by Sam Crescent
Looking up at the sunlight, Mary basked in the warm glow on her face.
Jane cleared her throat, chuckling. “Max is not the best man to talk to if you’re hoping for tact.”
“I wasn’t hoping for anything. We were talking about Jessica, and it sort of moved into something else entirely.” Mary smiled, kicking some of the stones as she stared down at the ground.
“I know what you mean about men not liking us for our fuller shape. I gave up on men until I met Max. I saw him across a bar. I was drinking a cocktail, and he just wouldn’t look away.” Jane smiled, immersed in the memory. “He approached me and started talking. I remember being enthralled as he didn’t check out the other slender women in the bar. His eyes were on me and me alone. I felt hot, sexy, desirable.”
Mary saw the love shining in her eyes. She envied the feeling, wishing she could feel something similar.
“After he bit me, he was there guiding me through the transition. He was my mate, Mary. The man I was destined to be with.” Jane looked back at the house. “Every time I’m with him, it feels like the first time all over again.”
Jane turned her gaze back to Mary. “I hope one day you can know that kind of feeling.”
“I hope so, too.”
Jane reached out, touching her skin. “Come in when you’re ready for breakfast.”
Mary was shocked when she was left outside alone. Staring up at the sun, Mary basked in the feelings erupting inside her. Her body was her own, and she never wanted to lose this feeling surrounding her with warmth.
When Zeke wrapped his arms around her waist, she sank against him, smiling.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“Nothing important.” They snuggled together, and the heat sizzling between them had nothing to do with the sunlight cascading down on them.
His fingers worked underneath her shirt, stroking her stomach. “I wish you were naked. I’d bend you over right now and slide inside you.”
“Your pack can see us.”
“I don’t care. They know who you belong to.”
The land, his skin all felt like home. Mary felt safe and protected, which was strange considering she was only supposed to be his toy.
“Jane and Max are right. If I was to walk away and not claim you, there would be men in my pack who would want a taste of you. They all know you were a virgin and can’t believe men haven’t tried to get into your pussy,” he said, kissing her neck.
She gasped. Heat flooded her pussy, soaking her panties. How could he get such a quick response from her? All he ever needed to do was give her a few quick responses and she was ready for him. The heat flooding through her should embarrass her, and yet she was burning for him. His cock was the only thing she wanted between her thighs.
“I won’t be with anyone from your pack.” She couldn’t think of being with another man, not after her time with Zeke.
“There’s something I need to show you,” Zeke said, taking her hand.
He led her away from the house. His fingers tightened around hers as they walked the distance to the other pack house. Staring at the place she’d considered her home for a few days a month, Mary was overcome by a shocking wave of cold. The building looked large, gloomy, and unwelcoming. She remembered the whispers as she used to pass the other members going to her room.
“Why are we here?” she asked.
“There’s something I want to know from you.”
The seriousness on his face let her know he wasn’t trying to scare her. “Okay.”
Through the front door they went all the way to the kitchen. The house smelled awful and disgusting. Pressing a hand to her nose, she felt a wave of sickness roll over her. “Does it smell like this because of them dying?”
“No, this is the smell that clung to your pack. They’re a dirty pack with dirty deeds, Mary. Their souls were dead long before their bodies.”
Mary couldn’t ever remember scenting something so bad before in her life. It took every ounce of control not to vomit from the acrid burn. She would need to take a shower to rid her body of this.
Zeke opened the door leading down to the basement. For some reason Mary tensed, feeling something bad had happened down there.
“No, I can’t go down there,” she said, overcome with sweat.
“I need you to follow me down.”
Seeing the somber look on his face didn’t help. Trying not to breathe she followed him downstairs to where something bad awaited.
The light illuminated everything. Images flashed through her mind. Pain and death consumed her. She glanced in the far corner, and memories suddenly swamped her. No, she couldn’t stay in the house.
Moving closer, she wrapped her fingers around the pole feeling the sizzle of the silver. Something bad happened here, and what was worse, Roger and Dani had somehow wiped her memory of everything.
****
Zeke fisted his hands as Mary held onto the bar. He’d never seen a cage made out of silver before. The look on her face let him know it wasn’t the worst thing to have happened. His father hadn’t found anything out about experiments, but he knew Mary was the only one close enough to have any information.
His father had asked for him to try to get some information out of Mary. He hated the pain he was causing her. The disgust she felt was rolling off her in waves. She despised this place and feared it with equal measure.
“How can they have affected my memories?” Mary asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I remember being here, but I also remember sweating, panicking as I watch something happening over there.” Mary released the bar and walked over to the science table. She reached out as if to touch it then pulled her hand away. “I need to get out of here.”
Zeke ran after her as she charged out of the house. For a half breed she was fucking fast. Out in the sunlight he chased after as she ran over the gravel then across the field. The energy pulsed off her, and he shouted her name.
Nothing was stopping her. He knew she wasn’t running away from him. No, something else was chasing her away, and he needed to get to her before she fell.
Then, suddenly, Mary’s wolf met his eyes. There was no pain as she kept running. Mary was a beautiful golden brown in her wolf form. He paused as he watched her gracefully run.
Love, lust, and respect rolled into one as he stared after the woman he’d been looking for since he’d bitten her. Zeke didn’t take the time to shed his clothes. Running after her, he called to his wolf, and then he could hear her.
“Finally,” she said. “I’m free. I’m free, and you can remember what they did to us.”
Her wolf was profound, begging to be heard. All this time Mary’s wolf had been trying to save her by stopping her from making so many mistakes.
Following after her, Zeke listened to her innermost thoughts. He was her Alpha, and they were connected in the most profound way. His seed was inside her at her most fertile time.
“They killed half breeds. They hurt everyone who came into that room. It’s dangerous. Tell everyone what is happening.”
What was happening?
Zeke ran through the trees, chasing after her. Images flashed in his mind, and they were all of Mary’s memories of what happened in that room in the basement. He stumbled at the horror her wolf had remembered. Mary’s wolf hadn’t forgotten anything. She’d saved the memories waiting for the right moment to show Mary.
“We had to wait for him. He will protect us.”
Mary had been drugged keeping her docile as they injected her with all kinds of drugs. They had been finding a drug that would harm, even kill full breeds. Roger and Dani had been greedy wanting the power that such a drug would give them.
He stopped as he recognized his sister. Mary was collapsed on the floor, her body hurt and bruised as she stared at the table. His sister fought, screaming out, crying out, warning them that her death would be avenged.
“She lived.”
Her wolf spoke
to him. He couldn’t let her get away. Setting off at a run, he chased after Mary. Picking up his pace he got to the edge of the waterfall in time to watch her jump off. Following her down, he saw her break the surface as a human. Her female scream was the last thing he heard before he went under.
Breaking the surface, he heard her screaming. She was holding onto the grass on the other side. Her body was wet and naked as she held onto the grass. The screaming stopped suddenly. Swimming to her side, he put his hand on her back, wanting to offer her comfort.
“I remember,” she said. “I can’t believe I went back there month after month.”
She coughed. Her fingers sank into the grass, her nails covered in dirt. Placing his hands on either side of her head he pressed kisses to the back of her neck trying to take the awful memories away.
“I’m here.”
“How can they have taken my memories?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.
“Your wolf took the memories to help you deal with what was happening to you. She was waiting for the right time when you were both protected.” Her wolf was waiting for him. He sensed it more now than ever before.
Her body was shaking but not from cold.
“You talk about my wolf as if it’s another being looking after me.”
Pressing a hand to her chest covering her heart, he kissed her neck. “Your wolf is here. She knows what is best for you. She saw the danger and did everything she could to keep you safe.”
The wolf and human were as one. He loved the feel of his wolf and accepted him within his body.
“The woman on the table, do you remember her?” he asked.
“Yes. She was pushed into a cage beside me. I remember her sniffing me.” Mary turned in his arms, staring up at him. “She told me you wouldn’t stop until you found me.”
His family had known he’d been looking for the woman he’d bitten for some time. “Her name was Debbie. She was my sister and went missing over a year ago. What happened to her?”
“She escaped. I remember her tearing through the bars as if they meant nothing. She was the first full breed they tried to experiment on. I don’t know what else happened to her.” Mary stared up at him with tears in her eyes. “They were trying to hurt all other packs.”
Pushing the hair off her face, he stared into her eyes. Stroking her cheek, Zeke was so proud of her surviving even down to remembering his sister.
“Did they succeed?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to get in touch with my father. His pack is based several miles away.” Tilting her head back he saw she was pale. “I’ve never seen a half breed change so quickly.”
“I’ve never changed without the help of the full moon.” She licked her lips. The image of his cock disappearing in her mouth flashed across his mind.
Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers. Her hands went to his shoulders, holding onto him. Wrapping a hand around her waist he tugged her closer. Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he closed his eyes relishing the taste of her skin.
Her moans vibrated down to his cock, making him hard.
Breaking the kiss, he lifted her up in his arms locking onto one of her nipples. She cried out, sinking her fingers into his hair.
He was going to fuck her. Zeke needed to fuck her, to mark her, and to claim her so no other male would ever try to take her away from him.
“Zeke.” She spoke his name with a moan. Mary wrapped her legs around him.
Gripping his shaft, he found her entrance and slammed inside. Her body was open for him. After all the memories he wanted to give her something pleasurable.
She cried out, thrusting her chest out to his waiting mouth. Holding her tightly, Zeke fucked her hard, going as deep into her body as he could.
Kissing up her chest, he claimed her lips once again as he fucked her cunt.
Claim her.
He pushed the need away, wishing he could just give in. Slamming inside her hard, Zeke let the pleasure swallow them both up. Everything else could wait as he fucked his toy hard.
She’s more than a toy.
Zeke knew Mary was more, but for now he was going to enjoy what she’d given him. Jessica wouldn’t have died that night unlike the rest of the pack. Mary also would have survived as well. He was damned for keeping her to him.
One month.
He had one month to make her his mate.
Chapter Eight
One week into her stay Mary sat in the garden playing cards with Jane. Jessica was on the swing staring up at the sun. The girl was taking the death of her family really well. The rest of the men were inside having a meeting. Four cars had arrived that morning, and Mary knew they were all Alphas from different packs. Jane placed her palm on top of the deck as the two cards matched.
“What’s going on with you, Mary?” Jane asked.
“Nothing. I’m just wondering what the meetings all about,” she said, pressing a card on top of the others. Glancing toward Jessica, she couldn’t help but be worried about the young girl.
“She’s doing fine, you know.”
“How do you know? Her family was killed before her eyes. She should be feeling something.”
“The men have been talking, and Jessica was considered a mutt amongst the pack.”
Mary frowned, looking back at Jessica. Whenever she’d been at the house, Jessica was treated like a princess even though she recalled the young girl not smelling like the rest of the pack. In fact, Jessica smelled a lot different from the pack she’d been part of.
“A mutt?”
“Yeah, Roger and Dani were not her real parents. She was a half breed they took in, or at least that’s what rumor is saying.”
Smacking her hand on top of the pack, Mary won the round of cards. Jane chuckled.
“Jessica was not a half breed. She was their daughter. It’s what I was told.”
Jane was looking at her with sympathy.
“What?”
“Mary, you weren’t there all the time. From what I heard you were not allowed to mingle with the group. Jessica talked to you and was punished for it.”
Jerking at what Jane was telling her, Mary knew she’d missed a hell of a lot in her time at the pack. Putting her pile of cards down, she walked over toward the other girl. Jessica didn’t pause in her swinging, and there were tears in her eyes.
“Is it true?” Mary asked.
“About me being a half breed?”
“Yes.”
The young girl nodded. “Yeah. I was never allowed to say anything. I can turn at will, but Roger and Dani threatened to hurt me if I told anyone about what I could do. No one knew half breeds could turn at will. They killed my parents, and my father was a full breed. He mated with my mother, and I was born nine months later. I saw them kill my parents, and they terrified me. When I met you I thought you could save me. I was right. They were all prepared to let me die that night with them.”
“How come you’ve never said anything to me since then?” Mary asked, feeling slightly hurt.
“We’ve not really had time to talk.” Jessica shrugged. “I couldn’t tell anyone, and it was easier to keep the truth to myself.”
Mary couldn’t argue with her. “Why make you pretend to be their daughter?”
“I always wondered about that, but I guess it probably had to do with Zeke and other Alphas visiting. They’d start to ask questions if they saw a ten year old without her parents wandering about the house. They did it to stop being suspected of something.”
“Does Zeke know this?”
Jessica nodded. “They kept files. I didn’t even remember, but without the injections and reading those files I was able to remember everything. I’ve been a wolf a lot longer than you. I was born into it even though I’m a half breed. My dad didn’t turn my mom until after I was born. I have his blood inside me and my mom’s human side whereas you were changed a lot later in life.”
“What the hell happened?” Wrapping her fingers around the
metal pole of the swing she listened to Jessica talk.
“They took me when I was ten years old. Roger and Dani made a file up with everything. They experimented on me as well.”
“Did they discover anything?” Mary asked.
“No. They didn’t discover anything, but they couldn’t risk me leaving. For some reason they didn’t kill me and decided I’d serve them well.”
She stopped swinging, and Mary wrapped her arms around the young woman. “They killed my parents, and I was caught up in the fray.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” Mary saw Jane had disappeared inside the house giving them some privacy.
“I’ve heard what they’ve been saying. Roger and Dani are responsible for kidnapping other wolves. They were experimenting on them in the hope to gain power.” Jessica was sobbing. Stroking her blonde hair, Mary listened as they had it all out.
“Jane said you were punished for talking to me,” she said.
“They didn’t want anyone to slip up. They said you were special because of who bit you.”
“What did they do to you?” Mary asked, hating herself for not knowing what was happening when she visited.
“They put me in a cage without food for a couple of days. Others got it a lot worse than I did.”
“If you’d told me I would have put a stop to it,” Mary said.
“I know. They were scary. I couldn’t tell you what was happening. What if you never came back? The best time I remember was when Zeke came for dinner.”
Mary paused. “What?”
“They would spray the house in all different scents, and no one would disappear to the basement. I don’t remember being in the basement, but I must have for them to have experimented on.”
Nothing was making any sense, and Mary knew she would need to talk with Zeke.
“The injections you talked about, what were they?”
“They were supposed to relax us. Tranquilizers with hints of silver to keep us docile so we wouldn’t fight. I’ve read some of the research.”
Mary stared up at the sun. The heat did nothing to warm her bones. Whatever had happened with Roger and Dani, she felt it wasn’t at an end.