by Marcy Jacks
Because when he’d first seen Cole wandering the halls, his head down, as though trying desperately to look invisible, he’d looked anything but invisible to Evzen.
It had looked as though there was a shining light on him, a spotlight that followed the man around as he did his chores.
Evzen could hardly pay attention to Seth as the man gave him a tour of the home he’d stolen from the vampires. He could hardly focus on a single word, and he’d been forced to let his second-in-command, Lasius, pick up the slack.
Seth had a lot of rules for this home. He’d worked hard to get his land back, and the man was an old dragon. Over two hundred years old with a long-standing hatred against the vampires.
In contrast, Evzen was a baby. He was thirty-two years old, more than a man, but it was clear from the expression on Seth’s face that when Evzen revealed his age, the man had been shocked.
“What happened to your previous alpha?” Seth had asked him, knowing full well that if there was a young alpha dragon in charge, it was either because the previous alpha had died and left it to his son or someone new had come in and wrongfully killed the alpha and his family, stealing the alpha’s place.
So Evzen explained that his father had been killed, ripped apart by alpha wolves, and Evzen had been in charge for the last ten years.
Seth was clearly still unsure, and when Seth looked at his own second-in-command, Stefan, no words needed to be said for Evzen to know he was on thin ice.
They weren’t going to easily take his word for it. For all they knew, Evzen was lying about the previous alpha being his father and he was simply here to attempt to steal this land from Seth.
Seth had let him off with a warning. Evzen and his men would be closely watched. Evzen had already given reason for why he might not like wolf shifters, and considering this house was filled with omega wolf shifters, that was another reason for Seth to give his warnings.
If any of the omegas in the house were harmed, or felt threatened, then Evzen and his men would be out on their asses.
And they needed a place to stay. That was the problem. Evzen didn’t want to take over the house. He wanted to hand control over to Seth.
Evzen had lost too many men. Too many had died in the wintertime, in battle. He didn’t have the resources his family once did, and now that there was a dragon out there who did have access to these things, who had a home like this, Evzen wanted his dragons to have that same thing.
But fuck, what was he supposed to do about Cole?
He turned the corner, fists clenched, not at all shocked to see Seth standing right there, arms crossed, shaking his head, and a stupid smile on his face.
“What did I tell you?”
“I don’t understand,” Evzen rumbled. “I was perfectly polite.”
“He’s skittish, and you’re new.”
“So you’ve said.” Evzen was gladder now than ever that he’d tolerated having Seth follow him around like this. Had the man not been there to watch the entire exchange, then Cole could have run to him, claiming to have felt threatened, and Seth might have believed Evzen had grabbed the man and attempted to sexually assault him with the way Cole had responded to him.
“Cole didn’t have a great life with the vampires,” Seth explained.
“He’s told you this?” Evzen asked.
“No, actually. He doesn’t really talk to anyone. I had to get it from Miles.”
“That’s your mate, correct?” Evzen was still trying to get the names of everyone right.
Seth nodded. “Yeah. Most of the omegas in this house didn’t have it so great. A lot were pleasure slaves. I guess Cole was one of them.”
Evzen flinched, and then he growled. “You could have told me that before I spoke to him.”
The red dragon shrugged, pushing himself away from the wall. He walked. Evzen followed. “I wanted to see how you’d do if you didn’t notice something like that. You looked almost as nervous as he did.”
Evzen nodded. “I suppose I did.”
He wasn’t going to bother explaining why. It was none of the man’s damned business as far as he was concerned.
“Did you lose someone…special before coming here?”
Now Seth was the one who sounded on the more nervous side of things.
Evzen pressed his lips together, reminding himself that he was a guest in this man’s home, and for the sake of his clan, it was better if he didn’t mouth off too much.
“I would rather keep that to myself if it’s all the same to you.”
Such words were as good as admitting that he had lost someone, and Evzen knew it.
Seth did, too, as was apparent by the way he nodded.
“Understood. Well, just take it easy on Cole. I don’t know if what you’re feeling for him is just lust, which, if it is, you can knock that shit the fuck off because he’s off-limits.”
Evzen’s lips thinned. He bit the inside of his cheek, again reminding himself that this was not the man he needed to be pissing off right now.
“However, if it’s a mating that you think is happening, then I’m going to wish you luck because Cole has always been quiet, and he’s always wanted to be on his own. He barely speaks to the other omegas in the house, and you’re probably going to be doing a lot of hard work before he would even consider letting you near him.”
“Well, fuck.”
Seth shocked him when he suddenly stopped, stepping in front of Evzen, halting him before either of them could take another step.
Evzen frowned. “What?”
Sethraughck, the red dragon Evzen respected, the dragon who had his land stolen from him and worked for years to take it back from his most-hated enemy, looked Evzen hard in the eye.
“Tell me if you think there’s something there or not. Right now.”
Evzen nearly fell back a step. He was harder than that. He’d been in worse situations than this, and he knew how to hide it when something shocked him.
“Why would I?”
Those eyes narrowed. Evzen knew he was getting dangerously close to a fight.
“Cole is my responsibility. If I find out that you’re tricking me, that you’re just looking for anyone to stick your dick into, I won’t hesitate to castrate you and toss your dumb ass out. So I’m going to ask you again, and I want an answer this time.”
Seth took a small step forward, enough so that he was in Evzen’s personal space, their noses nearly touching.
“What the fuck are you on about with this? Are you feeling a mating pull, or is this just a lust thing?”
They were about the same height. Seth’s shoulders were a touch wider, but Evzen figured he could take the man if it ever came down to it. If he had to fight to defend himself, there was a chance the battle could go either way.
He didn’t want a battle. He didn’t want a mate, and he especially didn’t want a mate who was terrified of being approached.
What he wanted and what he got were two different things.
“I don’t believe this is just lust, but it’s too early to say if this is a mating or not.”
Seth narrowed his eyes.
Evzen rolled his eyes. “I had a mate before. He’s dead now. This is…confusing.”
Seth blinked, though the suspicious look was still very much alive and well on his face. “You had a mate before?”
Evzen gritted his teeth. “I did.”
“What was his name?”
For the love of Christ, this man asked way too many damned questions.
“Theon. He was a good warrior. Theron is his brother. You’ve already met him. He was one day after his twenty-fifth birthday when he was taken from me. That’s all you need to know.”
He figured that giving enough details to this man would convince Seth that he wasn’t simply making someone up in his head on the fly. If it would make the red dragon back off, then Evzen didn’t care about anything else.
Seth continued to stare at him, as though he was trying to see right through him
.
Maybe what he saw was enough to convince him to give Evzen a pass, for now.
Seth backed off. “I’ll question Theron about his brother, separately.”
“He’ll tell you the same thing.” Evzen tried to make himself be patient. Seth was a good alpha, and he was protecting someone smaller, weaker, and more fragile than himself. That was a noble trait worth respecting.
Just because that trait happened to be getting in Evzen’s way right now was no reason for him to lose his patience.
The reason Evzen wanted to bring his men here in the first place was because of Seth’s good nature, because of his ability to lead his men.
Evzen wasn’t going to take offence to this. At least not for now.
“What will you do if Cole wants nothing to do with you?” Seth asked. “That might mean that you two aren’t actually mated.”
Evzen nodded. “If that’s the case, then I’ll know I was mistaken, but until then, I would like the opportunity to try again, possibly without being watched next time.”
“Why shouldn’t I have you watched?” Seth backed off a little, crossing his arms and clearly sizing Evzen up. “You’re still new to this house, and I’m still trying to figure out what your intentions are.”
“True.” Evzen would give him that. “But if I can woo a potential mate to my bed, it might kill the mood to know someone is watching us.”
Seth actually smirked at that. Evzen thought it might be the first time he ever saw the man smile at anything.
“Just make sure you take it easy on him. Or I’ll skin you alive and throw you in a ditch.”
Evzen reminded himself one more time not to go on the attack, to not throw a punch or say anything he would regret. This man was protecting Cole. That was a good thing.
“I won’t give you reason to. Neither will any of my men.”
“Good,” Seth said, nodding. He glanced back to his room where Cole had disappeared. “Leave him alone for the rest of the day.”
Before Evzen could open his mouth to protest that, Seth spoke up. “I’ll have Miles come to talk to him. Maybe he can convince Cole to calm down a little and consider your offer.”
“Is your mate good with speaking to the other omegas? Was he in charge before you came?”
Evzen was going to have to know these things before he put even the smallest amount of hope into another omega.
“Miles was never in charge, not really,” Seth said, turning away from him, his expression suddenly looking incredibly far away. And even a little sad. “He was like Cole, their duties were…similar.”
Seth didn’t need to say more for Evzen to understand.
And he blinked wide, looking at the red dragon with a little more respect, and he’d already respected the man a great deal.
His mate was a former sex slave for vampires. No wonder Seth felt protective over Cole. He must have heard some horror stories from his own mate on how those sorts of servants were treated.
“Do you understand?” Seth asked sharply.
Evzen nodded. “I do.”
Much as he wanted to go back to Cole right now, if only to find out if touching the man would bring about that same spark of heat throughout his body as it did when he’d taken the bucket from him, he realized that Seth was right to do this.
It most likely was better to have his own mate tend to Cole’s feelings, to have another omega who had similar experiences calm the man down.
Evzen couldn’t figure out if the omega wolf actually was his mate or not if Cole didn’t want to come anywhere near him.
“Good. Let’s go downstairs. I’m starving.”
“Right,” Evzen said and then stopped. “By the way, if you’re going to question Theron about his brother, make sure to leave out why you’re asking him these questions at all.”
“What?” Seth looked back at him just as they made it to the wide curved stairway. “Why?”
Evzen pressed his lips together. “He might not like the idea that I am…thinking I might have another mate. Especially with a wolf.”
Seth didn’t miss a beat. “Wolves killed your previous mate?”
Tore him to bloody shreds and lefts his guts hanging out all over the ground, heart still beating, alive and mutilated for Evzen to find in time for the man to die in his arms.
It was one of the reasons why Evzen didn’t much like the situation he was in either.
“Yes.”
He definitely wasn’t going to give more details than that.
Seth sighed. “All right.”
Chapter Three
Cole was reluctant to leave the bedroom he was in. He cleaned the bathroom, and then re-cleaned it just to make sure it shined as though it was brand-new.
The only indication it wasn’t brand-new when he finished with it was because all of his alpha’s, and Miles’, toiletries were still scattered about.
So he made the bed, folded up the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper, and dusted the nightstand, dressers, and television.
Then he sat on the bed for a couple of minutes.
What if he was out there? What if he was waiting for Cole to come out?
He didn’t think he could handle that.
It shocked him when there was a knock at the door. His heart sped up. It felt like it was thumping in his throat.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Miles said softly through the door, the door to his own room, which Cole had essentially locked him out of. “Can I come in?”
Cole ran to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open. “I’m sorry,” he said, immediately stepping out of Miles’ way. “I wasn’t trying to do anything in here. I was just cleaning up and lost track of the time and—”
“I know,” Miles said softly, walking in and closing the door. “It’s all right.”
Miles locked the door. They were completely alone, and no one else could come in unless Miles wanted them to.
They looked at each other. Miles was about an inch shorter than Cole, but he’d always been a little braver, better able to handle what had been happening to him than Cole had been.
And Cole broke down and fell into the man’s arms.
Miles hugged him, held him, and even petted his back and his ears.
“It’s fine. You’re okay,” he said softly, shushing him and keeping him from flying apart.
Cole hadn’t asked Miles to hold him like this in a long time. He’d been embarrassed and angry the last time it had happened, and since Miles had been mated with Sethraghck, it seemed disrespectful to want to go near the mate of his new alpha.
It was as if Miles was suddenly on a whole new level. He was above Cole now, and Cole shouldn’t be demanding the man comfort him like this.
And yet he couldn’t help himself.
“Want to come sit down?” Miles asked softly.
Cole shook his head. “I shouldn’t. I need to go.” He pulled away from Miles’ arms, turning away to wipe his eyes, though he knew it was somewhat pointless. The other man clearly knew what Cole was doing.
Miles put his hand on Cole’s back.
“I don’t think that alpha wants to hurt you.”
Cole cringed. “He wants my body. I know he does.”
“He thinks you might be his mate.”
Cole didn’t turn to look back at him. He just shook his head. “I don’t care. I don’t want him.” He looked back at Miles. “I know what mates do to each other.”
The pitying expression in Miles’ eyes was something Cole desperately wished he could understand.
Why had he come out of this so unscathed? Why was he able to handle this so much better than Cole when they’d been through the same thing?
Was it because Miles only had one master to pleasure? Was it because Varrick had liked Miles? Cole’s function had been to serve every single one of the guests who happened to have a craving for that sort of thing. Sometimes it was many at the same time. Sometimes they did filthy things to him, and other times they
did painful things to him.
He quickly checked his arms, making sure his sleeves were down so Miles couldn’t see the scarring.
Even though the other man knew they were there.
Everyone in the house knew, with possibly the exception of the dragons.
Cole wasn’t sure if the gossip reached that far.
“When a mate is doing those things to you, you do like it,” Miles said softly. “Seth doesn’t hurt me, and he doesn’t make me do anything I don’t want to do.”
Cole doubted that. He hated that he couldn’t simply take Miles at his word, but he blamed the vampires.
The vampires had done this to him. They’d stolen his ability to simply believe his friend when Miles said something to him.
Cole didn’t believe it. Miles might not be lying, but his experience couldn’t be the truth for everyone. He could still be the exception to the rule.
Miles rubbed Cole’s back. It made him feel a little better, but he didn’t know what to do anymore. The gesture, while nice, was still useless to him.
“What should I do?”
Cole looked at the other man. Miles had been in his position before. He didn’t have the scars that Cole did, but they’d still had the same profession.
And yet Miles seemed normal. He didn’t seem afraid of absolutely everything. He didn’t seem as if he was constantly on the verge of losing his mind over the simplest of things.
Cole wanted to be in that place with him. He wanted to know what it felt like to be…not so nervous all the time. Maybe even a little happy.
Miles sighed. “Well, that’s up to you. Getting to make our own decisions is something I’m still getting used to.”
“You are?”
Cole honestly hadn’t expected that. Miles seemed so comfortable and content with his new lot in life that Cole hadn’t stopped to think the fox omega would be having problems with anything.
Miles’ red-and-black-tipped ears twitched. He nodded. “Yeah. Seth is pretty good about letting me do whatever I want. I think I frustrate him sometimes when I need him to tell me what to do, but he’s still patient with me. He gets it.”
Miles looked at him. “Do you feel any connection to Evzen? This might be a mistake. He might just think you’re a little cute.”
