Needless to say, I was not in the best mood following my trip down dark memory lane. And the Alpha’s bite was still fresh on my skin, making me burn with anger every time I felt it with my fingertips, or turned my neck, or lifted my shoulders, and felt the sting of it. Thanks to the wolfsbane I always consumed, it would take days for the damn bite to fade into my newest scar. In the meantime, I would have to cover it somehow. It was too angry and tender this morning to be masked by makeup. The finger shaped bruises adorning my skin were mostly in places my clothes covered and I didn’t mind so much. I didn’t even regret the rough sex, but rather the asshole Alpha I had engaged in it with. Fuck, I really hated wolves. I was forced to cut the sleeves off one of my turtlenecks to make it look like an unfortunate fashion statement, rather than a complete weirdo wearing a sweater in the middle of summer. I was sweating like a whore on nickel night within minutes, regardless of being slee
It turned out with a full belly, and now that she felt more comfortable here at Mountaintop, Lily was quite the chatterbox. Usually, it had been her mate that’d conversed with me and the other wolves who had invaded my land overnight. But the seemingly timid Lily was blooming before my very eyes. She volunteered information as the three of us rolled up our, symbolic sleeves in my case, and set about getting my diner back in tiptop shape. As I had assumed, Lily was born on Timberland packlands and spent most of her life within its boundaries. What had surprised me, was the happy childhood she spoke about, days of making daisy chains, chasing butterflies and rabbits, looking for animals among the clouds, and making wishes on shooting stars. Lily had been allowed to attend the pack school until the age of thirteen. After which, females aged out and were expected to train to be obedient mates to learn how to rear their future cubs, and how to keep their wolf dens. Male wolf’s education
Over the next couple of days, we not only got Mountaintop up and running again, but I also did the same to my plan to make Alpha Grey mine. Not that I actually intended to leave my home and move to the Timberlands, but I definitely planned to make sure Alpha Roam knew I had chosen his enemy, by making sure I was marked with Grey’s scent and seed so deeply, there’d be no mistaken who I belonged to. Sort of, on my own terms belonged to. This would be the choice the dark wolf had taken from me, the choice I made in taking a mate and taking a stand against being claimed against my will. Phase one of my plan to make Alpha Grey take me in a fun way, was to collect the shreds of fabric that had once hugged his toned body and placed them in a plastic bag. When I had called it a night, and sent Lily and Rand back to their cabin, I took the clothing and rubbed it on several surfaces around my diner. I did the same to the rooms in my cabin, paying close attention to my leather couch, and my bed
Ten minutes later, I followed a red-faced Beth who practically stomped her feet out of my office. To say the blonde haired, fake boobed, over makeup twenty-one-year-old was angry with me, was an understatement. Beth was not the usual type of girl I usually employed here, but I had hired last fall in an attempt to be more inclusive. I had figured she would be trouble, but usually that trouble was managed and reciprocated by the type of crowd the diner mostly pulled in during her evening shifts. There was a decent local community college in the town limits that drew my business a fair share of hungry college kids around dinnertime. And well, my all-day pancakes were legendary of course. Yes, it was true major issues with Beth hadn’t arisen until now, and that was likely because Rand was the first male employee I had brought on. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I had serious issues with males, and I knew that not everyone with a dick was an abusive sadist out to suppress women and enslav
Phase two of my seduction plan started off without a hitch. I stood back and allowed Lily to meet with her brother out at the hunting cabin. I could smell his scent in the breeze to let me know he had arrived on my land, but I had instructed her to do their visit first. I wanted him to see that Lily was being taken care of and had adequate accommodations. Thank The Moon the dark Alpha’s bite had faded enough to be concealed under foundation and not a turtleneck. It would be harder to seduce a wolf in a freaking turtleneck. Especially since they had neck fetishes. It was a weird wolf thing. They liked sucking, biting, licking necks. Probably because it was a sign of dominance to have their female by the throat, the most vulnerable area. It made them feel powerful and like a God. I couldn’t disagree that tonguing pulse points and feeling their reaction to your touch by the racing of their heart, wasn’t kind of sexy. I was letting my wolf take over my thought processes too much. She
It turned out I did not have to resort to flipping off the power and plunging the place in darkness to get pissed off college dude to leave. He emerged from the bathroom, packed up his shit, demanded the name of my manager so he could call and get me fired, before he took off. I did not tell him I also was the manager and the owner, just gave him my nickname, and told him to have a good night. I was sure he had had other plans of harassment in mind for me, but when he locked eyes with the Alpha who stood near me watching him hawklike, Meth Seth hightailed it out of here real quick. Finally, alone at last. And I wasn’t taking any chances for further interruptions for a while, as I locked the door and flipped the neon open sign off. I planned to be a good, responsible business owner and open back up in time for the six a.m. rush. But that gave me ninety minutes to have the Alpha all to myself. And I planned to do a whole lot more than just talking and make the most of our time. I gave
Well tonight certainly had not gone the way I planned. I wished I could say I had only offered myself up in Lily’s place because it was the right thing to do, and I was a good person. But my decision was not only from a selfless place, but it was also emotional manipulation to get what I wanted from Alpha Grey. A surefire way to get him to choose me for his mate, because there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his sister. I really was going to burn in hell or spend my afterlife chained in iron and silver. He breathed in deep, and his brows furrowed, “You don’t have to do that Onie. Though I appreciate the offer. This isn’t your problem to fix. And I know how much you value your independence.” But I valued my freedom and revenge against the dark Alpha more. I planned to be Alpha Grey’s mate in name only, and well in the naughty fun parts, as I had no intentions of leaving my home or actually bearing his cub. I would keep him at bay until I no longer needed to keep up the ruse of bei
There were two wolf customs when it came to either choosing a mate or accepting a true mating bond. The male wolf claimed his mate by marking her with his bite, often on the neck, and they consummated their bond by the physical joining of their bodies. Some packs even had a tradition of the she-wolf also marking her mate in return, but the wolves on either side of this mountain did not do that as far as I knew. While Timberland seemed less oppressive of their females, it was clear they were not as progressive as packs that treated their females more equally with a shared marking. The claiming and the joining could be done at separate times or together, there were no hard and fast rules for it, but the claiming typically came first to my knowledge among the more brutish packs. Females could be claimed without their consent, and even violated too, both of which had happened to me by the two dark wolves that had invaded my life. But at least Alpha Roam had not violated me in the other w
A burst of rage-fueled adrenaline coursed through my veins, giving me a second wind. I used my burst of strength to push myself off the tree, to stand tall, before I grabbed the shovel and began to dig furiously. Dirt and bits of roots and moss flung through the air as I took my frustrations out on the Earth. I would not greet the dark alpha like an obedient little mate eagerly awaiting his return. We would face each other as enemies, and he would stay on his side of the mountain or face the consequences. Grey was smart enough to get out of my way. The younger alpha decided to face his enemy on equal footing, wolf to wolf, as he merged with his animal once more. The human part of me had too much to say to the brute to shift, and my communication while in my fur would not be adequate unless he set foot onto my land. Then my literal claws and teeth would come out and I would show him no mercy.It did not take wolf senses to know when the dark one prowled near the boundary. The heavy ma
My eyes, the color of a muddy river like that of my father’s, locked onto the Alpha’s, not backing down, the challenge there, daring him to take it. I steeled my spine and my nerves, and I did not even let my wolf come through, because I had the power inside me, and I did not need to flash her rage, her pain, to let my mate know I was a dangerous predator not to be messed with.“Get out of my way, Grey. Or I will make you.”My voice had stayed calm and was more deadly than had it been dripping with aggression. Like a snake, waiting and watching for the need to strike.He let out a breath that sounded painful to exhale, “At least let me help you then.”So, his pack could suffer the consequences. Even the sting of his betrayal was not enough to let me agree to allow him to antagonize his enemy by disrespecting their dead. Wolves of Rocky’s status among the pack were sent off with honor to their place in the sky to spend eternity near their creator. It would be a grave insult to the crea
I stayed in that cabin with my she-wolf and her mate no matter how it turned my stomach and I had to choke down the vomit. No matter how my eyes stung while my mask cracked, I had to shut them a time or two to keep from screaming. The sound of that bone drill burrowing into my beta’s skull and Lily’s cries would haunt me for the rest of my life. I forced myself to bear it because I was their Luna, and my discomfort did not matter. What I wanted or needed no longer mattered. The scent of Rand’s blood was still heavy in the air, even after the healer and his mate had washed him clean again and had disposed of the bloody towels and crimson colored water. A clean bandage shrouded his head, and soon more joined along his bruised and broken body. Raven even stitched the worst wounds closed to help them heal faster. I wondered if I would always smell his wolfblood in here from now on as if it had soaked into the wood permanently. After Raven had cleaned and gathered her supplies, gave the
Grey did not argue, though he looked torn wanting to help, while the females carried the young beta inside the hunting cabin as gently as possible. Rand did not cry out in pain, which was not a good thing, he was limp and blood spattered in our arms. We laid him atop the bed, not giving a damn about staining the sheets. I could hear my mate pacing outside, though he respected my orders and did not set foot inside. Me slamming the door roughly behind us, gave the wolf the hint as well, that he was not welcomed. The Alpha of Timberlands would be off my land entirely soon enough, which was for the best because at the moment, I felt particularly violent towards him, now that the initial sting of hurt was waning, the rage was coming through strong. The only male I wanted to hurt more than Grey right now, was that fucking brute who I fully intended to get my pound of flesh from. The dark wolf was nothing but a lying bastard whom I had been a fool to trust his word. Animals had no honor. R
As soon as my Alpha mate’s boots hit the dirt, he rushed to me, his keen grey eyes assessing me from head to toe. I could see the rush of emotions that crossed his handsome face, worry, fear, anger, sympathy, regret, guilt. His hands gripped my shoulders gently to still me for a more intense inspection as I was shaking and jittery like I had just drunk ten energy drinks. When he noticed my torn-up arm, the scent of an enemy wolf still clinging to my skin, then his sister, bloody and dazed, holding onto her blood spattered and still mate, his wolf slipped through as he growled. I knew Grey’s aggression was not aimed at me. His eyes blazed when they landed on the dead wolf, naked, and minus a skull, with most of his brain matter, tainting my land.“I’m going to bury him in fucking silver chains,” he snarled, “and then I’m going to challenge his oath breaking, lying son of a bitch Alpha! A wolf with no honor has no place on this Earth!”My heart bashed into my ribs for an entirely differ
The massive hell-beast closed the gap between my fallen beta, his loyal mate, and I, in only a few leaps. My she-wolf howled in anguish at not protecting her mate or her Luna. Tears of physical pain no longer soaked my cheeks, now replaced by tears of regret and failure, of helplessness. I did not cry tears for myself in what was likely my last seconds of life.His dark form was upon me before I could even fire off another round. Before I could try and connect to the Earth beneath me and drawl strength to help fight this monster from under the mountain. My other regrets flashed before my eyes as time seemed to slow. I had never even told Grey I loved him. Or told Roam I did not always like him, but I did not hate him.I had not spoken to my cousin Jeanette in over a week and would never meet her boyfriend. I had not visited my paternal grandparent’s in their nursing home when I could have made that drive in six hours or flown in, in the two years it’d been since my bastard uncles had
I knew that I covered more ground quicker in my wolf form, and I could even carry the shotgun in my mouth, but I was not ready to shift just yet. I dashed through the trees like a mad woman, pushing back branches with ease, and navigating roots that would have tripped me up in the past, but with my wolf simmering at the surface, she led me her coordination, some of her agile speed, her heightened senses. And kick ass night vision. I should have been letting her out more all along.There was the slim chance it was a nomadic wolf who had crossed onto my packlands, still thinking it was neutral ground. But I had remarked all the boundaries of my territory only a few days ago with my scent, and unless the wolf was truly feral, or old and senile, or had no sense of smell, it was not an accident this male had trespassed onto my land. And when I got closer to his earthy scent, and I caught traces of sulfur from his fur, I knew exactly where the bastard had come from. The wolves from the cave
I thanked Monique for staying over, and she was just glad I had not been murdered. That was her actual words to me, because I had never been late to my shift before, and she too, liked to listen to true crime podcasts to help her unwind at night. Her imagination had been getting the best of her, and she had already been putting together a list of likely suspects in her head. Top of the list was a creepy once regular who had tried to stalk me post a hookup two years back, after I had made it clear there’d be no repeat performance.I laughed at that one, because I had forgotten about him, last thing I knew he had steered clear of me and Mountaintop after I threatened to tell his fiancée. And after I showed him my shot gun. I had questionable morals, but fucking men with wives or girlfriends, had never been my thing. Had I known about said fiancée before I let him fuck me in his truck after my shift, I would have chosen another dick to ride instead. After I had already been stalked and h
With my mates close by, their familiar earthy scents like an aphrodisiac that made me wet between the knees, I let out a contented sigh. I was sprawled out between my Alphas, naked and unbothered, staring up at the night sky, the stars had also come back out after the storm, and it was now the witching hour. “Holy shit!” I shot up like the forest bed had overheated beneath me, “I’m late for work.” Grey was on my left, and he sat up as I did. His thick hair was messy, though I was not the cause of it this time. Traces of moisture still adorned his tight body and tempted me greatly to follow the trails with my tongue. I shook off my lust, though it was not easy to do, and got to my feet. Roam remained spread out arrogantly on the grass, hands behind his rain kissed hair, his proud cock jutting out without shame. “Take the night off Rabbit. Besides I have yet to punish you for your disobedience, Luna.” That wicked glint in my dark mate’s eye promised that I would likely enjoy his pun