Ripples of Threat

by Rebecca James

  “You’re a good swimmer.”

  “So are you.”

  Perry pushed his hair out of his face, and Christopher was glad he’d thought to tie his own sandy blond hair at the back of his head on the way there. Wet, the hair on Perry’s head was a little darker than a fox’s pelt, and Christopher found himself wondering if it was the same farther down.

  “I swim a lot. It’s my preferred exercise.”

  “What about running?” Christopher asked, remembering how Perry had said he liked to run in human form.

  “I switch out, but like swimming best. I need frequent exercise since I sit a lot when I tattoo.”

  “I get plenty of exercise with the horses, but I still like to swim,” Christopher said, blinking water out of his eyes as his gaze traveled to Duncan’s barn. The alpha had just walked out with Bruce and Rick, and the three men were headed up the hill toward Duncan’s house, probably for lunch. “How come Duncan’s not mated?”

  Perry looked toward the barn. “He was when I was younger. I think his mate died in the great sickness.”

  Christopher frowned. He didn’t remember, but he had only been about five or six when the sickness had swept through the pack, taking many of its members and all the omegas.

  “That’s sad. You’d think he’d have mated again by now.”

  Perry turned and hoisted himself up on the dock by his strong arms, and Christopher found himself at eye level with the other man’s cock. He glanced up at Perry. The older beta’s light brown eyes dilated, and his nostrils flared.

  Forgetting their conversation, Christopher breathed in and licked his lips, cock filling with blood despite the cold lake water. Perry’s certainly seemed interested, the pale shaft elongating before Christopher’s eyes, like a serpent coming out of its den.

  Never having done anything with a man, Christopher was at a loss. But he realized he wanted to learn. He was tired of being thought of as an innocent boy. He was old enough now, and if Xavier didn’t want him, Perry obviously did. Sex was a common thing in werewolf society, little emphasis put on it on an emotional level, although Christopher had heard sex between mates could be different. Something about the bite changed things. Or maybe that was all fairytale.

  Perry pushed his hair off his face while continuing to look down at Christopher with desire. He gripped his cock with his hand, moving it slowly up and down until the shaft stood rigidly away from his body, a moderate-sized beta knot forming just above tightening balls.

  Christopher looked around. No one was nearby, not that it mattered, though he really didn’t want to give his first inept blowjob with an audience. Moving closer to Perry, Christopher inhaled the musky scent of the older beta before pressing his lips to the knot. He glanced up, hoping the other man didn’t think him stupid, but by the way Perry was breathing and the flush to his normally pale face, Christopher assumed it was okay.

  “Never done this before?” Perry asked, watching Christopher with glazed eyes.

  Christopher shook his head, mouth falling open as Perry rubbed the wide head across his lips.

  “I’ve dreamed about your pretty mouth on my cock,” Perry said.

  That gave Christopher the confidence he needed. Opening his mouth, he took the head inside. He was unprepared for his body’s reaction to the feel and taste of a cock. He gripped Perry’s thighs as desire ripped through him, and he moved his tongue against the underside of the shaft in his mouth.

  Perry groaned and gripped Christopher’s head, holding the younger beta still as he undulated his hips, fucking into Christopher’s mouth.

  Hard and leaking beneath the surface of the water, Christopher rolled his eyes back in his head and moaned around his mouthful.

  “Yeah, just like that,” Perry said, watching raptly as he moved in and out of Christopher’s mouth. “You have such pretty lips, Chris, and they look so, so good wrapped around my cock.”

  The dirty talk ratcheted up Christopher’s desire, and he felt his orgasm building in his groin, sending delicious waves of pleasure up the young beta’s spine. Clenching Perry’s legs, Christopher slurped and licked as best he could while Perry fucked his mouth, getting closer and closer to the back of the younger beta’s throat. Gagging, Christopher took a deep breath through his nose and sucked.

  Perry jerked, fingers clenching Christopher’s hair and pulling out the tie holding it in place. When he pushed Christopher’s nose into wiry, red pubic hair, Christopher shot off into the water, simultaneously struggling to breathe, swallow spunk, and not fall backwards and drown. Perry’s cock slipped out of his mouth, and Christopher lay his head against Perry’s thigh, panting hard.

  Perry smoothed Christopher’s hair from his face. “That was great. I never would’ve been able to tell it was your first time. Frankly, I’m surprised you haven’t been giving Xavier head for a while.”

  Christopher laughed. “What? No. He’s never looked at me that way.” Christopher’s cock twitched to life again at just the thought of sucking X’s big cock.

  “He must be crazy then. Hey. You want me to return the favor?” Perry motioned to the water where Christopher’s lower body was submerged.

  “Uh, I kind of already shot off,” Christopher said, embarrassed at his inability to refrain.

  Perry grinned. “Liked it that much, huh?” He leaned forward and tugged at Christopher’s arms. “Let me help you out. We should get something to eat. I’m starved.”

  “Me, too,” Christopher said, grinning as he climbed onto the dock, practically toppling onto Perry. The older beta reached out and pulled Christopher into a kiss.

  Chapter 10: Vincent

  Nothing forces two people to talk better than being knotted for long periods of time. After the first easy break of Craig’s knot, the others proved to be more durable, and Vincent found himself tied to Craig on and off through two days of his heat. Kale took Jasper and Ryan to the nursery and did both his own and Craig’s work on the construction sites, giving his two mates plenty of time to get to know one another.

  Kale being the main commonality between the two men, Craig and Vincent spent a good amount of time during the early portion of the omega’s heat lying on their sides, Craig’s cock up Vincent’s ass and the beta’s knot keeping it there, talking about how much they both wanted to kill their alpha for the situation he’d put them in.

  When that subject grew old and another swell of heat had Vincent’s legs thrown over Craig’s shoulders with the beta sawing at him until they both collapsed in a heap with another knot gluing them together, they began talking about the children. Next it was the house and the fact they needed to build another room onto it. By the time Vincent’s heat finally ebbed, he and Craig were mildly comfortable with one another, and Vincent felt pretty sure the beta would join in the next time Kale wanted to fuck.

  Still, with all the talking going on between bouts of intense fucking that Vincent had to admit was very satisfying, the elephant in the room had been ignored. Vincent hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask what the beta had against him, and Craig had never broached the subject. Vincent was pretty sure he knew anyway. Craig was incredibly in love with Kale and had hoped to keep the alpha to himself, but he’d been unable to say no about Vincent because the pack alpha had made the request and Kale had agreed. Knowing this, Vincent felt marginally better than if there had been a different reason for the beta’s animosity, such as Craig simply hating Vincent. And it wasn’t lost on Vincent how smart Kale had been to leave Craig to take care of the omega’s heat, and he doubted it was lost on Craig either. Breaking the tension and promoting a more civil relationship would be for the best all around.

  Over the next couple of months, Vincent noticed Craig avoided him less and spoke to him more, even spending more time around the house. That, at least, was progress, and Vincent found himself much happier than he had been prior to his heat.

  As he stood at the wood stove cooking vegetable stew, he heard Craig enter the house. He’d taken both Ryan and
Jasper to the park, something he’d never done before, although Craig had never been unkind to Jasper. He just hadn’t included the little boy because his trips had been as much about getting away from Vincent as they were entertaining Ryan.

  Ryan came running into the house ahead of Craig and Jasper, almost knocking Vincent over in his hurry to show the omega the special rock he’d found.

  “Isn’t it cool?” the boy asked, eyes bright.

  “It’s beautiful,” Vincent agreed. He looked at Jasper, who had shifted and was chasing his own tail at Craig’s feet. “I take it he had fun.”

  Craig nodded. “I’m sure after lunch they’ll both take long naps.” He moved closer and leaned over the pot. “That smells really good.”

  Vincent smiled, a wave of pleasure washing over him at the compliment. “Sit down and I’ll fix you a bowl. Boys, go wash your hands.”

  Jasper shifted and followed Ryan to the sink where fresh, cold spring water flowed from the faucet, and the older boy helped the younger climb onto a stool to lather up. Vincent placed a small bowl of stew at each of the boy’s places at the table, and then leaned over Craig to set the beta’s large bowl in front of him.

  Craig grasped the omega’s arm, and Vincent glanced at the beta, who had an odd look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Craig leaned closer to Vincent, who stilled as the beta sniffed his neck. Oblivious to the sudden tension in the room, the boys scrambled onto their seats and started on their stew, jabbering about swimming at the park.

  “Craig-” Vincent began.

  “Quiet.”

  Vincent froze, heartbeat picking up as Craig buried his nose in the omega’s neck.

  “What is it?” he finally whispered, unable to take the silence any longer.

  “You’re pregnant,” Craig said, letting go of Vincent just as Kale walked through the front door.

  “How’s my little family?” the alpha asked, smiling as he looked at the tableau and then crossed the room to wash his hands.

  “It’s hot out there for so late in the year. I think I’ll take a swim in the lake before going back to the construction site.” Kale turned around and listened as the boys regaled him with stories about their day.

  Finally, the alpha noticed Vincent’s wide eyes and Craig’s extreme attention to eating. “What’s going on?”

  “He’s carrying,” Craig said, not looking up from his food.

  Kale’s brows rose. “Is he? That’s great!”

  Vincent swallowed. If he was pregnant, that meant the baby was Craig’s. The alpha had to have known this would probably happen, and Vincent had no idea why it hadn’t occurred to him, but Craig obviously hadn’t given it any thought, either, from the look of it.

  Kale ruffled Ryan’s hair with one hand and Jasper’s with the other. “We can use another little bugger around here. Boys, you’re going to have a little brother!”

  Jasper didn’t react, but Ryan smiled before asking if he could have dessert. Kale laughed and got the remains of the cake Craig had made the night before out of the icebox.

  “By all means! We’re celebrating.”

  Glancing at Craig, Vincent wasn’t at all sure the beta felt like celebrating—the tension in the man’s jaw could break his teeth. As Kale passed around slices of cake, the omega tried to look pleased.

  “Vinny, you haven’t been puking like you did the first time,” Kale said. “You had no idea?”

  Vincent shook his head.

  “I guess we really need to build that extra room now. I’ll get on it as soon as I’m finished with the house I’m working on.”

  Kale continued enough for all of them, and after the meal was over, the alpha took the boys to their room for a nap. Vincent cleared the table, wishing he could drop through the floor. Was Craig that disappointed the omega was having his baby? As he rinsed off the dishes, he heard Kale return and talk to Craig in a low voice. Then the front door opened and shut.

  Vincent turned off the water and wiped his hands, hoping he was alone but sensing Craig was still in the house. When he turned around, he found the beta standing only a foot away.

  Startled, Vincent jumped and backed up against the sink. Craig stepped forward.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m going to give you the mating bite,” Craig said, face unreadable.

  Vincent’s mouth fell open. “You are?”

  “You’re pregnant with my kid; of course I am.”

  “Oh.” Vincent swallowed and held still as Craig came closer. The beefy beta dwarfed the younger man. Craig tilted the omega’s head, brushing blond hair away from the long curve of his neck. Vincent didn’t breathe as Craig lowered his head, expecting the pain of the bite but shivering when the beta ran soft lips over his heated skin. The omega’s heart hammered as Craig pressed gentle kisses along the column of his throat before running a soft tongue over his skin followed by the piercing of sharp teeth.

  Vincent bowed into Craig, their bodies flush and the beta’s hand coming around to hold the omega against him, continuing to mark what was now his. Their groins pressed together, and Vincent was embarrassed at the rush of pleasure that raced through him, making him light-headed and sending a gush of spunk into his underwear.

  When Craig let go, Vincent sagged into the beta, who helped him to the couch.

  “Did you just come?” Craig’s face showed surprise.

  Blushing furiously, Vincent nodded.

  “Oh. Wow. I have to admit, that was pretty intense.”

  Vincent glanced at the bulge in Craig’s pants and then back up at the man’s face.

  “I can take care of that for you,” he said, voice husky. He cleared his throat. “If you want.”

  The pupils of Craig’s eyes dilated, and he moved his hands so they rested on the couch, his groin pushed up in invitation.

  His mouth watering, Vincent unzipped Craig’s jeans and pulled them down to the man’s knees. Dropping to the floor, Vincent positioned himself so he had access to the hard cock and licked it from growing knot to tip.

  “Oh, gods.” Craig threw his head back and placed a hand on the omega’s head. “Vince.”

  The beta’s reaction encouraged Vincent, and he took the silken head into his mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned.

  “Good?” Craig’s voice sounded like he had gravel lodged in his throat. “You like the taste of me, huh?”

  Vincent nodded and sucked harder, eliciting a string of curse words from the beta. It wasn’t long before he was swallowing a load of salty spunk.

  Craig sighed and leaned back, unconcerned his pants were still around his knees and his cock lay spit-slick and limp on his muscular thigh.

  “How do you feel?” he asked after a moment. “With the pregnancy, I mean.”

  Vincent smiled. “Pretty good. I didn’t even suspect.” He laughed.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Just that I’m having your baby, you’ve bitten me, and we’ve never even kissed each other.”

  Craig’s lips tilted up. “Maybe we should remedy that.” He leaned in and brushed his mouth against Vincent’s.

  “That was nice,” Vincent said before Craig claimed his mouth again, this time in a deeper, more sensual kiss that had the omega climbing onto the beta’s lap. They continued kissing until Vincent was pushing his engorged cock against Craig’s, the two layers of fabric between them becoming frustrating until Craig pushed Vincent’s pants down.

  When their bare flesh touched, Vincent groaned. They undulated together, heat rising between them like two sticks creating a flame, Craig’s big hands kneading Vincent’s ass as he rose to full hardness again.

  “Let me…can I…” Vincent couldn’t complete the thought. Luckily, Craig seemed to get it and a moment later, the omega was lowering himself onto the beta’s cock.

  “Oh, yeah…” Craig sighed when Vincent hit bottom. They moved together, Vincent’s hands gripping the back of the couch and Craig still clutching Vincent
’s ass, until Craig came with a yell just as Kale walked in naked and dripping from the lake. The alpha’s eyes widened with interest and pleasure as he approached the couch.

  “What do we have here?”

  Panting and ready to burst, Vincent looked over his shoulder at his alpha’s cock, growing long and hard.

  Vincent gasped when Craig wrapped his hand around the omega’s aching cock at the same moment Kale lifted the omega’s ass and speared him in one stroke.

  “Fuck!” Vincent cried out, body vibrating as he hung onto Craig’s shoulders while Kale pumped into him from behind, fingers digging into the omega’s hips. When Craig leaned up and kissed him, Vincent came hard, streaking Craig’s shirt with ropes of white. Kale continued fucking the omega from behind, and Vincent didn’t feel awkward at all resting his cheek against Craig’s chest. He could hear the beta’s heart thumping hard beneath his ear.

  Kale roared, and Vincent felt his knot pop inside him, breaking almost immediately and filling the omega up. Vincent smiled, feeling used, full, and truly wanted for the first time since he’d arrived at Angel Hills.

  Chapter 11: Gabriel

  Gabriel only hesitated a second before approaching Duncan. The omega had waited outside the dining hall, hoping for a chance to talk to the alpha, and there the man was, alone and headed towards his house.

  Duncan looked surprised when Gabriel called out his name, and he turned, expression guarded.

  “Where’s Grey?” Duncan asked, looking behind Gabriel as though expecting to see the pack alpha there.

  Gabriel fought to contain his nerves. Like all alphas, Duncan was large, broad, and confident. His eyebrows, lashes, mustache, and beard were the same brownish-blond as the hair on his head, which he kept short at the sides and a little longer on top. He had a Romanesque nose, full lips, and blue eyes, and he stood with his hands on his hips, exuding power as he waited for Gabriel to answer.

  Resisting the need to cower, Gabriel tilted his head in submission but stood his ground. “Grey and Ian are surveying the mining caves. I wanted to speak with you, if you don’t mind.”