Lady Alpha (The Wolves Of Winter Valley)

Chapter 2 - Pleasure, Pain, and Confusion

Seth POV

None of us made it back to bed before 8 a.m. and while the rest of the pack slept, I tossed and turned, for reasons that escaped me. It was nearly noon when I finally gave up and decided to check on the buildings along the northern and eastern edges of Winter Valley. When I found the gym untouched, I decided to spend an hour inside working off this annoying edginess that I couldn’t explain or get rid of.

The explanation slapped me in the face nearly an hour into my routine when Natasha came in, dressed in pearl gray leggings and matching bra top. Her silky ebony hair was bundled on top of her head in a tight bun with a mass of stray ringlets springing out all over it. Sweat from her 10-mile warm-up run glistening on her skin. My eyes locked on one bulging bead as it rolled from the nape of her neck and disappeared beneath the fabric of her top. I swallowed hard against the sudden and unexpected surge of desire.

Damn, she’s hot.

She sat her duffel bag on the bench and bent over to rifle through the interior. Distracted, I swung at the heavy bag and missed, knocking myself off balance. The metal barbell rack rattled loudly when I stumbled into it. Natasha’s head came up, her eyes met mine.

“You okay?” she asked.

“F…f…fine,” I managed to stutter, then wished I could cut out my own tongue for its betrayal.

I hadn’t thought about her that way since we were teenagers, since I’d found out she was gay. Crushing on someone who would never look at me in the same way, had seemed pointless. It had taken me months to purge her from my system, but I did it. Why those feelings had returned all these years later, I didn’t know. Shaking my head, I returned my focus to the heavy bag, but the clank of metal against metal drew my attention back to Natasha. She’d chosen to start her weight training with the adductor machine. Goddess help me. Her eyes were closed as she squeezed her thighs together, then eased them apart to the beat of whatever song was pulsing through her earbuds. Saliva pooled in my mouth and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the incredibly seductive movement. Nor could I stop myself from imagining those thighs wrapped around my head.

The sound of someone clearing their throat jerked me out of my prurient and inappropriate fantasies. My head snapped toward the door. Adam Keller stood just inside looking at me with his head c****d in silent question.  

“Got a minute?” he asked, tossing me a towel.

“Uh… Sure.” I wiped the sweat from my face and bare torso, then draped it around my neck.

I glanced at Natasha. Her eyes were open and steady on me as I crossed the room. I hesitated as I started to pass her. I felt like I should say something. Apologize for ogling her, for having inappropriate thoughts. Something. But I couldn’t. Apologizing would require admitting out loud what I had done, and facing the inevitable question ‘Why?’ And I had no idea why I suddenly wanted to bend my Luna over the weight bench and plow her as if my life depended on it. Even knowing that she was a lesbian was doing nothing to quash this unwanted tidal wave of lust.

Irritated even more than I already was, I pushed out of the gym and followed Adam to the gazebo that sat on a cliff, overlooking the rocky shore of the Atlantic.

“What the hell did I walk in on back there?” Adam asked when I sat down.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You were looking at our Luna like you were about to spread her on a cracker and have her for lunch, and she looked like she just might let you.”

“Really? No. Don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter.” I said, then shook my head and got to my feet. “It’s probably just the stress of everything that’s going on. She lost her father last night, the most important man in the world to her. If she was entertaining any thoughts about me, which I seriously doubt, it had to come from that. I don’t know what the hell my problem is.”

“Well, you’re a man. Worse, you’re a man with eyes. You can’t tell me that you’ve never noticed how insanely hot she is.” Adam lifted himself up to sit on the railing with one foot resting on the top rail, the other hanging down, and his back leaning against a post.

I glared at him as I leaned against the post opposite him. “Of course, I’ve noticed. I’m not blind, but she’s a lesbian. I couldn’t be any less her type if I tried.”

“I hate to break it to you, dude, but your c**k doesn’t know the difference between straight and gay. It only knows who’s hot and who’s not,” he said with a slight smirk. “So, I guess you need to figure out how to push Natasha from the hotlist to the not list, or you’re going to find yourself living under the spray of a cold shower until you find and mark your mate.”

“You’re a big help, thanks,” I spat at him sarcastically, then changed the subject. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“I’m going to pass on Gamma.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to silence me. “I know I’ve been groomed for it my whole life. I know that my dad was excited about passing the torch to me, but I’m not sure I can handle the responsibility and I don’t have a mate to share it.”

“None of us have a mate, Adam! Natasha isn’t even 25 yet!” I was livid. Roger, like my father and Alpha, had raised Adam to be Gamma. It had always been understood that Natasha, Adam, and I would take the reigns when our fathers retired.

“Look, Seth, I know you’re upset. I hate to let you and Nat down, but I don’t think I can do this,” Adam said, pushing off the railing and coming toward me. “I’m nothing like my father. He was born to be Gamma. I was born to… I don’t even know what I was born for, but I don’t think it was to be Gamma.”

I stared at him with my jaw clenched tight to keep from screaming at him. “The Full Moon is in four days. The Circle of Elders wants to have the Alpha ceremony then. The Gamma ceremony can happen anytime after that. It will be Natasha’s call. Take the time to really think about this. I know you’re grieving, we all are, but don’t make a decision this serious based on your grief,” I said as I stepped around him to leave. After I stepped down into the grass, I turned back. “One more thing. Talk to Natasha. She has a right to know what’s going on, she is our Luna and our soon to be Alpha.”

Natasha POV

Well, that was weird, I thought to myself as I shifted from the adductor machine to the free weights. I’ve worked out in this gym five days a week since I was old enough to start training. I’d worked out with Seth more times than I could count, even sparred with him. There was nothing different about either of us, at least not in the last few years. He always worked out shirtless, he was always sweaty afterward. So, why on earth did I suddenly have the urge to lick every drop of sweat from his body?

Not only had I not thought about Seth like that in years, but I was sure he hadn’t thought of me like that at all. At least, he’d never expressed any interest or looked at me the way he had been before he tore out of here like a dragon was blowing fire up his ass. So weird. Being attracted to a man wasn’t weird to me—I was bisexual, after all—but being attracted to Seth? Now that was weird.

I finished my bicep curls and began to work my triceps while my mind tried to wrap itself around my surprising reversion in the way I saw my very first crush and one of my oldest friends. He was sexy. There was no denying that fact, he had always been sexy… and gorgeous. The man was big and beautiful, standing 6’8” with muscles that bulged and rippled and drew every eye. His skin was sun-kissed perfection and was complimented by short-cropped, medium-brown hair and the warmest chocolate-brown eyes I’d ever seen. My stomach fluttered and a rush of warmth shot straight to my core. Oh my…

“Well, hi there, my sexy baby,” Harmony purred as she closed the distance between us and captured my mouth in a toe-curling kiss, juicing me up even more. “I missed waking up with you. Couldn’t you sleep?”

“I slept, but not long.” Desire’s sharp, jagged teeth sank into me, fueling an undeniable and insatiable need.  I moved to the door and locked it.

“Aww, you got that naughty look in your eye,” she said when I started back toward her, a salacious grin spreading over those luscious lips.

“Do I?” I asked, flicking my tongue over the spot between her neck and shoulder, where I hoped one day my mark would be. Slowly, I edged her backward toward the sauna, kicking off my shoes along the way. 

Her only response was a sexy little growl that came from her wolf. The sound drew a growl from my own wolf and threw fuel on the fire that was my need for this woman. It was unreal how much I wanted her, how much I craved her. We weren’t mates. We hadn’t marked each other. We weren’t even old enough to experience that deep, intimate mate pull. And yet, I felt like she was a part of me, that my life was intrinsically twined with hers. Pop had told me that in rare cases, the connection between two destined mates is so strong that it can be felt long before they come of age. As my birthday drew nearer, I hoped, and I prayed that Harmony and I were one of those rare cases.

Inside the little wood-planked room, I yanked her t-shirt up and over her head a little rougher than I’d intended, but I had to get my hands on her. If our days together were numbered, I wanted to make the best out of every single minute. My grin flashed when I saw that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Something tells me that you didn’t come down here to work out, my Queen,” I said as I dipped my head and feasted on those full, delicious breasts.

“Baby, you’re all the workout I need,” she confessed, pulling off my bra top and tossing it to the floor.

I swirled my tongue around each n****e, scraped my teeth over them, and suckled to soothe the sensitive flesh. Harmony tugged my hair free of its band and fisted her hands in my curls. I pushed her jogging pants and panties to the floor, then guided her to sit on the wood slat bench. After stripping off the rest of my own clothes, I settled in behind her and drew her back against my chest. I stroked down her body lazily, making her squirm and groan impatiently. My body trembled with restrained passion, but I wanted to take my time, teasing her, making her crazy for what I would do to her. Lightly, I folded my hand over her and pressed my curving lips to the side of her neck. My sweet chocolate drop was wet, hot, and throbbing.

“Tell me what you want, my Queen,” I murmured in her ear and flicked my tongue over the rim. “Tell me…”

Her hand closed over mine pressing it more firmly against her slick, velvet heat. “Touch me, please.”

I slid a finger between her swollen lips and brushed lightly over her pulsating clit. “Like this?”

“Oh, my Goddess, yes! More, please!”

With slow gentle strokes, I massaged her aching nub, relishing in her cries of pleasure and pleas for more. When her body began to spasm with the need for release, I cupped her breast and pinched the n****e between my fingers.

“Are you ready to come, baby?” I asked her, lightly biting her neck.

“Yes. Oh, yes. Please, Natasha. Make me come.”

I fisted my hand in her hair and turned her head so I could fuse my mouth to hers while I slipped my finger inside her. I drank from those plump, juicy lips as I probed and stroked, slowly at first, to force her to start that climb all over again. Her body writhed on the narrow bench and her breath sobbed from her lungs as she drew closer to that euphoric peak. My finger thrust in and out of her like a piston, picking up speed as her cries grew more and more desperate. Her muscles tensed only seconds before the orgasm slammed into her, ripping a feral scream from her throat.

Harmony POV

I came so hard I nearly doubled over with the gush of juices that poured from me. Instead, I reached back and locked my arms around Natasha’s neck, holding her more firmly against my back while my body continued to convulse.

“You are so beautiful when consumed by lust, baby. I could spend every minute of every day watching you writhe under my hands.”

Natasha’s voice had taken on the thick, dark sweetness of molasses. It flowed over me, stoking the fire within while the moist heat of her breath caressed my hypersensitive skin. That deep, throbbing ache of arousal surged back to life in an instant. I pushed to my feet and faced the woman I loved. Taking her face in my hands I ravished her mouth as I eased her back into the corner of the bench. The need to taste her was so strong, I dropped to my knees, ignoring the jarring pain that radiated up my thighs. I lifted my eyes to hers, everything I felt was mirrored there. The love and fear. The urgency vanished and was replaced by the need to savor—every touch, every taste, every emotion that flowed between us. I took her left foot in my hands and scraped my teeth over her arch. She hissed out a breath. Slowly, I drew my tongue over her smooth flesh, inching my way up that shapely, mile-long leg. My girl was a long, athletic 5’9” with tantalizing curves and traffic-stopping looks. I was blessed to call her mine and I thoroughly enjoyed the hateful looks of jealous men when I kissed those beautiful lips or filled my hands with her firm, round bottom while off pack land.

Natasha shifted as I neared the source of her heat. I inhaled deeply taking in the scent of her arousal. A deep, rumbling growl emanated from my chest and was answered by one from my love. She thrust her hips forward and her fingers curled around the edge of the bench as I teased the gateway to her molten core with the tip of my tongue.

“Oh, baby,” she gasped and pressed her head back against the wall.

I lay my hands against her velvety soft inner thighs and smiled as I felt the muscles beneath quiver. I loved that I could make her tremble and I selfishly continued to tease, reveling in her body’s reaction. While I was enjoying driving my baby insane with lust, my own need snapped my control. My mouth closed over that sweet bud, licking, and suckling, urging her to crest.

“Come for me, baby,” I begged. “Give me that sweet nectar. I need it. I need you.”

Her body arched and stiffened. Her hand gripped the back of my head, pressing me more firmly against her core as she exploded, and delighting me with the way my name burst from her lips.

While she recovered, I rose and joined her on the bench. I drew her into my arms and rested my head against hers. My heart was overflowing and breaking all at the same time. I hated not knowing what the future held for us. I hated feeling helpless and that’s exactly how I felt. My life and hers would be dictated by the whims of the Goddess. Just like everyone else. It had been that way since the dawn of time, and it would continue that way until the end. There was nothing we could do to change that. We were two people, two wolves, desperate to hang on to what we had found together without the Goddess’s help. In the greater scheme of things, we didn’t matter. Our happiness didn’t matter, only the continuation of our species and the execution of the Goddess’s plan.

“Please stop thinking about it, Harmony.” Natasha’s hoarse whisper conveyed the effort she was expelling to suppress her emotions.

I pressed my lips into her curls. “I can’t help it, honey. The closer we come to your birthday the heavier the weight. I love you so much, Nat. The thought of having to walk away is killing me. I don’t know how I’ll live without you.”

She choked on a sob. “I just lost my father. I won’t lose you, too. I can’t. Whoever my mate is. If it’s not you, I’ll reject them.”

“You know what will happen if you do that. The Goddess created the mate bond for a reason, baby. To ensure the continuation of our kind. If you reject your mate, you won’t get another and you will cut your life expectancy in half,” I reminded her, trying to be reasonable, though I had thought of doing exactly the same thing.

Natasha lifted her head and kissed my lips softly. “Do you think that really applies to us? We’re women, we can’t reproduce together. We can’t ensure the continuation of our kind.”

Her chin quivered and I reached out, rubbing my thumb over it to still the movement. “We may not be able to reproduce together, but we can reproduce. We can raise a family and I think that’s the point. Mates come together to reproduce and raise the next generation. There are straight wolves who can’t reproduce and yet they create families in other ways. I don’t think it matters how the offspring come to be as long as there is a mated pair to raise them.”