Shadow Of The Wolf Ch. 11

Unconsciously digging her nails on his muscular forearms, she keened as she fell off the brink. Her walls squeezing tightly at the fingers thrusting relentlessly in her weeping slit. Rance grunted in satisfaction.

He pulled her into his arms as he slowly withdrew his fingers from her clutching pussy. He watched as she opened languorous eyes. Without breaking their shared gaze, he proceeded to lap at the pussy juices on his fingers. Alex's delicious flavor burst on his tongue. He wanted to drink from the source of Alex's desire. His painful erection throbbed in rampant demand to be buried deep into his mate's wet haven. Alex watched with rapt attention as Rance sucked his fingers one by one until none of her juice remained.

"Now it's my turn," Rance growled deeply.

His predatory gaze and growly voice caused her to shiver in renewed passion. Quivering in anticipation, Alex let Rance push her onto her back. "Hold open for me," Rance demanded, as he pushed her legs up to her chest. She was lewdly opened to her mate's hungry eyes.

Rance framed the glistening, puffy lips of Alex's pussy with both hands. Leaning down, he breathed deeply of his mate's addicting and unique scent. He nuzzled her labia open swiped between the folds. Her accompanying groan pleased him greatly. Although said in jest, the thought of letting his mate be satisfied by toys was unacceptable to him. Only his finger, tongue, and cock would give satisfaction to his mate.

Rance lavished her fragrant pussy with open mouthed kisses, dipping his tongue in and out of her convulsing passage. He sucked on her pleasure nubbin, causing Alex to arch away from his mouth. Her sex had gotten sensitive and it was almost painful to have Rance suck on her clit. Rance would have none of it. He grabbed the cheeks of her ass and pulled her back into his mouth.

"Too much... too much..." she panted, helpless in the face of Rance's relentless hunger. Alex could do nothing but clutch at the rumpled duvet as Rance proceeded to eat her out. Rance took each of her legs and pushed it all the way back until her knees almost touched her ears. He plundered her gaping hole with lips, tongue and teeth as he nipped, plunged and nibbled on her sensitive flesh.

Alex could not count how many orgasms she'd had. They seemed to roll continuously until she was left limp and panting for breath. Finally, Rance kneeled between her thighs. His massive cock rose straight up from the root. It looked angry red, while its helmeted head glistened wetly from the copious precum that dripped from its slit.

His face was painted with voracious hunger, and he pulled his cock down to position it in her opening until it lodged in place. Then taking her legs, he slung both over his shoulders as he leaned down and grabbed her hips. And without ado, he pulled on her and thrust his hips at the same time, burying his full length inside. Alex screamed in ecstasy as her clit was smashed and Rance mushroom-shaped cockhead rammed into her cervix, throwing her into orgasmic bliss.

Gritting his teeth, Rance waited until her clasping muscles loosened a bit. Still shuddering, Alex watched Rance look where they were connected intimately as he slowly pulled his shaft then rammed it home again. He gripped her thighs securely as he fucked her relentlessly. The wet slap of his heavy balls on her ass added to the sensual sounds of grunts, moans, and whimpers filling their bedroom. The heavy length of Rance's cock tunneled in and out of Alex as he sought his own orgasm. Rance's muscled ass move in a blur as he hastened his pace. "Yeah! Take it all!" he muttered. "You're so tight and wet, babe. I'm almost there." He groaned. He withdrew his cock and pushed three fingers inside her, coating the digits generously with her juices. Then he took his fingers out and replaced it with his cock. Rance snaked his hand down to where her clit protruded and pinched delicately.

"Aaaahhh!!" Alex screamed as the pleasure-pain of pushed her into another strong orgasm that seemed unending. She reached for Rance and grasped his flanks as he thundered towards his own fulfillment. Alex pulled on his flexing ass and dug her nails deep, as her eyes rolled to the back of her head while Rance swelled and knotted inside her. She felt the hot splash of her mate's seed as she continued to spasm in ecstasy. She barely heard Rance's roar of satisfaction echoed in the room.

Rance watched his sweat drip on Alex's heaving breasts. She looked barely conscious. He grinned in contentment; that would show her not to question his ability to please her. With slow measured movement, he lowered Alex's legs on the bed. Careful not to jar his connection with his mate, he lowered himself over her and turned them carefully so he ended up under her.

He kissed her tenderly on her head and feathered his fingers up and down her back.

"Alex?"

"Hmmmm?

"I love you, babe."

Alex lifted heavy lids to look at Rance's face, "Love you too, Rance." She replied sleepily as she smiled at him.

********

The preparation for Rance's and Alex's wedding was also underway. Fittings and planning seemed endless to Alex. She couldn't wait to have it all done. It was a good thing that she had already hired Ben, a manager for her shop, otherwise, the business would have suffered greatly because of her neglect.

She still took an afternoon to visit and go through the shop paperwork. Eventually, she planned on handing over the reins to Ben. She would also offer him the chance to co-own the place since she would be very busy soon, after the baby came.

Her best friend Pam had visited and conferred with her briefly about the wedding. Their time together was always short, because Pam being busy with work and Alex busy with Pack life and wedding preparations. They had planned to meet later that day to meet near her work in town to one of their favorite restaurant. They planned to at least spend some time catching up.

Thinking of her friend made Alex frown, slightly. It was becoming hard to keep THE secret from her friend. The reveal about the baby would be a doozy, but fun; but the other one, not so much.

Pam had already commented about her body guards, or 'super-hot-and-yet-still-a-goon squad', as she referred to them. The heightened security at the Estate did not help alleviate her friend's suspicious nature. She jokingly asked if Rance was some kind of 'mafia kingpin'. Although jokingly said, Alex saw the worry and concern in her friend's eyes.

Maybe it was about time to let her in on Alex's other secret, not that she doubted Pam would keep it. Convincing her of the truth would be a challenge though. That girl was such a realist. She remembered well how Pam teased her mercilessly about her addiction to paranormal romances, and that all things 'supernatural' are just a bunch of crap.

Well, her friend would be in for a shock of major proportions. It took a lot for Alex to accept the existence of shifters, and she was open to all things paranormal. She doubted her friend would take it well.

Alex knew that the time to tell her was now. Secrets tend to bog one down anyway. It would just strain their friendship, if she kept Pam in the dark much longer. Right. Because oh God someday her godchild would turn into a wolf pup, shifting uncontrollably in adolescence. Probably while Pam was with him or her. Gifting my child with a drumset would be the least of it.

It would be better to reveal it before Pam got more suspicious of the people at the Estate. Her friend was not stupid. She would question the oddity of so many people living with them and how clannish everyone acted. Not to mention the way they seemed to 'scent' everyone.

They may act human, but they couldn't hide their animal side too.

Finally mentally deciding to reveal all to Pam later that day, Alex proceeded to the Pack Archive where Luc was waiting for her. She started to walk across the estate and left the Mansion, shadowed as usual by Troy and Malik. Alex was on this errand because, due to the heightened activity and vigilance after the raid, Alex realized she forgot about the "Callaghan box" that her mother handed to her, and was reminded of it only after her mom asked her, after regaling Alex with stories about the cruise, what Alex had done with it. Immediately after that, she sought Luc's help in unraveling the mystery of it. Henceforth, Luc and Alex were to work together in the afternoon to solve questions about her mysterious heritage.

She neared the building where the Pack Archive was housed. Putting in the code that would open the vault-like door, she twisted the knob and entered the tomblike atmosphere. Malik and Troy stayed outside as she closed it behind her. It was serenely quiet inside the temperature controlled vault like room that housed the Packs ancient tomes. A stark contrast to what had been happening outside

Its walls were lined by shelves all the way to the ceiling, bursting with heavy tomes. A quarter of the Archive's floor space was similarly occupied by shelves lined up, side by side. The remaining area was occupied by three long mahogany tables with chairs on each side of it. One was cluttered with several opened books and a pad with some pens. The box that her mother gave her also rested on top of the table. There was no trace of Luc in the main room.

Alex figured that Luc might be in the inner room where all the most ancient of the Archive treasures and rare books were kept. Sure enough, after several moments, Luc emerged from the doorway that led to the inner room.

"Hey, Alex," he greeted absently, eyes focused on the open page of the book he was holding. Alex noticed that he was wearing cotton gloves as he handled the fragile-looking tome.

"Found anything interesting?" she asked, as she stepped forward toward the table.

Luc looked up abstractedly, "Maybe..." he muttered. He pulled out a chair for Alex, laid down the book on the table and pushed back her chair after she settled in.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Luc smiled, then pulled the chair next to Alex. He handed her a pair of cotton gloves.

"So how are the patients doing today?" Luc asked, as he watched Alex don the gloves.

"They're better than yesterday, but they still have a long way to go. Physically, they're on the mend. Mentally...still not sure," she said regretfully

"The pack will help them." Luc nodded his head. "The presence and power of the pack will help them mend."

Alex raised questioning brows at his words.

Luc smiled at her, "The pack has a power of its own, Alex. Don't you feel the energy inside the Estate? Anyone who belongs to a pack draws strength and healing from it. That's why a shifter needs to belong to a Pack or a Pride or a Clan. It's not merely for protection, but also for their well-being. The energy that the pack generates encompasses everyone that belongs to it. It strengthens and heals us. Even rogues tend to run together because of the innate need to belong."

"Belong? Like if you were born to the pack?"

"Ah, yes and no. We belong to the pack when we are born to it, but also by pledging our allegiance to the Pack's Alpha."

"What about the rogues?"

"Either they were born outside of the Pack or chose to walk away from their pack."

Seeing her confused state, Luc continued, "As magical creatures, we are bound by the magic and power of our Alpha. We can walk away from it, should we choose to, after all we have free will. But our animal half would always respond to the will of the Alpha. That's just the way Luna created us. Every Alpha has certain power over our animal half. The more powerful the Alpha, the more influence and power it has over our animals. Remember when Rance commanded the rogue who ambushed us to change and they did? It's because their animal is helpless. It cannot ignore the command of someone who dominates them. There's a reason why Rance is the Alpha of the North America, it's not just a title passed on to the eldest son or daughter, but a position gained because of the strength of the wolf inside and the power given by Luna. Yes, Rance's father Theon held the position before him, but after Theon died, Rance was open to be challenged by any who believed they had the strength to be Alpha, including an existing Alpha of a different Pack."

"Okay, I get it now. So in a way, the animal inside us seeks the comfort and strength of the Pack. And the Alpha holds the most power. So if there's anyone in need of healing, the Pack's cumulative energy helps that person to heal fast."

"Correct."

"But the women have not pledged their allegiance yet to Rance, not the least of which is the reason that they are human. Can allegiance be enforced and energy conveyed to a human not compelled by a wolf nature?"

Luc smiled and nodded his head, "You wouldn't think so, but you have already taken them into our fold. As the Alpha Regina, you have already imbued them with your essence and thus allowed the Pack's energy to flow through you to them."

"Wow, I can't say I fully understand what you said but I'm glad that I helped." She smiled at Luc.

"It's all mystical and stuff, I know..." Luc added with a touch of mirth.

"Enough about Weres, and let's discuss what I have discovered so far about your interesting heritage." He pulled the Callaghan box to him, flicked the lid open and reached in to take out what was inside.

"This, my dear Alex, is one hell of a legacy." He laid a bound book on the table. Its covering was some kind of dark tooled leather. Surprisingly, even after being kept in the attic all those years, the leather looked supple and remarkably good.

After leaving her mother the afternoon she'd received it, Alex had gone directly to the suite she shared with Rance. Sitting on one of the chairs in the sitting area, she had pried open the lid with trembling fingers. A soft yellow and blue light pulsed gently from the open box. Extracting what was inside, she discovered it was some kind of a book. It was carefully wrapped in some dark heavy velvet cloth. Once she unwrapped it, the pulsing light suddenly disappeared, leaving a leather-bound book on her lap. It had been a great surprise to also find a blue polished stone the size of a silver dollar in between its pages. Faint etchings marked the stone's circumference and a hole was meticulously punched through it, telling her that it was an amulet of sorts.

Looking at it now with Luc in the Archive, she was surprised that it still glowed faintly with iridescent light. She wondered if Luc could see it too.

"What do you mean, 'legacy'?" Alex asked Luc.

"I still haven't fully interpreted the writings. But so far, I've gathered that this is a journal of one of your ancestors. It's actually a combination of recipes, spells, and observations." Luc said with brimming excitement. "As I've told you before, the writing was a combination of ancient form of Gaelic and Ogham. Throw in some other symbols which I have never seen before makes it harder to interpret... hard, but not impossible," Luc added. "Look here," he leafed carefully through the book and pointed at a page, "this page shows a drawing of this plant and notations on when, where and how to harvest it."

"Okay. So my ancestor was a witch then? And why to the oldest daughter?" she asked with suppressed humor at the excitement coming from Luc.

"Not your run-of-the-mill kind." Luc replied. "This journal is protected by a powerful spell that kept it in pristine condition and kept it safe until it reached your hand."

With a baffled look, Alex looked at the journal, then at Luc's face. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well -. I was able to interpret a couple of sentences. The fact that this was a journal of a female ancestor might be the main reason why it was handed down only to the daughters. But I discovered, as I leafed through its pages that she also used it to jot down plants useful for healing." Luc raised the journal between them, "This book may actually answer the question why your transition to Were was as seamless and sudden as it was. Could be that you already carried magic in your blood and mating with Rance triggered that latent magic in you. Of course right now it's all just speculation on my part." Luc grinned good-naturedly.

Alex answered with a smile of her own. "Whew! If that's the case, then that would explain all these unexplained powers that I seem to carry within me. And why I can see the journal pulsing softly with light. I'm not complaining, mind you, I kind of think it's cool when the baby," she put her hand on top of her belly, "allows his or her power to leak out and manifest through me."

Luc nodded, "Yeah, but I think that some of it is also from you. I have not heard of any human mate turned that shifted before the full moon." Luc shook his head at Alex's unbelieving face, "It's true. Not even when they're mated to an Alpha. You're the only exception to the rule."

"What is it?" Luc asked, when her eyes rounded in sudden comprehension.

"I just remembered my dream and my conversation with Luna."

"Wait, what? What did she say?" he prompted.

"Well, she said that she's been guarding and watching me since I was a child," she said looking down with a thoughtful frown. "And I distinctly remember her saying that I should look into my past and everything will become clear."

When she looked up at Luc, she couldn't help bursting out in a short laugh at the awe in his face. She never thought that she could dumbfound this self-possessed shifter, but Luc sat before her with mouth slightly opened in apparent shock.

Alex waved her hand in front of his face while trying to suppress her mirth from escaping. "Luc, you okay?"

Shaking his head, Luc nodded and swallowed audibly.

"Wow! Now I know that Luna's hand was in this mating and that you were destined to be here at this time to fulfill the prophecy. I can't wrap my head around the fact that the goddess visited you in person."

"Well not really in person, just in my dreams." Alex replied.

"Semantics," Luc waved her words away. "There is no record that she ever appeared to anyone else after the Great Upheaval. She ceased to visit her people even in dreams. So you, Alex, should consider yourself blessed, literally and figuratively."

"Hey, I know I am," she readily agreed. "What is this Great Upheaval you were talking about just now? That's the first time I've heard of it."

"It's one of the darkest parts of the Shifter history: When Shifters tried to annihilate each other in an attempt to reign over species other than their own. The sad part was that too many humans were slaughtered because they were in the way of the raiding parties. The carnage was horrendous as the Shifters let loose their feral side. I believe that's when humans banded together to protect themselves against what they considered monsters: us Shifters. That's also the time when Luna ceased showing herself to us. Her last message was a promise of peace brought by the Promised One, if we all learned to live in harmony.

I think the reason there was enmity between Shifters was because we are all predators at heart."

"So no soft, furry bunny Shifters, then?"

"Ah, no. And we tend to favor our animal half, add in the human half that's greedy for power and dominion over all, so you get the perfect recipe for war among Weres. I'll find you the books so you can read more about it. We have carefully written the annals of the Weres so that we won't repeat our mistake again. Anyway, I believe that we have a good chance of deciphering this journal in no time." Luc grinned at Alex.

"I'm happy that you think so. I can't wait to know what it will tell me about myself and the Callaghan family."

Luc laid the journal back on the table and proceeded to leaf through the pages, and said absently, "So what are your plans today? I heard that a delegation of bitches from the other small Packs are coming to help with the wedding preparation."