Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

On the Road: Sometimes family makes decisions
for you…and you just have to roll with the
punches.

Richard  Ponders  joins  the  Tamang  wolf  pack
when his younger brother, Crain, mates with one
of its members. When the pack gathers to celebrate
passing  the  alpha  mantle  from  father  to  son,
naming  Abbott  Tamang  as  alpha,  Richard
discovers  his  mate  is  part  of  the  Tamang  pack,
too…and it’s the new alpha. Sensing unrest in the
pack, Richard decides allowing the pack to settle is
the  safest  thing  for  everyone.  Unfortunately,  the
choice is taken from him when Crain asks him to
come  over  and  discuss  more  changes  in  pack
dynamics,  bringing  him  face  to  face  with  Abbott.
Now,  not  only  will  Richard  be  fighting  for  a
position in his new pack, he needs to fight for the
trust  of  a  man  he’s  been  hiding  from  for  weeks.
Can  he  and  Abbott  come  to  terms?  Or  will  the
unrest in their pack tear them apart?

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Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

ISBN: 978-1-77111-776-0

Cover art by Angela Waters

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Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Kontra’s Menagerie: Book Fifteen

Charlie Richards

Chapter One

bbott leaned against the side board and,
lifting his tumbler, watched the amber liquid

swirl around and around as he rotated the glass.
“So, I need you there, brother. I know you don’t
want any of the positions, which makes me value
your opinions all the more.”

“You never even have to ask, Abbott,” Aaric

stated, slapping him on the shoulder and grinning.
“I know you and dad have been putting it off for
decades, so I’m happy he finally stepped down.
This’ll be good for you and Diego.”

Chuckling softly, Abbott nodded. “Thanks.”
Abbott knew he hadn’t actually needed to ask,

but after being passed the alpha mantle just over a
month before, Aaric had begun to pull away.
Abbott didn’t like it and couldn’t figure out what
he’d done to cause such a reaction. At four years
Aaric’s senior, Abbott had always been close to his
brother.

“You know I still want you as my lead tracker,

and if you’d wanted an enforcer position I’d have
given it to you in a heartbeat,” Abbott stated

Charlie Richards

before swallowing most of the liquid in his glass.
The scotch burned just right as it slid down his
throat.

Aaric’s brows shot up, surprise evident in his

scent. “I don’t want to be an enforcer.”

Abbott sighed. “I didn’t think you did. You’ve

just  been  a  bit  withdrawn  lately,  ever  since  you
mated.”  Grimacing  at  how  whiney  he  sounded,
Abbott  shook  his  head.  “Sorry.  That  came  out
wrong. I know you need time alone to bond with
your mate.”

At that, Aaric exchanged looks with said mate,

Crain Ponders. The much more submissive wolf
actually ducked his head and curled tighter
against Aaric.

Damn it, I didn’t mean to make Crain feel bad.
The small wolf was just too cute to look that

dejected. “I apologize, Aaric, Crain. This is about
me and my stress over change,” he assured,
turning back to the bar and refilling his tumbler.

He rubbed his fingers between his brows,

trying  to  ease  the  frustration  headache  he  could
feel  building  behind  his  eyes.  His  father,  Diego,
had  been  Alpha  for  over  a  century  and  a
half…taking  over  when  their  grandfather,  Gorn,
had stepped down. Now, Diego wanted to do the
same.  His  father  had  actually  petitioned  Kontra
Belikov—a grizzly bear shifter who acted as Alpha
of  a  nomadic  biker  gang—requesting  to  travel

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

with them. It was the same group Abbott’s own
son, Vail, had been traveling with for over two
decades.

The group planned to leave right after the

holidays.

In the meantime, Abbott needed to hold a pack

challenge. He needed to assign the roles of beta, as
well  as  two  enforcer  positions,  to  other  members
in  the  pack.  Having  been  best  friends  with  his
brother,  Abbott  only had  two  other  close  friends,
Darrell and Pritchard.

Abbott had invited Darrell to participate in the

pack challenge. The wolf shifter was a large, fairly
aggressive wolf and loyal as hell. Abbott hoped
and prayed to the Gods that his buddy ended up
an enforcer, not really thinking he had the
aggressiveness to be beta. Shame, really.

Pritchard, on the other hand, was not in the

least bit aggressive but had one of the best noses.
When he’d told his friend he thought it best he sat
it out, Pritchard had laughed in his face, winked,
and said, “Good call, Alpha.”

Abbott had chuckled at that. Only his best

friends could get away with talking to him like
that, which was why he normally did those kinds
of conversations in private.

As he swallowed down a mouthful of scotch,

Abbott heard Crain whisper something to his
brother, but he didn’t bother to listen. If Crain was

Charlie Richards

whispering, it was private, and Abbott tried to
respect that.

Instead, he thought about his biggest

concern…Delorian Saverman. The wolf shifter
was both aggressive and mean. Abbott wished he
could have removed Delorian’s name from the
invitation list, but he couldn’t. It would have been
a recipe for alpha challenge.

In fact, Abbott mused, Delorian still might do

just that.

Abbott knew he could take the asshole wolf

shifter, but it was the principle of the thing. He
hated division among the pack and he just knew
that if Delorian challenged him, he’d have at least
four or five backers.

He could name at least that many that weren’t

happy  about  an  unmated,  bisexual  alpha.
Refusing to hide his attraction to his own sex had
been  a  tough  decision,  but  his  father  had
understood.  Especially  after  Emily  passed.  He
smiled  as  he  thought  of  his  late  wife.  She’d  have
been the first to tell him to go for what he wanted.
In  fact,  they’d  shared  a  male  on  more  than  one
occasion  before  they’d  gotten  married  and
completed the mate bond…not that anyone in the
pack—other  than  his  brother—knew  about  that
little tidbit.

“Tell him!”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Crain’s hissed words drew Abbott out of his

thoughts. He turned and lifted a brow as he
peered at the men. Crain’s face appeared flushed,
maybe from frustration. Aaric’s brows were
creased—perhaps drawn down in thought—as he
rubbed the back of his neck, a sign of his unease.

“What?” Abbott couldn’t wait to hear it. It’d

been years since he’d scented Aaric this worked
up. In fact, decades…not since his brother had
struggled to get over walking away from Melissa,
a possible mate.

Aaric’s jaw clenched for a second, then—

surprisingly—he looked Abbott directly in the eye
and  stated,  “You  need  to  invite  Crain’s  brother,
Richard,  to your  challenge.  I  think,”  he  scratched
his  five  o’clock  shadow  and  once  more  glanced
toward Crain—who nodded—then finished, “you
might be surprised.”

“Richard Ponders?” Abbott queried. He

frowned,  trying  to  put  a  face  to  the  name.  Diego
had been the one to meet with Crain and Richard
when  they’d  petitioned  to  stay  due  to  Crain’s
bond  with  Aaric.  He  couldn’t  remember  Richard
at the last full moon run three weeks ago or even
at  the  announcement  that  he  was  taking  over  as
alpha over five weeks before. “Have I met him?”

“Um, no,” Crain mumbled. “He’s, uh, he’s been

adjusting.”

Charlie Richards

“Adjusting?” Abbott wasn’t certain he wanted

someone who had a hard time with change being
one of his inner circle…especially since he didn’t
know him. It made him too hard to predict.

To Abbott’s surprise, Aaric rose and crossed to

him. He placed a hand on his arm and urged,
“Trust me.”

Never one to question his brother, Abbott

immediately nodded. “Of course. Consider him
invited.” Cocking his head, he asked, “Can I at
least meet him first?”

Aaric turned toward his mate, lifting a brow.
Crain nodded once, punched a couple numbers

on his phone, then held it to his ear. After a couple
seconds, someone must have answered, for Crain
said, “Hey, Richard. You busy?”

“Never too busy for my baby bro,” Richard

stated. Abbott was just able to make out the man’s
words with his sensitive hearing. “What’s up?”

Crain licked his lips and met Aaric’s gaze, then

said, “I’ve just learned of some changes in pack
dynamics that you’ll definitely be interested in. I
need you to come over, so I can talk to you about
them.”

“You can’t tell me over the phone?” Richard

asked, sounding surprised.

“I-I think it’d be better if I could tell you face to

face.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“Damn, bro, must be serious. I’ll be there in

ten.”

Crain slowly lowered his arm, resting the

phone  on  his  leg.  The  submissive  wolf  looked
Abbott in the eye just long enough for him to feel
his  own  wolf  rise  at  the  challenge.  Abbott  beat  it
back.  He  did  narrow  his  eyes  a  bit  as  he  slowly
stalked across the room. For some reason, Abbott
just  knew  these  men  had  kept  something  from
him…although, hell if he knew what.

Stopping in front of Crain, Abbott crossed his

arms over his chest and asked gruffly, “How come
I feel like something important is going on? Even
my wolf is on edge.” Not something he’d admit to
most, but this was his brother and his mate. If he
couldn’t admit his unease to family, who the hell
could he trust?

Aaric settled back next to Crain, pushing a

tumbler of dark liquid into his man’s hands. Crain
took it, smiling wanly at him, then sipped, only to
grimace. The shifter took a second sip.

Finally, Crain licked his lips and stated softly, “I

need to tell you about my past before Richard
arrives. It might explain why he did what he did.”

Abbott felt confusion flood him, but willing to

listen before passing judgment—on what he had
no clue, yet—he settled into a chair and motioned
for Crain to go on.

Charlie Richards

“My old alpha, Preston, was a controlling man.

Ruled with an iron fist,” Crain explained. “If you
didn’t  remain  in  step,  you  were  punished.  If  you
didn’t ask how high when he said jump, you were
punished.  Everyone  walked  on  eggshells  around
him,  cow-towing  and  on  edge.”  Crain  took
another sip, then frowned into his drink.

“The only thing Preston respected was

strength…and  since  he  was  a  pretty  powerful
wolf,  there  wasn’t  anyone  who  could  challenge
him.”  He  fell  silent  for  several  seconds.  His  lips
pressed  together.  Lifting  his  gaze,  Crain  actually
met  his  gaze  and  clearly  stated,  “Richard  is  a
damn  strong  wolf.  He  won  Preston’s  favor.  He
was an enforcer by the age of forty. Some people
didn’t like that, so they used the fact that I’m gay
to  get  me  kicked  out  of  the  pack.  We’re  the  only
family  each  other  has,  and  we’re  pretty  loyal.
Richard  followed  when  I  had  to  leave,  trying  to
protect me.”

Abbott tried to make sense of Crain’s words,

wondering why he needed to know this. Rubbing
his temple with two fingers, he slowly asked, “Are
you telling me Richard is a young alpha, hovering
on the outskirts of my pack?”

“No!” Crain almost shouted. He jumped to his

feet and actually started pacing the floor. “No,
Richard isn’t an alpha. He’s…” Crain growled low
in his throat and shoved a hand through his hair.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Swinging back around, the wolf stated, “He
doesn’t want to lead. He just hates taking orders
from those weaker than him.”

Frowning, his jaw clenching at this sudden, odd

development, Abbott snapped, “Then, how come
he hasn’t declared himself?”

Once again, Aaric and Crain exchanged a

glance.

This time, Abbott growled, tired of their little

mate secrets. “What the fuck, Aaric?” he snarled,
zeroing in on his brother.

“Please,” Crain quickly cut in. “Please, wait.

After everything Richard did for me, I couldn’t
betray his trust. Please, just wait until he arrives.”
Crain rung his hands as he glanced between
Abbott and the door. “You’ll understand when he
arrives.”

Abbott knew he wasn’t known as the most

patient man…something he was working on.
Clearing his throat, he downed the last swallow of
his beverage and set the tumbler aside. “Very
well.” He frowned at his brother. “Don’t make me
eat my words about my faith in you.”

To that, Aaric chuckled low in his throat. “Oh,

you won’t. You’ll like this surprise.”

Crain snarled at Aaric, whapping his chest with

the back of his hand.

Charlie Richards

Abbott’s brows shot up. He’d never before seen

Crain behave aggressively. What the hell is going

on?

Before he could question more, the doorbell

chimed. At the same time, someone knocked
loudly—pounded really—on the front door.
Evidently, Richard had arrived.

Crain leaped to his feet and scampered across

to the front. He yanked open the door, mumbling,
“Sorry for the crash landing.”

Abbott frowned at the odd comment. He

watched  Crain’s  brother  enter  the  room…and
swallowed hard at the sexy hunk of wolf shifter—
naked wolf shifter, indicating Richard had come in
shifted form—that appeared in the hallway. Tall—
maybe six foot two—broad-shouldered with thick
muscles  and  well-defined  arms  and  pecs—good
Gods,  is  that  an  eight-pack?—even  most  shifters
didn’t have that!

Richard had thick strawberry-blond hair, deep

blue eyes, and a body any wolf shifter would be
proud of.

However, it was the scent of the man that truly

sent  Abbott  reeling.  Heavy,  masculine,  and  spicy
flavors  burst  across  Abbott’s  senses.  Even  as
Richard  took  the  sweats  Crain  handed  him,  his
head snapped around and he pinned his gaze on
Abbott.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Abbott’s eyes widened as he peered into

shocked,  yet  knowing,  blue  eyes.  Then,  Richard
broke  the  stare  and  aimed  a  betrayed  glare  at
Crain.  The  look  told  Abbott  a  couple  things  at
once.

Richard Ponders was his mate…and Richard

had known.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Two

ichard wanted to howl in excitement, snarl at
his brother, and present to Abbott, all at the

same  time.  He’d  been  keeping  his  distance  from
his  alpha  for  over  four  weeks  now—ever  since
he’d  scented  Abbott  in  his  brother’s  home  and
realized  who  and  what  he  was  to  him—and  his
nerves were stretched taught.

Now, because of Crain’s urgent call, Richard

stood face to face with the man…finally.
Swallowing hard, Richard quickly shoved his legs
into the sweats and yanked them up to cover his
growing arousal. Not that he could hide the scent,
but still…

As soon as he was covered, he lowered his gaze

and presented his neck to the alpha wolf, and
nearly croaked, “Alpha.”

Abbott growled low in his throat, the sound

going straight to Richard’s balls. His cock filled as
he watched his sexy alpha stalk slowly toward
him, the man’s deep hazel eyes blazing.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“You call me alpha,” Abbott rumbled. “Yet, you

know I’m your mate. How did you know? We’ve
never met.”

Richard slowly lifted his gaze and peered at

him  beneath  his  lashes.  “We  haven’t,  but  you’re
here often enough. I scented you…weeks ago,” he
admitted.  The  fire  sparking  in  Abbott’s  eyes
warned  Richard  to  watch  his  step.  Deciding  he
needed  to  be  completely  honest  at  this  point,  he
added, “You’d just been passed the alpha  mantel
by your father. Since Crain and I  had just joined,
we remained on the outskirts.”

Meeting his alpha’s gaze carefully—hell, the

guy  might  be  his  mate,  but  the  conflicting  scents
rolling  off  the  man  told  of  his  inner  turmoil—
Richard  struggled  to  explain  his  reasoning.
“Seeing  you  from  a  distance,  I  definitely  felt
attracted  to  you.  It  wasn’t  until  I  watched  your
brother hug you, then return to me and Crain, and
I caught your scent, that I realized why. You’re my
mate.”

“And you decided to hide this from

me…why?” Abbott’s tone held clear warning.

Part of Richard wanted to pounce on the man,

wrestle with him, challenge the other shifter’s wolf
just for the thrill. He also knew getting wrestled to
the ground by this man would be fantastic
foreplay.

Charlie Richards

Later, he promised his randy dick and excited

wolf.

Swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth,

Richard  softly  replied,  “There  is  unrest  in  your
pack.  A  few  people  aren’t  happy  with  Diego
handing you the reins, thinking an alpha challenge
was in order, instead. I didn’t want the bigots I’ve
overheard  to  add  to  the  problems  you  might
possibly be facing.”

“Protecting me?” Abbot murmured, his brows

lifting. “Is that your intention?”

“Yes.” It was a simple thing to admit, yet, he

knew his alpha deserved more. “I was an enforcer
in  my  birth  pack  for  several  years,”  Richard
explained, trying to control his desires. Abbott had
stopped directly in front of him. With the wall at
Richard’s back, he began to feel trapped, cornered,
and  he  struggled  to  control  his  need  to  move
closer  to  Abbott—or  step  sideways  from  the
man—or even push into him—just to alleviate that
sensation. He’d never liked being cornered.

All those options could cause trouble.
Needing to get some space before he did

something  stupid,  he  blurted  the  first  thing  that
came to mind that  might  appease his alpha. “I’m
already used to controlling unrest. When you add
that to you being my mate, I thought only to lower
the  possibility  of  problems  for  you.  That  meant

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

waiting until your people settled before revealing
myself.”

Unfortunately, Abbott didn’t back off at his

words.  He  stepped  closer,  pressing  his  big  body
against  Richard.  Sucking  in  a  harsh  breath,
Richard’s  mind  reeled  as  his  man’s  scent  flooded
his  senses.  His  cock  thickened  in  his  borrowed
sweats.  Abbott  pinned  him  to  the  wall,  nudging
him with his groin.

Richard hissed at the contact, his prick oozing.

Spikes of pleasure tingled in his balls and danced
up  his  spine.  It’d  been  so  long  since  he’d  been
intimate  with  another.  It’d  been  so  hard  keeping
his  wolf  in  check.  Now,  breathing  in  the  other
male’s earthy and wild scent, he feared he’d come
without even a touch.

Abbott, while only an inch taller than Richard,

seemed to tower over him as he leaned in and
settled his weight against him. His eyes gleaming,
Abbott’s gaze roved over Richard’s face, his focus
lingering on his mouth for several long seconds.
Richard fought the urge to lick his lips. Finally, the
alpha pinned him in place with a solemn stare.

“Even before we meet, you hide things from

me,  Richard,”  he  rumbled,  his  displeasure  clear.
“You  should  have  come  to  me,  expressed  your
concerns. Then, we could deal with the interlopers
together,  as  mates  should,  by  standing  at  each
other’s sides.”

Charlie Richards

Said like that, Richard could certainly see

Abbott’s point of view. “Shit.”

Before he could think up how to fix his mistake,

Abbott  chuckled  low  in  his  throat.  The  move
vibrated  Richard’s  chest,  sliding  the  fabric  of
Abbott’s  t-shirt  over  his  skin.  Richard’s  nipples
beaded. The skin on his arms goose-bumped.

When Abbott traced his thin, dry lips up his

neck,  Richard  shivered  and  tilted  his  neck,
exposing  his  throat.  His  alpha  nipped  his  tendon
lightly,  then  crooned,  “You  made  a  mistake,
Richard.”

It wasn’t a question, but his name spoken by

Abbott in that deep croon, nearly fried his brain.
“Yesss,” he hissed.

“And you won’t do that again, will you, mate?”
Abbott’s sultry tone caused Richard to want to

agree to anything the man said. “No, mate,” he
murmured.

“Good,” Abbott whispered, nuzzling his neck,

licking and nipping. “We’re a team, aren’t we?”

“T-Team.” Richard panted, barely holding in

his  moan  as  he  submitted  to  this  man.  Losing
some  control,  he  bucked  his  hips,  searching  for
friction  on  his  aching  shaft.  Abbott  didn’t
disappoint.  He  slid  his  jean-clad  leg  between
Richard’s thighs, pushing up against his balls.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Abbott chuckled roughly. “Later, lover. Gonna

mark you now. I’ll ride your ass into submission
later,” he growled.

He’d never admit it, but Richard whimpered.
Rumbling low in his throat, Abbott wrapped

his jaws around the point where Richard’s
shoulder met his neck.

Richard shivered at the pressure. He rested his

head against the wall, giving Abbott more access.
His breath came in harsh pants, anticipation
making his blood hum and his cock twitch.

“Abbott, wait.”
The alpha’s growl registered more to Richard

than Aaric’s warning cry.

It was Crain’s words that really cut through

Richard’s lust-induced haze. “Alpha, please,”
Crain pleaded. “You can’t mark him before the
challenge.”

Wait, what? Challenge?
Abbott lifted his head and snarled. He glared at

Aaric and Crain where the two men stood to their
left. It gave Richard just enough time to engage his
brain…and

his

mouth…and

ask,

“Wait!

Challenge? You’re being challenged?”

He really thought he’d been doing a good job

keeping an eye on the outer crowd. He’d even had
some  asshat  named  Delorian  approach  him  in  a
bar,  wanting  to  know  more  about  him  and  his
opinion  of  the  new  alpha.  It’d  been  tough,  and

Charlie Richards

he’d had to keep his answers short to avoid lying
and smelling of deceit, but he’d been fairly certain
he’d managed it. Especially when Delorian had
smelled smug as he patted Richard on the
shoulder when he left, promising to be in touch.

“Did Delorian challenge you?”
That caused Abbott’s gaze to refocus on him.

“No. No one has challenged me, and Delorian
would be a fool to try.” His eyes narrowed. “Why
do you ask? Do you know him?”

“I’ve met him a handful of times,” Richard

admitted. “I’ve met a number of the dissenters in
this pack. Refusing to seek you out got around, so
they thought I’d be interested in, well…” He
grimaced. “They misunderstood why I was
avoiding you.”

“Really?” Abbott glared. “And when were you

planning on telling me any of this?”

Richard blinked, struggling with the sudden

change in his mate. “Once I found out their plans,”
he stated.

Frustration rolled off Abbott, his scent turning

slightly bitter. His jaw clenched as he stared at
some point just over Richard’s shoulder.

Wanting, needing, to soothe his man, Richard

lifted  one  hand  and  settled  it  on  Abbott’s
shoulder.  Then,  he  slid  it  up  his  neck  to  his  jaw.
Even  as  Abbott  focused  on  him,  Richard  gently

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

traced his thumb over the top of his alpha’s firm
lips.

“I didn’t want to point fingers if they were all

talk and no action,” Richard told him. “I’m new in
this pack, so had no way of knowing if Delorian
really was a trouble maker, or just a wolf who
liked to blab his mouth.”

Abbott held his gaze for several long seconds,

searching  his  face  even  as  his  nostrils  flared,
telling Richard that  he inhaled his scent.  That his
mate  thought  he  might  intentionally  lie  to  him
hurt,  but  considering  the  last  twenty  minutes,  he
understood the reaction.

“Okay, I understand your reasoning.”
Relief filled him…until he remembered the

comment about challenges. “So, if he didn’t
challenge you, who did?”

“No one challenged me,” Abbott explained.

“I’m  holding  a  pack  rank  challenge.  I  plan  to
invite  about  ten  members.  There’s  only  twenty-
three  members  in  the  pack,  so  that’s  about  half,”
he admitted.

“A rank challenge,” Richard murmured, his

mind awash with hope. He hadn’t thought he’d
get the opportunity to gain a pack rank for…well,
decades. “Just enforcers? Or others as well?”

“Actually, I need a beta as well as hopefully

two enforcers,” Abbott told him. “While my
father’s inner circle has been working with me,

Charlie Richards

they’d prefer to move on with their lives, as well.
They’re not getting any younger, and I haven’t
earned their respect as my father had.” He lifted a
brow, even as his lips thinned. “I understand their
reasoning and appreciate their honesty.”

Richard nodded slowly, knowing he’d need to

do some research on the wolves in the pack, their
strengths  and  weaknesses.  He  hoped  Abbott,
Crain,  and  in-laws  would  help.  Surely  they
wouldn’t begrudge him now that they knew what
the  hell  was  going  on.  He  actually  kinda  liked
Adriana,  his  brother’s  sister-in-law—and  his,  too
now, he guessed, since she was Aaric and Abbott’s
sister. He’d hung out with her a couple of times at
Aaric  and  Crain’s,  and  the  strong  female  wolf
gave him shit, which he returned whole-heartedly.

“Can I get a list of who else will be at the

challenge?” Richard asked.

“Why?”
Richard’s brows shot up at Abbott’s apparent

confusion.  He  cocked  his  head,  frowning.
“Because  I  need  to  know  who  I’m  going  to  be
facing.  It’d  be  nice  to  know  at  least  a  few  things
about  them  and  their  wolves  beforehand,”  he
pointed out.

“You’re not entering the challenge,” Abbott

stated flatly.

Releasing the man, Richard placed his hands on

Abbott’s chest and shoved. It gained him maybe

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

two feet of space as his alpha backed several steps.
Richard glared, first at Abbott, then at Crain and
Aaric. “Then, what the fuck am I doing here?”

Abbott snarled and grabbed Richard’s upper

arm. “What the hell do you mean? You’re my
mate. That makes you the alpha-mate. You don’t
need to fight for position!”

Richard returned his attention back to Abbott.

He licked his lips, taking in his alpha’s fierce
expression and blazing eyes. It was sexy as hell, as
was the dominant curl to his lips. It took a hell of a
lot to keep his tone level as he asked, “And what
rank does the alpha-mate hold in your pack?”

His alpha actually looked confused, his brows

creasing as he replied, “He doesn’t. He’s the
alpha-mate.”

Blowing out a breath, Richard shook his head.

“I  don’t  think  me  or  my  wolf  would  handle  that
very  well.  We’re  too  dominant.”  He  shook  his
head again. “If the beta’s wolf wasn’t as strong as
mine,  or  the  enforcer’s,  how  do  you  think  that
would  work?  I’d  never  follow  their  commands,
which  would  create  all  kinds  of  discord  in  the
pack.”

“You could try,” Abbott pointed out.
Richard snorted. “And you could try taking

orders from me.” At Abbott’s shocked expression,
Richard placed his hand on his man’s shoulder

Charlie Richards

and squeezed. “Look, we’re all wired with our
wolf. You of all people understand that.”

“Shit,” Abbott snarled. “I don’t want to see my

people trying to rip out your throat.”

His brows shot up. “Aren’t these to

submission?”

“You know what I mean,” he snapped.
“Then, you’d better back away from him,”

Aaric advised.

Both he and Abbott turned to stare

incredulously at the other wolf. “Why?” they both
asked nearly in unison.

Crain reached out and grabbed Richard’s

fingers, gently tugging Richard away just as Aaric
did the same by resting an arm around Abbott’s
shoulder. For several seconds, neither man
moved, before each allowed their brother to draw
them away.

Richard glanced over his shoulder at Abbott,

seeing the man looking at him, too. It took a hell of
a lot of focus, but he managed to turn his attention
to his brother. “What?” he asked gruffly.

His brother grimaced.
Richard sighed. “Sorry. You call me over here

when you know my mate is here, one I’ve been
avoiding, so I’m already on edge. Now you pull
me away from him?” He frowned. “What gives?”

“He can’t claim you. He can’t even have his

scent on you,” Crain whispered.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Blanching, Richard’s jaw sagged. That was the

last thing he’d thought his little brother would
say. “Why would you try to keep me from my
mate now?”

Crain cupped Richard’s jaw in both hands and

stared deep into his eyes. No other but his brother
could get away with such a move. Richard would
do anything for his brother, but give up his mate?
He didn’t understand.

“Tell me. If another wolf scented their alpha on

you, would they fight you?”

Richard thought about his brother’s words and

realization sank in. “Awe, shit.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Three

bbott prowled around the perimeter of the
clearing. He struggled to maintain a pleasant

façade, but from the way a few of the more
submissive wolves instantly bowed their heads to
him when he passed, he knew he didn’t quite pull
it off.

Pausing, he discreetly sucked in several deep

breaths under the guise of sweeping his gaze over
the assembling pack.

Ten days. It’d been ten fucking days since he’d

seen his mate. Getting his hands on the sexy wolf
seemed to be the only thing he’d been able to
dwell on these past few days. His body vibrated
with anticipation.

Soon. Soon I will have my mate.
After decades of being alone, bouncing from

one night stand to one night stand, he’d have a
steady lover, a partner. Gods, he’d missed that so
much. Thinking of his late wife, he smiled faintly.
She’d have been happy for him. Getting over her

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

had  been  difficult.  He’d  nearly  lost  his  mind  to
grief.  Only  caring  for  his  newborn  son,  Vail,  and
the love and support of his family had gotten him
through.  Emily  might  not  have  been  his  fated
mate,  but  he’d  bonded  with  her  just  the  same.
Abbott  had  seen  several  shifters  lose  their  minds
after  losing  their  bonded  spouse.  He  felt  blessed
Fate had given him the fortitude to move on.

“I haven’t seen you smile like that in a while.

It’s good to see.”

Abbott peered at his sister. Adriana grinned at

him in return.

He nodded. “Yeah, well, I’m glad this will

finally be finished. It’ll be nice to have things
settled.”

Adriana nodded, resting her hands on her hips

as she surveyed the group. “I look forward to
showing these wolves a thing or two.”

“You—What?” Abbott’s brows lifted in surprise

at her words. “What are you talking about?”

Lifting a brow, Adriana stared imperiously at

him…which was actually pretty impressive since
she stood almost six inches shorter than Abbott’s
six foot three height. “I know you’re not thinking
I’m going to sit this challenge out,” she stated.

Abbott realized he’d just somehow entered a

verbal field of landmines. He struggled to figure
out the right words to tell his sister he didn’t want
to see her get her ass kicked.

Charlie Richards

Evidently, Adriana knew exactly his thoughts.

She lifted a finger and pointed at him. “Oh, no you
don’t. I have every right to attempt to earn a
position. My wolf is far more dominant than half
those people you’ve invited and you know it.”

At least she kept her voice down as she hissed

the words.

Grimacing, Abbott bent close and murmured,

“You’re only five nine, Adriana. I know that’s tall
for a woman, but most of the shifters fighting are
six foot or more.”

“What about Darlene?”
Rolling his eyes, Abbott pointed out, “Darlene

might  be  five  seven,  but  she’s  almost  as  wide  as
she  is  tall.  She’s  built  like  a  damn  brick
house…only  the  female  version.  Her  wolf  is
huge.”

“I can take her easy,” Adriana insisted. “Don’t

make me go behind your back.”

Abbott sucked in a harsh breath, only to catch a

whiff of Richard’s scent. He glanced around and
saw his mate appear through the trees with Aaric
and Crain. His mind instantly fixated on what he
wanted to do to the wolf once this whole challenge
was completed. Absently, he stated, “Fine. Do
what you wish.”

His sister’s surprise came through in her scent.

She followed his gaze. “Who’s caught your

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

attention? Is it appropriate to govern over this
with a hard-on?”

Nearly choking, Abbott snapped his gaze to

Adriana. “What the fuck?”

She shrugged one slender shoulder. “Just

curious. There aren’t too many women here, so
who is he?”

Abbott shook his head. “You’re far too

observant for your own good. You’ll know after
the challenge.”

“Oh, Richard then,” Adriana stated, peering at

him. “Yeah. I can see how you’d think he’s hot, in
a silent broody type of way.”

“How the hell—”
“Oh, please.” Adriana waved a hand

negligently. “He’s the only new wolf in our pack
that’s unmated.”

Shaking his head, Abbott growled, “Off with

you. It’s time to begin.” He took a step away from
her, then paused and turned back to stare into her
mirth-filled brown eyes. “And, Adriana, please
don’t mention that to anyone until I’ve announced
it.”

For a second, Adriana looked confused, then

her eyes widened just a bit. “Your—?”

She didn’t need to finish. Abbott knew what

she asked. He nodded curtly.

Adriana squealed, dancing a jig in place for

several seconds, before giving him a swift hug.

Charlie Richards

Then, she was gone, hustling off to join the other
shifters getting ready to fight…which essentially
meant stripping down to sweats—or in her case, a
halter top and biker shorts. Something easy to
remove so they could shift.

Putting Richard out of his mind took some

effort,  but  Abbott  did  it.  He  strode  several  steps
forward  and  lifted  his  hands.  “Good  afternoon,
everyone. I know you all want to get this done so
you can get back into warmer clothes,” he stated,
garnering  chuckles  from  several.  Yeah,  doing  a
challenge  in  December  sucked,  but  at  least  the
day’s weather had turned out to be nice.

“This challenge is triple elimination. If you win

your  first  two  fights,  you  won’t  need  to  fight  a
third. If you lose your first two fights, the same.”
He  pointed  to  Aaric.  “My  brother  has  pen  and
paper.  Everyone  write  your  name  on  a  slip  and
put  it  in  the  jar  held  by  his  mate,  Crain.  Once
done, reassemble over there,” he ordered, pointing
to the area across from him.

He waited patiently for each person to comply.

He  caught  Richard’s  gaze  for  a  second,  just  long
enough to see heat flare in the other shifter’s eyes.
He  knew  an  answering  desire  flashed  across  his
own  countenance  before  he  could  mask  it.  Then,
Richard broke contact.

Abbott watched him scribble his name on a

paper and shove it into the jar Crain held. Richard

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

received an encouraging smile and a pat on his
back from his brother, then he turned away and
took up what appeared to be a parade rest stance
near the others preparing to fight.

Huh, I didn’t think he’d been in the military at any

time. Of course, Abbott realized he knew very little
about his mate, but he sure looked forward to
finding out everything.

Soon, everyone was ready, and the fights

began.

There ended up being a dozen shifters vying for

the  three  positions.  Abbott  watched  as  the
numbers were quickly cut in half. To his surprise,
Adriana  fought  very  well.  Moving  fluidly,  her
wolf  showed  tenacity  and  agility  that  Abbott
hadn’t been aware she possessed.

It didn’t surprise Abbott that Delorian made it

into  the  top  six.  He  felt  grateful  Darrell  made  it,
too.  Along  with  those  two,  Adriana,  Richard,
Nedrik—a  dark gray wolf  who  was  good  friends
with  Delorian—and  Jimmy—a  black  wolf  who’d
just  retired  from  the  military.  Abbott  hadn’t  had
much contact with him since his return six months
before,  but  his  name  had  been  recommended  by
his father.

Abbott had been a bit surprised, and

disappointed, by his mate’s performance. Not that
he’d ever admit that to Richard. The shifter had
barely won his two fights, almost losing to

Charlie Richards

Darlene, before taking down Bernie—an eighty
plus year old red shifter who’d been with their
pack since birth—in his second fight.

Now, they started the next round. Each shifter

fought each other wolf. Three losses and they were
gone.  If  they  won  all  five,  they’d  be  beta.  Four
wins earned the head enforcer position and three
wins  won  the  second  enforcer  position.  It  wasn’t
the  best  system,  but  Abbott  planned  to  add  a
caveat…a two week trial to make  certain they all
meshed.

The first pair to spar was Jimmy and Darrell.

Abbott watched as the pair of black wolves circled
each other. Jimmy was a bit smaller than Darrell,
but  when  they  moved,  lunging  back  and  forth,
swiping  paws,  snapping  at  legs,  Abbott  quickly
noted how Jimmy easily out-maneuvered Darrell.
After  only  two  minutes,  Jimmy  forced  Darrell  to
submit.

The next pair to face off was Richard and

Adriana.  For  almost  a  minute,  Richard  and
Adriana  circled  each  other.  Suddenly,  Richard
pinned his ears and growled low in his throat, his
warning  clear. Adriana froze, and in a surprising
move,  lowered  to  the  ground  and  showed  her
belly.  Richard  stalked  forward  then  wrapped  his
jaws around her throat.

The bout was over.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Abbott scowled, trying to figure out if his sister

had done that because she knew Richard was his
mate or because she didn’t think she could win.
Seconds later, he got his answer.

A naked Richard helped an equally nude

Adriana to her feet. Laughing, she patted him on
the shoulder. “Damn, you got a mean growl,
Richard. My wolf demanded we show our belly in
the worst way. I just couldn’t help it!”

Richard nodded. “I appreciate the opportunity

to save my strength,” he replied, smirking.

Seeing his mate nude, and touching another—

even  his  sister—Abbott  nearly  lost  control.  Even
as his cock hardened at the view, he struggled to
keep  from  stalking  across  the  area  and  snatching
him away from her. Fortunately, Aaric calling the
last  two  into  the  center  to  fight—Delorian  and
Nedrik—refocused  Abbott’s  attention  where  it
needed to be.

Within minutes, Delorian forced his buddy to

submit.

The next round went to Richard and Darrell.

Abbott watched, impressed, as Richard repeatedly
slipped past Darrell’s guard. At one point, Darrell
managed  to  get  his  jaws  around  Richard’s
strawberry  blond  wolf’s  neck,  but  the  smaller
animal twisted and rolled, slipping from his grip.
In  the  next  moment,  he  used  Darrell’s  now
awkward position to grab his throat from beneath.

Charlie Richards

He tightened his jaws. Darrell froze, surprise
shining in his eyes. He remained in place for thirty
seconds, indicating his submission.

Huh, had Richard been holding back on purpose?

Maybe he considered the other fights a warm up?

Abbott wasn’t certain as he turned his attention

to the next pair. Jimmy successfully took Nedrik
down, making it look easy to wrestle the nearly
same size wolf to the ground.

Next up, Adriana faced off against Delorian.

Abbott  watched,  just  holding  back  a  grimace,  as
Delorian  raked  his  claws  down  Adriana’s  side
when  she  didn’t  move  fast  enough.  She  made  a
valiant effort, but Delorian was just as fast as her,
more aggressive, and managed to pin her.

After several more rounds, Jimmy remained

undefeated, Nedrik had lost all fights, and Darrell
had only won one…against Nedrik. Both were out
of the running. Adriana had lost to Jimmy,
Richard, and Delorian, placing her in a runner up
position.

The final match began, between Delorian and

Richard, and Abbott found his control over his
wolf stretched horribly thin. He watched the pair
circle, lunge and retreat, claw and snap. More than
once, Delorian drew blood. The scent of Richard’s
blood called to him, making him horny and angry
all at the same time. He wanted to shift and tackle
Delorian, wrestle him away from his mate.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Unfortunately, Abbott couldn’t.
That knowledge did nothing to appease his

wolf.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Four

ichard felt his strength failing. The scrapes,
bites, and cuts from not only this fight, but

those  prior  were  taking  their  toll.  He  needed  to
find  a  way  past  Delorian’s  guard.  The  wolf  was
bigger,  but  not  quite  as  fast.  However,  his  mean
aggression more than made up for that.

While dodging another lunge and swipe, an

idea formed. Aggression meant impatience. He
could use that.

Purposefully, Richard started counter-attacking

only  half  the  time,  while  dodging  Delorian’s
strikes  by  a  narrower  and  narrower  margin.
Finally,  seeing  a  blow  that  wasn’t  aimed  to  tear
out his throat or innards, he allowed it,  partially,
to connect with his haunch.

The power behind the strike still sent him

sprawling, just as he knew it would. He rolled an
extra foot, putting his back to Delorian. The gasp
from several pack-members nearly botched up his
plan.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Fortunately, Richard heard his opponent’s snarl

over the noise of their audience. He rolled toward
the  other  wolf,  right  under  his  attack.  Reaching
up,  he  latched  his  jaws  around  the  other  wolf’s
throat  just  as  he  brought  his  legs  up  and  raked
them down Delorian’s belly.

The larger wolf howled.
Richard used Delorian’s continued momentum

to  roll  them,  forcing  the  other  wolf  to  his  back.
With  his  belly  up,  exposed,  and  Richard’s  jaws
sinking deeper and deeper into his neck, Delorian
struggled  but  couldn’t  budge  him.  Finally,  with
his  oxygen  supply  most  likely  running  low,
Delorian submitted.

After holding his opponent for an extra fifteen

seconds, just to be certain, Richard slowly released
the other wolf’s neck and backed away, all the
while growling low in his throat.

The sense that told Richard exactly where his

mate  was  the  entire  afternoon,  warned  him  that
Abbott  approached  from  somewhere  behind  him
and  to  the  left.  He  appreciated  that,  since  he’d
been injured on that side and if you couldn’t trust
your mate, who could you trust?

“Both of you, shift,” the alpha ordered.
Sucking in a slow breath, Richard searched for

his  human  form  and  obeyed.  His  body  reshaped
quickly,  and  seconds  later,  he  stood  and  popped
his  neck.  Struggling  to  ignore  his  burgeoning

Charlie Richards

erection, he accepted his sweats from his brother.
The man must have known that he hadn’t wanted
to pop wood in front of most of his new pack,
especially since he’d just managed to snag the lead
enforcer slot.

Richard had to hand it to Jimmy. The man used

his military training even in wolf form, executing
rolls and strikes he never would have thought
possible in their animal form. He knew he
wouldn’t have any trouble following him as beta.
Well, as long as he didn’t turn out to be a bigoted
asshole, anyway.

At least focusing on Delorian kept Richard’s

arousal at bay. He’d managed to dress and move
back toward where Jimmy waited before Delorian
had even managed his feet. That concerned him a
bit. What if he needed Delorian to have his back in
a hurry? Would Delorian blame any possible
injury on Richard because he couldn’t shift
quickly enough?

Time would tell, but after some of Delorian’s

previous conversations, Richard didn’t think he
could trust the man. Especially after some of the
things he’d said in the bar a few weeks back.

After a minute, Delorian joined them.
Abbott swept his gaze over them, meeting each

man’s eyes in turn. Richard did his best to keep
his expression neutral when his mate looked him
up

and

down.

Finally,

Abbott

stated,

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“Congratulation, gentlemen. James Noleander,
you’ve earned the honor and responsibility of my
pack beta. Do you accept?”

Jimmy nodded briskly. “Thank you, Alpha.

You have my allegiance. It will be an honor to
serve you and our pack.”

After a nod, Abbott turned to Richard, then

Delorian. They each went through the motions of
accepting their position and reaffirming their
loyalty.

Abbott turned back to the rest of the shifters

standing  around  and  said,  “Thank  you  all  for
coming.  I’m  honored  by  your  presence.  I  present
to you the new members of our pack’s inner circle,
our  beta,  Jimmy,  and  our  enforcers,  Richard  and
Delorian.”

Cheers went up from many members of the

pack.  A  few  just  clapped,  looking  concerned  or
exchanging  looks.  Richard  wasn’t  certain  what
that was all about, but figured he’d find out soon
enough. Then, Abbott turned to them and stated,
“If  you  three  would  join  me  at  my  home  for
dinner, I’ll fix everyone steaks and we can discuss
what I expect of each of you.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Richard murmured, hardly

listening to the words of agreement from the other
two men. His fingers itched to grab his mate and
pull him close, but he knew now wasn’t the time

Charlie Richards

or place. Richard turned away and headed toward
the rest of his clothes.

As he dressed, he accepted congratulations

from  Crain  and  Aaric  as  well  as  several
acquaintances  and  even  a  few  of  the  shifters  that
he’d  beaten.  Darrell  slapped  him  on  the  back.
“Damn,  man,”  he  cajoled.  “You  never  acted  so
aggressive when we went out for beers.”

Smirking, Richard stated, “We were drinking

beer. What the hell is there to be aggressive
about?”

“True that,” he quipped. Then, sobering, he

leaned close and confided, “I don’t envy you
working with Delorian, man. He’s a bigoted
asshole.”

“I’ve met him,” Richard admitted, his voice just

as hushed. “I’m more worried about unrest in the
pack. Especially after—” He bit off his words and
shook his head. At Darrell’s interested look, he
shook his head, finishing lamely, “You’ll know it
when you hear it.”

“All right.” Darrell nodded. “I got your back,

should you ever need me.”

As soon as Darrell moved off, Nedrik drew

close. “Awesome move with playing injured.” He
grinned and snickered. “Delorian never saw it
coming!”

Richard nodded. “You’re right.” He winked,

leaning close, “The bigger they are, eh?”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Nedrik snorted. “You got that right.” Then, he

glanced around, looking worried. “Don’t tell him I
said that,” he quickly mumbled.

Giving his shoulder a squeeze, Richard nodded.

“Not a word.”

After chatting with a few others, whose names

he wasn’t certain of, Richard finally made his way
to  his  motorcycle—a  2013  Ducati  Diavel.  One
thing  could  be  said  for  Kontra’s  pack—the
assorted  shifters  that  had  rescued  him  and  his
brother from a group of asshole scientists bent on
experimentation  and  world  domination.  They
knew how to pick a great mode of transportation.

He’d just swung his leg over his bike, steadying

the machine between his thighs, when he spotted
Abbott stalking toward him. A couple shifters
made as if to stop him, but upon seeing the alpha’s
almost feral expression, their brows shot up and
they watched him in shock.

Abbott’s

eyes

glittered

with

obvious

appreciation as he swept his gaze over Richard.
Licking his lips, Richard found he really liked the
way Abbott eyed him. Why the guy did it now, in
front of everyone, stumped him.

Richard’s

confusion

regarding

Abbott’s

intentions intensified as his alpha drew near. That
was,  until  Abbott  stopped  at  his  bike’s  side,
cupped  the  back  of  Richard’s  skull,  and  hauled
him  in  for  a  deep  lip-lock.  Richard’s  thoughts

Charlie Richards

scattered. He reveled in the heady taste of his
mate—earthy, musky, and oh-so-masculine.

Richard felt the hand in his hair tighten, forcing

his head a bit to the side. When he felt his alpha’s
tongue  prod  at  his  lips,  he  opened.  Grunting,
Richard  welcomed  Abbott’s  tongue,  then
proceeded  to  suck  the  appendage,  showing  his—
hopefully—soon-to-be  lover  exactly  what  he
intended  to  do  to  his  cock—that  evening,  if  it
could be arranged.

Abbott’s groan, a sound full of pleasure, set

Richard’s  blood  on  fire.  His  dick  ached  in  his
sweats, but he kept his hands on the handles of the
bike,  refusing  to  reach  for  himself…or  his  mate,
for  that  matter.  Richard  didn’t  think  he’d  be  able
to control himself if he touched Abbott now.

Gasps and whispers from others reminded him

of where they were.

Evidently, it reminded Abbott, too, because he

brought  the feral kiss to an end and—even while
he  still  gripped  Richard’s  thick  hair,  holding  his
head—he peered around at their audience. Maybe
half  a  dozen  strangers—as  well  as  a  gaping
Darrell—stood  within  twenty  feet,  most  with
mouths open in shock.

Abbott grinned widely. Then, he stated in his

deep voice, husky from the tonsil hockey, “Yes,
everyone. Our new lead enforcer is also my mate.
Feel free to spread the word.” Seeming to ignore

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

the  shocked  gasps  and  questions  of  a  couple
females, Abbott returned his focus to Richard and
gruffly  ordered.  “Head  off  to  my  house,  now,
Richard.  We  have  new  inner  circle  members  to
share this news with, then a mating to complete.”

Then, Abbott walked away with a relaxed

swagger.

Richard wanted to tackle the man, wrestle, feel

their wolves battle. Sure, he knew he’d lose, but it
was  the  feelings,  the  foreplay,  the  fun  that  it
would  entail.  Instead,  he  struggled  to  ignore  his
need. Besides, it wasn’t like he could do anything
too  physical  until  he  checked  his  wounds…well,
he didn’t want to, at least.

Ignoring the questions from others that plagued

his alpha—yeah, Abbott can deal with them, since he
raised  them—Richard  started  the  engine  of  his
machine and roared away. He knew where Abbott
lived  and  headed  that  way.  Upon  reaching  his
man’s  drive,  Richard  slowed  down,  carefully
navigating the gravel.

Roving his gaze over Abbott’s home, Richard

took  in  the  three  foot  high  deck  that  wrapped
around  the  domicile  on  both  sides.  He  figured  at
some point, there was a door to the basement, but
he  couldn’t  see  it  from  there.  The  only  thing  he
could  do  was  park  his  Diavel  in  front  of  the
garage—right  next  to  a  vintage  mustang  and  an
old battered S-10 pick-up.

Charlie Richards

Richard could only guess at who owned

what…hell, for all he knew, his mate owned both
of them and drove them around depending on his
mood. Leaning his bike on its stand, he glanced at
the darkening clouds. He grimaced. Stepping to
the first garage door, he tried to lift it, but it didn’t
budge. Richard figured he could have broken the
garage door mechanism keeping it closed, but he
resisted the urge.

Shaking his head, Richard crossed to his bike

and  pulled  out  a  rain  cover,  then  draped  it  over
the bike. Right now, there was no wind. He made
a  mental  note  to  listen,  so  he’d  know  if  that
changed.  Once  his  ride  was  taken  care  of,  he
headed up the half dozen steps and rang the front
door’s bell.

A woman opened the door. Richard started to

get concerned by the beautiful brunette’s presence,
until she sniffed the air and shook her head. “You
must be Richard.  Jimmy said you were the third.
Come inside then. I’ll patch you up.” She actually
grumbled  about  pack  challenges  and  stupid,
outdated  shifter  traditions  as  she  led  the  way  to
what must have been a family room.

Jimmy and Delorian already occupied the two

easy chairs, so Richard settled on a short sofa. The
woman’s clipped words drew his attention.

“Well, take your shirt off, and if you have

wounds on your legs, take the sweats off, too.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Richard couldn’t help it. His brows shot up and

his eyes widened. “Uh, you think that’s wise?”

The woman snorted rudely. “Please, not like

you got anything I ain’t seen before.”

Okay, so not the smartest thing to say, perhaps,

especially  to  a  doctor.  Except,  even  as  she
motioned  for  him  to  strip  completely,  Richard
heard  the  front  door  open  and  scented  his  mate
enter the building.

The brunette stood over him, her arms crossed

as she snapped, “Well, let’s see it. I can smell the
blood oozing from your thigh even as we speak. I
need to clean it up.” She scowled and added,
“Hell, from the heavy scent, you might even need
stitches.”

“Then, perhaps, you could show me to a

bedroom,” Richard requested.

Never in Richard’s life had he been self-

conscious  or  shy,  but  with  his  unbonded  mate
moving through the home, he didn’t want to strip
down in front of everyone. He’d just come from a
shifter  challenge  where  he’d  had  to  be  naked  in
front  of  everyone—continually.  Since  he  could
easily  imagine  how  angry  he’d  feel  upon  seeing
Abbott—Gods just the thought made him want to
punch  someone—naked  with  others,  Richard
forced out the request.

The doctor looked shocked, her eyes wide.

“What the hell is your problem? I’d think the lead

Charlie Richards

enforcer  wouldn’t  give  a  rip  about  who  saw  him
naked.” Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. “Wait, does
this  have  something  to  do  with  showing
weakness?  You  don’t  want  to  show  your
wounds?”

A low menacing growl sounded through the

room.

Everyone looked up to see Abbott standing in

the doorway. His arms were spread, hands braced
on each side of the door frame. His glittering gaze
was focused on the female, the doctor. “Perhaps
you should have listened to Richard when he
spoke,” he snarled softly.

The woman looked confused, concerned, and

gave off a fearful scent. “I-I don’t understand,
Alpha. I just wanted to tend his wounds,” she
whispered, ducking her head.

“You asked my mate to bare himself to you. I

should flay you alive and bathe in your blood.”

Okay, Richard knew his alpha didn’t actually

mean that. Or, he hoped he didn’t.

Leaping to his feet, Richard maneuvered

between  Abbott  and  the  doctor.  He  lifted  his
hands in placation. “Easy, Alpha.” Licking his lips,
Richard moved toward his mate. He could almost
feel  the  rage  and  jealousy  rolling  off  the  male.
Settling  his  hands  on  his  man’s  chest,  he  rubbed
over his pecs in what he hoped would be soothing

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

strokes. “The doc didn’t mean anything by it. You
know that.”

Damn, I hope that’s true.
Abbott rumbled a low growl, glaring at the

doctor over Richard’s shoulder.

Richard continued smoothing his palms over

Abbott’s  chest,  then  up  to  his  shoulders,
massaging gently. He tried not to get too excited at
the  feel  beneath  his  fingertips,  even  as  his  body
ached  in  ways  he  hadn’t  felt  in  years.  He  knew
they were both giving off all kinds of pheromones,
but  he  couldn’t  do  anything  about  that  even
though he didn’t mean to embarrass anyone.

Finally, Abbott seemed to calm. He wrapped

his arms around Richard, holding him close as he
nuzzled  first  one  side  of  Richard’s  face,  then  the
other,  marking  him  thoroughly  with  his  scent.
Slowly,  Abbott’s  breathing  calmed  and  the  rage
Richard scented faded.

“Thank you,” Abbott whispered.
“We’re both running a little hot,” Richard

replied.

Richard couldn’t remember the last time he’d

been so hard, when he’d anticipated a coupling so
much. His blood surged through his veins, lust
and desire swirling through him. Abbott nuzzled
down the side of his face, humming softly until he
came to the crook of his neck, then nipped his
tendon lightly.

Charlie Richards

Abbott lifted his gaze and grinned ferally. “You

smell  good,”  he  rumbled  against  Richard’s  skin.
“Can’t  wait  to  sink  into  this  tight  ass  and  claim
you,”  he  growled.  He  slid  his  hands  down  and
squeezed Richard’s globes.

A hiss escaped Richard’s lips. His dick flexed

and his hole clenched. Anticipation surged
through him.

“I really think I should stitch up your mate’s

side first,” the doctor hazarded softly.

At about the same time, a disgusted snarl

sounded, followed by, “What the fuck, Alpha?”

Tightening his grip on Abbott’s neck, Richard

kept  his  gaze  locked  with  his  man’s  for  just  a
second. He took advantage of that instant, shaking
his  head  sharply,  just  a  bit,  in  warning.  Abbott’s
eyes  narrowed,  telling  Richard  his  message  had
been received.

Pressing his lips together in an obvious effort to

keep himself together, Abbott held Richard’s gaze.
Then, he plastered a smile to his face—a fake one,
since Richard saw it didn’t reach his eyes—and
looked at Delorian.

His smile widened.
“I’m sorry it couldn’t be made public

knowledge  earlier,  Delorian,  but  we  didn’t  want
anyone  disputing  Richard’s  abilities  or  whining
about  favoritism  if  he  earned  a  position.”  Abbott

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

swept his gaze over those in the room. “Richard is
my mate.”

Jimmy grinned from where he sat sprawled on

a recliner. “Congrats, Alpha. I’m very happy for
you.”

Delorian scowled at their new beta. “You’re

okay with this…this—”

“Sure,” Jimmy stated, his dark eyes twinkling.
“But, they’re both men,” Delorian growled.
“Now you’re stating the obvious,” Jimmy

replied. Lifting a brow, he asked, “What? Have
you never been with a guy?”

“Of course not!” Delorian snapped, appearing

offended.

“Your loss, Del.” Jimmy dismissed Delorian

with  those  words  and  returned  his  focus  to
Richard  and  Abbott.  “You  want  us  to  come  back
later,  Alpha?”  His  grin  returned  and  he
exaggeratedly  sniffed.  “I  think  you’ve  got
something  on  your  mind  other  than  cooking  us
steaks and discussing what’ll be expected of us.”

Richard snorted. He had a funny feeling he’d

end up really liking the new beta. Smirking, he
quipped, “Why don’t you watch TV? Just give us
five minutes and we’ll get back with you.”

“Five minutes?” Abbott scowled in mock

offense. “You think that’s all I’ll last?”

Charlie Richards

Running a finger down his soon-to-be lover’s

jaw, Richard all but purred, “Oh, that will just be
an appetizer to take the edge off for later.”

Delorian made a choked sound, drawing

attention,  and  Richard  noted  his  suddenly  red
face.  Jimmy  leaned  forward  and  placed  his  hand
on  Delorian’s  knee.  “You  need  a  glass  of  water,
buddy?”

Looking askance, Delorian jerked away from

the beta, leaping to his feet.

Deciding to push just a little bit more, after all,

they  needed  to  prompt  the  man  to  move  up
whatever  plans  he  had  against  their  alpha,
Richard winked at Delorian and smirked. “Sorry,
man,”  he  said,  shrugging,  trying  to  appear
sheepish.  “We’ll  try  not  to  embarrass  you  too
badly.  You  really  think  the  others  would  have
dared rolling around in the dirt with me, even in
wolf form, if they knew I was the alpha’s mate?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t,” Delorian snapped.
“Since we don’t know each other well,” Abbott

cut in, “there is a two week trial period. That
should be plenty of time to see if we can figure out
how to work together.”

“Wait a minute.” Delorian immediately butted

in. “What’s that supposed to mean? We’ll lose our
position?”

“Easy, Delorian,” Richard cut in, putting just a

bit of growl into his tone. He really didn’t like how

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

the lower ranking wolf spoke to his soon-to-be
lover…not to mention their alpha. “That’s not
what he said.”

“What are you saying, Alpha?” Jimmy asked

respectfully.

Abbott shrugged. “Actually, that’s exactly what

I’m  saying,”  he  stated  mildly,  completely  blunt.
“We  need  to  be  able  to  work  as  a  well-oiled
machine. I am your alpha, and you’ve sworn your
loyalty to me. If you can’t act on that oath, respect
me and my decisions, carry out my orders, it will
create  dissension  in  the  pack.  That  is  not
acceptable.”  He  scowled  at  both  Jimmy  and
Delorian. “There are others in my pack who’d be
honored to hold your positions.”

Turning toward the brunette, who looked

distinctly uncomfortable, shifting her weight from
foot  to  foot,  Abbott  smiled.  “I  apologize  for
snapping,  Lacy,”  he  stated.  “My  mate  and  I  are
not  yet  bonded,  so  perhaps  you  can  understand
the jealousy.”

Lacy nodded, keeping her head bowed in

submission. “I do, Alpha. If I’d known about the
two of you, I certainly would have offered more
discretion.”

Abbott nodded. “Of course.” Pointing toward

the doorway behind him, he ordered, “Go down
the hall to the first room on the right. It’s a spare
bedroom, so it should be fairly comfortable for

Charlie Richards

you to clean my mate’s wounds. Then, leave. I
have other things to complete tonight.”

Lacy bowed, then gently guided Richard from

the room. At the last second, Richard glanced back
and caught his alpha’s eye. Abbott winked. Relief
flooded him when he realized the overbearing
attitude was just an act.

As Richard reclined on a bed and grunted

through getting the slices on his hip cleaned and
stitched, he hoped Abbott would hurry the hell up
and tell him what he’d been thinking.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Chapter Five

ifting a brow, Abbott crossed his arms over his
chest and leveled a hard gaze on first Jimmy,

then Delorian. He really hoped he wasn’t going to
drive his beta away with his next words, since
they were more meant to mess with Delorian.

“If you can’t take orders from a fag, you’d best

decide damn quick,” Abbott stated, leveling a cold
gaze at both men. “Betrayal is met with lethal
force.”

Delorian straightened his spine, his eyes fixed

forward.  At  least  he  didn’t  salute.  That’d  be
completely  over  the  top  since  Abbott  knew  he’d
never been in the military. “You can count on me,
Alpha.  I  apologize  for  my  earlier  words.  I
was…surprised.”

“Glad to hear that,” Abbott stated. “For your

first  assignment,  I  need  you  to  check  on  Cooper.
I’ve heard rumors that there is unrest in the home.
Sheriff  Psydia  has  record  of  two  domestic
disturbance  calls  to  his  place.  His  wife,  Lydia,  is

Charlie Richards

human, and I need to know their disagreements
will not put our pack’s safety in jeopardy.”

“You can count on me,” Delorian assured.
Abbott smiled, making certain the move lit his

eyes. “I’m glad to hear that. Think you can get me
a report in forty-eight hours?”

“Yes, Alpha.”
“Fantastic. I look forward to your findings. We

need our pack safe.”

At that point, Abbott scented his mate before he

saw  him.  Turning,  he  watched  a  bare-chested
Richard, wearing a clean pair of sweats riding low
on  his  waist,  stride  into  the  room.  He  licked  his
lips,  taking  in  Richard’s  hard  pecs,  cut  abs,  and
thickly muscled arms. Abbott couldn’t wait to feel
his man’s muscles under his fingertips.

Maybe he’d bend him over the sofa, fuck him

hard  and  fast,  coating  his  innards  with  his  seed.
Then,  he’d  drag  Richard  into  the  bedroom,  lay
him out on his bed, nip and suck every bit of the
man’s  flesh  until  he  begged  to  be  taken  again.
Finally,  he’d  give  him  a  slow,  thorough  fucking,
until  he  sank  his  canines  into  Richard’s  neck,
marking him as his own for all eternity.

A low growl of excitement escaped him.

Abbott’s cock thickened in his jeans at the
possibilities. His fingers itched to touch and his
canines ached to descend.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“I’ll get to my assignment now,” Delorian

grumbled. “I’m not hungry for steak.” Without
waiting, the wolf shifter fled the house, slamming
the front door loudly behind him.

The loud slam yanked Abbott’s mind from the

gutter. He frowned at the doorway through which
Delorian had disappeared. Forcing his expression
to ease, he looked at his mate. “How are you
feeling?”

Richard smirked. “Fine. Or I will be. Just a few

scrapes.”

“Good,” Abbott crooned, stepping close and

pulling Richard back into his arms. “Gods, never
have days been longer than this past week and a
half. Knowing about you but not having you,” he
mumbled. “I can’t keep my fucking hands off you.
How the hell did you go over two months without
jumping my bones?”

Richard grunted at the way Abbott bit into his

neck, hard enough to feel but not enough to break
skin. Abbott reveled in the sound, almost giving in
to his urge to mark his man when Richard tilted
his head, giving him more room, and gripped
Abbott’s shoulders.

“It wasn’t the right time,” Richard practically

hissed.

“Damn, you two really are horn-balls,” Jimmy

commented, almost idly.

Charlie Richards

Abbott lifted his head and peered at his beta,

his brows shooting up.

Jimmy grinned. “So, we’re gonna have a

problem with Delorian, aren’t we?”

Sighing, Abbott nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“A bigot, an asshole, uses aggression instead of

smarts, and now he’s in a position of power.”
Jimmy ticked off the points on his fingers as he
shook his head. “That’s really not a good combo.”

Abbott’s brows shot up. He eased away from

Richard,  then  led  his  mate  to  a  sofa  and  pulled
him down next to him, unable to allow his man far
from  his  side.  Leaning  forward,  he  eyed  the
slender,  dark-haired  wolf.  “You’ve  been  in  the
military  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  just  returning
permanently six months ago.” His eyes narrowed.
“You’ve  been  using  that  time  to  assess  the  pack,
haven’t you? Did you intend to challenge me?”

Chuckling, Jimmy smiled as he tapped the

bottle of beer he held against his leg. “Yes and no,
Alpha.”

“Which is which?” Abbott demanded.
Taking a moment to formulate his answer,

Jimmy  popped  his  neck  once,  twice,  then  bowed
his head and peered up through his lashes. “I have
no  real  desire  to  lead,  Alpha,  but  there  are  a
couple  wolves  I  couldn’t,  in  good  conscience,
follow,  or  allow  to  remain  in  power  if  somehow
they gained it.” He licked his lips, then admitted,

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“And from the things I’ve heard, they’re not
happy.”

“Let me guess,” Richard said, cutting into the

conversation. “Delorian is one. Walter is another.”

Jimmy grinned widely. “Well, well. You’re not

just another pretty face.”

Abbott didn’t like that tone addressed toward

his man and growled low in his throat.

Surprisingly, Richard rested his hand on

Abbott’s  arm  and  squeezed  lightly,  then  rubbed
soothingly.  “Relax.  He’s  our  beta,  and  I’m  the
enforcer. Even though I’m your mate, he has every
right to tease me like that.” Then, Richard snorted
and  rolled  his  eyes.  “Besides,  I  kinda  like  the  ass
and I think he’s gonna work out well.”

His brows shooting up, Abbott pinned Richard

with a disbelieving look. “You do? Why?”

“Other than the fact that Jimmy thinks it’s

funny that we’re talking about him in front of him
as if he isn’t here?” Richard teased, waving his
hand toward the clearly amused shifter. “Because
he’s straight-forward, doesn’t play games, and…”
He shrugged. “I enjoy his sense of humor.”

Abbott growled, not liking that his mate was

complimenting another shifter.

Jimmy snorted and rose to his feet. “Okay. It

sounds like you two have a coupling to complete.
I’m gonna follow Delorian. See what the asshole is
up to. I’ll swing by tomorrow.” He glanced

Charlie Richards

between them, then scented the air. Grimacing, he
mumbled, “Afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon.”

The shifter moved toward the doorway, his

head still bowed.

Sighing, Abbott knew he couldn’t leave it like

that.  “James  Noleander,”  he  called.  When  the
other  shifter  paused  and  looked  back  at  him,
Abbott  smiled.  “I  look  forward  to  working  with
you.”

“Thank you, Alpha.” A smile curved the

corners of Jimmy’s lips, and he left the house.

Once Abbott heard the front door’s clasp click,

he returned his focus to his mate. He smiled at
how Richard’s eyes glittered.

Richard smirked and quipped, “So, you had a

reason for being a complete asshole?”

Abbott chuckled, even as he pressed Richard

down  against  the  sofa’s  arm.  “Oh,  yes.”  He
lowered  his  head  and  nibbled  up  his  soon-to-be
lover’s neck. “Gotta make sure to piss the guy off.
We  both  know  he’s  gonna  try  to  use  his  new
position against us.”

“Us?” Richard asked, his breath hitching.
Humming, Abbott sucked on Richard’s tendon,

slowly working his way up to the sensitive skin
directly below his man’s ear. “You are head
enforcer, aren’t you?”

Richard’s breathing hitched. “Y-yes.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“Then, you have just as much a stake in this as I

do,” Abbott whispered into Richard’s ear. “Maybe
even  more,”  he  added.  “You’ve  been  an  enforcer
before.  Now,  you’re  an  enforcer  to  your  mate.”
Chuckling,  he  mumbled,  “No  pressure,”  before
sucking his lover’s earlobe into his ear.

Growling softly, Richard tilted his head. His

arms came around Abbott, and he dug his nails in
so much Abbott felt them through his sweatshirt.
He hummed his approval, goose bumps breaking
out on his skin. Responding with a snarl, Richard
released him, only to slide his hands under the
fabric and scrape his nails up his back, stopping to
latch around his shoulder-blades.

Abbott hissed and arched, pressing into

Richard’s touch. The sting of his man’s hold
caused his balls to tingle and tighten. He released
his mate’s ear and growled, “That feels fucking
fantastic. Love the feel of your hands on me.”

“You’ll like this better then,” Richard muttered,

his voice low and guttural.

To Abbott’s surprise, he suddenly found their

positions  reversed—him  under  the  other  man  on
the  couch—with  his  sweatshirt  off,  to  boot.  He
growled at the change, not certain he liked being
the  one  under  his  lover.  Except,  then  Richard
wrenched open his button fly—his cock springing
free—and swallowed him to the root.

Charlie Richards

Abbott howled at the tight, wet suction around

his throbbing length. His prick oozed pre-cum.
Richard lifted his head a couple of inches, swiped
his tongue over his glans, scooping up pre-cum
and swallowing it down in one smooth move.

Digging his hands into Richard’s thick sandy

hair,  Abbott  moaned  at  the  feel  of  his  mate’s
tongue  gliding  up,  down,  over,  and  across  his
hard  aching  flesh.  His  balls  drew  tight.
Undeniable  need—need  he’d  been  feeling  for
days—erupted through him.

He tightened his hold and bucked, driving his

prick deeper into his lover’s mouth. Richard took
it,  sucking  and  licking,  swallowing  around  his
head,  massaging  his  glans.  The  contract  and
release  around  his  head  caused  his  balls  to  pull
tight,  delicious  sparks  rocked  up  his  spine…then
right back down. His prick jerked and swelled.

Abbott wanted to hold on, but watching his

cock slide in and out of Richard’s mouth, slick and
shiny  with  spit,  set  his  blood  on  fire.  When
Richard  peered  up  at  him  through  his  lashes—
heat  blooming  in  his  deep  blue  eyes—and
hummed, Abbott’s control snapped.

He howled as his orgasm bowled through him.
Cum spurted from his dick and Richard

swallowed it down.

Seeing his mate’s throat muscles work as he

unloaded into his mouth, Abbott grunted and

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

thrust once more. Richard took it, holding his gaze
as  he  petted  his  thighs.  The  mixture  of  heat  and
smug  satisfaction  on  Richard’s  face  told  Abbott
that  his  man  had  gotten  exactly  what  he’d
wanted—for him to lose all sense of control.

Abbott growled softly, his lust renewed, even

as endorphins from his release still pinged
through his system.

Two can play at this game.
Abbott released Richard’s hair and moved his

hold to his man’s shoulders and pushed. His mate
grunted  in  surprise  as  he  fell  backward,  landing
unceremoniously on his ass. The baggy sweats slid
lower,  revealing  the  wet  head  of  Richard’s  prick,
flushed  red  with  blood  and  oozing  another  drop
of pre-cum.

Freezing, Abbott licked his lips, appreciating

the sight of Richard’s obvious arousal. He couldn’t
wait to pull those sweats off his man, revealing the
rest of him. Abbott just bet his man’s hard cock
would jut from a nest of reddish-blond curls.

Richard frowned and snapped, “What the

fuck?”

Too bad his jerking, leaking prick belied the

irritation  in  his  mate’s  tone.  The  man’s  musky
arousal permeated the room, mixing headily with
the  scents  of  cum.  Growling  low  in  his  throat,
Abbott grabbed his lover, picked him up a bit, and
moved  him  to the  center of  the  throw  rug  before

Charlie Richards

the roaring fire. Next, he ripped the sweats the rest
of the way off.

Humming gruffly at the sexy sight—yep, he’d

been right, reddish-blond curls—he petted his
mate’s hard thighs. “Stay there,” he snarled,
pointing a finger for emphasis.

He watched Richard’s Adam’s apple bob, even

as he licked his lips. More pre-cum oozed from his
man’s dick, betraying his excitement.

Growling his pleasure at the sight, Abbott used

every  ounce  of  self-control  he  possessed  to  turn
away.  He  hustled  from  the  study  and  practically
sprinted  to  his  bedroom.  He  grabbed  the  tube  of
lube  from  his  nightstand  and  retraced  his  steps
just as quickly.

Abbott froze in the doorway of the room, and if

the tube of lube had been open, he’d have squirted
half the contents all over the place.

Richard hadn’t obeyed. Instead, he’d rolled to

his  knees,  reached  back  with  both  hands,  and
spread  himself  open,  exposing  his  pretty,  dusky
brown  hole.  Licking  his  lips,  Abbott  sucked  in  a
breath as his cock jerked and twitched at his groin.
Even after coming, hard, in his lover’s mouth, the
desire to slam his prick into that inviting hole and
ride his mate until he howled with the knowledge
of to whom he belonged rode him hard. His wolf
snarled in his mind, urging him on.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

He took several deep breaths to steady himself.

Finally,  when  he  felt  he  had  some  semblance  of
control,  Abbott  peeled  his  grip  from  the
woodwork.  As  he  took  his  first  step,  realization
slammed  into  Abbott.  Once  more,  his  mate  had
pushed him.

A low growl rolled up his throat.
Naughty mate!
Yes, he couldn’t wait to bury himself balls deep

in Richard, but first, he needed the man to scream
his name, to beg him, plead and whimper.

Abbott smiled at that thought.
Devouring Richard with his gaze, Abbott

stalked toward the man. “Looks like someone
wants something,” he crooned, quickly closing the
distance between them, only to kneel behind the
other shifter and wait, not touching.

Richard looked over his shoulder at him, his

eyes wide in surprise. “Wh-What are you waiting
for?”

“Just admiring the view,” Abbott explained,

lifting  a  brow  imperiously.  He  took  in  Richard’s
hard  thigh  muscles,  firm  ass,  and  strong  back
lines.  Reaching  out,  he  gently  stroked  down  his
lover’s  flank,  admiring  the  goose  bumps  that
broke out over his man’s sides and back.

Richard groaned.
Abbott shoved his mate’s hands away, then

palmed the globes himself and pulled them apart.

Charlie Richards

“Get your elbows under you,” he ordered.

“And no touching yourself.”

“A-Abbott,” Richard whined, even as he did as

he was told.

Grunting with pleasure at Richard’s immediate

obedience,  Abbott  stroked  his  lover’s  body  more
firmly.  He  enjoyed  the  smooth  skin  over  firm
muscle  even  as  he  wondered  about  the  scar
trailing up his hip to disappear at his abs. Abbott
vowed to learn the story of each and every mark
on his mate’s body…but later.

“So,” Abbott started, stroking his hand lightly

up the inside of Richard’s thigh. “What exactly did
you want me to do with this?”

“Fuck me, damn it!”
Abbott chuckled darkly. The harsh pounding of

his  blood  through  his  veins  made  it  difficult  to
control  himself,  but  he  refused  to  be  detoured
from  his  plan.  Draping  over  his  lover’s  back,
Abbott  slid  his  erection  between  Richard’s  legs.
When  his  cock  head  bumped  the  back  of  his
mate’s  balls,  he  bit  back  a  hiss  of  his  own  at  the
contact.

Richard whined and wriggled in his grip.

Oh, hell, yeah!
Abbott wanted more of those noises—those

sexy as fuck responses—and he suspected he
knew just how to get them.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Chapter Six

ichard felt as if his blood fired through his
veins, causing his dick to throb and pulling

his balls flush to his body. Gods, just a few more
touches, a few more bumps to his balls by his
lover and he’d tip right over the edge.

Abbott’s rough fingertips wrapped around the

base of his prick and squeezed—hard. Richard’s
orgasm backed off and he howled in frustration.
“No!” he moaned.

Rough chuckles sounded behind Richard. He

peered  over  his  shoulder  at  Abbott,  catching  his
lover’s eye. His alpha released his prick and began
slowly  threading  his  fingers  through  Richard’s
pubes, softly tugging, touching, and every once in
a  while,  rubbing  along  his  cock.  Abbott’s  hazel-
eyed  gaze  blazed  with  lust  and…something  else.
Abbott’s  wolf  peered  out  at  him,  and  Richard’s
breathing  hitched  as  he  realized  his  mate  would
accept nothing less than total submission.

Charlie Richards

Richard’s own wolf howled in the back of his

mind.

If he could have in his lover’s tight hold, he

would  have  rolled  over  and  showed  his  belly—
anything  to  speed  up  the  process  of  getting  the
thick  rod  rubbing  between  his  legs  into  his  ass.
Instead, Richard bucked his hips and lowered his
shoulders.  He’d  never  presented  to  another—
ever—but  if  that  was  what  his  man  needed,  he’d
do it.

“I need you,” Richard admitted roughly.
“Hmm,” Abbott rumbled. He nuzzled his

temple against Richard’s own, spreading his scent.
“Just as I need you.”

Without another word, Abbott popped the lid

off the lube, poured some on his fingers, and
rubbed the cool gel over Richard’s entrance.

Richard couldn’t help it. His body tensed at the

contact, at the touch of the cool liquid. Abbott
didn’t stop the slow, soothing massage of slick
fingertips against his muscle, keeping up the light
caress.

After a few seconds, Abbott slipped just the tip

of one finger into Richard’s channel. He thought it
should hurt…or, at least, feel uncomfortable.
Instead, he really wanted more of his mate inside
him, to feel that connection.

Even as Abbott gently slipped the first couple

inches of his finger in and out of Richard’s

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

channel, he nibbled up the side of his neck and
whispered into his ear, “You’re so very tight,
mate. When was the last time you had someone in
here?” As he spoke, he eased his finger all the way
in and nudged his prostate.

Richard moaned. Sparks shot out from his

chute, making his cock throb and his balls roll in
their sacks. Closing his eyes, he gasped hard and
managed to admit, “N-Never.”

Abbott froze, his hand stilling.
Richard groaned with frustration and scowled

over his shoulder at his lover. “Don’t stop, damn
it!” he snarled.

Abbott growled in response, but at least he

started moving his hand again. “Although I’m
honored I get your cherry,” he snarled into his ear,
“You are not in charge, mate.” Abbott nipped his
ear, hard. “I am.”

With those gruff words, Abbott pressed a

second digit in alongside the first.

This time, Richard felt the burn. He stiffened in

surprise at the pain. “Fuck.”

“Easy now,” his lover crooned, moving his free

hand down over his side, up his thigh, and over
his flank. “Just relax.”

Abbott’s light touches soothed him. Richard

rested his forehead on the rug and sighed. He felt
his clenching chute ease. Abbott must have felt it

Charlie Richards

as well, for he added more lube and started
moving his fingers again.

The burn faded quickly, turning into an odd

sensation  of  feeling  full  but  still  not  enough.
Moaning,  he  arched  his  back,  trying  to  get  more
every time Abbott pulled his fingers nearly all the
way  out.  When  Abbott  added  that  third  finger,
stretching him even wider, Richard hissed.

Once again, Abbott crooked his fingers and

massaged his prostate.

Richard shuddered, his body seeming to catch

on fire as goose bumps erupted over every inch of
his skin. Even his toes seemed to tingle. “Holy
shit, A-Abbott! Never felt—” He couldn’t finish, a
moan ripped from him. Abbott still worked the
nub inside him, rendering him unable to continue
speaking.

“It gets better, lover,” Abbott purred into his

ear.  “Just  wait  until  it’s  me  in  here.”  He
punctuated his words with shallow thrusts of his
fingers,  working  the  walls  of  Richard’s  chute,
continuing to stretch him. “I’m gonna fill you up
so good. Gonna slide my cock in here and sink my
teeth here.” Abbott rubbed Richard’s prostate and
nipped  the  point  where  Richard’s  shoulder  met
his neck.

“Oh fuck, yes,” Richard moaned. “Wanna feel

you. Please, mate.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Abbott hummed. “Oh, you’re gonna feel me,”

he assured.

Except, then Abbott pulled his fingers free, and

Richard whined his frustration—not that he’d ever
admit to it later. “Abbott!”

“I’m still here, Richard,” his lover assured. “Just

lubing up. Don’t want to hurt you.”

“Shit, never thought I’d feel like this,” he

muttered. His body practically vibrated with need.
His wolf rolled to his belly in his mind. His cock
oozed, aching, throbbing harder than he’d ever
imagined possible, surely more than he’d ever felt
before.

“Feel like what?” Abbott asked softly, sliding

his cock head against Richard’s entrance.

It took every bit of self-restraint Richard had

left not to press back and try to get his lover’s cock
into his ass. “Like I’ll fly out of my skin if you
don’t fuck me.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”
Then, Abbott pressed forward and popped his

wide head past Richard’s guardian muscle. The
stretch took him by surprise. His breath left him in
a soft hiss between clenched teeth.

“Shit!”
“Easy, lover,” Abbott soothed. “Push out for

me. Keep breathing. The first time is always tough
but it will get better.”

Charlie Richards

Richard nodded, rolling his forehead on the

rug. “Just put it in me already,” he ordered
gruffly. “I don’t care about the pain.”

“I do,” Abbott responded, then slowly started

rocking his hips.

Back and forth. Back and forth.
Richard felt Abbott’s cock slide into him in near

infinitesimal  increments.  He  wanted  to  rock  up,
force  his  lover  to  sink  into  him  more  swiftly.
Unfortunately,  his  mate’s  tight  hold  on  his  hips
didn’t allow him to move.

He did the one thing he could…something he’d

never done before. He begged.

“More, fuck, please, more,” Richard pleaded.

“Please, take me. Make me yours. Been waiting so
long.”

Abbott growled low, but didn’t change his

speed. However, he did release one hip, place his
hand on the floor next to Richard’s and drape over
him, blanketing him with his hard, muscled body.

“And whose fault is that, mate?” Abbott hissed.
Back and forth. In and out. So slow!
“Mine,” Richard mumbled.
“Yes,” Abbott confirmed, his voice throaty and

low. “Now, you wait on my time.”

“Fuck!”
“We are, baby,” his lover crooned. “We are.”
Finally, finally, Abbott bottomed out.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“Hmm,” Abbott hummed into his ear. “Now

this is the place to be.”

Richard groaned, feeling stuffed full, stretched

almost beyond max, and nothing had felt better in
his life. Abbott was inside him, connected to him,
in the best possible way. His lover remained still,
his breathing ragged in Richard’s ear.

After nearly a minute, Richard thought maybe

something was wrong. “W-Why aren’t you
moving? Are you okay?” he whispered.

He rolled his head a bit so he could peer up and

over his shoulder. The feral light filling Abbott’s
hazel eyes almost turned them brown, taking his
breath away.

“Abbott,” he gasped.
Abbott growled softly, vibrating Richard’s

back. “My mate,” he snarled. “You’re mine,
Richard. Mine.”

“I’m yours, Abbott. All yours.”
Some of the feral gleam in his lover’s eyes

eased. Abbott blinked, then grinned widely.
“Mine,” he whispered. Leaning down, he pressed
a soft kiss to Richard’s lips. “Gonna please you
now.”

Richard really thought Abbott would pull out

and start fucking him. Instead, his lover slowly
rotated his hips. The move massaged his opening,
sending odd tingles up his chute and across the
sensitive tissues of his opening. He felt his lover’s

Charlie Richards

balls rub against his own, the crinkly hair
brushing pleasantly over his sacks.

“Oh,” Richard whispered, his eyes widening in

shock.

“There we go, lover,” Abbott stated, repeating

the move. “Feel me. Feel me in you, reaching all
your most intimate places.”

The next roll was a bit more pronounced.

Abbott’s  cock  shifted  in  Richard’s  chute,  jostling
his  gland.  His  groin  felt  hot  and  waves  of  fire
pulsed  up  his  dick.  His  balls  pulled  tighter  and
tighter with each rotation, with each rub, rub over
flesh.

“You gonna come, babe?” Abbott growled. “I

want you to come. I want to feel you squeeze my
dick.”

“Y-Yeah, please!” he whined.
His body practically vibrated with the need to

come, with the desire to please his mate.

Abbott released his other hip and reached

beneath  him.  The  bigger  shifter’s  calloused  hand
around  his  dick  was  the  final  straw.  One  stroke
was  all  it  took.  Richard’s  orgasm  crashed  over
him.  His  cock  spurted,  pumping  strings  of  cum
onto  the  rug  beneath  him.  Moaning,  he  clamped
down  on  his  lover’s  thick  cock  spearing  him.  He
knew it wouldn’t take much to get addicted to the
feel of his mate’s prick filling him, stretching him.

“Amazing,” he slurred, his body still twitching.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Continuing the slow strokes to Richard’s dick,

Abbott licked and nibbled the side of his neck. He
slowly pulled most of the way out. Richard could
feel his chute muscles ripple, the sensation almost
indescribable. Between his lover’s soft stroking on
his shaft and the riot of tingles up his ass,
Richard’s erection didn’t wane.

His balls rolled in his sacks, telling him he was

drawing  dangerously  close  to  a  second  orgasm.
His  body  felt  like  a  wire  strung  too  tight  and  he
had  to  move.  He  began  rocking  backward  into
each of his lover’s thrusts.

The slap, slap of skin on skin, the heavy scent of

his  man’s  arousal  mixed  with  his  already  spent
seed,  sent  Richard’s  blood  roaring  through  his
veins.  A  tingle  started  at  the  base  of  his  spine.
Wanting his alpha with him this time, he clamped
his ass muscles, struggling to milk his lover’s cock.

It worked. Abbott snarled, his thrusts becoming

erratic.

Richard tilted his neck, offering to his mate.

“Pleeassse,” he hissed.

Abbott didn’t even hesitate. He sank his canines

into  Richard’s  neck,  biting  deeply.  The  flash  of
pain  almost  instantly  morphed  into  pleasure,  the
most intense bliss Richard had ever experienced—
even  considering  he’d  just  come—and  he  came
again.

Charlie Richards

Spots danced across his vision and darkness

grayed  around  the  edges  of  his  sight  for  a  few
seconds.  When  he  managed  to  catch  his  breath
and  focus—Richard  thought  it’d  only  been  for  a
few  seconds—then  he  realized  his  lover  had
already  pulled  out  and  was  gently  easing  him
sideways onto the rug.

“Damn, that was—” Richard paused and shook

his head.

Abbott smiled, smug and satiated. “Hell, yeah.”
Leaning down, Abbott sipped from Richard’s

lips.  He  gently  sucked  his  bottom  lip,  before
dipping his tongue inside and  slowly  fucking his
mouth.  Richard  sighed,  opening  wide,  not  even
trying  to  fight  for  control.  After  a  couple  of
moments, Abbott eased up and drew the kiss to an
end.

Smiling up at Abbott, Richard relaxed onto the

rug. He had no clue what to say to the man who’d
just rocked his world.

Evidently, Abbott didn’t need words. His mate

pecked one more kiss, then drew away. “I’ll be
right back with a towel.”

“How about we go shower? I think I need one,”

Richard stated, rising up on his elbows. He
grimaced, feeling the pain in his thigh for the first
time since the doc had stitched him up.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Abbott swept his gaze over his nude form and

nodded. “Good idea.” He held out his hand.
“Come on, babe.”

Richard took Abbott’s hand, allowing his lover

to  help  him  stand.  The  bigger  man  immediately
wrapped  his  arm  around  him,  offering  him
support.  If  anyone  else  had  been  in  the  room,  he
would  have  refused,  but  with  just  his  mate,  he
smiled his thanks.

As they moved out of the room, he muttered,

“We really need to work on that pet name.”

Smirking, Abbott winked. “Sure, babe.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Seven

bbott crossed his arms over his chest and
leaned against the wall. He frowned at his

beta. “Jimmy, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”

His beta growled low in his throat, even as he

ducked his head in submission. “I know, but I
don’t have to like it.”

The corner of Abbott’s lip curved up. Over the

last couple of weeks, he’d grown to like and even
respect his beta. The man garnered trust from the
pack, remained level headed, friendly, and polite
to the families even as he got to know them. He’d
been gone for fifteen years—in the military as a
navy seal, which was long enough for his lack of
aging to start getting noticed. So, he’d retired and
come home.

His skills made him an excellent beta, and

Abbott  felt  grateful  the  man  was  willing  to  back
him  instead  of  trying  to  take  his  position.
Although  Abbott’s  wolf  was  stronger  than
Jimmy’s, because of the man’s military training, it

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

was entirely possible the younger shifter could
take him.

“You need to be seen at the lake already. We

can’t allow Delorian to know we’re onto him,”
Abbott reminded the man, growling back just a
bit.

Jimmy grimaced. Keeping his head bowed, he

stated, “I know. I just don’t have to like it.”

“I’ll be with him,” Richard’s lip curled. If he’d

been in wolf form, his hackles would probably be
rising. “You think I can’t care for my mate?”

Cocking his head, Jimmy met Richard’s gaze.

Slowly, he narrowed his eyes and growled low in
warning.

Hissing in frustration, Richard bowed his head,

peering at Jimmy through his lashes. “I apologize.
That was just insulting.”

After the beta nodded, Abbott rested his hand

on  the  back  of  Richard’s  neck  and  massaged
gently.  Having  his  mate  be  his  enforcer,  hence
lower  ranking  than  his  beta  but  still  aggressive
and protective, left Abbott walking a fine line. He
couldn’t show favoritism to his lover. Richard and
Jimmy had to find a balance on their own. So far,
the  pair  did  a  fairly  good  job  of  it.  They’d  never
spoken out of turn in front of others, keeping their
disagreements behind closed doors.

“So, it’s decided then. You drive to the lake and

hang with the others,” Abbott instructed. “We’ll

Charlie Richards

be  cutting  through  the  trees  in  wolf  form.  We’ve
already  told  Delorian,  so  if  he’s  going  to  follow
through with those rumors that  reached you, it’ll
be then.”

“Two against five is not good odds,” Jimmy

grumbled.  Sighing,  he  nodded.  “If  I  don’t  see  at
least  one  of  the  shifters  that  are  supposed  to  be
involved  with  the  coup,  I’m  shifting  and  coming
to you,” he warned.

Abbott’s brow lifted as he eyed his beta. For just

a second, Jimmy met his gaze, before lowering it
again. He had to hand it to the man. The shifter
had brass.

Delorian had been carrying out his duties to the

letter  over  the  last  week  or  so…when  they  could
get  hold  of  him.  One  too  many  times  having  to
leave a message began to erode Delorian’s façade
of  being  loyal.  Although  they  hadn’t  let  on,  they
all had started sending out feelers with the shifters
they knew they could trust.

It didn’t take long to find out that in Delorian’s

off  time,  he  hung  out  at  a  bar  and  insulted  the
alpha.  They’d  heard  several  tales,  a  couple  from
various  members  of  Kontra’s  shifter  gang,
including  from  the  alpha  bear  himself,  as  well  as
from  the  bar’s  owner.  The  human  didn’t
understand  why  Delorian  hated  Abbott  so
much—at  least  the  wolf  had  been  discreet  about
that—but  the  owner  had  assured  Richard  when

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

questioned that Delorian was there at least four
evenings a week with sometimes up to four
others.

“All right,” Abbott stated. “Then, I’ll see you

shortly. We’ll leave here in thirty minutes. Call me
as soon as you get there and give me a heads up,
hmm?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jimmy replied. After a nod to

first Abbott, then Richard, he turned and strode
from the room. A moment later, the front door
opened and slammed.

“Thirty minutes,” Richard murmured. “How

should we pass the time?”

Abbott grinned and pulled his mate into his

arms. He pressed a soft butterfly kiss to Richard’s
lips, then whispered, “By packing our bags and
getting ready to go.”

Richard snorted and rolled his eyes. “You’re so

mean.”

Barking a laugh, Abbott released his man and

headed out of the kitchen to the front room. Since
that  first  time,  his  man  had  been  insatiable.  The
morning  after  their  mating—and  after  a  morning
blow job—Abbott had asked Richard if he’d ever
been  with  a  man  before.  It’d  been  more  curiosity
than  wanting  to  know  about  his  past  lovers,  but
the way Richard had slowly explored him—while
amazing—had  indicated  a  level  of  inexperience

Charlie Richards

Abbott would never have anticipated from the
good looking man.

“Uh, yeah. Once,” Richard had admitted.
“Wow. Just once? Wasn’t, uh, wasn’t what you

expected?”

His face flaming, Richard had licked his lips

before saying, “Uh, it wasn’t really that, actually.”
He’d stared at the ceiling, frowning. “The only
guys who ever really came onto me were slender
twinks, but it was men like you that I found
attractive.”

Abbott’s brows had shot up at that admission,

but his mate hadn’t been done.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know you had to

stretch a guy.” Richard turned and looked at
Abbott, shrugging one shoulder. “The dude I took
home was wearing a butt plug.”

“So, when I stretched you yesterday…” He let

his sentence hang.

Richard flushed. “I’d actually thought you were

just, uh…” His face darkened a bit more. “I
thought you were just prolonging the activity.”

Abbott had explained that, yes, stretching did

prolong  their  time  together,  but  it  was  also  a
necessary  part  of  it.  Not  to  mention,  he  loved
giving  pleasure  to  his  mate.  The  only  problem
was, once they got started, it took a hell of a long
time to satiate either one of them.

Abbott loved that about his man.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Grinning, Abbott looked back at Richard and

winked. “You and I both know that if we start
something now, we’ll never get there on time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Richard grumbled, but he

grinned while saying it.

Abbott headed into his garage and pulled out

his  ice  skates.  Lifting  the  black  hockey  skates,  he
checked the blades, running his finger along them.
They  could  stand  to  be  sharpened,  but  they’d  do
for  another  two  or  three  outings.  He’d  have  to
remember to put it on his to do list.

Taking them into the house, he placed them

near the door to the back deck where they’d shift.
Upstairs,  he  grabbed  a  small  duffel  bag,  then
returned  to  the  back  door  and  proceeded  to
remove  his  clothes,  roll  them  up,  and  carefully
tuck them into the bag.

Standing in the buff, Abbott waited. A few

minutes later, Richard appeared, carrying his own
bag.  He  set  it  down,  along  with  his  skates.  They
stood  silently  for  a  moment,  watching  the  tiny
snowflakes  drift  to  the  ground,  adding  to  the
white blanket already covering the ground.

Finally, Richard broke the silence. “I won’t

leave you. You know that, right?”

Smiling slightly, Abbott nodded. “Any enforcer

worth his salt would fight beside his alpha to the
death. The only time that’d be different was if
there were cubs to get away and protect.” He

Charlie Richards

turned his focus on his man. Reaching out, he
gently cupped Richard’s jaw. “You being my mate
just makes the compulsion that much stronger.”

Richard’s eyes narrowed. His lips pressed

together into a thin line. “So we understand each
other.”

Abbott’s heart pounded in his chest. He licked

his lips and, lowering his head, pressed their
foreheads together. “I’d expect nothing less from
my partner,” he whispered. “And I would do the
same for you.”

“You were married,” he pointed out. “Would

you feel differently if I were a woman?”

Smiling, Abbott shrugged. “Emily was human,

so it’s a non-issue.”

For a second, Abbott thought Richard would

disagree, so he added, “You’d have liked Emily.
And she would have loved you. Two big men,
loving up on her, then me fucking you through the
mattress. What wouldn’t there be to love?”

To his surprise, Richard growled low in his

throat.  His  eyes  turned  feral.  His  canines
lengthened.  “Mine,”  he  snarled.  Instead  of
wrenching  away  from  Abbott  though,  Richard
twisted his head and  sank  his teeth into Abbott’s
bare neck.

Abbott roared in shock. Pain swept through

him, followed quickly by heat waves of bliss
rushing through his veins. He moaned as his body

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

shuddered. His dick thickened and shot, an
orgasm blind-siding him…hard. Sucking in
ragged gasps, Abbott tried to catch his breath.

Seconds later, Richard slid his teeth free and

lapped at his wound, sealing the mark.

After swallowing hard, Abbott found his

tongue. “Not that I didn’t enjoy the orgasm,” he
whispered. “But what the fuck?”

Richard nuzzled Abbott’s cheek, humming

almost contentedly. “Mine,” he rumbled.

“Yours,” Abbott murmured. Blinking, he

struggled to figure out what the hell had brought
on Richard’s sudden need to mark him. Then, it
hit him. He’d talked about sharing his mate with
another. “Shit, that was a stupid thing to say. I’m
sorry, Rich. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Richard,” he hissed, yanking away from him.

“Not Rich.”

Abbott grimaced at his mistake. Richard had

been  adamant  on  that  one  point,  and  when  he’d
asked  why,  his  mate  had  explained  his  old  beta
had  used  his  shortened  name  as  a  derogatory
term…a way to put him in his place. Now, and for
good  reason,  Richard  hated  being  called  Rich.
Abbott  knew  he’d  need  to  be  far  more  careful  in
the future.

“And I don’t fucking share. You’re fucking

mine. You got that?”

Charlie Richards

Sure, he’d shared Emily, but that’d been before

he’d  claimed  her.  But,  she  hadn’t  been  his  fated
mate.  As  a  human,  he’d  loved  her,  but  his  wolf
hadn’t  been  involved.  He  lifted  his  hands  in
placation.  “Yeah,  Richard.  I  got  it.  No  sharing.  I
never  plan  to  share  you,  either,”  he  assured.  He
wished  he  could  grab  the  agitated  man  and  hold
him close, soothe him, and it hurt like hell that the
wild  look  in  his  man’s  eyes  told  him  not  to  even
try.

“Good,” Richard snarled. He pointed his finger

at Abbott and snapped, “You fucking remember
that. I will shred anyone who tries to touch you.
Man or woman.”

With that parting shot, Richard grabbed his

stuff  and  stalked  outside.  He  dropped  the  items
on  the  porch  and  proceeded  to  shift.  By  the  time
Abbott  got  his  head  together  and  followed  him
outside, Richard was already wolf and holding his
bag  and  skate  laces  in  his  mouth,  looking  at  him
expectantly.

Sighing, Abbott dropped to his knees before

Richard.  He  grabbed  his  mate’s  ears  and  forced
the  other  wolf  to  look  him  in  the  eye.  “Richard,
I’m  sorry.  I  didn’t  think  about  how  my  words
would  affect  you.”  Richard  looked  unconvinced.
“It’s not common knowledge, but before I married
Emily, we’d…we enjoyed the occasional ménage. I
would  never  dream  of  doing  that  with  you.”  He

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

grimaced, then admitted, “Believe it or not, if
anyone were to touch you, I’d do the same. I’d
shred them.”

Richard stared at him for a long moment, and

Abbott  prayed  he  would  accept  his  apology  and
forgive  him.  Finally,  his  lover  released  his  stuff,
dropping it, and licked the side of his face. Abbott
wasn’t a fan of wolf kisses—although he tolerated
them  from  pups  on  occasion—but  after  his  and
Richard’s misunderstanding, he’d accept anything
his man wanted to give him.

Ruffling Richard’s ears, Abbott smiled. “Thank

you, babe. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a
relationship. I’m bound to make mistakes on
occasion.”

At his words, Richard’s wolf did a really great

job of rolling his eyes.

Abbott chuckled, releasing his man just as his

phone rang. “This is Abbott.”

“Delorian is here.”
“Well, damn,” Abbott mumbled. “Okay. See

you shortly.” He disconnected the call and tucked
it into his bag. “It looks like they must have
changed plans or something,” he explained to
Richard. “Jimmy says Delorian is at the lake.”

Richard growled softly.
Abbott nodded absently. “I hear ya,” he

mumbled. “What the fuck is he up to?” Knowing
even if his man had been in human form, he

Charlie Richards

wouldn’t have an answer, Abbott didn’t waste any
more  time  and  initiated  his  own  shift.  His  skin
tingled  as  his  fur  grew,  his  tendons  and  muscles
popped  as  his  skeleton  cracked  and  reshaped.
Although  he’d  heard  humans  comment  that  it
sounded  painful,  for  the  most  part,  it  wasn’t  any
more painful than a really good stretch.

Plus, as an alpha, it only took Abbott about

fifteen seconds to get it done.

Once done shifting, Abbott shook out his fur.

He grabbed his bag and skates, and took off
running. The crunch of paws on snow behind him
told him his mate followed. In wolf form, it’d take
about twenty minutes at a steady jog to reach the
park owned by his pack.

They’d bought the nearly two hundred acres

almost eighty years before. The pack had met
three weekends in a row to clear dangers to cubs,
put in a couple pavilions and fire pits, as well as a
dock for the seven acre lake on the property.

Every year, the pack held a number of

celebrations there, including a holiday party. The
shifters enjoyed ice skating, BBQing, and at the
end of the evening, a tree lighting. If they weren’t
working, everyone attended.

Fifteen minutes into their jog, three wolves

skittered across their path, growling and snarling.

Abbott skidded to a stop, dropping his bag and

skates, and peered around at the disrespectful

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

shifters. He returned their aggression with his
own, growling back. Richard stood at his side, his
head lowered, his ears pinned, and his teeth
bared.

As Abbott surveyed the three wolves before

him, he recognized Bernie, Walter, and Logan. The
third one surprised him. He knew the shifter was
gay, having spotted him dancing in a gay bar out
of town. Why was the shifter backing these other
homophobes?

When he’d growled, these three should have

backed down, offering their submission. They
hadn’t. For now, that information was enough for
Abbott. He’d take these fuckers down and remind
them why he was alpha.

Knowing his mate—an enforcer—had his back,

Abbott  lunged  at  the  nearest  wolf—Bernie.  Even
as  Abbott  landed  on  Bernie’s  back  and  sank  his
teeth into the other wolf’s neck, he heard Richard’s
snarls  and  the  thumps  of  bodies  colliding.
Focusing on Bernie, Abbott used his larger mass to
flip his opponent to his back.

Just as he was about to sink his teeth deeper

and demand submission, a heavy weight slammed
into him, knocking him sideways. Abbott rolled
twice before splaying his legs and regaining his
feet.

Abbott snarled upon seeing Richard faced off

against three wolves, Walter and Logan having

Charlie Richards

been joined by Nedrik. He realized it’d been
Delorian who’d attacked him, knocking him away
from Bernie.

Damn it! How could Delorian have slipped away

from Jimmy?

Realizing it didn’t matter now—what’s done is

done—Abbott swept his gaze over the attacking
wolves, searching for an advantage. He needed to
level the playing field. Two against five, even with
that pair being the alpha and enforcer, were not
good odds.

Slowly, growling in warning, Abbott circled the

two wolves he faced while trying to keep an eye
on the others. He watched carefully, trying to find
an opening…any opening. When Abbott crossed
between Nedrik and Walter, Delorian lunged.

It was the opening Abbott needed.
Abbott leaped away from both of them, directly

at Walter. He landed on the unsuspecting wolf’s
back and sank his teeth into his neck. Driving the
wolf to the ground, he tightened his hold, tasting
blood.

Another wolf slammed into him—again.

Except,  this  time,  Abbott  showed  no  mercy.  He
refused  to  loosen  his  hold,  tearing  out  Walter’s
throat. He’d feel bad later. Right then, he crashed
sideways  into  a  tree,  slamming  the  wolf  latched
onto his back into the trunk.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

With a howl of pain, the brown wolf Abbott

recognized as Delorian released him and thudded
to the ground. Turning back toward his mate and
the others, he spotted Richard standing over
Bernie—who appeared down permanently. To his
surprise, Nedrik snarled at Logan, who dropped
and showed his belly.

Pain sank into his flank, drawing a surprised

yip from his lungs.

Charlie Richards

Chapter Eight

ichard’s head snapped around upon hearing
Abbott’s pained cry. He leaped toward the

pair. Before he could get there, his alpha had
turned on his haunches and swiped a clawed paw
at the wolf that had attacked him.

With one mighty swing, Abbott knocked

Delorian  away  from  him.  Richard’s  mate  didn’t
wait  for  Delorian’s  next  attack.  Instead,  he
pounced on the enforcer. With a quick move and
powerful  jaws,  Abbott  ripped  out  Delorian’s
throat.

Abbott stepped away and spun around,

growling again as his gaze fell on Nedrik and
Logan. Nedrik immediately rolled and showed his
belly.

Stalking forward, Abbott clamped his jaws

around first Nedrik’s neck, then Logan’s. Both
wolves remained still, baring their throats,
waiting. Abbott backed away and sniffed. Seconds
later, a naked human Abbott knelt in the snow.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“Shift,” Abbott snarled, glaring at the

remaining pair of wolves. Once they’d both begun
their changes, his alpha turned his stare toward
Richard, his expression softening just a bit. “You,
too.”

Richard obeyed, pushing hard to shift as

quickly  as  possible.  Even  having  started  a  good
ten  seconds  after  the other  pair,  he  still  managed
to  get  done  just  as  they  were.  He  quickly  stood
and  crossed  to  stand  beside  his  mate,  showing  a
united front.

“Son of a bitch!”
Keeping one eye on the pair of men, Richard

spotted  Jimmy  appearing  between  the  trees  at  a
dead  run,  skidding  to  a  stop  in  the  clearing.  The
beta  took  in  the  three  dead  wolves  and  the  four
naked men. His jaw sagged open.

“Son of a bitch!” Jimmy hollered again.
Richard smirked at the beta. “You said that

already.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth,

then must have changed his mind, for he snapped
his  jaw  shut.  Instead,  he  turned  his  attention  to
Abbott and cocked his head. “I apologize, Alpha. I
allowed  myself  to  become  distracted.”  Jimmy
flushed  red  and  explained,  “The  little  kids  asked
me to decorate the tree with them.”

Charlie Richards

Abbott nodded once. “It’s fine, James,” he

stated, the alpha remaining formal in front of the
two wolves who’d attacked them.

Although, now that Richard thought about it,

Nedrik hadn’t actually attacked them. He hoped
his mate realized that, because he’d hate to have to
stand up for the dubious shifter, because he didn’t
truly trust him.

Crossing his arms over his chest, unmindful of

his  nudity—and  the  freezing  snow—Abbott
glared at the pair of men. After a second, where he
peered  at  first  one  wolf,  then  the  other,  and
scented  the  wind,  Abbott  gave  Logan  a  narrow-
eyed glare.

“Logan St. Clair, you sided with Delorian

Saverman,  backing  him  when  he  led  a  coup
against  his  alpha.  The  coup  failed.  Your  fellows
are  dead.”  For  a  heartbeat,  Abbott  paused.  His
eyes narrowed as he took in the tense lines of the
man. “Logan St. Clair, you are hereby banished. If
you ask for sanctuary from another pack and they
ask  why  you  were  banished,  I  will  tell  them  you
mutinied.”

The more Abbott spoke, the more Logan paled.

The wolf shifter’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his
entire body trembled.

“You have seventy-two hours to say your good-

byes, pack your things, and get off of my pack-
lands.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

Logan licked his lips and swallowed hard. His

eyes  gleamed  for  a  moment  and  he  blinked
quickly.  Finally,  Logan  sucked  in  a  slow  breath,
nodded  once,  and  bowed  his  head.  “I  apologize,
Alpha Abbott. I see the error of my ways. Should I
be granted another pack, I will do my best to earn
back my honor.”

At that, Abbott lifted a brow. “I wish you all the

best  in  your  quest.”  After  a  second,  the  alpha
sighed and softly added, “Join us this evening, for
the  festivities.  There  will  be  time  enough
tomorrow  to  tell  the  rest  of  the  pack  of
your…misdeeds.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” Logan whispered, his

voice hoarse.

Abbott turned to Nedrik, scowling. He grunted

low in his throat, then snapped, “And you, Nedrik
Rosher. You did not warn us of the danger. Why?”

Nedrik flushed. His gaze on the ground, he

whispered, “I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“We would have,” Richard assured softly. He

crossed his arms over his chest and growled,
“How do we know you didn’t change your mind
because you realized, even five against two, you
all couldn’t win?”

“I’m sorry,” Nedrik immediately murmured. “I

was afraid.”

“Afraid?” Jimmy quickly cut in.
Logan whispered, “Of Delorian.”

Charlie Richards

Everyone turned to stare at the banished wolf.

Logan  swallowed  hard.  “Delorian  wasn’t  a  real
nice  wolf,”  he  whispered.  “If  someone  spoke
against  one  of  his  ideas,  he  used  his  fists  to
convince him.”

“Never anywhere noticeable, of course,”

Nedrik  quickly  cut  in.  “In  the  gut  or  the  kidneys
were  his  favorite  places.”  He  glanced  toward  the
downed  wolf—trepidation  on  his  face—as  if  he
feared the shifter would get up and attack.

Abbott scowled. “And this was something you

tolerated? Why didn’t you come to me? Or my
father? Or Daniel?” he snapped, referring to the
prior beta.

“He always did it in the guise of one wolf

showing  another  who  was  more  dominant,”
Logan  mumbled,  his  gaze  fixed  on  the  ground
before  him.  “Then,  he  became  an  enforcer.  We
didn’t think we’d be believed.”

Sighing, Abbott shook his head. He stared up at

the gray sky for a few seconds, then focused on
Logan. “In your future pack, I hope you choose
your friends more wisely.”

Logan nodded stiffly, his tension nearly a

visible thing.

“Jimmy, head back to the pack. I need you to

keep the deaths of Delorian, Bernie, and Walter
under wraps for tonight,” Abbott ordered. “We’ll

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

need to meet with Bernie’s mother and Walter’s
brother and sister tomorrow, first thing.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jimmy responded. The beta’s

gaze swept over the downed wolves. For a
moment, it appeared he planned to ask something,
but then he turned away and trudged through the
snow, back the way he’d come.

“You two can help us get these wolves back to

my place. We’ll put them in the shed for now,”
Abbott said, heading toward Delorian.

That’s when Richard noticed it…the slight

thinning of Abbott’s lips, the pinch to the corners
of  his  mouth,  and  the  tense  way  he  held  his
shoulders.  Wait?  Is  that  a  limp?  Richard  followed
his alpha to Delorian’s prone form. With each step
Abbott  took,  small  drops  of  blood  colored  the
snow.

Grabbing Abbott’s bag, Richard thrust it at him.

“Here. I can get Delorian if you carry our stuff.”
He tried to make it sound like an offer, but upon
Abbott’s narrow-eyed look, knew he hadn’t quite
pulled it off. Forcing a smile, he stated, “We’ll just
drag them in wolf form. No sense in all of us
freezing our asses off.”

Abbott peered at him. Fatigue and regret

flashed in his eyes for just a second before he
managed to hide it again. “Very well. I’ll go ahead
and get tarps and open the shed.”

Charlie Richards

Relieved his mate wasn’t going to argue,

Richard quickly shifted. Once again a wolf, he
sniffed around the downed Delorian, searching for
the best way to grip him. Finally, he decided what
the hell. He latched onto the shifters tail and began
to drag him home.

Behind him, Nedrik and Logan did the same to

Walter and Bernie.

Abbott paced beside them, making certain no

one was around to see. Once they crossed onto his
land, he jogged ahead, presumably to prepare the
shed as he’d mentioned.

Richard wrapped a tarp around the last wolf,

muttering thanks to Logan. Even upon hearing the
pressure  Logan  had  been  under,  Richard
understood  why  Abbott  hadn’t  overturned  his
decision  to  banish  Logan.  The  wolf  could  have
gotten  out  of  the  situation  at  any  time.  Instead,
he’d  committed  mutiny.  Still,  feeling  bad  for  the
wolf, Richard figured he could throw the shifter a
bone.

After Nedrik had left the small space, Richard

grabbed Logan’s arm to keep him from leaving,
too. Logan cringed and hung his head.

Immediately releasing the shifter, Richard lifted

his hands in placation. “Look, I’m gonna tell you I
agree with my mate. You didn’t give him the

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

respect he deserved, so it’s time for you to move
on.”

Logan’s cheeks flushed scarlet as he mumbled.

“Yeah. I know.”

“However,” Richard continued, “I also know

what it’s like to not have a pack.” Running a hand
through  his  hair  once,  he  settled  his  fists  on  his
hips. “Look, go talk to Kontra Belikov. He’ll be at
the  park  this  evening  with  a  few  members  of  his
pack. Diego and Vail are part of his pack now and
they’re  gonna  head  out  tomorrow  evening,  so
they’re  saying  good-bye  to  most  everyone
tonight.” He paused for just an instant, then before
he could second guess himself, suggested, “Ask to
go with them.”

Finally, Logan’s head snapped up and he stared

wide-eyed at him.

Richard smiled and nodded once. “He’s a fair

alpha and firmly believes everyone deserves a
second chance.”

“H-He’s a bear shifter,” Logan whispered, his

trepidation clear. “A grizzly bear.” He paled a bit
more. “And there’s a hyena and a bull and a s-
snake!”

His last few words came out on a squeak.
Chuckling, Richard patted his shoulder.

“They’re good guys. Give it some thought,” he
recommended. Knowing he couldn’t convince the
shifter if he didn’t want to be convinced, Richard

Charlie Richards

patted the man on the shoulder and headed out of
the shed. Besides, he was ready to get the hell out
of the cold.

The house was quiet when Richard entered.

Cocking his head, he listened. Hearing a grunt,
then a hiss, Richard started toward the master
suite, calling for his mate. “Abbott?”

“Bathroom,” his alpha called back.
Stopping in the doorway, Richard leaned

against the trim and watched his lover tape a piece
of  gauze  on  his  leg,  covering  the  claw  marks.
Richard  growled  low  in  his  throat.  Abbott
straightened,  his  brows  shooting  up.  Flushing,
Richard  admitted,  “I  hate  seeing  another’s  marks
on you.”

Abbott stepped in front of him, cupped his jaw

in one hand and slid his other arm around his
waist, pulling him close. “They will heal. You had
my back, just as I knew you would.”

Remembering the fight, Richard scowled at his

lover. “You turned your back on Nedrik and
Delorian to attack Walter. What the hell were you
thinking?” he roared.

Instead of getting upset, Abbott pressed a soft

butterfly kiss to his lips, then rested their
foreheads together. “You, babe.”

“What?” Confusion laced his voice.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

“I was thinking of you, Richard. You are my

mate  and  you  were  facing  three  wolves,”  Abbott
stated. “I know you can take care of yourself, but
you  are  my  mate.  I  will  always  consider  your
safety  above  my  own.”  Sighing,  Abbott  rubbed
their temples together, nuzzling, as he added in a
hushed  voice,  “I  love  you.  I  needed  to  see  you
safe.”

Richard’s heart tripped in his chest. His anger

dissolved  nearly  instantly  at  those  words.  He
swallowed  hard,  remembering  the  rage  and
jealousy  he’d  felt  upon  Abbott’s  careless  words
earlier that evening. The fear that he  wouldn’t be
enough for his lover had nearly torn a hole in his
heart.

Hearing Abbott’s apology out on the deck, then

facing  off  against  those  wolves,  had  put  things
into perspective for him. Richard knew he’d been
so  angry,  so  hurt,  because  he  loved  Abbott.
Richard  had  known  only  one  thing…he  had  to
keep  his  alpha  safe  so  he  could  share  that
information.  Even  if  Abbott  hadn’t  reciprocated
his  feelings,  Richard  had  vowed  to  tell  him
anyway, and he’d have prayed that, someday, his
mate would feel the same.

“Look, I know we haven’t been together long,”

Abbott’s soft words cut into Richard’s thoughts.
“And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but you
asked, so I wanted to be honest with you.” His

Charlie Richards

man pressed a soft kiss to his temple. “I always
want honesty between us.”

“I love you, too,” Richard blurted. He jerked his

head back a couple inches so he could look Abbott
in the eyes. He scented the man’s disbelief, even as
he read the hope on his face. “I’m not good with
words or emotions, but that’s the truth. I do love
you.” He smiled, running his thumb over Abbott’s
brow, easing the creases there. “Honesty would be
great. To that end, I want to tell you that you
scared the shit out of me.” His tone lowered as his
jaw clenched. “Please, try not to do it again.”

A grin slowly took over Abbott’s features, his

eyes softening, expressing his pleasure. “We live
in a dangerous world, my lover, so I can only
promise to try.”

“Thank you,” Richard replied, putting every

ounce of gratitude he could into those two words,
even knowing how inadequate they were.

Abbott captured Richard’s mouth in a slow,

thorough  exploration.  He  tangled  their  tongues,
encouraging  Richard’s  appendage  into  his  own
mouth,  then  sucking  it  lightly.  The  gentle  pulls
seemed  to  transfer  straight  to  his  cock,  and
Richard moaned into his lover’s mouth as his cock
hardened, painfully so.

After a few minutes, Abbott eased the kiss to an

end, then grinned at Richard. “I plan to make

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

slow, sweet love to you this evening, mate,” he
crooned. “Show you emotion in action.”

Richard grunted. Reaching down, he pressed

the heel of his hand against the base of his shaft.
“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Oh, we will,” Abbott assured softly. Pecking a

kiss to Richard’s lips, he spoke against his mouth.
“Later, babe, I’ll take very good care of you.”

“Why not now?” Richard knew he sounded

whiny, but he couldn’t help it. His cock ached and
his ass clenched. Sure, he’d felt his lover’s dick just
that morning, but he wanted his man pounding
into him again…almost desperately.

“Not enough time to take care of you properly,”

Abbott  murmured,  nibbling  on  the  sensitive  skin
at the joint of his jaw. Suddenly, he stepped back
and  grinned…looking  smug  as  he  took  in  what
Richard  knew  must  be  his  kiss-swollen  lips  and
flushed  face.  Damn,  his  man  did  it  for  him.
“However, I can help out with that.”

Upon watching his alpha lower to his knees,

Richard’s  breath  caught  in  his  throat.  His  shaft
twitched,  tapping  against  his  stomach.  Pre-cum
strung  from  his  abs  to  his  cock-head,  connecting
them with a thin, gleaming thread.

“So pretty,” Abbott crooned. Gripping

Richard’s hip in one hand, he used the index
finger of his other hand to break the thread, then
swipe the moisture around his head.

Charlie Richards

100

Richard moaned at the feel of the gentle touch

on his sensitive glans. Seeing his mate’s lust-filled
expression,  he  felt  his  balls  roll  in  his  sacks.
Seconds  later,  Abbott  opened  his  mouth  and
sucked  him  to  the  root.  Wet,  sucking  heat
surrounded  his  shaft,  drawing  a  groan  from  his
lips.

Seeing his lover, his alpha, sucking his cock,

combined with the sensations shooting through
his stalk to zing through his veins, had Richard
riding

the

edge

embarrassingly

fast.

Unfortunately, right about then, Abbott released
his hip, reached between his legs, and rolled
Richard’s balls in his palm.

Orgasm swamped him. Shouting hoarsely,

Richard coated his lover’s throat with blast after
blast of seed. Bliss pinged through his system as
his body convulsed.

When Richard finally returned to some

semblance of his senses, he sighed and smiled
down at his lover. “Give me a sec, and I’ll return
the favor.”

After licking his lips, Abbott grinned up at him.

“No  need,  mate,”  he assured.  He  rocked  back  on
his heels and revealed the hand he had on his own
spent  cock.  “I  came  when  you  did.”  Leaning
forward,  he  gently  kissed  Richard’s  cock  head,
sending  renewed  tendrils  of  arousal  through
Richard’s system. “You taste delicious.”

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

101

Grinning, Richard debated what he could say to

get his man to take him to bed right then when the
sound of Abbott’s phone sounded from the
dresser.

Abbott

must

have

read

his

disappointment, for he laughed as he gained his
feet, slapping Richard’s hip as he went.

“Get dressed, lover,” Abbott ordered. With a

wink, he ordered, “Duty calls.”

Richard lounged on the bench, grateful for the

thermal  underwear  he  wore  under  his  jeans.  The
wood  beneath  his  ass  was  damn  cold.  Watching
his  mate  teach  a  ten  year  old  girl  how  to  ice
skate—Naomi,  if  he  remembered  correctly—
Richard couldn’t be more proud.

Somehow, he’d managed to snag the heart of

that man.

Damn, Fate is good to me.
Sipping the hot apple cider, he stretched his

toes  for  a  minute  before  sliding  them  into  his
boots.  Gods,  it’d  been  ages  since  he’d  ice  skated
for  that  long.  He  put  down  his  cup  and  tied  his
shoes. Just as he straightened, the bench under his
butt  jostled  and  the  scent  of  a  fellow  wolf  shifter
drifted to his nostrils.

Richard picked up his mug—it felt damn

awesome on his cold fingers—and turned to smile
at his brother. “Hey, Crain. How you doing?”

Charlie Richards

102

“Great.” Crain took a sip of his own mug,

which Richard recognized from its scent as coffee.
His brother loved the beverage. “That was a really
nice thing you did for Logan.”

Richard peered at his brother from the corner of

his eye. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Crain bumped his shoulder into Richard’s. “I’m

sure you don’t.”

Richard remained quiet, knowing he couldn’t

really speak openly about the whole incident with
his brother. Of course, sibling intuition meant the
second he’d arrived at the lake, his brother knew
something was up. Ten minutes after Richard’s
arrival, Crain had pulled him aside and Richard
had spilled the whole sordid mess to him.

“I heard Logan talking with Kontra,” Crain

revealed softly.

Richard grunted in response. He knew his

brother  wouldn’t  need  any  other  response  of
acknowledgement  from  him.  Instead,  Richard
took  in  the  scene  before  him.  Families  milled
around  the  area,  stopping  at  the  grills,  eating
hotdogs  and  hamburgers,  chatting  and  playing.
The  tree  had  been  decorated  by  just  about
everyone.  Even  Richard  had  added  a  few
ornaments, although most had been added by the
children.

“I really like it here,” Crain whispered,

watching the activity.

Unwrapping the Alpha’s Mate

103

Richard grinned. “Me, too,” he murmured.

“Me, too.”

He spotted his lover hobbling off the iced-over

lake, helping the little girl and almost landing on
his ass. Richard stood and after an affectionate
squeeze to his brother’s shoulder, he crossed to his
man’s side.

Abbott smiled his welcome, accepting Richard’s

arm around his waist even as the mother took the
little girl’s hand. “Thank  you, Alpha,” the female
shifter  said  sincerely,  her  grateful  smile
encompassing  them  both.  “Say  thank  you,
Naomi.”

Naomi beamed up at Abbott. “Thank you,

Alpha!”

Laughing, Abbott replied, “Of course, sweetie.

You keep practicing. You’ll be a pro in no time.”

“I will,” she called over her shoulder as her

mother led her away.

Helping his lover to the bench he’d vacated not

long before, Richard grinned over at his man.
“You have a fan.”

Abbott chuckled. “Naomi got the hang of it fast.

That was fun.” After removing his skates and
shoving into his boots, he rose and held out his
hand.

Richard’s brows lifted, but unwilling to deny

his lover, he took the man’s hand and allowed
himself to be pulled to his feet. He was even more

Charlie Richards

104

surprised with Abbott leaned forward and pecked
a quick kiss to his lips.

“Come on, babe, it’s time to light the tree.”
Glancing around, Richard realized no one

freaked out over their PDA. In fact, no one seemed
to care at all…except Adriana who gave him a
huge grin and a double thumbs up. Following his
mate to the decorated tree, Richard realized he’d
really done it. He’d found the love of his life in a
pack that accepted him.

Grinning, Richard stood at his alpha’s side,

watching him light the tree. Pride and love for the
man  mixed  strangely  with  the  satisfaction  he  felt
at  watching  the  people  laughing  and  chatting
around  him.  An  amazing  sense  of  peace  and
contentment filled Richard.

Leaning close to his mate, Richard whispered,

“Love you.”

Abbott paused in his conversation with Aaric.

He turned and smiled at Richard, his eyes glowing
with his own pleasure. “I love you, too, Richard.”

Knowing his lover spoke the truth, Richard

couldn’t wait to get home and see just how Abbott
planned to express his emotions.

About the Author

Charlie  started  writing  fantasy  when  she  was
eight,  and  after  stumbling  onto  her  first  erotic
romance  at  age  nineteen,  she  realized  her  true
calling.  She  now  focuses  on  writing  gay  erotic
romance, normally of the paranormal variety, with
heroes of all kinds. With the help and support of
her  husband,  Charlie  finally  fulfilled  one  of  her
life-long goals…move to acreage with her horses.
You can often find her curled up with her laptop
and a cup of tea or glass of wine, creating her next
adventure. Charlie enjoys exploring the mountains
of her new Oregon home on horseback, 4-wheeler,
or motorcycle.

She can be reached at ch.richards2010@yahoo.com
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com

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