Page 14 of Alpha's Fate

I was reluctant to sit on what I thought was likely an old gravestone, but I also didn’t dare to be rude to her. Not when more of the insubstantial wolves stood up next to her so that she had what essentially seemed like backup. They didn’t speak, so I couldn’t guess at a gender for any of them. There was a long moment where the wind rustled the paper and threatened to blow it away before I bent and picked up a few small pebbles to weigh the corners down. It seemed like the Unseen couldn’t touch them to hold them down, the paper shivering right through their fingers.

“You come offering alliance,” she said finally. “To join with you.”

“Not to join. Not unless you want to. Our intention is to simply offer you a hand, to offer you autonomy, and offer our help.” I responded, folding my hands on the tableau between us.

“We want to work with you, not subjugate you.” Cora explained. “We offer resources and dignity to you. I assure you that’s all we want. We want a united county, a united forest. We offer you the same thing we offer every other Pack.”

That began an intense back and forth between us. Each of us laying out terms, deciding what was acceptable or unacceptable, and drawing lines and boundaries between the Packs. We started to build a rapport and a mutual respect, what we had hoped for. By the end of the talks for the day? Night? We were starving and the Unseen seemed worn and thin, less dense in their appearances. Everyone was exhausted.

“We should pick this up after rest.” I said finally, rolling up the paper for them and placing it underneath the tableau in a small crack between the stones it was resting on and the tableau itself. That way should the weather turn it wouldn’t be destroyed and we would still be able to find it.

“Rest.” The woman agreed, standing and shifting. “Return when you’re ready.” She gestured to the woods before crouching back into her wolf form. In an instant they were gone and we were alone.

“Let’s find a place to set up camp.” I said, standing and stretching, holding my hand out to help Cora up. She nodded, standing and nuzzling up to my chest and neck softly. I stroked her hair gently, running my fingers through it slowly.

“You’re right.” She said softly, leaning up to kiss me before she took my hand and led me off into the forest. It took us a little while to find a place safe to camp and we built a fire in silence, preparing to cook our dinner. We did everything quietly, seeming to be talked out. We ate curled up next to each other, eating out of our little camping gear and just settling in for thefirst time in what felt like ages. At the end of the meal I turned to Cora, leaning in to kiss her deeply.

“I need you,” I whispered, glancing between her eyes. She nodded immediately and moved to peel the shirt from her body. I gently guided her into the tent, unwilling to let anyone see us this time. Once inside I pulled her bra up and immediately went in to squeeze and suck her breasts, slipping my hand under the small of her back to encourage her to arch into me. She went willingly, already moaning under my touch. I slipped my hand down to unbutton her pants and pull them off, getting them down to her ankles before I flipped her onto her stomach and pulled her hips up and back to me, gently running my thumbs over the swell of her ass. I moved just enough to pull myself out of my pants before I thrust into her, staying still for a moment before I started up a rough pace immediately. She arched back and panted softly, and I slid my hand up her back to press her chest into the bedroll.

I kept up the rough pace, keeping it steady as I pulled her hips into my thrusts. I watched her ass bounce as I thrust into her, our bodies growing slick with sweat, my pace picking up as I drove into her. Little groans and moans came out of me as I moved faster inside of her, and she was whimpering and pleading softly, fingernails dug into the fabric of the bedroll to the point I thought it might tear. Good. I wanted her beneath me, begging, tight and wet around me as I chased my own high.

“Weston please, yes, don’t stop! I need you, I want you so much,” she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. I gave her what she needed, manhandling her a little to get her up on her elbows so I could reach around her to catch a breast in my hand. I palmed over it, squeezing and massaging it as I drove into her body with lust and purpose. We needed this. I needed this- to own her for just one night, to have her give herself and her power to me oh so willingly. I loved our dynamic, I really did, but thisnight was not about romance. It was about me taking us to the edge.

“You feel so good, Cora. Every time we’re together you feel better around me,” I groaned, squeezing her chest as I ran my thumb over her nipple. She moaned and I gently gripped her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck so I could suck a mark into the skin there. I wanted to mark her so everyone knew she was mine. She was mine and I was hers- I needed to prove that, to show everyone that our love and passion was real and tangible. Nothing could break us. Nothing.

Cora came far before I did, collapsing onto the fabric beneath her as I kept moving inside her. Once she was relaxed and pliable I pulled out and flipped her onto her back, using the pants still tangled around her ankles to hook her legs over my shoulders and slid back into her wet heat, once again picking up the pace as I thrust into her. Her arms were over her head and her head was tossed back in pleasure as I chased my own orgasm.

Seeing her so pliable and submissive beneath me just did things to me. I never thought about it before, just needing to take her thoroughly like this. The fact that she was generally as dominant as I was in the bedroom turned me on. I loved it about her. It was one of the things I found sexiest about her. This, though- her giving herself to me like this so willingly just because I needed it was just as arousing. Having her like this just made me even harder, made me move faster as I sought what I alone needed made me love her even more.

Her delicious cries and moans pierced directly through my chest, driving me further, to reach deeper inside of her and pull out everything I needed from her. I pulled her up into a sitting position in my lap, balancing her weight so I could thrust up into her, fast, hard, and deep and I grunted softly each time our hips met with a messy, wet sound. Every sound from our bodiesand our throats drove me on, begging me to get what I needed. I watched, enraptured, as she moved a hand down to pleasure herself as I moved inside her. When she came she brought me with her, pulling her hips down roughly so I could fill her completely, pulling her in for a kiss.

“I love you so much,” I whispered against her lips, and she smiled.

Chapter fifteen

Cora

Ibroke away from the kiss and nuzzled into his neck, kissing down to his shirt neck. I pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the side, moving to untangle myself from my pants and shoes. Once I was free and Weston was stripped down I moved to lay down, pulling him next to me and the blanket over us. It was nice to just cuddle, to just lay my head on his chest and hear his heartbeat and know he was alive. We were alive and safe and happy andthat’s what mattered. At some point I drifted off there, cuddled close to my mate and feeling good for the first time in a few days.

When we woke we went about our morning routine, still nude but wrapped in a blanket as we sat and cooked our meal. We chatted back and forth about our plans for the estate, just mundane things to pass the time and make us feel better about all of the strangeness around us. It was a nice passtime, just reassuring me that yes, things were crazy and scary and overwhelming, but we still had our home to go back to. There were things that needed to be done logistically, things we needed to do to settle things within our Pack. It was a droll conversation and one full of joy and hope. Just something to look forward to. Moving onward and upward, fighting our way toward our goal as we worked.

“I just think that it’s time to really confront the elders. I know they think they should be in charge and we’ve been treating them like they’re the neighborhood watch alliance, but honestly they need to realize how much they’re holding everything back and either get in line with us or wander off and form their own Pack of old people.” I sighed, and Weston laughed.

“I agree, honestly. In the face of all this it kinda seems weird that we would go back and just let them do what they want. It’s crazy,” he agreed. “Like after this? They’re not scary. And they’re not porcelain dolls, they should be treated like the whining baby people they’re acting like. Not just the elders, but all of them. At this point I’m genuinely fine if they want to leave. Our Pack is still going to be the leaders we should be and either they’ll work with us or we’ll run them out,” he made it sound so simple. But honestly, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it completely fine if they wanted to leave? We should let them. We prided ourselves on promoting autonomy amongst the Packs of Schuylkill and it made no sense to keep things the way they were.

“You’re right.” I agreed, nodding slowly. “You’re absolutely right. They can work with us or leave at this point,” things made so much sense when put in this context. “What we’re trying to build is just so much more important than the pettiness we’ve experienced with them.”

“You know what else? We’re both real gross.” I laughed at that, drawing out that goofy grin from Weston that I loved so much.

“That’s very true. I think the river is nearby if we wanna clean off a bit,” I suggested, and he tilted his head up to sniff the wind.

“I think so. And yeah, I do wanna kind of clean up. I hate being caked in sweat and substances and fairy dust,” he scoffed softly and I giggled.

“Let’s go, then.” I gathered up the soap, razors, and camping shower together and we set off toward the only source of water nearby. I shifted and gathered the bag of supplies up into my mouth and we trotted off into the woods, ignoring the whispers and shifting shadows. The idea of letting it creep me out just upset me, so I was determined to just not be afraid of the scary things. That was the first trial, right? Have no fear. We couldn’t do this if we were afraid. Nothing would get done, we would fail, and we would suffer the catastrophe we were so afraid of.

Once we made our way to the deeper part of the river we set up, shifted back, and waded in. The water was cold, shockingly so, but once we were used to it it was no worse than the air around us in this part of the forest. We bathed slowly, just enjoying the current of the water and the company we were in.

“I get it, I think,” Weston said softly. “They’re so isolated and look at where they’re living. They must want more, you know? They have to. No wonder they’re being so stubborn about certain things. Like I totally understand why they’re unwilling to enter into an alliance with us without talking about it extensively. It makes no sense for them to just fall in line.”

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