Owned By The Alphas novel Chapter 30

30. The Past
Brax nuzzled into my neck, his whimpering waking me up. I wrapped my
arms around his head where it had moved to nuzzle my breast.
I moaned, but not in pleasure. In exhaustion. Everything ached, especially
my thighs and pussy that had only been left alone because I had fallen
asleep. It didn’t feel like it had been that long ago.
But the heat had changed my alphas. They weren’t just craving me
anymore, they needed me. It was hard to resist, but I was still a human and
had human limitations.
I hadn’t realized what the heat would do though. My alphas were insatiable,
angry, feral to f**k.
All night they’d had me, ravaging me, but their dicks were still hard, still
pulsing with a need that I was starting to think I couldn’t fill.
Especially with Brax whining in my ear for more, but I was so tired and
wanted food and a bathroom break.
“Spitfire, wake up, baby,” Brax begged, his kisses moving over my breasts,
my tired body responding to his touch, urging him on despite the muscles in
me feeling like lead.
“I’m so tired,” I sighed as he kissed down my naked stomach, his tongue
stroking my skin with rough tugs.
I couldn’t help the way my back arched at the feeling, my pussy responding
without my permission. I liked sleep, no, I loved sleep, and I hadn’t had
enough of it.
“I need you, it hurts,” Brax whined, and I opened my eyes reluctantly.
He was looking at me with the cutest big eyes that made me feel bad. I
hated that it hurt them, but Brax felt it even worse with the way his shadows
connected him to the pack.
All night the entire city had been filled with howls and whines from the
females.
I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I knew it made the alphas need sating. Like
their bodies responded to the call of their females and when they didn’t
answer that call, it hurt them.
But I could only take so much before I had to call time-out.
“Raincheck?” I whispered, my eyes fluttering closed as I tried to roll over,
but he was already kissing down my stomach, nudging my legs apart.
“Brax. Leave her,” Derik said from somewhere beside me, but I couldn’t be
bothered opening my eyes again.
Brax’s whimper broke my heart. “It’s stronger this year,” Brax breathed as I
felt his body weight leave mine.
I almost wished it would come back. Almost.
“Our females are stronger. I can still feel them. The wolves won’t be able to
last the full heat with her scent here,” Derik said in a hushed tone, but I
heard it.
I was the reason…again. Why couldn’t I just be normal? Or a wolf? But
that was a thought I quickly pushed away. I didn’t know how being turned
would be affected since I was a winter born, but I wasn’t trusting it enough
to try it.
“So we call a pack meeting and have the ceremony,” Kai said, like it was a
no-brainer.
Derik and Brax were silent then, but I felt their eyes on me. Their voices
were quieter when they spoke again.
“Her being there will change things. Her scent will make it worse.” Derik
sighed like he was uncertain about everything.
“She’ll be with us, they won’t touch her,” Kai said, like he was promising
it.
He probably was. I knew how safe I was with them and I trusted Kai to
keep his promise, so I didn’t mind being in the ceremony. Especially if it
helped the alphas feel better during the heat that they couldn’t act in.
“We won’t be able to claim her there. It’ll overwhelm her, she won’t be able
to resist the channeling. We’d have to resist.”
“How, Derik?” Brax snapped. “I feel everything!”
His hushed voice rose. “Put me in a room with our pack, our females in
heat, and add her to it? I’m not promising my control,” he finished, and I
peered out of my lid.
He was scowling, his arms crossed, but the pain was in there and I forced
myself to rise. I winced as I did, ignoring the ache that plagued my bones,
and crawled over to him.
I wrapped my arms around Brax’s neck, my bare body against his back as I
kissed his ear, his cheek, his neck. He growled, his shoulders sagging as I
teased him.
“I can handle it. Even if you lose control,” I promised. “If it helps you get
through this and the pack gets what they need then we have to.”
“No, beautiful. It’s too dangerous. If you channel the collective pack during
the heat, you’ll be risking your life. We won’t let you.”
I shrugged at that. “You have to. And I told you I can handle it. I won’t
channel.”
“If we claim you during the ceremony, you won’t be able to help it,” Brax
bit through a clenched jaw as he rolled his head to the side.
I kissed over his sensitive neck, licking up the vein that revealed his erratic
pulse.
“You don’t know that,” I tried, and Kai grinned, coming over to grab my
jaw, holding my mouth in a pout, stealing a kiss that seared my body with
heat.
I don’t know how I managed to feel so strongly after what they had been
doing to me, but apparently I was going to f**k until I died.
What a way to go out though. It was preferable to the shadow death that
Elias was offering, so I was taking the pleasure until I physically couldn’t.
I kissed him back, still kneeling on the bed, my body still against Brax. I
reached around, stroking Brax’s cock. He let out a growl through his
clenched jaw as I kissed Kai.
“You two! Back the f**k off,” Derik growled, yanking Kai and Brax away,
catching me before I fell off the bed.
He held me against him, kissing my cheek, his hard cock pressing into my
stomach as he put me back on the bed, kneeling in front of me.
“Let her rest. If she’s serious about the ceremony, then she’s going to need
it.”
“I am serious, Derik. It’s the only option where you don’t have to go out
there and f**k the other females, right?” I asked, and he clenched his jaw,
giving me my answer in silence.
I nodded. “Exactly, so call your meeting. We’re having an orgy.”
I laughed, and Derik’s serious face broke into a smirk.
“We’re just watching one,” he reminded, trying to sound stern.
I knew they were going to try to be good so I had to try too, but I was
looking forward to seeing what happened to wolves in heat.
Was it going to turn me on? Be hot as hell? Or was I going to be terrified? I
was looking forward to finding out.
He must’ve seen that in my eyes because he shook his head. “Just watching,
beautiful. I’m not risking you channeling. So behave, got it?” he said, and I
nodded.
“Got it.” I smiled innocently, then looked over at Brax, who was staring
with heated eyes roaming over my body.
Kai had the same hungry look, and I had a feeling that if Derik moved right
now, I wouldn’t be getting off the bed. I did need a bathroom break though.
And food.
“It’ll have to be outside,” Brax said, breaking the connection.
Derik looked over his shoulder with a frown as I climbed off the bed,
standing close to Derik so I had a chance of making it to the bathroom
before getting ravaged again.
“We’ve never held the ceremony outside before,” Derik said, and Brax
shrugged.
“I’m telling you right now, putting me in a room won’t work. I might have a
hope of maintaining control if we’re outside,” he admitted, his eyes locking
on mine.
I bit my lip, smirking at the heat that filled me. I liked that he couldn’t help
himself when it came to me. Then Kai groaned and went to step forward.
Derik blocked him, pushing me back behind him.
Kai bared his teeth. “You sensed it too. She wants it,” Kai bit, but Derik
rolled his eyes.
“Go for a run while she deals with her human needs. She needs to be as
strong as possible for tonight.”
He backed Kai off, but it didn’t matter because Brax grabbed me, dragging
me toward the bathroom and shutting the door before Derik could stop him.
He pressed me into the door, holding me there as his mouth closed over
mine.
He was so fast it made me breathless. He lifted me onto his waist, his cock
begging at my entrance, his lips covering mine, his hands f**king my wild
strands of hair up even more.
Derik bashed on the door. “Brax!”
“One more, then I swear I’ll go sulk somewhere far away until the
ceremony,” he called out, then went back to my lips.
It went silent before I heard Derik sigh. “You okay, beautiful?
“I’m not promising shit, she’s mine the second she gets out of that
bathroom,” Kai warned darkly, and I shuddered.
I wanted them so much, but I didn’t understand how. Self-preservation had
left, leaving only desire in its wake.
“I’m okay, Derik,” I said back, and it was all the permission Brax needed.
He sank into me with a low groan. I still needed the bathroom, but
somehow that made it better, like I was even fuller. I didn’t even care that I
couldn’t release it because it made it so much more intense.
Brax f**ked me into the bathroom door, pinning me there as his hips thrust
against me.
I gripped his shoulder, my other hand digging into the wood of the door as I
cried out, his cock slamming inside me, the ache and the pleasure driving
me to my orgasm so fast.
I gasped and moaned, gripping Brax as his muscles strained with the pace.
He grunted and groaned as I took him in, meeting his hips.
His fingers dug into my ass, yanking me on him, and I couldn’t hold back
the cries of ecstasy that fell from me with every stroke of pleasure he sent to
my core.
My skin became damp. His thrusts were wild and uncontrolled, his breaths
were pants as his fangs scraped my shoulder. It only added to the intensity.
His claws were piercing the skin of my ass, but I relished it.
Everything he gave me, I wanted—and more. I urged him on, meeting his
thrusts, riding his cock against the door, desperate for release.
Tears sprang to my eyes at the overwhelming pleasure that filled me. It was
so much, he was so carnal, his body taking every part of me with it. I
wanted it to.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pressing myself against him,
finding his mouth, kissing him harshly as he gripped my ass tighter. His
fang scraped my lip, making it bleed as something inside me flickered.
My shadows came to life in me, glowing like something I’d never felt
before. And then I was with him fully. Connected with him on such a
profound level, my entire body shook, the need so intense I could barely
breathe.
I cried out, my body tightening and releasing in the next second. My scream
fell, and I wasn’t sure whether it was pleasure or pain.
I gripped him, needing more skin, more pleasure, my greedy pussy soaking
his cock as I rode him like a woman possessed, and that’s kind of what it
felt like.
I couldn’t get enough. My orgasm was there, in my body, pouring from my
core with pleasure filling every part of me, but it wasn’t leaving, like the
high was too high.
Brax growled and dropped to the ground. I fell with him, landing on his
thighs, his cock still buried inside me. He yanked me on him, the force
aching my pelvis, but I didn’t care. I was still lost in him, connected with
him.
The glow was bright inside me, and I kissed him, his taste filling my entire
body.
I clutched him so tight before he swore and shoved me down to the floor.
He gripped my throat, my airway closing as he looked down at me, his cock
throbbing as he pumped it into me.
I writhed, my cries garbled behind his hold on me.
“Fuck!” Brax growled, and then he was cumming. So hard and so fierce, I
had no idea how I was still alive.
He let me breathe, and the second the air hit my lungs, the high intensified.
It was like I had channeled him, but not fully. Like his shadows had found
mine and were making it so much more intense.
Brax rode out his orgasm, f**king me into mine until we were both panting
messes on the floor, the pleasure pulsing and radiating from our damp
bodies.
He kept his cock in me, holding himself up with his hand splayed, the other
loosening my hips. I ran my fingers down his impressive body, sighing as
his dick twitched in me.
“This heat is going to be the death of me,” he breathed, finally pulling out
and falling back against the door, his head down, his hand brushing back his
blond hair that he hadn’t tied up.
I sat up and moved over to him, moving between his legs, kissing him as he
brushed his thumb over my cheek.
“I’m sorry that me being here is making everything worse. I can go stay at
home for a bit if you want?” I asked, the idea making my heart clench, but I
didn’t need to worry because Brax scowled at the idea.
“You’re the only thing getting me through this,” he whispered, his eyes on
mine.
It was so intense, I didn’t even know what to say, like speaking would break
whatever connection we had formed.
“It’s just having a human scent around while we’re so in touch with our
wolf makes us a little more animal. Makes us crave a hunt, and resisting
that and the craving to sate our females is hard. Especially when I can feel
everything from the entire pack,” he said, his head falling back on the door,
his eyes closing.
“What do you feel?” I whispered.
“Their lust, their need, their fury. Our females are strong this year, and the
wolves are trying, but they have to f**k and f**k until the females are done.
The wolves can only go so long before they tap out and a new male takes
their place.
“It can go on for days, usually three, but this year? The males are struggling
to keep up. It’s f**king pathetic, to be honest, but we are the alphas, and
usually our strength is a part of the collective that keeps them going but
we’ve cut ourselves off so we don’t lose ourselves to the frenzy,” he
explained.
It was blowing my mind to hear of their crazy wolf traditions but then they
probably thought that about our dumb human ones. Like the choosing
ceremony.
“It’s easier for Derik and Kai, they cut themselves off, put up a temporary
wall that only drip feeds the pack our connection, but I can’t. Not with my
shadows,” he admitted.
I didn’t know how to help or what to say, so I snuggled up next to him,
ignoring the pressing on my bladder and kissing his pec. He held me under
his arm, our bodies naked and leaning on the door as he sighed deeply.
“Why do you have the shadows and they don’t?” I asked. It had been
niggling at me for so long. I held my breath for the answer, but he tensed
and I knew it was something he didn’t want to talk about.
“I was winter born,” he finally admitted, and I gasped, sitting up and staring
at him.
“But you’re not human?” I asked, confused as hell.
“Not anymore. I was. My parents were both wolves, my line pure, and yet
when everyone started turning at puberty, I didn’t. My parents hid it, didn’t
say anything.
Then they took me to Tabitha, and she found the shadows in me. They had
burned through my wolf gene,” he said quietly.
I waited for the rest of the explanation, so many questions filling me. How
was he a wolf? How was he an alpha? Is he what I would become if I
turned?
He looked at me and chuckled. “Nobody but the alphas know this, Spitfire.
Derik would be pissed if he knew I was telling you,” he said, his voice low,
but I just shrugged.
“I won’t say anything,” I said, not doubting my loyalty, and neither did he
because he took a breath and when he released it, gave me more of his past.
“My parents hid the fact that I couldn’t turn, and then Tabitha found a way
to fix it.
She said she could give me the wolf I needed to become the alpha I was
meant to be.
“My family had been alphas for years, alongside Derik’s and Kai’s. It was
expected that I would take over. It felt wrong though, something in my
shadows said I shouldn’t, but my parents insisted. Even when Tabitha said
there would be a price.
She insisted that it wasn’t her price, just the price of the kind of magic it
would take.
“But my parents were so sure that the worse fate would be to have an heir
that wasn’t a werewolf, so they agreed. They didn’t care what the
consequences were.
They didn’t even find out what they were.” He shook his head, still not
looking at me, but I wanted to know.
“What were the consequences?”
He opened his eyes then, a deep pain filling them, a guilt that I didn’t
understand piercing me.
“Another wolf had to die. A newborn wolf. One that had just turned with
my friends,” he said, his voice shaking, his fists closing as his anger
radiating through me.
I sucked in a breath at the feeling, not sure what to say to make it better.
“And Tabitha knew?”
“Oh, she knew. She sent Cain to kill him. To retrieve his blood that I had to
drink, to cut out his heart that I had to hold while they branded it—and me,”
he said, his voice so deep and raw.
Tears filled my eyes at the emotion I felt in him. I didn’t mean to channel
him, but the guilt and resentment was so strong, it took me over. I shook,
leaning into him, holding him as I took on his pain.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and he held me tighter to him.
“It worked though, I’m a wolf like Derik and Kai, just like my parents
wanted. Our line survived another generation.” He scoffed. “I wish I had
known before I had trusted them. I was naive and scared. I wasn’t like my
friends, and they made me think that was worse.
“But then they wanted me to hold his heart, and I knew something wasn’t
right. I refused, and they tied my hands together, made me take it. I won’t
forgive them, Spitfire. So I will go there when I need to as a united front for
the alliance we keep between our pack and her, but I will never trust them,
and especially not with you,”
he said, holding my face, his gaze burning into me.
I swallowed hard, not sure how to take his past. I trusted Tabitha and Cain.
They had both stood in the way to protect me, and I couldn’t see the version
he gave me, but I didn’t doubt its truth, which left me so confused.
“You think they’ll hurt me?”
He shook his head. “No. I won’t let them. But I think Tabitha will always
do what needs to be done for the greater good. No matter the
consequences.”
He let out a breath, his thumb brushing my lip. “I don’t want you to be one
of those consequences,” Brax said, and my heart swelled at his words.
The whole time I had thought his anger came from a race thing, not liking
that she was a witch or not liking that Cain was a hybrid, but it was so much
worse. Now I had no idea what to think.
I held him, silently mulling over what he had told me. “Have you ever
confronted her about it? Asked her why she did it?” I wondered, and he
shook his head.
“I can’t. I was never to question it; it was part of the deal she made with my
parents. I could never talk about it with her because if I did then the future
would change. She refused to risk it, and now it’s a blood oath that I can’t
break,” he muttered, and his rage was almost tangible.
“Derik and Kai know though?” I asked, and he nodded.
“We can’t hide anything from each other. When we took the throne as
alphas, every thought, feeling, memory became each other’s. We were
linked through the oath we took. The only separate thing I have is the
shadows.
“They didn’t agree with it, but they don’t begrudge her for it like I do. She
convinced them it was to protect a future we can’t see yet.”
He rolled his eyes and blew out a breath before his head fell back against
the door with a huff.
“I’ve gotta go, Spitfire,” he said, and I wanted him to stay. I wanted to ask
him more, but I had to pee so bad that all I could do was nod and let him
help me up.
“The meeting?” I assumed, and he shook his head, his eyes roaming over
me.
“I can feel it getting worse, and I need to leave you alone until after the heat
ceremony. If I don’t, neither of us will have the strength to resist what’s
coming.” He smirked, his eyes lightening.
I smiled and kissed him, then he left.
I finally used the bathroom and enjoyed a long bath, soaking until my
fingers turned wrinkly. I tried to relax, but everything Brax had told me
made me second-guess everything.
I wasn’t bound either, so if I asked Tabitha, she’d have to tell me. I’d also
know if she was lying. But would it get Brax in trouble? What if the pack
found out?
I had no idea, and it was still running through my mind a couple of hours
later when there was a light knock at the door.
I frowned and covered my chest, bringing my legs up and wrapping my
arms around them.
“Hello?” I asked.
A tall girl poked her head in with a head of dark hair, a young face and a
thicker body. Her cheeks were flushed as she stepped into the room.
“Lorelai? I’m Anetta. Alpha Derik sent me to help you dress and escort you
to breakfast,” she said, smiling, but her eyes were full of curiosity as they
tried not to stare.
I knew I looked a sight. The alphas weren’t exactly gentle, and I had human
skin that apparently bruised easily.
“Thanks. I’ll get out and meet you in the dressing room,” I said.
She nodded and I climbed from the tub, wrapping a towel around myself. I
went through to the dressing room where Anetta was picking out a dress for
me. It was simple and didn’t require a corset, so I was happy with her
choice.
“You’re a werewolf?” I asked, and she nodded, handing me my
undergarments.
I put them on, not caring if she saw me naked. I was about to go to an orgy
ceremony, there was no point being modest anymore.
“Yes.” She nodded once.
“An initiate?”
She nodded again.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” I prodded, slipping on my dress of deep
purple with a tight bodice that was almost as suffocating as the damn corset.
It pushed my tender breasts up and clutched my waist like Kai when he
f**ked me.
“I don’t have much to say.”
I scoffed at that. “Liar.” I called her out, and a smirk played on her full lips,
the shine in her dark skin glinting off the glow of the candle.
“I’m not supposed to ask questions,” she finished, and I grinned.
“What would you ask if you were allowed?”
She sobered then, her face falling as she looked at me. “I would ask you
why you’re here,” she murmured, and my eyes widened in surprise.
She didn’t seem angry or annoyed, just…sad. I frowned at the feelings I
read off her.
“Because I belong to the alphas, they own me,” I said, hoping I sounded
convincing because I know they needed to seem in charge, they needed me
to be the damsel.
She shook her head and crossed her arms. “May I speak candidly?” she
asked, and I nodded.
“Please.”
“The last winter born in the city took over, killed our families, manipulated
the alphas. We worry that we don’t know what your plans are for us. The
alphas have already changed so much, we don’t want it to be like last time.”
She swallowed, and I had to admire her bravery. If I was like the last one,
then I probably would have killed her. But I wasn’t, and my heart hurt for
the fear she felt. I hadn’t meant to be the one they worried about.
“I don’t have any plans aside from being theirs. The werewolves have
nothing to fear from me. I don’t know what you mean by manipulated the
alphas though?” I wondered, because it was definitely not a part of the story
I had been told.
She frowned at the question, but I felt her want to answer it, so I waited as
she sized me up.
“The last alphas. They were the reason the winter born got in the city at all.
They had been fooled, sent to chase their tails, protecting the humans, but
the winter born never wanted humans. He wanted werewolf magic.
“So he came for us. Befriended the alphas, made them think he was the
informant from the human villages, the one we let in. And he turned on us,
used everything he learned against us.” She let her emotions free, rage
spilling onto her features as she glared at me.
I shook my head. “I am not him.”
“But you could be. You could change.”
“I won’t,” I swore, but she shook her head.
“How can we trust you? How do I know you aren’t manipulating me now?”
she demanded, her anger growing, her teeth dropping, her eyes flashing red.
I backed up, knowing I only had the truth to back up my claim. So, I gave it
to her.
“Because I love the alphas as much as you do. I would never hurt them,” I
said, and she froze, her eyes widening. I waited for the repercussions of my
confession, but instead she composed herself.
“Good. Now that that’s out of the way, I’m Anetta. I’ve been told to get you
food when you need it, but I’m not picking yourf**king dresses again and
you can wipe your own ass, got it?” she said, shoving her hands into her
coat.
I raised a brow and realized I was the one who had been manipulated. “That
was a test?”
“Yeah, you walked right into it.”
“And everything you told me?”
“Totally true, but I had to make sure you weren’t going to be an entitled
bitch before I agreed to be your gofer. Now that I know you’re just a
lovesick idiot, we’ll do fine.”
She shrugged, then yanked a jerky from her coat and chomped on it
between her scarily sharp teeth.
I chuckled at the way she had handled me. It was well done, and I had to
thank Derik for picking someone that I might not mind spending some time
with.
“How does loving the alphas make me an idiot?” I asked, following her out
of the dressing room into my suite, where breakfast was waiting. My
stomach growled in response.
“Because you’re human. That ends with them mating someone else, turning
you and f**king you up because of the whole winter born thing, or you die.
None of those should be appealing, but love is a bitch like that.”
She sighed, then pulled the lid off the dish waiting at the table for me.
Oatmeal and toast. My stomach rumbled again.
“You don’t believe in love?” I asked, ignoring her predictions because she
was right, they all sucked.
She extended her wrist so I could see an infinity brand on her wrist. “I kind
of have to. I’m mated.”
I nodded, shoving a piece of toast in my mouth. It was dry as hell, but I
needed the sustenance.
“Is that why you’re here and not crippled by the heat thing?” I assumed, and
she nodded.
“Being mated is kind of like being in permanent heat, so you kinda get used
to it.
The cravings just get worse when I’m around my mate. It helps that he’s hot
as hell.” She grinned, her cheeks flooding with heat.
I smiled and went back to my breakfast. “So mates don’t participate in the
ceremony?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Might go anyway though. The more that join,
mated or not, the easier it is for the unmated males to draw on our strength
to satisfy the females. Normally it’s fine, but a lot of males mated this year
and your scent is going to drive them all insane,” she said, then chuckled.
“I can’t wait to see how it goes with you there. The alphas are idiots for you
too it seems,” she said, but it didn’t feel like an insult, so I smiled too.
“You think I shouldn’t be?”
“Oh no, you have to be. Because the alphas have to be. It’ll work and the
heat will go smoothly, all our whores getting off, but if they start claiming
you there? That’s going to drive them wild. They say they can resist, but
Kai can’t resist shit.”
She shook her head, laughing again as she went to the bench and started
putting things in cupboards, snacks and food, for which I was grateful.
I sipped the tea from my tray and was pretty sure it wasn’t Kai that was
going to give in. “I don’t think it’ll be Kai to lose control. It’ll be Brax for
sure,” I said, knowing his shadows would make it harder.
But nobody else understood that feeling, so she raised a brow.
“Kai is impulsive, never does anything by the book. He’ll give in first,” she
predicted, so I put my tea down and grinned at her.
“Care to bet on it then?”
She narrowed her eyes. “If you win?”
“I want one free pass to leave my suite. You have to take me anywhere in
the mansion that I want to go,” I bartered, and she nodded slowly.
“And if I win, I want your recommendation to the alphas to get out of
initiate status,” she said back, and I frowned at that.
“I don’t know if I can do that. I try to leave the werewolf business to them.”
“But they listen to you, and they will do whatever it takes to make you
happy.” She grinned back.