by Tamsin Baker
“Give him to us,” one of them said and I looked up at Angus for permission. He nodded.
I lifted his arm off my shoulders and he fell forward onto the two men who practically carried him inside.
Silky was still standing by the door and I gave her the best death stare I could manage as I passed by. She looked away, and she was lucky she did. That bitch deserved a real slap down and if I didn’t have Angus to look after, I’d be very excited to be the one to give it to her.
The two men placed Angus on the couch and he finally groaned loudly in pain, his breath hissing out between his teeth.
“Fuck that hurts. Twice in a few hours bloody almost killed me.” He was panting now, finally showing how strained and tired he was.
“Alpha, we’re so sorry we didn’t know you were in here saving your new mate. Silky told us that you needed us back at the power station and we headed up there after dinner.” The men’s gazes dropped and their massive shoulders stooped.
Angus shuffled into a more erect seated position, his gaze hard. “She is to be banished from the pack. Alan. Tom. Make sure it’s done. Give her to Clayton’s old pack for all I care, but she is not to step foot inside this building again.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
They turned and left us alone.
Angus groaned. “This never would have happened ten years ago. My father’s pack was strong, faithful. What we’ve got now is truly fucked up.”
I knelt on the ground beside the couch and let him vent. The poor thing. I hated that this was the legacy Angus felt he was left with. “You deserve better than this, Angus. I’m so sorry.”
He pulled himself up to look at me as though he’d forgotten I was there. “You’ll have to explain to me why you offered me up for a fight that is surely going to get me killed.”
His tone was rough and a part of me wanted to fall apart and apologize for being so stupid. But my mother didn’t raise a weakling and I was no quitter.
“Okay, bear with me, because there’s lots of steps to my crazy plan. First of all, I want to check that you don’t want to just run away tonight? We can. I’ll go with you, and I’m sure a few of the others would too.”
Angus grunted. “Where would we go? I’ve thought about this so many times, and I don’t know how I can keep my pack safer than they currently are. At least here we have housing, food, water. If I grab my pack, all the women and children, everyone, and run, what will happen when the vamps find us? They’d drain us all, and for what? So, I can be the Alpha I want to be? No. Fuck it, no!”
Wow, he really has thought about it.
“Okay, so running away is out of the question. Then the next step is…” I swallowed hard as anxiety gripped my throat. “Do you want to mate with me?”
Angus frowned. “I thought we already had…sort of.”
I smiled up at his confused look. “I know. And I haven’t asked if you want to be my mate because I thought we had time, and I was waiting for you to ask me. But the clock is ticking now and it needs to be done.”
Angus began to smile brighter at me and dragged me up on the couch with him. “Of course, I want you to be my mate. I think me, and my rather possessive wolf made that pretty clear outside. I just wasn’t sure you were ready, considering your history.”
I grinned and cupped my beautiful Alpha’s jaw, still covered with dry vamp blood. “I definitely want to be your mate, in every way possible. So, thank you for trusting me with this crazy plan. I know you were wondering what I was on, to suggest such a thing.”
“Yeah, I was. I still am to be frank. Part of me assumed you were just giving us some time to work out a solution before tomorrow night.”
That would have been a decent reason too, but I had one better. “Well, I have one already. That’s not what I needed the time for.” Excitement bubbled up inside of me and I pressed my lips to my Alpha’s, gratitude flowing through me that such a beautiful man really wanted me.
“What was that for?” he asked, a soft smile on his face.
“Just happy… Anyway, I need to tell you something I only remembered a few hours ago. My mother once told me that as an Omega, I could give my mate more power than he’d ever dreamed of by mating with him. As an Alpha you can absorb my energy, and double your strength, you healing capacity, everything.”
Angus’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Not many people know about it. It was kind of a lost secret because so few Omegas are born. But if we mate tonight, by tomorrow you should be stronger than anyone in the city. You’ll be able to beat Vincent’s champion, hands down.”
“Even in human form?” he asked and I had a moment of doubt.
“I believe so. My memory of the details is so foggy. We could find an elder to ask, but I’m not sure anyone would tell us the truth anyway. Even if we could find someone who knew more than me.”
Angus struggled up so he was sitting properly, his feet now on the floor. “I do remember stories my mother told me of my great grandfather having an Omega mate after his first wife died. He was the greatest warrior our pack had ever known. Maybe his real mate was the reason.”
“It’s very possible,” I said with a confidence I barely felt.
I knew this could work. It was my fear for Angus’s safety that was beginning to make me feel sick. I grabbed my Alpha’s hand and clung tight. “What if something happens to you, Angus? I’d die if they hurt you.”
And I probably would now. Literally die. Without the protection of Angus, I’d be dead.
“Don’t think about that. There’s something we need to do tonight first.” Angus grinned at me with lascivious intent. I slid onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“And what is it that we need to do, Alpha?” I asked, widening my eyes in mock innocence.
Angus laughed, the sound as rich and perfect as a piece of chocolate from my childhood. He pulled me to him and stood up in a fluid, strong movement. I clung to the man that would be my mate, inhaling the scent of his hormones and loving the feeling of lust in my loins.
“Quick shower?” I suggested, my hands clinging to flesh covered in dry blood. Yuck.
He nodded, his chest rumbling in an earthy growl.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I wasn’t going to get many more words out of him tonight.
He put me down in the bathroom and flicked on the water. Before I could assess the temperature, he jumped beneath the cold spray.
Brrrr….
He shook beneath the spray like a wild animal, flinging about his hair and rubbing at his skin until the water ran red and black.
I stopped to really take in the moment and let my gaze run over his amazing form. My stomach tightened as I couldn’t help but stare at his aroused body. His cock jutted out like a rod. Pinkish water now ran down his hard, muscled body.
“You really are, the most beautiful man,” I said, unable to keep my thoughts inside my own head.
He smiled and turned the water off, roughly towel drying his body and then taking my hand.
“I think you’re the beautiful one,” he managed to say, though the words were rough and tight.
“Thank you.”
He pulled me tight against his damp body and I hissed out my breath with the sudden-ness of his cold flesh against my warmth. He pressed his lips to mine, his tongue flicking out to taste my tongue and I moaned with the heat flush he caused.
I fell back against the bed and pushed at my clothes. I wanted to be naked and our bodies pressed together. The black leggings fell away, then I pulled back to rip the T-shirt from my body.
Naked now, my skin began to burn for his touch.
“I need you… Please,” I begged, lifting my arms to him.
“What do you need, Clayton?” Angus asked and my throat thickened with emotion.
“I need you to fuck me, claim me, love me.” The words were flowing too freely now, I couldn’t control them.
“Then I will,” he declared, falling to his knees
and lifting my legs so my knees pushed up closer to my shoulders.
He buried his head between my thighs, licking my ass. Probing deep, then moving higher. Suckling on my balls, then nibbling on the head of my cock which was already leaking profusely.
“Oh fuck!” I cried out. His mouth was wet, and hot, causing waves of ecstasy to roll over my skin. Building up into an incredible mountain of pleasure. I grabbed for his head and held on for the ride as he continued to devour me. His mouth made every part of me burn for him.
He lifted himself up, slicked his hard cock up with the oil he kept in the bedroom for us and hovered over me. Hands either side of my head now, he stared into my eyes like I was the only person in the world for him.
I needed us to be as close as humanly possible. As close as two people could possibly be. I lifted my legs up to place my ankles on his shoulders and grabbed for his cock with my hand.
“I love you,” I said, wanting him to know how much I cared and how proud I was to be his.
Angus thrust his hips into my hands and I dragged him to the right position, setting his large arrow-shaped cock at my ass’s entrance.
“I. Love. You.” Angus ground out as he slid into me.
One inch at a time.
I opened, burned, and ached for him. I dragged on his hips, wanting him deeper. He forged inside me and my cock pulsed with longing.
When he was finally buried inside of me, his thighs were pressed against me and my balls were drawn up. Ready to come.
“Ah.” I arched my back, waiting for him to start moving. There was some pain, but I was out of my head with need. I had to come, and soon.
Angus drew back slowly, until he was almost to the entrance, then shot forward in one big movement.
I cried out as tingles vibrated along the backs of my legs.
“You’re mine. You’re mine,” Angus repeated over and over again as he rode me harder and faster.
I groaned and screamed as he drove me up and over that invisible mountain. My orgasm slammed into me like a semi-truck.
I squirted all over my belly. Hot, long streams as fireworks exploded inside my mind.
Angus gripped my hips hard and thrust once more, his seed flooding me and binding us together forever.
My body shuddered over and over again, milking up every drop of his seed until we collapsed into a heap of tangled limbs.
I was someone’s true mate.
It was done.
And tomorrow, I may lose him.
And it would be all my fault.
Chapter 7.
Angus.
The morning sun brought with it the beginning of the new day, and for me, it could be my last day on Earth, so I wasn’t going to waste it working. I rolled onto my mate, who was covered in dried cum from a night full of fucking, and gave him a kiss to wake him up.
“Hmmmm, is it time to get up already?” Clayton asked, his hands moving up my chest and cupping my neck and face.
The beautiful Omega was so affectionate. I loved it. I could have his hands on me all day.
“I’m already up for you,” I said, thrusting my pelvis at him and letting him feel my hardness.
“Again?” Clayton asked, his eyes going wide with surprise.
I laughed, loving the feeling of completeness rolling around in my blood stream.
I could sense on a cellular level, the difference mating with Clayton had made to my soul. I wasn’t agitated, frustrated, or lonely. Everything was how it should be. I was at peace for the first time in my adult life.
“No. I’m sure you’re probably too sore from last night. I just wanted you to know how desirable I think you are.”
I swooped down and kissed him, needing his flavors in my mouth. He didn’t disappoint me, he never did. He melted against me like ice in summer, pressing so close I could feel his need to be a part of me.
When he groaned, I pulled away, not wanting to push his body past its limits.
I thought I’d probably done that last night anyway.
“So, what are you going to do when you win the fight tonight, Angus?” he asked me, tousling my hair like he didn’t have a care in the world.
I didn’t expect to win this fight, despite what Clayton had told me about the extra strength I’d get from him. The vamps were going to attack in a pack, and I only had one hope to win, and that was to shift and rip them apart.
But one lethal bite of their fangs, and I was gone for.
“I don’t know. What do you think I should do, mate?”
I had a mate. A beautiful mate. And I loved him.
“Well,” Clayton began, chewing his lip in that way that I adored.
God, he’s beautiful…
“I think you need to work out if you want to stay here or not. And if you want to leave San Fran and set up somewhere else, are we taking the pack with us?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why wouldn’t I take my pack with me?”
He looked away as though embarrassed, or intimidated. I didn’t want him to be either.
“Come on, Clayton. Be honest with me.”
“Well, they certainly didn’t help you out by looking after me. Nor did they come to help when you came barreling in here last night.”
I went to interrupt and he waved his hands at me. “Oh, please don’t take offence to any of that. I know you’re a good man, and a good Alpha, but your pack’s loyalty could be better.”
I sighed and relaxed into the pillows, pulling him against my chest. He was right.
“I know. The pack isn’t what it used to be. We lost so many good men and women in the fighting, and all the work we have to do at the plant, and the vamps have really worn everyone down. You may be right…”
I’d never even considered just taking Clayton and leaving, and I wasn’t entirely sure that was the safe, sensible, or right option.
I shook my head. “No. I could never leave my pack behind. And I don’t think I want to stay here if I win the fight either. I want out of this city and away from the fighting. I’m sure we can find some other option.”
Did we want to live without housing? Without food or clean water? With the possibility of running into other dangers and new enemies?
Clayton lifted himself up on my chest and turned around so he could look at me while we chatted. “I agree. Maybe we could stay in San Fran and simply move to the other side of the city? Stay where the houses and food are, but remove the danger of the other shifters and the vampires?”
I didn’t think that was a good option either, but I couldn’t see a better way just yet.
“I’m not sure that’s possible, but there’s only one way to see. And one step at a time.” I had to win the fight yet.
Clayton rolled away from me and stretched out on his back. “Yes. One. Step. At. A. Time.” He ran his right hand down his lithe body and reached his cock. He began stroking in a hypnotizing rhythm that I could not ignore.
I rolled on top of him and pushed his legs up. “So, you’re up for more?” I asked, though the answer was pretty obvious.
Clayton reached for my cock and wrapped his hand around the shaft. My breath hissed through my teeth as renewed heat flushed up my spine.
“Always.” He sighed and I joined our bodies once again for the dance of mates.
*
Hours later, we were awake once again after a post-coital nap and there was a loud banging at the door.
“Who is it?” I called out, not caring who it was when my mate was sitting in my lap.
A strange growl came through the door and my heart rate picked up. That was a shifters sound and there was only one animal in San Fran that was allowed to shift.
“The cougars,” Clayton squeaked, his keen mind putting it all together faster than I could speak.
“Go to the bedroom and lock the door,” I managed to get out, getting to my feet and pushing him towards safety.
My teeth were already shifting, I could feel the bubble of heat in my blood. My shifter coming t
o the forefront as danger loomed in sight. The vampires ruled this town with fear and threats. I would not live under those conditions any more
The door burst open, right off its hinges, and in stalked two large cougars, growling and baring their teeth in the most threatening mode possible. They stepped in opposite directions, intent on circling me.
“Shift back and explain yourselves, or I won’t be liable for the consequences,” I shouted.
Would any of my pack come to help me? Was there even a pack to fight for?
When the cougars ignored me and continued to prowl, I realized with a deafening thud, that most of my pack would be at the power plant. Working. Where I should be…
Fuck.
I let go of my humanity and shifted faster than I ever had. There was no pain, there was nothing. Nothing but fluid magic that made me want to howl to the moon in its beauty.
The cougars froze.
I whirled and bared my teeth, ready to attack. I wasn’t sure I could beat them both in a fight to the death, but I was going to try.
Then I heard a calm, female voice that somehow penetrated the anger of my mind.
“Shift back. All of you,” she commanded.
The cougars shifted back instantly, leaving two young men in their wake. They were barely twenty-one, pimples still adorning one of their faces.
Sick to my stomach that I’d been so close to killing such young men, I let go of my wolf and was soon also human, naked and standing in my living room.
Fucking fantastic.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked the woman now closing my door and moving into the living room.
She had long, silver hair and I hadn’t seen her before. Which was incredible considering I knew almost everyone. It was hard to tell her age too. I could feel the strength of the shifter magic in her, but she was a woman. And she’d have to be sixty years old. At least.
“Angus, I am Tameethia. Alpha mate of the cougar pack that once dominated south San Francisco.”
I nodded once. She wasn’t making any moves that indicated that she would attack, but how did I know that?
A door opened and Clayton ran to me. I put an arm around him and he pressed close.
