Master Alpha

Rhea stood in the shower as the scalding water attempted to burn her wall of emotions away. She rolled her shoulders and rested her forehead on the wall opposite of the shower, the lava water cascading through the built-up tension in her back. She needed to sleep, but she could not do so until after she washed her own blood off her skin. The sight of the blood that stained her skin had elicited a few tears. Her dam of emotions was threatening to burst open and consume her, but she continued to fight against it. I don’t want to feel, she thought as she breathed shakily. Agony, fear, disappointment, resentment. She always took pride in never failing at her duties. She had been winning fights since she could walk, she had spent her life proving her worth. And I can’t save a child, she thought. I need help, Sam’s help, and that will cause more issues. Lincoln had not spoken to her after following her home, and it scared her. She felt like a failure as a mate as well. She was asking her mate to have someone who had feelings for her live in their house while she tried to fix her medical failure.

Lincoln stepped into the shower behind his mate and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He dropped his head down to pepper her neck with kisses, and he felt her crumble. He tightened his embrace as his heart cracked at the sound of her sobs. His mate was finally feeling because of his touch. He knew that if he had left her to shower alone, her numbness would consume her. She needs to release it, he thought. Bottling up emotions of this extent is harmful. He knew that she was waiting for his reaction to it all, but she needed his assurance that he stood by her above it all. She probably feels alone.

Rhea turned in Lincoln’s arms to face him. His beautiful face was soft, his electric blue eyes gentle as he gazed at her. She longed to touch the god before her, the mate that she had been blessed with, but she could not bring herself to do it. He deserves a better mate, a stronger mate, than me. “I’m so sorry,” she choked out.

“Baby, you have nothing to apologize for,” Lincoln whispered as both of his hands cupped her face.

“I failed Lillian. I failed as the Nanta nurse. I failed as your mate by bringing someone into our home who cares for me.”

“You can’t blame yourself about Lillian, Ray. This has never been attempted before.”

“And as your mate?” She croaked out. She was terrified to ask because she was terrified of the answer itself. A mate can reject the other mate, but it was the worst pain ever to be felt, and it could not be restored when issued. Mates typically did not reject each other, but her mate was not a typical mate. He was the prince to rule his people; if he deemed her as unfit, he would need to reject her for a proper mate to rule beside him. “You deserve better,” she whispered.

“Don’t you dare,” Lincoln said as he rested his forehead to hers. “You have succeeded as my mate. I will never want or need another. I am not thrilled that a man that kissed you will be here, but you need his help for our people. You are putting our people above my feelings, and that is what I need in a mate. My Mistress Luna must put our people before me, and you have always done so.”

“Lincoln…”

“Rhea, I will not reject you. I will not leave you. I love you. Please, don’t reject me,” he begged as his voice cracked.

Rhea inhaled sharply. Lincoln realized that she could reject him for his own benefit, to find a stronger person to rule by his side. She had considered it and it further fueled her tears. The last thing that she wanted was to reject him. His faith in her to rule beside him worried her and elated her. She worried that she would fail as a ruler with him, but she knew that he was right; she could not consider Lincoln’s emotions when it came to asking for Sam’s help. If it meant saving the future of their people, she had to do it, no matter how it affected him. And he was not mad about it, she thought. Her breath hitched in her throat. “I won’t reject you, Lincoln. I love you.” She kissed him deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him desperately, hungrily, as if he were oxygen, like she had been drowning and was finally brought above the surface.

Lincoln purred and kissed her back. Relief spread through his body as she confirmed that she would not reject him. His hands dropped from her face to cup her ass as he lifted her up to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he pressed her back into the wall. He ate her lips ravenously, as if he were starved of her. He never wanted to stop touching her, seeing her, loving her. Severing the mating bond would have destroyed him. To never be with her again, not only his mate but the one that he fell in love with, the thought alone crippled him. He led them out of the shower and gently lowered her on the bed. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he whispered as he broke away from the kiss. “I’m yours eternally, Rhea. I will never leave you or reject you.”

“Never again,” Rhea promised. She brought his face back to hers and kissed him passionately. She moaned as his erection eased into her core. She arched her body against him as she melded into him. How did I get so lucky with him? She was no longer crying; she was only focused on her mate. Her hands ran across his broad shoulders and down his muscular arms. A man so frightening was so gentle and compassionate. She relished for years in seeing his softer side; when everyone else feared him, she embraced him, and fell in love with him in the process. She moaned into the kiss as her orgasm thrust her body into his.

Lincoln swallowed her moan greedily as he thrust into her. His own moan escaped his lips as his orgasm sent a shock wave through his body, spilling his release deep into his mate. “Fuck, I love you,” he murmured as he pulled away from the kiss.

“I love you, too, my beast,” she whispered back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, pet. You are amazing as you are. I am beyond thankful that you are mine,” he whispered as he kissed her tenderly. He rolled off her body reluctantly and instantly wrapped his arms around her. She smiled at him and tucked her face into his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and basked in her breathing. He smiled as her breathing began to dwindle, followed by light snores. He tightened his embrace as he hugged her closely.

Rhea jolted awake suddenly. She felt Lincoln’s arms around her, and she sighed. “Bad dream?” he whispered.

“I keep reliving when I broke Lillian’s neck,” she answered as she buried her face into his chest. She felt tears prick at her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had her one big cry, she did not need to have another one. She smiled as Lincoln kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry that you had to do that, Ray,” he said.

“So am I, I was hoping that the treatment would have worked.”

“We can brainstorm after we get Sam tomorrow. You really need to sleep.”

“I can’t shut my mind off,” she mumbled. The heaviness of her eyelids made it difficult to keep her eyes open, but the buzz of her mind prevented her from succumbing to sleep. Rhea rolled on to her back and rubbed a hand over her face.

Lincoln rolled himself on top of Rhea and balanced his weight on his arms. She looked so fragile beneath him, but he knew that the opposite was true. She was one of the strongest Nantas that he had ever met. Rather than wallow in her own self-pity, her mind was already trying to think of a solution. “Do you think that human medication will work?” He asked softly.

“At human doses, no. We would need much more than that, but it’s the only other option that I can think of,” Rhea sighed. “I need Sam’s help obtain the medication and pump a Nanta’s blood with enough of it into Lillian to give her a shot.”

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?”

Rhea smiled and cupped Lincoln’s face. He turned into her hand to kiss her palm gently before his blue eyes hypnotized her again. “I think that Lillian is going to need to ingest a lot of blood for us to have a shot with this. She has not feed in a week. I could add the medication to my own blood and allow her to feed off me after I have absorbed the medication and it’s running through my bloodstream.”

“Rhea, you would be making yourself food.”

“I know, but if we can figure out how to do this right, then we can prevent it in the others. Gauge how much blood would satiate her with the concentrated medicine, and reverse engineer a cure that way. If we can do this right, we could administer a cure within hours of the symptoms beginning to develop.” She felt Lincoln’s body grow stiff with tension. She did not like the idea of being food for a feral child, either, but she had to try.

“What if she kills you?” Lincoln asked quietly. He pressed his forehead to hers and placed a brief kiss on her lips. Those same lips formed a smile as her warm auburn eyes brightened at him. “I’m not that easy to kill, or she would have done so already. And I won’t do this alone, I’ll have other Nantas with me for backup if needed. Unfortunately, if she needs to drain a Nanta completely to be cured, we would need to put her out of her misery. That isn’t a cure at that point.” Lincoln’s wolf was rattling around at the knowledge of his mate being used for food. But she can do it, he thought as he closed his eyes. She handled it tonight, and she will handle it then. “You will have to feed, after,” Lincoln said as he opened his eyes. “You may end up losing a lot of blood.”

“It can’t be you,” she whispered.

“My blood is much stronger, it would heal you much faster,” Lincoln pleaded. He felt helpless; he wanted to offer something to her for relief.

“Linc, I know,” Rhea smiled. “But if I lose too much blood during this, then I won’t be in control of myself when I need to feed. I may bite you.” She kissed him before she continued. “I can endure a lot but killing you would result in my own death as well. I wouldn’t be able to live after that.”

Lincoln nodded grimly. “You’re right. Speaking of feeding, I’m going to have to store some hearts in your fridge if I’m going to be staying here with you.”

“Sam isn’t going to be here that long, and your house isn’t far away.”

“You think that my bedding you here is temporary?” He teased as he grinned at her. “I can barely keep hands off you. I’m not sleeping without you again.”

“By that logic, neither of us will ever sleep again,” Rhea laughed.

“We’re vampires, love. We’re used to that,” Lincoln said. Rhea looked into her mate’s eyes in wonder, studying her mate before her. She had heard how strong the mating bond was between a couple, and it still fascinated her. One second, she was simply friends with him, and now he was planning on moving in. She felt drawn to him, a craving for him. When she was not with him, her body ached for him; and when they were together, she could not get enough of him.

Lincoln inhaled deeply as Rhea pulled his face down to hers and began devouring his lips. He groaned as he felt her fangs against his lips. He pulled his lips away from hers as both set of his canines and his fangs pushed through his gums. His bright orange eyes stared down into her red ones. He pulled himself back slightly and slowly slipped his cock into her wet core with a light snarl. Touching her always brought his erection to full attention, even if it was just holding her hand. He licked at her lips softly as he rocked into her.

Rhea stared in amazement at Lincoln. She had seen him with his fangs, and both sets of canines before, but it took her breath away each time. The magnitude of his being rested in his fangs. He was muscular and intimidating physically, but his true power resonated inside of him. She adored seeing this part of him and she shuddered beneath him. The power of both beasts that he possessed her aroused her and inflated her heart. This majestic beast is my mate, she thought. She craved to feed on him truly, to penetrate his smooth skin with her fangs. She moaned as he rocked into her again while she pictured it, her orgasm on the edge. He pushed himself up to support his weight on his hands and she instantly gasped as he penetrated deeper. His muscles were rippling with restraint, a massive grin twisted around his fangs. He purred darkly as his eyes exploded into orange fire. She arched her back against him as she wrapped her legs around his waist to lock him into her.

Lincoln purred again as he stared at Rhea. The look in her eyes for him, adornment, and wonder, only further fueled his need for her. The mating bond created a physical craving, but that look in her eyes reminded him why he loved her. He lavished in that look that she reserved only for him. He slid his canines away and plunged his fangs into her neck. She cried out as her orgasm tore through her body. Lincoln snarled as the convulsion around his cock squeezed his own orgasm into her. He snarled again and buried his face into her neck as his release pulsed into her. He removed his fangs from her neck and kissed her deeply.

“Time to rest now,” Lincoln breathed.

“Not if you keep doing shit like this,” Rhea whispered. She wanted more than anything to stay like this with him for as long as possible, proving their love and their bond to each other, but she really needed to sleep. She needed to be rested for their journey to Sam, to bring him back and start working. And I can’t be rested if I spend time making love, she though with a tired smile. Lincoln kissed her tenderly and pushed himself to his feet. “I need to turn the shower off anyway, and I can bring some food over, too. We both should eat before we depart.”

“Take your time,” she mumbled as she snuggled into the bedding.

Lincoln cocked an eyebrow at her curiously. “Do you prefer to sleep alone?”

“No at all, but if you touch me before I actually fall asleep, I don’t know if I will actually do much sleeping,” she yawned. He smiled and kissed her one last time and walked toward the bathroom. Living together was definitely going to be a challenge, he thought. He shut off the shower and his wolf growled lightly at the remembrance of his pained mate in the shower. I really hope this works, he thought. I don’t know if she can survive it if it doesn’t.