by Jane Perky
“I saw him first, Dante. Butt out.”
“Six is mine.” The words came out razor-sharp, possessive.
“Oh.” Six let out a little cute squeak. “I like that.”
Buddy frowned, looked between them, then held out his hands. “Sorry, my mistake. Next time, mark your potential mate with your scent or something.”
Dante didn’t bother correcting Buddy. Interestingly, Six didn’t either. He noticed their commotion had caught the attention of the entire bar.
“If you assholes intend to fight some stupid dominance battle, take it outside,” King yelled.
“We’re good,” Buddy shouted and gave Dante a curt nod, before making his exit.
Without the bear shifter between them, he paused, wondering if Six would run from him, but Six only took halting steps toward him. Reaching out, he pulled Six into a tight, fierce embrace, burying his face into Six’s neck. Six clutched at him, and he could still smell old fear on his Six. Whoever had battered his Omega up, Dante was going to make that fucker hurt in a hundred different ways until that fool couldn’t scream any more.
He fisted Six’s hair, made Six look him in the eye.
“You’re here.”
Dante didn’t know what to say, still unable to believe Six could be here, especially knowing how paranoid Randall was with security.
“I ran,” Six whispered. “Spike threatened me. It’s okay if I died, but not the baby.”
“The baby?” Dante’s mouth went dry, but he tugged up Six’s shirt and pressed a hand over Six’s flat belly. He sensed nothing at first, but his breath caught. His wolf confirmed the tiny life growing inside of Six. Their pup.
He swallowed, shoving aside the few but bad memories he had of his real father before the system had placed him in a foster home. Dante couldn’t be a father. He didn’t know the first thing about it, and yet Six was looking at him intently—frightened, he realized, of his reaction.
“Dante, who’s this cutie pie?” Mark, Crash’s mate, peered over his shoulder. “And did I hear that right, you’re his baby daddy?”
“Bug off, Mark. Six and I are having a serious discussion.”
In truth, he was thankful for Mark’s interruption. Mark had formed a little club of Omegas and become fast friends with the mates of his friends.
“That’s your name then, Six? I’m Mark.” Mark nudged him rudely aside to hold out a hand, which Six stared at, uncertain.
“You’re an Omega, too,” Six whispered.
“Hmm, so this is this reason why Dante’s been looking miserable recently,” Crash commented, eyeing Six who clung closer to Dante. Well, he didn’t mind. He fucking missed his Omega. Dante might not know if he was cut out to be a father, but he certainly wasn’t going to abandon Six in his time of need.
“Six, what happened?” he asked.
“What’s the commotion about?” Atlas and even Lee joined them.
Six paled. “So many Alphas.”
“Don’t worry. These assholes are my friends, although they need to butt out,” he muttered with a glare. He knew his friends meant well, but they were crowding Six and Six wasn’t exactly used to social situations like these. Hell, Randall made certain of that. That was why it was a wonder Six had managed to get here on his own.
“Let’s leave Dante alone, guys. Six, we’ll be seeing you around,” Mark said with a wink, before tugging his mate with him.
Thankfully, the others left him alone, although they would probably plague him with questions later on.
“Let’s talk somewhere private,” he suggested. “How about we head to my place?”
“Okay.”
Six’s stomach rumbled. Dante studied the Omega carefully. The bruises still pissed him off, but Six was thinner than before, too. Were they starving him? Fuck. Rage filled him, but he held it at bay. Right now, he needed to take care of Six’s needs. Dante would get answers to his questions later on.
“Let’s order some food, too.”
“You don’t have to feed me,” Six blurted.
Dante frowned, eyes narrowed. “You’re carrying my pup, pet. You should eat more, too. Let me take care of you. Didn’t you come to me?”
With reluctance, Six nodded.
“Besides, I haven’t had dinner yet.” Dante offered his hand, which Six took. He ordered two cheeseburgers and fries from King. He looked at his mate. “Want anything else?”
Timid little Six looked at King in the eye. “Um, do you have any desserts?”
“We have pie—cherry, blueberry, and apple.”
“All.” Six blushed and snuck a fearful look at Dante, who only beamed at him.
“Three pies,” Dante confirmed. They didn’t wait long, which was good because he could tell Six was anxious to get out of the crowded space. With their food in hand, Dante led Six out the parking lot. He placed the food in the back of his bike and furrowed his brows. “When you get bigger, we can’t keep riding the bike. I think I can borrow Crash’s truck.”
Six looked confused. “We?”
Dante rounded up on his mate and wagged a finger. “You’re not going anywhere, Six. I can tell you ran away, which is fine. I’m damn proud of you for getting here on your own. You’ll be staying with me. My apartment’s small, but you can take the bed. We’ll figure this out together.”
Chapter Five
Six held his breath for a couple of seconds, then let it out. He slowly processed Dante’s words. When he’d escaped the compound, he hadn’t planned anything ahead. Hell, he’d been riddled with worry, scared Dante would tell him to hit the road. He remembered seeing the shock in Dante’s eyes when Six told him about the baby, but Dante had easily recovered. Hell, the Alpha even said he was proud of Six for running away.
No one ever told Six that they were proud of him. His family and pack made demands of him. Spike treated him no better than a slave, and yet this man looked at him now like he was some kind of treasure, told him they’d figure this out together.
He swallowed, unable to hold back the tears from falling any longer. Dante cursed and tugged at his own shirt to rub at Six’s eyes. Six glimpsed those six-pack abs he’d always fantasied about.
“Shit, you’re crying,” Dante muttered, looking alarmed.
Sweet Alpha, better than Six deserved, but he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Everyone Six knew was back at the compound, and they had finally showed their true colors. No one took his side after Spike found out he was pregnant and there was no way Spike was the father, because thank God, his parents insisted on a proper mating ceremony. Spike couldn’t touch him until the next full moon, but Spike lost it, after realizing Six was no longer pure.
“I’ll be fine. This is all just overwhelming.” He sniffed. “I’m not usually this weak.”
“You’re strong, baby. Never forget that. You ran away to protect you and the growing pup in you. That’s courage.” Dante leaned in close and kissed his tears away, his nose, then his mouth.
Six forgot all about the miserable past fourteen days. Dante deepened the kiss, thrusting heat and the familiar taste of him down his throat. He clutched at the Alpha, wanting to make up for lost time. Six had wondered so many times if he shouldn’t have left Dante that terrible note, if he’d been braver. He couldn’t change the past, but at least, the present, he could deal with.
When Dante pulled away, he let out a little laugh. “I’m so glad I came here.”
“Me, too. I was planning to sneak back into the compound, find out how you were, but good thing you beat me there.” Dante grabbed a helmet and helped him put him it on, smiling. “Come on.”
He rode behind Dante, pressed his face into the powerful muscles of Dante’s back, and inhaled leather, wolf musk, and pine, Dante’s distinct scent. Dante started the engine. He hadn’t seen much of Emerald Valley during the bus ride. He’d been too frightened, too scared someone might have followed him. Six had recalled during their date that Dante frequently hung out with his friends at one bar in town, Ki
ng’s. The townsfolk he asked had been helpful enough to point him to the right direction.
The breeze felt good on his face and his wolf felt at peace, a sharp contrast to living each day in fear for the past two weeks.
“I’ll show you around town some other time. We can play tourist,” Dante said in front of him.
Excitement hummed in his veins. Only hours before, his future had felt bleak, uncertain, but now it was filled with endless possibilities. Dante entered a residential neighborhood filled with apartment buildings and parked his bike in front of one of them. They got off and Dante showed him in. They went up the elevator, alighted on the eighth floor, and Dante fished out his key.
“It’s a single room, so there’s nothing much,” Dante said, sounding apologetic, but he was excited to see Dante’s living space.
The Alpha opened the door, turned on the lights, and he entered, drinking the Alpha’s quarters with his eyes. The furniture was minimalist, but there were comfy rugs on the floor and posters of Harleys on the walls.
“Do you have any belongings with you?” Dante asked.
Excitement contained, Six shook his head. Embarrassment had flown out the window when Dante told him they’d figure things out together. “I only have the clothes on my back.”
“That’s fine, you can borrow some of my clothes. Tomorrow, I’ll call Mark. He’s about your size. We can go shopping.”
“I don’t intend to be a freeloader,” he blurted.
Dante raised his eyebrows.
“If I can get access to a computer, I can continue making websites for my client base. Once the funds come in, I’ll pay you back.”
Dante snorted, standing in front of him. “Save it for yourself, pet. Once you’re back on your feet, we’ll talk about finances, okay? We’ll need to go to checkups and pay for baby equipment.”
“I’m sorry,” he said in a small voice.
“What the fuck for?”
“For bringing this mess into your doorstep.”
Dante gripped his chin. “We made this amazing, beautiful life inside of you together. There’s nothing to be sorry.”
“A baby wasn’t part of your plan.”
“It’s my pup and yours,” Dante said, a fierce look on his face. “I’ll protect and cherish both you and our pup until my last breath.”
“And Spike and the pack?” Six whispered.
“We’ll deal with the problem when it comes. You and the pup come first, and I think dinner’s number one on that list.”
“Can I use the bathroom?” he blurted.
“You don’t need to ask me permission for anything, pet. Bathroom’s through there. There are also spare towels under the sink. I keep clothes in the drawer, too, in case you want to shower, as well as soap and supplies.”
“Thank you.” With that, he raced to the bathroom. Once he shut the door behind him, he leaned against it, shutting his eyes. “I’ve made it.”
Part of him still couldn’t believe the wonderful man, the fiercely protective but tender Alpha, was the father of his child and his mate. Could he really be a mate deserving of Dante? His heartbeats quickened, recalling the heat that had sizzled between them two weeks ago.
It was all worth it, despite the pain he’d endured over the past two weeks. The past was a door he could shut. Taking up Dante’s offer, he quickly stripped out of his clothes, halted in front of the mirror, and winced at his body. Spike had let out his frustration by occasionally hitting him when no one was looking. Bruises covered him, but they would soon heal.
He rubbed at the pack tattoo on his neck and hated it instantly. No matter. Maybe he could ask Dante if the Alpha knew anyone who could laser off tattoos. He entered the shower, luxuriated in the hot water, and thought of the gorgeous Alpha outside, waiting for him.
Six moved his hand to his dick, started stroking it, imagining it was Dante’s huge and callused fingers, holding his prick captive. He expelled a sigh. Erotic fantasies of Dante had kept him sane over the last fourteen days. He had kept relieving that mind-blowing moment they’d made love, Dante’s hungry amber eyes, always locked with his, even as Dante hammered in and out of him, claiming him.
Insistent knocking on the door interrupted him.
“Six, are you all right?” Without warning, the doorknob rattled and the Alpha jerked the door open, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, looking ready to fight someone.
Blushing hard, Six realized his hand was still on his dick. Dante’s serious expression was replaced by an amused one.
“Sorry. Was I taking too long?” Six asked.
Dante licked his lips, and his dick pulsed at that. The look on Dante’s face said everything. Six was always self-conscious about his body, that he looked too average to catch anyone’s fancy. Plus, with his fading bruises, he didn’t exactly look his best. They no longer hurt, thanks to his regenerative abilities, but he couldn't comprehend why Dante eyed him like a piece of candy he’d like to enjoy slowly. He shivered.
“Finish up, soon. We’ll get to dinner and maybe, you can be dessert,” Dante said, a wicked look in his eyes, before closing the bathroom door.
Sounded like incentive to Six. He finished his shower quickly. Fantasies were good and all, but the real deal was always sweeter. He found a pair of loose cotton jogging pants and a shirt twice his size. They smelled like his Alpha. He sniffed at them, satisfied, before heading out.
Dante had spread dinner over the dining table. His stomach rumbled. The food smelled good, even though it was no longer hot. Not waiting for an invitation, he took the seat opposite Dante’s and bit at his burger. Flavors exploded in his mouth.
He moaned, chewed, and swallowed. “So good.”
“You sound like you’re in heat.”
At his shocked look, Dante laughed.
He glared. “You get a kick out of teasing me?”
“I can’t help it. Your reactions are so priceless, and you’re so goddamn adorable.” In a more serious tone, Dante said, “I fucking missed you, Six.”
“Me, too,” he admitted. No more nights of loneliness and fear for him—not that Dante was without danger. It wasn’t Dante’s physical appearance that intimidated him, but how fast and hard he was falling for the Alpha.
“Promise me you’ll never leave me like that again.”
“I promise,” Six replied, meaning every word.
“Good, now tell me everything that happened to you since we left. Start from the beginning.” It sounded like an order, but Six did owe Dante an explanation, so he spoke, leaving no detail behind.
“Spike didn’t know about the baby until the day I left the pack. We were in an official mating ceremony. My parents insisted on it.”
Dante frowned, but he could tell the Alpha was listening, patient. “What does that mean?”
“Spike can’t touch me until the full moon. He never has.” Six had to emphasize that, to let Dante know he hadn’t been with anyone but him.
“I’m glad to hear that. Something changed. He found out?”
Six nodded. “I asked one of the enforcers, someone I trusted, to buy me a pregnancy kit. Spike saw the stick while I was in the common bathroom.”
The next few words were hard to say, because Six was still rattled by the experience. “He confronted me in public, in the pack gathering hall, which was a blessing. Spike cursed me, threatened to kill me. He got a few punches in,” he explained, touching the fading bruises on his face and neck. “But the same enforcer I trusted, intervened. Randall was there, too.”
“Did Randall demand to know who the father is?”
“He did, but I lied. Told him that I’d been drunk and couldn’t remember. They bought it, talked about it, and told me if I wanted to live, they had to exile me.”
Dante rose from his seat to stand behind him, wrapping those powerful arms around him, silently urging him to continue.
“My parents—they’d always been a disinterested party from the start. They wanted a more powerful werewolf. Instead
they got me, an Omega. They didn’t fight Randall and the council’s decision to exile me. I saw their eyes. To them, I was good as dead.”
Dante hugged him. “It’s okay. I’m here for you. Always.”
Six nodded and hastily wiped the tears from his eyes. No more tears for him. He had to be strong for the baby, to be a worthy mate for Dante. It had felt like a punch to the gut when his parents turned their back on him. He knew there was little love between them. Once he was old enough, he’d moved to the Omega quarters of the compound and seldom saw them. Still, he expected them to stick up for him.
No matter. Six had a new family now. He gave Dante’s fingers a squeeze and finished his story. “Spike isn’t the kind of guy who obeys the rules though. My friend told me Spike was going to chase me down, so I left the compound and took a bus here before he could make a move.”
“Brave mate.” Dante kissed his head. “You’ve done an amazing job of leaving your former life behind. Now, it’s my turn to show you what’s it like beyond the walls of your prison.”
Prison. Now that Dante mentioned it, it did feel like Six had been living in a cell all his life, but now, all of that was about to change and he was so looking forward to it.
Chapter Six
Dante finished showering quickly, eager to join his sweet Six in bed. Six blushing when Dante had caught him masturbating in the shower was a sight he wouldn’t forget easily. There was no doubt in his mind, who Six had been thinking about. He smirked, toweling off, and debated whether to come out naked. Since that might intimidate Six, he put on a pair of boxers and exited the bathroom.
A soft snore filled the room. Maybe Six was playing a joke on him? Six wasn’t that kind of guy who knew how to play games, though. He walked around the bed, frowning to see Six looking small, dwarfed by his king-sized bed. Six hugged one of Dante’s pillow to him, while straddling another between his legs. Dante would rather Six straddle him, but he didn’t want to wake Six up. Six had told him about his journey, how he’d only had enough cash for one bus ticket and nothing else.
