by Lisa Oliver
“Steel and Levi. I want you two to get this sweeper gadget and go over the entire club. If you find anything, leave it in place for now, and report back to me,” Pearson said. “Teric, if you can order in one of these frequency trackers that would be helpful too. But can you make it quick, because I also want to talk to you about these other pack members we might have problems with. Kyle you can stay too. The rest of you, go about your normal duties until I call for you. It goes without saying that none of you are to say anything about what has been discussed in here, to anyone.Stay close. Let’s see if we can get this asshole before he does any further damage.”
With a chorus of “Yes Alpha,” Steel, Levi, Phillip, Roger, Farren and Sebastian all left the room, but Kyle knew they would follow Pearson’s instructions to the letter. He was rather glad that Sebastian had been picked to go with him and Teric the following day, although he could do without the man giving his mate so many appreciative looks. Sebastian was a lot like Kyle had been, what, only a week ago - a player who enjoyed men of all types, and it seemed that Teric ticked more than a few boxes for Sebastian.
When the door to the office closed, Pearson leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “Fuck, I wish this shit was over and done with,” he said ruefully.
“I didn’t mean to bring additional trouble to your door, Alpha,” Teric said carefully.
Pearson looked surprised, and Kyle took his mate’s hand, giving him support. “You haven’t bought any trouble with you, Teric. I might not be happy to learn that there are those in the pack who seek to undermine and even kill my members. Lord knows I have worked really hard to provide a safe place for gay shifters. Not just gay wolves. It galls me more than I can say to think that there are some here, like Ace for example, who don’t share my vision for this pack.”
Teric looked down at where Kyle had taken his hand. “I have been raised by the Council since I was very young,” he said. “And had trained as a troubleshooter for years before I was accepted. The one thing the Shifter Council stands firm on is that every shifter is personally responsible for their own behavior.It is often hard to determine what’s a personal viewpoint,and what the Alpha’s influence in a pack situation might be on those individual choices. When you set up your pack, I know the Council were pleased, given that so many wolves were ostracized because they preferred to mate with someone of the same sex. When stories started coming out of men and women both, finding true mates of the same sex, it was clear that this was something that the Fates agreed with, and the Council have been strongly supportive ever since. Unfortunately many wolf packs prefer to have as little to do with the Council as possible and so it is difficult to enforce any major changes in pack law. The same applies to herds, prides and almost every other type of shifter group.”
“Other cats?” Kyle asked, wondering how Teric could have a human friend, if he was raised by the Council. There was clearly a lot about his mate that he had yet to learn. But for the first time since he learned what his cock could be used for in relation to other men, he was keen to learn more about a man in his life.
“No, only lion prides,” Teric grinned. “I’m not a lion. Most big cat species are loners and territorial, usually only coming together during the mating heat. I haven’t got a clue who my father was.”
“What about your mother?” Kyle couldn’t help but ask.
“I know who she is,” Teric said, his face closing down. Kyle had the sense to know that was clearly a discussion for another day.
Fortunately Pearson intervened. “Teric, what can you tell me about the wolves in my pack who have come to the Council’s attention?”
Teric stood up. “If it’s all right with you, I will just go and get my notes. There are ten of them and it is important that I don’t get any of them mixed up.”
Pearson nodded his head in agreement, and smiling quickly at Kyle, Teric left the room.
“So how’s it going?” Dante asked. He had been unusually quiet during the meeting so far, and Kyle was surprised to hear him speak. He reminded himself that Dante was the Alpha Mate and had as much reason to be concerned about Kyle’s welfare as Pearson did.
“A lot better, I think,” Kyle said. “We had a bit of a problem with Teric perceiving that he wasn’t what I was looking for in a mate, and I do agree, he’s not what I expected. But that’s not a negative thing. Just a surprise.”
“He doesn’t kneel at your feet naked and with dinner on the table when you get home?” Dante said.
Kyle smirked and shook his head. “Nope, can’t see that ever happening. He wants a job when this business with Favo is over.”
“Yeah,” Pearson said, looking at Dante. “I didn’t get the whole naked thing with dinner on the table either.”
“Oh, poor hard done by you.” Dante winked at Kyle and Kyle hid his own grin. He could see how good Dante and Pearson were together, and while he was sure there was a lot of hard in their relationship, given that the two men were all over each other every chance they got, there was nothing poor about either one of them. The two men clearly adored each other.
Sitting there, hoping that Teric was okay because he was taking longer than he should, Kyle made small talk with the Alpha and Alpha Mate. It was at times like this when the double mating scenario looked really good. Very few dominant shifters ended up with the mind link with their mate because it necessitated both a bite and a fuck at the same time. A proper double mating.
The dominant wolves at the Bound and Bonded club were more dominant than most, the submissives also more so. But in situations like this, when Kyle felt antsy because it should have taken Teric a matter of minutes to get the information he was looking for, and the man had been out of the office for fifteen, the urge to let Teric up his ass was overwhelming. The bite he had encouraged from Teric earlier was amazing after the pain faded, and that was real quick. Kyle had never come so hard in his life and he knew that the bite helped solidify the mating bond. But to get the mind link he wanted, he was going to have to let Teric fuck him. On the plus side at least the man was experienced and unlikely to hurt him.
He was just about to ask Pearson for permission to go and find his mate, when Teric came tearing back into the office.
“We have a problem, Alpha,” the frazzled man said bluntly. “My information, all the stuff I had on Favo, and your pack members, has all been taken from our room. Someone, I presume in your pack, now has a copy of everything the Council has on Favo and the troublemakers you have here.”
“You were using one of the enforcer’s suites?” Pearson asked Kyle.
“Yes, the one I always use when asked to stay in the club. I thought the only people with the right to go into that wing of the club, were other enforcers and their mates.”
“And anyone they want to spend some private time with,” Pearson said with a sigh. “Fuck it all. If nothing else, this Favo shit is certainly showing me I have been trusting too many people in the pack, and our security needs an overall update.” He looked down when he saw Teric writing on a piece of paper that was sitting on his desk.
This office might still be bugged. No one else except the people in this office knew why I was here, or what I was supposed to do. Do you trust them?
Pearson looked up at Teric and nodded. Out loud he said, “Kyle, go with Teric and see if you can scent anyone from the pack you are familiar with in your room. I’m not doubting your ability to sniff Teric, but Kyle might be able to work out who has actually been there. You know what, fuck it, I’m not sitting here doing nothing, while someone undermines my pack. We are coming with you.”
He stood up, palming his phone, he was texting someone – Kyle guessed it was Steel. Seemed that Pearson’s office needed to be the first place that was swept for bugs. Kyle said nothing, and followed Pearson and Dante out to the enforcer’s quarters.
Pearson was really good to all of his pack members, but the enforcers, because they were often asked to stay at the pack, all had their own suite of rooms, built into t
he back of the club. While Kyle liked his own house, he had no problems staying over when his Alpha needed him too. The thought of his private space, and Teric’s stuff, being violated by someone else, in his pack, was a hard thing to comprehend. Kyle calmed his wolf as he walked, even though his agitation was growing with every step.
Chapter Eleven
Teric was beyond angry and the last thing he wanted to do was let his cat loose among a wolf pack – that would not go down well, and he knew that. But even so, he could feel his cat spirit roaring in anger deep inside of him. The reason it had taken Teric so long to get back to Pearson’s office, was because he had to work so hard not to track the scent he had found, and simply kill the shifter behind the thefts. The sort of information Teric had, could be dynamite in the wrong hands, and given that Pearson’s pack had already been infiltrated by extremists, Pearson could have a revolt on his hands if the wrong wolves got together.
The feel of Kyle’s arm across his shoulder did help, and Teric was grateful for the touch. Although used to being a loner all of his life, with the exception of sexual encounters, Teric could see where the wolf’s need to touch and connect in a physical way was soothing – his cat certainly appreciated it, which Teric had originally thought was strange. But then, given how he had been bought up, with such a dearth of physical affection, he figured he must have had the need wired in him somewhere, otherwise he would never have been a good mate for a touchy feely wolf. Fate must know what she was doing, because even though Teric had never expected to have a wolf as a mate, he was certainly happy with the Fate’s choice for him.
Pearson and Kyle both growled as they walked into Kyle’s suite. Although nothing appeared out of place, the smell of another shifter was clear in the air. “Fucking Will,” Kyle snarled. “I’ll kill the little shit. I swear Pearson, this time he has gone too far.”
Teric had to think for a moment, as to where he knew the name. “Will?” He said, thinking hard. “That blond git from last night? He took my stuff?”
Pearson raked his hands through his long hair. “I knew the little one was a troublemaker, but this is too much, even for Will. Well, at least we know how he got in here. He could have been with any of the enforcers on this wing, and broke in here afterwards. You can still smell the traces of sex in his scent.”
Teric was impressed. He knew a wolf shifter’s nose was better at scenting things than he was. But the only thing Teric got a whiff of, apart from a strange wolf, was hair gel. And that made his nose itch and not in a good way. Then he had another thought.
“What’s this guy’s full name,” he asked, thinking back over the notes of the shifters that had been stolen.
“William Jacobs,” Pearson said.
“Fuck!” Teric couldn’t stop the expletive leaving his mouth, but he knew now that the whole pack could be in trouble. The file he had on William Jacobs, aka Will, was thicker than any he had seen.
“We’ve got a bigger problem, boss,” Steel said, coming into the room, followed closely by Levi. “Teric was right. Your office was bugged. Found the fucking thing lodged in the leg of your desk. It means that everything that we’ve discussed, including the plans for Teric and Kyle to go after Favo, have been shared with person’s still unknown.”
“It’s worse than that,” Teric said looking around the rooms he shared with Kyle. “Can you sweep in here? I need to explain some stuff and we can’t, absolutely can’t, be overheard.”
Checking with Pearson for the affirmative nod, Steel quickly swept around the room, which proved to be free of listening devices. Pearson and Dante commandeered one small couch, while Levi and Steel occupied the other. Kyle and Teric got the bigger couch, but Teric couldn’t sit still and was pacing the room.
“Look, William Jacobs has been on the Council’s radar for more than thirty years,” Teric began.
“Thirty years,” Kyle exclaimed. “I thought the guy was only in his early twenties, if that.”
Teric shook his head. “Will is fifty eight and it is surprising that he doesn’t look a lot older, because all indications are that the man doesn’t have a lot of time for his wolf. The other thing is that Will is not technically gay. He’s a bisexual wolf and he has been through just about every pack there is. Everywhere he goes he causes trouble.”
“What’s the history behind this trouble, and what sort of thing are we talking about?” Pearson spoke up this time.
“This is what is so frustrating,” Teric said, feeling his anger rise up again like a freaking phoenix that wouldn’t die. “Stealing my papers is totally out of Will’s comfort zone and I don’t understand why he has done it. Will’s problems stemmed thirty years ago when he met his mate, a male wolf shifter. His mate rejected him for a female, which was quite common at the time and Will went off the deep end. In every pack he has ever gone to, he has stirred up shit between mated couples, trying to get somebody to claim him. The problem is, that he is a resident fucking drama queen, and he can’t stop gossiping or sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. A lot of wolves are put off by his attitude and he usually ends up trying to come between a true mated pair, and that results in him getting kicked out the pack. He goes for power figures – Alpha’s, beta’s and enforcers, and it seems no one else will do.”
“That doesn’t sound like the type of person that would plant listening devices, or hook up with somebody like Favo,” Steel said. “Unless Favo can promise him that he will be mated, and it won’t be to a man, even if he does. The boy’s a real pain slut and a true submissive – I can’t see him with a female mate and that is all Favo could offer him.”
“He’s not a true submissive,” Kyle said. “That’s where his problem is, I think. If he was then he would want to fit in, not make waves and cause trouble.”
“He causes trouble to get close to the Alpha’s and the other power figures Teric has mentioned,” Dante said. “Do you remember when he tried to say that his last Master was part of Favo’s plot? The guy practically turned himself inside out when Pearson talked to him. I had to growl the little shit off. And the little fucker knew that Pearson was mated.”
“Based on what I know about him, I’d say this was more personal, than a plot to overthrow the pack,” Teric said, plopping down on the couch next to Kyle. He was pleased to note that Kyle immediately put his hand on Teric’s thigh, establishing a connection. “How long has Will been pursuing you,” he felt compelled to ask Kyle, even though the thought of his mate with another person was enough to make his skin crawl. He didn’t think he would be making too many friends with the subs at the Washington pack.
“The other night was probably the third time he has approached me directly,” Kyle said, squeezing his thigh. “I have never given him any encouragement. I can only guess that he tried again when I got back from Iowa because he thought I’d be that horny, I wouldn’t be picky.”
“He’s wearing out his welcome in this pack,” Pearson said, the bite in his voice evident. “He jumps on every Dom that is accepted into the pack. He has alienated most of the subs, who won’t have anything to do with him. He can find enough people to actually plow his ass, which I presume is the only reason he has stayed this long, but he makes pack members uncomfortable and I don’t know how long I can have him here.”
“Does no one get how tragic it must have been to have been rejected by his mate?” Dante said. “Most wolves don’t recover from that. I don’t think he would be nearly as much trouble if he had a mate of his own, or in the case of this pack, a Master.”
“Well, he’s going to have a problem getting one of those while he is in the holding cells,” Pearson said grimly. “He has breached Kyle and Teric’s personal space. He has stolen from a guest – soon to be member – of our pack. The information he has now, on other pack members makes me think that we might be better getting rid of him.”
“I’d like to talk to him, if that’s acceptable, Alpha,” Teric said. He had a germ of an idea that just might sort Will’s problem out,
and ensure that he didn’t go wandering off to another pack with potentially damaging information. “Because of the problems Willhas had with various packs, we, as in the Council, have kept tabs on him and his true mate, even after they parted. It seems his true mate is currently single. If I can get the two of them together, then Will would have a chance at being a productive member of the pack, or a pack,” He added hastily as he saw the anger on Pearson’s face.
“It’s really hard to feel sorry for the little shit right now, Teric,” Pearson snapped. “But I do understand what you are trying to do, and I thank you for it.”
“He’s going to know that we know what he has done,” Steel said, “and I’m guessing he is expecting Kyle to go and pick him up. Maybe I should do it instead.”
Levi narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Teric gave an internal smirk. Seemed Levi didn’t trust the little slut with his mate either.
“Not wanting to interfere in pack politics,” Teric said. “But Will is going to get a hard on no matter which enforcer goes and gets him. You will be pandering to his need for attention from powerful Dominants. As a Council representative I could do this, especially since it was my stuff he took. From what I could see, he didn’t touch anything of Kyle’s.”
Pearson sighed and looked at Dante for the longest time. “Okay, let’s do this, one thing at a time. Teric, you go track Will, take him down to the holding cells and interview him there. Try and get your stuff back. Kyle, you can wait for Teric at the cells. Steel, you and Levi go and see Roger and check if that radio wave tracker has come in, and try following that. We’ll do a complete sweep of the club at a later time.”
“I can’t in all fairness let you go and find Favo right this minute,” Pearson went on, talking directly with Teric this time. “I know you have your orders from the Council, but if we could get this information of yours back, hopefully without it being spread throughout the pack, then that is one leak stopped. Steel can track down the person who is collecting information about the pack for Favo. Then I think we will take all of the enforcers and back you up in going after Favo directly.”
