Shattered - Completed

4 - Chases and Dreams

The Dark Beast shifts back to feet. Nude, a sheen of slick sweat on tanned muscles, black hair a wild mess, golden eyes glowing from the hunt, he scowls at me. "You didn't shift, beloved."

A breathless sob is all the answer I can muster. I wait for the recriminations, the disdain, the mocking laughter. Instead, he steps forward and takes me into his arms. "Caught you, beloved," he whispers against my cheek. "Don't be afraid. You're trembling and bleeding, CeCe."

He maneuvers me as he picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. His thick erection presses against my panties. His heat burns right through the thin fabric. I freeze in his arms like a tiny rabbit. His fingers push my panties out of his way. His cock starts to enter me.

"Please, no, Alpha. Not here," I manage to gasp out, but it's lost in the groan of pleasure that is ripped from his chest. I bury my face in his neck. Eyes of the black-furred pack peer at us from all around. Watching. Judging. Spying.

He pauses in his relentless entry into my abused body. "My Luna," he replies quietly, "I only wanted to chase, to play. We are home, beloved." He has mercy on me, enough that he withdraws from me.

I start to weep piteously in his arms. The eyes watching grow disdainful, angry, filled with the recriminations that this male refuses to show me. I am a weak luna and they know it.

"Shh, shh, CeCe. My luna. You will make yourself ill," the Dark Beast scolds me.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" I can't tell him that I've been traumatized by pack runs in the past. They have only ever been a source of cruelly and loneliness for me. It is a minor miracle that I still had my virginity for this male to steal.

"Will she not honor you, Alpha?" comes a voice from the deep shadows under the trees. Another whisper, just loud enough for my ears to hear, "is she a rankwhore who won't spread her legs?" My stomach drops. I am a female who has climbed rank... worse... I have caused the Crown Prince to lose his. The Dark Beast has no choice but to devour me.

I sob, hearing the snarls from the trees. I can feel their disgust with me. I am already a hated luna. Tivo was right about me all along. I am only worth spreading my legs, nothing else.

My fear feeds the nightmare.

The moon rises, blood-red behind the trees. Familiar trees. I am back home. The pack is burning...

The Dark Beast lays me down in a pool of molten lava. The liquid rock is golden, clinging to my skin. The trees around us are lit in red and orange, the world aflame. My dress catches fire, tiny spurts of flame that burn the silk to ash but leave my skin untouched. I can hear the screams of wolves and the ferocious triumph of the black wolf attackers. I'm on my back, rather than my hands and knees. I wonder, wildly, insanely, if this position is mercy or cruelty. Lava spurts from the ground next to me, shining gold droplets fall to my skin. He glows. How can such a bright color still be so dark? His hand goes to my neck, squeezing, as his other hand strokes my cool flesh.

"I need you, little mate," he growls. "Submit to your alpha."

My whine of submission is choked from the pressure on my neck. My chest is tight. Too tight. I can't breathe.

"CeCe," the Dark Beast sounds angry with me for the first time since starting this game. "Open your eyes, beloved. Now, CeCe. Wake up."

The Knowing falls away, crumbling quickly into consciousness. My eyes spring open. The Alpha's golden gaze stares back at me. Flashing lights whirl past. Cool white, nothing like the red and gold flames of my Dream. Under my head, his thick, heavily-muscled thighs cushion my head from the car's shaking.