Claiming Shayla

Chapter Sixteen

Rory took a calming breath and then eyed his furious mate. Her wolf had submitted to his dominance, but her human half needed to recognize his authority. As much as he loved her feisty nature, when it came to her safety and that of their children, he would not bend. Shay would obey him in this.

He allowed her to give him the cold shoulder and tolerated her snipes when forced to address a comment to him. Simply biding his time. She was safe. That’s all that mattered.

His heart had stopped and the blood had iced in his veins when he’d pulled into the driveway and Kian had telepathed what Laurie Bell had done. All he could think of was seeing with his own two eyes that his mate and child were safe. After that terror, Shay thought he’d allow her to blithely put herself in the line of fire again?

What if Laurie Bell decided to use a more direct method? Shay was such a fierce little thing, with plenty of heart, but she was going up against wolves in human clothing. Compared to Laurie Bell, Shay was fragile.

Rory had no illusions. It was only his presence, his protection that kept others from coming after her. Shay was human. Humans were prey. Touching his mate meant an instant death sentence. He knew it. The pack knew it. But they also knew killing Shay would kill him. There were some in his pack bloodthirsty and power hungry enough to take the risk.

As they moved the gathering to the dining room and settled down to a meal of ribs, slow-roasted pulled pork, baked beans, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and garlic toast, Rory watched his fuming mate pick at her food. If there’d been any question in his mind, any doubt about the validity of his feelings for Shay, they were now gone. He even loved the crazy woman when she was in a snit.

They spent hours relaxing over their meal and though he’d enjoyed their company, it was time for his guests to leave. When the women rose to clear the table and put away the leftovers, Rory signaled the men his need of privacy with his mate.

Caleb left first, citing a previous engagement for which he was late. Rory smelled it for the lie it was. Fortunately Shay’s senses weren’t as keenly developed, or she was distracted by her conversation with Kiesha.

Nikolai must have telepathed Shannon, for she cut off midsentence in whatever she was saying, shooting a startled glance at her mate, then a wary one at him. “Nikolai’s ready to leave. I’ll call you tomorrow,” she told Shayla.

“You sure you don’t want any of this food? There’s plenty.” Shay indicated all the plastic containers being placed in the fridge.

“No, we’re fine.”

“All right. See you later. Don’t be a stranger,” Shayla said.

“We need to be going too,” Alex said.

“Oh, but—” Kiesha began.

“It’s getting late. We both have work tomorrow and a long drive ahead of us,” Alex stated, giving her a meaningful look.

Kiesha pouted a bit, then said, “Let me finish helping Shay with this stuff. Then we can go.”

Alex motioned Rory out the room and over to the living room door. “It should go without saying, but in case you didn’t know, we’re family now. More than that, we’re friends. Your mate’s blood kin to mine. You trusted your sister to my keeping, and now she’s a valued member of my pack. Screw interpack politics. You need anything, anything,” he stressed, “call and we’ll come running. Friends watch each other’s backs.”

Rory mused on that a moment. Friends? He guessed they were. “I’ll do that.” Rory stuck out his hand. Alex clasped it hard and held. More than a handshake, it was an acknowledgment of the bond between them. A bond cemented by the women in their lives.

After Kiesha and Alex left, Kian took one look at Rory’s face and disappeared. But Rory was sure he’d return. Rory didn’t know what magic Shay had worked in his absence to pull his brother out of his shell, but he was glad to have his twin back.

Rory made sure the house was locked up good and tight, then followed his mate to their room. She had her laptop on her lap and seemed very intent on whatever was on the screen.

“Shayla.”

No response.

“Shayla.” This time Rory put a little force behind it.

“What?” Eyes that sparked fire glared at him over the top of the monitor.

“You are the air in my lungs, the very blood in my veins. There is nothing, absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do to please you. But”—he captured her gaze with his and held it hostage—“when it comes to your safety and that of our children, I will be obeyed. Completely and totally,” he finished in a firm tone that brooked no argument.

Shay’s expression went from anger, to a blooming flush of pleasure, to something indescribable as he finished his statement. His gaze dominated hers until after a long, silent, tension-filled minute, Shay capitulated by looking away first.

He continued to stare at her, his will an invisible but weighty force.

“In matters of our safety,” she reluctantly agreed.

He crawled onto the bed beside her. “Shay, don’t you realize you hold both of our lives in your hands? Do you think after having known you, after loving you, I could live without you?”

“I…” Through the bond he felt her need for independence war with his need for her. Love decided the battle, and she surrendered. “I know. You’re right. I love you too. I’d go crazy if something happened to you. I just want this over and done with. I want us to move forward with our lives without any threat to me or our child.”

He pulled her close to him. Shay caught the laptop before it could fall off the bed, shut it down, and set it to the side on the floor. Once it was safely out of the way, she snuggled close and rested her head on his chest.

“I thought about what you said,” Rory said as he stroked her hair.

“About?”

“About the damage it would do to the pack if I killed Laurie Bell,” he said.

“Not to mention the difficulty of hiding the body. You can’t just make people disappear like in the old days before computers,” Shay added.

He chuckled at her naïveté. “Shay, people go missing every day. The law is the least of my worries. Besides, it’s not like there’d be anything left of her to find.”

She tilted her head back to look at him, eyes rounded in shock, mouth gaping.

Using the tip of his finger under her chin to close her jaw, he continued with what he was saying. “I wanted to modernize the pack, so we’ll try doing this the human way first.”

Still looking a bit shocky, she asked, “And if that doesn’t work?”

“Then she dies.”

Shay stared for another moment, then shook her head and sighed. “As much as I like the picture you plant in my mind of her being eaten”—he flashed a brief grin—“dying’s too good for her. I want Laurie Bell to suffer and suffer hard for every second of panic she put me through. I want to find out what she desires most in life and take it from her. I want to watch her beg and plead until her tears turn to blood. Then I want to make her really pay,” she finished in a growl, golden sparks lightening her eyes.

Bloodthirsty, vicious, full of vengeance, and all mine. His smile, when it appeared this time, was slow and full of promise. “I think I can manage that.”

With one accord, they brainstormed the rest of the night.

Ashley knelt on the bed, facedown, ass high, arms outstretched and bound. Michael mounted her from behind. The first surge of his cock was deep, hard, and punishing. The second took him in to the hilt. He alternated thrusts with stinging, openhanded blows to her hips that set her pussy ablaze.

The rougher he got, the more she loved it. She was addicted to his brand of dominance. Though she told herself she was still in control, deep inside she knew she’d crawl over broken glass if Michael beckoned.

She clenched her vaginal muscles, smiling into the pillow when he groaned, then praised, “Such a sweet little pussy. You like the way I fuck it, don’t you, little girl?”

“Yes, alpha,” she gasped.

“Beg me to fuck you,” he commanded.

“Fuck me,” she parroted.

He stopped, going motionless. She whimpered and pushed back with her hips.

“Say it like you mean it,” he ordered.

“Damn you! Fuck me!” she screamed.

He laughed, a cold, cruel, mocking sound. Then he began to move. “Later I’ll do something about that dirty, disobedient mouth of yours.”

Punishment. A shiver of delight slithered down her spine, shaking her body, and caused her pussy to spasm.

“Oh yeah. You like that. You’re a good little bitch.” He spread her butt cheeks. “Look at the way your pretty pink pussy swallows my cock, leaving it all wet and shiny.”

Ashley clenched her inner muscles again, trying to lock him to her. She’d never had a man like Michael. One that knew how to turn her body inside out and make her crave it. With him the lines between pain and pleasure burned in an ecstasy so sweet. She’d laid a trap for him, but she was the one ensnared.

He placed a hand between her shoulder blades and pushed down. She obediently lowered her cheek to the mattress, her nipples rubbing back and forth against the sheet. This new angle allowed him to plunge deeper. He thrust harder, faster, until he pounded into her. Sounds of flesh smacking together and wet suctioning with each withdrawal filled the air.

“Please please please,” she begged. She was so close to the edge.

“Don’t come,” he ordered.

Ashley hung there at the pinnacle with every nerve ending screaming for release.

Michael reached a hand beneath her and viciously pinched her clit, ordering, “Now!”

She screamed as she erupted, coming so violently consciousness faded for a few brief seconds. Vaguely Ashley was aware of Michael drilling into her to the hilt, then grinding his pelvis against her ass as his cock pulsed and jerked in release.

Her breath shuddered. Aftershocks rocked her body. When he withdrew, she whimpered and her vaginal muscles tightened convulsively, trying to contain him.

Michael laughed and ran a soothing hand down her flank. “Such a greedy cunt.”

He leaned forward and loosened the bindings. Ashley held her position, though every muscle quivered with the effort.

“Good girl. You can move,” he said.

She immediately straightened her legs and eased onto her stomach, allowing tense muscles to stretch and relax before rolling to her side.

Michael had the lazy-eyed look of a man whose sexual appetite had been recently sated.

Ashley turned onto her back, spread her legs to draw attention to her sex, and raised her arms above her head, gracefully arching her spine in a languid stretch.

As planned, Michael’s heavy-lidded gaze traveled from her breasts to her mound. He quirked an eyebrow. “More?”

She slid her hands down her torso, paused briefly to tweak her nipples, then rested one hand on her stomach while the other continued south. Ashley spread her legs wide, opening herself completely to his view, rubbing gently at her vulva before easing her middle finger inside her tender, swollen vagina. As he watched, a growing hunger on his face, she finger fucked herself.

When his cock hardened and he rose to his knees in preparation for mounting her, she withdrew her digit and slid gracefully off the bed. Eyes on him, she sucked the juice off her finger. “I have to go. Class in the morning.”

His eyes narrowed. Inwardly she smiled. Power games. He might control her body, but she made sure she kept him wanting, kept him hungering. He gave a short nod. Ashley turned to walk out the room, feeling Michael trail behind her.

At the door he spun her around, lifted her by the thighs, and impaled her. Their fucking was fast and furious. Ashley clawed his shoulders and back. Michael’s eyes changed around the edges, going wolf. The first sign she’d ever seen that he wasn’t totally in control. Even as she thought how she could take that, use it, he gave a final jerk of the hips and pulled out, leaving her unsatisfied.

“Be careful who you tease, little girl,” he warned. Seconds later she stood on the stoop staring at a closed door.

Damn it! What will it take to break that iron control of his?

Ashley shifted and loped the two and half miles to her small place. She lived in one of the efficiency cabins owned by the pack, cleaning the lodge and cabin rentals in lieu of paying rent. Though dark, there was still a spattering of humans, tourists mostly, out and about, so she crept up to her rear door, which faced the woods, shifted, then slipped inside.

The blow sent her sprawling. A growl sounded as her wolf came to the surface, ready to defend.

“Whore! You’ve been with MacDougal. I can smell him all over you.” An irate Wesley stood over her, feet planted, fists clenched.

Reining in her wolf before it could spoil all her plans, Ashley made herself whimper instead. “I had no choice. I’m doing what you told me to do.” Tears sparkled in her eyes and on her lashes as she cradled her throbbing cheek.

“What I told you? I never told you to whore yourself,” he said in a furious whisper, his face flushing an angry red in the soft night-light she’d left on.

She held out a hand as though pleading for understanding. “Alpha, Rory’s denied the pack access to the house. I haven’t even been allowed in to clean. Only Caleb and MacDougal know why, and Caleb’s not talking.” Letting her voice go soft and shaky, she added, “I can’t get you his woman if I can’t get in.” Then she cast her gaze to the floor and waited.

There was a long silence. She could feel the intensity of his stare as he weighed her words, his jealousy warring with his thirst for power. Wesley didn’t want her as his mate, but he still considered her his and was extremely possessive. She was the first woman, the first person to recognize his greatness. She was his tool, yes, but one he didn’t want anyone else playing with. Ashley knew exactly how his mind worked.

Finally he sighed, reached down, and helped her gently to her feet. “I’m sorry. I should have known you’d never betray me. Forgive me for being such a jealous beast.”

Ashley slipped closer and seductively rubbed her breasts against his chest. “Alpha, you know you’re the only man for me. MacDougal took an interest in me after the howl. I couldn’t say no, not without causing suspicion or worse, speculation.”

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed. “Your body lush and firm. It’s no wonder he’s drawn to you.” Wesley ran his hands down her flanks, reversed directions, and brought them up to her breasts, which pebbled in his hold. “I missed you,” he admitted, breath becoming heavy as his lust rose.

She palmed his erection, stroking it the way he’d taught her. “No one pleases me the way you do,” she said in a throaty voice.

She walked backward, towing him by the cock until her progress was halted by the futon. Sinking onto the cushion, she spread her legs wide. “Take me. I need you. It’s been too long.”

Greedy eyes devoured her. Wesley dropped to his knees, gripped her hard by the thighs, and plunged inside.

She moaned and gasped, uttering praises meant to stroke his ego. He didn’t last long, but it was enough to stir the dying embers of the fire Michael had started.

“I came inside of you,” he mumbled, cheek resting on her chest as he sought to catch his breath.

“I wanted you to. It will cover MacDougal’s scent.” She languidly ran her fingers through his hair, her mind busy calculating her next move. “Did anyone see you come in?”

“No, I came in the back way through the woods.”

That would work in her favor.

He raised his head and looked at her. “You hadn’t been by to see me. Now I know why.” He was still a bit disgruntled.

Stupid of her, she admitted to herself, but she’d never expected him to come looking for her. She’d always gone to him, or they met in the woods. Fortunately she’d had her excuses already thought out. “I’ve missed you. Missed having your cock in my mouth,” she said, casting him a shy glance. Wesley liked it when she played the timid schoolgirl.

Another jealous glare. “MacDougal didn’t—”

“It’s not the same,” she interrupted. Truer words were never spoken from her lips. Sucking Wesley’s cock was simply a means to an end. Sucking Michael’s was pure pleasure.

Ashley pushed steadily on Wesley’s shoulders. “Lie down. Let me…” As he lay back, she flowed over him, her intentions clear.

As she sucked his cock, Ashley admitted once again to herself that she’d miscalculated. Caught up in her obsession with Michael, she’d forgotten her main agenda and Wesley’s part in it. She remembered the anger that had sent her running to Michael. So what if Wesley wanted to fuck the little human before destroying her? The human would be gone, and that’s all that mattered.

Besides, she had Michael in her bed now. The thought of him made the slumbering hunger in her awaken sharply. Lifting her gaze to Wesley’s, she licked her lips. His eyes followed her every movement.

“I want you again. I’ve missed you,” she said.

“You had him,” he complained.

God, had he always been this whiny? “But he isn’t you,” she explained, somewhat patiently, which was difficult because his attitude was severely straining her patience. “He doesn’t have your experience, your expertise.”

She rolled sensuously onto her back on the throw rug, pelvis tilted invitingly. “Fill me,” she encouraged.

Wesley hesitated the barest of moments before covering her, his hands and mouth greedy in their possession on her flesh.

This is power. This is what woman was created for. Men only thought they were in control, but let a woman flash some tits or spread her legs, and she ruled absolute. Men are tools to be used to get what I want. Thank you, Momma, for teaching me that truth.

Ashley let her body work its magic while her mind plotted her next step. Wesley had once more proven himself a liability. Worse, he was slipping the leash she had on him.

How dare he strike me! Not even Laurie Bell had dared raise a hand to her, and her mother thought Ashley was as worthless as the father who’d spawned her. But soon Laurie Bell would have to eat her words. Ashley would show her mother how important she was. The whole idea of sleeping your way to the top would work.

Wesley would get rid of the alpha’s mate. Ashley would then be honor bound to turn him in, resulting in instant death for the man. In his grief Rory would turn to her, and if not, Michael would make a great alpha. Ashley was sure she could convince him to take her as his mate, making her alpha-fem. And once she was the alpha’s mate, she’d rub her mother’s nose in the fact that her worthless daughter had managed to achieve the one thing Laurie Bell had always wanted.

Wesley hit a spot that jerked her out of her contemplation. Fully engaged, she put all thought of plotting aside and focused on reaching orgasm. When fulfillment was obtained and their breathing had calmed, Ashley said in a low voice, “Michael said I’ll be allowed back in the house on Tuesdays and Fridays to clean. Give me a week to let the alpha’s mate get comfortable with me; then I’ll get you into the house.”

Actually it was Caleb who’d told her, but Wesley didn’t need to know she hadn’t learned anything important from her visits with Michael.

“A week? That will be perfect. Gives me time to set up things on my end,” Wesley said. “Speaking of cleaning, when are you coming back to my place?”

“I’ll come Monday, same time as normal.”

“Good.” He stood and gazed down at her. “I’ll let myself out.”

“Be careful. If you’re seen…” She let the warning trail off.

“I know the consequences,” he muttered. “I’ll be careful.

He went to the door, cracked it open, and looked out, then with a quick wave, was gone.

It had been a scorcher of a day. Even now, as long shadows faded to night, humidity hung in the air like a moist blanket. In deference to the heat, Ashley wore a thin, dark blue tank with spaghetti straps that bared her belly button, and a faded pair of denim short cutoffs.

It had been two weeks since the incident with Wesley. Two long, frustrating weeks and she was no closer to her goal of being top bitch. She inwardly cursed her lack of progress as she made her way to the pack’s gathering place, deep in the woods in the state park.

The alpha, or rather his bitch, Ashley thought bitterly, had finally allowed her to come and clean, but only on Tuesdays and Friday at the time she designated. No more coming and going whenever it pleased her, and she was restricted to the first-floor common areas like she was some criminal who couldn’t be trusted around the alpha’s personal items.

Ashley could have made this new schedule work to her advantage, except every time she arrived at the house, the alpha had also been present, hovering over his mate. Seemed she suffered from a severe case of morning sickness, and it left her incapacitated. Weak! This was what happened when an inferior human was allowed to mate with one of their kind. Their puny bodies couldn’t handle it. The woman couldn’t even shift. She deserved killing.

A trio of voices called out, “Hello, Ashley,”

She waved in greeting, pasting a bright, fake smile on her face.

As she got closer to the meeting place, she ran into more pack members. It was the night of their quarterly howl, when the Sparrowhawks came together to run and socialize as a pack. The first thirty minutes or so was devoted to pack business. Then the floor opened for members to share news or bring issues to their leaders’ attention.

As a rule, howl attendance wasn’t mandatory, but no one missed if it could be helped, afraid they’d miss the latest news. From the many faces she’d seen, tonight would be no exception. Their pack was small compared to others, less than one hundred total. When Ashley arrived at the clearing, a quick scan showed a little over half of their numbers were present. More were arriving by the minute.

Another glance revealed the alpha, his bitch, Caleb, and Michael had yet to arrive. Wesley and the other elders were huddled in a group, talking among themselves as normal. There were other groupings as well. Some families stood together. The young, unmated males gathered in a small group, casting the occasional lascivious glance at the unmated females, who stood in another group. Ashley went and joined the unmated females.

The mood was jovial. Numerous conversations, the occasional burst of laughter, and called-out greetings filled the night. Wolves were social creatures by nature, and there was nothing like a run with fellow pack mates at night while the moon rode high in the sky. The ability to shed their human skins and run as the animals they really were. That was something Rory’s human mate would never know.

Full dark had fallen. The muted glow of the moon shone on the clearing as the humidity gave way to a layer of fog hovering over the treetops and no breeze of which to speak. Deep in conversation with a female adolescent she was particularly fond of, Ashley was slow to note the change of atmosphere. Little by little there was a beat of stunned silence, then a wave of hushed whispers.

“What’s he doing here?”

“Who’s that?”

“Is that Wolfe?”

“…alpha…Raven pack…”

“…pregnant mate…”

“Kian, my God, haven’t seen him since…”

“Thought he’d left…”

The alpha had arrived, and he wasn’t alone. Rory strode into the center of the clearing. Behind him was the human. But it was the ones who followed that caused the uproar. Kian, his black hair unbound, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that clung to delineated muscles that did nothing to hide his feral nature, trailed close—almost protectively—after the human female.

Ashley was so rattled by Kian’s seldom-seen appearance, she barely noted Caleb and Michael bringing up the rear. Rory took his place on the mound, in the center with the human female to his immediate left and Kian on his right. Caleb and Michael took guard position in front of the alpha pair at the base of the small rise.

Then Ashley noticed the other four. A mixed-race, pregnant female stood next to Shay. Hovering possessively on her left…was that Alex Wolfe, the Raven pack’s alpha? No wonder the pack was uneasy.

While Ashley was still recovering from the combined shocks, Shannon strode into the clearing with a tall man with dark hair, a goatee, and the face and body of a Playboy model less than a step behind, his hand at the small of her back proclaiming his ownership. Shannon walked to Kian and stood beside him, with the male to her right.

Rory made no move to quiet the group. He let the conversations continue until gradually, silence fell. Then his voice rang out. “As you know, from the time I became alpha, I’ve made changes in an effort to pull this pack into the twenty-first century. Many of our old ways were outdated. Some downright illegal. If we’re to thrive and grow in this new world of instant messaging, camera phones, and global networking via the Internet, we have to change.”

He paused, looked around at each group assembled before him. His gaze lingered briefly on the elders before returning to the rest of the pack. “Some welcomed the changes as long overdue. Others”—again his gaze went to the elders—“fought me tooth and claw, even as they benefited from the very changes initiated.”

There were some murmurs from the pack, the tone of which seemed to acknowledge Rory’s statement as being valid. The council appeared outraged but, after casting a leery glance at the still-muttering pack, remained silent.

“Tonight marks another new beginning for the Sparrowhawks. Even as the wolf who stands alone dies alone, so too does the pack without allies, destined to fade into obscurity.” He pointed to the Raven pack’s alpha. “A few months ago, Alex Wolfe found and mated his one, Kiesha Morgan. His one is cousin to mine, Shayla Morgan.” He gestured to Shannon. “You all know my sister, Shannon. She’s now a member of the Raven pack, with my full approval and blessing. Based on the blood that binds us, the Ravens and Sparrowhawks have entered into an alliance.”

While the pack was adjusting to the news, Rory nodded to Alex, who howled. A chorus of howls answered him, and more than just a few. Ashley spun with the rest of the pack, looking into the surrounding forest. A multitude of glowing eyes stared back. The outline of wolves formed as they drew closer—much larger, much stronger wolves. They surrounded the Sparrowhawks. Ravens, in wolf form.

There was more nervous chattering as the Sparrowhawks defensively drew closer together.

“This is an outrage,” Graham snarled, a hint of fear in his eyes.

“You made a decision without discussing it with the council? Why weren’t we notified of your intentions?” Bertram asked.

Wesley looked around at the wolves, then at his nephew. His face mottled with fury.

Rory’s left eyebrow arched. “I’m alpha. I discussed the issue with those who mattered—my mate, my brother, my men—before approaching Alex with the offer of an official pack alliance.”

It was a verbal slap in the face.

“And I, in turn, discussed it with my mate, my second, and my elders before agreeing,” Alex added.

“Where is your second?” Graham asked.

“She wasn’t needed for this,” Alex answered.

“She!” the old fart choked. Ashley rolled her eyes. The ancient wolf needed to do everyone a favor and die. She didn’t care that he was her uncle.

Alex didn’t bother responding, but his mate leaned over and whispered something to the human. She, in turn, rolled her eyes, then whispered something back. With their faces that close together, Ashley could see the family resemblance.

“What, exactly, do we get out of this alliance?” Bertram asked.

“More resources, more business prospects, a bigger pool of mates to hunt in. The Raven pack has medical resources we don’t. Their pack’s larger, stronger, more modern. It’s what we’re trying to become,” Rory said.

At the mention of mates, all the unmated males and several of the unmated females perked up. The females looked at the surrounding males with a gleam in their eyes, and some began primping. The Ravens’ males returned their looks with interest.

While hunting outside of your pack wasn’t forbidden, it wasn’t always strategic to do so, as pack politics tended to come into play. This new alliance with the Ravens just opened up a world of opportunity. Not that she cared. She already had her sights set on a mate.

“What are they getting out of it?” Wesley asked. “Seems like everything’s weighted in our favor.”

The Ravens’ alpha-fem spoke up. “We get the privilege of making sure you fuckers know if you touch my cousin or her child, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Alex closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. Rory and his siblings grinned. Shannon’s male didn’t show any reaction. He kept watching the pack, his gaze going from person to person as though looking for something. And the human? Well, she laughed.

“That’s not the way I would have phrased it,” Alex amended, “but what she stated is the truth. Because of our mates, Rory, Kian, Shannon, and I are family now. Their enemies are mine,” he finished in a hard voice with a cold stare. Gone was the affable persona, and in its place was the alpha that ruled a pack of over two hundred.

Ashley’s gut twisted, and her blood ran cold. She took in the posture of the group standing before them, shoulder to shoulder, and felt her dreams go up in smoke. Only a fool would go after the human now, and though Ashley was many things, foolish wasn’t one of them.