In The Beginning, Chapter 140

One week later...

There hadn’t been another scout since the Battle, Theia had used her powers to burn the meadow down, sanitising the land before she had regrown everything, she had been updating me on her progress daily, but I still couldn’t go back there, not yet. Neither Daniel, nor I had gone a night without waking up in a cold sweat, terrified from the horrific images our traumatised brains created. Waking the other with our cries and sometimes frantic need to escape, until we were calmed, and able to settle again, just to repeat the process. Lander left his men with us the day after the battle, and went back to Leif and Mia, his Beta replaced him the next day, and had been staying with Ben. Kasa left the men in his Beta's charge after five days, and without another threat, we would have to decide whether to bring the pack back, or remain on alert. We had two days before the local authorities became suspicious, and the roads would be reopened. When Daniel got the word, they were going to attack, he had the omegas fell a few trees along the roads, forcing drivers to take an earlier exit, around five miles northeast of the pack at one end, and six or seven miles southwest of the pack house at the other. Together with the road blocks, no one had been close enough to see anything in the dark on the night of the battle. Daniel was almost permanently in his office, either co-ordinating with the department heads at Appletree so people could work from home. The office was still a crime scene while they sent a third forensic team in to gather evidence, as what the first two found made no sense, probably because the crime lab was human. Or, he was heading up the search for the Talaria, and Apollo, unwilling to live with a proverbial sword hanging over us. The day after the battle I spoke with the families of everyone we lost, mates, fathers, mothers, siblings, and in one call that featured heavily in my nightmares, a son. When his mother collapsed, her suspicion being confirmed by me that her mate was dead, he had picked up the phone, and asked me about arrangements for his father’s body, he was fourteen. We had to bury the parts we could find in the snow. Theia and I spent hours magically reassembling the bodies in the forest, in an effort to save their loved ones’ extra pain. We couldn’t take them to the morgue, how would we explain eleven men dying in an army training exercise, as the humans all believed. Daniel, it turns out, had more than just Appletree and pack businesses, but during world war two, when the Alphas had met to discuss how they could send their men, the Alphas created a military contractor, showcasing their Zetas as elite trainers, and their Etas as a unique fighting force. They went to the army with an offer, they would all volunteer, do their parts, but at least one of their CO’S had to be from the company, and they would remain in their squads. The Zetas still run training courses with various law enforcement agencies, teaching them how to track, and advanced hand to hand combat, Daniel humble bragged, making me tease him mercilessly, until we began to feel like us again. Another fun thing we were doing as a couple was panic attacks. Daniel had kissed me and he put his arm around me like Zeus had, and I freaked out. On day four of us both randomly feeling like we were suffocating, or being hyper-vigilant in Daniel’s case, I called Ethan. No shock he diagnosed us both with PTSD, and advised me Daniel was blaming himself for Apollo almost getting me. Kasa graciously went to stay at Ben’s that night, leaving us alone to slowly figure out what we could do, where and how we could touch each other. Although we had a couple of false starts, a few do-overs, and many an almost anxiety attack, we eventually got past the awkwardness, and the fear, and made love. It was the most tender, the most loving experience of my life. The way he had kissed me, let me guide his hands to where it was safe, then did the same for me, where he had once growled with appreciation whenever my nails scratched his back, now it caused him to hyperventilate, the pleasure it once gave him, only accessible if I did it to his scalp. At one point he made it a game, one or two, he called it, kissing a match of skin softly, naming it one, then another, naming it two. I had jumped away, my skin crawling when he tried to kiss the shell of my ear, the memory of Apollo hissing in it overwhelming me, until I cried angry frustrated tears. He held me against him, the fingers of one hand in my hair, the other drew patterns on my arm until the tears stopped. Later that night, despite all our talking, and me assuring him it wasn’t his fault, he woke up screaming my name, frantically looking for me. He cried when he woke up and realised, I was safe in bed with him, he kept me pinned to his chest as he apologised over and over, and swore no one would ever take me again. It broke my heart, I cried with him, kissed him and reassured him until we fell back asleep.

By the Sunday evening, we still had no vampire sightings anywhere near the pack, Daniel had no choice but to open the roads, and reinstate training for the warriors before they killed each other. He had allowed them to take runs, and light training, but having nothing else to do they were going stir crazy.
“We need to bring the pack back, I can set up a barrier, or you can ask Hyacinth, but we can’t just wait for another attack forever! The Spring Solstice is in four weeks!” I argued, Daniel had been locked in his office all day, again, and I was frustrated with his unwillingness to budge his stance on bringing the pack back.
“How will you feel when some of them die? You think I haven’t heard you? You’ve been calling those families for days, crying with them, and you want to bring a bunch of untrained wolves back here to be slaughtered when we are attacked again!?” He cried, horrified.
“You can’t leave the pack, homeless, and relying on the charity of our neighbours for me. I am always going to cry with the families, whether their deaths were my fault or not.” I stubbornly dug my heels in.
“It’s not just about you, I don’t want anymore deaths on my conscience.” He admitted, deflating me and my anger slightly. I moved around his desk, and pushed his chair away from it so I could sit on his lap, and wrap my arms around his neck.
“You aren’t responsible for any deaths you didn’t take personally, and all of those were vampires, or bitten, and were never meant to exist to begin with.” I insisted, the same way he liked to do to me, making him smile, if only for a second, before his worried frown was back.
“Why are you so sure?” He asked, brushing my hair behind my ear while examining me, it was something he had only recently started. He would look at me like he was fascinated by something, or sometimes like he was waiting for an anxiety attack.
“I’m not, but we can’t stop living, I think we should go to the packs, and let people decide for themselves, and find something more suitable for those that don’t want to come back.” I admitted, shrugging, he took a deep breath in, sighing as he exhaled.
“You’re right, we need to let them decide.” He nodded. “How you doing today?” He asked me, his eyes darting over me quickly.
“Okay-ish...” I tried to suppress a giggle. “No panic attacks yet.” I added for clarity.
“Good, but you’ll link me if you do?” He double checked, concerned.
“Of course, how about you?” I asked, stroking his fuzzy cheek until he was almost purring.
“Better now you’re here.” He sighed softly, his arms tightening slightly, as his nose moved along my shoulder, avoiding my ears deliberately. I cupped his face, pulling it gently to mine.
“Stop locking yourself up in here all alone if it’s better for you when you’re around me.” I insisted, before kissing him deeply, he responded instantly. One hand moved up my spine while the other grabbed a fistful of my hair.
“Fuck, Charlie...” He groaned as my lips moved down his neck, my fingers were teasing his scalp as I traced the outline of his mark with the tip of my tongue. But he didn’t lose control until I was sucking on it, my lips flush to his skin. He picked me up and sat me on the desk, but I refused to let go, my hands unbuttoned his pants as he pushed my legs apart to get our bodies closer. “Charlie?” He almost hissed as I freed his massive erection, my hand immediately began pumping it. “Fuck, baby!” He half whispered; half begged me. I released his mark from my mouth when he gripped my clothes, I knew his impulse was to shred them. The moment he was free he frantically removed all of my clothes, he made a strange almost groaning chuckle as his fingers slid between my folds, before plunging into me, filling me. I couldn’t stop the moan of longing, of need escaping my lips, which spurred him on. He grabbed both of my ass cheeks, pulling me to the edge of the desk, filling me in one smooth movement that had me cry out in pleasure and surprise. His hands and lips seemed to be everywhere, as we found our rhythm, our gasps and pants became all I could hear as my orgasm quickly built. “Come for me.” He ordered between hungry bites and kisses to my flesh, my legs were already trembling, but his demand pushed me to my limit. I screamed his name over and over as he drew it out, sucking on my mark and massaging my clit until I couldn’t form words. Between the pent up frustration from lack of intimacy, and then the hesitant and careful way we had been handling each other, a spontaneous and passionate quickie was what we both needed. Freed from our fears by a rush of lust, and a hectic need to satiate ourselves. Daniel stopped treating me like I would snap and finally expressed the hunger he had been suppressing, and I was able to get out of my head long enough to really enjoy it. He laid me back on the desk as the last sparks of my orgasm faded, bent over me his hips didn’t relent.
“Alpha?” I called, wanting both of them, or all of him, it was difficult not to think of it both ways, and I still hadn’t decided which was more accurate. His eyes flashed amber instantly.
“Mine.” He stated quietly, but possessively as he ran his nose along my shoulder to the mark he gave me.
“Yours, always.” I whispered back. He flashed me a sly grin and straightened. He caressed the length of my leg, lifting it until it was flush with his body, my ankle on his shoulder, before doing the same to the other. He left kisses on my calves as his hips pounded against mine, the new angle had the pleasure inside me build again. “Alpha!” I moaned as I felt his fangs graze my skin, I nearly pulled myself off of the desk when he withdrew his cock, and inserted his finger into me, his grip on my legs was the only reason I couldn’t escape the intensity of the sparks he sent through my body. His finger, dripping in my release, slid down to my ass and began teasing it as he filled me once more with his rock-hard cock. I was writhing and screaming, unable to form words as each thrust threatened to shatter my bones, my muscles spasmed wildly as he overstimulated me to the point of insanity. Until, when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, I peaked, and then fell, only it was more like how I imagined levitating would feel. I could feel gravity pulling me down, but my body refused to surrender to it, so he was the only thing tethering me to the world. He made the rumbling chest growl as my pussy pulsed around him, but his tempo remained steady. Every inch of my body felt relaxed, except for the part that was almost painfully hypersensitive, and he was still stimulating. I almost cried in relief when he pulled out of me, only for my hopes to be dashed when he turned me onto my stomach and took me from behind. I managed to regain movement in my arms as I forced myself to grab the edge of the desk to drag myself away, but his body pressed down on my spine, his enormous form was too heavy for me to budge. I was seriously considering saying “red” when his fingers slipped over mine, his elbows supporting his weight on the desk, one of his silent little signals that he was close, if I could take it. I angled my head, giving him better access, while his hips never faltered, his pants and groans did at the sight of my exposed neck. After a short hesitation his fangs pierced the skin, he let out a loud growl only muffled by my flesh as his final staccato thrusts ceased.