Same Time Next Year (Tundra Wolves Book 1)

by Maggie Walsh

  Now, Ridge knew even more about his mate. Things only he would ever know. Intimate things. Caleb had been perfectly made for him. When he saw in his mate’s eyes, how much the man wanted the gag, Ridge wanted to jump for joy. Gagging his lovers was one of his favorite things, and to know that Caleb craved a ring gag, so that Ridge could take his throat, was the most exciting feeling. No other lover had ever put that kind of trust in him, and he couldn’t wait to experience it for the first time with his man.

  He had wanted to stay wrapped around Caleb longer and take care of his every need when he woke up, but the fire had started to go down, and the cold from outside was pressing into the cave. So, reluctantly, Ridge had gotten up and worked on building the fire again. Just as he had finished, he heard Caleb moving and knew his mate would soon be awake, so he quickly started plating food for them. He knew his man would be hungry after what they had shared and he needed to take care of him.

  Caleb was so damn cute when he woke up and their eyes met. He had looked a bit shy, but then his eyes filled with love for him, and Ridge found it hard to breathe. He knew how he felt about Caleb already and he had seen that same love coming back to him, but he was still afraid to voice it so soon. Ridge quickly handed his mate food and sat close by his side. He hadn’t been lying to Caleb when he said he needed to feel him. Every instinct inside him needed for him to be touching his mate in some way. Then, when Caleb confessed he felt the same, Ridge was thrilled.

  When Caleb took his plate and threw them both away, Ridge had been surprised for a moment. Yes, Caleb would be his equal in life and his submissive, but he hadn’t expected his mate to take care of him in other ways. As a dominant he had it ingrained in him to take care of his partner. Ridge had really liked that Caleb showed he wanted to care for him as well, and he couldn’t wait to see how their life together would grow.

  After they finished their meal, they worked together to clean everything up, pack the coolers and duffle bag, then put out the fire. Ridge would send Jag back to retrieve everything. Once they were done, they both shifted and made their way outside, then ran side by side across the frozen earth until they reached his pack’s compound.

  Ridge was proud of his pack and how his fathers had constructed it, then with his add ons, his pack was always safe from the elements, except when they went on patrol or hunted. He had been dying to show Caleb around his new home and see his mate’s reaction, but when they arrived the other night it had been so late, and they both just fell into Ridge’s bed and slept. Then, when they awoke, Ridge knew he needed to claim his mate right away, so he took Caleb out of the compound and told him about the cave, then told him to run. Caleb had smiled and immediately shifted and took off. That was a vision he would forever have etched in his memory, right along with their mating in both forms.

  Now as they approached the compound gates, a thrill went through him and Ridge found himself wanting to jump around like a puppy to show his mate their home, and to show him off to his pack.

  As they approached the gates, Jag’s wolf came racing toward them almost in a panic, and immediately Ridge knew something was wrong. Caleb must have sensed it too, because he picked up speed right along with Ridge. Just as they made it to the gate, Ridge saw the other members of his pack racing out of the buildings, coming their way.

  Jag howled a warning and Ridge spun around to find a large pack of wolves racing toward them. There had to be over a hundred of them and they were all growling and snarling. Ridge moved forward taking up the front as Jag stood to his right and Caleb to his left, with the rest of his pack taking position behind them. He could see from the corner of his eyes that his deltas and warriors had moved forward to join them, which made him feel better about Caleb being there. As much as he knew his mate was a beta and could handle himself, Ridge still just wanted to rush him inside, and hide him away until this threat was over.

  Caleb’s wolf leaned in and licked the side of his face, surprising him, but when Ridge looked to his mate, he saw understanding in his beautiful blue eyes. He quickly looked back at the advancing pack and got into a fighting stance, then he began to growl threateningly. Ridge raised his head and howled, sending out a warning, but the pack didn’t stop.

  Once they were within a few yards, Ridge knew they would keep coming. He knew his pack members had locked the gates behind them, keeping the pack grounds and weaker members safe inside, but a part of him wanted to double check.

  He could smell the wolf leading this group, and was surprised to find he was a beta. If another pack was attacking them, then why was their alpha not leading his people? Ridge immediately went on the attack, going after the head beta. As he approached, he lunged at the wolf and the battle was on. Around him he could hear his pack defending their home as they fought against the other wolves. As he flipped the beta, Ridge caught a glimpse of Caleb a few feet away. His mate had just ripped the throat out of his opponent. Ridge couldn’t take even a second to look at his mate in pride, but he would love on the man later.

  His opponent regained his footing and lunged for him, but Ridge was faster. He dropped down at the same time as he rolled away, then quickly got to his feet and turned, jumping on the wolf’s back, and sank his teeth deep, causing the beta to cry out. Ridge didn’t release him until he felt the life leave the beta’s body.

  To his left he saw two other wolves coming at him and Ridge turned to face them. Just as they were about to attack, another wolf sprang forward and tackled one of the opposing wolves, taking him to the ground quickly, and attacking with such ferocity Ridge was momentarily surprised. His men were some of the best enforcers and warriors around, but this wolf far exceeded any one of his men, including Jag.

  Ridge quickly took out the threat that came at him, then spun to face another enemy, but he saw that his pack had taken care of the wolves. As he looked around, he could see that some of his pack had sustained wounds, but they were all alive. Most of the enemy wolves lay dead in the snow, but there were a few still breathing. He quickly looked around searching for his mate and found Caleb’s wolf standing over another wolf who lay on the ground with terror in his eyes. Caleb’s wolf stood on his chest and snarled in his face.

  He howled out their victory and his pack answered, then he shifted and walked to Caleb. He placed a hand on his mate’s head and stroked him tenderly as he said, “You’ve done wonderful, mate. Stand down and let my men take him into custody.”

  Caleb immediately drew back and slowly stepped away from the wolf, but he remained by Ridge’s side in wolf form. Jag and Mason, his top men, stepped forward as Ridge ordered the enemy wolves to shift, then they grabbed the man and dragged him to his feet.

  “Take all the prisoners to the holding cells. I’ll be there soon to question them.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” they replied, and took the man away.

  Ridge watched as the five enemy wolves who were still alive were taken away and his pack started to clean up the mess. He looked to Caleb and said, “Come, mate, let’s get cleaned up. It appears we have a long night ahead of us.

  The gates were opened to allow them all to enter, then the front door burst open as he and Caleb approached. Blu stood in the doorway with two sets of sweat pants and handed them to Ridge. “Thank you, Blu,” he said, as he accepted the garments, then quickly put a pair on. He looked to Caleb and his mate shifted, then took the pants from him and put them on.

  “Caleb York, this is Blu Dixon, my assistant, house manager, and all around go to guy. Blu, this is my mate, Caleb.”

  “It’s so good to finally meet you, Alpha mate. Welcome to the pack. Is there anything I can get you?” Blu asked.

  “It’s nice meeting you too, Blu, and no, but thank you. Right now I just need a nice hot shower and maybe a toothbrush.,” Caleb answered, with a smile.

  Blu giggled, like he always did, and the sound made Ridge smile. His little pack member was adorable. Everyone in the pack loved Blu. He suddenly become nervous wondering if his mate would like hi
m too. Blu was an amazing assistant and made his life easier, but if Caleb didn’t like him, or wasn’t comfortable with him, then Ridge would have to fire Blu, but how could he do that? Blu was like a little brother to him.

  The gamma was a lot for outsiders to take in if they never met anyone like him before. Yes, Blu was a gamma, but he was pretty fierce all in his own right. He had purple hair and wore makeup, along with women's clothes at times. He loved getting those mani-pedi things and really took care of himself. Blu was a bit over the top in everything he did, but he ran Ridge’s house like a general, and knew everything that was going on with everyone, which helped Ridge immensely in his life.

  “Well, we have plenty of those around here. Let’s get you to your rooms, so that you can clean up. TJ has lunch just about ready, but you just take your time. I’ll have him keep everything warm.”

  Ridge gave Blu a grateful smile as Caleb replied, “Thank you, Blu that would be great.”

  Ridge reached out and took Caleb’s hand, then walked him down the long hall to his suite. Once inside with the door closed, Ridge turned on his mate, pushing him against the door, making Caleb gasp.

  His mate’s eyes glowed with lust as he looked up at him in surprise. Ridge put Caleb’s hands above his head and trapped both wrists in one of his hands, as he carded the fingers of his other hand through Caleb’s hair at the side, then pressed his body against Caleb’s. “You were amazing out there, mate. The perfect warrior. Your pack has trained you well. You make me proud to call you my mate. Watching you fight got me all hot and needy. I wish we had time for me to take you right now, but as you can see, there are things we need to take care of. I’m sorry your welcome to your new home was interrupted, but I promise to show you around after lunch.”

  “It’s okay, Ridge,” Caleb answered breathlessly. “I do understand that you need to find out why your pack was attacked and by who. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, so you can get to what you need to do.”

  “I want you by my side, mate,” Ridge said, as he leaned in and ran his nose up the side of Caleb’s throat.

  “Whatever you wish, my mate. It is where I belong. Right by your side.”

  Ridge loved that answer and took Caleb’s lips in a heated kiss.

  CHAPTER 9

  Lunch was some of the best pot roast he had ever had. Caleb hated to admit it, but TJ was a hell of a lot better at cooking then his Mom. Finding out that TJ and Blu were actually brothers surprised him, seeing as TJ was about six feet eight and two hundred and eighty pounds to Blu’s five feet eight and one hundred and forty pounds.

  TJ was a big bear of a man, including the man bun and the long, full beard, while Blu was clean shaven, hair dyed pink, shoulder-length and brushed perfectly. TJ wore comfortable faded jeans and a tee with a flannel shirt over it and Blu wore tight black jeans, a shimmering light blue button down, tucked in, and six inch blue stiletto heels.

  The two couldn’t be more opposite, but from the way they teased one another and bickered, Caleb could tell they loved each other. From the interaction they had with Ridge, Caleb could also tell that both these men were very important to his mate. They were his friends and more like brothers. Caleb would have to make sure he got to know them, along with Jag and Mason. These four men lived in the main house with Ridge which told him a lot about how important they all were to his mate. Caleb only hoped that they would all like him.

  After lunch, Caleb expected Ridge to need to head to the cells where they were holding the enemy prisoners, but instead, Ridge told him they could wait and he took Caleb around to give him a tour of his new home. The kitchen was huge with all state-of-art appliances, a heated slate tile floor, wood paneling, and granite counters. A small breakfast table sat on the far side of the room near a large bay window and a larger table that sat twelve, which is where they ate, was the first thing you came to when you walked into the room.

  The living room was twice as big as the kitchen, with dark brown walls, exposed beams across the vaulted ceiling, a large stone fireplace, and some of the most comfortable furniture Caleb had ever seen. Caleb could see himself sitting in that room and just reading or relaxing as he watched TV and kept warm by the fire. After that, he saw the large dining room, a pretty big utility room that held two washers and dryers, as well as a big water heater and oil burner as well as a wall of what looked like large car batteries. Ridge showed him a games room, a theater room, and a bathroom. As they made their way around what appeared to be a large circle, well, square, Ridge pointed out their suite, Jag’s rooms, Blu’s rooms, TJ’s rooms and Mason’s rooms, as well as a few guest rooms, offices, and a large dungeon.

  The dungeon had wood walls with red accents, and a very large bed that sat against one wall. Another smaller bed looked like it was some kind of rubber or leather. The room was filled with every piece of furniture and equipment that any Dom would drool over. Caleb felt heat begin to build as he looked around the room, wanting to explore everything he saw.

  “This is the main playroom. Anyone who lives in this house can use it. There’s a signup sheet by the door where everyone can schedule times, so they can have privacy. Unless they don’t care about others watching, or using the room at the same time. We each have our own private playrooms within our suites, but they’re not as well equipped as this one. My... our private playroom isn’t this big of course, but it is larger than any of the others.”

  When Caleb whimpered, Ridge chuckled, then took his hand and pulled him away. “Later, mate.”

  As they walked around, Caleb noticed that each room seemed to have their own en suite bathrooms and French Doors leading outside. And if he was correct, with the house being a big square with an open center, then there should be some kind of courtyard in the middle, which confused him. Why would they want a courtyard that would not only be cold for most of the year, but would fill with snow in the winter months? He also noticed how damn big the house was. It seemed to take them almost forty-five minutes to walk through since they left the kitchen.

  “We’ve walked in a circle, but I noticed doors leading out somewhere. What’s in the middle? I also noticed there are no stairs.”

  Ridge looked down at him and smiled. “You’re right on all of it. About a hundred years ago, my dads took a vacation down to Texas. While they were there, they traveled all over, going to Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. My dad, Neil, fell in love with the haciendas and thought one would make a great place for our pack. He convinced my alpha father that if they built it with a large courtyard in the center, they could have a pool and a fountain and not have to worry about them freezing if they covered the courtyard with heavy glass. Then they could actually use the courtyard.

  “Dad loved the idea and wanted to make papa happy, so they built this house. Neil was thinking toward the future, and our hopefully growing pack, and they decided to make ten more of these homes, only a bit smaller and divided into apartments, and have them circle the main house with tunnels running between all the houses, so no one actually had to go outside if they didn’t want to. Then, they built a community building on the far side of the homes, as well as a garage and even an airstrip with a hangar, and there are tunnels to those as well. But, in his thinking of the future, papa also thought about the two of them, as well as other pack members getting old, and how hard it may become with climbing stairs in advanced age, so the houses were all built larger to make up the difference of not having a second floor. Then, about ten years ago when the world was talking about solar this and that, I talked to my father about us upgrading and using all the advanced technology. So, solar panels were added to the roofs of all the buildings. We also have a few windmills on the land.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing. How did you ever build tunnels? I’m assuming they’re underground, because I didn’t see any structures like that,” Caleb replied.

  Ridge smiled proudly. “Very observant. Yes, they are all underground. You have to remember, I’m talking about a hundred years ago. You think A
laska has a low population now, just think of how few were here then. And most of the beings who lived in this state were nowhere near what we now call the North Slope. The farthest most went, except for the natives, was to Nome or Fairbanks. It really wasn’t until the Alaskan Pipeline started that most of the southerners came to the region,” Ridge explained, as they continued walking.

  “So, how were they able to build them? I mean, just thinking of the equipment needed for a task like that. There was no way they had that kind of machinery back then, and now it would draw a hell of a lot of attention.”

  “Very true. The tunnels took my fathers and the pack over fifteen years to build. They started with dynamite, which they didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing, or satellites catching them, then once they had the rock, snow, and ice blown away, everything was moved by hand until the tunnels were clear. People were sent south to buy concrete, lots of concrete, and each bag was stirred by hand and the tunnels were fortified with it, including the ceilings. Then the tunnels were covered over again with the rock and ice. Once the tunnels were complete, they began building the homes. That took them another eight years. Just getting the supplies needed up here was a task in its own right. Then, as the years went by, they updated everything, like adding the solar panels.”

  “Wow, I can’t even imagine everything that went into that kind of construction, and all by hand. Amazing. But, how did you afford all of that? I mean… I’m sorry, that was rude to ask.”

  Ridge squeezed his hand as he drew him down the last hall. “Not at all, mate. I would have asked the same thing in your shoes. Both my fathers were from the original wolves that settled here, and they both came from wealth back in the old country. As you know from our history, our kind was found out by the humans and were hunted, killing any wolf they could find, so our ancestors ran. My fathers and a few others were able to bring their fortunes with them. Your family line as well. It’s probably the main reason the packs were developed as they were. The richest families started each pack as they broke apart.