Alpha Jaxon POV
I was furious at her. I was so angry I was having trouble seeing straight and seeing those luscious lips of hers as she trembled in front of me wasn't helping. Before I knew it I was grasping the back of her neck to hold her still and kissing her, my lips forcing hers to part as my tongue slowly slipped inside her mouth, exploring the sweetness within. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was like electricity was running through my veins. I deepened the kiss, my body craving more, my hand gripping her hair and twining my fingers through it. All my anger faded for the moment and time ceased to stop existing. My wolf let out a purr, strangely content. I wanted more, to throw her down on the ground and do unspeakable things to her that had my cock jerking in reaction.
It was like having ice water dumped through my veins. I jerked backward and saw her blinking confusedly at me as she put a hand to her swollen lips. I was breathing heavily and I saw to my surprise, so was she. My eyes narrowed. I couldn't afford to feel like this. Not now. But the look on her face was tormenting me. She looked as though I had shocked her. Had I just taken her first kiss from her? The idea did not sit well with me. I fought to bring back my composure and could see her discreetly eyeing me, her eyes involuntarily dipping down to my erection which I couldn't prevent if I tried. She just caused that reaction in me.
I stepped back and saw a flash of hurt enter her eyes. "Go back to the pack house," I said and this time my voice was devoid of emotion. I saw the pain on her face and fought to resist taking her back in my arms again. She shook her head and made to walk past me.
My anger increased. Even now she insists on defying me. Hadn't she learned by now that I had the final say? I could sense eyes on us and knew without turning that Callum had entered the clearing, although he remained well back, watching and waiting to see what happened.
"You insist on defying me at every turn," I said, my voice slightly incredulous "you refuse to acknowledge your place in this pack. If I have to use my Alpha tone to get you to realize I mean it then so be it. I Alpha Jaxon" I deepened my voice and allowed my Alpha aura begin to seep out as her eyes widened and she tried to shake her head in denial "order you Riley to remain on Blood Moon Pack lands until such time as I order you to leave. I order you to go back to the pack house now" I added and saw her eyes fill with hatred as she was forced to obey, her lips quivering as she slowly turned and began to make her way back to the house, her shoulders slumped in defeat and a look of resignation on her face.
"Here" Callum handed me some clothes "I figured you might need this."
I put the clothes on.
"Where do you think she was headed?" he asked.
I turned and eyed him "Either she was running away or she was heading straight to the rogues for some reason. I don't like the idea of either one."
"Don't you think you are being too harsh?" Callum asked, leaning against the trunk of the tree "the poor girl is mute, has no friends and you're treating her like garbage. You don't think that's not going to be too much for one girl to be able to handle?"
I stiffened "Do not question my decisions Callum, we've been over this. I'm starting to think you have something for Riley."
He shook his head "I just feel sorry for her" he said honestly "now should we head to the rogues?"
I sighed. "I'm not shifting to meet them. We go now and we meet on neutral ground. You say they need help. I'm not so sure they do. But I'm willing to meet them and find out."
He grinned and motioned for me to follow him, both of us stepping beside each other. "There's only about half a dozen of them, so it's no big threat," he said confidently.
We headed out of the boundary, that's how close Riley had gotten. My heart thumped loudly in my chest at the thought of how close she had gotten to getting off my pack lands. No sooner had we made it into neutral territory than we were entering a clearing where the women themselves were camping. At the sight of us, the women froze, all of them looking thin and starved, malnourished and weak, their bodies tense as they studied us and debated whether it was worth shifting and fighting to get away.
Callum held up a hand "We mean you no harm" he said quietly "we came to see for ourselves what your purpose was in being here and why you are here."
One woman, after glancing uneasily at the others stepped forward, her hair a matted mess of black and brown, her body barely covered by a nightgown. She cleared her throat. "We are trying to find a pack to take us in" she said lowly.
I raised a brow "What happened to your own packs?" my voice was blunt.
Another uneasy glance "We were turfed out for being wolfless."
Wolfless. This was why Callum wanted to show me the women and why he insisted they weren't a threat. But they smelt of something else.
"What are you?" I asked as they shifted uncomfortably on their feet "At least two of you are something else."
"Stacey and I are hybrids," the woman in front of me said "half vampires, half shifters. Naturally we are seen as nothing more than repulsive" she explained "and we weren't accepted by those that dislike the idea of vampires and shifters being mates with each other."
"Where are your mates?"
Stacey and the woman shot a look at each other "Dead" the woman said reluctantly "killed during a war against another pack."
Wolfless shifters and half vampires. I shot a look at Callum who looked unfazed. I motioned to him and turned my back on the women. "You can't possibly be serious about giving these women sanctuary," I said between gritted teeth.
"Why not? You've never cared about different races being mates and the wolfless women will be killed if they don't find a pack. Have a heart Jaxon" he said lowly.
"Please," a woman said, her voice shaking behind us as I looked over my shoulder "it's not safe out there. There is a crazy Alpha tearing women to shreds in the forest and rumors that he's feral. I beg of you, please grant us the sanctuary that we need."
Callum shot me a pointed look. I turned back around. "You would all have to pledge allegiance to me. Youw ould be made omegas or be given work around the pack house."
The women looked pleased by that instead of put off. "My pack demands respect and I as the Alpha demand respect."
"We will happily abide by your rules" Stacey said hastily as the other women nodded as well.
"As for the so-called crazy Alpha whose gone feral, this is the first time I've heard about it," I said slowly glancing at Callum "and it's probably just rumored to keep rogues away from somebody's territory. The last time a wolf went feral..."
"They killed over a hundred women before they were caught," one of the women said fearfully "I remember my history."
"So it's just a rumor. I'll take you back to the pack house now if you start to pack up your things" I said dismissively.
A feral shifter or wolf was dangerous. It meant they had stopped being able to use or focus on their humanity side and could no longer shift back and forth. It made them blood thirsty and slowly they lost all sense of who they are until eventually all they did was hunt and kill. Most of the time, for some reason unknown it was male shifters who lost their humanity and became feral. It started with them becoming rogue but nobody knew what happened to make them feral afterwards. Maybe it was the death of a mate, maybe they were cold-blooded killers in the first place. Whatever it was, the end result was frightening. No wonder these women were so fearful. But it had been years since the last male shifter had turned feral and it was probably just a rumor as I'd said.
"We don't have anything, so we can come with you now" Stacey said relieved.
I sighed. Callum looked at them with pity in his eyes. I motioned for them to follow me. One by one we walked single file back towards the pack border. "You are from the Blood moon pack?" Stacey asked.
"I am" I said tightly.
"We were told to avoid your pack, that you were ruthless" she murmured.
"My Beta has taken pity on you all, otherwise today might have proven to have a different outcome to you all."
Her eyes gleamed even as she nodded. "Then I guess we should be thankful for the merciful Beta that you have."
I stared ahead. Callum's lip twitched. "You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be" he said with a chuckle, the women following carefully behind us.
I looked at him "You're in charge of getting these women settled in. Then I want to see you regarding party preparations. I suggest you hurry" I growled "I am already displeased having found my mate trying to run away."
I snarled at him and then turned, shifting into wolf form as the girls gave a loud exclamation and then began to run, my paws pounding against the hard dirt as I ran as hard as I possibly could. I needed to run and get some fresh air. At least my wayward mate had been dealt with and my pack was under control, I thought grimacing, but something told me that wasn't going to last much longer.