His foot caught on a rock and he tripped, sprawling heavily to the ground, dropping his bag. Getting his hands under him, he tried to get to his feet, but he couldn’t.
Using the last of his energy, his forced his body to shift, not caring that it would shred his clothes. His wolf would have more of a buffer to the cold and he was far enough away from civilization that his scent trail would be hard to pick up, and it would be safer to sleep.
He kept going for as long as he could until his paws began to drag with each step. Then he forced himself on a little further, until he was under the nearest tree and curled up against the trunk. It took only seconds for his eyes to close.
Chapter Three
Zack was doing his best not to let the loneliness get to him. Or the anger. The circumstances that had led to him being out here, in the middle of nowhere, far from Pack, were now out of his control. It shouldn’t have been like this. His family had held the secondary Alpha line for generations. Being ousted from the pack at twenty-six was unthinkable. Or, at least, it should have been. And they’d left no other options open to him, even barring his application to join the Interpack Enforcers, the only legitimate option when your Pack forced you to leave.
He didn’t believe they’d have gone so far if it hadn’t been for Derek. He was the Alpha’s second youngest son, twenty-eight, and not an Alpha, so he wasn't in the line of succession. There hadn’t been the same pressure on him to mate and produce heirs. That was the only reason he and Derek had risked a relationship, always careful to keep it quiet, out of sight.
But they’d been found out. Someone had seen. Someone had talked. And an ultimatum had been issued. If they wanted to continue the relationship, they could do so outside of the Pack, in exile. It hadn’t sounded so bad to Zack. They’d be together and wasn’t that the most important thing?
It wasn’t enough for Derek. The Alpha’s son made a deal for himself, throwing Zack to the wolves. He’d agreed to mate and marry a woman of his father’s choosing, in exchange for escaping the exile his father threatened. And he’d told his father Zack had pressured him into the relationship, pursued him relentlessly. He’d sacrificed Zack to save himself.
Derek had been with the group of wolves who came for Zack, had stood by as he was dragged from his family home, had turned his back when Zack tried to talk to him and watched silently while Zack had taken a savage beating. Then, to add insult to injury, Derek had landed the last, vicious, blow before they dragged him to a waiting vehicle and drove him away.
Zack had believed they were in love. Now he knew better, knew what a fool he’d been.
The cabin he’d made his new home was bare. No-one had lived here for a long time. The first few weeks he spent his time making the place livable while scouting the area for work. He’d never been so glad of his parent's insistence that he have an education, a career. Their foresight had more to do with the changes they’d seen in the Pack over the previous decades than any suspicion about Zack’s future, but he appreciated it nonetheless.
He’d trained as a paramedic with the Fire and Rescue service because the Pack found it useful to have people of their own on hand in emergencies. It had helped avert near discoveries multiple times. Plus, Zack liked the exertion and the adrenaline, having taken part in multiple rescues, from car accidents to lost hikers. The added energy and strength that came with being a shifter was a clear advantage. Fires were less common, but they happened, usually due to unwary tourists starting them in the dry weather.
Asking around his first few weeks, he'd quickly found himself part of the auxiliary rescue service for the area. Given how sparsely populated the region was, they didn’t need full-time employees. And that was how he’d found himself working with the forestry service. Clearing trees from roadsides, checking downed power lines, mending barriers and fences. It was hard work but he relished the physical exhaustion that left him with little time to dwell on his situation.
With only a day until Christmas, the loneliness was something he felt keenly. Christmas was a family time; his parents, his Pack, Derek. He forced his mind away from that. There was no use dwelling on the past. Everything had changed and he couldn’t undo what was done.
He’d chosen to be on call over the holidays, to keep himself busy. A report came in of a tree down near a power line. Despite the early hour, the location was close to his cabin so he went to check it out. It was still dark as he left, the morning star shining brightly to the east. He had the irrational urge to make a wish and though he tried to ignore it, the idea formed unbidden in his mind. He wished he’d never spend another year alone.
He found the tree but determined it wasn’t a risk to the power line. They’d still need to take it down but it could go on the routine work list and be done after the holidays. No need to call the other guys out and away from their families.
Just as he turned to head back to the house, he caught sight of footprints in the snow. They had to be recent. There’d been heavy snowfall in the first half of the night so fresh footprints meant someone had passed here after midnight. That was unusual. The area was quiet, no other dwelling bar his nearby. He bent to take a closer look and a familiar scent hit him. Wolf. He wasn’t alone in the woods after all.
He was in two minds about tracking the other shifter. Rogues were trouble, nine times out of ten. But he couldn’t figure out what one would be doing so far out in the middle of winter. And there was the slightest hint of something else beneath the wolf’s scent.
Straightening up, he began to stride along the route the wolf had taken, each footprint standing out clearly. They stopped abruptly, a pair of hand prints in the snow, shredded clothes, then unmistakable paw prints carried on. The rogue had shifted.
He continued to track the marks, noting how the prints were interspersed with deeper ones, suggesting the wolf was moving slowly and stopping. His stride shortened too, presumably the rogue tiring. Finally, the prints veered off to the side.
Zack crouched, looking in that direction. It wasn’t difficult to spot the rogue, a tawny bundle of fur that stood out among the surrounding snow. He’d taken shelter beneath a tree.
Striding over, Zack called out.
“Hey, wake up. Not a good time or place to be sleeping.”
The wolf didn’t move, not even a twitch. Zack could hear a heartbeat, and the soft sound of breathing, but it was slow.
He moved closer, using one hand to shake the wolf, ready to pull back if the rogue snapped at him.
“Wake up.”
Still, he didn’t move. His body was cold under Zack’s hand. Too cold.
“Damn it,” he groused, using two hands to tug the wolf out from under the tree.
The wolf was an adult, but young, and somewhat small for a shifter.
Zack took a moment to decide what to do, even though there wasn’t really a decision to be made. He picked up the wolf in his arms and began the long walk back to his cabin.
He was halfway there when the wolf’s body shuddered. That was all the warning Zack had, just enough time to set him down in the snow before he shifted back to human form. He was young. Nineteen, twenty maybe. Small, too. Not an Alpha, that much had been clear from his scent alone. But he didn’t have the look of a rogue either; clean-shaven, hair neatly cut, fingernails unbroken. Only a split lip marred the appearance of perfection. A Pack runaway, maybe?
Zack pulled off his jacket and wrapped the other shifter in it before picking him back up and resuming his journey. Of all the things to find under a tree on Christmas Eve, he had to find a stray.
As he neared the cabin, the body in his arms twisted, face turning upwards, eyes opening. He peered up at Zack and murmured two words before his glazed green eyes blinked slowly closed.
“My Alpha.”
Chapter Four
Zack made quick work of lighting a fire, the rogue lying motionless on the couch, covered by Zack’s coat. His skin was ice cold as Zack picked him up, coat and all, and deposited him on the flo
or in front of the fireplace.
He went to his laundry cupboard and pulled out every blanket he could find, which wasn’t many. Shifters didn’t usually mind the cold all that much.
When he returned, the rogue was exactly where he’d left him. Pack runaway? Or forced out like he’d been, on the whim of an Alpha? He put those thoughts aside as he layered blankets over the wolf. The fire had taken, a warm heat permeating the room and taking the chill from the air.
Moving into his small kitchen, he began pulling together the makings of a soup for when his visitor woke. He sensed it might be a while but he wasn’t alarmed. Once the wolf warmed up, his body would move from conservation to healing. When he woke, he’d wake hungry.
Once the soup was cooking on the stove, Zack finished submitting his report on the fallen tree, adding the job to the routine maintenance list.
The day crawled by slowly. At lunchtime, with little to distract from his loneliness, he heated some mulled wine.
By the time evening had fallen, he’d gotten through four glasses. Drowning his sorrows had been his plan for the day all along, he just hadn’t expected company.
An increase in the heart rate of the stranger signaled he was waking. Getting up from the kitchen table where his laptop sat, Zack moved to stand in the doorway. He didn’t want trouble so he wouldn’t block the rogue’s exit.
The bundle of blankets emitted a soft sighing sound, then moved. Bemused, Zack stepped closer, peering down at the young man. The rogue turned over, his face angling upwards before green eyes blinked open. There was no recognition at first, just another sigh, and a long yawn. One hand stretched out from under the blankets and the wolf seemed momentarily mesmerized by it, as if it wasn’t his own.
Then the rogue’s eyes focused in on Zack, his nostrils flared, and he sat up.
“Alpha.”
He woke warm and heavy with sleep; limbs not quite his own, his head fuzzy. He caught sight of a person watching him; a tall, muscular man with blonde hair and dark eyes. His scent hit a moment later. Rich, enticing and exciting.
“Alpha.”
His whole body reacted to his own words, going from zero to ninety in a matter of seconds. He stood, letting the blankets pool at his feet, unabashed by his nakedness. It didn’t matter, nothing did at that moment, except the Alpha standing in front of him.
He stepped towards him, watching as the Alpha’s nostrils flared, his head tilting as his eyes narrowed, taking in everything the Omega had to offer.
Matt took a stumbling step forward, then another, until he stood right in front of the other man. He held out a hand, brushing it across the Alpha’s clothed chest.
“What are you doing?”
The Alpha’s voice, deep and gruff, sent a thrill through him.
“Touching you.” His voice sounded rougher than usual, but he didn’t care. His body craved what the man in front of him had to offer.
He leaned in, rubbing his cheek against the Alpha’s shoulder.
The Alpha’s hands clamped down on his arms and pushed him back. That wasn’t what Matt wanted at all.
“I need this, need you,” he complained, pushing forward. “You need it too. I can feel it.”
And he could. His own body was hot, aroused, but he could smell the Alpha’s own arousal.
“What were you doing out in the snow? You almost died out there.” The Alpha's deep voice resonated inside him.
“I was looking for you.”
It was true. On some primal level, he’d been searching for his Alpha mate. And now, he’d found him.
“Okay. Do you even know my name?”
Ignoring the Alpha’s question, he pressed against him, balancing on his tiptoes to rub his cheek against the Alpha’s stubbled jaw.
The Alpha still had hands on his arms and seemed ready to push him away again but instead, he scented Matt, nose pressing into Matt’s hair.
Matt let his hands slide to the buttons on the front of the Alpha’s shirt and began to undo them, one by one. The Alpha didn’t try to stop him.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I’m sure.” Matthew had never been so certain of anything in his life.
“So, tell me something, anything. The day, the date… your name.”
“Tuesday, December 24th, Matthew,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to the Alpha's newly exposed skin.
He finally got the Alpha’s shirt undone and pushed it off his shoulders.
“Enough talking,” he murmured, “more touching.”
“If you’re sure,” the Alpha said again. “I’m Zack, by the way.” The Alpha seemed distracted by the angle of Matt's jaw, one finger trailing across it, the touch sending sparks of pleasure through him.
Matt struggled to think why the Alpha was asking so many questions. Couldn’t he feel the need to bond?
He pressed against the bulge in the front of the Alpha’s pants.
“As sure as you are, Zack,” he said, grinding against the other man. The Alpha gave in, finally, arms wrapping around him, head dipping so their mouths met. The first kiss was hot and heavy, the taste of mulled wine lingering on Matthew's tongue.
The Alpha walked him backward until they were in front of the fire, then lowered them both to lie on the pile of blankets. His hands went to his belt and Matthew followed suit, eager to help.
And then the Alpha’s mouth was on him again, kissing his neck, sucking at the pulse point until Matthew moaned loudly at the sensation. He was hot and hard and leaking when the Alpha pushed a hand between their bodies and took hold of him. Pressing closer, he pushed into the touch. His hands were on the Alpha’s biceps, feeling the muscles flex beneath his palm. The Alpha’s cock pushed against his. The friction felt amazing but he wanted more.
He tried to turn, but the Alpha’s body pinned him to the floor.
“I want you inside me,” he moaned, pushing against the Alpha’s chest. Eyes dark with lust regarded him, the Alpha’s hand sliding from his groin to his hip, his other hand leveraging his body off Matt’s. Matthew turned over, feeling the heat of the fire play across his body as he rested on hands and knees. His body throbbed with need, a need this Alpha could fill. Would fill, Matt knew, as hands grabbed his hips and the Alpha nudged against him. He ducked his head, shuddering when the Alpha pressed slowly inside him. It was tight and hot. He clenched and a wave of pleasure surged through him as the Alpha groaned above him. Pulling out with maddening slowness, the Alpha sank back in, filling him again. And so it went, over and over, the pace picking up with each thrust.
“Harder,” he demanded, pushing back against Zack. The Alpha growled, tugging him closer. His next thrust sent another wave of pleasure through him, enough to curl his toes. One hand released his hip, brushing against his lower abdomen and sinking lower to take hold of him again. Zack picked up the pace, each thrust heightening Matt’s pleasure.
Bracing both hands against the floor, he thrust back to meet Zack. The Alpha stilled with a grunt, hands pressing into Matt’s hips as heat filled him. Zack’s fingers brushed over the crease of Matt’s inner hip and Matthew came, hard, earth-shattering pleasure surging through him from head to toe before he sank slowly into the mound of blankets, stretching out his legs. The Alpha pulled out and lay down half on top of him, his warm body buffering him. He whispered two words into Matt’s ear.
“Fucking amazing.”
Chapter Five
The brush of a hand across his hip woke him. He stretched, content and sated, and turned onto his back, his body warm and sticky. The Alpha. His Alpha, he reminded himself as the events of the evening came back to him. Hard to believe that only a day ago, it looked like his life was over. And now, it was just beginning.
Something wasn’t quite right, though. He couldn’t put his finger on it, so contented himself with turning towards the warm body pressed against his back. The Alpha growled, one arm tightening around him possessively.
Matt tipped his head back to look at his Alpha’s fa
ce. He’d told Matt his name, hadn’t he? Zack. That was it. Zack still slept, eyes closed. Matt risked stretching his body out a little, relishing all the points at which they touched. His body ached in ways it never had before. Unlike the throb of his lip after meeting his father’s hand, this wasn’t an unpleasant ache. It felt… right. Like the way he should feel after a mating bond.
He bent his neck, anticipating the sharp ache from his bond bite, but it never came. Wait. There had been a bite, hadn’t there? Matthew remembered the Alpha’s mouth sucking on his neck, an intense pain heightening the pleasure. He didn’t recall the bite itself, but there had to have been one, hadn’t there?
Tentatively, he reached a hand for his neck, feeling across the soft skin. He felt the slightest raised edge but no bite mark. How could that be? He’d been in heat. They’d mated. How could there be no bond?
He shifted again in the Alpha’s arms and a few short words only added to his growing nightmare.
“Go back to sleep, Derek. It’s early.”
It took a while to get the words out to reply, his mouth dry, heart thudding in his chest.
“Alpha? Zack?”
The Alpha’s eyes opened slowly, a hint of confusion in them. His gaze widened when he caught sight of Matthew, then looked past him, taking in their surroundings.
“Damn. Well, at least we got you warmed up.” The Alpha sat up and stretched, grimacing a little as his eyes caught the mess of blankets and bodies. “Matthew, right? Hungry? I have some soup.”
Matt nodded slowly, watching as the Alpha stood and disappeared through the door into the room beyond.
He went to follow, only to realize he was still naked. Grabbing one of the blankets, he wrapped it tightly around him before following the Alpha.
Standing in the doorway, he watched as Zack turned on the stove and heated a saucepan of soup.
“You nearly got yourself killed out there,” the Alpha commented as he stirred the soup.
The Alpha's Wish: Lost Omegas Book Three: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 2
