CALIFF
I meant to go slow, but Shadow let me fuck her.
Her scent was exotic and intoxicating. The overwhelming look on her face and the way her breasts bounced as I fucked her, and the way her inner muscles clamped down around me made my control lose fast.
She had already come once and was about to hit another climax.
Denying her primal urge to come, she gaped at me. Her eyes were huge, her chest heaving as she gulped for air.
“Do you want to come?”
“Califf.” She growled in disobedience, rocking against me.
“Then promise me you won’t pull that act again.”
“Fuck you. You know you can’t make me bend and bow down on you, Alphasshole.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. She was flushed, and now she turned scarlet, but her pink nipples pearled hard with her arousal.
“We’ll see about that.” I slammed my cock inside her, hitting bottom. Her tits bounced. Her tight, slick heat was drenched with her wetness.
“Califf!” She shrieked. Her voice was sharp and shaky.
“Yes, mate?” I pulled out and raised her leg over my shoulder. The angle let me sink deep. I rocked inside her again and pressed with a roll of my hips, making her body writhe beneath me. “I’m going to thoroughly fuck you until you learn to obey your mate’s words.”
“Not gonna happen, Alpha. You know me. I’m a permanent pain in your ass. You better accept it now so we don’t have a problem in the future.” Her reply sent my eyebrows straight up my hairline.
“Hmm. You’re challenging me. I see.” My wolf went spiraling, knowing his mate was defying us. I gripped her hip, pulled my dick out, and thrust in again.
A sharp cry tore out her throat, thrashing beneath me, demanding a primal desire for release.
“That’s it. You won’t come.” I flipped her over and pushed her head down the mattress until I got a view of her wet ass and the swelling lips of her pussy.
My hips snapped as I plunged inside her. I fucked her over and over again. Every time she was almost over the edge, I denied her.
“Califf! Goddamnit!”
I leaned down, licking the mark I gave her. “No, little mate. You will obey me, and I will reward you with an orgasm-”
“No!” A single no cut off my words.
Howling, something deep inside me snapped- a powerful wave of emotion rushed through me. An unfamiliar electric energy, something dangerous, surged through beneath my skin. My body seized and burned. My skin crawled. My fangs tickled in my gums, and my claws itched to come out.
I was losing control. And it never happened before.
“No?” I growled out, licking her exposed shoulder, snarling my fangs out.
My heart was pumping fast. My wolf was taking over me, and I had no control over stopping it.
Shadow felt it as she stiffened under me. She met my gaze. Her eyes widened in horror, but anger brewed deep within those misty eyes. “Your eyes are glowing, and your fangs are out, Califf. Are you really going to bite me because you can’t bend me?”
“Yes.” The moment I was on top of her, the next second, I was on the floor as she kicked me off. The clatter rattled further behind me.
And I was already in my wolf form.
“Califf, shift back!” she ordered, but all I could see was red and a threat. “Deep breath and shift back!”
I did as she said. My fangs retreated. I heard my bones cracking back. It seemed the temperature dropped significantly- the coldness penetrated my skin and seeped through my bones as my fur sloughed away, and I crawled on the floor on two legs.
“What was that all about?” She stared at me like she couldn’t for the life of her understand what happened.
Guilt swallowed me up. I couldn’t meet her gaze as I shook my head. I got up, went to the door, and opened it wide. Shifting back, I dashed out of the pack house and ran towards the wood frantically-the vivid memories of what I did pulse into grief and anxiety through my heartbeat.
I poured my feelings into my run, plunging through trees and paths. Breaking through a tree line, I trudged through the ground and rotten logs. The crisp scent of green forest through the air calmed me.
What had gotten into me?
I never lost control before her, no matter how mad I got. She was my tranquility. Yet I was ready to bite her if she didn’t sense me. I was about to hurt my mate because she disobeyed me.
This wasn’t me.
This wasn’t who I was.
The unavoidable truth hit me in the gut. Shadow was my strength, but she was also my weakness.
I slowed down as the cliff came into view. I found myself over the top, howling.
What was wrong with me? There was something wrong with me.
Minutes later, I wasn’t alone anymore.
“Hey.” Shadow came with my clothes. Something beautiful glimmered in her eyes as she met mine. There was no fear, no anger, but devotion. Her affection made me vulnerable and squeezed my heart painfully.
I purred as I felt her human touch against my sleek black fur.
“Hey, big guy. Come back to me.” She knelt, scratched behind my ears, and cupped my jaw. She then pressed her forehead against mine. My nozzle touched her nose. “Come back to me, baby.”
I rubbed my nose against her face and neck and began licking her, causing her to giggle.
“Okay, big mutt. Time to shift and see you butt naked.”
I shifted and pulled her in my arms, squeezing her in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, baby. I don’t know how to make it right.” I ran my fingers through her silky hair, ranting my apology.
“It’s okay. I know you’re under a lot of stress-”
“That’s not an excuse to mistreat you.”
“I know, but you’re overwhelmed, confused, and betrayed by the man you trusted. I know that feeling, Califf. Trust me. And I’m also sorry for not being there for you, for neglecting you, for not being a supportive mate.”
“You’re nothing but a perfect partner, baby.”
She pulled away and kissed me on the lips before she grinned wickedly. “You owe me an orgasm.”
I broke into a smile. “God, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.” I kissed her back, pouring all my emotions into the kiss. “I love you. You are my heart and soul, Shadow.”
“Very well. Now put your clothes on and get back to the pack house. I’m going with you to meet your father. He owes you that much of an explanation.”
***
“Hey, honey.” Shadow and Mom hugged each other, but I felt tension coming from her. “I was planning on coming to visit you both when you came back from the honeymoon.”
“It’s fine, Eleanor. Things get hectic back at the pack house.”
“Hey, honey.” Mom hugged me tight as if she needed it badly.
I cleared my throat. “Mom.”
“Your dad is in the study.” She ran her hand on my arm as she smiled forcefully.
“Mom.” I held her hand. My heart felt like breaking when she nodded as if she understood instinctively.
“I love you with all my heart, honey.”
“I love you, too.” Terror froze me as she caught the look on my face.
“Go see your father.”
“I’ll give you two alone to yourselves,” Shadow said, standing beside my mother.
“No. I need you.”
“Okay.” She gripped the hand I offered.
I pushed the door open. Dad was standing before the window with a glass of bourbon.
“Don’t you think it’s too early for alcohol?”
He turned to face us but never looked at me as he emptied the glass. He came to put it on the coffee table. “Hi, honey.”
“Hey.” Shadow kissed my father on the cheek.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you-”
“But I guess I already knew what that was all about.”
He blew a breath to confirm the story. His eyes filled with so much guilt and sorrow as he finally met me in the eye. “I didn’t know until a month ago-”
“A month? You knew before we got married?”
“Because your wedding is more important than my mistake.” He sat next to Shadow. The guilt in his voice got deeper and deeper.
“How did Mom take it? How did you find out?”
Mom just came in to join us. “I’m okay with it, honey. I wish we found it out sooner so he wouldn’t feel cast out and alone.”
My eyes narrowed at Mom. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”
“I know it hurts knowing you have a brother from another mother, but that baby is innocent. Don’t put your anger on him. He has nothing to do with this, with our world.”
I rose to my feet when my rage boiled. I felt it suffocated me.
“Califf, breathe, please?” Shadow held my hand.
I nodded and took a deep breath.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on with you?” Mom’s worried voice made me turn to face her.
“I almost bit my wife. I accidentally shifted while in our bedroom. I lost control.” My admission made her gasp.
Her eyes went wide. “Since when?”
“Last night. I put my anger and confusion towards Shadow. I almost hurt her. I can’t be this man, Mom. I’m not this person she married.”
Mom rubbed her hands against my arms to calm me. “Your emotions are new to you. And this is because of the newfound truth about you having a brother. I’m sorry, honey.”
“He’s stressing out about the hunters hunting werewolves, particularly alphas. Then I sneaked out to see Zarah, leaving him mad. Now he prefers turning into an angry mutt than talking out his emotions or punching a bag.”
“That’s not funny.” With wild eyes, I glared at her. My chest heaved up and down.
“Am I wrong?”
“I came here to talk to Dad.” I turned to my father. “I want to confirm if he’s your son.”
My father nodded. “He called me last month, and we met outside. I remember his mother. That was way before I met my mate. I was stupid, drunk, arrogant, and had a one-night stand with a stranger. Then I met Eleanor. I never saw her again.”
“How did he find you?”
“That picture. He used a computer application that generated an older version of the younger me. I don’t know. And it looks like me. He found my photos online from a fundraising event. He got my name and phone number.” He sighed deeply. “I told Calder I would tell you myself, but you have more pressing matters to attend to. I was about to tell you when I came to you, but with the issue of hunters, I can’t add another to your problems, son. I’m so sorry if you found out this way.”
“What does he want from us?”
“He just wants to meet you?”
“I don’t believe him.” I went to the door, ready to bolt out. “And I certainly don’t trust him.”