Fated Hearts Ch 02

Again, thank you for all your feedback! I really appreciate it. My thanks again to LaRascasse :) . His jokes and amazing editing skills keep me going.

-G

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

Macbeth. Act V, Scene V

Searing pain ripped through the wound in Eric's shoulder. He looked up at the glowing yellow eyes above him and whimpered in pain. He was just a young pup! The surprise of the injury was almost as great as the person who dealt the nearly fatal blow: his pack leader.You ruin me, young one...

the disembodied voice echoed in his head.

But I love you; this is why I'm doing this.

A shiver of dread spiraled through him as the eyes and sharp fangs grew closer.

Then he woke up.

He winced as the old scar throbbed. Eric took a couple deep breaths to still his racing heart and wiped the sweat off his face.

"Hmm, Eric honey..." Diane purred as she stretched out on the bed next to him. "Where are you going?" She curled one elegantly manicured hand around his wrist and pulled him back down.

"We have...unfinished business." She growled sliding her toned sleek legs between his.

He smiled. The werewolf was insatiable. Irresistible. And Eric knew what irresistible felt like. He was tall, dark, and handsome in all the ways that made mothers hide their unmated daughters when he came to call. A smile played across his lips as he palmed her lush breasts.

"We do, don't we?" he started deftly kneading the firm, small mounds. Looking at her body sprawled under him, Eric noticed that Diane was sin personified. He didn't mind at all when he came back from sparring and found her on his bed wearing nothing but a pair of five inch pumps and a smile.

"You're so interesting, you know that?" He asked, tweaking one of her small nipples.

"So I've been told. There's nothing more I can do. It's what I do best." She smiled, tracing his muscular arms with delicate

"Let me taste you." She demanded rolling over so that they lay pressed together, his erection lay between them. He groaned. She felt so good the first time he took her: rough and hard in a myriad of positions, but one. He had flipped her over when she presented herself to him on all fours.

That's right human...this...bitch isn't your mate. When will you begin the search? Will you start after this one? She definitely felt good the first time.

His wolf asked jokingly. Eric ignored the voice for now and grabbed her pale skin hard enough to leave bruises.

"No, let me." He laughed and rolled with her until he was on top.

"I like a man who can take control." She laughed.

The laugh turned into a moan as he licked from the hollow of her throat to the valley between her breasts.

"What do you want?" He said, his voice deepening to a growl.

"Suck on them." She commanded, pushing them together to the point where her nipples almost touched.

He obliged, pressing the nub hard between his teeth as she groaned again. A gasp of shock escaped her lips when he soothed it with a lick.

"Oh, so you like that?" He smiled and moved to the other nipple, giving it the same rough treatment.

Before she got the chance to reply he slapped one of her breasts hard.

"Aah!" She yelped, her yellow wolf eyes glittering in the dark.

"Again."

He slapped the other one and she shuddered violently. He wasn't finished though, and laid a series of wet, sucking kisses over her belly. Dipped his tongue into her belly button and moaned in appreciation of the jeweled bar that pierced it.

"You're a seductress." He murmured into her skin as he pressed his lips against her hip and licked over her vulva.

"Lower." She begged.

"In time." He smiled and directed his bruising grip to her knees.

His moan almost matched hers as he spread her legs wide to reveal the pink flesh of her cunt, slick with her arousal. It was enough to drive any sane man mad, he decided as he flicked his tongue over the reddened lips covering the part he really wanted. His dick throbbed under him against the mattress.

"You want me." She smiled, propping herself on her elbows to watch.

He blew cool air on her clit before shoving two fingers from one hand into her waiting pussy.

"Eric!" She groaned. They both heard the rip of the sheet as her fingernails elongated into claws and pierced the cloth. Eric smiled in satisfaction.

She wasn't the tightest he'd had, but her walls sucked at his fingers as her breath grew ragged. Eric was good at what he did and it didn't take much of his roughness with Diane for her to grab his hair and pull him up to press a hard kiss to his mouth.

"I wasn't finished, Diane." He said as he moved away from her.

"Get on top." He commanded when she started to slide her legs open for him.

A tremor of excitement flashed between them as she straddles his thighs. There would be no mercy for him.

"Well?" He asked, a smirk on his face as he took in the sight of her lithe form over him.

"Hold onto the bedpost." She commanded roughly, sliding herself onto his waiting prick.

He fumbled for the wooden column as she enveloped him and began to ride him hard, the sound of flesh slapping together as primal as their grunts and moans.

Diane tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and he appreciated the sight of her bouncing on top of him until his wolf interrupted again.

Why do you play with this...this thing? She is NOT your mate. Look at the way her skin slides over her ribs. Those are old bruises. Did you notice them? And she's so pale. If I didn't see her wolf, I would that she's a vampire.

His wolf pointed out in disgust. Eric felt himself grow limp as he started to look at Diane in the ways that his wolf pointed out. The animal was right, she seemed lithe and elegant, but her skin was marred by bruises in some places. She wasn't emaciated, but there wasn't much covering her.

Diane noticed Eric's frown and sighed to herself. He couldn't stop now. Not when she was so close!

"Eric..." She drawled, not missing the grimace on his face when she tried to lick her lips seductively.

"Get off." He sighed. "Go back to wherever you came from." He pushed her onto the bed and bent down to pick up her shoes.

There was no way now that he could continue. Not after his wolf rejected Diane. The animal made sense though. He was becoming a little sloppy lately, not really minding who shared his bed as long as it was a willing woman who was relatively young. Eric's sexual partners as of late had all been chosen with the hope that one of them may be his mate. Diane had just shown up in his bed, but he jumped her with the same kind of expectation as he had with the others. The first one had been too...blonde. The second was too tall. The third sported one too many tattoos. Diane wasn't innocent enough. There was always something minor wrong with one of them...things that had never bothered him before now. But then, he was inclined to be picky, his mate had to be perfect.

"But, Alpha I..." she started, interrupting his little mental pity party.

"Save it." He threw the pumps at her, disgusted with himself once more that he touched her.

"You missed out!" She spat at him.

"Leave."

Diane's eyes darkened as she took the shoes and stormed out of his bedroom muttering curses under her breath.

Your mate is near, human.

The wolf soothed him and retreated to leave him to his thoughts. Eric frowned. He wasn't getting any younger, but he was still young for a wolf. Twenty four and he'd managed to overthrow the leader of his old pack. The mistreatment of the women and children in the pack he'd taken control of sickened him: the alpha was a greedy man and had mated with almost every female mated or not. The smile returned when he remembered the way it felt to finally kill that sick fucker.

A glance at his clock showed that it was still early in the morning. As he stood up from the bed he frowned.

Might as well replace the whole mattress...

he mused and sent the note mentally to his housekeeper. He wanted no trace of that scum Diane in his bed. "What am I doing?" He asked himself as he exited the room and walked out the front door.

I need a walk.

He said to himself as he stepped outside. The sky was clear and the moon hung half full above him.

Somewhere, my mate could be looking at the same moon.

He smiled, wondering what she was like. His most trusted beta, Stephan, had attributed the number of disgruntled female members of the pack to the theory that Eric's mate must be close by.

"All I'm saying Er, is she better be something... My count is going to be too low for me to even consider mating." He'd joked.

"You wish, Stephan. They don't come to you when they leave me." Eric recalled replying.

None of those women were good enough. Maybe he was just feeling the weight of his responsibilities. Going rogue and taking care of his own pack wasn't so glamorous after he killed the old pack leader. It took him four years to establish the necessary control, yet the struggle felt right.

Now, as Eric's mind was filled with all the pack business he handled daily, he wondered if he would even have

time

to look for a mate. Or would she come to him? He stood at the edge of the forest and crossed his arms over his chest. Wherever she was, he's find her.

~*~

The morning found Eric in an uncomfortable charcoal suit and in the limousine with Stephan.

"Explain to me why we're doing this again? Couldn't you have gone in my place? The roof over Darcy's house is broken again and I promised..."

"That's what an omega is for Eric, relax. And this was your idea. You know Sorenan's pack is the closest in power to yours." Stephan interrupted.

"Yes, and I do want to find a way to form some sort of alliance, or maybe merge packs. We both have wealth and power enough to form the biggest alliance in North America since...the old days." Eric added, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

"If all else fails, we're taking control of his pack by force. I'm strong enough." He continued.

"Woah there Eric, my man...We're talking about Sorenan the Terrible. He's older than both of us combined and that Witch he chose to be his mate is crazy too. Do you remember...?"

"Yes, Stephan. We all remember what happened...how he came to be the leader. He's more ruthless than I am. I would never kill my father just to be powerful." Eric felt the revulsion bubble from the tips of his shiny shoes.

"We're here. Let's just hope this man isn't out for blood today." Stephan grumbled as the driver opened his door.

Eric knew as soon as he shook hands with Sorenan Bretzling that the man was insane. It showed in the way he stood: too still, too controlled. His eyes were blue like his mother's eyes, but they were icy and hard enough to cause actually suck the heat out of the meeting room. They agreed on the location beforehand and the view of the bustling city from the large windows in the room only served as a reminder of how far from pack territory they were.

"Nice to meet you finally, Alpha Sorenan." Eric started as soon as they sat.

"As you know, I've requested your company to talk about forming an alliance with your pack. I believe that it would be most beneficial to the Were and Shifter community as well as the other Supernatural beings within our territories." He motioned for Stephan to change the slide.

"The locations of our territories would be aligned to create a center of power so great we could establish a peace among species almost as great as between the tribes of long ago, before the Humans came here. It is my hope that you can see reason. You would keep control of your territory, but we could share our land." Eric reasoned.

Sorenan laughed. "You...pup." He insulted.

"You think that I would actually allow this...merge as you say? I see nothing in it for me." He said, his harsh features twisted into a disgusted frown.

"Well, my other idea was to ask for the opportunity to search for a mate among your pack—" Eric was cut off by Sorenan's mocking laugh.

"Over my dead body." Sorenan mocked again, shaking his head.

"Challenge accepted."

"Eric wait."

"Oho! The pup talks. Midnight, tonight, my grounds. To the death." Sorenan ordered, sick anticipation of killing again causing his mouth to split into a grin.

~*~

"You are NOT going. You will not, and I repeat, you will NOT go to the fight!" Jolena growled, her eyes glowing gold.

"But mama!!!" Thessa begged.

"You are too young. You AND Nyoko will stay here until your father and I return for you. This rubbish with Sorenan has gone on far too long." She said through bared teeth.

"It is almost as if he believes that witch of a wife of his can make him immortal. Cheap tricks are what they are." She growled again, shaking her head. Thessa knew what was about to happen.

"He passed up a perfectly good deal with that other Alpha...rogue or not. You and your sister need not deal with this. Stay here, and don't go anywhere."She turned and exited the room, shifting almost mid-stride.

A moment later, Nyoko poked her brown head through the door from the room across the hall, mischief lighting her eyes. "Well, that was interesting...It seems like mother dearest is going to stir up some trouble, we should do some trouble making too...you know that whole 'like mother like daughter' thing?" She rambled and leaned against the door of Thessa's room.

Thessa ignored her, lost in her thoughts.

"You know, you ARE eighteen...you don't

have

to do what she says."

When Thessa didn't answer again, she continued. "I mean just for a few moments just to see who wins, right?" She asked hopefully.

"I was going to go anyway."Thessa smiled up at her sister, brown eyes lit with rebelliousness as she pulled her wildly curly into a ponytail.

"Oh, thanks sis, I knew I wouldn't have to drag you." Nyoko smiled turning for her own room.

"Oh goodie, wait for me would you?" Nyoko called, fumbling with her socks.

"You're not coming." Thessa mumbled as she slipped outside before Nyoko got a chance to follow her. If anyone got caught tonight, she would rather be the only one punished.

Okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea,

Thessa told herself.

She felt very guilty about sneaking around in the woods and hiding in bushes to get a closer look at the fight about to take place at the ceremonial meeting place.

Several of her childhood friends sat on the ground nearby. They were all shifted into their wolf forms. Thessa was jealous.

Wait, she felt

jealous

? Of what?

Of them, over there, those girls.

Her wolf teased.

"As if." Thessa muttered aloud.

Who wouldn't get all dolled up? The Alpha is supposed to be single, right? Single Alpha means girls want to be attractive.

It doesn't even matter; none of them are his mate.Thessa felt her wolf shift closer to the surface at that point, woman and animal were one.

The two men circled each other in their human forms...naked.

Her heart raced and her chest felt tight when she glimpsed the rogue male. His hair was brown one minute, but when the light from the moon touched the silken strands, it looked dark blond. He was tall, his toned muscles moved under his skin. Her gaze drifted lower and she blushed when she glimpsed his soft member. Her wolf howled inside of her in appreciation. She wanted to howl too, but what was left of the human part of her mind reminded her that it wasn't the time or place for that. He was handsome she decided, in the sense that he had an air of superiority about him.

As she looked back at Sorenan, she noticed that he too had an air about him... He had a crazed look in his eyes, as if the sight of blood and the taste of flesh was more exciting that the possibility of death.

A few years after she was born, Sorenan became her pack's alpha. He fought his own father and in a manner reminiscent of the pack hunting prey, he not only razed his father's body, but also devoured the flesh that was left over. She shuddered to remember the tales of the manic gleam in his eye as he howled, his own kin's blood dripping off his jaws. It was a mystery why her parents supported him after that.

She was jerked back to the present as a scream erupted. The stranger had shifted into his wolf form and held Sorenan's leg in his jaws, head ready to snap the limb in half. A sickening feeling settled in her stomach when the bone obviously broke, and Sorenan kept fighting. His moves were sloppy. The claws of his paw almost sunk into his opponent's stomach, but the other wolf swiftly dodged the almost fatal blow.

Thessa found herself breathing an unexpected sigh of relief a bit too loudly and the person sitting in front of her turned to look behind them. Thessa ducked behind the trunk of a nearby tree, willing her scent to disappear as whoever was in front of her got up to use the bathroom. She watched from her hiding spot as the male relieved himself a few trees over then walked back to his spot. She couldn't help but whimper softly when she heard a pained howl. That was Sorenan's wolf. She would know...her wolf would know if it was the rogue who cried out. It was over. Thessa turned around to another open spot for a look at Sorenan's end. Her heart raced as the rogue bent over Sorenan's throat and bit, crushing the other Alpha's windpipe. She wanted to turn and run, but was paralyzed by the silence pierced by the haunting howl of the rogue.... the new Alpha.