Alpha's Heart: Part Two (The Boundary Woods Book 2) Read online

  She released a soft moan as I worked on the buttons of her blouse, kissing the exposed skin whenever it was available.

  No bra?

  Even better.

  Rowan rested on her elbows and arched her back as I traced small circles around her nipple with my tongue. Each time her breath caught, I was half-tempted to remove whatever was left of her clothing. But rushing something as beautiful as this would've been a disservice to us both, so I took my time.

  She drove her fingers through my hair, biting my scalp with her nails. I groaned, took a breath and, very gently, bit at one of her nipples. Her body surged forward as she thrust up at the empty air.

  Soon, my love. Soon, I will have you.

  Moisture dribbled along the inside of my leg, and I had a feeling Rowan's panties would be soaked by the time I got around to removing them. Her blouse was hanging off her shoulders, and with every thrust she made, it fell toward the bed sheets a little more. The fabric was a wrinkled mess compared to how Rowan usually kept herself.

  An alpha should always be pressed and proper, was something she'd said time and again.

  When we shifted, I was to fold my clothing or hang it on a tree. But when we were like this—when she was like this—there was no arguing a few wrinkles were a gentle reminder of the time we spent together.

  Rowan pulled an arm out of her blouse, followed by the other one. She tossed the thin fabric aside and then wrapped her arms around my neck.

  I leaned into her and let her take over as she kissed me. A kiss that was broken the moment our breasts touched. It was electrifying being this close to her. Without a stitch of clothing between us, I could almost feel our hearts beating as one. When she breathed, I breathed, and not a moment sooner.

  Something clawed under my skin. My wolf, I realized, as all of my senses were enhanced. I could feel Rowan's heart beating against my own. I was also able to hear the blood in her veins, feel every hair and even smell her scent as it permeated the room.

  My mouth watered at the thought of tasting her. Of hearing her moan.

  I wanted it. All of it.

  But where do I start?

  I could meet her gaze and lose hours looking into her eyes. Same with lying in her arms. I could lay with my head on her chest for as long as the sun was up. More than that, I could kiss her until we both struggled for breath.

  It would've been a happy death, but the way my nerves tingled as she trailed her fingertips along my ribs, I knew I was very much alive. Every time she kissed me, every single time she deprived me of air, my heart kept beating.

  Faster. Stronger.

  Like a wolf on the run with its paw pounding against the ground, I kept breathing. Living.

  Loving.

  I shuddered as she rolled me onto my back, sending chills along my spine with her soft, barely-there touch. Hints of contact that pushed my senses to the very limit. Her fingers weren't even on my skin most of the time, but I still sensed her.

  And it made me want her that much more.

  She was so close, it hurt. I clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering, and when she finally set her palm on my hip, my heart leapt into my throat.

  My nerves were abuzz as she trailed her hand along my leg, pushing my patience to the breaking point.

  "You know I love teasing you, right?" She didn't look at me as her eyes were focused on where she'd set her hand. On the inside of my thigh.

  I leaned back on my hands. "You wouldn't be my Rowan if you'd done any different."

  Her small laugh tied a knot in my stomach. "I'm not done yet."

  Oh God.

  She was going to keep me in the dark, on this edge for—

  "Shit," I gasped as fire bloomed around my clit.

  The room tilted to one side, and I closed my eyes to keep myself grounded. In the moment.

  I arched my back and thrust up at her, whimpering when she drew her hand away from me. "Please." We'd been dragging things on for far too long, and now my clit was on the verge of being too sensitive.

  "It's not right if I don't get to enjoy this," Rowan said.

  The weight on the bed shifted, and as I listened to fabric rustling against itself, I knew she was removing whatever articles of clothing she had left. She kissed my lips moments later as she tangled her fingers in my hair.

  I exhaled and whatever air I had left was quickly expelled from my lungs when she parted my pussy lips and pressed a finger inside.

  The lump in my throat grew larger, and as our kiss deepened, it became that much more difficult to breathe. To think. To function outside my primal instincts. My body craved warmth. Touch. Taste.

  And Rowan met every single one of those needs in one fluid motion. The taste of her tongue as it swept under my own. The heat of her body, her fingers inside me with her palm teasing my clit. Everything I needed, everything I wanted was right here. In this bed.

  In my arms. On my skin.

  Inside me.

  Everything I wanted to offer her in return.

  "Scoot over." My voice was rough along the edges.

  We separated as Rowan rolled to her half of the bed. I turned on my side and took her in my arms, seizing her lips as our bodies melded together. In a tangle of arms and legs, I wasn't sure where one of us started and the other began. It was times like this, when we were this close and this in tune with one another, that I knew she was my bonded.

  Her heart was the one beating in my chest. Not mine. She was the reason I breathed, the reason I'd survived this long. Without her, I would've been another wolf in waiting. Being destined to take over as alpha was never an identity to me. It felt more like a shadow. A wolf following orders.

  But when I was with her, when Rowan looked at me, I had an identity. A face. Hopes and dreams. I was myself and not what my family had molded me to be.

  Rowan forced me onto my back and separated my legs with a knee so she could straddle my right. I writhed with the anticipation of her riding me and seeing her fall apart as she released a silent cry into the room.

  My excitement grew just as soon as she lowered herself on top of me.

  You're soaked.

  Her eyes were partially closed, and she made a point of showing me just how wet she was by riding back and forth on my thigh.

  I licked my lips and played with the hairs along the nape of her neck as she leaned in to kiss me again. Her eyes were shut, and I could tell just by the way her breath caught that she was going by instinct alone. No more talking, teasing or wondering who went where.

  She was in control, and I was more than happy to be on the bottom. It gave me the most delicious view of her perky breasts, her exposed neck and the brilliant flush on her cheeks. She dug at the mattress and let her head fall forward as her breathing slowed, almost stopping completely when she held it in.

  I smiled as I watched my beautiful wolf right on the verge of losing herself. And as she teetered between keeping that control and falling over the edge, I circled her nipples with my fingertips, slowly trailing down to her clit which was painfully erect.

  Rowan gasped, and her eyes flew open as I teased her clit with my finger. She was right there, on that razor thin-knife. All she had to do was let go.

  "I don't," she exhaled hard and the movements on my thigh slowed. "I need you... want you to... I can't—"

  Deep creases formed on her forehead as she tried time and again to voice her thoughts and needs. But I already knew what she wanted. What she needed. I just wasn't ready to give it to her yet.

  I tucked a few strands of hair away from her face. "You were so close. I like watching you."

  She released what may have been a cough which allowed her to speak a moment more. "I don't want to. Not without you."

  "And you won't." I caressed her cheek which was warm under my touch. "I'm not ready for this to end."

  I don't want to wake up.

  "I know, it's just..." She bit her lip. "I'm not sure how much longer I can wait."

  She look
ed at me again, and this time, her darkening eyes caused my nerves to do summersaults in the pit of my stomach.

  I offered her a subtle nod, placed my hands on her hips and positioned myself so I could get some friction against her leg. Rowan released a sigh, more than likely one of relief, as her body shuddered above me. Beads of sweat formed between her breasts and slowly trickled toward her stomach as she sat up and grinded against me.

  I closed my eyes, made sure I had a firm grip on her hips, and rode her the way she'd done to me. I gasped as a bolt of electricity hit my clit, forcing cool fire to coil around the base of my spine. I'd barely made contact with her, and it was almost too much. I needed this. Wanted it. And my wolf craved it.

  I thrust up at her and tried to keep my eyes open so I could see my bonded at her most vulnerable. And she was almost there, waiting for me to join her.

  I eased up on her clit and arched my thumb along her cheek. When I drew it away, it was wet.

  "Let go," I said. "I want to see you give up your control. I'll catch you. I'll always catch you."

  She whimpered. A tear fell onto my hip.

  "Let yourself go."

  "Oh God," she exhaled and screwed her eyes shut as the first tremors of an orgasm raced through her body.

  I focused on her, on that release as I grabbed her hips and rode her as fast as I could. Only half of the motions registered on my clit, but they were more than enough to force a lump in the back of my throat and for my vision to go white.

  Blinded, I listened to her as short breaths turn into strangled gasps. I felt her trembling, her body tensing and relaxing as wave after wave of aftershocks ran through her, and as they did, I let go. A rush of endorphins pushed me skyward as I let go of the moment, the fantasy and my dream.

  But when I finally returned to Earth, Rowan was still there, leaning over me and kissing my lips.

  I frowned and broke our kiss. "You're still here."

  She sat up and worked on tying her hair back in a ponytail. "Of course I am. I wasn't ready to leave." She lowered on top of me and pressed her forehead to mine. "You're beautiful when you're like this."

  I released a nervous laugh. "Naked?"

  "And sweaty. And with your hair a tangled mess. Not to mention all your curves. Shame we can't walk around like this all the time."

  "We could." My voice shook. "We get naked before and after a shift."

  "And we both know how much you love shifting."

  I met her gaze. "If I get to see this side of you all the time, I can take the pain." Not to mention the exhaustion that usually followed once I changed back.

  She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Then it's settled. No more itchy, scratchy clothes." She glared at her discarded blouse and pants as if to make her point. "I like this new law already."

  I kissed her. "I'll be sure its enforced just as soon as I become alpha."

  "You're going through with it then? You'll bond with him?"

  I sat up and took her in my arms, rocking back and forth as I spoke. "No. I'll find another way to become alpha, one that includes you. You're my heart. My life. If I were to lose you—" I cut myself off and shook my head. "Becoming alpha would have no purpose without you at my side."

  Her shoulders slumped forward as she melted in my arms. She nuzzled my neck as she spoke. "And I'll stay for as long as you need me to."

  I set my chin on her head and mantled her the best I could. "Even if I ask you to stay forever?"

  She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. "Forever."

  Chapter Four

  When I finally woke, everything was as it seemed in my dream. The only difference was Rowan couldn't share my release. She couldn't hold me or stroke me the way she had in my fantasy.

  I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold up against my father's punishment. Tormenting myself while I was awake—and now, asleep—was taking a serious toll on my resolve.

  But I wasn't about to bend to his will. Not until I spoke to my mother. I hadn't told her about Dad's new rule or about Rowan, and by now, I could see he hadn't mentioned it either.

  It's time she knew.

  I needed her advice. Her insight.

  Taking an uneasy breath, I threw off the covers and changed back into the clothes I put on when Caine checked on me earlier this morning. I didn't have to check the mirror to know my hair was a mess. I didn't have time for a shower, so I pulled it back instead.

  My mother's room was on the other side of the house, away from my father's study. My father spent more time wandering around the house than he did in his own bed, so the alphas' bedchambers eventually became the she-alpha's room.

  My father rarely visited her. While her room got the most sun in the house, he claimed it felt too dark and heavy to remain there for long. I tried to visit when I could, but whenever my mother and I spoke, it was in short sentences and not about much at all.

  I'm sure she knew something was on my mind, but she never asked, and it was about time I told her everything.

  The halls were abuzz with pack activity. Members jumped from one room to the next with light knocks and hushed voices as they faded behind closed doors.

  I frowned and glanced back toward my room, but whatever was going on, it apparently didn't have anything to do with me.

  I walked at a faster clip, weaving my way through the dining hall to the other side of the house. It was quieter over here, like there was a barrier on this side of our haven to keep out all the chaos. Chaos not including myself or my mother's illness.

  Maybe the pack knows.

  Perhaps the hushed whispers were because they'd finally learned the truth.

  I stopped outside my mother's room. Her door was harder to face with all the activity going on a few rooms over. Forget about them. You're here on business.

  I didn't move. I stared at the hard fibers of wood separating myself and my mother. My stomach churned. I considered leaving on the off chance she was asleep, but knowing her, she was wide awake and anxious for the company.

  "Are you going to just stand there all day?" my mother called from the other side of the door. "I can hear your heart beating. My senses aren't that faded."

  I was thankful for her light voice and lasting humor. Awkward silences or not, I could never give up our time together, even if it was only for an hour or two a day. Not like I can do much else. Being limited to a single form meant I was inside or close to the house at all times.

  When I opened the door, my mother was in the process of getting up from her bed.

  "You’re weak. You should be resting," I said.

  "I can rest when I’m dead." She smiled. "Too soon?"

  "How can you joke about something like this?"

  "Because, taking things seriously is too morbid, and I don’t need my daughter walking into that darkness. So long as I breathe, I still have a say in the well-being of our pack. Our family. Your father—he’s blinded with grief and fear. But he won't visit me. No one visits me. Except you. Come, sit a while." My mother patted the bed and moved over so I'd have room.

  Even in the late morning light, her eyes appeared clouded and her shoulders slumped. You never slump. Or at least, she didn't used to. I didn't doubt she'd fix her posture for my father and other members of my pack, but I'd told her to stop hiding from me weeks ago. Now that she was actually wearing her exhaustion instead of hiding it behind a mask, I wished I hadn't asked her to do it in the first place.

  My mother was a strong pillar to our pack. Without her guidance, without her—the pack will crumble.

  "Anna, I'm waiting." Her vision narrowed in my direction and her voice hardened the slightest bit. "Don't start avoiding me now. Getting that from your father is bad enough."

  I shook myself aware and joined her on the bed, taking her in my arms moments later. "I would never avoid you. You mean too much."

  She sank in my arms. "Your father once said the same thing. I fear my illness has taken a toll on him as well as the pack."

  "They d
on't know. The pack. He never told them. And Caine, I'm not sure he knows, either."

  My mother tried to sit up, but I stopped her. "Anna, don't you think this has gone on long enough? Your father has me sequestered in this room like a lame dog. I can still walk. Talk. I'm eating. I'm just more tired the usual. It's about time I joined the rest of the pack. No more hiding."

  I shook my head and faced her. "The pack doesn't know what's happening to you, only that you're absent. And you don't know what's happening out there. I think Dad's lost his mind."

  "Anna!"

  "It's true. Every day I come in here, and I never get up the nerve to tell you. But I told Caine, and he was okay with it. So I'm hoping you will be, too."

  She furrowed her brow. "You used to tell me everything. You still can. Is it..." She wet her lips. "Your father has asked you to take my place."

  It wasn't a question.

  "Not only that." I sighed and may have deflated a little. "He wants me to bond with Devlin James."

  "That mutt?" She scoffed. "Has he honestly forgotten the turmoil Devlin's so-called pack caused us the last time those two met? They aren’t our allies."

  "But if I don’t bond with their alpha, we’ll get overrun. I know."

  She lifted my chin, and the determination in her eyes made my heart skip. "That’s not what I’m trying to tell you. That’s what your father believes, but there is another way. A strong bond between alphas is needed, yes. What he may not realize or fail to acknowledge is a bond made out of convenience is far worse than having none at all."

  "And if it were that easy, I'm sure I wouldn't be telling you this now."

  "Telling me what?"

  "I've already bonded, and she's neither male nor alpha of an allying pack."

  "Rowan." She offered me a reassuring smile. "Come now, you didn't think a mother wouldn't know her own child, did you?"

  I sat there, slack-jawed. "You knew?"

  She nodded. "Possibly before you did."