Ruling Alphas: Shifter Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  Jagger made a moaning sound low in his throat as he ran his eyes over Raven. She watched him, desire flooding her. She watched the movement in his throat as he swallowed. She could hear his pulse in his throat, the blood pounding through his veins. It took everything she had to hold herself back from biting through his vein and drinking his blood.

  She wanted to do it to bond with him, to feel closer to him. It was the way for vampires. But for non-vampires, Raven knew it could be a little bit freaky and so she resisted the urge. Instead of biting Jagger’s neck, she ran her tongue over the skin, sniffing the coppery scent of the blood just beneath the surface, enjoying the pulsing of his veins.

  She reached his jawbone and kissed over his cheek until her lips found his again. Their kiss was passionate and almost desperate in its intensity. As the kiss deepened, their hands roamed all over each other’s bodies, and their clothes were ripped at, tugged at, and discarded until they stood beside the bed, both of them naked.

  Raven’s clit tingled from her need for Jagger. Judging by Jagger’s huge, hard erection, Raven thought he was every bit as ready for this as she was. He pushed her back onto the bed and she scooted backwards across the mattress. He caught her just above her knees, stopping her from moving further away. He pushed her knees outwards, opening her legs wide, and then Jagger dropped to his knees between Raven’s legs.

  She lay back on the mattress as Jagger leaned closer to her pussy and found her clit with his tongue. He began to lick her from side to side, his expert tongue sending shock waves of pleasure through Raven’s body. She closed her eyes, gasping for breath as Jagger kept working her, applying just enough pressure to keep her clit tingling and pulsing, but not quite enough to bring her orgasm forth. Not yet.

  She shuffled slightly, moving down the mattress, closer to Jagger, pressing her slit tighter against his face. She writhed, moving her hips up and down, desperate to bring her orgasm out. Jagger seemed to sense the desperation in her and he moved his tongue harder and faster on her clit and he pushed two fingers inside of her. She cried out as he rubbed over her g-spot and her orgasm finally bloomed, blossoming through her body and making her tingle deliciously all over.

  Jagger kept licking her, kept pushing his fingers in and out of her pussy as Raven’s orgasm consumed her. It swept through her clit and her core and up into her stomach, and them from there, it spread out through her whole body, making her nerves sing, and making her feel more alive than she had ever felt in her whole life.

  She gasped in a breath as her back arched and her muscles went rigid, forcing her to hold her snatched breath for a moment as the intensity of the pleasure held her in place. Finally, the feeling started to recede and Raven flopped back down onto the mattress, gasping and panting.

  Jagger moved his tongue from her clit and took his fingers out of her. He smiled at her as he crawled up the bed over her. He leaned down and kissed her and she could taste her own orgasm on his lips and his tongue. Raven ran her hands over Jagger’s back and sides as they kissed. She moved them lower, clasping his ass cheeks and kneading them.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed against his ass, inviting him inside of her. He plunged into her, stretching her center and filling her up, making her moan in pleasure as she felt him filling every inch of her core. He began to thrust, hard, fast thrusts that made Raven cry out as he slammed into her. She moved her hips in time with his, bringing him in deeper with each thrust.

  Raven could feel another orgasm building inside of her, and as her desire grew with it, she felt herself losing control. She felt her eyes starting to change, becoming the blood red of a vampire. She closed them, not wanting Jagger to see them and be put off his rhythm. Her gums tingled and she knew she was only seconds away from her fangs bursting forth, and if that happened, she didn’t think she would be able to control her bloodlust.

  She turned her head to the side, trying to stop herself from sniffing Jagger’s scent and the warm coppery goodness of his blood beneath it. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay in control of herself. Her desire remained, but the bloodlust passed and Raven relaxed again, enjoying the moment once more, turning her face back to Jagger and kissing him.

  Her orgasm swept over her, sending heat rushing out through her body and making her gasp out Jagger’s name. She tightened her legs around him as she felt her pussy clench around his cock and her whole body seemed to contract at once.

  She called out Jagger’s name again as her center convulsed once more and then she was coasting down from her orgasm, her limbs warm and heavy in a delicious kind of way. Jagger kissed her neck and then he licked down it and kissed across her collar bone.

  He began to thrust harder inside of her and his breathing became ragged as he moved closer to his own climax. Raven felt his cock twitching inside of her as Jagger slammed into her over and over again. She felt his cock going wild, spasming inside of her as he came hard.

  He pressed his forehead against hers, looking her straight in the eye as he climaxed, and Raven felt her heart skip a beat at the intensity of the look he gave her. It felt so raw, so real, to have him drink her in like that as he orgasmed inside of her.

  Jagger kissed her as his orgasm passed and then he pulled out of her and rolled onto the mattress beside her. They lay in place, getting their breath back for a moment, and then Raven moved closer to Jagger, and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

  They didn’t speak. There was nothing to say. Their bodies had done the talking for them, and Raven was more than content to drift off into a relaxed sleep in Jagger’s arms.

  3

  Jagger woke up slowly the next morning, coming up through layers of sleep and then yawning loudly as his eyes opened. He smiled when his yawn was done as he saw where he was and remembered last night. He was in Raven’s bedroom, in Raven’s bed. She was lying beside him, her eyes still closed, and he took a moment to study her while she slept.

  Her pale skin was smooth and unblemished, and with her eyes closed, Jagger could see how long her dark lashes were. They sat on her cheeks, curling up slightly. Her hair was tousled around her face and Jagger reached out and pushed it back slightly.

  Raven’s eyes flickered open. She closed them again as she smiled at him.

  “Good morning,” she muttered, her voice still thick with sleep.

  “Morning,” Jagger said back.

  He leaned closer to her, running his lips over hers. She moaned and began to kiss him back and he knew that for now at least, sleep was forgotten for her. Her arm came from beneath the duvet and wrapped around him as she kissed him hungrily. She ran her hand up his back, making shivers run through him. She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him onto his back, following him, straddling him, and leaning down to kiss his mouth.

  Jagger ran his hands over her bare back and ass, skimming them over her hips and then up her sides. He wanted to caress every inch of her skin, kiss every part of her, touch every part of her.

  She pulled away from his kiss suddenly and began to throw herself off him. Jagger caught Raven’s wrist, stopping her from running from him. She sat in place across his lap but she kept her head down, not looking at him.

  “Raven? Come on, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Jagger asked quietly.

  Raven shook her head from side to side and then finally, she looked up at Jagger. He was a little bit surprised to see that her irises were blood red, but he had to admit they looked hot, and he found the idea of her bloodlust coming over her while she was with him to be really erotic.

  “You’re not running screaming from me,” Raven said with a sad smile.

  “Of course I’m not,” Jagger said. “I knew you were a vampire when I agreed to come here. Why would I be afraid just because your eyes have changed?”

  “Because it’s the first sign of the bloodlust. And I am having real trouble controlling it,” Raven said.

  Jagger pushed himself up onto his elbows and frowned slightly. He was intrigued by the bloodlu
st, intrigued by Raven. And the thought of her losing control because of him made his cock pulse with desire.

  “What does that even mean? Like you want to drain my blood or something?” he asked.

  “Not exactly,” Raven said. She smiled again and this time, it didn’t look quite so sad. “When vampires get really turned on, the bloodlust comes over them. It basically means I do want to drink from you, but not to eat you. It’s a sexual thing.”

  Jagger nodded his head slowly.

  “I’ve heard of that,” he said. “It’s meant to be awesome.”

  “It is,” Raven said.

  “So why did you try to run?”

  Raven shrugged.

  “It is awesome, but a lot of non-vampires freak out at the thought of it. I didn’t want to see the look of disgust or fear in your eyes when you looked at me,” she said.

  Jagger pushed himself the rest of the way into a sitting position before wrapping one arm around Raven’s waist. He gently stroked her cheek with his other hand and then he cupped her face, pulling her toward him for a kiss. Their kiss was passionate, but it was more sensual than their previous kisses had been, like they had reached some sort of emotional understanding of each other, and Jagger wondered for a moment if this could be turning into something more than a one-night thing. He certainly wanted it to. There was something about Raven that drew him to her like a moth to a flame.

  He pulled his mouth from hers and smiled at her.

  “I’m not afraid or disgusted. I’m intrigued,” he said. “I kind of want to try it. If you’re up for it.”

  “Are you sure?” Raven asked.

  Jagger nodded and smiled at her again. She nodded back and then her lips were on his again. The deep, fiery passion was back and Raven was kissing him like she wanted to consume him completely. She pushed him back flat onto his back, coming with him, still kissing him.

  She pulled back from the kiss and smiled down at Jagger. Her eyes were still blood red and now her teeth had grown two pointy fangs alongside her normal teeth. They were pearly white and Jagger felt a rush of desire flood him as he looked at Raven this way. A hot predator who could kill him with one bite if she chose to. He felt his cock pulsing and he had to bite down on his tongue and concentrate on the stinging pain to stop himself from coming there and then. Raven’s smile grew wider and Jagger knew she had felt his cock growing beneath her.

  She ran her tongue over his lips and then across his cheek and down his neck. Goosebumps followed her tongue, making Jagger’s skin pucker and tingle. He could feel the heat of Raven’s breath as she licked him. She reached the side of his throat and she pushed his head to the side, exposing his jugular more fully.

  She leaned her head back for a second and then she moved toward him in a fast, darting motion. Jagger felt the warmth of her lips as she sucked his flesh into her mouth and then he felt the sharp points of her fangs pressing into his skin. He winced and gasped in a breath as the points pierced his skin a little bit painfully.

  As Raven began to suck on his neck, the pain went away, replaced by a feeling of ecstasy like nothing Jagger had ever felt before in his life. It felt like the most intense orgasm he had ever had, but it started in his neck and moved through his veins, bringing his whole body to life in a way that took his breath away and made his eyes roll back in his head. He lay that way, helpless and ecstatic, until Raven pulled her mouth away from his neck.

  His eyes flew open and she smiled down at him, running her tongue over her lips to lick away the last drop of his blood. The feeling of ecstasy began to recede, leaving behind a desire for Raven that was so strong, Jagger felt as though his cock might burst before he could get it inside of Raven.

  “Well?” Raven smiled. “Did you like it?”

  “Like it? Holy shit, Raven, it was fucking amazing,” Jagger breathed.

  He pulled her face down to his as he said it, his kiss stopping her from responding to him. He pushed inside of her, impaling her on his cock as she kissed him. She pulled back from his kiss, sitting up on top of him and beginning to move up and down faster and faster, her fingers moving over her own skin. She teased her nipples between her fingers for a moment, making Jagger’s eyes almost pop out of his head, and then she moved one hand down her body, pushing her fingers between her lips and finding her clit, moving her hips in time with her probing fingers.

  She half closed her eyes, leaving them as slits. Her lips were parted as she panted and Jagger had never been more turned on than he was now. He felt Raven’s already tight center tightening even more, clenching around him as she came. He felt a rush of hot liquid dowsing him.

  Jagger couldn’t hold himself back any longer and he came hard. She unhooked her leg from across him once their climaxes had passed and she lay back down beside him, both of them trying to get themselves back under control.

  Jagger wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened, but somewhere over the course of last night and this morning, he had started to find himself falling hard for Raven. He knew she couldn’t be his one true mate—after all, she wasn’t a witch—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still have feelings for her.

  4

  Three Months Later

  Raven had never been happier than she had been over the last three months. What had started out as something she had assumed would be one night of fun had turned into something much more than that. She had really started to fall for Jagger in a big way and he had told her that he felt the exact same way about her.

  They had talked about it in the beginning, and while they had both agreed that it wasn’t possible for them to be each other’s one true mate, that didn’t mean they couldn’t choose to be together. At least for now, to see where it went. It felt real to Raven. More real than anything she had ever had with any vampire in the past, and when it came down to it, that was all that mattered.

  Jagger didn’t seem to mind that being with her might mean he missed out on his chance to be with his mate and get ready to take over leading the warlock tribe. He had told Raven that he was happy with her and he was willing to take his chances on their happiness lasting. And if that meant that he would never get to take over the tribe, he could live with that, and his younger brother could have the honor of it instead.

  Raven had a feeling all of the happiness they had felt over the last few months might be about to change, though. Recently, she had begun to feel a little bit sick most mornings, even throwing up the odd time. And that was anything but normal for a vampire. Vampires couldn’t catch any sort of human disease or bug and they couldn’t get anything like food poisoning. The only way a vampire could get sick was if they were pregnant and experiencing a little bit of morning sickness.

  When the idea had first come to her, Raven had dismissed it as crazy. There was no way she could be pregnant. The only guy she was sleeping with was Jagger and he wasn’t a vampire. The only way a vampire could get pregnant was by another vampire or by a human who they turned. They couldn’t get pregnant by a warlock.

  But the sickness hadn’t gone away and Raven’s periods had stopped. She knew it was impossible for her to be pregnant, and yet at the same time, she also knew it was the only explanation for everything else that was happening with her body. In the end, she had bought a pregnancy testing kit, more to show herself that she wasn’t pregnant than anything else. Once she had done the test and ruled out the seriously impossible, she would have to go and visit an immortal healer and find out what the hell was going on with her body.

  She went to her bathroom and peed on the stick and then she placed it in the sink and set the alarm on her cell phone to go off in three minutes’ time. She knew if she just sat there, it would feel like forever, so she left the bathroom and went into the bedroom to make her bed.

  Her sheets smelled of Jagger after he had stayed over last night and she found herself burying her face in the pillow he had used and inhaling deeply, sniffing in his scent. She smiled to herself as she felt her core respond to Jagger’s scent
, tightening and craving his touch.

  Raven went back to pulling her bedding straight, trying to ignore the tingling in her clit. She would be seeing Jagger soon enough. He was picking her up on his way home from work in about half an hour and they were spending the night at his place tonight. She could surely control her urges until then.

  She managed to get the blankets straightened out and her bedside cabinet tidied before her cell phone started chirping, her alarm going off. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and switched the alarm off and then she headed for the bathroom. She didn’t know at this point what she most afraid of: finding out she was pregnant and having to deal with Jagger’s reaction to the news, or finding out she wasn’t pregnant and worrying about what else it could be that was wrong with her.

  Raven stepped into the bathroom, not letting herself pause for courage. She was afraid that pausing would have the opposite effect, paralyzing her with fear and stopping her from going and looking at the test. She crossed the room with a determined stride until she reached the sink. She plucked the pregnancy test from the sink, took a deep breath, and looked at it. Pregnant the little screen said.

  Raven shook her head, not sure what to make of any of this. She sat down on the lid of the toilet, her head spinning and her stomach feeling queasy. How was this even possible?

  She had no idea how it was possible. She had been told all of her life that it was in fact impossible. But despite what she had been told, it had happened. She was pregnant and the baby had to be Jagger’s, so clearly it wasn’t impossible then. She didn’t know how it was possible either, but she supposed that the reason behind it barely mattered now. What mattered now was where she and Jagger went from here.

  She had no idea how he was going to react to the news, and now, she wished she had waited a little bit longer to do the pregnancy test so that she would have less time to wait for him. The next half hour was the longest half hour of Raven’s life as she paced up and down the living room, waiting for Jagger to arrive.