TW- Dubious Consent


Previously on Alpha Female

Caroline is smiling when she closes her eyes and settles down to try and sleep.

She manages only about two minutes before she's woken by the intrusion. She shoots up into a sitting position and stares in disbelief at the man standing in the doorway of her cabin,

"Klaus?!"


She had imagined seeing him again of course.

During the quiet moments in her otherwise hectic day when she couldn't find anything to distract her mind any longer and in the middle of the cold, lonely nights when she'd cradled her stomach, the life growing in there and wept for the comfort of the family she'd long since lost.

She'd pictured returning to Virginia, being swept up in his arms, kissed and held and feeling whole again.

She'd seen him in her mind's eye, the wide smile on his face, his shining eyes and even the benevolent faces of his siblings and pack, glad that she had returned.

She'd imagined their reunion many times but strangely had never even considered the possibility that he would come for her.

That he would come onto her lands and make it into her cabin.

That he would walk in on her naked, in bed with another man.

Even if there was nothing romantic between said man and herself.

He has an almost comical expression of disbelief on his face as Tyler pulls up the blankets to cover her naked breasts, tying them into a knot over her shoulder which is fine for her but leaves him exposed to the hybrid in front of them.

The hybrid who is taking in the scene and jumping to the wrong conclusion.

"You" he growls at Tyler, "Out"

Tyler glowers at him, "Screw you. I'm not your wolf and these aren't your lands, I answer to Caroline alone"

Caroline who was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the man she loved was standing in her cabin, in her territory after so many months of not seeing him.

Had his skin always been so pale or is it simply the lack of light in the room?

Had his hair always been so flat? She seems to remember golden curls and there hadn't been bags under his eyes, not ones this deep anyway.

She wants to gather him up in her arms, undress him and lie down on the bed, cover themselves with the blankets and keep one another warm while their daughter sleeps peacefully between them.

But he is the Original Hybrid and Alpha of the North East Atlantic Pack. He doesn't sleep during the day, curled up in bed with a woman and baby. And she is the Alpha of the Arctos Pack, she doesn't have the luxury of ignoring everything that is going on simply so she can lie down with the man she loves.

The man who abandoned her to this loneliness as he shredded the link between them.

"Tyler" she tells her Beta with a calmness she does not feel, "Get dressed, go see to the pack and take Lizzie to get some fresh air"

He's sliding on his jeans before she even finishes the sentence but Klaus' angry expression doesn't change,

"She stays" he announces, jerking his chin to the cradle, "I want to see her"

"Take Lizzie with you Tyler" Caroline repeated, glaring at Klaus and daring him to challenge her order again.

Her daughter is bundled up in furs and her Beta's arms, shielded protectively as she's carried out.

Klaus does not move out of the way and stares daggers at her Beta as he pushes past him and keeps walking, even as Caroline hears Rebekah and Elena cooing over her daughter, asking to see her and protesting when Tyler practically ignores them.

She knows that he won't stop until he's surrounded by the pack, after the vampire attack none of her wolves would be keen to have the Original siblings on their land, and certainly they wouldn't be happy with them around her daughter.

For that matter she could sense her wolves making their way across the Valley, trying to look casual so as not to spook the visitors but gathering in the general vicinity of her cabin so that they'd be inside in seconds if things started to go south.

Which they almost certainly would do.


Klaus is too much presence for the small, confined space, too intense.

His gaze feels like laser beams on her flesh and she swears she can hear him breathing and feel her own body syncing itself to his.

And what's worse, she swears it's almost like there was a long-festering wound inside her that is finally starting to heal, the agonising pain slowly ebbing away and the rawness itching but sending the message that it was going to be okay.

The severed mating link trying to fix itself.

Klaus prowls towards her but she does not back down.

She does not even move until he is standing next to her legs, her feet planted firmly on the floor, she only tilts her head enough so that she can look into his eyes, gritting her teeth so that she doesn't curse him out with every terrible word she's ever learnt.

Or tell him how much she's missed him.

Damn mating link.

The back of his fingers are as light as a feather on her bare shoulder. Trailing across her skin and her heartbeat is hammering as her body remembers…

In truth, it had never forgot a damn thing.

She clenches a fist in the sheet but doesn't break her gaze as his blunt nails have goosebumps tickling her skin and she's trembling until his hand reaches the knot, clumsily tied by Tyler and pulls it loose, the sheet cascading down to her stomach, exposing her torso to him.

He was already in her personal space but now he presses himself forward, straddling her knees and forcing her to fall back onto the bed to avoid colliding with him.

He props himself up with a hand either side of her head, his body millimetres from hers but in no way touching.

Still, it's enough for her- albeit sore- nipples to begin hardening and warmth to begin pooling between her thighs.

His eyes stare into hers, searching for something or perhaps noticing the changes that have been wrought in her.

Whatever they find, they flutter closed and he ducks his head, down to the crook of her neck and a treacherous part of her is wondering whether she's capable of having sex so soon after giving birth when she feels and hears him inhale deeply.

No…he's sniffing.

Searching for Tyler's scent. For proof of infidelity.

Caroline isn't in the best position for the manoeuvre but she still brings up her knee to jam him in the crotch as best she can while she tears at his Henley and digs her nails into his chest, letting them become claws.

"You have three seconds to get off me" she growls, "Or I am shouting for my pack to start slaughtering"

He responds with a smirk that doesn't quite reach his eyes, "Don't worry my mate, your scent is clean, you obviously haven't fucked Lockwood"

She drags her claws down to his stomach, leaving trails of blood and gets her knees into position to push him off of her,

"I haven't slept with Tyler not that it's any business of yours but even if I wanted to fuck every wolf from here to Atlanta, I couldn't because I gave birth almost four months before my due date. I gave birth before my body or my baby was ready and I'm still recovering because of you"

He narrows his eyes and glares at her, "Our baby" he corrects and with a shriek of fury she pushes him off her and turns over, crouching on the bed, ready for the next attack.

"My baby" she stresses, "Because you are a fucking coward"

He snarls, his eyes glowing golden, "I am your Alpha!"

Red spots dance across her vision as her body tries to process the level of anger she feels at that statement.

She curls her lip in disgust as he prowls around the bed, looking for a weak point to pounce upon her again.

"You kicked me out of your pack" she argues to distract him "And anyway I never knelt to you"

"Oh I seem to remember you getting on your knees quite a few times sweetheart," he crows triumphantly, "Completely naked and with a smile on your face as my come dribbled down your chin onto your glorious breasts. I notice they've grown by the way, quite lovely…I'm going to enjoy playing with them later"

She gnashes her teeth and contemplates what could possibly be on-hand and useful as a weapon. She knows it won't kill him, but the thought of breaking off a piece of the wooden bed frame and driving a makeshift stake through Nik's heart- Klaus' heart- seemed very satisfying at this very second.

"Touch me again" she warns, her voice low and deadly "And it will be war"

He shrugs his shoulders and giggles, "When has our union ever not been an act of war my sweetheart? When has my kissing you ever not been a declaration and your climax not been a battle cry?"

He lunges forward and she leaps out of his path, scrambling to get off the bed and she has her left foot on the floor before he grabs her right ankle and yanks her back onto the covers, dragging her towards him on her stomach and she struggles to find purchase.

His hand slaps her arse and she grabs a pillow, throwing it behind her with enough force that it hits him in the nose and actually causes him to stagger backwards, giving her time to catch her breath and try to fight the arousal that is making her wet between her thighs.

Worse still. The damn wolf within her was whining and panting for its mate. It wanted her to stop fighting, lift her rear up and…

No.

She's no-one's bitch.

"You know the laws my mate" he pants, grabbing her wrists and holding them above her as she rolls onto her back to better fight her more primal urges,

"Principatum recipiat necessariae coniugi and we have a very bloody limited window to get it done"

Principatum recipiat necessariae coniugi. Reclaiming the mate.

Crap, none of the laws that bound the werewolves could be considered modern but this one was so archaic Caroline could barely even remember the term.

Nik- Klaus- sees that she is trying to recall the law and its conditions and, while he doesn't release her, he allows her time to think.

Reclaiming the mate.

In its most common form it was a response to furtum lupa- stealing the she-wolf.

The very rule he had used to carry her off from the Crescent Pack. It was in place in the event that the stolen she-wolf had already been partnered within the former pack.

The partner in question had a time-frame with which he could steal her back, it varied depending on whether she had already been taken by another wolf and born them a child.

Caroline hadn't been sexually active with another wolf and she hadn't been stolen away.

Rarely, but still applicable to reclaiming the mate, was the situation in which two wolves had become mated and somehow lost to each other.

In this case, the wolves had to find one another and mate again before the female experienced the full moon with a new pack and ran with them in wolf form.

Which Caroline hadn't done due to her pregnancy with Lizzie. But the full moon was…

Oh, it was tonight.

It was hard to keep track of the days when half the known supernatural world was conspiring to kill her and her pack.

That explained why her wolf was so close to the surface.

Nik- Klaus- is stroking her captive wrists with his thumbs, the tell-tale bulge in his jeans showing that he considered their mating an essentially done deal.

He thought that she would roll over onto her hands and knees and let him reclaim her, let him play with her breasts even though they were still full of milk from nursing and let him put his penis in her vagina even though she was still emotionally recovering from having given birth.

He thought that Wolf law would mean so much to her that she would meekly return to his land with their baby to be a fertile figurehead, her most important role being pliant and an eager she-wolf in the bed of her Alpha.

He either had too much faith in his penis or in the patriarchal society of werewolves that she'd spent her life waiting to rebel against and that had left her with few options.

But she did have options.


She lowers her eyes and relaxes her arms under the guise of submission and he releases her wrists and climbs onto the bed as she pretends to be rolling over onto her hands and knees. He brushes her hair over her shoulder and kisses the back of her neck, resting his forehead on the top of her spine as he lowers his body atop hers, trapping her on her stomach and she turns her face to the side and sniffs pitifully, wishing she knew how to cry crocodile tears.

Not that it matters, he buys her act of submission.

"I'll be gentle my love, my mate" he whispers into her ear, kissing the shell, "And tonight, we can run together, hunt together, play together hmmm?"

"I forgot how heavy you are" she moans with a soft laugh, "Oh…Klaus, lift yourself up a little, my breasts hurt"

He is propping himself up with his arms before he realises that she called him Klaus but by then he's taking an elbow to the jaw and she rolls before flipping them over so that he's on his back, she traps his legs with his knees and catches his wrists with her hands, holding them above his head.

"You came onto my lands without permission" she says with a smile, hovering over him,

"You trespassed and brought vampires with you. That's an act of war and I've got you at my mercy. You can't hurt me because I won't take your blood while I'm breastfeeding my daughter and my healing ability is being spent repairing my body from her birth. You can't call your siblings for help because they won't understand the situation and if my people think we're fighting they're going to take Lizzie away to safety. Surrender. Surrender and under the rule of usurpator spolia you're mine"

Usurpator spolia- Not even Latin could make it sound less disgusting but when werewolf packs fought and one side lost the fight, it was the victorious Alpha's right to claim the captured wolves and whatever possessions they held as they saw fit.

A range of emotions cross his face, she can tell that he's baffled, hurt and angry as his eyes dart about, clearly trying to think of a solution.

A way to get out of the physical and conventional bind without lasting damage. She picks up his hands and slams them back down into the blankets, not to hurt him but to pull his focus back to her.

"You want me back in your arms as much as I want you back in mine but I will not lose the Arctos Pack. I am their Alpha and will remain Alpha until the day I die, I won't give that up to be your Alpha Female but if I claim you for my own as you claimed me then you will be Alpha Male of my pack. I am giving us the chance to do something that has never been done. We will be leaders and consorts of twopacks, allied but separate and Lizzie will succeed me when I die. She will be an Arctos Alpha like all the Forbes before her, I am giving us the chance to create a future for ourselves and our child- take it"

She finishes with an impatient snarl and his eyes narrow into a sulky, self-pitying glare.

He flexes his hands but she doesn't lower her guard, after all, he could be pulling the same act she'd pulled a few minutes earlier.

"Very well, love" he says, breathing through his nose, betraying his displeasure at the situation,

"Go on then. Claim away"

She waits, tense and expecting an attack but none comes.

Still, she transfers his wrists to one hand, pressing her claws against his skin in warning as she reaches down to his belt, sliding it free of his jeans and bringing the leather up above his head.

"Really?" he scoffs as she binds his hands to the bed frame,

"Are you going to gag me as well in case I scream?"

"Are you saying you wouldn't have done the same?" she challenges and he lapses into sullenness as she works off his boots and jeans, undressing him until he is as naked as her.

She drapes her body over his and the déjà vu is nearly overwhelming.

His scent, the feel of his skin against hers, she takes a moment to rest her head on his chest, closing her eyes and just listening to their bodies, heartbeat, the air entering their lungs, the whisper of hair as he shifted slightly in irritation- or perhaps impatience. She rolls her eyes and straddles his chest with a huff, bending down and stealing a kiss, crushing her lips against his and pushing her tongue into his mouth, yanking her head back with a warning growl when his fangs scrape against it warningly.

"You can pretend to be as unhappy as you like, my mate" she snaps, holding his chin in her hand,

"But I can practically hear your wolf whining and begging for me"

"And yours?" he sneers, "I can smell your arousal, she wants this and doesn't give a damn about the politics of it all"

"Maybe not" Caroline concedes, leaning back, kneeling above his stomach and reaching tentatively for her left breast before wincing at the tenderness and moving her hand down to her vagina, running a finger between the wet folds before focusing on her clitoris.

"But it wasn't my wolf who had to bear your child and deal with the ramifications so she is not the one who gets the final say"

She slips a finger inside herself experimentally and her brow furrows slightly at the intrusion, she strokes herself slowly before managing a second finger, closing her eyes, she masturbated carefully, her thumb massaging her clit as she sought out a climax to ready herself.

"Come up here love" Nik suggests, his voice gentle now, "Let me use my mouth hmmm? I swear I won't bite"

She hums and trembles, he falls silent but she can sense his concern seeping through her skin to the still mending mating link,

"Keep talking" she encourages as she feels the pleasure building at the base of her spine, "Nik…"

"Your breasts really do look gorgeous" he offers, "Not that they weren't amazing before…I want to hold them in my hands and fondle your nipples until your giggles turn into moans and you're lifting your hips, showing me exactly where you want me and…"

She finishes with a strangled cry and sighs in relief when nothing immediately disastrous happens.

Twisting her body, she turns her attention to Nik's penis and wraps her hand around it, swiping her thumb over his tip, his hips bucking as he hisses at the pleasurable sensation and mixing their fluids together as she strokes him until he's fully erect and ready.

"Will you be able to take me?" he asks quietly as she straddles his thighs and positions herself up over his penis,

"Caroline…if this will hurt you then I submit entirely, we can lie through our teeth and no-one will doubt us…"

She cuts him off with a gentle kiss, "I'll be alright" she says but glances down and bites her lip,

"But don't thrust unless I tell you to"

She lowers herself onto him slowly, taking her time as he stretches and fills her, she feels only heat and liquid pleasure spreading through her as her walls clench around him.

Her hands are splayed on his stomach as he trembles with the effort to remain still, not even breathing as she rolls her hips, easing herself back into the act.

"Move" she entreats him once the wondrous sensations are all she can think about,

"Slowly…not too fast…yes, good…my mate" she gasps as he rolls his hips smoothly, his pace steady and even as she approaches her next climax.

The itching inside her that is the mating bond between them tingles and twitches almost painfully before Nik's emotions come flooding through her, love and arousal at the forefront and she orgasms, falling forward and burying her face in a pillow to smother her shout.

Her vision spins and blurs for a moment before she comes back down to herself, the air of the cabin tickling her bum.

She peaks at Nik and he's watching her in concern, she smiles to let him know that she's okay and then lifts herself up and sees that he hasn't finished,

"Love you don't have to…" he protests weakly as she sluggishly moves back down to his penis, she glances up with a cheeky grin,

"I thought you liked me with a smile on my face as your come dribbled down my chin onto my glorious breasts?"

"I like the idea of your comfort more" he argues as she takes him in hand and runs her tongue up his shaft, "But if you must"

She laughs and then slides her lips over him, swallowing as much of him as she can in this position and using her hands to stroke the rest and fondle his balls, once again he keeps himself as still as possible, not wanting to buck into her mouth and cause her to gag. She bobs her head up and down quickly, her tongue swirling and lapping at his tip before she takes him into her mouth again and before long, he calls her name to warn her and she pulls back, squeezing him with her hand and his come lands on her breasts.

Pleasantly spent, she crawls up his body and flops down atop him, splaying herself haphazardly,

"I claim you" she murmurs into his ear, struggling to remember the necessary words and figures they can just lie about the speech later,

"As Alpha of the Arctos Pack, I claim you as is my right. I will take you in my victory, you will join my wolves and serve me in battle and in bed. You will…father my heirs" she adlibs, the correct phrase being 'bear my heirs' which was only one step past the impossible act of impregnating her and he chuckles,

"You are mine Niklaus, son of…Ansel?" she trails off but he nods and she continues, "Mine from now until your release at my command or your death"

"I accept" he answers dutifully, the corner of his mouth quirking up as he turns his face and kisses her lingeringly,

"Now, can you please untie me before someone comes in to check that we're both still alive?"

She laughs, wiggling to make herself more comfortable and pretending to settle in for a nap,

"I don't know, I kind of like you like this"

"Caroline" he groans and she keeps laughing but then he turns serious, "I want to see her. I want to meet our daughter"

She nods, kissing him once more before she reaches up to untie the belt, freeing him and they both stretch luxuriously before getting to their feet to stagger around the tiny cabin, trying to fix themselves up as best as possible, using the shreds of Klaus shirt and the jug of water in the corner to get themselves clean. When they're presentable and ready she takes his hand,

"Come"