Bitten by the Alpha

Quinn

I breathed a sigh of relief when Sky finally arrived in a Cadillac SUV. She was in the passenger seat, and a blond guy was driving.

“There you are!” she exclaimed, helping me into the car. I was still wincing from the pain of being away from Jaxon.

“I told you, you couldn’t leave, didn’t I?” she chided.

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

The car started, and we were soon heading back towards the hospital. The further we drove, the less intense the sensual pressure became. Thank God.

I didn’t think I could handle another thought about Jaxon without his clothes on. Just remembering some of the images that had flashed in my mind was enough to make me blush.

I noticed the blond driver looking at me in the rearview mirror.

“So, this is the new Luna, huh?” he asked, smirking. “Welcome to the family!”

He looked a lot like Sky. The same complexion, bone structure. Only their eyes were different. Where Sky’s were a jade green, his were a redwood brown.

They were kind eyes, I thought. “I’m Alex, Sky’s brother,” he said. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” I said. Then, frowning, “Sorry, did you just say…Luna? What’s that?”

Sky playfully hit him in the arm, shaking her head. “Just had to open your big mouth, didn’t you! We’re not supposed to go into detail until she arrives at the pack house, dummy!”

“I know, I know,” Alex said, wincing and rubbing his arm.

“Wait,” I said. “Where did you say we’re going?”

Sky sighed and turned to look at me.

“Well, I guess there’s no point hiding it any longer. We’re going to the secret headquarters of the Shadow Moon Pack. Your new home.”

I gulped. Suddenly, everything had just gotten a lot more complicated.

***

The pack house was not at all what I had expected. What Sky had described as a hideout looked a lot more like a freaking castle.

My jaw dropped as we pulled up to the massive picturesque structure, surrounded on all sides by forest.

There was a strange blend of modern equipment—cars parked outside, light fixtures—and the old, otherworldly cobblestone roads and drawbridge.

As we stepped out of the car and approached the pack house, a number of people stared at me. Some of them with confusion. Others, defensively.

I flinched, feeling immediately out of place and unwanted.

I saw one man bristle, looking like he was prepared to shift at any second and rip my head right off my body. Luckily, Sky took my hand and nodded to him.

“Don’t be afraid, Quinn,” she said quietly. “We are simply protective here. Nobody knows who you are yet. Jaxon thought it was important that we keep your identity a secret. For now.”

“Why?”

Sky shook her head. Yet another secret she was unwilling to share. On the ride here, I had badgered her with question after question.

I needed to know what the hell was to come of my life now… now that, apparently, it was to be lived among werewolves.

Sky had told me there were other supernatural beings hiding beneath the surface of our world including vampires and witches. She had told me about the King of the Werewolves, Leon, and his mate who had run away.

She’d told me about the Moon Goddess, the holiest of beings in the universe, the one who paired all wolves together and—Sky assured me—never makes a mistake.

She told me this and so much more. I still felt a bit dizzy from the onslaught of new information.

And now, seeing the pack house with my own eyes, it was a whole other kind of dizzying.

“It’s so…” I trailed off, not knowing how to describe the castle-like structure towering over me.

“I know,” Sky said, smiling. “It’s a lot.”

It felt eccentric and familiar at the same time. It radiated a sheen of safety that made me wonder if there was magic protecting it from the eyes of prying humans.

How else had it gone unnoticed for so many years?

I was about to ask Sky about that when I felt a prickling along my neck like I was being watched. I spun around to look, but there were simply more pack members milling in and out of the area.

Huh.

It was as if, for just a second, I had felt a flash of those golden eyes. Maybe just a residual effect of the distance earlier.

How hot and bothered it had left me… I was bound to have flashbacks, wasn’t I?

But I did realize, considering I felt like myself again, that it meant Jaxon must be close.

But where was he?

Jaxon

Ever since Alex, Sky, and Quinn arrived at the pack house, I had been watching them from a distance. First, from the rampart of the pack house’s tallest tower. Then, from the hidden balcony of the entrance hall, as Sky began the tour of our premises.

I was fascinated, watching Quinn get thrust into this new world. She was like a deer in headlights. Not that I pitied her.

After her little runaway stunt, I’d nearly vomited from the intensity of the yearning. Being far away from your mate was torture.

Utter torture.

King Leon had been experiencing it for years, but I’d never understood the magnitude of the pain and the sexual desire until now.

How did the man fucking survive?!

As Quinn reached the breaking point, I had fallen to the floor of my chambers and writhed there, imagining her naked body dancing on top of mine.

Her generous breasts swelling. Her tongue licking her lips. Her pussy dripping.

Ugh, this was no way to think about a girl as obviously innocent and doe-eyed and useless as her. But I couldn’t help myself. Somehow, those details turned me on even more.

My body and my mind were at war. My wolf’s carnal desires were only curbed by my human brain’s logic.

I was struggling to keep my distance from her. As I watched her explore every nook and cranny of our fortress, I couldn’t figure out what made her so unique.

Why were we thrown together?

What was it about Quinn that made my knees go weak?

Could this petite girl really be my mate?

Quinn

By the time we wrapped up the tour, I was completely drained. There were so many names and ranks to remember, it was overwhelming. I learned that there was a strict pecking order among the pack, and no one was more important than the Alpha.

In other words, my mate.

I didn’t fully grasp it, honestly. What made one werewolf more dominant than another?

Alex, Jaxon’s Beta or right-hand man, and Raphael, his Gamma or third-in-command, seemed equally strong and muscular.

Actually, Raphael, I thought, looked the most dangerous of them all. His dark eyes and wild black hair screamed danger.

Sky had explained that it wasn’t about physical appearance, but the spirit within a werewolf that determined their strength.

While Raphael looked the most intimidating, most of his duties involved assisting the Luna with traditions and festivals.

A pretty administrative job, when you think about it.

When Raphael met me, he bowed his head respectfully and murmured, “My Luna.”

For a moment, I felt a twinge of disappointment. Why couldn’t I have been paired with someone as kind as Alex or as helpful as Raphael?

Why was I stuck with the grumpy boss?

Speaking of whom, I hadn’t seen since I arrived.

Did I do something to upset him? I kept expecting him to appear out of nowhere, like a jack-in-the-box, scaring the daylights out of me.

I was on edge throughout Sky’s tour, but the more I saw of the pack house, the more at home I started to feel.

For one, there was a beautiful, huge library in the East Wing. All those old books would make good company if I ended up being stuck here.

Currently, we were climbing a seemingly never-ending staircase, and my bandaged, aching leg wasn’t making the climb any easier.

“We’re almost there,” Sky assured me, smiling. She looked like she could run a marathon before breakfast.

“Why…” I asked, gasping for breath, “…are there so many…”—I paused to catch my breath—“stairs?”

Sky looked back at me and shrugged. “Blame the architect.”

Oh, I do, trust me.

When we finally reached the fourth floor, I looked up, relieved to see the end of the climb. A large wooden door stood at the end of a hallway, flanked by two lit red candles.

It looked like a room of importance. Fit for a king or someone of high status.

“That’s yours,” Sky said, pointing. I stared in disbelief. That was for me?

I cautiously walked towards the door and opened it, letting my eyes take in the stunning room before me.

It was more of a medieval chamber than a bedroom, adorned with ancient art and dominated by a massive four-poster bed in the center.

The room was as big as my mom’s entire cottage!

“This…” I said, staring in disbelief. “This is really my room?”

Sky nodded, smiling. “You are our Luna, after all. You deserve nothing but the best.”

I was so tired, all I wanted was to collapse on that bed and sleep for an eternity. But before I could, Sky grabbed my hand.

“This room is also his, you know?” she said.

“What?” I asked, my face turning pale. “You mean…?”

“You and the Alpha share the same bed.”

I looked at the bed, panic setting in. What had seemed like a comfy retreat a moment ago now looked like a torture device.

How was I supposed to share a bed with Jaxon of all people? I had never shared a bed with a boy before.

And the Alpha was no boy. He was all man.

My visions from earlier today started to replay in my mind, and I swallowed hard…

“Goodnight, Quinn,” Sky said, closing the door. “Better get ready. He’ll be up soon.”