Howl’s Beauty (Woodland Pack Book 2)

by V Vee

  When Thaddeus had awakened the next morning, he was alone. Sopheera, and his unborn child, had disappeared. Thaddeus had assumed Sopheera was playing Hide-and-Seek for a while, it had been her favorite game, after all. But hours, days, weeks, months, and eventually years had passed, and she never returned.

  He'd felt the moment she'd died. He'd been able to sense that it was violent, and she'd suffered. He'd almost gone crazy in his grief, but his brother, Felix, and Felix's mate, Bahati, had come to his aid. They'd asked if he could sense his child, and though it had taken time, Thaddeus had been able to feel that connection, the thread of love, purpose, concern, and life that connected a parent to their child. He'd held onto that spiritual and soulical thread for decades. Letting it tug him in different directions, locations, and places, searching for his child.

  It had landed him in the office of Alpha Bianchi, who'd listened to his story, then promptly threw him down into the cells, forcing Thaddeus to fight for his life for years. And while Thaddeus had been grief-stricken at the fact that he was unable to continue his search for his child—who was now an adult—sitting in his cell with young Talia had… eased the hopelessness inside of him. It had done even more than that, it had erased it completely. No doubt because she'd also been suffering due to her familial connection. But with her rescue Thaddeus's ache had returned tenfold.

  I hope she is okay, he thought to himself.

  "Ah Sopheera. My love. I miss you just as much as I did when you left me all those decades ago," he whispered into the darkness.

  Before he could say more the sound of fighting and gunfire reached his ears. He heard Talia’s voice, long before he saw her, and he smiled, his body still recovering from his last battle with the guards. She appeared in front of his cell and waved a set of keys.

  “Hey Thaddeus, ready to get out of here?” She asked with a wide grin.

  “More than you know,” he responded.

  She nodded. “Good then.” She placed the key in the lock and turned it, sliding open the bars. “Let’s get the hell out of here. There are some people who want to meet you and then, you and I need to talk.”

  Thaddeus nodded and followed the young woman down the hallway. He gasped as he saw her shoot balls of light out of her hands and hit different shifters who tried to stop them. Some of them exploded into ash, others turned into a pile of goo, while still others were frozen into blocks of ice. Thaddeus had only seen such power displayed by Sopheera, who had the powers of Heaven behind her.

  And as he raced behind Talia to the awaiting van, hope began to fill his chest. Was it possible?

  The van sped off down the road and Thaddeus turned to look at Talia, who watched him with tears in her eyes. He felt his own well up with emotion, though he couldn’t be certain as to why.

  “I-I… you are… we found…” Talia stammered, her emotions spilling over her cheeks.

  “Mr. Thaddeus, sir, do you know this woman?” Howl inquired, handing Thaddeus a picture.

  Thaddeus looked down at the photo and covered his mouth as a wave of grief swamped him. He nodded his head and looked up at Howl, choking on a sob.

  “This is my Sopheera. How did you get these pictures?” He asked. He looked at the pictures, before switching it for the other, where he ran his finger over the faces of Sopheera and the little girl she held in her arms. “Sopheera was my mate, she was pregnant when I last saw her. This must be our daughter. Our little girl.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know her name.”

  “Her name is Talia,” Howl informed him.

  Thaddeus jerked his head up and looked between Howl and Talia.

  “Is it true?” He questioned, taking Talia’s hands in between his own.

  Talia nodded. “Isadora, the woman who raised me? She confessed the truth. So did Alpha Bianchi, just before he died.”

  Thaddeus frowned. “You were raised by Isadora? My poor child. That woman was absolutely horrible. I only met her once, but it was more than enough for me.” He smiled at Talia, his heart swelling in his chest when she returned his smile with one of her own.

  “My daughter. My child. I have been searching the world for you.”

  He opened his arms and accepted the collision of Talia’s body against his own, chuckling when she burrowed herself into his embrace as if she were a child seeking cuddles. Thaddeus wouldn’t complain, however. This was what he’d been waiting for. Yearning for. Hoping for.

  He may have lost Sopheera, but he held a part of her against his heart once again.

  I will take care of her Sopheera. I promise.

  So, the father had found the daughter.

  And the daughter had bonded with the Son.

  The daughter was expecting.

  And the father was happy.

  All was just as it needed to be.

  They were on track.

  The prophecy would be fulfilled. The veils between worlds would be broken.

  And he would finally return to rule every realm.

  Just the way he’d always intended.

  Rome, Italy

  25 Augustus 68 AD

  Aventine

  He stood observing the city which had only years before been on the brink of destruction. He was amazed at the resilience of the human spirit. They had an inexplicable ability to bounce back from trauma. If he had been a human, he would have been proud, as it were, it simply meant he would have to work harder than he’d originally intended…

  In order to bring the humans under his rule.

  He sniffed the air when the sound of distant footsteps reached his ears.

  “Have you located them?” He asked without preamble.

  “Apologies, Alpha. They seem to have disappeared.”

  He frowned and folded his massive arms across his barrel chest, before turning to face the man he had always considered his most faithful and successful assistant.

  “Are you telling me you have failed me?”

  He watched with a sick satisfaction when the other shifter crumpled to his knees and began pleading for his life.

  “Rise you sniveling cur,” he commanded.

  “Gratitude, Alpha,” the omega thanked him.

  He raised his hand and pointed down at the humans who moved along the roads of Rome.

  “Offer me not your empty platitudes. The prophecy will be fulfilled. I will slumber so that I may rise again in order to rule over all who live. I cannot do that if my sons are still alive. They have the principles and values of their mother. Which means they directly oppose mine.” He narrowed his eyes at the omega.

  “Find them and bring me their heads. There are four prophecies floating around. One for each of our ancient wolf forefathers and foremothers. Only the one which shall see me ascending into greatness will be allowed to come to pass.”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  And like that, the omega raced away. He turned to once again survey the humans below him. He smirked. He kept rising from the ashes. He had been tossed out of Heaven by his father, only to sacrifice his life for someone else, and be given an opportunity to live as a wolf shifter. He had become The Alpha, and now it was time for him to return home. To Heaven. To his father’s side.

  He was not as foolish as his other brother, who had led the rebellion in Heaven which led them all to be tossed from their father’s graces. No, he was smart, and he would ascend and ascend, until he ruled over all.

  The world knew him as Drusus Marconi, but his father, Jehovah, had given him the name of Michael.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Acceptance and Love

  Howl lowered his head and trailed the tip of his nose up the line of her neck, sniffing at the scent that made up Talia’s unique, intoxicating fragrance. He slammed his mouth on hers. He took her lips with such power and possessiveness, that he wasn’t surprised when the coppery taste of her blood dripped into his mouth. Though Howl was aware of his own unnatural attraction to the smell and taste of blood, when Talia groaned and bit his bottom lip, causing him to
bleed as well, he knew for a fact that she was perfect for him.

  He gripped her face, kissing her like he had been dying to for such a long time. “You feel so good,” he whispered between kisses, diving his tongue inside the hot cavern of her mouth.

  Talia moaned, sucking on his tongue and stroking it as she would soon do to his cock, hollowing her cheeks, causing him to growl. Howl groaned when he felt the slow, uncertain roll of Talia’s hips against his own, her new size causing her to move a bit unsteadily, making him push her harder against her bedroom wall. The sound of the pack moving around in and outside of their home, helping him to settle in with his mate and their unborn children—the way he should have always been—reached his ears. He could hear his brothers’ voices, Talia’s father, Joi and her boisterous family.

  Howl drowned them all out. Finally, finally, he was going to be with Talia the way they should have been from the beginning. In love. Mated fully. With no secrets between them. He slammed his lips on hers and their tongues dueling and moving in a seductive dance.

  Howl explored her body, trailing his fingers up and down her sides, making her arch into his touch as he slid his hand over her breasts, cupping them, before he slid them to her waist, and gripped the fullness of her ass. Talia’s mouth opened on a deep, husky moan and Howl trembled.

  “I’ve been dreaming about feeling your ass in my hands for what feels like mother-fucking years,” he bit out harshly. He looked down into Talia’s eyes, the usually dark brown gaze now shining back at him a color he’d never seen before.

  Gold.

  Howl pulled her lower lip into his mouth, sucking it until Talia whimpered.

  Her hand found his on her thick globes, gripping it, and making his hold tighter.

  “Is that right? You like my big ass, Howl?” Talia whispered with a quirk of her left eyebrow, licking the line of his lips. He tilted his head back as Talia kissed her way from his lips, down over the sharp scruff on his neck, before sucking on his Adam’s apple.

  “No. I don’t like your ass, Talia. I fucking love your ass,” he said. Then shaking his head, he corrected. “Let me rephrase that. I love my ass. I’ve dreamed about this ass since I met you. I’ve fantasized about kissing you, touching you, holding you forever, even though I didn’t know it was you. I prayed to one day make the woman destined to be my soul’s connection, mine. My mate. My love.” He stared at her intently even as he continued to roll his hips up into her, matching Talia’s movements. “Because, make no mistake about this Talia, after you let me kiss you that first time? You became mine. All of this,” he indicated her body with a wave of his free hand. “All of you, became mine with that first kiss. Fuck, maybe even before that.”

  Talia smirked at him and that look on her face caused his heartbeat to speed up. The organ pounding against his ribcage. “I was yours long ago, Howl. Ever since our souls met each other all those long years ago, I’ve belonged to you. It’s about gahtdamn time we both accepted it.”

  At those words, Howl growled again and settled her more firmly against his pelvis as she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist. The billowy fabric of the nightgown she wore allowed him to settle between her thighs so closely that he could feel the heat of her pussy through his jeans. Her fingers ran through his thick dark hair, making him feel out of control. Howl deepened the kiss, mapping and discovering every flavor, every taste, every moan and groan that flowed from Talia’s mouth. He knew her lips would be swollen and possibly bruised from the biting, rubbing, and sucking he had done to them, but he couldn’t seem to find it in him to care.

  He took off his shirt, throwing it on the floor, uncaring of the mess he was making as he disrobed. Talia looked up at him, her gold eyes blazing with fire, passion, desire, trust and… love. Howl shivered at the emotions on display in her gaze and swallowed back the words of love and possession he wanted to utter. He would tell her how he felt about her later. His focus right then was on claiming what was his. Making sure Talia knew she belonged to him and he belonged to her. Of leaving his mark on her body so that she would never ever forget it. It was his most important priority.

  Talia’s hands rubbed the breadth of his broad chest, her fingers stroking the defined muscle under her fingertips. Howl inhaled sharply at her touch. His cock twitched and throbbed and he knew the organ was yelling at him to be buried inside of her heat. She grabbed the first button of her nightgown, slowly undoing the outfit shielding her body from his gaze. His biceps flexed when she tugged the fabric over her head, revealing a toned form in spite of the baby bump which had given her curves in all the right places, making her even more pleasing to his eyes.

  His breath caught at the sight of her dark brown skin, a seductive contrast to his own tanned flesh. He leaned forward, sucking each pebbled nipple deeply into his mouth, trailing his tongue between them before biting them. He tugged on the nubs, delighting at the sight of her full breasts stretching from his efforts. She moaned, when he blew cold air across her skin causing it to shiver and pebble. Talia let him have his way with her, so he kissed his way down over her soft flesh trying to reach every part of her he could without relinquishing his hold on her. He unzipped his pants, the sound echoing in the room as they slid down his thick tree-trunk thighs, pooling at his feet. He was wearing a pair of black silk boxers, but they were like a second skin, stretching to accommodate his large erection.

  Before she could push his underwear down, he lowered her to the ground, spun her around, and gripped her exposed breasts in his harsh grip. Once the sound of her groan filled his ears, he hugged them closer together, the heat of his cock burning into her ass causing her to push back and moan.

  “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” Howl’s hands mapped her body, touching every part that was exposed. Once Talia’s pants and pleas for him to “touch,” “bite,” and “wreck” her reached his ears, his hands moved under her arms, tickling her skin, before his palms squeezed her breasts as hard as he possibly could.

  “So perfect,” he whispered, leaning down to nibble on the skin of her neck. He spun her back around until their bare bodies were as close as they could be. Howl lifted her back up into his arms and pressed her against the wall next to the window. Her pleas drifted out into the open air, and Howl felt a surge of animalistic pride that he was the one causing such a reaction in her.

  He thrilled over touching her soft skin, glad to know he was the last man to do so. Their skin was so different, and he marveled at it. They were a masterpiece together. He kissed her jaw, the column of her neck, her chest, and he sucked a dark brown nipple back into his mouth, making her hands pull on his thick head of hair.

  “Howl.”

  He pecked the hard-needy bead that stood proud in the air, flicking it with his tongue, teasing her with his skill.

  Howl moved down her body, lifting her up the wall with his upper body strength alone, nibbling at her ribcage making her inhale to the point her ribs would show. He continued down her body, listening to her gasps, groans, moans, and hisses, allowing her noises to direct him. Once he’d lifted her up to the point that her thick thighs rested on his shoulders, her pussy bared to his gaze and dripping with her juices, he groaned.

  “So sexy,” he said. He stared at her cunt, trailing a finger through her dark wet folds, spreading her legs apart, and flicking her clit with his tongue, making her whimper, gripping his hair in her fists. Howl’s breath was hot, puffing on the exposed bundle of nerves as he inserted two fingers in her dripping center before latching onto her clit, sucking it as hard as he could into the wet heat of his mouth. Talia arched off the wall, putting pressure on the back of his head to try and keep him right where he was. He never wanted to leave from his position between her thighs, and if Talia’s cries were anything to go by, the feeling was mutual. He followed the line of her hips up to her waist with his hands, licked from the back to front of her pussy, dipping his tongue into her tightly furled asshole, until he was eating her like his favorite desser
t.

  She was shaking uncontrollably as he clocked the signs of her orgasm building. He pumped his fingers ruthlessly inside her, imagining when his cock would have the privilege of being held by her tight slit, as he rammed his digits as deep as they could go. He watched as Talia’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, enjoying the flavor of her sweet cream flooding his mouth. He kissed her pussy deeply, before moving his way up her body, sliding her down the wall with one hand, and pushing his own boxers down so his cock could be free. Howl was a proud shifter and soldier, he’d never wished to be any other race or ethnicity, or to be fully human, but at that moment, he was the proudest he’d ever been of the superhuman physical strength his people possessed. Especially when he felt Talia shiver against him.

  Howl stared at Talia intently, before moving his gaze down to his shaft. “Look at what you did,” he commanded in a dark voice. She needed to know what he was working with. He would in no way say he had the biggest dick in the world or any of the known and unknown galaxies, but he wasn’t only the Beta of the Marconi pack because of his familial bloodline…

  With hesitation, she peered down to find his long, thick, curved cock waiting for her attention.

  “I need to taste you,” she said, eyeing the shaft that was leaving precum on her stomach.

  He shook his head, “While it will be my joy in life to be the one to always give you what you need, I can’t right now. If your mouth touches my cock at this moment, I’m gonna fucking blow, and I don’t want this to end so quickly. Not after everything I’ve been through. Not when I almost lost you.”

  Howl lined his cock up with Talia’s entrance, the tip getting soaked with her juices. They stared in each other’s eyes, as he watched her expression as he slid deep inside her. “Look at me,” he ordered when she closed her eyes. Howl inched his way in until the heavy weight of his sack was nestled against her ass.

  He was startled by the loud moan that filled the room and even more stunned to realize the sound was coming from him, from his mouth where he hid his face in her shoulder as he experienced the most Earth-shaking, all-consuming pleasure he’d ever felt. Talia wrapped her legs around him, her heels pressing against the curve of his ass, making him slide deeper, adding the extra inch at the base of his cock.