Alpha

by R Phoenix

  Poking around in the cabinets and closets while Caleb lazily watched, Zain finally managed to find a small plastic box that would lift the bowls up high enough. Once the food and water dishes were filled, he went back over to Caleb.

  Leaning down to rub his hand over Caleb’s head, Zain smiled as Caleb leaned into his touch and thrust his head against Zain’s palm. “Come on. You need to eat, Pup. Then we’ll go outside.” He had to laugh when Caleb slowly rose and stretched instead of hurrying over to the food. “Don’t you want to play?”

  That seemed to catch Caleb’s attention, but instead of barking or jumping around excitedly, he leaned into Zain’s leg so that his tail came up to caress Zain’s thigh… high up Zain’s thigh.

  “Not that kind of play, Pup, not unless you eat and you’re a good pup.” Zain knew he shouldn’t be promising Caleb anything until he knew what the vamp would approve of, but he loved the way Caleb’s pup side begged for attention and… and flirted.

  Refusing to analyze how he was feeling, Zain focused on Caleb as he finally got the motivation to eat. Every pup had something that got them to obey… It looked like Caleb’s was about being touched as well as play that didn’t revolve around a ball or rope.

  By the time Caleb started to eat, he seemed more than ready to get outside, because the food was gone in minutes. He didn’t manage to get enough water, in Zain’s opinion, but he made a mental note to find a different bowl for the pup to make it easier.

  When he was finished, the pup finally started wiggling around and whining as he looked toward the door. Grabbing the leash off the table, Zain smiled and led him over to the backdoor. “Let’s go, boy.”

  Watching Caleb charge out to the yard, Zain closed the door and leaned back against it while Caleb dashed around the tree. As he looked around, he finally noticed how late it had gotten. He’d wanted to be finished with handling Caleb’s needs before the vamp woke up, but it looked like it wasn’t going to be that easy.

  As the sun started to set, the pup came racing across the yard. Zain pushed his worries to the back of his head. Caleb needed him now and that was what mattered… not the crazy what-ifs that were running through his head. “Are you ready to play?”

  Grabbing the ball, Zain tossed it up and down teasingly and then threw it across the yard. “Go fetch.”

  Caleb’s tail wagged and he barked, but the erection he was also sporting said the ball wasn’t exactly what he’d been begging for.

  “Be good, Pup, remember the rules.”

  Another excited bark had Caleb charging after the ball, but the restraints on his legs kept him from chasing after it as fast as he probably could. Zain watched as Caleb made his way back over, ball in his mouth and tail wagging back and forth.

  If the vamp was going to try and eviscerate him, then Zain figured he might as well make it worthwhile. “Come here, Pup. Let’s get these off so you can run fast for the ball.”

  Caleb danced around, barking, so excited at the idea that it took far longer to get them off than it should have.

  Finally pinning Caleb under one arm and hugging him tight, Zain managed to get the restraints off. “There we go. I bet that feels better.” Zain smiled as Caleb rolled over and stretched out before coming back up to his knees and begging for the ball again. With his paws up toward his chest and sitting back on his legs, Caleb looked beautiful. “Good boy.”

  Throwing the ball again, Zain laughed as Caleb took off twice as fast as he had before. Without the restraints holding him back, the pup bounded across the yard, barking and tearing after the ball.

  “Well, hurry. If you want your other playtime, you have to be a good boy.”

  Caleb came racing back to Zain, tail whipping back and forth and muffled barks coming out around the ball. He let out a little whine and dropped the ball, only to roll onto his back. His paws and knees curled up in the same position as before as he splayed open and wiggled.

  “Oh, do you think that was enough exercise already? I’m not sure about that.”

  Sweet pleading eyes and another little whine had Zain giving in.

  “I shouldn’t let you have your way. Next time, you have to run around more before you get your playtime.”

  Caleb gave an excited bark, and his cock bobbed up and down, clearly anticipating what was to come. But before Zain could crouch back down and start giving the needy pup what he was begging so sweetly for, the sound of a voice and the door opening came from behind him.

  “And what,” the clipped foreign accent he’d heard from the vampire he was essentially “pet-sitting” for asked, making Zain’s heart race, “pray tell, are doing with my pet?”

  Shit.

  He was pretty sure there was going to be some praying happening here soon.

  Chapter Five:

  Liam

  Liam’s eyes narrowed as he took in the scene in front of him, his lips pressed into a line. “I would think,” he continued without giving the dog walker a chance to answer, “that I must be mistaken about what I see.” He offered a brittle, grim smile. “But I am not often mistaken.”

  And he wasn’t, especially not when it came to things like this.

  For some reason, it infuriated him to see the way Caleb half-hid behind the ‘wolf. Liam snarled, and Caleb prostrated himself lower on the ground, his head ducked and his tail tucked between his legs as… as all of the joy bled out of his expression.

  The werewolf — Zain, perhaps? Liam couldn’t quite remember what his new and perhaps soon-to-be-ex employee’s name was — tried to stammer out a response, but Liam waved a hand, dismissing them like he might an annoying insect.

  “My pet’s collar seems to look quite different, his leg restraints are off, and he…”

  He had looked happy.

  A strange sensation clawed at him, making him bare his fangs, and he advanced on the werewolf. “Well?” he demanded.

  This time, he let the man — a boy, really — reply, staring at the recalcitrant, frustrating little beast he had been trying without success to train for several weeks.

  It wasn’t long for him, in the grand scheme of his life, but it was a lengthy period considering how few years humans existed in this world. By the time he got the human properly trained, he’d be too old to enjoy properly.

  The man’s features smoothed to something almost cold, and his arm moved to wrap protectively around Caleb for a moment before he stood. Placing his body directly in front of a quickly angering Liam, Zain finally spoke. “You told me to play with the pup. You said to make sure he got exercise and specifically said to play with him. I took that to mean to make him happy and keep him engaged in his role. That’s what I did.”

  “I did not say that you could do… this.” Liam gestured to Caleb, who wouldn’t look up at him. In that moment, he was acting like a terrified pup, not a terrified human, and it only made his scowl deepen.

  This was what he wanted. Not a mouthy little human brat, but a pet who would press against him for comfort — who would act as though Liam was the beginning and end of his world.

  He was Caleb’s master, yet his pup was hiding behind the dog walker he had hired.

  “You are spoiling him too much. He will not heed without the proper collar, and he will stand without his straps. I am doing him a kindness,” Liam said.

  The dog walker actually had the nerve to roll his eyes. “Bullshit.”

  Caleb let out a low whine, and Liam wasn’t sure if he was angrier at the doglike reaction or at the young werewolf who dared to speak to him like that.

  “Pardon me?” he asked sharply, snapping his fingers sharply.

  This time, Caleb started to crawl around Zain, starting for his real master.

  “That’s not being kind or nice or any other bullshit lines you want to tell yourself. That’s just torturing the pup and making it harder for him to stay in the right headspace. It takes him a long time to get there, and he won’t stay a pup when you do shit like that. Do you know how long it took him to rela
x and play with the damn ball the first time we came out? I don’t know what you’re doing, but that’s not how you train a dog. And either kill me or calm down. The fangs are kind of sexy, but you are not the craziest thing I’ve seen lately.” As though the words weren’t enough, the little mutt actually had the gall to mumble something about piss poor dog owners.

  “I can hear you, little mutt,” Liam informed the ‘wolf, still trying to process the shift from the lecture to the admission that the fangs were sexy to the snide comment that had followed.

  The frustrating creature rolled his eyes again. “I’m not the one who gets off on acting like a dog. Yeah, his tail’s hot, but I’ve already got one when I want it and I don’t need another. So let’s think of a more accurate snide comment, Drac.”

  “Werewolves are mutts,” Liam stated flatly. The ‘wolf could be offended by it all he liked, but he had always called them that and saw no reason to change that now. It wasn’t as though they were purebreds who could trace their lineage through the ages like vampires — and witches, even. “Are you too new to understand what you are?” He shook his head, but there was something stirring in him. Caleb was… right at his side, cowering and utterly at his mercy, and there was another man challenging him in his own home.

  Fine. Zain thought he was attractive? Vampires had not survived as long as they had in the darkness without exploiting their assets. Liam begin to stalk forward, fangs still bared against his lips. He couldn’t help but be curious about whether the werewolf would back away or stand his ground like the stupid, yappy, but interestingly brave creature he was.

  Zain’s eyes widened slightly, but the mutt refused to back down. As Liam grew closer, the mutt made a low rumbling sound. “Like I said, the fangs are kind of hot, and you guys are kinky as hell, but I’m not going to fuck around with someone who treats his dog like shit. So back off or show me you’re not a complete dick of an owner.”

  Liam reached out, ignoring the pitiful little growl as his finger ghosted down along the carotid artery on the impertinent ‘wolf’s neck. He still didn’t back away, and Liam had to — however reluctantly — admit he admired that tenacity.

  Behind him, though, Caleb whined, and it startled him. He half-turned, keeping the werewolf in his sight — as though the ‘wolf could do anything to him — to see Caleb whimpering, looking up miserably at the dog walker.

  Whimpering.

  Not mouthing off.

  Why?

  “He is a human,” Liam finally said, turning his full attention back to Zain. “He is beneath an animal,” he said dismissively.

  “If you actually meant that, I’d walk out the door right now, and probably take the pup with me. But assholes who think that someone like Caleb is less than a dog wouldn’t hire a dog walker for him, genius.”

  “If you think you could take my pup from me, you are sadly mistaken,” Liam said sharply. “You know quite well that humans have no rights, and he bears my slave mark. He is my property.”

  Zain just scoffed at him and moved around Liam, completely disregarding his presence before going to crouch down by Caleb. “Shh, that’s a good pup. No one’s angry at you. Your master’s just an asshole, but we’ll get him straightened out.” He rubbed his hands over Caleb’s head then down along his back toward his tail.

  Caleb’s eyes darted back and forth frantically between the men. Liam opened his mouth to speak a sharp admonition, only for his lips to promptly press together into a thin line as Caleb leaned into the comfort of Zain’s touch.

  He wasn’t familiar with the feeling that swept over him, not at all, and he wasn’t sure he liked it either. He let out a low sound from deep in his throat, frustration and rage threatening to boil over. “You will do what?” Liam demanded. “Mind your tongue, boy, or he will not be the only one to be put in his place this evening.”

  Except for the part that Caleb didn’t seem to need it, which was mind boggling enough…

  Zain didn’t even bother to glance up as he spoke. His focus still on Caleb. “My alpha already said I didn’t have to take shit from you. And you seem to be too high society to actually get into a war with my pack. You can’t even be bothered to properly handle your pup. You won’t get your fangs dirty with me.”

  Liam stiffened. Clearly the mutt had no idea who he was, what he was. He peddled weapons, for the sake of all things. His sire alone could obliterate a pack… But he had to — however grudgingly — admit that it would not be worth the consequences. He didn’t want to deal with the irritating rules that would supposedly chide him for damaging a werewolf or twenty.

  “And how,” Liam asked crisply, pronouncing every syllable with painful accuracy, “do you propose I change the way I treat my pup?” His lips curved into a sneer.

  Zain didn’t even pause to think. “Well for starters, how about you stop using that ridiculous collar and put some dog beds around the house? The only place he can relax is in his kennel — and that’s too small, by the way, especially with how long you leave him in there. And don’t get me started with how long he’s left with no stimulation. That’s just cruel.”

  “He likes the kennel,” Liam said smugly, reaching down to scratch behind Caleb’s ears. His pup tentatively pressed into the touch, but he again surprised Liam by not running his mouth. “Have you seen how hard he is, perhaps? He enjoys the treatment.”

  “He enjoys being treated as a puppy… not like a junkyard dog who’s just there to bark and growl. There’s a difference.” As his hands continued to pet Caleb, Zain apparently felt the need to push his luck even further. “And yeah… Considering you walked out as I was getting ready to jack him off, I noticed the hard-on.”

  Liam glared at him. “Show me,” he demanded. “Show me that he behaves for you,” he said, his voice filled with disdain even though the fact that Caleb wasn’t protesting was so strange that it had him off utterly guard.

  Of course, it was as though that thought prompted something, because Caleb’s voice was rough as he spoke up, “I do behave for him.”

  Liam’s eyes flicked down to his pet.

  “Master,” Caleb muttered, his usual defiance making its expected but belated appearance.

  “Why?” Liam demanded, for once not reprimanding his pet for speaking like a person might instead of a pup. He was too lost, and he certainly could not have the two of them understanding a situation when he did not.

  “Because he doesn’t treat me like shit,” Caleb snapped, jerking his head away from Liam’s hand.

  “Do not push your luck,” Liam warned, and he had the satisfaction of seeing Caleb’s tail tuck back between his legs. This time, though, his cock wasn’t hard at all. “You are nearly constantly erect,” he stated. “Of course you enjoy it.”

  Caleb glowered up at him, but he didn’t respond.

  Zain snorted, as if Liam’s words were the most ridiculous things he’d heard all day. “There’s a difference between getting turned on and actually enjoying something. Just because he’s turned on by the act of being a pup doesn’t mean he wants to be hurt and constantly put down. I’m pretty sure those are two different kinks. And for fuck's sake, if he’s hard all the time, why aren’t you playing with him more?”

  “I work,” Liam stated primly. Quite a bit, really, which was why Caleb’s training had been so slow. “And he is here to take care of my needs, not for me to take care of his sexual desires. The fact that his body enjoys it is only a… mm, an added benefit.”

  “Nobody gets a dog because they think the dog is going to take care of them. You’re not this stupid.”

  “Stupid?” Liam sputtered gracelessly, unable to even form words as the creature continued to speak.

  “You get a dog because you want something to pet and cuddle and play with that loves you without judging you.” Zain finally let his hand rest on Caleb’s head and looked up at Liam, too much understanding showing in his eyes. “This can’t be that different. If you want Caleb to behave like a puppy, you need to start focu
sing on his needs… like any good dog owner would do.”

  Liam stared at him in utter disbelief. Love? This fool thought he needed love? Adoration, perhaps, and someone to see him as… crucial. But love? No. “I do not need love,” he stated stiffly, as though the very word tasted bad, and it did. He would at least clear up that part because he wasn’t going to have some mutt thinking he was weak enough to need something so foolish.

  But he had to admit that the dog walker might have a point. He certainly wasn’t getting anywhere with his own tactics. He scowled, not appreciating the fact that he had been chided without the source of that chastisement being dead on the ground.

  “Fine,” he said curtly. “You will show me how to properly train this cur, and you will not speak of what you see here… or you will see how much I know about your pack and how easily I could remove it from my path.”

  The packs in the city were in too much turmoil for it to be that difficult, but Isaiah never liked wasting lives. His sire had chided him more than once when he’d been a youth, especially when he’d wasted some who might have benefited him. Given enough time, the young werewolf might become one of those resources.

  Zain gave him a long look and straightened to stand. “Deal, on one condition. I won’t talk about the nice, loving, appropriate master behavior I see here, but I reserve the right to tell everyone when you’re an asshole. They wouldn’t believe it otherwise.”

  Liam couldn’t help but chuckle, even though he was still more than a little irritated. “So perhaps you do have a working brain in that handsome head of yours, hmm?” He gestured. “Come back here, little ‘wolf.”

  Zain’s look turned skeptical, which showed just how smart the little wolf was, but he rose after giving Caleb one last pat. “What?”

  Liam didn’t give him a chance to do anything more than that. The second Zain was almost to his feet, Liam grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him forward and claiming his mouth, tongue pressing insistently at the seam of his lips. Zain’s mouth pulled up into a grin against his lips, but he let Liam’s tongue in as he surrendered his mouth without protest.