by Odessa Lynne
“The best kind,” Gerald said. “God, I love these wolves. Best sex of my life since you dragged me into this mess.”
Devon turned, eyebrows high on his forehead. “Since I dragged you into this? If you hadn’t been trying to use me—”
“Oh, come on, Devon, you know as well as I do we’re friends—real friends. Stop pretending you give a shit how it happened.”
Devon snorted air through his nose, rearing back against the slats of the chair, the resulting creak loud in the mostly empty room. “I was pissed. Not going to lie. But then I thought about it, and then Kem told me what was about to happen, and I realized—Shit. Let’s just move on. Pretend it’s behind us.”
“It is behind us.”
“Fine then.”
“Fine.”
“Wasn’t expecting you to end up with a scary ass alpha, anyway. Cory would’ve been good for you.”
“Tanis is better.”
“You like him?”
“He thinks I’m his true mate. You like Kem?”
“God yes. Stop being stupid.”
“Same to you.”
Devon tilted his head, eyeing Gerald. “You think you’re in love with him, don’t you?”
“Fuck you.”
Devon laughed softly. “You know what? Maybe I’ll talk to Kem about it—who knows.”
Gerald patted his crotch. “So you’re finally ready for a piece of this, huh? Well too damn bad. I’ve got a mate now. Turns out I’m a jealous prick the same as anybody else and if I do other people I’ll have to let him do a few too. You missed your chance with me.”
Devon snorted, then laughed, a guffaw that went on too long then trickled to a soft, low huff. “Don’t you ever change, Gerald. Life’s too serious here sometimes, and I need you to remind me of that.”
“Sure,” Gerald said. He’d closed his eyes while Devon was laughing and he let himself drift with the sparkle of sunlight on the outside of his eyelids. It was beautiful and bright, and he’d missed it even though he’d had it.
Riddles. He couldn’t even get away from them in his own head.
“Call me Sunny why don’t you. Since we’re friends.”
“Sunny?” Devon’s guffaw returned. “I watched the interrogations. I wasn’t even sure I believed it when you told them. Thought maybe you were resisting the drugs.”
“It’s real. Bane of my fucking childhood.”
“Gerald Sunshine Lane. Goddamn, Gerald—I mean, Sunny. Goddamn.”
He rested his head back against the pillow again. “Eat my hole, prick. Better than not even having a middle name.”
Devon sat quietly for a moment, as if understanding that Gerald was still tired and not quite ready to take on the world after his bout with illness.
Then quietly Devon said, “Three days after he mated you, he came to us with a plan for the coup. Said he’d been sharing intelligence with the others just the same as he’d been sharing intelligence with us. He was persuasive, and he said it was all because of you—for you—that he had finally chosen his path. Kem was fucking beside himself. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him that excited outside the goddamn bedroom.”
The chair squeaked as Devon shifted on the seat and continued. “Brendan said it was because Tanis is the oldest brother to Kem’s mother. Same father.”
“Ah. I thought there might be a connection there.”
Devon laughed softly. “If they didn’t trade kids between packs, they’d be inbred as hell.”
He opened his eyes and turned to Devon. “Watchers watch but what the fuck do they watch?”
It was an abrupt change of topic, but the thought had been floating around in his head ever since Tanis had mentioned the watchers the day before.
Devon crossed his arms and reared back in the chair, using his booted foot as leverage against the side of Gerald’s bed. “They watch each other, share what they know with the alphas. You’re not going to believe this, but some of them can read the thoughts of all the rest. Like a technology-based perception of subconscious communications they can’t opt out of sending and receiving.”
Gerald stared at Devon, wondering if he was fucking with him. After a moment, when Devon just returned his gaze head on, he said, “That’s fucking insane.”
“Yep.”
He rubbed the side of his face and then carefully scratched an itch over his eye. “The ultimate honesty. No wonder they don’t care about privacy. It’s meaningless if somebody can read all your thoughts.”
“They don’t know everything. They’re not actually telepathic. Or so they say.”
“So why wasn’t Tanis’s plan discovered then, if these watchers watch and tattle?”
“Because he’s one of the four-from-one of a Diviner or some such shit. They’re immune. The watchers can’t watch them. If there was ever going to be a coup, they were probably the only ones who could pull it off in one fell swoop like that. You can bet your ass Kem and the others jumped at the offer. Everything got dropped that could be dropped to make this happen.”
“So that’s why Tanis was always so busy.” Then Gerald shook his head. “I’d bet a blowjob Peyton didn’t know what was coming.”
“Peyton?”
“One of Tanis’s twins.”
Devon shrugged. “Can’t say. He must’ve kept it close. I mean, hell, he didn’t even hint about it to you. You didn’t know shit when it went down. Watching you out there was like watching a fawn trying to get away from a goddamn cougar.”
Gerald sifted through his memories. There might have been a time or two Tanis had said things that hinted more was going on than met the eye, but there wasn’t much.
He sighed and rested his head back against the pillow. “Tanis is good at keeping things to himself, that’s for sure.”
“You’ll figure him out. Or do like Kem and me, make a sex game out of it. It’s pretty fucking hot sometimes.”
“Sure,” Gerald said. “And everybody thinks I’m the sleaze. You say it often enough and everybody starts to think it’s true even when it’s a lie. You’re the one who won’t shut up about his sex life.”
Devon actually flushed a little at that. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, maybe I’ve run my mouth too much. Most people here like you.”
“I’m not one of you.”
“Bullshit. You’re not going to tell those people you were working for a goddamn thing we don’t want them to know and you know it.”
Gerald smiled. “You keep thinking that.”
Devon dropped his foot off the bed and leaned forward. “After everything I just told you, that better be some kind of fucking joke, you asshole.”
“I’ll save the fucking jokes for Tanis. He likes it when I flirt with him.”
Devon yanked Gerald’s pillow out from under his head, dragging an “oomph” from Gerald. “Did I agree that we were friends? Fuck that. I’m going to smother the fucking smartass right out of you.”
“Sure you are.” Gerald rose up on his elbow and tossed back his covers. He was completely naked underneath and he’d known it. “Unless you want to watch me take a piss, I suggest you go find Raleigh or one of the others and send them in. Because that’s where I’m going.”
“What, you need one of them to hold your dick for you while you do it?” Devon stood and tossed the pillow over Gerald’s groin. “Like I needed to see that.”
“You’re just jealous. You’ll jerk off to the memory of my beautiful piece of meat tonight, guaranteed.”
“Like hell I will.”
“I’ve heard about your voyeuristic habits, here—let me—”
Devon stormed out.
Gerald was still laughing when Raleigh came in several minutes later.
Chapter 27
It was a few days later when Gerald was sitting at the table in the kitchen teaching the guys how to play cards that Eris said something that set him to thinking about prophecies and misinterpretations. It was night, and Tanis was expected back from a meeting with several ot
her powerful alphas—so said Eris—at any time.
Gerald was looking forward to his return, but the game was going well for him, so he wasn’t too disappointed at having been left alone for most of the day while the secretive meetings dragged on.
“The true alpha’s mate will divine the fate of us all. So of course the true alpha must have a Diviner for a mate.”
“But the first alpha’s mate will bring peace,” Raleigh said. “Death before peace, everyone knows that. We had too much death. Now we have peace.”
“Sure,” Gerald said while shuffling the deck. “Come on, Leafy, you lost the last hand, and I want to see that ass.”
Leif had a glare that would burn a hole through a rock. But he stood and shucked his trousers and then sat down on the wood chair with a thud. He picked up the new hand Gerald had dealt him.
Gerald snickered. This was fun as hell.
They each took their turns until their cards were overflowing their hands.
“I still don’t understand this game,” Raleigh said, staring at his cards. “It’s too simple. It can’t be a real game. What do you learn?”
“You learn your fate,” Gerald said, “and your fate is about to be determined.” He adjusted a few cards in his hand for good measure and then said, “You got a two?”
Raleigh pursed his lips. “Go fish.”
Gerald looked up. “You’re lying. I know you have it.”
Raleigh was already down to nothing but a t-shirt. For some reason he’d thought it more reasonable to lose his trousers, and underwear, than to take off his shirt.
“I do not.”
Gerald half-stood and reached across the table, but Raleigh twisted away, keeping his cards out of Gerald’s hands. “Hey! You cheater! Give me the damn card.”
“Raleigh.” The voice belonged to Tanis.
It was a habit. Every time Raleigh started to annoy Gerald, Tanis showed up.
Raleigh sighed and pulled out the two. He handed it to Gerald with a sniff.
“I win again,” Gerald crowed and tossed his handful of matched cards onto the table. He patted his chest. “Come on, strip for me.”
Raleigh looked up through his eyelashes, an unusual hesitance to the action.
Gerald glanced at Tanis.
“He wants to show you submission, but all you do is tease. You’ve confused him.”
Gerald’s brow furrowed. “So you’re okay with this? If I—really?”
“It’s a gift. It’s our way.”
“I mean…” Gerald glanced at Raleigh again, his pulse fluttering at his throat. “Where’s the line? There has to be a line, right? I’m not using my authority over anybody to get sex. No way.”
“Sunny!” Hurt edged Raleigh’s exclamation. He put his hand to his chest and claws peeked from the tips of his fingers. “I would never submit only because you told me to. I want to submit.”
His roving eyes seemed to say he really wanted to.
Tanis walked by and ruffled the hair at the back of Raleigh’s head. Raleigh sighed into the touch and contentment shone warm in his golden brown eyes.
“Tomorrow,” Tanis said. “Tonight I’d like to talk to my mate about important matters.”
Chairs scraped back from the table, and Eris rose first, the only one of the wolves still wearing trousers. “Yes, Alpha.”
Leif dropped his cards with a final glare in Gerald’s direction. Gerald had a suspicion that Leif was a competitive bastard, which meant losing every hand to Gerald that evening had rubbed him wrong.
Gerald tried to tone down his triumphant smile but it was too damn hard.
Leif finally turned his gaze to Tanis. “We have the goods ready to transport.”
“Excellent,” Tanis said.
Raleigh, on the other hand, was still watching Gerald. “Tomorrow?” he asked, hope a visible thing.
Gerald swallowed. He nodded. “I, uh, sure, if it’s okay with Tanis.”
By then, Eris and Leif were pulling on clothes and heading out. Raleigh joined them.
Gerald knew Tanis had other wolves, but Eris and Leif were part of the inner circle, and Raleigh—well, he wasn’t really sure why Raleigh was still with them instead of off with the greater pack now that he and Leif weren’t mates. There was probably a reason, but Gerald was just glad to have the small group to keep him company this time around.
The wolves left and Tanis drew Gerald to his feet.
Tanis kissed Gerald and one thing led to another until Gerald had his jeans down around his ankles, his chest pressed hard to the table, and Tanis rutting slowly into his ass.
It was the first time they’d had sex since Gerald got sick.
It was also post-heat and Tanis seemed in no hurry to reach an orgasm at all.
The stretch was as potent as ever and the fullness intense, but there was more to fucking than just pushing in and out of a man’s ass.
“Come on, big guy, make me feel like you want it.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re not going to hurt me.”
“That’s for your alpha to worry about.”
Gerald grunted out his next breath as Tanis flattened one heavy hand between Gerald’s shoulders. He inhaled through clenched teeth, then said, “God, yes.”
Claws pricked his back just enough to make him squirm. Tanis’s cock jolted deeper.
“Oh God yes.”
“Mate,” Tanis said, a warning tone in his voice.
“That’s right. God…”
“Mate,” Tanis snapped. Then he also snapped his hips and Gerald gasped.
“Okay, okay. Tanis. Fuck me harder and I’ll call out only to you, honest to—uh—”
Tanis had started to fuck him harder but he hadn’t sped up the thrust of his hips.
“That’s—that’s—good, Tanis. Oh… Oh—Tanis.”
The table rocked under them for several minutes before Tanis reached around Gerald and started to work his hand along Gerald’s cock. Gerald kissed the table and came so hard his knees buckled.
Tanis roared his wolf’s roar and filled Gerald’s ass full of semen.
Several minutes after that, Gerald pushed away from the table onto shaky legs and stood while Tanis hauled Gerald’s jeans up his legs. With a deft movement, he fastened the fly and then patted the side of Gerald’s face.
“I’ve missed you, mate.”
“I’ve missed you too. A man needs a good, hard fuck often enough to keep in practice.”
“Practice?”
“Of course, as old as you are, you probably don’t need any practice.”
Tanis’s expression shifted and if Gerald had been a betting man, and he was, he’d have bet his dick that he was witnessing annoyance. He’d spent a lot of time studying Tanis’s face. He was getting pretty good at reading him.
“I’ve been calling you big guy, but maybe I should be calling you my old man.”
Tanis’s mouth pursed. “I would not like that.”
“Believe it or not it used to mean husband.”
“That seems… unlikely.”
“It’s true, I swear.”
“To your God?”
Gerald smiled. “To you.”
“Ah.” Tanis clasped the back of Gerald’s neck. “In that case, I will accept your claim.”
“So I can call you my—”
Tanis pressed his finger to Gerald’s mouth. “You can call me Alpha, or you can call me Mate.”
Gerald let out a puff of air trying not to laugh. “Got it.” Luckily, those words were easy to say with his lips immobilized.
Tanis gave Gerald a pointed look.
Gerald couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
Later, in the bedroom, Gerald was sitting on the edge of the bed taking off his socks when Tanis said, “So I’m old by human standards, am I?”
Startled, Gerald turned. Tanis stood halfway between the bedroom and the bathroom.
Tanis was staring at him in a way that made Gerald’s neck tingle
. His mind went completely blank.
And then a thought pierced his brain and he asked before he thought better of it, “Is that why you think you’re going to die? Is it because you’re old by wolf standards? How long do you guys live? I don’t think I’ve ever heard.”
He definitely had not heard, but he didn’t want to remind Tanis of the rift still sitting between them.
Tanis waved his hand and started forward, answering before Gerald could finish his question. “My age is irrelevant. We rarely age our way into death.”
“Then how the hell do you—” He dragged his hand over his chin. “Every one of your people dies a violent death? That doesn’t seem very peaceful.”
“Most who don’t die fighting eventually choose. I chose.”
A heavy knot tightened in Gerald’s gut, dread crawling down his spine. “What do you mean?”
“It’s our way. We choose the date and time of our death and once chosen, we honor our bargain with the universe.”
“No.” Gerald started to stand but then sat heavily on the edge of the bed. “Tell me you’re joking. Tell me that’s bullshit. I don’t want to hear that.”
Tanis crossed the room toward him.
Gerald started to get up again, but Tanis had moved too close, crowding him. “No,” Gerald said again.
“It was my bargain to make and I made it before I mated you. I had no idea I would find a true mate this late in my life. I thought I’d had a full life. I thought fate had abandoned me. I thought your world was too different, that it would never feel like home.”
“Undo the bargain.”
“It would be like spitting into the face of your God.”
“God is merciful,” Gerald said by rote. Then, “Fuck that. God would smite your ass for making me suffer because you don’t want to admit you made a mistake. You have a true mate. If the universe cares about you at all, it wouldn’t give you me and then make you abandon me.”
“Such persuasive logic.”
“Really?”
“No.”
“You prick.” Gerald shoved his hands into his hair and stared at Tanis. He was afraid to hope Tanis’s attempt at humor meant something. “Tell me you’re going to change your mind about this. Tell me you won’t choose some fucking date with death over me.”