by Fel Fern
Right now, the kitchen looked like a mess, wrecked and taken away. It gouged his heart, seeing it like that, but it had to be done. When Trey and he had bought the place, the previous owner hadn’t done much to the old kitchen.
Where was Cole?
He’d done his research. Contractors didn’t come in every day, but for some reason, Cole made an effort to come. The werewolf Alpha was very hands-on, too, and did some of the work himself. Wren had to admit the personal touch was nice. His gaze zeroed in on Cole instantly. The noise of the drilling faded away.
Despite having his back turned toward him, Wren could quickly tell the nicely-tanned muscled back, lined with ink, belonged to the werewolf Alpha, even if Cole had a hard hat on. He watched Cole in admiration for a couple of seconds, as the Alpha drilled into the wall, pulling old tiles apart.
His mouth went dry, noting a trail of sweat sliding down Cole’s spine. Being it was the middle of summer, it was natural Cole wouldn’t want to work with a shirt on, but God, did the man need to look like a damn wet dream?
Wren certainly wouldn’t mind being cornered by the massive sweaty Alpha, all but helpless to take whatever Cole wanted him to take. He imagined Cole would start with kisses, rough touches, before taking what he wanted. Heat slammed into his insides and his dick hardened in his jeans. If he didn’t get out of the way soon, Cole would definitely catch his erection.
Wren certainly would break the ‘be professional’ rule, except he’d been doing that since day one, hadn’t he?
Sleep often eluded Wren after Trey’s death, but after masturbating to the thought of one particularly gorgeous Alpha fucking him senseless, he’d fall to a deep sleep after. Had it been so wrong to want, long for another man? Supposedly, Trey was it, his mate. Except mates didn’t leave each other, didn’t die off, leaving the surviving half a broken mess.
It took him a second to realize the drilling had stopped and one of Cole’s guys interrupted the Alpha.
Cole stopped, turned, and looked right at him. Wren’s heart pounded and he couldn’t move a muscle. Cole’s green eyes held flecks of gold in them, telling him the wolf was peeking at him with undisguised interest.
“What are you all gawking at? Continue working,” Cole practically growled out. The other guys in the crew were also shifters, but none wisely disobeyed an Alpha’s orders.
Cole set his electric drill down, then his hard hat, and stalked up to him. Wren ought to really stop staring at Cole’s impressive torso, he really should, but dropping his eyes and seeing the bulge in Cole’s jeans didn’t help either.
He retreated further to the dining room, intently aware of the Alpha behind him.
“Can we talk outside?” he asked, before the drilling started again.
“Sure.” Cole didn’t bother with a shirt as they began walking to the front door.
“Could you put on something?”
Cole raised his eyebrows.
“Please,” he added.
To his surprise, Cole humored him. The Alpha made a quick return to the kitchen and came back out, wearing the same thin T-shirt he wore that morning.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
Most shifters were comfortable with nudity, so it shouldn’t bother him, but the Alpha werewolf was too much of a distraction. At least when they headed out of the house, the cool air tickled his face. It felt easier to breathe.
“What’s up?” Cole asked.
“Could you keep the noise down?”
Cole stared at him, and he realized how his request sounded. They had gone over the amount of work that needed to be done, that noise was inevitable.
“What you’re asking is impossible,” Cole finally said. “My guys are doing my best to speed things up, but I don’t want a shoddy job either.”
“Sorry.” He let out a breath. “I sound like an impossible client right now, don’t I? Ignore me. I’ll go to a cafe to answer my e-mails. Besides, I need to shop for ingredients anyway.”
“We could work out certain hours my guys will do the heavy lifting, but that will delay the deadline.”
“No, it’s okay,” he quickly replied. Besides, he didn’t think he could survive being around the Alpha’s radius any longer. At this rate, he was going to break the rules and tell Cole he changed his mind.
“You know I can smell your arousal, right?”
Every muscle in his body seemed paralyzed at those words. “W-what are you talking about?”
“We wolves have a keen sense of smell. It drives me up the wall, knowing your dick’s growing hard for me and yet you make sure to keep your distance. Why?”
He told Cole the truth. “Because you’re dangerous.”
Cole’s eyes darkened. “I’m never going to hurt you, Wren, or take you against your will.”
“I know that. You’re not like dominant asshole shifters who misuse their authority, but you have to understand something. I gave everything to Trey when we mated. I don’t have much left to give. If I take a blind leap of faith with you and fall, I’ll never recover.”
“You don’t think I’ll catch you?”
Silence. Wren knew Cole deserved an explanation. The Alpha werewolf wasn’t like how the rumors painted him at all. Cole wasn’t heartless or greedy, but he knew hurting Cole might be the best for them both.
“I’m moving out, staying with a friend to focus on my work. That would also guarantee I won’t disturb you and your crew.”
“You’ll trust your home to us?” Cole finally asked, voice gone cold, businesslike.
“There’s nothing worth stealing in there.” It meant to be a joke, but he realized Cole deserved better. Wren tried better. “Besides, it ceased to be my home after Trey died.”
“Why don’t you move then?”
“It’s all I have of him.”
Cole turned away. “I got it. I’ll send you daily updates. Text me if you have questions.”
Dominant males had massive pride, and he had just wounded Cole’s. Cole certainly didn’t deserve this kind of treatment, but he decided it was for the best. Keeping their distance from each other would serve them both better in the long run.
“Remember, little bird,” Cole said, at the front door now. “You were the one who chose to run.”
Speechless, he watched the Alpha disappear back inside. Inside, a turmoil of emotions whirled, confusion mixed with regret and guilt. Didn’t he want this, for Cole to back away? Yet, part of him hoped the werewolf Alpha wouldn’t give up easily. He was a fucking mess. The best he could do was take one day at a time, follow his usual routine, then everything would be right as rain again.
Except things haven’t been right in a long time. Wren told himself, for the sake of his unborn child, he would pretend to have moved on from Trey’s death. He missed Trey, he realized, even though their relationship had turned rocky for months now and all they did was fight. Wren thought if he appeared to be brave, he could weather anything, and one day, he would no longer need to pretend. Too bad it no longer worked.
This werewolf Alpha who entered his life by accident didn’t cause him to derail. Cole only woke him up to the harsh reality the only person Wren was fooling was himself.
On the verge of shattering, he started down the street. Soon, he’d call Henry, ask if he could crash a bit and work on his next orders to keep himself busy. Cole would complete his kitchen and leave his life, as if he’d never been. Why that struck such a painful chord in Wren, he didn’t know.
Chapter Four
Cole stared at the plans for Wren’s kitchen on his worktable, but the numbers and his new notes didn’t make sense.
“Fuck.” He shoved the paper aside and smashed his fist into the hard wood. Pain streaked up his arm. A crack appeared in the wood and he swore some more.
“What’s gotten you in such a foul mood?”
At Malik’s amused voice, he spun, snarling. “Leave me alone.”
“Having trouble with a client?”
“None of your goddam
n business.”
Malik looked hurt. If it had been Nash, Nash would have been more direct, demanded to know what his problems were, especially if the issue was related to the business. Spencer would have given him some space at least, until he was ready to talk, but no.
It had to be Malik. With his dark skin, green eyes, and exotic features, Malik was constantly swooned over by men and women, but underneath that grin was a very capable, strategic mind.
“Is that little bird of yours ruffling your fur again?”
He stared at his brother. They were about the same height, same built, their dominant animals almost on equal footing, but cats could sometimes be more cunning. If they came to blows, or turned to claws and teeth, Nash wouldn’t appreciate them wrecking the newly renovated office space.
Well, he would feel guilty about that, too. They’d started Alpha Wreckers Inc. at a small rented office in a seedy neighborhood downtown, right next to a crack house. It had taken years, but with enough persistence, long hours and effort, they had created a sustainable business and moved their office to the main town area. This two-floor office space was theirs, staffed by a small but loyal group of individuals who supported them.
He and his brothers were proud of coming from nothing and working their way to build something they could call their own. Isiah Mercer had his hands full, raising four rebellious teenagers who were also dominant and temperamental shifters. Isiah hadn’t been wealthy. He’d been a simple construction guy, who didn’t own a house or a car and hadn’t even finished high school, yet the man had managed to shape them all into good men.
“How do you know about Wren?” he demanded. Besides, for all his teasing, he loved all his brothers. They might bicker and fight among themselves, but always had each other’s backs when the situation called for it.
“I keep tabs on all of you. Call it protective brotherly love.”
He rolled his eyes. Seriously? “Some call that stalking.”
“I’m a cat. We’re all curious by nature.”
He glared. Malik liked using that cat metaphor all the time.
Malik went on. “I recognized the name. Wasn’t Wren in the local papers lately? Besides, I noticed you’ve gotten more involved in this project and you usually supervise, manage, but don’t really need to step in.”
“It’s not the first time.”
“Sure, you’d put in a little extra effort when you’re interested in the client, but this feels different. What, he rejected your bed or something?”
“We haven’t fucked, much less kissed.”
Malik’s eyebrows shot up. “Now, that’s news. Also cements the fact this Wren seems different.”
“Do me a favor, and seriously, leave me and my personal problems alone.”
Malik’s gaze turned oddly serious. “It’s my business, if one little bird could end up doing deadly damage to you, little brother.”
He sobered up a little. “No. It’s not going to come to that. Hell, he practically made it clear he wanted me to back off.”
“The little bird’s all grown up now, huh?”
He blinked.
“Wren, huh. He’d always cry at the little things back when we were kids, and it wasn’t just once you defended him from bullies in the school playground.”
“You remember him?”
“Of course. You nearly picked a fight with the future Alpha of the Snow Valley wolf pack thanks to Wren. It’s just pure luck Gary shaped up to be a tolerable bastard when he grew up.”
“I’ll be careful,” he finally said, hoping Malik would get off his back.
The door to his office opened, revealing Spencer. Spencer frowned, looked from Malik to him, sensing something, but eventually said, “Staff meeting now. Nash wants us all in the conference room. Are you two about to fucking fight or something? Because my bear smells the tension in the room. If you are, take it outside.”
“No,” he said. “We’re good.”
“Good.”
* * * *
“That’s all for today,” Nash said, dismissing everyone else, but usually the four of them lingered to discuss other important matters.
Once the last of their staff left, Nash turned to Malik. “What’s the latest update on upcoming projects?”
“If you all don’t need me, I’m heading out to get some lunch,” he announced. Cole didn’t mention he planned on doing a little run, as well, but running himself ragged in wolf form seemed to be the best remedy for curing his growing frustrations, momentarily anyway.
“Mind some extra company?” Spencer asked, much to his surprise.
Cole had sort of looked forward to being alone for a bit, but decided among his brothers, Spencer was the least intrusive. “Sure. There’s nothing else, right, Nash?”
Nash waved them both off, and they exited the office.
“Let’s take my truck,” he suggested.
“Fine with me.”
Once Spencer strapped himself in, he started the engine. “What are you in the mood for? Burgers? Steaks?”
“You’ve been running a lot lately.”
He froze and groaned. “What, you keeping tabs on me, too, like Malik?”
Spencer looked out the window. “I’ve been doing the same lately. Let’s get take-outs and drive up to the woods.”
Cole’s foul mood dissipated. Shifters as dominant as him or his brothers usually didn’t welcome the company of another dominant male, because their animals usually saw them as viable threats, but it wasn’t like that with his brothers.
He let out a sigh of relief. “Good. You’re not going to ask.”
Cole wondered what prompted Spencer to run, but didn’t press. Spencer didn’t talk much, but among his brothers, Cole felt comfortable with Spencer the most. Despite the strength of Spencer’s bear, Spencer had a quiet, peaceful way about him, which was surprising given all their inner animals bore scars from their violent pasts.
He didn’t recall much about that time, had locked them in his mind, because they didn’t define him. His drug-addicted mother had left him on the steps of a shifter shelter when he was seven. After that, social services had taken over and he’d moved from one foster family to the next, and had been deemed unmanageable until Isiah had decided he could stick around, like the rest of his brothers.
Cole drove by their favorite burger joint, ordered four meals for them both. Shifters ate a lot and burned down all that energy when shifting. They scarfed down their meals quickly in the parking lot, then headed to the same spot Cole had been three days ago.
Every day, since working on this project, he’d been going out here so his wolf could work off all the excess tension building up in his body.
To his surprise, Spencer asked, “Does it help, running your animal ragged?”
He returned the question. “No, you?”
“It keeps my bear satisfied, but sooner or later, it starts becoming wild again.”
It was the first he’d heard of this. “Spencer, you’re the most stable of us all.”
“Don’t the quiet ones go volatile easily?” With that unnerving smile, Spencer got out, stripped, and before Cole could press further, a large brown grizzly replaced his brother. Spencer disappeared into the trees.
“What the fuck is going on with you?” he asked the empty truck.
For now, he had his own problems to take care of, but he was worried about Spencer. He’d watch for his brother, and if Spencer showed signs of unraveling, he’d talk to Malik and Nash.
Chapter Five
After dropping his last box of chocolate cake to a customer, Wren got back behind the wheel of his car and pulled out his phone. Cole hadn’t replied any of his messages. The last text had been an update on the kitchen the day before. Ten days had passed since he moved out of the house and crashed at Henry’s place, ten days of limited interaction with a certain attractive Alpha werewolf.
God knew he regretted the decision of pushing Cole away, and on numerous occasions, he thought up ways to
make up but always balked at the last second. Not now, though because he came to the realization that Cole might slip through his fingers if he didn't make the next move. He drove up to his house, knowing Cole and his guys were pulling overtime to make up for some delays. After parking on the curb, he got out and hesitated, before taking the box of extra chocolate cake beside him.
Wren had made an extra, with every intention to delivering personally to Cole’s office. With box in hand, he glanced his house. The porch lights and the lights in the kitchen were on, he noticed. No sound of drilling or hammering though.
Taking out his keys, he pushed past the front door, took a deep breath, and went to his kitchen, surprised to find Cole looking over some plans over his new half-done kitchen counter. He had to admit, the space was starting to shape up, to embody the vision he’d talked with Cole about at the start.
“Did you want something?” Cole asked, brash, curt, completely unlike the teasing male who had walked into his kitchen the first time.
Refusing to let Cole’s chilly attitude hamper his apology, he straightened his shoulders, but his voice came out weak. “I wanted to drop this off at your office as an apology but decided to come here instead.”
Cole shrugged. “It’s your house.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk, okay? Can you please look at me?”
At those words, Cole’s full attention was turned to him, and Wren wasn’t ready for the intensity in those green eyes. Anger blazed there, as did stirrings of hunger. They both denied their animals, despite knowing the attraction between them. No wonder the tension in the space made his body fever hot, rendering him nearly speechless.
“You’re forgiven.” Cole returned to his plans.
Not liking being ignored, Wren placed the cake on a nearby table and walked up to the cocky wolf. He gripped the werewolf Alpha’s broad shoulders. Huge mistake. Cole turned the tables on him, slamming him against the wall, caging Wren with his huge body.
It felt hard to breathe. His heart started on a staccato rhythm.
