by Sam Crescent
Chapter Two
Cade kept David by his side while he partnered Titania with Misty. He respected her for trying to protect her friend even though she shouldn’t have to protect David. After he’d slammed David to the ground enough times to take his anger out on the other man, Cade let one of the weaker wolves take care of him. He did the rounds, watching the way the wolves trained. Several of them were showing a knack for training. They may survive the rogues and remainder of the hostile Eagle pack yet.
Standing beside his alpha, Cade felt pride fill him at having his pack around him. Their progress meant everything to him.
“This is going better than I anticipated,” Micah said. He sat with Charlotte in his lap. His alpha could rarely keep his hands to himself.
“Misty is hurting Titania,” Charlotte said.
“That’s the point, baby.”
“I don’t like it. I know you don’t think she’s worth your time but Titania protected me against Brandon. She shouldn’t be fighting with Misty.”
“Would you have her vulnerable, Charlotte? Titania is weak and she needs to learn how to fight. Her victory over Brandon was pure luck. There was no skill from her.” Cade watched over the men and women, making sure he didn’t look near Titania. If he saw Misty hurting her, Cade didn’t know what he’d do.
It’s for her own good.
“I don’t want her to be vulnerable. It’s cruelty to put her against Misty. That woman is nasty, cruel and is using any excuse to hurt my friend.” Charlotte winced once again. The desire to turn around and face his woman was strong. Cade fought the battle to look. He stared at his alpha and his queen instead.
“Cade knows what he’s doing. Let him do it,” Micah said.
He opened his mouth to talk at the same time as a crack followed by an ear-piercing scream filled the air. Turning toward his men, he saw Titania on her knees, tears streaming down her face with Misty holding her hand at an odd angle.
Cade watched the other woman apply more pressure and the ear-piercing scream came again, only this time it came with gut-wrenching sobs.
“Stop, please,” Titania said, begging.
Charlotte jumped from Micah’s lap and was on her way over. Cade moved ahead. He tore Misty away from Titania.
“I gave no order to hurt or injure. What the hell were you doing?” he asked. It was taking every ounce of willpower not to hurt the woman in front of him.
“I was teaching the fat bitch what it was like to be in a real fight.” Cade lashed out. He didn’t give any consideration to the rest of the pack. He pushed Misty, throwing her against the far wall.
Pack members moved out of the way as he stalked to Misty. She tried to stand and he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, holding her down. Misty was far stronger than any mortal woman and definitely a lot stronger than Titania.
She fought him and Cade forced her to crawl along the floor. Her strength was amazing but he’d fought far stronger males than Misty. Forcing her to bend to his will was easy for him.
“Let me go!”
“You will crawl, bitch.” Titania held her arm against her chest. Charlotte stroked her hair and David had his arms around her. The other man was taking care of her when it was supposed to be his job.
Tightening his grip around her neck, Cade moved until they were stood in front of Titania. The look she gave him made him feel sick. There was no emotion in her gaze, no fear or lust. Titania felt nothing for him, which only served to piss him off more.
“Apologize now.”
He would need to be careful from now on. The humiliation he was bringing down on Misty would not be forgotten. He didn’t care.
“I’m sorry, Titania.”
The apology was pathetic but for now it would have to do. There was nothing else Cade could force her to do. Throwing her away from him, Cade stared at Titania and David’s arms wrapped around her.
“I’ll deal with this. Continue with your training.” He moved forward, pushing David away with a hiss. “Micah, will you?”
His alpha nodded. “Charlotte—”
“I’m going with them, Micah. I’ll see you at dinner if not sooner.”
Cade placed his hand on Titania’s back and felt the thrill from the simple touch vibrate throughout his whole body. He liked touching her and being close to her. Cade had known for a while that he and his wolf liked her.
They took a step and she cried out, collapsing. Lifting her skirt, Cade saw the giant bruise forming on her leg. How Misty had bruised her leg and not snapped it was beyond Cade. The bruise on her thigh was from the impact of a foot being slammed down.
“She can’t walk. Go and open the doors, Charlotte.” He lifted Titania in his arms.
“You can’t carry me. I can walk. I’m too big.”
“I’m second-in-command of this pack. If I can’t lift you then my alpha needs to find a new second.” Cade carried her out of the group. When he passed David, he saw Titania reach out for him. David stopped his training to kiss her head.
“I’ll see you after training,” David said.
“Good luck.”
“Leave!” Cade had enough of witnessing the touches between them. The thought of David knowing his woman intimately annoyed him. There were many nights he’d seen them wandering off together.
Titania always smelled clean. He didn’t think the two were lovers and he hoped to God they were not. David was a dead man if they were.
“Thank you,” she said, catching his attention.
“What’s the matter?”
She smiled up at him. The pain was clear to see in her eyes. “For stopping her. Misty warned me it was practice and I needed to learn. I’m pleased you stopped her.”
Gritting his teeth Cade looked ahead seeing Charlotte opening the doors. “I want you all to be strong. I will never allow the abuse of another pack member.”
Her laugh shocked him. “There is abuse in the pack, you just don’t see it,” she said.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Titania shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”
“I’m carrying you up to your room, Titania, tell me.” He nodded for Charlotte to go on ahead.
She let out a sigh, her breath fanning his face. His cock tightened from having her close. The scent of her pain dulled his senses. He didn’t want to be turned on with her in so much pain.
“Misty is one of the problems. She torments the lower ranking members and instills fear of what would happen if we dispute her or something. I don’t know, I ache all over. You all abuse us in your own way. None of you realize you do it.”
He frowned and glanced down at her. She’d closed her eyes. “I don’t abuse you.”
“It happens throughout. You’re second-in-command and everyone else is stronger than us with no strength. You scare us and use cutting words to get jobs done.”
“Give me an example,” Cade said. He didn’t like being referred to as a bully. The pack was everything to him. Abusing them was of no interest.
“In their training, you could have used anyone else on the same level as your strength. Instead you used David. He’s intelligent and funny but he’d never win against you in a fight. You played on his weakness. It’s cruel.”
“I want you all to learn how to protect yourselves.” He tried to argue his point.
Titania smiled, her eyes closed. Sweat beaded her forehead. “How can we learn when you partner us up with stronger, fiercer opponents? You’d be best using the weak against the weak with the strong supervising or something.”
Her voice went off in a sigh. Charlotte was pushing the bed sheets back.
The woman in his arms fell asleep. He didn’t know what to do. Her wrist arm was at an odd angle. How had she fallen asleep when she was clearly in pain?
“She’s gone to sleep? Is that good?” Charlotte asked, nibbling her lip.
“She should have turned. You go and wait for Micah to finish. I’ll take care of Titania,” he said.
&nb
sp; “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, go. I think we’re going to need him.”
Staring down at Titania, he saw the sweat dotting her brow. If he’d sustained such a break he would have turned into a wolf right there in the gym to repair the damage. Why hadn’t Titania done the same?
Laying her down on the bed, he started to strip the clothes from her body. The denim skirt came off first to reveal plump, round thighs. Her skin was pale for a wolf. He doubted she got a lot of sun. Her pussy was covered in a pair of white cotton briefs. They did nothing to enhance her beauty. Forcing himself not to touch her exposed body, he checked over the bruise on her thigh. It was getting darker by the minute.
Slowly he opened the blouse covering the top part of her body. The desire at what he saw swamped him. Her stomach was rounded and up his gaze went to see the largest pair of tits in the whole pack. Titania’s body was pure perfection. The bra she wore was white lace and he saw the dark areolas of her nipples.
His mouth watered for a taste.
Turning his hand into a claw, he tore the blouse in two from her arm. He had no wish to cause her any pain, and her arm looked painful.
Once she only wore underwear, Cade placed the blanket over her and waited.
Should he wake her up or call for his alpha?
Staring at Titania, Cade only knew one thing for certain. He couldn’t live without her.
* * * *
Titania’s body ached all over. There was no focal point for the pain. Her body was on fire and the impulse to turn was there. She couldn’t turn. Never in all of her life had she been able to turn on any other day than the full moon. Her inability to turn at will was another of her weaknesses. David could turn at will. She’d never been able to.
“Titania.” She heard her name being spoken by Cade. His voice was hard to ignore. The power in his voice brought out goose bumps along her flesh.
“It…hurts,” she said. They were the only words she could get out. Her body shook and when she tried to move her arm, pain unlike anything she’d ever felt exploded throughout her body.
She screamed, turning onto her side. Hot, she was so hot. Kicking her leg out, regardless of her pain, Titania gasped in joy at the chill.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Cade said. He wasn’t looking at her. Turning her head in the direction where he was staring, she saw Micah with Charlotte. She tried to smile at her friend. The worry on Charlotte’s face startled her. Jordan, Paul, and Wilson stood with them. All of them stared at her in a state of shock.
“I thought wolves weren’t supposed to get sick. I mean, Titania doesn’t even complain when it’s her time of the month.”
Titania groaned. They were talking about her menstrual cycle. She’d never be able to live the humiliation down.
“She went to sleep within minutes of being in my arms. This is the first she has woken up.” Cade pressed a cool cloth to her head. She moaned, loving the chill.
“Let me in.” The commotion outside her door made Titania jump. David pushed his way through the crowd.
“What are you doing here?” Cade asked. His voice filled with anger. “This is pack business.”
“Titania is my friend. I’ve not heard from her.” No one stopped him from going to the bed. He climbed behind her on the bed. Cade let out a growl but David kept coming. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She won’t turn,” Micah said.
David cupped her cheek. The heat from his touch made her recoil.
“Too…hot.”
“Won’t turn? Titania can’t turn unless it’s the full moon,” David said, looking around the room. She stared at her friend and she tried to move away from him. He was too hot and the movement he caused made her ache all over.
“Get off the bed. She’s trying to get away,” Cade said, standing up.
“Stop fighting over her,” Charlotte said. Her voice rose and echoed off the walls. “You’re acting like a pair of mated fucking wolves and I should know, I’m married to one. Now, Titania needs your help, not a fucking contest of who can yell or growl the loudest.”
If she could, Titania would have clapped for her friend.
Silence descended on the room for several minutes. She couldn’t help but look at Cade. He looked so handsome, even with the disgusting tattoo. His hair had grown out a little, which was a shame. She liked the way he looked. The beard he’d once kept was gone. She liked that though. His beard always looked out of place to her.
“What do you mean she can’t change? We all change at the full moon. I’ve seen her,” Cade said. His voice sent shivers of delight down her spine.
“Yeah, Titania can turn under the full moon but she can’t change any other time. She has no other choice but to wait until the moon. That is why she’s always careful. Where we can change from a cut or burn, Titania has to deal with it until the moon. This break is bad and she’ll not survive three weeks, Cade.”
David explained her weakness to the group. They’d kick her out of the pack now. She was weak and couldn’t even change at will.
I’m useless.
Tears filled her eyes and she curled into a ball.
“There is a way to do it,” Cade said, staring down at her. She felt him stroking her hair. Staring up at him, Titania hoped he had a way to take the pain away.
“What?” David asked.
“Micah can call her wolf.”
“I don’t like forcing on the change, Cade. It could hurt and kill her, especially if she fights me.”
“What other choice do we have? Do you want others to know you’d rather a member die than risk saving her?”
“Please, Micah. Do this for me,” Charlotte said.
Silence again.
“Fine, but I need a willing male to be in wolf form. It adds to the connection with her. She’s in human form, I can call to her as a human and I need a wolf to bind her to the forest and it would be best done outside.”
“I’ll do it,” Cade said.
In the next instant she was being lifted from the bed.
“I can carry her,” David spoke up. She closed her eyes, wishing he’d stay out of the way. He couldn’t help her. She loved him dearly but right now she needed the strong of the pack to help her.
“Back the fuck off before I order you punished.”
There were stares between them.
“David…please…let him…do it,” she said. The pain made it hard for her to speak.
“Fine. You stay alive.”
She did her best to smile. Cade was taking her downstairs and out of the front door before she could stop him. The rest of the pack stared at her. Closing her eyes, Titania shut them all out. None of them mattered. If Micah couldn’t call her wolf, there was no point to any of it.
In no time at all she was placed on smooth, cool grass. Cade took a step away. She watched him remove his pants and then a giant black wolf stood over her.
“Are you ready, Cade?” Micah asked.
The black wolf nodded.
“Good, be warned, this could get ugly.”
Tingles erupted over her arms like little electric sparks. Titania didn’t pay any attention at first. Within minutes, the sparks turned to jolts as if she was being speared through the body.
She couldn’t hold the screams back. Letting out the first scream, Titania prayed for death. The pain was too hard to bear.
Chapter Three
Cade watched Titania wither on the ground in agony. The desire to beat his alpha down was strong.
Micah’s helping her. Micah’s helping her. He kept chanting the words through his mind trying to calm himself down. The power the alpha was calling on coursed through his body and vibrated out. He felt a connection to Titania that was far stronger than anything he’d experienced before.
“No, let it stop.” The words came from Titania in a scream. Her body broke as she fought against what Micah was doing. Forcing the change was dangerous and could kill her.
“She’s fight
ing me too much. Cade, hold her down. Do something to make her relax.”
Cade moved over her, pressing his paws against her shoulders. The pain emanated off her in giant waves, taking his breath away.
“Titania.”
He opened the connection between himself and Titania. Thinking over the years, he brought to mind his favorite memory of her. She had headphones on and was listening to some music in the kitchen. This was going back a couple of months. Titania stilled beneath him as he continued to share the memory with her.
It was after breakfast and she was washing the dishes. Her hips swayed to whatever beat she listened to. She sang a few chords here and there, nothing concrete. He wasn’t listening to the words she sang. Cade was watching her undetected by the kitchen door.
She turned and her body was on full display. He easily imagined her clothes away from her body and watched her.
Titania stared up at him in shock.
“That’s it, Cade, keep it up.”
The memory went on and on until she turned to him.
“Cade?” she had said. “Can I help you with anything?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m just relaxing.”
She pulled out a chair for him to sit. His gaze wandered to her hair as she tucked some behind her ear. Cade opened up his feelings for Titania to understand. The way he felt at looking at her, what he wanted to do to her.
The memory was cut short as, with one final push, Micah brought forth her turning. Her body changed in one sweeping movement. He watched and waited. Her wolf started out injured, with her paw in front. Slowly, Titania lowered her paw and she was healed. The miracles of the wolf amazed him.