The Falcon Ridge Series Book 1 She's Not For You
Chapter 27

(Chapter Song ‘Roses' by SAINt JHN, Highway To Hell' by AC/DC)

ANNA

It's been three days since I broke my leg and finally, I get this irritating thing off.

I know I'm whining. Humans have to spend weeks in their casts, but as a shifter, healing for more than a day is a complete piss off.

My leg is now good as new. I don't even have a scar where the bone pierced my skin. This will definitely be lesson learned.

I should probably go replace River as he's been looking stressed for days now. He definitely didn't like that I hurt myself, but he seemed agitated. When he kissed me yesterday, it was like he was taking a dose of medicine for whatever was ailing him. Not that I minded, I mean he's a mind-blowing kisser, I'm just curious as to why he's so fevered all of sudden.

It's lunch time when I'm freed from my cast. I immediately link River.

‘Where are you?’

‘Hey, Baby, I'm in the dining hall.’

‘Can you get away? My cast is off.’

‘Ten minutes. Behind the south barracks.’

I look around to see if I'm being watched and head over to the south barracks and wait.

Ten minutes later, he's stalking up to me, fast. He grabs my head and growls as his lips hit mine. He kisses me hard. He pushes me up against the wall.

He lets me breath as he vigorously pulls at my shirt. "God, I missed you. I want you so bad." He breaths and engulfs my lips again causing me to moan.

There's definitely a sexual tension here that he means to break. He isn't wasting any time.

He gets under my shirt and the feel of his touch on my skin sends a red-hot fire to my core.

He undoes my bra and separates just long enough to tear it and my shirt off. He squeezes my breasts and bends down to lick my hardened nipples.

I can feel myself getting wetter by the second. His teeth biting my nipples sends shivers down my spine and a moan from my lips.

He kisses his way back up my chest to my neck as he quickly undoes my pants and slips his hand into panties.

The feel of his fingers slipping into my soaking wet slit sent an explosion of pleasure throughout my body. "Yes...River..." I moan.

He rubs my clit hard. "River. Oh God." I start to shake.

"You're so fucking wet." He growls biting my earlobe.

I claw at his back as he rubs me faster. "Come for me, baby girl."

"River…Yes!...Fuck..." My orgasm builds quickly and crests, sending out screams of ecstasy. River slams his palm to my mouth. "That's it baby. Give it to me." He rubs me harder and faster. Milking me for every bit of pleasure.

As I stop shaking, he growls into my mouth. "Get those pants off now."

I pull my pants and boots off in record time as he pulls off his shirt. He picks me up, slams me against the wall and I wrap my legs around him.

He positions his throbbing cock at my entrance and wastes no time. He shoves himself in with pure want and dominance. Moaning into my neck. "Fuck. So fucking good..." He grits as he thrusts harder and harder.

He's fucking me like it's the last thing he'll ever do. It hot, dirty and sexy.

He covers my mouth again. "Yes, baby girl..." He's panting and grunting as he reaches for my clit to bring on another eruption out of my already dripping wet core.

He starts pumping faster and deeper. I'm screaming loud into his hand. We would certainly get caught if he didn't cover my mouth.

"Come on, baby. That's it..." The fire in my core erupts into a full-on inferno. My orgasm explodes like a volcano blowing its top. My walls grip him tight as he goes deeper, harder, faster.

"Yes, Anna. Oh God...I can't hold it..." He clenches his jaw and slams a hand on the wall to steady himself. I hold onto his neck tighter as he slams me home.

He buries his head in my neck, still feeding my orgasm by rubbing my clit. He growls are deep and dark as he pounds his release into me. It feels so good. My walls tighten and milk him for every drop.

He's breathing heavy into my neck. I'm struggling to hold myself up, gripping his back and shoulder.

He pulls out slowly and raises his head. He places kisses all over my face. I smile. My eyes still dreamy from the perfect orgasms I just had. "That's one hell of a hello." I pant.

He chuckles. "Only the best for my baby girl."

He sets me down and we get dressed.

He holds me in his arms. Kissing my face. "So, you're cleared for duty then?" He asked sliding my hair behind my ear.

I give him a sly smile. "Obviously. "

"Good. Because I moved the wolf run to tomorrow. My guys been on edge since you got hurt and he needs to see your girl or he'll go insane." He runs the back of fingers up and down my cheek.

I lean into his touch. "So that's why you gave me that hello."

He nods. "Oh yeah. I haven't slept for two days. He's bat shit crazy about you." He plants a soft kiss on my lips. "And so am I."

I run my hands down his hard, ripple chest. "Well, he better behave. Don't need him tearing through the complex again."

He groans. "God. You saw that?"

I laugh. "Just a bit, but then the doctor had to take me for a check. Don't worry. He didn't see you."

He lowers and shakes his head. "Fucking dick wanted to see you. He barely listened to me. Then he shifted to my bare ass in the middle of the damn barracks."

I'm full on laughing now. "He didn't."

"Yep." He nods. "I don't think I ever ran so fast to my clothes in my life."

I giggled at the thought. "Well, we should get back."

"Yeah. I have a trainer meeting after lunch so I'll see you later."

"Fun. Bye, Alpha." I smile and saunter off back toward the barracks.

"Later, baby girl." And he heads off in the opposite direction.

When I'm in the clear, I head to the bunks and then head to the showers to freshen up. The quick little meeting with River was hot. I wanted to relish in it longer, but I had to get his scent off me before anyone noticed.

I walk into the shower locker room and Fiona's there. I pull up to the sink beside her. "You weren't at lunch. What...." then she hesitates. I look at her reflection in the mirror as a sneaky smirk crosses her lips. "Oh, you did get lunch."

I look down grabbing for a brush. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

She turns and leans on the sink. "Please Anna. You reek of him."

I avoid all eye contact. "Who?"

"Who? The Alpha!" She says a little louder than I'd like.

I press my finger to my lips, looking around. "Shhh...Will you keep it down!"

She jumps up and down, gushing. "I knew it!" She whispers. "What's he like? Is he as hot as he looks?"

"Will you stop?!" I scowl at her.

"Sorry, girl, but your man is the resident fantasy around here. If he's yours, we gotta live through you. Now, spill." She crosses her arms.

My cheeks flush a bit. "Ok. Yes, he's hotter than he looks. Now, enough." I demand.

She surrenders. "Ok. I'll let it go for now. But you better give me the Deets later."

"Thank you." I breathe and get back to trying to cover River's scent and make it look like we didn't just have raunchy sex behind the barracks.

"You know..." She says, tying up her hair. "Of all the she wolves in our pack, I think you'd make a kick ass Luna."

I scoff. "I'm no Luna."

She turns. "You could be and I think you'd be awesome."

She pats my shoulder and leaves the shower room. Leaving me to contemplate her words.

Me? Luna? No way. I hate politics. I'd suck at it for sure. Besides, I don't even know the first thing about the position. I've never even met a Luna with the exception of seeing our Luna Olivia standing beside our Alpha once or twice. The border is pretty separated from the pack. We work and sleep. We don't get involved unless it's a security issue.

Also, I'd have to be River's mate and there's no chance in that happening. You only get one and mines dead. I doubt he'd choose me. He has more pull with a fated and his is still out there somewhere waiting for him. I can't get in the way of that. I won't.

I start thinking about what kind of future we have together. I mean, I'm crazy about the guy too. He blows my mind at every turn. Every time I see him, it feels like I'm seeing him for the first time. Awe struck, drooling for more. But, to what end? What we have isn't a fling. At least, I don't feel like it is. River's feelings are obviously strong as well. Even his wolf is crazed.

The thoughts rush into my brain, bringing more questions than answers. I have to talk to River. I want to know what page he's on here.

I push the thoughts back for now. Now, I need to get back into training. Need to complete this so River and I can concentrate on whatever this is between us.

As I leave the shower room, a feeling floods my chest.

Dread. I hope he doesn't end this when the time comes.

****

A cold breeze rushes down the trail in the woods where I'm standing. Waiting for River.

The wind blows again and I catch a scent. River's scent. My eyes adjust to the dark and I see his strong form hike down the trail to where I'm standing. Every time I see him, I have to appreciate his muscular chest and arms as they threaten to tear his uniform shirt.

He smiles as he approaches. "Hey, Baby." He gives a little wave.

"Hi." I smile and wrap my arms around his neck and give him a well deserved kiss.

“What did you want to talk about? Sounded kind of urgent.” He asks.

I tick my head. “It’s not really urgent. More like bugging the shit out of me and I want to hear what you think?”

He backs up and pulls me to a log. “Ok. Go ahead. What’s the problem?”

I play with my fingers as I try to replace the words. “River, where do you see us going?”

He gives me a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Our future. What does it look like to you?” I eye him closely for any changes.

He looks down. "I don't know. I know I want you with me." He mumbled.

"In what way, though. Knowing what we are, can you see a future for us?" I stood waiting for him to say something to ease my mind.

He looked into my eyes. "Yes, Anna. Of course. I've never wanted anyone so badly."

My face softens. "What about your mate? Will you feel the same when you replace her?"

He smiles and hugs me. I get the feeling that he's wanted to have this talk too. “Anna, I don't care about my fated. If she shows up, it won't mean a damn thing to me. I want to choose you, Anna. Always and forever."

He put his hand on my head. "I've never felt so strongly about anyone. So connected as I do to you. You're my last thought when I go to sleep and my first thought when I wake up. You fill my dreams every night. You're all I think about all day. Anna, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Tears sting my eyes as my heart swells. All the questions I had rattling in my brain seem to be answered. "You'd really choose me as your Luna?"

He grins. "Every time, baby girl."

He leans in and plants a passionate kiss on my lips. It's soft, slow and almost loving. The world melts away. I know it was River kissing me, but just behind it, just behind the veil, I felt the memories of David in this kiss. The feeling of how David would pour his love into his kisses. It was something that I believed I'd never feel again. But somehow it feels like River is filling the missing piece in my heart. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe River was my second chance.

****

After our talk in the woods, we both left feeling somewhat relieved. Although, I believe Michael won't be a problem, I could still feel River's apprehension. I understand how he feels. He has a lot riding on us. It'll take a lot to relieve the stress he's under. I just have to reassure him that Michael won't get in the way.

I woke up the next morning, swooning at River's declaration. I felt that he wanted to say much more, but we had to get back. I didn't want to be caught missing from my bunk.

I joined the recruits for the morning session. River stood in front of us.

"Good morning!" He smiled.

"Morning, Sir!" We all yelled.

"I know this week has been brutal! You’ve all done well! But...it's not over yet..." He smirks.

He clasps his hands behind his back. "Today..." He looked at us menacingly. "We let the dogs out." He smiles and turns as we all whooped and hollered. Clearly, everyone is itching to run.

"Alright!" He put his hands up, settling us down.

"The wolf run! A two-hour, wolf only course! Marked out through the woods, is the path you will take as wolves. This will challenge your wolf's skills, agility and speed. First wolf on the other side will be giving the day off tomorrow!"

More whoops and hollers.

River puts his hands up. "One more thing.” He steps closer and leans to us. “You'll be running against me." He winks. The recruits all grinned ear to ear. "So, you better be fast." Some recruits are shooting River sly smiles, rubbing their hands together in anticipation. Beating an Alpha would make for great bragging rights.

"Alright! Prepare to break loose!" River yells and we all start stripping. Stacking our clothes on the side.

I always replace these situations hilarious because even though we all look at nakedness as no big deal, there's always those few guys who strut their stuff all through the groups and girls who shy away or flaunt what they got.

We all stand, eyes front, waiting.

River is now also naked and I'm having trouble keeping a straight face as he stands tall and Alpha like.

"SHIFT!" He yells.

Immediately, gusts of wind blow in like a whirlwind as all of us shift to our wolves.

My jet-black wolf shakes out her fur. She looks for River. His jet-black wolf is also shaking it out.

She takes a step and I know what she thinking. ‘NO! You'll get us in trouble. Don't even think about it.' She whines as she retreats. ‘I know, but just behave for this run. We'll run with him later on our own." She barks and wags her tail at that.

River doesn't seem to have that much control over his. I can see the internal struggle he's having, trying to stop his wolf from coming over to me.

The rest of the wolves have broken formation and are now sniffing around, play fighting and barking.

River finally reins his wolf in and he's standing there. He lets out a few loud barks to get attention. All the wolves' heads turn to him.

He trots off to the start of the run. Facing the woods, his wolf looks behind him as we all gather. Dancing on our paws, wagging tails, nipping and whining. The wolves really can't stand the wait.

River's wolf throws his head up and lets out a massive howl. Signaling the wolves to run. We rush past him in a tidal wave of fur, crashing through the tree line. River joins up close to the rear. He wants a challenge.

We're all running fast. The ground shakes as all of our paws hit the ground. It's hard to see what's ahead with a pack this size. We're contained by ropes strung on trees mapping out the course. Broken trees and dense brush slow us down. The wolves upfront skid to a stop as they teeter on the edge of steep declining hill. The ones behind end up pushing through and falling off the edge, rolling to the bottom. Others get the picture really quick and descend slowly.

We make our way down the dirt and leaf cover hill. The course then veers off, following the small creek at the bottom.

Wolves were slipping on the slick, algae covered rocks as they tried to maintain their speed.

The path veered again to a rock hill. Our wolves had to slow down and climb it carefully. A few lost grip and went rolling to the bottom to start again.

My wolf was half way up when a low growl came from behind. She looks and River's wolf is prowling up behind her. She barks and turns away, climbing faster. She crests the top and takes off. River's wolf is soon right on her tail.

She races through the leaders, trying to gain ground and loses the black wolf behind her.

Some other wolves noticed the Alpha closing in and bore down, picking up speed. Really, though, he wasn't there for them. He was there for me. He was pushing me, egging me on.

Finally, the woods opened up to a clearing. It was a mad dash to the other side. An open space to gain ground.

We spread out as we ran through the clearing. Some tripped and fell, losing ground while others took full advantage of the even terrain.

We crashed through the trees again. The course twisted and turned sharply, slowing us down and causing pile ups on the corners. Then came the foot hill. It was steep and had to be climbed strategically. You couldn't climb it straight up. Winding up the side on thin paths. This caused some to be pushed back. Once on top, the course trailed along the top of a deep ravine. Too much pushing and you're going over the side. There was a break in the path. A fifteen-foot jump. We all leaped and cleared the jump. Some lost footing when they hit the path, skidding to the side of the run.

The path started to trail downward toward the river. It was a calmer section, but deep. Meaning swimming. There was a current we also had to swim against to meet up with the ropes on the other side. The water boiled as we all hit the water in a continuous wave. Swimming against the current and avoiding other wolves was a definite challenge. My wolf was tired, struggling a bit. I was losing ground as other wolves swam passed. River's wolf swam up beside me. Staying with me the whole time. Guiding me across. Once on the bank, my wolf shook off the water. She looked at River's wolf and barked. Then took off running to catch up.

Now, it was trees. Dense trees. You had to maneuver carefully. Go through too fast and you end up crashing into them as some of the younger wolves found out quick.

I had managed to gain forth position as we broke through into another clearing.

I called my wolf to bare down and give it her all across the open space.

Third. Second.

I passed the males who were hoping for the Alpha. They weren't expecting me at all. Their ears bent back and I could see their wolves claw at the ground to fight for their places. My wolf only did the same.

The last leg was more deep twists and turns riddled with boulders, trees, logs and water. Just a mess of a path.

She was just behind first place when she sprinted up a boulder and leapt into the air. Landing just ahead of him. She glanced back. I'm sure if wolves could smile, she'd be grinning her face off.

We broke through with a hundred-yard dash to the finish.

Everything was burning. Everything was sore. I had to pull this out.

Blade's group was waiting at the finish, screaming, yelling, cheering as the leaders rounded the corner. The finish just head.

I could almost taste it when River's wolf barked from behind me.

Oh no you don't.

I summon the last bit of energy I had and tore through the finish line with River and one other wolf on my shoulder.

My wolf skidded to a stop and flopped on the ground. Panting heavily. Tubs of water and water bottles littered the area. River's wolf stood tall over mine and he let another howl signaling the race had been won.

She got up, stood in front and bowed her head. He returned the bow and barked, panting.

She turned and headed to a tub of water to take a well-deserved drink.

The others all came in like freight trains. Flopping and tripping over each other.

It was fun, but it was a brutal course. I'm going to be sore for a while.

We all trotted to our clothes, shifted and got dressed. Shoulders heaving, as we wait for River.

"That was a great run! Some of you really impressed me today!" He stood in the center. "Congratulations, Riker. Enjoy your long weekend!" He nodded.

I beamed with pride as recruits all around clapped me on the back.

"Not only did you win the run, but you beat the Alpha...Just barely." He winked.

More claps and a few guttural ‘Yeahs’.

He paced back and forth. "Now. I'm sure you're all tired and sore...and starving. So, the afternoon session will be pushed to three. Hit the showers and get some food in you. Dismissed!"

We all walked off.

I instantly got a link.

‘My quarters. Thirty minutes.’

I smile as I walk past him. He looks straight forward and side eyes me. The corner of his mouth slightly ticks up as our eyes meet. My insides immediately heat up at his demand. I know what I'm in for.