by Jane Perky
“Remember,” Magnus added, before they left. The vampire king was smiling. “Make friends, not war.”
“Weren’t you one for showing the Ridgeback wolves we aren’t pushovers?” Lee argued, returning his mate’s smile with his own.
Dante couldn’t quite figure out how those made their relationship work, but they seemed to be perfectly in sync.
“Useless traditions,” Magnus said in a quiet voice, looking at Six beside Dante, “are meant to be broken.”
Dante understood the rare emotion behind Magnus’ voice. Jerry had been a vampire blood slave before Lee and Magnus had rescued him and he’d become Colton’s mate. Magnus didn’t take blood slaves but willing donors to sustain the coven, and in return, gave those humans and shifters the coven’s protection and occasionally jobs, since some of Magnus’ vampires owned some of the businesses in town.
“I’ll do my best not to strangle Randall,” he joked, amused when Six nudged him in the ribs.
“You’re made of bricks,” Six muttered.
“I thought you liked my abs?” he asked as they headed over to Crash’s car. Crash took the wheel, and Lee sat beside him. The vampires rode in another vehicle, with two of the coven’s security guards.
“Are you two going to flirt the entire ride?” Crash demanded.
“I think it’s cute. If you recall, Crash, Mark and you were damn unbearable when you were newly mated,” Lee added.
“Ignore them,” Dante told him, reaching for Six’s hand and twining their fingers together. He knew his mate was still worried about the meeting, despite all his reassurances. “It’s going to be fine, baby. It will be all over in a matter of hours.”
If not, Dante didn’t tell Six he was going to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to his mate and child. Fuck the consequences.
* * * *
“Six, you’ve acquired some lethal allies,” Randall said dryly during the meeting, addressing him for the first time.
They were in the Ridgeback Pack house’s main meeting room, reserved for the Alpha, his enforcers, and their guests. Six had never been inside of these rooms, didn’t think he’d ever be important enough to merit a seat. One of the enforcers complained he shouldn’t be there, but Dante’s warning snarl silenced him right away.
“Let’s get back to the topic at hand,” Lee said.
“You expect me to believe vampires and werewolves are working together in your territory?”
“On the contrary, we already have a beneficial relationship,” Aloysius said.
“No matter what angle you look at it, you’re threatening my pack and denying me the right to avenge my brother,” Randall said, cold eyes lingering on Six.
That look would have made Six lower his head and apologize profusely not long ago, but Dante’s comforting hand on his thigh made him look his former Alpha in the eye. He wasn’t afraid, he realized with shock. Randall had no power on him anymore. The Alphas there and the vampires were on his side.
“That same brother who’ve you let run free despite his crimes?” Dante drawled, holding out hand to Lee who passed him a thick file. He slapped the file on the table, scattering police reports and pictures of Spike’s victims. Spike, it seemed, hadn’t been smart enough to keep his hobbies to himself. The higher-ranking members of Randall’s pack looked shocked at the pictures.
Randall drew a breath. “Where did you get this?”
“Alpha, are you saying you’ve known of Spike’s activities?” Randall’s Beta, Jack, asked.
“Please, everyone knows,” Ken, Six’s sole friend in the pack, interrupted. Six owed Ken for intervening when Spike had threatened to kill him. Ken had even helped him get that bus ticket.
“We have our sources,” Dante answered Randall, then nodded to Aloysius.
“It is not our purpose to threaten, Randall, but to inform you we take protecting our people seriously. Six is Dante’s mate, and Dante is a vital member of our Coalition. Even my king has extended his personal protection to Six.”
Six sat back in his chair. That was unexpected, and he reminded himself to thank Magnus when they got back home.
“And,” Aloysius continued, ignoring the aggressive energy rising from Randall’s wolves, “if you swear no harm will come to Six, his mate, or his child, we are always open to forming alliances.”
“You’re not the most powerful group in the region,” Randall said flatly.
“Not yet,” Dante agreed. “But Magnus works fast. The Lunar Fire Pack will be back on its feet in a few months, too. Are you sure you want us as your enemy?”
Randall snarled, but his enforcers held him back. His heart beat harder.
“We’ll consider your words carefully. Thank you for coming,” Jack said quickly.
“Good enough. Talk to Aloysius, because personally, I want nothing to do with your pack,” Dante said.
They left the meeting room, and only after their cars drove out of the compound could Six breathe a little easier. Paranoia had taken hold of him during the meeting, that his former pack members would somehow ignore guest rights and kill them all. If they did that, though, those who remained in Emerald Valley would extinguish every last living member of the Ridgeback Pack.
“I have a feeling,” Dante said, glancing at him, “the Ridgeback Pack is about to undergo some major restructuring.”
Six agreed. The trust Randall’s enforcers and Beta had built would crumble. Jack, he didn’t know well, but the Beta had modern ideas and had argued for taking down the compound walls and integrating the pack into the town. Whatever happened, Six would always remember his roots and hoped Jack was the new leadership his former pack needed.
“Aloysius mentioned that one of their wolves reached out to him before we got back to our vehicles,” Lee said from the front. “Asking if Emerald Valley would welcome new shifters eager to build new lives there.”
“What did Aloysius say to that?” Crash asked by the wheel.
“That they should send an application through the Coalition’s website.”
“New website?” Six asked, eager.
“Yup, a new job for you, Six.”
“Hah. Magnus has to wait. Six and I are going to be real busy soon,” Dante said with a wink, making him blush.
“Gag, Dante. Seriously. Can you not talk about sex?” Lee muttered.
“Sex?” Dante wore an innocent look. “Don’t know why you all have such dirty minds, including you, Six. I was just talking about our future.”
Six coughed politely. Yeah right. Knowing his mate, Dante probably had the filthiest mind out of all of them. Not that minded, since Six was going to be the receiving end of those deeds.
“What are you smiling about, baby?” Dante asked, eyes full of mischief.
“Guess.”
Chapter Fourteen
Six sighed in frustration in the bathroom of their apartment, staring at the tiny piece of red cloth and jumble of strings he had no idea how to put on.
“There should be an instruction manual somewhere,” he grumbled, grabbing his phone to text Mark.
Mark called him instantly. “Six? What happened? Are you all right?”
Ever since the kidnapping three days ago, Mark had been feeling guilty, but the other Omega could have done nothing to stop Spike.
“I’m fine, it’s just an emergency. Things are about to get hot and heavy between Dante and me, but I have no idea how to put on this thong thingy.”
The knock on the door made him jump. “Six?” Dante called. “Is something going on in there? I hear voices.”
“It’s nothing,” he said quickly, ending the call, knowing Alphas had better hearing than normal shifters. “Give me a few minutes.”
“Don’t make me wait too long. Otherwise, I’m starting.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a smart Omega. Figure it out.”
Six blushed. Did Dante mean he was going to masturbate while waiting for Six? Oh God. He saw Dante reclining in the bed, hand wo
rking his massive shaft. That powerful image floored him. His phone beeped. Mark had sent him a crude drawing of how to put the damned thing on, accompanied by a text.
Mark: Trust me, I got the same pair.
Then Mark spammed him a lot of winking smiley emoticons. Laughing, Six stripped out of the rest of his clothes and studied Mark’s diagram. After some tinkering, he finally wore the thong. Six blushed, looking at himself. The man thong barely covered anything, held up by nothing other than the strings.
It was now or never. Six turned toward the door, took a deep breath, and opened it. Dante’s groan filled his ears, and he followed the source to his mate, in their bed. Dante froze, hand on his dick, at the sight of him.
A pleased growl emerged from Dante’s chest. Clearly the bit of underwear did its work, because Dante’s pupils turned pure solid yellow. A hint of sharp teeth peered from Dante’s mouth. Six froze in place, admiring the hard lines of Dante’s body. The sight of his mate was one he’d never get sick of.
“Fuck, baby. You’re killing me,” Dante eventually said, raising himself from his reclining position to sit on the edge of the bed.
“You like?” he asked.
“Fuck yeah, I like.” Dante patted his lap, then held out a hand. “Wait. I have something, too.”
Dante pulled out the drawer containing his clothes, fumbled around, and pulled out a tiny pouch. He blinked as Dante took out a black anal plug. He blushed. Dante had used one on him before, and they’d had plenty of fun, but this one was larger.
“This is a vibrating plug,” Dante said with a grin, sitting back on the edge of the bed and patted his lap. “Come on, baby. I want you to wear this for me while I figure out how to unwrap my present.”
“P-present?”
“Your dick,” Dante said simply.
Six didn’t wait for another command. He straddled his mate, legs on either side of Dante’s muscled thighs. Dante automatically banded one arm around his waist.
“Arms around my neck,” Dante instructed, and Six did just that.
Their chests and groins touched. Six groaned, feeling the press of Dante’s steel-hard prick against his belly. Feeling bold, Six kissed his mate, not minding when Dante took over, spearing his tongue between his lips and deepening it. Six sucked on Dante’s tongue, rubbing his body against Dante’s hard chest, feeling sparks. Dante dragged a hand down his chest and seemed to enjoy himself, teasing Six through the fabric of his thong. He groaned as Dante pulled his mouth away.
“Don’t tease,” he murmured.
“But you wanted to play this game, baby, and drew a line in the sand by wearing this,” Dante whispered in his ear, tugging at the strings.
He moaned in response as Dante gave his dick a squeeze. Pre-cum wet the silken fabric, the sensation creating friction. Dante cupped his balls, dragged those talented fingers to the thin string lining his ass, then parted it. His devious mate took the plug and worked it inside Six with no effort, knowing Six was slick and ready. He groaned, accommodating the toy inside his ass. Dante reached for his phone by the bed.
“What are you doing?” Six mumbled.
“I activate the plug using this.”
Dante swiped at his phone and opened up an app, showing Six that vibration level. He licked his lips as Dante pressed mild, and vibrations began emanating from the toy. He groaned, raking nails down Dante’s biceps.
“Who invented this infernal device?” he managed to grit out.
“A genius,” Dante said, grinning from ear to ear. “This will warm up nicely for me, so I can fuck you right away.”
“I want you to fuck me now,” he demanded.
“Needy mate, be patient.” Dante nipped at his ear, and he shuddered, knowing tonight was going to be the one he’d been waiting for all his life—Dante was going to make Six his forever, his mate.
“I’ll try,” he whispered.
“Don’t try, baby. Do.” Dante lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking on it. Heat slammed into Six’s abdomen and went straight to his dick. He groaned, as Dante gave his dick another squeeze.
Six didn’t think Dante would have the patience to undo the straps, but the Alpha proved him wrong. Admittedly, Six was kind of hoping Dante would just jerk the fabric away and start rutting him. Dante kissed up his chest, biting and nipping along the way, marking Six so no would mistake who Six belonged to.
“Oh God,” he whispered as Dante undid the last piece of string. Air kissed his bare dick.
By then, he was rock-hard and thick, close to bursting. Dante reached for his phone and dialed up the setting of the vibrations to medium. Six groaned as the toy inside him drilled him further. He was getting wetter by the second, and he wasn’t sure how long he could hold back his orgasm.
“Baby, please. I can’t last long,” he admitted.
“Not yet, but I need my cock inside you now.”
“Good,” he murmured, relieved when Dante turned off the toy and took it off.
He felt the absence of the plug instantly, but didn’t need to worry because Dante guided his prick into his entrance soon enough. He gripped Dante’s shoulders, moaning as Dante sheathed his shaft inside of Six, not pausing or going steady. Six liked that, liked how his mate could read his needs like an open book by now. The entry was smooth, easy, thanks to the plug warming Six up for his mate.
Finally, Dante’s balls brushed against his ass.
“Breathe,” Dante said against his ear, and he obeyed.
“Ride me,” Six muttered, a plea in his eyes. “Make me see stars.”
Chuckling, Dante kissed him, sharp and rough, before beginning to hammer in and out of him. He clung to his mate, nails digging into skin. Each time Dante breached his ass, the pressure in him built, tiny zaps of electricity surging through his entire body and his dick. Dante fucked him faster, deeper, reaching his most intimate places.
Dante brushed sharp teeth against his neck, not hard enough to break skin, but it was a promise.
He nearly came then, but held back a little more. Dante shifted the angle of his thrusts, hitting his prostate. Back arching, Six cried out, eyes wide, lips parted. Dante sucked on his lower lip and kept aiming for his sweet spot repeatedly.
“Come for me, baby,” Dante ordered, slamming into him once more.
The command undid Six, who cried out, gasping as he came, painting Dante’s abdomen with his jizz. Dante pummeled inside of him several more times. Knowing his mate was close, Six bared his neck, offering Dante his all—body, heart, and soul.
“I fucking love you, baby,” Dante said.
“Me, too. Once, that scared me, because I was terrified of happiness, of losing you, but not anymore.”
Dante unsheathed his canines and bit down, breaking skin and hitting bone. Still moaned, but the pain wasn’t as bad as he thought, still cushioned by post-orgasm bliss. Something shifted inside him, began to take flight, his wolf meeting Dante’s in a metaphysical dance, joining one another and becoming one life force. Mates.
Contentment and peace filled him. It felt like Six had been living his entire life missing something vital, but now, he had all the answers. Dante completed him. They made each other whole, because they were mates. He finally understood why Dante had waited. It was so they could reach this moment of epiphany. Today was the right time.
Dante pulled his mouth back, yellow eyes savage, fierce, and full of tender love. Six’s turn to leave his mate mark, and he bit Dante on his left collarbone. The Alpha didn’t make a sound the entire time, merely watched him with pleasure in his eyes and infinite patience.
God, but Six loved this man, his mate, with every breath, and Dante felt the same way.
“I’m yours now,” he said after.
“And I belong to you, too, baby.”
Dante kissed the fresh bite mark on his neck, and Six did the same on Dante’s collarbone. A surge of pride filled him. Looking back, Six had come so far. He’d encountered roadblocks along the way. It wasn’t al
ways smooth sailing with Dante, but that was the thing about love. Sometimes, it was unpredictable, frustrating, but certainly worth it.
Six hadn’t just found his mate either, but a family. His parents had been cold to him all his life, and yet in their group, no one was afraid to show affection, didn’t consider it a weakness.
He rested his head on Dante’s shoulder, purring when Dante began stroking his back. It was then the baby growing in him kicked. His eyes were wide and his mate, too, looked surprised. Grabbing Dante’s hand, Six pressed it to his belly, and the little marvelous life in him kicked again.
Dante laughed, the sound so warm, so filled with happiness that Six couldn’t help but do it, too.
“This baby,” he said with tears in his eyes, “is going to be so loved.”
THE END
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