by Lisa Oliver
imagined the softness he’d heard before. There was nothing soft
about the man in front of him.
He fumbled in the pocket of his skin tight jeans for his driver’s
license and handed it over, keeping his eyes on the floor.
Moments later it was handed back to him and the voice said,
“You’re free to go.”
With a snort, Roy grabbed Terrance’s arm again and propelled
him past the policeman. Taking one last sniff, Terry didn’t
imagine the growl he heard as Roy led him away. He couldn’t
even think about what that might have meant. All he knew was
Roy was taking him away from the one man who was meant to
be his for all eternity, and the big fucking Alpha hadn’t even
noticed him. He hadn’t even offered his name. Bastard.
/~/~/~/~/
Zander stood motionless as he watched the two young men pick
their way through the debris towards the exit of the club. The
mouthy one, Roy was apparently still talking loudly to his friend,
Terrence, according to his license. Zander’s head had already
reduced that to Terry, or baby, or... He shook his head. Not
going to happen. But nothing could stop Zander from watching
the slight wisp of perfection walking out of the door. Terry kept
his head down, probably not even listening to his friend, his
stance hunched and almost…broken. Yes that was the word, and
Zander knew he was to blame for the young man’s mood.
He couldn’t believe it when he spotted Terry for the first time.
With Sully ragging on in his ear about two Detectives having to
attend a bar brawl, Zander just wanted to get in, get the job
done and head out for something to eat. The radio call had said
anyone in the area had to respond, and he had turned the car
around and responded. He didn’t care about Sully’s comments
on how it was beneath their pay code. Zander had been working
twelve hour shifts trying to crack a drug ring that was being
operated out of the inner city area, and he needed sleep and
food not necessarily in that order.
From what they’d been told, the fight started simply enough.
Four big men against four smaller, more colorful ones, was how
the bartender had put it. But then for some reason other patrons
had joined in, and all hell had broken lose. By the time Sully and
Zander had rolled up, uniforms were trying to break up some of
the outer fringes of the fight, but Zander’s eyes had been
immediately drawn to the center of it. A flash of color, multiple
colors actually, stood out from the drab greens, blues and
browns of the other patrons clothing. Zander felt drawn to the
little man wearing it, and didn’t resist.
By the time he had gotten up behind Terry, the small man was
kneeling on the ground, checking out someone who was
obviously a friend. The pink t-shirt was a dead giveaway, along
with the kohl ringed eyes, the lip gloss and what used to be
coiffed hair. The friend with the blood on his face was clearly
gay. But it was Terry who grabbed his attention, or more
specifically, Terry’s scent – berries heated under the sun with
cream, alongside the unmistakable undertones of Omega wolf.
Even among the smell of spilled booze, sweat and dirt engrained
in the carpet, Zander’s nose could pick up Terry’s signature
scent.
Zander had never gotten an erection so fast. It was as if every
molecule of blood headed south to his pants and when Terry had
looked over his shoulder, his shy dark eyes registering shock and
confusion, it took every single ounce of Zander’s control not to
leap on the man then and there. Terry was perfect in every way.
Tiny, slim, but with toned arms that suggested muscles
everywhere else, slender hips, and the most perfectly formed
full lips Zander had ever seen. But he stopped himself. He could
never make a move on this man, his mate. No matter how much
his wolf snarled and fought in his head, no matter how much
Zander yearned to grab that slim body and pull it towards
him…he couldn’t.
“Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of those little queens around
here. Want to get a pizza?” Sully’s arm wrapped over his
shoulder as his longtime partner on the force broke Zander out
of his trance. Right there was his reason that Zander was
watching his mate walk out the door. Sully hated gays and he
was Zander’s partner. They had protected each other’s backs for
more than ten years, since they had met in the academy. Zander
had never tried to change his friend’s attitude – he knew there
was no point. But right now, if Sully didn’t shut his mouth,
Zander was going to shut it for him.
“Hey, what’s wrong? One of those little flamers give you a bit
too much lip? Did you get a load of the jacket on the little one?
Fuck, who dresses those people?”
Zander breathed deeply, and then again. He’d had years of
perfecting the art of controlling his emotions. As an Alpha wolf
choosing to live a human life, he had no choice. But he’d never
struggled like he was in that moment. His anger was roaring up
inside of him and he wanted nothing more than to grab Sully’s
neck and tear out his throat. It was bad enough when Sully took
any opportunity he could to slander the gay community, but
insulting his mate was more than Zander could stand.
“I’m going home,” he said, trying to keep the snarl out of his
voice. “Long day, catch you tomorrow, yes?”
“You sure? We haven’t eaten yet, but hey, okay. See you at
eight.”
Sully had a puzzled look on his clean cut all American face, but
he dropped his arm from Zander’s shoulder and Zander moved
purposefully towards the door. There was a part of him that
longed to see that sweet little man just one more time. His mate,
his one and only. Another part hoped he wouldn’t because if he
did, Zander wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to control
himself.
But as he burst through the door of the bar and scanned the
street, there was no sign of his colorful little Omega and a pain
zinged through Zander’s heart, even as he breathed a sigh of
relief. Houston was a big place, there was no reason for his and
Terry’s path to ever cross again. So why the hell did he feel like
his reason for living had just disappeared? Oh yeah. Because he
had.
Chapter Two
After a night spent crying, Terry got up with the sun, determined
to pull himself together. His mate didn’t want him. He would
have to live with that. Mr. Perfection was probably straight, and
it really didn’t matter if there were shades of gay in the man,
lurking in the darkness, nothing was going to change the fact
that his Alpha let him walk away. In fact, told him to go. Terry
shook his head as his mind wandered over the night before.
There would have to be some gay element in the big policeman
otherwise the Fates wouldn’t have paired them together, but
clearly Mr. Perfection
was never going to acknowledge it. What
Terry should be worrying about was himself. A wolf could get
really depressed super-fast if their mate rejected them.
Flicking a quick look at the huge clock on his apartment wall,
Terry saw that it was after six in the morning. Picking up his
phone, he plopped down into his one armchair and clicked the
top contact listing. The ring tone sounded just twice before the
call was answered.
“Terry, is that you? What’s wrong sweetie?”
Letting out a sigh, Terry said quickly. “I met my mate, Mom, but
he doesn’t want me.”
“Oh honey, that can’t be true. How could anyone not want you?”
God bless his mother. Terry knew he was lucky. Born in the
backwaters of Ohio, his parents had been surprised but
staunchly supportive when he had shifted into his pure white
wolf form for the first time. They were lone wolves, true mates,
and while they had always warned Terry of the dangers of
wandering into any wolf pack territory, they had totally
supported his decision to go to college at the Art Institute in
Houston, which was where he had met Roy, Joel and Charlie.
When the four men decided to stay on in Houston and get work,
Terry’s parents had supported that decision too. There were no
known wolf packs in the area, so his parents thought he would
be safe. The chances of ever meeting his mate were slim, but
they were more concerned with his safety. Male Omegas weren’t
usually treated well in a pack situation and Terry’s parents made
sure that he knew that as much as he knew how much they loved
him and accepted him the way he was.
“He’s an Alpha wolf, Mom. A Detective. I’m guessing he’s
straight.”
His mother laughed. “He might look like he’s straight, hon, and
he might act like it, but believe me, if you two are mates then
he ain’t straight. Now tell me what happened. Where did you
meet him, and what did he do?”
Terry told his story, his heart warming when his mother got
upset that he and his friends had been attacked, and being
encouraging when Terry explained meeting Mr. Perfection.
“Did he sniff you?”
Terry thought back. “Yes, I’m fairly sure he did, when he said he
liked my jacket.”
His mother laughed again and as much as Terry loved the sound,
his own heart was breaking. And his mother, being a Mom,
seemed to understand.
“Sweetie, he won’t be able to stay away from you.”
“How can you be so sure?” The way Terry remembered things
his so-called mate was a man with an iron will – not the type to
break easily.
“He’s not going to be able to have sex unless it’s with you. One
sniff, and the bonding process starts to take hold. That’s what
happens with an Omega, hon. He can try, but his dick isn’t going
to respond to anyone but you.”
Terry giggled, and then he laughed. And just as quickly he
stopped. “Hang on a minute,” he said in a rush. “That means I
won’t be able to either.” Gods, he was going to die a virgin.
“No hon, you won’t, not now you have his scent in your nose.
Your wolf won’t allow it and you’ll get sick if anyone tries to touch
you intimately.”
“But I’ve never…That’s not fair. I thought that rule only applied
when wolves had been intimate with their mate. I’ll never get
the chance…” Terry wailed.
“Oh hon, I so am glad you have saved yourself,” his mother’s
voice certainly sounded happy over the phone, but Terry didn’t
think he had anything to be happy about. His mate was straight
and Terry couldn’t experience even a bit of sex, not even the
fringes of it, with anyone else now. How freaking unfair was that?
“Sweetie, your mate is an Alpha wolf. When he realizes you’re
untouched, believe me, it’s going to blow his mind. You will be
so glad you waited. And you’re right, with other wolves they
have to be claimed first, but an Alpha and Omega pairing – the
Fates decided to work a little harder on those because they are
so special and quite rare.”
“That is so old fashioned, and so unfair,” Terry grumbled even
as he thought of giving his virginity to someone like Mr.
Perfection. Would the man be sweet and gentle? Would he really
prefer Terry’s inexperience to someone like Roy? Knowing his
luck the answer was a big fat no, on both counts.
“There’s nothing wrong with waiting for the right person. At least
you know you have a mate. Now all you have to do is wait for
him to sort his shit out.” his mother reminded him.
“But what if he never…”
“He will,” Terry’s mother cut him off firmly. “Take my word for
it. He’s an Alpha wolf. You won’t want to hear it, but he’s
probably been having sex since before you were born. He’s not
going to want to go without it and he’ll come running to you soon
enough.”
“So it will just be sex?” Could Terry feel any worse? He’d spent
his years at college devouring romance novels and he knew he
was holding out for true love. His friends, all human, thought it
was a sappy idea and totally unrealistic. But Terry knew just how
possible it was in the shifter world. His parents were a shining
example of it.
“Just because he comes running to you for sex, doesn’t mean
you have to give in to him. Remember all wolf shifters love their
mates, and usually fairly quickly too. The sex is a means to
connect with a person, the love will happen in its’ own time. If
you want to wait for love with this mate of yours, then he will
have no choice but to wait for you. He can never hurt you, and
I promise you sweetie, he will love you, just like we do,” his
mother said, and on his end of the phone Terry grinned.
His mother was right. He knew what true love looked like. If Mr.
Perfection was going to come running, expecting him to roll over
and present his ass, well that man had another thing coming.
There was a good reason he’d never gone with the bar pickups
who seemed to come onto him in droves. He was waiting for love
and he would keep waiting for it, until it hit his Mr. Fucking
Perfection in the head.
“Thanks Mom,” he said warmly, feeling a lot better.
“Keep me posted, hon,” his mother said as she rang off.
/~/~/~/~/
“I’ve got us dates for tonight – dinner and dancing. I’ll pick you
up at eight. Sound good?”
Zander had been working at his desk for more than two hours
when Sully walked in. Not that he was getting anything done. All
he could think about was Terry. He’d checked up the man on the
police computer and found out where he lived and that he had
no criminal record at all. He had traced the man through his birth
certificate and learned his mate had never been in a pack, which
was a good thing, given his Omega status. Academic records
showed that Terry had studied at the Arts Institute here in
/>
Houston and graduated with honors in fashion design. Tax
records showed he was working as a costume designer for Club
Blue.
Quickly minimizing his screen that showed a collection of dresses
that Terry had submitted for a drag queen competition the year
before, Zander forced a smile to his face. A date. That is what
he needed. With a girl no less, which would keep his partner
happy. Sully was good at securing Zander his random fucks –
neither men were interested in permanent partners and Zander
wasn’t that fussy with where he stuck his dick. Sully might not
know about the men he’d visited over the years in a neighboring
town, but so long as he went out on dates with his partner and
friend, then no one ever had to know about his secret desires.
He planned to keep it that way.
“Sounds good. They know the score right?” He said because it
was expected of him and because for the first time ever, he really
needed to know. Any guilt he felt about betraying his mate,
Zander quickly pushed to the back of his mind. He hadn’t even
touched the man, so Terry had no hold over him and nor should
he expect to. He couldn’t have a mate, and if he was thinking
about Terry’s perfect buns, and shy expression when he put his
moves on this unsuspecting girl, then no one would worry about
it except him. But there was no way he was going with a girl who
expected more than dinner and a roll in the sheets.
“Two air hostesses in town for one night. Met them at the coffee
shop,” Sully said with a leer. “They even have hotel rooms –
separate ones, so we don’t have to fork out for anything but
dinner.”
Zander’s smile got bigger. Absolutely perfect. Closing out the
screen he had open, Zander got back to work. He had a date, he
was going to get laid, which would be a relief to his blue balls,
and maybe his wolf would give stop giving him so much grief
about letting his male mate go.
/~/~/~/~/
“Damn, shit and fucking hell!”
Zander swore as he fought with the locks on the front door of
his house, slamming his way inside. The neighborhood was
silent, everyone fast asleep, but Zander wasn’t sure if he would
ever sleep again. Still cursing, Zander crossed his living room in
the dark, his wolf eyesight keeping him clear of the furniture.
Reaching into his kitchen cupboard, Zander pulled out a bottle