Grazing his hand softly with my fingertips I replied. “Maybe I want to discover that side of you.”
He shook his head. “I’m no good for you Jewels. For yourself, please choose another.”
I could see the pain in his eyes. He didn’t mean any of it, but why was he saying so?
“Kiss me,” I whispered, blindly treading those dangerous waters. I got on tip toe and placed my hand on his cheek, feeling the heat emanating from his skin. He trembled beneath my touch.
“Please don’t,” he pleaded with me, his breath coming in ragged bouts. His chest heaved up and down. “I have no desire to become Alpha.”
“You don’t have to,” I grazed my lips ever so softly against his, sending tingles through every cell in my body.
I heard him grunt lowly, my lips not having left their place. I could feel the heat of him with how close we were. “What if I don’t have enough control?”
“Oh my God,” the annoyance started pin-pricking my heart. “Get over the control, you’re ruining it!”
He immediately backed his head away. “Don’t speak of things you don’t understand,” he threatened. “If I lose my control tonight, then you will die.”
The words cut through me like a knife.
“I’m a monster, Jewels, that preys on flesh and blood. Don’t tempt me!” He was clearly upset as he pushed me away from him. “The last thing I want to do is repeat what happened to Sarah!”
A clear tinge of jealousy washed over my face. “Who’s this Sarah you guys keep talking about?” My shoulders stiffened impatiently. “Or are you going to keep that a secret from me as well?”
Sadness overtook his eyes almost immediately. “Just a woman in your position some years ago that we got too comfortable with.”
“Did you love her?”
“She was just a girl,” he replied bluntly, avoiding the question altogether. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Something struck my brain in that moment. I hadn’t dared to say it because the thought alone feared me more than what could happen to me here. “Liam,” I said. “I want to go back home to my family.”
His eyes widened for a second. “But that’s not allowed.”
“I can’t deal with this anymore. I just want to go home and fall in love with a normal guy, date, and get married like every other girl.”
“No you don’t,” he contradicted me harshly.
I gawked at him with anger welling inside of me. “Don’t presume to tell me what I want!” I walked forward and pushed him away in the heat of the moment, purely regretting it the moment after. “What does it matter to you?!” I yelled at him angrily. I was upset about the whole situation, why I couldn’t seem to go through with it, and why I was so homesick all of a sudden.
“Because I’m in love with you Jewels…” He bit his lip shamefacedly and turned his head away from me. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“What did you say?” My voice trilled. I was scared that he’d repeat exactly what I heard the first time.
“I’ll take you back home if you wish,” he said, completely ignoring my question. “But know that if so, you’ll be breaking the treaty we’ve had for centuries. Who knows what harm could come to your family if you make that decision.”
“And what exactly is the full agreement of the treaty?”
“I’m a killer, Jewels. I prey on your kind during the night. We feed off of mankind, which is why I can’t be around you much right now. I haven’t eaten in days and the blood moon intensifies our hunger further. You’re lucky I can control myself as much as I do,” his arms flailed in emphasis to the gravity of the situation. “Your family keeps our name safe along with an offering of one daughter during the season we mate, and we absolve your family from harm.” Pure, simple, and to the point was how he put it.
Sadness welled in my heart. “So I’m just a bargaining tool.”
He nodded. “You shouldn’t have to be.”
“You’re the only one who’s been completely honest with me,” my heart fluttered as I spoke.
Taking a step once more towards me he muttered in low tones. “Screw it all,” and scooped me up in his arms. With almost lightning speed I felt fur crash into me as we landed on the bed of pelts inside the cave.
The firelight blew out and we were left in the dark with nothing but reddened rays peeping into the entrance.
His lips crashed into mine at an accelerated rate, our breaths mingling in a frenzied passion. His throat growled intensely as his hand ripped back my hair to pin me down. His chest resonated deeply as the inner beast within him threatened to break loose. The prospects were both frightening and thrilling, goose bumps spreading on my soft pale skin.
I gasped from the unfamiliar feeling of a man’s touch. I felt as a child does discovering how to walk; alive and filled with the thrill of curiosity.
His lips were as velvet against mine, and the softness of his short beard rubbed against my cheek. So this was what a kiss felt like?
Almost immediately I felt myself grow wet as I lay completely naked under his touch. The area between my legs ached dully with an intensity unknown to me. As he lay beside me, his kiss deep and sure, I cried inside for release from the painful pleasure.
Unfortunately that wasn’t what he had in mind at the moment. His tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring its sweetness.
My breathing came hot and heavy as the hormones mixed and mingled in the air. I moaned when his hand softly grazed my breasts.
“I shouldn’t,” he panted. But when my leg brushed against the tight erection protruding beneath his pants, the intensity of his groan was enough to prove his intentions otherwise. “I just don’t know if I can control myself at the end,” his words were drowned out by my soft cries of desire.
His mouth drifted away from mine, leaving my head alone and spinning. His heart beat rapidly and when his hot breath brushed the hardened peaks of my nipples, I almost purred with excitement.
“Don’t stop,” I moaned, wanting him to take me fully. “Don’t stop at all,” my hand brushed his hair, twining my fingers deeply in dark thick locks.
I lay on my back, my legs spread open and inviting.
“It’ll hurt the first time,” he promised, talking me through it. “But after the first few moments it’ll be over.”
His tongue twirled my breasts tenderly at first; my body convulsing with twinges of torturous delight as my wetness soaked into the fur. The fact that he would take my virginity made me nervous. Yet, I wanted to know how it felt. I wanted him to dominate every inch of me, to look into my eyes and claim me as his.
“I’m afraid,” I confessed.
“We can stop,” he offered, looking into my eyes feverishly. “But once we actually start, I won’t be able to control myself anymore.”
I shook my head. “No, I want to.” I gave him a little smile of encouragement.
He took my hand at that moment and guided it down his abs. Slowly he let my fingers brush his skin, soft hair greeting their tips eagerly. “Touch me,” he begged, letting my hand go to its own device.
My heart pounded at the prospect. I had never touched a man before, and when my fingertips brushed the top of his jeans, I stopped.
“I don’t know what to do,” my voice hushed out of embarrassment. “I’ve never touched a man before.”
He returned to kissing my lips softly. His hips pivoted purposefully to let his hardened erection fill my open hand. “I’m not expecting you to know anything. I’ll show you everything.”
I leaned trustingly into his guidance. I grazed the length of him eagerly. His throat gurgled each time from the sensation until his mouth once again found my exposed breast.
Cupping it in his hand he suckled me, sending shooting pangs to my painfully aroused sex. I could feel my own throbbing, wishing to God he’d touch me there even a little.
His free hand found the button to his jeans and flicked it up. He ripped his pants and underwear down effortlessly
, exposing himself to my timid grasp.
I was amazed to find how petal soft his skin was. His hardness left nothing to be desired.
Both moaning in sync, his mouth having engulfed the sensitivity of my breasts, he reached his other hand and trailed it down my stomach. Each second he came closer and closer to my sweet folds until he rested his hand just an inch away. Why’d he stop?
In an attempt to encourage him onward, I grabbed him with a new zealousness, while also rocking my hips forward. It was a natural reaction as my insides smoldered with need.
“Oh God!”
My impatience caught up with me. “I want you.”
Sweat beaded our foreheads, my hair a tangled mess from my jerked movements.
His hand hit home, fingers rubbing my clit ever so softly. My head spun as my head thrust backwards from the sheer delightful sensation. Never had I know what it was like until now.
As his fingers glided up and down, my fingers gripped him more enthusiastically. The muscles in my legs constricted, tightening in anticipation.
Then everything stopped. His movements stopped and he looked me in the eye with the utmost serious expression on his face. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Why wouldn’t I?!”
“Because when my kind mates with yours, there is no stopping what happens at the end.”
“And what is that?” I asked, my sex throbbing impatiently.
“I have to change you…into one of us.”
I sat up immediately. “What do you mean change me? No one told me about this.”
“You’re not technically supposed to know, but I feel I owe it to you. Once we are one and we’ve both reached that height of climax, the urge to bite you will be out of my control. I haven’t eaten in days, so it scares me to even think of tasting you.”
Horror overtook all sense of feeling in me. “Then don’t bite me,” I implored.
“You’re asking the impossible,” he shook his head gravely. “And even if I can muster that kind of control, if you do end up with child, you will die from the pregnancy.”
A lump caught in my throat. “Is that what happened to Sarah?”
He sighed. “Yes, Logan couldn’t control himself and ended up killing her. I warned his stupid ass he wouldn’t be able to. He’s always been bad like that.”
Almost making up my mind for me he got up. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“I’m taking you back home.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
After sneaking me out and back home in the middle of the night, Liam waited for me to be safe inside.
Father seemed displeased to see me, refusing to talk to me for a whole month. I had purposefully gone against his wishes, and for that he acted as if I didn’t even exist.
Jared was the most pleased to see me, refusing to let me out of his sight for the first few days I was back. Finally he let his guard down.
For weeks I could barely sleep, and when I did, I felt the presence of being watched. The darkness would suffocate me until I walked outside in the cool comforting air.
One night as I faced the forest behind my home, I saw a figure amidst the trees. I hadn’t forgotten about Liam, and sometimes my heart ached to see him. In that little time of knowing him, something had blossomed, and I now almost regretted the choice I made.
As I approached it, I realized the giant grizzly standing behind the tree line had its silver eyes directed towards me. I walked out to meet it, but it disappeared in the pines as I got closer.
The next night I saw him again, but every time I tried to get close, he turned and left me behind.
My heart began to ache as dreams of our kiss plagued my memory. It felt so real but then I’d wake up to the bereft reality of his absence.
I finally decided to wait all night for him at the forest’s edge. I walked out with my blanket and coffee, sat against the old pine tree, and waited. The moon was shining and bright, the scent of pine carried by the wind gracefully hit my nose.
The bear approached going into the early hours of the morning, but as it shifted, it was not Liam who stood before me.
“Juliette,” Adam’s urgent voice whispered in the trees. “I’m afraid there’s trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The Elders have issued a threat against your family. They intend to kill them if you don’t return as part of the treaty. They also have Liam held prisoner. The only way things will be restored is if you return to us and fulfill the agreement.”
My mouth dropped open as fear pierced my soul. Dear God what had I done? “I was so selfish,” I openly chastised myself.
“There’s no time,” he insisted. “Come with me.”
I hesitated before accepting the fate set before me. “What if I intend to mate with Liam, will they let him go?”
I could see obvious hurt in his eyes as I denied any affection towards him. “It all depends…”
“Depends on what? Answers please Adam.” I stomped my foot impatiently as a child does when demanding what it wants.
“Depends if you agree to the elder’s condition or not. Now let’s go!”
I looked one last time back at my home, the home that would never be. I prayed silent goodbyes to my family, my friend Heather, and everything I would never know again. I hoped that one day my father would forgive me. When I was ready, I turned around.
Adam held up a finger and leaned against a tree. His bones began to shift and his body transitioned back slow and painfully. He growled loudly as flesh and sinew of muscle molded itself into something much larger. When it was over, he crouched next to me and gestured his large head for me to hop on his back.
I mounted him, my fingers curling deep into his fur as he took off at lightning speed through the forest.
Landscape of trees flashed before my eyes at the dizzying pace. I couldn’t concentrate on anything and decided to close my eyes before puking. It was dark but the light of the moon guided us onwards. The steady large breaths reverberating in the great beast’s chest echoed loudly in the forest.
When we arrived, the cave entrance of the pack traveled deep into the mountainside. This was the meeting place of the elders. The hall was narrow as we made our way in, with me still astride Adam’s back. Before we got to the other side he stopped and I got down.
His body shifted back to normal and he stood before me naked and bare. He walked towards me with a particular look in his eye. I didn’t want to see that look. It wouldn’t lead anywhere good.
“Jewels,” he asked, his usual brashness taking hold of the situation. “What made you choose someone else?” His eyebrows furrowed in concentration awaiting my answer.
I had to answer him lightly. Who knew what would happen if I didn’t? I took a breath. “It’s not that I didn’t like you,” I replied in all honesty. “It’s that you seemed more of a threat to me than Liam ever did.”
“I could’ve made you happy,” he insisted. “I still can. You don’t have to mate with him anymore if you don’t want to. The old can be erased since the Elders are all too happy to see me rise to Alpha.”
I looked upon him tenderly, warmth beaming from my eyes. “You aren’t the one for me, although I’m sure you would’ve been able to make me happy. I can’t change the desires of my heart Adam, so please don’t try to change them for me.”
He cleared his throat to distract me from the disappointment in his eyes. As an egotistical male, I could tell it was hard for him to handle rejection. He was undoubtedly well equipped and adequate to rise to Alpha or so it seemed from the little I knew of him.
We entered the large candle-lit room with rows of seats lining either side of the walls. Five rows of men sat on one side while five remained on the other. Up ahead as we walked past the scrutinizing eyes of many, a single male sat upon a large chair in the center end of the room.
“Welcome,” he seemed pleased, standing up to greet us. “I see you’ve brought our daughter back to us,” he pra
ised Adam with the lift of a brow. “Well done my son.”
I turned to Adam as he stepped back to leave me the center of attention. All eyes were on me.
My hands shook with nerves. I clasped them to keep from showing. “I wish to apologize for any offense I have committed towards your people,” I got down on my knees as a sign of servitude. I could tell there would be a little leverage to work with.
The man up ahead held out his hand for silence. “Your offense has been taken into consideration very seriously, seeing as you broke an agreement we’ve had with your kind for centuries.”
I nodded my head and said nothing.
“However,” he continued, his long sharpened nails clasped together. His nature was foreboding, the hair grown out past his shoulders in pin straight locks of grey. “We have come to agreement, or rather a concurrence you might say, on what we should do regarding your punishment.”
He spoke slowly emphasizing each individual word as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. No one else in the room uttered a sound.
“Unfortunately, Miss Saunders,” he tilted his head, his eyes plastered on my face. “The elders have deemed you unworthy to make a definitive decision so we have unanimously made the choice for you.” His hand flew in the direction of Adam. “My son Adam will rise to Alpha and lead our people as I resign my seat on the throne. He will make you very happy.”
An uncomfortable lump rose in my throat. “And what of Liam?” I dared ask.
“He has been taken care of for his treasonous acts.” His face stretched wickedly, revealing brilliant white teeth. He added, “I suggest you two get started,” He referred to his son. “You know what you must do.”
I felt Adam’s aura stiffen beside me. Apparently he hadn’t expected this decision from the Elders.
“My family, they’ll be untouched if I agree to your terms?” I needed reassurance.
The Alpha nodded his head. “Quite my dear. Your family will not come to harm and will remain absolved from harm.”
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