I scanned the grounds around us. Each family now had their cabins. The single wolves had to share, but we wanted to give them their own space where we could. Our pack had grown over the last few months. Joshua and the others would grow up here, on this new land, to one day either move away to find mates or stay and one day, take over.
I had no intention of going anywhere, but I knew my place in this crazy, unpredictable life. There were no guarantees. When the time was right, my son would become the leader of this pack. The future alpha had big shoes to fill. He had much to learn from us all. There was more to being an alpha than just giving orders. The group of men and women around me were family. I loved and respected them all. In return, the bonds we shared were much stronger than many others may experience.
Being an alpha was a right, a responsibility that held great honor. An honor that I rightly held onto. We may all come from different tribes, scattered from all over the states, but together, we were a formidable foe to be reckoned with. Montana would bring us great things.
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The Alpha’s Challenge
By
Jamie K. Schmidt
Nizhoni Stalking Wolf parked her pickup truck in the center of town and eased out of the driver’s seat. Her back was sore from the broken springs she’d sat on for the several miles it took for her to drive from the water station in New Mexico to her hometown of Serenity in the Navajo Nation. She wished she had the time to shift into her wolf form and go running through the forest to the Chuska Mountains that called to her. But there was water to hand out and a disease to battle.
As she was doling out the five-gallon jugs to her tribe, the back of her neck prickled. She stifled the warning snarl that came to her lips, not wanting to scare the children who were playing in the area. But she couldn’t let the challenge go unanswered. Serenity didn’t have a large werewolf pack. It was just her and a handful of others. They had been more, but most left when their only male Alpha, Tulley Running Wolf, decided he couldn’t be tied down to a reservation. Or to a mate. He became a truck driver, and the males who couldn’t handle a female Alpha—her—went off to other packs.
“Get these jugs to Grandmother,” she said to Yaz, a full human who hadn’t succumbed yet to COVID-19. He was one of her oldest friends. “And tell the children to play inside today.”
Yaz met her look and nodded. He whistled and rounded the kids up into Tulley’s house. He wasn’t using it, and it was the biggest place they had, now that they were using their community center as a hospital for all their COVID-19 cases. Tulley was on his way back from Texas with some much needed supplies. Just because he didn’t want to stay and lead Serenity’s pack, that didn’t mean he’d forgotten about them. He stopped in whenever his route took him close—and every time his return played havoc on her heart and her libido. They had figured out just how far they could go before they had to stop fucking to prevent the mating bond from fusing them together forever. And since Tulley didn’t want that, Nizhoni would never force him, no matter how desperately she wanted to become a true Alpha to her people. Even if it meant wearing out the batteries in her vibrator after he left.
Tulley was late with the supply run this month, which wasn’t like him. While Tulley never liked to be in one place for a long period of time, he wouldn’t let his people down. Nizhoni wondered if the evil presence she sensed was the reason for Tulley’s delay.
As she scented the air, the rest of the tribe of humans must have decided that it was a good day to spend inside cleaning their houses because they disappeared inside. Just once, she wished they could catch a break. Before COVID-19 hit, they were about to drill a new well that would solve their water problems. That had to be put on the back burner while her pack kept their tribe safe.
Two enormous wolves slinked out of their houses and joined her in the center of town. One was black with blue eyes and the other was pale gray with yellow eyes. Tank and Jumper. Tank was ex-military and Jumper was just plain crazy. There were three more werewolves in Serenity, but they were out on patrol. Nizhoni counted on everyone in the small pack to help her protect the town from the skinwalkers that had decided to take advantage of their weakness and distraction.
Skinwalkers were pure evil, humans who wanted to become werewolves, but were afraid of dying in the transformation process. So instead they conducted foul rituals that culminated in them killing a loved one. That bad medicine enabled them to wear the pelt of an animal and take on the powers of a shape-shifter. Only Nizhoni had never met a skinwalker that used that power for good. They only wanted chaos, pain, and destruction. Half-mad beasts tortured by their new form, the skinwalkers stalked prey to sate their never-ending thirst for suffering.
And if they skinned and wore a shape-shifter’s pelt? Nizhoni shuddered. The monster would become an even greater nightmare.
Doctor Sike White Wolf poked his head out of their makeshift hospital. As werewolves, they were immune to the disease that had ravaged the Navajo Nation and most of the world. Sike had come to their assistance from his home in Arizona when they had put out a plea for a doctor. Nizhoni had been as surprised as he that they were compatible mates.
“Do you need me?” he asked.
Nizhoni waited for the mating heat to flare up at what could have been a loaded question. It simmered, but it wasn’t the explosive passion she always felt for Tulley. The heat between her and Tulley was hot enough to scorch the paint off her truck, because he was an Alpha and Sike just a beta wolf. However in the few times she and Sike had given in to the sweet mating need, she was left branded by his mouth and aching for completion. Sike’s kisses were deeply decadent, like bathing in champagne and eating expensive chocolate off juicy red strawberries. They had been dating while Nizhoni tried to accept that he wasn’t Tulley and never would be. In fact, Sike was almost the exact opposite.
Tulley had told her, in no uncertain terms, that he didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want a family. He didn’t want to settle down in one place. Nizhoni had been content to take whatever scraps of the mating tug she could feel whenever he was in town. Now, she didn’t have to.
Sike wasn’t an Alpha, but he would be willing to move to Serenity permanently to be her mate. It made a lot of sense for her to accept the mating bond with him. The town needed a doctor. She wanted a family and she wanted a home in Serenity. It should have been the perfect solution.
It wasn’t. They were both busy with protecting the town and keeping the COVID patients alive and the rest of the town healthy. It was an excuse she used to stop the final step of the mating bond, but Nizhoni clung to it. Although, with each date they progressed a tiny step further. She was beginning to develop feelings for him that might be love. And that scared her. Because she had loved Tulley since she hit puberty. Was it even possible to love two men?
Sike moved towards her, concern for her written all over his face. He could sense that she was troubled. That was a good sign that they would be compatible mates.
“No,” she said, holding up a hand to stop his advance. “Stay with your patients. Tank and Jumper will check things out.”
As the Alpha wolf and the town’s enforcer, Nizhoni reported to the human elders of her tribe, but no one else. However, the humans listened to her and trusted the pack to keep them safe. She wished she could do something more about the COVID situation.
It was possible that the skinwalkers were responsible for the disease, although she didn’t know how. But after several weeks of unproductive scouting missions, Nizhoni felt the thrill of the hunt shiver through her. Just on the edge of her awareness, she could almost sense that a solution was close. If only she could see it more clearly.
Mated wolves have greater power.
“Go,” she told Tank and Jumper, pushing that thought away. They to
ok off in the direction of the menace that all the wolves sensed. Even though her body demanded it, she held off on shifting and following them. The skinwalker presence was too convenient. They were never this obvious. It felt like a diversion. Tank and Jumper were experienced enough to handle themselves.
Taking a shotgun from the rack in her truck, she loaded it with shells filled with holy water that their medicine man had blessed. If this was something supernatural preying on them, the holy water would do more damage than her claws.
Nizhoni growled to herself, while she walked a wide perimeter around the town. Let them come and attack and she would show them the error in their thinking. Her wolf was tugging her toward the evil that Tank and Jumper were engaging in. Her human side, though, knew there was something else in their midst. It had a raw bite that burned her sensitive nose, but it didn’t feel like bad medicine or a skinwalker.
Nizhoni decided to do a door-to-door search and started with the community center. A part of her was pleased that she was drawn to where her potential mate was, but the sensible part of her knew it had nothing to do with the mating bond. Her wolf was distracted by Sike’s presence, but Nizhoni was able to investigate the room. Through the stench and fear of the sick patients, she perceived a trace of otherness.
“What do you see?” Sike said, suddenly next to her.
His breath shivered deliciously against her ear and the mating heat flared. Nizhoni considered throwing him to the floor in front of everyone and bonding with him until they were both sweaty and satiated. She smirked. Unfortunately, the humans wouldn’t understand. And since most of them were very ill or recovering, it wouldn’t be appropriate or sanitary.
Pushing down her frustration, she rose from where she had crouched to look at a trail that made her nose twitch in alarm. Sike was standing too close to her, so she deliberately brushed up against him. She enjoyed the tingles that went through her body, so she stayed that way. Her breasts felt too confined, pressed against his chest, and his quickened breath made her wet.
Her wolf liked him and, Nizhoni had to admit, he was nice to look at. He had long black hair tied back away from his face and warm brown eyes. Tulley’s hair was cropped short, almost shaved, and in his eyes were always the wild yellow brown of his Alpha wolf. Sike was lean and hard with an athletic grace. Tulley was enormous, thickly muscled, and had the finesse of a bull.
Sighing, Nizhoni chastised herself. She had to stop comparing the two men. She had to forget Tulley. Defiantly, she kissed Sike, spearing her tongue into his surprised mouth. It took Sike a moment, but he was on board and kissed her back. She liked being held and she wanted more. He was willing. What was she waiting for? Breaking off the kiss, Nizhoni knew what she was waiting for and she cursed herself for an idiot.
If she was a mated female, her senses would be more accurate. She’d be powerful because she could call on her mate’s energy to help her, not only in battle but in tracking their enemies. Not mating with Sike was harming the town’s defenses. It was harming her.
“Stay inside,” Nizhoni said, her voice husky. She pulled him back against her. Her shirt abraded her hardened nipples and his answering erection pressed into her lower belly made it difficult to walk away from him, especially when she felt his body tremble at her nearness. It could be quick. They could go into his office and close the door. She could ride him into a satisfying orgasm and accept his surrender. She would be mated and then all thoughts of Tulley and the desire that made her stupid would be gone.
“Anything you wish,” Sike said in a molten voice.
Now, her wolf demanded.
Later, she appeased it. But there was no sense in waiting for Tulley. Even if he were here, there was nothing that would change his mind. With a sad smile, she caressed Sike’s cheek. He was a nice man and he deserved to be something better than second best. He kissed her palm and she felt a tingle of ownership.
Mine, her wolf demanded again.
And then she sensed again that strange otherness that threatened them. She couldn’t track because she wasn’t powerful enough. The reservation needed a strong, mated Alpha.
Concentrating through her link as their Alpha, Nizhoni knew that Tank and Jumper didn’t need her assistance. They were still tracking down the skinwalkers who were leading them on a merry chase around the perimeter of the town. The true trail, though, was the stench of wrongness that was stalking the community center. Maybe she could flush it out by staying here a bit until it got her scent and decided to come play? Or maybe she was coming to terms with the fact that her mate was right in front of her, and that waiting for Tulley to make a choice he had already made years ago was stupid.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” Sike asked. He tried to hide the shiver at her nearness, but couldn’t.
Nizhoni liked it. She liked being wanted. She was thrilled at the knowledge that if she demanded it Sike would do everything in his power to satisfy her.
Letting out a slow breath, she said, “Yeah.” Following him into his office, she watched him putter around with the coffee machine. Deliberately, she shut the door and locked it.
He looked over his shoulder at her, startled.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind while he made the coffee.
“For you? All the time in the world.”
She rubbed her cheek in between his shoulders and relished the trembles that shook his body. “How are the patients doing?”
“The same.” He sighed in frustration. “It’s more than the disease, though. It’s this presence.”
“I feel it too,” she growled.
“It’s blocking the healing medicine.”
Nizhoni stepped back and took a deep sip from the coffee he handed her. The hot beverage slid down her throat and perked her up. She had needed that. Looking over at Sike, she noticed he was still hard. She stroked him gently through his pants.
“I haven’t been fair to you,” she said.
Leaning into her caress, he smiled. “I don’t mind. Do with me as you will, Alpha.”
Now, her wolf demanded.
Okay, she finally agreed. Sweet relief coursed through her and she sagged.
“Are you all right?” Sike caught her up into his arms, which is where she wanted to be. Her heart thumped louder. This could be love.
“What if I wanted to be your mate?” she asked.
His eyes widened.
“But it has to be now.”
“N-now?” he stuttered. “Are you sure?”
“This has to be quick,” she said, putting her empty cup on his desk. She lifted her shirt over her head. “There’s no time for romance. Not now. I have to get back to the hunt soon and I need to be stronger.”
“Is that the only reason?” He traced his fingers over the lace of her bra.
“No. I want a family with you.”
“Good.” He closed his eyes and nodded. “Good.”
“I wish we had time to take it slower, but the evil is getting stronger and I need to be at full power to defeat it. There’s a trace of it here in the hospital.” The mating heat was pulsing through her, now that she’d opened the floodgates.
Sike’s face grew grim. “I only barely sense it, but you’re right. It’s been here.”
“I can stop it. I know I can. I just need a mate. Are you in?” Nizhoni lifted her chin. She could coerce him, but she didn’t want that. She wanted a partner who wanted her as much as she wanted him. And she did want Sike. She was close to loving him. He was a kind man who had taken his time in wooing her. She had been honest with him, that she hadn’t been sure she could leave Tulley. He hadn’t cared. He just wanted to be with her. She was a fool not to have done this sooner, when they could have had a big comfortable bed and an entire night to explore each other.
“I was in the moment I saw you,” he said.
Her spirit soared. Finally, she was wanted. “I promise I will make this up to you.”
“I want you, now. We can do it right later,” Sike said. Cupping her breasts, his mouth took hers in a passionate kiss. It was a bold move for a beta wolf, but she allowed it because he knew just how to touch her.
After weeks of dancing around the inevitable, it was a relief to finally give in to her needs. His hands were reverent on her body. She unbuttoned her pants and shimmied out of them. When he thumbed her nipples, she ripped his belt off and nearly tore his pants to get her hand around his throbbing cock. Moaning in pleasure, Nizhoni gripped him and rubbed his silky hardness.
“Mate,” she growled against his mouth.
“Yes,” he sighed, sliding his hand into her panties.
Widening her stance, she let his fingers explore her. Nizhoni rocked against them, showing him where to tantalize her. They found a steady rhythm rubbing each other through grunts of pleasure. Their caresses were light and satisfying. A heart-stopping orgasm was just beyond her reach. She and Tulley had always stopped at this point, before one of them came and triggered the mating bond. This time, there would be no stopping. And once she came, she would no longer need Tulley with the desperation of a rejected mate.
“Are you sure?” she panted as the friction built inside her. She wasn’t used to going this far. This far was serious. It was forever for werewolves.
“Take me,” Sike said.
Nizhoni tipped his head back and bit him hard on his throat. She claimed him as she came, shivering around his teasing fingers. They fumbled to completely undress and she shoved him down on the office chair.
“I don’t have a condom,” she said.
“So?” he grunted, pulling her closer.
That was right. The condom wasn’t for disease protection, it was for baby protection. But Sike was now her mate. There was no need for things like that now. Glee pounded through her and she eagerly slipped him inside of her. Sinking down on him, she steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders. Throwing back her head, Nizhoni rode him hard. It was satisfying to take him at her own speed and use him as she wanted. It would be even better when they could take their time and explore each other tonight, all night long. She wanted to feel his tongue pleasing her like his fingers had.
The Glittering World Anthology: Native American Romance Paranormal Fantasy Page 14