The Captain's Challenge: Alpha Werewolf Erotica (Smut-Shorties Book 10) Read Online Free

he would never again attain a position of power.
    “Well then,” said the Minister a little too brightly. “Now that that’s done, I believe we have a mating ceremony to conclude.”
    “Indeed,” said Jace, his eyes meeting Vanessa’s for the first time. The expression in them made her shiver. “However, as alpha of the McCauley pack I have decided to revoke my permission for the mating of Vanessa McCauley and Veyr, Master of the City. Instead, I ask the lady to be my mate instead.”
    This time the gasp that went round the court was one of shock and anticipation. No doubt they expected Veyr to now challenge Jace for the right to her hand, only she knew that would not happen. Somehow, her smart-ass brother, with all his plots and schemes, had been outmaneuvered.
    Reaching out, she slid her hand into Jace’s larger one and smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
    ***
     
    They were mated. Jace Trenton was her mate.
    An hour later, Jace took her hand and led her from the reception hall. Jacob had been removed on Veyr’s orders and taken somewhere for his injuries to be treated. The McCauley pack seemed to have accepted the change in leadership without complaint.
    Their mating ceremony had been short and sweet, but as the Minister had said, the words were not what was important. What was important was the look in Jace’s eyes as he took her hand and led her from the room. Iron control, barely-restrained desire, and perhaps something more… She hoped something more, but many a mating had started from a small flame to grow into love. And theirs was not a small flame, but rather an inferno.
    No one stopped them, but there were a few ribald comments and winks that made her blush as they left. Silence fell between them, their footsteps muffled by the carpet as he led them back through the corridors to his quarters.
    Her heart sped up, breathing ragged as he pushed open the door and ushered her inside. Her legs shook as she stood in the middle of the carpet. Nerves assaulted her as she turned to glance over her shoulder and found Jace watching her.
    Was this what he wanted? Or was he annoyed to be shackled to her, offering to mate her to free Veyr from the web Jacob had woven? Perhaps their nights together had just been a fling for him, something fun, nothing serious… She took a step forward, but he stopped her with an upraised hand.
    “No, stay there,” he ordered. “I want to remember you just like that... I want to remember how beautiful you looked on the day we mated.”
    She swallowed, her throat dry. Heat rose in her cheeks, but she met his eyes. “Remember? In a good way remember?”
    His gaze met hers, comprehension dawning in his eyes. “You don’t know? I challenged for you, and you doubt my feelings?”
    He strode forwards, reaching out to drive his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck. She couldn’t help the small moan that escaped her as his lips crashed down on hers. The kiss at the mating ceremony had been brief and functional, a mere brush that hadn’t allowed her any insight into his feelings. Now though, she felt it all.
    His kiss laced with desperation, his lips were hard over hers. Thorough. Demanding. As though he was determined to memorize the shape and taste of her lips before she was snatched from his grasp again. Her body softened against his, yielding to the harder planes of his muscled form. A whimper in the back of her throat, she lifted her hands to slide them across his shoulders and bury her fingers in the short strands of his hair. Opening herself wide to him, she held nothing back. Gave him— her mate— everything she had to give.
    Then it was as if a dam burst and his control shattered. He lifted his head to look down at her, the bright ring of amber around his eyes dueling the darkness within. She shivered, held captive by the look, and he groaned.
    “Don’t look at me like that sweetheart, because otherwise this isn’t gonna last long.”
    She didn’t care, his