Embracing Home

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?!"

He reached up and gripped one of her nipples, twisting the rock hard bud.

"You think you can control me?!"

Lucy sucked in a breath through her teeth. The sensations were intense.

Intense and so fucking good.

Lucy had felt like she'd been on the edge since she caught a whiff of Jackson's scent. Now with all the stimulation, she was barely holding on.

And Jackson knew it.

She knew that he didn't even need to poke into the mate bond to know how much she loved having her hair pulled. How the rough play excited and electrified her.

She was putty in his hands.

Still holding onto her hair, Jackson tore off his pants with his other hand. He lined his painfully hard cock up to her flowing entrance.

"Listen up, bitch."

He thrust long and hard straight into her center, sending her even closer to the edge. The fullness was mesmerizing.

Oh, Lucy had missed that cock.

He pulled out slowly, depriving her of his dick once again.

"I will fuck,"

he thrust back hard into her, then removed himself slowly once again.

"This juicy,"

thrust!

"Delicious,"

another thrust.

"Incredible fucking pussy,"

thrust again.

"Where,"

thrust. Lucy let out a low moan.

"How,"

Lucy's moans got louder.

"And when,"

she gripped the far edge of the desk with the force of Jackson's cock, anxious to hold on to something, anything.

"Ever I fucking want,"

Jackson growled roughly as he continued to pummel her pussy.

"And you'll fucking love it!"

Lucy screamed as she finally fell into the strong orgasm that had been building within her. Her body shook all over, completely and totally overwhelmed. She continued to yell, babbling a mix of obscenities and nonsense as her orgasm raged on.

"Now take my fucking cum, bitch!"

And Jackson unloaded days' worth of pent up seed deep inside of his mate.

***

The pair laid on his desk, papers and folders thrown about every which way. Jackson kissed every inch of his mate within reach.

"I missed you so much," he stated between affections.

Lucy grinned at him, "I missed you too." She reached a hand down lower, running a finger along his now-soft manhood. "I missed something else, too."

Jackson growled at her, nipping her ear. "Careful, mate. Don't start something you can't finish."

"And who says I won't be able to finish it?" She replied fiercely, surprising herself with the intensity.

Since her Turning, Lucy's emotions had been haywire. It was due to the added emotions of her wolf, joining in combination with her human side, Jackson had told her. She felt like she was getting a better handle on herself with each passing day, but every once in a while, her wolf jumped in a little too much, throwing her off-balance.

He smiled at her feisty reply, "Oh I fully believe and expect that you'll finish it, baby." He winked at her. "But we actually do have dinner plans tonight. I'm not sure you'd want to entertain our guests from underneath me."

A flush rose in Lucy's cheeks. She normally wouldn't consider herself much of an exhibitionist but she had to admit, the idea suddenly sounded very hot.

Jackson's deep bass laugh brought her back from her fantasy. "I think that one just made it to the top of the to-do list." He planted a kiss on her nose, "Just not tonight."

Lucy joined him in laughter. She thought back to the strangers who had dropped Jackson off. "Who are these guys anyway? And where did you go?"

"I ran." Jackson replied simply. "I made it quite far, actually. I was in the next state over when the Marshalls found me. Pete's the Alpha of the Marshall Pack. We hadn't talked in a while, and he had lots of questions about my new mate. I told him if he brought me home, he could come find out the answers himself."

Lucy blushed. "I still can't believe the other packs know about me. Or talk about me. I'm really nothing special... I'm just... ordinary." She bit her lip, a multitude of insecurities floating to the forefront of her mind.

"Baby, do you really think I

do

'ordinary?'" Jackson shot her a cocky grin with a wink.

"Asshole." She muttered as she flicked the tip of his nose.

They both heard Adam approach the office door. "Is it safe to enter, Alphas?"

Jackson mentally waved him in.

The blond man tried to sidestep as much glass and debris as he could as he chuckled and shook his head. "Alphas, I'm planning to head to the city tomorrow to check on one of the sites. Is there anything else you'd like me to handle while I'm there?"

Lucy realized she was in quite a compromising position and moved her legs to hide most of her well-fucked pussy from Adam's line of sight. The movement caused her still-burning ass to brush across Jackson's dick. The Alphas both stilled.

"You know, mate, now might be a good time to cross the exhibitionism fantasy off the list."

He slowly thrust his hips towards her.

Lucy threw an elbow into Jackson's ribs, forcing a cough.

"No, but thank you, Adam." Jackson coughed again, though Lucy could've sworn there was a laugh mixed in with the sound. "Actually, we're having guests tonight from the Marshall Pack. I don't think you've ever met any of them. I'd like you to join us for dinner, if you can."

Adam nodded, "Certainly, Alpha. No trouble at all."

Jackson continued, turning to Lucy, "In fact, we should invite Briana, too. I don't think she's met Pete either."

Lucy's eyes lost focus for a moment as she reached out to Briana for the dinner invitation. "Okay, Bri will be there too. We should have quite the welcome wagon ready."

With that, Adam excused himself, tipping his head to both Alphas before making his exit.

Jackson leaned in to Lucy's ear and whispered sensually, "Ah, would you look at that? Just enough time for a quickie."

Lucy gasped as his hardened cock thrust into her once more.

***

Jackson had told Lucy that the Marshall Pack were very informal, but she still decided to dress up for her guests.

Okay, so her skin-tight, high-cut dress was mostly to impress her mate. But if it impressed her guests too, well, so be it.

Briana walked by out of the kitchen as Lucy entered the foyer, awaiting Jackson. "Damn girl! Save some sex appeal for the rest of us, will you?"

Lucy chuckled. Briana headed towards the back door of the house. "Hey, Bri? Where are you going? I thought you were joining us for dinner?"

"Don't worry, I won't leave you stranded." Briana held up the bag hanging from her shoulder, "Mom needed a few ingredients this thing she's making for Melanie, and since you guys have enough food here to feed any army..."

Lucy's laugh continued, "Go. Take it. Feed those pups and their mom... but Bri, how about asking first next time?" She waved her friend off, "I'll see you later."

As Briana exited her field of view, Lucy felt Jackson's approach long before she could see him.

Jackson had been on calls almost nonstop since his return to the estate. As he made his way down the grand staircase to meet her in the foyer, she noticed his breath catch as their eyes met.

He stepped down to meet her with impossibly fast speed. He grabbed her hips and pulled her close. Jackson leaned down to inhale deeply at her neck.

"Mmm. Mate, you look ravishing."

Bingo. That was

just

the reaction she'd been hoping for. She smiled at him, her eyes dancing playfully.

He stepped back to look her up and down. With a slow lick of his lips, he caressed each curve with his eyes. "You know, I'm starting to think you do this to me on purpose."

She giggled, "And they say you're all brawn and no brains." She blew him a quick kiss before turning towards the front door.

Pete Marshall and two others stepped through the massive front doors looking... Well, looking exactly like they had earlier that day. Dirty, covered in mud, shirtless, wearing only athletic shorts. They tracked more dirt into the house on their bare feet.

Pete sauntered up to Jackson with a toothy smile, but Lucy was still bristling over the sight.

"They're very different from us, mate. But they are an ally pack. Used to be our closest ally, but we're working on that... please try to be open-minded, my love."

Jackson told her through the mate bond.

Lucy plastered a brilliant smile on her face as she silently agreed to be nice... for now. She stepped in front of Pete and extended a hand. "Lucy DeLane, nice to meet you."

Pete wolf-whistled at her, "My, my. What have we here? I've heard quite a bit about you, pretty lady." He grabbed her hand and shook it with his own. "Pete Marshall. But I'm betting you already knew that." Lucy's smile became a bit more genuine.

Pete looked down at their joined hands, "Sorry about the mud, Ma'am." He pulled a crumpled old paper towel out of his pocket and clumsily tried to wipe her hand.

Lucy couldn't suppress a loud laugh, "You're alright, Pete."

A bit of a blush rose up in his cheeks, visible though the dirt.

Jackson chuckled and slapped Pete on the back. "I think you're in, pal."

***

Jackson

Pete wasted no time diving into questions as they sat down at the large dining table. "I gotta wonder, Ma'am, how the hell does a Turned wolf become an Alpha?"

Jackson stilled, unsure of her reaction to such bluntness. Lucy was certainly strong and learning quickly, but she was still a very young wolf. It would be a while before she could be expected to keep her wolf's emotions 100% under control. Let alone Alpha wolf emotions.

He felt a wave of relief when he heard the sound of his mate's laughter.

"I really can't say, Pete. There's a lot about this that I still don't understand."

Jackson had to admit, Lucy was handling Pete rather well.

The thing about Pete was that he cherished the simple life. He valued honesty above all things. This house, the fancy furnishings, and expensive trinkets- none of that impressed him. Jackson could always trust Pete to tell him exactly what he thought.

Which had occasionally been a problem over the years. Over time, their alliance and friendship had faded little by little. But Jackson saw this as a prime opportunity to get the two packs back on solid ground.

"How long did she sleep, DeLane?" Pete referring to the period of sleep new wolves underwent after the Turning. The longer the sleep, the stronger the wolf, the story went.

"About 5 days." Jackson replied, obvious pride in his voice.

"Well I'll be damned. Shit, that's amazing." Pete took a bite of the very rare steak (some might have called it raw) that had been placed in front of him. He started his next question with the beef still rolling around on his tongue, "So how's this whole thing working out?" He gestured to the pair, "Two Alphas?"

Lucy cocked an eyebrow at Jackson, daring him to answer the question.

He took a deep breath before he spoke, very aware that his answer could throw a wrench in his plans for later tonight with his mate.

Very intimate

plans.

"I find things are going well. The pack here seems to fully support Lucy and her position. Actually, I heard from Hank when I returned this afternoon that she exceeded everyone's expectations in my absence." Jackson looked over fondly at her.

The visiting Alpha shoved another piece of meat in his mouth and interjected, "Yeah, good thing I guess. It's not every day that an Alpha just up and abandons his pack like that." Pete's tone was pointed.

A loud growl came from Lucy. Jackson tried to tell her through their bond to brush it off. It was a pretty fair comment, after all. The Madam Alpha was having none of it.

"Yeah, good thing they still had an Alpha here. Or did you forget?" She spat aggressively. "By the way, Pete- is your pack really so fragile that they couldn't manage such a short time without you? Tell me, what do the Marshalls do when you take a shit?"

The room erupted in loud howls of laughter.

"You're alright, Lucy," Pete echoed back her earlier statement with a sincere smile. He turned to Jackson, "She's a firecracker, DeLane. You got a good one here."

Jackson nodded, "Don't I know it."

A sudden drop in Pete's face alerted Jackson to a drastic change in the mood of the room.

Pete's eyes burned towards the entrance to the dining room with laser focus. Lucy said something to him, but Jackson could tell that Pete wouldn't have heard her even if she had shouted at the top of her lungs.

Pete's eyes glowed brightly as he stood from the table.