by Jade Royal
“Maverick is an alpha,” he said. “And he can do what he wants. It’s his pack.”
“That’s why I don’t want to go back,” Kyra said. “I can’t go back there; he’ll kill me, and I don’t want to be a lone wolf either.” Kellan sighed. No matter how far he ran from it, you couldn’t escape what was in your blood. The universe had gifted him with a mate, and he had to do what was right to protect her, and everyone else like her.
“I won’t let you go back,” Kellan said. He pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened a text message to Jayce.
Don’t worry about Kyra and Rita. They’ll be under my protection in my pack.
Finally, was all he responded. Kellan looked at the three females. It would be hard, but deep down, Kellan just knew it was right. That, plus he was going to need a beta and enforcers. Maverick was always going to be a threat, and without those essential positions filled in his pack, they were always going to be vulnerable.
Kellan lifted glowing eyes to both Rita and Kyra. Their eyes glowed back, and both their wolves acknowledged Kellan’s dominance and respected it.
“We do the ceremony tonight,” Kellan said. He turned on his heels then and walked out of the room. If he didn’t do this right now, he feared he would chicken out and back away like he always did when it came to being alpha.
“What ceremony?” Bliss asked.
“He’s becoming our alpha,” Rita answered. She looked longingly at where he’d left through and heard when Bliss growled.
“Oh, stop it.” Rita muttered. Bliss scoffed. If any female had seen the size of Kellan’s dick, then they’d be growling at other females too.
Chapter Nine
When the sun set, Kyra, Rita, and Kellan retreated into the woods away from the cabin. Knowing that the man who tried to kill her was a wolf himself gave her slight pause. Now that Maverick was tied up in a whole scheme of abuse she had to wonder who else he could be mistreating, and why did he yearn to have babies so bad knowing he was an awful person. She was angry with Maverick, yes, but her father was who she was so upset and disappointed in. Having these powers meant that shit was going to change. For hurting both Kyra and Rita, and herself, Bliss wanted to rip Maverick to pieces, and then, she was going to go after her father. Bliss didn’t even know if she could return back to her life as a nursing student. She wanted to be a doctor because she liked healing people, but she didn’t have any friends. She was so engrossed in her books, she hardly made time for anyone else, and then when she met Maverick and he became abusive, Bliss was even more drawn into herself, afraid to admit to anyone the way she lived.
Was this a blessing? Was this just a way for her to start fresh, but where would she go and what would she do once she got her revenge on Maverick and her father? Bliss looked up from her thoughts right at Kellan’s back. The tribal tattoos running across his back hypnotized her for a moment. She had no idea where they were headed until they reached a clearing. There was a small pond that the moon reflected off beautifully. With the moon bright, it eliminated the darkness of the woods, but no human would be wandering around the place alone. If not for her enhanced vision, Bliss wouldn’t be there either.
“Why are we here?” Bliss asked.
“For the ceremony. It’s short, but the howling can give away your location, and you don’t want to howl at your territory. It might lead other wolves to you. Sometimes, it’s not a good thing,” Rita said.
“Oh.” Bliss felt like she had a whole bunch of shit to learn, and she hadn’t even shifted yet. At once, both Rita and Kyra began taking off their clothes. Kellan stood in front of them, and she had no idea what kind of ceremony they had planned, but she immediately decided she didn’t like it. She was beginning to know how it felt when her claws were coming out, and it didn’t hurt anymore. She drew her claws and marched towards the naked females. She growled at them and stood in front of Kellan pressing her back to his chest. She was all for being friends with Rita and Kyra, but what they weren’t going to do was have sex with Kellan for no ceremony.
“This again.” Rita huffed. “We have to be naked, Bliss, and you’d better get comfortable with nudity because when you’re a shifter, you end up with no clothes!” Bliss just growled, unable to get the human in her to see reason. Her wolf was in possessive mode, and that was it. She loved the scent of Kellan all around her being this close up to him. His warm body gave her comfort.
“Baby,” he said leaning down. He kissed her on the neck. “You know it’s nothing.” Bliss grunted.
“Do I have to get naked?”
“No, sweetheart. You can’t be in the ceremony until you’ve shifted the first time.”
“Humph.”
“Oh, stop it, honey.” Kellan kissed her on the cheek and patted her behind. She jumped and blinked, seemingly snapping from her possessive trance. She realized the way she was glaring at the two women and backed off. She was sick and tired of her wolf making her do that. It didn’t make sense to her. Men, in her opinion, were not going to be part of her life. Not after Maverick, and she chopped her arousal up to those hormones she was experiencing like she was a teen or something, but being possessive was never in her nature. Bliss shook her head and walked over to a tree stump and plopped down. Well, Kellan was a sight for sore eyes surely. His beard, that smooth expresso complexion of his skin, the muscles adorning his body, and let’s not forget the anaconda hanging from his damn hips, but that didn’t mean she should even pursue that. She’d been through too much shit.
Kellan let Bliss walk away, but he felt her eyes on his back. Normally, the ceremony was done with each new person joining a pack, and those members usually showed up naked. If they were mated, they stayed in clothes until they were able to shift back into their human form in privacy to get redressed. Having a mated wolf stand naked in front of she-wolves or other males caused fights. Kellan wasn’t technically mated yet, but being as possessive as Bliss was, he just kept his clothes on. Thinking about her, he turned and looked at her. She was sitting on a tree stump with her legs crossed. She gave him a face when he stared at her too long. Kellan smiled and turned around. He wished like hell he was consummating their mating tonight. He wanted to give her the pleasure Maverick never could, and more than that, she’d given him reason to see that being alpha had its perks when you were destined to be with an alpha female like Bliss.
Letting his thoughts drift from Bliss and go back to the task at hand, he brought forward the wooden bowl he had in his hands. He held it out, and both the she-wolves came close to him and surrounded the bowl. He gave it to Rita since she was next to him, and she kept it held high.
“I vow as your alpha to protect you, your mates, and your pups. Under tonight’s moon, I give my blood as sacrifice. No threat shall come against you that I do not fight. No person shall openly threaten you while in my protection. I, Kellan Sebastian, share my blood with you, and from now on, will be your alpha.” Kellan held his hand over the wooden bowl. With his other hand, he let his claws merge and cut his wrist, letting blood flow freely into the bowl. He licked his wound closed once enough blood gathered into the bowl. At the same time, Rita and Kyra recited their half the vow.
“I vow as your wolf to follow your lead, and that of your mate. Under tonight’s moon, I give my blood as sacrifice. As you protect me, I shall protect you. No threat will go against you. We will fight for you and next to you to protect our pack.” Kellan held the bowl as they cut their wrists and let their blood flow into it. When that was complete, Kellan tipped the bowl and drank their blood combined. As it flowed through his body, he passed the bowl around and both of them drank from it. Their eyes flashed wolf as the power rumbled through their bodies. Rita and Kyra gave Kellan their backs. He drew his claws and raked them at the back of their necks as a symbol that they belonged to a pack. He turned his back to them once he was done and let them both rake their claws down his back. All their wounds would heal, but for the ritual, a wolf who couldn’t turn his back to another wolf and
trust that wolf wouldn’t claw him to death wouldn’t be able to be in a pack. If none of their wolves allowed the action, then a pack couldn’t be formed.
Bliss watched in awe as the ceremony took place. After the two wolves scratched Kellan, the power of his wolf began to take over. His eyes glowed bright, as his claws further elongated. He let out a growl as his canines ripped down from his gums. She stood quickly as the animal took over. His bones popped and transformed until the large wolf was standing where he once stood. He acknowledged her presence, but then he turned to the two females that he’d just shared blood with. Her eardrums nearly popped when he howled. The force of the howl made Kyra and Rita respond. Their wolves took over and came popping out of their bodies, but they didn’t attack Kellan for the forceful shift. They stood next to him, at his hind legs and looked up towards the moon. He led the howl, and they followed suit, crying towards the moon. Bliss was captivated by it all and saddened she wasn’t a part of it, but it wasn’t like she could be, because once she shifted, she had her own journey to follow.
After their howling, Kyra and Rita shifted back to human form. They cheered and clapped, hugging each other. Bliss could understand their happiness to finally be free of Maverick. Kellan however didn’t shift back. He trotted over to her and bumped at her legs, sniffing her. She had actually listened and wasn’t wearing any panties.
Kellan slowly shifted, standing tall in front of her. Of course, her eyes went straight down to his hefty manhood. Arousal began dripping from her. He should have known better than to tease her like this, especially when she was going through her transitions.
“You’ll be next,” he whispered in her ear. Bliss wanted to object, but she just couldn’t. Her words were stuck in her throat because she couldn’t focus because his scent was all around her, so when he turned to walk away, she growled.
“What?” he asked turning back to her. “Need something?”
“I need for other wolves not to see your dick!” She snapped. Kellan rolled his eyes. He pointed to his pants over where they’d done the ceremony.
“My pants over there,” he said. She glowered at him but went to retrieve the pants. Kellan didn’t move an inch until she returned, and he could redress.
“Happy?” he asked her.
“Very,” she said. “And don’t get excited. This is just a side effect from being bitten. I don’t know why I can’t control it.”
“Instincts,” he said. “Follow them. Don’t go against it.” She stuck her tongue out at him before walking by him to join Kyra and Rita walking back to the cabin.
********
Jayce walked with purpose as his presumed alpha female called him to their den. He said presumed because they hadn’t taken a vow to each other. Maverick didn’t take a vow to anyone, but he was still alpha because he killed the last alpha, so the vows essentially just transitioned, but learning that Kellan was finally becoming his own alpha, Jayce had no intention of staying any longer with Maverick and watching all his bullshit unfold. The only problem was that Jayce didn’t want to leave any innocent pups or women behind, but getting submissive wolves to leave with someone who wasn’t their alpha was not an easy task. Everyone feared being the omega, but when you were as dominant as Kellan, that type of thing didn’t matter to him, and it didn’t matter to Jayce either.
“You called?” Jayce asked, entering the large den. Hera was laying naked on the large master bed. The stench of hot sex permeated the cave and made Jayce’s wolf want to scratch it’s nose off. Jayce hated the smell of burnt rubber and musk. Hera sat up letting the covers fall away from her. The scratches all over her body were almost exaggerated, but there was no sign of a mating mark, and Jayce couldn’t smell anything but sex.
“I need two wolves to run my bath and do my hair for me.” Jayce crossed his arms.
“Then maybe you should hire a humhan servant,” He replied.
“Don’t you dare speak to me like that. I am your alpha female.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so, because you haven’t taken a vow to my wolf. Fucking the alpha doesn’t make you the alpha female, Hera, and quite frankly, none of the she-wolves would want to be up here catering to your ass after the way you’ve treated them, and especially willingly lying up here with that muthafucker who tried to rape every last one of the she-wolves. You’re out of your damn mind.” Hera quickly got out of bed. She stalked towards him and swung open palmed, scratching his cheek with the force of the hit. Jayce stood in place and just took it. He healed immediately.
“Anything else?” Jayce asked her. She looked at him and ran her hand across his cheek.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you? That’s why you’re acting out right now. You want to have my body.” Jayce backed up.
“Not if you were the last wolf on this damn planet, and it smells like burnt rubber, so it seems like you’re drier than a tree’s bark, and I can’t fuck a woman who don’t have her own natural juices.” Hera snarled and went to slap him again, but Jayce simply weaved out of the way. She was ready to scream at him, but Maverick walked into the cave.
“Get out,” he said to Hera.
“But-”
“Out!” He snarled. Hera quickly scampered out of the cave. Jayce smelled the human behind him. He turned and looked at the man. He was surprised to see he recognized him, but not because he met him before. His eyes resembled the alpha female Kellan had.
“This is my beta,” Maverick said, introducing them. Jayce didn’t like Maverick’s claim to him.
“How’s he gonna help?” the human asked. “I just wanted the damn bite, and you killed the only woman who I gave to you that could give you what you wanted.”
“I asked you to find me another female, and the last woman you brought to me was older than my fucking mother. How’s she supposed to carry my fucking kid?”
“You have a whole pack of wolves, Maverick! Choose one of them!” The human snapped. “I was promised a bite, and I want it.” Jayce didn’t know what was going on.
“We don’t just go out giving people the gift.” Jayce spoke up. “Maverick, you know if humans found out about us, we’d be in terrible danger. They already hunt wolves to begin with, but knowing we can shift will make it all the worse. Why would you bring this man here promising him a damn bite?”
“This is alpha business.” Maverick boomed. He took several deep breaths. “Hera isn’t going into heat for now. I need a wolf that’s heat cycle is coming up.” Jayce shrugged.
“How am I supposed to know every heat cycle? And no one is giving off waves.” Maverick paced for a little bit.
“I went to Kellan to find Rita. He nearly challenged me. I know she’s there. Go with the enforcers and bring her back here.”
“That’s a no,” Jayce replied. Under no circumstance was he willingly going to bring his mate here, and even though she left without telling him, Jayce was glad she did leave.
“Alright, fine. I’ll just go and get Gemma.” Jayce stepped in front of him immediately blocking his path.
“Gemma hasn’t gone through puberty yet.” Jayce grumbled. She was the youngest of the pups and due to hit puberty any moment which would bring her heat cycle and her period both marking her as an adult she-wolf. She was seventeen, and even though that was dear adult age for humans, wolves weren’t considered adults until their first shift. Gemma could have sex as soon as she wanted to, but she wouldn’t be considered an adult until her first shift and heating cycle marking her as a wolf who could have pups.
“I believe I can speed her up a little bit. Pop her cherry and let her wolf come to life.” Jayce’s wolf eyes flashed.
“You touch her, Maverick, and I’ll kill you. No she-wolf but Hera wants you to fucking touch them.”
“Try and stop me.” Maverick chuckled. “Kill me, we all know you can’t, and you know what…” He looked at the human. “When I give him the bite, I think he’ll be my new beta.” Jayce only shook his head. He turned his back on Maverick and walked out of the
cave.
He headed straight to Gemma’s cabin. She was there with her parents having dinner. They let him in immediately. Since they were close enough, Jayce sent his voice into the minds of the enforcers telling them to come to the cabin. They were there within a few minutes.
“Did something happen?” Gabe, Gemma’s father, asked. Her mother, Gina, was standing as well, knowing something was wrong. Jayce didn’t want to say it in front of Gemma, but sending her away was stupid. She’d be able to hear them regardless.
“Maverick is planning something,” Jayce said. “And I think it’s in your best interest if you and your family moved from the pack.” Gabe knew immediately what Jayce meant.
“Why do we have to leave?” Gemma asked.
“He wants to have pups real bad, Gabe, and Gemma is the only female going into heat soon, and I’m afraid he won’t care of her age. He has no problem forcing females to do anything.”
“I’ll fight him if he comes near me!” Gemma snapped. “I won’t let him force anything on me!”
“I know you won’t,” Gabe said to his daughter. “Because I taught you to be tough, but I don’t want Maverick around you.”
“Well, we don’t have anywhere to go.” Gina spoke up. “This has been our home since Kameron became alpha.”
“Kellan has started a small pack. It’s not much, but if you three take the vow, he’ll keep you safe, and Maverick won’t go there to bother you.” The two parents looked at each other. They knew the reason Kellan left, everyone did, and though Kellan felt the wolves resented him for what happened, no one did.
“He’s alpha?” Gabe asked. Jayce nodded.
“If not for yourselves, think about Gemma, and I don’t plan on staying here either. Once I am gone, I don’t believe you will be properly protected.” Jayce looked as the enforcers, Jaxson and Tristan, came into the cabin. Them, plus Kellan and Jayce were always together. They were born together, and ultimately, their bond didn’t break until Kellan felt he had to leave.