by Jane Perky
Jordan gave him a considering look. “All right. I’ll respect the Alpha’s decision. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit of a prick. I can see you’re honest at least. You’ll need to show us what you’re made of.”
Noel nodded. “I will.”
“Let’s talk more during lunch and go back to what I was saying before.”
Lunch sounded like a good idea. Perfect opportunity for him to talk with Jordan more. That could be two lion down, but Isaac had nine other pride mates working in his company.
Winning the trust of Isaac’s lions would take time, Noel realized, but at the very least, he tried to clear some things up. He’d focus on one problem at a time, and for now, he’d work at his job. Earn his position and maybe, eventually, his place in Isaac’s pride. He understood the predicament of Jordan and the other lions. If Noel put himself in their shoes, he’d react the same way to a complete stranger their Alpha introduced.
“I do have some questions,” Noel admitted. “I’ve been too nervous to process what you’ve been teaching me. Do you mind going over it all again? I promise this will be the last.”
Jordan looked exasperated. Noel picked up his pen, but thankfully, the lion shifter began his explanation again. He might have a slow start, but Noel would improve over time. He was sure of it.
Chapter 9
“Whew. I’m hungry,” Noel said, biting into his sandwich.
He’d gotten two ham and cheese sandwiches, plus a bag of chips and two chocolate cookies. Normally, he didn’t eat this much, but then again, he had a tendency to stress-eat.
“We went through a lot, but it’s okay. You’re doing great for your first day,” Jordan told him. They headed down to the company cafeteria, and Jordan introduced him to Gordon and Mary, two other submissive lion shifters in Isaac’s pride.
“Thanks,” he said, munching on his sandwich.
“That’s a lot of food,” Gordon remarked. Mary nudged him sharply in the ribs.
“I get hungry when I’m stressed out.”
Jordan laughed. “I know what you mean. I’m like that, too. That’s why I used to keep sweets at my desk.”
“When I heard the Alpha saved and staked his claim on an Omega werewolf, I kind of wondered what sort of person you’d be,” Mary told him.
“Did I pass or fail?” he joked.
“You’re all right,” Mary said.
“But we don’t know you very well,” Gordon pointed out. “Like, where did you come from? Did you belong to a wolf pack before?”
“Gordon,” Jordan warned. “Too many questions.”
“No, it’s fine. I was born here, along with my younger brother. Our father was a werewolf, mom was human, but she left us. My brother and I aren’t part of any pack. We live in the slums, and to survive, we usually keep our heads down,” he explained.
“But those hyena shifters found you?” Jordan asked. “I heard all sorts of bad rumors about them.”
“They’re bad news,” he admitted. “I’m good at being invisible, avoiding trouble, but the Bloody Claws gang’s expanding their territory.”
“Yeah, well, thanks to you, our pride’s now at war with those hyenas,” Gordon grumbled.
His heart sank at those words, because he heard the truth in them. Maybe that was the reason why the other lion shifters in the office continued to look at him with distrust and suspicion. A shifter group usually put down roots in one area, so he knew Isaac’s decision to move his pride into Crawford City hadn’t been an easy one. Even before the pride could settle down, Noel had already brought trouble to their doorstep.
To be fair, Isaac told him about his murdered brother, but Noel only added fuel to the flames.
“Don’t be an ass, Gordon,” Jordan said. Jordan coming to his defense took Noel by surprise. “Everyone in the pride knows it’s only a matter of time before we went head-to-head against those mutts.”
“Isaac told me Marsh killed his brother,” Noel said. “Hired a shooter.”
“Didn’t even have the guts to challenge the Alpha’s brother like a real man,” Mary said, disgust in her voice.
Noel suddenly lost his appetite. He pushed his tray away from him. For most of his life, Teddy and he stayed under the radar, avoided shifter politics. Now, he’d landed himself right in the middle of a war.
“That’s right. Those hyenas are cowards. Wouldn’t surprise me if they’d use an Omega werewolf as bait,” said a new nasty voice.
Noel looked up, swallowed, seeing a massive, scarred man in his early thirties scowling down at him. Unfriendly and aggressive energy rolled off from the dominant lion shifter. Noel instantly picked up the smell of alcohol. Alcohol didn’t affect a shifter as easily as a human, so he guessed Spencer must have drank a lot of beer.
His Omega wolf curled into a ball inside of him. Noel recalled seeing this guy glaring at him earlier that morning when Isaac introduced him to the rest of the staff.
“What do you want, Spencer?” Jordan asked. “Jesus. Have you been drinking? It’s only noon.”
Noel sucked in a breath as Spencer gripped Jordan’s shirt, hauled him to his feet, and snarled into the submissive lion shifter’s face. Chatter stopped. Silence filled the cafeteria.
“You defending the Alpha’s new pet now, Jordan? The Omega worked his magic on you, too?” Spencer demanded, slurring some of his words.
Noel rose to his feet. “Hey, if you have any problems with me, then tell them to my face.”
Spencer narrowed his eyes but at the very least, set Jordan down. Shit. Now Noel had to deal with all six-foot plus of asshole. “You think you’re the first guy the Alpha took interest in? You’re just his pet of the week, Omega. Mark my words, in a week or two—”
Spencer didn’t finish his sentence, because Isaac appeared in a flash and shoved the dominant lion shifter to the floor. Isaac’s growl practically made the floor vibrate. Mary, Gordon, and Jordan lowered their gazes, probably in deference to their Alpha.
Despite being a werewolf, Noel could sense Isaac’s Alpha beast, so close to the surface of his skin. He knew his Alpha didn’t lose his temper this easily. A man like Isaac valued control when it came to dealing with his business, with his pride mates.
Isaac lost his cool because of him, he realized. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch Isaac’s arm. The Alpha looked at him, the intensity in his feral golden gaze fading a little.
“It’s my fault,” he blurted.
“No it isn’t. Spencer came by our table, looking primed for a fight,” Mary argued. “And he’s drunk as hell.”
“Sterling, get him out of here,” Isaac ordered. A muscled, tat-up dominant lion shifter stepped forward and pulled Spencer up. Isaac leaned forward and said in a low voice, “I don’t ever want to see you come to work drunk, Spencer. Go back home. Cool down. I’ll think of a suitable punishment for you.”
Spencer grunted as Sterling led him away.
“Back to work,” Isaac told the watching crowd. “Noel, my office.”
Noel stooped his shoulders. He’d hoped he’d get through his first day at work without incident, but now? Lunch wasn’t even over, and already, he’d stirred things up in the office. What if Isaac changed his mind and decided he didn’t want Noel to be his personal assistant after all? For a moment there, he was already seeing himself becoming friends with Jordan as well. Noel never had that before. Friends from work.
Back when he worked at the diner or gas station, he usually kept to himself. Clock in and out. He’d greet his colleagues, got along with them, but he’d never try to dig deeper.
“Alpha, Noel’s not in the wrong,” Jordan argued. Isaac silenced the other submissive lion shifter with a look. Noel followed Isaac back upstairs, to his office.
“Shut the door behind you,” Isaac said.
Noel did just that. Being lunch break, the cubicles were empty. Good. He didn’t want anyone trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“I can explain,” he began.
“Noel, what
occurred just now, it won’t happen again,” Isaac said, leaning against his desk and crossing his arms.
“Isaac, what are you telling me? Look, we talked about this during breakfast. Not all your lions will get along with me. Spencer was an anomaly,” he said. “And your pride mates have every right to be concerned. Maybe Spencer was just worried about the Bloody Claws. I mean, I’m the reason why the pride’s at war with the Bloody Claws.”
“No, you’re not. Every lion who came with me understood the reasons for the move. I made sure of that, offered everyone a choice. Follow me or stay behind,” Isaac said. “Spencer’s a wild card. He wasn’t one of my lions initially, but my brother’s. He’s always getting into fights. I thought offering him a job here would help him settle down.”
“Don’t fire me,” he blurted.
Isaac blinked. “I’m not.”
“Oh. Ok. Just now you sounded all ominous.”
Isaac shook his head. “I meant Spencer. I can’t have a drunk employee who’s a possible danger not just to you, but also to my human employees. I can see you’re getting along with Jordan and the others.”
“Jordan’s been incredibly patient with me, even if I haven’t gotten the hang of things yet,” Noel said.
“I can find you another position, if being my personal assistant is not to your liking,” Isaac offered.
“No, I don’t want to quit just when I started at it. It’s only my first day. Give me another chance.”
Isaac chuckled. “Don’t misunderstand. I just want to know whether you’d enjoy the job or want another.”
“I like the thought of working closely with you,” Noel said. “I want to be of use to you.”
Isaac approached him, lifted his chin with his fingers, and kissed him softly, slowly on the mouth. He forgot about Spencer, and all his anxiousness and trepidation faded away. Isaac pulled away.
“You already are. If you weren’t by my side in the cafeteria, if you hadn’t touched me, grounded my lion, I might have done something I’d regret. Reminded Spencer of his place. That would only frighten the human employees, and they’re already terrified of me.”
“Not true. Judy from accounting told me you’re a better boss than your brother, who apparently yelled at the humans all the time.”
“Oh? That’s interesting to note. While I’m tempted to bend you over my desk and fuck you, I’ll restrain myself.”
Noel groaned. “Aw. I got to agree. If anyone saw us, it’d undermine your authority. Not to mention drag my reputation through the dirt.”
“I don’t make it a secret that you’re mine,” Isaac said, flashing him a toothy grin.
His heart thudded. “Alpha, please behave.”
“I like the fact that you’ve added ‘please.’”
“You can go at me however many times you want tonight,” Noel offered. He flushed. Did that make him sound too horny? He began to open his mouth again, but Isaac placed a finger to his lips.
“No take backs, Omega.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Chapter 10
“Don’t tell the Alpha about the quick stop we made on the way home,” Noel told Jim.
The bodyguard shrugged as he opened the front door for Noel. “I won’t, unless he asks. Isaac is the Alpha after all. I can’t lie to my Alpha.”
“Well, that works for me I guess,” Noel said.
“Hey,” Jim began, surprising Noel by touching his shoulder. Two weeks had passed since Noel moved in with Isaac and started working for his company. Jim continued to be the lion shifter assigned to watch him. The ice had melted a little between them, because Jim started to talk to him more casually.
“Don’t worry about it, so much. Knowing Isaac, the good news will cheer him up,” Jim added.
“I don’t know anything yet,” Noel said. “But I’m hopeful.”
Jim nodded. “I’ll be outside. Call me if anything happens.”
Once the door shut, Noel checked his phone. Isaac would be working late tonight but suggested he head back early since Noel had been working overtime the past three days.
“Hard to believe half a month’s gone by,” Noel murmured to himself.
He headed to the bathroom and took out the brown paper bag from the pharmacy. Fourteen days. Noel had made some progress when it came to socializing with Isaac’s other lions. He made friends with Jordan and Mary, usually met up with them for lunch. Even gone out for drinks and movie after work a couple of times. Not only that, through Jordan, he’d come to know more of Isaac’s pride members. At least they started talking to him more, although Noel had a feeling he still had a long way to go, before they fully let their guard down around him.
He’d also checked in on Teddy at least three times a week, and his brother seemed to be enjoying living on his own. Isaac sent over a lion shifter to continue watching Teddy from a distance, so Noel knew his brother would be safe.
Besides, Teddy was a responsible and serious kid. Teddy prioritized his studies over girls and parties. So far anyway.
Noel locked the bathroom door and pulled out the pregnancy kit from the bag. He took a deep breath. When he started throwing up three days ago and suddenly had an intense craving for donuts, he had a sneaking suspicion his body had started to undergo certain changes.
His sex life had gone from a zero to a ten after all. Noel grinned, just thinking about all the times Isaac cornered him in the bedroom in the mornings or before they went to bed. Not that Noel minded. Noel always got hard for his man, but was now a good time to bring a baby into the world?
The situation with the Bloody Claws gang had only gotten more intense. Just this week alone, there had been two incidents with Isaac’s lions and the hyena shifters. Fights which ended with both parties injured, hospitalized. Thank God no one had died yet, but if things went down this path, Isaac privately told him deaths would be inevitable.
Noel got chills thinking about it. He touched his still flat stomach. Noel reminded himself that he was more safe than ever. He no longer had to come home from a late shift at the diner, scared he’d be assaulted or mugged along the way. Jim had his back, and he knew Isaac would never let anything happen to him and his baby, if there was one.
“A baby lion shifter girl with Isaac’s eyes would be so cute or maybe a wild boy with a wolf in him. Or I could have twins and one will have a wolf and another a lion.”
Would raising a lion cub be different from a wolf pup? Noel remembered unearthing the secret stash of books Isaac kept in the bottom drawer of his desk back at the office. Noel had been annoyed by the dust on Isaac’s desk, so he grabbed a couple of tissues. Discovering that stash was purely by accident. Baby guides. The thought made him smile. Despite Isaac’s busy schedule, his Alpha was doing his research about their future kid. How cute was that? Noel couldn’t wait to tease Isaac about them.
Noel remembered Isaac telling him it didn’t matter if their baby was a lion or wolf shifter, or even an Omega.
No use speculating further. It was now or never. Noel grabbed the stick, peed on it, and waited.
It felt like hours, although in reality, it had only been a few seconds. Noel checked his watch.
Fists pounding on the door made him jump.
“Noel? Jim said you headed right to the bathroom. Are you sick?” came Isaac’s concerned voice.
“No,” he quickly answered. “Give me a few seconds.”
“Let me in. You don’t sound well.”
“Just nervous.”
“Nervous? About what?” his insistent lion Alpha demanded. “Unlock the door or I’ll break it down.”
Noel had no shred of doubt that Isaac could easily accomplish that. Not wanting them to pay for any unnecessary repairs, he let Isaac in. Seeing Isaac breathing hard and looking very sexy, with his tie undone and his hair mussed up, made his dick erect. Crap. Noel was pretty sure he was knocked up, because he wasn’t usually this horny.
He wanted to climb Isaac like a tree right now. Maybe Isaac c
ould pound him against that door, or wall, or bend him over the sink.
Isaac relaxed his shoulders, wore that cocky grin that never failed to kick-start his heart. “I can smell your arousal, little wolf.”
“Wait. I have news,” he blurted, pressing a hand to Isaac’s chest when the lion Alpha began to move towards his direction.
“You’re asking an Alpha to wait?” Isaac said with narrowed eyes, but Isaac used his teasing voice.
Noel looked at the counter, and Isaac followed his gaze. Isaac widened his eyes, approached the counter, and they both looked at the kit.
“Positive?” Isaac asked him.
“Positive,” Noel confirmed.
Isaac swept him into his arms, lifted Noel off his feet. Noel laughed, placing his arms around Isaac’s neck.
“I take it you’re happy?” Noel asked.
“Happiest I’ve ever been.” Isaac set him back down, kissed him deeply on the mouth. “You know when I moved my entire pride here, only thoughts of vengeance preoccupied my mind. Instead, I found something, someone more valuable. You.”
Isaac tugged him close, until there was no space left between them. The Alpha pressed his face against the side of his neck, licked the pulse point there.
“I can’t wait any longer, baby. I want to make it official. You’re everything to me, my heart and soul, and you’re carrying my child. Only right I put my mate mark on you.”
Those words made his heart hammer, swell with elation. Everything to me. Isaac definitely said those words.
“I love you, more than you can ever know,” he whispered. “Isaac, you rock my world.”
“I love you, too.” Isaac opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, but Noel felt no ounce of fear. He stood still as a statue as Isaac plunged his teeth into the side of his neck, breaking skin and drawing blood. Pain flared, but Noel gritted his teeth, let Isaac finish the task.
Isaac gripped his shoulders, and Noel could see it now, the mating bond flaring to life between them, joining his wolf to Isaac’s lion. For a moment, Noel could see the metaphysical golden rope connecting their bodies, their souls. It nearly took his breath away. Further still, Noel could see other lines, connections joining Isaac to others. Lion shifters. His pride. Noel’s now.