blood moon claim

alpha touch

# Chapter Two: Alpha's Touch

*Everything.*

The word hung between them like a challenge, and Lila felt something inside her chest purr in response. Not her—something else. Something wild and wanting that had been sleeping until this moment.

"I don't understand," she whispered, but her body was already responding to the promise in his voice. Her skin felt hypersensitive everywhere he touched her, and the fever that had been torturing her was slowly beginning to ebb just from being in his arms.

Cade's grip on her tightened, and she could feel the fine tremor running through his muscles. Whatever control he was maintaining, it was costing him.

"Your body is preparing for your first shift," he explained, his voice rough with strain. "But you're not just any werewolf, Lila. You're a Lunar Omega—the most powerful female our kind can produce. Your awakening is designed to call to every alpha within fifty miles."

As if to prove his point, another howl echoed through the forest, answered by two more from different directions. Lila felt her body respond to each call, heat pooling low in her belly, but none of them affected her the way Cade's presence did.

"Then why aren't they here?" she asked, her voice barely steady.

A smile ghosted across his lips, but there was nothing pleasant about it. "Because they know better than to challenge me for what's mine."

*What's mine.*

The possessive growl in his voice should have made her angry. Should have made her demand he put her down and get out of her house. Instead, it sent another wave of liquid heat through her core.

"I'm not yours," she said, but the words came out breathless and unconvincing.

His eyes darkened. "Aren't you?"

Before she could answer, he lifted her easily and carried her to the bed. Instead of setting her down, he sat on the edge with her cradled across his lap, one large hand splayed across her bare back. The contact was electric—every nerve ending where he touched her singing with relief.

"This is what's called a claiming heat," he continued, his voice steady despite the tension she could feel coiled in his body. "It happens when a Lunar Omega finds her true mate. The fever will keep building until you accept the bond, or until it kills you."

"And if I accept it?" she asked, though part of her already knew the answer.

"Then you're mine, and I'm yours, for the rest of our lives."

The words should have terrified her. Twenty-four hours ago, she'd been a single veterinarian who'd never had a relationship last longer than six months. Now this dangerous stranger was talking about forever, and every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to say yes.

"I don't even know you," she protested weakly.

"Your wolf does." His hand moved in slow circles across her back, and she had to bite back a moan at how good it felt. "She's been waiting for me her whole life."

As if summoned by his words, that wild presence inside her stretched and preened. *Yes,* it seemed to whisper. *Finally.*

"I don't have a wolf," Lila said, but even as the words left her mouth, she knew they were a lie.

Cade's other hand came up to cup her face, his thumb tracing across her lower lip. "Look at me, little omega."

She met his eyes, and something shifted. The world suddenly felt more vivid—she could smell everything, hear everything, feel the pulse of life in every living thing around them. Including the steady, strong beat of Cade's heart against her chest.

"Your wolf is right there," he murmured. "I can see her looking at me through your eyes. She wants me to take care of you."

"And what do you want?" she asked, surprised by the boldness in her voice.

His grip on her tightened, and when he spoke, his voice was barely human. "I want to strip away every barrier between us. I want to taste every inch of your skin until you scream my name. I want to claim you so thoroughly that every wolf in three states knows you belong to me."

Heat flooded through her at his words, so intense she gasped. The fever that had been manageable while he held her suddenly spiked, and she found herself pressing closer to his chest, seeking relief from the burning need building inside her.

"Cade," she whispered, and his name felt right on her lips.

"I know, sweetheart." His hand slid down from her face to her throat, his thumb finding her pulse point. "I can smell how much you need this. How much your body is begging for mine."

She should be embarrassed that he could scent her arousal, but shame seemed to be another casualty of whatever was happening to her. Instead, she felt a surge of primitive satisfaction that he knew how much she wanted him.

"But we're going to do this right," he continued, and she felt like whimpering at the restraint in his voice. "You're not some pack bunny looking for a quick f**k. You're my mate, and when I claim you, it's going to mean something."

"What if I want the quick f**k?" she asked, surprised by her own boldness.

A rumble started deep in his chest—half laugh, half growl. "Trust me, little omega, nothing about what I plan to do to you is going to be quick."

Before she could respond, another wave of heat crashed over her, stronger than any before. This time, she couldn't hold back the cry that tore from her throat as her body arched against him.

"f**k," Cade breathed, and she felt his control slip for just a moment. His hands tightened on her, pulling her flush against his chest, and she could feel the hard evidence of his arousal pressing against her hip.

"Please," she gasped, not even sure what she was begging for. Relief from the fever? More of his touch? Both?

"I've got you," he promised, and suddenly his hands were everywhere—stroking her back, her arms, her throat. Not s****l touches, but soothing ones designed to ease the fire in her blood. "Just breathe, sweetheart. Let me take care of you."

The relief was immediate and overwhelming. Wherever his skin touched hers, the fever cooled, the desperate need became manageable. She melted against him, her body finally relaxing for the first time in days.

"Better?" he asked, his voice gentler now.

She nodded against his chest, breathing in his scent. "How is that possible?"

"Alpha magic," he said simply. "My touch can ease your heat, but only temporarily. The only permanent solution is completing the bond."

"Which means?"

His hand stilled on her back. "Mating. s*x. Me claiming you in the most primal way possible."

Heat flared through her again at his blunt words, but this time it was manageable, contained. "And then what? We live happily ever after?"

"Then you become Luna of the Blackwood Pack," he said, and there was something carefully neutral in his voice. "You'd have responsibilities. Duties to the pack. It's not an easy life, Lila."

She pulled back to look at him, noting the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes had gone shuttered. "You don't want a mate."

It wasn't a question, and he didn't try to deny it. "I had a mate once. She died because of what I am, because of the enemies that come with being an alpha. I swore I'd never put another woman in that position."

"But here you are."

"Here I am," he agreed grimly. "Because if I don't help you through this, you'll die, and that's not acceptable either."

The raw pain in his voice made her chest ache. Without thinking, she reached up to trace the scar on his face. "What happened to her?"

His jaw clenched under her touch. "Rival pack. They took her to get to me. By the time I found her..." He didn't finish, but he didn't need to.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It was a long time ago." But the way he said it told her it still felt like yesterday.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Lila found herself studying this complicated man who'd burst into her life. Even in the dim light of her bedroom, she could see the alpha stamped into every line of his body—the way he held himself, the controlled power in his movements, the unconscious dominance that made her want to either submit or challenge him.

Maybe both.

"So what happens now?" she asked. "Do I have a choice in this?"

"You always have a choice," he said firmly. "I won't force you into anything, Lila. But you need to understand what your options are."

"Tell me."

"Option one: you let me help you through the heat cycles until you can control them yourself. It would mean intimate contact, but not necessarily s*x. Not until you're ready."

"And option two?"

"You try to fight this on your own and probably die from the fever." His arms tightened around her. "That's not happening."

"Those are terrible options."

"Yeah, well, fate's a b***h sometimes."

Despite everything, she found herself smiling at his dry tone. "You're not what I expected from an alpha werewolf."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know. More growling? More beating your chest and demanding submission?"

"Give me time," he said, and there was a hint of humor in his voice. "We haven't gotten to the fun stuff yet."

Another wave of heat started building, milder than before but still insistent. She shifted in his lap, trying to find relief, and felt him go rigid beneath her.

"Careful, sweetheart," he warned, his voice strained. "I'm trying to be a gentleman here, but you're testing my limits."

"What if I don't want you to be a gentleman?"

The question hung between them, loaded with possibility. Cade's eyes darkened, and she could practically feel his control fraying.

"Lila," he said, her name a warning and a prayer.

"I'm scared," she admitted. "Of what's happening to me, of what I'm becoming. But when you touch me, it all makes sense. Like this is what I've been waiting for my whole life."

"It is," he said simply. "The mating bond isn't just physical. It's spiritual, emotional. Your soul recognizes mine."

"Then why are we fighting it?"

For a moment, she thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Because once this starts, there's no going back. You'll be mine, and I'll be yours, and nothing in heaven or hell will be able to change that. I need to know you understand what you're agreeing to."

The intensity in his voice, the barely leashed need she could see in his expression, made her decision for her. She'd spent twenty-five years playing it safe, being the good girl who never took risks. Maybe it was time to embrace the wildness that was clawing its way to the surface.

"I understand," she said, and reached up to trace his lips with her fingertip. "I choose you."

Something primal flashed in his eyes, and suddenly she found herself flat on her back with two hundred pounds of alpha male looming over her. His hands were braced on either side of her head, his body caging her in, and instead of feeling trapped, she felt claimed.

"Say it again," he demanded, his voice rough with need.

"I choose you, Cade Blackwood," she repeated, and watched his control finally snap.

When he kissed her, it was with the hunger of a man who'd been starving. His mouth was demanding, dominant, taking everything she offered and demanding more. She opened for him instantly, her body arching up to meet his, and the taste of him on her tongue was like coming home.

"Mine," he growled against her lips, and the possessive claim sent fire racing through her veins.

"Yours," she agreed breathlessly, and felt the last of her human reservations melt away.

The Lila who'd awakened this morning was gone. In her place was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted, and what she wanted was the dangerous alpha currently kissing her like the world was ending.

What she wanted was everything.