The Alpha's Choice (37 page)

"This is how I love you best," he said as he
rose, "Soft and naked in my arms. Come, kitten, you must be cold."
He led her to the bed and pulled back the cover to tuck her
beneath.

Kat knew the spring night air was chilled,
but she felt nothing but warmth at his touch and his words. The
champagne and the strawberries sat forgotten as they tasted the
sweetness of each other.

She pleasured him with her mouth and hands as
he pleasured her, their passion rising and peaking together, but
without release. His fingers danced over her clit until her need
was almost painful and then he turned her and gently raised her
hips as he knelt between her legs behind her.

She cried out when he entered her, not caring
who heard. He filled her with his passion, driving into her with a
force she relished and absorbed. Closed eyes opened wide when she
felt him in her mind, his pleasure and fervency melding with hers.
Higher and higher they rose together until an almost unbearable
desire for completion overtook them both.

He covered her then, his chest against her
back, still driving deeply into her and then his mouth was at the
soft place where her neck met her shoulder, the place where he'd
found she was most sensitive. He kissed her, licked the spot once
and then bit down, his teeth instantly breaking through the tender
skin.

Kat's cry was not one of pain, but of ecstasy
as her body orgasmed in an explosion of sensation and light that
rocked her to her core. Charles' body shuddered against her and he
cried out her name as he reached his release with her.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She
could only feel his love bursting inside of her. He was her Alpha.
She was his Mate. She collapsed onto their bed of pillows and
down.

Charles rolled to the side and gathered her
to him. "Are you all right?" he asked and when she didn't answer,
he asked again. "Are you all right? Did I hurt you?"

Kat started to laugh. "If I say yes, you'll
think you hurt me. If I say no, you'll think I'm not all right."
Her body began to shake. "No," she said suddenly, "No, I'm not all
right. I can feel them Charles. I can feel them all in my head. I
can feel them all in my heart."

Charles pulled the covers up around them and
held her close to his chest. "It's the pack. You're their Mate. Lie
quiet for a minute until you get used to it."

They laid there, quiet in each other's arms,
bathed in the moonlight and the afterglow of their lovemaking. She
could still feel the pack, but it was no longer shocking nor
painful now that she knew what it was.

"Is this what you felt when the mantle
fell?"

"No," he told her quietly, "You share only a
small corner of the mantle. The burden of it is mine to carry."

"Oh Charles, I'm sorry. I didn't
understand."

"That's part of the burden of carrying the
mantle. No one but another Alpha would understand. It's a fortunate
Alpha who chooses a Mate whose heart is willing to carry even a
small part of it."

No one had asked her if she was willing to
carry this and yet now that the feelings were becoming more settled
in her mind, she knew that she was. This was no burden, but an
honor; to be trusted with the emotions of her pack.

"It's love," she said as sure of it as she
was her own name. "The Mates who love their Alpha share that love
with the pack. It's the ones who are taken against their will that
can't share the mantle. Their love is stripped from them. They've
nothing to share."

Chapter 36

The champagne bottle was empty as was the
bowl of strawberries. Kat dozed, safe in her lover's arms and
reluctantly roused at Charles' gently prodding hand. It was still
dark and her woodland bed was cozy.

"Leave me alone, beasty boy. I'm having a
lovely dream and you're ruining it." She snuggled in closer to the
warmth of his body beside her.

"Too tired to go for a run?" Charles said
quietly next to her ear.

She loved that voice, his sexy voice, so deep
and rumbly.

"I don't run," she mumbled, "You know that,
beasty boy. I read someplace that it's bad for the knees and
ankles. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I'm a city girl.
We only run for the bus."

She opened one eye and smiled coyly. "Unless,
of course, some Big Bad Wolver comes along and wants to play. Then
we'll run and run until he catches us."

"I'm going for a run," Charles said, tossing
his covers off and rolling to his feet.

Kat stretched lazily, reaching her hands high
over her head which allowed the covers to slide down and over her
breasts.

"Come back to bed, Big Bad" she coaxed.

"My wolf wants to run. I thought my Mate
would want to run with me."

Kat was suddenly wide awake. "Holy shit. How
could I forget? What time is it? How long do we have?" She crawled
to the edge of the bed and onto the ground. On hands and knees, she
looked up at her mate. "How do I do this?"

"You don't. I do," he laughed, "And you don't
have to start on your hands and knees although I must admit, the
position is enticing. It reminds me of…"

Kat sat back on her heels. "I figured if I'm
going to end up on all fours anyway, there was no reason to get
up."

"Your right," he said, "I like that position
even better. You're just the right height to…"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, beasty boy.
I thought we were going to run." She pushed herself to her feet and
then looked around. "Are they still out there?" she whispered.

"They are."

"Can you make them go away?" She stepped
closer to Charles, feeling exposed in a way she hadn't felt before.
"When we change, I mean."

"They can, but they won't. They know their
duty." He pushed a stray curl from her cheek.

"Will they run with us?"

"Yes," he said firmly and raised his finger
in warning. "And there'll be no changing my mind. They'll keep
their distance ad let us be, but they will run with us and they'll
keep watch."

"So they'll see me when I stumble over my
four paws and fall on my snout, when I step on my tail and then
chase it."

"You won't fall on your snout or chase your
tail. If it itches, I'll scratch it for you." He took her hand.
"Are you ready? Of course you are," he answered himself and they
were suddenly engulfed in light and magic.

Kat was so stunned, she didn't have time to
think about what was happening to her body, as her form shrank and
expanded into something new. Bone remolded as muscle reformed. The
momentary ache in her face was replaced with a sharp tingling
sensation over her entire body. A sharp poke in her rear end
startled her and then it was done.

Charles' wolf was grinning at her. She could
feel his laughter even though he made no sound. Her nose twitched,
attracted by the scent of the bed. Hmmm. Sex smells. Good smells.
Charles smells. Better smells.

Charles started to walk away and she followed
him, cautiously at first, because four legs moved differently than
two. She looked behind her at her tail and frowned. It dragged. She
tightened her muscles. It rose and she smiled.

She heard Charles laugh again and order her
to follow. He wasn't speaking in words, but his meaning was clear.
They walked a ways and then he began to trot. Kat had to trot to
keep up. Then he ran. Energy burst through her limbs and suddenly
she was flying over the ground.

Sound was everywhere. Birds called in the
trees. Squirrels skittered along branches, something rustled
through the leaves at her feet and she jumped, skid, stumbled and
ran on. Charles stopped abruptly. Kat stopped, too. Deer. Where?
Ah, there. Kat's stomach tightened at the sight of the doe grazing
peacefully fifty yards off. She was hungry. Hunt? No! She wasn't
ready for that.

Charles ran on and Kat was aware of the
others running with them. Pack. Pack was good. They reached a
clearing. Charles chuffed and an image formed in her head. She
understood. Two wolves home. Report. She saw an image in her mind
of a grassy area in front of them. Three wolves left. Three wolves
right. Female follow.

Her human mind was still active, but subdued.
It marveled that she could see so well in the dark. Her wolf was
unimpressed. The sights, smells, and feel of the night were more
important. The Alpha was more important. The placement of the
wolves surrounding them was more important.

Charles faced her and placed his face next to
hers, eye to eye. He laughed and bumped her snout with his. She
bumped his back and suddenly they were bumping and pawing, mouths
open, teeth flashing. He hit her hips and knocked her off balance.
She regained her footing and lunged. He bowled her over and
straddled her body. She kicked with her feet, rolled and took off.
He chased. She evaded. She laughed. This was fun. This was
play.

Occasionally, Charles glanced at the sky,
checking the time, she eventually realized. Her wolf had no sense
of time passing. There were things a wolver had to learn.

They played and ran until Charles said stop.
It was time to go home. Home? This could be home. Run, play, hunt,
eat, sleep, mate. Good. Her human mind gave an emphatic No! Home,
children, food, mate. Game over. Time to go home.

She was trotting toward the Alpha when the
warning flashed through her. No! Run! and then Down! Kat was
confused. She hesitated. A sharp CRACK! Gun. A cry of pain, a yelp.
Charles ran past her. RUN! HOME! His directions were clear, but
where was home? A picture of Hell Hall blossomed in her mind and
suddenly she knew where home was. Kat ran.

Two of the wolves ran with her and she was
grateful not to be alone, but where was Charles? Her human mind
told her to call out to him. Her wolf instinct told her not to. She
was not his concern. As they ran through the trees, ignoring the
path, she kept Hell Hall in her mind and let her feet fly. They
knew the way home.

As they reached the edge of the woods, one of
the wolvers, nudged her gently, side to side and chuffed. Stop. Her
instinct said run. Don't stop until you are home. Safe. The wolf
nudged her again, more forcefully and she stumbled. Stop! Kat
stopped.

The wolvers to either side of her flashed and
came home. Kat looked around, expecting to see Charles and then her
human mind remembered that this was the full moon. The men could
come home without his aid. She could not.

"Stay here until we signal it's safe," one
said. He was naked, but neither her wolf or her human cared. Both
wanted her mate, her Alpha.

Kat sat on her haunches to show them she
understood.

The two men were halfway across the field
before Ryker came trotting out to meet them. As if given some
unseen signal, other men came from the house and tents and travel
trailers along the far side of the field. Ryker waved her in.

She hesitated, suddenly conscious of her wolf
body among all these humans. A tall, rangy, dark wolf suddenly
separated from the men and trotted her way. River!

He trotted up to her and tossed his head in
the direction of the house. Come. Home.

She yipped and if she'd been human, she would
have covered her mouth. Where did that come from? She felt River
laugh. He understood. He was new to this wolf business, too.
Together, they trotted toward the house.

Now what? Kat was quickly learning the
disadvantages of being a wolf. She understood everything they were
saying, but no one was saying what she wanted to hear and she
either wasn't skilled enough or it was impossible for her to
communicate. What was happening? Where was Charles?

Bless her dear, curler covered head, Tilda
brought her a bowl of water. Need overcame self-consciousness and
she lapped at it thirstily, finally moving aside for River to drink
his fill.

"You should come inside," Tilda told her.

Kat could only sit back on her haunches and
stare dumbly at the woods to voice her refusal. River sat beside
her.

All the other men had apparently come home.
Why hadn't River? She tried to form a picture of his human self in
her mind with a question mark. The picture reformed into his wolf.
No!

River snarled. Kat snarled back. River
snarled again. Kat chuffed in exasperation and gave up. Teenaged
wolves were as obnoxious as human ones. And then she thought maybe
first timers couldn't come home on their own. Maybe they needed the
Alpha or another male to show them the way. River wouldn't be the
type to ask.

She, on the other hand, was stuck here as a
wolf until the Alpha brought her home. If he didn't make it back
until after sunrise, she would be a wolf until darkness fell again.
Shit!

She blew out air through her lips to show her
irritation, laid down facing the trees and lowered her head to her
outstretched front legs. River mimicked her position and together
they waited.

And waited. And waited. Her wolf had no sense
of time, only fast and slow, and her human had no watch. Her wolf
waited a long, long time. Her human understood it might be only
minutes, but she was a wolf and minutes had no meaning. Shit!

When Charles finally came walking through the
trees as a man, Kat was on her feet and running. She heard people
yell at her to stop. She dodged the hands that would hold her back.
Her mate, her Alpha was home and she felt an overpowering need to
be near him, to see him up close, to feel his touch.

She was vaguely aware that he carried another
human in his arms, but that was not nearly as important as her need
to be near him. She circled him, felt her head begin to shake back
and forth in happiness and her body followed, right down to the tip
of her tail.

Charles didn't laugh or show any signs of
greeting. It was like a slap and it was enough for her human side
to take notice. Tanner lay unconscious in Charles' arm. His side
was bloody and the smell was irritating to her nose. Charles was
bloody, too, but she knew it was Tanner's blood and not his own.
She could smell that, too, but she could also feel his weakness.
She whined and nudged Tanner's hand. His breathing was shallow and
his heart beat slow.