by Lisa Oliver
“So this isn’t some trauma or abuse issue then,” Pearson said, relieved in spite of himself. Trauma issues could be hard to deal with and took a lot of time and patience to handle, even in wolf matings. “Just a personal preference?”
“Exactly,” Dante seemed pleased that Pearson understood what he was trying to say in one go. Maybe he expected more of an argument. “I am happy to be bitten. I am more than happy to claim you. I am happy for us to live as mates. I’ll do anything you like sexually, but I won’t let you fuck me.”
Pearson grinned then, because at least now he had something to work with. Dante wasn’t opposed to being mated to Pearson; he just didn’t want to be topped. Pearson could work around that. Of course, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to do all he could to get the man positively begging for it, over time. And Dante would be begging for it, Pearson was certain of it.
“Okay,” he said.
Dante tilted his head to the side and frowned.
“Okay, what?” He asked.
“Okay, I understand that you’ll be my mate, but that you have no intention of letting me fuck you. You will let me do anything else, but not fuck you anally. Have I got that right?”
“Yes Alpha,” Dante said slowly, as though he was trying to work out if there was any trick to what Pearson was saying.
“Good then,” Pearson said with a smile on his face. “Of course, if you change your mind, you only have to tell me.” Dante threw him a “yeah, whatever,” look, like that was ever going to happen, but didn’t say anything.
“I think it would be really nice if we got together and had a meal tonight,” Pearson suggested. “And had a go at getting to know each other better before any biting takes place. I would offer lunch, but I am unavoidably busy all afternoon, and I really would like to take the time to get to know a bit about you.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight, Alpha, I already have plans,” Dante said with a smirk on his face.
Pearson growled loudly. “You don’t have plans with anyone else but me, do you understand? You are my mate and nothing is more important than that.”
“You’re quite right, Alpha,” Dante said smoothly, apparently totally unaffected by Pearson’s snarling. Damn it, anyone else in the pack would have been cowering by now. “However I am putting you first. I presume I’ve been accepted into the pack, so I am working a shift tonight as a bouncer for your club. I can hardly have dinner with you if I’m working. And as you are busy for the rest of the day, we’ll have to make it some other time,” and with that, he smiled at Pearson, and sauntered out of the door, closing it gently behind him.
Pearson sat back in his chair with a groan. Dante’s smell lingered in the office and Pearson hadn’t been able to get his erection to go down since the six men came into the office over an hour before. He was going to have a terminal case of blue balls if he couldn’t arrange to see his mate at some stage today. Giving said dick a solid thump, Pearson got back to looking over Dante’s application. He wanted to know as much about the man as possible, before they had a chance to sit, chat, eat, and then hopefully, get down and dirty with each other.
Chapter Two
Dante groaned softly on the other side of the door he had closed so carefully. His mate was a damn fine wolf, and the fucking Alpha to boot. He didn’t know whether he had won the lottery, or just been committed to a life of hell. With his damn mouth, hell would probably be the best option. Why the fuck did he have to tell Pearson that he didn’t want to be claimed? What an absolutely stupid thing to say to a mate.
Deciding to think about it later, Dante rolled off the door and headed over to where Roger was waiting by the bar. Although Pearson hadn’t told him too, Dante figured he would be best to act like any other potential pack member for now, and see how Pearson handled the mating situation, when the man had more time. Pearson had his responsibilities, and Dante respected that, but the meaning of Dante’s name was enduring and obstinate, and he could be both when the situation required. And in his opinion, this situation definitely required a bit of both.
Dante had known Pearson was his mate the moment he walked into the office, and he had been overjoyed at the idea. Forced from his pack for what was deemed an unfair kill, which of course it wasn’t, he didn’t think he would have had a chance at a new life in a new pack. Thanking the Fates that he still had a few friends he could call on, Dante had filled out the mountain of paperwork the Bound and Bonded club insisted upon for all new applicants, and prayed like crazy that his references would hold. He gathered that they had, because he had been summoned to a meeting with the Alpha, and yes he could safely say, his life had now changed for the better.
While Dante wanted nothing more than to spend time getting to know his new life partner, given that his mate was the Alpha of the situation, for some perverse reason he had decided not to make things easy on Pearson. He could have agreed to dinner. In fact, he would have loved the idea of eating a meal with his mate. His own financial situation was decidedly grim and the thought of a solid meal was a pleasant one. Hopefully the pay for his new bouncer job wouldn’t be too long in coming.
Sauntering over to the bar, Dante greeted Roger with a smile. “All things good with the Alpha?” Roger asked; his own smile lighting up a handsome face.
“I guess so,” Dante replied easily. “Otherwise I would have been hauled off like the last guy. So what happens from here? Did you still need me to work tonight?” Dante had spoken to Roger a couple of days before about looking for work as a bouncer, and Roger had assured him that there were shifts that needed to be filled, as soon as he’d had his interview with Pearson.
“Definitely, my friend. We’ll give you a trial tonight, to see how you go. But provided there aren’t any problems, you could work just about every night this week if you wanted to.”
Dante nodded his approval, even though he wasn’t sure how Pearson would take to the news he could be working permanent nights for a bit. But damn the man, he needed the money.
“Thanks, Roger. I appreciate the opportunity, you know. Money’s a bit tight, with the move and everything. Will be nice to afford some groceries,” Dante said.
“Well, you get a free meal every shift that you work,” Roger explained, “and the Alpha pays us weekly, so I’ll see to it you get some pay at the end of the week. Actually,” he said, looking at his watch, “why don’t you come and have some lunch with me now, and I can fill you in on what you’ll be doing tonight. On the house, of course.”
As much as it pricked Dante’s pride to take what was obviously charity, he was a wolf and a wolf needed to eat - a lot. Turning down a free meal would be plain stupid. Swallowing his pride, Dante let Roger lead him through the club, pointing out the various sections as they went. It was a big place, with a public playroom, a separate area which was set up for dancing, and off to the side, Roger pointed out the entrance to the back playrooms which were available for rent.
“Only Doms can hire the rooms, obviously,” Roger said, “and the usual hires are for two hours or the night. There will be some nights where you will need to act as Dungeon Master. The Alpha doesn’t like keeping just one person in that job. He had some problems here a while back with a man who was playing favorites with his friends. Letting them get away with shit that Pearson doesn’t allow. So now, all bouncers and enforcers take turns at the job.”
Dante was curious to know more, but he didn’t want anyone to think he was asking after the Alpha, so he just made a non-committal noise. He didn’t have a problem with acting as Dungeon Master, although watching others play out scenes and having sex was going to be hell on his balls if he hadn’t hooked up with Pearson by then.
Sitting them at a table, and placing an order for the “special” for both of them, Roger gave a bit of a laugh after he’d done it.
“Sorry, man. Old habit. I always order for my subs and rarely eat with anyone else. No disrespect intended.”
“None taken,” Dante assured him, alth
ough he was a little peeved at not being able to look at the menu. The food smelled delicious, whatever was cooking in the kitchen. But given that he hadn’t eaten in over twenty four hours, any food would be good for now.
“So what are you looking for?” Roger asked, as he dug into the plate of food that was placed in front of him. Dante sniffed his plate appreciatively. Some kind of meat stew, with huge meaty chunks and few vegetables. Bread was placed in a basket to the side, and Dante dug in hungrily. Hmmm, the food was decidedly good. But not enough to distract Dante from Roger’s question.
“What do you mean, looking for?”
“You know, sub, Master, mate. What are you looking for?” Roger said, as he hoed into his food. Dante tried hard to remember that this was just casual conversation. He wasn’t being grilled about any wrong doing. The man was simply being friendly with a new guy. It was just with what he had been through in the past year, it was hard to turn off his naturally suspicious streak.
“I’m a Dom,” Dante said cautiously, “but you know, like all of us, I’d like to find my mate. What about you?”
“Not sure about finding my mate just yet, Dante. Could cramp a man’s style and all that,” Roger said suggestively. “I like to play rough and play hard and variety…mmmm… there’s plenty of that here to keep a man happy. Did you see those three subs that were bought into today? So pretty, and apparently really well trained.”
Dante ducked his head and grabbed some bread. He could hardly tell Roger that he hadn’t noticed anyone in the office except Pearson, and couldn’t think what the three subs had looked like, no matter how hard he racked his brains. Dante struggled to think of something suitably non-committal to say. He already knew he wouldn’t be sampling any subs in the club, new or not. Now his wolf had scented his mate, he had become a one wolf man in an instant.
“Yeah, well, they’re all going to be new to me, aren’t they?” Dante planted what he hoped was a suitable leer on his face, as he leaned back in his chair and cupped his crotch provocatively.
“Well, whatever your kink, we’ve got it here, man. I can just imagine what the subs are going to do when they see you. There’s at least three subs to every Dom in this place, and well, let’s just say, a lot of the boys like to play the field. You’ll find yourself inundated with offers by the end of your shift,” Roger said helpfully.
A low growl behind his shoulder, followed by an amazing waft of his mate’s scent alerted Dante to Pearson’s presence. Oops, okay. Maybe he could have toned his suggestiveness down a bit. But hey, what’s a Dom to do when he’s in a new place? He had to play nice with the pack, at least until Pearson acknowledged him as his mate. He turned to look over his shoulder, but Pearson was looking at Roger.
“I need you to get on your computer,” Pearson said tersely. “Kyle’s method of persuasion isn’t working on that slime-ball Grier and I want to know what the guy is hiding, and why the hell he wanted to get into my club. He should never have been given a fucking interview seeing as you couldn’t confirm his references.”
Roger bowed his head. “He had a good written reference, Alpha, and I thought it best to bring him in for you to meet the man, rather than flat out refuse him. He’s applied before and I haven’t let him get past the application stage. He’s been really persistent.”
“Find out why, and let me know as soon as you find anything.” Pearson’s tone allowed no argument.
“Yes Alpha. See you at six, Dante.” Roger inclined his head again, and took off back to the bar, presumably where his computer was. Dante glanced back at his plate. His meal was finished and he presumed he had better make tracks. He would come back to the club just before his shift. With his mate already determined, there was no reason for him to hang around watching everyone else get their rocks off all afternoon. He made to get up from his chair, and was surprised when Pearson put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from getting up. Damn, the man was strong.
“Not you, Dante. I want to have a few words with you.”
Dante sank back into his chair and watched as Pearson took the chair opposite him, calling for coffee from one of the ever helpful subs. He had a horrible suspicion that he wasn’t going to like this conversation, but did his best to keep a neutral look on his face. Pearson might be his mate, well, intended mate at the moment, but Dante didn’t know the man. His wolf wanted the connection at this point - the man was just horny and hopeful.
“So Dante, I hear you had some trouble in your old pack. Care to elaborate?” Pearson asked, his voice like deep velvet across a smooth surface.
No, Dante didn’t want to elaborate. He didn’t want to talk about it at all. He had put down the barest details of his ‘offence’ on his application form, because he knew he had to put something and he did want to be accepted into his new pack honestly. But that didn’t mean he wanted to talk about what happened, to anybody. His mate, however, well that bought up another can of worms. Because he couldn’t, and wouldn’t even try, to lie to his mate.
“I killed a pack member. It was deemed an unfair kill and I was banished.” Yep, that just about covered everything.
Pearson, sitting across from him looking like a bloody powerhouse model and the picture of casualness, didn’t flinch, nor did his expression change.
“Why did you kill a pack member?”
And see, this was why Dante didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to explain what had happened, or why he did what he did. He killed a man. It was judged an unfair kill by his Alpha, and he was banished. Face it, under pack law, he was lucky he wasn’t killed himself.
“I came across a situation, where a male pack member was being anally raped by one of the beta wolves. I killed the beta wolf. The assaulted pack member didn’t want to discuss the matter with the Alpha, so I was left with a dead beta wolf, and blood on my paws. Because there was no proof that the original assault took place, I was banished.”
Dante watched as a frown came over Pearson’s face, obviously trying to fill in the holes in Dante’s story.
“Who was the pack member that was being abused? Who was he to you?” Pearson must have thought this was some lover’s tryst gone wrong or a wolf honing in on another’s claim. Dante snorted. That was so far from the truth it wasn’t funny. But could Dante trust Pearson with the name? Figuring that he had to, because his mate deserved the truth, Dante said, “He was the Alpha’s son, Jerrod.”
Now Pearson was even more confused, Dante could tell. While all he could smell was the waves of lust pouring off of the Alpha, mixed in with his own, Dante also realized that Pearson was going to stay in Alpha mode until he got to the bottom of the matter at hand. Okay, maybe Dante should help him out a bit.
“My last Alpha was a homophobe. Jerrod didn’t want his father to know he had been violated because he was worried that his father would think that it would make him gay. Jerrod will be in line to be Alpha in about another ten years, and he didn’t want anything to jeopardize that, or the way his father thought about him.”
“That’s just ridiculous,” Pearson spat out. “No one can be made to be gay. You either are, or you’re not.”
“Not all Alpha’s think like that, Alpha,” Dante said softly. He had hidden his sexuality from his pack for years, fully aware that if it ever came to light that he enjoyed sex with a man, that he would have been banished or killed anyway. His old Alpha was very stubborn about things like gays.
Pearson sighed. “Look, I believe you and as far as I’m concerned, it was a fair kill. But, I have a problem. I can’t have you working on my staff as a bouncer, with an unfair kill mark against your name. It makes you look unreliable. I’m going to have to get in touch with your ex-Alpha and get more details on this story. Maybe get him to change his mind. Your acceptance into the pack will be temporary, until this matter is cleared.”
Dante felt like someone hand punched him in the stomach. He had counted on the bouncer job to help him pay for his cruddy apartment and to buy food this week. If the
Alpha wasn’t allowing him to work in the club, then he needed to find work, really quickly.
“On a positive note,” Pearson continued, seemingly unaware that he had cut out Dante’s ability to eat until he found another job, “it means you can have dinner with me after all.”
Damn it all, the man was actually smiling at him. Dante snarled and Pearson jumped.
“I don’t think so, Alpha,” Dante growled, getting to his feet. “If I’m not good enough to work in your club and my position in this pack is in doubt, which it obviously is, then I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”
Pearson’s frowned and he looked aggressively angry. “Don’t you walk away from me, Dante. I’m the Alpha here.”
“But not my Alpha, or so you’ve just told me. And as for anything else,” Dante waved his hand at the huge amount of pheromones swarming them like a cloud, because fuck it all, two angry wolves made for some serious sex in the air, “if you don’t trust me enough to give me a job, then you obviously don’t trust me enough to mate me. So we’re done.”
Chapter Three
Pearson could not believe that his mate had just walked out on him. No one dared to do that to him. But Dante looked so damn angry when he walked out through the club, Pearson was too astonished to go after him. Shit, he was going to have to put in a call to Dante’s old Alpha and try and get the unfair kill mark taken off the man’s record. Pearson totally believed his mate, and was more than prepared to claim the man. But it would be easier for Dante to be accepted into the pack, if he didn’t have a black mark against his name from the start.
Leaving the dining room, Pearson went over to find Roger and let the man know that Dante would not be working with them at the moment. In all honesty, Pearson knew that Dante wouldn’t be working for him at all. Pearson fully intended to have his mate with him at all times, and that didn’t mean the man was going to be dealing with drunks and idiots at the club.
