With Love

by J. L. Langley

  Dedication

  To Willa and Ally. It is a great honor to be in this anthology with you both, two of my very favorite authors. And to Sasha who made it possible.

  Chapter One

  Dev pulled off the isolated road, parked next to the three shiny sports cars already there and opened his door. There was a line of trees and brush directly in front of him. His meeting must be taking place on the other side of them. He had no idea what to expect. Whenever his own Alpha interviewed new members he did it at his house without other pack members around.

  “Nooooo!”

  He paused with one foot on the ground and one still in the truck. He sniffed the air. The scents of wolf, fear and arousal nearly knocked him off his feet. His gut clenched tight and his cock filled with blood. What the fuck? His eyes lost focus, shifting to their lupine counterpart; his canine teeth descended. The sudden shift of parts took his breath away. He couldn’t remember ever having this sort of reaction before. It was like his body didn’t know whether it wanted to kill or fuck. Shit.

  A loud scream rent the air followed by laughter. Leaves rustled and…fabric ripped?

  Shit, shit, shit. Someone was clearly in distress. What was he about to walk into? Dev closed the door quietly and took another deep breath. His stomach tightened again and his cock jerked. He managed to get his eyes to shift back to human but he didn’t bother with his teeth. He differentiated six separate scents. All less powerful than he, but he wasn’t walking through those trees with no defense. He flexed his fingers and concentrated on making them change to claws. Claws and fangs made for nice weapons.

  “Oh no, please no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insolent,” gasped a soft, almost boyish voice.

  “You are the fucking pack Omega. How dare you question me.”

  Dev recognized the last voice as the one he’d heard on the phone, the pack Alpha. Great.

  Several barks of harsh laughter followed the Alpha’s statement.

  “What’s the problem? You like cock. Just relax and enjoy it,” a third voice mocked.

  Holy shit. Not just a beating, but a rape. Wonderful. Dev rushed through the trees and brush. He was not about to allow them to rape the Omega.

  The Omega fought a losing battle. He was a tiny little thing, maybe five foot five if he stood straight up with perfect posture. He reeked of fear, but he had determination. His dark auburn hair was disheveled and in his eyes, concealing his pale face. The goons had already managed to rip his pale blue shirt in half and partially off his slim chest. One man worked on the khaki slacks, while two others held the little spitfire’s arms. Another two men watched, leering and laughing. The smaller of the observers rubbed his very evident erection. Dev didn’t know why, but he was almost positive the man groping himself was the Alpha. None of them had noticed Dev yet.

  Dev looked around and took everything in, trying to decide the best point of attack. The clearing was surrounded by trees. It was roughly the size of half a football field. This must be where the pack met before they hunted on a full moon.

  The Omega went limp, nearly succeeding in making the two men holding him let go. It didn’t work, but it surprised them all enough to allow the redhead to get a good kick in. He hit the third man who was wrestling with his pants, right in the mouth. Blood flew as the man’s head jerked to the side. Crimson splatters splashed over the Alpha.

  “You little son of a bitch.” The man the Omega struck stepped forward, doubled up his fist and popped the Omega right in the temple.

  The redhead collapsed, his head lulling forward on his neck.

  Dev saw red, a growl erupted from his throat and drew the attention of the five men. They dropped the Omega and turned towards Dev.

  “Who the fuck are you?” the man in the green shirt demanded.

  The Alpha blinked over at him and put his hand on the man who’d been tugging on the Omega’s pants. “This, I imagine, is Mr. Devlin Johns. The reason we were meeting out here in the first place.” The man raised a brow. “Do we have a problem, Mr. Johns?”

  “We just might.” Dev glanced at the Omega sprawled on his stomach in the grass. He had no idea if the man was still alive or not. A blow to the temple like that could kill a human, but the man was a wolf, even if a weaker one. “Would someone like to explain to me why the five of you are beating up on a much smaller, much weaker man?”

  The largest of the men frowned. “Who do you think you are, mister? This is a pack matter.”

  “Since I’m considering joining your pack, I’d say I have a right to know what’s going on. Where I come from we treat our fellow wolves with a little more respect than what I see here. If that boy is dead—”

  “You’ll what, asshole?” The big man stalked towards Dev.

  Dev was ready for him. He caught the man’s fist in one hand and slashed his other over the man’s abdomen, raking him wide open.

  The man staggered back, his eyes wide, clutching his stomach.

  The two men who’d been holding the redhead charged Dev. He dispatched them as effortlessly, stabbing one in the stomach with his claws and abrading the other across the face. It was pathetically easy. Dev was quite a bit quicker than them.

  He looked up at the Alpha and the man in the green shirt, while the other three writhed on the ground at Dev’s feet. “Who’s next?”

  The man in the green started forward but the Alpha’s hand landed on his shoulder, holding him back. “Not now.”

  “But—” the man sputtered.

  The Alpha shook his head, his eyes never leaving Dev. “I said not now, Peter. Gather them up and let’s go.”

  Dev glared back at the leader, keeping the others in his peripheral vision. They were injured, but they were wolves and healed extremely fast.

  Peter managed to get the other three on their feet and headed towards the cars.

  The pack leader walked past Dev, head held high.

  Dev turned and watched them go, keeping his front to the five wolves.

  “I do hope you know what you are doing, Mr. Johns, because you have just challenged my authority and I can’t have that. Rest assured, you will be hearing from me.” The Alpha followed his men through the trees to the parked cars.

  Dev hesitated, torn between following them to make sure they didn’t mess with his truck, and getting to the kid to see if he was all right. Dev couldn’t do much for the kid if he couldn’t get them out of here. So he followed the men, standing in the tree line glaring at them until they piled into the three cars. They left without incident, but Dev was certain he hadn’t seen the last of them. He shook his head and hurried back to the clearing as soon as the last car drove out of sight.

  Dev had been taught from an early age that Omegas were to be respected, not mistreated because they were weaker. They were the ones who held a pack together, they ran interference, they coordinated and listened to the pack’s complaints and took them to the Alpha, they were the pack ambassadors, the peacekeepers. What did this little redhead do to piss off his pack leader so badly?

  He knelt by the smaller man, touching his back. Only then did he realize his hands were still claws. He relaxed and willed his hands back to normal. His canine teeth remained and his vision shifted, going black and white again, probably due to the adrenaline rush. It would wear off eventually and there was no one there to see him anyway. The rise and fall of the little Omega’s breathing was easily discernable. Thank God. He leaned down next to the redhead, meaning to gently turn him, and gasped as he caught scent of him.

  The man’s scent was like nothing Dev had ever smelled before. He smelled like a wolf and he was definitely a weaker, submissive wolf, but he was…enthralling? That was the only word that came to mind. Dev’s cock, which was still hard, began to throb.

  Come on,
Dev, get a grip. He rolled the smaller man over on to his back and nearly swallowed his tongue. Happy freakin’ Valentine’s Day to me. The Omega was beautiful.

  Chapter Two

  “Quit laughing, asshole.” Dev pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled the phone away from his ear. Cole was seriously beginning to get on his nerves.

  “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. It’s not funny per se, but shit, Dev, how do you get yourself into these situations? I send you to scope out Asheville and some of the surrounding towns so we can move our business and you end up challenging the local Alpha?”

  Dev walked back and forth at the end of his hotel bed. He stopped, glancing down at the still unconscious redhead laid out on it. Damn it. There went his vision again. His teeth, even now, hadn’t returned to normal and his stupid eyes kept changing. Just as soon as he thought he’d gotten them under control, they switched. He was getting a headache from the constant back and forth. Freakin’ adrenaline high. The worst of it was the imminent case of blue balls. His cock was still so damned hard he ached. He was going to have to take care of it when he got off the phone. Dev sighed and continued his pacing.

  “Look at the bright side, Dev. You like everything about the town except the pack, right? If you just go kick the man’s ass, you can be Alpha and then our problem is solved.”

  “How does that solve our problem?” Dev looked back at the bed. A glimmer of gold caught his gaze. Nipple rings, in both nipples. Dev hadn’t noticed them until he’d put the man on the bed and his tattered shirt had once again fallen open. It was surprisingly sexy. He’d never met anyone with body piercings before, his fingers were itching to touch them. Great. His balls drew tighter, if that was possible. Seemed like every time he thought about the small redhead, his body responded. Must be the constant reminder of the confrontation with the other men. Or maybe it was just that the kid really did have a nice chest. Slim, pale and well-defined. He wasn’t muscular by any stretch of the imagination, but what he had was toned.

  “Dev? Are you listening to me?”

  No, I was scoping out the hot young thing on my bed, thank you very much. “Huh?”

  “I said, then we know we will fit into the local pack.”

  “What?” What the hell had he and Cole been talking about?

  “If you kicked the Alpha’s ass and took over. You know we only have about two weeks. I am not waiting around and letting my mate move off without me. Caroline is supposed to report to the Asheville office for her transfer in twelve days. We have got to find a suitable location to move J&M Construction.”

  Dev groaned, adjusted his dick and sat on the bed, careful not to jostle the injured man. He understood where Cole was coming from. Caroline was not only his best friend’s wife and mate. She was Dev’s friend too and he was more than just a little protective over her. She was an absolute angel, but she had an uncanny ability to get herself into trouble.

  Getting up and crossing the room, Dev pulled the curtains aside and looked out. Asheville was a nice town, with a breathtaking view of mountains in the distance. “Maybe we can move the company headquarters here and we can live in one of the surrounding towns?”

  “Have you even looked at any of the neighboring towns?”

  Dev let go of the heavy, burgundy, rubber-backed cloth. Burgundy? Human eyes again. Man, he was getting so used to the constant change he wasn’t even losing focus when they shifted now. He groaned and made his way back to the bed. Damn, the man is pretty. Dev reached out to touch the pale cheek but caught himself. He pulled his hand back before making contact and started pacing again. “No, I was really taken with this one. I even found a great location for our offices.”

  “Well, fuck it then. It’s a done deal. Start looking for apartments for now and land for us to build on. I’m not above a hostile takeover. If the Alpha gives us too much shit, we’ll beat him to a bloody pulp and take his pack. You said you’re stronger than him, right? So, we’ll just take over, no big deal.”

  Cole could fight, but he wasn’t near as strong as Dev. Any “hostile takeover” would be Dev’s doing, not Cole’s. “We? You got a mouse in your pocket?” Despite his large stature, Dev was no stranger to a good old-fashioned brawl. He’d been gay a long time and his size didn’t deter everyone. And God knew, over the years, Cole had gotten the two of them into enough bar fights with his mouth.

  Cole growled. “Don’t be difficult, Devlin.”

  Dev ended up back at the bed, drawn to the Omega. “Cole, I don’t need a pack to run on top of everything else I do. I do everything you do and I manage our books.”

  “Fine, you go kick his ass, take the pack and I’ll take over the books.”

  Dev laid down on the bed next to the smaller man. His stomach tightened and his cock throbbed. He squeezed his temples with one hand and closed his eyes. Cole started yammering about how he’d take some of Dev’s workload and how Caroline could help out. Dev took a deep breath, trying to relax.

  The man next to him shifted a bit, like he was waking.

  Dev dropped his hand, studying the smaller man. Nope, he was still out of it. What was it about the man that kept drawing Dev back to him? Dev couldn’t stop staring. The man was beautiful, yeah, but geez, Dev had had his share of beautiful men.

  The man sighed in his sleep and rolled onto his side. His straight, dark auburn bangs fell over one eye and the side of his nose. The kid had a great nose, not too small, not too big, and turned up at the end. He had smooth alabaster skin, not a freckle in sight. Which was pretty odd considering the red hair. Didn’t most redheads have freckles? Dev didn’t know, but he liked that this redhead was sans freckles.

  On closer inspection Dev decided the man was probably about twenty-five. He was so fair and…delicate. Not feminine exactly, or even young, but…fragile. The man’s face was almost androgynous but not quite. Devlin had the urge to hold him, protect him. This man, this Omega, needed protecting. There went his eyes again and damn if his cock didn’t actually get harder. Fuck, it throbbed.

  “What? Dev, are you even listening to me? Why are you sighing like that? You act like I can’t manage money or something.” Cole sounded exasperated.

  Huh? Oh shit, Cole. Dev didn’t have a clue what Cole had said. “Sorry, man, I zoned. You do just fine with money, it’s not that. You know I trust you.” Dev unsnapped the button on his pants, giving himself some room before his cock ripped the fabric trying to get out. He gave up on his eyes altogether. Let them stay lupine, he was tired of fighting it.

  The man’s nose twitched, sniffing. His face wrinkled a tad.

  Dev grinned. How cute was that? He had the sudden urge to reach out and smooth the lines from the fair forehead.

  The Omega’s lips turned up in a smile, the tips of his fangs poking out.

  That was odd. He was passed out. Why would his teeth have descended? The small upturned nose wiggled as the man sniffed again.

  Dev inhaled too. The scent of arousal nearly overwhelmed him. Not that surprising, considering how hard he was. If he didn’t get some relief soon, his balls were just going to fall off, or explode or heck, maybe they really would turn blue. Wait. That wasn’t only his scent he smelled. He looked down the slim body and, sure enough, the Omega’s dick was clearly outlined in the pants he was wearing.

  The Omega sighed in his sleep, sounding content and dreamy. His hand reached out. It landed on Dev’s arm and started stroking.

  A tingle raced up Dev’s spine, his gut twisted and his bottom teeth joined the top. “Holy fuck!” Oh man. That couldn’t be due to adrenaline. Nope, now that he thought about it, the adrenaline had worn off. Way worn off.

  “What?” Cole sounded bewildered.

  Huh? He’d totally forgotten about Cole again. “I…Cole, I gotta let ya go. I’ll start looking for land and apartments and talk to the realtor about the office building. I, yeah, gotta go, buddy.”

  “What? Dev what’s wrong? You sound weird.”

  “I just…you know the man I rescue
d?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m pretty sure that he’s my mate.”

  Laine blinked his eyes open to find one of the most ruggedly handsome men he’d ever seen inches from his face. The man smiled at him and Laine’s stomach flip-flopped. The sense of rightness overwhelmed him. A feeling of anticipation and excitement followed. His cock was harder than a steel pipe, his canines had extended and he was seeing in black and white. “Darn eyes. I hate not seeing color. I really like being able to—” This man is my mate. He didn’t know how he knew it but he did. “You’re my mate.” Shoot. There he went again, blurting out whatever popped into his mind. What if this man hadn’t figured that out? Laine’s senses told him the man was a wolf, but…

  “It would seem so, yes.”

  Nice deep sexy voice. How had he gotten a mate and not even realized it? What had he been doing? Laine pushed himself up on one arm and looked around. Darned eyes. The night vision was nice, but—no color?—it sucked. He was in some sort of hotel room, a colorless hotel room. “Where am I and how did I get here? Where did you come from?”

  The man sat up.

  Yum. Laine felt like rubbing his hands together. The man was huge. He had nice big muscles, broad shoulders. Wow. He wished he could tell what color the man’s hair, eyes and skin were. His hair was dark as were his eyes, but Laine couldn’t make out a definite color; probably black hair and brown eyes, but were they chocolate brown or a reddish-brown? Darn it. This was his mate, he really wanted to know these things.

  “You’re in my hotel room. I was supposed to meet with your Alpha and when I showed up—”

  “Oh, yeah. I got my ass kicked by Victor and his goons again.” He waved his hand, but the big man’s eyes flicked down to his chest before catching his gaze again. “That’s par for the course. You’d think I’d learn to keep my mouth shut. But, noooo, I just had to tell them they were wrong. You saved me? You must be the guy they were going to rough up…” Laine grinned until he couldn’t contain his mirth any longer, then giggles escaped. This was the man Victor was going to beat up?