Topping the Dom

by Lisa Oliver

  “Shit, that’s no good. Poor Dante,” Roger said when Pearson told him the news.

  “What do you mean, poor Dante? I just told the man he couldn’t have the job. He still has a place here in the pack,” Pearson snarled.

  “Yes, well, I kinda got the impression Dante really needed the job. He hasn’t got any money and from the way he wolfed down his lunch, I reckon it had been a while since he ate. He was really keen to work any shifts that I had available, which would have been good seeing as we are so shorthanded. Still, you know best Alpha. I’ll see what I can do about finding someone else to replace the hours I was going to give him.”

  Oh sweet fuck in heaven. Pearson was stunned. He had absolutely no idea that Dante might have been desperate for funds. But as he walked back to his office, Pearson hit himself for being an idiot. The man had moved more than 1,000 miles from his last pack. If he’d been banished, then it was unlikely he could have taken any of his things with him. Damn it all, for all Pearson knew, his mate could be fucking homeless, and Pearson had just sent him out into the cold. Didn’t that just make Pearson mate of the year? Not!

  Throughout all wolf culture - gay, straight, black or white or multicolored, wolves understood one clear thing. Mates were a gift from the Fates. A wolf only had one in his lifetime and if a wolf found that mate, then he or she was meant to be cared for, cherished and protected. It was a duty of a mate to see to it that all their needs were taken care of, and Pearson was perfectly set up to do exactly that - he could care for his mate in all things. Except, he had taken a stupid law, that he himself had implemented in his pack, and effectively kicked his mate to the curb.

  Sorting quickly through his files, Pearson found Dante’s application form. There was no address or contact number. Roger had scrawled on the notes that Dante would provide that information if he was successful in getting his position as bouncer. A quick call to Roger confirmed that he hadn’t got Dante to fill in any of the pay and tax forms that would have required that information. He’d been waiting for Dante to actually start work, before making the man fill out any paperwork.

  Pearson tipped himself back in his office chair, tapping his pen on his lips. Lips that desperately wanted to be wrapped around some part of the elusive Dante. His body was fighting a war between lust and guilt. Lust, because the sight of Dante’s ass encased in black leather was enough to set any man off, especially Pearson. And guilt.

  Yes, well, Pearson knew that he didn’t have to refuse Dante his job. It was his rule, his law, that he’d put in for his pack. Pearson could have overlooked it and allowed Dante to work. No one would have known. But he didn’t, purely and simply because he wanted Dante to have dinner with him. He wanted the man in his bed and he pulled rank. He didn’t even care if Dante wouldn’t let him fuck him. But he did want to explore that body, a body only hinted at beneath the clothes Dante had worn. He wanted to take the man’s cock in his mouth and taste his come. Damn it all, he would even let Dante fuck him for their claiming, if that’s what it took. He wanted Dante and he wanted him now. But now he didn’t have a fucking clue where the man might have gone, or if he was all right.

  But he did know someone who might be able to find out. Slipping his personal cell phone out of his pocket, Pearson hit number three on the speed dial. A few rings later the call was answered.

  “Yeah, Pearson. What do you want?” A gruff voice sounded from the other end.

  “Steel. What are you and Levi doing for dinner? Come to the club, as my guests.”

  “Is this a friend thing, or do you want something,” Steel asked. Only his best friend could talk to Pearson that way and get away with it.

  “A bit of both,” Pearson admitted. “I haven’t seen you two for a while, and yes, I might have a small job for you. A personal one.”

  “Fuck Pearson, Levi and I had plans tonight. But still, seeing as it’s you, I’m sure Levi will insist we be there. We’ll be in at seven, will that suit you?” Steel didn’t sound happy, but at least he’d agreed to come.

  “Thank you. Your Alpha appreciates it,” Pearson said with a small laugh.

  “Yes, well fuck you, Alpha,” Steel said. “You’re not the one who’s got to tell Levi his plans for the evening have changed. My mate has just finished a huge job, and we were planning to celebrate our upcoming free time.”

  “I’m sure this job won’t take long, my friend.” Pearson lowered his voice. “This is personal for me, Steel, and you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you were the best man for the job. Please.”

  Steel must have caught the sincerity in Pearson’s voice. “Okay, friend, we’ll be there. I’m dying to know what’s got your panties in a twist. Tell the chef to have some of my favorite pasta shit available and we’ll see you at seven.”

  Pearson disconnected the call and smiled to himself. Some months before Pearson had called Steel in to have lunch with him at the club, when Steel was refusing to acknowledge his mate, Levi. Steel had been a soldier in Afghanistan and had returned wounded, inside and out. He’d met his mate Levi at the club, but hadn’t wanted to claim the man, restricting himself to once a week scenes with Levi in a private room in the club. During the course of the lunch, where Pearson had managed to convince Steel to offer Levi a Dom/sub contract if nothing else, Steel had developed a taste for the Vongole Pasta that the chef had trialed that day, and the man now ordered it damn near every time he came into the club. If Pearson wanted to get on his friend’s good side, he’d better make sure the chef had it on the menu.

  Chapter Four

  It was getting dark when Dante let himself into his tiny studio apartment, three days after walking out of the Bound and Bonded club. For three days he had been pounding the pavement, looking for work, and apart from picking up a couple of hours labor, shifting some boxes at a warehouse, he had come up with nothing. The few dollars he had raked in had gone on a bit of food, but he knew his rent was due at the end of the week, and with no means of paying it, he could see himself homeless by the weekend.

  Dante collapsed on the couch and closed his eyes. Then promptly wished he hadn’t. Every time he closed his eyes he thought about Pearson. Pearson, with his commanding personality, his hot body, and muscles that Dante longed to explore. Being Alpha born himself, Dante had always figured his mate would be someone smaller, a lower ranked wolf - a submissive in every way. It was one of the reasons he trained as a Dom. But there was nothing submissive about Pearson, and rather than be repelled by the idea of having an Alpha mate, Dante found himself intrigued in more ways than one. The fact that for Dante, Pearson was a walking wet dream, was just part of his appeal. Dante knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if he went to Pearson and told him that he needed help, Pearson would give it to him. Pearson clearly had money, resources and could easily support Dante as his mate. And as Dante’s hunger rumbled in his guts, he had to wonder why he didn’t just cave in and go see the man.

  He couldn’t do it. Dante had far too much pride. It was his damn pride that had made him open his mouth and tell Pearson that the man couldn’t fuck him, which was a really dumb thing to do, considering he had been dreaming about nothing else since he met the man. And it was his pride that would stop him from crawling to Pearson now.

  Back in his home pack, Dante had been a successful man before he was banished. He had his own house, a lovely car, and a good job as a foreman of the construction company owned by his pack. He had a high enough ranking in the pack to satisfy his Alpha nature, although he had never really thought about fighting for a pack of his own.

  When he’d been thrown out of the pack, all that he owned had been taken as retribution for his unfair kill - the money and property was supposed to go to the family of the enforcer he’d killed. In reality, it had probably been kept by the pack Alpha. Dante had been driven to the edge of town by another enforcer, and left on the side of the road, with nothing more than a broken nose and a backpack. It had taken him three months hitchhiking across the USA, to get to W
ashington DC, and another two months before he found, contacted and applied to the Bound and Bonded pack for acceptance.

  Dante knew the sensible thing to do, seeing as he just couldn’t go crawling to Pearson, would be to find a phone and call one of the few friends he had left. Peter and Josh, a gay couple from his home pack, had left the pack of their own accord once they realized they were mates. They’d moved to New York and had apparently found work, a place to live and more importantly for them, acceptance for them as a couple among their human friends. Peter and Josh might not have a pack behind them, but they did have each other. Dante had been on his way to them, when he had side tracked in to Washington and found out about the wolf pack there. After three months on the road as a lone wolf, he had been desperate to find a place where he could be accepted and be part of a pack again. The pack at the Bound and Bonded club had seemed like a dream come true.

  “And then life comes along and firmly bites you on the ass,” he muttered to himself. There was no way that Dante was going to be able to leave Washington. His wolf got been agitated and anxious every time he thought about moving away from their mate. But there was equally no way his human half was going to go looking for Pearson. He would starve to death before he did that. So, with his human half and his wolf spirit fighting between themselves, Dante himself was tired, hungry and left wondering what the heck he was going to do next.

  A sharp knock at the door had him instantly alert. A sniff told him there was a shifter outside, but it wasn’t a scent that he was familiar with. Dante had to assume that it was someone from Pearson’s pack because there were no other wolf packs for miles around. But Pearson didn’t know where he lived, or even if he was still in town, so Dante decided to just sit where he was, dead still and silent, hoping that whoever was on the other side of that door would just go away. He could fight if he had too, but right now he was too tired. He had enough to deal with, without coping with unknown wolves. Maybe it was a case of wrong address.

  The banging got louder and then a stern voice yelled out, “Come on Dante, open up. I know you’re in there.”

  Fuck. Okay. The visitor knew who he was. Which would imply that someone from the Bound and Bonded pack had sent him. Dante’s heart sank. It would seem that Pearson was angry with him for walking away, and decided to have him driven from this territory as well. New York was starting to sound like the only option he had left. Struggling to his feet, Dante fought off the wave of dizziness that washed over him. Damn, he needed to get something substantial to eat, and soon.

  Pulling on every bit of Alpha strength he had left, Dante opened the door and was struck by the sight of a really big wolf shifter. His visitor had to be ex-military. There was no mistaking his stance, or the buzz cut of his dark hair. Dark eyes, thin lips, and a dimple in his strong chin, all gave off the impression of a man who wasn’t to be messed with. The man had to be at least six-foot four and he was built like a brick outhouse. If Pearson was sending someone to run him off, this guy could do it. Weakened by his lack of food, Dante knew his Alpha nature was not going to be enough against this hulk of a man - especially one with military training.

  Fighting with the only thing he had left, Dante forced a smirk on his face and said, “What are you? The welcome wagon or the disposal service?”

  The tall man grunted but the muscles in his face didn’t change. Hmmm, Dante thought, tough crowd.

  “The Alpha wants to see you.” Wow, the big man could also speak, how amazing.

  Dante felt his heart ache at the mention of Pearson. God, what he wouldn’t do to see his mate again. See him, devour him, and claim him, all in one go. But the fact that the guy in front of him was more likely to be an enforcer than anything else, told Dante all he needed to know. Pearson was getting rid of him, and Dante didn’t need a last audience with his mate to be told that to his face.

  “I don’t have an Alpha,” Dante snarled, putting a world of hurt in his tone. “I haven’t been accepted into your pack, so I’m guessing you’re here to run me out of town as a lone wolf. Am I right?”

  Hmmm, the military man seemed confused, Dante noticed, before his nose was assailed with the most enticing smell he had encountered all week - a full meat lovers pizza, topped with heaps of cheese and jalapenos. Dante’s mouth watered and his stomach growled as the scent got nearer. Suddenly the block in his doorway was removed by a slighter and definitely prettier looking wolf. A dark haired, slim wolf with bright green eyes, and a tantalizing body, which, Dante did notice even if it did nothing for him. But the sight of four large boxed pizzas in the man’s arms definitely did.

  “Steel, you big lummox. Get out of my way. Didn’t you tell Dante we were bringing dinner?” The little man totally side swiped Steel, who surprisingly moved out of the way, as the smaller wolf smiled up at Dante.

  “Hi there, Dante. My name’s Levi and this solid lug here is my mate Steel. We’re friends of Pearson, and we thought we’d come over and introduce ourselves, and share some pizza with you. Didn’t Steel tell you?”

  Dante stood in shock as Levi barreled past him and went into his small, but functional kitchen area.

  “No,” Dante said, wondering what the hell had just happened. “The solid lug just said that the Alpha wanted to see me. I was just explaining to him that technically I don’t have an Alpha…”

  “Oh don’t make me laugh,” Levi interrupted as he found a few plates and some glasses. “Pearson’s your mate. You’re pack, whether the big man has admitted it to anyone else or not. Fuck,” Levi did laugh then, “even better, you’ll be Alpha Mate. What a hoot. I don’t think this pack has ever had one of those.”

  Dante sat down on the only chair in the living room, his mind in a whirl. Pearson might not have told the pack he had a mate yet, but for some reason he had told these two. Why and what the heck did they want?

  “Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the meal and all,” Dante said as Levi thrust a big plate full of pizza in his hands. Fuck, it smelled good. “But why are you guys here, and how did you find me?”

  Levi looked at Steel, who looked uncomfortable, but was obviously being challenged to speak by his feisty mate. Steel had settled on the couch and Levi was damn near sitting in his lap, a situation Steel didn’t seem to have a problem with, if the big arm around the little wolf’s shoulders was any indication.

  “Pearson feels really bad about what happened at the club. He’s got the idea that you think he doesn’t trust you, what with not giving you a job and all. So, he called me in to track you down and ask you to come back to the club. He really wants to talk to you,” Steel said slowly, his voice deep and full of gravel.

  Ignoring whatever it was that Pearson may or may not want for the moment, Dante asked, “But how did you find me? I don’t have a job. My stay here is only temporary. I don’t get it.”

  “It’s what we do,” Levi said happily munching on his own pizza. “Steel owns a security company and part of the work involves tracking down people. We got you through rental records.”

  “Yeah,” Steel grumbled. “We tried getting you through your car registration, but apparently that is now in someone else’s name. Same with your house, and bank records were a bust. So we started trolling through recent new rental records, based around the date you applied to the club. Took a bit, but we found you.”

  “Our mission,” Levi raised his fingers to indicate air quotes, “was to find you and bring you into the club so that Pearson could talk to you. He really does feel bad about what happened.”

  “But my mate here,” Steel spoke up, “felt it would be better if we shared a meal with you, and got to know you first, rather than just drag you off, so to speak. He’s got more finesse than I do.” Steel smiled fondly down at his mate and Dante’s heart lurched at the connection to two men obviously had.

  “There’s no point in seeing the Alpha,” Dante said firmly. “He didn’t trust me enough to give me a job, so he’s certainly not going to want to claim me as a mate.
With the unfair kill on my record I’m fucking doomed as far as ever having a pack again, and I should have realized that before I applied to join your pack.”

  “Pearson asked us to look into that as well,” Steel said, his gruff voice a stark contrast to the tender way he was licking Levi’s fingers clean of any pizza residue. “Is there any other details you can tell us about what happened?” Apparently satisfied that Levi was clean, Steel pulled Levi onto his lap and returned his focus to Dante.

  Dante put his plate on the tiny coffee table and sat back. At least he wasn’t hungry any more and that made him feel a lot better. He didn’t really want to rehash a rotten time in his life, but he felt he owed the two men with him something for their time and the meal.

  “I don’t know what else I can tell you that I didn’t tell Pearson. I was going for a run in the woods. I heard two men going at it and went to take a look. Gays aren’t allowed in my old pack. The Alpha is really homophobic, so I guess I was curious as to who was doing who, and if they were pack. When I got to a small clearing I saw Jerrod, the Alpha’s son, being fucked in the ass by one of our beta wolves, Tom. Jerrod saw me and screamed out that he was being raped. I jumped Tom and in the process of fighting him, I killed him.”

  Dante fell silent. He hadn’t actually meant to kill Tom at all. But the man went fucking apeshit on him and Dante really didn’t have any choice.

  “What happened after that,” Steel asked softly.

  “I shifted and went to see if Jerrod wanted any help. He said he was fine, and that I wasn’t to say anything about what happened. But fuck it, I had to say something. Tom was dead, and I’d killed him. I wasn’t about to just run away from something like that. Jerrod tried to throw his weight around as the next Alpha, but I was determined to tell the truth. I thought the guy had been hurt, you know, and I wanted him to get some help. But then Jerrod started crying, and said if I ever told anyone, then he wouldn’t get to be Alpha, and his dad would probably kick him out of the pack.”