Free Alpha Rising by Rebecca Royce

between them, finding her clit, and swiped it again. She saw stars, pleasure pushing her over the edge until the pressure that built between them became more than she could bear. Her back arched, and her mouth went dry. She shook in his embrace.
    Over and over she came undone beneath him. Her muscles liquefied, and she wondered if she’d ever move again. He called out her name as he surged inside of her. She loved the feel of his warm seed inside of her. Seconds later, he bit her, his teeth clamping down on the juncture of her shoulder.
    Lilliana shuddered, coming for the fourth time before she saw nothing but blackness.
     
    ****
     
    She blinked awake, seeing that the sun seemed brighter than earlier. Lilliana stretched, very grateful to see she hadn’t lost the use of her muscles after all. Where was Travis? She looked left and right. His scent permeated the room, it was all over the sheets and the pillows. Even her own skin. Where had he gone?
    Lilliana frowned before she got out of bed. Where was she anyway? Perhaps she should have thought about that earlier, but she’d been really focused on getting Travis inside of her.
    Of course she could blame that on the mating loonies or whatever. She had to because she’d gone into heat . Like the neighbor’s cat they hadn’t bothered to fix. Just something she was going to have to deal with apparently.
    Finding her clothes and pieces of Travis’ shirt she’d shredded, which she quickly put into a garbage can, she opened the door to whatever room they were in. She sniffed the air, and it didn’t tell her much. Maybe tracking by scent would come later. Or maybe that wasn’t a thing werewolves could really do. “I’ve been a werewolf for one day, two at the max since I don’t know what day it is. Super wolf I am not.”
    With that thought, she made her way into the hallway. It was long and decorated rustically. In the distance, she heard voices, and the ache that had formed in her chest eased when she heard Travis.
    “I told you last night. I don’t want New York. As soon as I can get my people out of this cursed state, the better.”
    “You can keep Pennsylvania. That is if you can take it from Pierre. He wants Philly. He’s never going to be satisfied with just Pittsburgh.”
    “I’m not concerned with that jackass. If he comes at my pack, I’ll destroy him.”
    When she rounded the corner, she saw them standing in the kitchen. She leaned against the wall. Wherever she was, apparently Cyrus was still around. “Is this common? Packs fighting over cities? Why don’t we all hang out in the woods and just be wolves?”
    “Some do.” Travis’ whole face lit up when he saw her. “Some of us embrace our human side. It’s easier to run a pack in the city. Werewolves aren’t as likely to accidentally show themselves, to suddenly decide to go lone wolf and start running amok. Besides, we all need jobs, cars, groceries. We’re only wolves during full moon.”
    He crossed to her and pulled her into his arms, his bare arms. Travis had no shirt to wear, so he’d been speaking to Cyrus naked from the waist up. She wasn’t going to complain, but she wondered, as she looked at Cyrus dressed in a suit and tie, if Travis might have preferred to have been fully clothed.
    “We didn’t used to fight at all.” Cyrus shrugged. “Then our Alpha Prime, the supreme leader of the United States packs, who used to lead us all, died. Every Alpha in the country has had to either fight to defend his pack ever since or jockeyed to be Alpha Prime.”
    She looked at Travis. “Was he the wolf who chose to be with Lily? Was he Alpha Prime?”
    Cyrus choked, laughing so loud it startled her, and she jumped. “Did Travis tell you our folklore bullshit? No, Alpha Prime was not that wolf gifted with Lily. No one believes that bullshit anymore. We’re werewolves because we’re werewolves, and I don’t personally need a creation myth to get through my day.”
    Travis growled.