The First Alpha, page 2
Megan caught the alpha's fresh scent first. She always did, with that finely tuned, powerful nose of hers. She trotted quickly away into the woods, knowing Lucius would want Cassie alone. Moments later Cassie picked up the scent, deliciously strong, advancing ahead of him like an aura. She turned to face the source of the scent, head down and panting lightly, waiting eagerly for her master's arrival.
Lucius strode into the clearing, appearing for all the word like a king surveying his lands. He moved with a confidence unusual even among other alphas, a complete assurance that there was nothing that could challenge his dominance. It was difficult to imagine anything could. The enormous muscles rippling beneath his silky dark gray fur left one in mind of a bull preparing to charge. Everything about him screamed strength and power. Cassie found him irresistible.
As he turned in her direction Cassie felt that familiar twinge between her hind legs, the wonderful craving to present herself to her alpha. Her lupine instincts jumped to the fore, driving her wild with desire, and she fell in step beside him and a few steps back. Lucius noticed, of course, her drooling jaws and the sweet new scent she gave off when she felt that powerful arousal. He seemed to enjoy denying her satisfaction, ignoring her as she offered herself to him. He knew she'd enjoy it in wolf form, and he didn't want to give her the pleasure.
Lucius shifted gracefully, vaulting powerfully from his front legs as he changed so he came into human form in a standing position. Even as a wolf Cassie was ravenously hungry for his human body, but in this form his eyes lacked the spark of the wolf. They were cold and soulless, and she'd do anything to avoid having to gaze into them.
"Come," he ordered, beckoning her into human form. She longed to resist, to stay in this mind that allowed her some measure of happiness, but his order could not be disobeyed. She shifted, regaining human form on all fours in the wet grass before him. She began to stand, but he held out a hand. "Stay on the ground."
She knew what was coming. This was the moment she dreaded whenever she learned he was visiting her. She steeled herself for what was to come and tried to rekindle the arousal her wolf body had felt just moments ago. It didn't work.
Lucius wrapped his fist around the meaty organ between his legs, and massaged it gently until it began to swell with arousal. When it stood proud of his body he simply nodded to Cassie, indicating that she should begin, and held his hands behind his head, fingers interlinked, as she grudgingly kneeled before him and lowered her lips to her master.
He dragged it out as long as he could, well aware that Cassie loathed every moment of her task. At random intervals he'd thrust his hips forward, pushing his length deep into her throat. She wasn't allowed to gag. Wasn't allowed to withdraw. To do so would invite punishment.
By the time he finally came Cassie had tears in her bloodshot eyes, partly from choking on his member and partly from the shame of the act. Lucius watched, smiling, as she swallowed what he had given her, and waited for her to present him with her tongue to show him it was all gone. Then and only then, without a word, he turned and left for the house.
As always Cassie waited patiently for hours until she saw Lucius' bedroom light switch off before she crept back to the house to brush her teeth, rinse a dozen times with mouthwash, and cry herself to sleep.
*
Cassie dreamed.
Cassie remembered.
"But mother, I don't want to marry Lucius! For God's sake, this is the twenty first century. I can choose my own partner!"
Evelyn glanced around the restaurant and flashed a tight smile at the other diners. "Please, Cassie, keep your voice down. You're embarrassing me." Ever the conservative Southern belle, even if she was a 500-year old werewolf.
Cassie fumed. "Embarrassing you? Mother, you're trying to force me into an arranged marriage with a man I barely even know. You're embarrassing yourself!" She began to stand, intending to storm out, until she saw her mother's stern expression. Even though Cassie couldn't believe what her mother was asking her to do she knew it would be a mistake to humiliate Evelyn in the middle of a crowded restaurant. She dropped back to her seat and glowered across the table.
"Well," said her mother, patting her lips delicately with her napkin, "in any case the Council has already approved the union at Lucius' request. To back out now would be a slap in the face for the Ironclaws, and I wouldn't be surprised if they viewed it as casus belli. I'm sure you know what would happen if the Ironclaws decided to attack. Our tribe would be finished."
Cassie felt hopeless tears prick at her eyes. She knew her mother was right. Such a public display of disrespect against the alpha of another tribe would make war a virtual inevitability. She also knew that war would be disastrous for the Darkfangs, by far the smallest and weakest of the Five Tribes. Their numbers were so few that their wholesale slaughter wouldn't even cause an uptick in the national crime statistics. There'd just be a spate of unexplained disappearances across the south over the course of a few weeks; fifty or so people would vanish from the face of the earth, never to be seen again. The destruction of the entire tribe would only be noted in local media, beside the want ads.
"Mother, please," Cassie begged, feeling her lower lip begin to quiver. "There must be something you can do to stop this. There must be something else you can give him."
"I wish there was, my dear," Evelyn replied sadly. "I truly wish there was. I'd give Lucius the heart from my own chest if it meant you could remain here among your people, but his mind is made up. Lucius wants you, Cassie, and there's nothing to be done about it." Her face brightened into a smile. "Maybe it won't be all that bad. He's graciously agreed to allow Megan to join you so you won't be all alone up there, and you can come home for a visit whenever Lucius allows it. And who knows? Maybe you'll even come to love him one day. I hear he's quite the catch."
Cassie stared blankly at the embroidered linen tablecloth, too heartbroken even to reply. Lucius certainly was a catch. Beautiful, powerful and one of the leaders of the North American Council, he was every girl's dream. Her union with him - with the Ironclaws - would be a political coup for the Darkfangs. They'd receive favorable trade status and the protection to allow them to once again rebuild; to regain their former glory within the Five Tribes. Cassie's sacrifice for her pack would be their savior She should be happy to serve her people with such selfless devotion.
So why did she want the ground to open up and swallow her whole?
*
Cassie snuck out from her room the moment the morning sun began to stream through her window, closing the door carefully behind her so as not to wake Lucius in the master bedroom just one door away. He woke early when he visited the summer house, and more than once he'd roused her from sleep to sate his hunger for her lips. After three weeks in his home she'd learned it was best to slip out into the forest until he left for the city after breakfast.
She crept along the hallway, down the staircase and through the kitchen, opening the rear screen door with a protecting squeal of rusty hinges only to find Megan sprawled across a padded sun lounger on the rear porch, tightly wrapped in a slutty black dress that showed far, far too much skin. Megan's sleep-encrusted eyes opened at the sound of the creaking door.
"What are you doing out here so early?" Cassie asked, surprised to find her friend showing signs of life before the sun was high above the horizon.
Megan clutched the sides of her head and rolled her legs awkwardly from the lounger. Her blonde hair was plastered to one side of her face, and her lashes clumped together with day old blank gunk. "It's morning already?" she slurred, obviously still feeling the effects of whatever hooch she'd been pouring down her throat until the early hours. "Christ, I feel like I've been hit by a bus."
Cassie sighed, stepping back into the kitchen to fetch a cold glass of water and a bottle of paracetamol. She didn't mind Megan going out and having fun, but it served as an unwelcome reminder that she wasn't allowed to join her. Lucius only allowed her to visit the forest or stay in the house. She couldn't even drive to the local store unless she went in the company of one of his men.
"So what did you get up to last night?" she asked, handing Megan the water and pouring a few pills into her open palm. "Was it a date?" Cassie already kinda knew the answer. She could smell the thick beta scent of Grayson all over her friend.
Megan grinned through the headache. "More like four hours of Jagerbomb beer pong and a Springsteen themed juke box followed by wild sex in the forest on the way home."
"So a typical date, then."
Megan chuckled, then covered her eyes with her palms. "Ow! Don't make me laugh, Cass. I'm dyin' here. Yeah, though, pretty typical. I think things might be getting serious between us. He's talking about us going on a hunt together after your wedding." She smiled. "It's nice to finally meet a good guy."
Cassie remained diplomatically silent. Grayson Ironclaw was many things, but a good guy wasn't one of them. The conniving, rat faced beta modeled himself after his idol Lucius in every respect, even down to the slicked back (and bleached) blonde hair. Grayson was Lucius without the power, which somehow made his cruelty even worse. He was also a coward to his very bones. He'd take on any man or wolf, so long as he knew with certainty he'd win. If he couldn't guarantee victory he'd enlist the help of his friends to hold his opponent still as he handed out the beating. Like Lucius, he was a man entirely without honor Cassie wished Megan could see through the veneer of charm he'd copied from Lucius, but she wasn't about to lecture her friend on her choice in men. After all, Cassie was only 23. Megan had four centuries on her.
Cassie tugged at the belt of her silk nightgown and dropped it to the floor. "Come on, get out of those ridiculous whore rags and come for a walk. You'll feel better."
Megan grumbled but stood shakily from the lounger, sliding the tiny black scrap of a dress from her shoulders. "Why the hell do we get hangovers, Cass? I could regrow a severed leg in an hour, but gimme a bottle of scotch and I'm a wreck all day."
Cassie smiled as she stepped from the porch and shifted to all fours, rolling in the dew soaked grass before shaking out her fur. Megan asked the same thing most mornings. She turned to watch the hungover wreck of a girl shift and laughed inwardly when she saw the wolf was just as much a mess as she'd been in human form. Megan's fur stuck out at crazy angles, and it was clear from the way her ears instantly flattened against her head that the heightened senses of the lupine didn't do any favors to the hungover.
Cassie bounded across the lawn at speed, eager to leave the house behind and embrace the peace of the forest, urging Megan to keep up with a low growl. She knew the hangover would soon fade once Megan got a breath of fresh air, and she didn't want to spend all morning waiting for her to catch up at a slow saunter. She continued on through the fence, ignoring the complaining whines of Megan as she tried to keep up.
The morning was beautiful. It had rained during the night and now, in the heat of the summer morning sun, the forest steamed as the moisture burned away, infusing the air with the rich, fragrant scents of nature. Underfoot the ground was cool and springy, perfect for running. She sprinted, quickly leaving Megan behind as she bounded over rotting tree trunks and burbling streams. She ran further than she ever had, all the way out to the edge of the forest where Lucius' scent began to give way to the pungent human smells of cattle farms, hen houses and industry. There she finally paused, basking in the beams of sunlight breaking through the thick canopy in the middle of a wide clearing.
Megan finally caught up a full twenty minutes later, weaving from side to side and in clear discomfort. It looked liked the hangover would take more than a little air to clear. The wolf fell to the ground exhausted beside Cassie, whining in protest at the fast pace. Cassie ignored her and explored the clearing.
Sprawled out on the grass Megan raised her dark, wet snout to the breeze, drawing a map in her mind as she picked up the various scents carried on the wind. Ahead a clear stream formed the boundary between the forest and the farmland beyond; to the west a battery farm exuded the raw, rancid stink of chemically oversized chickens, and over there - a mile or so to the east - a pack of feral dogs were closing in on a swift, panicked creature. A sharp hint of blood lingered in the air.
Cassie contentedly pawed at a tree, searching to see if her alpha had passed by here recently to refresh his markings. Her snout was buried in the rich peat, and it wasn't until she heard Megan's low, concerned whine that she realized something was amiss.
Do you smell that? Megan asked with a slight tilt of her head and a soft, almost purring growl.
Cassie sniffed the air for a moment before she sensed it. There was an edge to the panic of the hunted creature, a scent that took a moment to place. It was a fellow wolf, injured and far from home. Cassie couldn't place the tribe. He certainly wasn't from around here.
There was another thing. He. Unmistakably, unarguably he. Not a tribe alpha, perhaps, but powerful, virile and large. Much larger than either herself or Megan, and possibly a threat in spite of his injuries. The scent of him overcame her even from this distance, filling her with an unusual mixture of lust, deference and a sharp edge of shame. She knew she should not experience such feelings for anyone but Lucius.
A moment of fear set in as Cassie realized the wolf was approaching them on a direct course. Now they both heard the maddened, rabid yelps of the pack as they chased down their prey, crashing through the woods as it limped quickly ahead of them. Of course a single dog was no match for a healthy wolf, no matter its size and ferocity, but a pack of hungry ferals with the scent of blood maddening their minds could easily cause problems for an injured shifter. They'd need a miracle to kill it, but some injuries are too severe to heal.
Cassie whined softly as she watched Megan slip cowardly away, back in the direction of the house. She begged her to return and stand alongside her, but she could smell Megan's fear above every other scent. Megan was no fighter. She'd always preferred to turn and run rather than face danger. It's what had allowed her to survive through centuries of turmoil.
Cassie held her ground, determined to at least catch a glimpse of this mysterious wolf that had sent Megan fleeing. Curiosity had always been her weakness, and now she was about to allow it to bring her in close contact with a pack of vicious dogs and a potential enemy. She heard it coming and tensed, preparing herself to run for safety, and watched from the undergrowth as the injured creature came crashing into the clearing.
It was a mess. The wolf limped on three legs as it bolted awkwardly towards the edge of the forest, still carrying a good lick of speed but not nearly enough to escape the dogs. As it fled by her Cassie saw its thick, gray coat was matted with fresh blood, and the scent of it filled her snout until it eclipsed the sharp, pungent sweat of the dogs even as they bounded into the clearing, directly towards her.
Cassie caught the first in her jaws as it ran into her, snapping its neck instantly without so much as a whimper. She hadn't intended to involve herself, but instinct had taken over. The mangy creature fell to the grass as four more entered the clearing, each skidding to a halt the moment they noticed the strong, glossy coated wolf that had so easily dispatched one of their own.
Cassie was barely half the size of the hulking creature they were pursuing, but she was healthy. They'd think twice before attempting to tackle her if they had any sense. She lowered her head and growled menacingly, baring her blood soaked fangs and preparing to pounce if the dogs dared make a move.
One seemed braver than the rest: a tough, rangy Doberman rippling with muscles beneath its short coat. He bared his teeth and issued a guttural growl at Cassie. She didn't understand the language - ferals spoke a simple, basic dialect so dumbed down that it was all but gibberish even to domestic dogs - but its meaning was clear. Our prey! Leave!
Cassie knew she couldn't fight off the Doberman by herself, not if the rest of the pack fought alongside it, but she refused to give up a fellow wolf to these common thugs. Not even if he was of an enemy tribe. Abandoning him to the ferals was no way for an honorable creature to behave. She took a step forward, challenging the dog to attack, preparing herself for the fight, and from her throat issued a low answering growl in her own language. My territory. My prey. Calm. Clear. Even though the pack wouldn't understand her words they should surely grasp her intentions.
The Doberman was careless enough to telegraph its attack seconds before it came, bunching the muscles of its shoulders before it pounced. Cassie felt the world fall into slow motion, watching with detached interest as beads of sweat dripped from the dumb, vicious creature's fur. It didn't seem real. All she could think was how crazy it was that she was about to be mauled by such a mindless brute.
The Doberman leapt, its jaws open and its eyes fixed squarely on Cassie's neck. She ducked her head low, intending to avoid the dog's teeth and butt into its side, certain it would only delay the inevitable but hopeful that the blow might be enough to deter it. Cassie sprang from her powerful hind legs, firing herself at the Doberman and preparing to feel sharp pain as its teeth sank into her. Her eyes closed, and a whimper escaped her throat as fear overtook her.
And then... nothing. She landed on the cool, wet grass and stumbled with surprise. Her head span around to find the Doberman pinned to the ground, crying with terror as the injured wolf stood above it, baring its jaws and growling with an intensity that made Cassie's legs collapse involuntarily. Such power. Such strength. If her alpha could see her cowering at the feet of this intruder he'd tear out her throat in an instant.
