Holt: A Wolf's Hunger Alpha Shifter Romance

by Desiree A. Cox

  Tears brimmed in my eyes. “No. Please!” I cried. I swallowed hard. “I just need to get to know you a little better. Soon, I promise.”

  He spun me around and pressed my back against the counter, his front pressing hard against me. His hands held my face tight and his mouth descended on mine. His tongue kept trying to gain entry, and as much as I wanted to vomit at his taste I opened for him. I couldn’t do anything else that would set him off. I needed time to figure out how I was going to get out of here. Alive.

  The hideous kiss lasted much longer than I hoped, and his knee kept pressing until he’d finally wedged his leg between my thighs. He began grinding his genitals against my hip, then dry humping me. His moans got deeper and louder as his humping tempo increased, until he let out a long, low, growl.

  “You’re such a good girl. You’re so sweet. I’m sorry I lost my temper. I didn’t mean to, but I wanted to feel you so badly.” He lowered his forehead to mine. “Certainly you understand my desire. Will you forgive me, my love?”

  I felt sick to my stomach. His breath reeked, his scent was disgusting, and what he’d just done was so incredibly vulgar. Before I could answer, I turned and lost my breakfast in the sink.

  He held my hair and rubbed my back. “Are you okay, my love?”

  “I think I ate too much. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.” He stood me up, reached for a paper towel and dampened it, then wiped around my mouth. “I need to go take a shower. Clean up the sink,” he said brusquely.

  I was glad he was gone. Even if he wasn’t gone gone, he was away from me. I rinsed my vomit down the disposal and looked under the sink for some type of disinfectant cleaner. I poured a little bleach down the drain, then scrubbed the surface with some Ajax.

  Making sure my robe was secured I walked down the hallway and back into the bedroom I’d been sleeping in, and closed the door.

  I heard a light tapping. “Sweetheart, I have to leave now. I hope you feel better by the time I return. If you get hungry, by all means help yourself.” There was a brief pause. “And if you try to escape I’ll know, and I’ll be forced to punish you. Please, don’t do anything to anger me.” I heard his footsteps grow quieter as he walked away from the door. I let out a sigh. Then he pounded back, each step getting louder. “Daci, I just wanted to tell you I love you, my pet. I’ll see you later.”

  When I heard the door lock, I was relieved that he was gone. I opened the door and went into the bathroom where I scrubbed my mouth and teeth, trying to rid myself of any hint of him. Then I showered and scrubbed my body fiercely. I felt so revolted that he’d used me as his humping post.

  After securing my robe, I made my way back out to the living room and turned on the television. I couldn’t sit on the couch, knowing he slept there and his scent was embedded in the leather. Instead, I chose the hard wooden chair that sat near a floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

  After flipping the channels, I settled on National Geographic where they were featuring the Gray Wolf. I listened to the program, but my eyes were drawn to the books on the shelf. He had a hodge-podge of genres. There were romance and wolf shifter paranormal books. No surprise there, I thought. He also had a few cook-books and a few self-help types. He needs to read these self-help books from front to back, I thought.

  I slid one of the self-help books out and turned to the table of contents to see if there was anything in there that was of interest. Every chapter discussion probably could have applied to this maniac. I slid the book back into place exactly like it was.

  The next book made my heart drop. It was a tell-all book on kidnapping. The woman had been kidnapped and tortured for years. A shiver tore through me. Her will to survive was amazing. She was able to manipulate the kidnapper into doing things he’d never have done. I inhaled deeply then sighed as I replaced that book, too.

  I stood to see the books on the higher shelves and scanned a couple more before my eyes landed on a witchcraft book. Why on earth would a warlock need a witchcraft book? I pulled it out and sat down in the chair, then flipped the book open to the page that had the corner folded. My heart sank.

  Casting spells was on the page in large, bold letters. My eyes shifted to the television as I watched the beautiful wolves running free across the wild terrain. Then I glanced back down at the page and began reading.

  I’d been sitting in the chair for what felt like hours, and had read nearly one hundred pages. I flipped corners at the bottom of the pages so I didn’t disturb his markings at the top. My eyes were so heavy. I replaced the book on the shelf and turned the television off, then went to lie down.

  “Hi, Mr. Scofield. Is Barry home?” I asked.

  “Good morning, Daci. Let me call him for you.” The Pack Alpha turned and hollered up the stairs for his son. “Barry! Daci’s down here.”

  “You can come in, dear. I’m sure he won’t be long.”

  “Thank you.” I stepped into their large foyer and Mr. Scofield shut the door behind me.

  “How are you doing? Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir, everything’s fine.”

  “If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. I know it has to be tough to be on your own, but we’d like to help you, if you need anything.”

  “I appreciate that. Thank you.” I sniffled and fought to keep my tears back. It had been two months since my nana was buried and I missed her so much. Now, I was living in our house all by myself.

  “Have you decided on a college yet?” Mr. Scofield asked.

  “I have two I’m choosing between. Either Rutgers or Seton Hall. Both have offered full academic scholarships, and both are close enough that I can live at home. I’m not sure I want to stay on campus and leave the house completely empty though.”

  “We’ll take care of the house. Don’t let that stop you.”

  I heard the thudding footfalls on the stairs and looked up. Barry was on his way down.

  “I’ll leave you kids alone. It was nice seeing you, Daci.”

  “It was nice seeing you, too, Mr. Scofield.”

  “Hi, Daci,” Barry said as he landed on the floor beside me. He was so much taller than me now. He was taller than his father, too.

  “Hi. Want to go to the mall with me?”

  “I hate the mall. Where’s Veronica?”

  “She’s with her boyfriend. Come with me. Please? I promise we won’t be there all day. I just hate to go by myself.”

  He sighed and lolled his head back. “I hate the mall, but I’ll go with you. Let me just tell my father. I’ll be right back.”

  I stood in the foyer waiting for his return. It felt like he’d abandoned me. He’d never taken so long to tell his parents he was going to hang out with me before. I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

  “Daci,” a deeper, more confident, and vaguely familiar voice called me. I slowly turned but saw no one. My breath hitched at the thought that someone was watching me.

  “Who called my name?” I asked. I was still standing in the foyer of Barry’s childhood home. Without warning, my Coy-wolf howled and I had no idea where I was anymore.

  “Don’t be frightened. It’s me, Holt.”

  I hadn’t heard his voice call my name since we were in high school. My nerves calmed and I suddenly felt different. I felt safe for the first time since this awful ordeal began.

  “Wh…where are you?”

  “Close. I’m coming for you. I’ll explain everything when I get there.”

  “But you don’t know where I am.” My voice was shaky.

  “My Wolf will find you. He’s led me so far, and I’m confident he has me headed in the right direction.”

  “I’m scared,” I said. My eyes began to well with tears.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m being held captive in this man’s home, Barry. I’m afraid Maximus is going to hurt me, or ra --”

  “Has he touched you?” Barry asked. His voice sounded harsh. A lump formed
in my throat and I couldn’t answer. I thought back to when Maximus had forced me to kiss him, and fought to keep the tears at bay.

  “His fate is sealed,” Barry said.

  “I think he’s a Warlock,” I whispered. “He has a really bad temper that triggers at the smallest things.”

  “That’s of no consequence to me. Warlock or human, he’ll pay either way. Do you know where you are?”

  “No.”

  “No worries; I’ll find you. Stay strong, my dearest love, and be safe. My only concern is you and making sure nothing happens to you.”

  “This guy really scares me, Barry. He says he loves me, and that we’re meant to be together.” I swallowed hard. “He says I’m his soul mate.”

  “That’s impossible, Daci. You’re mine.”

  Chapter 13

  Holt

  When Daci told me she was being held captive, my blood began to boil. Hearing the fear in her voice and hearing her tell me how scared she was, enraged me even further. What gave this prick the right to kidnap her and hold her hostage?

  My Wolf paced back and forth during the rest of the conversation.

  I have to find her, I thought. If anything were to happen to Daci, I’d never forgive myself. She was my friend and my soul mate, and it was my job to protect her.

  But what if I got to her too late? What if he did hurt her? What if he decided he was going to claim her, and forced her to bond with him? What if he raped the woman that was mine?

  My breathing was ragged and my jaws clenched. I snarled and growled at the thoughts racing through my mind. I wanted to rip this piece of shit who called himself a man to shreds.

  My Wolf sniffed the air, picking up Daci’s scent, and ran along the river bank at top speed in her direction.

  My Hunger grew more intense the farther north I traveled. It finally had gotten to a point that I could no longer ignore it, and was forced to stop to hunt.

  As I devoured my large buck, the guilt of not powering through my selfish need to eat instead of sacrificing to get to Daci overtook me, and the questions flooded my mind. My heart felt heavy in my chest. The onslaught of questions was overwhelming me.

  What would I do if he forced himself on my woman? Was I strong enough to get past such an atrocity? Would it affect my feelings for her? Would the Goddess provide me another soul mate if I couldn’t bear the thought of any of that?

  “Holt, snap out of it, kid. You have to trust you’ll find her and get to her in time. Get focused and get your ass back in gear,” Trey said.

  “You can hear my thoughts?”

  “I heard those.”

  “I’m going crazy. I’m starving all the fucking time, my soul mate is holed up in some madman’s home, and I’m so far away from her I don’t know if I’ll get to her in time.”

  “Whoa! Are you saying you’re giving up?”

  I paused. Before I could answer, Trey spoke.

  “Would your father give up? Do you think your father would want you to give up? No! So, take a word of advice: Quiet the negative voices in your head. If you don’t, your mate is in more danger than you could imagine because you won’t be able to save her. She needs you, kid. More than she ever has in her life.”

  “I know, but--”

  “You don’t have time for buts, ors, or maybes. Get your shit together right fucking now and go rescue her. Are you an Alpha or a pansy-ass?”

  “I’m Alpha,” I growled.

  “Then grow a pair and fucking act like it.”

  Trey was right. I needed to get my act together and keep focused. When I was younger I had a tendency to overthink situations and eventually cower away, but I couldn’t do that to Daci. She was too important. She was my world.

  I ripped one final bite from the buck, chewing as I trotted off, and left the remaining carcass behind for the ravens and vultures.

  Daci

  My heart was full of hope and love when I heard Barry call me his soul mate. The strong bond we’d had when we were growing up made complete sense. We were both too young to realize it at the time, but Goddess had meant for us to be together.

  I had a million questions for Barry, but the one that lingered was how did he have the ability to link to me? He’d never been able to do that before. What changed? Omegas shouldn’t have that capability, according to my nana.

  I noticed it was only two o’clock. I wasn’t sure how much time I had before Maximus came home, but I needed to help Barry find me. I needed to figure out the address or town or something that would help him get here faster.

  After spending a little over a half hour carefully going though cabinets and drawers, I found the mail tucked away in a drawer. Before I could do anything, I heard the key jingling in the front door. I quickly shut the drawer and rushed in to the wooden chair and sat. My heart was thumping so hard, I was afraid Maximus would hear it.

  “I’m home, my love,” he called.

  I sat silently, taking deep breaths and releasing them slowly. I needed to slow the adrenaline. I was nearly caught snooping.

  Once I felt like I’d gotten myself under control I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out when I saw him standing before me with a dozen red roses.

  “I’ve been kind of a schmuck. I’m sorry.” His arm extended toward me with the roses held tightly in his grasp.

  I knew I had to do what he expected. I stood and reached to take them from him, and he snaked his other arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

  “I missed you. Did you miss me?” His heated, smelly breath made my stomach turn.

  I turned my head slightly to get a breath of fresher air. “I did miss you, Maximus.”

  “Please, my love, call me Max.”

  “I like Maximus better. I’d prefer to call you by your full name, if that’s okay with you.”

  He leaned down and his mouth sought mine. I fought to hold my lips shut, but his tongue slithered in despite my best efforts to not allow him. Knowing how irate he could get, I forced myself to not fight him off. Within minutes, he had both arms on me, one hand splayed on my lower back, holding me tight to him so I could feel his bulge pressing against me, and the other holding a handful of my hair. His moans and grinding against me were frantic and repulsive. I felt sicker with each passing second.

  “I can’t wait for our coupling, my love. I long to taste you, and feel you wrapped around me.”

  I couldn’t swallow. The lump in my throat was preventing me from gulping down or throwing up, but either felt like they were possibly going to happen after his disgusting comment.

  I forced the word I’d said before, “Soon.” I had to keep this guy away from me. He wasn’t my soul mate no matter what he said.

  “I’m looking forward to that day.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead then released me from his hold. That was when I noticed the roses on the floor near our feet.

  “Do you have a vase? I’d love to put these beautiful flowers in water and keep them alive.”

  “Yes, my pet, I do. Gather them and come to the kitchen.”

  I scooped up the roses and walked into the kitchen. He had already filled a vase with water for me.

  “Are you home for the day?” I asked.

  “No, I need to go back. I came home to check on you. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” I replied.

  “Good.” His eyes roamed over my body. I pulled the robe closed up high near my neck.

  “I hate to bother you, but did you find any clothes I could wear?”

  His eyes shifted from being on me to looking past me. He took a couple of steps toward me, closing the distance between us, then he wrapped his long skinny fingers around my arm. When I looked at him, his eyes were pinched and his nostrils flared.

  “Have you been digging through my things?” he barked.

  “N… No,” I stammered.

  He spun me around and I saw what he’d been looking at. One of the envelopes I’d been holding was caught between the drawer
face and cabinet. My heart dropped.

  “You lying bitch! Why are you digging through my stuff?” he screamed.

  “I’m sorry. I was just looking for a pen.” His fingers were digging into my bicep. He yanked me back and forth, my arm feeling like it was going to come out of its socket at my shoulder. Tears were streaming down my face at the pain.

  “If I find out you’re lying to me, you’ll be locked in that fucking cage while I’m gone!” he screamed. “I’m half tempted to lock you up before I leave again.” He released my arm. He went to the drawer and pulled it open. After pushing the paper back in, he slammed it shut.

  “No, please. I’m so sorry.” I was terrified that if he locked me up, I’d never get my hands on the address, and Barry would never find me. Then I’d be stuck in this hell forever.

  In typical psychotic Maximus style, before he left he apologized for hollering at me. He then went into his mind-numbing delusional rant about us being made for each other, blah, blah, blah! I knew who my heart belonged to, and it wasn’t him. It never would be him.

  I watched his truck drive out of the driveway and turn down the road to the right. That makes sense; we turned left when he brought me here, I thought. When he was out of sight, I went to the drawer and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Nooo!” I cried out loud. “This can’t be happening to me!”

  I dropped my head and walked in to the wooden chair I’d sat in earlier. The drawer had opened so easily earlier. I didn’t see a lock on it. Maybe he put a spell on the drawer. Fucking bastard.

  I shook my head and pressed the power button to turn on the television.

  After sitting there watching one of the daily soap operas, I decided to read some more from his witchcraft book. I flipped the pages, this time curious to see what type of spells he’d marked the pages for.

  The spell list was boring. How to cast spells to make someone fall in love with you -- clearly, he didn’t try that one yet. How to achieve immortality -- good luck with that. How to communicate with the dead -- that’s creepy and it’s been done before, so...