Winter's End

by Rebecca James

  The omega let out a breath and nodded.

  “Was someone trying to hurt you?”

  How to answer that? Emory could only nod.

  “Someone in your pack?”

  Emory shook his head.

  “Other werewolves?”

  Another shake.

  “Humans?”

  Emory nodded. He let his eyes trail to the fire pit, and Roanan’s gaze followed. Emory saw the moment his mate comprehended.

  “Humans set fire to your compound?”

  Emory nodded jerkily, the beloved faces friends and family appearing before him. He let out a sob.

  Roanan set down their drinks and gathered the omega into his arms, pulling Emory onto his chair with him. Unable to hold back his tears any longer, he sobbed like a baby into his alpha’s chest while Roanan petted him and murmured words of comfort.

  “Shh, I’m sorry that happened. It must have been terrible. It’s all right. You have us now. We love you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Some time later, when Emory regained control of himself, he sat back and wiped his eyes with his shirt.

  “Did anyone else make it out alive?” Roanan asked quietly.

  Emory shrugged miserably. Parting his lips, he tried to speak but only managed a grunt.

  “I want you to write down the name of your old pack. I’ll check into it for you. Would that be all right?” Roanan asked, carding his fingers through Emory’s wavy brown hair.

  Emory sniffled and nodded through his tears. He stayed on the chair with Roanan, and his alpha held his hand while they listened to birdsong, the breeze riffling the leaves above their heads. Gradually, Emory calmed. He was glad he’d told Roanan. He felt better for it—lighter than he had in months. His tears dried as he thought about growing round with Roanan’s child.

  Guiding Roanan’s hand to his abdomen, Emory gave the alpha a small smile. Everything would be okay. Roanan would help him find out about his pack. And they were going to have a baby.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Grant

  The pack alpha had asked to see him. Grant searched his mind for the reason but came up empty. He was relatively certain he hadn’t done anything wrong. Perhaps Grey had a task for him. Maybe he wanted Grant to join the next hunting party.

  The young alpha sat in Grey’s living room, sunlight streaming through the glass doors that led out to the balcony. He couldn’t tamp down his nervousness. He’d never been inside the pack alpha’s house before. The interior looked surprisingly mundane. Toys that must belong to Grey’s children sat in a basket in the corner, and an open book was turned over on the arm of a chair.

  “What can I do for you, pack alpha?” Grant asked, hoping he didn’t sound as freaked out as he was.

  Grey took a seat opposite Grant, spreading his powerful arms over the back of the sofa. He looked at ease, and Grant wished he could also.

  “You recently turned nineteen, isn’t that right?” Grey asked.

  “Yes, pack alpha.”

  “And you’re apprenticing with Rick and Bruce?”

  Grant nodded.

  “Do you like it?”

  “Yes, pack alpha. They’ve been very helpful, and I enjoy learning the blacksmith trade.” Maybe Grey was just checking up on him. He relaxed a little.

  “Excellent. Have you settled into your house?”

  Grant had been given one of the new houses on the strip near the lake.

  “Yes, I like it very much, sir.”

  “I’m glad. I’m pleased with you, Grant.”

  Grant’s heart soared at the praise from his pack alpha. The power the man exuded, while intimidating, invoked a longing in the young alpha to please his leader.

  Grey leaned forward and met Grant’s gaze. “You’re doing very well for yourself, and that’s why I have chosen you to mate one of the two new omegas, if all parties are agreeable.”

  Wait. What? Grant couldn’t have heard that right.

  “It takes responsibility and integrity to be an alpha for an omega, and although you’re young, I believe you are up to the task.” Grey sat waiting for Grant to speak.

  The young alpha hadn’t expected this. At all. His mind couldn’t seem to process he would be alpha mate to an omega.

  Of course, Grant had thought about having an omega before. What alpha didn’t? But he’d never expected to really happen. Roanan’s anger had underlined the impossibility of crossing that line with Josh any time in the near future. Grant wasn’t sure if he’d want to anyway. He and Josh had always just been friends.

  When Grey didn’t say anything else, Grant managed a quiet thank you.

  Grey smiled. “The omega’s name is Keith. Did you meet him at the gathering?”

  Grant blushed. “Actually, I didn’t go. I thought I was too young for you to consider me as a prospective mate.”

  “Nonsense. Your youth is in your favor. You may have heard that these two omegas have been rogue and on their own for a long while. The Human/Omega Congress in Cascade City, along with River’s pack, has been helping them. They are eager to mate, and I’ve been so preoccupied, I haven’t had a chance to take care of it. If you are agreeable, the mating ceremony will be this weekend. I’d like you to come to dinner tonight so I can personally introduce you to Keith. The other omega and his prospective mate will be here, too.”

  “Yes, alpha. I’ll be here.”

  By the time Grant left the house in the trees, his mind was reeling.

  While incredibly honored, he was confused about why he’d been chosen. As he walked along the trail leading to the lake, he pondered why the pack alpha might have chosen him to mate one of the new omegas rather than an older, more experienced alpha.

  It’s not that crazy, he told himself. Grey and my dad are friends, and I’m young and virile. I could sire many pups with an omega. He blushed at the thought. He’d never even kissed anyone before. Gods, how was he going to breed an omega close to fifteen years older than he was? He’d heard stories about how they got when in heat. They would send him into rut, and he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  Grant found himself getting aroused. He was an alpha lucky enough to be mating an omega. An honor he should be proud of. He held his head high as he walked home.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Keith

  Keith was accustomed to being in charge. At the refuge in Cascade City, he’d been the closest thing the rogue omegas had had to a pack alpha. Now he found himself a newcomer in a pack with Gabriel as the rightful first omega, and he wasn’t sure how to act. Added to that was the vulnerability he felt as a newcomer who was going to be mated to an alpha that was practically a stranger.

  While Gabriel had said Keith had a right to refuse the alpha Grey had chosen for him, Keith knew he probably wouldn’t. He’d spoken to several of the omegas and then Christopher about Grant and had only heard good things about the young alpha. Despite his age, Grant had an apprenticeship and his own house. His pack members seemed to respect him.

  Keith and Elliott were lucky. They had managed to remain virgins as rogues. Elliott looked forward to having an alpha’s attention, but he was nervous too. When Ian stopped by the omega den to tell them they were expected for dinner at their house that night to meet their prospective mates, the two omegas had talked of nothing else until Ian showed up again to escort them.

  “Remember,” the good-looking beta said in a quiet tone that Keith found very soothing as well as sexy, “you have the right to refuse these alphas. Grey has picked them for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept. Talk to them tonight and get to know them. I can assure you they are both respectable young alphas who would be kind and loving mates to you, should you choose to mate with them. But it is your choice. Grey will not be upset with you if you decline.”

  Keith and Elliott both nodded and thanked Ian before lapsing into silence. As much as Elliott had said how eager he was to be mated, Keith knew his friend was as nervous as he was.

  Being an omega was d
ifficult—your body wanted one thing while the rest of you was scared shitless.

  Nestled between two huge trees, the pack alpha’s house had a gorgeous view of the compound and surrounding Eufaula mountains. Only the sentinel betas on the high cliffs would be able to see farther, Keith surmised.

  Gabriel gave them a tour of the house, and Keith looked curiously around the bedroom the three mates shared, wondering what it would be like to have both an alpha and beta mate taking care of your needs during heats. Only, he remembered, lately Grey and Ian hadn’t been doing that for Gabriel. Keith had heard it was because Gabriel had been one of those darted and had almost died both times he’d carried a pup. The decision had been made to keep him from becoming pregnant. Sawyer, back at River Wolf Pack, had been in the same situation, only he was taking the antidote and getting better. Keith wondered why Gabriel wasn’t doing the same.

  At the end of the tour, Gabriel sat between Keith and Elliott on the sofa, clasping both of their hands. Keith was happy to have the contact and snuggled a little closer.

  When Grant and Scott arrived minutes later, Keith studied them while the two young alphas greeted Ian and Grey.

  Scott’s hair was the color of freshly harvested wheat and fell in waves about his head. His eyes were goose gray.

  Then Keith turned his attention to his intended omega. He’d known Grant was young, but, looking at him, Keith thought the alpha couldn’t be much past his eighteenth birthday. He was slighter than Keith, although, as an alpha, he would undoubtedly fill out quickly after he went into rut. Keith was large-boned for an omega, and his years of fending for himself had sculpted his body. Would the young alpha be able to handle Keith’s heats at first? Would Keith feel the surge of being protected that he longed for from an alpha mate? Despite these worries, when Grey introduced them and Grant stepped closer, Keith’s body responded with a thick surge of slick that quickly perfumed the room.

  He knew the moment when Grant detected it, because the alpha took in a deep breath and his pants tented at the groin.

  Keith shivered in a visceral reaction.

  “So we’ve arranged for you to talk on your own while we finish making dinner,” Grey was saying when Keith was able to tune in on the conversation again. “Gabriel will be here, in the background, in case you need anything.” Ian and the pack alpha walked into the kitchen, and Gabriel sat at a corner table out of the way.

  Elliott and Scott were already discussing something, so Keith asked Grant, “How old are you?”

  “I just turned nineteen. You?”

  “Thirty-two. Does the age difference matter to you?” Keith thought it better to be forthright from the beginning.

  Dark hair spilled into Grant’s blue-green eyes as he shook his head. “Not at all.” He paused. “I just don’t want to…uh, disappoint you in any way. I’d understand if you don’t want an alpha as young as I am, but the pack alpha seemed to think we’d be a good match.” He shrugged, and Keith realized the kid was out of his depth.

  “Age doesn’t matter to me at all. I spent a good deal of time on the run after my pack was wiped out by humans until the Congress in Cascade City gave us a place to live. To be honest, for a long time I’d stopped thinking about mating because I didn’t think it would happen for me. I’m happy to be here, in an established pack, and to have the opportunity to have a family. But I also don’t want to be with someone who feels obliged to mate me.”

  Grant seemed to consider Keith’s words. “A big family is definitely something I want. I just didn’t think it would be happening so soon, but I’m adjusting to the idea. I’d never imagined I’d be in the running for you or Elliott because I’m so young. But if that’s what the pack alpha wants, I’m willing.” He blushed, which Keith thought was cute. “And you seem nice.”

  Watching Grant, Keith realized the alpha’s youth and inexperience might work in the omega’s favor. Keith had been on his own a long time. With Grant, he could ease into things. Keith felt himself relaxing for the first time since he’d walked into the house.

  He risked leaning forward and touching the alpha’s hand, which was strong and a little roughened on the palm from hard work, and another rivulet of slick seeped out of Keith. Soon, the strong scent of both his and Elliott’s allure surrounded them, and both alphas began to get agitated.

  Gabriel must have noticed, for he called to his mates, and Grey and Ian quickly returned to the room.

  “Perhaps we should eat on the balcony,” Grey said, sounding slightly strangled as he hastened to open the doors. The waft of fresh air a few seconds later had everyone in the room taking deep breaths, and the building tension eased.

  They took seats around a table on the balcony, and the next burst of cool breeze dried the sweat that had formed on Keith’s brow during the last few tense moments. Gabriel and Ian brought out dishes of food, and the group settled into an informal meal and conversation.

  As soon as Keith had the opportunity, he murmured to Gabriel he would be happy to have Grant as a mate.

  “That’s great,” Gabriel whispered. “He’s been watching you. I can see he likes you, too.”

  A shiver of excitement ran up Keith’s back as he allowed himself to look forward to being alone with the handsome, virile young alpha sitting across from him. When Keith checked out Elliott and Scott, he thought the two seemed just as happy with each other.

  As soon as the meal was over, Ian and Gabriel escorted Elliott and Keith back to the omega den, during which time both omegas assured Ian they were happy with Grey’s choice for them and eagerly awaited the mating ceremony.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Christopher

  Although Christopher liked Elliott and Keith, the beta was relieved when the mating ceremony was over and the two omegas left the omega den for their new homes. Now he could be alone with Xavier.

  Chris built a fire and watched the flames dance in the grate, thinking about the recent trip to Cascade City. Before he’d started treatments, he’d never left the compound. Initially scary, traveling was becoming fun, especially with X. This time the injection had made Christopher a little queasy, which hadn’t happened before, but he’d been told to expect it, so he wasn’t worried. And X had been so sweet and attentive afterward, it had melted Christopher’s heart.

  Christopher was so deep in his thoughts, the knock on the door startled him even though he’d been expecting it.

  “Hey. Come in.” He stepped back, allowing X inside. The beta took a deep breath, relishing the scent of the alpha as he passed by.

  As soon as Christopher had closed the door, X leaned down and kissed him, tongue swiping through Chris’s mouth in a proprietary way. Chris clung to the alpha’s broad shoulders and moaned.

  “I’ve missed you,” X’s voice rumbled against the beta’s chest.

  “Me, too.”

  They kissed for a few moments before walking hand-in-hand to the couch.

  “This is nice,” X said when they were settled together in front of the dancing flames, arms around one another.

  “Yeah. Alone at last.”

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something. Hey, don’t tense up like that. It’s nothing bad.” X folded their hands together.

  “Last time you said that, you wanted me to fuck you. And that didn’t go very well.”

  X chuckled. “You liked it.” He squeezed Christopher’s shoulder. “How would you feel about leaving the pack?”

  Christopher stared, opened mouthed, unsure he’d heard right.

  X hurried on.

  “With me, of course. I was thinking maybe we could join River’s pack.”

  Christopher sat up, turning so he could better see X’s face. The alpha looked completely serious.

  “Why?”

  Xavier shrugged. “I guess I just miss them. I know it’s unfair of me to ask, but I thought maybe you might consider it. River said he could find work for me, and we could build our house on the pack property. They’ve got all that room,
and David needs help with the horses if you’re interested in doing that type of work again. If not, they can find something else for you. You could even work at the Congress if you wanted to.”

  Christopher paused. The thought of working in the city with humans intrigued him. The more he’d visited, the less scary they seemed, and Christopher very much wanted to become a part of the fight to make the werewolves safe.

  He wasn’t too shocked that X was missing his old pack. His heart had healed over the loss of his mate, and he was beginning to live again, but Chris had seen how X had come alive around River and the others. He thought about it. Would he mind moving? He loved Angel Hills, but he had no blood family here anymore. He liked the members of Cascade City Pack, and he respected River. He’d miss his friends at Angel Hills, but it wasn’t far away, and they could always visit. In the end, it really boiled down to where X would be happiest because Christopher wanted that for his alpha.

  His alpha. Christopher had been thinking of X as his, and the fact X wanted the beta to move with him proved it.

  X continued, unaware Christopher had already made up his mind. “I also considered the fact you’d be closer to medical facilities and any treatment you might need in the future, and—”

  Christopher held up his hand. “You can stop trying to convince me. I go where you go.”

  X’s expression grew soft, and he caressed the Christopher’s face.

  “I don’t want to go if you don’t want to,” X said.

  Christopher smiled. “I want to.”

  X kissed him so fiercely, Christopher would have toppled off the couch if the alpha hadn’t been holding onto him.

  “I love you,” X said roughly. “We are going to have the best life together.” He kissed Christopher again.

  Moving to the rug in front of the hearth, the two werewolves continued kissing before eventually removing each other’s clothes. When skin met skin, Christopher sighed and wrapped his legs around the alpha, who looked down at him with dark eyes full of something sweet and pure that made Chris’ insides quiver.