This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.
Submitting to the Alpha copyright @ 2013 by Joanna Wilson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Sequel to Challenging the Alpha by Joanna Wilson
Submitting to the Alpha
Chapter 1
Surprisingly enough, the bathroom floor was warm from the heated tiles. It made sitting down on the floor a bit more tolerable. If it had been cold, Sapphire could have complained bitterly and added that to her already terrible morning. The warmth added an unexpected measure of comfort.
It allowed her to think.
“So, I threw up." She rambled out loud and tucked her knees into her chest. "Missed my period. Got a little bump. It could just be stress.”
Only one way to find out though. She pulled herself up off the floor and immediately missed the comfort of the heated tiles. Fingers combed through her hair and her exhausted reflection looked back at her.
She opened the faucet and splashed some cold water on her face. Just as she reached to shut it, Jasmine burst through the door. Panic clouded the young wolf's timid face as she said. “Madam Alpha, I heard you scream. Is everything ok?”
Sapphire grabbed a towel and dabbed her face. “I told you to call me Sapphire, Jasmine.” She reminded coolly. She had no plans of telling Jasmine her predicament, not until she knew for sure. At any rate, Jasmine might run straight to Sin with the information.
Speaking of Sin… “Do you know where my Mate is?"
If she knew Sin as well as she thought, he’d want to be the first one to know, even if Sapphire thought she was pregnant. If he found out second hand? Sapphire shook her head as a shiver went up her spine. No, best tell him when I'm certain.
“He’s on a conference call. Would you like me to get him? Is it urgent?” Jasmine asked in a rush.
Sapphire rolled her eyes and waved off Jasmine’s concern. “No, I'm fine.” She responded easily as she tugged on her jeans. “I’m just going to head over to the doctor. Which is…” Sapphire let the sentence trail, still not used to the compound. The place was the size of a small town and had just about everything. Yet two weeks here and Sapphire still didn’t know where anything was except the forest.
“The doctor?” Jasmine gasped.
If only she would faint and fan herself. That would really make my morning. Sapphire stared at Jasmine, who looked two steps away from crumpling into a puddle on her carpet.
“You ok, Jasmine? You’re acting a bit… strange.” Sapphire looked the woman up and down for any problems, her alpha protectiveness kicking into high gear.
Ever since she and Sin had come back from Mark’s wedding, she’d been stepping up to the alpha plate and involving herself more in the pack. She’d even started rationalizing and thinking things out. Who’d have known thinking before acting was the way?
“It’s nothing, Madam Al--Sapphire. Just that time of the month, I think.” Jasmine blushed. Sapphire cocked her head and regarded Jasmine curiously. Must be that time of the month if Jasmine was actually blushing.
Sapphire gave Jasmine a curt nod and moved past her out of the room. “So where’s the doctor’s office?”
“I’ll take you there, Madam Alpha.” The Beta Christopher appeared at the end of the hall and leaned casually against the staircase banister. Had he been there the whole time?
Sapphire heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to look over her shoulder at Jasmine. The young wolf looked ready to attack the Beta and claw his eyes out. What's going on with those two? Rolling her eyes, Sapphire continued to the staircase and descended the steps. “Excellent.”
Jasmine hung back at the top of the stairs, for once not following Sapphire around and talking her ear off. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked over at Christopher seeing the grim set of his lips before he caught her looking and his face completely changed.
“So why are you heading to the doctor, Alpha?” Christopher asked as they pushed through the front doors and Sapphire began to walk beside him.
Can’t tell him before Sin. Sapphire reminded herself sternly. “I haven’t seen one in a while. It's also good to know where he might be. You know I’m trying to familiarize myself with the inner workings of the pack.” Sapphire thought the half truth sounded good enough to satisfy Christopher.
The Beta smiled at her like he didn’t believe a word of it.
“So that’s up with you and Jas--” Sapphire began, but was cut off.
“We're here.” Christopher practically ran to the cottage.
Sapphire ran to catch up with him. She might have become more practical about thinking things through but she was still herself. If Christopher thought a little evasiveness would shut her up, he had another thing coming.
Pack matters that pertained to any of the women were her field. He couldn’t just fuck and run with Jasmine. Well, not if he wanted to keep his dick. But just on the heels of her outrage was the cool voice of reason she’d recently found.
Let them work it out. It’s not your place to interfere. Grimacing, Sapphire let her emotions go down to a low simmer. Of course she was right, even as she hated to admit it. What Christopher and Jasmine had going on was their business, not hers.
Biting her lip to keep from saying something that she might later regret, Sapphire waited for the door to open. And when it did a impeccably dressed male in a white lab coat, green turtle neck sweater and faded black jeans answered the door. If Sapphire hadn’t been completely devoted and mated to Sin, she might have gone for Mr. Sexy Doctor.
“Madam Alpha.” The doctor said smoothly, motioning for her to come in. “Please come in.”
Sapphire stepped past the threshold and spun sharply to face Christopher. “I’ll take it from here. Just go work out whatever it is you need to work out with Jasmine and tell Sin where I am.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
Christopher narrowed his eyes at her, but wisely kept his lips shut. If Sapphire had wanted to, she could have looked in his mind to find out why he looked like he was going to kill her. But she felt that wouldn't be the wisest decision to make right now.
“Of course, Madam Alpha.” He gave her a curt nod and turned on his heel to stride away.
Sapphire turned away from the door. Too busy dealing with her own issues to worry about someone else's. Yet even while she thought it, she knew it was a lie. No matter what was going on in her life, she’d drop everything to help out her brother, and now, her pack.
“I’m Dr. Kayson, Madam Alpha. What can I help you with today?” The doctor asked polite as he ushered her further into the room and indicated a chair she could sit on. She chose to stand and pace instead.
Skipping the pleasantries, she got down to business. “I think I’m pregnant but I want to be sure before I tell anyone.”
The confused and stunned look on the doctor’s face made Sapphire bite her lip. She probably could’ve softened her delivery, but it was now out in the universe. A situation she had to deal with.
The thought of being pregnant had initially freaked her out, not to say that she wasn’t still freaked, but the shock was beginning to wear off. It wasn’t as if she should really be surprised if she was pregnant, though the quickness of
it didn’t leave her with a warm fuzzy feeling. But she was a wolf, could turn into one with just a thought. Having pregnancy symptoms this early, really shouldn’t freak her out in lieu of everything.
“Not a problem, we can do a test right now.” Kayson said.
He began to move around the office, digging in draws and pulling various equipment out. Sapphire gulped down a ball of fear. She’d never been a huge fan of doctors. The whole needle thing reminded Sapphire of a vampire sucking her blood.
Kayson sensed her discomfort and smiled reassuringly. Opening another drawer, he found whatever it was he’d been looking for and brought it to Sapphire. “I'll need a urine sample, Madam Alpha. The bathroom’s down the hall and to your left.”
Grabbing the plastic cup, Sapphire moved down the hall and entered the bathroom. Five minutes later she came out and handed the sample back to Kayson.
Sapphire watched curiously as he put her urine in a machine. A few minutes later, with a glazed look on her face and her mind in the clouds, Sapphire was brought back when Kayson said. “All done.”
Beginning to pace again, Sapphire looked at Kayson, trying to gauge the results from his expression. His face was a cool composed mask, but she knew if she wanted to, she could pick the information from his mind. Be patient, the voice of reason told her, but in her nervousness, she asked. "Well?"
“Well?” Sapphire asked nervously.
“You’re not pregnant.” Kayson replied softly.
Chapter 2
Sapphire paused in her pacing, not exactly sure what to do. “Oh.” She said quietly. I’m not pregnant.
It was a little strange hearing it, when she’d been thinking it. It was even more strange that she felt a little...sad because of the news. Of course it was too early in their relationship for children. Sapphire was still learning to adjust to being with other people, and Sin was adjusting to having a mate. Throw a baby into the mix and it was like a chaotic tornado of forced emotions and unspoken feelings.
“But I can run some tests and figure out what's wrong. Though given your new role, it could just be stress. Are you feeling alright, Madam Alpha?” Dr. Kayson stopped his rambling and asked her softly.
Sapphire nodded her head, feeling caged in the doctor’s office. “Yes, quite alright. I need to get back. Thank you for your help, doctor.” Sapphire said quickly on her way to the door.
Kayson didn’t say anything as Sapphire threw open the front door and forced herself to walk slowly and calmly back to her house. It was a struggle not to just shift and run into the forest to come to terms with the news. But she was an alpha now. She accepted that role as she accepted Sin. Running away and dealing with things on her own was something she couldn’t do anymore.
She had someone to rely on. Her mate. Sin.
Sapphire acted on instinct, bursting through the front doors. She followed the scent of spiced chocolate and something completely male until she found Sin in his study. Pushing the thick oak door wide, Sapphire entered, her eyes easily going to the desk where her mate lounged back on his chair, feet propped on the desk, with his ear to his cellphone.
Her smiled at her, relaxed and sure. but Sapphire couldn’t return the easy smile, she could only run to him, throw her arms around his neck and kiss him like her was her entire world.
Sin pulled away from her and spoke into the phone.“Vince, I got to call you back. My mate needs me.”
He clicked the phone off without waiting for a reply and threw it on the desk. “What’s wrong, Sapphire?” Sin asked softly, gathering her body closer to his.
What could she say? She wasn’t pregnant but she’d thought she was? For a second in time, the thought of carrying Sin’s child excited her. For a millisecond, she imagined small hands and feet cradled in her arms with big brown eyes full of innocence staring up at her.
No. She couldn’t say any of that because even thinking about it was painful. She should have been happy, should have felt relief that she wasn’t pregnant and bringing yet another complication into their already complicated life, but…
Sapphire shook her head, feeling hot tears burn her eyes as she pressed her lips once more to Sin’s. I can’t.
Sin opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, pulled her firmly into the realm of desire and yearning need. His mouth and tongue and heat drowned out a sorrow that she didn’t know she had. Sin exhausted her pain, ignited her pleasure, and did it all in the span of one heartbeat.
“What’s wrong, Mate.” Sin’s voice was an intoxicating, making her want to fulfill every command he whispered against her lips.
The compulsion was so strong, it was only by tugging off her shirt and unclasping her bra that she was able to disobey it. Sapphire held Sin’s gaze as her hands skimmed her breasts, palms skimming her nipples.
"Not now." She needed him to desire her, to make love to her and take away the sorrow clawing at her chest. Pressing close, she kissed him and felt her wolf purring as he matched her, kiss for kiss.
Sin bit off as he lifted her up from his lap and laid her back on the desk. One swipe of his hand cleared everything, so that she was sandwiched between cool polished marble and hot hard male.
Sin didn’t take her with the rough abandon like their first joining. In the span of only a couple of weeks the way they loved each other, the emotions present in the act, had changed. It wasn’t just about pleasure anymore, but something more.
It wasn’t love. No, such an emotion paled in comparison to the bond they had forged together, the marks and seals they’d left on each other. There was only one phrase for what they were doing, only one phrase to encompass the storm of emotions sparking between them.
This was a Marking.
Sin’s head bent, his mouth drawing on her stiff nipple while his other hand caressed her body. She could feel the razor edge of his claws as they skirted across her belly, shredding into her jeans. It was a testament to the mood that Sin’s wolf had come out to play.
Sapphire felt her own wolf rise to the surface, completely in balance with her human side. Someone growled, and Sapphire felt the point of Sin’s fangs on the soft flesh of her breast. Arching, Sapphire wracked her claws down his back, shredding the material of his shirt.
The feel of Sin’s fingers, long, thick, and curved with claws excited her as his hand wrapped around his thighs. Sapphire moaned as Sin’s tongue changed, become rougher, nearly the same as sandpaper. But very, very good.
Sin! Sapphire gasped through their link as her wolf howled out in pleasure, the sound bouncing off the walls of the room. His tongue was moving down, swirling designs into her belly, her hip bone, the flesh of her inner thigh.
Instinctively she clenched her thighs, excitement flushing her body in red. But he built up the moment, drew it out in the playful flicks of his tongue on her outer lips. It was driving her crazy, and she raked her claws against the desk, scoring the glossy wood.
A few more teasing flicks and Sapphire couldn't take it, her legs wrapping around his head and pulling him closer until his tongue had nowhere else to go but her core. Sin lapped at her flesh, sending Sapphire into an instant searing orgasm that was as pleasurable as it was painful.
The sensations he evoked were different then when they were fully human. Her wolf didn’t play nice with his, because when she demanded, she didn’t wait for him to make up his mind. I want more. You need to give me more. Sapphire sent to him, her tone savage.
Sin’s claws bit into the flesh of her thighs, drawing blood as he pushed his tongue deeper, licked faster, the smooth cure of his fangs pushing relentlessly against her clit. Sapphire was crying out, her voice no longer hers, her vocal chords belonging to another creature.
She felt the length of Sin’s tongue enter her slick channel and she clenched down hard, needing more of him, all of him. But he was pulling out, leaving her wanting. No! No, please don’t--
He bit down lightly on her clit, his fangs rubbing gently against the swollen and sensitive flesh. Sapphire reared her entir
e body up, held suspended in the air for a second, a heartbeat, another.
Then… she crashed. Her body contouring, forcibly pumping air into deprived lungs, and she slammed her body back on the desk, heard a sickening crack before the desk began to splinter and break beneath her. Fuck!
Sapphire! Sin’s voice whispered in her mind as his hands reached under her body, his face pulling away from the heat between her thighs. He lifted her as the desk swayed, cracked, and crumpled. Unable to think past the immediate desire to have Sin inside of her body, Sapphire shredded his pants, reaching inside to grip him.
Sin winced and bit his lip bloody before pulling her hand away and claiming her lips in a kiss tinged with her cream and his blood. He linked their hands, both coated in the others blood and held her hips steady as he thrust up into her.
Sapphire gasped and leaned back, legs locking tighter around his hips. It was only the strength in his arms and her locked thighs that kept her from falling out of his arms. They moved against each other, chests apart.
Submitting to the Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) Page 1