Alpha's Beta

by Loralynne Summers

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2018 Loralynne Summers

  ISBN: 978-1-77339-643-9

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: CA Clauson

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To Peter, for providing technical feedback even though you “don’t read that kind of stuff.” ;)

  And to Gail, because once again I’d be lost without your word-slaying abilities to keep my word count on target.

  ALPHA’S BETA

  North Woods Wolves, 2

  Loralynne Summers

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  This must be what hell felt like.

  Jordan eyed Erik Allaire at the front of the room talking with Kieran Kimball, undoubtedly squeezing in more coaching and grooming for the new Alpha Heir of Sandy Hollow. Until a few days ago, the position had been Erik’s by default. But there wasn’t an Alpha bone in the man’s body and everyone knew it. Naming Kieran made sense. He was a strong, natural-born Alpha who’d made his home in the North Woods.

  Jordan found his attraction to Erik perplexing. He had no aversion to being with men, he’d done plenty of fooling around along those lines. And though he currently had a girlfriend, they weren’t much more than friends with benefits and everyone knew it. But none of that explained why he wanted to jump Erik like a randy teenager who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

  The moment they’d shaken hands a weird feeling had come over Jordan. And it went far beyond desire or lust. “Mine,” his wolf screamed in his head. “Mate. Our mate.”

  This makes no sense, Jordan kept thinking. It wasn’t like they’d never met before, after all. And despite being the current interim Beta for his pack, Erik was far more submissive than anyone Jordan had ever been attracted to. Nothing explained why he was suddenly so drawn to Erik.

  Besides, since when did a mating bond trigger between two males? A true male-female bond was rare enough these days, with the bloodlines being diluted from years of mating with humans—a mating such as this was unheard of. He made a mental note to talk to his dad about it later on the ride back to Stone Point.

  Jordan returned his attention to the event at hand. His cousin—and his Alpha—Cassie, was about to marry Kieran and join the two packs. Jordan felt a twinge of sadness for Cassie. Her parents had died in a car accident a few years back, making her their Alpha, a status Jordan had happily deferred to her despite being an Alpha himself. Even though the marriage was arranged, he knew it must be hard on her to not have them at her wedding. Though she’d never show it.

  The doors at the back of the room opened and she appeared, escorted by his father. Besides being her closest living relative, Jordan’s dad Nick was also their pack Beta. As he watched her walk down the aisle, Jordan became intensely aware of Erik’s presence next to him. Balls. Of course he’ll be sitting in the front row. The only empty spots are next to me, for him and Dad.

  Erik’s thigh brushed his as they took their seats. Jordan dug his nails into his palms to keep his ass rooted in the chair instead of shoving his tongue down the man’s throat. While Jordan would enjoy it, he doubted Erik would welcome such an advance. Especially during a wedding. Annoyed by his reaction, Jordan kept his wolf in check and his eyes glued to his cousin. He noted her radiant smile, and the looks she and Kieran shared. There must be something I don’t know about. She’s genuinely happy. It doesn’t look like this is simply a marriage of convenience to get around the council’s decree regarding her mating.

  During the short ceremony, his mind continually wandered to the man next to him. If it wouldn’t have been rude, Jordan would have slid over and put a seat between them. When he concentrated, he could hear Erik’s quickened pulse and shallow breathing. Probably just a reaction to officially losing everything once this ceremony is over. His position, his inheritance, and the woman he’s been courting. That was another reason for Jordan to hold back—Erik had asked Cassie to be his mate every few months for the last year or so. There’d never been any indication Erik liked men. But if I’m feeling it, surely he is, too? Isn’t that how the bond works?

  After the completion of the ceremony, everyone milled about the meeting hall, waiting their turn to welcome Cassie to the pack. Jordan used the opportunity to put as much distance between himself and Erik as possible. When she could get away, Cassie pulled Jordan aside to a quiet corner.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

  “You seem out of sorts. I thought you approved of the plan.”

  Jordan hugged Cassie tight.

  “I do approve of the plan. At least, the parts you’ve actually told me. I know you, you’re keeping more secret. But I’m happy for you. You deserve someone as good and noble as Kieran. He’ll take good care of you, and of our packs.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” she pressed, brows furrowed.

  “Nothing. I swear.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Jordan. I can feel your wolf, your Alpha, rising. What happened? Are you leaving us?”

  “What? No! God, no. Nothing like that. I just…” His gaze found Erik unerringly through the crowd.

  Beside him, Cassie giggled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I know that look. You want Erik.”

  “Shut up, cuz.” Despite himself, he returned her smile.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  Jordan sighed. “I only see two options: go for it or move away. My wolf is suddenly quite adamant about that.” Across the room, Erik looked up, his chocolate brown eyes meeting Jordan’s gaze before quickly turning away. The faintest hint of a blush dusted his cheeks, and the brief reaction gave Jordan hope.

  Cassie laid a hand on his arm. “Listen, I know it’s rare now, but the mating bond does still trigger for true mates. It happened with Kieran and I.”

  Jordan jerked his gaze back to Cassie. “Well, that certainly fills in a few holes.”

  “I tried to fight it, but that only made it worse. Heaven knows I didn’t believe in it either, but if it happened to me, it could happen to you. We share the same bloodline. It’s entirely possible you and Erik are meant to be together. Regardless of how it happened, you have my blessing. It’s about time you settled down and let someone make an honest man of you. I certainly can’t have my Beta off banging half the North Woods whenever I need him.”

  “You want me to be your Beta? What about Kieran?”

  Cassie’s eyes took on a devilish twinkle.

  “Well, as fate would have it, Kieran has already asked Erik to be his Beta. We’ve decided it would be best to have two Betas, one from each of the original packs. It should help ease the transition, as well as aid in keeping us informed of what we need to know. And if our Betas happened to be mated…” She let the thought hang unfinished.

  “God, I hate you sometimes. This is why you became Alpha instead of me.” Jordan ran his hands through his hair in frustration as she laughed. “What do I do?”

  “That’s for you to figure out. As for me, I’m going to go spend some time with my mate before I have to go home alone and keep up the ruse that I’m single a bit longer.”

  “I can’t believe Kieran is okay with this. You’re putting yourself in too much danger,
taking too much of a risk.”

  “Oh, he’s not, believe me. But I reminded him that technically I’m the only Alpha of my pack, and he has no choice but to go along. Now go. And I expect an answer about the job offer when I get back to Stone Point.”

  Jordan grinned. Cassie was tenacious, with a gift for pack politics that Jordan lacked. Which was why, when her father died, Jordan had backed her completely. He’d been relieved when the pack accepted a female’s leadership unquestioningly. He may be older than her, but at the time she’d been the more mature one. Beta suited him just fine. It wasn’t an easy job, he knew that from watching his dad all these years. But the difficult decisions would ultimately be on Cassie and Kieran. And if Erik was Kieran’s Beta … well, Erik had been playing the politics game longer than Jordan had, and would be a good asset. Jordan could do this. It wasn’t like he’d say no to her anyway. Cassie wasn’t just family, she was a damned good Alpha. She wouldn’t have bothered to ask him if she didn’t think he could do the job.

  Plus, if he was going to be Cassie’s Beta, that gave him the perfect opening to approach Erik.

  Co-Beta to Co-Beta, of course.

  ****

  Without looking, Erik knew Jordan was approaching. There was nowhere for him to hide, so with a deep breath, he steeled himself and turned. Jordan bore a strong resemblance to his cousin, with the same high cheekbones and thick lashes framing intense eyes. Instead of Cassie’s golden blonde, Jordan’s hair was a dark, dirty blond, thick and full and unruly as it brushed his shoulders. And there was the obvious size difference, too. Cassie was barely five feet, but Jordan was a few inches taller than Erik’s six feet. Erik tried to regulate his breathing to keep his heart from racing. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he was attracted to the man.

  Except that he’d never been with a man before.

  Granted, he’d never been with a woman, either.

  “I hear congratulations are in order,” Jordan said, extending his hand.

  “Wasn’t my wedding,” Erik replied tersely. Maybe if he kept this short and cool Jordan would leave as quickly as possible.

  “I wasn’t talking about the ceremony.” There was a momentary flash in Jordan’s eyes, whether of anger, annoyance, or something else, Erik wasn’t sure. “Cassie tells me Kieran has asked you to be his Beta when your dad steps down and he takes over.”

  “Oh, that. Yeah. It’s not a big deal, really.” He took the proffered hand that he’d been ignoring on purpose. He wasn’t being intentionally rude, but he’d felt something … weird … when they’d shaken hands earlier. As their hands made contact now, Jordan’s eyes went wide and turned almost completely gold.

  Erik yanked his hand back as his head spun.

  “I mean, Uncle Joey’s been sick, and so I-I’ve been basically, I mean, I’m sort of filling in already anyway,” he stammered. His hand was on fire where he’d touched Jordan. How was it possible to have such a reaction to another person? Inside, Erik’s wolf growled, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn’t out of anger, but of attraction—of lust, an emotion Erik was wholly unfamiliar with.

  “Still, it’s nice to have it official, right? I don’t know if they talked to you about them each having their own Beta—”

  “They did,” Erik interrupted. Good heavens, would the man get to the point and then leave him alone?

  Jordan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Definitely annoyed this time. Good, maybe that would make him go away.

  “She asked me to take over for my dad when he steps down. So I think it would be a good idea for us to get to know each other.” Jordan’s voice had dropped a bit, becoming more commanding, a bit of his Alpha power slipping out.

  Erik felt his cheeks heat. But not from chagrin at being subtly chastised—it was from the way his body had reacted at the phrase “get to know each other.” Jordan was a known playboy, even among the other packs. And it was no secret that he batted for both teams.

  Erik needed to get away from Jordan before he embarrassed himself.

  “Sure, sounds good. But we should probably wait until after the council meeting, right? I mean, we don’t want them wondering why our packs are suddenly getting all cozy. As far as they know, I’m still the heir. And while you’re not the Alpha, you’re the Beta’s son, and an Alpha in your own right. Best not to shake that particular hornet’s nest. Let’s arrange a meeting for a few weeks from now. I’ll check my schedule and get back to you.”

  Before Jordan could reply, Erik hauled ass out of the room. This was one of those times he wished he were a true Alpha, able to shift at will, regardless of the moon cycle. Nothing sounded better than a full-out run through the woods to get distance between himself and Jordan as quickly as possible. He entered the woods and took off at a run anyway, hoping the exertion would burn off whatever weird energy had thrummed through him since that handshake.

  Winded and sweaty, he emerged at the bank of the river that divided their two lands. Well, for now. Soon we’ll all be one big happy family. Catching his breath, he stripped off his shirt, walked to the end of the dock, and dunked his head and shoulders into the cold water. Down here, the river widened, making the water slow-moving and calm, unlike the swirling rapids that ran through much of Stone Point as the terrain dropped into a ravine.

  “Care to tell me what happened back there?”

  Erik sighed. He’d caught scent of his mother approaching but done nothing. She’d only have followed him and kept after him until he told her what was wrong.

  “What happened after I left?”

  “Well, young mister Jordan looked quite flabbergasted for a minute or so. And then a stitch angry. But after that he looked a might bit sad. Crestfallen, one could say.”

  Erik met her back on the bank and sat down against a tree. The rough bark felt good on his bare back.

  “Mom, do you think I could be gay?” The question fell from his lips before he could catch it.

  She heaved a sigh, sounding like she’d been waiting for this moment for some time.

  “Honey, I know the kids used to tease you about that when you were younger. But aren’t you the one who needs to answer that?” She sat next to him on the grassy slope.

  “I never really thought about it. I haven’t really been attracted to anyone of either sex. But…” He picked up a stone and threw it into the water, not sure how to explain his pull to Jordan.

  “But now that you’ve met Jordan, the earth has quaked and the heavens shook?”

  Erik laughed and let his mother hug him.

  “I think so,” he said quietly after a moment, his head on her shoulder.

  “Baby, I don’t care who you love. So long as you’re happy and treated properly. That’s all I’ve ever cared about.”

  “Thanks, mom.”

  She gave him a playful shove.

  “Now you go apologize to him. He’s a nice boy.”

  Erik took his time getting back to whatever remained of the wedding gathering. He wouldn’t be able to avoid Jordan for long, but he was in no hurry to face him. The feelings Jordan elicited were so foreign to Erik that he didn’t know what to think or how to handle them.

  He needed time he didn’t currently have to process it all.

  Naturally, thanks to Murphy’s Law of Cosmic Nut Punches, Jordan found Erik before he was ready to deal with him.

  Jordan came towards Erik with his hands up. Erik stopped on the path just inside the tree line and crossed his arms.

  “I come in peace, man. I don’t know what I said or did back there, but clearly I upset you. So, I apologize, and maybe we can start over?” The last came out as a question, and Erik noted the hope in Jordan’s voice.

  Erik sighed. “We’re cool, Jordan. This is one of those, ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ deals. That’s all.”

  Jordan snickered.

  “Look, I’m not joking. This whole situation has been thrown at me and given me a lot to deal with in a very short amount of time. I did what’s best for the pack
, and don’t regret that. But now I have to adjust to my new place and figure out what’s expected of me.”

  “And what do you want for yourself?” Jordan’s voice softened as he moved closer.

  “I don’t know. That’s not an option I thought I had.” Erik tried to keep the tremor from his voice, but Jordan’s proximity unnerved him. He could barely meet the other man’s gaze, and it had nothing to do with Jordan being an Alpha.

  “Are you—? Oh, my God, you’re latent, aren’t you?”

  “What? What are you talking ab—”

  Erik’s words were cut off by Jordan’s mouth against his.

  Erik had only kissed a few girls before. Those kisses had been his weak, awkward attempts at doing what he felt he was supposed to do—find a girlfriend, a mate, for when he became the pack Alpha one day. Not that he’d ever wanted those things. Or those girls. Those kisses had felt weird, wrong.

  Jordan’s kiss was far from that.

  Jordan’s kiss was strong, firm and sure, and most of all, felt right. Felt good. Erik surrendered to the moment, to Jordan, and to the overload of emotions and sensations flooding him.

  As if sensing Erik’s submission, Jordan deepened the kiss. He moved closer, pressing their bodies tightly together. Erik tentatively brought his arms around Jordan’s back and placed his hands across Jordan’s shoulders. After several teasing swipes of Jordan’s tongue against his lips, Erik opened for him. Jordan’s tongue plundered and claimed, and there was no mistaking the hard evidence of Jordan’s arousal pressed against Erik’s stomach.

  All too soon, the kiss ended. Rough stubble scratched his cheek when Jordan rubbed his face against Erik’s as if marking him.

  Erik lifted his chin, his body electric with arousal. Jordan went rigid, and a low growl reverberated through his chest. His hands tightened their grip on the back of Erik’s head, holding him firmly in place. Warm air ghosted Erik’s ear.