Half-Blooded: The Alpha's Mate (BBW Shifter Romance)

by Bethany Rousseau

  One of Caleb’s hands slipped down between their bodies, and Mia cried out as his fingertips found her clit and began rubbing the sensitive bead of flesh steadily with every thrust of his hips, with every movement of her body on top of his. She tried to hold back, knowing that it wasn’t fair for her to come first when Caleb had already gotten her off once; it was almost impossible as his touches, and the feeling of him inside of her, conspired to drive her self-control farther and farther away. Mia reached down and racked her fingernails across Caleb’s chest, scratching firmly but not enough to leave more than red marks. Caleb groaned long and low, grabbing at her hip with one of his hands and gripping it tightly. She felt his last vestiges of self-control dissolving as he began thrusting up into her harder and faster, bouncing her as she moved with him.

  In a matter of moments, she felt his cock twitching inside of her, felt his whole body tensing as he let out a shout of pleasure and triumph. Mia cried out in the midst of her own impending climax, even more intense waves of sensation washing through her as she rode him as hard as she could while it lasted. She felt his sticky-slick heat shooting into her in waves, the tip of his cock brushing steadily against her g-spot as she came once more.

  She collapsed against him bonelessly; both of them were panting, thoroughly spent from their aggressive, satisfying sex. Caleb draped his arms around her loosely, holding her body against his, and Mia was aware of the fact that they were both drenched in sweat, that all of their fluids save for blood were mingling. She smiled lazily, content to just lie against Caleb for a moment while her body shook and trembled with aftershocks, her mind a million miles away, bathed in the chemicals that came from multiple orgasms in short succession. She barely managed to turn her head at Caleb’s gentle prodding to let him kiss her hungrily, his tongue probing her mouth. She could taste herself on his lips still, on his tongue, a sharpness that rode over the sweet flavor she had somehow begun associating with his taste.

  “You know,” Caleb said idly, sitting up slightly and holding Mia on top of him as he did. “In spite of how incredibly satisfying that was, there’s a small problem.” Mia stirred, opening her eyes without remembering when she closed them and looking up at Caleb with startled concern.

  “A problem?” she asked him, unable to fathom how anything could possibly be wrong when she felt so good. Caleb laughed.

  “Yes; remember, we’ve got a very important meeting to go to in a couple of hours. I doubt you want to show up in that dress still sweaty and reeking of good sex.” Mia giggled, her reaction setting off a deep, belly-shaking bout of laughter aided and abetted by the endorphins rushing through her body and brain. After a moment she finally managed to get her reaction under control, and she breathed slowly and steadily to keep it from happening again.

  “You’re quite right. We both need showers,” she agreed, stirring slightly on top of Caleb. He snorted, holding her tightly against him.

  “You don’t have to get off of me, you know,” he told her. Mia shot him a slightly quizzical glance and he chuckled lowly. Caleb sat up completely, holding Mia in place, wrapping his arm around her hips. She was almost shocked when he moved underneath her, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and cradling her against him as he rose up. He carried her deftly into the bathroom, and Mia shook her head at the fact that so soon after such an intense orgasm, he was fully able to carry her—as if she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. While Mia had not ever thought of herself as truly big, she knew that she was no size 0 bag of bones, either—she was a substantial woman, muscle and fat and bone. The fact that Caleb was able to carry her without any strain was gratifying to her.

  He continued to hold her as he turned the water on in the shower, waiting a moment to allow it to warm up before he carried her in with him. The steam surrounded them, and Caleb let her down out of his embrace carefully, holding her until she was steady on her feet. “You first,” he said, giving her a gentle shove towards the torrent of water gushing from the showerhead. Mia stepped into the hot rain, letting it pound down on her head with her eyes closed, feeling it sluice over her body as she stood there, almost transfixed by the oddly novel sensation. It was unlike any shower she had ever taken, and Mia was perplexed by how much more keenly she felt it than usual; likely, she thought, it was just that she was still sensitized by the lovemaking she and Caleb had just finished.

  When she turned to face him, Mia saw that his cock was getting hard again. “You know, I hardly think it’s fair for you to give me tons of orgasms and only get a few for yourself,” she said, putting her hands on her hips in mock severity. Caleb laughed.

  “I like it when you come—you really get into it. It’s incredibly sexy.” He pulled her out of the water and into his arms; in an instant he lifted her up again, pressing her against the wall. “Although now that you mention it,” he murmured, his lips barely separated from hers, “I could use another orgasm.” He shifted against her, his hips pressed up to hers, and Mia felt his hard cock sliding against her still-slick folds. She gasped when he thrust into her quickly, filing her all at once. She had never told Caleb—she had never told anyone—but it was something of a fantasy of hers to be taken in the shower like this, held in a strong man’s arms up against the wall while he thrust into her. Mia wrapped her legs around Caleb’s waist firmly and pushed her hips down into his; she knew it would be quick, in spite of the orgasms they had both already had.

  Caleb thrust into her hard and fast right from the beginning, and Mia found his rhythm, moving in counterpoint as their moans filled the steamy air. She felt him beginning to tense up around her as their limbs slid against each other, sweat replaced with water from the shower. She was tender deep down between her hips, but she didn’t mind a bit as Caleb’s thrusts came harder and faster, almost shaking her against the wall as they both came closer and closer to another orgasm in a matter of moments. Caleb’s cock began to twitch inside of her, and the novel position created such delicious friction against Mia’s clit that she was on the edge as well, kissing and nipping at Caleb’s face, neck and shoulders as they crested their pleasure once more.

  When they finished again, Caleb let her down from the wall carefully, holding her steady, and Mia blushed at the thought that she had finally gotten one of her fantasies—and it had been exactly what she had wanted it to be. She thought that another time, when they were in less of a hurry, they could incorporate more fun in the shower together, taking their time and really enjoying themselves over and over again. Now that she knew that Caleb was capable of it, Mia wanted to try it as many times as humanly possible.

  She and Caleb took turns soaping and massaging each other, playfully lingering at the most interesting parts of each other’s anatomy, using the excuse of “getting clean” to tease each other relentlessly. They managed one more final time in each other’s arms, falling into the bed still drenched from the shower, and then Caleb became slightly more businesslike, giving her thirty minutes to get ready—they had to make it to the club at a specific time. Mia was slightly disappointed; she had hoped against hope that perhaps they would just stay in, that Caleb would find a less intimidating way for her to meet his friend. But she had to admit that the sex had been an excellent way to defray her nervousness.

  Chapter Five

  In spite of the sex with Caleb, Mia couldn’t help feeling slightly nervous as they approached the club. She knew that the location was a members-only sort of place, and worried that she would immediately be found out as not belonging; she had no idea what she was wading into, and could only hope that Caleb was sure of what he was doing in bringing her there. The exterior of the building was so thoroughly nondescript that Mia thought she could have walked past it without knowing what it was; there was not even a clear sign indicating the place’s name. When they came to the door, a man stepped out, and Mia wondered if he had spotted them approaching or if there was some kind of warning system in place. He looked at Caleb and nodded curtly, sparing Mia only the slightes
t glance as he opened the door. Caleb nodded back to him and guided Mia through the entrance, holding her close for a moment.

  Mia’s eyes adjusted in a moment to the darkness within, and she blinked; the club was quiet, with low conversation humming through the air and faint music playing over the speakers. It was not her idea of a nighttime hot-spot, and she compared it with the biker bar that Caleb had taken her to the first night that they had met and wondered just how it was that he had come to be a member here. Caleb and she walked up to the bar, but instead of ordering a drink, Caleb asked the man at the bar a quick question, raising an eyebrow to reinforce his query. The bartender nodded and came out from behind the bar, a secondary person taking his place in case more customers came. He led Caleb and Mia around to the back of the club, and then to some stairs. “The password is barbeque,” the man told Caleb shortly, before he departed for the bar once more.

  Mia felt her heart pounding as Caleb led her up the stairs—an old, slightly run-down set, the carpet covering them threadbare in places, the handrail dark with long use. She wondered just how long the club had been around, and just where she and Caleb were going. She asked herself, more than once as they climbed up the two flights, whether or not she actually trusted Caleb. She didn’t have a clear answer to the question; she thought she knew him well, but he was leading her into territory she didn’t know anything about, exclusive clubs with even more exclusive areas that required passwords on top of membership. What if the whole of their dating life up until now had been to lull her into a false sense of security? What if he belonged to some kind of demonic cult, and Mia was some bizarre kind of human sacrifice? She shook her head. No matter how strange things seemed, she told herself firmly, she couldn’t let herself believe that Caleb was the kind of person who would date a woman for weeks only to let her be killed in a sacrifice.

  Caleb knocked on the door in a pattern that Mia realized was another kind of code, and the heavy wooden door opened, creaking slightly. She felt herself fidgeting and made herself stop, taking a deep breath. Light poured out of the room, and a man, larger than Caleb but less muscular, stood in front of them, looking Caleb up and down quickly. Mia thought she saw the man sniffing the air around her date, and the next moment he grinned. “Welcome back, Caleb,” he said, opening the door wider. The room was well-lit in contrast to the club downstairs, with groups of people sitting around, holding drinks and talking. The relaxed atmosphere made Mia shake her head at her previous thoughts about sex cults and human sacrifices; this seemed almost like a lodge meeting, thoroughly normal if a little private.

  Mia noticed that Caleb was tense next to her. He gripped her hand tightly—almost tightly enough to hurt—and Mia wondered at the change that had come over him. She looked around the room idly, feeling nervous and obviously different from everyone else; there was a charged atmosphere, not malevolent exactly, but something that made her feel tingly all over, apprehensive and relaxed all at once. Mia looked at Caleb and saw him stiffen as he spotted someone across the room from him. He looked at her. “My friend is here,” he said with a slight, reassuring smile. Mia smiled back. “Let me introduce you.”

  Caleb led her across the room, and Mia saw the man that he was leading her to as they passed the different groups on their way. He was tall—almost taller than Caleb, Mia thought, though his height was reinforced by a much slimmer build than her boyfriend. Skinny but holding himself as if he could take on anyone in the room, the man glanced at them, catching sight of Caleb and then Mia and putting his drink down on the mantelpiece of an empty fireplace; it was too warm for a fire in the room. Caleb stopped in front of the man, and Mia took him in in more detail: he had medium length, dark blond hair and dark brown eyes, a clean-shaven face in contrast to Caleb’s nearly perpetual stubble. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but he radiated a kind of command that no one else in the room could match, a charisma that Mia noticed made even Caleb respectfully pause. Caleb inclined his head towards the new man and introduced her to him. “Mia, this is Jack, the man I was telling you about.” He relinquished her hand and Mia offered it to Jack, feeling her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and instinctive attraction.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mia,” he said with a faint smile, his dark eyes intent on her face. “I understand you’re having some health troubles. Would you like to tell me about them?” He led her to the bar and Mia, feeling a little bit overwhelmed, noticed that Caleb was trailing them, though he kept a few steps behind Jack, glancing away whenever she looked at him.

  Jack ordered Mia a drink, telling the bartender to put it on his tab, and Mia, glancing once more at Caleb for reassurance she didn’t quite get, began telling Jack the history of how she had come to be in the club; she explained each of the symptoms, how they had developed over time, and were becoming more and more severe, harder and harder to ignore. Jack nodded at different points, encouraging her as the words tumbled out. When she came to the end of the story, she explained that she had come to see him because Caleb had told her that he—Jack—could help her with her symptoms.

  “Caleb was absolutely right,” Jack said reassuringly, patting her hand firmly. “Before I can help you though, I have to prepare you a bit for the diagnosis I am about to tell you about. I’m sure you’ve noticed that Caleb is not exactly… shall we say, your average Joe type of guy.” Jack glanced at Caleb with a hint of a smile, and Mia nodded. “You’ve probably also noticed that this is a very exclusive place—there are passwords, codes, all kinds of things required to be able to be inside this room. Of course, Caleb knows all of the right moves to make, but he would not be allowed to bring a normal, everyday person here under any circumstances.”

  “You’re saying I’m not a normal, everyday person?” Jack’s eyes widened slightly and he beamed at her, showing even, white teeth that startled Mia in spite of herself.

  “Get the lady another drink! Yes, you are not a normal, everyday person, although I’m sure until very recently you would never have suspected you were anything but.” Mia nodded. “There are a lot of strange things in the world, Mia, wouldn’t you agree?” Mia shrugged.

  “I guess. I mean there are a lot of things we can’t explain.” Jack nodded.

  “At least, a lot of things that science can’t explain readily. Well, you’ve seen it for yourself. You’re unquestionably sick, right?” Mia couldn’t help but agree with that assessment. “And yet, when you went to the doctor and he did all those tests, he couldn’t find anything wrong with you. Tell me, have you noticed anything about your symptoms, Mia? Do the behaviors and signs—other than the pain of course—remind you of something?” Mia looked from Jack to Caleb, who was standing nearby but not quite looking at the two of them, drinking a beer without interrupting.

  “I… I guess?” She thought about it. The dreams, the desire to eat mostly meat, the heightened senses. The sickness when she ate certain foods. Mia made a face. “It’s sort of… I guess… dog-like?” She heard a stir in the room and felt the tension ratchet the moment she said dog. Jack looked around the room quickly and the tension subsided. Mia blushed, wondering what she had said wrong. After she conquered her sense of embarrassment she realized that there was something strange about the way that Jack had been able to diffuse the tension in an instant, just by looking around.

  “Mia, you will want to sit down for this,” Jack said, pulling a bar stool up for her. She obediently sat on it, looking at him in confusion and faint fear. “You’re not going to want to believe what I’m about to tell you, but please don’t rush to a judgment. Look around you slowly.” Mia did as she was told, looking at each of the little groups of people who were clustered around the room. She wondered what she was looking for—or at, really. “All of those people, including Caleb, and including me, have something in common.” Mia raised an eyebrow. She wondered if Jack was going to say that they were all magicians or all vampires—but she had already ruled out th
e possibility of Caleb being a vampire. “Every person in this room is a werewolf, including Caleb and myself.” Mia stared at him. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

  “I think maybe I’ve had too much to drink. Could you repeat that?” Jack smiled slightly.

  “Caleb, myself, and everyone in this room is a werewolf. And the reason that you’ve been having the symptoms you’ve been having, Mia, is because you are half werewolf. Think about the symptoms you’ve been having. Other than the pain, you said that they reminded you of a dog.” He glanced around the room. “Dogs are descended of wolves. Your half-werewolf inheritance is what has brought these symptoms on.”

  Chapter Six

  Mia stared at Jack for a long moment, unable to make herself really hear the words he was saying. She had known that there was something unusual about Caleb, but she would never have thought of anything as outlandish as him being a werewolf. Her mind was spinning, and Mia sat down on a bar stool gracelessly, looking away from Jack’s gaze and trying to slow down her thinking for just a moment. A werewolf. Caleb was a werewolf. Jack was a werewolf. And she was a half werewolf? For an instant Mia felt a sense of angry disbelief; this was some kind of cruel prank that Caleb had cooked up with his friend. Everyone knew werewolves weren’t real. They were a trope of horror movies! She licked her lips. No one was laughing. No one looked as though they were suppressing their sense of hilarity at a silly prank pulled on a gullible woman. “How is that even possible?” she asked, hearing a slight squeak in her own voice. “I mean… how can werewolves even exist—much less half-werewolves?”