Ripples of Threat

by Rebecca James

  Was the kid having a wet dream? X found the thought more arousing than he should.

  The blanket had partly dislodged, revealing the twin pale globes of Christopher’s bare ass. The alpha’s mouth watered, but he couldn’t stand there and watch the kid get off while sleeping. Shaking his head and forgetting where he was, the alpha took a step back and fell into space.

  Surprise and pain brought a cry from X’s lips when he hit the floor of the barn. A moment later, the glare of a kerosene lamp shown from above.

  “X? Is that you?”

  X squinted into the light and tried to sit up. He winced. “Yeah, it’s me.” Christopher came scrambling down the ladder. Fuck, he wished the kid would put some clothes on.

  The beta got to his knees and put his hand on X’s head. X covered his shiver with another wince.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, there will be a bruise on my hip where I landed, but I’m fine.”

  “Landed? Where’d you fall from?” Christopher looked around and seemed to realize for the first time X had landed at the foot of the ladder to the loft. “What were you doing up there?”

  “My cot broke and I came here to sleep. I heard you—uh, having a bad dream and was just checking on you.”

  “A bad—” Christopher stopped, mouth open, and X saw the moment the beta realized what kind of dream he’d been having. “Oh.”

  “Hey, it’s okay,” X said softly. “Every guy has them.”

  Christopher backed away, and X wanted to punch himself in the throat. Why had he said that? He should have pretended he still thought it was a bad dream. Simultaneously, they both looked down at Christopher’s half-hard cock before looking away.

  X got to his feet, ready to go back to his straw bed and pretend none of this had happened, when Christopher spoke.

  “It’s just…this afternoon was intense, and…” the boy left off.

  Xavier narrowed his eyes, looking down at the beta. “Intense like how?”

  Christopher’s cheeks colored. “Perry and I…well, we…”

  X raised his brow, something stone-cold and ugly forming in his gut. “Did he fuck you?” The alpha suddenly couldn’t stand the thought of Perry moving inside Christopher’s body. He grabbed Christopher by the arm, half raising the beta from the floor. “Did he?”

  Christopher tried to yank away. “Ow, that hurts! And no! We just did…other things.”

  X dropped Christopher’s arm, causing the boy to sprawl onto his butt. He noted there was no whine of discomfort. “I see.”

  Christopher stared at the floor. “I only blew him,” he said quietly, putting an end to X’s wild imaginings. “I’d never done it before, and…I don’t know. I felt weird after. I wouldn’t let him do anything for me, and I came home. I guess my dick felt cheated.”

  X closed his eyes, an image of Christopher’s pretty lips sucking a cock rising in his mind. He made a noise—a kind of half-grunt, half-whimper, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Christopher staring at him. A second later, the kid was on his knees, trembling fingers opening X’s fly.

  Xavier gasped when Christopher buried his face in the warmth of the alpha’s groin, and X’s hands rose of their own volition to grip the beta’s unbound hair.

  “I wanted it to be you,” Christopher moaned, the sound vibrating against X’s balls and sending tremors of desire through the alpha. When the beta’s wet tongue skimmed over the alpha’s sac, X moaned loudly. When Christopher sucked one of the big orbs inside his mouth, the alpha shouted.

  Christopher tugged Xavier’s jeans to his ankles and grasped his big thighs, looking up at X with soulful hazel eyes as he licked and sucked tender flesh. X groaned, barely able to stay on his feet under the assault. Sensing this, Christopher pushed X backward, toppling the alpha onto the straw bed he’d made earlier.

  Before X could blink, Christopher had the alpha’s jeans off and had settled between X’s legs, once more mouthing the alpha’s sac.

  X sucked air through his teeth and gasped as Christopher sucked in one of his nuts. The incredible sensations traveling from his groin to his head and all the way down to his toes, combined with the sight of the boy’s obvious enjoyment of the act, made X hard as fuck. In the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn’t be taking advantage of Chris like this. The beta was too young—wasn’t he? Or was X still thinking of Christopher as the naive sixteen-year-old he’d taken under his wing when the alpha had first come to Angel Hills? Chris was of mating age, and Perry didn’t seem to have a problem with pursuing the boy. X knew nobody in the pack would blink an eye if Perry and Christopher mated. So, what was X’s problem?

  His problem was, the alpha thought with a weak stab to the heart even as pleasure coursed through his body when Christopher finally took X’s achingly hard cock into his warm mouth, X’s heart belonged to Trace. Right? Trace.

  X could barely bring the image of his lost love into his mind as, knees bent, he gave in and thrust up into Christopher’s open mouth.

  Chapter 14: Gabriel

  “He hasn’t spoken to me in almost a week,” Gabriel said miserably.

  The first omega sat with Justin on the park bench, watching the children play.

  “Is that why I haven’t seen you? You’ve been sulking at home?” Justin teased.

  “It’s not funny. If Milo wasn’t speaking to you, you’d be miserable, too.”

  Justin sighed. “Okay. I know I would be. But you’re making too much of this. It’s been three days, not a week, and Grey’s just mad. He needs time to get over it. He’s called an alpha meeting this afternoon to discuss getting you some help with how tired you are.”

  Ian had told Gabriel that Grey had received an answer from River that had to do with having a human doctor come to the compound. Gabriel was pretty sure Grey wouldn’t go for that, so the omega couldn’t imagine the reason for the alpha meeting.

  Although Gabriel knew he’d been in the wrong, he couldn’t help but defend himself. “It’s not like I was flirting with Duncan or anything. I only wanted to plant the idea of Canaan in his mind. I was trying to do something nice.”

  “Look, Gabe. You’re pregnant and an omega, and that makes an alpha crazy, especially when it comes to other alphas. Grey confronted Duncan, and he’ll get over being ticked off at you. You’re as important to him as he is to you. Until then, you’ve got Ian.”

  Gabriel let Justin’s words sink in, aware there’d been a time when he wouldn’t have believed them. Gabriel used to think being an omega was nothing more than being a fuck toy and baby machine, and he’d always been embarrassed at how needy he became during his heats. However, since being mated to Grey and Ian, the omega’s thought process had slowly changed. Gabriel knew he was important to them and they loved him. But his alpha’s displeasure with him had dropped a pall over the omega’s life. He innately wanted to please Grey, not make the alpha angry.

  Gabriel placed a hand on his pregnant belly where the baby rolled around as though trying to find a comfortable organ to sit on. He couldn’t help the resentment brewing beneath the surface at the innocent child, even though he knew it wasn’t fair. The baby couldn’t help that the pregnancy was draining Gabriel so much. He sagged back against the bench, so fucking tired and more than a little embarrassed at causing his alpha so much trouble. Gabriel had planned to make overtures to the alpha for forgiveness, but the omega always wound up falling asleep before he got the chance. He wondered if he’d dreamed the scent of his alpha and the big hand stroking his hair the night before. He hoped not.

  “On a more positive note,” Justin said, “maybe your little talk with Duncan did some good. I told Canaan to meet me at the lake, and when I got there, I found him talking to Duncan.”

  That got Gabriel’s attention. “Really? Did you plan for that to happen?”

  “Not exactly. I mean, I knew Duncan might see us, but I never thought I’d get lucky and he’d be swimming when Canaan arrived.”

  Gabriel’s mouth fell ope
n. “You mean he was naked?”

  Justin nodded. “I was lucky I didn’t get any closer, or I’d be on the outs with Milo like you are with Grey. That man sweats alpha power, and without his clothes…” Justin shivered.

  “Anyway, when I got there, Canaan was talking to a naked Duncan. I wish I’d been late, because I think they’d been flirting.”

  “Really? Duncan seemed pretty against meeting Canaan when I spoke to him,” Gabriel said dubiously.

  “It was hard to tell, and Canaan wouldn’t say, although he’d seemed very impressed by Duncan.”

  “I’ll bet.” Gabriel watched Finny splashing in the water with Justin’s three youngest, nipping at the other pups’ flanks. To Gabriel’s relief, the boy had recently started shifting. Now that he had, Gabriel had difficulty getting Fin to change back to human form.

  Uncomfortable from sitting so long, Gabriel stood and stretched. A sound from the bushes caught his attention just before something leaped out and streaked past the bench, and the four youngest pups’ playful yapping turned to excited barking as they took off after it.

  “What the—” Gabriel twisted around just in time to see the four pups and whatever they were chasing round the bend and run straight into the woods. “Finny!” he yelled after them.

  “Crap.” Justin got to his feet and addressed his oldest twins. “Ty, Tim, come over here.”

  “I wasn’t gonna run after that squirrel,” Tyler said with scorn as he rose from the mud city he and Tim had been creating on the shore of the small pond.

  “Is that what it was?” Gabriel asked. “It ran so fast, I couldn’t tell.”

  Tim and Tyler nodded their dark heads.

  “Only puppies chase squirrels.” Tim said with a roll of his eyes.

  Justin sighed. “Well, we’d better go after them. Boys, run home. Meemo should be there. Tell him what’s going on and to give you some lunch.”

  “Meemo” was Justin’s boys’ nickname for Milo, and Gabriel thought it was cute. It was also fun to tease the alpha with it. Tim and Ty nodded and started off toward the cave where they lived, and Justin and Gabriel headed for the woods, calling the boys’ names.

  “Ollie! Oscar! Cal!”

  “Finny!”

  Gabriel tried to keep up, but less than a mile into the forest, the pregnant omega began to slow down.

  Justin stopped. “You okay?”

  Gabriel nodded, holding onto his side where he’d developed a stitch. “You go ahead of me; I’m just holding us up.”

  Justin didn’t argue. He took off running, still calling the boys’ names, voice quickly becoming only an echo in the distance. Gabriel slowed to a halt, feeling as though his feet were two-ton weights he was dragging around. They hurt, and one look past the swell of his belly told him his ankles were swelling. Annoyance at his limitations made him curse. Although sure to remain relatively safe on the compound, Finny was somewhere in the woods. Anxiety crept up Gabriel’s spine as he determinedly continued to walk, head cocked and listening for the pups in case Justin had somehow missed them. He hoped Finny wouldn’t get hurt or lose his way from the others in the woods. He and Cal weren’t as accustomed to their shifted forms as the twins.

  Gabriel heard nothing but the rustle of forest animals and the beating of his heart in his ears. He told himself Justin would easily find the boys now Gabriel wasn’t slowing him up.

  The hair raised on the back of Gabriel’s neck. The omega wasn’t sure why he was so nervous; there was no reason to be afraid. He was within his pack. But he yearned for his mates, especially his alpha.

  “That’s natural,” he said aloud to make himself feel better. Every omega yearned for his alpha in times of stress. He recognized the feeling as something more base and fundamental from the way he loved Ian. Although much of Gabriel’s doubt had vanished after he’d given birth to Finny and become cognizant of his mates’ devotion, he now realized that while he’d never again question Ian’s love, he didn’t feel the same about the love of his alpha, particularly now Gabriel was proving to be such a hardship. Maybe Grey would come to his senses and want to get rid of the omega.

  Gabriel wondered how much the draw of the alpha to the omega ruled Grey’s heart where Gabriel was concerned. Would the alpha feel the same way about him without the biological pull? While he could be sure Ian loved Gabriel for himself, how much of Grey’s devotion had to do with heats and omega allure? He’d once voiced this concern to Justin, and the other omega had told him it didn’t matter one way or the other. The love was there, period.

  As Gabriel forced himself to take step after weary step, his thoughts gradually returned to how angry Grey was with him, and what had prompted it. The omega knew what a grievous mistake he’d made. As an omega mate, he had a responsibility to his alpha, and as first omega, he had an added responsibility to the pack. He alone stood as an example to the rest of the omegas, and really—how fucked up was that when Gabriel had never embraced his omega nature to begin with?

  He chuckled mirthlessly, thinking what a wonder it was that Grey hadn’t reminded him of his place. As Gabriel’s alpha and the pack alpha, the man certainly had the right to do so. Which only went to show how kind and wonderful Grey really was.

  Ian had spoken once of Grey’s doubts. If only the alpha could know what a wonderful pack leader he really was. If only Grey could see himself as his pack saw him.

  Gabriel’s heart sank as the full realization of what he’d done sank in. He’d sought out another alpha, alone. He’d allowed that alpha to touch him. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, Gabriel had done it while carrying the pack alpha’s child. At least, Gabriel hoped it was Grey’s child. That train of thought opened a whole other vat of guilt that Gabriel wasn’t strong enough to face right then.

  Gabriel stopped to rest against an elm.

  Remembering the moment in the kitchen when he’d realized his mistake, the omega suddenly recalled something else he’d done wrong—after witnessing his alpha’s rage, Gabriel had defended Duncan, practically begging Grey not to hurt the other alpha. Pressing his forehead to the rough bark of the tree, Gabriel groaned in the agony of how wrong he’d been. He needed to apologize to Grey—after this time. Carefully, he lowered himself to the ground. His body ached.

  Nothing broke the silence of the forest except the rustling of the wind in the canopy and the harsh calls of a murder of crows. Justin had probably found the pups by now. Gabriel should probably head back to the park to wait. He would in a minute—just as soon as he regained his strength.

  Gabriel closed his eyes and concentrated on scent, imagining he smelled the pups and Justin not too far away. His senses had been wonky lately, and the last time he’d shifted, he’d been so uncomfortable, he’d hesitated to go through it again. He was even a little cold, which was abnormal for werewolves at any time of the year. Lately, he’d been sleeping with his feet tucked between Ian’s warm thighs.

  Adjusting his position so he lay in a patch of sunshine, Gabriel curled into a loose ball and rested his head on his arm. He dreamed of his alpha’s scent and hand on him again.

  “Gabe. Wake up.”

  Gabriel startled and blinked into the deep blue eyes of his alpha. Soothing relief ran through him. His alpha was there.

  A deep furrow appeared between the alpha’s dark brows. “Gabriel, are you okay?”

  Gabriel struggled to sit up, and his alpha helped him to his feet. He hadn’t realized Milo, Jeff, and Tarz were there, too.

  “Yeah. I’m okay. I just got lost.”

  Grey looked at him oddly. “Lost?”

  Gabriel realized that didn’t make sense. How could Gabriel get lost in the compound? But his senses hadn’t been working properly, and sometimes the omega just felt so confused. Shame and frustration mingled with the happiness he felt to have his alpha speaking to him again, and Gabriel’s eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m sorry, Grey-” The omega was ready to grovel at his alpha’s feet for the things he’d done, but G
rey made a sound in his throat and tugged Gabriel to his side. The omega took a deep breath of his alpha’s scent.

  Grey wrapped an arm around Gabriel. “You’re shaking. Let’s get you home, and we’ll talk. “

  “Just c-cold.”

  Gabriel saw the worried look Grey exchanged with the other alphas as they started to walk and realized he’d inadvertently placed another worry at his mate’s feet. Added to that, it soon became apparent the omega couldn’t take five steps without faltering, so Grey swung Gabriel up in his arms. Face buried in Grey’s neck, the omega fervently wished he wasn’t such a burden.

  Ian met them at the front door. “Gabe, are you all right? Grey said Justin came to the meeting and told them you were lost.”

  Gabriel hadn’t even noticed how low the sun had sunk in the sky. He flushed, embarrassed.

  “Did Justin find the kids?”

  Ian nodded. “Fin’s with him at his house.”

  “I’ll go get him,” Grey said, but Ian put a hand on the pack alpha’s arm.

  “No, I’ll do it.” He left before Grey could argue.

  “Looks like Ian’s going to make us talk,” Grey said.

  “Alpha, I’m sorry,” Gabriel blurted out, tears spilling. “I didn’t think. I disrespected…you and that was…never my intention.” He was sobbing now.

  Grey pulled the omega close. “Shh, everything’s all right.”

  Grey led Gabriel to the bedroom and removed the omega’s shoes before helping him into bed. Tears continued to run down Gabriel’s face and into his ears every time he blinked.

  To Gabriel’s relief, Grey undressed and crawled onto the bed beside him.

  “Forgive me, Grey,” Gabriel begged, clutching at one of Grey’s big biceps.

  Grey pushed the omega’s hair off his tear-stained face. “Already forgiven, baby. I was angry, but not really at you as much as at the thought of Duncan being near you.”

  “I shouldn’t have spoken to him. Or let him touch me.”