Pleasured By The Dark & Damaged (12 page)

My nipples stood erect and gooseflesh covered my skin as Dean continued to rend my clothes. Occasionally, a sharp tooth would cut into my soft flesh. When the blood oozed up, he licked it off.

Tattered clothing tore away easily with his hands and soon he had stripped me bare. I rolled up on all fours and growled at him.

Dean grinned as I sank my teeth into the front of his shirt and pulled. The material tore easily and he shrugged out of it. I had no time to go for his pants. He tore them off himself.

When he came at me, I lunged forward and scraped my teeth across his chest. Blood welled up out of the shallow cuts and he glanced down at the wounds. His eyes glowed amber as he grinned.

I backed away on all fours, then turned and wagged my ass in his face. He reached for me and I scrambled away.

“What’s with the tease?” he panted. “You couldn’t wait for me to fuck you yesterday.”

“That was yesterday. You have to earn it today.”

He rushed me and I side-stepped him, a giggle bubbling from between my lips. I darted toward the hallway and he cut me off.

Turning on my heel I ran in the opposite direction and headed toward the stairs. His footsteps pounded the floor behind me and I poured on the speed, leaping up the stairs two-at-a-time. I reached the top and ducked into the nearby bedroom.

He didn’t follow.

Minutes passed. I tapped my foot silently on the carpet and then peeked out the door toward the stairs. No sign of him. No sound either.

Creeping out of the room I craned my neck over the stairs. Not there.

Had he given up?

A figure burst out of the bathroom and barreled into me. He seized me around the waist and lifted me into the air. I gasped, unable to breathe.

Dean carried me into the bedroom over his shoulder and flung me onto the bed. I took a long, shuddering breath just before he fell on me. His swollen cock jabbed my thigh as he pinioned my wrists.

Strong arms held me down as I struggled, and Dean laughed at my efforts. Then, he covered my mouth with his.

The world was shut away as his tongue darted over mine. Smooth skin brushed against my nipples.

“Oh…fuck me now, Dean,” I whispered.

He shifted both wrists into his left hand and reached down with the right. Clasping his dick, he stroked the outside of my pussy with the velvet head.

I spread wide open and the shaft rubbed against my clit. Juices flowed and coated the top of his prick.

Dean shuddered, then plunged in.

Deep.

His thrusts were rough and quick. I spread wider and shifted my hips so that his body slapped my clit every time he came down. Closing my eyes, I howled.

He increased his pace and I tensed against him.

Delicious.

Orgasm broke over me, and he withdrew. Replacing his dick with two fingers, he probed into the dripping pussy and went straight for the G-spot. There he stayed, rubbing with the pads of his fingertips.

An urgent need to pee slowly swept in and after a few minutes, I began an involuntary push against his digits. Pressure built up until he removed himself and fluid spewed out of my pussy as I squirted across the bed.

“Fuck…” I cried. “…fuck me.”

The cock returned to my pussy and instead of shoving in, Dean moved back and forth within me. That perfect head hit the G-spot again.

He released my wrists and I clutched at his arms, cutting into them with my nails. He seemed to enjoy it even more when I scratched his shoulders. I drew blood and he shivered when I seized the dog collar. I pulled him down into my kiss.

Another amalgam of pleasure stood off on the edge of my consciousness, slowly growing within. Before it could arrive and sweep me away with it, Dean pulled out for the final time and turned me on to my stomach. He jerked my hips upward and as I got up on all fours, he grabbed a handful of my long hair. Using my tresses as one would a set of reins, he shoved himself inside and hammered my pussy, pulling until I bucked.

I shrieked as my muscles tensed and heat rocketed throughout my body. Tingling extremities and an uncontrollable chill followed. As it receded, a pleasant weakness settled over my limbs. I fell forward onto my chest, my dark hair over my shoulders.

He grunted behind me. Swelling within, his penis became like a cork in the mouth of a bottle. He locked within me and gripped my hips as he came.

Gentle hands stroked my sides as he leaned over my back and he nuzzled my neck.

We remained locked for several minutes, and then the cock shrunk away. I dropped onto my stomach and he collapsed beside me.

“I love you,” he murmured.

Lacing my fingers into his hand, I squeezed.

Shadows crept into the room, announcing the arrival of evening. I still couldn’t move or speak as I lay in Dean’s arms. He held me tightly and growled softly in his slumber.

Things had changed. The ingrained urgency within had finally been silenced. I floated.

Dean’s cell rang downstairs. I tensed, waiting for the shrill voice of AC/DC, but it never came. This ringtone was entirely unknown to me.

Pulling out of my lover’s grip, I returned downstairs. The cell went silent when I reached the bottom.

Papers lay strewn about the floor. I picked up the journal and struggled to decipher more of the terrible handwriting.

Claudius recounted his further meetings with the Contact. They had decided on a plan along the lines of the one Dean had just created. They were going to kill the Alpha and replace him. Unlike my mate’s plan, theirs was more dangerous and destined for failure. My kidnapping had been a part of that plan. They would use me as bait.

Dean was right. There had been a spy among us.

Claudius.

His last few entries expressed the fear that the Alpha had discovered him. He secreted the journal and all of his research in this house for the Contact’s use. The medical papers contained information on how to manufacture an anti-virus.

Music played again and I scooped up Dean’s device. The number was unknown. I returned to the diary.

Reading further, my eyes widened. The last entry was dated January 6th, three days previous to my attempted abduction. It revealed where my uncle had gone.

Snapping the book shut, I turned to inform Dean of what I had found. Three steps were all I took. A familiar smell halted me in my tracks.

Shit.

I sniffed for the direction of emanation and pinpointed it.

The kitchen.

More smells assaulted. All belonged to regular werewolves. I sprinted toward the stairs.

Dean stood awake and at the bottom. He put a finger to his lips and took my hand.

“Get out the back,” he whispered.

“Not without you.”

“Do as I say, Woman.”

“Nice try, but I’m staying. You can’t fight them on your own.”

“Fine. We’ll both go.”

“I knew you’d see it my way. By the way, I think I know where we can go next. I’ll tell you when we get out of this.”

“Alright. Transform when I say.”

Dean took the lead. We padded silently past the laundry room and toward the back door.

I sniffed the air. The aroma of manure still hung in the direction of the kitchen and none of the other werewolves had moved. Stranger still, there was no smell near the back door.

Too easy.

Dean paused when we reached the door. He paced before it, seeming uncertain. At the last moment, he turned away and back toward the laundry room.

Another door led to the outside from this room. He opened it a crack.

The phone rang—unknown number again.

On a hunch, I answered it.

“After you get through the woods, ditch the phone. Be careful there. Traps.” The voice was coarse, gravelly. Silence announced the fact that the call was done.

Dean had heard every word. “We’ll do as he says. Change here.”

I held up the phone and the journal. “Where do I carry these things? In my mouth?”

“What do you think the dog collars are for?”

“I thought they were just bad-ass decoration for your uniform.”

“Tuck those things behind my head and let’s move.”

We left the house as wolves and crept underneath the clothesline. Ears pricked we headed for the cypresses beyond. No one moved to stop us.

Like ghosts, we moved between the trees. Dean paused again and sniffed the air, when I joined him, I noticed the difference.

The enemy was on the move.

Their scents fanned out over the edge of the grove behind us.

Night had fallen, but our dark-adapted eyes easily pierced the gloom. Dean halted once more and I moved close, shivering. A twig cracked and I jumped.

The only way to go was forward.

Trails stretched ahead of us. Each one bore the fecal odor of the Alpha, though it smelled older than the scent which followed. I realized that he must’ve been among the cypress when Dean returned and while we made love.

Now, I knew why the caller wanted us to leave the phone.

We hurried down the trail and toward the outer edge of the copse. At one point, Dean allowed me to pass him and I took the lead.

Ahead of us, the road stretched parallel to the trees. Between lay a fifty-yard expanse of grassy, open ground. We rushed toward it.

The soft hum of a V-8, broke the still air as we neared. A van awaited us, and we loped into the tall grass to reach it.

Too late I remembered the warning of the caller and his words leaped to my mind. Nearing escape, neither of us heeded them. I wish we had.

The loud, metallic, snap sounded behind me and Dean yelped. The sound chilled my blood and I spun around to face him.

His front leg was caught in a steel trap. Cruel, metal teeth bit into it and blood leaked out onto his white fur. Worse, the teeth seemed to be plated with a metallic substance.

Silver.

Becoming human again, I dashed to his side and tried to pry the trap off. Silver burned my fingers like acid.

“Stop, Cherry,” Dean’s human voice said. “Leave me.”

“No, I can get you out.” Raw pain shot through my fingers as I once again attempted to free him.

Vaguely aware of figures approaching from the road, I redoubled my efforts. Numbering two and armed with automatic weapons, they stopped beside us. One dropped to his knees beside me. His eyes glowed red.

“They’re coming,” Dean growled to him. “Get her out of here.”

Morte’s bark signaled the appearance of our pursuers and a Kalashnikov roared over my head. The Red Eye at my side, seized me about the waist and dragged me away.

I screamed as his cohort followed us.

“No! Don’t leave him!”

The werewolf forced me into the back of the van, while his companion continued to fire. I began to change and he struck me in the jaw. My human body fell back, dizzy and on the verge of blackout. I struggled to my feet, but he struck me again. This time I went down.

Into blackness.

I awoke in a plain bedroom, my head swimming. It hurt to breathe and my first thought was broken ribs. Then, I remembered Dean and the agony intensified.

I sat up and turned toward the door. A robe lay on the end of the bed and I pulled it on.

The floor rocked beneath my feet, when I stood, but steadied after a few moments. I took an unsteady step toward the door. It wasn’t locked. Opening it, I found a long hall and a familiar scent. I followed the trail.

A set of stairs led to a lower floor. I took them and followed the voices which emanated from below.

Three men stood around a long table in what must’ve been a dining room. Two were men who had kidnapped me. One of them looked up at me when I entered.

My mother’s brother, Alfred, smiled and came to my side.

“Jesus, it’s good to see you, Cherry. I’ve been trying to get you out of there for weeks.”

The Alpha Male of the Red-Eye Pack embraced me. I stood limp in his arms.

Tears choked me and I pulled away.

“You have to take me back. Now. They’ll kill him.”

“We only stayed to get you. We can’t go back there. Besides, that werewolf you were with serves Morte. He killed the men I sent to get you.”

“That’s because they were infected with Blood Fever.”

“They were fine and in control of themselves.”

“One broke my back.”

Alfred lowered his eyes.

“I don’t have time for this. Dean needs me and if you won’t help, I’ll go alone.”

My uncle grasped my arm and I shrugged him off.

“Cherry, you can’t. You’re pregnant.”

I froze, the word reverberating within my mind.

“It’s only been a day. How could you know that?”

“It’s been two. And the pregnancy hormone shows up more quickly in werewolves. We conducted some tests to see whether you carried Morte’s virus and the hormone was there.”

“I’m still going.”

One of Alfred’s companions stepped toward me.

I glared at him. “Don’t even think about hitting me. I’ve had enough of you bastards and if you touch me, I’ll take your hand off.”

Alfred waved him back.

“We need you, Cherry. Not just for the children. You’re the only female with immunity to the disease.”

“I mate for life, Alfred. Should Dean die, there will be no more children through me. If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“Then, come with me. You and Claudius had a plan to depose Morte once. With your infected werewolves we’ll have a chance to free Dean. All of my packmates will be too afraid to fight, and my mate can defeat the Alpha.”

“If he’s still alive.”

Tears blurred my vision. “He’s alive. Morte will want to make an example of him.”

Alfred crossed his arms. “I’ve lost too many men trying to fight Morte. They died in vain.”

“Then, I guess Claudius died in vain as well. Morte caught him and tortured him yesterday, but he never betrayed your secrets.”

“I grieve for my friend’s death. But, it doesn’t change what we must do.”

I backed away. “Then, we’ve met an impasse. Do what you want, Alfred. Just leave me out of it.”

I hurried out of the room.

When I left the building, the Superdome loomed above. Twenty-nine minutes lay between me, Jackson Square and Dean. My wolf-form would get me there a little faster.

I would keep to the shadows.

***

When I returned, full circle, to the Alpha’s hotel, my mouth was dry and my stomach cramped.

“Please, let him be alive and inside,” I whispered.

The secret service wannabes stood outside, unmoving. My best way inside, was through them.

Time to try out the powers of the Alpha Female.

Human motorists gawked as I walked naked toward the front doors of the Bourbon Street Hotel. Catcalls and whistles echoed around me and women glowered from the street. I stopped before the Alpha’s personal guard and said, “I’m going up to see the Alpha.”

He lowered his sunglasses and peered over the rim. “And you are?”

“T-the Alpha Female.”

“Ok. Go ahead.”

“That’s it? Aren’t you going to ask for credentials or something?”

“Babe, you’re naked and you smell real good. Go on up.”

I walked past him. The others parted before me like the Red Sea before Moses. I glanced back at them then entered the hotel and made my way to the elevator.

Heart pounding in my breast, I rode the conveyance up to the Alpha’s floor. His door was unguarded. I searched the darker corners of the hall for a steel, silver-plated trap.

Alpha Morte answered the door to my buzz. He smiled.

“I knew you’d be here sooner or later. Come in.” He stepped aside.

I entered the room and stopped. Dean sat on the couch holding a snifter of Brandy. He didn’t look up.

“Sit down, my dear.”

I took a step toward the couch and then veered toward a nearby chair.

“You see, Dean. I told you she couldn’t stay away.”

Dean nodded. His arm was bandaged but, otherwise, he appeared unhurt.

Morte pulled the journal out of his pocket. He hefted it and tossed it into my lap. “I’m afraid the game is up, my dear. I know everything. You were sent here to kill me.”

“No—“

“It all makes sense. I had your dad executed, tainted the water your mother and uncle drank and then forced you to become the Alpha Female. You must really hate my guts.”

“That may be, but I’m not the one who’s going to kill you.”

“Let me guess, your uncle is going to do it?”

“He said he’s done with you and is moving on. He won’t even come here.”

“Who’s going to do it then?”

I clamped my lips shut and looked at the floor.

“She doesn’t know,” Dean said.

“I think she does. She just needs a little persuasion. Tell me, Cherry, why did you tell Dean to take you to a house known to be frequented by members of the Red Eye Pack? Why did you leave the safe house?”

“You thought I was the spy from the start and that I would lead you to my uncle, didn’t you, Morte? That’s why you put the tracker in Dean’s cell. And why you tortured Claudius. You wanted to find the house and you needed me to lead you there. I wasn’t there to meet the Red Eyes. I was there because my mother lived there once.”

“Then why did you go away with them?”

“They’ve been tracking me for some time. They need me just like you do. For breeding.”

“I don’t need you.”

“You do. You need someone to birth your contaminated offspring.”

He sniffed my body.

“You smell different. Like…you’ve had a man.”

I glanced up sharply.

“She’s been tainted, Dean. Tainted by the Red Eyes.”

“I am not.”

Morte jerked me out of the chair and onto my knees.

“You’ve been unfaithful. I can smell it on you. If you’re going to act like a whore then so be it.”

He opened his robe.

What he revealed was less than awe-inspiring. I spat on him.

He slapped me across the face.

Hard.

I don’t know when Dean rose to his feet. When he spoke, I turned to see him standing, fists clenched.

“Don’t touch her, Morte.”

“Now, isn’t the time for leniency, Dean. She’s dangerous. She has to die.”

He turned to the desk and picked a pistol up off of it. Raising it, he pointed the weapon at my face. A silver bullet gleamed in the chamber.

The white wolf sank his teeth into the Alpha’s arm and drew blood. Morte howled and tried to shake him off as I leaped out of the chair.

Once I was out of reach, Dean released the Alpha. He stood between us, snarling.

“Are you challenging me?” Morte barked.

Dean’s ears flattened against his head and his white fur bristled.

“Weakling. I should have killed you the first time you disobeyed.” His body suddenly contorted. Hair sprouted over his face and hands as he tore the silk bathrobe away. More man than wolf, he leaped at my mate.

Dean rolled to avoid Morte’s infected jaws. His teeth ripped into the Alpha’s thigh.

A howl sounded from the street below and I dashed to the window. The Alpha’s guardians, all in wolf form, were fleeing a single man. Blood Fever marked him as my uncle, Alfred.

A lamp crashed to the floor behind me as Dean fought. He darted back and forth, slashing the Alpha’s ankles with his teeth. Morte lunged at him, missing by a mere hairsbreadth.

The next time he didn’t miss.

Dean yelped as the Alpha caught him on the shoulder and tore a mouthful of flesh from it. He staggered.

Joints cracked and reformed as I turned werewolf. I snarled at Morte and rushed him, ripping at his stomach with my canines. He fell to his knees.

Dean, forcing himself to recover, dived at Morte’s exposed back. He bit into the soft flesh of the man-wolf’s neck and snapped it.

The Alpha dropped on the floor.

Dean returned to his true shape. The pistol lay a few feet away. He scooped it up.

The Alpha’s splintered neck cracked and crunched as it reknitted itself. Dean stood above him, pistol aimed at his head.

“You can’t shoot me,” Morte rasped.

“Why not?”

“I never did anything to you.”

“You touched my mate.”

Morte turned toward me, eyes wide.

Dean fired.