by Maxi MacNair
Ruby opened her mouth, closed it again, and hung her head. She went back to her car, where she pulled out her cell phone and called Travis. He answered on the first ring. “You would take me forever to save me from Mac?
“A life with you forever sounds better than a life totally without you.”
“I don’t know Travis. It’s all so scary. I haven’t seen too much happiness come from people trying to be together forever.”
“I’ve seen the opposite side though Ruby. Loneliness is its own kind of torture.”
“No one will talk to me.”
“They can’t. You could be trying to influence them to give one or the other alphas an advantage in the fight.”
“When is the fight?”
“Tonight.”
“You’ve talked to Mac?”
“It’s not like you can give me any more motivation to get rid of Mac than you already have. Anyway, this whole thing isn’t happening like it’s supposed to. It will be decided soon though. Two alphas at war will tear the town apart. It has to happen fast.”
War?
“Travis, I’m kind of freaking out. Can you come over?”
“You’re at your uncle’s?”
“Yeah. I’ll leave the door unlocked. Just come in.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She hung up and drove the few blocks back to her place. She parked and went inside. The pulled shades made her bedroom dark, and the air conditioner hummed. Ruby curled up in a ball on her bed. She wanted Travis, she really did. The idea of Mac winning terrified her. He was basically kidnapping her by having sex with her. Ruby regretted that whole experience on the hood of his car. How could she be so foolish? But, the thought of Travis rushing over to be with her filled her with a different kind of comfort and happiness that she hadn’t experienced before.
The front door clicked open and Travis showed himself in, knocking briefly before coming in to her bedroom.
“Ruby, I’m so sorry. I tried to tell you. I shouldn’t have let you go, shouldn’t have let you walk into that.”
He took her in his arms and she knew as long as he won the fight, everything would be all right.
“You can’t talk to anyone today, and tonight when the moon comes up, which should be about nine or so, Elder Wallace will gather us all together. Mac and I will fight it out for you.”
Elder Wallace—Bob Wallace? She had sold him parts for his truck. He had always been so kind to her.
“And then?”
“And then we are mated for life. Most of the couples will go and get a civil ceremony, but that’s just to appease the human world. One way or the other, today’s your wedding day.”
She gaped up at him, but didn’t move away.
“If I hadn’t stepped in, it would be you and Mac.”
“Will you win?”
“I’m stronger than he is. I have more practice fighting. But something tells me that Mac has something planned for tonight. Either way, I will beat him. There is no way I’m going to lose you.”
“Okay,” she said. “If it’s you I might be able to deal with that.”
“Oh, you can deal with me?” Travis teased. He kissed her, and even though her bits were sore, the touch of his lips reignited a fire down deep within her.
“I think I can manage.”
He threw her down on her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one strong hand. “How much do you like this shirt?”
“My shirt?”
“How much do you like it?”
“Not that much?” she wasn’t sure what he was suggesting. Then she watched as one finger turned into a wicked bear claw, and he sliced clean down the front, popping off all the buttons. The two sides flopped open, exposing a white bra. She hadn’t expected to get lucky again so fast, so she hadn’t worn anything special as far as her underwear went. Returning his claw to its normal finger form, he undid and pulled off her capris. White cotton panties.
“Oh baby, those slinky things last night were great, but these drive me wild. I can’t resist you a moment longer.”
He let her wrists go to unleash his hard cock.
“Travis, I’m so sore. I don’t think I can.”
It didn’t sway him. He tugged off the panties, smelling them deeply before he tossed them to the floor. He lowered his face to her cleft, kissing her so very, very gently, and paying lots of attention to her clit, and it wasn’t long before he was face to face with her and slowly sliding his cock into her as she caught the scent of herself on his lips.
His gentleness contrasted with how rough he’d been that morning. He moved slowly, easily, letting her accommodate him as he moved with easy, confident strokes. He rested the pad of his thumb on her sore clit, softly caressing it. She had never felt pleasure like this.
She cried out, clutched onto Travis like she would never let him go. She would never have to…the idea made her smile into the crook of his neck as he pumped into her. As she grew accustomed to the sensations, they moved faster and faster together, his motions going from soft and sweet to the rough stimulation Ruby loved. It was as though Travis could feel what she wanted, what she needed, and could always get there one step ahead of her. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply as they simultaneously shuddered to an orgasm. After he dropped his head to her breasts, both of them sweaty and panting.
* * *
At eight-thirty. Sandy came by the house and knocked on the door. She had come to take Ruby to the gravel pit. As soon as Travis left that morning she started to miss him. She worried that it could be the last time she would be able to see him. What would she do if Mac won? She turned to her friend in the driver’s seat of the car.
“If Mac wins will you help me run away?
Sandy just stared forward. “I could, but it wouldn’t do any good. One of the things that getting marked by an alpha does is link you to him. He can sense you, and that won’t change unless you die. It’s the same deal with Travis. He can sense your feelings, can smell you in a crowd. They can find you no matter how far you run or where you hide.”
“So if Mac wins I’m stuck with him?”
“At least until he or you dies. I can promise I’ll do what I can to protect you if it comes to it though.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t think Mac intends to keep you with him mated for life.”
“He’ll kill me?”
“I don’t know, but I know he’d do anything to end the competition between him and Travis and become the only alpha in the clan. Who knows how far he’d go to get something else he wants. Or get rid of something he didn’t…”
The rest of the car ride was silent. When they got to gravel pit Ruby was surprised and didn’t think she had seen this many cars in one place since she arrived in Pinewood Junction.
“Looks like the even the clan members who live in the hills came down for this,” said Sandy.
Ruby got out of the car wearing white, it only seemed appropriate, a clinging dress, and low heels. Immediately, a group of women approached her and started slathering her exposed skin in a strange mud that felt creamy like a lotion and disappeared on her skin like they were rubbing in with moisturizer, leaving strange glittery sparkles all over her. She sparkled under the light of the moon. Sandy was helping them, and she quickly whispered to Ruby and she rubbed some on her forehead and cheeks. “This will help mask your scent for just a little while. It’s part of the alpha mating ceremony. Like a veil in a human wedding.”
“How long will it last?”
“No longer than two hours, or until it gets washed off. It’s traditional for the alpha to lick it off though.”
Ruby tingled at the thought of Travis, bear shape or not, licking her all over back at his home. Thinking about Mac doing it to her made her start to feel ill though. The crowd all parted for her when they finished. Elder Wallace smiled kindly to her and called her to his side. They didn’t have long to wait before Travis arrived in
his Chevelle, and Mac pulled up in his GT-R. The four of them stood together in front of the entire bear clan. Most of them were in human form but a bunch of them turned into great giant grizzlies and roared for the elder as he started to address Mac and Travis.
“You boys have anything to say?” Wallace asked.
Mac stepped forward and turned to the rest of the bear clan. “I don’t want to fight.” Ruby’s heart gave a twist. She didn’t want to see Travis hurt. “I know I can’t win in a brawl against Travis. You all know that. I propose a different challenge.”
The townsfolk—all the bear shifters—went silent.
“Go on,” encouraged Wallace. It was clear that he didn’t want to see either of them hurt either. He knew though that this day was going to come. A clan could only have one alpha protector, just like it could only have one lead elder.
“I want to race to settle this. Our people are few enough. We don’t need to lose a life to settle this.”
Travis gaped at him.
“Elder Wallace, do you permit my request?”
The two cars sat nearby in the moonlight, the chrome and glass twinkling in the stars like Ruby’s glittering body.
“I permit your request, but the clan must make the final decision. They are the ones that will need to cast the loser out and submit to the winner.” Wallace said.
The crowd gasped, and began talking among themselves, but soon the murmurs and grunts started to turn into roars of approval.
“We’ve lost enough!” Ruby heard a few people shout out from the crowd.
Wallace raised his hand to silence them. “You’ll take the route I’ll lay out. Here to the post office, down Stafford Ferry Road to the school bus turn around, back along the Dry River Trail, up along Rose creek, and back here. First car into the gravel pit wins. If there is a tie, you’ll settle it the old fashioned way.”
Mac grinned at Ruby. “There won’t be a tie.”
“Do you need to fuel up? Any preparations needed?”
“No sir!” Mac said.
Travis thought on it a few more moments. Ruby could see he played the route over in his mind. The two cars were so different, like the two men. Could a forty something year old pony car beat the gleaming new Nissan? She hoped if it were a wholly unfair fight, Elder Wallace would not have allowed it. She crossed her fingers, sending all her prayers to Travis. The mud was masking her smell, but her sensory memory gave her the scent of Travis. It was just like they were back in bed and he on top of her thrusting into her.
“I’m good, sir,” Travis said.
The two men went to their cars, and started the engines. The throaty rumbles reverberated off the walls of the gravel pit and filled the Montana night. Ruby caught Sandy’s eye in the crowd, and she gave an encouraging smile. Ruby smiled back.
Eric Horton, an old racing mechanic in town who worked at the 7-11, guided the cars to an even starting position, lining them up precisely. Elder Wallace led Ruby to in front of them but in the space the separated the two rumbling machines and beast men.
“They will start on your signal.” He said.
Ruby raised her arms. Engines revved. She looked from Mac to Travis. Mac was darting his head to the side and snarling at Travis then over to her. Barely able to keep himself still behind the wheel, he looked frantic and the way he looked at Ruby made her feel frightened. Travis just stared straight ahead. It was like he was still running over the route, taking the turns in his mind before he even got to them.
She looked down to the ground and dropped her arms.
The two cars tore off, charging past her so fast she had to take a step back to keep from falling down. A number of the clan switched to bear form and ran in different directions.
Elder Wallace leaned over to her. “They’ll watch from different spots along the route. If anything happens we should hear about it.”
The three vehicles vanished outside the gravel pit, and gradually the night went silent again as the roaring engines took off into the night.
Inside the pit, the atmosphere slowly turned festive. It was, after all, a wedding. Now people could talk to Ruby, and they did in great numbers, congratulating her on her pairing. It boggled her mind—they didn’t even know who she would be going home with.
“I hope it’s Travis,” Sandy whispered to Ruby in-between her shaking the hands of people who had now practically lined up in a queue like they would at a regular wedding.
People handed her drinks, even though she wasn’t in the mood for them. She stuck to cheap, light beer, but still it made her head start to swim. What would her uncle say if he knew where she was?
Elder Wallace estimated it should take a little more than a half hour to complete the whole track. Ruby kept looking at the clock on her cell phone, watching the minutes crawl onwards. She heard a loud and long growl in the distance.
“Sounds like nobody is really pulling ahead too much,” Elder Wallace translated for her. “You’ll start to understand the sounds for yourself in time.” She heard a few more growls as time moved on, but after each one Elder Wallace just shook his head. “Nothing’s changed it seems.”
Finally, the low grumble of an engine. Ruby tried to discern which car it was by the sound, but couldn’t.
There was no mistaking the first set of headlights, though, as they peeked through the gap in the gravel pit wall. Wide headlights, incandescent yellow. Travis.
As the Chevelle came closer, she saw long black scrapes down the side, the same inky color as Mac’s GT-R. She wondered what happened out there.
The people cheered for Travis, though she assumed they would have cheered just as loudly for Mac.
One of the bears who had run off to watch the race came charging out of the woods and ran up to Elder Wallace.
“Where was Mac?” Elder Wallace asked the bear.
Ruby couldn’t understand what it was saying, but the rest of the crowd, the women and the men who were still in human form, seemed shocked by what they were hearing.
Ruby ran for Travis’ car. He threw the door open and ran for her as well, sweeping her up in his arms. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, uncaring who caught a flash of panties (white like Travis liked, lace this time and much smaller). They kissed like no one was watching, which they weren’t because they were still hearing about what happened out there. Ruby got her own version from Travis after they begrudgingly broke off the kiss.
“About two miles back, Mac decided to drive dirty. I didn’t think he would try it since the Chevelle was bigger and more solidly built. It was probably his plan all along though. He knew he wouldn’t beat me in a real fight so thought he could take me out on the road. Last thing I saw was Mac’s car catching the edge of the road and spinning out.”
The clan member who was telling the story to the rest of the clan had actually went to go see if Mac was okay. He found the car but not Mac.
“I doubt if we’ll see him anytime soon.” Said Travis. “He’d have to submit to me it he was to stay in the clan. My guess is that he would rather live alone somewhere on the mountain than do that right now.”
Ruby didn’t really care though. She was just glad to have Travis be okay and not be given away to Mac.
“Well, Mrs. Johnson. How does it feel?” Travis asked, speaking into her neck, causing her to get goosebumps in the warm night.
“Amazing.” She pulled her head back to look at him, and noticed her glitter all over him, sparkling in the moonlight. Yesterday she hadn’t considered marriage, but today, now that she was here, she couldn’t imagine another path for herself.
“I heard you have a little tradition of licking off all this sparkly stuff. What do you say we take off to at least do that part of this mating ceremony by the book?”
Travis picked her up again and slung her over his shoulder. She never expected someone could even manhandle her in such a way, or that it would feel so good. Driving back home as fast as he could Ruby could feel the rumble of the engine all over her body a
nd could sense the lusty rumble in Travis’ chest.
The End
The Alien Bride
“Of course I’m aware of the situation,” Kallos said.
“Yet you continue to avoid dealing with it.”
Kallos turned sharply to his sister.
“You’re asking me to just ‘deal’ with it? With our father lying on his deathbed?”
Nillana frowned. “None of us asked for this. But we all have to deal with it.”
Kallos paced across the antechamber, his boots echoing against the marbled stone floor. One by one, he bent a finger into his palm, cracking the joints.
“My lord,” a pale figure with a thinned face spoke up. The advisor stood still, only his eyes following the movement of the prince. “We do not ask for you not to mourn. But we must be prepared.”
“You must succeed our father,” Nillana said. “We must avoid an empty throne. If our people’s history has taught us anything, it is that.”
Kallos slowed his pacing and leaned against a window. He looked out over the teal and gold city that bathed beneath the pale lights of twin moons. He had seen images of the wars that had ravaged the land centuries and millennia past, and had no desire to superimpose pillars of fire and clouds of toxic smoke on this planet now. He pressed his fingers into his palm again, but they had no pops or cracks left in them.
“My lord?” Kallos’ advisor said. “By my duty, and the king’s wishes, we must not delay in making arrangements. A decision must be made.”
“There must be someone among the nobility who you would find fit to be your bride,” Nillana said, joining her brother at the window. Her violet pools for eyes narrowed, as if she was squinting to find such a fit from someone traversing the streets below.
Kallos did not look at her.
“You have your pick of anyone,” she continued. “Yet you choose not to? Are you so afraid of the responsibilities of being king?”
He turned his head to her.
“You’d do well to watch your tongue, Nillana,” he said. “Your advice is unsolicited.”
