Under the Alpha's Protection (Steamy Werewolf Shifter Menage Romance) (2 page)

In my pleasured haze, I was somehow more alert now. I gather it’s because the
reluctantly fantastic
bout of oral sex was over, and I had to deal with the fact that a total stranger was disentangling his lips from my clenched legs. As he pulled back, I noticed the curls of brunette hair that hung down his chiseled face, and how broad his shoulders were. His chest was incredibly built, and as he stood up, I could see that the rippling muscles extended across his entire frame. This was
not
a guy who skipped “Leg Day” at the gym, because even his calves looked like rock-hard trunks.

Speaking of trunks, my gaze took in my surroundings. I was lying on a bed of grass in the woods, with the moonlight filtering in from brief patches of emptiness in the lush canopy above. I had historically never been able to see so clearly in the dark, so I wondered how I could take in all the trees around me, little details like the wood grain along them and the way their branches intersected to form the ceiling above.

My fingers grasped into the grass beneath me. It was soft, almost spongy, and full of life. The very smell of it hit my nostrils with a pleasant, soothing aroma, and I felt more relaxed than I’d ever been.

Well, besides
this
asshole, who was now standing above me and watching me with some curiosity.

“You probably have a lot of questions,” he mused aloud.

“You might fucking say that. Give me one goddamn reason why I shouldn’t
destroy
your balls under my crushy-foot.”

He winced visibly, frowning as his shoulders shrunk. “I’d
highly suggest
you not jump to that…but now that you’re back with us, I think it’s time we explained what’s happening to you.”

“We?” I asked, sitting up quickly. “What’s this
we
bullshit—”

Within that moment, I noticed two other faces peering from around the trees. They looked similar to him – highly defined faces, powerful jawlines, obviously incredible bodies.

“Oh, you have
got
to be fucking kidding me.”

“It’s time we met, Fiona. My name is Langdon…think of me as your guardian angel.”

~

After I was finished repeatedly punching his ridiculously sexy chest in unbridled fury, I finally settled down and demanded my clothes back. Throwing my shirt, panties, and miniskirt on, I decided to let him tell me whatever the fuck was actually going on.

“I met your mother the night she died,” Langdon started.

It felt like I took a swing to the gut, and I held myself against a tree for composure. Concern swam across his face, and he reached out for me, but I swatted at the air. Taking a few deep breaths, I glared at him. “This had better be good.”

“Do you know about your parents? How your mother died?” He asked tenderly, a look of remorse crossing his eyes.

“Uh, just what my grandmother told me,” I answered cautiously. “A freak accident. She was behind the wheel of a car, and was struck by someone. As for Dad, well…he was never in the picture.”

“That is…partially true,” Langdon continued. “Gloria told me that she intended to hide the truth from you until you were ready…I had assumed by now that you must have known.”

I had been prepared to discount everything he said, and sort of go along with this serial muff-diver in the woods until he dropped my grandmother’s name casually in conversation.

Now
he had my interest.

“Go on,” I tentatively instructed.

“In order for you to believe what I’m about to tell you…perhaps you need to know who we are. We guard these woods. This is Parker and Adrian, my pack mates.” He motioned to the others, who had withdrawn from the trees after I stopped punching their friend. “I am their alpha male, and de facto leader. It is I who upholds the Oath, and they are my willing companions and friends.”

“Okay, hit
rewind
for a second there, buddy,” I told him angrily with my palm held up. “Pack mates? Alpha male? What sort of weird frat boy bullshit
is
this?”

Langdon smiled at the others. “Boys…I think it’s time we showed her a little demonstration.”

The other two – Parker and Adrian, he had called them – smirked at each other and stared me in the eyes. I realized now that their eyes were a brilliant, piercing shade of green…
had I missed that before?

But before I could focus on the details, the very air around them seemed to glimmer. Snarling, the men dropped to all fours, their bodies twisting and limbs swelling as their hair rippled across their skin and darkened. I screamed and threw myself back against the tree, for mere
seconds
later, I was confronted with a pair of
wolves!

“This…fucking…
night
,” I murmured in half disgust, half fascination. “I mean…what the
hell?!
”

The wolves padded up to me, eying me strangely. I reached out and grasped gently at one’s fur, mesmerized by what I was experiencing. He pulled out of touch after a moment, and they retreated and changed back, immediately reverting back into the others.

“This is unreal,” I murmured. “I mean…holy shit.”

“And now that you have seen this, you will believe me when I tell you about your parents…”

~

“You see, he was a powerful man, your father,” Langdon continued. “Werewolf shifters in four states respected him, even those well outside his jurisdiction. He was a just man, a righteous man, and a role model for us all.”

“You’re saying…my father…was a werewolf. Howling at the moon, turning into some big wolf guy. My
dad
.”

“Not exactly. He was a
shifter
, unbinding him from the rules that afflict were-folk. You see, just like us, he could transform at will, but most importantly…he retained his intelligence. Your father did not lose his faculties, like typical werewolves. He remained just as sharp as a man as he did as a wolf…and some of his heightened senses remained when he reverted to human form.”

“So…what happened to him? Did he run off, and now I have to go find him? Track him down? Was he scared of being a werewolf dad?” I asked, bitterness seeping into my voice.

“Your father is dead.”

Another figurative gut-punch. I felt fuzzy in the head, reeling from this piece of information. They knew my grandmother’s name…they could turn into wolves…maybe they were making some of this up, but if they were right…it tore apart any fantasy I had of tracking the bastard down.

“Were-shifters typically pose no threat to their environment, to the people in them. They are peaceful guardians of humankind. However, there are humans aware of them. Dangerous ones. The man who killed him was a vicious murderer, one of the order we call the Hunters.”

“The Hunters?”

“An organization dedicated to the eradication of shifters,” Langdon told me. “Small in numbers, but committed. Efficient. Even with only a dozen members known to us, each with a different modus operandi, they’ve eradicated countless shifters in their reign of terror. A member of the order hunted your father down and murdered him cold blood.”

I felt sick to my stomach.

“Unfortunately, your father was not alone. He was with your mother. I don’t know where they were going, but I believe they were on their way to pick you up and flee the forest. They knew the Hunter had appeared, and they were desperate to reach you, even at great cost to themselves. They…didn’t make it.” He turned away, his face torn with emotion.

“This Hunter…he got them.”

“Hunters don’t attack humans. Even humans mated to shifters. But in this case, your mother was driving, and your father’s enemy needed to stop the car…”

I couldn’t take any more of this, and Langdon paused. Immediately at my side, he held me as I burst into tears, falling into his chest.
It’s not fucking fair,
I remembered screaming in my head.
I can’t even remember either of them
…

“Your father survived the crash, but he didn’t survive the attempt on his life,” Langdon whispered. “He took the Hunter down, but succumbed to his wounds. I was nearby – I had sensed the attack on one of our own. Regardless of him being my lord, I fled here as fast as I could…but it was too late. He was gone.”

With eyes full of tears, I looked up at him, searching his gaze. There was nothing but heartfelt compassion in them.

“But your mother was clutching to life, barely. I heard her last gasps, and I rushed to her side, showed her what I was. With her dying words, she made me swear an Oath – that I would watch over you, protect you. It was unusual for a human to make an Oath of one of her mate’s subjects, but I swore that I would defend you until the day I died.”

I was sapped of words, retorts, anything that I could possibly offer in exchange.

“I have remained in contact with your grandmother over the years. I’ve always remained close, keeping an eye on you – and tonight, I came to you as you lay dying in the city.”

It flashed across my mind. Everything was there; the drug addict, the gun, the pain…

My hand touched to my skin, where the bullet had penetrated. The pain was gone, and so was the wound. I ripped up my shirt and gasped when I saw the bare skin, free of damage. “What the fuck?”

“You did not turn into a werewolf shifter,” Langdon remarked. “Or perhaps you are a late bloomer. But your father’s rich blood runs through your veins, and some of the benefits to his lineage are yours as well. One is the propensity to heal mortal wounds through lust – coming to climax will bring you back from the edge of death, so long as your head is connected to your body and there is blood in your veins yet.”

“You’re saying that sex can heal me?” I realized how attractive I considered him, and how I’d been unable to peel my eyes from the rigid edges of his body. The other two weren’t too bad looking, either. Collectively, they were more handsome that every guy I’d so much as
kissed
in my life.

“Good as new,” Langdon smirked. “I am sorry for the discomfort earlier, but it was literally to save your life. All shifters can heal from sex. Arousal halts the mortal wound in its tracks, keeps the life force intact, but coming to climax will repair almost all. Sometimes it takes several sessions, or more intense lovemaking, but one will rejuvenate usually. It’s tied to our primal essence.”

“This is…so much to take in…” I murmured, licking my lips. “You know, ten minutes ago, I thought you were some insane fuck. But now…there’s so much. I just…” I took a step forward and stumbled, sliding back into his arms. “Shit, what’s all this?”

“You must still be weak,” Langdon told me. “After all, I carried you miles, stopping to keep you turned on enough to stop the blood flow. You lost a lot…I’d be surprised if you didn’t need more time to recover.”

A wicked idea had occurred to me, as I had let my eyes linger over his broad shoulders during his explanation. “My father was your
lord
, right? What does that make me?”

He paused, looking at the others. “I…don’t quite know, actually. We treated him as our king in these parts, as did all the others in these states.”

“Would you say I’m royalty? A
princess
, maybe?”

“I…suppose maybe so. You’re not a shifter, at least you haven’t changed yet…but the logic makes enough sense. What are you getting at?”

My sly grin stretched across my face. I’d figured out a way to save my birthday after all. “I wish to be good as new, and you went through all the trouble to drag me into the secluded woods…your
princess
demands you finish what you started.”