by Angela Foxxe
"Oh god, please don't ever stop."
Once fully lodged within her, Richard pushed up, looked deeply at her. She could see the moonlight reflecting off of his yellow wolf eyes.
"I love you," he whispered to her. Then, with the utmost care, he made love to her.
She came with the first thrust, her body turning to jelly, she couldn't think, couldn’t breathe, all there could be was him inside her, filling her, she screamed again and again. She lost track of time as the night wore on.
Richard stopped, found her mouth with his and kissed her deeply, then in the midst of their kiss, pushed himself deep into her, his body went rock still as he let loose his seed inside her. The sudden flood of warmth and the spasm of his body in her, sent her over the edge, her body responded, her hips bucked and she cried out with one last rush of pleasure. They collapsed together, entwined in arms and legs, as the sun rose over the mountains.
CHAPTER SIX
In the deep, snow covered woods of the Cascade Mountains, the sound of a violin echoed off the mountains. Vivaldi Concerto No. 1 rang throughout the hills and trees, through the rivers and streams. The deer and rabbits grazing this part of the forest migrated toward the sound of the strings to listen to its beauty and passion.
In a small clearing, near a little brook, was Reign. She was bundled in a large white coat with fur trim, and a knit cap to keep the cold off her ears. She cradled a dark wood violin between her neck and hands as she played with all her heart.
Her audience consisted of any woodland animal that was brave enough to close the distance. Her biggest fan, though, was the large salt and peppered timber wolf that lay at her feet, lazily soaking in the early winter sun and the sounds of the violin. Reign swayed with the music as she played the piece’s difficult parts, her eyes closed, and the music filled her soul, telling her where to go next. She followed it to the ultimate conclusion, finally bringing the violin down to rest on her swollen belly.
The last nine months had brought so many changes to her life. She practically lived in exile at Richard’s lodge, the home for his werewolf pack. After two wars with other packs in the area, and one of their own being kidnapped and tortured in a desperate effort to destroy the pack, Richard wouldn’t let her leave.
While she had seen first-hand how vicious and cruel others were capable of being, she was only nineteen, pregnant, and she wanted her mom. The last person who could be with her. Richard was courting disaster just having her there, it would be impossible for him to defend his actions if her mother was there as well.
As the echoes of the violin faded and Reign placed it with gentle care back in the case, the normal sounds of the forest returned. The violin, a gift from Richard, had an exquisite spruce body with a dark maple top, and fit snugly into the case. She gave it one last look before closing the lid. She turned to watch the object of her affection.
Richard had been every inch the loving man and protector these last nine months. She could not fault anything he did, but she was just nineteen. Her whole life was ahead of her, and now that she knew him, and would come to know their daughter, she didn’t think that she could just walk away to pursue a career in music, even if it meant giving up the dream she'd longed for since she was a little girl.
Richard’s wolf lay in the snow; his large yellow eyes followed her every move, his tongue hung out to shed the excess heat his body generated. It was still awkward for her; all the things she believed about the world needed to be questioned. All her personal beliefs, too. Werewolves and vampires, she knew of, but what else existed in her world that was just a myth and legend? The wolf before her sprang to its strong legs and gently padded behind without a sound. His fur was coarse, but inviting and warm. She dropped a hand to his ears, which were about at her waist, and scratched them in the place she knew he liked.
Together they walked through the snowy woods. The air was cold, the sky clear, a mild breeze carried with it the smell of burning pine. The lodge was only a half-mile distant and its hearth burned near constantly. They spent a good part of the summer building up enough wood to make it through the long mountain winters. They also spent a good amount of time replanting trees to keep their woods populated and full.
“That was beautiful, Reign.”
Richard's voice startled her, she dropped the violin, and in a blur of motion, he was there, one hand on her back, the other on the violin.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She smiled and took a breath. “I didn’t hear you change.”
He held her close, a smile on his face, his brown eyes gazing down at her. She suddenly became aware of his nakedness, and how close he was.
They paused for a moment, their breath mingled between them. She leaned into him, he to her, their lips touched and they kissed. Her knees weakened with his touch, her stomach tightened and she felt just like she did the first time they kissed. She ran her hands over his thickly muscled arms, his taut stomach and rested them around his hips. His torso was too thick for her to get her arms around him with her belly in the way.
“You know, the doctor said that sex will encourage labor,” she said with an impish grin.
“Well, if that’s what the doctor ordered...”
Reign paused for a moment, she felt a twinge, like the baby kicking, a smile lit her face and her hand went to her stomach.
“The baby’s moving,” she said.
Another twinge, it hit her hard, she dropped to one knee and screamed as fire erupted in her stomach.
“Richard, help me,” she said through gritted teeth.
Richard knelt beside her, a patient, pleasant smile graced his lips. “It’s okay, Reign, this is how it is, don’t fight it.”
“It hurts, Richard, it hurts.” She was on her back, eyes squeezed shut, writhing in agony. Her stomach felt like it was on fire and she could taste blood in her mouth. She screamed again as a clawed hand pushed its way through her stomach, she could see the outline of it. Tearing through her flesh...
Reign sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat, panic gripped her heart, and her hands flew to her stomach. She was fine. No baby was clawing its way out, she wasn’t in any pain. She closed her eyes and breathed; she couldn't hear anything except how loud her heart was in her ears.
Just a dream, just a dream.
For the nth time, she wished Richard hadn’t gone away on business, that he could have stayed the whole time. Instead, she was alone, nearly at term, and terrified. The door flew open, and she let out a squeal. Silhouetted in the doorway, with her perfect hourglass figure, and long silky brown hair, was Cara, naked of course.
Reign tried hard not to be jealous of the women in the pack, but she was nine months pregnant; she saw herself as a walrus, who couldn’t see that? Cara, Skye, even Abbey, were a man’s idea of a wet dream. Add to that the wolves’ propensity for free love within the pack, and Reign found herself, on more than one occasion, questioning Richard’s fidelity.
Not that they were married, but she wanted to believe that she was the only one for him. With the baby’s due date rapidly approaching, her emotions were a roller coaster. Was she being hormonal, or was there something happening and no one was telling her?
Cara entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed. She moved carefully, as if afraid to startle the girl.
“It’s okay, Cara, just a bad dream.”
As Reign awoke, her feelings muted, and sense started to kick in, of course Richard had a past, and of course, she wasn’t his first. He told her he was not sleeping with anyone else and she believed him. Cara crawled into bed with her, a sleepy look in her eyes.
“Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll snuggle with you and keep you safe till you fall back asleep,” she said with a suppressed yawn.
“Sounds good to me.” Reign turned back over and pulled the down comforter up. Cara crawled in behind her and rested one hand on her thigh, and nuzzled the back of her neck. She let out a sigh of contentment, feeling safe in the wolf’s
embrace.
“Cara?”
“Yes?” she answered, half asleep.
“What’s it like to become a wolf?”
Cara tensed, then relaxed her body.
“It’s not for everyone, now go back to sleep.”
She did, and she dreamed of running in the meadows and howling at the moon.
***
Richard hated crowds, and he hated flying, so airports were the perfect storm of annoyance to him. This one, Denver International, was particularly crowded. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and everyone was trying to get home before break was over, a terrible time to fly, but he had no choice.
He had made this trip to make sure his financial affairs were in order, and to check with his source in New York. Not for the first time in the last few months, did he question his judgment on his affair with Reign. She was so young, and vulnerable, yet there was a strength of spirit in her Richard had rarely met. If the blight had not happened, he would have offered her the family of the pack. Now, though, it was a death sentence.
It might be either way.
Richard received a letter from his source at the Lunar council. The Alphas were not happy. He made the trip to verify it face to face, and he was right. The Alphas had excluded him from their meeting, passing judgment on him and Reign without meeting her.
Their fear was justified, though. A long time before, longer than most of the wolves who were still around, several villages in France became aware of the existence of a pack near them. Because of the indiscretion of a newly turned wolf, fifty of them lost their lives. Burned at the stake until they were ashes. There was no regenerating that.
In his most somber moments, Richard could still smell the smoke. Feel Indigo’s hand on his shoulder, warning him. He could see her, bound, on the fire, looking right at him; he could hear her sweet voice telling him to let her go.
He and Sally had come to help the pack that was in trouble, but instead she joined the many who died. While Richard had loved since then, he had never loved as deeply or as completely as he had when he was with Sally McBride. That was – until now.
Reign captured his heart in a way no woman ever had, not even Sally. He was drawn like a moth to a flame, an apt analogy considering his current dilemma. There were two things he was sure of, he could not live without her, and he could not live with her, at least if she were human.
His nose twitched as he caught a scent, a half-forgotten perfume that flooded his mind with memories. Memories of a bygone age and a woman who he also had loved, until she betrayed him.
Heidi. Where...
He looked about, trying to be casual, but knowing he was late in smelling her; she had to know he was there already, even through the crowd.
“Is this seat taken?” Heidi appeared beside him as if by magic. Her blue dress stopped short of her knees, and silhouetted her upper body. She wore no underwear or bra, and with the light behind her, she might as well been wearing nothing at all. She looked just as he remembered. Blond locks fell from her head to curl around her face and shoulders, blue eyes like the sky, lips so naturally red it could have been blood.
That would be on her hands.
“By all means, Fraulein.” He motioned for her to sit.
“Oh, Richard, you're not still mad about that are you? That was such a long time ago.”
“Funny, seems like yesterday you stabbed me in the back.”
He flinched as she ran her hand up his back, and another up his leg, her lips parting slightly with the promise of pleasure.
“Now, now, your back is as fine as ever, and if we can slip off to somewhere more quiet, I promise I will make it up to you.” Her voice dripped with sexuality, and despite his anger he felt himself stir at its seductiveness.
You always were good at that.
He stopped her hand an inch from his crotch; he held her wrist in a vice-like grip.
“Cut to the chase, Heidi, why are you here?”
“You’re hurting my hand.” She spoke in a much lower voice now, the overt sexuality of her tone replaced by a mild amount of pain.
He squeezed, her lips thinned as she warded off the pain by tensing her muscles.
“Why. Are. You. Here.”
“You know why, now let go.”
She made an effort to break his grip, but it was futile. Worry crossed her eyes, and that was what Richard was waiting for, he didn’t want her thinking she knew him, that he was predictable. She was dangerous, always had been, he needed her to know he was too. He let go. She rubbed her wrist to get the blood flowing again.
“My, my, Richard, if I knew you were into the rough stuff I would have brought the crop,” she winked.
Richard affected his best gaze of disinterest and picked up a nearby magazine to read.
“You’re not in a pack, I see, still not one to play the game, eh?” he said.
“You were the only man with balls enough to order me around. What would I do, sit at some Alpha’s feet, be his plaything, no, it’s the life of the Lone Wolf for me. The packs have their rules, and so do we.”
Richard nodded. There were many rules to follow, and by their nature, the wolves were self-policing.
“They sent me because they felt a familiar face would put you at ease,” she said. She took out a compact and began touching up her red lipstick.
“Is this an ultimatum?” He glanced around. Indigo and Skye were nowhere to be seen, which could be good. He wanted them to have nothing to do with this monster.
“Yes, of sorts, turn her or kill her, you have until the last new moon. Now, that nasty business is out of the way, let's find someplace more comfortable to talk.”
Richard stood, brushed her hands away from him, and said, “Goodbye, Heidi, I expect to never see you again.”
He turned his back on her faux pouting face and left. If she was here, at this time, then the planes being delayed were not an accident. He found Indigo and Skye in a nearby nook, their infatuation with each other had only grown, they kissed and cuddled, oblivious to the people around them. That is, until Richard’s scent caught them. They both turned as he approached. Indigo went a little pale.
“No fucking way.”
Skye coughed. “You never cuss.”
“No, he’s right, this is bad.” Richard waved for them to follow.
“We're not taking the plane,” said Indigo.
“I wouldn’t put it past her to blow the plane up just to get us.”
“Who’s ‘she’?” asked Skye.
“Someone I hope you never meet,” replied Indigo.
“Skye, get on your phone, find us a train or private plane, something to get us back home, we don’t have much time.”
Richard paused once they were outside. It was late, the moon was just rising in the sky, and it was close, even he could feel the pull of it. Two more weeks; two more weeks to kill the woman he loved.
*
Reign was worried as the doctor packed up his kit. It was one week to the new moon, one week when all wolves shifted. If she did not give birth to the baby by then, her nightmare would come true. Not that it wasn’t already a nightmare. Richard had been back from his trip for nearly a month.
Since his return, he was pensive and distant. Something happened and he hadn’t told her what. Now the baby wasn’t coming. She couldn't go to a hospital and have a C-section, she had to wait, and the waiting was nerve racking. A few more days and the baby would be a full month late.
Richard and Cara were in the room with her, and for some reason, this made her feel vulnerable instead of secure. The doctor smiled as Richard walked him out, leaving her with Cara.
Why was she feeling so alone, so awkward? As if this were a dream and she was waking up. It could not be right, she loved Richard, Cara saved her life, something else was going on.
“I don’t feel very good,” she said. She brought the cup of water to her lips.
“The doc cleared you, said everything was good, what’s wrong?”
“Cara, something’s not right, I don’t feel right, I feel like I’m alone, like I have nowhere to go, I feel trapped,” she said.
Cara glanced around the room; something flashed across her face that Reign did not recognize.
“I’m sure its just nerves.”
“Have you ever had a baby?”
“No,” Cara said.
“Then how do you know its just nerves?”