it only gets more that way when I see her face, eyes, and her perfect lips.

  With her, she’s got a bag. It’s big and dark, almost like an artist’s carrying case.

  “This, dear brothers, is Krystal Jenkins,” says Jayden, looking beyond pleased with her. I can tell just by looking at his eyes, and the tension in his smile, that he wants her as much as I do. Around the room, I see the same look in the other pairs of eyes. We all like what we see, and she hasn’t even started her presentation yet.

  Krystal bows. She begins to unzip her black bag. I look on anxiously, my original cruel amusement replaced with genuine curiosity. I’m actually starting to be intrigued by her. She pulls out sheets of paper which detail decorations and clothing of similar design to hers. “For this event at your winery, I was thinking that something with this theme might really be a hit.”

  “The wine tasting,” I say. “You mean?”

  “The wine tasting, yeah,” says Krystal, pulling out more sheets of decorations, designs, and clothing. She starts passing them around, and they make their way to each of us brothers. “I was thinking if we did a Renaissance theme, where there’s a lot of elegance and charm, it could be just the thing your tasting needs. Something like that will stick in your patron’s memory. It could really set the tone for your wines, your business. Really give people a feel of elegance and wealth, which I’m sure you’re going for.”

  I’m impressed by a lot of the decoration ideas I’m seeing. What I’m looking at now, though, is a design for the waitresses’ outfits. They are done very much like what Krystal is wearing now. These outfits are just as fine and elaborate looking as hers is. In a way, it’s almost better than tuxedos.

  “That’s a fine idea, in principle,” says Gabriel, looking over a new spread of papers. “But where would we get these customs? On such short notice as well?”

  Krystal doesn’t lose a beat. “Well, we wouldn’t need to get them from anywhere.” She blushes here, smiling with uncertainty. “I make costumes like this. I made the one I’m wearing, and I could easily make all of the gowns for the waitresses.”

  “And these other designs?” Gabriel passes the new set of pages, and on them I see designs for pirate costumes. For men. Five of them. “Am I correct in assuming these are for us?”

  “It’s an idea I had,” Krystal replies quickly, “but I’m open to suggestions. I always plan for plans to change.”

  “I’d like to be something much more elegant, much more refined than a pirate,” I say, knowing I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a thief, not even in costume.

  “You could be a king,” offers Krystal.

  “And one of you could be a knight or something, if you wanted,” she suggests, looking toward Caleb and Aiden. “You could all be knights, serving your king, while the ladies serve all of you and your guests — who will be treated like royalty. They will feel like royalty, surrounded by all of you.”

  “I’m cool with that idea,” says Caleb. His consent is quickly joined by my other brothers.

  “I’m in,” says Gabriel, “especially since you’ve said you can make all of these. Do you do this as a hobby or?”

  “I run it as a side business, making clothing like this,” admits Krystal, looking proud and embarrassed at the same time.

  “I’m good with it,” says Aiden. By the tone of his voice, I know he’s ready to get out of here. He wants to get away from business and do what he really loves: tend the Vineyard.

  “It’s settled then,” announces Jayden. “But you still will be working as a waitress, even with this new development.”

  “Yes,” says Krystal, looking excited. “Yes, of course, this is separate from paying for my damages.”

  “Good.” He claps his hands together. “Then let’s negotiate the price for you to develop and create each of the gowns, plus our outfits.”

  After that, both Krystal and Jayden start throwing out numbers, with Krystal being more conservative. Finally, after throwing around a few hundred and then a few thousand dollars, they settle on something I think is reasonable, ten thousand for the whole job. One thousand per gown. Five for the each of us, and five for the servers that will be there. One of whom is going to be our sister, Emma.

  Gabriel slides over to me with fresh sheets o
f design paper. He still has some of Krystal’s designs in hand. “Let’s get sketching some more decorations, some more table accents in line with this new theme.” Without waiting for my answer, he drags me away with him into a nearby room, where we quickly become consumed in everything Renaissance.

  Chapter Five

  Aiden

  I have to get out of here. I need to get back to my plants — my sweet grape vines. They are so much sweeter and gentler than all this business talk. The moment I can get out of the wine tasting room, I do. It’s not that I hate our company, Krystal…she’s a beautiful, tall glass of wine. But I’ve never been good around people. Even my own brothers make me uncomfortable at times, and this is one of those times.

  They have all started working on various aspects of the business and the wine tasting, which comes with a lot of intense, swirling energy. Energy I’m looking for a quick escape from, which is through the main wine-tasting room doors.

  As I step outside into the late afternoon sun, I notice I’ve got company. The woman, Krystal, is trailing me. She seems curious about what I’m up to, and I’m curious as to why she’d be following me. Surely, my brothers are more interesting.

  But before I can hide the fact that I’ve seen her and have been studying her from over my shoulder as I walk out toward the beginning of the Vineyard, the particular patch of grapes I’m nurturing for our new bottle of wine, she comes in step with me.

  “You’re Aiden,” she says, flashing me a bright smile. One that’s almost brighter and warmer than the sun currently shining down on us. “Couldn’t wait to get out of that room, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I say quietly. Most people don’t hear me when I speak so softly, but Krystal’s different. She hears me and gives me another warm smile.

  “I can get like that sometimes. Overwhelmed and shy with too much going on. I feel you.”

  My heart skips a beat or two. “Really?” I drop my gaze some, pretending that it’s the sun doing it, not my vulnerability. “Most people — my brothers — have a lot of critique for me about that. They say I spend way too much time outside, and not enough time getting acclimated to customers.”

  She keeps pace with me as we get to the edge of the Vineyard and the particular patch of grapes I was in the middle of watering and singing to before getting nabbed by Lucas.

  “That’s not a bad thing. We each have our own talents, you know?” Krystal smiles at me.

  We walk a few more paces, and I put my hands under a particularly swollen, heavy vine. The grapes here are already looking delicious.

  Krystal watches what I am doing. “So, what keeps you outside a lot? Just enjoy the sunshine or?”

  “I tend to these babies,” I say, caressing the round, heavy fruits. “I make sure they are watered and given all the nutrients they need. I make sure they know they are loved. Nurtured plants make irresistible wine.” I blush a little at this, knowing I’m talking about plants as if they are people again — another critique I’ve always gotten. But Krystal just smiles. She brings her fingers down to caress the fruit.

  “Glad they have you tending to them. They look healthy and tasty,” she says.

  “Would you like to taste one?” Without waiting for her reply, I take off the grape I reached down to stroke and hand it to her gently.

  “Can I?”

  “Sure,” I say. “One grape isn’t going to ruin a bottle.”

  Krystal pops the grape in her mouth, and I’m immediately rewarded with the sweetest moan I’ve ever heard. She savors that grape, throwing her head back. I can see her slowly drinking the juice down, her muscles stiffening in her neck as she does. “Delicious!” She looks back at me, eyes sparkling. They are violet like the grapes around us. “That was the most delicious grape I’ve ever tasted!”

  I pick up the canteen of water, and begin watering the nearby plants with it. I do it in part to avoid showing her how much her presence affects me, and also to get back to what I was doing earlier. As I water, I walk, letting her follow and watch.

  As we go, I begin to explain how each different part of this Vineyard, has different grapes. “They have different growing seasons and different needs.” I’m still watering, but I’m about to give that up, in favor of just a tour. “You need just the right one for the right flavor. The right job, so when I’m not out here watering my babies, I’m on the lookout for new seeds and different species.”

  “Like I am with my cloth and beads and stuff,” Krystal tells me with a happy look in her eyes. “Not all fabrics or materials are cut out for the same job.”

  I nod and let that similarity sit between us, happy to show her some of the different species of grapes. The way the colors and shapes are different. “Some of this will produce flowery flavors, while others of these,” I say, demonstrating with my hand, “will produce more bitter, drier tastes.” As we keep moving, I’m happy to hear her genuine interest. And realize she has an eye for detail. She’s actually pointing out differences to me in the size and shape of the fruit, leaf structures and vines

  But it’s when we make it to a more shaded part of my sprawling Vineyards, that I hear her struggling. Her breath is slightly panting from effort. I immediately turn my attention to her, walking back the few paces of ground that separate us. Indeed, Krystal looks a little pale and flushed at the same time. She is sweaty, while also looking parched.

  “Are you all right?” I immediately get as close as I can to her, afraid I’ve gotten so lost in my passion I’ve forgotten about her and her needs.

  “It’s just a little hard to breathe in this corset and do so much activity.” She leans forward, trying to get a deeper breath in and flashing me a view of her ample breasts.

  “You can loosen it if you need to,” I say, feeling my palms beginning to sweat. “Let me help you, please.”

  She turns her back to me, reaches around herself and begins to unlace the ties of the corset. Immediately, I move to help, putting my hands on hers and taking the laces, so I can get them loosened faster. Krystal is panting harder now. Her body sways a bit like she might faint. Knowing that she needs to breathe better soon, I pull harder on the sides of the corset. It pulls away from her back and my eyes catch the sight of her ivory skin. Her bareback is beginning to emerge from the folds of cloth. It’s so soft and smooth, so shapely.

  She’s not wearing anything underneath!

  The moment I realize this, my blood pounds heavily in my veins. My crotch warms, and as my fingers move to undo the last bit of string, I run them down her back. Krystal shivers, and quickly brings the corset around to cover herself. It’s no longer fixed to her body, but it’s still being used as a shield.

  “I should get going, Aiden,” she says, immediately going shy and guarded, beginning to make her way back through the vines of grapes. “Thank you for showing me around, but I really must be going.”

  I want to tell her to wait, to not feel so shy. But I can’t get anything out. I’m so shocked and turned on, nothing comes out as I gorge myself on the sight of her bareback, her long hair swishing along the line of her spine. Soon she is out of sight and I am alone as I usually am.

  The orientation’s tomorrow. I hope I get to talk to her then and do more than show her the vineyards. Lightly, I press down on the crotch of my pants telling myself to be patient, before distracting myself with tending and watering these babies of mine.

  Chapter Six

  Gabriel

  With the winery and our tasting room shut down for the day, I’m ready to go for our evening run. I’m the first one to transform into wolf form, letting out a howl to summon the rest of my brothers and pack. They are quick to join, though they do from four opposite corners of our estate: Lucas and Caleb from somewhere in our home; Jayden from our storeroom, our wine cellar; Aiden, of course from out in the fields.

  As they transform and join with me, I quickly fall into place trotting behind Jayden, Caleb, and Lucas. At my side is Emma. She doesn’t often go for pack runs with us but enjoys
them all the same when she can. Aiden runs in the back, content to take a slower pace.

  As we begin to run in earnest, paws covering the sprawling perimeters of our vineyards — the lawn that we have just outside our acres of grape-producing soil — Emma excitedly barks to me, “I like that Krystal. I think her costume ball idea is a great one. I think it’s exactly what we’re going to need to stand out around here. Show those vampires that they are not the only ones with class. What do you think, Gabriel?”

  “I agree. Her costume ball idea is a unique one. I’m surprised I didn’t think of that. I’m usually the one with the eye for that kind of thing, but I guess there is more than one way to get that feel of elegance we want. At first, I wasn’t sure about the Renaissance theme.”

  “You were going for a regular black-tie situation, weren’t you?” The smile on her wolfy lips is mischievous.

  I’m embarrassed. “Am I really that predictable?” I whine.

  “No, not predictable. Just classy, too, but I’m glad you are open to her idea.” She tilts her head in the direction of Lucas, falling back a little bit. I slow with her. “Especially when he thought Krystal was just coming to us with a big joke for her presentation.” Emma growls softly. “I was about to lay Lucas out if he gave her any trouble. I’m glad he wasn’t a complete jerk to her. I know he doesn’t necessarily think a lot of humans, but I thought she was really cool. I think she’s really interesting.”

  “I do too. I’m impressed with her. Intrigued. When she said she was going to make all of the costumes for us, I about fell over. I didn’t know people could still sew like that. Or that she would be so willing to do something like that, after being brought in to repay debts.”

  “I met her at the accident,” says my sister softly, “I knew then that she was a sweetheart. A bit neurotic and overcompensating, but a sweetheart, nonetheless. I can’t wait to see what magic she works. I think that will be just the thing to give us all the business we’ve been wanting. That, and I’m eager to get to know her better. I think she would make a great friend.” The warmth in my sister’s voice is infectious.