Table of Contents

Title Page
To Tonya – For your unwavering friendship, support, and for helping me see the beauty of
a moose. Bless you!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About the Author

On the Road: Life is full of compromises, but the best ones allow you to end up in a better place than
where you started.


When Adam Kingston decides to enjoy a cat nap in tiger form, he never thought he’d be woken by the
cries of young moose shifters, nor did he expect to need to save them from a douchy wolf shifter and
his buddies. The day takes a turn for the better when he’s pleasantly surprised to discover the
moose’s brother, Noah Oleander, is his mate. Except Noah is in the closet, is the legal guardian for
his two siblings, and is on the run for attacking his alpha’s son. Can Adam get Noah to stick around
long enough to find a way to help him? Or, will Noah decide it’s easier to grab his siblings and keep
on running?

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Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Compromises For His Moose

Copyright © 2013 Charlie Richards

ISBN: 978-1-77111-518-6

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in
whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

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Compromises For His Moose

Kontra’s Menagerie: Book Eleven

By

Charlie Richards

To Tonya – For your unwavering friendship, support, and for helping me see the beauty of a

moose. Bless you!

Chapter One

Adam lounged on a tree limb, almost twenty-five feet above the forest floor. He listened to the sounds
of the forest, letting them lull him into a doze. Bees buzzed as they zipped in and out of the hive
hanging forty feet south of his position. Birds twittered as they flitted through branches, searching for
nuts and berries to feed the chirping nestlings in the nest ten feet above his head. Squirrels rustled
leaves as they scampered from limb to limb, chittering and chattering.

The howl of a wolf pulled Adam to full wakefulness and he lifted his head to listen. A few other

wolves took up the call. A large animal crashed through the underbrush. Adam didn’t recognize any of
the wolf howls so knew it wasn’t his fellow pack members Vail or Sam.

It must be some of the wolves from Vail’s grandfather’s pack.
Adam’s pack, led by grizzly bear shifter Kontra Belikov, was made up of a band of misfits that had

been kicked out of or left their own pack for some reason, or they’d been orphans and never had one
to begin with. Now there were over a dozen members and most of them mated.

He couldn’t believe the changes that had taken place in their pack over the last couple years. It was

like Fate had decided to pour her blessings upon them. For the most part, Adam was happy for his
friends.

Okay, maybe I’m a little jealous. He’d really struggled when his best friend, Yuma, had found his

mate. He’d grown so used to caring for the shy penguin shifter. Then, all of a sudden, some human had
taken his place.

Adam sighed and lowered his head back to his paws. He really needed to kick these doldrums.
A bugle of a scared animal echoed through the trees. Hearing the sounds of animals breaking twigs

and snapping limbs as they bolted through the forest, Adam peered through the branches. Shocked, he
watched a small pair of moose bound underneath him.

The first, a cow, appeared to be just a few years old. She wasn’t fully grown by any means. Beside

her ran a bull, maybe a year and a half old. Last year’s calf, maybe? Then Adam spotted their eyes
and—even filled with fear—the intelligence shown in them.

Shifters! Moose shifters!
Adam immediately reassessed them. They can’t be more than teenagers. What the hell are they

doing alone in wolf territory? Four wolves streaked after them. And why the hell are wolf shifters
chasing them?

Son of a bitch! That’s Stan leading those wolves! Adam levered himself to his feet and gave

chase, leaping between branches, staying high above them. He swiftly gained ground even as the four
wolves advanced on the pair of moose.

As Adam watched Stan goad his friends into nipping and snapping at the fleeing moose’s heels, he

lowered his opinion of the wolf shifter from douchebag to bully. Vail’s grandfather, Sean, alpha of
the Tamang pack, had welcomed Kontra’s gang into his territory for several weeks so Vail could
reconnect with his family. They’d been introduced to a number of the shifters in the pack, including
Stan. The guy had sneered at them when Sean hadn’t been looking. It seemed it wasn’t just gays he
didn’t like. The dude was an equal opportunity asshole.

The four wolves managed to corner the young pair of moose shifters against a rock outcropping.

The cow struck out with a hind hoof at one wolf, driving it back. Stan took that opportunity to leap
forward and bite her on the haunch. She bleated. The young bull rammed into the wolf, making Stan
let go.

Adam had seen enough. He couldn’t fathom any reason to attack cubs this way, no matter the

species. He dropped from a branch, placing himself between the wolves and the moose, and roared in
challenge, showing off his massive teeth.

The wolves backed up several steps. Adam could see the three followers looking at Stan for

direction. A sharp hoof connected with Adam’s flank. Turning to look at the young bull, he hissed in
warning. He’d give the young shifter that one for free because they didn’t know his intentions.

The bull moose cringed, backing against the older, injured cow.
Adam returned his focus to the wolves just in time to see two of them leap at him, jaws gaping. He

used one massive paw to bat the closest out of the air, sending him tumbling who-knew-where.
Instantly, Adam flipped onto his back and kicked out with his powerful hind legs.

His back claws raked over the ill-prepared wolf while the blow sent him tumbling into the third

wolf, which seemed to be staring in shock. Stan yipped at Adam, clearly displeased with his
interference.

Adam couldn’t give a shit. He flattened his ears to his skull and snarled back.
Seeing his buddies already slinking away, Stan growled, obviously angry, but then followed his

friends into the forest. Adam remained crouched, waiting and listening. Once the forest fell quiet,
save for the breathing of the pair of moose behind him, he relaxed.

He eased into a sitting position, then licked his paws and cleaned between his toes, then his face.

Damn wolves and their stupidity.

Gaining his feet, he started trotting through the woods. The rustle of leaves from behind him made

him pause and he looked over his shoulder. Huh. Why are the moose following me? Damn. Maybe
they’re lost!

When he’d come to their aid, he hadn’t really thought about what would come after. What if they

had nowhere to go? Or if they did, didn’t remember how to get there? Stan and his crew of idiots had
chased them for a while. Deciding he’d better take them to Vail’s father, Abbott, Adam changed
directions. Abbot was the Tamang pack beta and would know what to do.

The pair of moose followed him. It wasn’t until he was within half a mile of Abbott’s place that he

realized they’d dropped pretty far behind. Did they change their minds?

Adam sat down and waited, watching them. Then he noticed the cow’s heavy limp. Shit! How

could I have missed that? The poor girl is hurt.

It only took a couple of seconds for him to bound back to her side. She paused, holding her right

hind leg off the ground, obviously in pain. The rich, copper scent of her blood as it dripped down her
leg filled the clearing. Adam debated his options. He had to get her out of there fast, before the scent
drew the attention of other predators. However, if one did come sniffing around, Adam would have
an easier time protecting them if he were still in tiger form.

Deciding speed was of the essence, Adam shifted. His tail drew into his body, his fur thinned and

disappeared, while his muscles popped and body contorted. After about fifteen seconds, he crouched
on the soft, moss-covered forest floor.

“Shift, so I can carry you,” he said softly, with just enough command in his voice to make certain

she didn’t think it an option. “We need to get you out of here and that leg taken care of.”

She hesitated.
Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Look, darlin’. I’m not interested in doing anything but

getting you somewhere safe. Now come on.”

That seemed to convince her for her body shuddered, then began to change. It took a good forty-

five, fifty seconds. Day-am! Don’t they practice? Finally, a brunette of average height with soft

brown eyes, small high tits, and a little extra around the middle stood before him. There was one
more thing he noticed, and that was her scent. There was the unmistakable musky smell of an adult
male clinging to her skin.

Evidently, she had a boyfriend. A good smelling boyfriend, in Adam’s opinion—making it

necessary for him to think about the involved process of changing tie-rod ends on a pick-up to keep
from getting a boner. Not wanting to run into an enraged bull moose, Adam decided he needed to get a
move on. “I’m Adam Kingston. I’m going to take you somewhere safe, where we can get that leg
looked at. Okay?”

She nodded. “I’m Heather Oleander.”
Her voice was soft and husky, and Adam nodded. “Just relax. We’ll have you out of here in no

time.” Once he swept her into his arms she did as requested and relaxed quiescent against his chest.

Adam started jogging through the woods, doing his best not to jostle her. He glanced at the moose

trotting next to him, keeping pace. “Is that your friend? Brother?” He really didn’t want to assume he
was the boyfriend. The cub was far too young. In fact, to Adam’s way of thinking, they both were.

“My brother, Ronnie,” Heather mumbled.
Grunting, Adam saved his breath and concentrated on not stepping on anything that would slice his

bare foot open while avoiding low branches or bushes that could whap his twig and giggle berries.
No way did he want those injured.

The clearing holding Abbott’s home appeared between the trees. As he broke through, Payson

rolled his motorcycle to a stop, his human mate Land clinging to his back. “I told you I’ve never
driven…anything!” Land complained when Payson cut the engine.

Payson snarled, “And you should never drive again…ever!”
“Asshole!” Land snapped back.
Payson deflated. “Sorry, babe, but…look what you did to my bike!” he whined. He heaved a sigh

and said, “Let’s find Adam. He’ll tell us how hard it’ll be to fix.”

Adam saw where Payson indicated and grimaced. “Damn,” he muttered. There were several dents,

a crack, and more scrapes and scratches than would buff out. It looked like Adam had his work cut
out for him. He was the pack mechanic and took care of the maintenance of their motorcycles.

Payson must have heard his muttered word, for he swung around and looked at him. His eyes

widened in shock for just a second, then they narrowed as he cocked his head. “Who the hell are
they?”

Of course, his friend took in the young moose bull standing behind Adam, as if anyone could miss

the large animal. “This is Heather Oleander. She ran amok Stan and his band of idiots. Is Abbott
home?”

“Oh, oh shit!” Suddenly, Land turned white as a sheet. “Blood…”
Payson swung around and had just enough time to catch his mate as Land crumpled to the ground.
“What the hell is going on out here?” Abbott called from the porch. He swept his gaze over the

assembled group, his attention snagging first on the moose calf, then on the naked woman in an
equally naked Adam’s arms. “Good thing we live in plenty of trees or ya’ll would be sited for public
nudity. Get your asses in here,” he ordered gruffly.

Adam grimaced. His tiger really didn’t like taking orders from what his animal considered a

weaker shifter. In their make-shift pack, Kontra was the only really recognized authority, and since
his grizzly bear could make mincemeat out of any of them, obeying came naturally.

“You might as well shift now, too, Ronnie. We need to head in and get Heather cleaned up,” Adam

told the cub.

The bugle of a moose sounded in the distance, bouncing off the trees. It made it difficult to pinpoint

direction. Ronnie immediately called back. Adam cringed. “Shit, not right next to my ear, dude,” he
grumbled.

The moose looked at him, then trotted a few paces away and called to the other moose again. “Son

of a—” Adam cut himself off, deciding it probably wasn’t appropriate to curse like that in front of the
youngster.

Breaking branches and cracking limbs heralded the arrival of the final moose. The big beast must

have stood six feet at the shoulder. His antlers spanned at least four feet. Muscles rippled under his
thick brown coat.

That was all Adam noticed before the moose lowered his head and charged toward him. “Oh,

shit!”

Chapter Two

Noah couldn’t believe he’d allowed this to happen! He’d only been distracted by an intriguing scent
for a moment—a scent that had threatened to make him spring wood while in moose form. How
embarrassing would that have been while running for his life with his siblings? He’d had to slip
away in the trees for a second and force his body to calm down.

When Noah had returned to the thicket where his young sister and brother had been resting, they

were gone. Scenting their trail, he’d followed. He couldn’t imagine that they’d gone far, so figured it
shouldn’t be too difficult to catch up.

He’d been wrong. At a river, Noah had lost their scent. He’d thought about bugling, but they were

still too close to his herd’s territory, and he wasn’t certain if the enforcers were still tracking them.

All that had changed when he’d heard the sound of his sibling’s frightened calls, the howling of

wolves, followed by the snarls and hisses of something else… A big cat, maybe? The wolves he’d
expected, since he knew his herd’s territory abutted a nearby wolf pack’s. What he didn’t know was
why the wolves would attack his siblings.

Noah had rushed toward them, but it was farther away than he’d thought. By the time he’d arrived,

all he’d found was trampled area and blood. It had freaked him the fuck out. He’d followed the trail
of red dots as quickly as possible.

Finally, losing patience and scenting a lot of wolves, Noah had given in to his rising panic and

bugled. Thankfully, his brother had answered. Noah’d nearly pissed himself when he’d stumbled into
a clearing and spotted his sister being carried by a huge blond, blood dripping down her leg.

Trumpeting angrily, Noah lowered his head and charged.
To his utter shock, Ronnie leaped into his path.
Noah skidded to a halt, having to splay his legs to stop in time to avoid nailing his brother or

tumbling on his face. Snorting, he drew in a breath and just about sprung wood from the smell of the
man. It was the same scent as before!

Holy shit! No. No, no, no! I can’t find my mate now!
Too bad the handsome blond was glaring at him. “Son of a bitch, dude. I’m trying to help your

woman.”

His woman? What? Did he think they were a couple?
“Shit. You all need to shift and get the hell in here,” some guy on the cabin’s porch yelled. “We’ll

clean up the woman’s leg and you can tell me what you’re doing in our territory.”

Ignoring the raging desire coursing through his system, Noah decided he’d better do as the wolf

shifter said. He didn’t know if the guy was highly ranked in their pack, but he seemed pretty
commanding. Noah initiated his shift. He finished before his brother, who had only started shifting the
summer before.

“I’m Adam Kingston,” the big guy introduced himself. “Let’s get inside.”
“I’m Noah Oleander,” Noah replied, trying to ignore the appraising look Adam was giving him.

“Heather is my sister. What happened to her?” he asked, turning to watch Ronnie finally regain his
human form. If he didn’t look at the guy, maybe he could control his body’s responses.

“Sister?” Adam commented. The funny note in that one word drew Noah’s attention. A sexy smile

curved Adam’s lips. “Good.”

Noah knew from that one look that the other shifter felt the pull, too, but he’d never revealed that he

found some men attractive even more than most women. What if his siblings took exception to that?

He couldn’t lose them, especially not with his alpha after all of them. Noah had to take care of
Heather and Ronnie.

Silently, Noah followed everyone up the porch stairs and into the house. After Adam placed

Noah’s sister on a sofa, a slender dark-haired guy tossed the shifter—a cat by the smell of him—a
pair of jeans. Adam caught them one handed and pulled them on.

“Here,” the wolf shifter said, wrapping a blanket around his sister. She smiled up at him gratefully.

Then he pointed at a boot box by the door. “There are sweats in there.”

Noah nodded and grabbed a pair for himself and Ronnie. His kid brother would swim in them, but

at least they had a drawstring.

“Payson, why don’t you help Land to the bedroom, then give Kontra and Eli a call? We’re gonna

need them here,” Adam stated.

His buddy grunted, which must have been an assent, for Payson helped the human down the hall and

out of sight. The skinny guy leaned heavily against Payson, looking a bit dazed.

Adam returned his focus to Noah. “This is the home of Abbott Tamang,” he said, indicating the

wolf shifter with his hand. “His son is part of our biker gang, so we’re guests in the pack’s territory
right now. Are you all lost?”

Biker gang? What? Noah glanced from Adam to Abbott. He really didn’t want to answer the big

guy’s questions, but he knew he’d have to tell them something. He watched the wolf crouch down in
front of Heather, setting a bowl filled with water and several cloths by his knee. “I’m just gonna take
a look at this, okay?”

Heather nodded, swallowing hard and looking away from the bite wound on her leg.
While Abbott got to work, Noah apologized. “I’m sorry for infringing on your territory. We…” He

paused. Should I tell them the truth? Then he realized, as shifters, they’d know if he was lying,
anyway. Shit, I’m in so much trouble. “We’re being hunted by our alpha,” Noah admitted. “I don’t
want to put you in an awkward position, so as soon as Heather’s leg is cleaned up, we should
probably get going.”

“The hell you’ll leave,” Adam growled.
Noah’s brows shot up and his jaw dropped as he looked at the man.
“You’re my mate,” Adam stated bluntly. “Whatever your problems are, they’re mine, too, now.”
Oh, shit! He did not just say that out loud!
Ronnie snorted. “You’re a guy. You can’t be mates.”
Adam shrugged. “I’m gay, so it works well.”
“Well, my brother’s not,” Ronnie said, snickering, although he looked a little confused. At least, it

sounded like his brother didn’t seem completely turned off by the idea.

Adam stared at him, his cool green eyes intense. “You’re not? Are you bisexual?”
“Uh, are you always this blunt?” he mumbled, uncertain what to say. Noah looked at Heather to

find her actually smirking at him.

“That wasn’t a no,” Adam all but crooned, stepping into his space, obviously taking advantage of

his momentary distraction. “Why don’t I give you a little show and tell?”

Before Noah could even pretend to think up a response, Adam brought his hand up and cupped his

jaw. The other hand settled on his hip, his calloused thumb brushing over his hipbone, making him
fight back a shiver. Adam tugged him forward the couple of inches needed so the broad-shouldered
shifter could press their lips together.

Noah gasped and stiffened, which meant he inhaled the man’s spicy, musky, masculine scent.

Instantly, his shaft hardened in his sweats, making them tent. Adam must have scented it, for the hand

on his hip tightened, and he growled softly into Noah’s mouth as he delved deep.

He couldn’t help it. It felt too amazing after never giving into his urges in all his thirty-five years—

touching another man, the man touching him, tasting him, and being tasted. He moaned and sucked
Adam’s tongue.

Noah wanted to ignore the man who cleared his throat—Was that Abbott? —but Adam eased the

kiss to an end.

“Hmm, now what do you think?” Mirth filled Adam’s voice, his green eyes sparkling.
A blush heated Noah’s cheeks and he lowered his gaze. “Yeah,” he muttered. There was no way to

lie after how easily he’d given in to Adam’s kiss. “I’m bi.”

“Well, now you’re exclusive,” Adam stated firmly. He grabbed Noah’s hand and led him to a small

sofa. Sitting down, Adam pulled him down beside him. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s got your
alpha after your ass, so we can figure out how to fix it.”

Noah risked a glance at his siblings. Heather caught his eye and gave him a tremulous smile and a

discreet thumbs-up, although she seemed far more interested in the man kneeling at her feet carefully
cleaning the nasty bite on her calf.

Ronnie just looked confused.
Deciding to concentrate on his sister’s problem—he’d have to sit down and have a private

conversation with Ronnie very soon—Noah asked, “How bad is it?”

Abbott grimaced. “It’s not a deep bite, but Stan definitely got through several layers and tore off a

lot of surface skin. Eli will be able to tell you more when he gets here and takes a look.”

“Who’s Eli?” Noah asked.
“I’m Eli,” said a tall, slender man with bronzed skin and piercing brown eyes. He smiled. “Eli

Raetz. I’m Kontra’s pack doctor,” he added, waving a hand to indicate the massive, broad-
shouldered, goateed guy standing behind his shoulder.

“You’re huge!” Ronnie whispered, his eyes wide as he stared at Kontra. “What are you?”
The blood drained from Noah’s face. He knew his brother was young, only thirteen, but surely he’d

taught him better than to address an alpha that way. The big man in the leather jacket screamed alpha
with a capital A.

Kontra didn’t rebuke him like their own alpha—Alpha Gracen—probably would have done.

Gracen was a bit of a stickler on protocol. Kontra actually smiled at Ronnie. “I’m a grizzly bear.
What are you?”

“We’re moose,” Ronnie replied, clearly awed. “Wow, a grizzly bear! That’s so cool!”
Kontra winked at the boy, then turned to Heather. “I think we need to report this incident to Alpha

Sean. Have you called him, yet?” He directed the last comment at Abbott.

Abbott shook his head. “Been a bit busy, but now that Eli’s here, I’ll let him take over.”
Eli nodded and traded places with him. “You did a fantastic job cleaning it. I’d like a needle and

thread. It needs stitches.” He looked up and gave Heather a smile. “Hi, what’s your name,
sweetheart?”

“Heather,” she replied softly, obviously trying not to cringe as Eli inspected her wound.
Into the house scurried a short, African American man carrying a black satchel and a clear plastic

case. “Sorry it took me so long. Did you know you’d wrapped the first aid kit in the sleeping bag?”

Eli paused in his inspection to accept the bag. Nodding, Eli replied, “Yes. I’m certain I mentioned I

did that when we repacked the saddlebags yesterday.”

Eli seemed to have said it almost idly, but Sam flushed. “Sorry,” he whispered.
The scent of arousal flooded the room.

Eli paused in preparing a needle and eyed the smaller man. “Yes, you will be,” he said in a tone

that one could only call sultry.

Noah’s eyes widened as he watched their interaction. Were these men a couple? They were part of

Kontra’s pack, right? Was he okay with that?

Eli returned his focus to Heather. “I’m going to give you a local anesthetic to numb the area, then

I’ll see what I can do to clean this up a bit more before stitching it together. I’m happy to tell you that
the wolf’s teeth did not penetrate to the muscle, but only tore the skin. I’m sorry to say you will end up
with some scarring,” he warned.

“That’s life,” she whispered.
Noah grimaced, knowing she wasn’t talking about physical scarring now. He’d hoped he’d

intervened swiftly enough to not make her leery of all men, but he didn’t really know. That comment
made him worry even more.

Kontra crossed his arms over his chest. “Adam, is there something you want to tell me?”
Adam grinned. “Noah’s my mate. I want to help him and his siblings solve whatever had them

running from their herd enforcers.”

“Personally, I’d be more concerned with the asshole wolf who did this to Heather’s leg,” Eli

muttered dryly.

“Congratulations,” was Kontra’s surprising response.
“You’re okay with that?” Noah slapped a hand over his mouth, mortified that he’d actually said that

out loud.

Kontra smirked, his brow lifting in amusement. “Everyone in my pack is gay, Noah. You’ll fit right

in.”

Noah’s lips parted in shock. “Y-you’re gay?”
“Very,” Kontra replied. “Why don’t we get everyone dressed and comfortable while we wait for

Alpha Sean to get here? Then you’ll only have to tell your tale once.”

Reeling from the sudden, drastic changes his life seemed to be going through, Noah just nodded.
Who are these people? Why the hell do they want to help? Well, other than Adam? And could

they actually do anything to help?

Chapter Three

Adam looked over at his mate—Holy shitballs! I found my mate!—and saw his dazed expression.
He felt a smidge of guilt, outing Noah to his siblings, but only a smidge, because it had gone well.
Even if it hadn’t, Adam knew with the support of his pack, they’d have Heather and Ronnie mellowed
out in no time.

Wrapping his arm around Noah’s shoulders, Adam gave them a slight squeeze. He wished there

was some other way to reassure the tense man. With his other hand, Adam cupped Noah’s jaw, liking
the slight scratch of five o’ clock shadow beneath his fingers.

“Everything will be fine,” Adam said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “We’ll get it

straightened out.”

Noah’s chocolate-colored eyes met his gaze, his brows furrowing. “You have no clue what’s going

on. How can you say that?”

It was a good question, a fair question. Adam grinned because he knew the answer. “Because Fate

wouldn’t lead you to me only to take you away again.” Sure, it sounded simple, maybe even a little
naive, but Adam believed it with all his heart. Noah would tell him the problem, and Adam and his
buddies would fix it. That’s how their gang worked. In addition, even though Noah didn’t know them
and didn’t have faith in them, Adam did, enough for both of them.

“Okay,” Abbott said, drawing everyone’s attention as he returned. “Alpha Sean is on his way, and

here are some clothes that should fit you, sweetie.” He gave Heather a kind smile as he placed a pair
of sweats and a t-shirt on the sofa next to her. “How about everyone head into the kitchen?” he
suggested.

Kontra was already moving. “Got any coffee, Abbott?”
“There should still be some in the pot,” Abbott replied. “What about you, Ronnie? Want a soda or

something?”

“Yeah, okay.” The young teen took a few steps, then paused and turned to look at Noah, then

Heather. “You gonna be all right?”

Heather nodded, putting on a brave face, even while clutching Sam’s slender fingers with a near

white-knuckled grip. “Yeah. Will you bring me, um…” Heather looked at Abbott. “Do you have any
hot chocolate?” She almost whispered the question.

Abbott nodded. “Sure do. I’ll get that ready for you.” He looked at Eli. “How much longer?”
“Fifteen minutes and we’ll have everything done,” Eli responded without looking up from his

work.

Adam helped Noah to his feet. He could see his mate beginning to shut down, whether from fatigue

or being overwhelmed, he didn’t know. “Let’s slip into a spare room back here,” he urged. “Give ya
a sec to…wind down.”

“You gonna be okay alone with…” Noah waved his hand, almost helplessly, seeming unable to

finish the thought.

Sam gave Noah a sweet smile, his dark eyes full of understanding. “She’s in good hands,” Sam

murmured.

Heather nodded. “I’ll be okay.”
Her words seemed to reassure Noah, and he finally allowed Adam to lead him around the corner.

He bypassed the males in the kitchen and dining room—Adam hid his smile at how Kontra engaged
young Ronnie’s attention, asking him about shifting, being a moose, and just generally giving him

something else to focus on—and tugged Noah into a small guest room. Adam urged his mate toward a
wide-backed, padded chair.

Once Noah was settled, Adam went around the back and began to gently knead his mate’s

shoulders. Noah groaned, tilting his head forward to give him more room. “Gods, that’s amazing,” he
mumbled.

Adam smiled. He knew he was a decent masseuse. He’d used massage to calm Yuma plenty of

times. “You’re tense.”

Noah snorted. “You would be too if your alpha wanted you dead for beating up his son.”
That made him pause for just a second before getting his hands moving again. “I got a funny feeling

there’s far more to that story than what you just said.”

Shrugging, Noah said, “Isn’t there always?”
Before Adam could respond, a light tap on the mostly open door caught his attention. Sam poked

his head into the room. “Alpha Sean is here. Everyone is waiting in the front room.”

Adam nodded. “On our way.” He gave the shoulders he worked one last light squeeze. “Come on.”

He grinned and winked. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can fuck you through the nearest
mattress.” He leered playfully at a suddenly scarlet faced Noah, then glanced meaningfully at the
nearby bed.

“I-I’ve n-never…” Noah stuttered.
Oh, wasn’t that cute. Gripping his mate’s hand, Adam tugged him along. “Don’t worry,” he assured,

winking at him. “You’ll love it. I promise.” There was no way in hell he wouldn’t fulfill that vow,
either. Adam had lost his virginity to a human when he was seventeen and planned to use his sixty-
seven years of experience to good advantage.

Noah didn’t look completely convinced, but that could have been the fact that he was about to face

Alpha Sean, leader of the wolf pack, and whose territory he’d intruded upon. Where Adam knew his
own alpha would help in any way possible, he wasn’t so certain about Sean.

Adam made a quick side trip to the kitchen and poured them both a cup of coffee. Handing the mug

to Noah, he noted for future reference that the man added just a dash of cream to it.

The room seemed cramped with so many people. Alpha Sean sat on the far side of the room in a

gliding rocking chair, his enforcer Jackson stood behind his shoulder with Abbott on the other side.
Kontra leaned against a wall, his arms crossed and his left ankle over his right. His watchful gaze
took in everything. Eli settled on the second chair, Sam curled up in his lap. Heather was still on the
love seat, Ronnie beside her. Someone pulled up a stool in front of Heather for her to prop her leg on.

Noah slipped into the narrow space next to his brother. His shoulders were once again stiff. Adam

stood behind him, mentally sighing that all the tension he’d loosened from Noah’s shoulders had
returned.

“So you’re Noah Oleander,” Alpha Sean said. It wasn’t a question, but Noah nodded anyway.

Sean’s eyes narrowed as he pinned his dark gaze on him. “Alpha Gracen has already sent out runners
letting me and the pride south of here know that you’re a wanted man, Noah.”

Noah’s jaw dropped and the blood drained from his face. Heather’s eyes widened in obvious fear.

Ronnie pressed closer to Noah.

“Why don’t you tell me why he wants you so badly, Noah? Before I accept Alpha Kontra’s request

to harbor a wanted shifter, I need to know what you’ve done.” His eyes hardened as his tone turned
grave. “And don’t try to lie to me.”

Adam just resisted growling.
Noah flushed, whispering, “Yes, Alpha. Thank you for giving me a chance to explain.”

Sean nodded curtly, his expression still grim.
Licking his lips, Noah glanced first at Heather, giving her an apologetic look. Then he looked at

Ronnie and grimaced. Finally, focusing on the floor, Noah started, “My sister is seventeen, but that
didn’t stop Stewart, Alpha Gracen’s son, from asking her out. He’s thirty-three,” he added.

Jackson cocked his head. “Why would he go after a minor like that?” Flicking a look at Heather, he

added, “No offense.”

“He has a reputation,” Noah replied gruffly, clearly agitated. “When I heard he’d asked Heather

out, I warned her about it.” He hesitated, swallowing hard. “It’s been rumored that he’s taken the
virginity of nearly every girl in our herd for the last six years. No one’s turned eighteen in about
sixteen months. Maybe he got tired of waiting?”

When Noah paused, Heather picked up the story, her voice soft but sure. “I refused to date him. I’d

never really cared for him. He can be a bit of a bully.”

Adam had to give Heather props. It’d take a stiff spine for a shifter to refuse the request of the

alpha apparent.

Grimacing ruefully, Heather’s eyes turned vacant. “Bully doesn’t begin to describe him. He asked

and asked and asked, getting more obnoxious and wheedling with each request. Finally, I guess he got
tired of my refusals. One afternoon when Ronnie was at a friend’s house and Noah was at work, he
came to the house. He shoved his way inside and…” Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard,
clutching the half-empty mug of cocoa to her chest. “It’s a good thing I was wearing so many layers
that day. I fended him off and locked myself in the bathroom. I called Noah. Before he could make it
home, Stewart broke through the door.”

Heather smiled tremulously, glancing around the room, probably trying to figure out the expressions

on all the men’s faces, which ranged from shock to anger to disgust.

“Well,” she lowered her gaze to her cocoa and continued softly, “Stewart dragged me from the

bathroom and into my bedroom. He pinned me to the mattress and started tearing off my clothes.”

Noah reached across Ronnie and took her hand. “Heather,” he whispered, anguish filling that one

word.

She patted his hand. “You arrived before he could do much more than shred my clothes, but I really

liked that sweatshirt. It was the last one mom gave me before—” Heather stopped talking, lost in her
memories.

Noah picked up where she’d left off. “Stewart might be more dominant than me, but seeing him

there, attacking my sister…I think I might have snapped. I grabbed him, shoved him face first into a
wall, and I beat him.” Noah’s eyes looked a little unfocused as he brows furrowed. “I don’t even
know how I did it,” he added vacantly. Shaking his head, Noah looked at Sean. “I didn’t even know if
he was dead or alive when I left. I cleaned up Heather and me, tossed a few things into a bag, and
went and picked up Ronnie. I knew Gracen would be coming, even if his son wasn’t dead.” He
shrugged. “And if it happened again, I wouldn’t change a damn thing I did.”

Silence filled the room. Heather gave Noah a watery smile and squeezed his hand. Unable to keep

to himself any longer, Adam placed his hand on his mate’s shoulder and squeezed, showing his
support without words.

Noah looked up at him, surprise on his face. Adam leaned down and placed a soft, chaste kiss to

his mate’s upturned lips. “If it were my sister, I’d-a done the same thing,” he admitted.

Alpha Sean cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Noah, currently you are being

charged with the feral attack of the alpha’s son.”

Adam growled low in his throat, the noise almost drowning out Heather’s gasp. Noah’s shoulders

hunched under Adam’s hand.

Sean held up his hand, asking for silence. “In light of this new information, I offer sanctuary on my

pack lands for you and your siblings. I also offer to set up a safe meeting place for all of you to air
your grievances.” He gave Heather a pained smile. “I am sorry, Heather, but due to circumstances,
you will have to give testimony. It’s the only way to force Stewart to speak, and if he lies, his scent
will show it.”

Relief flooded Adam. “See,” he said, smiling. “I told you we’d find a way to work this out.” He

grinned. “How long will it take to set everything up? Will everyone be staying here?”

The sooner everyone got settled, the sooner he could learn everything about his mate and claim

him. Adam’s cock, which hadn’t softened more than half-mast, thickened in his sweats. Yeah, I like
that idea. He’d waited a long time for his mate. He intended to make this work.

Abbott’s talking refocused Adam’s attention. “They are welcome to stay here unless alpha would

prefer them elsewhere?” The wolf shifter lifted a brow at Sean.

The alpha shook his head. “That’s fine, unless Heather would feel more comfortable in a home

with more females?” he asked kindly.

Heather opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. She glanced between her brothers and

shrugged. “I’ve lived with just my brothers for the better part of a decade. As long as I’m with them, I
don’t care where I end up,” she admitted.

Chapter Four

Noah couldn’t believe it. These absolute strangers were going to help them. “Why?”

He didn’t realize he’d said the word out loud until Adam rubbed his thumb over Noah’s neck and

asked, “Why what, babe?”

“Why are you all helping us? You’re predator shifters. You don’t know us. Your own kind attacked

my sister! Why should I trust you?” Holy shit! What if this is all a ruse? What if they want us to stay
here so they could turn us over to Alpha Gracen? What if he’s already on his way?

His breathing sped up and spots danced behind his eyes. Leaping to his feet, Noah pulled from

Adam’s grip and searched frantically for a way out. They were surrounded…by predator shifters, and
—

Strong arms wrapped Noah up from behind. Adam’s earthy, wild scent invaded his nostrils.

“Easy,” Adam crooned. “You’re fine. No one here is going to hurt you. I won’t allow it.” Adam kept
one thick arm around Noah’s chest, holding him steady. He rubbed his other hand up and down
Noah’s arm as he nuzzled his cheek.

The actions soothed Noah, relaxed him. The restriction binding in his chest eased, and he could

finally take a full, deep breath. His head cleared a bit and he sighed. “Sorry. I-I have no excuse.”

“Sure you do,” Adam reassured. “A lot has happened to you over the last couple days. I won’t let

anything happen to you or your family. I’m your mate. You can trust me.”

Noah shivered, praying Adam would deliver on his word, because he sure needed the help.
Alpha Sean stood, frowning. “What’s this about one of my wolves attacking you? Was Heather’s

leg not damaged by Gracen’s son?”

Sagging against Adam, Noah refused to give up the comfort of his mate’s embrace just yet. “We got

separated. Some wolves attacked Heather and Ronnie. I don’t know much about it.”

“I do,” Adam stated roughly. “I was out taking a cat nap when I heard a few wolves chasing

something. They ran right under my tree, four wolves were chasing Heather and Ronnie, here. I
recognized one of them as Stan Lowman. I followed, catching up when they’d cornered them. Stan got
a bite on Heather before I could break up the party,” he snarled, clearly displeased.

“Damn it,” Alpha Sean snapped. “All right. What restitution do you want against him and his

friends?”

Noah’s brows shot up. “Just like that? You don’t even plan to question him?”
Alpha Sean sighed and shook his head. “This isn’t the first time Stan has done something…stupid,”

he ground out. “His father is a good friend of mine, but his son?” Sean shook his head. “Let’s just say,
when his mother died, my buddy did everything he could to spoil that boy. This time, he’s gone too
far.”

Sean stood and headed toward the door, Jackson following closely. Pausing at the door, he said

over his shoulder, “Give it some thought. Talk to Heather and Ronnie. Let me know. I’m going to go
track down Stan and his buddies.” His words ended on a growl, expressing his irritation. Before the
door closed behind the pair, Noah overheard Sean telling Jackson to round up Stan and his friends
and bring them to his house.

Kontra pushed off the wall. “Well, I’ll be off, then.” His gaze moved to Adam. “Congratulations,

and let me know if you need anything. I’m gonna go amble about for a bit.”

Adam must have given some response that Noah didn’t see—maybe a nod of his head—for after

that, the bear shifter headed outside, pulling his shirt over his head as he went.

Eli settled Sam on his feet. “I’ll see you again in two days to remove those stitches, Heather. Adam

knows my number if you need me sooner.” He gave her a kindly smile and, placing a hand on Sam’s
lower back, guided his mate out the door.

“Let me show you all to your rooms. You’re welcome to separate rooms, or if it’d make you more

comfortable, I can pair you up?” Abbott offered.

Noah smiled at Heather, letting her know that she could decide. “Um, separate, if that’s okay,”

Heather responded softly.

Abbott nodded. “Of course. Come with me.”
Finally, Noah pulled from his mate’s arms—and wasn’t that a kicker? What the hell was he going

to do with a mate who was part of a nomadic biker gang? It wasn’t like he could leave his siblings.
They needed him.

Banishing the useless musings, Noah wrapped an arm around Heather and helped her to her feet.

“Come on,” he urged. “You okay to put weight on it?”

Heather nodded and waved away his offer of support. “I’m fine now. It barely even hurts.”
They followed Abbott through the house. Once he pointed out a room for everyone, he set Heather

up on a recliner in the media room with a new cup of hot chocolate. Ronnie settled in another chair
with a can of soda and looked around at all of them, looking uncertain. Abbott left them to attend to
some duty or other.

Adam remained with them, a quiet, solid presence. Noah knew the man wanted to find the nearest

bed and bond them, but he didn’t push, patiently waiting while Noah took care of his family. Noah
appreciated that.

Sitting in a chair across from Heather, he leaned forward and asked, “You two were the ones

attacked. Would you like to talk about what kind of restitution you’d like against your attackers?”

Heather grimaced. “Hasn’t there been enough violence? I just—” She sighed and stared out the

window. “I just want to forget it.”

Noah smiled at his soft-hearted sister’s words. Before he could respond, Ronnie set his can of

soda on a coaster and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I want Adam to bite Stan’s leg. You
know,” he explained, “while they’re in animal form.”

Adam chuckled. “Not sure they’ll let me do that, little man. My bite’s a lot bigger than a wolf’s and

his leg’s a lot smaller than your sisters.” He held up a hand when Ronnie opened his mouth. “I’m not
sayin’ it wouldn’t be fun, I’m just sayin’ I don’t think they’ll let me do it.”

“Well, that’s stupid,” Ronnie stated with all the authority of a thirteen year old.
Chuckling softly, Noah handed the TV remote to Heather. “We’ll figure something out. I need to

talk with Adam alone for a bit.”

Heather smirked. “Uh huh. Sure. Have a good talk,” she teased.
Noah rolled his eyes, trying to fight a blush and just knowing he was losing.
Ronnie frowned, then must have put two and two together. “Does that mean you’re leaving us to

live with Adam? Where does he live? What about us?”

“No,” Noah immediately replied. “I’m not leaving you. You’re my family. I’ll always be there for

you.” Even if that means giving up my mate? Noah mentally cringed at the thought and could
practically hear his moose bellowing in frustration in his mind.

Ronnie nibbled his bottom lip for a second and stared at him. Finally, he nodded. “Okay then.”
Relieved, he reached out and tousled his younger brother’s hair. Predictably, after a couple

seconds, Ronnie ducked away. Noah laughed, glad to see some things hadn’t changed.

He turned and followed Adam from the room. As he walked behind the man, Noah allowed himself

to admire the mate Fate had granted him. Maybe an inch taller than himself, Adam was broader in the
chest, had more muscles—muscles Noah really wanted to explore—and closely shorn white-blond
hair. His vibrant green eyes easily displayed his emotions, and so far they’d run the gamut from lust to
anger to sympathy.

Noah prayed he could remain level-headed and calm in the face of the sexy shifter’s obvious desire

to bed him. His nerves flared to life at the idea, making him jittery, and so did his dick, filling out the
sweats he wore.

Adam led them back to the room they’d been in earlier, and to Noah’s surprise, he settled in one of

the armchairs in front of the room’s fireplace. He waved a hand toward the hearth. “You want a fire?”

Shaking his head, Noah slowly lowered himself onto the second chair.
Adam leaned forward, rested his elbows on his thighs, and leveled a piercing gaze at him. “As

much as I’d just like to strip you naked and lick every inch of your body, I suppose we should get to
know each other a bit first.”

When Adam fell silent, just staring, Noah realized he was supposed to make some kind of

response, so simply replied, “Sounds like a good idea.”

Nodding, Adam eased back, then rubbed his back on the chair and slouched, obviously getting

comfortable. “I’ll start,” he said suddenly. “My name is Adam Kingston. I’m a white tiger shifter. I
have a thing for all things mechanical and love working on cars, trucks, bikes...whatever. My parents
made certain my alpha ran me out of my pride when I was twenty-two and it came out that I was gay.”

He shrugged, as if it were no big deal. “I wandered a bit and ran across my best friend, Yuma.

He’s a penguin shifter. We hung together for a couple years.” He paused and smiled, his eyes losing
focus as he lost himself in memories for a few seconds.

Noah wondered at the relationship between the two men, trying to control his rising jealousy. Geez,

I haven’t even met the man! And this obviously happened long ago.

“When Yuma was gay bashed, Kontra helped me save him,” Adam finally continued. “We joined

his gang and have been traveling with him for a couple decades.”

For a second, Adam looked away, staring into the empty fireplace. “To be honest, I’m not sure I’d

know how to settle in one place anymore. I—” He grimaced and looked at Noah. “After what you
said to your brother, I guess I don’t need to ask if you’d be willing to travel with me, huh?”

Noah couldn’t hold his gaze. “I’m sorry, Adam,” he murmured, mentally switching gears. He could

ask Adam more about his relationship with Yuma another time. “I’m all they have. It’s my job to take
care of them.”

Adam slowly nodded and lowered his head. Looking through his lashes, he asked, “Can I ask what

happened to your parents?”

Smiling sympathetically, Noah nodded. “Of course. Ten years ago, we had a hell of a storm season.

Several cubs were caught in a flash flood. My father jumped into the river and saved them. A broken
tree limb caught in the water hit him on the head.” He swallowed hard, then let out a slow breath. “He
was knocked unconscious and drowned.”

“Damn,” Adam murmured. He reached across the narrow space between them and took Noah’s

hand. “I’m sorry.”

“My parents were true mates,” Noah whispered.
“Shit,” Adam hissed, drawing out the word.
Noah nodded. “Yup. Mom lost all will to live. She made certain that everything was in order, at

least financially, for us before she passed. I was twenty-five at the time. My sister was seven and my
brother was three. That was ten years ago.”

“Ah, babe,” Adam crooned, dropping to the floor so he could knee-walk toward him.
Noah’s breathing sped up as Adam rested one hand on each of his knees, then slid them up his

thighs. When he dipped his fingers and stroked his inner thighs, goose-bumps broke out across his
skin and his nipples beaded. Adam applied gentle pressure, and Noah obeyed the unspoken command,
splaying his legs.

“You are such an amazing man, caring for your siblings that way,” Adam whispered, scooting

forward between his thighs. He moved his hands to Noah’s ass and squeezed as he tugged him closer.
“I would never ask you to leave them.”

Noah hissed upon feeling his mate’s erection, even through two layers of fabric, against his own.

He’d been with plenty of girls over the years, but none of them had made him ache and leak like this.
Noah just resisted the urge to rock his hips. “Adam,” he groaned, gritting his teeth, striving for
control.

Adam slid his hands up across Noah’s back, making him tremble. Pressing their bare chests

together, Adam peered at Noah, his green eyes glittering, and smiled. “I guess I could open a garage
somewhere.”

His brows shot up at his mate’s words. What was Adam trying to tell him? “Huh?”
Chuckling, Adam lowered his mouth to Noah’s distended nipple and laved it with his tongue.

“We’ll take drives on the weekend,” he mumbled against his skin. “Explore the mountains.” He
nipped the distended bud, then sucked Noah’s nipple into his mouth, soothing the sting and setting the
skin of his chest on fire. “Take trips to the beach.”

Noah moaned and pushed his chest out, physically begging for more. Adam didn’t disappoint. He

replaced his mouth with his fingers, tugging and plucking, while kissing his way to his other bud.

“What do you think of that?”
Struggling to string two words together, Noah managed, “Y-you’d stay? Stay with…uh, ugh.” An

undignified whine escaped his throat when Adam slipped his hand into the back of his sweats and
massaged the sensitive skin in the crease of his cleft.

Adam lifted his head from Noah’s chest and grinned up at him, his lips swollen and red from

working his nipple. “I’d never leave my mate. Your place is here with your family, and my place is at
your side.”

Noah stared down at him, panting softly. Adam made it sound so simple, and maybe it was.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Adam asked, his brows lifting as his eyes gleamed.
Nodding once, Noah agreed again. “Yeah.”
“So,” Adam’s voice lowered seductively.
His fingers delved deeper into his crease and found his pucker, massaging the sensitive, wrinkled

skin that no one else had ever touched. Noah shivered, amazed at how sensitive that area was.

“So, you’ll let me claim you then, mate?”
Noah’s asshole clenched and released against the sensual assault. The thought of having Adam bury

the thick shaft he felt rubbing against his own both thrilled him and sent a spike of fear through him.

He licked his lips and managed to grin. “Got any bad habits I should know about?”
Adam chuckled. “Oh, yeah.” He leaned forward, pausing with his lips a hairsbreadth away from

Noah’s ear and whispered, “I like to drink milk straight out of the carton. Sometimes I bring greasy
car parts into my hotel room. Also, getting to work on old vehicles gives me a boner that won’t quit.
How about you?”

Noah imagined he could feel Adam’s grin against the flesh of his lobe. He tried to formulate an

answer, but then, Adam pressed harder against his pucker and slipped one questing digit inside him.
Noah gasped at the stretch and burn that felt far better than it should. His balls tightened and his dick
flexed. Oh, who am I kidding? I don’t give a shit. “How about I tell you after you fuck me through
the mattress?”

“Perfect.” Growling, Adam captured his lips in a feral kiss that curled Noah’s toes and set his

blood on fire.

Chapter Five

Adam gripped his soon-to-be lover, enjoying the feel of Noah’s skin under his fingertips and the taste
of his flesh on his tongue. Delicious. Closing the distance between their lips, Adam claimed Noah’s
mouth, thrusting deep, mimicking with his tongue what he wanted to do to with his dick.

Moaning, Adam tightened his arm around Noah’s torso. He rolled his hips, grinding his aching dick

against Noah’s. He couldn’t remember ever being this hard, needing this much. He slipped his finger
deeper into the space he desperately wanted to bury his cock.

Lube.
Shit, too far. Gotta take the edge off.
He was desperate for relief and knew from the low noises Noah made, he must be, too.
Wiggling his finger, Adam searched for that magic button within every male. He knew when he

found it. Noah yanked his mouth away, threw his head back, and groaned low in his throat. The sexy
sound went straight to Adam’s dick, oozing and twitching.

Adam released Noah’s torso and shoved down the front of his mate’s sweats then yanked open his

jeans, freeing both their cocks. He wrapped his hand around them, pressing the sensitive flesh
together, and stroked. Leaning forward, Adam planted one foot and levered up, using his mass to
press the more slender man into the cushion of the chair. He once again claimed his mate’s mouth.

Drinking in his lover’s sounds, Adam jacked their cocks. He swiped his thumb over their heads,

using the pre-cum to ease his way. His balls pulled tight and he fed his lover a moan or two of his
own.

Noah’s fingers dug into his upper arms where he gripped Adam tightly. He used his hold to buck

his hips, driving his cock through Adam’s fist. Adam grunted, loving that his mate took what he so
freely offered, and pressed against Noah’s prostate hard. Noah stiffened, mewling into his mouth. The
sexy shifter’s cock thickened in his hand and pulsed, shooting stream after stream of seed between
them. His ass clamped down on Adam’s finger and he imagined it was his cock buried in that hot
death-grip.

His balls turned inside out and he came, adding his own seed to the mess. Shuddering, he wrenched

his mouth away from Noah’s and tucked his forehead against his neck. Adam inhaled deeply, enjoying
the combined scent of his mate and their spilled seed.

He smiled when he realized neither one of their shafts had gone down. Lifting his head, Adam

looked into Noah’s deep brown eyes. He grinned and stroked their cocks slowly, loving the shiver
that worked through the man’s system

Hell, yeah.
“That was just a precursor,” he crooned.
Carefully, Adam unwrapped his fingers from their cocks. He slowly stood, taking in the warm flush

heating his mate’s bronze skin. Adam held out his hand. “Come on, lover. I’m going to clean you up,
then get you dirty all over again.”

Noah’s breaths came in harsh pants, his eyes smoldered, and finally, he reached out and took

Adam’s hand.

Adam’s body warmed with anticipation, and he led his mate to the bed. He yanked the drawer open

and grimaced. No lube. Of course, he was in the spare bedroom of a straight man. Abbott wouldn’t
think to have that available to a guest.

“Damn it,” he grumbled.

Crossing to the other nightstand, he pulled that drawer open, praying for lotion or cream, or

something he could use. A new, unopened bottle of lube, tied up with a card attached to a bow, rolled
to the front with the force of his pull. One word, Congratulations, was scrawled over the tiny card in
Kontra’s blocky script.

When the hell did he manage that?
Chuckling softly, Adam pulled the tube out, dropped the card, bow, and wrapper on the stand, and

held up the lube. “Strip, babe,” he ordered gruffly.

A shudder worked through Noah’s body where he stood beside the mattress. After licking his lips,

Noah nodded jerkily then shoved his sweats down and off. Adam really liked the view. “Now, lie
down on the bed.”

Adam watched Noah climb onto the bed, unable to pull his gaze away from the sexy man as he

shoved his jeans down and off. As he strode toward the bed, his dick swayed back and forth where it
jutted from his groin. A drop of semen gleamed at his slit.

“Oh,” Noah whispered, his gaze riveted to Adam’s erection, already firm and proud, ready for

round two. He licked his lips, his dark eyes gleaming with lust and something else…trepidation?

Smiling smugly, pride flooded Adam. Even though his mate worried, he still wanted him. “Oh,

don’t worry, my mate. I’ll take very good care of you,” he promised. And Adam would, too, using
every ounce of his considerable experience to drive his mate out of his mind.

“You better.”
Adam crawled onto the bed. He tossed the lube on the mattress beside his knee, then grabbed his

mate’s legs and flipped him.

“Hey!” He levered up on one elbow and looked over his shoulder at him, frowning. “You could

have just asked…or given a little warning,” he grumbled.

“Where’s the fun in that,” Adam teased, gliding his hands up the backs of his lover’s calves then

along his thighs. Gently, he teased the crease where thigh met ass, grinning at the goose bumps that
broke out over Noah’s skin. “So sexy,” he crooned, massaging the thick, firm muscle while teasing his
thumb along the bottom of his lover’s ass cheeks.

Noah shivered, his globes tightening and releasing. “A-Adam,” he groaned breathlessly. His legs

twitched and shifted restlessly.

“I’ve got you, babe,” Adam murmured, reassuring the sexy man.
He leaned down and nibbled Noah’s right cheek sensuously, watching more bumps break out over

his skin as he slowly made his way deeper into his crease. Adam gripped Noah’s cheeks and spread
them, shoving his face deep and swiping his tongue along the sensitive crease, making his way closer
and closer to the pucker he wanted into.

Lifting his head, Adam adjusted his grip and urged Noah onto his knees. He glanced up and saw his

lover had his face pressed into a pillow, a rosy hue flushing his sides, neck, and—Adam imagined—
his chest. “So fucking sexy,” he growled, his dick jerking, his slit leaking at the stunning sight.

Once more, he pulled his lover’s cheeks apart. This time, he didn’t bother waiting and swiped the

flat of his tongue across the sensitive star. Noah gasped. Really liking that sound, Adam did it again,
massaging his tongue around the wrinkled entrance before stiffening his tongue and spearing it into his
mate.

Adam patiently loosened Noah, enjoying the grunts, gasps, and mewls escaping him. He reached a

hand between Noah’s legs and cupped his balls, gently rolling the sensitive orbs. They tightened at
his touch. He released them and gripped the man’s shaft, jacking once, then swiped his thumb over the
head and smeared the oozing pre-cum.

“A-Adam,” Noah mewled.
Knowing his lover was close again, just how he wanted him, Adam stopped eating his ass and

tapped his hip. “Roll over,” he ordered gruffly.

While Noah scrambled to obey, Adam grabbed the lube and slicked up his dick. He pinched the

base of his shaft to keep himself from coming. He was so close, but he wanted his mate out of his
mind with need. Adam needed Noah to want this as much as he did, so there’d be no regrets later.

Once his lover was situated, Adam clearly saw the desire and lust etched across his handsome

face. Something inside him eased, knowing Noah so clearly enjoyed what he was doing to him. Adam
grinned and winked, then swallowed his mate’s cock. Noah grunted and his back bowed. Adam took
the opportunity to sink one finger into his mate. It glided in easily, slick heat and pressure surrounding
him.

Adam really wanted, needed to hurry things along. His dick throbbed and his balls ached from

maintaining control. He used his mouth to keep his mate stimulated, moaning and writhing beneath him
while he carefully, yet quickly, stretched his mate. He inserted a second finger, then a third,
occasionally rubbing over Noah’s gland as he reveled in the man’s reactions.

Noah shivered and twitched, a fist stuffed into his mouth to muffle his cries as he struggled for

control.

Adam eased his fingers free and lined up his dick.
“Ready?” he asked hoarsely. He had to give his mate the opportunity to refuse. Of course, with the

man’s flushed chest and neck, wild eyes, and beaded nipples, it was easy for Adam to see that his
mate was beyond thinking, let alone talking.

Perfect.
Instead, the man mewled, the sound desperate.
Taking that as consent, Adam pushed forward and breached the ring of muscle. Pressure

swallowed his head, providing exquisite pleasure, and it took everything in him not to shove forward
and rut away. He paused, staring at his lover’s face, gauging his reactions. Finally, the tight clench of
Noah’s body eased and he met Adam’s gaze.

“Please,” Noah murmured. “Fuck me.”
Adam slowly thrust forward, sinking his dick all the way into Noah. Once his balls settled against

his mate’s crack, he paused. Leaning down, Adam gently rubbed his lips over Noah’s, then nipped the
top lip before sucking his bottom lip. Meeting his man’s eyes, he smiled down at him. “I’m not going
to fuck you, mate,” he murmured. “I’m making love to you.”

Chapter Six

Noah stared up in shock at his mate’s words. Then he thought about the exquisite pleasure and the
blissful sensations Adam created in his body. Amazing. Breath-taking. Mind-blowing.

“Okay. Yeah. Y-yes, please,” Noah muttered. His ass felt on fire, but in a good way. The nerve

endings in his rectum tingled, and he really needed…something. Noah shuddered, flexing his ass
experimentally. He grunted at the unfamiliar sensation. “P-please,” he moaned.

Adam groaned. “Hell, yeah.”
Then he started moving.
The feel of Adam’s cap rubbing across Noah’s gland as he pulled out sent sparks through his

system. When Adam thrust back in, he nailed that magic bump again. Noah shoved his forearm into his
mouth as his back arched. He groaned into his skin, not wanting his siblings to hear.

“As soon as we have your shit straightened out,” Adam murmured into his ear as he continued to

drive into him. “I’m going to take you back to my hotel room and really make you scream.”

Noah wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist and hung on tight to Adam’s upper arm with his

free hand. He rocked his hips, trying to meet Adam’s thrusts. His shaft rubbed against Adam’s ripped
abs with each plunge, stimulating his sensitive shaft. His balls pulled tight to his body as his spine
tingled.

He felt his canines lengthen, making him pull his arm out of his mouth. The urge to sink his teeth

into his mate’s shoulder hit him hard. Adam stared down at him, his green eyes glittering with
possessive lust. He grinned, showing off his own elongated canines.

“Oh, yeah, babe. Do it. Claim me,” Adam urged, tilting his head, his words slightly garbled by his

elongated teeth.

Unable to deny his mate’s request, Noah lifted his head and sank his teeth into Adam’s neck. Blood

spurted over his tongue. He swallowed convulsively and moaned at the exquisite copper taste of his
mate’s life-blood.

Adam growled, the sound vibrating through his chest and into Noah’s. His entire body seemed to

shudder. He roared, actually roared, although softly. Then he snapped his head forward and sank his
own teeth into Noah’s shoulder. Pain stabbed through him first, then transformed into exquisite bliss.

Noah’s cock thickened as his balls tightened and his cock spurted. His ass muscles spasmed and

his chute clamped down on Adam’s dick. He pulled his teeth from his mate’s shoulder and groaned as
heady endorphins zinged through his system and spots danced across his vision.

In the peripheral of his senses, Noah felt Adam’s body stiffen and jerk. He clung to his lover as the

man’s dick flooded his channel with streams of warm seed. Floating on waves of bliss, Noah felt
more sated and relaxed than he ever remembered. Even struggling to breathe due to the bulk of the
large man resting on him didn’t diminish his pleasure.

After a second, Adam seemed to remember himself. He lifted his weight onto an elbow and gently

licked the claiming mark on Noah’s neck. The warm tongue trailed over the sensitive skin and caused
goose bumps to, once again, emerge. Noah shivered with pleasure as his dick twitched.

Grinning, Noah turned his head and captured his mate’s lips. He slipped his tongue deep and

slowly explored the recesses of his lover’s mouth, enjoying the intimate contact almost as much as the
sex they’d just shared.

Finally, with several sips to Noah’s lips, Adam ended the kiss. He lifted his head and smiled down

at Noah. The satisfaction filling his deep, green eyes—and was that affection—caused his gut to

clench.

“Hello, my mate,” Adam crooned. “I’m so happy to have met you.”
Noah returned his smile. “Me, too,” he whispered. Sharing that truth made Noah’s chest tighten and

he struggled to bring enough oxygen into his lungs.

Clearly concerned, Adam’s brows drew together. “Hey,” he murmured, cupping Noah’s jaw.

“What’s wrong? I won’t ask you to do anything you don’t want. I just want you to be happy.”

Listening to the man’s assurances, Noah nearly lost the battle against sudden tears. He struggled to

figure out from where these emotions stemmed. To his credit, Adam waited patiently. He reached
over and grabbed a t-shirt off the floor, then gently cleaned them both up. Finally, he pulled the covers
over them and wrapped his arms around Noah, hugging him close to his chest.

When Adam wrapped him up in his thick arms, a sense of safety and contentment filled Noah. He

sighed, the tightness in his chest beginning to ease.

Adam pressed a kiss to his temple. “You okay?”
Nodding, Noah settled his head on Adam’s chest. “I guess I just realized that I’m no longer alone.

I’ve been taking care of my family by myself for so long.” He paused and grimaced. “Well, with some
help from the ladies of my herd, but that more or less took the form of baby-sitting when I’m at work
or giving us hand-me-down clothes.”

Placing his forefinger under Noah’s chin, Adam gently tilted his head back so he could meet his

gaze. “That’s right. You’re no longer alone. You’ve got me, and my pack, and even though I’ll be
staying here, if we ever need them, they’ll be here in a heartbeat.”

“I’m sorry I’m asking you to put me before your pack.” Concern flooded Noah. What if his mate

grew to resent the ties that now bound him? Was Adam really ready to give up his way of life?

Adam squeezed him to get his attention. “Stop worrying so much. I knew the day would come when

I’d find my mate and probably have to settle down. Sure, some of the guy’s mates were able to pick
up and go with them on the road, but not all of them have. We have buddies in several states that we
visit, and Kontra and my friends will do the same with us.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over
Adam’s mouth in a barely there caress. “I’m grateful for Fate giving you to me. Just because I can’t
ride wherever whenever anymore doesn’t change that. Besides, it’s not like your siblings will be your
responsibility forever.” He grinned. “We got plenty more years.”

Deciding just to take his mate at face value, Noah leaned toward him and pecked a kiss to his lips.

“Thanks.” Noah allowed himself several seconds to bask in his mate’s pleased grin before asking,
“So, where are all your buddies at the moment? What are you doing here?”

Noah listened as Adam explained that one of the shifters in their rag-tag group was Abbott’s son,

Vail. When Vail had discovered his mate, a half warlock, half vampire—and didn’t that combo just
beat all—Adam and his group had headed this way to give everyone the good news about his broken
curse.

Geez, a curse? “Wow, that had to suck for him,” Noah mumbled, unable to fathom living his life

with that threat hanging over him and his family.

“I know, right? He’d never even told us, the ass,” Adam replied.
Noah could tell from his lover’s tone, he said his words with affection.
“So, where’s Vail now? Why isn’t he here with his father?”
“Right now, I think he’s over at the Domingo Motel. We got rooms over there. While stopping the

witch that cursed Vail’s family, Detective Ricky Malone, a human, learned that paranormals exist.
He’s not taking it real well. Until he settles down, we have him holed up in the motel.” Adam snorted.
“You’d think we were telling him the world was ending with the way he’s acting.”

Noah patted Adam’s chest. “Some humans just don’t want to believe they’re not alone.”
“Well—”
Knocking on their door interrupted them. Adam frowned, checked that they were completely

covered, then yelled, “Enter.”

A very nervous Heather entered the room. Noah stiffened, but Adam’s grip tightened, not allowing

him to put distance between them. Noah understood that his sister would have to get used to seeing
them together, but he wondered if this was a little too much too fast.

Heather smiled faintly as she stared over their heads at the wall. “I’m sorry to interrupt your

mating. Congratulations, by the way.”

Noah’s tension eased. He could tell from her scent that she spoke the truth. Heather was happy for

him. “Thanks.”

“I talked to Ronnie. He doesn’t care either. He was just surprised.” Suddenly, she rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure the fact that his new idol, Kontra, is gay has something to do with it,” she said, snickering.

Noah chuckled at that news, and the last remaining traces of fear ebbed from his system. He’d have

to talk to Adam about Kontra at some point, although he couldn’t imagine his lover following a shifter
from coast to coast if he wasn’t worthy of respect. “Thanks, Heather. I appreciate that.”

Heather nodded, her gaze finally landing on his face. Sucking in a deep breath, as if looking for

courage, she blurted, “The window in the media room was open, and I think I smelled Marion lurking
outside.”

“Marion?” Noah gasped. “Are you sure?” Already, he was flipping the blanket off him and

reaching for his sweats.

“Who’s Marion?” Adam asked, moving to follow.
Once more, Heather stared at the far wall, her arms crossed over her chest.
Fear and frustration returned in full force. “He’s one of our herd enforcers. Big, mean son-of-a-

bitch,” Noah muttered.

Adam actually snickered. “Marion. Isn’t that a girl’s name?”
To Noah’s surprise, Heather giggled. The sound, something he hadn’t heard since they’d started

running two days ago, made Noah smile. Twisting his lips into a wry smirk, he said, “Don’t say that
within Marion’s earshot. I did mention he’s mean. He doesn’t fight fair.”

“Duly noted,” Adam replied, though mirth still lightened his clear green eyes.
Shaking his head, Noah pulled the door open the rest of the way and led the group into the hallway.

A hard pounding on the front door caught his attention followed by footsteps heading toward the front
of the house. Instead of letting Noah complete his initial response to head in that direction, Adam
wrapped an arm around his waist while draping the other over Heather’s shoulders and encouraged
them both to go into the media room.

Once inside, the TV muted, a concerned Ronnie stood and joined them near the partially open

sliding door. Noah opened his mouth to question Adam.

His lover put his finger to his lips and murmured, “This is Abbott’s home. They need to deal with

him first. If it’s about us, he’ll come get us.”

The fact that Adam included himself in their group without hesitation caused Noah’s heart to thump

wildly in his chest for several seconds. This man, this virtual stranger, had no qualms at all in
including himself in their problems. His earlier assessment was probably truer than he realized.
Adam probably was going to take over.

The more Noah thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t mind. He’d never been an

exceptionally dominant shifter, which was probably the only reason his attack on Stewart went so

well. Stewart hadn’t expected him to do anything.

Voices coming from the front of the house pulled Noah out of his thoughts.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are,” Abbott growled. “You’re in wolf territory. This is my home and

I obey my alpha’s rules. Alpha Sean has given him sanctuary.”

“You can’t give a fugitive sanctuary,” Marion snarled, his deep sneering voice unmistakable. “If

you don’t bring the bastard out, I’ll be forced to go in and get him.”

“You do that and you start a feud between our packs, Marion,” Abbott warned gruffly. “Is that

really what your alpha wants?”

“My alpha—”
“Marion’s alpha,” cut in another man, this one’s tone as cold as ice, “wants you to return the traitor

who attacked his son.”

Noah’s jaw dropped open in shock.
“Who’s that?” Adam asked quickly.
“Alpha Gracen,” Ronnie piped up. “Shouldn’t he want to help us? I mean, Noah was defending

Heather,” the young shifter pointed out.

“Parents respond in funny ways when their children are threatened,” Adam said, his voice holding

a hard quality Noah hadn’t heard before.

“I was afraid he wouldn’t listen to me, to us. I didn’t tell him,” Noah said, glancing at Heather.

God, everything he’d done had just made a bad situation worse. “I—” He shook his head. “I can’t let
Abbott create a war between them just for me.”

Noah pulled open the door and started through. A hand on his shoulder stopped him and he looked

back into Heather’s fearful gaze. “What are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely.

“It’s time I set the story straight. I tell him what happened, and he’ll hear the truth in my words.”
Adam growled. “I don’t like it. If anything happens to you…”
Noah smiled as his lover’s words trailed off. “Everything will be fine.” He prayed his words were

true as he gently lifted Heather’s hand from his arm. “You take care of your brother. Listen to Adam.
He’ll keep you safe.” He glanced at Adam, who gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement of his
silent request. Returning his gaze to his sister, Noah told her, “We shouldn’t have run, but I wasn’t
thinking clearly. Don’t worry. I’ll fix this, then we can go home.” Again, he glanced toward Adam.
“Or find a new one.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Adam murmured.
Noah nodded once, then headed toward the front of the house and the arguing men.

Chapter Seven

Adam hated watching his mate head toward his alpha—ex-alpha if he had any say in the matter. He
grabbed Abbott’s cell phone off the end table and handed it to Heather. “Call Alpha Sean. It’s number
one on speed dial. Tell him to get his ass over here,” he growled. Seeing Heather’s wide-eyed
expression, he added, “Don’t use those words.”

Without waiting to see if she followed his orders, Adam hustled after his lover. Noah had a

protective streak a mile wide. It hadn’t taken Adam long to see that. He also had an honorable streak.
Not a bad thing in and of itself, but putting himself in harm’s way for the sake of others wasn’t always
acceptable. Especially, when there were alternatives.

Adam rounded the corner just in time to see Marion backhand Noah for something he’d said.

Abbott snapped, “That’s completely unnecessary.”

Adam wasn’t so nice. Roaring, Adam launched at the man who’d harmed his mate. His cat agility

made tackling the unsuspecting man easy. They tumbled out the door and onto the porch. Wrapping his
hands around Marion’s neck, Adam thudded the guy’s head against the deck.

Anger clouded Marion’s brown eyes and he snarled as he twisted and bucked his body, trying to

dislodge Adam’s hold. Adam grunted when Marion landed a fist to his side. Releasing his grip on the
man’s neck to catch Marion’s fists, Adam straddled his opponent, holding him down.

“That’s enough,” Alpha Gracen roared. He grabbed at Adam’s neck, probably intending to wrench

him away from Marion.

Except Adam’s cat felt no respect for this alpha. So far, he hadn’t heard anything he liked about

him. In the back of his mind, his animal pinned his ears and hissed angrily. Adam jerked his head
forward, then rolled sideways, ending in a crouch facing the two men. He brought his hands up,
balancing on the balls of his feet, ready to meet a charge should either of them attack him.

Slowly, Marion stood, glaring the entire time.
“You’re interrupting herd business, stranger,” Alpha Gracen growled. “Explain yourself before I

name you rogue.”

Adam curled his lip. “You sure like to name rogue quick without reason,” he accused. “I am Adam

Kingston, mate of Noah Oleander.”

“What?” Marion roared while a surprising look of confusion crossed Gracen’s face. “You’re a

fucking guy! Are you fags?” He curled his lip and looked over his shoulder at Noah before sneering at
Adam.

“Yes, and we prefer gay or homosexual,” Adam responded coldly. How the hell had this shifter

become an enforcer? He was a total douche! “By the way, if you continue to keep that expression, it
could freeze on your face. Oh wait,” Adam smiled snidely. “It’s already frozen there.”

“You son-of-a—”
“Enough, Marion,” Alpha Gracen snapped. He fixed a frosty gaze on Adam. “Mate or not to Noah,

this has nothing to do with you, Adam. He attacked my son.”

“Did you ask why?” Adam asked, scowling. At least he had the alpha talking.
“I didn’t need to,” Alpha Gracen replied, glaring. “The only way Noah could take my son is if he

jumped him from behind or distracted him in some way.”

Tired of the bullshit, Adam looked to his left and asked Noah bluntly, “Why’d you attack Stewart,

babe?” He saw the lines of tension bracketing Noah’s eyes and lips and gave him an encouraging
smile. “Just tell him, babe. You said you wanted to get this straightened out.”

Noah wrapped his arms around himself. Adam straightened from his defensive stance and held out

his hand. To Adam’s pleasure, Noah quickly took the several steps needed to reach him and Adam
wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Noah snuggled against him, accepting his support and the
show of unity.

Finally, Noah looked at Alpha Gracen, although Adam could tell he wasn’t really meeting the more

dominant shifter’s gaze. “Heather called me while I was at work. She said Stewart was…trying to
attack her. I hurried home and found them in the bedroom. Stewart was on top of her. He had Heather
pinned to the bed. He was tearing at her clothes. She was fighting and screaming and crying and…”
Noah’s head jerked in an odd shake, as if trying to dispel the images in his head. “I couldn’t just stand
by and let it happen,” he whispered.

As Noah spoke, Alpha Gracen’s face went from pale to flushed to red. He lifted a corner of one lip

and growled. “How dare you slander my son that way,” he yelled.

He lunged at Noah, rage darkening his brown eyes nearly to black.
Adam shoved his mate to the side and took the brunt of Alpha Gracen’s attack. Lowering his

shoulder, Adam stumbled back several steps. He really didn’t want to fight the shifter. He wasn’t
really an alpha, but he was a predator. If push came to shove, he could probably take him, but the
repercussions weren’t worth it.

His mind churned, struggling to figure out a way to diffuse the situation.
Seeing the man dart toward Noah, where Marion held him tightly, Adam’s breath nearly stopped in

his chest. He leaped forward and tackled the alpha from behind. “He’s telling the truth!” Adam
yelled.

“Liar!”
“Scent him, damn it!” Adam ordered gruffly, struggling to keep the man pinned to the deck without

hurting him or himself. “Use your fucking nose!”

A low rumble vibrated through the man beneath him. For just an instant, Alpha Gracen’s body

shivered, and Adam thought the man was shifting. He loosened his grip. Gracen bucked and Adam
tumbled ass over teakettle, sprawling on his back.

Alpha Gracen appeared above him instantly and wrapped a hand around his throat. His eyes blazed

with…anguish.

“Where’s Heather?” he asked loudly. Although he looked at Adam when he spoke, his stern gaze

freezing him in place, Adam knew the question wasn’t really directed at him.

“I’m here.” Heather’s voice carried from somewhere on Adam’s right.
Adam watched as Alpha Gracen swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He licked his lips,

then after several seconds asked, “Did my son attempt to rape you, Heather?”

“Yes,” Heather whispered.
The alpha shuddered out a breath. “Did he hold you down on the bed? Did you tell him to stop?”
“Yes.”
Adam could hear the tremble in Heather’s squeaking voice.
Slowly, Alpha Gracen released his hold on Adam and sat back on his haunches. After several

seconds, Adam scooted away from him on his butt before his back hit the deck railing and he leaned
against it. Gracen finally looked away from him and looked at Marion. “Release Noah,” he
murmured, his tone riddled with pain.

Adam felt for the man, he really did. No father wanted to hear that his son had done something so

heinous against another.

“But he’s a fucking fag!” Marion snapped, clearly displeased, his lip curling.

Alpha Gracen glared. “Do as I say,” he roared, obviously taking his frustration out on his enforcer.
Marion’s eyes widened in shock and his arms immediately dropped from where he held Noah.

“Yes, Alpha,” he mumbled.

From Marion’s shocked look, Adam surmised one of several things. Either Alpha Gracen didn’t get

angry often, Marion didn’t get yelled at often, or Marion couldn’t believe his alpha didn’t seem to
have a problem with gays. If Adam had to guess, it was probably a little of all three. A small seed of
respect sprouted roots in Adam for Gracen. Maybe there was more to the man than first impressions
told.

Adam scrambled to his feet and grabbed first Noah, then Heather, pulling them tight against him.

He didn’t miss how they both trembled, and damn if he didn’t feel protective of them both. He’d
never thought of himself as paternal, and he sure as hell would never consider himself Heather’s…
parent—great gods above, what a thought—or even Ronnie’s father. Maybe he’d be a guardian, a
role model—also a scary thought—but an actual parent, no way in hell.

Wait, where is Ronnie?
“Where’s Ronnie?” Noah asked, obviously wondering the same thing.
“He’s still in the media room,” Heather whispered, her words muffled because her face was

pressed against Adam’s chest.

“Good,” Noah said.
Adam looked from Noah’s bowed head, then toward Marion. Judging from the man’s confused

frown and his arms crossed over his chest, Adam figured Marion wasn’t certain what to do with
himself and didn’t like it one bit. Of course, he could just be concerned about Alpha Gracen, who
was now gripping the deck railing tightly with both hands. His jaw clenched and unclenched. His
gaze roved over the trees.

Adam bet he didn’t actually see anything.
“Shit,” Adam muttered.
Gently, Adam nudged Noah. “Hey,” he whispered.
Noah looked up at him, one brow lifting. Adam grimaced and shot a pointed look toward Alpha

Gracen. “Damn it,” Noah muttered. He looked up at Adam with soulful eyes filled with anguish. “I
didn’t even think…”

His lover didn’t need to finish his sentence. Adam instinctively knew what he was thinking. How

Alpha Gracen must feel, knowing his son caused another so much pain? What would he do? What
could he do?

“Damn it,” Adam mumbled. He eased his hold on his mate and Heather. He wasn’t good at offering

sympathy. That’s what his buddy Yuma was good at. He really missed his best friend’s ability right
now. The little penguin shifter had been through a lot and seemed to know just how to soothe others.

Giving it his best shot, Adam said, “We are sorry, Alpha Gracen. We know this wasn’t your fault. I

imagine having it be a member of your herd would be hard enough, but to find out it was your own
son…” He let his sentence trail off, seeing the pinched expression on the alpha’s face. Shit, I’m
messing this up!

Heather disengaged herself from Adam and Noah’s grip. She took several steps toward the man,

twisting her hands in obvious nervousness. “Alpha?” she called softly. She bowed her head and
continued without his acknowledgement. “I’m sorry about your son. He just…” She paused, frowned,
then stuttered, “H-he j-just, um. He doesn’t like taking no for an answer. You’re not like that. You’re
a good alpha.”

Adam’s brows shot up, his estimation of Noah’s sister shooting through the roof. The kahunas she

must have to say that to the man! Damn!

To Adam’s shock, it seemed to be the right thing...because Alpha Gracen’s shoulders sagged, the

tension draining from him. He turned to Heather. “I’m sorry about what he did. I truly am. I’d heard
rumors that he…” He shook his head, his mouth tightening. “About his stud status. I just thought it was
because he was lined up as the next alpha and the women came onto him.” Sighing, he added, “It
never occurred to me that he might be the one—”

“No father wants to think ill of their child,” Heather continued.
Alpha Gracen’s eyes narrowed, and for several seconds, he just stared at her. His nostrils flared

and he seemed to shiver. “Heather,” he whispered, barely breathing her name. Slowly, he reached out
and gently touched her cheek.

Suddenly, as if realizing what he did, he jerked his hand back. He swept his gaze over Adam, then

landed it on Noah. “I rescind my accusation of you being rogue. I—I’ll turn my son over to the Shifter
Council for trial and sentencing. It’s just—” He shook his head once, hard. “It’s not something I can
do myself.”

Chapter Eight

Noah nodded. The tightness in his chest eased. “Thank you.” He looked at Adam and smiled, relieved
that he was no longer considered rogue. His moose had not been pleased by that fact, but since he’d
still had his family, he’d been dealing with it.

Pressing his hand to Adam’s chest, Noah tilted his chin. Adam met his gaze and smiled, then

lowered his mouth to press them together in a soft meeting of lips. The contact settled Noah’s beating
heart, giving it a different reason to pound.

“Alpha,” Marion cut in gruffly. “What about…what about—” He waved his hand vaguely toward

them, his face red and he couldn’t actually look at them.

Alpha Gracen frowned. “They’re mates. Even though Adam isn’t a moose…” he looked toward

him and forced a smile. “You’re what? Some kind of feline shifter?”

Adam nodded. “White tiger.”
Nodding, Alpha Gracen asked bluntly, “What are your plans? You gonna ask to stay on herd

lands?”

“But they’re fags!” Marion exploded, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Fate sure as hell didn’t

put them together. She’d never do that!”

Adam curled his lip at Marion and snarled. “You lookin’ for a beat-down, Marion?”
Marion’s entire body tightened, as if readying for an attack, or to attack.
“Enough,” Alpha Gracen snarled. “How dare you deem to know Fate’s plans. It is not for you to

say who is mated to whom. If you cannot accept the mating of men, then tell me now. We’ll find a new
place for you to live.”

The big moose shifter’s skin paled. “You’d ask me to leave the herd?”
“Yes,” the alpha answered firmly, shocking the hell out of Noah. “Heather and her brothers stay.”
Oh, now that was…interesting.
“No, Alpha,” Marion whispered, lowering his gaze. “No problem.”
Noah wasn’t certain if he felt relief or not that Marion would choose to keep quiet instead of

leaving. Would he make problems in other ways? Would he spread his bigoted attitude? Needing
something else to think about—something other than the alpha’s sudden possessiveness of…them,
Noah eased out of Adam’s grip. “I need to check on Ronnie.”

Adam released him and turned to follow him. He paused and looked at Alpha Gracen. “I’d like to

formally request permission to stay in your area. I’m a mechanic and can work on just about anything.
I’m also well-versed in the stock market, and should be able to teach others if they’d like to learn.”
He actually looked a little sheepish at that admission. “I’m more than able to pull my weight.”

“Ah, an educated mechanic,” Alpha Gracen murmured, perhaps attempting to set them at ease.
Noah had always thought his alpha a good man. He’d never understood why he’d agreed to have a

child with Vivian, the moose shifter who was Stewart’s mother. They’d ended up splitting up when
the boy was two, which didn’t happen often in the shifter world. Of course, since everyone had
known they weren’t true mates, it wasn’t completely abnormal. Personally, Noah had thought Stewart
had a little too much of his mother’s entitled personality in him.

Leaving his mate to work out details—once more, the fact that Adam seemed to be taking over his

life hit him, but this time he had to smile—Noah headed inside to search for Ronnie. The sound of
breaking glass reached him, followed by Ronnie’s shout. Not knowing if it was surprise or pain,
Noah sprinted toward the room where his brother had been left.

Upon arriving, Noah swept his gaze over the comfortably made up media room. The window was

broken, shards of glass and wood spread across the hardwood floor and throw rug. Ronnie was gone.

“Ronnie!” Noah called.
Ignoring the glass, he ran to the window and peered out. The lawn spread about twenty feet from

the house, then the pine and spruce forest blocked his view.

“Ronnie!”
Fear raced through him, making him tremble. Where is my brother? Finally, he sucked in a

shuddering breath, and he smelled it. Wolves.

“What is it?” Adam called, skidding to a stop just inside the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Some wolf shifters took my brother,” he growled. He spun and glared at Abbott, who was

standing behind Adam’s shoulder. “Why would they do that? Who were they?”

As he spoke, Noah lunged toward the wolf shifter, wanting to beat the answers out of him. Rage

and anguish filled him. Just as he was getting his life back together, this had to happen.

Adam wrapped his arms around him, keeping him from attacking the wolf beta. “Hey, hey, it’s not

his fault,” he crooned. “We’ll find him. I promise.”

Abbott strode past them, his shoes crunching on glass, and inhaled deeply. “Stan,” he growled.

“That son of a bitch. What the fuck is he doing?” Abbott grabbed his phone and dialed. Evidently, he
didn’t get anyone, for he snapped, “Stan has kidnapped Ronnie from my home. I’m tracking them into
the forest,” then tossed the phone down a second later and started stripping. “I’ll track him. I know his
scent.”

Noah grimaced and nodded. “I’m gonna follow you.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Abbott gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry about this.” Then

he turned away and shifted. Seconds later, a large brown wolf leaped out the window and loped into
the forest.

Reaching for his moose, Noah intended to follow him. Adam gripped his chin and forced him to

look at him and focus, stopping his shift. “No moose in the house. I’ve seen your antlers. You’ll get
stuck. Come outside.”

Noah flushed. Damn, it was a good thing one of them had been thinking. If he’d gotten stuck in here,

he’d have panicked and maybe hurt someone. He took a step. His knees nearly buckled as he cried out
in pain, glass digging into his foot.

“Noah!” Adam cried, sweeping him into his arms.
Squeaking, Noah quickly wrapped his arms around his mate’s neck. Adam carried him out of the

room to the front and settled him on a couch. “Stay there. I gotta pull these out before you shift,” he
warned. Noah must have had a pained expression on his face, for Adam added, “Don’t worry. I’ll be
able to follow Abbott’s scent without any trouble. We’ll catch up,” he promised.

Noah settled back and waited as Adam scurried out of the room to grab supplies. He tapped his

fingers on his sweats, impatient to get going. Adam returned quickly and got to work on his feet. He
knelt on one knee and pulled first one foot, then the other, toward him, carefully removing several
shards of glass and cleaning the cuts.

Finally, Adam nodded. “Okay. That’ll do it. Let’s get out of here.”
Appreciating that Adam understood his need, Noah pushed to his feet, relieved to feel only a

modicum of pain. When he stepped outside, he immediately looked at Heather, who was standing
surprisingly close to Alpha Gracen. Marion stood behind them, staring off into the forest. The alpha
stopped talking as soon as they appeared, and Heather looked at her brother. “Where’s Ronnie?
What’s going on?”

“The wolf shifter who attacked you took him,” Noah growled.
“Who?” Alpha Gracen asked quickly, his gaze immediately lowering to Heather’s bandaged leg

then returning to Noah.

“Stan Lowman,” Adam responded.
“Stan’s the guy who called me,” Marion admitted. “He told us you were here.”
“That bastard!” Heather cried, wrapping her arms around her torso.
Before the alpha could say anything, Noah lifted a hand, “We’re headed after them and Abbott is

tracking them, too.” He glanced between them, then softly asked, “Will you keep Heather safe until
we return?”

“Absolutely,” Alpha Gracen replied.
“Thanks.” Noah didn’t wait any longer. He tripped down the stairs, stripped off his sweats, and

shifted. From the corner of his eye, he saw Adam do the same. Seconds later, he galloped around the
corner of the house and found the broken window. Adam’s tiger streaked by him and bounded into the
forest. Noah quickly followed.

Noah could smell his brother, although it was faint. He also scented wolves, but didn’t know who

was who. Every once in a while, Adam would slow and sniff around, confirming the trail. Noah felt
grateful his lover was with him because it would have taken him far longer to track them.

They moved swiftly. Noah hit top speed from time to time as they galloped across clearings, then

having to slow down when they re-entered the trees or crossed streams or ravines.

Adam never stopped moving.
Noah’s breathing started becoming labored, and he concentrated on sucking in as much air as

possible while he kept moving. How had they gotten this far?

A roar sounded in the distance. That wasn’t a wolf or a moose! Noah’s blood froze in his veins,

especially when Adam turned and headed straight toward whoever was making the racket. Seconds
later, Noah heard the snarl, growl, and howling of wolves.

They broke through the barrier of trees, and Noah skidded to a stop. Six wolves surrounded a

massive grizzly bear, which swiped and lunged at any canine that got close. A seventh wolf stood
near a young moose calf, as if guarding it.

Ronnie!
Adam raced forward, attacking the nearest wolf. His massive jaws wrapped around the animal’s

scruff. He swung his head and sent the shifter flying, crashing into the underbrush.

A fresh surge of energy coursed through Noah’s system. He bugled angrily, then lowered his head

and charged at the wolf near Ronnie. The canine noticed him at the last second and dodged sideways.
Noah swung his massive antlers and caught the wolf’s back leg, flipping him forward.

While the wolf rolled to a stop, Noah trotted to his brother. He saw the relief flooding Ronnie’s

big brown eyes. Noah quickly lowered his head and nuzzled the young shifter, then refocused on the
bear and tiger fighting the pack of wolves. Using his much bigger body, Noah gently guided Ronnie
away from them.

A wolf peeled away from the group and joined the one Noah had hit, which was rising to his feet.

They advanced on Noah. He watched them separate, circling them. Noah pressed a shoulder into his
brother’s, urging him to move with him as the wolves rounded them. He knew they were trying to
separate them, and he refused to let it happen.

The left wolf feinted toward them, his jaws wide, his teeth bared. Noah refused to take the bait.

Using his haunches, he pressured his brother to pivot sideways. When the second wolf lunged at their
hindquarters, Noah struck out with his leg.

He missed, but not by much. The near connect obviously had the wolf thinking, and he skittered

sideways and exchanged a look with the other wolf.

Noah glanced toward Adam and the bear, and realized the pair worked in tandem, rotating around

each other in perfect synchronization. Finally, realization hit. Holy shit! That’s Kontra! What the hell
is he doing out here?

He caught his lover’s eye, and Adam tried to break through the wolves’ ranks and head toward

him. Just as suddenly, three wolves converged on Adam, forcing him back. Noah realized the wolves
were trying to wear them out, keep them separate and guessing.

He didn’t have time to contemplate further, for both wolves leaped at the same time. The first

appeared to be going for Ronnie’s neck. The second lunged at Noah’s flank. As they were positioned,
he couldn’t protect both at the same time.

Ignoring the wolf going after him, Noah shoved his brother sideways, lowered his head, and met

the wolf’s charge with his horns. Noah lifted the shifter and tossed his head, throwing him at a nearby
tree. The beast slammed into the trunk with a satisfying crunch.

Pain tore through his haunch. Noah bellowed and twisted. He’d known he couldn’t stop the shifter,

but damn, did that hurt. Just as quickly, the animal was gone. Shaking his head, Noah looked around
and realized his brother must have nailed the wolf with both hind hooves. The shifter now lay fifteen
feet away, shaking his head and getting unsteadily back to his feet.

Before either shifter could come after them again, howls echoed through the trees, carried on the

afternoon breeze. Noah froze, his ears flicking this way and that as he tried to establish from where
they came. The way the noise bounced between the trunks, it sounded like they were surrounded.

Just great. As if over half a dozen wolves weren’t enough, now we have to deal with more?
Noah readied himself for the next wave of canines. Even though he could hardly put any weight on

his left hind leg, somehow, he’d manage to keep his brother safe. From the looks of things, Adam and
Kontra were doing a damn fine job of taking care of themselves.

To his immense surprise—and relief—when the wolves shot into the clearing, they went after the

shifters attacking him and Ronnie first. Once those two were down, they turned their attention to the
remaining five going after the tiger and bear.

Adam came to Noah’s side, offering protection, while Kontra flanked Ronnie. They made quick

work of any wolf that attacked them. Noah appreciated the protection because his leg throbbed and,
when he turned to look at it, he nearly passed out from seeing the blood ooze from his leg.

He’d cleaned up his fair share of cuts and scrapes over the years. There was no way around it

when taking care of rambunctious kids. Still, something about seeing the life-blood oozing out of his
own body made him queasy.

To his relief, Noah didn’t have to move the entire time the wolf pack took down their own. Several

of the shifters that had attacked him had submitted upon seeing the massive, nearly three hundred
pound wolf that could only be their alpha. Now those three were lying on their backs near the far edge
of the clearing with several wolves guarding them.

A couple other wolves rivaled the alpha’s size, too, and Noah didn’t understand why the remaining

four shifters didn’t just submit. Instead, they forced a fight to the death, and it seemed, once the alpha
realized that, he offered no mercy.

After not even ten minutes, the four who refused to submit were dead. Three of the largest wolves

shifted. Alpha Sean strode toward him, along with Abbott and Jackson. It took him a second, but
Noah fought through the pain and shifted. He struggled to keep from crying out, and appreciated his
mate’s presence beside him. Adam had also shifted and now wrapped his arms around Noah, helping

him to his feet.

“The wolf responsible for leading the attacks against you, Stan Lowman, is dead,” Alpha Sean

stated formally. He frowned and shook his head. “He and his three friends cooked up some half-
baked plan to take over my pack,” he told them, a growl in his voice. “How they got those three to go
along with it remains to be seen.” He glared at the three subdued shifters who all looked like
whipped puppies.

“I still offer you restitution, should you desire it.” He glanced over his shoulder again at the three

cowering wolves. “You may take it from them, or from me.”

Noah immediately shook his head. “You deal with them as you see fit,” he said. “I have no wish to

be a part of it,” he admitted. He really just wanted to go home and sleep for a week, maybe in Adam’s
arms. Yeah, that sounds fantastic.

Alpha Sean nodded once. “Done.” Turning his back on Noah, Sean walked away, flanked by

Jackson.

Abbott stepped forward, grimacing as he took in the damage to Noah’s leg. “Damn. Let’s get back

to my place and get that cleaned up. Sorry I didn’t get the pack here sooner,” he apologized. “I met up
with Kontra and he said he’d keep them busy.” He looked at the grizzly, who was distracting Ronnie
with playful swipes and teasing pokes. Somehow, feeling another’s gaze upon him, Kontra paused
and turned his massive head to look at Abbott. “Thanks, man,” Abbott said.

Kontra grinned, which was freaky, since it showed off way too many sharp teeth.
Adam gripped Noah’s nape. “Are you always going to be this much trouble?” he teased before

swiping his tongue over Noah’s bottom lip.

“Gods, I hope not,” Noah replied, grimacing.
“Come on, lover,” Adam said, smiling. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter Nine

Adam stared at the building, his gaze sweeping over it critically. The electronics for the garage door
openers needed an overhaul, the entire building needed painting, and the roof needed massive repair.
Surprisingly, the inside was clean and empty, except for the storage room door, that at some point
someone had busted.

All easy to fix, especially with help from friends. He’d decided that two days ago, then bought the

building with cash. The happiness and relief emanating from the aging couple had been nearly
palpable.

The roar of a dozen motorcycles had Adam turning to look at his friends and pack mates. He

spotted Ronnie riding behind a big bull shifter named Sam. Adam figured Heather was at home, or
maybe at their alpha’s, consoling the man. The Shifter Council had sentenced his son to death.
Everyone had expected it, but that didn’t make it any less painful for his parents. Stewart’s mother
was nearly inconsolable, and Adam hoped, in time, she’d be able to move past her hatred for Alpha
Gracen, whom she says shouldn’t have allowed any of it to happen.

Adam had also warned Noah that he might end up getting a formal request from his alpha to date

Heather, once she came of age. Over the last couple years, seeing his friends mated off, Adam knew
the signs. Gracen and Heather were mates. Noah admitted that they stayed on the outskirts of herd runs
because of Stewart and Marion’s attitudes, which—coupled with Heather’s age—was probably why
Gracen hadn’t figured it out sooner. The fact that Heather would end up an alpha-mate certainly
explained her backbone.

As the guys parked, Adam tried to ignore the pang in his chest. He was sure going to miss his

friends.

Evidently, Noah caught the subtle shift in his scent, for he grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Hey,

you okay?”

Adam nodded. Unwilling to lie to his mate, he added, “Just thinking I’m gonna miss all these guys.

I’ve been with them so long…” He shrugged.

“I’m sorry,” Noah responded. “If I could leave I would, but—”
Shushing his mate with a finger over his lips, Adam smiled. “You’re more than worth it, babe.” He

reached up and wiped his thumb between Noah’s brows, erasing the line of concern there. “I’m
actually really excited to open up a shop,” he admitted. “And I told you because I always want us to
be truthful with each other, not to make you feel bad.”

Adam cupped his lover’s jaw with one hand and settled his other on Noah’s hip. He gently pulled

him in, landing his lips on Noah’s, and taking mastery of his mouth. He thrust his tongue deep and
brushed it against his mate’s, enjoying the shifter’s masculine flavors.

Several wolf whistles rent the air.
Adam broke the kiss and turned to grin at his friends as they all parked their bikes and strode

toward him. “Hey, guys,” he greeted. “Thanks for coming.”

His friends laughed, patted him on the back, and offered congratulations. Adam introduced them to

Noah. Although, if the glazed expression in Noah’s eyes was any indicator, Adam knew his lover
wouldn’t remember who was who, and that was okay. Adam also knew the guys would find subtle
ways to remind Noah of who they were. They’d done the same to all the mates that joined them. Being
introduced to a dozen guys at a time was overwhelming.

“All right, everyone,” Kontra called. The group quieted. “Let’s get this shithole ready for its grand

opening in three weeks.”

They started doling out duties and everyone scattered, pulling painting supplies and roofing

materials from a cart pulled behind one of the bikes. Adam laughed and shook his head at the jury-
rigged set-up. Whatever worked.

He noted Ronnie listening intently to Kontra’s instructions on how to sand the wood around the

doorframe. Adam bumped his mate’s shoulder with his own and nodded his head toward the cub.
“Looks like Kontra’s got himself a little minion,” Adam said, unable to hide his amused grin.

Noah chuckled. “Ronnie does have a bit of a case of hero worship for your alpha. I’m glad Kontra

doesn’t seem to mind.”

“You couldn’t find a better guy to have your son want to emulate,” Adam said, cocking his head.

“Kontra’s the best alpha a bunch of gay nomads could ask for.” Smirking at his lover, he added,
“That’s not to say he doesn’t have more bear than teddy in him, but at least he’s not an asshole. Well,
most of the time.”

At that moment, Kontra stepped away from Ronnie and turned to look at Adam. Kontra lifted a

brow and gave him a knowing look. Adam flushed and lowered his gaze.

Shit! Had he heard?
Snickering, Kontra strode in a different direction.
Whew!
Laughing, Noah grabbed his arm and tugged him inside the building. They walked through the

reception area, bypassed the work bay, and entered the office. “So,” Noah said, hands going to his
hips. “You think there’s enough room in here for two desks?”

“Two desks?” Adam asked dumbly. What was his mate talking about?
Noah grinned and slid his arms up Adam’s chest and around his neck. “Yeah. You know, for your

accountant.”

Finally getting it, Adam wrapped his arms around his mate’s waist and nuzzled Noah’s neck. “You

wanna be my accountant?” he crooned.

“Yeah,” Noah gasped, tilting his head to give Adam more room.
“You sure you just don’t want to be here with me so we can do this,” Adam teased, kicking the

door closed then backing his mate into it, ensuring no one could come in, since at the moment the door
didn’t lock.

Noah moaned quietly. “Oh, I suppose this could be a perk.”
Adam scraped his teeth along the cords of his mate’s neck, loving the soft hiss escaping his lover.

“Could be?” He nipped just below the claiming mark he’d left on Noah’s neck, then laved his tongue
over it, causing his mate to shiver.

“Mmm, yeah.”
Removing the little space between them, Adam pressed his body against Noah’s from chest to

thigh. He ground his jean-covered cock against his mate’s, pleased to feel Noah’s answering length
hard and ready.

Adam lifted his head and captured his lover’s mouth, thrusting his tongue between his lips and

fucking him with it just as Noah’s dick had done to him the previous night. His channel clenched at the
memory and his neck tingled where his moose had bitten him. The memories combined with the feel
of his mate’s body against his own caused his balls to tighten deliciously.

Moaning, Adam wrenched away from Noah, shrugged off his flannel shirt, then whipped his white

undershirt over his head. He let them all drop to the floor as he quickly opened his jeans. He hissed
with pleasure as he freed his erection.

“I’m going to get you very messy if you don’t take off that shirt and get your dick out, babe,” he

warned, wrapping his hand around his erection and stroking slowly. The contact on his heated flesh
felt amazing and pre-cum oozed from the wide slit.

Noah whimpered at the sight, his gaze riveted to Adam’s hand on his shaft. Adam grinned. “Like

that, do you?” Adam murmured, preening slightly. “Like that you get me so hot and hard?”

“Yes,” Noah hissed, pressing the heel of his hand against his erection filling out the crotch of his

jeans.

Adam reached down and cupped his balls, lifting them and rolling the sensitive orbs in their sack.

“You want this? Wanna touch it, taste it? Hmm?”

Noah’s mouth opened and closed. His face flushed.
“Tell me what you want, Noah,” Adam urged seductively, dropping his voice a bit in

encouragement. He hoped like hell Noah made up his mind damn quick or it was going to be a moot
point. His testicles tightened. His dick throbbed. He started mentally cataloguing Harley parts to keep
from coming.

Finally, Noah mewled, then unbuttoned his jeans, shoved them halfway down his hips and turned

around. He placed one hand on the door and thrust his ass out, while digging into the pocket of his
jeans. Seconds later, he held up a single use packet of lube.

“F-fuck me. Please, fuck me,” Noah whispered gruffly. “I need your cock. I need to feel it in me

again.”

“Hell, yeah,” Adam growled. He grabbed the offered packet and tore it open. After drizzling a bit

onto his dick, he poured the rest onto his fingers. Seconds later, he had two digits buried in his mate’s
tight, hot channel.

Noah rocked backward, accepting the intrusion. Adam squeezed the base of his dick to keep from

coming at the view before him. His lover’s firm ass the only thing revealed, greedily accepting his
fingers.

“Now, please now,” Noah begged roughly.
Unable to deny his mate, Adam pulled his fingers free, swiped his dick once to grease it up, then

pressed the head of his shaft to Noah’s hole. He wrapped his arms around his mate and pushed.
Looking down, he watched his rock hard cock disappear slowly into his lover’s chute as the man’s
muscle stretched to accommodate him.

Once fully seated, his thighs flush to Noah’s and his testicles pressed against his ass cheeks, Adam

wrapped his arms around his lover and rested his forehead against the nape of the man’s neck.

“Perfect,” he whispered. “You feel perfect.”
Noah turned his head and accepted a sloppy kiss. His brown eyes appeared glazed with passion

and lust. “I love how you fit in me, how you feel in me.” He sighed, his eyelids falling to half-mast.
Some of the passion cleared, and he pierced Adam with a fierce stare. “I love you, Adam Kingston.
I’ve known you less than a week and I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Smiling, Adam replied softly, “You’ll never have to. I love you, too, my mate.”
Nodding, Noah murmured, “Good. Now fucking move.”
Laughing roughly, Adam obeyed. He pulled out until just the crown of his dick remained in his

mate, then pressed forward again, setting up a punishing rhythm. Reaching down, he wrapped his
fingers around Noah’s jutting dick and stroked it, the leftover lube making it slide easily in his grip.

Noah shoved a fist into his mouth to stifle the sexy cries he’d otherwise let loose. Adam loved that

he affected his mate that way, gave him so much pleasure. His balls pulled tight to his body. His spine
tingled. His shaft throbbed. Adam knew it wouldn’t be long before he soaked his mate’s channel with

his seed. He made certain to nail his lover’s gland with every thrust, maximizing the pleasure he gave
him. The way Noah bucked against him and his shaft swelled in his hand told Adam his mate
wouldn’t be long in coming, either.

“Yeah, babe,” he growled into his lover’s ear. “You take my cock so good. You gonna clamp down

on me, Noah? Your ass gonna hold me tight while I fill you up?”

“Yeah,” Noah managed to grunt.
“Oh, yeah. Help me break in the office, babe. Come for your mate,” Adam ordered roughly, then

sank his canines into his mark.

Noah opened his mouth in a silent scream as his body convulsed. His dick pulsed in Adam’s grip,

covering his hand in cum. Noah’s ass massaged Adam’s cock rhythmically with each squirt. Adam
groaned around the flesh in his mouth as his balls unloaded. He pulled out and sank into Noah’s body
once more, coating his mate’s rectum with his seed.

Holding his lover, Adam floated as waves of bliss crashed over him, heady endorphins pinging

through his system. Gently, he pulled his teeth free of Noah’s neck and licked the mark closed. “My
lover,” he crooned absently, rubbing his cheek against his mate’s.

Humming, Noah turned his head and accepted a soft brush of lips.
Slowly, the sounds of the others in and around the building sank bank into Adam’s awareness. He

knew the second they opened the door, he’d receive a hell of a lot of knowing looks. Adam grinned. It
was worth it. Every compromise he had to make to keep Noah was worth it, leaving his pack,
accepting partial responsibility for two cubs, at least for a little while, and building a respectable
business.

“Love you,” Noah whispered, smiling over his shoulder at him.
Adam lifted his head and grinned. “Love you, too.”
Nothing beats the love of my soul mate.

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her husband and furry, four-legged children. She started
writing fantasy when she was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic romance at age nineteen,
she realized her true calling. She now focuses on writing erotic romance, normally of the paranormal
variety, with heroes and heroines of all kinds. You can often find her curled up with her laptop and a
cup of tea or glass of wine, creating her next adventure. Charlie enjoys exploring the mountains on
horseback, 4-wheeler, or motorcycle. Her favorite exercise is jumping lessons with her Arabian
gelding Apache or her Thoroughbred mare Repo. And she can’t get enough of sexy highlanders with
their kilts and swords. Right now, she and her muse are working with dedication on her Wolves of
Stone Ridge series and Kontra’s Menagerie series.

She can be reached at [e-mail]
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com