by Jax Garren
“This is going to take some getting used to, you know. My boyfriend the dog.”
He barked and head butted her in the stomach, hard enough to be playful but not hard enough to hurt.
She laughed and scratched him behind the ear. “Fine. Wolf.”
Epilogue
Elle had the warmth of Adam’s thick fur at her back and a well-contained fire at her front as she drank hot chocolate and read a book. They’d rebuilt the house at the edge of Los Lobos into a gorgeous, working ranch with a full metal studio. Tonight they’d thrown a party to celebrate moving in, and the whole village had shown up for her and for Adam, their beloved fire chief. She’d been pleasantly surprised by the number of humans in the town, although the wolves weren’t so different from people after all. She’d found Los Lobos to be a welcoming community, as beautiful as Colorado in its own way. With a whole pack protecting each other, she would never have to be afraid again.
Adam sighed his wolfie sigh. They’d started doing this in the cold evenings, him lazing around and her curled up against his lean wolf’s belly, his fur surrounding her and keeping her warm. But, today, nervous energy consumed her. They’d been living together for a while now, and while Adam seemed content, she wanted something more. “Hey, Wolf?”
He flapped his tail once, signaling his attention.
“Do wolves get married?”
She waited for the motion of his tail, one slap for yes, a drag for no. Instead, she nearly toppled backward as he shifted, sliding from wolf to man with amazing speed. He started talking before his vocal chords had fully changed, the sound transitioning from a growl to his human voice as he spoke. “Some do. Some rely on the mate bond. It’s forever—way more secure than a modern marriage is.” His arms came around her, and he pulled her back against his naked chest. “Why? Want to get married? Name the day.” He winked. “I’m there.”
She bopped him on the head with her e-reader. “That was the worst proposal ever.”
“That wasn’t a proposal!” He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “I can do better. Want a crowd to witness or a private retreat or something sweet or funny or…? Name your scenario, boss. I’ll get it done right.”
It was her turn to laugh. He still called her “boss” even though she wasn’t paying him any more. She’d pointed it out a while ago. He’d winked and said she could still boss him around all she wanted…provided she was naked. Now it was their little joke. She turned in his arms until she knelt in front of him, his naked legs on either side of her and his hands on her shoulders. Naked Adam was distracting, and she needed to concentrate. “I think a good proposal might be in our house, right after we moved in, the remains of our homecoming still decorating the place.”
His brow lifted. “You mean tonight.” He rubbed her shoulders, his expression turning worried. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a plan. I’ll come up with something, though….”
Her heart squeezed with nerves as she pulled a black pouch from her pocket and held it out to him.
“What’s this?” He emptied the pouch into his palm. Two rings fell out, one shaped for a man and another for a woman, both delicate and hammered with pink-and-green accents in the style of the Black Hills goldsmiths.
She swallowed. “I’ve been working on new designs based on coloring gold like they do here, copper for pink and silver for the green. I’m releasing a new line this spring. But I figured I needed to practice first. So I made a couple of rings….”
He slid the ring she’d made for him onto his finger. The twisted colors looked good against his skin. “It’s incredible.” His gaze met hers. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
She crossed her arms. “Well, we are mates, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. I want a ceremony I can invite my mother to. I want a dress and….” He smiled at her bluster. She groaned. “How do men do this? I’m totally botching it up. I had a speech. I didn’t say any of it.” She mock scowled at his cock, standing at attention in front of her. That was the problem with lying against a wolf. The animal changed into a naked man, and the naked man had a naked penis, and then all she could think about were all the fun things she could be doing with that penis. She theorized Adam used his soft, warm, wolfie self as a never-fail tool of seduction. “I blame your dick. I still find it terribly distracting.”
“Excellent.” He stood up, pulled her with him, and slipped the other ring onto her finger. “Yes. I would be proud to marry you.”
“Well, good. Because I made wedding bands to go with these. The set is on point.”
He pressed his naked body against her fully clothed one, swaying in time to the rhythm of their heartbeats.
After a moment, she relaxed, reveling in the steady feel of her man, her mate, her fiancé, the wolf she loved. “Take me to bed, wolf.”
He stroked her back and kissed her forehead, each touch full of love. “Any time, boss. I’m all yours.”
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make them a match..
With Drew’s reign settling the hills, wolves are returning to the Black Hills. Wolves who need mates. The pack needs to grow, right?
So four of the surviving matrons take it upon themselves to set up couples. Question is, how do these ladies decide who to match? Whichever unattached wolf they see first, from a list, or do they just draw a name from a bag?
Their method doesn’t matter, but you can bet they’ll call in favors, make behind-the-scenes plans, and pull whatever strings or stunts required to put wolves together in the name of furthering the pack. And who knows? They might even set their sights on the cantankerous lone bear, Gee….
Black Hills Wolves Matchmaker Subseries
Coming May 2016
Also from Decadent Publishing
www.decadentpublishing.com
Craving His Love by Kayleigh Malcolm
Chapter One
Josh Clement stood in the middle of his new store and surveyed the boxes decorating the floor around him. I don’t have nearly enough stock to fill this space. His original plan had been to rent a small, quaint space for his shop. When he arrived in town the day before, however, he discovered he was the owner of an abandoned building. Drew Tao, the pack alpha, never mentioned it when Josh originally called to ask permission to move there. Apparently, the building belonged to Josh’s family, and, as the only surviving member in town, he inherited the property.
He’d been tempted to ask about his real father but decided against it when Alpha Tao didn’t bring it up. Some things were better left alone. This was the start of his new life and he’d made certain his past wouldn’t follow him by not leaving any forwarding address. This would be his safe place. Somewhere he’d never have to be afraid to be himself. Somewhere he’d never be found. During his conversation with Drew Tao, he realized the alpha didn't give a damn about Josh’s sexuality. Instead, he’d told him to behave himself and not to piss off someone named Gee.
“This is way more space than I need,” he muttered as he surveyed the room. Everything in his life had shifted for the better in a matter of a couple of weeks leaving him in constant state of awe. He’d dreamt of one day owning a yarn shop where he could showcase his own knitting designs. Although he had no idea how much business he would actually do in a small town like Los Lobos, he could rely on his online business for the bulk of his sales. There were the sales from knitting patterns he’d designed to help supplement his online income. With an almost nonexistent overhead other than stock, electricity, and water, and the generously sized loft apartment upstairs, he could make this work. It’s almost too perfect.
For years, Josh never really lived his life. Instead, he survived it. To suddenly find himself with almost everything he’d ever dreamt of seemed far too good to be true. He’d never really had anything to lose in life, and now all of that had changed. He kept waiting for it to be yanked away from his grasp.
Banishing his gloomy thoughts, he concentrated on moving some of the sturdy wood display tables forward
and turning the shelves to create a faux wall across the back of the shop. The small change made the space seem smaller and made his meager stock look less out of place. When Mrs. Arven, the sweet old lady he considered his surrogate grandmother, had to give up her shop and move into a senior’s home closer to her children, she left all the remaining inventory to him.
He decided to take a break from unpacking when his stomach grumbled, reminding him he’d skipped lunch. He only had a little bit of snack food in the apartment because in his excitement to get unpacked he hadn’t thought of grocery shopping. Letting his wolf free to explore and hunt in the forest around him would solve his hunger, but shifting forms never came easy to him. He needed to be mentally prepared for the stress and anxiety it gave him. Because I’m used to shifting to avoid getting my ass kicked.
Locking the shop door gave him a great deal of pleasure. The feel of a key in his hand added to the sense of security he craved. After a quick look up and down the street, he realized his choices were limited. The bakery or diner looked promising but the bar would have beer, something Josh could really go for after a day of cleaning and unpacking.
He glanced up at the name “The Den” hanging over the bar door and remembered Alpha Tao’s warning about the owner. That’s who I’m not supposed to piss off.
The exact moment Josh stepped into the bar, almost everyone turned and looked at him. The music continued to play as he froze in the doorway, uncertain if he should turn and run. This is what prey feels like. As an Omega, he didn’t have a fight-or-flight sense. He always fled. Everyone appeared to go back to their individual conversations but he couldn’t shake the itchy feeling across the back of his neck, as if they still watched him. Taking a deep breath, he continued on toward the bar
“What can I get for you?”
Josh looked up...and up at the bartender. A big burly man, obviously with some native ancestry in his blood, stood there with his hand braced on the countertop. Arousal slammed against Josh’s senses in a hot rush. Older men turned his crank hard and this guy looked like a walking wet dream.
“You and a twin brother would be a great start.”
“There’s only one of me, boy.”
Please be gay. Please be gay. The deep rumble of the big man’s voice coupled with the authoritative tone when he called Josh “boy.” Holy crap. If he threatens to spank me, I might just come in my pants.
“One of you is still more than enough for me.”
The big guy arched his eyebrow and shook his head. “’Fraid I’m not on the menu.”
Disappointment crashed over his senses like a bucket of ice water, deflating his cock faster than a popped balloon. “I'll take a beer, then, please.”
“How about you show me some ID first?”
“I’ll show you anything you want.” The quip shot out of his mouth before he thought to stop it. Freedom from his obsessive former pack and living with humans for so long had loosened his tongue.
“Boy, you’re going to get yourself in a heap of trouble with that mouth.” He took Josh’s driver’s license, a frown pulling at his eyebrows as he looked down at it. “Joshua Clement? You Katie Ann Clement’s son?”
“You knew my mom?” Horror washed over Josh, leaving a bitter taste of bile in his throat. Oh God. Please tell me I didn’t make a pass at my father. It would be his luck that the first person he met in this town would be the violent man who sired him. Josh didn’t have many hard limits when it came to sex, but incest sat at the top of his squick list.
“Yup, she tried to flirt with me when she was about your age, too.” He arched his eyebrow as he handed the card back. “Didn’t do her any good either.”
Relief rolled over him as he took back his ID card. “My mom never told me much about her life here.”
The bartender nodded as if Josh confirmed something for him. “Heard she passed away in an accident.”
It wasn’t a question. Could he be a spy? Why else would he know things about his mom, years after she left this place?
“Yeah, accident, that’s what they told me, too.” But Josh knew the truth. His mom’s death hadn’t been an accident. By taking her own life, she’d committed an act so abhorrent to their kind—no one spoke of it. It took years before he came to terms and stopped resenting her for leaving him all alone in the world. An open victim to all the bullies she’d hated.
“I’m glad you made it back here.” Gee slid a bottle of beer across the counter. “This pack is very different from the one you came from.”
“Things have changed a lot here, too, from what I understand.”
“Now that’s an understatement. I hope you’ve gotten yourself in to see Drew Tao. Wolves are always welcome here, but it’s only proper manners to check in with the alpha first.”
“Yes, sir, I did. Spoke to him a week ago about relocating here.”
“You the one opening a yarn shop in the old hardware store?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Explains why you smell like prey.”
Josh almost spewed out a mouthful of beer, swallowing it all down in the last second. “Understandable. I’ve never thought about it before. I work with a lot of natural fibers, alpaca, wool, angora, nothing wrong with acrylic blends, but I never like the finished product as much as one made from natural fibers.”
“Sheep and rabbits? That’s some good eats around here, boy. You better be careful before someone decides to take a bite out of you.”
“Oh, I wish.” The words bypassed his filter and shot out of his mouth. What is wrong with me? Josh’s muscles instantly tensed to avoid the strike he knew would be headed his way.
Instead of the violent explosion Josh expected, the big man laughed. “It’s safer around here but not that safe. You still need to be careful.” He stuck out his hand, “I’m Gee.”
Josh swallowed and shook Gee’s hand, mentally going over everything he’d said in case anything could be construed as insulting. “It’s nice to meet you, Gee.” The big man didn’t appear to be pissed off, neither had his stepfather right before he flew into one of his famous rages, continuing a conversation with his fists.
“Why do you like to play with prey fibers?”
“I love the feel of them and the smell, although it could explain why I’m always hungry when I’m knitting.”
“What can you make?”
“Anything. Shawls, scarves, mitts.” Josh pulled out his phone and tapped on the photo gallery, lifting the device so Gee could see some of the pictures. “These are some of the patterns I designed.”
Gee took the phone and slid his big finger over the screen, skimming through the images. “Who’s this?”
He turned the phone around and Josh saw the picture of him and Mrs. Arven. “She’s like my adopted grandmother. I never met my mom’s parents.”
“Yeah, you did. Trust me, you’re better off with the one you chose. Katie Ann’s mother was a complete bitch through and through.”
Gee might as well have stabbed Josh in the heart. His poor mom had tried to be a good mother but couldn’t stand up to the bullies around her any more than Josh could. It explained why she never spoke about her life growing up. “This is going to sound incredibly pathetic, but do you know if I have any family around here? My mom never talked about them.”
Gee grunted but didn’t say any more. “My daughter has a birthday coming up.” He turned the phone to Josh with a picture of one of his lace shawl patterns on it. “It’s in a couple months. Can you make this in blue for her?”
“Of course I can.” Josh quickly figured out the cost of the materials and how much time he would need to make it. Shit, it wouldn’t be cheap because a lot of hours would go into knitting it, and, as a dominant, Gee would expect it for free.
“You charge me the same as you would anyone else. You need to make a living, too.”
Shock stole anything Josh might have said, leaving him feeling insecure and a little unsure navigating t
he rules in this town. “Well, let me check what I have in stock and how about I get you a quote tomorrow?”
Gee nodded. “Sounds good to me. Her birthday isn’t for another four months so there’s lots of time.”
Someone at the other end of the bar called Gee’s name. He gave Josh a quick nod before ambling down. Ambling, strange word for me to think of. But he reminded Josh of a big ole bear ambling through the forest. Shhhiiiiittttt, a bear. Christ, I’m lucky I still have my head.
Living in the isolated pack with his mom, they hadn’t welcomed any other species. Josh had only met a couple of different shifters in his lifetime. Like the crazy gorgeous guy in the club bathroom in New York. Josh figured his hookup was a feline of some sort. The way he purred while Josh sucked on his cock was a dead giveaway. Maybe I’ll find myself another cat. This time I’d love to feel those vibrations around my cock.
An idea tickled his thoughts—creating a double-knit shawl with a paw theme would be a lot of fun. He pulled a pen from over his ear and started sketching out a graph and a generalized shape of the garment. Designing patterns had a lot more to do with math than anything else. He gained a huge sense of accomplishment taking a bunch of mathematical equations and turning them into something wearable.
A young guy bustled around the bar dropping off plates of food and gathering up the dirty ones. He gave Josh a small smile and, when his scent reached Josh’s nose, he returned the smile, his wolf sensing a kindred spirit. As an omega, Josh knew how overwhelming a pack of dominants felt. He watched the young server rushing around taking care of the customers seated at tables. He never spoke, but communicated through the odd nod, facial expressions, and hand signals.
“That’s Paul. He can’t talk.”
Josh turned to the woman leaning against the bar next to him. “What happened to him?” Their kind didn’t suffer from diseases or defects. If the guy couldn’t talk, then he must have been seriously hurt at some point.