Thinking back on her words, he let out a breath. “He’s at his pack house. You sure?”
Was this some kind of test to see if he’d go all the way to make his apology or falter halfway? Damn it. Walker was probably overthinking things. Mrs. Wilkins was merely a sweet widow, trying to play matchmaker between wolves.
“It’s his off day today. Butch doesn’t have a lot of hobbies, except taking care of his members.”
“Okay, thank you. Can you give me the address?”
He took out his phone and inputted the address on the GPS, wincing as he saw the location was on the outskirts of town, typical of any wolf pack to be close to the wilderness.
“Be careful. If you can’t find Butch, look for his Beta Leon instead. He’s also Butch’s best friend,” she called as he entered the elevator.
Walker wondered if he was crazy, bringing cookies to a complete stranger, and not just any random person either but an Alpha of a pack. What if Butch’s wolves didn’t welcome outsiders? What kind of impact would his visit have?
Walker wasn’t the kind of guy who backed down from a challenge though.
He got into his second-hand green Toyota, hoping it would start. Somedays, the girl was a little testy. While run-down, the Toyota meant something special to him because it was one of his purchases using his own cash. Secondly, the car somehow managed the drive all the way to the remote town of River West, a place he hoped to call home.
The pretty picture wasn’t complete without one funny, gorgeous Alpha werewolf though.
What if Butch turned him away at the entrance and he would only end up embarrassed?
“Commit to something, stick to it,” he muttered under his breath.
Hadn’t he made the impulsive decision to leave his former pack right after his arranged mate died, something no other Omega had done? He could give these silly cookies to Butch. While waiting for a traffic light, he undid the ribbon, taking one biscuit out and munching on it.
Tasted fine to him. He followed his GPS, which brought him to a smaller road bordered on the either side by trees. Walker’s stomach did a strange flop, as he spotted a pair of curious yellow eyes on the bushes to the left of him. Werewolves.
One ran right in front of him, stopping, and he did the same. Jesus Christ, this one was huge, probably not a normal werewolf. An enforcer?
He rolled out the window, avoiding a cringe as the big, black wolf padded to him and sniffed at his face. He avoided jerking back. Dominance games. Typical of werewolves.
“I’m here to see Butch. He’s my next-door neighbor and—” Walker didn’t get to finish explaining. The big wolf must have considered him harmless because he moved away. “Um. Yeah. Okay, thank you.”
The werewolf disappeared into the nearest line of trees. Slightly shaken by the experience, he drove onwards. The road broke off into a tiny dirt path, and up ahead, he parked his car, taking his gift with him.
“Who are you? Don’t recognize you, so state your business quickly, Omega,” said a big strapping redheaded guy on the porch.
A female shifter stood next to him, frowning at him. Both of them, he noted, carried shotguns. Guards. A wave of uneasiness swept through him. What was he thinking, driving up here on impulse?
He cleared his throat. “My name’s Walker. I’m here to see Butch.”
The man turned to the woman. “Does the Alpha have any appointments you know of?”
“George, Alisa, what’s the commotion?” added a third voice. A buff and handsome blond man with icy blue eyes joined them, except this man’s animal seemed calmer than the other two, but also dangerous.
“Beta, this Omega demands to see the Alpha,” replied Alisa.
“Does he now?” It was an amused voice.
This was the pack Beta? According to Mrs. Wilkins, he was Butch’s best friend. Why did Walker have a feeling getting Leon to help him would be hard?
He nearly had a heart attack when the same black wolf appeared out of the bushes, barring his path.
“Abel, you know this Omega?” Leon asked.
The black wolf turned into a big, muscled male with dark brown hair. “No, but he looks suspicious as hell.”
Sweat dribbled down his back, and he skated away as Abel approached him only to point at his gift.
“What’s in the box?” Abel demanded, taking it before he could answer.
Rude!
“Shortbread cookies. Like I said, I’m Butch’s new neighbor. We had a fight this morning, so I wanted to give him this.”
“You came all the way here, to give Butch cookies? Sounds mighty suspicious to me,” Leon said. “Abel, toss me the box.”
Abel gave it a sniff first, before tossing it to Leon. “Smells fine to me, although cookies shouldn’t have pepper in them, right? You intend to poison our Alpha?”
“What? No. I spilled some pepper by accident.”
Leon burst out laughing. “Look at that cute little box. Is that supposed to be Roxy?”
“Those. Are. Mine.” Clipped words followed by a growl.
To Walker’s relief, Butch finally joined the party. Walker didn’t fail to notice a few curious shifters stuck their heads out, probably drawn by the commotion. Walker refused to be embarrassed. Okay, maybe a little.
Butch got hold of his present and stalked right in front of him, this time with no little dog to soften the image of a one scary looking Alpha.
“You came looking for me,” Butch stated.
“I wanted to apologize for this morning. I had no intention to poison you or anything like that,” he blurted, staring daggers at Abel and Leon. Walker couldn’t blame the men though. They were probably doing their job.
“Oh, but you’re poison, little Omega. The good sort though. I can’t get you out of my head since you threw me out of your apartment,” Butch said, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“You threw Butch out? Now I’m impressed,” Leon drawled.
Butch snapped his head to Leon and the others. “Mind your own business.”
“The Alpha’s personal safety is our business,” Abel said. “What if he’s an assassin?”
Walker nearly choked on his laughter. “Seriously? You think I’m a potential killer?”
Laughter died in his throat when Butch gripped his wrist and sniffed, lips dangerously close to his racing pulse. The Alpha’s kiss burned, he remembered, anger dissipating as Butch regarded him with chocolate brown eyes laced with gold. Those tempting lips curved to a knowing smile, and Walker wondered if he was really prepared for what could happen next.
Chapter Four
Butch’s day had started out unexpected, then become haphazard. After the run, he’d headed back to the apartment to grab some clothes and Roxy. Spending some days in the pack house seemed like the best idea to cure his system and erase his feelings towards one defiant Omega. He was wrong if he thought he could forget Walker easily.
Now here was his brave little Omega, standing up to his Beta and one of his enforcers toe-to-toe, when other submissive wolves would have caved. Butch knew Walker was his for a reason. That was right. Walker coming all the way here meant something important, a breakthrough.
“Cookies?” he asked the Omega, not putting Walker’s wrist down yet.
Instead, he thumbed Walker’s erratic pulse. God, but the Omega smelled good. Walker smelled of some kind of minty soap and wolf musk, and his own faint scent still remained on Walker. Butch wanted to rub and mark the Omega with more of his scent so no one would mistake who Walker belonged to.
“Yeah.”
“These are for me?” Butch examined the box, lips twitching at the cartoon Pom on the cover. “The ribbon’s slightly undone.”
“I got hungry on the way here.”
“You don’t sound all that contrite, baby.”
Walker stiffened. “Can you, like, not be such a smug Alpha for once?”
“I can’t believe that little wolf had the guts to say that to Butch,” Abel said in the background.
Abel shifted back to wolf, probably to resume his patrols, but before he left, he bumped his furry head into his leg, as if to say “good luck”, before disappearing into the bushes. Leon, though, was harder to get rid of.
“So, Butch. This the Omega you called your match?”
“Get a clue, Leon. Scram.”
“You called me your match?” Walker asked, looking pleased for some reason about that fact.
“Go. Away.”
Leon fortunately obeyed this time and urged the others to go back to whatever they were doing. “Give the Alpha some privacy. Shoo, everyone.”
“Your pack’s loyal to you,” Walker observed out loud.
“Of course. We pride ourselves on being family.” Although Butch had had some bad eggs in the past, he made it a point to know every single one of his pack mates.
“You know, some packs like to say they’re family, but they never walk the talk. You do though.”
“Wait. Are you complimenting me? I have to check, because you have one heck of a sharp tongue.”
Walker glared at him, and he had to laugh. “Are you going to accept my apology or not?”
“So demanding, even now. Someone has to take you a notch down, little wolf.”
“You going to do that?”
Butch smiled, showing Walker teeth. “Tomorrow night, eight on the dot.”
“Wait. You’re asking me out again?” Walker looked stumped, but Butch could tell Walker’s wolf seemed pleased. He reached out, banding one arm around Walker’s waist. The Omega squeaked but didn’t protest.
“Not asking. Don’t stand me up. One strike is fine, but strike two?”
“What happens at strike two?” Walker whispered.
“You don’t want to know. Let me drive you back.”
****
Walker didn’t get Butch. One moment the Alpha made threats, the next, he was offering to take Walker back home.
“That’s not necessary. I know you have more important things to do.”
“It’s my day off.” Butch shrugged.
“Well. Okay then,” Walker surprised both of them by answering.
“Hey, Tim,” Butch said to werewolf passing by. The guy jumped. “Take care of Roxy.”
“Yes, sir.”
When they were in the safety of Walker’s car, he couldn’t help but snigger.
“What?” Butch sounded annoyed. Maybe it was because Walker insisted on driving. It was his damn vehicle after all.
“Just the serious way you told your underling to watch over your Pom. It’s adorable.”
“Adorable?” Butch made a face. “I’m not adorable. That adjective’s reserved for fluffy small things.”
“Like Roxy?”
“Roxy’s a menace underneath her exterior.”
“I can tell your dog means a lot to you.” Walker started the engine, although it wasn’t easy to think, having two hundred pounds of Alpha in his tiny car.
“Leon gave her to me as a joke. She’s grown on me, but I wanted a German Shepard.”
Walker suppressed another chuckle. Butch might really be a real manly man on the outside, but the Alpha could sure be a secret softie underneath, too.
“What’s with this car? It’s making rattling noises. You should have that fixed,” Butch said.
“Hey! My baby’s awesome. She’s been with me for years. Plus, she took me here, to River West, and didn’t even break down on me when she usually causes me trouble. Besides, I can’t pay for her repairs yet.”
“I could take a look under her hood for you,” the Alpha offered.
“You’re a mechanic?” he asked. “Why am I not surprised that a werewolf Alpha named Butch is a mechanic?”
Butch rolled his eyes. “That joke’s getting old, you know.”
“Not in my book, if it manages to annoy you.”
“What, it’s your job to annoy me?” Butch huffed, impressive chest rising. “Anyway, I did plenty of odd jobs in my time, but these days, I run a construction company. Since pack business keeps me busy, I have a partner I trust who runs it half the time.”
“Construction, huh? That why my drilling annoyed you?”
If Butch ran his own business, it still didn’t explain why Butch continued to live in the same apartment his parents did. Sentimental reasons perhaps? Walker knew he shouldn’t press Butch now, although he wanted to know everything about the Alpha. Mrs. Wilkins called it a tragedy, but he decided to let it go for now.
Butch continued, “You’re doing it wrong. Next time you need repairs of any sort around your apartment, call me. I’m just next door.”
“Wow. First you offer to fix my car, then my apartment?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Anything to get a slice of your heart.”
Butch had a surprising way with words, too, Walker realized.
“God. Cocky. You have to win my body first.”
Walker didn’t mind taking up Butch’s offer though, if that meant spending more time with Butch. Him making random holes in his wall had taught him that asking for help wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe he could ask Butch to teach him a few things, so he could be self-reliant.
Butch laughed. “That’s not hard.”
Walker wondered what it would be like, to have this Alpha cage him against the wall with his big body, preventing escape, rendering him helpless. Butch would never hurt him, he knew. The Alpha was a protector first, but Walker didn’t mind a little roughness in the bedroom.
The only sexual experience he’d had was with Terry, and they mated once a month according to the marriage contract drawn up between them. Terry tried to match Walker’s needs, but always seemed to come up short.
Butch, on the other hand, Walker had a feeling Butch would give him one hell of a ride.
Walker shifted on his seat, aware of his erection and the bulge in the Alpha’s jeans.
“I think,” Walker eventually said. “I like flirting with you, talking with you. It’s unexpectedly nice.”
He meant every word. When they spoke, it didn’t feel like he was talking to a dominant wolf or Alpha. It was just Butch and Walker, and it felt nice.
“A compliment. Nice.”
“Sorry I’ve been a dick. Former pack mates always said I’m too cynical for my own good.”
“It’s not wrong to build defenses, but just so you know, they have to come down when it comes to me because I don’t do half measures.”
He swore as he snuck a peek to see Butch’s wolf looking back at him again.
“You’re dangerous, Butch,” he whispered. “When it comes to you, you leave me in tatters. For instance, I’d never done anything like this before, bake cookies and drive all the way to you to offer up an apology.”
The Alpha placed one reassuring hand on his thigh, stroking it, making his dick pulse in its constraints. Shit but this Alpha’s touch was lethal. Walker had resisted Butch at first, but by coming down to Butch’s pack house, he made a statement.
“Change is good, Walker.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Something had to give, he’d realized while in Mrs. Wilkins’s kitchen. Walker knew he couldn’t keep out everyone who wanted to gain entry to his life. That would make for one lonely existence, and he didn’t want that. When he left his pack, the only life he’d known, he’d gone in search of a better one, to be free. Here he was, making his own decisions by deciding to let this big, rough Alpha into his heart.
He only hoped Butch wouldn’t find a broken Omega like him lacking, because after first mating, Walker didn’t think he had any more to give.
Chapter Five
Walker finished typing his email and attached the zipped files containing the graphic artwork for his client before checking the clock on his laptop. Seven fifty. He let out a breath and nervously ran a hand through his hair. He’d gott
en ready at seven, finished up thirty minutes later, and decided to do some work to kill time.
Up until that point, Walker didn’t realize time could slow to such a crawl. He rubbed his palms, staring at the door, as if that would magically summon Butch. It didn’t.
Feeling foolish, he took deep breaths. Why was he nervous, yet again? Hadn’t he driven all the way to the River West pack house yesterday? He could handle one date, except this would be one-on-one with Butch with no interruptions, nothing to hide behind. His wolf paced inside of him, excited for tonight.
His phone rang, and he instantly picked it up without looking at the number. Before they parted, he and Butch had exchanged numbers.
“Butch?” he asked.
“Who the hell is Butch?” It was an angry but familiar voice.
Frowning, he looked at his phone, aghast to realize it was Derek.
He was tempted to end the call, but he had no reason to run.
“Why are you calling?” he finally asked.
“You haven’t answered the question, Walker. You run out of your pack, and suddenly, you forget your place?”
Walker scowled. Being around Butch and his wolves had been refreshing, because while Butch’s pack did have a hierarchy, it didn’t seem like the high-ranking members picked on the weaker ones for no reason. Derek was pleasant enough, but Derek could be an old-fashioned ass, too.
“I left the Jade Mountain pack, handed my official resignation to Vic and everything. You have no right telling me about my place,” he said calmly.
Derek cursed on the other hand. There was heavy breathing before Derek spoke again, “Fine. Whatever. I’m just concerned about you, Walker. You’re family after all.”
“No. I’m your brother’s former mate. We’ve never been friends, let alone family.”
It was the hard truth he’d learned ever since he was a pup. The werewolves in the Jade Mountain pack always fought to see who came up on top, and the stronger members always made sure the weaker ones knew their place—at the bottom of the barrel. That somehow gave the arrogant wolves the impression Walker and the other Omegas and weaker shifters existed to serve them.
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