by Lisa Oliver
“You must have come from a big pack, if they had enforcer training,” Karl noted.
“Big enough. Having a paranoid alpha helped.” Tanner looked over his cup. Karl was watching him intently. I wonder if he knows there’s lust in his eyes. Tanner looked back down at his coffee.
“The only reason the alpha was showing an interest in me is because he subscribed to the idea of keeping your enemies close. He felt, if he trained me as an enforcer, then I’d be loyal to him and not try and take over his position. Of course, on the inside I knew I wasn’t alpha material, but I faked it until I couldn’t.”
“Which would have been when you shifted for the first time?”
“Hmm.” Tanner took a sip of his cooling coffee and then rested his cup on the table, keeping his hands around it. “Let’s just say, no one in our pack had seen a pure white wolf before, and I think a zombie invasion would’ve been more welcome. I barely got out alive, and I’ve been fending for myself ever since.”
Looking up, Tanner could see Karl’s eyes had lost their heat and were now showing horror. He could only hope it was for the pack’s behavior, not his. “Anyhow, I wandered for a lot of years, more avoiding packs than anything else. Fifty years ago, pack territories covered most states, but of course over time, as more people leave their home packs, shifters live among humans more often, and with the whole urban sprawl concept, I found I didn’t have to keep looking over my shoulder anymore. I’d worked in law enforcement before, and when I applied here, I met Captain Peters and he put me through the detective exam. I’ve worked for him ever since.”
“But you must have been, what, fourteen or fifteen when you shifted for the first time?”
“Fifteen, I was considered a late bloomer.” Tanner let out a long breath. “So, you see, I do have experience in what it’s like, being suddenly thrust into a situation I knew nothing about. At fifteen, I’d never lived among humans – I only knew pack life. I didn’t even have any clothes when I escaped. I had basic schooling, could read and write and that was about it. I’d been attacked so badly, it took me a month before I could get the energy to shift back to my human form. Then there was the little matter of what I was going to wear so I could get a job. I learned very quickly it was the only way I was going to be able to eat. I adapted. I didn’t have a choice at the time.” Tanner met Karl’s eyes squarely. “You do.”
“Actually, I find I don’t have much of a choice when it comes to you either, and that’s not a bad thing.” Karl reached over, lightly touching the backs of Tanner’s hands with the tips of his fingers. Tanner could feel the electricity spark between them. “You see, after listening to your story, my protective instincts are in overdrive. I want to find your old alpha, your father, and anyone else who thought it was okay to attack a defenseless teenager and slash the throats of the lot of them. I know that’s not practical, but that drive to protect and care for you is powerfully strong.”
“I only answered your questions,” Tanner reminded the alpha quietly. He didn’t move his hands away. He couldn’t. “I didn’t say anything deliberately to inflame those alpha instincts of yours.”
“I know you didn’t. You were honest, just like I was with you.” Karl looked at where their hands were touching. “I find you arousing and yet relaxing to be with, which is confusing, but not unpleasant.”
“Uh huh.” Karl wasn’t the only one confused.
“With every passing minute, I’m failing to see why I had a problem being with you in the first place.”
“My facial hair and lack of boobs was mentioned.” Those were not things Tanner could hide, although he supposed he could shave.
“But does that really matter in the grand scheme of things?” Karl had moved his hands so now his palms were resting against the backs of Tanner’s hands. Tanner could feel the heat of them through his whole body. “I mean, when you think about it, isn’t who a person is inside more important than the body that soul is housed in?”
“I’ve always believed so.” Tanner couldn’t help adding, “which is fine if you’re looking for a friend or companion, but with mates there usually comes a time when the clothes come off. We’re wolf shifters and as an alpha wolf I would imagine your sex drive is higher than most. With me, you’d be faced with a whole set of new realities you haven’t considered yet, beyond the lack of tits.”
“You mean your dick and balls.” Karl shrugged. “I’ve got the same equipment.”
“I’m aware.” Tanner wiggled slightly in his seat. He did not need to be thinking about Karl’s junk. “But as you haven’t been with a man before, and I haven’t been with a man before…”
“You’ve only slept with women, too?”
Trust the horny alpha to jump to that conclusion. “I’m gay and proud of it,” Tanner said firmly. “I’ve only ever been attracted to men. But, unlike pack lore that goes on about male omegas just being horny sluts for anyone with a dash of power in their aura, most omegas need an emotional connection with a person before they trust them with their body. I haven’t had the time for that sort of connection before. You’re looking at a fifty-year-old virgin.”
Well, that was one way of shutting an alpha up. But gods, the heat in those eyes is enough to scorch the table.
/~/~/~/~/
Oh wow. Oh shit. How the hell did a man that good looking end up…? Why isn’t he taken? Why aren’t people following him around in droves? Karl looked around. They were still alone. That was good. It meant he still had time.
“You need to mate with me.” Okay, he shouldn’t have just blurted that out, but Tanner didn’t understand the ramifications of his admission. He was untouched! “Look, I’m an alpha wolf, and I’ll fight anyone I have to, but at heart I’m a businessman. I have ideas. I lead people to make those ideas happen. It’s just not safe you going out there.” Karl pointed out the window.
“People will want you – men and women and everything in between. I mean you’re tall, your face belongs on the front of a magazine, you have a responsible job and you fill out that suit like a dream boat. Don’t you see?” Karl patted his chest, sure his heart was going to beat right out. “I mean, I can fight. I will fight for you, but you’re calm and sensible, and… and… don’t you get it? People might touch you. Touch what’s mine. I need a mountain of bubble wrap. No, that won’t work, you’ll still be seen. What about a cap? Dark glasses? Maybe a balaclava will cover your gorgeous face? But no, that won’t work because you’re still you…” Karl’s arms were flapping all over the place. “My gods, how do you fend people off?”
His voice might have risen to a bit of a screech, but Karl was in a full-blown panic. He’d been granted this incredible gift of a man. To think, he’d freaking walked away. And Tanner had been waiting for him… Him!
So, when the calm did come, it was such an incredible relief. Tanner’s sturdy arms were around him, and Karl’s nose found that sweet, saturated scent in the crook of Tanner’s neck. “You can’t go. You can’t leave,” he mumbled annoyed that the scent was being partially blocked by Tanner’s suit jacket and shirt collar. “People will get their hooks in you. They’ll grab hold of you… and then… and then…”
“Hush, alpha. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Tanner’s voice was so deep, so calm.
“You’ve got me now, but have I got you?” Somehow this was really important to Karl. “I know I hurt you walking off the first time I saw you. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I can’t… I don’t know… I’m so confused.”
“Come here.” Tanner straightened up, pulling Karl off his seat. “Put your arms around me. I won’t bite.”
Operating more on instinct than anything else, Karl did as he was asked, wrapping his arms around the unfamiliar shape of his mate. His head landed on Tanner’s shoulder – it felt good there – and when Tanner’s arms rested firmly around his back Karl’s whole body sagged. Closing his eyes, he focused on the heavy thump of Tanner’s heartbeat, trying to ignore the one in his pants.
/~/~/
~/~/
Tanner inwardly chuckled at Karl’s reaction to his virginal status. While he was sure the man’s urge to mate was purely instinctual, and probably driven by his wolf spirit, he’d never seen anyone get adorably flustered at his lack of sexual experience. The possessiveness, the way Karl couldn’t seem to control his thoughts. Hugging the man was Tanner’s own instinctual need to care for someone the Fates deemed perfect for him… and maybe Karl was.
He fit. Tanner wasn’t blind or stupid. Karl fit against him as though they were crafted from the same cloth. And rather than be stiff in his hold, Karl relaxed into him, his head turned on Tanner’s shoulder so he could inhale his scent. The urge to run his hands down Karl’s tight ass was strong, but Tanner kept his fingers where they were. Sex, something Tanner had only dreamed about occasionally on lonely nights alone, would lead to a commitment he wasn’t sure Karl was ready to make. And yet it wouldn’t be something they could ever come back from.
Although Karl’s little hip movements weren’t helping Tanner’s resolve. Being taller, Tanner couldn’t do anything about his dick which was probably pressing a hole in Karl’s stomach. Karl’s length was pushed against his thigh – Karl’s doing, not his – and it seemed his would-be mate wouldn’t need a lot of encouragement to get off on him.
Now isn’t the time, Tanner told himself firmly, and maybe Karl was psychic because he pulled away – not far, but at least his cock wasn’t trying to find a hole in Tanner’s thigh muscle anymore. “I never dreamed,” Karl said quietly, looking up, his amazement on his face. “I never dreamed of how amazing a hug could be. You truly are an omega.”
“White fur, soggy ass, and all,” Tanner said, inhaling sharply as he buttoned his jacket to cover the bulge in his pants.
“You’re my omega.” Karl rested his hand on Tanner’s chest. “No one else’s.”
“Does that make you my alpha?” Tanner didn’t mean to sound accusing but he did know a bit about Karl’s history.
Karl hesitated a moment, and Tanner looked towards the door, but then Karl inhaled sharply and said, “Yes. We are mates, we will claim each other, and we will find a way to make things work between us. After your appointment with the realtor.”
That soon? So much for binge-watching on Netflix tonight.
Chapter Twelve
Karl had always prided himself on being a problem solver. His company originally evolved from overhearing a bunch of truckers grumbling in a bar one night, not long after he’d left the pack on his uncle’s advice. Unlike Tanner’s eviction from his pack, he had money, a car, and the means to support himself. But still filled with anger over his parents’ death, Karl spent most of his time in bars and dives, trying to drink his troubles away. Hearing these men chatting about issues with logistics, Karl shook off the fog from his brain, joined the conversation and started thinking of practical solutions. It was from there that his multi-billion-dollar logistical software company was born – although the technology was a lot more basic back then.
It was that same single-mindedness that filled Karl now, as he drove Tanner to his aunt’s house to meet with the agent. From a physical perspective, claiming Tanner was not going to be a problem. He might have been aware of a spot of humping going on when Tanner encouraged him into a hug, but how was he to know just feeling the man’s solid bulk against his would be such a turn on? Karl didn’t know before, he did now, so physically he was sure he could do what needed to be done to claim the omega properly.
The societal and emotional side of things needed more thought. Karl had the inborn confidence of an alpha wolf shifter. If people in his company or social circle didn’t agree with him having a male partner, then Karl wouldn’t let it bother him. He knew he was lucky in that respect – he had money, influence, and power. That wasn’t going to change taking Tanner as a mate. And he was pack free, the recent cut of pack ties was fortuitous timing now he thought about it.
No. Karl’s only issue, and one he was prepared to face head on, was that Tanner the omega was miles away from the dream omega he used to console himself with when he was lonely, and wank off about at night if he wasn’t in a woman’s bed. His dream omega needed cherishing, a gentle hand, guidance and protection. Tanner would likely smack him if he tried that sort of thing with him.
He gives comforting hugs, Karl thought to himself as he pulled into the parking spot in front of Tanner’s aunt’s house. That’s a start.
“Are you all right?” Tanner’s voice pierced his thoughts. “I swear I could hear you thinking from here.”
“Just making some mental shifts, my mate.” Karl smiled at his worried looking omega. “I’m more worried about you.” He gestured through the windscreen at the house. “This can’t be easy for you, doing all this.”
“That house there,” Tanner pointed to the smartly painted house next door. “That is the first home I’ve ever owned. Aunt Julie and Alfie had been living here for close to twenty years when I moved in. I saw her struggling with a half a dozen grocery bags as I was moving in and ran over to give her a hand. When Alfie came home that night, they both came over, bringing a casserole to share for dinner and over the years they became the family I’d never had. I was there for Aunt Julie when Alfie died suddenly. I can do this for her now.”
“What about her stuff?” Karl kept his voice low. “Will you need…”
“Aunt Julie sorted through all her things when she moved into the apartment. Mabel, Mrs. Appleby, has agreed to take care of things there. Aunt Julie left her some of her favorite pieces, and the rest Mabel will donate to the local domestic violence shelter. Apart from a few large pieces, this house is already cleaned out.”
“Well, you just let me know what you need from me.” Karl rested his hand on Tanner’s arm. “Is that the agent?” He pointed with his free hand at the man who’d parked in the driveway.
“George Booker, yes.” Tanner moved to get out of the car, but Karl stopped him, leaning over and brushing his lips against Tanner’s cheek, fully aware the agent was watching them.
“Don’t tell me,” Tanner chuckled, “you think the agent is good-looking and out to get me.”
“I don’t know what he looks like.” Karl kept his growl to a minimum at the idea Tanner might find the agent’s looks appealing. “I just want him to know you’re mine.”
“Beats peeing on me, I suppose.” Breaking free, Tanner got out of the car, and Karl quickly followed. “George,” Tanner said with a smile, striding up the footpath, holding out his hand for a quick shake. “Thank you for meeting us here. This is my partner, Karl Jacobs. What can you do about selling this house?”
He called me his partner. Yes, there was a swagger in Karl’s step as they went into the house.
/~/~/~/~/
There could’ve been something intimidating about two wolf shifters wandering around in suits after a nervous realtor, but Tanner didn’t think so. Karl was bouncing, almost as though he was a puppy again, and only scowled in a minor way if George got too close to him. Tanner hadn’t thought his simple statement about Karl being his partner would put the successful businessman in such a good mood, but he realized he’d clearly underestimated the possessiveness of an alpha wolf.
Up and down, through the house, Karl was like a shadow – a handsy shadow. Nothing overt, just a hand on Tanner’s back, or his arm, or shoulder. That did surprise Tanner. His mate, until a few hours before had been a confirmed ladies man, and it was clear from the stammering that George knew who Karl was and his reputation.
It wasn’t until the contract was signed, and George was about to leave, that Karl opened his big mouth and stuck his boot right in it. “What about your house?” He said, waving in the direction of Tanner’s house. “You won’t be needing it.” George’s eyes lit up. “Do you think…”
“I think that having two houses next door to each other up for sale at the same time, would send the wrong idea to prospective buyers about this neighborhood,” Tanner said quickly, determined to keep his ire
at Karl’s highhandedness to himself. “My aunt’s house is bigger and should fetch a good price, which in turn would increase the potential sales value of mine, wouldn’t you agree, George?”
“Well, yes,” George said reluctantly, clearly torn about who to please. It was Tanner’s signature on his new listing contract, but Karl’s reputation meant he was someone he felt he needed to impress. “But Mr. Jacobs, sorry, Karl,” he gave an embarrassed laugh. “If Karl thinks it’s time to sell yours too, then it could be handy for me, as the agent to have a lessor priced property available in this excellent neighborhood for buyers who can’t quite reach the price of your aunt’s house. A good second option if you like. Houses don’t come up for sale in this area very often.”
“My house isn’t anywhere near ready for viewing just yet,” Tanner said firmly. “As soon as it is, you’ll be sure to hear from me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Stalking down the driveway of his aunt’s house, Tanner was almost at the door of his own when Karl caught up with him.
“You didn’t need to be rude. Was it something I said?” Karl hissed urgently as Tanner found his keys and unlocked the door. Hearing George’s car go slowly past his house, Tanner smiled and waved, and then headed inside. Karl would follow. That was a given. Kicking off his shoes, Tanner headed to the kitchen. He needed coffee and a moment to breathe before he tore strips off his yet to be claimed mate.
“This is a really nice place,” Karl said coming through into the kitchen. Tanner was pleased to see he’d taken his shoes off too. “It’s clean and tidy. Why didn’t you want George to look at it? He seemed keen, and it would save having to meet him a second time.”
“I don’t recall us discussing what I wanted to do with my house once we claimed each other.” Tanner busied himself at the cabinets, finding some coffee beans, and the grinder. The noise of the grinder made speech impossible. Water for the coffee pot, find some mugs. He had just emptied the beans into the filter and switched the coffee pot on when he felt Karl’s heat behind him.