Welcome to the Alphas' Retreat. We hope you enjoy your stay. Remember, no sudden moves unless you want to be pinned to the ground by an alpha.
CW: Stalking, primal, sex toy, mention of: free use, non-human sex, chasing, breath play.
(If you'd like to read this on your e-reader, comment below and I'll get you a special e-copy.) 
I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I’m actually spending a week with a few dozen hungry, horny monsters during rut season. And I would be offering my body to help them through it.
A week ago, you couldn’t have convinced me I’d be walking into an alphas retreat. One of dozens of invite-only events held all over the country for mythkin who had sexual urges that needed quenched but no safe space to do so.
Non-humans, or mythkin, have existed forever, but humans have only lived alongside them for the last 200 years. I worked at an office with a pretty equal mix, mostly shifters and humans, which is how I got the invite.
My co-worker Andara, or Andi as I knew her, was alpha to one of the Charlotte wolf packs. She pulled me aside when I went to refill my tea, asking me for a favor.
The favor? She needed me to go with her to a week long sex retreat. Apparently, the retreat was always looking for ‘fresh meat’, so members fulfilled their obligations by bringing in new guests willing to be hunted as sexual prey.
Goddess knows I was ready and willing prey. Being chased through the woods and fucked into the ground by a ferocious predator was my kind of vacation.
Hurry up before Andi thinks you chickened out.
As I shut off my car, I took in the sight of a log cabin lodge surrounded by deciduous trees turning the golds and oranges of an Appalachian autumn. It might feel imposing for some to be surrounded by an endless forest, but this was home to a woman like me. The woods weren’t scary to a woman born and raised in the Allegheny foothills.
Still, there was a darker edge to the shadows between the trees. It felt like someone was watching from a copse of oak trees. A reminder that dangerous beasts lurked around every corner.
They were out there. Waiting for their next meal.
I shivered as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My mind might be warning me away, but my body was ready for an ambush. Movement to my left drew my eye to a flash of yellow-orange fur that disappeared behind the trunk of an old pine. Someone eager to get the hunt started.
Hope you’re hungry. Because you’re about to get a feast.
The lodge itself had a warm wood exterior with a covered porch spanning the perimeter. I spotted a few rocking chairs for lounging and a wind chime made of deer antlers. This place ticked all the boxes for being a cozy outdoor retreat or a re-creation of Cabin in the Woods.
“Once in a lifetime chance, Eden. Don’t fuck this up.”
In the car mirror, I brushed away a smudge of eye shadow and adjusted my neon yellow crop top. Bright clothes, and hair, were my safety net, even if the hope was that I’d be spending most of my week naked.
My thighs clenched at what kind of creature had been watching me from the woods.
So many monsters, so little time to fuck.
I locked my car and headed for the entrance right as Andi stepped out onto the wrap-around porch. She was one of the few wolf shifters who chose to be in her partial shift all the time. The perfect harmony between woman and wolf. Not to mention one of the hottest people I knew.
With the body of an Amazonian warrior and the face and claws of a wolf, Andi was every monster fucker’s dream. I should know—I was the connoisseur of monster fucking.
“So glad you could make it,” Andi said. “How was the drive? You know you could’ve carpooled.”
“You know I would’ve made you late. It’s better I came on my own time.”
A fluffy tail wagged behind her as Andi pulled me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around her broad torso and sank my fingers into her plush charcoal grey fur.
“A woman should always be aware of her flaws,” she said with a chuckle. “And have a dramatic entrance.”
She squeezed tighter, deepening the embrace like we hadn’t seen each other in years. For just a moment, I forgot how starved of touch I’d been. Lucky for me, Andi wasn’t stingy thanks to shifter affections.
The longer my soft body pressed against her muscled one, I felt her hardened nipples through her bikini top. Heat rushed to my face at what that could mean.
I hadn’t noticed any sub-text when she first approached me about the weekend. Maybe she was hoping what I was—that we might hook up over this next week.
Did I turn her on? Or was that just her baseline during rut.
I’d never had a chance to see her during rut since she took off work every six months to ride it out with her pack.
New goal: get into my hot coworker’s bed by the end of the week. We disentangled our limbs to my disappointment, but not before I pressed a swift kiss to her furred cheek. Andi snatched up my weekend bag and gestured for me to go first.
“I’ll take that,” she said, “and we’ll get you settled in before the mixer.”
Ever the gentle she-wolf.
Up a set of weather-worn steps, I took in the enormity of the building now that I was closer. They could easily fit fifty people in a place this large, which hopefully meant lots of beastly partners for me.
A set of oak double doors were propped open, showing off intricate carvings of mythkin along their borders. Andi waited patiently inside the door, giving me time to soak in the craftsmanship. I spied a gargoyle with detailed outstretched wings and a bear standing on its hind legs.
A grizzly man with an oversized cooler climbed the stairs behind us, so I hustled through into an expansive great room. Ceilings probably fifteen feet tall towered above us, outfitted with natural wooden beams at different heights.
Probably for harpies or bird shifters.
“Wow, this place is gorgeous. Do you come here all the time?”
Andi pressed a spare paw to my lower back, leading me around someone struggling with their suitcase. Those paws could probably wrap around my whole thigh, which wasn’t an easy feat.
“We like to come here when the pack isn’t in town at the same time,” Andi explained. “Plus, Ollie does a fantastic job organizing everything. He’s that tiger over there collecting supplies. Somehow, he handles all these alphas in one space without us tearing chunks out of each other.”
She pointed to the right of the door where a pale orange tiger shifter stood directing people with a clipboard. I watched the man behind us open the cooler he’d been carrying, and Ollie inspected long slabs of meat wrapped in cellophane.
Sounds about right.
Meat is almost always on the menu when alphas are concerned. Most alphas were carnivores, mirroring predators in the animal kingdom. Though, not all of them fit that mold. The minotaur I dated a few years back who was strictly vegetarian. That didn’t stop him from being his stable’s Alpha.
Andi’s body warmed my back, safe and familiar as we moved deeper into the lodge’s cozy interior. Her woodsy herbal scent comforted me with the overwhelming number of alphas around us.
“Solarys will get you signed in over there,” Andi instructed.
I recognized her mate from the picture on Andi’s desk: distinct blue markings framing his face; wide, tufted ears, and a set of sharp wolven teeth gleaming from his muzzle. He sat behind a folding table with papers as I approached and waited for a couple to finish filling out name tags.
Sol stood, towering over me by at least two feet, and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Andi’s told me so much about you. Feels like I already know you, chère. Please call me, Sol.”
His torso was too broad for me to wrap my arms around, so I held on by his pale blue fur.
This wolf knows how to hug.
I guess I needed this week more than I realized. How long had it truly been since I’d had a partner or a consistent lover for that matter? Too long, really, with how easily I melted into a near stranger’s arms.
The scent of pine seemed to be embedded in his fur, carrying with him the essence of the forest. An obvious sign that Sol was more beast than man.
Exactly what I needed.
As I started to let go, his snout ghosted along my shoulder and left a trail of hot breath on my skin. I froze instantly, allowing Sol to scent me without triggering his hunting instincts. If I tried to move away now, then he’d be compelled to sink his teeth in and take me right here.
Am I really ready for a claiming already? Goddess, my libido is out of control.
“So, uh. Andi said you’d be able to sign me in. Do you need me to show you the waiver I signed?”
With a grunt, he let go and rifled through the folders on the table until he found one with my name on it.
“I've got everything already. Here’s a map of the lodge, a list of the other guests, and an itinerary.”
I took the folder and opened it to find a color-coded map of the grounds among some pamphlets and an agenda. One item caught my attention right away. I pulled out a paper doorknob sign, like what you’d find in a hotel room. At the bottom, my name and species had been printed, along with Do Not Disturb in block letters.
“Cool, but what about when you are ready to—”
His golden gaze stayed on mine as he flipped the sign around. Using one of his dangerously sharp magenta claws, he points to the phrase: Ready to Pounce.
“Really, a pun?” I asked.
“It’s an easy way to communicate consent. New guests, introverts, people who like to be woken up with sex.”
The deep baritone of his laugh set tingles along my spine. His other paw wrapped around my thick waist, and those claws bit into my skin in a deliciously possessive way.
Damn, he must need it bad, too.
“Which side will you be choosing tonight, chère?”
I was going to have to take care of things before dinner otherwise I would be serving myself up on a platter. Clearing my throat, I shoved the sign back in the folder and stepped out of his shadow, missing his warmth immediately.
Down, woman. You have six more days to jump his bones.
“I uh, should get settled in to my room first.”
That’s smart…run away like some scared bunny. As if that wouldn’t tip him off.
The bedrooms were all on the second floor and up, so I aimed for a long staircase dominating the far corner.
Slowly walk away. No sudden moves.
Looking back, I caught a glimpse of his toned ass in a pair of distressed jeans with his tails flicking lazily behind him. The dexterity on his thin, turquoise tail conjured images of it being wrapped around my throat as he pounded me from behind. For a woman with asthma, there was something ironic about being so hot for breath play.
I hustled up the stairs to find my duffle already waiting at the top. My heart warmed at how thoughtful Andi always was with me. We may have begun as co-workers, but three years forged in the fires of customer service had made us friends.
Beneath the inside jokes and emotional support was longing. Andi was a brilliant she-wolf, a strong leader, and so kind to everyone. Not to mention she looked damn good in a bikini top.
Room number 14 was up another flight of stairs and all the way at the end. Which meant drunk me was going to have a ball trying to get back to my room. Pushing the wooden door open, a comfortable cabin greeted me in muted earth tones and rustic design. A large queen-sized bed covered in a black buffalo check comforter faced large expansive windows overlooking a dark green lake.
Maybe it’d be warm enough for a swim this week.
I closed the door and slipped off my shoes as I padded over soft wool rugs to the ensuite bath. The glass shower was large enough to fit a griffin, and was outfitted with one of those expensive rainfall shower heads. What I needed right now was a cold shower and some alone time with favorite battery-powered travel accessory.
There was still time before the mixer, and I desperately needed to temper my expectations about this week. Just because Andi and I were attracted to one another didn’t mean she’d invite me to her and Sol’s bed. So, I couldn’t bank on that being a sure thing.
Andi and Sol were alpha mates—they ran their pack as a couple. Not because of a fated or biological imperative, but because they were simply perfect together.
At least that’s what I gathered from Andi’s stories. Meeting Sol had certainly proved that theory correct. Which of course fueled my desire to be with them both.
I undressed quickly, leaving my clothes in a pile on the bedroom floor. Grabbing my trusty vibrator, I waited for the shower to heat to lukewarm temp. Between the rush of the water and the faint squeal of old pipes, I could’ve sworn I heard someone called out my name.
Your imagination’s running wild again, Eden. There’s no one there….
Meet you between the moonbeams and bat wings, reader.
-Amelia