The Alpha Pack

by D J Heart

  “Did you set your alarm?” Aiden sounded amused.

  “No, fuck. Thanks for reminding me,” Logan said. He reached over and grabbed his phone, setting his alarm. “There. Now Max won’t kill me for keeping him waiting.”

  He moved his arm back around Sam’s chest, moving his head so that Sam was tucked in under his chin. He went still, falling asleep almost instantly.

  Sam’s mind was racing. Just one quick sleep and he’d be at Max’s mercy.

  He couldn’t wait.

  ***

  Max

  Max woke up feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. His cock tented the sheets covering his body, and there was an excitement curling in his belly that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  It was his day with Sam, and he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the cute little omega.

  Gripping his cock, the skin smooth and silky against his calloused hand, Max gave the hard length a few lazy pumps as he thought about the day he had planned. He imagined how Sam would cry and whimper as he fucked him—how overwhelmed and confused he would be—and the mental image of a wrung out and exhausted Sam hanging off his knot, nipples clamped and ass whipped red, had Max shooting his load like a teenager.

  It had been a long time since he’d been with someone as inexperienced as Sam, and he was going to make it count.

  Getting up and showering, Max pulled on a pair of jeans, a plain shirt and his favorite leather jacket before grabbing a bagel and heading for the door. It was six thirty am, and he was picking Sam up at seven.

  He only had until the next morning to put Sam through his paces, and he didn’t want to waste any time.

  “Hurry up,” Max growled, hitting the button next to the elevator doors impatiently. He rocked back on his heels, resisting the urge to touch himself; his cock once again hard and throbbing inside his jeans.

  The next time he shot his load it would be inside Sam’s sweet hole.

  Giving serious consideration to taking the stairs, Max was just about to run out of patience when the elevator arrived. When the doors opened, he was surprised to see Jack staring back at him.

  Jack looked tired, and not particularly happy to see him. He was dressed in his usual school outfit—casual jeans and leather jacket, helmet under his arm and backpack slung over his shoulder—though his it was a good thirty minutes earlier than he usually headed off to school.

  “Good morning,” Max said, shooting the young alpha a friendly smile as he stepped into the elevator. He didn’t have to push any buttons since they were both heading to the garage under the building.

  “Good morning,” Jack replied. The expression on his face was wary. “Are you picking up Sam?”

  Max nodded, forcing down a grimace. He knew how worried Jack was that he was going to do something horrible to Sam, and nothing but seeing that Sam was okay after a day with him was going to make Jack feel better.

  “I am. What about you? It’s a little early for school, isn’t it? Is there something special going on?”

  Jack shook his head. The expression on his face was vaguely guilty.

  “No. I’ve got gym first period and I wanted to get in some running before we start. Coach says I need to improve my stamina.”

  Max tilted his head, looking Jack up and down. He’d known Jack for a little over a year now, and in that time he’d worked out with him often enough to know that his stamina was about as good as it got.

  “Never hurts to get in some extra practice.” Max didn’t call Jack on his excuse. He was obviously more worried about Sam than he’d thought.

  Looking away from the young alpha, Max wished he hadn’t been quite so rough with Sam the night they claimed him. Max bet that Jack was more worried about what Sam was in for than the omega himself.

  At least Sam knew he was going to enjoy everything Max did, however nervous he was about it. Jack didn’t even have that. He just thought Max was going to hurt his omega.

  Max wondered how he could make Jack feel better.

  The elevator reached the garage, and Max fell into step next to Jack as they walked toward the area reserved for the pack.

  “I know you’re worried about Sam,” he said, weighing his words. “But you don’t have to be. I don’t want him to be sad or unhappy any more than you do.”

  “I know,” Jack said, his gaze fixed forward. Max sighed.

  “How about you come by for breakfast tomorrow morning. Then you can see for yourself that he’s fine.”

  “Tomorrow morning?” Jack looked at Max, his eyes wide. He reminded Max of a puppy.

  “Or dinner tonight,” Max said, giving in. “You can come over at seven.”

  “You don’t mind?” Jack asked, his shoulders dropping as some of the tension left him. “I mean… I know it’s your day and I don’t really—”

  “I don’t mind. Besides, I don’t like you walking around thinking I’m some kind of abusive monster.”

  Jack flushed, and Max lifted his eyebrow.

  “I don’t think you’re… that. I just think you maybe overestimate what Sam can take.”

  They’d reached Jack’s bike, and Max stopped and watched the younger alpha mount his ride. He wondered for a second if Jack was right—if maybe he should be more careful with Sam—but he dismissed the idea almost as soon as it had entered his mind.

  Sam was an omega, and Max had seen how he responded to pain. He wasn’t wrong about what Sam could take. And if he was, he’d back off.

  “Sam and I had a talk on Sunday. We’re on the same page. Don’t worry,” Max said. Then, wanting to change the subject, he grinned. “So gym, huh? I remember that. Showing off and competing to see who can lift more, run the fastest, do more push-ups… Still how it is?”

  Jack grinned, his expression brightening . He put on his helmet and grinned at Max through the open visor. “Pretty much. It’s all friendly, though. Nothing serious.”

  Max laughed. “I bet you only say that because you always win.” He punched Jack gently in the arm, frowning when Jack winced at the barely there tap.

  “Pretty much,” Jack said, pretending he hadn’t winced. “But I should get going. I want—”

  “Are you hurt?” Max asked, frowning. Without waiting for Jack to answer, he reached out prodded the younger alpha’s chest, patting him down while Jack tried to lean away.

  “No, fuck! Get off me!” Jack growled, indignant. When Max pressed down on his flank he flinched in pain.

  “What happened here?” Jack asked. He wasn’t worried that Jack seemed to have hurt himself—that could be anything—but that he was trying to hide it? That was not a good sign.

  “Nothing,” Jack growled. “I just fell. It’s embarrassing.”

  Max narrowed his eyes, Jack’s statement not ringing true.

  “Let me see,” he demanded. Jack blinked, his brow scrunching up in a frown.

  “What?”

  “Let me see. Lift up your shirt and show it to me.”

  Max outranked Jack, and he had every right to investigate if he thought something was wrong. And Jack lying to him about an injury certainly qualified.

  “I’m not going to—”

  “Jack, that wasn’t a request.” Max put his hand on the back of Jack’s neck, glaring down at him.

  Jack reluctantly lifted his shirt, and Max clenched his jaw. The bruises on Jack’s side and stomach weren’t from a fall. Max should know. He had caused enough damage with his fists to know what someone looked like after taking a beating. And Jack was a werewolf. Anything that bruised that bad had been meant to hurt him.

  “You want to tell me how that happened?” Max was furious. Someone had gone after his pack mate, and Max was going to make them pay.

  “It’s nothing,” Jack huffed, pushing his shirt back down and pulling his jacket back in place. His face was set in a stiff mask. “Just leave it alone.”

  Max couldn’t do that.

  “I don’t think so, Jack. Now tell me who did this.”

  “I sai
d leave it alone!” Jack growled, his voice low and angry. He started his bike, and before Max could stop him he was tearing off. If he didn’t want Jack to fall, all Max could do was let go of his neck and let him leave.

  Furious, knowing that he’d handled that all wrong, Max stomped over to his car. His good mood from earlier was gone. He shouldn’t have treated Jack like he was a beta that couldn’t protect himself. Jack was an alpha. Wanting to handle his problems himself was in his DNA.

  Getting behind the wheel, Max froze. His argument with Jack’s brother the night before replayed in his mind.

  Had Elliot taken his anger out on his brother? The way he’d left the night before without putting up a fight… it wasn’t like him at all.

  But beating up his brother?

  Max didn’t want to believe it. Elliot was an asshole, but Max had never pegged him for a coward.

  Steering the car out of the garage and out on the road, Max decided he’d talk to Jack again when the younger alpha had had some time to calm down. If he couldn’t get anything out of him then, he’d have to involve David.

  Max really hoped it didn’t come to that.

  ***

  Though Max didn’t have a keycard to get into Logan and Aiden’s dorm, he was saved from having to call up by a group of students exiting the building just as he reached the door. None of them tried to stop him as he walked inside, but he got a few surreptitious looks.

  Max wondered what they thought he was doing there. He knew he didn’t look like a student—too old by a decade and a half to live in a dorm—and in his experience people seldom guessed that he was a cop unless he wore his uniform. More often than not Max was amused to find that people thought he was a criminal.

  Apparently he had a look about him.

  Feeling playful, Max looked one of the students—a beta with a gym bag slung over his shoulder—right in the eye and grinned, lips pulling back to reveal his freshly brushed teeth.

  The poor boy jumped back, tripping over his own feet and falling on his ass. Max lifted his eyebrow, his grin shifting into a smirk as he walked through the door.

  “Asshole,” the boy on the ground muttered, low enough that only a werewolf would have stood a chance of listening.

  Max didn’t say anything. He was feeling amped up and primal, and he knew that he’d regret it in the morning if he let that make him act like an asshole. He’d already pushed it with the intimidating smile, and the last thing he wanted was to let himself get out of control.

  This time he wouldn’t do anything to Sam that he hadn’t meticulously planned out in advance.

  Riding the elevator up to Logan and Aiden’s floor, Max unzipped his jacket and studied his reflection in the mirrored doors in front of him. His breaths were coming a little faster than usual, the rise and fall of his pecs and shoulders emphasizing the width of his chest and shoulders, and there was a manic glint in his eyes.

  He needed to get himself under control. Running his hand through his hair, eyes tracking the way his bicep strained the sleeve of his jacket, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  His cock throbbed, and Max couldn’t help but reach down and give it a squeeze through the denim of his jeans.

  He could practically taste Sam’s ass on his lips, and as the doors opened to Logan and Aiden’s floor, the faint scent of omega and heat tickled his nose.

  It smelled sublime.

  Heading out of the elevator, the scent getting stronger with every step, Max found Logan and Aiden’s door and gave it an impatient knock.

  After a few seconds he heard someone moving toward the door, and before he knew it he was face to face with Logan, Sam’s scent blasting him in the face.

  Max took a deep breath, his knot throbbing and a spurt of pre-cum wetting his jeans. Swallowing noisily, Max licked his lips and wondered if maybe he’d overestimated how easy it would be to maintain control.

  Sam just smelled so fucking good. It made him want to pounce, mount and bite his claim into the boy’s neck.

  It made him feel mean.

  “Hey Max, good morning. Sam is all ready to go,” Logan said, ignoring Max’s struggle for control. He stepped back and gestured for Max to come inside, blinking and yawning like all he wanted was to go back to bed.

  Max walked into the room, mouth watering as he looked around for the source of the scent. He took another deep breath, his nostrils flaring and his cock throbbing like it was on the edge of orgasm.

  Sam was standing by the unoccupied bed on the left side of the room, clutching his bag to his chest like a shield with a nervous look on his face. When Max stalked toward him, eyes intent and focused, Sam’s breath hitched and he hugged the bag tighter.

  “Are you ready to go?” Max asked. He licked his lips, unable to help the predatory smile on his face. His cock felt like it was going to burst, pressing against the seam of his fly and throbbing hotly.

  Sam nodded.

  “Everything go okay?” Max turned to Logan, resisting the impulse to grab Sam and take him right there. He didn’t bother trying to adjust his cock to make his bulge less visible, though. His cock was too big for anything but losing his erection to have an effect.

  “Pretty much,” Logan said. He looked at Sam. “He got hassled by this ant-werewolf douchebag yesterday, but other than that things have gone great. Right, Sam?”

  Sam nodded, his shoulders hunching in on themselves.

  Max felt his fangs pushing to come down, and he had to take a second to rein in his wolf.

  “Hassled? What do you mean?” Max was not happy. He took a step forward and wrapped his arm around Sam’s shoulders, pulling him into his side and holding him tight.

  It wasn’t giving in to his instincts. It was just offering comfort to his omega.

  Sam, rather than tense up as Max half expected, relaxed into the forceful embrace like he actually found it comforting.

  “I wasn’t there,” Logan said, yawning. “Sam can tell you about it. You mind if I go back to bed?”

  Max frowned. If Sam had been harassed by someone, then Logan shouldn’t be taking it lightly. Max needed to know that Sam was safe when he was on campus. If he wasn’t, they needed to look into getting him some kind of bodyguard.

  Max leaned down and buried his nose in Sam’s hair, breathing deep. It was hard to think.

  He would take care of whatever this harassment thing was once his day with Sam was up and his head was clearer.

  “See you later, Sam. It was fun,” Logan said, walking right into Max’s space and leaning down to give Sam a kiss on his forehead. When he stepped away and crawled back into bed, Max resisted the impulse to wipe the patch of skin where Logan’s lips had been.

  “Bye Sam, see you later,” Aiden mumbled sleepily from the other side of the room.

  “Bye,” Sam responded. When Max looked down, the expression on Sam’s face was dazed.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  Sam, still clutching his bag to his chest, nodded.

  “Good.” Max took Sam’s bag in his free hand. He smiled down at the obedient omega, baring a few more teeth than strictly necessary as he led him toward the door. “I’ve got a long day planned for you.”

  ***

  Sam

  Sam sat in the front seat of Max’s imposing SUV, his stomach roiling with nerves and his balls feeling like they were going to explode.

  He wished that Max would do something. That he would show his hand. Start torturing him and stop sitting there with that smug smile on his face and letting Sam’s imagination run wild.

  The anticipation was killing him.

  “Are we going back to your place?” he finally asked when he couldn’t bear the silence a second longer.

  Max shot him a quick glance, licking his lips as his smirk widened into a pleased grin. “Is that what you want?” he asked. There was a teasing quality to his voice, but under that there was an edge that made Sam shiver.

  Sam nodded, and even more of Max’s teeth were bar
ed.

  He looked like the wolf right before he ate little red riding hood.

  “Yeah? You think you’re ready?” Max cast his eyes down Sam’s body, hunger burning in his eyes, before turning his gaze back on the road. Sam held his breath, feeling overwhelmed and out of his depth.

  “I don’t know.” Sam’s voice was dry. He bit down on his lower lip and looked at Max, hesitating before he continued. “Ready for what?”

  Max didn’t answer right away. Sam studied the harsh planes of his face—the square jaw, sharp cheekbones and dimpled chin—his breath catching when Max looked at him out of the corner of his eye and smirked.