Who would have thought a waxing could lead to
happily ever after. Not Ashley Neilson that was
for sure.

Ashley Neilson was in pain, he was sticky in all
the wrong places and all he wanted was a shower.
So, of course it stands to reason that he would run
smack bang into Mr. Tall, Dark, and Crazy. Who is
this man and why does he keep talking about
them being friends?

Vaughan Jacobs doesn’t understand why

Ashley knows nothing about the mate bond.
They’re both shifters, right? Vaughan can smell it,
but as he gets to know the man fated to be his,
secrets buried deep in the past manage to find
their way to the surface.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright
infringement, including infringement without
monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a
fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,
and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the
author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hidden Wolf

ISBN: 978-1-77111-707-4

Cover art by Latrisha Waters

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

Published by eXtasy Books

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Hidden Wolf

Tassie Wolves 1

Tori Griffin

Dedication

To RJ Scott—Thank you for encouraging me to write a

new series.

Chapter One

really don’t know about this,” Ashley
Neilson said to his best friend in the entire

world. He looked over at Kieran Moss and
watched as he pulled the handbrake and turned
off the car. The wicked grin his friend bestowed
upon him made him even more nervous. He could
feel the butterflies in his stomach doing cartwheels
and dive-bombs and if Ashley wasn’t careful he
thought he might actually throw up.

“It’s going to be fine, Ashley. Just think about

the end result, not how you have to get there. I’ve
been getting them for months now and it feels
amazing.”

That thought really wasn’t very comforting. He

loved Kieran to death, but he did not want to think
about that.

“Ew, K, just ew.” Kieran’s laugh was almost

manacle and Ashley thought his friend was
enjoying this entirely too much.

“Get out of the car, Ashley.”
Ashley shook his head. Not wanting to move at

all. He watched with mild trepidation as Kieran

“I

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exited the car and walked around to his side.
Ashley didn’t bother trying to lock the door, his
friend had the keys and could easily unlock it
again.

Kieran opened the door and looked down at

him. “Either you get out of the car by yourself or I
drag you out of there. Which is it going to be?” He
jutted a hip and raised an eyebrow as he stood
there waiting for Ashley to make up his mind.

“I really hate you right now.” Ashley knew it

was hopeless to argue, Kieran would drag him out
of the car. Even though he only stood an inch
taller than Ashley’s own five ten and didn’t have
any bulging muscles anywhere on his body, he
was nonetheless stronger than Ashley.

Ashley had never been a fighter. He hated it

when people fought and often shrank back,
wanting the situation to calm down enough so the
issue could be talked through. He’d been the voice
of reason on the rare occasion when arguments
arose between his parents when he’d been
younger. Since Ashley had moved in with Kieran,
the pair of them had yet to have a real fight about
anything.

“No you don’t, you love me.”
If Ashley was a more aggressive person he’d

snot his friend right in the nose for the smug look
he currently sported. “Now move that sexy little
ass of yours or we’re going to be late.”

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With much reluctance Ashley unclipped his

seatbelt and exited the car. He felt like he was
heading to his death. He wondered absently if this
was what people on death row felt like, then
dismissed his silly thought immediately. How he
could even compare the two situations was
beyond him. Although with the way he was
feeling…

Before Ashley had a chance to centre his nerves

or even take a deep breath, Kieran had a hold of
his hand and was dragging him down the
sidewalk to the day spa.

The bright airy atmosphere of the spa warred

with Ashley’s thoughts and feelings. Ashley zoned
out completely, not paying attention as Kieran
spoke with the perky blonde sitting behind the
counter. Instead Ashley walked over and sat
down heavily on the couch they had in the waiting
area. Concentrating on breathing, Ashley jumped
when Kieran sat down beside him and placed a
hand on his thigh.

“Jesus, Ashley. Calm the hell down, will you?

Everything is going to be fine and you’ll be
thanking me for this in the near future, just you
wait and see.”

“I’m trying but it’s not happening and I highly

doubt that, asshole. How in the world did I even
let you talk me into this?” Ashley could barely
even remember the conversation from a couple of

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nights ago. Serves him right he supposed for
getting pissed in the first place. Ashley really
should know better by now than to agree to
anything Kieran says when they’d been drinking.

Kieran shot him another shit-eating grin.

“‘Cause you love me and you know I’m right.”

“As if. On both counts.” There was no way

Ashley was going to agree with Kieran. He
wouldn’t give his friend that kind of satisfaction at
the moment.

Just then Kieran looked up as the door leading

to the back swung open and two girls in a
matching uniform to the one sitting behind the
desk walked out.

“Gentleman, if you’d like to follow us please.”
Ashley swallowed the lump in his throat and

Kieran pulled him to his feet. They walked along
behind the women until one of them broke away
slightly, pointing to a room on the left.

“Ashley Neilson, you’re in here with me. If

you’d please strip and lay face down on the bed
I’ll be back in a moment and we can start.”

Ashley shot one last death glare at Kieran. His

friend just cackled and went into his own room,
already stripping his shirt before the door was
closed. Taking one last deep breath to settle his
nerves, Ashley walked into the room and
reluctantly started to remove his clothing.

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He was sore in places that Ashley didn’t think

people should ever be sore in. He felt sticky and
tender and he wanted to go home desperately and
shower.

Ashley had sworn, groaned, whimpered and

screamed—yes he’d even screamed—his way
through the last half hour of his life. He was
having trouble comprehending why Kieran would
go back time after time and subject himself to that
torture.

He was positive the entire spa had heard him

when the first strip with wax had been removed
from his body. He’d been embarrassed as hell
when Megan—as she’d introduced herself to him
while he was naked on the table—had asked him
to get on his knees, head down, and part his ass
cheeks.

Ashley had felt his entire body get hot with

embarrassment. No one should be that close to his
nether regions unless they had been invited
specifically by Ashley. Megan had most definitely
not been invited. He’d felt a stirring inside him.
One he’d felt before on previous occasions. It
lasted the entire time he was in there, but the
second Megan had stepped out of the room to let
him dress once again the feeling disappeared.
Ashley had never been able to pinpoint exactly
what it was that he felt inside him, there seemed
to be some sort of barrier or blockage that he was

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unable to get through so he could examine it
closely.

When Ashley was once again bundled up ready

to face the cold Launceston weather, he walked
out of the room. If he walked a little gingerly he
wasn’t going to admit to it when he saw Kieran
again. As he pushed through the door leading to
the reception, his gaze immediately zeroed in on
his so-called best friend. The wide smile and
knowing look said more than Ashley was willing
to. He wanted to walk right past Kieran and leave
the pain in the ass here to walk home,
unfortunately seeing as how Kieran had driven,
that kind of killed that idea dead.

“Not a single word,” he said when it looked

like Kieran was about to make a smart-ass
comment. Ashley ignored his friend and turned to
actually pay the woman for inflicting copious
amounts of pain on him. He even cringed at how
much he had to fork out for his torture.

Tucking his wallet back into his pocket, Ashley

pulled open the door and left, ignoring the
snickers he could hear behind him. Ashley tucked
his hands deep in his pockets, his breath misting
on the air as he walked along the sidewalk to the
car. He’d been so nervous on his way in that he
had completely missed just how bloody cold it
was outside.

Too busy concentrating on watching his breath

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mist in front of him, Ashley let out a grunt as he
walked right into a solid mass. He could feel
himself falling backward until large hands
wrapped around his arms and stopped his
momentum in its tracks.

“Shit, sorry,” he apologised quickly, concluding

that he’d run into the man that still held him up.
Ashley looked up at the man before him and then
looked up a little more. Jesus, the guy was huge.

He blinked several times, wanting to make sure

that he was actually seeing what he thought he
was and not imagining the god-like creature
standing before him.

Tall. Bloody hell was this guy tall. He had to

stand at least six and a half feet, the most piercing
green eyes Ashley had ever seen, a perfect nose
and lips that looked inviting as all get out. His
dark hair was shorn down to nothing but stubble
and Ashley wanted to run his hands over it to see
if it felt as good as it looked. The strong face was
topped off with what Ashley assumed to be a
permanent five o’clock shadow.

“Mate.”
Oh, how that voice sent shivers down his spine.
“Ashley?” Kieran called from behind him.
“Pardon?” Ashley asked the stranger, ignoring

his friend for the minute.

“You’re my mate.”
Ashley was starting to wonder if all the pain

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he’d just endured hadn’t affected his mental
abilities.

“I’m sorry, but I think I would know if you and

I were mates. I’ve never seen you before so how
can we be friends?”

“Not friends. Mates.”
The stranger was looking at him with a curious

expression now and that unknown part inside
Ashley stirred for the second time that day.

Ashley started to back away from him slowly

only to be stopped when he realised the guy was
still holding onto his arms.

“Please let go of me,” he asked quietly, his

voice trembling a little. Kieran walked up beside
him then and tugged him backward.

The man in front of them growled a little and

Ashley shrank back when another man walked up
beside the stranger.

When Mr. Tall, Dark, and Crazy turned to look

at the guy who’d just joined the party, Ashley
grabbed Kieran’s hand and they made a run for it.
Their car wasn’t all that far away and soon enough
they were there and clambering to get inside.
Once the doors closed, Ashley locked his behind
him just for good measure. As Kieran pulled out
of the car park, Ashley couldn’t help but look back
at the man who still stood on the sidewalk staring
right at him. He didn’t know what it was about
this guy, but something about him flicked all of

Hidden Wolf

Ashley’s switches, even if the man did seem a few
Fruit Loops short of a cereal box.

“What the hell was that all about?” Kieran

asked as they pulled out onto the road.

“I have no idea.”
“Who was that guy?” Kieran looked at him for

a moment before turning his attention back to the
road in front of him.

“Once again, no idea. He said we were mates.

Seeing as how I’ve never met him before I can’t
see how we’d already be friends. I think he must
have confused me with someone else.” Man didn’t
that thought suck. What he wouldn’t give to be
friends with someone that looked like that. Then
again, Ashley would probably make a complete
fool out of himself if they were friends and then be
too embarrassed to show his face.

“Huh. Weird.”
“I know, right?”
“So…”
Ashley waited as Kieran paused for a long

minute.

“How was your first waxing?”
Ashley groaned as he settled back in the

passenger seat.

“I really hate you.” Kieran just cackled at him.

Fucking cackled!

* * * *

Tori Griffin

Vaughan Jacobs stood on the sidewalk, watching
as his mate disappeared with another man in a
car. He still couldn’t quite believe what had just
happened. Hugh Pike, one of his enforcers, and he
had been heading to the liquor store to collect a
last minute order he’d had to place as his supplier
didn’t have what he needed.

The second he’d gotten out of his SUV, his

senses started going off. It took a moment for him
to sort through all the possibilities of why he was
suddenly feeling more alert and on edge, but then
the faintest trace of a scent caught his attention
and he’d been hooked.

Vaughan hadn’t stopped and thought, he’d just

followed his nose until it led him to the most
intoxicating man he’d ever laid eyes on.

Ashley. His friend had called his mate Ashley.

Vaughan liked the name. His mate stood a couple
of inches under six feet, had short brown hair that
had been spiked artfully, his almost sea-foam blue
eyes were soft and Vaughan didn’t think he’d
even seen another colour blue like it before in his
life, they were enchanting. Ash’s cheeks and the
tips of his ears had also been tinged pink,
Vaughan assumed because of the cold weather.

What surprised him the most though was that

his mate smelled like wolf, but was pretending to
have no idea what a mate was. His friend,

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however, was completely human. Vaughan
needed to find Ashley again and talk to him. Find
out why he acted as if he had no idea what
Vaughan had been talking about, and more to the
point, why he wasn’t apart of Vaughan’s pack
already. First he had to find the man, and that was
going to be easier said than done he realised.

Tori Griffin

Chapter Two

shley slept like crap. He’d been plagued all
night by images of the drop-dead sexy man

he’d run into on the sidewalk yesterday as well as
by dogs. Ashley had to really concentrate for a
moment before he corrected himself. Not dogs.
Wolves. There had been wolves in his dreams last
night. Lots of them. Ashley couldn’t ever recall
having a dream quite like it and frankly thought it
a tad disturbing.

Now though, as much as he hated to admit it,

the sun was shining and he had a new workday to
start. Even though he worked from home, that
didn’t allow him to remain in bed all day long.
Ashley had clients waiting for him to deliver what
he’d promised and Ashley never fell behind on a
project without a bloody good reason, and a
disturbing dream was not that.

Standing in the kitchen, Ashley bit down on his

nice warm piece of vegemite toast and savoured
the flavour. It was one of his favourite spreads

Hidden Wolf

with peanut butter coming in a close second. He
knew it might seem silly for a grown man to have
the same thing for breakfast day in and day out,
but Ashley liked it and really, he looked forward
to his breakfast every morning.

That’s not to say he didn’t have the occasional

cooked breakfast or porridge when he was really
cold. But Ashley hated cereal. Ever since he was
about ten, Ashley hadn’t been able to stomach
cereal and the way it got soggy if it wasn’t eaten
fast enough. So he’d just stopped trying and
switched to toast to start his day with.

As he waited for his coffee to finish, he heard

his phone ring and leaned over the kitchen bench
to pluck it up from where it had been resting on
the other side.

He looked at the caller ID and answered with a

smile. “Morning, Mum.” Ashley bit into his toast
again, nearly finishing his breakfast.

“Morning, honey. How are you today?”
His mother’s bright cheery voice carried

through the line and Ashley could feel the love
she had for him clear as day.

“Well, so far so good. I woke up alive again

today so that’s got to be a good start to the day,
right?”

“You’re hilarious, really.”
Ashley chuckled at his mother’s sarcastic

answer. God he loved his family. He knew in this

Tori Griffin

day and age with families breaking up left, right
and centre, parents kicking their kids out for this
or that or who they slept with, it was weird to find
a family as normal as his. Ashley had managed to
grow up in a household with loving parents and
an annoying younger brother. When he came out
at the age of fourteen and asked his dad if it was
okay that he liked boys instead of girls, his dad
had just pulled him into a bone crushing hug and
assured him that no matter who he liked it would
be alright.

“I know, but you still love me anyway.” Before

his mum could answer him, Ashley continued,
“What can I do for you this fine morning?” Fine,
Ashley’s ass. It was downright freezing. Ashley
wished he had a fireplace in his small apartment,
but unfortunately he just had to make do with the
heating. Even with the heating on, Ashley could
still feel the cold bite in the air around him.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re still coming

for Sunday dinner?”

“Of course, Mum. I wouldn’t miss it for the

world.” Ever since both he and his brother Toby
had moved out of home, his mum had
implemented Sunday dinner at the Neilson’s. A
roast was usually served on these occasions and
Ashley loved it. He usually dragged Kieran along
with him, not that he really had to twist his
friend’s arm or anything. His folks had often said

Hidden Wolf

that Kieran was like another one of their boys.

“Okay. We’ll see you then. I’ll let you go now

so you can get back to work.”

“Love you, Mum. See you Sunday.”
“Bye, honey.”
Ashley clicked off the phone and picked up his

cup of coffee that had finally finished pouring. He
chewed down the last bite of toast, then took a
nice long sip of his hot brew, his hands warming
nicely around the outside of the mug as the liquid
heated his insides.

Evidence had been left in the kitchen that

Kieran had already been through here that
morning. Ashley looked at his watch and
wondered if his friend had had an early morning
meeting he’d had to get to. He wasn’t usually
gone at this hour.

Resolving to call Kieran later and check on him,

Ashley finished his coffee before he put the cup
back on the kitchen bench and headed for the
bathroom. He needed to shower and then get
some more coffee so he could start his day.

Several hours later, Ashley stretched as he

leaned back in his chair. His back was starting to
hurt from being bent over his desk all morning
working away on his computer. Even with his
mind as scattered as it had been this morning,
Ashley had managed to get a fair amount of work
done and was happy with the progress he’d made

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on the site he was currently building for a local
pub.

His stomach rumbling, Ashley went into the

kitchen looking for something to eat for lunch. He
opened the fridge and stood there staring at the
contents. Nothing jumped out at him as appealing.
Ashley did the same thing with both the freezer
and the cupboard, hoping he would see something
he wanted. He knew exactly what the problem
was. He’d been staring at pictures of the food
served at The Den, the pub he’d been building a
new website for, and really wanted one of their
beef and mushroom pies.

Closing the cupboard doors in resignation, he

pulled his phone from his pocket and called
Kieran. Thankfully his friend answered after only
a couple of rings.

“What’s up?” Kieran said by way of greeting.
“You eaten yet?” Ashley hoped not, he really

didn’t want to go by himself.

“Just about to head out and grab a bite, why?”
“I want to go to The Den, I’ve been staring at

their food all morning and if I don’t get what I’m
craving I’ll just keep eating and eating ‘cause I
won’t be satisfied.” Ashley ran his hand through
his hair in frustration.

Kieran laughed at him and he scowled at his

friend even though he couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I
hear ya. I’ll meet you there in twenty, I’ve haven’t

Hidden Wolf

had a chance to actually eat there yet.”

“Thanks, man, I owe you one.” This wasn’t the

first time Ashley had called Kieran up wanting to
go somewhere because he’d been staring at
pictures of their food, and he doubted it would be
the last.

“Yeah, ‘cause this is such a hardship for me.”
“Smart ass. See you soon.” Ashley hung up his

phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He made
sure he had his wallet and keys before going back
and making sure his work was saved before
locking his computer. He didn’t work in an office
where just anyone could walk up and touch his
things, but he always figured it was better to be
safe than sorry.

Ashley headed to his bedroom where he

shoved his socked feet in to his boots, the laces he
left loose. His jacket pulled on, he wrapped his
scarf around his neck and then grabbed the beanie
his mum had knitted for him last year.

Finally ready, Ashley left the house and walked

the short distance in the freezing cold temperature
to where his car was parked in the complex car
park. The drive to the bar only took about fifteen
minutes and by the time he’d arrived, he was nice
and warm again, thanks to the heating in his
vehicle.

It seemed everyone else had the same idea as

him for lunch as the streets were packed with

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vehicles and Ashley was forced to park three
blocks away. The wind felt like it blew right
through him as Ashley exited the car and started
his trek back to the pub. By the time he arrived,
Ashley was freezing again, his hands shoved
down deep in his jeans pockets. All the warmth
he’d accumulated on the drive over was long
gone.

Ashley breathed a huge sigh of relief as he

pushed open the door to The Den and was hit
with a wave of warmth, immediately followed by
a wave of noise. It took Ashley a moment for his
eyes to adjust to the dim atmosphere, but when
they had he was met with a pub full of people. He
couldn’t believe just how popular this place was
for a Thursday lunch time. Scanning the crowds,
Ashley was starting to wonder if he would even
be able to get a table to eat when he spotted Kieran
about halfway through the place standing up and
waving madly at him. There was no way Ashley
would have heard him if he’d tried to yell.

He waved back at Kieran and then pulled the

beanie from his head and unwrapped his scarf as
he started to make his way through packed tables.

When Ashley arrive at the small booth Kieran

had managed to snag, he sunk down on the bench,
feeling like he’d just run a marathon to get to his
table.

“So,” Kieran said to him over the noise. “This

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isn’t exactly what I was expecting.”

“Me either.”
“I ordered you a pint.”
“Thanks. I could use a beer after that.”
“Tell me about it. I had to practically beat off

three other guys for the rights to this table. Hell, I
even had someone sit down and start talking to
me like we were on a date.”

“Cute?” Ashley asked teasingly.
Kieran just laughed at him. “Not even a little

bit.”

“That sucks.”
“Yep.” Just then their waitress arrived with

their drinks and asked if they were ready to order.
Ashley knew what he wanted and told the
waitress so and after Kieran ordered one of the
schnitzel specials—the reason for the busy
Thursday lunch so Ashley found out—the
waitress headed off into the sea of tables and took
more orders before disappearing out the back.

Ashley picked up his beer and took a long

drink before placing it back on the coaster and
looking around the place. He already had a fairly
good idea of what the place looked like due to the
pictures he had to go on the site, but it was always
different seeing it in person. He really liked the
feel of this pub. It had a nice homey quality to it.
The walls were all exposed wood, there was a
raging fire going in the back, heating the place

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perfectly. The tables, booths and even the bar were
all made with thick chunky pieces of wood, there
was a dance floor and stage area set to one side
where live music played Thursday through
Sunday nights.

There were flat screen televisions hung on the

walls showing all manner of different sporting
games and music videos. Ashley soon turned his
attention back to his friend and they started
chatting about their day so far.

He had no idea how long they had been talking

when a shadow fell over him and Ashley looked
up in time to see the drop-dead gorgeous man
from the day before place his meal on the table in
front of him and then place Kieran’s in front of his
friend.

“You,” was all his brain seemed to be able to

process.

“Yes, me.”
The rich sultry voice washed over him and

Ashley had to stop his body from reacting. That
small part of him deep inside seemed to stir again
and Ashley wasn’t sure if he wanted to jump for
joy at seeing the stranger again or run screaming
from the crazy man. Seeing as how he’d done the
running yesterday he wondered absently if that
meant it was now time for the jumping.

* * * *

Hidden Wolf

Vaughan couldn’t believe how busy he was. Every
one of his staff was run off their feet, including
him. He’d been called out of his office a half hour
ago to help out on the floor due to the large
number of people wanting lunch. Ever since
Vaughan had opened The Den a couple of years
ago the place had been steadily growing and
business was now booming.

He walked into the kitchen to pick up the next

order and yelled out to his staff. “Keep it up, guys,
these look great.”

“How are we looking out there?” Brandon, his

head chef, asked as he served up another plate of
schnitzel.

“Busy, with no sign of letting up anytime

soon.”

“Just the way we like it, eh, boss.”
Vaughan laughed. “Hell yeah.” He picked up

the plates, looked at the docket under them and
headed out the swinging door to traverse the
crowded room.

As he made his way closer to the table he

needed, his body started reacting in a way similar
to the day before. Even in this crowded room with
all the overwhelming scents around him, one still
managed to make it through to him and lit his
body on fire. Vaughan’s mate was somewhere
within these walls. He knew it deep down in his

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soul, just like he knew he was a shifter and that he
preferred the company of men over women.

Vaughan looked about almost frantically as he

tried to spot his mate, even standing as tall as he
did didn’t help him in the slightest as he couldn’t
see the man anywhere.

He needed to deliver the food and then go table

to table to try and find him. Vaughan couldn’t
believe how lucky he was to actually run into his
mate by chance two days in a row. Vaughan had
only managed to glean his mate’s name the
previous day. He hadn’t seen what shop they had
come out of, and even if he had, he doubted they
would be willing, or able, to give him any
information pertaining to his mate.

Vaughan stopped dead in his tracks as he came

round the corner and saw the same man that had
been with his mate the day before sitting at the
very table he was heading to. God he hoped that
meant Ashley was with him. They really needed
to talk and Vaughan needed to get some more
information on his mate other than just his first
name, like a last name or a phone number.

After what had happened yesterday, he was a

little hesitant as to why his mate didn’t recognise
him. The man smelled like wolf, in fact Ashley
smelled amazing to Vaughan. What he couldn’t
understand was why Ashley didn’t seem to know
what he was talking about when he’d said they

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were mates. It was instinctual in all shifters to
recognise their other halves by scent and the
reaction their bodies had. So why hadn’t Ashley?

Vaughan was jolted out of his thoughts when a

customer jostled him as he tried to squeeze past.
He apologised to the man and started walking
again, not stopping until he stood at the edge of
the booth and looked down into the seat that had
its back facing toward where he’d just come from.

The sight of Ashley sitting there, a relaxed

happy smile covering his face, had Vaughan’s
heart rate increasing and his dick stirring in his
jeans. Vaughan placed the plates down on the
table and then stood up straight and stared down
at the slightly stunned expression on Ashley’s
face.

Those stunningly beautiful sea-foam blue eyes

stared up at him with a mixture of excitement and
caution. “You.” Ashley breathed out and Vaughan
really liked the way it sounded. Would have been
better if it was his name though, he thought
absently. He watched as Ashley ran his hand
through his short spiky brown hair.

“Yes, me.” He confirmed, a smile gracing his

lips.

A fake cough from the other side of the table

had Vaughan tearing his gaze away from the most
amazing set of eyes he’d ever seen.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before. Kieran Moss,

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and you are?”

Vaughan grinned as his mate’s friend sat there

with his hand out, waiting for an introduction. It
didn’t look like Vaughan intimidated him at all.
Even though the guy was nearly a foot shorter
than him and a good thirty kilos lighter. Vaughan
couldn’t help but chuckle as he shook hands with
him.

“Vaughan Jacobs.” He then turned to Ashley

with his hand out and waited. When his mate
continued to sit there staring at him, Vaughan
raised an eyebrow and let a low rumble out.
Ashley reacted immediately, his head cocked to
the side slightly, and held his hand out for
Vaughan.

Fuck, the sight of his mate submitting to him

made him hard as a rock. Instead of shaking
Ashley’s hand, he held it gently in his larger one
and waited. The feel of his mate’s skin touching
his own had his body lighting up in ways it never
had before and Vaughan wanted nothing but to
throw Ashley over his shoulder and take him back
to his office where they could get naked. His wolf
was riding him hard to do exactly that. He wanted
to get to know the other man a whole lot better
and fast.

“Ashley Neilson.”
The whispered words were hard to make out

over the noise of people talking and eating and the

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music playing in the background, but Vaughan
still caught them.

“It is an absolute pleasure to make your

acquaintance, Ashley.” He bent down and kissed
the back of his mate’s hand. He heard the sharp
inhale of breath and smiled, knowing his mate
was just as affected as he was.

Vaughan stood up straight again and felt peace

settle inside him for what he thought might very
well be the first time in his life. It didn’t last very
long though when Justin, one of his waiters, called
out to him.

Reluctant to leave his mate, but knowing he

had to, he caressed the hand he still held one last
time. “Enjoy your meals, gentleman. Please call for
me if you should need anything.”

Vaughan headed over to Lucy who was

standing at the computer. “Table thirty-seven is on
the house. Anything they want. Make sure they
get some of the chocolate cake for dessert as well.”
Vaughan pulled out one of his business cards from
his wallet and scribbled a message, along with his
private mobile number on the back and handed it
to Lucy. “Can you please make sure Ashley is
given this before they leave?”

“Yes, boss.”
Vaughan watched as Lucy tucked the card in

the front pocket of her apron, not once did she
look to see what he had written.

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“Thanks, doll.” As much as Vaughan wanted to

go back and get to know his mate better, he had a
restaurant to run and other customers to serve
right at that very moment.

Hidden Wolf

Chapter Three

ell that was unexpected,” Kieran said with
a smirk as he picked up his knife and fork

and stared eating.

Ashley didn’t say anything. He didn’t think he

could at this point in time. His mind reeled from
seeing the sexy man that had haunted his dreams
last night. Ashley’s insides were doing
somersaults and his hand still tingled from where
Vaughan’s lips had pressed against his skin.

He also couldn’t explain the instant hard-on

he’d gotten when the man had growled at him.
The damn thing had a mind of its own and still
wouldn’t go down, making sitting there decidedly
uncomfortable. Ashley couldn’t ever remember
having such an intense attraction to another
person before in his life. He didn’t know why, but
he wanted to get up and chase the man down until
he agreed to be Ashley’s. Something buried deep
inside him told him that Vaughan Jacobs was
supposed to be his. How ridiculous did that

“W

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sound? Ashley scoffed at himself for his fanciful
thoughts.

Trying to get his mind away from the encounter

with the sexy god, Ashley looked down at his
plate. His stomach grumbled, letting him know he
needed to get a move on and eat already. The food
did look delicious.

“Man, that was so good,” Ashley sighed as he

sat back in his chair and looked down at his now
empty plate.

“Tell me about it. I’m thinking this is going to

become a regular occurrence for us.”

Ashley didn’t answer right away. The idea of

coming back here definitely had its merits, that’s
for sure. But did he really want to take a chance on
a guy that yesterday he thought might have been a
little crazy. He still had no idea what Vaughan
had been raving about on the street. Before he
really had a chance to get his thoughts in order,
one of the waitresses came back to clear the table.

“I hope the food was to your liking,

gentleman.”

“The food was delicious, thank you.” At least

Ashley’s brain seemed to be working enough for
him to converse again.

“I’m glad to hear it. Now please indulge

yourselves, compliments of Mr Jacobs.”

Ashley was a little confused until he noticed the

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waitress that had taken their order originally was
standing there holding two plates with the most
amazing looking chocolate cake ever.

“Yep, definitely coming back here again. If this

is the kind of perks you get, Ashley, I’m dragging
you along with me,” Kieran said, not once taking
his eyes from the plate as it was put down in front
of him.

“Please convey our thanks to your boss.”
“I will. He wanted me to give you this and to

let you know not to worry about the bill, it’s on
the house.” The waitress pulled out a business
card from her apron pocket and handed it over to
Ashley.

He took it and thanked her, but was too intent

on the card in his hand to watch her leave.

It was a pleasure to meet you, Ashley. Please call me.

A mobile number was also written beneath the
message. Ashley didn’t know quite what to make
of all this, but tucked the card away in his pocket
for later anyway. Now he had a cake to consume
and, if the noises coming from the other side of the
table were anything to go by, Ashley was going to
enjoy it.

It wasn’t until hours later when Ashley was

back at home sitting in front of his computer that
it dawned on him. If Vaughan Jacobs owned The
Den, then Ashley was actually working for the

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man.

Ashley frantically searched back through his e-

mails and, sure enough, there was Vaughan’s
name in all its glory. How in the world could he
have not reconciled this fact sooner? He put it
down to temporary insanity after the way
Vaughan had turned his brains to mush. The
business card he had been given sat resting
against his computer, in his line of sight for just
about everything he did.

As much as Ashley wanted to pick up the

phone and call the guy, he really wasn’t that
confident. He had no idea what someone like
Vaughan Jacobs could possibly see in him. Ashley
was so much smaller than Vaughan, he was quiet,
and hated confrontations and wasn’t all that good
in crowded places. The Den had been right on the
cusp of his comfort zone. Ashley had a feeling if it
wasn’t for Vaughan and his brain short-circuiting,
he may not have made it through lunch.

Vaughan Jacobs would never be his and it was

silly of Ashley to even entertain the thought.
Sighing in resignation, Ashley threw himself into
work, hoping he could forget about the very sexy
man and the way his body came alive at Vaughan
simple touch.

Nothing worked. No matter what Ashley did to

try and forget about Vaughan he couldn’t. It was

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like the man has slithered in under his radar and
buried himself beneath his skin, never to come out
again. He invaded Ashley’s dreams, oh God did
he. Every night for the last half a dozen nights
Ashley had gone to bed determined not to think
about Vaughan and every night he’d woken up
crying his name as his body released its pleasure
into his sheets.

Ashley had gone so far as to try and stay

awake, but he hadn’t made it much past midnight
before he’d succumbed to sleep and the inevitable
dreams of Vaughan. As erotic and hot as the
dreams were, they never started off that way.
Frankly they confused the hell out of Ashley.
Wolves running together in a large pack, hunting,
playing and some even rutting. Then the animals
shifting and turning into humans. Vaughan
standing before him in all his naked glory,
soothing and comforting Ashley as Vaughan
petted his fur.

Ashley had never thought he had such a vivid

imagination, but now all of a sudden he was
dreaming about Werewolves.

Sitting at his desk late Wednesday morning,

Ashley couldn’t believe how tired he felt. He’d
barely slept, and worked like a maniac the rest of
the time. Now staring at the computer screen, he
was starting to regret his choice of outlets. The

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website was done. Well as done as it could be at
this point. His client now had the opportunity to
look through the site and make any changes they
wanted prior to it going live. There was just one
problem with this. His client happened to be
Vaughan Jacobs. The one man Ashley couldn’t
stop thinking about and the one man he’d told
himself he wouldn’t call.

Ashley stared as the curser on the e-mail

blinked back at him repeatedly. All he had to do
was click send and the e-mail would go, along with
the site details, and Ashley’s phone number where
Vaughan would be able to contact him. Ashley
scolded himself that he was being ridiculous.
Vaughan already had his number from the
previous e-mails they had exchanged in regards to
the site.

Regardless of his personal feelings on this

matter, he was running a business and Ashley
couldn’t afford to let this get in the way. Sighing
heavily, Ashley clicked the send button and then
sat back in his chair. Both relief that it was done
and trepidation at what was to come filled him in
equal measures. Ashley would be lying if he said
he wasn’t looking forward to hearing that rugged
voice again, the stirring inside him was proof
enough of that.

Knowing he couldn’t just sit there and wonder

when his phone would ring, Ashley berated

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himself and returned to work. He had other
projects that would be due soon and needed to be
finished.

Ashley was pulled from his work several hours

later when his stomach protested Ashley’s neglect
at the same time his phone rang. Lost in what he
was doing, Ashley answered the phone. “This is
Ashley.”

“I’m very disappointed in you.”
“Hmm,” Ashley answered absently, still

concentrating on what he was doing.

“You didn’t call.” The sexy voice on the other

end of the line finally registered.

“Oh shit, Vaughan.”
“Yes, me.” The warm chuckle sent shivers

through Ashley’s body. “So why didn’t you call
me?”

What to say? “Umm. I don’t call people.”

Which was true, Ashley really wasn’t confident
enough to make the first move and call.

“I’m not just people, Ashley. I’m your mate.”
“I don’t know what that means. We don’t know

each other. How can we be friends already when
I’ve met you a total of two times and spoken with
you for no more than five minutes?” Ashley really
was confused. It seemed like the crazy guy from
their first meeting was back again in full force.

“That’s not the kind of mate I’m talking about,

Ash.” Ashley shivered when Vaughan called him

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Ash. Why did his name sound so erotic when
Vaughan said it?

“What other kind of mate is there?” he

wondered.

“I need to see you. You should have called me.”
Ashley could tell the other man was a little

frustrated with him, but was trying not to show it.
“The site wasn’t ready before today,” Ashley
replied, being deliberately obtuse.

The deep rumbling growl had Ashley’s prick

going from half hard to full mast in seconds. He
groaned at the ache he felt and pressed against his
erection, trying unsuccessfully to get it to go back
down again.

“Come to The Den. Let me feed you and we can

talk.”

The satisfaction in Vaughan’s voice let Ashley

know the man knew what effect he was having on
Ashley’s body. “That’s not a good idea,” he
argued.

“It’s a great idea. Be here in twenty minutes or

I’ll come and collect you. And, Ashley, I know
where you live, so don’t think you can get away
from me.” Then he hung up.

Ashley was left staring at his phone, open

mouthed. The idea that Vaughan knew where he
lived should scare the crap out of him, but all it
did was arouse him even more. “Traitor,” Ashley
groused as he looked down at his straining dick. If

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he wasn’t careful he would end up with a
permanent zipper imprint in his flesh.

Ashley stood and then sat back down again. He

really didn’t know if he should go and see
Vaughan or not. The man seemed like he might
have a few screws loose.

A minute later he stood again and made his

way to his room to get his jacket and scarf. He
couldn’t believe he was really going to do this.
Ashley would go and listen to whatever it was
Vaughan wanted to talk to him about and then he
could leave. He doubted that whatever it was
Vaughan had to say could be all that important
anyway. Bundling himself up against the weather,
Ashley walked outside and locked the door
behind him.

* * * *

Vaughan paced back and forth across the length of
his office. He’d been going out of his mind since
Thursday when he let his mate walk out of his pub
without leaving a contact number. That didn’t
stop Vaughan from doing some digging of his
own and finding out where the man lived. He’d
gone past his mate’s apartment every day, but
Vaughan refused to do anything until he’d heard
from Ashley. He wasn’t sure how much longer his
resolve would have held out.

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Vaughan couldn’t believe his eyes when an e-

mail came through from his new website designer
with Ashley Neilson’s name listed in the
signature. Vaughan hadn’t put two and two
together previously, although he should have, but
he had to admit his brain had not been operating
at full capacity for the last few days.

Now his mate was once again on his way here

and Vaughan couldn’t wait to lay eyes on the
man. It almost felt like a compulsion. His body
was aching for its other half and Vaughan refused
to let Ashley go until they had things sorted
between them.

He had a feeling claiming his mate was going to

be a hell of a lot harder than he always imagined it
would be. By the previous conversations they’d
had, Vaughan was really starting to wonder if
Ashley even knew who he was.

A knock on his door had Vaughan stopping

midstride “Come in,” he called out as he turned to
face the door.

Lucy walked in with Ashley trailing along

behind her. “Your guest has arrived.”

“Thank you, Lucy.” He smiled at his staff

member before turning to face his mate. Fuck, the
man really was breathtaking. “Can I get you
something to eat and drink? This might take a
while.”

Vaughan could tell Ashley was about to refuse

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him when the man’s stomach grumbled loudly.
The blush that crawled up his cheeks was truly
stunning.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you. Can I

please get the Cajan beef salad and a lemon, lime
and biters?”

“Certainly. I’ll have my usual, thanks, Lucy.”
“No worries, boss. I’ll put the order in now.”
“Thanks. We’re not to be disturbed.”
Lucy nodded in understanding before she left,

closing the door quietly behind her.

“Please, won’t you have a seat?” Vaughan

indicated the large dark leather sofa he had
situated off to the side of his office. “Let me take
your coat for you.” He walked up to Ashley, who
was still standing in the same spot, just staring up
at him. Vaughan smiled reassuringly down at
him, then reached up and unwrapped the scarf
from around Ashley’s neck and laid it across his
arm. He then started to undo the buttons on
Ashley’s jacket, stepping around behind Ashley
when he was done.

There was no mistaking the shiver that racked

his mate’s body as anything but arousal when
Vaughan’s fingers brushed lightly over Ashley’s
skin before he took hold of the coat and gently slid
it off.

Vaughan couldn’t help himself, he ran the tips

of his fingers down the now exposed neck in front

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of him. The scent of arousal permeated the air and
intensified Ashley’s very unique aroma.

For a moment Vaughan felt Ashley press back

into his touch before he seemed to realise what he
had done and stepped forward. Ashley didn’t stop
with one step, he walked all the way over to the
couch and then sat at the far side of it. Vaughan
wanted to laugh at his mate’s very obvious
attempt to get as far away from him as possible.
Instead, he placed the coat and scarf over the back
of one of the visitor’s chairs, picked up his laptop
and wandered over to join Ashley.

Vaughan sat down, close. He placed the laptop

on the coffee table in front of him and pulled up
the site Ashley had created for him. He didn’t
want to get into any deep and meaningful
discussions at the moment when he knew they
would be interrupted again by their lunch
arriving. So Vaughan figured he might as well
discuss the site with Ashley and point out the
minor adjustments he wanted made.

When Ashley realised Vaughan wasn’t going to

be making a move on him and wanted to talk
business the man thankfully started to relax. “Can
I get a notepad and a pen so I can take notes?”
Ashley asked him.

“Certainly.” Vaughan stood and gathered the

required items before heading back and sitting
next to his mate once again. He handed over the

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pad and pen and soon enough they were both
huddled over the computer, pointing to the screen
as they bounced ideas off one another and Ashley
furiously took notes.

A knock at the door interrupted them some

time later and it took a moment for Vaughan to
remember where he was. He’d been so caught up
with being with his mate and their discussion that
he had managed to exclude everything else.

The smell of their lunch drifted into the room as

Lucy walked in with Ashley’s salad and
Vaughan’s steak. Their drinks had arrived earlier
and Vaughan put the laptop away so they could
enjoy their lunch without having to worry about
work. They’d managed to cover all the minor
adjustments he wanted made anyway.

Lunch was placed on the table in front of them

and Lucy left after asking if they were in need of
anything else. Alone at last, Vaughan picked up
his utensils, his mouth watering at the succulent
aroma of the steak. “Please, let’s eat, then we can
talk about why I wanted you to come down here.”

Ashley picked up his knife and fork and started

to eat his salad. Vaughan had no idea how in the
world a salad would sustain a werewolf.
Personally Vaughan tried his hardest to avoid
eating roughage at any point. Give him a nice fat
juicy rare steak and he was a happy man. He
reluctantly ate his veggies, only because he knew

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man couldn’t live on steak alone, but his staff
knew to keep the rabbit food away from him.

They made light conversation as they ate, and

Vaughan was finding it harder and harder not to
reach out and touch his mate. He desperately
wanted to put his hands on Ashley, not only in the
hopes of trying to seduce the wolf into his bed, but
just because he wanted to feel the connection
between them. He knew once they had mated he
would feel complete, whole and that anytime they
were in the same room together it would be
almost like a compulsion to touch his other half.
Now the need was there, but it was muted.

Once he’d finished his meal, Vaughan placed

his knife and fork down and sat back into the
corner of the leather lounge, bringing his left leg
up to rest against the cushion in front of him.
Vaughan watched as Ashley finished eating, his
wolf desperate to get out and take his mate as he
saw the way Ashley’s lips wrapped around the
fork as he slid a bite of food into his mouth. Fuck!
If that wasn’t the sexiest thing Vaughan had ever
seen in his life he didn’t know what was.

“You know, it’s a little disconcerting to have

someone staring at you while you’re trying to
eat,” Ashley said, pulling Vaughan’s attention
away from his lips.

“Sorry, but you’re mesmerising.”
The blush creeping up Ashley’s cheeks only

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served to reiterate what he had just said.

Ashley cleared his throat and then he, too, sat

back against the corner of the couch, mirroring
Vaughan.

Vaughan hated how much distance there was

between them at the moment, but figured it might
actually be necessary for him to be able to get
through the upcoming conversation. If Ashley sat
any closer to him, Vaughan might not be able to
stop himself from reaching out and starting
something. They really needed to talk before
anything physical happened between them, as
much as it was killing him to do it.

“So…” Ashley’s voice trailed off, as if his mate

had no idea what else to say.

“So…” Vaughan copied him. He paused for a

minute and smiled reassuringly at Ashley before
he dove right in. Vaughan was Alpha of his pack
and as such was not about to pussy foot around
any problem. “What I want to know is why you’re
denying the mate bond between us?” He could see
both confusion and annoyance wash over Ashley’s
face at his words.

“And what I want to know is what the hell are

you talking about?”

“Ashley, every wolf knows about the bond

between mates, we’re taught about it when we
shift for the first time during puberty.”

“Umm…I’m not quite sure what to say to that

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except…What…The…Fuck. What are you talking
about, wolves and shifting? Have you completely
lost your mind?” Ashley jumped to his feet and
started to back away.

Vaughan wasn’t having any of it. Before Ashley

knew what hit him, Vaughan had him pinned
against the wall. Ashley breathed heavily and
Vaughan could feel his erratic heartbeat even
through their clothes.

Ashley’s hands were fisted in his shirt and

Vaughan couldn’t tell if his mate was trying to
push him away or pull him closer. Vaughan bent
and ran his nose down the side of Ashley’s face
until he reached the crook of his neck. He inhaled
deeply. Ashley instinctively tilted his head back,
giving Vaughan more room to manoeuvre. The
deep rumbling growl of approval at Ashley’s
show of submission toward him had his mate
shivering under him.

Vaughan flicked his tongue out in desperate

need to taste the man, if only briefly. The intense
flavour of his mate burst across his palate and
Vaughan thought the man tasted like the finest
wine.

What he couldn’t understand was why Ashley

didn’t know about anything Vaughan had just
told him. It was there, Vaughan could smell it and
taste it. Ashley’s wolf was definitely there, muted
somehow, almost hidden, but there.

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“When was the last time you shifted?” He

wondered if that was the reason for the
suppressed feelings he was getting.

Ashley swallowed hard before he replied. “I

really have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m
just me, I don’t shift into anything. There is no
such thing as shifting people.”

“How can that be?” Vaughan rumbled.

Reluctantly, he leaned back, bringing his hands to
hold either side of Ashley’s face as he looked
down into the beautiful see foam blue eyes. “Ash,
I can feel him, taste him. He’s inside you. How can
you not know what I’m talking about? Have your
parents never talked to you about this?”

“What’s inside me?” Ashley trembled slightly

in his hold.

Vaughan pulled him close and wrapped Ashley

in his arms, hating how scared his mate was.
Vaughan could feel it coming of him in waves.

“Your wolf, Ashley, you have to believe what

I’m saying to you.”

“Why? Do you know how crazy you sound?”
Even as he said the words, Ashley held on to

Vaughan a little tighter. No matter what, Ashley
knew deep down that he could trust Vaughan. He
probably had no idea why, but the bond between
mates could not be denied.

“I have a fare idea, yes. However, I would

never do anything to cause you harm. You know

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this. You might not know why you know it, but
you do. Deep down you know that no matter
what, I will not hurt you. I would rather cut off
my own arm than course you the smallest of
harms.

“You are my mate. A bond forged by fate itself.

You are the other half to my soul and my perfect
partner in every way. We are Werewolves. Or
wolf shifters as some people like to be called. We
are not bound by the moon, but can shift to our
animal halves whenever we like.”

Ashley shook his head and tried to pull away

from Vaughan. Not wanting to cause his mate any
more distress than he was already under,
Vaughan let him go, but kept a hold on his hand.
He needed to stay in contact with Ashley.

“You’re nuts.” Ashley tugged experimentally

on his hand, but gave up when he realised
Vaughan had a firm grip and wasn’t letting go.

“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“Would you like me to prove it to you?”

Vaughan didn’t think this was really the best place
to be shifting, but he needed his mate to listen to
him, and he didn’t think that was going to happen
until the man had proof that what he was saying
wasn’t all a bunch of shit.

“Fine, go right ahead.” Ashley smirked at him.
Vaughan smiled, knowing exactly what his

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mate was thinking. Reluctantly he let go of
Ashley’s hand, immediately missing the soft
touch, and reached down grabbing the hem of his
shirt and pulled it off over his head.

“Holy shit.” Ashley’s mouth hung open as his

eyes stared right at his chest.

Vaughan couldn’t help himself and flexed a

little, loving the fact that his mate liked the way he
looked.

“Like what you see, Ash?” he asked, his voice

low and husky.

“Ah huh.” Ashley snapped out of it as soon as

the words left his mouth and he shook his head.
He looked so cute when he was all flustered. “Can
I ask why you’re getting naked when you just
agreed to prove a point to me?”

“Ash, I can’t shift with my clothes on, unless I

want to leave here this evening naked, and with
the temperatures outside, I’m going to say no
thanks.” Vaughan toed off his shoes and reached
down to flick open the button on his jeans,
Ashley’s gaze following his every movement.

Vaughan slowly pulled down the zipper, the

sound of the teeth unclicking loud in the suddenly
silent room. Ashley’s tongue darted out and
moistened his lips and Vaughan had to force
himself to stay where he was and not tackle his
mate to the ground.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to control himself

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much longer, he shoved his pants down his legs
and shifted. The shift was fluid and smooth, he’d
been shifting since he was thirteen. When he’d
first started there had been some pain, it had taken
minutes to complete his shift the first half a dozen
times. Now it was all over and done within a
matter of seconds, first a man and then a wolf, his
body reshaping into the large black wolf that lived
inside him.

He heard the gasp and looked up just in time to

see his mate go completely white, his eyes roll
back in his head and then collapse to the ground
in a heap. Shit!

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Chapter Four

shley groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His
head hurt and he had no idea why. Ashley

blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and find
out where he was.

Vaughan came into view above him and Ashley

smiled up at the man. He couldn’t believe
someone as hot as Vaughan Jacobs seemed to be
interested in him.

Ashley gasped suddenly as he remembered

exactly where he was and what had happened. He
scrambled back, trying to put as much distance
between Vaughan and himself.

The man had turned into an animal. A frickin’

wolf for crying out loud. Ashley thought he may
have been going nuts. Either that or maybe he was
having some sort of delayed allergic reaction to
having his ass and balls waxed, something that
would cause him to hallucinate. Anything was
possible. Well anything except what he’d just seen,
but then again he didn’t just see what he saw. He

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was hallucinating and Ashley needed to go see a
doctor. Glad he had it all sorted, he now needed to
get out of here, and fast.

Unfortunately the very large, semi-naked man

in front of him seemed to have other ideas. Ashley
also might have other ideas if the man wasn’t
certifiable.

“Are you alright?”
“Pardon?”
“You hit your head pretty hard when you

fainted.” Vaughan reached out and ran his large
fingers over the side of Ashley’s head.

Ashley couldn’t explain why he didn’t pull

away or how good it always felt when this man
touched him. He also wanted to know why in the
world he felt so safe in Vaughan’s presence given
what he had not just witnessed.

“I’m fine, well at least, I think I am. I really

didn’t just see what I think I did, did I?” Ashley
closed his eyes and groaned, how much of an idiot
did that sentence make him sound like? Hell he
said it and he could barely make sense of it.

Vaughan laughed, the sound rich and deep.
Ashley felt it pull at something inside him.
“Yes you really did just see me turn into a

wolf.”

“Man, couldn’t you have lied to me or

something?”

“Sorry, but I make it a habit to try not to lie to

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my mate.” Vaughan’s hand had worked its way
down his body without Ashley really noticing
until Vaughan now held onto Ashley’s hand.

“I so don’t understand what you’re talking

about.”

“And that is troubling to me. Why don’t you

understand? You should know all about shifters as
you are one.”

Ashley scoffed “I think I would remember it if I

turned furry.”

Vaughan watched him intensely.
Ashley had the strangest desire to tilt his head

to the side and bare his neck. Weirded out by the
feeling, he spoke before he thought it, “Why did I
just feel that way?”

“What way?”
“Like I wanted to bare my neck to you.”

Vaughan’s expression was a little hard to read, so
Ashley just waited. It took a moment as Vaughan
seemed to be gathering his thoughts, but finally he
spoke.

“Because I am both your mate and an Alpha.

It’s in your blood to submit to me at all times. You
are a wolf shifter, Ashley. I have no idea why you
haven’t shifted, as you say you have not. I also
don’t understand why your parents have never
taught you about our culture or pack. Wolf
shifters are born, not made, and can only be born
if at least one of the parents is a shifter.” Vaughan

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paused and took a breath, when he spoke again,
his voice was low and laced with caring. “Have
your parents passed?”

It took Ashley a moment for understanding to

sink in about what Vaughan meant. “No, my
parents are alive and live in the next suburb over
from me. My family is close, but I’ve never once
heard them mention anything about wolves.”
Ashley hated the thought that his parents might
have been keeping this a secret from him. His
family had always been open and honest, and it
hurt something in Ashley to believe his mum and
dad could keep something so big from him.

“I know we’ve just met and it’s going to take

time for you to trust me. But, Ash, I need to meet
your parents. I need to get to the bottom of why
you haven’t shifted, why you know nothing of
mates or pack. Plus if there are wolves in my
territory that are not part of my pack I need to find
out.”

This was all happening too fast for Ashley. He

had no idea what to think or who to believe. He
liked Vaughan. The half hard dick in his pants
was testament to that, even after everything
tonight. The larger man made him feel in ways he
never had before and didn’t think were possible.
The big question though was whether or not he
trusted Vaughan around his family.

As scared as he had been when Vaughan had

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shifted in front of him, and as trippy as it was
learning there was an entire world out there that
Ashley knew nothing about, somehow it all kind
of made sense. Like he had known something had
been missing from his life all along. Ashley had
always felt as if he wasn’t complete and now,
knowing what he knew, Ashley started to wonder
if the stirrings inside him all this time might
actually be his wolf.

“I think I can feel him,” Ashley blurted, once

again speaking before thinking.

“Who?” Vaughan looked confused, but

squeezed his hand gently to reassure him.

“My wolf.” Whatever Vaughan had been

expecting Ashley to say it obviously wasn’t that.
The complete shock on his face conveyed his
astonishment.

“Really?”
“Yeah.” Ashley blushed and looked away,

thinking about the part inside him that had always
felt different and fluttered at odd times. “He’s
been there for as long as I can remember, but he’s
hidden or maybe buried is a better description. I
can feel him deep down inside me, most of the
time he’s quiet and I forget all about him, but then
sometimes he’s not. Since I met you it’s been
almost a constant feeling.”

Vaughan looked happy with a faint trace of

smugness at his last confession. “We’ll get him

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out, Ash, I promise.”

Ashley really didn’t know if he should be

scared or relieved by that. “Why didn’t I shift
when I should have?”

“I’m not sure.” Vaughan reached up and

cupped his cheek with his other hand.

Ashley nuzzled into the large palm, enjoying

the warmth and touch.

“It could be any number of reasons. Something

may have happened to you when you were
younger, one of your parents might be human, or
your wolf might just not be ready yet.”

“What does one of my parents being human

have to do with anything?”

“I told you already that Werewolves have to be

born, they can’t be made. It’s one of the many
things the movies got wrong. A human cannot be
converted into a werewolf with a bite. Most
wolves mate with other wolves. It’s very rare
when a wolf mates with a human. It’s not against
the rules or anything, just very rare.

“The children of these unions are always

wolves as the werewolf gene is more dominant
than the human one. However, not all the children
shift for the first time when a full blooded
werewolf does. It usually happens at the onset to
puberty. Some half wolves have been known to
shift as late as eighteen or nineteen even.”

“Vaughan, I’m twenty-six. That’s a hell of a lot

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older than nineteen,” Ashley said, starting to
worry that there was something wrong with him.

“I know, Ash,” Vaughan said as he pulled

Ashley into his arms. “I promise you, we will get
to the bottom of this. Everything is going to be
fine.”

Ashley felt himself calming almost immediately

as Vaughan’s hand rubbed up and down his back
in soothing strokes.

Ashley snuggled into the larger man, enjoying

the heat that seemed to radiate out from Vaughan.
His scent was also quite intoxicating this close and
Ashley found himself drawing in large lungfuls of
air. If Ashley could wallow in that smell for the
rest of his life he would be one happy man. He just
wanted to grab it and wrap it tight around him
like the cosiest of blankets.

“Why don’t you call your folks, Ash, and ask

them to meet you here for dinner? That way we’re
in a public place and no discussion of wolves or
shifters can happen, we can just get to know one
another, because no matter what, I plan to have
you in my life for a very long time.” Vaughan
squeezed him a little.

Once again Ashley was both a little scared and

overjoyed at the prospect that this large, gorgeous
man seemed to want to keep him.

“However,” Vaughan continued, “they will be

able to tell I’m an Alpha and that should,

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hopefully, lead to a more private talk a little later.
How’s that sound to you?”

“Umm…Which part exactly? The dinner, the

having of me or the talk with my parents?”
Vaughan laughed and the sound rumbled all the
way through his chest.

“All of it.”
“I think…I think it sounds good.”
“I’m glad.” Vaughn squeezed him again and

bent down and placed a kiss on the top of his
head. Vaughan manoeuvred them until he was
more lying on the couch, then sitting.

Ashley found himself draped over the man like

a living blanket. He was so comfortable, Ashley
thought he might be able to sleep after all, the
excitement of the day seemed to have worn him
out.

“Here, Ash,” Vaughan handed him a mobile,

“call your folks and see if they’re free for dinner.”

Ashley took the phone and, without moving

from his comfortable position, dialled his parents
and waited for the call to be answered. His dad
picked up after a half dozen rings.

“Hello.”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Ashley, to what do I owe this pleasure?” His

dad was always pleased to hear from either of his
two boys.

“I wanted to ask if you and Mum would like to

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join me and a friend for dinner tonight at The
Den.” Ashley smacked Vaughan in the side when
the big guy started growling at the term Ashley
had used to describe him. He shot a look up at
Vaughan, telling him silently to stop it, the man
didn’t look apologetic in the least.

“Kieran?” his dad asked.
“No, Dad, not Kieran. A different friend, his

name in Vaughan.” The growl started up again
and, as annoying as it was, Ashley also found it
extremely sexy.

“Oh, okay then. Well we don’t have anything

special planned for tonight so what time?”

“How about seven?”
“Sounds good. We’ll see you then.”
“Great, love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too, son.”
His dad hung up the phone and Ashley handed

his back to Vaughan.

“What in the world was all that growling about,

I was on the phone with my dad. How did you
expect me to explain that if he had heard you?”

Vaughan shrugged as if it really wasn’t that

important. “I didn’t like you referring to me as a
friend. You are my mate and that is so much more
than mere friendship.”

“So you say.”
“I do,” Vaughan’s arms tightened around him.
Ashley didn’t attempt to escape. He still wasn’t

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a hundred percent sure exactly what being a mate
meant, but he did know that despite everything,
he felt a connection to Vaughan and if there was
even a remote possibility that this man wanted
him for life then who was he to say no.

“Even though you can’t shift, you feel the

connection between us. I know you do. You might
not fully understand it yet, but you are mine,
Ashley. Mine to look after, mine to cherish and
most of all, mine to love.”

Ashley hated to admit it, but that all sounded

rather good to him.

“For now all you need to do is rest. You’ve had

one hell of a day so far and a little nap will do you
some good.”

Ashley wasn’t about to argue the point with

Vaughan because he was exhausted, his eyes
drifted closed within moments of Ashley deciding
to take Vaughan up on his offer and before he
knew it, sleep had overtaken him.

* * * *

Vaughan lay on the couch with his mate for nearly
an hour, doing nothing but holding Ashley close
to him. God, it felt so good to have his mate in his
arms. He knew they had a long way to go figuring
out everything, but hopefully Ashley would let
Vaughan claim him soon. His wolf was jumping at

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the bit with the possibility.

Unfortunately for him he couldn’t stay here all

day, he had a pub to run, orders to make and bills
to pay. Very carefully, so as not to disturb Ashley,
Vaughan gently manoeuvred Ashley over onto the
actual couch and slipped out from underneath
him. Standing, he looked down at the peaceful
expression on his mate’s face and lightly ran his
fingers down his cheek, needing that little touch.
Vaughan grabbed the throw off the back on the
couch and placed it over Ashley, hoping his mate
would be warm enough.

He picked up the laptop from where it had

been left on the coffee table and headed back to his
desk. He then finished dressing in case one of his
staff members wanted him. They had been lucky
so far and had been left alone as per his
instructions, but Vaughan couldn’t expect that to
last forever.

First order of business was to call through to

the front and let them know he would need a table
for four tonight as he would be dining in house.
Once that was taken care of Vaughan unlocked his
laptop and went to work.

Ashley started to stir from his sleep and

Vaughan looked up from what he had been
concentrating on. He checked the clock on the wall
and realised an hour and a half had passed. He

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grabbed a bottle of water that he kept in a small
mini fridge behind his desk and walked over to
Ashley.

Vaughan sat on the coffee table and watched as

his mate fully woke from his sleep. The man was
utterly adorable, his face creased from where it
had been pressed against the cushion.

Ashley’s hand came up and rubbed at his eyes

before he blinked them rapidly.

“Afternoon, sleepyhead.”
“What’s the time?” Ashley’s voice was rough

with sleep.

Vaughan couldn’t wait to hear his name first

thing in the morning in that exactly same tone. “A
little after three.”

“Shit!” Ashley sat up quickly, then grabbed his

head. “Wow, head rush.”

Vaughan chuckled. “Take your time, Ash,

there’s no rush.”

“Yes, there is. I have work I need to get done

and taking a lunch break for more than three
hours is not going to get it done. I need to head
home and work for a little while. I’ll be back for
dinner before seven.”

As much as Vaughan hated to see his mate

leave, he understood that Ashley needed to earn a
living as well. He wasn’t happy about watching
his mate walk out of his office, but there really
wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. Besides,

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Ashley would be back in less than four hours.

Just as Ashley reached the door to his office,

Vaughan called out to him. Ashley turned around
and looked at him. Vaughan stalked over to his
mate, took his face in his large hands and bent
down and plastered his lips to Ashley’s.

Ashley’s hands went immediately to the front

of his shirt, fisting the material. Vaughan licked at
Ashley’s lips until the man opened and allowed
him entry. Vaughan didn’t waste any time,
wanting to taste this man and lay claim to him
even if it was only with a kiss. He wanted Ashley
to remember it while they were apart.

Knowing he had to let Ashley go at some point,

Vaughan slowly gentled the kiss before breaking it
altogether.

Vaughan looked down at his mate and smirked.

He lips were red and swollen, anyone who saw
him would know the man had been kissed to
within an inch of his life. His eyes were glazed
and his cheeks were pink. Altogether the look was
stunning and Vaughan wanted to throw Ashley
back down on the couch and fuck him until they
both passed out and there was no doubt left
between them that Ashley belonged to Vaughan.

“You had best leave before you are no longer

able to,” Vaughan said, his own voice sounding
much lower than it usually was, lust and heat,
riding him hard at the moment.

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Ashley nodded before he turned and practically

ran from the office.

Vaughan chuckled to himself. His mate could

run all he wanted, it wasn’t going to do him any
good. Vaughan might give him a little time, but he
would make Ashley his one way or another.

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Chapter Five

aughan left work around five and headed
home. He wanted to clean up before meeting

his mate and his new in-laws for dinner. The drive
took him a little longer than usual as he had to
contend with all the other nine to five workers
who were also trying to get home.

Twenty-five minutes later Vaughan finally

pulled up in front of his house. He pressed the
button attached to his visor and the garage door
slowly started to open. Vaughan pulled his
Outlander in and parked it next to his Ducati
Monster. He missed riding his bike, but
unfortunately at this time of year it was just far too
cold to be able to take the bike out for a ride.

Vaughan closed the garage door behind him

and made his way into the house through the
connecting door that led into his kitchen. He loved
his home, he really did, but he’d always felt as if
something was missing. It was a little large just for
him as it had five bedrooms, three baths and a

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three car garage, but with all the visitors received
as Alpha of the pack, it suited his needs ideally.
Vaughan hoped that when Ashley moved in—and
he would, soon if Vaughan had anything to say
about it—the feeling that something was missing
would disappear.

He walked to the fridge and grabbed out a beer.

Twisting the top off, Vaughan brought the cold
glass bottle to his lips and drank deeply. Vaughan
held onto his beer as he made his way through the
carpeted house and up the stairs to his bedroom.
His room was large, it had to be to accommodate
his king size bed. The bed was made out of dark
mahogany with a large headboard, but no
footboard, that was something Vaughan had
learnt a long time ago due to his height.

The side tables, tallboy and dresser all matched

in the same dark wood and sleek lines. There
wasn’t a handle in sight as all the draws were
push to release.

The fireplace in the corner with a small couch

set off his room nicely. That area received a lot of
use in the winter. Only the living room and the
master bedroom had their own fireplaces. He did
have central heating, but there was just something
about curling up in front of a raging fire that
Vaughan enjoyed. He couldn’t wait to do it with
his mate.

Vaughan swallowed the last of his beer and

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placed the now empty bottle down on top of his
dresser to dispose of when he left again.

He stripped off his clothes and made his way

into his attached bathroom. This room was done
in dark midnight blues with granite bench tops,
dual sinks and heated flooring. It was one of the
first things Vaughan did after he brought the
place. He hated waking up from a nice warm bed
and having to go to the bathroom only to step on
freezing cold tiles.

Walking around the large piece of glass

separating the shower from the rest of the
bathroom, Vaughan reached in a turned on the
water. When he saw the steam start to fog up the
glass, he stepped under the hot spray and sighed
as the water hit his skin. God that felt good!

Vaughan relaxed slowly and let all his stress

and worries flow from him. Even though he was
an Alpha, he was lucky in the fact that his pack
very rarely had any problems. Don’t get him
wrong, there were still idiots out there who liked
to cause him trouble, but they were few and far
between. His pack respected him as their Alpha
after he had taken over the position five years ago
from the previous Alpha.

Mitchell Faulkner had pulled him aside not

long after his twenty-eighth birthday and told him
he was looking at retiring and he believed
Vaughan to be the logical choice in replacing him.

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Mitchell had led their pack for the last forty years
and even though he was an Alpha male through
and through, he wanted a change. His wife
wanted to travel the world and Mitchell couldn’t
put her off any longer.

Vaughan had been touched by the Alpha’s

confidence in him and his parents had been very
proud to see their son as the new pack leader.
Alphas were either appointed by the previous
Alpha or had fought to claim their right to the
position. The title was held by the strongest in the
pack. It wasn’t a hereditary title like a lot of people
write about in soppy romance novels. Just because
the Alpha is the strongest member of their pack
that doesn’t mean their offspring will be.

In the first few months of Vaughan taking over

the pack, he’d had to defend his position more
times than he cared to count. There had been a few
in the pack that weren’t overly happy with their
Alpha being gay, but as there was no necessity for
Vaughan to produce pups, then there was really
nothing they could say or do about it. He’d put
down every opponent that had tried to take him
on and would continue to do so. Vaughan tried to
lead the pack the way Mitchell had, as one big
family.

On the third Sunday every month, they all

gathered at Vaughan’s place for the pack get
together. Everyone brought either, drinks, salad or

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desert and Vaughan supplied the meat. They
barbequed in his large backyard and just hung out
and talked. Vaughan made it a point to work his
way through every member of his pack during the
night and catch up with them all, wanting to make
sure everything was well.

They ran together on the full moon, on a block

of land a little outside of Launceston. The block
was nothing but forest and it served them well.
The land was passed down from Alpha to Alpha
with the stipulation that it can never be sold. Even
though they weren’t bound by the moon in their
shifting, Vaughan had kept the tradition.

Vaughan had longed to be able to run through

the trees with his mate by his side. Now, having
finally found Ashley, that wish would hopefully
soon turn into reality. Vaughan just had to
convince his mate to let him claim Ashley and
then figure out a way to bring Ashley’s wolf out.
Vaughan hoped that by claiming Ashley this
would do the trick.

The thought of being able to mark his mate had

Vaughan’s thoughts coming back to the here and
now and he became fully aware of the raging
hard-on he sported. Just being near his other half
had had him in a semi-state of arousal, but this
pulse pounding need that currently zipped
through his veins was something else entirely.
He’d felt it earlier in the day when Vaughan had

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kissed Ashley before he’d left. He’d had to fight
his wolf then to let his mate walk out the door.
Vaughan wasn’t sure if he would win the battle a
second time.

Needing to take the edge off before he saw

Ashley again, he grabbed a bottle of conditioner
from the recessed shelve and poured a generous
amount in his hand. Placing one hand against the
now warm tiled wall, Vaughan planted his feet
and used the wall to hold him upright. The hot
water continued to rain down against his back as
Vaughan reached down and fisted his hard
leaking shaft. He hissed as the first touch sent little
shocks down to his balls.

Vaughan moaned low in his throat as his hand

slowly made its way up to the head of his dick. He
slid a finger along his slit and felt a small stream
of pre-cum leak out. Vaughan rubbed the liquid
around the head and then tightened his grip once
more and started to jack himself. Slowly to begin
with, then he gradually increased the pace.

What he wouldn’t give to have Ashley here

with him. Not necessarily to touch him, but
because Vaughan, without a doubt, was an Alpha
and he wanted nothing else but to be able to mark
his man.

Vaughan closed his eyes and imagined Ashley

on his knees on the floor beneath him. His
stunning sea-foam blue eyes staring up at him

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with hunger and love, his plump just-kissed
mouth open and ready to receive his spend and
his deliciously naked body dotted with water that
Vaughan would love to spend hours licking dry.

The image was too much for Vaughan and he

cried out in pleasure as his orgasm raced through
his body and erupted from his dick. He pictured
his cum painting Ashley’s face, that perfect little
pink tongue poking out to gather Vaughan’s seed
from off Ashley’s lips.

“Fuck!” Vaughan’s body continued to shake

with smaller aftershocks. Eventually Vaughan let
go of his now softening prick and gasped for air.
He’d never felt a more powerful release in his life.
If that was what it was like after just meeting his
mate and imagining him there with Vaughan, he
thought actually having Ashley under him might
just kill him.

When he felt like his legs might be able to once

again hold his weight, Vaughan pushed off the
wall and grabbed the body wash he used. He
needed to finish his shower and get back to the
pub to meet his mate and his family.

A half hour later, Vaughan walked back

through the doors to The Den. The place was
already busy with over half the tables filled with
people wanting to order dinner.

Vaughan still had a half hour until Ashley was

due so he made his way around checking on his

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staff. With everything running smoothly out front,
Vaughan made his way out back to check on
things in the kitchen. As soon as he stepped foot
through the door, he was assaulted by Brandon’s
loud voice yelling out orders to his staff. Vaughan
walked around, making sure not to get in
anyone’s way. He knew how things worked back
here and made a point to never interfere unless he
was needed.

Brandon was a member of his pack, hell, half

his staff were pack. Seeing as not everyone was
privy to their secret though he’d made it a rule to
never discuss pack business anywhere but in his
office.

He stopped to chat with Brandon for a minute,

but as the chef was busy, Vaughan didn’t want to
keep him from his duties for too long. Not
wanting to go to his office, because Vaughan knew
if he did he would get sucked into working and
lose track of time, he decided to go sit at the bar
and have a beer.

One of his enforcers, Elijah Grant, was his head

barman and came over to him as soon as Vaughan
took a seat on his stool. The other two bar staff
continued with filling orders.

“Evening, boss. Usual?” Elijah asked him as he

turned to one of the fridges behind him and
removed one of Vaughan’s favourite beers. He
twisted the top before placing the bottle down on

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the counter in front of Vaughan.

“Thanks, Eli.”
“Big plans for tonight?” Elijah asked as he

looked Vaughan over.

Vaughan knew he was looking a little tidier

than he usually did. Nice black jeans, boots, and a
dark green top. Vaughan had thought about
shaving as well, but he honestly thought he
looked better with the stubble and decided to keep
it.

“Dinner with my mate,” Vaughan replied, not

even thinking about what he was saying.

It wasn’t until Eli’s eyes nearly bugged out of

his head that it clicked. Vaughan hadn’t
announced to the pack yet that he had met his
mate. He was hoping to do that at the gathering
next weekend.

“I’m sorry. I think I must have heard

wrong…did you just say dinner with your mate?”
Both Eli’s hands were against the bar and he was
leaning in close so they couldn’t be overheard.

“Yes I did. I’m hoping to announce it next

weekend so don’t go flappin’ your trap to
everyone.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Eli managed to say

with a straight face.

“Yeah right.” Vaughan knew exactly what Eli

was like. His enforcer stood at six foot four,
powerfully built, but not overtly muscular, could

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scare any troublesome pack members straight, had
a stare that just seemed to bore right into you at
times and a bigger gossip he’d never met.

Vaughan picked up his beer and took a long

pull before smiling at his friend. “Get back to
work. I don’t pay you to stand around talking to
people all day.”

“That’s exactly what you pay me for, man. Now

quit your bitching and go sit down at a table and
leave me alone.”

Vaughan smiled as Eli wandered off to start

filling table orders. He sat at the bar for another
five minutes until he saw Ashley walk in, closely
followed by two elderly people that he assumed
were Ashley’s parents.

“Ohh in-laws,” Eli said, laughing behind him.
“Fuck off.” Vaughan finished his beer and left

the bottle on the bar. He gave Eli one last glance
and found his friend watching him with a large
smile on his face.

Vaughan made his way through the pub until

he came to a stop beside Ashley as they waited up
front to be seated. He lifted his hand and caressed
it down the side of Ashley’s face before he bent
and placed a light kiss against his mate’s lips.

“Hmm, missed you,” Vaughan stated before he

straightened and turned toward Ashley’s parents.
He paused in the act of introducing himself when
he caught their scent. It wasn’t so much as their

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scent that held his attention, but the lack of
something. Neither Ashley’s mother nor father
were shifters. They were both completely human
and that could only mean one thing. Vaughan
groaned inwardly as he realised he was going to
have to tell his mate that his parents were not
really his parents. Fuck!

* * * *

Ashley looked up at Vaughan when the man
tensed beside him. It had taken him a moment to
gather himself after Vaughan had kissed him. He
hadn’t been expecting it, but loved the fact that
Vaughan had done it. Now though, Vaughan was
looking at his parents kind of weirdly. Ashley
tugged gently on his arm, wanting to get his
attention so he could make the introductions and
they could go eat, ‘cause he was starving.

Vaughan looked down at him and smiled

reassuringly.

“Vaughan, these are my parents, Donald and

Katherine Neilson. Mum, Dad, this is Vaughan
Jacobs.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Vaughan said as

he held out his hand for Ashley’s father to shake.

“A little more than a friend, I’m guessing,” his

mother said as she shook Vaughan’s hand in
greeting as well.

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Vaughan chuckled beside him before wrapping

an arm around Ashley’s waist and pulling him
close.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m working on him. It’s slow

going unfortunately.”

“Vaughan,” Ashley said aghast!
Both his parents laughed and that just made

Ashley groan.

“I’m sure you’ll wear him down. Now please

call us Don and Kate,” Ashley’s dad announced.

“Thank you.” Vaughan looked behind him to

the waitress that stood there waiting with the
menus in hand. “I think our table is ready, if you
would like to follow me, we can get settled.”

“Lead the way, son.”
Ashley knew his dad wasn’t talking to him and

smiled at how Vaughan had already seemed to
win his folks over.

They were led through the dining area to an

unoccupied booth. Ashley slid in first with
Vaughan sitting beside him, his dad sat opposite
Ashley with his mother on the end. They were all
handed a menu.

“Good evening everyone, my name is Lucy and

I’ll be your server tonight. The specials for the
evening are listing on the board just over my left
shoulder.” Lucy pointed behind her, then pulled
out a little electronic device. “Can I interest you in
something to drink while you look over the

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menus?”

They placed their orders and Lucy disappeared

to have them filled and leave them to decide on
dinner.

“So, Vaughan, Ashley tells me you own this

place. What would you recommend?” Ashley’s
mum enquired.

“I do, yes. I suppose it all depends. I’m partial

to the steak. It’s always tender and just about
melts in your mouth, the schnitzels are superb and
we have a wide range of toppings to choose from,
however if you wanted something a little lighter
the grilled barramundi with a lemon cream sauce
is delicious.”

“Well, that all sounds wonderful, but I think I

might go with the barramundi,” his mum
announced as she closed her menu.”

“Steak for me,” his dad said as if neither Ashley

nor his mum knew that’s what he was going to
order. Ashley laughed when his mother rolled her
eyes playfully.

“What about you?” Vaughan asked him.
“I think I’m going to go for the beef and

mushroom pie again. It was delicious last time.”

“It will be this time as well, I assure you.”
Their drinks arrived not long after and they

placed their orders, then were left alone once
more. Small talk started between his parents and
Vaughan, Ashley actually learned a fair bit about

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the man from his parent’s questions, but he
couldn’t help but notice something seemed off
about Vaughan.

Admittedly Ashley hadn’t know the man for

very long, but he could tell that something was
bothering Vaughan and he wasn’t completely
here. Ashley doubted his parents could tell. They
seemed to be enjoying getting to know Vaughan
and he could tell they already really like him. So
did Ashley for the matter. That place inside him,
what Ashley thought might be his wolf, stirred
once again. Ashley rubbed his belly and tried to
send soothing thoughts to his animal.

Feeling eyes on him he looked up to find

Vaughan’s attention focused solely on him.
Vaughan grabbed his hand and placed a kiss to
the back of it, but he didn’t let it go again as he
turned and continued the conversation he’d been
having with Ashley’s father.

Ashley settled back, content just to be where he

was and listen to the people that meant the most
to him get to know one another.

* * * *

Vaughan was never so thankful than when the
meal was finally over and he was walking Ashley
to the door along with Don and Kate. He really
didn’t want to say goodnight to Ashley, but knew

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he needed time to figure out what in the hell was
going on.

He needed to go home and call Archer and see

what his Beta could dig up on the Neilson’s for
him. Vaughan refused to say anything to Ashley
until he had all the facts. Only then would he
discuss it with his mate, because he knew no
matter what, Ashley was going to be hurt by
whatever the outcome.

“Don, Kate, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I

hope to see you again soon,” Vaughan said as they
stood outside on the sidewalk.

“You, too, young man,” Don agreed
“We’d love to have you round for Sunday roast

one weekend if you’re free.”

“That sounds lovely, thank you.”
“Thank you for a wonderful evening. Ashley

we’ll talk to you tomorrow no doubt. Goodnight.”

“Night, Mum, night, Dad, love you guys.”
Vaughan’s heart broke a little for his mate as he

watched Ashley hug and kiss his parents goodbye
before he came back and snuggled into Vaughan’s
side.

“Is everything okay?” Ashley asked quietly.
Vaughan looked down at his mate, surprised by

the question. “Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’ve seemed like you were distracted ever

since you met my folks. Is something wrong?”
Ashley’s voice clearly showed the concern and

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worry he felt.

Vaughan couldn’t believe how attuned to him

Ashley was already. He didn’t think anyone else
would have been able to tell that Vaughan had
been wrestling with a problem all night. It just
went to show that Ashley really was meant for
him.

“It’s not something I can discuss with you at the

moment.” Ashley shifted slightly until he was
looking up at Vaughan, worry stamped across his
features. Vaughan hated keeping this from
Ashley, but he needed to give Ashley the facts, not
his assumptions.

“Please, Ashley, just give me twenty-four

hours, then I’ll tell you whatever I can. Just
remember that no matter what you will always
have me.”

“Vaughan, I’ve got to tell you that you’re

scaring me a little right now.”

“I know and I’m sorry, I don’t mean to.”

Vaughan leaned down and placed a soft kiss to
Ashley’s forehead. Ashley tilted his neck back and
pursed his lips. Vaughan laughed and gave his
mate what he was looking for. He kissed him. Not
deep and carnal, they were standing on the street
out the front of his pub after all, but soft and
tender and hopefully it helped to show his mate
that Vaughan cared.

“Hmm,” Ashley moaned as they broke apart.

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“You taste good, like hops and steak and home.”

“I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.”
Vaughan tightened his arms around his mate

and just held him. He wanted to claim Ashley in
the worst possible way, but now he had to get the
drama with Ashley’s parents sorted first.

Eventually they said goodnight and Vaughan

walked Ashley to his car, to make sure he had
gotten there safely. Not that there was much crime
in this neighbourhood, but Vaughan wasn’t taking
any chances with his mate. They kissed one last
time and Vaughan watched Ashley drive away.
When he could no longer see the taillights,
Vaughan pulled out this phone and dialled his
Beta.

“Hey, Vaughan.”
“I need you at my house in thirty.”
Archer Ryall didn’t argue with him or complain

that it was already after ten, he just agreed and
hung up the phone. Archer had been his best
friend since pre-school and as soon as Vaughan
had been made Alpha, he’d asked Archer to be his
Beta. The previous Beta, Cameron Williams, was
happy to step aside and more than willing to give
Archer some pointers.

Vaughan made his way to his car and then

headed home. He didn’t bother going back into
the pub. He wasn’t there every night as his pack

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duties took up his time also. His staff was the best
and they knew what they were doing. He trusted
them not to burn the place down or rob him blind.

Twenty minutes later Vaughan parked his car

in the garage and made his way inside. He was
just settling on the couch with another beer when
the front door unlocked and Archer walked in.

The three other members of his inner circle plus

his family all had keys to his house. If they needed
him, they needed to be able to get access to him.

Archer closed the door behind him and strolled

in like the world was his oyster. Vaughan pointed
with his beer toward the other one sitting on the
coffee table and Archer picked it up and saluted
him with it.

“Thanks, man. It’s the least you could do after

dragging me away from the two pretties I had
going for me.” Archer was also a dog. He’d never
seen his Beta with the same guy twice, although
he had seen his Beta with more than one guy at a
time.

“Sorry about that,” Vaughan smirked at him.
“No, you’re not, so don’t even bother trying to

apologise ‘cause it’s all just a load of horse crap.”
Archer took a long drink of his beer as he settled
back in the chair he sat on. “So, what’s up?”

“I’ve met my mate.”
“No shit!”
Vaughan was just thankful that he’d timed that

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correctly. The last thing he wanted was a spray of
beer and saliva from his friend.

“Yep, Ashley Neilson. Let me tell you, he is

everything I’ve ever wanted and more.” Vaughan
thought about his mate and smiled, his wolf
sitting up, sniffing the air as if he expected Ashley
to be near. He huffed and lay back down again
when he realised Ashley wasn’t there.

“Well, congrats, mate. I know how long you’ve

wanted to find your other half,” Archer said,
genuinely pleased for Vaughan.

“There’s just one little problem…Well a couple

actually.” Vaughan rubbed his hand over his
head, the short spikes of hair grazing against his
palm.

“What’s the matter? He not gay or something?”
“No, he’s definitely gay, he’s also a wolf.”

Vaughan held up his hand to hold Archer off
when he saw his Beta about to start talking again.
Archer nodded at him and Vaughan continued.
“He’s a wolf, like I said, however, he hasn’t ever
shifted, knows nothing about wolf culture, packs
or even mates. I met his parents tonight, and
they’re both human. This means either one or both
of them aren’t his biological parents and Ashley
has no idea.” Vaughan felt exhausted.

“Jesus H Christ, you certainly don’t do things

by half do you?

“Nope. You should know that by now.”

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“Okay, so what do you need from me?”
“I need you to look into Ashley’s parents,

Donald and Katherine Neilson, and get me
everything you can on them. I’ve got twenty-four
hours until I have to tell my mate what’s going on
and I would prefer to know the facts before I tell
Ashley anything that is going to cause him pain.”

“You got it. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have the

information to you by late tomorrow afternoon.”
Even though Archer owned and operated a
courier company the man was a wiz with
computers and anything he wasn’t able to get he
knew people that could help him get it.

Vaughan had asked him about it once and

Archer had just smiled and patted him on the
shoulder and told him to let him do his job and
not to worry about it. Vaughan hadn’t asked
again. He trusted his friend and his Beta
implicitly.

“Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it, that’s what I’m here for. So

tell me about this mate of yours and when I’m
going to get to meet him.”

Vaughan took another drink and settled back to

talk with his best friend. Archer stayed for another
half an hour before leaving and once again
reassuring him that he would have everything he
could find on Ashley’s parents to him tomorrow
afternoon. Vaughan locked up the house and

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trudged up the carpeted stairs to his room.

He stripped naked and climbed beneath the

cool blankets. Vaughan flicked the lights off and
settled down to sleep, wishing his mate was next
to him. He silently prayed that tomorrow didn’t
turn out to be the worst day of his life.

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Chapter Six

shley woke feeling just as tired as he’d been
the previous night. He hadn’t slept worth a

damn, half the night he had spent wishing
Vaughan was with him and the other half he
tossed and turned worried about his parents.

He had no idea what it might be that Vaughan

had found so troubling, but he desperately wanted
to know. However, he’d told Vaughan he would
be patient and give him the time he needed. It was
only fair seeing as how the bigger man was doing
the same thing for him.

Ashley showered and dressed and padded

down the hall to the kitchen.

Kieran was sitting at the small table eating a

bowl of cereal. “Morning,” his best friend said
around a mouthful of flakes.

“Pig.”
“You love me.”
“I have no idea why sometimes.” Ashley made

his way to the coffee machine and waited for it to

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fill his cup. As soon as he had it fixed to his liking,
he took a sip, careful not to burn himself as he’d
done so many times in the past by drinking it too
quickly.

“So how was dinner last night with Mr. Tall,

Dark, and Sexy and your parental units?” Kieran
asked as he stood from the table and made his
way into the kitchen with his now empty bowl.

“Vaughan and my folks got along just fine,”

Ashley replied.

“But?” Kieran had always been able to tell

when Ashley was holding something back. They’d
been friends for far too long.

“Nothing.” He shrugged, trying to dismiss his

friend’s question. “Everything went well.”

“Sure it did. You know you will eventually tell

me, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Ashley always ended up

caving and spilling everything to Kieran. He hated
secrets and he hated confrontation.

“I can wait.”
“Thanks.”
“No worries. Alright, I best be off. Have a great

day. Will I see you tonight or do you have plans
again? Maybe plans that will put your waxing to
good use?”

“Kieran!” Ashley could feel his cheeks heating.

Kieran just laughed loudly and walked out the
door. Ashley heard the front door open and close

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not long after.

As embarrassed as Ashley was at what his

friend had just said to him, it didn’t come close to
how turned on he felt at the thought of Vaughan
touching his newly bare skin. Fuck, he was getting
hard just standing in the kitchen. Ashley breathed
deeply for a few minutes, trying to will his body to
calm the fuck down.

When he could finally move again without the

threat of orgasming, Ashley downed the rest of his
coffee, made himself some toast and headed into
his office to attempt to get some work down. He
wasn’t sure how successful he was going to be
with how scattered his thoughts were.

* * * *

Vaughan had purposefully kept himself busy all
day to try and distract himself. He’d called Ashley
at lunch just to hear his mate’s voice and had
invited him for dinner at Vaughan’s house that
evening. It would be the first time they were alone
together in a private place where no one could
disturb them. Ashley had readily agreed, Vaughan
was filled with both the desire to see his mate
again and trepidation about what he might be
telling him.

At five o’clock on the dot a knock sounded on

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his office door. “Come in,” Vaughan called out.

He was both relieved and worried to see his

Beta entering his office. Archer’s expression didn’t
hold out much hope that Vaughan was going to
like what the man had to say.

“So, what did you find out?” Vaughan asked,

wanting to get this over and done with as quickly
as possible.

“You’re not going to like it.”
“I already figured that much for myself

thanks.”

Archer handed over the file he held in his

hands and placed in on the desk in front of him.
With a heavy heart, Vaughan opened the folder
and started reading.

“Fuck!” Vaughan swore when he was finished

reading everything.

“That about sums it up.”
“Are you positive this is correct?” Vaughan

asked, hoping Archer may have for once in his life
made a mistake.

“Yeah, man, you know me. I always triple

check things before they come to you.”

“I know, but this is my mate we’re talking

about and I had to ask.”

“Don’t worry, I understand. No offence taken.”
“Thank you for this. Now I just have to figure

out how to tell Ashley.”

“Good luck with that.”

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“Thanks, I think I’m going to need all the luck I

can get.”

Vaughan gathered his things, including the

folder that Archer had given him and the pair of
them walked out of The Den. They said goodbye
on the footpath out the front and Vaughan made
his way home with a heavy heart. He wished he
could spare his mate the heartache he knew was
coming. However, Ashley had a right to know
what had happened.

He drove home on autopilot, not really paying

much attention to his surroundings, until he was
pulling his car into his driveway. Vaughan
checked his watch and realised that Ashley was
due in less than half an hour.

Turning the lights on when he went inside, the

first thing Vaughan did was start the fire. The
temperature had dropped that morning and even
being a werewolf Vaughan had felt cold most of
the day. He wondered if that had anything to do
with what he had to discuss with his mate.

Putting the whole thing out of his mind for the

moment, Vaughan made his way into the kitchen
to make a start on dinner. Spaghetti bolognaise
with garlic bread and a nice bottle of red sounded
just about perfect to him.

Vaughan pulled out the onions, garlic, bacon,

mushroom and mince and started dicing
everything. The pan went on the stove, along with

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a little oil and butter and when it had gotten up to
heat, the onions and garlic went in. Vaughan lost
himself in the act of cooking. This was his father’s
recipe, it had been handed down from his
grandma, and it was the only thing his dad ever
cooked. Vaughan’s mum did all the cooking
except when it was time to have spaghetti.

Vaughan could remember being a kid and

standing in the kitchen, watching his dad every
time he cooked. He thought that fascination might
have something to do with the fact that it was so
out of place for his father to be in the kitchen that
Vaughan just had to watch him. Or it could have
been that his dad’s spaghetti was his all-time
favourite meal growing up and Vaughan
unconsciously wanted to learn exactly how his
dad did it.

It wasn’t until after Vaughan had left home that

he’d made it for the first time without even
realising what he was doing.

He was just browning the meat when the

doorbell rang. “Come in,” Vaughan called out as
he continued to stir the contents of the pan.

“Vaughan?” Ashley’s wonderful voice yelled

out in inquiry.

“In the kitchen, Ash, come on in.”
Not long after, Ashley wandered into the

kitchen with a large smile on his face. “Something
smells delicious.”

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“It’s just spaghetti. I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
Vaughan turned and left the meat browning for

a minute as he walked over to his mate and took
him in his arms. The second he touched Ashley,
Vaughan felt a million times better, he felt calmer
and more in control of his emotions, the agitation
he’d been feeling since his meeting with Archer
that afternoon drifted away.

He leaned down and kissed Ashley. God he

missed his mate. Vaughan wanted Ashley with
him. Vaughan wanted to wake up next to him
every morning and go to sleep holding him in his
arms every night. Right now, right this second
though, Vaughan wanted to claim what was his
more than anything else in the world.

“Fuck, I missed you today,” Vaughan said as he

broke the kiss.

“I missed you as well. I didn’t sleep very well

last night.”

Vaughan knew he shouldn’t be, but he was

pleased with Ashley’s confession. The pink
staining Ashley’s cheeks was sexy as hell.

“You’re welcome to sleep here anytime you

like,” Vaughan offered. He kissed Ashley one last
time before releasing his mate from his hold and
going back to see about dinner.

“Vaughan?” Ashley sounded timid and

uncertain.

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Vaughan knew immediately what he mate

wanted. “I know, Ash, I promise to tell you
everything after dinner, okay?” He hoped they
could at least have a nice meal before the night
went to shit. Vaughan watched as Ashley nibbled
on his bottom lip. The innocent, unsure gesture
made Vaughan’s cock hard. He wanted to go over
to his mate and suck on Ashley’s lip until it was
swollen and red from his ministrations.

“Okay, I trust you.”
Ashley’s soft voice broke through his thoughts.

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You can pour us both a glass of red wine if

you would like and then you can sit at the bar and
tell me all about your day. Just having you close
and listening to your voice sooths me.”

Vaughan had to think about what he’d just

said. He’d never been the type of guy to be all
soppy and romantic. What he had just confessed
to Ashley was the truth though. Every time Ashley
was near him Vaughan felt better, and he was
starting to think that that wasn’t just because they
were mates.

Vaughan started to wonder if it wasn’t just one

reason that Ashley’s wolf was hidden to him but
several.

He’d been so lost in thought that Vaughan had

completely missed when Ashley had walked up

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next to him. Ashley’s hand pressed flat against his
stomach and then slowly made its way up his
body until it wrapped around his neck and pulled
him down. Vaughan wasn’t about to fight or
protest. Anything that had his mate wanting to
touch him was alright in his books. Their mouths
came together in a soul searing kiss that had
Vaughan ready to lay Ashley down on the kitchen
floor and claim the man once and for all.

“Now that that’s out of the way, where can I

find the wine?” Ashley asked as he broke the kiss
and smiled impishly up at Vaughan.

“Another kiss like that and you won’t be

leaving my bedroom for a week.” Vaughan
watched as Ashley shuddered at his words. He
smirked at his mate, knowing Ashley loved the
idea of being in his bed.

“The wine is over there.” Vaughan pointed to a

wine rack off to the side and turned back to
dinner. He needed to start paying attention or he
ran the risk of burning it. Vaughan returned to
cooking as he listened to Ashley potter around the
kitchen. This was something he could definitely
get used to. He just hoped Ashley would give him
the opportunity after what he had to tell him.

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Chapter Seven

inner was amazing and the company was
even better, Ashley decided. Now they were

on the large, dark-brown suede sofa in the lounge
room. Vaughan sat against the corner and Ashley
lay with his back against Vaughan’s chest. The
flames danced in the fireplace and Ashley sighed
in what he could only describe as utter
contentment. Vaughan’s arms were wrapped
around him, his large hands drawing patterns
against his stomach.

Ashley wished this moment could last forever,

but he knew better. Vaughan had something he
needed to tell Ashley about his parents and
Ashley had a really bad feeling he wasn’t going to
like whatever it was.

“Vaughan?” he enquired softly, reluctant to

break to peacefulness of the moment but knowing
it had to happen. Ashley heard Vaughan’s deep
sigh.

“Please know that what I’m about to tell you I

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don’t do to cause you any hurt. The information I
have received has been verified and triple checked
as being correct.

“Vaughan, you’re really starting to scare me.”

Ashley rolled over and sat up on his knees, facing
Vaughan. He needed to be able to see Vaughan’s
face.

“I know and I’m sorry.” Vaughan reached out

and cupped his cheek in his large hand, rubbing
his thumb back on forth over Ashley’s skin.

Ashley pressed into the hand, wanting some

sort of connection with this man as he listened to
what Vaughan had to say.

“Do you remember me telling you that

Werewolves are born and not made?”

Ashley nodded, he remembered.
“And that Werewolves have to have at least one

shifter parent?”

Again Ashley nodded.
“Ash, both your parents are human. I could tell

as soon as I met them last night.”

“What? No!” Ashley scrambled back. “You

must be mistaken. They’re my parents. I’ve known
them all my life.”

“I know, love, and I wish I was. I’m so sorry.”

Vaughan paused and took a deep breath. “Are
you sure you want to hear this?”

Was he? Ashley wished he knew. His mind was

still trying to process the last thing Vaughan has

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said. Without really thinking about it, he nodded.

The sympathetic look Vaughan sent his way

had Ashley almost changing his mind, but before
he could open his mouth and tell Vaughan he
didn’t want to know, Vaughan started talking
again.

“The information Archer was able to find for

me showed that on the night you were born there
was another couple. There had been a terrible car
accident, they were hit by a semi that didn’t
bother to stop. The man, Russell Parks died
immediately, his human mate, Lindy made it to
the small hospital, but died as they wheeled her
into the operating theatre. They operated
immediately to try and save the baby she carried,
but it was reported he died shortly after birth.
Archer was able to trace Russell and his mate back
to a small pack in Port Arthur.

“While all this was going on, your mum had

gone into labour and delivered a baby boy, I
believe your parent’s biological child didn’t
survive his birth and one of the nurses thought
that no one would ever figure out if they switched
the babies. They had two dead parents with a
living child and two expectant parents with a dead
child. I honestly believe they thought they were
doing a good thing.”

Ashley didn’t realise he was sitting there

shaking his head over and over until Vaughan

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grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. “No,
that can’t be true.”

“I’m so sorry, Ash. If I could have saved you

from this I would have. If it’s any consolation I
don’t believe your parents have any idea about
what happened.”

Ashley could feel his entire body shaking as

huge racking sobs burst from him. How could this
be happening? Vaughan’s touch and soothing
words helped to calm him a little, but Ashley’s
mind continued to real with everything the bigger
man had just told him.

“I need to go.” Ashley tried to push away from

Vaughan, but the man just continued to hold him,
refusing to let him go.

“No, love. You need to stay. You need comfort

and time. You’re in no condition to drive
anywhere at the moment and if you go to your
parent’s house looking the way you currently do,
imagine what that will do to them. I know you’re
hurting, but they didn’t do anything wrong and if
you want to tell them the truth, then I’ll be there
with you when you do, but you have to calm
down first.”

Everything Vaughan said made sense to

Ashley. Knowing he didn’t really want to go
anywhere anyway, he stopped fighting to get
away from his mate and instead collapsed into
Vaughan’s hold. Tears still fell and Ashley

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clutched Vaughan to him like his life depended on
the man staying connected to him at all times.

Eventually, Ashley had no idea how much time

had passed, Vaughan stood with Ashley still in his
arms.

“Wrap your legs around me.”
Vaughan’s deep voice soothed as he continued

to rub in circles on Ashley’s back. Ashley
complied and Vaughan walked around the room,
turning everything off. Vaughan made sure the
fire had just about died and that the protective
screen was in place before flicking the last set of
lights off and carrying Ashley up the stairs.

Ashley felt like his head was stuffed with cotton

wool. He didn’t pay any attention to his
surroundings. Vaughan sat down on the edge of
the bed and grabbed at the hem of Ashley’s shirt.

“Let’s get you into bed.”
Ashley didn’t have it in him to argue, not that

he wanted to anyway. All he wanted at that point
in time was to be held and go to sleep. Hopefully
when he woke up the world would be back to
normal.

He lifted his arms and allowed Vaughan to take

off his shirt. Next Vaughan pulled down the
covers on the bed and lay Ashley down, his socks
were removed, he’d taken his shoes off as soon as
he’d arrived earlier, then his jeans quickly
followed. Vaughan didn’t say anything about

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Ashley going commando under his jeans. The
second Ashley was naked, the thick warm covers
were pulled up and he was tucked in.

Ashley closed his eyes and, a short time later,

the bed dipped behind him and he was being
pulled against a hard, slightly hairy chest. He
didn’t say anything about the erection he could
feel poking at him, Ashley just relaxed in
Vaughan’s arms and let his mate’s steady
breathing calm him.

“Whatever you need, Ash, you have but to

ask.”

“Just this.” As much as Ashley wanted more

with this gorgeous man, he just couldn’t deal with
it at the moment. Ashley laid there, the scent of
Vaughan and the feel of him completely
surrounding him and eventually Ashley was able
to sleep.

Ashley made it through the weekend in a kind

of haze. It wasn’t every day that you found out the
people that had raised you from a baby weren’t
actually your biological parents. Or the fact that
your biological parents had died and someone had
switched you at birth. It was a lot to take in and
Ashley still wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell his
mum and dad. One thing he did know for sure
was that Donald and Katherine Neilson were his
parents.

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They had raised him from birth, taught him to

be the man he was today, fed him, clothed him
and helped put him through school. If that didn’t
make them his parents, then he had no idea what
did.

Even knowing that, it didn’t stop the hurt that

Ashley felt at what Vaughan had told him had
happened. Did he wish the nurse hadn’t played
God with his life? He just didn’t know. Ashley
had no idea what his life may have been like had
he not been given to the Neilson’s to raise. He may
have ended up in foster care, or maybe been
adopted or his biological parents may have had
family that could have taken him in. That thought
brought him up short. Did he want to know if
there was any family out there that he didn’t
know about? Ashley just wasn’t sure. If there was,
he didn’t think he was ready to meet any of them
yet. This was still all too new to him.

Vaughan had called Kieran on Sunday and

asked him to come round. Vaughan had explained
the situation, leaving out all the parts to do with
people shifting into animals. Kieran had hugged
him so hard Ashley thought he might have busted
a rib.

They’d had dinner and Kieran had stayed the

night in one of the guest rooms. Ashley hadn’t
gone home since he found out. He wanted to be
close to Vaughan and his mate wasn’t turning him

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away. Kieran had left early Monday morning so
he could make it home in time to change and get
to work on time.

Kieran had brought a couple of his files, his

computer and some of Ashley’s clothes with him
so at least Ashley could get some work done and
hopefully take his mind off things.

Ashley knew he’d eventually have to go back to

his place, but at the moment he was happy where
he was and Kieran understood so he didn’t have
to worry about his friend.

By Wednesday Ashley was almost feeling

normal again. There was still an ache in his heart,
but there was also a different ache that he had
been feeling more acutely the last couple of days.
Vaughan had been wonderful, giving Ashley
everything that he needed and never asking for
anything in return. Ashley thought it was about
time he gave something to his mate.

They had talked a lot over the last week or so

about being a werewolf and what it meant, also
Vaughan’s role as pack Alpha and subsequently
Ashley’s role as not only his mate, but, if Vaughan
was correct in his assumptions, also as the pack
Omega.

Ashley had sat quietly and listened as Vaughan

had explained that he believed the reason Ashley
hadn’t been able to shift was a combination of his
mother being human, him being an Omega wolf

Hidden Wolf

and the trauma he suffered during his birth.

Apparently all Omega wolf’s mates were

Alpha’s but not every Alpha was mated to an
Omega. There were significantly more Alphas
than Omegas in the world. Ashley being an
Omega would explain his hatred of conflict and
why he was always the peacekeeper when fights
or arguments broke out.

Right now though, Ashley didn’t want to think

about Omegas and Alphas and pack. All he
wanted to think about was one man and the
possibility of being claimed finally. Ashley knew
Vaughan had held off for him, to give him time to
come to terms with a world he knew nothing
about and then to deal with his family problems.
But what Ashley wanted more than anything was
to feel like he belonged. He wanted the connection
that Vaughan had spoken constantly of when they
had discussed mating. Ashley wanted to be bound
to the other man and for Vaughan to be bound to
him in return.

With that in mind, Ashley set about getting

ready for Vaughan to get home from work.

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100

Chapter Eight

oming home from work every day this week to
his mate being in his home had given Vaughan

a taste of what his life could be like. He wanted
Ashley with a desperation bordering on abnormal.
However, he would never do anything his mate
wasn’t ready for and he would never take
advantage of Ashley while he was dealing with so
much stress from other areas. Vaughan would
continue to be a safe place for his mate for
however long he needed without putting any
pressure on Ashley about mating. Even if it meant
jerking off furiously in the bathroom several times
a day.

Vaughan pulled the car into the garage and

clicked the button for the door to close behind
him. Vaughan exited the car and smiled when he
looked over and saw Ashley’s car parked in the
third bay. Looking forward to seeing his mate,
Vaughan headed inside.

Something was different as soon as he stepped

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101

foot into the kitchen. Usually Ashley was down
stairs snacking on something while he gathered
the ingredients to make a start on dinner. Today,
though, the lights were off and Ashley wasn’t
anywhere in the kitchen.

Vaughan placed his keys and phone on the

bench where he usually left them, shrugged out of
his jacket and laid it over the back of chair with his
scarf and gloves. He headed in the direction of the
living room, the lights were off, but a soft glow
from the fireplace illuminated the area nicely.
Vaughan caught his breath when he spotted his
mate, his very naked mate, lying in a makeshift
bed of thick warm blankets and pillows. Ashley
watched him as he slowly stroked his own
erection.

“Would you like to join me?” Ashley asked

seductively.

“More than anything else in this world.”

Vaughan had seen Ashley’s naked body several
times over the last week, but he’d always held
himself back. Refusing to touch him intimately for
fear that once he started he wouldn’t be able to
stop.

Vaughan stripped his clothes off in record time,

not paying any attention to the tearing sounds he
heard. His boots were made short work of and
finally, blessedly, he was naked. Vaughan stood at
the edge of the makeshift bed and stared down at

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102

his mate. Ashley’s body wasn’t toned, there were
no defined muscles anywhere on the man, but he
looked utterly gorgeous to Vaughan. His sea-foam
blue eyes sparkled in the firelight and his short
brown hair had been spiked perfectly. What really
hit Vaughan was his groin, his completely hairless
groin. Vaughan couldn’t wait to get his mouth
down there and lick and suck at the perfectly
smooth skin.

Vaughan dropped to his knees at the edge of

the bedding and slowly crawled his way up
Ashley’s body. Ashley’s legs parted for him. He
kissed and licked as he went, marking flesh with
his teeth. The sounds of Ashley’s pleasure served
only to ramp up Vaughan’s own. Seeing his marks
on his mate’s body had Vaughan fighting with his
wolf to claim Ashley right that second.

Ashley’s hands pressed into Vaughan’s chest,

kneading his muscles, and Vaughan hissed
through gritted teeth as Ashley twisted one of his
nipples.

“Fuck, I feel like I’ve waited forever to get you

like this,” Vaughan rasped as he looked down at
his mate below him.

“Thank you for waiting.”
“Anything you need.”
“Right now I need you to claim me and make

me yours.”

Just hearing those words was too much for

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103

Vaughan. He bent down and ravaged Ashley’s
mouth, thrusting his tongue inside Ashley’s and
battling until his mate submitted to him. When
Ashley relaxed in his arms, Vaughan thought he
might explode right then and there.

“I hope to Christ you brought lube, because this

first time is going to be hard and rough, I promise
to take my time the rest of the night though,”
Vaughan growled out as he pulled away and
licked at Ashley’s now kiss-swollen lips.

Ashley pointed up behind his head.
Vaughan spotted the bottle of lube from his

bedroom. He grinned wickedly and reached over
and retrieved the lube.

Vaughan flicked open the cap and poured a

generous amount of the viscous liquid into his
palm. He sat back and gazed down at his mate as
Ashley watched him coat his hard cock.
Vaughan’s eyes flicked to Ashley’s own prick and
watched as it throbbed and danced under his
intense stare.

Once Vaughan had his fingers and dick well

coated, he moved into position. “Hold your legs
for me, love.”

Ashley nodded enthusiastically and raised his

legs into the air, pulling them back against his
chest.

Ashley’s smooth groin was on complete display

and Vaughan was going to take full advantage.

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104

His slippery fingers found the tight puckered hole
and his mouth descended on Ashley’s hairless
balls. Vaughan sucked one into his hot mouth as
he pushed inside Ashley for the very first time.
Ashley cried out above him and arched his back,
pushing down on Vaughan’s digit, working it
deeper inside himself.

Vaughan worked the nut in his mouth for a

minute as he pushed in and out of Ashley with his
finger. Pressing a second digit in to join the first,
Vaughan lathed at the silky sac tight with need.
Vaughan worked his tongue all the way to the
head of Ashley’s dick and then flicked it in and
out of the little slit, gathering every delicious drop
of liquid as he did.

“Vaughan, please I need to come, I want you

inside me.”

“One more, love.” Vaughan pressed in with a

third and final finger and Ashley cried out above
him. His mate was so close, his body practically
shaking with his need to come.

Vaughan couldn’t hold back any longer. He

scooted forward and placed the tip of his prick at
Ashley’s entrance. Vaughan leaned down and
kissed Ashley at the same time he pressed
forward, breaching his mate’s body. Ashley’s cry
of pleasure was muffled by their kiss. Vaughan
strained, but managed to take his time. Pressing
forward slowly, he knew he wasn’t a small man

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105

and had no plans to hurt his mate the first time
they made love.

When he was fully seated inside Ashley, he

broke the kiss and pulled back a little to be able to
look down at his mate. Those beautiful eyes stared
back at him, filled with hope and wonder and
what he thought might be the beginnings of love.
God I hope so.

“You feel so fucking good wrapped around me

like this.” Vaughan moved his hips, allowing his
cock to retreat until just the head remained inside
his mate before he thrust forward again, burying
himself in the hot, silky depts.

“Ah huh.” Ashley nodded, his hands holding

onto Vaughan’s biceps as he leaned over the top of
him.

“Sorry, Ash, but I can’t hold back.”
“It’s okay, I want what you have to give me. I

can take it.”

Vaughan nodded and once again kissed Ashley

as he let go and pounded into his body, his wolf
completely taking over as he sought frantically for
release. Ashley’s nails dug into Vaughan’s
muscles as they strained to hold Vaughan’s weight
above his mate as he pistoned in and out of
Ashley’s body.

Without warning, Ashley screamed into his kiss

and Vaughan felt the wet heat of his mate’s release
between their stomachs. Ashley’s body clamped

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106

down around Vaughan’s prick, Vaughan broke
the kiss and Ashley immediately tilted his head to
the side, exposing his neck to Vaughan. He didn’t
hesitate. Vaughan’s canines extended and he bit
down deep. Ashley cried out for a second time,
only in pain this time. Vaughan clamped his
mouth down and sucked, taking his mate’s life
giving blood into his body. Ashley’s pained cry
soon turned into pleasurable whimpers.

Vaughan pulled back and licked his mark

closed, then tilted his head to the side, offering his
mate his own neck. It was a sign of complete trust
for an Alpha to offer any his neck.

Ashley surged forward and the second razor

sharp canines pierced his flesh, Vaughan thrust
deep one last time and howled his climax to the
stars. Still Ashley held on and sucked at the mark
on his neck. Vaughan could feel the exact second
their bond snapped into place.

As soon as the aftershocks seemed to have

dissipated, Vaughan collapsed. He held Ashley in
his arms and rolled them so Vaughan was on his
back and Ashley above him. Fuck. Vaughan felt
like he’d died and gone to heaven.

They both groaned when Vaughan’s slightly

softened member slid from Ashley’s body.

“Mate.” Vaughan sighed as he held Ashley

close.

“Vaughan?”

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107

“Hmm.” Vaughan could do with a nap right

about now, then maybe some food and then a
repeat performance or three.

“I don’t feel so good.”
That snapped Vaughan out of his post orgasmic

haze as he looked up at his mate. Ashley lay there,
his eyes shifting between his beautiful sea-foam
blue and lupine jade. His wolf was trying to come
out.

“Everything’s fine, love. It’s just your wolf

wanting to come out for the first time. I thought
our mating might help him along, I just didn’t
realise it would be this soon after.”

“What do I do?” Ashley sounded so scared.
Vaughan hated to hear his mate sound like that.

“Just relax and stay calm. You’ve seen me in my
wolf form several times. Just close your eyes,
concentrate and look deep inside yourself, try and
find your wolf.”

Ashley went still in his arms as he followed

Vaughan’s instructions. Then he cried out and,
less than a minute later, Vaughan found himself
with a pure white wolf lying on his stomach.

“You did it, love,” Vaughan praised. Ashley in

wolf form was significantly smaller than Vaughan,
but with Omegas it was expected. And Ashley
was definitely an Omega. The pure white coating
proved that without a doubt.

Ashley the wolf scooted forward on his belly

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108

until he was close enough to lick at Vaughan’s
face. Vaughan laughed and tried to shoo his mate
away, but Ashley was insistent in his licking.

Instead, Vaughan carefully placed Ashley on

the bedding beside him and then he, too, shifted.
Vaughan stood still as Ashley crawled toward him
on all fours. When he had gotten as close as he
wanted, he rolled over and exposed his belly to
Vaughan’s much larger wolf. Vaughan rumbled
his approval, then bent and did some licking of his
own.

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109

Chapter Nine

shley couldn’t remember being this nervous
before. Not even when Kieran had dragged

him into that bloody day spa to get his balls
waxed. Which it looked like he would be going
back to do again and again, because Vaughan
seemed to have a fascination with his smoothness
down there, not that Ashley was complaining. Not
in the least. Since they had mated on Wednesday,
every spare chance they found they seemed to end
up naked together with Vaughan’s face buried in
his cock, balls or ass.

They had gone running together out on the

pack lands in the mountains every night since, in
an attempt for Ashley to get to know his wolf
better after being kept apart for so long. Ashley
couldn’t believe how exhilarating it was to be able
to shift and run, the wind blowing through your
fur, the sounds or the forest around you, the smell
of the other creatures nearby.

Ashley hadn’t been prepared for the natural

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110

instincts of the wolf when there were smaller
animals about. He still had a little trouble
digesting the fact that he had killed a Tasmanian
Devil. Vaughan had reassured him that it was
natural and Vaughan’s wolf had taken part in the
spoils of the kill.

Now though, now it was the third Sunday in

the month and the entire pack had come over to
their place for a barbeque. Yes, Ashley was
thinking of it as their place.

Vaughan had asked him to officially move in

after they had shifted back that first night. Ashley,
not wanting to sleep without his mate again, had
agreed. His parents had taken a little fast talking
on Ashley’s behalf to convince them that Ashley
hadn’t lost his mind and that he wasn’t moving
too quickly with a man he hardly knew.

Ashley had spent long hours discussing with

Vaughan the pros and cons of telling his parents
about what had happened at Ashley’s birth and he
decided that until it became necessary to do so
Ashley didn’t want to cause his mum and dad any
pain and sadness. He hated keeping it a secret
from them, but he also had to keep the fact that he
was now and always had been a werewolf a secret
as well. This was especially difficult as they had
always said there would never be any secrets
between them and Ashley was now keeping two
fairly huge ones.

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111

Kieran on the other hand was over the moon

for him and assured him that their friendship
would not suffer any just because they no longer
lived under the same roof. He had no problems
visiting Ashley in his new house and just hanging
out like the old days and he expected Ashley to do
the same. Ashley had hugged his friend tight and
thanked him for understanding that this was
something Ashley had to do.

“You ready?” Vaughan asked as Ashley walked

down the stairs from their bedroom.

Ashley must have changed clothes fifty times in

preparation for tonight. Vaughan would probably
kill him when he walked upstairs and found the
bedroom floor strewn with discarded clothing.

“Not even in the slightest.” Ashley swallowed

the lump in his throat as he took the outstretched
hand Vaughan held out for him. His mate smiled
reassuringly at him and Ashley actually managed
to calm a little.

“Our pack are good people, love, they will be

nothing but happy for us. You’ve been hidden
away for too long, it’s time to step out and be who
you were born to be.”

“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
“Smart ass,” Ashley teased playfully.
“You love me.”
“I do. Thank you, for finding me.”

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112

“It was my pleasure, Ash, now come, our pack

is waiting.”

Ashley nodded once and walked outside, hand

in hand with his mate.

About the Author

Toni Griffin lives in Darwin, the smallest of
Australia’s capital cities. Born and raised in the
state she’s a Territorian through and through.
Growing up Toni hated English with a passion (as
her editors can probably attest to) and found her
strength lies with numbers.

Now, though, she loves escaping to the worlds

she creates and hopes to continue to do so for
many years to come. She’s a single mother of one
and works full time. When she’s not writing you
can just about guarantee that she will be reading
one of the many MM authors she loves.

Feel

free

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info@tonigriffin.net anytime.

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