“I’ll bring you food, little one.” Smiling, he brushed the sweaty hair matted to Ben’s forehead. “We’ll get you sorted out in no time.” His expression turned serious. “Don’t you worry about anything. Mated or not, you won’t be left alone to deal with this.”
With that reassurance rattling around his head, Ben watched his two minders leave the room. He stretched his arms over his head, while flexing his feet, and yawned loudly. He wrinkled his nose and glanced around. The small room was a disastrous pile of discarded clothing, empty water bottles, tangled bedding, and suspicious dried splatters on the flooring. It smelled, as well, not surprisingly. He wasn’t sure how long his heat had lasted, but the room had seen a lot of action and needed a good cleaning as much as he did.
It was weird to be alone, not that he was for long. Daniel returned in short order with a big steaming bowl of sweet-smelling stuff in one hand and a wash cloth and fluffy towels in the other. Apparently bath time would precede meal time.
Kneeling slowly beside Ben, the beta flashed a smile. “This should do for the short-term. Once you’ve eaten and have regained your strength, we’ll get you into the shower for a proper wash.”
Ben didn’t know what to say in response, so he lay quietly, averting his gaze. He was embarrassed at the idea of being bathed like a little pup. Silly, considering how intimately this man knew his body. Still, he couldn’t look at him when he ran the wet cloth down Ben’s chest and stomach. It left a wet trail that wasn’t very soapy, yet made Ben feel amazingly clean in its wake. First one arm, then the next, was lifted and washed. Finally, the cloth swirled around his groin. He hissed as the soft material brushed up against his tender dick. How many times had he come?
“Sorry, baby.” Daniel lightened his already soft touch.
Baby. Little One. The beta and gamma had taken to routinely using those endearments for him. He could remember that much from his heat time. It hadn’t been simply care, but affection, as well, that they’d showered him with in this room. Even though he hadn’t chosen to mate with either of them, they had and still treated him as if he belonged to each of them. And, they’d mixed their seed! The realization hit hard enough to make him gasp.
“Almost done,” the beta murmured, having misinterpreted the sound for pain. True to his word, he finished up that sensitive area, rinsed the cloth, then gently turned Ben onto his side.
Ben tensed automatically, knowing what came next. He distracted himself by pulling up what memories he could of the last few days. Pictures flashed through his mind of being positioned and breached, coddled and fed, hugged and stroked and sucked. Always the two of them working together and passing him between them—not to get rid of an unwanted burden, but to service him better. Now that he could think straight, it seemed inconceivable that two such dominant shifters would be able to share him without devolving into a fight that would have torn the three of them apart. To mix their seed so that the sire of the pup might never be known was an unheard of selflessness among their kind.
“Why?” He whispered the question, unable to keep it inside him.
“Why what, baby?” As Daniel spoke, he rolled Ben over onto one of the towels so that his clean body wouldn’t lie on messy bedding.
Ben dared to flick his gaze at the beta. The guy was staring down at him with a look of concern across his face. “You mixed your seed. You and Carr, I mean. You, um, both mounted me.”
“We had no choice.” The voice came from the doorway. Carr strode in, shutting the door behind him with an awkward kick. His arms were overflowing with bottles, a thermos, and a big basket stuffed with food.
The aroma hit Ben hard, leaving him speechless with a painful surge of hunger. He forgot the topic of discussion and reached out with desperate hands. “Please.” The shameless begging was nothing new. He’d been doing it his whole life, first with his sire, then with Kurt. The difference was that this time, his plea was rewarded with something other than indifference or violence.
Once again, Daniel and Carr coordinated their efforts. Daniel had Ben propped between his legs and leaning against his hard chest within seconds. Carr dropped down beside them and pressed a warm strip of smoky bacon to Ben’s lips a moment later. He opened up and sucked the food in with unbridled haste. Oh Gods, it tasted wonderful. And, no sooner had he chewed and swallowed that when another one was offered up. Ben took it, too, with almost as much greed as the first. He wasn’t so consumed by his own needs that he didn’t notice Carr feeding Daniel two strips of bacon. And, the gamma didn’t simply hold up the food. He actually did the same for the beta as he did for Ben. That’s when he truly appreciated how close these two had become.
His thoughts gave way, however, to the pressing issue of filling his stomach. Carr alternated between giving him water, then tea, to drink, and various breakfast foods. It was morning, clearly, or close to it. Bacon gave way to fluffy scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit. Each bite that he consumed eased the ache in his belly a little more. Carr’s focus was on him, but when his mouth was busy chewing, the gamma took care of Daniel. Ben tried to lift his arms to feed himself. They were so weak, he couldn’t, which meant that Daniel was occupied with holding him up. Carr was the most mobile of the three of them, and he was diligent in taking care of them both. Only when Ben and Daniel were satiated, did the gamma eat and drink what was left.
Ben slumped against Daniel and watched. The Arctic shifter’s beautiful pale skin was on full display given that the guy remained naked. They all were, yet there was nothing sexual about their state. They’d fucked so much, he doubted even these dominant males would want to mount him at this point. His sore hole quivered at the very thought. He would do it, though, if they asked. He’d get on all fours and offer up his ass if they wanted him to because they had done so much for him. He owed them a lot, probably his life. It was still inconceivable that they’d gone along with his insistence that they stay with him, and that they had then taken turns at trying to breed him.
“Why?” He’d asked before and with his belly full, his mind was able to focus on getting an answer. Carr paused mid-chew, staring back at him with furrowed brows. “Why was it necessary,” Ben clarified.
The gamma finished chewing, swallowed, then fixed his gaze on the plate in his hand. “You needed us to.” He raised his eyes to look squarely at Ben. “Your heat was outside the norm. You needed near-constant mounting. No one male could have given you that.” His line of sight flicked up. “It doesn’t matter to us whose seed took root. It’s enough that we saw you through and that you’re all right.” He treated Ben to a bright, teeth-showing smile.
Daniel ran his hand up to hug Ben’s chest and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “We only wanted to do what was best for you, baby. We still want that.” There was a pause and another wordless exchange between the men. “What do you want?”
Ben licked his lips and gave serious thought to the answer. It came to him quickly and intensely. “I want to run.”
Chapter Eight
Shifting was easy, which surprised Ben. After the depravation of his life with Kurt and the exhausting process of being bred, he would have expected it to be harder. Instead, the moment when both Daniel and Carr gave him the go-ahead, his wolf had leaped to the fore. He’d gone from two legs to four in the blink of an eye. His hearing and sense of smell picked up and for a few seconds, he stood with his snout in the air, enjoying all of the various odors around him.
It was wonderful. And, shifting had left him feeling stronger and energetic. All of his human aches and pains disappeared in this form. The embryonic pup tucked deep within him didn’t seem to have an impact, not that he’d expected it would. Not this early. Later, as his belly grew large and he was ready to whelp, he wouldn’t be allowed to shift. But, he wouldn’t dwell on any of that now, or how he’d manage to raise a pup without an ever-present mate making decisions for them. Those issues were too large and scary for him to think about. For now, he’d take pleasure in the relative freedom he
was being given.
His wolf wanted to take off immediately. He held it in check because pack life had its protocols, one of which being that no omega could lead a run. So, he waited until the others had shifted and Daniel had started trotting away. As the most dominant of the three, that was his prerogative and duty. At a gentle nudge from Carr, Ben set his comparatively short legs in motion, knowing that the gamma would take up the rearguard.
The beta kept to a slow lope as he led them into the woods. The pace frustrated Ben’s wolf. He found himself getting close to Daniel’s hind quarters. He reined himself in, or tried to anyway. His wolf was being stubborn and too excited about the run to heed his caution. A whine passed his snout before he could bite it back. The beta slowed and looked over his shoulder. Ben flinched, expecting a corrective nip from the dominant wolf. That didn’t happen. Instead, Daniel gave him a wolfie grin before picking up speed.
Ben and his wolf both didn’t need any more encouragement. With a yip of glee, he took off. The rush of air hitting his face, redolent with flora and fauna that he hadn’t smelled in a long time, raised his spirits as nothing else had. Not even the delicious breakfast or the hot shower Daniel and Carr had insisted he take had made him feel this good, this happy. He followed the path laid by Daniel and let his human mind shut down. No thinking was necessary.
Soon, though, his energy started to flag, and somehow the other two understood that before his panting went into overdrive. About the same time, they entered a small clearing where the trees were sparser. Slivers of light poured down through the canopy and reflected off the small pond sitting in the middle. Daniel headed over to the edge of the water, then abruptly changed course and sped behind the trees. Carr pulled ahead of Ben and nudged him to stop and sit, while they waited for the beta to return.
Daniel came back in less than a minute, a squirrel hanging limp in his mouth. Trotting over to them, he dropped the offering in front of Ben and barked in invitation. Ben didn’t need to be told twice. He tore into the meal with teeth and claws, peeling back the fur and skin and savoring the first bite of raw meat for what felt like forever. The first few strips of flesh slid down his throat almost intact. The tang of the blood on his tongue perked up his taste buds. The crunch of small bones satisfied his feral side.
Even with his focus trained on eating, he knew Daniel and Carr stood nearby, watching out for trouble and keeping him safe. Knowing that, feeling their presence, allowed him to enjoy his primitive food even more. All too soon, however, he’d ravaged the squirrel’s carcass, leaving only fur and larger bones lying in a messy heap in front of him. It didn’t matter. He was full enough, stuffed even given that this was his second breakfast. So, he wandered over to the edge of the water and stuck his snout in.
He didn’t stop at slaking his thirst and cleaning the gore from his muzzle. The thought of a dip seduced him into walking farther and shifting. On a sigh, he sank his human body into the warmish water. It wasn’t very deep, but enough for him kneel down up to his neck. A splashing sound caught his attention. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Carr coming to join him. The gamma’s long, white hair flowed down his torso like a cloak. He looked almost ethereal with the shafts of light catching him as he waded in. Ben’s breath caught in his throat.
Carr smiled. “Did you enjoy your meal, little one?”
Shyness claimed him, forcing his gaze downward. “Yes, thank you. I hope it’s okay that I shifted to splash about. I, um, haven’t done this in a while.”
“Of course.” Carr stopped a couple of feet away. Still standing, his cock swayed right in front of Ben’s eyes.
For an insane moment, Ben had the urge to lean forward and slip the rod into his mouth. After all the cock-sucking Kurt had forced him to do, the idea should have repelled him. It didn’t. In fact, his own dick stirred and he was glad it was underwater and out of sight. Given his inclination not to mate with anyone, the last thing he wanted to do was give off mixed signals.
“This run is for your pleasure, little one. Take whatever time you want so long as you don’t mind my watching over you. Daniel is standing guard on the bank just in case.”
Ben glanced over and saw that was true, although the beta wasn’t so much standing as pacing. He kept a sharp eye out for trouble in all directions. With the other pack in the area, that made sense. Ben felt a little guilty about taking up their valuable time and energy, yet was selfish enough to want a bit more time for himself. And, he realized that he also wanted more time with the two of them. Once they returned to the compound, he would pick up duties to help the pack and they would return to the perimeter to keep watch. Well, at least Carr would. Daniel had made it clear he wasn’t going to join the pack. The thought of his leaving made Ben sad, but there was nothing he could do about it.
So in the way of his kind for those without power, he lived in the moment and enjoyed his chance at splashing about and floating on the surface for a while. Eventually, he got tired and waded back to the grassy edge. Carr followed him and Daniel’s keen wolf eyes tracked his every move. Flopping down, Ben rolled onto his back and soaked up the sun. He lay there with his eyes closed until his skin dried. He heard Carr join him and appreciated how the gamma gave him space and quiet.
Sound and movement had him opening his eyes and turning onto his side. He pillowed his head on his arm and watched the gamma work his fingers through the long, white strands of his hair. It struck Ben as pointless given that they’d be shifting back to their wolf forms soon. Nevertheless, he was mesmerized by the rhythmic movement. Far from being annoyed at the staring, the gamma shot him a sweet smile. When he started to braid his hair, another waste of time, Ben couldn’t resist jumping in.
He sat up and held up his hand. “Can I do that?” His cheeks heated up at his boldness, yet he couldn’t snatch the words back.
Carr’s hands stilled. His gaze bore into Ben for a few long seconds. Then a sigh. “If it would please you. It would certainly please me, but I won’t read more in the offer than you intended.”
Unsure of the words’ meaning, Ben scooted closer because he wanted to do it. At his approach, the gamma turned his back to him, giving him access to the already partially formed braid. Ben tried to be bold. He took the silky strands in his hands, allowed himself a second of just touching and appreciating, before starting the weave. He hadn’t done such a thing in a long time and never with so much hair. It was fun, he decided. Carr sat unmoving, his head held high and his back straight. His magnificence was unparalleled, perhaps due to his exotic nature. The Arctic wolf continued to fascinate Ben. He took his time to draw out the experience.
“Is everything around here very different from what you’re used to? I mean, a lot of the smells must be new.”
Carr’s broad shoulders rose and fell. “Not so much. A little mustier maybe because the air tends to be warmer. I like it, though.” He petted the grass by his side. “It’s nice having some time to sit and appreciate the beauty around me instead of always being alert and on the run.”
“There’s danger here, though.” He glanced around and was reassured by Daniel’s presence pacing the perimeter of the clearing.
“There is always danger, little one. But fighting for a pack and to protect the pack’s lands is different than facing problems as a feral group.” He paused and looked over his shoulder. His pale, blue eyes pinned Ben’s. “I hope you know that mated or not, I will always keep you and your pups safe.”
Ben froze, digesting the gamma’s words. He was making a promise that went beyond that day and even beyond the current breeding. Pups. Carr spoke of the future, something that Ben’s mind instinctively turned away from because it scared the crap out of him.
Dropping the braid and his gaze, he said, “I know that. I do. And, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all that you’ve done for me so far. It’s just…”
Carr twisted his body to reach Ben’s hand. “Hush, little one. You don’t need to say more. I don’t expect you to. Daniel and I
both know how hard your life has been, especially recently. You don’t have to think or worry about anything right now. No pressure.”
“Thank you.” He dared to offer up a quick smile.
A low woof caught their attention. Daniel was calling them to shift, so they did, and soon were heading back to the compound. The respite was over. Time to get back to work, and surprisingly, Ben didn’t mind. Being in a pack, having chores, made him happy. It’s what he knew. As Carr had said, he didn’t need to worry about the future yet. It would sort itself out, eventually. He needed to believe that.
****
All the way back to the compound, Daniel admonished his wolf to chill the fuck out. The relationship Carr was building with Ben was all to the good. The gamma was staying while he was going back to Portland. The omega deserved the steadiness of someone who’d stick in the long run. A male who’d protect him and his pups twenty-four seven, who could commit to him for the rest of his life. He didn’t need a weird shifter living in a city and passing as human for the thrill of modern life.
And yet, when he turned to watch the little omega trotting behind him, his heart skipped a beat and a feeling of intense longing overtook him. Even in wolf form his human emotions were strong. But, was it love for Ben that swamped him or was it more a sense of responsibility and a general desire to have a mate? He wasn’t sure, and even if he were, he couldn’t see himself living again in a pack. He kept circling back to the same problem, and his heart was heavy with it.
The alpha was waiting for them. He sat on the swing on the back porch with his mate and pup. They made such a happy family. That’s what Ben deserved. Climbing the steps, he shifted so that he stood in human form by the time he reached them.
Omega in the Middle (The Rogue Pack Book 5) Page 13
