The Alpha Wolf: The Moretti Blood Brothers, #8.2

By Juliette N Banks

 Can he lead his pack despite the terror done to him, and acknowledge his mate? Or will she disappear forever?

 

Callan is a broken wolf. Subjected to experiments and kept in captivity he never thought he'd be free. Now he has a pack to lead and a sassy, sexy female who distracts him day and night. Their chemistry powerful enough he's tempted to demand her submission.

 

But he could never claim her.

 

However, he needs to keep her in their secluded mansion with the rest of the pack. By leaving, she puts them all at risk. And possibly into a life of captivity - which he could never survive.

 

The Alpha Wolf is the next installment in the Moretti Blood Wolves - a new series in the bestselling Moretti Blood Brothers universe. Part shifter paranormal romance, part romantic suspense, this book will appeal to anyone who loves fated-mates, rejected mates romances with a supernatural military twist. And a happy ever after.

 

The next books in this series are coming in 2024!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliette Banks
• Release date: Dec 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201353100

Book preview

By Juliette N. Banks

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2022 by Juliette N. Banks. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.

This book is a work of fiction and imagination. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely one of coincidence. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products and music referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication and/or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Author: Juliette N. Banks

Editor: Lyndsey Smith, Cozy Nook Editing

Cover design by: Open World Covers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliette is a bestselling indie steamy romance author who has taken the paranormal romance genre by storm with her bestselling vampire series, The Moretti Blood Brothers. Not all of her sexy and powerful heroes are supernatural—Juliette now has a series of hot, page-turning contemporary romances readers can’t get enough of.

And now wolves.

Juliette also has a vast background in consumer marketing and previously published with Random House. She lives in New Zealand with Tilly, her Maine Coon kitty.

Juliette N. Banks website

ALSO BY JULIETTE N. BANKS

THE MORETTI BLOOD BROTHERS

Steamy paranormal romance

The Vampire Prince - FREE

The Vampire Protector

The Vampire Spy

The Vampire’s Christmas

The Vampire Assassin

The Vampire Awoken

The Vampire Lover

The Vampire Wolf

The Vampire Warrior

The Vampire’s Oath

The Vampire’s Fate

The Vampire’s Obsession

Related books in the Moretti universe

The Vampire King

The Claimed Wolf  - FREE

The Alpha Wolf

THE DARK KINGS OF NYC — NEW

Steamy dark mafia romance

The Darkest King - FREE

The Ruthless King

The Savage King

The Avenged King

THE DUFORT DYNASTY

Steamy billionaire romance

Sinful Duty - FREE

Forbidden Touch

Total Possession

Desire Unbound

Dark Surrender

Ruthless Temptation

Naughty Festivities

Wicked Praise

Beautiful Ruin

BLACK HAWKE SECURITY

The SEAL

The BODYGUARD

The MARINE

REALM OF THE IMMORTALS

Steamy paranormal fantasy romance

The Archangels Battle - FREE

The Archangel’s Heart

The Archangel’s Star

Text Description automatically generated

CHAPTER ONE

Callan slid the female’s thigh off his leg and climbed out of bed. The shutters would open soon, letting in the starlight and the beginning of a new day.

Or rather, night.

Tonight was special. Around midnight, a van from the Moretti royal family would pull into the driveway with twelve new arrivals.

Callan snorted softly to himself as he quietly opened the bathroom door. New arrivals—like they were coming to a college campus.

It was most definitely not that.

Sure, the place was huge, but instead of dorms, they’d be living inside a huge mansion owned by the Moretti royal family.

Of which Vincent Moretti was vampire king.

The three-story house had dozens of rooms, so there was plenty of space for them all.

Handy, because there were more coming.

These new arrivals were vampire. Now hybrid shifters.

They would all turn into wolves, just as Callan had several weeks ago. He’d had no idea what was happening to him, only that his vampire body had been changing over the weeks leading up to it.

Shocking? Yes.

But nothing had been normal for Callan for months. He’d been kidnapped over six months ago and experimented on. Inhumanely. Repeatedly.

So yeah. He was pissed off.

But he loved his huge, black-furred, blue-eyed wolf. Now, as the alpha of these hybrids, he would do his best to lead them in their new world.

Not that he knew what the fuck he was doing. He’d been an accountant before being drugged and pulled from his life by those asshole scientists.

It went without saying, these new wolves would hate him since he had been the one to infect them with his bite. After escaping the labs, Callan had needed blood and refused to go home to his family for help. Nor did he go to the Moretti royal family.

Reflecting, he knew he had been acting out of fear.

Traumatized and not thinking straight.

Even now, Callan was a shell of himself, only just holding it together, and he wasn’t sure if it was obvious. But his nightmares seemed to have subsided since sharing a bed with the three hybrids he’d found before leaving Seattle. Together, they’d traveled across the country to the royal family in Maine.

Why did they share a bed?

The one good side effect of becoming a wolf shifter was the heightened sexual desire. All four of them had been fucking like rabbits—or was it now wolves?—for the past few weeks.

It was hard to be unhappy about that.

When he was awake, the memories of his captivity were front and center, but he still had to put on a happy face and focus on his goal—leading his pack and ensuring they were protected.

Callan had been doing it for two weeks, so it wasn’t like he had this thing perfected. And yeah, he was nervous as hell about facing the next twelve arriving in a few hours.

He flushed the toilet and stepped back inside the room.

Ava was still asleep.

Liam and Noah had gone back to their rooms sometime during the day, while Callan had completely crashed after the four of them had spent hours pleasuring each other.

Also known as an orgy.

Might as well call it what it was.

Would the new arrivals feel the same? Would it just be one big shag fest?

Orgasmic benefits aside, none of this was good. He enjoyed the sex, for sure, and so did his wolf, but he wanted to create a life they could thrive in.

First, he had to get them all shifted.

Once they forgave him.

Callan hadn’t known he was creating such a shitstorm. He’d met most of them in bars. After a few drinks, the sexual attraction had kicked in, and he had bitten them.

Biting wasn’t something all vampires did with a one-night stand—or in a shadowed corner of a bar where you had an attractive victim pressed against a wall, your lips on theirs—but it happened. The act of sinking your fangs into a person for pleasure was more often shared with your mate.

They were a sexually active race, and there was no monogamy until you met your mate. Or for the few who chose to co-habitat for a few decades or centuries until they met theirs.

Not recommended.

He’d never seen it end well.

Tonight, Callan would be confronting what he’d done and wasn’t sure how it was going to go. With Liam, Noah, and Ava, he had retraced his steps and found them. They’d been with him when he first shifted.

Together, they had experienced the moment a new race was birthed.

The Moretti Blood Wolves.

That was the name Vincent Moretti had given them, accepting them as part of his kingdom because they all carried his blood.

Callan was glad for that, but what he’d explained to the king was, as a wolf, his nature had changed. Nature dictated him to be the alpha.

They had different needs than when they were simply blood predators, able to blend into a city, hiding from humans, as their vampire ancestors had done for over fifteen hundred years.

And the truth was, they needed time to discover more about what they were and what they needed.

Vincent Moretti had agreed and moved them to the Greenwood, Maine, mansion, which had miles of private land to roam—a Moretti-owned property located a few hours’ drive from the castle.

Along with keeping everyone safe and discovering more about their new race, Callan was responsible for keeping the wolves hidden from the world, with a strict edit that no one was to leave the mansion.

All of the new arrivals had signed a contract and were clear on this royal order. Along with the obvious instruction that they couldn’t tell anyone, including their families, about where they were or what was happening to them.

It was top secret.

None of this was fair, but it was their lives now. And a hell of lot better than the six months Callan had spent strapped to a metal table, being torn apart.

In time, Callan hoped they would get more freedom.

Until then, he would follow the king’s orders.

So far, only he and Ava had shifted, so he was excited to meet more of the wolves still inside the others.

Callan walked across the room, stopped at the side of the bed, and glanced down at Ava. Her eyes blinked open; a naughty smirk that was one hundred percent Ava hit her lips.

Damn it.

She pushed the covers down past her thighs, holding his gaze until he could no longer stop from watching her fingers, which were rubbing circles over her clit.

Ava arched into her hand and moaned.

Callan really wanted to get downstairs and start preparing, but his cock had other plans.

I fucked you only two hours ago. How bad do you really need another orgasm?

Reaaally bad, Ava drawled, and he let out a little laugh.

Liar. One more, then I have to get to work, he said, crawling between her legs.

Do that sucking thing on my clit. Oh god, yes, like that, Ava cried.

Callan slid two digits inside her, lapping at her hungrily and sucking her sensitive spot as requested. He slipped his hands under her tight ass and lifted her to access more of her pussy.

Letting out a moan against her pink flesh, he felt his body demand more.

Come here. Callan climbed up the bed, lifting her as he lay flat and spun her so her pussy was on his face. Mouth on my cock.

With pleasure, Big Alpha. Ava stretched out along his body and wrapped her hand around his shaft.

He ignored her smart comment and closed his eyes as her mouth surrounded him, then tugged her down so he could taste her again. With his hands on her hips, he moved her up and down his tongue, sliding one of his thumbs so it slightly teased her rear hole.

Suck harder, he said, lifting her, then let out a load moan. Oh fuck, that’s it.

His balls tightened, and his hips lifted, shoving himself deeper down her throat while she used her mouth and small hands on him.

Callan felt her body tense and shiver, her orgasm building. He knew her body—he knew each of their bodies—after all these weeks. 

Come, Ava, he ordered.

Her mouth stilled around his cock, and she began to tremble, pressing down onto his face. Ava latched back onto his cock as her orgasm peaked, then worked her mouth over him. When her hands reached between his legs to grab his balls, he knew he was done.

Callan laid his head back on the pillow and moaned as he filled her mouth. Oh, yeah, fuck.

Ava spun around and climbed over his body again, that cheeky face grinning down at him. He reached up and grabbed her breasts, running his thumb over her nipples.

If you want more, go wake Noah or Liam, Callan said, wondering if he’d gone mad.

Just when he thought she was going to climb off, she lifted onto her knees, grabbed his already hard cock again, and slid down onto it.

Fuck, Ava. Callan gripped her hips as she laid her hands on his chest.

Noah walked in. Naked. All six foot three of his long muscular body on display.

Hey, Noah said sleepily, rubbing his hand through his mussed hair. I’ll take over.

He’d obviously heard Callan, vampire hearing being what it was. As he reached the bed, Ava leaned toward him and took his cock in her hand, stroking it.

You want me in your rear, or are you getting off him? Noah threatened, a brow lazily raised.

Callan smirked. Ava wasn’t a fan of the cock in the ass.

Jerk, she replied.

Come here. Noah sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her legs around him as she mounted him. Good girl. Fuck my cock hard.

Callan left, knowing Liam would be joining them, so he could shower and prepare for the night ahead.  

CHAPTER TWO

Ginny watched the dark landscape speed past them as she sat in the Moretti van heading toward no man’s land.

Okay, fine—Greenwood, Maine.

But it felt like the middle of nowhere, which it basically was, compared to Seattle.

Where she should be right now.

Instead, she and eleven others were heading to some torture camp—she had a ton more metaphors—to live indefinitely because, apparently, they were infected and going to turn into a new species.

Ginny felt like she was living in a nightmare.

As if being a vampire in a dominantly human world wasn’t challenging enough.

Now, thanks to some guy—fine, he’d been hot as hell—she’d met in a bar one night while the tequila had been flowing, she had become one of the unlucky ones.

Ginny rarely went out. That night, a few weeks ago, she did, and instead of finding her mate, she ended up infected by said hot guy’s blood when he bit her.

And in the coming weeks would shift into a wolf.

A damn wolf.

Like some kind of nightmare.

As if losing her parents and twin sister in a single-plane crash five years ago wasn’t bad enough. Ever since, she’d felt lost and alone. Ginny had just started feeling like her life was on track, beginning to fill the huge gaps the loss had created.

It had been earth shattering, losing them all—it still was—but it was the feeling of loneliness which had surprised her. She hadn’t realized how small her world had been. Ginny had been close to her mother and loved her father very much. But it was her twin sister, Penelope, she was very close with. They’d done everything together—travel, shop, go to the movies and parties, hang out and do all the things.

From time to time, they’d catch up with other friends, but Ginny had never taken the time to build strong relationships with other people.

Something she now realized was a mistake.

It wasn’t like she had no friends. Initially, of course, the support had been there, and then those casual friendships had faded into the background.

One person who had stayed around was Tony, a colleague at the time. They were both lawyers and ended up going into business together.

And a few years ago, she had met Chloe, also a vampire, who was now her best friend. They were close, and Ginny was very grateful for her friendship.

Neither of them knew where she was going or why. The Moretti king had demanded confidentiality on this matter and that they move to the mansion in Greenwood indefinitely while they changed into their wolves and learned to be shifters

Hybrids.

They were still vampires.

Callan, the asshole who had bitten her, was their alpha. He reported directly to the king and was in charge.

Ginny knew she had to follow the king’s rule—heck, she had signed the contract they’d all been given—but she also knew her rights as a U.S. citizen.

If they tried to stop her leaving, legally, it was kidnapping.

Ginny wasn’t going to sit by quietly and allow them to stop her from going home should she want to.

Spoiler: she was leaving once she shifted.

Ginny had a life to live. One she was only just rebuilding. There was no way she was staying out in Timbuktu and losing everything she had created.

Plus, she was keen to mate. To build a family and ensure she was never alone again. Ginny would never meet her mate in a shack in Maine.

And it got worse.

Apparently, there was a side effect to being a wolf that everyone thought was fabulous—everyone except her. They were told to expect a heightened sexual drive once they neared the alpha. Sage Moretti, the scientist working for the royal family, had presented it to them yesterday.

Ginny had decided she would sew her fanny shut before she let that male near her again. Not that he’d gotten that far the first time.

She was clear on what she had to do.

Keep her distance physically from him and all of them sexually. Shift into her wolf. Then get home and deal with the king and his illegal demands.

No one was going to force her to stay somewhere she didn’t want to be.

And yes, she was absolutely shitting herself about shifting into a wolf. A small dilemma, one she was going to have to figure out fast because the van had just turned down a long drive.

They had arrived.

CHAPTER THREE

Often in the shower , Callan’s terror of what the scientists at BioZen had done to him came flooding back. His mind was free to go in search of the memories, and it did.

Damn it.

Today was particularly bad.

Perhaps because when the newbies arrived, he’d have to face them, his guilt, and a bunch of questions he wasn’t willing to answer.

Callan didn’t want to share and relive the moment the scientists had taken samples from every part of his body without pain relief, or removed his limbs and then observed them growing back.

And his organs.

The sick motherfuckers.

At one point, Callan had realized the pharmaceutical company had previous information about vampires—which they shouldn’t have, since humans didn’t know about their race—as they never touched his heart, decapitated him, or exposed him to sunlight.

The three things that could end his life.

He had wished they had.

The thing was, Callan might not have been able to die, but he felt every single bit of pain, just as a human would. And it was substantial.

Ongoing for six long months.

It wasn’t just physical abuse; what they did to him had a huge psychological impact. By the time he’d escaped, Callan was fucked up. He felt like his soul had been torn into pieces, chewed, and spat out.

Dozens of times.

How he was holding it together, he had no idea. They had treated him no better than a lab rat.

Callan had questions he knew he’d never get answers to. Such as, did they know they were changing him into a wolf?

Had that been the plan? Or were they just fucking around with his DNA, and hey, presto, you’re a wolf shifter?

He’d overheard the conversation about DNA manipulation, but otherwise, he had no idea if they’d actually done it.

To be fair, he wasn’t a scientist and had spent chunks of time unconscious.

Callan would apologize to the twelve new arrivals, but he didn’t want their pity. Nor would he give them details about what had happened. That was his story and not an excuse. Callan might be a victim and a complete fucking mess, but he wasn’t playing that card. He was determined to be the best alpha he could be for all of them and earn their forgiveness.

Noah, Ava, and Liam had accepted what was happening, but the shared experience of seeing him shift likely played a strong hand in that.

His greatest fear now was that the BioZen scientists had done it on purpose and were furious they’d lost a great asset—him—an investment, and were looking for him.

Or they would find out and come in search of him.

And the rest of his pack.

So, the nightmare wasn’t over for him. His fear, rational or otherwise, was alive and well.

The Moretti medical team were working on an antidote to the serum BioZen had used to capture him, and they’d promised he would be the first to receive it when they were successful.

It was just another driver to ensure he kept his pack out here in Greenwood, safe and out of sight.

Because the BioZen was evil.

Pure fucking evil.

Callan was thankful every day he had his freedom.

And he had support from the king. Sage, the Moretti-employed scientist who had helped him escape—someone dear to his heart because of that—was helping them learn more about what the shifters were.

In a humane way.

Then there was Anna. She was a vet nurse who was mated to one of the king’s warriors. They’d never expected her to be needed in their new medical team, but here they were, with wolves who needed animal health knowledge.

Who would have thought?

The team was led by Dr. Abbott, who was an expert in humans and vampires. Having the three medical experts was a good start, and while they resided in the Moretti castle in Maine, they would visit them from time to time.

Callan would send them regular reports in between with what they had learned.

So, along with the twelve arriving, there would be more. That was the thing about infections—there was a domino effect.

He bit them. They bit others.

Thankfully, it wasn’t airborne or passed on by saliva. Only blood.

Clean-up was important if they were to control the spread and ensure they weren’t discovered—by humans, the wider vampire