The Pretense
A Men of Meadowfall book
Anna Wineheart
Contents
Prologue
1. Levi
2. Cole
3. Cole
4. Levi
5. Cole
6. Levi
7. Cole
8. Levi
9. Levi
10. Cole
11. Levi
12. Cole
13. Levi
14. Levi
15. Levi
16. Cole
17. Levi
18. Cole
19. Levi
20. Cole
21. Levi
22. Cole
23. Levi
24. Cole
25. Levi
26. Cole
27. Cole
Epilogue
Thank You!
In Meadowfall…
About the Author
Copyright Anna Wineheart 2019
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This novel contains graphic sexual content between two men. Intended for mature readers only.
Warnings: past multiple miscarriages, miscarriage scare
To all of you out there:
You are beautiful.
You are worthy.
You are loved.
.
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Prologue
Cole met Levi’s eyes, and Levi’s chest heaved. Did Gran have mics installed, or just cameras?
“I guess—” Levi gulped “—I guess this continues. Me and you.”
Cole’s throat went dry. With Levi smelling like jasmine and sex... “How far do you want to take this?”
“I—I don’t know.”
Were they just kissing, or would Cole end up tangled with Levi in bed, sliding into the heat of Levi’s body?
His heart thumping, Cole shut the front door, locking it.
Levi hadn’t moved from where he’d stopped. And Cole couldn’t help closing the distance between them, until their shoes bumped and the heat of Levi’s body emanated into his chest. Levi craned his neck to look at Cole, his throat exposed, that scar on his shoulder silvery against his skin.
That had been Cole’s bonding mark.
Cole fought down the rumble in his chest, gently cradling Levi’s face in his palm. Levi could stop him at any point. Instead, Levi stood still, his breathing shallow, his eyes wide.
“Are you afraid?” Cole whispered.
Slowly, Levi shook his head. Then he tiptoed, slanting his lips in invitation, and Cole couldn’t help himself. Just leaned in and claimed Levi’s mouth, savoring the sweet, exquisite brush of their lips.
1
Levi
In a perfect world, the ground would be covered in flowers, the air would smell like fresh-baked bread, and there would be ten half-naked alphas in Levi’s shabby apartment, fixing every little broken thing.
Their muscles would flex, sweat would glisten on their bodies, and they would do all the cooking. Maybe five of them would join him in bed, and maybe Levi would finally not spend his heat alone, for once.
And he wouldn’t have to worry about being kicked out of his rental apartment, scrambling for a new shelter over his head.
You may rent this place for the next three years, the scowling landlord had said. Except he’d neglected to point out the fine print: By signing this contract, you agree to a one-week notice to terminate the contract.
It was only when Mr. Miser had hammered on Levi’s door, with the fine print on the contract now highlighted, that Levi had realized the mistake he’d made. But it was just another mistake on top of his pile of mistakes, wasn’t it?
“Earth to Levi,” Ollie said in his ear.
Levi’s heart stuttered; he blinked himself back to the music shop. “Yeah?”
“Do you need a break?” His boss and friend, Ollie, peered worriedly at him. “You’ve been in a daze the whole evening.”
Levi shrugged, his cheeks burning. Anyone could smell that he was in heat—the musk that wafted off his skin told far too much. His bones ached with need, and he wanted to curl up against someone, and just be held. Between his legs. Preferably naked.
And yet... he didn’t want to go home. There wasn’t anyone waiting for him. Levi’s things were half-packed in cardboard boxes, and he’d been feeling like a stranger there.
He had three days left to get out of the apartment. The landlord had found a better-paying tenant, and he’d been hammering on Levi’s door every night at 11PM, yelling at Levi to get the hell out of there.
Levi sighed. “I’m fine. I just... I’m just distracted.”
“By Cole?” Ollie perked up, looking hopeful.
Not him again. Levi covered his face. “Why do you have to do this to me, Ollie?”
Because that was his weakest spot. Cole.
Ever since Levi had glimpsed his ex in Ollie’s shop last year, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Cole. Cole was the alpha who had left his mark on Levi, and the alpha with whom Levi had broken up, after a five-year relationship.
Cole was the alpha who had given Levi a baby, and the same alpha who had looked so shattered when Levi miscarried.
They hadn’t broken up because of that, though. That was something else, but the miscarriage had only made it worse.
“But you still like him,” Ollie said, looking a little more uncertain now.
Well... yes. Levi did still like Cole, despite everything that had happened. “I’m not getting back with him.”
“He doesn’t have an omega,” Ollie added.
That was a pity, wasn’t it? Because Levi knew what Cole looked like: tall, strapping, blond and green-eyed, with that handsome smile he always gave his brothers.
A couple of times recently, Levi had glimpsed Cole shirtless, those pecs defined, those abs warm and solid, inviting touch. Cole’s pants had ridden low, the V of his hips diving tantalizingly behind his waistband. Levi had had to fight to keep his briefs from dropping.
Guess who Levi had been jerking off to the last few nights.
A long time ago, Levi had known every inch of Cole. Cole had been his first everything—his first kiss, his first alpha, the very first person who had touched him inside, and made him come.
If anything, Cole had only grown more attractive over the years. It didn’t help that Cole was Ollie’s brother, and more often than not, Cole visited Ollie’s music shop, scooping Ollie’s son into his arms.
That alpha wanted a baby. Levi saw it, clear as anything.
But Levi couldn’t give him a child. After he’d miscarried Cole’s baby and they’d broken up, Levi had gone on to get pregnant again... only to lose every other child he’d managed to conceive.
After five miscarriages... the thought of pregnancy made his throat squeeze tight.
He’d buried every single one of those children with his own hands. He couldn’t do it again. Couldn’t get together with another alpha, only to witness their disappointment when they found
out he couldn’t have children.
Especially someone like Cole.
And yet... Levi remembered the heat of Cole’s embrace. He remembered Cole sniffing at his scent glands, so proud of marking him. He remembered Cole swapping lunches with him, Cole punching Levi’s bullies in middle school.
Once upon a time, Cole had slid Levi’s thick glasses back onto his face, and he’d said, You’re beautiful. Even with your glasses on. Your looks aren’t what’s important.
Back then, Levi had exchanged his glasses for contact lenses, because he’d wanted to be pretty for Cole. These days... he’d hidden back behind his glasses. He wasn’t sure which alpha would think him attractive anymore.
“I heard there was a bad fire recently,” Ollie said, rocking his seven-month-old. “Cole was there. He told me he got out just in time.”
Levi gulped. What if Cole hadn’t gotten out in time? Gods, that wasn’t something he wanted to hear.
The thought of Cole and fires brought back another memory, though—one that made Levi’s throat tighten with guilt. He remembered fire and scars, and screams of agony. That had led to the fraying of his bond.
“Look, I have to do something,” Levi said, unwilling to linger on those depressing thoughts. “Why don’t you go home, and I’ll close shop?”
Ollie was about to answer when Levi’s phone buzzed. Levi jumped, pulling it out of his pocket. Gran.
“She’s sick, isn’t she?” Ollie asked, peering over Levi’s shoulder. “Take the call. I’ll close.”
Levi’s heart sank even further. It was late. 9PM. Was Gran only calling to chat? Or did she have something worse to tell him?
Sending Ollie a strained smile, Levi hit the Answer button. “Gran?”
“Levi!” Gran’s voice rang tinnily over the line. “How’s my favorite grandson?”
Levi glanced out the shopfront windows, at the shadowy downtown streets. Gran’s calls always filled him with dread. She’d always been such a solid rock in his life, and to know she was ill... “I’m okay. How’re you doing? Are you feeling better?”
“Fine, fine.” Gran chuckled. Levi could hear the creak of her rocking chair, her knitting needles clicking through a sweater in the background. “I’m getting by. I heard from your mother that your landlord’s kicking you out.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“Where are you moving to, then?”
“I... I don’t know. I haven’t decided.”
“Well, that husband of yours will think of something. Are you pregnant yet?”
Levi closed his eyes, his heart clenching. He had to tell her the truth. But... Gran was ill, and he didn’t want to divulge just how long he’d been telling this lie. “H-he’s not my husband. Just—just my boyfriend.”
At the other end of the counter, Ollie turned slowly, his expression incredulous. You have a boyfriend? he mouthed.
Levi shook his head and put a finger over his mouth, signaling for Ollie to keep silent. Then he ducked into the backroom of the shop, so at least he wouldn’t see Ollie’s reaction to him lying to his gran. Because this already sucked enough.
“Ah,” Gran said. “But you’re planning on getting married, aren’t you? I can’t wait for you to have great-grandchildren. My knitting group is having a family picture competition next month, you know. I told all of them I’d submit a picture of you and your husband and your babies.”
“I don’t have kids,” Levi said, shoving his head against the backroom wall. I can’t have kids. “You know that, Gran. And I’m not married.”
She chuckled. “Well, it’s not against the rules to borrow a couple of children for a picture.”
Levi stifled his groan, his skin too tight. “I don’t know where I’ll find children.”
Well, he did know, except he still hadn’t brought his ‘boyfriend’ home to meet her.
“You’ll find some,” Gran said confidently. “I know you will.”
As though it were so easy to pretend someone else’s children were his own.
“I’ll try,” Levi said, his heart sore.
He thumbed the side of his phone, waiting for Gran to hang up. One of these days, Levi swore that he’d come clean about his lies. Sooner than later.
“I have an idea,” Gran said suddenly, her needles going silent. “Remember that old house right at the edge of Meadowfall where I used to live? You always visited me there when you were little.”
Yeah, Levi remembered it. The house sat on a sprawling compound with its own driveway and a humongous swimming pool and jacuzzi, and there was even a creek on the corner of the property, buried in a birch forest.
And the house—Levi had played hide and seek in its many rooms, racing up one set of stairs and down the other.
That was the house of his dreams.
“I’m giving it to you,” Gran said. “But on some conditions.”
Levi froze. “Wait, you can’t be giving that to me. That’s impossible!”
Gran snorted. “That’s not impossible. I own it.”
Levi stared unseeingly at the boxes of supplies in the backroom. “But there’s Mom and Dad. You could give the house to them. Or to my aunts or uncles. Or to my brothers—”
“I’d like to give you the house because you’re my favorite,” Gran said patiently. “On the condition that you and your husband fix up that shabby guesthouse on the corner of the property. And also... on the condition that you give me a great-grandchild by the end of the year.”
Levi bit his lip hard. He didn’t need any of that. Not the husband, not the grandchild, and most certainly not the house.
But that house... if his guess was right, that house was worth at least a million dollars. And it had high ceilings and large French windows, pretty wooden trim in the kitchen, and a fireplace in almost every room.
His heart thumped for it.
“You can live there in the meantime,” Gran said. “Bring your husband and come collect the keys.”
“Oh,” Levi said faintly. “I’ll be there when we get some time. We’ve been... packing.”
Gran made a sympathetic noise. “I’ll be awake until ten. If you drop by soon, you could even sleep in that house tonight.”
Levi ended the call, his thoughts whizzing in his mind. How was he going to find a stand-in boyfriend? How could he even carry on the lie like this?
He couldn’t get any old alpha to be his boyfriend, because he needed someone he could trust with that house. The house was most important.
I should turn down the offer. I should just tell her the truth.
But if Gran found out that Levi couldn’t have children... she would be so disappointed.
Gran had seven children, twenty grandchildren, and Levi felt like a failure whenever she talked about his cousins having their second babies.
If he told her... she would think of him as a disappointment, wouldn’t she? And he was her favorite grandchild, too. She had high expectations of him. That just made things so much worse.
Levi tucked his phone in his pocket, barely listening to the voices outside the backroom. A baby squealed. Ollie murmured. There was another voice.
If Gran knew... she would retract the offer. She’d tell Levi to go live with her, or maybe give him some money for another place to rent.
But that house... it held so many memories. And... And Levi had visited that place with Cole, a long time ago. Cole had danced with him in the cobblestone courtyard, with the full moon shining down on them both.
If Gran split the house between all of Levi’s aunts and uncles and cousins... Everyone would want the money. That house would be sold to a faceless new owner, and Levi would never see it again.
Just one year, Levi thought. I’ll live there for a year, and then I’ll return it to Gran.
But he still needed a boyfriend for that, didn’t he?
Dazedly, Levi stepped out of the backroom. Ollie glanced up, his forehead furrowed.
“You have a boyfriend?” Ollie asked, flabbergasted.
Ollie looked across the counter.
And there, with Ollie’s baby cradled in his arms, stood Cole. Strong, T-shirt stretched across his pecs, his arms muscular, like he could crush iron or something.
Levi froze. Cole couldn’t be here. Worse, Cole couldn’t have heard his pathetic plea for a boyfriend. Not when Levi had been the one to break up with him.
Levi’s skin crawled. He fidgeted in the doorway. Then, when the urge got too much to bear, he sneaked a glance back at Cole’s face.
Cole’s expression was unreadable. But everything else about him was familiar: the confident way he held himself, his maplewood scent, his gaze trailing down Levi’s body, head to feet. Levi’s throat went dry.
He remembered Cole pressing him into beds and couches, remembered Cole nudging his thighs open, large fingers circling Levi’s hole. Just teasing him until he writhed. Cole had murmured in Levi’s ear, You’re beautiful, and he’d thrust his cock between Levi’s cheeks. It’s all yours, Cole had said. Where do you want it?
Cole was an alpha Levi would give so much to tangle with again.
But he wasn’t Levi’s anymore.
“Cole,” Ollie said with growing excitement. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend.”
2
Cole
Cole stepped into Olivier’s Strings, the bells on the door jingling. His first instinct was to sniff—strangely enough, he’d been doing that ever since Ollie had asked if he could smell Levi.
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