by Odessa Lynne
“Yes.”
“Because…?”
“Because that’s our way.”
Salvadore returned to rubbing his face, trying to force himself to feel more alert. He thought about objecting but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble at the moment. “Alright then.” He closed his eyes and let himself fall flat on his back.
When Wolf stood, the mattress jiggled. Salvadore opened his eyes and watched Wolf cross to the dresser, then pull out several drawers, taking things from them and setting them on top.
The clothes were probably meant for Salvadore, because Wolf already looked clean, and the t-shirt he wore now was almost an exact match for the one he’d had on before—only this one had no holes or tears and wasn’t stiff with dried blood.
Salvadore stretched. His back popped, as did his shoulder, and when Wolf turned to look at him, he grinned and made a show of putting his arms behind his head. Wolf’s gaze lingered on Salvadore’s stomach, then dropped lower.
“After I feed you, I’m going to mate you.”
“If you hurry, maybe you can fuck me now.”
Wolf shook his head. “Not fuck. Mate. I’ll be your life and you’ll stay with me after heat season ends. My status can protect you from the most serious consequences when you reveal your secret to Alpha.”
Salvadore’s grin dropped away. He pushed himself up on his elbows and tried not to sound as tense as he felt. “What are you talking about?”
“The tracker embedded in your skin.”
Salvadore couldn’t breathe for a moment. “I was going to tell you, I swear, but you told me to wait.”
“You’ve already told me.”
“What? When?” Salvadore pushed upright, burying his fingers in the bedding beside him. “Did I talk in my sleep?” Chen had said he’d done that, after Tyler. Salvadore had finally stopped, but he hadn’t stopped dreaming about that night, wasn’t sure he ever would.
“I’m a watcher,” Wolf said, moving toward Salvadore. He stopped by the bed and cupped the side of Salvadore’s face. His hand slid up and his forefinger brushed across the spot where the needle had pierced Salvadore’s scalp.
“I don’t understand. You know I don’t know what a watcher is. I don’t know what that means.”
“I feel intent and interpret truth. I know truth when my people speak and I sense the lie when someone tries to hide the truth behind another truth. I see the signs my people need me to see.”
“That’s so obscure I don’t even know where to start deciphering it.”
“My people don’t have to speak for me to hear them.”
Salvadore stared at Wolf. “Are you trying to tell me you’re a mind reader?”
Wolf’s gaze never left Salvadore’s face. “It’s a gift from the universe, although it doesn’t come without cost. We spend many years learning to interpret the communications we receive, but once we’ve passed the final testing, we’re usually very accurate.”
Salvadore’s mouth had gone dry and he licked his bottom lip. “Communications? Like… like brain waves or something?” One of his father’s experiments came to mind but he pushed the thought away. “You’re honest to God telling me you’re telepathic or something?”
Wolf gave him a look. “You’ve misunderstood. We’re not a telepathic species, although we have met one.”
For a few seconds, Salvadore couldn’t even think past that revelation. “You’ve met other aliens?”
“We haven’t shared that knowledge openly with humans yet, but yes, we have. The universe isn’t as barren and cold as most of you like to believe.”
He could have asked questions about those other aliens, but Salvadore didn’t want to think about a universe full of other intelligent species, not when the only species of alien he’d met was one more than capable of destroying the future of humanity. “And you’re telling me? Why?”
“Because we’re going to mate and because you believe.”
“You don’t know what I believe.”
Wolf continued to stare at Salvadore.
“Are you trying to read my mind?”
Wolf huffed softly and raked his gaze over Salvadore before settling on his face again. “I don’t read minds. I’m… not exactly sure why I’m receiving communications from you. My suspicions make no sense but there aren’t many other reasonable explanations.”
“What suspicions?”
Wolf raised his other hand and Salvadore barely held himself in place when Wolf’s claw-tipped finger trailed under his chin. Memories flashed to the surface and he jerked his head to the side.
When he looked back, Wolf was staring at him, eyes focused on Salvadore’s face with an intensity that made Salvadore fidget. He rubbed his fingers along one of the embroidered seams on the quilt under his hand.
“What?” he finally asked.
“Your past holds you too tight.”
Salvadore twisted to the side, getting to his knees so he could climb off the bed. “You are trying to read my mind!”
Wolf stopped Salvadore with a powerful hand on his shoulder. “You want me to see the truth. Most do.”
“Don’t you fucking tell me what I want. D’you hear me?”
“You met a Diviner and he told you something. What did he say?”
“Goddammit! Stop it.”
“The man you killed, he hurt someone you cared about, didn’t he?”
“Shut the fuck up. I’m not talking about that.”
Someone knocked on the door, making Salvadore jump. He stared at Wolf’s serious expression, his throat tight and his chest rising and falling too fast with every breath. He raised a shaking hand to his hair and pulled, trying to remind himself of what was at stake here.
Wolf finally looked toward the door. “Enter.”
“No!” Salvadore said, twisting around on his knees.
It was Reed who opened the door. His gaze landed on Salvadore almost immediately.
Salvadore jerked the quilt up in front of his dick, the adrenaline that had spiked making him feel jittery.
Wolf stepped around the bed and stopped in front of Salvadore, his intent clear. He had blocked Reed’s view.
Reed’s gaze shifted to Wolf, but Salvadore noticed he didn’t enter the room. “Alpha won’t be coming for us himself. He’s healing injuries he received in a heat fight.”
“The human?” Wolf said.
Reed nodded. “Alpha Craeigoer will be the one coming for us instead.”
Salvadore didn’t know exactly what they were talking about, but he sure didn’t miss the way Wolf’s shoulders tensed at that news. “What’s that mean?” Salvadore demanded from behind Wolf.
Reed said, “Alpha Craeigoer is one of First Alpha’s most trusted betas.”
Wolf glanced over his shoulder at Salvadore. “We have unfinished business.”
“Who, us?” Salvadore asked, thoughts immediately flashing back to Wolf’s knowledge of the tracker.
“Myself and Alpha Craeigoer.”
It took Salvadore a second to catch up. “What kind of business?”
Wolf’s gaze stayed steady on Salvadore. “That’s between me and Alpha Craeigoer. You’ll worry for no reason.”
“I might not.” Even he knew he was lying.
“You’re already worrying. I can—”
“Don’t you dare start trying to read my mind.”
Wolf’s eyebrows climbed high on his forehead. “I wasn’t reading your mind. I can smell it on you.”
Salvadore stilled. The quilt slipped out of his hand before he realized he’d let it go.
“Shit.” He yanked it up again and glared at Wolf and Reed both. Could they smell embarrassment on him too? He hoped not because his scent was probably soaked with it.
Reed spoke up. “Alpha Craeigoer has a human mate who calls him Craig.”
“I know of Alpha Craeigoer’s mate,” Wolf said.
“He has a human mate?” Salvadore asked at almost the same time.
“He took one in the
last heat season,” Reed said. “Everyone knows, because they’re true mates.”
Because fake mates would be what Salvadore and Wolf were, at least until Wolf mated him, whatever that meant.
“Craeigoer won’t leave his mate behind,” Reed said, “so the situation could become dangerous for all of us if he doesn’t bring enough of the repression drugs. Our reserves are almost gone. The drugs are less effective every time for Eebaenetakim, and Paeisikeille’s healing has meant he’s needed a heavier dose. I—” Reed’s claws flexed. “I’ve taken more than is fair, so I won’t be taking another dose until we have a new supply.”
The wolves’ names had all blended together, but Salvadore had gotten the gist of it. He noticed for the first time just how carefully Reed held himself back, how much sweat glossed his skin, how he made a point not to stare at Salvadore too long. Salvadore kept watching Reed’s hand and sure enough, when Reed relaxed his fingers, Salvadore could see a faint tremor.
They were going to be in serious trouble soon if there weren’t more drugs coming.
Chapter 18
Reed’s explanation of why this different alpha’s arrival was going to complicate their situation caused any number of thoughts to rush through Salvadore’s head.
Abruptly, he asked, “If one of you decides you want his mate, what’ll happen?”
Reed’s attention shifted momentarily from Wolf to Salvadore, but it was Wolf who answered.
“He is Alpha. No one will touch his mate without permission unless they’re lust-crazed. He would kill any of us for that while his heat rages inside him.”
“And, uh, is that only because he’s Alpha or because it’s his mate?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.”
“He would fight because it’s his mate. His opponent would probably die because he is Alpha.”
Unease settled deeper into Salvadore’s bones. “Will he—will he be interested in me, because of my scent?”
Salvadore wasn’t going to like Wolf’s reply. He knew it before Wolf even opened his mouth.
“It’s possible,” Wolf said. “You have a rich, dark scent that sweetens when you become agitated. But he’ll resist better than most. He has a true mate.”
“Alpha Craeigoer is a strong alpha,” Reed said. “He’s not foolish enough to put any of us in danger for longer than necessary to return us to our den.”
Salvadore inhaled and it felt like the first inhale he’d taken in far too long. The den. When he got there, he would have to face so many wolves. Too many.
He would have to explain what little he knew about the tracker and its purpose, because the tracker might already be gone. He would have to try to convince someone to help him find Chen and El, because he hadn’t been given any further instructions. We’ll find you, the man had said when he’d dumped Salvadore in the woods to pick up the wolves’ trail.
Salvadore rubbed his hand across his mouth, thinking hard. “You said—you said you wanted to mate me, so your status would protect me. Let’s do it. Mate me. I want protection. You promise me that, and I’ll submit to just about anything you want me to.” Salvadore ignored the little voice in his head telling him that their first bargain pretty much covered everything he was hoping to gain from this one, and that he didn’t have to be mated to a wolf to get it. But maybe if they were mated, it would be easier to get what he needed from Wolf—help.
A low growl rose from Wolf’s chest and the look he gave Salvadore wasn’t as pleased as Salvadore had expected.
“You’re bargaining your submission?”
Salvadore shook his head, his ability to speak gone for the moment at the dark tone of Wolf’s voice. He hadn’t heard Wolf sound like that since that night in the woods with Paul and an uneasy tingle raced down Salvadore’s spine.
“I’m not angry,” Wolf said, his voice softening, his gaze landing on Salvadore’s white-knuckled grip on the quilt. “Your words hurt, here.” His hand moved to his chest and Salvadore watched as Wolf’s fingers curled and his claws pricked at the fabric of his t-shirt.
Salvadore remained tense, even at the implication of Wolf’s gesture. “We made a bargain before. What’s different this time?”
He’d said something wrong. He could tell immediately because Wolf’s expression hardened.
“We did not make a bargain. I reminded you of the benefits of submission and you chose to submit.”
“That is not what happened. Not as far as I’m concerned. You made a promise to keep all these wolves away from me. That’s what I remember.”
“I told you of the pleasure we would have together if you chose to submit. That I would care for you and protect you. Those are all benefits of submission.”
“What the hell do you guys think that is? That’s the definition of a goddamn bargain.”
Wolf stilled. He looked toward Reed, who shrugged. Wolf looked back to Salvadore, his nostrils flared wide. He tilted his head and studied Salvadore long enough to make Salvadore’s palms sweat.
“Maybe we have a difference of understanding about what is a bargain and what’s not.”
“Maybe so,” Salvadore said. “There’s nothing wrong with a good bargain. It’s an honorable way to get what you want from someone.” He refrained from mentioning that bargaining sex wasn’t really considered a good bargain by most humans and that some bargains, such as the one Salvadore had made with Gage, were more one-sided and unfair than others. Wolf seemed overly touchy about the subject as it was.
“An attempt to bargain submission is a grave insult. It’s a treasured duty to care for a mate, whether that’s as a heat mate or a true mate, or any other kind of mate. Your bargain shows how little faith you have in my desire to meet my obligations as your mate.”
“So what kind of mate are we talking about here? Because Egan called you my mate, you called me your mate, but apparently we haven’t quite mated even though I seriously remember you saying we were mating when we were in the woods.”
“There’s a difference between mating and mating.” Wolf’s shadowed eyes flickered over Salvadore’s face. “One is temporary, and the other is never temporary.”
“How not temporary are we talking?”
Wolf took a step toward the bed. “Permanent.”
Salvadore’s heart thudded hard, speeding up as Wolf placed his hands on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, crowding into Salvadore’s space. “How permanent?” Salvadore asked quietly.
“As permanent as permanent is.”
“That’s… very permanent.”
“That’s what it means to mate someone the way I plan to mate you. If you want to call this a bargain, then what you’re bargaining is the rest of your life, because you’ll spend it with me. Under me. Submitting. Until the day you die and I follow you back into the vastness of the universe.”
“Oh.” Salvadore rubbed his chest with the heel of his free hand, his other still holding tight to the quilt. He wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking, but he hadn’t been thinking permanent. Not like that.
He didn’t want Wolf to mate him, did he, if it meant that?
He was going to be a realist. He’d already decided. No more living in some goddamn fantasy just because it made the world feel like a better place, somewhere warm and caring and worth living in.
But as he stared into Wolf’s eyes, glimmering under the soft light reflected from above, Salvadore couldn’t help but think it might be nice to imagine Wolf had meant everything he’d said. That he actually cared what happened to Salvadore, one way or another, and that thought—that was the one that pulled Salvadore up short.
He couldn’t already be imagining that he had feelings for this…this wolf. Goddammit. He wasn’t going to do that again. He’d sworn to himself he was done with that kind of, of, of—
“What the fuck,” Salvadore said, for lack of anything else coming to mind. He’d done it. He’d gone and done it again, and he was already making up reasons why he should stick wit
h Wolf, falling for every one of Wolf’s promises, as if there was no way Wolf didn’t mean them, even though it was heat season and how the hell could he know what Wolf would think about all of this once heat season was over and Salvadore’s human scent was no longer fucking with Wolf’s biology?
“Fuck,” Salvadore said again, and Wolf’s nostrils flared wide, as if he too had had some realization heaped on him.
Wolf’s claws came out on the bed and he started closing the distance between them.
“You know what?” Salvadore said, his voice almost cracking under the strain. “I’m getting really goddamn sick of all this bad luck that’s following me around. I haven’t had a break in years.”
He scooted backwards on his knees until he was at the edge of the bed. He tugged at the quilt but Wolf’s weight had it trapped. Wolf growled and reached for Salvadore’s arm but Salvadore dropped to the floor, his feet landing with a hard thud. “You—” He pointed at Wolf. “You want to know what my life’s been like lately? It’s been a mess. Nothing but a fucking mess.”
Wolf’s eyes closed and his chin raised in a repeat of one of the times he’d stopped in the woods and listened. That’s what Salvadore had thought he’d been doing at the time. Now… now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe he was listening to something no one else could hear.
“I killed somebody,” Salvadore said, and a tremble made him sound weak. “If you want to mate me, you should at least know that. I did it in cold blood too. Murder. I slit his goddamn throat and I’d do it again, even knowing about the nightmares and the thing with—with—even knowing everything I know now.”
Wolf’s eyes snapped open and his lips pulled back and his teeth glistened sharp and bright under the light. “He deserved his fate,” Wolf said.
Sweat beaded on the back of Salvadore’s neck even as cool air swirled at his feet and raised the hair on his legs. “I couldn’t leave him there just living in their house, acting like he’d done nothing wrong. There’s no one to enforce the laws here in the protectorate anymore, not like there used to be before you all built that new den everybody’s whispering about. That’s your doing and somebody’s going to have to change it or—or shit like that’s just going to keep happening. He—he—”