Mated to the Alpha Wolves Read online

  Mated to the Alpha Wolves (Crescent Moon Shifters Book 2)

  Anastasia Chase

  © Copyright 2018 by STAMPS PUBLISHING - All rights reserved.

  This book is only for personal use. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission. The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters are represented as 18 or over._

  Dedications

  Who reads the dedications section anyway???

  Seriously though, I want to dedicate this book to you, my fan. You took the time to either buy this book or download it to your KU collection. This means a lot to me because I’m actually on this journey on my own, without a publishing house, braving the deep seas of publishing digital content on the web (this internet marketing stuff is freakin’ hard!). So any time someone new picks up my work, you can be sure I do a happy dance! Stamps Publishing is my own company which has a single author (me!), but my dream is to help other authors achieve their dreams one day.

  I especially wish to thank all the members of my ARC team for taking the time to give me feedback and being so supportive through my book launch. You guys are the real MVPs.

  -Anastasia

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  About Anastasia Chase

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  1

  The air was crisp; the beginning of winter was starting to settle in and add a chill to everything it touched. The snow crunched beneath my boots as I made my way through the trees, stirring up the white powder that had previously been undisturbed. Everything around here was like that, a slice of nature so pristine, it could have been from a postcard. Not that I had a camera with me or needed one. One of the benefits of living in the wild lands of Alaska: I could peruse the scenery whenever I liked.

  I pulled my hat down over my ears and thick mass of wavy black hair. I'd given up on trying to tame it a long time ago, and cutting it would only look weird, especially with the shape of my face. Round, bordering on chubby, but I wasn't one to shy away from my figure. I had curves that would make anyone jealous, and I knew how to throw it around to get what I wanted.

  But what I mostly yearned for was respect, and I'd earned it through my own efforts. Being as skilled as I was, it was easy to make my way to the top and be in charge of those who still had a long way to go. Such as the three men trailing behind me.

  "She's drifting again, isn't she?" A voice behind me chuckled.

  "She's been doing that as of late." Another voice piped in. "It's almost her heat. She's always distracted then."

  "Yes, thank you from the peanut gallery." I whirled around and confronted the chatterboxes behind me. If we were on a simple hunt for prey, I would have no problem with their commentary. I wasn't going to let their banter get to me; these two had been troublemakers since they'd been weaned, so their antics had become a regular thing. Getting upset with them would only encourage them further, but I was annoyed for other reasons.

  We were on the hunt for a lost pup and that meant staying quiet, so our neighboring enemies wouldn't hear us and poke their big noses in where they didn't belong. They were the grumpy sort who didn't take too kindly to intruders. We were going to have to stay quiet and move fast before they found us out.

  "Don't let them get to you. They're nervous." Jacob touched my elbow gently and nodded towards the trees. His serious, golden-yellow eyes soothed my temper and made it easier to focus on the task at hand.

  Growing up together, his presence was always welcome. An orphan from an unknown family, our elders had taken him in and treated him like one of their own. Which was rare, given there was always the possibility of someone else coming to claim him as theirs, but it was a risk that seemed worth taking. He'd grown to be an excellent hunter and soldier, capable of taking down anything he set his mind to.

  Yet, he was still quiet and reserved, never bragging about his kills or taking the largest share at the end of the day. Humble to a fault, he was adamant at never being treated better than anyone else. He took his job seriously, but I knew him well enough to see those small moments, the ones where no one else is looking. And I was witness to the small opportunities of seeing a true smile on his face. It was much easier for him to hide now, with the facial hair he chose to sport, but I knew to look at his eyes and see the smile there instead.

  "We're not nervous!" Taylor piped in, his childish face scrunched up into a pout as he rolled up his sleeves. "This is just boring, that's all." He blew a strand of blonde-white hair from off his forehead and picked up the pace to join us. He'd always been a little too eager to prove his worth, sometimes at the expense of common sense. A few years younger than me, but not by much. Taylor skirted with trouble one too many times to be safe. He was happy-go-lucky, always pushing boundaries to see what he could get away with. His punishments he took in stride, knowing that once he was free, it would a fresh opportunity to start all over again.

  I caught the sleeve of his shirt and tugged him back in line before he got too far ahead. This was my mission, after all.

  "You call looking for one of our own boring?" I asked with a raised brow. He knew better than to treat this like some kind of game or hunt. Maybe his nerves were getting the better of him.

  "Lay off him, would you?" The third, Nate, interjected himself between us and pulled his sleeve out of my grip. He had a temper that couldn't be beat. Good in a fight, but not when we needed to stay under the radar. Despite being Taylor's brother, he and I barely spoke. He was a quiet brewing storm, always bottling things up until he was ready to use it in a hunt. He was a force to be reckoned with, but his brother was always there to help him channel his temper appropriately and keep him out of bigger trouble.

  It was Jacob's turn to take the reins on the situation and pinned Nate back against the nearest tree with his arm across his neck. The sudden jostling sent snow spilling everywhere and fell in thick clumps on their hair.

  "She's the one in charge here. It would do you some good to remember that," Jacob said in hushed whispers, but that didn't make his tone any less serious. he could be scary when he was like this.

  Nate shook the snow out of his dark hair and glared back, his green eyes darkening with his mood. He hated being told what to do, especially by someone who was his equal in rank. He bared his teeth and twisted Jacob's collar in his fist.

  "Then stop telling me what to do, orphan." Nate shoved him away and stormed off in the direction we'd been going; Taylor hurried to play catch-up with his brother, but not before shooting us a worried look over his shoulder.

  Jacob ran a hand through his hair to rid it of the snow, and I saw his shoulders heave. Nate's words had gotten to him and were souring his mood. I hated it when he grew quiet like that because it was always hard to pull him back out of that hole again.

  "You know he didn't mean it." I curled
my fingers around his wrist—his pale skin was a stark contrast to mine—and gave it a gentle squeeze. He turned in response and gave me a smile that sent a dagger of pain through my chest, a smile that never quite reached his eyes. He was never going to get away from that unfortunate title, no matter what he did to prove that he belonged with us.

  "Yes, he did. That's not why I'm upset. Nate's—"

  "I know. But he's one of the best hunters we've got. Attitude aside, I need him here. I'll deal with him later, once this is all over." I pressed a kiss to the inside of his wrist and caught sight of a light blush across his cheeks. My ego told me he felt the same; my rational brain told me it was the fault of the chill summer wind. I didn't have much time to debate either and hurried to catch up to the other two before they ventured off. Bear territory wasn't too far from here, and they could be downright vicious about intruders.

  Even if that intruder was a child.

  One of our pack had ventured away in the early afternoon, determined to catch the rabbit he'd been chasing. Only that had been hours ago and there was no sign of his return. His tracks had been easy enough to follow, up to a certain point. There'd been too many other creatures in the area that made the difficult to follow. Now, we were looking for any sign we could find to determine where he'd gone and hope that we found him alive. If at all.

  As Jacob and I followed the brothers deeper into the woods, the air around us grew quieter. It was almost peaceful, but there was only tension coursing through me. I couldn't let the others see it; I needed to be the level-headed one and come up with a plan to get the young one back.

  Eventually, we caught up with Taylor and Nate. They were kneeling in the snow, inspecting something.

  "What is it?" I whispered. My words bounced dully off the thick grove of trees that hid us from the outside world. I was glad for the privacy, and it would be easier to get away should someone else come upon us.

  "Tracks." Nate looked up at me with worried eyes. "He was here."

  "That's great—" I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but his look didn't fade.

  "The bears have him." There, in the snow, he pointed out the large paw prints almost stamping out the smaller ones. There had been a struggle, but not much of one.

  My heart stopped in my chest, and I dropped to one knee to get a better look. Sure enough, Nate was right, and I needed to keep my cool to come up with a plan on what to do next. I followed the footprints as they disappeared through the trees... towards bear territory.

  "How do you want to go about doing this?" Taylor asked, as he ran a hand through his hair. He sounded soft, and he looked even smaller than usual. The last thing he wanted on his conscience was a dead pup, mauled by a sleuth of bears. His soft nature would never be able to recover from something like that.

  "Follow their tracks, see where they end up. I'll figure out a plan from there once we see what we're working with." I braced myself against what I knew was coming next.

  "You want to head into bear territory?" Nate stood to his feet, looking furious. It was a dumb decision, I would admit, but going back to get more of the pack into this fight would waste more time than we could spare.

  "What other choice do we have?" I removed my hat and hung it on the nearest tree branch. It was going to be a lot easier to find what we were looking for on all-fours.

  Except none of us got that chance before there was the crashing and crushing of tree limbs close by. A grumbling huff in the air, and then a questioning pause.

  Five large heads poked out of the thick foliage, their teeth bared as the snow rained down all around us. Thick dark hair bristled, and the five bears reared up on their hind legs, dwarfing the Douglas spruces with their statures. Deep roars issued from their throats, and thick, heavy paws tipped with killing claws swung at us. We were barely able to get out of the way, but that left us with no room to shift and get in a proper attack.

  "Run!" Jacob was the first to disappear as he flung his shirt over his shoulder. Taylor and Nate soon followed, kicking off their shoes in the process. Despite my curves, I was fastest among them, and peeled off my turtleneck over my head, baring my dark skin to the summer's chill. The sunlight was barely warm, and the goosebumps rose instantly at Alaska's touch. I was soon passing Jacob at the head of the chase, my hair blowing in the wind, and zipper of my pants undone. My eyes scanned the surrounding area to find a better place to shift. I found one and pointed towards it: a wide circle of shoulder-high bushes, likely a refuge for deer during the day.

  "Change and we can get the jump on them."

  Jacob nodded in approval and shed the last of his clothing, the taut muscles of his legs pumping with each step to keep up with me. I got very few chances to admire him in such a light, and this would be another missed opportunity to do so. Maybe once this was all over...

  The bears weren't far behind, and their heavy footsteps shook the ground beneath us out feet. They huffed in their gallops, and I knew there wouldn't be much time to hide before they were on us again. I dove through the bushes and rolled on my shoulders to lessen the blow, already back up on my feet and keep an eye on our approaching enemies. This was going to be cutting it close, but we stood a much better chance changed than in our human form.

  2

  My pants were the hardest to remove as I squeezed them down around my large hips. I grunted with effort and finally managed to get the damn things past my knees and ankles before I kicked them off into the nowhere. There would be time to look for my clothes later; the other three were already prostrate on their hands and knees, their back muscles rippling and twisting from the change that was taking place. I dropped to all fours as well and grit my teeth against the inevitable.

  My chest ached as I struggled to catch my breath. The cold air against my exposed, dark skin wasn't making it any easier as I knelt there in the nude, my hands and knees spread apart so that I wouldn't be thrown off balance. I ignored it and redirected my focus inward so that I could keep us alive.

  Snarls and grunts filled the air around me, and I soon joined the other three in the shift. I shut my eyes against the pain, which would never go away no matter how many times I changed. It had grown more tolerable over the years, but it would always be there, like being stung by a million tiny bees all over my skin. The pain made its way deeper into a dull ache, like that of a fever, and dotted my skin in sweat. I felt weak down to my core but knew it was a passing feeling. The strength would come, in a wave of heat that would make the most weak-willed cower before me.

  Skin split and tore, moved in ripples in a way that would make a human person vomit. I almost did the first time I changed, a side effect of my internal organs morphing within my changing body. It was like being submerged into a scalding bath, one limb at a time until there was nothing but heat and internal screaming that made me deaf to everything else around me.

  My cheeks hollowed as my face grew longer, my nose shrinking, my nostrils changing shape and texture and becoming so much more complex that it left me breathless for almost a minute. I could smell the world now; smell every scent that was in the air and used to be here, like reading all the pages of a history book at once. I could smell Jacob, his musk overpowering and enticing at the same time. There was a tick of recognition—he could smell me too—and there was a hint of his animalistic yearning for this to all be over. So that he could take me alone and...

  Lips thinned and elongated, curled back to expose my rapidly growing canines. My gums ached with their change, and I ran my long tongue against the edges of my new teeth, felt the spittle dripping from my mouth. They were yearning to be sunk into raw flesh, to feel hot fluids bubbling around them in a kill that would spare my life. Us or them. I was determined to see the bears rendered to bloody pulps before me.

  I heard my drool hiss once it hit the snow, my ears now enlarged and shifted to the top of my head. Pricked and swiveling in every direction to take in the environment around me. I could feel them pin back against my neck: the bears were still
coming, and we didn't have much time left. A feral barking cough escaped me as my chest expanded, and my arms and legs became longer and more muscular, the joints angled to make it easier for me to run on all fours. My toes shortened, knuckled over, and short black claws dug into the snow as we continued to finish our transformations.

  My spine grew and grew, realigned itself, and split the top of my rear with a painful burst of flesh that left me shuddering. One way to describe it would be a cross between a bad case of the runs and giving birth. I'm sure the boys would describe it differently.

  The fur came in soon after, sprouting across my body in an itchy sensation that left me shaking from my nose all the way down to the tip of my tail. My tongue ran over the short white fur that covered my muzzle as well as the rest of me, interspersed with glittering flecks of light that caught the sun on the brightest of days. "Touched by the stars," my mother had called me when I was a child. I still didn't know what that meant or why I was blessed with such a coat, but I wasn't going to question it since it was the only thing that made the other females in my pack jealous. Not that I cared; I knew where I stood with them, after suffering years of teasing and belittlement about my weight. Being treated by the males as undesirable. But in this form, I could be proud of my appearance and it was a wonder I didn't stay in this shape more often, just to escape the looks they gave me in my human one.

  When I opened my eyes, everything was more muted in shades of off-green-grey, save for the blue sky above. The edges of everything became sharper and more in-focus, and I could see the smaller creatures we'd disturbed continue their sprint a good quarter mile away. They were the lucky ones, the smart ones avoiding the violent fight that was about to take place.

  I turned to examine the others, their canine forms shaking themselves loose from the last threads of discomfort. They looked at me with bared teeth and pricked ears, and Nate was licking his front paws to get rid of the ache that still lingered in his knuckles.