Page 11 of Alpha's Claim

“You do mean fully shifting, right? Because I want to do this right.” She teased me and I laughed, nodding.

“Free and wild.” I said confidently.

“Oh my God you’re so cheesy. Go! Get out of here, go run around, and come back when you’re done being ‘wild and free,’” Yari said, making a soft sound of disgust. I could tell she was happy for me. She had her own unique way to show her affection. I laughed, shaking my head at her.

“Don’t let everything fall apart while I’m not here,” I joked back and Yari scoffed.

“Of course I will, I’m a great Beta. The people love me.” She grinned proudly and Cora let out a soft giggle. Good. I wanted my best friend to like my mate. My whole world was centered around Cora now, but Yari was no less important to me. I wanted so badly for them to get along.

“We’ll be back in a few hours.” I said, giving Yari a wave as I pulled Cora out the back door. “Probably.” Yari just rolled her eyes at me and waved us off. “Ready?” I asked, and she nodded.

I held her hand as we began to run into the forest, aiming to be away from prying human eyes when we shifted. There was no speaking, only the snap of twigs and the whip of leaves and limbs across my skin. I just dug in and kept up the pace until I felt like we were in the right spot to take our shapes. We just panted when we stopped, both of us making eye contact to agree that this was right. We were safe here.

I stripped off my clothes and so did she. She started to shift before me. Once again she was completely unabashed by her new form. How brash she was to simply shift- I loved it. She was perfect. Once we were both fully wolf I took in the sight of her. Jet black and with green eyes- she kept those features. I felt less than magnificent in my silvery gray coat and blue eyes. She was extraordinary even now. She let out a soft yip and sniffed along my neck. Her scent was so much stronger now and I couldn’t get enough of it, like sandalwood and vanilla incense wafting through the trees in the afternoon.

I made the first move to run, nudging her nose with mine before taking off. This always felt so amazing to me. Sometimes I wished I could stay a wolf forever and just release the pack to Yari and just make off into the forest to live in peace. It wasn’t possible, but it was a nice daydream I had.

In this form I was so much more agile and elegant, tearing through the forest with power and finesse. Cora was with me on speed, weaving through the trees like a figure skater, knowing exactly when and how to bend and move to make sure her feet were sure. It was like we had been doing this forever.

The trees were fading into fall colors and it all blended into one singular point in front of me and Cora out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t often choose to run with someone else- my mother and Yari were the only two people I had ever done this with. It felt strange- I felt like I really should be having more emotions than I was at the time. I just felt euphoric as we ran, taking in our scents in the woods. The trees blended into a beautiful painting in front of me and I breathed deeply to smell the scent of the moist forest floor and the clean air of the woods.

My coat warded off the light chill in the air as we ran. As the sun fell from the sky and the world got darker I began to slow to a trot before sitting down completely still. As I panted softly Cora came up beside me and lay down to catch her breath. It took a moment to place, but there was something so odd about the area we were in. There were the sounds of spring peepers in the distance. Those only came out in the warmer months- there was no reason I could think of that would explain it, but I was so in the moment I didn’t really care. I got back up and sauntered over toward the sounds, flicking my ears back occasionally to make sure Cora was still there. As if I could lose that scent.

“It’s warm out,” I flinched when she spoke, looking over to where she was standing again in her human form. “That’s so unusual for this time of year. Wanna go for a swim?” She asked, and I shifted back to be able to speak to her.

“Swim?” I asked, and she pointed out the lake just beyond the treeline. I took a few steps forward with her and looked up at the sun fading through the trees. “A cold swim might do us some good. Cool us off, you know?”

“Absolutely.” She smiled at me tenderly and I leaned in to kiss her softly. “Come on!” She giggled, taking off toward the lake. I followed. At the shoreline we both paused and I was tensed for the cold when I put my foot in the water. But just as with the glade around us the water was warm. I looked over at Cora in surprise, smiling slightly.

“It’s warm.” I said, beckoning her into the water with me. As she stepped in with me I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. She was as beautiful in the afternoon light in the woods as she was in the morning light in her apartment. The way she moved was fluid and purposeful and belied her strength of body. Like that of a dancer.

“It is warm,” she sounded surprised as she stepped in, disturbing the mud at the bottom of the lake. Cora moved in to waist height and I followed, watching the water in almost awe. It was reflective, like a mirror showing me the image of the sky above us. Hopefully it would be just as gorgeous at night, showing us the image of the moon and stars.

I walked out until it was easier to swim and met her where she was waiting for me. The spring peepers weren’t the only nightlife that showed up for our rendezvous either. As darkness fell the rest of the glade seemed to slowly come alive around us. I took her hand in mine and pulled it up to kiss the back of it, not breaking eye contact so there was no question who was earning my reverence. That was at that moment I saw the first firefly. She must have seen it in my eyes because her eyes widened in wonder. Lightning bugs were absolutely not supposed to be out this time of year.

There was the rustle of life around us. Nothing strayed too close- probably because they could smell us. But I could see little eyes in the dark. The expanse of the sky above us did reflect on the pool- I could see the milky way and I could.

“It’s like we’re standing in space,” Cora said softly, moving to wrap an arm around mine. “How clear it is, I mean. It’s like I’m standing in the center of the universe.” I resisted the urge to say something that would make me sound like a complete sap. Cora laughed, and I suspected she knew that I was forcing it back. When she turned to face me fully I was completely incapable of keeping our lips apart. We kissed with purpose in the low light of the stars and I wrapped her up in my arms.

“I need you,” she whispered to me, echoing my own need back to me. I carefully pulled her to the shore. I picked her up, taking her to a soft patch of soft grass we had passed through. When I set her on her feet she pulled me in for another passionate kiss. I hoped I was showing her how I felt in that moment, and I reached up to stroke her cheek gently.

We went to the floor in tandem, making it to a sitting position while we moved against each other. Once she had me how she wanted me she moved in to slide herself down onto me. I let out a soft hiss of pleasure and leaned up to kiss her as she rode me.

There was nothing frantic about this. It wasn’t demanding and needy like it had been before. We had silently decided to take it slow this time- the sanctity of the night seemed to demand it. I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her closer so that I could feel her against me. I slid my hand up her stomach, admiring every inch of her skin on the way to her perfect breasts. I moved to kiss my way down her neck and to her chest, where I took a nipple in my mouth gently.

I loved how she reacted when I lavished attention on her breasts, so I kept it up. I wanted to know that she was feeling pleasure because of me. My tongue rolled over her nipple as I sucked gently at it. Her moan, low and from the back of her throat, gave me all the encouragement that I needed to switch to her other breast. I ran my free hand down her side to gently grip onto her ass as she moved. Every inch of her seemed so sensitive and I loved it. Letting my hands and mouth explore her was a privilege I’d always remember.

She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in closer to her. I let her pull me in and leaned up to kiss her delicately. She returned the kiss and sped up the pace, digging her nails into my back. I loved it. I craved the marks on my skin, proof of her. They would remind me of her until they unfortunately faded. I slid my other hand down to her hip and helped her move over me as she wished. It felt like hours but also no time at all that we were there, together, in the moment, in the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I wasn’t certain if it was her or the atmosphere or just this place, but I felt as if there was a deep and powerful magic over this place.

I was so close to coming, but I wanted to wait. It was important to me tonight that we came together. It was torture to wait as the pressure built up inside her because she would tighten around me so deliciously. After what felt like hours I leaned in to gently bite the crook of her neck and we finally came together. I fell back, pulling her with me, and just kissed her under the stars, surrounded by fireflies and magic.

Chapter twelve

Cora

Westonhadinsistedonaccompanying me home. Or at least as close to home as we could get until we could parse the whole ‘mate’ situation with my father. I stopped far enough away that I thought it safe to let him out, kissed him like it was the last thing I would ever do, and finished my drive to the estate of the Onyxfangs- my home.

As I tried to make my way to my room I saw him. He was headed down the stairs toward me. Whatever his intention was didn’t matter- it annoyed me. I couldn’t stand him looking at me now, not after I had been so happy with Weston.

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