by Lynn Hagen
“I would never hurt anyone. Do I really look tough?” Johnny giggled.
Drew smiled as he saw the deep set dimples on Johnny’s face. He was proud that he could help someone. Cecil and Blair came over to the table and took a seat. Johnny smiled up at both of them.
“Drew says I look tough with my scar. Do I?”
“You scare the hell out of me every time I walk by you, buddy.” Cecil shivered dramatically.
“Yeah, I’m afraid to be your friend,” Blair added.
“You want to be my friend?”
Blair nodded, and all four spent the rest of the afternoon talking and beading necklaces. The necklaces would be donated to the local Medical Center for patients.
Remi watched with pride knowing his mate had pulled Johnny out of his dark place.
“We got problems,” Storm whispered into Remi’s ear.
Remi looked over his shoulder and saw three wolves from the Eastern pack stroll into the center.
“Get the mates out of here.” Remi grabbed his cell phone and made a quick phone call as Tank and Evan made their way over to him. This was not a place for this bullshit. There were too many kids around. He feared these wolves would act like assholes and some human children would get caught in the crossfire.
As Storm ushered the four mates out of the back door, the three Brac wolves formed a wall and pushed the Eastern pack out of the front. If there was going to be a fight, it would be away from the children.
As the Eastern pack backed away, two SUVs pulled up, one stopping in front of them and the other stopping in front of the truck with the four mates and Storm inside. They only lived five minutes from the center, which is why Remi wondered what made these wolves suicidal.
Maverick, Kota, Hawk, Cody, and Jasper stepped out of the one closest to them as Caden, Ludo, Murdock, Gunnar and Loco surrounded the vehicle with the mates. Micah must have stayed home with his mate, Oliver. If he knew Micah, he was chomping at the bit to be here.
Tank, Evan, and Remi joined their Alpha Maverick.
“Why have you come to my territory where our mates are gathered? Do you not know that is an act of aggression to us?” Maverick stood his full six foot nine inches over the three trespassing wolves.
“We didn’t come as an act of aggression. Our new Alpha sent us to find one called Maverick,” the largest of the three said.
“New Alpha? What happened to Jackson?” Remi noticed Maverick glancing over at his mate sitting in the front seat, assuring himself that Cecil was unharmed.
“He was challenged and lost. Most of our pack was tired of his ways and wanted a new leader to guide us.” The three stood in non threatening stances, showing the Alpha that they did not want to fight.
“Who is this new Alpha?” Maverick asked cautiously.
“His name is Zeus. He wishes a meeting with you, sir.”
Maverick stepped away to consult with his Beta, Kota, and his Commander, Hawk. Since Timber wolves had superior hearing, Remi heard it all.
“Do you think this is a setup?” Maverick asked the two. “I don’t trust Jackson’s sneaky ass. With the last stunt he pulled trying to take our mates, he can’t be trusted.”
“We could set up a meeting in a public place with his Beta and Commander present as well. Of course, we would have Sentries placed in strategic locations to assure that the peace remained.” Commander Hawk replied.
Maverick turned back to the three wolves. “Very well. Have your new Alpha and his two top men meet me at The Café tomorrow at noon.”
The three wolves bowed, looking around to see if it was okay for them to leave. Tank stepped aside to allow them their escape.
“Get our mates home,” Maverick ordered Storm.
“Yes, Alpha.”
The four guys were chatting away in the truck on the way home, retelling their harrowing experience at the hands of the three rogue wolves. The warrior Storm chuckled as he listened to them embellish the tale.
“I thought my mate, Maverick, was going to take their heads off.” Cecil puffed his chest in pride.
“No way. Hawk looked like he was going to turn into a wolf and eat them.” Johnny giggled.
“Nah, Dakota would have scrambled all their brains together.” Blair laughed.
Drew smiled at the ridiculousness of Johnny, Blair, and Cecil. The three were comical together. He just sat there and listened to them, not knowing Remi well enough to say what he would have done. What was his mate like? Was he fierce or coolheaded? Was he playful or serious? Drew had a yearning now to find out. He wanted to know everything he could about the handsome man.
“Remi would have kicked their butts, too, Drew.” Johnny squeezed Drew’s knee, laughing the whole time. Drew felt warmness toward Johnny for including his mate in the tale of butt kicking. He wanted to be accepted by them, wanted them to like him.
He decided at that moment that his mate deserved someone he could be proud to call his. He would fight this addiction with everything in him. Drew became excited to see Remi at home. Home. He even liked the idea of calling that chaotic place home.
Storm pulled into the gravel drive and waited for the other two vehicles to join them. “I’m not letting you guys out until I have full coverage just in case the scene back at the center was a diversion for an ambush at home.”
When the others arrived, Storm hit the unlock button, signaling to the four passengers that it was okay to get out.
Drew immediately went to Remi, entwining his fingers in his mate’s. Remi smiled warmly at him as he led him toward the house.
“Sorry you didn’t get to spend more time out today.” Remi snaked his arm around Drew’s waist, kissing him on top of his head.
“It’s okay. I had fun. Thanks. Cecil, Blair, and Johnny sure know how to make a tale grow though.” He laughed.
Remi stopped and looked down at him. “Your smile is beautiful. I’d like to see it more.”
Drew blushed as he climbed the steps with Remi at his side.
They entered the den in full swing. Some of the Sentries had taken off for patrol as the others grabbed beers and started playing video games and shooting pool. Drew stood there fascinated at the camaraderie everyone was showing.
“Hey, Remi. Were you shaking in your space boots when the little pups showed up?” Jasper teased.
“Fuck you, queeny. Go bake some cookies or something.” Remi flipped him off.
“I’ll bake you some, all right. Not saying they won’t be laced with arsenic.” Jasper slapped a hand over his mouth as he looked over at Cecil. “Fuck, Cecil. I’m sorry, little guy.”
“Knew you were an ass, Jazz.” Remi pulled Drew over to the bar, sitting him down and getting him a soda.
“Are you two always like that?” Drew asked as he accepted the orange soda from his mate.
“It’s a love-hate relationship. We love to hate each other.” Remi smiled and tapped his finger on the tip of Drew’s nose.
“You guys really hate each other?” How did you trust someone to have your back on patrol if you hated them? Drew couldn’t figure that out. He sipped his soda as he watched Remi’s muscles bulge and flex when he twisted the top off of a beer. Damn, was he hot.
“Nah, it’s just fun harassing each other.”
“Oh.” Why was Drew feeling jealous? Did he think the two slept together? Maybe he wanted that same carefree relationship he had with Jasper.
“What’s wrong, pup?” Drew knew Remi could read him. He pressed his lips together before he could blurt out his insecurities. Remi didn’t seem the type to answer to anyone, let alone a half-were. Instead, he went with something safe. “Nothing.”
“Lying will get you spanked.” Remi winked at him.
Drew looked around the room. He knew wolves had exceptional hearing, and even though the noise level was astounding, they would still hear. He didn’t want anyone privy to his and his mate’s intimate details. If they ever got that far. Drew was beginning to think Remi looked at him more like a kid brother than someo
ne he wanted to fuck into the mattress.
He mouthed really to his mate.
Remi smiled and tugged on his ear, taking a swallow of his beer.
Yeah, kid brother.
Drew began to wonder why Remi hadn’t claimed him and bound him to his mate? It was something that was done right away when a wolf found his mate. It couldn’t be because of his age. Hell, he was nineteen. Although the shifters lived to be one thousand years old, they never claimed a mate under the age of eighteen.
They agreed with that human law. Wolves matured at the same rate as a young humans did until they hit the age of thirty, and then everything slowed down to a crawl. The aging process pretty much went dormant until they reached eight hundred and fifty, then they looked like an aged human at sixty-five and stayed that way until their death.
Drew began to question himself. Did his mate not find him attractive? Did he not want an addict? Maybe he was a disappointment to Remi? Maybe Remi didn’t want the hassle of enduring the struggle Drew went through every day? He became agitated. He wanted to be alone.
Drew slid off of the stool and left the den, walking up to his room. What if Remi never claimed him? Would he have to spend the rest of his life by the gorgeous man’s side without knowing the intimacy they should have shared? If Remi bound Drew to him, he would live as long as his mate did. If he didn’t, Drew would only have a half life being a half-wolf. He would only live five hundred long, lonely and torturous years.
He squealed as he was spun in the air, grabbing for something to anchor him. Remi laughed, “And where is my mate heading off to?”
Drew clung to him as Remi carried him down the hall and into their room. He held on tight as Remi tried to set him down. Drew didn’t want to let go, wanted to stay in his arms forever.
“Drew, what’s wrong, love?” He knew Remi could feel him trembling.
“Why won’t you mate me? Am I too ugly? Is it because I’m addicted to drugs? Why?” Drew buried his face in his mate’s chest, inhaling that musky, manly smell only his mate held for him. No other would ever smell this good.
“Is that what you think? I won’t mate you because you don’t appeal to me or because you’re fighting an addiction?” Remi asked gently as he ran his hands through Drew’s hair.
“I haven’t claimed you yet, pup, because I wanted to make sure you were ready. You are already fighting one battle. I…I just wanted to make sure this is what you wanted with a clear head. No pressure.”
“I want you as my mate, Remington.”
Chapter Four
Drew rushed the ritual words out before Remi could stop him. He had one hour to claim Drew, or he would go through agonizing pain, wishing for death, if Remi didn’t make love to him and bite him.
Remi’s eyes hooded, laying Drew on his back as he pushed his shirt up, kissing his abdomen. Remi skated his hands up Drew’s sides, lifting his shirt up and off in the process.
He attached his mouth to a brown disc as he sucked Drew’s nipple, rolling it in his teeth and bringing it to a peak. It pebbled under his ministration. He lapped at it a few more times. The taste was addictive.
Remi lifted his head, admiring all the milky white skin underneath him. He let out a small growl as he pulled Drew free of his clothes, watching his mate’s cock smack his lower belly. Damn, that was sexy. Pre-come leaked onto Drew’s stomach, glistening and taunting him. Begging to be sampled.
Who was he to pass up such an inviting invitation? Remi licked his lips as he bent over, cleaning the spilled mess. His mate threw his arms over his head, whining and moaning.
Next he went further below, inhaling Drew’s scent at his groin, where his scent was strongest, as he licked the wrinkly sac. Drew moaned again, spreading his legs apart.
Remi licked a path from sac to puckered hole as Drew’s hips bucked, a shudder raking through his body. He slid his arms under Drew as he nipped and sucked his perineum and balls.
“You are so beautiful,” Remi said in a voice laced with desire. He felt dizzy with lust.
Remi crawled up Drew’s body as he drew him down for a kiss. The kiss became heated, all consuming. He couldn’t get enough of his pup.
Drew broke away. “Gotta breathe.”
Remi grinned at the look of innocence his mate displayed. He watched as a blush crept across Drew’s face.
Charming.
Drew wrapped his legs around Remi’s waist, grinding his cock into his Remi’s denim. “Too many clothes.”
Remi pulled free of Drew’s legs to quickly kick his boots off, discarding his shirt, jeans, and socks, and then he climbed back on the bed.
Remi’s hand circled Drew’s cock, licking the glistening liquid seeping out once again. His pup tasted like the food of the gods.
Drew whimpered.
Remi smiled as his tongue swirled around the bulbous head, teasing the sensitive area that held the bundle of nerves. He began to bob his head as he took Drew’s full length, swallowing the shaft down his throat, Drew’s cock jerking and throbbing in his mouth.
“More. Harder.” Drew cried out as his hips thrust.
Remi took him to the root. He felt Drew’s hot seed pulse down his throat as his mate cried out his name. Pulling back, he licked the cock clean.
Drew was panting, grabbing at Remi’s shoulders.
“Slow down, pup. I’m not going anywhere.” Remi assured him in a rough whisper. He glanced up to see Drew’s little canines had dropped. Remi’s cock jerked at the sight. It was the hottest thing he had ever witnessed. Remi ran his tongue over both small points, delving in to claim the sweet taste.
“Please, Remi. Do something, I can’t stand it,” Drew pleaded hoarsely.
Remi kissed his neck as he speared two lubed fingers into Drew.
Drew stiffened, squeezing his ass cheeks together.
Remi stilled. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” His brow quirked up as he waited on his mate’s reply.
Drew panted out, “Yeah, a couple of times.”
“I told you lying will get you spanked, pup.” There was no way Drew was a virgin. He’d had had a boyfriend, right?
“I’m not, promise. Just been awhile.” Drew crossed his heart with a devilish smile, a smile that made Remi melt on the spot.
Remi moved slower, twisting his fingers until he found Drew’s prostate, and he grazed it.
“Oh, my god!” Drew shot up, crying out in pleasure. “What did you do? Do it again.”
Remi stroked over it again and again, adding a third finger as he watched Drew buck and moan. Remi growled at the sight of Drew in the throes of passion.
Pulling his fingers free, he flipped Drew onto his hands and knees. Remi rubbed his cock head up and down over Drew’s puckered hole, excitement gripping him at the sight of the little pink muscle. Lubing his cock, he pushed slowly in, stopping when Drew sucked in a breath. Remi rubbed his mate’s back as he pushed in inch by slow inch until he was seated in Drew’s ass. He shuddered at the tight grip around his prick.
Drew took a deep breath then nodded his head, signaling Remi to move.
Remi held Drew’s hips as he rocked back and forth, getting Drew’s body accustomed to his thick length. Once he felt the muscle loosen up, his thrusts became more demanding. He kicked Drew’s knees farther apart, pulling his ass closer, deeper. Remi watched in amazement as Drew’s muscle swallowed his prick over and over again, the skin stretched around his shaft.
Remi reached around and grabbed Drew’s cock, stroking it to match his rhythm. Drew dipped his back, mewling and moaning. Remi thrust harder, wanting his mate to reach his climax. Drew cried out, and warm liquid filled Remi’s hand.
“Do you accept me as your mate, Andrew?”
“Yes, Remington.” Drew moaned.
Remi struck, his canines sinking into Drew’s shoulder, Drew’s orgasm pulsing out stronger.
Remi could feel his soul merging with Drew’s. His life ribbons unwound and tangled with his mate’s, and their heartbeats synch
ronized as he felt Drew’s lust consume him. They were bound mates now. Drew would be by his side until they died of old age. Hopefully, no sooner.
Remi threw his head back as he roared his release, thrusting harder, deeper. His body jerked as his balls were emptied. He licked the wound closed as he collapsed over Drew’s back.
“You’re…heavy.”
Remi laughed as he pulled Drew against him, spooning his mate as his softening cock still lay inside him. He pulled the covers over them, snuggling down for the night.
Drew lay on the bed drooling as he watched Remi pull on a charcoal grey V-neck sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Fuck, he was hot. He wanted to drop to his knees in front of his mate and worship him.
“Horny again, pup?” Remi chuckled.
They had made love three more times during the night. Drew never seeming to get enough. Drew wanted to use Remi as his new choice of drug. Remi should be fine with that. Sex was a much healthier outlet.
Drew threw a pillow at Remi, embarrassed that Remi could feel the lust running through him. Now that they were mated, Remi would feel what he felt when in close proximity.
Remi walked the pillow back over to the bed, giving Drew a heated kiss. “Get dressed, babe. Gotta fuel our bodies between sexcapades.” He winked at Drew.
Drew quickly dressed and headed downstairs behind his mate, happy for the first time in a very long while. He would follow Remi anywhere.
He stopped at the bottom of the steps, his smile dropping from his face as he spotted Oliver. Drew didn’t want the guy ruining his happy moment. He didn’t want a confrontation. Oliver had become the bane in everyone’s existence since his arrival. He never had anything nice to say, always reminding the mates that they were faggots. Why Micah didn’t just shoot him was anybody’s guess.
Remi had already disappeared around the corner. Damn, he was trapped. Drew turned to race back up the steps before anything foul dropped out of the man’s mouth. Too late.
“Running to get your next fix?” Oliver snarled at him.
Drew kept going, throwing his hand over his mouth as he raced into his bedroom, straight into the bathroom, vomiting.