by Sam Crescent
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.
He smiled. This was the first time a woman had ever challenged him, attacked him like that, and he loved it. His cock was hard as rock, and his wolf was so fucking happy right now.
Chapter Two
“There won’t be many people staying here after today,” Jessica said.
Cassie bit her lip, trying to keep her worried thoughts to herself. After she had shoved Abel, he’d given her this weird smile, and told her that was enough for today. Her strength was always something that scared her.
She’d never shown that side of herself to her pack before, not until they all crowded around her, and she’d known pain was coming. Her reactions scared her, and she was worried that the wrong person would feel her pain.
Abel had looked more amused by her sudden outburst though, which was strange.
“Why don’t people stay?”
“We all have lives and stuff to get back to. We’re here for the full moon, and whenever Abel calls pack meetings, and for training. There will be a couple of people around. You’ll see them. Curt will need to stay because he couldn’t prove himself this morning, and it’s important to Abel that everyone does that. Can you cook?”
“Erm, yeah, a little.”
“Good. Abel likes to have a nice, hot meal every single day, but he doesn’t employ a cook or a cleaner so we as the pack do that. There will be duties for you to complete and then some training. How did you find Abel?” Jessica asked, stopping on the stairs and turning around to smile at her.
“He was intense.”
Cassie saw the dreamy look in her eyes. “I know, right? I mean that man is just, he gets me going every single time, and I just want him.”
“You and Abel are not together?”
“No. Abel has yet to pick a pack female. He refuses to settle down with anyone. Of course, we’d all willingly stand in a line for him to pick who he’d like to spend time with.” Another sigh came from her again.
The thought of standing in a line while Abel picked out the woman he wanted didn’t appeal to Cassie in the slightest. In fact, she found it very fucking rude.
Sex was not something she was interested in right now.
She wasn’t a virgin or anything. She’d gotten rid of her V-card when she was eighteen and had screwed her prom date. Deep down, she’d known that the pack were going to make her life hell, so she’d been with a human before she’d turned into a wolf. It had been … interesting.
A little pain, a lot of boring waiting, and hip thrusting, then it had been over.
One thing she did remember from the experience was wet, sloppy kisses, something that reminded her of a dog.
Jessica kept on walking, and, keeping her thoughts to herself, Cassie followed at a steady pace while also checking out the large home. It had an old smell to it, and she noticed lots of artwork on the walls.
She couldn’t really call it a home. It was more like a mansion as they passed several rooms and doors.
“In case you ever need him, Abel’s room is on the top floor. He likes his privacy, and I wouldn’t recommend disturbing him unless you really have to.”
Cassie had no intention of ever disturbing him.
“I’ll let you get settled and then I’ll take you on a grand tour. How does that sound?”
“It sounds lovely, thank you.”
Entering the room, Cassie closed the door behind her. Jessica was already walking away.
Pulling out a couple of her hairpins, she stepped into the room and felt him. Instantly her gaze followed the path, and there Abel stood.
“How did you get in here?” she asked.
“I left the gym before you, and I heard Jessica prattling on.” He stood in the corner. He’d changed out of his workout clothes, and now wore a pair of jeans torn at the knees and a white shirt that stretched over the muscles of his arms. His ink contrasted with the white color.
“Jessica likes you,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat. “Would she know you’re here?”
“No. Jessica is many things, but her sense of smell is off. Unless I make my pack aware, I tend to get around without being detected.” He tilted his head to the side. “You, however, sensed me.”
“Only when I walked into the room.”
“It’s still a huge deal that you knew I was here.”
“I don’t think it is,” she said.
“You like to play down your abilities?”
“I don’t like to talk about them.” She’d been in the process of taking pins out of her hair, and now she felt so fucking silly not finishing.
Abel was the alpha here, and still with her gaze on him, she began to remove her pins, keeping them in one hand as she ran her fingers through her hair. The moment she did, she felt so much better.
The red locks were long, and other than a trim to remove split ends, she liked to keep it long.
All the time she did this, Abel watched her.
“Am I allowed to stay in this room?” she asked.
“This is your room.”
She nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable with his scrutiny.
This was the first time she’d been left alone with an alpha. “You’re not mated.” Again, her cheeks were on fire, and still he kept on staring at her.
“No, no woman would be able to handle me.”
“Are you that bad of a boyfriend?”
He snorted. “No. I’m strong, Cassie. I’ve hurt women who have said they can handle what I do to them, and yet each time, they’ve lied.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat as she looked at him. His blue eyes held so much pain, and yet she saw death inside him. Like he was constantly thinking of ways to hurt someone.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, she waited for him to turn or to move, but he did neither. He just stayed perfectly still, waiting.
“You’re not curious?”
“No, I’m not.”
He chuckled. The sound didn’t hold much humor to it. “Your pack was afraid of you, weren’t they?”
This time she didn’t look away from him. Keep her gaze locked on his, she refused to glance away, even though she wanted to. “It was because of my weight.”
His gaze did drop, staring down her body.
She was used to men looking at her with a certain amount of disdain, but this man, he wasn’t looking at her like that. There was appreciation there, and did she see a flare of desire?
Clenching her hands into fists, she waited.
“Some men are complete assholes, and a lot of women are bitches. They like to find a person’s weakness and exploit it. I see no problem with your weight. I’m aware that a lot of packs have a problem with certain things. Carl, for instance, he can heal. Jessica’s different-colored eyes. Richard’s need for pain, and how he likes to take it. Each of us has a vice. The thing is you could have been kicked out many years ago when you didn’t lose weight. I take it you couldn’t?”
“No matter how much they tried to starve me and work me, I never lost a pound.” Her body had stayed the same. Her wolf had lost weight though, which was just fucking weird, but she didn’t say that.
Once again, he watched her, and this time, he came away from the wall.
She stood perfectly still, not wanting to move an inch in case he pounced, or her wolf came out, and then bad things happened.
I’m okay.
I’m not afraid.
Everything is cool.
She tried to make herself as small as possible, which was kind of funny considering one of the reasons she was here.
“I can feel her,” Abel said. “Your pack liked to abuse. I bet they got off on prodding you, waiting for you to snap. Believing that your weight made you weak.”
He stroked a finger down her arm, and her wolf didn’t respond to that in the way Cassie thought she might.
Her wolf liked it.
If she was a cat, she was sure she’d purr, but she wasn’t feline in any way.
“I’m guessing they got rid of you, Cassie, because you’re strong and they didn’t like that. The way you grabbed my hand, anyone else in the pack you would have shattered their wrist. I felt the power that’s inside you.” He stood behind her, so close, too close.
His hands went to her hips, and she closed her eyes.
“I feel your fear. I bet you avoid touch a lot, don’t you?”
“I hurt most of my pack, and I didn’t even try. They all collapsed around me as if they were nothing.”
“That’s because they are nothing, Cassie. They couldn’t handle you. You scared them, and that’s why they forced you out. They’d been poking and hurting you for years. Then you showed them what true darkness is all about.”
His lips were against her ear.
“I don’t want to die,” she said. “I don’t want to go feral, and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Then I will teach you how to handle your strength. I will help you get in control of your wolf, and I will prove to you that they had no right to do those things to you.”
His warmth surrounded her, and she didn’t want him to leave.
Of course, the moment she didn’t want him to, he was gone.
“I like my steak rare, and I love everything correctly seasoned,” he said.
“What?”
“My food. During your stay, you will be cooking for me, and don’t even think about spitting in my coffee. I will know about it.”
****
Abel stood in his office with the file that had been left for him. Whenever a new wolf joined his pack, he paid for a detailed dossier on each person. This helped him to keep in control, and to also learn every single secret that someone was hiding.
He was aware that he made people want to come and kill him. The rumors and myths about his strength and threat had sent men to his pack to try to infiltrate it and kill him. They were always sent back to their packs missing a body part or two. He didn’t take kindly to fakers or posers. Most of his pack were made homeless for being different.
From the beginning, Abel had been different, even as a young boy, so when he’d forged a new path by himself, he’d vowed to take those that no one wanted. He always found value in things no one else liked.
Opening the folder, he saw Cassie’s picture. This was taken from her high school yearbook several years ago, and he saw a little note stating that she didn’t like her picture taken.
At eighteen years old, she looked … sad, almost empty inside.
She had weight then, but clearly, she’d been hurt.
He didn’t like packs that inflicted pain on others.
There of course was a line that he accepted. If the pain caused was something the person wanted, then he didn’t mind.
Running a hand down his face, he thought about Cassie.
She was broken inside, scared. Her wolf was desperate to come free, and to also be cared for.
There was so much about Cassie that he found her to be one of the most intriguing females he ever recalled taking in.
Flicking through the notes, he saw she’d been a keen student, but there was no actual detail with regards to job descriptions.
All of the pack worked in some form or another. He himself dealt in stocks, shares, and investments. It’s how he was able to spend most of his time away from the city. He hated the city life, and money, and the way it made people. He was happier with the simple things in life, but he also knew how important money was.
His life was made so much easier by having it.
Also, this helped his pack.
When people were expelled or rejected by their packs, they needed a place to stay. His home helped them make the change from one pack to the other, and if there was a risk of one going feral, he had dungeons in the basement with reinforced chains that helped with that.
Running a finger across his lip, he saw there was nothing much, other than her pack details, her school achievements, and a few little tests about herself that she’d made.
One of her biggest fears, in her own words, was being lonely.
That was one downfall to being a wolf. Being lonely was one of the worst feelings in the world.
“Here you go,” Jessica said, coming into his office. She carried a tray with his coffee, just the way he liked it, along with a couple of cookies.
They were, of course, store-bought ones. He had yet to find a wolf who’d make him cookies just the way he liked.
His mother used to bake all the time before she died. She’d been the one to help him split from the pack along with his father, but it had been more difficult for his dad than his mother.
When he’d been pushed aside because he couldn’t bring himself to submit, his parents had gone with him, and together, they had formed a bond for a pack. They’d been by his side for so long. His mother had passed away two years ago. It had been a hard time for him.
She’d asked that when the right woman came along, that he didn’t push her away, and that he tried to love.
Once again, he pushed those thoughts aside, and looked at Jessica.
All he had to do was snap his fingers, and this woman would be on the floor, legs spread, willing to take his cock.
She was a beautiful woman. He found her eyes beautiful, but then, he’d come to see beauty in all of his pack’s flaws.
Jessica held no appeal to him whatsoever.
Beneath her willing exterior, she was a woman who wasn’t ideal to be by his side. She wanted to be the woman to win his heart. She never abused her position within the pack, but there was no way she’d ever be able to take him, as he’d ruin her. He and Jessica were not compatible. Their wolves didn’t even like each other, and he certainly didn’t find her attractive.
She was too weak, and he’d break her with a good, hard fucking.
“Thank you, Jessica,” he said.
“How do you find Cassie?” she asked, her smile bright.
“She seems to fit in, doesn’t she?”
“She doesn’t say a whole lot, and I have a horrible feeling she was hurt, but I said that you’re difficult but fair.”
He raised a brow, and she tutted. “You are difficult, and you tell us to inform all new pack members of that.”
He hated small talk more than anything. Dealing with new recruits was not something he enjoyed doing.
“So, I was wondering…”
“No.” He picked up his coffee and took a sip.
“No?”
“Jessica, you’ve been asking for some time now, and the answer is no.”
“You need a woman.”
“I do not.”
“You have needs that have to be met.”
“When I find the woman I need, I will let you know.”
She pouted, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. “I can be what you need.”
“You cannot.”
“If you take me to your dungeon, I can—”
“I said no, is that understood? You think you’d be able to handle me, but you’re wrong. Jessica, I value you as part of my pack. You should never have gone looking for my room. I don’t advertise it for anyone. Please, value my decision and accept it. Do not give me a reason to cast you out. Listen to me clearly. You are not the woman I want. I think you’re very beautiful, and I know several men who’d like to be with you, who’d find pleasure in you. I’m not one of them.”
She nodded her head.
This was not the first time they’d had this conversation, or even the second. Most of the time after a full moon, she would always come to him, smelling like another male.
Jessica didn’t save herself for him, so even though she looked sad, that was not his concern.
He wasn’t there to make her feel better. She kept offering herself to him, and he wasn’t interested, not in the slightest. She held no appeal to him.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you, my alpha.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. Leave.”
Jessica didn’t need asking twi
ce, and he watched her leave his office. Sipping at his coffee, he took one of the rancid cookies and bit into it. They were too dry and had absolutely no love in them. His mother had been an amazing cook and baker. She’d spoiled him for choice.
His meals always varied with the pack taking care of meal times. He’d tasted some awful things in his life, and Jessica was a nasty cook. She burned everything.
For Thanksgiving, she’d served a turkey so dry even his dogs had turned their noses up at it.
Dunking the cookie into his hot coffee, he stared at Cassie’s picture and wondered what she was like beneath the layers of clothing.
Nakedness wasn’t something the pack was too concerned with. He’d been walking down his many halls and seen men and woman completely nude. It was natural to them, being around each other.
He was curious about her, and wanted to learn every single little detail, which was a shock.
She was the first woman in a long time to make him want a second and even a third look. Running his hand down his face, he tried to clear the thoughts from his mind. He wanted to know if she’d look just as pretty completely naked with his cuffs wrapped around her wrists.
Abel liked control.
He craved a woman submitting to him, but he also wanted a woman to take him, to relish the bites he gave, the sting of his hand. He wasn’t a Dominant within BDSM. He didn’t wear leather, nor did he have special tools.
Being a wolf, those tools were useless to him, and they were too impersonal. His hands did all the work, and so did his voice. There was something addictive about ordering a woman to do his bidding.
His cock, once again hard, pressed against the front of his jeans.
Lifting the cookie up, he cursed as it had soaked up way too much of his coffee, and it fell into the cup with a splash.
Chapter Three
For three days Cassie avoided the alpha. Wherever he was, she made sure to avoid him. His home was so large that she’d been able to do that, and she noticed several rooms he never seemed to venture in. The first was the kitchen, which became her new best friend. Again, that was kind of weird as the kitchen was once her enemy.