by Fel Fern
Fuck, but Theo looked good, dressed in his shirt and lying in his bed. Perfect, his wolf thought. Then a scarier thought. Mine. Who was Joe kidding? He’d staked his claim on Theo the moment they crossed paths. Joe was about to defy his Alpha and his pack for this stranger, who even admitted to him he might be a threat, that Joe was better off killing him.
Ending Theo’s life was out of the question, and Theo didn’t feel like a stranger. Mate, his wolf thought with some satisfaction. Theo squirmed under his gaze.
“Fine, I know I’m not pleasant to look at,” Theo mumbled, hurt in his voice.
Theo blinked when he growled. “It’s not that. You’re temptation, Theo, and I act different when you’re around. Even now, my wolf’s all riled up, ready to rip apart anyone who’ll dare enter my den.”
“You’re looking at me like I’m good to eat,” Theo whispered.
“You should be scared of me.”
“I’m not. After being at the hands of Voss and his men for weeks, you’re the only one who’s ever treated me like a human being.”
Voss, He thought. If he ever got his claws on that human monster, Joe would make sure Voss would pay three times over for what he did to Theo.
“When I’m near you, it’s hard to think,” he admitted.
“Me too. It’s strange that I feel so comfortable with you and we just met,” Theo murmured, then patted the bed again.
This time Joe sat. A huge mistake, because Theo’s scent mixed with his shirt and soap only worsened his growing desire. Unable to help himself, Joe reached out for Theo’s hand, stroking it. Joe couldn’t stop, he was constantly finding excuses to reach for Theo, always encouraged when Theo had no interest in pulling away.
“You should go to sleep, get some rest,” Joe said, because the clock was ticking. Soon, Deacon would return from his meeting. Either the Alpha or Lance would confront him about Theo. Deacon was known for his practicality and ruthlessness and Lance for his cool logic. Both men had clashed opinions far too many times to count but they’d agree on one thing—the pack came first, and Joe endangered the community by bringing Theo inside their land.
“I don’t want to. I’m scared this is all just a dream and when I wake up, I’ll be back at my cell.” Theo shivered and that pushed Joe into lifting the covers and sliding next to Theo in bed.
His bed was king-sized, not because he had frequent company. Joe seldom brought lovers here, to his own personal space, but he did like his sleep. He kept to his side of the bed for a reason, because any closer and he didn’t know what he’d do. Joe scented Theo’s arousal in the air, but Theo also needed to heal.
“If you’re not sleepy, will you tell me more about yourself?” he asked.
“What do you want to know?”
Theo could be a skilled liar, someone trained or rather re-programmed into a tool for deceit, but instinct told him that despite all that Voss did to Theo, Theo wasn’t broken, not fully. True, Theo did ask to see Daryl, but he hadn’t done anything to harm him, Zack, or Sylvia.
He’s waiting for an opportunity to make his move, he thought, but set it aside. Joe was too deep into this now, there was no backing away, not anymore.
“My family was normal, or we tried our best to be. Both my parents were born and raised in New City. My father’s ancestry was human, my mother had dormant shifter genes which were active in my brother Tommy.” Theo shivered as he spoke and Joe pulled him a little closer for a hug.
So warm, Joe thought, his wolf pleased when Theo snuggled closer to him. A perfect fit. Joe was falling hard for Theo but didn’t care. He breathed in Theo’s intoxicating scent, ran his hand down the curve of Theo’s spine. Theo shivered, eyelids growing heavy at the gesture.
“The first time my brother shifted in the living room when he was six, my parents were so scared. From that time onward, we were careful, but not enough. A couple of kids saw my brother changing forms in the alleyway behind our apartment building. They must have reported it to the Discipline Squad.”
Theo started shivering so violently now, that Joe hugged him tighter, not interrupting Theo’s narrative, because Theo needed to let this all out.
Theo went on, “They broke into our home on a Sunday night. They must have waited until all of us were present. Tommy was home from college, and I swung by for our weekly dinners. My dad grabbed his gun to protect us, yelling at my mom to take Tommy and me away, but they shot them both and captured Tommy and me.”
Theo let out a bitter laugh. “Voss used me to keep my brother in line even though, in his eyes, I was defective. He wanted my brother because he wanted to create rehabilitated shifter spies for the Squad. In the end, Tommy didn’t survive the experiments, but Voss said he had one last use for me.”
“What’s that?” Joe asked, chilled by Theo’s story.
He knew the Squad destroyed entire families even though only one member was a Esper or shifter, but hearing it first-hand from Theo intensified his hate for Voss, the Squad, and the Humans Matter government.
Theo fell silent for a moment. “I think he wants me to kill your Alpha or his mate.”
He growled at that, releasing Theo. Joe rose to his feet, breathing hard. The enforcer in him screamed at him to protect the pack, but his heart told him a different story.
We can fix this, his wolf told him. Shifters only had one fated mate. Losing Theo meant carving out a piece of his soul, and yet, he’d also sworn to give his life for his pack, his family.
“Why did you tell me all that? What kind of game is this?” he asked, finding his voice. Joe was torn.
Theo just outright admitted to having intentions of killing his Alpha, the heart of the pack. That was why Theo asked for Daryl, too, he thought with alarm. In the past, the humans got to Deacon’s father by killing his mate, Deacon’s mother. Voss probably knew that the life force of mated couples were connected. If one died, the other soon followed. The only exception he knew was Sabine, whose mate died but she lived on for the sake of her daughter.
“No games.” Theo looked at him with misery-filled eyes that wrecked him completely. “Joe, I think parts of me remain intact, but part of Voss’s brainwashing also took hold. I’m so scared of hurting you.”
He sat on the bed again, taking Theo’s hands in his, decision made. It must have been hard for Theo, admitting those words to him. Joe listened to his heart, to his wolf, because his beast never led him astray before. Theo wasn’t lying to him, only told him the truth. If he was wrong, then Joe would only hold himself accountable for his actions. Fuck, this was a hell of a gamble, but fate must have delivered Theo to him for a reason.
“Do you know why I didn’t kill you when I first found you?” Joe asked.
Theo shook his head.
“Because deep down, both the human and wolf inside of me knew you were special. My mate,” Joe said simply.
Theo widened his eyes. “W-what?”
“You felt it, too, it’s why you can’t understand your sudden attraction to me. Maybe it’s why you can’t keep secrets from me, either. You make for a horrible spy, Theo.”
Theo didn’t smile at that, merely turned pale and continued staring at him. “Joe, if that’s true, then you’re cursed.”
“Well,” Joe drawled, “I can live with that.”
After that, Theo turned silent. Joe let go of him and Theo turned on his side, facing away from him. Joe let him be, but he didn’t leave, not right away until he was certain Theo was asleep. Snores filled the room and he gently lifted the sheets over Theo. Rising to his feet, he headed toward the door, because he felt the sudden change in the air, recognized the aggressive energy outside his door.
Swallowing, he opened the door. The Beta Lance was in human form and Sabine was in wolf form by his side. Okay, Joe thought. He could deal with this combination way better than temperamental Deacon and Santino.
“You should probably know about Theo by now,” he finally said, choosing not to play ignorant because charming his way out of this w
ouldn’t work. Besides, Theo was too important to him.
“The hawks reported seeing a Discipline Squad van drop off a human right on the border road. Lena confirmed seeing you carrying the human toward the direction of the cabin,” Lance said carefully.
He crossed his arms, using his size to bar the doorway then cursed, noticing Sabine was gone. The pack called her the Ghost for a reason, she was the pack’s best tracker and could come up against any paranormal without their notice, making her a dangerous hunter. He whirled, gaze narrowed. Joe remembered to lock his back door and windows, but that wouldn’t deter the Ghost if she wanted to break in.
Lance grabbed his shoulder and unthinkingly, he snarled.
“Joe, just who is this strange human to you?” Lance asked.
Good question.
“He’s my mate, and I’ll take responsibility for him.” Joe broke away from Lance’s grip and back inside the house, only to find Sabine watching Theo a foot from the bed, her silver eyes unreadable. Then she gave him, then Lance, a look, and padded away.
There was only one person she would report to—Deacon. Like her brother, she was half-Esper and half-werewolf. Did she use her psychic abilities on Theo? Joe didn’t know exactly what her abilities were, but she could almost always be a good judge of character. What did she find? She hadn’t ripped out Theo’s throat, at least, but that wasn’t much consolation.
“She’s just doing her job,” Lance said, furrowing his brows as he looked to the bed. “So this is your Theo?”
Your Theo. Oh, Joe definitely liked the sound of that.
“You should know, Joe, that he might be a trap,” Lance eventually said.
“Forrest took Dave to his home, too, without Deacon’s permission, and back then, Dave and Daryl were nothing but two suspicious outsiders who wanted to seek refuge in pack lands,” he pointed out.
“Deacon didn’t handle that very well, if you recall. That’s why Zack approached me first, not his mate and not the Alpha,” Lance said in the same calm and collected tone.
Joe only saw Lance lose his temper once, but most of the time, Deacon relied on the Beta for his cool logic and reasoning. Lance and Santino frequently clashed, but Lance and he relatively got along. This time, though, he would push, because Joe finally found the most important thing in his life. His mate.
He thought back on Lance’s words. So. Zack kept his word. The bobcat shifter could have told his mate about Theo since mates never lied. Instead, Zack went to Lance. Joe appreciated that.
This was Lance, rational and understanding, but to the Beta, the pack was his number one priority.
Joe should tell Lance about Theo’s confession, but that meant Theo would be instantly killed or thrown out of Devil Hills. He didn’t think Theo could survive out there on his own, not yet anyway. So he took a deep breath and lied to his Beta for the first time.
“Voss did a number on him, but gut instinct tells me he’s not broken, not completely. He means no one any harm, Lance. He’s just a victim of the Squad that killed his entire family.”
Chapter Six
Lance finally looked at him. “You’re not letting this go, are you? You’ll insist on letting this human stay.”
“He’s not human. His mother was a dormant shifter, but that’s not the point. The point is, I’m keeping him. He’s my responsibility now.” It was a cheap move, Joe knew, bringing up Theo’s ancestry in the hopes Lance would be swayed because Theo was part shifter.
Lance swore. “Think about this rationally, Joe. He’s already convinced you, an integral member of the pack, an enforcer, that he’s harmless. Isn’t that a cause for alarm?”
He snarled. Joe could feel his wolf rising to the surface. Never in his wildest imagination did Joe ever think of fighting his Beta, except he was fast learning that when it came to Theo, all the usual rules flew out the window.
“Whether he can stay or not, that’s not your sole decision to make,” Lance finally said. Joe clenched his fists. Claws nearly slid off his hands, but he willed them back. Lance wasn’t the enemy, he knew that, but his wolf wanted to fight and protect their mate.
Lance went on, “Believe it or not, I’m on your side, Joe. That’s why I’m here and not Deacon. I interceded on your behalf, because Deacon will take one look at your human or whatever Theo is, and decide he has to go.”
Joe understood what Lance was saying. Before finding his mate, Deacon had been adamant about never letting outsiders into their territory and cared only about protecting his people. It was a huge responsibility, because Devil Hills was one of the largest paranormal communities in the country, home not only to the wolf pack but other groups that chose this place as their home.
Theo, though, was a different case because the hawks saw the Discipline Squad van drop him off the road. Theo wasn’t seeking shelter, he was left as a warning from Voss.
“A vote then,” he said after a minute. That would give Theo and him more time. He didn’t have a plan yet, but he would soon have to come up with one.
Lance nodded. “Tomorrow, but for tonight, you’ll be watched by a packmate.”
He growled at that, slightly pissed off at the extra precautions Lance was taking. Joe was an enforcer of the pack for crying out loud, did Lance really think he’d switch loyalties so easily, that he could be swayed by an enemy?
If their positions were reserved, he’d do the same, he realized.
“Fine,” he said. “But I want Sabine.”
Lance couldn’t hide his surprise. “May I ask why? You two aren’t exactly close.”
“No, but she’s fair, and I want to know what she saw when she looked at Theo.” He didn’t add that she’d provide a buffer in case Santino came looking for him after learning he put Zack in potential harm’s way.
“That sounds reasonable.” Lance nodded. “I’ll leave you then and see you at the meeting tomorrow.”
Joe saw Lance to the door and returned to the bedroom to find Theo wide-awake and scared, clutching at the sheets hard.
“How much did you overhear?” he asked.
Theo looked down at his hands. “Only the last bits, but I understand enough and how much you’re risking for me.”
He bent down, kissing Theo on the lips. Joe moved his hand past Theo’s shirt and lower still to give Theo’s prick a squeeze. Theo moaned as he pulled his lips away.
“Everything’s going to be all right,” he said.
“Please don’t lie to me.”
Joe nodded. “Whether you can stay or go depends on our meeting tomorrow.”
“I don’t have anywhere else to go. My home’s gone,” Theo whispered.
Joe wanted to tell him that he could be Theo’s new home, but who was he to make any promises that he wasn’t sure he could keep? Looking at Theo, he cupped Theo’s face and continued running a hand up and down Theo’s prick.
“Are you distracting me on purpose?” Theo asked, making him chuckle.
“They say masturbation can help you sleep,” he drawled, flicking his thumb over the pre-cum on Theo’s prick.
“Do you say that to all your ex-lovers?” Theo then bit his lip, face turning red.
“I haven’t been with anyone, not in a while,” he said. For some reason, that seemed to reassure Theo.
Theo moaned as he stroked him faster.
“Please, Joe. I need you.”
“Tonight, I want to you come for me. Sex will have to wait, though.”
“Why?”
“Because you aren’t thinking clearly now, all you can focus on is how good my hand feels on your dick.”
Theo panted, thrusting his hips into his hand. “I’m close.”
“Good. Give me your orgasm, little bird.”
“Little bird? I’m not a shifter,” Theo whispered, meeting his gaze.
“You might not be able to shift, but someday, you’ll get your own wings, fly away from the horrible past you’re trying to outrun,” he said.
Theo let out a breath, shooting str
ings of cum into his waiting hand. His own dick stirred to life at the sight of Theo’s fluttering eyelids. Theo’s face turned soft, vulnerable. He leaned in close, claiming those sweet lips. Theo clutched at his shoulders, and when he pulled away, Theo whispered, “I really hope you’re not a dream.”
Joe positioned his mouth against the curve of Theo’s neck, then bit, not hard enough to draw blood, but he’d leave a pretty obvious bruise. Theo moaned as he pulled away. “There. When you wake up, you’ll see my hickey there and know this, you and I, are real.”
“Are you always this possessive?”
Joe knew the answer to that one. “Only when it comes to my mate.”
* * * *
Theo stirred awake, frightened by the soft sheets he lay on, the fluffy pillow under his head. Never trust a good thing, he learned that during his time in confinement, because it could be some kind of sick test played by Voss or the guards. He recalled one time overhearing the guards joking about the time they put a needle in his cellmate’s mashed potatoes and roasted chicken, only hear his neighbor choking and crying for help later that evening.
Trembles appeared over his arms and he opened his eyes, seeing cozy wooden walls and matching furniture. The mark on his neck ached, and he touched it by instinct. Not a dream, he thought, flinging the sheets sides.
The need to confirm this was his new reality made him rise to his feet. He sucked in a breath, unprepared for the wave of dizziness, but he didn’t feel as horrible as he usually did. The food and rest helped, he realized, walking slowly to the mirror opposite the bed.
His pale, bruised self looked back at him. Scowling at his reflection, he studied Joe’s bite mark, vivid red against his skin. His heart raced a little faster, because the bite felt possessive. Good. Right even. Did that make any sense?
He must be delirious or something, but one thing was certain. Theo was no longer a prisoner of Voss, or did Voss leave traps, suggestions in his head? The prospect of hurting Joe or his pack terrified him.
