The Alpha Wolf (Crystal Forest Lake Shifter Series Book 5) Read online

  “We’ll talk about it later,” I said, leaving her there, running as fast as I could toward the training area, where Sam and Camilla were both watching pairs fight each other. I burst in on them and ran to Sam.

  “I need your help,” I said to him. Camilla gestured for everyone to stop and turned to me in concern.

  “What’s wrong?” Sam asked with a frown.

  “Gabriel is gone. Jackson took him to Harley. I think he’s hurt.”

  “Why would Jackson do that?” Camilla asked slowly.

  “Because he’s working with Harley. So is Alicia. I hope to god you two aren’t.”

  “We’re not,” Sam said, stripping out of his clothes already.

  “Go on home,” Camilla said to the trainees, gesturing for them to disperse.

  “Do you need the scent?” I asked.

  “Got it,” Sam said. “It’s all over you.”

  I blushed and looked away from him, and he turned his eyes to Camilla.

  “You coming, baby?”

  “Yes. I owe him,” Camilla said.

  “Stay beside Sophie. I’m going up ahead.”

  “Okay,” Camilla said, taking her clothes off as well. She shifted into lion form, lithe and silky, walking beside me quickly as Sam went on ahead. I jogged, pushing past my aching lungs, making sure that I had Sam in my sight as much as possible. He was moving quickly ahead of me, and it was a long time before I saw him shift and run through the trees. I started to run as fast as I could, gasping when I saw Gabriel on the ground, trying to climb to his feet. He was covered in mud, dark bruises, and blood. When he lifted his face to look up at Sam, I saw that he had a black eye and his cheekbone was swollen. He gave Sam a dull look as Camilla shifted and hurried over to them. Both Sam and Camilla helped Gabriel to his feet and he stumbled, not saying a word, eyes darting everywhere but at me.

  “Gabriel,” I said, going to him, touching his cheek. His eyes focused on mine and he smiled, blood dripping from his mouth.

  “Hi, angel,” he said brightly before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed in their arms. I followed them hurriedly as they lifted him up to carry him from the woods and back to the village. I heard footsteps behind me and swung around to see Jackson hurrying toward us.

  “Is he okay?” he asked, nearly shoving past me to get to Gabriel. He stopped Sam and Camilla and looked at him closely, an anguished and worried look on his face.

  “What did you do, Jackson?”

  “I had no choice. I had no choice. But I wasn’t going to let her kill him.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “She just kicked his ass real bad.”

  “He seems drugged,” I said.

  “I...uh...hit him in the head. I had to knock him out.”

  “You didn’t have to,” I snarled at him. He shook his head, a guilty look on his face.

  “I’m sorry, Sophie. My daughter and my wife were threatened.”

  “He is your Alpha,” I snapped.

  “I know,” he said, sounding deflated. “I know.”

  “Just stop talking. We need to get him back to the village.”

  “We’ll take him right to the medical hut,” Sam assured me, but I shook my head.

  “I need you to take care of him. Alicia is a part of this.”

  “She didn’t have anything to do with this. This was me,” Jackson insisted. I shot him an angry look, half ready to kill him and half-aware that it wasn’t all his fault, that Harley had no doubt forced his hand. It didn’t matter in that moment—all I could do was worry for Gabriel and feel hatred for Harley swirling in my stomach. We got back to Sam’s hut and rushed Gabriel in, where Jackson waited outside while Sam carefully undressed Gabriel, revealing small bloody wounds all over his body, as if he’d been pecked all over by birds everywhere but his face.

  “I’ll clean him up, see what I can do. Doesn’t look like he has anything major.”

  “Check his head,” I suggested. He nodded.

  “Do you mind waiting outside with Camilla?”

  “I—”

  “Come on,” Camilla said in a gentle voice, taking my arm. Jackson paced back and forth outside of the hut, with Alicia in tears right beside him. I didn’t say a word to either one of them but instead sank to the ground and sat down with my arms wrapped around my knees. I tried to calm myself as I sat there for a long time. Sam came out and I immediately stood up.

  “He’s awake. Got a headache. He wants to see you and Jackson.”

  “What does he want to see Jackson for?” I asked. Jackson grunted.

  “Probably to send me away,” he said, voice laced with pain and torment.

  “It’s okay,” Alicia said, taking his hand and kissing it. I ignored them and hurried into the hut to see Gabriel sitting up in bed. I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around him, peering closely at his face. I brought my fingers up to his bruised eye, then softly kissed the lid.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Are you?” he asked, touching my cheek. I laughed.

  “I am.”

  “Good,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead. He turned his eyes to Jackson, who looked down at him with a look of anticipation on his face.

  “You were protecting your family?” Gabriel asked in a quiet voice.

  “Yes, sir. I was,” Jackson said, sounding slightly choked.

  “Are you mine?” Gabriel asked. “Mine alone?”

  “Yes,” Jackson said firmly. Gabriel paused for a moment, looking him over. Then he reached out and took Jackson’s hand. Jackson shook it and gave him a small bow, emotion welling up on his face.

  “I’d like to talk to you and Alicia tomorrow,” Gabriel said. “No punishment. Just questions.”

  “Thank you, Gabriel,” Jackson breathed in relief. Gabriel nodded, then looked at Sam.

  “Can I get going?” he asked.

  “How’s your head?” Sam asked me.

  “It aches, but it’s fine.”

  “What happened to you?” I asked, turning his face to me.

  “She sent her birds after me,” he said, looking down at the wounds all over his body with a grimace.

  “And your eye?”

  “That was for killing Gerend,” he said darkly. I swallowed hard.

  “Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand. We walked back to the hut and when we got in, I turned to him, kissing him softly, holding his hand.

  “Did she say anything?”

  “More of the same. She was mostly focused on the torture thing this time.”

  “And her arm?”

  “Gone. I don’t know if she’ll be able to regenerate it or what, but she didn’t seem otherwise affected.”

  “We have to bond,” I said. “We need to do it now.”

  “Sophie, I don’t think that’s a good idea. The prophecy—”

  “Gabriel,” I said, putting both my hands on his cheeks. “We’re going to die either way. We might as well be as strong as possible.”

  “You’re not going to die,” he grumbled.

  “Not if you’re strong enough to keep me safe,” I said. He paused, staring into my eyes.

  “Do you really want to do this?” he asked seriously. I swallowed hard, not pulling my eyes from him.

  “Yes,” I whispered, though there was a hint of doubt at the back of my mind, nagging at me, reminding me of his potential for cruelty. I pushed it away and tilted my face upward to kiss him.

  “You have to be sure,” he said. “You have to love me.”

  “Maybe I do,” I said. He shook his head, but I could tell he was torn.

  “What happens if we...do it, and we don’t end up bonding? What happens if the bond doesn’t form?”

  “Nothing,” he said slowly in a gruff voice, dragging his teeth over his bottom lip, eyes fixed on my face. “Nothing happens.”

  “So we might as well try,” I offered, shrugging.

  “Sophie,” he said, voice shaking slightly. “I want you more than I’ve ever w
anted anything. I’ve never needed anything more than to feel what it’s like inside you. But—”

  “But what?” I asked, tracing my fingers over his jaw, over the scars on his face.

  “But I’m not doing this if you’re not fully into it. I can’t do this with you just because you want to get it over with.”

  “I don’t. I don’t want to get it over with. I want it to last all night long—longer. Are you up for it?”

  “Yes. Always.”

  “You’re hurt.”

  “I don’t give a fuck,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me gently against him.

  “You want me to fuck you?” he asked against my lips. “You want me to cum in your little pussy?”

  “Yes, please,” I said, knowing at least that my lust was real, that everything had been coiling and building up to release in this moment. He took my mouth hungrily with his and undressed me with quick and nimble fingers, though his hands trembled more with each button of my shirt. He looked up at me when my breasts were revealed, his eyes reflecting the desperate hunger that I was feeling in my own body. My pussy was achy and swollen, ready for him, wanting to skip everything to get to the best part, the part I had been dreaming about for over a year.

  “We have to take it easy,” he said, pulling me onto the bed with him, sitting up and pulling me on his lap so that our chests were pressed together. He took my mouth in another hot kiss, holding his cock still with his hand as I lowered me slowly onto it, already soaking wet and needy. I moaned, losing my breath when I sank as low as possible, taking him entirely inside of me.

  “God,” he gasped, hands moving to my hips. I stayed there for a long moment, feeling carried away with emotion.

  “I love you,” he said. “You’re so perfect. Just perfect.”

  “Do you promise?” I asked him as I started to move my hips, lifting them up and down, ignoring the pain in my ribcage, the bruises on my back. He lifted his hips slowly against mine, a look of captive wonder on his face before he leaned in to kiss me, slow and hot and deep. Every time I moved I pushed him deeper and deeper, my pussy clenching and squirming, the feeling of him inside of me so good and natural and pure that I felt tears fall down my cheeks, wetting our lips. He pulled his lips away, seeming to understand as he kissed the trails on my cheeks.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Thank you,” I whimpered, riding against his lap. My hips sped up and the pain in my ribs grew sharper, but I continued to ignore it in favor of taking his cock over and over again. The pleasure overwhelmed the pain, a feeling so powerful that it overwhelmed my senses and made it hard to breathe or think.

  “How do we know if we’re bonding?” I panted after a long moment.

  “We would know.”

  “Are we? Is that why it feels so good?”

  “It feels good because your body was made for mine,” he said, the words coming out between ragged breaths. “But no, we’re not bonding. I don’t think so.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said softly.

  “God, don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry,” he breathed, guiding my hips gently against his. I lost my breath completely when he reached down and started to rub my clit with two of his fingers, but then inhaled sharply when my hips jerked against his, falling forward, my ribs screaming in pain.

  “Oh, angel,” he said, lifting me off his lap. I let out a soft, bereft cry that turned into a hard wheeze as my ribs cramped again.

  “You’re in no shape for this.”

  “But—”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, laying me gently on my back in the bed. “I should have known better.”

  “It’s okay,” I told him as he kissed down my body, brushing his lips against my bruised ribs.

  “Let’s get some sleep,” he said.

  “But the bonding—”

  “It wasn’t happening. You’re not ready.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought...maybe I was.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “I just have to make you fall in love with me completely. I have to make you want to bond.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I think I’ll do some good old-fashioned wooing,” he said.

  I giggled. “Really?”

  “I think so. I’m going to do my best.”

  “What if it never happens?”

  He touched my neck with his fingers, tracing them over the curve of my shoulders.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he said softly. “Go to sleep.”

  “Can we sleep together? Do I have to go in my room?”

  “I was hoping you’d ask me that sometime.”

  I chewed on my lip as he lay down next to me, gently pulling my head to his chest. It was quiet for a moment as he held me.

  “Sophie?” he said in a soft voice.

  “What?”

  “I think this is the best moment of my life.”

  “Good,” I responded with my heart fluttering, kissing his chest, closing my eyes. I fell asleep there and didn’t wake up until morning. He was already out of bed and in the kitchen, and I could hear the sizzling of bacon as I got out of bed. I went into the kitchen and he turned to grin at me over his shoulder, a smile that made me light up, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

  “Good morning, angel,” he said as I approached the stove.

  “I love bacon,” I said.

  “Good. I made a whole pound.”

  “I’m eating the whole thing,” I stated. He chuckled.

  “Feel free. I don’t really like it.”

  “You don’t like bacon?” I asked him.

  “Not really. I’m not a big fan of meat.”

  “You’re a wolf...”

  “And I’m full of surprises,” he said. I laughed as he carried a plate of bacon over to the table and set it in front of me, then sat across from me and picked up an apple.

  “I’m sending Alicia and Jackson away today.”

  “I thought you forgave him?”

  “I do. I want him out of here with his family.”

  “You need him.”

  “I do, but I want him safe. The baby, mostly.”

  “Okay,” I said. “What else?”

  “We both need to heal. I wanted to train today but we should take it easy if we want to—”

  “Try bonding again?”

  “Yes,” he said. “That is, if you want to.”

  “I want to,” I assured him.

  “Then we need to relax today. I want to take you somewhere.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “It’s a surprise. I set it up this morning.”

  “You set what up?” I asked, studying his face. He winked at me, making me blush.

  “You’ll see.”

  “Is it in the woods?”

  “It is,” he confirmed.

  “Okay,” I said slowly. He laughed.

  “You sound nervous.”

  “I am nervous.”

  “I told you, I’m wooing you,” he said.

  “Right. Making me fall in love,” I said.

  “Exactly. That starts today.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, feeling excited for whatever he had planned. I finished eating and got in the shower, and a moment later he joined me there, just like I knew he would. He took the soap from my hands and he lathered them up, cupping my breasts from behind.

  “You didn’t get to cum last night,” he said, kissing my shoulder, tracing my nipples with his fingertips.

  “Neither did you.”

  “I don’t care about that,” he said, lips moving to my neck. He sank his teeth into it gently, then brought his lips up to my ear, his hands reaching for mine. He took them and placed them on my breasts.

  “Do what feels good,” he said. I was surprised that I didn’t feel shy about his command, but like it was natural. I started to toy with my nip
ples while his hand slid down my stomach, finding my pussy, beginning to rub my clit with his palm.

  “God that feels good,” I gasped, moaning when he slipped two fingers into my pussy. He bit my neck again, this time sinking his teeth deeper as he fucked me with his fingers. I dropped my hands from my breasts and held on to his arms, breathing heavily, humping against his hand. My legs nearly went out from underneath me as I shuddered, cumming on his fingers when they sped up.

  “Feel better?” he asked when he pulled his hand away, soaping them up and beginning to wash me in slow strokes of his hands. They were gentle on my back and my ribs as he dropped to his knees in the shower, kissing my stomach as he washed my legs from bottom to top. When we were finished and rinsed, he dried me off and let me go to get dressed so we could leave. He took my hand as we left, lacing our fingers while we walked to the woods.

  “Are you excited?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I replied as he pulled me along faster. We emerged into a clearing in the woods and I gasped when I saw the lush carpet of wildflowers of all different colors and shapes. I let go of Gabriel’s hand and went to them, touching the delicate petals, smelling the flowers as I passed. I followed around the edge and saw a blanket spread out on the ground alongside a bucket with champagne on top of ice.

  “What is this?” I asked him as he approached my side.

  “It’s...uh...a date,” he said, looking slightly sheepish, running his hand nervously through his thick hair.

  “It’s beautiful,” I told him as he led me to the blanket. We sat down and he opened the bottle of champagne, taking a swig from it before passing it to me.

  “No glasses?”

  “It was either this or mugs. I thought this was...sexier,” he said, stumbling over the words.

  “Are you nervous right now?” I asked, studying his face.

  “Yes,” he exhaled. “Very.”

  “Don’t be. This is cute.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “Very good. I love it,” I said with a smile. I took a drink of the champagne and so did he, then passed it back.

  “Finish it off,” he said. I did as he asked while he watched my face, his eyes dancing, filled with love and desire. I put the bottle down and he stood up.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.