by Susi Hawke
“Alpha,” Daniel interrupted them, “I thought we should introduce Aries to Micah and the pups.”
Turning to me with a gentle smile, Alpha said: “Aries, come meet these guys. I know you've been waiting a long time.”
Nodding hesitantly, I stepped just out of touching range, and knelt down in front of Sara. I tucked my hands in between my knees, and smiled gently as I patiently waited for her to respond. She clung to Micah's hand, her face half buried against his thick, muscular thigh.
Micah crouched down beside her, setting Dylan down on the grass, but still cradling him within the curve of his arm.
“Hi, Aries. Now that we're officially meeting, I'm Micah. I gotta admit that this is actually pretty awkward, not gonna lie. How about we just start over with each other?”
Of course he touched the elephant in the room right off the bat, mentioning our past acquaintance. What a typical alpha jerk, I thought. Couldn't he have just tried to pretend not to recognize me? Although, to be fair, it did make me respect him just a little, that he didn't try to ignore or downplay our previous connection.
“Fine, let's do that.” I said through gritted teeth, willing myself to ignore the enticing scent of him. It was an intoxicating blend of bourbon and mesquite, and it was fantastic. I felt myself mentally pulling toward him, as my inner wolf paced and screamed: “MATE, THIS IS OUR MATE!
I ignored that inner voice, because sometimes my wolf is a damned idiot. Instead, I focused on Sara and Dylan, eagerly soaking up the sight and scents of my pups, happy to be so close to them at last.
Micah spoke next to Sara's ear: “Angel, I want you to meet your daddy. This is Aries. He is your daddy that I told you about, and he wants so much to get to know you and love you.”
Sara looked at me, her lower lip sticking out in the cutest little pout. “No, I towed you ahweady! Don need no nutter daddy but you. You my Nutter Daddy!”
I gasped at her words, my eyes flicking towards Micah's in outraged fury. “Why is my daughter calling you 'daddy'? Are you seriously trying to steal my pups affections now? You didn't cause enough problems for me in the past?”
He stood abruptly, lifting Dylan back up against his chest, while glaring down at me. “Amusing as it is that a scummy little snatch and grab artist like you would actually try to accuse an honorable alpha like me of being a thief, I'm sorry to say that you are wrong. I have not tried to 'steal their affections'. Seems like when your the first person in a pups life to not treat them like shit, they tend to get attached. Funny how that works, isn't it? Hmm, sweet cheeks?”
Jumping to my feet, I hissed indignantly: “How. Dare. You. Do you even know what you caused for me when you butted yourself into my life all those years ago? Do you know why my pups were even alive to be in a position for you to have to help them? No. You do not. You know jack crap, Mister. You don't know me, you don't even know the first thing about me, y-y-you cretin!”
Standing there glaring at each other, tension simmered between us that was only broken when I felt a sharp kick to my shin, followed by the fierce shout of my Sara's little voice: “Don you tawk to my Nutter Daddy wike dat! Him good alfa! Weave us awone, you big 'toopid head!”
Dylan started whimpering then, burying his face into Micah's neck and clinging to him. Wincing as if he'd suddenly remembered the pups presence, Micah shot me a surprisingly apologetic look and firmly said: “Sara, you may not talk to your daddy like that. I know that you don't know him yet, but we've talked about this, remember?”
He let go of her hand and brushed a hand through her curls, saying gently: “You need to be a good girl, and give your daddy a chance. And when we're having grown-up talk, you need to stay quiet and keep out of it, got me?”
Lip firmly stuck out now, she folded her little arms across her chest and glared up at me from under her silky lashes.
“Sara, I'm gonna need an answer, pup.” Micah continued pushing her.
“Otay. But you my Nutter Daddy. Not dis guy.”
The strange omega came closer, handing Erin to Kai with a tight smile. “Hi, I'm Zane, why don't you go ahead and take your little princess, so that I can help with the other pups.”
Kai immediately reached for Erin, his face lit up like pure sunshine. Alpha looked from me to Micah, as if wondering whether he should get involved.
Daniel stepped in then, saying: “Alpha, why don't you and Kai take Erin to meet the twins with Aunt Cat? I think you guys need some family time, don't you? I'll take care of things here.”
Kai, though distracted, looked at me with concern. “Do you need me, Aries? I can stay, if you need me?”
“I'm okay, Kai. Go be with your family,” I replied gently. “We'll catch up later after all the pups are in bed, yes?”
“Yes, let's do that,” he agreed, eagerly reaching for his mate's hand as he led him back to the lodge with Aunt Cat right behind them.
Zane turned to us then and said: “I don't want to overstep, but perhaps I could take the pups inside to go freshen up and have a snack? Sara might feel better if she's not hangry. The hungry-anger rage is strong with this one,” he giggled. “Also, they know me now, so I don't mind helping, if that's okay?”
He looked back and forth from me to Micah, as though uncertain as to whose permission was needed at this point.
Daniel solved the momentary indecision by saying to him: “That's a perfect solution, Zane. Thank you for suggesting it. Go ahead and get these young pups inside, while the grown-ups sort this out, whatever this is, anyway.”
Sara stubbornly clung to Micah's hand when Zane reached for her, while Dylan willingly went into his arms.
“No, I tay wif my Nutter Daddy. Him need me.”
“It's okay, Sara, I'm just fine and so are you,” Micah said gently, leaning down to kiss the apple of her chubby little cheek. He brushed her curls back, and said: “Go on now, and help Dylan, so he's not scared, okay? I'll be in to check on you soon, and your actual daddy will too. We both love you, angel. Don't worry, okay angel?”
Sara reluctantly took Zane's hand with a final reproving look at me, and he led her inside the lodge with the other pack members. This left me alone with Daniel, Sy, and Micah now.
“Now, which one of you would like to fill me in on whatever the hell that was about?” Daniel asked us quietly.
“What's going on, is that this jerk-faced cousin of yours is trying to let my pups think that he's their fucking daddy or something!” I snarled, seething with jealousy and frustration.
“Whoa, Aries. Language. Let's just calm down and talk like adults.”
Sy turned to Daniel and hissed: “Seriously? There are no pups out here now, and we're all fucking adults here, Daniel. Or, are weak, traumatized, little omegas like us supposed to only use adorable expletives such as gosh, darn, or gee-golly-willakers? Fuck that shit. Aries has a right to be pissed off! You have no idea what the hell your cousin did to him!”
“I didn't mean to imply that omegas are weak simpletons, Sy. I would never say something like stupid that.” Daniel stated calmly. “I'm just saying that we all need to be calm, and discuss whatever this is, in a rational manner.”
“Street thieves aren't known for their rational thought processes, cuz. Sorry to break that to you.” Micah said with a derisive snort.
“So much for starting over, huh? Thanks for nothing, asshat.” I yanked my shirt off and stalked toward the parking area, angrily pushing down my pants as I let my wolf take over and smoothly shifted.
I looked back at the alphas who were standing there with my dear friend, all three of them staring at me in shock, as I growled low in my throat and took off running into the trees. Fuck humanity. I needed to be a wolf for a few and just run my rage off.
Chapter 6
Micah
I watched as Aries ripped the clothes furiously from his gorgeous body, willing my wolf to hold back and not follow that small, beautiful, gray and white wolf as it had run off into the trees.
I needed to not
remember the sight of his lithe, naked body and ignore my lust for now. That tight little ass though! But, now was not the time to even attempt to acknowledge that he was mate. The minute that I'd caught his scent, I'd known. Even though I recognized him as the little street thief that I'd turned in several years ago, I didn't give a shit about that at all.
His spicy vanilla scent was intoxicating to me, and my wolf had screamed “Mate! Mine!”, as soon he'd knelt down in front of Sara. It had taken every ounce of alpha strength to deny my wolf, as now was definitely not the time for that. If there would be a good time, based on how our interactions had gone so far.
“Micah,” Daniel's voice intruded sternly. “What the hell are you going on about, calling Aries a street thief and treating him like that? He's pack, man. You want to join our pack, and this is how you greet a beloved member?”
“Because he is a street thief, Daniel. Remember when I was living in the city, while I was in college? And I caught a little punk trying to do a snatch and grab on some human lady's purse? That's him! I never knew what happened after I turned his ass in to our Alpha back then, but now, here he is again. And obviously, he's still a punk, but unfortunately, those pups need him. For their sake, I'll be nice and try to mend fences, is that good enough for you?”
Before Daniel could answer, the other omega that had been there with my mate stepped forward and jabbed his pointer finger into my sternum.
He fucking let me have it, screaming: “He is NOT a street punk, you alpha douche! He ended up on the Fenris-damned streets after his grandmother died. And he was only seventeen fucking years old at the time, not that you'd care! He was stealing because the city pack didn't look out for him. He was all alone, and he was just a hungry kid.”
Daniel and I stared at him in shock, as he continued: “And did you hear about Alpha Fremont and how he kidnapped or bought omegas to forcibly mate them and make them whelp his pups, just so that he could try and get an alpha heir? Did you know about that part? Because that's who those pups' sire was. He was my daughter's and Erin's sire too.”
Daniel reached out to touch his neck, sending out calming waves, but the guy that I'd heard him call Sy just brushed the hand away and said: “Don't even fucking pull your alpha mojo shit on me, Daniel. Not fucking now. I'm righteously pissed, and I don't want to calm down until I've said what needs to be said.”
Turning back to me, Sy said: “That city Alpha that you turned him in to, for that petty theft against a human? A theft that didn't even actually happen, after you prevented it? That Alpha kicked Aries out of the city. He had him dropped at the city borders, on foot, and still hungry after still not having eaten in a couple of days at that point. When a kindly seeming Alpha-pair pulled up along side him while he was wandering down the road in an unfamiliar area, and offered him a ride, he was innocent enough to accept it, hoping for help at last.”
With a pained grimace, he finished the story: “Unfortunately, that Alpha was Fremont, and you know the story from there. But, do you know that when he sexually assaulted us, and I say assault because mating is too kind of a word for what he did, his fucking mate actually stood there and watched our torment? Then, when any pups were born, they were whisked away before their carrier parent ever even had a chance to hold them. And Aries? That happened to him. Twice. TWO TIMES, Micah. That's why he doesn't know his own babies!”
He had tears running down his face as he raged at me. “That, Micah, is the price that Aries paid for trying to steal money for food. Now tell me, do you think that the petty street thief paid a high enough price, or should we punish him some more? Fuck this shit. I'm going to find my friend, and don't either of you dare to fucking follow us.”
Ripping off his clothes as he muttered something under his breath about “fucking alpha asshats”, he smoothly shifted into the form of a small, gray wolf and took off running in the same direction that I'd seen Aries go.
“Fuck.” Daniel rubbed his hands over his face and carded them back through his hair, as he paced in front of me. “I've never heard any of the omegas speak quite that graphically about what they'd been through, although obviously, Jake and I had filled in the blanks, you know? The thought of those poor young guys being put through that kind of shit, it kills me! Did you see poor Sy's face when he was telling us their story? I wish I could go back and watch Fremont die all over again. What a piece of absolute shit.”
“Daniel, stop.” I breathed out, dizzy with pain from hearing about what had happened to my mate. “Forget Fremont. He's dead. Tell me what I can do to make it up to Aries for being an asshole to him. I was a kid myself! I thought I was doing the right thing, and that he'd be put on probation or taken home to let his parents deal with him, you know? I never expected that he'd be kicked out of the fucking pack territory for attempted theft, you know? How do I live with what I've done to that guy? And, for the love of Fenris, how do we get those pups to accept him?”
“Chill, Micah. That's how we start, by calming down and making a plan,” my cousin said, as he regained his composure and focused on my words.
I growled after a moment's thought. “I bet that city Alpha kicked him out because he knew Aries needed help and he didn't want to be bothered, so he used the incident as an excuse to get rid of him. What a piece of shit, you know?”
Daniel nodded. “Okay, Micah. I think your first step is to go in and hang out with the pups, they're obviously attached to you, Nutter Daddy.”
“Fuck you, Daniel.”
The bastard just grinned at me, and continued: “Talk to them, pave the way for Aries. Then, when they're in bed tonight, talk to him and apologize. You didn't know the whole story back then, and you damned sure never would have wanted things to go the way they did for him, I know you better than that.”
“There's one other problem, Daniel.”
“What's that?”
“He's my mate. My wolf recognized it the moment I scented him earlier.”
“Well, shit. That puts a whole other spin on it then, doesn't it?”
“Any advice?”
“From me? I'm the last person you want to ask for advice about claiming your mate, since I don't have one yet. Or even know if I ever will, for that matter. If you want advice, I'd talk to Jake and Kai. Together. Kai is close to Aries, and he'd be willing to help you, once he knows that you're not going to hurt his friend.”
“Yeah, that's a hard no. I'm not gonna ask the Alpha-pair that I just met for mating advice. Next idea?”
“Back to what I said before then. Help him connect to his kids, apologize, grovel if necessary. Give it time, and it will probably work out on it's own.”
“Really? That's your sage advice? Give it time? Use the pups? Kiss ass?”
“Hey, I told you I was the last person you wanted mating advice from.”
I grinned, clapping a hand on his shoulder as we slowly walked towards the lodge. “Yeah, I think you're right about that, cuz. That's okay. I'll figure it out, eventually. I hope so, anyway. Either way, I do owe the guy an apology. I thought I did the right thing back then, but my actions sure as hell fucked his life up. I'm not sure if I know how to even begin to make that up to him, but I'll try like hell, if he will let me.”
Chapter 7
Aries
I felt much better after my run in the woods. It had centered me, to be in my wolf form, running carefree without the burden of human concerns. I was on the trail of a plump rabbit when Sy encountered me. He joined me on my hunt, and we worked together to catch it.
We played with it for a bit, probably scaring a few years off the poor thing, before finally letting it hop away. I'm a catch and release type of hunter, because I honestly don't care for the idea of eating raw meat, even if my wolf disagrees.
After we tired ourselves out, we went and stretched out in the sun on the bank of the creek that runs through our woods. It was a good day to be in wolf form, especially with my friend there.
When Sy shifted to his human form, I knew he want
ed to talk. I chuffed at him, but shifted back nevertheless. We sat there quietly for awhile, lounging in the soft grass, with the sun filtering down on us through the trees.
“Aries, don't kill me.”
“Fuck, Sy. You told him, didn't you?”
“Yeah, he needed to know what happened after he turned you in. I'm sorry if that betrayed your trust, but he needed to know if you guys are gonna ever have a chance to patch things up and be pack, you know?”
“There's another problem though, Sy.”
“What's that?”
“He's my mate. I caught his scent earlier the moment I got close to him.”
“What the fuck? No wonder you were so pissed off.” Sy rolled over and sat up, staring at me for a long time before he started laughing.
“I know, I know. Of all the damned, stupid alpha-holes, right?”
“Fenris must have a seriously warped sense of humor, to make him your fated mate.”
“Hey, now. He's not that bad! And honestly, he turned me in back then because he was a young alpha, full of honor, you know? Everything is black and white at that age. If it happened now, he would probably at least ask me a few questions, I think.”
“Wow, you have it bad already, if you're sticking up for him.”
“Well, he did rescue my pups, and then spend a week caring for them. That's kind of a big deal, and I can't ignore that. Plus, he's Daniel's cousin, and they're pretty close, I think. That right there means that he's probably a good guy. I'm just jealous of close he is to my pups. And pissed that he's, well, him. If that makes sense.”
“Yeah, I get it. And Daniel's a pretty good guy, even if he is a little stiff. Micah seems a little cooler than him, although he is still a fucking alpha-douche. But, he does get mad props for taking care of your pups. And he was obviously good to them, or they wouldn't be so close to him. It's a tough one, A.”
“What is it with you and alphas, anyway? You avoid them like the plague, even Seth, and didn't you used to be besties with him and his brother? Seth's always been super sweet and respectful of us, so I don't get your deal with him.”
