Sweet Submission

by Desiree Gelsi

  She rashly turned on her heel, running back towards the house. She gritted her teeth when several of the dark shapes bolted past her. More howling filled the air around her. They were communicating to one another. She wasn't too concerned about the Beta's. They wouldn't hurt her, that wasn't their job. All they would do was hang onto her until Sasha got there.

  She was already mapping out a strategy in her head for when she reached the house. She was agile enough that she should be able to slip away from the Betas. She needed to get back into the room, lock herself in just long enough to let Sasha cool down from how angry he would be with her.

  The moonlight struck like daylight when she ran out from under the trees. She was out of breath and had to put on the brakes in a hurry if she didn't want to run right into Sasha's men. Four of them were waiting for her. They were hanging on the steps, casually dressed in their jeans and looking like they had been waiting for hours. She swallowed breathily, throwing her glare at Micah.

  He smiled, “what the hell took you so long, slowpoke?"

  She clenched her teeth, “tattletale,” she snarled.

  Micah shook his head, “why don't you just listen to us, Kita? You know you're not supposed to be out in the woods alone."

  She ran her tongue along her teeth, reminding him of the bite she had given him a week ago.

  He scowled and pointed his finger at her, “stay the hell away from me, you goddamn cannibal.” He rubbed his arm as if the memory alone had caused him to hurt again, “I mean it, no biting!"

  She gasped as an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward. Her eyes darted upward. Sasha glanced down at her, he was not happy. Her heart lurched. He tugged her past Micah up the stairs and she fought against his hold. Her right arm tore free and she lashed violently out at Micah, squeezing her thumb and index finger together to pinch his exposed chest fiercely.

  "Tattletale,” she hissed at him.

  "Ouch!” he screeched when she clamped down on him, “Sasha why can't you do something about her!"

  Sasha rolled his eyes, desperately trying to get Kita to release her hold on the man, “Kita, stop it!"

  She pulled back, taking Micah's skin with her, “you don't know what you've done.” Her voice was strained, and hurt flashed in her eyes.

  He started to drop to his knees, pain knifing through his flesh.

  "Kita,” a voice whispered in her ear, it was hot, thick, filled with danger, “let him go or I'm going to shift and bite you..."

  Immediately she released her hold on Micah. If he bit her as a werewolf there was no turning back.

  She yelped as he grabbed her through the doorway, pulling her with him until she was drug into the bedroom. He stood in the doorway, staring at her with a mixture of cold confusion and compassion. He shook his head.

  "Don't move. I'm going to check on Micah and I'm coming right back.” He glanced back at her before leaving, “and yes, you will be punished for this."

  Her blood rushed through her veins in panic. She had to leave. Sasha didn't understand. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, Ramsey wouldn't wait much longer. He would be plotting, maybe even getting support, ready to start hunting again.

  She paced anxiously. The minutes ticked by and she impatiently went to the door. She opened it, whirling back around when Sasha was there to meet her. He followed her into the room, angrily slamming the door shut behind him.

  "What were you doing, Kita?” he insisted, staring at her earnestly.

  She walked to the bed, “I have to leave here, Sasha, I can't stay.” She looked back at him. His jaw jerked angrily and his fists tightened.

  He didn't respond. He was too angry to speak. Any words that fell from his mouth would be said in anger, and he didn't want to say something that he would regret.

  "He'll kill you, you know.” Kita whispered, “you don't know how ruthless he can be."

  Sasha closed his eyes, trying to diffuse his temper, “He won't kill me, and I don't care how ruthless he is."

  She glared at him, “You should. You're putting your whole pack in danger because of me!"

  His eyes snapped open to look at her.

  She tensed. She had gone too far, “I'm not worth their lives, Sasha.” She said lowly.

  She couldn't read his expression. He just kept staring at her, soaking in her words. Finally he took a deep breath, and he moved away from the door.

  "Okay, Kita, tell me what you're worth.” He felt his gut tighten, “you say you're not worth the lives of my pack mates, but clearly you have a price according to Ramsey. Tell me what that is. Tell me about the deal that your pretty lips have sealed."

  She swallowed uneasily, feeling his shadow drop over her as he paced beside the fireplace, “my father's favorite saying is ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ You know how political he is. He's always looking for new allies ... future enemies. The were-cats are such a rare race, that he never acknowledged them as a threat ... or even acknowledged their existence for that matter. But while he's been overlooking them they've been building, growing their empire. Suddenly they were just there, and he couldn't overlook them."

  She sighed, playing absently with the hairs on the blankets, “anyway, being the conspirator he is, he starts thinking to himself, ‘hey, these guys could be really dangerous. They're all claws and teeth when they shift.’ He wanted them close, you don't keep someone that dangerous to you out of reach, and he knew it.

  "He had this master plan, to create an alliance between werewolves and were-cats that would ‘live on through generations and strengthen our place in a society run by humans'. They made a pact, but the Puman King, Dashadow—that's the were-cat ruler—he still didn't quite trust my father. He wanted something more to cement the deal, a permanent link to the two shifting species. It just happened that he had an unwed son who was preparing to take over his throne, and how convenient that my father had a daughter.” She tightened her jaw, feeling renewed rage, “Son of a bitch sacrificed his daughter's happiness for a goddamn treaty, a filthy piece of paper."

  Tears moistened her eyes, “I don't love Ramsey, and he doesn't love me. I'll be expected to be the obedient mate, the one on his arm in public, while privately he enjoys his many mistresses, breeding and fornicating with them while I accept it as his privilege. I can't breed with Ramsey, and I'll never know what it's like to be a mother. I'll never live in a pack, surrounded by friends and family.” She swiped at an errant tear that slid down her cheek and mocked a smile while pretending to be happy for a moment, “at least my father will get some good out of this. Not only does he get the agreement he's been seeking, but he made Ramsey pay him five hundred grand for me to show honorable intent."

  She raised her jaw and looked defiantly at Sasha, as if there were no tears in her eyes, “so there you go, Sasha. I'm worth five hundred grand. I'm worth as much as a nice house, an expensive car, a race horse, if you're into that sort of thing. I won't buy you a mansion though, and I won't buy you a sports team.” She chuckled offhandedly, trying to mask her pain.

  Sasha saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes, the dampness on her cheeks, and he sat down beside her. Suddenly she seemed so vulnerable, and he wanted to hold her close, to dry her tears and make her safer than she had ever been.

  "Stay with me and I won't let any one hurt you, Kita.” he assured her as he stroked her side.

  Suddenly she swung to face him, annoyance flaming briefly in her gaze, “that's what infuriates me about you, Sasha. You have everything here that I would ever want. You have a family that loves you, that relies on you. You can mate with whomever you so choose and you'll be a wonderful father. And yet you endanger it all because of me ... a stranger.” Her voice softened, “What you have here is priceless. I'm only worth a piece of paper and five hundred grand."

  He leaned over, pulling her in closer to him until his lips were able to press firmly against her throat. She arched her neck, welcoming his affection as he stood to his feet. H
e pressed her back onto the bed, climbing over her as he continued to let his mouth soothe her.

  "You're worth more than you know, pretty baby,” he whispered against her skin.

  She opened her mouth to object, but he covered her lips with his before the words were able to steal out. If he couldn't tell her how much she meant to him, he would show her. He would make love to her for hours. He would give her pleasure after pleasure until she lay spent in his arms. He would make her never want to leave.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kita dreamily opened her eyes. She nestled back into Sasha's strong arms, thinking to herself that she could lay like this for the rest of her life. She rested her head on his broad chest, feeling the soft rise of a scar beneath her cheek. She sighed. He was so very masculine. He felt strong against her, and it made her feel secure, safe from the outside world.

  She glanced up at him. He was still sleeping, unconsciously rubbing her arm with the pad of his thumb. She kissed his chest tenderly, inhaling his warm manly scent against her. He smelled like an earthy mixture of pine and smoke, combined with the lingering smell of their lovemaking. She smiled, letting her teeth graze his nipple. He had made love to her all night long, they had only fallen asleep a couple of hours ago.

  Aching burned in her stomach abruptly. She couldn't keep doing this. She was putting him and everything that he held sacred in danger. She felt sick. Why did she always let him convince her to stay when she knew she had to leave?

  She was starting to care about him, and that was dangerous. She would let her guard down around him. She would let her guard down, period. And that would get them both killed by Ramsey.

  Ramsey, she could just imagine his infuriation growing from across the river. He would be stewing in his resentment, growing more impatient and deadlier with every passing day. She rubbed her temple and rolled away from Sasha. Her head was beginning to throb. She had no choice. No matter how badly she may have wanted to she just couldn't stay here.

  Kita climbed over Sasha, dropping softly onto the floor. She moved to grab her clothes, but her right arm was held solid. She glanced over her shoulder. Sasha was watching her intently as he kept a hold of her.

  "Where do you think you're going?” he asked inquisitively.

  She smiled halfheartedly and looked away, “I'm getting dressed,” she sucked in a breath, “and then I'm leaving."

  "Excuse me?” He snapped, “where do you plan on going exactly?"

  She sighed, “come on, Sasha, we both know that I can't stay here. The longer that I'm here the more chance there is that someone else is going to get hurt.” She tried to pull her arm way, “I don't want anyone hurt because of me, and neither do you."

  His grip on her arm tightened, “if someone gets hurt it's because of Ramsey, not you."

  "You know damn well that I'm the reason Ramsey is here in the first place, Sash,” she groaned and pulled away from him, “now let me go, I mean it."

  "I can't do that, Kita, if I let you walk out that door I'll never see you again.” He felt sick just to say those words. He finally found a woman that could make him feel more than he ever had before, and yet, he felt as if her hand was always on the door, ready to leave him.

  Kita's head was pounding now, “oh for god's sake, Sash, how long do you really think this will last? We—"

  "We what?” Sasha challenged.

  She glared at him, forcefully tearing her arm from his grasp, “we had sex, and it was really good, and...” She softened, “and I'll never forget about you, Sasha. But sex isn't worth dying for."

  He watched her as she started to dress. Sudden anger burned in his belly.

  "Is that all that was to you?” he questioned incredulously, “it was just sex?"

  Kita closed her eyes, “no, that's not all it was to me. But I'm not going to pretend that this will last forever, either.” She rubbed the sides of her pounding head, “Ramsey won't stop until he has me. He paid too much for me to just let me go like this."

  Sasha stood and grabbed his jeans, “he's going to stop tonight, because I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."

  She whirled round to face him, “no, you're not. Did you forget that Ramsey is a Puman prince, the heir to the were-cat throne? What, do you want a whole mess of cats down here?” She pushed him away belligerently when he stepped towards her, “Not to mention my father. If Ramsey is dead his little agreement is off, and my father doesn't take kindly to losing what he wants."

  Red heat burned beneath Sasha's skin when she pushed him away from her. His fists clenched. He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her.

  "So what is your plan, Kita? Are you just going to keep running from him?” His jaw jerked as he tried to temper the rage that ran through him at this instant, “or are you going to go to him and marry him, after everything that he's done?"

  Kita pulled her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth to keep it from quivering. She didn't know what she was going to do.

  "Kita,” Sasha stepped towards her and there was resentment in his voice, “he killed four of my pack mates. He is my greatest enemy right now. If you marry him you will become my enemy, too."

  She glared at him, and her heart began to pound as hard as the thudding in her head, “then I become your enemy. I would rather have you hate me for the rest of your life than know that you died because of me."

  "I'm not going to die, Kita.” He reassured her as he pulled her close to him, “I'm always going to be here to protect you. And as for your father, we have something in common."

  She looked up at him defiantly, “what's that, you're both Alpha males with a need to dominate and control?"

  He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her closer into him as his anger ebbed away, soothed by her nearness, “besides that, sweetheart,” he teased as he kissed her forehead and brought his hands up to gently massage her aching temples, “we both know what we want and we'll stop at nothing to get it."

  She almost melted into him all over again, and had to fight for every last inch of her resolve, “Sasha, why do you have to make this so hard on me?"

  "It's only fair. After all, you make everything hard on me.” He smiled puckishly.

  Kita stifled her amusement, trying to remain serious. She could feel what he was implying through his jeans. He was the most sexually charged man that she had ever met. She shook her head and leaned into his chest.

  "I should be scared to death of you, you know,” she whispered against him.

  He pulled away, confusion flashing in his eyes.

  "You killed your own brother ... you're Sasha Lucien, the underworlds most feared and notorious werewolf. I remember hearing stories about you.” She looked away, throwing her eyes at the wall before bringing them back at him, “you know, if I had known who you were before I came here, I never would have crossed into your territory. I would have rather gone with Ramsey than risk running into you."

  He frowned, “I'm not that scary."

  She bit the edge of her lip, “oh yes you are. You might not know it, but your family is probably better known than mine."

  She nodded thoughtfully, “the Lucien brothers, the eye-commanders, everyone fears you. You were born and bred to fight, and your power goes deeper than just muscle and flesh. While the rest of us were becoming domesticated and more human, you were staying wild ... barbaric, my father once said."

  "The Lucien brothers...” Sasha replied ruefully.

  She looked down. She didn't ask why he had killed one of his brothers. It was none of her business, and after she left here this would all be a memory. She looked back up at him.

  "I heard about you brother, Ivan, and how he supposedly killed a woman that was going to be his mate. Is that true?"

  "Yes ... but he had his reasons.” He smiled warmly at her, “he has a mate now, and her name is Ricky."

  Kita watched him as he said the name. He looked like he was off in another world, another place in time as he thought to himself.


  Unconsciously he pulled her to him, “he loves her more than life itself. He'd live and die for her. She's pregnant now, too.” His eyes were suddenly back in the moment and focused solely on her, “if you think I'm scary you should see him around her. He gets very protective ... a bit possessive, too."

  She smirked, “that must be a family trait."

  He cocked his head in puzzlement, “what's that mean?"

  "Sasha, you're keeping me here even when you know that I can't stay. If that's not being possessive then I don't know what is."

  "I can't let you leave, Kita,” he was serious and pained, “you don't understand."

  She sighed impatiently, “you're the one who doesn't understand."

  He opened his mouth to speak, but a distant sound made them both go silent. He scowled, and his eyes shifted across the room uneasily.

  "Sasha, what was that?” There was a tremor in Kita's voice.

  He blinked, “it sounded like a gunshot."

  Kita felt ill again. Her heart bombed into her gut like a lead weight, sending a rush of dread up into her throat. She knew where the shot had come from. There was only one place it could have come from. She hit something hard, suddenly realizing that she had unconsciously backed herself into the wall.

  "Stay here, I'll be right back."

  She watched helplessly as Sasha left the room. Vertigo swept over her and she reeled. Slowly she sank down to her knees against the wall, desperately trying to get her mind straight. Confusion swirled around her like an angry wasp. She closed her eyes, settling her mind as voices rang throughout the house.

  Blindly she shifted over to the door, leaning against it to better hear the words. The first voice she heard was Sasha's.

  * * * *

  "Oh, shit! Micah, what the hell happened?” Sasha cried when he reached his companion.

  "He shot me, the motherfucker shot me! That goddamn hunter put a bullet in me!"

  "What were you doing out there, Micah?” Sasha asked impatiently.