The Alpha's Reluctant Mate

by Williams, Morganna

  I splashed through its shallows repeatedly before stopping to drink, finding myself more than a little thirsty. Drawing my muzzle up from the water, I saw my distorted reflection in the ripples my play had made in the water. My coat was a mixture of silver and gray, rich, shiny, and full. It was a bit surprising to catch my first sight of myself as a wolf but I was not displeased by what I saw.

  As I walked back toward Connor on the shore, my paws suddenly felt heavy and I wanted nothing more than to curl up for a nap. Reaching his side, I lay down at his feet to do just that. Connor shimmered a little as he turned back into his human form.

  I flattened my ears at him and growled. Even as a wolf I was not comfortable with his nudity.

  “Enough,” he admonished, swatting my left hindquarter before bending down to scoop me high in his arms. “You’ve exhausted all your resources for the evening. It will be a long while yet before you have enough energy to change back and I can’t carry you home as a wolf. We all get a little carried away the first time. The first change alone depletes a lot of energy. From now on it will be a lot easier.”

  I tried to listen but I was too tired, so I laid my muzzle against his shoulder, soothed by his rich baritone where it rumbled beneath my ear. I came back to awareness as he laid me in the soft grass outside my bedroom window and growled when he would have lain down next to me, still naked as the day he was born.

  He smacked me lightly again on the hip before shimmering back into a wolf and curling up next to me. Pleased he’d honored my wishes, I decided to ignore the smacks to my bottom and snuggled into him with my muzzle resting across his throat.

  * * *

  My nose twitched as something tickled it. I opened one eye to see Connor smiling down at me. My body was curled beneath his in the grass, and we were both completely naked. I was intently aware of every place our bodies touched. Connor’s smile faded as our eyes met and heat arched between us.

  He slowly lowered his face to mine, gently touching my lips with his own. When I didn’t resist, his lips moved over mine, his tongue gliding back and forth over the seam between my lips before nipping them lightly with his teeth.

  With a groan I opened my mouth for a deep kiss that left us both breathless. My body melted with liquid heat, my nipples tightening and the wetness of my arousal leaking onto my inner thighs. Arousal I could smell, which meant he could smell how much I enjoyed the way he was devouring my mouth with his.

  His kissed his way down my body, stopping at my breasts and sucking a nipple deep; I moaned and arched my back as his tongue worked my nipple against the roof of his mouth. Intense pleasure radiated from my nipple straight to my clit. I whimpered as he released my nipple with a loud pop as it sprang from between his lips. He gave the other nipple the same treatment as I writhed beneath him like a wild thing.

  I could feel the wetness seeping from between my thighs.

  Then he slid down my body and took my throbbing clit in his mouth. Warning bells rang in my brain as I registered that I wasn’t ready for this or for the reality of Connor. He would see this as a surrender, which it was definitely not. I whimpered and started to pull away.

  “It’s okay. I won’t take this to mean you accept me as your mate, just let me have a taste,” he whispered softly as he took me back into his mouth and slid two fingers deep inside my hungry channel.

  I found I couldn’t deny him or the pleasure he was giving me; my legs fell wide open as I pressed up to meet his marauding fingers and he worried my clit with his lips and tongue. I gasped when he stretched me wide with his fingers and began to tongue the opening of my body firmly, his thumb rubbing circles on my clit.

  My thighs began to quiver as I built toward orgasm; he held me tight when I would have pulled away from the intensity of the pleasure and continued working his tongue in and out of me. His fingers played across my clit, then pinched it hard.

  “Connor!” I came with a strangled scream, bucking my hips up and grinding into his face. He lapped lightly at my core as I came down from the orgasm, catching every last drop of my release.

  Suddenly it seemed imperative to get some distance from Connor and the need he awoke inside me. I wasn’t ready for this at all.

  I broke away, rolling from under him and up to my feet in almost one motion. To give him credit, he didn’t try to hold me, recognizing the no trespassing sign I put up for what it was.

  Once on my feet, it took only a moment to register that I was standing outside my cottage as naked as a jaybird. Heat rose high in my face as I lithely jumped to the porch and hurried inside without giving Connor another glance.

  * * *

  Safe in my bedroom, I sat on the floor in front of the full-length mirror and practiced changing into a wolf. It was surprisingly easy.

  One minute I was there and poof, a shimmer and a second later a silvery gray wolf stared into the mirror with golden eyes. The wolf blinked and then shimmered back into me.

  All the pain previously associated with the change was gone; a gleeful laugh escaped me as I changed again.

  I was sitting there concentrating on changing one feature at a time when Epenie walked in with Dizabell in her arms.

  “E!” I jumped up to hug her, but she took a step back and reminded me that I was naked.

  Laughing, I pulled on my robe. “Sorry, I was so excited to see you, I forgot.” Dizabell yipped and twisted in Epenie’s arms until she sat her on the floor.

  Dizzy was at my feet standing on her hind legs almost immediately, begging for a cuddle.

  Scooping her up, I buried my face in her soft fur. “I know, baby, I missed you too.”

  “What exactly were you doing when I came in?” Epenie asked curiously.

  “I was seeing if I could just change one body part at a time. Tera said that once you develop control you can partially change as much or as little as you want. That’s where the whole wolf-man thing comes from.”

  Epenie nodded thoughtfully. “That’s interesting, can I watch?”

  “Sure!” I was eager to experiment and Epenie could learn from watching as well. As I stripped off the robe again, I told her about my idea for a werewolf manual.

  “That’s not a bad idea, once I’m finished compiling data I can help you write it,” she said as she walked to sit down in the big easy chair resting in the corner of my room.

  “I knew you would help.” Before she could so much as blink, I transformed into my wolf and gave her a canine grin.

  Epenie sat forward eagerly to see better. “That was fantastic.”

  Dizzy plopped down on my front feet and rolled over on her back. I sniffed her, noticing that the other wolves had gotten their scents all over her.

  While I was glad they welcomed her, she was my dog and only my scent belonged on her; it seemed perfectly natural to pin her between my paws and give her a good bath.

  Dizzy submitted quite docilely to her impromptu bath, not even seeming to mind when I paid special attention to her ears. Once she was clean to my satisfaction, I rubbed my face and muzzle all over her body to coat her once again in my scent.

  I let Dizzy up and decided to go and see Epenie; she held up a hand to ward me off. “You don’t plan to do that to me, do you?”

  That was funny; I laughed, which in wolf just came out as a sort of snuffling snort.

  She grinned and reached out to pet the top of my head. “Wow, your fur is so soft; I can kind of see why wolves are so popular for their pelts.”

  I flattened my ears and growled at her.

  “Down, Cujo. You know good and well I wasn’t suggesting we use your pelt or anyone else’s for a coat. I just hadn’t realized how soft wolves were.”

  Satisfied with that statement, I sat still and let Epenie pet and stroke my fur to her heart’s content. When she was done, Epenie gave me a firm pat and sat back in her chair.

  “Now change back so we can see how good you are at that partial change thing.”

  My transition back to human form was almo
st seamless. “Isn’t this great?”

  “It’s fascinating. I asked Tuck to let me watch but he told me I wasn’t allowed to be alone with any other wolves but him.”

  “Then why didn’t he change for you?”

  “He said we weren’t at that point in our relationship yet,” she said flatly.

  “You have a relationship?” That was interesting news.

  Epenie scowled. “If by relationship you mean does he boss me around and try to control my every movement, I guess so.”

  “Do you like him?”

  She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. “I do, I like him a lot.”

  “But?”

  “I just don’t see how it could work long-term.”

  I frowned. “Why not?”

  “Look at him. Look at you for that matter and every other werewolf. You could all be poster children for Stepford. All of you are perfect. I’m just me.”

  “What you are is gorgeous and pretty great yourself!” I said firmly.

  “Let’s not worry about it until I know for sure he even wants me.”

  “But…”

  She held up a hand to halt my speech. “Enough of that for now, let’s see what you can do.”

  Topic apparently closed for discussion, I sat back down on the floor to experiment with my body-altering abilities.

  It worked! I found if I concentrated on my hand, first my fingers lengthened and broadened, then sharp dagger-like claws sprang from the ends of all my fingers.

  Stopping the process there, I held up my hand for Epenie to see.

  “That is wicked! You could really do some damage with that thing,” she said, studying my hand closely.

  As she held my hand, I shifted it back to its human form.

  “Ewwwww! Don’t do that again while I’m touching you! I could feel all the bones in your hand shifting and popping back into shape.”

  I laughed, “Sorry, I just wanted to see your reaction.”

  “Grossed out!”

  As the afternoon continued I found a partial shape between woman and wolf, in which I could still walk but looked more wolf than human. My face elongated with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and wolf ears poked out from beneath my long hair.

  My body was more wolf, with a powerfully built torso and big fully formed hands and feet still human in shape but tipped with lethal-looking claws.

  I was in that form when Tera walked in.

  “That is your best form for fighting,” she said matter-of-factly as she seated herself on the floor at Epenie’s feet. “You are almost as strong as the wolf but you still have the flexibility and dexterity of a human. Of course thumbs are pretty useful too.”

  Shifting back to my human form, I nodded. “Are you going to teach me to fight?”

  “In a few days, when you have completely mastered your new form.”

  “What’s left to master?”

  Tera laughed. “Quite a bit really. You have to get used to your new senses or you could become overwhelmed in the heat of battle and lose focus.”

  “I don’t feel like my senses are overwhelmed.”

  “You’re in a controlled environment. Out in the world, new scents and sounds bombard you. You have to be able to sense everything without being overwhelmed to truly be effective outside the community; effective and safe without one of us around.”

  “So basically you plan to keep me here indefinitely,” I said flatly.

  “No, just a little longer,” Tera said softly.

  Irritated, I stood and walked to my dresser, pulling out underwear and a short set. I was done with show and tell for the moment, reality having taken all the fun out of it.

  Once dressed complete with socks and shoes, I looked at Epenie and Tera. “I’m going for a walk. Will you watch Dizzy?”

  “Sure,” Epenie said, getting up from the chair and calling Dizzy as I walked out the front door.

  Tera didn’t try to stop me or give me any warnings about staying on the compound. I guess she knew I needed some space.

  As I walked, I began to get even more irritated by the highhanded way I was being treated. I wasn’t a child; I’d been on my own and able to make my own decisions for quite some time.

  I decided that I needed my car and some more things from my apartment. Why shouldn’t I go get them?

  With my new body I could be all the way to my apartment in less than an hour and I wasn’t going to ask the big kahuna for permission either.

  Thus decided, I made short work of leaping the compound wall and flew across the grounds of the surrounding neighborhood.

  When I came to the even higher wall surrounding the subdivision, I hesitated a moment, looking back toward the compound.

  “Why should I feel guilty?” I muttered the question to myself. They were keeping me prisoner, not the other way around.

  Taking a deep breath, I leapt for the top of the wall.

  “Alexandria!” Connor’s voice barked to me from where he stood at the base of the wall.

  I frowned down at him from the top of the wall. “I’m going to town to get some things from my apartment and I want my car.”

  “Now is not the time…”

  “Now is the perfect time. If I am going to learn to control my new senses I can’t stay in a bubble. That doesn’t make sense.” After stating my intentions. I jumped neatly from the wall to land lightly on the street that led away from Wolf Creek.

  Before I got more than a few steps, Connor was standing next to me. “I told you no.”

  I studied the tightness of his jaw; he was really trying hard not to just order me back to the compound. I appreciated the effort, but he needed to understand that I was never going to be able to follow orders blindly. “I wasn’t asking.”

  “In this pack and in my home, my word is law. You will obey me, young lady.” His tone was stern and while part of me wanted nothing more than to sink to my knees in front of him in submission, the other part of me wanted to rip his throat out for daring to try to put me on a leash.

  I growled low in my throat before I could even form a rational response.

  In an instant Connor was on one knee and I was over the other as his hand fell hard and fast on my upturned bottom.

  I yowled in response to the fierce sting; for a child’s punishment, this really hurt! “Stop this instant! You’ve no right to treat me this way!”

  In response he reached beneath me and unfastened my jeans, jerking both them and my panties to my knees in one smooth motion. I tried to hold on to my pants but even with my new strength I was no match for Connor. “Please, not on my bare bottom!” I wailed.

  “You’ve earned this by your defiant behavior, young lady! I’m only trying to keep you safe,” he said firmly as his hand began to fall on my bare backside.

  I quickly learned that my clothing had cushioned a lot more of the blows than I’d realized. In a matter of minutes after a quick barrage of spanks I was howling in a combination of outrage and pain.

  Connor ignored me and continued to pepper my bottom until I felt tears springing to my eyes; the intense burning heat in my bottom seemed to grow to epic proportions with each new swat. My shoulders slumped in submission; not defeat, but I was definitely conceding this particular skirmish.

  My submission must have been all he was waiting on because as soon as my shoulders slumped, the spanking ended and he flipped me upright to sit rather gingerly on his knee.

  I sniffed and tried to hide my wet face in his shirtfront, but Connor forced my face up to his by placing a finger firmly beneath my chin.

  “I didn’t want to have to spank you so soon in our relationship, Xandie, but you will obey me, especially where your safety is concerned.”

  I felt my back stiffen once more and I glared into his eyes. “So anytime I don’t agree with you, I can expect to be beaten? You make mating sound so very attractive.”

  “Xandie, I didn’t beat you and you know it. Life in a pack has a definite pecking order and I’m at the top of
the heap. My pack and my mate all follow my orders. There is room to question but it should always be respectfully. I’m an alpha and I won’t tolerate anything less, and yes, mate, I will spank you if you disobey me. Next time, however, this spanking will seem like child’s play. I went easy on you because this was your first taste of discipline,” he told me, never releasing my eyes from his hypnotic gaze.

  “This is barbaric! I feel like a prisoner,” I whispered softly. It was strange to feel so comforted by his embrace yet be so angry with him and the whole situation. I was glad he was ignoring the scent of arousal surely telling him I wasn’t as opposed to his discipline as I was saying I was. Shaking my head with a shuddering sigh, I realized I wasn’t quite ready to take any of this out of its box and examine it. It was better saved for another day.

  Connor’s features softened and he sighed, “If this is that important to you, I’ll take you.”

  He gently lifted me to my feet and righted my clothing for me. I winced as my pants came up over my tender bottom.

  As I watched, he turned to the gate guard and ordered his car brought around. It seemed only a matter of minutes before we were in his Ford Explorer and headed into the city.

  “This is against my better judgment,” he said, breaking the silence.

  “I won’t be kept prisoner, Connor.” I frowned at him as I shifted in the seat trying to find a more comfortable position for my still burning behind.

  “I have no desire to keep you prisoner, I just want you safe,” he said with an unbending tone.

  “You can’t be with me every moment of every day. The sooner I learn to use my new senses, the sooner I can be trained to defend myself and the rest of the pack,” I reasoned.

  He growled under his breath, “You shouldn’t have to defend yourself or anyone else. It’s my job to keep you safe. You’re my…”

  “Please don’t say it.” I held up a hand to emphasize my words. “If it ever has a chance of working between us, it has to be given room to develop normally. Like a normal couple, we may have met under extraordinary circumstances but does that mean we can’t date and get to know each other before we commit to anything?”