by Tasha Black
He spread her open and inhaled deeply. Growling with desire, he buried his face in her, licking and sucking convulsively.
Ainsley tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. She didn’t care if he could breathe, or what she might taste like after their hours of copulating last night. All that mattered was the fire in her veins that his tongue was stoking.
Then it was time. She pulled him up by his hair.
He left a wet trail of sorrowful kisses up her belly and between her breasts, as though he would have liked to take his time.
She hoisted herself onto the counter in one smooth motion and wrapped her legs around his narrow waist possessively. He was radiating delicious warmth. She nuzzled his chest and neck, then looked into his eyes.
He gazed at her in open adoration.
She pulled him closer with her legs.
His expression darkened with lust as he dropped his boxers to the kitchen floor.
She closed her eyes in assent and he pressed himself into her slowly.
Every time they joined, her power expanded. By the time they finished she felt she would be able to see the stars in the daytime sky.
Spent, they collapsed on the kitchen floor. Her head rested on Erik’s massive chest. He stroked her hair with his warm hands. They were sated - for now at least.
The smoky smell of the meat roused Ainsley. She leapt to her feet and Erik slipped on his shorts and scrambled back to the stove.
The pan clattered against the counter top. Ainsley admired the rippling muscles in Erik’s back as he reached up for a cutting board and slid the meat onto it. He cracked a dozen eggs into the pan and set it back on the burner.
Then he turned and brought the cutting board to the counter in front of her. He salted the steak generously then slipped a knife deftly through it, creating small, juicy squares.
Ainsley’s stomach knotted on itself in hunger.
He smiled at her and tossed a bite to her.
She snatched it out of the air with her teeth.
The flavor burst against her tongue. She tasted the salt, the seasoned tang of the cast iron pan, the charred exterior, and the sweet juicy strings inside. She thought immediately of her rabbit.
“Soon I’ll teach you to hunt,” Erik said, as though he were reading her thoughts.
Ainsley started to wrinkle her nose in disgust, but it actually sounded awesome. She imagined tearing apart the rabbit in her strong wolfy teeth, letting the hot blood pulse down her throat.
It made her think of Clive and his bloody steak.
For the first time she thought about the implications of being the alpha.
“What are we going to do now…about me?”
“I called MacGregor while you were sleeping. Everyone knows. The whole town is buzzing.”
As he said it, Ainsley knew that it was so. When she let her guard down she could feel the teeming energy of her pack.
“Has there ever been a female alpha before?”
“Mac says it’s rare but not unheard of. It’s never happened in Tarker’s Mills before.”
“Will they follow me?”
“They have to, you’re the alpha.”
“What if they don’t want to?” She was thinking of Clive, of course.
“If a wolf doesn’t want to follow an alpha he can leave the pack as an outcast. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or challenge the alpha for control.”
“Would Clive do that?”
There was a pause while Erik considered.
“I don’t know anymore, a lot has changed,” he said at length.
“What if he does?”
“Then you would have to face him. Alone.”
Ainsley’s stomach clenched. A vision entered her head of Clive Warren’s handsome face and fearsome body, poised to shift and destroy her.
CHAPTER 2
Erik let Ainsley consider it for a moment.
It was natural that she might be frightened at the prospect of fighting Clive for her pack. She had only spent a few hours as a wolf. But he had a feeling that if last night and today were any indication she was going to be an incredibly powerful alpha.
He stretched and flexed his sore muscles. Even his wolf healing couldn’t keep up with Ainsley’s mating drive. She was insatiable. And his desire for her was all consuming. Even now, he had to wrench his thoughts away from the thrilling scent of her sex that was all over his hands and mouth.
He dumped the steak into the eggs and whipped the whole thing into an omelet. She would be starving by now. He needed to get her fed and then he could tell her about Cressida.
He tried not to think about how she might react. Yesterday she had been self-conscious thinking that he might prefer Cressida’s straight lines to her own generous curves. In her imperious alpha state he just wasn’t sure how she would feel.
Ainsley wasn’t used to her newfound power.
But it didn’t really matter. Now that she was alpha and had chosen him as her mate, his job was to protect and serve her. Adjusting for feelings wasn’t his prerogative.
He slid the omelet onto a plate and handed it to her with a fork.
He loved the wolfy way she appreciated the scent before devouring it in a few bites.
When she was finished she smiled at him.
His heart pounded and he smiled back at her.
Her smiles had always affected him. They affected him in two ways now – touching his heart and buoying his spirit the way her father’s approval always had. The combined result was devastating.
Mesmerized by her power, he felt himself getting hard again.
But there was much to accomplish today, before it was too late.
“Cressida is on her way here,” he said, looking down.
“What?”
“Cressida is coming,” he said firmly. “You need help learning to fight. Cressida can teach you as much as I can. Maybe more.”
He could see that she was thinking it over.
“Okay,” she assented, “but she’d better keep her dirty little paws to herself.”
He tried to hide a smile, but she caught the curve of his lips as he was turning away.
Out of nowhere a warm weight was on his back. She had launched herself across the counter. She latched her teeth into the scruff of his neck.
The bite wasn’t hard but it carried the weight of a command.
She needn’t have bothered. He had no interest in anyone but Ainsley anyway. But it excited him terribly. It was like she was choosing him all over again, marking him.
He relaxed under her hold, though of course he could have thrown her off easily. He liked this assertive side of Ainsley, and wanted to encourage it.
Slowly he lowered them to the kitchen table. She allowed him to turn over so that she was on top of him.
He pushed himself backwards and looked up at her glorious sex. It was red and swollen from his earlier attentions. He would just take a gentle taste.
The moment his lips touched her she seemed to unfurl and bloom against his mouth. Lush moisture beaded against his lips and her clitoris swelled under his tongue. She moaned and he lapped at it as softly as he could, trying to prolong her pleasure.
A deafening bang interrupted his ministrations.
Fuck. It was Cressida.
He froze, waiting for Ainsley to climb off him.
Ainsley ground herself against his mouth again demandingly.
Confused but unable to defy her, he continued. The long, sucking strokes of his tongue were teasing them both. His cock was stiff as a board and quivering.
He sensed Cressida in the room with them. Smelled her fear and confusion - and a moment later her lust.
Ainsley was obviously ignoring Cressida. She rocked her hips against his mouth again, impatient with his slow teasing.
Erik slid a finger inside her and sucked hard on her clit.
She came hard, crying out with wild abandon.
In a quick movement she was of
f the table.
He lay still, his face wet with her juices, waiting to see what she would do next.
Cressida stood frozen in the doorway.
“Cressida,” Ainsley acknowledged the girl in a bored voice.
“Uh, hi, Ainsley.”
Erik wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard Cressida off-balance before.
He didn’t like the way Ainsley was eying her up and down, like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to fuck or fight.
Cressida’s eyes went back and forth between Ainsley and Erik, lingering on his rigid penis.
Erik closed his eyes, waiting for Ainsley to attack. She didn’t.
“My mate tells me that you want to help me today. Is that right?”
Cressida nodded at her dumbly.
“Then you can teach me. But you will never burst into this house, or any house I’m in, without knocking again. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes, I think you do. Coffee?”
“Yes, please. Thank you.”
Wow.
Cressida’s meek voice was pretty funny – but Erik was very sure he shouldn’t laugh. He slipped off the table and ran upstairs to get cleaned up. As he passed Cressida, he saw that her eyes were fixated on Ainsley’s full breasts.
He felt a pang of jealousy but pushed it down. Ainsley was alpha. She could do whatever she wanted.
Nevertheless, he would clean up quickly. If anything happened he didn’t want to miss it.
CHAPTER 3
A insley was buzzing with delight.
She couldn’t quite believe that she had really done that with Erik front of Cressida. On the other hand, the effect was marvelous.
Cressida stood behind her, awkwardly shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Waiting to see what crazy thing Ainsley might do next.
Ainsley poured out three mugs of coffee and set them on the counter in front of Cressida. She pulled the milk out of the fridge and stretched to reach the sugar bowl out of a cupboard.
When she turned to the counter with milk and sugar, Cressida was finally looking up at her. Her lips were parted and her eyes were wide. She held eye contact with Ainsley for a heartbeat, then dropped her gaze to her hands.
Ainsley felt her nipples go hard. She fought against her wolf, which wanted to mount Cressida to express her dominance.
Instead, she calmly poured milk into her own mug, then swirled the cup to watch the milk make patterns in the coffee.
“What does it feel like?” Cressida asked.
Ainsley thought about it.
“It’s hard to describe. It’s like someone took my blinders off.”
“Oh.”
“Are you really going to help me?”
“Of course.”
“Are you a good fighter?”
“Oh just you wait!” Cressida’s voice regained some of her usual bravado.
She gulped down her coffee black as Ainsley watched in horror. Black coffee was for cops in movies.
Erik pounded down the stairs and skidded to a halt in the doorway. He looked back and forth between them.
Ainsley wasn’t sure if he was glad they weren’t making out or disappointed.
She made a mental note to ask him later. Though she wasn’t sure how she would want him to answer.
“Hi, Erik,” she said instead.
He smiled into her eyes with such warmth it almost hurt.
“You should get cleaned up so we can get out there! It’s nice out,” he said.
“Come with me,” she told Cressida.
Cressida followed without question. Ainsley didn’t want to think about how many times Cressida had been upstairs in this house. But she surely wasn’t going to leave her alone with Erik now.
“I brought you some clothes,” Cressida said, indicating her purse.
Ainsley wondered how skimpy the clothes must be if they fit in that purse. But beggars couldn’t be choosers. All she had for now was Erik’s stuff.
“Thanks. Just put them on the bed. I’ll be right back.”
She did a quick clean-up, then came out. A real bath would have to wait until after the day’s training.
“Let me brush your hair,” Cressida offered.
“Why?”
“I just want to,” Cressida said.
Ainsley shrugged and threw Cressida the brush. She sat on the bed and Cressida knelt behind her and began to brush her hair.
As soon as the slow, smooth strokes began Ainsley recognized that Cressida was grooming her. Her wolf was pleased and leaned into Cressida’s gentle touch. It was soothing to be cared for.
But all too soon her hair was gleaming and there was nothing to do but go outside and learn how to fight.
Cressida put the brush away and waited for Ainsley to get up. Her posture was deferent. She looked like she could happily stand there for weeks, if necessary.
Ainsley hopped up and they sailed down the stairs.
Erik smiled. There was a question in his eyes that seemed to be answered when she embraced him. She didn’t smell like Cressida. He must have been worried about what she had done when she was alone with the girl.
A friendship with Cressida was going to be a dangerous enterprise for their relationship. Ainsley chose to table that thought until she had time to look at all the angles.
Cressida had quietly removed her clothes while Ainsley and Erik embraced. Seeing her lithe form woke Ainsley’s urges all over again.
How did these wolves ever get anything done?
She sighed, and they all headed out to the meadow.
Ainsley thought about what a strange sight they would have been to anyone who wasn’t a wolf. It was a good thing Erik had bought all this property.
When they reached the edge of the meadow, Erik stopped.
“We should talk about this first, then shift.”
Ainsley nodded and sank to the ground. The other two sat with her, forming a small circle.
“What do I need to know?” Ainsley asked.
“Clive is enormous,” Cressida replied instantly, “you need to use your speed. Tire him out.”
“He’s big but he can get lazy. He’s never been in a fight that’s lasted more than a minute or two. So be sure to stay disciplined so that when he misses his mark you can take advantage,” Erik added.
“Will he try to kill me? Or will we just fight to see who wins?”
Cressida looked at her hands.
“That’s up to the winner, Ainsley,” Erik said softly. “The winner can kill his opponent-”
“-Or her opponent!” Cressida added.
“Or her opponent,” Erik agreed, “if he or she chooses. Or the winner can show mercy and oust the other wolf from the pack but allow them to live.”
Gloomy looks were exchanged. Ainsley figured they were all on the same page that Clive would just kill her.
“Why do we have this fighting thing? And why didn’t the toughest guys in the pack just duke it out to find a leader in the first place, rather than involve me?” she asked.
“It’s because the most powerful leader is the one who has the support of the pack. Most of the time in a pack like ours lineage trumps everything – not brawn. Fights only happen when there is uncertainty about leadership.”
Ouch.
That must mean the pack wasn’t completely behind her. It was understandable really. Her first reaction to finding out she was a wolf had been to run away. Her second reaction had been to try and beat the system. It would be much more surprising if the whole pack had stood behind her. She dreaded what they would think when they found out she could use magic.
Nonetheless it rankled her in a physical way. She ached to shift and relieve her feelings with a good fight.
“Let’s do this,” she said grimly.
Cressida shrugged. By the time her shoulders came back down, she was a wolf.
Erik politely waited for Ainsley to shift first.
It happened easily this time, she pictured her wolf and
she was her wolf.
Even the sudden narrowing of her vision and the assault of sounds and smells felt familiar instead of frightening. It was getting easier to tune out what she didn’t want - leaving her the ability to focus her heightened senses where she wanted them.
Just as she lifted her snout to take in a first taste of the morning air, an enormous furry thing flew at her out of nowhere.
She flattened herself to the ground, but it was too late. Cressida had a tight hold on her scruff.
Ainsley yipped – more in surprise than pain- and Cressida bounded away.
She snapped her head around to Erik.
“That was sort of low, wasn’t it? But it’s typical for a smaller wolf. Cressida has to fight dirty. This is one of the reasons we-”
Ainsley could smell the furtive she-wolf stalking her again. This time she waited until she felt Cressida pounce, then dodged at the last instant. Cressida latched onto Ainsley’s ear instead of her scruff and they both landed in a pile at Erik’s feet.
‘-asked her to come today. Wow. That was better.”
Cressida was up already and out of sight.
Ainsley shook herself and hopped to her feet. She swiveled her ears around warily and tasted the air. Cressida must have woven her scent back and forth through the grass as she retreated, Ainsley smelled her everywhere.
She turned back to Erik just in time to see him shift and leap at her.
There was no time to retreat, she could only try to stand her ground and hope the impact didn’t break her spine. She turned her head and splayed her paws.
Erik crash landed on her back like a boulder. Pain shot out between her shoulder blades. Before she could process it he was grasping and shaking her ruff.
She flipped herself onto her back to push him off with her spring-like back legs.
But he only leapt up again and pounced down on her as she lay on her back, snapping viciously at the sides of her face, while she pawed at him ineffectually.
She felt like a weak little puppy - completely demoralized – with her mate gloating his strength over her.
Just then Cressida appeared in her human form.
“Erik, for fuck’s sake, enough!” she yelled.
He leapt off Ainsley immediately.
