by Lynn Hagen
Brac Pack 31
A Man’s Worth
Being one of the last Lakeland bears to mate, Bryce isn’t too happy when he finds out the man fated to be his has covered his scent for years. Tired of Ahm shimmering in and out of his life, Bryce finally puts his paw down and demands Ahm make a choice. Either be with him, or never show his face around Bryce again.
Ahm shimmers away.
Ahm is the revered leader of the Shadow elves. His tribe is grounded deep in tradition, and turns their backs on anyone who mates outside their race. But when Ahm finally tells his cousin that he has a male shifter for a mate, the tribe calls a hunt on Ahm’s head.
With a cursed bracelet on his wrist and nowhere to run, Ahm calls for help. What he hadn’t expected was a clan of bears to come to his rescue.
But Bryce isn’t a part of the rescue party, and he isn’t so sure he wants Ahm around. Can the two find a way to work out their differences before the tribe finds Ahm, and can Ahm find a solution to a growing problem in his tribe before his beloved race becomes extinct?
Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 43,064 words
A MAN’S WORTH
Brac Pack 31
Lynn Hagen
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
A MAN’S WORTH
Copyright © 2013 by Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-586-0
First E-book Publication: April 2013
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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A MAN’S WORTH
Brac Pack 31
LYNN HAGEN
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“If you don’t put it on correctly, I’m going to beat the shit out of you.”
“I would really like to see you try,” Chauncey said to Bryce as the side of his mouth kicked up into a good-humored smile. “Just because you are a damn bear doesn’t mean you have to behave like one. Stop acting like somebody stole your sweets.”
As the thunder rolled across the sky, telling Bryce the storm was getting closer, he steered Hell Raiser toward the south pasture. It didn’t matter to man or horse if it rained. Hell Raiser only allowed Bryce—and Riley’s mate, Sterling—anywhere near him, and was ornery as hell. A heavy downpour was nothing to either of them.
Not when Bryce felt just as gloomy on the inside as the weather surrounding him.
“Why don’t you stop dictating to me from up there and get down here. I could use the help.” Chauncey wiped his brow and then locked his feet into place as he lifted the new tire for the tractor. “Just because I’m as strong as a bear doesn’t mean this shit is easy.”
“Will you stop with the bear references,” Bryce snapped as he climbed down and hitched Hell Raiser’s reins to a nearby branch. “It’s annoying as hell.”
“So is your sour mood.” Chauncey grunted with the back tire in his arms, but managed to scowl at him. “I remember when you were carefree, laughing all the time. Now you look like you need an enema.”
“Can we stop worrying about me and get this done?” Bryce groused as he helped Chauncey place the back wheel on the tractor. His brother quickly secured the large tire in place as Bryce watched him work.
He wasn’t trying to be a prick. Bryce didn’t like feeling pissy. It wasn’t in his nature. He was just as good humored and playful as his other brothers. But when he found out his mate had been disguising his scent just so Bryce wouldn’t know they were destined to be together…well, that downright pissed him off.
Was he that bad of a man that Ahm had hidden his scent all these years?
Years.
Bryce felt his chest tighten as a deep ache began to thrum through his heart. The Shadow elf had hidden who he was to Bryce for years. He had a right to be pissy. The thought of what Ahm had done hurt like hell.
“Okay, I’m done.”
Bryce left Chauncey to finish up as he mounted the horse and took off toward the house. If Ahm didn’t want him, then Bryce wasn’t going to sit by and wait on the man. It was very apparent that Ahm had made his decision about their relationship.
And it hadn’t been in Bryce’s favor.
Fuck that Shadow elf.
Bryce rode to the barn, dismounted, and took care of Hell Raiser before putting him in his stall. He fed the horse a few treats, rubbed his hand down the soft hairs on the horse’s neck, and then exited the barn.
“Pa said to help you today,” Abe said as he came running toward Bryce. Abe was a Wood elf. He had helped rescue Bryce’s brother, Cole, and Chauncey’s mate, Curtis, when an evil bastard had kidnapped them.
He liked Abe, although the man was a bit on the flirtatious side. It didn’t bother him. Abe was harmless. He was like a small puppy yapping around Bryce’s feet. “What did he tell you to help me with?”
Abe shrugged. “He just said to give you
a hand. I think he wanted to get me out of his hair.” The amusement on Abe’s face belied the hurt Bryce saw in the man’s blue eyes. Bryce had figured the guy out a long time ago. Abe may be flirtatious, but it was a front. The man was lonely and had confessed to having no friends in the tribe he had lived in.
Something snapped inside Bryce. He was tired of being grumpy and tired of being a prick. That wasn’t who he was normally. It was about time he got over being rejected by his mate and had a bit of fun. “Why don’t we take off for the rest of the day and find something to get into?”
Abe’s grin was wide. “Okay.”
Bryce smiled for the first time in what felt like forever as he walked toward his truck. He wasn’t going to let anyone take away who he was. Not even his mate. The thought brought a spike of pain to his chest, but Bryce forced himself to ignore it.
He had to or he wouldn’t be able to function under the excruciating pain. The thing Ahm failed to realize about Bryce was that—although he was a big burly bear—he had the biggest heart and had dreamed of finding his mate since he was a small cub.
That might not matter to the elf, but it meant the world to Bryce.
So, since the man wanted to be a coward and run from Bryce…fuck him. Bryce opened the driver’s door and hopped in. Abe climbed in on the other side, buckling himself in.
“So, where to?”
“How about a nice long drive into the city?” Bryce asked as he started the motor and pulled from the ranch. He really had no definitive destination in mind as long as it put a smile on his face.
“Just as long as you tell Pa that I helped you, I’m ready for anything you have in mind.” Abe looked happy as he clasped his hands in his lap.
Bryce grinned and drove down the road. Maybe they could go shopping or… “How old are you?”
Abe wiggled his eyebrows. “Old enough to know better and young enough to still enjoy it.”
“That would hold a lot more weight if you didn’t look at least half my age.” Hell, Abe looked like a damn kid. A cute kid, but still a kid.
Abe cocked his head to one side, a sly smirk crossing his lips. “You don’t like younger guys, Bryce?”
Oh, how to answer that one?
“I suppose I like younger guys as much as the next man, but even I have my limits.” Besides, his interests of late seemed to lie somewhere around guys over five hundred years old.
“I’m older than I look,” Abe said. “Christian allowed me into his club with you the last time we were in the city. He’d never do that if I wasn’t old enough.”
“The Manacle.” Bryce thumped the palm of his hand on the steering wheel. “That’s where we should go. We could dance and drink ourselves silly.” Besides, the last time he and Abe had hung out, Bryce had had a really good time—before the club was blown apart.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Getting rip-roaring drunk sounded like a damn good plan. Bryce was ready to do just about anything to forget his coward of a mate, even get plastered in a vamp bar. Maybe he’d get lucky and find someone to spend the night with as well. It wasn’t like he was going to be able to go home to his mate.
His mate didn’t want him.
Ahm had made that perfectly clear when he hid from Bryce for years.
Bryce gripped the steering wheel until it began to creak under the strength of his hands. It galled him to no end that Ahm had denied him. What right did that freaky little elf have to deny him his mate? Ahm didn’t even discuss it with him, just cut Bryce out of his life.
How dare he!
“Dude, you want me to drive?”
“Huh?” Bryce turned to look at Abe. “What?”
“You’re driving like a maniac.” Abe waved his hand toward the windshield. “Do you want me to drive?”
Bryce grimaced and took his foot off the gas pedal when he realized he was speeding down the road. He quickly reached over and rolled down his window, allowing the cold night air to fill the cab of the truck. If he didn’t get his head screwed on straight, he was going to end up in the ditch.
“Sorry, Abe, my mind was on other things.”
“Yeah.” Abe didn’t sound convinced but didn’t say anything else. Bryce knew he could. Abe was fully aware that Ahm and Bryce were mates. Bryce was pretty sure everyone in the Lakeland household was. And Abe, being a Wood elf, would be even more aware of the situation.
Which made Bryce feel like growling. He hated people knowing his business. He didn’t mind joking with people and maybe getting the occasional piece of advice, but he liked to keep the intimacies of his personal life private.
Bryce’s mind was filled with turmoil and confusion until he pulled into the parking lot of The Manacle and heard the loud music coming from inside the building. He was delighted when he spotted the long line of people waiting to get inside.
Guess the place was back up and running.
The bombing that had pretty much destroyed the place—and almost took Chauncey from him—had been one of the worst experiences of Bryce’s life. After seeing the rubble from the aftermath of the explosion, Bryce hadn’t expected the club would be up and running so fast.
Bryce quickly scanned the parking lot before climbing out of his truck. After dealing with the crazy-ass woman who planted the bomb inside the club, he wasn’t going to take any chances. If anything looked out of place, he was gone.
“We’ve added cameras in the parking lot along with guards placed throughout the club,” said a voice from behind Bryce, making his heart speed up with sudden fear. “You are perfectly safe here, Bryce.”
Bryce blew out a relieved breath when he turned and saw Christian’s second-in-command, Christo, standing there. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
“Never better,” Christo replied, grinning just enough that Bryce could see his fangs flash in the lights hanging over the parking lot. “The humans are lining up around the corner, the club has been repaired, and we are back in business full time.”
Bryce gave a snickering laugh as he glanced toward the crowd gathering near the side of the building. “Yeah, I saw the line.”
“You, and your friend, too, of course”—Christo nodded toward Abe—“do not have to wait in line. I would be happy to escort you in myself.”
“Sweet!” Abe squealed as he bounced all over, looking like he was about to wet himself with excitement.
Bryce laughed, the little man’s exuberance sinking into him and making him almost forget that he was nursing a broken heart. “That would be cool, man. Thanks.”
“No, you have my thanks.” Christo gave a little bow of his head. “You and your brothers were more than helpful when we were attacked. Giving you entrance into the club is the least I can do for the lives you helped save.”
Bryce grabbed Abe by the arm to keep him from bouncing off into the atmosphere and followed Christo toward the entrance of the club. The same vampire who always guarded the door was there again. Bryce nodded to him as he walked in. Harley nodded back.
Bryce could feel his hips start to move to the beat of the music the second he stepped into the place. He suddenly felt almost rejuvenated, like all of his worries were sliding away as he entered the club.
Maybe this was what he needed, after all.
Bryce steered Abe toward the bar and ordered them both a drink. While he waited for the bartender to get their order, he turned and leaned back against the bar and scanned the crowd. There were scantily dressed people everywhere, both men and women. And damned if they didn’t look hot, every damn last one of them. Maybe not as hot as Ahm looked, but pretty damn close. And tonight, Bryce wasn’t going to be choosy.
Bryce downed the shot that the bartender set on the scarred countertop in one swallow then slammed the glass back on the counter. “Come on, Abe,” he said as he spied a particularly tasty-looking man dancing in the middle of the dance floor. “Let’s party.”
Chapter Two
Ahm rubbed the bridge of his nose when he heard someone knock on his
office door. When would he ever get a moment of peace? It seemed like every time he turned around, someone wanted him for something. Usually it was to settle some sort of dispute or rescue someone that had gotten their ass in a sling.
Ahm was tired. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten more than a few hours of sleep. It didn’t help that every damn time he closed his eyes, Bryce came into his head. It was like the man had the power to dominate Ahm’s every thought or something.
And people wondered why he had lost his blue skin? Ahm didn’t think they would believe he was unable to claim his mate. Not that that was the reason, but it was the problem that seemed to be at the top of Ahm’s thoughts most days. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought he was under some sort of ancient curse or something.
It was the only way to explain how his mate ended up being a bear shifter. His mate was supposed to be a Shadow elf just like he was, not a bear. No matter how much he wished it was different, Bryce would never be accepted by Ahm’s people.
And that meant that Ahm couldn’t claim the man.
Even if it made his heart break every time he thought about it.
Ahm always knew that being the leader of his tribe would be trying. He just never thought it would be what took his mate from him. He had always dreamed of having his mate rule by his side and not in his dreams.
But that was where Bryce had to stay because anything else couldn’t even be contemplated. The Shadow elves, while being a peaceful people for the most part, were not often tolerant of other species. Ahm was trying to bring them into the current century but he was being thwarted at every turn—and by people that should have been supporting him.