by Lynn Hagen
Micah lunged forward slightly, snapping his jaws when the speaker of the three reached a hand out to grab Oliver. His mate was growling, pacing back and forth in front of him.
Oliver shrank back, adrenaline coursing through his veins as the three men shifted and attacked Micah. Oliver scrambled to the nearest tree and hunkered down, waiting for the other Sentries to race in and help his mate. He snatched his jeans from the ground and made haste at pulling them on then his boots. Where were the other Timber wolves?
His head jerked up when he heard a whine. Micah was bleeding, but he wouldn’t leave Oliver unprotected, which hampered his fighting. With the wolf staying close to Oliver, it inhibited his moves. Oliver had to help him, or Micah was mud.
Oliver picked up a tree branch from the ground and swung when one of the wolves broke past Micah and tried to attack him. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be, not in his back yard.
“Micah!” Oliver cried as the wolf sank his teeth into Oliver’s arm. The wolf shook his head back and forth, eliciting a howl of pain from Oliver. It wasn’t a manly cry, but Oliver could give a shit less right now. It hurt.
Micah fell back and turned on the wolf attacking Oliver. He sank his teeth into the wolf’s neck. This got the rogue wolf off of Oliver, but now all three were attacking Micah. Fur was flying as Micah swiftly rounded from one wolf to the next, attacking in a craze.
Oliver swung the large branch again, striking one of them on the head. The wolf swiped his claws at Oliver, barely grazing his chest when three wolves from the forest jumped into the fight. Cody grabbed Oliver and pulled him away.
“No. I have to help Micah,” he cried as he tried to pry Cody’s fingers from around his forearm. Micah needed him, and Cody was trying to take him away. Oliver kicked the bottom of his foot into the Sentry’s thigh, using it as leverage. He pushed off and broke free. Spinning around, Oliver took off to the fight.
Cody tackled him before Oliver made it ten feet. “You can help by getting away and to the safety of our home. Now move it!” Cody grabbed Oliver around the waist and ran for the house, through the back door and through the kitchen. “Maverick!” he yelled as he carried Oliver toward his Alpha’s office.
“What happened?” Maverick asked as Cody deposited the bleeding mate onto the leather sofa.
“Rogue wolves in our back yard. They attacked Micah and Oliver. We need the doctor.” Cody pulled back his sleeve. Oliver could see blood oozing from the bites. With him being mated to a wolf, his body healed faster than an unmated human, but still not as fast as a wolf. If he weren’t mated, the blood would be flowing out like a river. Micah had explained the healing process to him, but it still made him nauseated to see the torn flesh on his own arm.
“Go get some clean bandages and antibiotics,” Maverick instructed Cody as he pulled his cell phone out.
Cody raced to the bathroom and got the supplies Maverick requested. Oliver knew they needed to stop the bleeding. He wet a washcloth and grabbed some gauze and antiseptic spray.
Cody ran back to Oliver with a wet towel and antiseptic spray. He wiped the blood away, but it still spilled from the holes. “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” Cody warned as he sprayed the open wound.
“Son of a bitch! Damn, that hurts. Fuck.” Oliver threw out more curses, his arm feeling like he just stuck it into an open flame. He held his arm, kicking his legs out as the pain shot through his body. He wasn’t like his brother. He hated pain.
“I see you’re a potty mouth like Cecil,” Cody tried to joke. Oliver knew the guy was trying to get his mind off of the situation.
“Not really, just hurts. Where’s Micah? Why isn’t he back?” Oliver tried to stand, but Cody pushed him back down.
Cody cleared his throat. “I have to give you props. You aren’t afraid to defend what you deemed as yours. Even in that tunnel awhile back you stood up to the other Alpha. You may not have brawn, but you got plenty of courage.” Cody laughed. “Or stupidity.”
“It’s definitely not brains.” Oliver smiled. “I don’t know. When things go down, I don’t think. I just act.” Oliver tried again to stand.
“Stay.” Cody sprayed the wound again, and Oliver just hissed this time.
“I’m not a dog. I want my mate.” Oliver tried once more to get up, but Maverick stopped him.
“You will do as Cody asks. Micah is fine. He’s tough and can handle himself. Get yourself taken care of. Micah doesn’t need to worry that his mate isn’t being tended to.” Maverick looked over at Cody. “The doctor is over at the Eastern pack. He can’t make it any time soon.”
“We need our own doctor here. What about that one we paid when Tank got shot? Maybe if we offered him enough, he would stay full time?” Cody asked as he bandaged Oliver’s arm.
“I agree. We’ll discuss it later. Just get Oliver taken care of until our doc can get here. I have some rogues to kill.” Maverick stormed from his office.
“I think he’s pissed,” Oliver joked as he panted, his arm throbbing with pain.
“Methinks you are correct, young mate.” Cody laughed. He laid the tape on the bandage then wrapped it around a few times. “There. Good as new.” Cody stood and put his hand out for Oliver to grab, and he pulled him to his feet. “Now go wait for your stud to return.”
“I can do that.” Oliver saluted Cody. “Thanks for helping.”
“Anytime.”
Micah limped back to the house. That had been one hell of a fight. Tank, Gunnar, and Evan came at the last moment to help. He was thankful when he saw Cody drag a kicking and screaming Oliver away. Now he needed to find his mate and see how bad his wound was. Maverick had come out in his wolf form. That was one badass wolf. The sheer size of their Alpha made men wet themselves. In his wolf form, he was the monster people were afraid lay under their beds.
Maverick killed all three in three swift moves. None would recover from their mortal wounds. Maverick just didn’t play around when it came to his mate or his pack. Threaten either and you unleashed the hound from hell. Micah limped up to his room expecting to see the wolf doctor. Instead, Oliver sat on the side of their bed. His mind seemed far away.
Oliver jumped when a wolf limped into his room. Micah. He recognized him from shifting in the woods and his onetime ride on his back weeks ago. He was beautiful and…hurt. Oliver jumped off the bed and dropped to the floor, pushing fur aside looking to see where Micah was hurt. He was afraid to touch him and hurt his mate further, but he pushed that aside as he dug through his fur for injury.
Oliver saw a gash in Micah’s hind leg. He ran to the bathroom and soaked a cloth in cold water, bringing it back and cleaning the dirt and debris from his wound. Micah whined.
“Sorry, I’m trying to be gentle.” Oliver saw the wound wasn’t too deep, so he checked the wolf’s full length. Micah had three more wounds. Running back to the bathroom, he wet the same cloth again, deciding maybe it was best he brought a second one with him.
Trying to keep himself from crying, Oliver thought of the day Micah had walked into his life. He had just come from the library, stalking up to the house, dreading going in. Oliver had decided that day to end it all. He had planned on taking a bottle of sleeping pills. At the time, he didn’t know Blair was trying to find anyone to help. He didn’t know three warriors sat outside his home waiting to take him away.
All he knew was the pain had to end. He couldn’t take his father’s hands on him anymore. When Micah had stormed into his bedroom, knocking the pill bottle out of his hand and pulling him to his feet, he thought he had been dreaming. The man was huge and fierce. He told Oliver to pack a bag because he was going to Blair. Oliver had jumped up and grabbed anything in sight, not caring what it was. But the whole trip to Micah’s home, he had watched his mate and drooled over him.
He had already struggled with himself for being gay. His father molesting him made him ashamed of it. That’s why when he first arrived here he had lashed out, fearing his father had maybe turned him all the way gay
when he was only questioning it. As he watched the other mates and witnessed that it was okay to be who he felt he was deep inside, the armor came off, and Oliver slowly accepted the person he was inside.
Tossing the cloths at the bathroom door, Oliver crawled up to lay next to Micah. He lay on the floor, nestling himself into the soft fur, pulling his legs up and resting his head on Micah’s neck.
Oliver must have fallen asleep because he woke to a hot tongue licking his balls. How the hell did he get naked? Who cared? He spread his legs wider, moaning at the feeling of a finger being inserted into him. Oliver pulled his legs to his chest as Micah inserted another, still licking his sac. The tongue ran up his shaft and sucked at his mushroom-shaped head. Oliver bucked.
“Need you,” Oliver cried as the feeling assaulted him. He needed more.
His hips hitched when he felt cool wetness glide down his crack, pressure, and then Micah bottomed out.
“Fuck, Oliver. You’re so damn tight,” Micah crooned as he began to rock his hips.
Oliver wrapped his legs around his mate as Micah fell forward, sipping at his lips. He cupped Oliver’s head, nipping at his neck.
“I love you, Oliver.” Micah gently thrust into him.
“I love you, too, wolf. Now fuck me harder.”
Micah laughed then pulled back, grabbing Oliver’s waist and driving home. “Is this what you want?”
“No, still want that damn ice cream cone.” Oliver smiled as he pulled from Micah and got to his knees. Micah sat back and waited as Oliver repositioned himself.
“Now,” Oliver said over his shoulder.
Micah drove into him, covering Oliver’s back with his chest. He bit into Oliver’s neck as he pistoned into him.
“Oh, god,” Oliver cried as Micah took him.
“No, I’m Micah, but close enough,” Micah teased. He reached around and grabbed Oliver’s cock, pumping it. Spirals of erotic ribbons bathed his body as Micah plunged deep inside of him. He would never get enough of his Micah.
Oliver pushed back as Micah drove his cock at lightning speed. He cried out at the same time Micah did. Their bodies shook from the explosion.
Micah fell to his side on the carpet as he pulled Oliver down with him.
“How’s your arm?” Micah petted his head.
“Hurt like hell, but I’ll survive.”
“You always do.”
Chapter Nine
Oliver sat in the den trying to figure out how to say half the words on his list. Japanese was hard. He tossed the paper aside.
“How’s your arm?”
Oliver ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Blair asked as he took a seat on the couch next to Oliver.
Oliver could feel a lump forming in his throat. He cleared it before trying to speak. “For blaming you.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. I wanted to come back and get you, but my life was a living hell the moment Dad shut the door in my face.”
Oliver swallowed, but it didn’t help. He wiped at his eyes as he curled his lips in. In less than a year, his life had gone to the pits of hell and back. “He was my first.” Oliver began crying, the floodgate finally opening. He finally let the pain out that he had been holding onto for so long.
Blair yanked Oliver into his arms, holding onto him for dear life. “Micah was your first. I don’t give a shit what happened. Micah was your first, Oliver. Say it.”
“I love you, Blair. I love you so much.” Oliver wrapped his arms around his brother. He cried until he felt the pain slowly ebb away. “You sacrificed so much for me. It’s a fucked-up situation but…thank you.”
Blair rocked him in his arms, giving Oliver that certain comfort only family had to offer. “That’s what big brothers are for.”
“Are you sure we aren’t sisters?” Oliver chuckled as he pulled back and wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “All this emotional stuff.”
“You can snot and wet my shirt with tears any time the need hits you.” Blair smiled and winked at him. “I’m just glad we’re back under the same roof. I missed you, kid.”
Oliver grinned. “You mean you missed bossing me around.”
Blair feigned offense. “When have I ever bossed you around?”
“I can run upstairs and grab my encyclopedia-sized list I kept.”
“You kept a list?”
Oliver laughed. The relationship they used to have was slowly forming again. He hated the bitterness that he lived in. The bile that rose every time he thought of home. Oliver wanted to forget. He didn’t want to just live under the same roof as Blair. He wanted to live under it with his brother. “Nah. No list, but a good memory.”
“Dude, you had me going there for a minute.”
“You wanna go to the rec center and shoot some hoops?”
“Oh, no. The last time we shot hoops in the driveway you sprained your ankle and cried like a baby for weeks.”
Oliver began to laugh again. It was true. He had limped around whimpering and ordering Blair to do everything for him, claiming he was an invalid. The good times. Oliver sighed. “I won’t cry like a baby, promise.”
“In that case, bring it on, Olli.”
Oliver cringed. “Please don’t use that name around here.”
“Why not, Olli?” Blair jumped up as Oliver chased him down. He would be mortified if the others found out his nickname from home. Blair laughed as he raced down the hall. Oliver came to a screeching stop when the Alpha appeared in the hallway right outside his office. The guy just intimidated the hell out of him.
“Where’s the fire, Olli?” Maverick smirked.
Damn wolves and their superior hearing. He couldn’t very well yell at Maverick to not call him that. Could he?
Blair was standing behind Maverick, sticking his tongue out at Oliver.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Blair.” Maverick winked at Oliver. How the heck did he do that? Blair’s eyes widened as his tongue shot back into his mouth.
“I’ll gather the other mates for the rec center.” Maverick chuckled as he walked away.
“Dude, he’s one scary beast,” Blair said with awe.
“You think he’s scary? Try getting one of Micah’s famous lectures. Now that’s scarier then Grandma coming at you with big, lipstick-smeared lips wanting a kissy-wissy.”
Blair threw his head back and laughed. Oliver chest shook with the laughter bubbling up and out. He was happy. It felt good.
“My mate wanting to go to the rec center?”
Oliver breathed a sigh as Micah wrapped his arms around his chest from behind. Nothing in the world felt as good as this.
Blair air dribbled a fake ball, jumped up, and made a shot. “Nope, he wants to go get spanked.”
“I can do that right upstairs,” Micah whispered in his ear. Oliver’s face was on fire from the sexual purr Micah put into his words. He knew his brother saw when Blair grinned from ear to ear.
“Perv,” Oliver mouthed at Blair.
“Big time, buddy. Didn’t you know?” Blair smiled and slapped Oliver in his abdomen before walking away.
Oliver squeaked when his ass was pinched. Micah chuckled. Hands began to rub the offended area. “Do you want a spanking?” The question was asked so low and seductively that drool ran down Oliver’s chin. He could feel Micah’s hard on pressing into his ass.
Oh god, Oliver was melting right there in the hallway. His cock was hard and throbbing behind his pants. “Ah-ha.” Oliver nodded as Micah’s rubbing hands continued around to his front and gripped his cock. His mate squeezed, and Oliver whimpered.
“Ball first,” Blair yelled down the hallway.
“Cock blocker,” Oliver mumbled. He shook his right leg out, hoping to ease the raging hard on he was sporting.
“Did he just say to play with your balls first?” Micah asked as he cupped Oliver‘s.
Oliver’s head fell back onto Micah. He was so close to orgasming in the hallway
that he had to pull his groin out of his mate’s grasp. “Gotta…um…yeah.” Oliver walked away in a daze. He could hear his mate chuckling once again behind him.
His brother was laughing as he came around the corner. He knew he was wearing a big goofy grin on his face and walking like he was drunk, but he didn’t care. Micah wanted him.
“What’s wrong with you?” Drew asked as he walked up.
Blair leaned down and whispered into Drew’s ear as the smaller mate began to blush. His mouth rounded into an O.
Oliver ignored them. He followed everyone else out to the trucks, his erection softening. Thank goodness. Johnny crawled in next to him. “Hey, Oliver.”
Oliver was glad he got along with the mates now. He thought for sure most of the mates would hate him after the way he acted when he first arrived here, something that didn’t sit well with him. He wasn’t the monster he had made himself out to be. He was just hurting at the time. He still did, but he was slowly dealing with that with Micah’s help.
“Hey, shorty.”
Johnny beamed up at him. “I like that.”
Oliver was nine inches taller than him. As far as mates went, only Blair matched his height at six one. “You gonna shoot some hoops with us?”
“I never played. Can you teach me?”
“I’ll do better than that. You can be on my team.” Oliver winked at him.
“Really? Nobody’s ever picked me before to be on their team.” Johnny sat next to him, bubbling with excitement.
Oliver shook his head. “You can be my permanent team partner. How’s that?”
Johnny bounced up and down in the seat, his arms raised above his head. “I’m Oliver’s teammate,” he proclaimed to anyone who was listening.
The three trucks pulled into the parking lot of the rec center. All the mates gathered outside the door.
Tank stopped Oliver and Blair from going inside. “I have to check first.”
Blair soured his face up and silently mimicked the warrior. Oliver threw a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.