True Alpha

by Ranae Rose

  As the others crossed the lawn, eventually disappearing behind the screen of pines to walk up the mountain road to their own cabin, Mandy’s heart beat a little faster. Her shoulder still felt hot where Jack’s teeth had dented it – where he’d come so close to marking her. His words about finishing what he’d started had her entire body tingling with anticipation, her flesh aching for the touch of his tongue and teeth.

  “I’m gonna head home,” Ronnie said. “I’ve got the day off tomorrow; I’ll come by then to work on the extension.”

  Jack thanked him, and Ronnie climbed into his truck and drove off into the night.

  “Come here, sweetheart.” Jack extended his arm and held out one hand, beckoning her to descend the short flight of porch steps.

  She went to him, her bare feet whisper-silent in the grass.

  “You up for a walk?” he asked, taking one of her hands in his.

  “Into the woods?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I want to do this outdoors so the moonlight will heal your wound quickly. Don’t worry; we won’t go far from the cabin, and you’ll be safe with me.”

  She believed him. Mysterious wolves and dangerous predators seemed a million miles away when Jack pulled her against his side, wrapping an arm around her waist, settling his hand just below her belly. “Sure.”

  Chapter 6

  They walked about halfway to the stream, stopping at a place where a gap in the canopy allowed moonlight to spill onto the layer of fallen leaves that cushioned the forest floor. Jack slipped his hands beneath the hem of Mandy’s sweater, grasping fistfuls of material and pulling it gently up over her head. Now her shoulder was exposed, but Jack didn’t stop there. He removed her bra, pausing to cup the fullness of her breasts in his hands, and helped her slip out of the rest of her clothing. “So you don’t get blood on anything,” he said as he set her garments aside in a pile.

  She nodded. She’d have to shift into her wolf form anyway in order to mark Jack, so there was no point in keeping her clothes on. Despite that logic and the fact that she was used to being nude around Jack, her skin prickled with nervous excitement beneath his gaze, her nipples hardening as he caressed one of her hips, his fingertips rough against her soft skin. Being totally bare with him felt … exciting. New, even. Not because he’d never seen her like this, but because her body was about to be irrevocably changed, and in a few moments’ time, he’d be looking at her as she’d appear for the rest of her life – marked, by the alpha. His. And vice-versa.

  Jack kicked off his jeans, tossing them aside to reveal a body that Mandy had always thought of as perfect. Now, her eyes lingered on his right shoulder – there was one improvement that could be made. The thought of doing something as savage as sinking her fangs into his flesh made her nervous, but at the same time, her mouth watered with excitement at the thought. She liked the idea of marking him as her mate, more than she would’ve expected. The desire to receive and give the mark in turn seemed to be something like an instinct; as soon as the idea had been put into her head, she hadn’t been able to shake the urge.

  Jack wrapped his arms around Mandy and pulled her against his naked body, holding her that way for a moment before urging her to sink down to the forest floor with him.

  Like last time, she obliged, allowing him to support her as she descended, letting her knees fold beneath the rest of her body.

  Jack swept her hair away from her right shoulder and pressed his lips against that side of her neck, kissing a slow trail all the way down to her shoulder. Her skin seemed to sizzle everywhere his lips touched, and his kisses sparked a slow burn inside her. When he cupped one of her breasts, her core tightened, and she couldn’t help but think again that the line between pleasure and pain was about to be blurred. At least, she hoped so – the anticipation of Jack’s bite was so arousing that it would be a shame if the pain killed the desire that was building up inside her, encouraging her to run a hand up Jack’s thigh and into his lap, where his cock was rock-hard.

  Jack sighed when she wrapped her fingers around his shaft and slowly stroked him from base to tip, imagining what it would feel like to have him inside her after they marked each other and the wounds of their love healed. Surely they’d make love then – claiming each other in every way possible. After all, it was obvious that Jack was as ready as she was; he opened his mouth and bit down lightly on her shoulder when she slipped her hand below the base of his erection, cupping his balls.

  “Ready?” he asked, his voice rough, but his tone tender.

  Mandy withdrew her hand from between his thighs and placed it on his shoulder instead. “Yeah.”

  Jack’s teeth never left her body as he shifted. Instead, they grew longer and sharper – a wolf’s fangs. In that same instant, her fingers were buried in thick fur, her hand resting on a wolf’s shoulder instead of a man’s. She could still feel his muscles beneath his skin, firm and defined; he was a powerful creature no matter what form he was in, and he was about to sink his fangs into her. She tried to relax, silently telling herself that it would hurt more if she tensed up.

  He marked her so quickly that her gasp was completely involuntary, as much a sign of her shock as her pain. For one stunningly agonizing moment, his teeth punctured her skin and sank deep, delving into muscle as rapidly as they’d broken her skin. Then the pressure was gone, leaving a deep, stinging ache in its wake.

  Jack moaned, human again. His eyes flashed, a deeper shade of gold than she’d ever seen them. “Mandy…” He gripped her by the tops of her arms, cradling her against his chest. “Are you all right?” He still had his head bowed over her shoulder; his lips brushed her wound, sliding against something slick. He surprised her by extending his tongue and licking the trail of punctures he’d left.

  His tongue brushing against her skin helped to ease the pain, or at least distracted her from it. “Yeah.” Her voice came out breathier than she’d expected, and bright spots of color danced in front of her vision. “I’m just a little…”

  “Lie down. The pain will pass in a couple minutes.” He lowered her onto the leaves so she rested on her left side, allowing her right shoulder to be bathed in moonlight.

  Something warm trickled over the slope of her shoulder and her chest, tickling. Neither the blood nor the pain could dull the strange sense of satisfaction that had unfurled inside her, increasing by the moment as the moon shone down on her, knitting her skin back together. “I’m fine,” she said when Jack stroked her cheek, brushing a stray lock of hair out of the way. His fingers felt heavenly against her skin, and though his touch was innocent, never straying below her neck, damp heat crept from between her thighs anyway. As she blinked up at the moon, admiring the silvery half circle before focusing on Jack’s face, she felt as if she were floating.

  “How do you feel now?” Jack asked a little while later.

  “A lot better,” Mandy said, rising into a sitting position. The pain in her shoulder had faded to a dull ache, and when she brushed some flakes of dried blood away, it was clear the many puncture wounds had closed. Grimy with blood though it was, the sight of the scar filled her with a fierce sense of pride, and it became impossible to look at Jack without having her hands on him.

  He sighed when she pressed her lips against the side of his neck and began to kiss him there, lightly biting, just enough to tease. Instead of kissing her way down to his shoulder, she worked upwards, skimming over his jaw and seeking his mouth with hers.

  He tasted faintly of blood; the coppery flavor met her tongue as she slipped it past his teeth, letting it slide against his. He moaned as their tongues tangled, the sound lost in her mouth. The kiss seemed to last forever, and Mandy enjoyed every moment of it, every sensation – from the way the stubble on his jaw scraped her chin to the way his body was so firm against hers, his muscles hard against her breasts and even harder nipples. But it wasn’t enough; as irresistible as his mouth was, his shoulder called to her, filling her with dual emotions of excitement and nervousness as
she steeled herself to mark him there.

  When the kiss ended, he tilted his head for her, exposing his neck and the muscular curve of one broad shoulder. “Don’t worry about me,” he said when she hesitated. “I’ve felt worse.” He flashed her a hint of a teasing grin as he touched one hand to his side, his fingertips skimming over the scar that marked where he’d once been shot.

  “So had I,” she said, resisting the urge to touch the scar beneath one of her breasts where a bullet had entered her, nearly hitting her heart. “But it still hurt.”

  “Mmm,” he moaned as she lowered her head and her lips brushed his shoulder. “Truth be told, I can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into me.”

  She knew what he meant. She’d wanted his mark – craved it. But she’d been nervous, too. He didn’t seem to be afraid at all. A smile snuck up on her, causing her lips to curl as they brushed his shoulder; Jack had refused to acknowledge the pain of having been shot when she’d first met him, had done his best to walk around as if everything were normal. For the most part, he’d succeeded. Though she knew he wouldn’t reveal his pain and would never dream of lying down in the leaves until the worst of it passed, she also knew damn well that it would hurt. So she’d mark him as quickly as possible, like he had her.

  She shifted, and a flurry of sensory data hit her as she assumed her wolf form. Everything – her sense of smell, hearing and sight – went into hyper-drive as her senses sharpened. Jack’s scent was more potent than ever, an inescapable haze of pine and woodsy, masculine musk. His breathing was clearly audible, each breath a note in a symphony of soft sounds. As she shifted her weight, opening her jaws and gripping his shoulder firmly between them, half-dried leaves crackled beneath her paws. His skin tasted sweet and faintly salty, thanks to a thin layer of sweat. As her teeth just barely dented his skin, settling in the position his scar would hold forever, her heart beat a little faster. This was it – the only way in which she hadn’t expressed her love yet. When all was said and done, it would mean more than any ring.

  Jack’s muscles tensed between her jaws when she flexed them, biting down hard and fast, holding her jaws clamped over his shoulder for a fraction of a second and releasing as quickly as she could. The coppery taste of blood crept into her mouth as she ended the bite and shifted back into her human form.

  “Are you all right?” She leaned in and kissed the wound she’d made, her entire body tingling with satisfaction – a primal sort of pleasure – instead of the regret she’d expected to feel after hurting him. Her heart seemed to swell a little inside her chest, and she couldn’t decide which she liked better – the bone-deep feeling that he was irrefutably hers, or that she was undeniably his. The pleasure each feeling caused was all-consuming, and she understood why Jack had moaned after he’d marked her.

  “Never been better,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his unhurt shoulder.

  The moonlight made quick work of healing Jack’s mark, and before long it had faded to two bright pink semi-circles, one on each side of his shoulder. It was definitely noticeable but had healed over, like Mandy’s. She’d never seen a more beautiful scar. Each time she looked at it, her heart did a little flip-flop movement beneath her ribs.

  The mood changed when Jack moved his hands from Mandy’s hips, letting them slide over her backside and cupping the lower curves of her ass. As he gripped just hard enough to dent her flesh, the air of quiet intimacy dissipated and the heat that had been smoldering in Mandy’s middle roared to life. She reached into Jack’s lap and grasped his shaft, wrapping her fingers one-by-one around his erection.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Jack said, reaching up to trace the arc of her brand-new scar with his fingertips.

  She tilted her head and pressed her mouth against the side of his neck. His pulse beat a little more quickly than usual, jumping beneath tender skin and making her lips tingle. She licked a trail from his pulse point to his jaw and reveled in the sensation of his muscles tensing against her body.

  “God, Mandy,” he breathed, his voice rough. “Come here.” He fell back in the leaves, pulling her on top of him so that she straddled his hips.

  She splayed a hand on his chest, supporting herself so she didn’t topple right off of him; her belly made balancing more difficult than it had been before she’d gotten pregnant. As she leaned forward, his cock rose into the apex between her thighs, brushing her sex. The accidental contact set her nerve-endings on fire, causing her pussy to tense in anticipation. This was another position they’d been favoring since her belly had begun to swell.

  “You remember the day we found out you were pregnant?” Jack asked, placing a hand on one of her thighs to help her balance.

  “Of course.” She resisted the urge to sink down a little lower and let his shaft grind against her slick skin; if she did that, there was no way she’d be able to listen to anything he had to say. Instead she thought back, letting her mind present her with flash images – everything from the positive pregnancy test she’d stared at for a full minute before hurrying out of the bathroom to tell Jack to the sight of his naked, sweat-slicked body – they’d made love like crazy after she’d told him, feeling closer than ever in light of the news, and he’d started work late that day as a result.

  “I feel sorta like that.”

  “Really horny?” She smiled teasingly, her body heating up even more as she remembered the tumble they’d taken in their bed that morning.

  “Really happy,” he clarified. “But yeah … that too.” He grinned and made use of his hold on her hip, guiding her so that she sat down on his lap, lowering her damp pussy onto his erection.

  She gasped and rocked her hips, enjoying the slide of his shaft against her clit. He was hard enough and she was hot enough that she could’ve easily gotten off that way, riding the friction until it pushed her over the edge, but he had other plans. After a few moments of allowing her to continue, flexing his hips a little to add to her pleasure, he exerted pressure on her hip, urging her to rise.

  She did, for just long enough to allow him to grip his cock and guide the tip of it to her entrance. It brushed her folds and sent a jolt of desperate need through her entire being, causing every muscle from her collarbones to her toes to tighten.

  With a single thrust he filled her, sliding easily into the wetness he’d incited. The position allowed him to penetrate her deeply, leaving her feeling so full that she hardly dared to move. Still keeping her hand on his chest for balance, she dug her fingernails into his skin when he began to rock his hips, stretching her with steady strokes. An involuntary moan rose from somewhere deep in her middle and rushed past her lips.

  “Feel good?” he asked, his hazel eyes locking with hers.

  She wanted to close her eyes and lose herself in the sensations of being filled so thoroughly, but couldn’t bring herself to break eye contact with Jack. “Yeah.” His gaze was captivating, and the way his full lips parted as he breathed a little harder, putting more force behind his strokes, drove her crazy. Her nipples tightened and her breasts ached, and though he hadn’t looked away from her face, he seemed to notice.

  The ache grew even more intense when he cupped one of her breasts, and she arched her back as he stroked the hard tip. Both of her nipples sprang up small and hard, and he lifted his other hand to touch the opposite one, teasing them both with his fingertips. It felt almost as good as the way he was thrusting into her below, and the combined sensations caused her core to clench, embracing his cock as a telltale heat smoldered in her core. If he kept touching her like that, it wouldn’t be long. She arched her back a little more, pressing her breasts into his hands, letting them spill over his palms.

  He pinched her nipples lightly, breathing deeply as his hips bucked against the ground. The thrusts that would’ve hurt her at first now felt so good that she craved more. Bearing down with her hips, she pressed her pussy tightly against his groin, taking every bit of him. “God…” He squeezed
her breasts and gasped, a light sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead as he fucked her deeper, his breath coming a little harder with each stroke.

  She would’ve sank down and collapsed against his chest if her belly hadn’t been in the way. Instead, she clawed his chest in earnest, creating marks that faded within moments, courtesy of the moonlight that was shining down on them.

  The first wave of her climax was strong, rushing through her and untying the knots of tension in her middle. Though her thigh muscles tensed, bracing her to endure his hard finishing thrusts, her upper body seemed to turn to jelly. Jack caught her before she could fall, removing his hands from her breasts and gripping her shoulders instead, holding her steady as his hips pounded against her inner thighs.

  She cried out as her core clenched around his cock, effectively bringing him to his peak too; the way he moaned, his thrusts becoming deeper and more deliberate than ever, made it obvious that he was coming too. This fact doubled her pleasure, and she rode out his orgasm, allowing him to support her as he rocked her, her thighs quivering with the intensity of feeling him drive his shaft so deep inside her. When he finally stopped she was still gasping loudly enough that someone a mile away could easily have heard her, but she didn’t care.

  As Jack lifted her, withdrew from her body and gently lowered her onto the forest floor beside him, their gazes locked.

  Jack’s eyes were still hazy with pleasure – just like hers must look to him – and his lips were parted, allowing him to draw breath in deep drafts. Mandy pressed her mouth to his, kissing him as thoroughly as she could while still breathing heavily, her body shaken by and recovering from the force of their lovemaking. He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, letting her round belly rest against his flat one. When they stopped kissing, her gaze wandered to his shoulder, where his new scar marked him as her mate. Her own right shoulder tingled, her skin warming as he stared, too. “I’m glad we finally did this,” she said.