by Fel Fern
Alpha Eye 1
Eye on the Prize
Private investigator and Alpha werewolf Raul Fuller usually keeps his professional and personal life separate, until he meets his human client Tom. When Raul reveals that Tom’s husband and mate is cheating on him, Raul’s stunned by Tom’s reaction.
There’s undeniable steel buried in Tom’s spine and the more Raul gets to know Tom better, the more attracted he becomes. His wolf tells him this delightful human is his mate, but with outside forces working against them, can Raul claim his mate before Tom’s ex comes after them?
Tom’s arranged marriage has been falling apart for years, so he’s relieved to end it. Tom plans on taking some time alone but fate lands him in the path of a dominant and gorgeous Alpha werewolf. Their chemistry is off the charts, but Tom is afraid to entrust his heart to another again. Tom soon discovers that an Alpha werewolf could be persistent when it comes to claiming his rightful mate.
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter
Length: 23,131 words
EYE ON THE PRIZE
Alpha Eye 1
Fel Fern

Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
EYE ON THE PRIZE
Copyright © 2017 by Fel Fern
ISBN: 978-1-64010-638-3
First Publication: October 2017
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
DEDICATION
To my readers, I hope you enjoy Raul and Tom’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Felicia Fern works as a graphic designer during the day, and loves penning M/M paranormal erotic romance at night.
For all titles by Fel Fern, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/fel-fern
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
About the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Landmarks
Cover
EYE ON THE PRIZE
Alpha Eye 1
FEL FERN
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
Private investigator and werewolf Raul Fuller spotted his client sitting at his usual booth at the end of the diner with no surprise and hurried over. A quick glimpse at his wristwatch told him he ran ten minutes late. His client was going to be pissed.
Thomas “Tom” Morris was a man who valued routine and monotony, practiced the same habits, and wouldn’t adapt to change easily. Raul prided himself on being a professional, though, and in his line of work, he delivered bad news on a regular basis. He spotted another man—a shifter, his wolf informed him—had gotten out of his booth, intent gaze landing on Tom.
Raul didn’t fault the guy for trying to hit on Tom. Tom had a runner’s build, blond hair, and the most intriguing blue eyes. In other words, hard to resist. His wolf pushed to the surface of his skin, exerting its dominance. He let out a warning growl without realizing it.
The other shifter spun, narrowed his eyes at Raul. Seconds passed in their staring contest. He felt the shifter’s bear sniffing his wolf out, gauging who the more dominant predator was. Raul bared his teeth, showed the other man through his eyes he wouldn’t stand back easily.
“He’s mine,” he said in a deadly, quiet voice.
The other shifter growled at him. Raul didn’t budge, didn’t do anything but cross his arms, tucking the brown envelope he carried close to his body in case a fight happened to break out. Raul normally didn’t go around picking fights randomly, but then again, Tom didn’t feel like any of his clients.
As a lone wolf in a mid-sized city ruled by constantly warring supernatural groups who might wear civil masks when dealing with human authorities, it was better for a shifter without any alliances to any group to keep his head down. With Tom, though, he’d been willing to stick his neck out, fend off interested parties.
“The human doesn’t carry your scent,” the other man said evenly.
All this while, Raul noticed, Tom hadn’t looked their way, still had his headphones on and remained gazing out the dirty window of the diner. Nothing to see, he knew, except broken down apartment buildings and cracked sidewalks. He understood why Tom would pick this diner for their every meeting, since it provided absolute anonymity.
Too bad a man of Tom’s looks easily drew the wrong kind of attention.
“No, he belongs to another, but for now, he’s under my protection.” Raul emphasized his point with a show of his fangs. His wolf lay in wake inside of him, poised to strike, to rip out of his skin any moment.
Tom might easily be misunderstood at first, but Raul couldn’t remember the last time any man instilled this kind of loyalty and overprotectiveness in his inner animal. It would have been a cause for alarm, if he didn’t know this might be the last time Tom and he met.
“Fine,” the werebear grumbled and lumbered out of his way.
Certain there wouldn’t be any further obstructions, he took the empty seat in front of Tom. Finally, the human noticed him and set his headphones down. His sensitive hearing caught the sound of country music, an unexpected choice considering who Tom Morris was, or rather who he was mated to—one of the most prominent and powerful men in the city.
Tom’s mate, Bradley Morris, had been on the covers of various magazines in the past. Aside from his movie star looks, Bradley had been voted youngest millionaire of the year. Bradley also happened to be the son of Joshua Morris, Alpha of the Black Tails Pack, the largest pack in Cross City. Not to mention, Bradley happened to be a dirty little cheater. Raul joined Tom at the table.
“Sorry, have you been sitting there long?” Tom asked him.
“Nope, just got here. What were you looking at?” He knew the answer to that, though. Tom didn’t exactly look at the unexciting scenery of the garbage truck outside, but went to a place in his mind that Raul couldn’t reach.
Once more, his wolf pushed at him to comfort the other man, except that would cross professional boundaries. Raul and his fellow lone shifters and investigators at Alpha Eye prided themselves on never involving themselves intimately with a client, even providing a simple hug.
Tom might look like hard ice on the outside, clear
aquamarine eyes never showing any emotion, but he knew better. Each time Tom and he met, he sensed the human opening up to him a little more.
“Nothing interesting, my mind just tends to wander,” Tom admitted. “Do you have what I asked for?”
Tom nodded to the brown envelope he carried.
“Yeah, I do.” For a second, hesitation took hold of him. The last thing he wanted was to hand Tom hard evidence of his deceitful and lying mate. The other part of him, though, wanted Tom to open his eyes to the truth.
A waitress came by their table. He glimpsed Tom’s half-finished cup of coffee, asked for a refill for Tom and peppermint tea for him. Moments later, the waitress returned with his tea and refilled Tom’s cup. He took a sip of his and watched Tom do the same, before setting the cup down. Preparing for the worst-case scenario, maybe.
“Can I see?” Tom finally asked.
He had no choice but to slide the envelope across the table. He watched Tom, whose hand lingered on the flap. Not trembling, he noticed, but nonetheless, Tom took a deep breath and took the photos out.
Tom got an eyeful of the first one, let out a breath. Most clients he had before reacted in expected ways after he showed them their cheating spouses caught in an intimate act with another. They either brawled like babies, sobbed silent tears, or angrily started breaking things.
Tom didn’t any of those things, merely stared at the first photo longer as he thought. Raul had been guilty of placing that particular one on top of the stack. A bastard move, but he wanted Tom to realize his mate wasn’t the man the press made him out to be.
Bradley Morris didn’t deserve this quiet, gorgeous human in front of him. Tom deserved better.
You? Raul’s wolf whispered inside him, but he shoved the voice away.
His part of the job was done. All he needed was confirmation of payment or if Tom wanted further investigative work, they could work out a new arrangement. Still, he’d been curious how Tom would react, wondered if he should linger, if Tom needed a friend to talk to.
God. Raul was pathetic.
Tom was clearly in control of his emotions, expression unmoving as Tom flipped to the next photo, or so Raul thought, anyway. Tom’s lower lip began to tremble. Tears gathered at the corner of Tom’s eyes, but instead of outrage and anger, there was something else there Raul didn’t expect—relief. Tom rubbed at his eyes, and a laugh came out, brittle at first, before the sound grew stronger, uncontrolled.
Raul never once heard Tom laugh, let alone smile or make a joke.
It was so out of character from the human who always looked so neat and tidy, from his hair to his perfectly matched clothes, like Tom stepped out of a Tommy Hilfiger ad. That had been Raul’s first impression. The words “uptight” and “spoiled” came to mind during their first meeting, but Raul stood corrected.
Tom was merely reserved, quiet, but also endlessly fascinating to his wolf. His personal research came up with Tom’s background. The human came from a wealthy family, except he also knew Tom didn’t ride on his father’s coattails, choosing instead to forge his own path by opening a small independent bookstore in an unknown corner of the city.
He always wondered if Tom’s mating and marriage to Bradley had been arranged or something. Certainly, Tom never gushed or spoke about Bradley, merely gave Raul the details he needed to track the popular werewolf.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling out his handkerchief. Raul offered it to Tom, surprised Tom accepted it to wipe at his eyes.
“I never felt better,” Tom said.
“Are you sure? You seem pretty…off character to me.” Raul didn’t know if that comment sounded rude, but Tom picked up on it instantly.
“Off character?”
“I don’t know. You’re usually more like a—”
“Like an ice-cold bastard?” Tom asked, grim expression on his face. “Bradley tells me that all the time.”
Bradley, he noted. Tom never called his mate by a nickname, in all the four times they met.
“I was about to say, more in control,” he said.
“Nice save. Thank you for these.” Tom didn’t look at the rest, merely tucked them back in the envelope. “Was it hard?”
“Not at all. You were right, Bradley follows a certain pattern. Right after work, he exits his law firm, takes a cab to an apartment on—” he began.
“I don’t need to hear the details,” Tom interrupted. “These photos are proof enough.”
“Enough to get a divorce?” Raul didn’t know why he asked that, because it was up to the client whatever they wanted to do with the evidence.
His job was to only acquire information that was all. His best friends and fellow PI’s at Alpha Eye, Asher, Jax, and Winter might occasionally flirt with clients, but that was the extent of it. If they wanted a hook-up, they’d head to one of the numerous gay bars in the city, easily find some eager guy willing to go home with them.
Tom didn’t fall into that category, although Raul had been guilty of thinking about the human in ways he really shouldn’t, in intimate settings that would probably make Tom blush. Fuck. He needed to get his head in the game, finish this job and move on, except his wolf didn’t want that, preferred to keep this conversation going as long as possible.
The thought of them meeting like this for the last time filled him with dread. Without realizing it, Raul had looked forward to his weekly meetings with Tom. Now that Tom no longer needed him, finally had the confirmation his mate was two-timing him, their arrangement would come to an end.
“Yes, even my father couldn’t argue with that.”
“You don’t sound like you love him.”
Shit. He didn’t know why those words just came out, but he needed to know.
“What’s it to you?” Tom asked, studying him closely now.
His gaze lingered on the human’s tempting lips, lips he’d dreamt of kissing. Then he scented it, Tom’s faint arousal. He bet if he looked down, he’d see Tom sporting an erection. This wasn’t the first time, but Tom made it point to hide his attraction to him. Raul left it alone then, now though? Now that he knew Tom belonged to no one?
“Call it curiosity.”
“Bradley and I grew up together,” Tom finally said. Raul didn’t think the human would ever reveal any personal details of this sort, but he was wrong. Something, he realized with some wonder, had changed after he handed Tom those photos.
Tom continued, “But Bradley never had interest in anyone else but himself. Mating him had been a convenient arrangement for my father and his.”
“And what about you?” he asked. “Why did you agree to being mated? I understand he’s your childhood friend, but is he also more?”
Tom stared at his coffee cup. “I had a crush on him for the longest time. Figured if we spent more time together, he might realize I’m not just his fake mate, but could be his real one, too. Guess I’d been young and stupid then. It’s been five years, and I’m done waiting to see if he’d finally notice me.”
Tom met his gaze, the fiery determination present there took him slightly aback. Tom always looked so preoccupied, thoughts elsewhere, but now, Tom seemed to be looking at Raul for the first time.
“I’ve decided to make my own decisions.”
At first glance, it would be easy to assume Tom was merely just an attractive but fragile human, but Raul had long ago suspected there was steel buried under that lean frame.
“You know,” Raul drawled, making his decision at those words. “Bradley was clearly a blind idiot.”
Anger sparked in those blue eyes, but he wasn’t done making his point.
“If you were mine, I’d never ever let you go.”
Chapter Two
For a second, Tom thought he imagined those words coming out of the gorgeous and dangerous dominant werewolf sitting across the table from him. He cleared his throat. Tom needed to get a handle on the situation.
Raul probably muttered that out of sympathy, although the PI had been nothin
g but professional during the course of their meetings. Still, he sensed a kind of growing tension between them, and the looks Raul gave him started to evolve from politeness to something else, a kind of growing want.
Most likely, Tom misinterpreted the situation. It had been so long since he dated other men. Five years of accumulated frustration, anger, and incredible loneliness. All that time, he’d waited, hoped that he’d not just be Bradley’s mate in name only, but something else.
Wistful thinking, the way he imagined Raul being interested in him.
Focus on the more important things, he silently chided to himself.
His mind furiously worked as he visualized the tasks he needed to do at Raul’s confirmation.
I no longer need to continue this farce of a relationship with Bradley.
The realization saddened him and yet gave him relief. Tom had been chasing one delusional dream for so long, it felt nice to be liberated.
“Thank you for all the work you’ve done,” he finally said to break the sudden awkward silence that rose up between them.
“I meant what I said.”
The werewolf said it in that deadly quiet and deep voice that he sometimes imagined whispering to him in the dark, especially those nights when he felt lonely, hoping in his own silly way that Bradley would come home. Tell Tom he’d been mistaken all this while, that he took Tom for granted. The world would end before that would happen. These photos had been proof enough that Bradley would always be a creature of habit, would never change his ways.
“You’re just saying that out of pity. It’s fine. I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself.”
