Alliances (Tundra Wolves Book 5)

by Maggie Walsh

  “That’s a great idea, Dell,” Ridge said.

  Fane looked between him and Ridge, then to Marlo who was looking at Fane with so much pride and love, smiling at Fane like he hung the moon. “What do you think, mate?” Fane asked Marlo.

  Dell didn’t think Marlo’s smile could get any wider, but it did, and he could see that Marlo was thrilled that Fane had asked him. “I think that what Dell and Ridge are saying is all true, and what they are suggesting is the best plan to show these outsiders that the York pack is not to be fucked with. Having you, Ridge’s blood relative, as part of Dell’s inner circle would show not only the Councilmen and the others of the true commitment of our two packs, but also to the members of both packs, which in turn would probably bring more peace to everyone. Knowing that our packs are so intertwined by blood, it would most likely cause our alphas to work better together, and make it harder for them to walk away from their alliance, especially with them buying land together and officially being recognized by the Council as sister packs. It will make all members of both packs feel safer and more protected. But... it’s your choice, love. I don’t want you to take anything I just said, or anything the alphas have said and feel like you have to do it. If it makes you uncomfortable in any way and you really don’t want to do it, then I will respect that decision and stand by you. As I will if you do decide to take Dell up on his offer.” Marlo smiled, then leaned in and kissed Fane’s cheek.

  Fane chuckled as he took Marlo’s hand in his and kissed the back of it, then looked at Ridge, then him. “How can I say no? You’ve all made a great argument and I owe you, Dell. You took me and Oberon in when we had nowhere else to go and you’ve accepted us as one of you since the moment we got here. For that I will be forever grateful. For the wonderful alpha you are and how you treat all your pack, but mostly how you treat my mate and encourage who he is, I will be eternally indebted. You have my loyalty now and for always.”

  Dell was truly touched by Fane’s words and allegiance to him. The fact that Fane declared his loyalty in front of everyone, especially his cousin Ridge, meant a great deal in their world. It spoke volumes of who Fane was as a person and Dell was, again, very grateful that he had decided to give Fane and Oberon a chance and accepted them into his pack. Dell held out his hand to Fane and they shook, then Fane lowered his head in respect and Dell placed his hand on the back of Fane’s neck, showing his acceptance of Fane. He pulled his hand back and Fane raised his head. Once their gazes met, Dell was a bit surprised to see a slight show of moisture in Fane’s eyes, but he had to admit, he felt the same. Silently, they had just made a promise to one another, and Dell was honored by Fane’s oath.

  “You don’t owe me anything for all of that, Fane, it’s what pack does, what family does, but you’re welcome anyway, and thank you for your faith in me and for giving me your loyalty. I promise, I will never betray you.”

  Fane nodded respectfully again, then asked, “So, what would you like me to do?”

  “Seeing as you were a personal guard to Julius for many years, I’m sure you know how to stand around for hours at a time and keep an eye and ear on everything around you, as well as watch for any threat and at the same time keep your mouth closed, but listen to everything,” Jude said with a smirk.

  Fane’s smile was wicked, and Dell got a glimpse of just how fierce Fane could be. “That would be an accurate description.”

  “Good, because while we’re entertaining our guests, I’ll require two of my betas in the room with me at all times and the other two nearby, watching the perimeter. I’ll also require the four of you to work together, but also take turns during the night shifts. Jude will be in charge of all of you and has been working on a schedule. I want one of you, as well as a handful of enforcers assigned to patrol the area around my home every night and another patrol around your place seeing as Ridge, Caleb, and Julius will be staying there. You’ll be in charge of the enforcers on your shift, and whoever takes the night watch will be given time off in the mornings to get some sleep. I’ve had Marlo arrange all official meetings to take place in the early mornings and late afternoons to evenings to accommodate Julius and his men. We’ll be meeting in the Community Center for all meals while our guests are here, and I’m sure some talk will happen, but I’ll only require the two betas who didn’t have the night shift the previous night during breakfast,” Dell instructed.

  “I’d like for you, Tug, and Legion to meet with me in the morning around eight, then we’ll start going over your assignments,” Jude added.

  “I’ll be there,” Fane replied with a nod.

  CHAPTER 7

  Fane

  Something woke him and Fane rolled over, stretched his arm out, searching for his mate, but the bed was empty and cold beside him. Fane opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table. “Three o’clock?”

  Where the heck was his mate? Fane thought as he sat up and looked toward the bathroom to see if Marlo was there, but the door was open and the room was dark. Marlo was nowhere to be found. Fane threw the blankets off that had pooled around his waist and stepped out of bed, then grabbed his robe and slipped it on before he went in search of his little love.

  As he stepped out into the hallway, Fane smiled when he heard the grunts and groans coming from the guest room at the back of the house. It seemed Ridge and Caleb were having fun. “Probably what woke me up,” Fane whispered under his breath.

  Another noise came from the front of the house where the kitchen was, so Fane continued down the hallway. When he turned into the kitchen, Fane had to smile again at what he found. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a shoulder against the door frame as he watched Marlo’s cute, naked ass, sway from side to side, his mate bent over with his head in the fridge.

  “Hungry?” he asked, causing Marlo to squeak in surprise as he straightened and spun around to face him.

  With one hand on his chest over his heart, and the other hand holding a can of whipped cream, Marlo panted, as he stared wide-eyed at him. Marlo’s eyes showed fear until he realized it was Fane standing there. “Jiminy Cricket, love, you almost scared me to death.”

  Fane chuckled as he pushed away from the doorway and went to Marlo. “Sorry, love, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Fane placed his hands on Marlo’s hips, then leaned down and kissed his lips gently. “I rolled over in bed and reached for my mate, wanting to cuddle and found cold, empty sheets. Is everything okay?

  “Yeah, I just got woken up by all the banging, and by banging, I mean Ridge banging Caleb,” Marlo replied, and rolled his eyes, causing Fane to laugh as he pulled Marlo closer.

  “I think that’s what woke me up too. So, you thought you’d come get a little midnight snack, huh?”

  Marlo ran a hand across his chest under the robe and Fane moaned. The coldness of his mate’s hand on his warm skin waking him up a little more. “I tried to get back to sleep, but things got a bit hotter and suddenly I wanted something to cool me down, if you know what I mean? So, I came out here looking for ice cream, but we don’t have any,” Marlo said with a pout. It was so fucking adorable.

  “If we have no ice cream, then what’s the whipped cream for?” Fane asked, then kissed Marlo’s protruding bottom lip.

  “For this of course,” Marlo said, then tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and sprayed the whipped cream into his mouth, filling it. He then lowered the can and met Fane’s gaze, and Fane fell even more in love with his mate, if that was possible. There Marlo stood, naked in the kitchen in the middle of the night with a mouth full of whipped cream and as he closed his mouth around it, he smiled and the cream squeezed out through his lips leaving a crazy-looking mustache. Too damned adorable.

  Fane couldn’t resist. He placed a hand on the back of Marlo’s neck and pulled him in, then licked his lips clean before sliding his tongue deep into his mate’s mouth. The taste of the sugary cream mixed with Marlo’s unique taste was like an aphrodisiac, and Fane’s cock hardened in seconds.
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  “Ugh, not you two too,” Oberon grumbled from behind him, and Fane slowly pulled back from the kiss, then turned to look at his best friend over his shoulder.

  “What? We were being quiet,” he replied, as he made sure to block Marlo’s nakedness with his body.

  “Yeah, but for how long? I already have a hard enough time sleeping in this crazy no-daylight frozen land. Add on those two going at it for like two hours now, and finding you two in the kitchen about to fuck on the counter and I’m never gonna get to sleep,” Oberon argued.

  “First let me say, we were not about to fuck on the counter, but thanks for the idea. We were about to head back into our room and check out how whipped cream tastes off my man’s cock, so that may have woken you up eventually,” Marlo stated in all seriousness, and Fane couldn’t help but hug Marlo as he burst out laughing. Gods the things that came out of his mate’s mouth were wonderful, and funny as hell.

  Marlo pulled away a bit, but not enough to expose himself, then placed his free hand on his hip and glared at Oberon as he admonished him like a child, “And why the hell haven’t you told us you were having trouble sleeping?”

  Oberon looked like a properly chastised child as he looked down at his feet and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just figured it would take me some time to get used to it. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Of course, it’s a big deal. You’re a growing vampire and need your sleep, just like you need lots of calories and blood. Oh,” Marlo gasped as his eyes widened and filled with concern. “Do you have enough bagged blood? Do I need to order more?”

  Oberon gave Marlo a shy, but grateful smile. “No, but thank you for the offer and for the original supply. I still have enough to probably last me until the end of the month.”

  “Okay, good. Don’t let yourself run out. Let me know when you’re getting low and I’ll get another shipment ASAP. Once I know about how much you’ll need for a month, I’ll put in a standing order for an automatic shipment, so we’re sure you don’t run out. Now, about that sleeping issue, if you had told me I could have started looking into ways to help you with that. I am Dell’s assistant after all and I know people.”

  Oberon stared at Marlo, awestruck, then smiled and shook his head. “Fane’s right, you are a ball of energy and a force all on your own. Thanks, but I’m sure once I get used to the weird hours of sunlight, I’ll get back to some kind of pattern. A vampire is used to being awake when it’s dark and asleep when it’s light, but as you know, right now we’re down to what? Three hours of sunlight? Then everything looks like twilight. Which is what signals a vampire to rise.”

  “Damn, I’m sorry, O, I never even thought about that. You definitely need more sleep than three hours, especially with all the training we’ve been putting in. There has to be something we can do to help you,” Fane said, very concerned about his best friend’s health and wellbeing. If it weren’t for Oberon, Fane was afraid to think where he would be right now. Oberon had saved his ass on more than one occasion, and his friendship meant the world to Fane. He had to find a way to help O now.

  Oberon waved him off as he replied, “It’s okay, man. With everything going on, especially finding your little firecracker there, I completely understand you not being around as much. It’s all good. I’m not gonna fight it right now. I’ll head back to my room, put on some headphones to block out all the moaning and fuck me harders, and hopefully be able to sleep by morning. Well, clock-time morning, not sun-up morning. You two have a good night and don’t worry about adding to the cacophony of screams of pleasure. My headphones are noise cancelling, so I’m good. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” they said together, and watched Oberon turn and head back down the hall.

  “I’ll figure something out that will help him,” Marlo said confidently, and Fane had no doubt his very capable and smart mate would do just that.

  “Come on, little love, let’s go back to bed,” Fane said, and slid his arm around Marlo’s waist.

  Marlo smiled brightly. “Good idea. Grab the chocolate sauce too. I want to see how that tastes mixed with your cum,” Marlo said, and bounced out of the room, leaving Fane standing there stunned as he stared at Marlo’s cute ass as he disappeared down the hall.

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~

  Oberon

  He returned to his room, stripped off his robe, then dropped onto the bed naked, stared at the ceiling, and sighed. He loved Fane like a brother and owed him his life. Fane had saved his ass on more occasions than he could count, and he would never leave his side. As long as Fane was staying in this frozen hell, then he was staying too. He just wished he could find someone as wonderful as Fane had. Marlo was a fantastic mate and loved Fane with all his heart, just like Fane loved Marlo. The two of them were so perfectly suited, it was a beautiful thing to see.

  Then there was Marlo, the cutest little omega wolf and human he had ever met. Okay, so until they came to live in the York pack, Marlo was the first omega he had ever met, but that didn’t change the fact that he was the cutest and the best. Marlo had quickly become one of his favorite people in the world. He was such a sweetie and had the biggest heart, not to mention he was freaking smart as hell, wickedly skilled in organization, and had the quickest, sharpest, funniest tongue Oberon had ever encountered. He was sure there was nothing that Marlo couldn’t do. He had even heard that the cutie was highly skilled with a bow and arrow and could fight pretty good. Oberon couldn’t wait to see that for himself. He was certain Marlo was probably a scrappy fighter and what he lacked in muscle, he more than made up for with his mind and could best an opponent that way.

  Oberon smiled when he thought about Marlo’s wicked mouth and all the outrageous and hysterical things that came out of it. At first, it had shocked him to hear the little cutie talk like that in front of the alpha, but when all Dell did was smile or laugh his head off like the rest of them, Oberon knew they had found a good man to follow.

  Dell was an exceptional alpha and Oberon respected the man like crazy. Dell genuinely cared about him, which was the biggest shock, seeing as he was a complete outsider. Not only did he come to Dell’s lands without warning, but he was a vampire, yet none of that bothered Dell at all. Dell saw that he and Fane needed somewhere safe, so gave them shelter and a place to call home. Dell immediately welcomed them into his pack and accepted Oberon for who he was. And from what he had heard, it was Dell who had asked Julius how to get blood for him, so that Oberon wouldn’t have to worry about starving or going out in the ball-numbing cold to try to find someone to feed from. With it being so damn cold, most people in the region for hundreds of miles were all wrapped up and protected from the elements, which would make it damn near impossible for him to get a good opportunity to feed. With all those things in the alpha’s favor, Oberon knew it was safe to put his full faith and trust in the man, and he would be loyal to Dell for life.

  Now, after only just under three weeks with the pack, Oberon knew he would never leave, and that the tundra was now his home. He was sure that eventually he would get used to the changing seasons and everything that came with them, but he wasn’t sure how much more of the loneliness he could take. Being a stranger, and a vampire to boot, had all the single men cautious of him. He really couldn’t blame them, but he wished they would get over it a bit faster.

  Sure, he had made a few friends, like Lysander and his men. Then there were Tug, Raiden, and Alex, as well as Brooks, Jael, Goldie, and Nelo, and of course Fane, Marlo, Dell and Jude, so he wasn’t completely lonely, and had people he could hang out with, though it wasn’t the same as having someone to cuddle up with on these cold nights.

  Oberon closed his eyes and threw his arm over them as he tried to push the loneliness away. He was a grown man and had gone longer than this without the company of a man, but because of the long nights, it seemed like every day was longer and those nights alone, emptier. Noises from Fane and Marlo’s room kicked in and he smiled, thinking of the love they shared. Thank god Ridge and Caleb
had quieted down, because he didn’t think he could take listening to two happy couples fucking.

  “More chocolate sauce, love.” He heard Marlo yell, and Oberon groaned.

  He rolled over toward his nightstand and grabbed his headphones, then put them on. They didn’t block out everything, but it was enough that now he only heard muffled noises. When those noises still sounded like moans, Oberon turned onto his back again and sighed. Maybe living with a newly mated pair was a bad idea.

  The soft sounds he heard coming from the other room still managed to turn him on and his cock slowly filled. He groaned and ran his hand down his bare chest, slowly over his stomach to his groin, then wrapped his fingers around his cock and started to stroke himself. When Marlo’s muffled cry of Master rang out, Oberon had to pinch the base of his cock to stop from coming.

  Gods. Master. What would that feel like to hear those words? He wanted so badly to say them to someone. To have a Master of his own, but that was an impossible dream. Vampires were predators, not prey. Well, vampires that looked like him anyway. All his life he had only seen the smaller, more delicate males of his breed as bottoms, or submissive types, and those like him, who were stronger, fiercer, larger, were the tops, the more Dominant ones. If Oberon was to ever show his true desires to his nest, he would be a laughing stock. Not only that, but no one would take him seriously and the larger vampires, like he was, would be disgusted by him. They would shun him. Most would turn their backs on him and ignore him altogether and act as if he never even existed. Oberon knew for a fact that was how he would be treated. He had seen it a few times with his own eyes. It was the reason why he hid his true desires. Why he forced them away and chastised himself over what he needed, what he craved.

  During his years with Julius, whenever the need became too strong, Oberon had taken a few days off and went far away, across the country—where nobody knew who he was, or where he came from—to a club in Chicago that he knew no one would care what his proclivity was, or how dark his needs went, and for a little while he could live his fantasies and get what he needed.