by Jane Perky
His skin prickled and his nose told him these were werewolves. Unable to summon the courage to tell them to fuck off and mind their own business, Jerry changed direction and started walking faster. None of the local wolves would touch him because Jerry had the protection of Lee, Lee’s friends, and the vampire coven.
However, words could sometimes be more potent weapons. Jerry shoved his hands into his jean pockets and nearly broke into a sprint. After Lee and Magnus had freed him, the first few days had been too much stimulation. Even now, Jerry had trouble being with crowds, with socializing in general.
Working at Bacon and Burgers was the most he could do, because customers usually cared more about their orders and never really saw who stood behind the cash register. Even at work, Jerry preferred to be in the background, grilling burgers or handling the fryer, but because Bacons and Burgers liked their staff to do a little of everything, they rotated duties.
Jerry halted in his footsteps, realizing he’d been walking without realizing where he was going. The local park looked back at him. His wolf surged through the surface of his skin, needing release. The woods bordering town was a territory where shifters could run free, even those who didn’t belong to the local pack, but it was too far. Besides, if Jerry did walk there, he’d shift and become unaware of passing time.
Jerry would certainly take more than an hour and he’d definitely be fired. He could already imagine the expression on Lee’s face. Lee wouldn’t yell or anything, but Jerry knew the Alpha would be disappointed. Lee acted like his brother after Rob had died, and Jerry didn’t want to let down family.
He entered the park, enjoying the change of scenery. The farther he walked, the more trees surrounded him. A few people were there, but it didn’t matter. No one took notice of him. Back in his cell, he’d been certain he wanted freedom, to live again, and yet he didn’t understand what he’d been asking for.
“I didn’t know living could be so hard,” he whispered.
A woman pushing a stroller must have overheard him and started pushing the stroller faster. Probably thought he was crazy or something. Someone else was within earshot, too. Jerry froze in place, locking gazes with a green-eyed predator. Unlike the shifter jerks who had harassed him the night before, his animal recognized this man as a real threat. An Alpha, his wolf whispered.
He must be six-feet plus, and every inch of him was hewn in hard muscle. The stranger wore a pair of torn jeans, well-worn work boots, and a plain white shirt, but no one could mistake him for a harmless civilian. Old rake marks and scars lined the stranger’s muscled arms. A hard face accompanied the body, one Jerry wouldn’t call pretty but handsome in a certain light. Short dark blond hair, cut military short, made the guy’s face even harsher.
Most shifters smelled there was something wrong with Jerry’s wolf and wore a look of disgust or distrust on their faces. This shifter looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and…heat. That was the word. This man looked at Jerry like he was worthy prey, a tasty little morsel he didn’t mind munching on.
Jerry broke from his paralysis and started walking really fast, heart hammering. An Alpha? There were only six in town, including Blake, Alpha of the local pack. Was that guy one of Lee’s friends or a new visitor in town? It didn’t matter. Jerry would head back to work, and the stranger would forget about him altogether—or he hoped anyway.
His wolf warned him of a nearby intruder, but Jerry didn’t hear any footsteps. Jerry sucked in a breath when the strange Alpha suddenly walked alongside him, easily keeping pace.
Then the guy spoke. “Why are you running away from me, little Omega?”
Chapter Two
Colton didn’t know why he pursued this particular chase. Catching wind of a tempting scent in the air, he’d overheard a mumbling Omega, but something about the Omega felt off, strange. It took him a second to pinpoint why. This must be Jerry, the Omega Lee and Magnus had rescued, whom he’d never met, but the faint smell of vampire still clung to Jerry.
Fear wafted off Jerry when Jerry looked right at him in the eye, and also something else. Interest. Arousal. His wolf could smell the last one in the air, and the beast growled inside of him in approval. The haunted look in Jerry’s eyes prevented him from doing anything though. Colton recognized that look. Right after leaving Emerald Valley with his friends, he’d enlisted in the army and eventually gotten assigned to a shifter special ops team. He’d seen his share of nightmares, of the evil deeds a human could do to another.
The soldiers who had come back to American soil with him wore that look. Haunted. Dazed. As if they couldn’t quite face reality. Colton himself struggled with PTSD on a daily basis. He never brought it up, but his friends knew. Lee had asked him to meet with Jerry on multiple occasions, urged him to help the Omega.
However, Jerry hadn’t been ready to meet any of them and was only comfortable around Magnus. Colton was about to walk away, except he scented other predators in the vicinity. Two of Blake’s wolves, judging by their scent. Wolves from a single pack sometimes smelled the same, making it easy to identify them.
Colton didn’t like the way they elbowed each other and cracked lewd jokes loud enough for him and any shifter around to overhear. Luka, Blake’s traitorous Beta, might be gone, but Blake still couldn’t quite discipline all his wolves.
“Vampire bait,” one said to the other.
“Let’s go re-educate the little bastard what it’s like fucking real werewolves. He thinks only vampires are good enough for him?”
They were talking about Jerry, Colton realized with growing anger. As Jerry bolted, he stepped in their line of sight. The foolish one growled at him—the second wisely shoved the other backward.
“What do you want, Alpha?” asked the second.
There was only one way to deal with stubborn bastards like these. Besides, he didn’t like the way they talked about Jerry at all. Did Lee and Magnus know what Jerry faced on a daily basis? This couldn’t be the first time Blake’s wolves had talked smack about Jerry. Vampire bait carried a negative connotation in the shifter world. Although Magnus was progressive for a vampire and refused to take blood slaves, instead asking for donors, other covens all over the country weren’t like him.
Supernatural species kept to themselves. A submissive shifter who would choose to be a vampire’s blood snack was seen as inferior by other shifters in the community. Only those who were desperate would volunteer to be a vampire’s slave, but he knew Jerry had done so out of noble reasons, to save the other Omegas in the pack.
That was why he couldn’t leave this matter alone, because these spoiled fuckers had no idea what kind of sacrifice Jerry had made, how that single brave decision would turn Jerry into a shattered mess. In his old line of work, Colton had to be able to make quick choices. Good or bad, he had to live by them all.
“That vampire bait is ours. Stay out of our way,” the first sneered.
His temper broke and in a second he gripped the foolish shifter by the throat, lifting him several feet in the air. Someone gasped.
“Blake will hear of this,” whispered the guy.
“Hear what? Jerry is mine. Ours. Hurt him and your Alpha won’t get in the way of me and my friends, hunting you and those like you down.” Colton’s gaze lingered on the shifter’s throat, and the man must have finally sensed he was out of his league, because he stopped struggling and went still.
“Please, he’s rash. Acts first before he thinks. We were just fooling around. That’s all,” the second shifter said.
With reluctance, Colton released the shifter, who glared daggers at him. At another time and place, Colton wouldn’t hesitate to rip out the shifter’s throat, but Colton was no longer in the desert. He had to follow rules, and killing one of Blake’s wolves, even by accident, would be hard to explain.
“Get the fuck out of my sight.”
They wisely ran away. Colton spun, saw Jerry still walking away, and easily caught up with the Omega. He asked Jerry if the Omega was runn
ing away, amused. Jerry halted to gawk at him. Just when he thought Jerry was some timid little mouse more than a wolf, Jerry hissed at him, the way cats did when threatened.
“I’m not running away. Okay, maybe a little.” Jerry looked him up and down, swallowing. Once again, Colton caught that delicious smell of arousal and fear. “Jesus. You’re seriously big up close.”
Noticing Jerry’s gaze lingering on his dick, he smirked. “What exactly are you talking about, little Omega?”
Jerry looked back at him with eyes an interesting shade of green. Unlike his own darker shade of green, which was closer to black, Jerry’s irises were a solid emerald color. The Omega was a couple of inches shorter, so he had to peer upward. For such a slender man half Colton’s size, Jerry certainly had guts. Colton had the sudden urge to spear his fingers through Jerry’s short brown hair to see if it was soft as it looked.
“Not your dick.”
“You’re certainly looking at it with interest. I imagine your lips wrapped around my prick would look fucking amazing.”
Jerry opened his mouth and shut it, as if he couldn’t decide how to respond to that. Colton had never understood flirting, never had the time for it either. Since he’d been in the military since eighteen, he’d had zero interest in relationships.
Casual fucking suited him, because he’d learned his hard lesson in love when he was twenty and the human he’d grown to care for more than he should had died in active duty. They hadn’t mated, hadn’t come close, but it had torn him apart to lose Bobby. Colton lost control then and swore he’d never go through that hell again.
“Jesus,” Jerry finally muttered. “Do you talk so crassly to every stranger you meet?”
“Only those I’m interested in fucking, and we’re not strangers. You’re Lee’s Omega.”
Jerry blinked. “You’re one of Lee’s friends?”
“Colton.” He held out a hand, which Jerry shook after a second’s hesitation. Electricity went up his arm and straight to his groin at the simple contact. Jerry pulled away, as if stung. So the Omega felt the buzz, too. “When Lee talked about you, I assumed you were this frightened little mouse.”
Jerry fumed at him. Oh, this Omega certainly had sass, which only interested his wolf. Since returning to Emerald Valley, no other shifter had caught Colton’s interest. Finding willing bodies to fuck was easy enough, but meaningless sex led to more emptiness. Random hook-ups easily lost their appeal, especially after seeing three of his friends finding their mates. First, it was Crash, then Atlas, and even Lee, leaving only Dante and him.
Colton still didn’t believe the mating bond was for him, and yet his wolf seemed restless, excited when he conversed with Jerry.
“I’m Jerry, but I’m no mouse. I’m a wolf,” Jerry said with a challenge in his eyes.
Colton smirked. “Prove it.”
“How?”
Lee had claimed Jerry wasn’t interested in social interaction, that Jerry spent way too much time locked in his apartment. Lee thought Jerry was scared of facing the world and thought giving the Omega time to make his own decisions would be best, but screw that. Lee was wrong. What Jerry needed was a little push in the right direction.
Besides, something about the Omega intrigued him, delighted him, and Colton was wondering all this time what the hell he was still doing in Emerald Valley. He and his friends had grown up here and returned to avenge another childhood friend, Larry. He’d helped his friends when they’d asked for his aid, but Colton had no reason to stay.
After his honorable discharge, he began working for the local shifter security firm in town. The pay was decent, but the work was sometimes boring. His old contacts and friends urged him to try his hand at the mercenary business. There was always a need for someone of his training and skill set, but taking jobs would mean leaving Emerald Valley. Maybe what he’d been waiting for was Jerry and his paths to collide.
Mate, his wolf whispered.
No. Colton wasn’t ready to confront that word. Those Colton cared about either got hurt or died. Look what had happened to Bobby. Colton had sworn he’d protect his lover, but in the end, Colton had been off-duty when some gunman had shot Bobby down. He shook his head, moving away from those memories to focus on the present.
He realized he’d drifted off when Jerry was waiting for a response.
“How do I prove to you I’m not a mouse?” Jerry repeated.
“Tonight. Have dinner with me.”
Jerry gawked at him for several seconds. “Wait. Are you like, asking me out on a date?”
“A date? I suppose so. Never tried, but experiencing new things is good, yes?”
Jerry looked taken aback. Colton wondered if Jerry would reject him outright. Probably the better choice, because if Lee caught wind of Colton sniffing around Jerry, Lee would kill him. Lee saw Jerry like his own adoptive little brother. Well, Lee was one thing, but there was a vampire king to deal with, too. While Magnus appeared calm most of the time, Magnus considered Jerry family, too.
Colton was aware he was playing with fire. He didn’t know what the hell he wanted. Colton was afraid to commit again, to give so much to another person, knowing he risked his heart being broken again, but something told him this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. He normally didn’t head to the park during his lunch break, and yet he had done so today. Maybe fate had dragged his sorry ass here, so he could meet and speak to Jerry.
Maybe it was time to start believing even a bastard like him, who’d committed all sorts of deeds he wasn’t proud of in the name of duty, deserved happiness, too. Crash, Atlas, and Lee had taken risks, undergone challenges, but in the end had been rewarded for it. Perhaps it was his turn.
“I’m not—” Jerry faltered, looking away, and he didn’t like that all. Colton gripped Jerry’s chin, thumbed the skin there, and his wolf grew more relaxed instantly as he waited for Jerry to continue. “Not mating material,” Jerry mumbled.
“What the fuck, which asshole told you that?” he demanded. Colton didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but Jerry didn’t draw away at least.
“Everyone,” Jerry blurted. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What?”
“You’re being nice to me, because Lee probably told you to, right?” Jerry sounded bitter, and he didn’t like that either. The fire in Jerry’s eyes began to fade, so Colton had to do something drastic.
Colton had never been good at words anyway, so he tipped Jerry’s head back and went for the kill.
Chapter Three
One moment, depression hit him, the next, it dissipated. Jerry felt nothing but the heat and hunger of Colton’s lips crushing his and Colton’s rough stubble rubbing against his cheek. God, but it felt good. Jerry couldn’t recall the last time anyone ever kissed him like this, and it didn’t help that Colton tugged him close so their bodies touched. He was so tall that yummy muscles clashed against Jerry’s lean body.
Colton sucked and nipped, pushed a tongue between his lips, and Jerry opened up so Colton could thrust his tongue down his throat. Jerry had experience when it came to sex, but they were negative ones. Sometimes the vampires who drank from him wanted something a little extra, but unlike those times, he felt safe with Colton. Completely strange, because the massive Alpha was all kinds of shades of terrifying.
He heard Lee talk about all his friends, but Colton seemed to be the one Lee considered most dangerous. At that moment, he didn’t care. Colton slipped a hand up his body, and he nearly froze because there were some old bite marks there. Colton didn’t seem to care, didn’t shove him away and call him disgusting. The Alpha ran his hand past them to grab one nipple and give it a pinch.
Colton’s mouth muffled his cry, and the Alpha dragged his hand lower now, past his ribs, belly, and near the waistband of his jeans and boxers. He pulled away, although he wanted so much more. He wanted Colton to erase all his horrible memories of sex and replace them with good ones, and his wolf knew Colton was the right man for the job.
Mate, his wolf whispered the taboo word. Taboo, because Jerry wasn’t a fool. Colton might be the one and only Alpha who didn’t care he’d once been a vampire blood slave, but whatever Colton said, Jerry knew no one would ever want him as a mate.
Still, this was too good an opportunity to pass up. If Colton was interested, then Jerry wouldn’t back away like some timid little mouse. He gave Colton’s lower lip a nip, which he underestimated.
Colton looked surprised and touched the bleeding spot. Jerry’s heart raced. Oh God. He only wanted to show Colton he had teeth, too, wanted to make the bite sexy, but he’d ruined his chances. Shit. Except Colton touched the spot and the blood with wonder on his face, not horror.
“You bit me,” Colton said.
“Um. Yeah. Sorry.”
“Fuck, that’s hot.” Colton licked his lips, and if possible, lust glazed the Alpha’s eyes. In what alternate universe had Jerry been dropped into? Because men like Colton had zero interest in guys like him, secondhand goods who—no. Jerry refused to feel sorry for himself now, especially when Colton looked at him like he was the most the desirable thing in the world.
Jerry had to take a step back. Breathe. Colton narrowed his eyes, not a good sign.
“Are you playing games with me, Omega? Because lesson number one, I don’t like games.” Colton said those words with a little growl, the sound raising all the hairs on his arms.
“Me, play a game with you?” Jerry asked in disbelief. “Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe you’re curious about what it’s like, being with used goods like me.”
He was taken aback when Colton gripped his shoulders and snarled into his face, just like some damn wild animal, but God knew it was effective. Jerry suppressed a shiver. He’d forgotten that Alphas were like other dominant males. It wasn’t wise messing with mercurial Alphas.
“If you make another disparaging comment about yourself again, I’m going to throw you over my knee and spank you.”