Charlie Richards Wolves of Stone Ridge 1 Werewolf at the Zoo

Helping his brother escape the zoo, Rainy
discovers more than just an array of animals.

Rainy scouts the zoo, planning a mission to

rescue his brother, who’d been sold by poachers
while in wolf form. He gets a whiff of the most
intoxicating scent, the man Travis Carlyle, his
mate. But he quickly finds out that before he can
claim the handsome veterinarian, Rainy has to
convince Travis that he’s worth coming out of the
closet for.

Travis leads a quiet, discreet life, avoiding any

situation that could possibly out him to his family.
After so many years alone, Travis finds the love,
affection, and acceptance Rainy offers him too
hard to resist. But just when he decides Rainy
might be worth the persecution of revealing his
sexuality, he discovers Rainy has been keeping
secrets, a lot of secrets: Werewolves, Shifters,
Mates? When he watches a shift with his own
eyes, Travis is forced to accept the truth.

Too bad not everyone wants Travis to know the

wolves’ secrets, tossing him into a feud between
shifters. When Travis’s father tries to come
between them, can Rainy convince Travis to
choose a dangerous, love-filled life with him
instead of the comfortable, quiet existence he’s led
with his family?

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Werewolf At The Zoo

ISBN: 978-1-55487-875-8

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Werewolf at the Zoo

Wolves of Stone Ridge One

Charlie Richards

Dedication

Thanks to my sister, Lisa, for taking a chance

and being my guinea pig. Your insight is

invaluable.

Chapter One

ainy leaned against the fence and grinned.
“Well, that’s quite the mess ye’ve gotten yerself

into there, bro.” He couldn’t suppress the chuckle
when the dark brown eyes on the other side of the
fence narrowed, and he heard a low growl. “Keep
yer fur on, I’ll have ye out soon enough. Then ye
can tell me what the hell happened to land ye in
the zoo.”

This time the growl was unmistakable,

followed by his brother launching at the fence and
snapping at Rainy.

“You really shouldn’t get that close to the

fences. And what did you do to piss him off? You
shouldn’t be teasing the animals.”

Rainy turned to see a slender woman in brown

slacks and a gray button-down shirt. The shirt had
the zoo’s logo emblazoned on it. Her blonde hair
was twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck, her
full lips scowled, matching the hostile glint of her
blue eyes and the hands resting on her hips.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rainy noted his

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brother ease back from the fence and stare avidly
at the woman. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to
aggravate him.” He grinned and shrugged.
“Guess he liked the smell of the jerky I was eating.
I promise I didn’t give him any though.” Rainy
glanced over his shoulder at his brother. “Since I
have plans for tonight, I’ll be on me way.” Giving
her a wink, he moved past her. “Thanks for yer
concern.”

He heard muttering as he strode away from the

pen. He’d discovered what he needed to know
anyway, the kind of lock on the cage holding the
werewolf. When Rainy had heard his brother had
landed in the zoo in wolf form, he’d laughed his
head off. Cliff had been missing for two days
before they’d figured out what happened to him,
or where he was anyway. Only Cliff could give
him some idea of how he’d ended up there. He
chuckled. What would humans think if they knew
there was a werewolf at the zoo?

An appealing, musky scent hit Rainy’s senses

and he paused. His gums began to tingle, and he
had to concentrate to keep his canines from
dropping. Taking several deep breaths, he glanced
around. “What the hell?” he hissed.

Rainy’s gaze swept the area, trying to find the

source of the delicious scent. A glance over his
shoulder had him focusing on a slender young
man who stood talking to the woman he’d just

Werewolf At the Zoo

left. The man’s shoulder-length blond hair was
pulled into a short ponytail that brushed against
his collar. He stood at medium height and muscle
definition outlined the arm that held a black
satchel. He wore the same outfit as the woman,
with a white lab style coat over the gray button
down shirt.

He and the woman headed into a building

several feet away. When the man paused at the
top of the stairs and glanced over his shoulder at
him, Rainy’s breath stuck in his throat. The man
had the deepest blue eyes he’d ever seen. His cock,
already half hard from the man’s delicious, musky
scent, filled the rest of the way and pressed
against the seam of his suddenly too tight jeans.
He took a step toward the man, but when the
stranger’s eyes widened in surprise, Rainy forced
his body to pause. His inner wolf wanted to
whimper at the flash of panic in the man’s eyes
before he slipped into the building and pulled the
door closed behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Rainy shook his head and

cleared his senses. A moment later, he realized he
still stood staring at the closed door and forced his
body to turn away. “We’ll come back,” he
promised the agitated inner wolf pacing inside
him. Something about the man had stirred his
beast. After dealing with the problem of his
trapped brother, he’d take the time to figure out

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why.

* * * *

“Hey, sis.” Travis grinned when he saw Lisa
frown at him. “Sorry, I’m late. Doc Martin needed
an extra hand holding Sally down. She has a cut
on her leg.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Who named the crocodile

Sally?”

Travis chuckled. “An administrative assistant

named Bernice, who worked here three years ago
when the croc came in. I have no idea why the
name stuck.”

Opening the door, he ushered Lisa in. A tingle

worked its way up his spine, and he paused in the
doorway to glance over his shoulder. His gaze
swept the sidewalks between animal sanctuaries,
but he saw nothing amiss. Then his eyes fixed on a
man twenty paces away staring right at him.
Sweeping his gaze over the man, he wanted to
moan. Oh, look at that body! He had a heavily
muscled frame without being bulky, dark hair,
and deep green eyes that focused on him with an
intensity that caused a second shiver to race down
his spine. Dark blue jeans hugged toned thighs
and a black t-shirt stretched tautly over ripped
abs. God, what would it be like to trace those with my

tongue?

Werewolf At the Zoo

Travis frowned, realizing the direction of his

thoughts. “Shit.” His friend Roger had come out to
his parents the second year of college. Roger’s
family had disowned him, and Travis’s parents
had supported their decision. He wasn’t allowed
to be gay, unless he wanted to lose his family.

Rolling his shoulders, he shoved the disturbing

thoughts away. Movement snapped his gaze back
to the man, and Travis saw him take several steps
toward him. He felt his eyes widen as panic
flooded his system. Oh, hell, no. If the man came
over, Travis knew he’d end up doing something
stupid and out himself. Getting his feet moving,
Travis shut the door behind him and found his
sister staring at him. He took a deep breath to get
his racing pulse under control and noticed the
tight lines around Lisa’s jaw. “What’s eating you?”

She frowned. “Nothing. Just some jerk messing

with the new wolf. God, some people are just so
irritating.”

Thank God she hadn’t notice his own moment

of distraction. “What happened?”

Travis watched her shrug. When her gaze

landed on him and he lifted his brows, Lisa shook
her head. “Not sure. When I walked up, the wolf
had just launched itself at the fence. The guy
thought it was funny.”

“Then what?”
For a second, Lisa looked confused. “Oh,

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nothing. When I questioned him, he made up
some lame-ass story about the wolf liking the
smell of his jerky and walked away.”

Huh, he’d never seen Lisa this upset about a

patron bothering an animal before. Sure it was
frustrating that some people didn’t respect the
animals, but if they let it bother them, they’d be
angry every day, all day. “Easy, sis. I’m sure the
wolf is fine. It was sitting quietly near the fence
when we walked away.” Knowing a change of
subject was in order, he forced a smile. “So, what
do you need from me?”

“We have two snakes that need to be checked.

They didn’t eat the mice given to them last night.”

Travis groaned. “Awe, shit. You know I hate

snakes. Why couldn’t you get Carl to check them?
He doesn’t mind the disgusting creatures.”

He watched in surprise as Lisa shuddered.

“Sorry, but Carl gives me the creeps. He keeps
touching me. I’d rather not work with him.”

“Touching you?” Travis growled, following his

sister down the backside of the cages. “What do
you mean touching you?”

“All innocent stuff, ya know?” She waved her

hand dismissively. “A hand on my arm or
shoulder, that kind of stuff. But it still gives me the
creeps.”

“Well, if anything happens, you let me know.

I’ll take care of him.” Whoa! Where had that

Werewolf At the Zoo

protective instinct come from?

Lisa’s snicker brought him back to the present.

“What are you going to do, big brother? Quote the
human resources policy on sexual harassment at
him?”

“Wow, ouch.” So he was a geek. He had to be.

If his parents found out he would prefer to date
men instead of the occasional woman his scholarly
look attracted, he’d be screwed. And not in the
way he wanted.

“Sorry, Travis,” Lisa soothed. “It’s just, we both

know you’re not much of a fighter.”

“No,” he admitted. “But I do have seniority.

I’ve worked here almost seven years. I can pull
some strings to get him reassigned.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “You’d do that for me?”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he

grinned. “Of course. You’re my baby sister.”

“You’re the best, Travis. I’d do anything for you

too, ya know?”

“Sure, sis.” He turned away, heading along the

cages. His heart thudded in his chest. Would she
say that if she knew he would rather be fucked by
a man instead of fucking a woman? Or would she
feel the same as their parents? He couldn’t risk it.
And what did it matter? He’d controlled his urges
for years without anyone finding out. Damn sexy
stranger! “Let’s see to these damn snakes and get
out of here.”

Charlie Richards

Lisa laughed. Travis smiled.

It took him longer than anticipated to finish

checking the snakes, mostly because he put off
touching them as much as possible. He didn’t
know why Lisa enjoyed working with them.
When he left the reptile house, he glanced at his
watch and saw that it was nearly six o’ clock.

“Do you want to grab a bite to eat at the café

before it closes?”

“Sure,” he said, nodding. Nothing waited for

him at home except an empty apartment and a
few science fiction books. Travis followed his
sister across the park and into the café attached to
the gift shop. It closed in twenty minutes, but that
would be enough time for them to get their food.

It was dark by the time they finished eating.

The café had closed around them, and Donny and
Casey, the cook and cashier, had sat and chatted
with them for a bit. Travis glanced around the
dark park, already missing the warm days of
summer.

“It sure gets dark early anymore, doesn’t it?”

Lisa murmured from next to him.

Travis nodded, staring out over the park. “Sure

does, but I like the quiet of the night. There’s
something to be said for listening to the animals
settle in their pens.”

“Yup. Are you going to Mom and Dad’s

Werewolf At the Zoo

tomorrow for supper?”

Nodding again, he grinned. “And have Mom

on my ass for missing Thursday supper two
weeks in a row? She still grouses about how I let
these animals come before family.”

Lisa rested a hand on his arm, and he turned to

look into her concerned eyes. “She’s just worried
because you never bring anyone to supper with
you, and the only reason you ever miss it is for
work.”

Travis groaned. “Oh, God, Lis, don’t you start,

too. I’m happy with my work.” At her hurt look,
he bit back the rest of his classic rebuttal, mainly
that he didn’t need anyone in his life. It was all a
line of bull anyway. Instead, he said, “I’m sure
that special someone is out there somewhere, I’m
just not in any hurry to find them.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Two

ainy watched Cliff run a hand through his dark
hair, so similar to his own. He knew the depths

of his brother’s irritation by the deepening of his
Irish lilt.

“I’m pretty sure it was poachers. I was out

stretching me legs when I smelled blood. I found
an injured deer in a clearing. The scent of the
deer’s panic was pretty overwhelming, so I didn’t
notice the men until too late. They tranked me, but
since I’m a were, it didn’t knock me completely
out. I couldn’t move, but I remember them tossing
me in a cage and taking me somewhere with a
number of other cages. I could smell other
animals, but they kept me sedated so I couldn’t
change or look around much. Finally, I ended up
at the zoo.”

Rainy watched his brother rise and begin to

pace, his movements jerky and agitated.

“We’ve got to find these assholes and put a stop

Werewolf At the Zoo

to this.”

“Calm down, Cliff,” Declan said. The large

African American, their alpha, rose and rested a
hand on Cliff’s shoulder, squeezing in
reassurance. “Since we had to put another wolf in
yer place so it didn’t look like a theft, I’ve already
put a call in to Detective Stryker. He’s going to
look into how ye were purchased and try to track
them that way.”

Rainy smiled. Detective Grady Stryker wasn’t a

wolf, but since he was a loner by nature and a
good man to have around in a sticky spot, Declan
had granted him access to pack lands. The massive
Bengal tiger stayed clear of most wolves, but
Rainy had struck up a friendship with him when
they’d bumped into each other at a gay bar in the
nearby city. They’d even dated once before,
quickly deciding they were better off as friends.
“If anyone can dig up the truth, it’s Grady. He
won’t let us down.”

Cliff nodded. “In the meantime, I’d like to go

back to the zoo and see if I can learn anything by
talking with the workers. If they’re getting
animals from poachers, there’s gotta be someone
smoothing the way from the inside.”

After the alpha nodded his consent, Cliff

clasped hands with their father, Duncan. Rainy
heard a murmured, “I’m glad ye’re safe,” before
Duncan released Cliff and his brother headed out

Charlie Richards

the door.

The memory of a sexy-as-sin blond with a

ponytail had Rainy easing to his feet. “I think I’ll
go with him.”

Again Declan nodded, giving permission.
Rainy strode swiftly out the door. He just

managed to jump into the passenger seat of Cliff’s
car before his brother backed it out of the
driveway. Seeing the frown on Cliff’s face, Rainy
chuckled, “Didn’t think I’d let ye do this alone,
did ye? With poachers afoot, we need to watch
each other’s backs.”

At that, Cliff grunted his acknowledgement and

turned the car onto the road.

Rainy let the silence lengthen for a moment

before turning back to his brother. “Are ye sure
ye’re up to this, big brother? Getting caught like
that’s quite an ordeal. Maybe we should wait until
tomorrow.” Although his wolf protested the idea,
he could tell by the fatigue lines around Cliff’s
eyes and the white knuckled grip that he had on
the steering wheel that his brother wasn’t well.

Cliff glanced over at him before forcing a deep

breath into his lungs. “I think I’ve found me mate.
I need to go back.”

“At the zoo. That’s great!” Rainy grinned over

at him. “Why aren’t ye happy?” His eyes widened
as a thought occurred. “It’s not one of the other
caged animals, is it?”

Werewolf At the Zoo

Cliff barked out a laugh. “God, no. It’s that

woman who yelled at you.”

“The one who yelled?” He couldn’t help the

grin. That woman had also disappeared into the
reptile building with the man who smelled oh, so
good. Maybe they’d both be there. “Nice, I’ll help
ye find her.”

“So ye can butt heads again before I have a

chance to woo her? I don’t think so.”

“Ah, Cliff, that was really yer fault, ye know. If

ye hadn’t attacked the fence, I wouldn’t have
gotten into trouble.”

At that, Cliff chuckled. “Sure, little brother.”
The men fell into a companionable silence.
Rainy took the opportunity to doze. Retrieving

Cliff from the zoo the night before had gone
smoothly, but had still taken most of the evening.
Rainy had managed only about an hour of rest
before heading out on the rescue mission and the
lack of sleep was catching up with him. A smack
to the arm had him jerking to full wakefulness,
and the sign for the zoo appeared ahead.

“So, yer mate’s a zookeeper,” Rainy mused.

“How do ye know it’s her?”

After paying their entrance fee, Cliff glanced at

him and shrugged. “I just do. It’s in the way she
smelled fucking fantastic. And the way me body
reacted to her, like I couldn’t wait to strip her
down, lick every inch of her body, and—”

Charlie Richards

“Oy! Too much information there, bro. I get the

picture.” The image of the young man he’d
spotted yesterday came to mind, because damn,
that was the reaction Rainy had to him. Could he
be? His head snapped around as he drew in a
breath of heady, musky goodness. “Fuck, over
there.”

Cliff swung around and followed him. “Good

nose, Rainy, but how’d ye know?”

“Because

something

smells

absolutely

wonderful, and there it is.” He couldn’t help
letting out a low growl of appreciation when he
spotted the young man he’d ogled yesterday. He
could feel his prick perk up as his gaze swept over
the blond man again. The growl from next to him
surprised him, and Rainy turned to see Cliff
glaring at him.

“Mine,” his brother snarled.
Rainy’s brows shot up. “What?”
“The woman is mine. Don’t ye touch her.”
It was then that Rainy noticed the woman

speaking with the object of his lust. He laughed.
“Damn, Cliff. Relax. As if I’d want anything with a
pussy. Ye know me better than that.” He watched
the tension ease from his brother’s stance and
gripped his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go
introduce ourselves to our mates.”

Cliff’s brows shot up.
“Aye,” Rainy said. “The man next to her is

Werewolf At the Zoo

mine.”

Cliff nodded and led the way.
As the younger brother, Rainy dropped back

and followed Cliff down the path, their stride
catching up with their prey just outside the
penguin habitat.

“Excuse me, miss?” Cliff called, touching the

woman’s arm lightly.

Both of them stopped and turned to Cliff.

“Yes?” she questioned, her gaze shifting between
the men before focusing back on Cliff.

To Rainy’s pleasure, the man stared at him for a

second before his eyes widened in recognition. He
tried to focus on his brother’s words as the man
talked about an empty crocodile exhibit.

“Travis, here, would be able to tell you more.

He’s one of the zoo’s vets.”

Finding himself the object of everyone’s

perusal, Travis blushed prettily.

Oh, yeah! Rainy wanted to find out what else on

Travis’s body would flush when he fucked him.

“Sally had a cut on her leg, so she’s in

observation right now. Someone tossed a bottle
into her cage and it broke. We take good care of
our animals here, so if I ever find out who did it,
I’ll—”

The woman laid a hand on the man’s arm.
Rainy barely managed to suppress his growl at

the personal touch.

Charlie Richards

“Relax, Travis. She’ll be fine.” She turned back

to them. “My brother takes the care of our animals
very seriously, as do I.” Her gaze narrowed on
Rainy. “Which is why neither of us like it when
people mess with them.”

And shit, she recognized him. Cliff must have

realized it, too, because he held out a hand and
introduced himself. “I’m Cliff MacDougal. This is
me younger brother Rainy. He mentioned yer little
altercation yesterday. Believe me, we’re both
animal lovers and would never do anything to
purposefully harm them.”

Uh, did Cliff purposefully forget their almost

weekly runs? It wasn’t like they didn’t hunt on
them. Rainy had to bite back a groan. This could
cause problems later on.

“I’m Lisa Carlyle, and this is my brother Travis.

I’m one of the keepers here.”

“Lisa, lovely name,” Cliff smoothed. “I’ve

always wondered what went on behind the
scenes. Would ye do me the honor of dinner
tonight? I’d love to learn more about yer work. I’m
a warden for the nearby national forest, and I’m
interested to see how it compares.”

Lisa hesitated, her glance straying to her

brother.

Sensing her worry, Rainy offered, “Since ye’ve

just met us, and I’m afraid I’ve not made the best
of impressions, perhaps ye’d be more comfortable

Werewolf At the Zoo

if we all went?” Rainy’s gaze drifted from Lisa to
Travis. “Surely ye have to eat as well, Travis?”

* * * *

Holy shit! Was the man flirting with him? Right
here in the open? Having no experience, Travis
couldn’t be certain. He glanced at Lisa, whose
brow rose in question. Travis could tell from her
waffling that Lisa really wanted to go, but wasn’t
certain about being alone with an absolute
stranger. He ducked his head in a nod. “Sure, but
we’re not available tonight. How about
tomorrow?”

Rainy and his brother exchanged a glance,

messages passing between them as only siblings
could do. The men nodded. “That sounds
wonderful,” Cliff replied. After confirming the
time and place, the two men took their leave and
headed down a side path, talking and pointing at
the exhibits they passed.

When they were out of sight, Lisa clutched his

arm. “Thank you so much, Travis. That man is the
hottest thing I’ve seen in years.”

Travis chuckled and pulled Lisa forward,

continuing toward the reptile house to check on
her snakes. He wanted it over and done with as
soon as possible. And he felt certain that dealing
with snakes would get rid of the boner he’d

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acquired at being so near Rainy. Sure, his sister
thought Cliff was hot, but he didn’t hold a candle
to Rainy. “You gonna tell Mom about your date
tomorrow night?” he teased.

“No way. And have her ask a million questions

that I can’t answer? God, his arms were drool
worthy, don’t you think?” Lisa gushed.

Opening the door, Travis rolled his eyes. “I

cannot believe you just asked me that. I am not
commenting on attributes of your dates,” he
groused good-naturedly.

Lisa giggled, actually giggled. What was it

about the two men that affected them so, because
when Rainy had focused his penetrating green
eyes on him, he’d wanted to giggle, too.

“Sorry. Even you gotta admit that they’re both

studs.”

He shook his head and sighed, unwilling to say

anything that may incriminate him. “Let’s go
check your snakes.”

Werewolf At the Zoo

Chapter Three

his was not a date. He would not think about
this as if it were. Lisa was going on a date, and

Travis would chaperone. Sort of. He and Rainy
were just going to keep an eye on things to make
certain Cliff and Lisa were comfortable. Shit, who
was he kidding? It felt like a fucking date.

Grabbing a shirt, he held it up to his chest.

Travis had changed three times and still couldn’t
decide what to wear. He’d never been to the pub
they’d decided to meet the brothers at and wasn’t
certain what was the norm. Staring at his jeans
and loafers, he shrugged. It wasn’t like he needed
to impress anyone, right? So why was he
stressing? Grumbling irritably, he tossed his shirt
on the bed and stared around the sparsely
furnished room. He’d moved into the two-
bedroom condo three years ago after being
promoted to a senior vet position.

He looked at the clock and realized he should

Charlie Richards

have left to pick up Lisa five minutes ago. Out of
time, he abandoned his search for a different shirt,
grabbed his keys off the table near the door, and
dashed to his truck. He made record time and
managed to make it to his sister’s on time. She
came bounding out the door before he’d even
parked. At least one of them was excited. And it
should be Lisa who’s excited, Travis mentally
admonished. She’s the one going on a date.

“Hey. Thanks for coming to get me.” Lisa

kissed him on the cheek and grinned. “I really
appreciate you coming. This guy makes me
excited and nervous at the same time. It’s really
weird.”

Putting the car in reverse, Travis chuckled. He

knew exactly what she meant. Except in his case, it
also scared the shit out of him. “Really like this
one, huh?”

Smiling at him, she nodded. “I hope he’s as

sweet as he seemed yesterday.”

“I’m sure he is. With a date like you on his arm,

how could he not be?”

“I knew there was a reason I brought you,” Lisa

said with a grin.

“Uh, in all actuality, I’m taking you, and it was

Rainy who invited me,” he pointed out.

Lisa just laughed. “So long as you don’t cramp

my style.”

“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll stay out of your way,” he

Werewolf At the Zoo

replied dryly.

“Hey, that’s not what I meant. Don’t be

ridiculous. We’re just a group of friends going out
to have a good time.” She focused on him for a
moment. “Are you okay? You seem a little tense.”

“I’m fine,” Travis assured, flashing his biggest

grin. “I just have a lot of paperwork at home.” He
felt his sister’s hand squeeze his arm.

“It’s Friday, Travis. Put work aside for the night

and have a little fun.”

This time Travis didn’t need to force his smile.

“I will, sis.”

All too soon they pulled up to the Irish Pub.

Travis followed a step behind his sister, then
reached around her to open the door and usher
her inside. He glanced around in surprise,
impressed by the cleanliness of the place. A bar
lined the far wall, booths ringed the other two,
and plain, wooden tables filled the floor. He
spotted the brothers at a booth to their left. They
appeared deep in conversation, but as one, they
both stopped and turned to look at the door. A
welcoming smile broke over Cliff’s face when he
saw Lisa. Travis risked a glance at Rainy and
found the younger brother’s gaze boldly raking
over him. He fought back a shiver at the heat in
Rainy’s look and then the moment was gone.
Rainy rose from the booth, following his brother
toward them.

Charlie Richards

After Cliff gave Travis a brief smile and nod,

the man’s eyes were only for Lisa. Travis watched
Cliff kiss his sister’s hand, rest the other on the
small of her back without letting go, and lead her
to the booth.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that to you.”
Travis’s head whipped sideways at the

whispered words. Rainy stood behind his left
shoulder, his chest almost touching Travis’s back.

“Not that it isn’t tempting, of course,” he

breathed.

All he could do was stare at the gorgeous man

behind him.

“Come on, handsome. Let’s join the others.”
Rainy’s chuckle and hand on his shoulder

broke through Travis’s shock. No, no, no, this is not
happening. He’d been hiding too long to be outed
because he couldn’t get his brain to work around
this guy. It didn’t matter how good the man
smelled, how the intense glimmer in his green
eyes sent goose bumps over his skin, or how the
innuendo in his words hardened his cock. Travis
would not let this man get to him.

Glaring over his shoulder at Rainy, he shrugged

off the man’s hand. “Hands off. I’m here for my
sister.”

His eyes still twinkled, but Rainy removed his

hand. “Of course. In that case, after you.”

Travis walked to the table, a glance back

Werewolf At the Zoo

showed Rainy’s gaze glued to his ass. Caught
staring, the man grinned shamelessly and winked.
Amazed at his brazenness and obvious comfort
with his sexuality, Travis shook his head and sat
down. Rainy slid in next to him far enough to rub
their thighs together. Shifting as close to the wall
as possible, he managed to get a couple inches
between them.

The waiter showed up, and Travis asked for a

Sam Adams. A moment later, he gratefully took it
and downed half the bottle in two swallows,
anything to settle his nerves. After placing their
orders, he glanced across the table and saw his
sister in deep discussion with Cliff. No help there.
Looking at the man next to him, he asked, “So,
what do you do, Rainy?” He realized the question
was a mistake as soon as the man turned to look at
him with that sexy smile and twinkling gaze.

“I’m an accountant. I may like animals just fine,

but I’ve no desire to work with them. I’ll leave that
to me brother.”

“Your accent. Is your family originally from

Ireland?”

Rainy nodded and grinned. “Aye. Me family is

originally from Ireland. Me parents emigrated a
number of years ago. Our parent’s accent is pretty
pronounced, so we get it from them, even though
we’ve only visited the old country a few times.”

He watched Rainy’s gaze flicker to his brother,

Charlie Richards

and Travis glanced that way. As Cliff gave the
younger man an approving nod, Travis wondered
at the hierarchy between them. Rainy seemed to
defer to the other man, following his lead and
allowing him to make decisions. It was an
interesting family mentality, and Travis wondered
if it was an Irish thing.

“Have ye always wanted to be a vet?”
Rainy’s question brought Travis back from his

thoughts. He shrugged. “Not really. I originally
wanted to become a writer.”

“Oh, ye write?”
“I did when I was younger, but not too much

anymore. Now I just don’t have time.”

Rainy must have heard the regret in his voice

because he asked, “How come ye became a vet
then if it doesn’t give ye enough time to do what
ye enjoy?”

Travis saw the confused interest in Rainy’s eyes

and had to smile. The man seemed to genuinely
care, but how did he tell him that, in his father’s
opinion, being a writer wasn’t an acceptable
career.

“Our parents.”
Travis’s eyes snapped to Lisa. She’d evidently

heard Rainy’s question, and he knew she hadn’t
approved that he’d mostly given up his writing to
follow his parent’s wishes. Now he used it mainly
as a stress outlet.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Lisa’s lips were pressed into a thin line.

“They’re a bit controlling, to put it mildly.”

“Controlling how?”
Travis reached across the table and took Lisa’s

hand before answering Cliff’s question. He
appreciated that she felt outrage on his behalf, but
she was on a date. She shouldn’t be getting
worked up about this. “It’s fine, sis.” His gaze
shifted to the man next to her. “Threats to cut off
financial support mainly. I don’t need it now, but
while in college I did.”

He blushed, amazed he’d admitted to that.

What was it about these men that encouraged him
to share more than he normally would? Travis felt
a light touch to his knee and turned toward Rainy.
He couldn’t even begin to guess at the meaning of
the look on Rainy’s face. The arrival of the waiter
with their food broke the tension and his need to
explain anything else. Never had he been so
relieved by an interruption. Digging into his steak,
he moaned his appreciation. Wow, that’s good.

Rainy froze next to him, a bite halfway to his

open mouth, his green eyes fixed on Travis’s lips.
Travis swallowed hard, wishing his cock didn’t
take that moment to harden almost to the point of
pain at the look of unbridled lust on Rainy’s face.

Flushing, Travis dropped his gaze. A glance up

through his lashes showed him Cliff had seen the
exchange, but Lisa continued to focus on her food.

Charlie Richards

He let out a breath he didn’t seem to know he held
and returned to eating.

Suddenly, he felt an arm behind the back of the

booth. Travis glanced at Rainy, but the man stared
across the table at his brother. With some surprise,
he realized the man had finished his steak already.

“There’s a nice bar about a half hour away that

has a good sized dance floor. What do ye say we
move this party?”

Lisa’s eyes lit up. “Dancing? Oh, that sounds

like fun. What do you think, Cliff?”

Her date grinned at her. “Ye mean get the

chance to hold ye? That sounds like a fantastic
plan.”

Lisa grinned back, and Cliff ran a knuckle over

her cheek.

The check arrived, and Cliff swiped it without

hesitation.

“Wait,” Travis called.
Rainy touched his shoulder with the hand

behind him. “Relax, Travis, let him get this. Ye can
buy him a beer or two at the bar.”

Travis nodded, and the three of them headed

out of the pub. Cliff caught up with them when
they reached the parking lot. He grabbed Lisa’s
hand and pulled her close. “Ye’ll ride with me,
aye?”

She glanced at Travis, and he grinned and

waved a hand at her. “Get out of here. I’ll follow

Werewolf At the Zoo

you guys.”

He took a deep breath as he moved between

cars toward his truck. Suddenly, he felt a presence
behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder. He
couldn’t drum up any surprise that Rainy had
joined him.

“I’ve been told to join ye. Hope ye don’t mind.”
“No, not at all.” He tossed the keys to the man,

who caught them and lifted a brow in question.
“You know where we’re going. I don’t. You can
drive.”

Rainy grinned. “Really? Ye don’t mind? Some

people are particular about their cars.”

Laughter burst from his throat, surprising them

both. He stopped next to his old pickup, rested a
hand on the bed, and grinned. “I’m not one of
those people. This bucket of rust is mine. Still
wanna drive?”

“I’d still be happy to. And ye should do that

more often.”

“Do what?”
Rainy grabbed his upper arm and pulled him

close. “Laugh. Ye’re far too serious.”

The whispered words went straight to his groin

and the erection that had never gone away
throbbed against his zipper. He had to bite back a
moan as air caressed his ear. How he wanted to
give in and take what this man offered. It had
been so long since he’d been tempted, but even in

Charlie Richards

college he’d always maintained control. What if
word got back to his parents? The thought had his
eyes flashing open, and he knew Rainy saw his
panic.

The larger man smiled before pulling away.

“Relax,” he murmured and opened the truck.
“There’s no one around but us. No one saw.”

* * * *

Rainy glared at the steering wheel and waited for
Travis to get in. He took the opportunity to take a
deep breath, but it didn’t ease his engorged cock.
Fuck, he was hard enough to pound nails. Travis’s
scent permeated the truck, and Rainy wanted to
turn the man over the bench seat and drive balls
deep into his ass until they couldn’t tell where he
stopped and Travis began.

But the man was so deep in the closet it would

take chains to drag him out. Chains, now there
was an idea. Chains, a bed, and— Rainy growled
and slammed his fists on the wheel. Shit!

“Is everything okay? Won’t it start?”
Sending a smile Travis’s way, he nodded.

“Yeah. Sorry. Are ye ready?” He glanced
meaningfully at the seatbelt that the man still
hadn’t put on and ignored Travis’s confused look.
He grabbed his own belt and clicked it into place.
Sure it was almost impossible to kill a werewolf,

Werewolf At the Zoo

but a human wasn’t that hardy. Rainy would have
to be careful with his human mate.

“Oh. Yeah.”
After hearing the click of the belt, Rainy started

the truck and drove out of the lot. Silence reigned
for several minutes.

Travis asked, “So, do you like being an

accountant?”

Rainy grinned. His little mate liked to fill the

silence. Interesting. “Most of the time. I enjoy
working with numbers, so that’s a definite plus.”
Wanting to know more about Travis, he asked,
“How long have ye worked for the zoo?”

“Almost seven years. I was hired on as an

assistant while still in school and have worked my
way up. Now I’m one of two head vets.”

He could hear the pride in Travis’s voice and

grinned. “Nice. Do ye get along with all the
animals? Or are there some ye like to work with
more than others?”

Warmth spread through Rainy at Travis’s

chuckle, and his cock jerked. God, he couldn’t wait
to break down the man’s walls. He wanted to
make him laugh all the time, especially if it
continued to have this result on his libido. Soon,
Rainy promised his inner, pacing wolf. Soon.

“I have to say I dislike reptiles. Right now, Lisa

has a couple snakes that swallowed something
they shouldn’t and dealing with them gives me

Charlie Richards

the willies. All I want to do is run the other way
when she pulls those things out of their cages. I
don’t know how she works with them.”

He chuckled, nodding in sympathy. “I’d rather

not deal with them meself,” he admitted. “Some
animals are much more loving than others.”

“Speaking of loving, we have this zebra—”
Rainy listened as Travis told him about one of

their zebras and its love of Doritos. The beast
would do anything for a chip, even so far as
twisting its lips through the fence to pull bags out
of people’s strollers. As he listened, he glanced at
Travis from the corner of his eye. The man relaxed
against the door, his near leg cocked up on the
seat as he talked animatedly. He looked so
comfortable. What would it take to get Travis that
relaxed while Rainy held him? He’d dated closet
cases in the past, but normally it didn’t move
beyond a second or third date because of their fear
of what others thought. Knowing that this time it
was his mate on the line, Rainy needed to figure
out how to prove to Travis that being with him
was worth the risk.

All too soon, Rainy steered the truck into the

bar’s parking lot. He spotted Cliff’s sedan and
parked near him. He grinned when he saw the
partially fogged windows and shook his head.

“What? What’s wrong?”
“Not really wrong, I’d say.” Rainy pointed

Werewolf At the Zoo

toward the car. “It looks like yer sister won’t need
us to chaperone anymore.”

Travis’s eyes widened before he glanced away,

blushing.

Rainy grinned and unhooked his belt. He

reached over and rubbed the man’s thigh. “Come
now. I’m sure ye’ve steamed up yer share of
windows.”

“Yeah, but—she’s my sister,” he muttered. “My

baby sister. I don’t need to—” Travis let out a sigh.
“Let’s go.”

Chuckling, Rainy followed Travis toward the

building, admiring the man’s sexy ass and easy
movements. They paid their way and settled on
stools at the bar. Each ordered a beer, chatting and
watching the couples dancing.

Cliff and Lisa joined them ten minutes later,

Rainy taking in the slightly rumpled clothes that
bespoke of a heavy petting session. He scented the
air and just made out the telltale smell of cum on
Lisa’s hand when she rested it on the bar. He lifted
a brow at Cliff, but his brother’s expression gave
nothing away. Too bad the same couldn’t be the
said for the wolf’s scent, relaxed and satisfied.
Rainy grinned into his beer. A hand job. Damn, he

worked fast.

The pair didn’t stay long before disappearing

onto the dance floor.

A woman appeared to Rainy’s right and asked

Charlie Richards

him to dance. He smiled and shook his head.
“Sorry, darling. I’m here with someone, but
thanks.”

After she slipped into the crowd, Travis leaned

toward him. “You’re here with someone? She was
hot. Why didn’t you dance with her?”

Rainy clenched his jaw to hold back the

possessive growl as he realized his mate had been
checking out someone else. He took a deep breath
and then lifted a cocky grin at the man. “Of course
I’m with someone. I’m with ye. And, yeah, I
realize she’s hot, but she doesn’t have what I
want.”

“She doesn’t have—” Travis’s eyes widened as

he realized what she would be missing.

Rainy leaned closer, taking in his mate’s musky

scent of arousal, “Ye, on the other hand, have
exactly what I want.”

“I’m not gay,” his mate hissed.
Rainy couldn’t help but laugh. Who was Travis

trying to convince, Rainy or himself? He’d bet his
right to hunt on the alpha’s land that it was
himself. Sliding his hand behind him on the bar,
he leaned toward the man. “Ye’re as gay as I am,
and I’ve noticed a part or two that stands up for
me to prove me point.” An idea formed and he
grinned. “However, if dancing with a few women
would make ye feel better, I could be persuaded,
for a price.”

Werewolf At the Zoo

“A price? What are you talking about?”
His mate’s whispered words and heavy

breathing told Rainy how much Travis wanted to
give in to his desire. All he needed to do was give
him something to think about as he danced.
Leaning close, he whispered into Travis’s ear.
“Gorgeous, we both know that anything between
us would be explosive. In less than three minutes,
I could have ye moaning against the wall, right
here in front of everyone, me hand squeezing yer
cock, as ye begged me to let ye come. But since
ye’re in the closet and don’t want yer sister to
know ye’re gay just yet, I’ll make ye a deal. We’ll
go find a couple girls to dance with, and when ye
drop me off tonight, ye’ll give me a kiss.”

To his surprise, Travis let out a whimper and

nodded. “Okay,” he whispered.

Travis’s musky scent permeated the air around

them, and Rainy took a deep breath and moaned.
“Oh, baby, ye don’t know what ye do to me.” He
grabbed Travis’s hand and headed onto the dance
floor. His grip tightened as he struggled to control
his inner wolf. If he couldn’t fuck his mate, he
knew he’d have to go for a long run soon to
placate his beast.

Stepping out onto the dance floor, he turned the

man around and pushed him toward a likely
candidate. Rainy circled to the girl’s backside and
began to dance. It didn’t take long to get his

Charlie Richards

erection under control, but then he had to deal
with jealousy as he watched girls surround his
sexy mate. Three beers had loosened up the man,
and he weaved between women with a grace the
man probably didn’t realize he had.

Rainy felt an elbow in the ribs. Turning his

head, he smelled his brother. “How’s it going?” he
asked.

“I’m great,” Cliff said. “I’ll have me mate

claimed in no time. What about ye?”

After a snort, he shook his head. “I think I’m

making progress, but Travis is so far in the closet
it’ll take a winch to drag him out.”

“Ouch,” Cliff hissed. “Anything I can do to

help?”

He thought about that for a second as they

danced back to back. “Yeah, don’t tell her about
shaggy until Travis is at least willing to come out.”

Cliff groaned, but nodded. “Hope that doesn’t

take too long, bro. Anything else?”

“Well, maybe. When he does come out, he’ll

need his sister’s support. They seem really close.”

“Ye mean like us?”
Chuckling, Rainy grinned at the ceiling.

“Something like that.” Because were-creatures
aged slower than humans, they had to move
around every couple decades so others didn’t
notice their lack of aging. It made for close bonds
between family and pack, but few true friends

Werewolf At the Zoo

outside of it. “Just make sure she doesn’t freak out.
I’ve got a funny feeling his parents will do that
enough for all of them. Losing his sister will crush
him.”

“I sensed that, too. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks, bro.”
“Sure thing. We’re going to get out of here. I’ll

see ye tomorrow.”

Rainy watched him go from the corner of his

eye before dancing his way back to Travis. The
man was surrounded by three women, all
grinding against him. Although his mate looked to
be enjoying himself, Rainy couldn’t find any scent
of arousal coming off the man. The women, well,
he wouldn’t worry about that.

Pulling Travis a few steps away, he wrapped

his hands around the man’s shoulders and rubbed
his erection against his backside, knowing the
throngs of people around them would hide his
actions as he tried to ease the ache. He leaned
forward and called over the music, “Lisa and Cliff
are taking off. Are ye ready to go?” He felt Travis
push his ass back against him and groaned softly.
“I’ll take that as a yes, gorgeous. Come on.”

His mate followed willingly enough. Once they

got to the parking lot, he pulled the keys out of his
pocket, helped Travis into the passenger seat, and
climbed behind the wheel. Twenty minutes later,
he pulled up in front of his small bungalow and

Charlie Richards

realized Travis had fallen asleep.

“Well, damn,” Rainy muttered, before he

chuckled. “Ah, baby. I have no idea where ye live,
so unless ye want to spend the night at me house,
ye need to wake up.”

He slid his hand through Travis’s hair,

loosening the ponytail, loving the feel as the
strands slid through his fingers, but the man
didn’t respond. “All right. I suppose ye can stay
the night.” He chuckled. Pocketing the keys, he
walked around the truck, picked up Travis, and
carried him inside.

Not hesitating, Rainy took Travis into his

bedroom and laid him on the bed. He undressed
him to his boxers before tucking him in. As he
stared down, he frowned. “Not a drinker, or just
overworked?” He had a funny feeling it was a
combination of both. Men in the closet seemed to
fill their times with distractions, which often
ended up being work.

Without any way to get the answer right away,

he undressed himself, cleaned up, and crawled
into bed next to Travis. He didn’t have a spare
bedroom, but he did have a couch, however,
Rainy had no intention of playing the gentleman.
There was no way in hell he would pass up
sleeping with his mate, even if it really was
sleeping.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Chapter Four

he sunlight filtering through his eyelids from a
nearby window made Travis wonder how he’d

forgotten to pull the blinds the night before. He
cracked an eye open and saw an unfamiliar, heavy
wood dresser. Travis frowned. Memories of last
night seeped into his mind. Then the heavy weight
of an arm around his waist registered and he
stiffened.

“Relax, darling. It’s too early to be thinkin’ so

hard. Nothing happened.”

The half-asleep state deepened the man’s

accent. God, that was so sexy. He had to bite back
a moan, but the shudder he couldn’t hide.

Rainy chuckled, shaking his chest. “Aye, I think

ye liked that.”

The whispered words sent warm currents of air

across the short hairs on the back of his neck, and
Travis shivered again. The arm around his waist
tightened, pulling his back flush to Rainy’s chest.

Charlie Richards

The man smoothed his hand over the quivering
muscles of his stomach and slid beneath his boxers
to caress the curls surrounding his dick. Heat
flushed from his neck through his chest to his
groin, and he gasped, his cock jerking.

His chest heaved as he tried to suck in enough

air to breath. Travis stared at the dresser, but he
didn’t really see it. He should stop Rainy. He
shouldn’t allow this to go any further. But the
man’s hand on him felt so good, he couldn’t make
his throat form the words, or get his body to
move. Suddenly, a fist that wasn’t his own
wrapped around Travis’s morning wood. His
body bucked and this time he couldn’t hold in the
groan. “Rainy,” he hissed, feeling the callused
hand slide up and down his hard shaft.

“Yeah, baby? What is it?”
Rainy continued to massage his dick and all his

blood flowed southward, making speech
impossible as his cock throbbed. The man rubbed
his thumb over the head of his cock, scooping up
the generous amounts of pre-cum that leaked from
his tip. Rainy tightened his grip and began to
stroke. Travis’s breathing slowed further until he
panted. “Rainy,” he cried out, trying to breathe.
“Please!”

“Want to come, sweetness? Need release?”
“Yesssss, please!” He hardly recognized his

own voice and couldn’t have stopped the begging

Werewolf At the Zoo

if his life depended on it. He needed to come. He
needed that callused hand to stroke him faster,
harder. He needed release. He rocked shamelessly
against the man, his ass pushing back against
Rainy’s hard shaft behind him before rocking
forward through his fist.

His whimpered cries were answered when

Rainy’s hand tightened and moved faster. He
could feel the hard dick against his lower back.
Warm, wet liquid leaked from Rainy’s cock where
he rubbed against him. A groan escaped his lips.
“Oh, God. Harder,” he moaned as he felt the
telltale tingle at the base of his spine.

“That’s it, baby. Show me that ye like me hand

on yer dick,” Rainy’s sexy voice hissed into his
ear. “Come for me, darling. Come all over me
hand. I want to feel it.”

“Aaahhh!” He couldn’t have held back if he

tried. Travis’s balls drew up tight to his body, and
his release pulsed up his penis and shot out over
Rainy’s hand, slicking the fingers that massaged
him, prolonging the pleasure. “Rainy,” he called,
as his body continued to shudder through the
most intense orgasm he could ever remember.

“I got ye, baby. I’m right here,” Rainy

murmured against his neck.

He relaxed into Rainy’s arms, whimpering

softly and enjoying the waves of pleasure that
swamped him. Several moments later, Travis

Charlie Richards

recognized the wetness against his lower back and
ass. He wasn’t the only one who had come. The
knowledge forced his situation into reality.

“Shit! What have I done?” Travis shot from the

bed and stumbled a few paces away, before
gaining the courage to turn and look at his new
lover. God, the man looked amazing. His abs were
better than he’d imagined, an eight pack graced
his core instead of the traditional six. Just what did
this accountant do to work out?

Rainy didn’t even try to cover himself as he

returned the steady look. Milky white cum
smeared across his abs, proving what they’d just
done. “I’d say we just enjoyed a very nice bout of
morning sex.” The man rose from the bed to stand
in front of Travis. Rainy cupped Travis’s cheeks
and kissed his forehead. “And I think it’s time for
a shower.”

Travis followed his grinning lover and—God,

he had a male lover. If anyone ever found out—

“Ye’re thinking too hard again.” Drawing

Travis into the bathroom, he smirked. “Knock it
off for a bit, aye?” Rainy turned on the water,
adjusted the temperature, and pointed at a
cupboard. “The towels are in there. I’ll set yer
clothes by the door and start the coffee. Leave the
boxers with the towel and I’ll toss them in the
wash,” he said, indicating the cum-soaked
clothing, further evidence of what had just

Werewolf At the Zoo

happened moments ago in the bedroom. “I’ll
shower after breakfast.”

Rainy must have seen his confused look, for he

grabbed Travis and pulled him close.

Nibbling on his ear, Rainy whispered, “I’d love

to shower with ye, gorgeous, but if I get the
chance to run me hands all over yer wet, naked
body, I won’t stop with just that. I’ll fuck ye
against the wall so hard ye’ll feel me for a week.”

Leaning back, Travis looked up into the man’s

smoldering green eyes.

“And I don’t think ye’re ready for that just yet.”
When Rainy walked out, Travis climbed into

the shower. Warmth that had nothing to do with
the water cascading over his back settled in the pit
of his stomach.

Half an hour later, Travis stared over the rim of

his coffee cup. Rainy moved competently around
his kitchen, stirring eggs, flipping potatoes, and
toasting bread. When Travis had offered to lend a
hand, Rainy had pushed him into a chair at the
table, set a cup of coffee in front of him, and told
him to relax. Hiding behind the mug, he watched
Rainy’s lean, muscular torso and arms ripple and
flex as he moved. His bronze skin almost blended
into the light wood cupboards. Rainy wore only a
pair of jeans with the top button undone, his bare
feet whispering across the hardwood floor as he
moved. It was the sexiest thing Travis had ever

Charlie Richards

seen. His tongue itched to nibble and taste the
treasure trail of hair that started at Rainy’s belly
button and disappeared into the V of his jeans.

Forcing his gaze away, he stared into his mug,

but then he started thinking about what had
happened in the bedroom. He’d never felt
anything so erotic as Rainy’s hands on the skin of
his chest, stomach, and cock. His dick twitched in
his jeans, filling, readying for round two. What
would he give to feel that again, allow Rainy to
bury his cock in Travis’s ass. His hold on the cup
clenched just thinking about it, and his shaft
pushed against the zipper of his now
uncomfortably tight slacks. The object of his lust
paused and glanced over his shoulder, giving him
a sexy grin as if he knew exactly what Travis was
thinking.

He blushed and looked away, trying to hide the

reaction by taking a drink. He almost jumped out
of his skin when Rainy settled a hand on his
shoulder and set a plate of bacon, eggs, and hash
browns in front of him. The man rubbed his soft
lips against the skin of Travis’s neck. He sighed
and tilted his head, giving his lover better access.

“Relax,” Rainy murmured. “All will be fine.”
Travis closed his eyes. He wanted to believe

that so badly, to feel comfortable accepting the
attention Rainy offered. When Rainy nipped his
neck, he grunted and nodded. Rainy moved away

Werewolf At the Zoo

to grab his own plate. Halfway through the meal,
the doorbell rang.

Rainy winked and rose. “I’ll be right back.

Finish up.”

Seconds later, he heard the murmur of voices,

and Cliff sauntered into the room. “Good
morning, Travis. I can’t say I’m surprised to see ye
here. Ye didn’t seem to be one of those who go out
on the town much.”

Travis ducked his head. “Yeah, had one beer

too many, I guess. Fell asleep on the way here
from the bar.” Travis stared at the man. He sure
looked perky for staying up drinking and dancing
half the night. “Can I assume that my sister got
home, okay?”

“Aye,” Cliff murmured. He pulled out his cell

phone, punched a button to show her number,
and handed the device to him. “Ye can even check
if ye’d like.”

Travis barked out a laugh. “And wake my sister

up at ten o’clock on a Saturday? Are you out of
your mind?” He scoffed again. “Take it from me,
Cliff, don’t ever do that. If she doesn’t call you,
don’t call her before noon on a Saturday or
Sunday. Big mistake.”

Cliff and Rainy exchanged a look before

laughing heartily. Cliff nodded. “Good to know.
Ye’re sister’s not a morning person. Thanks for the
advice.”

Charlie Richards

“You really like her, huh?”
Cliff gave a curt nod. “About as much as me

brother likes you.”

Travis felt his spine stiffen.
The man saw his frown and held up his hands.

“Relax. Me brother came out when he was fifteen.
I’ve had a lot of years to get used to it. I don’t care
who he fucks, as long as that person treats him
right.” Cliff lowered himself into the chair across
from Travis and smiled grimly. “And I won’t tell
yer sister. Not unless ye want me to. And if ye do
decide to tell her, I’ll support you.”

Travis’s jaw dropped. “But you hardly know

me. Why would you do that?” Travis felt Rainy’s
hand on the back of his neck squeeze in
reassurance, but the man didn’t say anything.
Travis glanced at him before turning his attention
back to Cliff.

Rainy’s brother grimaced. “Me brother likes ye,

and I love me brother. Regardless of his choice of
partner, I know me brother wouldn’t get involved
with someone who didn’t deserve him. That’s
why I’d support ye. And I know me family would
back ye up, too.”

Tears burned at the back of his eyelids, but he

blinked them away. Travis nodded. “Thank you,”
he murmured. He stared at Cliff. Although the
face looked so similar to the one that attracted
him, the eyes were different. Cliff’s brown eyes

Werewolf At the Zoo

were so serious while Rainy’s green eyes sparkled
with mischief. He nodded again. “You don’t know
what that means to me. Thank you.”

Rising from the table, he drank down the last of

his coffee. “I should be going. Thanks for
breakfast, Rainy. I appreciate it.”

Rainy nodded. “Let me get yer keys.”
After one last nod to Cliff, he headed toward

the door. He sat on a boot box near the door and
pulled on his shoes. Seconds later, Rainy dropped
to his knees between his legs. He held Travis’s
keys in front of him.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I loved being able to hold

ye. And I want to see ye again, so I don’t want to
collect me due yet.”

“Your due?” he asked, amused at the

playfulness of the man.

“Of course. Ye still owe me a kiss, but if I collect

now, will ye let me see ye again?”

His eyes closed and swallowed hard. After a

second, he looked at the object of his lust and
nodded curtly. “I want to see you again.” Damn,
he wanted to see Rainy every day, but he couldn’t
understand why. He’d never felt this pull for
anyone before.

Rainy’s smile turned brilliant. “Tonight. Come

back tonight, and I’ll cook for ye. Please?”

Travis nodded. “I’d like that. I’ll see you at

seven.”

Charlie Richards

“Good,” Rainy whispered.
Then the man cupped his face and sealed his

lips over his own. The kiss was sweet, chaste, and
not enough. Travis couldn’t hold back a whimper
when Rainy pulled away.

The bigger man smiled. “Until tonight. I’ll see

ye at seven.”

* * * *

Rainy leaned against the doorframe as he watched
his mate drive away. A sense of excitement he’d
never felt before permeated his being, and he
practically vibrated. Travis was coming back,
willingly. The man wanted to spend time with him.
He couldn’t stop the grin.

Feeling Cliff’s approach, he glanced over his

shoulder. Cliff wrapped an arm around his
shoulders and looked out at the street. “He really
fell asleep on the way here?”

Rainy chuckled. “He really did.”
“And so, being the gentleman that ye are, ye

gave him your bed while ye slept on the couch?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Neither one of us is a

gentleman.” He turned and headed back into the
house, shutting the door behind him. “We’re
wolves, remember? I don’t think we have a
civilized bone in our body.”

Cliff laughed. “Ye’re right about that. Just don’t

Werewolf At the Zoo

tell Lisa. I think I’ve got her fooled.”

Returning to the dining room table, Rainy sat

and gave his brother a speculative look. “What are
the chances that our mates are siblings just like us?
That seems so odd.”

His brother nodded, then shrugged. “Don’t

really care. We’ve been looking for our mates for
nearly a century. We don’t choose our mates,
Rainy, and with how many people are in the
world—” He grinned. “Just take it like the gift it
is.”

Rainy nodded, accepting the wisdom of his

brother’s words. Glancing at him curiously, Rainy
smirked. “Why are ye here, Cliff? Shouldn’t ye be
with Lisa?”

“Believe it or not, I was the gentleman last night

and took her home at a decent hour.” Cliff
grinned. “I’m seeing her tonight though. I’m here
because ye wouldn’t answer your phone. I’ve been
trying to reach ye since eight o’ clock.”

Rainy glanced at the clock on the oven and

grimaced. It was nearly eleven. “Sorry about that.
I silenced me phone before walking into the bar
last night. I guess I forgot to turn the ringer back
on.” He grinned and shrugged. “Been a bit
distracted. What’s up?”

“Declan has agreed to see us. Mom and Dad

will be there. As soon as we made that date with
Lisa and Travis, I contacted him about finding our

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mates. We need to let him know what’s going on,
and of course our parents are excited to hear about
them.”

“Oh, right, I should have thought of that.”

Rainy shook his head, knowing where his mind
had been, and it wasn’t on pack business. “What
time are we meeting them?”

“Noon, at Declan’s place, so you’d better

hurry.”

An hour later, they pulled up to their alpha’s

house. Rainy recognized their father’s SUV and
then glanced at a newer model Dodge truck. “Hey,
isn’t that Grady’s truck? What’s he doing here?”

“Aye. They must plan to talk about the

poachers, too.”

Rainy nodded at Cliff’s words, noting the hard

edge entering the man’s voice. He couldn’t begin
to understand what Cliff had gone through, so he
gripped his brother’s shoulder and squeezed hard.
“We’ll get them,” he promised. Cliff nodded
before sliding out of the car. Rainy followed his
brother up the walk. The door opened before they
reached it, and their mother, Teline MacDougal,
pulled them both into a three-way hug. “Mom, not
on the front step.” He laughed. “Let us get in the
house first.”

“I’m just so happy for me boys. I can’t help it.”

She beamed up at them and gave each a kiss on

Werewolf At the Zoo

the cheek before releasing them.

Rainy followed the short, rounded woman

through the house, his shoes tapping on the wood
floor. He glanced around the rustic cabin, passing
a stone fireplace in the den on the right and a large
kitchen with dinette on his left. Everything in the
place screamed a bachelor’s hunting lodge.

When they reached the deck, Rainy looked out

over the large clearing and remembered the last
full moon when the alpha had hosted a BBQ. Pack
members had filled the now empty space before
the moon rose and then those that could change
had shifted and gone for a run across the alpha’s
two hundred and fifty acres that backed up to the
national forest. He couldn’t wait to bring Travis
and introduce him to everyone. Being a vet, not
only would he be a valuable asset to pack
members who were injured, but he had the big,
caring heart that would make him sought out by
the other members even for little things.

He turned when their father, Duncan,

immediately wrapped his mother in his arms and
kissed her deeply. Rainy and Cliff exchanged
smirks. It was no wonder they had six other
siblings. Their parents couldn’t keep their hands
off each other, and after finding his own mate,
Rainy no longer wondered why.

Declan turned from the grill and nodded to the

brothers. Both Rainy and Cliff ducked their heads,

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baring their necks in submission to the stronger
wolf. “Glad ye could make it. These burgers are
done. Grab a plate.”

Grady rose from the lounge chair he’d been

reclining in and joined them. Standing six foot
five, the man even dwarfed their alpha, who stood
a respectable six foot two. But where Declan’s
dark African American body was made of lean,
sinewy muscle, Grady’s body looked like it was
made of brick. The muscles on his arms and chest
stretched his t-shirt to capacity. He ran a big hand
over his buzzed strawberry blonde hair and
smirked. “Hello, guys. Good to see you again.”

The powerful scent of cat hit Rainy’s nostrils,

and he grinned. “Good to see ye, too, tiger. Ye’ve
been keeping yourself pretty scarce. Have a full
plate?” He knew the detective worked long hours
at the station. He was good at his job and seemed
to enjoy it.

The were-tiger grunted. “Yup. And you guys

aren’t helping.” The big man glanced toward
Declan, shook his head, and filled his plate. The
brother’s followed suit and joined everyone on the
lawn chairs spread out on the deck. “Heard you
found your mates,” Grady commented after
swallowing a bite of burger.

Rainy glanced at Cliff, who nodded, before

looking to his left where Declan sat.

The alpha lifted a brow in question.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Rainy grinned. “Yes, Travis Carlyle. He’s a

veterinarian at the zoo, but it might take me a bit
to claim him. He’s in the closet.”

“Shit, that could create problems,” Grady

muttered. He and Grady had swapped ex stories
one night over a bottle of scotch. Grady’s history
had him beat, having found out an ex had a wife
and kids and he’d been the one on the side.

That revelation didn’t seem to hold a candle to

guys who dumped Rainy just because they didn’t
want to come out. Rainy refused to even think that
Travis would do the same. He shook his head. “I
think the parents are going to be a problem. What
about Lisa? Has she figured out yet that I’m gay?”

He grinned as Cliff chuckled and shrugged.

“Not sure. Ye’d think so with the possessive act
you laid on Travis’s ass last night, and I did catch
her staring at ye with a concerned look on her face
a few times, but she hasn’t said anything. Should I
bring it up?”

Declan cleared his throat. “Who’s Lisa?”
Rainy swung his gaze to Declan, who listened

to their exchange with interest. Remembering the
BBQ, he didn’t envy the man his position. Because
he remained unmated, every woman in the pack
paraded their daughters past the wolf’s nose,
trying to entice him. The fact that the man
remained polite and aloof with them all had Rainy
wondering if the alpha’s preference didn’t run to

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something a little more masculine, but he’d never
heard of Declan dating anyone, male or female.

“Sorry, Alpha,” Cliff replied. “Lisa Carlyle is

Travis Carlyle’s younger sister. Strange, we know,
but we’re both one hundred percent certain
they’re our mates.”

“And what does she do?” Teline asked.
Cliff smiled at his mother. “She works at the

zoo, too. She’s one of the wardens, working
mostly with reptiles. That’s where I met her. Well,
where I recognized her. While I was caged as a
wolf, I caught her scent a few times.”

Duncan chuckled and glanced at his wife. “I bet

that drove ye nuts, bein’ able to smell her and not
do anythin’ about it.”

A grimace creased Cliff’s features. “Aye.”
“Ye’ll both let me know if ye think yer mate’s

family will be a danger to the pack. Having their
children both dating a pair of brothers will
definitely seem strange to the parents when the
news comes out,” Declan noted.

“Aye, sir. We’ll let ye know if anything comes

up,” Rainy promised.

Declan turned to Grady and smirked. “So we’re

making more work for ye?”

Grady shrugged. “Better to come from you, I

suppose. I sure wouldn’t want to be the one to tell
you poachers are trapping your wolves.”

The alpha grinned. “Me temper’s not that bad.”

Werewolf At the Zoo

Grady lifted a blond brow.
Declan laughed. “All right, all right. Any

headway?”

Grady glanced around the group, his look clear.

This conversation contained police business and
could not be shared with anyone. “I’m meeting
with the zoo director on Monday. I’ve got a
warrant for all paperwork regarding new
acquisitions in the last year. We’ll see what comes
of it. I’ve also been doing some—patrolling—in
the woods where Cliff got shot, but because it’s a
national forest, there’s human scent all over the
place. It’ll take me some time to sort it out.”

“Can I offer a few of me trackers?”
“Sure. That would definitely speed things up,

as long as they don’t mind taking orders from a
cat.” Grady smirked.

Nodding in understanding, Declan turned to

Duncan, “Pick a couple wolves to go with ye and
help Grady. I want this warehouse found
quickly.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Duncan replied, tucking his head

in submission.

Grady turned to Cliff. “You got time to run

with me tomorrow and show me exactly where
you were hit?”

Cliff nodded before turning to Rainy. “Want to

come and stretch yer legs?”

“Sure. What time?” Rainy asked.

Charlie Richards

Cliff looked at Grady and the big man rolled his

shoulders as he thought. “How about three AM?
No sense risking being seen.” Grady turned to
Duncan. “Can you make that?”

Duncan nodded.
Rainy grimaced. “Shit, three tomorrow

morning? I was hoping to be—” Rainy blushed
and looked away. So much for Travis staying the
night again. “It’s nothing,” he mumbled.

He caught Cliff’s smirk as Rainy rose to get

seconds. When no one was looking, he flipped his
brother off.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Chapter Five

ravis stared at Rainy’s door for a full thirty
seconds before working up the nerve to knock.

He still couldn’t wrap his mind around what had
happened between last night and this morning.
What was it about this man that had him throwing
caution to the wind and starting up a relationship?
Shit, this was a relationship, right? Rainy wasn’t
just having a good time, was he?

The door swung open, and Rainy grinned

down at him. “Hello, gorgeous.”

“Do you want a relationship with me or is this a

fling to you?” ShitFuckDamn! How could I just blurt
something like that out? Travis’s face reddened as
Rainy blinked down at him in stunned silence.
Then the man moved with lightning speed,
grabbing him by his arm and dragging him inside.

Seconds later, the door was slammed shut, and

Rainy’s big body pinned Travis against it. He
moaned at the intimate feel of the larger man as he

Charlie Richards

molded his body to Travis from chest to thigh. He
could feel the tiny nubs of Rainy’s nipples, the
corded muscle of his abs, and most importantly,
the hard length of his arousal pushing at his own.

Rainy cupped his face and brought his lips

down in a fierce, demanding kiss. There was
nothing teasing or chaste about it. The man
dominated Travis’s mouth, possessing him,
nipping his lips and forcing entry. Travis felt
Rainy’s tongue glide along his own before
exploring the recesses of his mouth. He
whimpered into the kiss, loving the desire for him
the other man conveyed.

Suddenly Rainy’s mouth was gone and Travis

tried to follow his lips, wanting more. When the
hands on either side of his face wouldn’t let him,
his eyes snapped open. If the kiss hadn’t already
taken his breath away, the possessive lust burning
in Rainy’s green eyes would have.

“Yes, this is most definitely a relationship. Ye

are not to see anyone else while ye’re with me,
man or woman. Ye are mine now, Travis. Got
that?”

The man’s profession of ownership should have

terrified Travis, but instead his pulse raced and a
feeling of utter security swamped him. This is
what he’d been looking for, wanting, craving,
someone who wanted him as much as he wanted
them. And he did want Rainy, so much that he felt

Werewolf At the Zoo

consumed by the sudden need. Travis struggled to
nod his understanding, but the hands on his head
held firm.

“Say it,” Rainy commanded.
“Yes. No one else.”
Something seemed to ease in Rainy’s burning

gaze, as if he’d been terrified Travis would say no.
He dismissed the idea as ridiculous until Rainy
lowered his head again, whispering, “Mine,”
against his lips before initiating another mind-
numbing kiss and scattering Travis’s thoughts.

Where the first kiss had been a hard, fast, and

possessive branding, this one felt more like a slow,
thorough, and sensuous claiming. Rainy leisurely
explored Travis’s mouth and coaxed him to do the
same. Hesitant at first before becoming bolder,
Travis’s tongue flicked out, mapping the man’s
lips, teeth, and tongue. He groaned at the heady,
exquisite taste of man and beer. Never had he
enjoyed anything more, and, hot damn, the man
could kiss.

By the time Rainy ended the kiss, both men

were panting hard. Rainy rested his forehead
against Travis’s, his tongue flicked out to trace his
kiss-swollen lips.

“I want to fuck ye so badly, Travis,” he

whispered the admission. “Ye don’t even know
how much I want yer hot, sweet ass wrapped
around me cock. Can I, baby? Can I bury me dick

Charlie Richards

so deep inside yer pretty hole that ye’ll feel me for
days?”

Travis shivered and flushed at the visual image

Rainy’s words created, his body reacting by his ass
hole tightening before his hips thrust against the
other man. He stared up into the man’s earnest
gaze and nodded. The happy grin that wreathed
his face made it seem like Travis had granted him
access to the greatest treasure in the world.

Rainy grabbed his hand and led him into the

kitchen, where, still holding his hand, as though
he couldn’t bear to be parted even for a second, he
shoved a couple steaks into the fridge and winked.
“We’ll get to these later.”

Following his lover down the short hall to the

bedroom, nerves began to manifest. What if he
wasn’t any good? What if he couldn’t please
Rainy? What if—

“Ye’re thinking too hard again, gorgeous. Don’t

worry.” In the bedroom, Rainy pulled Travis to
him and kissed him softly. “I’ll take good care of
ye. Promise.”

Trusting the other man, Travis nodded. Rainy

pulled him next to the bed and began to slowly
unbutton his shirt. As the fabric parted, Rainy
kissed each new piece of exposed skin.
Goosebumps broke out over Travis’s chest as
Rainy ghosted over a nipple. The flesh hardened,
begging for more attention. Rainy gave Travis’s

Werewolf At the Zoo

body what it wanted and latched his mouth
around one small nub. Travis let out a shout, his
body instinctively pushing closer to the exquisite
pleasure.

Rainy alternately nipped the bud, laved it to

sooth away the sting, and sucked. After a moment,
he kissed his way to the other one and repeated
the process. By the time he finished, Travis felt his
entire body trembling, soft whimpers escaped his
throat, and the head of his erection practically
peeked out of his low-slung jeans.

Rainy dropped a hand to his engorged prick

and squeezed through the fabric. Travis let out a
hoarse cry as his cock jerked. He thrust his hips
into the touch, helpless to stop the movement. His
mind was so fogged over with lust, it took him a
second to realize that his pants were now around
his ankles and Rainy had dropped to his knees in
front of him. The bigger man freed Travis’s
straining cock from his briefs and stared for
several seconds.

“So beautiful,” he whispered.
The first swipe of his tongue from root to tip

nearly brought Travis to his knees.

Rainy looked up and smiled. “Hang on to me,

Travis,” he instructed as he grasped his hips.

Travis rested his hands on Rainy’s shoulders as

the man again focused on his cock. He swiped his
tongue across the head, scooping up a dollop of

Charlie Richards

pre-cum.

“Ye taste so good, baby,” Rainy moaned.
And then his mouth closed over the head of

Travis’s shaft and his brain shut down. The man’s
tongue pressed against the nerves under the head,
and Travis’s hips bucked forward. Rainy’s hands
stilled his movements as he took him in to the hilt.
Rainy’s nose buried in his pubic hair, breathing in
his scent, with his lips wrapped around his cock
was the most amazing, and the sexiest, thing
Travis had ever seen. “Oh, God. Rainy,” he hissed.
His jaw clenched as he fought the quickly building
orgasm.

Rainy slowly lifted, his lips creating a vacuum

around him as he sucked hard. Seconds later, he
went back down and did it again, his tongue
dragging along the pounding vein on the
underside of his shaft. “Rainy, please. Can’t hold
it. I’m gonna—” Then Rainy speared his tongue
into the slit of his cock and Travis exploded. His
balls drew up and erupted so quickly he couldn’t
breathe as he shot stream after stream of semen
down Rainy’s throat. The man sucked it down as
if he couldn’t get enough. He even suckled until
Travis’s shaft began to soften and then licked all
around him, not missing a drop.

Rainy’s eyes bore into Travis’s as he released

his cock and swiped his thumb over the corner of
his mouth, sucking in a tiny bit of cream that

Werewolf At the Zoo

threatened to escape.

“Delicious,” he whispered.
Travis moaned at the sight and felt his cock

jerk, trying to stiffen again. Rainy grinned and
then finished undressing him, encouraging him to
lie across the bed. He couldn’t take his eyes off the
man as he quickly shed his own clothes. Standing
before him in all his naked glory, Travis couldn’t
figure out what he’d done to attract the attentions
of this bronzed Adonis. The man was fucking
beautiful.

* * * *

After rooting through his nightstand, Rainy
stretched out on the bed next to Travis. Finally, he
had his mate right where he’d wanted him since
the first moment he’d smelled him. “It’ll be easier
for yer first time on yer knees,” he murmured,
nibbling the man’s lips, “but I’d also love to see
yer face while I fuck ye.” Rainy couldn’t hide the
grin when Travis flushed. His man certainly loved
it when he talked dirty to him. “So I’ll let ye
decide.”

Travis hesitated for only a second before rolling

onto his stomach and getting his knees under him.
He spread his legs wide and buried his face in the
crook of one arm, displaying himself for Rainy’s
gaze. Unable to stop himself, he groaned and

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stroked one perfectly round ass cheek. “God,
Travis, ye’re stunning.”

Leaning forward, he nipped gently at the other

cheek, making the man jump. Rainy chuckled and
knelt behind his mate. He leaned down and
nibbled a trail down the man’s spine to the top of
his crease until he felt Travis tense up. “Easy,
baby,” he murmured. He nibbled his way back up
while softly swiping his thumb over Travis’s hole.
“I need ye to relax.”

Travis nodded, but the release of tension was

marginal.

Rainy lowered his lips to Travis’s neck and

began kissing. The tingle in his gums and the
desire to sink his canines into his mate’s neck
nearly overwhelmed him. Taking several deep
breaths, he moved his kissing to the tender place
behind Travis’s ear. Once he felt the man relax
again, he returned his hand to Travis’s ass,
ghosting his hole again and again. “Have ye ever
played with yerself here?” he whispered.

Travis shook his head.
Rainy smiled. “So I’ll be yer first. You don’t

know how hard that makes me.” As if to confirm
the statement, his cock jerked in excitement. He let
out a small moan and continued to whisper,
deepening his accent because he could smell the
man’s arousal returning when he used it. Hardly
needing to look, he snapped open the bottle of

Werewolf At the Zoo

lube and squeezed a large amount onto his
fingers, spreading it around to warm it.

“First I’m going to push one finger inside, and

then two. I’m going to open ye up so wide, baby,”
he whispered as he returned to ghosting Travis’s
hole. When Rainy felt the man beneath him begin
to rock toward him, seeking his touch, he pushed
one finger in to the knuckle.

Travis let out a moan and pushed back harder.
“Like that, baby? Like having a part of me

inside ye?”

Travis nodded and rocked back again. Rainy

pushed his finger in deeper before sliding it back
out. After he’d loosened Travis sufficiently, he slid
in a second finger. That made his mate pause and
suck in a surprised gasp. Unwilling to allow him
to feel pain for long, Rainy crooked his fingers and
sought Travis’s prostate. He knew he’d found it
when Travis jumped beneath him and cried out
his name. Damn, he loved hearing his name from
Travis’s lips. He pegged the gland several more
times as he gently spread his fingers and opened
his mate. After getting Travis comfortable with a
third finger, he pulled his fingers out and reached
for a condom.

Travis whimpered, moving restlessly.
Rainy kissed the back of his neck. “Easy baby.

Gotta get the condom. I’m right here.” Seconds
later, he had his aching shaft sheathed and lubed

Charlie Richards

and poised at Travis’s entrance. When Travis tried
to push back against him, he stilled him with a
hand on his back. “Push out for me, Travis.”

When Travis obeyed, Rainy slid the head of his

cock past the first ring of muscle. The tight
warmth surrounding his cock nearly went to his
head. His wolf wanted to shove inside and claim
his mate, to force the man beneath him to submit
to his strength. He sucked several deep breathes in
and out of his lungs as he waited for Travis to
adjust. Finally the muscles began to relax and he
slowly pushed in the rest of the way.

Laying across his mate’s back, his cock buried

to the hilt, Rainy rested his forehead against
Travis’s spine. “Oh, fuck, Travis. Ye feel so good.
Please tell me I can move.”

“Yessss,” Travis hissed. “Fuck me, Rainy.

Please fuck me.”

He didn’t have to be asked twice. Rainy pulled

almost all the way out before lunging back in.
Seconds later he realized Travis was shoving back
against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. The
knowledge pulled his balls tight, and Rainy knew
he wasn’t going to last long. Reaching under
Travis, he found his mate’s cock rock hard and
weeping. Stroking to the same rhythm as his
thrusts, he picked up the pace.

Rainy’s hips snapped forward, his balls

slapping against Travis’s ass with every stroke.

Werewolf At the Zoo

The room echoed with their grunts and groans as
the two strove toward completion. “Come for me,
Travis. Let me feel ye come on me cock.”

Travis shouted beneath him just as the inner

muscles of his passage clamped down like a vice.
Two more strokes had Rainy following his mate
into ecstasy and he shouted his own release. He
fell on top of Travis, catching most of his weight
on his elbows as his body shuddered, slowly
coming down from the heights of his orgasm.

“Wow.”
If he didn’t have a wolf’s sensitive hearing, he

wouldn’t have heard Travis’s whispered word.
“Aye, baby. That just about sums it up.” He
grabbed the base of the condom and pulled out.
For the first time, he regretted having to use one.
Rainy wanted to spill in his mate. He’d have to
talk to Travis about that sometime. “I’ll be right
back,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the
base of Travis’s neck.

He disposed of the condom and warmed a cloth

in the bathroom. After cleaning himself, he
grabbed another one and returned to his mate.
Travis had shifted to his side and glanced over his
shoulder as Rainy entered. Travis smiled
hesitantly. Easing down next to him, Rainy
claimed his bashful lover’s lips, dispelling the
worry he saw in his eyes. Slowly, he went about
the intimate act of cleaning the man’s genitals.

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After tossing the rag to the floor, he pulled Travis
into his arms and held him.

“I think a nap is in order,” he murmured

around a yawn. “And then supper. What do ye
say?” Rainy smiled as Travis cuddled against him,
resting his head on his shoulder.

“Fantastic plan,” he whispered, already half-

asleep.

Damn, but he could get used to this in a hurry.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Chapter Six

ainy thought back to his mate, waiting for him
in bed at home and decided maybe agreeing to

this run wasn’t such a good idea. But he knew his
wolf needed to get out. It had been almost two
weeks since he’d run. He shivered as he stripped.

“What’s got ye in such a foul mood?” Cliff

asked. “Wake up on the wrong side of the—” His
brother’s eyes widened as he caught his scent.
“Shit. Ye let Travis sleep over again?”

Rainy shrugged. “I couldn’t stand the thought

of sending him home.”

Grady walked passed and sniffed. Letting out a

chuckle, he said, “No surprises what you guys
have been up to.”

Rainy flipped him the bird before he

summoned his wolf and started the shift. Bones
popped and rearranged themselves. Fur sprouted
and a tail grew. His face pinched and pulled as his
muzzle formed and teeth grew. Ten seconds later,

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a large, black wolf shook out his coat and yipped,
telling his brother and friend to hurry the hell up.
He had a mate to get back to. His canine form
grinned happily at that thought.

Less than a minute later, he watched his brother

shift into a similar, slightly larger black wolf.
Rainy looked behind him and watched a large
Bengal tiger prowl past them. It growled low
before taking off into the woods. Rainy and Cliff
kept pace with the larger beast. Ten minutes into
the run, Cliff barked and headed more to the west.
The others veered to stay with him.

After nearly forty minutes, Rainy watched his

brother start sniffing the ground. He and Grady
followed as Cliff slowly led them through a
ravine, around a pond, and into a clearing. He
flopped down on his side at the edge and howled.
Yeah, this was the place. Rainy settled next to his
brother and watched the large tiger stalk around
the clearing. After thirty minutes of watching him,
Rainy glanced at the sky and realized dawn was
only an hour and a half away. Rainy nipped at
Cliff and indicated the horizon with his muzzle.
Cliff nodded and barked at Grady. The tiger’s
head swung to face them. Cliff trotted into the
trees and woofed. Grady swung his paw in a go-
ahead sign and went back to exploring.

Cliff sat down and shook his coat, clearly

irritated that the tiger wasn’t joining them.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Suddenly, the tiger lunged passed them, heading
back toward the cars. He looked over his shoulder
and chuffed. Rainy cocked his head, trying to
decide if the big cat was laughing at them before
he took off after the beast.

Red streaks were just lighting up the sky when

they reached their cars. After checking that no one
was around, Rainy released his wolf and felt his
body shift. He snagged his jeans and tugged them
on, not bothering to button them after he zipped.
He tugged on his shirt and sneakers and pulled
his keys out of his pocket. “I’m out of here, guys.”

“Poker at my place Saturday. Seven o’ clock.

Bring beer. I’ll provide pizza.”

Rainy nodded. “Sure,” he called over his

shoulder to his brother. “Let me know how many
guys once ye know.”

He heard Cliff’s car door slam as he checked his

phone and saw Travis’s number. “Shit,” he
groaned, uncertain what to tell him. He’d really
hoped to be back before the man woke.

Pulling onto the road, he dialed and waited.

The message was from an hour ago, and he heard
a hesitant Travis ask if everything was okay. He
started to say more, but hung up mid-sentence. He
called Travis’s number but didn’t receive an
answer. Frowning, Rainy gunned his truck’s
engine and sped toward home.

His stomach dropped when he pulled into the

Charlie Richards

lot and saw that Travis’s truck was gone. Jumping
from his truck, he rushed inside, searching for a
note but came up with nothing. “Fuck,” he
screamed, slamming his fist on the table. Picking
up the phone again, he dialed Travis’s number.
His breath rushed out when he heard the man
pick up. “Hey, baby, I’m sorry it took me so long
to get back here, I—”

“Don’t worry about it. I have a lot of paperwork

to catch up on before work tomorrow, so it
worked out well.”

Rainy didn’t like the flat tone in the other man’s

voice. He searched his brain for a way to connect.
“Since ye’re so busy, maybe I can bring ye pizza or
something for supper. I’m sure ye’ll need a break
by then, aye?”

“No. It’s fine. I’m really quite busy, Rainy. I’ll

catch you another time.” Before he could come up
with a reply, Travis went on. “Hey, I’m gonna run.
Thanks for calling, I was—concerned when you
weren’t there when I woke. Glad everything is
okay. Talk to you later.”

His jaw dropped as he stared at the phone and

listened to the dial tone. “What the hell?” Rainy
couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just
happened. He sat at the table for several long
moments, before picking up the phone again.
When a voice answered, he whispered, “I need ye
here.”

Werewolf At the Zoo

“On me way.”
He didn’t move until he heard the knock on the

door. Still in a daze, Rainy rose and opened the
door. It wasn’t until his brother reached up and
wiped the tears from his face that Rainy realized
he was crying.

“What happened, Rainy? What’s wrong?”
Rainy watched Cliff start the coffeepot. “I have

no idea,” he whispered. “Travis left me a message
while I was out with ye and Grady. When I got
back, he was gone. I called him and he blew me
off.”

Cliff stared at him for several seconds. “What

did ye tell him ye were doing this morning?”

“I didn’t. What could I have told him?”
Cliff stared for several seconds, frowning at

him. “So, let me get this straight. Ye have sex with
your mate, essentially take his virginity—”

Rainy opened his mouth to contest that point.
Cliff held up his hand. “In a gay sex sort of

way,” he added pointedly.

Rainy shrugged.
“And then ye let him wake up alone with no

explanation. No note, and ye don’t answer yer
phone.” Cliff shook his head. “Good God, Rainy,
put yerself in his shoes. He thought ye were
blowing him off.”

“What? No! I offered to bring him dinner.”
“Too little, too late, brother. Ye’ll need to do

Charlie Richards

some serious sucking up and apologizing in
person,” he explained.

“I don’t know where he lives.” Rainy frowned

before snapping his gaze back to Cliff. “Lisa. Ye
can ask Lisa.”

His brother snorted. “And tell her what? Lisa,

darling, me gay brother had a falling out with yer
gay brother and since Rainy doesn’t know where
Travis lives, will ye give me the address so he can
go apologize?”

Rainy grimaced. “I guess not.”
“Relax. Tomorrow, we’ll go visit them both at

the zoo, ye can get him alone and suck his cock or
something to make it up to him.”

“Good God, Cliff. Ye’re way too comfortable

saying that for a straight man.” When Cliff rolled
his eyes, Rainy groaned. “Don’t tell me ye’ve done
it before.”

“Hell, no, but I’ve heard enough from ye to not

be surprised by anything. And I’m very secure in
me sexuality, Rainy. Ye’re the one who’s offended
when I start talking about women’s parts.”

“Hmm, ye do have a point.” Rainy shrugged

and then smiled sadly. “Thanks for coming over.”

“Sure. Ye can make me breakfast to make it up

to me.”

* * * *

Werewolf At the Zoo

Sleep eluded him. Travis stared at the ceiling.
Who did Rainy think he was to play with him that
way? Sure, he probably thought Travis a juvenile
virgin for blurting out the question about a
relationship, but that didn’t mean he had to blow
him off after sex like some prostitute.

Slamming his fist into his pillow, he growled in

frustration. Was there something he should have
done different? Travis just didn’t know. He had no
experience with men. Throwing off the covers, he
left his bed and padded barefoot to the kitchen. He
reached into the pantry and pulled out the bottle
of scotch. I just need a few swigs to turn off my brain.

Then I’ll be able to sleep.

Skipping a glass, he took a gulp straight from

the bottle, grimacing at the burn as it went down.
Clutching the alcohol in a tight fist, he headed to
the den.

Looking around the room, he stared at the cold,

black and white furnishings. When he’d
decorated, he’d thought it the most wonderful
thing to spend his money on himself like this.
Now it just felt empty. A desire to curl up in a tiny
living room on a couch with Rainy swamped him
and he groaned. He took another swig of scotch,
and then another, in an attempt to hide from his
thoughts.

A loud banging jolted Travis from his sleep.

Charlie Richards

Pain exploded through his head, and he rolled
over. Suddenly the bed moved out from under
him, and he hit the floor. The pain shot through
his shoulder before settling in both places.

“Travis? Travis can you hear me?”
He forced an eye open and saw Lisa hovering

over him.

“Oh, my God, Travis. What happened?”
“Coffee and aspirin,” he whispered.
“Sure. Sure.” Lisa disappeared.
Travis forced his way to his knees. Damn, what

had he been thinking, and on a work night no
less? He gripped his head in one hand, the other
sliding along the walls, and slowly staggered to
the bathroom. Travis splashed water over his face
before stumbling into the shower and getting
cleaned up. When he lumbered out, he felt a bit
better, but the coffee he smelled and some aspirin
would go much further to clearing his head.

On his way to the kitchen, he picked up the

empty bottle of scotch and grimaced. Had he
really drank the whole thing? Shaking his head,
Travis dropped the bottle into the trash and took
the cup of coffee Lisa handed him. He kept his
head down, avoiding his sister’s questioning gaze.
He knew she wouldn’t wait long and rinsed the
cup.

“You look terrible, Travis. What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled.

Werewolf At the Zoo

Glancing at the clock, he realized they were both
late to work. That must have been what brought
Lisa over.

She glared at him. “Bullshit. You did not stay

up all night drinking because of nothing, and I
want to know what happened.”

Travis cringed. “Easy, sis, the aspirin hasn’t

kicked in yet.” When her lips tightened and she
opened her mouth for another volley, he held up
his hands. He could sort of tell her, in a
roundabout way. “Look, I’ll only say this. I had a
date Saturday, we fell into bed together, but I
woke up alone. I really liked my date, and it hit
me hard. Okay?”

Lisa’s eyes softened, and she wrapped an arm

around his neck. “Oh, Travis. I’m sorry. Is there
anything I can do?”

He pulled his sister close and hugged her. “No,

but thanks for asking. It’ll hurt for a few days, but
I’ll move on.” Travis grimaced. “I always do.”

“Hey, you doing okay? Need another aspirin?”

Lisa asked.

Travis glanced up from the snake he was

checking. “No, I’m fine.” How did he tell his sister
that he’d seriously fucked up his first gay
relationship yesterday? It had taken a lot of soul
searching, after his headache had diminished to a
dull ebb, for him to realize that he should have

Charlie Richards

stuck around to see why Rainy had left, even if it
ended up being a confrontation about the man
being an ass. But Travis had never been good at
confrontation, and he’d taken the coward’s way
out. He’d fled. If it had been an honest
misunderstanding, after the way he’d acted, he
wouldn’t be surprised if Rainy never spoke to him
again.

Focusing his thoughts back on the Bohemian

Constrictor lying across his table, he verified the
snake’s white blood cell count. He heard the door
behind him open and called without looking, “Be
with you in a moment.”

“I actually came to steal Lisa from ye. I’d like to

take her to lunch, if that’s okay.”

Travis stiffened at the voice. Cliff! Shit! Did

Rainy tell his brother about him acting like an ass?
While Lisa squealed and ran toward her new
boyfriend, Travis kept his attention on the snake.
No way in hell did he want to face Rainy’s brother
right now. “Lisa Carlyle, you are not leaving me
alone with this snake.” The closing door greeted
his statement, and he sighed.

“Don’t worry, gorgeous. I’ll keep ye safe.”
At Rainy’s quiet words, he spun. Shock filled

Travis as he took in Rainy’s nervous stance. Even
uneasy, the man was sexy as hell. “Rainy. What
are you doing here?” Oh, yeah, great greeting,

dickhead.

Werewolf At the Zoo

“I came to apologize. I’m sorry.” His green eyes

darkened as he stepped closer and gripped
Travis’s upper arms. “I should have told Cliff no. I
shouldn’t have left ye alone like that. It was
wrong. Please forgive me. Please give me another
chance to prove that I’m not an asshole and that I
really do care about you.”

The pleading in Rainy’s eyes and tone melted

any anger he may still have harbored. “Of course,”
he whispered as he reached up and touched his
lover’s lips. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have run. I
should have waited, or at least accepted the pizza
offer. I know it sounds odd, since I just met you,
but I missed you, missed your arms around me.”

“Ah, baby. Thank you,” Rainy whispered

before capturing his lips.

In the back of his mind, Travis knew that

making out with Rainy in his place of work wasn’t
the best way to keep a low profile, but at that
moment he couldn’t get himself to care, or to stop.

Opening readily, he sank into the kiss and

buried his hands in Rainy’s thick, dark hair.
Rainy’s arms slid around his hips and pulled him
flush against his body. Travis moaned softly, his
cock thickening as it rubbed against the other
man’s already erect prick.

“Oh, my God.”
His sister’s startled words cut through Travis’s

lust-filled haze. Snapping his head around, he

Charlie Richards

broke the kiss and stared at Lisa’s pale face and
shocked expression. “Lisa,” he hissed.

Lisa lifted a hand and pointed at them. “You—

Rainy—the date?” she squeaked out. Disbelief
filled her eyes before she spun around and fled the
examination room, disappearing into the waiting
room.

“Shit,” Travis cried, heading after her. He had

no idea what he’d say or how he’d explain, but he
had to try. He heard Rainy’s footsteps behind him
right before he spotted Cliff wrap up his sister and
pull her close.

Rainy yanked Travis to a stop with an arm

around his waist. “Wait, Travis,” he whispered.

Lisa struggled against Cliff’s hold and his grip

loosened, but wouldn’t let her leave the circle of
his arms. “What is it, Lisa? What’s wrong?”

“Your brother is a faggot, and he corrupted

Travis. That’s what’s wrong.”

“Lisa, please calm down and listen,” Cliff said

sternly.

Astonishment filled Travis when Lisa obeyed,

stilling in his arms and looking up at Cliff.

His tone came out calm and persuasive. “I

know me brother is gay, and I find the term faggot
offensive, so please don’t use it again, sweetie. As
for yer brother, he feared this very reaction, that’s
why he’s never said anything. Rainy cares for
Travis, just like I care for ye. He’s finally found

Werewolf At the Zoo

someone worth coming out for, and because of
that, he needs ye now more than ever. Travis
needs yer support, Lisa. I know ye love him. Don’t
let anything else cloud that.”

Lisa stood silent in his arms for several seconds

before turning to face Travis. “You told Cliff, but
not me? Why?”

Travis sighed, resting back against Rainy.

“Because I feared you’d react exactly as you did. I
watched what happened when Roger came out to
his family. He was disowned, and Mom and Dad
approved his parent’s decision. I saw nothing to
make me believe you didn’t support that as well.”

“I was twelve when that happened, Travis,” she

said in exasperation. “That was ten years ago.
Walking in on you and Rainy was just a shock.
You could have told me.” Lisa rested a hand on
her hip and glared.

Travis eased from Rainy’s arms and stopped in

front of her. “You know now. I like Rainy. I’d like
to see where it leads. I know Mom and Dad won’t
approve, so I’ll probably get cut out of the family.
You’re a lot closer to them than I ever was, and I
don’t want that for you.”

Lisa wrapped her arms around him and

hugged him close. “I won’t turn my back on you.
Not for this. Not for anything. I’m sorry I freaked
out, Travis. I just—you’ve never given any
indication,” she finished helplessly.

Charlie Richards

A single tear slipped past his lids before he

could blink it back. “Thank you, Lisa.” Then he
glanced up at Cliff and smiled. “And thank you.”

He released his sister, and Cliff nodded. “You

and Rainy are good then?”

“Yeah, we’re—fuck!” Travis spun toward the

motion at the edge of his vision and pointed.
“Lisa, you get your damn snake. I’m giving it a
clean bill of health, so get it the hell out of here.”

His sister rolled her eyes, strolled over to the

slow moving, twenty-foot snake, and picked it up,
wrapping its coils around her arms. “Ugh, you’re
so dramatic, Travis.”

Rainy grabbed Travis’s arm and pulled him out

of Lisa’s path as she flounced past and took the
snake to a transport cage. “I’m right there with
you, gorgeous. I wouldn’t want anything to do
with it either.”

Cliff’s lips twitched. While Lisa focused on

getting the big snake into the rolling cage, he
grinned at them and whispered, “I’m with you
guys.”

Werewolf At the Zoo

Chapter Seven

re you sure it’s okay that I come?” Travis
asked into the phone.

“Aye, baby. I’ve been out to me parents since I

was fifteen. I’ve told them quite a bit about ye, and
they look forward to meeting ye. Me mum has
been begging me to bring ye to supper for days.
I’m so glad ye finally agreed, and I can appease
her.”

Travis grinned, imagining the relieved smile on

Rainy’s face as he spoke. “All right. I’ll swing by
your place after work and pick you up.” Hanging
up the phone, he grimaced, but couldn’t feel sorry
after hearing the excitement in Rainy’s voice. The
man really thought that his family would be
excited to meet him.

After spending nearly three hours with Rainy’s

family, the man hustled Travis out of the house.
Travis collapsed into his truck. “Holy hell, your

“A

Charlie Richards

family is—”

“Overwhelming?” Rainy teased.
Travis chuckled. “I was going to say exuberant.

I’ve never seen women so excited to meet the
boyfriend of a man, or even the boyfriend of a
woman for that matter.” He laughed, unable to
express the pleasure he felt that someone was so
happy for him and Rainy.

Rainy leaned over and gave him a deep kiss.

“Well, I know they’re not the only ones. Me dad
was just much better at hiding it.”

His smile turned accusatory. “You forgot to

mention that your six siblings and their families
were going to be there.”

His lover had the grace to look sheepish. “I was

going to mention it, but then I thought ye’d refuse
to come.”

“How could I ever refuse you?” Travis smiled.

Keeping his eyes on the road, he reached over and
took Rainy’s hand, before saying dryly, “All you
gotta do is look at me with those sexy green eyes
and I melt. Kinda like when the kid on Sky High
does his popsicle routine.”

“What?”
Travis blushed at the amusement in Rainy’s

voice. Yup, he’d just revealed his cheesy geeky-
ness. “It’s a kid’s movie about superheroes,” he
mumbled.

“And one of the superheroes melts?” Rainy

Werewolf At the Zoo

asked, confused. “How does that make him a
superhero?”

“It doesn’t. He’s a sidekick.” Risking a glance,

he felt relieved to see nothing but interest, albeit
confused interest, on Rainy’s face. “The kids are
divided into two groups according to their
superpower abilities. Some are heroes and some
are sidekicks.” He grinned. “Silly, I know, but I
really like the movie. It’s about acceptance and
understanding of those different than you, and, of
course, beating the bad guy and getting the girl.”
Feeling more comfortable, he chanced a grin at
Rainy.

“Well, now I’m curious about this guy who

melts. Do ye own the movie?”

And the blush was back. “Yeah,” he admitted,

stopping the truck in front of Rainy’s small house.

“Good, we’ll watch it together sometime.”
Travis turned at Rainy’s words, but realized his

lover was quite serious as he smiled and slipped
from the truck.

“Go home and get some rest,” he ordered. “I

know me family can be quite overwhelming in the
beginning. It will get easier.” He started to close
the door and then paused. “Don’t forget about
Saturday. I’ll see ye at six thirty.”

* * * *

Charlie Richards

Travis stared at the house and shook his head.
“How did you talk me into this again?” he asked,
looking over his shoulder at Rainy.

Rainy looked at his worried mate and smiled.

“What do ye mean? It’s just poker night at me
brother’s. As me boyfriend, ye’re always welcome
to join me. In fact, ye’re almost expected to be
there.”

Travis gave him a lopsided smile. “Your

boyfriend, huh?”

Smirking, he nodded. “Oh, yeah.” He grabbed

Travis’s hand, yanked him close, and settled his
lips on his. God, he loved kissing this man. He
could do it all night. His cock hardened and
reminded him that there were other things he
wanted to do just as much. Pulling away from
Travis, he grinned. “Try to relax.”

Travis grinned up at him. “You kiss me like that

and then expect me to relax?”

Chuckling, he released his man. Yeah, he liked

how that sounded, his man. “Fair enough. Grab the
rest of the beer and come on.” He led the way
through the house to the kitchen and set the cases
he carried on the counter.

Travis set his down as well and looked toward

the freezer. “Want me to fill the sink with ice?”

“Sure, I’ll find me brother.”
“No need to find him,” Cliff interrupted,

walking into the kitchen, a smile curving his lips.

Werewolf At the Zoo

“Good to see ye again, Travis. I was talking to Lisa
about another double date. Does tomorrow night
work for both of ye?”

Travis looked toward Rainy and shrugged.

“Sure.”

“Sounds good to me, bro.” He hadn’t seen Lisa

since Travis’s coming out on Monday. He’d asked
Travis how it was going between them, and he’d
said great. She’d asked a lot of questions and
never said anything derogatory. Out of the corner
of his eye, he watched Travis pull a bag of ice from
the freezer and fill the sink before opening several
cases of beer. Rainy had slowed down the
courtship of his mate for Travis’s sake. He didn’t
want to scare the man with how possessive he
already felt, but with only talking on the phone
each night and a couple dinner dates, his wolf was
becoming impatient.

“Hey, how’s it going with him?” Cliff

whispered. “He seems to be making himself at
home.”

Rainy grinned. “I’m working on loosening him

up.” He shrugged. “We’ve been taking it slow this
week, but I have plans for later tonight.” At Cliff’s
amused expression, he cleared his throat and
spoke aloud, “What time is our date?”

“We’ll meet at Mario’s at seven.”
Rainy looked toward Travis, who glanced over

his shoulder and nodded his consent. Rainy

Charlie Richards

smiled. “Sounds good. So, who all’s coming
tonight?”

“Grady, Lark, and Clyde.”
“Awe, shit, ye serious? Ye invited Clyde?”

Rainy shook his head. Lark wasn’t pack, but knew
about them and, after many explanations, proved
to be very understanding. Clyde was pack, but
liked to shoot his mouth off about faggots and ass-
fucking. Introducing Travis to him at this point in
their fragile relationship wouldn’t be doing
himself any favors.

“Sorry, Rainy. He overheard me asking Lark.”

Cliff rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll keep an
eye on him.”

Travis glanced between them. “An asshole?” he

asked bluntly.

“Who’s an asshole?” a deep voice asked from

the doorway.

“You, Clyde. Don’t ye know how to knock?”

Cliff growled. His tone had the other man cocking
his head in submission, which would be hard to
explain if Travis asked about it.

“Sorry, Cliff,” Clyde muttered quickly. “Hey,

Rainy, didn’t see you—” Cliff stood behind Travis
and tilted his head at the man, warning him to
guard his tongue, “ah—haven’t seen you in a
while. Where’ve you been?”

“Been busy working.”
Clyde glanced slyly at Travis. “And wooing yer

Werewolf At the Zoo

friend, eh?” He held out a hand to Travis. “Clyde
Richards.”

“Travis Carlyle.”
Clyde blinked, his brows lifting. “Carlyle? You

wouldn’t be related to Doctor George Carlyle,
would you?”

Rainy saw Travis pale slightly before he

nodded. His scent shifted subtly to wariness, and
Rainy hoped Clyde didn’t notice.

“Yeah, he’s my father. How do you know

him?”

“Lark and I work at Sugar Creek Memorial

hospital. I’m a paramedic.”

“Did I hear my name?” a breathy, masculine

voice asked. A short, slender man, his blond hair
in spikes and frosted at the tips, strode into the
kitchen and cast a shy smile around the group.
“Am I late?”

“Not at all. We’re still waiting for Grady,” Cliff

assured. “Pizza should be here in half an hour.”

As if on cue, the front door slammed and the

big man walked into the room. Grady tossed a
fifty on the table. “That’s for pizza. Are we just
getting started?”

“Aye,” Rainy replied.
Travis pulled out beers for the others before

opening one for himself, all the while casting
furtive glances at Grady. Once done, he turned
and held out a hand. “I’m Travis Carlyle. I’m one

Charlie Richards

of the zoo’s veterinarians. Have I seen you there
this past week?”

Grady shook Travis’s hand, nodding and

discreetly sniffing at him. He glanced at Rainy
before answering, “Yeah. I’ve been there a few
times this week.”

“Do you work with animals?”
The big man chuckled. “No. I’m a detective.

Detective Grady Stryker.”

Travis’s eyes widened. “Oh God. Nothing

serious is going on, I hope.”

“Uh, I’m not really at liberty to discuss that.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I should

know better than that.”

“Yeah, his dad is Doctor George Carlyle, so he

probably brings home work he can’t talk about all
the time,” Clyde announced before taking a swig
of a beer. “You know, he’s never mentioned a son.
Is it because you’re a fag?”

Cliff growled angrily. “What did I tell ye about

saying that in me house, Clyde? Ye wanna get yer
ass kicked?”

Travis colored.
Clyde held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry.

Gay. Better?” Then the man turned back to Travis.
“So?”

“Fuck, I told ye ye’re an asshole. Get out of

here, Clyde,” Rainy growled.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I was just

Werewolf At the Zoo

curious.”

Rainy watched Clyde saunter out of the kitchen

and throw himself into a dining room chair.

“You’d think he’d realize that most of us are

gay,” Lark said softly.

“He’s not the brightest wolf in the pack, that’s

for sure.”

Rainy bit back a groan at Grady’s slip of the

tongue.

Travis just nodded. “I see what you mean about

him being an asshole.”

“Hey,” Lark murmured, “is he right? Is your

father Doctor Carlyle?”

Travis nodded. “Yeah, I’m his son. Clyde said

you worked at the hospital with him?”

Lark smiled slightly. “Sort of. I’m a tech nurse,

and I pretty much try to stay out of his way.”

Surprised at the innuendo, Rainy’s gaze

snapped to the shy, slender man. Rainy had run
across Lark outside a gay bar in the nearby city.
He’d saved the young man from getting his ass
kicked by a couple straights who’d been lurking
around the bar. When he’d learned that he lived
nearby, Rainy and Cliff had started trying to
include him in anything non-pack related. When
he’d come to a Fourth of July party a few months
ago, he’d seen a couple cubs accidentally change.
After a lot of explanations, and some coercing on
his and Cliff’s part, Lark accepted the revelation

Charlie Richards

and moved on.

Travis’s chuckle brought Rainy back to the

conversation. “Yeah, my dad can be a dick. He
wanted me to go into medicine, but I didn’t want
to work with him, so I became a vet instead.”

* * * *

Travis tossed his hand into the pot. “I fold.”
Standing, he stretched and glanced at the clock. It
was almost midnight. How late did Rainy usually
play? Fighting a yawn, he glanced at his lover and
caught his eyes. Rainy winked and went back to
studying his cards. “I’m getting some water.
Anyone want anything?”

“Grab me a beer, would you?” Clyde called.
“Thanks, Travis. I’ll take a beer,” Cliff added.
Lark hopped up. “I’ll help. I’m on call

tomorrow, so I’m ready for some water.”

“A beer would be great, gorgeous,” Rainy said

with a heated smile.

Travis fought down a blush at Rainy’s

endearment, and when Grady requested a beer by
holding up one finger, he forced a nod of
acknowledgement. Stepping into the kitchen and
grabbing the drinks, Lark smiled shyly at him.

“You must be important to Rainy. He’s never

brought his boyfriend to poker night before.”

“Really?” He couldn’t stop the grin as he

Werewolf At the Zoo

glanced behind him.

Lark nodded. “It’s nice to see him so relaxed.

Normally he’s so tense, like he’s always on guard,
searching for something or waiting for something
to happen. With you—” Lark shrugged. “Maybe
he’s found whatever he’s been looking for.”

“God, I hope so,” Travis murmured. At Lark’s

questioning frown, he grimaced. “I’m not real
good at relationships, and this is my first gay
relationship. I definitely feel there’s something
about Rainy, I just hope he feels it, too,” he
admitted.

Resting a hand on his arm, Lark smiled at him.

“I’m sure he does.”

Travis smiled, liking the idea of being special to

Rainy. He glanced over his shoulder across the bar
separating the dining room from the kitchen. But
his smile faded quickly when he saw the angry
glare his lover aimed at Clyde.

He watched Clyde leap to his feet with such

force that his chair clattered backward to the floor.

Cliff lifted a hand and pointed at Clyde’s

toppled chair. “Sit down, Clyde.”

Travis fought back a tremble at the clear

command in the man’s voice, but Clyde just
snarled. “Not happening. You heard him. Rainy
just challenged me. If he doesn’t follow me
outside, we’ll settle it in here.”

Lark gripped his arm and whispered, “Oh,

Charlie Richards

shit.”

“What’s Clyde talking about? Are they going to

fight?”

“I did no such thing, asshole. I just said, though

I may be a fag, if I needed to I could kick yer ass,”
Rainy growled softly.

“That’s it. I’ll show you.” Clyde leaped across

the table, claws reaching for Rainy.

Travis blinked. Claws? And then instead of a

man, a large brown wolf landed on top of his
lover. Never missing a beat, Rainy tucked his feet
against the beast’s chest and kicked the wolf off
him. The wolf landed across the room, but quickly
scrambled to his feet. Rainy swiftly rose from the
floor, waiting for the growling animal to launch
again, but when it did, the brown wolf was
intercepted by a black wolf that looked all too
familiar to Travis.

The larger black wolf grabbed the right hind leg

of the brown wolf and flipped it onto its back.
Then his jaws were wrapped around the brown
wolf’s throat as he growled in warning. The
brown wolf scrabbled for a couple seconds, trying
to break away, but the black wolf clamped tighter,
shaking its head in warning. Finally, the beaten
wolf went limp, baring his belly and submitting to
the stronger animal.

“Holy shit,” Lark whispered.
The words broke Travis out of his frozen,

Werewolf At the Zoo

shocked state, and he rushed around the bar
where Rainy wrapped him up in his arms.

“Easy, baby. It’s okay,” Rainy soothed.
Travis watched the black wolf release the

brown wolf and then the animal began to shiver.
Seconds later, a very naked Cliff stood in the
room.

His brown eyes, so similar to the wolf’s, stared

at him for a moment before he reached for a cell
phone on the sideboard.

Cliff glanced at Grady and ordered, “Watch

him.” Grady nodded. The big man rose from the
chair he still sat in and walked to the wolf.
“Declan, I’ve got a situation. An uninitiated
sighting.” Cliff listened for a second. “Aye.
Rainy’s mate.” A second later, and after another
“Aye,” he flipped his phone closed.

“Fuck,” Travis found himself whispering. “Lisa

is going to kill me when she finds out I saw Cliff
naked.”

Cliff’s brow lifted, but he turned to Lark and

said, “There are sweats in the dresser of the
bedroom on the right at the top of the stairs. Grab
a couple pairs for me and Clyde, would you,
please?”

Lark nodded and scurried from the room.
Travis didn’t realize he trembled until Rainy

picked him up in his arms and headed upstairs.
Rainy took him into a bedroom and sat on the bed,

Charlie Richards

holding Travis on his lap.

They sat in silence for several moments before

he finally spoke. “I’m sorry ye had to find out this
way.”

Travis knew how emotional the man was by the

thickening of his accent. “What’s going on,
Rainy,” he whispered. “What happened down
there? Did I drink too much and pass out? Is this a
dream?” He felt Rainy kiss his temple before
tucking his head against his neck.

“No, baby. Ye’re pretty damn sober. Ye saw

Clyde and me brother turn into wolves. We’re
shifters.”

“Shifters. Like in werewolves?” That sounded

like the craziest thing Travis had ever had to ask
someone. The door opening caught their attention.

Lark stood in the doorway, holding two mugs

and looking uncertain. “I thought maybe you
could use some tea,” he murmured, shifting from
foot to foot. “When I’d get upset when I was
young, my mother made me tea.”

Rainy’s hand left Travis’s back as he beckoned

the small man forward.

“Thank you, Lark. That’s very thoughtful of

you.” After Lark set the cups on the nightstand by
the bed, he slipped out of the room. Rainy sighed
and, knowing Travis waited for an answer,
murmured,

“Aye,

baby,

something

werewolves. Except not like Hollywood. No crazy

Werewolf At the Zoo

half-creatures, no attacking humans, and I can’t
turn ye into one. When I turn into a wolf, I’m
perfectly cognizant. I’m still me, and I’d still know
you.”

Travis tensed. “When you turn into one? You’re

one, too?”

“Aye, Travis. I’m one, too.”
“Can I see?” He’d just seen two wolves go at it

in the dining room. Did he really want to see
another one? Yeah. Yeah, he did. He needed to
know Rainy wasn’t vicious or insane. Slowly the
arms around him loosened and worried green
eyes met his.

“Are ye sure?”
The whispered question held so much fear that

Travis’s heart melted. He reached up and cupped
Rainy’s jaw, rubbing his thumb over the man’s
lips before replacing the finger with his lips. “Are
you afraid you’re going to hurt me?”

“No, gorgeous. I’d never hurt ye,” Rainy

whispered the promise against his lips.

“Then what?”
“I’m afraid ye’ll leave me.”
Travis saw the truth in his lover’s green eyes.

How much had this man agonized over sharing
this side of himself with someone? There was only
one thing he could promise. “I can’t tell you that
there won’t be things that will make me want to
leave your sexy ass, but I can tell you that if you

Charlie Richards

really do turn into a wolf, it won’t be a deal
breaker.” Rainy stared at him for a long moment,
weighing the truth of his words. Travis held his
gaze.

Rainy nodded. He moved away and stepped to

the middle of the room. After he’d stripped, he
glanced uncomfortably around the room. He ran a
hand through his hair and then met Travis’s gaze.
“Ye’re me mate, so I’d never hurt ye. But if ye run,
I might chase ye.” Grimacing, Rainy shrugged. “I
am a wolf, after all.”

Smiling at the worry lining Rainy’s face, he

nodded. “I promise I won’t run, and you can
explain you and your brother’s mate comments
afterward.”

Travis watched intently as a shiver ran through

Rainy’s body, goose bumps rippling over his skin,
and then bones and muscles stretched, contracted,
and shifted. Rainy dropped to his knees, fur grew,
a tail appeared, and Rainy’s face stretched and
contorted into a muzzle filled with sharp teeth.
Seconds later, a large black wolf shook out its fur
before lowering himself to the floor, trying to look
as un-intimidating as possible.

Kneeling on the floor nearby, Travis stared into

the wolf’s deep green eyes. He smiled and
crooked a finger. “Get over here, Rainy.”

The wolf moved slowly, his tail wagging like a

wary dog, still worried about scaring him. But as a

Werewolf At the Zoo

vet, Travis had learned to tell the difference
between an aggressive animal and a non-
aggressive one. Rainy definitely fit into the latter
category, and the need to bury his hands and nose
in his lover’s fur was too hard to resist. Wrapping
his fingers in the wolf’s ruff, he rubbed his cheek
against Rainy’s head, enjoying the soft fur of his
ears.

“You’re a very handsome wolf, Rainy,” he

murmured into his fur.

The wolf licked his face.
Both their gazes snapped up at the turning of

the bedroom doorknob.

A tall, muscular African American stood in the

doorway. “Well, I guess that answers the question
of how ye’re taking the news.”

Travis’s brows shot up when he saw Rainy roll

to his belly in obvious submission to the man in
the doorway.

The stranger waved a hand and chuckled.

“Why don’t ye get up and change, Rainy? I’d like
ye to introduce me to yer mate.”

A few seconds later, Rainy grabbed his jeans

and yanked them on. He pulled Travis into his
arms and kissed him deeply, showing with his
kiss how grateful he was that his mate accepted
him. A throat clearing, followed by a chuckle, had
Rainy ending the kiss. “Travis, this is me alpha,
Declan McIntire. Alpha, this is Travis Carlyle.”

Charlie Richards

Chapter Eight

e couldn’t describe the relief that Travis hadn’t
run in the other direction as soon as the talk of

werewolves and shifters started. Instead, he’d
listened to everything said, asked a few questions,
and embraced his wolf. Damn, life was wonderful.

Rainy had explained his side of things to

Declan, including that he hadn’t turned wolf to
fight back and had allowed his brother, who held
a higher rank in the pack as second tracker only to
their father, to handle the situation. Sure, words
had been heated, but nothing warranted shifting
in front of someone who didn’t know of their
existence, regardless if it happened to be
someone’s mate, information Clyde didn’t know
anyway. Declan had taken Clyde home to punish
him, and now Rainy was free to take Travis home.

“So, was everyone there a shifter?”
He flashed a smile at his mate and shook his

head. “No. Lark isn’t a shifter, although he does

Werewolf At the Zoo

know about us.”

“And Grady? Because he’d make a damn huge

wolf.”

Rainy laughed. “God, what I wouldn’t give for

him to hear ye say that. No, he’s a tiger shifter.”

“Tiger shifter? As in, huge cat? Wow, that’d be

something to see. What other kinds of shifters are
there?”

“The more common are wolves, fox, and lions.

A number of other cat breeds are out there, like
tiger and cheetah, but they’re rarer. I’ve even seen
a snake once.” He grinned at Travis and cocked a
brow. “Boy was I pleased that he wasn’t me mate.
I’ve heard of other animals, like bear and eagle,
but never met one.”

“That’s amazing,” he murmured, lost in

thought.

For a moment, Rainy thought he’d shared a

little too much information.

“You still haven’t explained this mate thing to

me,” Travis pointed out, relieving Rainy’s fears.

He loved his man’s curiosity. He parked the

truck and beckoned Travis to follow him. “I want
to hold ye, gorgeous. Let’s crawl into bed, and I’ll
explain.” There was nothing he wanted more than
to wrap his arms around his mate and hold him
and be reassured that Travis was still with him.
His mate followed in silence as he led him through
the darkened bungalow. Moonlight shown

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100

through the window, dancing over their skin as
they undressed and crawled into bed.

Feeling Travis’s naked body against his own,

Rainy couldn’t hold back the moan. “Talking on
the phone is nice,” he murmured, “but nothing
compares to this.”

“Nothing?” Travis murmured, rubbing his

erection against Rainy’s hip.

Rainy groaned, stilling Travis’s movements

with a hand on his hip. “Stop that, or we’ll never
get through this talk.”

He nodded and stilled, his blue eyes looked

almost silver in the moonlight as Rainy looked
into them. The way they looked, he felt like he
could see his future in his mate’s eyes: calm,
serene, and happy. “Fate grants each shifter a
destined mate. Humans might call them a soul
mate. We don’t pick them, but we normally know
them on smell.”

“On smell?” Travis interrupted dubiously.
“On smell,” he said, smirking. “Most shifter’s

sense of smell is highly developed because we
share our soul with an animal counterpart. I
smelled ye that day at the zoo and knew I’d have
to return to meet ye. We mate for life, and finding
our mates is the greatest gift Fate can grant us.”

“How does Fate choose suitable mates?”
Rainy shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe it’s as

simple as pheromones, two people that find each

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101

other sexually compatible. Most of the time, the
couple finds great happiness together, but it’s just
like any relationship where both parties have to
work hard.” Grinning, he traced the outside of his
mate’s ear. “Of course, with a shifter, there is the
added benefit of us being hard-wired, so to speak,
to want to please our mate, to keep them safe and
well provided for. But we’re also a tad on the
possessive side,” he added.

“And this is for life?”
Rainy smiled down at Travis and ran his fingers

through the smaller man’s blond hair. “For life,
gorgeous. If ye let me claim ye, and I admit that I
want to very much, there would be no other for
me. Ye are the only one I’d want, in me life, me
home, and me bed. We’d be partners.” Rainy held
his breath, afraid that what he’d just admitted
would finally scare the man away. It was a lot for
a human to take in.

Travis frowned.
Rainy’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
“What do you mean by claim?”
He let out the breath he held and kissed

Travis’s temple, his heart beating a mile a minute
as he admitted, “A claiming mark. I’d bite ye
here.” He traced the tendon where the neck met
the shoulder. “By mixing me saliva into yer
system and yer blood into mine, it would serve to
bind us. Me scent would always be on ye, and

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102

other shifters would pick up on that. They’d know
that ye’re taken.” His gums tingled, his canines
threatening to drop at just the thought.

“Oh, that’s not too bad,” Travis murmured. His

blue eyes searched Rainy’s face. “Anything else I
should know?”

“There is one other thing. Well, a couple things,

but this one’s another big one,” Rainy admitted.
At Travis’s questioning look, he blurted, “Yer
aging will slow.”

“What?”
“Shifters age slower than humans. Our average

lifespan is two hundred plus years. Yer aging
would slow to match mine, and—” he paused,
uncertain how to tell Travis any other way, “if I
died, ye would die, and vice versa. Our lives
would be linked.”

“Wow,” Travis murmured. “That is a big one.”
“Ye don’t have to decide anything now,

gorgeous. There’s no rush. Just—think about it,
okay?”

Travis nodded, reached up and kissed his

cheek. “I will. I’ll admit it’s a lot to take in, and I
do want time to mull it over, but what I told you
at your brother’s was true. I’m not going
anywhere.”

“Thank ye, Travis.” Relief washed over him. He

pulled Travis tight to his body and rolled,
trapping the smaller man under him. Rainy sealed

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103

his mouth over his lover’s and nipped at the man’s
lips. Travis opened eagerly, his tongue sliding out
to play and taste. Rainy rubbed his stiff shaft
against Travis’s and groaned at the delicious feel
of his lover’s hard cock pressing against his own.

Shifting so he could get a hand between them,

he grabbed both their cocks in a tight fist and
stroked. “Oh God, yes, Rainy, just like that.”
Travis’s hips bucked up under him. Using the pre-
cum oozing from them both to ease his hand’s
way, they started a swift rhythm of thrust and
retreat against each other through Rainy’s fist.
Breaking the kiss, Travis’s back arched, his eyes
stared up at Rainy in rapt adoration, and he came,
shouting Rainy’s name hoarsely into the silence of
the night.

The warmth and smell of Travis’s seed, the feel

of his body shuddering under him, tipped Rainy
over the edge and he howled his own release. He
rested his forehead against Travis’s shoulder as
his body continued to tremble, his breath coming
in gasping pants. He felt wet, open mouth kisses
trail down his neck and shivered. “Mmmm, good,
baby. Am I crushing ye?”

He knew he should move, if for no other reason

than to clean up. Dried cum on skin was not
comfortable, but damn did it feel good just to rest
curled around his mate.

“Yes, but I don’t want you to move yet. I love

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104

having you draped over me, Rainy,” Travis
murmured into his neck, continuing his
exploration. “You taste so good.” Suddenly, the
kissing stopped, and Travis’s head shifted.

Rainy lifted his head and saw a question in

Travis’s eyes. “What? Ye can ask me anything.”

Travis nodded, his brows creasing. “Is Lisa

Cliff’s mate?”

His brows shot up in surprise. That had been

the last thing he’d expected Travis to ask. “Yes,”
he admitted. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I was just thinking of the day

Lisa found out about us, and I remembered Cliff’s
words. You know, that you care for me like he
cares for her? Well, I got to thinking—” Travis
shook his head. “I don’t think she’s going to take
this very well.”

Lifting onto his elbows, he frowned. “What do

ye mean? She’s yer sister. I’d have thought she’d
be as open minded as you.” To Rainy’s surprise,
Travis laughed heartily, his chest moving
underneath him. He glared at his mate, not
sharing his mirth. “What?”

“Sorry, Rainy, but how can you, of all people,

say that when you’re gay and your brother is
straight? Sure, you’re siblings and you love each
other, but you have some big differences.”

Rainy nodded, he could see that. It was a bad

assumption on his part. “So ye think she’s going to

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105

have a hard time accepting Cliff’s wolf?” His heart
suddenly ached for his brother. Cliff had been
searching for so long and was so excited to find
Lisa. What if she rejected him? No, that wouldn’t
happen. “What can we do to help?”

“Ah, that’s one of the things I love about you,

Rainy, your big heart.”

Rainy could do nothing but stare in stunned

silence as Travis reached up and touched his
cheek. His mate loved him? How did that happen?
They’d known each other only a couple weeks. He
forced himself to listen as Travis went on, but
Rainy planned to revisit those thoughts later.

“We can just be there for them both as they

struggle through this.” Travis continued. “Where
I’ve always been interested in science fiction and
the paranormal, Lisa is far more down to earth.
Her book of choice would be on world history,
while mine would be a paranormal thriller. I’ve
always believed in ghosts, learning there are
shifters isn’t that big of a leap for me.”

“How did I get so lucky?” Rainy murmured,

kissing the man soundly.

Travis chuckled against his mouth. “Don’t say

that yet,” he murmured. “You haven’t met my
parents.”

* * * *

Charlie Richards

106

Enjoying the shower beating down on his head,
Travis tried to shut down his overworked brain,
but he couldn’t. He couldn’t believe that he’d
blurted out that he loved Rainy. The thought had
never even crossed his mind until he’d said the
words. It had felt like the most natural thing in the
world to say. Although he couldn’t imagine taking
it back, he wondered what Rainy thought of it.
Then another idea occurred to him. If Travis
refused to allow Rainy to claim him, he’d grow
old and die long before Rainy would. That
possibility was unacceptable. It didn’t matter that
he’d run the risk of dying young, because he
didn’t want to live without Rainy anyway. He
paused at that admission. He really didn’t want to
live without Rainy.

“Ye’re thinking awfully hard, gorgeous. Is

something wrong?”

Travis didn’t know how to reveal his decision

to Rainy just yet, but his mind scrambled for an
acceptable subject. “Are you interested in meeting
my parents?” Okay, that probably isn’t the best

subject to discuss.

Rainy paused in scrubbing his back and Travis

held his breath. “Ye really want to introduce us?”

He turned in his lover’s arms and rubbed his

palms over the solid muscle of Rainy’s chest. He
loved the way the water glistened on the man’s
tanned skin and took a few seconds to watch

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107

water run in tiny rivers down his body. Travis’s
eyes fixed on Rainy’s half-hard cock, and he had
to touch. Wrapping his fingers around it, he felt it
stiffen right up. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. We have a
family dinner every Thursday. I’ll ask Lisa if she’ll
invite Cliff. Maybe if they meet you before we
announce you’re my lover it will be easier for
them to accept.”

It was a long shot. Oh, who was he kidding? It

wouldn’t matter in the least. Once his parents
found out he was gay, they’d disown him, not that
it mattered too much anymore if it meant having
Rainy in his life.

“Mmm, sure, baby. That’s fine.”
He glanced up at Rainy’s face and chuckled.

The man’s head was thrown back, his eyes were
closed, and water cascaded down his body. He
had his hands resting on Travis’s shoulders and a
look of utter bliss blanketed his features. Travis
knew Rainy would agree to anything, while not
hearing a word he spoke.

Reaching his other hand down, he cupped

Rainy’s sac and rolled the balls around in his
palm. “Maybe we’ll discuss this another time,
huh?”

“Sure,” Rainy grunted.
Travis had to hold back another chuckle. He

took his hands away from Rainy and grabbed the
soap to slick them up. His lover groaned.

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108

“Don’t tease, gorgeous.”
“I’d only be a tease if you weren’t going to get

any,” he whispered huskily.

Rainy’s green eyes snapped open. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Lust blanketed Rainy’s features so fast it took

Travis’s breath away. He grabbed Travis’s
shoulders and spun him around.

“Brace yer hands on the walls and lean

forward, gorgeous.”

Grinning in triumph,

Travis did as

commanded, even going so far as to thrust his butt
out and splay his legs as far as possible in the
confines of the shower. He heard Rainy groan and
then the man’s hands were on his ass cheeks,
spreading him open for his lover’s perusal.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to

mention.”

“Something else you haven’t mentioned?” he

tried to tease, but his voice came out far too
breathy. He couldn’t make himself care when a
soap lubed finger slid into his rectum. “Oh, yeah.”

“So, I don’t even have to ask, aye?”
He heard the amusement in Rainy’s voice and

grinned. “If it gets you to hurry up and fuck me,
name it.”

A second finger slid in beside the first, and he

felt his greedy hole suck it in, welcome it. Yeah,
this is what he needed. His lover to fill him. No,

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109

his mate to fill him. Fuck, that sounded good.

“Shifters can’t get or transfer human diseases,”

Rainy whispered into his ear, sending a shiver
down his spine, causing his balls to tighten in
pleasure. “I don’t want anything between us when
I fill you.”

Travis nodded. “Under one condition.” What a

perfect opening to ask to be claimed. The fingers
paused in their scissoring, and he whimpered and
shoved back against them. “Don’t stop,” he
whined.

The fingers in his ass started moving again,

Rainy added a third and started pegging his
prostate with every stroke. Travis groaned, his
cock jerking, forcing bead after bead of pre-cum to
ooze from the slit and slide across the wide head.
The sensation sent even more tremors through his
body. He wanted to reach down and stroke
himself but was afraid he’d lose his balance.

“What’s the condition, Travis?”
The whispered words in his ear sent a shiver

through him. Shit, what was he going to ask? He
couldn’t think when his mate kept nailing his
gland over and over. My mate! Right. Tilting his
head to the side, Travis bared his neck. “Claim
me.”

Suddenly the fingers were gone, and Travis

feared he’d misspoken. But then the head of
Rainy’s soap-slicked cock nudged his hole and

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110

thrust inside, entering him fully in one smooth
glide. The burn in his ass made him tense, but he
pushed through it, and then the pleasure started,
releasing heady endorphins through his system.
Rainy’s mouth nuzzled where his neck and
shoulder met, kissing and licking the area.

“Ye sure?”
“God, yes, Rainy.” He clenched his ass muscles

around Rainy’s cock, loving the feeling of fullness.
Travis didn’t know how he’d gone his entire life
without this, but he never wanted to again.
“Please make me yours. I want to be tied to you.”
They’d deal with whatever fallout happened
together. His mate would never leave him, and
he’d never leave Rainy. God, that sounded good.

The man’s low growl at his words was the

sexiest fucking thing he’d ever heard. Rainy
started to move, pulling out and pushing in, each
slow glide ratcheting up his desire even more.
“More, Rainy. I need—I—” Words were lost to
him as his mate began to pound his ass, slamming
into him again and again. He tried to match the
rhythm, but couldn’t, all he could do was feel as
Rainy possessed his body, owned him, body and
soul.

When Rainy reached around and fisted his

cock, he screamed. His orgasm hit him so hard
and fast he would have collapsed if Rainy didn’t
wrap an arm around his waist and hold him up.

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111

And through it all Rainy continued to ream his
ass, stretching his orgasm out. Seconds later he felt
Rainy’s teeth on his neck, and the man bit. Pain
mixed with pleasure and he shot again, his body
jolted as he orgasmed again, sending several more
streams of seed against the wall in front of him.

Warmth filled his channel as he heard Rainy

growl against his neck. Panting, he rested his head
on a hand against the wall, trying to fill his lungs
with air. He felt a tongue against the wound on his
neck, licking the blood away. Travis trembled, his
cock making a valiant effort to rise again. He
heard Rainy murmuring something against his
neck, and realized it was one word, over and over
again.

“Mine.”
A peaceful glow filled him, and Travis nodded.

“Yours.”

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112

Chapter Nine

ravis pulled his truck into the parking lot of
Mario’s and glanced around. Hopping out of

the cab, he spotted Cliff’s sedan and saw the man
waiting at the door. He held out a hand in
greeting, but when Cliff took it, the larger man
pulled him in for a one-arm hug.

He took a deep breath and chuckled. “Well, hot

damn. Welcome to the pack, Travis. Me brother
didn’t tell me he’d claimed you.”

Glancing around nervously, he chuckled self-

consciously. “Yeah. Just happened this afternoon.
We had a lot of long talks, and I realized there
wasn’t any point in waiting, so—” he shrugged.

Cliff grinned and released him. “Well,

congratulations. I’m happy for ye both.”

“You think your, uh, pack is going to be okay

with it?” he asked nervously.

The man lowered his voice. “Are ye kidding?

Ye saw what happened when ye met our ma. She’s

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ecstatic we found our mates. The mate bond is
sacred to a shifter, Travis,” he continued. “Sure
there’s a few that are a bit bigoted, but thankfully
we don’t have too many of them in our pack. Most
will be very happy for you and Rainy.”

Travis nodded slowly, taking in Cliff’s worried

expression. “How are you and Lisa? I haven’t
talked to her in a couple days.”

“We’re good. I’m just a little worried about

what her reaction will be, ye know?”

Understanding, he gave the man a reassuring

smile. “Well, I know I’m not much, but I got your
back. I’ll do everything I can to help her
understand that being coupled to a wolf doesn’t
change the good man you are.”

Cliff pulled him into another hug. “Thank you,

brother.”

“Hands off, brother. Ye have yer own.”
Travis felt Rainy’s hands on his shoulders

extricate him from Cliff’s hug before he was
wrapped up from behind. “You wolves are a very
touchy feely bunch, aren’t you?” he asked with a
laugh. When Cliff just grinned and Rainy didn’t
reply, he looked over his shoulder and saw his
lover still glaring at Cliff. After a quick glance
around, he turned in Rainy’s arms and gave his
mate a quick kiss. “Relax. He was just
congratulating us.”

“That’s right, little brother. Congratulations.”

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114

Then Cliff smirked. “Be sure to let Declan know.
He’ll probably want to host a welcome to the pack
BBQ.”

Rainy grinned and released Travis. “Hurry up

with Lisa and we can get it over with together.
Where is she anyway?”

“Holding our table. You two are late, although

now I know why. Come on.”

“I’ve got bad news, Cliff. My sister is going to

want more than a BBQ. She’ll want a wedding. A
nice big one,” Travis told him.

Cliff groaned as he led them through the

restaurant.

Lisa rose and hugged Travis. “Hey, are you

wearing cologne?” she asked, drawing away.

“Uh, no. Why?”
She shrugged. “I just think you smell different.

Maybe it’s your laundry detergent.”

While waiting for their food, Cliff’s phone rang.

He saw the number and rose, greeting Declan by
name. A second later, he motioned to Rainy and
the brothers disappeared into the men’s room.
Taking advantage of the time alone, Travis stared
at his sister and dropped a bombshell. “I want to
introduce Rainy to our parents.”

Lisa blinked at him for several seconds, the

knife she’d been using to butter a roll poised in
midair. “Really? That was fast. You think it’s
serious?”

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115

Travis nodded. “As a heart attack, sis. How do

you feel about Cliff?”

She put the bread and fork down and stared at

the table for several seconds. “I really like this one,
Travis,” she admitted. “More than I think is wise,
since I’ve known him less than a month.” But
when she looked up, fear clouded Lisa’s eyes. “But
I feel like there’s something different about him.”

“What do you mean?” His heart pounded in his

chest as he waited for his sister to speak.

Lisa glanced over her shoulder, making certain

the men weren’t returning. “There’s things he
says. He refers to his family as pack, and the head
park ranger as alpha. It’s weird.” She nibbled her
lip for a moment.

Travis spotted the brothers returning. He

caught Rainy’s eye and gave a curt shake of the
head.

His mate stopped, cocked his head, and then

pulled Cliff back toward the men’s room.

“What else?”
“Well, Cliff acts like he’s really serious about

me, but just like now, if his alpha,” she brought up
her fingers and made quotes, “calls, he drops
everything and leaves the room to talk to him.”
Concern filled her blue eyes when Lisa met his
gaze. “Do you think he’s part of some cult? Have
you noticed anything like that with Rainy?”

Travis frowned, glancing over Lisa’s shoulder,

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he saw the concern on Rainy and Cliff’s faces. Too
bad he couldn’t speak telepathically to his mate,
like in some of the werewolf stories he’d read,
because he could really use Rainy’s advice right
now. Travis took a deep breath and fixed his gaze
on Lisa. “Rainy has told me about certain things.
It’s not a cult. Think of it more as a—”

“Oh, my God. Have they initiated you into this

organization? Is that why you know?” Her voice
rose as she talked, panic beginning to fill her
voice. “You’d better tell me what the hell is going
on!”

Travis caught the wolves’ gaze and jerked his

head. He held up his hands in placation. “Lisa, it’s
nothing like that.” Rainy and Cliff appeared and
Travis pointed at Cliff. Keeping his voice low, he
said, “You’d better tell her. She already suspects
something is different about you, but her guesses
are far more outlandish than the truth.”

Cliff nodded slowly, but Lisa wouldn’t let him

take her hand.

The pain in the man’s brown eyes squeezed

Travis’s heart. Damn, how could things have gotten
out of hand so quickly? Going around the table,
Travis wrapped an arm around Lisa’s waist and
led her outside. He refused to let her pull away
until they’d reached Cliff’s sedan. Then he buried
his fingers in her hair and forced Lisa to look him
in the eye, just as he used to do when she was a

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117

naughty little girl and he had to get her to stop
pouting and listen.

“Lisa, Cliff would never, ever hurt you. You

need to go with him and hear what he has to say.
If you need me, I’ll be at home waiting, but I don’t
think you’ll need me. After he’s done explaining
things, we’re going to take our men home to
introduce them to our parents. Then I’m going to
be disowned by father, and you’re going to be
well taken care of by Cliff. Understand?”

“They won’t disown you,” Lisa whispered,

tears in her eyes.

Travis used a thumb to wipe it away before it

could fall. “This is no time for crying, and yes,
Father at least will, and we both know that Mother
won’t defy him. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need
them. I have Rainy and you and Cliff. Now, go
with your man and let him explain. I promise, as
your brother, nothing bad will happen. In fact,
you may be pleasantly surprised.”

Lisa forced a smile. “I’m making something out

of nothing, aren’t I?”

“Well, it’s not nothing, but it’s not bad either.”

Travis kissed her forehead and helped her into the
car. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work, Lisa, and you
on Thursday, Cliff. Mother’s cocktail hour is from
six to seven,” he said, ignoring Lisa. “I expect to
see you both there, and don’t be late. It’s going to
be a hell of a show.”

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118

As they watched Cliff’s sedan pull out of the

lot, Rainy wrapped an arm around his waist and
hugged him to his side. “Now I know why ye are
me mate,” he murmured.

“Because I’m so gorgeous?”
He felt warmth in the man’s chuckle.

“Although ye are that, it’s because we needed ye
to help with yer sister. Cliff would have had a hell
of a time of it if we didn’t have yer support.”

Travis shrugged. “He would have gotten

through to her eventually. I just think he forgot to
censure his tongue from time to time because he
automatically assumed that, as his mate, she’d
accept him. He’s never told anyone about his wolf
before, has he?”

“Cliff? No. I think his last serious relationship

was almost thirty years ago.”

“Thirty? Just how old are you guys?”
Chuckling, Rainy led Travis to his truck. “Let’s

see, at last birthday, I was ninety-two, and Cliff
was ninety-eight.” He gave Travis a quick kiss in
the shadow of his door. “So, are ye coming back to
me place?”

“Can’t. I told Lisa I’d be home if she needed

anything, and although I doubt she will, I want to
be where I said I’d be.” He grinned at Rainy’s
disappointed look. “Why don’t you follow me to
my condo?”

Rainy smirked. “Excellent. We can watch Sky

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119

High.”

Five hours later, Travis woke to his phone

ringing. “Yeah,” he answered sleepily.

“A wolf. A fucking wolf! Why the hell didn’t

you say something? Do you have any idea how
long I hid in the bathroom?”

His sister’s voice screamed from the phone, and

he pulled the device away from his ear. “Lisa,
calm down. What happened? Why’d you end up
in the bathroom? Are you still there?” Travis
asked, frowning. He shifted onto his elbow and
glanced at Rainy behind him, taking in his mate’s
worried expression.

“No, I’m not still in the bathroom,” Lisa huffed

out.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Travis

asked, enunciating each word slowly, hoping to
cut through his sister’s dramatics.

“When we got to Cliff’s place, he sat me down

in the living room and told me he had something
to show me. He left the room, and a minute later,
this huge black wolf comes trotting in. What do
you think I did? I freaked.”

Travis’s eyes slid shut as a deep sigh escaped.
“Damn, me brother sucks at explanations. We

should have gone with them.”

At Rainy’s words, Travis realized the shifter’s

wolf hearing allowed him to hear every word Lisa

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120

said. He nodded. “You got that right.” Into the
phone, he said, “Why didn’t you call me? Where
are you now?”

“Um,” she hesitated.
“Just tell them, love,” he heard a sleepy voice

growl faintly.

Lisa huffed again.
Travis suddenly grinned, feeling relief. “I just

heard Cliff in the background. I think they’re
fine,” he whispered to Rainy, who let out an
exasperated sigh. “Lisa? What happened?” he
asked again.

“Cliff talked me out of the bathroom. I couldn’t

call you because I didn’t take my purse with me
when I panicked.”

Travis shook his head. “And?”
“Cliff explained everything.”
“And?” he pressed. Damn, when his sister went

into theatrics mode, it was nearly impossible to get
information out of her

Finally, Lisa sighed. “It’s no big deal. He’s still

the same guy, better even, right? I never have to
worry about him cheating or leaving me.”

Shaking his head, Travis flopped back onto the

bed. He let out a rusty chuckle. “That’s right, Lisa.
You found your perfect man. Someone who will
remain hopelessly devoted to you. Your every
desire is his command,” he teased. Lisa’s laughter
at the other end of the line eased the tension that

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121

had seeped into his body. He smiled. “So
everything’s good with you two?”

Lisa giggled. “Oh, yeah. We just finished the

claiming. Wow!”

“TMI, sis. TMI. But congratulations. Tell Cliff

the same, if he’s still awake, and I’ll see you in the
morning.”

“Bye.”
After he tossed his phone back on the

nightstand, he snuggled back into the warm body
of his lover and wiggled against the hard length
behind him. Rainy’s arm tightened around Travis,
his lips nibbling the side of his neck where he’d
marked him. His man hadn’t told him the area
would become an erogenous zone, but hot damn.

“All is well then?” Rainy whispered.
“Yup. Congratulations. You have a sister-in-

law.”

Rainy chuckled before flipping Travis over and

sliding into his still-stretched hole. “Well, thank
ye, gorgeous,” he murmured against his ear as he
began to move. “And congratulations on gaining a
brother-in-law.”

Travis moaned and tipped his head back,

encouraging his mate’s exploration. Wrapping his
legs around his lover, he opened to the man’s
movements. With his brain shutting down from
the pleasure, he used his last second of thought to
murmur, “Thanks.”

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122

Chapter Ten

hey released the wolf this morning.”

Travis turned toward Lisa, frowning.

“What wolf?”

“The one Rainy put in the cage to replace Cliff.

Evidently it had been purchased from an illegal
company. It wasn’t really a healed rescue that
wouldn’t have survived in the wild. It was
kidnapped from right here in the nearby National
Forest.”

“Lis, you have completely lost me. What?”
Lisa grinned. “Didn’t know, did you? Well, I

overheard Director Skinner talking to that
detective.”

“Detective

Stryker?”

Travis

asked,

remembering the huge tiger shifter.

“Yeah, do you know him?”
Travis nodded. “Yeah. He was at poker night.

Anyway,” he said, waving a hand, “continue.”

“Well,”

she

whispered,

leaning

close,

“T

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123

“evidently there are poachers in the National
Forest, and while Cliff was running fuzzy, they
tranked him and sold him to the zoo. Rainy and
some others replaced him with a real wolf from
the forest, which was just released into the wild
this morning.”

Smirking, Travis said, “That explains why you

were so protective of him. You may have not
known it then, but he was your mate.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Lisa glared.
He saw the amusement in her eyes. “So have

they found the poachers yet?”

“Not that I’ve heard.” The mirth left her eyes.

“And it frosts me that people would do that to
animals. If I ever meet them, I’ll give them a piece
of my mind.”

“Down girl,” Travis drawled.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Maybe when we see our

mates tonight, they’ll know more.” Lisa chewed
her lip and frowned.

Travis lifted a brow in question, wondering

what bothered her now.

“Cliff plans to ask Dad for my hand. Now that

he’s claimed me, we want to live together. I hate
having to leave him every night.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would suck. I’d hate

to have to leave Rainy every night, too.”

“You’re living together?”
The shock in Lisa’s voice made him laugh.

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124

Travis shrugged. “We’ve been at either my place
or his since one of Rainy and Cliff’s pack-members
outed their abilities at the poker game. All that’s
really left is consolidating our stuff and picking a
place. We’ve talked about something closer to the
pack. I don’t mind a little longer commute.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Well, it’s not like we can get married. It’s not

legal in this state.” Travis grinned. “But mates is
enough.”

Lisa grinned back and hugged him. “I’ve never

seen you this happy, bro. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks, sis. It does, doesn’t it?” Travis headed

toward the door. “Let’s get through tonight
without raising a fuss. In honor of your mate’s
desire for our father’s blessing, I won’t tell them
I’m gay yet.” Then he winked and headed out the
door.

* * * *

“As much as I hate to ask you this, please keep
your hands to yourself while you’re here.”

Rainy’s brows shot up. “Gorgeous, what are ye

saying? I can’t control me hands?”

Travis grinned at him. “Oh, I know exactly

what you can do with your hands and plan to
experience them tonight.” His grin faltered, “But
Cliff needs to marry his mate the old fashioned

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125

way, so we have to be just friends tonight.”

Rainy saw the sadness in Travis’s eyes before

he could hide it.

“It’s not like waiting to tell them you’re my

partner will change anything between us in the
end, right?” He cupped Rainy’s face and pulled it
forward.

Rainy kissed his mate gently. “Of course not. Ye

have such a big heart, putting yer sister’s
happiness above yer own. I know how much ye
want to share the truth, but ye do this so tonight
will be special for her.” He turned his head and
kissed the palm cupping his face. “And since ye’ll
still be in me bed tonight, it doesn’t matter to me
either way.” Rainy smiled, warmth filling him. “I
love ye, Travis.”

Travis’s eyes widened. “You love me?” he

whispered.

“Oh, yes, gorgeous,” he answered without

hesitation. “I love everything about ye. Yer big
heart, yer thoughtfulness, yer curious nature, and
yer incredibly sexy ass.” He pulled Travis across
the truck’s bench seat and held him close. “But the
thing I love most about ye is that ye’re mine.”

“Yeah?” Travis murmured huskily.
“Oh, yeah,” he replied before sealing his lips

over Travis’s. He delved deep, enjoying his mate’s
spiciness mixed with the mint toothpaste he’d
used recently. After a moment, he pulled back.

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126

“But if we don’t get out of here, I won’t be held
responsible for me actions.” Travis laughed as he
followed him from the truck.

Travis walked right in, not bothering to knock.
Rainy couldn’t help but stare at the man’s ass as

he led him through the large hall. His peripheral
vision showed a library on the left, but Travis
turned right, entering a lounge. Lisa and Cliff sat
on an ottoman across from two older humans. He
could see where Travis got his build from, as well
as his eyes, but those eyes on his father were far
too cold and calculating. The mother’s nose and
sensual lips softened Travis’s face. God, his Travis
was gorgeous.

“Hi, Mom. Dad.” The older couple rose and

Travis hugged each, before turning back and
placing a hand on Rainy’s shoulder. “I’d like you
to meet my good friend, and Cliff’s brother, Rainy
MacDougal.” He glanced at Rainy and smiled.
“My parents, Elizabeth and George Carlyle.”

“Very nice to meet you, Rainy,” Elizabeth

stepped forward and took his hand in both of
hers. “Please call me Elizabeth.” She glanced over
at Cliff before returning her gaze to him. “Cliff has
just been expressing his desire to marry our
daughter. We’ve given our blessing, of course.
How do you feel about gaining a sister?”

He chuckled lightly, trying hard to ignore the

coldness in George’s eyes as he watched from

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127

behind his wife. “We have three sisters already,
but I would be honored to add Lisa to our pack.
She’s a wonderful woman.”

“And you’d know about wonderful women,

would you, Rainy?”

Ah, shit, the man knew. He could smell the anger

and disgust radiating from Travis’s father. Rainy
glanced at Cliff, who’d stiffened at the comment.
Rainy grinned and refocused on George. “Well,
I’ve known a few, yes, but I don’t really think
that’s appropriate conversation, sir. A gentleman
doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“No, but you’re willing to fuck and tell, aren’t

you,” George sneered.

“Dad.”
“George.”
Rainy didn’t blink an eye as Travis and

Elizabeth cried out as one. His jaw tightened. “I
have no idea what ye’re talking about,” he replied
evenly.

George stalked across the room to the fireplace

and grabbed the poker before spinning around.
“Maybe you don’t fuck and tell, but your lover
does.”

At that Rainy blinked, unable to keep the

surprise off his face.

George smiled coldly. “That’s right. Your lover

Clyde told me all about how you dumped him to
try to seduce my son. Well, your kind aren’t

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128

welcome here. And if you don’t leave my boy
alone, I’ll make sure you regret it. I will bury your
accounting firm. Do you hear me?”

He couldn’t help it. He laughed heartily, unable

to stop even as George stalked toward him with
the poker and everyone else in the room stared at
him as if he’d lost it. “Clyde? Clyde Richards? Ye
believe that sniveling, arrogant excuse for a man?”
He shook his head. “Truly ye need to learn how to
sniff out a lie better because I wouldn’t touch
Clyde with a ten foot pole.”

George hefted the poker. “It doesn’t matter if

you fucked him or not. I had you followed. I’ve
seen you spending time with my boy. Good
friend, my ass. Now get out.”

“Wait,” Travis commanded, his voice calm as

he stepped between Rainy and George.

Rainy bit back a growl and clenched his hand to

suppress the urge to pull his mate out of harm’s
way.

“If you throw him out now, I will follow,”

Travis said firmly. He turned toward Elizabeth.
“Mother, I love you, but I love Rainy, too. He is my
future. Please understand. I love him.”

From the smell of her confusion, Elizabeth

didn’t understand any of what was going on. He
watched George’s face redden.

“If you walk out that door, boy, you’re cut off,”

George threatened. “I will not have a fag sullying

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129

the Carlyle name.”

Travis snorted and shook his head. “I never

wanted your money, Dad. Never. And I don’t
need anything from you.” He turned and grabbed
Rainy’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Even though Travis had told him what to

expect, it still pained Rainy that his mate would
lose his parents because of him. Travis reached up
and touched his jaw.

“It’s fine, baby.”
From the corner of his eye, Rainy saw George

move. He spun, putting himself between George
and his mate, and the poker came down on his
head. The blow staggered him, and he shook his
head, trying to clear the pounding in his skull. He
heard a snarl behind him as Cliff leaped across the
room and tackled the irate man, wrestling the
poker from him and holding him down.

Rainy stepped close to the struggling pair and

touched his brother’s shoulder. “Let him up.” At
Cliff’s surprised look, he shook his head. “Family
misunderstanding,” he murmured. Rainy saw the
feral glint in Cliff’s brown eyes and knew his wolf
was close to the surface. He shook his head, saying
softly, “Leave it be, brother. It’s not worth it.”

Cliff rose slowly, releasing the man. He backed

warily toward his own mate, watching as a
sputtering George heaved himself to his feet.

“Relax. I’m leaving,” Rainy growled, “but if ye

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130

ever threaten Travis again, I will not be so
forgiving.”

George’s eyes widened in surprise before

another wave of anger flushed his face. “Get out,”
he snarled.

Lisa leaped from the couch, standing next to

Cliff, who automatically wrapped an arm around
her and pulled her close. “We’re all leaving,
Father,” she said coldly. Her voice softened as Lisa
turned to Elizabeth. “I’m sorry, Mother. We’ll be
in touch about the wedding.”

Travis led the way out of the building, leaving a

speechless set of parents behind. “Are you sure
you want to do this, Lisa?” his mate asked quietly.

Rainy heard her sigh from behind them.
“No, but they’ve left us no choice, have they?

We cannot continue to bow to Father’s ridiculous
whims, and I refuse to lose my brother and my
mate.”

He heard the smile behind her next words.
“Besides, Mother will bring him round before

the wedding. If I know her, she won’t allow them
to miss their only daughter’s wedding.”

When they reached the cars, Travis grabbed his

arm.

“Are you okay?”
“Sure, gorgeous. A were can take a lot more

than a human, no offense,” he said with a wink.
“I’m not bleeding. I’ll be fine.” Concern filled him

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131

at how pale his mate was. “How about ye? Are ye
okay?”

Travis nodded. “Just worried about you.”
Grinning, Rainy pulled him close and latched

onto his lips, his tongue gliding inside, reassuring
him that his mate was indeed okay. A throat
clearing behind him caught his attention. Turning,
he found Cliff frowning.

“We need to go to Declan’s. We have to tell him

what Clyde did.”

Although all Rainy really wanted to do was get

home and bury himself deep inside Travis’s ass,
he knew Cliff was right. “We’ll be right behind
you.”

* * * *

Travis followed Rainy into the large rustic cabin,
taking in the hardwood floors shifters seemed to
favor. Rainy had said it was because claws were
hard on carpet. He’d laughed at the time, but
when he thought about it later, the logic made
sense. He followed Rainy and Cliff’s example and
inclined his head, baring his throat to the large
man.

To his surprise, Declan chuckled softly. “Thank

ye, Travis.” He turned to Lisa. “It’s nice to finally
meet ye, Lisa. I’m sorry I had to interrupt so many
dates.”

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132

Lisa smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, too. It’s good

to finally put a face to a name.”

Declan nodded curtly and turned to look at

Cliff. “Ye all seem agitated. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Clyde again, Alpha,” Cliff said. “He works

with Travis’s father and has been starting some
very disturbing rumors.”

Declan frowned. “What kind of rumors?”
Cliff turned to Travis, and he realized his

sister’s mate expected him to explain. “Clyde told
my father that he and Rainy were lovers, and that
Rainy left him so he could seduce me. My father
didn’t know I was gay, so it angered him. He tried
to hurt Rainy with a poker iron.”

The alpha stared for several seconds, as if

expecting more.

Travis remained silent.
Finally, he rose and strode from the room.
Travis glanced at Rainy, who patted his hand in

reassurance.

Declan appeared a moment later with a phone

held to his ear. “Yes, Carson. I need ye to bring
Clyde Richards to me. Now, that’s correct.”
Declan hung up the phone and smiled at the
group. “I was just about to prepare supper. Is
anyone interested in steaks?”

Travis watched the alpha standing at the grill

through the kitchen window. Hearing steps

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133

behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and
watched Lisa step up behind him. She wrapped
her arms around him from behind and settled her
head on his shoulder. Lisa followed his gaze and
saw Declan.

“He’s not what I expected,” she murmured into

his ear.

Nodding his agreement, Travis glanced back at

her before seeing the big, black man take a swig of
beer and flip the steaks. “He’s lonely.”

“Then we’ll have to find him someone,” she

whispered.

“Don’t go trying to play matchmaker with the

alpha, Lisa,” Cliff said from the other side of the
counter. He grinned at their chagrined expressions
and then he sobered. “The poor man has enough
people doing that without ye, too.”

Lisa held up a hand. “Got it. Don’t worry about

us. We’ll stay out of it.” Then she glanced slyly at
Travis.

His eyes widened. He knew that look. She

wanted to do some investigating into the man’s
personal life. “No. No! Absolutely not. I will not.”
He grabbed the salad and headed toward the
deck. On his way past Cliff, he hissed, “You watch
her. She’s got something up her sleeve that will do
nothing but embarrass you.” Cliff’s jaw dropped,
but Travis wasted no time escaping, leaving a
huffing sister behind him.

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134

Ten minutes later, Declan paused while pulling

the steaks off the grill to sniff the wind.

Travis watched the brothers do the same.
“He’s here,” Rainy whispered to him right

before Clyde and someone Travis didn’t know, a
sexy, darkly tanned Native American, walked
around the corner.

Declan pulled the last of the steaks off and set

the plate on the picnic table. “Carson, thank you.”
The man inclined his head in submission and
stopped near the deck. Declan turned his attention
to Clyde. “It seems we have a problem, Clyde.
When ye left last week, I expressly forbade ye
from going near Rainy.”

“But I didn’t go near him, Alpha,” Clyde

sputtered.

He held up a hand and Clyde’s mouth snapped

shut. “No, Clyde, but ye did something worse. Ye
slandered him instead.” Declan frowned. “Why,
Clyde? Why did ye do that?”

The man’s mouth opened and closed several

times before he managed to get any words out.

When he did, Travis’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Rainy is my mate. I’ve waited years for him to

realize this,” he shouted before turning and
pointing at Travis, “and then this human comes
along and tries to steal him.” Clyde turned back to
Declan. “I told the human’s father because I knew
he could keep them apart. Then Rainy wouldn’t be

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135

distracted anymore.”

Travis looked at Declan, fearing his response.

Would he side with him and Rainy? Or would he
back the other wolf who claimed to be Rainy’s
mate? He watched Declan’s jaw clench and a point
in his neck pulsed.

When he spoke, his voice came out a low growl.

“Rainy has chosen his mate, Clyde. He’s claimed
Travis. The mate-bond is complete.”

He watched as Clyde’s eyes widened in horror.

He lifted his nose to the wind and inhaled. Clyde’s
eyes dilated in recognition before his gaze locked
onto Travis.

“No,” he whispered. “No!”
Travis watched warily, backing instinctively

from Clyde’s wild-eyed glare. It was then that he
realized something in the man had snapped. The
man shivered, and Travis recognized the signs of
the shift. It started and finished so quickly, Travis
knew it had only taken a couple seconds. Ruined
clothes fluttered to the ground around Clyde as he
launched at him in wolf form. Travis instinctively
covered his arms over his face and closed his eyes,
but the impact never came.

Opening his eyes, he watched two wolves

wrestle across the clearing. “Rainy,” he hissed,
recognizing the black wolf. Both animals bit and
scratched, ducked, danced, and weaved around
each other. Both were approximately the same

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size, and Travis couldn’t tell if one was winning
over the other as blood and fur flew.

He glanced around and saw Cliff and Declan

watching intently, eyes fixed on the combatants.
“What are you guys doing? Stop them.” Before he
could move, Cliff grabbed his arm.

“Stay still. Ye’ll only distract him. He’s

protecting ye.”

At his shocked look, Cliff spared him a glance.
“Clyde means to kill ye.” He gripped Travis’s

shoulder. “This is our way, Travis. We protect our
own. Clyde attacked ye and that means the fight is
between Rainy and Clyde.” Cliff turned and
looked him in the eye. “Trust me brother. He
won’t fail.”

A loud yelp sounded through the clearing.
Travis spun around and stared.
Rainy stood growling over Clyde’s bleeding

body. The brown wolf rolled onto his back,
signifying his submission and defeat. The black
wolf let out a low growl before tossing his head
back and howling his victory. Backing slowly until
he reached the edge of the clearing, he began to
shift. Seconds later, a naked Rainy stood next to
the deck. Blood oozed out of several cuts and
gashes, but that didn’t stop Travis from launching
into Rainy’s arms.

Relief flooded him when he felt Rainy’s strong

arms wrap around him. “Don’t ever do that to me

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137

again,” he whispered into Rainy’s neck. He felt
Rainy’s chest rumble in a chuckle against him.

“Worried about me, gorgeous?”
“Hell, yeah,” Travis practically screamed.
A growl from behind them had them both

turning. Rainy shoved Travis out of the way just
as he spotted a massive chocolate brown wolf take
out Clyde’s launching form. Seconds later, the
wolf he didn’t recognize had his jaws around
Clyde’s neck. A loud snap echoed through the
clearing and the smaller brown wolf lay still.

When the chocolate wolf turned his gaze

toward him, Travis crab-walked backward until
his back hit the deck. Rainy appeared next to him,
holding him close.

“Relax, Travis. It’s over now.”
He trembled in Rainy’s arms as the wolf stalked

toward them. When the animal stopped ten feet
away, Travis noticed the eyes of the animal
watching him. “Declan,” he hissed.

A shudder rippled through the wolf’s body and

not even a second later, a massive, naked alpha
crouched in front of them.

Although his jaw was clenched in anger, Travis

saw the sadness in the big man’s gray eyes.

After a brief nod, Declan looked toward the

edge of the deck. “Carson,” he said.

Carson nodded. “Yes, Alpha.” The wolf strode

toward Clyde’s broken form, tossing a new pair of

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jeans to each of the naked men as he passed, since
their old clothes were nothing more than scattered
remnants on the deck.

After putting on the pants, Declan knelt in front

of Rainy. “Let’s get ye cleaned up, aye?”

“I’m fine, Alpha. Just a few scrapes.” Rainy

grinned, pulling on his own jeans. “I’d much
rather enjoy one of those steaks ye grilled.”

Declan smirked. “Ye got it.”
Travis helped Rainy to his feet and the trio

stepped onto the deck.

The alpha nodded at Cliff before turning to

Lisa, who’d tucked her lip in her teeth in a valiant
effort to stop the tears in her eyes from falling.
“I’m sorry this had to happen on our first meeting.
I hope this evening’s—altercation, hasn’t sullied
yer opinion of us.”

Lisa shook her head. “No. I’m just sorry you

had to kill one of your own. That can never be
easy.”

Declan’s brow lifted as a corner of his lips

curved. “Let’s eat. The steaks are getting cold.”

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139

Epilogue

wo weeks later

Travis stared around at all the people filling the
clearing. He couldn’t believe that all these people
were shifters, but Rainy had told him that most of
them were part of the Stone Ridge pack, headed
by Declan and named after the little mountain
town in Colorado where they lived. Travis found
it amazing that so many unique creatures were
hiding in plain sight.

He felt Rainy’s presence before he arrived, an

interesting side effect of being mated it seemed.
Travis knew when his mate was near, like a sixth
sense that developed to replace his lack of ability
to smell him. Travis grinned up at the man. “This
is a pretty impressive turn-out,” he said, taking
the beer Rainy offered him.

“It’s not every day that a wolf finds its mate,

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and this celebration heralds the finding of two of
them. Fate has blessed our pack,” Rainy told him,
grinning like a fool.

“And congratulations again to ye and yer

brother, Rainy,” Declan said, stepping up next to
them. “Yer matings have brought great joy to the
pack, and hopefully,” an amused glint lit the
man’s grey eyes, “Cliff and Lisa will supply us
with a few cubs.”

Travis laughed heartily. “Werewolf cubs? Lisa

will love that.”

“Ah, they come out human. They don’t start

shifting until they hit puberty, so she has many
years to get used to the idea,” Declan declared
with a laugh.

“Hey, guys,” Lark greeted, bouncing up to the

group.

“Hey, Lark. Where have you been hiding? I

haven’t seen you since you got here three hours
ago.” Travis pulled the small man into a hug. For a
second he thought he heard a low growl, but then
Declan coughed and cleared his throat, and Travis
dismissed it.

“I’ve been hanging with the cubs. We’re

playing near the picnic tables, and a couple of the
youngsters are explaining shifting to me. It’s really
cool. I just came up to get food for everyone.” He
grinned again, his excitement lighting up his blue
eyes and lovely, masculine face. “Well, congrats

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141

again. I’ll see you later.”

Travis watched him bounce away and laughed.

“Wow, I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Yeah, get him around kids and he just opens

right up. It’s something else, aye?” Rainy
commented.

“He’s not pack. Who is he?” Declan asked.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I should have thought to

introduce ye. That’s our friend, Lark Trystan. He’s
known about shifters since our Fourth of July
party a few months ago. Our father and Shane
initiated him.”

Travis watched Rainy’s eyes widen. “Oh God,

please tell me they informed you.”

Declan watched Lark grin at Carson, who

manned the grill and his eyes narrowed. “Lark
Trystan. Aye, I vaguely remember the name.” He
glanced at Rainy and smirked. “Sorry to alarm ye.
This is just the first I’ve met him.”

Rainy nodded, a look of relief on his face.
“Alpha, excuse the interruption.”
Travis

vaguely

remembered

getting

congratulated by the speaker, but couldn’t
remember his name.

Rainy leaned over and whispered, “Nick. His

name is Nick Greely.”

Slipping a hand into his mate’s dark curls,

Travis stretched up and kissed his lips. The word
poachers caught their attention and both turned to

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listen.

“Yes, I said we located the warehouse. We’ve

left a message for Detective Stryker and are
waiting for him to call us back.”

Travis watched Declan pull his attention away

from where Lark filled several plates of food.
Glancing at Rainy, he lifted a brow in question.

Rainy shrugged, trying to hide a smirk. “Well

what do ye know,” he whispered in Travis’s ear.

Before they could get involved with Declan’s

plans to storm the warehouse, Teline pulled them
away. They met up with Lisa and Cliff to take
pictures. Several minutes later, Lisa let out a gasp
and a squeal. Travis followed her line of sight and
grinned. “Well I’ll be damned. She was right.”

Lisa went sprinting across the clearing and

wrapped their mother in a bear hug.

Slightly nervous as he approached his mother,

who spoke with an animated Lisa, Travis felt
Rainy take his hand and squeeze. He smiled at his
mate, took a deep breath, and said, “Hi, Mom. I’m
glad you could make it.”

Elizabeth turned and smiled.
When she reached out and gave him a hug, he

felt a wave of relief flood him.

“Son,” she murmured, cupping his face. “You

look well.”

Travis smiled back. “I am well, Mom, but I’ve

missed you.”

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143

“And I’m sorry about that. I don’t think your

father will ever accept your choice, but I can
certainly see the appeal.” She looked at Rainy and
smiled. Leaning toward Travis, she whispered
loudly, “He’s a very handsome young man, isn’t
he?”

Laughing, Travis nodded. “I think so.”
His mother smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m proud of you for going after what you want,
Travis. I’ve always been proud of you.”

Her words caused a tension he didn’t know he

carried to ease somewhere in his chest. He’d never
heard her say that to him before. “Thanks, Mom,”
he whispered through a suddenly tight throat.

After patting his cheek, she turned to Rainy.

“And you, young man. You keep making my son
just as happy as he is right now and we won’t
have any problems,” she said fiercely.

Lisa giggled. “She said the same thing to Cliff,”

she revealed.

Rainy chuckled, returning his focus to their

mother. “On my honor, I will do everything in me
power to keep yer boy smiling.”

“Good,” Elizabeth said firmly before turning to

Lisa. “Now, about your wedding, dear—”

Travis watched his mother and sister head

across the clearing toward Teline, once again deep
in conversation about wedding plans. He
shuddered, feeling bad for Cliff. A hand on his

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arm drew his attention. A young woman looked
up at Travis, smiling shyly.

“So, do you think I’ll find my mate at the zoo?”
Travis chuckled, pulling Rainy close. “Maybe.

After all, I found my werewolf at the zoo.”

“Aye, that ye did,” Rainy whispered before

capturing his lips in a bone-melting kiss.

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her
supportive husband. She enjoys spending time
playing with her furry, four-legged children;
horses, dogs, and cats. When she’s not training to
compete in jumper competitions with her boys,
Apache and Tucson, she can be found curled up
with her laptop, creating a sexy hero to pair with
an adventurous heroine, or maybe with another
hero.

She can be reached at

ch.richards2010@yahoo.com

Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com