Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing about this story...the writing is all L.L. Raand's and the Characters are all from various television shows (South of Nowhere, The O.C., Orange is the New Black, Lost Girl, The Fosters, and The L Word) Credit goes completely to all listed above.
Spencer clasped the back of Ashley's neck as they left the Council room. As long as she maintained physical contact with Ashley, the burning pressure in her depths was tolerable. As to how she was going to survive being apart from her, she had no idea. But she had important things to do and couldn't tangle every other minute, as much as she might want to drag Ashley down and take her every time she looked at her. She wanted to get to the lab. The Lewis's might have discovered something in her tissue samples to explain what was happening to her. She wanted to check on Alex and the human in the infirmary. She wanted to stop the god-awful need raging through her system, but most of all, she needed to see that Ashley was well.
"You're still worrying," Ashley murmured.
"I'm loving you, not worrying," Spencer said, pushing open the great double doors of the Hall.
When Ashley would have leapt to the ground, Spencer stopped her at the top of the stone steps. While they'd been inside, the sun had broken through the clouds over the mountains, a golden saber scattering the fading armies of the dawn. The sky was so crystalline, the air so clear, she scarcely believed the dark violence of the last few days could exist in the face of such beauty. But she had only to remember the bullet wounds in Ashley's chest to know nothing was safe from hatred and ignorance. "Let's run, Alpha."
Ashley smiled and wrapped her arm around Spencer's waist. "Do you think of me that way?"
The centuri and sentries streamed around them and down into the yard, drifting far enough away to give them privacy but not letting them out of their sight. Spencer rumbled. She'd have thought the guards would at least leave Ashley in her care while inside the walls of the Compound. She supposed she'd have to get used to that—never being completely alone with her mate. Part of her resisted, even though she understood the reasons for it. Ashley was more than her mate, and she would never completely own her. Ashley owned her, but she would always have to share. She rumbled again, and heat poured down her body like liquid fire. Her body demanded she run or mate, but Ashley needed to heal.
"You're wrong." Ashley brushed her fingertips over Spencer's cheek. "I do belong to you, only to you. In my heart. In the deepest part of me."
"How did you know?" Spencer yanked off her sweat-soaked T-shirt and tossed it onto a low wooden bench next to the railing. She flipped open the top button of her jeans, her belly tightening as Ashley's gaze raked over her chest and down her torso. "Can you read my mind?"
"No, not exactly. But I can feel your thoughts in my head. Not the words exactly, but the sense of them. I know when you question what you mean to me." Ashley pushed her jeans down. She'd been shirtless all morning and now she was gloriously nude.
Spencer's throat went dry and she readied. "You're so beautiful, Ashley."
"No more than any of my wolves," Ashley murmured. Obsidian pelt streamed down the center of her abdomen and pulsed beneath her skin. The claw marks on her flanks and her shoulders still pulsed an angry red. They shouldn't be there. Weres healed at an enormously accelerated rate, but the poison coursing through Ashley's bloodstream weakened her.
Ashley was not indestructible. She could have died. Spencer's head pounded with fear and fury. The bones in her face slid and thickened. Her canines and fingertips throbbed. Her skin vibrated with the rush of pelt beneath the dermis. "You're about to shift. So am I. It's time, love."
"Can you wait? I scent your need."
Spencer smiled and rasped her claws down the center of Ashley's body, lightly grazing her sex. "Run first. Then we'll tangle."
Ashley's eyes flashed gold, and she threw her head back and howled, a deep, soul-shaking cry that carried into the forests and struck at the heart of every wolf in the territory. Spencer's wolf answered Ashley's call instantly, and she shifted. She vaulted off the porch a second behind Ashley's great midnight wolf, landing beside her at the far edge of the cleared area. They streaked past the centuri, who shimmered in mid-shift, and plunged into the dense evergreens that grew uninterrupted right up to the borders of the Compound proper. The narrow path through the thick undergrowth glimmered in swaths of gold and black and green. Sunlight angled in broad glittering shafts through the dense canopy. Pine needles and decaying leaves and patches of rich loam cushioned her pads as she loped. Her nostrils filled with the heavy scent of life—moss on the trees, verdant and rich; mushrooms, pungent and sharp; the musk of deer; the gamey odor of fox and bear. Her blood pumped hard, her muscles bunched and stretched, driving her forward. And by her side, Ashley. Always and only Ashley.
The air pulsed with Ashley's unique scent, coating the inside of Spencer's mouth, her tongue, her nostrils with the substance that defined her mate. Their hormones meshed and melded—accelerating her heart rate, stimulating her nerve endings, flooding her glands. They were connected, joined, united in body and soul. They ran together, separate bodies, a single heart.
Ashley brushed against Spencer's right shoulder, and a wash of power broke over her. She whined as the urge to mate struck her hard. Ashley nipped the air in front of her nose, and for the first time since Ashley had been injured, Spencer relaxed. Her mate was healing.
The centuri trailed them through the forest, Kenzi and Vex to their left, Aiden and Dyson to the right. Now, running as wolf, Spencer understood in her bones what she'd resented earlier. If she somehow failed to protect the Alpha, the others would be there to take her place. The centuri, the sentries, the entire Pack, would be certain that nothing happened to Ashley. With Ashley secure, the Pack would be safe. As was right. But in this moment, Ashley was all hers.
Growling, Spencer grabbed Ashley's ruff and shook her. Ashley lifted her lip, and a deep rumble rose from her chest.
Spencer snapped in her face and danced circles around her. Catch me, mate?
Ashley bit at her shoulder, her canines just grazing the muscle. Spencer veered away and then rushed back, bumping Ashley hard, almost throwing her off stride. Ashley growled and, with a quick twist of her powerful shoulders, clamped her jaws around Spencer's muzzle, closing down until Spencer whined. Spencer panted and stared into Ashley's glittering eyes. Spencer dropped her head, and Ashley relaxed her grip. Quickly, Spencer shook her off and went back to taunting her, running a few paces away, then swiftly swinging back to charge at her, jaws snapping.
Ashley's eyes glinted, and she lunged at Spencer with a full-throated growl, lips pulled back, teeth exposed. Spencer vaulted over her and sent her challenge.
If you want me, catch me.
Spencer barreled into the underbrush, and Ashley gave chase. Nose to the ground, heart pounding joyfully, Spencer led her mate deeper off the path. Blood hammered in her veins, in her belly, in her loins, and she ran by instinct, drawing her mate to safety in the shelter of the primeval forest.
Theresa moaned and opened her eyes. "Stef?"
Lauren hurried to the side of the stretcher and rested her hand on the human's shoulder. "You're in the Compound infirmary. You're all right."
Theresa's unfocused gaze wavered between confusion and alarm. "Who are you?"
"My name is Lauren Lewis. I'm a Were medic."
"What happened?" Theresa lifted one arm, examining the intravenous line taped to her wrist. "What are you giving me?"
"Just saline. We weren't sure what else you might need."
Chelsea approached the other side of the stretcher. "Hi, I'm Chelsea. How do you feel?"
"Tired." Theresa's dark brows drew down. "Otherwise, all right. I've never required any kind of medical attention before. Why did—Stef!" She struggled to sit up. "Is Stef all right? Where is she?"
"She's nearby," Lauren said quickly. "She's being protected. Don't worry."
"What about Alex?" Theresa's eyes widened and her breathing grew short and choppy. "Is Alex with her?"
"Yes. They're both…sleeping, I guess." Lauren glanced at Chelsea. "We're not really sure what condition they're in right now. We've never had a Vampire here. Or a Were in Alex's situation."
"I need to be with them," Theresa said anxiously. "If Alex awakens, she'll need to feed. Stef will too. She wouldn't let me host for her during the night, and I could see she needed it."
She reached for the IV as if to take it out, but Lauren stopped her. "Your vital signs are still low. You need more fluid. And rest."
Theresa shook her head. "Please. I should be with them. They'll both need me."
Lauren's chest tightened. "Bo is with them."
"Bo?" Theresa looked from Chelsea to Lauren questioningly. "God, I don't remember much of what happened last night. That's not normal either." She sank back on the stretcher, her face pale and her forehead beaded with sweat. "Bo. I don't know her. I thought I knew all of Stef's blood servants."
"Bo is one of us," Lauren said, trying not to think about what blood servant meant. "She volunteered to take care of whatever Stef or Alex might need."
"Weres are very strong," Theresa said, and her voice carried more than a little envy. "The Vampires often prefer them as servants. Stef doesn't usually, but…" She sighed. "Who knows what's happening now that she has Alex to protect."
"Well," Chelsea said briskly, "you are in no condition to host anyone. Unlike us, you're not going to replenish your blood stores very quickly. You should not host again anytime soon."
"I know. I know, but I'm not sure…" Theresa looked away. "Thank you for all your help."
"Of course." Chelsea adjusted the IV drip. "Try to get some more sleep."
Theresa sighed. "Yes, but when Stef wakes up—you'll tell me?"
"Of course," Chelsea said.
Lauren followed Chelsea to the far side of the room. She folded her arms across her chest, as if that would somehow lessen the ache deep inside. "She seems all right."
"I think she will be," Chelsea said, "if she doesn't host again right away."
"She seems to want to," Lauren said.
"I'm not sure if she wants to as much as she needs to," Chelsea said. "Whatever happens when the Vampires feed, it appears to be addicting. At least with humans."
"Yes." Lauren imagined Bo tangling with Alex and Stef. Giving them her blood. A rumble started between her breasts and forced its way through her chest, vibrating in her throat. She quickly turned away, hoping Chelsea had not noticed. She had no reason to be threatened or angry. Bo had gone with the Vampires willingly, and she'd made the right choice. The entire Pack was in Stef's debt for what she'd done for Alex. Now both Stef and Alex needed care and protection. They needed to feed, and Bo had offered herself. Lauren knew Bo tangled with other females frequently. Why shouldn't she? She was an unmated dominant female and often in the Alpha's company, either running with her or fighting with her. Bo absorbed the Alpha's call even more than the rest of them, and she needed to release. That was only natural.
But this, this was different. The Vampire was not Pack. Lauren couldn't help but think that Bo's offer of her body was driven more by pleasure than duty. Her canines throbbed, and her vision shimmered to wolf. She'd never reacted this way before when she knew Bo was with a female! Breathing hard, she busied herself restocking supplies.
"Why don't you take a break," Chelsea said.
"I'm all right."
"You're agitated and restless. You're acting like you could use a good tangle."
"Couldn't you?" Lauren laughed shortly. "You must have felt the Alpha's call a little while ago." She rubbed her arms. Her skin was prickling. She usually had very good control over her shifts, just as she could suppress her need to tangle after years of practice. All of her control seemed tenuous today.
"Oh, I felt it." Chelsea's eyes glinted with humor. "It's a good thing I'm mated or you might be in trouble."
Lauren smiled. "You know very well if you didn't have Hale, you'd be looking for some other male, not to me."
"I wasn't an adolescent all that long ago. I still remember how much fun tussling with some of the females can be." Chelsea lifted a box of intravenous bags onto the counter and started passing them to Lauren to stack on the overhead shelves. "The Alpha is breeding. We're all going to be frenzied for a while."
"It's only going to get worse the closer we get to moon hunt, if the Prima doesn't conceive. She might not." Lauren's hands shook. Something was wrong with her, something more than the hyperagitated state of the Pack with the Alpha in breeding frenzy.
"So far," Chelsea said, "there's nothing to mark the Prima as any different from a regii. You've seen how fast she shifts. And she can partial shift, just like the Alpha. I sensed her telepathic link as soon as she turned." Chelsea glanced across the room toward the human on the stretcher. "She's as much Were as any of us. Maybe she will conceive."
"I hope she does," Lauren said softly. "She and the Alpha are mated. It's only natural for them to want offspring."
"That's what all Were mates want. Offspring to strengthen the Pack."
Lauren's throat tightened around tears. "Yes. Every Were wants to give her mate that."
Bo paced the perimeter of the dark room. The Alpha was running, and she wasn't with her. Ashley's call had pulled her from an uneasy slumber, and now she was edgy and barely able to contain her wolf. Her belly hurt, her sex throbbed, and she wanted to fight. Or fuck. She was the Alpha's imperator and leader of the centuri. She always ran with the Alpha. Her role, her duty, had been at Ashley's side since she was born. Ashley was gathering her wolves to her for the fight that was coming. She was breeding her mate. Bo's body responded instinctively—her blood ran with battle lust and sex frenzy. She needed release. Rumbling steadily, she paced.
"Little Wolf," Stef said quietly. "Alex will sleep until sundown. You don't need to stay."
Snarling, Bo spun around. "What about you, Vampire? You're awake."
"I'm pre-animate. I can't function well during daylight, but I'll rouse if there's danger." Stef, naked except for her unbuttoned, rumpled white shirt, pushed herself up against the wall. Alex lay curled against her side, and Stef threaded her fingers through Alex's hair. "Her system is in shock. Eventually her body will adapt to the solar fluctuations, and she'll be able to protect herself. Right now, she's comatose."
"And helpless."
"No," Stef said, trailing her fingers over Alex's chest. "I'm here to protect her."
"You were so weak a few hours ago you couldn't have protected anyone."
"Yes, but you took care of that, didn't you? With my mouth at your neck."
Bo stalked to the bed, her canines extended. "I could kill you right now if I wanted."
"Could you?" Stef's body was relaxed and her face softer than Bo had ever seen it. She held out her hand. "That's not what you want, is it?"
A curtain of red shuddered behind Stef's dark eyes, and Bo's nipples tightened. Her pelt line flared and her clitoris erected. The Alpha's call still echoed through her blood, and she panted with need.
"Come to me," Stef murmured, and Bo bounded onto the bed. She straddled Stef's waist, rubbing her center against Stef's stomach. Her guts flamed and she whined softly.
"You taste like the forest, Wolf." Stef pulled Bo's head down and ran her tongue over Bo's mouth, the razor edge of her incisors scoring a line on the inside of Bo's lip. Bo tasted her own blood, and her clitoris pulsed.
"Do it," Bo growled, the pounding in her loins driving her mad. "Do it, Vampire. Drink me."
Stef struck, swift and deep. Bo arched, fire blazing a trail from her throat through her chest and deep into her belly. Stef's hips thrust slowly with each rush of blood through her veins. Bo howled, pain blossomed into a wave of unbearable pleasure, and she released on Stef's stomach.
Stef injected a flood of hormones into Bo's jugular. Rest now, Wolf.
Then Bo was running, paws pounding through the forest, the wind in her ruff, the scent of Ashley in her mouth. Whimpering softly, she surrendered to the Vampire's embrace.
