Craving the Alpha: Part One: BBW Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance (Lycan Lovers) (5 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

“Hey, Kristen, Kristen,—wake up!” Drowsily, I opened my eyes to see warm, gold-flecked brown ones staring back into mine. “Are you feeling better? Dorian said you were upset.”

“Markus … oh … I’m surprised to see you. I must have fallen asleep.” Groggily, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and sat up on the couch. “Where’s Dorian?”

“He ah, well he…” Markus seemed at a loss for words. Finally he said, “He’s at the meeting lodge.”

“Is there a meeting going on I should know about?” I wondered if they were making yet more plans for us.

“No, no actually he, um, he is just having a drink at the Timber Tavern there.” Markus added awkwardly.

That was just swell of Dorian to leave me by myself on the night of the change. I thought back to the long, Western style bar I had seen in the meeting lodge and visualized Dorian holding court as he swilled back a few beers.

“Geez that was really nice of him to leave me alone here.”

“Maybe he thought you needed time by yourself. He said you were taking all this pretty hard.’

“Taking this pretty hard? What the hell do you expect me to do?” I cried. “I am given a drugged drink and attacked by a pack of animals. Then I’m dragged, unconscious, through the woods. I wake up in a place with half naked people to find out I have been bitten by a wolf and I am supposed to mate with one. Not to mention I find out I am going to change into a wolf myself!”

Markus grimaced then held his hands up as if he were surrendering. “I just thought you may need someone with you during this time, you know, so I came by,” he said, shrugging.

“I’m a big girl,” I said haughtily, “I can handle it.” But, even as my mouth spoke the words, I knew I didn’t mean it, and I was glad he had come. I was very much afraid of what was happening to my body right now, let alone what would happen in the next few hours. What was with Dorian leaving me by myself? I thought he was supposed to be my protector. And if anything, I was going to need protecting tonight. I shivered thinking about what was ahead.

“Ok, well I guess he was right. I will be on my way then.” Markus gave me a slight wave and headed towards the door.

“No ah, stay. I guess I could use some support right now.” My lips were quivering and my body felt like it was on fire. I knew the change was coming soon.

“Hey,” Marcus said, noticing my distress. “It must feel crazy. But the first time you change is the worst. You get used to it. And after the full moon tonight, you will be able to change whenever you like.”

“You act like that is a good thing.” I snapped. “Why the hell would anyone want to turn into a wolf?”

Marcus grinned, his handsome face lighting up. “It’s a fantastic feeling of freedom to escape the human form. There is nothing like running through the woods without constraints.”

“How did you all become wolves?” I asked. “Were you born like that?” Not waiting for him to answer I pressed on. “Dorian said this place was built by Thom Vickers to be a resort but all hell broke loose when your great grandfather came back from rehab at the army hospital. Did that have something to do with it?”

Markus nodded his head. “When my great grandfather, Thom Vickers son, came back from the war, he was a different man. He had been bitten while serving overseas. He wasn’t the only one. Several of the men in his division were bitten when they were attacked by a pack of wolves one night.”

“Wow, that must have been shocking,” I said bitterly. I knew exactly how they must have felt.

“Yes, and when he came back, the military knew something was up. The men who had been bitten had keener senses than humanly possible. They ran them through a barrage of tests, but then they just discharged them. What else could they do? They couldn’t hold them forever. Thom ditched the plans to open this area as a resort and turned it into a private residence for his son and some of the other men who had also been bitten. Over the years, we have become fairly self-sufficient. We grow our own fruits and vegetables and catch our own meat. When necessary, we go a few towns away for some of our supplies. We pay our taxes. Everyone thinks we are some sort of hippie commune and they leave us alone.”

“But, ah, how did he and the other men have families?”

Markus gazed at the floor. “Years ago, some of our men took up with some women in a nearby town. They didn’t tell them what they were and by the time the women figured it out, it was too late. I am not proud of that. But it was done. Nothing I can do about it now. They mated, bred and from there our numbers grew
.
But after that rare strain of parvovirus wiped out our pups and younger women we thought we were done—until the Vlodik clan attacked and we saved you from them.”

“Saved us?” I gave him a withering stare.

“Well you know what I mean,” Markus responded, looking away.

He started to share more but I just couldn’t concentrate. Though I tried to focus on his words, my body felt like I had a bad case of the flu, alternating between hot and cold. Sensing my distress, Markus rubbed my shoulders, reassuring me. The heat inside my body was escalating. Just when I felt I would boil over, Markus grabbed my hand. “It’s time now,” he said, leading me from the couch to outside the cabin. A light rain was drizzling but the full moon could be seen despite the mist. My whole body was shaking and sweating and I could feel a tremendous heat coursing through my veins.

“Take off your clothes,” Markus commanded.

“What?” Here I thought he was a good guy, and now he was acting just as horny as his brother. So, this is why he was really here. Not to help me but to get his rocks off. The thought of pulling off my clothes in front of him made me shudder. And the crazy thing was, it wasn’t the idea so much of being naked in front of him, it was the question of what he would think of my very curvy body. He was so perfect with his hard, sculpted torso. But the hot and cold flashes within me were so powerful. I knew the change was coming soon.

“If you don’t take off your clothes they will be ripped to shreds when you change,” Markus said. “It’s your choice.”

It made sense. I could step out of my clothes now and be able to wear them later, or have my body destroy them, ripping them to pieces as I changed into my wolf. It really wasn’t much of a decision to make. Judging by the half-naked wolf women running around camp it didn’t look like there were too many extra clothes around.

“I will, uh, go into the bedroom while you get comfortable,” Markus said, trying to be gentlemanly about the situation. He walked to the back of the room to give me space, reluctantly turning and averting his eyes, gazing down at the floor. I hated to admit it to myself, but a part of me was disappointed he had looked away. What guy doesn’t want to see a naked woman? Negative thoughts entered my head and I had to push them away. It was time to get ready for the change.

I still had yesterday’s clothes on. I removed my comfy blue hoodie then pulled my yellow tee over my head. I had my old, support bra with the stretched elastic on and felt glad in the moment that Markus wasn’t watching me. What camp counselor thinks to bring lacy lingerie to camp? Ugh, it was even tattered too, how embarrassing.

I stepped out of my sneakers and socks and took off my jeans. I felt nervous as I reached to take off my soft cotton panties. What was about to happen to me? This changing into a wolf thing sounded insane. What if I got hurt or my new fur stayed on me when I turned back into a human, or I couldn’t change back, or, or…

All of a sudden, I felt my chest begin to swell, my arms and legs elongate, and my bones stretch. I could sense my body buckling into itself, and in seconds I was on the ground on all fours. Glancing to my sides, I could see a light brown fur with gray flecks.

So, what do you do when you have just been changed into a werewolf? I rushed to the bedroom to look in the full-length mirror. Oh! My! God! I could not believe it. Staring back at me were my own espresso eyes, but encased in massive amounts of fur. My wolf torso was thick and strong. I opened my mouth. I had sharp, powerful incisors and a long, hot pink tongue. My once lengthy stars and moon necklace looked more like a choker, decorating my furry neckline. If not for that, I may have wondered if tricks were being played on me. This was sheer madness.

After a few moments, Markus quietly stepped into the room. “I know this is a huge change Kristen. I’m … so sorry for everything that’s happened to you and your friends. But I know that you will come to love being this way ... it’s a way of life for the clan and we know no different. It’s a wonderful, freeing way to be. Let me show you.”

Turning from my reflection, I looked to Markus. Though I had seen him in both forms, I had never seen him transform. He turned away from me and quickly stripped off his clothes. His broad shoulder physique and smooth, tan skin boasted well-developed back muscles and a fit, tapered waist. I couldn’t help but stare at the spine of his back, imagining my fingers trailing down to touch his smooth, perfect ass.

In shock, I watched as his brawny, muscular body transformed into a huge, strapping creature that was as black as the night sky. My nose perked up as I whiffed him fully—my scent glands running in overdrive as I took in his musty aroma. I couldn’t help but want him fully, to lick him, to touch him … he jerked his head in my direction and I followed him, and soon we were running deep into the woods, far from the cabins.

The rush from running was exhilarating. I could remember in high school trying to will myself to run fast in track. It seemed that if I really wanted it, it should happen. But despite my efforts, I always fell behind almost all of the other kids—if they could only see me now! Every so often I would catch a glimpse of my necklace quickly bouncing off my throat, glistening in the moonlit sky.

Running through the forest, the air felt warm but our swiftness created a breeze. Though the woods were dense, they seemed to open up to us as if by magic. We ran through the foliage, over the rocky terrain. In a few minutes, Markus slowed his pace and stopped. I caught up to him and saw a deer in the distance. The deer was poised as if listening. In a second, she bolted off and Markus chased her. Then suddenly, I heard a snap and the crunching of bones—Markus was on the deer, biting the animal. I could see the animal collapse as he aimed in for the final kill. Strangely, I didn’t feel bad for the creature. This was nature and one must take what one needed to survive. Together, Markus and I snared the deer in our teeth and carried it back to camp. We took it around to the cook’s area in the main dining hall, where I knew it would be skinned and prepared as one of the meats for our meal.

I was shaking when we finished dropping off the deer. Markus rubbed his fur against mine to soothe me. “That was an amazing run. You’re a natural at this.”

I shook my head in amazement. It was obvious that the Lycans could understand what humans were saying while in their wolf form. But though I had tried to interpret their growls and body motions, I hadn’t been able to understand what the wolves were
 
saying when I was in my human form. I didn’t realize that they were actually able to talk to one another in their wolf form, and now that I was one, I could too.

“Let’s head back. I need to make sure I get you to Dorian’s safely,” Markus said reluctantly.

“Yeah, I guess I’d better get back,” I responded. I was still trembling from the rush of the evening. It had been incredible running through the forest and watching Markus slay the deer. Even more fascinating seeing him transform to human form—just seeing his backside I could only imagine what the rest of his naked body would look like. I couldn’t help but wonder if his abs and chest were as developed as his masculine back, and if he was as big as I was imagining in every other way as well…

My disappointment was palpable as we trotted through the woods and the rest of camp. I realized, much to my shock, that it had been the most exciting night of my life and I wanted to spend more time with Markus—a lot more time.

We were both silent. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts about what just happened. I became a wolf, I helped kill a deer, I had fur … every so often, Markus would glance over at me and I could see a look in his eyes I couldn’t quite place—desire? Nah, it was probably just my imagination.

After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the cabin, and Markus howled at the door. Not getting a response, he nudged the wood with his nose and the door opened, allowing our entry. I peered over his wolf to see Dorian in human form, passed out on the sofa and snoring away, his blonde hair splayed out on the pillow. The stench of alcohol was overpowering.

“He’s drunk,” Markus growled disgustedly, “plastered as usual. That’s why I was so pissed at the council meeting when he chose you. He’s a drunkard. He can’t protect you from the Vlodiks. See those scratches,” he added, pointing to the red marks on Dorian’s face. “He claims he got them when he fought the Vlodiks, but I know he was lying down in a patch of thorny bushes, dead drunk while they were attacking.”

I gasped. “Well, didn’t you tell Caleb?”

Markus lowered his head. “No, I was the first one on the scene and I pulled him out of the way to keep him from any harm. He must have rolled out of sight into the bramble branches. He came staggering back to Camp Vickers the next morning and claimed he had tried to fight the Vlodiks. I didn’t have the heart to tell my dad.”

“That’s horrible for him to lie like that to you, to your dad, to everyone in your pack.” I said.