The Demon and His Plaything

2| The next day

Samantha sat at her vanity. She was watching the final remnants of her rope burns heal as she ran a brush through her hair.

She wondered if she could talk Godrick into cutting her.

Finished brushing her hair, she put it into a simple braid. She kept her chestnut hair glossy and long, make-up to a minimum and her dresses demure. The model daughter of an Alpha.

She had lived her life understanding all the stepping stones in front of her–a map not of her making.

She stared back at her reflection. She supposed she liked it–her reflection. She was pretty in a very classical way, with a slightly upturned nose and plump lips. Her mouth was perfectly proportioned, the edges sitting in line with the centre of her eyes. The warmth of her hair framed large green eyes.

Except for her typical beauty, Samantha had learnt pretty early on she wasn't like those around her. But the emotionally available person, a large portion of her childhood had been spent working out how to act around other people. Her teen years were a facade, just hoping her wolf would fix her when it came.

Her wolf, when it came in six months earlier, hadn't helped in the slightest. She felt her human side was more assertive, more instinctual. Her wolf amped up all her base desires. It was her co-conspirator in her need to be dominated. She was starting to suspect her wolf was a little mad.

The next obvious difference was Samantha's kinks. Later in her teen years, she had found opportunity to fool around a bit, realising in practice she liked a rougher type of play.

A magazine had helped to put a name to the desire she felt deep down. She found it at a human rest stop, when travelling with her family to another pack only a couple of years before. The magazine showed a woman tied to a chair–but not how you'd imagine. The woman was kneeling on the chair, her stomach over the back of it. Her ankles were tied to the front of the arm of the chair so her legs were drawn open, her hands tied behind her back. That had been the start and her wolf brought that out in her more.

She picked up her phone. He hadn't messaged back. She had messaged that morning asking if she could f**k herself. Her thoughts were consumed by their time together. She had never actually done what she did with anyone before. While there had been a few online trysts none were like with him. The things he wrote to her, from the beginning, had driven her wild. She'd not let anyone before talk her into meeting up in person.

A week to wait.

She checked her wrists. No marks left. Time to face the day.

Samantha trotted downstairs from the Alpha floor to the common rooms on the ground floor. There was an elevator but she rarely took it.

It was breakfast time in the pack house, the busiest of all the meals in the building. It was essentially an apartment building incorporated with a resort-style hotel, where the ruling Alphas family and their Beta and Delta families, as well as those who worked there, lived. It was large and sprawling. The Alphas family took the top floor in a massive penthouse apartment as well as two suites for esteemed guests or for when members of the family wanted more of their own space.

The third floor was split for the Beta and Delta families, others that helped to run the pack and more guest suites. The second floor was for the kitchen staff and cleaners, gardeners and guards and any single wolves who wanted to move out of the family home. That wasn't an option for Samantha who still lived at home with her parents. The first floor then had additional housing in the west wing with offices for managing the pack in the east.

The ground floor had a gym, pool, ballroom, conference room, kitchens, theatre and games rooms–everything and anything they might want. A place where all the young people in the pack could come and hang too. The ballroom was set up for the meals of the pack. Anyone could eat here whenever they wanted to. Her family had their own kitchen and dining room but they usually ate down here.

Samantha took her usual seat next to her mother. Luna Rachel and Alpha Andrew were talking to her younger brother, Arthur.

Her best friend, Tracy, the Beta's daughter was sitting in her usual spot next to her older brother, Derek. Tracy gave her a stern look, Samantha responding with a silent ‘what?’ expression.

"Where were you last night?" Tracy thought at her.

Samantha's expression remained innocent. "I was home all night."

"Bullshit."

Samantha was rolling her eyes at Tracy when her little brother yelled. "Mum, Samantha's mind linking."

Samantha glanced at her brother. He was only ten and an absolute brat. She hoped he got better with age. Luna Rachel looked at Samantha. "Samantha, please refrain while around Arthur, just until his wolf comes in." She added over mindlink, "Or he gets over this."

That was the current thing, his little tantrums because he couldn't do wolf stuff yet. Heaven help us when he can mind link at will, Samantha groaned internally.

She felt the vibration of a new message on her phone. Her fingers twitched to look at it but she knew someone would see her checking a message and who outside of this room would she even be in contact with?

Samantha ate quickly, wanting to get back up to her room for the half an hour she still had before her training session.

As she was saying farewell, Derek spoke up. "See you in training."

As she had been recently, Samantha did her best to not make eye contact with him. She just nodded. Derek and her were each other's backups. If they didn't find their own mates by the time she was twenty-two then they would mark each other. This was so she could get a pup or two in before taking over the pack at twenty-five. As the son of a Beta, he was well-placed to lead the pack. Both their parents still wanted them to have the chance to find their mates, both parents with their own respective fated mates.

Samantha felt as impassive about the prospect as when her parents spoke to her about it shortly after her eighteenth birthday. They'd practically paraded every male over eighteen from the pack, and the neighbouring packs, in front of her at a big birthday celebration for her eighteenth. It had been boring, and, if she was honest, humiliating.

She'd be lying if she said she'd never had less than platonic thoughts about Derek. He was hot. She wasn't blind. He was also her best friend's older brother–it was cliche for a reason.

She waited until she was back in her room to open the message.

Holding her breath, she opened her phone to see what his answer was.

Godrick: No.

Her heart hammered, her fingers shook as she messaged back. Yes, sir.

She was already in her activewear so she headed back downstairs, walking slowly now. Tracy caught up with her when she was halfway to the training grounds.

"So?"

"So, what?" Samantha kept her voice light.

"I came by and you weren't home."

"Did you come into my room?" She asked.

Tracy frowned. "No."

"Well then, I just must not have heard you. I was listening to music most of the evening."

Tracy went quiet but continued to walk with her. "You just don't seem to want to hang anymore," she said quietly.

Samantha stopped, looking at her oldest friend. They had done everything together growing up and since Samantha found her wolf and Godrick she had been keeping to herself more.

"Sorry Tracy, I just have a lot on my mind. I've got to start my full-time Luna preparations now that high school is over and Dad wants me to continue my training," she gestured to where she was going, "hence this morning. I have to make it through every day's session this week so that I only have to do it once a week once Luna training starts next week. And if I can't keep up he'll make me do more."

Tracy shifted on her feet. "You haven't said yet if you'll come with me to the summer ball. It's less than two weeks away now."

Samantha sighed. There was a ball like this every six months, where Wolves across the area came together with the hopes of finding their mate, fated or otherwise. This was the first one being held since the two of them turned eighteen.

"Sure." She gave her friend a practiced warm smile.

Tracy beamed back. "That's great. Let's get our dresses tomorrow then."

Samantha cringed inside. Of course, she'd have to do the whole besties getting ready for a dance thing now. "Sure."

She continued onto the training field, her feet feeling extra heavy.

Her father and his Beta, Benjamin, were running the class today. Derek was front and centre as always.

When Samantha's father saw her, he motioned her over. This would be her first session at this level of training, having to join the elite warriors in their training regime now that she was out of school.

She jogged up to him. "We're just getting everyone to stretch and then partner up… Derek, why don't you and Samantha pair up today?"

Smooth, Samantha thought dryly.

Derek responded quickly, "Yes, Alpha."

Samantha bit the inside of her cheek, reminded of her responses to Godrick. Samantha went to stretch over by Derek. He looked a lot like his father, though he was much more clean-cut and softer in personality. He was handsome, tall and broad, blonde and blue-eyed.

She didn't know what Godrick looked like. She knew his voice. Before they met in person they had spoken over the phone, a few video calls where they kept their faces hidden. She loved his voice. He sounded dangerous. He smelled and tasted dangerous too. There was no doubt that he was something other than human now that she had met him. Her experience with meeting otherworldly beings was low so she couldn't place it. It was enticing though.

Setting her feet hip wide, she bent at the waist and pinwheeled stretched. She caught Derek checking her out from her upside-down stance, smirking when Derek hastily looked away.

She missed hearing the instructions and looked around trying to pick it up without asking Derek to explain it. It seemed to be standard sparring. The scoring was whoever won the last round, not the Too easy.

Settling into her stance, she studied her opponent. His eyes flitted about her, watching for her first move. She could tell he was going to be a real pill and hold back, wait for her to attack and just defend.

His attention was drawn to the sound of her sucking her tooth in thought when the signal was given to go–the split-second distraction she needed to take the offence. First faking to the right and then sliding to the left, she hooked his foot and palmed his chest as she rose back up. He landed with an oof, the wind knocked out of him.

She jogged back to her spot, shifting from foot to foot waiting for him to stand.

"Sammy…" her father's voice was in her head. Okay yeah, that was a d**k move–she was an alpha herself, it didn't mean a non-alpha could never beat her–if they were skilled enough, but if they were taking it easy like Derek thought he needed to be–well yeah. She was gonna beat his ass.

Derek sat up with one knee bent, his hand on his knee. "s**t Samantha, you got fast."

He climbed to his feet, his stance only taking form for a second before he was coming for her. She twisted her body, pushing to jump sideways and dodged him. He jackknifed back a step and his arm hooked around her. She felt her feet lift off the ground. He was being too soft on her still–cushioning the blow of her hitting the ground with his arm, a grunt leaving him. He left an opening as they tumbled and Samantha shifted from him on top to underneath her. A small groaning sound left him as she flipped him onto his back. She straddled high up on his chest, her knees coming down onto his upper arms, pinning them.

A tickling flutter settled in her soft folds at the pose and she saw the horrible moment of Derek's eyes growing wide as he scented her faint arousal. She hadn't been able to release her s****l tension with Godrick's refusal, and this was stoking her fire.

Flicking her ankles, she bounded back up to standing, bouncing on the balls of her feet to jump back away from him. They had a small audience now.

Her father and Beta Benjamin were watching now too.

"Don't hold back Derek." That was her father.

Thanks, dad, she thought.

Derek's face was very serious. Heck, she wanted to win too. She had noticed something about Derek–he kept glancing at her bare midriff.

She sidestepped so she and Derek's father were behind her. Waiting for his gaze to drop, she then ran her middle finger across her stomach. His eyes widened slightly and glanced up to her face. The second his eyes traveled up she tongued her top lip. He hesitated and she took it, sliding along the ground and twisting her legs around his. As he fell to the ground she leapt onto him, pinning him, her pelvis sitting just above his.

"Game, set and match," she said triumphantly.

He just stared up at her. "Yeah."

She jumped up and looked at her father. He grinned and then he and his Beta exchanged money. Ha! A bet. At least her father bet her to win. They didn’t need to know she had fought dirty.

She turned and offered Derek a hand up.

"Good sparring." She was being honest. She didn't have many opponents in the pack. Her father was the only other alpha wolf here. And he could easily put her on her ass any day of the week.

She turned her helpful hand into a shake, his hold on her hand in congratulations held a beat too long.

Her hand slowly pulled from his to twitch uncertainly at her side from the prolonged contact. "If you stopped holding back you might give me a run for my money."

He gave her an easy smile, though his eyes flitted around in telltale awkwardness. "Maybe."

She was sure they used to talk more words than this before the sort of betrothing. It had made things really weird between them. She could only hope he found his mate.

~*~