by Sky Winters
It had been so long since he’d felt anybody else’s touch. He’d sworn off sex since Tyler had gone, and until now, he hadn’t regretted his decision. But now, with Bronson, it seemed his physical needs had finally won out, and every little touch sent a deep pleasure throughout his body.
Bronson grunted, pushing Hunter forward. Hunter gripped the bench, his cock swinging wildly without Bronson’s hand to grip it as he thrusted. But Bronson seemed to forget all about touching Hunter’s dick. He was squeezing Hunter’s waist and shoving his cock as deep inside of him as he could get. Tears of pleasure sprung to Hunter’s eyes as Bronson’s powerful body blasted into him again and again. He’d never experienced anything like this; he felt completely alive for the first time since Tyler had died.
He felt the familiar pressure of his climax building in his abdomen. He didn’t want to cum yet, not before Bronson had finished. He tried to hold himself back, but he couldn’t. Amazingly, as soon as Hunter’s cock shuddered and began to release, Bronson growled and gripped Hunter in his hand just in time to feel the first hot, milky strand ejected from him.
Hunter’s body was suddenly flooded with the hot explosion of Bronson’s climax, and they both groaned together as Bronson fucked Hunter all the way to the end of his orgasm, until both of them were completely spent.
Hunter’s body was buzzing so intensely that he barely noticed Bronson pulling out of him, and was surprised to look up and find the huge, powerful man was standing in front of him, a sexy smile on his face.
“Want me to walk you back?”
Hunter nodded absently, tucking himself back into his jeans, and they headed back to the bar together, neither speaking a single word.
Chapter 11
Bronson watched Hunter drive away, his mood going from elated to pensive. What in the hell had he been thinking, getting off so irresponsibly when he’d sent his pack off to look for the Omega hybrid he was meant to mate with. Sure, he’d started the night intending to find more out about the new stranger in town, intending to see if Hunter’s fear had anything to do with the mountain lion shifters. But his original intensions didn’t excuse his behavior. And besides, he wasn’t so sure he hadn’t just been telling himself that so he could follow his physical urges.
Time was running out. Bad blood had existed between wolf shifters and mountain lion shifters for millennia, not just because they both wanted to stake a claim on the town of Dire. If his pack was caught unawares, there was no telling what kind of danger they might be in. And yet, all he could think about was sex.
He was a terrible leader. Bronson groaned inwardly and shifted into his wolf form. There was no way he could forgive himself if anything happened to his men. Especially because he was being irresponsible and wasting time on frivolous things like fucking handsome human men. There were much more important things for him to be doing.
Without a second thought about Hunter, Bronson ran as quickly as he could to the encampment where the elders spent most of their time.
The elders refused to be a part of the “civilized” society, and had made their own settlement on the outskirts of town, just far enough away from the border that they were safe from the mountain lion shifter’s territory. They said it was better for a shaman if he lived the life of a wolf, and the eldest wolf shifter still living among them, simply referred to as Agun, was very powerful.
Still, because of his age, he was also very fragile. He used a lot of energy to simply stay alive and outsmart natural aging and mortality. And so other elders and a few highly trained wolf guardians were living at the encampment with him, as he didn’t have the strength and energy to fight should he be attacked.
“Agun,” Bronson called, “greetings and peace to you.”
It was the typical greeting for coming into the encampment. Bronson used to think the ceremonial aspect of it was silly as a child and rarely came by. At least, not until his mother had been killed by the mountain lion shifters and his father had been mortally injured when trying to avenge her. Then, the encampment became like a second home for him, and the greeting comforting in its own right.
“Welcome, my child,” Agun said, his gravelly voice reaching Bronson from inside his small cave. The bodyguards looked at Bronson curiously before going about their business. When the elder was okay with someone, they were okay too; they took their cues from him.
“Agun,” Bronson said, ducking into the cool, dark dwelling, “I’m afraid I’ve made a mistake.”
“What mistake are you speaking of? There are rarely mistakes made that cannot be remedied.”
“I sent the pack out. They are determined to look for the Omega hybrids and bring them here. To save the pack.”
“This alarms you,” Agun stated. It made Bronson uncomfortable when he said things like that, things that made it seem as if he could see inside Bronson’s mind. Of course the idea of mating with an Omega hybrid female, whatever that would look like, alarmed him. He would only do it to save the pack, but not because it made him personally happy. Agun seemed to sense it whenever anything was even slightly inharmonious.
“I don’t want them to get hurt because I’m not going with them,” Bronson said, choosing to focus on a half-truth.
“What keeps you here?”
“I heard the mountain lion shifters plotting. They want to pick us all off now, not just the women. And when they’ve made our population vulnerable, they’re going to take their anger out on the human population. The humans have done nothing wrong. I want to stay here to protect them. I couldn’t convince the men to stay, and without them the mountain lion shifters have free reign. I had to stay.”
“I don’t see the mistake in protecting your home so that the pack will have a safe place to return to,” Agun said. “Something else is on your mind.”
“Nothing else is on my mind,” Bronson said edgily. In fact, he was making quite an effort to make sure he didn’t think about anything but his duties. He had already acted irresponsibly that night, allowing himself such deep pleasure with Hunter when his duties were clearly more important. He had to put his personal feelings on the backburner. It wouldn’t help anybody to know that he only felt an emotional and sexual connection to men. In fact, they might blame him for his lack of a mate if they knew. His position as Alpha could be challenged.
“I see,” Agun said. The most frustrating thing about it was that Bronson was sure he did. Just how much he knew about what Bronson was thinking he couldn’t be sure, but it was bound to be enough.
“I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing,” Bronson said, exasperation showing through his voice.
“Leading is hard. Indeed, we often question whether we are making mistakes simply because so many people can be adversely affected by our actions. But in reality, hard choices need to be made, and none of us live forever. There are times we don’t always know what the best course to take is. But when we follow our intuition, things tend to work out in favor of the greater good.”
“Thanks, Agun,” Bronson said. The interactions he had with Agun were always a little bit draining, mentally and emotionally. He was anxious to head home and get some rest. Daylight was coming soon. It was only when the sun set that he really had to worry.
“Come back tomorrow for a meal with me. I have a story I’d like to tell you.”
“Okay.”
Agun’s wrinkled old face smiled at Bronson, and he couldn’t help but smile back. The man was ancient, but he was wise as water and always knew what to say to put Bronson in a thoughtful and introspective mood. It was hard to be uncomfortable, but the discomfort was usually something that stemmed inside himself. And that was the kind of thing that he could solve.
“Good night,” Bronson said to the men posted outside of the elder’s cave. They nodded courteously to him. Although Bronson was the Alpha of the pack, these men seemed to fall outside of the pack hierarchy. They served an even higher purpose; in this place, Bronson wasn’t the leader, Agun was. And that was the w
ay it would always be.
Chapter 11
“We don’t hire out-of-towners,” the man said again, more firmly this time.
Hunter sighed in exasperation. “I’m pretty sure you’re stomping on my rights,” he said. “I could talk to a lawyer and she’d tell me the same thing.”
“You ain’t got rights in my store, boy! Now git on out of here! Try someplace else.”
Hunter left, his heart pounding in fury. That was the third time somebody in the town had turned him away. He had enough savings to live comfortably for a while, but he didn’t feel good about just lounging around in the motel. He wanted to get out of the stuffy little room and live a little. Work on something to keep his mind occupied. He couldn’t get over the guilt he felt about having sex with Bronson. The last person he’d touched had been Tyler, and now all that was gone.
He’d nearly driven himself crazy the night after he’d been with Bronson. He’d woken up feeling like the scum of the earth, and before he knew it, he was staying up until daybreak drinking and, every once in a while, crying. It was clear that he wasn’t over Tyler yet. In fact, he was only in the area because of him. How could he have been weak enough to give in to the first guy who was interested in him like that? What kind of a weak-willed shit was he? He’d always prided himself on his loyalty. Now that didn’t mean anything. He’d spent the past three days drowning his sorrows and hating Bronson’s guts.
And so he’d commenced job hunting as a way to get his mind off of things and become a more productive member of society. He wasn’t going to lay around doing nothing and hating himself and the man who had stolen his body from Tyler. But everybody in Dire was very protective of their little businesses. Most of them claimed they only had friends and family members working for them and that was just going to have to be good enough. None of them wanted a guy who hadn’t lived there his whole life to be part of the local economy. It was maddening.
“Don’t pay him any attention,” a gentle woman’s voice said. Hunter was surprised and looked around for the woman it belonged to. When he spotted her, it was startling. He had to work hard not to look surprised. She looked like she had just walked off the set of an old western movie. She was about Hunter’s age, with almond, cat-shaped eyes and flaxen hair. “Folks around here don’t trust anybody. Lots of weird stuff happens in these parts. Can’t blame them much for just trying to protect their own.”
“I guess not,” Hunter said. “What kind of weird stuff?”
The woman pursed her lips in a patient smile.
“I’m not sure you’d be all that interested. Just sometimes folks have the inclination to hurt others or disappear. Things like that. It’s nothing to alarm yourself over.”
“Ah…” Hunter wasn’t quite sure what to do with that statement.
“I’m Bella. Bella Rose. What’s your name?”
Hunter almost laughed. He really had just walked into a western. Fortunately, he was able to keep a straight face.
“My name’s Hunter.”
“I’m going to do you a favor, Hunter, and tell you that nobody in their right mind would give work to a city boy like you. We’ve had city boys here before, you know. They think they know everything, and when something happens to one of them, Dire gets all kinds of bad media attention. We try to keep our name out of the headlines, you know?”
Hunter nodded, though everything this woman said sounded like fantasy to him.
“You seem like a nice guy. Not like most people who come through here. Hell, most guys who live here have an edge to them. Bet you’ve noticed that by now, though.”
Hunter looked down at the ground as invasive thoughts of Bronson pushed into his head. He couldn’t stop the images of the man’s perfect body and the forbidden thrills that made him shudder whenever his mind brushed upon the pleasures they’d experienced together. Still, Bella was right. Bronson looked like a major hard-ass, and if he hadn’t been looking to get laid, he probably would have beaten the shit out of Hunter. That, or he would have ignored him completely.
Hunter nodded stiffly. It was true. The men he’d dealt with so far had seemed less than pleasant. And for some reason this odd woman was taking pity on him and taking him under her wing. Hopefully she wasn’t attracted to him; it was always painful to let people down, especially women who weren’t sure if he was telling the truth about being gay or simply thought they were repulsive.
Bella smiled. “All the city folk here leave quick if they know what’s good for them. But you seem pretty harmless. I like you.”
“Thanks…”
The girl was bold, and in a way she made him feel uncomfortable. But it was nice to have someone who was trying to be nice to him after a long day of being scowled and growled at by men who wanted nothing to do with him. It was starting to feel very defeating to be stuck in this town. He had already made a choice he felt like running from, though running would never make him feel better about betraying Tyler. They’d had something very special, and Hunter had fucked it up by giving into a base instinct. What would Tyler think about it?
“You know, some people say it’s haunted around here,” Bella said, whispering conspiratorially.
“Haunted? Really?”
Hunter frowned as he considered the strange occurrence on his way into the town. Maybe a haunting would explain the eerie golden orbs that had been trailing him. But Bronson had said it was just some men trying to scare him. Maybe Bella was in on it. Did everybody try to drive outsiders away here? It was getting old. And for some reason, it was having the opposite effect on Hunter. The more people tried to intimidate him, the more adamant he felt about staying right there until he was good and ready to leave.
“Yeah. I don’t know if I believe in all that myself, but I’ve seen some things. Weird things.”
“Like what?”
“Well…I think I heard a wolf right outside my door one time. But when I went out to check, there was just this man standing there. Some naked guy just staring at me. They say there are wolf shifters around these parts. Men who turn into wolves. Wolves who turn into men.”
“Sounds like a pervert,” Hunter said, though for some reason he didn’t fully believe himself when he said it. There really was something strange about the town, and the story she was telling made him feel a little bit on edge. Like he knew something that he wasn’t quite able to remember. It was frustrating. But wolf shifters couldn’t be real. Even if the story was comforting and somehow familiar.
“A major pervert! I called the police but there wasn’t much they could do about it. The fuzz here are basically useless. They know the biker gang runs the town. They mostly just sit back and let things sort themselves out. It’s a nice way to make a salary, but the people like me basically get screwed over in the process.”
“The biker gang?”
“Yeah, they hang out in that bar out yonder… Fangz. I don’t know why they’d give it such a name, but that’s the way it is, I suppose. Nothing to be done about it.”
“I’ve been there,” Hunter said, eager to hear more about it. He had definitely gotten a strange feeling about the place, and maybe talking more about it would give him an excuse to think about Bronson in a context that didn’t make him feel like the scum of the earth, as if he had cheated on the only man he had ever truly loved.
“What?” Bella exclaimed. “And you lived to tell the tale, huh? They must really like you.”
“What do you mean? They hurt people?”
“Nah… Well, not really. Depends, I guess? They’re real protective of Dire these days. More now than ever before. I’m not sure what’s going on. There were a lot of murders that I think made things personal.”
“This bike gang…they’re murdering people?”
“No, not the gang here. Their rivals.
“Ah, so then they have rivals? Capable of murder?”
“Definitely. They didn’t get to the top of the food chain here selling girl scout cookies,” Bella said, laughing.
Hunter didn’t feel much like laughing. If the strange event he’d dealt with on the way into Dire had been the rival gang that Bella was talking about, that meant he could be in serious danger. But Bronson had said he was safe with him, and he had fully believed it. In fact, he had gone back to the motel and had the best night’s sleep he’d had since the night before Tyler had passed away. He woke up a mess, but the sleep had been restful. Rejuvenating.
“What kinds of things do the gangs do?” Hunter asked.
Bella shrugged. “Whatever they like. Which is mostly just fighting each other. They mostly leave the townies alone, but when new folks come poking around, one or the other of them get worried that they’re going to bring unwanted attention to these parts. Strange things can happen to them.”
Hunter’s blood turned to ice. “What kind of strange things?”
“Oh, you know. Accidents on the mountain trails…disappearances. Animal attacks…” Bella’s voice trailed off and Hunter’s heart began pounding wildly. Animal attacks? Like what had happened to Tyler? If Bronson and the gangs had anything to do with what happened to his partner, he was going to go ballistic. He had to find Bronson. Right away.
“Thanks for all the information, Bella,” he said. “But I have to get going.”
“All right. Well I’ll be right around here if you ever want to talk. Guy who owns the shop in there is my father.”
Hunter was too consumed by his thirst to avenge Tyler to stop and tell her how rude her father had been, or maybe ask her to put in a good word for him. He nodded distractedly at her and ran clumsily to his car. He had to figure out where Bronson was and talk to him. He deserved answers, and he wasn’t going to leave Dire until he had them.
Chapter 12
Bronson prowled along the outskirts of the town. The scent of mountain lion shifters was strong here, much stronger than he was comfortable with. If they were planning on taking out the town while it was vulnerable, they would have to think again. He had stayed behind for a reason, and woken up early just to reinforce the boundaries of the territory so the mountain lion shifters would give it a few more days before they attacked. He wasn’t fully ready to handle them yet. He had a few things to take care of first.
