by Fel Fern
A large, muscular man in his late fifties with graying hair walked up to him. He recognized Felix, werebear and owner of the joint, because Felix sometimes traded beers and other alcoholic beverages with their community.
He turned back to human form, grimaced as he took the bullet out as it would heal faster that way. He knew his team would remain on guard.
“Lance, thank you. There are two families here,” Felix said. The old grizzly looked shaken. “If your pack wasn’t nearby, everyone here would have been taken.”
“Some of our allies alerted us to the fact that humans made the areas near Devil Hills their hunting grounds. That won’t do.”
Felix met his stare. “I thought the Devil Hills wolves stick to their own problems.”
Lance bared his teeth. “This time’s an exception. We’ll take care of clean-up.”
He knew the silent question in Felix’s eyes. Would the pack start interfering with the business of those who lived outside their borders? He couldn’t give Felix or the other paranormals who operated businesses on the road an answer, not yet. This was a pack decision, one he couldn’t make alone.
Someone cleared his throat. A shifter, who’d been with his family of four, walked up to him. “Beta, allow us to help. We have no love for the humans, either,” the shifter said.
Lance nodded. “Catherine, supervise the clean-up. Felix, we’ll talk more but not today. I need to return to my pack and update Deacon, but we’ll probably gather the other business owners around this area and have a meeting.”
“Looking forward to our discussion,” Felix replied.
Lance returned to wolf form and exited the roadhouse. It paid to be careful and being in animal form gave him more advantage in case they missed out on some Squad members. He spotted the dead corpse of the human who managed to claw his way out of the bar with approval.
A slender white wolf with silver eyes padded up to him. Sabine. Her team had started getting victims from the truck. The former captives looked pale, scared, but it seemed she told the less aggressive members of her team to help the victims.
Lance wondered if he should turn back to human to converse, then recalled Sabine managed to communicate with him mentally during their meeting earlier that week. Curious about their new form of communication, Lance waited. Sabine brushed against his fur.
They had ten prisoners, five from a small community north of us and the others are loners, she said in his mind.
Well shit. Lance thought the Squad only took paranormals who had no connections, who were alone, but they were getting bolder and starting to pick off those who came from smaller paranormal communities.
Testing to see if she could hear his thoughts, he tried to give her a response. Let’s bring them inside the roadhouse to rest. Felix’s a decent guy. Can you update Deacon?
Of course.
You have to tell me how you can talk to me like this, he told her.
After I woke from my coma, my abilities started changing, or we’ve become close enough that my wolf trusts you.
Lance would have chuckled if he were in human form.
Let’s finish this up so we can all return home, he said.
Agreed.
Lance returned to the roadhouse to see how the others were doing. His wolves, with the help of some of the other shifters, had managed to drag the corpses to one corner. They would need to get rid of the vehicles, too. Sooner or later, word would get to the Squad that the Devil Hills wolves, who usually cared only about their own territory, had interfered with their operation.
After everything he learned today, he couldn’t wait to get back to his mate. Joey worried about him constantly but by the time he returned, his regenerative abilities would kick in and his shoulder would have healed. All Lance wanted to do was pull Joey into his arms, breathe in the familiar scent of his mate, because if this incident was any indication, they were in for some tough times ahead.
Chapter Ten
“Does it hurt?” Lance asked him, squeezing his hand.
“How can I say this politely,” Joey grumbled. “Baby, you’re my mate and I love you, but I need to appear strong for the rest of my team who’s waiting outside, okay?”
Lance blinked, then grinned. Unable to help himself, he returned his mate’s smile. A week had passed since Lance’s operation. Joey had been relieved to know that Lance’s bullet wound had healed. Today was a day he didn’t think would come.
“I’m done, just need to apply ointment and cover the ink up,” muttered Von, a fellow packmate and their resident tattoo artist.
As Von took off his gloves, replaced them and grabbed the ointment, Joey looked at the new pack tattoo on his right shoulder. A few weeks ago, he’d never imagined belonging to a pack. Shit. Joey wasn’t one for tears, but they gathered at the corner of his eyelids. Lance leaned in close, kissing them away.
“I can’t go out there looking like this,” he complained. “My sister’s out there, along with Christa, Damon, Mac, and Sabine.”
Von returned. The stoic tattoo artist didn’t say much, but he had a sneaking suspicion there was amusement in Von’s dark brown eyes. Von applied the soothing gel over the raised skin, then the bandage.
“Now some aftercare instructions,” Von began, but he listened with a half ear.
Joey couldn’t believe that in such a short span of time, Freida and he went from being lone wolves with no pack to becoming members of the most prominent pack in the country. He thought he’d always prefer to be a loner, because the Black Claws never truly accepted him. The Devil Hills wolves, on the other hand, made him feel right at home once he showed them he was willing to do anything for his mate and pack. Lance suggested Joe, Max and Forrest conduct an assessment and interview a few days ago, and apparently he passed with flying colors. Joey also met up with Deacon, and he took that chance to reaffirm to the Alpha that his place was here, in Devil Hills wolves alongside his mate.
Hell, never in his wildest imagination could he envision reuniting with his lost love and becoming Lance’s mate. He’d given up on love when Freida and he kept moving from one place to the other.
“You got all that?” Von asked, raising one pierced eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he takes care of it,” Lance said.
He got off the chair and hesitated by the door of Von’s studio.
“What’s wrong?” Lance asked by his ear.
“Just a little overwhelmed. I know things are about to get ugly with the humans, but I just can’t help being happy,” he admitted, surprised Lance pulled him to a tight hug. He protested. “Your wound.”
Lance laughed. “While I like it when you fuss over me, it’s time to fess up. I’m all healed, baby.”
“You sure?” He twisted in Lance’s muscled arms to get a good look at Lance’s expression, just to make sure his mate hadn’t been lying. Then he eyed Lance’s shirt. No, he decided, if he lifted Lance’s shirt and saw all those yummy hard muscles, he’d get distracted too easily.
“Why don’t we head right home so you can check?”
He blushed at those words, but his dick hardened. They’d been careful in bed, because the bullet that entered his mate had been made of silver, making the healing so much slower. Not that Joey was complaining, at least the bullet didn’t hit a vital area.
“No disrespect, Beta, but can you two take all that lovey-dovey shit outside?” Von pointed out.
The tattoo artist might be grumpy, but Joey had seen Von help an old Esper lady across the street. Von was a good guy deep down. Laughing, they exited the shop. Freida looked up from the magazine she’d been reading, so did Christa.
“Is it done, brother?” Frieda asked him.
She got her pack tattoo yesterday. Joey had been in the shop with the other submissive wolves who’d become Freida’s close friends. Hearing them speak fond tales of his sister made him realize that coming to Devil Hills turned out to be the best decision he ever made in his life.
He nodded, so overwhelmed wi
th emotion he couldn’t speak as Christa, Mac, and Damon, all members of his new team congratulated him. Outside the shop’s windows, he spotted Sabine conversing with a pale red-haired woman, a vampire he knew to be her lover. Sabine and the vampire seemed to part ways, then she entered the shop, looked right at him. She curved her lips to a smile, walked up to him, and gave him a brief hug.
Joey never thought the Ghost would embrace him in welcome, either. Speechless, he hugged her back. Joey wouldn’t forget that she gave him a chance, found value in the observation skills he acquired in order to keep Freida and himself alive.
He still had a long ways to go, but he woke up each morning in the loving arms of his mate, looking forward to his training and his shifts with his other team mates. Joey finally found a place in the pack, just like Freida.
“Joey Mills, welcome to the Devil Hills pack,” she said, pulling away.
“Those words really mean the world to me,” he said. “Does this mean I get to go on dangerous team missions now?”
Lance cursed softly behind him. “I have something to say about that.”
Joey seriously hoped his mate hadn’t threatened Sabine or any of his team mates about keeping him safe. Then again, Lance might occasionally be overprotective, but his mate never smothered him. Lance understood that Joey needed to grow strong, to learn on his own, too.
“Don’t worry, Beta. We’ll look after him,” Christa said jokingly, ignoring his glare.
“Let’s all return to the pack house,” Damon said.
“What for?” he asked, hoping to spend more quality time with his mate.
Damon rolled his eyes. The big werewolf was about his age had been wary of him at first, but now, more often than not, they got into trouble together. “For Freida and your surprise party.”
He widened his eyes and Freida gasped.
“Damon,” Christa grumbled with a groan. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”
As their little group headed out of Von’s shop, Lance pulled him into another embrace. “What do you say we slip out early so we can do that check-up, hmm?” Lance whispered in his ear, sending a shudder of anticipation down his spine.
“Escape from my own party?”
Lance spun him by the shoulder, gripped the back of his neck, and kissed him rough and deep, leaving him panting. The Beta said, “Why not? You might belong to the pack now, little wolf, but never forget who owns your body and heart.”
Joey knew the answer to that one. He curled his fingers with Lance’s and leaned forward to plant one tender kiss on Lance’s mouth. “You.”
* * * *
Joey finished off his last beer. Time passed by in a blur. Being around his packmates, laughing with them and telling jokes, he never felt more at home. This was the kind of pack he imagined being a part of, Joey remembered thinking. Feeling his mate’s familiar muscular and warm chest against his back, he set his empty bottle down.
“Time to take you home for me to ravish, little wolf,” Lance said.
“Mm. I agree.” Joey and Lance bid goodnight to their packmates and stumbled out of the pack house. He didn’t remember the walk back to their cabin. It was a few miles from the main pack house, but somewhere along the middle, Lance yanked him close and they started making out.
His entire body felt hot and tense by the time they arrived at their doorstep. Joey wondered how they managed to achieve that little miracle, because he’d been ready to beg Lance to fuck him in the woods.
Lance managed to open the front door. Joey sauntered inside, flicked the lights on, and they returned to devouring each other. He couldn’t stop touching his mate, every hard plane and ridge of Lance’s body. Lance gripped a fistful of his shirt. One tug and the Beta tore the fabric off him.
“Barbarian,” he complained.
“You like it. Don’t lie. See?” Lance unbuttoned his jeans and slipped a hand down his pants and boxers, only to cup his dick. He groaned as Lance gave his shaft a few tugs and pulls, before drawing away. Joey huffed in frustration.
“Why are we still wearing clothes?” Joey asked, amazed Lance and he managed to end up in the bedroom this time. He didn’t drink too much, and werewolves didn’t get drunk easily, but he felt high, needy. Hunger rode him as he fumbled for the rest of his clothes and his mate did the same. Once he was fully naked, he knew what he wanted to do.
Joey sunk to his knees in front of his mate, aware of Lance’s intense golden stare on him. Lance speared fingers into his hair and tugged him close, so Joey’s mouth pressed up against his dick. He went to work, taking his time as he licked Lance from base to tip. Joey swiped his tongue across Lance’s cockhead, savoring the taste of Lance’s need. He tongued Lance’s slit, only for Lance to tug at his hair.
Knowing what his mate wanted, Joey opened his mouth and began taking Lance’s generously-proportioned prick inside his mouth. He gagged at first, but determined to succeed, he tried again. Feeling Lance’s tip hit the back of his throat, he began to bob his head up and down, aware of his own dick thickening from half to full length.
“Let me take over,” Lance ordered.
Joey relaxed his mouth, stay stilled as Lance began thrusting his hips, sliding his dick in and out. It wasn’t long before Lance let out a growl, then spilled his load down his throat. Joey sucked softly on Lance’s prick, taking all of Lance’s jizz, careful not to spill a drop.
“Fuck, little wolf. That was quite the sight,” Lance said.
He beamed up at his mate, feeling like a satisfied cat, only for Lance to help him back on his feet.
Joey gasped when Lance gave his chest a little shove. Joey landed on the edge of bed.
“Scoot up,” Lance ordered.
He did as the Beta asked, dick thickening as Lance crawled into the bed above him. Joey reached out, touching the scar left by the bullet wound, relief washing over him.
“Satisfied?” Lance asked.
Feeling playful, he smirked. “Not until you fuck me senseless.”
Laughing, Lance took his mouth, sending heat down his throat and right to his prick. The Beta left more kisses on the side of his neck, the mate mark there. For a dominant shifter male, Joey learned that Lance was pretty patient when it came to foreplay. Lance nipped and sucked his way down his body, leaving a trail of bite marks. Seeing them only turned him on, because he liked it when his mate reminded him who he belonged to.
Lance closed his hand over his cock again, beginning to stroke him back and forth, fast and slow. He groaned in protest, squeaked when Lance ran fingers lower, past his crease to play with his hole. Lance pushed one finger in, and he longed to feel something much bigger inside him.
“Please,” Joey found himself uttering.
“What do you want, little wolf?”
“You,” he blurted. “Inside me.”
“Good answer.”
Chapter Eleven
Lance rolled off him and opened the drawer next to the bed to retrieve the lube. Joey noticed with approval that the Beta rocked an engorged cock. Dominant males recovered even faster than normal werewolves, which worked well in Joey’s favor.
“How do you want me?” he asked his mate.
“Hands and knees,” Lance answered, but Joey had already gotten into position. The Beta walked to the side of the bed, yanked his hair and pushed their mouths together for a sizzling kiss, which made him rock-hard with need.
Lance grabbed a pillow and placed it under his belly, put another pillow near his recently inked arm to rest on, before he returned to bed. Joey rested his cheek on the comforter as Lance went between Joey’s legs. The Beta spread his knees wider, exposing his prick and balls. Lance ran his hands over his genitals, making him groan.
“All mine,” Lance said. “You belong to me, ass, balls, body, heart, and soul. Say it.”
“I belong to you,” Joey agreed.
“I fucking love you so much, little wolf.”
His heart swelled at those words. “I love you, too, Beta.”
&n
bsp; Lance uncapped the lube and applied plenty into his puckered entrance. Joey wiggled his ass, impatient to have Lance buried inside him. The Beta slapped his left ass cheek in response, making him jump. He groaned into the comforter.
“You like that, baby?” Lance didn’t wait for his answer. He swatted at Joey’s buttocks a few more times until the flesh heated up.
He whimpered, incredibly aroused, this close to coming on the spot. Thankfully, Lance pushed a finger into his hole and added a second, beginning to widen him for access. He moaned as the Beta finally replaced his digits with his prick. Lance entered him without warning, pushing all the way in until he was balls deep.
Joey gasped. It felt like Lance completely filled and stretched him to the limit. Lance reached for his prick, gave it a few slow strokes.
“Lance,” he said, a plea in his voice.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll make you feel good soon.” Lance rolled his hips, began thrusting in and out of him, slowly building up his speed. The Beta fucked him deeper and deeper, replacing the initial burn with sheer ecstasy. He found himself pushing his ass out at Lance, while the pressure inside him continued to build steadily. Joey knew he wouldn’t last long, but he suspected neither would his mate. It didn’t matter, because he knew they could both go all night long.
The sound of their pants and their bodies meeting filled the room, music to his ears. Each time Lance penetrated him, the Beta drew out his wolf from inside of him, convincing both animals to dance. Unlike before, it wasn’t just the mate mark between them he could see, but their linked life forces, joined to a hundred others—the rest of the pack. Home.
He gasped at the last push, arching his back. Lance found his sweet spot. The Beta hammered into him with faster strokes.
Joey’s balls tightened against his body. So close now.
“Touch yourself,” Lance ordered.
He reached for his prick and started to stroke.
“I’ll come soon,” he told his mate.
“Me too.”
Lance kept aiming for his prostate, making him cry out. His vision blurred, all that mattered was their bodies, entwined, their wolves becoming one. Lance’s last push shoved him over the edge of oblivion. The pressure in him shattered. Joey came, screaming out Lance’s name as he spurted jets of his cum into his hands.
