by Adams, Rory
“That doesn’t matter; he’ll want to see me.” The window began to roll up and the sleek black car pulled away before it was even finished. Cameron watched it go, unable to shake the unmistakable feeling that this new alpha was bad news.
It was an irrational feeling. He knew Jackson was in no danger. Although the dark-haired alpha was certainly stronger than Cameron he knew that Jackson could easily overcome him in a fight. Cameron had never seen any alpha who could hold a candle to Jackson in terms of strength and physical prowess.
When he finished digging his hole and pounding in the new fence pole Cameron packed up his tools and trudged up to the house. By now a few stormy-looking clouds had blotted out the sun and a chilly wind was beginning to pour out of the pine forest. Cameron shivered as he walked, pulling his shirt back on.
As he stepped through the grand doorway into the mansion he heard cheerful voices coming from the living room. One was unmistakably Jackson’s, Cameron would recognize his voice anywhere, and Cameron assumed the other belonged to the mysterious new alpha. He found the two older males sitting across from one another in overstuffed leather armchairs, both grinning from ear to ear.
Jackson looked up as Cameron entered, no doubt attuned to his scent.
“Cameron!” Jackson called in greeting. “Come sit down. Let me introduce you to my old friend Rex.”
“We’ve met,” Rex replied suavely, winking at Cameron over Jackson’s head. Cameron flinched, but obeyed his alpha and walked towards them.
“I’ve been telling him all about you,” Jackson explained, pulling Cameron down to sit on the couch beside him. Cameron felt much more secure with his alpha close by, shielding him from the new alpha. “Rex and I were friends in college. We both played on the football team.”
“Well, Jackson played on the football team,” Rex chuckled. “I more or less attempted to play on the football team.”
Jackson laughed his great booming laugh from his heavy ribcage.
“Oh nonsense, you played for at least a game or two.” Cameron smiled at the sound of his alpha’s laughter. It was a sound he was certain he would never tire of for as long as he lived.
Rex fixed Cameron with his flickering green eyes and the happy feeling soured in his gut. He shuffled closer to Jackson for instinctive protection.
“So you still haven’t told me why you came here,” Jackson said, his eyes glued on Rex. “What can I do for you, old friend?”
“Oh, no particular reason,” Rex replied, reclining in his chair with his hands folded behind his head. It was a confident, relaxed posture, rather an arrogant move when occupying the home of a much larger and more powerful alpha. Rex and Jackson might have been friends when they were younger, but as two mature, adult alpha males there was at least a little territorial tension in the room. “Can’t I just drop in on an old friend just for the heck of it?”
Jackson chuckled dryly.
“I know you, Rex,” he said, putting his muscular arm around Cameron in what was undeniably a possessive gesture. “You never go out of your way unless there’s something in it for you.”
“True, true,” Rex laughed. “You know me too well.”
“So what is it?” Jackson’s tone had lost some of its teasing tone. “What do you want me to invest my money in this time?”
Rex held up his hands defensively, still grinning that vaguely slimy grin.
“Hey it’s not just your money I’m after this time,” Rex said. “I’m putting some of my own up too. I want you to go in with me on some real estate.”
Jackson frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Well you know I won’t say yes or no before I know all the details,” the alpha said. He glanced at Cameron. “Cameron, why don’t you go while the two of us discuss this. I’m sure it would bore you.” The alpha turned his sure, dominant gaze back to Rex. “And after we’re done we can all have dinner together.” He grinned teasingly at his old college friend. “Wouldn’t want to send this weasel on his way without at least a little food.”
“You’re too generous,” Rex countered, bowing mockingly.
Cameron was reluctant to leave Jackson’s side, but he knew better than to question the direction of his alpha. He left the room nervously and headed upstairs to wash up for dinner.
Chapter 3
Dinner was an awkward affair for Cameron. He sat beside Jackson and listened to him and Rex talk about their shared history. Cameron just ate his food, which was incredibly rich and savory, and tried to ignore the piercing looks Rex continually sent his way. Cameron tried to convince himself that he was being paranoid.
Surely Rex was not foolish enough to make sexual advances on him when Jackson, a strong, protective alpha, was present. He thought several times about alerting his alpha to Rex’s actions, but the idea of causing a vicious fight between two alpha males, which would likely be to the death, over a simple hunch made Cameron tremble with fear.
So Cameron stayed quiet and tried to enjoy hearing about Jackson’s younger years. The alpha was generally very tacit when it came to discussing his shadowy past, but with Rex he seemed to light up. His eyes glowed with the fervor of a much younger man, when he was fresh and untainted by the pains of the world. It made Cameron’s heart constrict with sympathy and longing to have known Jackson in this lighter, happier stage of his life.
Cameron also wondered if he would carry the same heavy darkness inside that Jackson did if the gentle, caring alpha hadn’t come into his life when he did. He could imagine himself living on the street, being taken advantage of by any alpha strong enough to dominate him. His life would’ve been very different if destiny hadn’t brought him to Jackson’s doorstep. Cameron wished there had been some helpful, supportive figure in Jackson’s life when he was younger.
“Cameron?”
The younger male was startled by the gravely sound of Jackson’s voice.
“What?” He flushed, realizing he had been drifting away into his thoughts and not following the conversation. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“I simply asked how you and Jackson came to be… paired as you are.” Rex leered at him with a simpering, oily grin. “It must be a fascinating tale.”
Cameron glanced nervously at Jackson and the alpha nodded encouragingly. He didn’t want to engage with the other alpha, and hoped that after the question, they no longer would have to speak.
“I responded to an ad,” Cameron replied, twisting his napkin in his lap to relive some of the tension he felt under Rex’s gaze. He didn’t like this attention and wanted to keep his explanation as short as possible. “We just...clicked I guess.”
“Oh yes, clicked is one way of putting it,” Rex chuckled, raising one eyebrow in a way that suggested naughty things. “I’m glad Jackson here has finally found someone to satisfy his more animalistic needs. He really can be quite a brute; I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.”
“That’s enough, Rex,” Jackson snarled. “I don’t like what you are implying.”
Cameron stared resolutely at his lap, goose bumps rising along his arms at the palpable tension in the room. He could smell dominant pheromones pouring off of Jackson’s skin.
“I’m not implying anything,” Rex simpered, leaning back in his chair as though he was unfazed. Cameron, however, could smell a faint undercurrent of fear coming from him. He smiled, almost wickedly. “I’m simply stating the nature of a relationship between an alpha and a submissive male.”
“Cameron and I’s relationship is a private one,” Jackson replied curtly, a low growl idling beneath his polite words. “And I will not have you scrutinizing it in such an inappropriate manner.”
Rex held up his hands in surrender, a gesture Cameron had noticed he was very fond of. His flickering green eyes were wide with feigned repentance.
“I’m sorry, Jackson,” he said. “I didn’t realize this was such a sensitive subject for you.”
Jackson relaxed somewhat, though Cameron noticed his muscle
s still bulged in preparation for an altercation. He hated the idea of Jackson getting into a fight, a fight in which he might be badly injured, on his behalf.
He reached under the table to take the alpha’s hand, rubbing calming circles on the back of it to sooth him. Jackson’s rough, warm palm squeezed possessively, protectively, around his. Again, Cameron smiled. Jackson’s presence was always enough to put him at ease.
After dinner Cameron retired to the master bedroom while Rex and Jackson stayed up to continue talking business. It made Cameron somewhat uneasy to know his alpha was downstairs alone with a shady character like Rex, but he tried to sleep nonetheless. However, despite his best efforts, Cameron was still wide-awake when Jackson slipped into the room several hours later.
The way Jackson padded softly across the room, trying not to wake him, and slipped gently into bed made Cameron’s heart swell. One of Jackson’s well-muscled arms draped gently over his middle and he scooted backwards into the alpha’s sweet embrace. Jackson’s soothing scent washed over him and he drifted off almost immediately.
Chapter 4
Cameron woke up the in morning, feeling a far less comfortable bed beneath him. His eyes slowly focused, looking around the room, full of dread.
He was in his old bedroom, back in his mother’s house. How in the world did he get back here?
His mother’s new boyfriend, Tristan, had been giving him aggressive looks for weeks now. The middle-aged alpha, brutish and mean, could no doubt smell the teenager’s approaching maturity. Cameron knew what was coming. It was unlikely that Tristan would tolerate another adult male in his household even though Cameron was as submissive as they come.
Cameron sat up in bed, bracing himself to be kicked out of the only home he’d ever known. He winced when someone knocked at his bedroom door.
“Come in.” His voice broke slightly. He wanted to leave the scene, hoping that Jackson could find him at any moment.
Luckily, it was only his mother. She’d done her best to raise Cameron alone, occasionally with the help of one of her ever-changing boyfriends. In her youth she’d been a desirable mate, but now the wrinkles and frayed gray hair gave her a worn sort of look. It was good seeing her again, but he still felt out of place.
“Mom?” Cameron asked, unable to understand what was happening. Cameron’s mother smiled at him, wearily.
“Happy birthday, honey,” she said, her voice defeated, just the way that Cameron remembered it sounding.
Cameron forced a smile. It felt weak and wobbly on his face. The day was happening all over again. It was the same day that Cameron was forced out of his house.
“Thanks.” His voice came out clotted and soft. Suddenly there were tears pricking at his eyes. He rushed to wipe them away like a painful memory.
“Tristan’s out right now.” His mother moved to sit beside him on the bed. “But when he comes home I don’t know what he’s going to do if you’re still around.”
“He doesn’t want me here.” Cameron tried and failed to keep the resentment out of his voice. He remembered how this all went down, and how Cameron was forced out of their home.
“You can’t blame him, Cameron,” she said. “It’s so hard for an alpha male to tolerate another competitor in his territory. Your scent alone drives him absolutely crazy.”
“My father wouldn’t have kicked me out,” said Cameron. He wanted to talk about Jackson, too, but somehow the words couldn’t form.
Cameron’s mom took in a sharp breath and he immediately regretted his words. It wasn’t her fault that things hadn’t worked out between her and his father; it wasn’t her fault that he’d abandoned them when Cameron was young.
“I’m sorry,” Cameron said, softly touching his mother’s arm. “I didn’t mean it.”
Cameron threw the covers off and stood up. His room was sparsely furnished, just the bare minimum furniture and some plain clothes hanging in the closet. Cameron remembered that had started selling everything nonessential a few months ago when he got wind of his impending banishment. His video games, his bike, even his laptop computer had all been pawned off to whomever would pay cash for them.
Downstairs his mom had prepared a birthday breakfast. Plates sprawled across the small kitchen table, heaping with pancakes, bacon, fried eggs, and ham. There was even a bowl of homemade blueberry muffins, Cameron’s absolute favorite food, sitting in the center of his expansive goodbye meal.
Cameron knew his mother’s true motive was to fatten him up before he set out on his own. He’d always been a little on the thin side, though there were lean, athletic muscles hiding underneath his skin.
Just as Cameron was about to take his first bite the front door slammed open. Almost immediately his mother took on a submissive posture, lowering her head and averting her eyes. Cameron’s appetite soured; Tristan was home.
The hulking alpha stomped into the kitchen. He kicked off his boots, sending water and mud splattering across the cabinets. Cameron quailed inside at the sight of the alpha’s beady, brutish eyes and meaty hands. Sometimes Tristan treated him civilly, and other times he was a loose cannon ready to go off.
Cameron remembered this day happening with the latter occurring.
“Finally, breakfast,” Tristan rumbled, taking in a deep whiff. He roughly dragged a chair away from the table and plunked himself down in it. The old, scarred wood groaned under his weight.
Cameron picked up his silverware again and bent to take a bite of the food on his plate. As the boy cut his eggs into manageable pieces his fork squealed against the ceramic plate. The high-pitched noise grated in Cameron’s sensitive ears. Across the table Tristan’s head swiveled to zero in on the source of the offensive sound.
“What the fuck are you still doing here?” he snarled, as though Cameron had been invisible up until that moment.
Cameron opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a faint, terrified squeak.
“It’s your birthday, ain’t it?” The brutish alpha asked, his eyes fixated on the newly adult male.
“Y… yes sir.”
Tristan stood up so quickly that the chair toppled backwards behind him.
“So, what are you still doing in my fucking house, boy?”
Cameron cowered deeper into his seat. He held his hands up at his side, ready to fend off any incoming blows.
“He’s just eating his birthday breakfast before he heads out,” Cameron’s mother cut in, trying to soothe the conflict. “It will only take a moment.”
With a swipe of his massive hand Tristan sent all the plates and food flying off the table. Porcelain shattered against the hard, tile floor. Cameron’s stomach rumbled at the mouth-watering smell of all that hot, spilled food.
“You’re not going to take another fucking bite.” Tristan’s eyes flickered with violence. His chest and ample belly heaved up and down. “You’re going to get your pipsqueak ass away from my woman and out of my house right this second!”
Cameron stood up slowly, hands held up in a gesture of surrender.
“I’ll just get my things and leave,” he said quietly, almost whimpering, and began to back away.
Tristan grasped Cameron’s shoulder and threw him into the cast iron stove. The younger male yelped in pain. He crumpled to the kitchen floor as Tristan advanced on him.
“You’ll get out right now,” he roared. “Or so help me I will pin your down and tear out your throat!”
Just as the alpha went to strike him, Cameron jolted upward. His eyes reopened in the dark room, and sweat covered his body. The omega panted before feeling Jackson’s warm body next to him.
It was just a dream.
“What’s wrong?” asked the alpha in a groggy voice.
“It’s okay,” Cameron replied, simmering down. “I’m okay.”
“Good,” says Jackson with his eyes closing again. “I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
Cameron gripped around the alpha’s beefy arms, feeling his muscles relaxing
beneath his fingers. He turned, pressing his back to Jackson’s warm chest. The omega’s nerves calmed, and he sunk into the pillows.
It was all only a distant memory, and Cameron was much better off now. Only Rex reminded him far too much of his mother’s alpha. Perhaps that’s what sparked the dream. Either way, with Jackson near him, Cameron knew that he was safe.
Chapter 5
In the morning Jackson had to go into town for some business, leaving Cameron alone in the house with Rex. At first the omega was quite nervous with this arrangement, but he relaxed somewhat when Rex informed them both that he planned to go for a drive to see the local sights.
Even so, Cameron decided to stay sequestered in the master bedroom until Jackson returned. He didn’t want to be out doing yard work with his shirt off when Rex returned. Cameron told himself again and again that he was paranoid, that the other alpha meant him no harm, but he couldn’t shake the haze of uneasiness.