Alpha's Second Chance (Harvest Moon Wolves 1) Read online

  Torren knew he needed to tread carefully. Knew it. Obviously didn’t possess the sense to actually do it though. Instead, he stood, rounded the table, and scooped Olivia into his arms before carrying her down the hall. She must have been stunned for a moment because she hung limply. But the closer they got to the bedroom, the more she fought, beating on his back and calling him names.

  “Put me down, you overgrown cretin! I’m not a sack of flour, asshole.” Her fists pounded against Torren again. He merely shifted her weight and kept going.

  When he reached their bedroom -- yes, their bedroom -- he sat down on the edge of the mattress then upended her over his lap. Torren jerked the shirt up to expose the most gorgeous ass he’d ever seen, then his hand cracked hard enough against her white skin that it turned pink. He’d swatted her four times before he even realized what the hell he was doing, and froze in one of those oh shit moments. He’d never lost control like that with anyone before, and he hated that he’d done that to his mate. Not once in his thirty-one years had he ever struck a female.

  “Olivia, I…” His hand was still raised and Torren slowly lowered it, intent on lowering her shirt and standing her upright. But she moaned, and it wasn’t a pained moan. Hell, it had to have been sexiest sound he’d ever heard, then she started to squirm on his lap.

  Torren rubbed her pink ass cheeks, and as his hand traveled a little closer to the junction of her thighs, he couldn’t seem to help himself anymore. He brushed over her slit, and groaned at how fucking wet she was. Holy hell! She might have fought him the entire way to the bedroom, but there was no denying she’d enjoyed her spanking.

  He teased her pussy, lightly rubbing his fingers up and down her slit, moisture slicking them. She fidgeted some more, spreading her legs a little further. The scent of her arousal teased Torren’s nose and his beast rose to the surface. His vision shifted as his fangs extended, and a rumble filled his chest. His wolf wanted out! Wanted to claim their mate properly. Torren parted the lips of her pussy and rubbed against her clit. It was hard and begging for attention. His cock strained against his zipper as he slowly rubbed her, her scent growing stronger the closer she got to coming.

  “Torren,” she said softly, pressing her face against his leg. She wrapped her hand around his calf, and submitted completely.

  He kept stroking, kept rubbing until she cried out her release, drenching his fingers. It was almost more than Torren could take. Standing up, he flipped her face down onto the bed, then pulled her up onto her knees. He buried his face in her pussy, his tongue flicking and tasting, lapping up all her cream. Her thighs trembled and soon she was coming a second time. Torren’s wolf nudged at him, wanting him to claim her in all ways. Torren quickly stripped out of his clothes and gripped her hips. His body tensed as he fought for control. He’d heard that it sometimes hurt the first time for a female, and he didn’t want to cause her pain.

  “Torren, please,” she begged.

  He rubbed his cock up and down her slippery pussy before slowly sinking inside of her. Torren felt her stretch to accommodate him, and soon he was buried balls deep. He groaned as claws tipped his fingers and his beast pushed harder at him. Olivia whimpered, but it didn’t sound like she was in pain. As much as he wanted to make this last, he knew it wasn’t possible. Not this time.

  “Tell me if I hurt you,” he said, his voice more beast than man.

  She pressed back against him, and Torren’s control snapped. He growled as he gripped her tight and began pounding into her pussy. He took her hard, fast, and as deep as he could get. The bed moved across the floor with every stroke, and sweat slicked their skin. Olivia made the sweetest, sexiest sounds he’d ever heard, and soon she was coming again, coating his cock with her juices as she cried out his name.

  Torren buried his fangs into her shoulder again as his hips jerked against her, thrusting until every drop of cum had been wrung from his balls. He growled again, his cock deep inside of her, and slowly he pulled his fangs free. He lapped at the blood on her shoulder, then lightly trailed kisses across her shoulders and up her neck. He hadn’t bitten hard enough for her to scar this time, but his beast had needed another taste of her.

  “Mine,” he said, pride filling him, along with a contentment he’d never felt before.

  “Yours,” she said, nearly breathless.

  Torren couldn’t bring himself to pull out just yet, and he held her tight as he rolled to his side. They stayed connected as he listened to her heartbeat, and waited for her breathing to slow.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t gentler,” he said.

  “It was perfect,” she said.

  “Did I… did it hurt?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. If he’d hurt her, he’d never forgive himself.

  “It pinched a little at first, and burned a bit until I got used to you being inside of me. But it didn’t really hurt. Not like you read about in romances sometimes. Probably helped that I was born without a hymen.”

  His hands tightened on her. “Born without one?”

  She nodded. “My mother made me get an exam when I turned fourteen. I think she was preparing even then to sell me to the highest bidder. The doctor informed her that I didn’t have a hymen, and since I’d never had sex, it meant I’d likely been born without it. I’ve heard sometimes they can tear for other reasons though.”

  “How did your mother react?” he asked.

  “She took me home and beat me. She didn’t believe that I hadn’t had one, and insisted I’d been a slut and given my virginity away.”

  He growled again. “Remind me to pay a visit to your parents.”

  “No. I don’t even want to think about them. They’re dead to me.”

  “Fair enough. But if they ever come looking for you, they won’t be leaving.”

  She shivered and he hoped he hadn’t scared her, but he’d been deadly serious. If her parents ever showed their faces on pack land, he’d tear them limb from limb and have them buried someplace no one would ever find the bodies.

  “I know you want to pay your own way, but I want to buy you the clothes and things you need, and before you argue, hear me out. Wolf shifters are different from humans. I’m not trying to be an asshole and keep you under my thumb. It’s my duty, and my privilege, to take care of my mate and my pack. The beast inside of me wants to protect you, to make sure you never want for anything. I’m not trying to control you, Olivia. I’m trying to take care of you. The way a shifter should take care of his mate.”

  She sighed. “Maybe I overreacted a teensy bit. I’ll let you buy me some essentials, but if any of my money is left, I want to use it to help out here. Buy groceries or whatever.”

  “We can talk about finances later. Right now, we should get cleaned up, then I need your sizes so I can send someone for clothes and shoes. As much as I don’t like the idea of you going around town, I don’t want to keep you on lockdown either. If you’d like to go pick out your own things, I’ll take you, or send my Beta with you.”

  “Not Jaxon?” she asked.

  “No. He’s too young, inexperienced, and just…” He sighed. “He’s too much like a damn puppy most days. He’s not enough protection for you.”

  “Fine. Then I want you to take me.”

  He nodded and kissed her shoulder again before slowly easing out of her. Torren helped her stand, then spent the next hour letting all the hot water disappear as he claimed her all over again in the shower. By the time they were dressed and he had dispatched someone to buy proper clothes for her, his mate was tired and fell asleep curled up in a chair in the living room.

  Torren brushed the hair off her cheek and smiled softly as he watched her. He’d thought his life was cursed after what happened with Gwen, but it seemed he’d been blessed after all. He only hoped he didn’t do something to fuck it all up.

  Chapter Three

  The more people stopped to stare and whisper, the more Olivia wished she hadn’t asked Torren to bring her into town. They’d spent the last two da
ys at her new home, mostly in bed, and she’d felt it was time to finish buying the things she needed. But she should have rethought the trip to town and just bought her clothes online like Torren had suggested. People had always talked about her, but this time was different. It wasn’t just her they were talking about. Some of the women looked at Torren with jealousy, obviously wanting him for themselves. But others were scared of him. She supposed he did have an air of danger about him, but she didn’t think for a minute that he’d ever hurt her. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered the spanking he’d given her, but that had been more of a turn-on than painful.

  His amused gaze clashed with hers. “And just what are you thinking about that has your cheeks such a rosy color?”

  “Nothing,” she muttered, ducking her head.

  He chuckled and she knew he didn’t believe her. His hand tightened on hers as they pushed through another throng of women, and then he dragged her into a little boutique. Olivia looked around, feeling extremely out of place. She’d never been inside any of the upscale stores in town, and this one definitely counted as being way out of her price range. They hadn’t really discussed finances, other than him insisting on buying what she needed. Did Torren have even a clue as to how expensive this place was?

  He tugged her further into the store and when she didn’t move from his side, he began pulling clothes off the racks. Her eyes widened as the pile grew until he had to release her hand. If he weren’t a shifter, the weight of the clothes draped over his arm would have likely made him drop them all to the floor. Just how many outfits did he think she needed? The wolf he’d sent to town a few days before had purchased three outfits for her, and a pair of tennis shoes since the ones she’d been wearing were bloodstained.

  “Um, Torren. I think you’re going a little overboard,” she said, eyeing the growing stack.

  “I want you to have everything you need.”

  “I don’t need much. Especially from here,” she muttered. “Have you even looked at the price tags? You probably have around eight hundred dollars’ worth of clothes in that pile.”

  He led the way to the fitting rooms, shoved everything inside then turned to face her. “I want you to have nice things. The jeans and plain shirts that Leandra purchased for you are fine, but there will be times we meet with other packs. And maybe I want to take you out on some dates where we dress up.”

  She eyed the clothes again. “All right, but that’s still way too much.”

  “Pick four outfits, including two dresses, and then if you want to buy the rest of your stuff elsewhere I won’t argue.”

  Olivia looked at the fitting room, feeling resigned. She entered the small space and pulled the curtain shut. She could see Torren’s boots under the bottom of the curtain as he turned and faced the store. A smile crossed her lips as she imagined him guarding her, arms folded over that massive chest of his, almost daring anyone to come near her. It was sweet, and as much as she’d given him grief about taking care of herself, it was nice that she had someone watching over her.

  Surprisingly, everything Torren had selected not only fit, but looked really good on her. Olivia chewed on her lower lip as she stared at the outfits. There was no way she was buying all of them, no matter how pretty they’d made her feel. There was a fifties-style navy dress with a red band around the waist. She added it to her “yes” pile, then flipped through the others. Her second dress was solid black, but flared out from the waist and stopped right above her knees. The top was fitted and molded to what little curves she had. Before she could reach for anything else, she heard growling on the other side of the curtain.

  “Everything all right, Torren?” she asked.

  “It’s fine. Just feel a little like I’m in a zoo.”

  She peeked through the curtain and bit her lip when she saw the women trying to look at him without trying to be too obvious. They were failing miserably. Olivia grabbed the two dresses she’d liked the most, then stepped out of the fitting room.

  Torren narrowed his eyes at her. “I told you four outfits.”

  “You also said you plan to fatten me up, which means none of these will fit for much longer. These were my favorites.” She glanced at the women before looking up at him. “Do you really want to stay here any longer?”

  “No,” he said curtly, taking the dresses from her and carrying them to the register.

  Olivia winced at the total, but Torren didn’t seem bothered. He grabbed the sack with her new dresses, took her hand, and quickly led her from the shop. When they stepped out onto the sidewalk, she pulled him toward the truck they’d used to come to town. It had seemed odd that he didn’t have his own vehicle, but he’d explained there were six the pack owned and anyone was allowed to use them.

  “You only bought two things,” Torren said. “We’re not going home yet.”

  “I’ll buy more stuff, but you’re taking me to one of those stores that carries everything. I’ll get some dress shoes, a few more outfits, and anything else I need from there. If you really are going to fatten me up, there’s no point in spending a ton of money on clothes I won’t be able to wear in the upcoming weeks or months.”

  Torren looked up at the sky and sighed. “Fine. You make a valid point.”

  He opened the passenger door of the truck, tossed her sack into the back, then helped her up onto the passenger seat. Olivia buckled up as he walked around the front of the vehicle, then slid behind the wheel. Their town was small, but it boasted two twenty-four hour stores that carried a little of everything. Torren took her to the nearest one, and grabbed a shopping cart as they walked through the door.

  Olivia tossed in a few bras and two packages of panties, some socks, then added more jeans and shirts to the cart. The weather would be turning soon enough, so she snagged a jacket that would be roomy enough should she gain weight, and added it to the growing pile. Satisfied she had enough clothes for the time being, she headed toward the bath and body section. Not that Torren’s body wash and shampoo smelled bad, but she preferred something a little more girly. After she’d made her selections, and added some ponytail holders and a brush, she was more than ready to go home.

  “Shoes,” Torren reminded her.

  Olivia cursed under her breath, but headed toward the shoe department. He talked her into some cute red heels, a black pair, and some boots. It seemed like a bit much to her, but he insisted. The look in his eyes told her that he’d like it if she picked out even more than what was already in the cart, but that wasn’t happening. She’d never been one to spend money unless it was absolutely necessary. Probably because she’d never really had any to spend. But Olivia liked to think that even if she were suddenly a millionaire, she still wouldn’t throw money away on things she didn’t need.

  They checked out, loaded everything into the truck, then headed back toward the village. Partway down the two-lane highway was a dirt path. A large metal gate blocked the way with Private Entrance on a yellow sign. Torren punched in the gate code, then pulled the truck down the bumpy road. Olivia looked through the back window and watched the gate swing shut once they were clear.

  “How far is the pack village from the highway?” she asked.

  “About five miles.”

  “How did you manage to get Internet way out there? Or utilities?” she asked.

  “We mostly run on solar power, but we do pay the local utility company as a backup. And we have cable. It cost a lot to get it all set up, and they think we’re some strange commune, but I wanted to make sure the pack had everything they could need or want. They ran the lines underground from the highway.”

  “Do the kids go to school?” she asked. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the small village yet. Mostly, she’d stayed in Torren’s house.

  “There aren’t any kids in the pack. Haven’t been.”

  Her brow furrowed and she studied him a moment. “Exactly how long as the pack been here?”

  Torren shrugged. “I started the pack when I was sixteen
. We traveled the first year or two, trying to find the right place to settle. We’re mostly misfits who weren’t welcomed anywhere else. The land here was for sale, so I bought it. We stayed in tents while the homes and community hall were built. The lodge came later, and more homes as the pack expanded. There used to be another pack in this area, but they moved on a few decades ago. Rumor has it they took over a farm on the outskirts of town.”

  “Did you all come from different packs? What about your parents? They just let you walk away like that?” she asked.

  “My mom died when I was young. My dad became a different man after his mate passed. He was Alpha of our pack, until I turned sixteen. He was challenged and lost. The new Alpha banished my family. I have a cousin who lives in the Harvest Moon pack, but another cousin went a different direction, and my dad passed soon after the challenge. I was an only child.”

  “And the others in the pack?” she asked.

  “Baxter joined me within days of me hitting the road. He’d gotten into a fight over a female wolf shifter, and when she chose the other male, he decided it was time to move on. We crossed paths and he asked if he could join my pack. Of course, it was just me at the time, so I had a good laugh at that. I’d asked him what pack. He merely slapped my back and told me that others would find us soon enough. And he was right.”

  “Jaxon never talked about joining the pack. I’d always assumed he was born here, that all of you were. None of you come to town often enough for the locals to consider you part of them. I think they figure you’re just passing through or stopping in from another nearby town.”

  Torren nodded. “We like it that way. As for Jaxon, that’s his story to tell. The pack settled here over ten years ago. Some of them were kids back then, but we only have a few mated pairs. They’re all older and don’t have children. There have been some challenges during the last ten years, other wolves thinking they could take over since we’re relatively small. I’ve made a name for myself I guess, and I’ve earned the respect of other Alphas.”