Alpha's Mate: A Steamy PNR Shifter & Fantasy Romance Collection (Hot Shifters Book 3)

by Casey Morgan

  I nod.

  He’s probably right. I don’t want to let my parents ruin this for me, either.

  I look at Raul and appreciate everything that is in front of me now.

  Right then, my stomach makes a loud, grumbling noise, breaking into this tender moment.

  “Are you hungry?” Raul chuckles.

  “Maybe…”

  I haven’t eaten anything since dinner last night. I’ve been running on so much adrenaline that I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was getting.

  “Let’s feast then.”

  I give Raul a curious look. I’m not sure where he is going with this, but he helps me up. We fix our clothes, readjusting ourselves. He takes my hand. I comfortably hold mine in his and follow him out of the woods and back to town.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere with lots of food.”

  Raul continues to lead us through town, and I realize we are going to the church. We get there, and all the food is still left out on the table. I remember everyone running away because of all the wolves, and I guess they never came back.

  “A feast for my lady.” Raul presents the hall to me, filled with food.

  I smile at him before rushing inside, ready to stuff my face. I feel so ravenous like an animal. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be full. I see Raul eating just as much as I am. It’s so nice not to have to regulate myself.

  “Oh my god!” I moan. “This all tastes so good!” One thing that the members of our church have always done right is food.

  “Eat up. You need to gain your strength.”

  Strength?

  “Why?” I ask.

  “That rival pack I told you about, The Shadewoods, they aren't going to be happy that we're together. Now, they're probably going to come at us full force and do whatever they can to tear us apart.”

  I start to feel a little nervous thinking about it. I've never been in any kind of fight before. I'm not sure if I'll be any good at it.

  “So, we'll have to fight them?”

  “I put my pack on high alert, so, if anything goes down, they're ready to come out and help us.”

  Okay. It's nerve-racking thinking about having to fight a whole pack of wolves, but, with Raul by my side, I feel ready to take on anyone and anything.

  Raul and I continue eating, going through almost the entire table. I've never eaten so much in my life, but I don't feel sick or anything. My stomach just accepts all the food I am shoveling into it, and I can actually feel myself getting more and more energized.

  Raul and I slow down, leaning up against the wall, then sitting on one of the wooden benches. I lean my head on my mate's shoulder. He swipes a stray hair from out of my face, tucking it behind my ear.

  “I want you to know, and it's so apt because it is Thanksgiving, but yeah, I want you to know that I am overwhelmingly thankful that you came into my life. I'm still pinching myself. Thank you for finding me.” He gently kisses me on the forehead.

  “And thank you for accepting me. I feel whole for the first time in my life.”

  “I know what you mean. That's exactly how I feel.”

  I smile because this is the beginning of my new life. I'm no longer going to celebrate all the weird cultish holidays my parents made me because of the church. Instead, I’m going to make new traditions with Raul. I’ll have a whole new life and identity, and everything is going to be perfect because now I have found my one true mate.

  I’m about to tell him all of this when something catches my attention. My ears perk up, and I stand up, walking towards the window. Looking out, I see in the distance a pack of wolves approaching the church. It looks like this time, there are more than there has been in the past.

  “Raul, they’re coming,” I tell him without turning around.

  He’s behind me in seconds, hands on my shoulders. “I know. Get ready, it’s showtime.”

  I take a deep breath knowing this is the moment.

  The two of us go outside, and I see other wolves. These ones look ready to fight, but not us. They must be the members of Raul’s pack, here to help us defeat the Shadewoods.

  I look over at my mate and see him shift. His body hunches over, and then he’s on all fours in his wolf form. He looks so perfect and majestic, and the best part is I can still tell it’s him. I still feel that connection.

  I look forward again, and the Shadewoods are almost here. It’s time for me to shift. Raul didn’t give me any pointers on how to do it. Maybe because it’s so seamless for him. It should be that way for me too, right?

  The Shadewoods are practically here, and I am still in human form. I know the best way to do something is calmly, so I count backward from one hundred, allowing my body to relax into itself. I feel myself doubling over, my hands going towards the ground. Soon, I’m on all fours. I open my eyes, and I’m much closer to the ground.

  Everyone has started fighting around me already, wolf attacking wolf.

  One of them lunges at me, and, instinctually, I go for the neck, biting down hard, blood spurting out of the gaping wound I just made. I move on, fighting whoever I need to. Surprisingly, I’m pretty good at this. It’s all coming so naturally to me like this is what I was born to do.

  Raul and I fight the wolves off together, feeding off of one another’s energies. I can feel him making me stronger, and it’s giving me the confidence I need to keep going.

  Raul and I, along with the rest of his pack, destroy all the wolves who came to fight us. We leave only one alive and limping. The rest of the pack scatters, but Raul and I stay to talk to this final Shadewood member.

  The three of us shift back to human form, Raul and I looking down at this injured man. He doesn’t look as bad as he did as a wolf, but that doesn’t mean he looks good.

  “I want you to go back and tell everyone in your pack not to mess with us anymore. We’re not the weak because Anya and I have found one another, and whoever you send our way, we’ll destroy.”

  I know Raul is in intimidation mode, but I don’t feel any of it coming my way. Instead, it’s a bit of a turn on.

  “Is there anything else I should do?” the Shadewood wolf asks.

  I look at Raul, not sure what this means. Is it some kind of trick?

  “It’s our tradition that the losing pack does a favor for the wining pack.”

  “A favor? Like we can ask them to do whatever we want?”

  “Yeah, whatever you want. Do you want to send them to take care of your parents once and for all? You deserve it if that is what you really want.”

  I think about it because I know it’s what I deserve. My parents were absolutely horrible to me and don’t deserve to not understand that. I really hate them for what they did to me, but I don’t want that hate to consume my life. They already ruined so many years for me. I’m not going to let them continue fucking me over.

  “No,” I shake my head. “I don’t want him to take care of my parents. Instead, I want you to deliver a message.” I’m talking to the Shadewood wolf now. “I want you to tell them that I am living my own life happily without them, that I hope they can change their ways, but they will never lay a finger on me again because they will never see me again.”

  Even if they are able to become better people, I’m not sure that I want to have them in my life. I’m ready to fully divorce myself from them.

  “Okay, I can do that. Is that all.”

  “Yes.” I nod.

  The Shadewood wolf shifts back to his wolf form and runs away, taking care of my favor. I feel really good about this, finally at peace with everything in my life.

  “You did a good job, baby. It’s always nice to show mercy.”

  “Yeah?”

  He hugs me from behind, resting his head in the crook of my neck. “Yeah, you did a great job today. Fighting with the Shadewoods. You were a natural. You’re going to make a great shifter.”

  “Thanks. I’m excited to be one.”

  Raul spins me around to face him.
“There’s something else I want to show you. Now that you’re a wolf, it’s something really fun that we can do together.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Raul

  I have Anya shift with me, so we’re both in wolf form. Together, we run through the woods, going so fast that it feels like we’re flying. We race through the trees, getting ourselves back to the clearing in the woods where we first met.

  Anya and I collapse into a heap of yips and heavy breathing. We shift back to human, and I wrap my arms around her.

  “It’s fun to run in wolf form, isn’t it?”

  Anya giggles and nods. “Yeah, it’s so much fun.”

  “Do you want to keep going?”

  She nods, so we get back up, shift, and keep going. We leap and bound through the forest. Every once in awhile, we run into members of my pack, her pack now, and Anya thanks them for helping us out.

  “I’m not sure if we would have been able to stop those guys without all of you.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Paul says. “Now that you guys have each other, you must be wicked strong. I’m sure you don’t need us schlubs anymore.”

  “No, you guys were amazing and absolutely perfect. It was really nice to have all your help. And it’s so nice to meet you.”

  The entire pack isn’t here, just a few of them: Paul, Isaac, Derek, and Jared are all here. I’ll make sure Anya meets everyone. I’m sure they’ll all love her.

  “Well, it’s been really nice to meet you,” Isaac says.

  “I’m sure Raul feels the same way,” Derek jokes.

  They all laugh, Anya included. It’s a funny joke that gets a chuckle out of me as well.

  “We have to get going,” I tell my pack. “We’ll see you guys later.”

  We all say goodbye, and Anya and I continue to race through the woods. I take her to this little house in the woods that I’ve made my home.

  “What is this place?” Anya asks.

  “It’s where we’re going to live, if you like it.”

  We’re in human form, so I take her hand and lead her inside. After walking through the door, Anya looks around. There isn’t much to see, so it doesn’t take her very long.

  “It’s so cozy in here. Did you build this?”

  “Yeah, a few years ago. I haven’t spent all of my nights here, but I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to come back to if I needed it, and, now, it can be our family home.”

  “Well, I love it. I can’t wait to live here for the rest of our lives.”

  I go over to the fireplace and light some of the wood. It warms up the house pretty quickly since it’s so small. An upside of a tinier home.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Anya is leaning up against me, looking down in the fire. “I could eat.”

  “Do you like smores?” I feel her nod against my back. “Then let’s make a couple.”

  I get the ingredients out, and Anya and I assemble our smores. Holding them over the fire, we’re able to get the marshmallows nice and gooey.

  Snuggling up to one another, we eat our smores.

  “Can I tell you something?”

  “Yeah, you can tell me anything,” Anya responds.

  “I want you to know that I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Anya runs her fingers through my hair as she says it.

  It’s so nice to hear those words coming out of her mouth. And I know she means them. We’ve been through so much together in such a short amount of time.

  “I’m just so glad that we’re destined to stay together for life. You really are perfect for me, and we need each other.”

  “I understand why you were being so forceful about me staying with you. Sorry, I didn’t listen to you and went with my parents. It was such a stupid thing to do, but I thought I didn’t have any other option.”

  I can see that Anya really regrets what happened before, but I’m not upset with her or anything. It’s not like she could have known. Her parents hid the truth her entire life and who she was from her. There was no way for her to know what was going to happen.

  “Don’t even worry about it. You’re here with me now, and that is all that matters.”

  “Yeah, we’re together,” she echoes.

  “However,” I start.

  This piques Anya’s interest, and she looks up at me. “What is it?”

  “There is a way you could make it up to me.”

  I slyly smile at her, wondering if she’ll get the hint. I look down at my crotch, giving it a quick glance. Anya’s eyes follow mine, her glance down a little slower.

  “Do you want me to…?” she trails off.

  “Yeah, if you want to?”

  Anya smiles, and her hands go to my pants. I’m already hard as a rock, ever since we snuggled together in front of this fire. This girl can get me hard in less than five seconds. I don’t see any problems with that now, but I could see it potentially getting kind of tricky in the future.

  But all those thoughts go out of my mind the moment I feel Anya’s deft fingers cup my bulge. She rubs it ever so softly over my jeans, but it is not even close to enough pressure. She doesn’t need any instruction, though, and she pulls down my pants and underwear, my dick springing out and standing at attention.

  “It’s so perfect,” Anya whispers, her eyes trained on my shaft.

  Her fingers wrap around me, gently squeezing. She brings her hand up and down, her palms moving over every ridge.

  “That feels so good,” I sigh.

  She moves with such thought and consideration. My nerve endings are about to fry themselves from how much she overwhelms me.

  Her mouth joins her hand, her lips wrapping around my head and coming down. Her hot, wet mouth sucks me like a vacuum, sucking the life out of me.

  “Yeah, just like that, baby.”

  I move Anya’s hair out of the way. She keeps going, bobbing her head up and down. My thighs tense as my balls get heavy. Anya juggles them with her other hand as she continues to pleasure me.

  The cum spurts out of my dick and straight into her mouth. She laps it up greedily, not letting a drop go to waste. She picks her head up, my dick falling out of her mouth with a pop.

  She crawls towards me, placing a quick kiss on my lips.

  “How did I do?”

  “Amazing, baby. Now it’s your turn.”

  Anya cocks her head, and I move myself forward, pushing her body down on to the floor. I kiss all over her face, going down her body until I reach the top of her skirt. I unbutton it, pulling the fabric down along with her underwear. Her arousal fills my nostrils, the smell sweeter than anything that has ever filled my senses.

  And I know that the taste will match.

  I bring my mouth down to her center, placing my tongue flat against her folds. Anya bucks, so I put a hand on her hip, keeping her from getting too far away from me. I keep licking her greedily, knowing that I’ll never get enough of the taste of honey that is Anya.

  “Raul,” she gasps.

  Her fingers thread into my hair, and she pulls as my tongue goes in and out of her pussy. Her moans egg me on. I don’t stop, wanting Anya to feel that sweet release that she just gave me. Her body starts to shudder. She screams as she comes in my mouth, her juices coating my lips. I drink her up, going until Anya’s movements subside.

  Bring myself back up her body, I kiss Anya, letting her taste her own arousal all over my tongue. She moans into my mouth, pulling at the strands of hair at the base of my neck.

  My dick is pushing up against her legs. I’m still hard as all hell. Without wasting any time, I slide myself into her, her pussy walls enveloping my cock completely. Her body presses into me, and we continue to move together. Our bodies work so well with one another.

  Her walls massage my cock, and she squeezes her muscles down on me. I almost lose it all right there, but I’m not going to totally blow my load right away. I want to give Anya as much pleasure as I can possibly muster.

  Her hands squee
ze my ass and then come up my back, her nails scratching my skin. She grunts every time I push into her. I keep going, my balls slapping on her ass. Anya’s walls quiver around my shaft, and we come together, her screams filling up our little home. I come so much inside of her that it spills on to her thighs. When I’m done, I fall on top of her, but make sure not to place all of my weight on her.

  We take a few seconds to catch our breath before I roll myself off of her body. We lie down next to one another. Anya turns her head towards me, and I turn my head towards her.

  “How long have you been here? In these woods, I mean.”

  I take a deep breath. “I’m not really sure. The days started to run together after a while, but I know it’s been a few years, probably more. I just ended up here one day after escaping those scientists. I wandered until I stopped wandering, and I’ve been here ever since.”

  “Wow,” Anya whispers. “I can’t believe we were so close to one another for so long and didn’t even know it.” She goes back to looking at the ceiling, her eyes getting this far off kind of look.

  “Yeah, they really almost had us, huh? But we don’t have to worry about that anymore. We’re together now, and there is nothing anyone can do to tear us apart.”

  “I know. I know.” Anya places her hand in mine, and I squeeze hers.

  “There is something else I want to tell you. I’ve kind of mentioned it, but I just… It’s really the only bad thing.”

  “What is it?”

  “It has to do with the government testing. I’m pretty sure because of all that, I’m sterile, which means we can’t have kids.”

  I know a lot of people want children, and their partner not being able to give them that can be a real deal-breaker. I don’t think Anya would leave me, but I don’t want her to be unhappy our entire time together because of this one big thing I cannot give her.

  “It’s okay, Raul. It really is. All I need is you. You brought me out of a horrible situation, and I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in the world. I love you, okay.”