“All the more reason to take the helm, Josh. You know what the needs of the community are and know what has to be done to make this pack whole again, to thrive. Alastair has just about run this pack into the ground. I have every confidence that you’ll make a great leader.”
“Me too,” Jaeger said. “You’ll do great, Josh, and I’ll be happy to be your second. Everyone in the pack admires you. Well, everyone except for Alastair and his goon squad.”
“Who are they, by the way? Who’ll stand with Alastair?” Dae asked.
“Not many,” Jaeger replied. “I think Trey Thomas and his brother Quinn are probably the only ones who are young enough who’d side with Alastair young enough to fight. They’ve had their heads up Alastair’s ass since they were pups. Maybe Gray Folger, although if I were Alastair, I wouldn’t trust him. Gray is a coward at heart and likely to switch sides if it looks like you’re winning. I think everyone else will stand down and wait to see who comes out on top.”
Dae nodded. “And who’ll support me?”
“Us, of course. And Fang.”
“And me,” Sean put in.
Dae struggled to hold back a smile, while his brothers coughed to cover their incredulous laughs. He knew Sean was being serious and wanted to spare Sean any more hurt feelings. He tried to explain. “I know you are, hon, but you can’t.”
Sean’s back instantly went up. “The hell I can’t!”
“This is pack business,” Joshua said.
“Anything that concerns Dae is my business.” Sean was bristling, obviously offended and ready to argue.
Dae stepped in before Sean could face off with Joshua. “Sean, listen to me. Do you remember what happened the night Jack attacked you? What I looked like, how I acted?” He saw a shudder ripple across Sean’s shoulders, and knew he didn’t need to remind Sean of what happened. Dae had almost ripped Jack apart, right in front of Sean’s eyes. “Picture an entire camp full of creatures like that. We’re wolves, Sean, and when a challenge is issued for leadership, it’s one of the most dangerous times to be around us. You have no teeth, no claws. You wouldn’t be able to fight back. Even if you had a weapon, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys.”
Jaeger, bless him, tried another tack. “Dae is your mate, Sean. If one of the pack chose to attack you during the challenge, for whatever reason, Dae’s nature would force him to defend you, and that would leave Dae open to attack from Alastair or one of his men.”
Sean blanched and nodded. “My being there might get Dae killed. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes,” Joshua said. “It’s the reason we keep our mates at home whenever there is a challenge for leadership. Not because the females can’t fight—some of our females, like my wife, are more than capable of taking care of themselves—but because if they were threatened, it would distract the males and likely get us killed.”
Jaeger picked up the thread. “Plus, it isn’t unheard of for some shifters, the cowardly ones, to go after the young of a challenger, and I wouldn’t put it past Alastair to give orders to that effect to his men. Kill the pups, and the challenger may lose heart. We need you and our mates here, safe and ready to protect our children if they’re attacked.”
Dae took Sean into his arms and looked deeply into Sean’s eyes. “Do you understand now? My brothers have accepted you as my mate and are entrusting you with their most precious possessions—their children.”
Sean’s eyes looked moist, and although he didn’t seem completely convinced, he nodded. “Okay. I understand. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. I’ll protect them with my life.” He turned his head to look at Joshua and Jaeger. “If you swear to me you’ll have Dae’s back.”
Joshua and Jaeger both nodded solemnly, and Dae breathed a sigh of relief.
“What about the bastards who raped Cherise?” Sean asked. “What will you do about them?”
“We’ll worry about them after we take care of Alastair,” Dae replied. “Unfortunately he’s the most immediate danger to us all right now, Cherise and the baby included. Speaking of which, we’ll have to move them here, where they can be protected.”
They all stood silent for a moment, seething, all wishing they could find the men who attacked Cherise and rip them apart. Then finally, Joshua addressed Dae. “We should go.”
“I want to check on Cherise first,” Dae said. “If she’s stable enough, I want to move Cherise and the baby here to the cabin, where they can be protected while we deal with Alastair.”
His brothers nodded, and went off to say good-bye to their wives and children. Dae led Sean into the bedroom, then took Sean in his arms and gazed at the face he loved. “I’m proud of you, you know.”
Sean frowned up at him. “For what? What did I do?”
“You stood up to me, and in front of my brothers, to boot. They think you’re either crazy or as tough as old leather, and I happen to be of the latter opinion. I’m sorry for thinking I always had to protect you, Sean. I know now that you’re every bit as strong as I am. You don’t need my protection, but I hope you’ll always need my love.”
“Dae, you… I….”
“Shh. Just kiss me. I need to feel you, to know you’ll be here waiting for me when I get back. Remind me what I’m fighting for—the right for my people to love and live in peace.” Dae dipped his head and sought Sean’s lips. He kissed Sean deeply, tasting him fully, trying to commit Sean’s taste, the feel of Sean’s body molded to his, to memory. “Listen, if anything should happen—”
Sean sputtered, his eyes wide with fear. “What do you mean? Nothing’s going to happen. You promise me right now that you’ll be okay!”
“Will you let me finish? I don’t have much time left. This thing is going to go down fast and hard. I’m going to try my damnedest to win, but anything is possible, Sean. If something should happen to me, I want you to get out of pack territory. Quickly. Take my keys and start driving, and don’t stop until you hit Miami. Take Cherise, the baby, my brothers and their families with you if you can. If Alastair wins, he’ll kill them all.”
“Dae, you’re scaring me all over again.”
Dae felt his muscles tense. He didn’t want to get caught up in another argument. What he needed was to hear a promise that Sean would leave if things went horribly wrong. He needed a clear mind for when he met with Alastair. “Please, Sean. Promise me!”
Sean looked as if he might continue quarrelling but then nodded. “Okay, okay. I swear it. But you can’t get hurt, Dae. I need you. I love you too much to lose you! Promise me you’re coming back.”
Dae answered with another long, deep kiss. He wouldn’t let a lie be the last thing he said to Sean. The truth was he didn’t know if he’d be back. At least, not in one piece. He poured his love for Sean into the kiss, feeling his body respond despite the tension knotting his muscles.
He suddenly had no patience for clothing. Growling low in his chest, he pushed Sean away and attacked the button fly on Sean’s jeans, pulling them roughly down to Sean’s knees. Sean’s cock hung between his pale thighs, meaty and soft and utterly tempting.
Dae knelt, taking Sean in his mouth without preamble. Sean’s taste, familiar and comforting, went a long way toward soothing Dae’s screaming nerves, calming him. He heard Sean’s quick intake of breath, and the sigh of pleasure following quickly at its heels. Sean’s fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp, sent shivers tripping down his spine.
“Damn alpha,” Sean whispered. There was a trace of humor in his voice. “Oh, fuck, Dae! Like that.”
Dae’s tongue played with the tiny slit on the head of Sean’s cock then flicked lightly under the head. His hand slipped around Sean’s hip, grabbing a handful of firm flesh, squeezing, the tips of his fingers slipping between the cheeks of Sean’s ass. He found Sean’s hole with his finger, circling it, teasing it.
“Fuck, Dae! I want you. Inside me.”
Dae left Sean’s cock to nuzzle his balls. “No time.”
>
“Make time, dammit! I need you.” Sean voice was plaintive, desperate, and matched the need building in Dae’s groin. “Please, Dae.”
Sean didn’t need to say the words. Dae understood him as clearly as if Sean had screamed it: if things went wrong when Dae confronted Alastair, they might never have the opportunity to make love again. This might be their last chance.
He stood up and captured Sean’s lips. “I love you. Never forget that.”
“Dae….”
“Shh. Turn around, love.” He urged Sean to face the wall, then took a moment to rub himself along the crack of Sean’s ass. God, how he loved that ass! Almost as much as he loved the man who owned it. “Spread your legs.”
Sean obeyed instantly, leaning his chest in toward the wall while arching his back and spreading his legs. Dae wet his fingers, then quickly found Sean’s hole again, slowly slipping one digit inside Sean’s body. He sucked his breath in between his teeth at the silky tightness wrapping around his finger. All he wanted was to be there, cocooned inside Sean.
He pulled his finger away, slicked himself, and pressed the head of his cock against Sean’s entrance. It took a herculean effort to keep himself from pushing in all the way to the root, but the last thing he wanted was to hurt Sean. Not now, not ever. Slowly, hissing between his teeth, he inched inside.
It seemed to take forever, every heartbeat trying his patience, but at last he was fully seated inside Sean. He became aware he was holding his breath and let himself exhale. “Fuck, you feel so good, Sean. So fucking tight.”
Sean’s head hung low, his hands braced against the wall. “Do me. Now, Dae. Fuck me.”
Dae responded with a growl and began to move, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. He felt his climax begin to stir deep inside his balls, a pulsing pleasure that grew and grew with every pump of his hips, until at last he could hold back no more. It swept over him like white-hot lightning, a storm of ecstasy that wrung semen from his body and a howl from his lips.
He didn’t waste a moment. As soon as he emptied himself, he spun Sean around and knelt down, taking Sean’s cock in his mouth. Sean’s taste filled his mouth, drops of precome wetting his tongue, then Sean’s sweet cries filled his ears.
Sean was still trembling with the force of his orgasm when Dae hugged him close. “Oh, sweet fuck! Dae, I….”
“I know. Me too.”
“Dae—”
He wouldn’t let Sean speak. There really wasn’t anything left for them to say anyway. They both knew how the other felt. After one last kiss, he purposely set Sean away from him. With a long, last look at Sean, he turned and walked out the door, to where Joshua and Jaeger waited.
Chapter Eight
THERE WAS no one in sight when Dae and his brothers stepped outside of his family’s cabin. The quiet was unsettling. Something was brewing, something big. Since there was no cell phone reception at the camp and the only landline Alastair allowed them was located in his cabin, they relied on their other senses to keep them informed. Shifters were incredibly sensitive to friction; chances were good the community smelled trouble coming and were staying inside until it was over or they were drawn into it.
Jaeger paused, sniffing the air. “Think Alastair is awake?”
“Probably. The bastard is most likely getting ready to attack, Dae,” Joshua said. His incisors were down already, precursor to the full Change. “I wouldn’t put it past him to pull a sneak attack rather than risk facing you in a legitimate challenge.”
Dae agreed. “Yeah, well, keep your eyes open. We’ve got to get Cherise and the baby out of the healer’s lodge and into our cabin before I can sniff out Alastair and make a formal claim. I don’t want to engage him until they’re safe.”
He began to lead them across the wide grassy area toward the healer’s lodge, when a ghastly scream pierced the quiet of the settlement. Howls immediately rose from the cabins on either side of the concourse as the community of shifters reacted to the spine-tingling cry. Still, no one left the relative safety of their cabins to rush to the aid of whoever screamed. That alone told Dae how much power Alastair held and how much Alastair had terrorized the community over the years.
Another scream rent the air. Dae blanched and swore. “That’s Cherise!” He took off running, barely noticing his brothers pounding along at his side. His complete focus was on the healer’s lodge. He was barely halfway across the grassy opening before the Change ripped past his control. He shifted midstride, clothing shredding, falling apart in bits and pieces along the way. He barely noticed Joshua and Jaeger shifting beside him.
He hit the door with the full force of his weight, taking the blow on one powerful shoulder. The lock snapped, and the door slammed inward. He flew inside, skidding to a stop just shy of the first bed in the cabin, struck still by the thick smell of blood and death in the air. He could see a body lying on the bed, barely discernible as being human, and knew at once from the smell that it was Cherise, and more, that she was dead. He threw his head back and howled with grief and fury.
Dae’s newborn niece began to cry, probably startled by all the noise and the scent of death. Her wail pierced Dae’s grief and brought his attention back into razor-sharp focus.
Two men and a wolf were in the cabin. The wolf’s muzzle dripped blood, the front of its chest splashed with red. Dae instantly recognized Alastair and bared his teeth. The two men with Alastair, who Dae assumed to be Trey and Quinn Thomas, were rapidly stripping down, preparing to shift.
That was their mistake. Joshua and Jaeger were on them instantly, catching the two midshift. Fangs and claws ripped flesh and fur, glass crashed, and furniture splintered as the four shifters fought furiously in the close confines of the cabin. The men caught in a semihuman form were at a distinct disadvantage, and it took only moments for Jaeger and Joshua to finish them off.
Covered in blood, Joshua and Jaeger backed off, watching Dae and Alastair.
Dae barely noticed. He was focused solely on Alastair. He crept forward, head low, teeth bared, a low, threatening growl rumbling in his throat. In his shifted form, he didn’t need human words to communicate with Alastair. You killed Cherise! Why, Alastair? Why kill a defenseless female so soon after she gave birth? Didn’t she suffer enough? What kind of leader are you? Wolves are supposed to protect those of their pack, especially their females and pups!
Alastair eyed the remains of his men and took a step back from Dae. She was tainted by humans. No wolf in this pack would want her anymore, especially with a mixed child; she would be useless as a breeder. I ordered her to get rid of the pup before she whelped, but she refused and gave birth to an abomination. I could not allow her willfulness to go unpunished. I would have killed her sooner, but her brothers protected her. He glanced toward the cradle and at the infant wailing within it. Her whelp must die as well. It is in the best interest of the pack!
Dae feinted forward, moving between the cradle and Alastair, blocking Alastair’s access to the infant. Bullshit! The only interest you care about is your own. I always thought the pack sent me away because of my sexual orientation. I spent my entire life hating everyone back here because of it, my parents, my brothers…. That wasn’t the real reason, though, was it, Alastair? My mate is right. He said you could smell competition in my family. We’re strong, true alphas, and you feared one of us would challenge you. You couldn’t take us all on, so you separated us, beginning with me. Then you killed Jericho, and my parents died of grief. I suppose if I hadn’t come home, you would’ve separated Joshua and Jaeger and killed them as well, right?
Alastair responded with a reverberating growl.
A thought suddenly occurred to Dae, and the pieces fell into place. It was a black, loathsome idea, and it filled him with hatred so powerful he could almost taste the bitterness in his mouth. You arranged for Cherise to be raped, didn’t you? That’s why you wouldn’t allow anyone to go after the men who did it.
The fear flaring in Alastair’s eyes told Dae
he was right. You planned to kill her all along! You didn’t just want to kill the males who might challenge you, but end our bloodline so none of our pups would challenge yours in the future.
Alastair snarled, nervously shifting his weight from paw to paw. You’ve gone mad! The pack would never stand for a defenseless female to be killed without reason.
Ah, but you had a reason, at least one that made sense in your twisted mind. You said it yourself—because Cherise was “tainted” by the humans, no wolf would want her. She would be a burden on the pack. Chances are no one else would consider it a valid reason, but either you’re so fucking crazy you believed they would or figured you could force them to accept it.
Dae paused as another thought occurred to him. He took a step forward, backing Alastair toward the wall. Jericho figured it out, didn’t he? He must have been furious, wanted your blood. When he went after you, you and your friends killed him. Tell me, Alastair, did my parents die a natural death, or did you murder them too?
Alastair snarled and began to inch toward the side. Dae knew he was trying to put enough distance between them to either make his escape through the back door or take the baby hostage. Dae stepped forward, keeping within easy reach of Alastair. There was no way Dae was going to allow Alastair to leave the cabin alive or harm the baby.
You didn’t know Cherise would catch pregnant from the rape or that my brothers would dare stand up to you and protect her while she was pregnant. You bided your time, thinking the opportunity to murder Cherise would come after she gave birth. Your scheme was to murder her and the baby, and while my brothers were weakened by grief, you’d use the opportunity to kill them too.
It never occurred to you that my brothers would send for me or that I’d come back, did it? I’ll just bet you planned to blame Cherise’s and the baby’s deaths on one of my brothers, then claim they killed each other over it. That sounds like you, coward that you are.
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