Alliance: an Alpha Shifter Romance (Mated in Hell Trilogy Book 1)

by K. de Long

  Crack.

  Again, his palm lashed against her ass. His hand stung from the force of it, but he quite welcomed the heat. No doubt her ass felt the same, blood rushing into the area to turn sharp pain to a pleasurable tingle.

  She rocked back on her heels, an almost imperceptible moan leaving her. He wanted to lean close enough to drink the sound in as it left her lips.

  After weeks of tiptoeing around her, it was cathartic to watch her react, watch her take the pain in and turn it into pleasure. It gave him hope. After all, how could she ever accept him if she couldn’t accept herself or the inevitability of their situation?

  He’d always been of the opinion that pain had to have purpose. One only wrenched a broken bone to set it. They were wrenching hard now, trying to shift the framework of their life together into something that wouldn’t hamstring the both of them.

  “It’s not about the punishment or the pain, pet. It’s about what you do with it.”

  Chapter 19

  Tessa tried to lock her legs to stop her knees from shaking. As Marrock rained stinging slap after stinging slap on her exposed ass, his words replayed in her head. She hadn’t meant for him to do any of this, but she didn’t want to put a stop to it either. Her ass was on fire, but as the pain from each blow faded, she was left with something completely different: release.

  She didn’t have to worry about how or why he would punish her, or what would happen when his patience ran out. She didn’t have to think, or plan, or defend. Only withstand.

  It was this moment that made her realize the irrationality of her fear. She’d been to battle. She’d sparred with some of the best, some of the strongest. Pain was no stranger to her, and certainly nothing that would break her.

  It was her spirit she was afraid of being broken. Submission that she feared—not Marrock or his punishments.

  Somehow, each painful slap was driving home a lesson that she didn’t think she could have believed if he’d said it any other way: she could take this. It wasn’t something she had to fear.

  She’d built him up in her mind as someone whose power rendered him untrustworthy. Not someone who’d listen to and respect a safe word, but otherwise bring every tough-as-nails inch of himself to bear on making her worst fears happen just to see her through to the other side.

  With every nerve humming and alive, awaiting either caress or strike, she was at peace, in a way that she hadn’t been since she first took her mother down and ascended to pack alpha. Just one more thing she hadn’t known to expect from Marrock.

  She flinched as a particularly hard blow inflamed nerves already tested to their breaking point. Marrock would snap her into tiny pieces and make her say “thank you” as she struggled to reassemble herself.

  This was what she’d wanted from him—she just hadn’t known it. She just hadn’t wanted to admit that she had this side to her, or that he could be the one to bring it out in her. But choosing to submit to him was strangely empowering and freeing all at once.

  He paused, his eyes fixed to her face. She knew she should be embarrassed at the scrutiny—to like that was something that would have ordinarily said bad things about her ability to lead and her efforts to be respected. But there was no judgment in his face, only a sly smile and an intensity that made her think he’d enjoyed disciplining her as much as she’d come to enjoy it.

  His fingers slid through her hair and clenched to a fist. He pulled her up from the bed and into his arms. She clung to his neck for balance as she followed his unspoken command and kissed him. His clothes rustled against her bare skin, eliciting shivers of pleasure.

  He crushed her in his arms, his immovably hard body against hers. One of his hands drifted to cup her ass, and the sensitized, reddened flesh protested at every infinitesimal movement and hint of force. She liked the reminder of what he’d done, even if she couldn’t take more of the pain.

  He nipped her lip, and she moaned. His kisses had frightened her because of his take-no-prisoners approach. But now, she could only fantasize about all of the other things he promised with it.

  She was in trouble. Bad. But she couldn’t resist the promise of his tongue in her mouth, his hand cupping the back of her head to keep her close, right where he wanted her.

  Marrock released her with a little growl, only to jerk her back down to the mattress where she’d just been. Without fear, she braced herself for him. Fabric rustled as his pants fell to the floor, and he positioned himself behind her. She gasped as the head of his cock slid against her folds, lubricated with her own arousal.

  Her tender skin was awake to every sensation, from his thighs brushing against the back of hers, to the way the length of his shaft separated her petals. God, she wanted him. His fingers bit into her hips as he sank into her. At least he was kind about it and went slow, allowing her body to adjust to the size of him. He stretched her in all the right ways, his whole body existing as some strange, hellbound fantasy she should have hated herself for indulging.

  Her hair knotted around his fingers, and as he started moving, her scalp prickled with the tug of his hand. Somehow, even when Marrock caused her pain, he made it feel good, made it feel like the forbidden fruit. A startled moan escaped her lips, and his cock flexed inside her. A little smile quirked at the edge of her lips, to have that much power over him. Somehow, it seemed they might find more even footing with each other, so long as they both held that power over their mutual pleasure.

  He sped up, his flesh slapping lightly against hers, and all thoughts of the future escaped her. There was only here, now, with him inside her, and her begging for more.

  “Fuck,” she gasped, her nails biting into her palms as she pushed her weight back into him. It felt as though he might split her in half without mercy. She’d love it if he did. Her wolf howled in approval, and she hardly managed to prevent its cry from leaving her lips. That would be just too embarrassing.

  His arm wrapped around her, dragging her upright to meet him. And blinding pain roared through her as he bit her shoulder. His breath tickled her skin with his moan, and she smiled to hear a little of his own beast baying in triumph in the quiet growl.

  His grip on her pressed her breasts against his forearm, flattening her nipples. She liked the way his skin looked against hers, the way their flesh blended together into one vehicle of release and torment. She transferred her grip to the pole at the corner of his four-poster bedframe, to keep herself upright. His lips brushed against her neck lightly, so lightly, and her eyes drifted shut.

  “Fuck, Tessa,” he echoed right back, his fingers tightening on her skin. There’d be bruises in the morning, or at the very least additions to the ones caused by her practice, but she found herself looking forward to seeing his fingerprints on her. “You’re so tight, so perfect.”

  A flush of pride swelled in her. Among his tribe of fierce predators, and lithe hunters, she was who he’d called perfect. At least in this, she could rest easy, knowing her body’s power to please him.

  His cock inside her filled a need she hadn’t known she had, whipping her into a fury of emotion and desire. His hand slid between her legs to stroke her aching button, and within three tight flicks, the wave of lust broke over her head, dragging her under. She screamed for him, her wolf’s voice blending with her own.

  And as her body tightened around him, his wolf bayed for her, too. The primal cry that left him shot through her body like a dose of absinthe. His cock flexed, hitting a tender spot so deep that her body began milking him all over again. His teeth found her shoulder again, nipping her possessively. Stars danced in her vision as she came, limp in his arms, relying on him to hold her upright.

  Marrock pulled back just far enough to guide her arms away from the pole and to his neck. Her heart raced, her whole body stirring with afterglow and renewed lust. He carried her to his bed, and draped her across the covers.

  She slept there, in his arms, with his seed between her legs, and his marks on her flesh.

  Cl
aimed. His.

  Liam cast one last glance at Tessa’s hair strewn over his pillow. She was still sound asleep, her arm over her face and her body utterly relaxed. He wished he could kiss her, wake her up, and pull her into an encore of last night.

  Her body was pure heaven, and he could only imagine how much better it would get once he had time and concentration to truly explore and enjoy her. He wanted to taste her arousal, to feel her walls tightening around his fingers. To see her face when she came, not just the back of her head and her breasts pressed against his arm to the point of cleaving sensually.

  But that would come later. He needed to make that meeting up with Ryker.

  He smoothed her hair away from her face, relishing her silky skin under his fingertips. His instincts said they were through the worst of their friction, but he couldn’t help but worry whether he was wrong, whether this would be his last chance to touch the fierce woman who’d gradually come around to him.

  He hoped not. She was still his mate, after all. And if she backed away, or lashed out again, he knew she could take it when he forcefully pulled her closer again. They would work this out, one way or another. He just hoped that if she woke up, it might make the conversation easier.

  But she slept. And his anxiety, his dread over what might go wrong, gave way to warmth for her. No matter what, he’d be the one to make her look that peaceful. He’d be the one she’d submit to. The one she would trust and expose herself to.

  He snuck glances at her as he pulled on his pants, a T-shirt, and shoes. The noise didn’t make her so much as roll over.

  He ran his hand up her side one last time, then slipped away, shutting his front door quietly.

  Ryker met him near the quartermaster’s warehouse. “Missed you last night, M.”

  “Personal business,” he said, trusting the man not to dig deeper. Ryker wasn’t one to gossip.

  “Lacroix? Good. You’ve got some heads to stomp.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Gunner and Knox have been talking shit. Saying that you’ve been out-manned by an outsider woman. That you’re weak. That you’re no longer capable of running the pack, because she’s gonna run it for you.”

  “People talk shit. Who cares?” But Liam wasn’t that oblivious. That kind of talk could make or break a leader. And it had been all but inevitable after their very public blow-up. He’d hoped that Knox would shut the fuck up, thanks to the beating Liam had handed him, but apparently the man had more balls than brains.

  “It’s not just talk,” Ryker said, a warning to his tone. “He’s got about a dozen of the yearlings riled up, ready to deflect.”

  “Where’d you hear that?”

  Ryker cocked his head. “I’ve got a cousin who’s close to one of them. The idiot was dumb enough to say his goodbyes. They’re planning to take off tonight, since half of them are on sentry duty. It’s gonna be a rebellion—”

  “Then we stop them now.” Liam sighed. “It’s not a full moon, so the dueling grounds aren’t really an option, but we’ll go there for simplicity’s sake. Tell the pack to meet us there, but tell them nothing. If anyone presses you, make something up. I don’t care. Tell them it’s to punish Tessa or something, if that’ll get those traitors there, unsuspecting.”

  He felt a little stab at the idea of scapegoating her, even for the time it would take for him to get it sorted out.

  “Should I smuggle some absinthe out of the stores?” Ryker asked. “Since it’s not the full moon for a traditional, natural change for the fight.”

  Liam grimaced. “No. We need to nip this in the bud. If I do that, there will be some who complain about me abusing my access. And there will be some who speculate that I had to to avoid defeat.”

  Ryker caught on with a cocky grin. “But if you do it bare-handed, they’ll look at you like a goddamn monster, a force of god.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And you’re sure you can...” Ryker trailed off.

  “It’s gonna get ugly, don’t get me wrong. But there’s not a pup in that bunch who can take me. Anything else?”

  Liam wanted to be alone, wanted to rile his wolf for the fight ahead. Even without its shape, he’d need its ferocity to teach these turncoats, and any other potential ones, that he was someone to be reckoned with.

  “No,” Ryker said with a grin. “Make ‘em bleed.”

  “That’s what I plan to do.”

  Chapter 20

  Tessa shivered at the memory of Marrock’s hands on her. He’d been right about one thing: she hadn’t known fuckall about him before last night. She still didn’t. She just knew there were a plethora more sides to him than he showed to most people.

  He’d owned her. Broken her defiance, forced her to submit. And she’d…liked it. In a way. It had taken the brunt of her emotions off her; she no longer had to be an agent of her own frustration, fighting, knowing she would lose and hating herself for it. She wasn’t sure she was okay with that side of herself, but she knew she had to struggle to find something better than how she had been handling all of her internal strife.

  He was right. Defying his leadership on principle wasn’t doing her or their alliance any good. Whether or not their attraction grew into an honest affection was irrelevant. She had to trust him as a leader, even if she couldn’t trust him as a partner. But he’d already done a lot to make her think she could trust him as her partner. Last night...

  She’d had the safe word the whole time. She hadn’t been forced into what they did by anything other than her own sheer stubbornness. Maybe it wasn’t him she’d been striving to know, but herself.

  His home seemed full of potential, no longer a prison or a punishment. She wanted to go see if anyone was training or if there were any classes she could join, but she couldn’t until she showered Marrock’s scent off her. It would just be rude otherwise, not knowing whose senses were enhanced enough to pick up on the scent of their tryst.

  She took stock of the bruises and teeth marks as she cleaned herself. They weren’t too bad, though she knew they’d be worse in a day or two. Either way, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Plenty of people’s tempers ran high when they were making love. No one with a lick of sense would tease her for it.

  A knock on the door cut into her thoughts. She raised an eyebrow and wrapped a blanket around her to go answer it. She opened the door just a crack to see a man she vaguely recognized, but whose name she didn’t know, and the Nefari hunter from the training session, Eve.

  “Yes? Marrock’s not in.”

  “I know. M’s…occupied.” The man looked away from the exposed skin above her blanket. She turned away and undid the wrap, shuffling it up her shoulders and rewrapping it to cover her completely. The man grinned, a little more at his ease. “There’s a pack meeting on the dueling grounds. Since this is your first time there, I’m to bring you. Marrock’s request.”

  “And I thought you were gonna get real tired of his dour face and could use some company,” Eve said with a shrug.

  Tessa sighed. She didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like an ill omen. “Come in, then. I’ll just slip away to get dressed. Is everything okay?”

  “I can’t say more, ma’am. But I wouldn’t worry.”

  Tessa wracked her brain for any discussions she’d overheard on the Nefari’s dueling grounds. She’d heard they dealt with a host of disagreements there, from child custody discussions, to theft, to petty crimes. But only on a full moon. For it to be at the wrong time, it had to be a pack matter of extreme importance.

  Her shoulders straightened as the obvious hit her.

  Her. It involved her. She couldn’t think of any other occasion that would merit it. Marrock had said he wouldn’t punish her for her insubordination, but perhaps he’d changed his mind.

  No, he wouldn’t do that, she thought, but almost choked on it. She knew damn well he would, if his pack demanded it. He was a leader first, a lover second. She couldn’t let herself forget that simply be
cause they’d consummated their mating-bond.

  She slipped her most comfortable clothes on, hardly feeling the fabric closing around flesh so recently brought to life by Marrock’s touch. After a moment’s hesitation, she placed her hunting knife at the small of her back.

  At least this way, she was prepared, if Marrock had decided to turn on her.

  The dueling ground was a clearing with the earth tamped to dust and grassy knolls surrounding it for spectators to sit. And almost every available bit of space was taken up by whispering, glaring bodies. Ryker had done well and galvanized every member of the Nefari not already on the hunt to bear witness.

  Tessa sat near Quentin and Eve, looking uneasy. What had the man told her, to get her here? He wanted to press his thumb against the crease in her brow until it flattened out to neutrality. But he didn’t dare risk getting distracted before the fight.

  The crowd was still getting settled, so he had a few minutes. If he walked over to Tessa, the traitors might get suspicious, realizing that they’d been lured here with the promise of her blood soaking into the dirt. As much as he wanted to comfort her, to promise that this was little to do with her, there’d be time for that later. And he couldn’t be much comfort now. He wanted to have faith in their new understanding, and some of that meant not going out of his way to blame her…but if she hadn’t pushed back so hard against him, these mongrels might simply be whispering behind his back, not planning to fragment his pack.

  He stretched listlessly as a quiet fell over the gathered group.

  “Friends, family, pack. I bring you here today to talk of unity and solidarity. I bring you here to witness what becomes of those who sow disorder and discontent.”

  Tessa swallowed, her face going gray. Eve gripped her arm and leaned close to whisper into Tessa’s ear, but he couldn’t tell whether the woman was comforting Tessa or preemptively becoming her guard dog. Eve was a good sort—not the type to cause problems. She’d stay near Tessa and prevent her from running—and prevent anyone else from touching her.