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

  “Um, humans don’t really have mates. It’s more like we pick someone we think we can tolerate for the long run. Sometimes we feel like we’re in love, and other times those partners are chosen for other reasons, like security. But no, not all humans start a family right away after getting married. Some decide to never have children.”

  “I guess I should have studied humans more.”

  “Torren, I want a family with you. I just didn’t realize it was going to be so soon. I’m horrible at taking care of myself. What if I can’t take care of a kid? I didn’t exactly have a good childhood. Other than what I’ve seen on TV, I have no idea what a family is supposed to be like.”

  Torren nuzzled the top of her head. “The great thing about being part of a pack is that you’re never alone. We all help one another. And you happen to have the Alpha as a mate. I will give you anything you want or need, and I will be by your side the entire time.”

  “I guess there’s still a lot we need to learn about one another. And you can start by telling me more about your previous mate. I’d thought wolves only had one.”

  “We have one fated mate. Gwen was just part of an agreement with another pack, and she’s gone now. She died within four months of our contracted mating. I was thirty and hadn’t found my mate yet, so I assumed I never would. When her father offered me one of his daughters, he was honoring me. It would have been rude to refuse, but I never realized just how much she hated being with me.”

  Olivia looked up at him. “I don’t hate being with you. I love having your arms around me, and I didn’t even mind you tying me down. I actually liked it. It’s not just the man that I accept, but I accept the beast inside of you too. The way you lost control and went all Alpha on me? It was sexy.”

  Torren knelt at her feet and pressed a kiss to her belly, then rested his cheek there. “I will protect you and our child at all costs, Olivia. I promise to give you both a good life. I’m sorry if this isn’t what you wanted right now, but when I woke this morning and detected a different scent from you, it was the happiest I’ve ever been.”

  Olivia ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry if I overreacted. We hadn’t discussed starting a family and you took me by surprise. I should have stayed at the table and talked about it with you, not stormed off.”

  Torren stood and gathered her in his arms. “We’re still pretty much strangers, and I’m sure there will be obstacles along the way, more so because of our differences. There will be times I’m more wolf than man, and I won’t apologize for it. It’s just who I am. Now let’s finish getting you cleaned up, and then you need to finish your breakfast.”

  “So bossy,” she said, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

  Torren washed her, and fought his reaction to feeling her curves under his hands. His cock hardened, but after the night they’d had, he knew she had to be sore. Despite the beast inside of him, he didn’t have to give in to those instincts all the time. He’d had every intention of helping her finish her shower, then getting out. Until she wrapped her hand around his shaft.

  Torren hissed in a breath at the contact. “Olivia…”

  “I want to taste you,” she said, lowering herself to her knees at his feet. Her gaze flicked up to his. “And if you lose control, that’s all right. Don’t hold back.”

  Torren fought for control of his beast as the wolf pressed against him. Olivia wrapped her lips around his cock, her tongue flicking the head. He groaned and stiffened his muscles so he wouldn’t thrust further into her mouth. He let her explore, her lips and tongue teasing him with gentle licks and kisses. Then she took him fully into her mouth, and he nearly came from how fucking good it felt.

  His wolf became more insistent, the beast getting closer to the surface. Torren felt his fangs press against his lower lip, and he wondered if his mate would always bring out this reaction in him. At thirty-one, he’d had sex with more than a handful of women, but none ever made him feel like he was losing control of his beast. None except for his mate.

  Her tongue stroked the underside of his cock as she sucked so hard her cheeks hollowed. She flicked the tip of her tongue and Torren could feel his control breaking. Her teasing licks and strokes were driving him mad, and with a growl, he tunneled his fingers through her hair and dragged her mouth back down his cock. His grip tightened on her as he started thrusting. Torren went deep and ground against her lips a moment before pulling back then sliding all the way in again. Her throat closed over the head of his cock as she swallowed and Torren’s wolf came barreling to the surface.

  Claws tipped his fingers and his vision shifted to that of his beast. Torren pulled her off his shaft, then lifted her, pressing her back against the shower wall. He gripped her thigh and pulled it up over his hip. Pinning her to the shower wall with his hips, he grabbed her other thigh, and spread her open wide. With one sure thrust, he sank balls deep into her wet pussy.

  Her hard nipples poked against his chest as he powered into her, driving deep, and taking what he wanted. He pressed tight against her clit with every stroke, and it didn’t take long before she was coming. Her release coated his shaft, and the scent of her drove him wild. His teeth grazed her throat as he fucked her harder. Torren felt her nails bite into his biceps as she clung to him, her lips parted and her eyes blazing with passion. He drove into her again and again, until he’d filled her with his cum, and even then he didn’t stop right away.

  He slid free of her body, then turned her to face the wall, pulling her hips back. He spread her ass cheeks and lightly brushed against her tight hole.

  “Tell me yes,” he said, his voice all beast.

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked, but she’d given her consent, and she knew that if she’d said no he would have backed away.

  Gathering their mingled release from her pussy, he used it to ease a finger through the tight ring of muscle. As much as his cock ached to be inside of her again, he took his time preparing her. Torren thrust into her pussy again, lubricating his cock with their cum, then pulled out and slowly eased into her ass. He groaned as her body welcomed him. When he was balls deep inside of her, he reached around and played with her clit. It took all of his self-control to hold still as he pleasured her.

  Olivia cried out his name as she came, and Torren started thrusting as she squeezed his cock so damn hard. He kept rubbing her clit, and one orgasm turned into two. Her body trembled from the force of her release, and he knew she couldn’t handle much more. Torren gripped her ass cheeks and spread them wide, watching as his cock disappeared inside of her. He took her hard and fast, and when he came, he felt like he was being turned inside out. He roared her name as his balls emptied, then pulled out. His cum trickled out of her, leaving his beast pleased. They’d marked their mate in yet another way.

  “I like seeing you marked with my cum,” he said, as he released her and she turned to face him.

  “Is that the Alpha wolf shifter equivalent of peeing on me?”

  He snorted as he fought not to laugh, but she wasn’t wrong. He liked his scent on her, and maybe it was his beast half, but his cum running down her legs assured that everyone would know she belonged to him.

  “You’ve marked me, but I haven’t marked you. What if you leave the pack lands and some she-wolf decides she wants you?” Olivia asked.

  Torren lifted her until they were face to face. Then he tilted his head to the side. “Bite. You’ll have to bite hard enough to draw blood, otherwise it won’t scar.”

  She gave him a startled look, then hesitantly placed her mouth against his shoulder. He felt her teeth press against his skin, and she bit down. He barely felt it, but when she pulled back, there was a smear of blood on her lips.

  Torren released her and quickly got out of the shower, not even bothering to dry off. He looked in the mirror over the sink and saw her bite mark. His beast preened that their mate had marked them, but he knew with his shifter genes, a regular human bite wouldn’t last long. It would vanish as he hea
led, unless… Torren reached into the drawer next to the sink and pulled out a small jar.

  “What’s that?” Olivia asked, as she stepped out of the shower, smelling like his soap, and reached for a towel.

  “It’s a special cream that has a blend of herbs. It will keep my body from healing your bite mark at a rapid rate, and will allow it to scar. Without the cream, by tomorrow the bite would be gone. It’s not often a wolf would want a scar, but sometimes we want a reminder of a profound moment in our lives. A hard-won battle, a non-shifter mate’s bite, or in some cases a self-inflicted wound during a time of mourning.”

  She frowned. “Then how do wolves mark each other?”

  “The enzymes in our saliva leave a scar if we bite bone deep.”

  He rubbed the cream into the wound, then put the jar away. “Now everyone will know I belong to you.”

  “I think the human way of buying wedding rings seems simpler.”

  He turned fully to face her. “Do you want that? I don’t mind honoring your human customs.”

  “If I go into town, no one there will know I’m taken. In any human city, I’d be considered single. Not every married couple wears rings, but it’s a standard way of telling who’s been claimed and who hasn’t. It’s not foolproof though. There are those who cheat, or like I said, those who choose not to wear a ring.”

  “We’ll get rings,” he said. “I want everyone to know that you’re mine, and that I’m yours.”

  “And there you go being sweet again.” She smiled and lifted onto her toes to kiss him. “I’ll get dressed, then reheat the breakfast you made earlier. It was good, and I’m sorry I ran off without finishing it.”

  “It won’t taste as good re-heated. I’ll make something fresh for you.”

  Olivia kissed him again, then went to get dressed. Torren got back into the shower to quickly wash, then he dried off and went into the bedroom to pull on some underwear and jeans. Since claiming a mate, he’d gotten better about keeping the house picked up and his laundry washed. Olivia had offered to do those things for him, but he hadn’t wanted her to feel like a slave. There was no reason he couldn’t wash his own clothes.

  Being mated to her was so different from being with Gwen.

  Not once in the time they’d been together, had Gwen ever offered to help him with anything. If she lost her temper, she never apologized. And not once did she ever consider how something she did or said would affect him. He’d never realized how selfish Gwen was, or how unhappy. Part of the responsibility for her death rested on his shoulders. If he hadn’t agreed to the mating, or if he’d set her free, then maybe she’d still be alive. But she was partially to blame as well. If she had been sneaking around with someone, like he suspected, then maybe her death could have been avoided if she’d been honest with him. She’d lied to him, and he wondered if she’d lied to the person who had killed her. Being with Olivia was opening his eyes a bit more. She was nothing like Gwen, and it made him wonder just how well he’d known his other mate.

  He shook the thoughts from his mind and went to find Olivia. She was in the kitchen cleaning up the remains of their failed breakfast. Torren took the plates from her, dumped the food into the trash, then set the dishes in the sink. Then he steered her toward the table, pulled out a chair, and forced her to sit.

  “I’ll cook. You just sit there and look pretty.”

  She rolled her eyes, but he could see that she was at least a little amused. It was the light in her eyes as she looked at him.

  “Why don’t I make omelets this time?” he suggested.

  “You don’t have to cook for me, Torren.”

  “I like taking care of you,” he said as he rummaged through the fridge. He pulled out another carton of eggs, some ham steaks, a block of cheese, an onion, and a green bell pepper.

  While the ham steaks sizzled in the skillet, he diced the pepper and onion. Torren removed the cooked ham from the skillet and sliced it up into small chunks, then he mixed some cracked eggs and a bit of milk in a bowl and beat them until they were frothy. He tossed in the ham, peppers, and onion, added a bit of cheese, and poured half into the skillet. After Olivia’s omelet was finished cooking, he plated it and topped it with more shredded cheese. As an afterthought, he pulled sour cream and salsa from the fridge and set them on the table in case she needed them.

  “Go ahead and eat,” he said, as he started fixing his.

  Keeping one eye on the food, and another on his mate, he made sure that she ate a good meal. Now that she was carrying his child, he’d have to keep an even closer eye on her. Make sure she ate well, keep her stress to a minimum. All the things a good mate would do. He smiled as he thought about what their future might be like. He’d been given a second chance, and he wasn’t going to blow it.

  Chapter Five

  Olivia flipped the page on her e-reader as she got lost in a romance about a land full of magic and mayhem. Torren had bought the device for her the other day and let her load it with over two dozen books. She’d always loved going to the library to borrow books, but now she could read anytime she wanted and didn’t have to wait on a title to be returned by another library patron. She could read as much as she wanted, as fast as she wanted, and she got to keep the books.

  The silence of the house wrapped around her, and she sighed in pleasure as she turned another page. She hadn’t been alone since she’d woken that first morning in Torren’s bed. Not that she didn’t love spending time with Torren, but his hovering was getting on her nerves. Since their fight over her pregnancy several days ago, he’d constantly tried to feed her, coddle her, and had driven her completely crazy. For a woman used to taking care of herself, Torren’s hovering was a bit of a pain. The Beta, Baxter, had come to get him earlier, claiming there was an issue the Alpha needed to resolve, and Olivia had breathed a sigh of relief when they’d left the house.

  A bit of a headache was forming between her eyes, so she shut off the e-reader and set it aside. Her body was likely going through caffeine withdrawal. Torren refused to let her have anything with caffeine in it, and she was nearly murderous over her lack of coffee. Earlier, when he’d tried to place a blanket over her legs, she’d snapped and snarled at him, which was completely out of character for her. He’d only been trying to take care of her, but Olivia had nearly lost it.

  Olivia dug through the bathroom cabinet, but she didn’t find so much as a bottle of Tylenol. Her headache was getting worse -- there was now a pounding in her temples. No. She frowned. That was the front door. Shutting the cabinet over the sink, she hurried to the front of the cabin and pulled open the door. A wolf stood at the foot of the steps, its coat a light brown with red streaks. The amber eyes nearly glowed as it stared at her.

  “Is it Torren? Did something happen to Torren?” she asked, stepping out onto the porch. The door still stood open behind her, but she didn’t take time to close it. The wolf spun and took off into the woods, and Olivia ran after it. What if Torren needed medical attention?

  The leaves crunched under her feet as they sped through the wooded area. Olivia didn’t know how far they’d run from the cabin, or where they were going. Why was Torren out this far? He hadn’t said a word about what he’d be doing when Baxter had come to get him. They really needed to learn to communicate better.

  The wolf came to a halt, and Olivia looked around in confusion.

  “Where’s Torren?”

  The wolf shimmered, and she heard bones popping. The fur receded and the wolf’s form grew until a very naked man stood in its place. A man she hadn’t seen before. His red-gold hair hung in his eyes, but it was the snarl on his lips that had her pulse racing.

  “The Alpha took what was mine, so now I’ll take something of his.”

  “Took something of yours?” she asked, trying to edge back a step, but the wolf noticed and growled. Olivia froze, every muscle locked into place. She was almost afraid to breathe, much less move.

  The man circled, and she noticed his fingers wer
e still tipped with claws. The amber of his eyes said his wolf was near the surface, and she didn’t know if he was more man or beast at the moment. Her heart started to pound, and she wondered just how much trouble she was in. No one knew where she’d gone, or that she was even missing. How long would it be before someone discovered she wasn’t at home?

  “Your Alpha came to my pack. All the bitches wanted a piece of him, except for one. It didn’t matter to him if Gwen desired him or not. He took her, mated her, and forced her to move here,” the man said.

  Gwen. Torren’s dead mate. “Gwen was yours?”

  He nodded. “We had plans. She was supposed to be mine! I’d been the one to claim her virginity. The one to run with her every full moon.” He growled. “The one to get her pregnant.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. Gwen had been pregnant? Did Torren know? And if he did, was he aware the baby hadn’t been his? He’d scented a change in her, so he would have been able to do the same with Gwen, wouldn’t he?

  “I don’t understand,” Olivia said. “If Gwen was yours, how did she end up with Torren?”

  “Her father. He demanded that Gwen mate with your Alpha. Didn’t stop us from being together though.”

  “You… you kept seeing each other? Even after she was mated to someone else?” she asked.

  “Gwen loathed your precious Alpha, couldn’t stand for him to touch her. She had to take special herbs to keep him from scenting me on her. Gwen went for daily walks in the woods, and we met in this exact spot each time. I’d fuck her for hours, until she knew she’d be missed, and then she’d go home to that jackass.”

  Bile rose in Olivia’s throat. The way Gwen and this man had deceived Torren was horrible. Torren had said he’d tried to be good to Gwen, and she’d thrown it back in his face by cheating on him? As wonderful as Torren had been, if a bit clingy the past few days, she couldn’t imagine any woman not wanting to be with him. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and so much more.