by Lisa Oliver
“Why didn’t you tell me,” he said to Teric urgently, as the rest of the men filed out of the office.
“When would I have done that, Kyle,” Teric snapped back. “When your tongue was down my throat, or when my mouth was wrapped around your cock. You didn’t seem interested in any conversation last night.”
“So I see you’ve already had a taste of the Council assassin, Kyle,” Pearson broke in. “I thought you were too invested in finding your mate to go for a random hook up.”
Kyle looked at Teric as though seeing him for the first time. He could deny that the sexy cat shifter was his mate for now, but that would make things really awkward in the long term. He knew he couldn’t be without his mate, now that he had claimed the man. He just wasn’t quite sure how anything between them was going to work, given that Teric clearly wasn’t submissive at all, and being an assassin probably meant he went all over the country doing Council work. When he saw Teric’s eyes narrow, as he took too long to respond to his Alpha, Kyle knew that if he denied their mating now, the cat would be gone forever. No matter what happened, he didn’t want that.
“Teric is my mate,” he snapped out quickly. When Pearson and Dante started laughing, he really wished he had kept that little fact to himself, no matter how upset Teric might have been. Was it really only an hour or so ago that he had been happy at the thought of introducing his wonderfully submissive mate to his Alpha? Now it turns out the guy is a confirmed killer for the Council. What on earth did he ever do to upset the Fates, to cause something like this to happen in his life?
Pearson must have caught the look of sour grapes that was plastered on his face, because he stopped laughing and said with all seriousness, “congratulations on your mating, Kyle. Teric, if you would care to show me your mating mark, then I will be happy to welcome you into the pack.”
When he saw Teric’s eyebrow raised up and the questioning look on his face, Pearson explained. “It’s a new pack policy. Since this business with Favo, we insist that all newly mated shifters show proof that they have been claimed before admitting them to the pack.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Teric said, “And I am more than happy to show you the wicked bite that I wear with pride. However, I can’t accept a place in this pack until I finish the job the Council has given me.”
“Why the hell not?” Kyle snarled. He figured that if Teric was part of the pack, then Pearson could order him not to go after Favo. The Alpha’s word was law when compared against an order given from a place of employment – or it would be, if Teric was part of the pack.
Teric turned to look at Kyle and Kyle could feel himself melt under those sharp green eyes. “For the safety of the pack, mi amor,” he said softly, using a term of endearment that Kyle didn’t understand, but knew was something positive. Great. His mate was sexy and smart, and Kyle wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
“What do you mean?” It was Dante that asked the question, and Kyle was glad that the Alpha Mate had taken Teric’s focus off of him for a moment. A few more minutes under that intense green eyed gaze, and Kyle would have agreed to anything his mate had said. Except, hopefully, letting the man run off into a perilous situation. It might take a blow job for that. Or two.
“This was why the Council sent me in to take care of Favo,” Teric explained. “If any one pack gets involved, then they run the risk of being harassed or attacked by Favo’s followers. If the person who takes out Favo is not related to any pack, but is simply following Council orders, then technically there is no one for the followers to complain to, or retaliate against.”
“I can see their point,” Pearson said carefully, “but Favo has made a direct attack against our pack and apparently even now has some followers – we don’t know how many – in this pack. Spying on us and undermining my authority.”
“And that is something that you do have to deal with,” Teric said. “The Council fully accepts that you will do all you have to, to ensure the safety of your pack. But unless Favo himself comes here and issues a challenge, then the Council would prefer that you let me handle him personally. The followers that this man has, come from a wide number of packs throughout the country. Handled badly, this situation could turn into an all-out pack war.”
“Fuck,” Pearson said, running his fingers through his hair. “This situation gets more complicated the more I learn about it.” Kyle saw Dante put his hand on Pearson’s leg and wondered if he and Teric would ever get to the point where offering comfort and support to each other would become automatic. Although Kyle had never considered that aspect of being mates before, he thought he would probably like it. Along with the blow jobs, of course. And yes, he was happy to admit he had a one tracked mind at times. His mate’s green eyes had something to do with that.
“How many followers does the Council estimate that Favo has?” Dante asked Teric.
“About eighty, so far as we can make out,” Teric said, looking at his notes. “Some rogue wolves, lone wolves and people without packs for whatever reason. But the Council figures that at least half of the shifters following Favo have affiliations with other packs.”
“Like Phillip’s sister,” Kyle said. Pearson nodded and looked at Dante, the two men obviously sharing their mind link again. Given that he wasn’t an Alpha, Kyle knew the only way he and Teric could share the same connection was if he let Teric top and bite him. Kyle had never considered that as a possibility, given that he always thought his mate would be some little submissive twink. A twink who would be happy to stay home all day and tend to Kyle’s needs. But given that his mate was an assassin the mind connection might not only be useful, it could prove necessary. Kyle took another look at Teric, seeing him with a renewed perspective.
The man was good looking. That was a given. The winning combination of black hair, green eyes and fair skin was enough to make any gay man swoon. Teric wasn’t big by wolf shifter standards, but he was exceptionally graceful thanks to his cat shifter genetics. He had a drop-dead gorgeously tight body and that ass of his was everything Kyle could have dreamed of and more. Seeing him sitting in his power suit, with an air of confidence that just oozed out of the man, and knowing that the man was a trained assassin…would it really be that hard to let Teric top him?
Teric caught his eye, and Kyle could have sworn the man knew what he was thinking. A blush hit his face and he looked over to see if Pearson and Dante had finished their private conversation. He mentally gave his cock a solid thump because for some reason it decided it should have a say in Kyle’s thought process. It’s not like you would be doing the nailing, he thought to his enthusiastic dick, trying to get the bloody thing to go down. This was hardly the time or the place.
“I’m not happy about this,” Pearson said to Teric. “I do feel that it is a matter of pack honor that we be the ones to take Favo down. However,” he said quickly as he saw Teric opening his mouth. “I am not stupid enough to totally disregard the Council’s concerns. I want this pack to be a safe place for my wolves. I don’t want to spend the next ten years fighting off other packs over one misguided idiot.”
Teric nodded to show he understood, but Pearson wasn’t finished.
“For that reason, I accept that you are probably the one who should go after Favo personally. I’m not happy about it, but I will go along with it.”
Kyle had never thought it would be possible for him to be angry with Pearson, for any reason, but the rage that swelled up inside of him at the thought that Pearson would send Teric, his mate, up against a fanatic, was more than his wolf could handle.
“Alpha, you can’t,” he managed to growl out. He stood up, more than prepared to fight Pearson if he had to. There was no way he could let Teric go off and try and kill another wolf without some sort of back up. Hell, if Kyle had his way, every fighter in the pack would be sent as backup for his mate. And Teric would stay home, in their bed, where he was supposed to be.
To his credit Pearson didn’t bother to stand up to meet him,
although Dante straightened a little in his seat. Kyle could feel that Teric was also on alert beside him. But Kyle’s focus was on Pearson – he wasn’t going to let his Alpha send his mate on what he considered to be a suicide mission.
“Do you have a death wish, Kyle?” Pearson said quietly.
“No Alpha,” Kyle said. “But you can’t expect me….”
“I don’t!” Pearson snapped back. “Now, back down.Sit down.Hold Teric’s hand or something, and fucking listen to me.”
Kyle tried to control his wolf, but he couldn’t. He knew his eye teeth had dropped, his fingers turning into claws, and he could feel the hair sprout over his arms. All he could think about was protecting Teric and if that meant going up against Pearson, which yes, was a really dumb thing to do because he would have to contend with Dante as well, but fuck. Kyle didn’t even realized Teric had moved until he felt a small hand on his shoulder.
“Kyle,” Teric said softly. “Don’t do this. Please, mi amor, do as your Alpha says.” Kyle barely paid attention to Teric’s words, but the feeling of that warm hand on his shoulder, and the smell of his mate’s scent filling his nose helped calm his wolf. He took a shuddering breath, and then another, and then sat down, pulling Teric into his lap. After a couple more breaths he was able to look across at Pearson, and muttered, “I’m sorry Alpha.”
To his surprise, Pearson smiled at him. “You’re going to have a very successful mating, Kyle. I can tell there is nothing wrong with your protective instincts. Not your brightest move today, but I do understand it.”
Kyle blushed. He couldn’t be having feelings for his mate already – he only met the man the night before. But of course feeling protective – well, duh, it’s a feeling. Mentally slapping himself around the head, he decided not to dwell on that idea, and concentrated on what Pearson was saying.
“I have a bit of a problem,” Pearson started. “I can’t, in all fairness send you on your fool’s errand without backup, Teric. You have to understand that. You may not be pack right this minute, but you are mated to one of my top enforcers. But, I have also got trouble here at home, which I will need my enforcers for. I can’t leave the pack unprotected.”
“I totally understand Pearson,” Teric said quietly from his position on Kyle’s lap. “I do realize that Kyle is an enforcer and will be required to stay with the pack.”
Kyle’s arm tightened around Teric’s waist as though he could physically stop the man from going anywhere. He prayed that Pearson would say something else. Anything that would stop him from just abandoning his pack position and going with Teric anyway.
“I’m not silly enough to put Kyle in that sort of a position,” Pearson grinned. “If I kept him here, he would be spending all his time worrying about you. No, Kyle will accompany you and I will send two other enforcers. But it is all I can spare.”
Letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, Kyle said,” Who could you send, Alpha? You’ll need your strongest men here to protect the pack.”
“I’d like to send Steel and Phillip,” Pearson said. “But Steel won’t go without Levi and I don’t want Levi doing this. Phillip would go, but if there is the slightest possibility you might run into his sister, or other members of his family, then he would be more of a liability than a help. I don’t want to put him in a position of having to fight family members, even if the family have cut him off. I think the best two would be Ace and Farren,” naming two sturdy, middle weight enforcers that had been with the pack for years.
Kyle nodded his head, agreeing with Pearson’s assessment. They wouldn’t have been his first choice either, and he had to admit he would have felt better if Steel had been picked to come with them. But Levi didn’t have the fighting skills. He was a whizz at computer stuff and surveillance, but when it was all said and done, he was a small wolf. In Kyle’s head the bigger the backup, the better.
“Are you sure you want to spare the men, Pearson,” Teric asked. “I know this is a difficult time for your pack, and my orders were, originally, to do this alone.”
“You’re not going on your own and that’s final,” Kyle growled. Teric shifted a bit on his lap, pressing the tight little ass that Kyle was beginning to obsess over, directly on Kyle’s cock, that hadn’t gone down much at all, despite the atmosphere in the room and the topic of conversation. Kyle stifled a groan and tried to move a fraction to relieve some tension, but Teric wasn’t letting him move anywhere. Kyle was damn sure his mate knew exactly what he was doing – the little minx.
“I agree with Kyle,” Pearson said. “You’ve allowed yourself to be claimed, and you’ve inherited a pack position. If you don’t want to take the backup for yourself, then do it for your mate. Should something happen to you, then I lose one of my best enforcers as well, and I don’t want to see that happen.”
Pleased, and more than a little bit proud that his Alpha thought that much of him, Kyle sat quietly, enjoying the feel of Teric’s body against his. Teric and Pearson were hashing out a few details about where they were going – the Blue Ridge Mountains about an hour drive away, and when. Pearson wanted them both to come for another meeting later in the day, so Teric thought it best if they left the following day.
Kyle spent the time thinking about all of the ways he could pleasure his mate later that evening. He got that engrossed in his fantasies he didn’t realize the meeting was over until Teric got up from his lap. Adjusting himself in his pants, which was not an easy thing to do given that they were plastered on his body, Kyle made to follow his mate from the room, when Pearson called him back.
“I am thrilled you have claimed your mate,” Pearson said in a low voice meant for Kyle’s ears alone. “And I can understand that you two haven’t had much chance to talk about things.” He looked Kyle right in the eyes. “I also understand what it is like to have a new mate, believe me I do. But before you go on this mission tomorrow, you might want to take some time to actually talk to Teric, so that you won’t be worrying about his skill level while you are in the field. You won’t be doing your partnership any favors if you underestimate what your mate can do.”
Kyle remembered that it had only been a matter of weeks before, when Pearson had allowed Dante to be held in their cells, in an effort to get Grier, their first inkling there was a problem with Favo, to talk. Kyle had been on duty that day and Pearson had been like a bear with a sore paw every minute that Dante was away from him. The fact that Dante easily handled himself, and ended up killing Grier, was a hard fact for Pearson to swallow. Kyle wasn’t even sure that he wanted to see his mate in killer mode, but he knew that the idea of staying behind, and letting his mate go alone, was not something his wolf could put up with.
“I understand, Alpha,” he said. Yep, he understood all right. He didn’t have to like it, but he understood what Pearson was saying.
Kyle wandered out of the office and found Teric waiting for him just outside the door.
“Everything okay,” Teric asked.
Kyle smiled down at his new mate, and threaded his arm around Teric’s waist. “Yep,” he said, forcing the jollity into his words. “Now, food, and then I think it is time we reacquainted ourselves with our room, don’t you think. Or don’t cat shifting assassins go to bed in the middle of the day.”
“Not usually,” Teric said, his smile matching the one on Kyle’s face. Teric ran his eyes over the bulge in Kyle’s pants, making it grow even more if that was possible. Kyle was sure his handcrafted seams were going to pop if things got more crowded in there. “But I can make an exception for you.”
“I hope you eat quickly,” Kyle said, pulling him along to the dining room. His mate needed feeding, but he wanted as much time as possible to relearn every muscle on Teric’s delectable body. It didn’t escape the back of his mine that tomorrow might be too late.
Chapter Seven
Kyle watched with rapt fascination as Teric licked the sauce from his steak off his fingers. His mate’s fingers were beautiful in themselves,
long and fine, with enough strength in them to stop them looking like they belonged to a girl. Capable hands, Kyle thought. But Teric’s mouth – the way his lips hugged the contours of his fingers, the way his light sucking motion hollowed his cheeks and the joy in Teric’s eyes as he ate, brought to mind a whole lot of other things Kyle would like to stuff in his mate’s mouth.
Which was why, when Teric spoke to him, Kyle had to stop and think for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said, dragging his eyes from Teric’s lips, to green eyes that were filled with amusement. “You asked a question?”
“Not exactly, my mate,” Teric said with a grin. “I made a statement. That I’m not exactly what you were looking for, am I?”
Despite the smile on his face, Kyle would have been blind and stupid to miss the slight hurt that flashed across Teric’s face. He knew he would have to be careful how he answered.
“I don’t know you well enough to know how well we are suited,” he fudged. “Clearly we work well in the bedroom, but unfortunately we can’t stay in bed all day. Not that I wouldn’t like to, if you were sharing it with me,” he hastened to add.
Teric looked thoughtful for a minute. “So what kind of mate did you envisage, outside of the bedroom?”
Now this is where the whole, you can’t lie to your mate, thing really stings you in the ass, Kyle thought. He chose his words carefully, unwilling to hurt Teric any further, but unable to lie. “Someone that worked in an office, maybe. Or in the service industry. A person who would be happy to take guidance from me in all things. Somebody who would want to take care of me.”
Kyle racked his brain over what he had said. He’d hoped he had been vague enough not to cause any offence. But from the tightening of Teric’s lips, it would seem he hadn’t been careful enough.
