The Artist And His Alpha

by Lisa Oliver

“You’re making this up, please tell me you’re making this up.” Sean looked at Liam for a bit of support. But Liam shook his head, his eyes sad.

  “The boy’s clearly got it bad for you, but between what Felix has said and Dad explained, if you truly want Caden, then you are going to have to make the first move, and you should have done it days ago.”

  “I’ve never had to make the first move,” Sean grumbled, even as he wondered if he even knew how to actively try and seduce someone else. He stood in a room, men vied for his attention and if he felt like it, he gave it. What the heck did he know about trying to woo someone. Caden needed to be claimed, that much was true. Otherwise he was going to doubt everything Sean ever tried to do. But Sean was used to men coming onto him, not the other way round.

  “Well,” Liam said, standing up and pulling Felix into his arms. “I’m sure there’re at least a dozen men in the club who you haven’t fucked yet, and would probably start panting for you the moment you favored them with a second glance. If that’s what you prefer – the easy mark, then go for it. But Felix is right. If you can’t be bothered to help Caden feel good about himself and show him how special he is, stay the fuck away from him. Dad’s already said he’ll take Caden into his pack for protection if the boy wants it, and there are lord knows how many men there who would be happy for the chance to protect and love an Omega. Fuck, they’d be queuing up for a chance to mate with someone as pretty and talented as Caden.”

  “You’ve got no right to talk to Dad about my mate,” Sean snarled automatically, but his heart wasn’t in it. It was too busy hurting. He had a horrible feeling he’d fucked up somewhere in his thinking, and the more he thought about it, the more he was sure he had scented a deep sadness coming from Caden when he’d left the apartment. Did Caden honestly think he wasn’t wanted? Is it possible that Caden thought he’d come tonight to screw around? Or that maybe he wasn’t coming back?

  “Sean,” Felix said firmly. “Caden is a good man and he deserves a good life. He’s too scared to go out into the world and find one of his own. With what your brother told me about Alphas, I was sure you were the one who’d show him a brand new world, not one based on simply surviving from one day to the next, or living in fear. If you can’t be bothered being that person, then please, let Caden go to your pack and find someone who will want him, and give him something to leave his studio for. He only stays within those four walls, because it’s the only safe place he’s ever known.”

  “I told you I want Caden, and I’m not letting him go to our pack until he is well and truly mated and he goes with me by his side. But I might need a book on dating or something. I’m not sure how to be in a relationship,” Sean said, unwilling to admit he felt a little bit unsure of himself, but feeling he had to say something. Realizing he might have done things wrong and hurt the man he wanted to claim – that was not an easy thing for Sean to admit to himself, let alone anyone else.

  “What you need is to go back to Caden’s, take him in your arms, let nature take its course, and then don’t leave him on his own again,” Liam said forcefully. “Take him out, show him a life, introduce him to people, protect him every second of every single day, and love him every minute of every night. Dad’s words, not mine.”

  “Dad’s a good man, and that is good advice. It’s certainly a start. Drinks and dinner in a couple of days, promise.” Sean was already heading out of the office. His racing heart would not slow down, and his wolf was letting him know in no uncertain terms that something was wrong with his mate. Sean jumped into his Viper and took off. If the police wanted to pull him over, then they could follow him to Caden’s place because he wasn’t stopping for anybody.

  His worst fears were realized when he clattered up the stairs to Caden’s loft. The front door was wide open and the lights were all on. Sean raced into the room, scanning the area, looking for any signs of life, but it was clear Caden left in a hurry. His heart stopped when he saw the wrecked painting. Caden would never desecrate a canvas. Even if he didn’t like the finished work, he would paint over it and start again. He didn’t believe in wasting anything.

  Sean knelt and carefully pieced together the bits of canvas strewn across the floor. When he viewed the finished work, he knew his brother and Felix were right. Not only did Caden see himself as always being on the outside and alone, but what was even more heartbreaking, was the clear evidence that his mate thought he’d gone out to screw around. Why hadn’t he at least taken the time to let Caden know that wasn’t even possible?

  Well, he would, Sean decided, as he stood and pulled out his phone. As soon as he’d found his mate again and claimed him. Then they would have a lifetime to talk – about their future, not their diverse past. As he dialed the number for his brother, he prayed he wasn’t too late. His wolf knew something was desperately wrong, and wanted out – never a good sign.

  Chapter Seven

  Caden huddled in the corner booth of a diner about fifteen blocks from his apartment. He’d managed to eat a steak sandwich and was now nursing his coffee, debating whether or not to go home. He’d been lucky he found a twenty-dollar bill in his jeans’ pocket; otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to get anything. His wallet, identification, keys and phone were sitting on his art table where he left them. He could probably slip back and get them and disappear again and Sean wouldn’t even know he’d gone. If his mate was out on the town, looking to get laid, there was a good chance he wouldn’t be back until the next day, if he came back at all. Caden could get his lovely coat, some boots, and changes of clothes, and disappear for a while.

  The bell above the diner door jingled, and Caden hunched even further in his seat as he heard the raucous sounds of boys out for a night on the town. Living on the streets, Caden learned that affluent young men who’d had too much to drink could be some of his worse tormentors – the men picking on him because he was small, pretty, and clearly homeless. Looking down at his paint-splattered jeans and t-shirt, Caden wasn’t sure he looked much better now. He’d learned from experience it was better to be as unobtrusive as possible.

  But Lady Luck wasn’t smiling on him. The boys settled into the two tables right next to the booth Caden was in, effectively boxing him in. He had to act quickly. As soon as the waitress came to take the young men’s orders, Caden moved. He wasn’t about to give any of the idiots the chance to pick on him, or worse. Unlike his time on the streets, he did have a home to go to – with a front door and a solid lock. All he had to do was get there.

  Sliding to the far side of the booth, which was closest to the door, Caden stood, palming the twenty. He passed the waitress and handed it to her with a hurried “keep the change,” as he kept moving. He thought he heard a snigger, and he definitely heard the word “faggot,” but he didn’t stop, didn’t look back and he didn’t run. Even a small predator knows how not to act like prey.

  As he left the diner he saw another group of youths across the road, and he shuddered as he hunched his shoulders, stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and started walking as fast as he could in bare feet. He didn’t know the men across the road, but he knew the type – homeless, hungry and desperate. Caden was glad he hadn’t brought his lovely leather coat because if he had, it would have made him a clear target. All he could hope was that the men would dismiss him because of his size and his paint-ruined clothes. Surely he looked almost as homeless as they did. But again, it seemed luck wasn’t on his side.

  “Hey you, blondie, don’t I know you?” a voice yelled through the night. Nope, Caden thought as he kept walking. He hadn’t made friends on the street. Friendship came with a price he hadn’t been prepared to pay, so he’d always kept to himself.

  “Hey you, you got any change?” Nope, again. Got nothing that would interest you, so just leave me alone. Caden walked faster as he heard footsteps coming behind him. The men had crossed the road and followed him. Damn it, he would’ve been better off staying in the diner.

  “Blondie, I’m trying to tal
k to you. It’s fucking rude to keep walking.” Yeah, like I’m going to stop and talk to you. Caden could hear the footsteps were closer, and as there were at least six of them and only one of him, he did the only thing he could think of – he ran. His wolf was anxious, wanting to get out because four feet were faster than two, but Caden didn’t dare. Knowing his luck, he’d trip on his clothes, or worse, and the danger of being seen when shifting was too big to even consider. He could run on two feet, he was good at that.

  With the feet pounding behind him, Caden tried to get his bearings. It had been a while since he’d even been in the rundown area, and he realized that he should have taken a right when he left the diner, not left. Boarded-up houses, burned-out cars, wrecks on the side of the road and the stench of garbage from overflowing bags left on the street – Caden didn’t have a clue where he was or where he should go.

  Dodging around even more garbage, his bare feet getting cut up by the uneven gravel on the footpath, Caden scanned the area in front of him, looking for somewhere to hide. The men following him had fallen back a bit, but they were still coming. Seeing an alley up ahead, Caden sprinted for it, praying for an unlocked doorway, a half-empty dumpster, anything that would get him out of sight and keep him hidden. But as he took the corner into the alley, his foot slipped on some wet oil or similar on the concrete and Caden whimpered as he fell, hitting his head on the block walls of a building.

  Fuck. Shit. Damn and fucking hell.

  Caden groaned as he reached behind his head. There was something dripping in his hair, and Caden smelled blood. His ankle was throbbing, which meant he’d probably sprained or broken it, but his wolf was yelling at him to get up, or let him out. He was in danger and as he looked up he could see why. Six, no, make that seven men, all in the ragged uniform of the homeless, were surrounding him and eying him like a prime rib roast.

  “I was trying to talk to you, blondie, now why you have to run off like that?” The ringleader was slightly taller than the others, better build, but even in the dim light Caden could see the pock marks of acne and the gauntness of the man’s face. He and Pockmark were probably about the same age and wasn’t that a sobering thought.

  “I don’t have change, I don’t have shoes, I have nothing worth stealing, and I just want to be left alone.” Caden didn’t think it would make any difference to talk to the louts, but he had to try.

  “You must have something, mustn’t ya?” the ringleader said, bending over and blessing Caden with the stench of unwashed teeth. “You came out of the diner, and you’d been eating there. We’s saw ya. So turn out ya pockets, and lemme see what you’ve got.”

  “I haven’t got anything,” Caden glared, knowing his wolf was shining in his eyes. He must have been, because the ringleader stepped back a bit, but not far enough. “I’ve been where you are. I’ve lived on the streets. But I never robbed anyone, never took something I didn’t earn, and I certainly didn’t bully anyone simply because they were smaller than me. I told you, no money, no shoes, no coat, nothing worth having. Now leave me alone.”

  “You’ve got a mouth. I can use that.” A skinny man with no hair stood beside the ringleader, cupping his cock through his jeans, and Caden was sickened to notice it was hard.

  “We’ll hold him for ya, right boys?” The ringleader looked around at his band of merry men and laughed. His cronies laughed with him, and Caden braced himself. He felt a hand on his ankle and he kicked out. As more hands followed, he kicked, and screamed and yelled and hit whatever he could, but there were too many of them, and not enough of him. Before he could do anything about it, there were hands pulling his hair, holding down his body, and a bare cock slapping him in the face. Fuck, it stunk and Caden tried to turn his head, keeping his mouth firmly closed and his teeth clenched.

  “Open wide pretty boy, those lips were made to take my cock,” the skinhead crooned as he rubbed his dick over Caden’s cheeks. Caden growled. It was all he could do with a clenched jaw, but he tried to put as much menace into his growl as he could. Not that it did any good. The skinhead laughed and the next thing Caden felt was a dirty thumb jabbing at his lips.

  “I told you to open wide.” The skinhead was persistent, and Caden had the sinking feeling that his first ever blow job was not going to be a new thing he could learn while worshipping his mate, it was going to be taken by force in a dirty alley with blood dripping through his hair. Damn, Sean, why can’t you ever be here when I need you? Just this once?

  “Let go of him, or I’ll set the hounds of hell on you.” Felix? Saints be praised, Felix found him, and if Caden’s nose was still working correctly, Sean and Liam were with him, both in their impressive wolf forms, their black fur making them look exactly like the hounds Felix was referring to.

  “Hey man, we ain’t doing no harm, the kid was asking for it.” Unfortunately, Pockmark hadn’t let go of his hair and even now was trying to force Caden’s head into a nod of agreement.

  “How stupid do you think I am? This is your last warning, let go of my friend right now, or face the consequences.” Felix sneered as he came closer, looking so out of place in his expensive clean clothes. Liam was sticking close to his mate’s side, while Sean was edging closer to Caden. Unfortunately, there was a mass of unwashed bodies to get through first.

  “There’s only one of him, get him,” the skinhead yelled, his cock still hard and still in his hand. Maybe Pockmark wasn’t their gang leader after all, because five of the men turned on Felix. Pockmark and Skinhead stayed with Caden.

  “I warned you,” Felix yelled, before his fist smashed into the nearest thug. Liam was growling and tearing into first one and then another, while Sean was prowling close to Pockmark and Skinhead. His teeth were bared, the fur on his ruff was raised, his lips curled in a snarl and the growl coming from his chest rumbled throughout the alley.

  “Nice doggy,” Pockmark said, letting go of Caden’s hair and backing away. “Nice doggy.” Sean snarled and then, with a quick flick of his head, snapped his jaws with a resounding click of teeth and Skinhead screamed and dropped to his knees, his hands now cupping his crotch for a totally different reason.

  “Oh my God, I think he’s bit my dick off,” Skinhead shrieked, and that was obviously enough for Pockmark because he sprinted out of the alley, Sean hot on his heels. Seconds later the thug was on the ground screaming as Sean savaged the man’s hand. Caden had to admit his mate had a poetic sense of justice.

  “Caden, are you all right?” Felix knelt on the ground beside him, a nervous hand running over his hair. Caden could smell his own blood, but he wasn’t feeling any drips anymore.

  “Yeah, I’m good. A bit smelly, definitely need a shower and I think I twisted my ankle when I fell. A shift should take care of that and the cut on my head.”

  “Okay then. Let’s get…” but that was all Felix had time to say before Sean’s solid wolf knocked him out of the way and was nuzzling and rubbing all over Caden’s face and neck. Caden, who managed to stay strong right up until that moment, took one whiff of Sean’s delicious scent and felt tears running down his face for the second time that night. This time he wasn’t alone. He wrapped his arms around Sean’s furry neck and hung on tight, taking long, deep breaths.

  “I can’t believe you came,” he managed to gasp after a long minute. “I…that’s never…no one has ever…” The big lick he got up the side of his face, and the gentle nudge of black wet nose, against his, gave Caden the impression that Sean knew exactly what he was trying to say.

  Chapter Eight

  Sean curled around Caden, stroking the young man’s hair, as his mate slept. They’d barely said a word to each other since coming into the apartment, although when Caden saw that Sean had pieced the ripped parts of his latest painting back together, he flushed such a deep red that Sean stopped him on the way to the bathroom.

  “I’m sorry I ever gave you the impression I didn’t want you, or that I might stray when I know we’re mates. I wouldn’t do that to you, but
you didn’t know that. I should have said something, I should have asked you to come with me, I should have done a lot of things differently and I’m sorry.”

  Caden hadn’t said anything, simply ducked his head in that shy way of his, and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Sean thought it might have been the perfect time to put that barely used tub to good use, but Caden seemed more keen on getting clean, than getting up close and personal. Sean could understand that. By the time he’d washed and joined Caden in the bedroom, his mate was fast asleep. Sean refused to sleep, determined that when Caden woke up, they were going to get a few things sorted out.

  As soon as Caden opened his lovely blue eyes, he made to move out of Sean’s arms – something they had both done in the week they had slept together. Sean hadn’t wanted Caden to feel pressured by his morning wood, and Caden…well, Sean didn’t know why Caden moved every morning, but he wasn’t letting it happen now. Instead of letting him go, Sean tightened his grip and Caden squeaked.

  “What are you doing?” Caden said, and Sean might’ve been worried except those lovely blue eyes were filled with lust, and Caden’s arousal was pushing hard against his leg.

  “Keeping us close, letting you get used to me touching you, something I should have done days ago.”

  “But…I’ll…er…” Caden’s face flushed, and Sean guessed it had something to do with the erection his poor mate was trying to hide.

  “We are mates,” he said firmly, running his hand down Caden’s back and lightly cupping that pert little behind. The action caused Caden’s cock to rub harder on his leg, and his mate groaned before he could stop himself.

  “Mates are sexually attracted to each other, all the time. It’s never something either one of us should feel ashamed about,” he continued, rubbing Caden’s boxer-covered buttocks, before slipping hand inside. He knew it – one of Caden’s butt cheeks fit perfectly in his hand, and this time Sean was the one who swallowed a groan.