Falling for the Alphas: Part One
Page 5
He squeezed, and Ella raised both hands. Before she touched him, however, he released her. She immediately dropped to one knee. Submissive to the alpha. He considered her, then looked around at the other werewolves. "We'll strike tonight. Go to Anna's House, and draw the Silver Song pack to us. Take Dylan down. No mercy. He was our brother, but what does that matter with Stark polluting the very earth, the sky, the city, the spirit of the Earth Mother?"
Werewolves rose to their feet. Feral gazes met his. They had been the youngest members of the Silver Song when he had broken away and led them into the city. They were his now. His to command. They would follow him into the very jaws of darkness. "Tonight. We hunt Dylan, and we take his pack. When we are joined, when we are strong, we shall return, and we shall find Stark, even if we have to tear Fort Brixton apart, brick by brick."
Growls sounded throughout the warehouse. Growls of approval. Kayden took a deep breath, his vast ribcage expanding. A dark and dull headache pounded in the back of his head. Then, all at once, the growls cut out. As one, every werewolf turned to stare at the door. The handle turned. The door swung inward, and a beautiful, voluptuous woman stood there, eyes wide and clearly terrified.
~~~
Naomi's heart was in her throat. She felt like a deer in headlights. Some seven monsters were staring at her, a circle of gleaming eyes, and in there center stood a beast larger than even Stark or Dylan had been. Corded muscle stood out beneath its iron gray pelt. Black marks swirled hypnotically across its shoulders, chest. Eyes that pinned her where she stood. Ferocious. Feral. Hungry.
Silence. Nobody moved. Naomi felt a bead of sweat run down the back of her neck. She wanted to turn and run. Instinct told her to save herself. This was a wolf's den. Prey did not enter it and leave. Each of those jaws could tear her flesh, snap her bones. She had to slam the door and turn, run screaming for help. Escape this nest of nightmare.
Instead she raised her chin. Fought for calm. Steeled herself, and stepped inside. And Illixy bobbed through the air, and followed her within.
At the sight of the totem-seed, the werewolves all rose to their feet, and the alpha at the center growled, the hair around his neck and shoulders growing thick. Illixy pulsed, gold and silver, casting his light into the gloom. Naomi drew strength from him, from the knowledge of what he was. Drew comfort, until she saw that all the werewolves were approaching.
Yet she had eyes only for the alpha. He must have been over nine feet tall. Each talon as long as her finger. His tail heavy and still behind him. Eyes glowing green, a vivid, unnatural color in the dark. He padded forward, step by step, and then finally stopped some five yards from where she stood.
"You bring... a totem-seed." The English that came from his great jaws was mangled, but intelligible all the same.
"I do more than that." Naomi forced her voice to come out bright and loud. This was it. The moment of truth. "I bring a chance for healing. For The Vengeance to become stronger and join the Silver Song. Together, with my totem-seed -"
But Kayden's snarl cut her short. He dropped to all fours and thrust his face into hers. She recoiled. "Did Dylan send you?"
"No!" She forced her hands down. "I came because I wanted to." A quick look at the predatory faces around her. "Because I hate Stark more than anything, and I want your two packs to bring him down. Together."
The alpha tilted his head to one side and sniffed at her. "We will destroy Stark." His voice had changed. Become more confident. "With your totem-seed blessing our pack, we cannot fail."
Oh crap. Time to roll the dice. "Only if I agree. Only if I gift you and your pack the totem-seed." Was that true? She had no idea. "Which won't happen the way things are going."
The wolves around her began to pad as the tension rose a notch. Illixy was hovering over her shoulder. She was sure it was his presence that was keeping them back.
Kayden rose on his back legs again. God he was huge. Considered her. She could see intelligence in those eyes, a deep cunning. "Why would you refuse me?"
"Why?" She laughed, amused by his ego, outraged by his arrogance. "Because you're - you're not even talking to me in your human body. Because I don't know you. Because -"
But she stopped. Kayden took a deep breath, closed his green eyes, and shifted. Down into his human form, sinking, shrinking from his nine plus feet to a little over six. The gray fur disappeared, the black markings becoming tattoos over his smooth skin. Within moments he stood before her as a man, and Naomi had to fight to control her shock. Who would have guessed Kayden was so stunningly hot?
And completely naked. He stood before her, hands on his hips, totally confident and at ease without a shred of clothing on his body. Which was ripped. Not muscled like Dylan, but cut, his broad shoulders and chiseled chest tapering down to what had to be an eight-pack, a gorgeous V over his hips drawing her eyes down to his cock, from which her eyes skittered away as if scalded. Tattoos covered his body. Glyphs she couldn't read were inked into his right pectoral, while what looked like Maoria designs covered his left shoulder down to the elbow. The word Vengeance was printed in elegant cursive over his abdomen, and she saw tattoos over the back of his hands and fingers. They were mesmerizing, beautiful.
Looking up, Naomi met Kayden's eyes. Still that shocking green above harsh cheekbones. Were all werewolves so incredibly hot? Kayden could have easily been an underwear model if he hadn't exuded such a palpable sense of power, dominance, and ferocity. Even in his human body Naomi felt scared of him, of the anger that lurked beneath the skin, the knowledge that this was no man, no human being, but the ultimate hunter, used to dominating other monsters like himself, used to having every thought and urge attended to without question.
Naomi realized she was holding her breath, and released it. Was that a smile that curved the corner of his sensual lips? She didn't know where to look. Felt the tips of her ears down to her chest burn bright red. Get it together! He's laughing at you!
"There. That's... better." She coughed, cleared her throat, and tried to stare him frankly in the eyes. "Though it would help if you put on some pants." Help me focus, that is.
"Pants?" He looked down at himself. "Why wrap myself in clothing? I have nothing to hide. I am not cold." He looked up at her again, and there was a gleam in his eye that told her he knew exactly what effect his nudity was having on her.
"Fine." She hesitated. What had she been saying before he changed?
"Come. Let us talk in private. You bring the totem-seed. I will make my case why you should be my mate and mine alone." Without seeing if she agreed, he turned and walked away. Naomi stared at his rear - it was perfect, sculpted, rounded. She took a deep breath, realized that all the other werewolves were still watching her, some with open smirks on her face, and quickly marched after Kayden.
~~~
Kayden led the human to the back of the warehouse and into his private den. It was dimly lit, the late afternoon sunshine filtering through cracks high up in the ceiling. There was no furniture, no civilized chairs in which to sit. Instead, one corner was piled high with thick furs, and it was to this that he, turning at the last to sit down smoothly, one leg extended, the other knee raised, back to the wall, eyes glimmering green. He gestured to the furs before her. "Sit."
The woman stood in the doorway, hesitating yet again. The smell of her fear had diminished. He could almost taste her curiosity, her attraction to him. She was responding to his human body. Finally the woman stepped forward and sat on the furthest edge of his furs. She wrapped her arms around her knees and glared at him. "Why are you out here?" Her voice was accusatory. "Why are you doing this?"
Kayden was not used to being questioned. He restrained the urge to growl. "It's simple. Stark is in the city. So to hunt Stark, we too must be in the city."
She nodded reluctantly. "But Dylan said you're not strong enough to fight him alone. That you need to unite the packs."
He nodded. "In this one thing Dylan is correct. We need to join the packs."
He nodded again, and from deep beneath his own pain and anger he felt the stirring of a remorse he had though dead lone since. "Yes. I... wish it were not so. But I will do anything to destroy Stark. We need to be strong. We need to be united. If Dylan refuses to step down as alpha, then I have no choice."
A faint hint of anxiety came from her. She shifted where she sat. Kayden looked at her breasts, how large and curved they were, larger even then what he could cup with his hand. Nothing like the small, lean breasts of his packmates. He felt a sudden urge to see her nipples, their size. Were they dark or light? Small or large?
Something of his interest must have communicated itself to her, because she stiffened. "But if you kill Dylan, you'll weaken your side. You need him. His strength. And you can't waste time fighting him. You might be injured too. Leaving you weaker. The only one who gains is Stark."
Kayden shook his head, and sadness spread through him. "There can be only one alpha."
"What if there was a way? Would you even consider it?"
He didn't like these emotions she was drawing from him. It was safer to be angry. Still, something held him back. Gave her a moment to speak. He did little more than raise an eyebrow, and she hurried on.
"What if you could share the totem? Not merge the packs, keep them separate, but work together? Two alphas, not of one pack, but within one city? Could you divide the city in two, after Stark is dead?"
"It's... possible." He thought, then shook his head. "But for that to work, the totem would need to belong to both packs."
Again her face blushed furiously. "Yes. I know." She took a deep breath. "I could mate with both of you." Her voice shook with fear and surprise and lust.
Kayden narrowed his eyes. Would it work? Could he share this human with Dylan? Divide the city? He thought of his old friend, his former packmate. Would their werewolf natures allow them to share?
~~~
Naomi couldn't breathe. She felt smothered. Illixy had faded away, leaving her alone. Kayden was beside her, his body so close she could smell his masculine musk, the heat radiating off his skin. He was nothing like Dylan. There was barely any restraint, barely any humanity. This was a dark force of nature, a power that followed no rules. She felt as if she were playing with fire, and would at any moment get torched.
But what devastatingly handsome flames. His words echoed in her mind. She had to struggle to put sense to them. He was thinking, considering her words, even as she marveled at herself. What had she just done? What had she just offered? To mate with both of them? To belong to both packs? A part of her was appalled, but a deeper, more primal side was excited by the idea. Dylan and Kayden, both of them in her life, moving from one gorgeous alpha to the other. She felt like the part of her that had been trained by society was telling her no, but a more powerful, passionate side of her was saying: yes.
To mate with both alphas. To save both packs. To defeat Stark while doing so. Her old life was dead. She could never unlearn what she now knew. Why not? Why couldn't she do the right thing and have the most amazing time while doing so?
She watched Kayden. She couldn't breathe. Waited. Would he at least agree to try?
~~~
Kayden studied her, his eyes sharp even in this light, and found himself growing curious. She was completely unlike Ella and his other packmates. She'd not be able to kill and bring down an enemy if her life depended on it. He doubted she could run all night, or even for a few hours. Yet he found himself enjoying the sight of her, regardless. She was soft, sensual, proud. There was a lack of submissiveness to her that at once infuriated him and made him curious. Fear, yes; submissiveness, no. And her curves - he imagined what she would feel like against his body. Which parts of her might yield, which parts might push back. Soft as cream, smooth as the light of the moon. Would she be able to handle his style of mating? He didn't think so, but this woman had already surprised him once tonight.
"You would be willing to do this?" His voice had become deeper. Huskier. "To mate with us both?"
He could sense her desire. It was burning brighter. Her smell was becoming richer, her arousal tantalizing him. He didn't need to ask to know the answer, but he was enjoying the quaver in her voice.
"Yes." He blinked and looked from her body to her eyes. The quaver was gone. Her eyes gleamed and he realized she had made a decision of her own. Had decided to cease being prey, and begin stepping into the role of predator.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her three short steps into the center of his pelts, and there he laid her down. Her heart was thundering in her veins. He could almost hear her pulse. He looked down at her, a hand to each side of her shoulder. His face inches from her own. "I will not be gentle."
She stirred beneath him. He leaned down and took a deep breath, and then growled. He could smell Dylan. Faint but there, the scent of the other alpha on this woman. It stirred his blood like nothing had before. Dylan had touched her, been close to her. Now she was here, she was his. He pressed his nose into her thick mane of hair and drank deep of her scent. It was intoxicating and feminine. Brought his lips to her ear, and traced its edge with his lips till he reached the lobe, which he took between his teeth. He pressed gently, and felt her draw breath, shift her legs. Down the length of her neck. The slight tang of salt from her sweat, kissing and nipping, then over to the hollow of her throat.
She was breathing raggedly now, and he felt his own desire begin to mount. It was strange - she wasn't fighting him, playfully attacking and retreating like his packmates did. She was supple, pliable, open like a flower, inviting him to drink deep of her body. He felt a rush of desire, hunger, to consume her, hold her tight, crush her to his chest. Again a faint stir of Dylan's scent in the air, and his need redoubled, his cock growing long and almost painfully hard.
He brought one hand up to her breast. Cupped it. It gave under his fingers, malleable and arousing. He could feel her nipple through the plaid shirt, and without asking simply tore the shirt open, popping the buttons. The woman gasped with surprise, and then gasped again as he leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth. It quickly grew pebbled, and he stroked and cupped its fullness, sucking teasingly, flicking his tongue over it.
Kayden paused as she slid her hand over the back of his head, urging him on. No resistance at all. She was not hiding her desire. He moved over to her other breast, licked and sucked as she moaned and pushed her chest against him.
He wanted her. The realization was powerful and sudden. Gone was his curiosity. Gone was his desire to possess her merely so that Dylan could not. He wanted her body for itself, for its fecund promise, for its smooth skin and rich curves. He wanted to hear her cry out with ecstasy, taste her sweat, see her eyes glaze over with pleasure. He growled low in his throat and pulled back his head.
"I will take you now."
~~~
His words brought Naomi back from the drifting throbs of pleasure that had started to engulf her. His declaration was rough with his need, his eyes gleaming in the shadows. Again she was reminded of his feral nature, his directness. From a man those words might have made her laugh, yet from Kayden they were promise and threat both that caused goose bumps to rush over her skin.
He moved his broad palm down her stomach, which fluttered under his touch. Over her abdomen, and then unbuttoned her jeans. She wore no panties. She rested her head back as he cupped her sex completely, squeezed her, owning her mound. She reached down and forced the jeans down over the swell of her hips and curvature of her ass, and then he tore them off her by the cuffs. Naomi gazed up at him, nervous, uncertain. She knew she was beautiful, had confidence in her full figure and wicked curves, but some men didn't appreciate her. Kayden leaned back and devoured her body with his eyes, and she knew that his lust had only increased. She wanted to taste him as well, to touch his skin which burned with a fevered heat, to explore his tattoos and trace the lines of his muscles, but
then he touched the base of her clit and a jolt of pleasure surged within her.
Slowly, expertly, he teased and touched her, at first lightly, almost playfully, and then with growing pressure. She felt herself growing even wetter, and heard herself moan as if from someplace far away. He shifted, moved over her, his body hard and his cock harder, and turned her onto her side. Lay against her completely, his cock pressing against her thigh, and then he raised her leg, parted her lips with his fingers, and slid into her.
Naomi bit her lower lip. He was large, larger than any man she had ever been with. He withdrew with a growl, a deep rumbling within his chest, and the realization hit her of what she was doing: she was rutting with the alpha of The Vengeance, with Kayden himself. The knowledge caused a spasm of arousal to wash through her, and when he pushed into her once more he went deeper. She pushed against him, thrusting back with her hips, and he slid in all the way to the hilt.
They both stopped as her body accepted him, as pain and pleasure slid around each other uneasily, and then he withdrew once more. She wanted him. She wanted this alpha like nothing else, wanted to feel his need, his desire for her. To know that he lusted for her body, for her wet passage, that he was losing control for her.
He began to thrust into her, his pace increasing, one hand on her breast, the other holding her leg up, and soon the pain receded before the endless haze of pleasure that was building within her core, growing more and more powerful with each powerful thrust. She wanted more. She didn't want him to hold back. Whatever he had to give, she could take.
She reached back and cupped her hand around the base of his neck. "Give it to me. Let go. I want all of you."