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CHAPTER THREE
Megan sighed as she finished licking her paws clean of her final meal in isolation. She was sweaty, stank something chronic and was sick of eating nothing but rabbits and birds.
It was day seven of her living out by herself. It wasn’t the first time she’d done such a stint. Most alphas, as well as some betas and omegas, would give it a go at least once as they came of age. But that would usually last a few days at most. Wolves grew up around a pack, the voices of their pack in their heads. Megan had thought this would be a breeze, but by day four, she’d begun to feel the immense weight of isolation. She’d begun to feel the pressure of being alone, of surviving by herself.
She’d never really understood the point of this challenge. Why bother with something most wolves did for fun? But she understood now.
Megan watched the sunset from the little hill she’d found, once it was down she huffed a sigh of relief. The darkness meant seven days had passed and she could go home. She stood, shook herself clean and began running. Every step felt like it got lighter and lighter. The overwhelming weight of solitude was something she never wanted to experience again.
Megan was about halfway home when she realized someone was following her.
Megan kept running like she hadn’t heard anything, her wolf’s senses completely locked onto the world around her. Part of what made Megan so good in a fight or hunt was this moment, when she was fully engaged in the world. It felt like she was a part of the landscape, and it was speaking to her.
A slight rustle in the leaves to her right. The smell of crushed grass from her left. A fallen log in front of her and the silence of birds around it. A wolf on either side of her, one more waiting. A coordinated ambush.
Megan ran right into the trap, and when it was sprung, she was ready.
*
The run back home took much, much longer than it should have. It was almost dawn when she stumbled into camp, weary and exhausted, dried matting her coat. Someone, an omega, she thought, saw her from a distance and must have sent out the message, since a few doors began opening as she made her way to the central area of their village, an amphitheater made of compressed dirt and rock.
“Megan!” roared a male voice. Orion.
“Why are you covered in ?” a female beta asked as she came out of her hut. “Shit, I’ll get a healer.”
“I’m fine,” she said to everyone in the vicinity. Orion and the pack’s healer, an omega called Vincent, came running up. The omega began running his hands over her wounds.
“These have already been cleaned?” he asked.
“Like I said, I’m fine. Alex’s pack took care of me.” Her wolf made her send Orion a grin that probably looked more like a grimace in this form. “But not before I completed the seven days. They can attest for me. I had to let them know what happened anyway before I returned.”
“Which was what?” Orion asked.
“I got ambushed by wild wolves, right on our border,” she said. Orion’s face tightened.
“Megan!” Charmaine called as she emerged from a nearby hut, pulling on clothes. She stopped. “I hear you ran into some trouble at the border. Are you alright?”
“Alex’s omegas patched me up.”
Charmaine sniffed at that. Omegas got as territorial as other wolves, just in different ways. “Victor, have a proper look at her later.” The male omega nodded. “These wild wolves, they were waiting for you near the border?”
“Yeah. I told Alex’s pack what happened, they want to talk with us after the next full moon,” Megan said. The next full moon would be in two weeks. It was a time that gave shifters an extra boost, so it could make them a little irrational. It was just easier to never meet with other shifters on a full moon.
“I’ll send one of my omegas to corroborate at the border but I would say that defeating three wild wolves before they get into our territory counts as protecting the pack,” Charmaine said, sending her a smile. Megan paused. She hadn’t even considered that. Orion stiffened.
“That would mean...” Megan sent. Her wolf wanted to snarl in both joy and determination.
“Two challenges left,” Charmaine said as she ruffled Megan’s fur. Megan jerked her head away. The omega woman averted her eyes but grinned. “For your next challenge, you will learn to support the pack. You’ll live as a new beta for a week, working alongside them. But not today. Today, you should rest for the challenges to come.”
*
Living as a beta wasn’t the worst thing to do, but it was definitely an adjustment. Megan found she knew a lot less than she thought she did about maintaining infrastructure. Humans had invented machines, but those sorts of things didn’t work in their land. Elves, the strange creatures that lived further inland, had figured out ways to make them work but it was the shifters way to work with their hands.
If only it wasn’t so exhausting. She ached every day. The betas had been replacing an old pipe and, as if she was living as a new beta, she got the hardest jobs. Both that, and obeying other alphas orders, was a pain in the neck. Megan had pushed her wolf’s instincts aside and gotten on with it. Every shifter was made up of two halves, their shifter side and their sentient side. One should always be able to balance the other. This test was about that, and learning how it felt to receive orders.
Megan knew Charmaine had told the pack’s alphas to not make this easy on her, so she had grit her teeth and obeyed.
At the end of the week Megan was more sore than she’d remembered being in a long time. She was elbow-deep in digging around a tree root when one of the betas clapped her on the back.
“Megan, you’re done,” the woman said.
She laid down the shovel and wiped her sweat away. “Phew. Gotta say, I’m not sad I don’t have to finish this job.”
They laughed at her. “Yeah, well,” the beta woman continued. “I gotta say it was fun to tell an alpha what to do all week. My wolf had the best time. And you don’t make a half-bad beta.”
“Thanks,” she said. She bathed in a river and went back to her hut. It was night by the time she returned. Charmaine was waiting for her in the amphitheater, with Orion and a few others watching from the sidelines. Elvin was absent. He’d avoided her this week. Orion watched her neutrally as she approached them.
“So. You’ve finished all but one challenge,” Charmaine said. “If both parties agree to it, the fight will take place here, in three days. Before the full moon, I don’t want anyone going crazy. That gives you both time to rest up and to settle anything that needs settling.”
“I agree,” said Megan. The settling part was just routine, although she’d heard some particularly brutal packs’ challenges would go too far and one alpha would be lost in the fight. She was thankful for the three days. It would give her time to both rest her weary muscles and have a few practice fights.
“I agree,” echoed Orion.
“It’s settled. We’ll meet back here at dawn three days from now.” Charmaine gave them both strained grins. Megan mentally reminded herself to check on the omega once this was done. Getting caught up in alpha business could be tough on them, they tended to take on emotions they often didn’t need to. “Both of you rest up.”
Megan nodded, turned to say something to Orion. She wanted to tell him to fight well, to not take it easy on her. But he turned and walked away. Without even talking to her.
Megan’s hands curled into fists at her side. At first, she didn’t have a problem with the silent treatment. But she be damned if she let them go into this fight without even a well wish between them. They both deserved more than that.
She went to go after him but Charmaine caught her arm. Megan looked at the omega, who quickly released her and averted her eyes. Megan was fairly riled up, it must have intimidated the omega. That was bad practice, alphas and betas had to be careful with throwing around dominant gestures around omegas. Just because they were submissive, didn’t meant they deserved to be domineered in everyday life. Megan sighed. “Sorry. What is it?”
“Don’t pick a fight tonight,” the woman said gently.
“I won’t. I just want to talk before it all happens.”
“You know he and Elvin haven’t been talking since this started? I think Orion is distancing himself from both of you.”
“I haven’t noticed, I’ve been busy. They’re going to have to work it out between them.”
“That’s fair. I’m not saying it’s on you. But it might be helpful to know that Orion has said to me he thinks you and Elvin are going to take each other as Mates.”
Megan stopped, glanced upwards to where Orion had stormed off to. He’d probably gone to his hut, it was in that direction. “I’m not going to take either of them as a mate at this rate. Why are they wasting your time with this?”
“Sorting out these sorts of tangles is something an old omega like me is good at,” the woman said. Megan glanced back and saw the woman cautiously meeting her eye. Once she saw Megan had calmed down, she met her gaze more confidently. “Do you want either of them?”
“I don’t know,” Megan answered honestly. “I’m - interested in both of them, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”
Charmaine nodded once. The pack was like any small group of people who lived together, gossip travelled quickly. Especially since they all had fairly good hearing. It was almost impossible to hide anything from the pack. “Be careful who you choose, if you do choose one of them. It may be difficult.”
“And my claim for Alpha isn’t?”
Charmaine’s face broke into a smile. “You know, there is a third option. The reason Orion came to me, is that he wanted to discuss if it is possible to take on two mates.”
Adrenaline, and arousal, shot through her. “I’ve heard of shifters taking two mates. But isn’t it almost impossible to get the bonds to work right?”
“It’s complicated. The wolves of each individual must be fairly bonded to the other group members first, as far as I can tell, and even then, it can still confuse our other halves.” Charmaine gave a small laugh. “The idea of it doesn’t sit well with my wolf, but I’ve been with my mate for too many years to change now. What does your wolf think?”
Megan paused. Her wolf was quiet, thoughtful. “She’s mainly thinking about how we don’t have time for this now,” Megan said instead of trying to pick through exactly what both sides of her thought of this.
“Go, then. Rest up, talk to Orion if you want. I’m confident, if you win, the pack will be in good hands.”
Megan clapped Charmaine gently on the shoulder. “Thank you. Take care of yourself, I know this must be hard on you.”
“This is not the worst pack to be officiating a challenge in,” she said. “Goodnight, Megan.”
With that, Megan let her go. She was glad Charmaine had stopped her. She felt far calmer now than she had been. Now, she’d be able to wish Orion well instead of shouting at him like she’d wanted to.
Her wolf sent an image to her with a general musing feeling, like she was mulling over something she needed Megan’s input in. The image was a neck with two mating bites, one on each side. “I don’t know how that would work,” Megan said aloud, her cheeks heating. And now wasn’t the time to think about it.
She walked over the crest of the amphitheater and headed to Orion’s hut. When she neared it, she heard voices arguing.
“... be alpha, it’s my job as second to make sure she, and everyone else, is trained.” Elvin’s voice.
“Training, is that what we’re calling it now,” Orion’s voice, derisively.
“I have been training her.”
“That’s not all you’ve been doing.”
Megan stopped where she was. She’d been worried about this, in the back of her head, but had decided it wasn’t a for-now problem. But Elvin and Orion were both level headed, she was sure this argument was going to fizzle out -
“You fucked her first!” roared Elvin. Megan froze, eyes widening. She hadn’t expected that.
“And you couldn’t wait to sneak in and finger her after,” Orion snarled back.
Megan firmed her jaw. Not only were they yelling their, and her, private business to the whole pack, she was also worried they’d come to blows. That wouldn’t do, especially before they fought. If Orion walked into their fight injured, there would always be those in the pack that would assume she only won because of that. Megan stormed up to the hut, didn’t bother knocking, just opened it and closed the door behind her.
Both Orion and Elvin stopped what they were doing. At the sight of her, Orion turned away, running his hand through his hair, clearly agitated. Elvin gave her a small, tight smile. “Sorry. Did you hear...?”
“I’d be surprised if the whole pack didn’t hear details of what we’ve done together,” Megan said simply, keeping an eye on Orion. He had stalked to the corner of the hut, still not looking at her. “I came to wish you well before we fight, Orion.”
Orion did turn then. His expression was under control, even if his eyes were like two blazing coals. “Fine.”
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for the pack,” she said. Megan hesitated. Her wolf was in a strange mood, wanted to poke him, to see what he’d do if she taunted him just a little. Fuck it. “I’ll try to do as good a job when I’m Alpha.”
Elvin snorted and Orion’s mouth hardened into a cruel line. The Alpha said, “so sure you’ll beat me?”
Megan grinned, showing her teeth. “Yes. I am.”
“You’ve never beat me in a fight before.”
“That was play-fighting. And I haven’t tried for years.”
“I’m not going to take it easy on you,” he said, snarling slightly as he stepped towards her.
Megan stepped towards him so she was toe to toe. “I told you before. I don’t want easy. I don’t want comfortable. I want to be the god damn Alpha.” Her wolf pushed her to taunt him, and she put a finger on his chest. “I will beat you, Orion. Enjoy your last nights of being Alpha.”
Orion’s eyes flashed with something else. Pure, unbridled wanting. “I can think of a way to enjoy it.”
Megan felt a flood of arousal take her, warm her. This was a bad idea, she thought to herself. But it wasn’t like she could do any more training tonight. After she became Alpha, she was certain this wouldn't work any more. No matter what Orion thought now, it would be different when she was Alpha. This could be her last chance to be with Orion again.
She slid her finger up his neck, up his chin and threaded her fingers through his hair before she made a fist roughly. He growled, but let her secure him by his hair. She said, “I won’t take it easy on you because of this. I trust you to do the same.”
Orion smirked. “Of course I won’t.” Orion’s eyes locked onto something over her shoulder. “Wait, Elvin.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Elvin said, and she could hear the door open.
Megan looked over her shoulder at him and said, before she could think about it, “stay.” He paused, turned and looked at her. His eyes were neutral but she knew him well enough to see the hint of rejection. Again, she said, “I would like you to stay. If it’s what you want.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Elvin asked carefully, glancing at Orion. Megan’s fingers were still entwined in Orion’s hair as she watched his second. She could see a spark of heat start to build as Elvin saw her holding Orion. There was a hunger there, a hunger that Megan felt as well.
“Don’t you?” she asked.
Elvin hesitated, for one more brief moment before he slowly stepped back inside and closed the door. He walked over in a measured step, his eyes on Orion. When he got to them, his eyes went to hers and he sent her a heartbreakingly sweet smile before leaning down and gently claiming her mouth. His kiss was surprisingly gentle. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers.
As he did, Megan could feel Orion’s hands moving on her. They skimmed her breasts, moved down her dress. Then her dress was being lifted up over her. She let go of Orion’s hair reluctantly, and she felt herself dampen at his low chuckle. Elvin let her go and the dress came up over her head. Orion threw it somewhere in the room.
Once she was nude, Elvin’s eyes moved over her like a physical touch. Megan touched her tongue to her lip, wanting to touch him, but feeling held in place with the force of his regard. Orion surprised her as he slid his hands up her sides, back down, feeling the slope of her waist and hips. Elvin’s eyes went molten as he watched.
Orion’s hands smoothed over her backside, giving the flesh there a squeeze before sliding one hand between her legs from behind. He cupped her fully and she gasped, coming up onto her toes a little.
“You’re so wet for us,” Orion murmured as he pushed a finger into her wetness, almost roughly. She moaned, breaking Elvin’s control. He stepped in, swallowing her moan with his kiss. This time, it was rough and wild. Elvin’s hands landed on her chest and he began plucking and thumbing at her nipples. Megan cried out helplessly, the sensations flooding her.
Orion slid another finger inside, filling her, as he leant forward and put his lips on her neck. He gave the spot a little bite and her wolf stopped luxuriating in the intense arousal and paid attention. She wasn’t the only one, Elvin drew back from their kiss and gave the Alpha a sharp growl. Orion backed off with a smile she felt, still pushing his fingers in and out of her. The feeling of it, and Elvin’s clever fingers on her hard peaks, added to the waves of delicious heat building within her.
Abruptly, Orion pulled out his fingers. She cried out a little but he just moved his hand around to the front of her, smoothing her wetness over her clit. Megan swallowed and Elvin leant down, nipped at her lip before sliding his tongue inside her again. A moment later, Orion pushed his blunt tip against her folds. It slid against her wetness at first before he found purchase and pushed inside. Megan felt her inner walls give to him, to his rough thrusts.
“Yes,” she whimpered into Elvin’s mouth. She wanted them both rough and wild, wanted to feel the stretch. Wanted to feel Elvin’s fingers roughly tweaking her nipples as he kissed her again.
Orion set a punishing pace, driving in and out of her. The sounds of their bodies meeting made heat flush to her face, but Megan barely had time to be embarrassed. “Elvin,” she gasped, breaking their kiss. “I want to taste you.”
Elvin swore lowly, then said, “Orion, steady her.”
Orion’s hands steadied her as Elvin guided her down his chest. He unzipped himself as she touched her tongue to one of his nipples as she passed it. He gasped and she took a mental note of that. Later, if they did this again, she’d spend more time there. But today, she had a destination in mind.
Elvin’s shaft was hard and warm as she took it in her hand. Like steel covered in the softest silk. Megan half-wanted to take her time, to run her hand and tongue over it until it throbbed, but the hard and fast thrusts going in and out of her drove out that thought. Instead, she put her mouth on Elvin and took as much of him as she could at once, which was only about halfway. Elvin swore again and he could feel his hand fist in her hair. She pulled back and tried again. Megan worked her way down his shaft until the back of it nudged her throat.
“God, you’re so good at this,” Elvin murmured as he tightened his hand in her hair. “That’s right, baby girl, take it all. Take it from both of us.”
Orion had slowed to let her take his second down her throat, but now he sped up again, slamming into her. Keeping one hand to help steady her, he leant around with the other again to play with her clit. Megan moaned without thinking about it and almost d on Elvin. The second slowed, went to pull out, but she sunk her nails into his hips as she breathed through it. Orion thrust then, pushing her forward anyway, but she had adjusted to being filled from two directions, allowed the movements to guide her forward onto Elvin.
“Fuck,” Orion said quietly, as if he hadn’t meant to. Megan wished she could see what he was looking at, if he was watching his shaft move in and out of her body, if he was watching her face buried in Elvin’s crotch. The feeling of being stretched from two different cocks was getting to her, she could feel herself heading towards a climax. “Maybe we should swap so you can taste my seed,” he said, stroking her clit.
Megan wanted to say she already had, but Elvin got there first. “I caught her licking you off her fingers like cream a few weeks ago. Enjoying it.”
Orion stilled for a beat, then swore again and started slamming into her harder. After a few thrusts, he gasped, and Megan could feel warmth flooding her as he shuddered through his peak. Her nerves were super-sensitive, she was almost there, but she sensed some kind of communication happening above her. Before she could ask them via pack link what they were doing, Elvin pulled her off him. Megan gasped as she wiped at her chin. Elvin pulled her up, then, as Orion steadied her, Elvin put her legs around him. He caught her eye and said, “we’re both going to finish inside you tonight. Will you taste our seed after?”
Megan couldn’t reply as he entered her with one stroke, sliding deep inside. Orion took her weight as Elvin started fucking her. The extra lubrication of Orion’s release made him slide in and out of her easily, the friction of him on her slippery walls pushed her to a climax. The thing that set her off was Elvin’s eyes locking onto where they joined, watching himself plunge in and out of her, as he said, “I want you to be filled with our seed.”
The peak hit Megan suddenly, like a tsunami. She threw back her head and cried out. Dimly, she was aware of Elvin peaking as well, shuddering and pulsing inside her sheath. Filling her, like he wanted.
The three of them stayed together like that as they panted. Elvin slipped out of her and she put her feet on the ground. He held up a hand for her to stay there as he went to hunt around for something. Orion’s arms stayed around her in an easy embrace, his lips on her hair. She thought he was breathing in, smelling her hair. Affection lit her from the inside. Her wolf half wanted to curl up next to him, but Megan could feel her other half already putting down the emotional distance she’d need for the fight. Megan let her, happy to feel the last vestiges of her climax shiver through her, and happy to stay in Orion’s embrace for the time being.
Elvin came back with a cloth. She went to take it but he stilled her with a small smile, reaching forward.
“Wait,” she said. She reached down, sunk a finger inside her sheath, completely filled with their seed. She pulled it out and put it in her mouth, tasting their combined juices. She drew out her finger with a pop and said, “now you can go ahead.”
Orion gave a low chuckle in her ear and Elvin’s eyes warmed. He ducked down with the rag and cleaned her gently. If he didn’t look at her slick folds so enraptured, she would have insisted she clean herself out of embarrassment. But it was impossible to be embarrassed when he looked at her like that.
After a while he threw the rag in the corner, and Orion let her go. She picked up her dress as the other two did up their pants. When she turned, dressed, they were looking at each other in a way that told Megan it was time for her to leave. They clearly had to talk.
“I’ll see both of you around,” she said. They both nodded. Elvin sent her a warm smile. She arched an eyebrow at Orion. “Remember. This doesn’t mean you get to wimp out.”
That got a smile from the current Alpha, although there was a bit more of a wall behind his eyes than there had been before. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“Good.”
With that, Megan left. She had training to do.
****
Thank you so much for reading! It humbles me so much that so many of you read this. If you liked this you might like my published debut, SILVER MOON RISING; AN OMEGA WOLF NOVEL available from $1USD
This website is for sale. If you're interested, contact us. Email ID: [email protected]. Starting price: $2,000