Stephani Hecht Lost Shifters 14 Russell's Reversal

Sometimes even the strongest of love can’t erase
the past.

Russell has always liked his men the same way

he likes his sex: fast, hard, and without any
emotional attachments. As leader of not only a
pack of rogue Wolf shifters but also almost every
illegal enterprise in the shifter world, Russell
knows he’s not the type to ever find a mate and
settle down. Then Dalton slips into his life, turning
it upside down. Not only is Dalton a Lynx shifter,
he’s also sweet and innocent: everything that
Russell never liked in a man…or so he thought.

But Dalton has a tragic past, which left him

scarred inside and out and without a family.
Dalton discovers that Russell may have had
something to do with that tragedy just as Russell
thinks he’s finally going to be able to claim his
mate. Will Dalton be able to forgive Russell, or
will their love be doomed to end before it even
begins?

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Russell’s Reversal

ISBN: 978-1-77111-025-9

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Russell’s Reversal

Lost Shifter Fourteen

Stephani Hecht

Dear Readers,
I included my free read in this story since it really
does show how Russell and Dalton met and some
of you may not have already read Hey, There’s Fur
in My Wedding Cake on the eXtasy site. For those
who have already read it, you may want to enjoy
it again and I thought it would be neat to have all
of Russell and Dalton’s story in one PDFpdf for
your convenience. As always, thank you for your
support. Without great readers like all of you, I
would be nowhere. You guys rock!

Russell’s Reversal

Prologue

Hey, There’s Fur in My Wedding Cake

uck, the fates must really have a major beef
against him. Either that or he’d pissed off

Mother Karma and she was giving him a swift
kick in the ass.

How else could Russell explain how his ass had

wound up at what was essentially a wedding
between a cat and a dog? Okay to be fair, the
groom was really a Wolf and his bride a Jaguar.
And they were both shifters so they were human
most of the time, but seriously…a Fido marrying a
Fluffy? That just seemed wrong on so many levels.

True, it’d already been done. The bride and

groom’s brothers had officially become mates not
too long ago. But then again, they hadn’t made
this big of a deal over it. Of course, that was
probably because the present groom was a jerk
who lived to be the center of attention.

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Russell let out a long-suffering sigh as he

surveyed the scene in front of him. Actually,
colossal cluster fuck would be a better term.

The large meeting hall that stood in the heart of

the building housing his former pack was packed
full. Not with just Wolves either. Everywhere he
turned, he encountered a different breed of feline.
Lions and tigers and cheetahs—oh, my! There were
even a small scattering of some other breeds, too, a
couple Hawks were present as well as a Fox
and…damn…a Black Widow shifter. Wow, he
thought that particular type of spider was near
extinct since they had the nasty habit of always
turning on each other.

Damn, this little event was turning out to be a

documentary from Animal Planet gone bad. It was
so much that Russell almost turned around and
walked out. Almost. Then he thought about his
cousin, Ranger and all thoughts of fleeing
evaporated.

Well, Ranger was really his second cousin, but

Russell wasn’t about to dick around with
technicalities. Especially since Ranger was one of
the few family members that Russell actually liked
and respected.

He sure as hell didn’t like the Alpha of the

pack. Chris, who was really his cousin, was the
groom. To Ranger, there was only two tags that
really should be associated with the Wolf and they

Russell’s Reversal

were ass and hole.

While he’d missed the actually marriage

ceremony, Russell forced himself to come to the
reception. But only in hopes of mending fences
between Ranger and Chris. Other than that,
Russell wouldn’t have shown his face at all.

The hall was lavishly decorated with so many

bows, flowers and taffeta that it looked like a
wedding planner had exploded. Not that Russell
expected anything less. After all, it wasn’t every
day a Wolf Alpha married the sister of the leader
from the local feline coalition. There hadn’t been a
royal wedding this big since Will and Kate.

There was just as much security at this one, too.

Everywhere Russell looked, he saw armed
guards—both feline and Wolf. His hand strayed to
his side, to where he usually kept his own
weapon, but all he encountered was blank space.
While the guards may be packing, the invites had
clearly stated that all guests were to show up
gunless and knifeless. The lack of the weapon
made Russell feel naked and vulnerable.

The groom finally spotted Russell. Giving what

he hoped was a hearty wave, Russell fought to
keep the disdain from his face. It was darn hard
work. The man just screamed arrogance from his
tall stature to his muscular build and his almost
too ruggedly good looks. Today that badass had
taken a bit of a more formal edge to it since he

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wore a black tux and styled his russet hair
perfectly, but Russell could still see the egotism
lurking under the layers of refinement.

While Russell always kept his own brown hair

carefully neat and clipped short and never went
anywhere without one of his expensively tailored
suits on, he always made a point of never coming
off as too conceited. At least he hoped so. He’d
rather jump from the top of the Chrysler building
than come off as a carbon copy of his former
Alpha. It’s just that after Russell worked so hard
to earn his nice clothes, he was going to show
them off.

“Chris.” Russell nodded once the groom who

was in front of him, but made no move to lower
his gaze in a show of submission.

A flicker of annoyance went through Chris’s

eyes before he gave a tight-lipped smile. “I didn’t
think you’d show.”

“I didn’t think you’d invite me.”
Chris arched a brow. “Why shouldn’t I?”
Russell tilted his head to the side.

“Ah…because I was exiled from the pack.”

“That was my father’s doing. Not mine. As far

as I’m concerned, once he died, you were once
more welcome back.”

“Really?” Russell didn’t even bother hiding the

disbelief in his tone.

“Of, course. We’re kin after all. And unlike my

Russell’s Reversal

father, that means something to me.”

“True, but not many would want to claim me,

given my current profession.”

A smirk came over Chris’s face. “Profession? Is

that what criminals are called nowadays?”

Hurt sliced through Russell, but he’d die before

he showed it. Instead, he forced himself to give an
impassive shrug. “I did what I had to in order to
survive after your father threw me out of the pack.
If I so happened to make millions off it, so be it.”

“Let’s not be coy, Russell. Everybody knows

you were a crook even before Dad tossed you.”

Now anger mixed in with the pain as Russell

wondered just how much the now deceased
former Alpha had smeared his good name. Good
name? Well, isn’t that rich. Because deep down, you
know you’re no good, a nasty voice chanted in his
head.

That still didn’t mean that Russell had to take

the lies standing down. “Look, I may be a crook
now, but that wasn’t always the case and that sure
as hell wasn’t why your father exiled me.”

No, it’d been because Russell had been gay that

the Wolves had turned their backs on him. It’d
been the same way with Ranger, too. It wasn’t
until Chris’s own brother, Dean, came out that the
pack suddenly became tolerant.

“I had nothing to do with that. I never wanted

any harm to come to you or Ranger,” Chris

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protested.

“Maybe not, but you sure as hell didn’t do

anything to stop it either.”

For a second, Russell thought Chris was going

to argue that point, too. Then the Alpha turned to
look at his bride and a look of shame crossed his
strong face. “You’re right. I should have done
more. If I had, then Ranger never would have
been captured, Dean would have been able to
claim his own mate sooner and you wouldn’t have
had to become what you are now.”

Russell blinked a few times, resisting the urge

to glance around to see if there were some flying
pigs or ice skating demons. Chris actually
admitting he was wrong? This had to be a first.

“Did Ranger come today?” Chris asked in a

hopeful voice.

“No, he didn’t want to leave his mate behind

and it’s too dangerous for Xavier to come out in
public because he’s an Eagle shifter,” Russell
replied in a much more subdued tone.

While he wasn’t exactly ready to become

buddies with Chris, Russell had to give the guy
credit for taking a bite of humble pie. Plus, it
wouldn’t do Ranger any good for Russell to keep
taking swipes at Chris. While Russell couldn’t give
a damn about the pack, he knew Ranger still
missed it. If Russell could get Ranger and Chris to
mend their bridges, then maybe Ranger could

Russell’s Reversal

come home, if only for a short visit.

“Do you think that maybe you can convince

him to come another day? You know, so we can
clear things between us?” Chris suggested,
showing he was having the same thoughts.

“How about you go to him? He’s still living at

the feline coalition so he’s easy enough to find.”

Chris let out a sigh. “Yeah, I can do that. I just

hope that he’ll talk to me.”

“Would you blame him if he didn’t?” Russell

challenged.

“No, I know I fucked up big time. I should have

done so much more to protect him. I’m not proud
of the kind of leader I was back then.”

Russell didn’t argue because quite frankly,

Chris was right. Until his bride, Cassie, came into
the picture and taught him how to be stronger,
Chris had been a piss poor Alpha. Russell glanced
over at Cassie, wondering how one person could
change another so much. Sure, she was pretty
enough with her long brown hair and sparkling
amber eyes, but looks only went so far.

Call him jaded, but up until recently, Russell

didn’t think that it was possible for one to change,
period. He always believed that jerks like Chris
would forever remain jerks. Just like he thought
that losers like him would always remain losers.

Despite Chris’s true love transformation,

Russell didn’t have any aspirations that he’d

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follow suite any time soon. While plenty of guys
liked to fuck him because he had wealth and
power, none of them had truly cared for Russell.
Not that he blamed them, he was a two-bit crook
and nothing could ever change that.

Cassie glanced over in their direction and began

to motion for her groom to join her. Chris shot
Russell an apologetic grin. “Sorry, gotta go.”

Russell nodded before giving Cassie a wave.

She scowled in turn. Not that Russell could blame
her. The last time they met he’d made a big point
of coming on to one of her younger brothers.
While she may not have any issues with Russell
being gay, since all her brothers were, too, they
were all overprotective of each other. The last
thing any of them would want is one of their own
hooking up with a rogue Wolf.

Retreating to the buffet table, Russell looked for

something to drink. A pang of regret went
through him when he noticed all they had was
soda and punch. He knew he shouldn’t have
expected anything different. While there were
some forms of alcohol that could make shifters
drunk, it was all illegal. All because some Alphas
get prickly when homemade booze kills off
members of their packs.

Resigning himself to a cup of sugary punch,

Russell took a sip as he wondered how long he
had to stay before he could bail without insulting

Russell’s Reversal

Chris. While Russell may not be a member of the
pack anymore, he didn’t want any more bad blood
between them. Chris mainly stayed out of his way
so he could run his business smoothly and Russell
wanted to keep it that way.

“Wow, look at that cake,” a soft male voice

exclaimed.

“Don’t you think that maybe it’s a bit too

much?” Russell snarked, not even bothering to
look over at who was talking to him. He was
already in major danger of having a sugar
overload. If he had to see another expression of
dopey admiration from a coalition or pack
member, Russell was going to lose it.

Instead, he eyed up the triple tower of cake. A

pure monstrosity with pink and white icing, it was
so huge it took up nearly one half of the large
buffet table. Oh God, it even had a real operating
fountain in the center. To make things worse, the
cake was draped with tinkling white lights and a
plastic wedding party. Russell didn’t know
whether to eat the thing or blow it up to save
everyone from its sheer tackiness.

“Why would it be too much? It’s not every day

that you get married, so you may as well go all
out. Besides, I think it’s romantic,” the speaker
replied wistfully.

Romantic? Is this guy kidding me? Next, he’ll be

babbling about how he dreams things will be on his own

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special day.

“I do think it would be better if they went with

some other color than pink. At least that’s what I
would do,” the guy said.

It didn’t exactly fulfill Russell’s prediction, but

it was close enough. He gripped his drink tighter
as he wished he was someplace else. Anywhere
would do, just so long as he could get away from
this reception and all these way-too-happy shifters
and the former home that carried way too many
bad memories.

“You have something against pink?” Russell

took a deep drink of his overly sweet punch and
had to repress a shudder.

“It’s just not Cassie. That gal has chesticals so

big that I’m surprised she didn’t go with a blue
and black theme. The other day I told her she was
too small to handle a grenade launcher and she
punched me in the nuts so hard, I sang soprano
for nearly two hours.”

Stunned, Russell finally turned to look at the

speaker and nearly choked on his punch. Not
because of the outlandish statement, but because
he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen
something so hot, so sexy and so damn cute. Since
Russell got around that said a lot.

A couple inches shorter than Russell and about

fifty pounds lighter, the shifter looked to be in his
early twenties. The tall, lithe build marked the

Russell’s Reversal

male as feline, although Russell wasn’t sure what
type. He wore civilian clothes, consisting of a pair
of high-end jeans and a button up red shirt. The
sleeves rolled up to reveal thin arms. A rainbow,
rope bracelet dangled on the man’s wrist.

The feline looked up from under the fringe of

his dark bangs, an impish, tiny grin playing on his
full lips. While his black hair was cut short, the
front was left a bit longer so it flopped over his
huge, almost innocent looking blue eyes.

“You know what? You’re right. The cake looks

nice. In fact, there are a few things that look
yummy here,” Russell drawled back.

Russell didn’t know what shocked him more,

that he was using such a lame line or that he’d just
popped off the word yummy. If the Wolves who
worked under him only knew, they’d never let
him live it down.

The feline grinned wider, the sweetest dimple

making a brief appearance on his full cheeks.
“You’re not talking about food, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Russell confessed. He’d always

been brutally honest, so why change?

“That has to rank in the top ten worst pickup

lines used on me.” The man tilted his head to the
side as his gaze swept up and down Russell.

“Do you have a lot of guys coming on to you?”
“About two or three a day. There aren’t too

many Lynxes in our coalition so I’m sort of an

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oddity to them.”

Russell was willing to bet that it had to do with

a lot more than the guy being an exotic breed. He
could have been a common tomcat and men still
would have been drawn to the sensual, yet sweet
feline. Just as quickly as that thought occurred to
Russell, a rush of jealously swept over him. The
mere thought of anybody touching the man in
front of him made Russell want to growl in
protest.

“What’s your name?” he asked, trying to keep

his voice even lest he scare away the feline.

“Dalton. What’s yours?”
“Russell.”
Dalton’s lips pursed in a knowing expression

before he said, “Oh, I heard about you.”

The need to curse grew strong as Russell felt a

bit of shame over who he was. “What exactly did
you hear?”

“That you’re the one to go to if somebody needs

guns, drugs or other junk.”

“I’ve never dealt drugs,” Russell pointed out

quickly. “I’ve never touched the stuff.”

Something that may have been admiration

flicked over Dalton’s eyes. “I also heard that you
helped rescue Trevor and his friends when they
were captured by slavers.”

“Are you close to Trevor?”
“Sure, he and his mate are letting me live with

Russell’s Reversal

them.” Dalton’s eyes narrowed. “But it’s perfectly
platonic, we’re not into each other, if you know
what I mean.”

Amused by the Lynx’s sassy comment, Russell

almost laughed. He forced himself to hold it in lest
Dalton think he was being mocked.

“So does that mean you’re into somebody

else?”

An endearing flush came over Dalton’s cheeks

as he shook his head, his hair flopping even more
into his eyes. “Nah, nobody has really done
anything for me.”

Russell bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling

as relief flooded through him at the thought of the
young Lynx being unclaimed. “Why not?”

Dalton tilted his face up, his gaze growing a bit

darker, even as the blush spread further over his
face. “Because none of them have been a tall wolf
with brown hair and eyes.”

Arousal shot through Russell, his Wolf

growling its own approval. Setting down the cup,
Russell curled his hands into loose fists. The urge
to grab Dalton and drag him into an empty room
so they could have their own private celebration
nearly made Russell lose control of his emotions.

“Lucky you, there are plenty of Wolves here

who fit that description,” Russell replied in a
deceptively mild tone. Inside the word mine! Mine!
Mine! Beat in time with his heart.

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Dalton reached out and trailed a finger down

the center of Russell’s chest. “True, but there’s
only one Wolf who interests me.”

Russell’s body burned from Dalton’s brief

caress. “And who is that?”

A sexy chuckle drifted past Dalton’s lips. The

sound so rich and melodic, it made Russell’s cock
jerk in response.

Leaning in close, Dalton whispered, “If you

have to ask that, then you’re not the guy I thought
you were.”

Russell swallowed hard as he scrambled for a

witty reply. He’d been with plenty of guys. All of
whom had been more experienced and older than
Dalton, yet none of them had affected Russell so
strongly. How some young, tease managed to turn
him on so much when so many others had failed
was a mystery. Damn, if Russell cared enough to
struggle to come up with an answer either. All
that mattered to him was how he was going to get
Dalton alone, naked and under him.

Russell scanned the room, looking for some

place where they could sneak away. The exit was
all the way across the hall, so that was out.
Especially since Chris was making a speech inches
from the door. The next option was the bathroom,
but that was out, too, since too many shifters were
coming in and out.

Desperate, Russell finally grabbed Dalton and

Russell’s Reversal

led him to a small alcove nearby. It was small and
taken up by coats, but it would serve their needs
adequately enough.

Putting his hand in the center of Dalton’s chest,

Russell gave a gentle shove until the Lynx’s back
was pressed against a wall. Dalton’s lips parted in
shock, his eyes widening in the most endearing
way.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Dalton

asked, his hands going up to rest on Russell’s
shoulders.

“Not when I see something that I want,”

Russell growled.

He leaned down and captured Dalton’s lips in a

hard, yet sensual kiss. Dalton let out a soft
whimper before he became plaint, sagging into
Russell. A thrill of possession went through
Russell as he wrapped his arms around the
younger man, completing holding him in his
embrace.

Tearing his lips away, Russell gazed into

Dalton’s passion-infused gaze. “How old are
you?”

While Dalton looked old enough, Russell was

going make damn sure before things went too far.
While he may be a professional criminal, there
were some depths that not even he would stoop.

“Nineteen,” Dalton replied, his voice thick with

arousal. “How old are you?”

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“Thirty.”
The impish grin returned to Dalton’s lips.

“Wow, you’re old.”

Disappointment slammed into Russell. “Too

old for you?”

Dalton shook his head, the smile still firmly in

place. “Nah. I’ve always liked it when my guys
had a few years on me.”

The plural use of guys made Russell want to

snarl in protest. If he had his way, Dalton
wouldn’t so much as look at another male again.

“Kiss me again. Please?” Dalton pled as he

tilted his lips up invitingly.

That was a request that never would have to be

asked twice. Russell lowered his head, their
mouths once again meeting. This time he took
things slower so he could savor the wild taste of
Dalton and how the man’s tongue felt as his slid in
to explore.

There were so many things Russell wanted to

do that he didn’t know where to start. Various
ideas flashed through his head, each one more
erotic than the last. He visualized how it would
look, to have Dalton kneeling before him, the
Lynx’s pink lips stretching as they sucked off
Russell’s cock. Next came the fantasy of jerking
down Dalton’s pants, just enough so Russell could
bend him over and fuck them both into oblivion.

Then Dalton’s body trembled. It wasn’t much,

Russell’s Reversal

just the tiniest of movements, but it was enough to
let Russell know that the younger man wasn’t as
experienced as his earlier teasing suggested.

Although it was one of the hardest things he

ever had to do, Russell pulled back and put a
break on the encounter. He still kept Dalton in his
arms, however, not willing to give up that
comfort.

Dalton swayed, a glazed, shocked expression

coming over his eyes. “Why did you stop?”

“Because if I didn’t, I was going to screw you

right here and I don’t think your first time should
be in a coat closet.” Russell lightly skidded his lips
across Dalton’s jaw.

“How do you know it will be my first time?”

Dalton gasped.

“Kitten, everything about you screams virgin.”
Dalton nibbled on his bottom lip as he lowered

his gaze. “I’m sure if you give me a chance I can
catch on quick.”

Regret washed through Russell as he realized

he’d inadvertently hurt Dalton’s feelings. Tucking
his fingers under Dalton’s chin, Russell made the
feline meet his gaze.

“There’s nothing wrong with you being

inexperienced. If anything, it makes you even
sexier.”

“Then why did you stop?”
“Make no mistake, kitten. We will fuck and I

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will be your first, but when it happens it’s going to
be special, like you deserve.”

Dalton pulled a face. “I’m not some girl who

needs coddling.”

Russell laughed. “If you were a girl, then it

wouldn’t be an issue because I wouldn’t be
interested in you.”

“Then when? Where?”
“How about we—”
“Dalton, what in the hell are you doing?” A

sharp voice sliced through the air, cutting Russell
off.

“Shit!” Dalton jumped, his eyes growing huge

with alarm.

Russell growled in irritation as he turned to

face off against the intruder. A tall, thin, dark-
haired male stood at the opening of the alcove. He
wore the all black coalition uniform and a furious
expression.

“Let me guess, you’re Trevor,” Russell drawled.
When Russell made no move to let Dalton go,

the Lynx wiggled out of his hold and slid away
from the wall. While Dalton didn’t step
completely away, Russell still felt a sense of loss.

The intruder lifted the corner of his mouth up

in a sneer. “Yes, I’m Trevor and I know who you
are, too. What I don’t know is why in the hell you
just had your filthy paws all over my charge.”

“Don’t talk about him that way. Besides, you

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have no right to tell me who I can and can’t be
with,” Dalton argued.

“I do when I see you’re about to make a huge

mistake,” Trevor countered.

“That’s not fair at all. Especially since Russell

helped you out when the slavers had you.”

It stunned Russell that Dalton so readily came

to his defense, even though they’d known each
other less than an hour.

Trevor gave a slight nod, but the stubborn look

on his face remained. “I appreciate him for doing
that. It still doesn’t mean that I want him around
you.”

“Why don’t you let Dalton make that decision

for himself?” Russell interjected.

“Because Dalton’s been through a lot of crap

this past year. The last thing he needs is some
manipulative bastard to come into his life and
mess things up for me,” Trevor snapped.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Dalton chided.
“Maybe not, but he’s right,” Russell admitted,

hating himself all the more at that moment. “I’ve
done things that would make Satan blush in
shame.”

“Oh,” Dalton sighed as he nibbled on his lip.
“Why do you act so taken aback? You told me

earlier you knew about my past.”

“True, I’d just hoped that the stories were

exaggerated.”

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Russell pressed his mouth together as it was he

who lowered his gaze. No, the stories hadn’t been
exaggerated. He was rotten to the core. Then he
glanced up at Dalton and sucked in a breath as he
spotted something in the Lynx’s gaze. It was so
foreign to Russell that it took him a few moments
to recognize it. Even after that, it still took him a
few more moments to actually believe that it was
being directed at him.

Dalton was giving him what could only be

called a hopeful, yet devoted look. Like, while he
knew that Russell was crap, Dalton still saw some
good.

Trevor reached out, grabbed Dalton by the

hand and dragged the younger man to the
opening of the alcove. “Come on, let’s get home.
Shane will be waiting for us.”

Dalton gave Russell one last regretful glance

before he gave a tiny nod. Not that Russell blamed
him for his choice. While they had some pretty
damn strong chemistry, they’d just met, whereas
he’d known and trusted Trevor for much longer. It
still didn’t mean the rejection didn’t sting like a
bitch.

They started to leave and Russell felt a rush of

panic as he realized that he may never see Dalton
again. Desperate for that not to happen, Russell
rushed forward. “I’ll let you take him tonight, but
that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on him.”

Russell’s Reversal

They paused, a look of fury crossing Trevor’s

face. Dalton, on the other hand, grinned as his
eyes sparkled with amusement.

Slowly turning, Trevor said, “Do you have a

death wish or something?”

Truth be told, up until an hour ago, Russell

sometimes wondered the same thing himself.
Because despite all the money and power, his life
had been empty. That was until a certain Lynx
wandered into his life and knocked everything on
its ass. “Not anymore.”

“Then why in the hell are you being so

persistent about this?”

Locking gazes with Dalton, Russell replied,

“Because he belongs with me and nothing is going
to stop me from claiming him.”

Trevor smirked at him. “Yeah, we’ll see about

that.” He dragged Dalton away.

As he watched them leave, Russell vowed to

himself that no matter what he had to do, even if
he had to change everything about himself, he’d
somehow prove himself worthy of Dalton. Most of
all, he wouldn’t give up until the Lynx was where
he belonged—by Russell’s side and under his
protection.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter One

ow just where in the hell could his little Lynx
be?

That question rebounded over and over in

Russell’s head as he scanned the crowded
sidewalk, all in hopes of spotting the younger
man’s familiar head of spiked, dark hair.

All he saw were humans and ice sculptures…a

lot of ice sculptures to be more specific. There
were also various stands selling things like roasted
chestnuts and hot chocolate. Pretty much what
one would expect at an outdoor winter fair.

Russell shivered as he pulled the lapels of his

dark wool coat closed. Why in the hell somebody
thought hanging outside in twenty degree
weather could be considered fun was beyond him.
Yet, here his lame ass was, hanging with the rest
of the festival attendees. Although, unlike them he
wasn’t there to see the local dance studio kids tap
to Winter Wonderland or to marvel at the ice block
that had been sculpted into a perfectly formed

Russell’s Reversal

angel. No, he was there for one reason and one
reason only—Dalton.

Although the little brat was several years

younger than Russell and, despite the fact that
Dalton was feline whereas Russell was Wolf, the
Lynx had managed to get under Russell’s skin. All
it’d taken was one brief conversation to do so.

Russell noticed one of the Wolf guards flanking

him shifting his feet in annoyance. It took
everything Russell had not to snap out at the guy.
Really, if he thought about it, he could understand
his guard’s agitation. Even Russell didn’t fully
understand what in the hell they were doing there
and he was the one who instigated the trip in the
first place.

“Are you sure that he’s even going to be here?”

Tobias asked.

As Russell’s second-in-command and younger

brother, Tobias usually didn’t hesitate to speak up.
The other Wolves in the pack kept silent out of
fear and respect for Russell. Not only was he
Alpha of their ragtag group, but he also used to
run the biggest shifter criminal enterprise in
Michigan. So, usually his pack mates just kept
their damn mouths shut and followed without
question. Try telling that to Tobias though, he’d
been talking from almost the day he was born and
hadn’t stopped once in the twenty-five years that
have passed.

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Cutting a dirty look in his brother’s direction,

Russell almost found glee in the fact that his
brother was only wearing a thin leather jacket.
Served the brat right for being so mouthy. Then
Tobias gave him that crooked smile, the one that
made his dark eyes light up with mischief and
Russell felt some of his anger fade. He could never
stay mad at Tobias and the little punk knew it.

Reaching out, Russell gave Tobias’s dark,

brown hair a playful tug. “You need a haircut.”

Not missing a beat, Tobias looked up hopefully.

“Can I go do it now? The salon has to be a whole
hell of a lot warmer than being out here hunting
for that damn cat.”

“Nice try and he’s a Lynx, not some damn cat.”
Tobias rolled his eyes. “Seriously, what is it

about this guy that has your nuts in such a twist? “

Russell really wished he could answer that

since he’d asked himself the same question
numerous times. Since he lacked anything better
to say, he shrugged, “He intrigues me.”

Tobias cocked a brow, adding in a snort of

disbelief to further his disrespectful behavior.
“Yeah, because it’s every day that people lavish
multi-thousand dollar gifts on people who just
intrigue them.”

“It was only one car,” Russell defended, before

amending, “and a laptop and cell phone, but that’s
only so we could talk more.”

Russell’s Reversal

“And why is that?” Tobias asked with mocking

sweetness. “Oh, that’s right. It’s because his two
daddies don’t want him playing with the big, bad
wolf.”

Russell didn’t know whether to smack Tobias

for his flippant behavior or simply for the fact that
his last comment had been riddled with so many
bad clichés. Pinching the bridge of his nose,
Russell let out a sigh, “They’re not his fathers.
They are just a pair of guardians the feline
coalition assigned Dalton to. They’re only helping
him until he gets settled in and finds a place of his
own.”

“I don’t know. They seem pretty damn

protective of him. Didn’t they say that they don’t
want you to see Dalton?”

Yes, both of Dalton’s guardians had made it

perfectly clear to Russell that he was to stay away
from the Lynx. Given that Shane—one of said
guardians—was a highly trained assassin, that
alone would have scared away most usual suitors.
Too bad for them that Russell wasn’t normal. He
wasn’t easily intimidated either.

Tobias frowned. “Are you sure he’s worth the

risk? I’ve heard Shane can be really scary. Even
the Hyena shifters are terrified of him and you
know how scrappy those bastards usually are.”

“Yes, he’s most definitely worth it,” Russell

declared, a warm surge going through him as he

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finally spotted Dalton.

The younger man was wrapped up in a large,

puffy winter coat, a pair of thick gloves on his
hands. His hair was covered in a matching wool
hat, but bits of his unruly black hair stuck out
from under the edges.

Two other shifters who were around the same

age as Dalton flanked them. Since Russell had
made it his business to know about every aspect of
Dalton’s life, he instantly recognized them as Gage
and Chance.

A smile spread over Russell’s face as he made

out the telltale bulges under the younger shifters’
jackets. At least they were smart enough not to go
out in public unarmed.

Tobias narrowed his eyes at Dalton. “Sorry, bro.

He’s cute in a hoppy bunny kind of way, but I
don’t see what makes him so special.”

To be honest, neither did Russell. He usually

liked his men hard, built and older. None of which
Dalton was. But for some odd reason the Lynx
was an itch that Russell just knew he had to
scratch.

Dalton finally approached, the Lynx’s gaze

never leaving Russell. A soft smile played over
Dalton’s lips as he idly ran a gloved hand over one
of the ice sculptures. “I wonder what this is
supposed to be?”

Russell gave it a brief glance. “I think it’s an

Russell’s Reversal

eagle in flight.”

“They didn’t really do a good job of it,” Dalton

remarked with a playful scrunching of his nose.
“It doesn’t look anything like Xavier or Riley. Of
course, since Riley is still afraid of heights, I
haven’t seen him flying in Eagle form. But I still
have the general idea.”

Tobias snorted. “Are you saying that there is an

Eagle shifter who is afraid of flying? That’s just
fucked up.”

Dalton shot a pointed look at Tobias’s fur

collared coat. “Not as much as a Wolf wearing real
fur.”

A flush that had nothing to do with the cold air

covered Tobias’s cheeks. Nodding at Dalton’s
buddies, he asked, “Since when are felines so tight
with a Hawk and Raven? I could maybe see the
Hawk, but we all know what assholes Ravens
are.”

Dalton’s eyes flashed with fury and the Hawk

let out a low snarl. Russell groaned as he resisted
the urge to pull out his own gun and use it on
Tobias. He wouldn’t kill the ass, just harm him
enough so he wasn’t up to running his yap.

“Chance is my friend so I suggest you shut up

before I rip out your tongue and bitch slap you
with it,” Dalton snarled.

Russell chuckled. It looked like living with an

assassin had brought out the badass side of his

Stephani Hecht

little Lynx. While he should be angry at the threat
toward his brother, instead Russell found himself
turned on by Dalton’s fury.

Tobias must have realized he’d gone too far

because he held up both hands. “I’m sorry.
Although, I do find one thing funny.”

“Oh, really? What’s that?” Dalton snapped.
“We have so many different species of shifters

present we could do our own version on The
Backyardagins.”

One corner of Dalton’s lips kicked up into the

beginnings of a grin. “Now, why would a badass
Wolf like you know anything about that show?”

The flush on Tobias’s face grew. When he just

shuffled his feet and didn’t reply, Russell couldn’t
resist the urge to blurt, “Because up until recently
his main duty was watching over the pups from a
neighboring pack.”

The Hawk and Raven laughed while Dalton

just gave a gentle smile. “I think that’s sweet. I
used to watch over the younger litter in my
family…” He trailed off, all the good humor
vanishing from his face.

Russell let out a silent curse. The first thing he’d

learned about Dalton had been what had
happened to him and his family and it hadn’t been
good. Snake shifters had attacked their home,
killing the entire family but Dalton, who had been
taken captive and forced into slavery.

Russell’s Reversal

Displaying a bit of tenderness that not even he

knew he possessed, Russell reached out and
gently cupped Dalton’s cheek. The flesh felt so
cool and soft under Russell’s touch. “Hey, don’t
think about that time right now. Today is
supposed to be all about fun. Right?”

Dalton looked up from under his lashes, the

emotions flashing through his blue eyes
awakening a sense of empathy in Russell he
thought had long died away. With a tiny
quivering of his lips, Dalton nodded. “Yeah, and I
seem to remember that in your last text, you
promised me some hot chocolate.”

Putting his hand against the small of Dalton’s

back, Russell led the way to the stand that sold the
beverages. The others followed, keeping back a
few steps. Dalton cast a brief glance over his
shoulder.

“I feel like we have a bunch of guardians

watching out for my honor or something.”

Russell laughed. “You did bring half of the

crew with you.”

“Yeah, well the coalition leader doesn’t want

any of us going out on our own and from what I
hear, with the life you lead, you need to have
bodyguards.”

Glancing over, Russell looked for any signs of

disgust on Dalton’s face, but there was none.
“Does it bother you how I make a living?”

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“You’re richer than snot, I’d say that’s a little

more than just making a living.” Dalton shrugged.
“It bugs me some, but not enough to stop talking
to you.”

Completely taken aback by Dalton’s honestly,

Russell blurted, “Why?”

Dalton gave him a tender smile. “For the same

reason why you gave your brother a job as your
secondhand man, even though it’s obvious by
how small he is, he’s the runt of the litter. Most
others would have just made the weakest in the
pack do only menial jobs. But you didn’t do that to
Tobias.”

“Of course not. I could never do that to him.

He’s my brother.”

Tilting his head to the side, Dalton gifted

Russell with a full-out smile. “See, and that’s the
reason why I don’t want to stop talking to you.
There’s some good in you, Russell. Even if you
refuse to see it, it’s as plain as day to me.”

Shocked, Russell could only stand, doing what

he was sure was a near perfect impression of one
of the ice sculptures. Was Dalton crazy or
something? There was nothing good left in
Russell. It had all been whipped out of him the
day his old pack beat and then exiled him for
being gay. Since then, Russell refused to let
anyone in. Hell, he even kept Tobias at arm’s
reach and that was the only real kin he had

Russell’s Reversal

anymore. Sure, he had a couple of cousins that
lived at the feline coalition, but Russell almost
never spoke to them. And while another cousin
now led the old pack and had tried to persuade
Russell to come back, he wanted no part of them.

That was his old life, the past, and he was

determined to keep it that way. Never again
would he be that scared, young, beaten Wolf that
he had been when he’d last belonged to that damn
pack.

Now he had his own pack. Sure, most of them

were rogue or criminals, but they answered to him
and they had managed to eke out an existence.
Hell, they’d done a lot more than that. Dalton
hadn’t been exaggerating when he said Russell
was richer than snot. So why in the hell Dalton
thought that there was any good in Russell was a
damn mystery.

Dalton nodded to the stand. “I’ll take a large,

with extra whipped cream on it.”

Nodding dumbly, Russell stepped forward and

placed the order.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Two

alton repressed a shiver of lust as he watched
Russell talking to the vendor. Who knew that

the simple act of placing an order could look so
damn sexy?

Even though Russell should have looked out of

place, dressed in his usual high-end business
attire, while the rest of the fair goers wore casual,
the Wolf had an elegance about him. One that
made him look good no matter where he was.

He wore a long wool coat over his dark suit and

even though the ground was slushy, his leather
shoes remained spotless. Almost as if not even
Mother Nature dared to fuck with the man.

His dark hair remained perfectly groomed and

in place, even when a sharp gust of wind blew by.
While everybody else shivered, Russell remained
as stoic as ever, his chiseled face set in its normal,
natural expression.

It gave Dalton a bit of a heady satisfaction to

know that he was one of only a few to see that

Russell’s Reversal

mask slip. When it had, he’d gotten a real view of
the man under all the hard shields and it had
made Dalton melt—he’d been a goner ever since.

Sure, he’d heard all the tales about how Russell

made all his money and some of the bad things
he’d done in the past. Dalton refused to let that
taint how he felt about Russell though, because
Dalton knew deep down the Wolf was really
good.

It just may take a bit of digging to get to that

gooey center, but Dalton could be stubborn if he
wanted to and he was determined not to give up
on Russell.

Dalton let his gaze wander over the Wolf’s tall

body, even under the coat it was easy to see how
built Russell was and the naughty part in Dalton
wanted to lick every inch of those muscles.

Russell turned and handed the cup to Dalton.

Their fingers brushed together on the exchange
and Dalton held in a groan as tingles of desire shot
through his body. They both froze, their fingers
still in contact for a couple of breaths. Even
through the thick layers of their gloves, Russell’s
touch affected Dalton in the most powerful way.

The air became so heated with sexual tension

that it was a wonder that crappy eagle ice
sculpture didn’t melt. Dalton’s breath caught in
his chest and he became oblivious of everything
else—their friends who were still standing nearby,

Stephani Hecht

the lull of the crowd, the cold of the air. All of it
seemed to fade away as Dalton’s mind became
focused on one thing only—Russell.

Russell’s brown eyes darkened with passion

and he used his free hand to cup Dalton’s cheek.
Even though the material from Russell’s gloves
prevented direct skin-on-skin contact, Dalton
found himself nuzzling into the touch.

God, he wanted to rub all over Russell. For the

first time ever in his life, he felt the feline shifter
urge to cover a mate in his scent. To mark the man
as his and his alone. Russell ran his thumb along
Dalton’s skin.

“Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”

Russell asked, his voice husky with need.

The tone of his voice sent fresh shivers of desire

through Dalton. “Not really. Most everybody just
treats me like their cute, bratty, kid brother.”

“You may be small, but you are all grown up.”
Oh, wow. While it may not be the best

compliment he’d received, it still made Dalton’s
chest swell with emotion. Running his tongue over
his lips, Dalton recalled the time not too long ago
when they’d kissed. The passion between them at
the time had been so strong that Dalton hadn’t
been able to think of anything else but the Wolf
ever since.

Dalton wondered if they kissed again if it

would be so wonderful. Surely, something so

Russell’s Reversal

earth-shattering couldn’t be repeated?

Or could it?
Unable to resist finding out, Dalton stood on

tiptoe and pressed his lips to Russell’s. Dalton
meant for the kiss to be brief, but then Russell let
out a growl and took over, one arm snaking
around Dalton’s waist. With a firm jerk, Dalton
found himself pressed tight to the Wolf, their body
molding together perfectly. He barely had time to
recover enough to keep a grip on his cup.

Desire crashed into Dalton, making his head

spin as his knees literally grew weak. A small
whimper slipped past him when Russell’s tongue
thrust inside his mouth. The Wolf left no area
untouched, his tongue stroking and caressing in a
show of dominance that made Dalton want to roll
over and purr in pleasure.

When Russell tore their lips apart, Dalton let

out a small growl of protest before he started to
rub his cheek against the Wolf’s neck. Russell let
out a small chuckle as he gently carded his gloved
fingers through the front of Dalton’s hair.

“Are you trying to mark me with your scent?”

Russell asked.

Busted! Dalton paused, mid-rub, his mind

racing as he tried to come up with a plausible
excuse. The last thing he wanted was to come off
as some freak. After all, what sane feline would
try to mark somebody as theirs after only meeting

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them twice?

“It’s okay,” Russell soothed. “In fact, I find it

kind of flattering?”

“You do?”
“Yes, but unfortunately, that whole scent thing

doesn’t work with Wolf shifters. Our own base
scent is so strong it overrides everything else.”

Disappointment crashed over Dalton and he

nipped at his bottom lip, a flame of
embarrassment coming over his face. He lowered
his gaze to his slush-covered boots. “Oh, I didn’t
know that.”

Tucking his fingers under Dalton’s chin, Russell

forced him to look up. “I wouldn’t worry though.
After that kiss, I think everybody knows who you
belong to.”

It should have irked Dalton that Russell was the

one claiming ownership, but instead it sent a
warm wave over him. It’d been so long since he’d
belonged that it felt good to know that he was
Russell’s, if even for a little bit.

Sure Trevor and Shane had taken him under

their wing and Dalton knew they cared about him,
it just wasn’t the same. Dalton had still always felt
that empty ache in his chest that had been there
since his family had been murdered.

With Russell though, for some odd reason that

ache seemed to lessen a bit. Which both mystified
and terrified Dalton at the same time.

Russell’s Reversal

“I hate to break up this touching moment, but

we’re kind of attracting attention and holding up
the line here,” Gage interrupted gently.

Dalton started as he was rudely jerked back to

reality. A rush of embarrassment went through
him when he realized, not only were they still
standing in front of the vendor’s stand, but they’d
attracted quite an audience.

“Oops,” he said, for lack of anything better to

say.

At least most of the bystanders didn’t appear

upset by the PDA , a few of them even smiled.
Which, since they were in a small town in
Michigan, was pleasantly surprising.

Russell nodded to them. “Sorry for holding you

all up.”

He then ushered Dalton over to a bench. Dalton

sat down and took a drink of his almost forgotten
cocoa. As soon as the mixture of warm chocolate
and whipped cream hit his taste buds, he couldn’t
hold back his groan of pleasure.

“That’s what I like best about you,” Russell said

as he sat next to Dalton.

“What? That I have a weakness for chocolate?”
Russell shook his head, a tiny smile playing on

his lips. “No, I admire the way that you’re such an
open book. Whenever I’m around you, you’re just
yourself, without any falseness or fake charm.
With everybody else, they always say and do what

Stephani Hecht

I want them to, or at least what they think I want
them to do.”

Dalton cocked a brow. “Well, you do have a

reputation of being a bit of a meanie at times.”

He winced. Damn it—there he went, letting his

mouth move faster than his brain. It’d been a bad
habit he’d never been able to shake. To Dalton’s
relief, Russell let out a loud laugh. The other
wolves gaped at their Alpha in shock, almost as if
they’d never seen the man act that way before.

Dalton flushed and ducked his head. “Sorry, I

didn’t mean to diss you in front of your pack
members or anything.”

To his shock, Russell leaned forward and

placed another kiss on Dalton’s lips. Although,
much to his disappointment the second kiss was
so quick it was over almost before he knew it’d
started.

“What was that for?” Dalton asked, bringing a

gloved hand up to his lips.

“For being you. I happen to like everything

about you. Especially the part of you that isn’t
afraid to speak your mind.”

“I don’t know if it’s so much that or the fact that

I have no inner monologue,” Dalton mumbled.
“Besides, how can you know for sure that you
even like me? We only met in person once before
today.”

Russell leaned in close and whispered, “Ah, but

Russell’s Reversal

what an encounter that was. I’ll never be able to
look at a coat closet the same way again.”

A rush of pleasure went through Dalton. “We

didn’t do really much, just kissed some.”

“Let’s just say you left a lasting impression.

Besides, we’ve talked plenty since then.”

“Just a few conversations over that phone and

computer you insisted on buying for me.” Dalton
scrunched up his nose. “Plus that expensive ass
car. Who in the hell buys that for somebody they
just met?”

“Do you want to give it back? Was it too

much?”

Dalton shook his head so hard he almost lost

his hat. “No way. That car is sweet. Sorry about
even asking that last question, it was my inner
monologue running rampant again.”

Russell reached out and gently traced Dalton’s

lips. “Maybe we need to find something else more
interesting for that mouth to do.”

“Oh, I am so on board for that,” Dalton

whimpered, his cock growing hard, despite the
cold weather.

“Sorry to interrupt the love-fest, but I think we

have

some

company

coming,”

Chance

interrupted, nodding toward the crowd.

Dalton groaned as he saw Shane and Trevor

approaching and neither one of them looked
happy. “Shoot, I didn’t think they’d figure out

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where I was going.”

With an unconcerned shrug, Russell said,

“Shane is an assassin and tracker. It’s his business
to know where everybody is at all times.”

Anger surged through Dalton. Okay, so maybe

they were his guardians, but that still shouldn’t
mean he couldn’t go out on a frigging date. He
sprang to his feet as they approached. “What’s the
problem?”

The two Wolf bodyguards took a step closer to

Russell, no doubt fearing Shane and that he’d lash
out at the Alpha. The move didn’t surprise Dalton
since most shifters were wary of Shane. Which
Dalton thought was kind of unfair. Sure, the guy
may kill people for a living, but it was only jerks
who deserved it and were a threat to the coalition.
Or at least most of the time they were.

While Shane may look all young and innocent

with his blond hair and doe eyes, he gave off a
dangerous vibe that rivaled even Russell’s.
Although, in Dalton’s opinion, Russell had a much
more sexier edge to him.

Flicking a bored glance over the bodyguards,

Shane said, “I thought we agreed that it wouldn’t
be a good idea for you to see this mutt.”

Dalton’s mouth opened and closed a few times.

“You did not just talk to me like I’m some kind of
child and you’re my disapproving father.”

“Actually, he kind of did,” Tobias butted in.

Russell’s Reversal

Shane lifted the corner of his lip and snarled at

the Wolf. “Stay out of this, Snoopy. It’s no concern
of yours.”

Tobias cocked his head to the side. “Actually,

since you’re talking about my brother like that it
is.”

Dalton had to hand it to the young Wolf, he had

balls of steel. There weren’t too many who dared
to talk to Shane that way.

Russell stood, then put a restraining hand on

Tobias’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Shane is just
watching out for Dalton. After everything he’s
been through, I don’t blame his guardians for
being overprotective.”

“It still doesn’t mean they get to dictate every

aspect of my life. Last time I checked I was
nineteen, which makes me a legal adult, even in
the human world,” Dalton spat.

“And how old is he?” Shane nodded toward

Russell.

“Thirty.”
“Which makes him way too old for you.”
“Not in my opinion and that’s all that matters.”
Trevor stepped forward. Unlike Shane, he was

the perfect example of calm. From his dark hair
that was styled in a casual messy way, to the
gentle expression on his face. “We’re just worried
about you, Dalton. Sometimes you can be too
trusting and we don’t want to see you get hurt.”

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“Too trusting?” Dalton echoed, outraged. “Isn’t

that what some people said to you about Shane?”
Dalton knew he’d scored some points when
Trevor flushed and looked away. Ha! Take that one,
Mr. Buttinsky.

“Shit,” Shane growled under his breath.
Dalton set down his cup and crossed his arms

over his chest. “What now?”

“We have trouble.”
“Yeah, you guys won’t leave me alone. We

already established that.”

Russell tensed, one hand going under his coat

to grab at his gun. “No, it’s not that. I smell a
bunch of Ravens and they’re coming our way.”

“And because we’re in the middle of all this

mess,” Shane waved a hand at the fair, “we didn’t
scent them soon enough.”

Dalton’s heart began to hammer. “So what are

you trying to say?”

Russell pressed his lips together in a grim line.

“It means that we’re going to have to fight them
right here. There’s no time for us to make a run for
it.”

Fight right there? In the middle of a crowd of

innocent humans? No way! Dalton couldn’t allow
that to happen. He’d already had to deal with that
once before at a local mall and he still remembered
the screams of horror from the civilians, the acrid
scent of their fear. While no humans had ended up

Russell’s Reversal

getting hurt, it still wasn’t an experience Dalton
wanted to repeat.

“We can’t have a battle with all these people

around us. An innocent could get hurt,” Dalton
argued frantically.

Shane nodded down the street. “Try telling

them that.”

Fear gripped Dalton as he saw, mixed in

amongst all the people and ice sculptures, a small
gang of Ravens walking their way. Even if they
hadn’t already been scented, Dalton would have
recognized them on sight.

Unlike Chance, most other Ravens were,

well…gross. From their lanky, greasy black hair to
their freaky-ass pit-like eyes, they reminded
Dalton of a bunch of Goth kids gone wrong. They
all were even pale and wore black leather like the
teens did.

Dalton gulped. “I don’t suppose they maybe

just came for the cocoa and roasted nuts? Well,
this just sucks. Maybe we’ll get lucky and all that
ugly leather of theirs will crack in the cold. I mean,
even from here I can tell it’s cheap as hell.”

The rest of the group looked at him like he’d

lost his ever-loving mind. Dalton shrugged. “No
inner monologue. Remember?”

Then the rest of the group grabbed for their

weapons and Dalton knew there was no way
things were going to end well. Especially when

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the Ravens all pulled out guns of their own.

“Damn, it. Can’t I go out just once without it

turning into a major cluster fuck?” Dalton
groaned.

He then reached under his coat and pulled out

his own gun, an early Christmas present from
Shane. When Russell cocked a questioning brow,
Dalton smiled. “Living with an assassin and a
coalition soldier does have some great benefits.
One of them is that they trained the hell out of me
and now I can actually hit what I’m shooting at.”

Dalton gave what he hoped was a wicked grin

before adding, “At least most of the time I can. But
hey, how hard can it be? If it’s ugly and dressed in
all black, I just take it down.”

Despite his flippant words, a ball of worry

churned in Dalton’s stomach. Especially as the
Ravens drew in closer. Swallowing hard, he
steeled himself for the coming battle.

A shrill scream ripped through the air as some

woman noticed all the weapons. The Ravens
responded by raising their weapons and shooting
into…the crowd?

“What the fuck? They’ve never attacked

humans before,” Tobias snarled.

“They’re changing the rules. Now, not only do

we have our own asses to save, but every human
out here, “Shane snarled.

Great, just when Dalton thought things couldn’t

Russell’s Reversal

get any worse. He tightened his grip on his gun as
he surged forward with the others to attack the
Ravens.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Three

ussell let out a snarl as he reached out to
push Dalton behind him, only to have the

Lynx jump out of his grasp.

“Take cover,” Russell snapped, more out of

concern than anger.

Dalton shook his head. “I can handle myself.

Watch.”

Raising his gun, Dalton aimed and fired at one

of the Ravens, hitting the bastard in the shoulder.
The Raven let out a yelp as he dropped to one
knee, his hand going to cover the wound that
gushed with blood.

The humans began to run in all directions as the

rest of the Ravens continued to fire on the
civilians. Russell felt bile build up in his throat as
he watched numerous bodies fall to the ground,
crimson mixing in with the snow.

“The bastards. Why would they want to attack

humans? They have to know that’s going to bring
the government down on our heads,” Dalton

Russell’s Reversal

exclaimed.

“That’s exactly what they want. If the regular

human population finds out about the existence of
shifters and thinks we’re a danger to them, then
they’ll start hunting all of us down. They won’t
care if we’re Raven, Wolf or Elephant. We’ll all be
the same as far as they’re concerned,” Russell
explained right before he took aim and took out
another Raven.

Fury filled Russell because he knew the

implications of what this incident would have on
all of them. Because Tobias was in the middle of
all this mess, and despite all his best intentions, his
brother sucked at fighting. And also because
Dalton was in danger.

“Tobias, take Dalton and get the hell out of

here,” Russell ordered.

Of course neither of them moved to obey. Not

that Russell expected them to, but he had to give it
one more try. He shot the pair a warning glare and
they both had the audacity to return it.

Then all thoughts of arguing were thrust aside

when a couple of the Ravens shifted into their bird
form and took flight.

“Well, shit now the cat is really out of the bag.

There is no way we can explain away six foot tall
Ravens,” Tobias huffed.

“This really isn’t the time for puns,” Trevor shot

back as he put a fresh magazine into his gun.

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Tobias cocked his head to the side. “Pun?” Then

understanding slowly dawned over his face and
he grinned. “Oh, I get it now. Hey, I was funny.”

Russell turned to Finnegan, the other Wolf with

them. “Take one of the others and start trying to
evacuate as many humans as possible. Take them
through the south exit while we try to contain the
birds here.”

“I’ll go with you,” Gage offered and the two

took off running.

Russell turned to Shane. “Are you ready to take

out these bastards?”

The crazy feline grinned at him, as if he lived

for nothing more than to be under the receiving
end of the Raven’s furor. “Hell, yeah.”

Russell shook his head. Yet everybody thought

that he was the one who was the bad influence on
Dalton.

One of the Ravens, still in human form,

launched forward and tackled Chance.

“Traitor,” the Raven hissed as he began to

punch Chance.

“Oh, save it,” Dalton drawled as he shot the

Raven in the leg.

The Raven rolled off Chance and writhed

around in agony for a moment before Shane drew
on him and shot him the skull. The Raven was
dead before his head hit the ground.

Pinning Dalton with a glare, Shane said, “What

Russell’s Reversal

have I told you? You always go for the kill shot.
Don’t give them a chance to get back at you.”

Russell wanted to lash out at Shane. Didn’t he

realize that Dalton wasn’t like them? Despite all
the crap he’d been through, the Lynx managed to
keep a sweet innocence about him and Russell
didn’t want to see that ever get crushed.

He yearned to punch Shane, but he didn’t have

a chance since all the Ravens were now on top of
them. Some of the birds attempted to make it to
the area where Finnegan and Gage were trying to
herd the humans, but Russell and the others did a
good job of keeping them off.

It struck Russell that the Ravens weren’t very

good fighters at all. Which meant they were either
a rogue group or so low in the ranks of their
murder that they were sent out on what amounted
to a suicide mission.

It only took them a few minutes to pick off the

remaining Ravens, but by then the damage had
been done. Not only were there numerous bodies
on the ground, most of which were innocent
fairgoers, but Russell had spotted at least one
person taking a picture of the incident before they
fled.

Tobias let out a growl of frustration before he

walked up to the eagle ice sculpture and shot it,
shards of ice flying everywhere.

“What was that for?” Russell demanded.

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“Because I had to take my frustrations out on

something and since that thing was ugly, I
thought it would do.”

Dalton shrugged. “He’s right. It was pretty

hideous.”

Shane tucked his weapons back into his coat

and nodded to Gage and the Wolf as they rejoined
them. “We need to get the hell out of here. I can
already hear the sirens approaching.”

“Yeah, I think we need to regroup at the

coalition headquarters and let Mitchell know what
happened,” Trevor added before he turned and
gave Russell a pointed look. “That means all of us.
He’s going to want to hear a report from you,
too.”

Normally, Russell would have told them to

fuck off, but given the situation, he thought it best
that all decent forms of shifters try to get along. At
least until they figured out the mess that the damn
Ravens had just created.

“Okay. Dalton can ride with me,” Russell

replied as he reached out and grabbed the Lynx’s
wrist.

Shane’s eyes narrowed dangerously and for a

moment Russell thought the feline would object,
but in the end, the Leopard gave a curt nod. “Fine,
now let’s get the hell out of here.”

He ushered Dalton to the area where he’d

parked his Hummer. Not for the first time, Russell

Russell’s Reversal

felt grateful for always making sure to tuck his
ride in some hidden lot or alley so he could be
sure to make a quick getaway. This time, he’d
chosen a church parking lot a few blocks away.

“Our Lady of the Redeemer?” Dalton snarked as

he saw the name of the building.

“Yeah, so what of it?” Russell asked.
Dalton smirked. “Oh, nothing. I just think it’s

kind of ironic.”

“How so?”
Standing on tiptoe, Dalton whispered, “Because

I plan on redeeming you in everybody’s eyes. That
way they will know what I do.”

Russell’s body tingled at the close contact.

“And what’s that?”

“That you’re really good on the inside.”
Russell stilled. “How are you so sure I am? I’ve

done some pretty bad stuff in the past.”

Dalton pulled back to smile at him. “Yeah, but

you’ve changed now. I heard through the
grapevine that you haven’t been up to your usual
games.”

That part was true. Ever since he’d met Dalton,

Russell had been intent on the Lynx and finding
some way of becoming worthy of the younger
shifter someday. He just hadn’t thought that word
of going legit would have spread so quickly.

“How do you know that?”
Giving him a playful wink, Dalton said, “Let’s

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just say that you’re not the only one who was
completely blown away by our little playtime in
that closet. I’ve been keeping close tabs on you
ever since and because some of my friends are the
biggest gossips and hackers in the shifter
community, it wasn’t hard for me to keep up on
what you have and haven’t been doing.”

That admission should have pissed Russell off

since he usually zealously guarded his privacy,
instead it sent a surge of pleasure through him.
“So you like me then?”

Sure, they’d exchanged some playful banter

and done a bit of flirting during their online chats,
but this was the first time that Dalton fessed up to
having actual feelings for Russell.

Dalton nodded, his tongue darting out to lick

his bottom lip. The sight sent a jolt of arousal
through Russell. While he would have loved to
pin Dalton against the vehicle and fuck him
senseless right then, Russell knew they really did
have to get out of there. Although there were a
few officers on the police force who knew about
shifters, Russell didn’t see even those guys being
understanding with so many civilian bodies on the
ground.

He ushered Dalton to the back door of the car

and got in with him while Finnegan took the
wheel. Tobias climbed in the passenger seat and
turned around. “So are we really going to drive to

Russell’s Reversal

the feline coalition?”

Putting a protective arm around Dalton, Russell

nodded. “We need to figure out how we’re going
to fix this FUBAR situation the Ravens slapped us
into.”

“What? Did Tobias think that you were just

going to kidnap me and take me back to your
home?” Dalton teased.

“I would rather that we took you down a long,

deserted road and drop you off, but I have a
sneaking feeling you’d still find your way back,”
Tobias grumbled under his breath.

Russell surprised everybody, including himself,

when he let out a long snarl. “Don’t you ever
threaten him again?”

“Why not? Ever since this runt has entered the

picture, you’ve been acting strange. You won’t do
any of our regular business and all you can talk
about is Dalton this…and Dalton that… I swear
it’s getting kind of sickening. If I didn’t know
better I’d swear he was a witch who cast a spell
over you or something.”

Russell moved forward to throttle his brother

when something brought him up short…the tangy
scent of blood. It wasn’t strong, but yet it was
there. What’s more, it was coming from Dalton.

Turning his attention to the Lynx, Russell

reached over and unzipped Dalton’s coat and
pulled apart the halves, his heart thudding when

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he spotted a small patch of blood marring the
right side of Dalton’s blue t-shirt.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” he

asked in a harsh voice.

Dalton glanced down at it and shrugged. “It’s

just a flesh wound. No biggie. I’ve had way worse
before.”

A ball of fury burned in Russell. “When?”
“Well, the snakes who kept me as a slave

weren’t exactly too friendly.”

When Russell let out a growl, Dalton reached

out and put a finger over the Wolf’s lips. “Hey,
they didn’t hurt me too often. They needed me in
good condition so I could…”

Dalton trailed off, a flush coming over his face.

He took a deep breath before pressing on, “So I
could breed with the females.”

“Why would they want that?” Tobias asked

from the front, his face a mask of revulsion.

“So they could grow their own food instead of

having to go out to hunt it,” Dalton replied dully.

The whole car grew silent as the horror of

Dalton’s words sank in. Tobias paled. “But I
thought you were gay.”

“I am.”
“Then how did you…well, you know?”
Russell wanted to end the interrogation, but a

part of him sensed that it would do Dalton some
good to talk about it. So instead, he pulled Dalton

Russell’s Reversal

closer to his side and pressed a kiss on the man’s
temple.

Dalton took in a shuddering breath. “They had

some weird kind of spider shifter working for
them. The guy would come in and bite me and
then I’d get so horny that I was ready to jump the
first thing that they brought to me.”

“Which was a female. Was she a Lynx, too?”
“Yeah, the sickest part of it was she didn’t want

me anymore than I did her, since she wasn’t into
guys at all.”

“So how did you get away from the snakes?”

Tobias asked.

Russell already knew the answer to that, but he

let Dalton reply.

“After they were done with me and my sperm,

I was sold to another breeder. While I was at the
new facility, the feline coalition busted in and set
me free. Shortly after, Shane and Trevor took me
in and I’ve been with them ever since. While they
can never replace my true family, they’ve become
like brothers to me.”

“Do you know whatever happened to the

female Lynx?” Tobias asked softly.

“No, when they sold me we were separated.

Not that we were really that close or anything, but
I still worry about what happened to her.”

Russell gave Dalton’s temple another kiss. “If

you want, I’ll put out some feelers. I’m pretty sure

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that with my connections I can find her.”

Dalton glanced up, his eyes suspiciously wet.

“You would do that for me?”

Yeah, Russell would. At that point, he’d fallen

so under the Lynx’s spell that he would do
anything for the shifter. Which both shocked and
terrified Russell.

Before, he’d never dared let anyone get close for

fear of being hurt again, but now Dalton had
managed to burrow right up to Russell’s heart.
The crappiest thing about it was Russell knew that
now he’d never be able to let the Lynx go.

While some would think that was great, Russell

knew that’d put the Lynx in danger because
Russell had made some pretty powerful enemies
in the past. Some who wouldn’t hesitate to use
Dalton as a means to get back at Russell.

Well, he would just have to make sure Dalton

was protected at all times. Because Russell knew
that if anything were to ever happen to the sweet
man, that he’d never survive the pain. And heaven
help anyone who was around him then because
Russell would lose the last bit of humanity he had
left.

Russell’s Reversal

Chapter Four

alton’s breath hitched as Russell reached out
and cupped his face. “I would do anything

for you.”

Leaning in so close that their faces were inches

apart, Dalton whispered, “I have another
confession, I’ve never been in any kind of real
relationship. Before they were killed, my parents
kept me pretty isolated from the rest of the world.
So I’ve only been with that female. But I know that
it’s this I want.”

He ran his hand over Russell’s to signify what

this meant. When he realized he still wore his
gloves, Dalton hurriedly pulled them off, wanting
to get as close to Russell as possible.

Sliding his fingers under Russell’s jacket and

suit coat, Dalton ran his fingers along the buttons
of the Wolf’s dress shirt. “Have you ever thought
of going the more casual route?”

“No, it reminds me too much of who I used to

be and I never want to go there again.”

Stephani Hecht

The brief flicker of pain in Russell’s brown eyes

said there was so much to that statement, but
Dalton decided to let it pass for the moment.
Flicking a fingernail over a button, Dalton teased,
“But if you wore less clothing it would be so much
easier to get at you.”

Russell’s eyes darkened with passion. “And

what would you do if you did get at me, kitten?”

A mixture of nerves and arousal filled Dalton,

making him dizzy. “I’m sure I could figure it out.
I’ve watched porn online after all.”

Russell’s warm chuckle filled the air. “Porn isn’t

exactly true to life.”

“Really? No wonder my pizza delivery man

never showed up naked at my door.”

“Are you always this much of a sarcastic brat?”
Russell reached out and pulled off Dalton’s hat,

softly running his fingers through Dalton’s hair. A
shiver went down Dalton’s spine and he couldn’t
help the purr that slipped past his lips. He blushed
at the telling sound, but Russell didn’t seem to
mind. He just continued to stroke Dalton’s hair.

Before Dalton knew it, his face was snuggled up

against Russell’s chest as he all but curled up
around the man. Dalton closed his eyes and let out
a sigh of contentment. They could have stayed
that way forever and he’d be fine with it.

Then Russell’s voice, which sounded like

whiskey and smoke, reached Dalton, “Look up at

Russell’s Reversal

me.”

As soon as Dalton obeyed, Russell swooped in

to capture Dalton’s lips in a heated kiss. This time
Dalton immediately opened to let Russell in, the
Wolf’s tongue sweeping in to stroke and tease.

That warm taste of the Wolf exploded over

Dalton’s taste buds and somehow he managed to
grow more aroused. His cock started pressing
against his jeans. He reached out and fisted his
hands into Russell’s coat, as he found himself
powerless in his battle for self-control.

Dalton must not have been the only one losing

control, because he suddenly found himself on his
back, Russell on top of him. Their hard cocks
brushed against each other, making Dalton hiss as
pleasure shot through him.

Oh God. Kissing Russell was just as good as he

remembered it. All the nights since they’d first
met, Dalton had replayed their encounter over
countless times in his mind. He still hadn’t
recalled it being this explosive.

Thrusting up and groaning like one of the guys

from his previously mentioned pornos, Dalton
pleaded, “More. Don’t stop.”

Russell reclaimed Dalton’s lips in yet another

all-consuming kiss. The man was Alpha all the
way, and he kissed as such. Even going so far as to
tug at Dalton’s hair. Dalton wasn’t for sure if it
was to keep him in place, or to move his head into

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the proper position, but he didn’t care. All he did
know for certain was that he liked it—a lot.

Their dicks rubbed together again and Dalton

let out a loud groan that echoed through the
confines of the Hummer. Clawing at Russell’s
shoulders, Dalton thrust up again, desperate for
more friction.

He was so caught up in his passion that he

didn’t notice the vehicle had stopped until the rear
window opened and Chance’s mate, Thomas
stuck his head inside. “I hate to break it up, but
Mitchell is waiting for all of you.”

Letting out a tiny sound of disappointment,

Dalton tilted his head back. “Can we have five
more minutes?”

“No, you cannot!” Tobias griped as he

unbuckled, then grabbed for the door handle. “I’m
already mentally scarred enough as it is, thanks to
that little show you guys just put on.”

“Nobody said you had to watch,” Russell

growled as he climbed off Dalton.

“Who said anything about watching? You guys

were loud enough to make it easy to tell what was
going on.”

After giving those parting words, Tobias shot

out of the Hummer and slammed the door behind
him. Finnegan got out, but he moved to open the
back door for them. Russell exited the vehicle
before stretching his hand back to assist Dalton.

Russell’s Reversal

Dalton was perfectly capable of getting out by

himself, but he allowed Russell to help because
that meant they got to touch again. They even
continued to hold hands as they walked up to the
headquarters.

Tobias wrinkled his nose as he glanced up at

the large building. “I thought you guys were
supposed to have the best digs around because of
all the work you do for the human military. This
place looks like a dump. What is it? Some old
abandoned auto factory?”

That’s exactly what it was. Dalton chuckled, not

blaming Tobias for his assessment, since he’d
thought the same thing when he’d first been taken
into the coalition.

“Just wait to make your final judgment until we

get inside,” Dalton advised as he punched in the
code to the get through the front doors.

Once they opened, Dalton ushered them in,

taking a bit of sadistic pleasure in watching the
way Tobias’s eyes bugged in shock. Even
Finnegan let out a small whistle as his gaze took in
the interior.

Dalton felt a sense of pride. Their headquarters

looked like something from a high-budget action
movie’s military headquarters. Several offices
lined one side, with large monitors mounted on
another wall. Many of them flashing scenes from
various human news stations.

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Numerous uniformed felines and Hawks

rushed around, most of them not even considering
them worth a second glance. Going by the tension
buzzing in the air, the news of the attack had
already spread.

“Follow me,” Dalton said as he tugged on

Russell’s hand.

He led the Wolves to Mitchell’s office. The place

was already packed with the rest of the shifters
from the fair, Daniel, the leader of the Hawks, and
several other felines who held high rank.

As they entered, the room fell silent while

Mitchell stared at them. He leaned against the
front of his desk, arms crossed over his massive
chest. His amber eyes were dark with anger and
already his speckled brown hair was mussed from
running his hands through it.

“Glad to see you guys made it here safely,”

Mitchell said by way of greeting.

Tobias and Finnegan positioned themselves on

either side of Russell, as if worried he’d get
attacked or something. Dalton rolled his eyes. Like
he’d let anything happen to the Wolf. While he
may be small, Shane had taught him how to fight
and Dalton was ready to kick the crap out of
anyone who so much as looked at Russell the
wrong way.

“Thanks, Russell and his Wolves got me here

safely,” Dalton replied, giving Russell’s hand a

Russell’s Reversal

tight squeeze. “They also helped us, not only in
the fight with the Ravens, but Finnegan aided
Gage in the evacuation of the civilians.”

“Shane already told us as much.” Mitchell

nodded respectfully at Russell. “The whole
coalition thanks you for your help.”

“It was nothing,” Russell replied smoothly.

“Since Dalton was there I had to see to his safety.
Besides, since cousins, Dean and Ranger belong to
the coalition, I would naturally aid in a time of
need.”

Dalton noticed the Wolf’s aloof mask was back

in place and he was hard pressed to comprehend
that this was the same guy who had been looking
at him with such tenderness just moments before.

“This is already hitting the news and the

stories, though wild, are being picked up on,”
Mitchell announced.

“Shit,” Shane hissed. “I should have cut down

those fuckers quicker.”

Trevor ran a soothing hand up his mate’s arm.

“You couldn’t have stopped them. And we took
them out as fast as we could. Besides, none of us
anticipated that they would go after humans since
they’d never done something so stupid before.”

“Trevor’s right, Shane. You all handled the

situation as best you could.” Mitchell sighed. “We
do still need to figure out a way to clean up this
mess the Ravens thrust all us shifters into. I’ve

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already had calls from my military contacts and
they are not happy at all about the human
casualties. We have to figure out a way to show
them that we’re not all that bat-shit crazy, or we
may have a repeat of the sixties.”

A collective shiver went through the room at

that reference. While Dalton hadn’t been alive
during that time, he’d heard the horror stories of
the time when the US military had actively hunted
down all breeds of shifters. Those that weren’t
killed outright were taken in for horrifying
medical testing and experimentation. It wasn’t
until the government realized that with their
enhanced strength and speed, shifters could be
used to their advantage that a weak truce had
been called.

But lately the Ravens’ attacks had become more

aggressive and public. Just a few months ago,
Dalton, Chance, Shane and Trevor had been
attacked at the local mall. It hadn’t been the first
time a shifter battle had trashed that shopping
facility either.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Dalton

asked, “Do you think the humans will start
hunting us again?”

“Yes,” Mitchell replied bluntly. “While I don’t

think it will be the government who will be
gunning for us…at least not yet, there are going to
be some crazies out there who will, now that they

Russell’s Reversal

know we exist.”

“I don’t get it,” Trevor cut in. “The Ravens have

to know that this is going to direct just as much
attention to them. So what’s their motivation?”

Russell came up behind and wrapped his arms

around Dalton. “They realize that you guys are
finally winning this war against them, so now
they’re getting desperate.”

“What? Did one of your black market associates

tell you that?” Shane demanded, his eyes
narrowing dangerously.

“No, it’s just an observation from an outsider

who has nothing to do with your war with the
birds. You can take my opinion to heart or not. So
long as Dalton doesn’t get hurt in the crossfire, I
couldn’t care less,” Russell replied smoothly.

That comment really seemed to grab Mitchell’s

attention. He paused to study the pair, his gaze
seeming to bore right into Dalton. A bit of
uneasiness sunk into Dalton as he worried over
how his coalition leader would react to such a
possessive statement, in the end Mitchell gave a
slight nod.

“So does that mean your pack is going to ally

with us in this fight?” Mitchell challenged.

Russell? Ally? Surely Mitchell was kidding.

One of the reasons why Russell did so well in
dealing with the black market had been because
he’d never chosen sides. Sure, he’d helped out the

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coalition on occasion, but that had only been for a
few, very brief incidents.

“Are you sure you want our help? I’m certain

my former pack will have your back. Especially
since your sister is married to the Alpha.”

“True, Chris has already called to pledge his

support, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use you,
too.”

“Sure, we’ll help. Although, I’ll admit that I’m a

bit surprised that you’d trust a band of thieves
and rogue wolves.”

“If it weren’t for you, one of my brothers would

still be in slavery. Not only this coalition, but my
family owes you so much. I’ll never forget what
you did for us,” Mitchell replied sincerely.

Dalton sank back against Russell, relishing the

praise that had just been thrown his Wolf’s way.

Shane curled up his lip. “That still doesn’t mean

I have to like him.”

“Oh, save it,” Gage cut in with a roll of his eyes.

“We get it, you’re protective of Dalton, but that
doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk to Russell.
Remember, it wasn’t too long ago that most of the
coalition didn’t like you.”

“Most of them still don’t,” Shane pointed out,

his cocky grin showing that he couldn’t give a
rat’s ass over that fact.

“Then maybe you guys should give Russell a

break,” Chance added. “After all, they really did

Russell’s Reversal

help us today. They could have just as easily
walked away from the situation.”

Russell cleared his throat. “Thanks for sticking

up for me, boys, but I can handle my own battles.”

Giving Dalton another squeeze, Russell turned

his attention to Shane. “I did it today because
Dalton was there and I protect what’s mine.”

Mine? Dalton stiffened before he turned in

Russell’s arms so they were facing each other.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Russell glanced down at Dalton, and that aloof

mask slipped out of place again, only this time it
was replaced by a look of sheer determination. “It
means that you’re my mate and I’m not letting
you go this time.”

Shock struck Dalton stupid for several

moments and all he could do was gape like some
kind of idiot at Russell. “Are you crazy? You can’t
possibly think I’m your mate. We’ve only met
twice.”

Gripping him by the shoulders, Russell gave

him a look so smoldering that it made Dalton burn
from the inside out. “It doesn’t matter. You belong
to me now.”

Dalton shook his head. “You’re crazy. Has

anybody ever told you that?”

“Plenty of times, that still hasn’t stopped me

from getting whatever I want and right now that’s
you.”

Stephani Hecht

A part of Dalton wanted to scream that nobody

owned him. He’d gone that whole I-am-your-
owner route before and to say it left a bad taste in
his mouth would be an understatement. But then
Dalton’s heart spoke up, yelling that this kind of
ownership was different. Where the old one was
about degradation and hatred, Russell’s would be
all about caring and tenderness. Despite his
reputation, Dalton knew the Wolf had a heart
softer than almost anybody he’d ever met.

Nodding, Dalton said in a small voice, “Okay.”
“Okay, what? I need to hear you say the words,

kitten. And it needs to be loud enough for
everyone to catch them.”

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Dalton

said, “I belong to you. But you need to realize one
thing. You belong to me just as much and I don’t
share. Can you live by those rules?”

Russell smiled down at him. “Yeah, I can.”
Not caring that they had a room full of shifters

surrounding them, Dalton stood on tiptoe and
pressed his lips to Russell, claiming his Wolf for
all to see. If they didn’t like it, then too damn bad.
Because like Russell, Dalton wasn’t about to give
up his mate.

Russell’s Reversal

Chapter Five

ussell looked over at Mitchell. “I know that
there’s a lot that we need to cover, but Dalton

needs to go the infirmary.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a flesh wound,” Dalton

protested.

“Can you shift and heal it that way?” Russell

asked.

“Not really. I shifted once before, but it was

kind of by accident. I haven’t learned how to do it
at will though.”

“Then you need to go to the infirmary for

certain.”

When Dalton opened his mouth to protest,

Russell put a finger over his lips. “I’m not backing
down on this one, so you may as well go along
with it.”

Dalton glared at him, “Fine, but it’s a big waste

of time. It’s just a scratch.”

Gesturing to the door, Russell said, “Lead the

way.” On the way out, he turned to the other

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Wolves. “Stay here and continue to find out
exactly what Mitchell needs from us. Everything
we have is at his disposal.”

Finnegan nodded whereas Tobias eyed the

group warily. Mitchell gave him a tight grin in
return.

“Ah, come on, Tobias, since I’m mated to your

cousin that means we’re family. I would never
hurt you…unless there was a good laugh behind
it. Even then I promise it will only sting a bit, there
won’t be any real pain from it.”

Tobias shot one last worried glance at Shane

before nervously swallowing. “That’s good to
know.”

Russell ushered Dalton out and shut the door

behind him.

“What’s up with Tobias? Before he wouldn’t

keep his trap shut and now he’s acting like he’s
about to pass out,” Dalton asked as he led the way
through the crowded building.

“When we were kids, Tobias was picked on a

lot because he was the runt so he’s used to me
being around to protect him.”

“What happened when your pack exiled you?”
“Tobias left with me. Since he was gay it was

only a matter of time before he was booted, too.
Plus, he was angry at our parents for turning their
backs on me.”

“Have you talked to your parents since then?”

Russell’s Reversal

A brief flash of pain went through Russell’s

chest before he firmly stamped it down. “No, they
died a few years ago in a Raven battle.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Dalton paused, then

turned to look at Russell. “I know how hard it is to
lose family.”

God, how was it that after everything the Lynx

had been through he still managed to have such a
sweet heart? Reaching out, Russell gently brushed
a stray lock of hair away from Dalton’s forehead.
“My father was an abusive bastard and my
mother couldn’t be bothered with us on most
days.”

“Yet, you still miss them, don’t you?”
For a moment, Russell almost denied it, but he

found himself nodding. “Yes, I do. Every day, in
fact.”

“I miss my family, too,” Dalton admitted, his

eyes growing misty. “At first, I used to wonder all
the time—why me? Why did they kill the rest of
them, but kept me alive? Then a few months ago I
finally realized the reason.”

The pain echoing in Dalton’s voice made

Russell’s Wolf want to howl in anger. He rubbed
the pad of his thumb over the soft skin of the
feline, letting the contact soothe both of them.

“Why?”
“I didn’t fight as well as the others. Like Tobias,

I was the runt—my brothers and sisters were all

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bigger, stronger. So they knew how to fight, where
with me, all I could do was cower in the corner.
The snakes must have realized that, too, and
known that I would be the easiest to control in
captivity.”

Russell hated to admit it, but Dalton probably

had a point. He decided not to voice that aloud
though.

“When did you realize that?”
“A few months ago, I was at the mall with

Chance, Shane and Trevor when a group of
Ravens attacked us. Shane and Trevor tried to
keep them away, but one managed to get to me.
So, there I was, once again cowering and shaking
in fear, only this time it was on the dirty ground of
the food court. If it hadn’t of been for Chance
shielding me with his body, the Raven would
have killed me.”

At that point Russell decided that Chance

would never want for anything again, for he’d
protected the most precious thing in Russell’s life.

A tear slid down Dalton’s cheek. “After that

incident, I vowed that I would never feel that way
again. So I begged Shane and Trevor to start
training me how to shoot and fight.”

“I would have thought they’d have already

been teaching you.”

Dalton took a step back and gestured down to

his body. “Look at me. Who in their right mind

Russell’s Reversal

would think that I’d even be able to fight my way
out of a paper bag? No, Trevor, Shane and all the
others are more apt to go all big brother and just
want to tuck me away and keep me safe from
harm.”

“Is that why they insist on you always taking a

guard with you when you go out?”

“Yeah, at least I got them to relax enough to let

me take my friends with me. When I first got here,
Shane and Trevor would only let me go if they
were there.” Dalton tilted his head to the side.
“Besides, what’s the big deal? You have
bodyguards with you all the time?”

“That’s because I’ve managed to piss off a lot of

people in the past and most of them would love to
get a piece of me.”

“Oh,” Dalton paused, his brows furrowing. “I

thought you said that you gave that up though.”

“I did.”
“Why?”
Ah, and there they were at one of the most

delicate subjects. Russell only pondered a moment
before deciding to confess. “That night in the coat
closet, you changed something in me.”

“What’s that?”
“All the money…the power, it really doesn’t

mean a damn. At first I did it to survive, then later
on to shove my old pack’s nose in my success. But
now there’s somebody else I want to impress.”

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Dalton pursed his lips together. “You better say

that somebody is me or else I’m going to get
pissed.”

Russell tapped him on the nose. “Of course, it’s

you. I don’t mind going legit. Truth be told, I have
enough money to last me ten lifetimes. I do worry
that one of my old enemies is going to come after
you though.”

“Don’t. Remember Shane and Trevor are

training me now. I can handle anything that comes
my way.”

“I wish it were that simple. There’s some really

bad things out there.”

Russell realized that was the wrong thing to say

the moment he saw all the color drain from
Dalton’s face.

“Yeah, I know that.”
Dalton started walking again. Russell reached

out to grab his hand, a small measure of relief
going through him when Dalton didn’t pull away.
Before long they were in the large room that
served as the coalition’s infirmary.

All the beds were empty, save for one that held

a blond who appeared to be Dalton’s age. He wore
all black sweats and sat with his knees drawn to
his chest.

“That’s Colby. He’s been through a lot,” Dalton

whispered.

He dropped Russell’s hand then slowly

Russell’s Reversal

approached the bed, his steps slow and measured.
Almost as if he was afraid of spooking the other
shifter. “Hey, Colby. How are things going
today?”

Colby gave no indication that he realized

Dalton was there, even when Dalton sat down on
the edge of the mattress. Dalton didn’t seem to
mind though, he just stayed there, as patient as
ever. Then in a slow, easy tone he began to retell
the experience at the ice festival. Colby remained
motionless, still not moving as Dalton reached out
and began to slowly stroke his back with slow
easy passes.

“He comes in every day to talk to him,” a voice

said next to him.

Russell turned and saw that Jacyn, a medic who

worked in the infirmary, had come up to stand
next to him. Since Jacyn was Mitchell’s younger
brother, he shared a lot of the same features and
coloring as the coalition leader. Although Jacyn
had a softer, kinder edge to him, be it because of
how sympathetic his gaze was or the fact he
usually wore scrubs instead of the all-black
coalition uniform.

“Are they friends or something?” Russell asked,

unable to tear his gaze away from the touching
scene.

“No, Colby hasn’t spoken a word since we

found him.”

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“Was he held captive?”
A tight smile pulled Jacyn’s lips. “In his own

way, I guess you could kind of say that.”

Before Russell could ask him to expound on

that statement, Jacyn walked over to the bed.
“Okay, I can smell blood, so I know that you
didn’t come just for your usual visit with Colby.”

A blush covered Dalton’s cheeks. “It’s nothing

big. I keep telling Russell that it’s a waste of time
for me to even come here.”

Jacyn patted a nearby empty bed. “Hop on and

let me have a look.”

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Dalton slid off

his coat and moved over to bed. When Dalton’s
hands reached for the edge of his soiled shirt, he
paused, a tremble going through his body as he
grew slightly pale.

“I thought you told me that you liked Russell,”

Jacyn said in soothing tones.

“I do,” Dalton whispered.
“Then he’s going to have to see it sometime,

why not just do it now and get it over with?”

Dalton nodded, his lips pressed together in a

tight line. There was so much tension in his thin
body it looked like a simple touch would snap
him. Finally, Dalton let out a long breath and
peeled off his shirt. Russell’s confusion grew when
all he saw a beautifully sculpted chest and a three
inch gash on the Lynx’s right flank.

Russell’s Reversal

“Go, ahead. Show him,” Jacyn urged.
Dalton twisted his body and presented his back

to Russell. As soon as Russell caught sight, a red-
hot fury filled him. He wanted to run out, find
who was responsible and kill them. No! He
wanted to torture them, then kill them…very, very
slowly.

The younger man’s back was a mass of scars.

Some of them long and diagonal, as if made by a
whip. Others were circular, like his captors had
held lit cigarettes to his skin. The worst of it was a
large brand that marred his left shoulder blade. In
the shape of a cobra’s head with numbers under
the symbol. No doubt marking Dalton like the
piece of meat his captors saw him as. There were
also what looked to be puncture marks on both of
his shoulders.

Walking to the bedside, Russell reached out

raised trembling fingers to touch the bite marks.
“Were these from the spider shifter?”

Dalton nodded. “He bit me a lot. Sometimes

even when he wasn’t even ordered. He said he
liked the taste of my blood.”

Brushing his finger over the brand, a fresh

wave of fury went through Russell.

“And your former mas…” Russell trailed off

because the word tasted bitter in his mouth. He
swallowed and tried again. “Your former master
did this?”

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“Yeah, the numbers helped them keep track of

us.”

Russell balked when he saw the four digits

marking his baby’s flesh. “Are you trying to tell
me that they have this many captives?”

While Russell may have dipped his toes in

numerous criminal activities, he’d always steered
clear of the slave market. There were some depths
to which even he would not sink.

“I thought you said they never hurt you too

bad?” Russell asked, stunned when his voice
cracked a bit.

He couldn’t help it though, emotions he’d long

ago buried came to the forefront and he was
having trouble dealing with them. Before, Russell
had always been able to shut off his feelings and
just deal with everything in an analytical matter.

For lack of knowing what else to do, he leaned

down, and with the upmost tenderness, kissed
each and every scar on Dalton’s back.

“What are you doing?” Dalton asked.
“Trying to show you that they don’t matter to

me,” Russell replied as he straightened up.

A soft sob broke through the room and they

turned to see Colby, tears streaming down his face
as he stared at Dalton.

“Are you okay?” Dalton asked.
“They hurt you. I don’t like that. You’re too

nice for anybody to try to break,” Colby said in a

Russell’s Reversal

rough voice.

The vacant look slid back over his face and he

once more retreated into his world. They all
paused, hoping if they didn’t speak Colby would
come out again. Finally, when it became clear that
he wouldn’t, Dalton said, “No, Colby. They didn’t
break me. That was the one thing I never gave
them the satisfaction of doing.”

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Six

h, damn! This place is huge!” Dalton
exclaimed as they got out of the vehicle and

looked up at the huge dwelling.

A sense of pride went through Russell, until he

realized Dalton’s eyes weren’t glowing from
excitement, but rather shock. Not the good kind
either, but the oh-hell-I-don’t-know-if-I-will-ever-
be-able-to-get-used-to-this kind of way.

When Russell first bought the huge manor, he’d

done it because he wanted to show off and now
looking at it through Dalton’s eyes, he could see
how it could be a bit much. Large, with over ten
bedrooms and just as many baths, it fit not only
him, but the rest of his pack.

Which in itself wasn’t too odd since most packs

did live together, but Russell was willing to bet
most of those packs didn’t have a circular drive,
fountain and wolf statues flanking the entrance.

Putting a hand on the small of Dalton’s back,

Russell ushered them in. Two guards stood just

“O

Russell’s Reversal

inside the door and they nodded at Russell as he
entered. Once inside the huge foyer, Dalton
looked up at the chandelier hanging from the
high, vaulted ceiling.

Spinning a slow circle, Dalton said, “Now I can

see how you were able to afford that car you sent
me.”

Dalton stopped and turned his attention to

Russell. “I have a question. I was talking to Brent.”

“Oh, God,” Russell groaned.
As second-in-command of the felines and

Mitchell’s littermate, Brent had more mouth than
common sense. Russell didn’t even want to
imagine what the guy had blabbed to Dalton.

“He told me that you said you left the pack on

your own accord. Yet, I thought you were exiled
for being gay. Which is it?”

“Both.”
Dalton cocked his head to the side. “Huh? I

don’t get it.”

“I went to our old Alpha and asked to leave,

but he refused my request.”

“So why didn’t you just walk out? Did they

have locks on the door or something?”

“He was my uncle and I still respected him. Yet,

at the same time I saw how he treated certain
members of the pack and it killed me to stand idly
by and do nothing. So when he refused to let me
leave, I decided to do the one thing that I knew

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could well get me killed, but was a sure fire ticket
out of the pack—I told him I was gay.”

“How did he take it?”
“Worse than even I had anticipated. He had me

beat in front of the whole pack and then kicked me
out with nothing more than the clothes on my
back.”

Dalton let out a gasp. “That’s terrible.”
A ball of emotion threatened to work its way up

Russell’s throat. “I could take the pain from the
beating. It was having to listen to Tobias cry while
they did it that hurt the most. He kept begging
them to stop. He even threw himself at the Alpha
and begged for mercy. Then when I left, he
insisted on going with me. That was the only thing
I regret about the situation—how I inadvertently
dragged Tobias into the mess.”

“So, why didn’t you or one of the other Wolves

who lived with the felines tell the coalition about
that?”

“Wolves are funny that way. Even when we are

kicked, beaten and tossed out, we still try to keep
things within the pack.”

Dalton walked up and wrapped his arms

around Russell’s neck. “So to get back at your old
pack leader, you decided to show him that you
could be more successful than ever without his
help.”

“Yeah, I wanted him to see that gay or not, I

Russell’s Reversal

could make a pack that was harder, stronger and
more powerful than his could ever be.”

It was, too. Sure, he didn’t have any family

units per say, since his pack consisted of mostly
male wolves. All of whom had either been kicked
out or banished from their own packs. Still, they
were tight and what’s more, most everybody
feared them. Which was exactly how Russell
wanted things.

That was until a certain Lynx stormed into his

life and turned everything on its head. Now,
Russell didn’t know what in the hell he wanted.
He just knew that whatever his next move was, he
wanted to do it with Dalton by his side.

Dalton leaned in and nipped at Russell’s neck.

“So where’s your bedroom?”

Russell wrapped his arms around Dalton’s

waist. “What about your injury?”

“I told you that it doesn’t hurt anymore. Jacyn

didn’t even have to put stitches in it,” Dalton
pointed out.

Russell had to concede on that one. They’d only

been in the infirmary long enough for Jacyn to
clean out the wound and then slap a bandage on
it. After that they’d gone to Dalton’s home in
order for the Lynx to pack a small bag of clothes
before leaving for Russell’s place.

The fact that they hadn’t even discussed Dalton

coming home with him wasn’t lost on Russell.

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They’d both just assumed Russell wouldn’t be
coming home alone and he liked how once again
he and Dalton had been on the same wavelength.

“So are you going to take me to bed or not?”

Dalton persisted.

“Are you sure?”
Russell needed to make certain that Dalton

didn’t feel as if he was being rushed. Given his
past, Russell wanted the Lynx’s first real time to
be a happy memory and not tainted with any
regrets.

Dalton’s face fell. “Do you not want me

anymore? Is it because of my back?”

Russell shut him up with a long kiss. “That has

nothing to do with it. You have never been more
attractive to me.”

“Then what is it?”
“I want to make sure that you really want this.”
A wide grin spread across Dalton’s face. “I’ve

been wanting this ever since the day of the
wedding when I saw you in front of that goofy
looking cake.”

Russell laughed. “That cake was pretty bad.”
“Sooooo…” Dalton looked up from under his

lashes. “Does that mean that you’re going to fuck
me senseless or not?”

Russell stepped back, grabbed Dalton’s hand

and all but dragged him up the stairs. Dalton let
out a yelp of surprise, then stumbled a bit before

Russell’s Reversal

his feet caught up with the rest of him. “I’ll take
that as a yes.”

As they went up the wide spiral staircase,

Russell nodded to a few of his men as they passed
by. If any of them were surprised to see him
tugging a feline in his wake, none of them showed
it.

They finally reached his bedroom. Russell

shoved Dalton inside, then shut and locked the
door behind them. Turning around, he took two
steps before Dalton jumped up and wrapped his
legs around Russell’s waist.

Russell grunted in surprise before he recovered,

his mouth coming down to claim Dalton’s lips in a
scorching kiss. Dalton returned it with an
eagerness that both thrilled Russell and turned
him on like nothing else had before. Especially
when Dalton began to let out mewling, needy
sounds, his fingers tugging impatiently at
Russell’s hair.

Not breaking the kiss, Russell walked blindly

toward the bed. His knees hit the mattress and he
fell forward, landing on top of Dalton. “Sorry
about that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dalton gasped as he

grabbed Russell by the back of the head and
brought him in for another kiss.

Reaching between them, Russell somehow

managed to find enough wiggle room to get

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Dalton’s zipper down. Reaching in, he was
pleasantly surprised to find that his kitten liked to
go commando.

Not one to pass up such a great opportunity,

Russell pulled Dalton’s cock out and began to
stroke the shaft.

“Ah, sweet fuck chips,” Dalton yelled, his body

arching up.

Russell paused as his mind tried to process

what Dalton had just yelled. Then Dalton began to
nuzzle the side of his neck and Russell didn’t give
a damn anymore. The kid could recite the entire
damn Urban Dictionary and it wouldn’t cool the
fire between them.

“Ah, that feels so good,” Dalton whimpered

before rubbing his cheek against Russell’s neck.

“Naked, I need to feel all of you,” Russell

grunted.

“Only if you get nude, too. It would be so

awkward if I were the only naked guy in here,”
Dalton teased.

Russell stood up and quickly stripped off their

clothes, chucking them carelessly to the side.
When Dalton lay back down on the bed, Russell
felt all the air leave his lungs.

If he lived to be a thousand, he didn’t think

he’d ever see anything more beautiful. Dalton’s
pale skin contrasted perfectly against the dark red
comforter. His hair was already messed up from

Russell’s Reversal

their earlier play and stuck out oh-so-cutely in
several spots. His lips were plump and red from
all the kissing and his eyes were glazed with
passion.

While thin, his body was still defined with

muscles, the taut lines making for a perfect canvas.
Already it was splattered with a few drops of
precum that dripped from the tip of his long,
thick, hard cock.

Grabbing a bottle of lube from the top dresser

drawer, Russell ordered, “Turn over on your
stomach.”

When it looked as if Dalton was going to balk,

Russell made a shushing sound. “I think you’re so
beautiful, all of you. While I wish I could take the
memories go away, I would never want you to
lose those scars. They remind me of what a strong,
courageous mate I have.”

Dalton nipped at his bottom lip. “I think that’s

the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me.”

“I meant every word of it, too. Now turn over

for me, baby. Since this is your first time, I want to
make it perfect for you.”

“It already is,” Dalton replied.
He complied, turning over to reveal his sweet

ass. It was curved just perfectly so that it could
take a spanking and be ridden hard, but yet still
looked soft enough to nibble on. Which Russell
planned on doing, a lot, just not yet.

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He opened the bottle and squeezed some of the

liquid on his fingers, liberally coating them, before
tossing the bottle to the side. He then climbed on
the bed and straddled Dalton’s thighs.

Sure the scars were there, but that’s not what

held Russell’s focus. No, it was Dalton’s passion-
infused face as he looked over his shoulder at
Russell. To know that this special man, this
precious gift now belonged to only him, filled a
hole that Russell had thought would forever
remain empty.

“Thank you,” Russell whispered as he began to

kiss each scar again.

“For what?” Dalton moaned.
“For being you.”
Still kissing the marks, Russell reached between

Dalton’s ass cheeks and began to run one finger
around the tight ring of muscle that lay hidden
underneath. Dalton’s breath hitched as he began
to slightly tremble.

“Do you need me to stop?” Russell asked.
“No, if you do, I think I might explode.”
“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” Russell

laughed.

He slowly eased the digit in, keeping a close

eye on Dalton’s face for any sign of discomfort.
When none came, Russell resumed kissing
Dalton’s back, all the while sawing his finger in
and out of Dalton’s hole.

Russell’s Reversal

“You’re so fucking tight,” Russell murmured as

he carefully added another finger.

“Yeah, well I’m a virgin, remember?” A flicker

of shame covered Dalton’s face. “At least, I’m kind
of one.”

“You are one. Being forced to do something

because you’re doped out of your mind and
desperate for survival doesn’t count.”

Russell continued to thrust his fingers in and

out, marveling at the way Dalton gradually
relaxed. He even began to rock back against
Russell’s hand.

“That’s it, baby, ride my fingers.”
Curling his fingers, Russell found Dalton’s

sweet spot. The Lynx’s reaction was almost
instantaneous. He let out a loud yell as his eyes
grew wide.

“Like it?” Russell gave a wicked chuckle.
Dalton gave a vigorous nod. “More. Give me

more.”

“You’re a greedy little kitten,” Russell

chastised.

He gave Dalton what he wanted though,

adding a third finger. He then began to tease
Dalton a bit, making sure to brush against his
prostate repeatedly. It wasn’t until Dalton was
babbling, trembling and covered in a fine sheen of
sweat that Russell decided to have mercy on him.

Pulling his fingers free, Russell slicked up his

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cock, then ordered, “Get up on all fours.”

Dalton clumsily got into position, his body still

shivering. Maybe it was from nerves. Maybe it
was from anticipation. Maybe it was just from
desire. All Russell did know is it looked good on
his man. Giving Dalton’s shoulder a playful nip,
Russell asked, “Are you ready?”

“Yes. God, yes.”
Russell lined up the tip of his cock and slowly

pushed his way inside. “Fuck, you’re so tight.”

“Yeah, I think you may have already mentioned

that.”

Leave it to Dalton to stay mouthy during sex.

Russell let out a small laugh as he slid the rest of
the way in. Once there, he paused a moment for
Dalton to get adjusted. As soon as he felt the man
relax around him, Russell pulled almost all the
way out and thrust back inside.

“More,” Dalton mewled.
“Yeah, I think you may have already mentioned

that,” Russell teased, tossing Dalton’s words back
at him.

Dalton started to give off what was probably a

sarcastic comment only to yelp instead when
Russell reached under and grabbed the shifter’s
cock.

“I’ve waited so long for this moment,” Russell

marveled.

He then began to make love to Dalton with

Russell’s Reversal

slow, long thrusts.

“Me, too. It was you that I wanted. Always

you,” Dalton panted as he thrust back to meet
Russell’s strokes.

“And there will never be anybody else.”
“Never. I promise it will be only you.”
Russell took his time, learning every inch of his

new lover’s body. He also memorized what made
Dalton gasp and also what made him groan.
Russell wanted to burn everything into his
memory so he could make every encounter this
good.

Then Dalton’s body grew tight and his breath

hitched, letting Russell know he was on the edge.
“That’s it, come for me.”

Russell gave Dalton’s cock a couple more

strokes and that was all the incentive he needed.
Throwing his head back, Dalton screamed
Russell’s name, then came. Hot ropes of semen
splashed onto Russell’s hand and the mattress
under them.

Before he’d even caught his breath, Dalton

tilted his head in the sign of ultimate submission.
Russell’s Wolf roared in approval as his canines
grew. He almost struck, but paused when he
spotted the old marks left behind by the spider
shifter.

Shit, the last thing he wanted was to remind

Dalton of that horrible experience. This moment

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was perfect and Russell didn’t want anything to
darken it.

Dalton must have guessed the issue because he

panted, “Please, do it. Wash away the memory of
him. I need it as much as you do.”

That was all the invitation Russell needed.

Letting out a growl, he struck, his teeth sinking
into the tender flesh of Dalton’s bared neck.

The instant the sweet taste of Dalton’s blood

filled his mouth, Russell came with such an
intensity his vision swam. He shot wave after
wave of cum into Dalton’s convulsing hole, his
head spinning from all the pleasure washing over
him.

After what seemed like forever, Russell came

back down. Letting his teeth slip from Dalton’s
skin, Russell lapped at the bleeding wound. It was
only then that he pulled his cock out and let his
head drop to Dalton’s back.

Dalton fell to the bed, a groan slipping past his

lips. “Ewww…just landed on the wet spot.”

Russell laughed as he rolled to the side so he

wouldn’t squash his smaller lover. Gazing into
Dalton’s eyes, Russell reached over and brushed
away an errant lock. “Just so you know you’re
never going to sleep anywhere else. You belong to
me now and in case you haven’t noticed, I can be
very selfish with my possessions.”

Dalton smiled. “I kind of figured as much. In

Russell’s Reversal

fact, I already told Shane and Trevor that I was
moving out.”

“How did they take it?”
“They freaked out and yelled at me for being

too impulsive. I can kind of see their point, since
we haven’t known each other that long.”

“I let you leave the night of the wedding and

I’ve kept my distance in the months since then. I
think we’ve waited long enough.”

Dalton snorted with laughter. “Yeah, you really

kept your distance. All the while, continued to call
me every day and lavish me with expensive gifts.”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it? I got you to come

live with me.”

Dalton’s gaze grew tender. “News flash, Wolf.

Expensive gifts or not, I still would have fallen for
you. I couldn’t have cared less if you lived in a
shack or this damn mansion. I care for you just
because of who you are in here.”

Dalton pointed to Russell’s chest.
Giving him an earnest gaze, Dalton asked, “You

believe me, right?”

Yeah, Russell did and that was why he knew at

that moment that he loved Dalton more than
anything in the world. He also knew he would do
everything in his power to make sure he kept his
mate happy.

Stephani Hecht

Chapter Seven

wo weeks later Dalton walked into the
coalition headquarters for his daily training

session with Shane.

As was the norm, since what had now been

named the Ice and Bird Battle, the place was
hopping. Not only were all the normal coalition
soldiers present, but all those who had been out
on missions had been called back in.

The Raven attacks were increasing at a

frightening rate and the coalition and their allies
were doing everything they could to not only
protect innocents, but also to do damage control
with the humans. Already several stills and videos
of Ravens in bird form had leaked and the media
was having a field day with it.

“You’re late,” Shane drawled as he approached.
He never stopped walking, no doubt expecting

Dalton to fall in step, which he did. Dalton shot
him a sideways glance, a shiver going through
him as he noted all the blood covering the front of

Russell’s Reversal

Shane’s black shirt.

“Is that yours?” Dalton asked.
“Huh?” Shane blinked a few times before

glancing down at himself. “Oh, that. No, it’s some
dumbass Raven’s.”

“Ah, is there any reason why you didn’t get

cleaned up before you came here?”

“I was running late, too.” Shane cocked his

head to the side, something he did whenever what
should be perfectly normal behavior eluded him.
“Why is it such a big deal? You’ve seen me
covered in blood plenty of times.”

That was true. During his time living with his

guardians, Dalton had seen Shane display some
behavior that others might label freaky-as-hell. But
since Dalton cared for Shane, he’d long ago
learned to accept them.

Unfortunately, the rest of the coalition didn’t

share Dalton’s understanding and many of them
were currently shooting Shane looks of horror or
disgust. Dalton grabbed Shane by the arm and
started to lead him toward the apartment in the
back that Mitchell and all his family shared.

“Go take a shower and borrow some of

Andrew’s clothes. I’ll grab some breakfast and
meet you back in the training room in an hour.”

Shane grumbled and huffed, but he went off to

do as Dalton ordered. Glad that he’d at least
averted that disaster, Dalton went off the cafeteria.

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He’d been having all his meals with Russell so

Dalton hadn’t been there since he moved away.
He spotted his friends sitting at a nearby table.
Dalton quickly filled up his tray and joined them.
He was pleased to see not only Noah and Chance,
but Riley, one of the Eagle twins.

“Wow, look what the dog dug up,” Riley teased

as he scooted his tray over to make room for
Dalton.

After Dalton set down his food, he reached over

and ruffled the Eagle’s blond hair. “It’s a Wolf.”

“And don’t you ever fucking forget it,” Tobias

grouched as he came over and took one of the few
remaining empty seats.

“Sorry,” Riley sing-songed, showing he really

could give a damn.

Since Ranger, one of their best friends, was a

Wolf, Dalton knew Riley had only been teasing
with his comment.

“What are you doing here? I told you that you

didn’t need to hang around and babysit me.”
Dalton sighed.

While he really adored Russell sometimes the

guy could be way too overprotective. He was so
bad that he hardly let Dalton go take a piss
without an armed escort.

“Yeah, and my brother said not to let you out of

my sight,” Tobias countered.

Riley leaned in, his eyes sparkling with trouble.

Russell’s Reversal

“So tell me, Tobias, what’s it like to be a Mafioso
Wolf?”

“I don’t know. What’s it like to be an Eagle who

is afraid of heights?”

Riley held up a finger. “Hey, I’m just extra

cautious when it comes to being in the air. There’s
a huge difference.”

Noah shook his head. “No, you’re piss-your-

pants terrified. You may as well stop trying to
deny it.”

“Dr. North says that I need to start reanalyzing

how I look at things,” Riley reasoned.

Tobias shot him a dubious look. “Who’s Dr.

North?”

“He’s my therapist.”
“Is he human?”
“No, he’s a Fox,” Noah cut in. “And by that I

mean both ways. That guy is hot.”

When they all looked at him in shock, Noah

shrugged. “What? Just because I’m mated doesn’t
mean I can’t notice a good looking guy. I just can’t
take a bite of him, that’s all.”

Gage came rushing up to the table and took a

seat, a look of guilt mixed with satisfaction
marking his face. Dalton groaned. There was only
one reason for Gage to be sporting that expression.

“You didn’t,” he snapped.
Gage at least had the decency to flush. “I may

have.”

Stephani Hecht

“How could you? You promised me that you

wouldn’t do that anymore.”

“I know. I just couldn’t help myself. He keeps

ignoring me and this is the only way to get his
attention,” Gage defended.

“What did he do?” Tobias asked.
“He stole something from Branson—again,”

Noah said, slowly shaking his head.

“What did you take this time?” Riley asked.

When Gage held up an ancient looking coin, Riley
groaned, “Oh, how could you? That’s from one of
the first shifter civilizations. He’s going to flip
when he discovers it missing.”

“Who’s Branson?” Tobias asked.
“He’s a Lion who’s in charge of all the

coalition’s historical artifacts,” Dalton said.

“He’s also blind when in human form,” Riley

chimed in.

Tobias’s mouth parted in shock as he gaped at

Gage. “You stole from a blind dude? Wow, even
while at our worst, my pack would have never
done that.”

The flush on Gage’s face grew as he rolled the

coin between his thumb and finger. “I know, but
this is the only way he ever acknowledges that I’m
even alive.”

“Yeah, but only so he can hunt you down and

try to pound some sense into you,” Dalton pointed
out.

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100

“Did you ever try to…oh, I don’t

know…maybe, tell him how you really feel?”
Tobias shot out with heavy sarcasm.

“I did, just the other day, in fact.” Gage’s

bottom lip trembled.

That was news, even to Dalton.
“What did he say when you confessed your

attraction to him?” Dalton asked.

The entire table leaned forward to hear the

answer.

“He said I was a pretentious brat and to get the

hell out of his office.”

They all let out a collective Awwww…in true

sympathy.

“So now you’re back to stealing from him to get

a second’s worth of attention from him?” Dalton
asked.

“Why don’t you just move on?” Noah asked.
Gage shot him a furious glare. “Would you be

able to move on from Seth? Or Riley from Colin?
Or how about Dalton from Russell? I can’t move
on because I know that Branson and I are meant to
be together. He just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“Gage! Where in the hell are you, you little

shit!” a loud voice boomed through the cafeteria.

They all looked over to see a tall, muscular,

blond man standing at the doorway. Unlike most
of the other occupants, he wore a pair of jeans and
plaid shirt as opposed to the coalition uniform.

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101

Gage sprang to his feet. “That’s my cue. Gotta

motor.”

He then took off running out the opposite

doorway. Branson let out a snarl, “Don’t think you
can get away from me, you brat. I’d recognize
your scent anywhere.”

The blond smoothly shifted into his Lion form

and took off after Gage, both of them disappearing
from view as they entered the hallway. There were
a few beats of silence before Gage’s yelp of pain
filled the air.

The fact that hardly any of the other shifters

looked up from their meals, told how often that
very scene had already played out. Even Dalton
and his friends resumed eating. Tobias just stared
at them, his eyes wide with shock. “You’re all
crazy. You know that, right?”

“Well technically only I am, but the proper

diagnosis is Bi-Polar disorder. So be a little more
sensitive next time, Snoopy,” Riley drawled, a tiny
smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Are you really…I didn’t mean…oh, crap…I’m,

so sorry,” Tobias babbled.

Riley studied the Wolf for a moment. “What do

you think about Ke$ha?”

Tobias blinked a few times, obviously thrown

for a loop by the turn in the conversation. “I really
like her.”

“Good! Then all is forgiven.” Riley beamed at

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102

him. “Later on we can hang out and listen to her
CDs.”

“Yay?” Tobias ventured timidly as he shot

Dalton a help-me look.

Dalton clapped Tobias on the shoulder. “I think

he would love to do that. He was just telling me
the other day how Grow a Pear is his all-time
favorite song.”

Actually, Tobias really had admitted that, but

Dalton didn’t think the Wolf would appreciate
that secret being shared so openly.

Tobias gestured weakly toward the door.

“Shouldn’t somebody go check on Gage?”

Noah waved a dismissive hand. “Nah, Branson

will only gnaw on him a bit, he won’t do any real
damage.”

Shane chose that moment to walk over. “I see

that Gage pissed off the History Lion again.”

“Well, we all have to have a hobby,” Riley

drawled, smiling when Shane reached over and
gave him a playful swat on the back of the head.

“Yeah, just because we don’t choose ours to

include blood and maiming, like you do, don’t
judge us,” Noah added.

Shane rolled his eyes, a habit he picked up from

Trevor. “Dalton, are you ready to get to work?”

Dalton nodded and stood. “Sure, just let me

take care of my tray.”

“Does Tobias want to join us?”

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103

“Oh, no. He’s going to go hang out with Riley

in the Hawk’s part of the building and listen to
some Ke$ha.”

“Really? Okay, then have fun with that.” Shane

turned to leave, before he paused and looked back
at Tobias. “Just one bit of warning. Watch out for
the Hawks. They can be judgmental bastards and
all-around jerks. Aside from a few of them, like
Gage, I can’t find them worth liking.”

Riley scrunched up his nose. “I hate to agree to

that since my mate is second-in-command, but
Shane does have a point. I’m really, really trying
to get them to work on their socialization skills
though. I even bought some self-help CDs and
made them all watch them.”

“I’ll bet they just loved that.” Dalton laughed.
“Oh, they hated it. Which is why I ordered

another set.”

Still chuckling, Dalton put up his tray and

followed Shane out. Dalton had talked so much
that he’d hardly eaten anything, but it didn’t
matter. Just hanging out with his friends had been
nice enough.

They went to the training center and found an

empty sparring mat. Facing off, they began to
exchange light blows, to warm up.

“So how are things with your pack of dogs?”

Shane asked.

Dalton deflected one of his blows. “They’re

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104

Wolves and it’s been great. Although they do tend
to spoil me a bit. For some reason they all think
they need to take care of me. Even Tobias.”

“You’re their Alpha’s mate so that makes you a

very important member in their pack.”

Swinging out, Dalton grazed Shane’s shoulder.

“I don’t feel important. I’m just the same old,
boring Dalton.”

“Kid, there is nothing boring about you.”
Dalton beamed with pride until Shane added,

“Trouble follows you like a field of locusts.”

“Hey!” Dalton started to protest only to be

taken out by a hard hook to his face.

He fell to the mat with a loud splat. “Ouch!”
“Aw…shake it off, there isn’t even any blood,”

Shane teased.

Once Dalton was standing again, Shane grew

serious. “Is Russell treating you good?”

Dalton gave what he knew to be a goofy grin.

“Yeah, he’s the best. He makes sure my every
need is met, too.”

“Are you still certain he’s the one for you? Even

with your age gap and different backgrounds?”

“I’ve never been more certain,” Dalton replied

firmly.

It was the truth, too. He relished in being able

to sleep every night in the Wolf’s arms. They spent
every spare moment together, either making love
or just simply talking. In all that time, Dalton had

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105

fallen deeper and deeper under the Wolf’s spell.

“Do you love him?” Shane prompted.
“It’s only been a while, but yeah I think I do.”

Dalton gazed up at him. “Are you happy for me?”

Shane smiled. “Of course, I am. Trevor is, too. I

will admit we both miss you like crazy. The place
seems so quiet with you gone.”

That admission stunned Dalton. While he’d

always known that Shane cared, that was the first
time the assassin had actually voiced it. Since he
was a Leopard and had a tough childhood, it took
a lot to make Shane warm and fuzzy.

“I miss you guys, too,” Dalton finally said.
“If things don’t work out with Russell, you can

always come home. We both wanted to make sure
that you know that,” Shane offered.

“Thanks, I like knowing that. Although I can’t

see myself ever leaving Russell. He means too
much to me.”

“Good to know. We just wanted to make sure

that you know that even though you found your
mate, it doesn’t mean we’re not still there for
you.”

“You guys have always been there for me. Ever

since you freed me from that damn cage the
slavers had me in and brought me here. I never
thought that would end,” Dalton said.

Shane cleared his throat. “Well, for what it’s

worth. Trevor and I are really proud of how well

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106

you’re doing. Not just in adjusting to the coalition
life, but with your battle skills. With a bit more
training, you’d even make a great soldier.”

“Yeah, like there is any chance of Russell ever

letting me go out in the field, “ Dalton shot back,
before adding, “ I do know one thing. Thanks to
all your training, I’m never going to feel helpless
again. And for that alone, I’ll never be able to
repay you.”

Dalton then went over and gave Shane a hug.

Knowing how the Leopard didn’t like anybody
other than Trevor touching him, Dalton made sure
it was a brief embrace. Stepping back, he assumed
his fighting stance, “Okay, we better get back to
work. If I leave Tobias with the Hawks for much
longer, he’s likely to crack and start taking them
all out.”

Shane wrinkled his nose. “We wouldn’t want

that. Just think of the mess it would make and,
knowing my luck, Mitchell would assign me to
clean it up.”

Dalton laughed. Yeah, he might miss Shane and

Trevor, but he’d found a new home with the
Wolves and he was pretty damn happy.

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107

Chapter Eight

ussell hung up the phone and rubbed his
aching temples. Damn it, just what he

needed, another dead end.

For two weeks now, as promised, he’d been

searching for the missing female Lynx and so far
he’d come up with zilch. Since he’d tried his best
in the past not to deal with slavers, they didn’t
want to talk to him. As for his old connections,
they’d been drying up since he’d gone legit.

“Where’s your cat?”
Russell looked up to see George walk into the

room. One of the newer pack members, Russell
had never really warmed up to the guy. Mainly
because of the way the Wolf always seemed to
throw himself at Russell. Numerous times, Russell
had tried to let the guy know he wasn’t interested,
but George didn’t seem to be capable of getting
the message.

Tall, with more muscles than brains, George

kept his hair in a buzz cut and always wore

Russell’s Reversal

108

military boots and fatigues. Almost like he had
something to prove. When Russell had asked why
George had left his old pack, the man had
mumbled some half-ass excuse about his father
losing some power struggle and the whole family
being banished for it.

Now that he’d grown to know the man a bit

more, Russell found himself doubting the story.
What’s more, lately, whenever Tobias was around
the older Wolf, Tobias would grow visibly upset
and the last time Russell had smelled the fear
rolling from his brother.

When he’d tried to talk to Tobias about it, his

brother has clammed up and stormed from the
room. It made Russell want to get to the bottom of
the situation more than ever. While he always
hated to exile a Wolf, since he knew from
firsthand experience how it felt to be alone, he
wasn’t about to have Tobias uncomfortable in his
own home.

“His name is Dalton and I expect you to use it,”

Russell replied icily.

George tilted his head respectfully, but not

before Russell caught the flash of anger that went
through the Wolf’s eyes. “My apologies, Alpha. I
was told that you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, there are some old documents and photos

in the other room that I need shredded,” Russell
nodded to the next room over.

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109

It was grunt work and going by the flare of

George’s nostrils, he knew it. But he also knew
better than to disobey a direct order. Giving a tight
smile, George turned and walked out of the room.

No sooner had he left than Dalton walked in,

and all of a sudden Russell’s day grew so much
better. The Lynx must have come directly from a
training session because he was dressed in dark
workout clothes that were a bit sweaty, but he’d
never looked better.

“Hey,” Dalton said as he came over and gave

Russell a kiss.

“Hey, yourself.” Russell reached up and pulled

Dalton onto his lap. “I missed you today.”

“I missed you, too.” Dalton laughed. “I think

Tobias missed you more though. He spent the
entire day hanging out with a bunch of Hawk
shifters.”

Russell smiled at that. “You truly are wicked.”
Dalton’s eyes grew stormy with passion. “Yeah,

I’m so wicked that all I’ve been able to think about
all day is coming home so you could fuck me.”

Leaning in, Russell licked at Dalton’s skin,

savoring the extra salty tang to it. “How about
right now?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go take a

shower first? I’ve been working out pretty hard.”

Russell gave Dalton another lick. “I like how

you taste right now.”

Russell’s Reversal

110

“I probably stink.” Even as he made that

protest, Dalton tilted his head to the side to give
Russell better access.

“You smell perfect.”
Russell moved in for a kiss, but Dalton put a

hand on his chest to still him. “Let me take care of
you.”

Desire coursed through Russell’s veins. “And

how do you plan on doing that?”

By way of answer, Dalton gave him a naughty

grin before he slid off Russell’s lap and dropped to
the ground, positioning himself between Russell’s
legs. Mouthing Russell’s cock through the fabric of
his pants, Dalton said, “Just like this.”

“Fuck,” Russell groaned.
“We can do that after, too, if you want.”
Dalton began to slowly lower Russell’s zipper,

making each inch a torture of its own. “So, do you
want this?”

“Yes, please. Do it.”
Russell spread his legs out to give Dalton more

room. Dalton finally lowered Russell’s pants and
freed his cock. Letting out a throaty laugh, Dalton
looked up from under his long lashes. “No
underwear?”

“I learned from the best.”
Dalton leaned forward and lapped at the tip of

Russell’s cock. Pleasure spiraled up Russell’s body
as Dalton’s tongue left a heated path. Letting out a

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111

purr, Dalton said, “You taste so good.”

Threading his fingers through Dalton’s hair,

Russell gave him a gentle shove forward. “Then
get to work.”

Dalton gave another laugh, before he ran his

tongue up the underside of Russell’s cock. “You
feel silky, too.”

“What are you, Little Red Riding Lynx or

something?”

As soon as he asked that question, Russell knew

that Dalton would have to jump on it. Sure
enough, he looked up, a mischievous twinkle in
his eyes. “Oh, you did not just go there.”

Russell didn’t bother to reply, instead giving

Dalton’s hair another tug—this one a bit more
forceful. The brat finally got the message and
parted his lips, taking all of Russell in.

Dalton gagged a bit, but recovered nicely

enough, relaxing his throat muscles so he could
swallow Russell to the root. Dalton only hesitated
a moment before he began to bob his head and
suck.

It wasn’t the best blow job in history. It was

clumsy and at times a bit too rough, but Russell
still relished every moment because it was
Dalton—his mate—who was giving it to him.

Halfway through, Dalton looked up, his gaze

clearly saying, is this okay? I’m not messing this up,

am I?

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112

“It’s perfect, kitten,” Russell murmured as he

caressed the side of Dalton’s face.

Even so, he only let Dalton work a few more

moments before Russell pulled him off and
commanded, “Drop your pants and bend over my
desk.”

Dalton scrambled to obey—papers, pens and

paper clips scattering all over the place. Russell
ignored the mess, instead grabbing the small
bottle of lube he’d stashed in a nearby filing
cabinet.

Russell paused for a moment to enjoy the

display. How wanton Dalton looked, bare assed,
bent over and ready to be fucked. Russell rubbed
one palm over Dalton’s rear before opening the
bottle of lube.

Squirting it all over his fingers, Russell began to

stretch Dalton out. The entire time, he switched
back and forth between telling the shifter how
much he meant to him, to just plain old dirty talk.
By the time Russell had a third finger in, they
were both on the edge with need.

“Now. Please,” Dalton keened as he grabbed

onto the edges of the desk.

Lubing up his cock, Russell lined it up and

thrust in with one hard motion. They both yelled
out in pleasure before Russell began to hammer
into Dalton so hard the desk started to move a bit.

“Hard. Hard, just like that,” Dalton called.

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113

Russell obeyed, slamming into Dalton at an

almost ruthless pace. Not that Dalton minded. If
anything, his cries of pleasure only grew louder.

Then Dalton came, completely untouched, his

cum painting the top of the desk and soaking into
some of the paperwork. The smell hit Russell’s
heightened senses and threw him over the edge.

Tossing his head back, Russell roared as he

came, ropes of hot semen filling Dalton’s ass. The
entire time, Dalton let out whimpering, mewling
sounds as he continued to ride out his orgasm.

They stayed that way for a several moments

before Russell found the strength to pull out and
step back. He helped Dalton stand, then guided
him to the attached bathroom so they could clean
up.

When they came back out, Russell was less than

pleased to see George waiting for them. What’s
more, the bastard held something in his hand and
wore a cocky expression on his face.

“What do you want?” Russell snapped.
“I want to show something to your little kitty.”
Red, hot anger consumed Russell. “I told you to

call him Dalton. He’s my mate and you better treat
him with respect.”

“Something tells me that he won’t be your mate

for much longer,” George smirked.

Before Russell could demand to know what in

the hell he was talking about, George thrust the

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114

item he’d been holding into Dalton’s hands. It
looked to be a photo, but since Russell could only
see the back, he couldn’t figure out what it was of.

Dalton’s gaze scanned it, his skin paling, “Is

that Hemphries the bounty hunter who led the
team that killed my family?”

Russell’s stomach dropped as he realized the

implication of Dalton’s question. He wanted to rip
the photo out of Dalton’s hands and wipe away all
the memories of it existing, but like his past, the
damage had already been done. It would seem
there was no way of fixing either.

“But…but, he’s standing next to Russell and

they’re both smiling,” Dalton’s voice quivered.

“That’s because they’re old buddies,” George

supplied gleefully.

Dalton shook his head. “That’s not possible.

Russell said that he never dealt with the slave
market.”

“That may be true, but Russell did sell them

weapons. In fact, I’m willing to bet that he sold the
very guns that killed your family.”

Dalton let out a small sound of distress, the

picture fluttering to the ground. Turning to
Russell, Dalton said, “Tell me it’s not true. Please.”

How Russell would have loved to lie. To deny

that he was guilty of such a horrible crime, but as
he stared at his mate’s agonized expression,
Russell realized the very least he owed Dalton was

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115

the truth.

“I sold him weapons on two occasions. It was a

couple of years ago, so I don’t know if they were
the ones he used on your family or not.”

Dalton took several steps back, all the while

shaking his head. His face a mixture of hurt,
betrayal and…oh god…hate. “Do you know what
they did with those weapons? How my family
was massacred by those guns? I lost them forever,
plus my life was hell while I was in slavery. And
all because….

Dalton broke off, his hands going to his

stomach. “I can’t handle this….How could you…I
just need to leave.”

Before Russell could reply, Dalton turned and

ran from the room. A few minutes later, the sound
of the front door slamming rang through the
mansion. And Russell found himself at a loss for
what to do.

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116

Chapter Nine

alton curled up into a tight ball and pulled
the covers over his head. He immediately

regretted the action when the smell of his own
unwashed body assaulted him. Letting out a
frustrated curse, he flipped the covers off his head
and looked around his room.

Or was it his bedroom? Or his old bedroom

since it was at Shane and Trevor’s home? Or his
new bedroom since he’d moved back in three
nights ago after running from Russell?

And that’s just what he’d done, too. Runaway

like some little kid who had a fight with his
parents. Dalton now realized that he should have
stayed and talked things through with Russell.
Given him a chance to at least apologize.

How many times had Russell told Dalton that

he wasn’t proud of his past? That he was ashamed
of the Wolf he used to be? And how many times
had Dalton told him that none of it mattered? That
nothing could change the way he felt about

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117

Russell?

Then the very first time the issue had come up,

Dalton had proven himself to be a liar and turned
on Russell. What was even lamer was that Dalton
was too afraid to go to Russell and ask for his
forgiveness. Not when he’d let his Wolf down so
badly.

A knock sounded on the door and Dalton

grumbled, “I told you guys I’m not hungry. Now
go away.”

When the door opened, Dalton sat up, ready to

lash out at the intruder, only to stop short when he
saw it was Tobias. “What are you doing here?”

Tobias waved the air in front of him. “I can tell

what you aren’t doing—showering. Dude, not to
be mean, but you reek and it’s even worse for me
because of my enhanced sniffer.”

“Did you come all this way to insult me?”
“No, I came to smack some sense in your head.

I’ve been trying to do that with Russell for the past
few days, but he’s so busy playing the blame game
that all he’s doing is moping. It’s actually kind of
pathetic.”

Dalton sat up sat up straighter. “You mean he’s

sad that I’m gone? He’s not mad at me for running
away?”

Tobias rolled his eyes. “You guys really need to

work on your communication skills. Instead of
talking things out, you both retreat and have a

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118

three-day pout-fest. Really? Is that any kind of
way to have a relationship?”

Dalton couldn’t believe he was getting mating

advice from Tobias. Any more than he could
believe that the guy was actually right.

Getting up from the bed, Dalton started to go to

the door. “I have to go to him.”

Tobias grabbed Dalton by the shoulders and

spun him around. “Yes, you do, but first you have
to take a shower, because there is no way you’re
getting in my car smelling like that.”

Dalton dashed into the bathroom and took the

fastest shower in his life before pulling on some
clothes and rushing outside. On the drive over, he
was so antsy that he didn’t realize until they were
halfway there that Ke$ha was playing on the
radio.

“You really listen to this?” he asked.
Tobias blushed. “Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I

said that.”

“So did that mean you had fun hanging out

with Riley?”

“Yeah, he and his brother are a riot. We were

thinking about going clubbing one weekend.”

Dalton shook his head, amazed at how quickly

his and Russell’s lives had merged. “I missed him
so much.”

“Russell missed you, too,” Tobias reassured

him.

Stephani Hecht

119

They passed the gate and pulled into the

circular drive. Dalton didn’t even give Tobias time
to put it into park before he jumped out of the car
and raced up the steps.

“Russell!” Dalton yelled as he raced inside.
Finnegan pointed to the office and Dalton burst

inside, only to come to a skidding stop as his gaze
fell on Russell.

He sat behind his desk and for the first time

ever, the Wolf wasn’t immaculately dressed. Gone
were the suit and tie, replaced with a pair of jeans
and worn looking t-shirt. Even his hair was messy,
as if he’d been running his hands through it in
frustration.

“Russell,”

Dalton

half-whimpered, half-

whispered.

Russell looked up, his eyes dull. It seemed to

take a minute for him to register that Dalton was
standing there.

“Please, forgive me,” Dalton said, his voice

wavering.

Russell gave a slow nod before opening his

arms. Dalton didn’t hesitate, he ran over and
threw himself into Russell’s embrace, even going
so far as to climb into the Wolf’s lap.

“I am so sorry,” Russell said.
Dalton shook his head. “No, I should be the one

who is apologizing. I promised I’d stick by you no
matter what and I ran the first time something bad

Russell’s Reversal

120

came up.”

“I swear that if I could, I would do anything to

get your family back,” Russell said as he began to
rain kisses over Dalton’s face.

They held each other for several moments,

exchanging small kisses before Russell murmured,
“I love you. I love you so damn much.”

Dalton’s heart pounded with happiness. “I love

you, too. And I promise never to run away again.
No matter how mad I get.”

“I’m going to hold you to that promise.”
“By the way, whatever happened to George?”
“I banished him.”
Dalton wanted to feel sorry for the Wolf, but he

couldn’t. Even before the picture incident there
had been something that he hadn’t liked about the
asshole. He’d just never been able to figure out
what it was. So instead of feeling bad, Dalton just
let out a happy sigh and rested his cheek against
Russell’s chest.

They sat that way for a long time, just holding

each other before Finnegan came into the room
and nervously cleared his throat. “I hate to
interrupt, but this is pretty important. They think
that they may have found the female Lynx you’ve
been looking for.”

Dalton sat up, hope flooding him. “Where at?’
“Some soldiers from the feline coalition just

stumbled upon a slave compound.” Finnegan

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121

winced before adding, “Word has it that the slaves
are in pretty bad condition. Most of them are
dead.”

The stench hit Dalton before he even entered

the burned out warehouse. Rank with the ripe bite
of decomposition, it made him gag. The door and
all the windows to the semi-demolished building
were open and already there was a row of bodies
covered with blankets lying on one side.

Chance rushed out and waved Dalton in. “I

think we have her in here.”

Dalton ran in, Russell by his side. Chance gave

Dalton an apologetic look. “She’s dead. The other
slaves said she expired sometime last night.”

“Damn it, if only we’d found them sooner,”

Russell cursed.

Dalton reached over and grabbed his hand.

“You did the best you could. You can’t blame
yourself for this. The ones to blame are the damn
slavers that put them all through this.”

Chance led them to a cage so small it would

have been cruel to have put a dog in there, let
alone a full-grown woman. Dalton’s heart sank as
he recognized the features, even under all the dirt
and grime.

“Is that her?” Chance asked.
Covering his mouth with one hand to hold in

the sobs, Dalton nodded.

Russell’s Reversal

122

“What was her name?” Chance asked.
“I don’t know. We weren’t allowed to exchange

names and the slavers always referred to us by our
breeding numbers.”

“That’s too bad. At least the babies lived.”
Dalton paused, lowering his hand. “Babies?”
Mitchell and Brent came over, each of them

carrying a baby that looked to be around six
months old. Each of them was clothed only in a
diaper, but at least they looked clean and well fed.
They were damn cute, too. Both of them sporting
full sets of dark hair and bright blue eyes.

“How cute!” Dalton exclaimed. “Are they boys

or girls?”

“They’re both boys.”
“And now their mother is dead. How sad is

that.” Dalton reached out to touch one of the
baby’s hands. “I wonder who their father is?
Maybe we can find him so they’re not alone.”

“We did find the father,” Brent drawled.
“Where? Who is he?”
Dalton looked around for several moments

before he realized that everybody else was looking
directly at him!

The room began to spin as the truth kicked

Dalton firmly in the ass. “Oh, fuck. They’re mine.
Aren’t they?”

Mitchell nodded. “According to the records

they kept and the information that we were able to

Stephani Hecht

123

gather from the surviving slaves.”

“Congrats! You’re a daddy!” Brent said with

way too much excitement.

Dalton opened his mouth to speak, only to have

a squeak come out. For the first time ever in his
life, he was at a complete loss for words. Him? A
dad? Who would have thunk it?

“What are their names?” Russell asked.
“According to the slave who took care of them

1645 and 1646,” Mitchell said as he held out the
baby in his arms.

Dalton took the small male, marveling at how

tiny the infant felt in his arms. The baby cuddled
into his chest. Dalton glanced up at Russell. At
that moment everything seemed to finally click in
place as a wave of love and protectiveness hit
Dalton. Yes, these babies were his and if had
anything to do about it, they’d never be scared or
alone again. “I’ll understand if you—”

“Don’t even say it,” Russell cut in as he reached

out and took the other baby. “Mates are forever
and these boys now belong to both of us.”

Tears sprang to Dalton’s eyes, but he fought

them back. “I love you so much.”

“And I love you. Now we just need to give

these guys some real names.”

Dalton glanced down at the baby in his arms.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to name them Cody
and Jake, after my littermates.”

Russell’s Reversal

124

Russell gave him a tender smile. “I think that

would be perfect.”

They took off their coats and wrapped them

around the infants, eager to get them away from
the foul place. Once they’d walked a fair distance,
Russell said, “Thank you.”

“For what?”
“For showing me how to love again and giving

me a family. Without you I’d still be a miserable
crook who had nothing to live for.”

Dalton glowed with happiness. “And thank

you, for being my hero in more ways than one.”

Grabbing hands, they then left to bring their

new family home.

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of
two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all
things about the state, from the frigid winters to
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings!
You can usually find her snuggled up to her
laptop, creating her next book or gorging on
caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.

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