It was a few days before Jackson returned to the house.
Lucy did what she could to distract herself. She tended to Melanie and Jeremy and their new additions. Melanie had delivered two boys and a girl. The family was staying with Melanie's mother, Dr. Gibson, in Pine Creek while adjusting to their new life.
Lucy spent much of her days at Dr. Gibson's house trading helper shifts with her friend Briana. She was holding babies, changing babies, shushing babies. Three pups was proving to be quite a handful. She was almost too exhausted to focus on the pain she felt from being away from her mate.
Luckily the pack's organizational structure allowed her to delegate most tasks that came up. She consulted the top Beta, Hank, and other advisors as needed and was able to easily and confidently make any decisions that arose.
She ate dinner every night with whatever members of the pack happened to be present at the house. One the first night, it was the usual couple dozen wolves. By the second, word had spread at the chance for face time with the Madam Alpha and the numbers grew. By the third night, they moved the dinner outside to accommodate the crowd.
Lucy was truly feeling like a valued member of the group. No, not member—
Alpha.
They listened when she spoke. They trusted and valued her opinion, but they felt safe enough to voice when they disagreed. They were her family.
They were her pack.
But each night when she slipped into the bed she was supposed to share with her mate, she cried. Her wolf whined and howled, full of sorrow.
But in front of the pack, Lucy had to be strong. They needed her.
When she wasn't helping Melanie and Jeremy, or delegating tasks, she was with Adam, helping with security projects at the office. She was at DeLane Industries listening to Adam's ideas for new motion sensor layouts for one of the pack's businesses in the city when she finally felt something through the mate bond.
Jackson was near!
She raced out of the building as quickly as she could, leaving Adam alone mid-sentence.
Jackson! Mate!
She called to him as she burst through the front doors.
She came out just as Jackson exited a dirty, beat-up-looking Jeep Wrangler. Three shirtless men who looked possibly more mud-covered than the Jeep itself joined him. The three jumped down from the vehicle in unison, laughing and elbowing one another.
Lucy ran over and leapt into her mate's arms, wrapping her legs around his torso. Jackson's strong arms closed around her, rough hands firmly grasping her ass. Their mouths met for a scorching kiss. The embrace was full of desperation. Full of passion. Lucy felt like she'd been lost in the desert and had finally found her oasis.
Lucy ran her hands all over her mate's strong, muscled body. Jackson was wearing a t-shirt, which she ripped to shreds in short order. She felt electrified. And full of need.
The three bystanders gawked at the heated display. It was clear that the Alpha wolves were close to the surface. No one dared provoke the situation and force them to shift.
Jackson broke the kiss. He kept his hot amber eyes fixed on Lucy. His hands gripped harder into her backside. He spoke, "Pete, I want to thank you again for your hospitality and for returning me to my mate. Please feel free to go for a run in our forest. I'm alerting the others of your presence now so you won't have any trouble. We'll see you all at the house for dinner."
"Sounds good to us! Come on, boys!" One of the men responded. A few seconds later, the Jeep tore off into the distance.
Before the old vehicle even made it out of the parking lot, Lucy and Jackson were already inside, halfway to the elevator.
"Mate! My love! Oh fuck, I've missed you so much,"
He said through their mate bond.
Lucy only had one thing on her mind.
Jackson! Ungh. Please just fuck me.
She whined, desperate to feel his skin on hers.
"Baby, if we didn't have humans here, we'd be going at it in the parking lot right now.
He covered her mouth with his as the elevator rose higher. He was unbuttoning her pants as the door opened to their destination- his office.
Jackson flung open the large wooden door with enough force to put a sizeable dent in the wall. Neither of them batted an eye from the damage. He kicked the door closed behind them and the glass from the side panes of the door shattered, falling loudly on the floor.
Lucy giggled, "Someone's a little forceful."
Jackson responded by biting her mark. Even with his relatively dull human teeth, the move had Lucy floating on air.
That's right, show me I'm yours!
Jackson shoved her towards his large mahogany desk. She bent over, raising her backside in the air suggestively. He allowed his claws to come through in a partial shift and tore every scrap of clothing from Lucy's body.
He raked his claws up her legs, beginning at her ankles. He snaked up her calves, around to the front of her thighs, and finally back to the curve of her ass. Red scratches remained on her skin. With werewolf healing abilities, the red lines would likely disappear within the hour, but Lucy and Jackson reveled in the sight while it lasted.
He opened a rough palm and dropped a loud SMACK! on a cheek of her ass.
"Ah, little one, see how the flesh shakes with the force of the blow?"
Another slap came down hard on the other cheek.
"I wonder how the flesh will move when my cock is pounding into you?"
He purred wickedly through their mate bond.
Another slap and Lucy's ass was warming.
Jackson! Jackson fuck me!
A few more hits of his palm rained down on her rear-end. Lucy loved the feeling, but she craved something more. She needed to feel the fullness inside of her. She couldn't take this teasing any longer.
Jackson. FUCK ME.
The force of her voice through their mate bond shocked her.
It wasn't just a shout—Lucy had made an Alpha command.
Her eyes widened. She hadn't practiced the use of her command voice at all, because... Well, frankly, she hadn't really needed it. She had been able to get her point across to the members of the pack without brute force. Before that moment, Lucy honestly wasn't sure that she'd even be able to produce an Alpha command.
Jackson's strong arm reached up and gripped her hair at the base of her head. He pulled firmly, confident that as a Madam Alpha, she could take the rough treatment. He leaned down very close to her ear, pulling her head back. He whispered, so softly it was almost imperceptible, "I'm very proud of you for that. We'll talk about it later."
Lucy blushed and broke into a grin, hearing his praise for her discovery of a new talent.
Her merriment was short-lived. He pulled her hair tighter still and brought blow after blow down onto her reddening ass. He kicked her feet apart wider.
His voice boomed through their bond,
"YOU THINK YOU CAN COMMAND ME, MATE?"
He let out a devilish, cold laugh.
"Think again, little one."
He reached between her legs and flicked her clit directly with his finger. Lucy squealed aloud.
"Does this bitch think she can control the situation?!"
