Twin Pines Grizzlies 4

Devoted Alpha

Note: Devoted Alpha [Twin Pines Grizzlies 4] was previously

published as Defensive Guard [Gridiron Gods 4]. Due to popular

demand, the series has been revised to emphasize the bear

shifting.

* * *

The erotic torment of his virgin lover…

In high school, Tyler thought Evan was too young, and he

reluctantly let him go, but Tyler never forgot their brief but

passionate encounter. When Tyler needs help passing chemistry,

brainy Evan is the first choice. Tyler doesn’t know Evan is now

blind, but that doesn’t change his feelings for his gorgeous tutor.

Evan has saved himself for Tyler, and he can’t wait to have the

sexy football player take him to the edge of sexual pleasure.

Evan’s hunger for orgasm control turns into an erotic torment that

bonds their souls, and the two become twinned bear shifters.

When a madman kidnaps Evan to turn him into a pain-craving

submissive, the two must use the strength of their bond to keep

the madman from killing Tyler and claiming Evan to gain entry

into the Twin Pines Grizzlies. To thwart the villain’s plans, Evan

must confess his darkest secret.

When Tyler learns what Evan has done to alter the course of his

destiny, will he be able to forgive him, or will Evan pay for his

crime with Tyler’s life?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 22,764 words

DEVOTED ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 4

Anitra Lynn McLeod

EVERLASTING CLASSIC

MANLOVE

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
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DEVOTED ALPHA
Copyright © 2012 by Anitra Lynn McLeod
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-243-6

First E-book Publication: March 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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PUBLISHER
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www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

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DEVOTED ALPHA

Twin Pines Grizzlies 4

ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD

Chapter 1

Without help, Tyler Morgan was going to fail chemistry. Every

time he started to grasp the math involved, there was some new
relationship between electrons or ions or whatever the damn things
were that put him right back to square one. Tyler knew he wasn’t
stupid. He wouldn’t have made it to his junior year of college if he
was. However, if he didn’t get help with this class, he was going to
fail, and then he wouldn’t graduate.

“And then where will I be?” His worst nightmare would be to

become one of those eternal students who just kept plodding along
but never really got anywhere. More than anything in the world, Tyler
wanted to finish his schooling, graduate, and then start working as an
arson investigator.

Fire absolutely fascinated him. Ever since he’d seen a

demonstration during his senior year of high school, investigating
arsons had been his dream job. And he’d mastered everything that
went with his chosen field. Everything, that is, but for the finer points
of chemistry. What irked him to no end was that he needed this class
to get his degree, but he would never use these ideas in his day-to-day
work. Knowing the details of how the electrons went together didn’t
matter as much as understanding the chemical components

Anitra Lynn McLeod

themselves—and that he grasped. It was those damn details that
tripped him up.

What made Tyler more frantic was that if he didn’t keep a steady

C average, he’d lose his first-string spot on the Grizzlies’ football
team. Next to learning all there was to know about how fires were set
and how they accelerated, Tyler loved playing ball. The thought of
not being with his teammates, not ever putting on his jersey and
taking up his position as defensive guard again, made him desperate.
Tyler would do anything. Even something that wasn’t quite kosher.

“Well, I’m not there yet,” Tyler reminded himself.
Brandon Sanders, the team quarterback, had been the one to

suggest Tyler hire his roommate, Evan. Brandon said Evan was smart
as hell and twice as hot. Tyler had rolled his eyes dismissively. He
didn’t care what the guy looked like. But at least Brandon hadn’t
assumed like everyone else that Tyler wanted to hook up with Kevin
Henderson.

Tyler and Kevin were about as tight as two guys could be, but

they didn’t have the hots for each other. Which actually kind of
amazed Tyler once he found out Kevin was as gay as he was. In fact,
during the bus ride to the Grizzlies’ last away game, damn near every
guy on first string had come out of the closet and openly admitted to
being gay. As incredible as it was, it also caused a lot of speculation
about who was going to hook up with whom. Everyone just assumed
Tyler and Kevin were already slipping each other the salami and now
would fess up since it was all out in the open. But they weren’t. Kevin
was a great friend, but he and Tyler were far too much alike to ever
work as a couple. Besides, Tyler had much bigger issues to deal with,
like his grades.

“Evan’s really brainy, and he doesn’t charge all that much.”

Brandon wrote out Evan’s cell phone number.

“If Evan can get me a passing grade, I’ll give him a card for

unlimited free blow jobs.” Tyler was that worried, but his joke barely
cracked a smile on Brandon’s perfect face.

Devoted Alpha

“I don’t think you’ll have to go that far.” Brandon handed over

Evan’s cell number. “I don’t think he’ll demand sexual favors in
exchange for tutoring you.”

“I don’t care if I have to sell a kidney, I’m going to pass this

class.”

“Just call Evan. I think he charges seventy-five bucks an hour.”
“Yikes.” Tyler hadn’t realized getting some tutoring would be so

expensive. “Hell, I could hire a hooker for that.”

“I thought you liked guys.”
“I do. And for seventy-five bucks I could afford two male

hookers.”

Brandon laughed. “With your looks, I don’t think you’d have to

pay.”

“Thanks.” Tyler had always banked on his appearance. Having

thick, blond hair and big, innocent blue eyes had never let him down
before. It also didn’t hurt that he had the body of a sculpted marble
statue and the hard cock of a porn star. Not like he was full of
himself. Well, maybe a little.

“And if you’re really pressed money-wise, I’m sure Evan would

be willing to barter. He’s a really cool guy.”

Tyler had stuffed Evan’s number in his pocket, rushed to class,

and then called Evan as soon as the last bell rang. In short order,
Tyler had a meeting with Evan in the library.

As he jogged across campus, Tyler tried not to think of how sexy

Evan’s voice had been, even over the speaker of his crappy cell
phone. This was business, not pleasure. But there was something also
strangely familiar about Evan’s voice. Tyler chalked it up to the fact
he probably had the guy in one of his classes.

“Keep your head in the game,” Tyler told himself as he entered

the library. Good advice. And he was going to need it if the dark-
haired hunk at the center table was Evan.

Damn.
His short, brown hair was slightly tousled, like maybe he’d just

Anitra Lynn McLeod

rolled out of bed. Evan’s black T-shirt draped over his muscular chest
like a long-lost lover’s caress. For the first time ever, Tyler envied a
shirt. When he dropped his gaze, he changed his mind. Seeing the
way Evan’s jeans cupped a prodigious bulge, Tyler envied a pair of
pants. Hell, he’d like to be Evan’s entire outfit from the nape of his
neck right down to the cup of his knee.

What was that word that Brandon’s boyfriend used? Fuckalicious.

Yeah. Evan was totally fuckalicious. And according to Brandon he
was smart, too. Shaking his head, Tyler reminded himself he was here
to learn, not score.

“You must be Evan.” Tyler waited for Evan’s eyes to focus on

him and then go wide when he realized how hot he was, but Evan
didn’t even glance up.

“Take a seat.”
When the seat across from Evan moved out from under the table,

Tyler realized Evan had pushed it with his foot. It was a casual
gesture, but it sparked a curious sense of familiarity in Tyler.

“What subject are you interested in?” Evan still hadn’t looked up

from the book in front of him.

“Chemistry.” Tyler dropped his ass in the chair and his backpack

on the floor. When Evan didn’t say anything, Tyler watched him run
his finger rapidly over and down the pages of the blank book that was
open in front of him. The way Evan stroked the pages was almost
dirty. Sexy dirty. “What the hell are you doing to that book?”

“I’m reading it.”
“By fingering it?”
Evan tilted his head up, and yet his eyes focused about five inches

higher than the top of Tyler’s head.

It took a moment for his confusion to abate. When it did, Tyler

blurted, “You’re blind?”

“What gave it away?” Evan chuckled. “My eyes that don’t focus,

my white cane, or the fact that I’m reading a braille book?”

Tyler was so dumbfounded he simply didn’t know what to say.

Devoted Alpha

“Relax. Blindness isn’t catching.” Evan lowered his head, but his

fingers stopped sliding across the page. “Too bad I don’t have a guide
dog. That usually gives people a big clue.”

“Why don’t you?”
“I’m allergic.” Evan grinned. “Besides, I can’t get away with

accidentally bumping into cute guys and groping them if I have a dog
leading me around.”

Tyler couldn’t help it. He laughed.
“There you go. Laugh at the disabled man.”
Tyler abruptly sobered.
“Lighten up, Tyler. I’m messing with you.”
“Sorry. I haven’t had a lot—well, any—experience with, uh,

um...” Tyler’s voice trailed off because he couldn’t think of the
politically correct term.

“Crippled people? God’s rejects?”
“Cripes!”
“No, crips.” Evan chuckled. “Oh, wait, that’s a street gang in

California.” Evan clicked his tongue against his front teeth. “How
about we just stick with differently abled? Frankly, I’ve always liked
handicapable. Makes me sound almost like a super hero.” Evan
straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “I am
Handicapable Man. Can’t you just picture me in a silky red cape, the
fabric streaming out behind me as I pose?”

Actually, Tyler had a sudden vision of Evan on silky red sheets,

his pose a seductive one. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Totally.” Evan looked up and grinned. Even though his eyes

didn’t focus directly on him, they were the most incredible shade of
brown. Almost the exact color of warm maple syrup. “You’re the
most fun I’ve had since I hit this campus.”

“Glad I could entertain you.”
Evan sobered and offered out his hand. “Evan Bannon.”
When Tyler reached for his hand, Evan thrust it just out of his

reach. Tyler tried three times to capture his hand for a shake before he

Anitra Lynn McLeod

realized Evan was messing with him. Again. Determined to pay him
back, Tyler grasped his hand, stood, and placed his palm against his
cock.

After a curious frown, a squeeze, Evan yanked his hand away and,

in a very loud voice, demanded, “Are you taking advantage of a blind
man?”

“Shit!” Tyler darted his horrified gaze around. Thank God they

were alone because Evan’s voice was loud enough to attract attention
in the pin-drop silent library. “I was just messing with you,” Tyler
defended his actions weakly.

“Yeah, I know.” With startling accuracy, Evan cupped Tyler’s

bulge and gave him a squeeze. Despite his shock, Tyler got hard so
fast he almost felt dizzy. “Damn, but you are easy to mess with.”
After giving him another quick fondle, Evan added, “And fun to mess
with.”

“Fun and easy, hmm?” Tyler pushed Evan’s hand away and

settled into his chair. “Did Brandon put you up to this?”

“Nope.” Evan met his gaze but looked right through him. “I just

like screwing around.” When he smiled, Evan revealed perfectly
straight and beautifully white teeth. Another feeling of déjà vu
washed over Tyler. “Especially with a really good-looking guy.”

Frowning, Tyler asked, “How can you tell I’m good-looking when

you’re blind?”

“I can smell it.”
“What?”
“You smell good so I just figure you must look good. And any

guy with your cocky voice just has to have a reason to have an
attitude about himself.”

“I do not have an attitude about myself.” Although Tyler had just

been thinking he had the body of a statue and the cock of a porn star.

“Oh, come on,” Evan teased. “You think you can get any guy on

campus.”

“I do not.” But actually, Tyler had said something along that line

Devoted Alpha

to Kevin. That he could take his pick but hadn’t because he was still
hung up on someone from a long time ago.

Evan lifted his hand. “Enough. So, you need some help with

chemistry. Tell me about it.”

Tyler explained how he grasped the math part fairly well but not

the positive, negative, electron orbiting thing. “That messes me up
every time I try to wrap my head around it.”

Evan nodded. “You’re a visual learner.”
“I guess.” Tyler wasn’t going to make a commitment to that

notion until he confirmed that Evan wasn’t screwing with him again.

“You’re taking Mr. Johnston’s class?”
“Yeah.”
“I think I can bring you up to speed in three days.”
“Three full days?”
“Three two-hour study periods.”
“You’re going to teach me to grasp this incredibly complicated

principle in six hours?”

“Yep.”
“What are you, a miracle worker?”
“You might say that.” Evan grinned as he closed his book. Under

the raised bumps that spelled out the title in braille, there was a row of
type, presumably for the librarian to shelve the book. The Republic by
Plato. Tyler barely remembered reading that tome. Mostly he
remembered it putting him to sleep.

“So, how much is six hours going to cost me?” Tyler quickly

calculated how much money he had in his account. Since he’d just
slapped down a fortune for tuition and books, there wasn’t a whole lot
left.

“Ah, now we get down to the nitty-gritty.” Evan leaned closer and

lowered his voice. “How about an exchange.”

Tyler leaned in and Evan’s faint cologne sparked another curious

feeling of déjà vu. “An exchange of what?”

“I give you six hours of my time, and you give me six hours of

Anitra Lynn McLeod

your time.”

Dubiously, Tyler considered Evan’s earnest face. He seemed

sincere, but so far, he’d revealed himself to be quite the funny man.
“And what do you want me to teach you?”

Evan looked down at the table then tilted his head, and Tyler

realized he was listening to see if anyone were around them. Once he
realized they were alone, Evan whispered, “I want you to edge me.”

“Okay, look, if everything is going to be a joke—” Tyler rose but

Evan’s hand on his wrist stopped him and dropped him right back in
his chair. Without using his sight, Evan seemed to know exactly
where Tyler was. Frankly, it was as incredible as it was unnerving.

“I’m not joking.”
“Yeah, right, you want me to edge you. Let me go get my

Weedwacker.”

“Not that kind of edging.” Evan gritted his teeth, and a blush, an

extremely attractive blush, washed over his cheeks. “It’s a form of
orgasm control.”

Tyler’s eyes went wide. He had done plenty of kinky things in his

time, but he’d never heard of edging. Still, he liked the word control.
Having control over Evan sounded nothing short of totally fun.

“Some people call it peaking or surfing, but basically, I want you

to get me into a state of high sexual arousal and keep me there for a
long time.”

The idea of doing that to Evan was even hotter than what Tyler

had imagined. “How long?”

“Well, we’ll have to see how crazy it makes me. I’m thinking

maybe an hour.”

“Why?”
“When I finally do have an orgasm, it’s supposed to be

spectacular.”

“Wait, so, you’ve never done this?”
“I’ve tried to do it to myself, but I always give in.”
Tyler had a perfect vision of Evan stroking his cock and trying

Devoted Alpha

desperately to delay his climax, but losing control and coming all over
his chest. Groaning, Tyler whispered, “What makes you think you’ll
sit still for me?”

“Because you’re going to handcuff me to the bed.”
Swallowing hard, Tyler could now see Evan’s naked body spread-

eagle and chained to a bed with silky red sheets. Damn. He just
couldn’t get those red bedclothes out of his mind. Teasing and
tormenting Evan’s cock would cause him to buck, but he couldn’t
find any relief because Tyler would climb across his hips and hold
him down while he continued to torment his prick.

“Why me?” Tyler asked. “There are about a hundred guys on

campus who would gladly pay you for the privilege of edging you.”

“Because I think I can trust you.”
“You don’t even know me.” And yet there were all those curious

flashes of familiarity.

“Yeah, I do.” Evan lifted his head and peered right at him. Even

knowing he was blind, the contact with his gaze was bewildering. It
was almost like without normal sight, Evan had been granted the
ability to see deeper into him. Since Evan couldn’t see his face, he
could see his heart and soul. “You were a junior at Wallingford
County High when I was a freshman.”

Startled, Tyler leaned back and looked again. There was

something familiar about Evan. Something that rested right on the
plunging precipice of Tyler’s memory. Something he’d tried so
desperately to forget because longing for what he couldn’t have had
just about made him crazy.

“I was drunk, and horny, and even though you wanted me, you

didn’t fuck me because I was too young.”

And then it all came rushing back. Everyone had called him Ban

because of his last name. Evan Bannon was a freshman when Tyler
was a junior, but Evan had looked like a senior. Tyler had lusted after
him for half a semester before finally making a move at some random
guy’s party. He’d come so close to popping Evan’s sweet cherry ass

Anitra Lynn McLeod

but found out how old he was at the last moment. Stopping had been
the most difficult thing Tyler had ever done up to that point, but he
had because he didn’t want to take advantage of him.

“You weren’t blind then.” And Tyler silently added that Evan

hadn’t been as filled out then as he was now. Back then he’d been
cute but now he was totally fuckalicious.

“No, I wasn’t blind back then.” Evan sighed.
“You lied. That’s how you knew I was hot.”
“Damn, you are still so enchanted with yourself.” Evan laughed.
“How—never mind.” Tyler wanted to know how he’d lost his

vision but realized asking was pretty rude.

“An accident while I was playing football.”
“That sucks. You were really talented.” It was Evan’s finesse on

the gridiron that started Tyler’s interest in him. In high school, Evan
had been third string, but the boy had promise. And spectacular buns.
But Evan had been a boy, and Tyler was determined to leave him that
way.

“I’m still really talented.” Evan waggled his brows.
Tyler couldn’t help but read that comment in a very lusty way.

From what he remembered, Evan had one hell of a mouth on him. All
they’d done was kiss, but Tyler could tell from the way Evan worked
his lips he’d be spectacular at cocksucking.

“And you’re of age now.”
Evan’s grin deepened. “Yep. Just turned eighteen two weeks ago.

I graduated a year ahead.”

All those things Tyler had wanted to do with Evan, the things he’d

convinced himself would be wrong, would now be right. No, they
would be magnificent. But did Evan want to pick up where they had
left off? With his joking around, Tyler really wasn’t certain of
anything other than his own desire.

After clearing his throat, Tyler asked, “The fact that I was able to

resist you in high school makes you think I can be trusted now?”
Tyler couldn’t remember anyone trusting him quite like that. Maybe

Devoted Alpha

Kevin, but Kevin was more likely to be the guy who would do the
tying down rather than being the guy who was tied down.

“Yeah. It does.” Evan was drop-dead serious. “I’ve been waiting a

long time for you, so you’d better make my sacrifice worth the wait.”

Tyler’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you in a not-so-subtle way

telling me that you’re still a virgin?”

Evan nodded.
Tyler thought his cock was going to push right through his jeans.

He’d done a lot of things since high school, but he’d never forgotten
the one he’d let go. Walking away from Evan while he’d been hot and
hard on that bed had cost Tyler deeply, but he always believed he’d
done the right thing.

Evan reached out, grasped Tyler’s hand, and squeezed. “I want

you to be my first.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 2

Evan almost let go of Tyler’s hand when he realized his palm was

sweating like crazy. After all this time, and everything he’d done to
have a second chance with Tyler, he was going to ruin things.
Stupidly, he spewed out his pathetic virginal state and his bizarre
kink. Great. Whatever chance he might have had he’d probably
screwed up. But just when he was about to retreat, Tyler squeezed his
hand hard and tugged, drawing their heads closer together. This close,
the scent of Tyler’s aftershave made him positively crazy.

“I would be honored to be your first.”
Relief eased the tension right out of Evan’s shoulders.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Tyler moved his head a little closer and then whispered

right in Evan’s ear, “I never stopped thinking about you.”

A shiver of anticipation ramped Evan’s tension right back up.

He’d never forgotten Tyler either, but knowing it was mutual just
made him so happy he almost cried.

“I’d love to tie you up and torment that luscious cock of yours for

hours before I finally let you climax.” Tyler released Evan’s hand and
then swirled his finger against his palm suggestively. “Once I had you
utterly crazed, I’d start all over again and break in your sweet ass.”

In his mind’s eye, Evan saw his body spread out and Tyler rising

above him. He almost came right in the library. This was why he
wanted to learn orgasm control. It seemed that everything turned him
on, and once he was aroused, he wanted to get off as fast as he could.
Learning to control himself, to delay that moment of release, would
benefit him and his lover.

Devoted Alpha

“You still like mirrors?” Evan asked, relaxing under the

suggestive yet calming motions Tyler made against his palm.

“Yeah, I do. How the hell did you know that?”
“When we were making out at that party, you had us turned so

you could watch us in the mirror across from the bed.” As one of the
best sights Evan had ever seen, it was also the one he’d clung to
desperately when he’d lost his vision. Tyler’s bright-blond hair was a
tangled mess from Evan’s clutching fingers, his dark-blue T-shirt was
askew from their grinding, and his faded jeans were so tight Evan had
barely been able to pop the rivet buttons apart. Evan had just exposed
Tyler’s spectacular cock when everything came to a crashing halt.

“Right.” Tyler chuckled. “What was that guy’s name?”
“Something Rivers. John Rivers? James Rivers? Something like

that. I just remember you dragging me into his parents’ room,
propping the vanity chair under the doorknob, then proceeding to kiss
and rub up on me until I came in my jeans.”

“Your very tight jeans.” Tyler’s voice lowered considerably.
“Both of us were so firmly packed I’m surprised we didn’t start a

fire from rubbing together.”

“Like dirty Boy Scouts.” Tyler paused, and the track he made in

Evan’s palm jittered slightly. “You’re not a boy anymore.”

“No.” Evan’s heart was pounding so hard it was messing with his

hearing. Normally he could tell where everything was by visualizing
and listening. At the moment, the only thing he could see in his mind
or hear was Tyler. “Brandon’s probably with Derek.”

There was a long pause. “So?”
“My dorm room is empty.” Oh, subtle, Evan berated himself. Why

don’t you just yank down your trousers and bend over the library
table? As soon as he thought that, his jeans tightened unbearably and
he wriggled restlessly in his seat.

Tyler’s motions against his hand ceased.
Evan stopped breathing, waiting desperately for some indication

he hadn’t blown this. Just because he’d wrangled a second chance

Anitra Lynn McLeod

with Tyler didn’t mean he couldn’t mess it up. The library suddenly
seemed preternaturally quiet. Evan swore he could hear not only his
heartbeat, but Tyler’s.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Tyler squeezed his hand and then

let go.

Evan shot to his feet so fast he almost tripped over them.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 3

Tyler was in such a hurry to get into Evan’s pants he almost

forgot his backpack. Hefting it over his shoulder, he then realized he
had no idea what the protocol was with Evan. Should he offer out his
arm, or walk behind him as he waved his white cane back and forth,
or—fuck it. Tyler should do what his instincts were telling him to do,
and that was flip Evan over his shoulder and sprint him across the
quad.

“Tyler?” Evan grabbed his backpack, slipped it on his shoulder,

and then tucked his white cane under his arm. “Don’t tell me you
already changed your mind.”

“I’m just wondering if I can run with you.”
“What?” Evan came around the table with the obvious agility of

an athlete. Anyone watching him from a distance would have no idea
Evan was blind from the graceful way he moved.

“I’ve got this insane urge to toss you over my shoulder and run

back to your room.”

Evan grinned. “As much as I like that idea, I don’t think I could

survive.” He lowered his voice as he stepped near. “My dick is so
hard that if you pressed me against your shoulder I think I’d pop.”

Evan placed his hand on Tyler’s arm, and they fell into an easy

and natural walking rhythm. Still, Tyler thought the dorms were
simply too far away. He couldn’t wait to get his hands, not to mention
his mouth, on Evan. Tyler slyly changed direction.

“Uh, dude, as subtle as that was, I know we’re not heading toward

my room.”

“I thought you said you trust me?”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“I do. Lay on, Macduff, and damn’d be him that first cries ‘Hold!

enough!’”

“Brandon wasn’t kidding about you. Hot and smart. I like a man

who can correctly quote Shakespeare.”

“Gotta love the Bard.” Evan allowed Tyler to lead him. After a

door and a short hall, they weren’t too far from Tyler’s ultimate
destination. “Hey, wait a second, this is the gymnasium.”

“How can you tell?”
“I’ve got a map in my head of the entire campus, but also, the

sound gives it away. Our shoes are squeaking on the varnish and
echoing in this mostly empty space.”

“Damn, I’m impressed.” Tyler continued right on through the gym

toward the locker room in the back. Since it was a Wednesday
afternoon, not a soul was around. “Can you tell where we are now?”

“Nothing in the world smells as good as a men’s locker room.”
Tyler had to agree. Chlorine, spicy soap, and that always lingering

scent of sweat that nothing could fully erase. God, that scent always
turned him on.

“And I’m sure like all locker rooms there are lots of mirrors in

here.” Evan waggled his brows suggestively.

“Hey, we don’t have to—”
“I like the idea of you watching us. Just because I can’t doesn’t

mean you shouldn’t.” Evan dropped his backpack on the floor then
turned into Tyler’s arms. “Please don’t be afraid to be who you are
because I’m blind.”

“I just don’t want you to think I’m full of myself.”
“I don’t.” Evan pressed close and rubbed their cocks together. “I

think you’ve got a nice kink that should be indulged.”

Tyler groaned. All the memories from that truncated night with

Evan returned. He’d felt so good then, but now Evan felt even better.
Taller, wider, and there was nothing holding them back this time. But
then his words penetrated. This was Evan’s first time and he was still
willing to indulge Tyler’s kink. Without words, that spoke volumes

Devoted Alpha

about Evan. Determined to give as good as he got, Tyler became just
as resolute to indulge Evan’s need for erotic torture. But where to
begin?

“I think this is the perfect place to wallow in both our kinks.”

Tyler stroked his fingertips down Evan’s perfectly sculpted chest to
the edge of his clinging, black T-shirt. Ever so slowly, he eased
Evan’s shirt up and off. “Oh. My. God.”

“You like?”
“It’s exquisite.”
Evan’s bronzed back was covered in an intricate tattoo. Black,

geometric lines formed a symmetrical pattern from the top of his
broad shoulders to the base of his narrow waist. The ink work was
meticulous with perfectly crisp edges against the thrust of Evan’s
muscles.

“Right after I lost my sight, I got this.”
“Why?” Tyler couldn’t help himself. Eagerly he traced his fingers

over the lines, marveling in the feel of Evan’s flesh and the low
murmurs of pleasure his strokes evoked.

“At the time I didn’t know.” Evan pressed close until his head

angled against the hollow between Tyler’s neck and shoulder. “But
now I know it was the thought of having someone caress those lines.
That’s what prompted me to have the tat done.”

Hypnotized by the sight of his hands against Evan’s body, Tyler

almost didn’t notice that Evan was slowly but surely easing Tyler’s
zipper down. And then his fingers were inside his jeans, exploring the
hard length of his boxer-covered cock.

“Damn, I swear you feel bigger now than you did in high school.”

Evan’s fist tightened.

A flush of pride caused a smile to cross Tyler’s face. “You

remember what I felt like?”

“God, yeah. I remember everything from that night.” Evan lifted

his head and locked his lips against Tyler’s.

Just like at that party all those years ago, their kiss started sweet

Anitra Lynn McLeod

then went wild. When Evan pushed down Tyler’s underwear and
wrapped a possessive fist around his cock, Tyler growled and broke
the kiss. Something came over him, something animal that recognized
Evan as his mate. A surge of bestial lust urged Tyler to claim him.

Placing his mouth against Evan’s ear, Tyler snarled, “I want to

suck your cock and lick your balls, and then I want to turn you around
and get started on your ass.”

“Oh, God.” Evan melted against him.
Tugging and pushing, Tyler managed to get Evan’s jeans halfway

down his thighs before he eased him back onto the long bench that
ran between the lockers. Once there, Tyler dropped to his knees,
wrenched off Evan’s shoes, then took the rest of his clothing off as
fast as he could.

“Fuckalicious doesn’t even come close. You’re more like

fabfuckingalicious.”

Evan laughed. “You really have a way with words.”
“Let me show you the way I have with my mouth.” Angling him

back, Tyler parted Evan’s thighs then planted himself on the bench
between. Sparse, dark body hair rose up from his ankles, covering all
the way up and around Evan’s cock. Other than a slight trail that led
down his abs to his prick, Evan’s chest was hairless. “You have the
most wickedly perfect cock.”

“And it’s terribly glad to see you again.”
At that party, Tyler had felt Evan more than he’d seen him, but

now, with the powerful florescent lights overhead, every luscious inch
of his cock was fully exposed. Pre-cum pearled at the tip, almost like
a silent call for Tyler to lower his face and lick. Resisting that impulse
was almost impossible, but he remembered his vow to indulge Evan’s
kink before his own.

“Don’t move.” Tyler rose from the bench, retrieved several

towels, then returned. He tucked the towels under Evan’s head. “I
want you at my mercy, but I also want you to be comfortable.”

“But what about you?” Evan lifted his hands and unerringly

Devoted Alpha

landed them right on Tyler’s bulge.

As much as it pained him to say it, Tyler managed, “I can wait.”

Grasping his wrists, Tyler pushed Evan’s hands up above his head.
“Leave them here or I’ll stop.”

“I want to picture you naked.”
Grinning, Tyler removed his jeans with as much noise as he could

so Evan could visualize him stripping down. Once he toed off his
shoes and socks, Tyler returned to his position between Evan’s legs.
Looking at the canvas of his body, Tyler wasn’t sure where to start. It
all looked so good.

Evan was almost holding his breath, waiting for contact, and

that’s what settled Tyler on how to begin the erotic torture of his
virgin lover.

Leaning forward, Tyler lowered his face to Evan’s balls and

breathed out ever so slowly.

“Oh, God.” Evan’s hands rose from the bench.
“Put them back or I’ll stop.”
With a frustrated sigh, Evan put his hands back over his head.
“Every time you move, I’ll not only stop, I’ll start all over again.”

Tyler pressed his face even closer to Evan’s sac to ensure his hot
breath caressed him. “Do you understand?”

“Y—yes.” Evan’s thighs tensed, displaying the power of his body.
Tyler was so riveted with the idea of controlling Evan he didn’t

even bother to check out their reflection in the mirror. His focus was
on doing exactly what Evan said he wanted. Tyler was going to get
him super turned on and then keep him on that edge for as long as he
could.

“I like that you don’t wax your sac. There is nothing as sexy as a

hot, hairy, and hung guy.” Each word caressed Evan’s genitals with
Tyler’s moist breath. Evan squirmed deliciously but didn’t move his
hands. “Such a sweet sac.” Tyler extended his tongue and licked his
way from the edge to the base of Evan’s cock.

Evan exhaled a long, slow oh of pleasure and parted his knees a

Anitra Lynn McLeod

bit wider.

“Technically you moved, but I’ll let that infraction pass.” Tyler

licked him again, loving the taste of his light, clean sweat and the
almost imperceptible shiver that rolled through Evan’s solid frame.
“Holding still is more difficult than you thought, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Evan swallowed hard. “Remember when I suggested an

hour of this? I don’t think I’m going to last five minutes.”

“You’ll last as long as I want you to last.”
Evan’s plaintive whimper was the sexiest noise Tyler had ever

heard. When he licked his way up from his balls and got to work on
his shaft, Tyler saw a thin thread of sticky pre-cum trailing from the
tip of his prick to the edge of his belly button. Reaching up, Tyler
teased his finger over the filament, breaking it in half. Placing a series
of openmouthed kisses on his pulsing shaft, he also slicked his
fingertip around the crown.

“Tyler...” Evan’s voice trailed off with a breathless, wistful note.
“Yes?” Tyler upped his torment by continuing to kiss Evan’s shaft

while stroking his head, but he added the teasing of a finger between
his tight buns.

A groan rumbled through Evan, shaking the bench they were on.

No words could ever convey how obviously enraptured Evan was, but
those animalistic sounds made his torment clear. Tyler couldn’t help
but feel entirely justified in being a bit full of himself, at least as far as
bedroom skills went. In a matter of seconds, he had Evan at the edge,
and now he was going to hold him right there.

“I want you to lift and spread your legs. Hold them wide by

cupping the back of your knees.”

Evan’s rippled abs went taut as he displayed himself to Tyler. His

beautiful body was perfectly balanced and fully exposed to Tyler’s
continued erotic torture.

“That made your ass so tight.” Tyler slid his fingertip around

Evan’s pucker, edging toward the center of the starburst.

Evan panted, but not from strain. With his physique, he could hold

Devoted Alpha

himself wide for half the day without breaking a sweat. What was
making him breathe hard and tremble was holding still for the
thoroughly tormenting caresses of Tyler’s hands and mouth.

“Such a tight ass and such a hard prick.” Straightening Evan’s

cock with his fist, Tyler worked his tongue around his mushroom
head, thrilled by the way Evan groaned. When Tyler cupped and
tugged on his balls, Evan murmured a series of nonsensical pleading
words. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Right as Evan parted his lips to speak, Tyler slipped his finger

into his ass. Wonderfully tight and terribly sensitive, Evan’s rectum
clenched down hard around his digit.

“You like that?”
There were no words to describe the sound that filled the locker

room. Pleasure, rapture, longing, lust—all of those noises merged into
a cry that twitched Tyler’s prick against the bench. Eliciting that
sound from Evan made Tyler so proud he couldn’t help but grin.

Babbling in incoherent groans, Evan held himself so perfectly still

that Tyler knew he was terrified to ruin the game and cause Tyler to
stop. Knowing that he had Evan at his mercy was heady, and yet
Tyler realized the responsibility Evan had placed in his hands. Evan
trusted him. And Tyler wouldn’t break that trust.

For as long as he could, Tyler held Evan on the brink of climax.

Evan was so close to tumbling over that edge, but right as he started
to fall, Tyler caught him and brought him back.

“Let me come. Please.”
Over and again Tyler tormented Evan, loving the way his longing

grew. Loving the way his penis twitched. But most of all, Tyler loved
the way Evan’s mouth parted with unspoken words, then grimaced
with determination, then puckered with the obvious hunger to wrap
around Tyler’s cock. As much as Tyler wanted to indulge that need of
Evan’s, he was having more fun teasing him from below.

“I’m going to let you come, Evan.”
“Thank you. God, yes, Tyler, thank you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“But not now.”
Never had he heard anything as hot as Evan’s disappointed

whimper.

“What I’m going to do is plant my cock right against your sweet

ass.” Tyler sat up until the tip of his dick nestled between Evan’s
buns. “And then I’m going to stroke my cock and your cock.” Tyler
gave Evan a moment to picture what he intended to do. “And then I’m
going to cream all over your virgin hole.” A low whimper thrilled
Tyler. “And you are going to sit there, with your legs spread wide,
and let me.”

Evan’s lips parted as if he’d protest, but Tyler cut him off.
“I might let you come after I do.”
Evan whined and redoubled his grip on the back of his knees.
Planting his prick against that sweet, pink pucker almost spewed

Tyler’s cream. Only by taking a series of deep breaths was he able to
stave off his climax. Below him, Evan panted and sweat beaded over
his brow. The strain of holding still was beginning to show. Nudging
his cock firmly against Evan’s ass, Tyler started to stroke his own
dick.

“After I cream all over your hole, I’m gonna scoop it into my fist

and then jack your cock.” Tyler licked his palm and wrapped his hand
around Evan’s trembling prick, almost as if he were comforting the
tormented flesh. “Then I’m gonna jack your cock with my gooey
fist.”

“Yes, please, yes. I want to feel you.”
“What do you want to feel?” Asking Evan questions helped drag

things out but also confirmed he wanted to do exactly what Tyler
suggested. Even in the midst of their sexy game, Tyler had no wish to
push Evan where he didn’t want to go.

“I want to feel you jet cream against my hole.”
Tyler almost lost his load. Hearing such ripe dirty talk come out

of Evan’s sweet mouth was nothing but pure pleasure. Damn, but the
man couldn’t be any hotter if he tried.

Devoted Alpha

“I want to splatter my cum all over your ass.” Tyler squeezed his

fist around his own cock, easing back his need. He wanted to climax,
he wanted to mark Evan as his, but Tyler also wanted to last longer
than ten strokes.

Lifting and lowering his hand along Evan’s shaft caused the pearl

at the tip to grow then fall. Watching Evan carefully to ensure he
didn’t get off too fast, Tyler worked Evan’s pre-cum into his fist to
make his touch more of a glide. As soon as Evan got close to coming,
Tyler stopped his strokes on Evan’s dick.

“No! Oh, God, Tyler, don’t stop. Please, I can’t take anymore.”

Evan’s grip on the back of his knees tightened until his fingers turned
white.

“I haven’t even started with you.” Lowering his hand to his own

cock, Tyler started to stroke himself in earnest. He thought he could
hold back a bit longer, but he was lost when he looked up and saw
their tableau in the mirror.

Vulnerable but incredibly strong, Evan was spread before him.

Evan’s dark hair and bronzed flesh were perfectly coordinated against
Tyler’s blond hair and slightly paler skin. What captured his attention
completely was the vision of trust. Evan trusted him utterly. He had
to. Only a man who trusted him implicitly would willingly put
himself so deeply into Tyler’s care. As he looked into the mirror and
saw himself bending eagerly over Evan, Tyler saw a curious
combination of lustful power and tender compassion.

It was the first time Tyler had looked at himself in a mirror and

saw something far beyond his looks. This time, with Evan, Tyler saw
his soul.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 4

Evan drew on every shred of determination he possessed to stay

still below Tyler. Difficult didn’t even begin to describe his struggle.
Impossible wasn’t right either because Evan was managing, but only
barely. After giving the matter long consideration, which helped him
keep his focus, Evan decided it was almost impossibly difficult to
remain passive while the man of his dreams erotically tormented him.

Tyler’s voice was rough and yet smooth, like aged whiskey over

rocks. Everything he said, every touch he gave, drove Evan deeper
into madness. Teasing himself had not prepared Evan for this level of
intensity. The urge to rock his hips and fist his prick was tempered by
the promise of satisfaction at Tyler’s hands. Tyler would let him
climax, but only when Tyler was convinced Evan couldn’t take the
torture anymore.

Already in Evan’s mind he begged let me come, let me come, but

no words escaped his lips. So lost in the tormenting bliss, Evan could
only whimper. When Tyler placed the tip of his cock against his
pucker, Evan almost came. Incredible dreams of Tyler planting his
prick at the entrance of his ass were nothing compared to actually
feeling Tyler do it. Reality went beyond Evan’s wildest expectations.
Tyler’s cock was wide, and the tip was slick with pre-cum. Tyler’s
probing finger had loosened him just enough so that Tyler’s head
made a fleshy plug.

As Tyler continued with his precise and perfect erotic torture,

Evan’s sphincter fluttered around his head, like tight lips reluctantly
allowing penetration. Slowly his pucker worked down and around
Tyler’s knob, pulling him in. But Tyler eased his hips back before he

Devoted Alpha

plunged inside.

“Greedy little virgin ass. You’re not ready for that.”
Again, Tyler stroked Evan’s cock until he almost blew across his

chest, but Tyler stopped at the last moment. And then Tyler dropped
his hand. After a moment, Evan realized what Tyler was doing.
Visualizing Tyler with his prick pressed against his ass while
masturbating himself into Evan’s wide-spread legs tightened his balls
to the point he knew it was too late.

“Ah, no, I see what’s happening here.” Tyler cupped Evan’s balls

and tugged them inexorably down until Evan’s urge to climax
vanished. “You’re not coming yet.”

“Please let me come.”
“You’re going to stay right where you are while I deposit a load

against your ass.”

Evan’s eyes rolled back under his closed lids. Just like he had

been all those years ago, Tyler was a master of dirty talk. That night
with him in the forbidden space of a parents’ master bedroom had
been the subject of his masturbatory fantasies for years. By digging
his fingers hard into his legs while holding them wide allowed Evan
to stay still and cling desperately to his vow not to climax.

“That’s it. Not long now.” Tyler’s voice was strained, his words

clipped. From the motions of the bench below his back Evan knew
Tyler fisted his prick faster and faster. “Ah, yeah, gonna blow, Evan.
I’m going to cream your sweet little ass.”

“Cream my hole, Tyler. Do it.” Evan braced himself for the

impact of his lover’s pleasure.

Tyler pressed forward, plugging his knob into Evan’s pucker, and

then he climaxed. Warm, thick cream shot a short way into his
rectum, but most oozed around Tyler’s knob. As fast as he spewed it,
Tyler smoothed it onto his hand.

Against his prick, Evan felt Tyler’s fist. Evan almost lost his load

from the feel of Tyler’s cum along his shaft, but more than that, the
scent of Tyler’s pleasure was the most alluring scent he’d yet smelled.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

It sparked something primitive in him, something that gloried in being
marked by his mate.

“You’re gonna come for me.” Tyler tightened his fist on Evan’s

cock.

“Yes. For you.” Evan held perfectly still. No way would he fuck

this up now.

“I’m gonna stroke you faster and faster, and you’re gonna come.”
“Yes, God, Tyler, yes.” Evan had no idea how long they’d been in

here. His balls were so tight they felt like they had been doing this for
hours, but in reality, it was probably more like only a few minutes.
Evan was glad he had waited for Tyler. Not only was the gorgeous
man worth waiting for, he was worth the sacrifice Evan had made to
possess him. Giving up his sight for a second chance with Tyler was
worth missing seeing him in action. Visually Tyler was a stunning
man, but feeling him, smelling him, touching him, knowing him,
being claimed by him—all that was worth infinitely more. Evan just
hoped like hell Tyler would forgive him when they bonded and he
found out what he had done to gain a second chance with him.

“You’re close, Evan. You’re gonna come for me, aren’t you? If

you come, I’ll stick my dick up your ass.”

Desperate to climax and feel Tyler’s possession, Evan squeezed

his abs to hold his position. If Tyler quit now he would probably die
from frustration.

“That’s it, I feel your balls getting tighter, and tighter, and your

pucker is sucking at the tip of my cock like a man in heat.” Lowering
his voice, Tyler nudged his softening dick forward. “That’s it, I feel
your cum rising up from your snug sac.”

Already tottering on the edge, where he’d been struggling to stay

steady, each stroke brought Evan closer to falling over the precipice.

“That’s it, that’s it, come for me, beautiful.” Tyler’s cum-smeared

fist flew over Evan’s length. “I want you to come for me. I want to
watch you.”

In that moment Evan felt beautiful. Under Tyler’s masterful touch,

Devoted Alpha

he rose higher and stayed there longer than he ever thought possible.
Just as his sac convulsed, flinging the first jet out the tip of his prick,
Tyler pushed his softening cock up Evan’s ass. Tyler’s wad had
slicked the way, so with one thrust, Tyler was balls-deep. And Evan’s
virginity was a thing of the past.

Tyler had managed to claim him without pain.
Evan orgasmed five times in a row. Each rush of pleasure was

followed by a pump from his balls and a clutch around Tyler’s cock.
Cream spurted over his chest. Knowing that Tyler could see what he
could only feel added another layer of pleasure. As long as the teasing
had lasted, it was more than made up for by the astounding length of
his ejaculation. Evan had never come so hard, or for such a long time,
in his life. And the jets kept coming. Finally, his quivering ceased.
Every muscle in Evan’s body ached.

“I’ve got you.” Tyler gripped his legs and helped him ease his feet

to the floor. Gently, Tyler moved back, withdrawing his prick from
his ass.

In concert, Evan whimpered as Tyler growled.
Tyler clasped Evan’s hands and helped him sit up.
“I swear, the room is spinning.” Evan was drained. No athletic

event had ever taxed his body like his first time.

“Are you okay?”
Evan didn’t have to see Tyler to hear his concern.
“I’m fine.” Reaching out, Evan cupped the back of Tyler’s head,

pulled him close, and kissed him. “Thank you.”

Against his lips Evan felt Tyler grin. “You’re welcome.”
“Go ahead.”
“What?”
“Be proud of yourself for rocking the blind guy’s world. You

more than earned it.”

Tyler laughed. “I’m proud of you for holding that still for that

long. Fuck. I’ve never seen anybody come like that.” Tyler traced his
fingers through the creamy jets on Evan’s chest. “It certainly looked

Anitra Lynn McLeod

like an epic climax.”

“It was like a slow-motion multiple orgasm.”
“Maybe I’ll let you edge me.”
Evan had never even considered edging Tyler, but now he

couldn’t seem to shake the idea of hearing his plaintive growls while
tormenting his delectable form. “You’d put yourself at my mercy?”
Most people wouldn’t trust a blind man to do anything.

“Yeah.” Tyler kissed him as he pulled him up to his feet. “You

seem like a trustworthy sort.”

Holding onto his arm, Evan followed Tyler into the showers. He

didn’t have to see the room when he could hear the dimensions. In
short order, Tyler had a shower blasting them and his wickedly
talented hands were smoothing soap all over Evan’s chest.

“I can wash myself.” Evan took the soap from Tyler’s hand.
“I know that.” Tyler stole the soap right back. “I don’t have to

wash you. I want to wash you. Get the difference?”

Evan did, but that wasn’t the problem. “Right now I’m so

sensitive that just having water flowing over my cock is just about
making me cry.”

“Shit.” Tyler left off rubbing Evan. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. How could you know?” Evan now applied the soap to

Tyler. “Besides, you did all the work. I should clean you up.”

Evan confirmed his mental picture of Tyler by washing him from

the top of his head to the tips of his fingers and toes. After rinsing
himself down, he followed Tyler back to the lockers and the stack of
towels.

“You do realize that every time I come in here I’m going to pop a

tent, right?”

Evan chuckled. “Somehow I don’t think your teammates will

mind.”

There was a long pause.
“Tyler, the rumor is all over the school.”
“What rumor?” Tyler asked.

Devoted Alpha

“That practically the entire football team is gay.”
“Did Brandon tell you that?”
Evan’s roommate hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but

Brandon didn’t need to. “I know about Brandon and Derek making
out on the bus, and that Danny and Matthew are together. There’s
even talk about Ryan and some mystery man. It’s not a very big
school, and regardless of what people think, guys do gossip.”

“So everyone knows?” Tyler sounded a little peeved.
“I don’t know about everyone, but so what? No one cares.” Evan

shrugged. “As soon as I stepped on this campus, I felt at home. I’ve
never felt safer anywhere. Remember, that’s saying a lot since I’m
gay and blind.”

Tyler sighed. “I guess old habits die hard.” Tyler wrapped his

arms around Evan’s waist. “I’m used to fronting. It’s going to be nice
not to have to hide who I am.” His voice lowered. “Or who I want to
be with.”

Knowing exactly where his mouth was allowed Evan to land a

perfect kiss on Tyler’s lips.

“How the hell do you manage to do that?” Tyler stroked his finger

over Evan’s mouth. “You can’t see me, but you nail kissing me every
single time. It’s uncanny.”

“It’s the sound-shape of your face.”
“Explain.” Tyler started to dry his hair. Evan knew because of the

sound the towel made against his head.

“I can read the sound waves bouncing off objects, like your face. I

know where your sexy lips are because I can hear them and sorta see
them with my ears.”

“And that’s how you were able to zero in on my cock in the

library?”

“Yep.”
After snickering, Tyler said, “Well, it’s not that surprising you

were able to echolocate something as big as my dick.”

“Arrogant much?”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Only with you.”
Tyler snapped his towel toward Evan, but he heard it coming long

before the blow landed. Grasping the flicking end, Evan yanked on
the towel, startling Tyler by pulling him near.

“You’re only arrogant with me?” Evan bit the sensitive skin along

Tyler’s neck. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“You amaze me. Hell, my eyes work and I couldn’t have done

that.”

“Just because I’m blind doesn’t mean I can’t see.”
“Ooh, deep.”
“It’s true. Blind people see, just not the way other people do.”
Tyler cupped his chin and gave him a seductively slow kiss.

“Want to see what trouble we can get into on a bed?” Tyler teased his
hand down, pressing his fingers in the crevice of Evan’s butt. “Let’s
see if I can slip my fully erect prick up your ass.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Evan stroked Tyler’s chest. “But

this time I want to be able to move.”

“Oh, you’ll move,” Tyler threatened. “You’ll dance your sweet

little ass all over my cock.”

Evan had not one doubt that Tyler would more than make him live

up to his threat.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 5

Tyler considered himself a patient man, but the walk across the

quad to Evan’s room seemed like the distance from the Earth to the
Moon. His pace was the equivalent of molasses in January.

“Slow down, Tyler. I don’t want to trip over the clumps of snow.”

Evan gripped his forearm more firmly. “If we had stayed on the
sidewalk, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“This was shorter.”
“Impatient much?”
“Only with you.” Tyler laughed, but it was true. He’d just

climaxed, and in a most spectacular way, but he wanted to be inside
Evan again. And he wanted to breed him. Not once in all his furtive
relations had Tyler ever done that. Hell, even as a kid, he’d never
barebacked. Never wanted to until he’d seen his cock pressing against
Evan’s beautiful ass. Slipping his softening prick inside him, using his
own spew to lube the way, had compelled an ejaculatory-free orgasm
out of him that almost made his eyes pop. This time, he wanted to get
his stiff cock as deep as it would go and then pump his pleasure into
Evan. It was a claiming, marking behavior that had never possessed
him before. Evan was his, and Tyler wanted his scent all over him.
Including the inside of him.

“Tyler?”
“Sorry.” The compulsion to claim Evan was so strong Tyler

glanced around the quad. If they were alone, he’d claim him right
here. But they weren’t by themselves. Lots of random students were
out and about. Besides, the student body might have tolerance for
homosexuals, but they wouldn’t welcome anyone fornicating in the

Anitra Lynn McLeod

middle of the college grounds. Rather than risk public exposure, not
to mention frostbite considering the temp was in the low thirties,
Tyler stopped their progress and turned.

Tyler tossed Evan’s backpack over his shoulder and then tossed

Evan over, too.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Speeding things up.” Tyler ate up the distance to the dorm hall

entrance. Once there, he put Evan back on his feet, leaned in and
whispered, “I’ve got to fuck you. Now.”

Evan’s hand trembled on the doorknob.
“I swear I can’t wait. It’s like my whole body is burning for you.”
Evan gulped, opened the door, and practically ran up the steps.

They were in his room in less than thirty seconds.

“Hey, Evan, I see you met Tyler.” Brandon Sanders, team

quarterback and Evan’s roommate, set aside his book to greet them.

“Yeah, uh, hey, Brandon, could you do me a favor?” Evan took

both backpacks from Tyler’s shoulder. “Could you give us a minute?”

“A minute?” Ice-blue eyes darted between him and Evan and then

settled on Tyler’s face. “I thought you needed help with chemistry.”

“I need him to help me with my virginity.”
The baldness of Evan’s statement widened Brandon’s eyes. “You

have got to stop hanging around Derek. You’re starting to sound like
him. Which reminds me. I should go and make sure Derek is
studying.” With a minimum of movement, Brandon tucked his books
away, grabbed his coat and keys, then left, locking the door behind
him.

“I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a decent room—”
Tyler didn’t let Evan finish before his mouth descended, capturing

Evan’s lips. His mind was screaming that he had to fully claim Evan,
and he had to do it now. Right now.

Forcefully Tyler grabbed and yanked on the waistband of Evan’s

jeans, wrenching the rivet buttons apart. As Evan toed off his tennis
shoes, Tyler shoved down his pants. He growled with pleasure when

Devoted Alpha

he discovered that Evan hadn’t put his underwear back on. It was
almost like he knew the state Tyler would be in and dressed in
anticipation of his needs. Tyler might have noticed if he hadn’t been
obsessed with staring at Evan’s tattoo instead of watching him dress.

Guiding him toward the twin bed, Tyler pushed Evan down to his

knees so that his upper body rested on the bed. In the chest of drawers
between the beds, he found a bottle of lube, greased up his cock, and
pressed against Evan’s beautiful ass.

Had his previous invasion loosed Evan up enough? God. Tyler

wanted to bury himself as fast and as deep as possible, but he couldn’t
if he would hurt Evan.

“Do it. God, Tyler, this isn’t the time to tease me. Fuck me, Tyler.

Fuck me.”

With his begging cry resonating through his body, Tyler pressed

forward, marveling at how effortlessly his prick slipped inside.
Custom-made for one another, his cock and Evan’s ass practically
clicked when they came together. Evan’s submissive whimper surged
masterful domination through every cell in Tyler’s body. Wild and
fierce, Tyler dug his fingertips into the meat of Evan’s hips to hold
him steady for his pounding.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought the second time

would be a slow seduction, a lovemaking, but something primal drove
him to claim Evan as hard and as fast as possible. It pushed at Tyler
so forcefully it was almost like if he didn’t claim him now, right now,
his second chance would be gone. Somehow in some way he would
lose Evan altogether if he didn’t hurry.

So Tyler didn’t waste a moment. Rather than the long, lingering

seduction in the locker room, this was a furious assault, but not
against Evan’s will. Tyler took what he wanted because Evan gave
him what he wanted.

“That’s it, surrender to me.” Tyler pushed up his shirt, exposing

the complicated tattoo. Pressing on the nape of Evan’s neck, Tyler
pinned him with one hand and used the other to stroke Evan’s cock.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Evan gripped his hands on the edge of the mattress, holding

himself up so Tyler’s thrusts wouldn’t bang the bed into the wall and
floor.

“That’s right, brace yourself. Hold on, Evan. Hold on for me.

Hold on for my load.” The climax that possessed him eclipsed every
other from his entire life. Pleasure at the release was overshadowed
by the sheer joy of claiming Evan. For all eternity, he was Tyler’s. No
man would know him. Not like this. Once he bred him, he claimed
him. “You’re mine.”

“All yours.” Evan’s grip on the bed relaxed as he angled up,

accepting Tyler’s possession.

“Roll over.” Tyler withdrew.
Evan shimmied down his pants then tossed himself on the bed on

his back. Pushing his legs apart, Tyler slipped his cock back into his
hole, apologizing when Evan winced.

“No, it’s okay. Finish me.” Evan was hard again, even after the

creamfest less than fifteen minutes ago.

While buried deep inside his body, Tyler jacked Evan’s cock until

he came. Twitching, groaning, and sighing with profound relief, Tyler
collapsed on Evan.

“How long did I tell Brandon?”
“A minute.”
“Did either one of us last that long?”
“I don’t think so.” Tyler chuckled. “Do you want me to get off

you?”

“No.” Evan squeezed him. “I want you to sleep like this.”
“I think the resident advisor might frown on that.”
“Probably.” Evan sighed. “What were you whispering?”
“I was whispering?”
“Kinda growl whisper hissing. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot as

hell, but I couldn’t understand what you were saying.” Evan grinned.
“Sounded like mine, fuck, claim, tight, and sweet all ground
together.”

Devoted Alpha

Tyler laughed. “That’s pretty much what I was thinking so I’m not

surprised that’s what you heard.”

A knock at the door brought Tyler to his feet. Once they were

both situated, he opened the door. Dylan Peterson, the biggest,
baddest, and baldest homophobic asshole in the universe, stood on the
threshold. Red in the face, his fists clenched so tight his skin turned
white, Dylan shoved Tyler back and entered the room.

“Goddamn you two!” Dylan slammed the door shut behind him,

grabbed Tyler by the shirt, yanked him close, then did the most
astounding thing in the world. Skinhead badass Dylan Peterson kissed
Tyler so hard he stole his breath. Without missing a beat, Dylan
released Tyler, practically leaped across the room, and then planted
one on Evan.

Flailing at him, Evan managed to get Dylan off him, but then he

was right back on Tyler. Eventually, Dylan dragged Tyler over to the
bed, tossed him down next to Evan, then kissed the breath out of both
of them.

Dizzy and confused, Tyler didn’t even try to stop Dylan after the

fourth kiss. He would have, but he had no energy after the night’s
events. Besides, Dylan wasn’t hurting either of them. Whatever he
was doing felt good. Really good. To his absolute shock, Tyler
realized he and Evan were hard. Again.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I can’t control it anymore.” And then

Dylan, who was on his knees, rocked back, hurriedly yanked down
his trousers, and jacked his cock into a climax with three strokes.
While he was still spurting, he placed one of his massive hands on
Tyler’s bulge, one on Evan’s, and rubbed with powerful intent,
causing both of them to climax in their pants.

Breathless, all three of them slumped where they sat.
Nobody moved until there was a quiet knock at the door. Thank

God it was Brandon and Derek who entered.

“Holy shit!” Derek said. He closed the door behind him and knelt

beside Dylan. With five big guys crowded in, the tiny dorm room

Anitra Lynn McLeod

compressed by half. Turning his intense gaze to Tyler, Derek said,
“Don’t get pissed. Dylan wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

Tyler was so wiped out he couldn’t even nod. He just looked at

Derek.

“I twinned them.” Dylan looked as replete as Tyler felt.
“Yeah, I guessed.” Derek helped Dylan to his feet then got him

zipped back up. “Has that, you yanking down your trousers and
molesting yourself, ever happened?”

“No.” Dylan blushed so hard his entire bald head turned red. “I’m

so sorry, guys. I couldn’t help it.”

“I’ll help him get home while you explain.” As Derek left with a

dazed Dylan clinging to his arm, Brandon settled on his twin bed.

“Don’t bother explaining. Dylan’s the nexus.” Evan sat up

without one bit of embarrassment. “Our bonding must have been
calling to him for the last hour.”

“You know about the bonding?” Brandon’s eyes went wide right

along with Tyler’s.

“And the twinning.” Evan reached out and grabbed Tyler’s hand.
“Twinning?” But as soon as Tyler asked, he knew exactly what

Evan was talking about. Right down to the cellular level, Dylan
Peterson had merged Tyler and Evan. Dylan had twinned their souls.
Nothing could undo their bond. There was a momentary panic at
finding himself so inextricably linked to another, but that fear faded
under a tide of possessive pleasure. Being owned also made him part
owner. Just as he was forever blended with Evan, Evan was forever
blended with him. And that felt very good. They were utterly devoted
to one another. Tyler tightened his grip on Evan’s hand and barely
refrained from saying mine like a greedy child.

“You know that you’re bear-shifting twins?”
“What?” But again, as soon as Tyler asked, the answer popped

into his head. He and Evan together could shift into a blond-brown
grizzly bear. This notion seemed as normal to him as did the fact that
he had chemistry class in twelve hours. And he hadn’t cracked open a

Devoted Alpha

book.

“Don’t sweat it. I’ll be there with you.” Evan spoke directly into

Tyler’s mind.

After a second of confusion, Tyler realized this was normal, too.

He and Evan could wordlessly communicate with one another.

“Hey, as much as I appreciate the offer, I don’t want to cheat.”

Tyler had always played fair. He couldn’t change that now, not when
he would be cheating himself out the satisfaction of accomplishing his
goals on his own.

“It’s not cheating if you understand the concepts.” Evan stood and

shook his head as if to wake himself up.

Tyler couldn’t explain what happened next. With a mental push,

Evan placed all he knew about chemistry, which was a prodigious
amount, into Tyler’s head. The elusive concepts that had so plagued
him now made perfect sense. Tyler suddenly grasped the math, the
relationships, everything—it was so beautifully put together that for
the first time, Tyler swore he saw the hand of something divine in
shaping the world. He simply had to believe there was a mind behind
the compellingly complex but infinitely logical design of the universe.

“The concept you’re looking for is intelligent design.” Evan lifted

and kissed the palm of Tyler’s hand. “And I’ve been a firm believer
since I met you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 6

Letting go of Tyler was possibly the most difficult thing Evan had

ever done, but they couldn’t sleep together in the twin bed, and Tyler
needed a good night’s sleep not only for the test tomorrow, but for the
away game on Saturday.

“Don’t worry. We still have two nights to be together.” Tyler gave

him a goodnight smooch that had Evan’s body zinging.

“If only.” Evan sighed. “I have therapy both nights.”
Teasingly, Tyler said, “And I thought you were so well adjusted.”
“Not that kind of therapy, you ass.” Evan pinched Tyler’s butt.

“I’m still learning some blind tricks.”

“Awesome. I’ll be able to show you off to our friends.”
“You know, just because I’m blind doesn’t mean I can’t kick your

ass.”

“Ooh, someone seems to have an ass fetish.”
“Given what’s been going on all day and night, I’m not

surprised.”

After another round of slap, tickle, and raunchy talk, they parted,

and Evan crawled into his bed.

“That happened very fast,” Brandon speculated from his bunk.
“I’ve known him for years.” Obsessed over him was more like it,

but why tell that truth when he didn’t have to? Evan was concerned
that Tyler would know the truth once they bonded and twinned, yet
Evan had been able to hold that information back from Tyler. Evan
wasn’t sure if Tyler would be flattered or furious, but he didn’t want
to find out just yet.

“You met him in high school?” Brandon sounded sleepy.

Devoted Alpha

“What, you want a goodnight story?”
“Yes, please.” Brandon chuckled. “Derek and I weren’t able to

hook up, so if you could give me some details, I’d really appreciate
it.”

“I’m not about to give you a wank-off story, Brandon.”
“Please?” Brandon whined playfully. “I’d be ever so grateful. And

you guys did use my lube.”

“I’ll replace it. Go to sleep, you big load.”
“Oh, yeah, start there. Tell me all about Tyler’s big load.”
“Now who’s starting to sound like Derek?” Surfer-boy Derek had

a real mouth on him. He was inappropriate and funnier than hell. As
far as Evan knew, everyone liked Derek. He was the epitome of the
party animal, but he was also smart and totally smitten with East-
coast preppy Brandon. They had bonded and twinned but not shifted
into bear form. Evan knew all of this as soon as he and Tyler joined
the Twin Pines Grizzlies. It was as if their history flooded him in
total. Before, he only knew bits and pieces that he’d gleaned from the
psychic. But now he had access to their collective consciousness.

Evan and Brandon chatted for a bit longer, but eventually sleep

pulled them down, and Evan was grateful. He needed time to renew
his energy. Keeping up with Tyler was going to be demanding, but
Evan was more than happy to meet the challenge. Everything he’d
given up for Tyler was worth it. Tyler completed him in ways that
Evan was just now beginning to understand. It wasn’t obsession or
sex or anything so fleeting. This was soul deep, mystical, and
profound.

Tyler was the one.
The only one.

* * * *

Morning came with another storm, but this one wasn’t so bad.

According to Brandon, who was always checking the weather on his

Anitra Lynn McLeod

cell, only three inches had dusted the town. Once the sun came out the
streets would be clear. Not that a big storm would shut down Twin
Pines. They were used to dealing with a hell of a lot more than three
inches.

When Derek arrived to walk with Brandon to class, he couldn’t

help but snicker as he said, “Like three inches of anything is worth
getting excited over?”

Since most students lived on campus or could walk from their off-

campus apartments, classes went ahead as scheduled even during
blizzards. Rarely was a day called on account of snow. However, just
because the town was used to dealing with massive amounts of the
white stuff didn’t mean that Evan was. Confident in his ability to
navigate his way around without sight, he became totally
discombobulated in his orientation when he slipped and fell.

After brushing the ice and salt off his fanny, he had no idea what

direction he was facing. Without the sun shining in his face, he
couldn’t orient himself. For the first time in a long time, Evan
panicked. But then he realized if he just waited a moment, the clouds
would pass, and he’d be able to tell his direction by where the sun
was. Or he could just follow the sidewalk in either direction and he’d
know once he touched the building he encountered.

“Do you need help?” The voice was older, cultured, and terribly

kind. “I would be happy to assist you.” If anything, the man sounded
more compassionate than anyone Evan had ever heard. It was a voice
that instilled immediate trust. As the man came near, Evan smelled a
rich combination of tobacco, fine wine, dark chocolate, and bayberry.
Classy and subtle, the scent was something refined and elderly.

“Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the—”
A cloth covered Evan’s face and as he drew a startled breath,

Evan knew it was saturated with chloroform. A visual of the way the
molecule was formed popped uselessly into his mind. Right now he
didn’t need to know the chemical structure. He needed to know how
to get away. Before his miraculous brain could formulate an answer,

Devoted Alpha

Evan slumped into the curiously helpful man.

“So young, so sweet, and so desperately in need of submission.”
Evan would have argued, but his mouth wouldn’t work. He could

barely get his legs to work. If not for this man holding him up, he
would have melted down into a puddle.

“Come along, Evan. You and I will be so perfect together. We just

have to dispose of Tyler first.”

Terror wrapped an icy fist around Evan’s heart and squeezed.

Drunkenly he walked beside the mysterious man, his confusion and
fear growing with each step. Disoriented, Evan had no idea which
direction they were moving, but he recognized the sound of a car door
and the feel of a large backseat.

“In you go.” The man settled him and strapped the seat belt over

his chest. “Safety first.” Along the way, he cupped Evan’s prick.
“Even flaccid you are wonderfully large.” The man leaned near,
giving Evan another sniff of his complicated cologne. “I’m going to
enjoy indulging your need for control. I promise you, under my
tutelage, you will blossom into a most subservient slave.”

An urge to scream possessed Evan, but nothing emerged when he

opened his mouth. Mentally he called to Tyler, but all Evan heard and
felt was static. Whatever drug or chemical this creep had given him, it
cut off his mental connection to Tyler.

“Tyler can’t answer you, I’m afraid, but your desperation is

charming.” The man closed the door and then opened the one in front
of Evan.

Using sound-shapes, Evan pictured a larger vehicle. Something

like an SUV or an extended cab truck. Judging by the man’s
sophisticated tone of voice and the new-leather smell of the interior,
Evan picked SUV.

“But don’t worry,” the man said once he settled himself in the

driver’s seat. “After a time or two with me, you won’t even think of
him. Despite all you’ve done to gain Tyler as your twin, he simply
isn’t worthy of you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“And you are?” The words were slurred so hopelessly Evan

doubted they’d made any sense.

“I most definitely am.” He slammed the driver’s door shut and

started the engine.

In the fully padded cab, Evan more felt the vibration than heard

the roar. Plush. Luxurious. Whoever this man was he obviously had
money falling out his ass. Or, given his propensity toward taking what
wasn’t his, he’d stolen the vehicle. But Evan doubted that. Creepy
man’s voice was laced with entitlement. That curious compassion
Evan had heard earlier was completely gone. Now all he heard was a
nasal whine of someone who felt life had thoroughly cheated him out
of his rightful due. Great. This creep thought the universe owed him,
and he was going to use Evan to get his fair share.

“Where going?” Evan found if he kept his sentences short he

could communicate without sounding like a lush on a three-day
bender. Whatever this asshole had doped him with, it was more than
chloroform. That stuff would have put him out. Something else had to
be in the mix because he didn’t pass out, but he wasn’t quite right.

As Evan drew a deep breath, he could almost name the collection

of compounds, but the details eluded him. At the moment he was
drugged just about out of his mind and his mystery creep was driving
somewhere. From the way Evan had to pop his ears, they were going
up into the mountains. Evan’s heart sank. That was not a good sign.
The last place he wanted to be was alone with Creepy in a remote and
isolated area.

“We are going to my temporary home.” He uttered a forlorn sigh.

“How I wish I could take you to my rightful home, but I haven’t
disposed of that interloper yet.”

Another lingering breath of disappointment filled the vehicle with

the scent of mint. Oh, God. Evan realized the man was sucking on one
of those intense breath mints. The odor was so strong it filled the
entire space and made Evan gag lightly.

“But soon, my lovely Evan. Soon I will take my rightful place.”

Devoted Alpha

“And me?”
“You will be at my side.”
“Whether I want to or not?”
“Oh, you will want to. After I’m done training you, you’ll

willingly get down on your knees and beg to lick my boots.”

The mere idea made Evan choke. He took a deep breath, trying to

stop the churning in his belly, but nothing stemmed the urge to vomit.
The smell of leather and mint, combined with the vile feel of the man
in front of him, conspired to force Evan’s rather large breakfast to
erupt.

Knowing right where his abductor was sitting allowed Evan to

project the vomit accurately. Up came his massive meal and the two
cups of coffee he’d downed it with. All of it splattered Creep and the
front seat.

As soon as his stomach contents hit the mark, Creep snarled his

displeasure in no uncertain terms. Evan passed out with a smile on his
face.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Chapter 7

“Evan wouldn’t just take off.” Tyler paced along the side of the

gymnasium as his fellow teammates ran practice drills. Tyler had
been burning off his frustration with exercise, but Coach Miller
yanked him off the line. He was afraid Tyler was either going to hurt
himself or one of the other guys.

“Go over there and chill for the rest of the training period.” Coach

pointed to single unit of pulled out bleachers, but Tyler had only sat
down for about ten seconds before he was on his feet and striding
back and forth.

Rather than follow instructions, Tyler stayed just as amped up, but

now he had no outlet. He wanted to run until he collapsed or punch
something until his fists gave out. What ratcheted up his tension to an
almost pathological degree was that his connection to Evan had been
severed. Where before he’d felt a light and peaceful flow of thoughts
between them, that delicate thread had snapped this morning while
Tyler was in the middle of his chemistry test.

At first, he’d thought Evan had respected his wishes and ended the

connection so Tyler would know his success on the test was his alone,
but after class, the tentative flow hadn’t returned. Calls to Evan’s cell
rolled right to voice mail. All day long, in the hall and surreptitiously
in classes, Tyler called. Hearing Evan’s seductive growl prompting
him to leave a message was only making his frantic fear worse. When
he’d checked around on campus, no one recalled seeing Evan after
breakfast.

“He scarfed down about three plates of grub.” Cory, Derek’s

roommate, informed Tyler since he’d been sitting across from Evan in

Devoted Alpha

the dining hall. Leaning near, plastering a knowing grin on his face,
Cory whispered, “I guess after what you two did he had to refuel.”

“God, does everyone already know?” Tyler realized Evan was

right. Guys gossiped just as much as girls. More, probably.

“Derek told me. Why, was it a secret?” Cory tagged along with

Tyler on his way to the gym for training.

“No, just, I’m worried.”
“Yeah, I got that. Hey, let me ask around. I’m good at keeping an

ear and eye open.”

“I’d appreciate it.”
But Cory hadn’t found anything. And as amazing as Evan was

without his sight, Tyler’s fear for him was doubly acute. Taking
advantage of a blind man probably wasn’t that difficult. And there
was just no way Evan would take off without telling him. Not after
last night. Bonding and twinning in such rapid order was unheard of
in their sloth. Which brought Tyler back to another odd coincidence
that just didn’t track. All the other members of the sloth were gone.

Cory said that a limo showed up at around forty minutes after

eight. Danny, Matthew, Brandon, Derek, and Dylan had gotten in and
taken off. As to why or to where, Cory could only shrug in answer.
Realizing how desperate Tyler was, Cory gave him Derek’s cell
number, but Tyler’s series of frantic calls weren’t answered until late
in the afternoon.

After Tyler’s frenzied explanation, Derek handed his phone over

to Danny Jones.

“I would have brought you two with us, but I didn’t know about

you until we were on the plane.”

“Dylan didn’t tell you?” Tyler wondered why. Moreover, he

wondered why, as the leader of the sloth, Danny hadn’t just felt his
and Evan’s inclusion in their group. Tyler had felt all of them last
night.

“No, but he’s been a little out of sorts. I’m sure Brandon and

Derek didn’t think to say anything, either.” Danny spoke quietly and

Anitra Lynn McLeod

from the sounds in the background, Tyler realized Danny was in a
hospital.

“Is everyone okay?”
“They are now. We’re going to be coming home in about an

hour.”

“Can you feel Evan at all?”
“No. And that’s odd to me, as I can’t feel you either, but—well—

there have been some rather crazy things going on here. We’ve been
twinning two members by using all our combined energy, and I
wonder if that’s interfered with the normal energy pattern that I
usually feel.” After a breath, Danny said, “Honestly, right now I’m so
connected to the men around me I’m a little edgy.”

As much as Tyler’s curiosity was asking him to demand details,

Tyler knew the situation in Denver had nothing to do with the
situation with Evan. Or did it? Hell. He honestly had no clue what the
fuck was going on.

“When you get back, call me.” Tyler gave Danny his cell and

swore to keep it on him and fully charged. “I could really use your
help.”

“I promise, we’ll find him.” And when Danny said it, Tyler

believed him. Who would have thought shy loner Danny Jones would
turn out to be such a great leader?

Tyler had clicked off feeling a little better, but he couldn’t fully

shake the feeling of impending doom. None of this was right. Last
night he’d claimed Evan, and this morning Evan had disappeared. All
the members of his sloth who could help track Evan down were called
away to a hospital in Denver. It was just too strange to be
coincidental. Like his realization last night about intelligent design,
this had the clear stamp of intellectual planning. This, what had
happened to Evan, wasn’t an accident or coincidence. It was part of
someone’s very crafty plan.

Desperate for action, Tyler went to the police, but they wouldn’t

file a missing person’s report until forty-eight hours had passed.

Devoted Alpha

“That’s the law,” the officer, Nicholas Dillinger, had informed

him, and none too gently.

“But he’s blind,” Tyler had argued.
The officer was more sympathetic, but still, his hands were tied,

and Tyler had left the police station even more discouraged. How
could it be that just this morning he’d been on top of the world and
now he was down in the gutter so deep he couldn’t even see the
sunlight?

As a last ditch effort, Tyler returned to his room, thankful that his

roommate was gone, settled himself on his bed, closed his eyes, and
then concentrated on Evan.

Every time a sound or a thought tried to steal his attention, Tyler

returned his focus to Evan. He pictured him as he’d been in the
library. That black shirt and those faded jeans clinging to his body,
his hair tousled, his eyes the shade of warm maple syrup. In his mind,
Evan smiled, displaying his perfect teeth, his genuine joy, and then he
flashed Tyler a little smirk that hinted at his lust. Evan was everything
Tyler had ever wanted in a partner. So what if they had connected and
forged a lifetime partnership in the span of one evening? That made
their bond no less real than any other couple’s relationship. Just
because they fallen so quickly and almost effortlessly didn’t mean
their liaison was not profound. Tyler realized he was defending his
relationship with Evan even though no one had asked. Maybe he was
as defensive as he was devoted.

When Tyler’s cell rang, he practically catapulted himself off the

bed. In his haste to answer, he dropped the device on the floor.
Scrambling after it, he yanked it open and gave a desperate, “Hello?
Evan?”

“Ah, no, Mr. Morgan. I’m afraid Evan can’t talk right now.

He’s...rather tied up.”

Into Tyler’s head popped a vision of Evan bound spread-eagle on

a bed of red silk.

“How deliciously perceptive of you, Mr. Morgan. That is exactly

Anitra Lynn McLeod

how I have restrained your twin.”

“Who the fuck is this?” And how the fuck was he reading Tyler’s

mind?

“Such vulgar words from such a handsome young man.” He

sighed. “You would do well to mind your manners and respect your
elders. I don’t have to be kind to Evan.”

“If you harm, him, I’ll—”
“Kill me. Yes, I’m familiar with that type of tough talk. How

boring that you cannot be more original. I simply cannot comprehend
what Evan sees in you.” After a long pause and a chuckle, he added,
“Not that Evan can see anymore.”

Tyler’s hair almost stood on end. The voice oozed creepiness in

such copious amounts Tyler felt slimed. To think of his beautiful
Evan anywhere near this fuckhead enraged Tyler to the point of
murderous wrath. But yelling expletives and demanding explanations
wouldn’t get him anywhere. This creep held all the cards. Worse, he
knew it.

“I’m going to give you an opportunity to rescue your twin. That is

what you want, is it not?”

There was something so odd about the man’s voice. His rhythm of

speech, the words that he used, not to mention the timbre—all of it
combined gave Tyler the distinct impression he was talking to a man
from a different era. But that was crazy. The man sounded no older
than thirty. Still, to Tyler’s ear, he talked as if he were elderly. Or
maybe that was just because he’d called himself Tyler’s elder.

“Why don’t you give me your name?” Tyler figured it was worth

a shot. Not like he was likely to get an honest answer.

“You may call me Xavier.”
Talk about a name from another era. “Fine, Xavier. Where is

Evan?”

“Evan is here with me. For the moment he is safe, but that will

change.”

“Depending on?”

Devoted Alpha

“On you, Mr. Morgan. Everything that will or will not happen to

Evan depends on you.”

Tyler’s heart pounded so fast he felt his heartbeat shake his

eyeballs, which only reminded him of Evan’s blindness. Closing his
eyes, he tried again to connect to his twin.

“I must say, your Evan makes some of the most delightful noises I

have ever had the pleasure of hearing.”

Tyler crushed the phone to his ear, but he didn’t hear anything.

And then, very faint in the background, he heard Evan whimpering.

“Ah, there, my pet. Doesn’t that feel good?”
But the sounds Evan made were not of pleasure. Tyler knew that

sound of Evan’s right down to his soul. Last night Evan had
whimpered and moaned in a symphony of bliss. These noises
mimicked the noises of pleasure, but there was a false note, a
discordant jarring, that was clearly conveyed even over the crappy
cell phone.

“I’m going to refrain from claiming him, Mr. Morgan. I’m going

to give you a chance to save him from my lecherous fingers.” After a
pause he added, “And my lecherous cock.”

The vision of anyone mounting Evan enraged Tyler to the point

he wanted to burst out of his skin like Dr. Bruce Banner did when he
turned into the Incredible Hulk. So much rage filled him he wanted to
transform. And there was the answer. Tyler tried desperately to shift
into bear form with Evan. If they did, he would be there and he could
save Evan from this perverted creep.

“Ah, I’m afraid that is quite impossible.” Xavier laughed. “You

cannot shift with Evan. I have seen to that.”

“How?”
“A man simply must have his secrets.”
Tyler realized that Xavier was enjoying his impotent rage.

Determined not to feed him anymore, Tyler drew a deep breath and
calmed himself. Using something that his coaches had always told
him, Tyler felt his anger, he acknowledged his anger, but he refused

Anitra Lynn McLeod

to allow the anger to consume him utterly. Tyler was the master of his
anger. Anger was good, as it gave an athlete drive and determination,
but undirected anger was a pointless waste of energy.

“What do you want me to do?”

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 8

Evan’s head was spinning. Stupidly, he looked down at himself

then remembered he was blind.

“Fuck. I’m an idiot.”
Flopping back, he realized he was lying upon something cushy,

like a pillow-top mattress. When he squirmed, he slid over the surface
easily. Huh. Silk. Had to be. All the heat of his body was reflected
back at him, keeping him warm despite the fact he was naked. He was
also restrained. Bands encircled his wrists and ankles, pulling his
arms up and out while pulling his legs wide and spread.

“You are simply stunning.”
Oh, God. Evan’s empty stomach rumbled, and he wished he could

vomit at will. If he could, he’d puke all over himself to keep this
asshole’s hands off him. Vague memories of Creepy stripping him
down and washing the bits of vomit off him swam in his mind.
Forcefully, Evan pushed them away. The only good thing about that
was Creepy hadn’t touched him intimately. It was clear from his
sighing and humming that he wanted to, but he didn’t, and Evan was
profoundly relieved. But then, Evan saw a darker intent in Creepy
restraining himself. Making Evan wait and wonder about when that
kind of contact would come was so much worse than him just doing it
and getting it over with.

Anticipation with Tyler had been mind-bogglingly erotic, but with

this pathetic asshole, expectation was nothing short of sickening.

“I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”
Evan didn’t answer. He knew anything he said or did would just

keep this asshole in the room. Maybe if he pretended he was asleep,

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Creepy would get the hint and go away.

“I’m not going anywhere, Evan.” The bed shifted under the man’s

weight when he settled on the edge. “No, my pet, I’m going to stay
here and decide how to proceed with your training.”

Dreading the moment when the man would touch him, Evan tried

to stop anticipating that his touch would be leathery and skeletal. No
matter how he tried to rid the image from his mind, he envisioned this
man as one step up from the Crypt Keeper. Rotting flesh didn’t
dangle from his features, but only because formaldehyde filled his
veins. That was why he wore such strong cologne and constantly
chewed those God-awful mints—he was trying to cover up his
horrific stench. It was the only explanation Evan could come up with.
Since he’d lost his sight, his sense of smell was easily twice as acute.
This asshole must know and that was why he was disguising his
scent. But then again, maybe it was the drugs he’d hit him with.
Evan’s sense of hearing was usually intensely strong, but he was
hearing the world as if cotton filled his ears.

“When you let me up, and believe me, you will, unless you want

me to shit and piss in your bed, I’m going to snap your fucking neck
and rip your head right off of your spindly little body. And then, then
I’ll get to work on shoving your ugly head up your scrawny ass.”

“Such rough talk from such a defenseless boy.”
“You want to see how defenseless I am? Take off these restraints

and we’ll see.” Maybe Evan could goad Creepy into setting him free
under the misguided notion that blindness incapacitated him.

“I don’t think so, Evan.” Creepy sighed. “By the time I’m finished

with you, you will beg me to claim you.”

Evan’s thoroughly spinning head suddenly lurched sideways.

“You can’t claim me.”

“Because Tyler did? Yes, I’m aware of what you two think you’ve

accomplished, but it did nothing more than cause a slight stumble in
my plans.” Creepy leaned near until his breath filled Evan’s ear and
wafted over his face. In order not to gag, Evan held his breath for as

Devoted Alpha

long as he could then took tiny sips of air. “Your virginity was
meaningless to me, Evan. You have something far more valuable.”

Evan waited for him to clarify, but he left the bed and moved

away. Normally Evan would be able to tell the basic dimensions of
the room, but with his messed-up hearing he couldn’t read anything.
All he knew was he was on a silk-clad bed, with his body restrained,
and a creepy stranger came by to consider him at odd intervals.

As he lay unable to do anything but think, Evan wondered if this

was his own fault. He’d been willing to do anything to have his
second chance with Tyler. Had he toyed with fate when he shouldn’t
have? Did his sacrifice negate his destiny in such a way that now the
world had to restore the time line to the correct path?

What if all he’d done was put his beautiful Tyler in the crosshairs?

The thought alone sickened him. Had Evan gained Tyler as he’d been
told he would but only for the briefest moment of happiness? There
had been no guarantee of a lifetime, only that Evan would bond and
twin to Tyler, and he had, but there wasn’t any assurance about them
staying together. Evan had just assumed that part, what with the fact
that twinned bear-shifters stayed together as long as they both lived.
Naively, he’d assumed that was at least the length of a human life.

“Where is Tyler?” Evan blurted the question even knowing

Creepy would probably lie to him.

“Oh, he is coming for you.”
Evan’s relief was remarkably short lived. If Tyler came, this man

would kill him. In a split-second decision, Evan offered, “I’ll do
anything you want if you’ll leave Tyler alone.”

“Ah, my pet. You are so tragically sweet.” Creepy returned and

settled on the edge of the bed. “But I simply cannot have you unless
Tyler is gone. It is the nature of creatures like us.”

Us? This asshole is a shifter? Evan just couldn’t believe any

group would want this dink as a member. “You know what I am?”

“Indeed.”
A lone finger traced the length of Evan’s nose, but the hand was

Anitra Lynn McLeod

removed when Evan tried to bite him. Had drugs not slowed him
down, he’d have a mouthful of Creepy finger right now. After
mangling the shit out of it so the digit couldn’t be reattached, Evan
would have spit it in his goddamned face.

“Disobedient boy!” A powerful blow to the face caused Evan’s

ears to ring. “You will learn to crave my touch.”

Evan reassessed his opinion of him as the Crypt Keeper. That

blow had hurt. No bony little twerp could pack a wallop like that. And
then Evan remembered leaning against him as he helped him into the
SUV. He was tall and muscular, much stronger than his thinner body
would indicate.

“Once a pair bonds and twins, the connection cannot be broken.”

When Creepy spoke, Evan tried not to listen, but he couldn’t move,
and couldn’t cover up his ears even though he longed to do so. He
instinctively knew he wasn’t going to say anything Evan wanted to
hear. “So saith the covenant between man and bear.”

Evan tried humming to drown out his speech, but he was slapped

again, and this time, the blow bashed his upper lip into his teeth,
gushing coppery blood into his mouth.

“Don’t be willful, my boy. I would be quite sad to have to beat

you bloody when you are almost tragically beautiful.” Creepy leaned
close. “You’re lucky I don’t flay the skin from your back to remove
that disgusting tattoo.” He clucked his tongue in reproach. “I would if
doing so wouldn’t kill you. But I shall just take you from the front so
I don’t have to see such sacrilege.”

Evan’s mind screamed at the notion of Creepy taking him from

any direction. Just being naked in the same room with him made Evan
want to shower in the hottest water and scrub his skin with a pumice
stone.

“If I’m so horrible, what the hell do you want me for?” For all his

talk, Creepy didn’t seem to be attracted to him in the least. It was
disturbingly odd. Creepy complimented him, but in practically the
same breath he denigrated him. More and more it seemed that Creepy

Devoted Alpha

had only taken Evan because he had no other choice.

“Silly boy. I only want you to bring me into the sloth.”
“Why don’t you go find your own partner?”
“Because I am the nexus.”
Evan’s wobbling mind turned another direction. “No. No way.

Dylan is the nexus.” Evan knew that for a fact since Dylan had
twinned him and Tyler last night. And in that area where all his
information about the sloth came from, he knew there was only one
nexus.

“For the sloth headed by Danny Jones, yes, Dylan is the nexus.”

Creepy gritted his teeth hard enough for Evan to hear them grind
together. “Had my hired thugs been more thorough, Danny would
have died in the truck and Matthew would have been my twin and I
would have been the leader.” Creepy sighed. “But all was not lost.
Not when you decided to stick your greedy hand in the rightful order
of things and muck about.”

Evan didn’t dare speak a word.
“Oh, come now. I know all about what you did. How you

willingly sacrificed your sight to possess Tyler.”

“How do you know that?”
Creepy leaned closer and whispered, “Who do you think arranged

for you to meet the psychic? How do you think she knew what to
say?” He pulled back and laughed. “Ah, Evan, you were almost
pathetically easy to manipulate. But you were my backup plan, not
my primary. There was a third as well, but, it’s meaningless now.” He
sighed as if bored with the conversation. “What you did, your
sacrifice, that is what opened the door to me.”

“All this is my fault?”
“If not for your lust, I never would have had a second chance to

infiltrate the sloth.”

A part of Evan died in that moment. But he knew he wouldn’t

have done things any differently than he had. Tyler was like an
addictive drug to him. After one taste, Evan would have given

Anitra Lynn McLeod

anything, and had, just to be with Tyler again. Sadly, he never
considered that his greatest sacrifice would be having to give up Tyler
to keep him safe.

“For the chance to lay with him one time you have sacrificed his

life. When Tyler dies, I will claim you, and by twinning my soul to
yours, I will ascend from a worthless nexus to a full member of the
sloth.” After a pause, Creepy rose from the bed. As he walked off,
Evan heard him growl to himself, “And Phillip Remson will not be
able to cast me aside again.”

As Evan was left to his own devices, all he could do was chew on

his lips, wonder if Tyler and the other members of his sloth were safe,
and ponder who the hell this Phillip Remson was.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 9

Tyler realized what he had done was foolish. Frankly, it was

beyond that. What he had done was so idiotic future generations
would refer to moronic stunts as Tylers. Unfortunately, he realized
this after he was in too deep to change his mind.

In his haste to reclaim Evan, Tyler had rushed in and now realized

he’d practically run into the trap Xavier had set for him. Tyler stood
on the edge of a plunging precipice. Frigid northern wind ruffled his
hair as the penetrating cold stole all the heat from his body despite
layers of clothing. Before him there was an SUV with a monitor that
showed a bound Evan and beside the black vehicle stood Xavier.

“All is lost, Mr. Morgan. If you jump now, I promise, no harm

will come to Evan.” Despite the whipping wind, Xavier’s voice
carried easily to Tyler’s ear.

“Like I can trust you.” Tyler shook his head, amazed at his

stupidity. What the hell had he been thinking? Clearly, he’d seen too
many movies where the hero rushed off to save his beloved with no
thought to his own safety. It sounded good in theory, but in practice,
it was asinine. How could he protect Evan if he was dead? And what
the hell made him trust Xavier enough to get in his car, drive up here,
and then think that he would take him to Evan? Just thinking about
that in logical order showed him how stupid he was. But he’d been so
desperate and at the time he’d believed he was going to prevail. Now,
in the crisp cold, he realized Xavier had put some kind of whammy on
him. Not a spell but something close. Drugs? Mind control?
Something had obscured the reality of what he was doing. But now it
was too late for him to back out.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Jump, Mr. Morgan.” Xavier was stout and had ugly, old-

fashioned muttonchops on the sides of his porcine face. His thick,
veal-colored lips had darkened considerably in the cold, making his
face even more unattractive. Perhaps in his youth he’d been striking,
but decades of anger and his sense of entitlement had cast their marks
upon him. Even though he was over one hundred and sixty years old,
he looked fifty. A hard and ugly fifty. “I don’t wish to stand here any
longer.”

“Then why don’t you just shove me over?” Tyler was judging the

distance from where Xavier stood to the edge of the cliff. Again,
unfortunately, if Tyler managed to grab a hold of Xavier, they would
end up going over the edge together.

“I already informed you that I simply cannot. If you want Evan to

live, you must make a sacrifice.”

“My life for Evan’s.”
“I’m afraid so. You see, Evan gave up his sight for you.”
Tyler shook his head and closed his eyes, but when he opened

them again, Evan was still on that bed, his beautiful body splayed out
as if Xavier were displaying him like a prized fish. Xavier had angled
the monitor inside the SUV so that Tyler could see it perfectly from
where he stood. He knew it was a live shot because he’d spoken to
Evan earlier, but then Xavier had cut the auditory link. Now all Tyler
could do was see him. God, Evan was so beautiful. The thought of
Xavier’s hands on Evan’s body sickened him.

“I don’t believe you,” Tyler said, watching Xavier’s eyes. “Evan

was always destined to be mine.”

“You heard the truth directly from Evan’s mouth.”
“Evan would have confessed to anything to get your lackey to

stop torturing him.” Someone off camera had poured hot wax onto
Evan’s bound body, causing him to scream and thrash uselessly. The
more he resisted, the closer the dripping wax came to his genitals.
“You will destroy Evan if I don’t stop you.”

“I will help Evan to become the pain-loving submissive he should

Devoted Alpha

be.” Xavier looked at the monitor in the SUV and sighed. “His body
is the perfect canvas for the infliction of pain.”

Tyler remembered that moment in the locker room, where Evan

was willingly spread before him, and Tyler had looked down at his
magnificent body wondering where to start upon such a delectable
canvas. Tyler’s goal was to give Evan the most pleasure he could, but
Xavier looked upon Evan with nothing but malice in his heart. If
Tyler died, Evan would be left in the care of a man without a soul.
But if Tyler didn’t jump, Xavier would have his lackeys continue to
torture Evan.

It was a no-win situation. Tyler understood the adage of being

between a rock and a hard place. No matter what he did, Evan was
gone from his reach. Their fire had burned hot and fast and now it
was going to be snuffed out one way or another. If Tyler didn’t kill
himself, Xavier would kill Evan. If Tyler did kill himself, Xavier was
going to keep Evan like some kind of pet and torture him into
submission. That Evan had given up his sight to bend the laws of
nature was only a testament to the depth of his love. Tyler became
just as determined to find a way out of this for the both of them, no
matter what he had to do.

Closing his eyes, Tyler tried again to connect mentally to Evan.

Pushing and shoving through the thick armor of fear, the tragic
uselessness that consumed him, Tyler felt the frayed edge of that lone
thread that had connected them flutter about, the two ends—one from
him, one from Evan—touch, and twine together. It was the briefest of
contact, but it was enough for Tyler to give Evan a mental picture
before the thread broke apart again.

Saying “I love you” would have taken too long, so Tyler gave

Evan the image of him making love to him. Slow and sweet, Tyler
kissed every bit of Evan’s body. Stroking him with the greatest of
care showed him how he felt without words. Tyler ensured his entire
form was fully aroused before he parted his legs and joined their
bodies. Evan embraced him with his powerful arms and legs, clinging

Anitra Lynn McLeod

to him as Tyler rocked to the beat of their hearts. Rising in a slow yet
inevitable way, their climaxes erupted simultaneously, further binding
their bodies.

And then, from their encounter in the locker room, Tyler

remembered looking into the mirror and for the first time seeing
beyond his looks. Without sight, Evan had forced Tyler to see beyond
the physical. In that moment, Tyler had seen his own soul.

“My soul is bright.”
“I beg your pardon?” Xavier straightened his double-breasted

coat.

“My soul is bright while yours is a cesspool.” Tyler lunged for

Xavier, grasped the front of his fitted woolen coat, and pulled him
over the edge.

“You fool, you’ve killed us both!” Xavier clung to him as if that

would save him from the rocks waiting far below.

Tyler knew he would have to make a sacrifice to save Evan. In a

split-second he decided that he would gladly give his life for Evan’s.
Tyler loved him that much. Taking Xavier with him into that long
goodnight was the only way to ensure no more harm would come to
Evan. Without Xavier to pay them and prompt them, his lackeys
would have no reason to continue torturing Evan. He would be free.
And maybe someday, after Evan had lived a very long and very
blissful life, they would be reunited.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 10

Evan used his shoulders to wipe the tears from his eyes. Never in

his life had he felt such pain. The bastards had sensitized his skin with
menthol lotion so that when they poured the wax, the heat stung him
threefold. Evan remembered reading about lovers using hot wax as a
form of erotic torture, but this was about inflicting pain.

His mind was a jumble of confusion. In the room in which he lay

he heard five sets of distinct footfalls, but not a one sounded like
Creepy. When Evan had heard Tyler’s voice, his relief had been so
profound he’d started to cry. Evan thought Tyler had come to save
him. But then Creepy had demanded he confess what he’d done to get
Tyler.

“Tell him, Evan. If you love him, he deserves to hear the truth.”
“Leave him alone, Xavier. This is between you and I.” Tyler’s

voice was strong, and Evan could picture him standing with his feet
apart, like a fighter.

And so Creepy had a name. Xavier. But Evan didn’t think it suited

the man as much as Creepy did. From the sound of their voices, Evan
realized they weren’t in the room with him, but somewhere outside.
So the five men he’d heard and smelled milling about the room must
be Xavier’s hired men.

Evan refused to tell Tyler what he’d done with a veritable

audience of men he didn’t know listening. And that’s when the wax
dripping had begun in earnest. The longer he resisted, the closer the
pouring wax came to his cock and balls. If they had shriveled up any
more, they would have crawled inside his body. Desperate to stop the
burning, splattering pain, Evan had cried out the truth to make the

Anitra Lynn McLeod

torture stop.

In halting fragments, Evan had told Tyler everything, starting with

after that party in high school. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you and
how you refused to take advantage of me.”

“You were too young.”
“I realize that now, but it was more than the physical pleasure we

shared. There was something deeper there, but I couldn’t name it.”
Evan never had been able to pin a name to the powerful allure that
drew him to Tyler.

“Get on with the point,” Xavier interjected. “That you became

determined to follow Tyler to Twin Pines as quickly as you possibly
could by applying yourself and graduating a year early.”

“Yes.” Evan remembered his single-minded pursuit of his goal.
“Tell him about the woman.”
“Woman?” Tyler sounded utterly astounded.
“She was a psychic.” Evan’s disbelief about her abilities was

erased when she knew about Tyler and revealed Tyler was destined
for greatness. “She’s the one who told me there was no room in your
life for me.”

“Aw, Evan, there always was—”
“And in your determination to change that, what did you do,

Evan? Tell Tyler what you did.” Xavier didn’t want this to be a
reaffirmation of their feelings. Xavier wanted this confession to drive
an emotional wedge between them.

“She said to alter the true path of your heart, I had to make a

tremendous sacrifice. And I swore I was willing to give up my sight.
In the very next game I played I was injured, my sight was gone, and
I’d won a scholarship to Twin Pines.” As soon as the confession left
his lips, his soul felt lighter. “I’m sorry for what I’ve done.”

“Don’t be.” Tyler didn’t sound angry. “I love you, Evan. I don’t

know what that woman told you, but you were—are my destiny.”

“But my sight—”
“Was lost in an accident during a football game. It happens.”

Devoted Alpha

Had Evan convinced himself he’d changed fate when everything

that had happened had been destined all along? Right now he was so
confused he couldn’t think straight.

“You found out about the bear-shifting brotherhood because that

information was there all along, waiting for the right time to come
into your mind,” Tyler said. “That happened to me in your room.”

“Enough!” Xavier had cried, cutting them off.
Evan realized Xavier’s plan had backfired. He’d thought Tyler

would be enraged, but he wasn’t. Tyler didn’t believe Evan had
changed fate at all. What had happened happened because that was
the path they were destined to take. All Evan had done was speed
things along by graduating a year ahead of schedule. As quickly as his
joy and relief surged, it ebbed away. What did it matter now? Xavier
was going to kill Tyler. Evan didn’t know how, but he pictured
somewhere high and cold given the sound of the wind that competed
with Tyler’s voice. The sound-shape felt like Tyler stood at the edge
of a terrifying void.

And then there was nothing but him alone with the five men. They

drifted away from him and talked quietly amongst themselves,
speculating about when Xavier would be back and if they would get
to watch him claim Evan.

One of the men had toyed with the idea of playing with Evan, but

another had slapped the idea down fast. “He paid a lot of money for
us to watch him. If we fuck this up by fucking him up, we aren’t
going to get the payout, so find something else to stick your dick in.”

Relived that he didn’t have to figure out a way to fight off five

guys while he was bound, Evan was still in a twist over Tyler. What
was Xavier going to do? Had that been the last time Evan would ever
speak to Tyler?

Into his mind came the image of Tyler making the slowest,

sweetest love to him. Their mouths, hands, and breaths mingled until
they were so intimately joined they were practically one. In this
magical way, Tyler said he loved Evan without speaking a word.

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Sadly, Evan realized Tyler was also saying good-bye. Before Evan
could respond, the tentative connection was broken.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 11

Tyler was falling.
Wind whipped the tears from his eyes, but they were tears of joy.

He’d beaten Xavier at his own game. Moreover, he’d been able to
love Evan one last time and say good-bye.

In the dark, Tyler couldn’t tell how far the ground was. He only

knew that neither one of them would survive a fall from this great
height. In the only way he could, Tyler had defended his twin, proved
the depth of his devotion, and his heart and soul were at peace.

“I’m not letting go.”
Howling wind muffled the voice, but not enough to shake the

familiarity from the sound. Tyler knew this man’s voice. Not well, but
he wasn’t a stranger, either. If his mind wasn’t so fuddled by
everything that had happened he knew he’d recognize him in an
instant. The only thing Tyler knew for certain was the voice didn’t
belong to Xavier because he could hear him screaming as they fell.

“You two are the closest I’ve come to feeling, to knowing what it

is to be bound and twinned. There is no way in hell I’m letting either
one of you go.”

“Dylan?” As soon as Tyler said his name, he recognized his voice.
“Can you feel me?” Mentally Dylan’s hand was reaching out,

flailing, trying desperately to connect.

“Yes.” When Tyler mentally reached out his own hand, Dylan

was there to clasp, and pull.

“Hold on.”
Tyler’s falling body was pulled through a vortex of time and

space, light and dark, sound and silence until Tyler had no idea where

Anitra Lynn McLeod

or when he was. His body felt heavy and...hairy. A thousand smells
exploded in his brain, and when Tyler opened his eyes, the world
appeared to be tilted at a strange angle.

“Tyler?”
Tyler instantly recognized Evan’s voice, but not where it came

from. “Evan?”

“I’m here!”
Evan was here with him, all around him, in him.
“Oh, God, we shifted!” Tyler could barely contain his joy. Rather

than dying at the end of a long fall, he’d been yanked into a bear form
with Evan. The closeness he’d felt when they’d bonded and twinned
was nothing compared to this. Every cell they possessed was fused
together. Nothing could come close to the sheer intimacy of this form.

“I can see!” Evan cried, turning their bear head this way and that,

which increased Tyler’s disorientation. “And the smells!”

Tyler was overwhelmed by the smell of hot wax but that scent

clarified where he was. Now their oddly tilted orientation made sense.
He and Evan had shifted into their bear form on top of the bed that
Evan had been bound to. His bonds had exploded apart, and their
weight had shifted them on the silk, which collapsed the top legs of
the bed.

Across the expansive room, five very shocked men peered at them

with enormous eyes.

“Are those the fuckers who were tormenting you?” Blood lust

rose in Tyler even before Evan gave him an affirmative answer.

Opening their mouth, they let loose a growling roar.
One guy wet himself, another screamed, but when a third tried to

run for the door, Tyler and Evan were on them in a flash. Huge paws
with massive claws made quick work of the five men. As they snarled
and snapped, there was a familiar smell that sparked a memory.

“The equipment truck.” Tyler remembered the smell that had

been in there. Something beyond the smell of blood and fear.

“Where Danny was killed,” Evan supplied.

Devoted Alpha

“These were the men responsible.” Tyler knew it down to his

soul. That smell was a part of their collective memory. Now that
they’d shifted, they found other bits of memories that were shared by
their sloth.

“No wonder we hadn’t been able to stop our instincts to kill

them.” Evan looked down at the bloody remains. Neither he nor Tyler
felt any guilt. They were normal men who had been paid to kill
Danny to stop the formation of a new sloth around Danny’s
leadership. They’d also been paid to watch and torture Evan while
Xavier disposed of Tyler. Through their instant communication, Tyler
now knew everything Xavier had told Evan, and vice versa.

“I thought my craving to kill them was because of what they had

done to you.” Tyler wondered how the local law would explain the
bear mauling of five men in what appeared to be a rather upscale
cabin.

“That, too.” Evan joined him in wondering how this would shake

out.

“Are you okay?” Tyler mentally wrapped his arms around Evan.
“I am now.”
“And Dylan, where is he?”
“He was right outside. Once he was close to me, he was able to

connect us.”

Getting out the front door was difficult with their enormous bear

body, but they managed. And there was Dylan, standing on the porch.
Looking alternately pleased with himself and a little afraid, Dylan
warily eyed their progress toward him.

“He found me by tracking my energy signature,” Evan explained.

“When Xavier drugged me, he shut off my connection to you, but not
the one I had to Dylan.”

“Is that how Xavier could read our thoughts?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah. Xavier forced himself to be the nexus between us with a

drug. It’s also how he was able to track some of the future members
of the new sloth down.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“Like you and Danny.” Tyler was beginning to piece it all

together.

“He said there was a third, too, but I don’t know who.”
“Maybe now it doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe.”
Tyler snickered as he turned their attention. “Dylan looks ready to

wet himself.”

“Hey, remember, I helped.” Dylan lifted his hands in a classic

pose of surrender.

Evan lowered their head and bumped Dylan’s belly, letting out a

low, whimpering growl.

Dylan lowered his hand and scratched them behind the ears.
Tyler and Evan closed their eyes, luxuriating in the feel of his

strong fingers.

“Hey,” Dylan said. “I guess Derek was right. Bears do like to be

scratched behind the ears.”

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 12

“So your sight has been totally restored?” Derek waved his hand

in front of Evan’s face.

“Yes, you load, so back off.” Evan gave Derek a shove, pushing

him into Brandon’s lap.

“Ooof! You’re heavier than you look.” Brandon didn’t seem to

mind as he wrapped his arms around Derek. Brandon tightened his
grip when Derek tried to rise. “No, leave everyone alone. You’re
staying here.”

“Fine.” Derek pouted for about two seconds. “Hey, do you have

any more of that cognac?”

“Boozer.” Brandon rolled his eyes but handed Derek his bulbous

glass.

“There is plenty for everyone as this is a celebration.” Phillip

Remson was hosting the sloth party at his rather palatial estate that
overlooked the Twin Pines valley. The group of them, nine in total,
were gathered in what Phillip affectionately called the grand parlor.
There was a smaller parlor off the foyer, but this one was big enough
so that all of the men could sit comfortably with their twins.

All but Dylan.
Sitting alone, Dylan didn’t seem any less a part of the group. He’d

been given a glimpse of how incredibly important he was to all of
them. Dylan now firmly believed Danny’s prediction that his time to
bond and twin would come. For once, he was at ease, his almost
crushing shyness shrugged off, around them at least. How he dealt
with rumors at school was another matter entirely.

“I don’t care what anyone thinks,” Dylan said, enjoying his

Anitra Lynn McLeod

position nearest the table of finger foods.

“But they think you’re homophobic,” Ryan said.
“So?” Dylan took a long drink of his foamy beer. “They also think

I’m stupid. It only matters to me what you guys think.”

“Well,” Evan said, holding his beer aloft, “I for one think you are

amazing.”

“I’ll second that,” Tyler said, lifting his beer and clicking his glass

to Evan’s.

“Hear, hear!” Phillip agreed, lifting his wine in salute.
All the other men raised their cups to Dylan then drank.
After a moment of silence, it was Tyler, sitting to Evan’s back,

who asked the question on all their minds. “Who was this Xavier?”

“Ah.” Phillip finished his wine, refilled his cup, kissed Ryan’s

head, then settled himself beside Ryan on the fainting couch. “Xavier
was the nexus for the original sloth of bear shifters.”

The history the men of the sloth shared was the history of their

own sloth. They had no memories of Phillip’s sloth, the original sloth.
The memories Phillip had, for whatever reason, didn’t enter the new
sloth’s collective consciousness, so they needed him to explain.

“Richard and I had—well, dated isn’t quite the right word, as men

in 1869 didn’t date—but we were a couple, and our bond was very
strong.” Phillip cast a concerned gaze onto Ryan.

“It’s okay. I know how special Richard was to you. I’m not

jealous.” Ryan had almost died in a freak car accident, but he was
saved by the members of the sloth joining together so that he could
twin with Phillip. That was what had been going on in Denver and
why they hadn’t been able to connect as fully as they could now.
“And we all need to understand who Xavier was.”

“It was New Year’s Day in 1870 when Xavier came upon Richard

and I. He kissed me, then Richard, and breathed our breaths into one
another and twinned us. It was shocking and yet beautiful, and
Richard and I had no clue to our natures until much later.” Phillip
swirled his wine, peering into the glass. “As the year went on, Xavier

Devoted Alpha

twinned more men, and our sloth slowly grew, but there was
something wrong with Xavier. Each time he twinned a new pair, he
became ever more embittered. Xavier was convinced that he would
not be granted a partner of his own.”

Dylan’s head came up, and his gaze locked on Danny.
“No, don’t even think it, Dylan,” Phillip said, drawing Dylan’s

attention to him. “You are nothing like Xavier. You might have been
afraid, you might have even felt cheated, but you never let your own
wants overshadow what you needed to do. You have always put the
sloth first, just as your position as the nexus demands.”

Everyone agreed. Dylan had gone above and beyond the call of

his duty.

“Xavier decided that he would not twin one more set of souls until

he could have his own twin.” Phillip took a deep breath, alerting them
that what followed was not pretty. “By his refusal to perform his
function, he caused the untwinned souls tremendous pain. What was
even more horrible was that Xavier, too, suffered right along with
them.”

Dylan nodded. “When your souls are clamoring to be together, it’s

like an itch under my skin. Nothing stops it but twinning you.” Dylan
glanced over at Evan and Tyler. “You two practically made me jump
out of my hide your need was so extreme.”

Evan glanced at Tyler and grinned. “I wanted you so desperately.”
“Totally mutual.” Tyler kissed him.
Evan was grateful that Phillip started talking again or he would

have melted into Tyler’s embrace.

“As sick as it seems, Xavier enjoyed the pain he inflicted on the

untwinned couples. He was able to ignore his pain by focusing on
theirs. And from that grew his obsession with sadism.”

Evan shivered. That was how Xavier had been able to compliment

him, crave him, and hate him all in the same breath.

“Without a nexus, no pairs could be twinned, and the sloth

stagnated.” Phillip sighed. “It wasn’t long after that that the various

Anitra Lynn McLeod

couples drifted apart. We had all graduated, and it seemed it was just
life going on.”

“You never found out the purpose for your sloth?”
“Ah, well,” Phillip said with a grin. “There was one purpose that

we grasped, the sheer need for camaraderie, but I always felt there
was something beyond that. Something surprisingly simple but
elusive all the same.”

“So you don’t know what all this is for?” Danny clearly tried to

hide his disappointment, but he couldn’t, not when all the other
members seemed to feel frustration, too.

“No.” Phillip considered them each in turn. “But if we hold true to

our sloth, if we all hold to our functions, I believe we will find out in
time.”

Evan had thought all would be revealed. Still, he wasn’t

disappointed to be sitting with his sloth, in the arms of his twin,
knowing that whatever came, they would stand together.

They talked, ate, and drank, but eventually Dylan excused himself

for bed. With a storm coming and all of the men imbibing, Phillip had
insisted on opening up his home for them to spend the night. Once
Dylan left, the rest soon followed, and Evan happily took Tyler up the
stairs.

When they found their bedroom, they’d barely gotten the door

closed before they were all over each other.

“Oh, no, not this time.” Evan turned the lights on. “This time I

want to see you.”

Tyler grinned, and Evan swore he fell in love with him all over

again. When Tyler crooked his finger, Evan practically ran his
direction.

“God, you’re shaking.” Tyler pulled him close.
“It’s just that you are so unbelievably handsome.”
“Yeah?” Tyler moved back just enough to peer down at him.
“You’re better looking now than you were in high school.”

Flattening his hand, Evan skimmed his palm over the broad expanse

Devoted Alpha

of Tyler’s chest. “Bigger, stronger, hotter.” He forgot what else he
was going to say when their lips touched. Lost in his kiss, Evan barely
noticed how quickly they managed to rip each other’s clothes off.

“I want you.” Tyler grasped a hold of his buttocks, one in each

hand, and squeezed as he plastered him against his body.

“I want you,” Evan echoed. Clothed, Tyler was stunningly

handsome, but naked, he was beyond gorgeous. “I can’t tell you how
grateful I am to have my vision back.”

“Me, too.”
“Did it bother you that I was blind?”
“No, no.” Tyler slipped the bedclothes down, crawled under the

hunter-green sheets, then pulled Evan in with him. “I’m just happy
that together we were able to heal you.”

“You really don’t think I changed your destiny?”
“I know you didn’t.” Tyler eased him onto his back then kissed

his way down Evan’s chest. “We were always destined to be together.
Always.”

When Tyler wrapped his lips around his cock and sucked gently,

Evan had to believe him. Frankly, he couldn’t disagree mainly
because he had no breath, not that he would argue even if he could
talk. Tyler licked and sucked until Evan was right at the edge of
losing control.

“Ah, yeah, that’s the sound I was listening for.” Tyler rose up and

settled himself across Evan’s upper thighs. “To have you look at me
while I torment—” Tyler’s playful mood vanished in an instant.
“Shit.” He climbed off him and turned away.

“Why did you stop?” Evan sat up and placed his hand on Tyler’s

back.

“After what that asshole did to you—”
“Oh, God, Tyler, that has nothing to do with what you and I do

together.”

Over his shoulder, Tyler cast him a guilty, blue-eyed gaze.
“What Xavier did was sick,” Evan explained. “Xavier hurt me to

Anitra Lynn McLeod

please himself and to make me do what he wanted me to do. You
aren’t hurting me.” Evan kissed Tyler’s shoulder. “You tease me to
please me. You make it all about me. That’s so completely different
there’s no comparison at all. Please don’t let Xavier continue to hurt
us from beyond the grave.”

Tyler turned and faced him. “I just don’t want you to think I

would ever do something like that.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Teasing me for my pleasure isn’t the same

as torturing me for your own pleasure. My pain doesn’t turn you on.”

“Not in the least.” Tyler gripped his hand. “When Xavier’s man

was pouring that wax on you, I wanted to kill him.”

Evan touched his chest, but the marks were gone, healed when

they’d transformed, just like his busted lip, and his eyesight. So far,
that was the only advantage anyone in the group saw for why they
could shift. Bear form allowed them to share physical resources, like
healing ability. It was Tyler who pointed out the other advantage, that
shifting at the right time could save one of the twins from death, like
his truncated fall.

“I felt your anger, your fury,” Evan said. “I couldn’t see you when

Xavier forced me to confess, but I felt you.”

“I would have stopped it if I could have.”
“I know.” Evan pushed on Tyler’s shoulder.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Tyler lifted a mischievous

brow.

“Turnabout is fair play.” Evan didn’t stop until he had Tyler on

his back with his hands up. “I think it’s my turn to tease you.”

“Is that so?” Tyler watched as Evan kissed his way down his

chest.

Taking a page from Tyler’s book, Evan breathed out against his

cock and balls, teasing him with the moist heat of his breath. When
Tyler had done that to him, he’d almost passed out. It was like the
softest, slyest touch in the world.

“God, Evan, that—you—hell. I’m not going to last.”

Devoted Alpha

“No? How sad.” Evan looked Tyler right in the eye then swiped

his tongue across the tip of his prick.

“Fuck!” Tyler flexed all his muscles to hold still.
“Would you like me to do that?”
“What? Oh, that? Yeah.” Tyler reached down and pulled Evan up.

“I’d love it if you did that.”

“Really?” Evan was surprised.
“Yeah. Why? Did you think I only liked to top?”
“Well, with the whole alpha and omega thing, I guess I stupidly

assumed.”

“Never assume.” Tyler eagerly parted his legs around Evan’s hips

and pulled him close. “I would love to have you fuck me.”

“Yeah?” In addition to his fantasies of Tyler claiming him, Evan

had always wished he could claim Tyler. He wouldn’t be the first, but
he intended to be the last.

“Oh, yeah.” Kissing him with a slow, wanton grace, Tyler reached

between their bodies and stroked Evan’s cock. “I can’t wait to feel
you inside me.”

Just the thought of sliding his cock into Tyler’s sweet ass almost

made Evan climax. Knowing that he could watch himself do that
caused pre-cum to leak from his cock in anticipation.

“That night, at the party, I wanted you to be my first, but when I

found out how young you were, I just—”

“Whoa, wait a minute.” Evan lifted up. “Are you telling me that

you’re a virgin?”

“There I am.” Tyler blushed. “Everywhere else I’m not.”
Evan knew his eyes went wide.
“What? Did you think I was some kind of manslut?”
“No, but I just—I—oh, Tyler!” Evan dropped his weight on him,

kissing him passionately. Claiming Tyler in turn was just the ultimate
cherry on top of everything else he’d been granted. And just as
suddenly he was nervous as hell. “Oh, God, Tyler, I don’t want to
hurt you.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

“You won’t, Evan. I trust you.” Tyler lifted his hands up over his

head. “Just go slow.”

“Like you did.”
“Like I did.”
Evan glanced at the bedside table and frowned.
“Check the drawer.”
Rolling over, Evan pulled open the drawer and found a bottle of

lube. “We have the most thoughtful host.”

“We do indeed.”
As Evan peered at Tyler, he blinked rapidly, almost stunned to see

what he saw.

“What?”
“I swear, it’s like you’re glowing.” Evan kissed him and worked

his way back down to his cock. “Like I can see the brightness of your
soul.”

Tears filled Tyler’s eyes. Rather than explaining with words,

Tyler pushed an image into Evan’s mind, the image of Tyler looking
into the mirror before he’d claimed Evan and saw his soul for the first
time. Evan understood in a flash of insight. And rather than fucking
Tyler, he proceeded to make the most gentle love to him he could.

Devoted Alpha

Chapter 13

Tyler was pleased he didn’t have to explain what he wanted from

Evan with words because they would have failed him completely. But
with their mental connection, all he had to do was think, and Evan
knew.

With a slow hand and seductive eyes, Evan worked his beautiful

mouth all over Tyler’s cock and balls. With a thought, Evan told him
to lift and spread his legs, and Tyler did, holding himself open by
cupping his hands behind his knees.

Evan licked his way down then teased the pointed tip of his

tongue around the sensitive flesh of Tyler’s bottom. Evan’s detailed
attention caused Tyler’s head to roll back, and that was when he
noticed the mirror on the ceiling.

Rather than startle, Tyler grinned and watched as Evan tongued

his ass until he was thrashing with need.

“I want you in me, please, Evan. I can’t wait.”
Evan lifted up, and while looking right into Tyler’s eyes, he

greased up his cock until the throbbing flesh glistened. Evan looked
up, saw himself in the mirror, then posed a little more for Tyler’s
pleasure. Watching Evan ready himself, watching the way his fist
stroked his prick, the way he licked his lips, every move Evan made
just pushed Tyler higher.

“I’m glad I waited. I am so glad I waited for you.”
With a pleased smile, Evan descended on him. Gently he placed

his cock against Tyler’s thoroughly wet and teased pucker.

“Are you ready?”
“More than.”

Anitra Lynn McLeod

Evan pushed with his hips.
In unison they uttered a growl of bliss.
Ever so slowly Evan slid his cock inside, and Tyler embraced him

with his entire body. Tyler was astounded at the raw pleasure that this
act gave him. Yes, he was vulnerable, but he felt strangely powerful
in his position. Evan, beautiful Evan, the one he’d always hungered
for, was finally claiming him.

Darting his gaze from where their bodies joined to Tyler’s eyes,

Evan made certain that Tyler was ready for each incremental thrust of
his cock. Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only
minutes, Evan was buried within Tyler’s snug heat.

They uttered another unified growl of bliss.
Mentally communicating, they rocked their bodies together, each

anticipating the other’s needs. Faster and harder and deeper until in
their fury they’d flung off all the bedclothes and were now sideways
across the width of the bed.

“God, Tyler, it’s like I can’t get deep enough.” Evan cupped his

chin, kissing him hard.

“Here.” Tyler lifted his legs onto Evan’s shoulders.
In this position, Tyler was totally vulnerable and gave Evan the

depth he longed for. With Tyler’s encouragement, Evan’s entire body
became one long muscle as he rode Tyler into a screaming orgasm.

As soon as Tyler’s cream splattered between their bellies, Evan let

his loose within Tyler’s ass. Growling and snarling, they climaxed
together then slumped exhausted across the bed.

“Damn, that was fucking incredible.”
“Or incredible fucking.” Evan rolled onto his back and met

Tyler’s gaze in the mirror.

“So no more virgin parts left on either of us?” Tyler asked with a

grin.

“Nope.” Evan flashed him a sleepy smile. “Unless ears count.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, my dick is way too big to fit in there.”
“Tyler?”

Devoted Alpha

“Yeah?”
“I love you. I know I can just show you in your head, but I wanted

to say it.”

Breaking their eye contact in the mirror, Tyler rolled until he was

looking Evan right in the eye. “I love you, too.”

“And one more thing,” Evan began but then looked away. “Damn,

I’m not sure how to say this without sounding silly.”

Tyler nudged his chin until he was looking into his eyes. “It’s

okay. I’m glad I waited for you, too.”

Relieved, Evan smiled.
Tyler grinned, and together they remade the bed. They had to do

that twice more before they finally settled down for some much-
deserved sleep.

THE END

WWW.ANITRAMCLEOD.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reading, writing, and white-water rafting are the three things

Anitra Lynn McLeod enjoys the most. You can visit her at
www.AnitraMcLeod.com.

Also by Anitra Lynn McLeod

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 1:

Powerful Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 2: Driven Alpha

Everlasting Classic ManLove: Twin Pines Grizzlies 3: Kinky Alpha

Siren Classic ManLove: Dirty Cowboy

Siren Classic: Devil’s Due

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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THE END

McLeod, Anitra Lynn [Twin Pines Grizzlies 04] Devoted Alpha

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