Under the Alpha's Protection by Doris O'Connor Page A

fail.
    Since that fateful night of her attack her life had changed beyond recognition. Raoul had basically kept her hostage in his flat for three passionate days and nights of sex, interspersed with long talks, where the two of them had not only connected on every level possible, but they had also negotiated every one of her limits, and had set out the terms of their D/s relationship.
    Nikita checked her reflection one last time in the mirror, and smiled at the wide eyed woman staring back at her.
    "Who'd have thunk it, eh, girl?"
    She winked at herself, and then burst into laughter for no other reason than that she was deliriously happy with him. At first she had chafed at the escorts appointed by Raoul. He'd done his utmost to convince her not to return to her shift at the café, but true to his word, he had not pressed the issue.
    He had insisted on ensuring that she never walked on her own, though, especially on her late night shifts. Deep down inside that scared place she'd been in ever since that fateful night, she had been beyond grateful at his continued protection. On the rare occasion she wasn't sleeping in his arms, memories of that night turned into terrifying nightmares. Nightmares that had increased in intensity and gory detail the closer they'd come to the next full moon, which was a preposterous notion. In her dreams, however, those wolves had changed into men, and the one whose claws had sliced through her back, had sprouted fangs and fur like some sort of mutant hybrid.
    Raoul's absence the last few days had not helped her mental state. She missed him terribly despite their daily phone calls and the incredibly naughty texts he'd sent her. It still amazed her how much she followed his instructions, explicit or otherwise, and how good she felt when he praised her. A psychologist would probably have a field day with that one, but Raoul had just wrapped her up in a hug, kissed her, and explained it thus.
    "Baby, you're submissive. It's just the way it works. It's not something you can help, and I'm honored that you have chosen me to give your submission to. I vow that I will never abuse the trust you've placed in me, and nothing makes me happier as your Dom to witness the peace your submission brings you. It brings me peace, too, this connection we share."
    He'd grown thoughtful and slightly tense as though there was more he'd wanted to say. Nikita found him doing that often, and a small part of her did wonder what he was hiding from her, and then he'd smile and she'd push that thought away.
    She trusted him implicitly, and if she'd learned one thing, then it was that he would share whatever was bothering him in his own time.
    There was certainly nothing else he held back from her. Free from her daily Uni life due to the summer break, she'd tagged along to his Rugby training sessions, and had made firm friends of the wives and girlfriends of his team or “pack” as they referred to themselves.
    It was fitting she supposed, as their mascot was a wolf cub. There had to be some sort of irony to the fact that she seemed to be surrounded by wolves everywhere nowadays.
    The doorbell rang again, rather more insistently this time, and Nikita grabbed her house keys with a shouted, "Okay. Keep your hair on, Darius. I'm coming."
    A quick look through her spy -hole confirmed that it was indeed Darius. He was in the process of reaching for her doorbell again, when she yanked the door open with a smile.
    "Seriously, what got into you today?  You've got a face like a wet weekend."
    He flinched and grabbed her arm with enough force to hurt, and her eyes widened when he bent down and growled in her ear.
    "Forgive me, Nikita. They've got Lou."
    Before she could ask him what his pregnant girlfriend had to do with anything, something heavy hit the back of her head, and the world went black.
    ****
    Nikita blinked in the murky, damp, dark cellar she came to in. The stench of wet dog invaded her senses, overlaid with the nauseating