by J C Gordon
“Millie,” she heard him whisper in her head and her heart faltered slightly because he sounded so close. “Neat trick with the stream, baby, but it’s not going to stop me catching you.”
She refrained from answering him, knew he was trying to tempt her into giving away her direction. She continued to run, wondering if she could climb up into one of the trees to hide from him. She was just about to ask her wolf if she could climb when a black wolf streaked out of the trees and barrelled into her, knocking her to the ground.
She rolled and came up snarling, shaking her head in anger as she glared balefully at Jared. He snarled back at her and she would have gulped if she could. His snarl was so much more impressive than hers was.
“That’s because I’m your Alpha,” he chuckled inside her head and she snarled again, angry with herself for thinking the thought when she knew he’d be able to pick it up.
“Oh, you think so?” she thought archly. “Thought I’d made it perfectly clear how I feel about your macho male crap, oh powerful Alpha.”
Jared lunged for her and she darted to the left, barely escaping his jaws as they went to clamp around the scruff of her neck. She rolled again and came up facing him as he paused slightly, watching her intently.
“But I’ve never made it clear how I feel about your constant challenges to me,” he countered softly and his mental tone made her shiver slightly. “Submit, Millie.”
“Submit!” she huffed shaking her head. “Do you intend to teach me how to sit and beg on command too, Jared?”
His head cocked to the side and he grinned at her. “What an excellent suggestion,” he laughed. “Now, that could truly be fun. Mmmmm, the thought of you begging me makes my body tingle all over.” His irritation flared into something else and Millie shuddered as she watched his eyes darken and her wolf started to rumble her appreciation at the way their mate was regarding them.
She shook her head again. Really, her wolf was that easy? One little word from him and she was ready to roll over and give in to him? Her mental admonishment sparked her wolf’s aggressive side. She snarled again and suddenly darted off into the trees, Jared hot on her heels and gaining fast. She had to outrun him. If she didn’t, he’d be a complete pain to have to put up with.
Jared brought her down again before she got much further away from him. Only this time, he ensured he landed squarely on her back and aimed his jaws for the scruff of her neck. She howled her frustration as he pinned her to the ground firmly, holding her immobile underneath his strong body.
“You’ll never be able to outrun me, baby,” he whispered into her mind. “You can try all you want to but you know I’ll always catch you. You’re mine, Millie. You always will be.”
Millie grunted her annoyance at being caught so easily and allowed him to hold her down. Not that she really had that much of a choice but she liked to pretend she had some say in the matter. It was so unfair of him using his superior strength and speed against her. She fumed silently refusing to acknowledge his dominance over her. If he thought she was going to meekly start obeying him then he had another think coming.
It took her a moment to realise his jaw wasn’t around the back of her neck anymore though his strong body was still pressed against hers. He seemed tense, unsure almost, and his stillness transmitted itself into her and she turned her head slightly to look back at him. “Jared?”
He backed away from her, letting her up as he moved further away and sat down, regarding her intently. He shifted unexpectedly turning back to human form, his expression very serious as he regarded her intently.
Millie shifted without even thinking about it, moving over to his side and sitting down beside him. “Jared, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice full of concern, her arms automatically going around him. He turned to look at her and he seemed so uncertain it tore at her heart.
“What did I do wrong, Jared?” she asked softly. “You were reading my mind, weren’t you? Damn, you’re going to have to teach me how to guard my thoughts if they’re going to upset you so much. I don’t mean to challenge you, love. I don’t mean to make you feel any less of the Alpha you truly are. It’s just I’ve had to rely on myself for so long that it’s hard to let go and let someone else take charge. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you and want to be with you because you know I do. Hell, I let you change me into a wolf. I can’t think of any other way to show you how much I love you and need you, Jared.”
Jared stared into his woman’s beautiful cobalt eyes and reached out to play with an errant curl. Her lack of submission had cut him to the quick. His need for her submission surprised him in its intensity. Yes, it was his alpha streak coming out but he’d known when he’d chosen Millie for his mate that she was strong and feisty and the last person in the world who was going to meekly submit to him. It was why he loved her so much.
He smiled slowly and leaned forward to brush his lips slowly over hers. “I’ll teach you how to guard your thoughts,” he said ruefully. “That doesn’t mean I won’t still try and make you submit though,” he added. “Perhaps if you’re feeling generous you’ll soothe my wounded ego and allow me to do so.”
Millie sighed and rolled her eyes but she smiled and hugged him tightly. “I’ll try every now and then,” she laughed softly. “But don’t you think it would be so much more fun having one equal partner who can help you shoulder the heavy burden of running the pack? I mean, did your mother submit to your father?”
Jared thought about it with a surprised expression on his face and then he suddenly laughed. “Only in public,” he admitted. “And only when it was absolutely necessary. Ma was most definitely the one in charge at home.”
He laughed again and pulled his woman into his arms for a long, lusty kiss. “You know, I was so hung up on what I believed an alpha to be, I never considered how my parents did things when they were running the pack,” he murmured against her lips, his hands stroking down her back. “Again, you make me look at things from a different perspective, my Millie. I’m so lucky to have you, baby.”
She laughed softly and straddled his body, feeling his cock hard and eager as it pressed between her legs. “Just try and remember that the next time I wound your precious male ego,” she laughed, slowly moving against his hardness and making him groan his appreciation.
“The sun’s coming up,” Jared sighed against her lips. “The pack will be waiting to greet their new Alpha Bitch properly.” His hands were stroking down her back and cupping her ass as he spoke, completely at odds with his words.
Millie chuckled and rolled from his grasp, leaping nimbly to her feet and smothering a loud laugh at the bereft expression on his face. “Okay, let’s head back then,” she teased lightly.
“What? You’re suddenly going to start listening to me now?” he asked incredulously. This was third time she’d pulled away from him just as things were starting to get interesting and he didn’t like it one bit.
“I thought you wanted me to obey your commands, my Alpha?” she laughed impishly and then shrieked when his hand shot out to grab her ankle and jerk her off balance until she fell astride him again.
“I command you to slide your beautiful body onto my cock and show me how much you appreciate being chosen as your Alpha’s mate,” he said thickly, his blue eyes so dark they were almost black with need. He raised her body and slowly pulled her over his aching length, watching her beautiful face intently as he sheathed himself inside her delicious body.
“You’re so stunningly beautiful, my Millie,” he whispered roughly, pulling her mouth to his so he could slide his tongue slowly along her lips. She moaned and slowly began to raise and lower herself over his cock, her body trembling with pleasure as he filled her so completely.
Jared pressed his tongue into her mouth, feasting on her sweet taste as he rolled his hips up to meet her movements, his hands sliding to her breasts to tweak at her taut peaks and draw more deep moans of pleasure from his woman. He tugged and twirled the tight buds as he f
elt his lust start to spiral out of control. He moved suddenly, laying her back in the grass and taking over their lovemaking.
Millie didn’t have a problem submitting to him when he was so deep inside her. She longed for him to stamp his claim on her body, she craved it even. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist to pull him deeper inside her as he set up a strong, hard pace, thrusting into her with long, hard strokes. He demanded everything from her with no holds barred and she gave him everything, knowing that soon she would be riding the most intense wave of pleasure and letting the entire forest know how much she was loving it.
Jared wanted it to last forever but knew they had much work to do and there would be ample time later to be with his woman like this again. They had a lifetime together and he knew they would never get tired of loving each other like this. His Millie set a fire in him which only she could quench. His cock was throbbing inside her tightness, her heat scalding him as her juices coated his aching staff so deliciously. He increased his movements, driving hard and ruthlessly into his woman as her sweet cries filled the morning air and his own deep growls of pleasure joined her in song.
He felt her body tremble, felt her tight canal ripple around his aching hardness and he caught her scream of pleasure in his mouth as she came apart beneath him, grinding her body hard against him as her pleasure washed over her and sent him tumbling headfirst after her a bare second later. He felt his knot start to grow and he groaned as he fought to hold it back even though he wanted nothing more in the world than to be pinned with her on the forest floor.
He roared his release into the air, his body jerking violently against hers as he spilled his seed deep inside her beautiful body. Their bodies ground hard against each other a few moments more before they finally stilled and Jared lowered himself carefully against her, supporting his full weight on his upper arms as he kissed her tenderly and then groaned in despair.
Millie stared up at Jared with a slightly puzzled expression when he groaned as if he were in pain. She smoothed back his long hair from his face. “What?” she asked softly, her heart still hammering furiously from their lovemaking.
He shot her a rueful smile and kissed her lightly before he lowered his head against hers. “Breakfast will be later than anticipated,” he sighed. “We’re going to be joined like this for a little while longer.”
“Jared!” Millie groaned in exasperation. “I thought you said you could control this pinning thing when in human form.”
He laughed and rolled to his side taking her with him and sighing his contentment at having her in his arms. “I thought I could,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s not my fault you’re just too beautiful that I lose all coherent thought when I’m inside your body.” He stifled whatever else she was going to say with his lips, giving her a long slow kiss until she was breathless.
When he finally let her up for air she smiled at him and stroked his cheek gently. “I suppose it’s not so bad,” she whispered softly and then cuddled into his chest as they basked in the afterglow of their love.
~~~~~
Rhianna entered the kitchen and smiled as she saw Caleb indulging in his new favourite pastime which seemed to be fattening her up. He was studiously standing over the stove, stirring a pan full of eggs which were for her no doubt. He had quickly gotten out of the habit of eating with her, realising he just couldn’t stomach the food, no matter how much he wanted to please her.
He looked up and smiled when she entered the kitchen and lifted her up to sit on the counter beside the stove. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and went back to his eggs.
“Caleb,” she said tentatively. “You know how we were talking about you changing me into a vampire? Well, I had a chat with Rafe and Millie about it and they’re really happy for me to go ahead and I was wondering when would be the best time to do it.”
She watched Caleb stiffen and his hand cease his stirring motion. “We’ve already discussed this, Annie,” he said quietly, not looking at her. “I thought I’d made it perfectly clear to you that it wasn’t going to happen. Why you felt the need to seek Rafe and Millie’s approval is beyond me when I’ve no intention of turning you.”
Rhianna took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Yes, we discussed it,” she admitted. “But I wasn’t aware we had reached a decision on it. I know I didn’t agree to not being turned because it’s something I wouldn’t agree to. I want this, Caleb, and you want it too.” She tried to keep her tone reasonable but a little of her exasperation crept into it.
Caleb turned his head to look at her and his expression was so carefully neutral she had no one idea what was going through his mind. His golden brown eyes bored into hers intently and then his lips tightened and he looked away again. “I am not turning you, Annie,” he said firmly and stirred the eggs again, his big body taut with tension.
“Caleb,” she sighed irritably and he swung back to her so quickly she gave a startled squeak. This time his expression was angry, furious even, his eyes flashing amber as he glared at her murderously. She’d only ever seen him look at her that way once before and it had frightened her as much then as it did now.
“Drop it, Rhianna,” he hissed furiously. “I allow you great latitude as it is because I love you, but that does not mean I will forever let you have your own way. This topic is not open for debate, now or ever. Am I making myself perfectly clear here? Because I will not be responsible for my actions if I find I have to repeat myself.”
The colour drained from her face as she stared up at him wide eyed, biting her inside lip to prevent the tears which were starting to gather. His anger pierced straight through her, but it also made her angry too. Who the hell was he to turn around and use his stupid, mad vampire persona to intimidate her and basically make her shut up? Her anger kicked up a notch and her mouth set stubbornly.
“Oh, you won’t be responsible for your actions, will you?” she asked, her lavender eyes flashing furiously at him. “What are you going to do, Caleb? Spank me? Use your damned vampire powers on me? Come to think of it, just what are your vampire powers apart from the obvious ones? Can you get inside my head, control my mind even? That would work out so well for you if you could do that. You could just get inside my mind and make me do whatever you wanted me to. It’s so bloody unfair, Caleb. You have no right to deny me what I want and then turn around and go all vampire on me because I don’t agree with you.”
Her anger shocked him and Caleb took a step back from her as he tried to control his own anger, a feeling of guilt coming over him so strongly that he’d lost his temper with her. He didn’t want to fight with his woman but he wasn’t willing to give in to her on this point, no matter what she said. “I will not discuss this with you,” he said coldly, struggling hard to rein in his temper and deal with the foreign emotion of guilt still overwhelming him.
“Fine,” Rhianna spat jumping down from the counter. “If you won’t do it, then I’ll ask Demetri to do it instead.” She didn’t really mean it but she wanted to lash out at him because he was disappointing her so much with his unreasonable behaviour.
The expression which came over his beautiful face chilled her to the very bone. For one brief heartbeat she thought he was truly going to hurt her, his face turned so vicious and she realised she was looking at the vampire Caleb truly was, with no hint of the man she loved anywhere in sight.
Caleb quivered with rage, seethed with fury, as his woman blithely turned around and announced she was going to have his best friend turn her into a vampire. It didn’t matter that Demetri would refuse her request. It was the fact she was willing to allow some other vampire to sire her that burned his heart to shreds. She couldn’t hurt him anymore than she was doing right at this very moment.
He stared down at his beautiful woman and saw her lavender eyes wide with fear and brimming with tears and he could only imagine what she must be seeing in his face. She was seeing him at his true vampiric best, the monster he really was and he was frightening her. A
part of him was glad he was frightening her. She really should be reminded what he truly was, what she would become if he gave in to her and granted her request.
“So you want to be a vampire, Rhianna?” he asked dangerously quietly. “You want to be this?” He pointed at his face, baring his fangs at her, not one trace of human compassion or love anywhere in his expression.
Her face paled even more, her eyes silently beseeching him not to scare her this way and suddenly the breath hissed out of him in a long tortured gasp and he spun on his heel and raced from the kitchen, slamming out the front door and disappearing into the night.
Rhianna bit her lip. She’d pushed Caleb too far and now he was gone, running away from her. He was probably scared he would hurt her. For a moment she had thought he was going to and she felt guilty for having that moment of fear. She knew he would never hurt her, not deliberately so. She just wished he believed it of himself too.
She stared down at the burning eggs in the pan and sighed softly. She threw the entire pan into the sink, eggs and all. She wasn’t feeling very hungry anyway. She took a few deep breaths and headed out of the kitchen, seeing the front door lying wide open and shivering slightly as the cool breeze wafted inside.
She knew Caleb was close by somewhere. He would never leave her alone and vulnerable in his home with his door wide open for anyone to walk in. She considered calling him and then decided not to. She was still annoyed with him and he probably wasn’t too impressed with her either at the moment. Some time to let tempers cool was most definitely the best thing.
~~~~~
Caleb watched her hover at the open door, a deep scowl on his face. He was riddled with feelings of guilt but he was still angry at her too. She was being so unreasonable, so stubborn and single-minded, and downright bloody annoying.
So why was he the one skulking outside like a four year old in a temper tantrum? Why did he ache to go to her and promise her anything she wanted if only she would smile her beautiful smile at him and welcome him into her arms? Being in love was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in his very long life.
