Dominic was emotionless as he watched Kenny struggled. “I’ll hear no more of this. Clarissa, let’s go.”
“No. Never.” Clarissa took off running out of the door and into the woods surround the house.
As soon as the enforcers let Kenny go, he raced after her, concern for his mate outweighing all else.
The old turned from the door to the two betas in front of her.
“I will tell you two this. If an agreement can’t be reached between you, I will appoint someone else entirely. I’m getting tired of both of you.”
She headed for the door, her enforcers and council following behind her.
“If you would be so kind as to leave my home.” Joseph said to Dominic. “I won’t be so polite next time.”
Dominic rose, walked to the door and turned. “I will not apologize for my decision. Nor will I back down.” With that, he was gone from sight.
***
Kenny found Clarissa by the lake not too far from his home. She was at the water’s edge, staring out into the horizon.
“He will never accept our mating.” She said when she heard him come close. “My father is a difficult man, especially when it comes to me. What are we going to do?”
“Give it time. That’s all we can do right now. This is all still fresh. The betrayal he feels is still new. All we can do is hope he changes his mind.” Kenny trailed his hands down her shoulders, rubbing and squeezing, trying to relieve some of her stress.
Her head tilted beck on his shoulder. “I can’t be without you, Kenny.”
Hips lips pressed against hers. They parted slightly and she felt warm moistness.
“We will be together Clarissa, I promise.” He turned his head and planted kisses on her wrist and the palm of her hand. She could feel her cheeks grow hot; her inner thighs begin to ache.
She lifted her face and kissed him full on the lips, running her tongue across his lips.
He opened to her, his tongue delving deep into her mouth, learning the space, memorizing every contour.
She moaned, and arched against his chest. He broke the contact with her lips and stood. Bending, he scooped her up and walked the short distance away from the water’s edge and laid her down softly on the ground beneath an old oak.
He leaned down and kissed her once more. Lying down beside her, he slid one arm beneath her back. With his free hand he traveled her body, lightly caressing her skin.
She raised her arms and he quickly stripped her of her shirt. The loose sweatpants she wore were next.
“You are so beautiful.” He told her as he stared down at her naked flesh.
His hand roamed over her breast and lifted one into his palm. He rubbed her nipple with the pad of his thumb and lowered his head to take it into his mouth.
He loved the little sounds she was making and sucked more firmly.
“Please.” She said, begging for something she could not put into words.
He moved on top of her and pressed his knees between her thighs, pushing them wide. He knelt between them.
He could feel the softness of her inner thighs against the hardness of his legs, reveled in the fullness of her breast.
His erection was straining and he felt if he didn’t bury himself inside her soon, he would explode.
“I can’t wait any longer.” He told her.
“Then come to me, my love.”
He spread his knees, lifting her legs up, and she wrapped them around his hips. Kenny positioned himself at her entrance, and pressed inside.
She fit him so perfectly. He loved the look on her face, the sharp intake of breath. She was all wet heat.
He clamped his teeth together and slowed his pace. He looked down at his mate. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted slightly.
Her full breasts looked ripe and ready for his mouth. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, a small smile playing across her lips.
He went deeper, thrusting hard. Her smile turned into a perfect O. He settled his hands on her hips and withdrew from her. He pressed in again withdrew once more, setting a steady pace.
He felt her nails scratching down his back.
Kenny took her hands and stretched them above her head, appreciating the way her breast strained at the action. He straightened his legs and brought his entire weight on top of her.
He sped up his thrust, pumping hard into her. Her body seized and she shuddered, calling out his name. She fell limp beneath him.
He felt the pull of his own release. His thrust became quick and deeper. His release was hard and he growled his pleasure.
Kenny eased off his mate and lay next to her. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was steady. She had fallen asleep.
“Everything will be okay, I promise.” He whispered to her. He pulled her into his arms, and as she snuggled in closer, he followed her into sleep.
***
As weeks passed, Kenny felt as if he was going insane. Dominic had kept his word and had not let Kenny see his mate. As a result, his wolf was on edge. He wanted to attack Dominic, force him to accept the mating, and let him be with his mate. But he couldn’t.
He felt empty. A part of him was missing. Kenny knew his mate was feeling the same things he was going through. He felt her emotions as well as his own.
The only solace he had was he could still communicate with her telepathically. They would speak every night, with Kenny promising things he was now unsure he could deliver.
***
“We have to do something Joseph. Our son is going crazy. How would you feel if I was so close but you couldn’t be with me?” Kenny’s mother Ophelia asked one night.
Joseph rubbed his brow. “I know that. But what can I do? You heard the Old Wolf. Dominic refused the mating and his word is law in his family.”
Ophelia got up from the couch and walked over to the side table to pour herself and her husband a drink. “There must be something we can do.”
“I’ve been asking around,” Joseph said. “I have pack members that are loyal to me. If we head north, I have some land there. We could start over. Kenny wouldn’t be as on edge as he is with Clarissa so close.” It would hurt, it certainly would. But in time, Kenny might get over it. “It will be hard on him, but until Dominic accepts their mating, we have little choice.”
Ophelia put her head down. “I understand, but he’s not going to take this easy, or come willingly.”
“We know what’s best for him, and right now, this is what’s best. He’ll see that in the long run.”
***
Clarissa had had enough. She needed her mate, and her father was being a stubborn bastard.
He was the only one who could end this, yet he wasn’t budging on his decision. Nothing her mother said, no matter how much she begged, his answer stayed the same.
She felt Kenny’s frustration and anger. Her wolf howled in her head at the injustice of it all, ready to rebel against her father. She was ready to see Kenny despite what he had said.
There had to be a way out of this, she just knew it.
Her father and Joseph had yet to come to an agreement and the pack still had no alpha.
She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew she couldn’t face it without Kenny.
Chapter 4
The pack split one month after Kenny’s mating Clarissa. He knew it was coming and everything in him wanted to rebel against the split. It meant he would be away from his mate even more than he was now.
His father took those pack members loyal to him north to a stretch of land far away from the old pack.
Building began immediately, and Kenny threw himself into the work, using anything to take his mind off his mate.
They had had only ten minutes to say goodbye before he had to go. The council had finally decided that the split was the best thing for the pack after much deliberation.
Dominic remained at the present compound with those who claimed him as Alpha.
Kenny sometimes found himself lying awake
at night, wondering what his mate was doing. His missed her voice in his head. He was too far away to speak telepathically with her.
He would forever hate her father for this. If he was honest with himself, he was angry with himself as well. He was so sure that he and Clarissa would be together, he didn’t think past the mating.
Now because of him, his mate was a thousand miles away and he couldn’t get to her. Some protector he had turned out to be.
***
Clarissa hadn’t spoken to her to her father in weeks. She absolutely refused to as long as he kept her away from her mate. Pack life had returned to normal soon after the split. Pack members going about their day to day lives as if nothing had changed.
But she couldn’t adjust. She was supposed to be at her mates’ side, starting her life as a mated woman. Instead, here she sat alone in her bedroom, staring at her bed, remembering how Kenny had been so gentle with her. How he had made her feel the night of the mating, and again in the woods by his home.
She missed his laugh, his smile. She missed how he touched her, how he would trail finger down her arm, stopping at her birthmark. The one that said she was meant only for him.
Breathing deep, she rose from where she sat, and went to the main house for breakfast. She really wasn’t all that hungry, but her mother would start to worry about her if she didn’t show her face.
Her father was already sitting at the table when she entered. Her mother was at the stove with her coffee.
“Good morning, mother. Did you sleep well?”
“Well enough.” She kissed Clarissa on the cheek.
“Good morning Clarissa.” Her father said.
Clarissa sat down at the table and sipped on her orange juice without replying.
Dominic looked at his daughter and felt frustration well up inside of him. He looked to his mate.
“What do I do Veronica?”
“You already know the answer to that question. She wants one thing, and you’re standing in the way of that.”
Dominic broke eye contact with his mate and looked at his daughter. “Are you going to stay mad at me forever?” He asked her.
Again, Clarissa didn’t speak. She continued to look down into her juice.
Veronica brought breakfast to the table but Clarissa took one look at the food and her stomach rebelled.
“Are you ok?” Her mother asked.
Clarissa shook her head and smiled. Taking a deep breath, she picked up a piece of bacon. It didn’t make it to her mouth before her stomach lurched.
Pushing her plate away, she brought her hand to her mouth. Taking deep breaths, she waited for the nausea to pass.
“Mom, can you excuse me, I don’t feel so well.”
“Of course honey, I’ll come in to check on you in a bit.”
Clarissa rose from the table feeling a bit weak and unsteady on her feet.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” It was her father’s that spoke.
She turned her head and glanced at him before she left his home.
***
Clarissa splashed water on her face. She didn’t know what was wrong with her or what that was all about. She felt better now that she was away from the smell of food.
Sitting down on her bed, she leaned back, and rested her head on her pillows. Her mind kept going over what had happened, wondering if she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her. Maybe she was getting a cold.
She almost laughed. Werewolves didn’t get colds.
Something was nagging at the back of her mind and she jumped up. She started thinking back, nervousness coming over her.
Clarissa raised her hand to her face, fear and excitement seeping through her being. She feathered her fingers across her abdomen.
“It can’t be.” But she prayed that it was.
Chapter 5
Joseph was in the newly built gym watching sparring match taking place. His betas were training the young adolescent wolves and teaching them basic combat when his phone went off in his pocket.
“Hello?”
“Alpha Richardson. I trust all is well?” It was the Old Wolf.
“Madame Councilwoman. Yes. Everything is going well here. We’re settling in comfortably.”
“And what about your son?”
Joseph heaved a deep breath. Taking a moment to speak, he thought about how his son was coping. “Not as well as we had hoped. He… needs his mate. There’s no other solution to what he is going through.”
“Continue.”
Joseph raked a hand through his hair. In the three months they had been here, Kenny had been getting worse and worse. His temper is flaring up at the slightest provocation.
“He has cut himself off from the rest of the pack. He stays in his wolf form most days. He refuses to interact, and when he does, he growls more than he talks.” Joe stopped for a second and caught his breath as he contemplated what the next words meant. He looked out again at the young wolves learning the basics on how to take care of themselves. My own son…
“We think he’s going rouge.” He said at last.
There was silence on the other side of the line. Finally the Old Wolf spoke.
“We were afraid something like this would happen. We’re going to try to wait it out in the hopes that Dominic would change his mind on his own. But the man is too stubborn. His own daughter has not talked to him in months. She seems to be handling it a little better that Kenny, but she is showing signs of restlessness.”
Joseph sighed. He understood how the Old Wolf felt. “I’m at a loss as to what to do. I don’t want my son to continue to suffer like this.”
“I’m going to have a meeting with the council. See what can be done about this situation. I‘ll get back to you in a few days.” The Old Wolf suggested before she disconnected the line. Joseph slipped the phone in his pocket and walked out of the training gym to the main house.
His mate was in the atrium with a few of the omegas. She glanced up when he came in and smiled at him.
Joseph walked to her and kissed her cheek. “You make any hard day seem easier.”
“Sweet talker. You must want something.”
“Only you my love, only you.” He said as he headed to his office.
He was almost to his office door, intending to go over the new security plan that his head of security had left on his desk, when a commotion at the front door pulled his attention away from his task.
Three wolves ran in, loud and frantic.
“Alpha Richardson, Come quick. He’s at it again.”
By “he”, he knew they meant Kenny. “Where is he?”
“In the dining hall.”
Joe sped past his pack members, shedding his clothes as he went. His mate sent love and concern down her mating bond.
“Be careful. And bring him home safe.”
Joseph raced to the Dining Hall. He heard the noise before he made it inside. Loud growling noises and screams assaulted his ear.
When Joe made it inside, Kenny was backed into a corner near the front door, There we a couple dozen pack members still inside. Every time one tried to go for the door, he would snap or growl at them, baring his teeth.
Joe placed himself in front of the people in the hall, blocking them with his body, and faced Kenny.
“Kenny, son, what are you doing? You’ve got to calm down.” Joseph searched his sons mind but the wolf was so dominant that Kenny was hardly there.
He seemed crazed and bent on doing damage. Kenny had been letting his wolf slip more to the front of his mind these days. Joseph confronted his son’s wolf, looking him straight in the eyes. He exerted his influence as Alpha and to his shock, felt the young wolf resisting effortlessly.
He felt his son trying to regain control of the beast, trying to pull himself back to the forefront.
“Kenny, can you hear me?’
He heard his son’s voice, faint but there, getting stronger by the second. His wolf still held his influence over his son’s.
> “Kenny, you are holding people captive in this hall. You have to reign in your wolf and shift son. You have to do it now.”
He could feel his son stronger now. The wolf was starting to relinquish control. Joe breathed a sigh of relief. He had brought Kenny back. But he didn’t know if the next time he would be as successful.
To Love an Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) Page 3