Of Doms & Subs

Blood on the Water

Warning: Stalker gets what's coming to him

My Alpha barrelled into the one who Changed me, two sets of jaws snapping vainly, twisting to gain the advantage. Smoke grey darkening to charcoal slammed rust red into one of the partially submerged boulders. The sharp snap of breaking bones sang out above the roar of the water.

I darted in to nip at the lone's flank, a shallow gash that healed quickly as he went for my Alpha's throat. He reared up to slash out at the red wolf's face, scoring his eye. In retaliation, the interloper tore into the exposed, almost white belly.

Growling, I bit deeply into his hind leg and shook my head to saw at the flesh. There was a gratifying crack as the bone started to give way. Pain flashed when he kicked me into the stone.

I had been trying to draw the lone away to let the female retreat to safety. Instead, she hamstrung him. My vision drowned in crimson when her body slid into the frigid water. Sweet blood filled my mouth, but my teeth didn't meet in the flesh of his throat before he tore away. His lifeblood drifted away in the stream.

Before he could heal, I latched onto his throat again. His teeth snapped futilely at where he expected me to be. The red-wolf collapsed long before he bled out. The female slid out from under him before he toppled. She was covered in gore from the wound she gouged in his belly while he was focused on me as the threat.

She let me approach, muscles taut until they trembled as I inspected her for injuries. Once I was satisfied that she was unhurt save for a few bruises, she did the same to me. My tongue lolled in pride and amusement. The few scratches the lone had managed to score had long since healed. When she completed her assessment, she faced me. Head and tail low, but not tucked. Neither meek nor challenging. Tentatively, she licked at the blood on my mouth in a gesture of recognition for our respective roles as Alpha and submissive. Before she could withdraw, I gently took her muzzle in my jaws and gave a tiny shake in reprimand.

Angus kept watch over me as I changed back at the trailhead. Dressing quickly, I returned the favour. While I was confident that no one would challenge when he was unable to fight back, I followed the urge, even though the thought of me fighting off anyone while on two legs was laughable.

Tearing my eyes away from the rippling, sweat-sheened lean muscles of his back, I forced myself to walk to the other side of the SUV while he dressed.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, turning at the sound of gravel crunching behind me. I had to avert my gaze from the ridges and valleys of his chest as he pulled his shirt on. "I wasn't trying to run off. If I'd known John would... I'm sorry," I finished lamely before I said anything I'd regret. And before my human psyche could focus on the danger he'd been in. My four-legged half was revelling in his strength and protection and wanted to bind us to his pack. To him. Silly furball.

He stared at me for a long while with those unfathomably dark eyes before speaking. "Why didn't you call for help?" I blinked in confusion. Of all the responses, I was not expecting that.

"I didn't think of it," I shrugged. "He was my problem to deal with." That was obviously the wrong answer when his face fell into the customary scowl he wore when I was around.

"He trespassed on my territory and attacked a submissive, unmated, female who's also a medic. That makes it Pack business, the matter of him forcibly Changing you aside." The growl of his voice rolled over me, dark, dangerous, and sensual like a blade wrapped in velvet.

"John didn't force me, it was an accident," I frowned.

"You recall nothing of the accident." He reminded me. I shook my head. Memory issues around the Change weren't uncommon. Angus had said so himself before. "Are you confident that you weren't attacked instead?"

Dusty pink lips parted as Ellie absorbed my words. Her hazel eyes widened and she sagged against the Escalade in realization. "He wanted a mate, so he made one," she murmured. That was one potentiality I hoped to conceal from her.

"Quite possibly."

"I wanna go back up there an' kick his face in again," she pushed herself off the vehicle with a growl, accent thick with anger. "I'd say thank ya for savin' my bacon, but ya suspected this all 'long." Now that anger was directed at me.

"The people the Marrock sent to find John reported that he had come down off his mountain and headed southwest. Assuming he found your ID, if you didn't tell him yourself, he knew where you lived. A quick check of the message boards would tell him of the exploits of a new, mysterious female in Seattle, as well as where we were hunting this weekend," I shrugged and leaned against the SUV.

"And ya didn't think to warn me?" she cast her habitual glare my way.

"And add more stress to your already considerable load?" I cocked a brow. "While you have demonstrated a remarkable level of control thus far, I saw no need to worry you unduly. However, I didn't expect you to go off on your own." Or for her to have slipped out from under everyone's noses when the entire pack was looking out for her. Either everyone had suddenly been stripped of all their senses or she was stealthier than she let on, failed escape attempts aside. To my astonishment, the anger abruptly ebbed from her scent as she stopped in her pacing to spin towards me.

"All right," she conceded, the Southern twang fading as well. "You have a point. But from here on out, if something affects me then I deserve to know so that I can act accordingly. If you have my best interests at heart, as you say, then keeping me ignorant not only puts me at risk like it did today, it also pisses me off as you can right well imagine."

"Permitted that the knowledge doesn't put you at greater risk, then we are agreed." Her eyes narrowed at the caveat, but I continued before she could speak. "I assume that means you intend to join us?"