by Gem Frost
“Well…” Jon still looked dubious. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” Caeden said, pushing down the small part of him that still couldn’t stop fantasizing about the two of them together, hot, sweaty bodies locked together in a knot. Fantasies were okay, but they didn’t have to get in the way of the real world. And what he felt for Jon was real. He was certain of that now. “Why don’t the two of us go to the store, and then we can make dinner together, just like we used to?”
Jon blinked at him. “Don’t you think your parents will want you home, your first night?”
Caeden shrugged. If he’d defeated his father in ritual combat, the Wolf house would be his now, and his parents would be summarily kicked out, to reside in the smaller outbuilding. But as it was, they were both Alphas, and he didn’t feel especially comfortable with rudely shoving his parents out of the home they’d always lived in, anyway. He thought maybe he and Jon might wind up spending a lot of time here in the bungalow.
“Probably. We’ll go over there after dinner. But first, I want to spend a little time with you. Okay?”
Jon looked at him for a long moment, then broke into his shy smile.
“Okay,” he said.
✽✽✽
The general store near the center of Wolf Green seemed unusually crowded with people, all of whom wanted to congratulate Cae on his elevation to Alpha. Jon tried not to be unduly irritated by all the people shaking Cae’s hand, because he knew that being the life-mate of the Alpha meant sharing him with the town. But it was difficult, particularly when a very attractive, young, curvaceous beta walked right up to Cae, shoving past Jon as if he were nothing. Her long, dark hair rippled down her back, and her body was strong and toned. She offered Cae a slow, seductive smile.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m not sure if we’ve met before, but I’m Amelia Rose.”
“Hello, Amelia.” Cae reached out and pulled Jon to his side. Something unpleasant burned in the golden depths of his eyes. “This is Jonathan MacArthur. My mate.”
“Your mate?” Her voice dripped with disdain, and she reached out and placed a hand on his chest, right where everyone knew his alpha tattoo was, though it was concealed by his shirt just now. “Someone like you needs someone strong at his side. Someone like…”
“Someone who would take on someone far above his rank in order to protect the person he loves. Yeah. That describes Jon perfectly, doesn’t it?” He caught her wrist and shoved her hand away, not brutally, but firmly. He steered Jon away, turning his back on the beta in a clearly insulting gesture.
Jon couldn’t help chuckling at Cae’s annoyance. He spoke softly as they walked away from her. “You should feel flattered. She’s pretty, smart, and strong… and she wants you.”
“She doesn’t want me.” Cae’s voice was cold. “She works in the courthouse too, and she always treated me like I was nothing until now. I’ve heard her laughing behind my back. But now that I’m the Alpha, she’s crawling all over me. Ugh. What a social-climbing bitch.”
“If she hadn’t treated you that way,” Jon said quietly, “I suppose you’d have to admit she might have made a good mate.”
Cae came to a halt and looked down at Jon. “Hey,” he said. “I told you, you’re my mate. You, and only you, Jon.”
“Yeah.” Jon sighed. “It’s just that I’m…”
“An omega who took on the most powerful wolf in the pack. For me.” His arm tightened on Jon’s shoulders. “And also the man I adore. So stop worrying about that beta, or any beta, and let’s get some groceries. How about spaghetti for dinner?”
Relief spilled through Jon, and he couldn’t help smiling.
“Spaghetti sounds terrific,” he said.
Chapter 21
“The blood I drew from your son after your battle this afternoon shows normal amounts of cortisol and lupimutacytes, sir. In my opinion, he is more than competent to be Alpha.”
Rich stood in front of the Alpha—well, one of them—more than a little nervously. After an entire fucking month of wandering around that stupid, filthy, stinking national forest, struggling to keep the dumb-but-not-entirely-inept guards off Cae and Jonathan’s trail, he was tired to the bone, and what he wanted more than anything was to lie down in a real bed, in a comfortably air-conditioned house, and never so much as look at a tree for the rest of his life.
He’d had the two of them under surveillance, while he kept the guards searching aimlessly elsewhere, and the moment they’d headed for Wolf Green, he’d headed for his Lexus, which he’d spotted in a remote, unpaved parking lot in the forest most of a month before, and which by some miracle hadn’t been towed. It had been a long run back to the car, but once there he’d found the key that he kept beneath the car (grand larceny not ordinarily being much of an issue in Wolf Green) and the spare clothes he always kept in his trunk. Dressed in something besides his own pelt for the first time in a month, he’d driven home at top speed. He’d arrived just in time to see the big dramatic Alpha fight.
Not to mention Jonathan’s attempt to take on the Alpha himself. He’d been right about the kid, he thought, amused. He might be a low-ranked omega, but he was also more than that. A lot more.
The old man looked at him, his golden eyes piercing.
“I’m glad to hear that, Dr. Bronson. I can’t help but observe, however, that you failed to find my son, which is what you were specifically ordered to do.”
Faced with the Alpha’s unblinking stare, Rich couldn’t help lowering his head. “I did my best, sir.”
“Oh, no doubt. And yet somehow, after a month of diligently searching for Caeden, you happened to arrive home virtually at the same time he did. What an absolutely amazing coincidence.”
Damn it. The Alpha might be old, but he certainly wasn’t stupid. If Rich shifted into wolf form now and ran for it, was there the slightest chance he could outrun the Alpha? He could head back to the safety and solitude of the national forest…
No, he thought glumly, he’d rather be torn to bits than go back to those fucking woods. He decided to come clean.
“Sir,” he said, affecting his most professional tones, “it was my considered opinion that the steroidogenesis inhibitor was, to put it mildly, a long shot. Human medicines rarely work on wolves, and besides, it would have only worked on the excessive cortisol, not the lupimutacyte issue. But from observation, I was able to determine that young MacArthur’s presence had a calming effect on your son. I began to feel that the only way to cure Caeden was to allow nature to take its course. So to speak.”
“But it’s not nature, not really. An alpha and an omega can’t…”
He trailed off, refraining delicately from making a blunt reference to knotting, and Rich nodded, understanding his reservations.
“Maybe not, sir. But even if they’re not truly life-bonded… it seems to be enough for them.”
The old man sighed. “So it does. And although they can’t have cubs—well, I suppose it’s enough that I have my son back. You cured your patient, Dr. Bronson, and in so doing saved the Pack, for now at least. You should be proud of yourself.”
Startled by the unaccustomed praise, Rich lifted his head. He understood the Alpha’s dismay at the idea that the Wolf line might die out after all these years, and he almost blurted out details on some interesting case studies he’d found in the medical literature. But he wasn’t quite certain about what might happen next, and didn’t want to offer false hope to the old man, so he decided to keep his own counsel for now. “Thank you, sir.”
“There is, however, the small matter of my missing guards. I’m guessing you deliberately misled them and sent them wandering off into distant areas of the forest, so as to keep them out of the way of my son and his mate.”
“Yes, sir.” Rich thought longingly of his bed, then squared his shoulders. “I know I shouldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t see any other way to get them to leave Caeden and Jonathan alone. I’ll go find them now, sir.”
“Don’t worry about that.” The Alpha gave his low, rumbling laugh. “If they’re so stupid as to allow themselves to be sent on a wild-goose chase that easily, they deserve another month or two in the wilderness. But don’t concern yourself about their well-being. We’ll retrieve them before the first snow, I promise.”
Rich couldn’t help himself. He gave a sharp crack of laughter. “Yes, sir.”
“You’ve had a long month, Dr. Bronson. Why don’t you get some rest?”
Rich broke into a broad, happy smile. Thank Lupus. No more stupid wilderness for me. Ever.
“I’ll do that, sir.”
✽✽✽
“Are you happy?”
Jon was standing beside a window, staring out into the wooded grounds of the Wolf property. He jolted at the sweet voice, then turned to see the Alpha’s mate. She was a high-ranked beta, of course, but she had always been kind to him, and he’d thought of her as almost a mother when he was growing up, despite the enormous difference in their ranks.
After dinner, he and Cae had cleaned up and shaved off their beards, then they’d gone over to the Wolf mansion to spend a little time with Cae’s parents. They treated him kindly, and the Alpha had even apologized profusely for Jon’s treatment at his paws, but Jon still found it a little stressful to face the man he’d tried to do battle with this afternoon. Fighting just wasn’t in his nature. He’d taken a moment to step out of the parlor and look out at the comforting darkness of the woods. But he wasn’t sorry that Cae’s mother had followed him. He was fond of her.
“Yes,” he answered honestly. “I am. I never thought I could be with Cae, but I always...”
“Always loved him. Yes, I know.” She stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I always knew you cared for him, dear, but I never thought the two of you could be together, because the rules didn’t allow it.” She chuckled, a soft, warm sound. “It didn’t occur to me that the two of you would rewrite the rules.”
He looked down at her. Her long hair fell around her shoulders in a silvery cloud, she was slender, almost fragile, and her eyes were bright blue. She didn’t look like Cae in the least, and yet there was something in her steady, confident gaze that he’d seen in Cae’s eyes a thousand times.
“Do you mind that we’re together?” he blurted.
A corner of her mouth curved upward. “Do I mind? You saved my son, Jonathan, and in so doing saved the Pack. Why on earth would I mind?”
“Well.” He blew out a long sigh. “I’m just an omega. And a low-ranked one, at that.”
“You showed you were worthy of him,” she said, “when you attacked the Alpha in an attempt to save him.”
“Uh-huh. Attacked him…and got my tail handed to me.”
“Well, he is the Alpha.” She laughed softly. “It doesn’t matter that you didn’t succeed. What mattered was that you tried. You stepped beyond your rank, stepped beyond everything that you are, and by sheer force of will became something more. That is what makes you worthy of my son, Jonathan. That… and the fact that he loves you, too.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “When I was a kid,” he said softly, “I always imagined you were my mother. I’m very glad that I’m going to be your son.”
She reached out and took his hand in hers.
“So am I,” she said.
✽✽✽
The town was peaceful, almost silent, as Caeden and Jon walked back to the old MacArthur bungalow together, hand in hand. A breeze touched with the coolness of autumn blew into their faces, and the first fallen leaves crunched underfoot. They passed the park, a wide green space with a Victorian-style gazebo in its center, and Caeden eyed it thoughtfully.
“Want to make love there?”
“Cae.” Jon laughed, squeezing his hand. “We’ve spent the last month making love in the great out of doors. Suppose we use a bed for once?”
“A bed?”
“Yes, a bed. People do use them for having sex occasionally, you know.”
“Well…” Caeden contemplated the distance to the bungalow. It was at least a five-minute walk. He supposed he could survive without Jon that long. Probably. “All right.”
A few minutes later, the two of them went up the front steps together. The old wooden risers creaked ominously beneath their combined weight, and when Jon opened the heavy old door, it groaned like it was in agony. The bungalow needed some serious repairs, Caeden thought, and probably some expansion as well. Maybe the two of them could work on it together.
It occurred to him that he was thinking of living here with Jon, instead of in the old magnificent mansion that had been the Wolf home for generations. And he figured that was okay. Despite tradition, he wasn’t really thrilled by the idea of kicking his mom and dad out of the place they’d lived for so long. Anyway, it could be that having the Alpha, or one of the Alphas, living in a somewhat more modest home might contribute toward making their society a little less rank-conscious.
Besides, he’d been coming here to visit Jon for most of their lives, and the bungalow simply felt like home.
He put his arms around Jon and lowered his head for a kiss.
Jon, he thought, felt like home, too.
Chapter 22
There was something different about Cae tonight, Jon thought. Maybe it was just that this was the man he’d fallen in love with—kind and gentle and steadfast. The madness had vanished from his eyes, the edge of anger was gone from his movements, and his big, strong hands touched Jon with a careful adoration that made Jon’s throat tighten up.
They kissed for a long moment, and then Jon pulled back, and looked into Cae’s eyes. In the darkness, they were tarnished with shadows, yet as beautiful as ever.
“I love you,” Cae whispered.
Jon’s throat tightened more. He swallowed, and croaked a response.
“I love you too.”
It was, he thought with surprise, the first time they’d said those words to one another. They hadn’t really needed to. It seemed like an obvious statement of fact, so self-evident the words hardly needed saying.
And yet Jon couldn’t help but think they should have been said, weeks ago. Cae deserved to know how much he was loved, didn’t he?
“I love you,” he whispered again, more firmly this time, and Cae smiled.
“I’m going to show you how much I love you,” he answered, just as softly and just as sincerely, lifting him into strong arms and carrying him toward the bedroom.
✽✽✽
“Damn it. I can’t believe you still have a twin bed.”
Jon hadn’t ever felt like he needed to replace his childhood bed. Of course he had had numerous sexual partners, but wolves screwed pretty freely, pretty much anywhere, and he hadn’t felt any particular need to bring his partners back to his house. Maybe it was because he’d only wanted to share his house with Cae, who’d visited regularly, and to have his sexual partners there would have tainted their friendship somehow. He wasn’t sure.
But right now, crammed up against the wall by Cae’s powerful form, he definitely wished he’d upgraded to at least a double bed at some point.
“It’s not my fault,” he complained. “You’re just too big.”
Cae laughed, and Jon could see his white teeth flash in the gray half-light from the window.
“I thought you liked big.”
“Shut up,” Jon grumbled, whacking his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. And in my own defense, I don’t think the problem is that I’m too big. I think the problem is very definitely that this bed is too small. We’re going to have to buy a bigger one tomorrow.”
“We—buy—” Jon boggled at him. “Here? But I thought…”
“Oh.” Cae went still, then spoke with unaccustomed shyness. “I guess I should’ve asked. Um, I sort of assumed we’d live here, but if you’d prefer to live in the big house…”
“No. No, no. I’d love to live here with you. I just didn’t think you’d want—I me
an, you’re the Alpha now.”
“Well, one of them. But the point I’m trying to make to everyone is that the Alpha doesn’t necessarily need to live in the grandest house in town. You know?”
“Oh.” Jon’s heart seemed to sink into his stomach. “So this is, like, a political statement.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Cae whacked his shoulder in return, very gently. “This is where I want to live, Jon. It feels like home. I’m just saying I don’t know why I should have to follow tradition and live in a big-ass fancy old house, just because Wolfs have always lived there. The two of us have decided to toss tradition in the trash, haven’t we?”
“Yeah,” Jon breathed. “Yeah, we have.”
“But I shouldn’t be making the decision for us both, either. I might be the Alpha, but this is a partnership, Jon. Where do you want to live?”
Jon looked around at the bedroom he’d lived in since he was eight. It was small and cramped and the dingy cream-colored paint was peeling off the plaster.
“I’d like to move,” he said at last.
“Oh.” Cae seemed taken aback, but he didn’t argue. “Okay.”
“…Across the hall. The master bedroom is a lot bigger.”
Cae looked at him for a long moment, then laughed. “Okay. We’ll get a bigger bed tomorrow, and start rearranging. That way it won’t just be your house any longer. It’ll be our house. Cool?”
“Sounds awesome.” Jon snuggled up against his chest—not that he wasn’t snuggled up against him already, as with the two of them squashed onto this little mattress there wasn’t even room to spare for a bedbug. “But right now, let’s just go ahead and use this bed.”
Cae wrapped an arm around him. “Okay.”
Cae lowered his mouth and kissed him, gently yet forcefully. His mouth tasted like it always did, like summer sunshine and hay and apples, but there was another taste beneath it. Something strange, something sensual. Something sexual.
