The Alpha's Woman

by Carolyn Faulkner

  She watched him get ready for battle, still marveling – even after all this time – at his size, almost allowing herself to wish things had been different. What a magnificent man he would have been in her time! He could have been an educated, successful businessman, an athlete of some sort, or even an actor or a male model. He would have had to kick women out of his bed every night.

  He might even have been the father he was so desperate to be to their child.

  Sadness descended upon her for a moment, at what should have been for him – and for everyone else left on this God-forsaken planet.

  And, of course, he noticed immediately that she was downcast. Coming over to stand before her in his armor, this made him look three times as big as he was. All metal and leather and big, clompy, military-esque boots that she knew each contained a very sharp knife, bandoliers – heavy with cartridges – crossing over his chest plate, a deadly looking machine gun over his shoulder and two other guns, one on each hip...

  He was a walking wet dream of a proud, powerful Alpha male and, to her great consternation, there was still proof of that in the way her essence still wept copiously from her pussy.

  "Are you all right?" he asked, in a tone she wished he wouldn't use with her, one that sounded as if he really cared about her, when she knew it wasn't really true. He might feel something for her, in his way, but it would never be enough for her.

  But it still made her shudder, and his brows drew together in concern as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her gently against his armor.

  "Cold?"

  "No." She shook her head, and then a valid explanation – that was fit for his ears – popped into her head. "Scared."

  "Scared? Why? You're well protected here. You know I always see to that."

  "Not for me, silly, for you," she whispered, and it came out almost coquettishly, as if she was flirting with him as she wrapped her arms as far around him as they would reach.

  And he ate it up, every last bit of it.

  "I'll be fine." Seeking to distract her, she knew, he asked, "Is there anything I could bring back to you?"

  "Just you – in one piece – please," she asked prettily.

  His kiss made her knees weak and increased her shivering, albeit for a different reason.

  He was just about to reach for the straps that covered his cock, wanting to have her one more time before he left, but there was a loud knock at the door, and he knew it was his lieutenant, not so silently telling him to get a move on.

  He had to settle for another almost crippling kiss – he guessed that was why they said you should have sex before a battle – then turned to head for the door, looking back at her one last time as he stood in the open doorway.

  She looked pale, fragile, and frightened, and it nearly broke his heart to leave her, but he knew he had to do it.

  "I'll be fine. You'll see. It won't be too long before I'm back."

  Wringing her hands nervously, Emily nodded, her eyes full of tears, which certainly added to the effect, but she had no idea why she was really crying, refusing to admit that it might be because this was going to be the last time she saw him.

  He hesitated – which surprised her enormously – just for a second, before closing the door behind him and locking it.

  As soon as he had, she dashed her tears away and scrambled to make everything ready.

  Unfortunately, there was no way to plan for the unexpected. She had overplayed her hand and made him more concerned about her than she wanted to.

  As a result, long before the appointed time, she heard someone's key in the lock and was horrified to see Vaudt entering her room.

  She was stunned to see him.

  And instantly depressed beyond belief.

  He couldn't be here – he simply couldn't. His presence here meant that everything they'd so carefully planned was rendered null and void.

  She wouldn't be leaving him, would never find any sort of happiness or freedom.

  "I just came back to reassure you, one more time, that you are safe, and I will come back to you."

  Emmy tried to appear grateful, but she knew she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

  He strode over to her, dragging her into another big bear hug.

  Vaudt knew he shouldn't be here. He should be with his men, getting ready to take on Garron and the hoards of Skorge who had been harassing his people, raiding them, killing them, making off with women and anything else they thought could make money for them.

  Instead, he was here, although he surprised himself by being unable to chide himself for doing so.

  She had looked so sad and forlorn and alone when he'd left her, he just had to come back and reassure himself that she was okay and reassure her that he would be, too.

  He'd been with his brother when he'd decided to come back, and Racide had looked somehow…stricken that he was doing so and had decided to follow him, which he found annoying, but he couldn't be bothered to give him the dressing down that he deserved. He didn't have the time. It was more important to him that he make his way back to her

  His mother was right.

  She had changed him and not necessarily for the better.

  Maintaining military discipline was essential to his survival. If any of his men thought he was weak in any way, they would be only too willing to try to replace him, and none of them would hesitate to step over his cooling body as they did so.

  Racide knocked at the door, which swung open at his action, and he stood in the doorway while Emmy looked at him with eyes that pleaded with him to rescue her, even as his brother was holding her.

  Suddenly, he had an idea. While Emmy watched him do it, he lifted and loosened one of his own handguns, where it lay on his hip.

  When Vaudt kissed her for the last time, obviously very reluctant to leave her, she pulled a bit away and began to wander casually, reversing their positions, and she was now between the two men.

  But their impromptu plan never came to fruition.

  In the next second, they were all standing in pitch black.

  Their power had been cut, and suddenly, from within and without, they could hear the sounds of a battle being conducted, as near as the hallway outside the door.

  They were being raided themselves.

  "Where is Emmy?" Vaudt roared over the sounds of gunfire and men dying, as their enemy began to pour towards them and into the room. They couldn't see much, either, but they had the benefit of surprise.

  He never got an answer as he joined his men in fighting fiercely – and blindly – until the back-up generators had a chance to kick in. The lights began to return, very slowly and dimly at first, revealing just how badly they had been caught unaware and unprepared. He tried to look around for Racide, but he couldn't see him.

  He had already sent most of the supplies and his men to a staging area, and although there was still a core group of his personal guards – whose duty it was to protect Emily, at any cost – around somewhere, there was otherwise just a skeleton crew in place to keep things running.

  However, at a time like this, every capable man had a weapon in his hand of some kind – and even some of the women, fighting alongside trained soldiers – and they were losing, badly, but they were more than willing to make the attempt to save their families, their own hides, and to defend their homes.

  Vaudt managed to fight his way to the courtyard, where bodies were strewn all around him – most of them his own men, and he was worried – although not too much – that his brother's was probably among them.

  But then, he knew he had no cause for worry as he stood there and raised his head, guns at the ready but not blazing.

  They definitely should have been, but he just couldn't, once his eyes had landed on her.

  She was naked, spattered with dirt and blood, and he didn't want to consider what else, hanging from an arm around her middle, still fighting ferociously even though she was caught, while the man who had her laughed at her feeble attempts to escape.


  It was his brother, Racide, with Garron behind him – cackling wildly.

  He made sure that Vaudt was watching when he viciously groped Emmy's breast, then slid a disgusting, dirty hand between her legs, cupping her there as he yanked her head back by her hair.

  Vaudt could hear her scream and cry – even over the din of the battle raging around them – from where he was. He could feel the terror that he saw on her face, in the pit of his own stomach.

  He raised his guns again as if to fire, knowing he couldn't risk hitting her, knowing that it was a useless, coward's gesture.

  And when his enemy – his rival – his blood – took his engorged cock out, right there, in the midst of everything that was going on around them, lifting Emmy with surprising strength – like a rag doll, he knew what he had to do.

  "Vaudt!" Emmy screamed frantically, the look on her face one of sheer terror.

  He acted quickly, running at full force until he reached them. The air was filled with gunfire, but nothing would stop him from getting to her. Nothing.

  Knife in one hand, with the other, he pulled Emmy free of his brother's grasp with a supernatural-like force.

  The next thing Emmy saw, as she stood frozen to the spot, was the bright red stain that quickly spread over Racide's chest and the knife protruding from his mid section.

  Vaudt ran to her and picked her up in his arms, turned, and ran. Safely handing her over to his mother in the now ransacked house, he looked at her and said, "Stay! I shall be back, as I promised. Nothing will keep me from you."

  Emmy nodded, turning to his mother for comfort. As she watched him return to battle the enemy, she whispered aloud, "I shall be here, Vaudt. I shall stay with you forever, my love."

  Epilogue

  The battle ended, finally, and Vaudt had taken stock of his losses. He'd lost a good many of his men but he had been victorious. Racide and Garron had both been taken down, as well as most of Garron's men.

  When he thought of how close he had come to losing the single most important person in his life, his Emmy, he shuddered. Had he not reached her in time, Racide would have claimed her for his own and he, Vaudt, would now be dead. He couldn't bear to think of the life Emmy would have endured with his late brother.

  When he was able to speak with her, he learned that she and his mother had both been tricked by Racide, who had convinced them he only had Emmy's best interests at heart.

  His poor mother was heartsick. Angry to know her son had betrayed her trust yet sad because her other son had killed him. She knew it had to be done but her heart still ached for his loss.

  And Emmy—she finally realized who really cared for her. For all his gruffness and dominance, Vaudt truly did care. She knew that now. She felt like a fool, for allowing Racide to trick her. He would have seen his own brother dead and she knew her life would not have been worth living if that had happened and Racide had claimed her for his own. And to think that she and Vaudt had saved his life when he was near death, not so long ago.

  Vaudt knew he had to rebuild. This time, things were going to be different—very different. Emmy had proven her medical knowledge many times over. She nursed his wounded men back to health and he marveled at the way the men responded to her now, grateful for her help.

  One afternoon, weeks after the battle, he called for both his mother and Emmy to join him in the library.

  "Please, sit," he said when they entered the room.

  They obeyed, both wondering why he had called this meeting.

  "Let me begin by saying I appreciate the work the two of you have done in the weeks since the battle with Garron and his men. It hasn't been an easy time and I regret the loss of so many of our men. Emmy, you've managed to save every one of the wounded who survived the attack. For that, I am eternally grateful to you."

  Emmy was at a loss for words. She merely smiled and waited for him to continue.

  Turning to his mother, Vaudt continued, "And, Mother, you have availed yourself to Emmy, helping her, following her orders. I thank you, as well."

  His mother nodded.

  "Now is the time for rebuilding. I've made some decisions and I think they may surprise the both of you. It is time for a change. I am depending upon the two of you to assist me. It is crucial."

  He had Emmy's full attention now. Was he actually admitting that she was a capable person in her own right?

  "Emmy, I plan to build a clinic. You will be in charge of it and you will train others to assist you. Mother, I am sure that here, in the library, there must be some old books from another time that would be useful for that purpose. It is going to be your responsibility to search out those books and give them to Emmy."

  "Vaudt, that is wonderful!" Emmy jumped up and ran to him, throwing her arms around him.

  Surprised, he looked down at her with affection in his eyes. "You and I must talk in private. We have much to discuss."

  "Yes, we do."

  "One of which is your desire to run from me."

  Emmy hung her head, knowing that he would punish her for that indiscretion.

  His mother stepped in. "Vaudt, don't you think we have all suffered enough? Emmy, like me, was tricked."

  "Mother, I appreciate your opinion but this is between Emmy and me."

  "Yes, son."

  "Now, Emmy, you shall go to your room and think about what you have done. I shall join you shortly. Mother, we will leave you to begin your search for books."

  Both women nodded, knowing they were being dismissed.

  Emmy retreated to her room. As she sat on the bed, she began to think back to the months she had spent here, with him. She had been so busy resenting him and all he stood for that she had missed the most important thing. He did, in his own way, care for her. Truth be known, she had grown to love him, as well. There—she had finally admitted it to herself. When the realization hit her, it hit full force. My God, she thought, I love him!

  He joined her an hour later. When he strode into the room, he looked at her and said, "Emmy, my Emmy, have you had time to consider what might have happened?"

  "Yes, Vaudt," she said sadly.

  "I realize, as my mother pointed out, you have suffered greatly. I understand now that this world is very different from yours. I do not understand your world, but with your help, we will make this a better place, from now on. Having said that, you do know that I must punish you for attempting to run from me, for allowing my evil brother to involve you in his deathly scheme?"

  She nodded meekly. "Yes."

  "I want you to remove all your clothes and bend over the bed now."

  Without speaking, she did as he said. Better to get it over with.

  She heard the swish of the belt just before it crashed down on her bottom, leaving a fiery sting in its wake. She jumped and gripped the bedcovers. Another stripe across her bare flesh caused her to cry out in pain. Ten more followed, each one burning worse than the one before. Emmy was limp now, a mere ragdoll, sobbing into the bed.

  She heard the belt hit the floor. Soon, Vaudt had her in his lap, holding her. "Emmy, my Emmy," he crooned as he waited for her sobs to subside. His hands rubbed over the welts on her bottom and she winced.

  Finally, she looked up at him. "I-I am sorry."

  "I know. From here, we only move forward. I have realized how important you have become to me. We have both made mistakes. We are from different times and different places. We both have much to learn. I feel with the combination of both, we can make a mighty new land. Are you with me?"

  She looked up at him, the love shining in her eyes. "I am with you, Vaudt, forever."

  He kissed her then, a kiss different than any before, a kiss filled with promise and passion—true passion. Gently, he pushed her back on the bed. This time, as he began to make love to her, it was more than mere sex. Both felt the heat rising as they discovered each other as if for the first time. It was a new beginning, and when he finally entered her, it was as if their worlds had suddenly come full ci
rcle. Release came soon for both of them, crashing around them with such force that Emmy was sure she would pass out from the sheer joy of it.

  As they lay in each other's arms together, he said the words she longed to hear, "I love you, Emmy. Be my wife, my partner. We will build this new world together."

  With tears in her eyes, she replied, "Yes."

  The End

  Carolyn Faulkner

  The words “spanking” and “discipline” have always sent a shiver up Carolyn Faulkner's spine. She knows she's not alone.

  Writing started as a way to explore her feelings. Soon short stories flowed from her pen featuring reluctant heroes taking the leading lady in hand, but always for her own good.

  Today Carolyn is the author of dozens of books. She writes from her home in Maine, where she lives with her husband and leading man.

  You can read an interview with Carolyn here:

  http://www.blushingbooks.com/blog/?p=175

  You may check out her website while it’s under construction here:

  http://www.carolynfaulkner.com

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