by Sage Domini
Sometimes I considered where I would be if The Seer had not recognized that I secretly lived, the last of the ancient bloodline of alpha queens. This would have been my last year of law school. Shortly after I arrived at the home of the Dark Claws I had written to Liza. She was the only friend I had informed of my departure the night Marcus came to claim me. I told her I had found my true love. I told her I was happy. She did not write back, but it mattered little. The human world was no longer mine. I was the queen of the Dark Claws and I would soon bear a son who was destined to be an alpha like his father.
Although I seldom still reflected on the impossibility of being a part of this secret world filled with werewolves and vampires and other underworld creatures, I did wonder if Marcus’s claim to me was fate. What if he had not won the fight? I leaned over and touched the unshaven bristle on his handsome face. I was blessed to have found my true mate. There had been more sinister possibilities. I knew this because I had met one. A brief flash of memory brought Rocco’s cruel face and I shivered, pulling a blanket over my breasts. After we had safely returned to the rural home of the Dark Claws, Marcus had refused to speak of the violent ordeal which had let to the slaughter of the Iron Jaws. “It does not matter, Jessa. They are gone.” But in my darkest dreams I still heard the raging shrieks of the vampires as they tore the wicked pack to shreds.
Another light breeze washed over me. The air was growing warmer as spring drew near. My child was likely to arrive in a matter of weeks. I touched my swollen belly with a secret smile, recalling the moment I had told Marcus of his impending fatherhood. He was giddy with joy and for a brief time our physical joining had been very careful. Overnight Marcus the virile alpha werewolf became uncharacteristically cautious on the subject of lovemaking. He feared to place his weight on me. It had taken some time to convince him I was not a china doll who would break and that our child was well protected deep in my womb.
The next gust which rolled through the window was not casual. A vase of wildflowers, picked by the children of Dark Claws for their queen, fell from the dresser and shattered on the floor. I could not say what it was about that burst of wind which caused me to sit up and gasp. I only knew in my heart of a certain wrongness in the air.
Marcus stirred beside me. He sat up suddenly, a low growl in his throat.
Kiko was Marcus’s brother, essentially his second in command. When he leaned into the window his face was grim. However he remained in his mortal form, which meant whatever threat waited outside, it was likely not other werewolves. Kiko did not blink at our nudity, nodding at his brother. “You’d better get out here.”
Marcus glanced at me. “Jessa. Stay here.”
As an afterthought he grabbed a pair of gym shorts before he leapt out of the window. I pulled the bedding around my body and shivered as I searched for clothes. As I dressed I strained to hear what was happening outside. A female voice spoke in low commanding tones. Marcus interrupted her, arguing, but I could not make out the words.
I crept over to the window, pushing aside the delicate eyelet curtains which had been sewn by Kiko’s mate. Marcus stood about twenty yards away, the strongest of his brethren at his back. The same werewolves who he had brought with him to rescue me from Rocco’s brutality. They all wore unanimously fierce expressions at they faced the stranger before them. The woman was young and dressed entirely in black as she faced the Dark Claws. I had never seen her before. She was waiting for Marcus’s response.
“No,” he said. “They will not.”
The woman looked at me. Her glance was unsurprised, as if she had expected to me to be watching. She smiled but her voice held a tone of warning. “They will try.”
Marcus exhaled thickly. The look he gave me was bleak, almost sorrowful. I swallowed. “Jessa,” he said. “There is something we need to discuss.”
My heart pounded as I walked through the small cabin and exited the front door. The woman who had addressed me waited serenely, her hands clasped in front of her. Her gown was plain, black, and reached to the floor. The thin material sifted lightly about her slim frame. Though I had dressed warmly, I felt exposed as her gaze bore into me.
“Jessa, my name is Cassiah.”
My heart pounded, particularly when I caught a glimpse of Marcus. His muscles were tight with fury and he looked at the ground. “Hello,” I said hesitantly. I cleared my throat. “Are you a…” My voice trailed off and I looked at Marcus with uncertainty. If the woman was merely human it wouldn’t do to go babbling about werewolves.
Cassiah laughed. “A wolf? Goddess, no.” She smirked at the Dark Claws. “The beasts have some uses, I’ll admit. And I’ve enjoyed one or two in my time.” She looked at Marcus meaningfully before she returned her attention to me. “But I am not a wolf. Or a vampire, or a demon, a fairy, or any of the endangered species which show up now and again at The Gathering.” Marcus had told me about The Gathering the night we met. It was apparently a grand party for the underworld. The last Gathering was where he had learned of my existence. And fought for the right to claim me.
Cassiah watched me closely. I had the curious feeling she could hear my thoughts as clearly as if I had spoken aloud. There was one manner of creature which she had not mentioned. They were a forbidding race who clung to their craft more fervently than any mortals clung to religion. They kept careful tabs on all the strange creatures which walked alongside men and when a severe threat to humanity arose, they dealt with it as necessary. They were the sheriffs of the underworld. They were witches. Cassiah looked into my eyes and nodded, pleased that I had come to the conclusion on my own. But there were still questions to be answered.
“The Seer sent me,” she said, looking at Marcus again.
I spoke up. “As for the Iron Jaws-“
“Iron Jaws, ha!” Cassiah spat dismissively. “They were dealt with as was deserved.”
I opened my mouth to speak but Cassiah raised her hand. “So why am I here?” She looked at me intently. “For you, Jessa. For your child. I must protect the werewolf bride’s child, the future alpha of the Dark Claws.”
“Protect him from what?” I placed a protective hand over my belly. “Another pack?”
Cassiah shook her head impatiently. “No, no. While there are some who grumble yet that the last Caprese bride has been claimed, none will challenge Marcus.” She smirked. “Not after what happened to the Iron Jaws.”
I relaxed. My awful hours with Rocco had taught me to fear wolves outside of my own pack. “If the threat doesn’t come from other wolves, then who?”
Cassiah clucked sternly at Marcus. I had the odd feeling she was enjoying his discomfort. “Didn’t you tell your pretty bride that werewolves were not the only creatures interested in her?”
Marcus glowered at the witch. “She belongs here. She is our queen and will be a mother shortly.”
Cassiah looked thoughtfully at my swollen figure. “That,” she said decisively, “is the problem.”
I was growing impatient with the way they spoke in circles. Apparently I was the only one not privy to the reason why a witch had landed in my front yard. “Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on.”
Marcus came to me and took my arm, trying to lead me back into the cabin. But quicker than a blink the witch was in front of us, blocking the door. “You had your chance to come clean, Marcus.” Her smile had dropped and her voice was low. “Do you really think you can wish them away?”
Marcus reached for me but I shook his hand away. “Who?” I screamed.
Marcus coughed. “I’m sorry, Jessa. The witch is right. I should have told you.” He looked into my eyes. “Do you recall the night I claimed you, when I said your father had not been human?”
“I’m not feebleminded, Marcus. Of course I remember.” In fact he had promised to tell me more. Yet whenever I had asked him he shook his head slowly and was silent.
Cassiah spoke softly. “Jessa, your father was a changeling. His was a demon soul placed in a human chi
ld.”
“A demon?” I tried to conjure up an image of my father, the laughing man who had carried me over rain puddles so my feet would not get wet and shown me how to make dandelion crowns for my hair. I shook my head.
The first hint of sympathy crept into Cassiah’s voice. “I’m afraid so. He was indeed a demon, though while he walked in a mortal body he behaved himself. Mostly. He had been searching for a new host when he perished alongside your mother.” Cassiah heard my question before it left my lips. “A host, yes. His human body was ill. If the human dies before the demon can find a new host, then the demon dies as well.”
I lowered my head. You would think after all the shocks and ordeals so far this year I would be immune to strange news. But I was having some difficulty reconciling myself to being half demon.
Cassiah stepped closer to me. “There’s more.”
“Wait,” said Marcus. His voice held a pained tone and I looked at him strangely. I mean really, how much more shocking could the news get?
Cassiah looked at my belly. She reached out a thin hand and massaged the firm mound gently. The skin rippled as the tenant shifted within. “They want your child, Jessa. It is a boy and they believe he belongs to them.”
“Why?” I whispered.
Her eyes were sad as she regarded me. “Demons are always searching for hosts.” Her cool hand touched my face gently. “I am here to make sure they do not succeed.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur. The witch was to occupy an empty cabin not far from ours. It was built to be the home of Marcus’s brother Abram when he takes a mate.
I stood by the window as twilight settled around the farm. The witch’s cabin glowed with the candles she had lit. Cassiah had laughed when I asked if there was some witchy design behind her choice of lighting. After all, we weren’t savages. All the cabins were equipped with electricity. “I prefer fire,” she said.
Marcus’s strong arms wrapped around me and I sighed, settling into him. For the first time that day he had avoided my gaze. He didn’t need to say he was sorry. And even if he had told me, it would have changed nothing. “Can she stop them?”
His chin rested on top of my head. “She is strong. Perhaps the strongest. Which is why she was sent.”
I turned and faced him. His kiss was sudden and fierce, his tongue forcing my lips apart and exploring the heat of my mouth. I could not help but respond as the familiar desire moistened my sex. I wanted him. I always wanted him. But I broke the kiss. “Did you know her?”
He looked uneasy. “Who?”
My smile was thin. “You’re a rotten liar.”
Marcus looked away. “I told you how it was the night I claimed you. The act is meaningless until a wolf finds his mate.”
I felt a pain. Odd, since I knew he’d had other lovers. Given the extent to which he knew his way around a woman’s body, I guessed his partners were numerous. But never before had I been confronted with the comely flesh of his experience. “How was she?” It was petty of me. But the new threat to my unborn child left me feeling angry and helpless in a way I had never felt when I was being threatened myself.
Marcus set his jaw. “If you are asking if she was a good fuck, then the answer is yes.” He gripped my arms and brought me close. “You are my mate, Jessa. I have never desired the body of another since I claimed you.” But I was in no mood to listen to his words. I twisted away from him and stalked to the bedroom, slamming the door as he called after me. “And I never will!”
I tore my clothes off and heaved my body into the bed. I heard Marcus slamming objects around in the cabin for a while, and then it was strangely quiet. I knew he waited for me, but I stubbornly refused. Finally I heard the door to the cabin slam closed and a moment later the mournful howl as he sought refuge in the shape of the wolf. Tears ran over my cheeks as I nestled into the cool pillow and waited for the shelter of sleep.
I did not know the hour he came to me. The fresh smell of the outdoors was all over him. He must have run for hours. He did not wait for me get wet, or to even awaken fully. He plunged into me without prelude or apology. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as he pushed my legs higher and further apart to give himself better access, grunting with each punishing thrust. It did not take long for me to become slippery with arousal. My hands reached out to touch the firm muscles of his shoulders, but he would have none of it. He pinned my arms roughly behind my head and sucked hard on my breasts. They were already tender from the pregnancy and I steeled myself against the pain of this rough treatment. I came sharply and refused to cry out my pleasure but he knew anyway. He grinded his hips in a hard circle again and again as the waves crested and washed me to completion. Then he withdrew abruptly and forced my hand to stroke his unsatisfied dick. He came in a wild spurt which covered my large stomach and my sore breasts. He pushed my hand into the hot juice, rubbing it into my skin and holding me to the bed for many minutes as his seed dried. Finally he released me, rolling into his pillow. The only words he spoke were bitter. “You should know all this by now.”
Yes, I knew. I belonged to him. He had made that clear from the beginning. And also, he belonged to me. But I said nothing and stared into the darkness.
The next day I sought the witch. I felt a twinge of doubt as I knocked on the door with a plate of cookies on my hand. I didn’t know if witches ate cookies.
Cassiah smiled when she saw me. “Of course I love cookies.”
Of all the strange things which I had experienced since Marcus landed on my patio in the shape of a wolf, perhaps the oddest one yet was sitting across from my husband’s former lover as we ate chocolate chip cookies. Cassiah’s golden hair reached to her waist and she wasn’t dressed nearly as demurely as she had been the day before. She wore no bra under her skimpy floral sundress and her creamy flesh filled the eye no matter where you looked. She was very beautiful. I tried to bury my thoughts deep but the witch smiled as she slowly chewed her cookie. She swallowed. “Thank you, Jessa.”
I blushed. “I just wanted to stop by to thank you. You know, for coming.”
“You are afraid.”
I felt the threat of tears. “Of course I’m afraid! Jesus, there are demons trying to possess my baby. I’m goddamn terrified!” I took a deep breath. “Can you stop them?”
The witch nodded vaguely. “Yes, there are ways to stop them.”
I exhaled with relief. “Anything. I’ll do it. We’ll do it.”
Cassiah leaned close, her voice low. “Demons cannot enjoy pleasures of the flesh. It is why they seek a human form. They know the power of sex. They crave it almost as much as they fear it.”
I was a little lost. “So, demons can be defeated by…”
“Fucking. Yes Jessa, they can. To witness pleasure is unbearably painful to them.” She stood suddenly and dropped her sundress. Her rose-tipped breasts hung in my face. I blushed as she sat close to me. Her tone grew seductive, her breath hot against my ear. “You see Jessa, the ecstasy one body takes from another is the most potent weapon there is.” I flinched as her hand brushed across my breasts. “The demons know this.” She briefly massaged my belly. “I am the most powerful witch.” Suddenly her touch dropped gently between my legs. “And if I join my body with the most powerful werewolf…” Her hand moved back and forth. “We can defeat them.”
Suddenly I felt as if I had smacked into a wall of ice. I understood the meaning behind her words. “Marcus.” I stood. “You want him.”
The witch shrugged. “Jessa, I’ve already had him. You know that.” She leaned indolently back into the cushions of the couch. “This isn’t about what I want. This is about saving your child.”
I was angry. I was confused. I needed to leave the scrutiny of the witch. I could not have her inside my mind right now. As I left the cabin she called after me. “It’s the best way, Jessa. With the alpha’s seed in my body I will be able to beat back the demons who threaten your child. I will destroy them!”
I felt as if I could not bre
athe. I moved as quickly as my heavy, burdened body could carry me into the woods surrounding the farm. The fresh symbols of spring were intoxicating but I scarcely noticed them. I stopped to catch my breath. To share Marcus with the witch was unthinkable. I felt ill at the thought of him between her spidery legs. The tiny werewolf inside me shifted and I put a hand over him, feeling a fierce surge of maternal love. If I must sacrifice to safe my child, then so be it. I would put aside my own pain to save him. I would do anything.
“Do not call the wolves.”
The creature came from the shadows of the woods. He was equally proportionate to a man, but his skin had a red scaly cast. A cape covered his body and odd cloven feet peeked from the bottom. It was his eyes which were the most startling. They were entirely black. He pulled his dark cape closer. “We have no scent, you see. So they will not detect me unless you alert them.”
My mouth had gone dry. “You’re a demon.”
The creature nodded. “My name is Dorian.” He grinned amiably. “We are related, you and I. Distantly, but nonetheless kin.”
I tried to back away from his advancing shape. “I know what you want, you monster.”
The demon smiled. “To give the child a gift.” He held out a small blue box wrapped in a white ribbon. “And we are all monsters, my dear.”
“I’ll accept nothing from you.” I opened my mouth to issue a scream which would summon the pack but in a flash the demon’s hand was around my throat.
“Don’t,” he warned. “I have no wish to harm you, but I won’t die for the sake of your silly fear.”
My hands clenched. I stared him in the eye and said nothing. Momentarily he released me. “Open your gift.”
“No.”
The demon cocked his head. “What is wrong with you? All right, I’ll open it for you.” I tensed as he ripped the cover of the box off and spilled the contents into his hand. He held the palm out. I blinked. It was a small silver bracelet. A tiny charm in the shape of a wolf’s head dangled from one of the links.
