Chapter 3
It was soft voices that woke her up, the bed noticeably empty as she looked around the room for the two men she had slept with. The sun hung low on the horizon and the last beams of sunlight shone in through the windows on the far wall. Her body was completely healed, only a residual soreness on the shoulder where her alpha's bite marks remained. She sat up to see most of the pack gathered around the fire, talking in hushed tones almost as if not to wake her. John seemed to notice her first and gave her a small smile before backing away from the group that hardly noticed him. He sat down on the edge of the bed "Are you okay?"
No one seemed to notice that John had backed away from the group, he looked scared, and his eyes darted to her and then the ground. "Are you okay?" She replied and worried over the lanky man, his hair looked unwashed and his hands were dirty. For some reason she wanted to just bathe him until he felt better.
"As punishment we're on patrol tonight." She noticed his fingers beginning to twitch, looking for something to play with and instead Catherine laced her fingers with his. She felt a mixture of pity and concern over the small wolf, she was afraid at any minute he'd break in half.
He gasped at the contact and pulled away from her, standing up and taking a step at the bed, looking away from the small blonde.
"What's wrong Cat?" A voice came from behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Peter who had his suit half undone. Ivan was sitting by the half dead fire next to Shawn and Gwen, the latter of which looked pitifully at the girl in the bed. Catherine slipped out of the bed, pulling a sheet with her and wished there weren't so many people present.
She held the sheet to her chest and looked up at Peter who was standing mere inches from her. "Patrol?" She asked and felt him pull her closer to his body.
"We all must go on patrol, including you, as punishment. It's mostly quiet but I am unsure if I should let Ivan guard you or if I should be the one to."
She looked over at Ivan who was still staring into the fire, he looked cross. He was clothed in some loose fitting pants and not much else. "I think," Catherine spoke, each word measured carefully "that I would be fine with Ivan, if he could promise to stay close?"
Peter sighed behind her and kissed her on the top of her head "Very diplomatic, so it shall be."
Ivan looked at her warily and stood up with the rest of the group. He gently took her hand and squeezed it. "I won't fail you again, not like last time, please trust me, alpha."
Peter looked skeptical and eyed the blonde girl who smiled up at him nervously "It's good to build a better relationship with my beta, right?"
"I will stay with you for the first few hours then." Peter stated to the group She felt her heart beat a little faster at his admission and she felt Ivan's hand slip from hers. "Let's find you something to wear."
With that, Shawn and Gwen quietly excused themselves, leaving John and Ivan in the room with them. Peter was about to say something to John, who stood nervously in the corner closest to the door but Catherine ventured out instead "John, can you…can you help me get dressed?"
"Cat I don't thin-" Ivan began and John began to back out of the door
"You heard her." Peter cut the other man off and leaned down until he was eye level with the short girl, his voice was barely above a whisper, "and if anything should happen, I will be outside the door."
Her heart skipped a beat, she felt bad for John, but was he dangerous? Is that why he stayed so far away from everyone else? John stayed in the far corner and eyed her nervously as Peter and Ivan exited the room, swinging the door shut. The thud made Catherine jump, after Peter's warning she was on edge. Was John some kind of unstable wolf?
Her nervousness only seemed to make the thin dark man back up into the door. "John, please?" She offered her hand and swallowed back her fear; it would not be good to cause him to be more scared than he already was. If this was her family now, she would make sure every wolf felt included in the pack, regardless of ranking.
He hesitated before crossing the room to her side almost dutifully. His eyes on the carpet and refusing to meet hers. She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. What was he so afraid of? Her? "A bath, I think, is in order." She tugged his hand gently
"No, no, no." He shook his head and tried to pull his hand back but Catherine held tightly, he yanked backwards and she fell into him, losing her blanket.
He looked up to catch her naked form and Catherine felt a blush grow all over her body at realizing he had seen her naked. "Are you scared of me?" She finally asked, giving up on the bath and modesty.
"I shouldn't be alone with you, I'm not to be trusted."
Catherine looked around the room and saw another oak door; she pushed it open with a creak to reveal a large bathroom with a standing bath and a sink. She pulled him in and reluctantly the omega trailed her, knowing it was futile to resist the alpha female.
She turned the water on, the pipes creaking as the hot water rushed through them, turning to her omega that had very obviously been observing her naked form. She pulled up at his loose cotton t-shirt that was covered in stains and dirt, and then tugged at his loose khaki pants that were held on by a belt that looked about four times too big on his form. He stopped her hand at first but then let his own hand fall away, letting the girl divest him until he stood naked, and dirty in the middle of the bathroom, she noted on his side a large red bite mark quite like the one on her side. She reached out and timidly touched it, causing John to shy backwards. "Is it not like mine? Does it hurt?"
"No, no it feels good when it's touched…I just don't like it being touched."
Catherine stepped forward and brushed it gently with her index finger, he gasped at the contact and covered his stomach with his arms "Please, alpha, let me go."
"In a minute, just give me one more minute." She smiled and offered her hand to him again. John eyed it as if it was a weapon and took it hesitantly. She tugged at him and stepped into the white bathtub that had filled itself halfway full of clear warm water. He followed her in and tried to look away. Catherine grabbed a bar of soap and began scrubbing at his hands, carefully over each dirty finger, and palm, up his arms as he looked away from his alpha.
After a silent five minutes and one clean arm, as Catherine began to remove dirt from his other hand he spoke softly, in a voice that was a little more sure, a little more even, a little louder than usual. "I was turned when I was twelve, and it was an accident. The pack had killed most everyone in the village and I was caught in the field behind my house. I suffered my first changing alone, I never have truly…accepted that I'm a monster, I remember all of it. My wolf is weak because of it."
She slowed down her ministrations and hummed quietly, preferring to listen to his tale. His clean hand sloshed in the bathtub and reached to touch the deep red mark on her shoulder, causing her to shudder "It ties you to your mate, and to your clan, whenever you stray far, it will bring you back. It's a bond that is unbreakable, and…not ignorable. It brought me to Peter, again."
"Peter attacked you?" Catherine asked quietly, her hands moving to his shoulders, white bubbles forming on the surface of the water.
"The wolf who attacks you creates the mark, and the strongest bond. You're the property of the wolf."
"I don't think of myself as property." Catherine reassured, beginning to wet his lanky black hair with the soapy water of the bathtub.
"I am the property of the clan, I'm a slave." He spat bitterly and Catherine felt her heart hurt.
"You're part of the clan. You're no slave." She straddled him in the tub and began to soap his hair, feeling his hands come around her waist almost immediately.
She could feel him get hard in the water, pressing against her thigh and his hot breath rolling down her neck. "Cathe-alpha I am a weak wolf."
She felt incredibly powerful as she soaped up his hair feeling his hands slide down her hips and thighs. How could she turn on so many men by being so close? And it felt so right, every touch, eve
ry kiss felt at home. "And I am not a wolf at all." She replied and his tongue trail up her naval, a small nip at her skin as his hands pulled her closer, his mouth at her belly button and he trailed his tongue lower.
"You're my wolf, my alpha." He murmured against her wet skin, he slid beneath the water to wash the soap out of his black hair and emerged from the soapy water wet and clean, his eyes mischievous. He stood up out of the water, his cock fully erect but nowhere near as terrifyingly huge and Ivan, but somehow perfectly fitting for his frame. He held out his hand for her and she stood up out of the water, the water rolling off her naked form and chilling her in the cold autumn air. The black wolf laid her out on the small rug fur that was near the sink, spreading her legs and settling himself between them. His hair tickled her as he began to kiss down her body. His lips left small patches of hot skin as he moved past her navel, travelling lower until he reached the small thatch of hair between her legs, and he travelled even lower, causing Catherine to squeak when a hot tongue darted out to tease her. "John, what are you-ohhh"
He grinned against the inside of her thigh and began to delve his tongue between her folds. She stared up at the ceiling, reveling in every hot wet sensation have gave her. The omega relished in every contact he made with her skin, the accidental touches of her hand against his hair, the involuntary squeezing of her thighs together when he hit a particularly sensitive spot the way she pressed her body up against him to bring him closer to her. He grabbed her hips gently, holding her to the floor.
She moaned softly, her breath coming out in small shallow gasps as he continued his gentle ministrations between her legs. Each hot breath, each long slow lick up her slit, drove her absolutely wild. He increased the pace and she couldn't stop herself from writhing against him, the familiar tightening feeling throughout her whole body as he held her still against the small fur rug. "John I-ah"
He hummed happily against her clit, the vibrations causing her to cry out in pleasure, her body arching up into a bow as he continued to attack her with his tongue, frantically driving her higher until the tension snapped and an orgasm wracked her body, a low moan escaping her lips as she relaxed into the carpet, panting as the pleasure ebbed away into a calm tiredness. "John," she sighed, looking down at him with half lidded eyes as he licked his lips of her juices
"Delicious," he offered his hand to help her up, his erection slowly flagging and she looked up at him confused
"What about you?" the small blonde asked taking his hand warily
"I am for serving not for self-serving" he led her into the bath and she sat down in it, watching him pick up the soap she had used on him earlier "You're not like the others, I hope…" he paused, his voice lowering on the last two words as he began to wash her lovingly "I hope you stay that way after the changing, I hope you survive." the last sentence was a mere whisper but it was a constant thread in so many conversations, would she die? What would happen? She felt warm water wash over her as John moved from her skin to her hair. She was almost translucent she was so pale, the dirt and debris from nights in the woods gone. He dried her dutifully and eventually got redressed in the same clothing she had taken off of him. Threadbare and worn she noticed holes forming at the hem.
"You need new clothes" she commented, standing next to the warm fire
He pulled out a red velvet cloak from an oak boudoir that she hadn't bothered to notice until now, a darker inlay of a forest crept all over the wood as he shut the door. He draped it over her shoulders and pulled up the hood, concealing all but her pink lips and porcelain chin. He nudged a pair of boots that seemed to be held together by nothing but leather and string. "Is this it?" she asked as he tied the boots on her feet, her white legs in stark contrast with the heavy red velvet.
"You're just there because we all must be there" he grabbed her hand and pulled her up opening the door graciously and waiting for her to step out in front of the omega.
Ivan stood in the hallway looking halfway between agitated and bored, staring off to the right at a sight unseen. He huffed seeing the small girl exit the room "Did you have your fun?"
"Was I wrong to do that?" She asked, stepping closer to the irritated werewolf.
"No, but you made me late." He grabbed her hand and tugged her roughly along, her red cape fluttering behind her. She looked back at John who was gently closing the door to the room before he turned and walked the other way. Where was the gentle omega going?
Chapter 4
She stood, rather sleepily, and rather chilly on top of a hillside in-between an irritated beta and a bored alpha. They overlooked a majority of the forest from here, with a clear view of the entrance to the compound, which from here looked like no more than a shadow underneath a rock. It had been a little over an hour as the waning moon rose higher in the sky and she could see her breath in the moonlight.
"Why are we out here? Are we standing guard? Who is patrolling?" Catherine finally broke the silence
"We are playing fetch,” Ivan snorted he looked down into the valley between the two hills "like common dogs"
"It is our punishment Ivan, it's best we carry it out with dignity, you know what happens to alphas that don’t listen to the council." Peter tugged down Catherine's hood, making her shiver as her neck was exposed the cold autumn air. He tilted her face up with one long finger and she looked up at the tall werewolf who stared at her for what seemed to be eternity. He opened his mouth to speak but a wolf howl cut through the forest, a smile spread slowly across his face, revealing his teeth. "So it begins."
An irritated sigh came from behind her as Ivan walked to stand next to the alpha, slightly obscuring the blonde behind him, she saw though, in the gap between the two men, Gwen emerging from the darkness of the forest, her hair was windswept and beautifully wild, twigs and leaves stuck throughout it making her look like a child of the forest.
"How many?" the alpha asked eagerly
"Four"
"That's not many at all," he sounded disappointed and looked down at Catherine who was pulling her red hood back up over her head, she was getting chilly. "Ivan go, and keep them pristine this time please."
"I try but they get a little feisty" Ivan and Gwen disappeared into the dark forest.
They stood in silence, staring into the darkness waiting for something to emerge, even if they were not sure what
"Who gets feisty? Will they be okay?" Catherine finally asked after ten minutes of silence
"Ivan is a big dog he can take care of himself. Don't worry." He kissed her nose, his warm lips in stark contrast to her cold nose, it was so cold tonight she wondered why she wasn't allowed anything warmer than a cloak, but she noticed that Peter also was clothed in only a black cloak and boots. Was there going to be some kind of ritual?
"Cat, I must warn you that-" a crack echoed through the forest, it sounded like wood splitting in two and the small blonde grabbed her arm and screamed, her cry mixing with an anguished howl.
"God dammit Ivan, you never listen to me!" Peter picked her up as hot tears rolled down her face, clutching her right arm and whimpering, she knew somehow that taking the pain for Ivan was helpful, that it meant he could get away or hurt whoever did this to him, but it felt like a hot knife went through her entire upper arm and she could barely feel her cold fingers.
They stopped and the pain had begun to ebb, she could feel her fingers flexing but the soreness travelled up through her shoulder. Peter hummed and stared ahead of them, letting Catherine slip to her feet in front of him. The forest floor was covered in leaves and she heard them rustling in the darkness, a silvery wolf came out from behind some bushes and eagerly wagged its’ tail and trotted over to the two of them. It was one of Gwen's wolves and Catherine gently stroked its head, causing the dog to nuzzle her hand. She looked up at Peter who was staring at something off in the distance. "What is it?"
"Shhh" he admonished her but did not look at her.
It was a small campfire, barely anything but embers and she could see
Ivan's unmistakable outline, too big not to notice, he was breathing heavily, the pain in her arm was slowly lessening and she felt heat behind her, Peter grabbed her hips and pulled her back against him. "Are you ready to prove yourself, my alpha?"
"Me?"
"Yes, I want you to walk to Ivan, and don't even utter a sound"
He stepped back from her and the loss of heat made her chest constrict "Peter, I'm scared."
"Go." His voice was a whisper and he nudged her forward
She walked slowly through the forest, the silver wolf trotting excitedly next to her; she felt twigs break beneath her thin shoes. What had happened to Ivan? Was he still in danger? Her heart sped up imagining all the terrible things that could be happening and while thoughts of bloodshed of her beta rushed through her head she inched closer to the campfire. She was going to protect Ivan, that's what Peter expected of her, that was her duty to her beta.
It was not until she saw the dome tent and two men standing with guns quietly aimed at the werewolf, blood was running down his arm, obviously where she had felt it before but he hadn't noticed. There were two men and she felt her feet become heavy, her heart rate picking up, her entire body telling her to flee, but Ivan was hurt.
She stepped out of the woods and into the small clearing where the campsite was. "Who's there?" it was a female voice; she was older, in her forties, huddled next to a blonde on the other side of the tent. Catherine stopped when two portly men, slightly balding whirled around and she was staring down the barrels of two inky black shotguns.
"Who are you!" demanded one man with a gun, the barrel bouncing as he spoke.
She opened her mouth but was reminded of Peter's instructions, so she promptly closed it again, staring up at the men with pleading eyes.
"Kevin! For gods sakes she's a child!" the mousy brown haired woman shouted getting up and pushing the barrel of one of the rifle's down and leaning in close to Catherine who took the opportunity to look behind her to see if Ivan was okay, but instead he was gone.
Destined for the Alpha Page 6